A Court of Flight and Valor

@ sun spirit

Bridris wiped at her eyes uselessly with her free hand, her tears leaking down her cheeks despite her best efforts, although when Ramyth squeezed her hand and promised that she'd be allowed to stay if she wanted, giving a little nod in confirmation. "I-I'd like to stay... I-I can live with Aubrius at her house, that way King Ailuin doesn't have to worry about me in the castle, and you can go back to being his guard.." she murmured softly pulling her hand from his so that she could wipe at her eyes with both of them. It hurt a little that he didn't want her to stay, even if he was encouraging her to do so. But she supposed that he probably wanted to go back to guarding King Ailuin or doing whatever he did before she showed up. And the thought staying and only seeing him occasionally hurt less than if she left and never saw him again, so she supposed she could learn to live with it. "I-I'm sorry if I ruined our picnic because I cried.. I know you don't like it when I do."

---

"You'll learn, I'm sure." Ailuin murmured with one last kiss between her wings before helping her out of the tub, grinning down at her as she pressed herself into his arms. "I'm a very lucky man to have you, Aubrius." He murmured before kissing her deeply, laughing as she dropped her towel and jumped into his arms, his hands supporting her under her thighs and ass. His towel fell off in the process of getting them out of the bathroom, and he paused just long enough to readjust them so that he could push into her, groaning at the feeling before continuing on his way to her bedroom, where he carefully laid them down on the bed before beginning to thrust into her, much slower than before though, since he wanted to savor it.

@ katahdin

Ramyth hesitated a moment, but as Bridris began to cry, even pulling her hand away to wipe at the tears, he set the basket down and pulled her close. "No, no, it's not that I don't like it when you cry, it's that I hate to see you so upset. If I ever seem upset because you're crying, it's just because I wish I knew how to fix it. If I knew how to make you happy so you never cried again, I'd do it. And you haven't ruined anything. We can still have the picnic in a bit." He started to rub her back, not sure if she was still emotional because she'd thought she'd have to leave even though she didn't want to or if she was happy she could stay or what was going on. "And who says I'd go back to being Ailuin's guard? Even if you stayed with Aubrius, she's always running around. Out to the cliffs to work on her flying, training with her mentor, bothering King Ailuin at the castle or seeing Hanvosi or both. You'd still need someone to look out for you. Maybe not as... well, thorough as I have been, since you're probably ready to have five minutes without me within twenty feet of you, but still."

---

"I'm very lucky you came for me," Aubrius responded, though she grinned at him as he caught her with a laugh, kissing him as he started to carry her out of the bathroom. She tried to tuck in her wings so he wouldn't have to worry as much about, groaning softly when she felt him push into her. She started to trail kisses along his jaw and neck, occasionally nipping, though overall far more gentle than she'd been in the past, noticing Ailuin acting the same as he somehow managed to get them in the bed without them having to readjust too much and started to thrust into her with much more restraint than their first time.

@ sun spirit

Bridris happily moved into his arms as he pulled her close, tucking her face in against his chest as her fingers moved to grip his shirt. She wanted to wrap her arms around him too, but she was afraid she'd accidentally touch his wings, and even though she really wanted to, she knew that they were special, and the first person to touch them should be his wife, not some dumb human who cried all the time. "Y-You do make me happy, Ram.. B-But I don't know if I can promise to never cry again." She murmured, looking up at him with a sniffle as he spoke about how he wouldn't go back to being Ailuin's guard. "But you're a royal guard, it's your job.. Not that I don't want you around. I hate it when you aren't with me, but I can learn to live with it. And it's not like I'll live for very long, anyway.. I'll be old and boring before you know it, and you won't want to waste your time with me."

---

Ailuin groaned softly as he thrust into her, his arms tightening around her as he kept her close. "My mate.. my beautiful, beautiful mate.." He groaned as he tucked his face in against her neck, leaving kisses along her neck and jaw. "I don't know what's better, this or when we're pissed at each other.." he laughed a little, shifting a bit so he could thrust into her a bit faster, although it still wasn't anything like what they'd done a few weeks ago.

@ katahdin

"That's okay. I'll just cheer you up whenever you do cry," Ramyth assured her softly as he rubbed her back. The tears had already seemed to lessen a little, and he could already tell this wouldn't be one of the times when she started sobbing and couldn't seem to stop. He still kept his arms around her though, his arms tightening around her a little as she claimed he'd want to stop wasting his time on her. "You could never be boring, and I can't imagine ever not wanting to spend time with you. It certainly isn't a waste. And I know I'm a royal guard, but I was assigned to protect you while you're here as a temporary assignment. I can always ask to have that extended." He offered her a little smile. "Believe it or not, I enjoy spending time with you more than anyone else. It makes me happy. And if you wanted a picnic every day for the next 50 years, I'd give it to you," he said, reaching out to wipe away a tear.

Just then, a couple walking arm in arm passed, and he heard the woman say to the man, "Aww, look at them. It's like a scene out of a book. And so close to Roedanya, too. We should do something romantic too!" Ramyth felt himself blush a bit and awkwardly let his hand fall from her face while simultaneously hoping his fae hearing was the only reason he'd caught onto the couple and that Bridris hadn't heard it too.

---

Aubrius groaned as she moved with Ailuin, holding him tightly as he kissed along her skin. "I think it's just this--you," she admitted. "Either because you're my mate or you're amazing, I can't get enough of you." And it was true. She hadn't thought much about this while she'd been a drunk mess, but with him here now, she'd missed it. Gods, she'd run before they even got this far last time. She groaned as he started to thrust faster, leaning up and capturing his lips in a deep kiss. "I don't know how I got lucky enough to end up with you as my mate, but I love you, Ailuin," she said against his mouth, kissing him again.

@ sun spirit

Bridris leaned into his embrace as he tugged her closer, tilting her head back so she could look up at him as he spoke, a blush appearing on her cheeks at his words. Her blush only worsened as he said he enjoyed spending time with her more than anyone else, her fingers gripping his jacket a bit tighter as she leaned into him, leaning her head into his touch as he wiped away her tears.

"Ramyth, I-I.." she started softly, although she was cut off when she heard a woman passing them comment on how romantic the two of them were. Hearing the comment was bad enough, but feeling Ramyth tense up and recoil awkwardly was to much, and she quickly pulled out of hid arms, clearing her throat awkwardly as she wiped the last of her tears away. "W-We should find a spot for our picnic, before the food goes bad.. I-I'll carry the basket, so you can lead the way." She said, quickly bending down to pick up the basket with both hands, mostly to stop the temptation she felt to hold his hand again.

---

"I can't get enough of you either. And we have all of our lives to give ourselves to each other." Ailuin murmured between kisses, groaning as be tugged her closer, his thrusts becoming a bit more forceful as he sped up. "I love you too, Aubrius. With all of my heart, until the end of time." He hadn't realized how much he needed this, needed her, but being miserable the part two days had been awful, and he was sure if she were ever taken from him again he wouldn't be able to live through the pain.

@ katahdin

Ramyth knew as soon as Bridris practically jumped back away from him that she'd heard the comment too. Thankfully, she didn't say anything about it, about them, instead picking up their picnic basket, all signs of tears clear from her eyes. He felt awkward, like he should explain something, maybe deny that he'd been romantic with her, even unintentionally, that he was just trying to comfort her, but that felt like it'd make it worse, so he nodded instead as she suggested they find a place to eat. "S-sure, we'll just head to where the festival will be." That's where the most decorating would be, which was what she'd wanted to watch. He started to hold his hand out, then had the embarrassment of realizing that both of her hands were occupied and quickly put his back to the side as he led the way out into the city.

---

"Good. I don't think I could live with three days," Aubrius said with a little smile, groaning against his lips as he said that he loved her too, feeling herself getting close. "Oh, you better not tease me again. I need you too bad," she breathed, a little bit of a rumble in her voice, holding onto him tightly as he drove her closer to her release.

@ sun spirit

Two days later the blossoms on Roedanya's tree bloomed, signaling the start of the festival, which had been announced at dawn by the ringing of temple bells all over the city. Ailuin had woken up early in order to get some documents and letters sorted before the festival preoccupied him, Aubrius having already gotten up sometime before him to go who knows where, although the king assumed his mate had gone off to train or practice flying. The council members had taken the news of their mating bond about as well as expected, but they'd been told off by the both of them, and it was more than likely that the pair wouldn't hear from the council again until after the festival was over. But that was three days of drinking and dancing and laughing, and he would be glad for it. His good mood was ruined though as he found a letter from Bridris' fiance, Sidero, on his desk, opening and reading the contents, growing more and more concerned as he read. The human was demanding that Bridris be brought to the Court's border in three days time, where she'd either walk across the border with him to marry him, or she'd be killed, since this man seemed possessive enough to have an opinion that if he couldn't have Bridris, no one could.

Ailuin day back in his seat with a frown, staring out the window at the city below, which was just staring to wake up for the beginning of the holiday. He wasn't going to let Bridris be in any danger, of course, he knew how much she meant to Aubrius and Ramyth, but they hadn't come up with a solution to breaking the spell on her, and her fiancé didn't seem like a very reasonable man. He was pulled from his thoughts when Aubrius returned from whatever adventure she'd had that morning, although he was surprised to see Ramyth with her, without Bridris anywhere in sight.

"Good morning Aubrius, Ramyth. Is everything alright?" He asked as he stood, pressing a kiss to Aubrius' cheek as she approached him.

@ katahdin

Other than suffering through the worst hangover she'd ever experienced, talking to her parents, and enduring the first and worst council meeting she'd ever been a part of in which they'd predictably tried to refuse Ailuin's mating to her--not that they could do a damn thing with the mating bond sealed, the proof of which was in the way her black feathers now had blue tips matching Ailuin's wings--the past two days had been happy for Aubrius. She felt happy and content in a way she'd never felt, like there some part of her missing but she hadn't realized it until she knew what it felt like to have it. That wasn't to say she'd suddenly undergone a change of personality, except maybe around Ailuin sometimes, but she was definitely in a better mood more often. Maybe that had something to do with what they'd spent a large portion of their time doing the last two days, but from what she'd heard, that wasn't exactly uncommon with new mating bonds. Ailuin still took care of his duties though, and she made sure to keep up with her flying exercises and training, which was exactly where she'd gone when she woke up. It was only on her way back that she ran into Ramyth, who was apparently looking for because he wanted her help talking to Ailuin about something. Had it been anyone other than Ram or Bridris, it would've pissed her off, but as it was, she was thrilled when she heard what he wanted.

So she agreed and they walked to Ailuin's office, mercifully in a different location than his chambers--not that it seemed to matter to anyone--and she breezed past the guards without so much as knocking, letting herself in. Ramyth hesitated before he entered, a little uncomfortable with the lack of formality, but Aubrius had decided from the start that no one was going to tell her whether or not she could see her mate, even if that person was her mate himself. "Happy Roedanya," she responded, having heard the bells on her way back, wrinkling her nose as he kissed her cheek and pressing a kiss to his lips instead. "Everything's fine. Ram just wants to talk about something. He just hasn't really had a chance because of our... mating drama." It seemed as good a phrase as any to encompass everything that had happened in the past week.

Ramyth had closed the door behind them by now and came a little further into the room as Aubrius perched herself on the edge of the desk without a glance to check if she were sitting on any papers. He still wasn't used to seeing Aubrius and Ailuin so casual around each other or kissing or being mates, but it was obvious they were happy, and he was one of very few who supported them. "I was going to mention it days ago, but you were miserable without Aub, and I couldn't bring it up, and you've been busy since then," he explained to Ailuin, and then realizing he was probably making it sound like he wanted to ask about something really big or upsetting by not saying what it was, he made himself stop and address it differently. "Bridris has decided she doesn't want to marry Sidero and that she wants your permission to live here. I was hoping you'd say yes and to ask for your permission to remain her guard instead of returning to my usual duties."

Aubrius spoke up here. "Apparently she mentioned moving out of the castle so she wouldn't be a bother to you and living with me at my house, but this was obviously before we sealed the bond. Since I'm moving to the castle anyway, I told Ram that Bridris could have my house if he helps me move. I have no reason to keep it and wasn't sure what I was going to do about it anyway. It's got some protections already, but we could add some more to make sure it's safe for her." Though it had been brief, they'd indeed had a conversation about their living arrangements. Ailuin couldn't move into her house for obvious reasons and even if he'd been able to, it was too small given the size of his wings. Neither of them was willing to be separated, so Aubrius had said she'd move into the castle.

@ sun spirit

Ailuin smiled and returned his mate's kiss, looking over at Ramyth as he lingered near the door, offering his friend a smile. "If it's important you could have come to me, you know. I know being newly mated doesn't exactly make me the most approachable, but I consider you a friend, and I would have made time for you, even if it pissed Aubrius off." He teased, giving her hands a squeeze as she made herself comfortable at his desk, chuckling a little as he shook his head a bit. Aubrius was still Aubrius, and he was thrilled by it. The last thing he wanted was for her to change who she was just because they'd become mates.

Hearing Ramyth begin to explain what he wanted to discuss caused him to frown though, looking between the guard and his mate as he moved back over to his desk, tugging the letter he'd just received from Sidero out from underneath Aub before moving over to Ram to hand it to him. "Interesting timing for such a decision, given that her fiance is demanding that we bring her to the border in three days, either to go back to the human lands to marry him or for him to kill her so no one else can have her." He knew this news would upset Aubrius before he even said it, moving back over to her to rest a reassuring hand on her leg. "I won't be sending her, of course. But it raises quite a big problem, since wars between humans and fae have been started for less, although a blushing bride kidnapped by the evil fae is quite the excuse to start a war and build an army." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration before looking back at Ramyth with a teasing smile.

"If she stays, will you be telling her that you love her? Or are you going to keep pretending that you don't care for her." He asked teasingly, although he was serious. It was painfully obvious that both Ramyth and Bridris had feelings for one another, but they seemed to be both so oblivious that neither of them realized that the other shared their feelings. "There's also the problem of her humanity. She's young now, and can be glamoured, but eventually people will realize that she's not fae, and will ask questions. I'm sure Hanvosi might know of a way to change that, if she wanted, of course."

@ katahdin

"Hey!" Aubrius didn't quite kick Ailuin, but she didn't quite not kick him either. "I'm not unreasonable! There's only one reason I'd get pissed if you left me for ten minutes to talk to Ram, and I'd like to think you're smart enough not to do that." They certainly seemed to be on the same page so far where sex was concerned.

She expected Ailuin to have a better reaction than to simply frown as Ramyth made his request and she proposed her idea of letting Bridris have her house, so she frowned when he moved over to her and she shifted so he could pull something out from under where she'd sat. Since he handed it to Ramyth, she didn't see what it said, but she bristled at the summary alone and might've gotten up if not for her mate's hand on her leg steadying her. "We have to do something about him. If he thinks he's so entitled that we'll just let him kill her if she can't cross the border, that we'll just hand her over to someone who makes a threat like that, he's not going away." She practically growled the words.

Ramyth didn't exactly look happy either, his face tightening as he read the letter, which was worded even worse than Ailuin's rendition of it, and as Aubrius spoke, he couldn't agree with his friend more. "He's not getting his hands on her," he said, meaning it whole-heartedly, though he was startled away from saying anything else when Ailuin suddenly changed the topic. "O-of course I care about her. She knows that. We've become close as friends over the last few weeks. And I have no idea if she'd even want to be fae. She hasn't mentioned anything of that sort. A lot of the reason we're even keeping her glamoured now is because of the situation with her kidnapping. If she was allowed to stay, as a human, I thought it wouldn't be much of a problem. Even you knew about her before you met her because she made so many fae friends before she ever ended up here. Except for the few problematic fae we have, I wouldn't foresee there being a problem with her living here, unglamoured. And like I said before, I'd be willing to continue protecting her."

@ sun spirit

Ailuin offered her an understanding smile when Aubrius kicked at him, catching her ankle and giving it a squeeze. "I know, Aub, and I'd never do that." He promised before turning back to Ramyth as he read the letter, crossing his arms over his chest as Aubrius demanded that they do something about him. "We can't do anything about him without the kingdom finding out about the kidnapping. And based on what he put in the letter, there's a decent chance he has his own soldiers that are ready to attack us if we try to do anything to him." He sighed, looking between Ramyth and Aubrius.

"I'm not going to just hand her over, but I can't authorize an attack against him when he hasn't done anything. I know it's not what either of you want to hear, but I'll have to go through the council to rally any sort of troops to deal with him, and having to explain the whole kidnapping situation to them three weeks after it came to my attention doesn't sound like something I want to do right now. He's given us three days, that gives us to the day after Roedanya to bring her. We can enjoy ourselves for the next day or so during the festival, and then figure out a plan after. Sound fair?" He knew it wasn't exactly what they wanted to hear, but it was the best he could come up with.

He couldn't help but smirk a little though at Ramyth's response, giving Aubrius a knowing look before looking back at the guard. "Ramyth, you're one hell of a guard, but an absolute fool when it comes to love. I can't tell you how many people I've heard talking about the cute guard and and faun who are like something out of a story book. And when I went to see Bridris yesterday to give her a few dresses to wear to the festival, she mentioned how you'd asked to go with her if she left the court. I don't think you'd offer to do that unless you loved her, Ram."

@ katahdin

Aubrius was pacified by his response, at least where they were concerned, satisfied that he knew what she meant without her having to come out and say it and that he meant his words. She didn't, however, like his response one the topic of what to do about Bridris' ex-fiance. "Just tell the council it's my fault. I found Bridris, and it isn't something anyone would be surprised to hear. We can say that I've been hiding her in my house, and got the bracelet for her and you were both fooled by the glamour. You just found out, the council's pissy with me, nothing new there, and rather than yelling at you, they can focus. You can say I was the one who's been in contact with Sidero and all if it gets them to cooperate. The ceremony takes up a whole day practically, and the council's too fond of putting off making decisions."

Ramyth was about to voice his own concerns about waiting, but Aubrius beat him to it and surprised him with her suggestion of what to do to work around the problem of Ailuin acting without the council's involvement, not so much that she was willing to take the full blame for a bad situation but that what she suggested wasn't "fuck the council" but something that would be within the law, even if it involved lying. And for once, he wasn't sure he even wanted to wait, to see what the council decided. Even if Ailuin had already made it clear that he wasn't going to hand Bridris over, the council would push for it to keep away from conflict. She was a human, and they had an obligation to protect the fae. What would happen with Sidero showed up? What happened if he found a way to get past the border? "We have to do something, Ailuin. I can't just dance and drink and pretend this isn't happening. I don't even know what I'd tell Bridris. She thinks--she thinks he's trying to be helpful in figuring out a way for her to leave and that he's a good person."

Aubrius wasn't really surprised to hear Ailuin say Bridris had mentioned Ramyth wanting to leave with her; she'd known, just from the way he acted around her that he'd fallen fast and hard. She exchanged a look with her mate as the guard mentioned what Bridris thought of her ex-fiance though, remembering faintly Ailuin mentioning something once about Ramyth lying to her, not that she'd been entirely focused on the conversation at the time. "Should we try to keep this a secret from her? Not that asshole is actually an asshole, but that he's threatening to kill her. Since we're not going to take her to him anyway, she'd be scared, and she'd probably say something about not wanting us to get in trouble on her behalf or something like that."

Ramyth swallowed, not even sure what to address anymore, but after several long moments, he met Ailuin's eyes. "It doesn't matter what I feel. She thinks of me as a friend, she might think less of me once the lies come out, but it's fine. I just want her to be safe and happy. And I'd do just about anything to make it happen."

@ sun spirit

"The council already has enough reason to be upset with you, Aub, I don't want to give them another." Ailuin sighed, running a hand over his face. "We'll figure it out. Even if he gets through the border, it would take days for him to reach the city on foot, and we have plenty of sentries that would spot him and we'd have plenty of time to prepare and mobilize. I know it's not a great plan, or even a good one, but it's the best we have." He looked between them, hoping that they'd at least understand where he was coming from.

He sighed again at the mention of Ramyth lying about the contents of Sidero's letters, shaking his head a bit. "We absolutely shouldn't tell her about the threat to her life. Knowing her, she'd insist we bring her to him, or go off on her own, to avoid any conflict. But I can tell her about the other letters, the ones where he's mostly just rude and not threatening her life. That way if she gets upset when hearing the truth, you don't have to be there to see her get upset. But I doubt that she'll be upset with you, Ram, given her feelings for you. But if you'd rather not be there when she finds out about what's going on, you don't have to be." Ailuin explained, giving Aubrius' hand a squeeze.

"I have a meeting with the council before the day's festivities start. I'll go speak with Bridris after, and then meet up with you both at the festival." He said, pressing a kiss to his mate's cheek and giving Ramyth a sympathetic look before he grabbed some of his paperwork from his desk before leaving his study to head to his meeting. He felt awful for Ram, he truly did, but couldn't risk doing anything drastic without council approval.

@ katahdin

As Ailuin left, Aubrius turned her gaze back to her friend. "What do you want to do?" she asked softly.

Ramyth clenched his fists. "I want to make sure he doesn't get a chance to get past the border. I can't just sit here and wait and wonder if he knows how to get in or might be able to sneak past all of us. Ailuin's right though. He probably has a group of soldiers trained in killing fae to make sure everything goes how he wants it."

"I'll go with you then. We can go today. They won't be expecting an ambush, so we'll have surprise, I'm fairly confident I can make the flight, and as long as we do it right, it won't get traced back here and no one'll even have to know. Except Ailuin after the fact, for obvious reasons. Even better, the council won't get a chance to screw it up if we do it ourselves," Aubrius said as she moved to her feet, being completely serious.

Ramyth shook his head. "Aub, you just became mates with Ailuin. I can't--"

"Ailuin knows who he's mated to," she interrupted. "He'll be angry because he always is when he catches me doing stuff like this, but he knows me. Which means we're going to need damn good excuses for skipping the festival or he'll know what we're up to immediately, and he'll stop us."

He nodded, offering her a wan smile. "Thank you."

---

It was past midnight when Ramyth landed in a courtyard within the castle walls, holding Aubrius, his wings almost gratefully folding back for rest.

When they'd discovered Sidero, they'd found him with more men than they'd expected but not too many that they retreated, and things had been going well, but then Aub had faltered, more than once, like her balance was off. It had earned her a couple of smaller injuries, but she'd insisted she'd be fine, and they had to kill Sidero. And he had, then heard a shout, and when he looked back, they'd managed to pin her down using a sword through her wing. Ramyth had finished fighting them off, seeing no other option than to kill them given the situation, then returned to Aubrius. He'd managed to avoid more than a few cuts, which had stung, but being cut wasn't pleasant, and he didn't piece together that they'd used iron weapons until he got back to her. Iron poisoning was just as lethal to fae as blades, able to block magic and burn them up from the inside out. Aubrius had been exposed to enough iron to have trouble standing upright, and between that and her wing's injury, he'd had to carry her back, flying as quickly as he could.

Skipping Ailuin entirely, Ramyth quickly carried Aub through the castle, barging into Hanvosi's chambers despite being sure the elderly mage was asleep, probably trying to sleep off the first day of Roedanya celebrations. Quickly, he he woke the faerie and explained Aubrius' condition, laying her on a table at the healer's command and quickly put to work fetching what Hanvosi needed. Aub had lost consciousness at some point during the flight and lay limp for all of this, her skin feverish and her injuries still oozing blood as her body refused to heal and tried to reject the iron.

@ sun spirit

After his brief meeting with the council about the start of Roedanya, he went to find Aubrius to see if she wanted to help him deliver the news about Sidero to Bridris, although he was told that his mate had gone back to the cliffs for more training, and that Ramyth had been asked to patrol the border at the request of one of the other guards who was looking to celebrate Roedanya with his new fiancé. He knew they'd gone of likely because they were trying to avoid him, and he understood, but Bridris would need a friend today, and he'd do his best but he wasn't sure how comfortable she'd be.

Sighing he knocked on the human's door, waiting for permission to enter before doing so, giving a little nod to the replacement guard who'd been stationed in the hall outside while Ramyth was gone. Bridris had woken up at the sound of the bells and had gotten up and dressed in one of the gowns Ailuin had gifted her for the celebrations, the king smiling at her as he looked at her. "Good morning, Bridris. You look lovely. Happy Roedanya."

"Good morning, King Ailuin. Thank you for the dress, it's beautiful. Do you know where Ramyth is? He promised to take me to see the start of the festival." Bridris asked, all smiles and happy, although she frowned when she noticed the way Ailuin seemed to deflate at the mention of her guard. "King Ailuin? Is everything Alright?"

The man sighed, taking a seat on the couch by the fireplace, patting the spot next to him for her to sit. "We have a lot to discuss, Bridris.."

---

After his talk with Bridris, Ailuin had offered to accompany her to the festival, but she'd refused, suddenly claiming to be feeling under the weather as she locked herself away in her room. The king had forced himself to go to the festival in order to keep up appearances, fielding a lot of questions about the rumors that he'd found his mate. It was a long day, and the longer it went on without Aubrius returning the worse he felt. Towards nightfall he flew out to the cliffs himself to make sure that she hadn't been injured and needed help, but there was no trace of her, not even a scent to catch, and when he returned to the castle he locked himself away in his room, pacing anxiously while he waited for her to return.

He happened to be looking out one of his windows and spotted Ramyth when he landed in the courtyard below, cursing as he realized what they'd gone off to do. But the sight of Aubrius curled up in the guards arms and the urgency in his steps had Ailuin rushing to Hanvosi's chambers, arriving shortly after the older Fae had been woken. He tensed as he smelled blood and iron, rushing to his mate's side as he looked her over worried before turning to look at Ramyth with a snarl.

"What the hell were you thinking, Ramyth?" He demanded, distraught over the state of his mate, but furious at them for disobeying his orders. "She could have been killed! Would it have been worth it? Was it worth it?" He knew he shouldn't be yelling, but he couldn't help it, turning back to his mate to squeeze her hand as he looked at Hanvosi. "You can cure her, right?"

Meanwhile, Bridris was stirring from the light sleep she'd fallen into, having fallen asleep on the sofa near the fireplace in their shared room while waiting for Ramyth to return. She was terribly upset by the news about Sidero, and while she was a little upset that they'd kept the truth from her, she understood why. Plus, Ailuin had told her that Ramyth had feelings for her, and that's why he'd lied, and any and all guilt she'd felt for her feelings toward the guard disappeared as Ailuin read Sidero's letters. She hadn't left the room all day, having been waiting for Ramyth to return so they could go to the festival together, but he never had, and she'd ended up falling asleep while she was waiting for him, still in her dress for Roedanya.

She woke though as she heard voices outside, two guards speaking about how they'd seen Ramyth and Aubrius return to the castle bloodied and bruised. In her panic she forgot about her glamoured bracelet, hurrying out of the room and through the halls to Hanvosi's chambers. The sight of her friend looking half dead made her gasp and freeze in the door, before she turned to Ramyth, who was getting yelled at by Ailuin. When his eyes met hers she let out a faint whimper and ran into him, burying her face in his chest as her arms wrapped around him tightly.

"You're ok... I-I heard the guards talking, and they said you were hurt, a-and I was so worried.." she whispered into his chest, her arms tightening around him as she felt herself beginning to cry.

@ katahdin

Ramyth had known Ailuin would find out sooner or later, that he’d have to go get him or send someone else to, and that the king would be furious, especially once he saw Aubrius, but he hadn’t expected it within minutes of waking Hanvosi, while he was still trying to make sure that she’d be alright. He deserved every bit of the yelling. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. There were a few more men than we expected but I’ve seen Aub fight. I wouldn’t have let her go with me if I didn’t think she’d be fine—“ he started, trying to at least explain, not that he even knew what to explain, but then he saw movement in the doorway, and when he turned, Bridris was there.

Ramyth caught her as she practically flung herself into his arms, squeezing him tightly, and as she said she’d heard guards talk about him being wounded and started crying, he wrapped his arms around her, holding onto her too. “I’m fine,” he reassured her softly. “I’m fine.”

Hanvosi, meanwhile, was tending to Aubrius, having pressed cloths to her wounds temporarily and was now making a salve. “She’ll be fine,” he assured Ailuin in the space between yelling. “It looks like it’s had a while to take hold, but she doesn’t have any lethal injuries. The iron poisoning’s the worst of it, keeping her from healing, but I’m making something to draw the iron out of her body. If she’s lucky, I might even be able to save her from having another hole in her wings.”

The paste Hanvosi had been making was sickly green, almost looking like it had a purplish tint, and smelled rancid. The stout green faerie applied this to every wound he could find on Aubrius, then walked over to Ramyth and slapped some on the guard’s handful of minor cuts, which, like Aubrius’ sounds, seemed to be having trouble healing. “Keep that on til it dries. You’re walking around without much problem, so you’ll only need the one coat. Once it dries, peel it off, pick it off, scrape it off—just don’t get it wet. It’s drawing out the iron, and you don’t want it to get back in your body.” He turned back to Ailuin. “I’ll need to reapply it a few times before it gets all the iron out of her body. She’ll be awake and starting to feel better by the time the first coat hardens. She still has open wounds that aren’t healing though, and she absolutely cannot get up and start running around though. It’ll pull the iron deeper into her body and make it take longer to get it out, and it’ll make the wounds worse. I need her to stay put until I can start patching her up. I’ve sedated her in the past, but I’ll leave what to do to you.” Even if Hanvosi hadn’t heard the rumors, he wasn’t blind. He knew what the changes in Aubrius’ wings meant and so deferred to her mate.

@ sun spirit

Ailuin was ready to give Ramyth some sounds that would need more serious attention, but before he could yell again or throw anything Bridris was there in the guard's arms, and he sighed as he turned back to Aubrius, watching Hanvosi put together the salve and spread it on Aubrius' wounds, nodding at the healer's instructions. "I'll make sure she doesn't go anywhere. Will she be healed by the end of Roedanya?" He asked softly, looking at Aubrius worriedly.

They'd been planning on announcing that they were mates during the ceremony on the last day of the festival, not that they were going to do anything outrageous, but he wanted her at his side for the ceremony, even if she still participated in it like usual. But if she was too ill to attend he'd delay the announcement until she was well and do the ceremony without her. He was worried about her wings, too, which looked like they'd taken a beating, and he prayed that the injuries wouldn't set her back too far, although it was unlikely that prayer would be answered.

Sighing the king turned to Ramyth and Bridris, who were holding onto each other like their lives depended on it, watching as Hanvosi spread the salve on the guards injuries. "I'm still furious, but it's too late, and it's Roedanya so I'm going to try to be forgiving. You and Bridris go get some sleep, enjoy the festival tomorrow, I'll find you at some point to talk about what happened." Ailuin said before turning back to Aubrius, brushing her hair from her face to press a kiss to her forehead.

Bridris was nervous that Ailuin would yell at Ramyth again, even though she didn't know what was going on, but was glad when he said that they could leave, tugging slightly on Ramyth's sleeve as she looked up at him. "You need to rest, so you can heal and get better.." she murmured, looking up at him with watery eyes.

@ katahdin

Hanvosi had moved to a basin of water to wash the salve from his fingers, but he looked up at Ailuin as he asked about Aubrius being healed by the end of Roedanya. “If we can keep her still while the salve does its work, she’ll be up and walking by the ceremony. I’d keep an eye on her though. I don’t know how long she’s been hurt, but I’d guess long enough to lose a good amount of blood. Between that and her wings’ growth, I expect she’ll have problems.” Hanvosi had been working on her wings, examining them closely for nearly a hundred years, and though the change in size wouldn’t be immediately obvious to most, he’d noticed.

Despite knowing that they’d agreed not to tell Bridris about the situation with Sidero, Ramyth couldn’t not say anything else to Ailuin. He still looked furious but worried and tired too. And Ramyth felt like he deserved every bit of yelling the king still wanted to do. “Ailuin,” he started, going quiet for a moment at his king’s words. “I’m sorry. I’m not her mate, but I care about her, and if I’d suspected this might happen, I wouldn’t have let her come. I would’ve stopped her or told you or something. You should know we did it though. I had to rush Aub back, so we couldn’t do any clean up, but we stopped them.” Only after he’d said that did he look down at Bridris, giving her a little smile and a nod and follow her out of the room. “I’m sorry I worried you,” he said softly once they were alone. “Something came up this morning, and Aub and I felt strongly enough about it that we wanted to take care of it before it became a bigger problem, since we didn’t think the council would make a good decision about it if they got involved. We couldn’t tell anyone, since we’d be breaking the law. I’m fine. It’s mostly Aub’s blood on me.” He was relieved that she’d be fine, and that Bridris was safe now though.

Hanvosi approaches Ailuin, sitting beside his mate now. “I won’t ask what caused this whole mess, and I won’t talk about it to anyone else. Bridris mentioned hearing guards talking about them being injured though, so I imagine by morning, there’ll be questions anyway. If you can keep her out of sight until I can heal everything but her wings, you might be able to explain it away as another flying accident. It’s Roedanya and no one ever sees her during this time anyway, so they might assume she was drunk and careless. If that’s what you’re thinking anyway. I don’t know if you’ll have to tell the council about whatever it is they did. You can take her if you’d rather have her close though. I trust you to keep her in bed. The salve should be completely hardened by morning. Since it’s in some sensitive places that’ll make getting it off difficult and I’ll have to reapply it anyway, I’ll come to you.”

@ sun spirit

Ailuin nodded in understanding at Hanvosi's explanation, letting out a sigh. "She'll want to be up and about as soon as she's awake, but I'll find a way to keep her in bed. And I'll be at her side the entire time, but if she isn't well before the ceremony it might be best to sedate her while I'm gone, so she doesn't try getting up and doing something she shouldn't." He turned to look at Ramyth as he spoke, sighing again as he nodded. "I know you wouldn't have, Ram... Go on, I'll yell at you tomorrow. Have a goodnight, Ram, Bridris.." he murmured as the pair left, turning back to Aubrius and Hanvosi as the older Fae spoke. "The council will find out eventually, and they'll be able to piece together that it was these two when they start the investigation. But yes, I'll appreciate your discretion, Hanvosi, and I think she'd be more comfortable in my chambers, but it might be best to wait to move her until she's awake."

---

Bridris wished Hanvosi and King Ailuin a good night as she and Ramyth left, keeping herself tucked into his side as they walked through the halls. Her dress had been ruined by all of the blood and dirt on him when she hugged him, but she didn't mind, and was sure Ailuin would understand. She looked up at him as he began to speak, her arms tightening around him a bit as she stuck close. Her brows furrowed as she listened to him explain to her where he'd been, looking up at him worriedly. "Ram... Ailuin told me about Sidero's letters... Did .. Did you.." she trailed off, unsure how to say what she wanted to ask him.

@ katahdin

Hanvosi nodded his understanding, pushing his glasses up. "Since nothing can really start healing until I've drawn out the iron, it won't matter much when she's moved, unless we were going to wait until this stage is complete. I thought you'd be more comfortable that way." He suppressed a yawn. "Since there's nothing more for me to do for now, I'm going to go back to bed. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't wake up until morning, in case you wanted to sleep, but if you can't bring yourself to, there are a few chairs buried under books, and you're welcome to stay and shout for me if something happens." He didn't anticipate it, but he was attempting to help ease any anxieties Ailuin might have, thankful the young king was the calmer of the two mates.

---

Ramyth wished Ailuin a good night as well before he and Bridris left. He was still surprised at her reaction, how she'd hugged him and cried and how she was still keeping close and holding on tightly, as if she were afraid something would happen if she let go. He was just wondering if maybe Ailuin hadn't told her about the letters and his deception when she brought it up and guessed disturbingly close to the truth, though he was fairly certain Ailuin wouldn't have mentioned the latest letter addressed to him. Ramyth reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "Neither Aub nor I are the sort of people to go out of our way to track down someone and kill them because they weren't nice to someone we cared about. If he was here, in the city, Aub would've made him wish he'd never met you, but that's all." It was an evasion, but he hoped she'd think it was an answer instead. "I'm sorry about lying to you by the way. You were so excited when the first letter came, and you'd been crying for more than a week and hadn't looked that happy yet. When I read it, I knew you'd just get more anxious and that you'd feel even worse, and before I knew what I was doing, I was making up a new letter."