by Riana Lucas
The Deadly Flower Series
Poppy
Riana Lucas
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 2
Copyright 3
Dedication 4
Photography By 5
Chapter 1 6
Chapter 2 13
Chapter 3 19
Chapter 4 26
Chapter 5 36
Chapter 6 41
Chapter 7 48
Chapter 8 57
Chapter 9 64
Chapter 10 69
Chapter 11 74
Chapter 12 82
Chapter 13 92
Chapter 14 98
Chapter 15 105
About the Author 106
Copyright
The Deadly Flowers Series
Poppy
By Riana Lucas
Copyright 2011 Riana Lucas
Kindle Edition
Dedication
To my Best Friend,
Thank you!
And
To my husband…
well you know.
Photography By
Shannyn Studstill
Follow Shannyn on Facebook at Portraits by Shannyn
Chapter 1
I was summoned to the Unseelie King’s Throne Room.
As I walk through the massive wooden doors, I take in the white marble that covers every surface of the room. The veins of pure gold running through the marble are the only color on the floor, ceiling, and walls. The room is cold and dreary. There are no paintings, statues, or any other sort of decoration. There is nothing that could take the attention away from King Foxglove. The King insists on being the center of attention, which is why the Throne Room’s location is so important.
This massive room is located exactly in the center of King Foxglove’s Castle. The King’s throne is set in the very center of the room on a large square dais, made entirely of marble. There are four steps leading up to the top where the King’s lone throne sits. The only other permanent color in the room is black. The narrow carpet that runs from the entrance of the room to the base of the dais is black along with the throne itself. The throne is made of black oak and is covered in thorns. The thorns weave in and out of each other, forming a sturdy chair that only the King himself can sit upon. If any other Fae dare try, the chair would come alive and slice them into ribbons.
Throughout the room there are servants bustling about, conducting various tasks for the King. Most of the tasks are inconsequential and trivial, but the Fae of the Unseelie Court live to serve their King and will fulfill his every whim. Some even sit at the base of his dais, awaiting even the most mundane task or hoping to catch a glimpse of his cruelty in action.
I have seen all of this many times before. Today is like any other. I pause just before the threshold of the wooden doors waiting for my presence to be announced to the King. A servant scurries over to the guard at the base of the dais, whom them relays the message to the King. He looks up at me with his ever present, evil smile.
“Ahhh, Poppy! Thank you for responding to my summons so quickly. Come.” At the King’s command, I make my way along the black carpet to the base of his dais.
The King is intimidating, even by Faery standards. He is very tall and has sleek brown hair that barely grazes his shoulders. His eyes are like black pits. It has been rumored that he uses glamour to hide his true eye color because it is not nearly as lethal looking as the black. A large scar trails along the left side of his face from the corner of his left eye to his jaw line. He could easily use his magic to cover the imperfection, but he knows how fierce the scar makes him look and makes no attempt to hide it. Instead of a crown, he adorns himself with many jewels, the largest of which rests upon his right hand. It is a mesmerizing stone, said to have been taken as a trophy from the Seelie Queen herself. It is the size of a large cherry and completely black. When you look at it you get the feeling that it is bottomless. The only difference between it and the King’s eyes is that the stone actually sparkles. When I think about it, I realize that I am glad that I do not have the privilege of looking my King in the eye.
“Of course, your majesty” I stop at the foot of the stairs leading up to the King’s throne. I stoop to one knee, resting my arms on my bent knee, with my head bowed to show my respect and devotion to my King. No one of my status would dare look King Foxglove directly in the eye. It is not permitted and would be interpreted as a challenge for the throne. No one has survived the swift punishment of the King for doing such a thing. Whether it was because the guilty Faery was caught off guard, or the King is so fierce he cannot be beaten is not discussed; that also is not permitted.
“As you know Poppy, we continue our war against the Seelie Fae. I am sure the outcome of the war will show in our favor, but one can never be too confident. As you already know, our army is strong with many fierce warriors, but I would like to recruit others to strengthen our forces.” His voice is loud as it booms and echoes throughout the entire Throne Room. It is strong and powerful, commanding any who hear it to listen.
“Of course, Your Majesty,” my head is still bent, but my voice is strong and sure; just as the King would expect from a warrior.
“I have a mission for you. I need you to go to the human world.” I could almost hear the smile in his voice at this command. King Foxglove takes great pleasure in making those beneath him do things they do not wish to do. He is well aware of my feelings of the human world and humans, in general.
My posture stiffens and I want to raise my eyes in defiance, but I know this is what he is waiting for. He also takes great pleasure in punishing those who defy or question him. I keep my head bowed and force myself to respond appropriately. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
“Very good, Poppy.” He coos, knowing how much I despise this assignment, but will do whatever it is that he asks of me. “See Damien and he will give you the details of your mission,” he says, clearly finished talking with me.
“Of course, Your Majesty.” I reply obediently but do not rise, not until the King dismisses me. As much as I hate this mission, I am faithful to my King and would never show him any disrespect. He commands all that goes on in his kingdom, including entering and leaving his presence. To forget this could cost a Faery his or her life.
The King finally dismisses me with a barely audible mumble of “You may go”. He has already found something else to occupy him. I am surprised he did not forget to dismiss me and leave me there for a longer period of time. As loyal as I am to my court, I am well aware that Foxglove is a cruel King and often finds his enjoyment in others’ suffering.
As I walk toward the Throne Room doors, I still keep my eyes cast downward until I have cleared the threshold. Only then do I look up and seek out Damien. Damien is the second in command of the Unseelie army. As such, he gives all the orders and takes all the reports of victory or defeat once the orders have been carried out. He is the only Faery that reports directly to the King.
Damien has also been my guardian and instructor since I was old enough to begin my training. I do not really remember when I went from being with my parents to being cared for by Damien; I have only the stories that I have been told which were few and brief. After a couple of years, I asked Damien where my parents were and why they did not care for me. I did not remember my parents at all, but I had observed other children with their parents and knew that it was more common to be raised with them, than separate.
Damien informed me that my parents were killed during a battle with the Seelie Court and he was then appointed my guardian. Being that he was such a fierce warrior, it only came naturally that he would also be my instructor.
I remember asking
a few other times during dinner or before bed about them. I would ask what my parents looked like, or what it was like to be around them. I asked normal questions that any child would ask about their absent parents. The answers were usually along the lines of “They were fierce warriors” or “They believed in the fight against the Seelie Court so now it is your destiny to fight for them”.
Originally, those answers only piqued my curiosity, but eventually I realized that was all I would ever get from Damien, so I put all my focus on training as hard as I could. I planned to one day help in the battle against the Seelie Court and avenge my parents’ deaths.
I started my training with Damien on one of my early birthdays. Usually children were not permitted to start battle training until they reached early adulthood, but Damien deemed me ready and presented me with my first weapon the morning of my birthday. It was a pair of daggers. The handles were wrapped in strips of black leather that crisscrossed over one another making a sturdy grip. The blades were dark, almost black silver with hints of burgundy streaking up the blades toward the tips. I have tried other weapons throughout my years of continuous training, but those daggers have proven to be the deadliest when used by me. They are now the only weapon I use.
As I continue down the hall, which is mostly quiet, I can hear music and laughter coming from the different doorways as I pass. This is normal for the Unseelie Court. I do not even spare a glance toward these activities. I have a mission, one that I am not too happy about. The sooner I can get this completed the better. In order to do that, I will need to speak with Damien. I find him at the end of the hall waiting for me just outside the main dining room.
He nods a stiff greeting to me and falls into step beside me as we continue down the hall side by side. We are walking toward the East garden. We both know the routine and remain silent until we reach the privacy of the garden. When given a new mission, I am always summoned by the King first. He then formally informs me that I have a mission and instructs me to see Damien for the details and further instructions. The King likes to give all of the commands and orders, but does not like to explain himself. He has others do that for him.
Damien is always informed prior to my summoning, so I usually do not have to seek him out. He waits for me in the hall and then we always go to the quiet and privacy of the East garden.
Faery Land consists of acres and acres of gardens and forests. No matter if one is Unseelie or Seelie, the one thing that all Fae have in common is their love of nature. There are endless sprawling country sides full of flowers and mythical creatures. There are trees that are beautiful beyond human imagination. They are larger than human skyscrapers and their branches envelope the sky as if it were swathed in an embrace. Countless bugs and animals reside in the forests and gardens. The Fae do all they can to reside in nature and not obstruct its natural beauty. There are very few things that cannot be harvested or used in some other way; thus there is minimal waste here.
The castle alone contains more gardens than I am able to count, if only for the simple fact that all are not permitted to certain gardens. The East garden is one that has restrictions on who is permitted and I am one of those fortunate to visit this garden on a regular basis. The restrictions placed on the garden itself may be one of the reasons I am drawn here. When I want complete solitude, I can count on coming here and being left to my thoughts. This garden has an undeniable beauty and I cannot help but be drawn here to breathe the air and commiserate with nature.
Upon entering the garden, I am immediately greeted with the sound of birds chirping and the cool breeze of the early spring air. The sweet smells of various flowers fill my lungs as I take a deep breath. The garden is surrounded by shimmering white walls that are barely visible due to all the lush deep green vines growing all over them. The vines are covered in bold multicolored flowers that bloom all year long.
Marble statues are scattered throughout the garden. The statues range from small to large and are all replicas of those the humans gawk at in their museums. The garden is full of hybrid flowers that have been cultivated by Fae using flowers from the human world. They are grown for their breathtaking beauty and heavenly aromas. The flowers and shrubs are meticulously maintained as are all the gardens in Faery Land.
There is a cobblestone path that leads to the middle of the round garden where, in the very center, there is a small pond containing dozens of multicolored fish. The fish are all bold and deep colors like the surrounding flowers. They swim around quickly, streaking the water like rapid moving rainbows. In the center of the pond, there is a small fountain that sprays water upward and changes color based on the mood of the Fae within the garden. Right now the color is a tranquil light blue.
There are two wooden benches on either side of the pond. Both benches are Fae made. They consist of intricate patterns made of branches that are woven in and out of each other. The branches twist and turn around each other to form the bench naturally. There are even flowers and leaves that grow from the branches. Although it is a bench, it is still a living organism. They are strong and beautiful.
The East garden is where Damien and I always discuss my missions. I am a very serious warrior, but I am still young, by Fae standards, which is probably why the garden still appeals to me. I enjoy the peace and beauty of it.
Although I am young, considering the relatively long lives of Fae, I am considered a fierce, deadly warrior. I am not a member of the official Unseelie army though. The King uses me for missions that require stealth and quickness; missions that are more successful with only one Fae working them. Unfortunately, most of my missions take place in the human world, retrieving Halflings.
The Unseelie and Seelie Courts are at war with one another. They have been at war for so long that it is impossible to say when the war actually started or what even caused the war to begin with. The King is convinced that the secret to winning the war is to use his Unseelie armies to their fullest capacity; to collect the Halflings of the Unseelie court and have them fight as well.
Many Halflings are unaware that they are Fae and are unaware of the existence of the entire Faery world. It is my job to go into the human world, track down the Halflings that belong to the Unseelie Court, and either convince them or force them to join us. Most of the time, it is a fairly easy job. The Halflings are so overcome with the knowledge that they are something other than human, they follow along pretty easily.
They are intrigued by the mere thought of Faerys and mesmerized by the magic of the Faery world. They are usually eager to find out more information about their true “heritage” and their “real” family. Their curiosity gets the best of them. My only job is to bring them home, not to inform them that once they step into Faery Land, they will not be permitted to return to their human lives or that they will be trained to assist with the war that is currently and always ongoing.
Though most cases are usually very easy, some are not. I have had to battle with the Halflings a few times. In those cases, the Halfling is taken prisoner and once I return them to Faery Land they are usually put to work in the kitchens or some other servant job. When this happens they become more of a slave than a true member of the Faery World. They are not trained in fighting or magic. This may not always seem fair, but it is the way of the Unseelie Court.
Initially the arrangement may seem cruel, but all the Halflings are Unseelie Fae at heart. Once they are returned to Faery Land, their desire to be around other Fae becomes overwhelming and they have no desire to return to the human world.
Damien takes a seat on one of the benches and I sit beside him, making sure to keep an appropriate amount of space between us. Although Damien is my guardian we do not have a loving family relationship. He is a very serious and fierce warrior and acts this way at all times. He is my instructor and I am his student. Our relationship is always professional. This is how we both prefer it.
He waves his hand to cast a minor spell in order to keep anyone else from entering the garden until we hav
e completed our conversation. While he does this I observe him to try and get a feel for his mood. His face is blank and I am unable to even catch a glimpse of what he may be thinking. I am not surprised. He is very good at this. His face is almost always the same. It is as fierce as his personality. He has the same pale skin that is common among the Fae, but his features are more defined and sharper than most. His cheek bones are pointed along with his chin, nose, and ears. He has black eyes that have brought many to their knees just from the intensity of them alone. His jet black hair reaches his shoulders but is usually pulled back by a thin strip of leather at the nape of his neck. His size only adds to his intimidation. Although he is lean like all Fae, he is all muscle and his height is not matched by many. I am 5-11 and he is at least a foot taller than I am. He is the epitome of what the Unseelie Court stands for. He is powerful, strong, and evokes fear with merely a look.
Finally, once the spell is cast and our privacy is ensured, Damien turns to me with a serious look. As usual, he is all business. He pulls a paper from the breast pocket of his jacket and hands it to me. As I open the paper that will contain my orders, Damien begins to explain them. “Poppy, your mission is going to be a bit different this time. You will retrieve a Halfling from the human world as usual; however you will be working with a smaller time frame. The Seelie Queen is threatening to close our portals to the human world in order to hinder our recruitment of the Halflings.”
This catches my attention and before I finish opening the paper I look up at Damien sharply. “How is it possible for the Seelie Queen to override our powers and close our portals?”
“It will take a lot of power and His Majesty does not think she will be able to do so, which is why He is not postponing this assignment,” he answers solemnly.
“Then why am I limited on my time? Not that it will pose a problem. I am quite certain I will be able to complete the mission quickly,” I tell him confidently.
