Elk...why the hell did she pick elk to serve these damn high lords? Feyre thought as she blew the hair out of her eyes.
Why not whitetail deer or a nice rabbit stew. I know she can make a grand meal out of those. But no she had to pick Elk, the one thing that required a full day trek across this cursed court. She sighed outwardly as she pulled her mare into a trot, scanning the tree line for any signs of a gang of elk nearby. Finally she spotted fresh droppings to her east.
"This is about as close as your allowed to get girl" she patted her mare lovingly as she dismounted and tied her to a nearby pine.
Quickly she grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows to add to her arsenal of blades fastened around her thigh. With quiet feet she approached the droppings and examined them. Elk for sure but something was... off about it. She glanced up at the tree for more signs and found gashes in the tree bark above her likely caused by elk antlers but they were higher up than they should have been.
Fuck the male must be a big fucking elk.
From the freshness of the gashes she suspected the gang must have passed through less than an hour ago, but no hoof prints marked the soil.
Best to be careful than sorry, I've got 2 days to kill this beast, get it back, skin it and quarter it before Elain even starts on it. She thought as she crouched eastward toward where she thought they would be.
It was slow moving from here on out. No sudden movements, no loud noises, Mother help her if she suddenly got a tickle in her throat and fell into a coughing fit. It took her the better part of an hour to find the gang, lounging in a very small clearing.
What she found was again not what she expected. Instead of lots of cows and calves and one male. There were 3 male, two young, their antlers gleamed with velvet and blood as they shed their skin and one older male, the alpha one could say and he was...
Huge. That was the only word that came to mind. His shoulders held enough meat alone to feed her sisters for a week. His antlers almost seemed polished with varnish and his coat... Instead of being a rich walnut brown was white as snow.
Feyre let out a steadying breath and aimed at her target. As if he sensed his impending doom, the elk lifted his head from grazing and looked toward the tree line where Feyre was crouched. She didn't waste second before she let that arrow fly to its target. Right behind the shoulder blade, straight toward the heart. It struck true. But the elk didn't so much as flinch. He continued gazing at where she stood. The rest of the gang was in a frenzy. The few cows that were there ran off with their young the younger males followed after them. But the biggest elk held its ground. Completely unmoving.
She had the second arrow knocked quickly but before she could let it fly, he charged.
She had less than a second to think before his antlers pierced where she stood. Thankfully she was able to scurry up the tree next to her in time. The magnificent white elk did not let up. He circled around and rammed the tree she hid in. Shaking pine needs across the forest floor.
Feyre shot three more arrows in its neck but they earned no more than a grunt from the tree was cracking under the pressure of his brute force. Without a moment's hesitation Feyre did the only thing she could think of.
She jumped on his back.
The elk bucked like wild horse trying to throw her off but she held steady onto his antlers that were as thick as the branches she just jumped from. She unfastened her biggest dagger from her belt and stabbed it forcefully in his neck.
The elk thrashed and bucked harder nearly succeeding in throwing her off. She dug the knife in deeper and then with all her might she slid the it across its neck, slitting it's throat.
As the elk bled out it fell to the ground. Feyre scrambled so she wouldn't be crushed by his massive corpse. She watched the elk die she leaned up against the tree next to her trying to catch her breath.
Holy hell I'm going to make Elain pay for this. She wanted to stay put and rest a while but there was no time to waste.
The sun was starting to set as she finished gutting the elk. She had to go ahead and quarter it just to fit it on the back of her horse. She strapped the antlers on to her saddle as best she could. There was no way she was leaving those behind after all the hell she went through to kill the damn thing. Her poor mare was panting hard when they finally reached the palace stables.
The sentries on guard whistled when they saw what a magnificent kill she hauled.
"You've outdone yourself Feyre" Dominic shouted as she rode into the stable.
"Yeah but you look like you've slaughtered a whole fucking family with how much blood your soaked in." Shouted the other sentry, Philip.
She sent him a rude gesture as she made for watering her horse and unloading the carcass.
"You would be too if you saw the fight this one put up." She called back. For Fae, they weren't so bad. They were one of the few who actually treated her like an equal rather than "human scum" as some of the other High Fae that sometimes roamed the palace would say.
"Now are you both just going to stand there with your mouths watering or are you two lazy sacks of shit going to help me unload this beast? Elain is probably having a meltdown since this is supposed to be the main course for tomorrow night's dinner."
She hauled the antlers off and tucked them in her mare's stall. She would come back for them tomorrow, right now she had enough to carry.
"You could say fucking please." Dominic shot back as he and Philip made their way to help. The three of them made quick work on getting it back up to the palace.
Elain nearly started sobbing with relief as they hauled the elk into the kitchen. A loud thud sounded as they heaved it onto the butchering blocks.
"Finally! Oh goodness you are really cutting it close. It needs to slow roast all night and then I need to roast the potatoes and..." She trailed off as she fluttered around the kitchen preparing stations and barking orders and the other servants.
She turned to Feyre again finally "Will you get to work trimming the..." Was all she was able to get out before Feyre cut her off.
"Oh no, no, no. No way am I lifting another finger to help prep that elk. You wanted such a large animal to cook for the fancy meal so you deal with it. If you only knew what I had to go through to kill that damn elk..." She looked around at the scurrying servants as they worked. Most of the desserts were prepped and ready as well as the appetizers and such. Elain was in charge of the main course and all the trimmings to go with it. But Elain was just now getting out what spiced and ingredients she would need. She usually had all this prepared days before an event.
"Why haven't you prepared anything yet? And don't you lie and say you were waiting on me. You have a million other things to make I'm sure." She questioned her older sister with a sharp tone. If she was sneaking around with that damn High Fae again...
As the sisters bickered Philip and Dominic saw this as their queue to leave. With identical winks they left them to their work.
"I went to the village today." Elain stated quickly, hiding behind a pantry door as she searched for the right spices.
"Why the hell did you need to go to the village? You know we shouldn't be spending our wages. We are saving that for our passage to the continent."
I leave for one day day and she goes on a shopping trip. She knew she was being stingy but one of them had to be her protests about helping Feyre washed her hands and started trimming meat off the bones, eager to do something with her hands that wasn't strangling her sister.
"I know, I know." Elain started, throwing her hands up defensively "I didn't spend much I swear and what I got was a gift."
"Why and who did you need a gift for?"
For the love of God please don't say Lucien I thought we were over this he can't love you. She pleaded to the Mother that she wouldn't have to have that conversation with her sister again.
"A needed a gift for you of course!" Elain looked surprised. Like what she said was common knowledge.
"I don't need a gift it's not even my..." Birthday. Fuck it's my birthday tomorrow. She had seriously forgotten tomorrow was her own birthday.
"Feyre I know where we live is eternal spring and it's hard to tell that it's actually winter. But there is no excuse to not remembering your own damn birthday."
"Right, Winter Solstice, part of the reason for this stupid party tomorrow." Feyre added quietly as she returned to working.
"Well? Aren't you going to ask what it is?"
"Why would I do that when you're just going to tell me I have to wait till tomorrow?" She knew her sister well enough that she loved surprises. There was no way she would ruin her own fun.
"You could at least show some excitement! I know you are worried about money but you deserve a little fun." Elain said stepping next to Feyre and taking the knife from her.
"On that note, you need a bath, desperately. Take some leftovers from dinner and go to bed."
"I thought you wanted my help." Feyre said indignantly.
"You'll just get in my way." And with that Elain pushed a container of food in her hands and she headed out of the kitchen and toward their quarters.
The palace really was beautiful at night. Moonlight showered the hallway, illuminating all the paintings she passed by on a daily basis. She rarely stopped to look, not allowing herself that luxury, but today she slowed her pace to admire the works of art.
She studied the swirls of color that made up each flower on the painting in front of her and how the colors and textures seemed to lift off the canvas. They didn't look real, they were extraordinary. A normal rose couldn't compare to the one in the painting. It was like comparing the beauty of a human like her to one of the High Fae that roamed these halls.
Feyre was so lost in the colors and contemplating how to mix paint to get that perfect shade of red that she didn't hear them approaching until they rounded the corner.
High Lord Tamlin and Lord Lucien were deep in conversation as they left the study. It seemed they were up late making sure everything was in order for the other High Lord's arrival in the morning. Feyre didn't want them to see her but it was too late. Tamlin's piercing eyes found her as she started to continue to her quarters.
"Feyre! Finally back it seems." Lucien was the first to greet her. He was a kind Lord. He often times tagged along on her shorter hunts for rabbit or deer.
She knew there was no avoiding them. She couldn't be openly rude to the two males who had graciously employed her and her sisters when they so desperately needed money. But it was a struggle biting her tongue sometimes. While Lucien was kind, High Lord Tamlin had a short fuse. She heard rumors around the palace that in his anger he shredded just about anything in reach with his power. Some servants were subject to that shortly before she and her sisters were hired. Feyre always wondered if they were hired to take the place of those servants who had accidentally gotten to close.
"Yes, finally. But the elk is in Elain's capable hands now and I'm sure it will be delicious tomorrow." She tried to leave it at that and head on her way but Lord Tamlin decided to speak up as well.
"How many elk did you kill? Judging by the amount of blood on you it looks like a whole gang." His eyes slid over her body taking in her stained clothes but they lingered too long to only be starting at that.
Feyre tried not to let her fury show.
"It was a large elk that put up quite a fight. Had to slit it's throat in the end." She added extra emphasis on that last part.
Touch me and it's your throat I slit. High lord or no. She thought viciously.
After a moment she added "The strangest looking elk too. It's pelt was whiter than a sheep's."
They looked startled at that. At first Feyre was worried that they caught on to her subtle threat.
"What? That's impossible." Lucien balked.
"You think I'm lying? Pelts in the kitchen if you want a look." She pointed down the hall in case these spoiled High Fae didn't know where it was. She didn't feel like defending herself tonight. She was tired and just wanted a bath and to crawl in bed.
"I don't think she's kidding Lucien." Tamlin muttered as he stared at her again. Thankfully at her eyes this time.
"Holy hell. You killed a shadow elk." Lucien nearly whispered that. He looked... in awe.
"A what?" Damn Fae and their damn cryptic bullshit. She thought.
"A shadow elk. They are notoriously hard to track and very hard to kill. I've only ever seen one once on a hunting trip with my father when I was young. He tried to kill it and was nearly impaled by it." Tamlin explained.
"Ah. Yeah it was a bitch to kill. Hopefully it's tasty though. Well I'm exhausted. Goodnight." She replied shortly. Before they could bug her for any more details of the hunt. She quickly scurried away. When she reached the room her and her sisters shared she locked the door for good measure. She didn't like how the High Lord always looked at her. There was something territorial about his gaze. Like she was one of his belongings.
That thought sent a shiver down her spine as she washed up for the night. She ate her dinner in the tub and was almost asleep before her head even hit the pillow. But a knock on the door interrupted her slumber.
It would be a while before Nesta and Elain came to bed. Worried that something was wrong she quickly robed and unlocked the door. Only to find the High Lord of Spring.
"There you are. You ran off so quickly I didn't have the chance to catch you."
She narrowed her eyes at him. Hand still on the door knob ready to shut the door quickly if he made any sudden moves. Again his eyes trailed her body unabashedly.
If you kick him in the balls he will throw you and your sisters back out on your asses and you will be back to square one. She reminded herself.
"Do you need something Lord Tamlin?" She asked curtly, politeness be damned, it was late and he had no business bothering her in her own quarters.
"No, just a word actually. About tomorrow." He paused. Feyre lifted an eyebrow at him, curious as to what about tomorrow could possibly concern her. Her job was done until Elain decided she needed more game to serve up.
"There will be a lot of High Fae from different courts here tomorrow, many accompanying the various High Lord's. But not every court is as accepting of human staff like we are." Like I am seemed to be what he wanted to say.
Staff, servants, we are one step away from slaves here so don't think yourself so high and mighty for employing us. She kept that thought to herself, though. It was still generous for him to employ her and her sisters.
"What you're saying is, keep hidden tomorrow."
"Unless called upon yes. By either myself or Lucien. Elain should be fine in the kitchen, I will assign Nesta to those visiting Fae that are accepting of humans. But I recommend that you stay here in the servant's quarters for the day." He phrased the last bit like staying cooped up in my room all day was a vacation.
"So I'm a prisoner." Feyre challenged. His mouth curved into a pompous smirk.
"Of course not Feyre. You're never a prisoner. Like I said you are allowed to leave if I or Lucien call for you. I was actually wondering if you would join us for lunch tomorrow before the crowd descends. We would love for you to share the story of how you killed that shadow elk."
She knew that this invite meant order. She learned that once when he was foolish enough to "invite" her for a garden walk once. In which she responded a simple no and stalked off. Only to find Alis, his personal maid, waiting in her quarters to march her straight back to him.
"Of course Lord Tamlin." She replied with as much melancholy in her voice as she could get away with.
"Please Feyre, call me Tamlin. Lord seems too formal for our... friendship." He paused before he decided on that last word.
Yes since you buy all of your friends I'm sure friendship is exactly the type of word you would use to describe us.
She ignored his request and simply stated. "Lunch, got it. See you then." And shut the door and locked it again before he could utter another word.
Not like locking the door would do any real good if he wanted to get in. But it made her feel safer regardless.
With a sigh she heaved herself into bed once more. Maybe she could snag some paper and a pencil from the library on her way back from lunch tomorrow and attempt to sketch those roses painted in the hall. She would need something to keep her occupied while she was locked in this room.
Not a prisoner he said, but not free.