Snow hugged him like a newborn, soft and clingy. The world was covered on a white, thick blanket, footsteps and paw prints crisscrossed each other around the labyrinth of paths. Silvery flakes danced down against a dove grey sky, the colors he did see richer somehow.
"Winter?" he muttered, trying to avoid thinking how cold he was. "It was springtime just a second ago..."
"This isn't your world, silly goose," she replied in an airy tone. "This is the fae realm. Why would you expect it to follow your human expectations? Your world is the strange one, not ours. Now, hurry up, I don't like to be kept waiting. You have a lot to see here, you know."
Well there was no need to be so rude. Lanterns were placed every two trees or so, giving everything a yellow hue. He did his best to follow her the same pace.
The leaves on the gnarled trees had frozen, creating detailed sculptures, art in every vein. Vibrant flowers crept upon the barks, pink and yellow and green. There were some bigger than his hand, moonflowers just starting to open, something that might have been lavender were not its color black.
He saw a couple of white haired children running around, strands of light coming out of their hands. He saw strange hair colors and beastly traits.
He saw deer with feathery wings, eating the barks of the trees. He saw cats with antlers trotting behind a redheaded woman. He saw bears that seemed to be burning inside. He saw blue foxes.
He saw so many impossibilities just with a glance, it was almost enough to forget he was freezing. He was smiling in no time. He hoped Germaine would follow him here, this wasn't something he could just describe.
"What is your name?"
"Didn't you hear it earlier? Or are you deaf?" she asked, her eyes flicking back to look at him before she continued across the snowy ground as if he'd never spoken. She walked as if completely unhindered by the snowdrifts, the hem of her dress never seeming to dampen no matter how much of the glittering white it dragged across. She seemed entirely otherworldly, in that moment, like the fae she was.
"My name," she finally declared, "is Riliane Lucifen, Princess of the Unseelie Court. You would do well to remember that. No one would dare harm someone I've taken a liking to."
Riliane. What a pretty name.
Wasn't he lucky, to have won the favor of a- no, of the Princess, even if he wouldn't stay for long?
He pulled up the soaked hem of his pants, so they wouldn't make contact with his skin.
His breath was stolen away when he could finally make the form of what seemed to be an impressive palace made of ice. It was high upon the hill overlooking the town, it's many pointed towers giving it the look of an eccentric crown. It seemed to grow right out of the ground like a glacier and it reflected the light like many shards of glass in the afternoon sun.
"Ah, you like it?" She smirked. "Of course you do. You don't have anything like this in your world, do you? I don't know how you humans manage. It's adorable, really. You're so... persistent."
The detachment in her voice was somewhat eerie-she sounded as if she really couldn't care less.
"Hey, we have managed to do pretty impressive things ourselves." He said defensively. "We may not have castles made of ice but we have them made of stone."
"Yes, yes. Good for you. But they don't look nearly as good as this, now, do they?"
"Royalty lives in them, and they rub their wealth in other people's faces." He quoted some of the older men of his homeland. "Just like you do. Live in your castle, I mean." He quickly added.
"...it's a good thing you corrected yourself," she replied, and for a moment, her tone was low. Then she glanced back and smiled brightly, giggling. "I would have been sad if I thought you didn't like me!"
With her smile, he was enveloped by warmth. It tasted like honey and smelled like cinnamon, honey, boiled apples, his eyes fluttering shut like the sensation of sleep on a winter's night and-
"You seem like a really nice person, my Lady."
Being honest, what he would really like was some dry clothes, but he wouldn't abuse of her hospitality. It was good enough that he was in the realm of what he had thought unreal until today.
She beamed. "Thank you! That's sweet of you to say. Anyway, we should hurry and get you into something warmer, or you'll catch your death of cold... I'll have to ask my tailor..."
With that castle made of ice, he wondered if that was a moot point.
He didn't know what to think of this entire situation. The girl seemed nice enough, if a little apathetic, but she hadn't asked a thing about him. Not even how had he gotten there.
The castle was magnificent from the inside, intricately carved, though too luxurious for his tastes. It was, of course, as cold as the outside of it. But that's not what Allen was thinking about.
He had questions of his own. If she ruled the land, why did she call herself a Princess and not a Queen? She was a fae, did that mean she had powers? What were the Courts? How would they find clothes his size? Where were they going now?
All those and more were buzzing around his thoughts a mile a second.
He walked a few steps behind the monarch, admiring the castle and the intricate carvings of it, until they stopped in front of a thick, wooden door.
"This is one of the guests rooms -I hope you find it appropriate." Riliane opened the door and ushered him in.
His jaw dropped. "I'll sleep here?"
It was bigger than his home's kitchen and living room put together! His eyes darted to the gold rimmed furniture, the elaborate tapestries on the walls, thick blankets and furs on the floor and on the too large bed, with green sheets and gold tassels.
Riliane wrinkled her nose. "We can't have you standing in wet clothes... Kayo!"
She walked into the room, and immediately drew his attention. With long pink hair and a strikingly red dress, she was elegant without being ostentatious, carrying herself with pride but not with arrogance.
"So this is your new human," she observed, her voice low and pleasant. "He looks almost exactly like you. That should make my job a bit easier, I already know what colors to use. Let's see... Can you turn for me?"
He did so obediently, and could feel her eyes moving up and down his body, clinically, in the way a farmer might examine his animals for disease.
"Yes... and back around, please. Chin up. A pin or a tab collar, I should think... nothing too fancy. You are the princess's new human, so of course we must have something, but making your first impressions based on clothing alone can betray you. Trust me on that, darling, I'm a tailor..." Her voice lowered conspiratorially. "And you'd be surprised what people will let slip when they think I'm not listening."
Add two more questions to his list. New human?
"Ah, I won't be staying long anyway. There's no need to go through all that trouble."
She paused for a moment, and had a strange light in her eyes as she smiled, rather in the way one might smile at a child who had just claimed that they could fly. "Of course you won't, dear. Silly me, what was I thinking?"
"First impressions? Are we going somewhere?" he didn't think just staying there would require such fancy clothing.
"Of course. A ball."
Panic gripped him instantly. "I've never danced in my life. Are you sure...?"
"Absolutely positive, dear."
He had to think positive. He would have something to tell back home. About how he had embarrassed himself with a group of fae. Germaine would never let him hear the end of it.
Well. He was attending a ball with someone he barely knew. Boy and princess walked onwards, where faint din of music and voices came echoing down the corridor.
The narrow hallways opened up to a balcony looking upon a massive ballroom below. Skies of color greeted Allen—gowns and garments that glowed with an unnatural light, some that even changed hue from one moment to the next. He was left feeling underdressed in the fanciest clothes he had ever worn.
A darker orange than Riliane's own dress, more of an ochre, of an incredibly soft quality.
A staircase led the way down. Hand on the banister, he made his way down, eyes going back and forth to the strange group of people. Besides their pointed ears, the only other tell was in how otherworldly beautiful they were, their skin too smooth, their features too perfect.
"Allen!" Riliane's eyes lit up the moment she spotted him, and she giggled, beaming in his direction. "Come over here! Come on, hurry up!" At her call, people's eyes turned to him immediately, some with curiosity, others jealousy, others what seemed to be... pity... that was strange.
"Come on," she repeated, sounding more petulant, an impatient child rather than a princess. "Faster!"
He struggled not to roll his eyes as he made his way to her. He did wonder... He had never told her his name.