The Alpha And His Rejected Fae Princess

Suffering

Third Person POV

Sadie was upset. Her father had been yelling at her again. She didn't understand it. She hadn't done anything, well not really. She had accidentally bumped into a table with a vase and shattered it. It had been an accident. She hadn't meant to. She probably shouldn't have been running in the hall, but what else was she supposed to do? Her mother, Cassandra, had stepped in and intervened, again, telling her father to calm down, but he'd been so angry, glaring right at Sadie, as she'd flinched from the look in his dark brown eyes that were filled with contempt.

"If you need to run, then go run outside," her mother said quietly.

Sadie had looked at her in shock. This was the first time her mother would permit her to go outside alone. She normally had to wear a cloak outside, in order to protect her identity. But her mother looked exhausted, with dark circles underneath her eyes, her belly swollen with pregnancy, and her ankles swollen. She was struggling. This was the first pregnancy in the last few years she had managed to bring to term.

"But mummy" Sadie whined.

Cassandra shook her head. "You can play near the castle, just don't go too far," she said. She nodded to Deidre who took hold of the young girl's hand "Deidre will go with you."

Sadie brightened. She wasn't going by herself after all. She tugged excitedly on Deidre's hand. Deidre smiled reassuringly at her queen "We won't stray far Your Highness. Give us a shout if you need us" she told her.

Cassandra nodded, wanting nothing more than to go lie down. She was tired of dealing with her husband's constant mood swings. Initially, she had thought he had warmed to Sadie, but as the years passed and she suffered numerous miscarriages, he had grown cold and distant towards his daughter, yelling at her constantly and barely even looking at her if he could avoid it. It wasn't fair to Sadie, she thought with a sigh, but there wasn't much she could do about it either. Her hands were tied. As it was, she was amazed the King hadn't approached her for a divorce, for failing to provide an heir, but she knew that was because their people would be incensed by it. They would be angry at their King for daring to divorce their Queen. It was the only reason he hadn't dared to. She sighed and turned, heading to the bedroom, her back aching with pain. She would take a nap and then see how Sadie's day had been going. Thank goodness for Deidre, she thought gratefully.

Sadie tugged at Deidre's hand as they made their way downstairs. At the front entryway, Deidre stopped and grabbed hold of Sadie's cloak, placing it on her, hiding the fact that she had no wings. It was a bright red cloak, easily visible in the trees, so that Deidre wouldn't lose her. Deidre's cloak was a boring brown color that blended with the trunks of the tree and camouflaged her. Sadie much preferred her cloak.

"Now what are the rules?" asked Deidre, kneeling down to speak to the young fae child she had been taking care of since she was a newborn.

Sadie wrinkled her nose. Her green eyes flashed with mischief. "Never take off the cloak," she said in a hushed voice.

"That's right" agreed Deidre "What else?" she prodded.

"Always stay in eyesight," said Sadie who had heard this from Deidre a million times.

"Very good."

"What else?" asked Deidre, holding her breath.

"Never talk to strangers and don't go with any other fae. I only go with you" said Sadie "no matter what they say to me."

Deidre nodded. Since Sadie had been born, there had been fae curious to see the little Princess who wasn't touted at the various events that the King and Queen attended. Some of them went so far as to try and sneak into the palace. It had eventually stopped, but it hadn't prevented Deidre from taking certain precautions.

Deidre stood straight up and took ahold of the girl's hand, Sadie almost giddy with excitement. She hadn't been outside in what felt like forever. They walked outside, inclining their heads to the guards and out onto the forest floor, surrounded by majestic trees, all sorts of woodland creatures, and mushrooms near the bases of tree trunks. It was truly magnificent and exactly how an enchanted forest should look, thought Sadie as she looked around at everything the forest had to offer.

"Can we go in a little deeper?" she asked Deidre, wanting to see if any creatures would come close.

Deidre nodded, grateful to see that there were no curious looks from the other fae as they wandered. Sadie held tightly to her hand. For a while, there was nothing but silence, both of them glad for the companionship of the other, a gentle breeze caressing them as they wandered, the sky a beautiful clear blue with the sun shining brightly down upon them. The weather was perfect, neither too hot nor too cold, just right and Deidre inhaled deeply, loving the smell of pine mixed in with the floral smell of roses and flowers that were in abundance in the forest.

"It's so beautiful," said Sadie, skipping along. She let go of Deidre's hand and examined an unusually shaped rock, picking it up and looking at it, before placing it carefully back onto the ground.

Sadie saw a squirrel and waved at it. It chattered at her, an acorn in its hand, and then darted into the small hole at the base of the tree as Sadie sighed in dismay. Deidre fought the urge not to laugh. The poor child just adored animals, and it was a shame that her father would not permit her to have a pet of some kind. Sadie spun around in a circle and then fell down onto the ground, staring up at the sky as her back touched the soft and lush grass of the forest floor.

"Deidre" she murmured "do we really have to go back?" she asked.

Deidre felt a pang at that question. What child would ask something like that? One whose father openly despised her, that's who she thought to herself fiercely. She couldn't understand how the Queen could remain so loyal to a husband who could be so cruel to their child. She prayed that the baby was a boy and that the King would finally get his heir. Maybe then, he might show some compassion to his little girl.

"Won't you miss your mother if we didn't?" she asked Sadie instead.

Sadie bit her lip and then nodded slowly. She would miss her mother. She raised her head and looked at Deidre tearfully. "Why does Father hate me?" she asked.

Oh god, out of the mouth of babes thought Deidre feeling wretched. She blinked back tears and hugged Sadie to her chest, fighting back the sobs that threatened to erupt. "He doesn't hate you my darling" she lied "He's merely busy that's all. You just wait until the baby is born and you'll see that he'll be like a new person" she promised, her heart hurting.

Sadie blinked at her. Was it really that simple she wondered? She opened her mouth to ask something and then heard a whimpering noise nearby. She stared over at Deidre who looked a bit panicked. It was close to the border of the forest. Sadie stood up. Deidre grabbed her hand. "Don't go there, it's too close to the boundary" she said trying to tug Sadie away.

Sadie ignored her. The creature sounded like it was in incredible pain. She tugged her hand away from Deidre and moved forward cautiously, her eyes sweeping the forest floor. Something drew her to the creature. She felt her heart racing. The animal began to whine, a loud noise that caused her to wince. Deidre followed behind, looking nervously over her shoulder. The King was going to have her head for this, she thought grimly, but Sadie would scream the forest down if she attempted to take her away from a wounded animal. Finally, Sadie reached a small clearing and saw the source of the noise, a small silver wolf cub, staring at it shocked. Behind it was the barrier that was supposed to prevent animals from the human world crashing in, as well as humans themselves and supernatural creatures like werewolves. How on earth had it gotten in she wondered?