Sleep came easier than it should have.

Once I finally managed to lay down in the unsure land of the Summer court, I managed to fall asleep without letting the uncertain thoughts that had followed me for so long now plague my mind. Schula, Puko, and I curled up with Spaulder as had become a habit. Not only did it feel protected, we were together and whole.

I couldn't say the same for Aithne and her companions. When we woke, it looked as if she hadn't slept much, and neither had the other two. They kept watches last night, and naturally we weren't asked to participate in that. They didn't say it aloud, but we were essentially prisoners. If not by law at least by custom. We did agree to see their queen, after all.

Breakfast was short but filling, and the rest of the day was relatively quiet. Spaulder wasn't one for idle chatter, but that was nothing new. Schula was back to her inner thoughts, and try as I might I wasn't able to distract her. Hells, I was barely able to distract myself. Half the time we walked my mind wandered to the ring in my pocket.

I'd seen it before. And the inscription, Isiul. The name wasn't as familiar but the ring, the ring I had laid eyes on more than once. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't picture it on any fingers. I didn't even know where I could have seen it. Somewhere in the Wyldes? Somewhere out of it?

Someone wanted my attention very badly. And to throw the acorn at me in the grove... they were brave enough. Or maybe confident. I wasn't sure which was worse.

The Summer lands were lush with green and streams and hills. Hunting was easy and the forests were brimming with food if you paid enough attention to reach out and grab it. Trees heavy with nuts and fruit, bushes and ground vegetables. Leafing edible greens and even more plants that I recognized from my books with the witches.

I appreciated the lands we were in, but I did not stop to take anything. This place was not mine, and now that we were apart from desperation and starvation I was less inclined to reach out and take. Besides, the closer we drew toward this city of Yusellia, the more I felt the Queen of Summer's presence. Where I would have been comfortable taking from Baeleon's forests as one of his own, I was less inclined to do so here.

Aithne was somewhat quiet, though willing now in her homeland to speak softly to her companions. The sprite was mostly silent, but the fae was often chatty. It was interesting to watch, now with them in the lead instead of walking behind us. I still couldn't pick them out as triquetram, but somehow I didn't think they were. They were at least very accustomed to each other though, so they had been partnered up for some time regardless.

Between Aithne and her companions and my own thoughts swirling around the ring, I was sufficiently distracted until we reached a break in the tree-dotted hills. That's when I saw it for the first time.

The Summer city of Yusellia.

Spaulder hummed when the tree line broke. We all took pause to stare up the hills to what should really be called a small mountain. in the base of it was a sprawling city. Every building was spread out from the next, a large allotment of garden or vineyard to break up the clay and stone buildings. Even between those there were streams of water though. Waterfalls from high on the mountain bubbled and danced downward until the hit the pools at the back of the city. From there, water dribbled in thin lines all over. Nearly each house was within arms reach of water. It was everywhere, similar to Thanantholl's lazy rivers but in a very different way.

Every inch of it dazzled. Space for gardens, space for art, space for impressive fountains and trees and buildings. A show of decadence, every street had parks for leisure, parlors for dining, beautiful floral arrangements. The elegance of even the street lanterns and bridge fixings were embellished in gold.

The only part that looked like it could be a city center was higher up, notable by the large building that crowned the city. Something between a manor from Sulls and a small castle, it wasn't so much tall as it was wide and sprawling. The grounds of it took up much more space than anything else, and in front of it lay what must be some kind of market or other consolidation of more important communal buildings.

"That's Yusellia?" I breathed.

It was huge. And, frankly, intimidating. 

While on the surface it appeared to be a calm city of water and life, the edges held a more stern tone. Gates, walls, fences. The fae that dotted the street corners and bridges all wore shining golden armor and white cloaks. Many were armed with spears.

"Yusellia, the city of splendor," Aithne said. "Come, we're expected."

There wasn't much else to say about it and we all followed Aithne's steps up the hill.

It took some time to walk close enough to the city to get a better look, but my eyes had plenty to take in. I bounced from place to place, watching fae creatures out in the scalding sun. Taking relief in the abundant pools of water and shady willows.

Before we could reach the city, Puko cawed in my ear and took off.

"Oof, hey!" I snapped up at him.

He cawed again, circling us once from high above before dipping back behind us to the trees.

"Fine, I guess we'll see you after this is over," I muttered.

When we reached the gates of the city, I saw more of the golden-clad guards. They didn't appear to have much to say, considering Aithne herself was leading us in, but every one of them had their spears leveled at Spaulder. We should have known he would cause a stir, Aithne's soldiers weren't too keen on him when they saw his true form at the battle outside Thanantholl, but here away from a battle the fae didn't seem to be as prepared to see such sights.

Spaulder didn't take it well. He leaned his head down as we neared the gate, pretending to nip at a particularly jumpy guard. When the poor fae flinched, Spaulder chuckled. That only caused a few more guards to show up with their spears at the ready. 

'As if those sharpened sticks would do them any good,' Spaulder grumbled.

"Have your dragon behave," Aithne said, though her voice was less sure of herself than usual. 

I narrowed my eyes at her, this was just bravado in front of her people. But I held my tongue, not wanting more trouble than we already had in Queen Peyorla's lands. Aithne, as bound to her duty as she was, was the only person I knew here. Though...

My eyes fell to Schula, who had been largely quiet all day. She was avoiding looking around, either focused inward or not wanting to see something around her. Looking at her hands, she was using magic to hold little ice crystals. She was probably too warm here, for an ice fae.

"We will reach the Queen's estate soon enough," Aithne said after we made it through the gates. "My best advice is to try not to speak unless requested of you."

"Why?" I asked, immediately skeptical of being told to stay quiet when we were essentially on a trial.

"Because, words have weight in the Wyldes, but in particular they have weight here." Weylyn spoke, the fae with the lazy smile and sharp eyes.

The warning in his words kept my mouth shut. He himself hadn't said much to us since we met, and that of itself gave me little to go by with him.

'He's right,' Schula said. 'Let her do the talking. She'll talk to herself, don't let that trick you into thinking she's asking you a question. It will only anger her. Wait for eye contact, that's the trick with Peyorla.'

I shot Schula a look, but we kept our conversation in our heads. 'Have you met her before?'

'No, but I did spend time here with Aithne and the Queen's other soldiers. I was... it was a time where I was still finding myself after Icehold.'

Spaulder growled, and Schula smiled as she reached a hand out to touch his warm scales. 'It was a long time ago, Spaulder. While I did grow close to a few of the warriors here, I could never quite understand the complicated nuance they used in their court. I'm glad I haven't met her before and I'm not excited about it now.'

The rest of the walk was quiet, but it gave me time to see more of the city. It really was beautiful, and built for enjoyments rather than busy hands as Thanantholl seemed to run on. But behind every beautiful garden was the hard edge of walls, gates, and soldiers. Just enough in the shadows that you couldn't quite forget they were there.

We neared the top of the city, which was not far up the mountain but was high enough that the roar of the falling water behind it was a constant hum in the background. Cresting the last hill of the road, I got a closer look at the so-called estate. 

It was a palace, there were no ways around that. From a distance I didn't see the iron spikes on the roof, the stationed warriors in their shining armor. The grounds themselves did hold lovely gardens but they also had a large stable and grounds for combat training. Fields of archery targets and the militant way the people of the estate moved solidified my image of the hard, viscous edge that Yusellia tried to hide under its soft exterior.

Many eyes followed us, many hands on weapons. Aithne brought us to the front doors, but stopped to face us before going inside. Her eyes slid up to Spaulder.

"I will admit, my orders are to bring Schula and the elven witch, but those orders were given before we had knowledge of your triquetram's... third member," she said.

Schula cocked her head to the side. "What are you suggesting?"

Aithne turned to face the door of the estate again. "I suggest nothing, I am merely telling you what my orders are. Remain here with Weylyn and Hayat, I will return with my queen's instructions."

Aithne slipped inside the doors, and I sighed. Deliberating fae could take quite some time to make decisions. Hopefully this queen already had a plan.

I put my hand in my pocket, feeling the smooth acorn and cool ring. The one who followed me, were they near, or did they wisely keep their distance from the Summer city?

'What is it, little one?' Spaulder's thoughts pierced mine. 

I looked up to answer him, but it wasn't me he was looking at. My eyes moved down to Schula who was staring across the yard to the training grounds. Her head snapped back up to Spaulder.

'I... nothing. Just someone I used to know a lifetime ago,' she answered.

A whistling sound from the upper windows drew all our attention. A grand arched window sat squarely above the great front doors. A tiny green fae in soldier's uniform was holding up a golden cylinder.

Weylyn whistled back in the same tune, and the fae dropped the metal tube. Hayat caught it easily, popping open one end to a hastily scrawled note.

The sprite's stern eyes met ours. "The queen is busy, we are to house you in the back garden until tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes. "Why were we in such a hurry to get here then?"

Schula held out a hand and I bit my tongue.

"Lead on then," she told them. 

Hayat nodded, tucking the note back in the tube and we walked with them around the side of the estate. It really was a massive place, but I could see how much of it was suited to housing and training warriors as opposed to the dainty garden estate it tried to appear.

Eyes followed us wherever we went. Likely from Spaulder, as most of those eyes then tried to get away from us.

The back garden turned out to be an insult of a guest quarters. I knew where we were being taken the moment I laid eyes on it. 

At the back of a space holding a small fish pond and willow tree was what looked like a stone barracks. The kind that only housed a very small number of guards. It was bleak and cold, an unwelcoming exterior and a likely equally disappointing inside.

'Hospitible, this queen,' I grumbled.

'At least the bottom hollow there opens up and Spaulder can be with us,' Schula said. 'Don't say anything about it, the last thing we want to do is insinuate Peyorla is inhospitable.'

I sighed. 'Fine.'

Hayat brought us to the door of the cold stone building, overshadowed by far from the beautiful buildings that sat on the rest of the estate. The views out these windows would consist mostly of the fish pond in the front and the waterfalls from behind. The stone did little to block the noise of the water from this side of the estate house.

"Here you go," Weylyn said with a cheeky grin. "Home sweet home. We'll send dinner."

"Great," Schula said. "I'm starving."

Weylyn frowned a bit, as though he expected a different reaction. 

Schula just raised her eyebrow but gave no more reply. The slender fae shrugged, and walked off.

From the edge of my vision I could see movement. Turning my head slightly, I noted half a dozen guards stationing themselves around us. Probably more at other places around the building that I couldn't see from here.

"Let's go inside," Schula said softly. 'But do not speak aloud anything of note. There will be ears listening.'

I nodded, taking Schula's lead as we opened the large doors in the alcove of the building. The moment the doors were open, I stiffened.

'Shh, I know,' Schula said. 'Let it go.'

The reason the barracks were built as they were with the large door underneath was that it was a stable. Spaulder was left with a cold stone floor, barren of even the hay they would have bedded a horse in. A ladder would carry Schula and me to a very simple room with narrow soldiers' bunks, and nothing more.

'About what I would expect,' Spaulder mused. 'Quite confident that they can contain the dragon, aren't they?'

'We have to cooperate long enough to settle the Autumn refugees in the city,' Schula said.

'Maybe Thanantholl found victory and Thain will be here soon to take us all back,' I offered.

'Perhaps, little one,' Spaulder offered. But I could tell he didn't really believe his own words, he only said them to placate me.

My throat tightened as I knew he was right. I still held hope for Thain, but as for the Autumn city...

'Come on,' Schula urged sadly. 'Let's see if we can pull the bedding down here. At least we should sleep together tonight.'

I nodded. 'Alright.'

And the rest of the night was spent in quiet reflection, none of us having much to say.

For all intents and purposes, prisoners to the Summer court.