The Fae King's Ruin

A Visit

“Your Majesty!” a tall male greeted him, wearing a tool belt around his waist. Avery recognized him as one of the soldiers who’d come here to follow Aislin. “We were not expecting you to come. We are truly honored.”

Avery stepped off his horse and shook hands with the male. “I wanted to check in on the village personally,” he explained, smiling at the others behind him. His eyes fell back once again on the male. “I see you did not come with the Princess on her return to Cetha.”

He bowed his head. “Begging your pardon, sir, but we could not have every soldier leave the village. There is still much to be done.”

“I understand.” Avery felt Res and Catt come up behind him. “Forgive me but I was not able to catch your name the last time we met.”

The male beamed at him. “I’m Private Wexley, Your Majesty.”

“Well, Private Wexley, this is my cousin, the Lady Catteline of Montfoltier.” Catteline curtsied. “And the Hand of the King, Resyvlo.”

Wexley bowed. “It is most humbling to meet you, Your Graces.”

Catt smiled at him, her green eyes sparkling in much the same way her emerald dress was. “I do hope we could steal you to give us a tour, Private. It is my first time to see your village, unlike my cousin and him.”

If Private Wexley caught the slight, he did not let on. The only indication that anyone really paid it any mind was the object of the slight himself. Res’ smile tightened but thankfully held his tongue for the first time today, and for that, Avery was much grateful.

“Of course! Of course, milady!” Private Wexley enthusiastically agreed. “Forgive me, however, if I do not offer you my arm. I have been working since dawn and I don’t want my filth to rub off on you.”

But Catt shook her head. “Nonsense,” she claimed, before practically clutching the male to her, surprising Wexley. “You know, back in Montfoltier, I worked as a healer. In my opinion, that is a messier profession than being a carpenter.”

As his cousin dragged the poor Private along, he clapped Res on the back before urging his friend to follow him up the hill and into the village proper. Avery took off his gloves and shoved them deep into the pockets of his cloak, then started greeting Aislin’s people as they welcomed him back as if he was one of their own.

They were taken to inspect the houses, all made of stone and sturdy enough to withstand Alfheim’s weather. Private Wexley shared how they studied the infrastructure in the Seelie village so they could get an idea of what would last longer and be better for their permanent homes. With most of the families now having their own homes, the warehouse was now only being used as storage and a mess hall where workers and families could come get a bite. Soon, once things were much more normal, it would be converted into a school for the children.

Catteline, who also taught medicine back in Montfoltier, pitched a suggestion to build a clinic. She had offered to personally train the healer that could take charge of it and the people seemed incredibly grateful for it.

“We are thankful that you sent all those healers to us as well, sir,” Private Wexley told Avery. “The medicine they provided had allowed us to not be delayed in our progress.”

Res had also taken interest in the village. Since they were so far out and there was so much space in between them and the main village, he suggested they make use of the surrounding land for planting crops. Private Wexley glanced at him at that, saying that they have been wanting to, except they were too embarrassed to keep asking more from the King.

He frowned at that. “But why?” he asked. “Food source is very essential to any settlement and Alfheim has tons of unused land. I’m afraid you are not really well supplied here, for the main goods are usually dropped off in great amounts farther inland. I’m afraid we haven’t really gotten around to reorganizing the supply chain yet.”

“Oh, we are happy to make the short journey to the other village, my King,” Private Wexley assured him, his pale color becoming even paler. “A few of us make runs there every morning to feed the entire village for the day. It’s just that… well, we don’t have a lot of cured meats to trade with most of the suppliers.”

“Cured meats?” Catt inquired politely.

Wexley nodded, motioning for someone. They saw a boy run into the warehouse and emerge moments later with a plate in his hands. Wexley took the plate and proudly showed them the strips of meat glistening with fat and slightly charred from the cooking.

“Before the Settling— the time where our court settled into a different realm— we were a traveling folk. And so we needed to be able to carry enough food without the worry of spoilage. Us Unseelie folk had gotten quite adept at it and your court seems to like it very much.”

Res and Avery exchanged a look. It was outstandingly ingenious of these people to trade in goods that they have perfected due to necessity. While Seelie cuisine was not at all bland, he was curious about what made his people so intrigued by the meat that the Unseelie prepared. Wexley offered him a strip of what seemed to be pork. With no fork in sight, he picked it up with two fingers and held it to his nose.

Avery was no cook but he knew that the pork had to have been smoked. It also had a citrusy scent to it that was strong and made him fight the urge to crinkle his nose. Wex nodded at him encouragingly. Not hesitating for a moment longer, he shoved the whole thing in his mouth.

He chewed and his eyes widened.

“It is lemon-cured, Your Majesty,” he explained. “We crust the chunk of meat with fennel and salt to balance it out. The blackberries give it a nice, sweet taste.”

Catt took a piece of the meat herself and so did Res. They pretty much had the same reaction as Avery did and he knew that the others were thinking pretty much the same thing he was.

No wonder the Seelie village thought it adequate for them to trade goods in exchange for food like this. He had never tasted anything like it before and he was sure that the Unseelies had left his people pondering on how they were able to make it in the first place.

Wexley grinned proudly at him, and as he should. “That was remarkable,” he told the male truthfully, wiping his mouth with a hand. “We should put this product of yours on the trade market. Right, Res?”

His friend nodded, moaning in that typically brazen way of his. Some of the ladies of the village were even beginning to stare at him scandalously at all the sounds he was making. Avery shook his head slightly in exasperation.

“Definitely,” Res agreed, not aware of exactly what he was doing wrong. He never truly was. “Oh, I know a lot of food connoisseurs who would die to get a gram of this. We will speak soon, you and I, Private Wexley.”

“I’d be delighted to, milord!”

Avery smiled. “But more than that, I am officially granting you a portion of the land surrounding you for tending. It is about time that we also source food locally to cut down our importing.”

Private Wexley bowed his head, blinking as his smile began to tremble. “You are so generous to us, Your Majesty. Truly, we thank you.”

But he shook his head, unable to accept the compliment. “It is your Princess that had been generous to me first. I only plan to pay it forward for the rest of my life.”

Because if it were not for Aislin, he probably would have had his eyes continued to be blind to all the beauty that her court could offer. He was learning about his race more than all his ancestors could ever begin to decipher due to their hate and prejudice. Aislin had allowed him to have a world where he would be rid of that hate and prejudices. She gave him a whole other world entirely.

They spent the rest of their morning in the Village, interacting with the villagers, making stock of all the other things to get them fully on their feet. And when they were invited to lunch, they could not say no— and neither did they want to. More of the cured meats were served, but so were bread and pasta they had made from scratch from the flour and other ingredients that they have traded the meat for earlier in the day.

Like New Year’s Eve, it was a mayhem and a half. Two long tables had been set up and the wine flowed in excess. Catteline had drifted off with the ladies that were interested in being her apprentices for the clinic she had suggested earlier, while Private Wexley had shown Res the people who were in charge of making the famed cured meat.

Avery, however, chose to sit in the exact same spot where he and Aislin exchanged signet rings despite their insistence that he sit at the head of the table. He liked that it was casual, with no formal dining, and felt as if this was the closest he had been to Aislin ever since she left.

And then he realized why he had been so surly, so unapproachable and miserable.

Without Aislin, he was lonely. Sure, he had Catteline and Res, and they were his family, but not even they understood him the way Aislin did. She made him whole; with her he was complete. Home did not really feel like home without her now. But here, he found her spirit. It was in the conversations he had that were so open and inviting. It was in the beauty of simply being in the company of others, even if he had no words to say.

It made him realize how profound Aislin’s impact had been in his life, even if they had only begun seeing each other in a different light for a short time. With her, he was seen. In her company, he was not lonely. Coming to the village was the right decision. He had been looking for a healthy coping mechanism and this was it.

So, whenever she had to be away and something was keeping her here, Avery decided that this village would be his sanctuary. If he could not speak to her, listen to her voice, or feel her presence in the physical sense, he would seek for her in the faces of her people, in the laughter and joy that they cast out into the world, and he would encircle himself in the culture that she represented.

He almost loathed leaving after lunch was done, but there were still plenty of things to do and he did not want to keep them from building their community any more than he already had. After all, he had preparations of his own to make for the trip that would take him back to the person he loved. He watched Catt and Res say goodbye while he already sat on his horse. Avery nodded to Private Wexley and watched him bow back before he directed his horse to turn the other way and make his way back to the palace.

“They are good people,” he heard Catt say after a few minutes of silence. There was an almost wonder in her voice as she said the words aloud. “After that, I imagine it will be quite difficult to see the Unseelie as anything but.”

Res shook his head, staring ahead with a pensive look on his face. “They are not different from us, Catt. Some are good, some are bad. In all frankness, I happen to think that most of those bad people from the Unseelie Court are in the Princess’ Cabinet.”

Catt frowned at him. “Then why would Princess Aislin keep them on?”

“Because that is not how their politics are played,” Avery murmured, smiling a little. “There is a lot we do not know yet about them, only things our ancestors told us.” He turned to the others. “We will be going to their lands in a couple of days. We will meet people who are not like us in personality and attitude, much like all those people back in the village. But like our visit today, we should keep an open mind.”

His cousin narrowed her eyes at him. “Wait, is this your funny way of telling us to behave?”

Avery grinned, spurred his horse on, and left the both of them behind as he raced to the palace ahead of him, glinting in the afternoon sun like a beacon of hope.