Princess Willowyn's Arc

Chapter 23 of 70

The months that followed changed the keep. Lord Eros moved his things into the castle, and his presence softened the pale stone halls. Willowyn watched her mother laugh at supper for the first time in years. Elara's hand often rested on her belly now, where a new life grew. A wedding was coming. Willowyn had promised to help, and she meant to keep her word before her freedom began. She threw herself into the work. She strung flowers along the vine-draped walls. She counted linens and tasted cakes and settled small quarrels among the servants. Eros passed her often in the halls, his blonde hair bright in the window light. "Your mother tells me you tie a fine knot," he said once, watching her fix a garland. "She did not tell me you never rest." Willowyn smiled and kept working. The white minx trailed her from room to room. One evening she found her mother alone in the great hall. Elara stood in her white gown, her silver braid over one shoulder, staring at the long tables set for the feast. Her green eyes were wet. "Mother?" Willowyn crossed to her. "Are you unwell?" Elara took her daughter's hand and pressed it flat against her belly. "He kicks," she whispered. Willowyn felt it, a small firm push under her palm. Her breath caught. "You will have a brother or sister by summer," Elara said. "I never thought I would feel this again. I have you to thank for it." Willowyn's throat tightened. She had spent so long fighting her mother's grip. Now she saw the woman beneath the crown, glad and afraid at once. "I am happy for you," she said. She meant it fully. The day came in spring. The hall filled with elven lords and mortal guests alike. Willowyn stood beside her mother as Elara took Eros's hands before the whole court. Vows were spoken. The two kingdoms bound themselves, and the river would run to both for a hundred years more. Willowyn used her magic once, quietly, lifting a ring of water above the couple so it caught the light like glass. The guests gasped. Her mother laughed through tears. When the feast ended, Elara found Willowyn at the edge of the hall. "It is done," the queen said. "The wedding is finished. Your work here is finished." She pressed a folded map into her daughter's hands. "You are free now. Go heal your distant lands." Willowyn held the map. Her chest ached with a joy she could not name. She was free at last, the promise kept, the door open. Yet she thought of the child coming in summer, and of Kai across the ocean, and of Raven waiting to guide her. The world was wide, and she did not yet know its roads. "I will make you proud," Willowyn said. Then she went to pack.