Author's Note: Warning that Sleet uses the 'f' word several times. Bright Fairies don't swear, but we've seen Sleet do a little light swearing and using 'Neverland' as a cuss word. His legit swear word use in this chapter is meant to portray his emotions. If you're under 13, you shouldn't be reading this story anyways. :)
I had so much fun writing this and the next chapters! I hope you all like them!
"General?!" Marching across the winter border into spring to Lord Milori's cabin door, he knocked on the front door. Perhaps a little too hard—the door shook.
The door opened a moment later. Lord Milori wore a robe and ran a hand down his tired face. "We had better be under attack. It's eight in the morning, and the baby just went to sleep at five."
"It's two hours later than when we start drill training," he grunted.
"It's Saturday," he sighed and leaned against the doorframe like he could fall asleep. A yawn interrupted him. "You have one minute before the Queen wakes up and banishes you for ruining our sleep." He stepped out and closed the door to lean a shoulder against one of the porch posts.
"Silvermist said that the Queen wants to test her skills and wing abilities once she can fly again. If the Queen needs to know in case Silvermist can ever help during an emergency, fine." He stood taller and fisted his hands to control his temper. "But she's not to be used as a weapon and thrown in the dungeon or leashed like some dog," he ordered.
Milori's brow wrinkled. "Is that what you think is done with you?"
Cool and aloof. Glancing away, as if it didn't matter, he grunted, "Am I handled how all your fairies are?"
A deep sigh, and Lord Milori folded his arms. "Alright, I will give you that. But the times you've been in the dungeon were explained to you—that we didn't know what was going on and needed to rule out you either weren't an unintentional threat to others or weren't drawing threats into the kingdom."
Anger surged and he took a step closer to Milori. "She has never been a threat to anyone, and she knows now not to use her siren call. She's not ever to be tossed in the dungeon like some criminal," he hissed.
A flicker of unease from Lord Milori strengthened his glow.
"Captain, settle down." He straightened. "There is no foreseeable reason to put Silvermist in the dungeon. If Her Majesty was worried about Silvermist calling the Creatures, she'd have put her there already. Silvermist is very soft hearted, but she's also very trustworthy. The Queen needs to know—"
At that moment, the cabin door opened and the Queen stepped out in her robe, looking much younger with her hair loose down to her waist, but just as tired as the General.
"Captain." Then she looked at Milori. "I woke up to find you gone. Is everything alright?"
He nodded. "The Captain has concerns about Silvermist being used as a weapon for the kingdom. Like him," he said pointedly.
She stepped out, but left the door cracked open. "Captain, you do understand that your situation is different from hers? I need to know her skills, just like I know the extent of every fairy's skills, so I know who to call on if we have a threat. The fire at the border was an instance where I could've summoned Silvermist to help, and we possibly could've saved fairy and animal lives."
Looking straight into her eyes seemed to make her uneasy, but she didn't flinch. "She's already afraid of herself, convinced she must be evil to be a siren. And these new wings frighten and disgust her," he hissed. "She's not ever to be thrown in the dungeon. That would damage her in ways that she couldn't come back from."
"Milori, go check on the baby," she said calmly without breaking eye contact.
"The baby is fine," Milori retorted, clearly unwilling to leave him alone with the Queen.
"Captain, walk with me." She went down the steps without waiting for him.
Lord Milori gave an audible sigh of displeasure.
He followed and fell into step beside her, strolling through the spring field as butterflies and birds rose out of the grasses to bid their queen good morning. But every one stopped and flew away the moment they saw him.
"This is going to sound painfully ignorant, Captain. I believe Lord Milori has explained to you why when you've been sent to the dungeon, has he not?"
He grunted in agreement, keeping his gaze ahead, just like her.
"Has it damaged you?" Her voice took on a kinder tone. "Your fears for her make me wonder if I've been ignorant with you."
It was an unexpected turn in conversation. "I'm an Alamur," he growled, uncomfortable with how vulnerable the conversation had become.
She stopped and turned to face him, so he stopped but looked just beyond her shoulder. Cool and aloof.
"So you and Milori are fond of reminding me, Captain. Silvermist is a very sensitive and naive soul, but she sees something in you that makes her light up like the sun. Tell me, how is it that an evil, dark Alamur could make a fairy as sweet and innocent as her be so insanely happy?"
He clenched his teeth.
"I've seen you with her when you think no one is watching. You're very tender and gentle, which is something that Alamur are incapable of. I've asked around in other lands, and I know some of your history from your time in the Alamur army."
His eye flicked to her for a brief moment.
"That warrior can't coexist with the fairy that stands before me. I won't lie—it leaves me a bit uneasy where One went. Perhaps he died between the Bright Fairy sugar transfusion and living with Bright Fairies for so long. Or perhaps there has been enough time to perfect hiding him. But if that Alamur fairy was still in there, Silvermist wouldn't love you so fiercely. So I ask again, have the times you've been sent to the dungeon damaged you that you're so worried it'd damage her?"
His nostrils flared and breaths grew deeper as anger flickered. Easing off the eye patch, he glared. "A dungeon can't contain this," he snarled deep in his throat. "I've survived things and done acts that I know you haven't heard because you'd be too terrified to stand here with me. Aside from taking Silvermist from me, there's nothing you could dream up that could possibly begin to damage me. I feed on the things that would horrify you. So, no, a week at a time in your pathetic dungeon hasn't done anything to me," he spat. By Neverland, that didn't give them leave to go ahead and ever put Silvermist in a dungeon.
Lord Milori shot over, but the Queen held up a hand for Milori to stop.
Crushing the eye patch in his fist, he leaned closer and hissed, "Putting her in there for five minutes would make her so ashamed and terrified of herself that the darkness could come for her. As long as I have breath in me, she will never see the inside of a dungeon."
"Captain," Lord Milori warned in an iron tone and took a step.
Instead of flinching, the Queen held out a hand to paralyze Milori and took a step closer, looking up into his eyes. "As long as she doesn't try to summon Creatures or cause harm, I give you my word that should there ever be a need to put her under watch, she'll be put in a bedchamber at the castle rather than the dungeon."
Every muscle relaxed, and he gave a single nod and took a step back.
"And Captain? If you want me to stop seeing you as a threat, stop threatening," she warned and let Milori go.
Lord Milori surged forward and threw a punch so hard that he stumbled back a step. "Don't you barge into my home and threaten my wife and your queen!" He blocked the path to her, his hands fisted and itching for another reason to attack.
Straightening, the sugar could be felt leaking from a split lip. The anger and fear for Silvermist had been so strong that it hadn't occurred that he'd seemed threatening. Silvermist never batted an eye during arguments when he stepped closer. "My apologies, Your Highness. I didn't intend it as such."
"Sleet!" Silvermist's small voice called.
Closing his eyes, the humiliation was complete. Spinning around, he caught her around the waist as she came running.
"Why did you hit him?!" She tried to throw herself against his arms to reach Lord Milori.
"Silver, enough," he ordered. "It was deserved. Let's go."
"No! Why did you hit him?" Tears welled in her eyes as she struggled. "Why do you insist that he's a bad fairy?!"
She slipped from his grasp. Her getting involved would only upset her more, so he caught her around the hips to scoop up in his arms and go.
But she cried out in pain.
Oh Neverland, the bruises.
Lord Milori shoved him back as the Queen darted to her.
"Did you hurt her?" Milori hissed under his breath, grabbing the neck of his tunic.
"Silvermist, show me what's wrong? Are you hurt?" the Queen ordered.
"What? No," Silvermist said, bursting into tears.
Milori gave him a shake. "Look at me. Sleet, did you hurt her?" His eyes searched.
"During the night, she...I wasn't ready. I grabbed her hips too hard and bruised her. She told me it didn't hurt." Tears welled, not even caring that they leaked out for anyone to see. They would take her away so he'd never hurt her again.
Anger and grief blanketed Milori's face. "Did you…?"
"No, I didn't rape her," he rasped.
The Queen bent down and lifted the edge of Silvermist's skirt just high enough to reveal the edge of the bruise. Milori looked over his shoulder at them.
Silvermist met his eyes as tears streamed down her face. "He didn't try to, and it didn't hurt."
The Queen turned to block anyone's view as she raised the skirt higher. She spun, her glow red with rage. "Guards!"
"No, please!" Silvermist begged and grabbed the Queen's arm. "Please! He didn't hurt me!" she practically screamed and struggled as the Queen held her back.
But Lord Milori held a hand out to keep the guards back. "Your Highness, something doesn't make sense. Let me take him for questioning before you arrest him."
Silvermist broke free and ran at him, throwing herself against his chest and wrapping her wings around him, as if she could keep him safe.
"Dewdrop, it'll be alright." He quickly brushed the tears from his face and put on the eye patch. If she saw him upset, it'd only make it worse for her. "Don't interfere, alright?"
She simply wept.
"Promise me, dewdrop. Promise."
"No."
"Please. I'll sort this out."
"Silvermist, let him go," the Queen ordered from behind Silvermist's wings.
She looked up and when he nodded, she slowly lowered her wings. "I love you."
"I love you," he croaked and eased her back.
Lord Milori stepped forward and whispered in low tones, "Come with me, and she won't have to see you in chains."
Without a backwards glance, he took off with Lord Milori, the sound of her sobs fading away shattering his heart.
Lord Milori led the way to the dungeon. "I'm afraid the Queen insisted because she thinks you tried to attack your mate." But he motioned to sit on the bench outside the dungeon cell. "Let's keep our tempers, and there's no need to put you in there to talk."
"Why not? You know she's not going to let me near Silvermist again," he retorted bitterly. "This is the same damn song and dance. Just be fucking Neverland done with it." He walked into the damn cell and slammed the door shut so hard that the bars rang. Then he sank to the floor against the bars, keeping his back to Lord Milori.
"Sleet, look at it from the Queen's perspective. Her fairy mated an Alamur. You've admitted that your instinct is to go into a 'frenzy' and kill Silvermist. Now she shows up with pretty impressive bruises—"
"So leave me the Neverland in here to rot. You damn Bright Fairies are good at beating a dead horse. Go and don't let Silvermist in here. The sooner she forgets about me, the better," he snapped, hopelessness sinking in.
The click of Lord Milori's boots pacing over the cold, wet stone floor paused. "You're just going to give her up that easily?" He sounded confused.
Bending up his knees, he draped his arms over them, bowed his head, and buried his hands in his hair. "I've been fighting for so damn long what I am. I'm exhausted. I've fought for her for over a year. It's like the Queen said—a monster is always a monster."
"That's not what she said. You're feeling sorry for yourself."
"Fuck off."
The door slammed open and Milori grabbed the front of his tunic as he got in his face. "You are speaking to your General."
He snorted. "Like I'm still going to be Captain after this." He knocked Milori's hand off and leaned his head back against the cold bars to look away.
"Why are you acting like this? I'm trying to help you out here. Bright Fairies can't tolerate abuse. From what I've learned about Silvermist, her being raised in a Bright Fairy world makes her easily tainted by darkness. That female acted like anything but afraid of you. You're both saying it was an accident, so explain to me what happened."
Turning his head to look at Milori, he said without emotion, "You really think things will be back to normal? Give it a few weeks, and there'll be some other reason that I'll be back in here. Did you even think about the shame it'll cause Silvermist to have a mate who is a damn jailbird? She's convinced that I'm not a damn monster born from Hell, but how long is that going to last when she sees her mate in the damn dungeon over and over? How long before she flinches when I reach for her? Or stops fighting for me when I'm arrested? She compares herself as a siren to the murderer that I am. How am I good for her? Answer me that."
Milori's gaze dropped to the ground. He sat back and draped his arms over his knees. "Why did you step up to the Queen like that?"
He turned his head away from Milori, the fight completely gone. "Would you not do anything to keep your mate from being thrown in a dungeon when you know she'd never harm anyone? To keep her from that shame?"
"No, explain your body language."
With a small shake of his head, he turned up a palm for a moment and let it drop. "I was angry. It's easier to feel a fairy's glow the closer I am—if they're scared or lying. Silvermist doesn't bat an eye when I do it, even when we argue, so it's probably reinforcing the habit."
"Oh, Neverland," Milori sighed. "To tell if it was a lie," he whispered under his breath. "I apologize for punching you. For Bright Fairies, it's a threatening, intimidation tactic. Of course you were almost never around Bright Fairies socially before Silvermist to know that, and getting in soldiers' faces is part of the game in the military. Sleet, both the Queen and I misunderstood. But you should not do it because other fairies will interpret it as a threat, too."
His glow dimmed slightly. The darkness was feeding on the grief of losing Silvermist. Pulling his glow away from her a little more should keep it from reaching her.
"Tell me what happened with the bruises."
"I did," he whispered. There was no desire to move, to do more than stare at the wall and keep breathing in and out for the sole purpose of not fading only to keep Silvermist's glow safe.
"But what did you mean that you weren't ready?"
"I can't sleep indoors, but she would get too cold being outside and she's still regaining strength from her wing transition. She woke up during the night and said she wanted to tire me out so I could sleep. The next thing I knew, she was kissing and...things. I sort of black out when the frenzy tries to come, but I felt her hips hurt for a split moment, and it jerked me out of the frenzy. I woke up this morning and found handprint bruises on her hips like I'd almost crushed her bones. To tear her apart like a fucking psycho killer." His voice came out more monotone with each sentence.
Milori was silent for a moment. "Feeling her pain stopped you?"
"Are you ever afraid that you'll crush the Queen? Tear her from the inside-out because you can't control yourself?" He turned his head to look at Milori.
He looked horrified. "No."
Turning his head away again, the hopelessness and despair grew, spreading from a corner of his heart to half. It felt blissfully numb and void of all emotion. "Do sirens work like Bright Fairies? If their mate fades, they'll still survive?" The tip of his wing peeked out where it laid down near his hip.
Milori scooted closer. "Sleet?" He felt his brow. "You're freezing. Neverland, your skin is gray. Guards!"
"The darkness is coming." Energy slowly drained away. "Tell her that I loved her the best that I knew how. Tell her that I had to so the darkness wouldn't get to her." The darkness was too strong to come back from this time. Silvermist would try to press her heart to his to strengthen the glow, and it would be exactly what would allow it to seep into her. Reaching out a shaky hand, he held the tip of his wing. "If I faint, tear my wing so she'll be safe."
"Guards!" Milori screamed.
She held his hand through a glove in the hospital. Spruce feared how much darkness had taken over Sleet. Right now the focus was getting enough sugar back into him. He was on a ventilator, the sound frightening—a grasshopper jumping on a flower bulb was the only thing keeping Sleet alive.
When she'd tried to touch his chest to brighten his glow, a cold darkness had crept up her arm. Spruce had been there to see her skin turn gray and stop it.
"Clarion, I've never seen the darkness hit so fast and hard. If he was a Bright Fairy, he'd be dead." Milori stood in the corner of the room talking in hushed tones.
"This isn't a normal darkness like we've seen before," the Queen replied. "If I get close to him, I feel some of my pixie dust die."
"What?" he snapped. "You shouldn't be in here! I—"
"If I stay back, I'm fine. Silvermist?" Her voice raised. "Do you feel alright?"
She nodded, not tearing her eyes away from him. "Could it be an Alamur illness? Like a virus? If it was because he was sad, wouldn't it be better now that I'm here? Why is he losing sugar? His wing didn't tear." Scooting to the edge of the chair, she stroked his hair. "I'm right here, Sleet. I need you to wake up."
Milori came over and set a hand on her shoulder. "Spruce is running tests to find out why his organs are shutting down. You aren't feeling weak at all from your sugar donation?"
She shook her head and blew into a leafkerchief again. "He seemed completely fine until you said he started not acting right in the dungeon." Then a thought struck. "Get Healer Spruce."
"So, you want to touch him to feel if he has any pain anywhere? It's going to let the darkness spread to you." Spruce raised his eyebrows minutes later from where he stood on the other side of the bed.
She nodded. "If we know what hurts, it'll help us figure out what's wrong. And if the darkness spreads to me, he has to know what to do about it. He'll be able to save me."
"No. Plus, he's in organ failure. He's probably in pain everywhere."
"I agree." The Queen ordered. "I'm not letting you risk yourself, too."
Pulling off the glove, she touched his arm.
The next thing she knew, the darkness receded from her upper arm, then forearm, then hand as Spruce and Milori pulled her off.
Shaking her head through the numbed dazed, her legs firmed and a smile burst free. "Did you see that? It stays in him! The darkness has never done that before!" Then she grabbed Sleet's shoulder and pushed. "Roll him over. I couldn't tell for certain because there's pain everywhere, but something in his back hurt."
As soon as they did, Lord Milori pulled her hands away.
Sleet's back had a black circle where skin necrosis left a hole the size of her finger just under his wing.
"Neverland," Spruce whispered. "We're doing a toxicology panel, and I'm taking him into surgery to clean this up. This has to be why he's losing sugar. Nurse!"
"Something doesn't feel right." She leaned in closer. "Do you hear that? A soft hum." It came from Sleet's back.
"I don't hear anything." Lord Milori leaned down by her.
"Me either." Spruce frowned.
Grabbing the firefly lamp, she turned it on and peered into the small hole in Sleet's back. Something was in there. As she reached, it drew her hand closer.
"Don't touch it!" Spruce tried to push her hand away.
But her hand didn't move. "I can't stop!" The moment her palm rested over the hole, her legs weakened. So much darkness flooded in that the world grew cold and hopeless. As she collapsed, Lord Milori caught her.
Sleet started to stir.
Distantly aware, Spruce yelled something as Milori laid her on the bed beside Sleet. She tried to move to stop them as they pulled the ventilator tube out of Sleet's throat and shook him hard to wake up. Sleet's eyes opened as they forced him to sit up, pointing at her hand and shouting something.
With each second, Sleet's color improved. But glancing down at her hand, a hole began to form in her palm as the gray crept over her body.
It was a strange sensation to be shaken awake while something was pulled out of the throat and caused gagging.
"The darkness is in Silvermist!" Milori yelled.
When had Silvermist arrived at the dungeon? What about darkness?
"Sleet! Get up!" Spruce rudely shoved and yanked him to sit up against the pillows. Then he grabbed his jaw and turned his head.
Silvermist was turning gray, her glow flickering as it struggled to not go out.
"A hole in her hand. It was in your back, and when she touched it, it went from you to her!" Spruce snapped his fingers in his face. "Sleet! Do you know anything about this?!"
Blinking hard, coherent thought started to return. Gray. A hole. Darkness. Transferred by touch. "Tweezers! We can't touch it! Hurry!"
Grabbing her hand, he snatched tweezers from Spruce. "No one touch her. Dewdrop, this is going to hurt, but hold still so I can get it. A match. Someone, get a match."
"We don't have matches!" The Queen snapped from across the room. "Fire? Do you need fire?"
"Heat. Hurry! It'll kill her within minutes!" Easing the tweezers into the hole, he tried to grab parasite. It wouldn't surface.
Milori ran to the Queen and came back with a handful of raw dust. The heat would be intense enough.
"Sprinkle it on top of her hand so it doesn't go to you. Get a jar to catch it."
"Catch it?" Milori looked up in confusion.
The moment the dust landed on her hand, the pixie dust turned black as it died. But it was enough heat.
A very thin black worm slithered up to the surface. Grabbing it with the tweezers, he dropped it in the glass that Spruce held out.
"Burn it."
"What is it?" The Queen came closer.
Silvermist's color started to return and the wound began to heal.
Rage burned. "The Kerval. The Alamur use it as a coward's way to kill. It jumps from fairy to fairy. It can kill an entire fairy village within two days." He locked eyes with Milori. "Pixie Hollow is under attack. Have guards scour the village, but touch no one."
"Attack? How many of these could there be?" the Queen demanded.
Setting a hand on Silvermist's arm, he looked at the Queen. "I've only seen one Alamur use it, and he enjoys watching a land fall slowly. I should think there's only the one here in Pixie Hollow."
Silvermist sat up slowly. "But how did you get it? When?"
Grinding his teeth, he growled, "Alamur die within a day. It probably was planted last night when we slept."
The Queen's eyes widened. "Someone came into the kingdom, into your home, and put it on you?"
Lord Milori cursed. "Who? Who uses these? What kind of attack are we under?"
His eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. "The King of Horrors, the ruler of the Alamur."
