Chapter Text
“Passengers, we’re beginning our descent. We’ll be landing in about ten minutes.” The intercom crackled as the flight attendant completed her message and put the receiver down. Aelin leaned back into her seat and sighed, glancing out the window at the snow coated ground. She was flying back into Orynth, a place she hadn’t been in ten years, for her cousin Aedion and best friend Lysandra’s wedding. Aedion and Lysandra lived in Perranth full time because of Aedion’s job, but all three of them had grown up in Orynth and had many happy memories there. Well, mostly happy, but the more distressing ones were Aelin’s burden to carry, not her friends’. Those distressing memories were what caused her to flee to Rifthold for college and never look back. Until now.
A few minutes later she felt a jolt as the plane landed on the runway, and waited for what felt like forever until they reached the gate and could exit into the airport. Right when she crossed the threshold of the door, she was hit with the scent of pine and snow, a common scent in Orynth, especially strong around Christmas, which was only a few days away. Lysandra had always dreamed of a Christmas wedding, getting married Christmas Eve and spending her wedding night in the Christmas cottage in the Staghorn mountains. The cottage technically belonged to Aelin’s family, but Lysandra had always been like a sister to Aelin and was basically going to be after the wedding. Aelin used to love Christmas with the same passion as Lysandra, believing in her family’s story that spending a night in the cabin with someone around Christmas would lead to true love. After all, that had happened for her parents, Aedion’s parents, and her great uncles, but she was less inclined to believe in it now. Lysandra still held hope for that magic, as well as Aedion, so they had asked her if they could use it for the night, seeing as it technically belonged to her now after the accident, and she had immediately said yes. Why deprive them of their happiness just because life had disillusioned her?
She was drawn out of her thoughts by the hustle and bustle of the airport, the crowds forcing her to pay attention. It seemed that everyone in Orynth was eager to go somewhere else for the holidays, which was unsurprising due to the terrible blizzards that struck every year around Christmas. Aedion liked to say that the snow only increased the holiday spirit, and Aelin had heartily agreed at one point, but now the whole holiday seemed like a chore instead of something she was supposed to enjoy. But she immediately put away that attitude, eager to show a happy version of herself to her friends, even if it wasn’t necessarily the truth. She had not been truly happy in years, and the few chances she had recently had been squashed rapidly.
When she stepped out of the airport she hailed a taxi and dumped her luggage and herself in the backseat when one pulled up.
“Terrasen Lodge, please,” she directed at the driver, indicating the hotel where the actual wedding was to take place. It was located close to the cottage, but farther down the mountain closer to civilization. As they drove, she looked out the window and admired the forests and mountains that made up the landscape of Orynth. Orynth was a large and busy city, filled with industry, but the true charm of it lied in the nature that surrounded the skyscrapers. Her parents used to work in one of those skyscrapers, as the heads of Erilea Architecture, and she was supposed to be up there with them after she finished college. At least that had been the plan. That future had collapsed after the crash that changed her life forever. Gods, it had been almost ten years since then but the memory of it still haunted her. Along with the more recent memory from college that held the same amount of personal trauma and derailment of her life plans. Aelin had become a mess and she didn’t know how to stop herself from spiraling even further. Maybe this wedding would help. Seeing all of her old friends again would certainly not hurt. She quickly changed her mind, though, when she actually thought about who would be there. On Lysandra's side, she knew all of the people that had been invited. Most of them were her old school friends, like Elide, Manon, and Nesryn. Lysandra’s uncle would probably be her only family member there, as she had been placed in his care when she was very young after her parents had left her. On Aedion’s side however, it was a bit more of a mystery. Obviously, she knew the family that would be coming, as they were her family as well. That group would just consist of Aedion’s parents, who happened to be her aunt and uncle, and her great uncles Orlon and Weylan. The real question was who of Aedion’s friends were invited. She assumed he would invite his old high school buddies Ren, Fenrys, Connall, maybe even Lorcan. Aelin knew that they all still hung out, even a decade later. A little over a decade actually, because they had all been a year older than her. The real wild card was Rowan Whitethorn. He and Aedion had been best friends in high school, but she knew Rowan had been off traveling after he dropped out of college, never really settling down in one spot, so she didn’t know if he would even come if he was invited. She prayed that he wouldn’t. They had absolutely hated each other in school, much to Aedion’s chagrin, taking every opportunity to antagonize each other. The rivalry had started right at the start of her freshman year and his sophomore year, for no apparent reason, but went strong the whole three years they were forced to interact. Aelin wasn’t ready to drag all of those negative feelings back up again, so she hoped that something stopped him from coming, whether it be the years since he and Aedion had really hung out or his own stubbornness at not wanting to interrupt his life to come to a stupid wedding. He was that type of person.
Since she was so busy praying to every god she knew to keep her from having to see him again, the hour drive to the hotel felt like five minutes. When they pulled up to the entrance she took a moment to admire the coziness of the place. It was fairly large, but the dark wood and warm lighting made it feel much more homey. It was the type of building her parents would design, the type of atmosphere that Erilea Architecture excelled in. She loved that style as well, but unfortunately her architecture firm she worked for in Rifthold, the Havilliard Development Group, specialized in a more modern approach.
Right as she stepped out of the taxi, after having paid and tipped generously, she heard a voice yelling her name. She turned and saw Lysandra sprinting out of the hotel at full speed, heading right for her.
“Aelin! I can’t believe you’re finally here! I’ve been waiting all day for your flight to land!” With that said, she hit Aelin hard in the arm, earning a yelp of pain.
“What was that for?” Aelin questioned indignantly, confused by the contrast between her words and actions.
“I’m mad at you! I mean, obviously I’m thrilled to see you, but that just proves my point even more!” Aelin laughed as Lysandra waved her arms around before hugging her tightly. “I never see you, and that’s not acceptable if you’re still claiming best friend status.” Her words sounded serious but the tone was playful, both of them knowing they would never have another friend the same way they had each other.
“And maid of honor status,” Aelin said before winking at Lysandra. She laughed at Aelin’s remark but still looked expectantly at her, waiting for her to offer an explanation for why they saw each other only a few times a year. “I’m sorry Lys I really am, I want to visit you guys in Perranth more often but my work just keeps me so busy and you know I’m not the type of person to cheat my way out of my responsibilities.”
“I know, I know, it’s so frustrating that we have to have girls night over FaceTime.” They both laughed at that response, thinking back to the multiple occasions of them FaceTiming each other to drink and talk about guys, mainly about Aelin’s love life due to Lysandra’s engagement. But they always ended up talking about Lysandra anyway because Aelin’s guy drama was, admittedly, lacking. Lysandra began to tug on Aelin’s arm, pulling her inside and forcing her to drag her luggage in with one hand.
Once they got inside, Aelin immediately felt much warmer. She knew it was December, but she still wasn’t prepared for how cold Orynth was compared to Rifthold. She glanced around the lobby, looking at the different seating areas surrounding the central check in desk. The decadent Christmas tree in the corner sent a pang of sadness through her so she distracted herself by looking for people she knew. One scan revealed there to be no one from the wedding yet, which wasn’t too strange seeing as she had to come early for maid of honor duties, but she was expecting at least some familiar faces.
“Lysandra, why isn’t anyone else here yet? Who did you pick out to be bridesmaids?” Lysandra stopped and turned back around from where she had been dragging Aelin.
“Oh Aedion and I decided to keep it a small wedding. So you’re the only bridesmaid and there’s only one groomsman,” with a wink she added “try not to look too hot and steal my spotlight.” Aelin chuckled at that idea.
“You’ll be the only one people are looking at, trust me.” And it was true. With Lysandra’s vivid green eyes, dark hair, and curvy body, she was definitely going to be keeping the attention of everyone in attendance. Lysandra tilted her head a little bit and frowned.
“Are you okay? Normal Aelin would definitely not let a chance to display her own hotness go amiss.” Aelin winced at the implication of her faded self confidence, a truth that she didn’t want to burden her best friend’s wedding, so she quickly deflected.
“I’m fine, Lys, don’t worry. I obviously know I’m going to look drop dead gorgeous but it’s your day, I’m not going to outshine you.” This time with a wink of her own she added “I’ll just focus on keeping the best man entertained.” When she noticed the wicked gleam in Lysandra’s eyes she immediately tensed. “What aren’t you telling me, Lys?”
Lysandra just grabbed Aelin’s luggage and traipsed down the hallway to the elevators, forcing Aelin to follow. She chased the brunette into the elevator and continued her interrogation.
“Lysandra Ennar, I swear to gods, whatever scheme you have brewing you better tell me!” Lysandra just smirked, the wicked gleam persisting.
“I just happen to agree that you definitely should keep the best man entertained,” she replied in a tone that implied a lot more than what the words were saying, along with an eyebrow waggle to really get the point across. Aelin immediately stiffened.
“Who’s the best man.” She said in a flat tone. Lysandra chose not to respond, instead just raising her eyebrows in a teasing manner. “Lysandra, who is it.”
“I think you already know,” she shot back, in a mocking tone. Aelin dropped her head into her hands.
“Oh gods, of course,” she sighed, “a whole week with Rowan Whitethorn. Just what I needed on top of this whole mess.” She saw the flicker of hurt in Lysandra’s eyes and regretted not thinking before she spoke. “I didn’t mean your wedding, of course not, you know I love you guys. It’s just being back in Orynth is tougher than I thought it would be.” Understanding, tinged with pity that made her slightly uncomfortable, replaced the hurt in Lysandra’s eyes as she set down the luggage and grabbed Aelin’s hand.
“I know it’s hard, and I’m sorry that you have to put up with Rowan for so long,” she replied, not sounding sorry at all about the second statement. Lysandra and Aedion had constantly bugged her about getting together with Rowan, both of them fully convinced that the tension that was between them when they argued was a signal of a different type of tension. Aelin was inclined to disagree, and she knew Rowan would say the same. “But I’m really glad that you’re here,” Lysandra continued.
“I’m really glad I’m here too,” she replied, pulling her best friend in for a hug, “but I do need to mentally prepare myself for that bastard. When is he supposed to get here?” Lysandra winced.
“He’s here already actually, his plane arrived about an hour before yours. Aedion went to meet him in the lobby and I’m sure they’re off doing something now,” she shot Aelin a look, “instead of greeting his lovely cousin like he should have.” Aelin rolled her eyes.
“I’m sure I’ll see Aedion later. Us cousins already talk to each other more than we do, you know,” Aelin changed to a teasing tone, “I was much more excited to hang out with my bestie than him. When he does decide to deign us with his presence, though, he better not be attached to Rowan by the hip.” Like they were in high school, she didn’t need to add. Just then, because the gods had to ruin her day, the elevator doors opened, revealing her smiling cousin and a face she hadn’t seen in ten years.