Thorns

One

Cold air hit the bare skin of her chest, the sky was a shade of navy blue that was only visible during the early hours of the morning, before the sun hit the clouds and displayed an array of pinks and oranges. She allowed her eyelids to fall shut and allowed the nature of her home to overwhelm her senses, the body of water that warped its way through Dianthe, softly babbling against the silence of predawn. 

Acacia's hair billowed framing her face, her body was coated in a thin layer of algae, she floated along the water moving down the embankment, she tipped her head and watched the clouds drift along the sky, changing form before her very eyes. She felt the earth speak to her through the silence, smooth voices whispering secrets to her, the air was light in her lungs, Acacia never felt more at peace than when she was alone in midst of nature. When she reached her first century of life, Acacia uncovered one her innate abilities to communicate with nature, it was something that served her well as she remained secluded for many decades before her parents formally introduced her into the society of Yule Court. Not only was Acacia able to communicate with the nature that surrounded her but she possessed geokinesis and agrokenesis, she was able to control the earth and manipulate the world around her. 

Footsteps against the stone balcony altered her to the presence of the company she had left in her chambers, arms snaked around her from behind and lips brushed against her neck, "Are you coming back to bed?" She shrugged off her companion's embrace, "I'm bored of you. You're dismissed". Turning away, she brushed passed him and moved into her chambers. It wasn't unusual for Acacia to receive company from different members of the Court, and the Cardea staff were accustomed to their lady's indiscretions and knew when to avert their eyes to the members of the court that emerged from her chambers at any and all hours. Acacia was the only one living in the Cardea estate, which she had named Dorcha after she took over, it was often contemplated by the staff that Acacia's recurrent visitors was an attempt to fill a void of loneliness and yet no one was able to confirm this theory not even Acacia's ladies in waiting. 

The tiles of her bathing room were cold underneath her feet, she slowly padded towards the bath which had been drawn for her as she bid adieu to her latest conquest, one that Acacia would doubtfully see again. She made an conscious effort to never repeat a conquest, she wanted to ensure there was no emotion, no attachments could be made and fae tended to be emotional creatures, with a tendency to connect intimacy with emotions. Emotions had never been something that Acacia believed in, she didn't feel the necessity for them, she felt loyalty to her family and to the people of her court but had never felt an emotion so strong that created sparks. Acacia's first handmaid was a petite fae with childlike features and high cheekbones, Bhean had been a part of the Cardea staff since before Acacia's centurion debut, she had been assigned to prepare the young Cardea and she had never left her side. Bhean watched patiently as her lady submerged herself under the bath water. 

As she opened her eyes, Acacia was once again in the river Abhainn, algae and lily-pads caressing her face, serenity pulsing through her veins. Her body continued to float down the embankment further away from her estate and closer to the coast of Yule Court. Her tranquillity was  interrupted by a thundering that trembled the towering trees that lined the embankment, bird erupted from their perches, cawing as they scattered into the sky. The earth sent shock waves into Acacia's mind, there was brutality encroaching on her home. 

Acacia ripped her body from the water, her damp feet squelching as they hit the ground in her pursuit of home, branches scratched at her bare body, thorns sunk into her feet as she darted between the trees. As she ran, the air surrounding her lungs grew heavy, there was a suffocating sensation. Glimpses of the archaic architecture of her home caught her eye through the everchanging landscape that she rushed through, she pushed herself further, closer and harder to her home, the solid structure that housed her loyalties and family. A soul shattering scream pushed through Acacia's lips, her knees buckled beneath her and she collapsed onto the ground, the world around her came to a halt. Instinctively, Acacia clasped a hand to her chest, as she drew it away there was a coating of blood that dripped in between her fingers. There was no would on her body, it remained intact. An unrecognisable cry tripped out of the lips she so desperately tried to keep shut, piercing the skin with her teeth, a sharp intake of breath and Acacia's hands slammed into her stomach, an excess of blood seeped through her fingers once more, but the blood was once again did not come from Acacia's own body. Thorns penetrated her skin as Acacia lay on the forest floor, just on the outskirts of her family's estate.

The Lord and Lady Cardea were dead. 

Water crashed over the sides of the lavish bathtub as Acacia brought her head out of the water, the triumphant cries of the Mabon Court echoed through her mind. Bhean remained at the bath-side, statuesque, awaiting instruction, beckoned by her lady, within an instant she was attending to Acacia, she knew the protocol after one of her lady's episodes and so she began to harshly scrub the blood that only Acacia could see. She aided Acacia out of the bath tub and wrapped her raw body in a robe and guided her back to her chambers. The bed linens had been changed and the Cardea was laid to rest amongst the plump pillows. Before her eyes closed they shone black, the pupil engulfed in a pure darkness and in the dark abyss that was her once her eye, reflected a single thorn.