The Dark Path We Follow

Zaria, her long white hair that held a silver shine in the right light slid along the floor behind her as she walked up to the dark king. Her blood red eyes reflected the flames that lit the room. Her beauty left the others in the room speechless. But, not the king, he who had grown so accustom to the sight of her. He stood as she glided up the steps to his throne. "Zaria?" He questioned her reason for showing unannounced in the middle of a party.

"My king…" she whispered, her gaze dropping. She looked tired and her usual foggy transparent skin was solid and black as night. The dark king clasped her hands in his and pulled her along with him to the halls beyond his partying fey.

"Tell me, what has befallen on you?" He cupped her cheek, she felt like death and despair. The ruler of darkness could feel his beloved fey start to tremble. "Zaria?"

"Irial… My strength has been lessening everyday, I-I cant even…" Her voice broke and she stepped away from him.

Irial watched the death bringer with wary eyes. He had never seen her like this, her silver hair covered one of her watering eyes, "Do you know what's causing this?" His shadows swirled around them both, he shrouded her in his blanket of misery and pain; hoping it would help.

Zaria tried to smile and her tail wrapped around her ankle, "I don't know… there isn't enough death… I have nothing to feed off of… But we can't risk a war with the high court and the mortals are becoming too careful…" she touched her kings cheek with her sharp fingers, "I must go"

I looked at myself in the mirror, I ran my long needlelike fingers over the mirror of my image. I didn't used to look like this... No... I used to be beautiful...

But, everything was different this year. For one there was a summer, there were also three courts with new rulers... well not so much the summer court. But, they did have their long lost queen now. It would also be the year I step out onto the earth for the first time in over a millennia. I had to step out, to make my presence known to all the courts... even the one I belonged to. It was time for the Life Taker to show herself. I'm tired of hiding in the shadows. The world needs to start fearing Death once again.

I stepped out of my dark corridor. The sunlight stung my eyes as they adjusted quickly, the humans didn't deserve this wondrous beauty. I glanced back into my dark abyss, my home for the last who knew how long now. My first stop was to see the new Dark Court king... Niall. I found him in a place called Crow's Nest. He was sitting at a table with another faerie, recently changed. I walked up slowly, not bothering with glamour he didn't know me anyway. The faerie he was with looked up first, and then the dark king turned to face me. "My lord..." I bowed my head. "You don't know me yet my king but, you will..."

I could feel the emotions dripping from him. The hate, pain, and grief swirled around him in dark shadows. I wanted to caress those shadows and feed but, I didn't I just ran my fingers through them slowly, getting small tastes of angst and depression. "Your name? My dark little fae"

"Zaria" I said as he stood. His shadow-maidens circled closer, thinking me a threat. The high fey he had been talking with watched with worried eyes of gray galaxies.

Niall smiled, a dark mysterious grin. "I do believe you are of my court… yet I've not seen you…"

"You are a new ruler, I was… Irial's" I ran a sharp finger over the table, leaving deep cuts in the wood.

"Do you not accept me as your king?" He puffed smoke out of his mouth, the shadow-maidens stirred and came closer. All the fey in the room watched us.

I stepped closer, touching his chest and letting my tail caress his cheek. "My dark king, Niall, I would not deny you…" Blood trickled down his face from where the tip of my tail sliced his skin, my lips brushed his neck "Irial would not approve…" I now fed off his shadows, and my skin turned to a dark fog-like transparency.

"This isn't the place to get acquainted Zaria" Niall grabbed my hand and started to walk away but, stopped and turned to the high court fey. "Seth, go to Aislinn, tell her nothing of Zaria." With that he took me to the Dark court's palace. We pasted so many fae as we walked to the center where the king's throne lay. Bananach stood next to Gabriel by the side of the room, both studied me curiously. Niall sat on his throne, his shadows bathing the area around him as his shadow-maidens danced in the center of the room. They twirled, twisted and flowed through the air before fading in a bluish haze toward a different room. "Gabriel" the wolf stepped next to the dark king. "Gabriel, you were around while Irial was the Dark king, do you recall Zaria…?"

Gabriel looked at me, "Zaria the death bringer?" He sauntered toward me and circled like I was his prey, "I recall, yes. But my lord, I was just a pup then, I don't remember much beyond… her being Irial's… mate"

"I remember the soul taker." The raven-like faerie stood by me now. "She was Irial's weakness and was the first to fall when the court started dying."

"I didn't fall" my voice hissed at the feather haired fey and my tail whipped back and forth. My fingers and hand became one, turning into a long point. I grabbed the raven and stabbed my hand into her stomach. She laughed and jumped back before coming at me in an attempt to slice me with her talons. I moved at the last moment and diapered into a thick fog.

She clicked her mouth shut angrily and jumped out of the fog and into the grip of my tail. "Calm yourself War" I cooed binding her with my tail tightly. "I'm not the weak faerie I was back then"

Her head tilted in a way that made her seem like a bird, "I doubt that"

I smiled cruelly at her and turned to our king, who was enjoying our quarrel. "Do you accept me into your court my dark lord?" I keep the war fey tightly in my tail's grip.

Niall grinned, "I do believe you can keep this court strong… Death bringer, welcome back to the Dark court"