The Only Woman He Loved
Chapter 1
Rowan, son of Queen Mab, prince of the Winter Court, knew he was doomed when he saw her. In all fairness, it was his own fault. He hadn't seen her in months and finally, he couldn't stand being stuck in the Nevernever for even a second longer and he went to the human world. He found himself in the same town where he had first met her. Not even realizing what he was doing, he started walking around the town, going specifically to places where they had met. He shouldn't have done it, he knew that. He simply couldn't help it though. She was the only woman he had ever loved. And no matter how much he pretended his heart was frozen solid, when it came to her, he couldn't pretend. She accepted him for who he was, and even if he tried to pretend, she could see right through him. She had even when they first met.
1 year before (human world time)
Rowan cursed as he held his stomach, his hand covered in his own blood. The stupid human had had friends and iron. Lots of iron. Dizzy from the iron buildings surrounding him, Rowan hadn't been prepared and had been taken by surprise by a bunch of pathetic human boys. He had beaten them in the end, but one of them had knifed him and if there was anything that could hurt him, it was iron. He had stumbled into a park and sat down, resting his back against a tree.
Rowan loved going to the human world. It was necessary to recharge one's glamour from time to time and the best way to do that was to be around imaginative humans. Secondly, he had a reputation at court that he had built to protect himself, so to speak.
At first, there was a certain satisfaction in breaking the hearts of human girls. But, over time, it almost made him feel guilty, especially after watching how they wasted away. Loving and being loved by a fey was almost an addiction to humans, both male and female. After they were with a fey, falling in love with anyone else, especially another human was nearly if not downright impossible.
"Hey, are you alright?" a female voice laced with concern called out and he looked up to a girl in her teens walking over to him, her brown eyes drawing him in. "No, I'm fine." Rowan said coolly, failing to hold back a wince at the pain in his stomach and she knelt in front of him. She pulled her backpack off her shoulder and dug around in it. While she was distracted, Rowan looked her up and down. She had brown hair with golden streaks pulled back into a ponytail and bangs that flopped into her brown eyes. Freckles decorated her nose and cheeks, making her face even more interesting to look at. She was a blue jean jacket over a plain purple shirt and worn jeans. What amused him the most though, were her dark purple sneakers and how worn they were. "I'm Rachelle." She said, and he responded. "Rowan." He said tersely, and she nodded.
"Ha! Found it!" She said triumphantly, pulling out an unopened bottle of water and a small first-aid kit. "I told you I'm fine. Now beat it." Rowan snapped, and she ignored him. "Move your hands so I can see how bad the damage is." She commanded him, and he scowled at her. "I don't need your help, now leave me alone, annoying person!" he yelled, and she closed the first-aid kit and stuffed it and the water bottle back into her backpack. Rowan noticed that there were clothes stuffed hastily into the backpack and she kept glancing at her long sleeves. "Hey Rachelle! I finally found you, you bitch!" A male voice yelled, and she turned white. Rowan glanced behind her to see a teenage boy running towards them, his face scrunched up in fury. "Shit! I didn't expect him to find me so fast." She hissed. "I will help you if you can actually heal me." Rowan found himself saying and she nodded. Rowan slowly stood up, glancing up at the tree. It had a few low branches that were thick enough to support her. "I'll give you a leg up into the tree." She nodded, and he hoisted her up into the tree, watching in surprise as she continued climbing. "Hey, you! Where the fuck did she go?!" The guy ran up to him and yelled. Rowan frowned at the guy and wondered what he had done to make Rachelle so scared of him. "She who?" Rowan asked, cursing his inability to lie. The guy growled and ran off, cursing under his breath.
"You can come down now." Rowan said, turning to look up at her and she smiled down at him. For some odd reason, he smiled back, his heart beating faster. She started clambering down then stopped at the lowest branch and bit her lip, looking almost nervous. "I'll catch you." She looked at him for a moment and tilted her head, gauging him. Deciding she could trust him, she jumped down into his arms, Rowan catching her against his chest. He noticed that her eyes had golden flecks in them and her cheeks had turned pink slightly, her bangs hanging in her eyes.
She stepped back nervously, pulling her sleeves down. "What did he do to you?" Rowan almost felt protective of her and she looked up at him defiantly. "That's none of your business. Now sit down so I can look at your wound." He nodded and sat down, and she sat down in front of him, slinging her backpack off her shoulder and opening it to get the first-aid kit and a hairband. She pushed the hairband onto her head, pulling back her bangs so she could see clearly. Opening the first-aid kit, she pulled out a thing of tissues and the water bottle. She moved over next to him, but Rowan said, "Wouldn't it be easier if you just sat in front of me?" She paused and nodded.
Rowan watched as she bit onto her lip, hypnotizing him. She pulled out a few big bandages and gently put them over the now cleaned wound. "Haha! Ok Rowen, you're good." She smiled and sat back, looking proud of herself. Rowen took her hands and pulled Rachelle back to him. "Uhh Rowen? What are you doing?" She asked nervously as he tilted her chin up. "Thanking you." He had just pressed his lips to her when she shoved him away and stood up. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She snapped at him, glaring at him fiercely. It was at the moment that Rowen realized he wanted her. "All I did was help you out and you helped with a very slight problem. I don't know you, you don't me." She said coldly, and he stood up. Walking towards her, she backed up into a tree and he put his arms on either side of her. "What if I want to get to know you better?" He asked, relying on the methods he had used to woo women for years. "Are you drunk or just naturally idiotic?" She snapped. Huh? She was unaffected? Before he could say anything, she jerked her knee straight up and shoved him away from her, grabbing her backpack and running off. She didn't look back once at Rowan. Rowan realized as she ran away from him that this might be harder than he thought. He also realized he was in deeper shit than he thought he was.