Forbidden Fae Alliance, page 1
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter One
Gobnat dive bombed me. All I saw was a black flying missile headed my way. I ducked in an ungainly manner, stumbling and dropping the large goblin fiction works which I had earmarked for this afternoon’s entertainment. She cackled as she jetted away. “Princess Klutz,'' she called with far too much mirth for my best friend and sister to be exhibiting at my demise. “Try to stay upright, Aisling.”
“We wouldn’t know if you were a klutz Gobnat, given that you’ve been in bird form for ten whole years.” I over enunciated the last few words spitefully. She no doubt knew how long she had avoided being in her fae form, but the klutz comment had stung a little. Only because it was entirely true. Luckily, being a fae princess third in line to the throne, I didn’t require much perfection in my character. Nobody cared about the third in line, which suited me well, as I had no intention of wearing a crown, getting involved in politics or having much to do with anyone on two legs. Reading was where it was at, and if I felt especially communicative then I always had Gobnat who was always willing to impart some of her snarkiness.
Gobnat was second in line for the fae throne which would have meant she had more royal duties but since a very unfortunate encounter with a boggart, she has been in raven form. No-one knows what happened or why she chooses to remain so, but we do know boggarts are immensely powerful and that they use your own negative perceptions of self against you. They pulled out your worst thoughts and darkest beliefs and turned them loose on you. Which made them an impossible adversary, no matter who you are, or what powers you have – they destroy you from the inside.
“Why are we risking our lives in this hideous human realm?” Gobnat was back to flying over me as I made my way up the steep hill. She continued in her super unhelpful diatribe. “For what? To spy on the human king! Because you want to prove he’s ending our kind at the borders? Or because you heard that he is super-hot? What are you going to do? Ask him? Check under his clothes for clues?”
I snickered at the suggestion while huffing up the hill, sweat glistening on me in an unladylike manner. I wasn’t used to this kind of exertion.
She wasn’t entirely wrong, I mentally conceded. I had zero plan; I was simply curious by nature and the palace fairies went on and on about how aesthetically pleasing the evil human king was. Evil because the queen considered him fae realm enemy number one. She told us all never to set foot in the human realm nor have anything to do with humans. It was forbidden. Which did play nicely into my oppositional defiant disorder.
So here we are after catching a ride with a grumpy gryphon for a few days, followed by hitching a ride on a kindly horse for the remainder of the journey. Honestly, I wasn’t paying too much attention because I just read most of the way. Gobnat pestered me here and there, but it was exciting to be out of our realm and to see the different landscapes. And the king, well, I kind of wanted to know what he looked like. It was, after all, distracting me hearing everything about him all the time – the good and the bad. I wanted some answers.
Finally, I would be able to confirm to all the annoying faeries that they could pack up their hormones and doolally behavior and leave me in peace to moon about the palace with my fictional book heroes.
Branches began to rustle on the periphery of my vision. They were coming. I adjusted my stance to encourage the blood back into my limbs. I didn't want to do anything untoward like lose the ability to balance on one leg and fall face first into the throng of my enemy. That would go down extra well with my queen mother, who not only abhors humans but has made it a crime for any fae to get caught by them.
A sharp yet comforting waft of lavender brought me back to the present, I could still smell the remnants of the herb I had crushed underfoot when positioning myself in this brush. It was sharp and clarifying of the mind, and it instantly reminded me of my great grandmother and her whimsical tinctures she would make in her unspoken rituals after which she’d apply them to my temples when unwell and soothe me with songs of the old ways.
Gobnat landed heavily on a nearby tree with a rustle of feathers and an indignant squawk, causing some leaves and tree debris to float down to me.
“Are you trying to get us seen?” I asked through gritted teeth.
She huffed beside me and made a musical sound which I’ve decoded over the years as amusement.
“Just winnow us back to the fae realm already, I feel all kinds of ick being here in this realm. There are at least ten ways for you to get harmed in the near vicinity. I am personally willing to take the risk of your dodgy winnowing skills to get us out of here.”
“Come on, don't be like that.” I leaned further into the bush and angled my upper body over the small rock wall I was leaning over. Any minute now the full entourage would be in front of me. Finally, I'd get a look at this king who was causing so much grief and hormonal spiking in my home.
Gobnat ground out “It's just we have better things to do than haul ourselves all the way into this place, full of animal eaters, and for what–only to look at someone, bit of a waste of time, truth be known.”
“It's not a waste of time,” I hissed. “You know my winnowing is not an option, I might land us in the middle of the ocean or on the underside of an elephant's foot. And I’d like to put an end to the gossip and speculation. I want to see what this human king is made of; does he look like a fae killer?” I was about to combust in my warm clothes, surely, I could remove some of them before the entourage arrived. I began peeling off my fur-lined leggings. My tunic was long enough that it looked like a dress. I sighed with relief as my bare legs felt the air on them.
“And what if the king looks guilty of the disappearance of our people? Are you going to throw your large story book at him?”
I was in a much better position and took several deep breaths.
Movement in my viewfinder had me on alert. They were coming. The first human was entering the glade.
“I loathe risking my ass for no good reason. Also, humans give me the creeps.”
“If you were in your fae form, you might be helpful in this situation. Since you are not, the best you can do is be lookout.”
“I could fetch you shiny baubles and braid your hair.”
“Let's discuss your klepto-tendencies on our return trip. As for braiding, I haven't seen your fingers in over a decade.”
Gobnat launched into the sky. “I prefer feathers to fingers. Fingers come with interactions to others, feathers come with freedom and isolation.” I shook my head at the obstinate sister of mine.
She glided a circle above me then came back to deliver a final squawk of, “I should mention there are giants in the vicinity, and they look like the antisocial type.”
“Thanks a lot. If you were out of your feathers, you would be far more helpful with giants than you can now, merely telling me of their presence.”
“Life is hard when you go on foolish pointless quests that can only get you eaten or perhaps killed by enemies. Ta ta.” And with that she flew off.
I couldn't help myself and called after her, “Perhaps you would rather take the form of a rock than a raven. I think I'd like the silence quite well.”
I refocused on the glade as the first person from the royal party entered my view. A large muscular man on a grand black horse entered the clearing. He appeared to be wearing various kinds of human armor covering every surface of his soft pierceable flesh. No matter, he was not my mark. The king would no doubt be in some ostentatious bedazzled carriage, pulled by far too many tired horses. I sighed at the self-importance these nature-haters were so prone to having. Like we should all be impressed with how noisy and wasteful they are? I fully expected trumpet-wielding goat riders to march into the glade announcing the arrival of their precious king.
A few more of the burly armored brigade trooped through the space, I feel the anticipation of the moment I will see him as my blood hums, adrenalin spiking with each new human entrant to the glade. A pair of large white stallions enter my sights with much adornment all over their bridles. They are beautiful beasts; I will begrudgingly give the humans that. The carriage won't be far behind.
All my attention is on the viewpoint of my goggles, the rest of the world has melted away. A distant echo almost splits my attention, but I am too in the moment. Nothing will pull me from this moment, for all faerie-kind.
The carriage comes into view, it is as expected–only whiter, brighter and more ornate. I have an excellent view of the window which is large and open to display his royal highness…. Only…There is only an old, weathered woman in the back of the carriage with her foot propped up and wrapped in several bandages, and a small child sitting beside her, holding her hand.
Neither of these two could be the King, and judging by the attire of these two, they are not part of the royal family. Has he given up his seat for some people he has come across? That doesn't sound right.
The carriage moved through the zone and beside it, walking along next to another child on a huge black steed, was the biggest human man I ha
His strong muscular form and dark hair coupled with that generous smile which reached his eyes, reminded me of a stormy sea breaking on craggy rocks with the sunrise rising over them in golden imbuement. I shook myself; did I just think that? Puke.
Feeling thrown, as this was not the tableau I had expected, I paused my throat working as I became aware of the distant noise that had been on the periphery of my consciousness, only now it was much, much closer. I swung my head sharply in the direction of the noise, in just enough time to see how utterly fucked I was.
Chapter Two
“See Edna!” said the giant, now looming over me with an excessively meaty smelling breath. “I told you there was a fairy in the woods! Iz smelt its florally perfume!” I had spun round grabbing a tome of elf stories (which I had nearby for reading emergencies), readying myself to beat away any adversaries with the thick book when the ‘Edna’ giant grabbed me by the neck and hefted me up like a bunch of harvested carrots for inspection.
“Itza very pretty one, Leroy! Looks at itz long dangly shiny hair. I love its pointy ears and sparkly eyes…Let’s squash it with your people's press and put it in a frame?” She leaned in with her large gray googly eyes. “Hmmm…It smells like a magical fairy,” she said, holding me up to her nose. As I turned away from the looming nostrils, which were the size of the bathroom I shared with some of my fae siblings, I noticed her brown smock had some birds and rabbit corpses pinned to it in what I could only guess was an intentional aesthetic. I did not relish the idea of being pinned to a giant smock for decoration.
I would have pleaded my case but alas I do need oxygen and there was a slight problem with that at the moment.
“Itz kicking its little legs at you Edna, you are right about its hair though, very pretty, so silvery. It would look nice on your day dress; we could hang it upside down and its hair would be a nice tassel.”
I madly swivelled my eyes around looking for Gobnat who was nowhere to be seen–useless article that she was. I made a series of futile grunts and closed mouth squeals which did nothing for my case but was better than limply going to my death.
The female’s smile became a little broader. “I fink we should give it to those soldiers over there.” She raised her eyebrows at Leroy–each eyebrow looked like an outdoor broom. “Thems always rewards for catching spying creatures in the black hat forests.”
Leroy stomped over and ran a forefinger the size of my entire body down my front. I’d managed to squeak in a small breath and was trying to loosen Edna’s grip on my neck. “Lemme down,” I managed.
That was when my contribution to the conversation ended as Leroy gave me a concussion level tap on the head, with his meaty fist.
My mouth formed a perfect O whether to attempt an exclamation or objection, I will never know. Because sweet darkness was what met me next.
***
“I’ve missed you” the king said to me.
I was lying in his lap, like it was the most normal thing ever. Hair splayed all over his hard thighs. The smell of him was so divine, woodsy, citrusy, minty. I couldn't get enough. It was home. He placed a hand on my cheek and caressed me.
“I can't believe I found my way back to you,” I managed, a tear rolling down my cheek.
He leaned down and his lips brushed mine, his tongue licking the seam of my lips. I parted for him; his tongue explored my mouth. It felt so right, so very right. He deepened the kiss, and I had never felt so alive, or wanted anything as much as his kiss. Or his lips to be on me. Everywhere.
What was that dripping sound though? And where was that cold draft coming from? Perhaps we needed to move inside. A howl in the distance had me turn to the king, alarmed.
“What was that?” was on my lips but when I turned into his warm embrace, he was gone. I felt bereft, and cold, and sore. And what was that goddess awful smell?
Chapter Three
The stench of wet dog filtered through my consciousness.
Followed by my aching muscles and stinging joints. Clearly this new opulent bed the Queen had gifted me, made from only the best and most rare and coveted materials was not all that.
It was for sure too hard and–not to be high maintenance–but it reminded me of lying on an anvil. One of my eyelids was doing a solid effort at opening. While the other lay flacid on my eyeball, refusing to join in. Why did I feel like I had drunk all the fairy mead in the realm yesterday?
Everything hurts. Perhaps all the exercise I had been doing with the charming but ever so irritating Lady Garland had finally broken me. It was the kingdom's plan to have us royal fairies made into better fighters, to protect ourselves if any heathen humans ever sought us out. Lady Garland was trying to reshape us into machines of stealth and action when truly all we wanted to do was be elsewhere, honestly, who was going to hunt down fairies?
Certainly not lazy club wielding humans…Humans…Hmmm that reminded me of that king I had met recently…He certainly hadn't been holding a club, although those giants had.
My eyes flew open and took in the surroundings as my head snapped up.
This was not the fae castle that I expected to see upon rousing. The majestic ivory hued curtains that framed my immense windows were absent, in their place was dangling webs with various dead and devoured insect remnants attached to them. And where my plush carpet should have been, a dark dirty floor. No, it wasn’t a floor, it was the actual ground - as in dirt. In fact, where a light breezy fae boudoir should have been there was a dark, dank, dungeon.
I made to sit up and a splintering pain sliced through my head. Wincing I moved a little slower and found I could sit upright, despite the pain which was all encompassing. A throbbing, banging, blinding pain. I clenched my teeth and went to massage the back of my skull but found my hands bound.
Oh goddess, with human realm bindings.
This was super bad. We specifically were not allowed to be seen, never mind captured by the human realm. I had mightily messed up with this self-imposed quest and was now in jeopardy of being court martialed on my return to the fae realm. A groan escaped my lips. I was going to be late for the winter solstice and the queen would likely make me do something vile like train to be a mercenary or worse marry some up-himself-Lord to strengthen the royal lines. Worst of all though was that my book wasn't with me, and I hadn't finished reading it.
My surroundings were of the bleakest nature for someone with my level of roughing it experience – zero. A foul dungeon, cold and bleak, amongst what appeared to be the bones of the last inhabitant on the floor near me. And the wet dog smell was bad. On closer inspection, I was damp from various drips coming from the ceiling of this place. The wet dog smell was in fact, me.
A clanging banging whirring noise echoed from a far-off location; my blood sang in my veins with the potential of danger. I prayed for a break in my head pain so that I could better defend myself from whatever that cacophony heralded. My throat was dry and felt as though I had been guzzling sand. I attempted to clear it, and it sealed itself shut. Gak – I needed some fluid but wasn't up for trying any of the rank smelling drip puddles lying around my new digs. My long silver braid was sitting in a puddle, I yanked it out and gathered myself to my full sitting height. I may be blinded by head pain, but I was also a faerie of the Queen’s royal court, and I would not go down without a fight…or at least, a few well aimed sharp words.
Footsteps were coming closer, they sounded heavy but not like a giant more like a weighed down donkey in boots. Did I just think of a donkey in boots? Perhaps I had a head injury.
