Keres's point of view:
I awoke to the chilling feeling that this sandstone castle always seems to imprint on me. Despite the warmth in the room the stone always seemed to chill me to the bone. My shadows dipped in and out of the bed as I stirred. They whispered about the movements of maids inside the castle, the movements of the guards as they trained, and that my mother was fortunately still asleep.
I listened to them hum lightly as they danced around my form. They gave me information but when they had none left, they wove themself around the room. They stayed away from the rising sunlight but one strand did spin its way through the wind chimes I had at my open window.
I smiled as I heard the light chiming of the sea glass wind chimes. After a moment of peace from the wind chimes, I sat up and went to stand with a stretch. I slowly padded to the window to gaze out of. The window let in cool air that comforted me despite the chill.
The peace reminded me of my own home. A place of tranquility for me. I hoped to return to my own home after my mission right after I dropped off the prisoner, but my mother requested me stay at the castle after my bold entrance yesterday. I knew she had some gripes with me but I would have gladly returned to hear them instead of staying in this place. I never liked it here, not since I was a child.
This place had always remained a shell of the beauty it represented. The warmth and life long sucked out of it. I let the soft shadows glide over my skin and their presence comforted me in the silent morning. They probably knew I needed some reassurance while being back here.
I still felt like a caged bird, being forced in a pretty box to be watched from the outside. Once I had desperately wished to escape those watching eyes, craved the freedom I hadn't been given. But once I tasted freedom and returned, they locked the cage again.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by a warm feeling in my chest. It's been their since my mission, sometimes it was dull others it was a radiating heat. At first I thought it was just a bruise forming. Now however it was almost comforting as if trying to pull me from my despair. It confused me but I didn't dwell to much on it as I went to get dressed.
I dressed comfortably for once, in a pair of thin light blue silk shorts and a loose white tank top that was embroidered with light blue details around the edges. The sea glass beads made it shine and I left my hair natural. The long silver strands are stunning against my golden skin. My hair left long was for my mother, she always hated the braids I put my hair into for training.
I knew she wanted to speak with me but I wasn't going to anticipate her words while in here. Instead I thought over how the encounter would go as I walked through the halls. I left my feet bare as I was set on reaching the ocean and wouldn't need them. I avoided a few servants by blending into the shadows and cloaking myself in the darkness the shadows provided. If they didn't know where I went then mother wouldn't either.
I managed to slip out of the castle without anyone seeing me and walked onto the islands thin strand of sand. The island which the castle resided was mostly mountainous which helped give the castle its giant size. However their was only one small beach to prevent the castle from flooding during stormy seas. The small beach faces the sea and is hidden from sight all around as the white sand fades into the ocean.
I sat on the shore as I listened to the crashing of waves. My shadows didn't like the sunlight but the warmth calmed me. My shadows stayed at my back as a protector and curled around my ears when the whispers of information where found. It was peaceful though as the sun rose above the horizon.
I was only distracted from my peace by the footsteps I heard in the sand. They movement was swift and light. The figure was to lightweight to be fathers yet not forceful enough to be my mothers. I didn't need to look over my shoulder as I said, "Ceram if you wanted to sneak up on me your probably should have started with putting away those chains."
I turned my head to see my brother. Dressed in a garb only my mother would have decided on. The long emerald shirt went past his waist and the sleeves went to his elbow while the white pants stopped right at his ankles. The outfit matched his white hair which was crowned with a silver circlet on his head. A large dark green emerald crowned the center of his forehead and it matched the ostentatious necklaces which were flecked with green gems.
I rolled my eyes before I said, "You look like mother." He stiffened at my comment before he said with aspiration, "What's wrong with that?!" I raised an eyebrow and I said, "Nothing, just very showy. You display your riches so easily. It's almost concerning." He fiddled with his sleeves before he said with sarcasm dripping from his tongue, "Like you would know anything about extravagance."
I nodded and said, "Your right I wouldn't. That luxury is saved for political pawns and future high lords." He stiffened and I felt the lecture before I rolled my eyes and said, "Have you got something to tell me or have you interrupted my peace for a pointless argument?"
Ceram stiffened before he said, "Mother is looking for you." I nodded as I turned away before I stated, "Oh I'm fully aware. Why do you think I'm down here?" He didn't comment. He crossed his thin forearms over his chest and his back stiffened. His skin was to light. He's been confined to much to this place. While I had a dark golden coloring his dark skin looked almost ashen. I didn't comment on it but figured he would get a healthier appearance before the high lords met next.
Ceram caught my attention as he said, "You can't ignore her forever." I looked away from him and towards the sea. His gaze was so much like her icy ones, but I still saw the young boy he had been. With bright blue eyes looking up so innocently. I had to shake my head to get rid of the memory. I turned back to meet his gaze and laced my voice with venom that he probably didn't deserve as I said, "I probably should. Everyone always says you should cut manipulative people out of your life. So why shouldn't I?"
Ceram took a step forward and it was with enough force that I released my shadows. It wasn't to attack him, but to be more of a deterrent towards the fight he wanted. My shadows flooded from where they were concealed within the shade from my body. They blocked my brother and wiggled around him. While silent to him I could hear the sharp noise they mimicked. The frequency reminded me of snake hissing mixed with growls from fire drakes.
Ceram startled back a few steps before I said, "Don't worry little brother, I'll meet with her and get it over with. Trust me I like my house, and she pays for it." Ceram didn't comment as he looked between the wall of shadows and me. I pulled them back a little to drift around me before I stood.
Ceram's eyes instantly went to the knife strapped to my thigh. What he couldn't see was the blade strapped to my hip and at the small of my back. I didn't moved from my standing position besides to cross my arms. We stared each other down for a bit before more memories made me soften.
I could see little Ceram barely to my waist in height, holding my mothers hand desperately as she walked him through court for the first time. How she had paraded him around proudly and treated him like the pride of the Summer Court. However I was reduced to the balcony to watch with a nanny or left in my room. I remembered the love and the fierce devotion she showed him. But not to me.
What Ceram didn't remember of mother was the times when she would grab the back of my neck so hard she'd leave bruises. How she used to show me off to other members until I wasn't considered desirable enough and was left in my room. Or the times when the frostbite burns I received covered my entire arms when he made a mistake and I took the blame for him.
It was different then. Despite the chilling feeling of the memories I pushed them away despite the way they clung to my skin when I was around this place. My brother didn't notice my pain as I kept my face locked with the shield over my emotions. Ceram shifted uneasily under my gaze before his mouth opened slowly with uncertainty and said, "You should be nice to her." I gave him an icy glare before he continued and said, "Father wanted to just push you out of Court, she convinced him to make you my master of arms." I didn't comment at the lies slipping from his lips.
Mother was the one who wanted to ship me off to the Court of Nightmares the second she learned of my shadowsinger abilities. She realized the danger it posed, and the unnatural presence it wrapped around me. I remembered the harsh words as she remarked that I couldn't get married now for I would only frighten them. No political ally would want me unless I was just for breeding stronger children in the Court of Nightmares. I shuttered at the thought of being nothing more than a breeder in that place of distrust and misery.
I didn't comment to my brother though, instead I only nodded and said, "Yes, instead my service is to be of use to you when you become high lord as lord general of the imperial armies and the master assassin." Ceram didn't even flinch but actually smiled as he said, "It's a good role for a strong shadowsinger. A role to provide protection and service to our Court."
I smiled almost with venom as I said, "Your Court. Not mine. I won't be the ruler, you will." Ceram blinked as if he didn't quite think of that. I left him to his startled look and said, "I'll find mother. Do stay away from the East wing. Wouldn't want mother to lose her temper with you as well." He didn't even comment before I let myself drift into the shadow realm.
She wasn't hard to find while shadow traveling. I had spent so much of my later childhood years making my shadows look out for her that they always knew where she was when I'm near. I ended up appearing in a sitting room. One of her favorites. The pale blue walls looked like ice and it faced Winter Courts direction.
She wore a light blue similar to the color of the wall. It was embroidered with gold detailing and on each of her shoulders was the house symbols of the Winter and Summer Court. An equal representation of her home Court and her ruling court. The ice sapphires laid gently against her neck in a large necklace and matched the frosted blue stones in her crown that rested on her head of white hair.
Mother was barely moving as she sat and drank a dark liquid, my guess was that it's coffee. Her gaze narrowed on me when I stepped out of the shadows before she set down her cup. She laced her hands with each other and looked me over as she said, "Couldn't you have walked through the door instead of appearing. It's offsetting." I didn't comment before she gestured to the chair in front of her. It was close enough that her powers could hurt but not enough to really damage me.
I slid into the chair farthest from her before I watched her movements. She didn't say anything as she used the ceramic cream cup to pour in some cream and a few lumps of sugar to her coffee. Her eyes locked with mine when she was done and I saw the ice in them. The entire ocean could have frozen with that glare. Even my shadows drifted back at the look. The bright white and baby blue gaze could freeze my soul if I let it.
My mother's head tilted and said with a calm voice, "You owe your brother and father an apology." I raised my eyebrows before she said, "Your actions yesterday could have been thought though better. I don't remember teaching you to barge into a meeting and embarrass your family that way."
I sucked air through my gritted teeth before I said, "well the man was bleeding out, mother. Their wasn't much I could do besides drop him into fathers care for questioning." She scoffed and waved a hand in the air in front of her face as she said, "You could have just dropped him into the dungeons and left him. He isn't important anyway in the grand scheme of things. Just a commoner with a vengeance."
I gripped my thighs tight enough to draw blood with my nails before I said, "The threat is serious enough for them to attack the Night Court." My mother look up from her cup now curious. Her eyes were bright with interest and she folded her hands in front of her, letting the large gems on her hand gleam in the light as she said, "Now that's interesting do tell." I waved a hand to the side as if dismissing the idea and only said, "A few of the rebel group apparently made it into the house during a meeting. Took a few children hostage but they were dealt with, without any casualties to the Night Court."
My mother almost looked disappointed as she raised her cup to sip her tea. She did it so delicately I thought she'd drop the cup but when she placed it back on the saucer she said, "How interesting. The information will provide useful to your father. He is more worried about this than I. Getting ready for all the courts gathering will be top priority." She shifted her skirts as if to empathize the importance. I just rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair before I reached for a scone.
The metal fork stabbed my hand before I was even close and I jerked back. My mother didn't even look up from her own scone as she said, "None for you. You will need to fit into your new dress for the event and you need to slim down. Your form really is unflattering." I shifted my weight as I leaned back. Despite the fact that the comments weren't new or unusual, they still stung.
She stared at me when I didn't comment and asked, "So how did you find the guy you dragged in here all bloody?" I raised an eyebrow before I asked, "Do you really want to know?" She nodded and her sleek snow hair flipped over her alabaster shoulder as she said, "Of course. For the good of the Court, I want to know how many more are out there." I sat back in my chair before I said, "I found the information floating through taverns in the fishers district of Adriata."
She raised an eyebrow but didn't comment as I continued and said, "Traced it back to a particular source before finding information on the man spreading the ideas. He's the one in the dungeon. Bastard can't keep his mouth shut but it was hard to find him cause he kept crossing over court lines."
My mother nodded before she said, "How strange. Well it's nothing that you can't handle. I should know I trained you myself." I didn't comment on her training even as she preened. Considering the only training she ever gave me was on ice abilities, and that she barely ever trained me on them. Their still a bit of a weak point for me but I tried to ignore that part of my abilities as much as I could.
She sighed before she put down her tea cup. She reached for my hand and I let her take it. Despite the icy chill she has it didn't hurt me. I haven't provoked her anger so I didn't expect her to before she said, "I want you to be here for the event with the high lords. At least until this threat is over. Your brother needs your protection."
I nodded knowingly before I said, "I concur. He's never been know for his magically abilities." She flinched and dropped my hand, before she stiffened and said, "Don't speak ill of your brother. Power isn't everything. He has the natural leadership qualities and brains of a high lord. Something that far out ways power." I raised an eyebrow before I mumbled, "When standing up to highlords it won't." She stiffened but didn't comment before she said, "Plus you will be by his side, one is only as capable as their second in command."
I didn't comment but the praise felt good, like a warmth filling the coldness. The shadows that I'd been hiding flowed out a little at the praise. My mother physically recoiled the instant they approached her though. I felt my mood suddenly dull and I looked down before I heard movement. My hand instantly went to the knife around my thigh before my shadows drifted towards the door.
My mother didn't flinch as they went around her protectively but when the shadows hummed of comfort I knew it was only my father. He walked in with a large smile on his face that instantly brightened the room. My shadows twisted around him easily and he smiled at them before my mother said, "Your late."
He blinked but didn't lose the smile as he said, "Seastar I'm not late. I just anticipated Keres would hide from you a bit longer." She glared at him and she tisked him as he sat before she said, "She's better than that. Plus what else would she do. I requested her presence. She's not exactly got any more important obligations."
I went to comment but my father gave me a side look. I let it go and instead snatched a scone. My mother nearly smacked my hand but I was quicker. She sighed before she said, "This is important Keres so listen closely." I looked between my mother and father and knew then that I best stay silent.
While my parents are mates, I think the cauldron did it out of spite to my dear dad. They couldn't be more wrong for each other. They were more opposites than they were similar. More separate than together. Even now I could fit my whole form between them. They sat so far apart compared to other mates I'd seen who tend to grip each other like that is their lifeline.
I felt immediately ganged up on and I tensed. My shadows flowed around me in the best attempt to hide me back in the shadows where I wanted to be. Away from their prying eyes and icy gazes. My father noticed my expression and said, "It's nothing bad per say." I raised an eyebrow before my mother quickly said, "You have to get married." I nearly choked on air from the comment and her bluntness. My shadows stilled in surprise and nearly recoiled at the idea. I took a breath to calm myself before I said, "Excuse me?!"
My mother went to say something but my father waved a hand. She silenced but not happily. My father went to speak with her but she had already stood from her chair. Her dress flowed around her petite form well and framed her tiny body as she said, "You tell her then. Let her decide how she handles this. Considering how she's handled our families image in the past I hope she chooses wisely."
I saw her form move out of the room before my father sighed. I wanted to flee, to disappear. Never had I wanted to escape more than now. The only comfort was the warm feeling thrumming with my heart and the warmth that filled my chest. The feeling reminded me of a hug. The warmth was almost comforting in my terror. I let myself relax into it before my fathers gaze made me return to the present with a mixture of anger and fear.
My father sat taller and he said, "This was not my idea. Of that I can assure you." I relaxed a bit and so did he before he said, "It was only an idea, not a command. It was an idea to join two courts together. Just as our mating did for both the Winter and Summer courts. Both Courts are closer than ever now." I didn't comment before I said, "I do think she's lost her mind with this idea."
My father gave me a look before I waved a hand towards her vacant chair and said, "Oh come on, you think that sounds sane?! She basically told me I'm getting married, end of story. She didn't seem to care about me or whom I am supposedly marrying as long as it positively effects my brother." My father rubbed his face with a resigned sigh as he said, "She is just trying to build political alliances as best she can."
I felt the anger burn in me. She wants to build alliances by using me as a betting chip or a cash cow. How typical. I had anticipated this but never thought she'd ever stoop so low. But I knew she would do either an arranged marriage or she'd manipulate the situation of whoever I do decide to spend my life. She twist the story to seem like she helped me find my mate and how he perfectly fit in our happy family. That was her goal. To somehow make my love life a positive story to help my brothers court.
I shook my head, letting the silver hair whip around my face as I said, "Absolutely not. Not only will I never in all my years be married to someone related to or associated with a High Lords family, but I won't let her arrange it to help my brother." My father sighed before I said, "You've went hundreds of years without marriage. You had other fae around I assume but you waited for your mate. If that's what I have to say to get me out of this idea then fine. I'm waiting for my mate." I didn't comment on the fact that I hoped to die before I met my mate but that was a separate issue.
My father nodded and said, "It's a reasonable decision, but your mother will still see fit to parade you around at events." I snatched another biscuit as my shadows twirled around. They were about as angry as I am. Their form wasn't the delicate curled shadows they typically are, but angled and sharp in anger. I didn't push the topic further, knowing better than to go against my father when my mother was involved.
We didn't speak for a while, I think he was letting me calm myself in the silence. I appreciated it but when I turned to look back at him he took it as a window to speak. He leaned back in his chair before he asked me, "Why do you seek to anger your mother so much? Why do you actively try to go against her helping your brother become a high lord?"
I raised an eyebrow and my shadows froze. My father seemed to sense he had set me off as his eyes darted to the shadows before back at me. I felt the sympathy for my father, but it was only a speck against the burning rage I felt. I raised my hand and let my power flow to all the water in the room. The tea, the water in the plants, the humidity all clumped together into spheres of waters and floated up towards the ceiling.
I leveled my gaze with my fathers before I said, "My mother favors my brother since we were children. I have always been the second favorite despite being the eldest. I got neglected because I wasn't male." My father didn't speak as I turned my hand and focused the liquid into sharp arrow tips. Hundreds probably in the room from all the liquid. Each were of varying sizes and strength.
I didn't look at my father as I focused on the arrow heads and continued, "I trained and trained and trained to try and win some attention. I put up with the dresses, the lies, the harsh words. I put up with everything she did, to get a sliver of a smile. A glimpse of pride. But alas it never came close to the grins she has when my brother speaks. She never sees his faults. Only my own."
I let my rage freeze the room. To solidify the liquid into solid form. My shadows twisted with them around the room, feeding from my anger as well. My father barely moved let alone commented as I said, "So forgive me if I'm done with her plans and plots when she can't give me the faintest sense of recognition nor pride." I tightened my hand into a fist and the ice exploded into frozen sparkles of light.
My father hadn't even shifted from his chair before I said, "She has made it perfectly clear since he was born that I am not her top priority. So in a sense she's not mine anymore." I pushed away from the table before I shadow traveled to the window. I looked out towards the mainland before I said, "I have better things to do. Soldiers to train, information to find, people to kill."
He nodded which for once acknowledged that he was still listening. Something my mother never gave. It fizzled some of the anger in me, the anger which made me want to throw a monsoon at my mother. I turned to look back at him as I brushed off my shorts from the frost and said, "There's a rebellion brewing didn't you know. She may dismiss it but the threat is quite clear. So while shes out planning parties and pretending I don't have anything better to do, I'll be doing my job."
I had nearly drifted into the shadow realm when my father mumbled, "She may have made my son into a political figurehead, but her neglect made you into something greater." I paused and drifted back into the solid realm before my father stood.
He fixed his dark blue attire that looked so similar to my brothers it was almost humorous as he said, "I think she knew how strong you were and that you could take less attention than your brother. You and him are very different remember." I waved a hand and the shadows gathered around my form as I said, "Oh I don't doubt that, but I do doubt her doing it with good intentions. For example, what do you remember of me becoming a shadowsinger?" He stiffened as I hit a sensitive mark before he said, "She wasn't herself then, you know that." I didn't comment before I said, "Yes. Well then, she still mustn't be herself."
I turned away and said, "I'll be at my home. If you need me don't send my brother. He'll only end up with claw marks. His entitlement is getting worse than mothers. I hoped to never see that day arrive but here it is." With that I disappeared into the shadow realm and traveled out of the damn castle. Out of the confining walls and towards Adriata. It would take a little while to actually get to my home along the coast. A few days trip for most, but luckily being a shadowsinger had its perks in travel.