It was a shameful moment for me to recall. Sage and I had gotten into another argument about my lack of receptivity and I had stormed out of the castle. Looking up at the sky I remembered a time in which I loved the wintery appearance of my home. How I longed for winter so that I might be able to go ice skating with my friends.
Those days were long gone, especially now that I was stuck in the Unseelie court that was winter year round. The only time that I got to experience summer was about three months ago, three months after I was married to the Unseelie Crown Prince, when we went to the Summer Elysium. I was able to ride a horse, though I shared it with my husband, and actually looked forward to the summer.
While we were there I had fun, dancing, smiling, we got to play outdoor games as well. I even was invited to go horseback riding. I gladly accepted, only for my husband to put a stop to that. I was so furious, I yelled at him without even thinking about it. He was amused, and actually told me that he enjoyed my fiery temper. But that I was still not allowed to go horseback riding without him. The next day, he locked me in my room.
By nightfall I had calmed down, when he arrived back at his room. His eyes were guarded, glancing at me while I demurely sat in the corner reading a book. I looked up at him and smiled, my anger over our dispute long gone.
"How was your day, my lord?" I asked him, carefully marking the page I stopped in the book. I stood up to greet him.
"It was fair. How was yours?" He casually asked. I smiled at him.
"Fine. I read a lot." I told him, putting the book back on my nightstand.
"Well, love, we must make an appearance at dinner tonight. Only one more day here, and then we can go home." Sage remarked before pulling out his clothes out of the closet. I smiled and went to grab my own dress. I picked out a beautiful silver dress, just to mark that I was Sage's consort. It was strapless, and quite short, only coming down to my knees.
He smiled as he saw that I was wearing his colors. Sage knew that I could wear any color that I chose, but if I would purposefully choose to wear silver, this was my roundabout way of saying that I was sorry.
But now, I was stuck in this wintery place, surrounded with white, silver, and the cold that penetrated my bones. Even though my father was a winter fey, I still had difficulties in the cold environment. Some days I really hated the Unseelie and other days I adored it, depending on what my mood was.
I knew that Sage would be coming to collect me shortly, so I took off, half running, half walking over the large amounts of snow. As it was still snowing, I knew that I would be safe once the snow covered my tracks a little. Then it would take Sage a little longer in trying to track me.
By the time I had found myself lost, in a world of snow and ice I had no idea of my bearings and how to return to the castle. I was cold, having taken off in a fit of anger and not taking my fur lined coat. So I was shivering, hoping Sage would find me sooner rather than later or else he would have to unthaw his wife.
I was standing there for what felt like a full two hours, but in actuality had probably only been about two, when I heard the sound of a horse's hooves. I was ecstatic, thinking that Sage had come and found me already. Imagine my shock when I looked up to see an unfamiliar fey looking down at me from atop his huge black stallion.
"Hello," I said cautiously, immediately trying to put several feet in between us. Sage had warned me repeatedly about other fey and how they wouldn't be as agreeable as he is towards me.
"Hello," this fey had a nice deep timbre to his voice. "I'm Lothion."
"I'm Isis." I offered. He nodded.
"I know. You are Prince Sage's consort." He looked at me thoughtfully. "Where is your husband?"
I felt a deep shiver go through me at this question. I wondered exactly why he would ask me something like that. "He will be here soon enough. He just wanted to take me on a nice romantic, secluded luncheon." I was trying to lie, just so he would leave me alone.
"I happen to know, Princess that it is only you and I here for miles." Lothion smiled at me, sinisterly. I shivered as I tried not to confess to him that it was only him and I. I had a feeling that this wouldn't end well for me.
"Well, his Highness will be here soon." I told him with a smile. Inwardly I was cringing. "Like I said, he went off to find some supplies."
"I will extend my aid to you." Lothion said with a smirk. "I owe your husband a favor anyway, so this would be a perfect way for me to repay my debt. I will bring his wife back to him." I gulped and swallowed. Really I would freeze to death if I did not go with this strange fey, so I agreed.
With a small sinking feeling I took his proffered hand and settled behind him on his stallion. We cantered for miles, and I knew that this wasn't the right way. So I took to leaving behind a bit of my shoes as we cantered, so as to leave a trail for Sage. He would know right away when he found the clearing without me in it, that something was wrong.
We finally stopped in front of a small cottage. It was dilapidated looking, with the roof sagging inwards on itself. Lothion dismounted from his horse and helped me down. I prayed with all my might that he would not happen to stumble upon my trail that I had purposefully left for Sage.
"I thought you were going to take me directly to Sage?" I asked, still having an awful feeling in my stomach.
"Oh I will. But I figured you needed a hot drink first." He smiled at me, preceding me into the home. I followed cautiously. The cottage was as filthy inside as it was outside. He came back within a few moments and handed me a drink. Taking a whiff it was hot chocolate with what smelt like herbs.
"Hot chocolate. I mixed in some cinnamon and cloves. They will help warm you up and keep you warm. Drink up before it catches a chill!" He admonished before falling into a chair by a fireplace that was lit with blue fire. I sat down delicately in the chair directly opposite of him and took a few sips from the cup. After I drank most of it, the whole room looked like it was spinning and I looked up at Lothion confused. He just smiled as the cup fell from my hands and shattered on the old, rotting floor boards.
When I awoke, I was on a bed. I tried to sit up but found I was tied to the bed. I began to panic. In all the movies and books I had read, this always did not bode well for the heroine. Or any character for that matter.
"Shh. Do not fight so much, Princess," Lothion came into the room by the doorway. He leaned casually there, watching me fight and struggle against my bindings.
"I thought you had to pay back a favor to Sage!" I cried out desperately. He chuckled before crossing the room and sitting down beside me. He began to run his hand down my face.
"I do have a favor to pay back Prince Sage." He said savagely, through gritted teeth. He dug his nails into my stomach violently, making my whole body attempt to twist away from this cruel treatment. "I vowed that I would hurt him as badly as he hurt me."
"What does that have to do with me!" I cried out, tears running down my face.
"He ordered the execution of my fiancé." Lothion gritted out, taking his fingernails out of my flesh. "So I vowed to hurt him in much the same way. I would torture his wife and then kill her directly in front of him, when he came to rescue her. So, Isis, you just happened to marry the one man that I hate the most."
"Please do not hurt me," I cried out. My voice sounded awfully tinny to my own ears. I was pleading on deaf ears I knew that.
"My dear, I wish I did not have to. But my vow is my vow and forever it will remain. I may never have another opportunity such as the one I had when I met you." Lothion smiled. "But do not fear. You can go back to sleep now."
"I will not be able to sleep now that I know what you, a horrid monster, is planning on doing to me!" I gritted out. He tensed his jaw before he slapped me. I held in my cry of anguish before he punched me. I fell into the blackness willingly.
The next time I woke up, the whole room was bathed in darkness, aside from the blue fire. I was shivering, and I did not see Lothion anywhere. I was beginning to become worried, as I did not hear Sage anywhere. Usually when I went AWOL he went to investigate, and by now at least one full day had passed and Sage would be worried.
"Awake Princess?" I jumped when I heard his voice once more. He chuckled at my reaction as he walked closer to me. I tried to shrink back into the mattress, but it wasn't going to happen.
"Please, don't hurt me!" I cried out, when I noticed the instrument he had in his hand.
"I am just going to have a little fun. Nothing more." He grinned like he was innocent. I thrashed around as he came closer with his poker. It was iron, which would burn me, but he had covered the bottom of it in a rubber grip. So that it wouldn't hurt him.
He placed it on my arm, and immediately the flesh began to sizzle and burn. I screamed in anguish, not caring anymore of my pain and who heard. I didn't care anymore of not letting him hear the satisfaction of hearing my pain. It hurt and I would let all know it. Maybe Sage could hear me too, I thought dimly as he moved the iron poker to different points of my body, letting it sear into my flesh.
I was unlike most half-breeds who could touch iron. My body reacted in much the same as a full-blooded fey would react whenever they touched iron. That had been an awful thing for me while I lived with my mother in the human world. Everything there was made of iron, and I had an awful allergy, but never knew to what. My mother suspected of course, but there was no way for her to contact my dad, until he contacted her.
Finally, after my whole body was throbbing and aching from all the burns, Lothion left with a dark promise that he would be back soon. I didn't want that, but I let my body pass out, to allow my healing process to begin. That wouldn't work, though I didn't know it at that point. Iron worked havoc on a fey's systems.
He came back the following day, this time with metal chains and a knife. I was his plaything. He put the chains on my wrists so that they would leave horrid burns all over it. Then he had fun cutting into my body, for his amusement. I prayed that Sage, Rowan, and Ash would be here soon, which told how much pain I was in to be hoping for his brothers to come.
Finally, my prayers were answered. I was roused from my semi-consciousness by the loud voice of my husband. I guess he found me. I cracked my eyes open to see him shouting and glaring at Lothion, who stood beside me, with a knife to my throat. I closed my eyes again, and prayed that someone would stop this lunatic.
I guess, Lothion had underestimated my husband's desire to retrieve me, for Ash sneaked up behind him and forced him to surrender. Sage hurried to my side and ordered that my chains be removed. He also wrapped me in his jacket. Then they took me back to the Unseelie court, where I was seen to by the court physicians.
It had been nearly a week and still I was on bedrest. I flinched anytime anyone came near me, though it was especially obvious if it was a male. Sage was guarded when he was with me, trying not to startle me with any unannounced motions. I was healing, albeit slowly.
Sage nearly pitched a fit when the doctor told us that the scars would remain. He demanded that the doctor do something about them. The doctor told him that the scars that I had retained from the iron would stay. It was permanent and there was nothing they could do. He handed me a jar of an elixir that he said would make them fade, and not look quite so prominent but there was nothing that could be done to make them fade completely.
I nodded demurely, trying not to look at either one of the male figures that were throwing each other looks. Men. None of them learn, especially not when they have been through an ordeal such as I have. They didn't really care, the doctor backed down though, just because Sage was the crown Prince and did not wish to spend the rest of his life in the dungeons.
Ash had come to visit me once, and informed me the Lothion was currently being held in the dungeons. Sage was going to provide an adequate punishment and he warned me that Sage might ask my opinion on the matter. I waved him off, knowing already that my husband would never ask for my assistance in the sentencing of that man. It didn't matter that Sage didn't really love me, he just wanted to set an example, that no one would touch his wife and get away with it.
I didn't really blame him, I mean I wanted him to be punished but I didn't know exactly how I wanted him to be punished. I didn't want him to be sentenced to death, but I didn't want Lothion to walk out of the castle either. I know I didn't just have physical scars from that experience, I also had mental scars.
It took me another three weeks to get out of bed. Then when I did, I just sat on the window seat and read or else wrote. Writing became a safe haven for me over the months after my attack. My assault, as I liked to label it in my head, bore down on my heavier than anything else that I had experienced in my life did.
Sage tried to get me to follow him out of doors, but I refused. I refused to fight with him, I merely did as I was told now. Sage didn't like that. He had liked my fight, but I agreed with everything he said now. If he told me to wear a specific dress, where before I had fought to wear the dress I wanted, now I just silently put the dress on and followed him.
I was losing weight rapidly. Even Queen Mab noticed, and pulled me aside to give me a lecture on eating. She told me her sons appreciated a woman with some meat on her bones. Instead of stick figures. I didn't even point out that most fey looked thin, I just nodded tiredly before asking if I could be excused.
By the time I had hit two months of being home, Sage was begging his mother to take me to a fey to get my head evaluated and mayhap to try an herbal remedy. My maid Tiothian, warned me that if I didn't try to become who I once was, Sage was going to take matters into his own hands. I was so tired and exhausted that I didn't even register what she was saying.
The day that everything turned around though, was the day I passed out on the floor in the throne room. I was taken back to our rooms, where they laid me on a bed and I was examined. The doctor assured everyone that it was due simply to lack of food and water.
From this point on I was hovered over by my husband, who made sure that I ate. I didn't even taste anything, but for his sake I ate. Finally, he was tired and exhausted and stressed and snapped at me.
"Why are you being so difficult?" I snapped my head over to look at him.
"I'm not being difficult!" I snapped back. The one thing that I can't stand is being told how difficult I am being.
"You are too!" He argued back, his silky black hair falling from his tie. "You don't eat unless I force you to. You have no emotions anymore. This is frankly the first time I have seen anything that resembles the woman that I married!"
"You have no right to say that to me!" I snapped right back. I guess I was getting to be back to my old self. "I do so have emotions! I'm just trying not to show them right now!"
"Well show them!" Sage yelled back at me. "I want to see that you are capable of feeling something other than this apathy crap!"
"Alright!" I snapped right back. "I feel guilty for not doing as I was bid. I feel guilty for getting into a fight with you over nothing!"
"Oh yeah?" He yelled right back.
"I also am scared. Scared of what's going to happen to me now!" I whispered the last part. "Are you still going to want me as your wife, if you are unable to control her?"
"Of course, I still want you." Sage gathered me in his arms and pressed a kiss to my lips. "I was so worried and scared that you wouldn't want to be anywhere near me anymore. Because I am the reason that you were kidnapped and tortured."
"Oh Sage, of course I still want to be with you!" I exclaimed, feeling tears spring to my eyes. "I mean, I think every fey out there has an enemy, right?"
"Probably," Sage said softly, pressing another kiss to my lips. "You are a remarkable woman. I am lucky to have you." He stepped back, breaking contact with me.
"You think so?" I asked, leaning back on the bed pillows.
"Of course I do. We are made for one another." Sage gave me a tiny smile, before changing into his night clothes and brushing his hair. Then he slipped into the bed beside me. He wrapped an arm around my torso and we both fell asleep, feeling much better about our relationship now that we had cleared the air.
It was still a long while before I was able to trust anyone outside of Rowan, Ash, Tiothian, and Mab, aside from Sage of course. I was still a nervous, twitchy mess anytime I had to meet with any other person of interest. Sage was great and reassured me every step of the way. I doubt I could have continued my life if it would not have been for Sage.