kc_obrien | [Kingdom's Fall][30 Days of Fic]

Grace glanced towards the sunset as a sense of sinking dread overcame her heart. “I'm too far out,” she thought, glancing around the clearing, trying to get her bearings. It wouldn't do; there was no way for her to get back to the castle before darkness fell. She considered a moment longer, trying to figure out where the time had gone to before she realized that that would only lead to death.

"Consideration is for the living. Let's make sure you get there," her survival instincts niggled at the back of her mind.

Without another moment's thought, she took off into the woods. The game trails here were lacking at best and treacherous as the sun went down, but she trusted her affinity to the growing world to keep her safe, at least until darkness fell. "No, it wouldn't do to dwell on that either, just keep going," she thought, breaking into a full run.

Yet in the background, her mind kept working; What had she been doing all day? Where had the time gone? How did she come to be so far out at sunset? A thousand thoughts went through her, none of them good. Those who would have hunted her, who may be hunting her once the gloaming surrounded, didn't have the power to touch her during the daytime. Even if they went through a third party, there was no way for them to overcome the blessings of the sun and earth that lived in her blood, not to the point where she was so royally fucked as she was now.

There was a traitor at Court. Only another with their affinity would have been able to work so subtle a magick on her and have it stick.

Her stomach dropped further; if there were a traitor at Court, then the hunt could already be on.

She broke into another glade, glancing up to the sky; the darkness was closing in. She glanced around and froze; this was the wrong glade; she'd been going the wrong way.

"It's not possible," she cried aloud, looking at the forest surrounding her. Suddenly it was far too quiet. The trees seemed to lean in, shadows growing between them; she'd lost the way entirely.

"Mmm mm mm," a deep voice called from behind her. The man was tall and beautiful with dark black hair and cruel silver eyes. His dress was formal, a courtly swirl of blacks and silver and royal purple, the sort of archaic trappings that much of the Sunlight Court had abandoned completely, down to the heavy great cloak that dragged behind him. He came to the edge of the small pond that separated them and three hellhounds emerged behind him. He made a soft sound and the disappeared back into the woods. They were silent, but Grace could feel their eyes, feel their mystical presence as they circled behind her.

It was all she could do to pull out the small handgun that she kept strapped to her calf, holding it up towards the Darkling Prince. She fired, but just as the shot would have hit, a moonbeam solidified in front of him. She looked up to the sky, realizing how powerful the subtle working must have been. Night had fallen. Game over.

The Darkling Prince was silent as he stepped across the surface of the water, neither his feet nor cloak breaking the tension there. She backpedaled a step, but in an instant he was standing over her, impossibly fast.

No, it's the enchantment... he couldn't be that fast.

She froze, utterly unable to move, completely under the power of his grandeur. He reached out and took her chin in hand, eyes seeming to bore into her very soul. His voice was quiet, but heavy, like molasses poured over thunder, "Hello there. Aren't you a pretty thing."

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Today's '30 Days of Fic' task was to write a scene that says "Hello."

Click Here for rundown of tasks that are part of the "30 Days of Fic" challenge, including a link to all completed works!