Chapter Text
Normally, the christening ceremony of the second prince of the royal family would be a relatively quiet affair.
However, this was the kingdom of Allardice - a land rife with magic and fae; of monsters and fables and other such things that went bump in the night. And when one was a mere human in the face of such auspicious potential allies and threats, one should always take the proper care not to anger those with the ability to curse your entire familial line to ruin.
So, this usually quiet affair was instead a lively full swing party of nobles and those few magical creatures who chose to attend a silly little human’s first birthday for the chance to wheel and deal with the various attendendees - and the royal family, of course.
The usual gifts were showered upon the King and Queen; gifts of treasure, of goods, of services, of treaties and goodwill.
Then the fae stepped forward, clad in their flowing gold gossamer garb beyond the fabrication of man. With smiles that could promise vast wealth or vast torment depending on their moods, the three approached the royal bassinet and cooed over the baby. Tendrils of magic slid from their fingertips and the baby giggled and grasped at the beads of translucent color.
One with perfectly done up long black hair and feminine beauty beyond human comprehension turned to the King and Queen with a slight bow.
“I, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine of the Seelie court of Fontaine, give to this babe the gift of effortless handsomeness. May his face be the envy of the kingdom. Our second gift; a honeyed voice. May his words be like velvet to all who hear him. For the third and final gift, we grant him a hungry mind, intelligent and thirsty for learning. May he devour knowledge in all its forms.”
The announcement was met with polite applause from the onlookers and the grateful bowed heads of the King and Queen; any gift of the fae should be shown proper respect lest they purposefully twist their words into a lifelong detriment. And this was all following on the coattails of the first prince’s own gifts from the court of Fontaine less than two years previous. Their benevolence was unseasonably generous.
Abruptly, the jovial tone of the royal court went silent as the flames of every candle and torch snuffed out at once.
Even the trio of fae looked around with some apprehension visible on their features.
After a moment of allowing the confused silence to blanket the gathered nobles, a plume of dark smoke engulfed the area in the center of the court, causing several to scramble backwards. The smoke slowly cleared to reveal the imposing form of The Baron, garbed in similar gossamer robes as the fae of the Fontaine court, however his were nearly black with hints of purple and lined with ruffled raven’s feathers. An imposing twisted staff crowned with a dark jewel was clutched in his gloved hand. He turned his horned head, glaring imperiously at all of the other guests before settling his gaze on the royal couple.
Gasps echoed through the cavernous room.
Despite his seemingly lowly title, The Baron was a fae beyond the Seelie or Unseelie courts. Powerful, yet preferred his hermitage - he lived in solitude on the outskirts of the kingdom, generally left unbothered by the daily goings on of human and fae courts alike.
Generally.
“Oh, don’t mind me,” his falsely light tone was belied by the growl to his accented words and the storm brewing behind brown eyes, “My invitation seems to have been lost in the post.”