The Fairy Self

Chapter 1

The darkness enveloped me as I tugged at Swiftmane's leash, pulling him onto the sidewalk. The moon had been covered by dense clouds, and the only sources of light now were the stars and the street lanterns. All the surrounding windows were locked and barred, blocked by curtains. Very few of the houses on the streets had windows that were negligently covered by strips of planks. Of course, it wasn't a estate, but it wasn't a slum either; a typical middle class street. Only a few buildings, which I assumed were taverns and inns, still had agape windows. Occasionally, a carriage drove past me, the horse's hooves thundering while they sped past. The observable buildings were made of a variation of materials, such as terracotta, clay, concrete, stone and bricks, a gradient of red to brown to grey to white. Most buildings were higher than two storeys. The pavement was cobbled and the stone road was rutted deeply. Wooden pillars, supportive triangles, and crosses of timber were embedded into the walls and tiled red roofs covered the buildings. Some of the townhouses had no roofs at all and simply ended in a flat plane made from the same material of the walls.

The night was slightly chilly, and I pulled my mantle up higher.

 "This one has a stable." Swiftmane neighed to me.

Yes, Swiftmane's a horse. Yes, he can talk...or rather, I can understand him. I had found him, when I was a child, as a foal in the fields. My father had went to inspect the farms of one of his tenants, and I tagged along, being bored with my dolls and pretty clothes.

I can speak to all animals. I don't know how I do it, I just can. But most animals had stunted speech, like that you'd expect of a toddler. They knew a few basic words like "hungry", "tired" and "thirsty", and that was about it. Swiftmane was different. He could talk normally, or rather, like a grown adult human would. I wasn't sure how he did it, but he'd been able to do it since we met.

"Which one? The Lucky Beaver's Tavern?" I whispered back.

Ever since I had escaped the earthquake that had shook the Summer Estate and ravaged the house into a ruin, I'd been on the move, east, away from Duke Senstar's estate. I was certain that there was something else happening behind the scenes to get me disowned, potentially because Senstar wanted the dowry money back. There was no reason for my father to disown me, but neither was there any reason for Senstar to push my father into disinheriting me. Maybe I'd best give a bit of backstory.

My name is Ammolite. I am the eldest daughter of Duke Forneym of the duchy of Estarya, one of the four duchies in Teneria. I grew up in the Summer Estate with my mother and two sisters, Pearl and Jade, while my brother and heir to Estarya, Avery, lived in the Estaryan Estate that had been passed down in my family. Despite my gender, I was educated like a lord's son, like one training to enter an university. However, lord's daughters were always to marry another lord's son in an agreement, and both me and my father knew that one day, I would be betrothed away. And one day, on my nineteenth birthday, the day came. I was declared to be betrothed to Duke Senstar's son, Starson. I wasn't particularly pleased; I always knew this day was coming, yet a part of me still rose in protest, angrily ranting about the unfair treatment, at how Avery could stay at the Estate and learn while I was to be married to someone I didn't even know. It wasn't that I didn't like Starson; in fact, he was better than many other lord's sons. However, he also seemed a bit empty headed, and was often quiet and reserved. He seemed shy as well, lacking confidence and resolve.

But as I said, I had nothing personally against Starson, so nor did I object. It was a better match than other potential matches. Plus, why should I have gotten the freedom that all the other ranked women, including my own mother and her mother and their mothers before them, did not get? I'd probably have married Starson and become an average Lady who lived her days away by giving birth to children and took care of the household issues amongst the servants. I would've knitted, cooked and tended to the children, welcomed lords and held banquets, strictly followed the most recent fashion trends and entertained my husband with arts like music. Eventually, I'd even have to marry my own children away.