AN-I got this idea and thought I'd run with it and see where it goes.
Summary-Thunder echoed through the land as darkness seemed to take over. They had lost. Everything was gone. He felt his power being ripped from him. His eyes scanned in front of him as lightning flashed cutting through the darkness. His friends, his family lay on the ground struggling to rise once more. Broken. In one last effort to save them all he threw out his power, his will to protect them stronger then it had ever been before. When the lightning flashed again they were all gone. He fell to his knees he felt himself fading, at least his family was safe was his last thought as he himself faded into the darkness.
Sarah sat up in bed her heart racing as she ripped herself away from the nightmare. Always the beautiful male sacrificing himself so his family could live. She always woke up crying as if she knew who he was, but no matter how hard she tried to think of his name or place him in her memories she never could.
Sarah watched the dancers before her as she stood by the tables covered in food. She didn't see the point in dancing all night when this food was right here to eat. She did her best to avoid adding dancers to her card if she could do anything about it. She wasn't like her sister Tessa who loved to dance. Tessa loved music and loved to move with it, dancing brought her sister joy even if the men she had to dance with were nothing more than a tool to enjoy the dance. Sarah watched her sister glide across the floor with a man who was most likely already thinking of a way to get Tessa to marry him. Her sister had already turned down many young men. Their father said it was because Tessa was cunning and holding out for the best option, waiting for a Duke perhaps or a true member of the court.
Sarah on the other hand hardly had men coming to her, she was lucky that way to have a beautiful sister who loved to dance. While Sarah was also a beautiful girl she wasn't always the kind most of the men at these balls wanted. Sarah enjoyed eating and being outside, not the typical qualities of the perfect lady. When men did talk to her she often let the conversations fall flat because they didn't talk about anything she would consider interesting. It was often about them and all the wealth he had, but never once did men speak about what they wanted to do for their land with the money or power they held. No all the men she had ever met didn't hold up. She frowned when the thought came to her mind that none of these men held up, held up to what? Just for a moment an image came to her mind. A man standing on a balcony his back was to her, but almost as if she walked into the room he turned to look at her, in his arms he held a child and when his eyes settled on her he smiled and pointed, the toddler in his arms smiled as well and reached for her. The image left her mind almost as quick as it came, but it left behind an echo of hurt in her chest as if she had lost something great. The wave was so strong for a moment she felt like perhaps tears would start coming from her eyes. She had to get out of this room. A longing for the night sky and the stars seemed to call out to her so she moved quickly. She noticed Rin, her lady's maid watching her from near the main entrance. She quickly moved into the crowd and noticed a smaller door and took her leave.
It opened up into an empty hallway and she sighed in relief. A soft breeze reached her which sparked her interest, a breeze meant there hopefully was a way outside so she followed it. Eventually the hall led her to a garden, it was beautiful in the night with the moonlight shining, but when she looked at the sky she could only see the moon, no stars in sight. Looking at the stars always made her happy, it always filled her with happiness when she felt alone and empty. She let out a sigh of disappointment, but jumped when she saw movement. A blonde woman smiled at her,
"Not enjoying the party?" she asked
"I…" she wasn't sure what to say, "Needed fresh air." she didn't want to seem crazy as if to say an image came to her mind from some dream and while it had made her feel happy the loss of the image made her feel so crushed she had to run outside and what? Call to the stars?
"Yes." The woman agreed, "It does get exhausting in there with all the dancing."
"I don't dance much." Sarah told her, "I like the food though."
The woman laughed, "The food is pretty good, most of the court hardly eats at these things."
Sarah shrugged, "I guess I'm not the typical lady."
"I suppose not. Most wouldn't be our here in the dark when they could be inside trying to catch the eye of one of the eligible bachelors."
"Finding a husband is not high in my priorities." Sarah told her. "The last thing I want is to be someone's wife." Again the image of that dark haired male came to her mind.
"Having a husband isn't too bad." the woman told her.
"You're married?" she asked
For a moment the woman looked surprised. "Yes. I have been for a few years now."
Sarah sighed, "You must have been young when you married."
"Eighteen." she told her, "It was a love match. It still is I couldn't imagine life without him." The girl moved closer, but once she did she seemed to pause to hesitate. "I haven't seen you around before."
"No we usually stay in our country home, but father sent my sister and I here to the capital for the season." The girl told her, "This is my first time here."
"What do you think of the palace?" the woman asked.
"It's too much." Sarah glanced around, "I don't know how the King and Queen live here. It doesn't feel like a home."
"Sometimes it isn't the place." The woman told her, "But it's who you are with."
"I did hear that they married for love." Sarah spoke as her eyes went up to the sky wanting more than anything to leap into the air and fly high above, "But loving your husband is rare."
"But it's not impossible you just have to be open to the idea." the blonde told her.
Sarah knew most royalty didn't marry for love, most kings and queens married for alliance for politics, but this land was new. The queen had taken this land back in the name of her family and the warrior that stood by her side helping her fight had become her husband. It was like the old stories she had been told.
"So why do you play the game then?" the blonde asked her, looking more amused then anything else.
"What can I do?" Sarah shrugged, "There aren't many options out there."
"You could do anything you want." The woman told her, "Be anyone you want."
"I wish that were true." Sarah's mind thought of a beautiful city by the water. She could see herself sitting in a small studio painting. A man's voice called out from the doorway and a smile spread across her face as she put the paint brush down. She turned to the man and felt nothing but joy upon seeing him.
"That is the greatest part of this land." The woman told her, "There are no limitations not anymore."
Sarah was brought back to standing before the woman, but the ache deep within her started again, the ache that told her she missed something, someone so much that she felt like she couldn't breath. The woman seemed to notice the change in Sarah and stepped closer,
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Of course." Sarah quickly told her, "I should get back to the ball." So she turned and hurried away from the garden and the woman who spoke of a better life, of a land that brought true freedom. While the woman spoke of this land she couldn't help but think she wanted another, she longed for another land some place far away.
Rin's job was to come to the balls and stand to the side with the other maids in case the ladies she attended needed her, but she knew Sarah and Tessa would have no need for her. They didn't fuss the way the other ladies did. Her eyes scanned the crowd and found Tessa on the dance floor, she was often asked to dance leaving her with a full card. She knew Tessa loved to lose herself in the music no matter the partner and that was the only reason she said yes to any of the men. She glanced around looking for Sarah knowing she was the one she had to worry more about. Sarah had a habit of wandering away from the hall of dancers and getting herself into trouble and their father had warned Rin it was her responsibility to keep an eye on her at. When she spotted the other girl it was just in time to see her slipping out one of the small doors. Rin pushed off the walls and hurried through the crowd to follow her, but once she reached the door and went through it the hallway was empty. She had to decide which way to go when she saw a shadow flicker near a turn in the hallway noticing the movement she hoped she wasn't to far behind Sarah. Perhaps Sarah had decided to go out to the gardens. At night sometimes if she was lucky Sarah would be watching the stars. Sarah loved the night sky she never really gave a reason, but when Rin watched her watch the night sky it was as if she was looking for something.
She walked down the hallway long enough for the sounds of the ball to fall away. She paused when she heard a different kind of music echo down the hall. The music seemed to call out to her, Come, it seemed to whisper to her, find us, the music pulled her closer without her even making a conscious decision to move. Her feet pulled her in the direction the piano music was coming from. She stopped at the door to the music room, it was slightly open and she could see inside it was mostly dark except for the spot where the moonlight seemed to light up a piano with a man sitting. His fingers moved expertly on the keys. Something seemed to wake up within her when his voice began with the music,
"Don't go tonight, stay here one more time." He sang and it was like she was brought to another time, another life. Where she was more than just a maid.
"Remind me what it's like and let's fall in love, one more time." An image filled her mind, she was standing on a rooftop with a sword in her hand. "I need you now, by my side it tears me up, when you turn me down." his hands moved across the keys, and even though she couldn't see his hands clearly she knew without a doubt they were scared.
"I'm begging please just stick around." Again her mind flashed to the roof top and it was almost like she was transported there she could almost feel the warm air on her. She could sense the man behind her
"I'm sorry, don't leave me, I want you here with me. I know that your love is gone." the man in the room continued to sing and the image of the roof top left Rin's mind
"I can't breathe, i'm so weak, I know this isn't easy.'' The man seemed to lean into the keys as he sang. She could feel the heartbreak coming off the man and her heart seemed to echo the hurt. She wanted to run to him. "Don't tell me that your love is gone, that your love is gone." he moved with the music. His fingers moved expertly on the keys, "Don't tell me that you love is gone, that your love is gone."
Rin was again transported to a place she didn't know the man was before her moving expertly with a sword as if to show her how, but she wasn't watching the sword she was watching the way his body moved, his muscles. The music echoed through her ears as she watched the man the shadows seemed to crawl over his shoulders as if to watch her watch him, but they didn't scare her. "I'm sorry, don't leave me. I want you here with me." Her hands reached up to the necklace around her neck and her fingers closed around it, she knew she was imagining it but she could almost feel warmth coming from it. "I know that your love is gone."
"Rin?" Sarah's voice sounded behind her causing Rin gasp and jump causing the door to open more she turned to Sarah for just a moment and looked back as she heard the music stop, but once her eyes settled back onto the piano it was as if the man had vanished into the shadows.
"I was looking for you." Rin found herself saying quickly turning to Sarah, "Your father wanted me to make sure you did find yourself in the garden tonight"
Sarah smirked, "I tried, but the clouds were awful. The moon was the only thing the clouds did not cover tonight."
"Let's get back to the ball." Rin told her as she glanced back into the music room hoping for one last glance at that beautiful man.
Tessa lost count of how many men she had danced with every ball was like this, just because this was the first ball in the capital with true members of the court didn't make it any different. She didn't care much for the men she danced with, but losing herself to the music that was something she enjoyed. Nothing seemed to bring her joy these days, going from ball to ball or even sitting in her manor reading. She often found herself watching the skies as if waiting to see someone. Even at times when men reached out their hand she would find her gaze on the man's hand and then she would slowly look up to see what man it belonged to and every time she was disappointed to see the man that the hand belonged to. Every time she saw one of the noble aristocratic men she felt her heart sink as if she had expected someone else, and the man she hoped for the man she wanted wasn't like any of these men. The man she would dream about was a warrior; the man she dreamed about simply wasn't like any man she had ever met before.
When the current song came to an end Tessa left the floor, this was a rare moment she didn't have someone on her card for the next dance. She moved to the refreshment table and slowly drank some water letting her eyes scan the crowd. All the men around were so boring, so plain so normal. At least the night was almost over and she could go home to read until she fell asleep soon.
"May I have the next dance?" a male voice asked from beside her. She frowned as she stepped aside and looked at the man. He wasn't like most of the men in this room, even though he was wearing a cloak she could see he was well muscled. His body didn't look like he sat behind a desk all day or worried about politics. No this male was a warrior, his body was large and strong, just like the man from her dreams. He had tattoos that wrapped around his neck and reached up the side of his face. She had seen this male earlier in the night, standing beside the Queen. This man was the King. He extended his hand out to her and for a moment she just looked at it, the hand extended to her. The strong warrior's hand extended to her. She turned her gaze back to his face and felt disappointed once again, while this was a strong male, a warrior like she wanted she couldn't help the little voice in her mind, not her warrior.
"Of course." She told him knowing better than to deny a king. So she took his hand and let him lead her onto the dance floor.
"I haven't seen you here before." He said to her as they danced around the floor. People parted as they moved, choosing to stop and watch as the King who had only ever danced with the Queen led the beautiful young woman around the ballroom.
"I just moved here." She told him she didn't like when men tried to dance with her, but she was surprised by the grace he showed. A man of his size usually didn't move this well, unless he wasn't a typical male. "You're fae." she said as she realized how he could move so well.
He smiled, "That isn't a secret."
She frowned as she looked up at him, something deep within her told her he was wrong. It was as if her mind was trying to see a different man, a different warrior, a different fae.
"You don't like us?" he asked with his eyes meeting hers.
"I've never met one." she told him, not showing a hint of fear because in all honesty she wasn't. Yet as she spoke the words she saw a man standing on a rooftop, he definitely was a warrior as well, he had long black hair and hazel eyes he was smiling at her and at his back were a pair of large wings almost like a bat. She stopped dancing when the image left her mind, her eyes met the male before her eyes and she shook her head. This wasn't the man she would sometimes dream about. This wasn't the man she wanted to be dancing with. None of this was what she wanted. "I have to go." she told him as she backed away.
Rin followed Sarah back into the ball but neither spoke. Rin couldn't stop thinking about that man singing, and how his music spoke to her. She had never seen that man before but there had been such a pull to him as if some part of her had wanted to run to him, like some part knew him. She knew she should be paying attention to her job, she knew she should keep track of Tessa and Sarah, but her mind couldn't focus on the girls. Every time she looked up to see Tessa dancing her mind would find its way to noticing the music and how it felt empty after the music she had heard from that man. When she pulled her mind together again after finding it once again on the man she looked up to notice Sarah was no longer at her side and Tessa wasn't on the floor anymore. She sighed, she really wasn't doing her job well tonight.
The man watched from the shadows as the girl who had been listening to him walked away. The shadows around him danced over his shoulders. He looked down for a moment as if to glare at them for not warning him someone had been at the door. It was as if his shadows knew the girl, they didn't mind she had been there. They started to move quickly behind him vanishing into the permanent shadows and whispered to him that someone was coming. His eyes found the doorway where a man appeared.
"There you are." the other man spoke, "The Queen has summoned you." He nodded his head, but didn't bother speaking. The young guard already looked worried enough to have to speak to him. So the man in the shadows moved into the light and out of room to go to attend the Queen.
He arrived at the Queen's door and waited only a moment before he entered, he knew she could sense when he was near. He bowed his head to avoid looking her in the eye, he always did his best to show respect to the Queen in his lifetime he had learned it was better to push his power down then try and explain it to others. When people truly sensed his power he was often pushed away and out of court if they didn't try and kill him first. He had arrived here only a few years ago and had risen through the ranks faster than most.
It was without realizing that he had shown a hint of his power to the queen she had come upon him when his guard was down when he was playing music. There was something about music that allowed him to lose himself, to quiet his mind but now today was the second time someone had snuck up on him while he played. When the Queen had seen him and saw how he controlled the shadows she only smiled and offered him a job in her court to use his shadows to find enemies if any around her. He had thought he could find some, but the longer he was here he found her people loved her which in his mind was strange. Royalty was often out of touch with the people. He knew she didn't have a story like most royals and there was more to the Queen then she let show, so he agreed to work for her and now here he was.
"My Queen." he said softly, he always spoke softly but her keen ears heard him.
"What do you know of the Danvers family?" She asked getting right to the point. He liked that about her she didn't bother with pointless chatter.
"They recently moved here, I have not heard where from. Their father is a successful merchant with three daughters, his wife died in the war." he continued, "One of his daughters has married and stayed in the country, but he came here for the season to try and get the other two married."
"His one daughter turned the head of every male in the room." The Queen mused, "I'm surprised she hasn't married. The other didn't seem interested in dancing."
"The eldest is beautiful." He told her, "But she doesn't seem interested in any of the men she dances with, it would seem she enjoys the dancing but who she dances with doesn't matter." He noticed the King who stood near the Queen give the slightest of grins to his wife, but he didn't say anything. "And the other seemed to be searching the crowd the whole time as looking for someone."
"They are different." The Queen told him, "I would like you to keep an eye on them."
"Different?" he asked as he looked up making eye contact with the Queen who seemed surprised to meet his hazel eyes.
"They are human." She frowned, "But they aren't."
For a moment he pictured the girls in his mind, but they didn't look human from his memory. They both stood wearing beautiful dresses, their ears slightly pointed and each had a male standing beside her. The men had large dark wings behind them and just for a moment he almost felt like there was a weight on his back as if he had wings as well. "I will find out all I can," he told her, looking away again breaking eye contact.
She nodded her head to dismiss him and without looking he seemed to know. He gave her a slight bow and left the room.
The Queen watched the man leave. She wasn't sure fully what to think of the male she had set to be spy master. She had sensed his power and seen the shadows that played around him. Her husband had told her he heard stories of some fay that could communicate with the shadows, they were called Shadow Singers, but he had thought they were only in stories. She guessed he was at least half fay, but he hadn't told her. She didn't want to push him even though her kingdom was a safe haven for people of magic she knew all the years before it hadn't always been safe to admit. She had a feeling the man knew she suspected something she knew he knew of her shadows that danced around him. The longer he was here the more she saw them and noticed they were around him more often.
"What makes you trust him?" The King asked.
She shrugged, "I don't know."
"That's reassuring." he sighed, "He's powerful, if he is or isn't a shadow singer, when he thinks no one is around and he doesn't hide his power it is strong."
"I know." She told him. "He has his reasons. It wasn't always safe here or to trust royalty. I know we've changed a lot, but you can't force people to believe it's safe again without showing them that it is."
The King moved to her and kissed the top of her head, "Or he could be biding his time to attack." he said softly.
"Always thinking like a warrior." she looked up at him. "How was your dance?" she asked.
"I didn't think you saw." he told her, "I thought you were enjoying some time in the garden."
She smirked up at him, "You noticed something was different about the sisters. Didn't you?"
"The sisters and their maid." he told her, "The three of them smell different and feel different. They are human, but not." he puzzled, "I can't place my finger on it. I've never smelled anyone like them before."
"I'm going to invite them to stay here." she told him.
"In the castle?"
"Yes." She told him, "That way we can get to know them, to figure them out."
"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer." he agreed.
"We don't know they are enemies." The Queen told her husband, "Not yet anyways."
AN-Leave a review and let me know if you think I should continue.