Queen of the Fae

I was well aware that I would need every little bit of help — that's why I wanted to talk to Zack as soon as possible. I knew for a fact from the last visit that the fae doctor reserved the top floor for monsters only. After I had successfully sneaked in — because the visiting time had already passed — I headed straight for it. Who would have thought that we would meet on the stairs?

"Shaytan?" he was shocked. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Ah, Doc, I was just looking for you!" I started. "Do you know where I can find Zack?"

"Why are you looking for him?" he asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"I need his help," I said urgently. "Where can I find him?"

"I don't think he would help you..."

"I know, I know, he's not exactly a helpful fairy godmother, I already realized that," I grumbled. "But he agreed to at least meet. So?"

"All right, all right! He is in my office," he admitted.

I raised one eyebrow.

"You know, Zack isn't just obsessed with physical combat," he continued. "Sometimes he comes to me and tries to get me to play chess with him."

"Chess?" I was shocked. "Do fae play chess?"

"Not the fae, but Zack," he corrected.

"I understand," I nodded.

"If you'd like, I can arrange a match for you," he offered. "Can you play chess?"

"I've never tried it."

"Well, maybe I'll teach you one day," he smiled and started to show the way.

We ended up in a tidy office, namely Dr. Szabolcs Szedresi's office.

"Szasza, are you finally done?" I heard the familiar voice, which definitely belonged to Zack.

The fae was sitting in the cushioned chair, his legs resting listlessly on the table, on which there were neatly arranged documents, pens, and a monitor. His expression was as bored as if he had been waiting for the doctor for a thousand years.

"Oh," his eyes widened, and at the same time his mouth stretched into a huge grin. "Shaytan! You're early!"

The fae appeared in front of me in the blink of an eye.

"So did you consider my idea to fight to death?" he grinned. "It would be fun, believe me, you wouldn't regret it!"

"Er," I groaned. "No, but I'm here to talk about fighting."

"Then maybe you want to play chess with me? Not a bad idea," he mused. "Almost as good as fighting to the death."

"No, I can't play chess," I stated. "But if you'd like, I'll explain why I came."

Zack looked a little disappointed. "Just talking about fighting is boring... you can best talk with your fists."

He sighed.

"OK, I will listen while I'm playing," he suggested. "First of all, I want to play. Right now."

The doctor took out the chess board from the hiding place of his desk, and even though it was his office, he still took one of the chairs intended for guests instead of the cushioned one — because Zack was sitting there.

I shouldn't have been surprised by this, since the boy was still something of a prince among the fae, and the one sitting across from him was a half-blood on top of that — they couldn't even be compared to each other in rank.

After the first four quick steps, Zack's eyes finally found me — until then I didn't dare to disturb him, there was such tension on his face, so I took the other chair instead and just watched.

"So, what kind of fight is it?" asked.

"I'm going to start a war," as I said it, the boy's hand, which was holding a white chess piece, trembled. His typical smile flashed on his lips, which hinted at danger.

"War?" he repeated wistfully.

"Have you heard of the Fifth?" I asked.

"Oh!" he grinned, "A war against your own father? What a badass you are!"

I pretended I hadn't heard his comment.

"He gathered a huge army," I continued. "I'd need something similar."

"And how do I come into the picture?"

"I want to talk to Titania," I answered.

Zack laughed, but there was no joy in his laugh, only madness.

"Talk to my sister?" he chuckled. "Are you hoping that she will help you?"

"Yep," I nodded.

He chuckled to himself for a while before answering.

"All right."

"When can I meet her?" I asked.

"ASAP?" he shook his head. "This issue seems to be important..."

"Yes, it's urgent," I agreed.

He started humming instead of answering, presumably just to annoy me.

"Okay, then I can arrange for her to receive you at dawn," he said. "Of course, only after I'd play for my heart's content."

"And how long will it take for you to be satisfied?" I questioned.

"How long?" he said absentmindedly. "I can't know."

I stood up, the chair creaked from the sudden movement.

"Oh, aren't you a bit irritated?" he hummed.

"Not particularly," I answered calmly. "I'll be back in two hours, ready to go.

"Okay," he waved. "Bye-bye."

(...)

By the time I got back, Des was done with the letters and calling the family. Alex, well, just as I planned, he was nowhere to be found — according to my calculations, no matter his super-sensitive nose, it might take until morning for him to find Rolo.

"Well, what are you planning for tonight, my dear little brother?" asked my brother.

"Better sit down!" I suggested.

He took a seat on the counter, so I assumed that the moment had arrived to begin the story.

"So, don't get too shocked but..." I said. "I am more or less related to Titania."

"What?" Des blurted out in shock.

"You mean with the Moon Queen Titania?" he asked back.

"Yes," I nodded.

"And I didn't know about this until now?!" Des asked it grumpily.

"I found out not long ago either."

"How is this possible?" Des questioned me.

"Well, it turned out that Alistair is his brother, so we are related," I explained.

"Who is Alistair?" he asked.

I almost forgot how well I keep my secrets.

"I think he was my grandfather," I replied.

It was so strange to say it, I couldn't look at it like that at all. Grandfathers reminded me of old men with hearing aids and walking sticks, and Alistair looked like he was in his thirties...

"So, he's been watching me since I was little, and you remember he was the one who healed you."

Recognition flashed in my brother's eyes.

"Oh, that mysterious rescue guy," he slapped his palm on his knee.

"Why did you mention Titania suddenly?" he then asked.

"We are going to visit him tonight," I declared. "I know his younger brother and he said he would bring me to her. I was thinking about trying to get her to help us."

"What makes you think she will help?" asked Des. "She doesn't even know you!"

"Fighting is what fae love the most," I answered. "I'm sure she'll help."

"What's the plan?"

"I go and negotiate, and you follow and cover me. We have to be very, very convincing," I outlined. "Even if I get in, I'm not sure I could get out on my own."

"Isn't that a tiny bit dangerous?" he frowned. "You are about to enter the lion's den."

"That's why I asked you to cover me," I answered.

Finally, he just nodded, then started digging in his pockets and pushed a button-sized tracker into my hand.

(...)

About an hour later, I stood again in front of the office of Dr. Szabolcs Szedresi. I knocked politely and opened the door. Although the game was not over yet — or have they started a new one? — only a few pieces stood on the board. Zack's face showed how focused he was, but the doc looked completely calm. After barely a minute, he gave the fae prince check and then checkmate.

"Next time I'll win," Zack snorted offended.

"I'm looking forward to it," smiled the doctor.

The fae sighed deeply and then looked at me bored.

"Let's go," he moaned and motioned to the doctor. "See ya later, Szasza..."

The doctor, who was always nice, now shot a sharp look at the fae, which he didn't notice — or he was just completely used to it.

"How fast can you run long distances?" Zack asked as we stumbled down the stairs.

"I don't know, I think quite quickly," I answered.

"Let's say three hundred and fifty kilometers per hour?"

I laughed, but he didn't mean it as a joke.

"Well, not so fast," I said, and he sighed worriedly.

"I'd have been funny to see how long you can last next to my motorcycle..."

Well, It'd be funny to see how long he could last in our family's torture chamber, but I didn't mention that. Not yet.

In the parking lot of the hospital, that particular motorcycle was indeed there: a beautiful, black Kawasaki.

"I thought you hate human stuff..." I remarked.

"I love speed, so it's fine," he shrugged.

He hopped on the bike, kickstarted it, and then raised an eyebrow. "If you don't hurry, I'll leave you here."

Seriously, I didn't want to die so early — and if you get behind a crazy fae on a motorcycle, there's a good chance of that happening. Especially if you don't even have a protective helmet. I finally sat behind him, I had no choice. Zack was my only chance to meet Titania.

At the next moment, I realized that it was highly recommended to hold on very tightly if I didn't want to fall off the bike halfway. I only glanced at the speedometer once, which was at two hundred and fifty at the time, and we were on a winding road in the forest, which was not very reassuring at the time.

So I closed my eyes and begged the gods not to take my soul. Then, after about an hour of crazy racing, I started to breathe normally, and the headwind didn't want to scratch out my eyes at all costs, so I noticed that we were slowing down. The warmth and life escaped from my hands, and I felt numb like never before.

In contrast, when we stopped, Zack energetically jumped off the bike and after a little stretch, he purred with satisfaction.

"There's nothing better than a short ride," he purred as he was stroking affectionately the black beast.

I looked around, we stopped on a dirt road in a forest.

"Where are we?" I questioned the fae.

"Agria, in the middle of our queen's territory," he answered.

We must have gone even faster than I thought if we reached Eger in an hour... or maybe it was because of the path? The fae use magic pathways to get from one place to another in a short amount of time.

"From here on, we'll continue on foot," he declared, and then Zack started trotting towards the forest. He was humming like he was in an especially good mood.

"Are you just going to leave it here?" I asked, poking towards his bike.

"No one walks around here," he shrugged. "None will steal it."

I followed him into the dark forest, where after about ten minutes of walking the trees began to thin out and we arrived at a mansion. A real mansion, with huge windows, towers reaching for the sky, and green copper tiles. I stared open-mouthed at the monstrous building, which towered in front of me commanding authority.

"Good stuff, isn't it?" he asked it, and I nodded.

The ebony double doors opened in front of us by themselves and let us in. The lobby was also huge, with a flight of stairs covered with crimson carpet on both sides leading to the first floor. Polished marble and garnet draperies everywhere. When I saw the crystal chandelier, I couldn't hold back an appreciative grunt.

However, I couldn't enjoy the sightseeing too much, Zack almost immediately started up one of the stairs and then led me into a maze of corridors. The railing was also made of marble, and the end was closed by a large candlestick with twelve branches, at the base of which an eagle spread its wings and opened its beak — all of course made of gold.

The mansion was characterized by gold decorations, expensive paintings on the wall, antique vases with dark blue roses, and ostentatious porcelain. On the way, I also met several armored fae on patrol or just standing guard, who didn't take kindly to my presence, but since I was walking behind Zack, they let me live.

Finally, we arrived at a hall, which I thought was the reception hall, because there sat a fae woman on her large throne. Her features looked terribly like Alistair's. Her irises, as if they were vibrating twin moons, glared with a majestic, silver-blue sternness and distaste.

Her forehead was adorned with some kind of metal band, inlaid with crystal, and her silvery hair, in which I discovered some braids, was held up with jewels. She wore a long, dark blue cloak and flowing silks that accentuated her curves perfectly. The queen of the fae, she was truly an ice-cold, yet breathtaking creature.

"Sewre in des ksag adra, Zacharias?" Titania spoke in the hissing language of fae.

Her voice was like melted caramel, even though I could sense the obvious threat in it. Well, she was clearly not happy to see me.

"Kirio da des insad sol... Qe talimor," answered Zack.

Curiosity glinted in the queen's eyes.

"Segera des, wa setem re!" she finally said.

Zack motioned with his head towards the platform and whispered to me to behave and not anger their queen, but I don't know exactly, I didn't pay too much attention. Finally, I walked over and got down on one knee.

"Asar muroe, Mone Faeline, irie seren ksag adra," I said, while watching Titania's face flash a look of surprise.

After all, she couldn't have known that I knew the language of the fae — Alistair taught me when I was still a child. He said I might need it. He probably knew this day would come.

"Sarel korosol?" she asked in disbelief about my black hair.

"Ksaner," I answered quietly.

For some reason, I had a feeling this would be it. At that one word, the queen's face was filled with disgust that simply cannot be described in words. Well, as I said before, it sucks to be a mixed-blood.

"Kiros des!" she gave the order to Zack.

When the boy's lips curved into a mixture of a terribly satisfied and a very twisted smile, I thought that it wasn't such a good idea to come here after all.

"I propose an alliance," I stated.

The moon-eyed fae queen laughed and waved off her younger brother, who was already quite fired up. Zack stopped with a disappointed look on his face.

"Really?" Titania asked, now in the language of humans. "And what could someone like you offer me?"

"I know you want the death of the half-blood," I grinned. "It's a pity that you haven't been able to find him yet. Maybe I could help with that."

The queen of the moon folk grimaced as if biting into a lemon. Zack himself blinked in shock. Surely not many dare to openly insult Titania.

The fae rose from her throne, her movements clearly menacing. She gracefully extended her hand to the side, and the jewel that covered most of her forearm came to life and crawled into her palm.

That was the first time in my life that I saw the Fae Queen's legendary weapon, the steel whip, whose power even the other kings feared. Titania pulled her lips into a condescending half-smile, seeing that instead of running away, I just sized up her weapon with icy calmness.

She unleashed her presence in an instant. Zack growled next to me and his whole body shuddered. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that even if he tried his best to stay on his feet, he couldn't do anything against the presence of a ruler.

"On your knees!" Titania snapped.

Zack immediately fell to his knees, helplessly. And Titania's eyes widened in a way not befitting a queen at all. Now it was my turn to pull my lips into a half-smile.

"I'm going to wage war against Alistair's son," I declared. "I know that he's your family's disgrace anyway, so you could really help me."

Titania straightened her features, but she was unable to completely hide the sparks of curiosity from her eyes.

"I will attack in three days, I will send information to Zack," I continued. "Then it is up to you whether you take advantage of the opportunity or not."

"Do you want to defeat him alone?" the queen grinned smugly, fully aware of her power and my position. "Are you bored with your life?"

"I'm alone now," I said calmly. "In a few days, I'll have an army."

Titania giggled loudly — ​​a similar crazed laugh to her younger brother's that made the hairs on my back stand up.

"Fres!" she shouted.

The next moment, the door opened, but it was not the guards, but Des.

"Hi!" he casually waved at the queen. "I came for my younger brother."

The fae queen called out for guards again, which again proved unnecessary as there was no response — Des had probably taken care of them and I only hoped that it was temporary and not forever.

"In three days," I repeated and started towards the hunter with slow steps.

However, before we left the hall, Titania spoke again.

"Who are you?"

Her voice was soft, yet it echoed harshly in the silence of the room. I looked back at the queen and smiled a little.

"As I already said," I answered then recalled her words, "I'm just a scum."

We left the room after that.

"How did the negotiation go?" asked my brother.

 "Maybe she'll come."

"Maybe?" he frowned.

"Don't look at me like that!" I said. "You never know for sure with the fae. They're all crazy."

"And how did you get here?" I asked. "When we got on the path, I was seriously worried that I would be alone..."

"How could I have left alone my dear, sweet, only..."

"To the point!" I asked.

"I stole a car," he shrugged a little offended. "And I may have mapped out one of the fae's paths with your GPS data."

"I didn't even know you could steal a car," I was surprised by this information let alone the fact that he was able to set foot on the path of fae.

"Well, it comes with the profession," another shrug.

I didn't question the situation of the guards anymore, because, around the next corridor, I saw some of them lying unconscious against the wall. In any case, they seemed to be alive, because they occasionally moaned, so I wasn't worried.

Now that we finished business here, the rest of the plan follows. I was determined to free the girls and save Alice no matter what.

Titania gripped the armrests of the throne.

"Doesn't he remind you of someone?" Zack asked her. "There was only one person who dared to talk to you like that after you became queen."

"Shut up, kid," growled the ruler of the fae.

She looked at the door with such an angry look, as if that piece of wood was to blame for all her pain. Titania instructed her younger brother that if he was so bored, he should see what happened to the unlucky bastards called his bodyguards, and then if they didn't have a good enough excuse, even give them a good whipping or something — she left that to her younger brother's imagination. Fae had really vivid imagination when it came to torturing others. With a satisfied smile, Zack hummed his way out of the room to take care of his business and collect the fae lying unconscious in the corridors.

"His nature is just as hideous..." the fae queen grumbled under her breath, walking around her throne and pulling the red blackout curtain away from the floor-to-ceiling windows.

During the day, the panorama must have been magnificent, although it was a little lacking in the darkness of the night.