Daniel felt the cut just a moment before the attack came.
Before that moment, he had been almost humming the nursery rhyme 'Blister blaster, dropped in plaster, what's the matter?', that all who grew up in the Seelie Citadel knew. He had been pushing a tray of steaming buns as he went deeper into the King's Palace. There were still dozens of servants mingling, but the intensity of their presence was pleasant. It was a confusing journey. The interior was less confusing than the exterior and the grounds, but there was still something strange about a section of walls being made of suspended fire and swirling vortexes of clouds. The ballroom had been more traditional at least, but here the...unlikely designs were rampant.
How to keep the Game interested? How to keep it interested. How to supply gooseberry wine in such a way to embarrass Lordling Marisbane? Clearly, it was her Court that would attack him. They had the right to assassinate the Game. If they could stop him, it would be in their best interest to do so.
Daniel took a turn left when everyone else turned right, and he found himself alone as he pushed a cart bearing tall trays with bread rolls under a silver domed lid, the cart making a soft squeaking noise every so often through the grandeur of the palace.
Taking bread rolls upward. That was funny. The High Fae, powerful. Mighty. The full growth of a Lord. Elswith had felt, especially in the last several years, that he was not going to make it to such a lofted position. That he would never wander the meetings of such mighty and terrifying Fae.
And now he was.
To deliver bread.
Daniel continued walking. He had the directions written out on a small card. The material of the Palace became more and more elaborate as he navigated to the more exclusive and private sections. The ballroom he had departed had had some more common elements, such as swirling floors of jade and sapphire, but now the materials were becoming barely materials at all. One section had been comprised of the tangible form of justice and beauty. At least he was now in a section made of condensed thunder clouds, with lightning flickering in the depths. He could understand thunderclouds. Those were already mostly tangible to begin with.
"Run." Echoed Shelby's voice from no where.
Daniel paused. Normally, heeding a warning was wise. But running heedless of a trap was foolish.
Besides, she should be home in whatever servant's quarters she stayed at. She had seemed very reliable to take care of herself. Why would he hear her here, now. When he was supposed to delivery bread to the High Fae.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Daniel paused. The direction he had just come from had been replaced with...
It almost looked like the Stable.
The way that the hall liked to hide the end so you couldn't see the door, so you may not notice when it moved; the coloration of the walls, hiding deep shadows; the subtle climb upward or downward that hinted of a great but imperceivable incline.
Maybe he would push the cart with a little more vigor after all.
He started walking faster.
The King's Palace was much newer than the Stable. There was no way. It was impossible.
Out of a doorway on his left (that appeared from nowhere), he saw a moonlit field. It was not showing anywhere close to here. In the distance, he could see ruins.
"What is going on?" He muttered, committing himself to his task...
Then he remembered Talia's advice. If there is a game watching the assassination attempt, you can keep it entertained by exploring the ruins...
He was tempted to explore. But if the Stable was coming here, then that meant the standard rules applied. No exiting from doorways not on the map, especially to places that were clearly not in the Citadel. And that was clearly not here. It almost looked like Unseelie land, with the purplish soil near the ruins.
"I'm sorry, Game, there will be action soon." He muttered, thinking of his task with the High Fae.
The difference in power between Lordling and High Fae was like comparing a lit candle with the sun. However, in this case, the High Fae may be powerful enough to snuff out both. Tears in reality occurred amongst the High Fae. If not for the Fairy King and his decrees, there would be no guarantees of those tears ever getting mended. In all truth, the Fairy King was almost a fairytale, with very little direct interaction. Instead, from what Daniel felt, that the High Fae were the more terrifying as their whimsy ran violent at times.
And several wanted him dead.
Delivering bread was starting to feel like a bad idea now. At that time, he had needed something interesting to do, and he also needed to find a solution to the wine issue.
The High Fae would be the most constricted and restrained of all the those who wished him harm. Those who disliked him would be massively shackled and reduced, like a dog with a short chain.
And yet...Daniel still remembered that mountain that used to be there... It wasn't just destroyed, mountain stone crushed into gravel. No, it was worse, as the range was ripped up and a mile deep crater was the inverse memorial that remained.
And as he thought about that deep cut, was the moment he felt the deep, cutting intent.
He abandoned the cart, rolling away. His focus slipped, and his clothes reverted back to the Hall Attendant of the O'Tells, though there were none to see it, none, except the stranger approaching, wide brim hat with a gauzy veil.
The strike came, though the swordsfae did not draw any nearer. The misty materials of this current hall scattered, casting the region in a veil of fog. The sound of thunder and lightning came as the wall was breached. The concept of bad weather had escaped, and the taste of lightning as familiar as it was dangerous. Daniel wished he had his sword. He had nothing.
Daniel could feel the intent, the focus of the swordsfae. It was as hot as blood.
There was a little jingle of some bells, soft and faint. The attacker was moving.
Sight was impossible, as even the ground was unsure as the fog continued to pour from the damaged wall.
Attacked. Here. Now. Inside the Fairy King's Palace. On his way to deliver bread.