Odharc lay in bed confused. The day had been so strange. He had been truly frightened when Thom had hit him. The pain from breaking his arm and crashing into the serving table had been horrible, but he’d learned early that crying solved nothing, so he was proud that he managed to hold back his tears. As frightened as he had been after being hurt, it was nothing compared to the confusion and fright he’d felt when the man had started cleaning him up and asking the Lord questions.
He knew questions like those being asked were bad. Questions about his parentage, questions about those that cared for him. Every time he’d asked about his parents he was shushed and warned to not ask again. Even his beloved Jennie had refused to explain why he had no mother or father. And the man had been so angry. He had even shouted at the Lord!
Odharc wasn’t sure of much, but one thing he knew, the Lord was in charge. His lessons in obscurity and remaining out of sight had all been geared to keep him unnoticed from the Lord and Lady, lately those lessons had included hiding from Thom. So, for the Lord to be yelled at was bad. He didn’t know how or when, but he knew that he was going to be punished for this. The Lord would not be happy and he allowed the man to yell without showing anger, that was truly scary.
Only it didn’t seem to have worked out that way. The angry man’s words held a weight to them that caused those who heard them scurry around, quickly obeying. Odharc could only conclude that for some reason even the Lord was afraid of this man, and had to do what he said. Was it possible the Lord had a Lord? And if that were the case, just how much trouble was he going to be in, once this man left?
His day was one of contradictions from that moment the man had started cleaning him up. A healer had been called to make sure his arm was set properly, his arm monitored before Seelie endurance and regeneration allowed the break to heal quickly but badly. It was a good thing because his arm had already begun knitting together, slightly askew, from the healing the ‘man’ had shared with him. It had meant re-breaking his arm so that it could be set properly.
Odharc found it interesting that this time it didn’t hurt when it was broken, the healer explained, patiently, that she was blocking the signals from his arm that sent messages to his brain about the pain. He had thought that funny as he imagined sprites, the Seelie that ran messages for the kitchen staff, small and running around inside his body carrying messages. He had even startled a laugh out of the angry man when he’d mentioned this idea, which gave him the warm tingles in his tummy that he only got when Jennie was praising him for doing a job or chore well.
Once healed he found himself ushered off to a bathing chamber and scrubbed until all grime, flour, blood, and soil had been removed. The clothes that Jennie had removed from him earlier in the day when he had been napping were re-discovered. Once clothed in the finery Nell and Budd had found for him, he found himself escorted back into the great hall.
Any trace of damage or destruction of the side buffet had been removed. Fresh platters of food, new tureens of Winter Solstice soup, Mulled Wines and Solstice Wassail had been placed, the table once again groaning under the horn of cornucopia. Jennie had to have worked tirelessly using all the resources her Masterclass afforded her to re-make the food that had been spoiled when the buffet collapsed.
Lunch was a satisfying experience. Seated next to the man, Odharc listened closely as others engaged in conversation. He didn’t understand much of what was being discussed, but he did finally learn that the man’s name seemed to be Duke something. Most people just addressed him as ‘Sir-rah’ or ‘Your Grace’.
More important to him was the food. Jennie always made sure he had a treat, but he and the rest of the staff were usually only allowed to eat the dredges and leftovers of festival banquets. Communal soups and hard breads that filled the belly but did little for the tastebuds were standard fares most days.
He had wanted to take a nap, his belly full after lunch, but His Grace had other plans for him. Solstice festivities, events that Odharc had never engaged in before, were scheduled for after lunch, and it was decided that Odharc would play a starring role. He was crowned the Solstice King and given the duties associated with that honor.
The first event meant traipsing through Lord Kel’s private gardens to the family's Oak grove. Mistletoe had been allowed to spread and grow on trees that exuded an aura of revered and hallowed energies. Each House, when they became powerful enough, was entrusted with an acorn from the Founding Grove. Those trees that had been blessed by the Gods and were protected in Sithern bonded to the Monarchs.
Men and women armed with sickles of gold made merry, disrobing, they danced and twirled naked around trees that were festooned with Mistletoe. Occasionally, they would reach out, brandishing those sickles, each time strategically severing only those clusters that were ripe with white berries. It was Odharc's job, as well as those other children that had been selected, to catch the falling mistletoe before it landed on the ground.
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The berries contained mystical energy, a balance of life and death. They grew in the harsh realities of Winter, proof that life could overcome the harsh environment, but were themselves a deadly poison. Life that gave death, death that gave life. A Sidhe philosophy that was the cornerstone of their relationship with nature and nature magics. It was true that Seelie regenerative abilities could offset the effects of that poison, and at the end of the collection process, each person was honored with a single berry to ingest, this small amount of poison easily countered. It was only when the berries were eaten in quantity or liquid form that the Seelie had to worry.
And as they danced, as Odharc gathered, the sound of song burst forth to fill the Oak grove.
“Look at winter with winter eyes,
As smoke curls from yule-logs
To clear cobalt skies.
Breathe in winter, past winter nose
The sweet sense of black Oak,
Where velvet Mistletoe does grow.
Walkthrough winter with winter feet,
On cracking ice or sloshy wet sleet.
Look at winter with winter eyes;
The rustling of Oak leaves,
Ripe with berries and life,
Portends the beginning, as Spring slowly nears.”
Odharc and the other children weren’t able to catch every severed sprig and bundle of Mistletoe, even with the advantages Seelie children had, including their increased speed and dexterity, some few bundles hit the ground. Those that did, exploded in small puffs of released energy, as the earth quickly grounded and claimed the energies that had been stored.
Once enough had been harvested, the group of revelers moved quickly to an Evergreen grove, where once again sickles of gold were brandished to cleave branches that would be used to adorn the Keep and twisted into crowns and wreaths. A few of the more adroit revelers sliced expertly, releasing trees whole, those that had been marked for harvest. These trees would be decorated with sprigs of holly and mistletoe and gifted to a family of Sprites that would swarm, lighting up the branches with flickering multi-colored aura's, twinkling magically until Solstice concluded.
Boughs heavy with needles and smelling of resin and pine were decorated as well as the trees. The time until the evening meal was filled with transforming the Keep into a celebration of Solstice warmth and hospitality, warm cups of mulled wine and wassail rich and complex were drunk prodigiously, putting a large dent in Lord Kel’s wine cellar.
For Odharc it was the best day ever. He had gotten to help gather the Mistletoe, decorate the trees, and even cast off his restrictive clothing to dance and run naked without being scolded or forced to get re-dressed. The Sidhe were not body shy, and taboo’s about nudity were few. Those that did exist were ignored during the Winter and Summer revels. And for those few who were inclined, stolen moments were possible to share and consummate affection and joy.
Winter Solstice was the shortest day of the year, but it signified the beginning of Spring and the return of life and sun. The Sidhe were most likely to become heavy with child after this day, as energies, reckless and free, mingled to propagate the increased fertility this day provided. More than 3/4th of Sidhe were festival got, children conceived on this day. It was only the very powerful Sidhe and those Ranked above Lord, that concerned themselves with things like primogeniture and lineage. For the rest, the ability to cast aside those limitations resulted in women fecund and blessed by night's end.
As the day progressed and night deepened, Odharc was tasked with one final duty as Solstice King. He was given the honor of lighting the Yule Log. An Oak that had been steeped in magic for a year, and once set on fire, would burn while tended until the Summer Solstice arrived, and the fire was doused.
Thom had been originally selected for this honor, and for the role of Solstice King, but today’s events had upended those plans. He was not banned from the festivities, but his parents made sure he was circumspect and out of sight as much as possible. Duke A’Daoine had made his displeasure known, and it was safest not to remind him of events.
The Yule Log burst into flames as soon as Odharc touched a torch to wood. Flames licking at the log, crackling merrily as warmth chased the chill of Winter away and brought coziness and light to a clearing that could hold hundreds. Most would sleep under the stars, nestled and snuggling with others as they continued to sing or dance as the mood struck. A bacchanalian delight of drink, song, and sex for Sidhe and Seelie.
For Odharc, he was escorted away after eating his share of sweets roasted in the Yule log's flame, shown to a room, and informed that Lord Kel wanted him to sleep here from now on. Jennie made an appearance as he stood lost in the middle of a room that was for him rich and luxurious, unsure if it was safe to touch anything or approach the bed.
Comforted by her words of encouragement, Odharc passed his first Winter Solstice, in this new room, acknowledged by Lord Kel for the first time. Jennie caressed his hair, softly caressing his cheek before kissing him as he fell asleep a smile of peace and satisfaction transforming his face.
“Good night, sweet Prince,” she whispered. “I have done what I could, what the families Oracle has instructed me to do to set you on your path. Grow strong, little sprout. The world will be harsh, but your heart and kindness can endure.”