Summer Garden

Ashwen

She woke up tiredly, ruffling her hair as she shrugged off the blanket from around her shoulders. She stretched her wings as she stood up, feeling the first sunlight of the day barely peaking through the clouds and tantalising her exhausted body. Flecks of blue dust drifted lightly the ground and she yawned, wondering why she'd woken up so early.

Usually she didn't force herself awake until Lord Ashwith chided her for staying wrapped up in her cocoon for too long.

She turned slowly, eyeing a shadow with trepidation, and went to scream as she saw him. The Fae blitzed across the room, clamping a hand over her mouth. She stared in terror into those deeply serious grey eyes, wondering if he had come to kill her, or kidnap her.

"I've come to explain." He whispered quietly, "Please, Lady Ashwen, let me explain. Let me tell you why I did what I did. I'll accept whatever judgement you give me. If after hearing this you decide to hand me over to the council, then I'll do it without complaint. Please. You, of all people. Won't you just listen?"

She pushed him away from her ruffly, and grabbed her blanket, wrapping it around her naked shoulders and sitting on the edge of the bed, glaring at him. "Start."

Janus sighed heavily and sat down cross-legged, his black wings curling up behind him, "It began, with a mortal. A mage was experimenting, attempting to recreate the original race of people, the original immortals. He found power to do what he wanted in an unborn child. He manipulated them, using magic he had stolen from Faekind. I couldn't kill the child. I tried, without being obvious. I sent the child into a mortal war, conscripted before he came of age. He survived. He shouldn't have, no one else of his age did. Yet, fate shifted and protected the child."

Ashwen ground her fangs together angrily, glaring at the man she so desperately wanted to kill. She was letting him speak. It didn't mean she had any intention of listening. When he finished yammering on, she would rip his head off and present it to the queen herself. He had used her.

"The mage died, and another took up his work, guiding this creature that wasn't quite human through life. Until, that very same mage, killed the not human." Janus whispered, and Ashwen felt a chill go down her spine. The Arbiter nodded slowly, "Yes. The not human was the ghoul that has attached itself to the queen. He was engineered to survive his death. He is a weapon, aimed directly at our queen."

"Why hurt Lady Luna?" Ashwen spat out angrily and Janus sighed heavily, "The queen sent Lady Luna on her behalf to the fates. The same creatures who guide and protect this ghoul. I had to know what was said, and what was requested. It was stupid, yes, but I still believe it was vital to the protection of our realm. I failed. Luna took control of the questioner instead. I fully believe our queen is being manipulated by the fates and that the fates have broken the treaty. To protect us, I had to know what we were up against. I couldn't see another way. If there was, I would have taken it. The fates are an enemy like none we've ever faced. They can manipulate us, control us, and we wouldn't be aware. It takes a celestial to see the actions of fate, rather than just the result. They are subtle, and unbound by time. Nothing we can do seems to be able to stop them. Our only chance is Queen Summer. She is the only one of us who can act against them."

Ashwen was still feeling bitter, but the feelings were subsiding. "You didn't want to involve Lady Summer until you had proof. Proof beyond doubt."

"Yes." Janus nodded, "And so I made a mistake. I shouldn't have hurt Luna."

"That explains your idiocy. It doesn't explain everything." Ashwen growled angrily.

He looked at her in surprise, his grey eyes apparently empty of all understanding. Idiot. He snuck into her bedroom, early in the morning before she had a chance to get dressed, and didn't understand anything.

Janus looked down at his feet, "I wasn't lying. I wouldn't do that to you."

"Stand up." Ashwen growled angrily, and the dishevelled Fae snapped upright. She stood up, stepped towards him, glaring. She was sick of his words. He was too good at saying things. The sort of things that made you feel like he might be reasonable. She wanted a straight answer. One that cut right to the heart of the matter, one he couldn't fake.

"Kiss me."

Janus blinked in surprise, "What?"

"Shut up." Ashwen snapped, "I told you to kiss me."

His hands were gentle, but calloused. His scent was of tree smoke. His lips were soft, and kind. He didn't force himself on her. His kiss was gentle. A tentative embrace that made her breath catch in her throat. The blanket slipped from her shoulders and her arms moved around his waist, just holding him. A quiet fire burned between them.