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The lavender princess and her new ward had been in the human realm all of two months when they came upon their first problem. Fae magic was much harder to access in this realm and for the young one that meant he was struggling. A Lot.
So as his sworn guardian the princess had been consistently supporting him with her own. Putting a massive drain on her which she refused to let show to the child. Something she was used to as a royal general. Though she had become more focused on trying to find somewhere to settle long enough to claim her domain.
A process that kept being put off by the current fear of being caught by hunters. While Violet knew she could fight them off herself it wasn’t worth risking her charge. Leading to their constant movement through the forestland of Ireland.
Many a cold night was spent under the stars with the boy wrapped in an old military jacket. The princess was grateful that he was small enough to use it as a blanket. But if her recollection of human seasons was correct it wouldn’t be enough in the coming months. Winter quickly approaching them soon the ground would be more frost than anything.
While fae were immortal they weren’t invulnerable and though illness wouldn’t touch them weather could. Children in particular were more likely to have issues with the weather, most never having left their court until after their hundredth year. Their weaker bodies not having enough magic to keep up.
It was a cold night where they had found a cave to rest, a fire long burnt out near the entrance to provide warmth. When Lavender woke to the quiet sniffles of her ward, a muffled whimper barely audible. Looking over she could see the boy curled up a hand clutched over his mouth while he cried.
Over the years she had dealt with plenty of crying young, families of her soldiers, children of conquered lands, and the young of her own court. So this wasn’t an unusual task for her, but it was the first time she would be comforting this child.
Violet didn’t hesitate to move over to him, gently touching his shoulder, “Would you like to talk about it?” Her voice remained quiet trying not to startle him. Too used to the fearful reaction of the boy. Ever since they were introduced he would jump at the sound of her voice.
His head shook quickly, hands tugging the jacket closer to himself, clearly finding comfort in the item. Bright blue skin barely visible in the dark seemed to shake under her gaze though she wasn’t sure if that was due to crying or the cold.
Not wanting to risk his comfort she threw a few logs onto the burnt out fire and lit it, heat quickly filling the small cave. Sat beside him she hummed quietly a song her own mother would sing to her as a child. A common fae lullabye known by most courts. Using it to calm him back to sleep.
The next morning they headed toward the town, Violet worried about keeping him out in this weather. Hoping silently to trade a blessing or curse for a safe place to stay but knowing that many had heard the tales of changelings. No sane human would give them a bed without desperation.
Military jacket still wrapped around him the boy wandered ahead, having been given the important task of ‘trinket finder’. His only job being to find things he thought looked cool or unique. A task that on the outside seemed like nothing but had been devised to try and get him to open up.
Wandering off out of sight the boy yelled back to his guardian, “There’s a farm out here!”
Following quickly Violet walked into the middle of what looked like an old crop field, a strong sense of blight covering the land. Unnatural magic for this realm settled in the air, most likely a curse. Not far off a small farmhouse stood, windows boarded and door left ajar.
Walking past the boy she headed to the building hoping to find it abandoned. A curse like this could be cleared up easily but not having to make a deal of it would be a lot safer. Relying on whoever lived here to follow through on a deal would carry much more risks and they needed the shelter.
Her ward followed her closely noticing the slight change in her demeanour as this turned from a walk to an investigation. One that had her subconsciously guarding the child with her body.
Inside the dark house was silent, cupboards were left ransacked and furniture stripped. It was clear no one lived here anymore and if the residents didn’t take things bandits did. Which led to her wondering why the land was cursed and not the people.
It didn’t really matter as long as it didn’t cause her any issues which a dispellment of this type wouldn’t. So she focused on finding ways to make this a viable shelter. A few windows needed to be boarded, holes in the wood flooring filled. But there was a box in the corner of unused candles and the frames of the previous residents beds laid untouched.
“Go light some candles and put them in the wall holders,” She ordered, watching him quickly get to work. While she continued to walk around the house trying to find anything that could be useful. Outside there was what looked like a tool shed or outhouse which she decided to explore late.
Once she was sure the house was clear and her ward was soundly asleep laid on something other than the ground for the first time in months. She began working on ridding the land of its curse, not willing to let it possibly affect them. A task that wouldn’t usually take long but ended up spanning most of the night.
When she awoke in the midday after several long hours of deep sleep her ward stood by the only unboarded window, staring straight out not looking anywhere else. Concern built immediately that they’d been found or whoever cast that spell was back.
“Is something out there?” She asked wide awake despite just waking up, already stepping toward the window.
The boy moved so she could see out, the farm had fallen completely white through the night. Snow covered as far as the eye could see, wisps of smoke rising in the distance from old chimneys. Apparently they were much closer to town than they thought.
Beside her blue stood hopeful to be allowed to go out in it, never having been in snow before. Members of his court often telling stories of the human realm and its weather. But he wouldn’t dare ask the princess, his job was to learn not play.
Briefly relieved that they were inside during the frost fall, she turned back to her ward noticing his hopeful look. She had that same look the first time she had seen snow, but didn’t get to play in it until years later when she snuck into the human realm alone. A hand grazed his shoulder, “Go play I will call you if I need you,”
Taking his chance the boy rushed outside, ignoring the cold to jump into the crunchy frost. Sinking to his knees in the cold, despite standing straight. Lavender could hear him clearly while she moved around the house realising he’d already been up. A fire set in the hearth that they’d cleared out the night before, sorceress checking carefully it wasn’t blocked.
Candles were lit in rooms where light couldn’t invade, slowly burning away in the dimly lit house. So after a night of untangling curses she could get started with the protective wards. If they were to make this home it would need to be safe, and safe she would make it.