"My queen," he responded, a stern look on his face assessing her. She frowned. Then Ash smiled, and Meghan right along. His smile, a smile of a once unfeeling ice prince, and now of a with mortal soul pulsed within, knight of Iron. Emotion washed over his face. Ash twirled her up, a very not Ice Prince thing to do, but a Iron Knight thing to do. She loved it. She loved the Ash that had a mortal soul dwell within. She shrieked when he lifted her around and around and around. He finally set her down. She attacked him with an all encompassing hug and he, steady as a cliff, caught her. Tear them apart only for a few hours and it felt like years. Minutes without each other, felt like stretched time.
After the touching, laughing, and smiling, Ash inquired of his once home, and the matters of the court over dinner on their rooms balcony.
Nibbling on a piece of bread, Meghan slid over the notebook.
"Mab as always," she sighed, "cryptic. Results I hope will arise soon. The problems of her knights on the boarder has been a thorn in my side and results, results, results, have not been showing. This is an easy problem and here we are the fourth time meeting with Mab and no results." Meghan rolled her eyes, tucking her knees into her body. "The easiest problem. Does Mab even talk to her knights?"
Ash nodded, his attention on her notebook. He held it up. A picture of a messily drawn flower with eyes looked back at her. He raised an eyebrow. She snatched the notebook back before smacking Ash's arm.
"Oh," Meghan remembered Mab's last remark, "she asks for you."
"I know," he responded. He frowned. "I'm sorry I wasn't with you."
Ash had stayed behind all these times for overseeing the Iron Court while Meghan was gone, he trained with Meghan's army, training himself and the other men. He mostly stayed behind because if he went, Mab would ignore of Court problems to talk to her last son. They both learned of the first time Meghan approached Mab of the knight problems. Now Glitch accompanied her to the Unseelie Court. It was mean and cross of Meghan to do it, but the Unseelie were mean and cross and it worked well.
"What of my men? How are they?" Meghan inquired.
"Training, working, improving," Ash murmured. "They are improving and teaching me of their old ways and I teach them of my new ways. Techniques work together. It fits fine." He glanced over. Meghan was rubbing her eyes.
"Oh I'm sorry love," Ash gently led her out of the chair to the bed. "You should rest first before an update. Exhaustion kills."
Meghan pinched herself. It woke her up a fraction.
"There are court matters that do not kill. Exhaustion can wait." She shook her head at the bed. "The sun is still in the sky Ash. I cannot rest yet." She frowned. She sounded exhausted. Looking at her reflection she looked exhausted. However, Meghan Chase, Queen of the Iron Realm, Ruler of the Iron Fey was not allowed to rest. Her system mostly ran on coffee and late nights were no stranger to the new queen.
A knock on the door scattered her thoughts. Ash walked over to open it. Glitch stood on the other side, wires restless.
"My queen," he addressed. "Sir." He nodded in Ash's direction.
"Yes Glitch?" Meghan murmured. Ash looked at her. She looked like a ghost. Her skin was pale, it was always pale, but it looked paler even in the sunlight. He didn't know of her red as roses feral face at the Ice Court earlier. She was Meghan Chase, human and fae, so wonderfully herself when he greeted her. Why, why did she look so sick now he wondered. What is happening to my queen-
"Troubling reports of Unseelie Knights-" Glitch started.
A sound of inhuman anger spilled from Meghan's throat past her teeth piercing the air. Ash started towards Glitch to shake him to scream why, why would he mention such a thing when she had no moments rest. She had just gotten back, she had barely eaten. His legs went immediately toward the him, but Meghan waved her hand, stopping him. His strides stopped instantly, as if a rope had caught his legs.
"What. Is. It. Now." She growled. Her expression was angry. She was turbulent, stormy, and vexed. She would fracture and disintegrate the Ice bastards. Glitch who would usually look anywhere but the queen, looked straight at her. His gaze was piercing. Ash narrowed his eyes.
Glitch took a deep breath. Ash stood up impossibly straighter. Meghan curled her fists.
"I believe there might be a reason this problem is continuing," Glitch started.
"And what would that be?" Meghan asked, slowly, drawing out the syllables, the words, the question.
He handed over papers to his queen. She glanced at the screaming title, its black bold print stretched across the page.
"TRANSITION AWAY FROM TRADITION!"
"What a title," Meghan rolled her eyes. Ash let on small smile, this was the Meghan he remembered before.
Meghan looked away from the newspaper.
"What does the mortal world have to do with Mab's Knights?" She asked.
Glitch silently opened the newspaper to the following page. A fully color picture explained it all. The young rebellious generation held up shiny and new innovations. The latest gadgets in hands, and the most important aspect, iron , iron , iron. In another photo books, were being burned. She looked at the titles they were burning. They were tales of Fae, tales that kept the Fae existing. The new were burning away the old. The Iron extinguishing the Seelie and Unseelie. Meghan understood. She clenched the newspaper.
"Mab is not listening, because she is fading."
