When Faeries Call (Ashen X BurningSun22)

[Moonlit_Fae]

May smiled. "If you recall I followed you to this spot. You have been in control of this situation the whole time. If I wanted to mess with you or hurt you in anyway, I would have done so already. Although, your attitude could use some adjusting." May was trying to be patient with this half-mortal, but it did not seem to be working. Spade seem to have volitale emotions and did not truly listen. She heard the words but did not absorb their message to fully understand them. She was always on the defense. May was doing her best to try and understand where she was coming from since she was a stranger to her. May sighed, upset with her mother for giving her an impossible task.

"There are enemies everywhere. These woods are not safe, nor is your home. I am glad I found you first before someone else discovered your lineage." Just as she said that an arrow zoomed through the tree lines and hit May right in the shoulder. It instantly burned. The wooden arrow was tipped with Iron, the one thing that could hurt Fae. She let out a gurtled scream. "Enough of this! I have tried to be patient with you, but this is the time to get over your daddy issues! I will not risk my life for a half mortal!"

May grabbed onto Spade's arm with extreme strength, not enough to hurt her, just to pull her up to a standing position and bring her over to a tree. More arrows zoomed toward them. May lifted her free hand and a wave of blue magic came from her, forming a force field the arrows bounced off of. "Now we are going into this tree and I will finish explaining once we are back in the Fae Realm."

May said the magical incantation that opened the bark of the tree into a magical door. She opened the door and pushed Spade through first. She then closed it behind her just in time before the next waves of arrows hit. As the door closed the vortex pulled them through to the other side of the door, which opened into the desolate and cold wasteland of a forest for the Unseelit Court. The winds were sharp and it was snowing, as always.

Now May was in her true form. Her hair fell in long, cascading ebony waves. Her skin was pale sunlight that reflected rays all around her. There were tiny stars dancing around her skin as if she were a galaxy. Her lips and eyelids were coal black. She wore a simple black dress in this realm. Her purple blood was spilling from the arrow head lodged in her shoulder. May was also weaker now from expending her magic in the mortal realm and her blood becoming poisoned with metal.

She called out like a bird and a raven came to perch on her shoulder. "Fly ahead and tell Queen Mab we have returned. Also prepare the healer for me. I have been struck with Iron." The raven flapped its wings and soared high into the sky with the message for the Queen.

Meanwhile May did her best to pull the arrow from her shoulder. She managed to break the shaft, but the arrow head was still present within her body. Frustration was all over her face. May knew she would have to move quickly. "We move, now to the castle. Follow me or don't. If you choose not to, the elements will kill you before your enemies can." May was done with being nice. She did what her mother wanted, get the Winter Knight here. As far as she was concerned her part in this was over. Perhaps she was over reacting, but she was injured and iron was no joke to Fae. She would not lose her life over someone that was so mean and distrusting toward her. No matter how attractive she might have thought Spade was.

[Ashen]

Well, the lady had some nerve. Spade's hands balls at her sides, ready to wring the attitude from her companion. She had no business getting this upset with some nobody, some stranger lost in her woods. She was almost home; she could leave and call the police if this May thought to follow her. But she'd had too long a night to think logically, and while she knew she should have been staying calm, she was ready to fight, to stand up for herself.

But her plans were immediately rethought when she felt something fly through the air beside her. She looked in horror at May's shoulder, winced at her scream. There were too many questions. In all her time living by the woods, she'd never even seen hunters. Where would an arrow have even come from? But before she could truly react, May was whisking her away, opening up a portal of possibility and changing her entire reality as she knew it.

The first thing Spade could feel was the cold. It bit at her exposed skin, formed crystals on the tips of her hair. Where was she? She looked around in bewilderment, at this barren wasteland. Where was her forest? Her home? She turned to May, a million questions formed like bullets on her tongue, but she was met with a different person. No, the features were the same, but May was different, was celestial. Was Spade dreaming? Her mouth remained agape, the questions getting lost now somewhere in her throat. None of this was making sense.

May called out sharply, and a bird appeared before her. Spade watched, bewildered, as she spoke to it, as she told it to deliver a message to a queen. Who was May, really? She shifted awkwardly, watching her new companion in disbelief and fascination. When May started away, calling rudely behind her, Spade hesitated. She looked around, at the frost-kissed land around her. It was too cold here, and she didn't know her way out--and what was this about enemies? Swallowing her pride, she bounded after May.

"You don't get to walk away after all that." Her voice held none of the confidence it once had. "What are you?" was the first question she could think to answer. "Your hair, and your skin, and that... portal, thing, and the arrow--I deserve answers."

[Moonlit_Fae]

May continued to tredge in the snow. Her long legs making it easier for her to navigate the snowy landsacpe. She slowed when she heard Spade following her. At first she did not answer Spade. Instead she let their footsteps fill the void of silence between them. May was mostly focus on her breathing and keeping the pain at bay. The large crystaline castle was getting closer , its high arches and pristine, meticilous sculpted towers coming into view. When she finally felt ready, she addressed Spade.

"This is the Fae Realm, the Unseelie Court to be exact. My mother is Queen Mab. You will be meeting her shortly. I am her daughter, so I am heir to the throne.I am one of the Fae as you can see. In the mortal realm I took on an image you are use to. Here I am free to be my true form." She winced, the energy to having a conversation was draining her of the rest of her strength. She had to get to the royal medica soon. "I used magic to create the portal. There are many slips in reality to connect all the realms. You are now stuck here, so don't try to find a portal on your own. I doubt you will ever be able to return to the mortal realm without permission from my mother." She felt that was enough to suffice Spade's curiosity for now. The rest would come in time, with her training to be the Winter Knight.

As they finally came to the castle, the royal guards bowed to May. "Princess, we did not expect your arrival so soon. Qu-." May waved her hand to silence them. "Escort the Winter Knight to the throne room right away. The Queen would like to meet her now. I have already sent word. I have other matters to attend to." With that May turned to Spade and said in an even tone. "I will find you later. For now bite your tongue as my mother is not so patient with rudeness as I have been. It could be your head on a spike." Then May turned and disappeared down a corridor.

Meanwhile the guards escorted Spade to the royal throne room. The two were on each side of her, silent as stone. Their presence was not threatening toward her, just matter of fact in completing their assigned task from the Princess. Once they were in front of the wide cahtedral doors, they swung open and reveal the regal Queen Mab upon her throne. The guards nudged Spade through and the doors slammed behind her, creating a hollowing echo through the antechamber.

Queen Mab was stoic upon her throne. She eyed the creature in front of her. "Step forward, now." She commanded to Spade.

[Ashen]

Even if May had explained what was happening, Spade wasn't any less confused than before. She opened her mouth to speak, then snapped it shut, the words stuck in her throat. The Fae Realm? Spade cast a light blue gaze over the vastness again, trying to comprehend what was going on. There was something in the distance, a building, a castle. May was a princess? She could use magic? And she was her only way home? Spade swore under her breath. She didn't know how much faith she could put in this stranger, in her fantastical words. All she wanted was to go home.

When they reached the castle, Spade's eyes fell over other people, or fae. The way they reacted to May seemed to confirm her words, but Spade was still dubious. She shifted awkwardly, shaking under the chill of this place. Winter... Knight? Was that her? Did May think she had anything to do with fae? She would have laughed aloud under different circumstances. Maybe, she thought, this was all a dream. Maybe she would wake up soon, back at her mother's home, eager to forget the stranger she'd met in the forest.

May turned away, leaving Spade in the care of her escorts. They were wordless, and having nothing else to do, Spade followed them awkwardly. She didn't know what to expect, or why she was chosen to speak with a queen, a magical queen, but she didn't know how to get home now, so complying felt a better plan than not. She followed them, to an elegant throne room, to a woman waiting for her.

Spade shifted. She did as she was told, and she looked over the queen. Just what was all this about, anyway? "Um, hi," she muttered. Ever the quirky one, she felt more embarrassed now at her weird behavior than any time before. She averted her gaze for a moment, scolding herself, then looked back to this woman. "I don't know why I'm here, but I think you have the wrong girl. I'm just... I'm nobody, so if I could just get on my way home and continue my nobody life..."

[Moonlit_Fae]

Queen Mab took in the woman before her. She was not too impressed with Rada's offspring. Mab hoped she had not made a mistake picking this creature as candidate for the Winter Knight. First off she was of short stature and couldn't seem to find her words. Her kingdom's power was on the line. She needed a strong warrior to defend her power and people.

"There is no mistake. Rada was your father and the previous Winter Knight. He have his mortal years to defending my kingdom. As his offspring this is your blood right. You will uphold his lineage and be trained for battle. I am not heartless so I will let you rest tonight. However, at dawn my daughter will escort you to the training barracks."

Queen Mab paused and let the woman take in this information. She did not want to overwhelm her, even though she was not too secure in this half mortal taking up residence in her kingdom. "If you fail in your training then you will be allowed to return to the mortal realm. Until then you are a guest of the UnSeelie Court. Do not make me regret my decision. My word is law, do not test me."

Queen Mab then rose and descended the stairs closing the gap between her and the short woman. "I am aware you mortals are weak to the cold. I shall bless you with cold resistance while you serve me.if you betray me in anyway, the land shall take you as its own. All that will be left of you is your frozen flesh." Then she leaned down and kissed Spade on the forehead, her chilled lips feeling like frostbite at first. Then a soft tingling and warmth spreading over here protection from the cold. Spade would find her temperature would always be perfect and able to weather the harsh cold environment. Snow would never land on her skin. After queen mab made her way back to her thrown.

"Oh and in case you haven't figured it out, your mother is one of our kind. Rada had your mother take you away to the mortal realm without telling me. For this your mother is banished. However if you serve me well then I will allow her to return." Queen Mab raised her hand and the guards started to open the double doors to escort the woman out. "Before you go, tell me your name. Your true name." Queen mab warned.

[Ashen]

Spade paused, trying to follow this strange woman's words. Had she really gone her whole live never hearing her father's name? As she heard those two tiny syllables, her nose scrunched in distaste. Whoever her father had been, knight or not, he had not cared at all about the wife and daughter he had left behind, and for that reason, Spade wanted nothing at all to do with him or his responsibilities.

But she had a feeling nothing she could do would get her out of this. If she really would be sent home for failing her training, then she would just do that, easy peasy. She didn't even know what training entailed, but she imagined it couldn't be difficult to fail it, whatever it was. Soon, she would be back in her bed under a nice weighted blanket, eager to forget any of this had ever happened. But... then what? Spend the money she'd won on selfish things, get away from the only people who cared about her, start her life all alone? Maya probably wouldn't even want to talk to her again after their phone call earlier. She had nothing to do back home, and a foolish part of her wondered what would become of her if she stayed here instead.

Before she could catch up with the conversation, the queen was coming over to plant a kiss on her forehead. She flinched in response, shook as the cold blossomed across her face, but then it was over, and she wasn't shivering anymore. She scowled at the queen, uncomfortable with the spontaneity of the intimate action, but she bit her tongue. When Mab spoke of her mother, she shook her head. Her mother was a normal woman. She was a bit of a hippie, sure, who had voluntarily moved out to the middle of a forest, with eyes too pale and hair too vibrant, but... Spade shook her head. What would a stranger know?

Her eyes narrowed when the queen asked of her name. "I'm called Spade," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. "My mother named me Meadow, but I only answer to Spade." Anyone who knew her knew how much she hated her legal name, hated how old it made her sound. She met the woman's eye, unflinching, waiting to see what she would do next.

[Moonlit_Fae]

"You are a fierce little thing. That is good. Use that ferocity in your training. Hone those negative emotions for good use. The trainings will help to shape you as a member of society. You are rough around the edges, but that can be worked on. Now leave me. I have matters to attend to." She then raised her hands and shooed the half mortal away. Queen Mab had to start strategizing her defense against her enemies. Her kingdom was vulnerable. Acquiring the Winter Knight was a start. Mab did not need to spend intricate time with the Winter Knight until she was ready. For now she would be a work in progress. "I will send a summons for you Spade whenever I please. You will be expected to show up."

The guards escorted Spade from the throne room and back out into the hall. One guard stayed put and the other continued down a long narrow passage and then turned left. There was a giant intricate black door with stars upon it dancing about. The guard knocked three times and the door opened on its own. "This is Maeve's room. You will be here until a room is set up for you."

As Spade entered and the door closed, the room illuminated on its own. There was a waterfall among the wall that fell into sparkling water below. Floating atop the water was a giant circular bed. The floor was of black marble and decorated with Victorian era furniture and paintings. A red fox lazily napped upon one of the red velvet couches. This scene would be beutiful if not for May screaming as the Fae Healer dug his long talons into her shoulder, pulling out the poison tip of the arrow. Her purple blood falling down into the water below.

[Ashen]

Once again the magical queen was making Spade's blood boil, and once again she reminded herself to bite her tongue. She was not rough around the edges, and she wanted to challenge Mab to see how she would react if randomly abducted and sent to a wilderness like this, but she doubted such a thing was possible. Instead of giving the queen a piece of her mind, she remained silent, turning away when Mab dismissed her and following the guards behind her.

The castle had a beauty to it, and now that Spade wasn't freezing, she could take in the intricate designs in the floors, the walls. She raised a brow at the guard once she arrived at the door. A magical door, of course. Would she ever come to know the magic here? Would doors open at her command? No, she reminded herself, she was not going to stay long enough for that to happen.

The guard told her just where she was, and she turned to him to protest. May--Maeve--had turned so harsh, that Spade doubted she'd be too happy to be rooming with her now. But she realized she didn't have a choice, so she sighed and entered the room. Here was a new beauty, a room that would never be possible at home, with gorgeous fountains and a large bed--a single bed, she noted. Her eyes flew to Maeve, who was in her own world, being worked on by... a healer? Was this person using healing magic? She hesitated, not knowing what to do.

She was still for a while, wondering if Maeve would notice her. Maeve seemed to be in so much pain... She didn't owe her anything, but she couldn't just stand by and watch. "Do you... need something?" she asked, not even sure she could bring her whatever she asked for.

[Moonlit_Fae]

The fae healer, a satry, was almost done. He said some incomprehensible magic words and a light came from his hands. This helped to close off the wound. The water below was purple, swirling with the black iron. The worst of it was over now. May had not succumb to the iron poison. Her head cleared and she felt much better. The fae woman slowly sat up when a voice startled her. Her eyes took in the half-mortal she had forgotten about. An embarrsed blush came to her cheeks as she remembered how harshly she had treated her. May had not been herself. The pain had caused her to lash out. She was sure she thought Spade hated her. Hell, she wouldn't even blame Spade if she hated her too. It must be awful to be ripped from the world you knew and thrust upon with a responsibility that had nothing to do with you.

"Leave Lan. I must speak with my guest in private." The satyr bowed and silently left. The giant doors openeing up and swallowing him away. Now that they were alone May felt like she could drop the regal act. "Thank you for the offer, but I am fine. You are the guest of the royal court, I should be asking that of you. I know you mentioned that you were cold. I can have the Spider seamtress weave you any clothes you desire. Also a room is being made up for you now. Even though you are here against your will, you will still have your privacy."

May then slowly stood and made her way over to a sofa that was by a roaring fire with blue flames. "I must apologize for earlier. I was not myself. My words were only harsh because I was worried for you." She then looked up and looked at Spade directly in the eyes. "I am to be your ward while you are here. There are ground rules we must cover so you will be safe here. I cannot be with you all the time. There are rules you need to follow because your mortal blood will betray you. Will you agree to my first lesson?" She was going to give Spade a choice. It was the least she could do, give Spade the smallest freedoms she was allowed to give her.

[Ashen]

Spade was still, an awkward blight against this background of magic. She shifted her weight and gnawed her bottom lip, trying to figure out what to do. She hadn't been given any instruction, hadn't had anything really explained, and part of her still waited to wake up from this nightmare and return to her home in the forest. But for now, that wasn't going to happen, and she needed to figure out something.

When May turned to her, Spade hesitated. She didn't like this woman, wanted nothing to do with her, but she seemed to be the only one she'd be able to talk to. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Guest of the royal court. Well, wasn't that bullshit, she thought. A guest without any say in anything at all was a prisoner, for crimes she didn't even know. For crimes her father, a total stranger, had handed down to her. She rolled her eyes and said nothing.

The apology was unexpected, and Spade didn't much care for it. She doubted this woman cared at all about her safety, not after thrusting her into this tundra and leaving her to die. Actions spoke louder than words, and Spade was not going to trust easily. She took a few steps away from her. Here, she was trapped; her illusion of a choice only made her angrier. "Don't pretend to give me options," she muttered, averting her gaze. She crossed her arms over her chest, though a sigh escaped her. She could already imagine the rules. Don't leave your cell. Do as your asked. In a world where nothing made sense, she at least knew one thing: she had no allies.

Silently, she brought her gaze back to the woman, daring her to go on.