“He seems… nice.” Peregrine whispered to Bastian as soon as they’d left the prince’s office and were outside once more.

  “You mean stressed?” Bastian laughed, drawing attention from people around them.

  “That too.” Peregrine agreed. “Does he always have an eye twitch?”

  “No.” Bastian said, “I think that's the sleep deprivation.”

  “Do you think he’s worried about his missing… parent?” Peregrine struggled to find a word and settled on the perfect choice. He smiled down at her reassuringly.

  “No, Rowen goes missing all the time. We’re used to it by now.” Bastian shaded his eyes with his hands and looked out over the palace grounds. “The only thing troubling Malakai is himself. The prince is notorious for pretending like everything is fine… and pretending poorly.”

  “Ah,” Peregrine understood. “So what’s next?”

  “Next,” Bastian guided them east of the main gate, walking the same path he’d walked every workday. “Is home.”

  The trip only took fifteen minutes at a casual walking pace, until they were outside his house. There was a shoulder-high stonewall with moss growing on it that surrounded the premises. From the front, everyone could see his two-story home. It was a combination of white-painted panels and stained pinewood, with large rectangular windows that each had wooden slat doors. The roof was sloped dramatically, curling up when it reached the bottom. The shingles were painted black between thin logs laying vertically the length of the roof.

  It wasn’t a five-pointed box like the houses in Drendil, or flat-topped like the homes in North Sumbria. Peldeep loved odd angles in the architecture. His home was the same, with an L shaped frame and a welcoming courtyard inside the L just beyond Bastian’s front gate. The roof hung low over the edge and curved to provide cover for the patio that stretched most of the way around the long side of the building.

  The last of the cherry blossoms had fallen from his cherry tree. It was too late to catch the canopy in all it’s splendor, and still a month or so too early for fruit. Bastian had two more cherry trees in the back yard, as well as an apple tree they could use for the festival.

  He’d have to ask Hiro to find more of his painted pinions to hang from the branches, so he and Peregrine could decorate the tree and bid goodbye to spring together.

  "Welcome to your new home,” Bastian said, pushing open one gate and stepping across the threshold. There was a slight shift in the air when he walked through the protective guard, and he smiled as Peregrine happily walked in unimpeded. She noticed his small pond, her eyes glancing over a moon bridge over the pond, and a bamboo grove that he’d cultivated to use as practice for his sword. The feelings he'd been warring with, and his need to hold her hand, intensified.

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  He'd honestly hoped bringing her here would've relieved his symptoms. Bastian let it go for now; he had other things to worry about.

  Lish shifted the chest in her arms and followed them in. Bastian held his breath as she did; he'd already confirmed with himself that he trusted Lish - the elf was so dedicated to Peregrine that he had no question about her loyalty. And anyone who was loyal to his wife-to-be was welcome in his home.

  He needn't have worried. Lish walked through just fine. The maid also looked around, and her nose pinched at what she saw.

  Bastial took no offence - Sumbria homes were night and day to his, and he knew elves were naturally against killing trees to build houses when there were plenty of other materials to build with - including a living tree and magic.

  “I like that it sprawls.” Peregrine announced, smiling at the one second floor room on the short side of the L. It didn’t come to the end of the first floor, stopping halfway before the edge, and it wasn't perfectly aligned either. The first floor below it stretched up halfway through the second floor, leaving that bottom end room with a dropdown ceiling in the back, and a twenty foot peaked roof at the end . Bastian loved the light from the windows, and had converted his dining hall into a painting room. The corner of the L was his kitchen and a small wash closet, while the rest of the main floor was an open area decorated for comfort and eating… since he couldn’t use the diningroom table anymore.

  “Before we go in… I want you to know that even with advance notice, I don’t think–”

  “Master Bastian, you’ve returned!” Mr Sakiyama gracefully lept out of the second-floor window and alighted on the pebble path in front of them. The fae was clothed in dark blue layered robes with silver koi fish printed on the left side, his hair was in a topknot that somehow managed to stay perfectly secure despite being held up with only a single silver stick. A white koi dangled from the end, swaying gently with his descent. “Welcome home, Sir.”

  The fae had ears that pointed downwards, shaped like a butterfly's wing, and palm-length antenna that pointed forward and curled inward at the tip.

  “It is good to be back.” Bastian waved at his companions, “This is Countess Peregrine Fern, my fiancé, and her companion Miss Lishinia Linden. Ladies, this is my housekeeper and steward, Mr Sakiyama Hiro.”

  “A pleasure.” Mr Sakiyama bowed, “I was most excited to hear the news. A wedding! My shadow! Please, come in and I will brew you a cup of tea while you tell me all about it– or would you rather retire for a spell?”

  It was too early for dinner yet, but Bastian was tempted to go upstairs and wash the sea from his hair and the salt from his skin. His countess had similar plans.

  “I would love a cup of tea, but first I’d like to see where we are staying.” Peregrine smiled at the fae. “And maybe a bath?”

  “Of course!” Mr Sakiyama opened the double front doors and bowed them all inside. “Right this way.”