Felicity and Galad spent the previous day together. Nearly all day. It had started off simialr to how their Valentine's had. Toeing the line was something Felicity exceled at and Galad was eager for this sort of rule bending. She was far less nervous this time and had learned a few things from the other day. She'd been observant in how he reacted. Galad had learned quite a bit too and left her breathless. But that wasn't the end of it. They talked and touched and then they were kissing again. Kissing that escalated and it wasn't bending the rules, it was outright breaking them. It was beautiful and perfect and overwhelming but it was also dangerous. Felicity didn't know what had come over her and Galad had eased her worries with kisses, soft touches, and low-spoken comfort.
It was Sunday now. Felicity had spent the night over, breaking yet another rule but that one felt like it carried much less of a burden for breaking. She managed to sneak back to her own dorm early enough to escape the notice of Mr. Farrowe, mentors, and anyone else. She showered and dressed, and in that shower had time to think about what happened. Her parents would crucify her if they ever discovered what happened. Sure, it wasn't running off to marry a dwarf but it was still dangerous. But then she thought about the actual act and her stomach fluttered.
What they never found out wouldn't hurt anyone, right?
She was now heading toward breakfast, looking entirely unbothered and almost at peace. She and Galad hadn't really talked about what happened now, not in great detail. But she was content and felt . . . transformed.
And then a stupid little fairy had to go and ruin it. Lucia was a nuisance that Felicity avoided. Her dislike of fairies was expected, being an elf, but she usually was at least somewhat good about hiding that animosity. The fairy dust sprinkled around her, and Felicity waved a hand, coughing like she was being gagged, "Can't you do that somewhere else?"
But she couldn't say much more because Lucia did the most curious thing. The most frightening thing. Hands on her belly, she had her hand pressed over her abdomen and her words caused Felicity to halt and nearly shrink back. She recovered by attacking.
"What are you doing?" she asked, almost shrilly, and quickly began swatting the winter fairy away.