A Court of Shadows and Stars (Azriel Fanfiction)

Ten- Why hover when I shower?

Ten-Why hover when I shower?

I didn't expect to sleep in.

Nor did I expect to see Morrigan come bustling into the room the second I woke up. Behind her trailed two women dressed in dark clothing, they looked alike- twins with dark hair and eyes. When one shifted slightly, so did the other. It didn't come as a surprise that they were also almost transparent- I swore to keep and open mind about things like this.

And I will stick to that.

"That's Nuala and Cerridwen," Morrigan said in a lieu to a hello, "We're here to fix your wardrobe!" She announced as she opened the closet with a flourish.

I was still groggy eyed and half asleep, thanks to a fitful night of sleep the undershirt I wore was drenched in sweat and clung to me like a second skin. I eyed the clothes skeptically. Thankfully they were all in dark shades unlike Morrigan's ensemble of red and gold attire. Although it made her look absolutely gorgeous, I wasn't in the mood to don on anything too flashy.

"What do you generally wear over here?" I asked as I pushed myself to my feet and stretched my limbs, sighing in satisfaction when my bones gave a satisfactory pop.

"It's winter here these days so we layer up," Morrigan said as she eyed me closely. It wasn't an evaluating look although I could never assume otherwise but she seemed to be measuring me- the internal cogs in her head working to figure out what monstrosity to dress me in.

Finally she clicked her tongue, "Nuala has already drawn you a bath so you're free to go freshen up, I'll lay out some clothes for you to wear," Morrigan said as she gestured towards the bathroom, "Once your done, come down to the dining room for breakfast,"

Almost in anticipation for what was to come, my stomach grumbled in response. Morrigan laughed, the sound pleasant and sincere. She was an easy person to be around with, no wonder the spymaster was taken up by her.

Just as the thought of the brooding male crossed my mind, my mood soured. Before Morrigan could catch up on it or worse, read my mind and find out all the interesting ways I intended to sucker punch the male the next time he pisses me off- I made a beeline to the bathroom.

Shutting the door after me, I quickly assessed my surroundings looking for any hidden Fae before stretching my muscles out a little. It was a habit of mine to workout before I began the day and just because I was stuck in some weird world didn't mean I was ready to let myself go. I needed my wits about me and working out always got me in my zone. Alert and ready to strike if need be.

A quick round of pushups and burpees later, I was ready to move on to a series of planks when one of the twin Faes just teleported through the wall. I couldn't help the shriek that left my lips at her sudden appearance. Placing a hand over my chest to steady my heartbeat I stared back at the closed door she just appeared out of.

"How did you-," I began but shook my head as the female just gestured towards the tub at the centre. Fine, if she wasn't going to give me any answers- then I'll ask Morrigan.

Giving up the idea of working out, I stripped down bare and hopped into the tub. The water was warm and immediately helped soothe my muscles. The female just stood to the side, quietly watching me. I hurriedly lathered up my body with a bar of scented soap and only relaxed when the water turned a milky opaque. I could've stayed there for hours but the cloaked woman hovered about like an annoying housefly, finally giving up the idea of a long bath I hauled myself out and wiped myself dry with the fluffy piece of cloth left to the side. Morrigan had left something that looked vaguely like a toothbrush and toothpaste although it tasted and looked like anything but and after an unpleasant minute or two I was ready to be fitted into my Night Court attire. Like Morrigan said, there was a lot of layers- starting from the delicate yet flexible corset to an undershirt to a black cotton tunic followed by a stunning black vest with silver whorls etched on it. She left the pants simple, a plain black to match the tunic. I didn't wear the delicate sandals she had left out and instead slipped into my boots.

I left my hair undone to dry up more quickly and allowed the females to lead me outside.

"Why did she make you wear that?" A familiar voice asked and I looked up to find the spymaster leaning against the wall across my door. His bat wings were tucked to the side, massive and menacing in their shape and structure. As usual, shadows danced across his arms and around him. His hazel eyes were hard, almost luminous in the dimly lit hallway. On seeing him the two females bowed their heads and vanished in a wink. I stared after them flabbergasted.

"They're wraiths," the spymaster said as he pushed himself away from the wall, "they tend to disappear when not needed,"

"Who gave them the permission to leave? I needed them," I retorted as I crossed my arms over my chest.

The male before me raised an eyebrow, "What for?"

"To keep the boogey man across the hall away from me,"

His confused expression was almost comical, the spymaster seemed at a loss for words. I hid my triumphant smirk as I tossed my hair over my shoulder, "I'm going for breakfast, you can continue to stay back in the hallway and sulk,"

Footsteps sounded from beside me, "and why would I do that?"

"So that I could sneak into the dining room and massacre your High Lord and Lady,"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"It's called sarcasm you moron," I said with a snicker, "damn, when I was told that the Fae could be ancient I never thought I'd cross paths with the grandfather of the fae,"

"You really think you're funny don't you?"

"Of course I do,"

We reached the hallway just as I heard another erupt of laughter. I glanced sideways at the spymaster, "Are they always this lively?"

"It's either this or I could take you to the Court of Nightmares if you're more comfortable with all the blood and gore,"

"How lovely!"

He grunted from beside me, "Yeah okay mortal, I doubt you'd be able to stomach what you see,"

I raised an eyebrow at him as I pushed pass him to open the door, "You don't know anything about me," I said with a scoff.

The laughter died as I stepped in. There was someone else sitting at the table- a small, silver eyed female. Like the rest of the Fae she was gorgeous with short black hair and a wicked smile of her own. She looked innocent from afar but I wasn't stupid to miss the air of danger that hung about her.

"Ah here's the realm crosser!" The female's tone was flat, "Quite too late for breakfast now isn't it? Then again I can't expect much from Andrew Jones's niece,"