Private Tales A Dark Winter's day

[Paetr]

There was a loud rap on the door. A fae of lesser standing in a fine coat waited to announce the arrival of his master. Behind him was a small carriage, the glamour that kept it hidden from the eyes of common and tiresome bandits.

"Lord Rovomane requests an audience with the family and perhaps a brief stay on his long journey."

It was rare for such a thing to go unannounced. Aeron, Paetr's weapon master had already stepped out to look for danger.

A change in the weather had melted a series of lakes, leading to a temporary pause in outright war along his front of the Night Court war. Paetr knew full well that Saang would be busy.

The household was not a stopover on his journey. It was the destination. With his simple logic, he had been planning the trip ever since he had felt Seryn Lusce use the coin he had sent as a gift.

 

[Seryn Lusce]

"Lady Seryn, there is a guest downstairs."

Seryn lifted her head, eyes still trained on the letter she was writing, giving the maid the appearance of her attention. "Oh? Why not ask Signe or Siobhan. I bet Sybil would even be welcoming of a guest." Things were still icy between the sisters, and Seryn had made no move to apologise to her sisters for yelling at them, not when it had been the darned brat Signe that rifled through her room and snooped.

"Uh... he insists on seeing you, Lady Seryn."

With a pout, she set down her writing instrument and sighed. All focus left her letter, one that would be addressed to Saang and her mother.

As if now aware of the world, Seryn sat up straighter. There was a scent, all too familiar to Seryn as it still clung to her emerald dress that hung in her wardrobe.

"Oh." She sprung out from her seat, almost toppling it over. The Duannan paused before a floor length mirror and examined her appearance, fixing anything out of place before hurrying out her door and down the stairs. She did her best to be quiet, to not alert her sisters that they had received a guest. Seryn had been thinking of Paetr a lot lately, had been waiting for his response to her letters but even Saang could barely manage a correspondence.

"Paetr!" Seryn was all smiles, not at all caring that her cheeks strained from holding the unusual expression. "You are here! In the Winter Court!" Tourmaline eyes glistened with happiness, and Seryn approached him to kiss the air at both his cheeks. She had been too excited and stunned, forgetting there was quite a significant difference in height between them.

Paetr

 

[Paetr]

Seryn kissed the air towards either side of Paetr's neck. He rarely hid his feelings and was smiling from ear to ear. The Lord swept one foot back and bowed low, down to below her eye level before taking her hand and kissing it.

"I was just travelling past and thought it would such an opportunity to visit," he said, making no real attempt to hide the lie. He looked quite pleased with himself for the entirely transparent plot.

"May I come in?" he asked politely. A few of his advisors had protested, but most knew to pick their battles with the Night Court lord. Even Paetr knew enough of his own mind to see that he could be fickle. He had yet to decide whether Seryn was an obsession that might burn hot and bright for a fleeting time - perhaps a few decades - or if she meant more than that to him.

 

[Seryn Lusce]

Seryn hesitated at his question, turning to see which of the staff that remained in the entrance hall, waiting to welcome their guest and serve the Lady. There was no real chaperone, and she certainly was not going to call on her treacherous siblings to fill the role.

Instead, Seryn opened the door and stepped back, allowing Paetr to enter. "Saang is not here to chaperone... nor is Sadie." Being the third eldest Lusce meant she needed someone older or married to sit with them. "But we can sit out in the garden. Have some tea and sweets. I am afraid we were not anticipating a guest, or even you being in attendance." Word would likely return to Saang that Paetr had made a visit. The staff liked to talk, and her little sisters always found out anything. Word would definitely get back to her dearest brother.

"How have you been? I thought something happened during the war, but Saang still answered his letters when he could." And Seryn had just stifled every bit of will to badger him about the progress of asking their father his favour in her wedding match. The smaller Duannan linked her arm through the Lord's, leading him straight towards the rear of the manor and towards the gardens. A glass house was alive with lush greens and vibrant flowers, the humidity inside allowing the scents of various blooms to linger in the air. Two maids followed, ready to assist Seryn with her instructions.

"Fetch us some tea, and those biscuits we had after breakfast. Would you like anything, my Lord?" Seryn turned her gaze upwards, smiling sweetly up at Paetr.

This is how it should always be! No siblings to ruin her happiness, just herself and Paetr.

Paetr

 

[Paetr]

Paetr found their adherence to such customs particularly quaint. He was the least progressive of the Night Lords fighting against Tulok, but he preferred rules that allowed him free reign.

"Oh he is not here, what a shame, I do enjoy his company," Paetr replied.

He allowed himself to be led inside. His weapons master followed not far behind, always suspecting an attack. In fairness, a lot of effort was put into trying to murder Paetr.

Bound by the laws of hospitality, Seryn could have ejected him from the household with a single phrase. He would be forced to leave. Seryn was perfectly safe from him, but perhaps not from herself.

The humidity of the glasshouse was quite suffocating for a fey used to the dry and biting northern winds. He immediately shrugged his travelling coat from his shoulders. He wore a tunic of a fine translucent fabric that could have been woven from spidersilk, under a waistcoat of rich green.

"I should have sent someone ahead to announce me," he said.

He would not lie in someone else's household. He had quite deliberately not done that; his visit may have been rejected.

"I have been well, much to the frustration of our enemies. I'm sure you picked up a tone of frustration in my letters at being stuck in the war, far away from you."

"Tea and biscuits would be quite welcome," he said, returning her warm smile.

 

[Seryn Lusce]

Seryn gestured for one of the maids to take Paetr's coat, happily taking a seat at the chair and table set up she would sit at when she decided to embroider in the glasshouse for inspiration.

"And I felt your frustrations deeply, for I too felt the same. I have missed your company, Paetr... My sisters know about you now. Signe had not learned her lesson at the Autumn Court and snooped in my room. Younger sisters can be so cruel, and... that is why I took that coin you gifted me. I thought of you and just...." Her cheeks blossomed rosey, ducking her head to let the auburn waves obscure her face.

"You have been missed. Particularly so after I was told of your intentions. The decision still rests in the hands of my father... I just cannot fathom what is taking him so long to decide." Her eyes drift to his weapons master, who stood watch feet away and stared down at the maid that brought over the tea and biscuits.

"Is he a friend of yours, my Lord?"

Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"So many sisters tied up in one house. I can only imagine," Paetr replied, with a shake of his head. He smirked as she tried to hide herself. "I can only hope that after thinking of me you might have relieved those frustrations for at least a little while."

Paetr's views on the night court politics would swing back and forth. They were often based on whatever the last person he spoke to had thought. Only when provoked into war, or when he set his sights on a chase, did he continue with single-minded determination.

"I am afraid I do not know him as a friend. But given what I know of him I can imagine he will only look upon the proposal fondly. The war is tiring, but I will have my advisors writing to him this week. I do worry that he might be hoping that the war will end first. My home is close to the front and maybe he fears that Tulok would strike at you to weaken my resolve."

"Still, I am glad to know you were thinking of me," he said, with a small smirk.

 

[Seryn Lusce]

"I can only hope that after thinking of me you might have relieved those frustrations for at least a little while."

How much more could her poor reddened cheeks take?! Seryn lifted her gaze to his, coming under the spell of being smitten.

She listened to him speak, unable to formulate something charming or witty to combat his natural charm.

It was not until he smirked that she noticed she had leaned closer towards him.

Oh, dear!

Seryn cleared her throat and resumed her perfect posture, welcoming the distraction of tea being poured for them and biscuits being placed between them. She could only muster a weak smile in thanks, helping herself to the steaming tea to give her time to collect herself.

"I thought of your safety, and that of my brother's too. I... I was most charmed making your acquaintance at the Autumn Court festivities, Lord Paetr. While Signe was serving her punishment, I had no one else to converse with, and so I wrote to you. I cherished every reply I had gotten from you. It meant you were safe."

It was safe to say he also made an impression on Seryn, occupying her thoughts when she felt lonely and in bed... remembering how breathless the Night Court Lord had made her before they returned to the party that night.

Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"Oh you don't need to worry. Those fucks will never get me," Paetr laughed.

His laugh came to an abrupt halt. Whilst he made a point of ignoring his advisors, they had stressed - at length - that he needed to try and limit his cursing for the next few days.

"Terrible business with your sister. I trust no long term effects? So other than Winter Court lords coming to court yourself and your sisters, what else do you all do in the day to keep yourselves entertained?"

 

[Seryn Lusce]

Seryn smiled at Paetr and his question.

"Oh, we barely get any guests. It has mainly been myself and my sisters, but to pass the time, I have taken up many embroidering projects. Already I am preparing for the Spring season, and florals are my specialty." She took a sip of her tea, placing it down to grab herself a biscuit to daintily bite into before washing it down with more tea. Sprinkling crumbs onto the plate, Seryn continued.

"When I no longer wish to embroider, I write letters. Sometimes I walk to the town nearby or take a ride... but the weather sometimes is too terrible of a condition to go too far from the manor." She winced, hoping she did not sound boring to the Lord. "I think of you mostly... what it meant that night to be in your company. No other suitor has made me feel the way... you make me feel."

Seryn had displayed his gifted Cerulean Bitterlark petals at her bedside table. The silver coin he sent her with his first letter was tied to a chain around her neck and was still worn even now. She fished the long chain from beneath her neckline, showing Paetr she still kept it close. "This made me feel somewhat closer to you. Sometimes I could smell your scent nearby." And what a comfort it had been on those lonely nights where she could not sleep with worry.


Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"Well now I am here. Even if it is just a fleeting moment to us. It is not like we can remember everything with these lives we lead. It's important we make memories that stick."

Paetr was relatively young for a fey Lord. It showed. His passions burned bright. His father had a fiery temper well into his later years, so those around him had begrudgingly accepted that he was not going to completely settle down with maturity.

Some of his advisors were quite content to entertain his proposals to Seryn. She was well placed and they hoped that perhaps he might calm just a little as they settled into a typically debauched few decades of fey honeymoon period.

And at least there was a chance of heirs before he inevitably took one risk too far.

"Is it a town of mortals nearby that you like to visit?" he asked. "They are fascinating creatures."

One of the household staff was still watching. Rather than offer a hand, he changed his posture and placed the outside of his shin against hers.

"It is good to know I don't have strong competition. Not that I would slow down and give them a chance to catch up."

 

[Seryn Lusce]

The slightest touch at her foot stirred something within Seryn. It was an unknown beast, one that had awakened after that fevered moment at the Hunt. She shuffled in her seat, careful not to break the small contact with him.

"No, I keep within the Winter Court and their settlements..." She answered dutifully, smiling now. "Signe said many of the other fae stared at us when we go shopping, but I think it may be because we are new here. We rarely leave the house too... it feels too... unnatural to have such autonomy without our mother here."

Seryn offered Paetr the plate of biscuits, "They are honey biscuits." She announced happily, as if the small delight would be a highlight of her day. Of course, it was now overshadowed by Paetr's visit.

Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"You should all get out more!" Paetr declared. He took one of the biscuits offered to him. It remained in his hand as he gesticulated.

"Your brother, a brave and elegant man, moved you all here for a better life. Perhaps you should all get out more. Go...convince a mortal to do something incredibly stupid and funny."

"Why I would be happy to escort you and your sisters somewhere nearby," he offered, unaware of the drama that had unfolded.

 

[Seryn Lusce]

Seryn reached a hand over to gently squeeze his arm. "And I thank you for the generosity. Perhaps on your next visit, we can organise a trip into the fae village." She had not the heart to reveal to him that she had been cold with her sisters as of late. Nor would she mention his presence would merely be tolerated by Signe.

But the selfish notion in her decided that Paetr was all for her.

"If you'd like, and have the time, we could stroll the grounds here after tea? The lake nearby froze over if you are game for some skating." She smiled, withdrawing her hand to drink her tea.

Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"It seems so much warmer her, hard to imagine the lake is frozen," Paetr said. "The air is quite still I suppose."

He looked towards Aeron, his masked weapons master. She was stoic as ever. Quite immune to his charm somehow, which had been deeply frustrating for the first two years of her service before Paetr gave up on trying to fuck her.

"I would love to stay a little longer and - oh - "

Paetr suddenly remembered his little half-baked plan.

" - one of the wheels on the carriage needs realigning."

Because he had them hit it with a rock and loosen the bearings

"They will take a little while to reset it. But as I was saying. Aeron can escort us if your staff wish to stay in the warm."

 

[Seryn Lusce]

Seryn blinked, a brow arching in curiosity.

"Then my Lord, you should of said something earlier and the stable hand could have a look at it for you while we were having tea." She looked over to the maids, seeing them shiver in the coolness that wafted from the doors.

"Hmm... alright. You may clear the table after we leave and get yourselves warm." Seryn moved to stand, walking round the table and met Paetr with a smile. Her arm looped around his, just like she had done at the Hunt. "Well, there is the lake, or there is the gardens... but nothing is persisting in this weather. There is a maze with a fancy fountain in the middle if we find it." She scrunched her nose delicately. "There... is not much to do here in terms of entertainment I think."

 

[Paetr]

"I should have said earlier, shouldn't I?" he asked. How creative, he thought of himself, to keep skirting around the truth.

"I imagine you must know the maze off by heart now?" he asked. "Why don't we make our own entertainment then. You can find out more about me and enjoy walking with me as I fail spectacularly to navigate?"

Paetr crossed his free arm over his body and laid his hand over hers. All the time between compressed and he could have walked from that autumn court gathering and into this moment. All the war - usually one of his favourite things but this one was dragging on - felt like a blip in his mind.

 

[Seryn Lusce]

Seryn beamed. Paetr was one of the few who could stretched her lips into a genuine smile.

"I would love that, Paetr." Her cheeks turned pink at the choice of words, but she would not correct herself. Seryn lead him out from the glass house, picking up his jacket along the way and holding it for him. "Then let me start off with this question: what do you like to do to pass the time? Besides the war, I imagine there are things you like to indulge in."

It was an innocent question, one asked innocently by her.

Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"Oh yes there's..."

A pause. Not that.

"There's kelpie fighting. Those vicious little fucks really tear into one another. I enjoy a game of chess with my top war chiefs."

Which they had all decided to let him win.

"Although I miss the small things. Occasionally we ride and let the cwns chase the mortals around to remind them we exist. But it's things like really messing a local villager and turning their world upside down that I don't have time for any more."

 

[Seryn Lusce]

Seryn could only view his word with a smile and amusement. She liked this, taking a walk and learning about the male that had so quickly captured her attention. The scarlet haired Duannan let out a soft laugh.

"Kelpie fighting. That is an interesting..." She wavered off, brows furrowing for a moment as she remembered hearing that Ianthe indeed kicked Sybil's face. And how savagely she tore a slit in the dress Seryn made for her at the Hunt. "Oh, I imagine that to be quite brutal to spectate."

"Do you like music or reading, Lord Paetr?" Seryn inquired further.


Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"Vicious little fucks, you'd think the cwns were worse but..."

Not a topic got a sheltered young woman. He was going to have to keep skirting around these until she was made his.

"I enjoy both," he said. "Though I just admit I never had the patience to learn to play anything myself. I can rarely summon patience for something I want," he said.

"I'm afraid I didn't bring any of my musicians. Shame. Though Rasilion does have quite the voice. You must have some entertainers here? Do you play anything?"

 

[Seryn Lusce]

Seryn led them both to the starting point of the maze, turning her head to peek between them and see the weapons master still trailing behind them. She then turned her large eyes up to Paetr. "Entertainers? Why... not always. Signe has her dancing and..." She realised she had not been paying attention to her other sisters and what they did... "I do sing, but rarely to a larger audience. I know the pianoforte too." The gentler muses of entertainment.

Due to her ability to shatter eardrums with her voice, Seryn was able to control the scales like a seasoned professional, which at her age, perhaps she could be considered as such. She was able to reach notes high enough that many could not follow.

"I hope to hear this Rasilion of yours, one day."


Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"Oh you will, when you are made mine we will need to take plenty of time for ourselves. Just a few years to get to know one another properly after the wedding. Plenty of time for entertainment. We shall eat and drink and not leave the bedchamber until we want to sit the table for lunch,” Paetr thought out loud.

“The war will be over, of course, so there will be time to arrange whatever entertainment we feel like.”

Paetr could think of plenty of entertainment that could be arranged. He was a High Lord and when the war was over he was certain other courts would send visitors once again. There would also be plenty of captives from the war to deal with slowly.

“Well, what do you think?” he said, turning to look into the hedge maze. “No, don't tell me, I'm sure you know it well. Let's try left…”

 

[Seryn Lusce]

"... when you are made mine..."

Seryn could not help but squeeze his arm, staring up at him in adoration. "And do you think I would be able to visit my sisters here in the Winter Court?" It would be all she would ask of him. "Perhaps we could enlighten them with your collection of entertainers, Paetr?" She smiled.

And as he steered them to the left, leading into a red herring until a dead end, Seryn found herself leaning her head against his shoulder. "You know, Paetr, I cannot wait for the moment I do become yours. The dearest friend of my brother, I feel as if this day was waiting to happen."

Paetr

 

[Paetr]

"Of course, I am a Lord, you can go where you wish to go. Unless we start a war with the Winter Court I suppose..."

He had to be honest, at least.

He looked up at the wall of hedge with mild frustration. He liked to get his way, even when it was something as simple as choosing the right direction in a maze.

" You have been waiting a long time," he said as he turned them back and delved deeper into the maze. "I am glad to hear it and amazed you can stand to wait even another day."

He grinned over her head as he slipped his arm from hers and wrapped it behind her and about her waist.