𝐂 𝐎 𝐒 𝐌 𝐈 𝐂 𝐋 𝐎 𝐕 𝐄 !
𝙲 𝙷 𝙰 𝙿 𝚃 𝙴 𝚁 𝚃 𝚆 𝙾 !
( 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔱 ? )
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
"𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊?"
The moment Ana opened her eyes, she knew something wasn't right. First off, the room she was in was too bright. Last she remembered, she and her friends had fallen asleep in a dark room while watching old Christmas movies, bundled up in layers of blankets with hot cocoa in their hands. Now, Ana was lying on a plush mattress in a room that she didn't recognize, the sunlight too bright to belong to the winter morning.
Slowly, the blonde pushed the comforter away from her body and stood up from the mattress, a chill running down her spine when her feet touched the cold wooden floors. With soft steps (she had no clue if there was anyone around who could hear her), she approached the window and gently brushed aside the sheen curtains.
Outside, it looked like the world was encased in endless spring. The grass was vibrant, dotted with flowers of every color, and the sky was a bright, cloudless blue. Ana's frown deepened. If she wasn't confused about where she was before, she was certainly confused now. Because nowhere in Brooklyn was there a place like this, filled with gardens and flowers and . . . well, nature.
Ana moved back over to the bed she'd woken up in, eyes immediately flickering toward the bedside table. Sitting there, looking untouched, were Ana's stele and dual kindjals made of adamas. The blonde immediately grabbed the weapons, bringing them with her as she sat down on the mattress.
The kindjals' blades glowed bright white in her hands, responding to the angelic blood that ran through her veins. Having it on her made the twinge of worry she'd felt upon waking up vanish completely. If she was somewhere dangerous, at least she had both her signature weapon and her stele with her to help her escape.
The sudden sound of footsteps had Ana diving under the covers. She ran her stele over her heightened speed rune which rested on her left hip, hoping that she wouldn't need it but knowing that it was a possibility. Taking in a deep breath, she calmed her breathing and relaxed her body and face, having perfected the act of "sleeping" long ago. It came in handy more times than she wished to admit.
Ana had to fight her body to remain relaxed as the door opened, the footsteps continuing into the room before stopping mere inches away from the bed. There was a moment of silence, then Ana felt the bed dip not too far from where she was lying. Her fingers curled tightly around the hilt of her kindjals, and with a steady breath in, she attacked.
Her eyes snapped open as her body shot up from the bed, the right kindjal aimed for the heart. There was a shout of pain as her blade embedded itself in whoever's chest it was that had dared come near her. However, instead of her weapon pushing through the heart, it was stopped by something cold and hard. Her eyes snapped up to meet the eyes of whoever she'd stabbed, her heart nearly stopping.
Immediately, Ana pulled the blade from his chest and jumped back, landing on the other side of the bed. She had to put as much distance between her and him. She promised herself she'd never let him within arms reach of her again, and since she'd obviously just failed to kill him, she had to keep that promise.
"How the fuck are you alive?" Her voice was cold as ice, eyes set in a steely glare. "I killed you, so how are you here?"
The man⎯if you could even call a monster like him a man⎯blinked at her like she was an idiot. "What are you talking about, girl? You never killed me?"
Ana blinked, and suddenly she was looking at someone completely different.
Before her was a man, maybe a year or so older than herself. His skin was tanned from days in the sun, hair long and golden. Green eyes stuck out from behind the golden mask that covered half of his face, and pointed ears were accented by the sunlight streaming in through the windows.
"Who the fuck are you?" She looked around, trying to see if he still remained.
The man continued to glare at her, his eyes burning with fury. "Who am I? Who are you and why did you stab me? And why did you say you'd killed me before?"
Ana picked up on his accent in an instant once her confusion cleared a bit. It wasn't one she heard often. Only when she entered the Seelie Courts did she ever hear and accent like that. That only made Ana tighten her grip on her kindjals. After the Wars, she wasn't very trusting of the Seelie. Not after everything they'd done.
"I'm sorry. Was I supposed to ask you kindly why you kidnapped me and brought me here before I stabbed you?" The sarcasm dripped from her lips like honey. Now was not the time, but she couldn't help it. In stressful situations, she reverted to sarcasm. "Tell me where I am, who you are, and why you kidnapped me before I slit your throat."
He squared his shoulders. "How dare you threaten me in my own home? How dare you attempt to kill me after I've given you shelter from the world beyond these walls?"
Ana gaped at him. "Might I point out yet again that you kidnapped me? What? You want me to thank you?"
"I didn't kidnap you! You appeared from out of nowhere in the middle of my dinner and landed on the table, effectively breaking it," he explained. Ana could see what looked like claws trying to rip free of his skin. "So, I will ask you again. Who are you and why did you stab me?"
The blonde didn't answer. Instead, she mulled over his words carefully, trying to detect a lie. If she was with the Seelies, she knew they couldn't lie. Yes, they could dance around the truth, but they could never lie.
She'd appeared out of nowhere? She'd never done that before. Ana had traveled through portals, but never had she just appeared randomly. Especially not into the Seelie Court. There were runes that kept people from entering the Seelie Courts without permission since the Wars, and Ana was sure she didn't have their permission after her last interaction with them. (More specifically, the Seelie Queen.)
"You say . . . you say I appeared?" He nodded. Ana ran her free hand through her hair. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit! Oh, I am so not gonna be home for Christmas."
The man frowned at her in confusion. "Christ-mas?"
Ana gaped. "You don't know⎯but I thought all Downworlders knew what mundane holidays were."
"Downworlders? Mundane? What are you talking about?" The blonde studied him closely. He seemed genuinely confused. Which brought back that small hint of worry that Ana had woken up with.
"You . . . I'm in the Seelie Courts, right?" she asked, trying to make sense of everything.
The man shook his head. "You are in the Spring Court. My court, and one of the seven courts of Prythian."
Ana blinked. "Prythian?" He nodded. "What country is that in? How far away from New York am I?"
"What is New York?"
That sentence alone caused Ana's heart to plummet into her stomach. "New York? You know, the Big Apple? Manhattan, Brooklyn, NYC? Um . . . Broadway, the Macy's Parade, the Ball Drop for New Years Eve?" The man only seemed to grow more confused. Ana tugged at her roots. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. What the hell happened when I fell asleep?"
Upon seeing her panic, the man settled his rage. "My name is Tamlin. And it seems as though you and I have much to discuss."
⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯
Ana sat across from Tamlin and another man, Lucien, in the study. Though, "study" was not the word Ana would use. It seemed more like a library with desks and places to study. But, that wasn't the most pressing issue at the moment.
"Explain it to me one more time. Please?" Ana asked, her head aching from the events of that morning.
Tamlin nodded. "Lucien and I are High Fae. We reside here, in the Spring Court, where I am the High Lord."
"Which means you rule over the Spring Court, right?" Tamlin gave another nod.
"We are in the land of Prythian, which is where the high courts reside. There is the Spring Court, the Autumn Court, the Winter Court, the Summer Court, the Day Court, the Dawn Court, and the Night Court." Lucien seemed to shiver at the last court, his mechanical golden eye whirring loudly. "My court is the closest to the wall, which separates the faerie realm from the human realm, which is where we both believed you had come from originally.
"Last night at dinner, Lucien and I were eating when you appeared in a ray of light and crashed into my table, breaking it. You woke briefly, your eyes golden, and said a name before finally falling asleep again." Ana swallowed thickly. "I'm sure the rest can be put into place by yourself."
She nodded slowly, wanting to slump down in her chair. But she couldn't. Not when she was in a whole other world, separated from her friends and her Parabatai. God, they had to be worried sick about her.
Running her hands over her face, she sat up straighter. "Okay, so I'm somehow in a whole other world that is different from my own and I have no clue on how to get back. That's perfect. Wonderful, in fact. I just won two wars and as a gift from Raziel, I'm transported to a whole other fucking dimension."
Lucien tilted his head. "You were in a war?"
"Two wars." Ana held up two fingers. She fought to live in those wars. Like hell she'd let anyone diminish that number to one. Still, her shoulders slumped slightly, as if mentioning the wars set the weight back upon them tenfold. "I should be at the Institute right now, opening presents with my Parabatai and friends. Not sitting here, talking with High . . . Fae?"
Tamlin leaned forward on his hands. "You say 'Fae' like you've never heard of our kind before."
Ana shook her head. "In my world, we refer to all faeries as Seelies. It's just a sort of catch-all term since people don't have all the time in the world to memorize the different types of faeries and mythical beings." She looked down at her stele, running her thumb over the engraved initials. "As awful as that sounds, it's true."
"Sounds like something humans would do," Lucien spat bitterly, crossing his arms.
Ana went to retort, but she stopped herself. It wasn't smart to tell them that she was in fact not human, because she didn't know if she could trust them completely. She'd let enough slip already. It wasn't wise for her to go spouting all of her truths in a new world that she didn't know anything about. She didn't know what they would do if she admitted to being half angel, half human. Nephilim.
Ana swallowed thickly again and sighed. She met Tamlin's eyes hesitantly. The looked so much like his. "Look, I don't know how to get back home, and if you say the world is dangerous, then I need somewhere to stay. I won't bother you, and you don't even have to acknowledge me. I can fend for myself here and work for my stay, but I just . . . I need time to find a way home."
Tamlin studied her for a moment. "You're free to stay here until you can find a way home. Roam the grounds, roam the house. Free of any chores or work. Just don't cross the wall or venture too far off the property. That's all I ask in return."
Ana nodded. "Thank you." She stood up from the chair, deciding she needed some time to clear her head and begin thinking of ways to get home. To find a portal or something that led to her world. However, as she reached the doorway that led out of the study, she turned back and gave Tamlin a hesitant smile. "Sorry for stabbing you in the heart. Reflex, I suppose."
With that, she left the study, completely unaware of the laughter that was escaping Lucien's lips at his friend's misfortune.
⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯
It didn't take long for Ana to decide that she despised eternal Spring. Firstly, the amount of pollen was causing her allergies to act up. Secondly, the mild heat was driving her up a wall. Ana was one for variation. She loved winter and the chill it brought her, allowing her to bundle up and drink warm cocoa to heat herself up. She loved summer and the way it made her skin glow, allowing her freckles to appear and giving her warm weather to work out in. And she loved autumn for the flavors, the weather, and the scents.
But spring? Got, she hated spring. She understood why it was needed, but no part of her wanted it. So, if this really was a punishment, they chose the right court to place her in.
With the sun shining on her back, the girl walked the extensive gardens, fiddling with her dagger. She could see the other fair folk wandering around. Servants, she supposed, all wearing masks like Tamlin and Lucien. Ana didn't understand the masks, since the Seelies in her world didn't wear them, but she didn't feel like asking. Not after stabbing Tamlin and accusing him of kidnapping her.
A servant by the name of Alis had brought her something to wear after Ana's meeting with Tamlin and Lucien. It was a simple dress made of olive green silk that made the blue in her eyes stand out. Ana never considered herself much of a dress person, but she didn't oppose. Tamlin was nice enough to allow her to stay after she stabbed him. Why ruin the niceness by complaining about the dress code, right?
One of the kitchen servants had given her an apple to eat since she hadn't had anything since the night before and it was already almost lunch time.
Luckily, the walk had done just what Ana had hoped for. The longer she spent outside, surrounded by nature and light, the more her head cleared and allowed for her to think. There was always the Parabatai bond she could try and speak with Izzy through. But if she contacted Izzy, would they be able to do anything to get her back? How many worlds away was she? And did Magnus or the Seelie Queen or anyone have the power to bring her back?
Raziel, possibly, but Ana wasn't sure she liked the angel enough to ask for his help.
Running her fingers along the leaves of the gardens, Ana came to a stop by a fountain in one of the many courtyards. She sat on the stone edge of the fountain and dipped her fingers into the water, watching the ripples form alongside the ones already created by the running spring. Her reflection shone back at her, showing her just how confused she seemed.
Her eyes seemed to be a brighter blue than even the spring sky, her hair glowing golden, but not like the sun. No, more like . . . well, she didn't know. But it wasn't like the sunlight casting images along her tan skin. It was something different entirely. Something that made her stand out against the background of the Spring Court.
She liked it very much.
Letting out a breath, Ana removed her hand from the water and took another bite out of her apple. Her eyes roamed over the expanse of spring before her, that same distaste forming in her gut.
Then, a flicker of golden movement caught her eye. A great beast was running towards the woods, its golden fur gleaming in the sunlight and its antlers glinting from how sharp they were. Ana stood, nearly dropping her apple as it disappeared into the trees.
She'd never seen anything like it before.
Lucien suddenly appeared at Ana's side, swiftly and silently enough that it would've startled her had she not been a trained Shadowhunter.
"There goes Tamlin," he said.
Ana gaped. "That thing was Tamlin?"
Lucien nodded. "He has an ability to shape-shift. A human girl killed one of his sentries in the human realm, and according to the Treaty, she either dies at Tamlin's hand or is forced to replace Andras here in Prythian. An eye for an eye, life for a life."
The blonde just gripped her apple tighter. "And when will this human arrive? It would be nice to know I'm not the only non-faerie here."
"Only a human would find pride in being around other humans," Lucien said. It was supposed to be a snide comment, but Ana didn't see it that way. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to spend time with people like them? Ana personally found more comfort in being surrounded by humans instead of Downworlders. "In four days, I would say. The wall is far from any human settlements. Two days there, two days back."
Ana turned to Lucien and allowed her lips to curl into a smirk. "So it's just you and me and the faerie workers in this court?" Lucien looked at her oddly, but nodded. "I feel sorry for you. I can be very annoying when left without too many people to talk to."
Lucien groaned. "Cauldron save me."
"Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!"
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
𝐀 𝐔 𝐓 𝐇 𝐎 𝐑 𝐒 𝐍 𝐎 𝐓 𝐄 !
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⬩❖⬩ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hate Tampon so much, but I have to get through ACOTAR in order to reach ACOMAF, so sorry to all of you who hate Tampon like me, but deal with it. Ana really wanted to kill him when she first saw him, but that's only because she thought he was someone from her past. Someone who she despised more than anything. Part of me really wished she could have killed him, but his stupid stone heart stopped her.
*dramatically sighs*
Anyway, we'll be seeing Feyre in the next chapter and possibly Rhys!
Please comment and vote!
Love you all!
~ a.h.