It was another day in the elven kingdom. You were dressed that morning by Amara and Liriel - who did not speak about the stunt you had pulled. Surprisingly so, your venture in the woods was not spread around. You wondered if Aemond was keeping it secret for his own sake. It would be embarrassing to admit a human was able to sneak past his guards and escape the castle. It could be just as easy to sneak in as opposed to sneaking out.

You were glad he kept it secret regardless, for you wished not for the trust built between you and some elves to be broken. Revealing it to everyone would hurt not just your reputation, but Aemonds. It was, in a slight sense, relieving to have a mutual standing with the king. A draw was more like it.

A smile made its way on your face as you approached your first patient visit of the day. Lyra was sitting in bed, staring up at the vaulted ceiling that spanned the length of the hall with intricately carved stone. The chandeliers glittered with light, casting the hall in a yellow warmth.

"And how is my favourite elf?" You asked as you placed her food on the small wood table beside her bed. You snuck a bit of peach slices into the meal, as they were her favourite.

Lyra's wide and glistening eyes turned to you. Despite her obvious pain, she was still chock-full of wonder, "I have a question."

"And what is it, sweet girl?" You sat on the edge of the bed. She rolled up the sleeve of her white flowing dress. She exposed the upper portion of her bicep and revealed the inner area by her armpit. On the delicate skin were dark lines. They each moved in succession to one another, like scratches.

"May I?" You questioned with your hand reaching out and she nodded to permit you. The pads of your fingers traced the markings gently. This was not something you had noticed in the other patients, nor was it in anything you read. They were gnarly and ridged, composed of rough marks.

You brought out your notes and wrote about it. You went through the standard questions you ask all the patients each morning - how are their symptoms, has anything changed, how much sleep did they get, and a few others to gauge how bad the taint has infected them.

"I'm scared." Lyra's voice broke you from your focus. You looked up at her to see a faraway look in her eyes.

"Of what?"

Lyra then made eye contact with you and spoke plainly, "Death."

You were left unable to answer. What could be said to comfort a dying child? What possible words could be used to cover that void of fear? You put down your notebook and reached to grab both of her hands and rubbed the knuckles gently.

"I want to say you are brave - and you are - but darling I wish you did not ever have to be. The healers and I are working tirelessly for a cure, just hold on. Can you promise me that? After I will take you wherever you wish to go, our little adventure." Your smile was forced as you tried to keep your composure around her.

Lyra's face lit up at your words, "Wherever I wish?"

"Of course," You ruffled her hair gently and got up from the bed. You stayed to make sure she broke her fast and then went about the rest of your rounds.

For each patient you visited, you inspected their inner upper bicep and found the same strange markings that were on Lyra. You took note of each of the markings and asked the same questions, hoping that you could find a connection between everyone. After collecting that information, you rushed to the laboratory.

Daeron was already there as he looked through a pile of books on one of the tables. He muttered to himself - a frequent habit of his to organize his thoughts. You coughed to catch his attention and not startle him.

Daeron turned to see you, "Ah, how is the adventurer today?" He teased about your recent venture into the woods.

"You know?" You sighed loudly. Daeron laughed and picked up the book he was looking for.

"Helaena was told, so naturally, she told me." Daeron gave you a mischievous smirk. You were not entirely surprised by that. The royal siblings seemed close, especially Daeron and Helaena.

"Please, let's move on from this. I have some new findings." At those words, Daeron perked up and approached you. You handed him your notebook to read what you wrote about the markings. "This came to my attention this morning."

You waited as Daeron flipped through the few pages. Occasionally he would look up at you and then back down. You could tell he was taking it all in and searching all the previous knowledge he had.

"Curious," He muttered, "Peculiar..." Daeron handed you the journal back and paced the laboratory. One of his hands gripped his chin in thought. You watched the elf contemplate for a few moments as he went back and forth. In a quick moment, Daeron snapped his fingers. He glided across the room and reached for a dusty old book. He opened it and started to frantically flip through the pages with determination on his face.

"They almost look like..." He trailed off as the parchment pages turned. He stopped at a page and let out a hum of approval, "Like these." He placed the book on a table in front of you and double-tapped the drawings on the page. You leaned in to take what he was presenting you.

You saw similar markings, but these lines had been inflicted by a knife to the skin, not randomly appearing on them like the patients. You scanned the words and became even more confused.

"Casting marks?" You questioned.

Daeron brushed a strand of silver hair out of his face, "Blood magic. When you cast strong enough enchantments, it demands a sacrifice of your blood."

"But the marks on the patients were not carved... they appeared." Your brows furrowed.

"It is only what they looked like to me," Daeron spoke, "That is all." Both of you stood in contemplative silence. You placed your sketchings next to the book and looked back and forth. They were exact, except for the fact that one was cut into skin and the other were black lines.

A dull throbbing emerged in your head. Prior to this, you were confused, now even more so. It seemed that every time you made good headway, something came to stop it. There was almost intentionality in the changing of the taint. A change brought about by its wish to survive and destroy everything.

"More information to keep you up at night." Daeron broke the silence. You glanced towards him.

"I just wish I brought all of my supplies with me. There might be something there." You wondered about the possibility of something in your home helping. It was cluttered with items, ingredients, books, and trinkets you had collected in your years of research. While the laboratory and library here had surpassed expectations, you longed for the small room of your home. The quiet peace you got there and your ability to work for longer periods - not having to speak to people and just focus on what you needed to get done.

Daeron patted you on the back, "I'm going to see what the marks look like on the patients." He stepped back from you and approached the door to the hall. You were left to think, though mostly you just stared.

Frustration built up in you. A phrase you had gotten used to floated through your mind. One step forward, two steps back.

☾⋆⁺₊✧✧₊⁺⋆☾

The bustling hall of elves was filled with merry music and chatter. It marked another week since the last dance. In that time, the bridge between you and other elves strengthened - particularly your relationships with Helaena and Daeron. They had been rocks in your stay in the kingdom, always aiding when needed. Amara and Liriel were not relaying your talks to the king, as Daeron reassured you. After, you allowed yourself to get closer to them and spoke on more personal topics. Truly, it had been a long time since you had others to call friends.

You had yet to get close to Aegon, as he was often about on some adventure and never in the castle. However, he made it a goal to be present at all of the celebrations. He had stalked in to see you, Daeron, Amara, and Liriel at one of the tables. You wished Helaena was there, but understood her aversion to large crowds and loud noises. As Aegon approached, you saw that he carried a sack in his hands.

"Lovely ladies!" While not drunk, there was an air of aloofness to him. He noticed his brother at the table, "Ah, you as well."

Daeron rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, "Should we be worried about whatever you are carrying in that bag?"

Aegon feigned offence, "It burns me that you think lowly of me. In fact, it is good." He reached in and pulled out a brooch. It was gold and embedded with jewels to resemble a honeybee. He handed it off to Amara.

"One for you," He said with his voice pitched up slightly. Aegon pulled another one out, this time it was silver and blue in the shape of a butterfly. "One for you." He gave it to Liriel.

Aegon reached you, "And for the lovely human that pissed off my brother and gave me a great laugh," He pulled out a brooch that was made of silver. It was a beetle with their wings out. The wings were made of emeralds with the base of the bug being a large sapphire. He passed it to you and you felt the weight in your hands. Cool and surprisingly heavy for such a small object.

"And you stole these from where?" Daeron interjected.

"Not theft, brother. I won them in a gamble at some pub... uh, 'the Merry Maiden' no, that wasn't it. Uh, 'the Gilded Goblet'... no not that." Aegon's brows furrowed as he tried to recall the pub's name, but you understood he was likely too inebriated to remember where he was. "Helaena picked the dragonfly one, but I thought the others could make some fine gifts for my friends."

Liriel placed her brooch down on the table, "You simply wanted to give them to us?"

"Alright," Aegon sighed, "I was hoping one of you could make sure I reach my room tonight and not end up passed out in some room or field. I need to wake up early tomorrow." You exchanged a look with Daeron, him hiding his smile behind his goblet.

"I will," You volunteered. Aegon smiled and thanked you before wandering off - likely to the nearest keg.

"You will regret that," Amara warned you in a joking tone, "Last time I tried to get him back to his room, I had to drag him down a hall by his boot." You looked to Liriel and Daeron for confirmation, to which they nodded vehemently. You sat back in your chair and sighed before taking a swig of your drink. You were begging to wonder if that was the best decision.

Daeron got out of his chair and held his hand out to you, "Care for a dance?"

"Of course," You placed your hand in his and he escorted you to the floor. Many of the elvish dances are a lot like the ones back home, so you were glad there was not an extreme learning curve. "Have you spoken to her yet?" You remembered his confession the last time you two danced. The supposedly enchanting elf huntress he always treated consumed a large portion of his mind, yet he had been too embarrassed to far as to tell you her name.

Daeron looked around the room with a faint blush on his cheeks, "I'm working on it."

"Ah," You slowly nodded, "Yes I can see how much progress you have made." Your sarcastic tone earned you a look of funny disapproval from him.

"And what about you? Any person back home?" Daeron asked as he spun you around.

You could not hold back the laugh that slipped from your mouth. You unclasped your hand from his and covered your mouth at the sudden outburst, "No. The options available are... less than desirable." You tried to find the most gentle words to use and Daeron seemed to understand while he spun you around again. In just a short moment, the smile on Daeron's face morphed into a serious one.

You raised your brow at him as he stopped dancing and the two of you stood there. You turned to where he was looking and nothing could prepare you for what you saw. Aemond was right there, with his hands clasped behind his back and a smug look on his face. He never came to these dances, from what you heard, so why was he here now?

"Forgive me, brother," Aemond spoke to Daeron, "I shall step in." The blood in your veins turned to ice. Daeron looked at your reaction and stepped close to you.

"We must discuss a bit of research," He intervened.

Aemond hummed, "I am sure you two will have plenty of time on the morrow." He held his hand out to you and you knew there was no way to deny him - especially in front of the eyes of all the elves in the room. You placed your hand in his and were surprised at the feeling. The skin was cold and rough, his hand larger than yours. Aemond nodded to his brother before moving you away and proceeding to dance.

The feeling of him being so close reminded you of the sword he held against your throat, yet little fear came over you. He smelled of burning wood and parchment, with something akin to a medley of spices. Aemond did not speak but carefully guided you through the steps. Confusion was not a good enough word to describe your bewilderment. This was the only time you had ever seen him operate with a modicum of respect and possibly kindness.

That sentiment died the moment he spoke.

"You two needed to discuss research? Am I correct in guessing that your little adventure was for nothing?" Aemond taunted. The two of you spun before going back to the calm back-and-forth stepping. Other elves around you kept a portion of distance from the king and granted him more leeway on the dance floor.

You knew you had to remain as calm and poignant as possible, "No, your grace," You would never outright address him as king for as long as you could, "We have yet to begin testing the flowers."

"I would advise not to be disappointed when it fails, but I am sure you are used to it." Aemond's smugness always managed to dig deep. You could not help but wonder, in all the years of his life, how nobody had yet to knock some sense into him. While none of the other royal siblings had spoken about it, you surmised there had to have been parents or some guardian in their youth to raise them. His siblings were kind, why was he not?

"Then why did you save me?" Your question caused him to look at you. A glint of confusion shone in his eye. "You wish for me to fail, I could have then and there in that forest. Are you so selfish in your hate towards my kind that you would jeopardize a possible chance of saving and curing your people?"

Aemond's grip on your hand and waist tightened, though not greatly enough to cause discomfort, "I did not jeopardize anything. If you can recall, I did save you." His voice lowered in both volume and pitch.

"Then why?" You questioned again, "Why did you save me?"

"You forget easily, I already told you," Aemond reminded, "For my sister."

"For your sister?" Your tone was not convinced. Ultimately, if you looked at him closely, he looked just a tad nervous. There was an underlying feeling of anxiety in the way his eye darted around the room. He acted indifferent, but there was only so much falsity one could use before they ran out.

"You ask a mighty amount of questions." Aemond deflected.

"I wouldn't be good at what I do if I was bad at asking questions." You raised your eyebrow as a silent challenge. He turned his gaze back to you, a subtle fire in his eye. Before he could make a retort, you spoke again, "You did not answer my question."

Aemond scoffed, "Get used to disappointment."

You gave him a feigned and innocent look of confusion and kept your tone polite, "Did you not start this very conversation saying I was used to disappointment? Do you forget easily?" He did not appear to like you and disliked how you used his own words against him. The music came to an end and he pulled away from you as if burned from the contact.

He looked as though he was going to speak, but chose not to. Aemond stalked off and passed through elves that immediately parted and bowed their heads. While making a big deal of not tolerating anything, he sure did let you get away with a lot. Why must he go out of his way to make you miserable? Does he not have a myriad of tasks to tackle as king?

It was not until he disappeared from your vision that Daeron approached.

He gripped your shoulder with a worried expression, "Aemond said something horrible, didn't he?"

You gave him a reassuring tight-lipped smile, "Just the usual." Daeron sighed with disappointment and wrapped his arm around your shoulders to guide you off the dance floor and back to the table with Amara and Liriel. Daeron pulled out your chair and you sat down. When you were gone, food had been brought to the table and you settled in to relax and talk with your friends. 

☾⋆⁺₊✧✧₊⁺⋆☾

You had lost track of the hours as the night passed. Despite Aemond's attempt to spoil your night, it was significantly better than the last celebration. It was only a week ago, but you had been so new to the castle and unsure of yourself. Now, you had felt stronger after making good connections. It was incredibly fun to bond more with them.

Since elves lived such long lives, they were never short on stories to tell. Naturally, time passed quickly. Daeron had just finished speaking when you saw Aegon in the distance. He stumbled towards the grand doors that were left open, his clothing somewhat dishevelled.

"Excuse me, but I am tired and it looks like Aegon may accidentally take a tumble down a flight of stairs if he is not watched." You pushed out your chair, bowed your head goodbye to them and rushed to the prince. He just made it past the threshold when he stumbled and fell on his knees. You reached him and put one arm across the upper part of his back and the other on the front of his stomach.

"Ah," His lopsided smile greeted you, "My saviour."

"Come on, let's walk," You helped to lift him and began a wobbly trek down the halls of the castle. The two guards assigned to watch you followed closely behind.

The walk took longer than it should have, given that Aegon fell multiple times and it took great strength to get him up again. You wondered if you should ask the guards for help, but decided against it. Every time you had tried to talk to them previously had been met with absolute silence. You had to ask him for directions to his room, which took him a long time to remember.

Once you reached the door to his quarters, you resisted a loud sigh of relief. You leaned him up against the stone wall to open the door. After another few minutes of struggle, you managed to get him onto his bed. He yawned loudly and stretched out his arms.

"I am sorry you have to deal with me," Aegon mumbled.

You were caught off guard and confused by his words, "What makes you say that?"

"Helaena is so smart and Daeron has his success in healing. Aemond is the king and I, well, I am a drunk." Aegon shakily moved his hands to gesture to his body. You removed his boots and placed them at the foot of the bed.

While you were pouring water into a chalice to place on the bedside table, you thought of a response, "You do not have to be a drunk."

"But that is what I am good at." You moved to sit on the side of the bed, your feet lifting a few inches off the floor. Aegon's eyes were half-lidded.

"Gods know he won't remember this," You whispered to yourself before you raised your head to look at him, "Do you know how many of my people would kill to live as long as you? To learn and grow, to hone skills and make a difference? You have been given a gift, don't waste it." Your tone bordered on harsh, but you reeled it in. Something told you deep down that lashing out at him would only make the situation worse. There was no guarantee that come the morrow, these words would stick, but it was better than saying nothing at all.

You got off the bed and made your way to the door. Your hand gripped the wrought steel handle of the wooden door. When you opened the door and allowed the torchlight of the hallway to seep in, Aegon called out your name. You turned to him to see him on the bed still, but his face looked as though he had more clarity.

"My brother is not bad, just confused in his way and lashes out," Aegon spoke.

"What?" You questioned. Your grip on the handle tightened.

Aegon rose slightly to fluff the pillow below him with a huff, "I saw him speaking to you. It is not my place to say, but he is not what he tries desperately to convince people of."

"And what is that?" Your query was met with a beat of silence. The distant shouts of the party were long drowned out, nothing but the crackling of the hearth and buzzing of the fireflies outside occupied the room.

"Evil." His words echoed in your head.

You gave him a shaky smile, though your heart was not fully in it, "Get some rest, Aegon." With that, you left his room and closed the door. For a few moments, you stood unable to move. The family you had been exposed to since your meeting with Helaena was more complex than you could have imagined; a fine distraction you did not want to sink into and distract from your research. However, your curiosity had always been your greatest strength and weakness.