Anansi, Princess of Seelie's Story

She was tired of the fighting. Anansi decided, as she sat back against a large willow tree, her toes dipped into the small creek that would meet the river that would then meet the ocean that boarded her lands from the mortals. This was dangerous, her mother would tell her now, if she saw her. Tempting fate, she'd say, Mortals were dangerous, with their iron clothes, and weapons. The Mortals, as far as she knew did not know of their allergy to iron. They knew so little about them ,yet that hated them so. Anansi knew of the horrors the mortals could reek but she didn't hate them, and she didn't think they needed to be avoided either. There had to be something that could end the warring. It was all too much to think about, which was why she was here, life in court was too stressful, the Seelie and UnSeelie fighting back and forth, the Seelie wanting to leave the mortals be, believing them to be such a short spanned race that they could just outlive them, the UnSeelie wanting to go and destroy them all. Neither Court coming to any sort of agreement. Anansi sighed and lay down in the soft moss that collected at the edge of the creek, replacing her toes with her fingers and letting the creek's current run over her fingers.

There was a crack of wood behind her, but Anansi didn't flinch, she barely blink. "Severyn..." She said, watching the water. The white haired elf lord's son chuckled. "I suppose I could never sneak up on you, Princess." He said, as he rounded the tree, seeing the princess laying on her stomach, moss staining her white silken dress, as well as bits of her golden brown skin, grass tangling in her midnight black hair as it spilled over her shoulder as she rose to an elbow, still looking at the water. "No, yet you try, that is the definition of insanity, Severyn." She said, though her heart wasn't in the jab. He could tell.

"Something is bothering you, Princess, Would you like to talk about it?" He asked, and Anansi gave a shrug. "There is a storm coming, Severyn, I can feel it." She said and Severyn sighed and took a place beside her. he was dressed in his guard's uniform, gold and copper armor, layered like the dragonscales of Otherworld. His bow and quiver strapped to his back. He was her guardian and friend, dutiful as he was kind. Anansi sat up. A frown marring her soft features. "Where are you going?"
"Scouting, that's all, the Dryads warned of mortals passing the border, we are only going to see how far they'd gotten."
Anansi looked at him incredulously, where he mortal, she would have believed him to be telling an untruth, a trait only found in mortals. Fae could not lie, for they'd choke on their words and parish.
"Did my mother sanction this?" She asked and Severyn looked at her. "Aye, Princess, but t'was the Night Queen who thought to send us." He admitted and Anansi sighed. "The mortals won't last long in Fae Woods if the red caps and boggarts have their way." Severyn said is if that would make her feel better. It didn't but she understood why he thought that. Most Seelie Fae like herself just wanted to be left alone, and if the mortals did happen into the Fae Woods so long as neither the Seelie Courtiers or the UnSeelie Coutiers has a hand in their demise, then all was well but that was not what Anansi believed, red caps and boggarts, brownies and pixies, they were like animals, but Fae nonetheless, the mortals, as ignorant as they were, should be protected, not left to die for their ignorance.

"What did the Dryads say about the mortals? What are the mortals after?"

"That's what we intend to find out, Princess, The Dryads only heard it in the wind, and rarely doesn't the wind speak, and she does so in short words." He said and Anansi sighed. "You will interrogate the mortals should you find them."
Severyn was silent.
"Don't, Severyn, what if they are the good ones, the ones the birds told us of."
"Joined Blade."
"Yes, them, what if they've got to broker peace."
"Then we will find out."
"Before or after you hurt them."
Severyn fell silent again and Anansi rose. "Princess, I know how you feel but...Mortals, they can lie." he said and Anansi shook her head. "Surely, but what if they are on our side--"
"They could also be Elvenslaga..." Severyn snapped and it was Anansi who fell silent. The Elvenslaga were responsible for so many Fae Deaths, including the death of her Father, he was a guard, just like Severyn. Anansi huffed and turned away. "Princess..."
"No, Don't." She said, looking back into the river. "I understand that mortals are dangerous, but so are we...if we gave it a chance...."
"You sound like one of those Solitary Fae, and look what happened to them."
Anansi shot him a look. " That was the Night Queen's doing...." She hissed and Severyn looked at her. "Princess....you shouldn't speak of such things, if the Night Queen's that you are speaking like a Solitary..." He didn't finish.
The Night Queen had been systematically killing all of those who were Solitary, all of those who opposed her rule and left themselves unprotected by the Day Queen, The Day Queen knew what she was doing but could nothing to stop it, less they begin their own civil war and that was how the Fae ended up in the mortal realm in the first place, the warring was so fierce they'd ripped a hole in the realm. No one, not even the Night Queen wanted that. The Solitary were still out there, just hidden, getting better every day.

"Well, I'm speaking to you, Severyn." Anansi said deftly. He knew he would never say anything, he was Seelie, just like her and a friend. "Princess...I know you hate this, but it is my duty." he told her and an idea struck her so she feigned relent.

"I understand." She said, "I don't like it, but I understand, you have to do what you must." She said and turned to him, walked up and pressed a soft friendly kiss to his lips. Severyn stood and smiled. "Thank you, Princess." He said and bowed. "Would you like me to escort you home, I'd only come to check on you, but I have to go."
"No no, I can make my own way." She said and with that, Severyn took his leave.

Anansi waited for a while before she took off, following the creek as it broke off into the river, and then followed that river to the border, The Fae call it the Henge, the only link to the mortal Kingdoms. It was like a natural bridge, acres and acres wide, formed by nature, the Fae hadn't the power to destroy it, or it would have been done long before the Elvenslaga could kill her father. Some Fae, Mostly Seelie , still wanted to find a way to destroy the Henge but it would mean scorching the Earth and no fae, night or day, would dare such a thing.

She began her search for this mortal, she wanted find them, protect them from Severyn and the Guard, after that, she had no idea what she'd do.

Red.
Their blood was red. She'd hear the tales, that mortals blood was as red as a cherry. It was why their skin has a slight pink huge, no matter the color of the skin, there could always be red found hidden in the color.

It wasn't as fascinating now that it spilled over the forest floor. Anansi hung back, she had to. The Guard was already on the attack. The Dryads had began, firing wooden barbs from their trees, giving the Guard the perfect opening for an attack but surely they did not notice two of them spilling red blood of their own. She turned, her back against the tree trying to decide what to do next. Was it Fae trickery that caused confusion, perhaps the dryads were emitting a toxic, to daze them? She couldn't run into that, surely she would be killed.

"For the Joined Blade! We stand with the Fae, for they are of the same life as we!"

Anansi's eyes went wide. They were Joined Blade, the rumors were true. Severyn would kill them all, she couldn't let that happen, they were on their side. She almost smiled until she heard the unmistakable sound of Severyn's bow string pull. To a Fae of her caste, her senses were high, she was able to hear the most subtlest of sounds, even in a battle. Crunching of bone, severing of limbs, rushes of blood. She could see as well, the mortals couldn't see the fae, hidden behind their glamour, unless they were Sighted but she could see them and she could see Severyn nearly three hundred meters away, he prepped his bow, the string pulled taut and he aimed, right at the head of the youngest one.

Anansi moved, darting between the trees, speed faster then the Elven Guard or Mortal Knights could see. She opened her hands her fingers splayed and white webs sprang from between her fingers, extending like her own hands before wrapping around the young lad's shoulders, and pulling him free from Severyn's arrow, sending it right toward the armorless man with the fiery hair and blazen eyes. She could hear Severyn's groans of disappointment and confusion. He did not know she was there, and if he found out, he would not be pleased. He went on the fire again, this time his arrow striking his target true, the man that had been beside the boy.

Meanwhile, she drew the boy back, right to her feet, she released her glamour so that he could see her, causing him to look up at her, and her down at him, while she cocked her head, curiously. She said nothing, but rose her fingers to her lips, and pursed her lips in an almost haunting. "Shh.."

She'd never seen one up close before. She wanted to touch it, he didn't look that much different, his ears were round where hers was long and pointed, extending out from her head. Her eyes were sharp where his was round. She knelled down, placing a hand over his mouth, "You must run, if they catch you, they will kill you." She whispered like wind moving through trees.

"I'm going to lay your bleeding corpses upon the alter." Sir Griffin growled, smiling insanely. Roland slid his feet into a combat ready position, curling his hands around the grip of the longsword. Sir Thomas blinked sweat from his eyes, grasping his own longsword. This wasn't good. Thomas had seen Griffin in action many times before. The stories that he was a match for four men at once weren't far from the truth. Before he was exiled, he had witnessed Griffin capture a Fae mid-stride, sling it to the ground, and drive his blade through the poor being's heart.

Several things happened at once. Thomas glanced at Roland, and saw the strange combination of fear and determination in his eyes. He saw Griffin's smile falter, his head turning to face the treeline, almost as if he sensed something. Then he felt that strange breeze again. That breeze he had felt earlier. Fae. It meant the Fae were on the move. He snapped around to look at it, and thought he could almost see something blaze past. Then Roland was gone.

"What?" He asked, then felt something slam into him. Two things. Something heavy forced him aside, and then he felt something clang off his armor, deflected off the angled plate just below his jaw. He looked, and saw an arrow laying splintered on the ground besides him. Then he glanced up to see Griffin standing over him. He'd pushed him down and aside. Thomas realized the arrow would have split his skull otherwise.

"Do not think I forget my debts, Sir Thomas. We're even now. It will be I who takes your life, not these Godless creatures." He said. Thomas saw his pommel come down towards his head, and then blackness. Griffin straightened up, glancing towards where the arrow had come from. His eyes burned fiercely, and to the Elven being in the trees, it was if Griffin was staring straight at him. This feeling only intensified when the man lifted his blade and pointed it in his general direction.

"Stand tall! Line up, shields high! Advance!" Griffin roared, striding fearlessly to the front of the group. He picked up the shield of one of his fallen knights, hoisting it in front of him, but allowing his eyes to peek over the top. They swiveled all around, and an observant Fae would notice he was tracking almost every movement one of their kind made. What was this man? The knights advanced swiftly, staggering slightly in a way that created the illusion of openings. Their armor and shields positioned to deflect arrows and other projectiles. They dared the Fae to try and close in, made it clear that was the only way to create an opening. Griffin grinned sadistically.

Roland struggled fiercely. He was confused, had no idea how he'd wound up on the ground. All he knew is that he was one place, and now he was another. Sir Thomas! His mentor, his friend. He needed his help.

"You must run, if they catch you, they will kill you." A voice like nature itself came to him. He looked up, and his struggles momentarily ceased. His eyes opened wide, as he gazed at what he felt had to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his entire life. Slowly, he sat up, his eyes noticing her eyes, her nose, her ears. He gently took her wrist, freeing his mouth from her binding.

"You're... one of the Fae." He said slowly, awe crossing his face. He didn't seem to realize he was speaking out loud as he said, "You're... beautiful." Then reality came back to him. "Sir Thomas!" He yelped, leaping back to his feet. He started trying to head back.

There was a moment, as their eyes locked, where everything went silent. He watched her, as she watched him, noting the differences yet similarities. They were different, yet alike.

"You're...one of the Fae." he spoke, after gently removing her hand from his mouth. She smiled, soft and brief. "You're....beautiful." He said, and her smile widened bashfully until, suddenly he leaped to his feet, "Sir Thomas!" he cried as he started back to the battle.

"No!" She called, too loudly, and she knew that if Severyn were paying attention, he would have heard her. "You mustn't." She begged him, her eyes watching the fight, her voice lowered. "They will kill you...." She warned him, she wanted to reach for him but his armor, it would burn her so she couldn't touch him. It was then that Severyn's vanguard moved forward, clearly realizing that his bows did not work, a full fight would commence.

"Too much blood, red and silver, please....come with me." She begged him. She didn't know what she was doing at this point but beyond trying to save just this one, if she could.

"Princess!" Anansi stiffened. She was spotted, she turned to see that the boy was blocked by a tree so the Guard didn't see him. if they did, he would have been dead. She turned back to him. "Do not die, please." was all she could say before she called her glamour and disappeared before his eyes and toward the one that called her.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ma'thi, a large Fae man with white skin and black eyes. "Do you know what they will do to you if they caught you. I'll take you back to the palace." He said and she nodded, playing along but not before looking back to see if the boy yet lived.


Meanwhile, Severyn, moving through the trees, this Guard up in arms, yelling and hollering, knowing most could only hear them, not see them. All expect one. The ginger, naked of armor, had seen him, hidden in the trees, he seen him.

The mortal was Sighted.

"Kill the Sighted!" Severyn called, unafraid of this development, he guided his men toward the Sighted man, they could not let this one live.

"Fool Girl!" Her mother shouting, her voice shaking the leaves of the hamadryad trees, that made up the throne room of the Day Queen, canopying the room just so that the sun would bask the Queen in sunlight and whoever was unfortunate enough to be where Anansi knelled now.

The Day Queen as she glared at her daughter, from her high golden throne. "Do you have any idea the things these mortals are capable of?"
Anansi was silent. Her mind having wandered to the young mortal with the grey eyes, how he stared at her in wonder, called her beautiful. That was his first time seeing the so called enemy as well.

"Are you listening to me, child?" Anansi looked up, snapping back to her present situation. "Away with the pixies, as usual." The Day Queen huffed and Anansi looked at her knees. "I was-- I was following the sounds..." She said, not untrue but she knew what was happening, but if she told her mother that, she would probably have a better time with the Elvenslaga.

"I never seen one before....I wanted to see one."

"did you want it to see you, because that what was going to happen next, and you know what would happen then?"

Anansi looked up defiantly. "No, mother I do not, Two of them where Joined Blade."

Her mother rolled her eyes. "Please not this again, Surely they are dead now, only two with an vanguard of Elvenslaga, do you know what that word means?"

"I do, Mother, you do not need to remind me, but the Joined Blade means something too." She said and her mother clicked her teeth.

"Something inconsquential, that's what they mean, we do not want them, we do not need them."

"They tried to stop the Elvenslaga, we do need them." Anansi said and her mother narrowed her eyes. "If we leave them alone, they'll weither and die, just as they've done for centuries." She said dimissively.

"You can't possibly believe that, Sister."

It was then that the Night Queen in all of her dark glory strode in. Her midnight train flowing behind her like the shadows, she lingered in the dark, keeping to her shadows. "What are you doing here, Morrigan." The Day Queen said standing, Anansi in between them.

"I just got word from the front." the Night Queen said, her voice rang like a song. " And?"

"The Day Guard has been destroyed, apparently, done by one mortal man, rumor has it, he was Sighted." She said with a smirk and Anansi's eyes went wide.

"Severyn?"

"The fair one yet lives." She said, looking over to her with a smile. "He was the only one, to send us a message."

"Where is he? I must see him."

"Well, My UnSeelie as retrieving him now, and killing any of the injured."

Anansi's mind when to the young mortal. Her heart raced. "I must go"

"You will not." The Day Queen said. "Oh Let her go, Sister, she needs to see the truth of things, does she not?"

Anansi looked at her aunt. She knew a few things about her aunt. One, she hated the Seelie, all of them, including Anansi herself, and two, she loved to annoy her sister by going completely against whatever she wanted. It was clear that she loved that more then she hated the Seelie.

Normally, Anansi would back down, but not now, not when this was in her favor. "There should be a Seelie there, Mother, she said Severyn is alive, but if we leave it to the UnSeelie, who knows how long that will be." She said, shooting a glare at her aunt, who only smile in response.

"Fine, Go to him, see that he is safe, I will send Seelie as well, but you and I are not finished." She said and Anansi smiled, bowed and dashed off.

----
It didn't take long for Anansi to reach the creek, and follow her footsteps. There was red and silver blood everywhere, the red smelled of copper and the silver of nickel.

It was so quiet now, the UnSeelie hadn't made it here yet, they were slow, compared the spider princess, so she had time to search for---

"Ngghhh." She heard a pained cry and shuffling. She knew whose voice it was. " Severyn!" She called and darted in his direction. She may have gotten to him before her words did. There he was, covered in silver, and his leg, just a mess of flesh and blood. He was on his stomach, pulling himself toward home by his hands. He looked up at her. "P--Princess?" He managed before turning over on his back, with an exhausted gasp.

She dropped to her knees beside him, tears in her eyes. She pulled his head into her lap. "Why---Why are you here?"

"The Night Queen, she told us, the Day Queen and I, the battle it was...."

"The Mortal....he is....He is--"

"Shh, Sighted, we know. Your leg." She told him and he nodded meekly. " I know,"

"If I can find it, then....We can heal you...." She said and he nodded, reaching for her, shimmery red and silver blood smeared from his fingers on to her tawny cheeks. "The UnSeelie are coming..." She said and he nodded again, he was smiling but he wasn't focused on her or anything, his eyes drifted, he was losing so much blood. "The Seelie are right behind them, you'll be alright, just stay awake." She said and clasped his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles but it was too late for that, he was breathing, that was all she could hope for at that moment.

"Princess." Ma'thi's deep voice came from behind her. He was a Sidhe, a ghostly Fae who could move nearly as fast as she could.

"Severyn, his leg, " She told him and he nodded and was gone in the wind, searching for the missing limb. It didn't take him long to find it. "If I may, Mi'Lady." he said and Anansi shifted so that he might carry the Elven Guard home.

Anansi stood and took a breath, before it was snatched again by the head of a Fae, on a pike not a little ways away. She walked up to it, and brushed her soft fingers over the poor creature's eyes, still twisted in pain and fear.

She heard a crackling an stood straight, the UnSeelie hadn't arrived yet to deal with injured, she could hear their moans and groans. She scanned for the boy among the dead and injured but he wasn't there.

She couldn't forget his face. Not now, not ever, the way he looked at her, there was no fear.
She wondered along the river's edge, and she heard something. The unmistakable hiss of a kappa and a grunt of a mortal.

That would not be good. From where she was, she could only tell that it was a male and undoubtedly the kappa was trying to trick the mortal into the water.

Fearful that it might be the fiery man from before, she hung back and climbed a tree. "Bow to it." She called to the mortal, if it was it was her mortal, she would explain to him that the leaf shaped plate on the creatures head that was filled with water would spill, these creatures were oddly polite, and it would be compelled to return the bow, thus spilling the water, and being frozen until it dried out and died or, if he wanted to, he could save the kappa and it would be forever in it's debt.

"Bow to it, Quickly now."

Throbbing. It was constantly there, on the fringes. Sir Thomas did his best to ignore it, for if he focused upon it... It wanted to overwhelm him. Perhaps Griffin felt he was doing the man a favor by nearly fracturing his skull. Thomas' fingers fumbled at the straps of the various steel plates, letting them drop one by one to the forest floor. Free of the overlapping, slanted plates and the cuirass, he breathed a sigh of relief. Elfenslaga armor was heavy. The only thing he'd worn heavier in his life had been tournament plate.

Following the sound water, Thomas made his way down to a body of running water. He knelt besides the river, splashing some of the cool water into his face. Dried blood and sweat came away in the rivulets of water, and albeit far from refreshed he was at least relieved. As he blinked water from his eyes, a strange hiss caught his attention. Turning cautiously to look down the river, he saw... something. Standing slowly, he let out a grunt of frustration. All he wanted to do was find Roland, make sure he was okay. The last thing he wanted was another encounter with a Fae. The last ones made it clear they cared not if humans stood with them or not.

Thomas still had a sword at his side, but didn't bother to reach for it. A show of hostility wouldn't help his case, he figured. He watched as an odd creature rose out of the water, off the bank of the river. He cocked his head, intrigued despite the sense of foreboding he carried.

"What are you?" He asked, more to himself than outloud. He was quite curious about its movements, and he began to take a step closer.

"Bow to it."
"What?" He called, shaken from his odd trance.
"Bow to it, quickly now."

Thomas was still confused, but that voice. It was the voice of a Fae, it had to be. Which meant, if it had wanted him dead, he would be already. Bow to the creature? Thomas shrugged, and bent at the waist, bowing to the odd river monster. He watched as it bowed back, water spilling from its head. It froze in place, then. Quirking an eyebrow, Thomas slowly straightened up, looking around.

"Err... Thank you! I'm not one of the other humans! I came here with my squire, hoping to belay a massacre. We were woefully unsuccessful. Please, I mean your kind no harm. I just want to find my squire and leave." He called out to whomever was there. His eyes drew back to the frozen creature, and he saw Roland in his head. He would have been fascinated, wonder in his eyes like that a child. He could see him now, fussing over the fact the creature seemed to be incapacitated. He felt compelled to ask, "Is that creature going to be stuck like that forever?"

"Err... Thank you! I'm not one of the other humans! I came here with my squire, hoping to belay a massacre. We were woefully unsuccessful. Please, I mean your kind no harm. I just want to find my squire and leave."

Anansi smiled. So the boy was a squire, how noble. She released her glamour but stayed in the tree, her bare feet dangling down from the bark she'd been seated on. What luck, two kind mortals, Joined Blade, in one day. Provided his words were true.

"Is that creature going to be stuck like that forever?" He asked. "No, not forever." She told him. "It will dried out, whither and die." She said, almost causally. "You can push it back into the water, if you like, it will be forever in your debt, if you do so." She said. "But I warn you, Kappa can be very trying." she said, with a small chuckle in her light voice.

She stood on the tree then, watching the man, the leaves rustling. "You should make your decision soon, Mortal, you won't have long to decide," She said, curious as to what the mortal will do next.

In that time, she looked around for the other, his squire. She wanted to see him again and even with her sight, she couldn't see him from where she was. She hoped against hope that he yet live and hoped that he'd not found any other of her kind. She warned him. They would kill him if they found him.

Thomas was momentarily awe struck upon seeing the Fae in the tree. He'd never seen one, himself. They looked nothing like the depictions of them in the King's propaganda. He looked back to the creature in the water, and made a decision. Splashing out into the river, he stopped next to it and looked back the Fae with a shrug.

"Roland would be very displeased with me if I let the first creature I met from your world die." He said with a smile, pushing the Kappa back into the water. "I do hope I don't regret this, though."

Thomas waded back to the shore, looking up at her once more.

"Have you seen my squire? A young human, just barely a man by our age standards. He is likely looking for me." Thomas cast around as he spoke, hoping beyond hope the boy would stumble into the clearing. "I knew I shouldn't have brought him on this mission. He begged, and I caved. He performed well, but... He wasn't ready for this." He was talking to himself now, it seemed. As if he was just venting to nature.

"None of us were. Griffin... I don't know what's changed in him but something isn't right. The way he moved, it wasn't human." Thomas became aware that he was with company again, and looked back to the Fae.

"I've got to find him. I know our kind hasn't really earned the right to ask for your help, but please. I can't let anything happen to him."

"Roland would be very displeased with me if I let the first creature I met from your world die." The mann said, after sloshing in the the drink. Anansi watched with a smile. "Roland...." She whispered to herself, that was his name. She would offer him her name when she saw him again, not her true name of course, but the one she went by. Her true name was not in a language the mortals possessed, and even if it where, that knowledge, she would be under that mortals spell, no matter which side that was never a good thing. Her brow rose to arch as she watched the mortal man, approached the frozen kappa, and with a hard shove, pushed it into the water. "I do hope I don't regret this, though."
To that Anansi shrugged. If he planned on staying in the Fae land, he would always be safe around the water, annoyingly so, but that was for him to find out and the Kappa to decide. Who knows, he may have a watchful guardian or a dutiful -albeit overzealous- servant.

After climbing out of the water, he looked up at her.
Have you seen my squire? A young human, just barely a man by our age standards. He is likely looking for me." Thomas cast around as he spoke, hoping beyond hope the boy would stumble into the clearing. "I knew I shouldn't have brought him on this mission. He begged, and I caved. He performed well, but... He wasn't ready for this." He said, his words drifting from her to himself. "None of us were, Griffin... I don't know what's changed in him but something isn't right. The way he moved, it wasn't human." He said and her mind flashed to the man with the fiery mane. He was called Griffin, he did not look like a Griffin, but he was just as savage, and if the rumors were true, just as keen of eye.

"I've got to find him. I know our kind hasn't really earned the right to ask for your help, but please. I can't let anything happen to him." He said and Anansi smiled softly, the concern in his eyes seemed genuine.

She stood and dropped herself to the forest floor, before the mortal man. "You are but the second mortal I've met, this day, or my life." She told him with a smile. "I have seen your 'Roland', He was the first, he has kind eyes." She said. "Grey as a storm cloud, hair, black as pitch. Trimmed near his gentle face" She said, with a nod and when the mortal confirmed that this was the lad he spoke, and continued. " I will assist in your search, for I too search for him, I saw him in battle, he graced me with a compliment, I shall like to thank him." She said. "He did not fear me, in fact, he called me....Beautiful." She said and smiled. Her face warming with a blush, though a fae's blush would appear that their skin lightened, for their silver blood.

"Have you something that belongs to him, I can track him, we must make haste, these woods were rarely safe before, they are more dangerous now, with the UnSeelie afoot." She warned him, holding out her hand for an item of his..

"Have you something belongs to him, I can track him. We must make haste, these woods were rarely safe before, they are more dangerous now with the UnSeelie afoot."

Thomas breathed a sigh of relief, reaching up and removing a small pendant from around his neck. He handed it to the Fae, saying, "This is his. It belonged to his mother, before she died. He insists I borrow it for good luck in battle, because as he states it, I'm old."

Thomas smiled, then looked worried. It was obvious his concern for his squire went beyond that of a mentor. He was very fond of Roland, thinking of him as though he were the son he'd wished he could have had. He cast around again, letting the Fae do whatever it was she was going to. He had no intention of trying to pretend he would understand the hows or whys. To understand their ways would likely require the kind of mind that only people such as Roland possessed. Kind, eager, open.

"I am Thomas, by the way. I know Roland still refers to me as Sir Thomas, but I was stripped of my knighthood when I defied our current King. He doesn't take kindly to those who don't want to commit genocide, apparently."

"I am Thomas, by the way. I know Roland still refers to me as Sir Thomas, but I was stripped of my knighthood when I defied our current King. He doesn't take kindly to those who don't want to commit genocide, apparently." He said and Anansi turned to him, horror on her face.

"That is awful," She said, missing the sarcasm. "How could such a man be King?" She said, as she cupped Roland's pendent in her palm. "I am called Anansi." She said. "Princess of the Day," She said, before closing her eyes. She focused on the removing all that was 'Thomas' and on to all that was Roland, she pictured his face, the curl of his lip with his smile, the grey of his eyes, the coarseness of his palm as it curled around her hand when he touched her, clearly from work and training with a blade.

When her eyes opened, they were completely void of any color but black, only seeing the light blue lines of his aura in the negative world. "He is this way." She said, "Come," She said, and began following the lines to where he was.


It didn't take long and thankfully he wasn't far, but still, Anansi would have gotten to him much quickly had she not have to consider Thomas was looking for him too. Her pace was slowed drastically, yet he seemed a bit of out breath.

She closed her eyes and opened them again, revealing black orbs amidst a sea of white. The world was in true color once again.

"Roland!" She called out, so not to worry him. "I have found your friend, Thomas." She said, to make sure that he knew that she was real and not trickery from a Wendigo. "He says you call him old, and Sir." She said, she couldn't remember the context of which he used those words, honestly, she hadn't been listening well. Her mind was too focused on the lost boy in the fae lands, a dangerous thought indeed.

Roland honestly hadn't made much headway in his search for Sir Thomas. He was distracted around every corner, the wonders of this land snatching his attention every time he turned his head. His concern for his friend drove him on, of course. If things were different, he could spend a lifetime here, he felt. They weren't even fully within Fae lands, and already there were wonders he could only dream of. If he couldn't see them, he could feel them. It was an odd feeling, as if the magic of their world was a palpable thing. As if you could taste it in the air.

He had stripped the armor of the Elfenslaga from himself as well, ditching the petticoat and leaving himself in his gambeson, which bore the colors and mark of the Joined Blade. Green and silver. He wore it proudly, and in the hopes it may stay an arrow he would have no chance of stopping. He spotted a peculiar flower. It was hard to describe, unlike any he'd seen in the fields back home. It seemed to shine in the filtering sunlight. He knelt down, examining it. He wanted to touch it, but was afraid to disturb it. He decided just to look for a moment longer, then continue searching for Thomas.

"Roland!"

He spun at the sound of his name. That voice... He remembered it instantly. It was burned into his mind.

"Is that you, fair one?!" He called out, realizing he knew not her name. Wait, how did she know his? He'd not given it.
"I have found your friend, Thomas! He says you call him old, and Sir."
"Sir Thomas!" Roland yelled, dashing towards the voice.

"Is that you, fair one?!" Roland's voice rang out fro mthe brush and she smiled, holding her place so that he'd come find her. He yet live. He'd gone unmolested in battle.

Out from a clearing, Roland popped his head from behind a tree, and her smile widened but it faded some when he called the name of his friend. She backed away to give the friends their reunion.

Once they were finished, she smiled bashfully. "Thank you." She said and when he looked at her oddly, she giggled, her laughs like the ring of soft bells. "I asked you not to die, and you did not. Thank you." She said, approaching him. "You are unharmed." She said as she circled him, looking for injuries, there was blood on him, red and silver, but it wasn't from his blade, and nor was it his blood. She took his hands. She remembered the feel of them, but she could truly see them now. They were rough but soft all the same. "You have five fingers, just like me." She said, smiling up at him. Her hands crawled up his arms, feeling the sinewy muscles underneath. "You are skinny, but strong." She said, and while she was checking for hidden injuries, ones he may not have felt, she was curious, she wanted to know what a mortal felt like. Her hands went to his chest, and felt a quick thumping. She frowned but smiled. "Your heart, it is on the wrong side." She said, and pressed her ear to his chest. It was quick his heart beat but it was strong. She giggled against his chest. She looked up at his face, a breath away, watching his eyes. They were a lovely steely grey,, wide and kind. She brushed her fingers against his face softly, before tracing his face, and tapping his nose once with a finger. When he blinked, she giggled. "Only one set of lids." She spoke curiously and her fingers moved to his lips. "You've teeth..." She said. She was amazing. Mortals were so different from them. They didn't have magic, and they bled different colors but they weren't so different. "You are male, yes, I wonder?" She said and reached for his breeches but that was when he stopped her. "You are the same, Mortal and Fae, I knew, I knew we couldn't be so different." She said, excitedly before wrapping her arms around the mortal called Roland.

Roland's eyes were wide with bewilderment throughout most of her manipulations of him. He cast a glance over at Thomas, half embarrassed, half wondering if he should ask for help. Thomas merely smirked, causing Roland to curl his lip up at him. As the Fae's hands reached for his trousers, however, he suddenly grabbed her hands.

"Okay, that's enough for now, I think." He said hurriedly.
You are the same. Mortal and Fae, I knew, I knew we couldn't be so different!" She said excitedly, wrapping her arms around him in an embrace. Roland felt the color rising in his cheeks. She was... very soft. Warm. On top of being beautiful. As a man, Roland was very tempted to embrace her back, but logic prevailed.

"Perhaps, now is not the best time for this." He said gently, carefully prying her away. "Sir Thomas, I'm relieved to find you well." He said, turning to clasp his mentor's wrist in greeting.
"As I am you, Roland. We need to get out of here, ahead of Griffin's men. The Fae in general are not too friendly towards humans at the moment, either." Thomas said, with an apologetic nod towards the one in their presence.

"I noticed, unfortunately. Although I doubt I would welcome man into our realm with open arms either, if the roles were reversed." Roland mused in reply.

"Regardless. We must get back to the Joined Blade and talk Edmond down. Did you see Griffin fight?" Thomas asked.
"I did... He'll slaughter Edmond and his men if they attack him in the open." Roland replied grimly.
"Thank you for your help, Anansi, you said? We must depart now, however." Thomas said curtly.
"Wait... Do you hear that?" Roland said suddenly, holding up a hand for silence. "The wind. It isn't right. It's like it was back in that formation."

Thomas looked around at the surrounding trees, and then glanced to Anansi, fearing the answer.

"Perhaps, now is not the best time for this." Roland said and Anansi allow him to pull her from him. He then when to Thomas and she watched the two of them with quiet curiosity. "...The Fae in general are not too friendly towards humans at the moment, either." Thomas said, nodding to her and she gave a thin smile in response. They were hardly friendly before then, this would only make things worse.

"I noticed, unfortunately. Although I doubt I would welcome man into our realm with open arms either, if the roles were reversed." Roland added and Anansi sighed. She did not know what she was doing here. She did not know how hoarding two mortals would help her cause. She usually thought ahead but all of this was happening so fast.

"Regardless. We must get back to the Joined Blade and talk Edmond down. Did you see Griffin fight?" Thomas asked.
"I did... He'll slaughter Edmond and his men if they attack him in the open." Roland replied grimly.
"Thank you for your help, Anansi, you said? We must depart now, however." Thomas said and Anansi nodded, her frown on her face. She was not prepared for this, she didn't not want them to leave. Not yet, not where then was so much to--She heared it, felt the cold in the air. Her eyes went wide, but it seemed that Roland was just as intuned.
"Wait... Do you hear that?" Roland said suddenly, holding up a hand for silence. "The wind. It isn't right. It's like it was back in that formation."

"The UnSeelie are here to collect the dead...Red and Silver." She said. " You can not leave yet, not the way you came." She told them and surely they will look for me as well." She said. " The Night Queen will wonder....that is never good. Come, I know where you can hide, until morning, The night belongs to the UnSeelie, and the Morrigan will begin her watch." She said. Both Queens ruled at once, Rhiannon during the day, and Morrigan at night. If the Morrigan found her, assisting mortals during her watch, Neither of them would see the next day, Princess or not.

"Follow me." She said, and took Roland's hand. " Oh, I am called, Anansi, Princess of the Day, Thomas told me your name." She said with an added smile.


Anansi led the two to a large waterfall, seated top of very large cliff the water falling in a multitude of colors. She lead them over to the edge of the falls where she turned back and smiled. "This way." She told them, as she ducked behind the water, that rushed so hard it seemed impossible to pass, but it parted, at her beckoning. She sprang out her hand, the rest of her hidden behind the rushing water. "Come," She beckoned, waving her fingers for one of them to take as she lead them further inside where the ground beneath then was smooth stone, slick from the splashing water, and inside the massive cave was what seemed like an entirely new world, moss and algae coating the stalagmites and stalactites that protrude from the top to bottom. She led them to the back, where it had seemed that once fae had lived, there were stone steps, a small stone table, broken wooden chairs, ropes and other things that had been abandoned over the eons. There was a newly made up cot, laying on a bed of moss.

"You may rest here for the night," She said, once they passed through. It was a large mouth cove, alight by torches. "I come here at night myself when I wish to be alone, no one knows this place of this place but one friend....Severyn..." Her expression grimed then but she shook it. "Bot even the Mer that play it's waters. They are beautiful creatures, but none too bright, they do not know that mortals can not breath underwater, they will pull you in expecting you to stay," She said, as she turned and pulled herself up in the cot. "You can rest here, the moss is soft, and the blankets will keep you warm, What do you eat? I can not bring you food from the palace, never expect food from any Fae, ever." She warned them both with a finger before she gestured for them to sit somewhere. while awaited their answer.

"We can't stay here a night, Anansi. If Griffin reaches Brokenoak before we do, many of our people will die!" Roland protested. She insisted however, and pressed them onwards. Roland for the first time found himself displeased with the Fae. She didn't seem at all interested in his hearing his protestations. As they pushed onwards, he calmed down. She was just as naive as to their world as he was to her own. She didn't understand what Edmond's loss could do to the Joined Blade's operations in Westfall. Not to mention the loss of more warriors.

Thomas wasn't pleased, either, but followed along. He cast a meaningful glance at Roland at one point, and Roland nodded. He would talk to her, she was more interested in him than Thomas, and may more easily persuaded by the youth. Roland's annoyance soon gave way to awe once more at the waterfall. Her magic split apart the powerful falls, and as they descended into the cave he couldn't help but gawk at everything. He'd never been in any sort of cave before, although he had been holed up in catacombs before. He preferred the dankness of the cave over the dankness of underground crypts, however.

"You can rest here, the moss is soft, and the blankets will keep you warm. What do you eat? I can not bring you food from the palace. Never accept food from any Fae, ever."

"Don't worry, Roland and I are used to going without food." Thomas replied, waving a hand airily.
"We prefer not to..." Roland grumbled. Thomas laughed.
"Whelp." He teased.

Roland shook his head, than turned to Anansi.

"May I talk to you? Over here." He said, striding away from Thomas to a darker section of the cave. He looked to see her following him. "Anansi. We can't afford to stay here. I know you don't understand, but we cannot let our fellows fight Griffin. We HAVE to get back ahead of him." He put heavy emphasis on it, looking her in the eyes.

He cast about, thinking of something else to say. "Look. It's dangerous, we could die, I know. We all agreed to die for this cause. We know our death can come at any time, but we won't give up. We won't hide. We won't let our king rip apart our worlds with war between our peoples. Please. Perhaps there's another route we can take? We may have to double time it, but I'm sure Thomas can keep up."

As if by instinct, he reached out and gently took her hand during his plea. He didn't seem to know he'd done it at first.

Anansi listened to his words, the sincerity only strengthened by the way he held her hand.

"It is you that does not understand." She told him gently. "This world is much more dangerous in the night." She told him "Your King may wish to rip apart the world, but the Night Queen can, if she finds you, you will not make it back before nightfall and I can not protect you in the night." She said but relented, she understood what he needed to do,
"I only wish to keep you safe, but am I Day, the power in my name only holds power during the day, we are much too far away from your land to make it back before nightfall." She told him and sighed heavily.

"I do not like this." She told him, looking down at her hand in his. She did not want see the only mortals she'd come to meet, die the very same day. "I can show you the way, but the moment the moon rises, It is when we part, and you will be left alone." She said, sadly. "I have much to teach you before I live you." She said and remembered the pendant in her other hand. She held it by it's chain. "You both will need the luck in the night." She said taking his hand and dropping it into his palm. "Thank you for not dying, It would have saddened me greatly."

"What of you? If you take as far as youcan until nightfall, will you be safe in the night? It seems the Fae aren't any more united than we are. Are you sure there's none that would harm you when you are at your weakest? For helping us?" He asked and she smiled.

She could move fast enough, but she would be in danger, the UnSeelie would try to toy with her, and the last thing she wanted was to end up killing one of those creatures and angering the Night Queen during her hours. She should be fine if she avoided them, which should be easy enough, so long as she wasn't see with them. But it was his question that made her cock her head curiously. He was worried for her safety.

"You're not even supposed to be here, that much is clear." Anansi swallowed. He was right, was it that easy to discern or did he possess a magic? "If they knew you were helping two mortals, what would they do to you, Anansi? Lock you up? Harm you? Is there such a thing as treason in this world?"

Anansi looked at her feet. "Yes, there is....and no, you are right, most Fae, Seelie or Un, they respect my title, so they may play their tricks but dare not harm me, Unless I am seen with you, they would label Solitary, and I would no longer be under the protection of my mother, for which the Night Queen, would end my life." She said, told him plainly. "But I will be quick, I run, fast, faster than most fae, so I will be well after we part. It is you I worry for, you've such a long way, and you are not quick, you do not know this last, nor it's creatures and I will worry for you,." She said and then something occurred to her.

"I shall give you my name." She told him before looking over at the other mortal, pretending not to listen. "I shall give it to you, when we part, then should you need it, you may borrow my magic." She said. "Even outside of the Fae lands, then neither of us need worry." She said with a smile.

"Your name?" Roland asked, curiosity taking over again. His eyes spoke of confusion and interest. "I thought you already had. Do Fae have more than one name?"

Roland gazed at her, then his eyes widened as he realized what else she'd said. She said he could borrow her magic. He grew excited, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Borrow your magic? You mean, I could do things like you? Could I move as swiftly as you? Could I defeat Griffin..." His voice grew more serious at the end of that, then another thought occurred to him, quenching the fire that had suddenly risen in his chest. He was thinking of only himself. Borrow her magic, that meant it had to come from her. If he used it, what effect would it have on her? And to use such a gift for violence... He wanted to defeat Griffin. He had once wanted to face him in combat, but now that he'd slain his first man, his thirst for conflict had been somewhat dulled. He'd still fight for his beliefs and to free Westfall and the Fae from the tyranny of their King... But he no longer had a young man's bloodlust.

He briefly remembered the knight. His gauntleted hands pawing at him, as if begging him to save him from a death he knew was inevitable. He had been a fierce, intimidating sentinel just prior. He had fought back. Then Roland struck true and luckily, and he was reduced to a desperate and sad man, a faceless visage of despair in his final moments. Roland was glad he hadn't been able to see his face. He would have to kill more, he knew. Would he see their faces? Would those come back to taunt him in his dreams? He looked back at Anansi.

"If I were to borrow your magic, what would it do to you? I wouldn't have to have an ill effect upon you."

"Your name?" Roland asked. "I thought you already had. Do Fae have more than one name?" He asked and Anansi giggled. "Of course we do." She said. How strange, but then she realized, they know not the ways of the Fae.
"Borrow your magic? You mean, I could do things like you? Could I move as swiftly as you? Could I defeat Griffin..." He said and Anansi mused this. The mortal man was Sighted and while it was likely she could defeat him, but she couldn't say for certain.

"If I were to borrow your magic, what would it do to you? I wouldn't have to have an ill effect upon you."
Anansi merely shrugged. "Not an ill effect, I would feel as you do, any pain caused during that time, I will feel as well, but other then that, I will be well." She said. "I do not know if you could defeat this Griffin, the magic is temporary, and it can only be used once, and in the span of a quarter hour, after that my name will leave you, so use it wisely." She said. "Yes, you could do all that I can, weave webs, cast spells, and move fast as I." She said. "Shall I give it to you now,instead?" she mused. "The feel of my name might be odd on your tongue, it will take time to get used to, I realize." She said with a tap to her chin then something else occurred to her, and her expression fell. He would be gone soon, returned to his home, but she'd only just met him. She knew nothing but his name, and she wanted to learn more, once he used her name, she could have nothing left of him. "Well I ever see you again, I would like to." She said, as she looked at the smooth rock floor beneath her feet. She didn't know why she was acting this way, but for too long she'd wanted to meet this mortals, and prove them all wrong, and with him she could, aside from that. He was genuinely kind, and she knew she would like him, once she knew him better.