Chapter Text
Eris wondered how it was possible for one person to deal with so much. He’s been ruling just few months and he was already truly exhausted. How did his father do it for so long? He was raised to rule of course, and have a cunning personality but he found he wanted to do things differently. His father’s endless scheming got the court close to ruins, he wanted a different way. A court where eventually he could drop his mask. A safe place for his people where there was no need for begging on the streets.
But where did he even begin solving the problems? There were lots. Should he start with Koschei and the issues the death god has been causing and perhaps figuring out what his father really had to do with him? Or perhaps he should focus on solving the endless uprisings in his court. Now that his father was finally dead and Eris had his rule, a lot of the lower members of his court began to get out of control. While they were not extremely powerful, they had high numbers and could cause quite a bit of chaos. As it seemed, his late father has wronged more members of the Autumn Court than Eris could even comprehend.
Still, Eris wasn’t about to give up. He had a vision for what this court could be like should it have a better ruler. Now, that better ruler had to be him. It was just difficult to begin changing things for the better when everyone knew him under his mask and they had absolutely zero trust in him. Of course, they didn’t have any trust or respect for his father either but his father ruled with fear, something that kept others in check. Eris, not wanting to be like Beron, had to figure out better ways.
There was also the issue of arranged marriage. He grimaced. It was really the last thing he wanted but it was in motion for a long time and he delayed it as much as he could. Beron arranged everything a while back, but Eris always found ways to somehow delay the meeting and find excuses. As it happened, the joke was on him now, his father was dead and the marriage he never wanted was one of best options of saving his court.
It was discussed at length with his advisors, half of which he should still fire. Eris as a High Lord had power and money but lacked everything else. Old Montague family may have fallen on harder times recently but they were well known in the Court and had lot of support and respect. They were one of the families loved by many. His father certainly knew what he was doing when he arranged for Eris to marry their youngest daughter, Lydia.
Eris looked over the paper with the useless information about the family his advisors provided. All of it was quite outdated and none of it had much information about soon to be his fiancé and then wife. The response from Lydia’s father arrived just a couple of hours ago regarding finally arranging the meeting. It was set up for tomorrow. While in technically parents had power to agree to matches, Eris was not one for forcing. He explicitly stated in his letter he required their daughter’s consent too. Ot something similar to a consent, he was not delusional to believe she was anymore happy about the match than he was.
He thought he may have had a while longer but his time was due to run out soon and if his mother had anything to say about it, they will be married very soon. The plan was for Lydia to move in as soon as possible, to get used to the court while the wedding was arranged. Naturally, it was only proper for Eris to marry her soon after moving in, otherwise members of his court would talk and share their unwanted opinions about their living arrangements. Perhaps even include few nasty words about how Eris was taking advantage of the young female while stirring her along, without a wedding date firm in place. Problem was, it would never be enough for him to just marry her. They would all see it as cruel High Lord forcing innocent lady. No, he had to thread carefully. They had to appear as a proper couple and only then if people begun to see she was happy with him then perhaps he wasn’t so bad. Eventually the trust in him would grow little by little, as an extension of the trust and faith they would have in her.
When the evening arrived, and the sky begun darkening Eris sneaked out of his court without a word. He decided to visit a small district in his court up North. The parts of his court where neither he nor his family spend a lot of time in and not many knew their faces. They had frequent celebrations and festivals and blending in there was the easiest. For the Night, he wanted to just be a nameless stranger, being able to enjoy some entertainment and drinks in peace, without worrying about anyone spitting in his face.
He winnowed as far as he could into depths of forest, just far enough to easily walk rest of the way but for no one to notice his appearance. He run his hand along his clothes, trying to straighten the material then pausing. He switched for very simple robes, another part of blending in. Momentarily, he forgot in this attire there was no need to constantly worry about his appearance or fuss whether his tunics were smooth and his buttons perfectly aligned. How he sometimes wished for the simple comfort of just being. But it was not to be for him, he knew that from young age.
He followed the dark path towards light, that’s where everyone would be, various lanterns hanged around the near trees to help people find the path in the dark. His ears already picked up on music, singing and sounds of children’s voices as they laughed.
He looked around as he emerged from the trees, it was busy. The streets were full of people walking around from stall to stall trying various foods and children enjoying simple games. There were live performances around but Eris didn’t make his way towards those, wanting to avoid the big crowds. Instead, he walked in the opposite direction towards a large tavern known in this area as Flaming Martini. A shady place but just what he needed. It would be quieter there, somewhere he could enjoy few drinks and maybe play some rounds of cards.
As he begun making his way his eyes couldn’t help but wonder to the flames of fire flickering around. His head turned. He couldn’t make out much from the side but he saw her. A fire dancer on stage. While it was group of females, this one stood out to him among the rest. Unlike the rest, she didn’t smoothly blend in with the group and she was one that could have been easily missed, surrounded by stunning females all around. She was quite shorter than the rest, at least by fae standards. He saw plenty humans in his life and a lot shorter than her but fae were naturally taller than human. She was also quite slim, having a very athletic build to her frame. Her fiery red hair was on the short side, and her brown eyes shined bright with the fire flickering around her frame. What caught his attention however, was her smile. Unlike the other females, who danced with quite neutral expression, the female seemed to flow to her own rhythm, her movements full of energy but smooth and flowing perfectly. Her face, had expression of true joy on it, her lips parted in a true smile. She was simply the most radiant one out of all of them and he stood there for a moment, watching her gracefully move around, unable to tear his gaze away from her. Her hands were working the fire around her in rhythm to the music, eloping her frame and moving together with her as one but never getting close enough to burn her. He admired her skill, both with her movements and her control of magic. While a lot of fae had some forms of powers, very few of them had any greater ones and even lesser number could master them well without proper training. Not a lot had proper training, his father made sure of that. A part of compliant court plan.
The dancers all paused, and the flames flew up to the sky then parted, breaking into thousands of little orange and yellow pieces. They coloured the sky and slowly begun making their way down like a rain of fire, before disappearing into nothing. Cheers erupted.
The crowd begun slowly dispersing and Eris took one more look at the female disappearing behind the stage before he made his way into the Flaming Martini. The tavern inside was not much better than outside. The bar area looked like it had seen better days and a lot of the tables and chairs appeared to have been a witness to a lot of brawls. Not unusual for this part of the court.
He ordered a glass of whisky and made a disgusted face as he took a sip but he knew he was not going to get a top quality here. He sat on one of the barstools sipping his drink, mentally rehearsing tomorrow. He wondered what the female he had to marry looked like and if she and her family despised him from the start. Because of his position the family would not be in much position to refuse even if they wanted to but agreement was a form of politeness. Her consent the same but he was fully prepared to do what he could to annule it if she said the word no. It would have required changing some rules and laws and that would put him in worst position than he was, but he’d do it if he had to. He was just glad it didn’t come to that.
He kept sipping on his drink, feeling the familiar burn spreading in his throat, before fading into dull warmth. There were conversations happening all around him but he blocked them out, enjoying being able to just be forgotten for a night.
Another couple of drinks and he was beginning to feel the light effects of his muscles finally relaxing, his back slouching lightly. If only his mother saw him like this. Her lecture would not end for hours. Her words although meaning well, would just poke at old wounds.
A body slid into the stool next to him. His eyes quickly went to the side to see who sat next to him and immediately recognised the dancer from earlier.
Their eyes met and she gave him a big grin “Do you mind if I sit here? Hard to pass a handsome stranger.”
He did his best not to show her the shock he felt at her words. What a strange female, asking after she already took a sit but he didn’t mind. He was actually intrigued. For the first time in a while his interest perked up. It was a while since he was with anyone and even longer for someone to start flirting with him. He gave a polite nod “All yours. Let me get you a drink?”
“Whatever you’re having. Their whiskies are all quite similarly bad anyway.” She gave a light laugh and he couldn’t look away momentarily. Despite the dim light in here, he could still see the sparkle in her eyes and how her smile made the dimples in her cheeks more pronounced.
His eyebrow raised at her choice but he complied with her decision. He expected her to be a fan of their martinis or perhaps be a wine girl but not whisky. She certainly was interesting and definitely gorgeous, her short hair while boyish, shaped her face beautifully and added to her feminine charms.
“I’d praise your choice but you’re right, their choices are all bad.” That got him another smile from her. For once, he felt like he was doing well at something.
“So handsome dark stranger, what brings you to this part of the court?”
“How do you know I’m not from those parts?”
“Please, you definitely give off the central feeling. You’ve got the same mannerism as the posher fae even if you’re trying to hide it. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” She winked at him and he allowed corners of his lip to lift up.
He took another sip of his drink, thinking of his response and followed her suit. “And where are you from?”
“Hm, definitely mysterious as well. I like it.” She giggled and turned her attention to her drink “I’m actually not far from here. The girls asked me to join their dance today as a one off. Thought I’d enjoy some freedom before returning to reality tomorrow.”
“Do you not usually dance?” He thought she was a professional dancer. She certainly could easily pass of as one.
“No, while I love it, it’s only occasional hobby for me. Duties demand my attention elsewhere.”
He could understand that. He didn’t know her circumstances but he could relate to the feeling, constantly having chains around you dictating what you can and can’t do. Many claimed to be jealous of the High Lords, their power and that they were simply above the law if they wished it but they didn’t really understand that the High Lords had chains around them that they were never able to lose. Not until the day they died.
Before he could say more, another bartender appeared before them, a female this time, putting two drinks in front of them. “Not seen you here in a while. Those two are on the house.” She smiled at the female next to him before moving on to the next customer.
Eris blinked. “Looks like you’re a frequent customer.”
Their conversation was flowing so easily, she was one of the people that were very easy to get along with, having a welcoming aura around her. She smiled freely and was one of the most welcoming people he ever met and unfortunately, that was a rarity in the Autumn Court after Beron’s rule. He watched as she carefully brought the drink to her lips and the slight grimace she made after. He just couldn’t tear his eyes away. For him, she was the most beautiful female here. Unlike most, she did not have any make up on her, and that allowed her natural beauty to shine through. Judging by how close she was now sitting to him; he would say she was enjoying his company. Something that felt foreign to him.
“Visit here and there. As it happens this will be the last trip I’ll be able to take here for a while.”
“And you thought to spend it with me?” He asked, some disbelief evident in his voice.
“Why not?” Her smile was definitely contagious, that would be the only reason he could think of why he had the same smile on his face. He realised it has been the first time in a long time where he truly smiled. “You know, I really feel like I’ve seen you before.” She tapped her finger to her chin, her eyes studying him and he momentarily froze. He prayed she did not recognise him or their nice evening would come to an end in a blink of an eye. Luckily, he was spared, when a male bumped into her. He turned his attention to the intruder, ready to reprimand him when the male looked at the female and smiled.
“Didn’t expect to bump into you here! Thought you were meant to be behaving.” He gave a little laugh that the female shared “Sorry about that by the way, the bumping into you I mean. It’s bit busier than usual.”
“Nick! It’s been ages.” She stood up and gave the male a quick hug before returning to her sit “Are you here with Chloe?”
“No, actually just going to pick her up now. But we’ll still be seeing you the usual Sunday for dinner?”
“Yeah, of course! Wouldn’t dream of missing it.” She gave the male, Nick, another bright smile and then his attention turned to Eris.
“I’ll get going now. Wouldn’t want to disturb your... date?” He eyed Eris with doubt, a small frown appearing between his eyebrows. Eris automatically sat up just tiny bit straighter.
“Haha, nothing like that. Don’t worry, I’ll be good.” The fae male didn’t seem to buy it but just nodded and they said their goodbyes.
“Should I be worried?” Eris asked, unsure of what to think of the encounter.
“Don’t be silly. That was my brother-in-law. Like I said, tonight was just an escape from reality for me.” Her smile for the first time faltered but just as quickly returned to her face. “Don’t worry, I don’t have husband or anyone like that waiting at home.”
He nodded, accepting her reasoning. It was just a night of escape for him too. A good evening to add to the very few great memories he had, before he had to go back to the life he hated. Not wanting her to ask questions about him, he thought to change the topic. Noticing her second drink was empty he asked “Can I get you another drink?”
She leaned into him then, mischief in her eyes. She licked her lip and his eyes followed the movement, mesmerised. “I think I’d rather you took me elsewhere?”
Her eyes went to the stairs, leading up to the bedrooms for rent. He hesitated for a moment but he couldn’t deny the desire he felt and she clearly felt it too. Maybe he could have this one night to really just do whatever he wanted, without worrying about tomorrow. His life was to change forever once again so he wanted one last bit of freedom and to be able to choose. Choose how he at least spent the night.