a kingdom of light and lies

viii. chapter eight

It took Aeryn a bit to find her way back to the room she was given. Every time she turned a corner or went down a hallway, the place seemed to grow. She figured it was Azrael getting payback. She opened the doors of her room to find Cressida lounging on the bed, her eyes focused on a book.

She heard the door open and turned to face the human woman.

"You're back! How was it? What happened?"

Aeryn sighed. "He was a dick."

"Oh. Well, as I said earlier, he's like that to everybody. Don't get yourself worked up about it. But give me details. What did he do? What did he say?"

She gave her a look. "Why are you so invested in tonight's events?"

"I have nothing else to do. The gossip around Elira gets boring over time, and since you're new, I figured you might want someone to talk to."

"Oh. Well to answer your question, all he did was keep 'reminding' me on how powerful he is and how he could snap my neck if I didn't watch myself."

Cressida snorted. "Typical."

"He also looked into my mind. No doubt to mess with it."

"It's because he needs to know he can trust you."

"I thought fae could tell if someone was lying right away," Aeryn said, gliding over to the bed and sitting down next to her. "Why would he need to look into my mind to do that?"

"We can't tell if someone is lying right away. Most of the time, we need to slip into someone's mind, find out their true intentions. Then we slip out. It's quick, painless, and for most, unnoticeable."

"He didn't take a quick look and slip out though. He stayed. It felt like someone was rifling through a library holding all of my memories and every piece of information I know," Aeryn said. She shuddered just at the feeling. It wasn't unpleasant, but she didn't like it either.

"He did that because he doesn't trust you."

"Oh."

"You know," Cressida started, turning to look at Aeryn. "He didn't always do that. The war fucked him up. It did for all of us."

"I'm sorry, but what war? My father never mentioned a war that occured between humans and fae within the past eight hundred or so years."

Cressida gave her a shocked look. "He never told you?"

"No. Azrael was surprised as well when I told him."

The fae sighed. "The war took place about 500 years ago. One of your former rulers got mad and killed our former High Lord because of a misunderstanding. That lead to a decade of violence, torture, death. It was nightmare fuel, but we fought. We had to. Not just for revenge, but for our land, for our people. Many of our friends, many innocent people, died at the hands of the humans who started the damn war in the first place. My brother was forced to become High Lord much earlier than he anticipated. He made a lot of decisions and did many things he greatly regrets. He has to deal with that guilt and trauma, all because of your ruler's short temper. That is why he doesn't trust anyone, much less humans. That's also why other fae here are going to resent you."

Cressida finished speaking and waited for Aeryn to say something, but all she met was silence.

For once in her life, Aeryn truly didn't know what to say. She could never imagine all of the pain and trauma inflicted onto Azrael and his sister, but she couldn't believe her father, or mother for that matter, never told her.

"I'm so sorry," Aeryn said. "I can't imagine what you and Echor must have gone through."

"Well, it's over now," she said. "There's nothing we can do about it." Cressida sighed quietly, getting up. "I'm heading to bed. Goodnight."

Before Aeryn could say anything, Cressida got off the bed and walked out, shutting the door behind her.

She couldn't fathom why her father had lied to her. This war had such a big impact on her kingdom, her people's history. Blood had been shed and life had been ripped away on the very grounds she lived on, trained on, eaten on. The thought made her loathe the castle even more, made her hate her father, her bloodline.

She got up, prying the midnight dress from her now clammy skin. She took off the jewelry, not bothering to put it away, and walked towards the wardrobe. She opened the doors to find flimsy nightgowns her only source of nightwear. She groaned, shutting the doors. She looked down, noticing a drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe. She opened it, praying there was something other than an opaque nightgown.

The only thing in sight were those nightgowns. She huffed angrily, but snatched one and hastily put it on. It felt too uncomfortable, but she knew she would have to deal with it for the night. Ignoring the too tight fabric hugging her body and the inside rubbing against her skin, she climbed into the bed, hating how comfy it was.

She laid on her back and looked up, now noticing the large ceiling window, giving her a view of the sky. It was clear, no fog or clouds in sight. Flickering stars spotted the black background. It reminded her of a painting, the sky a dark canvas, and the stars white paint flicked everywhere. It was beautiful, nothing like Lumine. Just by looking at the sky, she felt safe. She felt a small smile grace her lips as she settled back into the bed, closing her eyes. Maybe she will get through her stay here.