The Fae King's Ruin

A Potential Regret

General Aelthrys of Cetha had always been an early riser. Growing up with a disciplinarian father and a soldier, the idea of wasting daylight was abhorrent to him, and considered it as a sign of laziness. 

For as long as he could remember, his mornings had consisted of working out before the sun was up. When he became an official in the military, he made sure that he trained along with his squad and worked them harder than any other unit in the force. He worked until night whenever he wasn’t deployed and made sure that he was the best damned General in all of Mhoryga. It gained him fame and favor so much in the south that Drakos had kept him close due to fear rather than reward.

Here in Alfheim, however, he had no unit to train but himself. Upon arriving, he used to exercise in his room, lifting his bed as weights. But over time, he had managed to acquaint himself with a few of the guards who accompanied him to use the facilities in the soldier’s compound training room. 

It was a large warehouse-type hall that housed advanced equipment that even they did not have back home in Mhoryga. The first few weeks, it took him quite a bit to get used to the technology they used. He had never done target shooting using what they called a ‘holographic program’ and it took him three days before he was able to decapitate his target.

From that alone, one could say he was a creature of habit. So, when he chose to skip exercise that morning to do a little bit of investigative work for the attack on the village Aislin was concerned about, he knew something in his day was about to go bad.

This, of course, was cemented by the fact that when he opened his door after hearing a knock, Lady Catteline of Montfoltier’s lovely, annoying face greeted him.

He paused and carefully rearranged his expression to show a perfect mask of neutrality as he assessed her. She was wearing clothes that were not unusual for her. The Lady either always wore pants and ridiculously baggy sweaters or skimpily frivolous gowns that left little to the imagination and no in-between. 

Today, she wore form-fitting pants and a thick sweater to match. Her golden hair was pulled back, with short hairs sticking out as if she had stuck her head out in the wind. He was aware that she looked more disheveled than usual, a hectic red tinge in her cheeks and her slightly heavy breathing told him that she had probably fought herself as she came all the way over here. For what, he could only guess. It’s not as if she had it in her to apologize.

He raised a brow at her, not trusting that he wouldn’t say something offensive if he opened his mouth and waited for her to speak.

Lady Catteline cleared her throat. “Er, good morning. I hope I did not interrupt anything,” she said “Did I?”

Odd. “I was just about to head outside,” he answered nevertheless. “Did you need something?”

“Oh! I, uh, no. I do not. Need anything from you, I mean,” she rambled, the tips of her pointed ears turning gold in trademark Seelie embarrassment. Lady Catteline took an obvious gulp of air, squaring her shoulders, before looking him straight in the eye.

Aelthrys noticed with slight amusement that when she wasn’t incensed, her evergreen eyes— though still retaining its feline qualities— were open and sparkling.

“Look,” she said with fierce determination that surprised him. “I know I have been the rudest bi*tch to you ever since the night we met and here I am apologizing for it. I’m sorry. I would like to start over. Will you accompany me to lunch?”

He blinked at her, unable to fully understand at that moment what she had just said. WAS she trying to apologize? Has he been dreaming all along? There was no way in Ilyn’s realm that Catteline was actually apologizing all on her own. Not even in his wildest dreams was that possible. Not that he dreamt of her of course.

Aelthrys shook his head in confusion. “Lady Catteline, I don’t think I get what you mean. You want me to have lunch with you?”

The Lady frowned. “What is so difficult to get about what I said? Again, I’m sorry. Will you have lunch with me?”

“Why?”

“Should I have a reason?”

“It would explain motive, yes,” he drawled back. “You see, up until just a few hours ago, we were exchanging insults. What changed?”

She crossed her arms defensively. “If I am being honest, I simply mean to differentiate myself from the way my family acted last night. I truly don’t have anything against you or the, er, marriage that will bind us.” Her green eyes flickered for a moment. “And if we’re going to be together for Ilyn knows how long, I at least don’t want to live with a stranger.”

Oh. He had not realized that was an issue for her, or that she wanted to live in the same house as him when they married. Aelthrys didn’t think it was even necessary to do so since they would only be getting married on paper. So, it was a surprise to him that had been in Catteline’s thoughts.

It occurred to him now that this could only go in one of two ways. One, he could say yes to lunch and give her what she wanted, which was to get to know him. There was a high chance of offending one another in that option, giving them both a repeat of last night. Or two, he could say no and this time be the stubborn party.

He weighed each of his options carefully, not liking both of them. He believed himself not petty enough to choose the latter one, but not enough of a saint to go with the first one.

There was no winning. And yet, perhaps there was one he could go with.

Taking a leaf out of the book of his diplomatic cousin, he said, “I’ll think about it.”

Lady Catteline beamed. “Great! I’ll send you a note on where we can meet and— Wait, what did you say?”

Aelthrys tried not to smirk. He really did. But the corners of his mouth just could not help but twitch upwards in wry amusement. “I said I will think about it,” he repeated. “Now, if you shall excuse me, I have some business to attend to.” 

He bowed respectfully then sidestepped her on his way out. Aelthrys did not dare look back as he left the Lady of Montfoltier standing there, not feeling an ounce of guilt either, even if she did look very hopeful when she thought he had said yes. 

Huh. Perhaps he was wrong about him not being petty.

Shoving the thought aside, he went on his way. Aelthrys headed to the Grand Hall. He had been keeping tabs on all the Unseelie delegates living within the palace and knew that Lord Elrin always took his meals in the Hall with the other nobles. He networked with them, building his influence while he ate. If the court took him seriously, Aelthrys would have been worried that he was brainwashing Avery’s constituents. But as far as Aelthrys had observed, they were merely being tolerant of him.

The Seelie court always took their lunch at eight in the morning onwards, extending up until eleven. He had long learned that they were a relaxed bunch and expected that the large hall would be filled with people when he entered. And as someone who very rarely took his meals with an audience, knew that their attention would be on him.

Aelthrys kept his expression mild and pleasant— well, as pleasant as any expression could appear on his face— as he scanned the room for his uncle. He found him speaking to the other members of Aislin’s Cabinet and immediately made a beeline for them. 

The moment that the Grand Hall fell quiet at his arrival, they looked up and found him. While the others grew pale and wary of why he was intently heading for them, Lord Elrin seemed suspicious. His black eyes narrowed infinitesimally, yet he stood with the rest of the people around the table when he finally reached them.

He took a second to appreciate the fact that he outranked them all, which forced them to pay the appropriate respect. In fact, he took great satisfaction to see them all bowing, including his uncle.

“Good morning, General,” Lord Elrin greeted cooly. “Such a surprise seeing you here, given that you rarely do.”

Aelthrys did not return the greeting. Instead, he looked at his uncle’s plate, its contents already gone, and smiled.

“Oh, good, you are done eating. Walk with me, Lord Elrin. We have something to discuss, you and I.”

Understanding dawned on his face. He quickly excused himself from the others. Without waiting for Lord Elrin, Aelthrys walked back out, garnering whispers from the others that had witnessed the short exchange. He ignored them all.

Leading the way, he found himself walking towards the courtyard where only yesterday, Catteline had wine spilled all over her. Instead of that thought giving him an ill sort of amusement, he frowned. It was not right that she had experienced that just because of someone’s jealousy. She was the King’s favorite cousin, for Ilyn’s sake! That had to mean something.

The place was deserted for now since everyone was having breakfast. When he turned back to Lord Elrin, he quickly cast a sound barrier around them.

The old sod crossed his arms. “I’m guessing she told you,” he said.

Aelthrys raised a brow. “And that surprises you. Why? If what you are concerning her with is not, in fact, a ploy of yours— because Ilyn knows you are just full of them— then why should I not know?”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t!” he spat. “But I directly sought the Princess out because I knew she would take this threat seriously.”

“And I won’t?”

This time, it was Lord Elrin that raised his brow. “Did you?”

Well, he got him there. Aelthrys didn't take Aislin seriously when she told him of the threat. But that was not important at the moment. He stared at his uncle boredly. “You said you were going to give Aislin names. Where are they?”

He shook his head. “I’m working on it. I’ll have them by the end of today.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why so long? Can’t you reach your ‘sources’ now?”

“My sources are trying to stay undercover,” Lord Elrin hissed, bristling. “They will send word when they can. And you know me when it comes to dealings like this. I make sure that what information I do find is true.”

“Yes,” he drawled, “because you’re as much of a snake as one could be. Once you give Aislin the list of names— and yes I want them in writing— you better expect I will be doing an investigation of my own. She cares about that small patch of community that had come all this way to support her. If I find out that you are using her own people against her, I will personally be your executioner. Got it?”

Lord Elrin sighed, not at all fazed. “Again with the threats? Is that all you have now since coming here to the land of the Seelies?”

“Oh, uncle, have you not learned by now? I never make threats.” Aelthrys smiled. “Now, are we clear?”

His uncle glared at him. “You and Aislin can think ill of me all you want but it will never erase the fact that I am your only surviving family left.” He fixed his sleeves and lapels before turning away. Before he retreated back to the castle, he said, “I may be a lot of things, General, but I do care for my family first. I will speak to the Princess as soon as I receive word.”

Aelthrys was left standing there in the middle of the courtyard. His sound barrier fell away as he loosened his grip on the magic that controlled it. 

He didn’t like his uncle, that much was no secret, but it did make him wonder if perhaps he had been looking out for them in his own, twisted way. Devising plans to get Aislin solely on the throne might be his own way of securing her future and the welfare of their court.

But if that was the case, then none of them could truly trust him, especially now that Aislin loved the Seelie King. More than that, Lord Elrin would never believe such a thing. His brain’s response would be to assume that Aislin was somehow being manipulated, even if it was clearer than day that it was not the case.

Because Lord Elrin did not believe in marriage governed by love. Unseelie marriages had always been about acquisition, power, and convenience. And it made him wonder if maybe, he shared the same views. Though his parents cared for one another, he was not convinced in the same way Aislin was that they loved each other. His parents’ amicable relationship was one born out of spending years together, taking comfort in their familiarity.

Did he want that? Was that kind of relationship what he expected from the one that he would be sharing with Catteline?

He tried to picture both of them acting the way his parents did. Cool towards one another; just two people that had grown to live with the other’s existence. And he could not imagine having such a relationship with Catteline —even if, with the one they had now, it would be such a step up.

Aelthrys groaned quietly to himself, rubbing a hand angrily over his face. He was going to regret this, surely. But first, he needed to speak with his cousin, even if she was still angry at him. She could cool her head for just a few minutes for him after everything he’d done for her so far. And if not, he’d treat whatever disagreement they might have as a form of stress release.

The General made his way back to the palace and sullenly approached the first staff he could find that could point him to where the Lady of Montfoltier was.