Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the lovely crazyringo. I wrote this as a b-day gift last month, and she has given me permission to share this to the rest of the fandom. I promise there's no angst (for the main couple at least). Just fluff and a little side dish of a death-defying adventure.

Summary: Now a wandering soul who joined the Wild Hunt, Akko Kagari's the only one who could save the dying Seelie Queen. Dangerous quests were now a normal part of her new life.

The campfire cast an eerie, flickering light on the surrounding woods. Normally the forest would have been dark and silent at this late hour since humans with common sense would typically avoid the woods at night for every strange and dubious phenomenon happen. But now, it rang with the sounds of women's voices.

A new huntress sat apart from the general revelry. Despite being in their company for more than a day and a half, she still wandered by her lonesome without her love.

"Not joining in the fun, Akko?" A huntress with wild short red hair grinned in her direction.

She spoke in the ancient language of the Faeries and Akko, who had a great aptitude for languages had easily learned the basics.

The young huntress tossed the food satchel to the ground at the girl's feet. Then, coolly, she sat down cross-legged on her bedroll. With her green eyes fixed on the new girl, she uncorked her wineskin. "You should, you know. A little drink would do you good."

"No thanks, Amanda," she said, refusing. She winced at hearing her thick accent at speaking the fae language. "I do not drink."

"You are not even human anymore, yet you are being modest." Amanda chuckled as she drunk huge gulps.

Akko didn't want to show weakness for being a part of the Wild Hunt meant being endowed with beauty and prowess. Every path they took, flowers would either grow or wilt, the rocks would quiver in fear or excitement. Trails of golden and silver dust would be left in their wake.

But right now, she was the new member. She was lost without Diana.

"You will get used to the Hunt, I am sure of it. You are one of us now," Amanda reminded.

There was silence for a while. She knew it was part of Diana's duty to hunt alone for mischievous humans alone in the woods, but she did not know that the others would be cooped up in the corner unless Diana would give out orders.

The Wild Huntress Diana needed complete loyalty and obedience with all her huntresses, whether they were faeries and souls of lost humans.

Akko reached and tapped Amanda's shoulders. "How long have you known the Wild Huntress Diana?"

"She and I go way back. She's the one who gave me my first celestial sword." She broke off for a moment to inspect her sword and showed it to Akko.

The blade was gleaming like glass. Amanda sheathed it and sat back and resumed. "You know, I was about your age during our heyday together," she said, grinning at the recollection. "We were both insane. The messes we got into together! Heh."

Curious eyes flicked up to Amanda's. "Like what?"

Amanda raised a brow, and then roughly ruffled Akko's hair. "You want to hear war stories, is that it? Do I look like a bard to you?"

The new huntress winced and shrank away visibly.

Amanda chuckled. All Akko knew about her was that she was the only huntress who was the same as Diana—a faerie that belonged to neither the Seelie nor Unseelie court.

"I am not much of a storyteller, but I will try." Now she did, taking periodic sips of wine. "Years ago, before your old hometown was nothing but woods, an invitation was sent to the Wild Hunt to attend the Seelie Queen at her palace at midsummer. She needed hunters for a job, you see."

"A magical monster to hunt?"

Amanda sneered. "You could say that, but no. She wanted us to kill her own blood and flesh."

"Her child? But why?"

"I believe there was no record in human history books about it, but the leylines of the world had been tangled, forced into some kind of knot that the Seelie Queen's wayward child has created. The Princess could never be Queen for she was a bastard."

"Who was her father?"

"The Unseelie King," she said. "And the word was, he allowed the Princess to come and go in his own realm, but he does not treat her like royalty, merely as a pest reminding him of his foolish mistakes. Her 50 older brothers are every bit nasty to boot."

"But they hate each other," Akko said, recalling the storied her mother used to tell her. While the Seelie Faeries are nothing but mischievous creatures in endless spring and summer who are curious about humans and their emotions, the Unseelie Faeries are ominous in fall and winter and would rather kill humans than bargain with them. "Which is why the two realms are ruled differently and both treat each other as enemies."

"I had not been born to know the whole detail on that, and the elders would not dare tell the story. Sorry new girl."

"It's alright, please continue."

"So the Princess' actions have altered the seasons, but the chaos was everywhere. Life dying from the endless winter, and the icebergs melting because of a rise in temperature. The Seelie Queen has called us because she must be stopped before she does more harm to both the Faerie world and the human world. The Princess has been playing with terrible powers, and soon she will destroy more. The only way the energies can be sent back to balance was to kill her. And only those who are not allergic to iron can kill her, for it is the weapon to be used."

"D-did you kill her?"

A tiny, grim smile twisted her lips. "We occasionally accept jobs from both realms. When it comes with a good reason and a good price."

"Fascinating tale, coming from you. You two should eat rather than fill yourselves with wine and air." Another redhead handed both Akko and Amanda bowls of gruel.

Then, with a cool grin, Amanda extended her hand for the bowl. The other girl laid it on her palm.

Akko's eyes widened slightly, she was dead. A spirit. She does not know anything about the other Wild Hunt members if they were living or dead as she, but she didn't comment. It would be good to eat again. Without a word, she took the bowl in her hands and put it to her lips.

Amanda and the other girl watched closely as the new huntress swallowed her mouthful. Akko had to admit that the gruel was tasty. "What's your name?" she asked.

Wide brown eyes flicked briefly up to meet hers. "I am Hannah."

"Can I have another helping?" Amanda asked.

"Yes, you can."

Then, with a sigh of satisfaction, she tossed the empty bowl in Hannah's direction. Hannah caught it with flawlessly and went back to the campfire to pour it some more.

With their stomachs full, everyone readied themselves for sleep. The others dozed off easily, while others had a hard time. Some inside tents, some on bedrolls, and it surprised Akko that there were some who preferred the natural grass and would cuddle with their pet wolves or horses.

Who was Akko to judge them? She would cuddle to find a sense of security and warmth if she could. But she was basically strangers to everyone else for now.

"Sleep tight," Amanda said pleasantly. Then she returned to her own bedroll.

Although Akko did love a clean, soft bed every now and then, her first love was still lying down beneath the stars.

She stretched out on her bedroll and draped her blanket over herself with a deep sigh of contentment. Her muscles ached pleasantly from the day's fighting and riding. With great satisfaction, Akko closed her eyes.

Diana's eyes warily scanned the road ahead as she traveled. Occasionally she moved upward to scrutinize the trees that overhung the road. Diana had always possessed unusual physical strength, speed, and agility, and she used them to great effect.

Firelight flickered off the branches of the trees, lending warmth and mystery to the atmosphere. All was quiet, save for the occasional breeze that rustled the leaves, and the call of a lonely owl somewhere in the distance.

Diana entered the area full of glamour. She had just gone back from her scouting to find most of her recruits calling it a night. With just one watching over the whole camp and a lookout for any danger.

Barbara jumped from the tree branch she hid and bowed at her. "Welcome back, milady."

Diana's features hardened at the reminder that she found no lonesome mortals frolicking in the woods, and the fact that she was ambushed by the rebellious faeries by The Clearing. Sucy of the Unseelie lands still had issues with her when she pulled Akko out of the glamour to join the Faerie ring.

They gave a good fight, but Diana was much more capable than them. She easily fended them off, but not without being unscathed. Resolutely ignoring the throbbing pain of her wound, the thought of her waiting lover gave her quite a delight.

"How is the new recruit?"

"Akko had done a good job of helping set up the camp. She had obviously paid attention the night before."

"Good," she said, getting of her warhorse and handing the reins to Barbara, prompting the black-haired to excuse herself.

It was not much of a challenge to find Akko in the sea of sleeping huntresses. Diana looked down at the girl with amusement

Gently, she drew the girl's bangs back from her face and stroked her knuckles down the skin of her cheek. It felt good to touch her; it took Diana's mind off the dull ache of her shoulder. "Sleep well, little mouse," she murmured.

Akko's lips twitched upward slightly. Small fingers curled into a soft fist and then relaxed again.

Diana huddled beside the flames, trying to keep warm. She closed her eyes and rested her head against her knees, struggling to control her shivering, and the pain that throbbed in her left shoulder. It was growing again; it taxed her already depleted reserves. Diana shuddered and gave a soft groan.

There was movement. Then slender arms slipped around the Huntress' body. Diana sat up abruptly and found Akko crawling into her lap a moment later. She scowled down into the huge red eyes. "You are supposed to be sleeping," she said in Akko's old human language.

A small hand stroked her cheek. "You are hurting," Akko said softly.

The Huntress' scowl deepened. "It does not matter. I am immortal and I heal." Diana turned her gaze to the fire, letting her fingers rest atop Akko's soft brown hair.

"Of course it matters." Akko leaned up to kiss Diana's frowning mouth. "Isn't there anything I can do, Diana? Can't I find you some herbs or something? I hate to see you suffering like this."

Diana sighed and gave in, letting her new member draw her head down to rest against her shoulder. It felt good to relax a bit, even if it didn't help the ache of her wound. "It is too dark to go plant hunting, especially since you have not grown accustomed to the forest as we do," she muttered. "It would be rude to wake the others just for one tiny wound I can endure until morning. To ease yourself from worrying about me, you can try to find some willow bark tomorrow, once the sun is up. Until then I just have to grit my teeth and bear it. I have had worse."

Very gently, Akko kissed the wounded shoulder. "I want to sit with you," she pleaded softly. "I do not want to sleep when you are hurting." She thrust out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout.

"There is no point in that," Diana said as stoic as she can. Not wanting to reveal that she found Akko's pouting as severely cute. "If you are not going to sleep, then you should may at least be sluggish throughout the rest of the day."

"I am resting."

"You must get rest, Akko. The Seelie Queen has asked for our presence at midday. You need to be at top shape."

Akko's brows shot to her hairline. "Is she going to ask us to kill another evil child?"

Her eyelids fluttered, someone had probably told Akko of their other unusual duties. "We do not know for certain. So I repeat, you should sleep."

Akko's lower lip thrust outward, just a bit. "I can rest here just as easily as I can over there."

Diana softened, despite her masked suffering and anxiety. She reached out, grasped the girl by the scruff of her neck, and pulled her in to roughly kiss her forehead. "All right, my dear," she said quietly. "You can bring your bedroll over here if you like. But you have to go to sleep, then. Understand?"

Akko smiled, nodded, and went to fetch her bedding.

Although Diana would never admit it, she had missed the little scamp. It had been two years and they had not yet properly reconciled. Diana had duties, she was the leader of the Wild Hunt. Other mortals even refer to her as a goddess of her own right, and it was comforting when Akko laid down beside her.

She gazed down quietly, watching as Akko snuggled under her blanket and closed her eyes. One of Diana's hands drifted down to absently stroke Akko's hair. Akko smiled sleepily but didn't look up.

Diana shifted her weight and grimaced against the wave of pain that followed. Before she could stop herself, she sucked in a sharp breath.

Instantly, Akko's eyes opened and peered worriedly up at her. Diana shot her a warning look. The new huntress bit her lip, thought for a moment, and then wriggled up until her head was resting in Diana's lap. With a sigh of satisfaction, Akko closed her eyes again. Her small hand lay against Diana's thigh.

Diana relented with a sigh as she studied the peaceful little face. She had to admit that the contact felt good. Diana examined the slender fingers that rested on her leg and began to trace them softly with the tip of her own. She felt drawn to touch, to caress, and to hold. Her brow wrinkled. None of the old humans she used to hunt have ever had this effect on her. None of her past loves have ever had this effect on her.

It felt both exhilarating and terrifying as if she were plunging headfirst off a cliff into the unknown. Strange. Very like some of the love bard she had heard once from one of Barbara's own, now that she thought about it.

Diana laughed at herself.

She gently began to thread her fingers through Akko's hair again and was rewarded with another soft sigh.

The journey to the Seelie lands only took several hours with the help of their fae bred horses. The farther they rode into the woods, the warmer it became. They stripped off their furs and packed them away. Despite the warmth, a pall hung over them, and the sun remained hidden behind clouds.

Akko remembered how the in the stories, Seelie lands glow like it was ablaze for it was beautiful and mystical, so it was strange. The whole world was muted. She wondered if there was something wrong with herself as if she was seeing everything through a film of ashes.

As they rode through the streets of the Seelie's city, it became clear that the same miasma was affecting everyone. A few of the fae came out to watch them pass, and the ones who did look haunted. At the palace, a thin layer of dust drifted over its architecture. Their horses kicked it up when they rode into the courtyard, and it floated into Akko's nose and throat and made her cough.

The Seelie Queen's right-hand man took them directly through the quiet, dim halls to the throne room. Akko was shocked to see the Seelie Queen slumped over in her throne, her face as gray as the dust that drifted in ashy piles around their feet. Her hair was teal and brittle. She looked defeated; she looked ancient but still beautiful.

"What is wrong, your majesty?" Diana asked, stepping forward. She wore her deer antler circlet and Akko wondered how she might have managed to wear it without getting tired. Diana put one foot on the first step at the bottom of the dais but hesitated to go farther.

The Queen stirred, revealing her green eyes. "I am not well." She pushed herself upright and looked at the huntresses. Her tiara was made of leaves and flowers, as well as two grill-horns. "Come here."

Dread filling her, Akko watched as Diana climbed the steps of the dais. The Queen extended her hand, and when Diana took it, the Seelie Queen pulled her closer so that she had to kneel before the throne.

"This is what has become of me," she whispered, "for ordering the murder of my own child. I thought that removing her from this world would set things right, but I find that I was wrong. Her death has killed part of me, as well."

A droplet of liquid splashed down on her hands, and Akko realized that the Seelie Queen was crying. Every drop was ice: hard little shards like crystals.

"There is only one cure for me." The Seelie Queen ached with regret, energy leaking out of her. "The water of life. I must drink it."

Akko had been standing silent nearby, watching Diana kneeling before the Seelie Queen as if entranced, and a sense of uneasiness filled her. "What will happen if you don't drink this water of life?"

Diana's face constricted as if she had just witnessed Akko get herself into possible trouble. She had, after all, spoken out of turn. "My deepest apologies, Your Majesty. This is my newest huntress."

The Seelie Queen regarded them for a moment before she closed her eyes. "Understandably innocent. To answer your question, my dear girl, I will die," she said, her voice light as a dry wind. "And my land will die with me."

"Your land," Akko said. "What do you mean?"

"She means that Seelie lands will crumble," Hannah said. "She means that the Seele fae will die. And she means that the Seelie lands itself will perish. The trees will fall; the rivers will dry up; the earth will become nothing but ash. And if the Seelie lands will fall, there will be no more spring, no more summer. No one to stop the Unseelie lands to decimate the entire humanity and make them slaves."

"Does Her Majesty have no heir?" Akko whispered.

"The Princess Chariot is still unfit for duty," Amanda whispered back.

"Which is why," Diana interceded. "I will leave as soon as possible and get to the unicorn, Your Majesty."

"No, no. Not you." The Seelie Queen said, pointing at Akko. "Come here, child."

Akko took three quick steps towards Diana and stood next to her.

The Seelie Queen's fingers pressed against her cheeks. "Listen to me. You can save me. You can save all of us."

"How?"

"You, Atsuko Kagari, are the only one who can save me."

"You know who I am?"

"I have ears everywhere my dear child. The woods, the water, the animals, all of nature, they obey to me. You frequent the forest when you were still human, dear child."

Akko was hot and cold at the same time. "What do I have to do? How do I find the spring where this water comes from?"

"It is not a spring."

Akko stiffened.

"The water of life is the blood of the unicorn."

"The unicorn?"

"Why only me?"

"You must seek out the unicorn and submit to its judgment. If it finds you innocent, then it will sacrifice itself to you and give you its lifeblood. You will bring it back to me."

Akko remembered the stories, of course. Everyone told them. But this was akin to asking her to hunt down a dragon, and though she had seen enough wonders for an entire lifetime in the short period she had been in in the Wild Hunt, this was too much to take in.

Besides, in those tales, no one ever survived the judgment of a unicorn.

"What if it finds that I'm not innocent?" she asked.

The Seelie Queen said somberly, "If it judges you guilty, then it will kill you. But seeing as you are already dead would mean the creature will devour your soul."

A thick silence blanketed the throne room. Akko felt feverish. Everything seemed unreal. She wiped her hand across her brow, leaving a streak of dust over her skin.

Diana's voice cut through everything. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, but this is mad," she objected. "Even for the likes of the Fae. It was I that drew the iron blade. I have the burden."

"Your friends do you much honor," the Seelie Queen said to Akko. "But in the end, it is your choice alone."

Akko looked at the Queen, frail and aged. She looked at Diana and the rest of the hunt, whom she might never see again if she did as the Seelie Queen asked. But the fate of the two worlds pulled her in the only direction she could go. She turned to the throne and said, "I will do it."

The Seelie Queen bowed deeply to her in thanks. "Leave as soon as possible. I believe I will not live on the fortnight."

The lovers rode toward the stately trees as quickly as she could, but it was noon before she felt the shade of the first tree on her back. She continued on, and the trees began to grow more thickly. Sunlight dappled the ground; afternoon slid into dusk, and shadows spread purple and blue across the golden forest. The wind grew cooler. There was no end to this forest.

Akko followed Diana as they reined in their horses. They swung out of the saddle and led the horses off the road. With deft fingers, Diana undid the harness and tethered her horse to a nearby tree. Akko did not tie hers, but she hummed under her breath as she began to rub her horse down.

"This is where we part." Diana offered her to take a silver horn cup with a leather strap affixed to it. "After the judgment, you must fill this cup with blood, and bring it back. Follow the river upstream and you will find the unicorn's dean. You must meet him alone. I will be waiting for you here."

Akko took the horn from her, feeling oddly calm and slung it around her shoulder, resting it on her hip next to Diana's iron dagger that she lent. "Diana. May I ask you a question?"

"You just did," the Huntress mumbled. "Though I suppose you have a thousand."

"You have had a lot of things... happen to you," Akko said softly. "I mean, from what Amanda had told me. And some of those things have been really... well, kind of ugly. Right?"

Diana's eyebrows drew together. "I suppose."

"And some ugly things you could not really do anything about," Akko went on, without pausing in her work. "But now you are really strong and brave, so... how did you get through it, Diana? How did you keep all those things from destroying you? You might be immortal and all that, but you did not let it wither you." Her soft voice broke abruptly. "That is my question."

"If something does not go the way I intended it to and I cannot do anything about it," Diana said bluntly, "I push myself until I am capable enough, and then I strike it with my arrows. There are worse things," she whispered.

That was all.

Akko sighed. "I guess that would work if I had an experience like you," she murmured. "But I am never going to have that anymore, Diana. I am now to embark into a perilous journey on my own, and I could not have practice and experience to prepare myself."

The Huntress quirked a sardonic brow and eyed her. "No, you are right. You will not."

There was silence. Akko resumed at fixing her horses' saddle in quiet misery.

Diana sighed and cleared her throat. "Sometimes you are pushed through challenges you are not prepared for. People expect a lot form you. You just have to make a decision. Do you want to be alive? Do you want to be happy? If you do, you just have to put your head down and plow through. There just is not any other bloody way sometimes."

"You sound like Amanda for a bit."

"And your speech pattern has improved."

Akko let out a giggle. "That means you guys have influenced me."

"I cannot argue with that. And to my defense, Amanda's philosophy has been helpful in times of peril," Diana said, then paused. "Being the one to save the world that much of an imposition on you?"

Akko seemed to sense the danger in the question. She flicked her red eyes up to meet her lover's, briefly, and then looked away.

Diana could not quite restrain a chuckle at this. The dangerous glint in her blue eyes faded away. "Listen to the world, my love," she said. "There are worse things than being in sent to the judgment of the unicorn?"

"Yes, Diana. There are." Akko's voice was quiet, but it didn't waver. "I could be a trapped as a human slave in a faerie revelry, for example. I could be living miserably without you."

"I know you are scared. I am scared for you too. I have waited for years for us to be together. I would sourly hate it when you will be taken away again."

Akko gulped. Another question emerged from the back of her mind. "Can you at least tell me about the poor princess? I want to know the root cause of me heading off to face judgment."

"Her hair was the color of lilac, her eyes the color of the sea filled with life," Diana started. It was strange, but Diana lost herself in the telling of her the late princess' story. The memories rose up before her mind's eye as she spoke, as real as the forest in which they stood together. "Princess Croix of the Fae was the first born child of the Seelie Queen and one of the many bastards of the Unseelie King. Growing up, she was envious of her younger sister, Chariot, who was born rightfully for the throne. In her pent-up plethora of emotions, she harnessed human emotions, converted it to energy and used it to control the leylines. The weather was only the surface of the dilemma. She had created a monster who does her bidding. You know how it went in the end for her."

Akko nodded. If Amanda's tale rang true, Diana killed the Princess during her early years. A restraint sob escaped her throat.

"Akko, are you crying?"

"It was so sad," Akko said with wet red eyes and a tear streaked face. She rubbed at her cheeks with slim hands, uttering another little sob. Then she slipped her arms around Diana's body and hugged her tightly. "I am so sorry," she whispered. "I am sorry you had to do the dirty work."

"No, Akko. It must be I who should ask for your forgiveness. You are fixing every piled up mistake the Fae had done. And..." she ceased her words.

The two lovers did not mention the possibility that the judgment might render Akko incapable of returning. None of them want to ponder about it.

Akko thought she ought to be afraid— terrified, even, for she might be riding to her ultimate and final death. But instead, she only felt ready. She had come so far, and in a way, she felt as though she had been preparing for this her whole life. She buckled the iron dagger onto her belt and mounted her horse.

"I will be back, Diana."

"Promise me then," she whispered.

"I promise."

Diana nodded, though her eyes searched through the new Huntress. Akko felt bare all of a sudden. "Akko, do you miss your human life sometimes?"

"Hmm? Sometimes, but I would rather be here with you. So you are right. I have to grin and bear this mission. This is normal for the Wild Hunt's everyday life."

"Akko, once you have come back. Do you want to visit your poor mother and your sister after all this?"

"I would love that very much."

"Then it is settled then," Diana said, her voice was weary.

Akko looked up; Diana's eyes were full of deep sadness and guilt that sent a pang through her own heart. Akko kissed the warrior's cheek.

"Come back to me."

Akko gave her a nod and mounted her horse.

Her horse was unusually skittish. She felt his muscles trembling as she unsaddled him, and he pranced as if he wanted to leave.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice sounding strange in this wilderness.

Akko tried to calm him down, but he continued to be nervous, and at last, she had to tie him to a tree, afraid that he would bolt.

She tried to rest a little and glanced up at the sky. It was the golden hour. Akko had reached the upstream but the horse's anxiety and the keening of the trees made her unable to locate the unicorn. She decided to sit against the trunk of a tree and dozed off a little when suddenly the horse whinny loudly. She scrambled to her feet and saw the tail end of her horse disappearing through the trees.

"Stop!" she yelled, but the horse did not halt. She looked at the tree where she had tied it, and the rope was still knotted around the trunk. The end that had been tied to her horse's halter flapped loosely in a slight breeze.

Ice slid down her spine, and her heart pounded. Akko trembled in silence. She bent over, hands on her knees, trying to calm herself. She was suddenly aware of how alone she was in this peculiar place, and she had the uncanny sensation that the trees were watching her.

It was chilly noon, she could feel occasional breaths of cool air caressing her face as the breeze filtered in through the trees. Despite all that, she felt perspiration rise on her skin. The direction of the wind abruptly shifted, and the melody that had been running through the leaves changed.

Something—or someone—was nearby.

She could not sense people's energies the way that a Wild Huntress like her could, only the soft footfalls upon grasses was all she had heard.

Akko straightened, glancing around, but she saw only trees. She tried to swallow her fear; tried to ignore the prickles of panic that raced along her skin.

"You are here for a reason." She told herself. "I am here for an honorable reason."

She clenched her hands into fists and turned into the wind, letting it stream over her head, loosening her hair. The sun was up high, shedding light over the golden forest, and in the shadows, she thought she saw something moving in the distance.

Was it the unicorn or was it another imposing figure? She chewed her lip as she mulled it over.

Akko firmly planted her feet on the ground, slightly crouching. Whatever it was, it was best to prepare for any kind of attack. No one to impede her progress.

"I am here for your judgment," she whispered. The shadows moved again, but they did not come closer. She raised her voice, bracing herself. "I am here for your judgment!"

She felt suspended in the wind. The music of the trees rang in her ears. She wondered how long she would have to stand there, waiting. The leaves shook like tambourines.

The unicorn seemed to step out of nowhere. It was a male. His head was small and perfectly formed, shaped like that of a deer. The horn, a speckled, ivory spiral, protruded from between eyes that were undeniably intelligent.

Akko kneeled down before him, her whole body tense. "I am here for your judgment," she said once more.

She suddenly felt the unicorn's consciousness fill her mind. There was a sensation of someone tearing her open. All of her, heart and soul, was spread out before this creature, and he examined every last detail of her life. Akko was not foreign to the experience. Diana sometimes would stare at her and she could feel her love, able to read her like an open scroll. But this was different. If Diana had nimble fingers, caressing the pages of her life, the unicorn would force it open and fold the corners, scarring her pages.

He saw her memories of childhood—roughhousing with her playmates, running around town, doing her mundane chores, begging her mother for some dried plums and asking for faerie stories as night fell. There was her first trip to the forest where she first met Diana; the time she had upset her mother because she had not finished her chores on time; the cool breeze of the forest on a spring day. The moment where she truly realized that Diana was not human.

Akko's eyes flew open. The unicorn lowered his head. She looked into his black eyes, and though he did not speak in words, she understood him.

Harmony.

That was the heart of nature.

Every living being—plant, animal, human, fae—had its place in the cycle of life and death. In this cycle, countless creatures worked in tandem as well as against one another. All of these beings formed a complicated whole that shifted and changed in order to maintain that harmony.

Tears slid down her face. The experience of being human—of laughing, of loving, and of dying—would be imprinted on her always. She had been given an extraordinary gift when she was retrieved by the Wild Hunt for a second life. She understood that now, and she knew she had a responsibility to live up to her short life—if the unicorn allowed her to.

He lowered his horn until the point came to rest lightly against her chest. The touch of it sent a shock through her. All he had to do was push forward, and she would be dead. Stabbed through the heart, left to bleed could be her fate, but the unicorn remained still. He was not finished with her.

The Seelie Queen must live, so the balance will remain. Akko knew that the Seelie Queen would never be the same again. Her time to die would come soon. But she needed to live—for now.

The unicorn lifted his head and gave Akko permission to draw his blood with the knife Diana used, the same one that had killed Princess Croix.

There was an interminable pause. Akko squeezed her eyes shut and waited. She was aware of the blade poised on her hip. It would take so little for Akko to thrust it through the unicorn's neck. She had to steady her own breaths with an effort. At last, with shaking hands, she slid the blade across his throat, there was a sickening burst of pain, and Akko caught the fresh gush of blood flow with the horn. Drop by drop, his life fell into her hands.

The end, when it came, was sudden and unexpected.

She had been walking for almost six hours. The sun had been just past its zenith when she started out; now it was setting, flooding the woods with weird shadows and tinting everything with red.

She could see the camp she left earlier from a distance. She did not even know how she tore her way through the wall of danger between her and her love. The next thing Akko knew, she was there. She caught a brief glimpse of Diana's frightened blue eyes, and her horse, who had found his way back on his own, looking none the worse for his experience in the unicorn's grove.

Diana looked as if she had aged, bravely brandishing her the tip of her arrows as she wait. She stopped suddenly, her head coming up in a motion Akko recognized as scenting presence. Akko became very still herself, watching the Wild Huntress leader nervously.

She could see Diana's eyes narrowing, "Akko?"

"Yes love, I am here," Akko said, lingering where she stood. "This is only the beginning, right? There are more impossible missions to fulfill?"

Diana took a sharp intake of breath but she kept still. "And yet, I have survived countless. You will continue to survive this, Akko. Soon you will have the same experiences as I do." She then cleared her throat, "Is it done?"

"Yes," she said. Her whole body drained and exhausted as she held up the horn.

Relief flooded into Diana's face, making her look almost human. "Then we must return."

Akko ran and flung towards her in a sudden burst of passion. Diana stretched her arms open to catch her. Together, their lips pressed against each other.