Twenty years following the bonus chapter of ACOSF, Elain is deep within the realm of Autumn, mated to the youngest son of Vanserra and a jewel in Beron's crown: the mother to his only grandchild. She has every luxury... every material desire... but...
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Elain pinched her fingers together, running the pads down the glossy raven-black curl, pulling it straight toward her lap before releasing it, watching with a smile as the tendril bounced and sparkled in the warm late-Autumn sunlight pouring in from the window. She felt her eyes sting a little as her hand wound back into the curls, her eyes automatically closing as she sighed and inhaled the familiar scent of rose and apple swirling below her chin.
Penelope was beautiful.
"Mama, tell me another story. Please?" Penelope whined slightly, her head cozy in Elain's lap as she raised her brows to her mother. "About Tetya Feyre."
Elain smiled, taking another raven curl to rub between her fingers. The afternoon had been slipping away as they lazed in the window seat, the females watching the wind bristle through the distant forest, chatting occasionally. Penelope was always requesting stories– of the past... legends of Prythian... stories from the human world. Especially on quiet afternoons like today.
Elain decided to indulge her daughter.
"Which story would you like to hear rýpka? Tetya Feyre has quite a lot of stories."
"I like the one about her wedding." Penelope cooed slightly, sighing as she readjusted her shoulders, letting her curls tumble across Elain's crossed legs as she got comfortable.
"The one with the big bad High Lord of Spring?" A chuckle fell from Elain's lips as she tangled her long fingers in Penelope's curls, pulling them away from her daughter's porcelain forehead. "Tetya Feyre was betrothed to a very powerful male, one whom she thought she loved. But he had mistreated her."
Penelope was enraptured as Elain continued.
"She had almost died, you see, for this male. So when he proposed, of course, Tetya agreed. But as she stayed with him, he became cold and angry. Her body and mind began to fall ill, her heart failing her as she slipped away."
"Poor Tetya."
"Yes rýpka, poor Tetya indeed." Elain frowned. "So the High Lord of Spring, fearing he was losing her, planned an elaborate wedding, inviting all the nobility in his land and outfitting Tetya Feyre in the poofiest whitest most ridiculous dress you could ever imagine!"
Elain's voice raised with animation as Penelope let out a delighted squeal, setting her mother's heart positively glowing with pleasure. Oh, how beautiful it was to hear Penelope's glee.
"So Tetya was walking down the aisle, her eyes on the High Lord–"
"But then Dhadya Rhysand appeared! Just as Tetya was halfway down the aisle, Dhadya swooped in to kidnap her!" Penelope cooed with a whoop.
"Kidnap!" Elain exclaimed with a chuckle, shaking her head. "I think Dhadya Rhys saved Tetya. He was a hero."
Penelope seemed to concentrate on the word for a moment before raising her curious eyes to her mother. "But didn't you get kidnapped too mama?"
