A fan fiction based on the story of ACOTAR at the end of book 2 (ACOMAF). Will contain *spoilers" and will use information already established. If you haven't read both books, stay clear.

This is simply a story about a character coming into the world straight after the events of the last book. It will not try to resolve the main story lines but will add and interact with them throughout. Not sure how long this story will go on, so stay tuned if liked.

CHAPTER ONE

Smoke filled my lungs, stinging my eyes so the tears burned. Screaming and shouting mixed together into the darkness that enveloped me and dragged me under. The land my mother sang, painted and read fairy tales about became my only thought, shutting out my life in this world and dragging me to somewhere new.

Bright sky, full of green and blue and yellow filled my vision. But the air tightened on my body, suffocating my smoke filled lungs and electricity sparked against my skin. I knew I had to get out. There was so little energy left but if I stayed here I would die. I didn't want to know the owner of these land; I knew things had changed in 500 years. I didn't want to be here.

I took a hesitant step, my legs screaming against the movement. I pulled myself though the darkness, the void tugging me into unconsciousness. I fought it; if I gave up in here the air I forced into me would falter and I would be lost. I pulled and pulled, my head screaming and darkness filling my vision till I no longer knew if my eyes were forced open or closed shut.

The bright light of white, cream and wood answered my question before I could even ask it. The smell of blood and sweat filled my nose, pushing out the smoke and burning flesh from within. Black figures shuddered against the bright white, my eyes already beginning to fail with the edges blurring to darkness.

"Sanctuary," I pleaded to the buried lines, "Sanctuary."

I felt myself going under the black pressure of exhaustion when a whisper sounded against the piercing scream, "Reinette?" I had come to the right place.

A rope jerked at my chest, the smell of blood and a lingering heavy poison filling my head as it became harder and harder to stay upright. I willed my eyes to focus on the black shadow lying on the floor: a hole in his chest, the body hanging onto a shredded cloak, two slender figures hanging over them. The pain and hurt pulled at my stomach, making me want to vomit. As I felt the darkness pull over my brain, I filtered all my remaining energy down the rope, hoping it found the pain and healed.

I felt my legs give up more than hearing the crack of my body against the hard wooden floors.

-Break-

My senses were working faster, stronger than ever before. Sound ripped through my sleep: laughing, singing, cracking wood, hushed voices, footsteps back and forth so close to my feet. The familiar smells of baking bread and fresh linen mixing together with burning and sweat. Panic wretched at me, waiting for the smoke and screaming to come forward but it never did. The hushed voices continued however, so I focused on them, singling them out of the chaos.

"She's freezing," a strong female voice said through the haze, "She's dying Rhys, the energy it took her to get here, it's killing her. Never mind what she did for Azriel, and Cassian."

"I know Mor! I'm trying, I am, but I don't know what more I can do. A healer can't help her; all I can do is keep the fire burning."

I willed my eyes to open, only to shut out the bright light that filled my silted vision. A small groan escaped my lips, my throat burning in response. The footsteps stopped suddenly, then came hastily towards my head.

"Who are you?!" demanded the male, "How did you get in this house?!"

I tried so hard to will my eyes to defy the light and open. A sliver of colour bored into my brain; focusing was not easy. Finally, my eyes were able to distinguish a male, dressed mostly in black with a stern face and messy hair. His violet eyes pierced across his paled skin, vibrant above the black shadows that lay under his shallow sockets. The female on the other hand was flawless, with golden hair that shined as it flowed down to a loose light red top and pants.

"Who are you?!" he demanded again. I tried to answer but my throat tightened, protesting against the air pushing through it.

"Go easy on her Rhys, she's almost dead..."

"I need to know how she got into the house! If there's a weakness for our enemies to exploit... How does she even know where we are unless she's from Hybern?"

"If she was sent her to kill us, she wouldn't have arrived half dead and healed Azriel! Never mind requesting sanctuary! Get your head straight Rhysand!" She didn't shout, but ordered, trying to force her voice to break up his tangled thoughts, "She's not from Hybern… She looks so much like Reinette…"

Pain spiked my heart at the sound of her name, the way that female was saying it with so much love.

"Reinette," I managed to squeeze out through my hoarse voice, "You knew Reinette?"

She drifted closer to my face till I could see her soft skin and full lips, "Yes. How do you know that name?"

"My mother; Reinette was my mother."

She pulled back fast, pulling in a quick breath in the process. "How? Reinette, she died in the war, she had no offspring." Her voice trembled, hope and pain mixed together, "This cannot be true, do not lie about such things."

I felt the thick exhaustion start to pull me under. I had to try and soothe the woman who talked about her with such love. "She didn't die in the war, she left to have me." I tried so hard to keep my breathing even.

"Where? Where is she?" The female's voice choked on her words.

Before my heart and head could form an answer, the dishevelled male demanded again, "Who are you?"

I had just the energy to force out my name before being pulled under.

"Katherina."

-Break-

The second time I was able to pull myself out of heavy sleep, the sounds, smells and varying lights were less intense but still took a number of minutes to adjust. The heat rolled from the fireplace till it reached in every corner of the room. I waited for panic to set in, but the flames didn't lick at me like in my home and the air felt fresh and light. Despite the heat, my body shivered against my will as I pulled the blankets up closer to my face.

"How are you feeling?" The female from before was sat in a cream cushioned chair near the end of the bed. I remembered how her voice was coated with love at the sound of my mother's name; I decided quickly she was not an enemy.

"Cold." Was all I could manage before wincing against the soreness of my throat.

As she saw my pain, she brought over a glass of milk, helping to tip the soothing liquid into my mouth and down my throat while idling saying, "You must have been in quite a fire, we washed you of most of the ash but you'll need a bath as soon as you are well enough."

"We?" My thought rushed to the male that was here, the thought of him washing me.

"Me and the handmaidens." I breathed a sigh of relief. Her mouth hinted at a smile before her eyebrows pulled inwards. "You're Reinette's daughter?"

"You knew her?"

She looked towards the fire and in a sorrowful voice said, "Yes I knew her. She was a close friend of mine. When she died – supposedly died – it was one of the worst losses in the war. I had hoped somehow she had managed to escape, that'd she'd come back safe and still smiling. I would forgive her for that. It's good to know she had at least a bit happiness if she had a daughter."

It made my heart ache to hear her talk of my mother, it had been hundreds of years since I had heard anyone talk about her even remotely like that. "She got pregnant in the war. She told me she hated leaving everything behind but she didn't know the outcome. She died 200 years after…" I felt a tear threaten to fall as I tried not to remember her smile.

The female nodded at nothing after a moment before turning back to me, face stern. "I'm Morrigan, member of the Night Court. I need to know how you managed to get into this town, in this house."

"My mother, she taught me how winnow. The magic here is stronger, more vibrant than where I had been practicing. It still took a lot out of me." She looked at me, waiting for more answers I realised. "My mother told me about this place. Said if I ever needed to escape, to come to the place she told me about."

That seem enough to her for the moment as she fell back into the chair, eyes still focused on my face. "Katherina. That is your name, right?"

"Yes."

She breathed heavily, "Welcome to the Night Court. As you can tell, the High Lord granted you sanctuary. We do require more information from you but because of who you claim to be and aiding in our court members' injuries, you are welcome to stay here until you have fully recovered. This is of course providing you do not hurt anyone in our lands and we do not discover you are a spy."

"Thank you," was all I could manage as I tried to process all the words that flowed out. The words floated through my head: sanctuary. I was safe for at least a while. Relief rushed down my body, making me light-headed.

"Thank you Katherina, for Cassian's wings. We were so worried he would lose them. He would have rather died…" Her eyes glazed over.

"Wings?"

"Yes. When you got here we were trying to heal their wounds. You were able to heal Azriel fully before you passed out. With him healed, we were able use our combined magic to fully restore his wings. He might have lost a little feeling in them as the healer took longer than we thought to get to him but least he'll be able to fly still."

Wings? The cloak; could that have been wings? But men with wings? It took me longer than I'd like to admit to remember my mother telling me about them: "Illyrians."

"Yes."

I didn't have the energy to attempt to hold idle conversation. I honestly just wanted to sleep. "I'm sorry Morrigan, but I'm so tired"

"That's ok, your fever is going down. But you should really eat…" A plate of hot bacon appeared next to me. The overwhelming smell instantly turned my stomach. I couldn't warn her before I vomited on the floor.

Darkness pulled me under yet again.