by Amy Sumida
“Means that our magic would blend well,” he nodded. “Stop, Seren,” he held a hand up. “I see the anger in your eyes. Don't judge this so quickly. Think about how human nature works for a second. Aren't some men more attractive to women not just because of how they look but because of how they smell?”
“What?” I frowned, my angry train derailed.
“Chemistry, I believe you call it,” he smirked. “It's pheromones, a way of nature telling the woman that this man will make a good father for her children, that their genes are compatible and will not produce mutations. It's when we go against these instincts, whether they be fey or human, that monsters are made.”
“Pardon me?”
“Maybe monster is too harsh a word for what happens when incompatible humans mate,” he conceded. “You get mutations, physical and mental, but we fey are magical beings and horrible things can happen when the wrong magic combines. Monstrous things. Where do you think the Sluagh came from?”
“You're saying that fairies who shouldn't have mated, did and they produced those things that tried to kill us?” I gaped at him.
“Yes,” he shrugged. “There are always those who want to go against nature, who find it thrilling to do things not socially accepted. Perversions.”
“Perversions?” I asked.
“A sidhe laying down with a puka, that sort of thing,” he explained.
“Wow,” I blinked in shock and then thought about it.
How many humans did things like that? Quite a lot actually. We even had names for all the sexual perversions in the Human Realm, there were so many of them. Why wouldn't they have such things in Fairy?
“So how did the Twilight Court get all its...?”
“Courtiers?” He finished for me. “They are not the children of perversions, they are Nature's design. Their parents gave into their instincts, even though the Seelie and Unseelie Courts are at war and-”
“The seelie are at war with the unseelie?” I gaped at him again.
“Yes, we don't make it known to the humans,” he cleared his throat. “The only thing standing between them is the Twilight Court. It's neutral ground, neutral fey.”
“Like Sweden,” I huffed.
“If you wish,” he rolled his eyes. “Though Sweden was a more apathetic neutral. Twilight stands as a buffer to prevent war, nothing apathetic about it. Getting back to the twilight fey, their parents followed their instincts despite politics and the blended fey were born. Eventually, the Twilight Court was made to give them a home and unions between the unseelie and the seelie became even more common, though admittedly, some were not consensual. Battlefield babies, they're called.”
“Products of rape,” I said grimly.
“Yes, that,” he agreed. “Most unions are consensual though and the fey women who birth these babies do so knowing full well that they will eventually give their children to the Twilight Court. It's considered a very honorable sacrifice.”
“I... whoa,” I exhaled slowly. “So Mother Nature wanted the Twilight Court and the fey acceded to her wishes?”
“Yes but it has become more than just a collection of the blessed children,” he sighed. “It's become a place of refuge for those of us with nowhere else to go.”
“Like you?” I asked gently.“Will you tell me why you're a member of the Twilight Court?”
“It's not a pleasant story,” he looked down at our joined hands.
“Tell me anyway,” I whispered.
“My mother was lady-in-waiting to the Seelie Queen,” he began. “I was walking through court one day and saw the Queen strike my mother. I ran forward and when I saw the Queen's hand filling with magic, I stepped between them. The Queen was so enraged, she magnified the spell,” Tiernan lifted a finger to the scar on his cheek as he continued to speak “She would have killed me but my mother added her magic to the attack. The Silverlight. It's a gentle magic but effective. It transmutes anything harmful into a benign silver glow. This, combined with my mother's love for me, diminished the Queen's rending magic and instead of being torn to pieces, I received just one cut. I lived but the magic left its mark, both of their magics did.”
“That's why it's silver,” I admired the swirling lines of his scar.
“Yes,” he nodded, “love and hate are both forever entwined within my skin.”
“And this is why you had to leave the Seelie Court?” I asked.
“It is,” he confirmed. “My family was ashamed that I would stand against the Queen, even in defense of my own mother. Mother was forgiven for her intercession since she's actually a favorite of the Queen's but my scar became a mark of shame upon my family. It was a constant reminder to the Queen that she could be thwarted and the Seelie Queen doesn't like such reminders. So I was asked to leave.”
“By who?”
“My father,” Tiernan met my eyes and shook his head. “I couldn't understand how he would allow my mother to be beaten by anyone, even our own Queen. We fought over it and I left. It was for the best. If he hadn't pushed me into it, I would have been cast out secretly by the Queen's guard in a less pleasant fashion.”
“So you left and went to the Twilight Court,” I concluded.
“Where I met your father,” he nodded. “Seren, there are very few nobles in Fairy who are actually noble. There's vicious cruelty and devious manipulations, more pleasure than there is love, and more scathing wit than genial humor. Your father is a true nobleman. He's kind and strong, honorable and humorous, and everything I want to be. He replaced my father in my heart long ago and for me to find his daughter and bring her safely home to him, is both an honor and pleasure.”
“Why did you join the Wild Hunt?” I asked, evading his obvious attempt to influence my opinion of a man I didn't know.
“That was also your father's doing,” Tiernan smiled. “He secured me a place in the Hunt. It was a way to regain my honor and it's done exactly that. I've been able to prove my worth and because of him, I've regained my pride.”
“You should have never felt ashamed for what you did in the first place,” I chided him. “Defending your mother is hardly a crime. It would have been more criminal to have stood there and done nothing.”
“It is a crime when you defend your mother against your monarch. I was a step away from being labeled a traitor,” his jaw clenched. “Unfortunately, you will learn about all of this. I wish I could protect you from the cruel politics of our realm but as a princess, it will become a large part of your existence. At least you will be living in the Twilight Court, where the political climate is mild.”
“Living?” I blinked as it finally occurred to me that they expected me to stay in Fairy forever. “I can't stay here.”
“What do you mean?” He blinked at me. “Where else would you go?”
“Home,” I said instantly. “I can't just abandon my father. He may not be my father by blood but he raised me. He's my Dad and I'm all he's got.”
“We'll talk about it later,” Tiernan said evasively. “After you get settled and meet your fairy father.”
“I won't abandon my Dad,” I said more firmly.
“No one's asking you to,” he reassured me.
Still, an aching knot began to form in my belly and I knew the meaning of home was about to change for me. I looked up, through the lace of leaves and into the cloudless sky of Fairy as I let the illusion fall away. This wasn't the Human Realm and I wasn't entirely human anymore. Pretending nothing had changed wasn't going to help me. I needed to face the truth and make a decision on where I really belonged.
Chapter Twenty
“How many fairies want me dead?” I asked as we made our way through the forest, to the Twilight Court. A thick vine snaked out from the underbrush and curled around my ankle just tight enough to make me stumble. “Damn it!” I growled and glowered at the vine as it slithered back into the brush. “I'm bigger than you, plant! I can uproot you!”
“Um, no you're not and no you can't,” Tiernan nodded his
head into the shadows of the forest and I caught sight of a giant tear-shaped plant with fronds curling up into the tree branches above.
Vines as thick as my thighs fanned out from its base in all directions and the skeletons of dead animals littered the ground around it. The large leaves parted and a humanoid creature slithered out. She was entirely pale green, her skin slick like the inside of an aloe leaf, and completely hairless. Her arms ended in rubbery vines and so did her legs but where her arms hung free, her legs were attached to the plant... which was the rest of her I guess.
“I just wanted to greet the Princess,” she said in a thick, wet voice and then smiled, showing a mouth full of vicious barbs. “Your Highness,” she bowed.
“Um, hello there,” I tried to sound cheerful. As one does when speaking to a carnivorous plant.
“We felt your awakening, Princess,” the green lady continued. “All of the Twilight Forest is rejoicing your arrival. May Danu bless you and protect you.”
“Thank you,” a warmth spread through me at her words and a response rose out of me without conscious effort. “May your roots grow deep and your leaves spread wide above you.”
The lady plant smiled wider and bowed again before she slid back into her leaves.
“How did you know the proper response to give a Lonnegawn?” Tiernan was gaping at me as we walked onward.
“I don't know,” I blinked and automatically avoided stepping on a large red insect that went running by. Traversing the fey forest was becoming easier. “I must have read about it in in my Fairy Lore class.”
“We never provided the Extinguishers with information on the Lonnegawn,” Tiernan frowned.
“The answer to your earlier question is; a lot,” Aideen interrupted brightly.
“What?” I transferred my attention to her.
“You asked how many fairies want you dead,” she reminded me. “A lot of them do.”
“Aideen,” Tiernan rolled his eyes and then looked back at me. “There are those who share King Uisdean's opinion that a human should never sit on a fairy throne, despite any royal parentage.”
“So even if we make it to the Twilight Court, I'll never be safe,” I said with calm acceptance.
“Once you're confirmed as Princess, the threat will lessen significantly,” Tiernan insisted.
“Lessen but not disappear,” I huffed.
“Killing a fairy monarch or their heir is a crime punishable by death at the hands of the Sluagh,” Tiernan said grimly. “Even though the Unseelie King can command them, it doesn't make him immune to Sluagh justice. If he kills you after King Keir crowns you as his heir, the Sluagh will kill him and any who he contracted to assist in your murder. No one will take that risk.”
“I should have just stayed in the Human Realm,” I grumbled.
“You would be dead if you'd stayed in the Human Realm,” Aideen stopped walking to face me. “You need to understand this right now, Seren. Your father has spent your entire life protecting you. He has remained apart from the woman he loved because they both believed it would be safer to raise you as a human. Everything has been done out of love for you. If he believes you are safer here in Fairy now, then it's because he has good reason to.”
“And you expect me to just take your word on all of this?” I stared hard at her. “You, who lied and manipulated events to suit some ulterior motive. Why should I believe anything you say?”
Aideen looked stricken, gaping at me like a fish as branches drooped out of her hair, dropping delicate, fluted, green flowers all over the ground.
“Then trust me,” Tiernan took my hand. “If you can't believe in Aideen, believe in me when I tell you that your father has your best interests at heart.”
“You saved my life,” I nodded, “so that's earned you a measure of trust but I'll need to make my own decision about this fairy who claims to be my father.”
“That's fair,” Tiernan gave me a little smile. “I have enough faith in your perception to know you'll see what I do, an honorable fairy who's obviously your father.”
A swarm of tiny fairies burst from the trees, delicate wings buzzing so fast, they were a blur. They circled us, sunlight flashing off their tiny obsidian swords, then finally came to hover before us. They all wore similar expressions of brash roguery on their faces and intricate tattoos on their bodies. One male pixie flew to the head of the group and sheathed his black sword. His mouth twisted up at one corner, adding to the carefree look of his tousled red hair and jaunty green leather jerkin.
“Tiernan,” the little fairy man held out a fist and Tiernan tapped it with a fingertip.
“Rath,” Tiernan nodded. “You're patrolling today?”
“Scouting,” Rath looked over at me and bowed. “Your Highness, your ascension has been noted and the court is even now preparing for your arrival. King Keir has sent us out to scout for you and I need to report your proximity so you may be escorted in properly.”
“Um, okay,” I blinked at Tiernan.
“She's an eloquent one, eh?” Rath smirked at Tiernan, who shook his head and laughed.
“Be off, impetuous pixie and make known my whereabouts to the Twilight Court,” I intoned dramatically before lifting a brow at Rath. “Was that better?”
“Ah! She has her father's humor as well as his eyes,” Rath bowed to me again. “I shall fly to your service, my Princess!” He made a motion with his hand and the pixies did a swooping arch in front of us before darting off through the trees.
“Well, that was interesting,” I rolled my eyes.
“You did well,” Tiernan chuckled. “That was the perfect response to a pixie. They love royals who treat them with casual respect.”
“I try to treat everyone with casual respect,” I smirked.
“That may not be the best technique for the rest of the fey,” he grimaced as we continued walking.
“His name was Rath?” I asked. “As in, a fairy mound?”
“The word rath means royal seat,” Tiernan smirked. “The pixie, Rath's parents had high hopes for him.”
“To what? Be a pain in a royal's ass or just be a royal pain in the ass?” I huffed.
“Either would make them proud,” Tiernan laughed. “Pixies are all a bunch of miscreants at heart.”
“Tattooed miscreants,” I added.
“Well, that is how they got their name,” he shrugged.
“Right,” I nodded as I recalled my lessons on pixies. “Pixie, from the term pict-sidhe. Tattooed fairies.”
“There it is!” Aideen pointed and I looked ahead to where the trees thinned. A wide meadow, spotted with purple flowers, spread out beyond.
In the center of the meadow rose a hill and at the peak of the hill perched a castle. It had a central steepled building surrounded by numerous towers and walls too high to even fantasize about scaling. The stone walls were a grayish lavender color, like the evening sky, and they gleamed in the sunlight. As we stepped out of the forest, a dirt path came into view. It led up to the main gates and down to a road which crossed horizontally in front of us. We headed straight for the path just as a group of mounted fairy warriors came surging through the castle gates.
We reached the crossroads and Tiernan motioned for us to stop. It only took a few minutes for the group of fey riders to reach us. They were wearing hardened leather armor stained dark purple, with black clothing beneath it but no helmets. Their otherworldly beauty was on full display and their long hair streamed out behind them like colorful banners. White, yellow, crimson, green, and even blue, the colors of both hair and skin were as varied as any painter's palette.
I couldn't help admiring them. Most of the sidhe, the highest level of fey, were beautiful but when they were armored and on horseback, they especially appealed to my soldier's heart. I doubt even Lancelot himself could compete with a mounted fairy knight in the looks department. The thought had me smiling as they brought their gray horses to a stop just a few feet before us. The knights dismounted and bowed as one, in
a choreographed maneuver which appeared effortless. Then a blue-haired fairy man stepped forward.
“Princess Seren, it's an honor to escort you home. I am Torquil and these are the men of the King's Guard,” he motioned to the men behind him. Then three horses were brought forward by one of the soldiers and Torquil continued. “We've brought mounts for you, my Lord Tiernan, and my Lady Aideen,” he nodded to each of them before refocusing on me. “Please, allow me to help you onto your mount.”
I glanced at Tiernan and he gave me a secret grin before he nodded. I walked forward and Torquil went down on one knee so I could use his armored thigh as a step. I climbed up and into the stirrup before hoisting my leg over the saddle. The saddle leather was inlaid with silver in dazzling designs and at both the front and back there were curved silver bars. I settled my weight into the perfectly contoured seat and noted that the leather didn't even creak.
The horse shifted, head tossing in unease, and I laid a hand on her neck automatically. A spark of energy flashed beneath my palm, some kind of reaction between our auras. She shivered against and then neighed softly. A low murmur went through the knights and I looked up to see astonished expressions on every face. I shook my head. What, they didn't think a human could handle a fairy horse?
Aideen and Tiernan mounted their own horses, one of the knights helped Aideen but no one offered Tiernan assistance. I smiled to myself, thinking about what would have happened if they had. Then we turned around and headed towards the radiant castle atop the hill. The knights formed a living shield around us so that Tiernan, Aideen, and I were riding in the center of them. Their caution had me scanning the horizon in concern. What would happen if the Slaugh tried to attack us once more? Would it be worse there in Fairy, where magic was supposedly stronger?
Then the castle loomed up before us and I got a closer look at it. All thoughts of monsters melted away as I fell under its enchantment. It was too beautiful to ever be sullied by something like the Sluagh. Surely this exquisite edifice would shame them into hiding. The stone alone was intimidating, as translucent as precious gems, it caught the light within its heart, appearing to glow and pulse as if it were alive. The lowered gate was made out of the same material, columns of stone lashed together with silver bands.
