Short disclaimer - as this is my take on an extract from the Iron King, I've used some of Julie's dialogue so this, as well as the characters etc. don't belong to me. Boo :(

The Contract

I stare at the leaf pinned to the edge of my sword and bite down the urge to curse. I had to make an oath to kill the Summer prankster didn't I? Probably the hardest fey to kill in the whole of the Nevernever. No matter; I will kill him. Maybe not today, but one day.

"I'm getting tired of sparring with copies." I call, straightening. My gaze flicks to the human cowering in the corner, but I dismiss her just as quickly. I'll deal with her after Puck – one problem at a time. I ignore the little voice in the back of my head that tells me that Meghan Chase is one problem that I want to have because it's not true. It can't be true. "I guess honor isn't as prevalent in the Seelie Court as I thought. Are you the real Puck, or is he too cowardly to face me himself?" That's right, focus on Goodfellow and not the girl. One problem at a time. One problem at a time. The Puck in front of me watches me for a moment before vanishing, revealing the real Puck as he steps out from behind a tree.

"All right then Prince," he says, that irritating smirk etched onto his face. "If that's what you want, I'll kill you the old fashioned way." I barely wait for him to finish speaking before I bring my sword up and swing at him again. It only takes a matter of seconds before any thought other than finishing Puck completely takes over me, so much so that I don't acknowledge the way that my skin tingles at some approaching danger. It's unimportant in the moment and so I brush it away to be dealt with later. Which is an incredibly stupid thing to do. It's not until I catch sight of eyes, glowing through the shadows between the trees, watching us, that I step away from the fight and realise just how incredibly stupid I was to brush aside the knowledge that something awful was about to happen. Without warning, the eyes move, forcing Puck and I to jump back in order to miss the writhing mass of limbs crossing the clearing.

And heading right towards Meghan.

Absently, I notice the Cait Sith running further up a tree, but my gaze is locked on Meghan, who is pinned to the ground in terror. Puck calls her name from behind me, but we're both powerless to do anything to stop the creatures from attacking; unless we want to be killed ourselves. And where's the fun in letting something else kill Goodfellow for me? The insects climb over Meghan, hiding her from view for a moment, before carrying her off, thrashing and screaming for Puck to help her. My stomach drops as she fades from view. As soon as the insects have gone, Puck breaks into a run after Meghan, calling her name. without thinking, I grab his arm, stopping him. He turns to me, his eyes flashing with anger and worry.

"What Ash? I don't know if you noticed, but I don't have time for a petty duel with you right now."

"You can't head in there alone Goodfellow. Its suicide and what would the girl do then?" I say softly, surprising myself as well as Puck at the investment I've already taken into getting Meghan back.

"What do you suggest then Princeling? You gonna help me get her back?" I nod, letting go of Puck's arm and sheathing my sword.

"I will. Mab wants her back at Tir Na Nog; I'm bound to fulfil that so yes Goodfellow. I suppose for the time being, we'll have to work together to get the girl back."

"You know I'm not going to let you take her. Not without a fight." Puck warns, sheathing his own daggers. I run a hand through my hair before nodding. I know that getting the Princess back to Court is going to be difficult but taking her from Puck is not an opportunity I'm going to pass up. If that means working with Goodfellow for a few hours, then that's what I'll do.

"Well, well, well, this is an interesting development." I look down to the base of a nearby tree to find the Cait Sith stalking over; bushy tail in the air like it's King of the world. Arrogant creature.

"Let me guess, you happen to know where Meghan is." Puck says, leaning against a tree, watching the cat warily.

"I do. There have been rumours about a cave not too far from here. Some suspicious activity apparently."

"What's this going to cost me?" Puck says.

"Consider this as an add on to your previous debt."

"Fantastic." Puck mutters, pushing himself off of the trunk. "Well Princeling. You ready to go get the Princess?" I don't acknowledge him, instead following the Cait Sith through the snow. The sooner we get the Princess back, the better. I don't need the memories that go along with working with Puck distracting me anymore than they already do.

By the time we reach the cave, I'm ready to stab Goodfellow in the chest. I'd forgotten how the irritating fey likes to talk. It's almost as if he's forgotten about the duel that we're going to have to finish at some point. If only it's that easy for me. We hang back from the mouth of the cave, trying to catch sight of the Princess or her kidnappers. The only thing I can see though is the ice melting at the mouth of the cave, forming small pools of water on the ground.

"You're sure Meghan's in there cat?" Puck asks for the fifth time and I roll my eyes.

"Yes Goodfellow. Quite sure. Now, if you two will hurry up and rescue the Princess, we can be on our way. I'd hate to stay here any longer than necessary because you two are arguing like angry toddlers." I bite my tongue to stop myself from saying anything I'll regret later. Instead, I point out a smaller opening to Puck.

"I bet that leads to the heart of the cave. If you cause a distraction, then I'll get the Princess out using that tunnel."

"You really think I'm going to leave you alone with her? I'll come out and find the both of you gone." Puck says, watching me knowingly. I sigh and grit my teeth, knowing what I'm about to say is going to hurt.

"You have my word Goodfellow. I won't leave with the Princess yet. I'll get her out safe and meet you here." Puck raises an eyebrow at me but doesn't say anything. Good, because I might have had to hit him if he had.

"Alright then ice-boy. One distraction coming up." With that, he heads over to the entrance, peering into the dark. I walk into the smaller opening, listening hard as I creep along, resisting the urge to unsheathe my sword. The light would give me away and the last thing I need is to give Robin Goodfellow anymore ammunition against me. I reach the end of the tunnel, letting out a small sigh of relief at the sight of the Princess alive and, as far as I can tell, relatively unharmed. The fact that this relieves me simultaneously irritates me. She is the enemy, just like Puck. I cannot be relieved at the idea of her being unharmed. I shake my head, noticing a flash of red to my side. Slowly, I bring up my hand, letting an ice shard hit the giant horse in the ribs. Is that thing made of…iron? Impossible. It can't be. It must just be the light in this cave. A fey can't be made from iron.

"Hey, ugly!" Puck calls. "Nice place you got here! Here's a thought though. Next time, try a hideout a little more resistant to fire than an ice cave!" In front of me, Meghan's head shoots up at the sound.

"Puck!" She calls, and my heart twists a little before I shake it off angrily. I. Am. Not. Jealous. Of Robin Goodfellow. I'm not. Puck waves at her and I know without looking that he's pulled the same trick he used earlier. My suspicions are confirmed when the horse tramples the Puck next to me but another one calls something from behind. I hate to admit it, but there are times when Puck's little tricks come in useful. I focus on the girl in front of me for a moment before quickly placing my hand over her mouth to muffle her shriek. She turns to face me and my heart thuds once.

"Ash?" She asks, as if she can't believe I'm here too. Truth is, neither can I.

"This way," I tell her, pulling her hand. "While the idiot has them distracted."

"No, wait." She whispers, pulling back. I watch her in amazement. I've never met a human like this one before. "He knows about Ethan. I have to find my brother-"

"Hesitate now and Goodfellow will die." I interrupt, willing her to take the hint and drop the matter. If anything, it seems to make her more determined to risk her life. Not even the mention of Puck deters her. I take her hand again. "Besides, I'm not giving you a choice." I pull her behind me, away from the giant horse and Puck's taunting voice.

We don't get far though before the horse spots us. I curse and unsheathe my sword, pushing Meghan behind me. I fling a handful of ice shards at the beast as it charges towards us, although they don't do anything except shatter off of its body. I push Meghan well out of the way before diving forward, narrowly missing the beast's hooves. I stand behind the animal and cut at its flank but all that does is earn me a kick in the ribs. I hit the floor in agony and the only thing I can think is it is made of iron. As impossible as it is, the beast is made of iron. There's no mistaking the agony that comes from a direct hit from iron. It's more painful than being stabbed with a sword, which is impressive.

I push myself to my feet, my eyes locked on the Princess and Puck who is now standing next to her.

"Time to go," he says cheerfully which only infuriates me further. "Prince, either keep up or get left behind. We're leaving." I roll my eyes, but push myself forward, racing through the cave; the roar of the horse echoing around us. We reach the entrance and Meghan and Puck keep running. I hear the cat yell something about collapsing the cave and stop running, closing my eyes and bowing my head before flinging my hand out. Almost immediately, the cave begins to tremble and clumps of ice begin to break off and hit the floor. I watch as the cave collapses, trapping the creatures inside. Once the noise dies away, the throbbing in my ribs becomes almost unbearable and, without realising, my legs give way and I fall to the snow. I can't find the strength to move; the snow blanketing the ground is a lot more comfortable than it looked when I was standing on it. If anything, it's cooling the burning around my stomach. After a moment though, Meghan's voice filters through and I grimace as I hear her trying to convince Puck to help me. Just another reason to prove that she doesn't belong here. I save her the bother and, although it physically pains me to do it, I stagger to my feet, clutching my ribs with my arm.

"I wouldn't worry about that." I murmur, shaking the snow from my hair and shakily raising my sword. "We can continue now, if you like." Puck grins and pulls out a dagger and I silently groan. Not that I'd admit it, but I was hoping Goodfellow would show some compassion.

"I'd be thrilled. This won't take long at all." I brace myself for the attack but it never comes. Meghan stands between us.

"Stop it! Stop it right now! Put your weapons up, both of you! Ash, you're in no condition to fight, and, Puck, shame on you, agreeing to duel him when he's obviously hurt. Sit down and shut up." I watch her in silence, shocked at the impressive power she's just displayed over the both of us. I can't say that I'm not thankful to her either. At least someone has some compassion. Let's just ignore the fact that I'd do the same if I were in Puck's position. Puck sits on the ground but I stay standing, watching the Princess, if only for the fact that if I sit now, I'm not getting back up again. She walks towards me and I instinctively tense, narrowing my eyes at her and raising my sword, despite knowing she poses no threat. Despite this, she stands tall and proud.

"Prince Ash, I propose we make a deal." She says softly. I blink at her surprised. "We need your help. I don't know what those things were, but they call themselves iron fey. They also mentioned someone called Machina, the Iron King. Do you know who that is?" I shake my head, still dazed at the turn of events.

"The Iron King? There is no one by that name in the courts. If this King Machina exists, he is a danger to all of us. Both courts will want to know about him and these…iron fey." That's going to be a fun conversation with Mab. I watch as her eyes turn hard with determination as she says,

"I need to find him. He's got my brother. I need you to help us escape the Unseelie territory and find the court of the Iron King." I raise an eyebrow at her. Not only is that idea so far from what I was expecting her to say, I also didn't realise before now how strong this girl is. If it wasn't clear before that she isn't an ordinary girl, then it certainly is now.

"Why would I do that?" I ask her softly, genuinely curious as to how she'll answer. In the back of my mind I know that I shouldn't even be talking to the Princess. Mab wants her back at Court and that's where I should be heading right now. Not entertaining the idea that I'll betray my Queen to help Oberon's half breed.

"You're injured." She points out, her eyes never leaving mine. "You won't be able to take me by force, not with Puck so eager to stick a knife in your ribs." I hate to admit that she does have a point. Not that I wouldn't mind trying. She glances back at Goodfellow, still sat on the log and lowers her voice so he can't hear; which automatically gets my attention. Whatever the Princess is about to say, something tells me Goodfellow won't approve. "Here's my bargain. If you help me find my brother and get him safely home, then I'll go with you to the Unseelie Court. Without a fight from me or Puck." I wasn't expecting that. At all.

"He means that much to you? You would exchange your freedom for his safety?" I would never do that for my brothers – they wouldn't do it for me. Emotions are a weakness and love is the biggest weakness of all. She nods firmly.

"Yes." She pauses for a second before carrying on. "So, do we have a deal?" I watch her for a moment, trying to figure out whether she's genuine. She's half human so she can lie and she doesn't have experience in making bargains with fey, which could be her downfall. Despite this though, I know that she means what she says. She really would sacrifice everything for her little brother, and I'd be a fool to not take advantage of that.

"No, Meghan Chase. We have a contract."