Daughter of Death and Bloodshed

⚔︎ Chapter Three ⚔︎

The sound of steel clashing against steel echoed through the forest. My uncle easily blocked the blow I brought down with my right arm, before spinning on my heel, turning my back on him for a fraction of a second as the second blow came down from the blade in my left hand. The blades whined against one another, pressing down on his sword, as my chest heaved for air. He shed my blade from him with a push, my feet staggered backwards. I saw it in my uncle's eyes at that moment, he knew that I was fumbling. One correct maneuver and I would have to forfeit. He brought his sword down with one swift motion as I stumbled for my footing. I couldn't recover. I quickly blocked the strike, crossing my blades above my head. I was fast, but he was faster. As I grounded my right leg to catch myself and his body weight against my arms, he again shed his sword down my blades, kicking my steadying foot out from under me. By the time my back hit the ground the tip of his sword was pointed at my chest.

"Your mind is elsewhere, you're being sloppy," he said as he dropped his weapon from my chest. I watched as his own lungs gasped for air, we have been out here for hours. He pushed back the loose strands of his thinning caramel hair from his face. The rest of his hair sat pulled together in a knot at the back of his head, my aunt refusing to let him rid himself of the tangled mess.

I stared up at him for a moment, pondering whether or not I actually wanted to talk about it. A part of me was terrified to know and the other part of me was so angry that I insisted my uncle keep training with me until the feeling lessened. But it seemed that the longer we went the more frustrated I became. "Tell me about the faeries," I panted, more like an order rather than a question.

My uncle's face hardened, his brows knotting together, "Why?" He reached out his hand to me, helping me from the ground. The faeries had always been a rumour, no more than the frightening tales that are told to kids when they are misbehaving or unnerving stories passed around by word of mouth from generation to generation.

"I want to know," I responded, keeping my face free of emotion as I gave him a half-truth. I made Brynn promise me not to speak of the encounter in the market that happened days prior. I told her it was nothing more than a rouse to alarm people out of their money, yet here I was acting like one of the frightened fools that crowded around the woman.

My uncle Patrick's face seemed to show a flash of worry before he quickly washed it away, letting out a deep sigh as he shook his head. "I don't know much, only the common tales and the old history surrounding their kind." I nodded my head, encouraging him to continue. He knew me well enough that I wouldn't leave it alone until he gave me something. "Four millenniums ago it was said that the humans and the faeries used to coexist, there was nothing separating the two lands from one another. Once a new faerie king came to power the dynamic changed, and with a corrupt ruler, the true nature of their people came out. The king no longer had an affinity for humans, seeing us as something he could gain control over. Faeries were stronger and smarter, and with their powers to use on us as they wished humankind turned into nothing more than their slaves. For a thousand years, we lived that way with each passing ruler. It wasn't until the most recent king's eldest daughter fell in love with a mortal that the world order altered."

"How did that change anything?" I asked, the question spitting out of my mouth harsher than I intended it to.

"It was said that even though the faeries were ruled by wicked kings, they loved the princess dearly. When the king had her mortal lover killed, those of the faeries that wished to live in peace with the humans once again raged a war. It ended with the death of the king and the new queen signing a treaty with the humans. A bridge was built to separate the two lands, and neither realm was allowed to pass over, even if it meant severing any relationship to be held between the two kinds. Although, as time passed, people can't help their curiosity and some faeries can't help their true nature."