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Chapter Text

Rhoswen

Music flowed into the open window from the streets below, children laughed as if they had never felt pain and citizans, lesser and high fae alike danced in the streets to celebrate what had just been anounced. I, Lady Rhoswen: daughter to the Lord and Lady of the Night Court, was to be officially announced as their successor in a week's time. I, of course, had known that it was coming; it had been all my mother and father talked about since I had turned eighteen. Right at that moment Cassian, Mor and Azriel were all undoubtedly planing the ceremony alongside my parents. It was meant to be a joyous time and yet I felt like I was drowning in a wave of anxiety and fear.

Amren, I knew, would not be participating in the party planning. It was one of the reasons I had always liked Amren; she never made a fuss and was perfectly content to leave me in my own little corner so long as I left her to hers. That wasn't to say Amren had never shown an interest in the me, as a child Ihad spent a lot of time in her company and even now I knew I was one of the few people Amren seemed to enjoy being around for more than a few moments.

I stared down at the people below my window, watched them dance in the starlight and listened to their laughter float up along side the music. It seemed wrong somehow, that even as the people I loved were happy and celebrating, all I could feel was the tightness in my chest.

You are not worthy, a voice seemed to repeat over and over, what have you ever done to deserve their love, their devotion? It was a question I had asked myself many times since my mother and father told me what they planned to do. I had been deliberating over it for weeks and yet I had no answer because it was true, I had never done anything that deserved the kind of adoration they all seemed to have for me. I was not my mother whom had given up her life, her humanity and everything she had ever held dear as a human to save the people she cared about, I was no cursebreakrer. Nor was I my father, whom had sold himself and his dignity to keep his people safe, had lost his life to stop a mad man from destroying the world he loved. True, my father had come back and lived to see his people again andto see my birth, but it didn't change the fact that he had sacrificed everything. I had sacrificed nothing. To be born into privilage was a privilage of its own and I did not deserve it.

"Rhos, sweetheart, are you okay?" It was my mother. I turned to face her with a smile on my face that I had been perfecting for the last few weeks, she was devastating his her gown made of both dark and light, stars that looked like they could be real glowing on the blank, black canvas of her silk gown. She had, as she always did, her hair half up, two threads of braids that twisted to come together at the centre to fall in one braid down the rest of her golden hair. I didn't have sunlit hair like my mother's, instead I had inherited my fathers darker curls that never seemed to make it past my shoulders even though it hadn't been cut since I was fifteen. I had her eyes instead, exactly the same right down to the colour and shape, I'd also gotten the shape of her lips. No one could say whether or not the shape of my face was more like my mother or my father, though they were all certain my nose was all my father's doing.

"I was just watching the people, they seem to all be having a good time." I replied, it wasn't a lie.

"They're happy and they're excited. Everyone is very proud of you, no one more so than your father and I?" My mother came closer and placed on hand on my shoulder as she brushed the curls back from my face. I knew she was telling the truth, my mother had always been proud of me no matter what I did. I turned away from her curious eyes and knew that she had seen the shadows dancing across my features.

There was a knock on my door and, without even waiting for an answer, my father winnowed into the room. It was a running joke of his, knocking and then winnowing in, it was his own brand of dad humour I supposed.

"So this is where my favourite girls have run off to." My father didn't approach the way my mother did, instead he settled himself onto the chair to my vanity. His eyes, as always, were focused on my mother though they darted to me every few moments. It had been that way for as long as I could remember and it always took my breath away, the love between them was something I had always wanted. They had never made me feel like I was least impotant yet still somehow managed to be all about eachother; it was inspiring.

"I thought you were entertaining our guests." My mother narrowed her eyes at my father but the tell tale tilt of her lips told me she wasn't annoyed.

"I was, but Mor suggested we have an eighteen layer cake, so Cassian jumped in on that and after that there was just no control. So I decided to come find my girls." My father just sat there, leaning lazily on the back of the chair.

I lowered my eyes to the floor, of course it was no use because of all the people in the world, these two knew me better than anyone. I could hear noise coming from downstairs, it wasn't hard to identifiy which ones belonged to aunti Mor and uncle Cassian. For a moment I focused on that, the voices of my family, the ones I loved. I didn't really have many friends my age, a few of the children of the high lords of the courts and of course my cousins. Liana, my uncle Lucien and Aunt Elain's daughter was the one i considered myself closest to since her family was always visiting the Night Court. Aunt Nesta and uncle Cassian's son, Volk was more introverted and I saw little of him but whenever we were together he was always kind.

"Are... Are you sure this is a good idea?" My voice was quiet as I asked the question but I knew they had heard me. Both of them paused as if in perfect unison and looked at me, I couldn't understand the look that appeared on their faces.

"Rhos, where is this coming from? Of course this is a good idea. You are our daughter and you are the future High Lady of the Night Court." My mother took my face between her hands but I pulled away, I didn't want their comfort because they didn'y understand. Pulling away, I walked across the room and stopped by the door. I wanted to be able to have a quick escape if I decided I needed one.

"That's my point, I shouldn't be High Lady just because I'm your daughter. I havent," I released a sigh, "Haven't done anything to earn this position." I hung my head and raked a hand through my hair. The music that had been beautiful and settling before was now irritating and jumbling my thoughts. Shadows began to seep around the edges of the room, crawling like insects and dripping down the walls like blood as my irritation and frustration rose. My abilities were another thing that I had inherited from both parents; I could manipulate the darkness and use it to my own advantages like my father and even possessed some of my mother's abilities to take on another's powers, though that one was to be used only when necessary. It all became too much, with a final look at my parents I shook my head and raced from the room as quickly as I could, barely hearing my mother's protests.

I found myself in the gardens far away from the town house, right in the centre of the city. The trees there glowed with fireflies like the sky glowed with stars. No one else was there; too busy with celebrating someone who hadn't earned their celebration. There was a tension in the air, a feeling of power that shouldn't be there, couldn't be there because as far as I could see there was no one else in the gardens. In the corner of my eye I could see the lake in the centre shimmering, the moon casting a glow over the water and making it shine far brighter than any jewel I had seen. Approaching the lake, I let the serenity of the gardens sooth me. This was the first place I remembered, how old was I? I didn't know, or if I did I couldn't recall. My mother brought me here whenever I had a nightmare or was feeling sad and my father brought me here every time I felt like there was something I couldn't do. This place had always brought me peace, but tonight it just wasn't working.

"I'd be careful love, a woman shouldn't be walking the streets alone so late at night." The voice that curled around my ears in the dark forced me to whirl around; deep and husky, sweet like honey on my ears. The man who stood before me was devestating, his eyes were a bright and shining hazel colour that to me looked like gold thread winding its way around a pine forest. His hair fell just slightly over his eyes and was the colour of the leaves as it turned from spring to autum. He was tall too, not as tall as my father or my uncles but still much taller than me, I could see defined muscle beneath the fabric of his shirt his jaw was sharp but not so much so that it was too much for him to still be attractive. His lips tempted me like nothing I had ever experienced before, full and lush.

The man before me was gorgeous and mysterious... and my mate.

Chapter Text

Oren

The creature before me was more than enchanting; dark curls framed pale features and ruby, red lips stood out like a single rose blooming in a feild of snow. The night wrapped itself wound around her, curling and caressing in a way that reminded me of a lover's embrace. Dressed in starlight, this lovely lady was night incarnate and it shined from her very essence; illuminating the space around her the way the moon lit up the sky.

"You aren't from here." Her first words were not a question but a pure, knowing statement. her voice was more beautiful than any song I had ever heard, as light and flowing as the breeze itself and yet there was a kind of authority to it, not yet mastered but the potential was definitely there. My mate was certainly no lesser fae.

"How do you know?" I asked, slowely advancing. I took two steps forward and she took three back towards the edge of the lake so I stopped, fearing that she would tumble backwards into the cold waters. Farther away, music floated through the air to our ears; it was a beat that you wanted to dance to, a song of celebration. Glancing around, I noticed that there was no one else in the gardens and thought how odd that was, my father had told my the city of starlight was constantly awake.

The girl side stepped away from the edge of the lake but not far, her steps were so light it was as if she were floating. Our stares were now much more than that; it had become a competiton to see who had more nerve, who would look away first and neither of us wanted to lose. The intensity of her eyes was like something I had never felt before because in those glowing, blue orbs I saw not only my reflection as I would have in another's. No. In her eyes there was light and dark, fire playing on the ice and together they created a future that, I was realising with every passing second, I wanted.

"Your magic... it just feels kind of, wrong." Her words felt like a punch in the gut. Wrong? What about his magic could possibly be wrong? Thought her words sparked something in his mind, she had felt him, his magic but he couldn't get a feel for hers. It was as though she had cloaked herself so tightly there wasn't even a trace of it, I'd never heard of anyone doing that before. Still, the insult remained at the front of my mind and I stopped advancing. As if realising what she was said, the young lady turned her head and a blush swept its way up her graceful neck to her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I'm not used to people outside the Night Court. Which one do you come from? Autum, summer?"

"Better," I laughed, "I am Oren, son of Tamlin of the Spring Court and next in line to be High lord."

The girl froze; her eyes which before had been guarded but not unfriendly became cold as though ice had frozen over them. There was a new stillness in the air, thick and tense like a string that had been pulled too tight. Whatever I had said to trigger her, I had a feeling that it hadn't won me any favours. She began backing away only this time it wasn't to create distance, it was to escape the threat she saw in me and I hated to admit that it hurt.

"You shouldn't be here, how did you get into my city?" Her city. Hers. There was no beauty in her voice now, just pure lethal intent; a warning. The fire that had been burning her eyes could not be heard in her words, and the darkness that surrounded her twisted around her arms and hands to be yeilded as a weapon. There was only one family I knew of that could control the night and all that it entailed in such a manner. The Archerons of the Night Court. Now it all made sense; the way she cloaked herself, the fire and ice in her eyes. This was no ordinary citizan of the starlight city, this was Rhoswen Archeron, my enemy, my mate.

In the distance the music had stopped playing and the clocktower boomed as midnight, clouds rolled across the sky to conceal the moon and the only light in the gardens became the street lamps on the pathways. I wondered how I hadn't seen it before; the power that lurked beneath her skin and made her deadlier than he would have possibly imagined just by simply looking at her. My father had told me stories of the high lord of the Night Court and his fae turned whore, had spoken of their arrogance and how they had betrayed the Spring Court over a hundred years ago. Of course his favourite thing to rant about over the last eighteen years had been their child, the daughter of the night. Never in my life had I suspected that this girl whom he hated so much, would be the other half to my soul. It was unthinkable at the very least, the Mother certainly had an evil sense of humour. From the fierceness in Lady Rhoswen's expression, I knew she had grown up on similar stories.

"The same way anyone enters the city I'll assume, walking."

"The wards protect against those from the Spring court, you are not welcome here." Oh yes, definitely a warning. Clearly Rhoswen Archeron was familiar with the history between our families.

"What's wrong little lady? Are you afraid of what I may be here for? Well I assure you, I have little interest in the High Lord, his brat or his cheap whore." Wrong words.

The lights that had been illuminting the paths were extinguished as tendrils of darkness shot forward like arrows and smashed the glass so that it littered around the posts like dust. Rhoswen no longer cloacked herself with the night, instead she weilded it in the way a soldier weilded a sword. Frightning and dangerous and gloriously beautiful in her awful power. Invisible hands curled around my throat and began to squeez, not hard enough to choke my life away but enough that breathing became difficult. I fell to my knees and the young High Lady sauntered over to kneel before me.

"I don't care why you're here, but you will leave and never return to my court. If I find you here again, or if I ever hear you insult my mother, any member of my family, in such a was as you just did, I will show you how easy it is for the dark to snuff out the light." She spat the words at me, practically hissed them before stepping away. I took deep breaths as I stared at this confounding, beautiful, dangerous woman. The darkness wrapped itself around her once more but before she winnowed away, she uttered one more sentense to me.

"Do not forget, young lord; the spring needs sunlight to thrive and I am a lady of the night." With that, she was gone.

Chapter Text

Rhoswen

I told no one of my time in the gardens, nor whom I had encountered there. Part of it was due to the trouble I knew I'd be in if they realised the damage I had caused, the other pwart was because I didn't want to remember it. My bones still shook slightly with the magic I had unleashed two days later and my soul was still brimmed with icy rage. He had been my mate, the one the Mother had destined for me yet he was my enemy. Oren of the Spring Court.

When I had arrived home that night I vomited all over my bedroom floor, I was so sick from what I had done, the things he had said. Despair clawed its way through, how could this be happening? Was it some kind of test? Perhaps there was nothing real to it; just an imaginary bond that I had conjured upon meeting someone from outside of my court. That had to be it. What would I tell my parents otherwise, that my mate was the son of our court's current greatest enemy? No thank you. Still, there was no escaping the memory of him even during sleep; the golden hair that gleamed in the moonlight, eyes that pierced all the way down to the soul. I didn't want to think about what I had seen in those eyes, what possibilities had danced in them. Because they were a lie, and thinking of them would only break me. I knew what I must have looked like over those two days, broken and shattard like glass that had had a stone thrown at its centre, barely holding together.

On the third morning I decided that enough was enough, there was no use in moping about and causing everyone else to be unhappy. So as the sun rose and the birds outside started to sing, I dressed myself in one of my mother's favourite gowns, she had it made especially for my eighteenth birthday and I loved it more that any of the others. The corset was black as night with tiny blood diamonds; a reminder of who I am, heir to the Night court and daughter of the most skilled warriors in all the world. The skirt flowed gentle from my waist and although the under-fabric was silk and soft against my skin, it was the wolf pelt that I truly loved. A memory, not mine, from long ago; one that had led to my very existance. The dress was a symbol of who I was, where I came from and I was proud to wear it.

Everyone was gathered in the kitchen, laughing and my mother was even throwing a piece of bread at my father's head. All of my aunts and uncles were there too, though I didn't know why. I supposed that was my own fault for avoiding everyone for two days. The laughter stopped when I entered, and no one spoke the entire time we ate. Guilt shot like an arrow through me, had I really been so terrible to be around those past two days?

"The tip-toeing is starting to get on my nerves." I finally declared when my mother literally used a gush of air to float my dish over to the counter, she shot me a smile that was half amused and half shameful.

"To be fair Moonbeam, you did throw a tantrum in your room and then stalk off through the city for a good couple of hours a couple days ago." Retorted my father, finally being brave enough to ruffle my hair.

"And over a party, honestly girl where is your sense of fun?" Amren joined in. I glowered at them all. It was better than them knowing what was actually going on at least, this way there would be no questions.

The teasing continued for another hour whilst everyone laughed and made jokes at one another's expence. Only when all the food had been cleared away did the laughter die down and the joking stop. My mother and father turned to me, suddenly somber and somewhat wary.

"Actually love, we're glad you came down today. We were going to tell you later but maybe it's better you come along and experience what life is like as a high lady of the Night Court." My father said, wrapping an arm around my mother's waist and pulling her close to his side, always the unitied front. Always a team.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked, suspicion suddenly rearing it's head. Why did I get a sinking feeling when I looked into their eyes?

My parents looked nervously at eachother, a look I had only seen a few times in my life. Whatever it was they wanted me to do, wherever they wanted me to go they knew I would not like it. Perhaps that was what they meant by "life as a high lady of the night court".

"For the ceremony of your ascension, we invited the courts to attend. To not do so would be close to an act of war, so we had to invite all of the courts." His emphasis on the world "all" caused panic to swell, could that mean...? Suddently it all made sense, Oren was able to get past the wards because, because he had been invited inside. His whole court had, and if the Spring Court had been invited into the city of starlight then so had their high lord.

I would see Oren again, and I didn't know whether or not that was a good thing. Of course I longed to see him; to know whether or not the bond that I had sensed between us had been real or a figmant of my wild imagination. Not that it mattered, not really. I had a duty to my people and I needed to fullfill it, no matter the cost to my own feelings. With that decided, I nodded to my parents and accepted their invitiation to the meeting, to the rest of my life.

Chapter Text

Oren

The stone walls of the Wind House were not at all as I had anticipated; instead of obsidian the stone was the same as was used in building any other structure and instead of darkness there were many windows that let in the light. Where I was expecting cobwebs and spiders, chandeliers hung and sprinkled gold around the room; glittering and brilliant. The stories that my father told me did not prepare me for the sure wonders of the Court of Dreams, nor for the thrill that I felt at the thought of seeing her again. The rest of the High Lords chattered away to each other, casting glances all around the room as if searching for someone, someone that was not yet there. With a clang, the great doors to the hall opened and in they came, the Archerons, but they were not lead by the High Lord Rhysand. They were led by her, Rhoswen Arecheron. Once again she was adorned in clothes of the night, a dark dressed adorned with diamonds as red as blood. The skirt however, was a mixture of night and spring; the skin of a wolf which stalks the forests at night to hunt its prey. So there before me she stood, a lady of night and spring, though she did not know it. Rhoswen did not look the same way she did the night we met, of course her featured were the same (those could not have altered so quickly). No, it was the aura that surrounded her that was different, tauter and firmer like she had placed a wall around herself.

"Hello everyone, please excuse our lateness but I was not informed of this meeting until this morning." Said Rhoswen, her eyes slightly narrowed as she looked around the room, roaming all over until she finally settled on one spot, the place where my father leaned so casually against the stone wall and my mother besides him, his ever-silent mouse. A glint appeared in those narrow eyes and her hands swept its way down the skirt of her dress a little, her lips turned up in the tiniest smile. Interesting. The look he gave her, or more precisely her dress, was less than friendly.

"What a pleasure to finally meet you my Lady." My father sauntered over to her, taller by at least three inches. He bowed, and to anyone else it would have looked like he was paying the proper respects but there was something in that gesture and it set me on edge. In fact, just seeing him near her, the man who hated this esteemed family so much, made me want to rip him away from her in a heat of rage unlike anything I had ever felt before. I pushed the feeling down, this girl was nothing to me and I should not, could not care about her.

The High Lord Rhysand came forward then and put space between Rhoswen and my father, an act for which I was begrudgingly grateful. I could not say I was jealous of the look the High Lord gave him though, contempt and a softened rage that for all the acting in the world could not be hidden behind those flaming eyes. I still remembered the stories I had been told of the High Lord of the Night Court; the darkness he swept around the Court of Nightmares just because his uncle dared insult his mate, the way he silenced my father for the exact same reason in front of all of the High Lords. This man was not someone to test, I couldn't even imagine the horrors he might unleash if someone were to threaten his daughter.

"Shall we all sit? I'm sure we are all anxious to begin." The high lord swept a hand towards the large table at the centre of the room, a gesture for everyone to take their places and so they did. A surprise came to everyone when it was not he who sat at the top end of the table, but Rhoswen with her mother and father either side of her, supporting her. The rest of the inner circle of the Night Court sat at various points around the table, all of the couples sat beside each other with their children sat before them which made it all the more peculiar that Rhoswen would not only sit at the head of the table but between her parents. All of the High Lords then directed their attention towards her, she whom commanded the attention of everyone in the room just by tilting her head.

"It is a pleasure to see you all, those whom I have met and those whom I have not," Her eyes remained focused on my father, they looked to me only once and it was a look that struck me deeper than I suspected it would, "I am especially pleased to meet you, High Lord Tamlin. I have heard so much about you." The smile that tilted her lips was calculated, not sweet or sincere in any way. This woman was a High Lady and there could be no doubt about that.

A nervous calm fell across the room as the two eyes each other, the conflicts that existed between the Night and the Spring Courts were no secret and everyone knew the history that existed between my father and Feyre Archeron, and of the part he played in the making of her sisters into high fae.

"As I have heard so much about you Miss Archeron, although something about you does disappoint. I thought the daughter of the most powerful high fae in history would have at least inherited wings." A smirk appeared on my father's face as he said it, almost like a victory smile. The one she returned was far more convincing.

"You want to see my wings, High Lord Tamlin?"

Rhoswen's face was a mask of smugness as she stood from her chair and gave a feral smile unlike any I had ever seen. The whole room held its breath as the most beautiful wings any of us had ever seen unfurled from her back, they weren't leathery or sharp like the wings of an Illarian, but were instead light and made of beautiful gold and black feathers that looked as if they would be soft to touch. Everything inside me yearned to touch those wings, to caress them as I kissed my way down her neck to the smooth skin of her shoulder. I shook my head to myself, these were not thoughts that I should have been having about the daughter of my enemy. Rhoswen took her seat again, her wings now completely gone though where they had gone I didn't know, she leveled her gaze to my father again; cold and calculating.

"Now that my daughter has satisfied your curiosity, can we get back to the actual point of this meeting? Or do we need to wait until you've decided to cease your childish games, Tamlin?" The High Lady of the Night Court sat forward on her chair and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. The High Lord however, remained relaxed in his seat as he watched his wife and daughter take charge and something became clear to me. This was not a man who needed to squash the women in his life to make himself feel better, to create a feeling of control. Rhysand loved his family and he didn't want to control them, he wanted to boost them up. So for the next two hours I sat and watched as Rhoswen Archeron took control and ascended into her role as the next High Lady of the Night Court.

Chapter Text

The gardens surrounding the House of Wind had always been my aunt Elaine's favourite place in the city, I could remember her laughing and twirling the flowers under my nose when I was a little girl. My parents always kept the gardens in beautiful condition, in case Elaine and her family ever decided to visit. That was just what my family always seemed to do, make sure everyone was happy. Over the years, as my aunts and uncles visited less, I took over the care of the gardens. It didn't seem right to watch them wother and decay without my aunt there to look after them and besides; I always felt calm there. After the meeting with the High Lords however, not even the fragrence of the roses and orchids could settle my nerves.

The beginning had gone well enough, they had all been awed by my display of confidence and power against the High Lord of the Spring Court, but after that everything seemed to go downhill. As more and more questiones about my political standings came out, they realised just how few answers I had and also how little experience. Perhaps that wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that my cousins had all known more than me; they participated in the discussions effortlessly and without delay. It only seemed to prove to the High Lords just how incapable of running a court I really was. It proved it to me too.

The wind brushed over my bare shoulders and I let a little shiver escape. After the meeting I hadn't even thought to stop and grab my wrap, having been to horrified at my behaviour. I was definitely paying for that mistake. Suddenly my shoulders were wrapped in something soft and slightly fluffy. I jerked around with a soft gasp, and came face to face with the one person I really didn't want to see in that moment.

"It's a shawl my lady, not a venomous snake." Oren said, his lips lifting in a smirk that made him look just. So. Arrogant.

"Well, when dealing with those from the Spring Court, one never really knows." I replied, hoping that the hatred I felt was carried into my words. Every part of me wanted to rip the shawl off of my shoulders and storm away but it was cold, and my pride wasn't going to keep me from getting ill. So instead I lifted my head, squared my shoulders and took three deep, long breaths. It didn't help but at least I looked like I was trying to make the effort.

Out in the distance people were laughing and having fun, completely oblivious to the murder that was potentially about to happen. Would I be in trouble if I did kill him? After all, he was the son of my court's enemy. Hell it might even win me back the points that I lost during that meeting. Perhaps it was childish to pout and ignore him, to throw insults and be petty but there was this horrible pain every time I looked at him. Soul crushing agony that made me so mad, what made me angrier was the fact that I even got upset. Who was this man, so rude and obnoxious, that he could cause me pain this deep just from looking at me with so much disdain; my mate? No. I had seen the bond between my parents, my uncles and aunts and it was nothing like this.

Oren settled his hand on my shoulder, gently urging me to turn back around. There was a new gentleness on his face that I had only glimpsed at briefly the night we met. His hair was tousled where the wind had swept it this way and that, he was staring at me so intensely. There was a tug in my chest, even though I tried to smother it down as far as I possibly could it still stung like a bee.

"I appologise my lady, I shouldn't have been so rude when we met. I promise you I'm usually quite popular with women." He smirked as he said this. Bastard. Of course he was popular; he was handsome and I'm sure if you were from anywhere but the Night Court he could turn on the charm until you were ready to shake your dress off. Maybe his prejudice belonged to my family alone, it wouldn't be surprising considering the history between our parents.

"Yes, I'm quite sure you have a plethora of women at your disposal." I sneered the words.

"That isn't quite what I meant." He frowned. As if the idea repulsed him. Did he really think he could fool me? Did he feel like he needed to? I wasn't sure I really wanted to know.

As I began to leave again he took a firm hold on my wrist, halting my steps before I could take more than a few. It was the first time he had touched my skin, it almost felt as of the ground shook and that tug in my chest became a full on pull, as sure and strong as his grip. I wanted to rip myself away, I wanted to pull him into my and push my body into the curve of his own. This was agony. Elation. Dangerous.

"Honestly, I couldn't care less about how many women you choose to play around with. What you young lordlings do is no business of mine." Maybe that sneer would make him leave. All I wanted was some peace from him, and the things that he made me feel.

I pretended to admire the trees and flowers behind him, ignoring him as he attempted to look into my eyes. I could admit that I was too afraid at what I might see there, what kind of emotions would be floating around in those glowing eyes. They say that eyes are the windows to the soul but I don't belive that; I think they must be the doors and you should always gaurd them and be careful who you allow in. I allowed my mind to wonder, hoping it would find itself a distraction although that was admitedly unlikely as his thumb began to stroke circles slowly across my skin. He stepped closer, so close that I could feel the heat of his body radiating outwards to sheild me against the cold chill of the air.

"If that's so my lady, then why are you letting me get so close. Any prey would know not to let a predator this near to their throat." He grew closer and closer as he spoke each word, so close that I felt his breath on my throat, could practically feel his skin even though we weren't touching.

"Trust me Daffodil, I am not the prey between the two of us." I replied, not daring to retreat or show any sign of weakness. I didn't even need to because no sooner had I spoken the words than he burst into a fit of loud, obnoxious laughter. He almost fell to the ground with the force of his hysterics but caught himself just in time on the trunk of a tree and instead curled into himself cluthing his stomach. I waited with wide eyes for his laughter to subside but on and on it went; drawing the attention of others passing through the garden. Minutes passed and still he didn't calm down, it was with a hidious rage that I realised he was mocking me, because the very idea of my being threateneing was just so funny, I began to walk away with quite and purposful strides.

I may have never fought in any wars or have a title like cursebreaker following my name but I was powerful, in ways that no one understood not even my parents. They had no idea, no idea at all about the effort it took to keep my abilities under control or how deeply I had to bury my magic to stop it from leaking out at the edges like blood from a wound. I could never turn my mind off, never stop concentrating and they had no clue. A glance at my hands showed how quickly I was losing control in that moment; shadows danced at my fingertips and traveled across the expanse of my hand to curl lovingly around my wrist. I looked around quickly, making sure that no one had witnessed my little snap in control as I reigned the shadows back in.

"My lady, my lady wait. I'm sorry it's just... Daffodil? Really?" Oren had caught up to me and although his laughter had ceased there was still a wide, smug grin on his face. I wanted to smack it right off. His grin became infectious though and soon I was trying to hide my own little smile behind my hair.

"I think it suits you, a pretty flower from the spring court." I replied calmly, as if I hadn't been swimming in a haze of my own rage mere moments ago, as if his voice hadn't calmed me down as easily as if he'd put a spell on me, as if that fact alone didn't leave me with a horrible feeling deep in my chest.

"You think I'm pretty?" He grinned wider and I felt my eyes grow twice as big as they had been before. Oh no. I hadn't just... except I had. Spinning swiftly on my feet, I let everything become a blur of sunlight and shadows, of green and brown and gold as I raced away like lightening into the safety if the House of Wind, but not before hearing him call out again.

"You think I'm pretty?"

Chapter Text

Oren

Shadows danced along the stone walls of the House of Wind, in the dark of night only the few lit candles the sleeping home and it gave the house an eerie feeling. There was no artwork on the walls, only stainless stone that looked as if it had been there for only a few hours despite the cenuries it had stood, untouched. Of course that wasn't the case; many peopled walked the halls day by day and left pieces of themselves without knowing it. If you stopped, just for a moment, and focused you could hear their footsteps and voices like distant echoes; their histories carved into every piece of stone that made up the walls and the floors. Moonlight shone through what few windows lined the hallway, casting various slices of light up and down the dark stoned walkway and through those slices of light she stood, illuminated and sparkling like a diomand. It wasn't her skin shining of course, it was the starlight in the darkness that leaked from every pore of her skin; glinting like diamonds in the air to give her a sense of ethereal beauty that I had simply never seen before. The dress she wore was barely there, a wisp of soft, gossamer fabric that only went to the tops of her thighs and dipped so low that it barely contained her breasts; her flawless, smooth breasts.

She turned to me, her eyes pierced into my soul but it was her smile, so sweet and unguarded that tugged at something in my heart. Never did I think that I would see that kinf of smile from her, certainly not directed towards me with such a loving expression attached to it. Maybe it was the moonlight or maybe it was just her, but one moment I was all the way down the hallway and the next she was in my arms; all soft skin and furious passion. Her hair felt like a waterfall cascading through the gaps between my fingers and pooling like a lake in the palm of my hand, her legs wrapped tightly around my waist and clinging for dear life. With one hand fisiting her hair and the other grasping her behind I kept her pressed close until I found the closest wall and pinned her there, restrained as I kissed my way down her throat to the gentle swells of her breasts.

"Oren..." Her moan was like listening to the willow trees in my father's estate singing, it floated through the air to land in my ear and cause a moan of my own. I loved the way she clenched her legs tighter around my waist and pushed her breasts closer to my face with every breath. Her hands shoved their way underneath my sleep shirt and raked down to the waistband of my trousers and scratched her nails along the edge. The sensation was so startling that my hips thrust forward to grind roughly against her core and my elongated canines nipped sharply at the curve of her breast. If anyone was around to see us I didn't notice, I couldn't feel beyond the sensations she provided with the scrapes of her nails and her breath on my ear. Her short nightgown had now ridden up to bunch around her waist and she was bare from the waist down and her position against the wall, pressed tight against me allowed my to remove one hand from her hair to the space between her legs. Hot and wet, it was better than a pond on a hot spring's day, the satisfaction was greater than anything I could have possibly imagined because the sheer joy at having her in my arms was a gift from the couldron to me. Her pleasured cries grew louder and louder even with my kisses to smother them and I could feel how close she was to her climax as she shook in my arms and clenched on my searching hand. Just one. More. Moment...

Fireworks couldn't have covered her screams of ecstasy, she went off like a flame in my arms as she sealed her lips to my neck and bit as hard as she could. The pain was nothing to me, it served to assure me that this was real, that maybe when in the morning she would still be this beautiful, strong woman who allowed herself to be held by me. Perhaps I was wrong and the new day would prove that the Night Court really was filled with manipulative women who used others for their own pleasure and left them to dry in the wind but in that moment, in that moment she was mine. I was glad to be hers.

Still, something felt wrong. Besides the pleasure, the joy, of having her with me there was something lurking like a shadow. It was a shadow. These were not the ones, however, that she commanded on the night that we met, nor the ones that appeared in the gardens earlier in the day; no these shadows were a part of Rhoswen. Instead of leaking from the pores of her skin, her skin became shadow and mist; somehow corpreal but not flesh. Her onyx hair was now blood red and dripping, as if it were made from blood itself and her eyes... no longer bright and blue like the sky; instead they were stars. Not real ones of course- though they were bright enough- no the eyes she had now were more like pools of silver, almost seeming to actually move like liquid. Startled and, yes afraid, I released her from my grasp and took several steps back to admire this new, ethereal and frightening creature that had replaced Rhoswen. A frown marred her red, blood stained lips and she looked like she might be confused, like she hadn't realised what she had become. Then there was sadness, because she looked into the reflection in my eyes and saw.

"You're like them, you'll see me the same way they all will." She said, her tone low and sad. What did she mean? Had this happened before? There were a million and one questions racinging through every corner of my head.

"Rhoswen, what's wrong? What's happening to you?" I asked, so confused and dazed. Her shadows seemed to infect me and dulled my senses; everything was becoming unclear like wading through mist.

"Nothing is wrong with me," replied she, no longer soft voiced or sad but instead sharp and angry, "this is who I am this is what I was born to be, but I'm only ever like this in my dreams. I thought dreaming about you meant you would be different, but you're not, you're the same." She was crying as she continued to talk; but it was empty crying and there were no tears. I wasn't even sure this creature could cry real tears. Backing away, her true form began to return and soon she was Rhoswen again, and her tears were not dry. I reached for her but she refused to let me touch her. Then she was gone, like ash or smoke in the wind and the cold chill that had left the hallway at some point returned in full force, reminding me of how wonderful it had been to hold the warmth of her in my arms.

When I woke in the morning I remembered that dream; the pleasure I found in Rhoswen's willing body and the pleasure I had given her but I also remembered the creature she had become. Mist and shadow and blood. It had been a dream, I had to remind myself, the young lady of the night court was not a horrifying monster hiding in the hallways late at night ready to jump me when I least expected it. If she attacked me the way she had in that dream though... I could be convinced to reconsider. By the time my mother came to drag me to breakfast I had forced the memory of my dream out of my head; it had just been a dream after all and it was pointless to fixate on something that wasn't even real.

"Your father has meetings today, none of the future lords are going to be there this time. Perhaps you should take a stroll around the city. I hear the Palace of Thread and Jewels has some amazing places to eat and lots of stalls to purchase from." My mother commented vaguely as she went about apraising my clothing before finally deciding I was dressed well enough. It was something she had always done, claiming that if she didn't I'd likely run around naked like some wild thing. I think she just wanted to feel needed now that I was grown and she no longer had to look after me, with no other children yet to speak of, my mother's time was mostly spent tending to the dramas in Court or visiting the villages. I always worried she had grown bored and unhappy with her life.

"And what will you be doing?"

"Oh, Feyre has invited me and some of the other wives and mates to also go out. Did I ever tell you we knew eachother back during the war with Hybern? We were friends really until I mated your father and our courts kept us... seperated." She informed me as if this was no great thing. I had never known anyone in the Spring Court to have friends in the Night court, except for that terrible history between my father and the High Lady of the Night Court.

"No, you didn't. Father always said-"

"Your father is prejudice. I love him Oren and am proud to be his mate but he can be stubborn sometimes and hates to admit he's wrong. let me warn you, do not let his past tamper with how you might see the people at this court, they are not the monsters from your childhood nightmares no matter what he says." Maybe not all of them were, but perhaps some... My mother spent another fifteen minutes fussing over one thing or another before finally placing a kiss on my cheek. Before she left, however, she lifted back one of the curls of my hair and made a tsk sound.

"Oren please, we are guests in this court try and behave yourself. I better not see any more marks like that on you." And then she was gone without another word. What mark? The only time that I could have gotten a mark anywhere near my neck was during my dream when-.

I hurried to the large mirror that stood above my chest of draws that had been in the room when I was shown in. The ornate silver mirror was beautiful and almost ancient in its design, perfectly contrasting the dark brown walls of my bedroom and the hardwood floors that gave the room itself and almost modern feeling. The mirror was large enough to show me from my head to the waist of my trousers, shoving the curls from my neck I saw what my mother had been talking about. A large deep blue/purple bruise in the exact shape... of teeth marks.