The Fae King's Ruin

Assurance

Catteline exited Aislin’s room just after her cousin, closing the door behind her with a soft ‘click’. Avery paused in the middle of the hallway. Although his back was facing her, she knew very well what kind of pain was painted on his face. She looked at the guards meaningfully and the both of them averted their eyes and stared at anything but the two of them as she slowly placed herself in front of Avery.

Her heart broke at the great will that it took him to keep his expression in check. Even though at first glance he seemed to be merely lost in thought, the tightness in his jaw, the hard line of his lips, and the hollowness of his gold eyes told a different story.

She placed a hand over his shoulder, hoping that small action would stir some sort of alertness behind his eyes. As it was, his gaze had not even moved from the spot directly behind her. It was like he was not really seeing her and that scared Catteline. He was not in so much shock as he was paralyzed by fear and she needed to proceed with caution. Firmly but gently, she placed her hands on either side of his face and forced him to look at her with more than just glassy non-acknowledgment.

“Avery, she is going to be fine,” Catt whispered to him, trying to sound as optimistic as her words were. “It will not do you anything good if you give yourself into your worries.”

His eyes snapped up to hers at that. She sighed with relief that he had not been in his stupor for long, but backed away when he saw the fiery anger in them. 

“‘Not do me anything good’?” he hissed. “On the other side of that door is my future wife and she is currently readying to ship herself back to her country where a civil war wages! I want nothing more than to be by her side and yet I can’t! Tell me, cousin, how could I not worry?”

She swallowed, an angry flush of gold creeping across her skin. For his sake, however, Catteline decided not to rise to match his hysterics. “I never said you could not worry about Aislin. That is preposterous, not to mention impossible! I only said not to give in to it.” She exhaled sharply. “Aislin and the kingdom will need you now more than ever. Eyes will be on you and you need to show your court that the Princess has never put a spell on you or some other bull to justify how in love you are with her.”

Avery’s shoulders drooped. Not wanting anyone else to see the state her cousin was in, Catteline hooked an arm around him and started pulling him towards his own chambers.

Without looking at him, she continued, “I worry about her too. She is family now. But just like how I cannot stop you from doing your duty, we cannot stand in the way as she does hers.”

That was the thing with being a nobleman, especially being part of the royal family. Each one had their roles to play, and whether one liked it or not, duty came first. It was how Avery was King, how Aislin was Crown Princess, how she was Avery’s heir presumptive and due to marry General Aelthrys— why General Aelthrys was off battling rebels in another realm.

Duty had all of them bound to one another and to their people, the spirit of why they served. 

And she had no doubt that Avery already knew all of this and only needed to be reminded. Even though she had never been as in love as her cousin seemed to be, Catteline imagined it was painful to be parted from a significant other the way Aislin and Avery would be, even if it was just for a handful of days.

Once safely inside, she asked for tea, making sure that it was the pomegranate brew that Avery liked. He refused to sit so she took the couch for herself and lit up the new logs in his fireplace. The weather was still dreadfully biting outside; the cold was not due to give way to spring until a few months more and she idly wondered what kind of weather Mhoryga was having right now. It was probably more difficult to fight in the cold and she thought of how well Aelthrys would fare in that situation.

The tea arrived and a constant warming charm was put over the tray. She poured herself a cup and let Avery fix his own whenever he stopped pacing. When he almost knocked a vase off of a side table because he had been so preoccupied and was not aware of what he was walking into, she frowned.

“You know, Aislin told me that you said to her that you would be supportive no matter what she chose,” she casually mentioned. “Dare I ask what gave you cold feet?”

Avery scowled. “It’s not cold feet. And I do mean what I said. The execution of it, however… I did not expect it to be so difficult.” He sat down resignedly on the armchair, his palms running over repeatedly on the material of the armrest. “Am I being a fool, Catt?” he asked weakly. “Am I weak for saying one thing and feeling the exact opposite?”

She considered it for a moment. “No,” she answered. “I think it reveals the fact that we expect a great deal more from ourselves— that we strive to meet those certain expectations.”

“But does it make me a fraud?”

“Of course not!” She shook her head. “It makes you a person I am glad to call my King. Not many people would bother to even improve themselves when they are in your station.”

Avery ran both his hands down his face in obvious frustration. “I will not be able to sleep for five nights,” he mumbled. “I will spend every waking moment worrying about her.”

Catt put her cup and saucer down and held his hand. “That’s love, cousin. And I thank Ilyn you have it in your life.”

Golden eyes blinked up at her before nodding sullenly. She squeezed his hand and let go. This would be their first test, she knew, and although Catteline wanted to be there for Avery as much as she could, he had to learn how to get past the negative emotions plaguing him. He only had to get through five days and he would see Aislin again.

Then she thought of Aelthrys. It could very well be that he would be far too busy to accompany them when they arrived but Catteline found that she did not care. As long as he stayed alive, she would be fine, even if she did wish that she could have at least had one decent meal with him before he left.