The great hall of the Ice Crystal Palace was silent but for murmurs and quiet gossip. There was only one sound echoing loudly in those halls, that of agony.
The ball usually held by the Winter Queen would be one of awe and reverence, with polite talk, beautiful music and slow dancing expected in it.
If some of those things, be it music or dancing, were to be happening regardless of someone's will, that's just to be expected.
It wasn't just an event to be awed by the beauties and treasures of the Winter Court. A time where is expected for relationships to form, or alliances to be made or broken.
And while this party was but an echo of the Winter Solstice Celebration, it is still an event to observe with most caution. All knew their place, and their roles in relation to the Winter Queen, and wouldn't dare act out of that role.
It's why when a fae messenger, that had already all but sold themselves into slavery, in order to have a Fae Lady, Lady Dodokrov--oh she may use Lady Eleen, but the Winter Queen knew the names of all her little fairies--a self-professed rival of Lady Viviane, make note of her absence, said fae messenger was given a salt bath. Without skin.
It was an annoying, insultingly amateurish move, to have a known opposition to Lady Viviane, be the one to bring up the Lake Lady's absence.
In the middle of the great hall, high enough for all to witness, was a massive frozen cube used as a clairvoyance medium.
The ice's clear surface showed the missing Lady Viviane. Showed her in a way that none had ever seen the reserved, reclusive aloof loner act before.
The testament of the Winter Queen's power to watch any and all her subjects, was ignored in favor of watching the exciting display of a Lake Lady take up arms fighting the First Human Woman.
Not only was there a buzz of excitement at watching this drama, with even bets being made, but Viviane's positioned was reevaluated by many of the attendees.
That the simple blacksmith, who only held a moderate amount of interest in the Winter Court's talks and games, actually had that much power. The might that...some might even compare to the Winter Queen.
It brought up entertaining ideas. Dangerous ideas.
For the Winter Fae, what could be more entertaining but danger.
And then there was the fact that Lady Viviane was married. To an Archangel.
What was almost scandalous, was that said marriage contract was empty of any conditions on either side.
It was a most dastardly, unorthodox and some might even say...risqué proposition. Curiosity was running rampant. The how, why and what was exchanged on every tongue, as the rumor circulated and became it's own monster.
Throughout it all, Mab, the Winter Queen watched all these events with a silent expression on her throne. As one would expect of the elegant, powerful and beautiful Monarch of Ice and Cold.
After all, she was the perfect Winter Fae, the Ruler of the Unseelie Court, the Queen of Air and Darkness.
Spoiler: Mab, the Winter Queen
Mab tapped her finger on her armchair once, and the flayed messenger was now an ice sculpture alive yet silent for all eternity.
All through out this event, Mab watched in amusement thinking on how to approach this.
Awww, Viviane thinks she's in love. How cute.
Should she break up the happy couple she wondered? But that was overdone to the point of cliche.
Should she "share" in Viviane's "treasure" and use that time to interact more with the Fae Lady, and start having grasp Viviane's heart?
So many exciting possibilities.
The common fae would think Viviane converting to the Biblical God, not only following Him, but acting as his Saint would be a challenge to Mab's power. The Winter Queen thought such notion was nonsense.
Couldn't they see the opportunity Viviane's position brought? To be able to interact with the Heaven Faction so freely through Viviane's act, why Mab was tempted to grant the girl a boon for such unintentional act. Not that the Winter Queen would do such of course.
Then there was the husband, the boy...man--Mab noted, as his essence felt older than his physical form--the Archangel Raguel.
She could see why someone reclusive like Viviane would fall for him. He genuinely loves her, and openly expresses so.
When the Sword of Love was created, many fae shouted in glee, and value began to be assigned to it.
Then Raguel began chanting a most powerful and ancient spell. Nay, calling it a spell was a misnomer. A Divine Power would be a more correct term.
"To those of you who do not wish to die, or suffer terrible blindness, turn away from the cube. To those that believe they are strong enough, you can continue to watch as you please." Mab spoke in a monotonic tone, yet instantly nearly all the present attendees followed her words, and turned away.
Only the arrogant, or those who were actually "strong enough", or old enough to understand what's about to happen kept watching with the appropriate precautions.
Then it happen.
The First Light was cast. The Boundless Light before there was Light as a concept.
A truly devastating power, that made even the Winter Queen take notice. It had been centuries since she last saw it, and it was still as awe terror inspiring then, as it was now.
But more than that was what Mab felt happening within it.
Mab, as well as her counterpart Queen in the Summer Court, was connected to the Fae Realm on a fundamental level. She felt it's oncoming and going as one would feel wind on their arm, that they can hold and steer at will.
She felt Time rupture, spin and change in a very concrete matter when the First Light was cast.
An Alteration Path had occurred! Alarm swept through her, though her expression or body showed nothing. She spread her senses outward, looking for the cause, as she was sure the Summer Queen was doing as well.
How could this have happened without her noticing? Right under her nose?
Anger formed in her icy heart, as she thought about what she would do to the culprit once found. It galled her that such a thing could happen without her ever noticing the flow of changes to Time.
Mab found the cause.
And suddenly her anger turned to calm irritation, pointed at a single person.
Lucifer.
The cause for the Alteration Path that irrevocably set the timeline on a different course, had been the cambion she and the Leader of Hell formed together in secret.
Myrddin Emrys.
Child of her own blood. Mab was proud as she was irritated.
She wanted to see more. See what he did in this time, before he vanishes forever, as his existence fades. Such a shame that she wouldn't be able to interact with him, as she needed to act now.
She needed to contract Titania, the Summer Queen, and...work together to regain control of this situation. To ensure the time stream as under the Fae Realm can never be used without their permission again.
I'll need to tell Titania to write with me that invitation to Vishnu. That should get the time gods and spirits to attend the meeting.
A long time ago, the two, then young, Fairy Queen had given aid to the God of Preservation. In return they had been given a favor to call on him for a task that doesn't go against his dharma. However the one favor was given to both Mab and Titania, and thus it was never used as they could never agree on what to use it for.
A large part of their influence, was that theoretically they could called on the Hindu God to aid them. Thus both courts were never to be challenged openly. Ever.
In this situation, simply Vishnu's name and possible presence should be enough to give weight to the upcoming meeting about this Alternation Path and what to be done about it.
It occurred to Mab, that this type of situation might have been exactly what Vishnu saw with his Future Sight, the two Fairy Queens using his favor on, but given what she heard through the grapevine, Vishnu was doing nothing these days, but just meditate on the secrets of the universe. These meditations of his usually take centuries if not millennia at a time, and he only started recently, a decade or so ago. Thus Mab was sure he won't actually arrive to the meeting.
But first, Mab looked to the cube to see the angels of Heaven reviving their brother, and then the God of the Bible arriving to face the politically powerless Zeus.
Mab's eyes lingered on the sleeping Raguel.
I'll need to summon Viviane for a talk. ...Or should I just visit her?
She entertained the thought for a moment, and while seeing the Fae Lady's face at the Winter Queen visiting her...humble home, Mab could never lower herself to such actions.
With that amusing thought aside, Mab took her next action.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"That was a beautiful show. wouldn't you all say?" Mab spoke getting the attention of all the fae; the excited, the interested and the jealous. "We need to honor the Lady of the Gleaming Lake for such display, and shower her with the appropriate accolades. Well, Lady Llyn, please present yourself."
The attendees looked around, but a lot caught on to what was happening.
"Lady Llyn? Well, present yourself." Queen Mab spoke, as of course no one said anything. After all how could someone not there, arrive to accept their recognitions. Of course, not arriving as well, would be seen as...disrespectful to the host of the party. The Winter Queen.
"She is not present, your majesty." The queen's "daughter", Lady Maeve, informed the Winter Queen.
"Oh my..." Mab covered her mouth to hide her smile. "That just won't do."