Inspired by a post courtorderedcake saw on Tumblr about a girl making a deal with a Fae. Feel free to message me if you'd like the link to the original post by deluxeloy and hayleyolivia.


Prologue

The clearing was deceptively serene. An occasional soft creak of branches nearby, the crispness of the autumn breeze swirling through the tall grass, both added to the tranquil illusion permeating not just the glade, but the surrounding groves as well. Anyone out for a quick stroll might have missed it, the undercurrent of dread that made this place uninhabitable for creatures with sharper instincts than those of humans. No birds nested here, no burrow or den had ever been crafted to house the woodland fauna within this patch of woods where this particular clearing sat.

The clearing that contained the vault of the Dark One.

Emma shivered against the whisper of autumn wind catching the loose ends of her hair. It had grown much colder as she approached the circular altar where it was said the beast could be summoned on command. Few had ever dared to contact him this way, choosing instead to seek out an audience at his castle, though such an endeavor usually resulted in a refusal to be seen. Many, like Emma's father, felt such a refusal was actually a blessing. No one ever came out better in their circumstances after making a deal with the Dark One. It was best not to tangle with such evil.

But desperate times called for desperate measures, and Emma would not risk the demon's refusal of hearing her plea. Nor was there anything she wasn't willing to risk in exchange for the magic only he could provide. Magic her father desperately needed.

With a deep, shuddering breath, Emma straightened her posture. Her hands balled themselves into fists, anchoring her so she would stand her ground once the demon appeared. Swiping her tongue over her lips, she swallowed heavily, then with as much authority as she could give to combat the quivering in her voice she spoke the words she'd been warned all her life to never utter.

"Dark One, I summon thee."

The air cracked, releasing a blustering gale that whipped Emma's hair over her face and her skirts tangling through her legs, nearly toppling her over. Through the strands caught in her lashes, Emma could make out a flow of mire gurgling up through the vault and collecting at its center. The dark, viscous matter began to take shape, and Emma's breath hitched painfully in her chest when she realized it was taking on the form of a man.

A man dressed in the finery of black leather with dark silver embellishing his buckles and closures. His long coat nearly touched the metal vault beneath his booted feet, and his expertly tailored trousers and vest displayed a fit physique Emma had not expected to find, given the tales she'd heard of him being a monstrous creature. Looking past the sinister aura his clothes and gleaming metal hook presented, Emma was stunned with the beauty his features possessed. From the chaotic nature of his wind swept, raven hair to the piercing blue of his eyes, Emma couldn't pull her gaze from him until she'd taken in every detail. Stubble littered his strong jawline, the muscle beneath betraying its hint of auburn as it flickered in the afternoon sun streaming in through the canopy. His heavy brows, which had first sat low over his eyes, now began to twitch and arch in curious displays as he took in the sight of her, assessing her with as much scrutiny as she was him. Emma had just made her way to the small scar maring his cheek when his voice jolted her.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, love?"

Though his words were cordial enough, his tone was anything but. Clearing her throat, Emma managed to squeak out, "I've come to make a deal."

A rueful smile pulled at his lips, followed by his flippant reply. "I'd gathered as much. People don't tend to summon me for my conversation." He flicked his hand, gesturing for her to proceed then stepped off the dias, making his way towards her. "Go on, then. Present your request."

Emma's heart hammered frantically in her chest as he approached, but her panic - was it panic? - began to subside when he stopped short and settled himself on a fallen log. Legs splayed wide and bent at the knee, his attention was no longer on her but on the tip of his hook, which he'd begun toying with while he waited for her to present her petition.

"It's my father," Emma blurted out, the story tumbling from her lips before she lost her nerve. "He's ill. Gravely ill. The healers say there's… there's nothing more that can be done, but I know you possess the magic that could save his life. End his suffering." He seemed to have paid her no attention during the recounting of her woes, which only heightened her already impassioned state. Marching up to him, she knelt between his knees and grasped onto his hand. "Please!" she begged. "I'll do anything to save my father's life."

The Dark One sighed. "I despise when you lot say that," he grumbled. "Have you any idea what you are truly asking for?" He emphasized the question with a hum of inquiry, his brows lifted high upon his forehead. "All magic comes with a price, love, and this type of magic, requires a hefty one."

"Whatever it is, I'll pay it," Emma declared quickly. However, a sinking sense of helplessness followed in its wake when she considered her current circumstances. "Though, I confess," she added in an anguished whisper, "my family is not wealthy, but I am sure we can come to some sort of an agreement. I'm a hard worker. I could pay you in trade."

"This type of magic requires a price that cannot be paid in silver or gold," he replied, a look of cunning blooming within his eyes that sent a shiver down Emma's spine. "It requires a cost of equal weight in its return. A life for a life."

Emma gasped, and pulled her hands away from his. Closing her eyes, she envisioned what her mother and father would say, how they would take the news that she'd given up her own life so her father could live. They would be devastated, of course, but her father was more important. Without him, who would keep the farm going until her brother, Leo, was old enough to take it on?

"If my death is the price, so that my father may live then-"

"Your death?" the Dark One scoffed harshly, forcing Emma's eyes to snap open. "No, no, love. A life is required. Not a death."

Emma's brows pinched together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

His eyes swept over her, the look within them made her shiver again, but in an entirely different way than before. A shiver not born from the cold tendrils of dread, but from a chilling heat that raised the fine hairs of her body while settling a flush upon her skin.

"Why… the life of your first born child," he responded with a sinister grin.

Her first born? Emma knelt there before the Dark One totally stunned by his demand. She'd never even considered children before. She had no dowry, and very few prospects from which to choose in the way of a husband. She doubted very much whether she'd ever marry at all. Her family needed her at the farm until her brother came of age, which by that time she'd be considered an old maid with no more bachelors eligible with whom to make a match. No husband meant no first born to barter with, but surely the man knew that. During the perusal of her form, he most assuredly would have noticed her lack of a wedding band.

But what if he hadn't?

Emma worried her lip, the Dark One's eyes locking on to the action as he silently awaited her response. Could she simply make the deal knowing she'd never have to actually pay the price? Have the Dark One cure her father with no intention of ever having a child? Her breaths coming in shallow pants, she stood and stuck her hand out towards him.

"Deal."

Slowly, he got to his feet, towering over her while contemplating her proffered hand. "You're sure?"

Craning her neck to meet his gaze, she jutted out her chin, almost defiantly. "I'm sure."

His hand wrapped around hers, turning it over so he could brush the back of it with his lips. A surge of something wondrous shot up her arm, stealing her breath. Her lips parted and she tried to tear her eyes away from his, but they remained transfixed on the forget-me-not hue that had begun to darken with swirls of midnight and fathoms of deep ocean swells.

"Then we have a deal," he murmured. The gruff edge of his voice sent a wave of heat through Emma's body, making her light-headed from the barrage of foreign emotions she could not find words for. "When you return home, you'll find your father well and healthier than he's ever been. All the pain and suffering a distant memory."

Emma released stuttering breaths of pure joy, her eyes stinging with the happy tears pooling in their corners. "Thank you! You… you've no idea what it means to me. What he means to me."

"I only hope he's worth the price you've agreed to pay," the Dark One replied, his hand still firmly enveloping her own. "Which we shall begin working towards tomorrow eve."

Emma cocked her head to one side, brows deeply furrowed. "What?"

A cunning grin pulled at his lips. "You agreed to give me your firstborn child, did you not?"

"I… yes?"

"Well…" his pregnant pause and suggestively raised brows caused Emma's heart to palpitate painfully in a vice of dreadful understanding his next words clamped into place. "With no husband to assist in the matter, how else did you presume to give me your firstborn?"

"You… you expect me to…"

"I expect you to make good on your end of the bargain," he stated without a hint of compassion, gripping her hand tightly as a dark shadow seemed to slither over his features.

As quickly as it appeared, the spectre retreated, shaken off with a growl reverberating from deep within the Dark One's chest. He released her hand as though it had scalded him and stomped back towards his vault without a backward glance.

"The choice is yours, love," he bit out through tightly clenched teeth. "If you wish your father to remain in good health, then present yourself at my castle tomorrow at sundown. There you will remain until our business is concluded."

A cloud of red smoke enveloped him before Emma could muster any sort of response, and in an instant, he was gone. The remaining streams of daylight were snuffed out soon after, leaving Emma truly alone in the darkness, both natural and one of her own making.

Sinking down to her knees, she buried her face in her hands and wept. What had she done? How could she have been fool enough to think she could out fox the Dark One?