Chapter 1: House Party
It took me a few minutes to admit I was awake. I thought of rolling over and going back to sleep, but something was off. I couldn’t quite place it.
I opened my eyes, expecting to see the wall of my room. Instead, I saw heavy velvet curtains.
"Where am I?" I asked, sitting up.
The bed I was in made mine look like a cot in comparison. As the blanket dropped into my lap, I looked down and was even more surprised to see I was wearing some kind of loose-fitting robe.
That I was wearing anything at all was strange. I hated the heat in Phoenix, and even with the air conditioning unit in my window going, wearing anything more than a sheet made me too hot to sleep well.
“What? Who dressed me?” I asked, not expecting any answer. “Wait, who undressed me?”
I threw the blanket off. Blanket? It wasn’t exactly cold in the room, but it was nowhere near as hot as it had been when I woke up yesterday. The room looked massive. It was lit by light coming in around the curtains on one wall, and by the glowing embers of a fireplace that was nearly big enough for me to walk into.
Everything seemed old-fashioned, like something from a Victorian movie—thick velvet curtains, solid furniture, and stone floors.
Was I in a castle?
I nearly jumped when there was a knock at the door. Before I could say anything, the door opened.
“Ah, my lady is awake, very good.” A woman said as she entered the room carrying a covered silver platter.
“Where am I?” I asked at once.
“Why, you are in the guest chambers of Lady Lysandra’s estate.” She replied as she set the platter down on the table near the fireplace.
My stomach growled when she uncovered it. It had a steaming bowl of oatmeal, a small loaf of bread, a bowl of fruit, a couple of small dishes, and a carafe of what I hoped was coffee.
“My Lady is otherwise occupied this morning, but will answer all your questions once she is free.” The woman said, and somehow I could hear the honorific on the word Lady. “Enjoy your breakfast. If you would like to bathe, go through that door.”
She pointed to a door I hadn’t noticed before continuing.
“When you are ready to get dressed, across the hall is a dressing room. You may wear anything that suits your tastes. There is a pull cord next to the door. Pull on it if you require help.” She explained.
Before I could gather my thoughts and think of a coherent question to ask, she backed out of the room and shut the door silently.
I wanted to go out after her, but my stomach decided for me, and I sat down to eat.
Everything looked and smelled amazing. One carafe held orange juice, while the other carafe was indeed coffee. There was a small pitcher of cream to go with it. Not creamer, not half and half. Honest to goodness, real cream.
There wasn’t any sugar, but one of the small covered bowls had honey in it. I poured myself a cup of coffee and added honey and cream to it. I stirred it for a minute before picking up the warm mug and savoring the taste of it.
It was the best cup of coffee I’d ever had. It took but minutes to drink it all.
Once the mug was empty, I set it down and looked at the rest of the platter.
The small loaf of bread was still steaming. I broke it apart and spread some butter on it. It only took a few moments for the butter to melt in. I drizzled some honey on top of it, then took a bite.
It was so much better than any store-bought bread. It didn’t take long before I had cleared the platter. I don’t know how, but whoever prepared it, they knew just how much food to include. By the time I finished, there was no bread left.
I recalled the woman's mention of a bath and glanced at the wall she had pointed out. No wonder I hadn't noticed the door earlier. The walls of the room were adorned with intricately carved wood panels, and the door blended in with the ornate carvings seamlessly. If you weren't actively searching for it, it could easily go unnoticed.
A shower seemed like a good idea, a way to freshen up. I wasn't prepared for what lay behind the door.
The bathroom was nearly as large as my apartment, and a lot fancier than any building I had ever stayed in.
The walls were marble, and the floors were an ornate mosaic of tiles. The pattern reminded me of Celtic knotwork. There was a shower, though it was larger than any I had ever seen before, but the rest of the room made it look like an afterthought.
The main attraction, however, was a gigantic bath that looked more like a small swimming pool. It was enclosed by a railing and sunk into the floor. On one side, there were handles made of gemstones—rubies and sapphires—clearly for the hot and cold water. The purpose of the other handles remained a mystery to me.
Looking at the tub, I figured it would take ages to fill, though I didn’t actually see any water spouts. I leaned down and turned the ruby handle as far as it would go. There was a silver tray next to the handles, with bottles of soaps, a bowl of bath pearls, and a stack of folded cloths.
From all around the tub, a few inches from the top, water started pouring out of a groove I hadn’t noticed before. I reached down and let the water flow over my hand, and turned the sapphire handle on a fraction of the way, until the water was where I liked it.
The tub filled up faster than I would have guessed. In less than five minutes, the water was six inches from the top, so I turned the handles to cut off the flow.
I lifted the robe up over my head and let it fall to the floor. One wall had a full-length mirror on it. I stopped in front of it and the sight of bruises on my arms and back shocked me. A wave of cold washed over me.
The memory of being crushed against that giant’s chest last night came flooding back. The fear and the pain came back with it. I don’t know how I didn’t notice how much it hurt before now. It felt like I had been run over.
I winced at the pain when I turned away from the mirror. Now that my body ached so much, I’m glad I had filled up the tub. I gently stepped down into it. The steps, just like everything else, were made of marble, but they had a textured surface, so I didn't have to worry about slipping.
The tub was big enough for three or four people to be in, and was more like a hot tub than any bath tub I’d ever been in. It had a bench seat around two sides of it, and along one side, molded out of marble, was a lounge seat you could lay back in to enjoy the hot water.
Standing in the middle of the tub, the water came up to just below my belly button. I made my way over to the lounge seat and laid back, sighing as the hot water covered me up to my neck and started soothing the aches and pain.
“Miss, you must wake up. Lady Lysandra has requested your presence.” A voice said above me.
I shook my head slightly as I sat up. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but the water was soothing.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” I said as I sat up.
I looked up, and it was the woman from earlier. She was holding a large towel over one arm.
“Perfectly fine, miss. But we shouldn’t keep my lady waiting.” She said.
There was something odd about her, but I couldn’t quite figure out what.
I expected her to just hand me the towel once I climbed out of the tub, but she wrapped it around me instead.
“There you are miss, if you’d follow me to the dressing room across the hall, we will get you dressed for your meeting the Lady Lysandra.” She said and hurried off to the room she mentioned.
I shook my head and followed. This was all strange. There was a small voice in the back of my head telling me to run, but the feeling that I was safe here, for the moment, was a lot stronger.
The dressing room wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The dressing room surprised me with its size, being even larger than the bedroom. They stocked it with clothes for just about any occasion, from a hike in the woods to a formal dinner with royalty, and everything in between.
The maid? Servant? I wasn’t sure what she was, gestured for me to sit down in front of a mirror.
“What should I call you?” I asked as I sat down.
“Fiora will do, miss.” She said as she began drying and brushing my hair.
“Thank you Fiora. If you don’t mind my asking, where are we?” I asked as she finished doing my hair.
“Why in one of my lady’s estates, of course.” She said as she walked over to a rack of clothes.
“Yes, but where?” I asked, a little frustrated at her lack of an answer.
“My apologies, miss, I’m not rightly certain. My Lady has so many, and we flitter between them so often I lose track. I think this one might be in Ireland.”
She came back with a couple of items of clothing over her arm.
“These will look lovely on you, miss.” She said, holding them out for my approval.
I took the bundle of cloth from her and spread it out. It was a dark blue length of cloth, a shawl, I realized after a moment. And under it was a lighter blue cocktail dress.
I had worn nothing so elegant before. I hurried to put it on. Once it settled into place, I looked at myself in the mirror.
The neckline had five dime-sized yellow gemstones in a line over my breasts. It looked like someone tailored it for me. It fit so perfectly.
My black hair fell over my shoulders in waves. Fiora lifted it away as she draped the shawl over my dress, and pinned it together in front of me, just below the last gemstone, with a silver brooch.
“You look lovely, miss.” Fiora said as she set a simple pair of flats on the floor next to me. “If you’ll put these on, I will take you to my lady.”
The walk to her lady wasn’t long. I figured I could find my way back if I had to. I still didn’t get any sense that I was in danger, at least no immediate danger. My intuition for that had never failed me.
We came to a set of double doors, carved with what looked like a forest scene, and lightly stained in places to give them color. Fiora opened one door and motioned me inside.
I don’t know what I was expecting, an office, a throne room, a conference room maybe. I was not expecting this to be someone’s bedroom.
The centerpiece of the room was a massive four-poster bed with ice blue velvet curtains, currently closed. Both of the posts that I could see were ornately carved in the form of a naked woman. Something didn’t look quite right about them, though. They weren’t quite human. Nymphs maybe, or fairies. They were beautiful, and whoever carved them was a master at their art.
“I’m glad you could join me.” A woman’s voice said from the other side of the room.
I hadn’t even noticed her. I was so entranced by the carvings. When I turned to face her, I had work to keep my jaw from dropping. To call her beautiful would be an understatement.
She was taller than me by at least half a foot. Her emerald green hair cascaded down her back in mesmerizing waves. Her captivating cerulean blue eyes held depths of untold secrets, contrasting against flawlessly smooth skin that seemed almost otherworldly.
She was wearing a white gown with icy blue accents, and silver jewelry with snowflake motifs.
“T-thank you.” I stammered.
“Come have a seat dear, we must talk.” She said as she sat down on a sofa.
I got the sense that she expected to be obeyed, and the sheer thought of disobeying her was not one I could contemplate. Before I made a conscious decision to do so, I was walking across the room.
I sat on the other end of the sofa, turned to face her.
“I’m sure you have many questions, Aria.” She said after looking me over. “You may ask the more important ones, if you wish.”
“Where are we?” I asked. “Who are you? What happened last night? How?”
I felt my face flush as I realized I blurted them all out without giving her a chance to respond.
“Easy there.” She said with a chuckle. “There is no need to rush. The first is the easiest to answer. We are in my villa in southern Ireland.”
“How is that possible? I don’t have a passport! How did you get me through an airport without waking me, or getting stopped by the cops?” I asked, dumbfounded.
"That relates to the rest of the questions and is not easily explained," she said. “Tell me, my dear, what do you know of the Sidhe?” She said.
“The she?” I wondered.
“No, the Sidhe.” She spelled it out. “As in the Aes Sidhe.”
“Aren’t they from Irish myth? Gods or something?” I asked. I knew I had heard the word before, but couldn’t remember much more than that.
“Yes, the Irish knew of us. We’re not gods, at least not in the way most religions use the term today.” She explained.
“We?” I asked incredulously.
“Yes Aira, we.” She laughed. “The Sidhe are very real, and very much alive today. There is a lot from human mythology that is still around. Humans are great at ignoring things that don’t fit into their worldview. Another term for us is Fae. And before you ask, yes, there are faeries in the way you are thinking, tiny, winged, glowing faeries. Do not mistake the Sidhe for them.”
“This is a prank, right?” I asked, though there was a part of me, deep down, that knew it was not.
“Most certainly not, though I can understand why you would want to believe so.” She said with a smile. “Centuries ago, my kind, along with most of the races humans consider mythological, veiled ourselves from humanity. Many went home to the realms they were from. Many stayed and worked to either blend in with humanity or to hide from it. Some of us do both.”
“Does that mean all of it’s real?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“All of mythology? Oh no. You humans have quite the inventive imaginations. It would take far longer than we have to talk about what is and is not real. There will be others you can talk with in order to sate your curiosity.” She said.
“Oh, okay.” I said, a little disappointed.
“My name is Lysandra, one of the Aes Sidhe. I am, to use terminology, you would understand, a queen. There are many Fae of a similar level, but few above me.” She paused when the door opened.
My mouth dropped open when I saw what had entered.
Floating in through the open door was a silver platter bearing a pitcher and two glasses. The part that astonished me was what was bringing it in. A Faerie, an honest to goodness faerie. She looked to be a little under three feet tall. Her wings were a blur as she floated in, bearing the platter.
Saying nothing, she set it down on the table between us, bowed to Lysandra, and left without saying a word.
“Th-that really was a faerie?” I stammered.
“Yes Aria. Where the Sidhe can pass for human, most of the other Fae, as you just saw, can not. Eirys there has served me for nearly two hundred of your years.” She said as she filled her glass from the pitcher. “Help yourself.”
I filled the other glass and took a sip from it. I blinked and took another sip, savoring the flavor of it. It tasted of peach and orange. It was delicious.
“To answer the rest of your question, what happened and how? I was leaving a meeting with a friend when I sensed a Fomorian. They aren’t supposed to be here, so naturally I followed its trail. That was where I found it, attacking you. It was in another Sidhes service, so I could not touch it, unless it was hurting someone that belonged to me, which is where our bargain came in. Once you gave me your service, I was free to handle it.” She explained.
“What do you mean, you couldn’t touch it?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around everything she was telling me.
“It’s partly politics, partly tradition, but a Fae Queen may not directly attack the vassals of another Fae Queen unless they are attacking one of her own vassals. So, had you not pledged yourself to me, there wouldn’t have been anything I could do. You made the right choice.” She said. “And as for how we got from Phoenix to Ireland, no laws had been broken. We rarely rely on mortal forms of transportation for long distances.”
“What do you mean by pledge myself to you?” I asked.
“For a one of your years plus a day. Until this time next year, you will serve as one of my vassals. You will serve as one of my attendants. You will handle tasks and errands as the call arises. Do not betray my confidence, or do anything that goes against my orders.” She said.
She held her hand out, palm up, and out of nowhere, mist gathered in her palm and coalesced into a blue leather choker with a silver snowflake pendant.
“Take this and put it on. You are to wear it. It marks you as my vassal, grants you some measure of protection from attack, and lets me know where you are. Once you put it on, only I can remove it.” She said.
“I’ve not seen anyone else wearing one. Why do I have to?” I asked, looking at it wearily, as if it might bite me.
“You mean Fiora and Eirys? They have sworn themselves to me for life. Their marks are permanent. I could give you such a permanent mark as well, but that would mean your service to me would be unending.” She said.
I hesitated for a moment longer, then reached out and took it from her palm. I clasped it around my neck and gasped as the snowflake turned ice cold for a moment before warming back up to my body temperature.
“Wise decision.” She said with an approving smile. “Now a warning. Do not give anyone your name and do not accept gifts from anyone. Names have power, and if you accept a gift, you are indebted to the gift giver. If you have to give someone your name, pick another name to give them.”
“Um, how about Riley?” I asked.
“That would do.” She said with a nod.
“What about food and drink? Don’t the stories say not to accept food and drink?” I asked, trying to remember anything I’ve ever heard about the fae.
“Magically, food and drink are fine. They will give no one power over you, and refusing food and drink may be rude as you are refusing hospitality. Though you should be cautious of accepting food and drink from strangers, mortal or magical.” She explained.
“Do you know why that, what did you call it, a femor, attacked me?” I asked.
“Fomorian. They are of a race as old as mine. Though that one, and the others still around in this world, are but shadows of their ancient selves, too much breeding with other races. Most likely, he smelled your Fae blood.”
“My what?” I gasped, choking on my wine.
“Your Fae blood. One or more of your ancestors, a couple of generations back, was Fae. Surely you’ve suspected you were different. Intuition a bit more on the money than anyone else’s? Unusually good luck? Been able to make things come true by wishing for them hard enough? It wasn’t until you climbed into my car that I was sure, but you definitely have Fae blood. It’s not that uncommon. Humans, especially male humans, will sleep with just about anything that will let them, and to be honest, many Fae are just as indiscriminate.”
“That’s a lot to take in. So what does that make me?” I asked.
“Mostly human, and a target. As you discovered last night, there are many creatures in the world that would love to get their hands on you. To mate with you, or eat you, sometimes both. You’re not a virgin, are you?” She said.
“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked, feeling my face go red.
“Among humans, virginity is a meaningless, outdated concept usually used to shame those who are comfortable with their own bodies. But among the supernatural, there are many creatures that are drawn to virgin blood. So, have you had sex yet?” She asked.
“Yes, I have.” I admitted.
“With a man?” She asked.
“Yeah, and women.” I admitted.
“That’s good. That makes you less of a target for many creatures.” She said. “Come with me.”
She stood up and headed for the door.
I set the glass on the table and hurried to follow her.
“Can I ask where we are going?” I asked as I caught up to her.
“I have some business to attend to, and you have a phone call to make.” She said.
“A phone call?” I wondered.
“Your parents will worry. Call them and tell them you got accepted last minute in a study abroad program in Ireland.” She said. “I will have a moving company pack up your apartment and put everything in storage. If there is anything you want, we can collect it later.” She explained as she walked.
“I guess this is a kind of study abroad.” I said, mostly to myself.
“Exactly. You are going to learn a lot.” She said with a disconcerting smile.