Come As You Are

A personal prayer to the Unicorn from Constance, daughter of Julian, pt 11

My dreams in this place continue. This one is a definite continuation of narrative from the previous. It left me concerned but it also left me asking myself if my earlier interpretation was quite, quite wrong.

In the dream, I jumped from Morningstar as his shattered body hit the forest floor and I continued with a sureness of foot with a rain of darts still falling around me. Nimble as I was, I did not escape entirely unscathed but it could have been worse. Any one of those darts would have exploded my head like a melon. Like poor Morningstar. I thank my Horned Lady for her protection.

The airship veered off. The rain of darts continued and then I ran into a clearing. There in various poses of the dead and mostly dead were about 50 Fae. UnSeelie. UnGlamoured and very definitely dead and killed by those iron darts. I awoke.

The parts of my body slighted by those darts were now sporting welts in the appropriate places. I winced as I checked them out. Dream has side effects on waking. But I found myself wondering. Had I misjudged the intentions of the airship? Surely I had felt anxious, threatened and then attacked by it, but it was if Morningstar and my welts were just collateral damage. The main target were the Fae – and what was my relationship to them? For the last question, I had no answer. Mid-gallop on a horse was scouting beyond my ability so I did not feel that I was acting for the Fae. But what if, from their height, the crew of the airship had seen an ambush unfolding in front of me. I did some rapid calculations in my head. Without the stopping for observation, the bow shot and the frantic gallop to avoid the airship I suspect that I would have found myself in the midst of the 50 armed Fae now dead in the middle of the clearing. 50 armed Fae is no small number, and I have not the weapon skills of my cousins and the Princes of Amber. Although the demonstration of firepower against the Fae might seem a little excessive – it was not beyond the realms of possibility that the family had once again chosen to engage an enemy with a large and decisive weapon.

I spoke my morning devotions, washed and dressed. Ariel was waiting for me with his congratulations over the success of our activities in House Karm. We discussed the open attack on Lord William during the Opera. Again, I explained why Lord William was not culpable for the death of the Moth. But Ariel is unable to consider that option. He advised me of an informal meeting to happen in the near future and warned me of the possibility of serious sanctions against the Order as a result of the assassination attempt and asked me to return to Stormguard after Lord Melvyn’s assay.

Podaga escorted me to the Alhambra so my father would have the means to travel to the family gathering. There was little to read in my Lord Warden’s face and we travelled to the Event – in this case a decrepit Church under the light of a sickly green moon with a face of one in abject horror. Podaga waited as we went up the steps and entered what looked like a medieval hall.

There was the large oval table again with 36 places set. Members of the family were already gathered in groups. Deirdre, Caine, Dirk and Bleys in one group. Cymnea and Benedict together. Flora and Llewella together and Sand alone by the fireplace. I was the first of the younger generation to arrive and stayed with my Lord Warden for a little whilst he reunited with his bothers and sisters. Deirdre beamed at my Father and I learned he was being accommodated in House Ophir [sp]. He gave an account of House Karm and I listened as I watched the arrival of my cousins and the groups they joined.

I greeted my aunts and as Llewella described a dream of some circumstance I realised that we were sharing a dream of the same place. A glimpse of somewhere as though the observer was gazing through a keyhole felt relevant to me.

More arrivals: Rachel and William to Benedict where they were joined by Dara and Despil. Darig’s arrival seemed to be the sign for Dirk to chaperone him away from Prince Benedict. I joined my Lord Warden to give our respects to Princess Sand over the death of her brother and then circulated.

I spoke with Suhuy and Great Grandfather and confirmed that they were the librettist and composer of the famous Opera. I spoke to Havelock and William of my Lord Warden’s wish that no one take action against Karm and that they have my Lord Warden’s thanks for their actions and that he desired greatly to reward them in some way and to give some thought as to the gift they would have from him.

I spoke to William and Havelock about their distaff side. William’s mother was from Rebma. He removed one suspicion for me by confirming that Rhiannon’s hair was light – not dark like mine or my Lord Warden’s. He also talked to me about his lack of memory of his time in the Abyss.

Havelock was raised in Lafayette in a place called the Boondocks. He was raised by foster parents Nathaniel and Martha. His birth mother had been seduced by a Loa and he talked of a form of magic or control of spirit that I have no knowledge of at all.

Sorashi arrived with Melvyn who was looking as green and worried as the Moon when we entered.

As Great-Grandfather was sitting near me I could quickly quench more of curiosity: three Acts were still to be performed at the time of the Opera’s sudden demise; that the casting was all together traditional, those who lived were cast as themselves. Other members of the Houses played their late ancestors. Finally he said he knew nothing of Argent except as a heraldic colour.

Benedict interrupted proceedings with a toast to absent friends. A cowled and robed figure appeared next to Sorashi. Prince Brand appeared next to Havelock and Prince Delwin was opposite him. Finally, my Grandfather, Oberon, appeared in the chair opposite Sand and next to his ex-wife, Cymnea.

The family dinner became more lively; I saw the princes of Amber immediately straighten up in their chairs and Princess Sand look upon their Father with delight. Overcoming her shock, Cymnea and Grandfather engaged in a game of exchange, the barb played with such an air of fond familiarity that their fondness for either each other or for the game itself seemed clear.

All present were noticed and addressed by Grandfather. He overheard Prince Brand tell me again that he wanted me to find him a body. He did not wish to be dead but to feel, to eat, to drink. To ... fornicate. Oberon looked down the table and told me very clearly not to believe him. Oberon’s comments bounce up and down the table. He addressed my existence with a loud ‘Who’s the Faerie?’ and then demanded to know which of his children was responsible for the deed.

After some conversation Suhuy summoned Logrus and the table was cleared by act of tendril, Melvyn stood in front of Cymnea to ask for her blessing to proceed. She gave it and we all proceeded into the Chapel. The proceedings were much as those for Lady Zae. Princess Sand’s scream joined that of Flora as Melvyn was consumed by an insectoid maw that swallowed him whole and withdrew into the floor.

The ghosts started to withdraw from the family party and we were ushered from the Chapel. William proposed a trip to Brứ-na-Bóinne to toast Melvyn’s attempt and his eventual safe return. I declined, preferring instead to return back to the Alhambra with my Lord Warden. I bid him a good day, (Night? Who knows?) and returned to see what Ariel intended for me.