.
The back of the silk slip is damp where my freshly cleaned hair sits against it as I walk out to the living room. I bite my lip and blush at the pleasant soreness that still throbs between my legs. There's the sound of splashing water down the hall as Andrius finishes his own bath and steps out to dry himself off.
"Quince?" I call out, "You still here?"
The fireplace is dark but for a few flickering embers. Directly in front of it, a tasseled blanket twirled into a lump jolts and bounces. The sherbert light seems to grow with her frustration as she fights her way out of the fabric. Quince's limbs are still swinging in all directions when she finally escapes. Her fluffy hair is a candy cloud around her sulky face.
"Don't laugh!"
"Sorry," I cover my mouth with a hand, "You weren't too cold last night, were you?"
"No. Just terribly lonely!" She throws herself over the blanket lump with an arm across her face like a dramatic damsel.
"Uh huh."
Sitting down beside her, I stab a metal poker into the embers as I feed in wood and crumpled newspaper. The flames slowly grow until warm light dances across all the richly colored wood of the room. Quince smiles and soaks up heat for a moment before fluttering away. I turn to watch as she flies toward the front door and reclaims her letter-bag that's hanging from a hook. Andrius walks down the hall and sits beside me as he rubs a towel against his hair. Quince lands between us and tips her bag over my lap. At least ten pieces of tightly folded paper fall out. She drops the empty bag and hovers in front of Andrius' face to inspect him. He futilely leans away and makes an uncomfortable sound at how close she flies.
"How could he have this much to say?" I mutter as I begin unfolding all the notes.
"Claudius says it's very important that you study all of it before you return for winter solstice-"
"What?" Andrius exclaims.
I turn back to them both without opening any of the notes. Now that there are several crooked braids twisted in Andrius' damp hair, Quince has finally settled down. She sits on his shoulder and tugs at a thread sticking out from the towel.
"Oh," I sigh sadly, "I thought he would make some excuse for me to be away for solstice. He didn't mention plans for the holiday when I was in Leaven."
With both of them watching beside me, I begin to unfold all the notes. One is a calendar of the current month, others look to be information on excuses he made for my absence since the wedding, details about the fake travels, notes about names I barely recognize, and what to know about their own relationships.
"He expects me to memorize all this junk?"
"You have two days before you'll have to leave for Leaven," Quince squeaks hesitantly, "and I'm sure he only needs you to know the important stuff."
I throw my head back and groan again. Of course he needs me to play the part of a tame wife for solstice as well. I never should've thought I'd be so lucky. Andrius presses all the notes flat and begins reading through them himself.
"Apparently," he says as he skims a page, "you visited an arboretum in Antadon."
I pull his hand down to read the same portion and roll my eyes, "Who's even going to ask about such a thing?"
Quince looks nervously between us.
"It's okay," I amend when I see her worried face, "I'll read all of it and make sure I remember the important bits."
Her wings flutter a little as she smiles up at me.
"And you liked the coq au vin at a place called The Luxuriant?"
"Oh my God, he's insane!"
.
"Remember to bring the notes," the tiny voice sings as she flies by.
I sigh but toss them into my backpack. Quince probably is right that I should be studying them when we stay at inns on the way back to Leaven anyway. There are worse days to set out on a trip. The breeze is cold but not as bitter as it has been. It makes me even more glad that I convinced Quince to let me bring her back to Leaven in my coat instead of leaving her to fly through the sharp, icy wind of the previous days alone. Sunshine bares down from the clear, blue sky and soaks into the many layers I'm wearing. Frost has coated everything in a thin, sparkling layer of white. Andrius stands beside me, silently watching the sky as I buckle my backpack closed.
"We'll celebrate solstice when I get back."
He nods without looking at me.
"You're upset with me," I mumble uncomfortably.
"No. Not with you."
Finally, he looks my way and comes closer to pull me against him. I slide my hands under his woven tunic and run them along the smooth, hard muscles of his back. The sound and feel of the contended hum against my hair makes me believe his words. His own hands explore up and down; twirling in my hair, delicately tracing my spine.
"This would be more tolerable if any one of those notes gave a specific end date."
"Agreed," I pout, "But maybe it means there's a chance he'll send me back early this time too?"
"I hope so."
The loaned horse pushes at the bit in her mouth with her tongue. It seems like she grew used to vacationing in Prophia as well. Quince sits on the horn of the leather saddle with her face buried in the juniper berry she's voraciously gnawing at. Maybe all of us got used to relaxing without Claudius or our fake marriage to put on a show for.
.
"You're late."
Standing frozen in the doorway of my bedroom in his house, I glower at Claudius and scoff, "Your note said afternoon of the nineteenth at latest."
"It's four," he snaps.
"Four is afternoon."
"Four is early evening."
"Fine," I roll my eyes and toss my backpack onto a chair, "whatever."
"Not whatever. And where is Quince?"
Tentatively, I open my coat and we both look down at the quivering sprite peeking out of the inner pocket. The edges of her white, fluffy coat are all pushed up around her face. Quince slowly wriggles out and hovers between us.
"It's my fault," I snap before he can speak, "I told her to come back with me."
"What? Why?"
Quince flutters away, moving her wings as quietly as possible as she escapes the room.
"It's freezing out."
