Through the Eyes of a Fae

Kora slept for 5 days. The destruction she had caused could not be hidden, and the whole country was buzzing with news of a Fae. The Nobles were in the audience chamber every day, demanding answers. Joseph and Cade were both from prominent families. Malik Ben and Stella announced that while the investigation was ongoing, there was nothing that could be said. It took them three days and nights to cut the traitors and their horses from the tree cage, with two of the horses dying from cardiac arrest. The others were so traumatized that Royce thought they would never be able to be ridden again. He simply just let them go. Let them be wild, he thought. Royce personally oversaw the imprisoning of the traitors, and after a thorough search of their rooms, it quickly became apparent why they had gone this route. Jealousy. Cade had loved Ludis; Joseph had loved money. Sara loved Joseph. Ludis recovered quickly, though she had a concussion. Upon seeing the damage Kora had done to retrieve her, she was in total shock. They all were. Though they had known the truth-seeing that Kora, in fact, was NOT human was frightening. They still loved her, each taking turns to sit vigil at her bedside. Shadow and Ben, however, never left. Each time Ludis confirmed that she was still alive, relief would cross Ben’s face for only a moment, and then he was back to staring at her, looking lost. Malik came in and saw his friend sitting there, looking haggard. He had lost weight, was not sleeping. Malik shook his friend.

" You need to eat, shit, bathe, shave and sleep my friend. Go — now. I will stay with her until you return. GO!” Pushing Ben out the door, Malik returned to Kora’s bedside. A few hours had passed by Shadow had moved his position to be on the side of the bed closest to the king, and Malik rested one hand on his sleeping head, the other with a book open. It was tales of the Fae. The more he read, the more things he saw in Kora.

“Doing research?” Kora’s voice sounded ragged and weak. Malik started, dropping his book on the bed. Kora picked it up, and weakly began to turn the pages. Malik stood, and propped Kora up on the pillows in a sitting position. Getting her a glass of water-they then sat in silence, Kora flipping through the pages of the book.

“Well, brother, say something. Please.” Kora refused to look at him. She kept slowly flipping the pages; Malik suspected she was not seeing them.

“Thank you.” It was simple, and Kora’s eyes snapped up.

“For what, destroying the western road? Revealing our secret? Ruining the land, causing fear and panic?” Kora was bitter, and she began to turn, trying to huddle in on herself.

“Everyone wants to see a fae, until they see what they truly are. We are the monsters of the earth; we shouldn’t have ever existed.”

" Thank you for saving Ludis’s life.” Malik’s voice was quiet, and she looked over her shoulder at him. He was looking at her calmly.

“Roads can be rebuilt, trees will grow again, people will be telling fantastic stories for years. Ludis would have died. Never to be seen or heard from again. I love her, and without you, they would have escaped. They were too far ahead. We would not have caught them before the snow covered their trail. You saved her life.” Kora sat up and looked at him. She paused, then said-

“You… aren’t scared of me? You do not want to wrap me in iron? Chain me in the basement?” Malik laughed at her.

“Scared of you? Oh yes, but not as scared as our enemies are. You’re on my side after all.” He was grinning now. She smiled weakly at his joke.

" I have had 19 nobilities offer me marriage proposals for you. Ben is more likely to get arrested for murder than you are for destroying the western road.” The nobles, indeed, were eager to have a fae of their own. Ben. Kora stilled. Shadow had crawled slowly into her lap, licking her hands.

" Is Ben-is he afraid of me too?” Kora remembered the moment she had lost control, after Malik had taken Ludis from the cage she had created. She still did not know how she had turned back. The earth was compelling, demanding death to all who damaged her. She shuddered.

" I had to force Ben to go and rest, he had not left your side since you rescued Ludis. I barely got him to leave a few hours ago.” A soft knock on the door signaled the entrance of Royce, Ludis, and Stella. A decent bruise spanned the side of Ludis’s face, and Malik kissed it tenderly as she stood by his side. Stella rushed forward to hug Kora, squishing the squalling Shadow between them. Royce walked over to sit on the other side of the bed, holding Kora’s hand.

" Oh, thank the gods you are awake. We were so worried!” Stella sounded tired, and she hopped back up almost immediately, running to the bedchamber door to give the maidservant directions. As Agnes scurried off, she came back and sat in Royce’s lap. They began to fill her in but did not get far into the story when the door burst open and Ben stood there, shirt hanging out of his breeches, half of his face still covered with shaving cream. His friends started to laugh as he rushed over to grab Kora’s hand. Sitting on the bed, he stroked her face.

“Ben, man, go to the washroom and finish that haggard face!” Royce was laughing harder than everyone. Ben looked Kora in the eyes.

" DO NOT MOVE.” Ben ran to the washroom to finish shaving. He returned in minutes. After some careful rearranging, he now sat behind Kora, and she rested against his chest. Agnes arrived with small tables and trays of food. Dinner. As everything was arranged, Ben insisted on helping Kora eat, stuffing his own face at the same time.

" I never did get the whole story.” Kora stated. Turns out, Cade had been in love with Ludis since they had met. When she and Malik had first become lovers, the jealousy ran deep. Joseph’s family had a dirty secret, trading information with the men of the gray. When Cade found out, he recruited Joseph to help him do his dirty work. So simple. He was jealous, and in turn had wanted to hurt Malik, to tear him down. Letting the men of the gray in had been another attempt to gain allies, by giving them back their power source. The arrows on the river, they were the second attempt to let the men of the gray have their prize. Cade had recruited Sara when it became apparent, they needed a mage to work the devices on the wall, and she was seriously in love with Joseph, who could not care less about her. The story of her family, however, was genuine and Ben had assumed responsibility for them. They would not be told of Sara’s fate, and he would support her mother and brother, since he had special needs and required full-time care.

“So… What happens now?” Kora asked, leaning back onto Ben’s shoulder. She was growing tired.

We must survive until spring. The Men of the Grey are still out there.” Royce hugged Stella closely, and Malik held Ludis’s hand.

“Oh! And we cannot forget midwinter! The servants started to decorate. You need a tree, Kora!” The subject moved on to better things, and Kora fell asleep in Ben’s arms.