Martha

    The corridors of the Seelie court had become so familiar to me that they now felt like home. I knew all of their features and peculiarities like those of the Unseelie court. I knew the walls and what hung on them; I knew the colours they were painted and I could picture each corridor before I turned the corner. I especially loved the one I was standing in and its right wall that I was facing with Darragh by my side. It had the most beautiful paintings of all of the Seelie court’s past kings. Of them all, a particular one caught my attention. Not because the king had such a beautiful thick mane or because the painting of his silk robe was done to such fine detail that it almost seemed lifelike but the features of his face were so familiar to me that it felt eerie. I knew the size of that nose, the shape of those lips and the blue of those eyes.

            “That’s my grandfather, William,” Darragh said beside me. He was watching me scrutinize the painting and he had an amused smile on his lips. The resemblance was not beyond him and he was enjoying how much it seemed to fascinate me.

            “He looks just…”

            “Just like me, I know.” He smiled.

I turned my attention from the painting to look at Darragh and then back at the painting. I could see that Darragh did not inherit just the looks from the grandfather. Even from the painting, a great amount of confidence and power was exuded and the same amount of those qualities were also present in Darragh, maybe even a little more.

I suddenly felt a feeling of pride come over me. I was standing next to the most powerful man I had ever known. I intertwined my hand in his. The electricity that shot from my fingers to the rest of my body was exhilarating. It was like nothing had changed between us from the first time we met up till now. I was just as excited about him now as I was then, maybe even more so. “There aren’t many kings who have faced the threats that we have both faced; Sylius, Polius, the witches, and every single time we have come out on top. We are much more powerful than even we recognise.”

Darragh gave me a gentle smile as if to agree silently with all that I had just said. We continued to hold hands as we turned away from the wall and began to walk down the corridor. It was a particularly long corridor and every time we ran into a soldier or two, they would stop in their tracks and bow their heads until we passed. Every time, I had to fight the urge to not bow back. I always had to remind myself that I was royalty and this was the custom. I was still not used to it.

           “You know,” Darragh began in his silky-smooth, strong voice that reverberated off the walls and down my spine. His voice was silky smooth. “I don’t know why you and your court have to leave.”

I gave him a sideways glance.

           “Hear me out. We have made changes to our palace and court structure to accommodate you all  and you have settled into this place nicely. Why don’t we progress this into what we both want – the integration of our courts.”

  “I know how much we both desire this integration but we cannot stay here. The Unseelie palace is our home and we have to go back there.”

Darragh stopped and turned so that we were now facing each other. We were at the end of the corridor which now forked in two opposite directions. One of them went towards my chambers and the other went to Darragh’s. 

            “The Unseelie palace is a house, Martha. It’s not a home. The court is your home and it does not matter in which house it exists.” He held both of my hands tightly and looked directly into my eyes. “Stay.” The way he held my gaze almost sent me into overdrive. It took all I had to not say yes right there and single handedly unpack all of our bags.

     “I can’t.” I looked away from him as I spoke. It was not that I was stubborn or that I wanted so badly to return to the Unseelie court but staying in the Seelie court was simply not an option that we could entertain yet. I had discussed this over and over with the members of my court and whilst they had become more liberal with the idea of integration and friendlier relations, total abandonment of our palace to move in here was something they rejected outright. Also, I was not entirely sure that Darragh was not asking us to stay of his own volition, without considering the opinion of his court members. For a man as powerful as he was, he might have seen nothing wrong in making court decisions all by himself.

            “I’m sorry, my love.” I put my hand on his cheek and rubbed gently. “We simply cannot. Maybe someday in the future but not today.”

Darragh smiled at me. We both knew what we wanted and hoped to achieve with both of our courts but we also knew the limitations that faced us. He kissed my forehead and turned away towards his chambers. I watched him walk a short distance before turning and heading to my chambers. 

I opened the door to my chambers to find a surprise guest waiting for me. Aria was sitting on my bed. She still wore her hair short and for some reason, I had still not gotten used to it. She was sitting with her legs folded and her hands on her thighs like she had been patiently waiting for me. I didn't know why but her presence in my room alone made me feel uneasy.

            “Where have you been?” she asked with a groan. “I have been waiting forever for you.”

I walked to the bed and sat down beside her. “I was talking to Darragh. We saw a painting of his grandfather and were talking about him.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “Have you two said goodbye?”

“Not quite. He wants us to stay.” Aria chuckled and looked away from me.

            “What’s so funny about that?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

She stared at me for a few seconds as though she was considering whether or not to say what she had in mind.

           “It’s just,” she took a pause and sighed. “I think Darragh suggesting we stay right now is a little misguided.”

           I nodded. “I agree. Which is why I told him no. We haven’t prepared either court well enough.”

           “Yes, that is a reason but also, who rules this new court? Surely, you cannot have two rulers for one court.”

Aria’s question threw me off a little. It was not that that question had not occurred to me at all but I had pushed it to the back of my mind without consideration. Now, with Aria pointing it out so directly, it was smacking me right in the face. Would I have to forfeit my throne for Darragh? I knew that I would never expect that of him but neither did I know if he would expect it of me.

“I have not given that much thought,” I said.

“Well then, it’s a good thing you did not agree to stay. We have time to properly think things through.” Aria got on her feet and walked a metre or two towards the door before turning back to face me. I assumed she was leaving but she’d only created some distance between us. “Now, to why I am here. I want to search for my father and Sylius. I want to bring them to justice. I want to end this war, once and for all. I am tired of just waiting for the next attack.”

            I sighed. “Aria, I am just as tired as you are but I cannot let you do that.”

            “Why not? We all agreed that we would be more offensive. Why can’t I look for them?”

           “Because for one, we have no idea where they are or who they are with now. If you go off by yourself or with a few men, you could be walking into an ambush. You have seen what they are willing to do to you, your father and your brother. I cannot allow you to suffer that again.”

            “This is not your decision to make.” Aria had a confused frown that was slowly turning into a scowl. 

            “Yes, it is. I am your queen and I do not want you to go looking for Sylius and Polius.”

Aria and I were staring at each other. I could almost see the blood rushing around her body and the magic that flowed in that blood. She was furious but she could not react. I did my best to keep my expression neutral and firm. This was for her own good. I knew that she still harboured so much hatred for her father and brother. She didn’t just want to bring them to justice. She wanted to be the one to kill them herself. I could not have a person go on a mission with such intent. It would be a grave mistake.

“Just so you know, Darragh’s grandfather was a piece-of-shit war criminal who hated your entire family.”

With that, Aria turned away from me and stormed out of my chambers. I finally got out of the restrictive and bulky dress I had been wearing all day. Royal fashion was beautiful but so stressful. I poured myself a glass of wine and walked to the window which overlooked the courtyard. From where I was standing, I could see a few soldiers playing around with their magic. They were laughing, shouting and pretending to attack one another. This view, the people and the scenery were just a few of the things I would miss when I left.