Aelin nestled deeper into the blankets, pulling the covers over her nose. The winter chill had pushed through her skin and left a constant ache in her bones. Even her inner fire wasn't enough to thaw her frozen limbs. Aelin, never one for the cold, despite loving the beauty and fragility of winter, had been complaining and griping for the past three months to anyone who would listen. Aedion had taken a sudden interest in training the new recruits. Lysandra had run off with Evangeline, claiming it was time for the girl to learn what the meaning of a "handsome man" is. Cowards, Rowan had yelled at their backs, staring after them longingly. He had responsibilty to the kingdom, being the king and all, and could not shirk on his duties, no matter how much he would like to. Aelin knew how much it bothered Rowan when she pestered him about the weather, and secretly she took pleasure in seeing his hardened exterior crack.
She reveled in the warmth seeping from his arms wrapped around her, his breath puffing against her neck. Closing her eyes, she breathed in his comforting scent and, for the first time since taking her title as Queen, she felt at peace. A blissful smile tugged at her lips when Rowan stirred against her. "Good morning," his deep voice rumbled against her back. He trailed light kisses down her neck, tightening his hold on her. Turning in his arms to face him, she answered against his lips,
"Good morning." His bright, green eyes took her in, hair mussed from sleep, blue orbs gazing into his. "I love you so much," he whispered hoarsely. Aelin smiled gratefully.
The door suddenly burst open, interrupting the moment.
"Aelin!" Aedion yelled, much too loudly for the morning. "Intruders in the camp!" Aelin pulled away from Rowan reluctantly, trying to break through the cotton surrounding her sleepy mind. "Where are they?"
"Eastern front."
"And the watchmen didn't see them? Most of our lookout towers are located over there."
Aedion hesitated. "They're Fae."
Rowan and Aellin both snapped to attention. Fae hadn't been seen on their borders since the war between them and Maeve had started. Aelin had decided to remain neutral for the safety of her tenuos kingdom. She hadn't had a large enough force to be of any use anyway. Four years had passed, and the battle had only gotten bloodier. Even Rowan, yearning to gnash his teeth alongside his brethren, had grudgingly come to the conclusion that it was best to stay out of it. Rowan narrowed his eyes. "How many of them were there?"
"The reports said they were a group of four. Three females, one male. Why?"
Rowan cursed, pulling the covers back. Aelin hissed when her bare leg met chill air. Rowan pulled a shirt over his head, beginning to strap on his many weapons.
"What?" Aelin asked, her face tight with concern.
He didn't answer for a while, continuing to sheath daggers and knives. "I know them," he said finally.
"What?" Aedion said angrily. "How?"
"Well," Rowan tested the weight of a longsword, throwing it back to the floor in seeming displeasure. "Do you remember those cousins I told you about, Aelin?"
"They're here?" she asked, surprised.
"Just a hunch, but I'm pretty sure..." He sniffed the air, letting out a growl. "That's them."
Aelin watched as Rowan walked out of the room, his strides measured and purposeful. He knew something, and by the way his face was twisted in a grimace, she wasn't sure she would like it. "Aedion," she yawned. "Would you mind leaving the room so I could get dressed. I'm rather naked."
Aedion flushed. "Of course, uh, my queen." His tone was gruff and awkwardly formal, and Aelin pressed her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. He bustled out of the room, closing the door half-heartedly.
Aelin walked down the line of tents, appraising the scattered men in her war camp. Today, Aelin had given the men a day off, and they seemed to be taking full advantage of it. They sat in clusters, talking and laughing at crude jokes, playing a game of cards. Her soldiers were a tight-knit bunch, bonded through years of rigorous training and warfare. They had milled uncertainly when she'd first said that she would be leading them to battle, all thinking a woman incapable of a man's work. A particularly bold man had laughed and called her a stupid bitch if she thought she could command an army. She'd merely raised an eyebrow, quelling the bristling anger evident on her blood-sworn's face. A calm challenge had issued from her lips, a shift into her true form. With fire and steel, she turned the ambivalence of her soldiers into awe and pride. There had been no questioning of her leadership since then.
The men hurriedly got to their feet, snapping a salute and "My Queen," whenever she passed them by. A simple nod had even the most hardened warrior beaming with joy. Aelin wandered the camp in her Fae form, thinking to use her heightened senses to her advantage. Her nose twitched when she caught the overwhelming smell of pine and snow from off to the left. She could make out faint voices. She followed the scent like a hunting dog, weaving between the many boxes and carts of the trading front with ease. She entered a large, white tent at the far side of the camp, pulling the flap closed behind her.
Rowan stood, tense, with his back facing her. Aedion was at his left, hand on his sword. Her attention was drawn to the center of the tent, the reason for their aggressive postures.
Four Fae lounged lazily against the wooden desk used for holding loose papers. Two of the three females talked animatedly amongst themselves, ignoring everyone else in the room. A male with fair hair and skin lay spread-eagle on top of the desk, his legs hanging over the edge. He was picking something out of his teeth with his nail. The third female was quiet, arms-crossed, staring intently at Rowan. She shifted her amber gaze to Aelin as she walked in. Fluidly, she pushed herself from where she leaned against the desk, and bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty." Her voice was smooth and lilting, making Aelin wonder if she was a singer. "Forgive our unpermitted entrance on your borders. We come only to ask a question."
Aelin eyed the Fae curiously. Her brown-gold hair flowed down her back in light waves, complimenting her amber gaze. If this was Rowan's cousin, she surely didn't look anything like him. "You are forgiven," she said with an air of queenly calm. "I am—"
"Oh, we well know who you are," the male interrupted. He sat with a cocky confidence that reminded her of her mate. He blew a lock of blonde hair from his eyes. "You're Queen Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, the woman who came back from the dead to take back her rightful throne. The supposed heir of Mala Fire-bringer, and the Fire-Breathing Bitch Queen." He grinned when Rowan growled.
"Oh, Rowan, as uptight as ever." He chuckled.
Aelin raised an eyebrow. "And you are?"
"Oh, pardon me, Your Highness," he said, placing a hand over his heart, "I am Alan Whitethorn." He nodded at the two still conversing females. "Those two prattle-birds are Luna and Caterina."
The amber-eyed female pushed Alan aside roughly, snarling at him. "Your Highness, please forgive my cousin's insolence. He has yet to learn how to behave in front of his betters even after living three centuries. I am Sumala. Please, allow us to―"
"Hey, Sumala!" the smallest of the females interrupted. "Tell Caterina that I won the bet!"
Caterina, a slender female with flashing green eyes, whirled to Sumala. "No she didn't! She cheated! We agreed at the beginning that Rowan had to have been married only, not with children!"
Rowan spoke for the first time. "It is not your right to come here. I left home for a reason: to get away from you."
Sumala turned to Rowan. "And so you have, for two-hundred years no less," she hissed. "Do not tell me what I have the right to do, or not do. You chose to flee when times got hard, leaving me to take care of the family. I have responsibilty over this family, not you. Never you." She stepped forward menacingly, and Aedion growled warningly. He would not hesitate to attack if this female took action on her threat, no matter how beautiful she was. Damn, why did all Fae have to be chiseled from stone?
Aelin bared her teeth in warning, letting a long hiss roll off her tongue. She stepped in front of Rowan, getting right into the face of her offender. "Do not think you have the right to threaten my court." She looked at Rowan. "And I do not care how dark your past is, my first priority is my people." Her gaze found amber again.
"You have crossed my borders without permission, frightened my men on one of the few days of rest I give them, and," she growled menacingly, "you have upset my mate."
Sumala held her gaze for a long moment, before tearing her eyes away. She let out a long breath and composed herself in the deafening silence. "Forgive me, Queen. You are right. It is not my place to do so." Aelin admired her discipline and control, the anger slowly fading away.
Slow clapping came from where Alan sat on the desk. "Bravo, Sumala. You've managed to get yourself into yet another catfight."
The nearly inaudible scuff of immortal feet on earth made Aelin whirl, flames at the ready. Two Fae stood in the entrance to the tent, a male and a female. The male was handsome, with short silver locks and sharp, angled features. His blue eyes were guarded. The female's face was kind. No harsh lines marred her pale complexion, and a slight smile gave her an amiable look that contrasted that of her companion. A single white flower lay in her gentle waterfall of hair.
Alan closed his eyes and groaned. "Why are they here?"
The male remained quiet, but the female answered in a sweet soprano. "Sumala wished for us all to come, as a way of showing how important our plea is. I and Matthias have remained home for far too long. We decided it was time for us to join the family once again."
Matthias nodded, studying each of the Fae in the room.
"Would you kindly tell me what this request is?" Aelin asked impatiently.
Sumala opened her mouth, but Matthias cut in first. His voice was a deep and alluring, making Aelin's heart beat faster involuntarily. "Your Majesty, Felizen and I have traveled many leagues to meet you. My cousins beat us to it, it seems. We need your help in defeating Maeve's forces. Our troops have fallen short, and we are in need of a powerful ally. We are well aware that you have remained neutral these past years, and I, at least, respect the decision to protect your own. But please, we are in need of your assistance. If you would not do this for us, think of your people. Surely after Maeve has defeated us, she will come to take revenge on the one who humiliated her. Alone, I fear neither of us can do anything to stop her reign of destruction, but together...that is another matter."
His ominous words left both a sense of dread and hope in the pit of her stomach. Maeve was much stronger than she thought, to be able to punch through the Fae's lines, but perhaps there was another way.
A tense silence fell over them. Luna broke it with a loud guffaw. "Damn, Matthias. I think that's the most you've said in twenty years. And such dramatics. You'll set many hearts a-pounding with that tongue of yours."
"Oh, you have no idea," Matthias rumbled. "My years spent alone have been quite...interesting with the addition of a female in the house." He pulled Felizen closer to him.
Caterina eyed her brown-haired cousin with a look of fear. "Felizen, what did you do to him?"
Luna growled. "I swear, if you've—"
Matthias chuckled. "She hasn't done anything to me. I've been the one doing things to her." He ran a hand down her back. "So, Aelin Galathynius, what is your answer?"
Aelin glanced back at Aedion and Rowan. They merely shrugged, having relaxed just the slightest amount with the addition of banter. She looked at Sumala. "If I agree, what does it mean for our two kingdoms?"
"Mine would forver be in your debt," Sumala answered immediately.
Felizen spoke up. "We are already technically allied, what with Rowan being king."
"It was never made official," Sumala snapped.
All the Fae tensed at the whisper of ice crawling across the floor. Aelin shivered as the temperature dropped. "That doesn't make it any less true, Sumala," Rowan said softly.
Aedion placed a hand on his shoulder, and surprisingly, Rowan didn't shake it off. Aedion whispered something quietly to the bristling Fae warrior, and Rowan seemed to come back to himself. He glanced at Aelin before dropping the hostile posture.
"Well, that was certainly an overreaction, dear cousin," Alan quipped, though to Aelin he looked nervous.
She smirked. A little scared of dear cousin, are you?
Aelin spun to the amber-eyed female, her decision made. "I will fight with you, Sumala." She said the name for the first time, feeling the power that stirred from within.
Surprise flashed across her face, before she schooled her features into blankness once again. "Together," she said, holding out her hand. Aelin hesitated for only the briefest moment, before clasping the hand. She felt weathered calluses to match her own. "Together."
A/N: I wrote this fanfiction thinking it original, but I recently found another one very similar to it. So here I give credit to that author, because it kinda seems like I stole their work... It's found in Collections, chapter 14, by calypcso. So sorry to that author. Didn't mean to use your work. :P Thanks for reviews, positive or negative.
**To Lady C: Thanks for pointing that out! I didn't even notice. xD That kind of thing always escapes my eye. See, I didn't do a very thorough job editing, being eager to post, so I must've skimmed over that. No, this is a one-shot. I don't have any plans on continuing, unless of course I suddenly get an uncontrollable urge to do so (that kind of thing does happen a lot to me). Also, I appreciate the feedback. Any criticism you'd give? Always open.
-Arya