Chapter 14: Eleven

The following morning while Sereh, Ayla, and Viessa prepared a bath for me, I contemplated Feyre and I's plan.

Last night, after I taught her about the courts, what a High Lord was, and the creatures we need to look out for in Spring Court Feyre said we should try to ask Lucien about vouging for us against the treaty with Tamlin since he seems to be as against us being here as we are. I was reluctant in it at first since Lucien seems so Loyal to Tamlin, but after an hour of Feyre's pestering I finally gave in. I don't think it will work, though. Lucien seems like the kind of person who is more obedient to someone than they are able to see right and wrong.

I was going to figure out where Lucien was going today and see if it involved Tamlin. If Tamlin was there it would be a whole lot harder to sway Lucien into helping us get home. I have a sneaking suspicion Tamlin will go wherever Feyre or Lucien goes, which greatly furthers my own agenda. If Tamlin and Lucien are distracted with each other and Feyre I'll have more time to read about Pythian and try to catch the elusive suriel. It also gives opportunity to observe. If they are all watching out for Feyre no one will pay attention to me and I can watch all their behaviors to study them further.

Once my bath was done I was dressed in another tunic. It was probably a relic in Prythian standards, but to me it was one of the nicer things I've worn besides my suit. I'm certainly missing my suit right now. It would make my life so much easier. And I would still have some of my daggers hidden in the seems odd the fabric.

I also planned on asking Lucien where my daggers are. Most likely he won't tell me, but he's dumb enough to give me some sort of clue as to where it is and I can steal it back.

I went to meet Feyre in the east garden, it's the biggest so we would be less visible. The garden was just out the large glass doors by the dining room, but I luckily went unnoticed by the servants. I walked out of the house and down the rocky paved path. Feyre and I agreed to meet by the large statue of some sort of lady holding a prickly orb of some sort. I was there for about 10 minutes when I heard two pairs of nearing footsteps coming my way and then a voice.

"No tripwires today?" Tamlin's voice rang out. The looming footsteps ceased.

Feyre's voice sounded next along with a shuffling noise of her probably turning around, "You said we were safe here. So I listened." I could practically smell the forced politeness, and despite myself, I snickered softly, thankfully not loud enough for Tamlins Fae ears.

There was a silent short pause, "My morning work was postponed," Tamlin began, "If you want a ride across the grounds- if you interested in your new... residence, I can take you." He offered. I mentally groaned at the setback this entire conversation was going to cause.

"I'd prefer to spend the day alone, I think. But thank you for the offer." Feyre spoke again. She did make a mistake with the alone part, If she were to be seen weere to be seen with Lucien or I, it would seem a bit suspicious. I'll sort that out later.

"What about-" Tamlin tried again but was interrupted.

"No, thank you." Feyre tried again. Scuffling footsteps started in my direction again. A few seconds later when Feyre appeared and I knew Tamlin was out of earshot I smirked at her and started laughing.

"Someone's smitten." I teased. Feyre rolled her eyes.

"Don't start." She warned. I stood from the small bench I had been waiting on and walked towards her.

I quietly spoke to Feyre so that anyone listening in couldn't hear "Lucien will be patrolling the grounds today. We have to catch him on his way out and pretty much invite ourselves along." Feyre nodded determinedly and we began walking towards the stable.

It was a shabby stable but still painted in beautiful colors. It wasn't a surprise when the stable boys wore horse masks, I felt a pang of sympathy for them. In my research, I had learned that masks were indeed not an odd fashion statement but a curse a supposed "blight" on magic had done. After reading about the masks, I tried to research more on this bight but there was nothing. I suspected that the blight is not truly a sentient magical curse, that would be quite literally impossible in many ways. This magic has to be controlled or created by something. When I realized that in the library I searched for something about a faerie who may have caused it but that but came up entirely empty again. Yet another question I'd asked the suriel when I found it.

When we finally found Lucien he was astride a large grey horse grinning at us.

"Morning Feyre," He spoke to my sister before turning to me, "Demon spawn." I'd been called worse. Much worse.

"Foxboy." I said stiffly. Lucien glared at the nickname and a smug smile crossed my face.

"Going for a ride, or merely reconsidering Tam's offer to live with us?" Feyre was silent and Lucien began laughing, and it sounded extremely forced.

"Well, Lucien I suppose you'll just have to leave us alone and find out which option we chose later." I was baiting him into inviting us to ride with him. If he thought there were a chance of us escaping on his watch without getting permission from Tamlin he'd have no choice but to take us with him.

And like clockwork, he played right into my trap, "Come now. I'm to patrol the southern woods today, and I'm curious about the... abilities you used to bring down my friend, whether accidental or not. It's been a while since I encountered humans, let alone a Fae killer. Indulge me in a hunt." Lucien offered. I was internally grinning at his stupidity and outwardly I was scowling at him. It was honestly perfect. He wasn't paying attention to the skills I may or may not have. It would make it so much more amusing if I decided to stab him in the back at some point. Literally.

"Do we even have a choice?" I questioned, playing my role. Lucien chose not to answer which was all the confirmation we needed.

The stable boy came back around with the white mare Feyre had ridden here and the mare I named Amaris.

I grinned at the black mare and it was almost as though the mare grinned back as she whinnied.

I walked over to her and ran my hand along her muzzle before hoisting myself into the saddle.

Just before we left Lucien accepted a quiver of arrows from the stable boy before looking to Feyre, "No ash arrows today, unfortunately." Feyre visibly clenched her jaw.

"Let's get on with it then. I'd prefer to not have to spend the entire morning in your insufferable presence, Lucien. And since you've spoiled our plans to go for a ride, you'd better hurry up before I hurl a dagger straight into your eye." I laughed internally at the irony that his head was probably just as empty as he thought my threat was.

"And you'd better shut your mouth before I throw you into the woods and use you as prey for Feyre and I's hunt." Lucien threatened.

I hummed, "That actually sounds quite fun, I might just take you up on that." I wasn't lying, it sounded like a training exercise we used to do at the academy to improve our Inpo skills(The art of hiding). The overseers would leave us in the woods for 5 days to fend for ourselves while they hunted us like they would an animal, if they caught us we were dead.

I was never caught.

I stayed out there for an additional two days while Stijn tried to find me to say I'd completed the task. It was honestly a nice reprieve from the academy.

Lucien practically growled as we left shortly after that and began riding through the Spring woods beyond the garden.

Once we passed the wards of the property an odd feeling took over my body and gooseflesh speckled my skin. It felt like I was supposed to go somewhere. Like I was supposed to find something, and whatever it was, it was important. It was the most odd feeling I'd ever experienced. If I wasn't here with Lucien and Feyre I would have headed the calls to figure out what the odd feeling in me was leading towards.

After about five minutes in the woods the feeling was starting to become unbearable and I decided I would come back tonight and find this mysterious thing. The decision seemed to be enough for this mysterious force when the leash it had on me lightened a bit. It didn't go away fully though. Which only made me want to go towards it more. It was a battle of wills. But the battle to stay with my sister won.

"Well, certainly you both have the quiet part of hunting down," Lucien interrupted the internal battle with myself and the need to go somewhere. Feyre adjusted the quiver strap across her chest and I just chose to ignore him.

"Well," Lucien began again, "No game good enough for slaughter? we've passed plenty of squirrels and birds."

I took this as a good opportunity to give Feyre a reprieve from Lucien's attention and ask something I wanted to know, "Lucy," I drawled out with faux innocence and Lucien's head snapped to me so fast it's a miracle he didn't break his neck, glaring with hate I never thought he could even muster. I nearly laughed at it.

"I have a teensy question," I added, Lucien groaned audibly, "So, let's say Tamlin decides to take two unsuspecting girls to Prythian and knocks them out along the way. And one of the girls wakes up without her extremely nice and expensive daggers. Do you have any idea as to where said daggers would be taken?" I paused, "Oh! and this is completely rhetorical, of course. Just to feed my curiosity."

"Of course, " Lucien repeated with a hiss, maybe I should go back to calling him Hissy, "I don't have a clue where Tamlin would hide your weapons. Though I'm sure they're useless to have here anyway, considering you probably want to slaughter us in our sleep. Your mortal daggers will do nothing here." Oh, how wrong her was. My daggers were crafted from Illyrian steel, sold in a ring of faerie goods sent to The Flame every month. You'd be surprised how much some faeries want others of their kind dead, they'll willingly send us weapons to kill them as long as the job gets done. My daggers were also enchanted so that if anyone besides me tries to use them they will burn the hands of the culprit. And they were very expensive. Not in money but they did cost me a lot that I don't care to talk about.

"You said you were an emissary for Tamlin," Feyre chimed in, "Do emissaries usually patrol the grounds?"

Lucien clicked his tongue as if we were children, "I'm Tamlin's emissary for formal uses, but this was Andras's shift. So someone needed to fill in. It's an honor to do it." I didn't allow myself to feel the small bit of guilt for the dead sentry that clawed its way up from the well I stuffed it in a long, long time ago, before shoving my guilt back down deeper.

Feyre it seemed didn't know how to do that when she uttered, "I'm... sorry, I didn't know what- what he meant to you all." I envied my sister then. That she could feel that guilt without it tearing away at her bit by bit. That she could deal with that and not shove the guilt and pain away.

I tried once. To face the atrocities I've committed instead of hiding them away in my well of emotions and memories. I let them free and tried to let myself mourn the losses and accept everything I'd done. But I feel like I was dying. As if my emotions would claw up every sense of self I had, and leave me a broken shell of a person I used to be. So I shoved them back down, only letting anger and joy for my family out of it. I didn't get out of bed for a week after that.

Lucien shrugged at Feyres apology, "Tamlin said as much, which was no doubt why he brought you here. Or maybe you both looked so pathetic in those rags he took pity on you."

"At least I could pull off rags," I muttered under my breath, so low even Lucien and his Fae hearing couldn't hear. I figured if we were going to try and get him to go against Tamlins wishes, I shouldn't be insulting him left and right. No matter how much I enjoy it.

"I wouldn't have joined you if I'd known you'd just use this ride as an excuse to insult us." Feyre spat back.

Lucien smirked, "Apologies," Lucien mocked, "So, " he began again, "When are you going to start trying to persuade me to beseech Tamlin to find a way to free you from the treaty's rules?"

I was pleasantly surprised by his statement as Feyre blurted, "What?"

I chuckled, "It seems your head isn't as empty as I thought, Lucy."

"Call me Lucy one more time and you'll find yourself without a tongue," He warned before continuing, "That's why you agreed to come out here, isn't it? Why you two wound up at the stables exactly as I was leaving?" he gave a sideways glance to the two of us, "Honestly, I'm impressed- and flattered you think I have that kind of sway with Tamlin."

"We knew an emissary doesn't have that much sway, friend or not. But that doesn't mean you can't help us find a way around the treaty if you don't already know one." I explained, "You want us gone almost as much as we want to leave. It would be a win-win situation."

Lucien cocked his head, "Don't waste any more of your precious human breaths, let me explain two things to you. One: you're right about me wanting you gone so it wouldn't take much convincing on your part. Two: I can't have my way because there is no alternative to what the treaty demands. There's no extra loophole."

"But- but there has to be something." Feyre tried again. I warned her beforehand that this may not work. But even I was a little disappointed. Not that I let it show.

"I admire your balls- I really do. Or maybe its stupidity. But since Tam wont gut you, which was my first choice, you're both stuck here. Unless you want to rough it on your own in Prythian, which" He gave us both a once over, "I'd advise against."

I was trained to survive in the woods of Prythian, its Feyre I was worried about.

"A valiant effort," Lucien said with a smirk.

After that terrible conversation we rode in silence for a time. The only two things occupying my thoughts were what we would do to get home now, and the strange feeling that still lingered in my gut.

Trying to expel the thoughts of home from my mind, I thought about what could have caused this feeling. It felt like I should go East. And whatever was there, was close. Could it be some type of Faerie controlling me? Or some type of large magic that is drawing me towards it? One thing was for certain, I knew whatever it was wouldn't hurt me. It very well c ould be playing tricks on my mind to make me believe that, but It felt like the truth.

"Where is the rest of Tamlin's court? They all fled this blight on magic?" Feyre asked.

The mention of Tamlin having a court sparked a thought in my mind. Tamlin was powerful. His magic was unlike any i've encountered. I knew I heard the Name Tamlin somewhere. It all finally clicked.

I read about High Lord Ruvaen and his three sons named Elion, Luvon, and Tamlin. For Tamlin to have a High Lords magic. His father's magic. Ruvaen must have died. Making Tamlin the High Lord of Spring.

I kept my features neutral. Not wanting to alert Lucien of the fact I figured it out. Why did they even keep the fact a secret?

"How'd you know about the court?" Lucien asked too quickly to be casual.

I answered, "Do normal estates have emisarys? And servants chatter."

"Isn't that why you made them wear bird masks to the party?" Feyre finished my thoughts.

Lucien scowled, "We chose what to wear that night to honor Tamlin's shape-shifting gifts. The servants, too. But now, if we had the choice, we'd peel them off with our bare hands." He said reaching a hand up and tugging on his own. It didn't budge.

"What happened to the magic to make it act that way?" Feyre asked. I hadn't told her about my suspicions that more than just magic was involved, yet. Not if I was wrong.

Lucien let out a bitter laugh, "Something that was sent from the shit-holes of hell," Lucien paused as if realizing his words, "I shouldn't have said that. If word got back to her-"

And there it was. A slip up. He pretty much confirmed my suspicions that someone was controlling the magic. But I needed more evidence if I was to be certain.

"Who?" Feyre and I asked cerimoniously.

Luciens face had paled. Who ever this woman was, she was important somehow.

"Never mind. The less you two know, the better. Tam might not find it troublesome to tell you about the blight, but I wouldn't put it past a human to sell it to the highest bidder."

I rolled my eyes, "Who would we even sell it to?"

"How old are you?" Feyre asked before Lucien could reply to me.

"Old," He said. Vague. I'd guess he was around 400.

"What sort of powers do you have? Can you shapeshift like Tamlin?" Feyre continued.

He sighed and looked to the sky, "Trying to figure out my weaknesses so you can-" we both glowered at him. Feyre wasn't the only curious one, "Fine. No, i can't shapeshift. Only Tam can."

Because only highlords can. I thought. I didn't dare say that out loud.

"But your friend- he appeared as a wolf. Unless that was-" Feyre was cut off in her inquiry.

"No, no. Andras was High Fae, too. Tam can shift us into other shapes if need be. He saves it for his sentries only, though. When Andras went across the wall, Tam changed him into a wolf so he wouldn't be spotted as a faerie. Though his size was probably indication enough." Lucien explained as he sent a glare in Feyre's direction. It made sense. And it was good strategy. I had to give them props for that.

"Anyway," Lucien continued, "The High Fae don't have specific powers the way lesser faeries do." I never understood the term lesser faeries, yes I've used it on occasion but I don't get why they can't all just be Fae, "I don't have a natural-born affinity if that's what you are asking. I don't clean anything in sight or lure mortals to a watery death or grant answers to whatever questions you might have if you trap me. We just exist- to rule."

I rolled my eyes openly while Feyre turned her head to make sure Lucien didn't see as she did the same.

"You said you were made to rule? But what about The Domina Lux alba, that was a Prythian legend right? She said to rule over Prythian along with Dominis Ignis tenebris."

Lucien spared me a sideways glance a mix of curiosity and concern before he decided to answer, "Domina Lux alba was a legend originated from a court to the North. She was said to be the ruler of only the place where the legend was prophesized along with her consort, not all of Prythian." He looked at me again with skepticism, "How do you know about the Lady?"

I shrugged unaffected, "She's a bedtime story in the mortal lands. The story's been there since before the war, Fae probably told it to mortals, and it's spread ever since." Lucien studied me again before reluctantly nodding at my answer.

"I suppose if Danika and I were one of you, we'd be faeries, not High Fae? lesser faeries like Alis, waiting on your hand and foot?" Feyre scolded, Lucien didn't reply which was confirmation enough. There was a moment of silence while we all thought about Feyres words.

"How did you get that scar?" Feyre asked again, probably to defuse the unbearable amount of tension.

"I didn't keep my mouth shut when I should have, and was punished for it."

"Tamlin did that to you?" Feyre questioned again.

"Cauldron, no. He wasn't there. But he got me the replacement afterward."

"So there are actually faeries who will answer any question if you trap them?" Feyre continued with her questions.

Yes. The Suriel. which I plan to catch very soon.

"Yes." Lucien replied tightly, "The Suriel. But they're old and wicked, and not worth the danger of going out to find them. And if you are stupid enough to look so intrigued, I'm going to become rather suspicious and tell Tam to put you on house arrest. Though I'm sure you'd deserve it if you were stupid enough to seek one out." Lucien threatened.

Lies. Suriels are dangerous, yes. But there are safe ways to speak with and trap them. Like bringing a nice cloak.

What I don't understand is why Lucien would try to keep us from going. What does he not want known?

There was a stirring in the bushes just then. I whipped my head towards the noise in sync with Lucien. I would recognize those light and terrifying footsteps anywhere.

Oh, we were so dead.

Especially if I didn't have my daggers. Our only option was to ignore it and pray to the Mother that it will leave us, no matter how much I hate it. But Bogge's weren't native to these lands, so why was one here?

There was the drawing of a bowstring from Feyre's direction.

"Put your bow down, Feyre. Now. Don't move a muscle, don't react, look straight ahead, and no matter what you do. Do. Not. Look. Do you understand?" I warned with a voice I crafted from steel. I didn't look towards her, only straight ahead. But I heard ruffling sounds from her as she turned to face forward again.

And that was when I felt it.

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Hey! I'm going to post as much as I can, I don't think I'm going to have a schedule or anything. I'm definitely not going to drop this story, tho. I'll at least post once a week just not a specific day or anything like that. 👍