War of Winter (Iron Fey Fanfiction)

Chapter 39 - Andal

                                                                               5 months later

           The doe turned her head, her brown ears pricking and her nose sniffing for danger. She smelled the winter faery hunting her, hidden in the brush not fifty feet away. Her black eyes went wide when she finally realized her doom and she sprung, her delicate back legs pushing her into the air. She was too late. 

            The white arrow sang through the air, piercing the doe's side, straight through her heart. The doe fell to the forest floor, her eyes wide with defeat and panic. She breathed heavily as the hunter straightened, rising up from her hiding place. The hunter made her way over, the deer kicking blindly now, trying to rise and flee. 

           But the doe's struggles were to no avail. A line of thick blood coated her brown fur, and she was losing more fast. The hunter knelt beside the animal, letting her see the glinting knife in her hand. The doe made one last attempt to flee before the hunter drew a thin line with her blade across the deer's throat. The doe finally went still, and Crystal smiled a cold smile. 

                                                                                  **************

              Crystal awoke abruptly, a scream tearing through her raw throat. Pain sliced its way soon after, leaving her breathing hard from the nightmare and wincing from the pain. It had been too long that her throat had been injured. Too long that she'd been having repeating nightmares, all of them involving the death of a certain blue eyed prince. 

            Disoriented and slightly concerned, Crystal swung her legs out of bed, as she did almost every other night, and slipped on her fleece robe over her thin nightgown. She pulled on a pair of thick socks and carefully made her way downstairs, watching for any goblins sleeping in the middle of the hallway. 

           Her stomach grumbled slightly, and a cup of molten chocolate sounded divine right about then. On her way to the kitchen, she passed the parlor, where she caught a glimpse of her mother sitting in her favorite velvet green chair. The Duchess ran her finger along the rim of her mug, staring off into the distance blankly. 

           Crystal sighed and continued on to the kitchen. Her mother's grief had not yet driven her into a depression, but it was close. The Duchess rarely got enough sleep nowadays, and when she did it was only after a passionate tryst with one of the four remaining soldiers in their army. 

           The silence of the house settled down on Crystal as she fixed herself a cup of molten chocolate, her hands trembling slightly. The grounds were so quiet without all the soldiers about. 

            They'd lost everyone except for four soldiers, two of whom had suffered severe injuries. After a couple more days spent recuperating in the healer's cabin, Crystal had met her mother, the three princes, Queen Mab, and the remaining generals in the front yard. They'd decided to retreat, pausing the war with Summer as the turn of events made cause for a war to save their home. 

             Oberon had sent a messenger bird with a letter saying Summer had lost most of its army as well, many dead, and many left with such trauma in their minds they could not function. Oberon had had to either send them away or relieve them of their misery. 

             And neither of the two courts had been able to figure out who the new, hidden ruler of the Black Roses was. Crystal raked a hand through her hair, which had grown nearly to her backside. She wanted to cut it. She wanted to cut it all off. 

           It had been months since she'd seen or spoken to Rowan. Elysium had been postponed, as many fey were still suffering trauma from the decimation via the Black Roses. Elysium was also a public, widely known event. If the Black Roses knew the two courts were meeting....