The warm scent of orange spice herbal tea made Crystal's spirit lift a little. She sat on her cot in her tent, her mother finishing up brewing a pot of her special orange spice tea. If they were in public or at court, the Duchess would never think of performing such a humanly task, but when they were alone, just the two of them, Crystal's mother was a different faery altogether.
"I am very glad you were not hurt, darling," the Duchess said, turning to glance at her daughter. Her surprisingly warm smile faded when she beheld the expression on Crystal's face. "Well, not physically, at least."
Crystal could not look up and meet her mother's eyes as the Duchess straightened and approached her. Her mother smiled again and pressed a warm cup of tea into Crystal's hands. She brought the cup up to her nose, breathing in the lovely fragrance. She wanted to tell her mother how she felt, which was odd, probably considering Crystal usually made the effort to feel nothing, as feelings were seen as a weakness among the court of Winter.
"Darling, you need to tell me who these fey are," her mother said gently, smoothing Crystal's long white hair out of her face. Crystal swallowed and took a sip of her tea. She was glad her mother treated her kindly, even if it would be viewed as too kindly among the nobles.
When she'd arrived back at the campground early that evening, Crystal had been greeted by her near-panicked mother, who rushed her into her tent with a volley of questions after a guard had taken the antidote to Rowan's tent. Crystal had been silent except for her tears, and after just holding her until her tears slowed, the Duchess had quickly drawn Crystal a bath and began brewing the tea.
After a nice long bath and a few liquids administers to relieve the tangles in her hair, the Duchess had tried again, more calmly, to get Crystal to answer her questions. "Crystal, dear, tell me..." her mother whispered, gently stroking her daughter's hair.
"There is an organization of fey, who call themselves the Black Roses, or the Shadow court," Crystal said after a while, her voice raspy from crying. "The Blood Roses are their best soldiers, using fear to win their battles. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how brave anyone is, any fey can be affected by them.
"Thistle wanted to use them in order to gain power and eventually present his court as an equal and one day as a superior court before Summer and Winter," Crystal told her mother. "He was driven crazy by his grief for his brother, Garnet."
"In the end, his love for his brother was his undoing," the Duchess drew the conclusion, sighing. "That is why I discouraged you from having a relationship with the Prince, Crystal. I-I did not want you to get hurt..." she gave her daughter a sad smile as Crystal watched her mother.
"Why does this thing exist, Mama? Love, I mean?" Crystal asked. "If all it does in the end is destroy..."
The Duchess shook her head. "It is a phenomenon beyond many people's understanding, dear. We can only do our best to try and avoid or ignore it, even if ninety five percent of the time, that is impossible." She smiled again. "I love you, and nothing can ever change that."
Crystal allowed a small smile in response and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "We're more like humans than we think, aren't we?" she whispered.
"Now, I wouldn't go that far," was her mother's only response.
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War of Winter (Iron Fey Fanfiction)
FanfictionCrystal has never been one for love. Love is a weakness and, more often than not, can get you killed. Or your family. But when her and her mother, the Duchess of the Black Ice Mountains, are invited to a ball at court, everything changes. Crystal fi...
