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“Whaa..wh…” The man tried to form words, but appeared unable to make his mouth work accordingly – spluttering.
Typical. This next bit was Ciaran’s favorite part. He stretched his bat-like wings out with an audible snap, and before the man could finish his next blink, Ciaran was standing before him mere inches apart. The man let out a piercing scream (the pitch surprised even Ciaran), then promptly pissed himself and fainted. Ciaran did on occasion have a flair for the dramatics. Not to the extent as Kes, but he did enjoy putting on a terrifying show for humans particularly. He threw his head back and laughed a deep belly laugh. He couldn’t wait to tell Kes about this; his cousin would surely appreciate and maybe envy it.
He reached down and tapped the forehead of the man, instantly sending him to the cage Ciaran had spelled earlier that day in preparation for the hunt. Turning, he began to walk towards the woman who was still passed out in the dirt. Something about the way she looked, battered and dirty with her clothing askew, made Ciaran furious. The sight made him want to make the man who was now in the cage hurt for a very long time.
He brushed back the hair from her face and saw the damage the man had inflicted upon her. Even with the blood, swelling, and bruising already starting to show, she was exquisite. He picked up the length of hair that had escaped her hood and rubbed the silky texture between his fingers; the unique color reminded him of dried blood. Her skin was a beautiful milky light rose expanse, and she smelled of lavender and drying herbs.There was no question this woman was beautiful.
“Hello Pet, you’re mine now,” he said to the unconscious woman as he picked her up and righted her clothing. A bag not far off from her caught his eye. He lingered for a moment trying to decide if he should take it with them. He could not for the life of him figure out why he cared if it was hers or not and if she would miss it. He looked down at the woman again wondering what spell she had undoubtedly placed upon him.
Letting out an annoyed huff at himself, Ciaran made the choice to pick it up and take it with them. He was so confused by his reaction to this tiny little human. It made no sense. He knew for a fact he had never seen this woman before, yet he could not help the possessiveness he immediately felt for her. Looking down at her face as it leaned against his chest one last time, he teleported them to his bedchambers.
Laying the woman on his bed, he touched one of his hands to her forehead, the other to her belly, and closed his eyes. Immediately her injuries began to heal as Ciaran pushed his power into her. He cataloged each and every one of her wounds, storing them away for later when he went to visit the man in the cage. Within moments he healed her and sent her off into a deep restful sleep. He walked over to the basin in the corner, wet a cloth that had been hanging over the side, and brought it back over to her. He gently began to clean the blood and dirt from her face and hands.
He had never in his hundreds of years of life felt more like a simpering fool than he did cleaning this woman so she didn’t have to wake up covered in blood. Frustrated with himself, he threw the cloth on the floor, draped a blanket over her, and went to leave the room. He needed to find Kes. He looked towards her one last time as he pulled the door shut locking her in. He stood just outside the door hesitant to leave her and cursed himself again for being such a fool. He couldn’t help it; he opened the door one more time to gaze upon her sleeping form and shook his head at himself. As he closed the door again, he didn’t give himself the chance to change his mind and ported away to find Kes.
Four
Aninhadflownforas long as her wings could go. They were sheer flimsy things she wore mostly tucked around her like a gown. Her wings had tired out a couple hours ago, and she still hadn’t crossed from the Borderlands to the Night Court. Once she got there she would have to be on high alert. A member of the Day Court was never welcomed in the Night Court.
She didn’t have a choice though, the Day Court saw to that. They had been hunting her for a while, and at some point they discovered she was living out her life in the Borderlands. Now Anin’s only option was to make it to the veil which would open in several hours. She wished desperately to be able to port, but she had never learned how. She needed to pick up her pace if she were to make it in time. She knew she would need to sneak across the veilbeforethe hunt officially started.
Anin began to run and hoped by the time her legs tired, her wings would be rested enough. She had tried to save as much of her power as she could, but it was already half depleted, and she knew she would have need of it once she neared the village of Ebonmere.
It would be crawling with all kinds of fae from the Night Court to hunt the Human Realm on the one night just for them.
Just as her legs began to tire, she saw the border where she would cross into the Night Court. Deciding it was a good time to slow down and use caution, she stopped just before the line separating her from the Night Court. She listened carefully to make sure nothing was lurking nearby, but it was her understanding most Night fae didn’t come too close to the border. It was equally unusual for the Day fae to hang about close to their border as well.
Not hearing or feeling any other creature nearby, she began to slowly walk across the border. She had never been to the Night Court before and was unsure if there was some spell meant to keep her kind out. As she crossed the border completely unscathed, she took a deep breath and then another. She was certain she had forgotten to breathe the entire time she was crossing. She had been so consumed by the fear she would burst into flames or some other form of torture from this court.
Feeling as safe as she could, she decided to unwrap her wings from where she had tucked them into a simple dress, giving her free range of movement. She stretched them out a few times before taking off in flight. Flying was useful because it meant she could move quickly through the woods without being heard. It did, however, make her a bit more visible, and she feared she was flying too fast to see a being in time to hide.
She really had no choice though – she was running out of time, and if she could not cross the veil, the Day Court would likely hunt and find her anywhere she tried to hide. Perhaps if she were lucky, someone from the Night Court would find her first. She felt that would be an easier death. The Day Court did not like the fact Anin contained a more powerful well than most of them. Especially not when wood nymphs were considered lesser fae, and the higher fae considered all lesser fae worthless. They would definitely drag out her pain for as long as they could, and with the depth of Anin’s well of power, she could easily live on for hundreds of years.
Anin had been flying for a few more hours and was starting to tire. She didn’t have much time left, she pushed her wings until they gave out. Once her wings faltered, she resumed running. Just as she thought she had reached her limit and would need a rest, she heard the bustling from a town she was nearing. It had to be Ebonmere. Anin nearly cried knowing she would make it in time, once she snuck past all the Night Court beings that was.
She slowed to a silent walk until she was near enough to a ridge above to spy down on Ebonmere. She studied the town and looked for her best way in. As she watched, she noticed many beings entering a tavern, leaving most of the streets clear. She waited a little longer, then crept her way down into the village. She was almost to the place the veil would be located and had yet to run into anyone. Then she saw them – several creatures were guarding the entrance to the veil.
At first glance, the place where the veil thinned would likely go unseen. Well, unless you knew what you were looking for. The veil looked as if the air in that one spot where it thinned was rippling like water and shimmered ever so slightly. By the end of the night, the entrance would close only to be seen again a whole year later.
Anin was still only at half power, her body used up any it replenished trying to ease her painfully tired muscles. Being a wood nymph meant she could easily become a tree, or a plant, or any woodland creature. She wasn’t sure it was worth the risk of them questioning why a creature, or even worse – a tree, was making a beeline for the veil. That would be absolutely ridiculous. Deciding there was no way she was going to risk something so foolish, she knew she would have to use up a great deal of power. She would need to create a glamour that would make her appear invisible to the guards. Although, if she were not careful, she could still get caught if they looked close enough. They would still be able to see movement around her peripheral, almost as if a bubble were going by. She would have to move slowly and silently. Using a bit more power, she created a barrier around herself that would keep any sound she made from being heard.
Ever so slowly, she made her way towards the veil. As soon as she was through, she dropped her glamour and the sound barrier, which left her with just enough power to keep her from bottoming out. Whenever that happened, her body would force her into a deep sleep until it regenerated enough power and released her from slumber. She was not sure what would happen to her in the Human Realm where power did not regenerate. Magic was lost to her as soon as she stepped foot off the lands of the Fae Realm.
She knew she needed to get away from the veil as quickly as she could before the Night Court began crossing. She was loath to use any of her power since the little she had was all she would have in this realm. She tried to use her wings, but they seemed to be useless. She hoped they were just too tired to work. Anin was doing her best not to panic, so she set off in a run as fast as her tired legs would take her.
She had been running for nearly an hour when she heard a great cheer come up from behind; the Night Court was getting ready to cross into the Human Realm. Anin started running as hard as she could. She would get as far away as possible until her body gave up, then she would hide as best she could. It felt like a good plan at the time, but she really should have noticed how much her body had slowed as she kept running for two more hours. She realized she had not gotten far enough away as she was tackled to the ground by a giant bird!
As soon as it flipped her over, she was prepared to fight as hard as her exhausted body would allow, until their eyes met. Something warmed inside Anin’s chest as she was strangely relieved to be in his presence. He seemed confused as well as his downy brows furrowed. He reached out a finger to her forehead, and she found herself in a cage hanging in a dungeon in the Night Court. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the bars. Her only thought being – at least it wasn’t the Day Court.
Kes ported to the dungeon to speak to his strange wood nymph. She was crammed in the small cage, forcing her to sit. Her legs dangled out between the bars while her arms rested horizontally in front of her. She tried her hardest to give off an air of indifference, but Kes could smell her fear. Even with all of that, she sat there looking down on him.
“How’s it hangin’ nymph?” he called up, highly amused by his joke; however, she did not look amused at all. Kes didn’t care for being looked down on. He flew up to her cage, grabbed the bars just above her hands, and brought his face as close to hers as the cage would allow. He was surprised when she didn’t recoil, most beings were terrified of Kes at first glance. He could smell her unique scent of pine and something floral; the aroma was intriguing. He had become slightly distracted by it and the delicate beauty of her face. Her eyes were fully black orbs, and he was sure he had never seen any as enthralling and deep as they were. He thought he could get lost in them for an eternity.
“What?” He realized she said something, but he hadn’t been paying attention.
“You are an insufferable ball of fluff!” she raged. “How I would love to pluck your feathers one by one, and then use them to stuff a bed!” she said through gritted teeth. Oh, she was mad. Not just mad, butmad mad, and Kes loved it.
“So what you’re saying is you’ve been thinking about me?” he grinned when she growled at him. She actually growled – it was rather adorable. She appeared to be struggling to respond, and Kes was reminded of how exhausted she had been when he found her in the woods.
