13. a wee fae

The girl found herself waking up rather late.

She wasn't sure why she had slept in so late—Al had bossily sent her to bed rather early the night before. The guest bedroom in Al's cottage was similar to Caspian and Catori's except it was bigger. It was a small, soft bed nestled in a medium-sized room. Across the room from the bed was a large mirror sitting on top of a dresser which Nyx assumed was empty since almost everything else in Al's house was. Al hardly ever used her cottage, and when she did it was only to take naps in her bed or to get a quick bite of food. She spent most of her hours and days in her tree cabin taking watch and planning. Some of the younger earth and air fae had forgotten their leader's face because of how scarcely she was seen.

Nyx sat up from the warm bed, pushing the soft white duvet off her upper body to stretch out her arms. It was the bright sun pouring in through the window of the room that told her it was nearly noontime, and what had woken her up was the sound of talking coming from outside the cottage.

A few coughs left her throat as she pulled herself out of bed, bare feet hitting the icy wooden floor and causing her to gasp. Clutching herself around her thin white underdress which served no protection against the cold, she quickly slipped on a baby blue dress from the batch of dresses Al gave to her. It was soft and silky and fit her snug at the waist, accentuating her womanly figure. She grabbed her tan cloak that rested at the foot of the bed and pulled it on, skipping out of the room and into the main room where the fireplace was still burning.

Standing in front of the fireplace for a few moments, she let its warmth consume her until the talking outside the cottage drew her attention until she could not bear to stay inside and not know who was talking and what they were talking about. She pushed the wooden front door open slowly, cursing at its creakiness as she peeked her golden brown eyeball through its crack.

There she saw Alastair standing outside in front of Caspian and Catori who both held large, bulky sacks that were obviously filled with fish they had caught—Nyx could smell it from where she stood. Slung over their other shoulders were quivers of arrows, and in their hands were wooden bows with designs etched into their majestic bends.

Catori had her black hair braided into two lengths and wore a long, colorful dress that was made of knitted cloth. It had two large stripes spiraling around the front and to the back that were dark blue and bright orange, and between them were smaller stripes of yellow and red and green. The very end of the dress was darkened, signaling that it was or had been wet. Her wings of rainbow feathers were matted, and there were smudges of dirt on her tan face.

Caspian wore a navy blue blouse that matched his dark wings, a beige belt tied at the waist over his black tights that were rolled up to his knees, exposing the dark skin of his ankles. His sea blue eyes glinted as he spoke to Al and laughed at something she said, and Nyx found herself unsurprised. Al may not have seemed like the type, but she was one who could charm anyone's pants off.

"How was keeping the girl last night?" Caspian asked, and Nyx was able to hear it.

There was a moment of silence, and Nyx could see the fire fae's ear move from behind. Then came Al's smooth and strident voice, "How about you ask her yourself." The fae then turned, crimson eyes shooting directly to the girl who peered out from the crack in the slightly opened door of the cottage. The stare was impish and amused, yet her eyes were brightly flaming that day, and Nyx was surprised they didn't melt a line in the snowy ground beneath their trajectory.

Nyx's own eyes widened at the shock of being discovered, but instead of slamming the door and hiding away like she wanted to, she gulped down her nerves and opened the door, stepping out into the sun that shone brightly off the white snow on the ground. "H-hi..." she mumbled.

"Good morning," Al answered her as the girl's worn leather boots crunched in the snow beneath. "You slept in late."

Nyx carefully closed the door, tucking her hair behind her ear as she squinted her eyes from the brightness of the outside atmosphere—none of the fae were seemingly affected by the way the sunrays reflected off the snow like a mirror. "I was tired, I suppose," she answered softly, clasping her hands at her waist and looking at her boots to avoid the sun rays.

"Are you not feeling well?" Alastair immediately asked, and Nyx was quick enough to look up and see a sudden look of worry be forcibly washed away from Al's eyes.

Nyx shrugged, pulling her arms around herself. She felt a certain fogginess in her head that she recognized as a cold, and her throat was painfully scratchy. "I think I may be coming down with something. It's probably just because of the cold weather."

Catori let the large sack she was carrying fall off her shoulder before handing it to Caspian who easily took it and slung it over his other shoulder. The fae wiped her hands before stepping forwards, her calm eyes meeting Nyx's as she neared her and brought a cool hand up to the girl's warm forehead. "She's burning up."

"Badly?" Al quickly questioned Catori's assessment of the girl's forehead, stepping closer to the girl and scanning her with her eyes. She felt the instinct to reach forward and feel her head herself, but she remembered that her own hand was already warm from the fire in her veins, disabling her ability to tell what would be considered too warm or not.

"Not too bad," Catori calmly responded, moving her hand to the side of the girl's rosy cheek and feeling the fever there, too. She then moved her hand to the center of the girl's chest, and Al's eyes followed it all the way. "Cough for me."

Nyx obeyed, letting out a cough that Catori felt and listened to closely. "Hmm. I think it's just a cold." She removed her hand, stepping away and turning to Al whose eyes were filled with worry that threw Nyx off guard. "I'll give her some herbs to help the fever. Rest and plenty of water should have her better by tomorrow."

"Get your ass back in bed," Al immediately bossed the girl, outstretching her arm and pointing towards the cottage.

The girl looked up at the fae with sewed eyebrows, shifting them over to Catori and then back to Al. "Right now?" Her hoarse voice cracked with her words.

"Yes, now." Al gestured her finger harder towards the cottage, her dark eyebrows arching above her scarlet eyes. "And get some water before you do."

Nyx looked back over to Catori for help in making Al calm down and not send the girl back to bed after she had just risen, but the fae gave her a motherly look that told her to obey the commanding fae. The girl huffed, looking back to Al only to roll her eyes and walk away back towards the cottage. When she disappeared into it, she slammed the front door hard behind her, causing the hue of Al's eyes to glow with anger.

The fae rested her hands at her hips and looked over to Caspian and Catori who stood there awkwardly looking back at her. "Did she just roll her eyes at me?" the fire fae asked in disbelief.

Caspian smirked, readjusting the two sacks on his shoulders. "I believe so, chief."

Al scoffed, shaking her head and biting her lip in disbelief of the human girl's attitude. "She does know I could literally set her on fire, right?"

♔

A prolonged sigh emitted from the blonde's lungs which ached slightly. She laid on her side in the tiny guest bed that she had to admit was terribly comfortable. Her hand was bent up between her head and the pillow, and even though Al had instructed her to keep the covers on, she left the duvet loosely covering only her legs. She had not slept since the fire fae ordered her back to bed, instead training her eyes on the window that she faced and watching the sun slowly fall lower in the sky all afternoon, some of the snow melting at the warmest point of the day before more snow began to fall as the sun set.

Al had not came back throughout the entire day, leaving the girl all alone in the bed all afternoon. So when she heard the front door of the cottage open and close again, she sat up from bed promptly and eagerly watched the closed door of her room, somehow sensing that Al was coming to see her.

And, alas, the door did open and did reveal the tall fae with dull scarlet eyes and plump rosewood lips whose sharp ends seemed to be the continuation of the deep indent of her cheekbones. The fae looked a little surprised to see the girl sitting upright in the bed with expectant eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Al asked in her silvery voice as she stepped farther into the room, a piece of cloth hanging from her left hand. She wore her usual leather pants, but this time she wore a dark red corset tightened around her waist, with a flowy black blouse beneath it covering the majority of her chest and arms. Her hair was different as well, for instead of it hanging loosely over her shoulders, she had the top half of it pulled to the back of her head where it was braided in a fishtail all the way down to the ends of her hair. A few chocolate strands were left out, hanging on either side of her face. She looked beautiful.

Nyx's eyes took their time in absorbing the fae's appearance, but luckily Alastair thought the silent stare was just the girl's fever making her loopy. "Good," Nyx finally answered, clearing her throat as she reattached her stare to the fae's eyes.

"Here is a cold rag to put on your head," Alastair spoke as she stopped right in front of the girl's bed and held out the rag. The ends of her wings dragged over the crumpled-up dresses the girl had been messily leaving all about the room, and it agitated her feathers. "By the way, you need to clean up this room once you feel better. It's a pigsty."

Nyx took the rag and smiled softly at the comment. "I don't think I have a fever anymore. Feel." She leaned forward and closed her eyes, waiting for Alastair to feel her forehead with her hand to judge if she did have a fever or not.

Alastair stood there awkwardly for a moment, surprised at the girl's trust to close her eyes around the fae and present the most vulnerable part of her body to her. "I wouldn't be able to feel if I tried, given I have an eternal fever, myself. Your skin would feel like ice on mine either way."

Opening her golden brown eyes, Nyx stared up at the fae in confusion before remembering that she was, in fact, eternally hot-skinned, meaning she probably couldn't give an accurate assessment of the fever in her head. "Oh," she breathed before chuckling, leaning away from the fae who held her hands behind her back and smiled lightly. "Well, I know I don't have a fever anymore. And I feel much better."

"I'm afraid you must stay in bed the rest of the night until tomorrow. It's imperative that you stay healthy," the fae commanded in a lightly militant tone. "We are all gathering for dinner tonight, but I'll make a few earth fae stay behind and keep watch over your cottage, just in case the Ice Bitch wants to ruin our feast."

Nyx's eyes alighted at the fact that all the fae were gathering together, and it made her cheeks blush with envy. "Can I come?" she blurted, mentally reprimanding herself for sounding so desperate to socialize with the fae, so she quickly added, "I-I'm quite hungry."

"I'll bring you back some food," Alastair quickly solved the case, nodding before turning on her heels and kicking the dress on the floor away from her path. "Tell the earth fae if you need anything. They'll be right outside." The fae went to exit through the door and close it behind her, but the girl's voice quickly stopped her.

"Wait!" Nyx yelled, watching as the fae halted before turning slightly to eye her. "Please? Can I please come to the dinner?" She retracted a bit within herself, looking down at the mattress that she had been on for way too many hours. "I feel much better in the first place, plus I really need to get out of this bed." She returned her eyes to the fae, her honey orbs sad and pleading. "Please, Alastair?"

Something inside the fae quivered at hearing her use her full name. She gazed at the girl who looked genuinely sad and lonely, and she cursed herself when that dam of strictness inside her started to crack. Pursing her lips, she looked up towards the ceiling for a moment before finally saying, "Fine. Let's go."

"Yay!" the girl exclaimed, her attitude immediately changing as she leaped out of bed and began tugging her boots on, nearly toppling over in the process. Grabbing her cloak, she pulled it on before meeting Al at the door, looking up at her and echoing, "Let's go."

♔

The fae gathered inside one of the bigger cottages near Alastair's and the tree cabins, one that Nyx had not been inside before. It was sort of the meeting center for the faepeople, with a huge table in the middle of the room and an upstairs section dedicated to storing food and weapons and other necessities. The wooden table they all sat at was beautiful crafted, and lanterns hanging from the ceiling created cozy lighting that made everyone more social and joyful.

Nyx sat between Alastair and Catori, Caspian sitting on the other side of his partner. Erlin sat across the table with the earth fae, next to the same earth fae with roses behind her ears that he had been close with at the ritual a few nights before. Abitha and Aerwyn both sat directly across where Nyx sat, leaving the leaders at one end of the table while the general earth and air fae sat at the other end. Nyx noticed how no one sat at either head of the table, although she would have expected Al and Caspian to. Little did she know this was intentional—the fae had endured enough inferiority and didn't need to deal with any more at the dinner table, no matter how miniscule Alastair sitting at the head may have seemed.

Nyx had mostly stayed out of the general conversation that Al and Caspian and Aerwyn and Abitha were having, although she enjoyed their laughter and smiles, particularly Alastair's since it was normally so scarce. They were seeming to make a point of not saying anything about Eira or their plans for action, steering far away from that despondent topic and remaining genial and happy.

"No, no, you can get on my head for causing so many floods, but no one can amount to the damage that Al caused in her teenage years," Caspian announced as he rose his glass of red wine that the fae had made themselves to his lips. "The gardens that usually surrounded the castle were pure deserts for a good three years." A wave of laughter crashed over that end of the table, Alastair shaking her head in embarrassment.

"I remember that," Aerwyn said between his deep chuckles, the caramel skin of his bony cheekbones wrinkling as he smiled a smile that was hidden by his silver beard and mustache. His grey wings looked old, like they were missing a few feathers. "Every time I brought about wind, I would accidentally create a sandstorm because of the deserts she made." The fae laughed again as the grandfatherly Aerwyn took a sip of his wine.

"Always setting fire to everything in sight," Caspian added, "I was basically the designated fireman for her."

Nyx had put together the pieces that Alastair, Caspian, and Aerwyn had all been prominent people under her father's rule. Alastair had been friends with Caspian and Nikolaus long before Nikolaus became king, and when he did, she became general of the army while Caspian who was slightly older was a guard for the King. Aerwyn was actually part of the King's council, while Abitha and Catori lived outside the castle and amongst the common fae people. Nyx was grateful that they hadn't mentioned anything about the King himself, as she didn't have enough energy to try to put together the pieces of someone whom she had never met yet was becoming the most important aspect of her life.

Aerwyn and Caspian started talking about something of the castle that Nyx couldn't quite understand, when suddenly an itch in the girl's chest made her let out a few repressed coughs. She held her hand over her chest and restrained, not wanting to draw attention away from the fae's conversation and to herself.

Her eyes, which had been squeezed shut as she held back her coughs, popped open when she felt an immensely warm hand meet her upper back and slide down to the small of her back, causing chills to erupt all throughout her spinal chord. She felt a body lean in closer to her, bringing about a wave of heat over her.

"Are you alright?" the velvety voice whispered into her ear too quiet for anyone to hear.

Nyx turned her head to meet Alastair's concerned stare, her cheeks burning bright pink at seeing how close the fae was to her. She could even feel the feathers of her raven and red wings tickling her shoulder. She was held hostage in the stare of those bloodred eyes seemingly malicious but actually so compassionate and caring, at least towards the girl. Nyx had to admit that Alastair had never had that look in her eyes when looking at anyone else, but she remembered that the only reason the fae cared was because to her, Nyx was just bait for Eira. She was nothing more than an object that Alastair was using to get what she needed and would probably throw away afterwards.

A coldness seeped into Nyx's previously warm chest. Al must have seen the way her molten gold eyes hardened into stone and her pink lips went taut in a straight line, for her brunette eyebrows sewed together as her eyes struggled to read the girl's face.

The girl didn't know exactly why, but there was a swirling maelstrom of emotions inside her that were whipping her heart to and fro in her chest. There was that feeling that she only felt for Al, that sense of comfort and security; there was the feeling of anxiety of the whole situation and the fact Eira could come and kill her or her mother at any moment; and then there was the feeling of being used by Al. It was not a good mix, so the girl turned her head away from Al and grabbed her own glass of wine, sipping it down as the fae continued to stare at her in confusion.

Catori had not yet revealed to the girl that the powers of being a spirit fae also included a hefty amount of empathetic psychic ability, but she sensed the girl's feelings beside her like an alarm, and she could also sense Al's feelings—and they shocked her. But she had no time to dive further into it or to pull Nyx aside and make sure she was okay, for the sound of Caspian's wooden chair squeaking as he suddenly stood from the table made the rainbow feather of her iridescent wings twitch as her attention was diverted.

"Everyone," Caspian announced with his deep voice, immediately attracting every single fae's attention. The sound of talking and eating died down as everyone looked to him expectantly.

"As you all know," he began, and Alastair finally tore her eyes away from the confusing girl and to Caspian. "I have been blessed to have met the love of my life, the mate of my heart."

He glanced down to Catori who smiled up at him knowingly before standing up herself, running her arm around his waist.

Caspian wrapped his arm around Catori's tan shoulders, squeezing her close to him as an overwhelmingly excited look crossed his feature. "And we have something we wanted to tell you all, tonight, since we are all gathered together."

Alastair's eyes widened as her brain began to work through the possibilities of what the hell kind of news Caspian and Catori could possibly tell, until she realized what the news was, a sense of dread overcoming her.

Caspian and Catori looked to each other, smiling, before the water fae rose his chin to look at everyone and announced, "Catori is with child."

A wave of gasps fell upon the table, and even Nyx's mouth dropped open in surprise. The gasps turned into clapping and cheering, and Abitha was the first one to shoot from her chair and exclaimed, "Aye, there's gonna be a wee fae runnin' around!"

The other fae began to rise from their seats as well, and began making their way over to the gleaming couple and lining up to give them hugs and their best wishes. Nyx smiled, feeling warmed by the sense of unity that was suddenly in the room.

But she was unaware of the one and only unhappy soul in the room. For as Caspian leaned forward to hug an air fae, he made eye contact with Al who still sat at her chair, returning his stare with a clenched jaw and furious eyes.