Dullahan

6 - Court - 4

Only a few minutes had passed before the sound of the doors opening startled him to his feet. Gildas reappeared, gaze immediately snapping to the boy. "You are summoned," he sneered.

Eldred shook his head, taking a few steps back, his shoulders making contact with the carved pillar behind him. The antlered man's face twisted with annoyance, opening his mouth to say something more.

"Come forth," a voice called from behind him. Immediately, Gildas's face melted into a mask of professionalism, any suggestion of his own personal feelings wiped clean as he closed the space between himself and Eldred and took the boy by his upper arm.

The boy was too stunned to protest, eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. Nothing Ness had told him of this place- not that it was much- had given him a good impression.

He was pushed through the doors with considerably more force than he was expecting, stumbling into the room and narrowly avoiding falling flat on his face. He glanced behind him, half hoping he could dart back through the doors, but Gildas had already closed them, taking up his position just to the right. He did not look at Eldred, the man's attention now focused entirely on whoever sat at the front of the room.

He turned back toward the front of the room, dully processing the people now watching him expectantly. The room seemed divided in two- the right hand side filled with Fae far closer to the monster side of the spectrum he had observed in the streets, while the left hand was instead mostly filled with people that could have been mistaken as human, bar a few bestial features.

At the front of the room, sitting upon a grand throne of antler and furs set atop a dais illuminated by the cool autumn sunlight through windows above, was a man. Similar to Gildas, he had antlers of his own, twelve tines branching off in perfect symmetry as they coiled around his head. His hair was dark, cut short at the sides, his bright yellow eyes watching Eldred intently. Between his antlers lay a gold crown, seeming to be made from woven strands that coiled and twisted around each other and the antlers. He sat with regal bearing, his back straight, head lifted. Eldred shrank beneath his stare, casting a second longing glance toward the door.

Sitting beside the man, on a plain throne of white stone set a few feet further back, was a beautiful woman. She had no antlers or cervine legs, instead a pair of white wings sprouted from around her shoulder blades. The were dressed alike, both in garments embroidered in gold, hers with feathers and trees, his with waves and shores.

Eldred wasn't sure if the figures before him lived up to the mental image that had started to form at Ness's first mention of Telthame's monarchs. His perceptions of them had shifted greatly as he had learned more of the land they presided over. He'd been expecting something less human, or at least something more than the two individuals who sat before him now. He had seen a great variety of Fae on the streets of Caahsca, many with appearances more fantastical and wild that many of the faces that he could see around him now.

Kneeling before them, Eldred finally noticed the familiar dark metal of Ness's armour, her head bowed and her back to him. The sight gave him some confidence, reassured that at least he would not be standing before what he assumed to be the King and Queen alone. He hesitated only a moment longer, mustering the courage to take the first step forward.

"So this is the boy?" The man spoke in a cadence that carried across the room, his voice commanding all attention rest on him. Anxiety spiked within the boy's chest, nearly tripping over his own feet as he drew closer. As he approached, the King's neutral expression started to twist into one of displeasure, eyes narrowing, facial features tightening as though he smelt something foul. Eldred stopped where he stood, only a few paces behind Ness. He wanted to stand beside her and, childishly, he wished to hide behind her, for the King to stop paying attention to him. His hands trembled with nerves, his palms slick with sweat.