A Court Of Moondust And Shadows (Azrielxoc)

the letter

     'Everything is going to change now, isn't it?'

 Rayna almost didn't hear Nesta, too lost in her own dark thoughts. She was standing in the kitchen, hands covered in flour. She wore a long simple dark red dress and over it a loosely tied apron. She had arrived to the mansion only a few hours before and already found herself in the kitchen. In all honesty, Rayna knew she wasn't even that good at cooking, it was just a welcomed distraction.

  Nesta had a deep frown on her face as she stared out of the window. She had just come back from sending word about the letter finally arriving. Even thought she would never admit it, she was scared. And Elain, well, at the moment she refused to process what was happening, the reality of a possible war not setting in yet.

  'I am afraid it will.' Rayna responded with a sigh. 'You know, I have been trying to avoid it, but once that letter is opened that will be impossible.'

   Rayna has seen how much damage this world and the people living in it could do. She has never been in a civil war, or any war this big. But she had had her fair share of battles. It was always the same, powerful leaders have an argument and it ends in the massacre of innocents. She had seen more death and agony than most people, the memories still haunted her.

   'They should be here any minute now. I sent word to the Night Court.' Nesta informed her friend, voice void of emotion.

 Rayna stopped shaping the dough in circular shapes for a second to look at her.

   'You know I'll keep you safe, right? No matter the costs.' She vowed.

    'Always the protector.' Nesta's smile was sad. 'If you are busy protecting all of us then who is protecting you?'

 °•▪︎♤▪︎•°

     Cassian shoved his hands into his pockets to protects himself from the cold. He, Azriel and Mor were walking around one of the main streets full of shops of Velaris. The blonde female was in search for a dress so he offered to keep her company. He was really surprised when Azriel declared he was going to tag along since he despised shopping when there were big crowds of people.

  Unlike the Spymaster who still wore his leathers, Cassian was dressed more casual. He was planning on training therefore he had a compression black shirt and grey sweatpants on.

    'I think I will go back for the star dress, I can't find anything better than that.' Mor complained, resting her hands on her hips.

  Cassian shook his head, an amused smile on his face. He turned to his left to exchange a glance with Azriel, only to find him walking with sure steps towards a flower shop. Both him and Mor froze in place, confusion and shock clear on their faces.

  The Shadowsinger, even though he tried to smile at the owner still look so out of place into the lively, colorful flower shop.

 If Cassian had to say how long his friend stayed inside the shop, he would say forever even if in reality it was only a few minutes. The curiosity was killing him, he had never been known for having patience.

   'What did you get? Thinking of growing a garden?' He teased Azriel as soon as he exited the store.

 The Spymaster rolled his eyes in annoyance.

   'What flower did you buy?' Mor asked, ignoring Cassian's comment.

He seemed as if he wasn't going to answer. He started to walk again, shadows following closely.

  'A petunia black velvet.'

A feral smile made its way onto Cassian's face. After their short discussion about mortal women, he made the connection in his head. Looking down at the flower he was carrying, his thoughts went to the middle Archeron sister who they knew adored gardening and flowers, Elain. So that was who occupied Azriel's mind, Cassian thought.

 He was surprised to find a part of him happy at the revelation. Maybe, just maybe a part of him was happy he fancied Elain because that meant it wasn't Rayna.

°•▪︎♤▪︎•°

    When Mor and Cassian winnowed together in the middle of the Archeron mansion's living room, the two mortal women unintentionally flinched away. Nesta recovered the quickest and handed Mor the letter, who didn't even spare her a second glance before tearing it open. Cassian read over her shoulder, eyes betraying every single emotion he felt.

   'They agreed to meet. I'm going to show this to Rhys.' Mor exclaimed before winnowing away.

  As the two sisters exchanged relieved glances, Cassian's eyes searched the room for someone else. She hadn't been there during his last visit either, he had been accompanied by Azriel. When Nesta had told them Rayna was at see the shadowsinger had raised a brow in surprise.  

  'Do you wish to stay for dinner? I am sure Rayna isn't taking much longer with the food.' Elain offered politely, motivated by the positive contains of the letter.

 Cassian forced himself to be civil and stay still, not rush into the kitchen. This truce he now had with the redhead was new and strange, she was new and strange. He hadn't really paid attention or had seen her the first day they met, no, he had truly seen her first when she had threatened him with a butter knife. After that it was life once he'd noticed her, he couldn't stop noticing her.

   'I should go help.' He said politely before following the smell of food to the kitchen.

 He paused at the door as he observed her. The dress she was wearing, he noticed right away, was the exact same shade as his siphons. His heart seemed to beat faster for a second and something stirred in his chest. She looked more at peace than he had ever seen her before. She was leaning on the counter hands in the dough, bags of flour next to her.

    'Are you going to just stand there and stare all day?' She asked, an eyebrow raised in amusement.

  'The Mortal Queens agreed to meet.' He let her know.

Rayna looked up to meet his eyes than. There was such a honest, hopeful, genuine expression on his face, it warmed her heart. Hope that they could sort it out, avoid a war. He was a good male, a rare thing, she realized. 
  She had heard, of course, the contains of the letter, Mor had almost screamed it. Her doubts and fears didn't vanish, though. Saying yes to a meeting didn't mean they agreed to help. But looking at Cassian now, the emotion on his face, she couldn't help but feel some of the hope as well.

 A soft smile appeared on her face, she had never smiled like that at him before.

   'Well, what are you waiting for? Go on, wash your hands, we have work to do.'  She instructed.

 Cassian didn't need to be told twice.