The washrooms, like everything else in the palace, were polished and grand. The room next to them was a large female bath, open for anyone to use. I peeked in while Schula took a turn at her business, and it may as well have been a pond for as big as it was. Fragrant steam misted the room, adding an air of mystery to the dark corners where I couldn't see. Small trays of candles floated on the water's surface, flickering and dancing with each ripple.

"Welcome to the bath, may I get you a towel?" A water nymph stood attendance near the doorway.

"Oh, no I was only looking. Sorry I'll go." I muttered and began backing away.

"Wait." A commanding voice echoed off the polished stone room. "I smell something interesting. Please, come closer."

I looked to the attendant, who seemed cautious, but nodded me in. My footsteps rattled around the room as I skirted the pool and went to a flickering corner of candles. That smell of damp wood, the one after a summer rain on the forest floor, perfumed the air. The sole bather in the grand bath was a pink woman, with black hair no longer than the boys' of the mountains. Her eyes were solid white, and she didn't follow my movements with them.

"What can I do for you, Lady?" I hoped I wasn't calling her the wrong title, though other than the King there only seemed to be lords and ladies. No barons or dukes like I'd seen in the human cities.

"You are the one they have been murmuring about all day. The youth." She tilted her head back against the side of the bath, stretching her arms out with no care of her nakedness.

"Yes." I said quietly. She gave off a dangerous aura, not unlike Thain when I first met him. Something feral. Maybe something just a little bit like the wraith.

"I wonder if I could taste your sire on you..." She wondered out loud. I shivered despite the humid room.

"Wren, there you are." Schula had found me in the bath. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Wren, is it?" The female's lips curled upward and she licked them. "Wren."Schula froze when she spotted the fae in the bath, then nodded to her. "Lady Krissaph, if you'll excuse us."

"Ah, the frigid bitch is here. Run along little Wren, I'm sure we'll meet again." She stretched, letting her breasts leave the water, glistening.

I didn't need to be told twice. A wicked laugh trailed behind me, bouncing off the walls as I walked as quickly as I could without slipping. Schula let me out before her, and the water nymph bowed us out.

"What were you doing?" Schula hissed at me.

"I was just l-looking at the bath!" I stammered. "I didn't know anyone was in there."

"It wasn't your fault." She sighed, taking her fingers through her hair. "I'll take you to a bath house later, a nice one without Spring court rubbish in it."

"She was Spring court?" I shivered. "I thought the Spring court would be..."

"Warmer? Pleasant?" Schula began walking us back to the throne room. "Krissaph is a succubus, one of the unseelie fae."

"Unseelie?" The word tickled at the back of my mind.

"No matter what kind of fae you are, from sylph to high fae to wraith, you can be classified into one of two categories." Schula said. "The seeley are mostly what you've encountered so far. Fae who are essentially good. Well, by the standards of nature at least. We don't have the same morals as the humans, but for the most part we could get along."

"The useeley though, are all made of something just a little darker. Disrupting the balance of the Wyldes is in their nature. Death, and violence. That wraith you encountered in the mountains with Thain, that was something unseelie."

"That's right, Mila told me once." I gestured to my back and whispered. "The witch."

"Anyway, don't listen to Krissaph, but if you run into her again..." Schula cursed. "Of course you will. Wren, she's an ambassador from the Spring court. Just, try to stay out of her way as best as you can."

"Don't worry, I will." I grimaced. "Do all of the courts have unseelie fae in them?"

"There are a few everywhere in the Wyldes." She said. "Some can actually be pleasant. Born useeley but who keep a firm grasp on their behaviors to blend into society better. Most of the useeley, if they belong to any court, are in Winter."

"Oh." We stopped talking as we rounded a corner to the main hall of the palace.

"Well, that's conversation for another time anyway." She put on a smile and took my arm. "Are you ready to endure his Majesty a little longer?"

"As ready as I can be." I put on a smile myself, and we headed into the throne room to fend off more high fae.

~

The celebration went on for hours. The king kept us near him, but I felt more like a trophy to display than a guest. He didn't ask me many more questions. The odd preference here or there when he wanted to know what kind of wine I liked or if I preferred the architecture of Thanantholl. Nothing of much consequence though. But plenty of the other fae took an interest, and paid their respects to Baeleon before approaching me.

Thain grew unsettled as the party went on, probably annoyed that he was here for so long. He 

even glared at a visiting Lord who had only stopped to greet me. Schula shot him a look after, but I didn't blame him. I was getting restless too. As thankful as I was for the new clothing, I was ready to yank off the silky attire the moment I got to my bedroom. I worried with every movement that I would ruin it somehow.

It was dark before Baeleon called to retire and let us leave. With the constant flow of food and 

drinks none of us were even hungry. All I or anyone wanted to do was to head home and relax.

Wairen was still taking a female appearance and had drawn the bath the moment Thain and I turned onto the road. I was too tired to argue when they helped me undo my hair and remove the laces on my pants as well. I was down to my undergarments before I realized what I was doing. I dismissed Wairen for the night and ran to the bathroom.

I left my under things on the floor and sank into the water with a sigh. I was drained from the party, which is what it must have been. If that wasn't a party, I was completely on Thain's side about avoiding them in the future. Eberon ate it all up, not that it surprised me. Schula had told me she likes dressing up and doesn't mind the small talk, though she doesn't go looking for it either. My idea of a party is dancing with no more than the dozen or so witches from around the mountains on Midsummer night, and none of them care who my parents were.

The bath did wonders for me, and combing my hair out was soothing. I braided it like I always did, and put on my old clothes. I went on to the balcony to do some of the stretches and found Puko gorging himself on a plate of walnuts.

"You're going to get fat. What would Mila think?" I looked at him. He eyed me and cawed.

"Suit yourself." I sat and stretched for my toes. The night air was cool and misty. It would rain overnight. A branch of water across the road from Thain's home pattered along quietly, taking with it fallen rose petals and bright red leaves.

"How long do you suppose we'll be here? In Thanantholl." I asked the bird. He continued to crunch at his dinner.

I moved on to another stretch, my arms this time. It was peaceful here, and beautiful. I hated to admit it, but the Wyldes felt right. Something in my bones knew I belonged here. Tomorrow I would have to make an honest effort to learn about the fae. About my people.

I stretched for a little longer than I would have liked, but not as long as Schula would have made me. The moon was going to be full soon, and the night air glowed silver. By the time I was done stretching, Puko was done eating. I took his plate inside to my table and lay down in my tunic.

It didn't help.

I couldn't stop thinking about the palace. The fae inside that stared at me. The king's heavy presence. Lady Krissaph's words. I turned on my side and the wraith came to mind. I shoved it away and sat up. Sleep was useless. Some time by the warm hearth would do me good. I shoved my legs back in my breeches and stockings and crept downstairs.

The fire was inviting. It's warmth reached me from the top of the stairs and I sank into it as I descended the staircase. When I neared the fireplace itself I jumped out of my skin. The chair that faced away from the stairs was not empty.

"Good evening. You're up late." Thain was sitting forward, elbows on his knees and a glass of brandy in one hand. He had discarded his doublet and rolled up the sleeves of his fine shirt.

"I couldn't sleep." I sat in the chair on the other side of the fire. "You're up late as well."

"I suppose I have a lot on my mind." He said after a while. "What seems to be keeping you up?"

"Several things." I sank back into the chair. "I'm still coming to terms with what I am. I mean, I've always known, but I didn't realize until coming here what it really meant."

"Ah." He set his glass aside and sat back. "If you like, I can take you out tomorrow and show you a little more about us. We have murals you know, old ones. And books. The palace library could help teach you more than I could. If you want our history that is."

"Aren't you old enough to have lived most of the history?" I asked, provoking a laugh from him. His fangs glinted in the flickering light.

"I might be, but I haven't kept a diary. Why don't we leave it to the scholars to educate you properly." He reached back and untied his ponytail, scratching his head and letting his hair fall freely. "Stars, I hate dressing up."

"I'm beginning to feel the same." I thought about my discarded clothes upstairs.

"Can I ask you some things about yourself?" Maybe I was tired, maybe I was growing bolder with the familiarity of him.

"Alright, only if it's a question for a question." He grinned, his sharp teeth glinting in the firelight.

"That again?" I sat up straighter and stretched my back.

"Yes." He took a sip from his glass and waited for me to start.

"Okay. When we first met, you were gathering the weapons from the raiders. Why? We didn't travel with them that I could see, and I never saw them at the outpost." I said.

"They were all iron. I gathered the metal and dropped the lot of it at the bottom of a lake. My 

turn, does it not hurt you to touch iron?" He watched my hands, inspecting them for something.

"Hurt to touch iron? No. Should it?" I remembered him wearing gloves now, but I hadn't put any thought behind it at the time.

"Iron will hurt a fae. Both in physical pain, and disruption of our magic. Your human half might be dulling it beyond your notice. Interesting." He said. "What did you think of tonight? Did you feel any kind of connection with the Autumn court?"

"No." I thought about it and picked at the dirt under my nails. "I don't think so. If you're asking about some kind of magical connection. If the Autumn court 'clicked 'for me. I guess it didn't. My turn, I saw you and Eberon wearing those black rings on your thumbs. I guess I hadn't thought about them until tonight but I saw the king wearing them too. Do they mean something?"

"Mm." He looked down to his right hand and played with the obsidian band on it. "This ring means I've found and lost a member of my triquetram."

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked." I whispered. "So, the king then? Did he..."

"Yes, both of his. Baeleon is old though, it's to be expected eventually." Thain stopped fidgeting with his ring and took another drink. "Have you had any experiences with your magic showing up? Any events at all?"

I froze. I couldn't lie, he'd smell it. The king had asked him just today to train me on my magic, something that terrified me to no end. What if he found out what a danger I could be, and he didn't want me in his home anymore?

"Yes. When I was a child..." I swallowed hard.

"Go on." He urged softly.

"I... I set fire to a house by accident." I admitted. He didn't have to know how bad it was. "Thank you for talking with me, Thain. I think I'm ready to go to bed now."

My heart was pounding. I had to get out of there.

"Wren wait!" Thain called, but it was too late. I had already leapt from my chair and was on the stairs before Thain sat his glass down and stood up. A ripple of annoyance rushed past me, that feral thing in him that still shook me sometimes. I glanced back to see him standing, staring up at me. His hair loose and wild, his fangs bared, but he didn't give chase.

I topped the stairs and ran down the hall to my room, not looking back. It was a long time before I managed to get some sleep.