FANFICTION

A COURT OF NIGHTMARES AND LIGHT

PART III – THE BLOOD MOON

CHAPTER XXXIII : Beginning of Hell

Many, many, many centuries ago, in the Autumn Court…

The beautiful leaves flittered in the wind, dancing jewels in all the colours of joy. Laughter and excited running steps echoed in a luxurious manor lost in the middle of the massive trees.

"Father is back!"

"Hurry up!"

"We'll finally know if we can go!"

"Hurry, Lucasta!"

Three young and beautiful High Fae, all with shining hair were running through the halls of their family manor to welcome their father who was finally back from his journey to the High Lord's estate. Beron had become High Lord, after his father's accident, and rumour was that he was looking for a beautiful and powerful bride to produce his heir, the next High Lord of the Autumn Court.

Lucasta finally joined her two older sisters, glancing quickly around to see the servants lined up, and their mother waiting patiently. All three daughters had inherited their mother's beauty and sumptuous red hair, though all three had different shades. Säde, the oldest and the most beautiful, had hair dark as mahogany. Oriana had the lightest hair, strawberry blond, like red gold. Both had their mother's green eyes. Lucasta, the youngest, had long straight hair in a deep ruby red colour, bright as a jewel and shiny as copper. Her eyes came from her father, a deep russet that enchanted almost every male who crossed her gaze.

Their father's coach finally appeared from between the trees and arrived quickly to the estate. He climbed down from it, stern as always in his big dark coat and his dark brown hair. The russet of his eyes revealed the fire that was burning in him, in all his daughters, inherited from a High Lord ancestor millennia ago.

He arrived, gave his hat and coat to the butler, then turned to his family. His wife smiled and walked to him, giving a respectful bow. He then turned towards his daughters lined, who copied their mother's welcoming gesture. He looked at them from head to toe, expecting perfect ladies and finding absolute perfection.

"Welcome back, father," Säde said impatiently, "So? Are the rumours true? Does High Lord Beron desire a bride?"

Their father turned his attention towards Säde, then smiled with a nod.

"It is true."

The two older daughters shrieked in excitement, already dreaming of catching the attention of the most eligible bachelor in the entire Autumn Court – possibly most of Prythian, all the other High Lords were married and with children.

"He doesn't seem inclined towards any female or family more than any other, which is to our advantage. With my three daughters considered the jewels of the Autumn Court, I have no doubt he will turn his attention towards you at one point or another. It will be your duty to catch said-attention, and keep it."

"Our family's esteem will grow considerably if we marry one of you to the High Lord," their mother added.

"I am certain you will make us proud."

"When will we go to the High Lord's estate then?" Oriana asked curiously.

"He has invited all the great families of the Autumn Court for the Autumn Equinox ball."

"The Autumn Equinox ball will be magnificent!"

"I am so excited!"

"There will be so many people!"

"With so many noble guests gathered in one place, I doubt the High Lord will have any time to dedicate to any lady," Lucasta piped in.

Her father turned to her, without dropping his smile:

"Don't worry, my dear. I am sure he'll find plenty of time to enjoy the festivities with you or your sisters."

Lucasta hid her grimace well, at the idea of being looked at and prized by the High Lord. She couldn't deny that the idea of gaining his attention was flattering. The idea of falling in love with a powerful and handsome male made her stomach flutter with butterflies. She was young and full of innocent dreams. But the few times she had encountered High Lord Beron, she had been left cold as stone. There was nothing particularly charming about his figure, he barely smiled except to mock others, and there was something in his brown eyes… Something fiery that made her uneasy. It was a similar fire to the one she had inherited but there was no comforting warmth in those eyes. Only ashes and destruction.

Her sisters' excitement and beauty though, would definitely attract the High Lord's attention. Many times now, Säde had taken walks with him, before he was even a High Lord, and it didn't take much to understand that Säde had the ambition of becoming the next Lady of the Autumn Court. She was the most beautiful of the three, after all. She wanted power and status, more than love and passion, and everything pointed in the direction that her hopes would become reality.

Everyone thought so. Säde, her sisters believed it too, so did their parents, most nobles and families…

Which was why, weeks later at the Equinox ball, when the three daughters of Lord Meallan were lined up to greet High Lord Beron, everyone was astonished when he stopped in front of Lucasta. She blinked, stunned, then bowed as the most powerful male of the Autumn Court looked her from head to toe.

"Would you do me the honour of dancing with me, Lady Lucasta?" he asked with a perfect bow, and a smirk she despised.

Lucasta took too long to answer, she flushed and felt the glare of her older sister. She couldn't refuse the High Lord, she couldn't, and yet, her mouth was about to form a sentence that would condemn her entire family–

"Of course, my lord. She will be honoured," her mother answered in her place, giving a light push in Lucasta's back.

She stumbled forward and automatically took the High Lord's hand. For a male whose power was fire, it was strangely cold.

To the entire court's shock, and the foreign guests' surprise, Lady Lucasta was chosen by High Lord Beron to open the Equinox Ball.

They danced beautifully, perfectly, as she had been raised to be.

Perfection.

The High Lord barely hid his interest for the rest of the evening but everything she had always assumed felt like it was crumbling around her. She was the youngest, she was young, too young, she had barely started thinking about marriage – even less to a High Lord!

It was her sister's hopes, Säde liked Beron and Lucasta had always assumed he felt the same. Why had he turned his attention to her? How could she ever face her sister again after tonight?

She wanted romance and love, not cold courtship and family's expectations. She had always been a perfect daughter, a perfect lady, to become a perfect wife and mother, but tonight, the weight of everything she had been raised to become was strangling her. She wanted to scream but no one paid her any mind.

The moment she could free herself from the High Lord's attention and the court's nasty eyes, she escaped in the garden. She had hoped the fresh air would lessen her anguish, but it did nothing. She could still hear the music, she could still feel his cold hands on hers, she could feel their gazes and their grins.

Her steps turned longer and longer and quickly, she was running. Her high-heels resonated in the night, until the music faded away and the only light left was the moon. She ran through the estate's labyrinth, her dark green dress bringing out the fire of her eyes and hair. She wanted to escape, to tear herself apart and away from this family, this court, this future they had already decided for her before she had even considered it.

She ran right into someone's hard chest and fell backwards on the ground. Panic surged through her and she raised her hands, lighting them on fire:

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, breathing hard.

The male she had just hit looked down at her and she lost her breath.

His skin was dark and smooth from hours spent in the sun, his golden eyes shone from her flames as if lit from a fire of its own, and his black hair had an aureole of moonlight. After a short moment of shock, he knelt down, handing out his hand to her:

"I am not as sorry as I should be, for encountering someone as stunning as you are, my lady. Surely, you must be a goddess come down to take me away in her faraway palace?" he said with a smile.

Lucasta's heart missed a beat and she felt her cheeks flush. He was handsome, made of sharp, beautiful lines, elegant as a statue. And his smile… his smile sent waves of heat through her body.

"But still, I should be the one to apologise, my lady. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear you come. Let me help you."

He waited for Lucasta to put her hand in his, warm and rough to touch. He helped her up with ease, then handed her a tissue made of silk.

She hesitated, and only then did she realise that she had tears streaming down her cheeks. Flushed from embarrassment, she turned away, patting away the traitorous drops. She was about to hand him his tissue back, but he shook his head, never letting his gaze away from her.

"Keep it, you might need it again."

Apologetic, she held it close in her hands, the smooth fabric feeling like flowing water against her fingertips.

"May I…"

The gentlemale, who had been so confident and serene this entire time, seemed to hesitate, as taken aback by her beauty as she was with his. He held out his arm and she put her hand against the inside of his elbow.

"Is there anything I can do to chase those tears away, my lady?" he asked softly.

Lucasta looked up at him, enchanted by his beautiful eyes that shone like the sun itself. Her grip tightened, unconsciously, and he put his other hand on top of hers. Shivers ran down her back.

"You called me a goddess, here to take you away in my palace. I would wish for such a blessing, my lord…"

He tightened his mouth, then brought her hand to his lips.

"Helion, my lady."

Her mouth ran dry. Helion Spell-Cleaver, the second son of the High Lord of the Day Court. She had heard rumours of his handsomeness, but they had underestimated the true nature of his charm. He certainly was a beautiful creature to look at, but there was something magnetic in his warmth.

"I am Lucasta," she answered, not bothering with her surname.

"Lord Meallan's daughter," Helion realised, his eyes widening slightly.

He threw a glance over his shoulder, towards the estate where the Equinox Ball went on and on. It didn't matter that she had disappeared, no one would notice for hours, maybe even days. Beron would never grieve her and he would turn his attention back on Säde. How she wished she could disappear.

Helion looked back at Lucasta, then lowered his gaze. Silently, they understood each other. He understood her panicked running, the silent tears on her face, and the looming shadows in her features. The shadows that were waiting in her future. Never before had he wanted to cast light as he did now.

"Lady Lucasta, is there anything I can do to help you chase those tears away? I would hate to part from you, tonight, without being blessed by your smile at least once."

Lucasta turned her attention back on him, his words resonating in her mind, and his smile causing havoc to her heart. Her lips tilted up in unexpected amusement, and a bubbly laughter escaped her. She raised her fingers to her mouth, surprised herself by the ease with which he had made her smile and laugh.

And she relaxed. Just like that, her shoulders drop, the knot in her stomach disappeared, and her fears were pushed away.

Helion sensed the change in her, and smiled gladly. He led her to a nearby bench and they talked. Of anything and everything, what they loved doing, what they loved seeing in Prythian, their favourite places, their favourite stories, their favourite music… It was so easy for them to talk and be at ease.

In the middle of the night of the Autumn Equinox ball, despite the darkness surrounding them and awaiting in their future, they forgot about it. Helion became Lucasta's sun in the night, and Lucasta became Helion's fire in the depths of his heart.

After that Equinox Ball, High Lord Beron decided to invite Meallan's daughters more and more often to his massive estate. At first, they were invited along with other families and dignitaries, for festivities. Then, they joined their father when he became a guest at one of High Lord Beron's great hunts. Then, they came back, invited by Beron's mother. Each time, High Lord Beron found time to spend with all three daughters, Lucasta most of all, and each time, Lucasta found time to spend in secrecy with Helion.

He was a guest at the Autumn Court, as a representant of the Day Court, and he should have gone back to his travels weeks ago but he found the Autumn Court too pretty to leave. Of course, the only pretty thing he had any interest in was Lucasta herself.

At first, they met shyly in the middle of the night, in the great labyrinth where they had first met. Then, Helion found enough boldness to come and claim her hand when all the lords and ladies walked around the forest. He remained a perfect gentleman through it all and nobody suspected their attraction to one another. Then, little by little, the more Lucasta felt smothered by the court and High Lord Beron's smothering attention, the more she escaped at night to explore the estate. Somehow, Helion always seemed to know when she needed him, he always appeared, and her steps always guided her to him.

His innocent touches became caresses, tracing her fingers, against her skin, up to her arms, the back of his hand against her cheeks. Those simple touches left her breathless and yet, he never dared kiss her. They wanted it, they were burning for it, but they kept away for the simple reason that they knew, deep down, that the moment their lips would meet, they would never part.

"I don't want to marry High Lord Beron," Lucasta declared to her family one day they had received yet another invitation from the High Lord.

Her parents turned incredulous looks at her, then laughed, as if she was joking. Her two sisters remained silent, but glanced at each other knowingly.

"What are you talking about? Of course you'll marry him, it will make our family prestigious beyond all of our hopes!" her mother exclaimed.

"I am flattered by his attentions, but I don't like him, I don't want him," Lucasta continued, remaining firm as she stood before them.

"Whether you like him or not doesn't matter. He likes you, he wants you, so you will marry him," her father said with a dismissive gesture of the hand.

"But, father, I don't understand! He never saw me, he never was interested in me! All he wanted was Säde, why would he change his mind?!"

Her older sister tightened her lips, but held Lucasta's gaze. Oriana glanced between the two, and remained quiet.

"Because I told him so," Meallan said with a shrug.

"You what–" Säde hissed, standing up, "I could be the Lady of the Autumn Court by now if you hadn't intervened! Why would you do that?!"

Lord Meallan turned his dark gaze, a flicker of annoyance burning in it, towards his daughters.

"Because High Lord Beron is looking for a wife who will give him strong heirs. He wants someone whose magic is powerful. You are beautiful, Säde, but you have little to no magic. Lucasta is the most powerful one."

Lucasta's mouth fell open. Her sisters turned to her, stunned, but a light of understanding lit up in their gazes.

"This is ridiculous, he could marry Säde and still–"

"It was you or Alafon's daughter! I wasn't going to let the honour of you becoming High Lord Beron's wife, the title of Lady of the Autumn Court, slip away!"

"But I don't want to marry him!"

"WHAT YOU WANT!" Meallan shouted, standing up suddenly.

All the females in the room startled but Lucasta held his gaze, she squared her shoulders and looked right into that pit of fire that were his eyes.

"What you want doesn't matter! I have already consented to give him your hand, you will become his wife, you will give him sons, and you will become the Lady of the Autumn Court!"

His voice was hard as stone and didn't leave any option. Lucasta's eyes blurred as she realised, once again, that everything had been decided for her without her opinion or consent. Her father had already decided for her, he had already consented to the marriage.

She opened her lips to speak up again but he whipped towards her so suddenly that she startled away, turning away her face in fear of retaliation.

"ONE MORE WORD– and I will lock you up in the dungeons until you are to depart for the High Lord's estate!" Meallan hissed viciously.

Säde and Oriana stood up and grabbed their little sister's arms, dragging her away as she breathed heavily.

"Pack up all your belongings, you will never come back in this house. In three days, you will depart for the High Lord's estate and it will become your home." Her father said as final words.

The two older sisters took Lucasta to her chambers, sending the servants away. The moment they were alone, Lucasta fell into sobs on her bed, crying endless tears and mourning a future she didn't want and had been decided for her.

"Shh, shh," Oriana said, holding her close to her chest, "It's… it's a great honour to become the High Lord's wife, surely he will warm up to you in the future."

"I don't want him! I don't like him! Säde, please, surely you can convince father, and Beron!"

Säde slowly turned around, lips tight and her eyes stormy.

"You heard father… High Lord Beron wants a powerful wife, not a beautiful one. Are you… are you refusing because of Lord Helion?"

Lucasta's gasp echoed in the room, all three sisters now holding their breaths. Lucasta had paled and with her tears-streaked cheeks, she looked devastated. Säde sighed then walked towards the bed to sit on it.

"H-how did you… how did you know? Does anyone else know–"

"No, I'm the only one, as far as I'm aware. I found out because you smelled strange the last time. So… I followed you when you sneaked out…"

"Lucasta! How could you do that! If anyone finds out, if father or Beron finds out–"

"He'll have my head and Helion's," Lucasta breathed.

"Don't be so dramatic, as long as nothing happened between you two, they won't care. Beron just doesn't want a soiled bride–"

Lucasta turned away from Oriana and Säde glared at her:

"Oriana, please. You know that Lucasta isn't interested in status like us, she wants a marriage of love. But… I'm not sure Helion is–"

"He likes me! I know it!" Lucasta exclaimed, whipping around.

"Did he tell you so?" Oriana whispered.

"N-no, but…"

"He hasn't claimed you either, he hasn't confessed to you, and he's… got an habit of going around. Lucasta, surely you realise that Beron is the safest and best choice–"

"NO! He's not! He's a wicked, cruel male! I hate him!" Lucasta exclaimed, more tears rolling down her cheeks.

Säde sat next to her little sister and grabbed her cheeks, looking straight into her eyes.

"Lucasta, little sister, do you like him? Do you like Helion?" she asked in an unshakable voice.

"I… I… I think so… I… there's a connexion between us… I can't explain, I just– I just… he feels right."

Säde bit her lower lip, then glanced at Oriana who sighed, knowing that look on her sister's face.

"Then if he is the one for you… you should go after him, sister."

"But how? I'm leaving to marry Beron in three days! And I–"

"In three days, your engagement to High Lord Beron will be announced. Everyone will be too busy drinking and celebrating to pay you any mind. I-I'll make sure Helion waits for you, and you can go with him."

"And if he doesn't receive the message, if he doesn't come?" Oriana asked nervously, "It will mean treason, and death for all of us!"

Säde smirk was positively wicked, but Lucasta had never felt so reassured by her sisters' presence.

"Have you not noticed that Lord Helion always comes when he knows we'll be here? Even a womanizer like him wouldn't risk war over a bride if he wasn't serious about Lucasta."

"…Then, this is our only option to send Lucasta away… and what of us?" Oriana asked, titling her head on a side, her beautiful gleaming hair falling like a curtain.

"Then, I'll be here to comfort Beron about the loss of his pretty bride," Säde answered with a shrug.

"I don't know what you see in him," Lucasta muttered, her lips rolling back over her teeth in disgust.

"I don't know what you saw in Helion either, he's beyond boring with his rehearsed love-talk," Oriana intervened with a roll of her eyes.

All three sisters looked at each other, then they erupted in unexpected laughter, delighting in the prospect that if it all went well, they'll have the lives of their choices.

They spent the next three days packing, apologising to their father, and preparing not for the engagement with High Lord Beron, but planning for Lucasta's escape in the middle of the night. The message had been sent thanks to Säde's many contacts across Prythian and had reached Helion safely. There was no answer – it was far too risky – but Lucasta didn't doubt that he would save her from this horrendous engagement.

The three days passed like a flash in their long, immortal lives. Lucasta watched, her heart tight in her chest, the mansion where she had grown up, where she had spent her youth and best years, knowing she would probably never see it again. Anxiety rose, which her delighted mother put on the pre-marital nerves.

As expected, they were received like royalties by High Lord Beron who wasted no time in parading in his court with his new bride at his side. The three sisters spent the rest of the day preparing, putting on their brand new gowns, the most beautiful they had ever worn, for the feast in honour of Lucasta and her engagement to High Lord Beron. Or rather, considering the congratulations they received during the entire evening, the feast in honour of High Lord Beron himself and his future, powerful heirs.

It was the only thing on people's minds.

Lucasta didn't listen, didn't hear, all sounds resonated around her as Beron announced their engagement, kissing her hand. The applauds of the entire court were muted, far away in the back of her mind.

When she raised her head, her gaze met Helion's across the room, a silent understanding passed between them. He was distracted when an envoy from the Day Court came to him, but that gaze was all the confirmation Lucasta had needed. Helion would come, he would be there tonight, to save her from this hell.

Guests from all around Prythian had been invited, as well as their Fae allies from the Continent and the island of Hybern. Their king in particular had brought lascivious gifts that delighted Beron. With the new trade roads and his new wife, he was beyond bliss.

That night, silent as a mouse, quick as a deer, Lucasta escaped from her new luxurious chambers – right next to the High Lord's who was far too drunk to hear a thing – and sneaked out of the palace. She didn't cross a soul and found her way to the labyrinth that she had explored so often, in day as much as night, that she found her way even with the moon hidden by clouds.

She stopped by the fountain where she had first met Helion. She looked around. He wasn't here yet. She breathed deeply, then sat on the bench, swallowing hard as she glanced in the darkness. His gaze had met hers, a silent understanding had come between them. He liked her, as she liked him. He would be here soon.

The night went on and on, the sky was paling on the horizon when Lucasta heard running steps. She raised her face but the scent, as familiar as it was, wasn't Helion's.

Out of breath, Säde and Oriana appeared and saw their little sister. Alone, shaking, and shattered.

"…He didn't come…" Lucasta breathed, her words forming a fog in front of her mouth.

"Oh no…"

"Lucasta…"

"I was so certain he would, I thought… I thought…"

Her voice broke and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing. Säde and Oriana were immediately at her side, hugging her and reassuring her the best they could. They were so lost in their anguish that they didn't hear the steps getting closer.

"What's this?"

Oriana was the first one standing up, followed closely by Säde and Lucasta, whose face was still ravaged by tears.

They faced, trembling, High Lord Beron and his close guards. He was still wearing the clothes he had gone to sleep in from the previous night, he still reeked of alcohol, but he didn't stagger anymore. He sniffed the air, sensing nothing but the three ladies' scents and the morning dew.

"What are you doing out here, before dawn?" he asked, his voice full of threat.

Säde and Oriana glanced at each other, panicked, looking for an excuse. It was Lucasta, unexpectedly, broken and shivering, who stepped forward and raised her head. And despite her messy hair and the still gleaming tears on her face, she looked as regal as all the Ladies of the Autumn Court who had come before her. There was power in her gaze, there was fire in her soul. Beron's lips trembled in a satisfied smile witnessing it, and Lucasta's two sisters couldn't help their instincts: they stepped backwards and bowed their heads to their sister. Not yet wed to the High Lord of the Autumn Court, but his Lady already.

"I was nervous for the wedding, my lord. I couldn't sleep and I asked my sisters to join me for an early walk." She said, not the slightest tremor in her voice to reveal her lie.

Beron walked the distance between them and his hand, cold as dawn, passed over her wet cheeks. There was nothing tender about the gesture. He took her chin in his hand and lifted it for her gaze to meet his. Any other male would have made Lucasta feel empowered by doing this, but when it was Beron, he striped any power she had with a touch of his fingers.

"And those tears? What caused them?" he asked, suspicion still lacing his words like venom, like a snake ready to strike the moment she made a wrong move.

"Thoughts of the wedding night," she breathed, lowering her gaze and knowing without looking that he smirked, "I would hate to disappoint you, my lord."

"Don't worry, Lucasta, I will teach you how to please me." He answered, letting go of her chin.

She raised her gaze again, defiant, but his back was already turned around.

"Go back to the estate, even on my territory, it's not safe to walk alone without protection." He said, followed by his guards.

They followed from a distance, and Säde took a step forward to be on the same level as her sister.

"Lucasta…" she whispered, eyes wide, "What about…"

"He didn't come," Lucasta breathed so only her sisters could hear, or perhaps her voice was too weak from pain to talk any louder, "I don't have any choice but to go through with this marriage or our family is ruined. Do you hate me?"

"Hate you? No, never, I could never hate you, Lucasta. You're my little sister… all I want is your happiness…"

"My happiness was wretched from my hands the moment I was born. That is our fates, as females, to serve our lords and fathers, rather than our own hearts." Lucasta answered, a hiss in her voice.

"I hate this world," Oriana snarled, facing forward.

Her sisters didn't answer, the silent agreement thrumming in the air strongly enough that their veins burnt and the air around them warmed up.

A few days later, after the great preparations, the Autumn Court celebrated the wedding of their powerful High Lord and his new, beautiful Lady Lucasta.

Her demeanour had changed radically from anyone who knew her, now bowing their heads to their new Lady who had no choice but to embrace a mask of cold wrath. Her heart had been torn apart by the only male she had loved and trusted. And the one she would share her bed with had no interest in her besides expecting heirs and obedience.

Whispers of the Lady of Autumn waiting for a male, in the dead of night, a male she had met only a year ago during the Equinox Ball, were already running in all and every court. But Beron waved it off as nothing as the wedding night drew closer.

He wasn't as drunk as Lucasta would have expected, and she couldn't tell if it was better or worse. She let him paw at her wedding dress, tearing it off and burning what wouldn't go off. And he had her. It was painful, hateful, and her soul felt like it tried to crawl out of her body. She closed her eyes, silent tears running down her cheeks as she thought of Helion, one last time, one last thought, before she succumbed and devoted herself to her husband.

Beron's cold and clammy hand fell on her cheek, forcing her head to turn to him. He was grinning, as if reading her thoughts, as if enjoying that she had been broken-hearted only to fall into the excruciating pit of matrimony.

"The pain will go away soon," he said against her mouth.

She had to hold back the reflex of rolling back her own lips and snarl.

The pain would not go away.

It was the beginning of her Hell.

Here is the first proper chapter. The first three chapters are about Lucasta, Helion, (baby Lucien) and Beron because I will need it for later and if I had added those chapters later on, it would have braked the story's momentum.

I hope you will enjoy them.

Yours Truly,

May