Chapter 5

It pained Oriel to spend time with his cousins when he wanted to return home to pen an apology to his mystery maiden. Either he had happened upon the letter he had written to her by accident, or she had been in the gardens with him earlier. She could have been so close! He had fought against the temptation to look for her.

He puzzled over the mystery. Something about the scent was familiar. It was familiar yet faint, but not recognizable. He couldn’t put the scent to a face.

After a miraculously long day surprisingly free of mischief, he materialized home. To his surprise, he found a letter waiting for him on his writing desk. It contained the same shell-like seal from before.

He broke open the seal in a matter of seconds.

Lord Covaci, I must apologize for earlier today. You very nearly discovered me in the gardens. I don’t think I have been more startled in my life. And I also apologize for dropping the letter. Someone could have found it, and I am sure you would have been very displeased.

As you have asked in your last letter, my favorite flower is a poppy.

Mystery Maiden The letter was short and filled with anxiety. Did she think he was displeased with her? He would have thought it the other way around.

Rereading her words, he made his way down to his workshop, picked up a knife, and started carving into a block of cherry wood as he formed a reply in his mind. Carving was a hobby of his he had picked up from his distant relatives, elves living farther east. They created beautiful works of art, with such intricate details and stories etched into every line.

Time flew by as he settled into the familiar pattern of scraping and shaving until petals began to take shape in the cherry wood one at a time. He puzzled over why his mystery maiden’s favorite flower was a poppy. Red was a bold color, yet she was timid. What interested her about the poppy?

By the time he finished carving the last petal, night had fallen, and moonlight broke through the clouds above. He applied a varnish to the wood to bring out the natural sheen of the cherry color before standing back and inspecting it with satisfaction. He hoped she would like it.

Carefully packing the poppy carving into a small box, he started drafting a letter to accompany his gift.

Mystery Maiden, You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. I hadn’t meant to startle you. Perhaps I was just as surprised as you were. I admit I was quite nervous, and I desperately hope I don’t mimic my behavior on our ceremony day. Obviously, I have never been engaged before. It is a new experience for me. On that note… Consider my gift an engagement gift, for as short as it will be.

And now I’m thinking… You must have evaded me with your empiristic transformation. What is it, I wonder? It must be something stealthy. Perhaps a feline. Or maybe it’s something small. Mine is rather small. A swallow. But flying through the skies… There is no comparison. It is such a beautiful feeling.

Anyway, I find I am rambling. I look forward to hearing from you again.

Oriel Covaci

He hadn’t meant to divulge so much of his insecurity in the letter, but he found he wanted to be honest with her, and in turn, he hoped she would also share her feelings with him.

Unfortunately, he waited until the following morning to deliver the letter and the boxed carving to Nicolae, who he found in his personal library. Upon his arrival, Nicolae chuckled and shut his book.

“You already seem fond of your fiancée, although you have never met her.”

“I haven’t?” He perked up at Nicolae’s accidental slipup. “Thank the stars. Nothing has worked out with anyone I have met before. Give me another clue, Nicolae. Just one. I am to be mated in four days as it is.”

He plopped down in the armchair adjacent to his grandfather. He reached for a large leather-bound volume sitting on the table between them, if only just to fidget with it. It was one of Nicolae’s numerous books and manuscripts.

“You want a clue?” Nicolae raised an eyebrow. “But wasn’t it you who told me you didn’t want to know who she was until after the ceremony?”

“Yes, but I’m dying to know! I don’t think I can make it four more days without knowing.”

His grandfather drummed his fingers on the armrests of his red, velvety chair. “My hint is you will like her. And in the meantime, if you cannot handle the suspense, then I suggest you take up a hobby to distract yourself. It is only four days, after all.”

What a disappointing hint. He already knew he liked her from what he gathered from her letters. “Fine.” He sighed. “Will you deliver this to her, then? And don’t you dare open it.”

“I’m not the one you should fear opening it.” Nicolae’s eyes glinted humorously. “Once it is out of my hands, it is very much in danger of being opened by someone other than your fiancée.”

Oriel grimaced. Who else had read their correspondence? Now he wanted to redraft his letter.

But as he reached for it, Nicolae scooped up the box and the letter and disappeared in a white haze of flakes before he even had a chance to blink. For a moment, horror pounded through his heart, freezing him to his chair.

“Oh, drat.” If it was possible to die from embarrassment, he thought he just might.