16. Lily

"What in the name of Lolth? Who is this wretched creature?"

The voice was coming from above me, since I had fallen on my knees. Looking up, I saw an elegant Dark Fae woman with smooth, dark platinum skin and pure white hair which was swirled elegantly around her perfect features. She towered over me and her exquisite face was wrinkled into an expression of distain.

Looking around, I saw that all of the Dark Fae were looking at me the same way—as though I was a disgusting roach that had somehow appeared in the middle of their elegant picnic.

"Bring her forward—let me see her." This voice was familiar. Looking over, I saw that it was Mordren—the Fae with the bluish-purple eyes speaking. He was the only one sitting while everyone else stood. There was the huge silver throne I had seen in the clearing last night behind him and his own seat was a smaller version of it.

He motioned and two Fae guards came and dragged me to my feet. Then they yanked me forward, forcing me to almost run to keep up with their long strides.

Mordren held up one slender, elegant hand long before I got close to his mini throne.

"That's quite close enough! I don't wish to catch anything," he said to the guards. Then he narrowed his eyes at me. "What manner of creature are you? Your skin isn't quite the right shade and you're too short to be a true Dark Fae but you don't look human either. What are you crossed with, half-breed?"

Half-breed? Hadn't he seen me the night before? Why was he acting like he didn't know who I was?

"I'm just—" I began…but then I caught a glimpse of myself in the huge, mirrored wall behind him.

The words died in my throat as I stared at my reflection—at least, I thought it was mine. Because other than having my facial features, the woman in the mirror looked nothing like me.

She looked a lot younger than me for one thing—no more than eighteen or nineteen at most, I estimated. Her hair was so long it fell to her lower back and it was many shades of purple mixed with silvery white. She looked kind of like I had back in my college years, only prettier, I thought. Much prettier. Her features were more delicate and when I pushed her—my—hair aside, I saw that the tips of her ears tapered to a sharp point.

"Answer me!" Mordren snarled, dragging my attention away from the impossible reflection in the mirror. "Who are you and what are you doing in my Palace?"

"She's a spy!" one of the guards holding me exclaimed. "I saw her, Your Grace—she burst out from one of the walls!"

"So, a spy, are you?" Mordren said, apparently accepting this explanation at once. "And who are you spying for? What information did you hope to learn and bring back to our enemies?"

"I'm not—" I began but then a new voice interrupted me.

"That is no spy—that is the Lost Princess!"

It was Seldarin, striding into the room with Krynn right behind him. They came right up to the guards who were holding me and Seldarin gave them a fierce glare.

"You two are dismissed. Go back to ranks at once!"

The Fae guards dropped my arms and hurried away. Seldarin and Krynn took their places, flanking me protectively.

"What do you speak of?" Mordren demanded. "Is this more nonsense from last night? Everyone knows the Lost Princess is gone and is never coming back."

"Lord Mordren is right."

It was the elegant Fae lady who had looked down her nose at me when I had tripped and fallen at her feet. She moved forward with a rustle of skirts. Her clothing seemed to be sewed together from some kind of silvery, semi-transparent leaves. They covered her curves while leaving little to the imagination.

Looking around, I saw that all the ladies of the Court were dressed in similar fashion. No wonder I looked out of place wearing the nightgown Krynn had given me with my dirty jacket and my car keys still in the pocket over it.

"Lord Mordren is right," she said again, as though to drive home her point. "There is no point in looking for the Lost Princess anymore—she is clearly gone for good. It's time we moved on and crowned a new ruler—and who better to be our King than the Lord Regent who has served us faithfully since Good King Valerin died?"

"You know that isn't true. You only want to curry favor with Mordren by kissing his ass, Elgiana," Seldarin growled.

She whirled on him in fury.

"How dare you speak to me, you ugly half-breed? And I am Lady Elgiana—as your companion there, well knows." She gave Krynn a smirking look and I suddenly realized where I had heard her name before. This was the Fae woman whose servant Krynn had been when he first came to Court—at least, I thought that was what he'd said.

"Greetings, Lady Elgiana." Krynn nodded at her coolly.

"Krynn, darling—how are you?" she purred, reaching out to stroke his cheek.

Krynn flinched away from her touch, but she didn't appear to notice.

"I've been thinking of you lately, darling boy," she said to him. "I've never found anyone half so pretty as you to serve me since you left. The position is still open, you know—if you should ever like to return."

"I am the Court Historian and Keeper of the Royal Records." Krynn's face was as stiff as a mask. "I'm no longer your servant and not interested in being so again."

"So you didn't like serving me?" She pouted at him. "You don't miss me at all? Not even when the Needing comes on you?"

Krynn's face flushed and for a moment I saw his composure slip. Then he swallowed hard and lifted his chin.

"I serve another now—for the Lost Princess has returned." He nodded at me and raised his voice so the whole room could hear him. "I say again—the Lost Princess has returned and is now standing before us! Who among you is still loyal to the Blood of Lolth which flows in her veins?"

"Cease this nonsense!" Mordren hissed, narrowing his eyes as the whole Court started murmuring among themselves. "You are lying—this is not the same creature you found at the clearing last night and insisted on dragging back to the Palace!"

"Yes, she is!" Seldarin growled. "This is the Princess—she has eaten our food and shed the human dross that collected while she lived in the Mortal Realm."

"She can't be!" Mordren protested.

"She is. Look at her eyes, Mordren," Krynn demanded. He pulled me forward—much closer to the angry Fae on the mini throne than I wanted to be. This also brought me closer to the mirror, however, and I was able to study myself more closely.

My eyes were like the Dark Faes' eyes now, I saw—just as my ears and features were. My eyes were glowing—they had also changed color. Instead of the dull brown I was used to, they were a brilliant, glowing violet. A pure, deep purple with no other color in it at all.

"They're Royal Purple," Krynn said, pointing at my eyes. "A color which cannot be faked—no matter how much Tincture of Amethyst you take," he added, giving Mordren a disdainful look.

For a moment Mordren sputtered, clearly not sure what to say or how to refute Krynn's words.

"What about her skin?" he demanded at last. "It's not the platinum shade of our people!"

Which was true—my skin was still an extremely pale tan—though it did shimmer as though moonbeams were dancing across it when I moved.

"Her skin doesn't matter—it's merely a consequence of living among the humans for half a century," Seldarin growled. "But the Royal Purple eyes cannot be faked, as Krynn says. Nor can her birthmark—the Mark of Lolth, the Spider Queen."

"The Changeling has returned. She has eaten our food and drunk of the Nectar of Lolth and it has revealed her true form," Krynn agreed. "You must acknowledge her and crown her, Mordren—she is the rightful Queen of the Midnight Court!"

"No, she is not!" Mordren thundered, his platinum cheeks going dark with anger. "If she is the Princess, then where is the Jewel of Lolth, which disappeared with her?"

"Who expects a baby to hold onto a necklace?" Seldarin growled. "The humans who found her probably stole it and sold it for their own profit!"

"Wait," I said tentatively, speaking up for the first time. I was so stunned by how I now looked that I had been rendered speechless before. "Is this, uh, Jewel of Lolth—is it a silver pendant with a purple stone in the center?" I asked.

"Yes—that's it!" Krynn turned eagerly to me. "Do you still have it?"

"I did," I said, shrugging. "Unfortunately, my ex-husband kept it when he divorced me."

"But you did have it?" Krynn asked.

I nodded.

"All my life. It was found with me when I was a baby and my adoptive parents kept it safe for me until I grew up."

"There, you see—she has it!" Seldarin exclaimed triumphantly.

"She had it, you mean." Mordren crossed his arms over his chest. He was wearing a richly embroidered golden tunic and cloak which made the entire gesture sparkle with his movements. "Or she claims she had it, anyway. But since she does not wear it now, I cannot acknowledge her as the Lost Princess. Everyone knows that the Jewel of Lolth will light up for a true descendent of Lolth—one with Royal Blood. Without it, I cannot possibly agree to relinquish the throne. Why—she might be an imposter!"

"You know she's not," Seldarin growled, his bronze eyes flashing angrily. "You're just trying to take the throne for yourself, Mordren!"

"Me—take the throne for selfish motivations?" The Lord Regent widened his bluish-purple eyes, somehow managing to look both hurt and innocent at the same time. "You wound me, Captain Seldarin. I simply want what is best for our kingdom and our people. I can't just step aside the minute some raggle-taggle half-breed creature comes forward, claiming to be the Lost Princess."

"How dare you speak of the Princess like that? You cannot deny her eyes or her birthmark!" Krynn exclaimed. He took me by the arm and turned me to face the Court. Then he pulled back the long purple and white hair that covered my forehead. "Look well upon your Princess, my people!" he said loudly, his clear tenor voice carrying to every corner of the mirrored room. "See the Mark of Lolth on her forehead—behold her Royal Purple eyes—come and pay your respects to your rightful ruler!"

At once the Fae that were closest to me began to move forward to study my eyes. Since most of them were taller than me, it meant a lot of them were stooping to see me. I felt awkward, just standing there as they filed past, staring at me.

Many of them stopped for a long moment and one or two of the ladies burst into tears.

"Oh, my Princess!" one of them who looked older than the rest—(which is to say, she had a few crow's feet around the corners of her eyes)—exclaimed. "I thought you would never return! Praise Lolth! Praise the Spider Queen!"

She dabbed at her streaming eyes and bent to kiss my hand, which I gave her, feeling extremely awkward. I wasn't used to being the center of attention. I'd spent my whole life in the background, always helping and serving others—being a homeroom mom and doing bake sales for the PTA and raising Christopher's kids. I hadn't been trained to be a Princess—far from it.

"I'm Lady Nolana," the older Fae Lady told me, squeezing my hands in hers. "I was in the room when you were born! When you were stolen away we were all devastated! Simply devastated. Praise Lolth that you have returned!"

"Do you see now?" Krynn demanded, as the last of the Dark Fae filed past me. "Do you see that Princess Lilliana has returned?"

There was a collective murmur of agreement but when I turned around, I could see that Mordren was scowling at me. Then Lady Elgiana came forward and murmured something in his ear. Slowly, his scowl turned to a smirk.

"Very well," he said, raising his voice to be heard above the murmuring. "I acknowledge this…person may be the Lost Princess returned to us at last. However—" He held up a finger, to stop whatever it was Seldarin and Kyrnn might have said. "However, we all know that the Princess cannot ascend to the Throne of the Midnight Court until she comes of age and comes fully into her powers."

"Which will be on the night of the Autumn Equinox," Seldarin said, frowning.

"Yes, and until then, she must be attended by faithful servants who will meet her needs—all of her needs." Mordren pointed at Seldarin and Krynn. "Since the two of you are so interested in seeing the Princess installed on the throne, I appoint the both of you to guide her, to guard her, and to slake her Thirst, when it arises."

Krynn went pale.

"But you know that Lolth herself had no fewer than ten attendants for her Thirst—some texts say it was more like twenty who gave her what she needed. The two of us alone cannot possibly meet her needs!"

"So you say." Mordren shrugged. "But that is not my problem. Since you two want her so badly to be Queen, you shall be her only attendants. Her first Thirst-Quenching shall be tonight."

"You can't fucking—" Seldarin began in a growl but Mordren cut him off.

"That is my final say on the matter and since I am Lord Regent, I have the right to dictate what is good and right for the Princess until she ascends the throne. It is one of my sworn duties."

"You're misusing your position, Mordren!" Krynn said angrily. "The office of Regent was set up to guide and protect the Princess—not to kill or disable the only ones supporting her!"

"Be that as it may, my ruling still stands." Mordren gave him a self-satisfied smirk. Then he raised his voice so that the whole room could hear. "Let it be known that the Captain of the Palace Guard, Sir Seldarin and the Royal Historian and Keeper of Records, Sir Krynn, are the only two males allowed to slake the Lost Princess's Thirst and help to satiate her appetites. If any other well-meaning citizens of the Court even attempt to help them bear this burden, know that I will find out about it and you will be expelled and never allowed to return to the Midnight Court."

There was a murmur among the Fae, but no one seemed inclined to argue with the Lord Regent. Mordren gave us a look of sly self-satisfaction and nodded imperially.

"You three may go. You are dismissed."

I didn't understand why Seldarin looked grim and Krynn looked shocked as the two of them led me away. What were they all talking about? What was "the Thirst?" And more to the point, what had happened to my body as I slept last night? Could I really be the Lost Princess? But even if I was, I didn't know anything about ruling anyone—especially not the Dark Fae—a people I hadn't even known existed outside my dreams until a day ago.

What the hell was going on?

I was soon to find out and it wasn't going to be pleasant.