War of Winter (Iron Fey Fanfiction)

Chapter 32 - King of Bones

           All was darkness and tilting velvety colors across Crystal's vision. She caught the sound of voices but they appeared to be far away, and she felt strange, as if she were floating. The more she tried to focus on the voices, the farther they sounded and the more confusion she became. 

  It must have been days, weeks, or years, Crystal didn't know, when she finally dragged her eyes open. A bright light insulted her vision, making her squint and bring a lazy arm to shield them. A few moment later, the realization hit her that it was the bright snow she was staring at. Slowly pulling her arm away from her face, she glanced around, groggy and trying in vain to get her head to stop spinning. She sat at the base of a large tree, the snow soft beneath her bottom. 

   She saw several figures, all sidhe, standing around or sitting around meager campfires, nursing ale or cooked meat. All wore black and had strange marks on their faces to make them appear skeletal. 

  Crystal's brow furrowed in confusion and she absentmindedly felt for her weapons. They were gone. All of them. Beginning to panic, she searched desperately, only then realizing how heavy her limbs felt, as if they were made of lead. Her wrists were bound tightly with rope, leaving rashes on her skin. 

  "It'll wear off in a couple hours, don't you worry, little kitten," a rough, snarly voice said to her left. She jumped and turned to meet the eyes of a small redcap, his teeth a deep red from a recent meal. He wore a heavy fur coat and his red hat, and he looked not far from genuinely pissed. 

  "What...who are you? Where am I?" she stammered, trying to calm herself. Deep breaths, Crystal, deep breaths. She watched the redcap approach and begin cutting the rope tied around her wrists. She was so out of it that she hadn't noticed they'd been tied. 

  "Shut your trap, girl!" he snapped, spitting at my feet. "You're requested in the King's tent," he said, hacking up something vile and brown. 

 Crystal frowned and almost kicked him, but considering the circumstances, she'd probably be either bitten or tortured, so she held back while gritting her teeth. She tried to remember what happened before she ended up at the base of the tree with her hands tied. Her mind was muddled and it hurt to think, so she let the redcap lead her to the King's tent. 

 The tent they came to was small and a rusty dun color, not very king-like in Crystal's opinion. Two guards dressed in black armor with their faces marked the same as the skeletal figures in the forest, stood on either side of the tent entrance, glaring at Crystal as she and the redcap approached. She was too confused and groggy still to glare back. The redcap grunted and pulled one tent flap away, letting Crystal go through. 

  A tall figure stood on the opposite end of the tent, sipping an elegant glass of red wine. Or was it blood...she couldn't tell. "I hope my soldiers haven't treated you too poorly," the figure drawled, slowly turning so Crystal could see his face. 

 Everything came rushing back in a blow so big it made Crystal step back. The Black Rose, the antidote, Rowan...

 Crystal swallowed. Rowan was still ill...How long had she been out for? She shook her head slightly and forced herself to focus on the matter at hand. The male standing before her wore the same markings on his face as his soldiers while donning a dark red shirt with black pants and boots. His hair was loose and the tattoo shown in its entirety out from the collar of his shirt, which hung open to reveal part of his lean chest.

 "I apologize for the impromptu travel," he said, sipping his wine. "I did hate to have to bind you, but it was necessary for security purposes." He smiled, the gesture looking alien and disturbing on his skeletal painted face. 

 Thistle. She now remembered. Thistle was the King of the Black Rose. "How...why? Why do this," she asked plainly, gesturing to their surroundings. "Furthermore, why bring me into this? And, even more importantly, what the fuck is the Black Rose?" The questions poured from her in a torrent.

 Thistle smiled again, but this time it was near predatory. "You are still suffering from the effects of the powder, so I will speak plainly with you," he said, setting down his wine glass on a nightstand, instead picking up a bone dagger and examining it. 

  "You see, for decades the citizens of both Summer and Winter have felt rather...cheated. Insulting, really, how the royals treat us, as if, sometimes, we are no better than humans." He twirled the bone dagger in his fingers. "So, having enough of the bullshit thrown at us from the royals, we deviated. We created a new system, a new order, bent on the union of both Summer and Winter to achieve our goal that the royals have denied us: freedom. 

 "Liberation from those who would seek to use us for their own agendas and then spit us out, turning us into peasants lower than half-breeds." He brought the dagger down upon the wood of the nightstand, making Crystal jump and causing a small splinter in the wood. 

  Thistle turned to face Crystal. "For four generations we have existed as a solitary and secret organization and kingdom. Yet recently, we have decided that our kingdom has been kept solitary and secret long enough. We want to show that we have just as much power as Summer and Winter," he said, slowly approaching Crystal. 

 She stood still, gazing at him in barely disguised horror. "We want to become an official court. A court of both Seelie and Unseelie, united under one banner. To show the world that we, in the end, are all Fey and live in one world." 

Crystal blinked and swallowed, finally finding her voice. "You would seek to wage war against both courts to do so?" she asked icily, finally realizing his intention. "Such an act would be foolish. You're numbers would be wiped out before you even set foot on the battlefield."

 Thistle grinned. "Do you know how many of us there are, sweetheart?" he purred. Crystal felt a chill run down her spine at his words and hated the thrill sent through her body at the fetching name he called her. She shook her head.

 "Let's just say it would be...rather unfortunate for the Summer and Winter armies as most of their soldiers would suffocate at being cramped together on the battlefield by the Black Rose soldiers," Thistle replied. Crystal shuddered, letting her horror show plainly on her face. 

 "So...where do I fit into this? Why are you telling me?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer, because, deep down, she already knew it. 

 Thistle's smile spread even wider, revealing his white teeth. "Because I trust you. I have only ruled the Black Rose for a little more than two years. The last leader had someone to rule beside him, to share in equal power."

 He stepped closer. "And that, my dear Crystal, is where you come in," he whispered, reaching out and folding a lock of white hair behind her ear. She shivered and wanted to push him away, but didn't. 

 Thistle leaned closer and leaned the side of his head against hers, whispering in her ear. "I want you, Crystal, to be my Queen."