I felt a shimmer of winter air brush against my cheek, and a soft glitter of sparkling snow began to coalesce in front of me. I blinked and waited as it took the shape of a young woman with long ice blonde hair and pale porcelain skin. She wore a fluttering gown of ice blue with deep purple accents. You can’t help but be in awe of majesty such as this. Even if you remember the Winter Lady when she was 14 and in a training bra.

“Milady!” I said with an exagerated bow and flourish. I tipped by head back up just in time to get a clump of snow flung into my face. “Hey!”

“Be grateful it wasn’t ice, my impertinent vassal!” she intoned before giggling. It had been close to a full year since Molly was given the mantle of the Winter Lady, becoming a Faery Queen. I was able to convince Mab to allow Molly to maintain her family ties, pointing out that Michael is a Chosen of God, and that Charity is a fierce enough warrior that she made it into the heart of Artis Tor. They would want to help their daughter through something like this. I’ll admit, I didn’t play completely fair. I took advantage of the humanity that I knew Mab had, something she briefly shared. Her daughter, Maeve was turned and killed, but not before she forced her twin sister into the role of The Summer Lady. Sarissa and Mab had been quite close, and now, Sarissa had to stand firm against her own mother, waiting for the day that Winter lost its mind in the battle against the Outsiders.

Mab had actually wanted Sarissa as the Winter Lady and Molly as Summer. The last Summer Lady was ill-equipped for the job and the Summer Court was floundering. Titania was still grieving her daughter, Aurora, the Summer Lady I personally slew. Mab thought that my apprentice, with her illusion spinning and high levels of empathy would be a worthy offering to her sister. Instead, Molly was now Winter.

Mab was able to take small comfort in the rapport that I already shared with Molly. Even before our Mantles we were family. Michael is sort of the kind of father I would have liked to have grown up with, so his children were important to me. I did as a mortal lead a rescue party into the heart of Arctis Tor, Mab’s stronghold to get Molly back. Molly firmly casted me as her hero, the Michael to her Charity. I never crossed that line, not even now, when the scales were balanced better. I simply couldn’t see her that way. She knew and respected that.

Having a powerful personal bond between the Lady and Knight made us a fearsome team, especially since we had been such powerful wizards to begin with. We were part of the team that took down the Red Court. She, along with Leanansidhe, was the biggest thorn in the side of the Formor while I was...incapacitated. Her alliance with the Stalvarts was also invaluable for the honor it carried. I once entrapped the Elking, and road a T-Rex into the heart of a necromancy spell. I also lead the Wild Hunt on a flying Harley and took down an incursion of Outsiders who were attacking my Sanctum, an island I called Demonreach, complete with its own genus loci. Those who knew were fully aware the island was in the highest security prison in this dimension. It gave me a great deal of respect.

Molly didn’t slide into the Winter Lady mantle without trouble, but a few perfectly crafted illusions caused her main challengers to take themselves out, and a furious blast of winter ice shredded the others. She may not have been as ruthless as myself, Mab or Maeve, but she was thorough. And the Sidhe soon found that they enjoyed having a kinder saner Winter Lady.

Charity stepped up Molly’s hand to hand training, with Michael coaching. Mab created an enchanted sword for Daniel, to allow him to also join the courts. At his request, we were preparing him to take the Mantle of Winter Knight should something happen to me. The mantle bristled at this perceived challenge but Mab and I both approved. He was a good steady warrior, level-headed and fiercely loyal to his sister. If I ever fell, he would be the best to take my place.

Having the Carpenters in the Winter Fortress soon proved to be a blessing for Mab. The younger children helped her remember the joys of being human. She was frequently at the front fighting the Outsiders, but when she would return, she would read the children stories and braid Amanda’s hair. Charity was even allowing her to help cook. Her scrambled eggs might have been a disaster, but her lamb stew was just short of heaven.

But the greatest part of having the Carpenter household in Arctic Tor was Maggie.

We still didn’t breathe a word that she was my daughter. She even called me Uncle Harry. Blessedly, she took after both Susan and I, so she didn’t obviously favor either of us. It was easier to keep her identity secret. She still frisked about the place with Mouse trailing behind her. She was beginning to show signs of magical ability, something that my grandfather, Ebenezer McCoy marvelled at. My mother, Maggie La Fey was by all accounts a magical wunderkind, and my daughter was already beyond that. Charity had a feeling it had to do with all the magic Maggie’s been exposed to. Chitan Itza and Arctis Tor were not chosen as strongholds for powerful magic users because of view. It was chosen because of the ley lines. Maggie being exposed to them, probably started developing magic in response. And Charity’s long dormant powers were also awakening. I was a happier calmer Knight. And Molly and I soon took over the inner workings of the Formal Court while Mab monitored the front with Auntie Lea. Mab was pleased with the way that the Winter Fae quickly came to trust Molly, and with her ability to sense emotions supercharged, she was quick to root out any dissension.

So oddly, Molly becoming Winter Lady made Winter wonderful and cozy. A time of family. Like Christmas morning breakfast. Her empathic sensitivity made her a healer, not as powerful as she would have been as Summer Lady, but still effective. The entire court benefitted from it. Front lines were welcomed back with joy and celebration, the dead were celebrated in great feasts. Kringle even joined us more often than before.
And while Summer now had a Lady who understood the demands of the job and was properly prepared for such a role, she was still considered a spy amongst the Summer. Titania, still grieving her Aurora was very little help. Her higher level vassals, like Gruff spent a lot of time organizing the healers at the front. And since spending time with the Winter Queens and Knight would only make her more suspect, she spent much time alone. Fix had checked out, barely active since Lily was killed. So Sarissa, Mab’s own flesh and blood was treated like a delicate time bomb. No one was quite brave enough to be her allies.




-------So what do you think? I have a mid-point twist written and the ending. I tend to write like that and have trouble tying the parts together. maybe someday I'll write something with a proper linear storyline. lol