[center][color=6ecff6][b]Arys[/b][/color][/center]

Light danced through the icy crystalline walls of the Winter Court. The court members whispered quietly. Today was NOT a good day to be noticed by Her Majesty. It was the Day of Meeting. It always put their Queen in a foul mood. The reasons were not spoken aloud, for fear of drawing her wrath.

The Queen of Winter herself Aryssyla Te'GarNegan, known by the shortened form 'Arys' by everyone else, sat upon the throne. The Court and the throne itself mirrored the Queen : elegant and graceful, beautifully crafted but hard and cold, unyielding.
No one knew the Queen's full name. She shortened it to tease other Fae, the shortened form tantalizing the tongue with the flavor of her true name without the power of the full.

A large circle of frosted ice lay before the throne, flanked by statues of frozen corpses of those who had displeased the Queen, their faces frozen in torment forever as a warning to others.
The Queen's expression was the same as ever : stoic and brooding. A smile rarely graced her lips and when it did her people knew to run.
Why stay in a Court with such a ruler? Because despite their fear they respected their Queen and knew she would protect them from any threats. As long as they remained loyal they need not fear being added to her collection of frozen corpse decorations.
Her grey gown was made of the finest silk. It wrapped around her slim figure in a flattering way while still being maintaining an air of regality. Her pale skin shown like ivory against the grey color, no blemishes to mare the smooth perfection. Her white hair hung in curling rivlets down her back. Many winter fae felt great pride in their Queen's beauty, unmatched in all of the Winter Realm.

Arys stood, the court quieting at her movement. Stepping down the small steps, she approached the circle of frosted ice. With a wave of her hand the ice shimmered and swirled, revealing an image of the meeting place : the standing stones in the human world. The human world had always been the place for meeting, considered neutral ground by the fae rulers.
Arys' eyes narrowed. [i]He[/i] would be there. It would be their first meeting since [u][i][color=ed1c24][b]he had broken her heart.[/b]
[/color][/i][/u]

A blast of cold air rushed through the court, reflecting the cold anger of the Queen. Her eyes were filled with icy fury. There had been a time where she had been happy and smiling, not nearly as much as Spring but happy enough. But now her heart was frozen in her chest. She had done it to herself after the [i]incident[/i]. Now she felt nothing but anger.

No one had arrived yet. Spring would likely be the first. Flakey twit.
Arys' gaze moved up to sweep the court. They understood without words : maintain order while she was gone.
"As you will," they all murmured in unison.
Taking her time, Arys left the caverns that served as the Winter Court and her home. The forest beyond was quiet. Arys walked slowly, the ground turning to frost with her footsteps.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[center][color=f49ac2][b]Lyra[/b][/color][/center]

The warm still air of the Summer Forest was broken by giggles. A small figure darted among the trees, giggling gleefully as she outmaneuvered the guard sent to fetch her. She didn't want to go to the stuffy old Court room were all of the mean boring people glared at her. She wanted to play!
The guard was exasperated as he chased the little creature. Humans were filthy stupid creatures and their spawn were downright annoying!
"The King has ordered you to remain in the Court until he returns!" he shouted once again to the fleeing child.
[color=f49ac2]"You can't catch me!"[/color] Lyra called in the singsong voice all children knew.
"If I was allowed to use brute force against you I could," the guard grumbled.

The child was actually a couple centuries old, the King having stopped her growth at age four to keep his darling little pet a pup forever. The court members didn't understand it. At least if she was of age she could be a bed warmer for the King. At her current age and mentality she could be nothing but a diversion to laugh at. The court could only wait patiently for the King to grow bored of the little creature and be rid of her.
Her years in the court had taught her how to avoid being caught. She embarrassed the guards on a regular basis with her ability to hide from them. At once they got angry enough she would run to the King and act cute and innocent, which got him to defend whatever she had done.
Not that he spoiled her overmuch. He was firm with her when she needed it. But usually the child got what she wanted.

Finally the guard caught her as she tried to climb a tree that was too high for her to reach. He plucked her up by the back of her dress, a red summer dress with tiny yellow flowers adorning it. Her hair was tangled and full of leaves from her running and diving under bushes to get away from the guard.
Tucking her under his arm, her carried her into the court while she thrashed. [color=f49ac2]"I don't wanna!"[/color] Lyra whined.
Once they reached the King the guard dropped her at his feet. "She ran again," was all he said in explaination.
Lyra gazed up at the King with large eyes, her lower lip sticking out in a pout. [color=f49ac2]"I don't wanna stay inside,"[/color] she said. [color=f49ac2]"I wanna go with you Ba-Ba. Can I go with you? Please? Please please?"[/color]
Her little arms wrapped around his leg as she looked up at him with the best puppy begging eyes she could do. The power of cuteness was not to be taken lightly, and Lyra had it in abundance.