Private dandelion wine for a year

THE GREEN CANOPY'S NO SEA OR NET, BUT THAT'S ABSOLUTE --
confusion of thickets behind me; before me, open space.

She seems incredibly excited by the prospect of exchanging letters, though she sheepishly admits that she doesn’t know how to write yet. She says that she’s sure that her mother could teach her, and then-

Then, I hear someone calling her name, and I’m sure she does, too. She heaves a sigh, and she tells me that she has to leave, now, but she assures me that she’ll learn to write quickly, so we can stay in touch – and she tells me to let her know if I ever need help finding the heir. I’ve been shocked over and over again by these outsiders, with their strange kindness and eagerness to help. It isn’t at all what I’ve come to expect from them.

“I’m sure you’ll learn quickly,” I say, smiling gently. She seems like a clever girl, if a bit naïve, but that is to be expected of any young girl. (I’m only somewhat young, now, but I still remember – in pieces – what it was like to be a newborn soul.) I nearly tell her to take her time; if she learns too quickly, she might learn before I have the time to figure out how to send letters in this new world, but I think better of it. It’s best to encourage, I find, not to hinder.

She tells me that, if I ever go to look for her in Denocte, I need only ask for the regent’s daughter, and that will be the easiest way to find her. I nod; I’m glad that I’m meeting people from all across Novus. (I’m sure they’ll help me to find the heir.)

“I’ll come to visit, sometime, and I'll be sure to ask for you – I’d love to see Denocte.” So – she is the daughter of the Regent. (The title makes me think distinctly of potion-making; my sister used to speak of it often, when she began to train as a priestess.) I don’t know exactly how ranks work in Novus’s courts, yet, but I know that a Regent is someone important. (The High Priestess and the Green Knight aid the rulers at home, but I’ve gathered that they don’t afford the same positions to their religious and military leaders.) At any rate, if her mother is someone important, I’m sure she knows her way around the Night Court; I’ve heard that it’s beautiful. Maybe she can give me a tour, someday.

She presses her little forehead to my side in passing (I am still unaccustomed to how much taller I am than most of the people I seem to meet in this world; I wasn’t as tall in my last lifetimes), and she tells me that it was nice to meet me; someone is calling for her in the distance again, but she seems reluctant to go. Before she leaves, I toss her another smile, and say, “You too, Lady Maeve.” I watch her as she dashes off in the direction of the voice, until her dainty frame has moved out of view. I’m sure that we’ll meet each other again soon; if nothing else, I’ll try to search for the heir in Denocte next.

When she is gone, I settle back into the grass, and I look back up at the stars – and I stay outside all night watching the arc of the moon across the sky.

@Maeve || & fin - this was super cute! can't wait to do more with them. <3 <3 <3 || "the cliff," gregory orr

"Speech!"