Chapter One: Alerie
A gentle breeze flowed through the trees, causing strands of hair to dance in front of my eyes. I breathed in, tucking the loose strands behind my ear. The morning weather had been a flurry of storms, but hours later, it was now the typical weather for Solaris, and for most of Lecia. Partly cloudy skies, with windows of open, sunny skies. The inconsistency with the weather meant that even in conditions that weren’t ideal, I was able to make the adjustments I needed to hit my target. The one skill that I was normally lacking in, and one that I had spent the entire morning focusing on. One that, to my standards, I needed at least another year on before I trusted it.
I exhaled slowly, stretching out my arms before I would have to pick up the bow and arrow once again. My vantage point was one that we had few of in Solaris, well, in most of Lecia. A tall oak tree, a species that had been lovingly called the sun oak, one of the few that adapted to the droughts and intense heat. Just like the Lecians had done decades ago.
It was a habit to not keep track of the time I spent waiting in silence. One that I wasn’t about to give up in the name of a simple training exercise, even if it was one of the first ones I was facing him as my opponent in. Eventually it paid off, the near-silent footsteps in the rocky patches of drying grass may as well have been equal to a war cry. The control of the weight distribution and the smoothness of the movements could only mean one thing; Casimir, my training partner, was approaching. My fingertips found one of the branches that extended from the limb I was crouched on, and I allowed the warmth radiating from my skin to pulsate through the old tree’s flesh. In return, the tree echoed his exact position as he stopped and studied the area around him.
Slowly, I lifted my bow into position. Each breath I forced was slow and controlled, enforcing the focus I held down the sight as I drew back an arrow. Casimir was around twenty yards away from me, give or take five for the height of the tree. He changed his position, crouching on the ground in an attempt to obscure himself in the sparse bushes that surrounded him. It was a game of patience, I had a feeling he could sense me, and if that were the case, firing the arrow then would have been detrimental. It would’ve given my location away, removing the advantage I had gotten over him after what was likely hours of waiting and silently tracking his movements.
Casimir twisted his shoulder outward while he reached through one of the bushes to push down the branches. The training marker placed on his chest glimmered in the sun that peered through the small grove we had claimed when we first arrived to the training grounds. A target that would signify a kill shot if he weren’t wearing a protective brace over his sun-bleached leather armor. A target that any new cadet, possibly even soldier, would dream of having access to. Casimir’s mistake of leaving it exposed would be his downfall for this session.
I couldn’t help but smile even as I took a deep breath to stabilize my arm. As I exhaled, I released the arrow, watching it fly through the air and make contact with the target over his heart. He swore, dropping his own bow in the dirt. The arrow I fired fell onto the ground in splinters from the impact as he fell back into a sitting position. Once he fell in defeat, I jumped down and walked up to him. I didn’t bother hiding the grin, even as I held out my hand to help him up. To my surprise, he sighed, then took it as he shook his head.
“You’re way too good at this for your own good, you know. I still do not understand why you’re still a cadet, if I was an enemy, I’d be dead right now, and you’d already be readying your next kill shot. I didn’t even hear you until that arrow was about to hit me,” he said, stretching his chest. “Remind me to never get on your bad side, I’ll be dead before I can even process where the arrow came from.”
My grin had faded to a half smile at the mention of my position, forcing me to ignore everything else he had said. “I’m glad someone believes that, now if only the Queen would. This is the sixteenth year she’s held off my graduation. You’d figure by now she would at least tell me why, instead of leaving me second guessing everything. Or even if I can expect to graduate at any point. I want to say I doubt she’s planning on making me a lifetime student, but it’s starting to seem like it.”
Casimir began straightening out his training tunic and patting off the dirt from his pants. “I think it’s more than not believing you’re ready. In fact, I think it’s much more than that. She operates in strange ways, it’s something we have both witnessed multiple times, especially with everything else happening in the court. She probably has a plan in mind and is conveniently not telling anyone of it. Knowing her, she always has tricks up her sleeves. Someday soon, she will likely tell you. Her plans are rarely kept quiet for more than a few decades, at least historically speaking. I doubt anything has changed recently though, at least nothing that would impact you.”
I sighed, wondering if it would ever reach the point that Mirel would tell me. I was thankful that Casimir was one of the few fae in Lecia that knew my story, that knew who I was. The adoptive daughter of Queen Mirel, something I would never publicly admit to unless it was necessary. Something that I avoided out of fear and for a reason I couldn’t place, embarrassment. The Queen had adopted me when I was found in the human realm during the war, the place where fae from all of the region took their young to protect them from the onslaught each battle brought.
Being the adoptive daughter of Mirel wasn’t the only aspect that set me apart from the Lecian fae either. I was only half-fae, an embarrassment in and of itself, something that I would hide whenever I could. Despite the human blood that flooded my veins, I carried many traits of the fae. My wings matured, illuminating shades of gold, pink, and green in the sun. My lifespan, of course, was in question. At forty-five years, I was consider mature, but had minimal signs of aging outside of my teenager years, just like my fae counterparts. While it wasn’t abnormal for a fae to grow at the same rate as a human physically, then age much more slowly once maturity was reached, the Lecian doctors were unable to determine if my lifespan was human, fae, or somewhere in between. The only true indicator that I wasn’t full-blood was my ears. Mine were short, still pointed at the tips, but nowhere near as much as Casimir’s or anyone else’s for that matter. It was a physical trait I struggled to hide.
Perhaps that was why the Queen hid me, keeping me busy during the last thirty-four years at the Lecia Military Acadmey. Despite my frustrations, I couldn’t say that I was entirely upset. Since my arrival in Solaris, the capital of Lecia, I had shown interest in training, and especially archery. It was enough that the Queen allowed me to enroll within a few years of my arrival, and it was where I remained. The aspect that ate away at me was the fact that every fae I had begun my training with had graduated, including Casimir, who was now the primary instructor for hand-to-hand combat training and long-distance weapons. Someone I considered myself lucky to have met with and was assigned to in order to continue my training.
“Just be glad she isn’t forcing you to sit in with the lectures and has you focusing on combat training,” he shrugged. “Not a bad gig if you ask me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I simply would not show up if she did.”
The lecture portion of the academy was for the first four years, specialized from the general education Lecian fae had. I had spent twelve years repeating the lectures, scoring perfectly on each exam. I mouthed the words as the lecturers spoke, and I could recite them all to this day. The lectures never changed, but that was expected as nothing had happened near the walls of Lecia since the end of the war, minus the ongoing routine patrols.
Forcing the thoughts out of my mind to prevent myself from being irritated, I began pulling on the hair tie holding my hair up out of my face. I was thankful for the sudden release of tension on my scalp. Casimir started walking back towards the internal wall of Lecia, and I followed, braiding my hair into my usual side braid. It was one of the more tolerable hairstyles for the Lecian females, once their hair was long enough for it, according to Queen Mirel. Once I noticed Casimir was well ahead of me, I ran to catch up, battling the loose curls of my hair as I did.
The walk back to the wall felt shorter than usual. Casimir signaled the guards to open the gate for us to enter Solaris as soon as they had become visible from the tree line. When we had left in the morning, the street were still quiet. Families were just starting to rise to prepare for the day, bathing and preparing meals. Walking through the gates now, the streets were bustling and few fae paid much attention to either of us. The few that did saw our training uniforms and weapons, then turned away without much thought. Even just twenty years ago, any fae returning from beyond the internal wall would be crowded and questioned about the world outside.
Increasing my pace to match Casimir’s, I finally willed myself to start relaxing. He started re-telling the stories he had heard from the tavern, all from guards and soldiers that had studied and trained with the both of us in the academy. Each new story like a dagger digging into my chest, each one widening a crack in my confidence surrounding my abilities. Moments of weakness in me were rare, it something that was trained out of us for the most part, but when they did occur, it haunted me for hours. At some point, I shut Casimir’s voice out entirely, allowing myself to drown in my thoughts. My boots hitting the smooth desert stone tiles that paved the entrance to the gardens of the Lecian Manor nearly tripped me.
Casimir’s pace slowed as it usually did once we got closed to the manor. It was only a recent development that he was allowed to enter without an escort. Like me, he was not of noble birth. He had spent his entire fifty-two years of life working himself up the rankings, from a small cottage outside of Solaris that he shared with his family, to a townhome in the city center with access to the manor. I took the lead, knowing Casimir’s discomfort as it was one I had shared during my first few years of living within the walls. For fae that weren’t of noble birth, or grew up within the walls of the manor, it was overwhelming. The manor was the largest in the land, a near suitable replacement for a palace, it was without a doubt equal to one if size was removed from the equation.
However, over the years, the manor had lost its charm in my eyes. As a child, I would spend hours staring at the gilded walls of art, the stained-glass windows, and the extravagant sunmarble stairs with their ribbons of gold glimmering in the light every time I walked past it. While the manor was massive, I had been limited to the library, sitting room, dining room, my own living quarters, and occasionally, when needed, Queen Mirel’s study. Even decades later, there were still rooms left unseen by my eyes. If anything made me more curious, it was trying to piece together what was hidden in those rooms. It was something that had become a game for me, and during my off days, I would try to steal glances as the servants opened the doors for the rooms’ daily cleanings.
Casimir followed me into the foyer before pausing as I began stepping onto the staircase. I glanced back, part of me on the verge of telling him to follow me. After all, I was certain he had never been up the main staircase, anything to push him further into the manor. It was something I found myself yearning for, to have a friend visit me within the walls. Something that Casimir never once took a chance on before he was allowed into the manor decades ago, and even now, he was hesitant.
“I should get going. The Queen and Isabelle should be returning soon. I don’t have any reports to do for the day, so I should go. Ensure you get some rest tonight, Alerie.” He turned to walk away as he said my name, ending the conversation.
I sighed once one of the guards opened the door for him, and he disappeared into the courtyard and surrounding garden. I turned and continued to climb the staircase, wishing the grandeur nature of the manor would fade from existence and allow me to have a friend outside of Isabelle within the walls.
Once I made it to my living quarters, a set of rooms conveniently placed in the furthest corner of the manor, I took a deep breath, allowing myself to fully relax. My living quarters were removed far enough from the entrance that the average visitor would never notice it or assume its existence, which meant that when I wanted to be alone, I would be. My room had been tidied while I had been away, my night clothes laid out on my bed, and feeling the temperature of the comforter, I realized I had only just missed the servants by minutes. With another sigh, I picked up the clothing and stepped into the bathroom.
Once I poured one of the many herbal bathing mixtures that lined my shelves into the porcelain clawfoot bathtub, I pulled off the bindings that helped keep my wings down during training, and stretched them out. Peeling off the rest of the training attire, my wings lifted me, carrying me to the water. The warmth of the water caressed my skin, and I allowed myself to slip under the water.
My thoughts immediately went back to Casimir’s comments about the Queen’s plans for me, if they even existed. Casimir and I shared the same disappointment at each graduation hearing that we attended together, ones that we regretted once we heard the dreaded message that I was once again being denied. The disappointment was far from just being shared between the two of us, many of the board members seemed just as confused about it as we were.
Even after the last hearing, Isabelle voiced her dismay over the denial, which caused a scene in the foyer with the Queen. The number of people that were clearly becoming more disgruntled with the continued denials only increased my suspicions, and by proxy, Casimir’s as well. I was top of the class, and I had been since the first graduation cycle I had applied for.
Pushing the thoughts out of my mind, hopefully for the last time for the night, I stared up at the ceiling, studying the vines and flowers that I had painted years ago. Swirled vines, wrapping around a large golden sun I had felt a calling to paint, much like the floral patterns that lined the edges of the dome above me, and the ones that were painted on the dresser, desk, and wardrobe.
By the time I willed myself out of the bathtub and dressed in the evening clothes left out on my bed earlier, dinner and tea had been delivered. An indicator that Mirel and Isabelle hadn’t returned yet. I moved the golden platter to my desk and sat down, picking at the roll, roasted chicken, and leek soup. My appetite had faded despite not eating for the majority of the day, and every bite was forced. Food in Lecia was becoming increasingly bland, a sign that I didn’t want to consider the source of. However, I needed the energy to keep training, to keep trying to prove myself to be worthy of graduating. What I was lacking in wasn’t something I was aware of, but it was a problem for another day.
Once I finished eating what I could will myself to swallow, I set the dishes on the small table near the door and found myself at the small bench under my window that overlooked Solaris. The remaining shops’ light illuminated the outline of the buildings against the dimming sky. I took comfort in the stars that sprouted in the sky as the sun continued setting, the shift between the pinks and oranges of the sunset to the purples and blues of the night sky had always been a comfort.
I sat in silence, sipping on the tea, something I was pleasantly surprised by the flavors of. Honey, vanilla, desert rose, and wild lemongrass, a new mixture. Something that only emerged when tea trades were low from the mainland. In the distance, a lively conversation emerged in the windows, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Casimir was involved in the joyful, drunken shouting and occasional song. It seemed so trivial in the grand scheme of Lecia as a whole, but I longed to join my fellow cadets and soldiers in the taverns. However, it was something Mirel would never allow.
Even if my relationship to the Queen wasn’t public knowledge, she wouldn’t allow me to risk becoming associated with tavern-goers on the off chance that my status as one of the royal daughters became known. It was these nights that encouraged me to question where I wanted to be, where I belonged, and if staying in the manor was something that truly benefitted me in the future. However, running away could be seen as treason, and the last thing I needed was to be charged and tried as a criminal while I worked my way up the branches of the Lecian Military.
In the silence of the manor, I could hear the servants suddenly start rushing about, something followed by the echo of the main door shutting for the evening. A few minutes later, I heard Isabelle’s voice in the hall, talking to the servants that have been designated to her. She was likely telling them the stories of the cities in the East before her mother, our mother, commanded her return to her living quarters. Stories that I would hear in the morning, between meetings and training sessions.
Once I finished my tea, I set the cup down with the rest of the dishes before crawling into bed to stare at the night sky until I eventually fell asleep.
