Chapter 7

                                        

                                              
A truly Adaban celebration was promised by her Fairy Godmother, a gift her sovereign would be honoured by. Emberlee had expected a similar concept to how Xutia would handle gift giving; the higher the rank, the more precious, expensive, or unique the gift should be. It wouldn't be out of the norm for a Royal heirloom to be sent for such a momentous occasion, or even a Masterpiece of art to be relinquished. But that had been looking at the situation only with the lens of Xutian culture in place. Her Fairy Godmother had said it would be Adaban, and yet Emberlee was surprised into real hysterical laughter when her Adaban Merchant arrived with the wedding gift wagons. And they were filled with a truly impressive array of Mirrors. 
Not simple, every day had Mirrors as were popular in Xutia; these were truly flawless and adorned with precious metals, glittering jewels, or colourful stained glass. The Mirrors themselves were better than even Mother's old vanity, so Emberlee knew her Fairy Godmother would at least be able to reflect through it. And maybe so could any other Fairy that crossed over from Adaba. Mother would never allow it, as the Marchioness of Ortaga they were Xutia's Shield; though she'd also died trying to help open relations between Xutia and Adaba so maybe Emberlee was living up to her Mother's expectations. 
There was going to be a literal wagon procession full of Mirrors being delivered as wedding gifts. Given that both Emberlee and Adaba were aware of how those Mirrors could be used, she wondered if sending this kind of gift to Xutia was a test. Adaban Fairy Godparents still couldn't cross into Xutia, but Emberlee's was able to go where she went. And would likely eventually be able to go to these Mirrors in the future. The only person who would gain direct benefit was her, though it also doubled as fulfilling the gift requirement. Would she be the diligent type; sacrifice her secret and tell Xutia how Mirrors could be used, or would she use this singular advantage to her end? 
Either way, it could be Adaba signalling that they knew she was the one who'd found the Summoning Ritual and not King Andrion. Otherwise sending this many Mirrors would be an insult instead of an honour. 
Unless she thought about it laterally; this many priceless Mirrors couldn't all be hung in the Royal families' properties. So then it would be likely they'd be stored by the Royal family to be gifted out at a later time; likely to Xutian or Stussican High ranking supporters. If Adaba gave these Mirrors believing that King Andrion knew what they could be used for then it could be that Ababa was trying to help encourage Xutia to form more Fairy-Child bonds. Or possibly that King Andrion controlled the knowledge of the Ritual, and would thus be able to use these as an observation tool on anyone gifted one. It would be in Emberlee's best interest to deliver the gift regardless, she was only able to assume their motives and motivations. The actual Mirrors were no threat to Xutia's safety, and presenting the gift would work to cover the best variables for her own sake. Gratitude from the newlyweds for delivering such precious cargo, appreciation from Adaba for fulfilling her role as Ambassador, and the potential for Emberlee's Fairy Godmother to one day make use of each and every one of them. 
On a far more practical matter was the sheer time it would take to deliver such a fragile cargo to the Capital. Now her Fairy Godmother's caution made sense; their carriages would have to travel abhorrently slowly so as not to damage a single pane. Even as carefully packed and stored as they were, any jostling was a risk. As it was, she'd have to depart in the morning just to ensure she wasn't arriving the day of the wedding itself.
The conquest of Traimore and the Royal Wedding both had been celebrated with sections of the army being allowed to return to their homes, so Emberlee finally had some more servants to assist in the manor but it was going to be a very busy night. She left the wedding wagons loaded and focused her still skeletal staff on loading her supplies or assisting her in preparing to depart.