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Rhys settled on the couch- staring into the fire as the children sprinted around the large living room of their alpine cabin. Over the years, what had once been a snowball fight between his best friends had morphed into a getaway for their families. Bottles of whiskey replaced by hot chocolate and warm cider. Hours scheming turned into hours building snowmen and telling Solstice stories.
Feyre placed Stirling in his lap, the toddler babbling up at him as Rhiannon and Nyx argued about their latest emissary duties within the Night Court. Erez and Flossie played with a set of well loved blocks quietly on the rug. Azriel’s shadows put on a show for little Einar as he stared up at them, trying to grasp at them with his pudgy fingers.
“Uncle Rhys- tell us the story about the night night fae.”
“Erez! It’s not the night night fae- it’s the Story of the Twilight Fae.”
“Floss-” Cassian warned as his middle daughter picked at the newest member of their family, Azriel’s eyes also landing on the tiny half-Illyrian. She had taken Erez’s adoption the hardest as now there was someone her age to share toys and birth rites with. Add in her own baby brother and it was a bit much for the wee Illyrian. Erez just shrugged his shoulders at her admonishment and neatly packed away the toys, before he turned his attention fully to Rhys. He would be an audience of one if Rhys let him.
“Your dad does the best shadows for this story.” Rhiannon pulled Erez into her lap as she settled to watch the show, while Nyx tossed Flossie into the air before he settled with her on one of the chairs. Elain, Feyre, and Nesta curled onto the other couch as Cassian scooped up Einar, bouncing him against his chest. Azriel plucked Stirling from his lap and cast his shadows against the far wall- their forms shifting into a roiling cauldron.
Rhys took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. He never imagined that this would be his life. That he would be telling the tales that his mother told him to a room full of his chosen family. And he would not change it for the world.
“Let come the e’en of Solstice, the Cauldron hallowed bright
The darkness all around us, gives the perfect starlight
Mistletoe on the doorframes, toys now put away
Cookies set by fireplaces, invite the Twilight Fae
The darkness of midnight- the silence of the twilight
Led us through the ages- to the longest night.
Snow falls on the tin roof, a hush is in the air
The softest pitter patter can be heard upon the stairs.
The faelight now twinkle, then out with a snuff
The Twilight Fae arrive in a puff
They move just like a shadow, watching for prying eyes
For if they find you out of bed- you’ll lose your surprise
When they know the coast is clear
There are no little ones traveling near
The smallest light they do make, as their presents take shape;
For the general a new mace, and Ellie gets an azure cape
The presents they grow; the silence stays there
As every little one sleeps unaware
And as the dawn comes, there goes the Twilight Fae
Another year passed- with the break of day.”
The shadows finished with a flourish and Rhys looked to see that Erez, Flossie, Stirling, and Einar were soundly asleep- Nyx and Rhiannon with knowing looks on their faces. Elain had found the book with the story during a particularly disastrous solstice when the two oldest children were barely out of diapers and refused to sleep and thus the telling of the Twilight Fae was born. A tradition Rhys thought was ludicrous until the two unruly toddlers had fallen asleep without a fuss so that their presents might come the next day. He’d taken up story telling the next year and Azriel’s shadows had joined in on the show shortly thereafter.
Each adult clutching a child quietly made their way back to the bunks- where they could be put to sleep with ease as Nyx and Rhiannon watched over them- the part that they now played in the Solstice magic. Rhys waved his hand and the stack of presents appeared, a few he recognized as distinctly from his oldest son. There was no telling what he had gotten all of them this year.
Feyre smiled at him, her eyes sparkling in the firelight. 50 years. It had been 50 years since they’d met and fallen in love and her looks still shook him to his core. A caress of his mind and he opened it to her- an image passing into his mind that had him swiftly extinguishing the fire, excusing them for the night as they crept to their room.
“Oh Feyre, darling- happy Solstice Eve.”
“Happy Solstice Eve, my love.”