Work Text:
The iron bars of the cage creaked as Nie Mingjue’s saber cut through them like air, falling to the cobbled floors with a clatter, echoing through the dank dungeon. Her breath fogged as she exhaled, readjusting her grip on the worn leather wrappings of her hilt and shifting her stance as she stepped into the cell.
No wards, no more monsters in her way.
She sighed in relief and sheathed her saber, stepping toward the huddled form in blue skirts in the corner of the cage.
"Hey, it's okay now. I'm here to rescue you." she said gently, reaching out to the woman curled up so tightly.
The woman looked up, and Mingjue was met with the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. Her long, dark hair shone blue in the moonlight, her eyes sparkling like the rarest topaz. Long, thick lashes fluttered as she studied Mingjue, a curious tilt of her head causing her cascading hair to reveal a pointed ear, soft-looking pink lips parted in a question.
"Are you alright?" Mingjue asked her softly. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Xichen." she replied demurely as Mingjue plucked the keys she had stolen earlier from her belt, unshackling the poor woman and helping her to her feet. "Lan Xichen of the Cloud Recesses."
"Cloud Recesses? No human has ever come back from those mists… They say Faeries live there."
"We do." Xichen replied, her wings unfurling behind her, shimmering in the moonlight, their patterns as detailed as stained glass and as delicate as cicada wings. "Though, the humans who wander into our realms are usually dealt with by the Unseelies before the Court has anything to say of it. You're the first human I have met aside from that warlock who captured me."
"Wen Ruohan? You don't need to worry about him now."
"Did he flee?"
"I… Yes?"
"You killed him, didn't you?"
"I…"
"Killing is against the rules of the Seelie court. It is better you ended his life than I… forgive me, what was your name?"
"Mingjue. Nie Mingjue."
"Nie as in… Of the Qinghe kingdom? Lady Nie, yes?"
"My governess wasted no time in reminding me I was no lady, but yes. The very same. Heir apparent and all of that."
The Fae let out an airy, musical laugh, like the soft tinkling of bells in a summer breeze. It filled Mingjue with such warmth.
"How ironic, a princess rescuing another princess." Xichen giggled, snorting lightly in her laughter. "Forgive me, how unbecoming of me to make such a sound."
"You were no such thing. Believe me, princess, I know all about what is considered unbecoming of women like us and frankly, I don't care."
Xichen laughed again, louder and brighter, and as the melodious joy filled the once dank and gloomy cell, bouncing off of the stone walls in a rapturous encore, Mingjue felt her heart skip a beat and swell in her chest.
She did not believe in such stupid things as love at first sight but…
Maybe, just maybe.
It would be true.
Mingjue had returned Xichen to the Seelie Court with stern and well masked gratitude from her aunt and sister, along with other members of the court.
She had found it strange that these Fae seemed so cold. The stories had always depicted them as vibrant and passionate beings, like Xichen. But perhaps, word of mouth is exaggerated and a bit outdated, and so Mingjue shrugged it off. She accepted the gifts of fresh fruit and Fae knives forged from starlight and moondust, as well as little trinkets for her sister. Her saddlebag fit to burst, mounted her horse and left soon after, not wanting to outstay her already tentative welcome.
The small figure in the mists of Cloud Recesses bidding her goodbye as she rode away was not the last she had seen of Lan Xichen, however. As Mingjue would soon find out, the Fae princess seemed to have a habit of following Mingjue on her rides through the forest, fluttering by her side as she travelled from place to place, always able to find her.
It should have unsettled her, Mingjue was well aware. But after many years alone of these roads… Xichens presence comforted her. A familiar face and a melodious voice to converse with so she wasn't alone with her thoughts. It was nice. However, today it seemed as though Xichen had something on her mind.
"Is something wrong?" Mingjue asked softly, tugging her horse's reins until she came to a halt.
"Hm?" Xichen blinked, petting the meticulously braided mane of Mingjues horse. "Oh, no. No. It's nothing."
"Xichen. You told me Fae cannot lie."
Xichen sighed and fluttered up onto the horse, settling into the saddle in front of Mingjue. There was a time where she would have been worried about the extra strain on her poor horse, but she had soon found out that Faerie folk seem to weigh nothing.
"You haven't claimed your prize…"
"Pardon?"
"Your prize. When you rescued me. You own a part of me since you did that. That's how I keep finding you. A part of me is yours. It's your prize. And you haven't… claimed it."
"Claimed it?"
"You know… Claimed?"
Mingjue stared back at the Fae, watching how she chewed her bottom lip, feeling her thigh brush against hers as her eyes widened and cheeks burned when she caught on.
"You mean like… kiss you?" she mumbled awkwardly.
"If that's how you interpret it, yes. Kissing is more of a starting point but if that's what you want…"
"Do you want me to kiss you? I don't want you to feel like you have an obligation to because of some custom you have…"
"Why wouldn't I want to kiss such a handsome, noble, woman?" Xichen asked lightly, tilting her head inquisitively.
"Because I'm a woman… Do Fae not… frown upon such relations?" Mingjue asked, her brow furrowing.
"We Fae don't really have a concept of what humans call gender… We are ourselves and free to be as such and that is what matters." Xichen shrugged, the translucent blue star-stitched fabric of her dress slipping down a pale, elegant shoulder.
"It must be an enjoyable way to live without such prejudices…"
"There are no prejudices here, Mingjue. It is just you and I and the forest around us. I will not force you to do anything."
"Are you sure you want this? Want me?"
Xichen chewed her bottom lip, gently plucking the reins from Mingjues hands and lacing their fingers together, soft, deft fingers caressing the scars and calluses on her war-worn hands.
"I would be privileged to have someone strong, noble and kind as you are, Nie Mingjue."
"You're sure?"
"If you keep asking me I may begin to believe you don't want to kiss me…" Xichen said, sitting back and raising a slender brow.
"No! No! I do, gods above I do… I'd be lying to myself if I said I haven't dreamed of it." Mingjue admitted bashfully, admiring the slender, pale hands encased in her rough, tanned ones.
"Perhaps you should make those dreams into a reality." Xichen hummed, her wings flickering as her pink lips spread into a mischievous smile.
"Perhaps I should." Mingjue laughed softly, trying not to watch the other sleeve of Xichen's dress slip down her shoulders and expose her collarbone. She swallowed thickly as she felt a blush burn its way across her face.
"So do it." Xichen whispered, her lips just barely brushing Mingjue’s.
Shoving down her anxieties, Mingjue cupped Xichens face and sealed the gap between them, pressing their lips together in a kiss. Xichen gasped against her lips and kissed back, soft and sweet yet electrifying.
Xichen shifted closer as one shy kiss became many, long, lingering ones. Mingjues hands had wandered from Xichens jaw to her waist, fingers twisting in the thin, delicate fabric of Xichens dress. Xichens lips were soft and addictive, a slow burning desire newly awakened and spreading within them as they pressed closer to one another, until Mingjues poor horse gave an irritated whinny.
"Ah… I seem to have forgotten that we were… on a horse." Xichen mumbled breathlessly against her lips.
"Ah. So we have."
"So…"
"So…"
"Do you wish to claim your prize, Lady Nie?" Xichen purred suggestively, licking her lips slowly. Mingjue swallowed thickly at the sight, her pink tongue tracing the kiss-bruised swell of her lips.
"I thought I already did?"
"You are quite innocent, aren't you?" Xichen hummed, dismounting Mingjues steed elegantly.
Mingjue gaped as the Fae stepped back, allowing the countless layers of night blue fabric slip from her shoulders and down the curves of her body, revealing mile after mile of unmarred, pale skin. The dress pooled seamlessly onto the grass and Xichen stepped out of it, giggling as she swept her long, dark hair back, exposing her chest to Mingjue. Her wings fluttered as she giggled, the Fae standing almost shyly in front of Mingjue despite her bold actions.
"Do you like what you see?" Xichen asked, biting her lip as darkening Amber eyes met Mingjues, the tips of her long ears a pinkish red as they tilted downward.
"You're beautiful… So beautiful." Mingjue mumbled, dismounting her steed. She supposed he could go for a wander in the forest. Xichen could always guide him back to her.
"Will you claim your prize, Mingjue?"
"A-Jue." Mingjue corrected gently, the burn in her cheeks creeping down her neck.
"A-Jue." Xichen agreed as Mingjue stepped closer. "Close your mouth, you might attract flies."
"I'd rather attract you to my mouth… that didn't come out right."
"I don't care, just kiss me."
"I don't know what I'm doing." Mingjue mumbled, stepping closer to her and trying not to gawk at the way Xichens generous breasts pressed into the leather of her tunic.
"That's okay, just go with what feels right. If I don't like something I'll say, but the same goes for you too." Xichen said gently, trailing a fingertip down Mingjues shoulder and resting over the fastenings of her tunic. "Is that alright?"
"Yes, yes it is." Mingjue breathed as Xichen closed the gap between them.
This kiss was less chaste than the rest, the force and need of it all making Mingjues heart pound and head spin in the best of ways. It wasn't long before her back found the grass of the clearing and she felt Xichens warmth pressing her down into it. Dazed, Mingjue let out a surprised moan as Xichens lips found her neck, kissing a path of fire down the exposed column of skin. Deft fingers pried apart the fastenings of her tunic parting it with surprising roughness.
Mingjue sat up, catching her princesses lips in a heady kiss and helping Xichen rid her of the heavy leather tunic. Tongues and teeth clashed as Xichen pulled on the ties of Mingjues shirt, tugging the white wool out of her trousers and over her head, exposing her chest to the elements. Mingjue let out a soft gasp, her nipples beginning to harden in the cool forest air as Xichen cupped her full breasts in her hands.
"My, my. How pretty you are, Lady Nie." Xichen purred, sweeping her thumbs across the sides of Mingjues chest, slowly dragging them until they brushed above the swell of her breasts.
"Xichen…"
"Call me A-Huan." Xichen smiled, the halo effect created by the sun piercing through the canopy of leaves making her deceivingly angelic as her thumbs circled the dusky skin of her areola, edging closer and closer to her quickly stiffening nipples.
"A-Huan… please don't play with me like this." Mingjue said quietly, definitely not whining.
"Like what?" Xichen asked with an innocent grin Mingjue was so desperate to kiss off of her beautiful face.
She continued her teasing, letting out a breathy little whine as she slowly ground her hips into Mingjues abdomen, the wet warmth of her sex pressing into Mingjues stomach and causing her to bite her lip.
That sound, that beautiful sound.
Mingjue wanted to hear it all the time. She wanted more of it. Mingjue squeezed her thighs, plush yet firm under her grip, assisting the movements of her hips in slow, steady circles. Her thighs flexed under Mingjues grip as she rocked her hips, punched out sighs and little moans escaping her in such a sweet melody.
She sat up, gripping Xichen’s plush thighs tightly and encouraging her to grind harder. Mingjue gently tucked her head against Xichen’s neck, pressing her lips to the pale column of silky soft skin as her hands pressed into the small of her back, thumbs idly tracing the indents of her full hips and lips making a steady trail down to the swell of her breast.
Satisfaction swelled deep in her gut, twisting with arousal as Xichen’s back arched against her hands once her lips and tongue closed around a rosy nipple, sucking the pert bud and earning the sweetest mewl as the Fae ground harder against her abdomen.
Xichens slender fingers fisted in her hair, rocking desperately as she let out a frustrated whine. Mingjue groaned around her as she felt herself grow wet within the confines of her leather trousers, steadily soaking the thick fabric from within.
"A-Jue! A-Jue…"
"Is something wrong?" Mingjue asked, breathless against the soft skin of her breast.
“It’s not enough… I need… more…”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Touch me, taste me, anything!” The normally composed princess sounded impatient and desperate, letting out another frustrated whine as she ground her hips down into Mingjue’s abdomen.
“Taste you? As in… kiss you... there? ” Mingjue asked, earning an eager nod from the Fae mounting her. Mingjue considered the possibility of those plush thighs wrapped around her head, the slickness wetting her stomach thick on her tongue. “You want that?”
“If… if you are offering. I would like that very much.” Xichen mumbled, chewing her bottom lip as she looked down.
“Come here?” Mingjue lay down, beckoning Xichen to move toward her face.
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t want to hurt your wings.” Xichen flushed in her lap, blushing prettily as she tucked a lock of long, silky hair behind the delicate pointed shell of her ear. “I know they aren’t that fragile but it must be a little uncomfortable to lie on them.”
“It can be rather uncomfortable…” Xichen mumbled softly, warm amber eyes flicking up to meet her own dark green. “Thank you… That is very considerate of you.”
“Please, A-Huan… Come here?”
Xichen nodded and shifted to tentatively kneel over Mingjue’s face, the flush on her thighs likely mirroring the one high on her cheeks. Swollen pink lips rested so close to her face, dripping with need as the sweet scent of her elixir made Mingjue’s head spin and core pulse with want.
Swallowing thickly, Mingjue licked a slow stripe against Xichen’s cunt, earning a heady gasp as long fingers tangled into her hair, pulling her close. Groaning softly and guided by the Fae above her, Mingjue proceeded to lap at her folds carefully, drinking up her juices as if they were nourishment from a rare fruit and she were a woman starved.
Xichen’s thighs flexed against Mingjue’s neck as she shuddered, Mingjue’s strong arms wrapping around her plush thighs and pulling her down closer against her lips. Breathy moans and heady sighs filled the air as the Fae ground against the knight’s tongue, bracing one hand on Mingjue’s hip to keep herself steady.
“Higher,” Xichen urged breathlessly, tugging Mingjue’s hair impatiently. More than happy to comply, Mingjue did as demanded, swirling her tongue against the upper part of her lover’s cunt. “There! Don’t stop, ah!”
Emboldened further by Xichen’s cries, Mingjue continued to lap up her elixir, so focused on the task that she had no idea the princess’s deft fingers had begun to undo the laced fastenings of her leather trousers. A slender hand worked its way into Mingjue’s breeches, soft fingertips sliding through the downy curls guarding her sex and down further, brushing into a spot that made the knight jolt, moaning against her lover’s wet cunt.
“Xichen-” She gasped, cutting herself off in a low moan as the other woman drew small circles into the small bundle of pleasure between her thighs. She had never known such pleasure before, her heart pounding and her head swimming with heat and lust as the Fae toyed with her again and again.
“Did I ask you to stop?” Xichen teased, peering down at Mingjue with a mischievous grin.
“No, princess.” Mingjue replied breathlessly, her lips slick with the honey of Xichen’s arousal and hips arching up into Xichen’s touch.
“Claim your reward, my brave, sweet, noble knight, goodness knows you’ve earned it.” Xichen purred, tucking a lock of hair out of Mingjue’s eyes.
And claim she did, with the fervour and passion of a beast in heat, it wasn’t long before Xichen came apart in her arms, shuddering and crying out as her back arched and wings fluttered. Mingjue lapped up the floods of her release eagerly, the sweet elixir dripping from her lips and rolling down the column of her exposed throat.
After Xichen’s tremors subdued, she shifted back, moving easily between Mingjue’s thighs and spread them slowly.
“What are you doing?” Mingjue asked, confused.
“I am far from done with you, A-Jue. In fact, I am just getting started.” she grinned, tugging Mingjue’s trousers down.
Getting the hint, Mingjue helped her remove her boots and trousers, her ears burning as the cool forest breeze and soft blades of grass caressed her skin under Xichen’s dark gaze.
“My, my, aren’t you a prize in yourself.” Xichen whispered reverently, her fingers tracing patterns across Mingjue’s tanned, scarred skin and giggling as Mingjue’s muscles jumped under her delicate touch. “Such a strong, handsome woman.” She hummed, her lips beginning to follow her fingertips in a path down her body.
She had never been laid this bare, the shadows of the trees canopy above them the only thing covering her, the sounds of Xichen’s lips against her skin and her own sighs the only noises accompanying them in this forest. With a tender kiss to the apex of her thigh, Xichen parted her further, deft, pale fingers reaching down to pry apart swollen, dark lips and expose the last of the knight’s fragile body to the air.
“So beautiful.” She murmured before capturing her swollen cunt in a filthy mockery of their first kiss. Her toes curled and clenched in the long grass as Xichen lapped at her sex, mirroring her eagerness from earlier.
This was a pleasure Mingjue had truly never known, too focused on her knightly duties to think of anything else, but as Xichen kissed and licked at her core she found herself crumbling, succumbing to the waves of pleasure that began to rise within her. One pale hand gripped her thigh, hitching it over a slender shoulder as another hand moved up Mingjue’s form to cup and knead her breast in time with the movements of the Fae’s tongue.
She found her pleasure surging higher and higher, unable to keep the sounds slipping from her lips and control the movements of her hips into the Fae’s magical touch. Something curled tightly within her, her fist clenching the cotton of her discarded undershirt in a meagre attempt to remain grounded. Finally, the coil snapped as her back arched and a final flood of ecstasy rolled within her, causing her to cry out wantonly as she threw back her head.
Xichen ceased her ministrations, licking her lips impishly as she moved back up Mingjue’s body.
“Was that the reward you were offering?” Mingjue asked breathlessly, her head spinning as she finally came back to herself.
“In a manner of speaking, yes.” The princess replied nonchalantly, pressing a chase kiss to a long healed scar above Mingjue’s breast. “That is often what wandering knights seek from imprisoned maidens such as myself.”
Mingjue wrapped her arms around the Fae, careful of her wings. “I had no such motive, you know this, right?”
Xichen shrugged. “I could not be certain, however, the more time I spent with you, the more I found myself drawn to you.”
“And now what? Is the prize claimed and I just… Never see you again?” Mingjue asked, trying to swallow her bubbling nervousness as Xichen removed herself from their embrace, turning away as she sat up.
“If… that is your wish, then yes. I will take my leave, and you will never see me again.” she replied evenly, though uncharacteristically cold. Tentatively, Mingjue reached for her hand.
“And if I… want you in my life? If I don’t want you to leave, and continue to spend time with you?” she gently tangled their fingers together once more, meeting Xichen’s anxious amber with her own worried umber as the other woman looked over her shoulder.
“Fae only fall in love once. Our love is intense, sometimes terrifying in its strength. Are you sure you are willing to face such a challenge?”
“Lan Xichen, I have fought giant serpents, demonic, undead mountain bears, I do not take any challenge lightly, and I will gladly face any for you.”
“You mean it?” Xichen asked, turning to face Mingjue properly.
“How much is your dowry? I will ask your family’s permission as soon as I can. What are your rules of courting-” Xichen tackled her in a kiss before she could finish her sentence.
The pair tumbled against the grass, tangled in one another’s embrace.”One step at a time, my dashing knight.” Xichen laughed airily. “My, my, so eager to charge into everything as if it were a battle. Let us just enjoy this moment together, we can worry about the rest another day.”
“Alright,” Mingjue considered with a shrug, wrapping the princess in another embrace. “Then what do you suggest I do now?” she asked with a quirk of her brow.
“I suggest that you use your eagerness somewhere where it is greatly appreciated.” Xichen replied with a coy grin.
And that, she did.