Feyre
The palace was gorgeous.
Though tall, intimidating, and dark, it did not give off a Gothic vibe at all. Instead, with the stars illuminating it perfectly, it looked fit for a moon goddess. Feyre also felt the palace to be slightly unconventional. She didn't know why. It was just a feeling. But she liked it.
Mor nudged her. "Pretty awesome, huh?"
"Words can't describe it," Feyre replied truthfully.
Mor knocked and the doors opened. A shadowy black man hugged Mor and Rhys hello, and with a look of slight surprise, shook Feyre's hand.
"Azriel," he said. "Director of Covert Operations in Asteria."
"Feyre, nice to meet you," she said, smiling.
"Nice to meet you, too," he said. "May I ask…"
"She's a friend of Rhys'," Mor said. "After a little chat with her I decided she was to dine with us." She grinned impishly.
Azriel smiled, though the look of surprise was still there. "You can call me Az," he told Feyre.
"Okay," Feyre laughed. She was really liking Rhys' cabinet.
Which reminded her. As Az and Mor walked a couple paces ahead, she hung back and nudged Rhys.
"Hey," she said. "I never got to thank you properly for the other night. It meant a lot to me." She looked at him expectantly.
"It was no problem," Rhys replied, relaxing his face. "I just spoke the truth. I'm glad it helped you out."
She looked at him. He knew, all right. He definitely knew the question had not been hypothetical. But he was not bringing it up, and she was grateful for that. The two of them walked in silence into the dining hall.
The dining hall was brightly lit, and as Feyre looked up, she saw thousands of little lights dotting the ceiling like stars. She smiled. The whole place, the whole experience, was too much for words. Her heart was soaring, flying.
Rhys nudged her. "Pretty awesome, huh?"
"Yeah," said Feyre. "Did you design it?"
"The four of us did. Amren excluded," he replied.
As she looked to the large but homely table, she saw two additional figures seated. One she recognized as Amren. The other was a muscular, dark man with a slightly edgy look to him. He flashed a smile.
"Cassian, Commander in Chief of the Forces of Asteria," he said.
"Feyre, friend of Rhys," she offered.
"Welcome," he replied mysteriously. Feyre couldn't help but wonder what that meant.
They sat down for dinner. Appetizers were served; warm bread with butter and an assortment of cheeses. Feyre began to devour her food. As they ate, Mor broke the silence.
"So I feel like we all owe you a proper introduction," she said. "Rhys can go first." She grinned.
Rhys looked down. "Really?" he said.
"Oh, come on, it's only us," Feyre said, laughing.
This seemed to lift a million pounds off his shoulders. "Okay, then," he said. "I'm Rhysand, President of Asteria. I was elected a few years ago for a life term. I really am trying to be the best president I can be, contrary to what Cassian says. I like books " - at this Feyre looked down uncomfortably - "and have been reading for my entire life. And… that's all," he said seriously.
Mor put a hand on his shoulder. "He's really much more interesting than that," she said. "And contrary to what all of us say, he is an excellent president." Feyre smiled.
"Okay, how about Amren goes next?" Mor queried. Amren nodded once.
"Amren," she said. "Secretary of Treasury for Asteria. My parents left me here at an early age. For as long as I have lived, my one fervent wish has been to see my homeland. I do like Asteria, but it doesn't quite feel right," she concluded brusquely.
Feyre was surprised at her blunt honesty, but appreciated it. At least she knew that what she saw was what she got.
"Good luck on your journey," Feyre found herself saying. Amren nodded in acknowledgement.
"Okay, I'll go next," Mor said. "I'm Morrigan, Secretary of Foreign Relations here in Asteria. Like Amren, my parents didn't want me. They were… rather abusive." For the first time, Mor looked serious. Feyre put a hand on her shoulder.
"Rhys was a distant cousin. I came here seeking refuge, and he was more than understanding. And now, here I am!" she concluded.
Slowly, Feyre eased her arm off Mor's shoulder. She was moved by all of these stories. Here were people who had seen and experienced horrible things like her. Maybe they could understand.
Maybe. She would have to hear the rest of the stories first.
"Cassian, you're up," Mor said, as the salad and soup was served.
Cassian grinned. "Cassian, Commander in Chief of the military forces here. I'm a childhood friend of Rhys', same as Azriel here." He nudged Az, who promptly became very interested in his food.
"We were all illegitimate children, bastards. So we ended up rather rough around the edges. Of the three of us, I was always the impulsive, fighting one. Rhys was a fighter, too, but knowledge was his real passion. And Azriel was the quiet, mysterious one who stayed in the shadows. Still, our personalities matched, and two better friends I could not wish for," he concluded, putting an arm around Az and Rhys.
Feyre clapped. She sensed a bit of sorrow behind this pleasant sounding story. It sounded like the three of them had been outcasts, shunned from all society. She understood that.
"Okay!" Mor said. Then, with surprising tenderness, she asked Az, "Anything you'd like to add?"
"I think Cass covered it all," he grinned.
"Great!" said Mor. "In that case, we can move onto our special guest, Feyre!"
Wait. What? She had to introduce herself?
Feyre swallowed, and said, "I don't like talking about myself…"
"Oh, come on," said Mor. "It'll be fine!"
Nodding, she looked down and became very interested in her soup.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. To her surprise, it was Rhys.
"Hey," he said, "you don't have to talk if you don't want to. But if you want to talk, we're not going to judge you. Look at us, who are we to judge?" he smiled. The others nodded in agreement.
"The president speaks true," Amren said. "This Cabinet may be many things, but it is certainly not judgemental."
Feyre continued to eat her soup. Amren didn't beat around the bush, she knew that. If she wanted to talk, she could talk. But Feyre knew she didn't want to talk.
And yet… it might be nice, just to get the whole affair off her shoulders. And she felt like she owed it to Rhys. After all, he did help her out. In a big way.
"Okay," said Feyre, lifting her chin, and she began to talk.
Rhys
This was the moment Rhys had been waiting for. To hear Feyre's story.
"I was born in a humble village in Chlorida. I was the youngest of three children. Growing up, we were dirt poor. We had nothing. This was furthered by the fact that Chlorida has never been a very advanced civilization. In Chlorida, we lived under a dictatorship."
"Then, when I was nine, my mother died." Feyre stopped and swallowed. Silently, Rhys slipped his hand into hers. He could understand her pain.
"As she died, she made me promise to take care of Father and my two sisters, Nesta and Elain. I did my best to provide for them. It was hard, though. When Mother died, Father essentially died, too. And my sisters… Elain was sweet and loving, but there were things she didn't understand. She couldn't comprehend a possibility of her helping me out. Nesta acted cruel and icy to me all my life. I have never understood why, but I know there is more to her."
Rhys looked at Feyre. She seemed to be struggling to form words. He held her hand tighter.
"Then, around six months ago, my entire life changed. I was at a fruit stand, buying fruit, when I met a guy. We were young, we were foolish, we fell in love."
"Are you okay, Rhys?" Mor interrupted. "You look horribly angry…"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rhys said, easing out his frown. Why had he been getting so worked up? It was only a guy, only a normal love affair…
"Also, the dinner's here," Mor said.
Dinner was the usual pasta they served to guests. Feyre's eyes visibly lit up at the sight of it, and it warmed Rhys' heart. After a few bites of pasta, Feyre cleared her throat and continued.
"Tamlin and I, we loved each other with all our hearts. But…" she paused. She seemed to be struggling to decide whether to go on or not.
"It's okay," Rhys said, holding her hand once more. She smiled gratefully.
"But he was the Emperor of Chlorida. To marry into a spot of prestige like that, it was not easy. There were trials, tests I was to go through."
He looked at her. She was pale and looked frightened. What could have possibly happened to this poor girl?
"Here," Rhys said, handing her a glass of water. "Drink."
"It's okay," she said gratefully. "I'll be fine."
She took a deep breath and continued. "One of my tests was to escape from a room in time. If I failed, the ceiling would crush me. But… one of my many faults… I have never been able to read. The moment of panic when I realized I would have to read the levers to figure it out… I have never experienced fear like that. I hope I never will again." She gulped. "I felt so worthless."
"You are not worthless," Mor said quietly. Rhys nodded emphatically.
"But the other test was far, far worse. I was presented with five innocent citizens of Chlorida, and was forced to prove that I would kill for Tamlin. I was forced to kill them. If I hadn't… done it, I would have been brutally murdered, and Tamlin would have gotten his Emperorship taken away. I will never be able to forget the five innocent lives I took out of this world, and the many more I ruined by doing so."
She was crying now. Without thinking, Rhys enveloped her in an embrace. To his surprise, she didn't resist.
"I… was broken after that. I… knew I… was worthless… cursed… forever damned… evil… But Tamlin didn't understand. He forced me to be happy. How could I be sad, he thought, when I was with him? As long as there was us, there was to be no me." With this, she dissolved into tears.
Rhys held her tight. Feyre had been through so much. The least he could do was to offer some comfort. He stroked her hair.
"I had no idea," Mor said. "I'm so sorry." Cass and Az nodded in agreement.
"Be assured, you will have no such problems here in Asteria," Amren said.
"You can stay the night?" Mor offered. Feyre nodded.
Rhys just held her. She was warm in his embrace. God, she smelled good. And she looked beautiful.
What was he thinking? Shoving all such thoughts out of his mind, he just held her and held her and held her, and prayed for all of her troubles to melt away.
Hey y'all! I had a lot of fun writing this one, though it is a bit short. As you can see, I really love fluff and sap and all that stuff.
I feel like Cassian is a bit OOC. I'll definitely try to fix that in later chapters.
Stay awesome, readers! 3
