The Fae King's Ruin

Departures

The morning of their trip to Mhoryga, everything felt like it was going to be a disaster.

For one, Avery woke up with a debilitating headache from all the wine that Res had made him consume the night before. While the party that was meant to entertain the nobles was a huge success, he ultimately felt that participating as long as he did was a bad choice. Res had kept his goblet full during the course of the night, and during those moments, he had not minded.

The magic show was great and wonderful, and there was something even more spectacular when one watched the wizards perform through drunken lenses. All those pretty lights and colors… It was like peering through a kaleidoscope with both eyes.

Catt had not joined them last night, wisely enough, and so she had been the one to stomp through his room with a hangover potion in one hand early the next day. He was thankful for the thoughtfulness of it, even if she did start lecturing him before he had even popped the vial’s stopper off.

“You. Are. An. Imbecile,” his cousin had hissed. “Why did you let yourself spend the whole night with Res when you clearly know we are set to travel early the next morning? Have you lost your gods-damned mind, or has the Hand of the King finally succeeded in killing your brain cells?”

“Please,” Avery croaked, not knowing whether he should cling to his head or the potion in his hands for dear life. “Not so loud, Catteline, for f*ck’s sake.”

Through the haze of his sight, even he noted how tiny her already slitted eyes got. “I will be as loud as I want to, enjoying the consequences of a good night’s sleep, which unfortunately you did not get to enjoy, because you were being foolish!” she snapped. “Do you know what time it is already? You should have already been bathed and dressed by now! I thought you missed Aislin?”

He did. Oh, how he did miss her, and he glared at Catt as best as he could for trying to use it against him. Weakly, he set himself upright.

Before Catteline could open her mouth again to berate him some more, Res came strutting in his room, affording him no privacy whatsoever anymore, and completely free of the effects of excess imbibing. He tossed in his hands a similar vial of what seemed to be another hangover potion, whistling as he did so. He was fresh and showered, his scruffy beard that seemed to attract a lot of ladies’ attention last night gone, and his robes immaculate and royally blue.

“Oh, you’re up!” he said quite cheerfully, his clear eyes settling on the vial that was halfway to Avery’s lips. “And you have got yourself a hangover remedy as well.” He looked to Catteline. “Well, look at you being so useful.”

Avery quickly gulped the contents of the vial, unable to take any more of their annoying banter while his head was being pounded by fifty-tonne bricks. Catteline turned his glare towards Res.

“Yes, look at me fixing the problem that you created,” she sneered. “I swear to Ilyn that I will tell Aislin of all the stupid little things that you influenced her betrothed to do. Let’s see if you survive her wrath.”

But Res appeared to be unbothered by the threat that simply amused him. “Do we speak of the same Aislin, Lady Catteline? Because the Princess I know adores me completely. You see, I have been nothing but kind to her since the moment we met,” he said, smirking a little. “You know what happened when you arrived and she first met you? We drank hard liquor and were drunk as a skunk before noon. That was how terrible you were to her.”

He leaped off the bed, holding his hands out as Catteline looked just about ready to tear Res’ face off with her bare hands. “Alright, break it off, you two. I want to see my fiancée today and not plan a funeral for one of you two. Catt, I will see you at the foyer please, and thank you for the potion; you are a lifesaver.”

He bent down to kiss her cheeks before gently turning her shoulders and escorting her out of his bedroom. She huffed and she glared, adjusting the small red hat sitting on her head that matched her dress and leaving without another word.

Avery sighed in relief, then looked back at his best friend who was pouting. “What?”

“I brought you a hangover potion, too,” he groused. “Catt just got here earlier than me because she clearly does not care about first impressions.”

He frowned. “I thought she looked nice.”

Red was a happy color in Unseelie culture, and the dress did not look far from what Catt usually wore around court so he did not exactly get what he meant by not caring how she impresses upon the Unseelie court.

Res rolled his eyes. “That is because you do not care about clothes and how you could wield them.” He plopped onto Avery’s bed. “Now, chop chop! Get in the bath. We shall see what appropriate things you have left in your closet to wear to your new second home.”

Avery shook his head exasperatedly before doing what he was told. He took off his pajama bottoms and hopped into the shower. Even if the water was ice cold, he endured it to get his mind going and wake the rest of himself up. He didn’t take long washing himself, but he did take care with shaving his five o’clock shadow. Not to be crass, but he wanted to be able to kiss Aislin as much as he wanted when he sees her and did not want to irritate her face with the prickly stubs of short fuzz growing on his.

When he emerged in a robe, he found Res already holding up a longer version of one of his auburn jackets and a pair of pressed black trousers. They were less Seelie now and more Unseelie in fashion due to the length, and he realized he usually saw these types of robes on Aislin’s advisers.

“When did I get Unseelie robes?” he asked Res in mild confusion.

“You didn’t,” Res said, tossing him the robes. “But I had the tailor teach me a trick or two in magically altering your short jackets especially for our trip, so you are welcome. I’ll be waiting downstairs and try to see if all of our luggage has been loaded onto the carriage. You have ten minutes.”

His golden eyes narrowed at him as he walked to the door. “Are you sure that you did it for me specifically for this trip? Or have you merely found something new and shiny for you to try?”

He paused by the doorway, winked, and walked away in answer.

Avery shook his head, chuckling as he dressed in the robes he had picked out. For the first time since he cracked an eye open this morning, he was finally enjoying some silence and alone time. And, for the first time today, he let himself enjoy the excitement that came with getting to see Aislin again after five, long days.

But other than the excitement, he was feeling nervous as well. He had not been back in Mhoryga since the attack on the Capital and Ella’s rescue. He did not want that particular memory to keep hanging over them during his visit, but he also did not know what to expect. It was an entirely new environment for him, and although he was fully prepared to make quite a lot of adjustments, something also worried him.

He was a Seelie King stepping into Unseelie territory. It had never been heard of in the years that followed soon after the division of the courts, and so he was expecting hostility. He tried to think back on what Aislin’s experience had been when she had first arrived in Alfheim but felt it would be an inaccurate depiction of what he could expect. After all, he was arriving in a whole different situation in Mhoryga while she entered this city as a prisoner of war.

That made his fingers pause as he was doing up his clasps. Would her people hate him for taking their Princess prisoner? Would they hate him and think he was the one forcing her to marry him with the Treaty? How much did they understand of the relationship he had with her?

Avery clenched his jaw. It would be wasting time and energy if he thought more of these things. So what if he encountered a little bit of push-back? This was an opportunity for him to prove to her people that he loved Aislin and he would be a good ruler beside her. All he needed to do was learn as much as he could and not lose sight of what this trip’s main goal was: to see Mhoryga and its people and spend time with Aislin.

After dressing and putting on his shoes, he tried to tame as much of his wet curls as he could, before looking at himself in the mirror. His clothes had given him more color and suited his skin tone well. The robes, while it would take some time getting used to, also looked good on him. In fact, he could understand why Res had a fascination with it in the first place. For one, he could wear tight pants or trousers with it and he would not have to be very conscious of his crotch showing a bulge. It was modest and stylish, and it might very well be another thing he could enjoy during this trip.

With all his belongings packed and downstairs, he took the silver signet ring Aislin had given him on New Year’s Eve from his nightstand and slipped it on his right-hand pinky finger. He sighed. The ring was yet another one that her people might put against them both, and he was not sure if it was a good idea to wear it so publicly, but he would not offend the Princess by not doing so. It was a gift and an honor bestowed unto him and he would never dream of insulting her in that way.

He made his way down to the foyer. At the stairs, he spotted Aislin’s three maids, each carrying luggages of their own. He frowned, quickly scanning for soldiers and spotting two whom he silently ordered to help the girls.

“Excited to see your lady again?” he said to them by way of greeting, keeping a pleasant smile on his lips.

With wide eyes and blushing faces, they bowed. Periwinkle also curtsied to the soldiers before turning to the King. “Your Majesty! Thank you again for letting us come with you. We are most grateful.”

Avery waved his hand dismissively. “You don’t have to thank me. Princess Aislin would never forgive me if I did not bring along her three most favorite people in the palace.”

The two girls flanking Periwinkle giggled loudly. Periwinkle shushed them quietly, before embarrassingly turning back to him. “I apologize for them, Your Majesty. Rest assured we will make ourselves most useful during the trip.”

“I would prefer it if you did some bit of enjoyment, too. It is a social visit after all.” He smiled, gesturing to the rest of the steps. “After you, ladies.”

They hurried down the steps and he followed, albeit much slower than their pace. In the foyer, Catteline and Res were notably standing on opposite sides of the room, distinctly avoiding each other. He sighed, knowing that the two had probably exchanged some more nasty words, but knew better than to get in the middle of it. If they were going to be this silent for the rest of their journey, then it would be a gods-sent indeed.

“Are we all ready, then?” he asked Velius, their primary escort for the trip. The serious Captain bowed and nodded.

“Yes, we are, Your Majesty. The carriage is waiting.”

He smiled and clapped the Captain’s back. “Thank you for doing this, Velius.”

“No need to thank me, Sir. I’m happy to do my job.”

Avery grinned at him one last time before stepping out of the diamond doors. Every step felt like new, taking him to somewhere bigger, closer to where he had been wanting to be. He took a deep breath and released it out into the world, feeling more ready than he had ever been in his life.