I'm thinking Kate Beckinsale is a good face claim.
450 years after The War (Eclipse 420 years old)
Light footsteps sounded through the hall, purposefully light to announce her presence to those in the room at the end of the hall. The door opened before she reached it and the female smiled at her father. He grinned back.
"I wondered when you would be coming." He mused, pulling her close and placing a kiss to the top of her head.
"I would have come sooner, but I was contemplating." Helion smiled in understanding. He motioned her into the room, and she moved. She first approached her grandfather, curtsying slightly.
"Grandfather." She murmured. The High Lord of the Day Court dipped his head with a small smile on his face. The female stood and stepped forward placing a kiss to his cheek. She then turned to her grandmother and grinned. The older female surveyed the girl.
"Have you been training during your travels?" Eclipse's smile widened.
"You know I have, I would not want to tarnish the reputation of the last living Valkyrie, with rumors that her granddaughter took a break from her rigorous training schedule." Her grandmother snorted and motioned her forward.
"It is good to see you, my Warrior Princess." She stated as she pulled her granddaughter into a hug as she spoke. As the two pulled away her father patted the seat next to him, she moved, with the grace of a warrior and gently sat next to him. All three wore the usual white robes of the Day Court, while she herself preferred the styling of the Night Court, but honored her home court with the outfit she wore today, a styled white robe, a slit partially up her leg allowing for movement in a fight, she was always ready for a fight, the robe rose up forming an upside down V on her chest, two thing golden strings continued up, wrapping around her neck to hold up the gown. Her shoulders were bare, and her most prized Illyrian dagger strapped to her leg, a gift from Azriel years ago, would glint in the light as she shifted, peeking through the slit in her dress. Her wings tucked in behind her a stark contrast to the white of her robes.
Another gift from Azriel curled around her ankle, spreading a warmth one would not expect from a Shadow around her leg as it moved. She couldn't speak with it, as Azriel could, but she could guess what it wanted at any given time, thanks to her gift as an intuitive. The shadow had refused to leave her since the day Azriel had gifted it to her as a child. The day after her mother had died. When her father had arrived to find his daughter in the House of Wind clinging to the Shadowsinger in a death grip that had not let up until the man had arrived. She had thrown herself from Azriel's arms into her father's. Azriel had explained what Rhysand had learned, and showed him, and where the High Lord of the Night Court and his heir had gone, why Azriel and Cassian were with the girl instead of her Uncle and Grandfather after the horror that she had survived. Helion's eyes had darkened. I expect all of them to be slaughtered. Her father had said in a voice that still to this day sent shivers down Eclipse's spine when she recalled the memory. Azriel nodded in agreement. They will be. She had begun screaming and writhing, reaching out for Azriel, as her father announced they were leaving. Startled Azriel and Helion stared at each other in confusion. In the wake of her trauma the young Eclipse had still been running on instinct. She didn't know why she screamed, she just knew Azriel was the safest place and all she wanted was her mother and to be safe and if she couldn't have her mother, she would at least fight tooth and nail for that feeling of safety. Azriel's shadow, the one that had woken her, rushed from him and curled around her outstretched arm, calming her instantly. Safe. Protect. Safe. Protect. The shadow had shouted at him. Azriel's face was the picture of confusion as he stepped closer. He had asked her then, if she would like to keep the shadow, that way it could alert him if she ever needed assistance. She had stared wide eyed at him then, glanced at her father who, while also confused, nodded his approval. The shadow had not left her since. Even after she became more than capable of looking after and protecting herself. Azriel had stopped asking why centuries ago. A few of her family suspected, but had never been able to confirm. Eclipse, who had known since her 200th birthday, and Rhysand were the only two who truly knew why, but sworn to secrecy by his niece he had never alerted anyone else. She had not sworn him to secrecy out of spite or because she was upset by the reason, but because she knew, by her own intuition, that now was not the time.
"What did you learn on your travels?" Her grandfather asked, pulling her out of her musings. Eclipsed, straightened, crossing her ankles below her dress.
"All of the other courts will be attending the ball, even Spring." She told them, nausea rolling over her at the mention of the Court. Her father placed a comforting hand on her shoulder in support, he shared her own feelings of the southern most High Lord. He had taken much from the duo.
"You went to Spring?" Her grandmother asked surprise, lilting her voice, they had sent her out, as Emissary, to determine if five of the other courts would be attending, no one in this room would send her to Spring for obvious reasons. Eclipse shook her head.
"No. I ran into Lucien Vanserra while in the Dawn Court." Eclipse glanced subtly to her father, no surprise, no twitch, she knew without observing him that he didn't know, but she still always wondered why he didn't suspect. Maybe he did, she had never asked herself that question, unsure if she wanted to know the answer. Maybe that's why if he suspected he never truly allowed himself to question it, to seek out the truth, if it was discovered, if it got out, other lives would be at stake, not Helion's, but Lucien's, his mother's. Eclipse only knew of her brother, by way that she knew just about everything that she uncovered, all of the secrets that she just intuitively knew the answer to if she listened to the voice in her head.
"Is no one else concerned?" Her father asked.
"All, but the Autumn Court have their reservations. None as strongly as ours and Uncle Rhysand's, but they are there. The High Lords did not speak of them, but they did not need to." The three nodded in understanding, trusting in her abilities.
"We will go, but you will be staying here." Her grandfather spoke. Eclipse's head whipped around to stare at him, her gaze meeting him sharply.
"I will not! You will need me? We know it is a trap, I could find it quicker than anyone in all of Prythian."
"We know that, and so does Amarantha, she will be wary of you, I won't risk your life just to find a trap we are expecting." Her father spoke a note of finality in his voice.
"And don't even think of going to the Night Court, your Uncle is in agreement with us." Her grandmother spoke. Eclipse scowled and stood.
"I guess that settles it then." She snapped glaring at everyone in the room, and strode angrily through the door night swirling in her wake.
_
She was working on her mind stilling exercise that night, trying to calm the panic in her veins at the thought of her family walking into a trap. They had left hours ago for Under the Mountain and the longer Eclipse heard nothing, the more anxious she had become. Her intuition worked to suffocate her as the horrible feeling swelled and swelled. The mind stilling had helped settle that, allowing her to breathe, somewhat, though her chest still felt tight.
She startled as her Uncle's mind burst through the golden star flecked gates of her mind.
"Uncle Rhys?" She asked in confusion.
"Eclipse! It was a trap, the wine, she placed a spell on the wine. You need to take precautions. You can't go to Velaris. I'm sorry, but I've tied the wards to Cassian, Azriel, Amren, and Mor, they can't leave, and you can't risk Amarantha learning of the whereabouts of the city. There wasn't time to allow you to get there." Tears welled in the female's eyes.
"What did she do?" She asked, ice was flowing through her veins.
"She bound our powers, she couldn't fully strip them, but she bound them enough, bound the essence of the High Lords to herself. She controls us now." Eclipse let out a sob at the implication of that. "You need to stay safe, Daydreamer. I need you to keep safe." Eclipse steeled herself.
"I will do what needs to be done."
"Eclipse-" Her Uncle was ripped from her mind before he could finish. Eclipse let a tear slide down her face, before she steeled herself again, and then she was moving. Summoning those still present in the court to the throne room.
_
She went to work quickly after alerting the Court. Her first spell took her half the night, it was one similar to the one that protected Velaris, almost identical, one key difference being that she tweaked it allowing any person seeking sanctuary to find and enter the city, any who wished harm to the citizens of Prythian would not be able to locate the city and would not be able to enter on the off chance they stumbled into it.
She would not remain in the city, leaving it in the hands of her grandfather's most trusted advisor's. There was so much more of Prythian that would not fare as well as the now protected Capitol city. Her first stop would be to the sister city of the Capitol, where the High Lord's second home was, where the other Pegasuses were housed. There were four that resided in this city, her father and grandfather's favored pairs. The others lived in a city rich with fields and room for grazing and flying, far higher, with more freedom, than the four in the city needed or wanted. After the death of their foal, her father's pair could not bear to be around other young Pegasuses and Her grandfather's pair were just grumpy; they were temperamental at best, and fought frequently with the other Pegasuses. Eclipse knew it was because they were the oldest of the herd, and did not enjoy the antics of the others.
She rested, allowing her magic to replenish before she left. As she rested she watched the shadow curl restlessly around her leg. She could feel its trepidation. Knew that it was worried for its master.
"Go to him." She whispered to the shadow. It stopped.
"Go, tell him that I am safe, and I will see him and the other's when this is over." She knew deep down that it would end, she just did not know when. The shadow slowly crawled up her body, creeping up to nuzzle into her face before it scattered, leaving her with a cold, emptiness. With the shadow, she had never been truly alone since she was a child, it was a strange feeling, not to have it circling or swirling around her stilling only to rest.
_
Azriel stood shadow's curling around his face and shoulders an unease washing over him at the uncertainty. Rhysand had told them hours before what had happened. Had told them that there was not time to get Eclipse there, that he was warning her, telling her to stay away. Azriel's face tightened at that thought. He loved his High Lord, his brother, but he could not stomach the thought of her out there alone. He knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself, they had all worked to ensure that, after what had happened to her mother and grandmother, but the need to protect her, the same need that had him gifting the distraught child his shadow over four centuries ago, had his stomach twisting, sinking, at the thought of her out there alone, and him without the ability to go to her if she needed him.
He contemplated the female. She had come a long way from that child that he remembered, he had struggled, until recently, to see her as anything more than that child clinging to him as if he were a lifeline and she would float away into oblivion without him. Over the last century though, that had begun to change, he had seen her less and less, she would go longer spans of time without visiting the Night Court, busy working as an Emissary for both the Day Court and the Night Court, something no one had ever done before, been a known member of both courts. Between that, and his own duties as Shadowsinger, his glimpses of the female had become reserved, for holidays, special occasions and the occasional overlapping of her information to Rhysand and his own.
Azriel's shadows stilled, as one approached slithering up his leg shouting at him.
Safe. Safe. Safe. He could hear her voice in his ear as the shadow reached his face, it curled around his ear, delivering the message she had sent. "Go, tell him that I am safe, and I will see him and the other's when this is over."
Azriel let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding as he felt the shadow approach. The fear that had gripped his heart, thinking the shadow had come to tell him she was dead or captured.
Mate. Safe. Mate. Safe. Azriel froze as the words hit him. His heart stopped and his shadows skittered at the icy rage that overtook him. Mate. His Mate. She was his fucking mate, and she was out there on her own, while he was trapped in this godforsaken city. The Illyrian male let out a roar that shook the windows as he dropped to his knees.