War of Winter (Iron Fey Fanfiction)

Chapter 6 - Rowan

A sharp knock on the door brought Crystal from her deep sleep. Annoyed, she groaned and sat up, prepared to slice through the throat of whoever had disturbed her sleep. Unless, of course, it was her mother or the queen.

   She yanked the door open to find a small goblin standing there, shaking when he saw her and staring at her with terror in his eyes. Good, she thought. "What is it?" she snapped.

   "H-her Majesty s-sent m-me to fetch y-you for d-d-dinner," he stammered. "S-she w-wanted...uh...t-to...er..."

   Crystal glared ice spears at the thing. "Spit it out, fool!" she yelled. Her temper was hanging by a thread - a trait from her father, her mother had told her once.

   The goblin jumped in surprise and gulped. "H-her Majesty wanted you to wear a dress to dinner," he said. Crystal rolled her eyes and slammed the door in the goblins face. She turned and went to her bag, pulling out a deep blue dress-like tunic. If she must wear a dress, fine. She'd wear a "dress".

   After pulling it on, she pulled her boots back on and strapped a couple knives to her belt, sliding one into her boot. Then, she opened the door to see the goblin covering his face as if she were about to hit him. "All right, I'm ready," she said, irritated. "And you can stop acting like I'm going to eat you!"

   "R-right this w-way, Lady," he stammered, quickly turning and leading Crystal toward the dining room. They walked down a couple long hallways before the goblin stopped in front of a doorway, two guards standing on either side.

   Crystal almost kicked the goblin as she strode into the dining room, beholding the long mahogany table and the five figures sitting at it. She almost turned and walked right back out. Almost.

   "Crystal, dear, glad of you to join us!" her mother spoke up, sipping dark red wine. "What took you so long?"

   Crystal briefly glanced at the other figures, Sage looking at her expectantly, Rowan grinning at her like a cat that had just cornered a mouse, and Ash staring at his plate like it held the answer to all his questions. "I was resting," she said, approaching the chair next to her mother - right across the table from Rowan.

   "I hope Grimle didn't give you too much trouble," Mab said, taking an elegant sip from her fancy wine glass. "He can be a bit...irritable sometimes."

   "There was no trouble," Crystal replied, spooning some vegetables onto her plate. Everyone had already begun eating. Crystal took a hesitant bite of a carrot. She breathed in deeply. It was amazing. She tried not to eat too fast but the effort was almost unbearable. The food was the best she'd ever tasted.

   "Do you hunt?" someone asked Crystal. She was happy to answer until she realized it was Rowan who spoke. She finally looked up and met his blue eyes.

   Damn it, why does he have to be so gorgeous? Crystal thought. "Yes," she said as if it were obvious. Her mother kicked her sharply under the table with her seven-inch heels. Crystal clenched her teeth and moved her legs away from her mother's reach. "Yes, I do hunt a bit. More often in the Summer season though, when prey is more accessible." She went back to picking at her food. She was no longer hungry for some reason.

   "I spotted a white hart a few days ago near the Wyldwood," Rowan was saying. "Perhaps we could track it down." He smiled and took a bite of a green bean. "If you want to, of course."

   Crystal really didn't want to think about what she wanted to do to Rowan. "That would be nice," she said tersely. She realized frost had now spread over half of her fork. "I just purchased a new set of arrows at the Goblin market a few weeks ago and have yet to use them."

   Ash was looking at her strangely. A slight furrow appeared between his eyebrows. "Is there some way my brother has offended you, Lady Crystal?" He fought to smile as Rowan glared ice at him. So he was taunting his older brother. Crystal could play at this game.

   "No, not necessarily," she said. "Other than just existing." Crystal gave the sweetest, coldest smile she could muster.

   "CRYSTAL!" her mother snapped, shocked. She was staring at her daughter wide eyed with shock. "Apologize," she hissed.

   Crystal glanced at Rowan, who sat back in his seat. His smile never wavered. Her comment hadn't even fazed him. In fact, he seemed encouraged by it. "I'm very sorry, Your Highness," Crystal said, glaring back at him, not sorry at all.

   Sage was fighting not to laugh and Ash fought not to roll his eyes. Rowan's versions of flirting were very eccentric. Mab looked quite amused herself.

   "Then we shall go hunt the hart tomorrow, since the Winter Formal isn't until after tomorrow," Rowan said, taking a sip of his wine. Crystal would have given anything to reach over and splash it all over his achingly handsome face.