They arrived at The Underneath the next day, Drizdan still tying the laces of his pants as he jumped down the steps to face his mother and her entourage.
Looking past him, her eyes met Etani's and the woman cringed at the state of her, lip bleeding and dress torn, bruises covering her arms and legs along with a myriad of cuts and scrapes.
"You're an animal," she hissed at her son, disgusted.
"I am what you made me mother," he replied, smiling as she was pulled from the carriage, the gasp going around when she was free of the darkness that hid her.
She had no way of covering herself with her arms behind her back and the front of her dress had been badly tattered, Drizdan's eyes lingering on her chest as he grinned.
"She's valuable, idiot. Damage her and they won't let us keep the gate," the queen said.
"She'll heal. Take her to my rooms, she'll be safe there," Drizdan said and the guards obeyed without question.
They left her in the room and she considered it, it was very similar to the one he had in the compound, all greys and silvers and blacks with just a hint of green for colour.
She didn't have long before he arrived, removing two sets of the chains that bound her and cutting the remainder of her dress from her body.
He groped her roughly, growling his delight when she managed to shove herself back from him.
"Going to start fighting it are we?" he said cruelly as he grabbed her arm and dragged her into the bathroom.
Alternating between getting her cleaned, beating her further and forcing her to dress while being slapped and pinched, he finally got her into a presentable state and dressed in a soft pair of grey pants and a vest.
Keeping his grip on her constantly, she was pulled from the palace and taken along with everyone else down a small path that led to a large gate. It had been made out of twisted thorns growing up out of the rock and manipulated into a large square doorway, the inside of it showing a Winter forest covered in snow and icicles but they could not smell nor hear the forest from their side.
"You will take her to the palace, you will not touch her again until she is safely in their custody. Then you are free to throw your life away as you wish," the queen said to her eldest son, he gritted his teeth then shoved her through the archway.
Stumbling through, the archway touched her skin like a feather, brushing over her and she stepped through, turning to see shocked faces, and even Drizdan looked surprised.
Glancing down, she saw odd patterns glowing gently on her skin, vines and swirls that she had never seen before. They were silvery, barely visible but beautiful and giving her an exotic look she rather liked.
It was only an hour to the palace and the snow made it even harder, taking them longer to get there.
"I'm going to miss that body," Drizdan sighed, dragging her along behind him.
"We all are," the guard to their right said and she flushed, hating that they had watched as he had beaten and abused her, ripping her clothes to leave her exposed and threatening to do worse.
Drizdan laughed, yanking her harder to get her to hurry up.
When the palace came into view, they all went still.
It was enormous, ten times bigger than Ayathian with tower after tower sticking up in the shape of icicles.
The whole thing looked to be made of ice and was glowing faintly blue.
Drizdan looked at her, hunger in his eyes but they were too close for him to touch her.
"Don't worry, she'll be yours legally in a few weeks. Then you can have her any time you desire," the guard said, throwing a glance at her.
She frowned at him, not fully understanding before she shook her head and dropped her eyes.
***
Their trek down to the palace was slow, unable to see what was under the snow and ice as they walked and crossing a pond, she had gotten a fright as a creature bumped against the underside of the ice.
It had a human shape to the waist and then a long fish tail, blue skin and blue eyes, with darker blue diamond patterns on its chest and back.
It grinned at her, showing pointed teeth and pressed one webbed hand against the ice before it vanished again.
She had never seen a mer-creature before, the exotic, lethal beauty of it making her understand how so many humans had fallen prey. That one had been male and she would have gladly swum to her death were it to be with him. She could only imagine the radiance of their women.
They reached the palace finally and the doors were wide, a small group of women standing in a line, the middle wearing an enormous and elaborate black gown.
The queen was tall and slender, her creamy pale skin marked with silvery diamonds and her eyes were a crystalline blue. Her lips were black to match her hair which trailed down to disappear into her train on the ground.
Atop her head sat a large crown of frozen roses and tall, thin icicles that only added to her height with a single chain running from one side of the crown to the other, a perfect diamond hanging from it to rest between her perfect black brows.
Drizdan and the guards bowed deeply to the woman, Etani however could only stare at her, even as the queen stared back, comparing each other for similarities.
The hair was the same, the same full lips and long ears, but otherwise they looked very different.
"Granddaughter," she said finally, breaking the silence.
"Grandmother," Etani returned coolly, still refusing to bow.
The woman's lips twisted into a smile and Etani saw she had the same sharp little canines as her own and the woman stepped forward, sweeping down the stairs to embracing her.
When she was unable to return the embrace, the queen looked behind her to see Etani's arms were bound and raw.
"You will take that with you when you go," the queen snapped at the drow guards who moved quickly to release her.
Rubbing her arms gently, she very seriously considered making a run for it, but she would only end up in The Underneath again. Ceress was too far away for her to reach before she was captured again.
"You are Drizdan?" the queen asked and they had begun to speak, but Etani's attention had turned away from them to the neat row of young women.
Each one looked similar though their eyes and hair varied from woman to woman. She could only assume they were her distant relatives. The youngest met her eyes while the rest looked forward strictly.
She was perhaps eleven or twelve and she grinned to show little pointed canines, her eyes a bright blue not that different from her own.
Smiling back slightly, she looked back to the queen, who had invited the drow inside.
The queen set off into the palace and she hesitated, looking longingly back into the trees before she turned back and followed the group inside.
From the outside it appeared to be nothing but ice, however inside it was more than that.
Marble, glass and ice all mixed in with hard woods and soft cushions. There were creatures everywhere, of all shapes and sizes though she noted they all had a similar colouring, all colder tones of blues, greens, purples and the like except for the occasional splash of bright red or yellow.
She had to assume they were from Summer and had defected.
People stared at her as she passed, curious and fascinated by this new creature who had the markings that, at least to her own eyes, seemed to be unique to the royal family.
She had to suppose there was no escaping her heritage.
The throne room was enormous with a huge ice throne carved into a shape of a large rose lying on its side, the queen would be seated at its heart where a small cushion lay waiting.
Their appearance had caused a stir in the large gathering of what appeared to be the upper class.
The queen approached the dais, her massive dress clearing a path more than her actual presence did and once she stepped up, she turned, holding her hand out to Etani.
"Please welcome the Princess Etania, daughter to our much beloved son Lutheral," the queen proclaimed and Etani's hand slipped into hers as she stepped up onto the dais beside her grandmother.
The woman smiled, turning her to the crowd and the cheer was enough to make her ears ache. She had never felt so completely and utterly terrified.