The (Weird) Life Of A Teenage Necromancer

A Most Peculiar Meeting

The long winding halls were now full of people, bustling around, carrying crates and bouts of low laughter echoing against the walls. Kate slinked through, managing to avoid crashing into people hurrying down the path.

"Kate!"

She turned and saw Isana making her way towards her. "Hey what's going on?" She asked.

Isana grinned at her and only beckoned. "The queen wishes to see you."

They both found Nuriye in the main dining room, gazing at the two pieces of fabric that were being held up in front of her. Nuriye stared intently at the soft green fabric trimmed with lace before shaking her head. "That's too pale. Find something more lively."

She finally caught sight of them and her lips stretched into a smile. "Ah, just who I was expecting."

Before Kate could respond one of her seamstresses surged forward and wrapped a measuring tape around her waist.

"Hey!"

"Please do stop moving," she responded before wrapping it around her hips. "I need all of your measurements."

"My measurements?"

"For the dress of course." Nuriye piqued in. From behind her Kate heard Isana let out a snort.

The woman pulled away the string and eyed her. "Necromancer Kate," she said. "May you please raise your arms."

Her cheeks heated. "Do I have to?"

She merely nodded and after a slight hesitation Kate raised her arms. To Kate's gratitude she was quick and soon she scurried off, muttering something about lilac and amethyst.

"Okay," Kate said slowly. "What is going on here?"

"I have been in contact with the rulers from the north and southwest. It has been decided that I will be hosting this week's feast and then we can all negotiate an alliance. Queen Wideline has approved and is headed here at this moment."

"Queen Wideline? " The name felt strange on her tongue. " I didn't know there was another Queen."

Nuriye shrugged. "There's few who know of her existence. After the Great War the fae folk stayed with their own and refused to interact with others. It's only been a couple of centuries since Wideline came to power and we began an alliance. But even with the alliance we share, she rarely gets herself involved unless it's completely necessary."

"And even if there's urgent issues that come up it takes a lot to convince the Queen to leave her forest in the fae realm. She doesn't tend to stray far especially to distant places such as these." Isana commented.

Kate turned to her. "Why's that?"

Isana motioned to the room they were in. "We're underground and our land is surrounded by volcanoes which is why it's always warm down here. Plant life tends to have a hard time living in the volcanic soil. Wideline is the Queen of the Fall fairies. Her strongest ability is extracting life, and in a place where there is none, her strongest ability becomes obsolete. For the fae, Wideline is one of the keepers of balance.  All of the fae monarchs will be attending it's just interesting that Wideline agreed to come at all."

Nuriye nodded. "Although I have hosted many gatherings, it's still very difficult getting everyone in one place. Even with the establishment of neutrality amongst us, people still lack trust. The fact that everyone has agreed brings me hope that we may be able to come together as one."

Kate's brow furrowed in puzzlement. "And what's so different about this gathering?"

"We have you. Necromancers are the living symbol of neutrality and peace. By having you as our guest of honor, everyone has to agree not to act against each other. Although the olden laws have mostly faded over time, we still hold pride and respect for the ways of ancestors."