Midnight in Everwood(88)

Pirlipata’s answering smile shredded Marietta’s poise. ‘I never considered otherwise,’ Pirlipata told the new queen. ‘After I have addressed the situation in Crackatuck, I shall return. Then we might work together to set up a new order between our lands.’ She turned to Marietta, who was attempting to compose herself. Pirlipata’s eyes rimmed with tears of her own. ‘Meeting you brought fresh happiness into my life. These past moontides I have come to treasure you as one of my closest friends. I shall never forget you, Marietta.’

Marietta leant over the sleigh to embrace her. ‘Neither will I, Pirlipata. You are so very dear to me and have been the sunlight in a long winter.’

They watched her leave, pulling out into the eternal night, returning home at last.

Dellara was the next to leave, escorted by Claren and Fin. Marietta stood beside her sleigh. Dellara’s smile was that of a proud parent. ‘Who might have known that when King Gelum claimed a dancer for his newest pet, she’d bring his entire palace crashing down.’

Marietta smiled. ‘And I can think of no finer queen.’

‘And I shall never need an heir, being immortal, which solves that little conundrum,’ Dellara said, her delight plain on her face. ‘Though once all is done and told, I should be most interested in adopting a Mistpointian way of ruling.’

‘They elect their rulers, do they not?’ Marietta asked. ‘I should not have thought you would care to relinquish your crown.’

Dellara’s delight deepened. ‘I never claimed I would. If I recall rightly, you once explained to me at length the system you possess in your kingdom. Perhaps I shall emulate that.’

Marietta laughed. Then Dellara looked at her, serious once more, and her throat tightened, knowing that this was it, their farewell, the last words they would ever exchange. She clasped Marietta’s hands. ‘Be safe and strong. Never dull your sparkle for anyone else, flame fiercely into your own glittering future. We are not so unlike, you and I. We’re angry girls with hearts made of glass.’

Marietta smiled over the shine of threatening tears. ‘It is not like you to so freely admit a weakness.’

Dellara’s grin reappeared, bloodier than before. ‘Who said anything about it being a weakness? Nothing can cut like glass.’

Marietta choked out a laugh.

The shadows in Dellara’s grey eyes drifted like smoke. ‘Now you had better leave. It’s time to go and flay your demons.’

Fin took the reins, smiled at Marietta. Claren saluted her. When Dellara – Queen Dellara – rested a hand on Marietta’s shoulder, a brief, tender touch, Marietta pulled her towards her and embraced her. Then, with a snap of the reins, Fin sent the moose charging back towards the palace with their new queen, where her own glittering future awaited her.

Leaving Marietta and Legat alone in the forest.

Once, Marietta had considered the Endless Forest filled with horrors, twisting shadows and dark whispers. Now, gazing at Legat, the Star Lights gently rippling away, revealing a midnight sky rich with stars, it felt a magical winter wonderland.

Before Legat could speak, Marietta kissed him. She pulled him towards her, suddenly needing his arms around her. But a hidden tree root tripped her and she tumbled back into the snow. Legat stood for a moment, surveying her from above, his lips reddened from her kiss as she’d desperately eked out their inevitable farewell, his hair tousled from her fingers. His shirt ripped and stained from where she’d almost lost him. Her heart beat faster at the sight of him. He slowly, deliberately cast off his jacket and laid it down on the snow. Marietta brushed her cloak off and sat there, surrounded by forest and moonlight and the man she wanted. She reached for him and he went to her, kissing her with urgency, their limbs entwined, his muscles flexed as he held himself above her, her hands slipping inside his torn shirt, gliding down his bare back, marvelling at the new skin that had mended him.

He smiled, reached out to frame her face in his hands, tenderly rubbing her lip with his thumb before kissing her. His lips soft and gentle, his hands sliding to her neck, Marietta lost herself in him, time melting away in a syrup-sweet current. She sighed and grazed his back with her nails as their rhythm grew more urgent. Hungrier. He groaned and found his way beneath her dress, exploring her with his mouth, teasing her with his tongue until she cried out for more and his hands sank lower. ‘No matter what becomes of us I shall never stop being the luckiest man alive for having had you wander into my life,’ he said, his voice rough as he lowered his head, his lips grazing hers in a breathless kiss that sent her spinning.

She unbuttoned his trousers, wanting more, needing more, and wrapped her hand around him until he kissed her harder and flipped them around. She traced his face in her hands, memorising it until she knew it would fill her dreams forevermore. ‘I want you,’ she whispered, watching his throat bob up and down, his eyes darken at her words.

‘Are you certain?’

She nodded, biting her lip. He leant forwards and kissed her sweetly, lifting her atop him, slow and soft and tender until they were pressed together, moving as one. Marietta buried her cries in his shoulder as he filled his hands with her, coaxing her to fresh heights until she was soaring, as incandescent as a meteor shower.

After, she lay in his arms, Legat’s touch trailing along her back as they looked up at the starry sky together.

As the night deepened, Marietta couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Legat’s side. Lying there with his arms wrapped around her, her heart warm at the time they’d spent together, she felt she could never grow cold.