Chapter Text
The night’s cold breeze brought with it a chill to remind everyone the harvest season was soon coming to a close, and in the dead of night, a thin damask shawl did very little to keep the princess warm. A brisk wind high up on the tallest of the castle’s bridges brought a shiver through Princess Cassandra and she pulled the shawl closer to her.
She looked around and spotted Sir Evans gazing down at Castletown with a sort of nostalgic longing. Much of the castle had retired to their chambers, many of its guards and soldiers had been given an early leave. She herself had had to attend a ball earlier that afternoon with a ceremonial prayer for wisdom and a gentle winter to come, but by the end of it all, she and her captain had been too socially drained to do anything more, so an early retirement was in both of their books.
But exhausted as she’d been, she couldn’t help but climb to her usual spot on the high bridge of the castle and overlook the bustling city below.
Castletown. It was far livelier than usual, lights and celebrations were clear, even from this distance. She spotted two bonfires on its outskirts where the townsfolk looked no bigger than ants dancing around its flames and drinking. She could almost hear the semblance of laughter or cheering even from the distance she was.
“Sir Evans, What’s going on down below?” She asked curiously. She leaned on the cold stone and watched closer.
Sir Evans seemed to jump at the question, regaining his focus. “Ah, my apologies, Your Highness.” he apologised profusely. “I didn’t mean to let my mind wander.”
“No apologies needed Sir, I simply asked a question.”
“It’s the Farore’s Day celebrations. They tend to go on until sunrise.” He explained simply. “Singing, dancing, just having a good time, I suppose.” His voice trailed off at the end. Sir Evans was among the younger of her guards and among one of the more accomplished.
Cassandra nodded slowly. Earlier that day, they’d had their Farore’s day ball, and it had been a success even if it had ended far earlier than most of their events.
She wondered if Sir Evans had wanted to attend. It was clear most of town was partaking even if it was nearing midnight on her small pocket watch. Did he want to attend with his omega, was that something he had intended on doing before being thrust on sudden guard duties for the night?
She’d caught an odd peek of Captain Arn in the barracks earlier that morning showing many of the alpha men how to arrange a bouquet so it wouldn’t look half-hazardly put together. Something about tradition, Fredrick had told her, but he hadn’t really elaborated much and he never usually did.
“Do you wish to attend?” She asked him, glancing back at the town below. She could see crowds drinking and dancing. Maybe she really could hear the contagious laughter and chatter all the way from here.
Sir Evans hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I was meant to attend with my husband but Sir Matthews cancelled on Cap and I.” he explained earnestly. “I know under regular circumstances, Captain would’ve gladly let me go off, but with His Royal Highness visiting from abroad, he does need his sleep.”
Her father and mother, King Daphnes and Queen Zelda, were currently abroad in Holodrum on a personal mission regarding building future relations, leaving her in sole charge of the kingdom until their return, but it hadn’t stopped Prince Koram of Labrynna from deciding that tomorrow morning was a grand time for an official state visit.
Oh how she loathed that leather-wrapped prince and his endless flirtations every two minutes. She’d all but thrown Fredrick at him in order to have as much time to herself as possible. Sure his impassive glare in his eyes usually kept Koram from making uncomfortable comments, but the man seemed to forget all courting rituals in Hyrule every time he came, so the glaring only ever went so far.
Her solution? An offer of a tray of faronese honey cakes for an extra two hours of sleep in the morning. Watching her 28-year-old captain try not to jump at the chance had been entertaining and he’d whisked the tray off her hands faster than he should have and had ‘begrudgingly’ accepted to act as entertaining until eleven in the morning to the prince.
Honey cakes always work, thank you Lady Reyna.
“Would you still like to attend?” She asked him as she pushed off the cold stone and walked toward the entrance back into the castle.
“I would love to, but you do still require a guard, Princess.” Sir Evans pushed back.
He was right. Even if she retired now, he’d still have to stand guard at her door until their next guard change. She looked back at the city, still reverberating with festive cheer. She wanted to try the food stalls, get little festival trinkets, but sneaking out and getting mixed into the crowd with little to no security was a terrible idea.
Just once she too wanted to see it personally, but Sir Evans didn’t have the clearance to take her out of the castle even if he could.
But she knew who could.
Is he going to be too cranky to take me? Fredrick was notorious for being difficult to deal with when woken up early, even for her. He liked his sleep, what could she argue against that? I wonder if an extra few cakes would fix that… Maybe, maybe not, but he was also the only one in the castle currently with the authority to send Sir Evans on his way since Captain Arn had gone off early to spend time with Elise and their twins.
Cassandra found him exactly how she’d expected. Wrapped in blankets, sleeping soundly in bed. Sir Evans was told to wait in the hallway while she lock-picked the captain’s door for the third time that month. She hadn’t made it two steps into the room before seeing his arm shoot out from under the blanket with a knife in hand.
He hadn’t even looked at her. She approached and swatted away his hand. The blade was never drawn threateningly, but at this point, it was more akin to a gag.
“Get out, “ Fredrick groaned into his pillow. He pulled his blanket closer to his face.
“No can do, Captain,” Cassandra peeled the blanket back just enough to see his bare shoulder and started poking him repeatedly. “I already sent Evans home for the night.”
Frederick’s eyes opened with a snap and he glanced at her without moving. “Why?”
Cassandra kept poking him, her force gradually increasing. “The poor guy wanted to celebrate Farore’s Day with his mister.” She pouted. “Have a heart, Captain.”
“Why are you here?” He grumbled. He stuck the knife back under his pillow and kept facing the wall, blankets still clutched close.
“Because I feel adventurous and no one else can take me out of the castle?”
He grumbled something she didn’t quite catch, the words muffled through thick quilts and a pillow. “Sleep.”
She shook her head and kept poking his shoulder. “If I offer you more honey cakes, will you wake up?”
His head turned immediately and he looked at her suspiciously. “Do I get roasted boar for dinner?”
She nodded. That wasn’t hard to arrange at all. “If you want.”
Fredrick sighed and shifted into a seated position. “I suppose I’m awake now, why did you break into my room again?” He gave her one look over and, through the light of the moon, she could see annoyance in his face almost immediately--aside from what had already been there from being woken up at midnight. “When you do decide to break into my room at this terrible hour, can you do so wearing a tad bit more clothes? You give gossipy servants too much material to work with.” He requested.
She studied her nightgown and frowned. “What's wrong with my sleepwear?” She was comfortable in her nightgown, even if it was a bit on the shorter side. “I’m not about to throw on an evening gown to come wake you.”
He snorted. He motioned to her chest. “You’re one dropped item away from a mishap, someone needs to tell you and Evans won’t.” He pointed at the door. “And don’t think I don’t know he’s on the other side of that door.”
“Boo, you’re no fun.” she crossed her arms.
“Regardless, why are you here? ” He asked her again.
“I want you to bring me to Castletown and to let Evans see his husband.”
“At this time? I barely like being there myself.” He shook his head. “Not a chance.” He was already halfway back to laying down and getting comfortable again.
“But it’s Farore’s Day, Freddie! Don’t you want to have a bit of fun? It’s just the peasantry! No nobles to stress you, we might even find Arn and Elise!” She was shaking his shoulder, but he did nothing to stop her like he’d just accepted his fate.
It was her first and she wouldn’t lie, watching the people enjoy themselves so much made her want to partake. She’d never had any chance to participate, not even a little bit, but as princess, she might still have just a bit of a chance. Once coronation came, she knew she’d probably never get the chance even if the title seemed like it could give her boundless desires.
“Fine.” he grumbled and pushed her away gently. “Go find something inconspicuous to wear.” He told her. The moment she stopped shaking his shoulder, he was already slipping back under his blankets like he was ready to fall back asleep.
“No! Don’t fall asleep again!”
Before she could do anything, he called out loudly. “Evans, come get your charge!”
Cassandra had asked one of her late night attendants to bring her something ‘inconspicuous’ as per her guard’s words for her late night outing and she’d been given a simple white blouse and a light blue skirt to go with it. It wasn’t quite the length she was used to, it stopped a bit below the knee rather than floor length as per her usual, but it was satisfactory and comfortable. She paired it with a set of her travelling boots and gave herself a nice little twirl in the mirror before swearing the attendant to secrecy.
It was nearly midnight when she finally made it down to the gate. The moment they arrived at the front castle gate just before the bridge, Sir Evans waved himself off and ran off immediately, his guard uniform discarded in one of the castle’s guard rooms and having changed into his regular civilian clothes.
Sir Evans looked like any other Castletown-bred man; clean linen tunic with minimal embroidery, woolen trousers and black shoes rather than boots, but Fredrick looked like she’d plucked him straight off a farm in east Necluda, and he wouldn’t have looked out of place holding a pitchfork. While Evans was dressed for fashion, her current companion was dressed for warmth and field-work with his woollen outfit, suspenders and his string tie around his neck.
Evans quickly vanished into the crowd, his scent mixed with the hundreds of others. Pairs and small groups of friends littered the square, the bridge, the grassy fields. Over the noises of the crowds, she could hear the faint sounds of violin and guitar sounding out in the back. Stalls lined the square with the large fountain visible and lit up with green and orange lanterns, all marked with Farore’s Crest.
“You think we’ll see Arn?” she asked.
“Maybe?” he shrugged. “I take that back, probably not.” He pointed to the crowd.
As they walked down the bridge towards Castletown, it was clear just how busy this year’s Farore’s Day festival was. The crowd was thick and the laughter and bustle of the crowd was tight.
“We’d probably find him around one of the pubs if you’re really determined.” he told her. He tried to push through the crowd and had to constantly look back to keep an eye on her.
“What's up with that face?” Cassandra questioned him, folding her arms. Following him was harder than it looked.
Fredrick forced a smile. “No, no, it's not you,” he reassured her. “I'm just preparing myself to be the unwanted chaperone to their newly-wedded honeymoon bliss.” He gagged quietly.
“Arn and Elise can't be that bad. They got married, what, two years ago?”
Roughly two years ago, Arn had married Elise and he’d told everyone he was going on his honeymoon for a few weeks…only to reappear a year and a half later like he’d conveniently forgotten to come back.
Getting to see his tiny twin daughters was enough to warrant instant forgiveness.
He nodded. “Two years and three months ago.” He corrected her.
“There’s no way they’re still so attached to the hip.”
“Oh?” He stopped in the middle of the path. “When they start sucking each other's faces off in the middle of a conversation, I'll let you have front seats to the show.”
The crowd was horrendous.
Cassandra nearly got lost four times in the crowd alone. This sort of densely populated crowd was new to her, and she hadn't the courage to push through like most of the others around her. Those four times, she'd barely been saved by Fredrick, whose hand shot out from between people, grabbed her wrist, muttered a “sorry”, and yanked her through the crowd.
It, however, did not stop her from actually getting lost.
Almost a full minute passed in the middle of the crowd. She'd been shoved from side to side as she tried to look for the family head of blond hair, or even to catch a glimpse of Arn’s head sticking up from above the crowd, the tall captain could always be relied on to be found given he was among their tallest guards in the castle.
I'll just wait near one of the stalls. Not as crowded over there. She slid through the crowd until she popped out into a less busy area where she wasn't sweating from all the packed body heat anymore.
The stall next to her had cute wooden knick-knacks, and the vendor waved at her with a smile.
She could see carved birds, little engraved personal signs, some had little romantic messages on them, the largest piece on the table was a smoothly carved horse reared up on two legs.
Don't buy it, don't buy it. She had to remind herself. She patted her side where her purse was—had been. Her heart nearly beat out of her chest until she remembered Fredrick had taken it for safe keeping… definitely not because she would blow through it in five minutes.
She walked away from the stall feeling a bit guilty that she hadn't gotten anything. She didn't bother walking up to the extremely busy stalls, instead going up to one that glittered with metals and sparkling stones.
There were dozens of little trinkets, many were flowers, some were small moons, but most were of wildlife. They were attached to metal clips and some to long metal sticks. Some are for hair, she deduced by the long metallic hairsticks. The decorative pieces on those were obviously hair adornments, but the clips, she had no clue what they were for.
“Anything catching your eye, Miss?” The vendor perked up. He seemed like a nice older gentleman. Behind the booth’s presentation table, she could see he was clipping small metal rings together with beads and small crystals. “You seem a bit lost.” The old man commented with a bit of a laugh.
Cassandra found herself unable to answer. She kept looking back and forth between the pieces. “I… may have gotten lost.” She admitted, her face turning red.
“You're not the first, and you're not the last,” he chuckled and stood up. He seemed to sense her uncertainty quickly. The vendor came around the stall next to her, his cane clacking quietly against the stone road. “I would recommend the blue ones for you, dear. Jewel tones fit you best.” He told her, picking up a hairstick with a blue flower dangling from a small chain. It was dotted with a purple bead and it shone silver in the light.
“O-Oh no, it’s alright, I’m simply browsing.” she tried to back away. She wanted to keep looking, but to take up so much space looking at his wares seemed impolite. She didn't have her purse on her, no use giving another vendor hopes of a purchase she'd be guilty of not purchasing.
“Getting hair stuff?” Fredrick asked.
She nearly jumped out of her skin. “Where did you go?” she looked at the sticks in his hand.
He was chewing on a poultry skewer, but he had a number of them in his hand. A few fruit ones that glistened with a hard clear crust over them, other’s spiced poultry, one had a bunch of vegetables on them.
“I turn around two seconds and you’re gone.” He handed her the stick of fruit and stepped up to the stall. “I figured you’d be safe for a minute or two.” He explained. He picked one up and pressed open the clip. “For the ladies who don’t have handmaids to do everything for them.” He passed the sticks to the older gentleman and picked up one of the clips to hold up against her hair. This one had hanging gems, but others had butterflies, flowers, intricate metal works made with filament, some had inlaid quartz.
The vendor smiled. “Perhaps he would like to pick one for you? It’s tradition in these parts.”
He didn’t even need to be asked, he was already looking. He lifted the occasional stick to her hair, studied it briefly then put it back down. He repeated this process with three separate adornments before it was clear that his judgement had been the same as the vendor.
“You missed your calling as a stylist,” she lowered her head to make it easier for him to thread one of the clips into her plait.
“Oh yes, imagine me wielding shears for a living, now sit still. I don’t want to be here all night fixing your hair.” She was plopped down onto a stool pulled out from under the table by the stall vendor, and both the stall vendor and Fredrick were in her hair.
The food skewers were given to her to hold for safe-keeping as the two men starting styling her hair.
“Up or down, dear?” the vendor asked her.
“Half up?” she looked back, but her head was promptly turned back.
“Stop moving.”
“Half up it is then.” She felt the vendor’s fingers pull the side strands back.
She looked at one of the half finished poultry skewers and took a bite of a piece. The meat was lightly spiced with herbs with a certain kick that surely came from chili peppers. She kept nibbling the pieces off the skewer, and when the sting of the peppers became a bit too overwhelming, she hopped over to one of the candied fruits to soothe it with sweetness.
She felt a small tap on the top of her head. “Don’t eat them all, some of those are mine.”
“Best be fast then.” She made a purposefully louder crunch of one of the fruits to punctate her point.
The vendor reached over to his table and pulled a small ribbon from under his merchandise and tied off the top part of her hair, then removed himself and went back to standing behind his table.
“It’ll take him forever to braid your hair, dear, you’ve got so much of it,” the vendor laughed. “Any secrets you’d be willing to part with?”
She tried to think. Her attendants usually did her hair twice weekly, alternating between different hair care techniques. “Goats milk makes it really soft. I like rose water too, smells nice.” She smiled and bit off from the chicken skewer.
The vendor thanked her with a head nod and a small laugh.
They heard a soft female voice echo out from around the stalls, distinctly more than just a conversation, one she recognised.. “I know she’s here somewhere, I smelled her--Aha!” A brunette poked through the crowd, her face lighting up immediately. “Cassie!” Elise launched herself into her arms. “It’s been too long!”
Fredrick coughed loudly. His hands were still in Cassandra’s hair, trying to weave the stick into a stable position.
Elise gasped and let her go before hopping behind her, then under Fredrick’s outstretched arms. “Ooh pretty work, Freddie!” She pulled three strands from the bottom half of her hair. “I keep forgetting you’re good at this, do mine next?” she began rambling as she just got to braiding small sections of her hair.
“Good to see you too, Elise.” He freed up one of his hands, transferred the small bits of hair into the other and gave her a small habitual headpat before taking up the strands once more. “Yours is already done, you duck.” he muttered and nudged Elise’s hairpin gently that Arn must’ve gotten for her.
Arn popped out of the crowd a moment later, out of breath. He feigned offense the moment he appeared. “My poor heart, you leave for two minutes and I find you in another man’s arms.” he gasped.
“You’re just jealous I’m here and not you.” Elise stuck her tongue out. She took the hair out of the captain’s hands and shooed him away.
Elise’s words triggered something not quite right in her mind. The thought of the two royal guard captains in an embrace, looking into each other's eyes…grey meeting deep brown, alpha and alpha together, Cassandra blushed but didn’t start thinking about it.
Elise kept talking and yammering behind her.
I wonder what’s the most they’ve done together? From brief mentions over the last three years, she knew the two men had shared a barrack bunk, then a room together for most of their training. Oh maybe a drunken mishap or two? The scandal of two male alphas together! Too much-!
“Whatever the hell you’re thinking, stop it.”
“I’m not thinking of anything.” I wonder who’d be on the bottom? She looked between Arn and Fredrick with an analytical eye. Definitely Arn. Softer, sure he’s bigger but he gets pushed around more.
“Whatever you are thinking, loop me in,” Elise whispered in her ear in a quiet fit of giggles. It took Cassandra immediately breaking into a fit of giggles as well for Elise to figure it out. “Who’s taking?” She asked discreetly, then lended her ear.
The two men were looking at them with a bit of fear in their eyes, though it didn’t seem like they’d heard the question.
Cassandra, trying to hide her giggling, pointed at Arn.
“Agreed.” Elise nodded, breaking out into a wheeze.
He took immediate offense. “Why’s she pointing at me?” Arn turned to Fredrick. “Why isn’t she pointing at you?”
He lifted his hands and tried to exclude himself. “I just hope I lip-read that wrong.”
“With enough alcohol, I’m sure it could happen.” Elise winked her way as she nudged Arn with her elbow.
“You’re sure what could happen with enough alcohol? Elisa-”
Elise gasped and turned to Fredrick with a bright sparkle in her eye. “Oh wouldn’t it be fun to go to the Tipsy Deer together?”
“I don’t know if I want to drink after what you just asked her.”
I wonder how many drinks it would take to make that happen? Would it happen to begin with? Arn was the much taller one of the two, much sturdier built… Maybe reverse them? Is 6’1” better for top than 5’9”? No, switching them would be better. Wait, they can take turns! She smiled at her own genius thoughts until she realised the conversation had long blown over to an unrecognisable part of the topic. I’m thinking about this way too much, when’s my next heat again? A month? A month and a half? Meh, still far enough, no worries about it.
“Wait, they're open to everyone today?” Fredrick asked, surprised.
Not needed right now. She returned to her thoughts as Arn, Fredrick and Elise were all discussing locations she knew nothing about. Arn is too soft. Bigger, but too soft…maybe switch their attitudes? She tried to think of Arn, the romantic big shy lug he was, as more dominant and colder, but it didn’t seem to fit at all. I won’t even bother thinking of Fredrick as a romantic, that’d be a nightmare for the court ladies. Or would it be their dream come true? The man was approaching thirty with no sign of a wife in sight, but even then he still seemed to be a priority choice amongst some of the court ladies eager to boost their positions.
Arn snorted. “Yeah, on holidays they are. That’s what happens when you spend every holiday in the castle.”
Oh goddesses, I have to focus. What are they even talking about?
“Are they not typically?” Cassandra asked curiously. She needed to figure out just what they were talking about.
Arn shook his head. “Were you in the clouds this whole discussion?”
She glanced at Elise, who was smiling smugly. She pointed to the two men discreetly, then made an X with her fingers, then flashed a thumbs up.
“I may have been.” Cassandra admitted.
Arn laughed to himself and shook his head. “ We were talking about bringing you ladies to the Tipsy Deer. It’s one of the few drinking establishments still Alpha-only, but it’s one of the safer establishments with actual regulations in place that lets you bring a guest.”
“Fascinating. And it’s nice?” She wondered just how many spaces were Omega-only, if there were any at all. Would Beta-only spaces make sense? I’m sure there are some of those too.
Elise nodded. “They have good food and good ale! Lots of strong stuff for cheap!” It was clear to everyone that she was already thinking of what she’d have. “They’ve started opening up like this for festival nights recently.”
“They don’t do this plus-one thing all the time though. I didn’t even know they were doing it.”
Elise nodded. “We came for Nayru’s Day, we had a blast! Arn outdrank half the place!”
“And you outdrank the other half, didn’t you?” Fredrick accused her. Elise could only smile brightly and nod. He turned to the princess after having a good laugh. “They’ve got good wine too, not castle stuff but it’s half decent.”
“Is it safe?” She worried a bit. “You mentioned regulations? Is that not a common practice?”
“Not at all common.” The two men answered in sync.
“But it’s relatively safe there, but we’ve got Arn and Elise with us, so we’re more than fine regardless. Arn is a usual patron and I go occasionally so the owner knows us.”
“Let’s go then!”
Elise was quick to loop her arm with the Princess' to walk arm-in-arm with her as if they were a couple, all while Arn led the way through the crowd, occasionally looking back to see if he'd lost any of them. He really was taller than most of the crowd around them, the wavy brown hair stuck up above the crowd and was more than easy to spot in the oil lamps and the city's lit torches.
She could hear the pub before she could see it. Music emanated from different establishments, people on the streets played, most cheery and festive. The crowds slowly got thicker and she found herself pushed into the middle of her group by the two guard captains. Elise looped her arm with hers and kept her close.
Elise leaned close to her ear and spoke above the crowd. “If anyone asks who you’re with, just say any of us, but they'll assume you're with Freddie.” She pointed back and waved to him. He was heading up the rear end of the group quietly, but somehow, he was now in possession of three purses of rupees rather than two.
Arn approached the man at the door of the tavern and said a few words. The crowds were too loud to hear what he said but he pointed back at each of the three of them, then slipped a few rupees into the man’s hands. The man made a brief acknowledgement to Fredrick before letting them in.
“What’d he say?” Cassandra asked Elise as they entered the loud and darker space.
“It’s one of the few taverns you need to pay to enter.” Elise told her, unlooping her arm as they moved further in. “You need to be escorted in by your alpha on these holidays, so the doorman keeps track of who’s with who.”
She was surprised. She hadn’t expected that sort of efficiency from this part of Castletown. “Is that common?”
“Only on holidays.” Elise laughed. “It helps keep the funny business to a minimum--Oh there’s this really nice spa on the east side of town, I need to take you. I love their manicures.” She briefly flashes her red-tinted nails. It wasn’t a polish, rather it was a dye that had set colour onto them. It was a nice colour and Cassandra couldn’t help but look at her own bare nails.
“Done deal.”
The tavern was lit up by three wooden and iron chandeliers, over dozens of lit candles lit high in the ceiling and the walls were lined with sconces, many holding lit oil lamps and others holding thicker wax candles. In the middle of the room seemed to be a larger area meant for dancing, then lining the walls were booths and then higher tables surrounding the middle. Some seats were filled, and others empty, but it was Elise who noticed an empty booth first. She tapped Arn on the shoulder and pointed far.
“Come, come, sit.” Elise pulled Cassandra into the small booth with her. “Get us the good stuff!” She called out to Arn and Fredrick, who were making their way to the bar where the bartender had been waving to them.
“It’s so loud,” Cassandra noted. She was trying to get used to the noise, but there was a music group playing lively tunes, many patrons laughed and talked so loudly, she could’ve classified it as shouting over everyone else, then there was the clanging of beer mugs and plates.
Elise nudged her affectionately. “You’ll get used to it,” she commented, almost also needing to shout. “They’re really loud because the musicians are playing good tunes, and it has to reach everyone!” she exclaimed loudly, but it was quickly drowned out by the laughing and the heels tapping hard on the dance floor.
She pointed to the small dais prepared where there were two violin players, someone was beating off a drum, there was a something akin to a lute on a stand next to them, someone had a pair of metal spoons in their hands, and there was even someone beating off a barrel, but Cassandra didn’t quite think they belonged to the group with how out of sync they were.
The violins sounded so foreign to her; rather than the elegant sound she was so attuned to, they were wild and incredibly lively, it made her want to join those dancing in the middle.
Elise took notice of the flower pin. “What's this?” She semi-stood up and looked at it closer. “Oh you got this today! My Goodness, he’s giving you the full Farore’s Day treatment!” She pulled a small pin from the back of her hair—a butterfly adorned with pearls and small gemstones. “Arn got me this one today.”
Cassandra touched the pin and stared in awe. “It’s so pretty,” she touched one of the dangling pearls that seemed to shine in the candle lights of the tavern. Much of the pin was silver, but the little filigree threads decorated much of the ends of the hair stick.
She smiled and took it back. “He had it commissioned last week but I only got it today,” Elise told her. She pulled a few strands of her hair back and retwisted the pin back into her dark brown hair.
Arn was the first to return with two plates of food. They were two large serving plates, one piled high with roasted meats and a few pieces of assorted dehydrated spiced meats, the other had dried nuts and fruit chunks.
Behind him, Fredrick was skillfully balancing two ale tankards, two tall wine glasses and a bottle of mead in his hands. He gave Elise’s first, then Arn's, then his and Cassandra’s. “They had a new wildberry mead so I got that for us,” he told her. “Elise has her southern brew and Arn gets his local ale,” he pointed to each individually.
“Southern barley is so good,” Elise took a long sip from her drink. She was quickly fully enthralled into her drink and her attention shifted to the ember drink in her cup. She didn't release the mug, only tipping it further back.
“For Hylia’s sake, don’t make love to your ale, you’ll make Arn jealous.” Fredrick joked. "I should've gotten her three at this pace."
He poured himself a glass of the mead and took a sip before nodding to himself and pouring a glass for the princess. She gingerly picked up the glass and took a long drink before motioning him to pour her glass until it filled to the brim.
"You're not drinking more than that tonight?" Arn nearly thrusted his ale into the other captain's hands to drink. Fredrick pushed back against the tankard of ale, favouring his mead, but Arn seemed to be pushier. "I can't have you sober, buddy! Drink up!"
"Your ale is atrocious!" The tankard was shoved in his face until he finally took a drink. She needn't see his face to know he wasn't enjoying it. He tried to turn away from it and his eyebrows had scrunched so close together, they might as well have been one.
The only thing that could interrupt them was a tankard slamming on the edge of the table with a brutality that had Cassandra fearing for the table.
Elise was wiping away some of the leftover ale from her mouth with a grin. Her tankard had been emptied in one drink despite it being so large.
Where did all of that go?! Elise was a tiny woman, and her stomach couldn't have been much bigger than the cup itself, but gone was the ale into the void of Elise's stomach.
“Let’s get you warmed up!” She grabbed Cassandra’s wrist and pulled her from the booth eagerly.
A panicked expression appeared on the princess’ face. She hesitated to stand, carefully trying to make her way out from the middle without falling over from Elise’s pulling. “I don’t know these dances.”
Elise laughed and pulled harder, nearly causing her to fall and trip. “Neither does anyone else out there.”
“Stay in sight please!” Arn shouted over the crowd. They watch Elise waved to them through the crowd. The two women immediately vanished within the sea of people and Arn sighed. “I don’t know why I even bother.”
“As long as they don’t sneak off, I suppose it's fine,” Fredrick drank from his glass of mead before pouring himself a bit more.
Arn shrugged. “I guess it would take quite the assassin to catch them while they’re spinning like that,” he pointed to his wife and the princess who were spinning arm-in-arm faster than anyone else.
“Careful Arn, she might just steal Elise away,” he snickered. “ And by the way they’re dancing, they look like lovers. ” he teased Arn by jabbing him in the side with his elbow.
Arn had chosen the wrong moment to take a drink. "I swear you're both trying to!" He sputtered and coughed as he choked on his ale. “Isn’t she straight?” Arn coughed and wiped the ale that had spilled from his mouth.
Fredrick barked a laugh. “That’s hilarious. Next time there's a garden party, stick by and you'll hear the crass shit that comes out of her when she thinks no one's listening." He threw back his cup of mead and poured himself more. "I swear she talks more about tits than you ever did."
"No, I've definitely seen her drooling over the guards at practice from her bridge."
"Yeah she does that too."
Out of the crowd popped out Sir Evans with his omega husband, Heiden. They were sloshed to all hell and back, both flushed and hanging off each other.
“Hei look, it's the captains!” Sir Evans exclaimed happily.
Heiden was a regular visitor at the castle gate. He often brought anything Sir Evans tended to forget at home, and he sometimes made for half decent company during evenings in the barracks since he often came by with food.
“Where’s the Misses, Arn?” Sir Evans looked around. “And wher-Where’s the princess?!” He began looking more frantically.
“Dancing away with each other.” Arn pointed. To the blonde and the brunette who were quite literally in each others’ arms.
“Oh look, they’re kissing.” Fredrick joked. Arn nearly shot out of the booth before hearing a quiet “just kidding.” He cackled to himself when Arn sat himself back down with a glare.
Sir Evans and his husband laughed to themselves. “Scared of losing your wifey?” Heiden joked.
“Only after finding out Her Royal Highness is apparently a raging bisexual.” Arn grumbled.
Sir Evans was shocked. “ You didn’t know?!”
“Does everyone know except me?”
Fredrick, Sir Evans and Heiden all nodded. “Seems like it.”
Cassandra popped back at the table out of nowhere. “Come on, you’ve been sitting too long,” Cassandra disappeared as fast as she’d appeared, dragging the poor guard with her.
He didn’t react fast enough. “Wait, no, my drink-” Fredrick was dragged into the crowd before he could stop her.
Elise slid back into the booth, bumping against Arn and fighting off a smile. She reached into Arn’s pocket and pulled out his little leatherbound book and piece of writing charcoal and began to write on one of the new blank pages. She scribbled a couple of words and added the value of two-hundred to the bet and snapped it shut before handing it back.
Arn, curious, opened the book to see what she’d put. “Oh?” He also fought a smile; he looked back up briefly before adding his own number below hers.
Three thousand.
“You’re insane.” Elise mumbled, trying not to make herself obvious.
“You married me,” he whispered back, sending her a knowing glance. Arn’s betting habit was well-known, but hers wasn’t quite so. “You think they’ll be mad?”
Elise snorted and nodded. “You’re getting your ass handed to you—dead or alive. All I’ll get is a glare.” she laughed.
Sir Evans leaned over the booth to peek at the page and started shaking his head. “You're going to lose big on that one.”
“And If I win big, I’m spending it in front of your faces.” Arn shot back and slid the book back into his pocket.
“Look at him, poor guy never stood a chance,” Elise chuckled to herself. As apprehensive as Fredrick had seemed at the initial thought of dancing in a crowd, he seemed to be coaxing the princess to dance to her heart’s content. “You're going to be next, you know.” She extended over him and grabbed his tankard to sip from.
And boy did she dance. Strangers spun the princess, she spun other women in the crowd, her laughter was almost infectious, and it fed everyone else’s energy.
“I’m next? No no, Love, I’ll be dragging you with me if I am.” Arn joked and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He tilted her chin towards him and kissed her soundly. Meanwhile, one of his eyes stayed open as he grabbed his tankard back.
“Cap! We’re right here!” Sir Evans gagged loudly and his omega husband laughed maliciously, clapping Evans on the back with full force.
The music soon softened and gained a relaxed beat with a touch of a flute thrown in.
Suncrest Step, didn’t think they’d play that tonight. It was an old step dance from the far east in Necluda, its popularity waning due to its popularity with the generation of their grandparents as trends went. I want to go dance…
“Oh I love this one!” Heiden whisked Sir Evans off into the crowd off towards where they'd seen the Princess.
The centre social area that had been used for dancing cleared most of its participants, the majority going to the bar and the rest sitting down with their friends and drinks. A few older folks formed small groups ranging from two people to four, soon starting their small round steps together to the slower beat of the music.
Elise looked for their two friends once more, eventually finding them standing to the side next to the bar. “I say poor guy because he has to indulge every curiosity she has,”
She discreetly pointed to the corner where the princess was now rambling half a dozen questions to their friend, all while he was attempting to explain and demonstrate some of the steps to the waltz by himself.
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Arn started slowly, almost pensively, “But I’m thinking he wants to , don’t you?”
“What part of that looks like he wants to?” Elise laughed so hard, Arn worried ale might come up.
Trying to keep up with the explanation on the other side of the room was harder than it looked, but it soon ended with a growing smile on Cassandra and another impulsive decision to pull Fredrick back to the dance. This time, it was comedic how hard he tried to keep out, his free hand held onto the wall much like a stubborn child.
And as those fits usually ended, Sir Evans and his husband joined their little fit. Sir Evans poked Fredrick in the ribs, automatically releasing the grip he’d had on the wall. The bunch of them laughed before forming a circle on the dancefloor to start.
“Why is it we’re not joining them, love?” Arn asked, planting a small kiss on her cheek. “You usually love dancing to this,” he lingered there on her cheek.
Elise felt her cheeks burn and she couldn’t help the smile that crept to her lips. “I’d love to… but you know I’ve been told to take it easy tonight. We need to watch the drinks.”
“It’s only the start of the night,” he reminded her.
“It’s after one, Arn,” Elise had to remind him. She flashed her small silver pocket watch. It was half-past one in the morning already.
She felt him smile against her cheek. “Just one? This’ll be the slowest song, I'm sure of it.”
Elise was about to speak again when she felt it; that odd little chill in the air she occasionally felt.
Magic. She instinctively looked around for Sheikah but found none. She couldn't see the peculiar glow of magic around everyone, but that tingle… She knew it so well.
She looked at Arn, but nothing of note.
She looked into the crowd and she couldn't help her smile. Their Princess Cassandra danced like the music was made for her, her smile far from the prim, practiced, and polite one of society.
Unbothered and free, the both of them.
Cassandra twirled out of the group, then back in as everyone split into the traditional partnered waltz as though she’d done this twenty times already, not a single foot or hair out of line.
“I think I’ll sit this one out tonight.” Elise smiled and watched the folks dance.
The four of them had stayed on the floor for three more songs before finally rejoining at the booth. Sir Evans and Fredrick slumped in the booth, tired from being dragged left and right. They poured each other a drink of mead, cheersed and drank it down in one go while everyone else laughed.
“Elise, are you guys participating in the races this year?” Heiden asked them. He looked at the watch on his wrist and pointed at the time. “It starts at three, there’s still time to register.”
“Races?” Cassandra looked at Fredrick with curiosity. “What races?”
He put his mead down. “Horse races. Didn't think they still did them. Two like before, Arn?”
Arn nodded. “Field race and city race. One’s in Hyrule Field and the other takes place in the city. It goes around the fountain and everything.” Arn plucked a few pieces of meat off the platter and chewed. “We usually participate, but Sugar Loaf just foaled a month ago so we’re letting her rest up a bit longer before we race her again.”
Sugar Loaf was Elise’s family mare; thoroughbred, speedy, and a menace on a good day for anyone who wasn’t her owner. In the castle, their fastest horse was Shooting Star but goodness was he ever stubborn. It was a pain to get him to do anything he didn’t want to, so they tended to rely on Abraxas, their younger stallion.
“Can we join?” She asked Fredrick. She wasn’t sure if they could even possibly make it back to the castle in time to grab a horse and come back down before three, but it was worth asking.
“Yes! Captain, say yes!” Sir Evans jumped in before he could even respond. “I wanna see the Princess race!”
He sighed and nodded. “Fine.” he stood up and inched himself out of the bench. “Stay here, watch her, I’ll be back in a half hour.” He took a large piece of jerky and shoved it into his pocket before running out the door.
“He can’t possibly think he can be back in half an hour…” Heiden muttered to Sir Evans. “The trek back up the hill is a half hour alone.”
“Oh he’ll do it just fine.” Arn laughed to himself. He wondered which horse would be the chosen one this time.
“How many usually race?” Cassandra asked Elise. She grabbed the neck of the mead bottle and poured herself another glass now that she no longer had someone watching her every drink.
Elise, sensing her opportunity, went back for Arn’s tankard the moment he looked away. “One year it was three, one it was ten.” She told her before gulping down a large amount of his local brew.
“We’d have to check it out-hey!” Arn tried to take his mug back from Elise, but she leaned away and finished her sip before handing it back. He looked into the tankard and swirled it, a frown appearing. “You drank like half of it…”
“You’re not both planning on getting drunk now that no one’s stopping you, right?” Sir Evans asked them. He was eyeing the princess who was now pouring herself yet another glass of mead. “We all remember what happened last year, Princess.”
Cassandra did not remember much of last year’s drunk incident at her 23rd birthday ball, but the morning after, she’d been told she had been rather ‘affectionate’ to a number of people, men and women alike. Since then, whoever was her escort for the night had been diligently watching how much she drank and how strong her drinks were.
“It’ll be fine, who gets drunk in half an hour?” Cassandra topped off her glass of mead.
Elise laughed. “You’re asking that to the wrong people!”
Arn took the bottle of mead and swirled it around, testing the weight. “How much did he have of this?” He asked Elise.
“One glass.” his wife snorted.
“You’re cut off.” He plucked the princess’ cup of mead out of her hands before she could drink it. The bottle was almost empty. He handed the bottle off to Sir Evans and Heiden.
Sir Evans took a whiff and smiled brightly. “Wildberry mead, nice!” He tipped the bottle back and took a swig before handing it off to his partner, who did the same.
He threw it back, only to pull it back and peer into it. “There’s nothing in here.” he grumbled. He could see the smallest amount of liquor at the bottom of the bottle, but it wasn’t nearly enough to even fill a shooter. “I’m getting a bottle of this to go.” He muttered and walked off through the crowd with the empty bottle in hand.
“Cass~ Have you met Sugar Loaf yet?” Elise asked. “Her little filly is so cute!” she gushed.
“Demonic thing she is…” Arn muttered depressingly next to them.
Elise swatted Arn on the arm lightly. “You only say that because she bites you whenever you get too close.”
Arn, instead of answering back, focused on his tankard and the ale inside. Sir Evans laughed and slid into the booth. “Can I meet her?” The guard asked. “Does she have a name yet?”
“I was thinking of naming her Cross Buns.”
“Please stop naming our animals after bakery foods.”
“No!” Elise stuck her tongue out. “If her momma’s name is Sugar Loaf, her filly’s has to be connected somehow. That’s just how it is.”
“Why Cross Buns?” Cassandra asked curiously.
“Oh she’s this beautiful chestnut with what looks like a white cross across her thigh.” Elise smiled brightly. “She’s so cute, but just be wary.” Elise slid out of the booth first and pulled Cassandra with her. The moment the princess was on her feet, she stumbled forward into Elise’s arms, her head and vision spinning off balance.
Arn chuckled to himself and downed the cup of mead he had confiscated minutes before. “And there it is.”
Elise was more than happy to loop her arm into Cassandra’s like they had early, keeping her close. “Let’s go meet Sugar and her Cross Bun baby before Sir Captain returns.”
Sugar Loaf and her Cross Bun baby were fast asleep when Cassandra and Elise arrived at the stabled area near their home. The little filly was knocked out cold, half buried in long grass and hay while her mother was snoozing away not far away.
As described, Cross Bun was a beautiful chestnut colour with a red hue in the candle light Elise had brought with her. Through the hay and grass, they could see the faintest sign of the white fur in the shape of a cross on her thigh.
It was the clopping of hooves nearby that had them leaving the stables to find a large black beast coming down the cobblestone road.
“Abraxas!” Cassandra squealed.
“Shooting Star wasn’t getting his ass out of bed.” Fredrick called out as he brought Abraxas to a halt. He hopped off the saddle and kept the lead in hand.
So this is Abraxas , thought Elise with wonder. He seemed heavily on the draft type of breed, but he had a slimness uncommon for that sort of workhorse. He was a dark bay with a gorgeous shining coat and hooves that echoed hard against the stone paths.
This is not a race horse, surely the royal family has others more suited for racing . “Abraxas is certainly a choice for racing,” Elise said, unsure. She watched Arn as he stepped up and scratched Abraxas’ dark nose affectionately.
“He looks like he drives the princess’ carriage, but he’s actually quite speedy.” Arn pointed out to her. “Wouldn’t Shooting Star be much better?”
Fredrick nodded and took the reins from Cassandra to let her dismount. “Much better actually, but he wasn’t getting up no matter what I did.” He tucked the reins under his arm and pulled out half an apple and a pocket knife. “I think Abraxas’ grandsire is Northern Warmblood, but he’s mostly a Tabanthan draft.” He explained. “Besides, he’s such a handsome boy and deserves some much needed crowd-applaud, don’t you think?”
“You love that horse too much.” Arn laughed. He took the apple and the knife and began slicing up the apple.
Built sturdy to endure the winters of Hebra and the harsh terrain the oft frozen ground offered, but the surprise warmblood mix surprised her. Tabantha drafts were built like houses; large frames, muscular to pull equipment and strong enough to pull cart loads of merchandise, but they weren’t race horses. Abraxas was still on the sturdier side, but his warmblood-like slimness explained the unique muscle definition well.
“I’m not sure you’ll win, but you’ll certainly be seen,” Elise stepped up and let Abraxas smell her hand before reaching up to touch his soft nose. “Yes, you are a big boy,” she laughed and caressed the horse’s jaw, scratching underneath. She estimated the stallion to be around seventeen hands, maybe a bit bigger.
Abraxas stomped a hoof and scratched the ground while his upper lip opened and flopped silly.
“Let’s get to Hyrule Field, I’m sure we might still be able to register.” He pulled himself back into the saddle and extended a hand for the princess. He pulled her effortlessly onto the saddle and waved at them. “I’ll meet you guys there!”
By the time they reached Hyrule Field, a large crowd had amassed around a quickly built track with ropes and hay bales. The area was lit up by torches and oil lamps. There were a number of horses, but it was mostly warmbloods inside the large track, but Elise could spot a couple of drafts getting unhooked from their harnesses where they’d been pulling large carts.
They were a few minutes from starting and the organisers were walking the race track one last time. The lamps and torches clearly lit up the impromptu track in the grass and Elise estimated roughly ten racers at the start.
Abraxas stood out over the others with the sturdier, more muscular build. Princess Cassandra stood out even more. She was tall for a woman, and she was atop the biggest of the horses there.
“Over here!” They heard the captain shout. He was rolling a barrel over to a small group of three other barrels. It was in direct view of the track, but not close enough they’d get clobbered if something went wrong.
“I’m surprised you aren’t the one racing.” Arn called out.
Fredrick hoisted Elise up onto one of the barrels to see better above the small crowd forming around them. “I made a deal with her that I got to do the city race, she wanted to do this one.” He looked around them and turned to Elise. “You can see?”
Elise nodded and sat herself into the barrel. She was finally eye-level to Arn, but just an inch or two taller than he was now.
“Isn’t she supposed to be guarded?” Heiden asked, poking out from behind Sir Evans.
He nodded but shrugged. “Abraxas is trained to trample threats.” He smiled and jumped onto one of the barrels himself. “No one’s getting close.”
Elise’s head snapped his direction. “Excuse me, trample ?” She asked, hoping that wasn’t what she’d heard.
He nodded with a smile. He seemed way too proud of himself. “Taught him myself! Lost a whole lot of apples in the process, but that’s a certified assassin sniffer.”
“ Great Goddesses help me…” Elise and Arn both muttered to themselves.
“Is that why you took captives the last time the castle got attacked?” Sir Evans asked.
“Yep.”
“I see… Those poor fools.”
A loud clang went off, and the nine horses at the start flew off the line, some much faster than others, but it was no surprise that Abraxas wasn’t far from last place.
They watched Cassandra fly across the competitors in the back. The pin in her hair shone while her long hair flew back, much like Abraxas’ tail and mane. Out of the nine competitors, she was the 3rd woman with six other men racing.
Abraxas was quite noticeable, the sturdiest of all of the horses, his hooves threw dirt up behind him and the two slower small ones behind were left in his dust.
Elise was shocked to say the least. Draft horses were almost never this fast, but while he wasn’t the fastest by a long shot, he was faster than many of the lighter breeds also racing. “Look at him go,” Elise watched in awe as their princess went from 7th to 6th, then sped past 5th, but it seemed the top four were far faster, and nose to tail with each other.
The now 6th place male rider gawked and pushed his mare faster, but it seemed not to cut it with the distance Abraxas was putting between them. The entire time, the princess never stopped smiling.
Abraxas made headway steadily, slowly approaching 4th, but still keeping a few of distance between them.
“You think she’ll pass any of the others?” Arn whispered to Elise.
Abraxas took a turn fast and tighter than most of the others, but managed to keep his position. The ones behind were starting to close the distance behind him and his rider.
“Mhm, I don’t think so unless something happens.” She deduced. The front four were still keeping steady pacing, and Abraxas and Cassandra were roughly a length and a half behind, but slowly closing the gap.
They rounded the corner and there was a large patch of shining grass in the light--no it was a deep puddle. The first splashed the water high, soaking 2nd and 3rd, but the fourth seemed to stumble before the puddle, rearing himself up onto his hinds and loudly whinnying.
“PASS THAT BITCH, CASS!”
Arn and Elise nearly jumped out of their skins when Fredrick whistled loudly and shouted aggressively. He nearly fell off his barrel, needing to readjust himself briefly, but the aggressive support didn’t leave him.
Abraxas stomped through the puddle, running right past 4th without a care in the world.
They heard some cursing from the people nearby, and Arn couldn’t help but chuckle to himself quietly as he pulled out his small betting book and wrote something down. “20 says she stays in 4th.” He bet.
“20 says she gets 3rd,” Elise counter-bet against him. They still had another lap to do and the leading three were starting to slow down a bit, creating some distance between each other.
“Shake.” Arn closed the book and pocketed it before extending his hand out discreetly.
Elise nodded and shook before the two leaned on the wooden fence and watched avidly.
Out of nine competitors, she placed fourth.
By the time they saw the princess again, she had rejoined them with something new in her hair.
A flower crown--A crown Abraxas seemed hellbent on chewing.
Cassandra kept ducking and moving her head away from the large stallion. “This crown is a jest, it has to be.” she laughed as she tried to push Abraxas’ head away.
Her new crown had been made with marigolds and cornflowers, and while it was a beautifully woven crown, it was unfortunately a snack horses tended to enjoy quite a bit. He made attempts to chomp at the crown, but each was dodged by the princess not wanting to lose some hair with it.
"I hear they've got the city race in a half hour, Evans went off to scout with his boytoy." Arn pointed to where they were lighting many of the torches in the city. "You said you're picking that one up right?"
Fredrick nodded. He pushed Abraxas' head away from the princess once again when he got too close. "Is there a pond or something to feed him? He worked himself to the bone with that one." His hand smoothed over the soft skin and fur of the stallion's neck, passing over the jugular and smoothing closer to his shoulders.
Arn looked around and spotted an area where a few hay bales had been laid out. A few of the competitors were around the area, troughs set up and large metal barrels set up. "Go size 'em up."
"It'll save my hair." Cassandra muttered. She fixed the crown, but not before plucking a few leaves off and hand-feeding them to Abraxas. He seemed more than happy to munch before being led off to the troughs of food and water.
Sir Evans made it back in record time. His poor omega was wheezing behind him, begging and silently pleading for him to slow down, but he’d been able to map out the course with a remaining ten minutes to spare before the start.
He had a basic layout of Castletown drawn in the dirt with a stick. First, he separated the city into four clear quadrants, then each section of its own, finishing with a long path winding around. “They've got this long path roped off, lots of turns, going around the fountain, past the jail, the bakery, then back here.” he explained, drawing out the path. “Not sure if it changed in the last half hour, but they've got guards posted around to keep civilians off the path.”
“Any jumps? Obstacles?” Fredrick asked.
Arn shook his head. “Tight turns, but that's it.”
Sir Evans looked at Abraxas and patted his shoulder. “Can he handle some of those turns?”
“Oh he’ll be fine. Are you allowed to be tellin’ me this?”
“Wasn’t the only one doing it and no one stopped us.” Heiden told them.
“You might have the advantage with my big boy here.” Cassandra scratched Abraxas’ nose affectionately. “He's built for endurance so you’ll last longer than everyone else.”
Arn snorted and looked like he wanted to say something, but Fredrick and Sir Evans were quick to smack him upside the head.
They heard a loud clanging noise, signalling the start soon.
Cassandra stood closer to Fredrick for a moment. “No time magic and no cheating.” She whispered harshly.
“Me? Never.” He laughed and mounted Abraxas and rode off before she could say anything else.
He's going to cheat .
He was the last to join up at the line, and once again, he was on the biggest horse of the group, but something was different for this time.
“It's turned into a dick sizing contest.” Arn was wheezing between Sir Evans and Heiden. Elise was pinching the bridge of her nose and muttering to herself, but the men were cackling.
At the starting line were ten men, all alphas from the smell of it according to Arn. Most were sizing each other up, but three of them just seemed to mind their own business.
They recognised one of the other nine as a guard who was usually on gate duty, and he seemed to recognise the captain in casual clothes. Arn snorted loudly and pointed him out when the kid noticed Fredrick three horses down staring at him blankly and shaking his head quietly in disappointment. He immediately straightened up and stopped goading on the others despite nothing being verbally said.
The race was two rounds around the city for a total of nearly a half hour.
Once the bell rang, Fredrick had strategically kept to the back half of the pack for most of the first lap, but when it became clear the front runners were growing tired, he pulled into one of the front spots quickly. It had only taken half of the first lap before the first ones were getting tired. Castletown was bigger than it looked, and most tended to forget that unless they regularly made rounds in the city.
There were instances of the competitors heckling one another, goading them and egging on frsutration, but it seemed to quiet down when the large draft-mix horse zoomed by smaller faster ones. Abraxas was used to sharp turns, often being used for chases and complicated manoeuvres despite his stockier frame, it meant his rider need not worry about slowing down on the tighter corners.
The fountain was tricky; they were led in a full circle around the fountain. It forced him to slow down as everyone else had. Somewhat sharp corners were fine, but a full circle like that would’ve been overkill for any mount.
By the end of the first lap, there were two ahead of him, both young thoroughbreds, prime racing age. Corners were taken tight and faster, then a moment of chance near the fountain once more when 2nd place’s rider slipped from his saddle mid-turn and splashed into the fountain.
An instant disqualification.
It was all fun and games until the final turn when they had to turn off sharply near the bakery.
Fredrick heard it before he saw it. The rider in first place swore loudly, followed by the loudest whimper he’d ever heard come from a man.
An obstacle almost immediately after the turn.
He pulled the reins hard to get Abraxas to slow down to take the jump, but he knew it was too late. Abraxas jumped and cleared the hurdle with no problem or effort.
Oh no, no, no. He knew he was going to land the wrong way, and there was no time to correct his posture. Too much panic to tap into magic and then suddenly, pain. A lot of pain .
He envied the guy who’d slipped into the fountain.
The moment Abraxas had cleared the obstacle, he knew it’d be a world of pain the moment he’d be back in the saddle. His form had been terrible, likely the same as the one in first place--rather in second place now. He’d had to stop his horse to check himself and take a breather.
I did not sign up for this. He urged Abraxas on despite the intense pain he now felt from crashing his family jewels into the saddle with his full body weight. His eyes depressingly met those from the previous 1st place and there was a silent agreement that the jump had been atrociously placed—maybe they’d meant it—but there was a shared pain.
Not a minute later, he heard a similar fate befall the one following up behind him.
Fucking barbaric. I want out of this death trap of a saddle. There was a strong desire to quit the race and curl up on the sidewalk, but first place was his so he did his dues, paid his respects to his fallen competitors and crossed the finish with as much of a smile as he could muster despite the pain.
Arn waited for him at the finish line. He wore worry across his expression. “How the fuck did you come first?”
“Strategy.” He grumbled out. His voice was squeezed tight and incredibly forced. He was still in immense pain.
“And what the fuck happened to you?” Arn looked him over. “Why do you look like you're about to cry? Did you get hit in the balls or something?”
“I landed on them.” He was doubled over, trying to catch his breath, but there was the ever so faint whimper. “Landed hard.”
Arn looked at the other competitors as they all crossed the finish. “That makes more sense now.” Half of the competitors, all men, were in a similar state. Doubled over in pain like they’d been kicked in the balls.
Fredrick tried to breathe through the pain. “They slipped in a jump before that last turn.” He muttered and pointed to the sharp city corner. “No one had good form on that, everyone is suffering. One guy fell off his horse.”
“You won, but at what cost?” Arn wheezed with laughter.
“Fuck you.” He shoved the lead into Arn’s hands. “I need to go check my shit.” He stopped mid-walk and looked back. “Do us all a favour and find the fucker who put up that jump.”
Arn knew the guy. He’d seen him pull the jump out of the alleyway just as the last horse had finished its first lap. He didn’t think they’d have put the jump right there but what was he meant to do in the face of all of it? Jump onto the road and get himself trampled by Assassin-Sniffer Abraxas? Pick a fight with the organiser? Get on the bad side of every alpha man riding in the race for disrupting?
“Will do.” Arn told him with no real intention to do anything about it. If he did ‘find’ the guy, words were probably the last thing going to be shared. “Hey! Did you want to go back to mine or yours for a bit to wind down?” He called out.
Fredrick backtracked. “Mine is probably better. Don’t wanna wake up your girls.”
“Probably for the better.” The twins were a bit older than a year old now, but sleeping at the same time was still pretty uncommon for them so Arn took any chance he could to avoid waking them up. His father-in-law, Elise’s father, had happily shoved them out the door to enjoy Farore’s Day, quoting a chance to finally have the house to himself.
They bid farewells to Sir Evans and his partner, wishing them a good rest of the night before taking off. Elise and the Princess were far tipsier than any of them had guessed. Getting Elise off Abraxas’ back was surprisingly difficult, but not impossible. They managed to get her seated on one of the sofas in Fredrick’s living room while Arn fetched some water for everyone.
He’d been unsurprised to hear that the princess had drunk the rest of the wildberry mead during his brief absence. Her light sway had been a first indicator, but it had only really hit her after her race in the field. All the excitement and her blood pumping had to have accelerated the alcohol’s influence, but her talkative nature was clearly still out of reach of the alcohol.
Elise and Cassandra were lounging on one another to the point it would have been called cuddling had they been in a relationship with one another… It was definitely cuddling. Elise was laying on the couch with the princess laid between her legs like two lovers baking in the sun.
Arn, poor Arn, was seated on the lonesome chair next to the couch, pouting like a child who’d had candy ripped out of his hands moments before he could eat.
“Make sure those two don’t start something more,” Fredrick had murmured into Arn’s ear as a joke when the two had begun their little cuddling session, but the way Arn’s wife and the princess had gotten even closer made the joke even funnier as Arn’s face grew increasingly worried as the night went on.
He vanished into the kitchen to fetch a small late night meal for the four of them, something that might offset the impending hangovers for the ladies.
Elise’s nails brushed through the tied back strands of Cassandra’s hair gently, simply just letting her nails graze through softly. “It’s your birthday soon, isn’t it?” she asked. She played with the braid, ran her finger along each weaved strand and section.
The princess nodded. “Nine days.” She hummed quietly. “Your nails feel nice.” the more she leaned into the brunette’s warmth, the deeper Arn’s envy became.
“We should do something for it,” Elise played with the plait, occasionally brushing the end of it to the princess’ cheeks to elicit a little giggle.
“Oh like that spa you mentioned!”
“Freddie!” Elise shouted loudly, nearly causing the princess to jump out of her skin. “Can we take Cassie to a spa?”
“Which one?” He shouted from in the kitchen.
“The one near the old woodcarver’s place!”
There was silence for a few moments. “And who’s supposed to guard her in there?” He shouted back.
“I’ll spray you with perfume! They’ll never know!”
Fredrick popped his head around the corner, unimpressed. “That shit hasn’t worked since I was 17.”
The spa she referenced was strictly omega only, with betas being allowed in the front room but alphas weren’t even allowed that far in unless it was an emergency.
Elise, still borderline drunk, began to giggle to herself. “It’s fine! We’ll figure something~”
“Arn, control your wife.” Frederick shivered from behind his spot.
Cassandra giggled to herself. Her cheeks were flushed from the liquor and she extended a hand out towards the blond captain. “Can you take me out for my birthday?” she asked sweetly.
“No. You have social duties that day.”
“Please~?”
He sighed and retreated back to the kitchen. “We’ll see what His majesty says.”
Cassandra smiled and cheered and Arn laughed to himself.
“So that’s a yes then.” Arn snorted to himself. He downed his cup of water and poured himself another from the pitcher and purposefully put it into Elise’s hand. “Drink before you start hitting on someone.” He told his wife before kissing the side of her head. “Your pa’s gonna kill me if you cause a ruckus and wake the girls.”
“Pa loves you Arnie~ He would never.” Elise drank the water and then offered some to the princess.
The princess happily took a sip without having to hold the cup. “Daddy always says yes to Cap.”
“Oy!” Arn shouted in the direction of the kitchen with a laugh. “What do I gotta do to get the King’s favour ‘round here?”
“I don’t know!” Shouted Fredrick. He rounded the corner with a plate of fruit cut up, and a sandwich for himself. “You tell me what I’m doing to get it and I’ll gladly stop.” He placed the fruit plate on top of the princess and watched the two ladies immediately dig into it then offered half his sandwich to Arn.
“The King’s favour ain’t bad,” Arn took a bite of the sandwich. “What’s in this?” He flicked one of the bread slices up and touched the meat slices. He picked it off and ate it on its own.
“Deer meat.” He answered before biting into it. “And it is when half of the nobles want me dead.”
“You exaggerate.” Arn shot to him.
Cassandra shook her head. “He’s not.” she spoke with a piece of fruit shoved into her cheeks. “He got poisoned last week.” She said as if it had been a casual event.
“Oh I thought you just caught the flu again. You get sick a lot, you know?”
“I don’t actually.” He muttered.
“That’s just what he tells everyone so they leave him alone.” Cassandra told them.
Arn’s eyes nearly shot out of his head. “You’re telling me each of those were poison attempts?!”
“Yep.”
“All because of those bond rumours? Really?”
Fredrick barked a laugh. “You bet.” He took another bite of his sandwich. “I’ve gotten death threats, poisoning attempts, the whole slew of it! When nobles think you’re taking their chances away, they try everything.”
“It’s exhausting. I almost need a poison taster for him.” Cassandra sighed heavily and popped more fruit into her mouth. “They just won’t listen when I tell them he’s not the one they’re looking for.”
“Who are they looking for?” Elise prodded with a tease.
Cassandra kept her focus on the fruit chunks. “Not him, I’ll tell you that.” She deflected with a grin.
“You’re not getting it out of her or me, Elisabeth, stop digging.”
Elise cringed at the use of her full name. “Eww don’t!” She locked her ankles over the princess, keeping her there. “I’ll get it out one way or another~” She brushed her fingers along the princess’ jaws, turning her beet red.
“Alrighty Elise, I think you’re done here.” Arn got out of his chair and unhooked her ankles to release the princess. “Stop sexually harassing the princess.” he laughed. He pulled the blushing princess off his wife before anything more could happen.
“She’s not saying no~” Elise cooed drunkenly.
Cassandra was now sitting on the floor, red as can be, and fanning herself to get less flustered. She was eating fruit and trying to look anywhere else.
“It’s probably time to get these ones home.” Fredrick muttered from the kitchen entrance. “I’m not in the mood to separate anything in my living room today.”
Arn helped Elise to her feet and started to gather his few possessions into his bag. “I think it’s time I get this one home anyway. Daybreak isn’t long now.” He pointed outside to where the sky was starting to turn a different hue of blue.
“Probably for the better. I’ll just clean up before I bring this one home.” Frederick pointed to the Princess.
“Are you going to get enough sleep for the Prince’s arrival?”
“Yeah I’ll be fine. I’ll knock myself out in my office later when I get some downtime.” He brushed it off like it was nothing. It was part of his regular schedule anyway.
Arn nodded. He bent and picked up Elise into his arms. The woman probably didn’t weigh much so it was probably easier to just carry her instead of dragging her drunk ass home even if they lived a five minute walk away. “Get back safely, I’ll see you lot later today.” He managed the door open and stepped out with his giggling wife in arm.
“I want to keep talking to the princess!”
“You can talk to her when she's sober, Love.” Arn managed the door shut behind them with difficulty.
The moment the door closed, the captain let out a sigh of relief and returned to the kitchen. The water ran from the tap and there was a loud clattering of dishes in the sink while the Princess settled herself comfily onto the sofa once more without the threat of Elise getting handsy again.
“Hey Fredrick?” Cassandra called out.
“Hmm?”
“I know you’ve said to drop it a dozen times now, but I wanted to know if you're still mad at me?”
“Mad at you?” The sound of dishes clattering stopped and he popped back into the doorway with a cloth in hand. Sleep deprivation had to be making him hear things. He was sure they'd had a fantastic evening so far. “Why would I be mad at you?”
She averted her eyes. “About the bond fiasco.” She explained briefly. “Are you still mad at me for the trouble?”
Ah, that. “Like I've told you dozens of times already, no, I'm not mad at you.” He returned into the kitchen again and resumed his dishes.
She kept quiet for a moment before speaking up again. “You always mention those rumours like you're mad at me. I feel bad about dragging you into this mess.”
She heard one of the cabinets open and dishes being put away and the sloshing of water ceased.
“The rumours are a pain, I'll admit that.” He told her. Goddesses, the rumours were at least half of his problems, but they kept up no matter what he did, no matter how professional he was.“But I'm frustrated with the courts, not you. You've done your due diligence in trying to dispel them, the rest is out of our control.”
Since the public discovery of her bond over a year ago, the rumours only intensified as did everyone's attempts at getting a confession out of either of them. It had been clear to everyone that he knew the identity of her bonded partner, but his stubborn attitude and keeping his lips sealed on their identity had only caused more misfortune to befall him in the form of suspicion.
It had come from every direction. Public citizens, nobles, even the King and Queen were subtly trying no matter how many times he claimed he had nothing to do with the matter.
It was a reality he had to contend with now that it was public knowledge, and one he'd had to unfortunately accept. The rumours surrounding them would never dissipate even if the identity of the other became known. There would always be a lingering doubt surrounding their involvement and friendship.
Nevertheless, he kept his mouth shut even when he heard the scathing whispers in the halls whenever they passed.
He couldn't even blame everyone for coming to the same conclusion; General Daks even pointed out to him that it was the price of a job too well done. Everyone knew he excelled at diverting most unwanted suitors’ attention from the Princess, so it was only natural people would think he was the culprit in the mess.
“Do you regret it? The arrangement, I mean?” She asked. A mutually beneficial solution they'd come up with in the face of the rumours and the unfortunate circumstances that came with the bond news.
“No.” He answered plainly. “Just keep your end of the bargain.”
“You're not nervous someone's going to find out?”
“Of course I am,” he stepped back into the doorway after having finished putting the dishes away and cleaning his kitchen counters. “But who else could you have asked? Arn is far too gossipy, the Sheikah are too by-the-rules, and none of your ladies can keep a secret either.”
“Just… keep the papers with you.” Right under the table, beneath a floorboard marked by a rusted nail instead of the usual screw, papers bearing her signature rested, warded to stray potential snoopers away. The castle wasn't safe enough when everyone was digging for information. “They're yours to do as you please. Burn them, keep them, it's your decision.” she reminded him.
“No one will find them anyway. My home is heavily warded.” He reassured her. “If anyone were to find it, it'd probably be my father if he knew what to look for and where.”
There were no doubts that his useless male progenitor had to have noticed the missing Ward books from his study. He'd taken them years ago when he first left home and refused to look back, but he had yet to come knocking for them. There were some advantages to being that man's offspring no matter how much he was loathed at home.
“I'm sorry for thrusting a heavy mantle onto you like that.”
“You didn't thrust shit onto me. It was a mutual agreement, and no I'm not mad at you, understood?” He recapped it for her as he threw the dishcloth back into the kitchen.
She nodded quietly. “You'll tell me if you are-”
“Yes, I will tell you if I'm mad at you.” he cut her off. He grabbed his papers and shoved them into his bag. “Get your stuff, I got to bring you back before sunrise.”
“Understood.” She heaved herself off the sofa and grabbed her coin purse from the ground.
The two went off to the door. Fredrick grabbed his house key and led her out the front door where Avraxas was grazing on the grass of his fenced off front yard. “Where's your flower crown?”
“Oh I let Abraxas eat it earlier.”
“Accepted its eventual fate?”
She nodded. “Or I’d have to throw it out, best to let him snack instead.”
Something that wasn’t quite a surprise the next day was how most of the day shift’s royal guards were tired, yawning at their posts, or simply hungover.
The princess had her own light headache, but she certainly wouldn't have called it a hangover.
Oh how Farore’s Day had been a joy the night before, but she was shocked at the sheer amount of people who had clearly not gotten any sleep. A few, a handful maybe, she expected, but over half was an understatement.
She could feel a yawn coming for her. She extended her fan out and covered her face through a fan wave as she yawned hard. Barely an hour of sleep and she would be up on her feet all day. It was too difficult to fall asleep when it was broad daylight in her room.
“Tired?” Fredrick asked quietly. She could see how tired he was, his eyes entirely unfocused, the flex of his jaw, but he didn’t outwardly show his yawning.
Arn sidestepped closer. “How is it that I got more sleep than both of you?” he asked quietly.
She shrugged. “Too much excitement?” She guessed. She yawned behind her fan once more. She glanced at her ladies-in-waiting and thanked the Goddesses they weren’t watching her too closely. “I imagine Fredrick didn’t get too much either,” she commented behind her fan. He was the one who’d had to drag her out of bed, otherwise she’d have stayed asleep until late afternoon.
“Presenting His Royal Highness, Prince Koram, Prince Regent of Labrynna!” The Herald announced as the doors opened.
“He just had to choose early morning…” She heard Fredrick mutter quietly from her right side. Arn stood at attention on her left, equally as imposing, but lacking the exhaustion in his eyes.
The Labrynnian Prince sauntered in, all smiles and full of energy. The Prince was very much a morning person.
“Good morning Princess!” He came right up to the dais and gave a perfectly practiced bow.
Here we go. She stifled a yawn as best she could and tried to mimic. “Good morning, I hope your travels weren’t too troublesome.” She greeted him politely.
“It is worth all the trouble to be in your divine presence, Your Royal Highness!”
She nearly gave a laugh when she heard her captain snort quietly. And that’s another ten for you. “You’re too kind, Prince Koram.” She hoped he wasn’t going to be here for long, the Labrynnian prince tended to overstay his welcome.