Each household arrives at their own time, no need to rush these things when you live so long. The only thing they ever seem to agree on for each quarterly meeting is the day everyone should arrive and that the children should also come and be together (How else would they meet potential partners?). For the parents these days are filled with long meaningful conversations and the best food and entertainment that the host house can provide. Often times the children wanted to provide entertainment for their hard working parents and perform for them throughout their time. The longest meeting lasted three weeks thanks to weddings that took place between three separate households from three different regions. The shortest they've collected themselves was a week, there wasn't much to discuss that particular winter so once the children finished the mini concert they put together, everyone parted.
Each region takes turns hosting; Belmonte then Ayer, after that the Lani and back to Belmonte to repeat the pattern. The cycle has repeated for a millennia with not interruption. The winters are particularly hard at the Ayer castle with everything freezing solid and immovable, they go. The summers are sweltering at the Lani's castle, they go. It seems that the Belmonte castle is the only region that receives the least amount of grumbling about the weather, not always perfect, but always reasonable.
Their are other families than the Belmonte, Ayer, and Lani trio, but they are not as large and hold less power. They do come to the quarterly meetings, and they do contribute and bring their children. When all is said and done the grounds will be full of people, thankfully none of them need to sleep, so other than providing a place for each family to put their things, there is no need for bedrooms.
Several lesser households have arrived by the time the Ayer's arrive in their luxurious deep ocean blue cars. Lir Ayer exits the car first before helping his wife out. His normally white hair and calm blue eyes are already several shades darkened and turbulent. When Anahita emerges from the vehicle her dress comes first appearing like a tidal wave spilling out before her. Everyone dresses up in their finest attire for this day and the feast this evening. The boys are in their finest tuxedos and the girls silently compete each quarter for best dressed. The twins emerge next from their own car, a white and grey sleek car driven by Aberforth so Ecthelion can make a dramatic exit from the car before it actually comes to a stop, looking smooth as a still lake in winter with his wide smile that makes the girls swoon. Aberforth just silently gets out of the car, no smile as he nods to the ladies, also making them swoon with his aura of mystery before walking to his twin's side and approaching their parents without waiting for their sister.
Eyre arrives in a dark grey car, driven with care by one of her most trusted attendants. When the car is parked and she emerges there are audible sounds of judgement and slight shock as her dress is almost entirely black with only the slightest peeks of dark blue along the braided corset and tailing down the back. The neckline is high and her arms are completely covered in long sleeves that almost drag on the ground when she walks with her arms down. She wears a small black veil to hide her blood shot eyes, at her mother's suggestion. Her hair is several shades darker than her adopted father's and up in a tight bun. She looks more like a woman in mourning than a young girl heading into a quarter of frivolities like the rest of the children. Perhaps she won't be considered the best dressed but she will certainly be the most talked about.
When the whole Ayer family reaches the Belmonte they are graciously welcomed into the castle. The awkwardness is palpable between the two kings who are clearly pretending for the sake of decorum and not their three millennia long friendship. Ecthelion is almost too charming as they enter beside his stoic twin. Eyre avoids any and all contact as she silently curtseys and bows her head before silently following her family into the grand hall where people are already chatting and drinking the wine.
Eyre's heart races as girl after girl approaches her, trying to start conversation as her palms increasingly excrete sweat until her mother sees how panicked she is and pulls her out of the room and into a small garden space that exist inside the castle, lit by the magma. "Would you feel better if you could just stay somewhere quiet?" Anahita asks, forgetting for a moment that she won't get an audible answer.
The idea that she is stressing the woman who adopted her any trouble she shakes her head calmly and putts her hands out and presses the air to show that she is okay now and softly smiles to her mother. As long as she stayed near her mother she could stay calm and her mother's intimidating presence staved off the other girls as more and more lesser households are announced and the room begins to fill.
"The Lani Household has arrived!" A Belmonte staff member announces. Everyone but Eyre turns to see them, the notoriously glamorous household in their black and glowing attire. The boys in their black tuxes with bow ties and cumber buns of stars. Astrea wears a tool gown that makes her look like a cloud of space purple space dust. Most of Ariel's legs are revealed to be wearing tights with the stars actively blinks and shimmering on her tights under her short sparkly black dress with a long back piece of black chiffon.
Eyre's stomach lurches with the knowledge that Atlas is so close and she tugs her mother's sleeve like a small child. When Anahita turns to see her daughter's pleading and terrified eyes she nods before speaking. "You don't have to stay if you aren't comfortable. How about you take a walk and come back when you're hungry." She pats Eyre's shoulder.
Eyre takes her mother's suggestion and immediately leaves the party, her mind racing for awhile as she headed to one of the few places she thought might calm her mind.
When Atlas first arrived with his family he was hugged by the Belmonte family. He assumes correctly that they realize how much coming to these quarterly meetings will be now for him since Kaj won't be here. When they came into the ballroom he scanned the room in search of one thing and one thing only: Eyre. When his eyes finally found her family he felt hope and pushed through the girls that were trying to get his attention since he first walked in. "Is Eyre here?" He asks Aberforth who shrugs a shoulder before Exthelion speaks up. "She left—" He rubs his chin thoughtfully, looking a bit smug, the kind of face Atlas wanted to punch in this moment but held back for the sake of his mission to find her. "Now that I think about it, she left soon after your family was announced. What ever could that mean Atlas? Did something bad happen between the two of you?"
Atlas clenches his fists instead of grabbing the annoying young man in front of him. "Any idea where she might have gone?" He asks through clenched teeth.
The twins both shrug and Ecthelion continues in his obviously teasing tone. "How could we know. She hasn't spoken a word to anyone since last quarter." The twins shrug again before turning around and Ecthelion begins chatting with some young ladies. Sneakily Aberforth leans back and points in the general direction he saw his adopted sister go before leaning forward and pretending to be interested in whatever story his brother was telling to the girls.
As soon as Atlas left the party and headed in the general direction that Aberforth sent him he knew where she went and his heart, which has been in a vice grip since last quarter, hurt even more somehow. 'Of course she would go there…' he thought as he hurried to find Eyre.
The sound of the river reaches his ear before he reaches it and when he does he finds the fire pit already has been lit and splashes its light into the cave and on the back of a woman with dark grey hair dress in a black gown.
"Eyre—" He whispers.
At the sound of her name being whispered by him she turns to face him. The veil is still placed, but he can feel her anger towards him.
He begins to step towards her again. "I heard that you haven't spoken since— Will you speak with me Eyre?"
Once close enough he can see that she has been crying recently. She does not nod, she does not make a sound, she simply turns away and back to the rushing river.
"Eyre, please." His voice is quivering. "Please talk to me. If anyone can understand—"
She whipped her face so fast and fiercely back to him that he couldn't continue. The look of disgust on her face was more than words.
He swallows and drops his eyes. "This is where it started, right? Isn't this where the three of us became friends."
She scoffs as she turns away from him again and he almost laughs while picking up a stone to skip across the waters. "Scoff all you want, we were friends before we were anything else. What I wouldn't give to go back to that Winter quarter and meet you all over again. You were so— I don't even know the right word… Forbidden?" That got the slightest smirk from her that he could just make out on her profile. "Your brother's did a thorough job telling everyone the quarter before that you would be coming and that you were a freak, that it would be best for everyone to keep their distance because that is how you liked life, in solitude. They also joked that you could breath fire which Kaj— he said was the dumbest thing he had ever heard before we walked away from them. We learned later they may not have been speaking literally…"
Eyre rolls her eyes, no smile, at his words.
"Wow! You really are stubborn Eyre. Still no words for me after I tell you a truth. Isn't that breaking the agreement we made?"
She turns again, mouth open and ready to make a sound and then suddenly stops and closes her mouth and raises an eyebrow at him.
He sounds calm and continues to tease her a little."Oh, I see. Without him the agreement is void." She nods.
He suddenly moves closer to her now that she is looking at him and he grabs one of the bottom corner of her veil. "What is this for? Trying to hide your eyes from the rest of the world. Is it really that bad under here?" He lifts the small veil away from her eyes and a slight gasp escapes him. He clenched his chest as the massive wave of guilt he was already struggling with grew again. His words were a whisper. "Eyre— did we—" She glares and snarled her nose. "Did I do that?" She nods again as her eyes drop. "I should leave you alone… I won't bother you at any of these things again Eyre. I'm so sorry for what my cowardice has caused…" He turns to leave to find his forearm being gripped and turned to Eyre. "What? Is there more? Oh gods… there's more…" She slowly nods before tilting her head back towards the cave.
"A lot happened there…" He whispers. She nods. "You know it wasn't always there… or at least the entrance wasn't… Kaj and I found it at least fifty years ago, shortly after he finally accepted me as a friend and not an annoyance. Don't look at me like that, I know I can be annoying." She cracked a smile for a moment before falling back to the angry stare she had on him and let go of his arm.
"And to think that's where we found you and where… well we can talk about that later…" She nods with a raised eyebrow. "It was last Winter Quarter and the river froze like it normally does here so Kaj and I came to see if we could glide over the water and watch the fish swim underneath like we've done so many times over the years…" His heart aches and hurts as he recounts memories with Kaj, like twister a blade after being impaled by a dear friend. "When we found the strange new Ayer princess hiding in our secret cave, reading a book, all by herself, started a fire inside on her own, and looking completely comfortable by herself, well you stunned us." He almost laughs again, if it wasn't for the pain in his heart he would have. "We hid and watched you for so long… You're beautiful white hair tucked behind your ear, wrapped up in the furs and blankets we keep out here. While you read your face would change and react to the story you were reading like it was really happening and I think that's when it all started Eyre… that's when I started to—" Her hand pressed to his lips, her face turned away and wrinkled in pain. He grabbed her hand. "You won't even let me say it? Eyre… we have to say it. Say it with me? Let's go inside the cave and we can admit together to the walls that witnessed it all."
She begins shaking her head as he refuses to release his grip on her hand. "Please Eyre." He softly begs. "If we saying it, maybe I can think of something to bring him back." She stops her shaking and slowly looks up at him with tears beginning to fill in her eyes. "Don't look like that Eyre. I wouldn't say it if I knew it would make you cry. I just want him back… so bad…"
Her voice came out, the smallest whisper he'd ever heard, as tears fell from her grey eyes, fill with cracks like shattered glass. "Me too."