Queen of Vengeance (Iron Fey Fanfiction)

Chapter 1: Crystallis lesmad Soturi

      1 year after the events of the Dark War

It had been too long since Crystal had spoken. She had not needed to, for she was alone in the mountains, with only Blackbird, her loyal stallion with teeth as sharp as a shark's, by her side. Not many fey lived in the Taibhseach Mountains, hence the name, ghostly. Crystal had only had a few nasty scuffles with an angry mountain goat and a bauk that had been inhabiting a cave which she had initially thought to be deserted.

She did not know how long she had been gone. Day after day passed, with the sun sometimes showing itself and nearly blinding her with its harsh light against the white snow. Sometimes her mind wandered to her mother, and the Winter palace, but then she closed them off before her thoughts strayed to forbidden places.

She refused to think of the sidhe who had caused her to flee into the mountains. He had probably forgotten her, anyway. Had probably moved on and was now taking comfort in another sidhe's arms.

Blackbird's soft whicker brought her to attention. Crystal glanced over at him, seeing him eyeing the juicy squirrel in her hand. Sighing, she relented and tossed the rest to him. She was not very hungry, anyway.

A cool breeze tossed her short hair to the side, and she reached up and tried to tuck it behind one pointed, newly pierced ear. In her time alone, Crystal had made a few changes. First, her hair. The moment she had stopped bawling like a child, she had taken her knife and sheared off the long white length, leaving it shoulder length instead of cascading down to almost her bottom.

Next, she'd found some nightberries and fashioned them into a dye, painting the top half black, leaving the bottom half its usual white. After a while, the sun exposure began to tint the white to a rich deep silver, even adding a bit of color to her skin. She had not looked at herself in a mirror or lake for a while, but she would guess she looked more akin to a strange Summer sidhe now, with icy blue eyes to set her apart.

Piercing her ears had been a bit more painful, and bloody, since she did not have a proper mirror. She had only successfully done her right ear before deciding against the left. The most painful, by far, had been the tattoo.

Carving an intricate design of flowers, a moon, and a snowflake along her forearm, Crystal had clenched her teeth so hard her jaw had ached afterwards. She loved the design though, mostly because it was her own. Not her mother's, not her Queen's, simply hers.

Despite her enjoyment at just being with her horse and the sun in the mountains, her mind had continuously began to wander back to the things she had locked away. She wondered about her mother, if she had given birth to her child successfully. Despite how some fey mothers treated their young, children were always considered a blessing among the fey.

She also wondered if her mother missed her. She and her mother had been unusually close as far as Unseelie family went. Most of all, Crystal wondered how long she had been gone. She tried to remember how many monthly cycles she'd had, and came up with nearly twelve. Twelve months. That was an effective year.

One year she had been gone. One year since she fled into the mountains after a certain Winter prince had broken her heart. Her heart, which was now numb and encased in ice and stone. The Summer Elysium would probably be happening soon, considering the warmth up in the mountains.

A whopping forty two degrees Fahrenheit was enough to make Crystal want to jump in a freezing lake. Sweat beaded on her skin as she rose, squinting against the sunlight. She did not want to admit it, but she missed civilization. She missed her mother.

Crystal quickly saddled Blackbird and made her decision. She had been hiding for long enough. It was time to show her face again. The ride down the mountain was slow going and nearly made Crystal impatient, but she forced herself to be calm. She did not want Blackbird to trip and injure himself.

When they finally reached the base, she kicked Blackbird into a trot towards the Winter palace, the road covered with snow that was a hair less deep than it had been in winter. Along the way, Crystal caught a plump sparrow to snack on, later catching a large rabbit for Blackbird.

Finally, they came to a spot where the road narrowed into a trail, winding through the trees and over roots. Blackbird had to slow to a walk. When nightfall arrived, they rested, Crystal tossing and turning on the rough ground while her horse slept peacefully a few feet away.

They were off again directly at sunrise. Around midday, Blackbird's ears pricked and his nostrils flared. Crystal pulled him to a halt in a thick set of trees, hidden from view of the main road, which connected to the narrow trail they'd been on. A large procession was heading south, towards the Wyldwood and the Summer court.

It took Crystal all of three seconds to realize that the procession was the Winter courtiers, traveling to Elysium. The timing could not have been more perfect. She waited until the end of the procession appeared, then urged Blackbird out of the trees to deftly fall in step beside the last few riders.

She had the hood of her light cloak pulled up, concealing her face. The riders did not give her a second thought, though, only glanced her way and, sensing she was Winter and had probably left the caravan to take care of business behind a tree, turned back forward with bored expressions.

Crystal did not engage them in conversation, nor did they try to do so with her. She did not complain. They would be at Elysium soon, and she would see her mother, the Queen, everyone. Everyone.

She hoped she would not explode and create the history of blizzards when she saw him.