Private Tales The Ways of Magic

[Raea Stormcrow]

It felt like a cage.

It was a gilded cage, to be sure - filled with delightful food and a soft bed, with beautiful people coming and going.

Even if their eyes traced her from head to toe with a frown and unveiled disdain. Her captors - her saviors - insisted that she was other than what she appeared. They claimed her to be a faerie. Immortal, eternal, powerful, terrible - all of these things were words she would use to describe the creature they said they were and claimed she was. None of them could be applied to her, not when she remained pale and sickly.

She sat at a table with Elasha sitting at one end of the table and Thallan at the other. Her eyes flitted across the elegant shape of Thallan's mother, lingering on the arched ears that Thallan shared. She glanced at Thallan as well. She couldn't stand the arrogant bastard, even if he was well made and far too pretty for his own good. She could see some of the elegance of his mother in his face. Whoever his father had been had to have been carved from stone if his son was anything to judge by.

She was not the only guest this evening, merely the only one that had the appearance of humanity. The unconscious grace and power of the other two guests were impossible to miss. The male - she hadn't bothered to learn either name - wore an elaborately embroidered vest over a pearl shirt, sleeves likewise embroidered. His dark eyes regarded her darkly, lip curled up in distaste. The female sitting at his side eyed her too, although her eyes danced with amusement. She was achingly beautiful and made Raea feel less just by her presence.

How could she compare with a cream-skinned beauty like that? Her own dress was drab by comparison; the pale blue with silver embroidery could hardly compare to the sensuous clinging red the fae Lady wore. It accentuated everything that Raea herself didn't have.

"You must do quite well for yourself, Lord Thallan," the male said in a smooth baritone. He eyed Raea quickly before returning his gaze back to the head of the household. He lifted a glass of ruby red wine to his lips and smiled. "You can afford to let that share a table with your family," he said and then sipped his wine. The insult stung more for the casual manner of its delivery. You couldn't be ill mannered to someone or something that was so far beneath you as to barely warrant breathing the same air.

The female at his side tittered, a tinkling laugh that Raea did not share. She remained silent, though; Thallan had wanted her to come to this cursed meal. She still did not understand why. He might think her fae, but the two at this table did not seem to agree with either Thallan or his mother. She gritted her teeth at the continued glances from either of the fae guests. If only dinner could be served so she could politely eat her fill and then retire to anywhere but here.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan sat at one end of the table and his mother at the other. They were eating at the smaller table, considering their small group. Raea sat to one side of him and the Lady Shae to the other side and across from Raea. Shae's father, the Lord Shalyr, sat beside his daughter. As he addressed Thallan, he wore a pompous and self important look on his face. He seemed disgusted that anyone such as Raea could be Fae. Thallan knew the Fae male smelled it on her, even if he would never admit to it.

"I assure you, it is of no cost," Thallan drawled back, drinking some of his own wine. Lord Shalyr reminded Thallan of his father a bit too much and Thallan hoped for Shalyr's sake that the visiting lord would not push his buttons. It certainly hadn't ended well for his father all those years ago.

The servants entered the dining room, bearing platters of food. They were served and for a moment the table was silent.

"Lady Shae, it has been too long since your beauty graced this table," Thallan was the first to speak. She was indeed beautiful, but she was also without a husband or a mate. He was certain she had had her fair share of men, but she had yet to settled down with any of them. He was also certain Shalyr was trying to sell his only daughter off to the highest (and handsomest) bidder, and Elasha just wanted Thallan to marry and start a family of his own. She had spoken recently of what abounding loneliness he suffered but it was a bunch of nonsense.

Raea Stormcrow

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

"I suppose you know best," the Lord said. The words sounded polite but there was an edge of disgust underneath it. The cut of his eyes towards Thallan's guest was enough to confirm that particular detail. As far as he was concerned, Raea was there as either decoration or entertainment. When compared to his own daughter, it proved to be very poor decoration indeed.

Raea served herself, but very little. Even once done only picked at it. The fare was richer than she was accustomed too but she had little appetite.

"You are too kind, Lord Malwyrth," Shae replied, peering at him through long lashes. There was a coquettish air about her person, something long tailored and cultivated and well known among the Court. "Since your father passed, we thought it only proper to wait for an invitation to come back to the estate," she added.

The lilt of the woman's voice made Raea sick to her stomach. There was something there that flowed beneath the surface in very much the same manner as a sewer flowing beneath a street. Pleasant on the exterior, rotten to the core. She had met so very many people like that over the years.

"I am of course delighted that you would invite me into your home once more," she said. She smiled at Thallan. And ignored Raea more than her father did.

 

[Thallan]

Thallan did not miss the look of disgust in the Lord's expression, or the way Raea only picked at the food in front of her. This 'dinner' felt quite off, if he did say so himself-even Shae's words felt empty and meaningless, despite the lilt to her tone trying to convince him otherwise.

At the mention of his father, Thallan's only reaction was to put a mournful face on. Any negative feelings he harbored towards his dead father he kept safely bottled up. "It was quite tragic," he replied. It wasn't tragic that his father had died, rather tragic that it had taken him so long to handle the now-dead Lord's atrocities. "I hear they still haven't caught who killed him," He added. And indeed they hadn't. Thallan was still blameless and guilt free.

Shae went on, continuing to flatter him. Once she'd finished, Thallan nodded her way before eating and drinking some more. The table fell into a bit of silence and Thallan was overcome with the strong urge to bring Raea into the conversation. Then he also thought it would definitely be amusing to bring up marriage, call out Lord Shalyr for trying to sell of his daughter. Even better- he could discuss the matter as if discussing a transaction, something he knew would piss of Shae.

Thallan's eyes darted between Shae and Raea as he considered which route of destruction to take.

Raea Stormcrow

 

[Raea Stormcrow]

Her words made her lips turn down further, and she felt an overpowering wave of nausea wash over her. Shae was a sycophant at best and she did not even want to consider what the delicate looking Fae creature was at worst.

She continued to play with her food, not eating.

"I am sure the Queen's justice will still be kept," Shae said with a light laugh. "Worry not, my Lord. None can hide from Her Radiance."

Raea couldn't contain a disdainful snort. Both of the Fae guests looked at her with disgust. She stared back at them defiantly and they sneered at her with an equal measure of disdain. "Your queen hasn't found them yet," she challenged. Lady Shae sniffed but said nothing.

"You might be Lord Thallan's guest," Shalyr said to her in a voice that was winter itself, "but you should know your place. Duannan blood mingling in your veins is not being high Fae. There are rules." He looked to Thallan with a scowl. "And common decency. Surely you have explained this to your ... pet?"

Shae laughed cruelly. Raea's knuckles turned white round her fork.