Page 44 of Vicious Fates and Vast Futures
Ossy and I lead the way through, emerging in Queen Mirin’s main hall. The Light Court looks much like the Dark Court and, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the layouts were the exact same. However, instead of the dark stone and black marble of my former court, this sithen is all light and air. The floor under our feet is white marble with golden veins. The walls are a soft white stone. The windows seem to let in more sunlight than the exact same sized ones at the Dark Court, though it might be the crystals that hang everywhere.
And in front of us, Mirin sits upon her throne. Her look-alike daughter, Princess Mirin, stands behind her.
Adi curtsies to them, waiting for the queen’s nod, only then approaching. We follow behind, flanking her. Ossy and I are both tense; I feel it in our aura bonds. Not surprising after what happened last time we were around the seelies, even if it wasn’t directly their fault.
Adi’s aura, however, is relaxed. I’m starting to wonder if the Morrigan is responsible for the odd lack of...fucks, I suppose,that she seems to give sometimes. I wonder how much our Goddess blessings are affecting our energy and decision making.
Adi smiles kindly. “Queen Mirin, Princess.” She takes a breath, as though she’s about to let the queen speak, but then she interjects flatly, “You can drop the glamour. I know who sired the princess.” A smirk plays across her face and I find myself unbelievably attracted to no-fucks-given Adi.
The queen’s rigid posture tightens, if that is possible. “’Tis no glamour,nymph, though if you know who sired my child, please do share with me as I have never been able to narrow it down.”
Whilst such a comment would mean exactly that in the nymph court or the unseelie court, I know that the seelie court is all about bullshit protocol. I doubt very much the queen let any male whom she didn’t know well splooge inside her.
Adi chuckles mirthlessly. “I’ve spoken with her father at the unseelie court, Mirin. No need to keep appearances for little old me.” My mate is aspectacularliar when she’s prepared.
Pure rage flits across the queen’s face before she manages to rein it to bland politeness. “Is that so, Adelaide? And have you figured out your own parentage, as you’ve been so concerned about my daughter’s?”
Princess Mirin places her hand on her mother’s shoulder and leans down for a quick word. As she straightens, the air around her shimmers. Her light-topaz skin takes on a greyer hue at the same moment that her hair turns black, and, rather unexpectedly, dragonfly wings appear behind her. The bone structure of her face is still an exact copy of her mother’s, and her hair is coiffed in the same stiff updo.
The princess’s brown eyes lock upon Adelaide. “And what is it that you want, Princess Adelaide?” Her wings flex slowly behind her, rainbows shifting upon the wall as they bend the sunlight. I wonder if she has been taught to use them.
A pang hits my chest, heavy and heartbroken for her. I sure hope she was taught to fly. I can’t imagine having my wings and not knowing how to use them. Her wings narrow her father down to a handful of males at my old court; not many kept the gift of flight after we left our homelands.
I feel Adi’s similar pain for the princess through our bonds. She takes a deep breath before speaking. “Princess Mirin, I know it means naught to you, but I am sorry for what you’ve endured.” The queen’s face hardens but she doesn’t interrupt. “I know it doesn’t help, but at my court, we’d not have sought to overthrow a ruler for falling in love with someone outside their court.”
The princess’s face is blank. “Get to the point.”
Adi’s nervousness finally shimmers to Ossy and me. We both try to reassure her with our energy up the bonds.
“What if I offered you a chance to help change our world? What if we could create a land where we could love freely and move freely, not rely upon injustices and enforced protocols?”
The queen starts to say something, but her daughter’s hand tightens on her shoulder. She leans down and they argue in whispers. We stand awkwardly for a long while before the princess straightens.
“Continue, Princess Adelaide.” Her command is curt.
I feel a tingle of thrill from Adi. “Wecan change our trajectory, Princess Mirin. If you and I break from tradition, we can lead our people to a better tomorrow. All you must do is agree to abide by the Green Court’s decisions.”
Her eyes narrow. “And how would this help our people? How would this make it so no child is raised as I was?”
I feel Ossy’s indignation and I can feel the same words dying to escape my throat: that was her court’s doingonly. But that won’t bring her to Adi’s, toour, side. What’s a white lie in the face of many’s indentured servitude? I keep my face still.
Adi answers smoothly. “We dissolve the courts. All three. Each sithen will be run by an elected official. Those three officials will report to our new governor.”
The queen gasps but the princess’s face remains unchanged.
My mate continues, “This will bring the local rebel factions under control. We will free those in servitude. Offer them a living wage, if they want to stay. There will be no more ‘royal houses,’ and justice will not vary depending on your birth or wealth. Plus, this will allow us to petition the US government for ambassadors.”
The Mirins are silent for a long breath. But suddenly, the princess nods. “Done.”
The queen starts to argue and the princess leans down to hiss to her, but her temper allows her voice to carry. “Mother,enough. It will be my court, so I can decide. If you don’t like it, you can pass through the veil.”
The queen pales. I see tears in the princess’s eyes, shimmering but decidedly not falling. The queen studies her face for a moment, then her eyebrows pinch together and sorrow is clearly written across her face. Her hand goes to her daughter’s cheek and her words to her are too soft for us to hear.
Finally, the queen turns back to us. “Who will choose the candidates for the sithen’s mayor?”
Adi clears her throat. “Lieutenant Governor. And our intent is to have each court’s Captain of the Guard choose three to be voted upon by both the court and the adjacent lands.”
The Mirins confer again. “If we agree, what do we get in return?” the queen asks with an edge in her voice and anger dancing in her eyes.
