Chapter Text
It sounded like all hell was breaking loose, with the hammering of running feet and yelling voices echoing through the whole castle as apparently every soul reacted to something Ritsu didn’t even know about.
She’s early…?
“What do you mea - hey!” He found himself talking to thin air as Teruki turned and marched away on the same mission everyone else was on. “Hey!” he shouted again after him, getting up quickly and tripping on the edge of the tub. “Where are you going? What’s happening? Who is early?!” But no, he was gone.
“Shit…” Ritsu, muttered to himself, wet and completely naked, standing there dripping on the cobblestones. He still had his pants and boots, but… he turned and looked at Mr Reigen’s washing and cringed. Somehow today was worse than yesterday.
Despite getting dressed as quickly as he could, Teruki was long gone by the time he ran out from behind the carriage, wearing the least obnoxious wet shirt Mr Reigen had left hanging up to dry. Luckily there were plenty of other fae around, and all of them running in the same direction - and all of them carrying weapons. Some carried typically weapons, swords, spears, bows. Others were a little less conventional. Frypans, hammers, in one case a rather large book. Regardless, every fae, no matter their size, had armed themselves to the teeth with whatever they had available.
Ritsu hesitated. If they really were under attack, then going towards the attackers surely wasn’t the best decision. This wasn’t his castle to protect, not that he had anything to protect it with. He should run and hide. He could even escape in the ruckus, Teruki would be too busy to notice he was gone…
This wasn’t his fight, and he didn’t owe them anything…
He turned, focused on how best to take advantage of the distraction, and ran into what felt like a solid stone wall. He bounced off with a surprised yelp, and looked up to see the wall was wearing a leather apron, and was thrusting a shovel into his hands, dung still clinging to the edges.
“Wrong way, boy,” said the wall, its voice like gravel over flint as it reached out and spun Ritsu around in a single motion, followed by a small shove to the back that almost laid him flat. The wall of a creature herded him forward despite his protests until they joined the crowd, and then Ritsu was swept up in the tide, a never ending river of creatures and a mountain at his back.
He had a choice of going with the flow or being trampled, so he did his best to keep his feet under him as he heard the shouts start to weave together into a multi-cry chant, a deep thrum that seemed to rattle inside his rib cage, wordless in its scale.
They passed through a tunnel, a corridor, and came out into a wide open space to be joined by other rivers, becoming a heaving sea of bodies, weapons cresting waves with the crash of chants. Ritsu felt like he just might drown and be crushed under the weight of them when he spotted blonde hair, higher on a dais of stone.
He swum towards it, diagonally to cut through the flow, ducking under arms, sliding through narrow gaps until he was able to climb up the steps of the dais, above the crowd, and finally he was able to breathe again as he clung to the stone beneath him like it was his only life line.
He looked around at the masses, an overwhelming number that must be every living thing within the castle walls. And up on the dais stood Teruki, Tsuyoshi, a couple other fae, above it all. Teruki wasn’t facing his way.
Peaking over the edge of the dais he tried to see what exactly had gotten the castle into such an uproar, what had everyone up in arms. And there they were, an armed group of fae, packed together and heavily surrounded. How did they get inside, and what did they want? It was hard to see what kind of threat they could be, so outnumbered were they, but there was obviously something going on.
Teruki raised an arm, fist clenched, and a hush feel over the whole square, so complete that Ritsu could hear the pennants of the enemy fae snapping in the wind. A red fox sat on a background of gold. But then something broke the silence, coming from the enemy.
“- ve! Move, move, move. Out of my way!”
Ritsu crept a little higher, craning his head to see what was happening. A disturbance was rippling through the enemy’s ranks as fae jumped out of the way, parting for -
And suddenly a short redhead had pushed her way through them, shoving the other fae aside and striding to the front to stand boldly with her arms held wide.
“Teruki!”
“Shou,” Teruki replied, voice a strange combination of annoyance and wariness. “You’re early.”
“I like being early.”
“Last time you were three months late.”
She shrugged, her face clearly expressing her disinterest in keeping time. “So I like keeping you on your toes more.” Ritsu thought he saw Teruki’s ears twitch in response. “Anyway, where’s my welcome?”
“Is this not enough?” Teruki said, holding out his arms to the crowd that immediately bellowed a response, feet stomping on ground and swords thumped on shields, it was deafening and enough to make the dais tremble. The red-head didn’t even hesitate as she climbed the steps, a lazy smile on her face as she reached Teruki.
“Not even close. I hope you’ve been stockpiling the wine, I need a drink after the trip. Who’s the drowned rat?”
Ritsu suddenly found his eyes locking with icy blue ones that might have well been a frozen lake with the way it made it feel like his lungs had locked up.
“Who?” Teruki said, turning, and then looking down at Ritsu, obviously surprised to see him there. He wasn’t just pinned under Teruki’s and the redhead’s stares, but also every single other fae in the whole square. Ritsu had never wanted for the earth to open up and devour him as badly as he did that very second.
He took one step backwards, but there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, he was well and truly vulnerable and exposed up here and there was no clear way out of it. “Ummm…” he said, voice somehow echoing over the ocean of faces.
“A servant,” said Teruki. “Who shouldn’t be up here.” His voice was rather flat, but his face… his face made a shiver run down Ritsu’s spine, and a spark of anger flare in his heart.
He was just standing here, he wanted to shout, he wasn’t doing anything wrong. And if Teruki hadn’t just left him then he wouldn’t even be in this situation! But the words weren’t quite making their way past his gritted teeth.
“Really?” said the red-head, swinging around Teruki and approaching Ritsu. She crouched down, but only a little, until they were eye to eye. Ritsu flinched. She didn’t blink. “You smell like blood.”
“Okay, okay,” said Teruki as he grabbed the back of Ritsu’s shirt and lifted him up and away from Shou, leaving him dangling over the edge of the dais. “I thought you said you were thirsty?”
“And hungry,” replied Shou, still looking far too intently at Ritsu.
Teruki frowned, but then turned to Ritsu. “Why are you wet?”
Ritsu blinked. “You’re joking, right?”
“Feisty, isn’t he?” Shou said with a chuckle, reaching up and poking Ritsu’s nose. Ritsu suddenly felt like a toy dangled above a kitten. Or maybe a chunk of meat over shark infested waters.
Teruki grunted and held Ritsu a little further away as he turned to address with crowd. “Let the preparation begin!” he bellowed, to be answered by a cheer of celebration. Suddenly the tension in the crowd dissipated, hostility transforming into joy as both Teruki’s and Shou’s forces melted into each other and started moving back into the castle proper.
“Shall we?” Teruki said, bowing his head very slightly towards the stairs. In the same motion, he let Ritsu down and stepped in front of him, hiding him from view like an embarrassment. Shou seemed to forget Ritsu as soon as he was out of sight, beginning to happily chatter away about the favourite types of meats she would like the devour as Teruki led her down the stairs.
Ritsu was left standing on the dais feeling slightly stunned, and mostly confused, especially when Tsuyoshi gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder as he passed by. Had he done something that wrong?
The square emptied faster than it had filled, excited chatter fading as the fae went to prepare for whatever they were meant to be preparing for, leaving Ritsu alone. He stood there, brain fuzzy from the whole scenario. Shaking his head, he determined to forget about it, and went to find Mr Reigen. Hopefully he’d have some idea of what was going on.
He found him back at his carriage, still dressed in his robe and smoking on his pipe as if nothing had happened. He looked up as Ritsu approached. “Oh ho, here comes the drowned rat,” he said, smiling through the purple tinted haze.
“… You were there?”
“Everyone was there.” He exhaled deeply. “There wasn’t a lot of choice when they get this worked up.”
“Worked up over what exactly? I thought we were under attack or something?” Ritsu asked, drawing closer to Mr Reigen despite the smell. He might not like Mr Reigen, at least not like how his brother used to, but he felt relief in actually having someone to talk to.
“This would be the infamous ‘Tournament’,” Mr Reigen replied.
“Tournament?” Ritsu asked, leaning against the wall of the carriage, feeling tired despite not having worked that day.
“It’s an annual occurrence, though I’ve only been in the castle for two of them. Two of the fae courts come together for a celebration for seven days and seven nights and attempt to beat each other bloody.”
“So they fight each other? Why?”
“Since when have the fae needed an excuse to draw blood?” Mr Reigen said with a chuckle. “It’s a competition to see which court is stronger, it has something to do with a war they fought in long ago.”
Ritsu let out a deep breath. So not an attack, just a tournament. He’d never seen one himself, but he’s heard of them happening in the bigger cities, for entertainment. In this case maybe the fae and humans weren’t so different after all.
“What about the one with red hair?” he asked, thinking back and trying to remember more details now that the shock had worn off.
“Shou? Another fae lord. As far as I can discern, her and Teruki go way back, though I wouldn’t call them friends.”
“Really? I couldn’t tell,” Ritsu said with a snort.
“Yeah? Wait until you see them actually have a go at each other during the tournament. Which you should be able to do on the seventh day. Until then everyone else gets a chance and it’s basically an endless party, food, drink and dancing. They need to sleep for a month to get over it.”
“It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, I don’t understand why they had to get up in arms about it. Literally.”
Mr Reigen shrugged. “I can’t tell you much about that, if you want the history, you are going to have to ask a fae. Speaking of which, you should get ready.” He held out a bundle of clothes to Ritsu, thankfully in plain colours.
“Ready? Ready for what?” Ritsu asked, holding up the shirt to make sure there weren’t any nasty surprises, like bows.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.” Mr Reigen’s grin made Ritsu feel like he didn’t want to be surprised at all.
He spent some time in Mr Reigen’s carriage getting dressed again in blissfully dry clothes, warming up by the small stove until he could feel his finger tips again. He hadn’t realised how cold his skin had gotten, looking a little blueish even through his tan.
While the clothes were an easy fix, his hair was less so. Without a brush or a comb there was only so much he could do with it as it dried, sticking up all ways to the wind. Maybe he should cut it? It would be easier to maintain if he did, though it made him feel weirdly homesick to contemplate it.
It’s not like he cared about looking nice, but he already stood out so much as one of the few humans. It would be better if he could blend in a little, just be a normal servant that didn’t draw people’s eyes. That was the only way he was going to get some time to himself, to work out a plan that actually had a chance at success.
With a wistful sigh of defeat he exited the carriage to find Mr Reigen waiting for him, finally dressed again. He must have found himself a new outfit as well, though it was a little…
“Did you pick that?” Ritsu asked, looking dubiously at the wild array of colours and silks. Mr Reigen had made it sound like it was the fae that had caused his chaotic wardrobe, but maybe it really was closer to his tastes than he had let on.
“I sure did. For tonight, I have a job.” He took off his hat with a flourish, a ridiculous feather flopping around with it.
“A job? Doing what?” He couldn’t imagine him doing anything particularly useful in that outfit.
“That would be a part of the surprise, so I can’t tell you,” he said, putting the hat back on his head.
“What is with the secrecy?” Ritsu said, pulling a face. Being here was annoying enough without people withholding information from him left, right and centre.
“Lighten up, kid,” Mr Reigen laughed. “Tonight, you will get to see one of the better aspects of being here.” He winked at Ritsu before striding away, leading them out of the courtyard as the light faded from the sky.
As they walked, Ritsu started to pick up the sound of instruments in the air. Not harmonious yet in their voices, they were being tried and tested, odd notes played at random as they were prepared. He also began to smell food, the tantalising scents hanging in the cold air like markers to lead them the right way. There was a feeling in the castle, like the way the air tingled and smelt just before a lightening storm, but here the sky was crystal clear, the first stars peaking out shyly at the world below.
The fae they passed were excited, glowing, dressed well with twigs of fall foliage in their hair and horns and beards. The little ones flitted about, chattering excitedly in their own way, dropping acorns on unsuspecting fae below them. It felt disorientating compared to how they were before in their warlike state. Ritsu wasn’t sure he could get over how their moods swung.
They rounded a corner and the reason for the fae’s excitement became clear. The whole square had been transformed! There were long tables all along the outer edges, ladened with mountains of food, whole pigs, birds roasted to perfection, root vegetables and apples, bread and pies. Whole casks of wine and ale were being cracked open, cups dipped directly in and handed out amongst those that were gathering early.
All the buildings around the square were decorated with gold, green, red, whole branches still flushed with their autumn colours. The main hall’s doors were flung wide open, light pooling out and more food made its way down the stairs. There was already laughter, chatter, the beginnings of a celebration on a scale that dwarfed the previous feast.
And in the centre of it all was a bonfire, bigger and taller than any Ritsu had ever seen. It hadn’t been lit yet, and fae where still adding to the fuel, even the little ones were adding their own twigs to the top. When it was set ablaze it would truly be an inferno. Ritsu felt his eyes widen as he stared.
“The fae,” Mr Reigen said, clapping Ritsu on the shoulder, “know how to throw a party. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go do my own preparation.”
“What, wait-“ Ritsu started to say, still feeling stunned, but Mr Reigen was already ducking away.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he called back cheerfully before disappearing into the crowd.
“I should do the complete opposite of what you would do…” Ritsu muttered to himself. It wasn’t the same if Mr Reigen couldn’t hear him. He looked around, suddenly feeling uneasy being by himself since everyone else seemed to be in groups. He told himself it was because he didn’t want to be conspicuous. After all, this event was surely a good distraction so he could do his own investigation. Maybe he could even get close to the West Win-
Grooooooooooooooooowl
… Maybe after some dinner. This thing looked like it was going to go on until the morning, so there was no harm in making sure he had the energy to look around. Yes, exactly. He just needed a small bite and he’ll be able to go on his way.
Cautiously approaching one of the tables, he tried not to draw any attention as he took a plate and surveyed the options. Immediately his mouth was watering. Everything smelt so good, and he felt like he hadn’t eaten in forever. He put a couple slices of cooked pork on his plate, and then a couple more. He added vegetables, a bread roll or two, a slice of pie of some sort of berry that he didn’t know but sure looked good. Soon he was struggling to hold his plate up with one hand. That was okay he supposed… he could always come back for seconds. He grabbed a mug as he passed some of the barrels and tried to make his way to a quieter corner to eat his spoils.
“Hello again.”
The voice next to him made him jump, causing him to lose half his ale, though the food remained safe. He swung around - and looked down.
“Whoops, that was my fault. Didn’t mean to scare you,” the redhead said with a grin that clearly said she had intended just that.
“Ummm…” was all Ritsu could manage, taking a step backwards. He wasn’t sure what else to say.
“Oh don’t mind me! You were going to sit down to eat, right?” she said, staring Ritsu down with her cold blue eyes. Ritsu had never been so intimidated by someone so short.
“I… guess?” replied Ritsu, looking at his food, and then at her. She just continued to stare at him, a smile across her face. “Well then…”
He took a couple steps, and she took a couple steps to follow him.
“Did you… want something from me?” he asked, pausing again to look at her. She was still smiling but it was slowly making Ritsu feel more stressed.
“Nope!” she said, sharp teeth a bright white.
“… Okay…” he started to walk away again, but he could hear her following him. He felt a drop of sweat trickle down his neck despite the cool weather. He found a quieter area with a table and benches in a corner, which would have been just perfect - if he hadn’t suddenly found himself with a companion sitting directly across from him, pointed little chin sitting atop her steepled fingers.
He went to take a bite, but was finding it hard to perform under such conditions. “Did you want some…?” he asked, not sure what else he could to to make her go away.
“Sure!” She grabbed a piece of the pork and tore into it, giving Ritsu some bad visual images of sharp teeth and soft flesh.
“Ummm, mi’lady -“
“Mi’lord,” she interrupted.
“What?” Ritsu asked in confusion.
“Lord. I’m a fae lord. If you are going to use silly titles, use the right ones. Though,” she smiled as she licked her fingers clean, “I’d much prefer if you use my name. You know it, right?”
“Shou…” he said slowly, feeling like he was going to get in trouble for saying it out loud.
“Exactly! And your name?”
He started to respond, automatically, but then clamped his mouth shut, heart hammering in his chest. This was a trap. He remembered. He remembered the stories. You should never tell a fae your name, cause then they would hold power over you forever. He didn’t need to be in debt to another fae, especially not this one.
“Shigeo,” he said, on reflex. Her eyes narrowed, but she soon smiled again.
“It’s interesting to meet you, Shigeo,” she said. Ritsu was pretty sure that wasn’t a greeting. “I’m sure we’ll get along great. Don’t you think so, Teruki?”
Her stare shifted upwards, and Ritsu immediately jumped when he turned to find Teruki looming over him. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was busy looking down at Shou. “I think I’d like to know why you are harassing my servants?” he said. There was annoyance in his voice, but somehow it seemed mostly edged in exasperation. Ritsu could understand why, he got the feeling that intimidation would have next to no impact on Shou.
“I just said that he was interesting. I haven’t seen a human down here in ages,” she said with a shrug.
“If you want a human, go find your own,” Teruki growled. Ritsu took a sip of ale and kept his mouth shut. He sure loved being treated like an object.
“If you accept my offer I won’t have to, I can just share yours,” she rationalised, palms open in persuasion.
“I’ve already said no,” Teruki sighed, sitting down next to Ritsu on the bench, sounding tired. It had only been a couple hours since Shou arrived, Ritsu could only imagine what he’d be like after a week.
“Oh come on! Getting married is the perfect plan!”
Ritsu choked on his ale.
“It’s not a plan, it’s insanity.”
“Your court, my court, we join them together and we could easily take over everything from shore to shore! How do you not understand the potential?”
Ritsu shifted uneasily. He felt like he was listening to a private conversation that he had no desire to hear. Would they notice if he left? Maybe if they got into an actual argument they would forget he existed and he would be able to slink off.
Teruki rubbed a hand over his face, like they’d had this discussion before. “If I was going to rule, I would be standing at the top alone, I can assure you.”
“But you know you stand no chance alone!”
“Then I guess neither of us will rule.”
“Ugh, you are so stubborn,” Shou said, throwing her hands up. “You’ve never been able to see sense even when it’s right in front of you.”
“If you being a bride is sense, then I am happy to be mad.”
“And rude,” she said with a sniff, nose in the air. Her insulted attitude only lasted a second. “Fine, how about a wager?” She leant forward eagerly over the table, nabbing some more of Ritsu’s pork.
Teruki snorted and rolled his eyes. “No.”
“If I win the tournament,” she continued, completely ignoring him, “then you will have to give up and marry me, we’ll join our courts and conquer the realm.” She seemed very pleased with the idea, a small dreamy smile passing over her face.
“No,” said Teruki again.
“And if you win…”
“And what? I get to not marry you? I already that that honour.”
“I can give you a prize.”
“You have nothing I want.” Teruki took Ritsu’s ale from him and started to drink.
“Hey…” Ritsu said, but not loudly enough to draw attention to himself. Oh well, Teruki probably needed it more than he did. Maybe now was the time to sneak away.
“Hmmm, I wonder, I wonder,” Shou said, rubbing her chin, clearly thinking hard. Or pretending to think hard. Ritsu knew a trap when he saw one. “Maybe something like… Caladbolg, perhaps?”
Ritsu had noticed that Teruki was a master of controlling his expressions, and so when his eyes widened Ritsu suddenly started to pay attention to the discussion. Teruki quickly masked his thinking again, but it was too late. Shou had a pleased smile, like a cat that had caught it’s prey.
“And how would you have that?” Teruki asked, voice bored and low. It sent a chill through Ritsu’s whole body.
“Your family isn’t the only one with connections,” she said, inspecting her nails.
Teruki was silent for a moment, but Ritsu felt like his thoughts where racing. He didn’t even know what Cala-whatever was, but it was obviously important. It was something Teruki desperately wanted.
“If you have it, why don’t you use it,” he said, still playing to disinterest, probably less successful than he would like to be.
“Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to like my blood. I’m sure your’s will be more successful.”
“So I’m meant to wager for something you can’t even use? Then it’s worthless to you.”
“It’s not a matter of whether I can use it, it’s a matter if you can use it,” she purred. Ritsu could see the moment when Teruki gave in. “Do we have a deal?”
“Yes,” Teruki said, glare dark and mouth set. It said a lot about Shou that her reaction was to break into a grin.
“Perfect!” she cried, snatching up Ritsu’s knife and slicing her palm. It wasn’t like he’d been using it to eat but he still pulled a face about it anyway. She held out her hand, and Ritsu saw that her blood was black as ink, dripping from the open cut. He hadn’t been imagining things after all.
Teruki pulled out his own knife - Ritsu wondered if it was the same one he’d used on the first night they had met - and cut his own hand, before reaching out and encasing Shou’s smaller one.
Nothing happened that Ritsu could see or hear or smell, but he felt it. It was a tremor in something other than the air. It only lasted a second, and then they both let go as if they were holding something distasteful.
It was all very dramatic, but not really any of Ritsu’s concern, he thought, as he reclaimed his ale. Maybe if he was lucky they would both kill each other in battle and he’d be free. Wouldn’t that be nice.
“I look forward to seeing you on the grounds,” Shou said with a smile, licking a drop of blood from her wrist. Teruki didn’t reply as he wiped his own hand on his cloak.
“Oh! And once I win, I want this one to wait on me. There will be a lot to prepare for the wedding.”
It took Ritsu a moment to realise she was pointing at him.
“Wait, what?”