𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓲 𝓵𝓲𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓸𝓾?| 𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓬 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝔀𝓸𝓸𝓭

Chapter One

(i jammed to golden while writing so maybe you will too? i'll be putting a song at the start of every chapter, and if u want drop a request in the comments! happy reading <3)

Ness had always been a liar.

It was in her nature. She'd been doing it as long as she could remember. And it made her a freak. Because she was a Seelie. And Seelies can't lie, right? Wrong, at least in Venus Birch's case.

Venus, or Ness as she liked to be called thought of herself as a freak of nature, an abomination or whatever you want to call it. But it didn't particularly bother her. It made her interesting.

Maybe Ness would have been more at odds with her abilities if she'd had someone to discuss them with, but Ness didn't have any family, so she'd never told a soul. Not even the Queen, who'd probably have had her decapitated if she found out that she had been lied to for seventeen years.

Although the Seelies were the offspring of angels and demons, they weren't particularly keen on the idea of living out their childhoods in hell, so they just went to the Seelie court and grew up there, or if they were particularly scrawny, they'd be changeling-ed and grow up with the mundies. Not that it really worked. They all came calling to the Seelie court eventually, and Ness had seen many such encounters- the queen would taunt and wheedle and sweet talk until they were a complete mess and had no idea what they came for in the first place. She sighed. It was always the same.

She had grown up with food and water and clothes, but her only love was from the rabbits and the butterflies. Seelies didn't do affection very well, so five-year-old Ness had been left to teach herself how to read and write, and as she got older simple sums which progressed into novels and equations. She never knew if she was wrong, but it was unlikely that she was. Ness was rarely ever wrong.

Ness made her way to the court quietly, every so often crunching a twig underfoot, her light dress swishing around her thighs in her haste. A cool breeze teased her dirty-blonde hair back over her shoulders, the curls fluttering like butterflies on a summer morning and then settling on her pale skins, covering the thin satin straps of her slip dress. Her indigo eyes were alert and bright, framed with long black lashes that she could turn on you and get anything she wanted with one flutter. Her nose was slightly upturned, and she had coral-coloured lips that were fixed in a permanent pout, giving her an almost sarcastic expression. All the same, Ness was ethereally beautiful, even for a Seelie, and she knew it.

The Seelie Queen glanced in Ness' direction from her throne, motioning slightly with her head for the blonde girl to join her. Ness obliged and almost floated over to the throne, dropping a slight curtsey before straightening up, before dropping her hands to her sides, and linking her two index fingers behind her back. For all of her confidence, Ness was wary of the Seelie queen, because she was smart. Anyone not wary of her was certainly not.

Ness knew perfectly well that although the Queen looked like she could not be more than eleven or twelve, she was hundreds, if not thousands, of years old, and was certainly not to be trusted. She was the smartest person Ness had ever met, and always found a way to get what she wanted. She wheedled and simpered and threatened- no matter what it took, she would get her way. Regardless of what she had to do to get it.

"You summoned me, my lady" Ness said softly, her voice sounding like summer rain. The Queen nodded.

"Yes, Venus, I did. You just turned seventeen, did you not?" she asked evenly, her voice not giving anything away. Ness nodded.

"Yes, my lady, just yesterday" she replied, matching the Queen's tone. The Queen nodded and drummed her fingers on her throne.

"Mm. Early June is a fine time to be born, is it not?"

"But of course," Ness nodded in agreement. The Queen looked pacified for a moment.

"Well, I'm sure you know why you're here, don't you?" she asked, looking at Ness, but not expecting an answer. Ness knew, but she also knew that the queen did not like to be interrupted. The Queen continued in a bored tone. "When Seelies turn seventeen, they have the choice to stay in Court, or two go out and live out their days in the mundane world. If you choose to stay, you can never leave, and if you choose to leave, you can never come back. If you stay, you will become a nymph of court. If you leave you will be provided for and may visit once a year for the annual Seelie Ball. No mundane may accompany you, but down worlders are welcome, provided they agree to my terms. Clear?" she finished, raising her eyebrows at Ness. She nodded.

"So, what is your decision?"

"Go" replied Ness without hesitation. It hadn't taken much thinking through, if she was honest. Ness hated the court- all it was, was a ghastly reminder of loveless mornings, lonely afternoons with only a novel for company and tear-filled nights with not so much as a teddy bear to cling on to. It hadn't been much of a decision- Ness knew she needed to get out and into the mundane world. Things would be different, but different was good if different wasn't this.

The Queen nodded. "In that case, are you ready to leave right now?". Ness nodded again and the Queen sighed.

"I will be sad to see you go" she said half-heartedly.

No, you won't Ness thought to herself. Although the Queen couldn't lie, she was a master at twisting the truth. Ness smiled despite her reservations. 

And I you, my lady" she said gracefully, before nodding her head and stepping back.

"Go with Amala and Narissa" the Queen instructed. "They will attend to you". Ness felt a thrill of excitement. She was finally going! She nodded and smiled, not betraying her true feelings, and allowed herself to be led away by the two nymphs, her head filled with daydreams and fantasies of what her life was about to become.

(okay so that was chapter one, it's lowkey short but chapter two is muchhhh longer. hope you enjoyed! <3)