The Fairy King

The Unseele Court

The rest of the three day hike to the Unseelie court was pretty much uneventful. Other than Gerry or Ariella no one really talked to me. A few times I caught Bryant watching me with a blank look. When he noticed me looking he found something else to do. He kept to the far side of the group.
That was until the court came into sight. The Unseelie court was a reverse of the Seelie Court. Or so Ariella informed me. When most people think of the fey, they think of the Seelie court. Which is mostly spring and summer. Flowers growing, dancing with trees and things like that.
The Unseelie court was darker. As Ariella explained it the Seelies were light, Sunlight. The Unseelie’s were dark, winter, night or they follow the moon. This is where the wyld hunt comes from. The pranksters and in many cases the monsters of our world.  It didn’t sound fun at all.
The court sat on top of a granite mountain. Our first glimpse of it was when we came out of the everwood. It was still in the distance and all we could see was the skyline of pointed rock. Or at least that’s what it looked like. The mood changed once we were in sight of the court.
There had been some friendly bantering, but now it stopped. Nearly all talk stopped actually. Bryant remained at the head of the group. The guards closed in around us. All weapons were out. They held them loosely but ready. They were more afraid of their own court than the wild creatures in the woods. This struck me as very odd.
In time we came to the massive stone gates at the bottom of the mountain range. Bryant spoke to the guardian then stepped aside. We were lead in as he waited, watching us all. His face was grim. Our eyes met as I passed him his thin lips twitched into a twisted grin. It was only there for a second. Then his mask was back. I turned away, making sure Gerry was still at my side.
If the guards were afraid, it was nothing compared to the part human protectors. Some were out right shivering. Gerry nearly clung to my leg. His sister clutching her husband’s hand beside him. His large eyes met mine. He gave me a quick nod. We entered the lower town of the court.
It was horrendous. The stench was the first thing to hit you. It smelled like crap, sweat and blood. The walls of gray stone were smeared with stuff I didn’t want to guess at. The people moved as if their lives had ended but they were still going through the motions of being alive. Living zombies. I shivered at the thought. The guards had circled around us once more. This time very tightly.
It was soon discovered why. Bands of thugs watched us at every corner.  When we reached about halfway through the town, I looked back. We were being followed. I moved to stand behind Gerry's family. My hand reached into my pocket. Gripping the wooden cylinder I had in one pocket and a rubber encased pipe in the other. Neither was very long. I had cut a hole in my jacket pocket to insert the pipe better. It was about six inches.
One strange thing about my life is that I had always been allergic to metals. Until Gerry told me who my father was, I just dealt with it. I didn’t wear any jewelry. All my utensils had to be plastic or with a rubber grip on them. It was something I just had to do. Now I understood.
The pipe only had the rubber grip large enough for my hand. It would severely cripple these guys if they got hit with it. I knew because it always did to me and I was only half fey. I was also pretty skilled in hand to hand fighting.
I grinned evilly at one of the followers as they moved closer. The guards stepped back. I knew they were getting ready to engage. Those following us, I was sure had little or nothing to lose. Plus they were fey. Immortal with a less then stellar life.
Gerry caught my sleeve. He looked worried. I smiled. It didn’t reassure him. We continued to walk deeper into the town. Up ahead I saw some people milling around in the streets. I was pretty sure where the ambush was to happen.
I took a step back. Bryant's hand brushed my back. I hadn't realized he was so close. He held up three fingers. That was when all hell broke lose. We were still about two blocks from the ambush sight. Bryant pulled a sword from his arm tattoo. It looked like living moonlight. He spun hacking at someone behind me.
I pulled out the pipe. Slipping the wooden cylinder over the knuckles of my right hand. Turning I pressed my back to Bryant's. I felt him move. I moved with him. We found a rhythm. He struck with his gleaming sword, turned, I struck with the pipe. The thugs fell away from us quickly.
His guards were well trained. The protectors circled the kids. I was the only one that had chosen to fight. Spinning in this odd dance with Bryant I let my focus narrow. I was only concerned with where the next strike was coming from.
“Right!” I heard Gerry yell. I was looking to my left. Without thinking I punched right. The wooden knuckles collided with something soft. I brought the pipe around. A thug was there raising a stick at me. I smashed the metal into his wrist. He dropped the stick, howling in pain he ran hunched over.
My breath came out slightly harder than before. I straightened back to protect Bryant's blindside. Only to discover there was nothing to protect him from. The thugs were either out cold, or had ran.
Those blue eyes locked with mine. He pressed the sword back into his arm. He reached out gripping my arm jus above the elbow. “You would make a fine fighter, once you're trained up a bit.” He smirked to take the sting from his words. I glared at him but couldn’t help the tiny curve of my lip. He laughed clapping me on the shoulder.
“Put that away.” He pointed to the pipe. I did as he asked. Shaking his head he went to check on his unit.
Gerry moved up to me. His eye huge behind the full beard that covered his face. He gripped my elbow. Grinning he said. “That was amazing! Do you even realize what you just did?” I was confused. All I had done was help protect everyone. What was so amazing about that? I explained this to him. He doubled over laughing. His sister came up to pat him on the back. She smiled up at me too.
“You did a great job, Raven.” I looked them over.
“Really I just didn’t want them to hurt anyone.”  A guard came up. In a very gruff voice he ordered us back to the group.
“Raven,…” Gerry was sober again. “You fought back to back with the captain of the guard. And kept up with him.” Gerry looked more impressed than what it really was. I gave a shrug.
“I’m sure it wasn’t that big of a deal.” There was a soft laugh behind me

“Why did you fight at my back?” Looking around I saw the Bryant had come back to walk with us. His head tilted slightly. His silver hair brushing the collar of his coat. The once ice blue eyes had softened, just a bit. I looked away.
“No one else was.” It sounded lame even as the words left my mouth. Yet it was the truth. All the other guards had spread out leaving a wide open area around their leader.
“Didn't you wonder why that was?” he asked. His tone curious. He was really trying to understand my actions. I shrugged a shoulder.
“Not really. I just thought I could help.” He straightened up. Giving me a small nod.
“If I had been so inclined as to make you bargain for me going back to save you that first day…” he let the words hang into he air a moment. “Your actions today would have paid it.” He added. He walked away. I frowned. What was that all about? Ariella had reappeared she answered my unspoken question.
“We don’t fight near the captain in order to not hinder him. He is much too fast and strong for any of us. Yet you managed to match his movements without growing too tired.” She looked super impressed with that. My frown deepened.
Had I hindered him? Could he have done better without me getting in his way? What about Gerry's warning of the guy neither of us had seen? He had gotten way to close.
Late in the day we escaped the first town. We hadn’t stopped. This left many of the other half breeds complaining. They were sore or tired or hungry. I surveyed them. They all looked weak to me. Dropping to the ground the moment we stopped.
All but one. She was slightly taller than the other females. Still several inches shorter than me. She stood to the side. Her hair was a darker brown than any of the others. Maybe she dyed it. I wasn’t sure. She wore shorts with sandals that had straps that twisted around her leg up to her knee. The yellow shirt she wore didn’t wash out her coloring. Her eyes flashed to mine. Silver, twin tiny moons locking on me. Her chin came up. A challenge? Maybe. I would keep an eye on her. For now I let her have this victory. I looked away.
The guard handed out more meal packs. I sat beside Gerry on a large boulder. We ate leaning against each other. It was a companionable silence. Some times he talked too much. Other times he knew when I needed silence. He gave it to me. This was what I valued above all else in him. He truly understood me.
“It's going to be dark soon. I would like to reach the midtown before then. Sleeping out in the open here is a great way to get murdered.” Bryant’s words encouraged us to eat quickly. We marched out not long after his announcement.
The darkness started to fall just after we got our first glimpse of the midtown entrance. It was another hour’s walkway. The doors were strong glowing things. As if moonlight fallen to the Earth. It was shaped into these beautifully carved doors.
Shimmering they had symbols engraved into it. Ariella, true to her promise, explained that they were spells of protection. “Its to keep the bad element of the lower town out.” She explained. This didn’t make since to me. It was even more bizarre once we entered.
The lower town was filth. This was light. The white buildings gleamed in the moonlight. There were flowers that blossomed all along the street. Ariella called them moon flowers. They only opened at night. They left a slight fragrance to the air. It lifted the spirits of all who were with us. The scent was soft and sweet. Renewing our energy. We walked through this town in a daze. It was vastly different. No chaos. Everything was neat and ordered. The few people we saw bowed their heads respectively to the guards.
As the city center came into view the guard spread out more. There was a large white fountain that glowed with the power from the moonlight. Circling it was more scented moonflowers. They were white with a red center. Bryant let us relax and look at the massive structure for a few minutes.
The guard lead us to a building around to the right of the fountain. Here we got a whole floor of rooms to ourselves. Each room had six beds in it. Gerry and his family shared one with me. Bryant, Ariella and Awen joined us.
Bryant sat on the bed across from me. He placed his travelling pack beside him. Ariella passed out meal packets. Awen and her took the beds closest to the door. I had taken one of the beds beside the window, Bryant taken the other. Both ways into the room was guarded. Gerry and his family were safe in the center.
Bryant shifted, our knees touched. I looked over at him. “Let me see it.” He demanded holding out his hand. I knew what he wanted. Reaching into my jacket I pulled the pipe out. I laid it on my jean covered lap, making sure the rubber grip faced him.
At first he just sat there looking down at it. The rubber grip was thick. He reached out. Gingerly he picked it up by the grip. He looked at it, fitting the grip into his fist. Expertly he swung it a few times. Looking back at me those cool blue eyes racked over my face.
“You're half human, why do you need the grip?” he asked.
“Raven's allergic to metal.” Gerry spoke up. Those eyes. They were like shining  beacons as they searched mine. He laid the pipe back into my lap.
“Wrap it in rawhide. Make the grip large enough for both your hands to fit. That way you can use both for more power. Or if it slips you have more to catch it.” I looked down at it. That was really good advice.
“How are you with a bow?” he asked. I shook my head.
“Never touched one.” I admitted. He gave me a short nod. Standing abruptly he walked out of the room. I could only guess that he went to check on the others. My eyes met Gerry's.
“I have never seen him be helpful like that before.” Gerry admitted. I shrugged. I was tired. This journey had been long. Stretching out on the bed I closed my eyes.  I heard Bryant come back in. Deciding to keep my eyes closed I slowed my breathing.
“What do you know about him?” I heard his soft lilt.
“Everything.” Gerry answered. There was a pause. Shuffling feet and the gentle squeak of the bed.
“I have been in the mortal world. I cant say I know everything about it…” another pause.
“He's not like the others.” Gerry said. “For one he’s darker. Looks more like an elf then a fairy.” More movement.
“Plus that metal allergy.”  Bryant's voice was soft. “I have been captain of this guard for longer than his mother's been alive.” He shifted his weight. “I haven’t met a fairy that could keep up with me, let alone a halfling.” He bemused.
“What are you getting at?” Gerry asked.
“There’s more to this one. I chose to gather him because he didn’t look like the others.” The conversation ended.  I heard Gerry's bed sink as he laid down. So I wasn’t what they expected. Who cares. I thought as sleep took me.