Amarantha's Daughter

The Deal

Prythian did actually know what would hit them. A couple of scouts from Briallyn's delegated forces were all that returned, and with them the news that Hybern had lost the war. That day had been so dreadful that Dianthe had hid in her chambers, feigning illness, and yet she couldn't help but overhear that not only had Nesta Archeron survived, but she and her sister had been the ones to deal the killing blow to the all mighty King of Hybern, Briallyn's ally.

Briallyn was enraged. The anger was familiar enough. Dianthe simply stayed out of the way. She got scared when Briallyn quieted down because that was when the scheming began. By interfering with her letters, Dianthe learned that the other human queens wanted no part in another war. Good, maybe she would quiet down. Let it go. Briallyn would be unable to winnow alone, and whilst her army was sizable, it would be useless alone against the fae Courts of Prythian and all their tricks and devices.

The silence was starting to get unbearable after only a few days, and with no new letters, Dianthe hadn't a clue what was going on. This was why she was currentlY standing on Briallyn's balcony, peeking through her window like a petty thief. It was dark and she couldn't sense her. Where was she?

An unnatural rustle in the bushes caught her attention. She looked to the gardens, but didn't see anyone there. Further away however, outside the royal stables, someone was saddling a horse. Were they stealing it? Where were the guards? Dianthe made her way down from the balcony as gracefully as she could and scurried closer.

She hid in a bush as a woman was helped up on the horse by one of the guards. Not just any woman: Briallyn. Where was she going at this time? It was late. And why was she going alone? Dianthe waited until her sister set off and hurried into the stables after identifying herself to the guard. With no time to lose. She found a horse and mounted it without saddling. She didn't have the time if she wanted to follow her sister. Fortunately she was a skilled rider.

Dianthe made sure to keep just enough of a distance so she wouldn't be caught without losing track of where Briallyn was going. It was cold and she was neither dressed for the weather, nor the trip, but she couldn't quit when she'd gotten this far.

The hours went by and Dianthe was beginning to question her own intelligence, motivations and logic. She was cold. She had brought nothing that could help her defend herself, not to mention that she was starting to get hungry. Where the hell was Briallyn going?

Suddenly, Briallyn took a right where there was no path, venturing into a forest. Dianthe followed. The forest got thicker the further in they went, and then, just when she thought she'd lost her sister, the forest opened up to a view of a great lake. She got off her horse. With no bridle, she had no way of tying him to a tree to ensure that he stayed, but she needed a closer look and it was hard to hide a horse without using the trees as cover. "Please stay." She asked the horse. It looked at her as if it would debate it, but could make no promises, which she supposed was fair enough.

The lake was big, but she could still see that there was someone on the other side of it. And that someone, her sister was riding towards. She truly hoped the person wasn't who she feared it was. She bit the insides of her cheek while debating whether she should just quit while she was ahead. All of her good senses told her to turn 180 degrees and head back home, but who was she kidding? She was way too curious to do that. The dark cover of the night worked to her advantage as she was wearing a black robe. Pulling the hood over her head she took a breath and then started sneaking after her sister, ducking behind a bush just close enough to the man so that she might hear them.

If her gut feeling wasn't enough to go by, the number of suspiciously large swans camped in the water was enough proof. They had all been warned not to trust men around large lakes, lest they be tricked into staying and turned into the big white birds by night themselves. Swans weren't local to this part of the land, so her sister was truly meeting with Koschei, the sorcerer who'd imprisoned her dearest friend Vassa. The Immortal man some people literally referred to as death himself. And she was dumb enough to follow and spy on them. She would totally get caught! Maybe even turned into a swan! Of all dumb things she'd done, this was by far the dumbest!