The Fae King's Ruin

The Princess and the Party

The cake was an instant hit and after having photos taken with it, Aislin and Avery quietly ate seconds and thirds of the deliciously baked goodness in one corner that was relatively out of the way. They watched as he tried to lead others to do a line dance— and consequently fail miserably because people were just not drunk enough yet to follow the Hand of the King’s absurdity.

In other news, Aislin found that watching her cousin dance with Catteline was a novel experience in and of itself. She found it incredibly hilarious how the two of them were trying so hard to be as far from each other as possible while dancing to a song that required them to be as close to each other as possible.

Aelthrys’ face was completely void of emotion, but Catteline had a harder time hiding how much she hated the male she was supposed to be clinging to. The only thing funnier than the two of them dancing? Catteline’s mother was standing on the sidelines, her gaze like a hawk on her daughter as she glared at her into submission.

At one point, The Duke and Duchess of Montfoltier’s children had made an appearance and Avery had been pulled onto the dance floor by his charming cousin that was the spitting image of both her parents. The little duchess in the making clearly had him wrapped around her pinky finger as they danced to a folksy tune while the twin boys ran around the room, the both of them operating on a sugar high from their Uncle sneakily letting them loose on the candy table.

Her friends also seemed to be having a good time. Salema was off to the side dancing with a violet-haired Seelie male while her brother watched her from the sidelines as he talked to a few nobles from both courts. Dore had seemed to find a kindred spirit within Res as they had started what it seemed like a competition on who can fit the most marshmallows in their mouth at a time. 

There were actual bets going around for that one.

After a particularly painful bout of dancing with the Lady of Montfoltier, Aelthrys stalked for her direction and uncharacteristically plopped down on the chair beside her that Avery had vacated. Wordlessly, she politely flagged down a waiter and asked quietly for some bourbon without ice.

She smirked at him. “Tired already?” she asked innocently. “I would have expected the great General Aelthrys to have more stamina than that.”

“Don’t,” he snapped, but the word was without bite. More than anything, he actually sounded exhausted. “I am having an incredibly difficult time finding the will to tolerate that female.”

Aislin reached over and squeezed her cousin’s hand. “Oh, do loosen up, cousin. Don’t you think that perhaps the two of you are having an incredibly hard time getting along because none of you wants to just… I don’t know, make the most out of your situation?”

He glanced at her sideways. “How could I make the most out of the situation when that girl keeps on insulting me every chance she gets? Not to mention the way her brothers keep staring at me is starting to chafe.”

She sighed. “What did she say?”

“I asked her earlier if she wanted to sit down already after the first dance we had. She told me that she wanted to sit down the moment the music started if only to keep her from looking at my face for a second longer. That, and how her mother would not find it acceptable that they only danced once.” Aelthrys skulked further in his seat, accepting the tumbler of golden-brown liquid that had been filled halfway to the brim. “Thanks for this.”

“You looked like you needed it,” she said, grimacing at the way he threw it back in just one swallow. “Want another one?”

“If you get me the whole bottle, I’d appreciate it.”

Aislin shook her head. “I can’t do that. It’s just ten in the evening. The fireworks are scheduled at twelve, followed by a mass afterward.”

“Can’t I just skip the mass? I don’t think it would be a good omen for the rest of the year if I went up in flames in the middle of the sermon.”

“Oh, stop being so cute.” She stood, running her palm down the front of her dress. “Come on and dance with me.”

He sighed tiredly, letting himself be pulled up to his feet. “Do we have to?”

She nodded gravely, pinching her lips to keep herself from smiling and to keep the pretense of seriousness. “Oh, we have to. We need to show this court how we Unseelie folk dance. How ‘bout it?”

Aelthrys’ sullen face darkened even further. “Sometimes I can’t believe you are my cousin.” Then he took her hand and pulled her along. “But I believe I do have a point to prove that I do not dance with the grace of a stick.”

Chuckling as she knew that Aelthrys taking offense in any one of his skills, most of all his prowess in dancing, would definitely irk him, they blended into the rest of the partners taking up position on the dance floor, grinning as Salema and Haaj found them right in the middle. Dore, sadly, was far too drunk to be able to stand on her own two feet, much less her very high heels, and satisfied herself by sitting on the sidelines and cheering loudly for her friends.

The staccato rhythm coming from a bass drum that had been brought in at some point quieted the rest of the crowd. Aislin immediately recognized the Unseelie song and she grinned at Aelthrys as memories of the two of them dancing to this song at her eighteenth birthday came flooding into her brain.

Aelthrys smirked back. “Remember what I told you about showing off?”

A dim light in her mind went on. “That I shouldn’t do it without a good excuse?”

He nodded once. “This time, we both have a pretty great excuse. Want to give them a show?”

Knowing exactly what he meant, Aislin nodded. “Don’t lose your shoe,” she said sweetly.

“Don’t fall on your face,” her cousin shot back.

Laughing, Aelthrys tugged her hand sharply and she spun quickly like a ballerina before halting with her leg jutting out to the side. It was difficult to dance such a complicated routine with a heavy and full skirt, but Aislin managed to gather it up in her arms as she moved with Aelthrys. In quick succession, he had her spinning back to him, and in the next movement, had handed her off to Haaj as Salema went off to the next male in their small circle. 

She laughed as she swung her arms high above her head, grinned idiotically as Aelthrys grabbed hold of her waist and pushed her up in the air with the other girls, and danced in circles in front of everybody with as much grace as she could muster. Despite the spontaneity of it all, the whole floor looked just like her eighteenth birthday when they danced to this song and had done the same routine, taking her back to days when her only care in the world was getting the next figure right.

When they were finished and the band had ended the captivating song, a loud, raucous cheer arose. Aislin opened her eyes, breathing hard, and saw Avery cheering the loudest among all of them. His golden eyes were bright and his grin was so infectious that the others around him, all part of his personal counsel, were all cheering almost as hard as he was.

He was the first one to break from the line of their audience, embracing her in front of everyone as he loudly complimented her dancing.

“I’m not kidding!” he insisted with a wild gesture of his hands. “What you did back there was amazing! You dance so beautifully.”

She blushed, wiping the sweat off the back of her neck with a handful of napkins. “Oh, stop it!” Aislin laughed. “But thank you, nonetheless.”

Aelthrys came up behind her and Avery’s face morphed into excitement. “And you! I didn’t know you could dance like that, General. You are almost as prolific as your cousin. Why didn’t I see that talent when you were dancing with Catt?”

“Because, Your Majesty— and I say this with every bit of regard for your feelings— your cousin continues to act like a person with a stick up her behind.” Aelthrys bowed. “If you will excuse me, I am going to look for more of the bourbon your waiter gave me earlier.”

The two of them watched her cousin go. At Avery’s questioning glance, she shrugged. “You know how Catteline can be,” she said. “To be honest, my cousin is a saint for putting up with her for as long as he did.”

Avery chuckled. “I believe you are right about that.” He drank from his wine glass and looked around before turning to her. “You want to see your gift now?”

Aislin frowned. “Are we not supposed to formally present it to each other in front of everyone else?”

He shrugged. “In about five minutes, everyone will finally be drunk enough to do whatever Res tells them to do. Catt’s bringing out the karaoke machine and a projector and had already asked for a buttload of money to give away as a prize. I assure you, we will not be missed.”

Whatever that karaoke machine and projector was, between Catt and Res, Aislin thought it might be a better option to go with Avery. It was about to get crazy in here and she did want to see what he had up his sleeve.

She nodded, fiddling subtly with the small box she had in the pocket of her skirt. “Let’s go and see this gift then.”

Avery grinned boyishly. He asked for a butler for something she didn’t hear, and the tall fae returned with a pair of identical, heavy cloaks. 

“We’re going outside?” she asked him with wide eyes. 

He winked at her. “Put this on and let’s go.”

She shook her head. “You and your surprises.”

“Oh, stop. I’m betting you’ll cry over this one.”

Hand in hand, Aislin and Avery quietly crept away from their engagement party, not seen by anyone, as they made their way through the almost-quiet castle and out into the slightly snowing city beyond.