Becoming Fae

“Are you insane!?” I shouted. “Are you trying to die!?”

Harmon hung his head as I paced in front of him, my feathers shaking like a rattlesnake’s tail in my anger. He had a cool cloth on the back of his neck to help with the hangover he got from my static discharge that knocked him into a stupor.

“One Celestial against a Sin? You know the humans call them deadly for a reason, right?” I demanded. “What stupid and irresponsible idea popped into your head to make you decide to show up and try to martyr yourself like freaking moron!? And don’t you dare give me that bull-butter about protecting me. We both know I didn’t need another bodyguard.”

“Forgive me my insubordination,” he said. “It won’t happen again.”

“Drop the formality crap, Harmon,” I snapped. “I swear, I’ll zap you again. Now tell me what in the world you were thinking.”

“I can’t explain it,” he answered quietly. “I needed to make sure she was safe from him.”

“She,” I sighed. “Ambrosia.”

He nodded and I groaned, letting my head fall back as I stopped pacing and put my hands on my hips.

“You’re an idiot,” I looked at him. “But an idiot with good intentions, however misguided they were. Did you honestly think I would agree to bring her to meet Tony if there wasn’t protection in the very likely case that he lost his marbles? I knew what we were walking into, and the odds of a peaceful meeting were less than stellar.”

“I should have had more faith in you, your majesty,” he said, and I snapped my fingers, zapping him slightly in the shoulder.

“I said to drop the formality nonsense,” I said. “As annoying as it was, your complete disregard for my orders to stay out of it is a small enough matter that I can let it go. This time. Pull a stunt like this again, reasons be damned, and I’ll have to punish you.”

“Thank you,” he bowed his head again.

“Harmon. You do know what the demons do to punish insubordination is, right?”

“No, your maje-Fae,” he shook his head.

“Whipping. Fifty lashes minimum,” I said. “Demon hide and bones are thick and durable.”

“I’m not,” he nodded in understanding. “It won’t happen again.”

“See that it doesn’t. I’d prefer not having to learn how to use a whip, much less on someone I consider a friend,” I told him, making him look up in shock.

“Fae?” Mal knocked on the door before opening it. “Your mom sent a message. The elf prince is here to see you.”

“If he shoves me through another portal, I’ll drop his pushy ass, too,” I snapped, my wings already sparking.

“Can we not do that again?” Harmon made a face. “It was quite unpleasant.”

“Don’t make me mad again and we’ll be fine,” I smiled and patted his shoulder as I walked by him. “Now, I suggest you go talk to her before she leaves.”

“How long do I have?” he asked.

“Three days,” I said, and he nodded as I left the room, following Mal back to the surface.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“Harmon, it seems, has a pretty big crush on Ambrosia,” I sighed, rubbing my temples. “The heart often makes the head forget things it shouldn’t.”

“I’m well aware of that,” he chuckled, pulling me into his side and kissed my cheek.

“Did Mom say why the prince was here?” I asked.

“No, just that he was here to speak to you,” he replied. “I don’t like him.”

“He keeps shoving me. I don’t blame you,” I snorted.

“That’s not it,” he shook his head. “I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

“I’m kind of an oddity, Mal. I’m going to get looks that scream ‘Freak!’,” I rolled my eyes.

“You aren’t a freak, Fae,” he snapped.

“I’m a super cool, totally kick-ass freak and hopefully, if all goes well, I’ll be queen of the freaks,” I grinned. “I hear the parties are hellishly fun.”

“Considering what happened the last time you went to a party, I think we’ll skip that for the time being, thanks,” he said flatly.

“Killjoy,” I huffed as we walked out into the sunlight.

“That’s me in a nutshell,” he laughed. “We’ve come a long way from me snatching you to go meeting with dragons and seeing wild fae.”

“Now I get to snatch you,” I smirked.

“Oh no,” he blanched.

I grabbed him around the middle and took off, flying to Royal City and the palace.

-----

Mal

“Queen Fae,” Farngrath nodded when we arrived in the hall where he and the King and Queen were waiting for us, drinking tea.

“Prince Shovington,” she replied, sitting down and Mary giggled as she poured a cup for her daughter. “If you so much as make a twitch like you might make a portal and push me through it again, I’ll drop you like a royal sack of flour.”

“Fae, dear,” Mary laughed as she handed her the cup. “That’s not very polite.”

“You get what you give,” Fae shrugged before taking a sip and I sat beside her. “To what do I owe this... pleasure?”

“This,” he said, holding out a small black and gray stone box. “It was left at the edge of the Vale. It’s made of a strange stone that we’ve never seen before. It has the grain of wood, but it’s clearly stone. It’s rich in dark magic, too.”

“Don’t look at me. I’m not a geologist,” she said.

“It was left with your name on it,” he held up a crudely made paper with dark red ink on it. “It’s clearly made to be opened, but no one can lift the lid. Not even our mages can break through the magic.”

“Dark magic, you say,” she said, taking the box and looking it over critically. “It feels like the diary I was recently given, only... not? Like it’s been twisted and tainted.”

“You’re sure?” I asked her and she nodded, running her finger over the seam of the lid. “Do you think it’s wise to open it?”

“My name isn’t Pandora,” she laughed. “I think... It feels familiar, in a strange way. Kind of like my magic. Both parts of it. I don’t think it’s malicious, though. Just... wrong.”

“I don’t think it’s harmful either,” Mary said, leaning forward to hover her fingers over the box. “It does feel strangely familiar. I’ve never seen this kind of stone either.”

“Perhaps it’s unique to the Vale?” Fae offered.

“There’s much of the Vale that is kept hidden from us,” Farngrath shrugged.

“It looks like petrified wood,” I noticed. “But black and gray instead of white.”

“Who could have sent it? No one lives in the Vale, right?” Mary frowned.

“Not anyone that would know Fae’s name, anyhow,” Quinn said, eyeing the box suspiciously. “I doubt it would be anyone friendly.”

“Only one way to find out,” Fae shrugged and removed the lid before anyone could stop her.

We all waited with bated breath, but nothing happened. Fae just shrugged and set the lid aside, peering into the small box. She hesitated for a moment before lifting a small white feather with black ends with a bloody point at the end. She frowned and brought the feather to her nose, sniffing it before shaking her head and then sneezing.

“Is that what I think it is?” I asked her and she nodded.

“There’s more,” she pulled out another crudely made slip of paper with the same dark red ink in writing I couldn’t read.

“What does it say?” Mary asked, frowning at the writing I recognized now as the Celestial language in written form.

“‘Come find us’,” she answered and reached in the box again, pulling out a pair of gold rings with crests on them. “I’m really not liking this box.”

“You know who it’s from?” Farngrath asked, frowning.

“It’s the reason why I wanted to go into the Vale in the first place,” she nodded. “I had hoped not to mess with it until after parking my royal keester on the Throne, but...”

“I think we need to re-evaluate that plan,” I groaned. “I’m not liking this box either.”

“Naz will be tickled, though,” Fae said, putting everything back in the box.

“He’ll be greatly entertained,” I nodded.

“Usually, that means a lot of danger,” Mary said.

“You noticed that, too?” Fae smirked.

“We can still put it off until afterwards,” I said, knowing I’d fail to convince her.

“We could, but I think there’s an implied ‘now’ in this note,” she said, holding the paper up before putting the lid back on the box. “Considering who it’s from, I think it might be smart to do as it says.”

“Who is it from?” Mom asked.

“That might be a conversation best left for another time,” Fae smiled at the elf prince. “It’s none of his business.”

“Rude,” he scoffed.

“Hypocrite,” Fae scoffed back.

“Dear gods,” Quinn chuckled. “And to think, had you not been taken, the two of you would be getting married soon.”

“What?” I snapped.

“This might be the only time I’m glad I was kidnapped,” Fae looked at the prince critically. “I’d likely end up trying to strangle him or dropping him off a cliff or something.”

“The feeling is mutual, princess,” he replied with a grimace.

“Can we go back to the ‘getting married’ comment?” I demanded.

“I’d prefer not to discuss such unpleasant topics. It might turn my stomach,” Fae smiled sweetly, sipping her tea.

“After meeting you, I agree,” he replied flatly.

“As do I,” Quinn chuckled. “It would have been a very poor match.”

“Thank Fates for that,” I muttered, sulking.

“Don’t get sour,” Fae squeezed my thigh with a smile that she only gave me. “You were in an arranged marriage, too.”

“Another terrible match,” I grunted.

Mary snorted and the prince rolled his eyes.

“There is another matter that brings me here and I’ll do anything to avoid such nauseating displays,” he said, reaching for his teacup.

“You’re just upset you’re the one nauseous,” Fae snorted.

“It’s about the border raids,” he said.

“What border raids?” Mary frowned.

“The ones that started shortly after Fae’s visit,” he answered. “Fairie has always been looking for a reason to try to take more of our land and they’re saying we’re harboring a criminal.”

“Are you?” I asked.

“Of course not,” Farngrath snapped. “Least of all a fairy.”

“You are aware that my father and my Bonded are both fairies, right?” Fae laughed. “You’re not only pushy, but stupid, too.”

“Fae. That’s not nice,” Mary said sweetly. “She is right, though.”

“We don’t like fairies,” the prince said.

“Did they say who the criminal was?” Quinn asked.

“Malachi, formerly of the King family.”