Good As Gold
Disclaimer: I don't own LWD
AN: Enjoy! Follow me on AO3 (Archive Of Our Own) for the Mood Board
The fae can't lie.
I'm winging most of the magic stuff, so like... don't think about it too hard.
Good As Gold
Chapter 1
He warned her not to come. He told her not to drink the wine. It was dangerous. But did she listen to him? Nooo. Never. Even though she knew that the fae couldn't lie, she didn't put it past him to find a way. (Good. That meant she was smart. Maybe she'd survive his world after all.) She thought he was just trying to keep her away from all the fun. But he was actually trying to protect her. The only reason he bothered to spare her a second thought was because she was human. And if a human were to be harmed in Fairy under his watch, he'd never hear the end of it.
But it was truly infuriating that she just waltzed into his world and refused to leave. The same woman who was in awe of everything with her big blue eyes like a child was gullible to the curtly his world held. Or maybe she thought herself strong. It was annoying, really.
So even though he warned her to stay away, she showed up to the revel. She wore a beautiful gown made of delicate blue fabric that swished as she moved with a thigh-length split on one leg that was utterly unholy. Not that Derek believed in gods. Who could be above him anyway?
He watched her from his throne, the one he was slumped in half hazardly without a damn care in the world. A gold crown sat askew on his mop of reddish-brown locks. It sparkled in the candlelight, bringing even more attention his way.
Except hers that is. She irked him, tap-danced on his very last nerve and he didn't understand why. He couldn't put his finger on it at all. (It was driving him insane.) He tried his best not to look at her, to let his eyes wander to the sea of people who were there to celebrate with him. Celebrating what.. he couldn't remember. After three glasses of fairy wine, he was feeling a soft hum of relaxation in his bones. It was nice. And on most nights, it was enough. But when Casey McDonald was in the room, no amount of fairy wine or pixie dust could numb him enough to ignore her. (Was she spelled?)
But then he heard her giggle. His pointed ears zeroed in on her like a beacon. She was angelic, her laughter spilling out of her small frame like bubbles, stupid infectious bubbles. He could see even from where he sat that she was as high as a kite. Her normally pale skin was flushed pink, her blue eyes shined like pearls in clear water. The glass in her dainty hand splashed and slushed as she moved. She was dancing, moving like a butterfly, free and wild. And it enraged him to no end.
Derek's painted fingers curled into a fist. His gold rings bit into his skin but he ignored it. He hated the way she commanded his attention. He was the Prince of Fairy and yet she could control him with a simple fit of giggles. It was embarrassing.
Derek heard a growl escape his chest as he stood to his full height, anger filling him like the air he breathed. Slowly, he stepped down from the dais, cautiously making his way through the mass of people. His dark eyes zeroed in on her like an enemy in his crosshairs.
She must have felt his stare burning into her. She turned towards him, her eyes widening when she spotted him making his way over. But she didn't look scared. She simply smiled, her pink-painted lips pulling across her mouth to reveal pearly white teeth. Like she was pleased to see him. How high was she?
Derek took the glass of wine from her, placing it on a nearby table without hesitation or niceties. He was done being nice to her. (He had never really started, but still .) "I think that's enough of that," he spit his words out like flames. "I told you not to come, Princess," he hissed.
Casey was a Princess, a human one anyway. But that didn't count in his book, he didn't much respect those human titles. He only called her a Princess to tease her with an air of sarcasm every time he said it. But his dad, King George did have to respect the human titles. Thankfully his dad was away and hadn't set eyes on her yet. That was something Derek was hoping to avoid. It also meant Derek was in charge...
"I told you not to drink the wine," he reminded her, taking another step into her space. Crowding her. Trying to intimidate her. He'd been trying to scare her off since day one, but the women would not leave.
Casey rolled her eyes, unphased. "You just don't want me to have any fun," she pouted as if she weren't being reprimanded by the Prince of the very land she stood on. On the land, she refused to leave. "Dance with me, Derry!" she sang. Before he knew it, small hands were wrapping around him, pulling him into the middle of the dancefloor.
Derry. If another even dared to call him such a name he'd have their head on a pike. But her? She got away with everything. And he hated her for it.
He could have easily pulled away from her grip. He was stronger, bigger, and had magic as if he needed it. She was small, fragile, and human. But he knew she would have just gone stumbling, so he let her drag him as far as she wanted to. And when they were in the thick of it surrounded by humans and faces she started to dance again. He never understood the way her body moved. How someone without magic in their veins could look so intoxicating and hypnotic just by dancing. He couldn't stop himself from dancing with her. From moving his body against her softer one. Her hands roamed over him like he was just a man to her. No fear. No respect. Just desire. So, he allowed it.
He spun her, and she erupted in more giggles. He hated himself for loving the sounds. The way he craved for more of it. He wanted more of her. More smiles, more sounds. More of her body pressed up against his. But she was human. Human! Human! Human! And she had to get back home.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, lips only a breath away. Her lips were wet and pink and he wanted nothing more than to close the space between them. He wanted to claim her and taste her till there was nothing else in the world but them. Sex was such a normal activity in Fairy. There were probably couples who were doing more than dancing all around them. But Casey… she was different. And he knew that. Sex with her would somehow mean more. And he couldn't risk that. Not for himself. Not even for her.
He'd find the strength to pull away from her eventually... Then he'd find Kendra. They always had a good night together. That he knew. Sex with Kendra had no boundaries. A third, a fourth, a fifth? It was all an option. A toy? some pain? No problem. …. But somehow after all the pain and pleasure, he'd still want Casey. He knew that. Because he hadn't stopped thinking about her since the day they met years ago.
It wasn't Casey's first time in fairy. As a Princess, she and her family came by every so often. But this time, she came alone. He assumed there was a reason for it. A reason she refused to tell him, he just didn't know it yet.
She had escaped the mortal world for a trip into the fairy. That was normal. Humans did all the time. But she had overstayed her welcome. Time moved differently there. No one had even noticed she had gone yet. But he imagined her dad... a king in mortal land. He could declare war to get her back if he suspected foul play. And with his own father away, Derk had been on edge ever since she arrived.
Casey pouted her pretty bottom lip at him. "Come on Derek, don't you want to kiss me?" she asked her big blue eyes blinking up at him like he stole Christmas or something equally as ridiculous and human. The tip of her finger reached out to outline the point in his ear; something that seemed to fascinate her. Both of Derek's ears were filled with gold jewelry. Pure gold. Pretty little studs or bars encrusted with the finest gems. Her fingertip trailed town, feeling each gold earring that decorated his ear. Her touch felt too intimately while they were on the dance floor surrounded by debauchery. He couldn't believe his luck.
Casey had seen the way he functioned. She knew he was free, no boundaries. Kissing everyone he pleased. He was often overwhelmed with options. Maybe she wanted to join in on the fun? And he wanted to play, to live out all of her deepest desires.
But his heart did some sort of fluttery bullshit in his chest. He winced, in response. She put him in pain without even realizing it.
" Casey," he trailed off like her name physically pained him. She wouldn't remember it. He could be honest. It was the only perk of the entire situation. He cupped her face in his bigger hands, his thumb rubbing across her blushed cheeks gently. He stared at her like she was the only star in the sky because at the moment, sounded by music and laughter, she was.
"Honey," he started, taking a breath before dropping the raw brutal truth. "I want to devour you," he admitted with all the feeling in his chest. Because he did. Everything about her called to him. Like she casted a spell on him, slipped a magic potion in his cup. But no. Nothing of the sort. She was just human. Plain. Boring. Weak. And he was immune to all those charms. It was pure Casey that called to him, begging him to break all his rules for her.
Casey's face lit upon hearing his words. The prettiest smile broke across her lips. Derek shook his head bending down to press his forehead against her. He took a deep breath breathing in the scent of berries and magic heavy on her tongue. A lesser man would dive right in and lick the taste right off her tongue. But he was trying to be a better man.
"But not like this. Never like this," he whispered probably too low for her ears to register for the music and the dancing.
In the morning, when the magic wore off, she'd hate him again. He knew it, even without his magic.
Maybe he'd get another chance... Another falling star in the sky. Maybe she'd decide to be brave and try again, sober. But until then, he'd have to resist.
He nodded at his guard from across the room. And in seconds Casey was being escorted out of the room and to her chambers. Far away from Derek.
Derek picked up another glass of wine from a passing tray, he gulped down its contents. He felt the effects of the magic start to blur his frayed emotions. Thankfully he had spotted Kendra from across the room, draped across Sam's lap. Sam nuzzled her neck, and Kendra giggled in approval, eating up his affections. Derek almost felt bad interrupting the pair. But he was the Prince, his interruptions were normally welcomed. Especially by them.
"Ken," Derek called when he approached the pair.
Kendra didn't stand for her Prince; not out of Sam's lap where she was cozy and comfortable. She simply lifted her gaze up at him and smirked like she knew all his secrets. Mostly because she did. Almost anyway.
"Can I help you, my Prince ?" she asked, one hand lost in Sam's hair, her mind clearly elsewhere. She threw around his title out of spite. She didn't care when she was royal in her own right.
Sam's gaze joined Kendras, pinning Derek with the same intensity. "Will you have me?" Derek asked gently. He liked to think he was a smart man. Even stupid one knew better than demand a thing from her. Kendra was a wild flame and he was not in the mood to get burned. He reached out a hand to her face, his thumb sweeping across her full bottom lip ever so gently. A caress he knew she enjoyed.
Kendra hemmed under his touch considering his request. Derek knew she always enjoyed having both Sam and Dereks attention securely on her. She had hated that Casey had been stealing some of Derek's time. Not because she had feelings for him, no. Kendra didn't do feelings. She just liked to be the center of attention.
Kendra stared at him for a moment as if she'd ever want to deny him. "I guess," she sighed like it was a chore to answer her Prince. Slowly she lifted herself off of Sams's lap and to her feet. Her pink gown, with two slit's up both legs that stopped at her hip. When she moved, it revealed just how little she wore underneath. Kendra was a siren, and everyone else was simply her prey.
"She's got you worked up, Der," Kendra teased, one hand rubbing up Derek's chest.
Derek grunted, ignoring the comment. He didn't want to speak of Casey. But it was no secret that Casey had an effect on bim. And he didn't feel like coming up with an excuse for his actions. He didn't answer to anyone but his father. And even that he wanted to avoid.
The pair started walking out of the ballroom, Derek's arm wrapped around Kendra's waist when something made him stop and look over his shoulder to his best friend, his second in command, Sam who was still sitting in the same spot watching them intensely.
When Derek looked down at Kendra, she was pouting those pretty pink lips out at him, silently asking him for permission.
Derek just rolled his eyes, he should have known the second he saw them together. "Come on. You too Sammy," Derek called, smirking.
Kendra giggled in delight, pressing her mouth to Derek's cheek in thanks. Sam followed the pair out with an all too please grin on his face.
They were in for a good night.
AN: Plot? What plot? This is pure vibes.
So this is HEAVILY inspired by The Cruel Prince and the world of Fairy. Because Derek and Cardan are so similar to me. (Casey and Jude not so much, but I digress.) I love the world, and I've never written for that kind of setting, so I put our favs in this world.
I'm really proud of this one. It feels so different than my usual. So I hope you enjoy it half as much as I do.