A Court Of Spirit And Soul

Chapter 1

Hello everyone, I've had ideas for this buzzing around my head for a long while. So I'm just going to crack on, if theres anything you need to know I'll keep you updated as I go...

1) Kida is the youngest daughter of Rhys and Feyre. They had Nyx at the end of ACOSF, then went on to have Tawny and Kida. All 3 children are now young adults. In our ages they'd be roughly 28, 25 and 23...

Let's get on with it and see how we go...

Kida's POV

I lay in the pool of bubbles, looking out over the snow tipped mountains. The place we were forbidden ever to go. My heart reached out to them. The space, the freedom. Why my parents had allowed my room to stare right out over the one place I wanted to visit more than anywhere in the world was beyond me. It was forever there, tempting me. Inviting me to break the rules.

My heart hammered in my chest. I knew what tonight was.

'A ball' my mother had said.

'A party...they're supposed to be fun' my father had said.

Fun? FUN? Being paraded around like a prized catch was not my idea of fun. I knew what the real reason for tonight's ball was. My mother was sure I was 'lonely'. Newsflash princess, I'm not lonely. Quite the opposite, I'm hardly ever alone. Being alone is a luxury I was rarely gifted. If I'm not with family, I'm with professors, or maids...or out volunteering...or one of the 100 other things we do here. They were waiting for me to find a love match. My older brother had. At one of these exact kind of gatherings. I guess that's why my parents thought it was the best way to sell me off. Although, they didn't see it as selling...they saw it as helping, as something we should all wait, all aim for. Bullshit. That's what it was.

The difference was, my brother had found his mate... I had no real interest in finding mine. Not yet. In truth, I was scared. What if finding my mate changed me, took away what being me was. What if it broke apart everything I was, everything I believed in and made me an 'us'. Because it certainly had for my brother. He went from a me person to a we person and I just can't imagine living that way.

I was the least powerful of my family. Well, technically, I was powerless. I hadn't really showed any signs of power in my entire life. Apart from when, I was dreaming. When the deepest parts of my soul were asleep and nightmares dragged me under, then my powers would surface. But they weren't good. Extreme power that could siphon from others. The issue with it is, I have no control. When I'm awake, I can not conjure an ounce of magic within me. Although I can feel it lurking there under my skin. Ready to explode. But it isn't my own. I am leaching off everyone else's power. The magic in the air is being pulled in to my body and out-letted as if it is mine. I hate it, with everything inside me, I hate it.

I swallow a sigh as a gentle knock taps from my bedroom door. I take one more longing glance at the mountains before turning my gaze on the door.

'Come in.' I call. The door creaks slightly as my mother enters. She is an absolute vision. Every time we get ready for one of the style events, she takes my breathe away. She is laced, head to toe in a flesh coloured material, with tiny little beads of midnight blue crystals covering every square inch of her. Her hair as been left down and flowing, pulled back on one side by a grasp made of the same gems. A lot of thought has gone into tonight's dresses. Allowing my mother to be both modest and sexy.

'You look beautiful' I comment. There's no point me saying anything more as she'll hear every compliment under the sun tonight a thousand times. A warm smile lights her features. The light of the moon and stars dancing in her eyes.

'Thank you my darling, but now...' She lifts a hand in my direction, summoning me from my bath. I stand and walk up the steps and out of the warm water. If the magic around the home hadn't of kept us warm, I'd be shivering. 'You must get ready Elara...You should have been ready half an hour ago. People have started to arrive.'

I was already vaguely aware of people arriving, I could begin to hear the murmur of voices far below me. The announcements of certain high Faes and High Lords entering and partying in our home.

'Isn't it breath-taking.' I say, turning once more to look at the view, my heart lurching. Longing to be there, be free.

'That view saved my life once you know.' Spinning my eyes pierced onto my mother. She'd never told me this before. And she chose now...before my big 'reveal' to bring it up?

'What are you talking about?' My intrigue getting the better of me.

'Come get dressed and ready and I shall tell you.' Oh a bargain...my family did love a bargain. Me and my siblings had always been told about my parents epic romance. How my father had saved my mothers life under the mountain. How she had saved him right back from himself. How they'd fought together to save the world from the King Of Hybern...but this story I had never heard. And that interested me, a lot. The conniving woman, she knew how to distract me.

'Deal' I said, as I hurried over to the dressing table, wrapping a robe around my body as I went.

My mother came behind me and started brushing and drying my hair.

'After Under the Mountain, I had...' My mother stopped brushing and swallowed, her face going tight. I knew in that second this wasn't easy for her to talk about. But I hadn't forced this on her. She unfroze and went back to my hair. 'I had...issues. I couldn't sleep, nightmares. You're father brought me into this very room. Let me sleep here, rest here, get better here. That view was the reason I could sleep again. That wind was the reason I could breath again. This world was the reason I could live again.' A single tear trickled down my cheeks. I could feel her emotion, as if it was my own. Her fingers touching me, pouring her feelings into my body. I could feel the panic that had coursed through her veins all those years ago. I could feel the bile that rose in her throat as she threw herself to the toilet bowl every night, emptying her stomach. But mostly, I could feel the fear, the fear that she was trapped again and again. In the dark, the cold, the damp. My poor mother.

'Having you and your siblings, having your father was prize enough after that. You were everything I'd ever wanted.' I took a shaky breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I had a feeling I knew where this talk was now going.

'Mum, I just don't feel I need that yet...I want to live. Want to explore.' My mothers gaze met mine in the mirrors.

'I know that darling, and there's nothing stopping you. WE aren't stopping you. But your father and I, we just want you to meet people. To make friends and allies if nothing else. You never know what's going to happen in the future.'

Mum had finished with my hair, spun me to place a small bit of blush on my cheeks and rose on my lips.

She took my dress of the hanger and helped me in it. Taking a step back she looked at her handy work, with tears in her eyes.

'Oh my baby, you look beautiful.' Her hands clasped together in front of her. Another knock at the door, but this time no one waited to be asked in. My father opened the door and strode in. Stopping a few steps away from me. His breath stopped in his throat. He looked me up and down as a smile played with his lips.

'Feyre, when did our baby girl grow into an adult?' He asked his wife, without ever taking his eyes from me. A blush crept along my skin. He held out a hand of me. Placing my hand in his, I smiled.

'Daddy, I'm still here. I'm not ready yet.' Rhys looked me deep in the eyes and brushed my cheek gently. He knew what I meant by not ready...I didn't mean for tonight.

'I know my darling. It's all going to be ok.'

I trusted my father with everything inside me. I knew completely that if my father said it was going to be ok, it would all be ok. It had always all been ok. But I didn't want OK anymore. I wanted to live... and that meant giving up the safe world my family had cocooned me in.