Puck absolutely hated saying goodbye. He considered himself too much of an aloof individual to do so; his real feelings well hidden by the playful banter and jokes he casually tossed around. He would have thought by now that he would have gotten over it, put up with the loss, found a way to shut off his emotions, but he hadn't- Not at all.

Which was why he could barely stand it when the winter prince (No, he reminded himself, not a prince anymore) shook his hand and wished him luck. He blinked, caught off guard, and then told himself he wasn't going to mess up this goodbye.

"You too, Ash."

Strangely enough, he felt tears prick the back of his eyes.

He didn't trust himself to brave the iron deathtrap that awaited Ash, not even for an embrace from its queen. Meghan would understand, though. He was Fey, through and through- and he had already braved the realm for her once. He knew she would hate it if he did it again.

He still loved her. It had been a horrible thing to deal with, watching her get closer and closer to a fey made of ice- constantly worrying that he would hurt her. It was insufferable, really. He had been like a little troll, following the pair wherever they went. An awkward third wheel, as Meghan would probably have put it. He remembered the day when Leanansidhe had come to collect her favour from the prince, the defiant look on Ash's face when Puck figured out why he had done it- risked himself in that way. He had been relieved… and a bit miffed. He had been there first! He had waited years for her, watching her as she grew, protecting her in school. He was the one who found the empty classrooms when the cheerleaders were making their rounds, wiped the tears from her eyes when their taunts hit a little too close to home. Hell, he had even defied Oberon for her! But that didn't seem to matter. Her eyes still drifted from him to Ash whenever ice-boy had been around.

Ash did love her, though. He knew that for sure. He could tell the ice prince loved her so much it was painful.

It was probably better that way, anyway.

Puck took one last glance at Ariella's soul shining from Ash's eyes.

He shut his eyes and let the Glamour wash over him, feeling the familiar twist and release as he burst into the form of a crow, flying off into the cool morning air.

Puck didn't know where he was going. He had flown blindly before, but never this recklessly. He was impossibly late to returning to the Summer Court. He had lost count of the days a while ago. Oberon would be furious, of course- Puck didn't really care. They had been getting angry at each other for centuries. He considered it to be part of their love-hate relationship.

The sun was high above him as he glided gently on air currents, staying high above the trees in case someone mistook him as some prey bird. The sky was bright blue, the trees below him healthy and vivid. The faint taste of pine sat in his mouth. It felt odd, being suddenly released from the oaths and battles that he had become so accustomed to in the past few human years. He finally had time to himself, to think- to just be Fey. So he did.

He was the only bird in the air, which he considered a good thing. Right now, the plan was to stay as far away from the courts as possible. He had pushed his luck in the past with the faery king and come out unscathed, but he didn't think sneaking past Oberon would be so easy this time around. Technically, he had taken off on an unpermitted quest (He wanted to scoff at that- he was Robin Goodfellow. When did he ever ask for permission?) and hadn't returned. Punishment had been forgotten during the Iron War, but he doubted the Erkling would forget his mistakes so easily. Puck had a feeling he would be spending at least a century as a permanent lawn decoration if he showed up on the faery king's doorstep.

Puck dipped through the air, evergreen trees flashing by below him. He figured he had a little over a day's chance to distance himself as Ash's story spread through the courts. It was the first time any kind of fey had wanted to be mortal and on top of that, succeeded. If he remembered old habits correctly, the court would be in absolute chaos for the next couple of days. It was a badly kept secret that the summer sidhe were notorious gossipers. This story might actually drive a select few off the edge. The faery chuckled mentally. All in all, that would only help him in his escape plan.

He had never felt this free before. In previous centuries, it had always been the courts first. Doing errands for Oberon (which he hated), trying to avoid Titania's wrath, (which he usually managed to, minus that one incident with the kelpie in her closet), or just always having to stand by the King himself like some sort of imperial guard. He knew why, of course. He was powerful. Staying by the Erkling's side just reminded potential enemies that the Summer King had a secret weapon. But now, there was no worry. He had no oaths to uphold and no reason to fight. Puck felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Even when the king requested his presence, he usually kept him by his side as a crow. Puck always thought he looked more intimidating as himself, but had a strong feeling that the fey was easily annoyed by him. The crow cawed raucously as he swooped through the air in the place of laughter. If there was one thing that filled him with glee, it was pissing off Oberon. He vaguely wondered how the king had put up with him for all this time.

Puck had been flying for quite some time when there was a tug at his chest. He blinked, realizing he had zoned out, suddenly aware of the wind rushing at him and gliding over his wings. He beat his wings once, twice, trying to place where he was, before feeling the tug again.

Oh no.

He looked around desperately, trying to find a landmark. Apparently while he had zoned out, he hadn't kept heading east as was his plan. Confusion raced across his mind as glamour thickened around him, pulling him to his left- forcing him to flap his wings harder in order to not drop like a stone. He looked down. The trees underneath him weren't evergreen anymore- they were dark green, covered in vines with the lightest dusting of mist and fog.

He had strayed into the Wyldwood.

And to make matters worse, he was being summoned.

God damn it.

Hi there! This is the long awaited Iron Fey story I've been mentioning in my updates. It will be multi-chapter- watch this space!

Please review!