fey first chapter first draft
The ball had since ended and I sat in my drawing room still in my dress and flowers threaded through my long red hair, my hand maiden having the night off because of the spring ball had left me to get myself ready for bed. I felt empty a whole night and no one had asked me to dance because I was the princess of the secret forest's fey kingdom. My father scared everyone he was a fair king but he was feared by everyone in the kingdom after he fought the trolls in the war before I was born. A violent and brutal war that had united the elves and fairy's in each domain, whilst the humans had hidden in fear. My father was a faerie whist most of his most trusted knights were elven. King Rowland had lost his queen in the war and now treasured his daughter and no knight would ever be good enough.
This thought left a sour tastes in my mouth as I stared at my reflection twenty years old, young for any faerie and I was yet to have my first dance with anyone who wasn’t my father or a female faerie or elf. I had worn my best dress black silk that faded out to pink to make my wings shine in their full black and red glory but alas no one had looked at me for long as the king had been in a fowl mood. I stood up and ran my fingers through my hair dislodging pink flowers as I did so.
A knock resonated though the room breaking my quiet sulking.
“Enter,†I commanded though I knew my voice was as hollow as I felt. An elf knight obeyed almost strutting into the room followed by one faerie guard and one elf.
“Princess, I am Yoran and will be in charge of your security now that you have come of age. Under special orders of our King Rowland,†The proud elf bowed slightly a shy smile suddenly appearing as I turned to face my new prison warden.
“Knight Yoran why did my father not inform me in the change of security himself, whilst today may be my twentieth birthday and I understand the change in guard?†I asked still trying to sound as commanding as a faerie princess should be.
“His highness has a meeting with the humans king of Reveille in the morning and is up to his neck in formality strategies with Blu and Korrin and sends his apologies,†Yoran replied shuffling his feet. The quick change in the knights demeanour from when he walked in surprised me, was this a ruse to make me like him so I would behave? I wondered.
“Thank you Knight Yorin,†I decided to play nice as I was too tired to fight tonight.
“Princess these are my two guards I shall have helping me watching your safety, Finn and Krill, I will try my best to make sure they do not impede your life as best I can as I understand your last guards never really gave you breathing room,†Yoran gestured to the guards as he introduced them, Krill was the faerie whilst Finn was the elf.
Fairies don’t always have there wings in full display that takes too much energy so you can usually just tell the difference between the elven and the fey by the swirling tattoos that adorned them elves had swirling black tattoos on there arms to assist there magic whilst faeries wings turned to tattoos on there back in similar shapes and colours to match their wings and fey had more vivid coloured hair then the elves whilst my hair was red most faeries were normally blue or green haired whilst elves where brown or blonde haired with the few odd exceptions of black hair such as Knight Yoran.
“Well I hope that is true Knight, I would appreciate the space,†I smiled and bowed my head slightly to show my respect, after all he must be a great Knight if His majesty trusted him to look after me, my last guard knight Frell was a pain in the neck constantly hovering it was strange that my father had chosen and elf when Frell had almost lost me in the clouds one day when I had flown off in a tantrum. I thought wings would be a prerequisite.
“Of course princess Ailin,†He returned the bow before gesturing to his two guards and they skittered of to guard me one out in the hall the other running off I assume to guard my private garden which would have been easily reached out my balcony doors but instead he ran through the castle. Knight Yorin straightened up and smiled brightly at me.
“Princess you look quite beautiful tonight I hope you enjoyed the spring ball in your honour,†The knight moved across to stand a metre in front of me letting me study him more closely. I noticed then he was half elf half fey as his black hair showed flecks of blue in the shifting candle light I had used to light my sitting room.
“No I did not but thank you for your kind words, may I ask if you can fly Knight Yorin?†I was shocked at the compliment having not heard one from a male who was not my father before so I changed subject.
“Yes princess, my father was a faerie so whilst I have the markings of an elf I still have the ability to fly. May I ask you a favour princess?†The knight frowned at the last I could tell he was expecting me to be stubborn then.
“Ask away knight my father trusts you and so shall I,†I respond kindly.
“Please just call me Yorin, and please keep it between us that I can fly, only your father knows,†The knight mumbled staring into the marble fireplace that blazed to the right of us.
“Of course Yorin as longs as you call me Ailin,†I said trying out his name.
“I don't think that's appropriate Princess,†Yorin swallowed hard.
“Please? It would be nice to be treated like a faerie and not a princess for once,†my voice lowered as I watched his reaction. If I didn't know better I’d swear Yorin almost looked sad.
“Fine but only when were alone Ailin,†Yorin nodded as he said it succumbing to my wish.
“Thank you Yorin,†I smiled at him.
“You really do look beautiful, Ailin,†He mumbled as he strode forward and pulled one of the small pink roses from my hair. I almost gasped but held still as he did, I stared up into his deep brown eyes as he smiled down at me only then I was aware he was taller than me and smelt like something warm and sweet, I could drown in that smell I sighed as he walked away to stand at the door that went from my sitting room and back into the halls of the forest castle.
“I bid you goodnight then Princess,†I realised his guard must be right outside the door. He smiled and smelled the rose he still held.
“And to you Sir Yorin,†I blushed and lowered my head to hide it pretending it was just a normal tilt of the head bow I had done earlier. I don't think it worked well because I soon heard a deep chuckle that was almost as intoxicating as his cologne. Before I had the chance to look up to see the smile that would have joined that laugh I heard the door open and quickly shut. Goddess be with me, he's a confusing one,I thought as I turned back to the white marble vanity with its golden mirror and waved a hand slightly so all the flowers collected on my desk.
Most of the castle is either stone marble, wooden or green to blend in with the forest we have made our home in but my father liked the occasional golden or valuable marble the dwarves had made just to make things a little different I suppose but everything in my sitting room including the walls and couches were all wooden or green fabric besides the vanity and the stone fireplace. My room was very different though.
I draped my dress over the back of my vanity chair then entered my dressing room to change from my underclothes into my usual style of lace nightdress, my dressing room was coloured the same as the sitting room I had moved the vanity out there to make room in my dressing room for the ball gowns my father kept requesting from the mortal dress makers. Three full length mirrors and a settee were the only things in this room besides shoes or clothing.
I caught my reflection and giggled, he called me beautiful, I was young in terms of most elves or fey only few elves were under a century and I was one of the youngest though many faeries tried to fall pregnant after the wars few succeeded as we don't share the same cycle as say humans once a year a female could fall pregnant though the elves had more luck with a cycle much more frequent as far as my tutor had told me when I was younger. Long red hair, blue eyes and a petite figure, I was not as beautiful as some of the other females I had seen tonight but I felt the weight of that compliment as if it was a real thing I could put on a shelf and pull out later to look at.
I threw open the doors to my bedroom welcomed by the vanilla incense left to burn in my room, the whole room was a blast of red and black, faeries love their wings and will usually surround themselves in the colours to match as the freedom earned by our wings is the stem of our pride, there are rumours that without our wings we are nothing better than mortals with a long life span, I couldn't imagine losing my magic or the power to fly like that. A large four poster bed with crushed velvet curtains and red down quilt called to me as exhaustion made my legs and eyelids suddenly very heavy.
I pulled back the covers and curled in the empty feeling a forgotten memories as I thought of the knight who had stood closer to me than any man ever had.
