Starlands - Mated To My Bully

A spell has cursed our lands for seventy-three years. Fae males were led to rule and females were made to serve. Most accepted their fate but I didn’t want to accept it. I knew better. Grandma Winslow had fought to give me every opportunity and I was going to fight until the end, no matter the risks. ‘Move it, CC.’ Emrys says as he shoves me back into my room and walks down the hallway. There is enough space for us both to pass but he hates the sight of me. He’s never said those words, but his actions make it clear enough. I live with my bullies ‘the chosen ones’ in the institution. The popular males who got what they wanted and always won. It always came easy to males like them and they wouldn’t accept me no matter how hard I tried. They would always be stronger and better. Seeing me as weak. I was, after all, called ‘cowardly clove’. It’s a name I was given when I joined the institution on the outskirts of the Deadlands at age sixteen. Most males are placed in housing with four other males of equal calibre. I joined late because of when my birthday is, and it meant I got the last remaining place. I now live with the Inviolable. Never to be broken, infringed, or dishonoured. I am the weakest in the institution. The ‘feminine’ male who should never have come here. The truth is, it’s all true. I’m not a male. I am certainly no match for the strongest Fae Males. There are whispers that if they bond-tie when they are eighteen they will be indestructible, and I can see why others would think that. There are two institutions at the bottom of our lands. Our lands are shaped like an octogram star. River runs across them to make the lines of a star, dividing up the villages which are inside each point of the star. The triangular space at the bottom of the points, between the joins and the centre makes up the spaces of the education. Each join between the villages is where the keeper lives. The keepers are solo Fae Males who are much stronger and larger than usual Fae. They were bred with giants and completely immortal. They guard by keeping watch over the sea and lands. Rumours say that they can control some of the beasts which run through the forest. In the centre of the star, the octagon of the Fae Lands, lies the kingdom ruled by the King and Queen. They reside in the middle in a huge castle which is surrounded by rivers, cliffs and waterfalls and then forest around them. To get into the castle you need to be invited and a special magic will guide you there. It’s protected under so many spells that you cannot enter. Whispers of dragons and other beasts residing in the forest and Kairs residing in the rivers. They are large snake-like creatures with bear-like heads, large protruding thangs, six dragon feet and a long tail with a poisonous tip. Normal Fae only ever leave our village to visit our education at the joins between our villages. There are eight villages. Five are on the outskirts of the warmer mountains and two are on the outskirts of the cold mountains and the middle, bottom village is the Deathlands. Females don’t know about the deathlands. They don’t know the seasons of the other villages or how deep the forest goes. This information is only for males. All Fae females had lost their powers to the curse. We were made to be homemakers. Enslaved to our homely chores and forced to be breeders. Males received an education. They were taught to read and write, to fight, and to empower their magic. Females were taught to cook, clean, to raise children. Any powers we used to have in our bloodlines were diminished seventy-three years ago. Any female still honing magic would be called a witch and hanged. It was a rare occurrence for any female to gain her powers upon her eighteenth birthday but they were quickly diminished by death. It’s why an eighteenth birthday was a huge celebration for all females. They would come together and celebrate in the market square at the bottom of their village. Ball gowns were worn, wine was served and everyone in the village would dance and be merry. That is unless you came into your power. Then you were hanged immediately. It was rare, but it had happened and that’s what caused anxiety in females. Why they didn’t care about there being more to life? Females were in education until they were twelve. They would be taught the rules of the Fae lands, the histories and the alliances with other creatures. They were taught to stay in their village, mind their own business and never ask questions about anything outside of their own village. Females are taught to fear anything unknown. Education was a way to control and threaten little females until they were so brainwashed that they did as they were told. It was a good way to meet other families and other females to play with so we could have tea parties. We could sip tea whilst eating scones and gossiping about who was mated with whom. When we turn twelve we leave education to have practical learning. This is where we learn to care for our homes and volunteer to help with the elderly and the young from our own or other families. Males were taught to read and write from an early age. They were learning to fight before they even began education. They would learn similar studies to us about the histories, rules and alliances but theirs was different. They taught them to obey but to protect and fight against them. They weren’t taught to fear and stay away. They learned the truth about what was really out there and why we needed to stay out of the forest or off the island. Males would then go on to further their education when they turn sixteen. They leave their homes and go away to the outskirts of the Deathlands to have in-depth training and further studies. They live in group accommodation in the hopes that they form bond ties. Bond ties are only for the strongest fae males. They can form in close proximity with other males which means that they are linked forever. They will go into battle together, train together and be linked in strength in power. Sharing their individual powers and making them even stronger. Since the curse, a Bond-tie has only happened once between three males. Those males went on to separate and become Lords of their villages. It diminished their shared power and their heightened strength. Weakening the lords to the point of death. Somehow, one of the three Lords managed to survive and still rules one of the villages. Lord Zephyr. The father of Emrys. My biggest enemy and worst housemate. My bully.