#azriar

Growing up, hearing the stories that were told of the vicious faeries in the North, Briar always wanted to believe that wasn’t always the case. That the war to free the humans of their slavery said otherwise.

She still believed in that, but she knew that with good always came the bad. And she had experienced those who are bad, and was subjected to immense pain and suffering at the hands of Hybern. She still wondered why she, of all the humans that she saw mutilated and violated, survived. 

And perhaps she was an idiot, to follow her mother and older sisters. The Children of the Blessed--Briar should’ve stayed with her father, who knew there was potential in her other than to worship fae.

She was strong though, she knew that. Because no matter what the whip, the teeth, blood and pain, Briar pulled through. She bested the Hybern soldiers. Until death, Briar will remember that.

In the meantime, Briar’s situation in the Night Court was complicated. Since the war had ended, the High Lord, Rhysand sanctioned her as a refugee along with other humans that were taken from their homes behind the wall. Though, the amount of humans that left back for their lands did not feel comfortable for Briar. She was not like these fae, and if she told them what she was and what she believed in, then they would look at her with disgust. Same would go for her kind on the southern lands. They always did look at her mother like that.

Briar was even disgusted with herself. All she felt, when the Illyrian male Azriel let her walk from her capturers, was shame. She let her mother and sister suck her into this mess. She saw her mother and sister die, screaming. Briar would’ve cried, but the time for tears was gone. She wouldn’t allow herself to cry in front of the fae.

How long had it been since the War? A few week? Maybe months? How long could she stand being separated from her father, who was out there, learning about his gifts? Briar couldn’t help but feel like time was running out for her.

She put off her wants after war, and focused on her needs. She had several scars, all mostly lined to her back and wrists. Her skin was sickly pale, but spending her days in Velaris walking and exploring for herself had helped return her skin to its natural honey glow. 

At first, when exploring Velaris, she tended to keep to herself and distance from the other humans. Though, what brought her out of her shell was the fae children that would always run around her, and then past her. Those children were what always brought Briar out of her shell. Few days they would ask if she wanted to draw on the floor, and she couldn’t help but say yes. They’re parents would be off in the Rainbow street, trusting Briar would sit down an draw beside their children. Maylee was one of the children she liked to call her friend and who had a knack for painting on herself.

Other days, when Briar really did need time to herself, she would head off to the shores. It was a long walk, and she would spend an entire day just to get there, but she loved it nonetheless. It reminded her of her home, when she was a child, with her father and his knacks for potion making. He always enjoyed the sea, and would take Briar to go clam-fishing. A few times, after eating the insides of a clam, she could remember her father drying the shells so that he could crush them to fine powder. Another clue to what he had been hiding all her life--to what she had to figure out herself in the hells of Hybern’s camp.

Briar also liked the food. It was always made with honesty, and integrity. Briar often went to a sweets store or even a bread bakery. She recalled her two eldest sisters (who were not sucked into their mothers fanatics) loved caramel truffles--and Velaris perhaps had the best. Few times would Briar visit the meats shops, a little shaken by the animal blood, but instead she took a keen taste of fruits and nuts.

Farms were far from Velaris, but with a help of a dear mentor, Briar ended going to one last week. She never went to one, but was in awe to see fae looking over their livestock and caring for the food they send out. 

That was all her time spent in this lovely place named Velaris. The place that made her not hate herself for being a fool to believe in some truths about The Blessed. Briar will always know there are dangerous fae, but here, in Velaris, she was safe. She knew she would be safe.

Came around the time of spring was when Briar felt a shift in the people of Velaris. The parents of the children Briar spent her time with warned Briar to not go walking anymore, to hide herself.

“Why?” In the near year that Briar spent in the fae realms, there hasn’t ever been a problem. Not in Prythian or Velaris.

Maylee’s father, Mark, only shook his head. “The people of Hewn City are coming this season for Starfall.” 

Briar tensed. She did hear about the Court of Nightmares that was in Hewn City. Those were the fae she should worry about. “When do they come?”

“The High Lady and Lord are still pushing them back,” he said with a grim tone. “But they are coming nonetheless.”

How thoughtless could she be? She’d been to caught up with herself, to not realize that the only reason she could stay her, was because Velaris was open to anyone. And that included the other half of Night Court...

Thanking Mark, Briar turned her body around and headed back to home.

Home.

Briar wondered how a human could call a fae territory home. Though, she did deserve the place she lived in. Not too long, maybe the start of the fall season, she had become a sort of an alchemist. It was odd, because she was at a bar when a female, short and powerful, had waltzed up to her and asked if she had any experience with chemicals.

Amren had said that the work they do would be under wraps, and even bonded them with a tattoo. Of course, Briar had time to think it through. She knew this short female was part of the Inner Circle, and knew the people that saved her, but she had to say yes. It was as though this High Fae knew what Briar was trying to accomplish in her time at Night Court. Also, Amren offered to pay Briar, which seemed odd because the former needed an apprentice.

They often concocted odd potions, milder ones. Some would be for sleep or a better digestion system. It was all practice for Briar. Amren would not let her near the more experimental route until Briar knew the basic fundamentals. 

Home was just a few blocks ahead. The streets around were almost deserted, only a few males scuffling around and trying to close shop. The females stayed closer to the stores, hunching over their children or themselves. Briar quickened her pace, skipping with the need to be holed up and safe and away for a little while--

“By the Cauldron,” a deep male voice drawled. “You must be the tenth human I’ve seen today.”

Briar wished she never froze. She reminded herself that she was no match against fae--never the less, Nightmare Court fae. Alas, her limbs did move but they were jelly and slow. Leave me alone, she wanted to say.

A tug on her long, black hair nearly toppled her over from fright. The male had gotten close enough to sniff at her, and then sigh.

“Oh, you’re those freaky humans,” he said with disdain. “Thought you all went extinct.”

Briar’s throat burned. That’s exactly what the Hybern soldiers said to her and her sister when they caught them. She wanted to scream at the thought, and scream at the fae.

“Are you shy to turn and look at my pretty face?”

Briar braced for the worse, but she never got it. A relief. Maybe he decided to leave her. Obviously that was never her luck. The fae only stepped around her, and Briar was able to face this male.

A gasp was stifled from her mouth. She’d always expected Hewn City fae’s to be more stocky and grittier than the delicate looks in Velaris, but she was wrong in this case. 

He was pretty, as said before. His eyes were a mystery, either brown or hazel depending on where the lights of the streets hit. She could tell that he was supposed to have darker skin, but perhaps weather in Hewn City made him paler. Framing his face was golden blonde hair, thick and lucious and odd. A splash of uneven freckles lined across his cheeks and nose and forehead, almost like her own. He was tall and a bit on the skinny side of fae, but Briar wouldn’t miss that muscle that bulged right under his black tunic--

Briar cursed herself for starring too long. She must’ve for so long, because the fae in front of her was smiling broadly. And it irked her.

“Leave me alone,” she spat. Briar shocked herself enough to turn her face red. She went to walk around him, tense with the sense that he may grab her arm. 

But no, he did not. He only turned and followed her small frail body quickly get away.