| Time |
Book / Story |
Description |
| ~Late 1700's - Early 1800s |
Don't Forget (23) |
- Ulysses is born; the younger of two brothers he's born with an aquamarine (selkie's heart) in his hand
- Ulysses is deathly ill but the Prince teaches him how to transfer his spirit to other bodies. Ulysses takes over the body of his nephew.
|
| ~Early 1800s |
Changeling Princess (6) |
- A descendant of a bastard line of the Blue Knight Earl (mistress of Julius Ashenbert) came to Wold Cave Village.
- The Grand Duke of Cremona corresponded with the descendant (older brother Ulysses Barlow) wanting a signet ring to be made from the village's fluorite
- Younger brother Ulysses killed older brother (of same name) and made it possible for the village to dig as much fluorite as they wanted and kept the fae from interfering with their mining. The village reported to the Tompkins household in charge of the earl's holding that there was no more fluorite. Barlow sold the fluorite for the village in secret.
|
| ~Early 1800s |
Don't Forget (23) |
- Frances imprisons Diana but she escapes
- Frances joins the army and takes part in the Battle at Waterloo
|
| T=0-~41 years |
The Scholar and the Fairy (12-3)
The Island at the Edge of the World |
- Aurora is born and left as a changeling in the human realm.
|
| T=0-~25+years |
The Scholar and the Fairy (12-3)
The Island at the Edge of the World |
- Frederick (23) is the most junior member of a research team that goes to the Hebrides. He ends up getting lost in the Fairy Realm and finds a smoky quartz standing stone. Aurora (16) asks him if he'll take her with him should he come to the Hebrides again. Frederick agrees.
- Frederick finds himself just outside of town. He remembers getting lost and walking trying to find the town, then stopping to take a break. He's surprised to realise that not only did he stop, he must've nodded off briefly as well. He vaguely remembers dreaming of a smoky quartz standing stone but nothing else. He's surprised to learn that he'd been away for 6 hours; he thought he'd only been gone for 1 hour. Later, he finds a small piece of smoky quartz in his pocket.
|
| T=0-~20+ years |
The Scholar and the Fairy (12-3)
The Island at the Edge of the World |
- Frederick (28) meets Aurora (5 days before turning 21 y.o.) when he visits the outer Hebrides again. Now a university fellow, he wants to look for the smoky quartz standing stone he saw/dreamt of five years earlier.
- Frederick learns that Aurora is a fairy doctor and has two fiances--the first fiance has five more days to come get her or she is to marry her second fiance.
- Aurora's father confronts Frederick thinking he's the man who promised to take Aurora away from the island. Frederick has no idea what her father is talking about.
- Frederick runs into Aurora outside town as he continues searching for the smoky quartz standing stone. Aurora's cheek is red from having been hit. Frederick tells Aurora he'll help her if he can. Aurora asks him to marry her.
- Kenneth MacKeel confronts Frederick and reveals that he's Aurora's second fiance and that she'll soon be his wife.
- Nico asks Aurora if she's sure about leaving the island. Because of the agreement between the MacKeel family in Faerie and the family in the human realm, Aurora can't leave the island on her own, but Frederick doesn't remember her at all. Aurora tells Nico that Frederick remembered the smoky quartz standing stone.
- When she was young, Aurora didn't understand why her parents never truly smiled around her despite her being such a happy child. When she was older, her father told her that she was a changeling and that their family had an agreement with a family in Faerie that the first-born child would be taken as a changeling thus keeping the fae blood in the family strong. Aurora doesn't think it right that every generation has to go through the pain of losing a child that way. She also doesn't think it fair on the children.
- Aurora sneaks out of her house to take a walk only to have Kenneth MacKeel catch her. She despises Kenneth who kicks aside the fae knowing that he can prevent them from taking any revenge. In comparison, despite being unable to see the fae, Frederick instinctively avoided them--most likely he was atuned to them because of his interest in rocks and the natural world.
- Kenneth forces a kiss on Aurora. Nico attacks Kenneth getting him to let go of Aurora but is grabbed by the tail and thrown into the brush. Kenneth grabs Aurora by her hair when she tries to go after Nico but is attacked by a swarm of mice.
- Frederick finds Aurora hiding in an alleyway. She begs him to take her away from the island, but Frederick thinks she's confusing him for another man--the man who promised to take her away from the island some years earlier. Aurora shows Frederick an unmoving Nico and tells him that Nico had been hurt saving her, but an elder living nearby can probably help Nico. From her behaviour, Frederick realises what probably happened and agrees to help her.
- Aurora offers Frederick a deal--she'll show him the smoky quartz standing stone if he'll take her away from the island. Outsiders normally are unable to see that standing stone, but since the stone permitted Frederick to see it once, she figures that she'll be able to take him to see it again. Frederick finally agrees to take her from the island realising that most people will think they eloped.
- Frederick packs his travel bag only to be stopped on the street by Aurora's mother. She gives him something and asks that he give it to Aurora--it's a lace item most likely part of a woman's wedding outfit. Frederick asks her if it wouldn't be better for her to give it to Aurora directly, but her mother refuses saying that it might weaken Aurora's resolve to leave out of pity for her, and that would be sad. Once Aurora leaves the island, she will have turned her back on the MacKeel clan and will never be able to return. She asks Frederick to tell Aurora that she's always praying Aurora will find happiness. Frederick promises her he'll see to Aurora's happiness.
- Aurora waits for Frederick by the standing stone nearest to town and is surprised when he gives her the lace veil her mother knit.
- Aurora leads Frederick away from town and he feels like he went through a wall when he passes the standing stone. She then goes to a strange building inside which are many people who only come up to his waist. She goes with an elderly looking man and goes down some stairs leaving Frederick surrounded by various little people. Frederick strongly suspects he's not in the human realm and that the people around him aren't human. The little people tell him he's very lucky to get Aurora as his bride. They then notice that Frederick smells of rocks, and he reveals some stones that he'd picked up while wandering around earlier.
- The little people tell Frederick that Aurora's grandfather often brought her to their home when she was young and that he'd been a highly skilled fairy doctor. Aurora also soon became friends with those in the sea even though they can be quite temperamental. While playing around with them in the cove was fine, they had often worried that she'd get swept offshore. They tell him that if Aurora does end up leaving, her younger brother will most likely end up becoming a fairy doctor. Aurora often brought him there as well. And while he wasn't as gifted as Aurora, he understood them well. Frederick realises that the little people, like her mother, trusted him to see that she finds happiness. Everyone there knew that, for quite some time now, Aurora planned on leaving the island.
- The little people comment that people never settle in one place for very long. Since they settled down there, a number of people have come and gone--the Picts, Celts, Danes... Frederick can only wonder how many thousands of years they've been living there.
- Aurora's fiance was showing no signs of waking, so the little people think she should live as she wants. Frederick remembers that Kenneth is supposed to be Aurora's second fiance and asks what that meant. They tell him that a man lies sleeping in a sacred marsh. He's supposed to protect the MacKeel clan from calamity. While the little people didn't know very much about him, he's supposed to be a prophet and is said to have used a special ability. They tell Frederick not to worry, human magic is imperfect and given enough time eventually disappears. The prophet most likely sacrificed himself in order to ensure that the legend is passed down through the generations. Frederick wonders if the legend is that when calamity strikes, a woman of the clan is to marry the prophet. If so, what purpose does the legend serve if the prophet doesn't waken? At best, it only conveys a sense of danger.
- Frederick falls asleep on the floor and dreams of Aurora's cat looking semi-transparent talking to him. He asks Frederick why he decided to take Aurora away from the island. When Frederick tells him that Aurora doesn't want to marry Kenneth and she's in love with a man who lives off the island. The cat tells him if that's the only reason, then to not take Aurora away from there--he's not sure who cause Aurora more pain, Kenneth or Frederick. The cat tells Frederick that it all depended on him.
- Aurora comes up the stairs wearing the veil her mother made for her. She tells Frederick that she was very surprised that her mother gave him the veil. She tells him that while mothers wish their daughters will find happiness, she wasn't their real daughter. Her parents did their duty to the clan by raising her, and in return they had to give up their own child. At Christmas, there was always an extra seat and her mother always made a second ribbon and collar piece, but something like a lace veil would be impossible to make two of. Her mother always knit the veil when Aurora couldn't see what she was doing, so she always thought it was for her real daughter in Faerie. Frederick tells her that it was for Aurora and that the Mrs. MacKeel he'd met truly was a mother who truly cared for her daughter.
- The next morning, Frederick and Aurora catch a ride on a baggage cart to go to the standing stone. Frederick recalls that he'd wandered there on foot, but the elder tells him that it was further away now. The wee folk let them off and tell them it's quicker to go across the marsh on foot. Aurora looks apprehensive making Frederick worry that it might be a bottomless swamp, but the little people laugh and tell him it's a sacred marsh and is safe.
- Frederick tells Aurora that he heard about her fiance from the little people the night before. He wonders why such a person (who'd died long ago) needed a fiancee. Aurora agrees that it's strange, and speculates that averting disaster might be difficult for the prophet alone and so he needs a partner that has a certain ability. His fiancee is decided on by the MacKeel clan leader and is someone who is 20 or under and can use fae magic. In order for such girls to continue being born, and in order to strengthen the magical ability in the bloodline, their lives are all determined for them.
- In two days, Aurora turns 21, and if the prophet doesn't waken, he will no longer be her fiance. She is to prepare to wed the prophet. And if he doesn't appear by dawn, she is to be someone else's.
- Frederick tells her that the litle people said that since the magic is not perfect, it can't continue for long, and the prophet died long ago. Aurora agrees that it's possible which means that what's important isn't his partner, but the person's fae magic ability and how strong they can make it in humans. Frederick wonders if the prophet was trying to create someone strong enough to fight off some calamity. But to Aurora, it doesn't make sense. To her, a fairy doctor's ability isn't about being able to use magic. It's about being able to get along with the fae, understanding them and how they're different from people, and being able to smooth over disagreements between the two. What's important is the person's heart not their bloodline or how powerful they are. So, by her leaving the island, she's hoping to put a hole in that practice. Whether her suitor came for her or not, she was determined not to marry the person that had been decided for her.
- Frederick wonders what the calamity might be, but Aurora doesn't know. The clan had faced dangers before such as plague, famine, war... But nothing special happened during those times.
- Frederick feels like he caught a glimpse of a man in the water of the marsh and is momentarily dizzy. He's unsure if he imagines a voice saying 'You mustn't take that girl away. We won't let you steal her from us.' He takes Aurora's hand firmly and hurries across the marsh. She too wants to get through the marsh quickly and holds his hand firmly as well. Frederick can't help feeling like he really is eloping with Aurora and that the two are fleeing after he stole her away from her fiance.
- The two get through the marsh and Aurora tells Frederick that they'll be able to see the standing stone after climbing the hill they were on. However, when Frederick starts walking, Aurora yells a warning but it's already too late and a hole suddenly opens up under him. He feels like he only fell a few feet, but when he looks up, he sees that it's very deep. Finding his glasses and putting them on, he sees that the place he's in is like a giant flask. He feels like he's seen something like it before and suddenly has a bad feeling. Aurora yells another warning to him, and he suddenly finds himself being pelted by small rocks. He remembers that he'd had this happen to him before as well. That time, when he was being pelted by rocks, he saw a beautiful fairy with golden wings come down.
- Aurora leans down and yells at the goblins to stop, when she slips and falls into the hole. Frederick frantically tries to catch her, but she falls very slowly with her blond hair billowing around her like wings--just like the fairy he'd seen before. As soon as he catches her, Frederick slips on a small rock and ends up falling hitting his head on the rocky wall.
- Frederick remembers when he met the fairy five years ago. He picks up his glasses only to discover they're broken, so he can't see very well. He squints at Aurora trying to make out her features then asks her if she's a real fairy--she looks exactly like what he imagined fairies looked like. He comments that fairies really are very beautiful. While she's never cared about how she looked, Aurora recently came to realise that she wasn't on the beautiful side. And when she was first introduced to Kenneth MacKeel, he took one look at her and wasn't happy. Aurora guides Frederick out of the goblins's hole and they reach a smoky quartz standing stone. Frederick's surprised to see a number of massive smoky quartz standing stones and is reluctant to leave, but Aurora tells him he can always come and see them again. She tells Frederick that if he comes again, she'll show him the way to the standing stones and in return, she asks him to take her someplace new to her like London or Cambridge. Frederick agrees.
- Aurora and Frederick part ways since when they return to the human realm, they'll be back wherever they entered from. Back in the human realm, Nico tells Aurora she should go to see the student right away otherwise he'll think everything was a dream, but she refuses since he'd immediately realise that she wasn't beautiful. The next time they meet, she's hoping that her freckles will be gone and she'll be prettier. Nico tells her no one would come again to such an out of the way island, but Aurora decides to bet on this. If she should meet him again and he treats her nicely just as he did this time, she might be able to have the courage to escape from the life that's been determined for her.
- Frederick regains consciousness and the two continue on their way out of the goblins's hole. He wonders if Aurora really is the fairy he met five years ago; she hasn't said anything about that time. Even so, he was slowly remembering things from that time.
- Arriving at the standing stone, Frederick wonders about the smoky quartz. To him, it doesn't look native to the area. The quartz looked more like it came from somewhere like the Alps. Aurora suggests that the fae may have carried it there.
- Aurora notices a rainbow and Frederick remembers seeing something similar five years ago. However, what he remembered wasn't a rainbow. The sky had been darker, but the light that he'd seen wavering there had been bright enough to light the ground, as it shifted and changed colour. He remembers when he asked the fairy her name, she pointed at the sky to the veil of light--Aurora.
- Over the hill, they could see the sea. As the two walk along the road, Frederick asks Aurora if she really can't leave the island on her own. She tells him that there's an invisible chain binding her and points to the sea. Despite having walked for some time, it still looked as far away as when they first caught sight of it.
- Aurora asks him if he didn't want to take her from the island. She realises that he might feel responsible for her but asks him not to have second thoughts. Whatever happens to her after leaving the island isn't his responsibility. He denies having second thoughts since he agreed to take her from there. Aurora realises that there's another reason for what's happening. She kisses him for luck and tells him to think of her as his for the time being. Frederick realises that what should have been a sweet kiss hurt--it was a desperate kiss to try to make up for what he was lacking. Frederick starts to realise that he's attracted to Aurora and he wonders if it was the standing stone that he'd been unable to forget. As the two head towards the sea again, he tries to think as she wanted.
- Aurora points to a ship offshore as they approach the beach. The ship looks very to be quite rickety for crossing a straight. Likewise, he had no idea how the ship would move; he couldn't see any people nearby. As the two hurry for for the shore, they hear the sound of hooves and see Kenneth as he comes over the hilltop. Kenneth easily catches up to the two, and Frederick pulls Aurora to him when she almost gets hit by Kenneth's horse's hooves.
- Kenneth confronts the two having learned from the innkeeper's son that Frederick and Aurora hadn't met before, and he draws a gun on Frederick. Aurora's father interrupts them and tells Kenneth there's no need to pull out a gun. Her father says that if she doesn't have a suitor, Aurora herself would know it better than anyone else and would undoubtedly come to her senses soon enough. But Frederick says that Aurora does have someone special--it's clear how much she treasures meeting that person and that she's seriously and willing to throw everything away for that person. Despite being extremely dense about such things, Frederick realises why he knows how she feels. He was hopelessly attracted to Aurora who had devoted herself and entrusted her fate to that someone, and she was trying to break the tragic custom of her clan. So he knew just how serious she was.
- Aurora's father tells Frederick that Aurora's not a normal girl; she's a changeling. Frederick tries to remain calm and make sense of what Aurora's father said, but Aurora gives up and apologises to Frederick and thanks him for everything he'd done. Kenneth tells Frederick to leave pointing towards the ship with his chin while keeping his pistol trained on Frederick.
- Frederick offers Aurora a parting gift and throws one of the small stones in his pocket into the air distracting Kenneth. He then grabs Aurora and the two run for the ship. Kenneth's gun goes off, but it misses both of them. And before Kenneth can do anything else, a swarm of mice attacks and overwhelms him. Frederick hears someone yell at him to run and not look back, and he wonders if it's Aurora's cat or if he's hearing things. The two manage to get aboard the ship.
- On board ship, Frederick apologises for forcing her to come, and he promises to take responsibility and see to it that she is reunited with her suitor. Aurora tells him that she never had a promise with the man, and that it was all one-sided on her part. She didn't know the man's name or address even. Frederick the tells her he knows man single men and many are proper gentlemen which would likely meet her approval. Aurora asks Frederick about himself--he's single and a proper gentlemen.
- Aurora asks Frederick to marry her. When he hesitates, she asks him if he didn't think he could love her, but he denies it. Aurora asks him to make her his wife, and Frederick can only wonder how he ended up being proposed to and whether it was all a dream. If so, he needed to answer before he woke up. He felt like he would regret it if he didn't answer before he woke from the dream. Frederick simply answers 'yes'.
- A seaman congratulates Aurora and comments that their friends are also really happy. Out among the waves, countless black shapes could be seen--they were seals. Even though there was no wind, the ship was gaining speed and the seamen didn't think anything strange about leaving the ship's passage to the seals. Aurora thanks the selkies and Frederick can only wonder if the ship was a regularly scheduled fae ship. He's learned that he had to accept unusual things as they were. And the same was true about Aurora being a changeling.
- Nico rides on the back of one of the seals and catches up to the ship. Aurora hugs him and thanks him for his help earlier. She then asks if he's coming with her. Nico tells her that he's a bit tired of herring and Gaelic Whiskey and expects there are even better things in Cambridge.
|
| T=0-~20 years |
A Star Lights London Bridge (10) |
- Edgar Leeland is born to the Duke and Duchess of Sylvanford. He's given the courtesy title Marquess of Mordang
|
T=0-17 years
~Nov-Dec |
If You Wish Upon the Crimson Knight (13) |
- Lydia is born to Aurora and Frederick; she's taken as a changeling but Aurora gets her back. Lydia's eye colour is different upon her return. Aurora explains that it's because her eyes were exposed to the sun in Faerie before they became used to the sun in the human realm.
- Aurora goes to the sacred place where the prophet is said to lie sleeping in his coffin
|
T=0-~10 years
Edgar (10-11)
Fall-Winter |
A Day Long Ago At Sylvanford
Lover's Miniature (21-2) |
- Philip watches as his nephew Edgar hits on a girl only to have the girl's bestfriend suddenly show up. The two girls ask Edgar which one he'll marry only to have him admit that he can't marry either, and one of them slaps him.
- When asked which girl he liked, Edgar admits that he didn't see either of them that way and had been scolded by his father the day before because neither were suitable for him. Edgar takes his uncle offguard when he admits that he kissed Helen the day before, but even though doing something like that is supposed to be a problem, it's not like the girl was ruined or anything.
- Philip realises that Edgar's very much like his father was and is likely more than his brother can handle. Even though his nephew will have everything in life that he could ever wish for, Philip hopes that Edgar won't be satisfied with what's given to him and that he'll learn the joy of adding colour to his life himself. Philip tells Edgar that right now, his seeing girls as pretty is like considering glass baubles as pretty without ever having seen a diamond. Until he's been in a relationship where both were serious about the other and had seen the fire that clouds one's vision, he shouldn't think that girls were completely taken with him.
- Less than three months later, his uncle returns to the manor house where he passes away from an incurable illness. Edgar realises his uncle broke up with the woman he loved, not because his father opposed their marriage, but because he already knew about his illness.
- Edgar steals the miniature portrait from his uncle's belongings planning to leave it in Philip's casket, but he holds onto it after spotting a lady hiding in among the trees at his uncle's funeral. Edgar gives Beatrice the miniature portrait and is surprised at the difference in her appearance between the portrait and how she looked in front of him. He realises that the smile caught in the miniature was something she only showed to Philip and that that smile may have died with his uncle.
|
T=0-8.5 years
Paul (16), Edgar (12-13) |
A Day Long Ago at Sylvanford
Until the Promise Is Fulfilled (21-3) |
- Paul gets lost in the forest when he meets a boy in ragged clothing. The boy shows him the way to the White Lily Manor where Paul's father is working.
- Paul dreams of a knight entering the forests at Sylvanford and quickly sketches the scene down when he realises who the boy he met earlier was.
- Edgar visits Paul as he works, and Wally yells at them both that they're in the way, and they should get out of the studio. Edgar's disappointed when he realises that Paul's figured out who he is. Most people won't talk to him if they know who he is, and Edgar'd thought that the two might be able to be friends. Paul quickly denies that Edgar's the young lord of Sylvanford therefore.
- Edgar catches Wally in a lie when he says that O'Neill chose his paints over Paul's, and realises that his father may have been using his paints over the years all the time. Wally shoves Edgar who falls and hits his head against a table and is knocked out briefly. Edgar confesses to his father about what happened in order to protect O'Neill and the others.
- Edgar's mother fell into a swoon over what happened to Edgar, and Edgar stayed in the residence quietly for over a week as he recovered.
- Paul finishes his poem and sends it to Edgar.
- Mrs. Lundt takes Paul to see Edgar. Edgar tells Paul that while the poem was good he preferred the original sketch Paul had drawn. Paul realises what it was that attracted him to poetry in the first place, why his father thought his drawings were boring, and why Edgar preferred the sketch of the knight in his dream.
- A few days later, Edgar shows up at the studio dressed as a commoner again. He tells Paul that it's the third time he's been scolded by his father for it, so most likely his father realises he'll do it again and has given up on stopping him.
- Paul promises himself that when he becomes a proper artist, he wants the young lord to see his work.
|
T=0 - 8 years
Edgar 12-13 y.o. |
'Ware the Sweet Trap (2)
Love for the Cursed Diamond (5) |
- The Duke of Sylvanford is suspected of treason when the white diamond Daydream goes missing from his care
- The Duke of Sylvanford points a rifle at Edgar but his mother protects him
- Edgar's family is killed and White Lily Manor razed; Edgar's saved from the fire only to be sold to the prince
- he gives the stone the Fairy's Egg to two girls (Rosalie and Doris) in exchange for their help to escape, but they abandon him
- Edgar's shipped to the SE US at the bottom of a freight ship; he arrives barely alive
|
| T=0 - 4 years |
|
- Edgar, Raven, Ermine, and several others loyal to Edgar escape from the prince. At the time, Edgar makes off with certain items of the prince's
|
| T=0 - 2 years |
Changeling Princess (6)
Tell Me The Secret Behind Your Tears (7) |
- Edgar (Sir John) meets Lota, Pino, and Betty
- Ulysses tries to get the merrow's sword but fails and is killed (first body)
- Betty disappears with the signet ring of the Duchy of Cremona
- Ulysses (2nd body) resurrects the wyrm with the signet ring. He tells the village leader that there are no other descendants of the Blue Knight Earl.
|
T=0 - 1 year
Lydia (16) |
Fairy Tale of the Silver Moonlit Night (8-1) |
- A violinist (Ian Reynors) comes to Lydia's hometown in Scotland where he's to hold a recital; he gives Lydia a ticket to the recital
- Lydia learns that the violinist wandered into a fairy ring and has lost something there to the fairy queen--his music; Lydia trades the part of her that loves in exchange for the violinist's musical soul
- At the recital, the violinist offers his most famous piece the Silver Moonlit Night to the fairy queen in exchange for the part of Lydia's soul that she'd traded earlier
|
| T=0 - several months |
Fairy Tale of the Snow Quartz(8-2) |
- Lydia meets Ruth Hardy an elderly widow who is thinking of marrying one of the fae
- Lydia meets Kelpie and his younger brother
- Ruth and younger brother kelpie decide to marry and go away to Faerie to be together
- Kelpie becomes interested in humans and starts hanging around Lydia
|
prior to Xmas before T=0
Lydia (17) |
The Two Before Their Miracle (Fan Bk) |
- Edgar (Sir John) learns that the son of Dr. Gotham (a psychiatrist) is in America looking for criminals for his father's research.
- Edgar comes up with a plan for Sir John to 'die' and his being able to returning to England as the Blue Knight Earl.
- Edgar dreams he's at a party where people call him Earl Ashenbert. Many people ask him to tell them tales about the places he's been and seen when someone asks him if it's okay for him to leave his fiancee alone and that she was surrounded by single men. Curious, he searches for his 'fiancee'.
- Born to the nobility, marriage was something Edgar always considered a duty, and his image of a fiancee was of someone who was somewhat distant, therefore. He wonders if a woman would be able to accept him if they knew his past and the things he'd done, but he figures any such woman would have to have wings. If such a person did exist, no doubt someone else would fall in love with her first, so he can only pray that that doesn't happen.
- Edgar deliberately allows himself to be caught by the authorities, is locked up in jail and sentenced to hang
- Gotham pays handsomely to have another person switched for Sir John; Edgar is sent to the Gotham residence in London
- Lydia tries to stop the chopping down of a beech tree in town; a fairy lives in the tree and refuses to leave it
- George forgets a box with a hair ornament (a betrothal gift to Sally) inside it outside Lydia's home. Kelpie finds it and gives it to Lydia
- George mistakenly thinks Lydia thinks the gift was for her and refuses to acknowledge the hair ornament was his
- Lydia drops the card that had come with the box and Sally picks it up; Sally and George's relationship becomes rocky
- Lydia convinces the fairy living in the beech tree to help get Sally and George back together
- Lydia leaves the hair ornament under the beech tree and convinces George to go to there
- Lydia dreams of her future suitor but is unable to see his face. He tells her that he prayed to God that no one else would fall in love with her before they met. Considering how much she's hated in town, she thinks he went a bit far but forgives him.
- Lydia wonders if her dream suitor would be what she considers an ideal man but has the feeling that he was somewhat different from that ideal.
- Kelpie presses Lydia to marry him, so she begins to ask him to give her the moon. Kelpie cuts her off before she can finish her request.
|
T=0 to ~+3weeks
Mar-Apr
Lydia (17) |
He's a Refined Villain (1) |
- Edgar breaks free and gets Dr. Gotham to tell him what he'd learned about the Merrow's Star
- Prof. Carlton invites his daughter to London for Easter
- Lydia meets Edgar, Raven, and Ermine
- Edgar hires Lydia to help him find the sword said to be held in keeping by the merrow
- Lydia learns that Edgar was Sir John, a notorious bandit in the US who'd been sentenced to hang, that his name was originally Edgar, his family had been killed when he was 13, and he'd been sold to a man in the SE US
- Ermine reveals she's been leaking information to the prince for some time; She then tries to jump to her death taking Lydia with her, but Raven grabs hold of them both. Edgar pulls Lydia to safety, but Ermine begs Raven to let her go, and she falls to her death in the sea
- Raven's surprised when Lydia cries over Ermine's death, but Lydia realises that Ermine hadn't truly tried to kill her.
- Edgar and Lydia reach the merrow and run for the sword. Lydia gets to it first.
- Edgar wrests the sword from Lydia, but instead of killing her, he slices his own hand and is taken away by the merrow
- Lydia makes a deal with the merrow getting them to entrust Edgar with the sword. Edgar loses his 'star' in exchange for the merrow's star
- Edgar forces Lydia into working for his house as a fairy doctor
|
T=0 + >1 month
~Apr-May
Edgar (20), Lydia (17) |
'Ware the Sweet Trap (2) |
- Lydia's been working for Edgar for ~2 weeks
- Edgar has been taking Lydia to various social functions since she started working for him much to her annoyance
- Lydia's attacked in the park by a man with four dogs; Raven kills the man and his dogs
- Edgar takes Lydia to Cremorne gardens to look into the Fairy's Egg divination that's recently become popular as well as to see fireworks on the lake.
- Raven makes a bet with Lydia that even if she were to let down her guard around Edgar, he wouldn't take advantage of that to kiss her. Lydia agrees; if she wins, she gets to punch Edgar.
- Rosalie locks Lydia up in a storehouse
- Lydia's soul is trapped in a bottle by the bogie beast
- Prof. Carlton asks Edgar if he knows Lydia's whereabouts and tells Edgar that she hasn't been seen since the afternoon
- Edgar threatens Rosalie in order to find out where Lydia is; he finds her spirit trapped in a bottle but her body is elsewhere.
- Rosalie breaks the Fairy Egg stone freeing the Fogman
- Lydia and Edgar are saved from the Fogman by a sylph
- Edgar gives Lydia three days off
- Lydia realises that she needs to study more in order to carry out her work as a fairy doctor and tries to suggest that she return to Scotland. Edgar suggests she can study in London eventually revealing that he'd been hiding her work from her. As soon as notices were sent out to his holdings that the earl was back, letters petitioning for help regarding fae issues started coming in. Lydia starts in on her work and forgets about her suggestion that she return to Scotland.
|
T=0 + ~1-1.5 months
~May-June (one month after book 2) |
Flower Divination As Wished For (8-3) |
- Edgar buys daisies from a flower seller outside the opera house
- Edgar does 'she loves me; she loves me not' when getting home much to Lydia's annoyance. A small snake slips into Edgar's gentleman's room and finds Lydia who screams and clings to Edgar. Edgar realises Lydia is afraid of snakes.
- Edgar takes Lydia to a performance of Rossini's opera La Cenerentola; Lydia meets the Duchess of Maysfield
- a pixie creates trouble for Lydia and Edgar as well as a tenor at the opera house
- Edgar and Lydia realise that the tenor is in love with the flower seller. Lydia also realises that the pixie is in love with the girl and is trying to keep the two apart.
- Edgar takes the flower seller to the opera while Lydia attends it again with the Duchess of Maysfield
- Lydia makes a deal with Edgar and loses. She ends up going to the boat races with him as a result.
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T=0 + 3 months
~July |
Gentle Be Thy Proposal (3) |
- Edgar invites Lydia's father and Lydia to a ball he's holding; Lydia's given dance lessons only to have the dance instructor attack Raven who is acting as her dance partner
- Marigold comes with a marriage proposal and ring from the Fairy Queen of the fields for the Blue Knight Earl
- Kelpie crashes the party attempting to give Lydia the moonstone ring only to have it get stuck on Paul's finger
- Paul stays at Edgar's residence until the ring comes off
- Paul uses Lydia as a model for some sketches
- Lydia realises Paul and Edgar had met when they were young and that Edgar was the son of the Duke of Sylvanford
- Paul intervenes between Edgar and Lydia but makes no advances towards Lydia
- Edgar confronts Paul as to his identity; Paul realises who Edgar really is
- Edgar is stabbed with a poisoned knife
- Lydia makes a deal with Kelpie in exchange for saving Edgar
- Edgar tells Lydia that it wouldn't be a problem for him if she were to come to love him
- Edgar confronts the Scarlet Moon and becomes their leader
- Edgar has Marigold and Sweet Pea take him to Faerie; he and Nico then go off and search for Lydia
- Edgar convinces Lydia to become betrothed to him in order to return to the human realm
- Edgar refuses to annul his betrothal to Lydia and denies he said that promises between humans could be annulled at any time instead
- Kelpie decides to stay in London until Lydia gets tired of the human realm
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T=0 + several months
late summer |
Ghostly Lover (4) |
- Edgar attends a seance being held by a woman seeking a husband for her deceased daughter; the medium looks very much like Ermine
- Prof. Carlton gives Lydia an aquamarine pendant that had been passed from mother to daughter in her mother's family.
- Edgar treats Lydia as his fiancee almost as though trying to brainwash her into believing they're engaged
- Lydia helps a woman who's feeling ill near the park; she goes missing after helping the woman
- Edgar finds Lydia only to discover she's possessed by another spirit--Teresa
- Edgar sets to seducing Teresa in order to keep Lydia safe from the other gentlemen's advances. He convinces Lydia that they need to act as though they're in love with one another to keep the other men away from her.
- Edgar, Lydia, and Raven discover Ermine has been reborn as a selkie and that she's under Ulysses's control
- Edgar has Teresa try to remember as much as she can about how she died not realising that doing so was making Lydia experience Teresa's death
- A second noble is murdered at the residence. Ulysses takes Lydia hostage.
- Raven asks Edgar to allow Ermine to return to the earl's service
- The selkies free Lydia from the storage room she's locked up in and Lydia looks for their pelts.
- Ulysses sets the residence on fire; Lydia tries to gather as many of the selkie pelts as she can from the burning residence; Edgar and Lydia escape the burning residence together
- Lydia convinces the selkie not to destroy the Blue Knight Earl's fort at Hastings
- The selkie decide to side with Lydia rather than Ulysses
- The old selkie gives Lydia Ermine's seal skin (Lydia later gives it to Edgar).
- Edgar wanders the beaches at Hastings for three days waiting for Lydia to return from Faerie
- Edgar gives Lydia a light pink seashell he found on the beach
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T=0 + several months
late summer-fall |
Elope on the Moonlit Night (8-4) |
- Mr. Browser asks Edgar for help in distracting his daughter who is rather taken with romance and the idea of eloping. His daughter Norma seems to be in love with a shop clerk who may be after her settlement
- Edgar catches Lydia reading a romance novel, but Lydia denies it being hers. Edgar asks Lydia if she's not curious to find out if the couple in the book manage to elope or not.
- Lydia finds a man outside her home and finds he's being haunted by one of the fae; she invites him inside where the fairy can't follow
- Edgar suddenly drops by to visit Lydia and has Raven see Mr. Lloyd home
- Mr. Lloyd visits Lydia asking for her help with the fairy that's haunting him; Lydia tells him his best option is to marry the lady he loves
- Lloyd and Lydia plan for him to elope with Norma
- Curious about what's involved in eloping, Lydia sneaks into Edgar's study hoping to find the book she'd been in the middle of reading earlier only to have several other books fall when she takes it from the shelf. Edgar catches her and tells her he'd booby-trapped that specific book on the off-chance Lydia might want to finish reading it.
- When Lloyd and Lydia go off to meet Norma the night Norma and Lloyd are to elope, Lydia learns that Norma wouldn't be coming and that Lloyd had given up marrying Norma as she seemed to be in love with Edgar. Lloyd tells Lydia that he'll let her off at the next town and she can catch the train back to London. He didn't think Lydia was in love with Edgar and is shocked therefore when Lydia starts to cry. He realises that Lydia might be in love with the earl
- Edgar learns from Nico that Lloyd had taken off with Lydia intending to elope with her. Edgar immediately leaves the banquet to go after Lydia.
- Edgar learns from Lydia that Mr. Browser had planned to have Lloyd leave with Lydia and was hoping to have Edgar marry Norma.
- Edgar helps Lloyd and Norma elope and returns to London with Lydia
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| T=0 + several months |
With Love for the Cursed Diamond (5) |
- Edgar has one of his fallen comrade's bodies sent from America to Britain; inside the casket is the famous black diamond Nightmare
- Edgar seeks help from Duchess of Maysfield hoping to formalise his engagement with Lydia
- Coblynau finally catches up to the moonstone ring Bow and puts it on Lydia's finger; now, the only person who can remove it is Edgar
- Edgar tries tricking marquess Birkstone into handing over the white diamond 'Daydream', but Birkstone fails to get the diamond to the harem
- Kelpie finds Daydream before Ulysses; he offers to give Daydream to Lydia in exchange for her returning to Scotland
- Lydia tells Edgar the conditions for his getting Daydream from Kelpie; Edgar refuses and steals a kiss from Lydia
- Coblynau and his fellow coblynau steal Lydia away to the harem ousting Edgar's 'lover' and putting her in Jean-Mary's place
- Birkstone grabs Daydream and runs from the harem
- Lydia asks Edgar to take the moonstone ring off her so that Kelpie can use the magic power in it to free everyone, but Edgar refuses. He gives Kelpie the black diamond instead.
- The diamond Nightmare is destroyed and the nightmare contained inside is freed
- Lydia faints from a high fever
- Daydream is returned to the Buckingham Palace and the cloud of suspicion hanging over the Duke of Sylvanford is finally cleared
- Professor Carlton asks Edgar to agree to have Lydia sent back to Scotland. He then asks if the danger Lydia's been exposed to is strictly the danger she faces because of her job as a fairy doctor. Lydia pleads with her father not to blame Edgar for what had happened and that it was her own lack of judgement. She then begs Edgar not to say that he didn't need her.
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T=0 + several months
early-mid Nov.
Lydia (17-18) |
Changeling Princess (6) |
- Lydia's our shopping when she spots Edgar kissing a lady before entering her residence
- A woman writes Lydia regarding a changeling incident in a tiny mining town near Yorkshire
- Edgar takes Lydia to his friend's engagement party and introduces her as his fiancee although they haven't formally announced yet; the bride-to-be (Jane) is jealous of Lydia for 'catching' Edgar whereas she'd made the error of going after a younger son
- Jane leaves Lydia with some drunken male friends; Lydia ends up being helped by an elderly gentleman--the Grand Duke of Cremona whose family has been exiled to Holland
- The Grand Duke asks Edgar what happened to the earl's marriage to his granddaughter; Edgar and Lydia argue
- Edgar determines he needs to be stronger if he's to protect Lydia and tries the merrow's sword against Kelpie to no effect. He realises he can't protect Lydia from Ulysses.
- Lota and Pino show up suddenly at Edgar's asking about Betty; they threaten to reveal that he'd been a notorious criminal that was sentenced to hang in the US if he doesn't help them find Betty
- Ermine tells Edgar that Lydia left for Yorkshire early that morning
- Edgar has Lota's crew catch up with Lydia's ship and kidnaps Lydia from the passenger vessel
- Edgar (using the name Viscount Middleworth) and Lydia enter the village hiding their identity but the villagers quickly learn that Lydia can see the fae. Edgar then reveals his identity to the townsfolk
- Lydia tells Edgar that she wants him to stop calling her his fiancee; Edgar agrees that if she doesn't change her mind by the time they return to London that he'll give up pursuing her.
- Edgar, Raven, Ermine, and most of Lota's people attack the town, finding the town's cache of fluorite. Lydia, Lota, Nico, and Kelpie go to the wyrm's den in search of Betty.
- Kelpie realises Lydia intends to look for the wyrm's thorn bush and snap off a twig thus breaking its magic. He asks Lydia if she'll be able to escape the magic backlash, otherwise someone like her who has no firm ties to the human realm will get swept away. However, Lydia's more concerned that if she really is a changeling, the magic backlash will break any magic on her causing her to lose her human form as well as all memory of her time as a human and send her back to Faerie.
- Edgar learns that Ulysses had been to the village numerous times over the years so that the fae would not interfere with the villagers mining. By awakening the wyrm, the villagers were to accept losing the occasional baby to the wyrm in order to be able to get the red fluorite 'flare'. He also realises that the village elder has the special fluorite and that the prince wants it for some reason.
- Edgar finds out from Nico that Lydia and some others had scattered when they were attacked by the wyrm as they approached its nest. Nico was swallowed by the wyrm but managed to cling to its tongue and avoid being eaten. Nico tells Edgar that Lydia learned about the wyrm shortly after they entered the village, and Edgar realises she'd said nothing about it to him since he would be powerless against it. Nico tells Edgar that Kelpie is with Lydia.
- Lota asks Lydia to get Betty out of the cave then goes out and confronts the wyrm. She tells it that Betty wasn't a princess and that Betty had taken her place. Lota takes Betty's place as the wyrm's bride. While Lydia doesn't want to leave Lota behind, she realises that with the wyrm's magic no longer on Betty, Betty could leave the cave. Since Lota was new to the cave, as long as Lydia could find the wyrm's thorn bush and snap off a twig thus breaking the wyrm's magic, Lota would readily be sent back to the human world compared to Betty who'd been living there for some time.
- Betty leaves the cave with Pino
- Lydia finds Lota playing the ocarina with the wyrm is asleep beside her. The wyrm chained Lota to prevent her from being able to escape. Lydia promises to get Lota out of there and asks her if the wyrm forbade her to go anywhere. Lota tells Lydia that the worm told her she's not to go beyond the forest.
- Lydia tells Lota that she's to think about the person most important to her and want to see them. When asked, Lydia tells Lota that she'll be thinking of her father. However, since it's all too much of a given that the two understand and care about one another, as a tie, it's very weak to hold Lydia to the human realm. Lota admits she wants to meet her grandfather. While originally she didn't care about her original roots, since her grandfather hadn't given up on looking for her all that time, she wanted to meet him and learn more about her parents.
- The wyrm wakes up and attacks Lydia and Kelpie. The two flee eventually running into Edgar, Raven, and Ermine. Edgar reproaches Lydia for leaving without saying anything since he's responsible for her safety, not only as her 'fiance', but also as her employer. Edgar suggests they all leave the cave for the time being, but Lydia tells him that there's only one solution. She then surprises him when she tells him that he, Raven, and Ermine should leave.
- Kelpie notes that even for a womaniser like Edgar, getting Lydia to do what he wants isn't easy. While Edgar doesn't want Lydia to end up in any danger, Kelpie tells Edgar that that's pointless, so he'll follow Lydia wherever she wants to go. The wyrm finds them, and Kelpie holds it at bay. He tells Lydia to finish things quickly so that they can live in Scotland together. Even if she forgets, he'll come to steal her away.
- Edgar asks Lydia what Kelpie meant but Lydia refuses to answer. The wyrm attacks the area they're in causing the ground to collapse, and Ermine pushes Lydia to safety before she falls into the newly formed crevice. Feeling guilty about Ermine's fall, and realising that breaking the wyrm's magic might help Ermine as well, Lydia sneaks away intending to continue her search for the wyrm's thorn bush while Edgar and Raven consider whether it might be safe to try looking for Ermine. She realises the wyrm blindly attacked their general vicinity because it had something to protect--its thorn bush.
- Edgar catches up to Lydia and insists on going with her, but Lydia tells Edgar that following her was pointless and that he should give up on her now--she might not be able to return to London. Edgar asks Lydia if that had anything to do with what Kelpie had said, and when she doesn't answer, he threatens to kiss her if she doesn't give him a proper explanation.
- Lydia tells Edgar that she might be a changeling. If she is a changeling, snapping the wyrm's thorn bush would break the wyrm's magic sending Lota as well as Martha's baby back to the human realm, but it would also break any magic on Lydia and send her to Faerie. She also tells him that even if she's human, since she has no roots to the human realm, the magic backlash could sweep her away to Faerie anyway.
- Edgar tells Lydia that even though he doesn't understand anything about the fae and he might not be able to become someone special to her, the only thing he could do for her was to go with her so she wouldn't face things alone.
- Kelpie sits at the bottom of the sea as he waits for his strength to return and his wounds to heal after having held off the wyrm. He wants to get back to Lydia before she snaps off a twig from the wyrm's thorn bush, but his attention goes to Ermine who regains consciousness beside him. Kelpie had seen her fall and saved her from being buried under rubble after she got hit by some debris and lost consciousness. He admits he saved her because Lydia would have become upset with him if he hadn't.
- Ermine sets off towards the village and Kelpie follows her. Kelpie knew that Ermine had more than enough time to get to safety but chose to fall into the crevice instead. He realises that she wanted to get away and do something without Edgar or Raven knowing about it.
- Kelpie follows Ermine as she goes into a cave and attacks the two men there. After killing the men, she finds a fist-sized reddish stone on one of the bodies and pockets it, and Kelpie realises that she'd been after the stone. Ermine promises Kelpie that she won't cause trouble for Lydia
- Edgar and Lydia come upon the wyrm's forest and finds Martha's baby. It's been turned to stone, but Lydia realises that it's alive since it's still warm to the touch. Lydia tells Edgar that the wyrm turns its victims to stone then eats them and wonders if the other pillars there were also human sacrifices.
- Lydia's shocked that people would sacrifice others like that in order to make money, but Edgar tells her that the village leader said that there was another use for the special fluorite that only the Blue Knight Earl could make use of. He then asks Lydia if she knew how to defeat the wyrm. Lydia tells him it's impossible, and that's why she was searching for the wyrm's thorn bush. However, Edgar argues that there are stories of heroes defeating dragons albeit winged ones. Usually they needed a special weapon or they needed to know the dragon's weak point. While Edgar has the merrow's sword, he can't draw upon its true power and it's nothing more than a regular sword in his hands. So he needs to know the wyrm's weak point. Lydia finally realises that they've been surrounded by the wyrm and that's why Edgar started asking about how to defeat the creature.
- Edgar sets himself the task of defeating the wyrm in order to truly become the Blue Knight Earl and to make the sword truly his. He tells Lydia that while originally he only wanted the Blue Knight Earl's name and rank, it would pure conceit on his part to want to marry her if he couldn't keep her safe from those who use magic.
- As the two avoid the wyrm, Lydia remembers that the flare fluorite was needed to resurrect the wyrm. The wyrm was said to have a flaming tongue; she'd thought that was because it breathed fire, but she wonders if it's because the stone was on its tongue.
- Edgar tells Lydia that he really does want to marry her and that this task was something he had to do. Lydia realises that Edgar's trying to change himself for her sake and that he wanted to be able to use the merrow's sword so that he could protect her and not end up only using her abilities.
- Lydia kisses Edgar on the cheek when he goes to face the wyrm.
- Edgar defeats the wyrm after Lydia snaps the wyrm's thorn bush.
- Lydia tells Edgar that if he's going to let go of her hand, he should do it right away. She doesn't think she could bear his letting go of her as they try to leave the cave. Edgar promises not to let go, but on the way out of the cave, they see Ermine lying on a path below them. Lydia tells Edgar to let go of her hand and to help Ermine.
- Edgar starts to let go of Lydia's hand when Nico yells at him, but it's too late and the magic backlash overwhelms Lydia and sweeps her soul away. Bow manages to keep Lydia's soul from being swept away to Faerie.
- With Bow's help, Edgar is able to speak to Lydia. Lydia admits that if what Edgar had said was true, that she wanted to go back to London with him. However, since they weren't a real couple, she didn't think they'd manage to get out safely without falling victim to the beguiling magic they would face. But if they did make it out of there, she would try taking what he'd said seriously.
- Edgar manages to convince Lydia to return and swears never to let go of her again.
- Back in the village, Betty, Lota, and Lydia get cleaned up from their ordeal and get dressed for tea. Since Lydia's clothes were badly soiled from entering the cave, she wears the dress Edgar had brought for her that she wore when she first entered the village. Both Lota and Betty feel that Lydia's too good for Edgar, but Lota admits that Edgar seems to have become a much better man than he'd been when he was seeing Betty. Before, he didn't feel the least bit of guilt over seeing multiple women at the same time, but Lota wonders if he might be feeling guilty about cheating now. She then tells Lydia that Edgar left the lady's home soon after he'd entered it and that he then went to some club. Lydia realises that the woman on the street corner outside the bookstore had been Lota and that Edgar may have been telling the truth when he told her that he stayed out all night at Slade's Club.
- The Grand Duke of Cremona arrives at the earl's residence in the village, and Lydia thanks him for having helped her the other day. Edgar then has her show Lota and Betty in as well. Lydia tries to tell Edgar about the two girls's identities, but Edgar tells her that while he'd been fooled for a long time as well, that he realised which was girl was the Grand Duke's granddaughter. Even though the signet ring has been lost, he Grand Duke immediately recognises Lota as his granddaughter. Edgar tells Lydia that a three-year-old would undoubtedly know their own name, and the Princess of Cremona's name was Charlotte which in Italian would be "Carlotta" or Lota for short.
- Lydia's a lot more nervous than usual as she and Edgar have tea. She was at a severe disadvantage this time. Lydia realises that the fact that she managed to get out of that cave meant that Edgar had already gained a great deal of her trust and that she could no longer reject him as she'd been. However, when Edgar moves to kiss her, Raven knocks on the door telling him that Ermine has returned.
- Edgar immediately goes to Ermine and hugs her as one would family. Ermine apologises for taking so long to return; she'd gotten lost trying to find her way back. Lydia apologises to Ermine since Ermine had fallen saving Lydia. She then notices a bloodstain on Ermine's cuff and asks if she'd been hurt. Lydia immediately remembers that Ermine's blood turns into a clear sand-like substance.
- Ermine tells Edgar that she found the village leader's body and that two vilagers had been rifling through his clothes when she came upon them. She'd been forced to defend herself when they attacked her, but they escaped. Most likely with the fluorite.
- After Raven and Ermine leave, Edgar asks Lydia if she was tired. When she admits that she is, he suggests that she get some sleep and readily leaves surprising her. He'd always so persistent pursuing her, but for whatever reason, he readily backed down that night. Lydia realises what had just happened was just like the mirage they'd seen in the cave--Edgar was on the verge of letting go of her for Ermine's sake. In the cave, Edgar had worked desperately to get her to come back. Since Lydia was back in the human realm, there was no denying Edgar's feelings. And because of that, Lydia had thought she would try and be honest about her own feelings that night. She'd decided she wouldn't simply reject him. She'd also decided that if he tried to kiss her, that she wouldn't slap him or try to run away either.
- Kelpie finds her alone and Lydia thanks him for protecting them from the wyrm. Kelpie's surprised that she's alone, but Lydia tells him that everyone else is busy. Kelpie tells her that he'll keep her company then. Lydia can only smile at seeing Kelpie grab a scone and toss it in his mouth, and she realises that more than people, it's the fae that are always with her.
- Lydia realises that maybe it was best that Edgar hadn't tried seducing her that night. She didn't know whether she loved him so much as to accept his proposal, yet she'd been on the verge of considering him as her suitor. However, thinking about things objectively, she realised that even if she did come to love him, it would be one-sided on her part. Even if they married and he didn't cheat on her, she still wouldn't be the most important person to him.
- Edgar considers what he'd learned in the village about the fluorite and the Blue Knight Earl. In the past, brothers descended from the earl came to the village. The older brother used his skills as a craftsman to increase the value of the fluorite. But the younger brother wanted to use the stone for a different purpose. The red rock that the wyrm creates has a special property and was the stone of immortality. It was a property that only the Blue Knight Earl's descendants could make use of. Realising his younger brother wanted to bring the wyrm back to life and thinking it dangerous, the older brother carved the one flare stone that could bring the dragon back to life into a signet ring and sent it to the Grand Duchy of Cremona before he was killed by his younger brother.
- Edgar wonders if Ulysses is the son of the younger brother. While he suspects Ulysses had been subjected to special training and brainwashing, he also suspects that Ulysses is related by blood to the Blue Knight Earl. And because he'd joined the prince, Ulysses hadn't been killed even though he carried the Blue Knight Earl's blood.
- According to Ermine, the flare stone was no longer in the village. If the stone ended up in the hands of the prince, he might become immortal. Edgar didn't like the thought of that.
- Even though Edgar managed to defeat the wyrm, it was mostly thanks to Lydia, and he still didn't know if he'd be able to fight since he couldn't draw out the power of the sword. Likewise, he didn't know what to do about Lydia.
- Raven tells Edgar that he's going to the post office in the village in order to mail a letter for Lydia. Despite the breach in privacy, Edgar asks Raven who the letter's for, and Raven tells him it's for her father. Apparently, she was letting him know that she was taking an early Xmas break and would be going directly to Scotland from the village.
- Surprised at the news, Edgar grabs his jacket and quickly heads out of his room, but Raven tells him that Lydia left a long time ago. Edgar tells Raven he hadn't approved any holiday request and asks why he hadn't told him about it when Lota shows up. Lota tells Edgar that Lydia left while it was still dark, so Raven respected Lydia's request that he not wake Edgar. She then hands Edgar Lydia's holiday notice. Edgar can only protest that it was still November.
- Edgar asks why Lydia's letter was entrusted to Lota, and she tells him that it was because she suggested it to Lydia--for her to take a break and put some distance between herself and Edgar. Lota also suggested that it would be better to carry out the plan before Edgar could talk her out of it.
- Lota tells Edgar that she felt responsible for Lydia being down the night before since she told Lydia that Edgar seemed to be a much better man now, but she realises that Edgar hadn't changed much from how he'd been when he was with Betty. Lota tells Edgar that the fae were in Lydia's room until late last night. While Lota could only see the curly black-haired man and the cat, things were quite lively, so she suspects a lot of wee folk were there, too. So she couldn't help wondering why Edgar hadn't been there, too.
- Lota tells Edgar that yesterday had been very trying for Lydia. Not only did Lydia have to figure out a way to save Betty and Lota as well as Martha's baby all at the same time, she had no one she could rely on for help since the fae were involved.
- Edgar knew that not only did Lydia set out to do that on her own, she was also prepared for the possibility that she herself might not be able to get back safely. And that's why he didn't want to leave her on her own. He could at least stay by her side. Edgar suddenly realises that Lydia had been alone the night before.
- Lota tells Edgar she'd expected him to be with Lydia. Since they'd made it through crisis together, Edgar was the only one who really knew how difficult an ordeal Lydia had been through. So Lota thought he would've seduced Lydia and made her forget about the entire ordeal so that she could feel safe and rest.
- Edgar had thought about closing the gap between him and Lydia, but he'd hesitated because he didn't feel he'd gained that right yet. He'd been unable to get the fluorite back, and he still didn't know what power it held. Nor did he know how to keep Lydia safe against Ulysses. Even though he couldn't let her go, nor could he draw any closer to her. And though Lydia had tried to face him, this time it was he who ran away.
- Lota tells Edgar that Lydia had laughed the night before when she told Lota about how the fae always stayed with her. Even though Lydia'd been made fun of because she could see the fae, Lota realises that Lydia had always smiled the way she did last night. Lota tells Edgar that she wants Lydia to find happiness with the man meant for her. Therefore Lota couldn't leave Lydia with Edgar the way he was now. She goes on to tell Edgar that Lydia's not like Betty. While Edgar might not have been serious about chasing after Lydia, Lydia only has two possible responses--to reject someone or to seriously fall for them. Edgar realises that Lota is extremely angry with him.
- Edgar's unable to follow after Lydia, and he realises that the way things were going, she would only become more alienated from the human world and would eventually leave him.
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T=0 + several months
Xmas |
Magic To Reach You (8-5) |
- Edgar talks to Raven about Emily Postner a young noble lady who does a lot of charity work that he's come to know recently. Emily doesn't have the same arrogance that many noble ladies have and seems to be attracted to Edgar. Edgar asks Raven who he wanted to serve if Edgar were to have a lady join the household. Raven says he would serve Lydia.
- Kelpie hates Xmas thanks to all the holy items around; Lydia gives him a goose for Xmas
- Guy Nash, a friend of Andy's (a childhood acquaintance and one of the boys who always caused trouble for Lydia), asks Lydia to the Xmas party the next night but Lydia refuses
- Edgar tells Tompkins that if possible Raven wants to serve Lydia; Tompkins agrees with Raven.
- Edgar wonders if there might be some men in Lydia's home town that are secretly in love with her. Since no one's ever tried to court her, someone might've been chasing potential suitors away from her. Tompkins asks Edgar if he meant much as Edgar had done since he'd thrown away a Xmas card from a gentleman at the park that was meant for Lydia. Edgar denies throwing away the card and says that the wind blew it into a puddle.
- Edgar asks Tompkins if he and Raven would be willing to go to Scotland and convince Lydia to marry Edgar. Tompkins tells Edgar that it's his family's most important rule to never fail to carry out the earl's order, and if Edgar insisted on having him go to Scotland, he would have to take a leave of absence. Edgar takes back his request
- Edgar holds a small Xmas party for some fellow bachelor friends. Despite many invitations for Xmas dinner, Edgar declined all of them since they involved families with eligible daughters. His friends have a betting pool going as to who Edgar's been cleaning up his womanising tendencies for. They invite Paul to take part in the pool, but he declines. Edgar surprises the other men by making Paul's wager for him; he bets on Lydia Carlton. None of them know who she is let alone bet on her, but they then become suspicious that Edgar may be trying to muddy things on them.
- Edgar slips away from the party and finds his way to the Carlton residence in London. He sits on their porch and dozes off briefly.
- Lydia sits by the fire and dreams of her mother. Her mother wonders what sort of man proposed to Lydia. She then tells a very young Lydia that a visitor is there for her and tells her to go outside
- Lydia and Edgar dream of seeing one another each thinking that it's their own dream. Lydia tells Edgar that if he fell asleep outside he should hurry up and wake up lest he freeze to death. When Edgar asks, she honestly admits that she also wanted to see him and the two kiss under the mistletoe.
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T=0 + several months
January |
Tell Me the Secret Behind Your Tears (7) |
- Lydia worries over the fact that she hasn't received a letter recently from Edgar even though he'd been writing almost every day when she began her break, but Lota tells her that most likely Edgar was doing it deliberately to make Lydia worry so she'll want to return to London again. Even so, Lydia immediately runs to the mailbox when the mail is delivered only to have the letter taken by Nico--he recently began exchanging letters with someone.
- Coblynau tells Lydia that the Blue Knight Earl was seen in Britain with troops and the household banshee 100 years ago. Lydia decides to speak to the merrow and see if they knew anything about the Blue Knight Earl's appearance at that time.
- Paul wakes to find Edgar in his boarding room / studio only to discover that his room has been ransacked. He'd been so drunk when he came home that he hadn't noticed the state of his room.
- Edgar discovers a young girl in Paul's bed, but Paul doesn't recognise her. They discover that her tears turn into amber and realise she's one of the fae.
- Paul suggests Edgar recall Lydia from her leave, but Edgar refuses. He wants Lydia to come back for his sake and not because of her sense of responsibility for her work. Paul starts to tell Edgar that Lydia has shown no signs of returning of her own accord so far but quickly stops. He's learned in the past month that any such comments instantly put Edgar in a bad mood and usually result in some very cutting remarks.
- Edgar tells Paul that he's leaving to see Lydia but that he doesn't want to discuss work with her, so he refuses to take the girl with him and he refuses to allow Paul to accompany him. He tells Paul to stay at his residence in London and to take care of the girl there
- Lydia arrives on Manaan Island with Lota. They start towards the inn when one of the inn's workers tell them that the road is in poor condition so they should use the carriage. Lydia gets in the carriage, but the door is closed before Lota can get in and the carriage drives off. Lydia ends up being whisked away on her own to the castle. Tired from the long trip, Lydia naps briefly. When she wakes, she discovers she'd been using Edgar's lap as a pillow.
- Lota catches up to Edgar and Lydia and stays for dinner much to Edgar's disgust. Lota's taken away by two burly men sent by her grandfather; Lota's to be presented at Court in Holland. Lota warns Lydia not to let Edgar in her room at all otherwise she's giving him her assent.
- Edgar gives Lydia a goodnight kiss on the cheek before she can say yea or nay to his request.
- Edgar realises that, rather than making her want to see him, his writing letters and not going to see her had her giving up having a relationship with him. There was no give and take with Lydia--if he drew back, she saw it as his not having been serious.
- Raven asks Edgar to use whatever means is fastest and most certain to succeed in winning Lydia over. Ulysses was working towards the prince's return to England, and they didn't have much time left. Edgar asks Raven to steal Lydia's room key from Tompkins. But before he can stop Raven from leaving to do so, Raven remembers that Lydia's room is under Ermine's purview, so it would be impossible to steal the key.
- Until now, Edgar and the others had always been prepared to die in their fight against the prince. But Edgar realises that if he's to drag Lydia into his fight, he couldn't afford to die, nor could he think that dying was okay. However, he wasn't sure yet if he could fight for the future rather than fight for revenge.
- Edgar and Lydia speak to the merrow the next morning and ask about Ulysses as well as the sighting of the Blue Knight Earl 100 years ago. They learn that the best way to find out about the history of the earl's house is to talk to the household banshee. Paul catches up to them and the merrow identify the girl with Paul as the earl's banshee. They realise that the previous Blue Knight Earl didn't come to get the sword because only male descendants of the earl were recognised by the crown. There was no reason for the last earl to present herself, therefore.
- The merrow tell Lydia and the others that Banshee's memories have been locked away by Gladys--the last Blue Knight Earl. They also explain that a few years before Lydia and Edgar appeared, the only other person to ever appear before the merrow seeking the sword had appeared and told them that the last direct bloodline desendant of the earl was dead and that all other descendants except for himself (Ulysses) were also dead. However, Ulysses was unable to solve the merrow's riddle and died. Edgar realises that most likely the prince figured that if Ulysses (descended from a bastard line) was unable to obtain the sword no one else could.
- Lydia asks Banshee to acknowledge Edgar as the Blue Knight Earl and her master, in order to lift the seal on her memories, but Banshee says she can't see Edgar as her master--he doesn't carry the same power as Gladys did. Edgar realises that becoming the Blue Knight Earl will not be easy.
- Raven gathers all of Banshee's tears and throws them into the fireplace at Lydia's suggestion. All of the tears burn away meaning that they don't carry fae magic, don't foretell anyone's death, and are regular amber.
- Lydia tells Edgar that she'll figure out how to unlock Banshee's memories so he should concentrate on keeping himself and everyone else safe from Ulysses and the prince. However, Edgar tells her that unlocking Banshee's memories is his problem and that if Lydia had no intention of tying her future with his that he couldn't have her take on so much as someone in his employ. Unless his own future was tied to her happiness, essentially he would only be using her.
- Paul suggest he use Banshee as a model and goes to get his things, but when he comes back, Banshee is gone.
- Paul and Nico go after banshee. Paul catches up to Banshee as she's about to board a ship, but a middle-aged woman catches him. The woman recognises Paul and orders him at gunpoint to go with Banshee.
- Ermine apologises to Edgar for disappearing; she'd been outside looking at the sea. Edgar apologises and tells her that he'd been uncertain about having her come with them to Manaan Island since that's where she admitted she'd betrayed Edgar and killed herself.
- Edgar remembers the conversation he had with Slade when leaving London about Paul's apartment being ransacked. On their side, only those involved knew Paul's identity, so the probability of his identity being leaked to the enemy was extremely unlikely. Slade suggested that the leak might be on Edgar's side instead. Edgar realises that the only people on his side who knew he and Paul had met at the Sylvanford's manor house was himself, Lydia, Raven, and possibly Ermine. He figured Lydia and Raven would never betray him, but Ermine had been brought back as a selkie by Ulysses.
- Edgar brushes off the snow from Ermine's shoulders and tells her that Paul brought Banshee to the island. He asks her if she's met Banshee but Ermine denies it. After Ermine leaves, Edgar tries to burn the amber tear he'd found on Ermine's shoulder; it doesn't burn
- Edgar wonders if Lydia doesn't feel comfortable being alone with him because she's no longer able to fully reject him. He also wonders if her wearing the moonstone ring as his fiancee makes her a member of the earl's household and therefore subject to Banshee's prediction.
- Edgar removes the moonstone ring from Lydia but asks that she still hang on to it. Lydia wonders about Edgar's unusual behaviour lately and wishes he'd make it clear if he didn't want her to be attracted to him.
- Kelpie sneaks in and visits Lydia. Realising Lydia's depressed, he hold her when they're caught by Raven. Raven asks Lydia not to betray Edgar. He tells her that Edgar didn't cheat on her while she was in Scotland and that Edgar needs her
- Nico frees Paul from where he's been locked up. Banshee tells Paul that a female maid dressed in men's clothing had given her a note saying that if she wanted to meet someone who carried the Blue Knight Earl's blood, she should leave the castle and go to the port without being seen. When Banshee sees Ulysses, she senses the same power in him as Gladys held. Paul tries to convince Banshee that the man she met at the castle is the earl and that Ulysses isn't a legitimate descendant. Ulysses tells Paul that any child whether illegitimate or not is seen as blood-descendants to the fae.
- Kelpie returns to London and rests by the fountain at the earl's residence when he spots Ermine climbing out of the window. He remembers Ermine had acted strangely before when at the village near Yorkshire and decides to follow her. Ermine has him open a locked trunk telling him that his friend is inside. Kelpie denies having any friends, so Ermine corrects herself and tells him a friend of someone important to him is inside. Kelpie opens the trunk and finds Nico inside unconscious.
- Kelpie asks Ermine if she intended to kill the earl. She tells him that she doesn't want him to be taken away. Kelpie's not sure if she means she wants to protect him or if she wants him to be hers even if she has to betray him as he feels both about Lydia. While he doesn't want Lydia to be hurt or sad, and he does want to protect her, at the same time, he wonders if, even though she might hate him for it, if he stole her away to the depths of the lake, that she might give up and stay with him. Ermine tells Kelpie if he really wants to keep Lydia safe, he should do whatever he has to to get her away from Edgar.
- Upon returning to London, Lydia learns from the housekeeper that Nico was found that morning in front of the house unconscious. Lydia has to stop Edgar as he holds an unresponsive Nico upside down or lifts his tail or leg while worrying over her partner.
- Raven notices that Nico's whiskers have been cut off.
- Edgar tells Raven to have the Scarlet Moon search for the building Nico mentioned. He then asks Lydia if there's a time limit on a banshee's predictions, and she tells him it's about one week.
- The next day, Edgar sends word that the Scarlet Moon found the building Nico mentioned and that when they went there, they found Paul bound in one of the rooms. Paul tells them that while Ulysses was after Banshee, he was also after the amber that locked away Banshee's memories. Paul had been left unharmed so that Edgar would learn about the amber, look for it, and find it. Lydia suspects that the amber is somewhere close to Paul.
- As Lydia's about to leave, Paul tells Edgar that there's one other thing and causes her to pause. However, when he indicates he wants to speak to Edgar privately, she quickly leaves the room. Lydia wonders if Edgar might not really need her after all.
- Edgar wonders if Ermine really has betrayed him again and if so why. He wonders if she might resent him for everything and wonders if the only thing he can do for her is to give her his life.
- Kelpie catches Edgar as he tests the amber he found on Ermine again. Kelpie asks Edgar to nullify his engagement with Lydia since there's no guarantee Lydia won't get caught up in whatever trouble ends up killing Edgar. Edgar refuses. He tells Kelpie to get lost and that he'll keep Lydia safe.
- Raven tells Edgar that he should be careful of Kelpie. Even though Kelpie's Lydia's acquaintance, he wasn't on their side. Raven then admits having caught Kelpie making advances on Lydia. Edgar notices Raven looks slightly upset and realises that Lydia's attitude towards Kelpie was probably something she didn't show towards him. While Lydia rejected Kelpie because he was fae, she didn't question Kelpie's feelings since the fae don't lie. Despite wanting to see Lydia and beg her not to leave him, Edgar knows that he might not have much time left, too. He asks Raven to protect Lydia as a friend regardless of whether Edgar was there or not.
- Raven tells Edgar that Lydia's gone home since her father was returning from one of his material gathering trips that day, and Edgar realises that he wouldn't be able to invite her for dinner. By being with Lydia, he's able to forget all his troubles for a short time, but his making her have dinner with him like that was a bad habit of his.
- Lydia asks Nico if he didn't want dinner. Her father's present was smoked salmon and whiskey from Finland. Nico warns Lydia that Ermine might be betraying the earl and that she should be careful. He tells her that Paul heard that, too, so Edgar might know about it already. Remembering how Paul wanted to speak privately with Edgar earlier, Lydia wonders if that was what Paul wanted to talk to Edgar about.
- Edgar stops by Slade's club where he looks through O'Neill's paintings. He tells Slade that any messages about the current situation should be sent either through Paul or told directly to him. Slade tells Edgar that the body of one of the villagers from Wold Cave came floating to the surface on a stormy day. It had been weighed down by rocks. Edgar recalls Ermine telling him she'd chased after the villager who had the flare fluorite rock but he got away. Edgar goes back to the main area of the club and joins a group of men who're drinking and smoking. They give him so tobacco to smoke and he notices that it's had something mixed in with it.
- Edgar sees a painting hanging on the wall of a lady with a shield and feels like he's seen it somewhere before.
- Lydia sneaks out of the house after her father goes into his study and takes a carriage to the earl's residence. Since she didn't expect to stay long, she keeps her cloak on and asks Raven about Edgar. Raven asks Lydia to see Edgar since she was already there.
- Edgar suggests Lydia drink with him, but Lydia refuses. She comments that he seems rather drunk, but Edgar denies having drunk that much. He admits that he did have some questionable drug at the club though. Edgar asks her if she'd come because of something Nico told her; the same thing Paul had told him in private earlier. He then asks Lydia not to tell anyone about what she'd heard.
- Edgar steals Lydia's cloak when she gets up to leave. He tells her that he wants her to stay the night, that he needs her, and he doesn't want to let her go. Lydia had had no intent to go that far in trying to cheer Edgar up, but she realises that he might be wanting that sort of definite proof that she'll by his side. She's completely unable to push him away as Edgar carries her to his bed. However, as he starts to kiss her on the neck, he murmurs Ermine's name. Lydia realises that he's using her as a replacement for someone else and feels so pathetic she wants to cry.
- Edgar dreams of Lydia and is happy that he no longer has to give her up when Lydia starts to cry. She tells him that she doesn't want to be hurt by him any more and that she's going to the land of the fae.
- Edgar wakes up hung over and finds a button on his bed. The button was clearly not his, and he vaguely recalls Raven telling him last night that Lydia was there. Learning from Raven that he'd brought Lydia to Edgar's room the night before, Edgar remembers that Lydia had heard about Ermine from Nico and she'd been concerned for him. The feeling of picking her up and kissing her, however, was rather hazy and he wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not. Worse still, he couldn't remember anything of what was most important.
- Edgar asks Tompkins if he knew when Lydia left, but Tompkins only learned that morning from Raven that Lydia had come. He offers to ask the other servants if they might know anything, but Edgar says no. Edgar then asks Tompkins how he proposed to his wife. Tompkins tells him that he'd asked her something along the lines of wouldn't it be nice to have a child with a fin on its back, and his wife agreed. In the end their son didn't have a fin on his back. Edgar tells Tompkins that that didn't help him in the least.
- Tompkins tells Edgar that while it was normal to get married first, it wasn't unusual for couples to get the order of things mixed up and that in the long run, such mistakes were but the most trifling of things. While Edgar agreed it would be very minor if he had a lot of time, he didn't know if Banshee's prediction would come true the next day. He has Tompkins have a bouquet readied.
- Edgar asks Raven why he brought Lydia to his room the night before. Edgar remembered telling Raven that he wouldn't see Lydia and to tell her that he'd already retired for the night. Raven tells Edgar that he thought Edgar did in fact want to see Lydia and that it seemed he was worried about something, and he thought Edgar would be able to talk to Lydia about it. Edgar admits to himself that things were exactly as Raven had thought, which is why he'd been unable to resist opening the door when Raven brought Lydia to his room. Edgar tells Raven that he's really happy that Raven realised how he'd felt the night before, but it was also necessary to think about Lydia as well. Sending a defenseless lamb like Lydia to him when he was drunk and was a wolf with no self control was wrong. Raven asks Edgar if there's ever a time when he isn't a wolf.
- Edgar shows up at Lydia's home and asks her to marry him. While normally it would take three weeks to get church permission to marry, he promises to get a license in three days. Lydia's surprised at his proposal and tells Edgar that nothing happened between them last night. She gets annoyed at Edgar's relieved attitude and tells him to leave, but Edgar has no intention of withdrawing his proposal. Lydia refuses him outright therefore. Edgar tries to convince Lydia that he's serious about wanting to marry her, but Lydia tells him that it wasn't her that he wanted. She accidentally lets slip that Edgar said another person's name last night. Surprised, Edgar asks her whose name he said. Lydia tells him that it was the name of the person most important to him. Lydia tells him that it was the same way last time. When her she wasn't sure of her feelings for him and thought she'd try believing him, he let her down. So she wouldn't believe him. Lydia tells Edgar to leave. Edgar offers the bouquet of roses to the professor as he leaves and tells him that he'll come again.
- Nico tells Lydia to stop crying and crawls out from under the bed wearing the mask she'd bought him earlier.
- Edgar has Ermine leave a note at the house where Paul was found saying that he's found the amber. After Ermine leaves, he tells Raven that the people Edgar trusted were there for Raven and that Tompkins and Lydia cared about him. Raven asks Edgar if Lydia wasn't angry with him for what happened, but Edgar tells Raven not to worry--Lydia understood Raven's feelings and that she was only upset with Edgar. Edgar asks Raven if he can think of the names any women he might say in his sleep and Raven asks him if he'd like the list in alphabetical order.
- Edgar, Raven, Slade, and Paul gather around the portrait of the woman with the shield at Slade's club. Apparently it had been one of the paintings among Paul's father's items, but O'Neill hadn't painted it. It had been put on display at the club in the hopes that someone might recognise who the painter was. Edgar remembers the painting had been at the manor house and that most likely his father had put it into O'Neill's keeping. Slade and Paul comment that the painting's balance was strange, as though the shield was the main subject. Edgar notices that letters seem to be integrated into the design on the shield and asks for a loupe to be brought.
- The message on the shield indicates that Lady Gladys was setting out to force the Prince of Calamity out of Britain and that she expected to lose her life in that battle--Banshee had foretold her death. As a result, she was putting her hope in the future that someone would appear who could bury the prince for good.
- Edgar wonders if getting rid of himself mightn't be the quickest and easiest route to getting rid of the prince. The prince's organisation had wanted Edgar because his mother's blood was very close to being a direct descendant of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Combined with the Duke of Sylvanford's bloodline which had close ties to the royalty including the Stuarts, in their opinion, Edgar was the ideal successor for the prince. Likewise, his presence as the Blue Knight Earl might stand in the way of someone who might truly be capable of wielding the power of the Blue Knight Earl and able to get rid of the prince. So it might be that the most important thing Edgar could do was to accept his death.
- Jimmy meets Edgar outside Slade's club and tells Edgar he's come to take him to Ulysses. Raven tells Edgar Ulysses will kill him, but Edgar leaves with Jimmy.
- Kelpie knocks on Lydia's window as she's nodding off inviting her outside for a ride in the moonlight. The next thing Lydia knows she's on Kelpie's back riding in a moonlit field. Kelpie changes to human form and hugs Lydia and she can only wonder about how he'd learned human habits for Lydia's sake. Kelpie tells Lydia that holding her like that gave him an unusual feeling. It was a mix of both a calm feeling and a nervous feeling. Despite his having lived for so long, it was the first time he felt that way. For Lydia, being held by Kelpie had a very quiet feeling as though she were surrounded by very still water. It was completely different from how she felt with Edgar. Kelpie suggests they go to where the moon is, but Lydia tells him it's impossible. Kelpie points to the moon's reflection on the lake, but Lydia tells him she can't swim. However, Kelpie tels her it's okay since he'll be with her. Lydia wonders briefly if going with Kelpie might not be wise, but at the same time, she's sure he wouldn't eat her. But as she approaches the shore, Coblynau appears and tells her that Kelpie was trying to take her to the watery depths in Faerie; if she went, she'd never be able to return. Coblynau holds the moonstone ring out for Lydia to put on.
- Kelpie accidentally lets slip that Edgar possessed one of Banshee's tears and that it didn't burn. Lydia wonders if Edgar took the engagement ring off her because of that prediction. His promising to get a marriage license in three days then readily backing down when he learned that nothing happened might just have been his being impulsive, but she was sure that Edgar was prepared to die when he asked her how long a Banshee's prediction lasted for. Lydia decides to go back and puts the moonstone ring on her ring finger.
- Lydia goes to Edgar's residence very early in the morning and is greeted at the door by Ermine. Before Lydia can put her thoughts in order, Ermine tells her that Edgar's been taken by Ulysses's people. Raven and the other members of the Scarlet Moon are already trying to find Edgar, and she'll be joining them.
- Lydia knocks on Paul's room door. After ensuring she's alone, he pulls her inside his room and quickly closes the door and locks it. Paul apologises and tells Lydia not to be worried, but he had some important secret information to share. Paul reveals what they discovered about the painting to Lydia and tells her that he thinks that it might still hold another message. Coblynau comments that on how wonderful the painting is, and Lydia asks him if he could leave them for a while. However, Coblynau tells her that Bow told him that he could help her. Lydia remembers that Coblynau might be able to find hidden gems, but he tells her he can only find things that he's seen before. He goes on to tell her that he could tell her many things about the gems in the painting she was looking at however. Coblynau reveals that amber was used in creating the paint for the blonde hair in the painting of Lady Gladys. Lydia asks Paul if she can borrow the painting; she can use it to find Banshee. She, Paul, and Coblynau go off to find Banshee.
- Nico finds Raven wandering between a street and a lane and learns that Edgar had disappeared the night before from there. Nico has Raven follow him as he walks the street and discovers a rift where one can enter the Fae realm. Raven asks Nico to take him to Faerie, but Nico tells him that he can only open the path for Lydia. If Raven wants to go, he has to be able to enter on his own. Ermine comes upon them and tells Nico that she'll take Raven across. She asks Nico if he can open the path for another fae. Upon hearing that Lydia and Paul have disappeared into Faerie, Nico agrees to open the path for Ermine.
- Ulysses tells Edgar that it was his decision to finish things between him and Edgar before the prince came to England. Edgar tells Ulysses that there was nothing to settle--he had the merrow's sword. Edgar wonders if it was Ulysses's father that had been killed by the merrow after failing to solve their riddle. But Ulysses tells Edgar that it was he himself that time. He then reveals what he remember of Edgar's arrival in America. Edgar doesn't remember anything of when he first arrived at the prince's. His memories of that time start from when he recovered physically from his ordeal, but that was also when the more difficult to withstand mental anguish began. Ulysses tells Edgar that his current body was his second one.
- Ulysses reveals that the main line of the Blue Knight Earl has died out. After the death of Julius Ashenbart ~300 years ago, no male descendants were born to the family living in Ibrazel, so no one could come to England to claim the sword. After the death of Gladys Ashenbart ~100 years ago, those working for the prince killed off all the illegitimate offspring as well. All except for Ulysses himself. The prince was already in possession of the two keys that led to where the merrow had hidden the sword. The keys were originally created by Ulysses's ancestor--Julius Ashenbart's mistress. Edgar remembers stealing the key because it seemed important to the prince and he needed to learn as much as he could about his enemy.
- If they hadn't been able to create a new key from the plans that were left behind, Ulysses swore he would tear Edgar to shreds. But even though he had the keys, Ulysses had been unable to solve the merrow's riddle. Ulysses wonders if the answer wasn't to sacrifice someone. He'd tried to give the merrow the human souls that they liked to gather. Edgar, too, had originally thought that was the answer to the riddle. He'd learned that he had to be cruel in order to survive. But thanks to Lydia he remembered the want for justice and sympathy for others. Even though she knew he was lying to her, Lydia still felt for Edgar and the pain he went through. So Edgar realised that if he wanted the earl's rank and sword, it wouldn't be through the methods a gang leader would use. Sacrificing Lydia couldn't be the answer. It was impossible to consider that the Blue Knight Earl would have considered such an answer. But not knowing the right answer, he did what he could to keep Raven and Lydia safe before they were all killed. And the only thing he had over Ulysses was his sense of noblesse oblige.
- Edgar remembers how he'd been taught everything the prince knew, the way he thought, spoke, even his habits and the way he moved. He'd felt his own self slowly crumbling apart, and suspects that if he'd stayed with the prince, he may well have lost his mind and believed that he himself was the prince. But that would still be an issue of how Edgar felt; it wouldn't actually make him the prince. Or perhaps, by being taught everything from the prince's past, by believing those were his own memories, Edgar would then become the prince. Edgar didn't know, but he realised that Ulysses believed that he was the same person as the previous Ulysses.
- If something like a soul really did exist, and if it were possible to transfer a soul to another body, what happened to the soul in the original body? It was essentially like black magic. But while Edgar couldn't believe it, to the prince, Edgar wasn't a successor but a vessel.
- Ulysses had failed to obtain the sword, so the prince thought that no one would be able to get hold of it. And they all thought that there was no worry of the Blue Knight Earl's return. Ulysses can't forgive the fact that someone who knew nothing of the earl's family, and more than anything else, someone who couldn't even see the fae managed to get the sword when Ulysses, who carried the earl's blood, had failed. Ulysses wanted nothing more than to kill Edgar, and when Edgar suggests he do just that, Ulysses tells Edgar that he already has the prince's permission to do just that.
- Edgar tells Ulysses that the prince needs Edgar's body which carries royal blood. So it's a question of which is more important, killing of the Blue Knight Earl, or getting a new vessel for the prince.
- Ulysses draws his pistol on Edgar. But Edgar pushes it aside and shows the amber tear he carried. He bets on Ulysses being able to sense the Banshee's magic, but would be unable to tell whose death the tear foretold. Ulysses asks Edgar what he intended by having Ulysses lift the seal on Banshee's memories. In turn, Edgar asks Ulysses what he'd do if Banshee, having regained her memories and remembered her responsibilities, ended up choosing Edgar as her master. Edgar makes a bet with Ulysses--if Banshee chooses Ulysses, he could kill Edgar or hand him over to the prince as he saw fit. However, if she chose Edgar, then Edgar was the true Blue Knight Earl. Getting out of that place would be no issue. All that remained was for Ulysses and the prince to await their fate.
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Let Me Teach You How To Catch a Gentleman (12-2) |
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Stork (12-1) |
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| T=~+1 year |
Requiem for the Goddess (9) |
- Edgar convinces Prof. Carlton to leave Lydia in his charge while he attends a month long symposium/conference at Cambridge. A number of murders have been occurring in London lately and it was unsafe to leave Lydia on her own
- Raven finds a green diopside gem in Ermine's room and is caught by Edgar and Lydia. Ermine finds them and takes Lydia hostage; she needs time to escape with the gem. Edgar tells Ermine to take the gem and go and not to harm Lydia. He prevents Raven from going after Ermine when she flees.
- Lydia sneaks away and calls Ermine using the power of the selkie heart she carries. Ermine tells Lydia that Raven mustn't touch the gems as it will react with spirit inside him making it go out of control. She tells Lydia that there are three gems in total
- Uruya tells Lydia that her father was in an accident and asks her to come with him. Lydia goes only to have Uruya kiss her and the nightmare which had been kept inside Uruya come out and attack her. Kelpie catches up with their carriage and tries to force the nightmare back into Uruya only to have it flee. Lydia realises that Kelpie's been helping Ulysses.
- Lydia's caught by Ulysses and one of the prince's shadows on London Bridge. Edgar and Raven catch up; Raven kills the shadow. Ermine shows up looking for the nightmare and to chck on things. Raven attacks Ermine but much to his horror, he is unable to bring himself to kill her. The nightmare attacks causing the spirit in Raven to go out of control. Ulysses and his men tranquilize Raven and take him away while Edgar keeps Lydia safe.
- Uruya sneaks into Lydia's room while she's changing; Edgar catches up and realises that something's wrong in Lydia's room and bursts into the room; Lydia is still in her undergarments. He has Lydia hide behind the couch while the Scarlet Moon removes Uruya from the room.
- Kelpie offers information on Raven's whereabouts in exchange for the nightmare's vessel (Uruya) but insists that he'll only tell Lydia. Lydia goes only to have Kelpie trick her; she tries to make her way back to Edgar taking a short cut through Faerie.
- Lydia meets Raven on her way through Faerie--he's trapped in the dreamworld. Lydia tries to lead him out of the dreamworld, but Raven remembers he's suddenly become weak and is no longer fit to serve Edgar. Raven tells Lydia the spirit's weakness and asks her to tell Edgar
- Lydia catches up to Edgar and Kelpie finds them. Edgar makes a deal with Kelpie to take Lydia back to Scotland and keep her safe there until he comes for her. Lydia refuses to go, but Kelpie and Edgar have made a deal. As Kelpie takes her away, she agrees to marry Edgar.
- Edgar and Raven fight
- Raven remembers the first time he met Edgar. One of the first things Edgar had done was given him the name Raven. When asked, Edgar would often tell their comrades that he chose that it was fitting because of Raven's dark hair and skin, but there was another meaning hidden in his name. Edgar's first order to Raven was that Raven himself was to control the spirit inside him.
- Edgar and Raven manage to avoid seriously injuring each other as they try to stop their attack on one another. Raven stabs Uruya and Edgar reveals that the stones she carried were not diopside gems and she realises that the Prince had tricked her.
- Tompkins tells Edgar that all the arrangements had been made for Edgar's trip to Cambridge. Raven's confused by the formality of the arrangements let alone why Edgar would send notice of his visit to Prof. Carlton. Nico tells Edgar that a kelpie's magic would make for a lot of trouble, but Edgar tells him that Coblynau had told him that if he and Lydia were formally engaged that the power of the moonstone Lydia wore should be able to hold off Kelpie's magic. Edgar asks Raven if he understands what a formal engagement meant. When Raven replies that it would mean Lydia formally agreed to marry, Edgar tells him that she had already agreed. After a long hesitation, Raven congratulates Edgar, but it's clear that Raven didn't believe him. Not only didn't he show any signs of happiness, he seemed very uneasy. A bit put off, Edgar asks Tompkins if he believes him. Tompkins readily admits to believing Edgar but asks if the professor will believe him. Edgar realises Tompkins doesn't believe him either. Edgar tells Raven he's his witness, but Raven says he didn't hear Lydia's answer. Edgar orders Raven to pretend that he'd heard her reply. Raven asks Edgar if Lydia would be angry later.
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| T=~1 year + 1 week |
London Bashi ni |
- Edgar goes to Cambridge to meet with Prof. Carlton. He'd come one week earlier as well, but the professor managed to escape before Edgar had been able to get to the reason for his visit. Edgar slips into the lecture hall where Prof. Carlton is lecturing, and when the Prof. asks if anyone has any questions, Edgar stands up and starts to asks the professor for his daughter. Professor Carlton quickly interrupts Edgar and promises that they would talk about that later.
- Edgar asks the professor for permission to marry Lydia. He then tells the professor that Kelpie has taken Lydia to Scotland. Prof. Carlton tells Edgar that he thought it was still too early for Lydia to marry. He admits that if she really wished it, he wouldn't be able to stop her. However, Prof Carlton doesn't believe that Edgar truly wants Lydia; her social and economic status didn't make her a good match for the Earl. Edgar asks the professor if what he was really worried about was that Edgar had managed to claim a rank that wasn't his.
- Edgar tells the professor about his parents and what his name had been. He also admits that Lydia already knew. While Edgar should be the Duke of Sylvanford, most of his relatives had died in the fire and he had no way to prove his identity. The professor tells Edgar that he'd like a little more time to think things over. Edgar asks when he could get an answer, the professor instead gives Edgar some papers; Lydia had asked him to do some research on the rare flare fluorite.
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Bara Meikyuu (11)
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The Scholar and the Fairy (12-3)
The Island at the Edge of the World |
- Lydia's mother's wedding veil arrives at the Carlton home in London. The professor tells Lydia that her mother's mother made it. Lydia's a little surprised since her parents eloped, but the professor tells her that Lydia's grandmother was the only one who truly wished for Aurora's happiness.
- Lydia asks her father how he proposed to her mother, but the professor evades the question saying that it happened a long time ago. Noticing their housekeeper going by, the professor asks if all the preparations were made. Lydia and Edgar had only recently announced their engagement, so Edgar was formally being invited for dinner that night.
- As Lydia gets ready for dinner, she asks Nico if he knew how her father proposed to her mother, but Nico says he doesn't know either. Lydia wonders if it was something to be so embarrassed about since it happened over 20 years ago, but Nico suspects that it's not out of embarrassment. Even though she talked a lot, Aurora never accidentally let slip about it, so it was a secret just between the two of them.
- Professor Carlton intends to take the secret of the proposal to his grave. Normally, it was unthinkable for a lady to propose; people would consider her to be a slut. Instead, if the man a lady was waiting for didn't propose, she would eventually move on without saying a word. In Professor Carlton's case, not only wouldn't he notice a lady's interest, he wouldn't even notice that they gave up waiting either. While he didn't care if others saw him as hopeless, he didn't want people to think of Aurora as being wanton which is why their proposal became a secret. Aurora was amused about their secret and wasn't ashamed of it in the least, but at the same time, she didn't want that memory to be sullied because it was considered shameful.
- Professor Carlton had always hoped that his daughter's future husband wouldn't be some useless person who couldn't even propose properly. But he never expected his daughter's partner would be a master sweet-talker. The professor can only wonder about what he can only see as being Edgar's inherent womanising personality. It seemed like Edgar had used just all his wiles to win Lydia over. Despite his unease at having such a person try to get close to his daughter, Professor Carlton suspected that things would end this way if the earl were to truly become serious. At that point, he suspected the earl wouldn't care about a class or reputation, he would use his passion and open expression of love to get her to say yes.
- Nico invites Raven up for a drink. Edgar suggests Raven join Nico and says that he'll explain things to Tompkins later.
- Edgar asks Lydia if she's settled on a design for the wedding dress yet. Lydia tells Edgar that her mother's wedding veil arrived that day, so she wants a little more time to think about the dress. Edgar protests slightly telling Lydia that she needs to hurry and decide on a design otherwise the dress can't be made. While it was okay for the rest of her trousseau to take time, they can't hold the ceremony without the dress. Edgar suggests that maybe they didn't really need the dress and they could have her like a newly-born Venus.
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The Mysterious Gift and The Attendant's Suffering (15-1) |
- Raven answers the door one morning and is given an engagement gift for the Blue Knight Earl. Tompkins finds Raven after the visitor leaves and tells Raven to give the gift to Edgar and to have the housekeeper Mrs. Laine see to it that the entrance hall is swept. There were many leaves in the hallway thanks to the mysterious visitor.
- When Edgar asks, Raven confirms that Lydia would not be coming that day--she was at the Duchess of Maysfield's residence getting sized for a new dress. Edgar wishes he could be there then teases Raven asking him if he imagined Lydia in her undergarments. He asks Raven how he imagined her.
- Edgar remembers that the last time he saw Lydia, he ended up making her angry and that she might not have forgiven him yet. He can only bemoan the fact that since announcing their engagement, he and Lydia are spending even less time together.
- Raven gives Edgar the gift that arrived for him that morning. It's a small wooden box with strange acorn-sized nuts inside. On the inside of the lid, it says 'do not plant'. They're both confused at the thought of someone sending something that wasn't to be used. Edgar suggests planting one of the nuts in order to find out why.
- Raven asks Edgar if it might be dangerous, but Edgar laughs it off and says that most likely something would grow. He decides to plant a nut and find out only to have Raven stop him and say he'll plant it just in case anything should happen. Edgar teases Raven, but Raven refuses to back down, so Edgar finally gives and and tells Raven to tell him if there's any change.
- Lydia remembers the incident at a party at a club a few days earlier. One of the ladies there rudely asked Lydia if she was really in love with the earl since she didn't seem to enjoy being with him. She then introduced Lydia to an acquaintance who can supposedly see the future--Mr. Lutton. Lutton told Lydia that if she wasn't sure about marrying, she should reconsider things. Edgar overheard him and calls Lutton a charlatan. Lutton denies Edgar's allegations and performs a trick to prove his abilties, but Edgar sees through it and reveals how it's done humiliating him.
- Lydia goes directly to Edgar's residence from her sizing at the Duchess of Maysfield's residence after receiving word that Raven was in trouble. Finding out what had happened, Lydia demands to know why Edgar would plant a nut that says 'do not plant', but Edgar shrugs it off saying that he didn't like having things for which its purpose was unknown to be around him.
- Lydia tells Edgar he should at least have spoken to her before planting the nut since it was from the fae. But Edgar tells her that she's been very busy and has been avoiding him lately.
- Edgar then tells her that if she has a problem with him, that she should just tell him; he didn't like having her using various tasks and such to avoid him. Lydia counters telling him that she's asked him not to be so affectionate in public, but he doesn't listen. Edgar says he kissed Lydia on the neck in the middle of a dance at a recent party because not only were many of the people there people he was close to, but they were expecting the two of them to act like an engaged couple. Edgar then goes on to tell Lydia that they shouldn't be too distant with one another in public either since it might give people the wrong impression. Edgar's worried that people who are interested in Lydia might get their hopes up.
- In the courtyard, Lydia finds a temple-bell shaped dome made from branches and leaves. They're so tightly woven that it's impossible to see inside the dome, and apparently when they took a saw to it, it had no effect.
- Tompkins brings the rest of the nuts for Lydia to see and tells her that Raven was the one to answer the door, but the entrance hall was covered in leaves. Lydia wonders if the visitor had been one of the woodwose--an older race of fae, they seldom come into contact with humans and are very particular about obligations. Although Raven's been trapped inside the leafy dome for over three hours, Lydia doubts that he's in any danger.
- Leaves suddenly start falling from the dome, and Tompkins is knocked of his feet by the rush of leaves and is almost buried. The branches dry up and soon disappear. Lydia spots Raven standing around where the middle of the dome was, holding a pot.
- As soon as the nut touched soil, it apparently sent out branches making the dome trapping Raven inside. And until it shrivelled away, it was as though Raven was in a pleasant forest. While they now knew what happened when used, they still had no idea why the nuts were not to be planted. Raven soon forgot about the nuts and returned to his normal routine.
- When serving Edgar's tea in the morning room, Raven senses his hand move on its own and he quickly turns and ends up spilling tea all over the floor. Relieved that Edgar wasn't splashed, Raven kneels to wipe Edgar's jacket when he feels his hand move on its own again. Raven grabs his hand and crouches on the spot preventing it from striking out at Edgar. He then backs away from Edgar and tells him he'll bring a new pot of tea, but Edgar tells Raven that he'll be in his study and to tell him when Lydia arrived.
- While Raven has lost control many times in the midst of battle, there's no thought in him at such times. So, if he's able to think clearly and wants not to do something, there was no reason for his body not to do what he wanted.
- Tompkins suggests Raven join him for tea since their own work had quieted down. Raven asks Mrs. Laine to have the maids clean the morning room and apologises for the mess he made. Mrs. Laine laughs off the tea stains; they're nothing compared to the bloody mess he once left in the salon.
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Do You Believe in the Red String of Fate? (15-2) |
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When You Wish Upon the Crimson Knight (13) |
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T=+1 year
Early Summer |
Ribbons are Part of the Dresscode for a Duel (15-3) |
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T=+1 yr
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For Whom the Sacred Place Dreams (14) |
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T=+1 yr
Late Summer |
Chikai no Kiss wa Yoake Made (16) |
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T=0+1 yr
Early Nov. |
Miniature (21-2) |
- Edgar spends time at Slade's club. The other gentlemen seem to expect him to cheat on his fiancee in his last days as a bachelor and pass on various messages from ladies who are hoping he'll visit. Edgar suggests they get to their game of cards. The stakes: the loser is to tell the story of their first love.
- Edgar wins the round and leaves. He stops by to visit Lydia who meets him at the door before he can ring the bell. As he looks at Lydia, Edgar sees what his uncle had described when he told Edgar about true love.
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+1 yr
mid-Nov. |
Magic for a Wonderful Wedding (17) |
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T=+1 yr
mid-Nov. |
'Welcome Back' While the Flowers are Still Fragrant (21-4) |
- Four days after their marriage, Lydia begs a favour from Edgar--she wants to go on an overnight trip to Windsor with Lota.
- Edgar goes to pick up Lydia when he finds her and Lota laughing in a field. He realises that, until recently, Lydia's never had the opportunity to spend time with friends her own age, and that by having her marry so soon, she may not be able to experience that anymore. He leaves with Lydia none the wiser about his visit.
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T=+1 yr
late-Nov~Dec. |
Enticed to the Capital for One's Honeymoon (18) |
- Lydia and Edgar go to France for their honeymoon. After seeing Paris and parts of Normandy, they go to the Pink Granite Coast in Bretagne.
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