A visit from Katine

Snow covered the Friendship Lands for the first time that winter. The layer was thin, but still Ivy enjoyed the view. Everything seemed so alive and beautiful, even in winter, now that they had returned from those dead wastelands. For the first time in her life Ivy was able to admire the beautiful feeling that the trees were sleeping while they were awaiting the end of the winter, so that they could wake up and live in the sunlight once more.

The towers of the large castle ahead of her were covered in the same layer of snow as the ground was. She and Hikary had been back for two weeks now, but this was the first time she would visit her mother since then. She had been way too busy working, catching up on all the things that had happened during her absence. But yesterday, she had received a message from her mother, whether she would be there to greet Queen Katine, the queen of the northern country of Kin, and her children. Only then had Ivy realized she had never read the letter that was left on her desk during her absence, where her mother announced the queen of Kin would come visit. She must have missed it, lost it between all the other letters…

Leaving footprints in the fresh snow, Ivy could see no one had walked here yet, which almost surely meant that Katine and whoever of her family would come with her had not arrived yet, which gave Ivy some time to spend with her family. Apart from Fleur, who had decided to stay with Ivy in the old castle, she had not seen her family in a while after all.

As Ivy walked through the now white garden, Ivy was once again amazed by the size of this castle. It was not only so much larger than her own little home, it was also designed and build to impress. Ivy had seen a painting of the old castle of the old friendship lands not too long ago, as one of the ponies of the country had made it based on his memory of it. Even though that castle was even larger than this, it was build with the same purpose; to show the world that the ones who lived in this castle were the queens of the Friendship Lands.

Ivy walked over the path which was only temporary. Come next spring, the gardeners of the Friendship Lands and the workers would start working on the garden and the wall. She opened the large door of the castle and stepped inside the gigantic hall. Several plants stood in beautiful vases on the ground in the corners and a few paintings decorated the walls. The glass dome above her was covered in snow, which didn’t allow much light to enter the room, so all the candles were lit.

“Ivy!” Someone explained and Ivy saw it was her sister Hikary.
“Hello, Hikary.” Ivy greeted her sister.
“You’re early.” Hikary added, while Ivy took off her cloak.
“Yea, I left really early this morning. I wanted to be here in time. I take it Katine and her family are not here yet?” She asked.
“No, they are not. Shall we go to the living room for a bit? Taira and mother are there too, drinking tea. I don’t expect Katine until later in the day.” Hikary said.
“Sure.” Ivy agreed, looking forward to something warm to drink.

Ivy followed her sister through the hallways, and entered the living room. The large couches were covered with dark green blankets which colored nicely with the lighter blue walls. In the hearth a fire was burning softly. Her mother and oldest sister Taira sat on the couches, and on the beautiful table, carved by one of the Friendship Lands’ most skilled wood workers and decorated by flowers carved into the wood, stood the china teapot.

“Ivy, good to see you.” Her mother said as she got up to greet her daughter.
“It’s good to see you, mother.” Ivy said in return.
 “Have a seat.” Taira said, while pointing at the couch she was sitting on.
Ivy sat down and her mother poured her a cup of tea. Ivy picked up the beautifully decorated cup, which was snow white with yellow and light green swirls on it. Compared to how, until so shortly ago, they had lived in the old castle… this truly did not feel like home. Why was everything so clean and pretty, so unused and beautiful?

“Katine will probably arrive late in the afternoon.” Her mother said in a voice Ivy hardly recognized.
“Any idea who is coming with her? Did she specify that?” Hikary asked.
“No, she did not. She only said she wanted to come visit to see our new castle, see Frika and to discuss matters concerning the stones. She said some of her children would accompany her… but she never told me which ones.”
“I hope it’s Stanno.” Ivy blurted out. “I mean, with Togli. And aunt Regala. I’m curious how they are doing now.” Ivy quickly added, hoping that her childhood crush did not seem too obvious.

“I don’t know. We’ll see later today.” Regina smiled.
“How did it end up with the stones? Was there any reaction?” Ivy asked.
After she and Hikary had returned with the stone from Fiume, Ivy had not lingered here. She had wanted to get to her own safe home, without having to explain everything. She had told this to Hikary, and she had agreed that that was the best thing to do. The incident with the girl… even now, it still haunted her. Hikary had explained over and over again that it had not been their fault, but Ivy could not help but still feel guilty. She wondered if Hikary had ever told her mother about this entire incident. However, because of this, Ivy also had no clue if anything happened to the stones when they were close together.

“You want to see?” Hikary asked.
“Euh, sure.” Ivy said reluctantly. Ivy got off the couch, having barely touched her tea, and followed her older sister out of the living room. They went upstairs to the sleeping quarters and entered what Ivy remembered was Hikary’s room.
 “You keep them here? Not in the treasure room?” Ivy asked, mildly surprised.
“Yeah. I like to keep them close.” Hikary replied.

Hikary walked to what looked like a painting of a valley full with flowers and closed her eyes. A moment later, the painting seemed to break into two, and behind it, a vault appeared. It didn’t seem locked for Hikary opened it without a key, but Ivy was sure there was more to it. The powers of the royal family, indeed. But she felt nothing.

“Here… take a look.” Hikary said, and she stepped aside. Ivy walked to the vault and peeked inside. She gasped when she saw the two stones sitting next to each other. Each was glowing brighter than she had seen them do when they were apart from each other, and they seemed to glow even brighter on the sides where they were closest to each other.
“Woah.” Ivy said.
“Yea. This ruled out any doubt we had about the stones. It’s the real thing, Ivy.”

“Well, that is a… relief, I suppose.” Ivy said.
“Any ideas about the two missing ones?” She asked after it was clear Hikary was not going to react to her comment.
“None whatsoever.” Hikary sighed. “I’ve been doing nothing but research every day, but I have no clue on where the other two are. I’ve asked all the queens and duchesses of the entire east about it, and no one has any clues, either. I would go out and look myself… but I have no idea where to go. And I do not want to waste time running around without a cause.”

“I understand.” Ivy nodded.
She glimpsed once more at the stones before Hikary used her powers to seal off the vault again. They were not especially beautiful, nor did they look valuable, but they had something… special. Different from anything else she had ever seen, like they were not completely from this earth. Well, if the story Hikary told was true… than that might actually be true.

“Ivy?” Hikary asked, after she had closed the painting.
“Yes?”
“Are you okay now?”
“Yes… sort of. I think I managed to accept that it was not our fault… but I will always feel at least a little responsible.” Ivy answered honestly.
“So will I, Ivy. So will I.” Hikary agreed.
Together they left Hikary’s room, and walked back to the living room. Their mother and oldest sister were still sitting there, and Ivy suddenly realized Stelline was not here.

“Stelline is at the nursery still. Taking care of Frika, together with her children. They just love the little girl.” Ivy’s mother said as if she could read Ivy’s mind. Ivy glanced at Taira, but she seemed not very moved. Was she still not able to accept her daughter?
“I see. Well, I guess I will see her later anyway.” Ivy said.

When Ivy finally sat down and had a sip of her tea, the doorbell rang throughout the castle. “You think she’s here already?” Hikary asked, just as surprised as the rest.
“Could be.” Regina said, while she was already up and sped to the front door.
Ivy reluctantly set down her tea –again- and followed her mother and sisters. When they arrived in the hallway she saw Hikary had been right- it was queen Katine. Her salmon pink mane were tied up in a knot as always, while her pink body was covered by a dark green cloak. The large golden ring around her hoof was still visible. She was followed by only two ponies – a girl, who was obviously a servant, and a boy, who she did not really recognise but she suspected was Katine’s youngest son, Yuuro.

“Katine, my dear. It is so good to see you.” Regina smiled.
“And it is good to see you, my dear Regina.” Katine returned the greeting.
Ivy was reminded of the times in her childhood where she and Fleur always hated it when Katine came over, for they had to act so official and were not allowed to play things that were either loud or noisy. The woman still gave Ivy the same feeling- one that made her feel locked up and not free, but her mother had guaranteed her that Katine had changed over the years.

“Aah, Yuuro, it’s good to see you too. Look at how grown up you are!” Regina exclaimed when she saw the boy.
Ivy had to agree, the boy was no longer just a little boy- he actually looked like a young man. How old was he now anyway? Seventeen? Eighteen? Ivy shamefully had to admit she had no clue.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Yuuro said bowing slightly, and Ivy was surprised at the depth of his voice. He really had become a man… well, almost.

“I am sure you two recognize my daughters – Taira, Hikary and Ivy. My daughter Stelline is still upstairs, but I am sure she will join us shortly.” Regina smiled.

Two servants had appeared who instantly helped Katine’s servant to bring their possessions to their room. “I have a small meal prepared – I am sure the journey has made you hungry. But will you join me and my daughters for a cup of tea first, before I show you around our new castle?” Regina said. Ivy had trouble not to laugh, as what her mother said was obviously not true- she had not expected Katine for at  least a few hours and had no meal prepared. She was sure the servants had heard this, though, and would prepare the food right away. Katine agreed with Regina’s proposal.

Ivy followed her mother and sisters and their new guests back to the living room. When Katine saw the rich furniture, she exclaimed: “Oh, Regina! This is so beautiful! When I saw the castle from the outside I was already more than impressed, but this is truly gorgeous!” Well, Ivy thought, at least the castle had the desired effect; impress ponies.

“Thank you, Katine. I am sure you will love the rest of the castle as well. I truly am proud of it, and of all the ponies that build this place for me. They truly outdid themselves.”
“That they did, Regina, that they did.” Katine said as she sat down. Yuuro sat down next to his mother.
“I am sorry to inform you that Stanno, Togli and Regala did not join me on this journey. It was the original plan, but Togli revealed a month ago that she is pregnant, and this pregnancy turns out to be rather hard on her- she’s very tired and sick in the mornings. So it was impossible for her to join us on our journey – and then, of course, Stanno and Regala decided to stay home as well.” Katine explained.

“Oh, but that is wonderful news- for them to have another child!” Regina said.
 “That it is, Regina, that it is. If only the pregnancy was not so hard on her.” Katine sighed, while Hikary gave both her and Yuuro a cup of tea, and Ivy –finally- managed to drink her, now rather cold, tea.
 “Yes, that is sad… I truly hope all will be better with her soon.” Regina smiled.
“So do I.” Katine agreed.
“Now, Katine, tell us about your journey. Did everything go smoothly?”