In the Land of Fae ♔ (gxg)

10. elemental

The sun was only several minutes away from setting, hanging low in the horizon as if it were reluctant to say goodbye.

After the discussion with Al that both answered her questions and also confused her brain into further knots and twists, with her stomach full from Catori's breakfast, Nyx slept. She slept in the tiny bed in Caspian and Catori's cottage, the blankets pulled up over the soft bridge of her nose. When the sun finally broke out amongst the clouds later that afternoon, the light it poured through the window over her bed was enough to wake her from her midday slumber.

Nonetheless, as she groaned and sat up with her aching body, she still saw flurries of snow drifting down from the sky. Seeing as it was sunny and relatively dry outside besides the packed snow on the ground, she knew it must have been coming from Eira. That wicked ice fae had been sending blizzards and cold all winter, which made Nyx realize why that winter had been particularly harsh in comparison to others.

"You've awoken just in time," a gently thundering voice interrupted her from her half-asleep gaze out the window. In the doorway stood Caspian, his wide navy wings nearly touching either side of the threshold. "Come, we are about to perform our ritual," he urged, waving his dark hand towards himself.

"Ritual?" Nyx echoed, remembering the evening before when Catori had mentioned that there was a spot behind the woods where they would "perform."

"Just come with me," Caspian calmly answered, a small, unreadable smile resting on his wide lips as he turned and walked away.

Hesitating for only a second, Nyx felt unsure due to the fact that she had no idea if a ritual meant sacrificing her human body to some Fae gods or something else prompting of her death, but she stood up and quickly slipped on her boots anyways, nearly tripping over herself as she jogged after Caspian who was already outside.

Her untied boots crunched in the snow as she chased after the fae who was already nearing a small dirt trail starting at the treeline behind the cottage and disappearing through the forest floor. "W-wait," Nyx choked out right as Caspian began making his way down the trail.

A few other fae with differing shades of grey and silver wings walked past the girl, talking and chuckling as they also began walking down the trail. She watched as Caspian stopped and turned to face her, a questioning look on his smooth face.

She wasn't quite sure how to voice her apprehensions, so of course they stumbled out in a rather awkward, "You people aren't gonna...y'know...eat me or anything, right?"

There was a moment of silence between them, of her absurd question leaving her lips and entering Caspian's brain, bringing a both shocked and amused look to his glowing sea blue eyes. A tight smile restrained his need to burst out laughing. "No worries, I promise you. We usually stick to pork and fish."

The fae turned around, shaking his head and continuing his journey down the snowy trail as a few deep chuckles emanated from his throat.

Nyx's face heated in embarrassment, but she did have a right to a question like that one, after all. She knew nothing of these creatures' ways; there was no room to be overly trusting. But, buttoning the neck of her cloak, she began stomping her way through the trail with half-melted snow covering it.

The trail was only about a fourth of a mile long until it led to an opening in the trees. Caspian, a few feet ahead, entered the opening first and then turned and waited for the girl with a discreet smile. As the blonde neared up beside him through the opening, she looked around in amazement.

There in the middle of the forest was a large circle of grassy land (she assumed that Al used her fire to melt the snow), and at the perimeter of the circle were high stalks of bamboo that towered nearly the height of the trees, with lighted torches of fire at their tops. Caspian and Nyx were obviously late to the party, because every single other fae was already there. The earth fae were scattered around with the wind fae, Erlin in the middle of them talking to a particular earth fae with red roses growing behind her ears.