Chapter 1
Like many stories, it all began with an apple. As a child, I had been tempted by the smell and feel of the sweet, supple fruit bedecked in jeweled colors of ruby, gold, jade, and topaz. They weighed heavily on the branches, so fit to bursting that the strongest wood bent so much from the force that the pliant tips of the branches almost touched the ground, ready and ripe for the picking of greedy, awaiting children to pluck a few and stuff as many as they could carry into their skirts, breaches, and tunics.
I had been discouraged from such things. It was not mine to take, for most of the land that these apples grew belonged to those that cultivated the land, and I- as an outsider, a Lesser Fae -was subject to those rules. We were only allowed the sanctioned wilds of the forest, things that were unpredictable and competitive among the creatures of the land. Like most children who are young, adventurous, and overall fearless in the face of making mischief and fun, I did not heed the warnings of my elders as I leapt from branch to branch, taking part of my fill of apples any chance I could get, for I had helped grow them to begin with. The idea of being punished by Kala, my bruin mother, was a far distant threat into the future, one that could be negotiated if done with enough loopholes and good old-fashioned fairy trickery. It was almost a game for me, seeing how much I could push her and her rules. My Paddo had taught me lots of games, always jumping in when arguments got too heated between Kala and I, as if he wanted to encourage my mischief, for it was very fae of me to be full of cunning and tricks. It was he who I was playing with once I had stepped into the grove during the golden hour of the day, deep in the throes of an epic game of hide and seek.
Before we began our games, he would tell me 'Be clever, cunning, and full of tricks, for wherever and however you should hide, I will be looking and smelling for you, and once I track your scent, no power on Earth shall keep me from finding you.' I wasn't quite sure what kind of fae he was, for he took a different form every time I hid. Once he had appeared to me as a little dog with a blunt snout and button ears that had been caught in a hunter's snare, and when I had gone to help the poor creature out of the trap, I was held fast and wound up stuck holding onto a boulder for hours as he ran giggling and flapping his hands until my tears had eventually melted the sticky residue away from my hands. He had played fewer mean tricks since then, having claimed that 'it was no fun to make me cry unless it resulted in tears of joy,' but he still liked to toss me into the pond or river if he caught me.
Kala was different. If she caught me disobeying and being naughty like stealing apples and playing pranks, she would growl and box me on the ears and make me stand still as a tree for hours either holding stones or the bounty I had stolen (which usually was a lot). One time I had filled the well water with fruit to change the taste, not knowing the rotting fruit had spiked the well, and the townsfolk had become so drunk from the spirited water that I was forced to drudge the well by the town elders and filter into all the trees to purify it and then forced to collect it from the dew every morning for a decade, all without the help of a single river nymph.
Still, even now, the looming threat of punishment did not keep me from pilfering those golden apples that had dropped to the ground, the thrill of grabbing my ill-gotten gains too sweet to pass up on. No rules had been set to deny people from taking the fallen fruit, something that was considered waste by the nobility of the land, and I figured that as long as I was not caught, my misdeeds would go unpunished. My toes, long and clawed, curled like the roots of a tree as they gripped onto the bark and branch for balance, acting almost like a second pair of hands while my upper body swung with the motion, all in an effort to keep myself from touching the ground. Autumn was the harvest time, and the Autumn Court was fit to bursting with bounty for its harvest festivals and balls, and this time I was going to be the hunter. Paddo was not fond of daylight like most fae, much preferring to stick to the shadows of evening. Our games were often played in the dark, where I would have to rely more on my senses and fairy sight. Today, I was going to play a trick on him and Kala, for I wasn't the only one that was lured by sweets. I figured I had a few more hours before he would join the search and start to hunt me down.
Paddo was out there somewhere, trying to find me as the day came to an end while I hid from Kala as she patrolled the grounds, preparing for hibernation and the months where I would live without her, and I was going to make it hard for either of them to find me. I knew it was in her nature to sleep for those long winter months, even if our land did not truly feel the touches of winter, but my sour mood would not be swayed. I hated when she left us. Other than Paddo, I had no one but her for company. The other tree nymphs would not talk to me or play with me, few that there were, much less ones that were as young as me. Most tree spirits had to be incredibly strong to manifest as a physical presence, and most were too afraid to leave their trees for protection. I wasn't though. I was strong, stubborn, independent, and fearless, as my bruin mother would say. It would take more than an apology to make me bend. The piece of amber she had given me for my birthday was shoved deep into my rucksack with the rest of my collection of rocks, nuts, feathers, and beads, all of my gathered forest treasures.
My wild curly hair was covered with twigs and brambles, my scent already blending the foresty smell of pollen and fallen leaves, masking my presence further as I kept to the trees closest to each other. While strong, it would be a long while before I had to strength to leap to trees further apart. I bounced on the of the apple tree branches as I climbed higher, shaking free a few golden apples as they swayed on the branches. The apple tree let out a chortle at the tickling of its branches, dropping a few more at the sudden action, its laughter too faint for most to hear it. But I could. With my long, pointed fae ears, I could hear the sound of an acorn as it fell to the ground leagues away, a crying newborn babe born into the world. A few were in distress as a squirrel chased a chipmunk away from the nest it had built on an old oak on the edge of the orchard, protecting its food source from rivals. Along with the birds that sheltered in the trees, they were considered emissaries for the trees and nymphs that took care of them, often taking them as pets, but some were still a bit selfish. It knocked about a few the branches that the oak, while old and bitter, had woken up enough to grumble at the noise.
Bracing my knees, I leapt for the oak tree at the edge of the orchard, snatching one of the crying acorns in the air and pocketed it in my satchel before hooking my ankles around one of the stronger branches, the seedling too green to drop so soon. I took an enormous bite out of the flesh of my ill-gotten gains, its sugary juices dribbling down my chin. Mouth full of fruit, I climbed higher, hands grabbing onto the stronger branches as I dangled and swung my leg onto one of the higher arching branches that could support my weight. I had been particularly small as a child, barely coming up to a High Fae's knee at twenty years old- at least, that was what I assumed I was. I wasn't sure when my actual birthday was, only that had found sometime during the Hunter's Moon as a foundling. Regardless, it had made me nimble and fast and able to maneuver into small spaces and crevices, not quite like the pixies and flower fairies that tended the gardens, but enough that hiding and hunting and exploring was easier to me.
I sat there, enjoying my spoils and self-declared birthday treats, listening for the trodding of footfalls. With so many leaves on the ground, it was hard not to make noise on the forest floor, but this one was heavier than the animals of the forest. Much too quiet for the unseelie creatures, but weighty with purpose. A human, maybe? I had not seen a human for a few months, since I had frightened the ones that fled through the wood under the cover of night one too many times. They were fun to play with. So many of them were small and feeble, like rabbits and their kittens, soft and energetic and mortal with the smell of fear and decay like leaves after a rainfall. Kala always scolded me when she found out, saying that I shouldn't frighten something so fragile and full of fear, for tree nymphs were almost as mortal as humans. But they were so fun to scare, and so easy too. Their children were fun to play games with, however short a time there was before their parents caught onto their children being in the company of fairies and stepped in to shield them, ruining my fun by taking away my playmates. They were even more fun to play with, always taking in the pleasure of revenge against having my fun spoiled by their wariness. They could not hear me sneaking up on them through the wood with their dull senses and would jump at the lightest rustle of leaves like a startled deer, dense to the world around them and the dangers. I couldn't fathom not hearing the songs of the forest and wind every day. How sad it must be, to not have a world filled with music.
My pity only extended so far to the mortals as I joyfully hid in the hollow of the old oak tree and waited, a smile stretching on my face. My trap was set, a snare to catch him with the roots of the trees that would lift up from the piles of leaves and fallen nuts, fruits, and berries of the forest. The sound of the footfalls was light, not like a human's, but a boy with red hair like fire and fair of skin. He trumped through the wood, his strides light like a High Fae but full of purpose, like he didn't care who heard his approach. He could not have been more than four or five stones, though he moved like he was lighter, unsure and afraid. His eyes were like the color of sugar maple leaves, honeyed and sweet and red, like he had been crying.
I heard him sniff as I eased down from the branch I was perched on, inches away from his ear when I asked, "Why are you crying?"
The boy shrieked with a start, startling back from where I dangled, my dark curly hair hanging like Iberian moss on a tree. I giggled at his reaction but felt my smile fall as he stepped back and tripped the living wire of my snare, snagging around his leg as he was yanked up by the bent branch of the apple tree that had been held by the thinnest creeping vine that was as strong as spider silk. It had taken me an age to grow that vine, and now it was ruined.
Those honeyed amber eyes narrowed at me and resembled more like the eyes of a wolf as they glared at me from upside down. "I take it this is your sick idea of a joke."
"It was, and now you've ruined it. Have you ever tried to grow creeping vines strong enough to snare a horse? It took me months to get it right!"
"Put me down! Put me down this instant!"
"Only if you say please," I teased with a grin.
"Never! A High Lord never apologizes!"
"You look a little young for a High Lord." The boy's face turned puce and sickly, like he wasn't supposed to reveal his family heritage in the presence of strangers. It would have been gaunt had the blood not been rushing to his head.
I looked at him, taking his measure and sizing up the small boy of noble blood and shrugged. "Fine. Have fun being food for the wolves," I said and began to fade back into the tree, not breaking my eye contact with him. I was almost faded into the bark when the boy reached out
"W-Wait!"
I peered out from the hollow of the tree and batted my eyes. "Yes~?"
The boy let out a huff and grumbled a low 'please' under his breath I pretended not to hear.
"…Sorry?"
"…Please."
"'Please' what?"
He grit his teeth "…Please put me down."
I gave him a smug smile and with careful hands, focused my power on the vine. It began to clench tighter around his leg, but I fought back against the urge as I willed the vine to lower him to the ground. Sweat broke out on my brow as it snapped its free tendrils at his face, like it was having a tantrum before finally relenting and shrinking back to the ground, withered and dark, energy spent. He snapped the edge, brushing off his fancy riding breeches and tunic.
"What- what are you?"
"I'm Melia. And you are?"
"What are you doing in my woods?"
"Your woods?" I echoed with a scoff.
"I'm lord of this forest."
"Aren't you a little short to own these woods?"
"You're one to talk. What are you, some kind of imp?"
I rolled my eyes. "Hardly. Who are you to claim this as your forest?"
"These are my lands- well, my father's lands, but they will be mine someday. Which means I own these lands, ergo you're trespassing."
"Excuse me, my family lives in these woods, and I've never seen your face before, so I'd say I'm more likely to be a lord of these woods than you are."
"You can't be a lord. You're a girl."
"Lord, lady, whatever. I can be whatever I wish," I huffed.
"Oh, can you now? Then, your lordship or ladyship, why do I see you stuffing your gob with my mother's apples?"
He nodded to the satchel filled with fruit at my side, one of which had a bite still taken out of it. "I found them on the ground. Surely you do not care to eat rotten fruit. Who cares if a few go missing?"
He puffed up at this, likely trying to size me up like some kind of frog. "They're my mother's and I command you to give them to me."
"If you want them so badly, them come and get them." I taunted. He took proud step forward and then thought better of it. "What's wrong? Surely you can reach a few measly apples."
"They're not for me. They're for my mother. She loves apples, and I wanted to bring some to her while the rest of the hunting party."
"Hunting party?"
"Don't you know what day it is? It's the annual Mabon hunting festival. All the lords are spending the week hunting for the best game, and I am going to bring in the biggest game to win it all."
"Well, you're doing a terrible job of it if you're getting caught in a trap meant for boars."
He frowned and let out a sniff, wiping his nose on his sleeve as his pale freckled cheeks turned ruddy and his eyes turned glassy and red. Was he crying? Normally when some cried from one of my pranks, I could get them to laugh about it afterwards, but for some reason his tears made me feel guilty.
"Here." I held out one of the unbruised fruit from my bag towards the sniveling princeling. "Go on. Take it."
"I don't want it," he pouted, crossing his arms across his chest like the impertinent child that he was. I willed my face to soften more.
"Come on. You want to bring this back to your mother, right? I've got plenty, so just take it."
"I want to get it myself," he huffed. "There's no point of bring one back if I didn't get it myself."
"Just pretend that you did. I won't tell."
"…this is a trick, isn't it?" he said, taking a hesitant step back. "I'll reach out to take one and you'll grab my hand and bite off my fingers one by one while you save me for later to put into your stew."
"What, you think I'm going to eat you like some witch in the woods?" I chuckled, not having heard a joke like this in a long time.
"Aren't you? You smell of honey and things that lure children from the path. What's to say you haven't lured me into a trap?"
I rolled my eyes and held out the fruit. "You're being ridiculous. There are no such things of witches beyond the Middle. Just take it."
"No."
"Take it!"
"No!"
"Take the bloody fruit, you stubborn bastard, or I'll force it down your throat!"
"NO!" he screamed, his face whirling with indignation. "I know what you are!" he sneered, his scowl ruining his boyish face.
"Really? Pray tell and explain to me what I be," I grinned, lips teasing on malevolent as he glared at me.
"You're a Lesser Fairy, an ugly, unseelie imp or a hedge witch trying to lure me back to your den and use my bones to build your fence," the boy said, nearly spitting out the words like he had tasted something foul. I frowned at this, shame growing hot in my cheeks. I had never been called ugly before. It made me feel angry and embarrassed and dejected at the rejection of my gift for some reason in a way I had never expected before. I could feel the corners of my mouth turning down into a repulsive sneer of my own as he continued, oblivious to my rage. "Well, your tricks won't fool me! I won't debase myself and be insulted as to accept your gift or your help. I will never accept the help of a Lesser Fairy!"
At this I finally leapt down from my tree. My height, while short, was still a bit taller than the lean highborn boy in front of me and he was all too aware of this fact as he took an unsteady step backwards. "You- you stubborn prick! You stupid, stupid toad!" I screeched, stomping my feet as my fists clenched and waved at my sides. "My trap wasn't even for you, you bloody git! I was using it to play a prank on my Paddo and Bruin Mother! I was hiding and making them regret that I had run away, but now you've ruined it! You've spoilt everything!" The expression on the lordling's face seemed to shift between a range of emotions- confusion, injured pride, and regret. I was too furious to notice or care. "Here! Take your stupid apples!" I snapped, lobbing the prized golden apples at the young boy with perfect aim.
"You- oomph!" He lurched as one landed in the gut. "How dare you hit-!" Another bruised his shoulder. He managed to dodge the next one aimed between his legs. "You'll regret this-!" Dodge. "My father will hear about this!"
"GO! Tell your father! See if I care!" I shouted, voice cracking with emotion as I lobbed more fruit at him.
"Lord Eris!" called the wind, a voice finally catching on deaf ears as a dark shadow loomed over both of us. My hand paused, apple still clenched in my fist. At first, I thought it was Kala, but the smell was wrong. Kala's smell was of wet fur and sun-dried rocks, where this figure reeked of iron and death, and while Kala sometimes like iron after a hunt, it was normally masked by a comforting musk and sometimes tinged with honey and berries and whatever else she had foraged in the forest for dinner. Hints of it trailed behind the creature in the wind as it galloped through the wood, halting at the edge of the orchard, but these were old trails, paths were Kala patrolled the edge of the wood, the boarders of the nature Courts. The next thought was it had been Paddo, but he smelt of freshwater and water reeds, and there was still too much sun in the skies.
"Your highness, there you are! I've been looking for you. You've given your mother quite the fright. The whole hunting party is looking for you-" said the creature before it paused to look at me. It stood tall, dark and looming, appearing like the old stories of nuckelavee Paddo had told me at bedtime, evil, skeletal monsters of blight and famine fused to their one-eyed, equine mounts with flesh turned inside out. Creatures so horrid that it was thought that even their breath would fill you with sickness and death. A chilling nausea fell over me at the figure, even after the light had shifted to reveal that it was a High Fae male with sallow cheeks and eyes like quicksilver sitting on a chestnut mare. The whites of his eyes could be seen as they gazed down at me, through me, from atop his mount like he had seen one of those terrible creatures, and it unnerved me. It was the first time I had really felt fear. Not the kind of fear of being punished by one's parents or being caught in a game of tag, but primal fear, the instinct of an animal realizing they were prey and in the sights of a predator. At that moment, the instinct to run was screaming at me, begging me melt into the hollow of the tree and flee through the roots, to go find Kala and bury my head into her fur and hide behind her skirts, though I did not know why.
The boy, churlish and prideful, seemed to snap back into his earlier mood as he shoved a finger in my direction. "Lord Viren. Thank the Cauldron you're here. This imp attacked me with rotten fruit-"
"…Fresne?" Lord Viren interrupted, the young lordling's protestations falling on deaf ears as the older High Fae dismounted his horse. The name on his lips was like he was calling upon the dead. Anything past that moment- of the name, what it was, who it was, and what was said after it -I could not recall, lost to the annuls of time as he knelt down in front of me and held me fast, embracing me while my budding antlers pressed awkwardly into his chest as he wept while I remained frozen, smothered with the smell of blood and iron- of Kala -as Lord Viren wept and kissed both my cheeks. Numb as the golden apple slid from my palm and felt to the ground with the heavy thunk.
On that day, I somehow knew I had been caught, truly captured in a way that there was no escape, like fleeing fate or the ground crumbling at your feet. And the stirring in my heart at the sight of the redheaded boy in the woods while this strange male fae that reeked of lavender and sleep held me? I recognized what it was now, that feeling I had towards the boy in the woods with hair like fire and eyes like the amber in my pocket- it was resentment. Hatred, unfiltered and unyielding, and that flame would only grow in the years to come.
