A Court of Broken Darkness

Prologue

There once was a little girl. 

A human girl who lived with her mother in the small town of Gretion, on the southern part of the Human lands of Prythian. She didn't know her father, the man who had left her mother before the girl had been born. Her mother never talked about the girl's father. But that was okay, for the girl had no desire to know about the man who had left them.

The girl loved her mother. And she also loved stories. Any kind, it didn't matter. The girl would read or listen to anything. But what she loved the most were the stories her uncle would tell her of the Fae. 

He was an emissary and regularly traveled north to visit the High Lords and Ladies of the Fae Courts with other emissaries to discuss the new Treaty that was proposed after the second War with Hybern, years ago.

Her uncle, Phinagan, used to tell her all about the different Courts and the Fae who ruled them. There was Kallias and Vivianne of the Winter Court. Helion of the Day Court. Thesan of the Dawn Court. Tarquin of the Summer Court. Tamlin of the Spring Court. Beron of the Autumn Court. And finally Rhysand and Feyre of the Night Court.

But the girl was most fascinated by the mention of the children. There was Jenara, the white-haired daughter of the High Lord and High Lady of the Winter Court. Then there was Nyx, the wild and rowdy son of the High Lord and High Lady of the Night Court. Her uncle told her that Rhysand and Feyre also had another child, a baby girl named Amaris. But as she was only a babe, Amaris was rarely brought to the meetings between the Fae and Humans. So it was up to Nyx and Jenara to entertain themselves. Usually by causing some sort of havoc that resulted in a broken vase or something of the sort. 

The girl always wondered what it would be like to have a playmate like that. Someone to play  and get into trouble with. But in the village of Gretion, children her own age were few and far between. And the ones that were her own age tended to stay far away from her. The girl could never figure out why. 

Did she smell? She bathed twice a week - which was more than most.

Did they think her too small? She had always been on the slender side and looked younger than she actually was, but she could keep up with the older children until they told her to buzz off.

So the girl spent most of her time with her mother. The girl was a tiny version of the woman. They both had light, ashy blonde hair and deep brown eyes. Full, heart-shaped lips and a petite straight nose.

Though the woman missed her brother while he was away, she enjoyed the company of her daughter. Liked when it was just the two of them.

The years passed and the girl grew into a young woman. A beautiful young woman, and the little boys, now grown into young men, started to come around to her small cottage more often, asking if the young woman might want to take a walk down to the river with them.

The young woman always turned down their requests for her company. She never forgot how these same young men, as boys, used to throw rocks at her when all she wanted to do was play with them.

Her uncle came and went, always bringing new tales from the wondrous and dangerous Fae Courts. But on one of his trips home, he told his sister and niece that a grave insult had been dealt within the Fae Courts and that he was going to stay there and try to help in whatever way he could. The young woman and her mother understood his decision, but still hoped that he would come home sooner than he planned.

The years passed. The seasons changed. And the young woman grew into a full woman, while her mother grew more and more weak. More and more sickly. 

The woman did her best. But eventually the cost for all the healers she could find started to pile up. She tried many different jobs, with many different employers. But none of them lasted.