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 Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:41 pm
There was tension at the two courts, the kind that seemed to spark animosity between the closest allies, triggering bloody deaths between the closest enemies. It was a time of rife misunderstanding- and no one knew why. Nothing had changed, really.
“Your majesty.” A courtier knelt by the throne of the Queen’s, head bent in a sign of respect- but also fear. The fae knew better than to believe the queen would shoot the messenger, for she was too just for that.
But come to a brink of torture, if her mood was soured? That, most knew from experience. No one tried to anger the queen, because they knew how cold her rage could run.
“Do not just stand there, simpering.” Tristan’s bored voice cut through the crowd. “Tell my mother what you know, so we can get on with it.”
“Tristan.” Her voice came, sharp.
He shrugged, rolling beautiful eyes. “You were all thinking the same thing.”
She had to fight a smile, though. Tristan was her blood- and he was her pride and joy. So what if he was politically dense? She wasn’t prepared to give up her throne so soon. By the time she did… hopefully, he would have learned some lessons.
“But my son is right, courtier. Tell me, what is it that has fear leaking from your pores thus?”
The courtier swallowed. “It is Death, your majesty.” He whispered. “We have heard rumors of it…”
“There have always been rumors of Death.” She snapped.
“But.” He swallowed again. “We have seen him this time too.”
“You cannot see death, and manage to live the tale- or do you not know the legends?” her voice was laconic, amused to a point as she arched a brow. What sort of petty came was this?
No petty games. For when he looked up, she knew something powerful must have cast the light from his eyes. He had been hiding his gaze because his eyes were gone. Missing, on an other wise beautiful face.
“Death is here, your majesty. And he brings a message.
He will claim his throne.”
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:51 pm
It was the thunder that alerted Shy something was wrong with the world. Thunder, that came not from outside, but from his very bedroom. And so it was with some amount of animosity (he had slept two hours in the past seventy two. Even a mad scientist needed some sleep) that he pulled the sheet up to cover his nakedness, and stared, at the mirror.
Because as soon as the thunder had resounded, it cracked, letting out a bitter, acrid smell of…
Well.
Caramel. Burnt sugar.
“Your majesties.” His voice came quickly, smoothly. “I understand that time doesn’t work in the same way it does here, at the courts. However-“
“Can it, Shy.” The king said, his voice a growl. “And for gods sake, put something ON. This is an emergency.”
Shy arched a brow at the tone and got up, obedient as he reached for the dark green robe that lay across the foot of his bed. He had grown used to having odd interruptions in the middle of the night, but this? This was… more than a little bit unexpected.
“Your majesties? Would you like to join me for something to drink?”
The queen laughed, amused. “It will be… fitting, I suppose.” She said, and when the scientist got up, she followed. “Always the calm one, Shy.”
He looked back with a sly smile. “I try.”
As they sat around the breakfast table in the kitchen, Shy looked between the king and the queen. It was odd, seeing them side by side in such humble furnishings- but Shy was certain odder things had happened before. And while he could see the tension in both their faces, neither seemed willing to speak.
“Your majesties?” he prompted, holding the amber scotch close to his hands. The two leaders had the same- he had been surprised to know they drank human alcohol, but he hadn’t commented.
It wasn’t his place, after all.
“Death is here.” The queen said, finally. “It’s been over a millennia since we’ve seen him, and…”
“Death?”
The king shot her a glance. “He’s smart, not a genius.” He snapped. “You need to start from the beginning.”
The queen’s look was just as baleful. “As you know Shy, there are balances in life. Yin and Yang. And this is also echoed most especially with us, the sidhe. It is as if whoever had created us had taken care to make sure life was balanced- to make sure, that if we died out, if something happened, it wouldn’t be because of something as silly as imbalance.”
Shy nodded. He had some idea about this already. For every fire fae, there was a water. For every one that dealt with creating, existed one that needed to destroy. It worked with physical aspects as well. Girls, boys. Neuter.
“It works with everything. The Seelie and Unseelie courts, I am the king, she is the queen. It works in the fundamentals.” The king supplied.
“It also works against us.” She added, quietly. “We are the sidhe. Immortals. Powerful beings. And to balance us out…”
“Death was created. Death, not in the sense you know it… the act of dying. But closer to the mythological representation. Anubis, Hades, Pluto. A sentient being that vanished in the last war.”
“And how did he vanish?” Shy asked, curious. He had never heard of this. Something created to balance out the fae’s power?
“The last war killed over half our fae population. I think, that caused Death to vanish- he exists to kill us, to get rid of us. To balance us out… we were at the brink of extinction.”
Shy nodded, and then, he realized what they were saying. “My project.” He began.
The king nodded.
“Has bought death backs. And now? He wants to claim the throne.”
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 9:58 pm
There was something in the air. Something dark, electric that seemed to pulse around the fae- for no one else seemed to be able to feel it. Old, young, male or female, it was like walking into static electricity. Everything seemed a little slower, quieter, less keen- and if they could have known, they would have understood that this was what humans felt like. With senses that were duller, actions that were less graceful.
Less... everything.
For the fae knew something was wrong. And while the tutors at the lab had a chance to speak with Shy, the others, the ones who had their own homes, the ones with guardians… they had no chance of knowing.
Death had entered the proverbial battlefield.
And if they could have asked, if they had questions, they knew there was only one man who could answer.
Shy.
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![[030] Project's avatar](https://a1cdn.gaiaonline.com/dress-up/avatar/ava/0d/94/27feff2d33940d_flip.png?t=1216046610_6.00_01)
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