Soulmate (Editing Again)

Nine

Clary POV

"Clarissa, wake up," Meliorn's voice sing-songed near my head, "We're expected in the throne room." 

"No, go by yourself, this bed is so warm and comfortable," I moaned, turning away from Meliorn and burying my head further underneath the pillows in bed. 

"I know love, I didn't want to leave our bed either, but you're expected to attend meetings with me now," Meliorn said, sliding his hand over my shoulder and patting my arm gently.  

I sighed and got out of bed, giving Meliorn a tired smile as I dragged myself into the bathroom. Meliorn handed me a forest green dress and stared at me expectantly. 

"Go change, I'll be waiting out here." He pecked my forehead and shoved me towards the bathroom as he sat down on our bed. 

I quickly changed, before brushing out my hair and sliding a delicate gold circlet onto my head. Deciding I looked presentable enough, I slipped on some gold sandals and smiled at Meliorn as I stepped out of the bathroom.

We strolled down the corridors leisurely, smiling at the Fae we passed occasionally. When we reached the throne room there was a page standing outside the door, who announced us as we walked into the room. 

Meliorn and I assumed our usual positions beside the Seelie Queen, and we barely had ourselves situated when the throne room doors burst open. 

"Your majesty, the King and Queen of the Unseelie Court." The page announced out of breath before he stepped out of the way to let the visiting royalty into the throne room.

I was confused, no one had spoken of visiting royalty, but I schooled my features into a calm, composed mask so as not to give away my confusion. 

"This is an unexpected treat I would say. On what business have you come to speak with us about Unseelie?" The Seelie Queen said, her voice tight with tension, practically spitting Unseelie out. 

It wasn't a secret that the Seelie and Unseelie courts didn't get along, in fact, there had been a cold war between the two for quite some time. The Seelie rarely interacted with the Unseelie, and it was clearly not a good thing that the Unseelie royalty had just shown up at court without an invitation.

"Oh come now little queen, we wanted to congratulate you on your Knight's bonding, it is quite rare for a Seelie Knight to bond with someone, she must be very special if she was chosen to be a knight's mate." The Unseelie King said, his dark blue eyes trained on the Seelie Queen with a teasing smile. He was smirking slightly, his head tilted almost condescendingly as his gaze flitted to meet mine. 

The Unseelie Fae had a reputation for their beauty. It was a startling contrast to the Seelie Fae, who were known for their youthful, bright characteristics. The Unseelie were unearthly beautiful in an unsettling way, with unusually colored eyes that glowed, and tall, thin bodies often covered in strange markings and scars, shrouded in dark-colored fabrics that melded to their skin tightly. The different species of Fae was easily identifiable between Unseelie and Seelie, Unseelie just carried a sort of malevolent air around them constantly. 

"It is not so rare as to demand a visit from the Unseelie Court I should think. Alas, we welcome you to Seelie Court, however long you may stay." The Seelie Queen said, slowly sitting back in her chair.

"You have always been the gracious one haven't you queenling? That aside, you must be Clarissa, dear Meliorn's newfound mate." The Unseelie King said, shifting his focus to me. 

Since being at court, the Seelie Queen had told me that should I ever meet any other royalty, I should be respectful and behave as a princess would, so I stood from my chair and curtsied before the Unseelie royalty. Now that I stood before them, I could see the markings littering their skin more clearly, long black slashes that curved around their exposed skin.

The Unseelie Queen smiled when I stood, her violet eyes staring into mine with a burning intensity. The Unseelie King smirked at me again, running his eyes down my body slowly, clearly taking pleasure in the way I shivered in disgust. I could feel Meliorn's growing anger, his reaction most likely stemming from the currents of disgust running through my body and leaking into our bond connection.

"Clarissa, Meliorn, I think we shall hold another ball in honor of our visiting guests tonight. Please prepare the festivities so I may entertain our guests." The Seelie Queen said, clearly noticing the growing tension in the room. Obeying, Meliorn stepped down from the dais and was at my side in an instant, taking my hand in his as we moved along quickly. 

 Sometime later Meliorn and I were sitting in our rooms, each of us wrapped in our own thoughts. 

"Why is the Unseelie Court really here? I know there is an ongoing war between the courts currently, it doesn't make sense for them to show up randomly." I asked Meliorn quietly.

"I have no clue why they're here, they wouldn't come to our court unless they wanted something." Meliorn answered, shrugging his shoulders, in what I assumed was an attempt to be nonchalant. 

Just then the door to our room opened, and my servants came in with dresses draped on their arms. 

"Excuse us, but we need to prepare Clarissa for the ball tonight," Eidaline said, setting the dresses on the bed and bowing her head as she spoke.

Meliorn chuckled and kissed me on the forehead, before leaving the room with a simple "I'll be back when you're done love." 

"Which dress would you like m'lady?" Aeranthe said, motioning to the spread of dresses. 

I scanned over each of them before my eyes landed on a beautiful deep emerald green gown. It was lacy, with long off shoulder sleeves and silver metal detailing, that made a sort of halter neck. The skirt was long and lacy, with panels of tulle that would expose some of my legs when I moved. It looked like something straight out of a fantasy movie, and I fell in love with it almost immediately. 

The girls handed me a corset, this time lacing it a little looser before they began putting the dress on me. It was a bit of a hassle, but well worth the wait when I saw how elegant and beautiful the dress made me appear. 

My hair was done in a low bun, with tendrils of hair caressing my face. A had a small silver diadem tucked into my hair and small silver bracelets around my wrist. I was wearing a pair of tall silver gladiator sandals with a small heel so I appeared a bit taller. 

Soon after the servants finished my makeup, Meliorn was knocking on the door, complimenting me on how beautiful I looked like always. Meliorn and I strolled into the ballroom and made our way to the dais where there were thrones for the Unseelie King and Queen, the Seelie Queen, and Meliorn and I. 

I sat down, feeling even more unsettled next to the Unseelie King and Queen who were staring at me with a sort of dark curiosity in their gazes. I looked away quickly, instead looking towards the Seelie Queen who was staring out at the ballroom happily, a small smile curving her rosy lips. 

"Let the festivities commence!" The Seelie Queen said with a wave of her delicate, pale hand. As the Faerie's in the room began to dance I felt an odd sensation run through me, my gaze returning to the Seelie Queen. I turned my head just in time to see a large onyx blade be thrown from the doors of the throne room, on a straight path to the Queen.

"Move!" I yelled at the Seelie Queen, jumping out of my throne and pushing the Seelie Queen out of her throne and down the dais. Screams erupted from throughout the hall as the blade lodged itself where the Seelie Queen's head had been just moments before. 

As the hall erupted in pandemonium I looked around wildly, searching for the attacker. My eyes caught a figure slipping through the doors of the room, and letting my instincts take over, I followed the figure out of the room.

A/N

Hi guys! Here's another edited chapter, coming out of a much-needed break from school. 

~Cara