I woke up with a blanket over me. My wool blanket, a comfort from home. My back was stiff and the air was cool and breezy, even in the carriage. My eyes opened to a black blob sitting on the window.

"CAW!"

"Shut up, Puko." I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. We had already been travelling for three days, and sleeping in the carriage was getting quite old.

"We're almost to Dwellonmar, are you sure you want to sleep through it?"

I peeled my warm blanket back enough to see a refined Eberon sitting on the carriage bench across from me. He had one leg across his other knee and watching out the window that was not blocked by Puko. Eberon had already changed into some kind of short golden waistcoat with long tails that flared out around him. His pants, unlike the ones everyone wore in Thanantholl, were wide-legged and drew in at the ankle where his boots swallowed them up.

"Is that some kind of Spring court fashion?" I mumbled, pulling my blanked down a little more.

"It is, and unless you want to show up in your mountain human clothes to be greeted by a king, I suggest you change too." He gave a half smile as I blushed, and stuck his head out the window. 

"Schula, trade off and help Wren dress, will you?"

The carriage slowed and Schula traded off with Eberon. Puko ruffled his feathers and took off somewhere, I'm sure it was to find food.

"Ah, my back was getting sore anyway." She covered the window close to her with a blanket as she sat down. "Get that window and we can try on one of Mistress Rhisa's other outfits, sound good?"

"Sure." I cringed at the cool air as took off the blanket. Once my window was covered, I pulled a pair of brown leggings from my bag, and a scarlet shirt.

"Fair warning, if you don't want to stick out I recommend a more muted color. Spring court is pale and pastels. Light colors, nothing heavy and dark or bright." Schula rummaged through my bag. "Try this one."

She handed me a buttery yellow shirt in a fine weave of linen. It had orange embroidery at the sleeves, and was cut the same as the satin shirt I wore before the Autumn King. I took it, it complimented the leggings well. "Thanks, Schula."

"Of course." She helped me lace everything and once we were done, pull down the blankets. "Have you had a good look around? We're in the Spring lands now."

I stared out the window. Rolling green hills and trees in bloom dotted the countryside. The road was well traveled, and I could tell it had rained recently from the muddy tracks and prints. A few fae, on foot or horseback, waved at Eberon as we passed. "It really does look like spring, even though it's almost winter."

Schula laughed. "Well, yes. That's how it works over here."

"So what is our first stop in Dwellonmar?" I asked.

"The king. We're expected, after all. He will give us some kind of accommodations, and then we will be free to leave and buy an appropriate gift. I will warn you though, we will be eating dinner with the court."

"Lovely." I sighed.

"It won't be too bad. We won't be the center of attention or anything. The dinner will be toned down, what with the recent events," Schula said. "Here, we're coming up on Dwellonmar now."

We both looked out the window to the hilltop ahead of us. The traffic on the road had picked up since I last looked out the window. Wind swept through the grass as we crested the top. A caw overhead told me Puko was still with us.

"Oh, my." I breathed. The morning sun behind the hills of pink blossoms. The city was surrounded by hawthorns, woven together like a wicker fence. Thorns grew between the trees, as long as knives. Dwellonmar was a fortress city, a protected grove of flowers and springtime. Where Thanantholl was protected by cliff walls, Dwellonmar was concealed by growing arms of the Wyldes itself.

"It does make an impression." Schula said flatly. "The inside is much better, or at least much prettier."

We grew closer in silence. As the hill sloped down, I could see great spikes of wood that shot from the ground the size of my arm. They encircled the already thick and pointy walls. Schula saw me looking at them.

"Thanantholl has rocks that do much the same, but you can't see them from the main road unless you're looking for them. The forest is too thick."

"I learned about many of the wars that happened in the Wyldes from the library. I guess I just didn't expect to still see the remnants of those wars." I said.

"None of the courts completely trust the others. We may be at peace now, but the fae have spent as much time at war as they have out of it. Eb and I don't expect the warmest welcome, but you'll see another face entirely." She told me.

"That's so dirty!" I was shocked. "I mean, how important is it to gain one more fae? A half fae at that! And I'll get special treatment to turn me to their favor?"

"That's the way of it I'm afraid." Schula shrugged. "And you aren't just one more fae, you are the only known survivor of the plague. Actually, you might be tested on power now that I think on it."

"But I don't use my magic, no one even knows I have any." My back itched. "Well, except you three."

"That will be questioned though." She scratched her chin and looked at me. "Thain was ordered to train you in magic, but maybe you would be more comfortable with me starting you off? We can add it to our morning routine."

"Yes, I can't avoid it anymore." I said. "I, I'd rather you do it than Thain."

"Alright, tonight I'll show you enough to control yourself. No more of this magic trying to leap out of you at the first sign of excitement or fear. That's how the other courts will test you. Scare it right out of you. But they don't know about your seal, and they don't know you'll be training just for this reason either."

"Let's do it then. If I'm to pick a court, I'm doing it on my terms." I smiled, but it was shaky.

"That's right you are. Now, look sharp. The gates are ahead, and we're going to be searched before we enter. Common practice, nothing to worry about. But since we aren't Spring court, we'll be handled differently than when we come and go from Thanantholl."

"How do they know who is Spring and who isn't?" I asked.

"They just know. Once you're part of a court, you instantly know who is on your side." Schula sat back and straightened her leggings. "Part of the magic of the Wyldes."
"Oh." I watched out the window as we slowed, joining the line waiting for entry to Dwellonmar.

"You know, if we unsealed you I'd bet you could sense a lot more of these things too." I gave her a look and she shrugged. "Not that you have to, I'm just giving you information."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed. "I just wish you weren't right."

"Next!" A guard called from up ahead.

"Ugh, here we go." Schula sighed, and the carriage pulled forward for inspection.

~

Past the gates and Eberon's flowery diplomacy, I finally caught a glimpse of the city. It was all hills and cherry trees. The buildings were bricks, not like the smooth clay surfaces in Thanantholl. The roof tiles were shiny copper, some that had aged to green. Pink petals snowed down on the carriage as we rode through the streets.

"It's beautiful, and it really is an eternal spring here." I watched a group of sprites cleaning laundry in a large fountain. They were splashing the water and giggling. Budding trees and peonies danced in the air around them.

"That it is. It can get old though, constant cheer and dancing and nonsense. I honestly don't know how they get anything done around here." Schula huffed.

"Don't say that out loud." Eberon growled from the driver's bench.

"Sorry." Schula smiled at me. "Anyway, it definitely feels like the merriment of spring. And if this is where you belong, of course we are behind you all the way."

"I've actually been worried about that." I left my window to scoot closer to Schula. "What if I don't feel that magic with any of the courts? What if I don't belong anywhere?"

"All fae belong somewhere, even half fae." She rubbed my back. "It's possible you won't feel that pull very strongly with your magic all sealed up like that. But let's say you don't feel it at all, you'll always have a place with me you know. If you don't feel it, in a way you have the freedom to go wherever you want."

"I suppose so." I watched out the window as we wound up the hills. At the top was a large structure of pillars and steps. "What is that?"

"Hm?" Schula looked out her own window. "That is the throne, the Steps of Spring they call it. There are one hundred steps, leading up to an enclave of trees and marble. The inside is a maze. Don't try to wander it if you can help it."

"Is it that bad?" I watched it disappear behind the next hill.

"Yes." She smiled. "I've heard plenty of tales. And Spring court has a particularly mischievous batch of unseeley that are ready to...tempt lost fae. I don't want to worry you, but try to stay with me or Eberon."

"I don't think that will be a problem." I pulled my head back from the window again and we rode up and down and up again.

"Shit." Schula sighed. "I need to glamour I guess, hold on." A soft white glow covered her as she slowly changed. Her skin flushed to a rosy pink, her eyes darkened to a firmer blue, no longer the usual eerie glaciers. Her sharp features softened, her long fingers shortened.

"Is that what glamour does to a fae? You look more..."

"Human?" She finished for me. "Some part of us, whatever part we used to deceive and hide among humans, still remains in our glamour. I still have my ears, my teeth are still sharp, but this is what glamour is. I don't know why this is the preferred appearance of high society, but it is."

"You look beautiful either way." I said, a tinge of pink touched her face.

"Thank you. It looks like we're almost there." She averted her eyes and watched out the window, so I did the same.

Whatever embarrassed her about her glamour I wasn't going to ask. She had done that enough times for me; I could give her the same privacy. It was a while before the carriage pulled up near the Steps of Spring, and we were helped out by attendants.

"Welcome, please come this way. The footmen will attend to your bags and your horse." A high fae with a dark complexion and a long pink braid bowed to us. He wore a similar waistcoat and loose pants to Eberon.

"It's good to see you Caldon." Schula bowed to the spring fae. "I sincerely hope there is lunch in my room."

Eberon's head whipped toward Schula in an instant, his eyes wide. My heart skipped a beat too, I thought they were here on a diplomatic mission, wasn't this going to cause trouble? But Caldon just laughed, a light sound like bells in the wind.

"I wouldn't dream of starving you my dear. A hungry female is a dangerous one." The smile was genuine, and for all my fear of the unknown fae, I liked him just a little more for it. "If you'll all follow me, I'll take you to your rooms to freshen up before his Majesty calls for you."

"Your attendance is appreciated." Eberon bowed deeply. "Please let us know if our party can compensate you in any way."

"Nonsense Lord Eberon, your company will be more than enough." Caldon winked. "Just repay me with a daring tale in the springs later, eh?"

We were led up the steps to a doorway. All the steps. All hundred steps. My thighs burned by the time we made it to the top, but I wouldn't let the others see my fatigue. Once through the marble columns, we appeared to be in a tunnel of ivy.

"Don't let the ivy play tricks on you." Caldon said from the front of the line. "I've prepared you rooms that should be easy to navigate to the bath, and to the great hall."

"Thank you, Caldon." Schula smiled. We wound through the halls, every twist and turn changed from a wall of ivy, to pillars of marble, to stone fountains, to sunlit grottoes. I never would have guessed from the outside how big it was in here. I lost track of the twists and turns long ago, but Schula and Eberon trusted Caldon not to get us lost, so I would too.

We rounded a column and were taken down a hall of ivy with an oak door somehow firmly ingrained in the wall. Caldon opened the door to reveal a small common area with a table. Three doors lead off the common room, and more importantly, on the table in the center of the room, was a feast.

"It will do." Schula clicked her tongue and Caldon laughed again.

"I'm very glad it meets your standards." He stepped back outside and pointed down the hallway beyond our door. "From that corner, the large hallway with the lion fountain in it, turn left and left again for the baths. If you turn right, you will head straight for the great hall."

"You accommodate us, Lord Caldon." Eberon bowed. "Thank you for the hospitality."

"My pleasure." Caldon eyed Schula with a sly grin. "If you need me, any of the attendants can fetch me at once. For now, I'll let you settle in."

Schula smirked and nodded.

"Thank you." I said, realizing I hadn't spoken once since we met. He winked at me, and left.

"Explain." Eberon growled.

"Oh simmer your embers." Schula sat at the table. "I've known Caldon longer than I've known you. Now, I dare you to stop me from eating half this table right now."

I sat down with her and looked up at Eberon.

"Fine." He sighed. "But please notify me next time you're ready to stop my heart. We are still dignitaries here after all."

"Deal." Schula grabbed a plumb from a bowl and took a large bite, which signaled Eberon to sit, and me to take a roll. We were finally in the Spring court, and I was ready to see what they had to offer.