Fae x Mortal one on one (closed)

Kayan’s face twisted up yet again into a smile, head shaking as his eyes gazed out to nowhere in particular. The previous light-hearted emerald sheen of them had long been forgotten, the irises clouded over with some sort of bittersweet melancholy, and he didn’t bother hiding it. After all, behind a mask, it was hard to notice it anyway.
“Love, there’s no reason you should trust me,” he said blatantly, as if it were common knowledge. His words were only cut short by a diminutive snicker. “But… I suppose I trust you, so if that was to be reciprocated, I’d be forever graced.”
He leaned forward, stretching out his back before glancing over to Evers, then turning to face her completely. He crossed his leg behind the other, leaning his side up against the railing.
“Why don’t you like fae, anyway?” he asked, voice holding that tinge of curiosity. “Besides me, of course.”

Kayan nodded along to her words, keeping his eyes gazing out at the lights of the city. He stifled a laugh at her previous statement but simply shook his head, tapping a finger on the railing.
“There are some like me, I can reassure you of that much,” he replied, voice as honest as he had ever heard it. “A few, back in my home village. It’s just— the worst of us are who the stories are told about. Haven’t you heard that one fable before? About that fae who saved a sailor?”
He cocked his head, looking back over to Evers before continuing.
“Of course, it’s very typical, and much like a fable suggests: it ends poorly. Not for the human, though. For the fae…”
Kayan paused for a brief moment, seeming to think. His cloak waved as his wings fluttered lightly inside of it, and he raised a brow.
“You know, now that I think about it, maybe that wasn’t the best example. But you get my point, no?”

“I’m flattered,” he replied, and while his words were teasing, he couldn’t bring himself to smile.
He turned back to Evers, closing his emerald eyes for just a moment. It was a quick decision made, a quick shift of attitude when he continued.
“You know… Fae aren’t just horrible to humans,” Kayan continued, shaking his head. When he stopped, he let his eyes rest on the horizon again. “Fae are just as horrible to other Fae.”
He took a long pause of silence, his sigh almost as long.
“I’m sure you can piece it together. You’re bright, Evers.” He nodded down to her, eyes seemingly filled with more melancholy than anything else. “My family… my village… well, it wasn’t the work of humans, I can tell you that much. They hated us. Hated my family, the most. We’re part of a dying line… and they want to make sure it’s dead for good. Joana and I… we were the last ones. And it was all my fault— the whole thing. And that is why she latched on to Maximus instead of myself. She knows what I did.”
His head dipped, palms sliding off the railing like he had let go of the anvil on his chest. “My apologies for not going into trifling detail, but that is all I would be capable of saying without…”
Breaking, he finished inaudibly.

_{(I have no clue how i just fell off the face of the planet for a bit?? I’m so sorry for not getting a reply up!!)}

It took Kayan a bit to muster up enough energy to reply.
“I wish I could take your words with as much truth as you say them with.” It was a short reply, the words almost forced. “I’m not going to go down the whole ‘you don’t know me, you don’t know what I’ve done’ path, but there were certain situations in which I believe I could have done more. I try to live free of regrets, love, but I’m only human. Or— fae, I suppose. However the saying goes.”
It was a moment of contemplating before he could look back over to Evers, his mind filled with the desperation to change the subject. It was information he hadn’t told anyone, and while it may have felt good to get off his chest— especially with someone like Evers— it was not her burden to bear.
“Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I… I must be.. going soon,” he said quite suddenly, adjusting his coat for the hundredth time. It wasn’t entirely a lie, but something close. Part of it was an overwhelming urge to jump off the balcony and finally stretch his wings, and the other part was desperation to leave the conversation— the only viable excuse being business elsewhere.

Kayan, head down to blend with the crowd, silently blessed the mask on his face. The talking around drowned out Evers’s calls, thank the lord, because it took all he had not to turn around and make some kind of mistake.
He was being dramatic, and he knew that. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe it wasn’t his fault. And maybe Evers could convince him of that, but he felt like sulking. It was easier this way.
He made it out of the castle, but not before a familiar voice called from behind.
He was in an empty hallway, the only company being a few guards around the entrances. His mind had been so loud he hadn’t even noticed the lull of the party, and the shifting footsteps behind him.
It was dark, but as he turned around, he could make out that figure. Or, those figures, he supposed.
“Well, look who it is. I never thought I’d see you here again, Rea.”
The voice was clear, sharp around the edges as it pierced through the silence. The only accompaniment was her heels clicking on the marble floor, growing closer each second. Through the columns the moon shone, a play of light and shadow upon her face.
Kayan couldn’t help but plaster on that stupid smile of his.
“Queen,” he murmured, bowing as low as he could without it being noticeable. With expert hands, he slipped a button off his boot, keeping it laced in his fingers.
The guards behind her stayed where they were, eyes straight forward, locked on every move he made.
“Pleasure to see you—“
“Is it, now?” she asked, the purr in her voice prominent.
Kayan stayed silent, eyes locked on the queen’s as she finally stopped before him.
“Of course. Always,” he replied.
It was a quick glint in her eye, but Kayan noticed it nonetheless. Some kind of intense notion that he couldn’t place. Hatred, was it? No, it was too dull for hatred.
She radiated some kind of inherent urge, and he couldn’t figure it out. Her eyes were set, her body uncannily still.
He had to get out of here. Quickly.

Kayan was no stranger when it came to sleight of hand. He just.. had to pull this off. As flawlessly as he could.
The button from his boot stayed clenched in his hand, digging itself into his skin and leaving a diminutive circle indent.
His eyes were everywhere but on the woman before him, mostly taking in the guards. Kayan was okay with making enemies this time around, because he no longer carried a kingdom behind him. He was a stranger to his home, so it wouldn’t be in danger if he were to take out these two guards now. But… he had a better idea.
It wasn’t cowardly to run.
The guards had swords, to be expected. Although the one on the right had something akin to one of Kayan’s pistols. Perfect. At least that guard would notice a glint in the dark, and know what it meant.
“So… how may I help you?” As Kai spoke, to advert attention, he flicked out the button with as much force as he possibly could. It buzzed through the air, hitting some pillar behind the four and clinking to the ground.
Just as Kayan thought, the guards were so high-strung with protecting the Queen that they wheeled around, noticed the metal sparkling in the moonlight, and grabbed the woman to take cover.
“Bullets!” the one who had the pistol shouted, but by that time, Kayan was already sprinting down the corridor.
“Idiot! That’s not a bullet! It’s a.. metal.. button?” the other growled, picking himself up off the floor. The Queen stayed silent as the men started to bicker, simply listening after the fae’s retreating footsteps.
“I didn’t even hear a shot!”
“S-Sorry… I saw the metal, and I thought—“
“I know, I know!—“
“Guards.” The Queen immediately silenced them both.
“Do you want us to go after him?” one asked.
She took a moment to consider, but shook her head.
“No. Knowing Kayan, he’s here for something. And based on the way he reacted, he hasn’t found it yet. He won’t be leaving here anytime soon…. make sure of that.”
The guards both nodded in unison.

Meanwhile, Kayan kept up his pace— yet just as he made it to the exit, he took a sharp detour. If Evers was still here, he needed to grab her and get the hell out. He didn’t know… why. It was just a gut feeling, that something was going to go horribly wrong for him tonight.
“E-Ever—,” he shouted, but his voice dimmed as he bust into the ballroom. Everyone else had been quiet, awaiting the queen’s arrival. If Kai hadn’t been so set on finding Evers, he might have been embarrassed. From the top of the stairs, he leaned over the balcony, looking for a familiar face in the crowd.

Kayan’s smile grew as he locked eyes with Evers, pure relief flooding his expression. There may have been something else there, too. Some kind of playful, sheepish breathy laugh that had “help, I made a mistake” written all over it.
“Evers!” he practically yelled, nearly falling down the stairs. “Where’s your friend— Tory, right? We gotta… skip town, if you know what I mean. The Queen’s coming, but there might be a slight delay.”
He was breathing a little rougher but nothing he couldn’t hide— and although his words were frantic, he could mask them well enough. It wasn’t long before he took Evers by the arm, practically dragging her through the crowd.
“So, I may have done something slightly questionable,” he murmured, leaning down so he could whisper. “I completely understand if you’d like to be left out of this. In that case, I can just kind of… leave by myself. They wouldn’t know you’re affiliated with me, and you’d be completely innocent. But… I do know how much you seemed to despise the woman. You and Tory can skip with me, make another enemy, or stay and claim your innocence.”
He kept the words mostly vague, but anyone with common intuition could probably deduce what he was talking about. Especially as two familiar guards walked in from above, taking their stations as a special someone strode through.
All around them, people silenced. Silenced and stopped moving, so Kayan had to do the same to lesson the attention they inevitably drew.
Wait… they weren’t chasing him? He could swear the guards recognized him. Did the Queen order them not to pursue? That didn’t seem like her style, whatsoever.
Regardless, Kayan just had to stay put for now, and see how things played out. All while forgetting he was holding onto Evers, perhaps a little too tightly.