The Seven Realms

Merlin.

"We have to go back" Keira looked at Al, who was now pacing the floor in his wheelchair, "I have to speak with Aeden and the elders" "Why, what's happened?" Keira said still waking up from her nap, "I just got word from one of our scouts, "several fae who take residence here, have been slaughtered, no one knows who's responsible" "could it be a human serial killer?" Alister rubbed his temple, "No, fae are too smart to be tricked by a human wielding one of your human weapons" Alister took something out of a small pouch he kept in his pocket, "an Acorn? How is an Acorn going to do anything right now?" The look he gave her, made her shut up, she knew to not doubt him, he held it up and gestured for her to come close, she shrugged and did, "there's writing in it, I'm confused, faerie's write in acorns?" He shook his head, Keira was now incredibly puzzled.

"Pixies do, which is why this is an important piece of evidence, pixies rarely care about human affairs, but if a fae interferes with a human, by law they must notify a member of the Royal secret guard who will then bring their message to me, however I happened to be in the woods and came upon the pixie royal representative on his way to my guard, we spoke directly" Keira nodded along, "don't pixies love messing around with humans?" "In times of old, yes, but times have changed Keira, it is no longer safe to mingle with your kind." "You keep saying, "your kind" or "your weapons" but I'm not human, I'm like you, aren't I?" He sighed, "Yes, I'm sorry Keir, all of this is weird to me too."

Alister sat by the kitchen island, he had several acorns, some just had writing, others held illustrations as well, all done with tiny hands, "This is so....disturbing" "What is?" "Keira, it said Fae had their wings ripped from their backs, this is no ordinary murder spree, this is a statement of war." Alister paled, "If Merlin were here, he'd have some words of wisdom or some incantation or spell we could use" Keira paused, "What happened to Merlin?" "No one really knows for certain, he fought alongside my father, after my father fell and the battle was over and done, he vanished, he abandoned us."

"How can it be that simple? What if he never abandoned you, like you said Merlin finds you, maybe he's just waiting for the right time?" "Enough Keira I don't want to talk about him anymore, he's not here, and I must do this myself, my father would expect me to" Keira sighed, Alister was one of the most stubborn people she'd ever met, at least now she understood why. "Keira, we- I, have to go to the Faerie court, Hareith, I need to share this with my fathers adviser, Aeden, she needs to know what's coming" Keira nodded, "I understand" Alister watched her, she seemed rather distant, "You should come with me, it's safer that you're not alone here" Keira looked at him, it was now clear, she was scared at the prospect of going back, "I-I can't just stay here?" He sighed, "No, Keir."