With the death of the third hour, Queen Elarin arrived at the Eversong Mansion. She was right on cue. Seres was not.

“I'm sorry, Your Majesty,” Reia apologised. “High Matriarch Kaleia is still working on the princess’ makeup.”

Queen Elarin nodded, her expression a blend of pride and disappointment. “I understand, Miss Reia. If Rowan and Alena are anything to go by, it will be time well spent. I'm just a tad surprised. I wasn't expecting there to be anyone here who would have the mind or skill to do it. I know I didn't.”

“I was surprised as well when Nana Kaleia informed me of her intent,” Alena affirmed.

“How much longer do you think they'll be?” Elarin asked.

“An hour at most,” Reia answered. “I'm sure the princess will be elated to see you.”

“We can wait upstairs,” Rowan suggested.

Elarin gave Rowan a questioning look. “Are we not going to be making use of the parlour or the reception room?”

“If this were a formal gathering, or we were hosting guests we were less familiar with, we may have, but Seres wants her birthday to be more intimate. The parlour could work, but the room we're thinking of was designed for leisure and excitement.”

Rowan's explanation did little to resolve Queen Elarin's line of inquiry, as while the question received a valid response, the query behind it remained.

“You just described a parlour, Rowan,” Alena inferred.

“I did not!” Rowan protested. “A parlour is designed for leisure and talking. The room I'm talking about is far more recreational in its design and purpose.”

“Do you mean the overly large drawing room towards the back of the house? The one from before?”

“Aye! That's the one — the game room!”

“And you didn't consider starting with the room name?”

Rowan's awkward shuffling said it all, but she still took the time to voice her response, to which she said, “I was too slow. The name evaded me.”

"It happens,” Alena replied assuredly. “Perhaps we should let Reia lead the way.”

“Agreed.”

*****

When Seres entered the game room an hour or so later, all eyes fell on her. She was like a star gracing the mortal world as a flower in radiant bloom. Rowan was at a loss for words. The makeup adorning the princess was unlike anything Rowan had ever seen. A thousand shades dancing in a sea of sparkling gold and river blue, only to be consumed by twilight. That was only the beginning. Where Rowan’s and Alena’s makeup had been designed to only cover the face, Seres’ extended all the way to her tail and down her arms.

“Nana really outdid herself,” Alena muttered.

Rowan was still without words, but she was inclined to agree.

Meanwhile, Queen Elarin spoke to Seres directly.

“Hlia riin elvarei, nama dei lian Seres.”

The queen was speaking in High Ferran, a language Rowan had only ever seen written in replicas of books from the time of the second exodus to Llen Færa. It was close enough to modern Ferran that she had an idea of what was being said, and context did the rest, but there was a strange purring quality to some of the sounds that had Rowan questioning if she was missing some of the context.

Seres beamed and ran into her mother’s arms.

“You’re here!”

“Of course I’m here,” Elarin smiled. “Nothing was going to stop me from wishing you ‘happy birthday’ on this most special of days.”

The moment was interrupted by Kaleia walking into the room. “It has been many years since I last heard someone speaking the old tongue so fluently,” Kaleia observed.

Elarin nodded respectfully. "And the last time I saw a traditional Ferran makeover this majestic was at my own wedding. I cannot thank you enough, High Matriarch.”

“There is nothing to thank,” Kaleia laughed. “This is a gift I offer freely.”

“Then I will offer my thanks in kind.”

The response had Kaleia laughing decadently. “Well said, Queen Elarin. Your generosity is appreciated. With that said, can we forego the formalities? When you get to my age, you start to realise that much of the pomp we observe is meant to keep people at arm’s length. The rest is overly indulgent prancing. This is neither the time nor the place for either reason.”

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“I am inclined to agree.”

*****

With Seres making her presence known, they were free to celebrate her birthday. The activities were fairly modest to begin with, as they were still missing a few guests, and the arrival of Revi and Brennan gave way to other forms of entertainment, especially for Queen Elarin. To say the male Ardent was blushing crimson, would have been an understatement.

The awkwardness of Brennan’s greeting was palpable.

“Lady Rowan. Lady Alena. This is… unexpected?”

“If you’re surprised by this, Brennan, perhaps it is time for you to resign,” Revi teased.

“Shut it, Revi. You know what I mean.”

“Do they?”

“I think so? Why wouldn’t they?”

“Because it’s far more entertaining seeing you all flustered,” Rowan suggested. It was only fair as she was one of the people he was asking about.

“He is rather adorable when he blushes, isn’t he?” Alena added.

“I do hope he survives the night.”

“At this rate, I don’t think he’ll make it through the evening.”

“Or the afternoon,” Revi opined.

Before anyone could react, Seres entered the conversation, and she courted their doom.

“I’m so glad you could make it, Revi, Brennan. Have you met Alena’s grandmother?”

The shivers were real. Rowan and Alena were not prepared for Kaleia finding out about Brennan. Alas, the matriarch was far from blind.

“Greetings, gentlemen. I am Kaleia, Matriarch of House Del’mein. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

*****

After being emotionally devastated by Kaleia’s venerable teasing, Rowan was greeting the newly arrived Davra and Lady Deilin.

“Hello! You didn’t have any issues getting here, did you?”

“We could ask you the same question,” Davra laughed. “I already knew you would be staying here, but we were expecting you last week.”

“It was an eventful journey,” Rowan admitted, “but we were able to do what we set out to do.”

“That’s good. We would have arrived sooner, but we went to find Alena. She neglected to inform us of her plans to visit yesterday, and Reia didn’t think to mention it in her memo.”

“Sorry,” Alena apologised.

“No need to apologise,” Davra remarked. “I would have done the exact same thing if I were in your shoes, especially with Kaleia being there to encourage you.”

“Don’t you mean torment?”

“I wouldn’t say that. Your grandmother is an absolute seelie.”

“She’s a mandra,” Rowan countered.

“She can’t be that bad,” Deilin interjected. “I’ve only met her once, but she was very nice to me.”

“You’re not the one dating her granddaughter.”

“Or worse, the granddaughter in question. There is no escaping her.”

“Is that why she’s walking over to greet us right now?” Davra asked.

*****

Initial horror aside, the addition of Kaleia to the conversation with Davra and Deilin was a lot less stressful than the one with Revi and Brennan had been. She just wanted to say hello. If there was anything else, she did it without speaking.

*****

Ashlin and Ædarik were the last to arrive. Everyone understood why; Ædarik’s slightly dishevelled appearance was a dead giveaway.

They apologised profusely for their tardiness, but no one seemed to mind. What mattered was their arrival. It was finally time. With everyone in attendance, they could roll out the real fun.

The game room of the Eversong Mansion had many different revels the party could partake in, from games such as Ruun or Weaver’s Delight — a game of contortion from Rowan’s childhood — to various snacks and cocktails. There was, of course, the pleasure of company and good conversation to be had as well, which was good as they still had several hours remaining until the main event. Seres had been born later in the day, and they were east of Llen Færa, so it was dark when Queen Elarin said it was finally time.

Seres had already been given her gift from Kaleia, but the others needed to be opened. She started with the gifts from Ædarik and Ashlin. It wasn’t much as they didn’t know her well, but they went with a length of Ru’eni silk coloured in deep maroon and a commission for it to be made into a dress of her liking. It was a beautiful colour and there was more than enough silk to make a second garment as well.

Then there was Deilin, who gave Seres a bouquet of scented glass flowers. They carried the aroma of spring even though it was early winter and they weren’t actually alive. Rowan had no idea how they worked. Seres loved them. She was, after all, the flower of Llen Færa.

Lochlan and Liadra went for gifts that were very typical of them. A set of liar’s dice and a deck of trick cards from Lochlan, and a plush toy from Liadra. Amran sent a gift as well, but he was unable to attend as he was visiting his own home, or rather what was left of it.

Davra gave Seres a membership referral for a spa in the city to help with her healing and relaxation. It was good for two memberships, so Seres could go with someone else. That left Alena from the circle of newer friends.

“I know it might not look like anything special, but I thought you might like a gift meant to help with bolstering your Gift.”

Seres’ eyes were filled with wonder. Rowan wasn’t sure why.

“What is it?” Rowan asked.

“It’s part of a special class of puzzles that uses Resonance to hint at the solution,” Alena answered.

“I love it,” Seres remarked.

Queen Elarin was next. While she didn’t shower her daughter in gifts, she still gave Seres more than everyone else combined. It was mostly books, clothing, and a selection of Resonance Crystals. The last gift, however, was something truly special.

“This was given to me by your father when we first met. I know it isn’t much, but it has kept me safe this whole time. I want you to have it. Even if it is only a memory, you deserve this.”

It was a simple bracelet, made of red cherry and silver filigree. Seres was crying as she accepted it.

“I can wait to give you my gift if you need some time,” Rowan offered.

“I’m okay,” Seres replied. “I’m just a little surprised, is all. I can barely remember my father. He died when Rikta was still a baby.”

“This will help you remember him,” Queen Elarin said. “He loved you dearly.”

“I know. Thank you, mother. I’ll treasure this. Please, Rowan. Go ahead.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am?”

“Okay. My gift is a song. I hope you like it.”