Mera bursts through the door, Wish close on her heels. Star smiles as the little girl throws herself into the half Fae's waiting arms.
"We're home Mama Star! Wait til you see what Da got in his basket. I met his friend Gil, and my Aunt, and saw Grandmere Fea, and..."
Keon shakes his head as his daughter chatters on and on. He sets the basket on a countertop and picks up the bows that Star had made. The ribbons match the floral pattern of the dresses. Keon fingers them, waiting for his daughter to run out of steam.
"and Da picked some twigs from some really cool trees! The wood's silver and gold, like... like... I don't know, but it is soooo COOL!"
"*
Mo chailín uisce, we can just show her."
He smiles as his daughter fairly dances to the pack he has set on the floor. She digs into the pack and pulls out several leafy branches. The bark resembles gold and silverleaf, the leaves are crystalline in varying shades of green. She holds them up for Star to inspect.
"I thought perhaps ye could incorporate these into Tori's bouquet." He gives a wry grin. "Once I cast the spells on the ribbons. the flowers will become silk, the branches and leaves will be even more what they resemble. No Human will know they came from Faerie, but Tori and Tannr will."
He pulls back the cover from the basket to expose the roses. The top layers slowly fade from one pastel tone to another. He watches Star's face light up, her eyes change color at nearly the same pace, from awe to delight, to a sparkling that makes him think her creativity has been jump-started. As he removes the dozen pastel roses, the gleam of the lower two dozen light the inside of the basket. Star gasps at the rainbow display.
"These are for the attendants. Once they are mixed in the girls baskets, I can spell the ribbons to hold them in shades of a particular color as they turn to silk. Fea has given me several spells that will do it. For Tori's, and whatever you make for the ladies, the spells will stabilize the colors in various shades, or combinations of colors. Just tell me what you need and I can personalize the castings."
Eyes bright with excitement, Star picks up a rose and watches it turn from bright sky blue to indigo, then maroon, turning yet again into a clear red. She watches the colorshow and as it fades from orange to lemon yellow, the half Fae twirls it slowly. Her head tilts to one side, nearly white blonde hair slipping over one shoulder. Keon smiles at the beautiful image she makes. If only he had her talent to capture an image. Erik would find it enthralling...
He shakes himself as Star asks if there is anything special in handling the flowers. Keon laughs. "Nae, they are not magic beyond their coloring. Cut them, trim them, do as needed. If ye will tell me what colors to choose for each basket, I will cast on the bows. Once ye place them in the baskets, the roses you add will only change in that spectrum. Once we set the colors, or variations, I will cast over all the arrangements to turn them to silk."
Mera giggles as Star begins to snip at the stems. Her foster mother has an expression the young girl has seen many times. She knows Star is lost in her art. Standing on toetips, Mera kisses her father and turns to Ru, holding out a small stuffed figure she has brought for him. She chatters avidly, telling Erik and Ru about all she had seen, buying presents in a Fae market, and all the different types of Fae she saw.
Ru clutches his new stuffed animal, listening with great concentration. He turns the toy in his hands, examining it closely. The little boy holds it up so Mera can see it. "Mun-ster."
Mera giggles. "No. This is an Ogre. Not all Ogres are mean. Gil says a lot of Ogres are teachers. They just act like monsters." She thinks a moment, then nods. "This Ogre is one that would keep you safe. I got one for Teri. His is green, yours is orange."
Ru looks at the creature. "Oringe... Oh-grrrrrrrr."
He squeezes the toy in his hands and a low pitched grrrrrrr sounds. Ru stops, looks closely at the toy, and growls again. When it doesn't respond, he looks up at his father.
Mera giggles again. "Squeeze his belly, Ru. Like this." She helps the little boy squeeze the toy and it grrrs again. He grins and squeezes it harder, making it grrr louder. The two children giggle louder and Erik rolls his eyes. Not like there aren't enough strange noises in the house already.
Keon catches Erik's eye and the men share a grin, both remembering favorite childhood toys. The Dark Lord nods and returns to spelling the ribbons. The edges of the bows sparkle with different colors. As Star wires the bows in place the color seems to slide into the basket. The roses settle into monochromatic color plays. One slides through blues, fading into shades of ice blue, light teal, robin's egg, summer sky, then changing and deepening into ocean blues, navy, midnight blues. Another sweeps through shades of lavenders and purples from the palest lilac to the deepest royal purple. Yellow flares bright dancing through sunshine, lemons, to palest daffodils. The last bow finds its place and the roses slowly blush through cotton candy pink, shades of rose, salmons, to fuchsia and hot pink.
The four baskets finished, Star sets them aside to work on the wrist corsages for the family members. Among the flowers were roses with smaller buds, not yet open. Star smiles sadly. She glances up to see Keon watching her.
"What's wrong?"
The pale haired woman smiles sadly. "Nothing. I just wish these were open. The blooms would be smaller, but would have the col..." She stares at the bud held between her fingers as it slowly blossoms. The rose begins its prismatic color play. Keon stares at the flower and begins to laugh. Both turn their heads to stare at the petite WyldFae where she reclines near the door. She grins.
Star sighs, "I said wish, didn't I?"
Keon nods.
"They are perfect, Wish. Just what I need for the wrist corsages and the men's flowers." The WyldFae grins then goes back to seeming half asleep.
Time passes, and what seems like a lot to do, is done in what seems like no time. Star turns her attention to the pale color-changing roses. "Just the Bride's flowers..."
Keon raises a brow as Star spreads the flowers out, then the branches. She stares at them a few moments, then leaves the room, only to return with a vase. Keon watches as she picks and chooses carefully. She delicately removes thorns, trimming the stems to about ten inches. She stands them in the vase, gradually adding flowers and leafy stems until the vase nearly overflows.
"Keon, can you grab the flowers just under the blooms?"
The Dark Lord nods, carefully grasping the flowers. Star quickly wraps a ribbon above Keon's hand, knotting it off. She has him slowly move his hand down the bunch, keeping the stems tight together. It takes a moment, but he catches on to what she is doing and moves his hand until she has wrapped to the bottom, crisscrossing the ribbon, she works her way back up until she ties the pale green fabric into a big bow. Taking the bouquet from Keon's large hands, she carefully evens the stems.
Setting the bouquet in the vase as a holder, Star looks at the leftover flowers. In moments she begins to weave them into a ring, twisting the metallic, gem leafed branches among the blossoms. She ties off the ends with pale green ribbons to match the ones on the Bride's flowers.
She blushes as Keon raises a brow.
"Tori did say she wasn't wearing a veil, and well..." She touches a finger to her temple." I know what her dress looks like."
Star and Keon place all the flowers on the tabletop, making sure none touch the others. Pike slips inside and flanks one side of the table as Wish dances to the other. Keon nods to both and begins his chant, arms opening as if to encircle the table. A bubble of magic encases the flowers, its irridescence a fluid motion as the magic increases. When the bubble looks close to bursting, Keon utters the last few syllables and slowly crosses his arms. The bubble condenses, sinking into the arrangements and leftover flowers. The color changes slow, stilling, leaving some flowers solid in color, while others are caught in midchange, still others appear tie-dyed into a kaleidoscope of colors.
Keon breathes deeply as the spell fades away.
"By morning they will be fabric. These colors are locked in. Now, if you will excuse me. I have a dress to deliver..."
*My water lass
