A Court of Revenge

Chapter 1

The manor was quiet. Too quiet for a typical morning. There was no bustling of activity. No sounds of my brothers arguing over something stupid. There was no scent of breakfast, no sound my mother humming and singing as she prepared our meal. I didn't hear my father's booming laugh. I descended the stairs and made my way toward the kitchen. Empty. No one was in there. No food had been prepared. I heard the faint clonking of metal from outside and headed towards it. Far from the manor, beyond the gardens I found my brothers. Sparring with each other.

"Where is everyone?" I asked as I approached, "Why is it so quiet around here" They couldn't hear me over the sounds of their swords so I calmly stepped between them. A sword almost hit my shoulder.

"Woah, Ror, what are you doing?" Zaiv exclaimed, his gold eyes filling with panic as he narrowly missed me. I heard laughter from the other side of me.

"Watch out Zaiv, no killing the sister." A sweaty arm draped over my shoulder. I looked up to see Carden shoot me a wink. "Good thing I have better aim right, Rory?" He smiled, showing off his sharp canines. I squirmed away from his sweaty touch and stepped back, taking in my brothers. They were twins, rare for fae. They had matching tall, muscular frames, matching gold eyes and matching blonde hair. Their only difference was that Zaiv kept his hair short, usually a tousled mess while Carden's hair grazed his shoulders, usually tied back.

"Have you seen mother or father yet today?" I asked.

Zaiv wiped his brow and shook his head, "nah, we came out here early. Figured we'd head in for breakfast soon." Concern started to grow in me.

"Well don't get too excited. There's no food. There's no mother. No father. There's no one in the manor"

Carden looked up from wiping his blade, "no one?" I shook my head quickly, my own blonde hair falling out of its loose bun and cascading down my back.

"Hmm, that is weird. Maybe Father got back from the High Lord meeting late last night and is still asleep." Zaiv said, gathering his things. He started walking back to the house and Carden and I fell into step behind him. Even though they were twins, Zaiv has always been the leader. He was more of the fighter, more of the warrior. It didn't seem to bother Carden. He seemed perfectly happy letting his twin take on that role. Carden was the social one. He was always sneaking off to parties when they were growing up. He could fight just as well as Zaiv but preferred reading, music and lounging in the garden. I was a combination of the two. My father taught me how to use a sword and fight at a young age. I loved the power I felt when holding a sword. But I also loved frolicking through the fields, swimming in the ponds all over the court and relaxing at home, listening to my mother sing.

We reached the house and were greeted by silence. There was no sing of any life. Carden sprinted up the stairs and I heard a door open and shit before he bounded back down. "Empty. No one in their room."

I turned toward Zaiv, "okay, should we be worried now?" His gold eyes met my own pine green ones(I got them from our mother).

"No need to be worried, Aurora. I'm sure they'll be back later." He gestured toward the kitchen, "now c'mon, let's go mess up the kitchen and see what we can eat."

The day went on with no appearance from our parents. My worry was starting to increase as I prepared dinner. Carden entered the kitchen, dressed in his leather gear and a sword was strapped to his back.

"Going somewhere?"

His face looked worried, "Z and I are going to go see if we can figure out what's going on."

I put my hands on the counter and took a deep breath, "so you think something's wrong?"

His gaze drifted to the window behind me, "well something isn't right." The wind started to pick up and a rumble of thunder sounded outside. He quickly walked over and embraced me. "Rory, we'll find them." He kissed the top of my head and started to walk away.

"Be careful." I whispered.

He turned around and winked, "we always are." I released my breath I had been holding. The wind died down, the thunder stopped, and the sky began to clear up. That was my power. I could control the weather. Wind. Rain. Thunder. Lightening. I could control it all. It tended to be connected to my emotions. It was as if the weather and I were connected. 

I left the kitchen and wandered through the empty house. There were flowers everywhere. Bright nature themed paintings adorned the walls. My mother loved nature. She would know the walls down and live outside if my father wasn't so against it. She was my father says he wasn't before he met her. She was sunshine. She was happiness. Her smile could brighten even the most evil creature's day. My father says she changed him completely. He claims he was different person before. I always have trouble believing that. The Tamlin I grew up with is happy, cheerful and full of laughter. His boisterous laugh filled these halls. The love he showed my mother and the pride he had for his children was astounding. I knew he had darkness in his past. He didn't talk about it much to us but I saw glimpses in his eyes sometimes. He kept us a secret. He didn't tell anyone about us. No other Court. We were unknown. He always said it was for our safety. A part of me was always bothered by that. I had been curious of the other courts. I wanted to visit Summer and Winter. I wanted to see the city of Velaris in the Night Court. But no, my father never allowed us out of these lands. Even Carden had never managed to sneak his way out. I wandered for a while through the house, thinking back to all the smiles, the laughter, the hugs.

 I collapsed onto the couch, trying to keep my eyes open as I was hit with exhaustion. But then the front door opened and slammed shut. Footsteps sounded and then Zaiv and Carden stood in front of me.

Their eyes were full of anger, hatred and pain. Carden had tears welling as he looked at me.

"What happened?" I asked. Zaiv slowly approached and sat down beside me. His hand found mine.

"Mother's dead, Aurora. She's dead." He closed eyes and took a breath, "and father's been imprisoned." I stopped breathing, my heart stopped and thunder cracked.