by Amy Sumida
“Maybe it was diluted since there were so many of them,” I mused.
“That sounds reasonable,” he nodded.
“Why do I get the feeling that you don't want me to remove the spell?” I lifted a brow and Cat's head also lifted from where she'd been resting beside me, almost like she sensed my agitation.
“You're my daughter,” Keir sighed, “and they are my people. I want them to love you as much as I do.”
“Even if it's not real?”
“I guess not,” he sat back with a huff of breath.
“You're so old and yet sometimes, you act like a child,” I laughed.
“I guess it's a way for us to deal with eternity. We try to stay young in our hearts as well as our appearance.” Keir shot a look at Bress, “Some of us retain quite a lot of childish aspects.”
“What should I do about him?” I nodded toward Bress.
“Well, if the situation was reversed, he'd keep you this way forever,” Keir pointed out.
“But it isn't reversed and I think you may have just answered my question,” I looked at Bress and sighed. “I'm not a master or a slave.”
“What's that?” Keir asked.
“Nothing,” I shook my head. “Just me figuring out my morality.”
“We are neutral,” he said simply. “Our morality is whatever it needs to be to keep the peace.”
I blinked and then smiled suddenly at him. “You're right,” I gave a little laugh. “I have a twilight morality; intention and consequence. We need them both.”
I looked over to Bress again. It would be so easy to keep him submissive and not have to worry about him but in the end, I was an Extinguisher, which is basically an officer of the law, and it just didn't feel legal to leave Bress as he was. No matter what the consequences. In this instance, intention won over consequence.
“We could always kill him,” Keir said softly, surprising me.
“You'd be okay with me killing your nephew?” I lifted a brow.
“No,” he took a deep breath, “but we may come to regret allowing him to live.”
“He's messed up,” I waved a hand at my temple. “In the head. I think your sister did some horrible things to him.”
“I'm sure you're right,” he cast a long look at Bress, “but I'm not sure there's anything we can do to undo the damage.”
“Humans have ways of healing the mind,” I offered.
“You wish to put him in therapy?” Keir gave a surprised chuckle.
“I don't know,” I pondered Bress; his face was so peaceful, his deep blue eyes completely clear, without a trace of storm clouds. I knew it was magic but still, it felt like it was a glimpse of the man he could have been. “Either way, I can't leave him like this.”
“At least let us put him in chains before you free him,” Keir said reasonably.
“And then what?” I narrowed my eyes on him. “Will you release him or keep him imprisoned?”
“I would be within my rights to hold him as prisoner since that's exactly what he intended to do with you,” Keir was still sounding reasonable but I didn't like it.
“No, he was going to rape and then marry me,” I sighed. “In that order.”
“What?!” Keir stood up and Cat barked excitedly, waking Nighean.
“Dad, sit down,” I chided as I leaned over Nighean. “Hey, girl, how you feeling?”
She was laid face-down on the bed so her wings could heal. A pillow huddled under her chest and another beneath her cheek. Her head was angled towards me, so she wouldn't have to see Bress.
“I'm feeling well, Your Highness,” she smiled and fluttered her wings. The broken one was already mobile. Then she saw Keir and gave him a nod. “Your Majesty, thank you for your aid and hospitality.”
“You're very welcome and you're very welcome here, Nighean,” Keir said gently. “Take as long as you need to heal.”
“Thank you,” she whispered and then a tear trailed down her cheek.
“Hey now, you're safe, I promise,” I laid a hand on her shoulder.
“I know,” she took a deep breath. “It's just the thought of home seems unreal to me. I've been a prisoner of the unseelie for so long, I'd thought I'd never see the Court of Light again.”
“How long were you there?” Keir was getting angry again and this time, I was joining him.
“Twenty-two years,” she whispered. “I think. After awhile it all just blended together.”
“That's almost as long as I've been alive,” I stared at her, stunned.
“What's your family name?” Keir leaned forward and laid his hand on her cheek.
“Silvereed,” she blinked up at him.
“And the first name of your closest relative?” Keir asked.
“Neala, my mother,” she whispered.
“I will go immediately and scry for your mother, Nighean Silvereed,” he stroked her cheek gently. “Sleep now and maybe by the time you wake, she'll be here.”
“Thank you, King Keir,” she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
“Seren,” Keir's voice went immediately terse and he motioned for me to follow him. We slipped out into the hallway and then he turned to face me. “Now, tell me again what Bress had planned for you?”
“I don't think it was Bress' plan,” I said quietly. “I think Uisdean put him up to it.”
“But Bress wants my throne and he agreed to it,” Keir shot an angry look back into the room, where Bress still waited.
“How could he have been your heir?” It suddenly occurred to me that Bress was unseelie and my father's throne was twilight.
“Bress is a twilight fairy,” Keir said grimly. “His father is a seelie noble.”
“Oh, that explains a lot,” I recalled Bress' ramblings.
“He was imprisoned in the Unseelie Court for awhile,” Keir looked uncomfortable.
“Imprisoned?” I blinked. “Are you saying that Bress' mother had an affair with one of their prisoners?”
“Not an affair,” Keir sighed. “He wasn't exactly willing.”
“She raped him?!” I nearly shouted and then lowered my voice immediately. “Wow, that woman is psycho. No wonder Bress is so messed up.”
“Messed up or not,” Keir's expression hardened, “Bress is responsible for his own actions.”
“Yes, I know,” I sighed.
I owed Bress nothing and I had no idea why the thought of imprisoning him didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was the family thing, though that sure didn't stop him from wanting to hurt me... in rather disgusting ways.
“Then you either keep him as he is or you free him from enchantment and I shall imprison him in our dungeon,” Keir decreed in a voice that clearly said there would be no compromise.
“Alright,” I sighed and looked over to Bress, “let me think about it.”
“You do that,” Keir nodded and turned to leave. “I'm going to contact Nighean's family.”
“Dad?”
“Yes?” He looked back over his shoulder at me.
“I'm telling our fey about the spell tonight,” I saw his shoulders tense. “I don't want to start this life with a lie.”
“Alright, Seren. It's your decision,” he sighed and walked away.
“I just hope they don't feed me to a dragon afterward,” I mumbled as I walked back into the room. “I'm pretty sure that's what happens to princesses who piss off their fairies.”
Chapter Forty
That night, I stood on the dais in the dining hall and addressed the twilight fey. Keir remained seated behind the high table and allowed me to do the talking but Cat was standing loyally beside me, looking ready to hurt anyone who reacted badly to my speech. I gave her a quick head pat to try and keep her calm but I was pretty sure she was reacting to my nerves, so it didn't do any good.
“You have all been so welcoming to me,” I started. “You've made me feel as if I'm one of you, even though I know some of you were unsure of me in the beginning.” I saw some of the fey exchange confused
glances. “You had good reason to be concerned. I'm only half fairy and although most of you are halflings as well, I'm well aware that it makes a difference when one of the halves is human.”
Cat whined and leaned into my side, causing me to steady my stance.
“I was born with great psychic gifts and was taught very early on how to control them,” I went on. “Not so with my fairy magic. I have only just begun to delve into its power and intricacies. I have no idea what it's capable of or how to go about using it. It was only when I was being held by the unseelie that my magic revealed a piece of itself to me and the Goddess helped me to understand it enough to use it.”
A murmur went through the fey but I held up my hand and they quieted.
“I know you've all been told that I've escaped the Unseelie Court by star-crossing Lord Bress,” I waved a hand to indicate Bress, who was sitting at the high table with us since he was a royal and family to boot. I guess the fey didn't have a separate table for royal traitors. “I have the ability to enchant fairies, to render a fey fairy-struck, but I didn't have control of this ability until I used it on my cousin. I have since realized, after the magic was explained to me, that I may have unintentionally used it upon all of you.” The fey went still as I continued. “I'm not certain but I believe I've laid a light enchantment upon this court and I would not have wished to gain your respect in such an underhanded way. So I'd like to ask for your forgiveness and hopefully your understanding. This is all new to me, you are all new to me, but I value you already and I don't want to begin our relationship with pretense.”
I held my arms out to them and wished for their freedom. I asked my magic to let them go if they really were truly under my spell. A shimmer, like a heat wave, pulsed out from me and ran over the court. They swayed with it, several of them blinking or shaking their heads like damp dogs. Then they all settled their eyes on me and I felt the weight of several accusing glares.
But those stares were in the minority.
I was relieved and surprised to find that most of the twilight fairies looked on me the same as they had before, some even smiling or nodding their heads in approval. I exhaled the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and confronted those few harsh glares. I nodded to them, accepting their anger too. We all must take responsibility for our actions, even when they're done unknowingly. Hadn't that point just been driven home to me by my father?
“You have every right to think poorly of me,” I spoke into the silence. “A fairy princess should have full control of her magic. All I can do is make you a promise that I will not stop until I've learned everything I can about my magic and have mastered it so that I can be the leader you deserve. Until then, I'm asking for your help and your patience because I can't do this without you but at the same time, I know that with you beside me, we can become the strongest court in all of Fairy!”
The twilight fey cheered. Even those who had been staring at me harshly dropped their anger for the moment. Flower petals rained down on me and I looked up to see the pixies shaking the vines above my head. I smiled and caught a pure white petal in my hand, then I instinctively cast the petal out. It spun and twisted in the air, sparkling and growing, morphing in shape until it was a bright star that hung high above the court. Then it burst apart into thousands of tiny pieces and drifted down over the twilight fey.
It was a lovely bit of magic and the fey seemed to take it as a good omen, cheering and clapping even more. Hooves stamped the stone floor and howls lifted from wild throats but I only smiled vaguely as I stared pensively at the sparks that drifted down like snowflakes.
What good was that? If I had to defend myself against my uncle again, I needed more than a light show to do it. The star-crossing magic was great but I had a feeling he wasn't going to sit still and let me sprinkle stardust in his eyes. I'd need a more aggressive magic, something to hurt and possibly kill, if I wanted to survive my new family.
Then again, maybe that was just the Extinguisher in me talking. I looked over the fairies, my fairies, and one burning gaze caught my attention. Right, there was something else that needed to be taken care of.
“While I have you all in thrall,” I joked and actually received a light twittering of laughter. “I need to ask you to witness one more deed for me tonight. Lord Conri?”
Conri stepped forward, earning interested looks from the assemblage. He came right to the edge of the dais and I went down to the lowest step. Still, he was a little taller than me. I smiled when I saw his nervous expression.
“It's going to be alright,” I whispered to him.
“Not if she rejects me,” his eyes slid to the side. “A rejection will hurt the lesser fey, not just myself.”
“Maybe you should have a little more faith in Danu,” I laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Maybe I should have a little more faith in you,” he whispered and pulled his sword with a determined movement.
The twilight fey gasped and several stood up in shocked affront. My Guard came rushing forward, all but Torquil and Tiernan; who knew exactly what this was about. Conri knelt as I held a hand up to calm my knights.
“Lord Conri has asked to join the Star's Guard,” I said and a murmuring began to go through the crowd. “I've told him that Danu herself chose my guard members and if he would allow her to judge him, I would abide by her decision.”
The murmurs grew in volume and more fairies stood so they could get a better look at Conri. Some of the voices lifted in anger and others in support. Several fey simply watched intently, carefully remaining neutral.
“Will the rest of my Star's Guard come forward and witness Danu's judgment with me?” I glanced to the side, where Torquil sat and then behind me, where Tiernan was sitting at the high table.
They both immediately got to their feet and joined my Guard, who were spreading out behind Conri in a half circle. Tiernan took a spot on the end to my left and Torquil went to the right. The entire Guard stared at me confidently, even Torquil, and I smiled at that, at them, before I looked back to Conri. The bargest laid his sword gently on the floor between us.
“I offer my sword and heart to Princess Seren,” Conri said in a strong voice. “My sword to strike down all who would oppose her and my heart to prove that my loyalty is for her above all others.”
I felt the magic of Danu's touch instantly and tears filled my eyes as her affection for Conri overwhelmed me. This was yet another step which she had somehow managed to lead me into taking. Conri hadn't chosen this at all, she had, and although her love for him was strong, it was about more than that. More than him.
“My children,” I spoke with her voice and the hall went deathly quiet. “I love you dearly but there are pieces of you which deeply sadden me. You sidhe are truly glorious, I made you so, but your glory does not make you more special to me than my other children. There are no lessers here!” Her voice whipped out through the room and everyone fell to their knees. “No more shall you call your brothers and sisters lesser, for there is nothing less about them.” I set my eyes on Conri and smiled when I saw the tears streaming down his face. I leaned down and kissed his cheek. “I would never reject you.”
Then I stood, gasped, and swayed as Danu left, allowing me to complete the ritual of welcoming my new guardsman by myself. Conri's hand shot out to steady me and I took it as if he were merely helping me down that last step. I gave him a quick wink before I bent to pick up his sword. Danu's magic rushed through me immediately, infusing his sword with a brilliant light.
“For your sword, so nobly pledged to me,” I held the weapon aloft and the twilight fey sighed. “I give the blessing of victory, that it shall never fail you.” I lowered the sword between us, so that the tip just grazed the ground before Conri. “For your love, eternal and unconditional, I offer you mine in return. You will not face my enemies for me but beside me. We will stand together and I will guard you as you guard me, value you as you value me, fight for your needs as you fight for mine. Will you stand with
me?”
“I will,” Conri's voice rang out strong and sure.
“Then rise, Sir Conri,” I smiled as his eyes widened and the court gasped, “and take back your sword.”
Conri stood and took the sword from my hands as the room erupted into cheering.
Chapter Forty-One
After the Star's Guard welcomed their new brother into the fold, the twilight fey surrounded Conri to do the same. Then toasts were made to the new knight. Even King Keir came down to wish Sir Conri well and add his approval to Danu's decision but eventually the court calmed and my father escorted me back to the high table.
“I've never seen anything so beautiful as you speaking with the voice of Danu,” he said proudly. “I will carry that memory with me forever.”
“So will they, I hope,” I looked out over the crowd and knew that they would. Attitudes would alter. Prejudice would depart. The fey may be stuck in their ways but they always listened when Danu spoke to them. The lessers would be considered less no longer.
I believe they will,” Keir echoed my thoughts. “Now, what have you decided for Bress?”
“I imagine this existence would be more pleasant than that in a dungeon,” I sighed and cast a look at my cousin.
Bress looked lost, staring out at the court like he wasn't sure where he was or what he should be doing. Kind of like watching a young Alzheimer's patient. Tiernan sat between us, casting side glances at Bress that spoke clearly of what he thought of my cousin. Which is why his next words surprised me.
“Are you trying to torture him?” Tiernan slid a glance my way. “I understand if you are but I admit I'm a little shocked.”
“What? No, of course not,” I looked across him to Bress but I couldn't see anything wrong with the fairy.
“I don't think she understands how fully she's in control of him,” Keir frowned.
“What do you mean?” I looked back and forth between them.
Other than myself, there were only men at the high table and I secretly wished Aideen hadn't gone back to her tree. I understood that she needed to reconnect with her magic but I would have liked to have some female support... and some of her brutal honesty. She could be unintentionally harsh but at least she didn't pussy foot around anything like these two were doing.