The Fae King's Ruin

For Equality and Devotion

Like a good hostess, Aislin made sure that everything for the ball was perfect. She had decorated one of the main ballrooms in silver, green, and black, and it turned out much more pleasantly than she had imagined.

The theme for tonight? Classy, but grand.

Although she had not been able to check on Avery and the others, she left off that job for Aelthrys, who was seemingly in a very agreeable mood that he did not even blink twice at her request.

Other than their guests of honor, Aislin also made sure that the other members of the court that she had invited were people that were either afraid of crossing Aelthrys or crossing her. It was a bummer that Dore, Salema, and her brother could not be able to attend but they did promise to come and tag along for the latter leg of their trip. Still, Aislin was pleased by the turn out. Tonight was not a night where she wanted to deal with prejudice, she merely wanted to celebrate and do something for Avery in this way.

After all, she had enjoyed every bit of the parties she had attended in Alfheim and each one was even more spectacular than the last. Additionally, this was her first real shot at hosting parties of this magnitude and she wanted to prove she could also be a good wife and entertain people, even if Avery would never tell her how to be.

Other than the decor, Aislin had also handpicked the food selection. Not wanting to shock her guests, she had included in the menu items that were not so scandalous as pan-seared alvertoss, which was a kind of fish that looked as if it had been electrified with its fussed up scales thicker than her nails but tasted almost the same as cod.

That part, she decided, would come later during their trip

At ten minutes to nine, people started showing up. She kept her smile pleasant as she searched her brain each and every time, trying to match the face she was seeing to the names of the nobles that she knew. Most have expressed their delight that she was back home and offered compliments about her shimmering black and green gown, but each one of them never failed to offer condolences about her late brother.

She even embarrassed herself the first time someone had brought it up. For a second she thought that she had another family member who died and she did not know, but when the Marchioness de Talasee had looked at her funny and said Drakos’ name, her eyes had widened in horror and she had to make a lousy excuse that she did not know people were still grieving with her.

And then she proceeded to keep up her acting with every single person that she met by the door of the ballroom. She had to act appropriately sad about her brother’s passing when in truth, it did not bother her as much.

Did that make her a horrible person? Quite possibly. But one could never force her to show emotion for the more terrible person that her brother was.

By the time that Aelthrys had appeared with their honored guests in tow— Lady Catteline surprisingly by his side— she was about ready to cry. Aelthrys raised a brow as he approached, before bowing.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, ever the worrier. “Has anyone said something wrong?”

She shook her head, keeping a trained smile on her lips as she stepped into Avery’s arms. “I just had to spend an hour of my life acting as if I never wanted my brother gone,” Aislin hissed through gritted teeth. “I need a drink.”

They found their seats and she immediately ordered a round of wine for everyone at the table. Res grinned as he scanned the crowd, the only one of them who ever actually enjoyed being in the spotlight.

“This party looks amazing, Princess!” He rubbed his hands gleefully. “I think I am going to like it here.”

Avery glanced at him worriedly before turning to Aelthrys. “Should I be worried about unleashing him?”

“No, Your Majesty,” he said earnestly as he helped Catteline to a seat while she adjusted her white gown which was probably one of the most modest dresses she had ever seen her wear. “No one would even dare.”

Res winked at Aelthrys, clapping him on the back twice. “Good lookin’ out, General!” he exclaimed, before strutting across the room to a group of— thankfully— single ladies and turning his charm towards them.

“He’s going to get punched,” Catteline muttered, grabbing her wine glass. Aelthrys raised a brow.

“You do not trust me when I say to you he will end the night unscathed?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. Res is just begging for it, and this place seems to be the one that would finally give it to him.”

Avery shook his head at his cousin. “Uh- uh, no. Wrong choice of words, Catt.”

Aislin giggled as Catteline realized what she had just said and blushed a deep golden hue. Behind Catt, she saw Aelthrys’ ghost of a grin once before it vanished completely when he was seated beside the Lady of Montfoltier. Her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously but ultimately decided to let it go.

Soon, the food was being served, and she tried to explain to them as little as possible about what they were, lest they freak out by her descriptions. Aelthrys seemed to have caught on and was doing the same thing to anything Catteline and Res were asking him about the food. They answered through classification only: fish, what passed as pork, what passed as beef, and what passed as a bird.

When she reached for her wine after dessert of what seemed like ice cream, Aislin could not help the amused, little grin that fought its way through her face. They would be in for a rude awakening indeed.

After dinner, they danced, and Aislin tried her best to lead during the songs that Avery was not familiar with. She sat out one song that Avery knew the steps to so he could dance with somebody else. She kept an eye trained on him, curious as to whom he might pick, and was relieved when he chose one of her Aunt’s friends.

“Your Majesty!”

Aislin turned and saw some of her old friends from court. She stood, kissing the air above Lady Vanessa’s cheek, and pasted a smile on her face. “How lovely to see you,” she greeted her. “I hope the party has been to your liking.”

Lady Vanessa laughed one of her many irritating laughs. “Oh, it certainly is! A bit different from the ones usually hosted here, but very nice, indeed.”

“Of course, it’s different!” she said, blinking at her innocently. “Out with the old and in with the new, is that not how the saying goes? I am here to distinguish myself from my brother’s reign in every good way possible.”

Her cornflower eyes glanced at Avery, still dancing on the dancefloor. “I did not believe the news at first, you know? I thought that when my father said there had been an announcement of your betrothal with the Seelie King, it had all been a huge joke.”

Aislin could not help her spine straightening. Lady Vanessa, wholly unaware of the magic prickling underneath her closed fists, continued her monologue.

“But seeing the King now, like a… golden lion, in the midst of us black sheep,” she drawled. “I suppose I can see the allure.”

She forced herself to smile as Lady Vanesa turned to her. “He truly isn’t hard on the eyes,” she weakly agreed. “And a great dancer, too. I only have yet to teach him more of our dances.”

“Right.”

“And you know what, Lady Vanessa?” she asked softly, even though the menacing tone in her voice was biting as ever. “He is a great king, indeed. You should come over when he is done dancing. I do not think you have ever had the fortune of seeing the royal signet ring of my family that he wears on his finger now. Perhaps he would honor you with a look?”

Gone now was the pleasant, fake smile on Lady Vanessa’s face. As she stared at Avery, she could tell she was squinting and looking hard for the ring on his hand that she was talking about.

She smiled, patted the Lady gently on the shoulder, and walked away.

Up ahead, Aelthrys cornered her, handing her a glass of punch that she downed in one go.

“What did the Lady Vanessa say?” he murmured so only she and Catteline beside him could hear.

Aislin shook her head. “Nothing that I was not prepared to answer. The honorable Lady Vanessa will do the dirty work for me and spread the news.”

“News?” Catteline asked hesitantly.

She smiled at her, a genuine one. “I gifted your cousin a ring during the New Year’s Eve party. Only a male ruler of my court could ever wear it.”

Aelthrys smirked a little. “No one disobeys whoever wears the ring,” he adds. “No one takes its authority lightly. Other than the crown, it is the ultimate symbol of power in the Unseelie court.”

Catteline turned to her cousin, who was already chivalrously escorting the Duchess he had been dancing with off the floor, with wide eyes. “How could you give him such a precious thing?” she whispered.

Aislin frowned. “Why not? I wear his signet ring.”

She held up the gold ring and Catteline gasped to see it on her right hand. She had never once taken it off since the night he gave it to her and the Lady of Montfoltier inspected it now with such rapt attention.

“Oh,” she said softly. Her green eyes lifted up to her with wonder. “Are you aware that the only other female that had worn this ring had been his mother?”

She blinked at her, her heart stopping. “What?”

Catteline smiled. “It was a great gesture for my uncle to give the ring to his wife. He had always said that he was merely my Aunt’s pawn, that she was the real reason why Alfheim had become so prosperous. She was his diamond, and he felt that he owed everything to her. So, before Avery was born, she was presented the ring, and soon after, most court decisions the late queen had weighed in.”

Green eyes sparkled as she found no clear understanding shining yet in her eyes. “You’re his diamond, Princess Aislin. And I wonder at all the great things you two will achieve.”

Aislin’s eyes dropped to the signet ring on her hand, and then to the other one on her left. A symbol of equality and of devotion, she realized, that came from the Seelie King himself. Her throat tightened and her tears welled as Avery finally made his way over to her with an exhilarated grin on his face that was slowly wiped off as he drew nearer.

He looked to the others for an explanation, but they were only either stoic or smiling, and not at all reliable for the purpose of drawing context.

“Aislin, dear? What’s wrong? Has someone said something to you? You are not hurt, are you?”

She sniffled and threw her arms around his, kissing him with all the force of her love that she could muster. She did it in front of the court that doubted her; the ones who did not know her, choosing him for everyone to see, despite their horrid distrust and disbelief.

When she leaned away, Avery was grinning at her again.

“What was that for?”

Aislin smiled back. “For equality and devotion,” she whispered.

His brows pinched together slightly in confusion, but it was soon cleared away as he placed a kiss on her lips once more.

“Those are two very wonderful things,” he murmured. “I think it deserves a few kisses more.”

As Avery rained down kissed on Aislin’s lips, and the Princess giggled with delight, the rest of the room stared on, a lot of opinions on their mind. And yet they collectively held their tongues as the General of Cetha glared at them all.