I awoke to the sound of Clariss lighting the fire in my hearth. My breath fogged in front of me and I rubbed the gooseflesh on my arms. It was only a fortnight until the winter solstice and the snow had settled thickly on our lands weeks ago.

"Good morning, Lady." Clariss said with a croak, brushing the soot from her hands onto her apron. She was a frail lesser fae who had seen many, many years on Prythian. Her white hair was wrapped into a loose bun at the nape of her neck and her figure was slim but bowed permanently in age. Her eyes weren't as sharp as they had once been, but her long, pointed ears can hear mischief leagues away. I had no idea how old she was; she had been old when I was just an infant. Yet something about her was still beautiful. She gave me a slight smile as she brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"I pray you slept well. No aches tonight?"

I shook my head. "No, just the strangest dream…" I trailed off.

She shuffled over to my bedside and put the back of her hand to my forehead.

"Fever's all but gone now. Thank the Mother."

I rarely got sick; I almost went my entire adolescence without so much as a cold, but for the past few weeks I have been having dreams. Dreams where I wake up sweating yet freezing, almost delirious, and Clariss has been by my side the entire time. Our family physician had been called to see me twice, and each time he assured my parents it was nothing more than a moderate fever and to continue monitoring me. I didn't tell them about my dreams. I tried to, once, but when I opened my mouth to speak, nothing came out. The dreams portrayed feelings more than they did visions. I remember feeling immense sadness, loneliness, anger, and hurt. But tonight...tonight was different. I had seen fragments in the previous dreams, but this dream felt so vivid, so real. I remember every detail as if it was playing in my mind on repeat.

"Clariss, do you know anyone named Tamlin?"

She turned away from me but not before I saw her eyes narrow sharply. "No. I have never heard that name."

I bite my lip but decide not to push it. Clariss was never the sort of person you could force a conversation with.

With some effort, I pull the blankets off and slowly swing my legs over the edge of the bed. My legs looked thin...too thin.

Noticing my efforts, Clariss turned back to me and clicked her tongue as she surveyed my body, my nightgown hanging loosely from my frame.

"Now that this fever's broke, I hope you've gained your appetite back."

As if in response, my stomach let out a loud and prolonged grumble and I smiled shyly. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't famished."

Clariss's eyes flashed in delight and she left the room in an instant to fetch whatever she had prepared that morning.

I didn't know much about Clariss, but one of the things I did know was that she loved to cook more than anything. Our festivities were never short of divine with the incredible spreads she provided. From minced pies and stuffed poultry to freshly baked bread, pottages, pot pies, and assorted cheeses. It was always way too much food for just the two of us, but she was happy to do it. She was also a skilled baker and the surrounding villages would often send traders to buy her pies and tarts.

Moments later, she returned carrying a tray laden with different kinds of sausages, eggs, a bowl of fresh fruit, and a glass of off-putting green liquid. I crinkled my nose at the glass of swamp water, but Clariss cut me off before I could protest.

"Now now, I don't want to hear any fuss. This is what's going to give you strength to get through the day."

I knew better than to argue with her, but I didn't bother trying to hide my revulsion.

I raised the glass to my lips and immediately coughed from the pungent smell. "Really, Clariss?" I said, my eyes watering.

She just stared at me firmly.

I made a big deal of plugging my nose before downing the bog water, nearly choking on the last few gulps.

She rolled her eyes at me and set the tray on my bed.

"I'll let you finish eating. Call me when you need to dress."

I didn't reply as I started gulping down my food.

As she closed the door behind her, I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to my dream. Yes, it had felt so real, but it was still just a dream. At least, I had been willing to chalk it up to just that, but that look in Clariss's eye made me think twice; she was very quick to respond and wouldn't meet my gaze.

I closed my eyes and was back in that clearing, the blue sky above me and the twittering of cheerful birds overhead. Emerald eyes flashed in front of mine, sunshine glittering throughout. Something told me those sunshine flecks were capable of laughter, of song.

I blinked, back in my room once more. That decided it, after breakfast I would head to the library to find anything I could about this high fae named Tamlin. If Clariss knew the name so well, it had to be in there.

Finishing the last few morsels of my breakfast, I licked my fingers and then pushed myself up and off my bed.

Several steps away was my full length mirror. It was a simple piece compared to the many expensive items that occupied my room. It was made of heavy pine and darkened with an ebony stain that brought out the complex and hidden grain patterns within. It was made by my father, and gifted to me on my eleventh birthday, seventeen years ago. Looking into it now, I hardly recognized myself. My long, brown hair was dull and hung limply to my bony waist. My grey eyes were the only shiny thing about me, but even they seemed sunken into my skin.

My glamour was so fortified in place that I could keep it on even during slumber.

A power rumbled deep inside me at that thought, yearning to get out. I grimaced and turned away, knowing full well why I couldn't let it.

There was a story as old as any dated scroll or manuscript you could find on the island, even older, that told of a child that had been kissed by the Mother, and on its fifth birthday they would turn back time and change the season for one day. This child was supposed to possess unimaginable power that could make all of Prythian fall to its knees in reverence. Lo and behold, on my fifth birthday, the summer sunset reversed its path and showered us in glistening snowflakes. My parents sobbed and fell to their knees at my feet, and my siblings that were old enough to know the story stared at me in awe.

Things were never the same after that.

My parents brought me gifts every day and asked me to bless their profits and harvest. They separated me from my siblings and friends and constructed a house just for me not far off from the main estate. They sent Clariss with me to watch over my education and wellbeing. I would've been alone if not for her, and my oldest sister, Rell. Rell was eleven years older than me, but as long as I could remember she treated me as an equal. Late at night, she would sneak out of the estate and come to play with me and read me stories. Sometimes we would go outside and slip into the nearby woods and play adventure games like hiding from a troupe of bandits or from an evil king's hounds.

Several years like this passed. My parents' wealth grew exponentially just by the fact that I was their daughter. They didn't even need to call upon my powers, the fact that I belonged to them was enough to gain recognition and respect. My family had never been poor, descending from a noble bloodline, but now they practically ruled this entire island. The high fae that came to this place millennia ago, shrouded it in magic, knowing the Child would be born from their descendants one day as was told through legends allegedly from the Mother herself. It is my understanding that the rest of Prythian doesn't even remember that this island exists. No one to come save me from this imprisonment.

I looked down, suddenly filled with guilt and remorse.

"Not that I deserve saving." I whispered.

While I was able to taste freedom those nights I roamed the forests with Rell, it was my fault she now lay motionless in a room, never to walk through that forest again.

She had come to visit on the night of my 15th birthday. We decided to walk through the forest and reminisce about the times we had raced through the trees, breathlessly dodging boughs and jumping over roots. We came to our favorite spot in the woods, with two trees standing side-by-side, both with large branches that scooped down low into something that resembled a swing. It had more branches that made for easy climbing up high, where we both worked together to construct a crude treehouse. It was here that we spent our last evening in that forest.

"So, have you learned anything new?" Rell asked, lighting the lantern we kept in the treehouse.

"Clariss taught me about the Mortal Lands today, it was kind of dry." I replied.

"No, I mean about your powers! And not the ones mom gave you, the ones the Mother gave you." Rell said with a light laugh.

All my sisters, my mother, my grandmother, and so on, were born with some degree of magic. We weren't like the Courts on the mainland, they didn't all fall under the same category. Some could levitate small objects and some could tell the forecast for that entire week. Rell was able to create small illusions, and I was able to heal wounds with my touch.

I fidgeted a little, talking about my power always made me feel isolated.

Sensing this, Rell placed her hand on my arm. "I'm not going anywhere, kiddo."

The corners of my lips turned up, not quite a smile, but I said "I have been… testing it."

Rell's eyes lit up and she leaned in. "Show me, show me!"

I picked at my sleeve. "I'm not sure I know how to control it yet, it's difficult to manage"

"Come on, show me something." She said, looking a little disappointed.

Seeing that look on her face made me roll up my sleeves and extend my hands out in front of me. Elbows bent, one hand palm down a few inches above my other hand palm up. I closed my eyes and summoned a sliver of that power that so readily came flowing into my fingertips. Almost instantaneously, a ball of light formed in the space between my hands. Not to be mistaken for a simple flame or small fae light, this ball of energy was made of raw power. My eyebrows knit together as I tried to focus on the ball of pure energy, to control the level of power being poured into it. I could feel the magic inside me raging against the floodgates I had barely cracked open.

Rell clapped her hands in glee and squealed in delight. "It's beautiful!" She exclaimed. "Make it bigger!"

Sweat beaded on my brow as I let just the tiniest of slivers of power come through the crack. The sphere glowed brighter and started to grow; it was the size of a melon now. The design of it grew more and more beautiful. Sparkles of light shimmered within; staring into it was almost like staring into a galaxy basking in a golden glow. It grew to the point where I had to carry it in both hands now, the shift in movement almost breaking my concentration.

But this had been a good enough demonstration.

I reached inside myself to once again close the floodgates to my power.

It would not close.

The power that came rushing through that small crack was so incredibly overwhelming that I did not have the strength to reign it back.

The crack grew wider and wider, and more magic came rushing into my body.

Panic struck me now as the sphere in front of me was now filling almost the entire treehouse, causing the structure to shake.

I couldn't hear anything over the ringing in my ears, but I could see Rell to the side of me waving her arms for me to stop.

Then, an explosion of enormous proportions erupted from that treehouse, splintering the wood like matchsticks.

The last thing I remember as I fell was Rell being thrown violently away from me towards the leaves below, and falling to the ground with a sickening thud.