Jane Brooks
Me. I hate talking about me but I guess I have to, right? Well, I’m short – just over five foot – and curvy. Not fat, evidently, but I have curves to me. My best feature is my eyes. They’re gold-green with long, dark lashes and it’s the thing that most people notice about me. My hair is dark brown, close to black, and when its long, its thick with the smallest wave to it.
But I keep it short in memory of my mother, who died of cancer when I was fifteen. So, it’s just me and my dad now and that’s fine with me. I was born in Wales before mum and dad adopted me and took me back to their home in Auckland, New Zealand, which is where I grew up.
I had a good life and had my future all planned. Finish high school and go to university until I got my doctorate in history. Then mum died, we went to the UK and everything changed.
Rhys WIlliams
The first time I met Rhys I woke up in his bedroom, confused and hurting. Which sounds terrible, but it really wasn’t. I remember thinking that he was cute in a non-superstar sort of way. His hair is dark brown and wavy, nearly curly, in a way that he can’t really control. It always seems to be touching his collar and hiding his ears, confirming the ‘unkempt and natural’ look. He has a roundish face with these amazing warm, brown eyes that have little creases at the edges when he smiles.
Rhys is Welsh through and through. He lives and works on a farm in Porth Dwyr, with his mum and his Nan. Which is why his reasonably tall frame is pretty muscly. Plus, he spent his free time learning how to fight – which can be handy.
And he’s smart. He doesn’t think so and told me he didn’t like or do well in school. But he’s smart and strong and I’m glad he’s on my side.
Lily
A Fae warrior through and through and my friend – that’s something I never thought I’d say. But it’s true. Lily has a plait of red hair, sky-blue eyes and snow-pale skin. But she fights like a demon! She’s not that much taller than me, but compact and full of fire.
It’s hard to think she’s just two years older than I am since she’s a member of the Royal Guard and married. I haven’t met her wife yet, but she sounds lovely.
Lily has no problem telling me how things are. The Truth. And that’s why she is my friend.
Toth
Even next to other horses, Toth is large and magnificent. From the moment he tolerated me on his back, a novice who had never ridden before, we bonded. Dark brown and sturdy, he has heart of gold and I love him to bits.
Marcus
It’s strange to think that I’m friends with a gnome, but that’s what Marcus is and I’m proud to call him my friend. I have no idea how old he is, but he has little patches of white hair – one behind each ear and one on the top of his head. His round, cheery face always seems to have a smile on it. He comes up to my waist, and I’m short, but he fights like someone twice his height.
He’s an advisor to the royal family, a member of the Royal Guard and one of the few folk that can easily travel between his world and mine. In fact, I saw him first in London. I think. Anyway, he’s a small guy with a huge presence and I trust him with my life.
Maria
Maria was chosen to look after me but she’s so much more than my maid. Married to Marcus, this gnome is a powerhouse of a woman who many are scared of. A mass of red hair that halos her head in a messy bun, she has a smile that lights up a room – and a scowl that tells you she’s not happy.
Her heart is the size of a planet and she cares so much. I have no idea how many children she (and Marcus) have, or how old she is but I know at least one of her daughters also works for the royal family. She’s pretty senior amongst the castle and I couldn’t have got through my time there without her.
Good Looking and his accomplices
Just thinking of this guy and his friends sends shivers down my spine. I really don’t know too much about him except he could be a model and he was out to get me because his girlfriend asked him to. That’s it really. Hopefully I’ll never see him again but something tells me I probably will.
Dream Guy
I don’t know his name or who he is. But I started dreaming about him when I got to the UK. Rugged, handsome and strangely, able to see me in my dreams. I finally met someone who made my heart flutter. Except I wasn’t sure he was real. I mean, he has pointy ears, wears a crown and has this huge sword strapped to his hip. For so long I just thought he was a figment of my imagination, until I fell into a world where many people had pointy ears.
Adrian
Tall, thin and oh so pale, Adrian has this air of hard serenity about him. I mean, he talks quietly, moves with purpose and effortlessly and often without a sound. At the same time, you don’t want to mess with him. His pale eyebrows pull together in a scowl and his near-white blue eyes bore into you, telling you to stop and think.
He’s an Elf and has been advising the royal family in some capacity for years. However, his goal, the thing he’d been spending his whole life working towards, is being a member of The Seven. It was them who asked him to look out for me and guide me when I arrived in his realm. Which he did – does – and I couldn’t thank him enough.
Diana
Diana is stunning! Tall, slim, with these amazing slanted green eyes and a mass of brown hair that she somehow manages to put into a different hairstyle of braids and buns nearly every day. And she is tough, as part of the Royal Guard, she has to be. No wonder Rhys likes her, I wouldn’t call her a friend, as such. But she’s one of the team. I guess.
Pedr and the soldiers
They saved me and Rhys and continue to look out for us. Pedr is the Captain of the Royal Guards – skilled warriors are all amazing on a horse. There’s Alun, Ioan, Ronald and of course, Lily and Diana. Marcus is often with them too. I trust them with my life.
Jane’s Parents
I love my mum and dad. They adopted me when I was a baby and we lived in peace, at our home in Auckland, New Zealand. Dad works in a bank – which he hates, and mum did admin work – which she loved. It was just us. We played games together, went away every summer together, read together. I loved it. Mum was the extrovert that made sure dad and I came out of our shell a bit.
Then mum died.
The Queen
She looks like me, except older. She has her hair in a wonderful, long thick plait that I could only dream of. We’re still learning about each other and our story. It’s difficult and crazy and confusing. But she’s The Queen and running the kingdom with a strength I can only admire. Her name is Tara, she’s human and married a Fae.
Nia and Enid Williams
I only met Rhys’s mother, Nia, and his grandmother, Enid, briefly. Nia looked capable, which I guess she has to be as she’s running a farm and raising her son on her own. Well, with Enid who was ancient so I wouldn’t think did much. Enid seemed angry with the world and from what Rhys said, she is.
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