Allyn
I kept waiting for Terrin to say something at the meeting. He had seemed so angry yesterday, but today he was quiet. I was impressed with how easily he inserted himself into the current political scene, though it brought me great fear.
I tried to pay attention as best I could, but all I could do was listen. I wished to be in the same position as Thalia's husband, capable to raising points and discussing with the others, but I was not able to. All I could do was sit, listen, watch, and smile.
Beyond the ever-looming threat of Terrin's existence, the meeting was dull. Incredibly dull. I tried to pay attention, but eventually gave in to the boredom and began to watch the other fae. The ones seated in the first few rows were mainly High Lords/Ladies and their seconds (for the autumn court, we awkwardly squeezed the three lesser lords into position). In order of importance, the rest of the fae in each group fanned out behind them.
It was the farthest back row of fae that I found the most entertaining. Particularly, two women from the Dawn Court kept making dramatic expressions at one another in response to whatever the "more important" fae were talking about. I would have laughed once or twice, if I was not feeling so depressed.
There were a few other highlights, like the Night Court member who had clearly fallen asleep, or a mated couple in the Summer Court who appeared to be playing various paper and pen games, but kept coming to a tie. I guess that's what happens when you're connected with your opponent on a deeper level.
I was starting to struggle to keep my eyes open when Thalia, who was seated beside her husband in the center of the room, drew the current conversation to a close and announced that it was time for an intermission. No words had ever made me happier.
As soon as we stood, Lysander took off across the room. He met Aibel at the entrance of a hallway, and they disappeared down it. I had a few guesses as to what they were going off to do.
I fell in line next to Kendryek and followed him to the dining room with the rest of the fae (not counting those who also retreated to their rooms). Along the way, someone stepped on the back of my shoe. In my heels, I nearly fell over, but Kendryek caught my arm and helped keep me stable.
"Thanks," I said under my breath, looking around at who could have tripped me. There were too many fae near us for me to be sure.
"Are you alright?" he asked me, letting go of my arm.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I didn't have the energy to be angry. I followed him to a round table like the one we had sat at the night before. Before sitting down, he pulled me into a hug.
In this brief moment, I felt more of a connection between us than I had felt all of last night. He made a few moves, all of which I shut down or ignored. I felt guilty for constantly rejecting him, but I could not help it. I just could not do it.
"You seem upset," he whispered in my ear. "Is there anything I can do to make it better?" If he could get rid of my Persuasion, or convince Lysander that I truly was sorry, or solve my stupid problems with being in bed with someone, I would be a lot happier.
"You could convince the other fae that I'm worthy of respect," I said. Kendryek looked down.
"There's nothing I would not give to be able to do that," he replied. I sat down and looked across the room at one of the Winter Court Fae, an older fae who was straightening her ear pieces.
"You could get me a pair of those," I said, gesturing in the general direction. "I'll hardly be anonymous tonight without them," I explained. "I think it might be better if I had some."
"I could ask Lysander to-"
"No!" I immediately cut him off. He looked taken aback. "Sorry, but I don't want his help right now." I looked down at the table. "I'll figure something out…"
Now that I had the idea in my head, it took me about five minutes to concoct a plan. I was going to count the Winter Court Fae until I knew that all of them were in this room, then I was going to sneak into their room and steal a pair. So, I started to watch, wait, and count.
"Eleven? There's supposed to be twelve, where is the twelfth?" I muttered under my breath.
"What?" Rosalind asked. She was particularly jumpy today. I waved my hand dismissively.
"Don't worry about it, it's nothing," I said. Where was the last one?
Oh.
Right.
Aibel.
I had been so distracted I'd forgotten.
But I had no clue if they were in the Autumn Court's rooms, spare rooms, or the Winter Court's. You could always check, I thought, considering another attempt at leaping into Lysander's mind.
No. I was not going to take that risk.
"I'm going to go to the washroom," I told Rosalind. "If anyone asks, that's where I'll be." I stood from the table and walked, with a purpose, towards the far hallway. There were many fae around me, giving me those god damned looks.
I kept my head high as I walked. Confidence is key, Lysander had once told me. You can get a hell of a lot done by being confident about it. The deeper into the mountain I went, the more the fae thinned out. Within a few minutes, I had found the Winter Court's wing.
I put my ear against the door and listened, if I heard the sound of loud moans, I'd know Aibel and Lysander were there.
I heard nothing. I believed I was alone.
I turned the doorknob. I didn't actually have a plan for if it was locked, I was just trying my luck.
Click
The latch opened. I thanked The Mother for that small mercy and opened the door. I shut it after entering.
I was greeted with what appeared to be a dungeon. There were the stereotypical blue and white banners on the walls, snowflakes, wings, etc., but otherwise it looked like a dungeon. The dark stone brick walls were already suffocating and the blue-fire torches did not improve the mood. I would have hated to sleep there.
I briskly walked into a random room and began to search for anything that looked like a jewelry box, or something. Just because I had a plan doesn't mean it was a good one.
I found a small, dark wooden box sealed with a lock. It rattled in a hollow, metallic way when I picked it up, but there was no way I was getting the box open without causing damage. I put it back in its place and moved to the next room.
It was a bathroom in the same style as the rest of the wing. I looked to the countertop, a dark granite slab held up by dull silver legs. On it, rested two ear pieces. Two triangular pieces of metal with a handful of added gemstones. They were both beautiful ridiculous.
I approached them, hand outstretched.
I pulled away at the last moment and shook my head. What the hell was I doing? Possibly risking my life for what? I was just going to spend the night with Kendryek anyway…
I cringed at the thought. I turned around and began to leave. I exited the bathroom and closed the door behind me, leaving it exactly as I left it.
Then, I heard a faint noise and looked up.
I nearly screamed.
Standing in the center of the room, was my mother. I was stunned into silence.
There was zero emotion present on her face as she looked at me.
"Are you here for these?" Her voice was similar to mine, but colder and more hollow. She titled her heard to show off her earrings. I forced myself to slowly nod. "I guessed." She turned away from me and entered a different room. Do I run for it? Or do I stay and see what happens?
I didn't have much time to think about it. Seconds later the door opened again and she came out holding something in her hand. She tossed them at me. I barely caught them. They were extremely cold to the touch.
"Now get out," she hoarsely whispered. I nearly sprinted out of the room, only stopping to catch my breath when I was sure I was a safe distance away.
When I returned to the dining room, everyone was most of the way through lunch and beginning to wrap up. I found my table and went to sit down. Kendryek and Lysander were missing. Rosalind looked relieved to see me.
"Where were you? You were gone for a long time," she asked.
"I uh, got distracted on the way back. Sorry." I was still a little shaky from my encounter with Kalista.
"Distracted by who?" a voice behind me said. It was Kendryek, and he did not sound happy. I made up a lie on the spot.
"I bumped into a girl from the Dawn Court by accident and she ended up with some wine on her dress. I helped her try to clean it off." Kendryek narrowed his eyes at me, but sat down and said nothing.
"Have you seen Lysander in the last hour?" He asked. I think I knew what he meant.
"No. I have not. He's been too busy with that Aibel girl to even say hello to me in the last few days," I icily replied.
"Hmmpf." I resumed eating my now-cold lunch. A few minutes passed.
"So have you changed any of our plans for tonight?" Kendryek asked.
"I wasn't sure we had made any yet," I replied cautiously. "Would you like to make some?"
"What would you like to do?" I shrugged.
"I don't know, same thing as last night?" He looked away.
"Alright." I set my utensils down and pushed my plate away from me. I was not feeling very hungry anymore.