Maeve's Daughter ~ Throne of Glass

Chapter 9- "Maevespawn"

The two female rose from their embrace, a silent conversation playing out on their faces. They turned to face the others, and Rowan was there, indescribable gratitude in the inaudible words he softly uttered to Freya. Slowly they group filtered back into the tent.

Gavriel rarely spoke up, but he did so now once everyone had gathered  , curiosity shining in his tawny eyes, "So... Freya, how have we not known you, after all these years? I can't remember a time you've not been present in Maeve's court, but I'd always assumed you were some kind of, familiar?" Lorcan nodded his head in agreement.

She paused, hesitating, "It's a very, very long story."

They all just looked at her, expectantly. Aelin, asked hesitantly, the question they were all thinking, "Who is your family, what's their name?"

Freya chuckled darkly, "You couldn't really call her a family, but in my head always just called myself Freya Maevespawn, which sounds as disgusting as it feels."

Fenrys's face paled, as white as his wolf coat, along with the rest of them- jaws dropped an so on , 
"W-who sired you? How old are you, you're not m-"

He was cut off by a howl of laughter from Freya, her fangs flashing in glee, "Oh no no no no pup, you're not my father" she cackled, "I'm old enough to be your great great great and so on grandmother." Borte's face (and the other humans) shone with awe.

"Actually... I think Maeve is one of the only .. things.... left in these lands older than me and I might even be related to you very very distantly Whiterhorn."

"How?" Rowan asked simply- the shock still evident on his face.

Her eyes fixed on the great golden sword at Aelin's hip.

"Athril," Aelin followed her gaze and breathed in realisation, all in the cadre swore.

"Since we're to be friends, I won't ask for the sword back- it suits you, although I'd quite like the ring," she grinned devilishly, the expression soon eerily mirrored on Aelin's face, she liked her.

"Of course, of course I assume you know what it does ," she waved her hand.

Freya hummed in response her gaze, scanning over the party still assembled before her, hanging onto her every word. "So many familiar faces, your greatnesses," she nodded to the khagan's children , "It's been an age since I saw you."

Sartaq raised an eyebrow in response, "We've met before?" he inquired regally.

"Of course, you wouldn't remember," she chuckled, "you both were so small and sweet at the time, what happened.."

Sartaq's face remained blank but suddenly Hasar yelled, "LYDA!!" triumphant realisation written on hers, that soon turned to disgust, "Why in the hell do I think you were our old nursemaid?!"

Freya had the decency to pretend to look slightly guilty, but a smirk was tugging at her red lips, "It was one of my more enjoyable characters, Maeve stationed me in your court for two years," then she nodded to Aelin, "and for 8 months in yours" her face became slightly miffed and her nose wrinkled , "but your uncle was a suspicious man, so I could only get in as a scullery maid."

Aelin grinned proudly and Gavriel chortled but Fenrys asked, "Sorry, but can we go back to the fact that your father is a legendary Fae warrior and your mother the most powerful Faerie-bitch queen to ever exist- who also enslaved three of us here for centuries?!"

Her face hardens but she only asked incredulously "You still believe that Maeve is Fae?" searching their now nervous  faces.

"Ah," Chaol spoke gravely, "we had just been getting to that."

Nesryn nodded speaking softly, "You may want to sit down."

Aelin sat.

~

"Maeve is a Valg queen?" Rowan breathed. Aelin said nothing, couldn't find the words- glad she'd sat down as numbness spread through her body.

"Yes" Nesryn nodded, "the kharankui told us the entire history" so Nesryn did as well, how Maeve grew bored and left her husband Orcus, and how the three kings had torn worlds apart to find her. The life she crafted for herself, ripping into the minds of the Fae.

Aelin looked wordlessly at a stony faced Freya, begging for her to dismiss it all, but she only nodded curtly.

"We thought she kept an enslaved Fae healer, to protect herself, in owl form should the Valg ever reach her, but now obviously we know that not to be true.."

"Well, technically speaking that is true, although I'm not fully Fae, though my body is" she spoke resignedly, "but I am enslaved, the only reason I've managed to be here is using the Old Ways."

Her sad eyes met those of Fenrys, expecting coldness or pity, but finding only a mirrored understanding.

Aelin whistled slowly in appreciation, before grinning ferally, "I'd quite like to see what a Faerie Valg princess can do..."

Freya rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, you will" she promised amused, "but aside from my father's healing there's only a small part of dark magic in me."

Yrene grinned then, "Well that's what we need to tell you, the Valg can be destroyed by healing magic,"

She went on to explain the Valg's parasitic properties  and how she could cure the human hosts of them.

"It's also why she fears fire, why she fears you." Sartaq added, jerking his chin towards Aelin.

"That's why she wanted to break you, so she could enslave you like me" Freya spoke sadly to her, but the room grew silent, faces pale and Freya realised they didn't all know where the Queen of Terrasen had been.

Aelin explained quietly, but not meekly, "I was Maeve's prisoner for two months, she wanted me to reveal the location of the two Wyrdkeys. She wanted to break me to her will, to conquer the world. Now it seems she just wanted to add me to her shield of protection," she glanced at Freya.

"Then we'll make that bitch pay for that, too, won't we?" Hasar then hissed, breaking her silence.

Aelin met her dark stare, before looking into the dark golden orbs of Freya's, set in determination,

"Yes, we will."