The next morning the sun streamed onto an empty bed in the townhouse attic room. Fiona had risen at the crack of dawn, neatly folding the duvet and stepping as lightly as she could over the old wooden floorboards, trying not to wake anyone. In the rickety wardrobe she found a chiffon dress in a deep navy and slipped it on before tip-toeing out the door beneath a pale lilac sky.

Fiona had been right - Velaris at night was breathtaking, but in the daytime it was something else. The colours that leapt from the shopfronts and rooftops, the flowers hung in baskets outside bakeries all filled her with a winsome sense of hope. The smell of citrus and sea breeze was so intoxicating, beauty and promise beckoning around every corner of the city. The Forest House, with its underground passages and dark, twisting corridors, couldn't hold a candle to the alleys and palaces of Valeris. 

Though it was the sea she really loved. There was something about the endlessness of it, the glittering expanse of bright blue stretching into the distance forever and ever...it smelled of salt and unending possibility.

Fiona stopped on a cobbled bridge with towering brass lampposts, staring at the glimmering waves as the morning ships came in to dock. Hours passed as surely as the tide. She was more than content to watch the Sidra flow beneath her all day, listening to the sounds of the city rousing. When she'd arrived the bridge was deserted, but by the time Xander found her it was bustling with early morning commuters.

"Do they know who you are?" asked Fiona, sensing rather than hearing him arrive.

Xander smiled as he padded slowly up to her. With some difficulty she turned her attention from the shore, watching Valerians step around him on their way to work. "If you don't mind my saying, it seems rather disrespectful."

He gave her a thoughtful look. "That's not really how we do things here."

"So I'm told." Fiona smiled pleasantly.

He took a spot beside her, gazing out at the turquoise tide. "Is that how Eris runs his court?" he asked. "Do his people bow and scrape as his carriage rolls by?"

The hint of malice in his tone took her by surprise. Being snide about the High Lord of the Autumn Court to one of his nieces seemed careless for someone as calculated as Xander. But then again, after last night's performance at the palace, perhaps he knew he had nothing to fear from her. She didn't answer.

"Is that how Aidan will run his court?" 

He chanced a glance at her, probing. It occurred to Fiona for a wild moment that all his acts of kindness, all of Bella's warmth and Gabriel's smiles might actually just be in service of plying her for information.

Though her stomach lurched at the thought, she shrugged. "Who knows who will take the crown? Eris has many years left to give, and besides, his first born is Cillian, not Aidan."

"I don't see this Cillian standing beside his father's throne."

Fiona resisted the urge to glare. She didn't understand what he was trying to do. The morning had brought a temporary sense of safety and serenity before she had to go back to those mongrels. Where had the smirking male from last night gone? What was he really asking her?

Only the Prince could spoil such a perfect morning, she thought, keeping her eyes fixed on the sun's path above the sea. And I thought Nyx was the schemer.

"Cillian is at home, acting as lord in his father's absence." she answered, a little stiffly. "It's a far higher honour than attending the summit."

Xander's chuckle pricked at her skin. "You're starting to sound like one of them. Careful, or I might have to take you back."

Fiona found the gall to look him in the eye, his amusement bolstering her.

"Am I only here because you hope to make an enemy of Eris out of me?"

Xander pressed his lips together, clearly resisting a smile.

"You're here because you asked to be," he said simply. "No other reason."

"I didn't ask," Fiona grumbled, half to herself. "You offered."

"Pardon?"

"But you're right, you should take me back." She raised her chin and turned to face him. "The others will notice if I don't return soon."

Xander nodded, placing his hands behind his back as though he too were resuming his courtly posture. Despite herself, Fiona let loose a sigh as he extended a hand and the world whirled and distorted around them, the glimmering waves engulfed in shadow as Velaris vanished once more.

*

Fiona didn't bother attending council that day. Instead, she read quietly in her room, daydreaming of Velaris and convincing herself that she wasn't just hiding from Aidan. Soft wisps of cloud brushed the large open archway by her bed, looking out across the mountain tops from a staggering height. Though the sun was weak with the last of winter the palace itself remained temperate by whatever magic hummed between its walls. She might well have been happy to stare at the brutal yet beautiful landscape all day. But as evening approached, her cousins trickled back to their quarters, and the snippets of snide conversation that reached her through the walls made her too tense to sit still.

With a sigh, Fiona hung up the midnight blue chiffon dress she had taken from Velaris. To be seen in anything other than Autumn fashion would cause an unwelcome stir, so before slipping out of her bedroom she donned in a slim, calf-length gown of burnt sienna that flickered in the setting sun.

She'd had a mind to go to the council hall, to do what she wasn't sure. But when Fiona passed beneath that star-flecked archway she realised that she had no idea what went on in here after dark. A few foreign courtiers watched with vague amusement as she came to a stop between the crowds. Huddled in groups, the attendees were mixing and talking with old friends, new acquaintances, potential alliances, and drinking from goblets and refreshment lined on tables at the sides of the hall. But no one was standing alone. Neither were they dressed as plainly as she, Fiona realised. Her cheeks turned scarlet as she scanned the gathering for a familiar face – Riordan, Bella- even Xander at this point.

"Actually, no," Fiona muttered to herself. "Still not Xander."

"I'm sorry?"

Beside her a young male had broken from the nearest group and was smiling bemusedly.

"Oh-" Fiona's blush deepened. "No, I'm sorry I was just, um..."

His smile widened. Fiona stopped stammering long enough to notice the deep sapphire of his velvet sleeves, his unusually pale colouring, the watery blue of his eyes. She began again, speaking slowly. 

"I'm sorry, we haven't met."

"No, we haven't. I'm Baird." The male dipped his head. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, lady..?"

"Baird?" She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "High Lord Kallias' son?"

He noted the stiffness of her shoulders, his eyes twinkling kindly. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

Fiona attempted a hasty curtsey, though when she rose she was surprised to find a blush almost as deep as hers staining his high, pale cheekbones.

"It's an honour." she told him.

"I really wish it wasn't." Baird's lips twitched. "The true honour would be mine, if you might give me your name, my lady."

He was young, not much older than her, and his lean figure still looked boyish, especially with his lopsided, sheepish smile. She couldn't help but compare him to Nyx, wondering how two High Lord's sons might end up quite so starkly contrasting one another.

"Of course, I'm sorry," Remembering herself, she cleared her throat. "My name is Fiona."

"Vanserra?"

"I'm afraid so."

Baird blinked once before a surprised laugh escaped him. "Well, Lady Fiona Vanserra, would you like a drink?" He gestured to the refreshment table behind them and she nodded, perhaps a little too eagerly. Suppressing a grin, he slipped away, taking the bubble of safety he'd provided with him. And though she was alone for barely a minute, Fiona felt suddenly exposed again. Her eyes wandered across the hall, looking for a friend. 

Instead, of course, she found Keegan and Isolda, orbiting a gaggle of young males. They seemed genuinely anguished, their attention split between the eligible fae beside them and Fiona, at whom they stared in disbelief as Baird returned with a silver goblet in hand.

"Thank you." she smiled a little smugly as she turned to him, feeling the eyes of the twins upon her. The wine sparkled like starlight in her hands, and for a moment she saw Velaris in its depths.

"So, have you just arrived?" Baird asked, his tone polite.

Fiona raised her eyebrows. "No. What makes you say that?"

"It's just I haven't seen you around. I think I would've remembered a face like yours." he admitted. Fiona's first instinct was to frown, before she realised he was trying to give her a compliment. Though a little taken aback, his broad smile and gentle eyes were so charming that she laughed. "Wow. Does that line usually work?" she asked wryly.

Baird's gaze dropped to her lips as she took a sip. "Do I seem like the type to do this often?" he asked, inviting her to take in his youth, his blush, the slight stoop in his shoulders. Though she didn't need to, Fiona looked up into those pale blue eyes and relaxed a little at the earnestness she found there.

She shook her head. "No, you don't. Forgive me, I'm not very well adjusted to court life."

"Don't apologise." Baird said. "It's a relief, if you don't mind my saying – to talk to someone a little less...polished."

"A lot of people would see that as a weakness." Fiona stepped a little closer to him and the security of his company, scanning the gossiping courtiers around them.

Baird cast her a sideways glance that she couldn't quite read. "There's nothing weak about honesty."

Fiona felt his eyes on her as she shrugged. It would be easy to tell him that with that attitude he'd be eaten alive before he ever made it to his father's throne. And she would've believed it – she did believe it. But perhaps that was her hand, only the cards she'd been dealt. Perhaps the Winter Court was more like Night than Autumn. Perhaps there were places in Prythian where males like Baird stood a chance.

So instead of berating him, Fiona answered truthfully. "I think that says a lot about your character." She offered him a smile, wide and sincere. "If you don't mind me saying."

That surprised, deer in the headlights look flashed across his face again. But a moment later he beamed, wide and pure like fresh snow. And Fiona decided that she liked him.

With a dip of her head she gave another small curtsey. "It was lovely to meet you, Baird," Fiona said. "I hope we meet again."

"I'll make sure of it." He grinned. His eyes followed her across the hall as she skirted the crowds, feeling a little lighter with every step. 

It was mere seconds before the twins were at her side, looping an arm each and steering her toward the starlit archway.

"Hello, Fiona." Keegan purred.

Isolda smiled sweetly at a passing dignitary whose eyes snagged on the three of them. "What a handsome little Lord's son you've found yourself."

Fiona rolled her eyes and tried to slip away, surprised to find their grip iron-tight. "I had a single conversation and you two come prowling like wolves." she snorted. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."

Keegan jerked her to a stop by the edge of the hall, her smile positively feline. "Of you, cousin? Never."

Isolda, ever the more delicate of the pair, swung about in front of her, batting her lashes.

"We just wanted to come and congratulate you!" Her green eyes widened innocently. "You've had such wonderful company these last few days...although I must admit, young Baird is certainly a step up from those Night Court half-breeds."

Fiona tensed a moment too late and saw identical looks of satisfaction flit across their sharp faces, a pair of smug smiles at the sight of her discomfort. They'd seen her running off – or Donovan had told them - she supposed it didn't matter which. Though she despised Isolda and Keegan for their girlish giggles and gossiping, Fiona wasn't fool enough to underestimate their cunning. No information went to waste in the hands of the twins – she would have to be more careful.

Mercifully, Riordan appeared from the gathered gentry, placing a hand on each of the twins' shoulders. "Good evening ladies." He leaned down to their height, clearly delighting in the way Isolda and Keegan's lips curled. "What are we doing huddled here in the corner?"

"Such a pity you're so handsome Riordan." Isolda sneered.

"A pity indeed," Keegan bared her teeth as she removed Dan's hand from her dainty shoulder, holding it the way one might handle a rotten piece of fruit. "If you weren't so nice to look at, your bastard mother might have done the merciful thing and drowned you as a child."

Riordan's grin widened as the girls turned away. "Always a pleasure, ladies."

Fiona raised an eyebrow, waiting until they were far enough away to breath, "Wow."

"I know," Dan's golden eyes sparkled with mischief. "The hatred I inspire is truly astounding. But I didn't come over for that delightful interaction." He glanced across the hall to where Baird and his father were now entertaining a pair of Dawn court dignitaries.

"Oh, not you too," Fiona groaned. Riordan moved behind her, squeezing her shoulders between his broad golden hands. "Indulge me for a moment," he leaned down, his chin hovering over her shoulder. "That's a good male. A powerful male, one too young to know that you'd be more trouble than you're worth."

"Thank you for that glowing review, Dan."

"Am I wrong?" His smile had been replaced by a look of uncharacteristic severity. Fiona knew that he'd been plotting on her behalf for some time now, and supposed she should be grateful to have someone with the presence of mind to scheme her an escape. She only wished she could make friends and have fun without having to twist every interaction to her advantage. 

The hand I've been dealt, she reminded herself, sighing.

"So, what – you're saying I should seduce him into marriage?"

"I'm simply saying that you seem to have made quite the impression. And if you don't want to end up spending the next two centuries in the Forest House raising Aidan's babies-"

Fiona shuddered.

"-then you might want to think about using that impression to your advantage."

They stood in silence for a moment, watching as Kallias gave his son a good-natured slap on the back. Baird laughed and they locked eyes briefly from across the room. She watched him run a hand through his white-blonde hair and glance again, curiosity dragging him back. Only this time she smiled, and felt a spark of hope in the smile he offered in return.