The Secret Cottage
This charming cottage in the northwestern part of the Unseelie Kingdom was a gift from Kings Ulf and Ulrik to Queen Oonagh and King Fionnbharr to thank them for all their help and hospitality. Clíodhna protected the cottage with anti-scrying wards.
A wooden table and chairs with a stained-glass pendant light overhead divided the kitchen side of the large room from a sitting area on the opposite wall. Two cozy armchairs and a velvet upholstered sofa sat on a braided rug, flanked by a large bookcase and end tables topped by lamps with silk shades. A stone fireplace with a crackling fire took up the corner.
The snowy path led to the most beautiful greenhouse I had ever seen. The green-tinted glass shone in the sunlight, the vaulted copper frame rising higher than the roof of the cottage. A weathervane with a bright copper owl sat atop its pitched roof.
The chicks, bigger now, scratched happily in overgrown garden beds. As soon as Kylian stepped inside, they perked up and came scurrying over.
“Just a minute, you little vultures.” Kylian kicked the door shut behind us.
I smothered a laugh at his grumpy tone, then gaped as he carried me to the center of the greenhouse. A beautiful tree dominated the space, its curving branches reaching out and up toward the vaulted roof and spreading to fill the top of the glass structure. Pale pink flowers bloomed among the leaves, but beautiful, perfectly ripe, glossy red apples also hung heavily from its branches. Magic. The scent of apples filled the air, dancing at the edge of my memory.
From The Books:
He shook his head. “The king and queen took their own supplies and didn’t bring any staff. We set up a spell to keep everything free from dust and decay so they could visit anytime, no matter how long they had been gone, and feel at home. The cabin is warded against scrying, and the gate itself is a twenty-minute walk from the cottage. It was the perfect retreat.”***
I slowly opened my eyes, for real this time. The sunshine slanting through a diamond-paned window told me I wasn't in my dwarven bedroom in the mountains. The wall with the large window was made of stone, and the other three had been papered in wide, pale, mint-green stripes. The planks on the ceiling and floor were painted a bright white, and the furniture was a warm, golden wood.
The interior:
***
Kylian carried me through the coziest cottage I had ever seen. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale with pink floral wallpaper, brass chandeliers, and flower-shaped wall sconces that lit automatically as we walked past. Paintings in gilt frames lined the walls of the hallway.
***
Kylian stopped in front of a portrait of a man with curly red hair, a matching beard, and blue eyes. Beside him, with her hand on his arm, stood a woman with long black hair, gray eyes, and rosy cheeks. She was soft and curvy, just like me, with a round face and full red lips tilted up in a smile. They each held an owl perched on their free hands, his large and white, hers little and gray.
***
I saw the matching pair of gilt oval frames, each with the painting of a small child. A little girl with dark curly hair and an even younger girl with wavy red hair.
***
Kylian carried me through an airy main room with green-painted cupboards along one wall, framing a fridge and a sink. A large red pot sat on a stove of dwarvish design.
A wooden table and chairs with a stained-glass pendant light overhead divided the kitchen side of the large room from a sitting area on the opposite wall. Two cozy armchairs and a velvet upholstered sofa sat on a braided rug, flanked by a large bookcase and end tables topped by lamps with silk shades. A stone fireplace with a crackling fire took up the corner.
***
Kylian continued through to a coat room, then stopped at a mint green door topped with a stained-glass half circle featuring apples and leaves. He braced me against his chest with one strong arm while opening the door to a path neatly shoveled through waist-high drifts of snow that sparkled in the sun.
***
“Are they good? Should I read them? Where’s book one?” I wandered over and inspected the bookcase under the sitting room window. “I don’t see it.”
Kylian closed his book with an exasperated sigh, his finger marking his spot. “The shelf is connected to the Royal Seelie Library system.”
[...]
He leaned over and tapped a shelf.
“There is a selection of different genres here, and if you take a book, a new one in the same genre will appear on the shelf in its place.”
I peered in and found Baking with Cockatrice Eggs. I pulled it out, but a quick scan told me it was not going to be of any help to me as I did not have a cockatrice. When I looked back to the shelf, I saw that Kylian was right. The spot where the book had been sitting now held Soup for Piskies: How to Cook in Thimbles, Acorn Cups, and More.
“How do they know what you like? Is it just random?”
“If you put the book back on the shelf with the spine facing in, they'll send you something completely different. If you put it back spine out, they will pick the next book in the series or, if there isn't one, a similar book that they think you’ll like. You can also leave a note in a book if you’re looking for something specific.”
Kylian closed his book with an exasperated sigh, his finger marking his spot. “The shelf is connected to the Royal Seelie Library system.”
[...]
He leaned over and tapped a shelf.
“There is a selection of different genres here, and if you take a book, a new one in the same genre will appear on the shelf in its place.”
I peered in and found Baking with Cockatrice Eggs. I pulled it out, but a quick scan told me it was not going to be of any help to me as I did not have a cockatrice. When I looked back to the shelf, I saw that Kylian was right. The spot where the book had been sitting now held Soup for Piskies: How to Cook in Thimbles, Acorn Cups, and More.
“How do they know what you like? Is it just random?”
“If you put the book back on the shelf with the spine facing in, they'll send you something completely different. If you put it back spine out, they will pick the next book in the series or, if there isn't one, a similar book that they think you’ll like. You can also leave a note in a book if you’re looking for something specific.”
***
The greenhouse:
The snowy path led to the most beautiful greenhouse I had ever seen. The green-tinted glass shone in the sunlight, the vaulted copper frame rising higher than the roof of the cottage. A weathervane with a bright copper owl sat atop its pitched roof.
***
The greenhouse was a chicken paradise. The space looked huge, with a floor overgrown by grass and moss. Raised beds full of tangled flowers and herbs surrounded the indoor meadow. The air felt more pleasant than I would have expected in the winter, even inside with the sun shining through the glass. There must have been dwarven spellcrafting involved to keep the place running all this time.
The chicks, bigger now, scratched happily in overgrown garden beds. As soon as Kylian stepped inside, they perked up and came scurrying over.
“Just a minute, you little vultures.” Kylian kicked the door shut behind us.
I smothered a laugh at his grumpy tone, then gaped as he carried me to the center of the greenhouse. A beautiful tree dominated the space, its curving branches reaching out and up toward the vaulted roof and spreading to fill the top of the glass structure. Pale pink flowers bloomed among the leaves, but beautiful, perfectly ripe, glossy red apples also hung heavily from its branches. Magic. The scent of apples filled the air, dancing at the edge of my memory.