Chapter 5

                                        

                                              
Uncle Albert left for his Capital Manor the day after Emberlee experienced her first hangover, and she wasted no time in setting up to summon a Fairy. It was far simpler than expected and yet would have an astronomical cost that was not at all specified in any text. The Ritual to summon required a Mirror with no imperfections, her fresh blood to draw the Summoning Sigils onto the Mirror, and an intangible payment that the Fairy would specify if they appeared at all. According to some texts, the Fairy and the person could negotiate a possible payment, but Emberlee had scoured all the records she could find and was unable to determine what those payments might be. Some claimed the Fairy had taken a day of their life, but what was meant by that was never specified. A few suspicious stories warned that the Fairy would demand the rights to the firstborn child of the requester, though Emberlee always read those with a grain of salt as they didn't originate from Adaba but from other countries and were more like propaganda. 
Regardless of what her potential Fairy may demand, Emberlee did not have a lot left to lose, so she felt even more determined to reach out. If the Fairy wanted a day of her life they could have it, but she would not make another bear the price of her request so if a child was demanded it would be denied. 
But it wasn't just the payment the Fairy would demand that Emberlee had to determine. With spies in the Manor watching endlessly, Emberlee had to wait to try and summon in the quiet hours of the night. When no one but the few Guards would be stirring, and those Guards were not a part of the spies Emberlee was cautious of. Though she was still cautious, as by now it was her nature to be suspicious of everyone as an act of survival. 
So it wasn't until she was certain none were around that Emberlee started the Ritual required to summon a Fairy. She'd found a rare Adaban Merchant who'd sold her the Ritual in trade for exclusive warehouse rights in Ortega, and this was her first time seeing if the expense was worth the item. In Xutia, magical items could be infused with powers for activation, but only by those Blessed by the Gods of Magic like Aubin had been. Emberlee lacked the limited magic of Xutia but was hopefully able to utilize the Ritual of Adaba. 
The only other aspect of the Ritual was a constant that the moon had to be full overhead, its light was the required illumination for the Ritual as no candles or torches were allowed. Nothing but the night, a Mirror, her blood, and the Fairy. 
With no witnesses around to deter or distract, Emberlee started her Ritual on the night of the full moon. 
The Mirror selected was Mother's silver vanity, an heirloom of magnificent value but beyond priceless for its sentimentality. It was not the largest of mirrors, but it was as flawless as money could buy and heavy enough that Emberlee had struggled to move it to her bedroom in advance of the Ritual. Now she stared at it, the silver polished and gleaming in the bright moonlight. She hadn't looked at her reflection properly in some time, too focused on her duties as Marchioness and grieving to be bothered with vanity. 
Her hair was as black as the mourning shroud she garbed herself in still, inky and straight despite the fashion calling for ringlet curls. She'd paled over winter, the lack of sun chasing the life from her normally golden-hued skin until she looked almost like moonlight herself. Emberlee still had some of the softer roundness of childhood clinging to her chin and cheeks, but she saw more of her Mother's stately features shining through as she matured. Her grey eyes were harder than her Mother's had been, the steel edge of a blade compared to her Mother's downy silver. What Emberlee lacked still was the more voluptuous figure her Mother had demonstrated, instead, she seemed to have inherited her Father's lean frame and delicate hands. Father always did look more like a courtier than a general, until he donned his armour and sword that is. 
Her reflection aside, Emberlee couldn't help but stare at the mirror a while longer, memories trying to bog her down with nostalgia and grief. It served no good now to reminisce over the times when she sat on Mother's lap and learned the careful art of makeup, hair and accessorizing for Courtly functions. The ghosts of her Mother and brother were long familiar after a year of mourning. So Emberlee shook them off, looking instead to the small stiletto blade she wore disguised as a hairpin. The enameled flower, a night-blooming Epiphyllum oxypetalum, was the only thing not black in her attire; the white petals of the blossom glowing in the moonlight.