It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to become a nervous wreck about the upcoming date. Damn Meleri and her goddamn teasing. I was half tempted to have her sleep outside where the mosquitos could get her. However, autumn was fast approaching, and I did not want a sudden deluge to catch her sleeping outdoors. I wasn’t that annoyed at her... yet.
As it was, I spent the remainder of the day and the following preparing the food and drink for the date and clarified that while I was gone, Soot was in charge. Much to my surprise, there were no complaints from anyone. I expected at least some annoyed grumbling from Meleri, but no.
Well, that was neither here nor there. As I plopped the basket with food and drink down on the carpet and hopped on top of it along with Rathina. As I took off and sped into the forest, I could feel Rathina shuffle around behind me. “An interesting form of transport. I’m not sure anyone back home would think to enchant a carpet like this.” I glanced back at her. “Well, it seemed a better idea than trying to figure out how to transport a bunch of people on my broom.” The conversation stagnated into awkward silence.
After a few moments, I cleared my throat. “So I guess you’re curious about where we’re having the picnic.” Rathina nodded. “I doubt it will be within the swamp or the marshy forest, so I will admit I am curious.” I broke into a grin even though Rathina couldn’t see it. “Well, I am certain you will like it, as it’s a really nice place. Even better, nothing will disturb us there.” Rathina arched an eyebrow. “How so?” I gave her a brilliant smile. “You’ll see.”
It wouldn’t take more than another fifteen minutes before we arrived at our destination. The forest opened up to a small valley meadow filled with flowers and a large hill in the center. The hill was clear of the flowers themselves, and a large oak tree offered shade from the sun on top. “Here we are.” I began our descent towards the flowers, whose hues were changing randomly through the entire color spectrum in a slow steady rhythm.
Rathina hopped off the carpet as I landed and looked down the hill. “What flowers are those?” I grabbed the basket and followed suit before stashing away the carpet. “Those? That's the main reason we won’t be disturbed here. They are in the same family as the Lilium Mortis, though a rarer subspecies. I still wouldn’t get too close, though. Not unless you fancy a long nap that would require being dunked into cold water or several days to wake from.”
Rathina gave me a confused look for a moment. “Lilium Mortis…? That sounds familiar… Wait... These are Dream Lilies?” She looked out onto the field of flowers with a shocked expression. Meanwhile, I was putting out the picnic blanket and setting up underneath the tree itself. “Indeed, they are. I wouldn’t try picking any though, despite their value. You see, the entire lower half of the hill is covered in the pollen of the flowers and only an adult Great Animal can walk through that mess unscathed, speaking from personal experience here.”
I patted the blanket, and Rathina joined me after a bit of hesitation. “It makes for a magnificent view and privacy, though.” Rathina nodded as she tried some of the wine I brought along. The moment she got the first sip down she paused for a moment, then gulped down the rest of the wine in her glass. “What is this?” Her voice was laced with shock and awe, as expected.
I grinned. “Quite the marvel, isn’t it? My best brew, bar none, preserved through alchemical duplication. I believe even you might have heard of it, a little number known solely by its brewing year, the ARC 358.” The moment I mentioned the name Rathina almost choked from the surprise. “You’re the creator of that vintage?” I took a sip of my glass. The wine was as marvelous as I remembered. “One of two, yes. Soot was with me, but before you ask, neither of us can recall the recipe. Which is strange as Soot has a magically enhanced memory.”
Rathina looked into her half-empty glass. “This vintage even made its way to my home, it made quite the buzz when supplies began to dwindle.” That was a surprise. I knew it was popular, but to make it all the way to the infernal realm, that was so far beyond my expectations. Still, it proved that it was an exceptional product.
I nodded and handed Rathina some food to go with the wine, nothing as fancy as the ARC, but I was still quite proud of the picnic food I brought along. Here, it was an assortment of cheeses, prosciutto, a mild salami, a refreshing pasta salad with lemon, herbs, and cucumber, bruschetta for the cheese and meat, and to round out the meal, a few panna cotta. Both the panna cotta and the bruschetta were made by Meleri as those were way outside my skill level.
The entire package was a resounding success on the food front, and it didn’t take long before we properly relaxed and just talked about this and that while enjoying the view and each other's company with nothing else to distract us. As the sun began to set, it caused a golden hew to mix with the ever-changing rainbow in the valley below. This created a surreal and hazy look that gave the vale a dream-like quality.
It also made Rathina’s already supernatural beauty even more astonishing. Her almond-shaped green eyes , honeyed and flawless skin, brown hair and rosy lips all seemed enhanced by the golden rays of the setting sun. She was breathtaking, she was clever, and I was not so dense I didn’t realize I was head over heels for her in that moment. Throwing caution to the wind, I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, might as well get rejected if she wasn’t interested than beat around the bush.
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We didn’t return home until a few hours later. To the surprise of no one, Meleri was waiting for us with a big grin on her face. She looked up from where she was reading a tome that Bahruun got her. “Welcome home, how was the picnic?” I glanced at Rathina, who glanced back. “None of your business.” was our joint answer, which only made her smile wider. “If you say so. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone, everyone else has gone to bed already.”
After she left, I put a kettle of water onto the stove. Rathina made herself comfortable on the sofa. “Your sister is rather nosy.” I poked my head in from the kitchen. “That runs in the family, though my nosiness is about learning things, not butting into other people’s affairs, in difference to my younger sibling.” Rathina stifled a yawn. “I guess she just wants you to be happy, according to her you are usually rather introverted.” I came back into the livingroom with cups and tea leaves. “Her knowledge of me is also two centuries out of date. I could not really be introverted since I picked up Soot.”
The tea kettle levitated into the room and filled our cups. Rathina began to steep her tea. “You make a good point, it would be difficult to not be social when you have a familiar. Even more so when you have four and a half, considering the pixie sticking around.” I arched an eyebrow. “Ivy isn’t a familiar, nor would she enjoy being one. Not to mention Lady Nettle would take my eyes if I made her one regardless of how willing Ivy was to become one.”
Rathina gave me a curious look. “Nettle?” I finished steeping my tea and gave it a taste, not bad. “She is more commonly known as Nettle the Needle, among other, less flattering names. I don’t know how famous her tale is in the Infernal Realm, but tales about her are still used to spook children into behaving to this day. The worst part is, if Ivy is to be believed, those spook stories are watered down from the real deal. And from what little I have seen of Nettle’s combat skills I’m inclined to agree on that front.”
Rathina took a sip of her own tea. “The name does not ring a bell, maybe I will know some of the other monikers?” I considered it for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure. Other titles are, in no particular order; Eyeblight, Eyesore, Sight-Taker, Black Pixie, Widowmaker, Merciless, Blinder, Darkness Bringer, and Nightmare. There are more, and I could list them for hours on end due to how many there are. Suffice to say, she’s by far one of the most famous Fae in the region and before I moved into the region, the number one reason people kept out of the woods. Take a guess as to the new number one reason.” I noted that Rathina stopped drinking her tea about halfway through the short list of titles, though she cracked a smile at my last comment.
“I have heard tales about a pixie called Widowmaker, didn’t know she was a subject of yours.” I shook my head. “She isn’t, I have no authority over what Nettle does within her own village, and by an old agreement they are free to go about their business in the forest as they please as long as it doesn’t impact me negatively. I see her as a good friend, so I am thankful that I have only ever been forced to use that authority once.” Rathina gave me a curious look. I glanced over at the clock on the wall.
“I could tell you, but it’s rather late, and we have another bunch of books to get through tomorrow, so why don’t I enchant your dreams instead, makes it easier than telling you outright.” Rathina pondered my offer for a moment. “Under normal circumstances, I would refuse such an offer for fear of my safety. However, considering you are my summoner and so could just order me around anyway… Sure, why not.”
I gave her a wide grin, might as well give her the entire story then. I got to my feet and sat down beside her. Now, I could use my hand for this, but it was far more fun to just rest my forehead against hers. After I cast the spell and enjoyed a few moments of looking into her beautiful eyes, I pulled back. “There we go.” As I pulled back, Rathina suddenly embraced me and gave me a quick kiss.
“How about sharing a bed tonight, just the two of us?” My first instinct was to agree, but I shook my head. “As tempting as that is, could you imagine how tomorrow would be if Meleri saw the two of us exiting the bedroom together?” Rathina’s smile faded into an annoyed expression. “Right, we’d get no work done with her constant gloating and prying. As much as it pains me, I will accept the loneliness of my bedroom, but only if you give me another kiss.” That was a simple request to fulfill.
It took a bit of time for both of us to get ready for bed, as we kept getting distracted by each other, but Rathina finally left for her bedroom. As soon as the door closed behind her, I glanced up at the roosts of Winter and Soot, Midnight’s basket, and towards Ivy’s bed. “Alright, you four, you can stop pretending to sleep now.” Silence. I took a deep breath. “You can either stop pretending, or you won’t get any food tomorrow, your choice.”
Midnight looked up, and both Soot and Winter moved their heads from under their wings, while Ivy sat up in her bed. “I will make one thing clear to the four of you. One word to Meleri about this, a single word…” I let the sentence drift off. Ivy tilted her head. “Will it be bad, as in no pancakes for a week bad?” I looked up at her. “No pancakes ever again, bad.” Ivy gave off a panicked trill. “Not a word, promise!”
I could see Midnight calculate whether or not I was serious about this. Finally, it would seem she decided it was. “Very well, Meowstress.” Winter clicked her beak a bit, obviously sleepy. “I won’t say anything, Mother. Soot flew down and nuzzled my cheek. “Wasn’t going to, just wanted to know if the date was a success, but didn’t want to be pushy about it.” I gave him some loving scratches under his beak. “Oh, it was a success alright. Quite a success indeed.”
