The Fae King's Ruin

The Princess and the Wine

Aislin had never been to a wedding of witches and wizards before but one running theme seemed to be a never-ending supply of alcoholic beverages specifically brewed for the bride and groom. It was supposed to be inspired by the kind of relationship the newlyweds share and as a result of it, she was told, wines in their wedding celebrations were incredibly important and usually tasted one of a kind.

She had no idea how making the wine worked, and when she asked, neither did Avery. It seemed rather odd to her in the first place that witches’ wine had to be celebrant-specific, but the taste of it— at least in this particular wedding— was actually surprisingly good. There were firm notes of cherry that was tart, yet not too much. It complimented the earthiness from the aging process, which was something Aislin couldn’t fully comprehend as well, since the General and his now-wife had not been engaged for long before marrying.

But such was the beautiful thing with magic, she supposed. Impossible things could be made possible with just the tiniest sprinkle of it.

Interrupting her from her engrossment, Avery plopped down on the chair beside her, wiping his sweat off with a handkerchief as he cheered the groom on while he took part in a human wedding tradition that was entirely Laurie’s fault. 

According to Ella, who reveled in her cousin’s utter mortification, the bride had been curious about things mortals do at their weddings. Seeing an opportunity to play a glorious prank at General Xaero, Laurie told Safiya all about a garter, placed around one of the bride’s thigh, that had to be retrieved by the groom with his teeth. It intrigued the bride enough to actually do it and Xaero never knew as every one of them kept it from him until the very last minute.

Long story short, varying flavors of betrayal, anger, and resignation had crossed the groom’s expression before he actually got on his knees and did it for the satisfaction of his wife and mother of his children.

“Where did you go?” Aislin asked over the wild cheers erupting all around them. “And why are you so sweaty?”

“Oh, nothing,” he said dismissively, causing Aislin to narrow her eyes at him. “Really, it was nothing! Caeldon and I were just—”

The Vampire King passed them, and with a cold stare at Avery, merely said, “No.”

Avery grinned apologetically at Aislin. “You’ll see later,” he said.”

“I hope it’s not another prank on Xaero. Look at the poor guy,” she said, pointing to his red face as the garter slipped down Safiya’s knee. “He can be a bit much, but he doesn’t deserve all he’s getting.”

He raised a brow at her, gold eyes twinkling with amusement. “You really think that?”

“I do.”

“You liar.”

She blushed. “That’s beside the point. Are you or are you not planning a prank?”

He held up his arms. “It’s just a little something we do for members of the Council,” Avery said defensively. “Completely harmless, really.”

“And you will be fine with it if the General retaliates on our own looming wedding?”

That gave him some pause. “Now that you say it…” He groaned. “I’m going to be so toast.”

Aislin shook her head, fighting the smile off her lips. “Well, whatever it is, make sure that he knows I had no part in whatever you are planning.”

The garter was finally freed from Safiya’s ankle, much to everyone’s delight and the General’s relief. And when asked, he threw the garter in the direction of where the bachelors were standing and gathered. Ebenezer, who was surprisingly in the mix, had caught it deftly in one hand before dropping it like a hot potato, screaming in disgust as he walked away.

Laurie, who was in charge of the whole debacle and still had his voice magically amplified, snorted loudly for everyone to hear. Standing slightly behind him, she saw Ella discreetly pinch his arm.

“Hey, you want some more of that wine?” Avery asked, nodding to the wine glass she had not realized she’d already drained. “It’s good, huh?”

She nodded. “It is,” she said, letting him fill her glass. “But I don’t see us fashioning our own wine for the reception.”

Avery chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll consult a vintner for that. Are we in agreement for the venue, though?”

Aislin glanced at him. “No, not yet. Don’t you think it’s a bit of a hassle to have the ceremony at Alfheim and then have the reception in Cetha?”

“Not really. I mean, we have a lot of people at our disposal for when the time comes. Anything we want to happen can happen.”

“But—”

“Look, we can talk about this later, perhaps see what your cousin thinks about it.”

She frowned. “Aelthrys? Why him?”

“Well, no offense, but he does know the logistics side of our problem a bit better.”

“Avery…”

Just then, Aislin heard their names being called. When they both turned to follow the sound, they found Ella waving them over. Her purple eyes were bright as her mate swept her up to the dance floor, the lively music reflecting in their upbeat movement.

“What are you two doing there talking?” the Mistress shouted with glee. “Come on and dance!”

She yelped loudly as Laurie spun her on her heels. Grinning, he yelled, “She’s drunk but she’s right! Get up!”

“I think they’re both drunk,” Aislin muttered, shaking her head with a smile as she set her glass down.

Avery grinned at her, offering her a hand, grateful that his hand had a strong grip on her as her world suddenly began to spin. His golden eyes widened with concern as she watched her vision tilt ever so slightly.

“Whoa!” He steadied her with his arms. “How many have you actually had to drink? That cherry wine is sweet but it has a very high alcohol content.”

“I think I had two,” she murmured, blinking furiously as a server came to hand her water. Aislin clutched her head, absolutely confused as to why she was feeling this way. She had been so sure the wine was harmless!

“Excuse me, Your Highness,” the server said, glancing between her and Avery. “But you’ve actually had four glasses of wine. I, er, began cutting it back an hour ago.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “Crap.”

“Should I take you home now?” Avery worriedly asked her.

“Are you kidding me? It’s not even midnight yet. I’ll just drink the water. Try and see if anyone has a sobering potion on them.”

Promptly, the server smiled and produced a small vial from her pocket. “Way ahead of you,” she said. 

Avery blinked at her. “Why are you carrying a sobering potion?”

“We have been instructed to carry them on hand just in case, sir.” The server glanced at them, suddenly unsure. “If you want, I can get Sir Ebenezer to confirm it for you.”

He popped the vial open and sniffed at its contents before handing it to Aislin and saying, “No, this is fine. Thank you very much for looking out for my fiancée. What’s your name?”

“Liesse,” the server answered, smiling.

“Well, Liesse, it is because of you I can dance with my future wife without the nasty consequences of alcohol overconsumption,” he said. “If you are ever in need of a job, come to my home in Alfheim and look for me.”

Liesse seemed stunned by Avery’s excessive kindness, her pointed ears, and the slightly golden undertone of her skin becoming clearer to Aislin as the potion took effect. It didn’t take away all of her buzz, sobering her just enough so that she wasn’t swaying on her feet and close to vomiting her guts out on the grass.

The King handed her the glass of water which Aislin took and drained gratefully in a matter of seconds. Sighing, she grinned at Avery. “Let’s dance?”

“Let’s dance,” he agreed.

He pulled her to the middle of the dancing crowd, catching glimpses of the members of the Council, Ella and Laurie’s dopey faces, the bride and the groom who now seemed to have forgotten about his recent embarrassing encounter, and other guests who looked as if they’d enjoyed the wine being served as well.

With this many people, Aislin was glad that all she had to do was stay close to Avery as he began to dance and move his hips in a way that had her blushing at giggling loudly. It wasn’t awful, per se, Aislin only thought he looked as dopey as the rest of the people surrounding them.

“Come on, stop laughing at me!” Avery shouted as he also chuckled. “Show me how you actually dance.”

“This is ridiculous!” she yelled back. “I don’t know how to!”

“Look, just follow me.”

Avery started moving his head, rolling it along with his body as he stepped from side to side. Aislin studied him, thinking that the steps were basic enough for her to follow. Once she started to mimic his movements, a broad smile lit up the King’s face.

“All right, you got it!” He laughed, pulling her to him and letting her rest her arms over his shoulders. They moved in synchronicity, continuing the silly steps together in time with the music. “You’re a fast learner. I think I am loving dancing with you, Princess.”

Giggling with the giddiness from the alcohol, Aislin could barely control the words that came out of her mouth as she said, “That’s good ‘cause I love you!”

The King stared at her in shock, his body stilling completely as it dawned on Aislin what she had just told him. She took an unsteady step back, eyes wide in horror at what she had done, and did the only logical thing that she could think of— which, in her current state, was not really saying much.

She turned on her wedge heels and ran.