This is a day late, I know. But I had an almost finished chapter yesterday so I decided to just finish it and post it today. I know I promised two chapters, but I've been really busy and also had some writer's block, so I've been having some difficulties. Anyway, everything should be back now, and I should start posting as usual now on Sunday.
Once the fire was burning they both sat down next to the fire and looked into it, both lost in their own thoughts. Magnus still had the stone in his pocket and he wondered when or if he would feel a depowering effect from it. He looked over at Alec, but the other man seemed comfortable with silence so Magnus allowed his thoughts to wander again. Maybe he could write a firemessage to Malcolm? The older warlock might know something about those stones. And he also should ask him how it went with the purifying magic for his blood. So he should definitely send a firemessage to him, maybe once Alec was asleep. Which showed Magnus his next problem.
He should tell Alec the truth at one point. How were they supposed to have a working relationship when there was this big secret between them? But Magnus was worried, about the way Alec might take it, and if he would trust him after he knew. The longer you wait the less he will trust you in the future, he thought. He knew that but he also wanted to just enjoy the time with Alec. He had to tell him soon, maybe after they've been to Red Hook and had had their talk with the queen there, Maia Roberts. Magnus had heard of her, only good things so far, which was rather a surprise since he usually first heard all the bad things about a kingdom and the head of their regime. He was a bit excited about that kingdom if he was honest, and he was looking forward to it.
After a little while, he looked back at Alec and took his hand. "Hey, what are you thinking about pretty boy?" he asked with a smile.
Alec had been lost in thoughts once the fire was burning and they had sat down. He had checked on Magnus to make sure it was okay that they were not talking and then he stared into the flames and thought about the past day. His talk with Raphael and how he was going to have talks like those many times. He wasn't sure if he actually liked those meetings but he knew they were necessary and he liked the side effect of it. All the time he got to spend with Magnus. Like those moments where they were just sitting close to each other or later when they would go to bed. And he didn't hate those talks so all in all it was good the way it was.
Of course he missed Izzy and Jace, but he had Magnus and Shadowhunter, those two seemed to understand him even better than his siblings and he was grateful to have them in his life. Alec couldn't think of a time he felt this happy to just sit next to someone or of a time when he was actually happy. But Magnus made him feel that way. Yes they had had a bit of a troubled start but now they were there, together and happy. Of course Alec knew that things wouldn't immediately get easier in the future but he hoped for it, hoped that people would accept that Alec was gay and in a relationship with his 'servant'. Maybe there was something Alec could do to change that title? He might be able to make him a Duke or Lord of something. He liked that idea and just as he was planning on the exact title he would give Magnus when the other one took his hand and pulled ALec out of his thoughts.
"Hm? Sorry what did you say?"
"Hey, what are you thinking pretty boy" Magnus repeated with a chuckled.
"Oh… I was just thinking that I could give you a noble title once I became king, that way people might react differently about us… I mean they will still be irritated since you a guy but… that way there would only be one thing for them to worry about," he told Magnus with a smile.
"Hm… Sure, if you think that's important. I mean it's only a title, right? Nothing in my life would change, would it?" he asked.
Alec only shook his head.
"Okay… well then sure, make me noble once you became king."
"I love you, you know?" Alec said with a dopey smile. Magnus smiled brightly at him.
"I love you too," Magnus said and kissed him. They hadn't said that much lately, and Alec had missed hearing those words from Magnus.
"We should make some food and then go to sleep," Alec said.
"Yeah, let's. What's for dinner today?" Magnus asked.
"Bread. And I saw some apple trees a little back, so we can eat some apples too."
"Bread and apples. Great," Magnus sighed. "I hope there's food in Red Hook. I want some real, warm food." Alec chuckled as he stood up, pulling Magnus with him too.
"You are getting spoiled," he mumbled with a smile.
"You're the one spoiling me," Magnus retorted and held onto Alec's hand as he lead him through the woods to where he had seen the apples earlier. They only walked for about five minutes before Magnus spotted it too. A little bit into the woods, a bit hard to see as the only light they had was the almost full moon. But there was an entire zone full of apple trees. Maybe there had been an apple farm there before? Either way, there wasn't anything there now, and the apples were big and looked good, so what was stopping them from taking them?
"We shouldn't take too many," Alec said. "It would be a waste if we don't eat them all and they rot."
"Just a few for tonight," Magnus agreed. "And maybe we can come back tomorrow and get some for the journey.
"Yes, that should be fine." With that they started taking the apples, Alec taking the ones further up since he was so tall, and Magnus took the ones lower down. They picked about a dozen, some for themselves and some for Jem and Shadowhunter. When they started walking back they had their hands and pockets full of apples.
Magnus fed the horses while Alec got the bread, and a little later they met again by the fire. There were four apples left after Jem and Shadowhunter decided they had had enough, so two left for each of them. Along with some bread, it would be enough until tomorrow.
"This is a bit of a… well, a not so amazing dinner, but I am happy and I feel like it's more than enough, just because you are here with me."
"Everything is enough as long as you're here." Magnus smiled and sat down by Alec's side as they started eating. The bread was starting to get hard, but the apples were fresh and delicious.
It started getting chilly after a little while, even sitting close to the fire. After they finished they retreated to the tent where they cuddled close together for warmth.
Alec fell asleep quickly, his head on Magnus's chest and his arm over his waist.
Magnus had planned to send a firemessage to Malcolm, but as Alec started snoring lightly, his head on Magnus's chest, Magnus couldn't make himself move. He would leave the firemessage for later. For now, he closed his eyes, smiling happily as he ran a hand through Alec's hair until he drifted off.
The camp had been taken down, everything they'd used was put back in its place and the horses were geared up and loaded, ready to go. All that was missing was Magnus.
He'd gone into the woods saying he had to do something, and although Alec was pretty sure he knew what, Magnus was taking very long. Too long. So after almost ten minutes, Alec stepped away from the clearing to look for him.
"Magnus?" He called out. He wondered how far out Magnus had gone. What if he'd fallen into a hole? Or what if he was stuck? What if he had been attacked by a wild animal? Alec's brain only supplied him with more and more possibilities, none of which were good in any way. "Magnus, are you here?" he called for him again. Where was he?
"Just give me a minute, Alexander!" He heard someone yell. Where was it coming from? Behind him, somewhere behind him. But Alec was sure he hadn't seen anything.
"Magnus, where are you?" he shouted. It took almost a minute before he got an answer.
"I'm right here, Alec. Just give me one second and I'll be ready to go." Alec followed the voice, trying to find Magnus. Something caught his eye, a flame. Fire? But the flame was so small, it couldn't be a fire. Before Alec could look properly at it it was gone, and Magnus came out from behind a tree. "Now, shall we go? I'm ready," he said.
"What were you doing?" Alec asked him, still frowning from the flame he had seen. Had it been his imagination?
"What do you think I was doing?" Magnus replied and walked past him. "Let's go now, we should make it to Red Hook before sunset." Alec followed him, they mounted the horses and set on their way. But Alec couldn't get that flame out of his head. It was impossible, he knew that. It was just there, in the middle of the air, for a second before it was suddenly gone. It wasn't possible, and yet Alec was sure he had seen it. He wondered if he should ask Magnus what that had been, there was probably an easy explanation to this, or maybe it had just been the sun? Maybe he was starting to get crazy. But for the time being Alec managed to push any thought about that aside and focus on the way they had to ride in order to get to Red Hook.
He was actually rather excited to meet their queen, Maia. He had heard about her from Simon, apparently they were somehow related? Or friends of friends? Alec couldn't remember. But he remembered all the good things he had heard about her, of course, she had had her bad moments but Alec knew too well that even the best king or queen had moments of weakness or when they were not thinking straight, so he did not judge her at all.
During their journey the two didn't talk much, they stopped once to drink and eat some more apples as well as make sure the horses were alright. It was a comfortable silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. They spoke a bit about the upcoming talks but other than that they minded their own business.
Did he see it? Magnus wondered. Had Alec seen him send that firemessage? Probably not, he would have asked you or told you. Magnus told himself, he didn't want Alec to know, or rather, he didn't want him to find out like that. It just wasn't supposed to be that way. Magnus worried about that the whole time, even when they stopped and sat down to eat and drink, it was always on his mind, even though Alec didn't say a word about the whole thing, so maybe he really had not seen it. Magnus hoped that this was the case and he started to believe that.
The later it became the closer they got to Red Hook, Alec had told him he had reserved a room at the Hunters Moon, apparently the best tavern in this Kingdom, and luckily only 5 minutes away from the castle. Magnus was actually rather excited about that place, he had heard a lot of stories from Simon, he was a friend of the queen. Magnus loved the story of how they met, she had been traveling and Simon stopped her along the way to help her, but in the end, he was the one who needed her help and she had found that so charming that they became friends and had started to regularly write letters to each other. And Simon just loved to talk so Magnus knew a lot about her and he was so excited to finally meet her, especially since he felt like she would be like an old friend, based on all the things he already knew about her.
As Alec had said, they arrived a little after midday, the sun was standing tall, but on its way down. Magnus couldn't help but smile when he saw the busy streets, finally back to normal. There were people hurrying here and there, children chasing each other and salesmen yelling out their best offers. They even passed a market! It was so different from Dumort, and Magnus felt a bit less homesick.
They arrived at the Hunters Moon after a slow ride through the city. They received some weird stares, but that had to be expected, and otherwise, everything had been great. Magnus put the horses in the stables while Alec went in to get their key. They met again outside the entrance to the tavern.
"Shadowhunter and Jem are all set, the stable boy is taking care of them," Magnus told Alec. One thing that hadn't existed in Dumort, someone to take care of their horses. Not even food for them had been there.
"Great. I've got the key," Alec said and held it up. "Shall we go leave our stuff inside before getting some food? Gretel, the receptionist, assured me there was plenty of food here," Alec told him.
"Perfect. I'm starving." Magnus took the key out of Alec's hand and walked past him into the tavern. Their tent and other unnecessary baggage stayed in the back of the stable so they wouldn't have to carry it up, so they only brought up clothes, weapons, and money. Stuff they would need, and stuff people would steal. So Magnus only had to carry a small bag, as he'd dropped Alec's at his feet when he took the key.
Alec followed him inside, and they went up the stairs together. "Come on, it's here," Alec said when he saw that Magnus was unsure of where to go. Unlike in Dumort, here it didn't say what room it was on the key. Gretel had probably told Alec.
Magnus unlocked the door Alec showed him to and then stepped into the room. Sunlight made the room warm and despite it only being a week, Magnus had missed sleeping in a room with proper windows.
Magnus dropped his bag by the door as he looked at the rest of the room. The walls and floor were the same as downstairs, the walls a dark wood and the floor red. Ish. The bed was made from a light wood, and it looked very comfortable. Magnus couldn't wait to use it.
When he finished looking over the room, Magnus turned to Alec. "Let's go eat now, or I'm gonna have to eat you," he joked as he stepped closer, kissing Alec's jaw lightly before taking his hand.
"Hm, well we can't let that happen. I need to be present at the meeting tomorrow," Alec said before kissing Magnus's forehead. He locked the door behind them when they left the room and went downstairs to get some food in them.
They ate their food happily, steak for both of them. After days of only eating bread and salted meat, it was the best thing Magnus had ever tasted. After they'd eaten they went out to take a stroll through the city, looking at the people and the boots with things for sale. They stopped by the market to buy some food for the night, but they would come by right before they journeyed on to wherever they were going next.
The sun was almost setting by the time they went back to the hotel, and in just a few minutes they were in their underwear getting ready for bed. As they laid down close to each other, Magnus realized again that despite being away from his mother and his new friends and his soon found father figure, he didn't feel alone. Didn't feel anything even close to being alone. Yes, he missed them all, but he had Alec. And Alec was his family. "Alexander," He said softly to get his attention. "You know I love you, right?" Alec turned his head to look at him, a soft smile on his lips.
"Yeah, I do. I love you too," he said.
Red Hook was by the sea. Magnus had never seen the sea. He'd seen it in the distance on his way to Idris, but he'd never seen it. Not like this. Not so close that he could smell it and even taste the salt in the air.
Alec and Magnus were sitting by the docs, watching the seabirds, the fishing boats in the distance, the fish market on the edge of the docs.
"I'm gonna send a letter," Alec said suddenly, interrupting the silence between them. "To Izzy and Jace. Do you want to send anything?" He asked. Magnus was about to say no. He could just send firemessages. It was much easier and didn't cost a cent, and it was so much quicker. But then he thought about it, about how it would probably seem weird for Alec after a while if he never sent anything to anyone.
"Actually, yes. I would like to send something too."
"We could post it together, it might be cheaper then," Alec suggested.
"Yeah. How long do you think it takes for it to get to Idris?" Magnus asked.
"I'm not sure. Probably like two or three days if it's sent on express."
"How will they answer then? We won't be in Red Hook by the time it arrives there."
"We can just tell them where we'll be, where to send the reply to."
"Okay, sounds good. When do you want to do it?" Alec's only reply was to pull two things out of his pocket. Paper and a pencil.
"I think I have one more here," he mumbled, rummaging through his pockets. "Here it is!" Alec pulled one more pencil out of another pocket and gave one of them to Magnus. "Right now. There you go, tell me if you need more paper." Alec gave Magnus some of the paper too, and then he started to write.
Magnus didn't know what to write or rather whom to write and so he just stared at the paper and the pencil he was holding. Eventually, he decided to write to Luke.
Hey Luke. It's Magnus. I'm not sure what to say to you, I mean, what do you say in a situation like this? I realize I never said goodbye when I left. I was a bit caught up in running away from all the guards. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I'm doing fine, Alec and I have been to Dumort and now we're in Red Hook. It's really fun, we get to see a lot and do lots of stuff. I'm really happy. Anyway, I just wanted to say that, and I wanted to tell you that I'll be back. It'll be a while, probably, but I'll be back. Oh, and I wanted to thank you for sending the book with Alec, you know which one I'm talking about. Tell Catarina and Dot hi for me. If you want to reply, send the letter to-
At this point, Magnus turned to Alec. "Where exactly are we going next?" Alec looked up from what he was writing.
"The Seelie realm," Alec replied before going back to his writing.
If you want to reply, send a letter to the Seelie realm. I hope you're doing fine and that you're not working too much.
Love, Magnus.
Magnus read over the letter to make sure everything was okay before folding it in half. "I'm done," he said and turned to Alec.
"Just give me a second and I will be too," Alec mumbled, not even looking up.
Magnus wondered what Alec was writing, he knew that he was writing to his siblings, but what was he writing?
Dear Izzy, so much is happening. I am so happy. I mean I obviously miss you terribly but I do have Magnus by my side and that's just amazing. I just have a question for you. You… you've been with a lot of guys, right? Because Magnus and I have talked about… well, sleeping with each other. But we don't know how. I mean we do have ideas but yeah... So I thought maybe you know? And… maybe you could give me some advice on what to do. How to do it. You taught me a lot with Lydia, but this is Magnus. It's different because he is a man too. Anyway, I hope you can help me, I hope you're doing fine, and I love you.
Lots of hugs from Alec.
P.S We will be traveling to the Seelie realm next so please send your answer there.
Alec felt a bit weird about asking his little sister for advice on that matter, but he felt like she would be the only one to really help him. Jace would only make fun of him or not want to hear a word about that at all. So Izzy was honestly his best shot. He just hoped she would answer him and be able to give him some actual advice on the whole thing, because he really wanted to be… intimate with Magnus.
"Okay, I'm done," he finally said and looked up from the paper. "Shall we go post this?"
"Yeah, let's go." Magnus stood up, and Alec followed his lead.
"Who did you write to?" Alec asked as they walked hand in hand.
"Luke," Magnus said. "I realized I never said goodbye and I just needed to tell him I was okay."
"Yeah, that makes sense… What about your other friends? Clary, Simon… Dot?" Alec asked quietly.
"I asked Luke to say hi to them for me, but I think Luke needed to hear from me more than any of the others. I mean, he's like my father, he's probably worried out of his mind."
"He looked very worried, yes. But he seemed to understand and believe that I would look after you."
"Of course he did. After all, who's better to take care of me than a prince? A strong, loyal, talented, handsome prince."
Alec chuckled at that and shook his head. Magnus could be so adorable sometimes and he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him and kiss Magnus until they were both out of breath, but they were still in public and it would probably not have been approved.
Instead, he turned his head to press a small kiss to Magnus's temple. "You're too much," he mumbled, despite the big smile on his face.
"Too much is my middle name, Alexander," Magnus smirked.
"You're impossible."
"You love me anyway."
"I do," Alec said and sighed, squeezing Magnus's hand."Now come on, let's find a post office" he said and pulled Magnus along.
"I actually think I saw one right down the street," Magnus said. "You brought money, right? I have some, so I can pay my half," he told him. He had some money, not enough for a stay at a tavern, but enough to send a letter. Luke had sent his money along with his clothes, something Magnus hadn't noticed until days later, but he certainly appreciated it when he found out.
They found the post office soon, and after a small argument, Alec agreed to let Magnus pay a bit for the letters. After that, they went to the Hunters Moon and had some dinner before they retreated to their room. They both had a bit too much of wine and so they were giggling and kissing as they made their way up. "I think I fell in love with this place, we should come back," Magnus hummed.
Alec just nodded and gripped the lapels of Magnus's shirt as he held him close and kissed him again, he kicked the door shut and pushed Magnus towards the bed. Now they were alone and Alec could kiss Magnus as much as he wanted.
They fell down on the bed together, Magnus somehow ending on top. Alec didn't waste a second as he kissed Magnus again, hands going to his hips. "Magnus," he mumbled between kisses. "We should stop. We don't know how to continue this."
"I know how to bring you pleasure. If you want me to, if you let me," Magnus said, their lips brushing as he spoke.
Alec laid there, panting, as he thought about that. He wanted whatever it was. But he still was unsure and had to think about it. "I... " he whispered and took several deep breaths. "I… yes. I think I want you to- to let you do… whatever you want," he decided eventually.
"Are you sure?" Magnus asked, just to be sure. "I'm gonna pleasure you. I'm gonna touch you like I touch myself. Is that okay?"
"Mhm… what did you think about? When you… touched yourself?" Alec asked, despite the situation and his growing erection he was still curious and couldn't help himself, he had to ask, especially since Magnus's words created pictures in his mind, pictures of Magnus, how he was lying naked on his bed, touching himself. Alec wanted to know what Magnus was thinking about.
"I thought about you. I imagined it was you, kissing me, touching me." As he spoke, Magnus worked on Alec's shirt, getting it off quickly. He had to sit back for a moment to just look at Alec. "You're beautiful," he whispered before leaning down, testing out the waters by kissing Alec's neck.
Alec's heart was racing and he had a hard time controlling his breath, it felt so amazing, but it was so new. He had imagined this before, but his imagination did not come close to this. Alec's hands slowly went under Magnus's shirt and he trailed his fingers over his abs and chest.
Magnus shuddered at Alec's touch and kissed down his chest. It made Alec feel a lot better about himself that a simple touch from him had the same effect on Magnus as any touch from Magnus had on him.
Magnus sat up, straddling Alec as he took his own shirt off. He let Alec touch him, run his hands up his chest till his shoulders, where he then pulled him down for a kiss.
"Did you touch yourself? Thinking about me?" Magnus asked once they broke the kiss.
"Yes, a few times… I thought about something like this," Alec told him and kissed Magnus again.
"I like that… Tell me what I did and I'll try to make your fantasy become reality," Magnus smiled.
"I imagined that you took off my pants, my underwear, and you would touch me. And you would keep kissing me, kissing my mouth, my neck, my chest. Everywhere." As Alec spoke, Magnus did what he said. Magnus slowly pulled down Alecs pants and then waited a moment, to give Alec some time, he guessed, before he removed his underwear as well. Alec was nervous but also so excited. He had dreamed about this so often, fantasized about how it would feel, how Magnus would look and it was just incredible. When Magnus finally touched Alec with nothing between them, Alec couldn't help but moan. It felt so good when Magnus touched him, and how he kept kissing his neck and collarbone. It was so different then what he had imagined, it was so much better. Alec had his eyes closed and just enjoyed how Magnus's hand felt on him. How he moved up and down.
"Do you like it like this? Or do you want me to change something?" Magnus whispered, hot breath brushing against Alec's ear. There was nothing he wanted to change, not about the way Magnus was touching him, he only wished Magnus would be wearing fewer clothes.
"This is perfect," Alec gasped, thrusting up into Magnus's hand. "Don't stop, please."
"I'm not planning to," he answered. Alec let himself just feel, for once. Enjoy the pleasure Magnus was giving him. He moaned softly and looked up at Magnus. "This feels so good, Magnus"
Magnus kissed him again as he speeds up the movement of his hand, twisting it every now and then and flicking his thumb over the tip of Alec's cock.
"Mag- Magnus," Alec warned after some time.
"It's okay, Alexander. Let go, come for me," Magnus whispered against Alec's skin. And just a second later he came over Magnus's hand and chest, panting. Alec fell limp on the bed and just stared up at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath. He'd had orgasms before but this one, with Magnus, must have been the best. "Oh... Oh my god. Magnus that..." he started, but was interrupted by another kiss from Magnus.
"I'm glad you liked it," Magnus murmured as he pulled back. He rolled off Alec to lay by his side. "I like making you feel good… and this was actually a lot of fun."
"Erm… are you? I mean, do you... Shall I return that?" Alec asked as he noticed the tent in the front of Magnus's pants.
"Only if you want to," Magnus said.
"I want to," Alec assured Magnus, pushing himself up on his knees before straddling Magnus's thighs. He pulled Magnus's pants down along with his underwear.
"Wait," Magnus requested and looked at Alec. "Come back here. There is… one thing I'd like to do," he said. Alec, who had felt rather bold a moment ago suddenly wasn't so sure anymore. Why did Magnus tell him to wait? He moved back up before he even had a chance to look at Magnus.
"Yes?" he asked just as Magnus grabbed a cloth and wiped over his own chest as well as Alec's to quickly clean them both up.
"Now you can go. I just thought that maybe we shouldn't stain the sheets" Alec almost laughed in relief.
"Okay then, I'll get back to it." Alec moved back to straddle Magnus again, and this time he took his cock into his hand after he allowed himself a moment to just look at Magnus. It was exactly how he had imagined it, after that day at the clearing. When he had seen the outline of Magnus through his wet underpants. It didn't feel very different from touching his own, but at the same time it was completely different. Magnus was so hard under his touch… so smooth. Alec started moving his hand like Magnus had done to him earlier. Alec heard Magnus moan under him, thrust up into his hand.
"Magnus…" Alec started. "Does this feel good?" Magnus's only reply was a moan, which Alec more than enjoyed. He sped up the movements of his hand, and couldn't take his eyes off Magnus. The way his eyes fluttered shut, his back arched, and he gripped on to the bedsheets. Alec was sure he'd never seen anything more perfect.
"Alec… Alexander, I'm gonna…" Magnus didn't even get to finish his sentence before his head fell back on the pillow as he came. Alec pumped him through it and leaned back when he was done. Alec reached for the cloth on the bedside table to clean them both up again. He was tempted to pick up some with his finger to taste it but Magnus had not done it so Alec decided not to.
"How do you feel?" He asked once Magnus's breathing calmed down.
"Wonderful," Magnus breathed out. Alec smiled as he laid down by Magnus's side again, his head resting on Magnus's shoulder as he gently trailed his fingers over Magnus's chest.
"I'm glad. That was really… magical," Alec said. It wasn't a word he used so much, since it was often connected with magic, which was illegal. But with Magnus… everything with Magnus felt just like magic.
Not that Alec knew that much about magic, or how it felt. But he knew that this had made him feel like he could do anything, like he was on top of the world, and he couldn't wait for Izzy's reply, with her ideas on what else he and Magnus could do. But for the moment he was just happy and very content with the situation at hand.
"Mhm. It was. We should do this more often," Magnus agreed and wrapped an arm around Alec to hold him gently. Suddenly Alec felt rather tired and he closed his eyes.
"We should sleep, Magnus," he hummed and reached for the duvet with his feet, he didn't want to move away from the nice position against Magnus's side so his feet had to do the job until Alec could reach for it with his hand and cover them both.
"Good night, my prince," Magnus whispered and soon Alec felt a soft kiss on his head.
"Night Magnus."
Alec was gonna meet with Maia at two in the evening. He and Magnus slept till midday, so they didn't have any time to waste. That didn't mean they were in a hurry though, so they ate their breakfast and got dressed slowly, exchanging kisses and soft words at every occasion.
Eventually, they made their way down, and Magnus noticed that there was a different guy at the reception, not the girl that had been there earlier. Just more proof that this was completely different from Dumort.
When the time came, they made their way to the castle. A guard met them by the entrance and after Alec introduced them they were led inside. The castle had the same style as their tavern, it seemed like that was the type of buildings they made here. Magnus found that he quite liked it.
They were led to a dining room, the table set, and the queen there waiting for them. She gestured for them to sit, and the guard left the room. "Queen Maia," Alec said with a nod as he sat down. Magnus followed his lead.
"Prince Alexander, Magnus Bane," she said, nodding at each of them. "I'm glad to have you here. A negotiation between our kingdoms is long overdue."
"I completely agree, which is why I am on this journey," Alec told her. "Now, there are a few important matters I want to discuss with you, and I'm assuming you have some too."
As he had in Dumort, Magnus zoned out of the conversation and looked around himself. The table was set, but there was no food, leaving Magnus wondering if there would be any. Magnus and Alec had only had a small breakfast, and Magnus couldn't deny that he was getting hungry.
The room was beautifully decorated. The ceiling was big, and chandeliers lit up the room along with the big windows bathing the room in sunlight. The wall was decorated with paintings, a few landscapes, some people, all colorful and eye-catching. Magnus leaned back in his chair, sighed, and let himself drift into thoughts. Here he could do that, there was no one to touch him and make him feel uncomfortable. Magnus could just enjoy his surroundings and the presence of Alec by his side.
Alec found that he liked Maia, a lot. She was nice and smart, and she knew what she wanted and how to get it. It was lovely to negotiate with her, and Alec hoped everyone would be like her. After about ten minutes servants started coming in with trays of food, placing them on the table. "This was really not necessary," Alec said to Maia as the table was filled.
"Oh, please. It's the least I can do after you traveled so far, and I find that it makes things a lot easier when the people you are working with are filled with food," she told him as their glasses were filled with wine. "I hope you're hungry," she said. They continued their discussions as they ate, and the food was delicious.
It didn't take them long to come to an agreement, and barely an hour later a contract was being written. By the time the food was gone Magnus and Alec were ready to leave, and after saying their goodbyes to Maia they left the castle.
Alec could see why Simon liked her, and she seemed to rather like him as well since they talked a lot about Simon and their lives once everything about the contract had been settled. At this point, Magnus seemed to wake up as well and he started to talk more. She had insisted that they called each other by their first names, no title or anything, which Alec was more than happy to oblige. And she had already thought of solutions to her problems that would also benefit Idris, something Alec hadn't been expecting.
All in all, he was happy. It had been a successful meeting, the food had been wonderful, and he had enjoyed himself. Maybe this prince thing wasn't that bad after all.
They didn't leave that day, it was already late and they would have to set a camp only a few hours later, so they decided to stay in the tavern for one more night. They would pack their things the next morning and start their ride to the Seelie realm, a place Magnus was slightly scared off. He heard that the people there were... deceitful, and that they didn't want peace with the other kingdoms, so he worried about his and Alecs safety. He had also heard weird things about Dumort before they went there but something was different about the Seelie Realm. Maybe it was because their queen was a child? Or for their golden tattoos? Magnus didn't know, but he had a weird feeling in his stomach when they got the horses ready the next morning and started their way.