Chapter 4: Chance Encounters

I held my arms out and braced for impact. The Earth rushed up to meet me, and I slammed into the ground. I rolled and rested on my back, dazed. I reached a hand up before me and stared at the vine-like tattoos that ran along my arms, I spread my fingers before me to make sure they were solid. I heard my mother and Alan land behind me, much more gracefully.

As I stared at the vast valley of tall green grass, my jaw dropped in wonder. Tall oak trees and willow trees and trees of all kinds lined the edges of the valley, with greenery and vines wrapped around them. In the distance of the field I could see the shape of what looked like a small city. The large domed buildings rose in the horizon.

"Welcome to Faery, Wren." My mother called, and I could see she was smiling. She spread her arms and tilted her head up to the sun, breathing in a deep sigh. The land was warm, the greenery seemed to whisper to me, calling me home to rest in it.

Welcome home, Aedihrn.

I ran my fingers through a few blades of grass and felt a tingle. I never thought of how my mother must have missed her homeland. To be in the human world for over twenty years, cut off from everything and everyone she knew. She was in full Fae form now, her long unbound hair fluttering in the wind, her hands tipped in sharp claw like nails, she had vine tattoos around her eyes. She looked free.

"I can't believe how long it's been" Alan grumbled from beside her, placing a hand on her waist. His dark locks blew about his face in the breeze, his tribal tattoos danced on his uncovered arms. He stroked his stubble with one hand and walked over to offer me his arm. I took it and accepted his help standing.

I walked forward and took my moms hand, she looked at me and smiled, squeezing my grip. Something about this land felt like home. I was finally home.

We approached a large set of wrought Iron gates, almost as tall as a building. The wrought iron was intricately woven, with roses emerging from various places on the gate walls. Ivy wound its way up the bars. I smiled and caressed a rose. Beauty shines even in the darkness.

Guards patrolled the gates and stood before them. I placed my bag over my shoulder and attempted to straighten the emerald green satin dress my mother insist I wear. I would never get used to formal clothing. Crowds of Fae creatures mulled around the gates, as my mother explained everyone would be coming to the capital for the gathering. They were expecting high volumes of guests. Beyond the gates I could see large domed buildings, tremendously tall. It was a large expanse, approximately the size of a university campus.

"Name and business." A gruff guard barked. I snapped to attention, smiling at the man and giving a small wave.

"Wren Ryder, I'm here for the Gathering. It's my first year." I said meekly. He grunted and nodded.

"Sorting year, eh? Best of luck to you. As its your first year, your parents will have to go in and register you, you'll have to wait here until they obtain you an ID." He nodded to my "parents" and motioned for them to move forward. They smiled back at me and gestured that they would be right back. I nodded and moved to the side, to admire the gardens of beautiful flowers. Lilies, chrysanthemums, peonies all bunched together in various herds.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" A deep honeyed voice came from next to me. I looked up to drop my jaw slightly, the man – fae – was breathtaking. He was well over six feet, thoroughly muscled with a thick chest and biceps. His ebony hair fell in waves from his face, revealing bright yellow cats' eyes. He smiled and I swear I saw the glint of fangs. In his hand he held out a small purple peony to me. When I realized I had been staring, I reached out and took it. I smiled at him.

"It is breathtaking. I have never seen such a beautiful place." I sighed in wonder and gestured all around us. "I'm not used to the grandeur." The man laughed softly.

"Your first time here? From your lack of entourage, I assume you aren't royal." The way he said the word "royal" was like it made a bad taste in his mouth. I smiled softly and went with our cover story.

"No, just nobility. My mother was a royal guard." I said. His eyebrows rose. My mother's status as a royal guard would give us high ranking nobility status, just below royalty. We would be staying in the noble housing and likely have a suite of rooms to ourselves. Of course, he couldn't know my real status.

"Good. Nice to have an innocent face around here. Aren't you a little old to have not been sorted?" He questioned. I punched him on the arm lightly

"Hey, watch who you are calling old! I was raised in the human realm. This is my first time to Faery, so I haven't been sorted yet." I answered. He rubbed his arm jokingly as if it hurt. Then he held out his hand.

"I'm Kellan." He smiled, and his dimples were dazzling. I tried not to blush and shook his hand; he gripped it and lifted my hand to his lips. Now I blushed.

"Wren." I stuttered. He laughed softly and kissed my hand again.

"I'll see you around the Gathering, and the Sorting." He smiled and walked away. A throat cleared behind me and I spun around to face Mom and Alan. Mom stood with a brow raised. Alan smirked, and looked as if he was containing laughter.

"Wren! You don't need to be attracting attention to yourself." She scolded. I sighed and held up my hands in surrender.

"He approached me. He was just being friendly, that's all." She nodded and grabbed my hand and placed an ID card in it. It had my picture, name and date of birth. Access level – noble, the card read.

"This will give you access to the different events and public buildings. Certain buildings such as the archives and the palace grounds are only accessible to Royalty. So, stay out of those areas. Let's head to the rooms, Hawke and I will have a suite down the hall from you. They insisted that a new presentation be roomed by themselves." She snorted as if it was ridiculous.

I passed with them through the gates on to the grounds, and we set off down a street of buildings that seemed to be apartments. We entered a grand marble building, there was a large fountain in the lobby, and the décor was gaudy with velvet drapes and gilded furniture. We went up the elevator and finally we made it to a set of double doors. I put my key in the lock and turned, to enter the grandest apartment I had ever seen in my life.