Chapter Text
The wind from the Solemn Mountains cut through your armor and layers of wool beneath. You repressed the shudder that threatened to cause the plated armor on your chest and shoulders to rattle, gripping the reins of your horse tighter.
Quick Silver, the darling mare you had raised since she was a filly, stamped one of her feet impatiently as your father swung down from his horse to speak to a guard briefly. The guards bowed, their eyes sliding over you. One of them sneered, and you stiffened as you ignored it. You were used to it by now; the whispers. They had chased you since you were a child.
Half-breed.
A low growl sounded behind your back--ah, Konig. You had nearly forgotten he was there, which was laughable given his size. The wolf shifter was a formidable opponent, incredibly tall and built, his yellow eyes peeking beneath his curtain of a mask daring them to say the words out loud. He was your oldest--only--friend. He'd been stationed alongside your father, as well as yourself, for the past year, though he had been around your house longer than that. He had been orphaned, taken in by your father and trained. There were talks that he would be the next general instead of you, given your...heritage.
Swallowing and straightening your back, you waited until your father gave you the go-ahead. Urging Quick Silver forward, you both passed through the wards surrounding the castle, magic that prevented unwanted visitors from entering the castle grounds. Of course, if you had enough power, the wards would hardly be an issue. But the small amount of earth magic gifted to you by your father's Fae heritage was nothing more than a kernel. "Konig," you said gently, quietly, though his keen wolf hearing would pick up on it. "It's alright."
"No, it is not," he ground out slowly. "And someday, I will make them pay for it."
You sighed, but there was really no use in arguing with him. Konig held a grudge against everyone who had ever slighted you, and you knew that he had not forgotten those names for one moment. He was like--pun aside--a dog with a bone.
After you made it past the gates, Konig easily dismounted his giant horse, handing the reins off to a stable boy. You saw the boy's rounded ears, took in his scent, and your heart squeezed. Another halfling, like yourself. Your kind seemed to always get the lowly jobs, the dismissible ones. You had been lucky your father's thinking was different from the rest of the Fae, deciding that he loved you and would raise you despite your human mother. Then again, he had loved your mother too--fiercely. But Fae births, even half ones, were notoriously difficult, and she had not made it, despite all the healers your father had desperately called.
"Lunelle?" The sound of your name brought your attention back from the pool of memories you found yourself drowning in, blinking as you surfaced to see Konig standing next to you, offering his hand.
Gods, just standing he was nearly as tall as you were mounted on your horse. But you were the general's daughter, and stubborn, so you ignored the hand and swung down yourself. Konig's eyes crinkled a bit underneath his mask in amusement as you also handed your reins over to the stable boy.
"General Travan will meet us in the throne room," Konig said, referring to your father.
"Let's not keep His Majesty waiting," you said with a sigh, placing a hand on the hilt of your sword as you headed forward.
- - -
"And lastly, I would like to talk about a marriage proposal for your daughter." The word clanged through you.
Marriage?
The meeting had been the usual, nearly boring you to tears, honestly. The king had not even looked at you, had not acknowledged your existence. Of course not, you were only half Fae. Everyone knew how humans--even those only half--were treated. Compared to your Fae father and his illustrious record, you were surprised the king even remembered you were his daughter.
Your father's eyes, your eyes, right down to the shape and color, flashed with worry, though he was quick to cover it. "Marriage, Your Majesty? May I ask to whom you are wishing my daughter to wed?"
"Oh, yes. As you know, general, our relationship with the Alextre Kingdom has not been the strongest. After long meetings with my advisors, the idea of marriage as a way to tie our kingdoms was brought up. What better way to unite two nations than a marriage?"
Your father and Konig went still in the way that only Fae could.
The king, either unaware or ignoring the tension, continued. He stood from his throne, meandering towards the towering windows surrounding the throne room. "As you know, one of my daughters has already found her mate, and I could not bare to have my youngest so far from me. But the daughter of my general? Why, it would be an honor for your family! She is high ranking enough to satisfy the king as well. As you know those barbarians choose their king by tournament."
Code for I will not marry one of my daughters to the Alextre Kingdom, but your daughter is disposable. Not to mention your half-blood status would be seen as an insult. You wondered if the Alextre king had been informed of your lineage. Likely not. It was an effort to keep your breathing slow and even, to maintain your resting heartbeat.
Konig, who never missed anything when it came to you, moved a fraction closer to you. His presence did help calm you a bit, his woody scent filling your senses.
And what the king had said...that was right. Alextre was a kingdom of warriors. Full of mostly lower Fae as well as various shifters, new kings were decided by tournaments held every ten years. Whoever was left living in the end was crowned. Barbaric, vicious, horrific. The crown was earned by blood. That meant the current king, whoever he was, had also earned his title via that violent, bloody conflict.
Your father's fists tightened behind his back, knuckles turning white. He pressed his lips into a thin line.
Say something, you begged silently. Tell him no.
But no one contradicted the Theodric Fae King.
"It will be as you wish, Your Majesty."
You could nearly hear the sound of the last nail in your coffin.
- - -
"I cannot believe--" Konig seethed on the way back to your villa. His entire form shuddered atop his horse. The horse in question neighed, as if protesting. If Konig shifted, the horse would be injured.
"How can your father just--just give you up like that?" he demanded. "He's throwing you to them like a Gods-damned piece of meat in a pool of sharks!"
Your father had other business at the castle and had firmly ordered you and Konig to head home. We will speak later, his clear green eyes said.
"Konig," you said gently, but the large Fae male kept rambling until you repeated yourself, firmer. "Konig."
He stopped, looking at you with his eyes large and glowing yellow. His chest heaved slightly as if he were out of breath.
"I am just as angry as you are. But you acting like this is not helping. When Father comes home, we will talk. He might have a plan. And if not...well, we will make one. Alextre is by all accounts a heathen kingdom, but I am a trained soldier, just like you. I believe that I can make my way out, at the very least."
"But Luney, you are not just like me. You are..." His eyes guttered as he trailed off.
You ground your teeth as you yanked at Quick Silver's reins, bringing yourself closer to Konig. Even with him towering over you, you glared at him. Your kernel of earth magic had vines curling up at your horse's feet. "I'm what, Konig?"
"Luney, you know that's not what I--"
"I'm what? Powerless? Weak? A half-breed? Just because I cannot shift as you do, or I cannot grow an entire mighty forest with a twist of my wrist like Father can does not make me weak. I have lived among the Fae my entire life, and I have survived. If I can do so in Theodric, I can do so in Alextre. I will not have you or my father underestimating me. I can do this."
"I know," Konig's deep voice had softened. "I know, Luney. I am sorry. I am only worried for you."
Just like that, all the fight left your body, leaving you exhausted, as if your journey here had finally caught up. "I know. I am too. But who knows? Maybe the Alextre king is my mate and we will live happily ever after."
Konig stared at you silently. He did not have to voice the words for you to know what he was thinking.
No half-Fae has ever found a mate.