"Thou wast that all to me, love,

For which my soul did pine…

And all my days are trances,

And all my nightly dreams

Are where thy grey eye glances,

And where thy footstep gleams"

- Edgar Allan Poe

Four Years Later,

Kit admired the cotton flowers that grew like ivy up the pillars weaving into the silky white fabric of the pavillion canopy. Fresh wild flowers of blues, purples, and gold, bloomed around them like a natural bouquet in the tall grass. The sky above them looked like an oil painting of a fairy tale, and he supposed that wasn't far off the mark.

The summer flowers were a good a sign, he thought. It meant the Faerie was healthy again, which was good knews to Kit because the last thing he needed was to be bound to a dying land when he officially became king of both Courts.

It was beautiful here, but Kit missed the ocean and sandy beaches. Of course he was aware it was far more likely that it was a certain Blackthorn that tasted of salt and sea, that warmed him like sand bathed in sunlight that he missed. Bright colors and vibrant shades could never compare to dark hair and silver eyes set against pale skin.

His hand subconsciously reached up to grab his thin tunic just where his heart was. The hollowness that ached there was a constant reminder of his absence, as if he needed another one.

"What does your heart long for today, princling?"

Kit turned his attention back to his companion and set him with an annoyed look.

Ash's fair hair fell in his face, brushing his high cheekbones. His brilliant green eyes shone with mischief as he spoke. The points of his ears peaked noticeably through his hair, his half faey lineage more pronounced then Kit's.

His mother had told him once that his ears had been clipped at an early age. According to her, it was a small price to pay to keep his identity secret. Kit wondered if his infant self would have agreed.

Kit brushed the tips of his ears subconsciously, feeling there the beginnings of small points, as if his time in Faerie was beginning to physically change him.

"Advisors who are quiet, preferably," Kit answered, returning to the circular ornate table in the middle of the pavilion.

"Then what would you do without my guidance? Besides staring out windows forlorn until the end of days?" He teased back.

"At least I would have some peace of mind without worrying about your scheming."

Ash just smiled at his jab, enjoying the lack of pretense while it lasted. Kit liked Ash, he was clever and had a knack for sarcasm that was often lacking among Faeries. Not to mention it was rare to meet someone even close to his own age here. Although he liked him, he was not stupid enough to trust him. Kit was only here as a means of survival. Control the courts and no one could touch him, that was the plan. But Ash had a claim to the thrones as well, and to him it was his birthright.

It was a keep your enemies close situation come to life if he had ever heard of one.

Growing up among Faeries gave Ash one distinct disadvantage however, that Kit could exploit. Ash was not accustomed to liars, so even though he could lie he had no idea how to conceal it or how to spot a one. Because of this Kit was able to remain a few steps ahead of him.

Who would have thought Johnny's lessons would prepare him so well for politics?

Kit looked at the map laid out on the table. It was a map of Faerie, the picture shifted and changed with the landscape in real time as he watched.

He reached out, poking the map with his finger at their current location. The map rippled like water at his touch, an inky dot marking the spot.

"Do we have anymore allies for our campaign?" Kit asked, watching as more dots marked with his sigil, a mended crown, sprung up on the map.

Ash lazily lounged on the table, resting his elbows as he leaned forward. "I have heard we have made progress with the dryads and the nymphs. The nixies and selkies are still against you, obviously."

Kit nodded as he thought. They had been moving throughout the land campaigning to gain support for his claim to the throne. Ash traveled with him, doubling as an advisor and enemy contender as they vied for support. "Nothing new then."

"Of course, communication would be much easier if time was not moving differently for us then the rest of Faerie," he said, glancing at the Blackthorn ring Kit wore.

Ty had given him back the ring just before Kit ran off to Faerie. He had no idea Ty had it, he thought it was lost forever. Ty told him he had it enchanted like Cristina's pendent so time would move for him as it did in the mundane world. Kit would never have left without some promise that they could find each other again, and he suspect Ty had known that.

Since his arrival in the Courts it had become obvious that time was moving as it did outside of Faerie, and the cause wasn't hard to figure out. Still, Kit never dared take it off even for a second. As long as he wore it there was a chance they could meet again, and he would rather die than be parted from it.

"It's not a problem, we talk to our emissaries on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day."

Ash shrugged, opening his mouth to say something before a guard made his presence known, waiting for their acknowledgment.

They turned towards the Faerie, who gave Kit a deep bow before speaking.

Earie was a faey with vines that grew against his skin where his veins should have been. He was both equally fascinating and horrifying to look at in Kit's opinion. But what was really important about Earie was that he was young, and not just by Faey standards, and therefore impressionable without old allegiances and prejudices. Kit often relied on him specifically for that reason.

"We have an intruder," he said, his head still bowed low.

Kit raised an eyebrow as he considered the information. His first thought was the phooka that often snuck in, running amok through the Courts. No matter where they moved he seemed to find them. Kit didn't know if he had grown attached to him after meeting him in the Thorn Mountains years ago or if he had something more sinister in mind. He had tried to get him captured at first to no avail, no one seemed able to lay a finger against the creature. Whatever he was planning Kit was so far powerless to do anything about it.

"What sort of intruder?"

"A Shadowhunter, my Lord, requesting an audience."

Kit and Ash exchanged a dark look. At least where the Clave was concerned, they had the same opinion.

This was a delicate situation for Kit for several reasons. First of all, the last he had heard the cohort had gained even more influence in the Clave, and it seemed far more likely they to him that they would send an assassin then an envoy. Secondly, an audience with a Shadowhunter would only draw attention to his own Nephilim blood, something that put him in ill favor with many Faerie gentry.

"Perhaps they have finally come to collect you." Ash said cherrily, no doubt thinking along the same lines.

Kit rolled his eyes, an expression Ash was unfamiliar with when they first met but quickly became fond of, often imitating it himself in the time he had known him. "It'll take more then one Shadowhunter to abduct me from my own Court."

"He is waiting in the foyer my Prince. What would you have us do?" Earie asked, finally straightening up from his bow.

It wasn't the ideal time, but it had always been his plan to deal with the Clave at some point to negotiate. If there was a chance he could secure them as allies and end the Cold Peace, that would win him immersible favor.

Not to mention it could drastically change his circumstances.

"I suppose we should hear him out then."

They followed Earie out into a ruined hall near the pavilion, Ash walking beside Kit looking far too excited for his comfort. The hall lead into an entryway of an old castle that had fallen away to little more than pillars and stone floors. They had been holding Court in old relics like these all throughout Faerie as they traveled, they seemed uninhabitable, however their magic still shielded these places from the weather and cold.

As they reached the end of the corridor, the foyer came into view.

Ash let out a low whistle, followed by what sounded like, "wow,"

Kit looked into the room and noticed the grim faces of his knights lined up on either side of the Old Stone throne first.

His mother stood to the right side of his throne, her face was pale, her hand raised to cover her mouth. She looked positively terrified to Kit.

That was when Kit turned to look for the threat, and when his eyes found him the world fell away.

His heart pounded in his chest, creating an almost deafening roaring in his ears.

He was there, standing between two knights, tall and graceful. His dark curls were longer then when he had last seen him, yet he looked exactly like he did when Kit dreamed.

His gray eyes found his own, sparkling like stardust framed by dark lashes, pinning him to the spot. That face he knew better then his own, because he spent every waking moment he could trying to remember it.

It was a sight so stunning, so unbelievable, he felt just like he had when he first saw him, completely unarmed by all the beautiful things he had never known he wanted.

And somehow, everything he ever wanted since was standing right in front of him.

Time seemed to stand still as his mind tried to grasp what was in front of him, telling him this is real, this is real, this is real.

Finally, time resumed it's normal pace and the room flooded back into his vision as one of the Knights announced,

"Tiberius Blackthorn requests an audience with the Prince."

The end! I'm so sorry this took so long! I also really wanted to say thank you to everyone who read this and left reviews and encouragement. I really, really needed Kit and Ty for awhile there and writing all this helped me as I was trying to make it out of bad place I was in. And it gave me back a hobby I had long since abandoned and never expected to pick up again. But I get discouraged easily, so I know I could never have done all of this without the support I got. So really thank you, cause I really needed this.