After the encounter with Morpheus, I take a long shower before changing into a day dress. I meet up with father in the sitting room.

"I am sorry. We do not have the easiest of families," Aldebaran apologises and takes a sip of tea.

That is a bit of an understatement. When I found out I was adopted, a part of me hoped that one day I would find my family. I never imagined that my father would turn out to be an elven prince. Nor that I would have such an unconventional family.

"Well, I do not envy you having Morpheus as a father."

He chokes noisily on his beverage and I reckon that only good breeding stops him from spraying it across the room.

Once recovered, he explains, "Elissa, the king is not my father." His voice falls to a hushed tone as he goes on to impart, "Morpheus is Celestia's half brother. Their father was our enemy in the Great War. However, this is not spoken of, so please do not mention it outside these walls."

Though immensely curious, I change the conversation. "Will I get to choose who I marry?"

"I will support your wishes as far as I can. I defied conventions, although that did not end well for me. The queen will want to sanction any union and it seems that Morpheus is also set on interfering. I regret that you will be caught in the centre of elven politics."

My heart sinks and I sit in silence.

"A match with the Lords of Vega would evidently please mother. They are a noble family, strong allies and their lands are adjacent to Alfheimr. Deneb is very ambitious, although as one of her lovers is probably not the best choice. Altair is young, not long turned eighty solars I believe and you seem to have an accord with him."

I see Altair as just a friend for my heart lies with Aren, however, I can't see the queen being very supportive. My dreams for the future seems so far off. I sigh and wonder, Have I made a mistake in coming here?

Father pats my hand and tries unsuccessfully to reassure me, "You will have ample time to find a good match. You will not enter a formal union until you are at least a hundred solars."

"A hundred solars!" My voice rises and I have to calm it down. "Even if live that long, I will be rather decrepit." I can't help be plagued by a vision of myself as a 'Miss Havisham' bride.

Aldebaran's perfect brow crinkles. "You are elven royalty. You should live at least a millennium."

A thousand years! The mere thought of living that long makes me feels rather queasy.

"Does something ail you, daughter of mine?"

"I-I think I need to have a lie down."

(Miss Havisham from Great Expectations)

I stumble upstairs to my room and flop down on the bed. Darish once again has impeccable timing and knocks on the door, before entering carrying a package wrapped in black paper. At the sight of me, he casts it aside and wordlessly enfolds me in his arms.

I was kind of holding it together but end up burying my face against his chest and allowing silent tears to soak into his shirt.

Stroking my hair, he asks, "What causes you such distress?"

"I left my heart in Arcadia. He is a prince, though I fear that will not be enough to impress Celestia."

"I understand your torment. Neither can I be with the one I desire."

Forgetting my own woes, I pull away and wipe my eyes. "Why not?"

Darish looks down and sadness fills the limpid wells of his eyes. "Our love is not one that is condoned by my people. Der..." He closes his eyes, shuttering away his pain. "He chose another path."

Knowing how private Darish is, I feel tremendously touched that he shared this with me. I give him a massive hug, squeezing him tightly. He shouldn't have to be ashamed or denied love. If it is ever within my power, I will see him happy.

Seeking a distraction for us both, I grab the abandoned package and rip open thin layers of black tissue paper to uncover a hard-backed book. I trace the embossed rose on the front cover, which is the only embellishment on the otherwise plain black leather.

Wondering if it is more poetry from father, I open it up and find a message written in an elegant script on the inner cover:

My sweet rose,

I hope you find this instructive.

Morpheus

Uh-oh. Is this another of his mind games? I snap the book shut and casually place it on the dressing table. Darish narrows his eyes and picks up the black tome. He starts flipping through several pages. He turns it sideways and his cheeks start to redden.

Darish isn't one for blushing, so now I'm concerned. "Darish, is something wrong? Here, let me see." I reach out a hand.

He ducks away, so I dive for the book, even more curious now. He shuts it, but not quickly enough. "Oh!" I utter in shock, my face flushing, the image of contorted bodies unfortunately burnt into my brain.

"Oh indeed. It seems to be a guide of the most intimate practices. With..." he clears his throat "...with helpful illustrations." His face hardens. "Who gave this to you?"

I wring my hands and bite my lip. "The king. He wants to find me a match with a dark elven noble."

Darish frowns. "Still, it is a most irregular gift."

"He is the dark king." I try to shrug it off, but even to me my words sound hollow.

Darish purses his lips. "You should not accept it."

I have no desire to face Morpheus anytime soon, so fire back, "OK. You return it to him then."

Blanching, Darish hastily drops the book as if it is scalding. I arch my eyebrows, then picking it up, shove it into the nearest drawer and dust off my hands. "We will speak of it no more."

......

I wake in the middle of Aren's room and my heart leaps to see him again. Aren wakes as soon as I approach. He exhales in relief and reaches out to pull me onto the bed with him. God, it feels good to be back in his arms.

"Where have you been? I have missed you so much." His voice sounds desperate.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't feeling myself. I've really missed you too."

"I find myself aching for this dream world, whereas Arcadia is starting to lose its colour," he confesses.

I keep my voice light, sounding more positive than I feel. "We have to trust in my vision. The woman I saw presiding over our hand-fasting is my grandmother, the elven queen."

Aren beams, the weight visibly lifting from him. "That is reassuring. When can we be together?"

I don't dare tell him about my concern that our union may not be as easy as we hoped, or that both the king and the queen seem set to meddle in my life. It does not sit well to deceive him, yet I can't bring myself to burden him further, fearing that it could cause him to fall into depression.

"I don't know Aren, we need to wait. There is elven politics to navigate."

Aren shudders at the mention of politics, then his eyes sparkle. "I have better use of our lips than talk of politics."

............

Staring at the delicate filigree plaster decoration on the ceiling, I find sleep evades me. Altair and his father left Alfheimr today, although promised to return soon. While I have absolutely no romantic inclination towards him, I was sad to see him go. It can get a bit lonely here.

I climb out of bed and wrap a quilt around my shoulders. Then I creep downstairs and step outside into the courtyard. The air is bitterly cold so I pull my makeshift cloak tighter. There's no sign of spring coming anytime soon.

With the tinkling fountain as my only companion, I tilt my head back to admire the thousands of stars sprinkled across the night's sky. It brings mixed feelings of awe and loneliness. None of the constellations are the same as the ones on earth and it leaves me feeling adrift.

Just as I decide to go inside, something silken caresses my consciousness. I'm pretty sure that it's Morpheus's power signature and reckon that I need to hurry. Before I can move, there is a sudden feeling of warmth against my chilled skin as a hard chest presses into my back.

"Do you miss your eagle?" Morpheus whispers into my ear.

I stiffen. Does he know about Aren?

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he rests his chin on my shoulder and presses his cheek against mine. Our lips are unnervingly close to each other.

With his free arm, he points to a star. "Altair, the eagle star."

He motions to another star. "Look, there is Aldebaran. He is rising and in just over a moon will be in full ascendance." Again, his arm moves across the heavens. "That is Regulus. He will follow after Aldebaran and will grow in brightness until he is in full ascendance on your birthday."

After pointing out several more stars, he pulls back and spins to face me. "The sky is not so lonely once you know your way around."

I stare into those silvery eyes, which don't seem so intimidating by moonlight and try to fathom the enigma he presents.

"Loneliness I understand only too well," he responds to my questioning gaze.

His face is for once stripped bare, revealing the aching depths of isolation, which far eclipse my own. Empathetically, I reach out to touch his arm. He captures my hand and brings it to his warm lips, which brush across my skin.

"You could thaw even a heart as frozen as mine."

From nowhere, he conjures a dark red rose bud. His mask once more in place, he gives a theatrical bow and presents it to me. "A rose for my rose."

Accepting it, I inhale the delicate scent.

"It is enchanted. It will not fade and will bloom when you do." He places an arm around my shoulders and guides me to the door. "It is time for you to return to bed. Sleep well."

Turning around to wish him goodnight, I find the courtyard empty.

............

🙉