Angelz: Well, thanks for all being patient! I've now finished school and have all the time in the world to update this story. Well...until college starts anyways. XD So I hope you like this chapter, it ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger I'm afraid (I love cliff-hangers!) I've also decided on what I want to happen in this story, so I now have a point to work towards! Yay for plot! Also, I'd really love it if you could check out my new Wicked Lovely Story (just a oneshot) called : Names. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sometime next week. Enjoy.
Seth nodded a greeting to Niall whilst eyeing Irial wearily. Leslie glanced at Irial to find him staring boredly down the street; clearly the former Dark King wasn't in the mood to deal with Sorcha's obsession, Seth.
"What do need, Seth?" Niall asked.
"I saw some of the Summer Girls escorting Eliza back to the loft, she was injured." He waited expectantly for one of the trio to explain and when he was given no answer he glanced at Leslie, "they told me the new Dark Queen attacked her." Leslie hid a smile.
"I don't see how that concerns you. What the Dark Court does is none of your business." Niall gave a sidelong look at Irial.
"He's brother to the Dark Court, he has a right to ask questions." Irial scoffed.
"Who says he's brother?"
"Niall, he calls my nephew brother." Horror struck through Leslie, her mind blurred to an almost painful pleasure as the soft hunter's pad of Bananach's feet drew closer. She stumbled back, trying to avoid the decreasing distance between herself and War.
Arms wrapped themselves around her stopping her from moving anymore. Leslie glanced up to meet Irial's black eyes; one eyebrow was raised in silent question. She let out a whimper as the pressure inside her head increased, reality seemed to blur beyond recognition as Bananach's voice pierced through her thoughts.
"My King," she said the words mockingly, barely keeping a laugh from her voice, " how pleasant to see you here." A clack followed as she snapped her teeth together in a twisted smile. Her eyes searched the street eagerly until they rested on Leslie. A shudder ran through her.
"I see you're hiding someone. Cowering against the Former King are we, pet?" Niall whipped around to face Leslie, the fiercely protective look on his face sent a wave of giddy pleasure through her, he was her King, her protector. The tense stance relaxed slightly when he saw that she was safely in Irial's arms.
"Stay away from Leslie, she's your Queen. Respect that." Irial's voice held a note of menace. A laugh that resembled a crow's caw slipped through Bananach's lips.
"She isn't merely my Queen, you naive fool. I hel-" she gave a strangled choke as Niall's hand closed around her throat, cutting off the rest of her words. Leslie hadn't even seen him move. Thank God he had, if Bananach had finished that sentence...
Irial twitched slightly and cast a curious look at Niall. His King was acting strangely violent.
The world must be ending; Niall could almost pass for the Dark King. Irial's internal monologue took on a dry tone, well, providing the world ended very slowly.
What was Bananach going to say? For the War-faerie to even admit that she had a King or Queen was a near-impossible feat but for her to be willing to carry on the discussion was something Irial had never accomplished during his reign.
"I suggest you walk away, say one more word and it could easily be your last." Niall warned his voice dropping to a low threat that sounded strangely intimate. Bananach watched him intently for a few tense moments before pulling away from Niall's grasp, he let her go. She turned to lock gazes with Leslie.
The world swayed and blurred as Bananach stared at her. Her eyes were strangely focused, Bananach never looked focused. When War set her sights on something it was never a good thing. Irial's arms tightened around Leslie, keeping her knees from buckling under the weight of herself.
"Easy, there girl." Irial murmured. A wave of worry began to rise in him, only to be greedily taken away by Leslie. She seemed to be franticly grasping any thread of emotion to try and stabilize herself. She turned to face him and was baffled when she saw only a solid wall of shadows, all shifting and merging into each other.
"He can't protect you now, Pet."
"I don't need protecting." Leslie turned to face Bananach and realized she wasn't going to escape so she sighed and focused on keeping her hold on reality, "what do you want?"
"That's no way to address me, is it?" Bananach sounded lucid, something she rarely was, and that fact alone worried Leslie.
"You're hardly someone who I'd listen to for advice on addressing people." Leslie said dryly. She leant against the shadow wall that blocked her from Irial and Niall.
Where had Seth gone? She wondered idly. Her mind followed that train of thought for a few moments before jumping to a new topic, was there chaos at the Crow's Nest? Were the other courts afraid of her?
"You're losing it." Leslie was snapped back into the present. Bananach looked pleased with herself, "reality is blurring is it not, my daughter? You're finding it hard to focus on what goes on around you."
"I'm fine. Don't call me that."
"Call you what?" If she didn't know any better Leslie would have said that Bananach widened her eyes in mock innocence. War certainly was being oddly playful today...
"Daughter."
"But is that not what you are? I helped create you, made you into the strong fey you are. You are my creation."
"I am your Queen. If you think that you hold sway over me then you're sorely mistaken." A chuckle escaped from Bananach's lips.
"Am I, Daughter? Do you think I would have changed you if I didn't expect something in return?"
"And what would that be?" The shadows behind Leslie shifted. Four tendrils snaked out of the wall and wrapped themselves around her wrists and ankles, preventing her from moving.
How can she do that? The shadows only obeyed the King and Queen of the Dark Court, and, of course, Irial. The former King hadn't lost many of the perks of being King, something Niall was baffled over and yet didn't seem to mind.
"My Court." Bananach lurched towards her.
Leslie's world turned black.
"Where is she?" Niall paced restlessly across the street, occasionally glancing at the ever-shifting globe of shadows that occupied the center of the space. Inside, his Queen, Leslie, was trapped with the bane of his existence; Bananach.
"Patience, Love. She'll be fine; our girl knows how to look after herself." Irial lounged against a wall across the street from his King. Opposite him stood Seth, eyeing Niall with a barely contained curiosity in his eyes.
"Who's stronger, Leslie or Bananach?" He asked. Irial's eyes flashed a deadly black.
"That's really none of your business." He snapped, "Niall, why you favour this nuisance is beyond me."
"He's a brother. That's all you need to know." Niall murmured distractedly, something was happening inside the shadows. He stepped towards it and lay his hand on the solid mass. Once again, he tried to manipulate them, to get them to obey him as he knew they should. A growl rumbled through his chest as nothing happened.
Suddenly warmth moved behind him, Irial leaned so his mouth was touching Niall's ear, his arm snaked around his waist and pulled his King into his chest. Niall sighed and relaxed into the embrace.
"Calm down, Love. The more flustered you get the less likely you are to achieve your goal." Niall mumbled vague words of agreement as Irial's lips trailed away from his ear and down his neck, barely brushing against his skin. He could feel the Smirk on his lips as the moved down to kissing Niall's shoulder, Irial brought his one free hand up to pull Niall's shirt off of his shoulder, exposing more skin.
"Are you going to relax now, Mm?" Niall nodded, leaning his head back onto Irial's shoulder, "Good." Irial stepped away from Niall teasingly, the Dark King groaned at the loss of contact. Irial flashed a grin and wondered back over to his wall to lean on.
Seth had turned his attention away from the affection between to two Kings and stared at the globe of shadows. What was going on in there? And did Irial know that Bananach had changed Leslie? Niall had cut off the War faerie when she's hinted of her involvement in Leslie's change so it was a safe bet to say that Niall hadn't clued Irial in.
"Something's happening." Seth turned towards Niall's voice and found both him and Irial stood rigid; tense. Responding to something that Seth couldn't detect. Only moments later the shadows surrounding the Dark Queen dissipated, slowly swirling away like a lethargic fog. When the shadows cleared fully Seth could see what had become of the Queen.
Niall and Irial's voices rang out in unison, "Leslie!"