It was the middle of the night, a few days after the summer solstice. It was the brightest season in the whole year, and one that buoyed the spirits of the people. Many were still out enjoying the evening, their laughter and mirth echoing from their houses or local eateries and pubs. Even as one day changed into another, a dull light still covered the sky as friends, family, and lovers alike passed the time in one another’s company.
A light breeze drifted through the window as Shiori looked down at the people still walking the streets. The couples huddled close together—the romance obvious in their very gaits—stood out to her the most. The time of the summer solstice festival was one of praying for bountiful harvests, but it was also said to be the season of love. And perhaps the lovers walking the street stood out because their love was so fresh, having bloomed on account of the festivities.
Some outside wore newly bought or crafted traditional dresses decorated in snow violet embroidery. In times past, such clothing was for weddings, and perhaps even now the dresses marked pledges for the future. Shiori turned her gaze from the smiling couples and to her own dress. She placed a hand upon it, feeling the vibrant snow violet embroidery woven into the otherwise unadorned cotton fabric.
The dress had been a gift from Alec, and the words he’d spoken to her then were akin to a proposal. That had been half a year ago, and where once the material was stiff and new, over the nights that Shiori had worn it to bed, it had softened. She adored the dress, and Alec, too, took great joy in her love for it.
Alec had been called to meet with the margrave that night, and was absent from their apartment. He’d told her he might not be back that evening, which meant the first night in a long while that Shiori would spend alone. The thought brought with it a hint of loneliness.
“Alec...”
She called his name, tracing the shapes of the snow violets on her dress.
“Call your lover or your husband’s name as you trace the shape of the snow violets, and it is said they will always return to you.”
Nadia had told Shiori this as she ran a finger along the snow violets she had just embroidered herself. It was a folktale of sorts, passed down since times of old in Tris. More recently, it had become a popular chant among young women to stop their partners from cheating, but in the past it was used to ensure a lover’s safe return.
Shiori wondered what thoughts ran through Nadia’s mind, and what prayers she spoke in her heart, as she spoke of this folktale, her finger tracing her embroidery. But hidden in the vine-like pattern that bordered the snow violets were two names, and Shiori knew that they stirred deep feelings in her older sister.
Nadia’s life was now split between her continued work as an adventurer and her regular visits to Clemens at the dispensary. When she wasn’t doing either of these things, she was often embroidering the dress he had bought for her, and patiently waiting for them both to be able to return to daily life.
Snow violets symbolized lifelong fidelity and eternal love. Vines, meanwhile, represented prosperity and longevity. The motifs had arisen from the worship of the natural world, and now reflected people’s hopes and prayers. When such plants decorated clothing or other items, they acted like talismans. This was why Shiori couldn’t help but smile as she thought back to the embroidery Nadia had done on the sash belt for her future husband.
And I, too, hope for Nadia and Clemens to live happily forevermore...
Shiori spoke this prayer in her heart as she once again touched the snow violets on her dress. It was then that strong arms pulled her into an embrace. She was taken completely off guard and entirely defenseless as Alec kissed her. She stared up at his mischievous gaze with a look of blank shock.
“Looks like I’ve still got the advantage over you,” he said. “You didn’t even see me coming.”
“Oh, Alec...”
She’d been convinced that he was not coming home, and so she’d never expected such a sneak attack.
“Kris suggested I stay the night,” said Alec, “but I thought I could still make it home before midnight.”
At the time of the summer solstice, a dull light hung over the skies even after midnight. This was why many chose to stay up late, enjoying the seemingly endless summer evenings. Alec, too, had chosen to bask in the light breeze of early summer as he strolled home.
“And while I might have underestimated how long it would take, seeing you still awake makes me think I made the right decision.”
“It’s so lively outside, I couldn’t sleep.”
Shiori could not bring herself to admit that the thought of sleeping alone filled her heart with a certain loneliness. But she didn’t have to—Alec could see hints of it in her expression, and he grinned as he pulled her close. His voice lowered to a whisper as he spoke into her ear—low, seductive, and dripping with passion.
“We have tomorrow off from work, and you’re still awake. A perfect night for an all-nighter, wouldn’t you say?”
Rurii and Violid had fallen asleep while they chatted in the living room.
“They’re both deep in the land of dreams,” Alec said, reading Shiori’s gaze. “They won’t wake if you raise your voice a little.”
“But will ‘a little’ be enough for you?” Shiori asked.
But she already knew the answer to her question.
“I very much doubt it,” Alec replied, a trace of guilt in his voice.
His fingers touched the snow violets at her collar, then slid up towards her neck. The two lovers smiled as they came together in an embrace and fell upon the bed. Their eyes locked as their faces came together in a kiss, and Alec’s fingers moved from the embroidery of her dress to the skin beneath.
There was a line that the two did not cross, but all the same, they indulged passionately in one another, their kisses deep and heated to the point that Shiori felt herself melting, the lines that separated the two of them fading as two bodies merged into one.
“Soon,” Alec whispered as Shiori drowned in him. “Soon everything will be settled, and when it is...”
Shiori moaned softly. Her answer to her lover was there in her gaze as she looked up at his dark magenta eyes—their color so like that of the snow violet—and smiled.
The weary summer night was as sweet and heartfelt as it was hot and passionate.