Kingdom of Smoke and Ivory

Part Two- The Fae

Drink not from their wells.

Eat not what they offer.

Enter not where they dwell.

Lest you hope to always stay,

Ask not for favors,

Summon not the Fae.

Tamsin was undoubtedly the smartest of all the Fae. At only 19 (in human years) she had surpassed many of those on the court in magical ability, knew the entire written history of the Fae, and managed to become important to the queen.

Her face tatoo was fully formed by the time she was only 7 (again, in human years) when it usually took faeries almost 2.5 times longer to do so. The tattoos were a sign of maturity and allowed faeries to begin practicing their magic. Tamsin had set the record at 7 for being the youngest faerie ever to have a fully formed tattoo. Even her twin sister didn't get her tattoo as quickly as Tamsin.

Tamsin could also apparate faster and more accurately than anyone else and was effective in manipulating and persuading other people.

In fact, she had put the water sprites to rest when they tried to control all the water in the Fae land of Creech, she had negotiated peace with the ogres in the mountains, long ago, she had given the witches Faded Ash Wood when they threatened to curse every human if they weren't left alone, and now, she was trying to stop the human war that was threatening to rise.

The winter had been a cold one and Tamsin's wings fought against the air that whipped around her. Apparating in the winter was a dangerous task because it was harder to focus with the biting cold being so present. So, during the cold season, most of the more practical faeries preferred to fly short distances as opposed to apparating to them. And today, especially, was not a good day to pop up somewhere uninvited.

The young prince had been killed just over two weeks ago. The smallest Carmichael had still been in the very early stages of adolescence when, as rumor claimed, the witches murdered him in cold blood. The thought didn't sit well with Tamsin, as the witches hadn't been active since Tamsin had put them to rest in Faded Ash, but the boy had been found with etchings in his skin and his body over an ancient rune.

Since the only magic wielders on the continent of The Parallel were the Fae and the witches, and Fae could use magic with only a mere touch while witches required spells and runes, it made sense that the humans assumed the witches killed the young prince.

Thoughts of murder and witches were still on Tamsin's mind as she strode into the throne room of the king of Skelside. King Carmichael sat proudly, but with red rimmed eyes, the loss of his son obviously still weighing heavily on his mind.

Tamsin gave him a nod of respect and waited to be called on before speaking, something she hated to do as it made her feel like a lesser faerie, but knowing it was not time to debate such trivial things with the grieving king in the middle of starting a war.

"Tamsin. Welcome back into my home. What news do you have for us today?" the king asked, demanding attention and authority like always. His voice and facial expression did not fit together, but Tamsin ignored this.

"Will Prince Chace be joining us today?" she asked, noting the absence of the oldest prince, who was always in attendance of the most important meetings and discussions, as it was his duty as future king.

"Chace is still resting from the hunt." The king said absentmindedly, but with a tone that made Tamsin think there was a deeper meaning behind the words. Tamsin's pointed ears perked up at this. Her green eyes narrowed at the king.