When the Kingdoms Met the Courts

Chapter Five - What a Foolish Girl

(A/N, Hey, Queen of Cringe here, I just wanna say thanks and all that cheesy stuff for reading. Special thanks to Al (TheLlamasdrink) for commenting on each chapter. For the music, I've attached Carmen by Lana Del Rey. I love her so much. The lyrics are a little... well, you'll see. Google the meaning of the song, it's kind of deep. A little bit, at least. Anyway, let's get into this. I'm quite excited to fight the Nesta vs Manon fight, so I guess I'll be off)

Manon was infuriated. She had had enough of these unknown fae-creature-things. The smaller one looked so innocent and young, whilst the protector was attempting to look tough.

Attempting.

Manon noted the shiver in the strange fae's voice when she uttered her ignorant words, the way her hands with those graceful elongated fingers shook around her sister.
Manon's blue blood was boiling with rage. With a crack of her jaw and flick of her slim yet scarred wrists, her iron fangs and claws shot out. And she lunged.
She swiped at the one with the silver-blue eyes, who Manon thought heard the cowardly one calling her Nesta. Biting her lip, Nesta hopped backwards, narrowly avoiding a fatal stab to the heart. Manon barred her iron teeth, emphasising the sharp points of her fangs.
   Nesta attempted to discreetly take a dagger from her back pocket, but it did not avoid Manon's attention. Foolish girl, Manon thought. Thinking she could get anything under my nose without me realising.
    "Elain, run," Nesta ordered in a panicked tone. "I vowed to protect you. You're smaller, weaker, more fragile. But you have a brain, you can find a way out of this horrid mess."
   Manon watched as Elain darted through the tall trees, her speed enhanced by her fae powers. Her small frame disappeared off into the darkness and left Manon contemplating whether she would chase after her or stay and finish off what she started. Her attention was snapped back to Nesta when she said "If you have the guts to follow Elain, I'll rip those guys right out".
    Manon smirked and looked at her own witch hands, the iron nails that had ripped the insides out of so many men that Manon had lost count. "You sure you want to put your bets on that happening?"
   "You underestimate me," a sly smirk arose on Nesta's face. She sent her dagger flying, clearly counting on Manon not knowing what hit her. She was wrong.
   Manon simply stepped to the left. She swore she saw Nesta's jaw drop for a second. "I really hope that wasn't your best shot. If that was the case, it appears that I was underestimating you."

Nesta's blood was pumping rapidly through her veins, her heart felt like it was beating faster than light. What is this woman? Nesta thought, thinking back to the demonic creatures that resided in the wilderness of Prythian. I've encountered horrible beasts in those forests, but none who take the form of a human.

   Nesta hoped desperately that Elain can escape. Her fragile body is too weak to put up a fight. She eyed the silver-haired beast-woman, looking for an opening, or an opportunity to escape. Her silver-blue eyes darted to the tall trees with dark trunks. The sky was now riddled with dark grey clouds looming over them. Nesta had two options. Fight or flee, what should she choose?

   She lunged. Knowing she had a death wish, she plunged her knife into the chest of the woman, waiting for blood to splatter on her face. Only, it didn't. A sliver of a blue, sticky substance gleamed on her dagger. Nesta spotted a small scrape on the woman's shoulder, but she was otherwise unharmed.

   "What on earth are you?" Nesta asked in shock, astounded by the woman's reflexes. "I've never seen a creature like you before."

   "How could you not know? Foolish, ignorant fae," Manon muttered, her callused fingers twining around the hilt of her sword. "I am Manon Blackbeak, the Crochan queen. I am a witch with razor-sharp iron teeth and dark blue blood. I have left meagre fae like you in pieces, scattered across the floor."

   Nesta quivered at the thought of it.Images of tiny squares of flesh scattered strewn across the floor, one of Elain's brown eyeballs scattered somewhere amidst the blood and gore flashed across her mind.

   "How are you so violent?" Nesta asked, eyeing the iron claws. "Why are you so defensive? What have I done to get you so pissed?"

   "When you're ruling a kingdom and suddenly an unknown breed of fae stumbles across a land, you'll understand," Manon replied through gritted teeth.

   "Can't you see that I'm just as perplexed as you?" Nesta usually wasn't the sort to back away from a fight, but she knew that this would be no ordinary brawl. Something was up, she could smell it in the air. "What was it you said you were again?"

   "Manon Blackbeak, Crochan queen. A witch formerly from the Ironteeth clan."

   "I have never heard of your kind before. I am new to the world of the fae, but surely I would have been informed of such an existence."

   "It's a shame your fate will be decided at the hands of an unknown species. To you, at least." Manon's iron claws locked back into her normal nails, yet her fangs were still gleaming in the daylight.

   "Whatever fate you have planned for me, please make it fast."

Tamlin the tool and Lucien traipsed through the foreign city, examining everything from the crates of apples in the markets to the finest jewellery in the centre of Adarlan's shopping district.

   "Tamlin," Lucien hissed, slapping the tool's hand. "Hands off the pearl earrings. They may be the perfect match for Feyre's complexion or whatever psycho lovey-dovey  bullcrap you're going to throw my way, but you do realise we're in an unknown environment? We don't know who these people are and what they're capable of."

   "You're right. This scent... It's peculiar." Tamlin held his chin high in the air, trying to make himself actually look like a valuable and intelligent character. "Lucien, follow me."

   They meandered their way through back allies, full of filth, rodents and your occasional trace of blood from what would most likely be drunken brawls. As they tip-toed through the alleyway, an arrow was shot from behind. Tamlin and Lucien were lucky they had fast fae reflexes, otherwise they would have been impaled.

   "Who are you?" Tamlin growled through gritted teeth, crushing the arrow in his bare, scarred hands. "I am Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring court."

   "Spring court? There is no 'Spring Court'. Unless Queen Aelin has appointed you to her court and renamed it, then you must clearly be delusional," The girl replied, her black hair pulled back into a neat bun. She had tanned skin, a bow held in her left hand, an arrow with a diamond tip in her right.

   "Oh, then where, may I ask, are we? Another dimension?" Lucien asked coolly yet confused at the same time.

   "Adarlan. How could you not know?"

   "Quite easily, considering last I checked we were in the mountains of the Spring Court in Prythian," Tamlin took a step forward, only to be pushed back by Lucien's hand. His long, red hair lay draped over his shoulders. He set his stare on the girl, his golden metal eye glimmering in the faint ray of sun. His brutally scarred face still somehow held beauty, even with the scowl painted across his face.

   "Come with me. I believe the king would be quite interested in meeting you." She said, guiding them towards the castle.

   "You're going to let us in that easily?" Tamlin laughed, amused at how flamboyant the girl was being. "You're just a human. What do you think you can do?"

   Just as he finished his sentence, a figure gracefully jumped from a nearby window ledge. Their raven hair elegantly billowed in the breeze upon their landing. He stood up, his sapphire eyes glinting with delight. He shot and icy stare at the two fae males, only for Tamlin and Lucien to find themselves shackled in ice handcuffs a second later. Both Tamlin and Lucien were shocked, tugging at the magical manacles to try and break free.

   "Thank you, Nesryn. I thought I could sense something wrong once Manon left," He bobbed his head over to Nesryn in thanks. "Now, you two. Looks like you have a little bit of speaking to do. I will see you to the dugeons now. Oh, and by the way, I am King Dorian Havilliard of Adarlan, pleased to make your acquaintance."

   Both Tamlin and Lucien stood in bewilderment as they were dragged off the the royal dungeons. Even their magic couldn't get them through the shackles. So, with their heads hung low, they silently ambled along to the castle of this new, unknown world.