5. An Unwanted Visit

After scribbling a quick message, Sienna stepped out into the cold morning air, fresh and crisp after the previous night's storm. She locked the door behind them. Little was said as they climbed down the rocky slope that led to the beach, but once the sand leveled out in front of them, Celesta bounded ahead. She hopped and skipped and twirled about for a moment, before turning around and walking backwards. "I always forget how glorious mornings are by the sea. Everything is just so…wide. And beautiful." Her smile was wide and sunny, and she spun in a pirouette that shouldn't have been possible on the pebbly sand.

Sienna chuckled. "You think that about mornings no matter where you are."

"It's true. Mornings are the best time." Celesta spun around once more and danced back to where Sienna and Drosselmeyer walked, linking arms with both of them. "Alex is slowly but surely coming around to my way of thinking. Having Clara on my side has helped." She grinned.

Sienna smiled tightly. She didn't begrudge her friend's marital bliss, but it was still a knife-like reminder to her own heart of what might have been. She hid her emotions with a change in topic. "Wasn't there something else you wanted to talk to me about?"

Celesta sighed and her wings drooped slightly. "Yes, though I want to preface this by saying that I am already taking steps to remedy the situation, and it will all be sorted out."

"That's not a very promising start. I feel like I should be worried."

"No! It really shouldn't affect you, but I still thought you should know just the same." Celesta's lips pressed into a line of annoyance. "As you know, my Uncle Stahlmaus had a number of laws put in place while he was acting as regent. One of those was a rule that stated that any building or structure serving a public purpose must be owned and maintained by an elf."

Sienna frowned. "That's absurd."

"It is. But it was part of his scheme to set the elves and their Creative Magic above the rest of the fae, and so he had a lot of support from his council and the rest of the nobles. Obviously, I am working on reversing that law, but it's technically still in effect…"

Her words trailed off, and Sienna suddenly understood what her friend was saying. "So Papa and I—our position at the lighthouse?"

"Is still yours," Celesta answered firmly. "You both are more than qualified to be keepers, and I'm not going to pull it away from you and hand it over to someone else. Like I said, I'm working on getting it reversed. I just didn't want you to be caught by surprise if someone mentioned it."

"Why would anyone mention it? Who in Nivem would even care about such a thing?"

Celesta cringed.

Oh. She means Erik.

"What does he want with it?"

"I don't know. I just know that the matter was brought to my attention when he sent a petition to Iysen asking to be granted ownership of the lighthouse and citing the law as evidence."

"But if it's the law, don't you have to obey it?"

Celesta raised her eyebrows. "I'm the queen. And it's a stupid law. Besides, I told him that I would review the matter thoroughly and that no action was to be taken until I reached a conclusion. Since I won't reach a conclusion until the law is changed, you have nothing to worry about."

"You don't think he'll claim that our friendship makes you biased?"

"If he does, I'll simply bring up the fact that, as your former fiancé, he's just as biased." She flinched. "Though, as long as the matter is under legal dispute, I'm afraid that I might have to suspend your salary until we can get it all sorted out. You'll be paid in full after, I promise."

Sienna nodded slowly. "I'm sure it will be fine. Papa has his fishing to tide us over."

They were nearly at the caves now, putting an end to their conversation. Sienna watched in fascination as Drosselmeyer sang a low song, creating a sphere of light that floated above his open palm. Despite having seen the wizard's magic at work countless times over the years, it never ceased to amaze her how effortless and natural his music sounded.

With Drosselmeyer's light to guide their way, Sienna led them through the narrow cave. She stopped short at the opening to the room that had held the stash of crates.

She whispered. "They're gone."

Celesta nudged her forward, and she stepped into the room. Drosselmeyer was close behind. He held the light high, allowing the beams to reach into the craggy corners.

"There was a whole pile of them here yesterday." Sienna gestured in front of her. "Stacked three or four high."

"It seems someone was here to collect them." Drosselmeyer crouched down to get a better look at the sand-covered floor. "Or several someones. See how the footprints are different sizes? And here, these lines where something heavy was dragged or pushed."

Sienna's shoulders dropped in relief. "So you believe me?"

Celesta wrapped an arm around her waist. "Of course we do!"

Drosselmeyer straightened. "Hollander's Emporium, you said?"

She nodded.

"I'll make some inquiries."

"Do you think there's a connection?" Celesta asked. "Between the Flying Dutchman and these crates? It seems like a strange coincidence that they disappeared the night after he was seen so close to shore."

Sienna shook her head. "With the storm last night, there's no way a ship could have ventured close enough to the cliffs. And there's the matter that the cave entrance would have been submerged. If the Dutchman is human, he wouldn't have been able to get in and out."

"A Siren could. Or even a team of Naiads. Or an elf with the right song," Celesta suggested. "What do you think, Dross?"

Drosselmeyer's brows drew together in thought. "My guess would be that the crew is just as human as their captain is. But your theory of connection is interesting. Come, let's return to Nivem and see what Doryss and his crew have to say."

They parted ways on the beach, and Sienna watched their retreating forms for a moment before turning towards the rocky incline and beginning the climb back to the lighthouse. She looked over her shoulder at the waves that rolled into shore with a regular, soothing rhythm.

I hope Papa is back.

Her foot slipped on a rock, drawing her attention back to the ground in front of her. Her thoughts swirled as she climbed, contemplating everything she had learned from Drosselmeyer that morning.

The more she reflected on it, the fact that he was cursed was far less surprising than that he was human. The stories of his ghostly appearance had been too consistent and detailed over the years to be explained away as mere rumor. But his humanity? That was a twist she had not expected, coupled with the mystery of how a human ship and crew managed to find themselves in the Faerie Realm unbeknownst to Drosselmeyer. Though Waypoints—door-like portals that could carry travelers from one location to another in just a few seconds—were common enough in Faerie, gates that stretched between realms were practically unheard of. In fact, she was fairly certain that the gates Drosselmeyer had built to bring Celesta's husband Alex into Faerie were the only two that had existed.

Where did they come from? And what did the Dutchman do that warranted such a severe curse?

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she rounded the corner of the lighthouse and saw the figure waiting outside the front door. The tall frame and dark hair were immediately familiar, as was the languid, careless way he leaned against the door frame. The handsome, chiseled face that had once caused her heart to flutter was focused on the ground in front of him. His head lifted at the sound of her footsteps and his blue eyes, striking even from a distance, sought her out.

It was Erik.

Sienna took a deep, fortifying breath and steeled herself as she walked up the path. "What are you doing here, Erik?"

He stepped forward, moving with all his natural elvish grace and reached for her hands. "That's no way to greet an old friend, Sienna. You look lovely."

She ducked to the side when he tried to drop a kiss on her cheek. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she could feel the heat rising in her face. Her pale skin could never hide a blush, and she knew that her cheeks would already be a blazing pink color. "I don't think you can call us friends," she said curtly, working hard to regain control of her composure.

Erik smirked and dropped one of her hands to curl a wayward strand of her hair around his finger. "You're right. We used to be much more."

But we're not because of YOU.

Her heart screamed the words, but Sienna refrained from saying them out loud. She swatted his hand away and pulled free, putting another foot of space between them. "What do you want?"

"Don't be like that, Enna. Can't a man stop by to check on the health of an old acquaintance?" He smirked as he said the last word, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

It was my health that caused you to leave in the first place.

Sienna's hands were trembling, and she grabbed a fistful of skirts in each hand to hide it. "If I tell you, will you go away?"

Erik shook his head and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Why such animosity? I know that things were…difficult between us, but you must remember that I left for your own good. I certainly didn't take any delight in ending our relationship." His eyes held her in place as he stepped closer, and for a moment Sienna thought she saw the same warmth and affection in his gaze that used to make butterflies dance in her stomach. "But you know how people would have talked, to see me with you."

The spell was broken. Erik's words were like rough sand rubbing into the still-tender wounds of her heart. She gave him a false, tight smile and stepped past him, heading for her front door. "I'm surprised you're willing to be seen with me now, then."

He grabbed her arm, spinning her around again to face him. "Enna."

"Let go of me, Erik."

He sighed and did as she asked, adopting the air of a mistreated and misunderstood puppy. "This is not going at all the way that I had anticipated."

"What did you expect? For me to greet you with open arms?" Sienna's voice was rising with her temper, and the slices of pain, like little shards of glass in the back of her throat, warned her to stop taxing her voice. She closed her eyes, lowering her volume. "What do you want?"

When she opened her eyes, his own were studying her with a narrowed intensity. "I see your magic has yet to return."

Another blow to her heart. Exhaustion and grief pressed down on her. "Is that all you wanted to know?"

"I'm here to look over the property, actually."

Sienna straightened, at once defensive again as she remembered Celesta's news. "You've seen the lighthouse hundreds of times."

"Yes, but always as an outside observer." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked down at her with an imperious, self-important air. "I want to take a look at things as the future owner of the property. I want to see inside."

She decided to feign ignorance. "We're not giving up the lighthouse, Erik. Papa is happy as the keeper here, and I am as well. If you want to change careers, you'll have to do it somewhere else."

"You misunderstand—though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. There is a law in Winter that states that any land, building, or structure that provides service to the public must be owned and operated by an elf. Fortunately for me, my family are the only elves in Nivem."

He slowly edged her back until she bumped into the front door. Sienna felt for the knob and turned it, silently bemoaning the fact that she had locked it. Erik leaned over her, boxing her in. "The lighthouse is as good as mine. Now, be a good little Naiad and open the door."

Sienna was frozen, looking up into the face of the man she had once loved and trusted.

How could I have been so foolish?

A lone tear of defeat escaped, and she slipped a hand into her pocket, fishing for the key. Her fingers had just closed around the cold metal when the roar of an angry voice interrupted the scene.

"STEP AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!"

She looked past Erik's arm to see Daland approaching with long, purposeful strides and a storm cloud gathering on his brow. A wave of relief washed over her.

"Papa."