Inky darkness gave way to a charcoal sky dotted with shimmering diamond like stars and a shadowy castle. The flowers dotting the overgrown field swayed gently under the breeze coasting towards the stone walls of the castle. Without a tree in sight, there was nowhere for Afric’s guards to hide other than within the shadows of their fortress walls. Tall wraith like beings with waist length black hair leaned slightly out of the shadows to reveal their pale skin and yellow tinged eyes. It was almost unsettling that these dark beings lived in such a picture perfect clearing. But then again, the same could be said for the Unseelie.

While my group began to appear around me, the Banshees slunk out from their hiding places to confront us. Ankle length cloaks whispered across the grass as their metal staffs pounded into the ground creating an ominous tune. Taking a step forward, I placed myself between my soldiers and the Banshees who approached. Say what you will about Afric but he did excell in intimidation and dramatic flares. 

A woman of my height called out, “Blue Queen, you’ve returned.” 

“If I never truly left, how do I return.” 

“What is it you seek within our walls?” 

Folding my hands behind me, I rocked back on my heels and smiled, “The most powerful of all.” 

“He is not receiving.” She replied. 

“I’m taking, not giving.” 

A small smirk transformed her expression from bored to interested, “There are no guarantees in the Banshees den. Do you wish to wake the king?”

“I deal in certainty. He deals in death. A king does not wake for a Queen but bows instead.” A weightlessness filled me at our tricky conversation and my grin continued to grow.

She eyed me with her own grin before spinning on her heel and tossing over her shoulder, “Follow Queen if you dare. Not one of you to be spared if it is declared. Dinner is rare.” 

Hollowed chuckles rose from the line of Banshees leading us towards the castle while I glanced at the others behind me. Confusion and apprehension warred on their faces but they stood tall with a solid grip on their weapons. I couldn’t blame them, the Banshees loved their riddles and rhymes. Especially, when it was about granting someone entrance into their den. Taking pity on them, I flipped around to face them while continuing to walk.

Pressing a finger to my lips, I mouthed, ‘Remember the rules.’

Dani, apparently unimpressed with my attitude, mouthed back, ‘You could at least pretend not to be enjoying this so much.’

Muffling a laugh, I shot her a wink before turning around in time to see the Banshees come to a stop. As the gates slowly opened, the others behind the leading female drifted back along the wall to reclaim their positions. When it became possible to slip between the gates, the woman went through quickly and motioned for us to do the same. Dani and Dougal pressed in close as I passed between the gates making me roll my eyes at them. We were already invited in so they wouldn’t lock them out. They were tricky and insane but not impolite. 

Instead of leading us into the castle, she led us around the side to a beautiful garden at the back of the stone castle. Roses, Lillies, Dandlewoods, and Fire Brights tangled together in a thorn filled arch in front of the gardens entrance. What held my attention though, was the man sitting at the long oak table a few feet in front of the garden. Banshees hovered by the table drawn in by the man’s alluring aura of death and insanity. It was thick and more intoxicating than a Nymphs lustful intent. 

Sparkling yellow tinged eyes flicked over our group with a growing interest while he sipped from a golden chalice. His thin skeletal like body wrapped in black should have been corpse like but instead seemed effortlessly elegant. Afric’s long black hair was piled high on his head with a metal spike impaled through it. Sharply defining his hollowed out features while causing his eyes to stand out more. Despite having the same eyes as the rest of his kind, Afric always declared them his most unique and attractive feature. 

Giggling, he raised his chalice in the air, “Blue Queen! Many whispers of you but none know the truth. Take a seat and let me see you.” 

With a little pep in my step, I crossed the space between us and took a seat on his right. Resting my hands on the metal arm rests, I watched as Afric slid a filled cup in front of me and then turned to look at me. His smile grew to an almost uncomfortable degree when all I did in return was grin back at him. The others around us shifted at our odd situation but otherwise didn’t intervene. Good, they’re listening. Picking up the cup, I gave it a quick jerk and flicked the liquid into the bushes over my shoulder. 

“No drink is free. Ask my fee.” 

Without looking away, Afric shook his head, “Tsk. Tsk. Much has changed, you are not the same.”

“I have no time to waste.” I shrugged. 

“Yes, yes. My Banshees, you implore, for your domestic war.”

My eye twitched at his little ‘implore’ and ‘domestic war’ comment but my grin never slipped, “I’d never implore. It’s to complete our deal and nothing more.”

Afric hummed, tapping a long nail against the side of his cup, “No.”

I could tell his one worded answer unnerved my companions but I was used to it. Even Afric’s whirlwind of a mind got tired of rhyming. That was more of a passing thought though as his ‘no’ pinged around my head at warp speed. Did this son of a bitch just really tell me no?

Pitching my voice sickly sweet, I purred, “Are you refusing to complete our deal, Afric?” 

“Yes and no. I will only complete the deal by giving you something you really want.” 

“I just told you what I wanted.” 

He leaned forward with a conspiracatory smile, “But that’s not what you really want.” 

Dropping my smile, I leaned into him, “And what is it that you think I really want?”

“Ah, ah ah. Not so fast, Blue Queen.” He replied, giving my nose a tap. “First, I must ask you a series of questions.” 

I wish I could say I was annoyed by the sudden game he wanted to play. But the excitement that shot through me was undeniable. I wanted to play and see where it led me. Hopefully to a fight. It’s been too long. 

“Fine, we play. But you condescendingly tap my nose again and I’ll rip your head from your shoulders.” 

Afric slumped back into his chair with a high pitched laugh, “Always the jokester, Blue Queen. Answer the questions with the most base truth and there’ll be no retribution. First question! Who are you?” 

“My most base truths, huh?” Sitting back in my own seat, I twirled a blue lock of hair around my finger, “In that case, I’m Macha O’Riordan. Mab’s first born and only bastard.” 

“Off to a great start,” He announced, “Now, would you say you make rash decisions?”

I wasn’t even surprised that he wasn’t surprised to find out I was a bastard. “Concerning others? No, not anymore. Concerning myself? Always.”

Afric nodded with a serious expression and literally check marked the air, “Fantastic, we’re almost done. What’s your preferred method of killing?” 

“Anything that amuses me in the moment.” 

“Do you want to be Queen?”

I paused in my hair twirling to cast a look at the others sitting around us. The soldiers watched the surrounding Banshees but Dougal, Dani, and Erick watched us. Their colorful eyes were plastered to us as they witnessed our verbal sparring. Seemingly genuinely interested in how I would answer this next question. 

Without looking away from them, I answered, “I honestly don’t know but I’ll stay and do my best if the people want me.”

“You, an Unseelie, would put aside your own wants for Fae you don’t know? For Fae that don’t owe you anything?” 

Still looking at my small team, I smiled, “Yea.”

“How warm and fuzzy of you. Okay, Bastard Queen. Last question.”

Turning back to him, I caught his yellow tinged eyes with my own, “Hit me.” 

“Are you the Hero or the Villain?”

My brows shot to my hairline as I jerked, “What?” I said hit me, not fucking slaughter me.

“It’s a simple question, Bastard Queen. Are you the Hero or the Villain in this future fairytale?”

I completely blanked as my eyes searched for the answer he expected but saw nothing. Was I the Hero or the Villain? The Hero or the Villain? Hero or Villain? Villain or Hero? The words felt like they were being repeated on a slow loop inside my head. Dougal said Puck called me a Hero but hundreds, including Mab, called me a Villain. A Hero was a savior, a person who sought justice for others. A Villain was someone who preferred chaos, death and destruction. Or were those just stereotypes?

“Macha is-”

Afric’s fist slammed harshly against the table before he grabbed the front of Dougals tunic and screamed in his face, “Afric and Macha are one in the same. Do not interrupt the game!” 

Copying his actions, I snagged his collar and yanked him in my direction. His grip slipped from Dougal’s tunic and before he could blink, I had a knife pressed beneath his right eye. Afric raised a hand, stopping his Banshees from approaching, and gazed at me with a smile. Not an ounce of fear or concern for his eye showed as he whispered, “There she is, how beautiful a sight.”

“You asked if I was the Hero or the Villain, Afric. And I’m going to tell you my base truth.” Tapping the knife against his eye, I gave him a small private smile and whispered back, “You’re a worm, Afric. I take offense to people who try to wiggle their way out of my deals. So, I could stab this knife through your eye and slaughter your entire den without a single regret. Or I could let you go with a warning and everybody lives. This situation, like the many others I’ve been in, could go either way. And you know what, Afric?”

“Tell me, My Queen.” 

“I. Couldn’t. Care. Less. The only thing stopping me is a whim. A whim of what I believe will benefit me and my people at the end of the day. And believe me when I say, I could leave here covered in your blood and not lose a wink of sleep over it.” Wrapping his cloak around my fist, I pulled him closer until our foreheads collided. “Hero or Villain? I’m whatever I need to be. So, give me what I’m owed before you really start to piss me off.”

His grin was huge as he shouted, “All Hail The Bastard Queen!”

“All Hail The Bastard Queen!”

Shoving him back into his seat, I looked around in confusion at the Banshees screaming in excitement and repeating his words. Dougal and the rest of my group slowly got their feet as well and looked around. Dragging my eyes back to Afric, I watched as he laughed hysterically and jumped up to grip the front of my tunic. 

“A Queen! A Queen! A Queen! For so long we could only dream! Our loyalty and allegiance is solely yours. My soldiers, five thousand strong, will scream the death song for your glorious war! The deal is complete and much more!” Tears of joy gathered in the corner of his eyes as he released me to hop up on the table. His feet moved in a quick jig as the Banshees slammed their staffs into the ground setting a rhythm for him to dance to. “Brothers and Sisters! The Bastard Queen, our reigning supreme! The Den Head of All Den Heads! Neither good nor bad, she’ll lead us on the Divines path! A feast, a feast, to honor our Queen! Nay! Our God!”

Five thousand soldiers? God?

Drums began to beat in a loud haunting fashion as I tried to wrap my head around what the fuck just happened. Huge fires suddenly shot up in the once hidden pits around us and my group closed in around me. Banshees came crawling from the castle like a swarm of bees and covered the areas around us in a wiggling black mass. Laughter and screams rang out as their feet moved in fast spinning movements around us. 

Dani clutched at my arm and yelled over the pounding drums, “Macha, what the fuck did you say to him?”

“Did you collect on the deal?” Dougal shouted. 

Wide eyed, I watched as Afric got sandwiched between two dancing females on top of the table. “Uhhh, I could be mistaken but I think I just passed an interview to be their god.”

Erick leaned in to be heard, “Well, what do we do now?” 

Taking a quick glance around at the partying Banshees, a grin spit my face. Screw it. Rushing forward, I got up on the table beside Afric and screamed, “We party till the fires die!”

More Banshees screamed out in joy as the fires shot higher into the sky. And the night passed by in a blur of fire, dancing and sugared liquor.

——————————————————————————

Okay, so be honest...who won that crazy off? Was anyone surprised with this little glimpse into Macha’s dark side? I think this might be my favorite chapter so far.

Don’t be shy to comment on what you liked about the chapter!

Smooches, Verbage💋