The Autum Court

I sigh deeply, looking out of my carriage window as I try to steady myself. This... This place doesn't look so different from my home. The trees look a bit greener; the flowers, a brighter and wider array of colors, but it's not so different. A particular flower, dangling on a vine from one of the trees, catches my eye. It looks almost like an anemone, but its petals have a soft, silvery sheen to them. As I ride by, I trail my fingers out the window, brushing them against this flower. Its petals are soft, yet tingle a bit when I touch them. The silvery color tinges my fingers for a moment, but recedes when I move past. "Princess?" A voice calls, jerking me sharply from my thoughts. "I must... I must advise that you do not touch any of the plants here. We don't know what any of them might do to you." I look over at the vizier, and nod, withdrawing my hand. He smiles, pleased. "Thank you, as a reminder, the treaty-" "-specifies that I am to be delivered unharmed. Yes, I remember. It's not like someone hasn't told me that a hundred times already." I laugh mirthlessly. I know he means well, but it's exhausting. "And you would do well to remember it." He says harshly. "Fey lands are different than ours. You don't know what youre touching. That flower could eat you alive, could poison you, could make you forget who you are, could trap you against it..." He continues to lecture me about the potential dangers, but I tune him out and look back out the window. The ride continues for a while, journeying deeper into the fey lands. If before things looked like a more vibrant version of human lands, these looked almost alien. Violet vines with strange, bulbous fruits; leaves the size of a horse from which rain was falling; a babbling brook flowing through air rather than the ground: flowers sprouting directly from holes in the ground, large enough to swallow someone whole - this was truly another realm. I gulp, the reality of my situation fully becoming clear.