Page 19 of Blood and Roses

"What if she recognizes you?"

"I hardly look like the young Unseelie prince anymore. Don't concern yourself with Rosa. She's bound to know the truth one day. All the Wylts do. Let her enjoy the illusion of normality for a little while longer."

"I'm starting to regret not being here when she was young. The way you talk about her... I can't imagine you letting a little girl terrorize you so much."

"She was an odd, wild thing with old eyes. I suppose she still is. You seem to be warming to her, though if you keep teasing her, I'm sure you'll live to regret it."

"She certainly is different. I thought that growing up in institutions would have made her sullen, but she is quite friendly," Balthasar said before adding, "and I've hardly teased her at all."

"If you say so, son. The Wylts have remarkable abilities when it comes to adaptation."

"I wonder how well she will adapt once she learns the truth."Or how friendly she will stay.

"Rosa will accept us. She did when she was a girl, so there is no reason why she wouldn't now."

Rosa thoughtabout the book to pass the time as she cleaned rooms, made up spare beds, and wiped dusty bathrooms. She let the three J's gossip away, garnering how they had all been on the receiving end of Pearl's sharp tongue, Julie who had enjoyed Saul's tongue the night before, and how all three wondered what Balthasar's tongue would be like. By noon, Rosa was soexhausted by their giggling chatter that she used the Wylt keys to open the door to the northwestern tower and let herself out onto the roof access. It was a cold day, but it had stopped raining long enough to let bright sunshine through. She leaned against the battlements and looked out over the grounds, the wind battering away all the crowding voices in her mind.

On the other side of the stretch of forest, the sun reflected bright diamonds on the lake's choppy surface.Maybe staying for a while won't be so bad after all. Where else would you get a view like this?

She turned to the east and saw someone standing on the roof of the tower. She couldn't make out a clear face, but it was a woman with long, loose black hair. She was wearing a white dress that looked far too thin for the weather. Rosa waved at her, two people sharing the same hiding spot, but the woman didn't return the greeting.

"Great...another friendly sort,"Rosa said. When she looked at her again, the woman was gone. A thrill of fear went through her before she laughed loudly at herself.You are far too old to believe in ghosts, Rosamund Wylt.

Nevertheless, she lingered only a moment more before heading back inside.

That night,as the storm and wind raged outside, Rosa made a pot of tea and sat down at the kitchen table. She had a notebook and pen with her, both a little floury and stained from writing recipe ideas. Digging through her suitcases, she had found an old Middle English dictionary from university and her copy ofSir Gawain and the Green Knightthat had helpful appendixes in the back. She needed to give Balthasar and Jane'sletters a break, the younger Balthasar's presence making her feel uncomfortable for reasons she couldn't exactly identify.Couldn't be that he's smoking hot with all that Lord of the Manor haughtiness going on. Nope, nothing to do with it.

Cradling a cup of hot tea, Rosa blocked all thoughts of both Balthasar Vanes and opened her borrowed book, letting herself get lost in the story.

During the beginningof the world, the Great Creator God of the Aos Si fashioned night with a moon and stars to brighten the dark sky, forming the Guardians of the Night and naming them the Unseelie. All things must balance, so Day was created, and the sun was born with a brightness and warmth to illuminate and nourish all of the Aos Si, and the Guardians of the Light were called Seelie. In Day, the Creator also crafted shade, dark places that could hold the balance.

It was foretold the world would move in four great seasons and that the rule of these seasons would fall to the Guardians accordingly. Summer would be ruled by the warm light of the Seelie, and the dark, cold winter would be ruled by the Unseelie. During the time of the autumn, the Seelie would slowly relinquish its power to the rule of the Unseelie, just as with the coming of the spring, the Unseelie would relinquish its power back to the Seelie.

This was the Great Accord, and during the First Cycle of Summer, the Seelie thrived, becoming stronger, more beautiful and their magic powerful. But with power also came corruption, and as the summer began to wane, the Seelie Court started to despair at the weakening of their magic. It was not long beforetheir voices were shouting their distrust and discontentment at having to relinquish their rule to their Unseelie brethren.

Autumn began to move through the lands, the green that the Seelie cherished so dearly began to turn to gold, red, and brown. Furious that the Unseelie were taking their power, a great war ensued, breaking the land and soaking it in the blood of both sides of the Fae.

In the final days of the Last Battle, with both sides nearing extinction, the Seelie queen created a spell that would have the power to hold the remaining power in her court forever. She convinced her king to hold a court with the Unseelie with the promise of a peaceful discussion to try and come to a new accord. Then, as the two kings sat down together, the Queen of the Seelie took her husband's sword and slew them.

The queen knew that all things must be balanced and mixing the power of the two kings, she cast her curse over all of the Aos Si. The seasons within the lands would move no longer, sealing it into an eternal autumn, making it so she would never have to relinquish her power to the Unseelie kind.

The Unseelie king was survived by three sons—Bleddyn the eldest and the heir to the title of Seren Du, the Black Star, Trahaearn, and Gwaen. Taken by the Seelie, they were made hostage slaves to the Autumn Queen. Unlike the other Unseelie kindred, the princes were fair to look upon, and as they grew, their pale white skin, soft black hair, and bright eyes became admired by the court and the Autumn Queen.

To all, the three seemed compliant and content in their situation. They never flinched at the sneers and insults dealt to them by their enemies or fought back when they were abused by the queen's consort, Ryn Eurion.

Deep in their hearts, the princes were dreaming of escape and none more so than the eldest, Bleddyn Seren Du. In their chambers at night, he would tell his young brothers stories oftheir kingdom and the great land through the portals, a land where there was no war against them, where the Autumn Queen had no power or influence. Bleddyn practiced his father's magic in secret, teaching his younger brothers the powers of their kind, how best to fight the Seelie, and all the while, he planned their escape.

Knowing that the only way to protect his brothers was to be above suspicion, Bleddyn set about earning the favor of the Autumn Queen. There had long been whispers around the court that the queen's appetites had become insatiable and distorted in her proclivities since the death of the king, many fearing to become the object of her desire. Bleddyn began to pay the queen attention until at a ball, Ryn had men hold him down, and they beat him. Through the heavy blows, Bleddyn continued to watch the queen, his eyes burning with an unspoken promise.

"Why do you not look away though you are beaten for it, insolent slave?" she asked on the fourth day.

"My glorious queen, how could my eyes look at anything else?" he replied. That night, instead of being dragged back to a cell, Bleddyn was taken to the queen's chambers. Dismissing her attendants, the Autumn Queen took the Unseelie prince into her milk baths and gently tended to his wounds. He watched her silently with the same intensity that he wore during his beatings.

"You do not fear me," she said. "You do not fear pain or retribution."

"No, my lady," he answered as she ladled the healing milk over his battered body.

Her white fingers dug into the bruises on his arms. His breath sucked in sharply, but he didn't flinch or pull away from her. Her red lips curled.

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