Chapter Text
None of them woke up until well into the next day, and in fact it was another good couple of days before they felt they had returned to a normal routine. As expected, the rumors had flown- they heard everything from the official royal announcement to the craziest of the untrue from the neighbors in the week following the event. True to form, however, Adrian had set up ways to discourage people from bothering the three at their house; mostly they got asked questions when they went out and talked to those who already knew them.
Even Colfax, to his surprise, faced a question or two from the neighbors, though they didn't push too much. He hadn't officially met most of them yet, but they were endlessly curious about his role in the events that supposedly transpired. After the nosy woman from down the road asked him how he'd managed to shatter half the winter court, he decided to keep to himself inside for a while. That rumor was just too ridiculous.
The festival that was cut short had just a few events left once the confusion settled. In a few short days, those who had been promised a chance to showcase their routines finally got them, and the city fell into its normal routine, more or less.
A little more than a week after their exhausted return from the winter court, a knock came at the door of Sawyer's house. Colfax, already sitting with Charlie on the table as they considered lunch for the day, looked over his shoulder with a slight frown.
They weren't expecting anybody. In fact, most visitors had thankfully been deterred, and even the crows had given them some space. "If it's Myrtle, I still won't make her a de-aging potion."
Sawyer chuckled as he stood up to answer the door. “Colfax, I’m pretty sure you could give Myrtle sparkling water and she’d thank you.” Their elderly neighbor wasn’t known for being acute, much less about magic. “She still thinks that the spices I give her have psychic properties, no matter how many times I tell her.”
He opened the door, a smile at the ready for whatever nosy individual managed to wind up at their doorstep, and froze in surprise. “Oh,” he said, not having expected this.
Adrian stood in front of the house, wearing far more casual clothes than he'd been able to wear in a while. He'd even managed to convince everyone that he only needed one guard with him, and the chosen protector opted to post herself next to the door once it opened and confirmed they had the right address.
Adrian grinned with both relief and plain happiness to see his friend doing well. "Sawyer! I hope it isn't a bad time," he greeted, unsure of what else people generally said when visiting friends. He'd never had a chance to do it before.
Sawyer beamed back at him. “Adrian! Hi! No it’s a great time.” He was still so surprised to see the prince out of the castle- and he wasn’t the only one. Behind him Charlie whipped his head towards the door, absolute shock on his face. They hadn’t expected visitors, much less Prince Adrian. Sawyer opened the door wider and nodded his head towards the living area beyond. “Come on in!”
Adrian's smile was practically giddy as he entered the house. So often, the places he visited were thoroughly checked over for safety and propriety and such before he ever arrived. Since he would certainly never have allowed someone to bother his friends that way, he had managed to truly surprise them. He only took a few steps before finding the small pair on the table, glad to see that he wouldn't be encroaching on their space; it was their home after all.
"Hello, Charlie, Colfax. How are you feeling?"
Colfax wasn't planning to show any more decorum for the prince than he usually did, though he was quite surprised to see him there. He didn’t recall ever seeing Adrian in casual clothes. "Can't complain, at least at the moment."
Charlie stood and gave Adrian a nod, tucking his hands behind his back to hide the nervous twining of his fingers. He really wished they’d known the prince was coming earlier- nothing was cleaned, or prepared, or anything really. He knew Adrian likely didn’t care but all the same. “Feeling well, thank you,” he replied. “We didn’t expect you! I apologize for the state of the house…” He offered the prince a sheepish smile.
After pulling out a chair for Adrian, Sawyer took a seat at the other end of the table, snorting in amusement. “The house is fine,” he muttered teasingly to Charlie. He’d even done the dishes recently; it wasn’t a total disaster zone.
"It's quite nice," Adrian agreed, mostly for Charlie's benefit. As he sat, he offered the leprechaun an encouraging smile. "I've been meaning to visit for quite some time, and well, today I finally decided to make the trip. It took some convincing, though."
Colfax smirked faintly, recognizing Adrian's rarely indulged tendency to ramble. "You didn't sneak away, did you? I don't think we want to be arrested for kidnapping."
Adrian sighed in a put-upon way, though with his pale skin it was all too easy to see the slight blush there. "I would never let something like that happen," he defended. "And no, I did not sneak out."
Sawyer grinned at that. “Well either way, we’re glad you made it,” he said, his tone slightly joking to fit the ongoing banter. “And I noticed you managed to leave without the entire castle following, way to go.” Given Adrian’s life – and those hell bent on managing it – that was quite a feat.
“I’m sure everybody has been on high alert since the entire Winter Court… thing,” Charlie agreed, waving his hand vaguely to sum up their recent ordeal. “How has everything gone with that? I hope you haven’t been under too much pressure.” The leprechaun looked up at Adrian earnestly, genuinely concerned about him.
Adrian shook his head, quick to reassure. "Not much trouble after the first round of rumors was quashed. Though I did receive a missive from a country on the other end of the continent wondering whether the 'marriage' would affect standing trade agreements. I don't think I've ever sent an official response so fast in my life."
That elicited a snort of amusement from Sawyer. “Man, they gotta do their research better out there,” he commented jocularly, giving Adrian a grin. “They can’t just believe everything they hear.” Especially not when it affected “standing trade agreements”. Adrian hadn’t even met the Unseelie Queen before the incident the other week.
“Well, I’m glad it hasn’t been too much of a bother,” Charlie decided firmly. More work was the last thing Adrian needed. “Speaking of which, thank you for your efforts to have us remain unbothered as well. We really appreciate it.” He gave Adrian a grateful smile.
Adrian nodded. "Oh, of course. I don't put my foot down often, but I told them that if there were to be any official business here, I would be the one to conduct it. And since I've been too busy, well."
Colfax rolled his eyes. "Throwing your power around, prince?"
"Not half as much as you, wizard," Adrian countered. "Your rumor mill was turning before you even went missing, what with that contest performance."
Sawyer snickered, enjoying the speed at which Adrian slung the banter right back at Colfax, but Charlie just rolled his eyes. “Good lord, it sure has been going,” the leprechaun agreed. “I must have had twenty people in my classes asking if I knew Colfax.” They’d phrased it differently of course – most referred to him as “that mad talented little wizard” – but Charlie’s answer was the same either way.
“Yeah, he’s gotten real popular with the neighbors,” Sawyer added, giving Colfax a teasing wink.
Colfax closed his eyes, and though his expression didn't change much, his exasperation all but rolled off of him. It was much easier for him to get some work done before the neighbors all caught on to what he did. "Half want potions of something or other," he griped. "I don't even specialize in potions."
"The nerve," Adrian joked, a slight smile on his face. He addressed Sawyer next, though, briefly scanning for any remaining scratches from his fight. "You're, ah, recovering well? No side effects from the injuries in winter, right?"
“Not that I’ve noticed,” Sawyer glibly replied. He smiled and spread his arms out slightly- the scratches he had received were mostly healed, and those that were still in the process were closed and pale with new skin. “It takes more than a few crystals to bring me down.”
“Thank the gods for that,” muttered Charlie. He still didn’t understand how Sawyer could be so flippant about it all. Addressing Adrian at a more normal volume he added, “I’ve been keeping tabs on Sawyer’s magical abilities as well, everything seems to have remained the same.”
Adrian sighed with relief. It seemed like the fae would have caused something by now, if they planned to or if they could. Sawyer hadn't left enough blood in the court for it to be a bother, and for that Adrian was grateful. "Good. We haven't received much news from the court, so I imagine the Queen is laying low for now. Gave me time to handle what was left of the festival. I think some of the staff might need sabbaticals after all of that."
Remembering the beleaguered attendant that had checked him in for the wizardry contest, Colfax smirked. "Event organizing. I'd rather be kidnapped again."
"I think some of them might have preferred that as well," Charlie quipped, remembering how very tired the attendant for the magical creature contest had seemed. He glanced up at Adrian. "Everything's finally settled, then? The contests have all been run to completion?" He'd heard rumors galore across campus, given that the university grounds were still being used sporadically for the ongoing event, but he knew nothing concrete.
"Some of the wizards waiting would have demanded it," Colfax mused. Spending time in the backstage areas for the contest had been an exercise in willpower, as far as he was concerned. The other wizards had had no ability to resist talking down to him.
Adrian smiled tersely. "Oh, how'd you guess?" he joked. Then he sat up straighter and reached into his jacket. "We did hold the rest of the contests and events as promised. I actually do have some official business while I'm here."
He had two envelopes in his hand, and he held the first out to Sawyer. "Sawyer, you placed ninth of thirty two despite missing the obstacle course portion of your contest entirely. Congratulations!"
Sawyer’s eyes lit up and he took the envelope with happy surprise, though the caveat was news to him. “Aw man, there was an obstacle course portion?” he asked, glancing over at Adrian. “That would have been so much fun!” Too bad he’d been fighting a fae queen instead.
“I’m surprised you ranked at all!” Charlie exclaimed. He looked up at Sawyer in utter bafflement. “Did you even get to compete?”
“Well…” Sawyer scratched the back of his head and frowned thoughtfully, trying to remember. “Not… really… but I do think when I made my big tornado I was on the contest field.” He grinned and shrugged, ready to take this unexpected success regardless. “Guess it counted.”
The fact that Sawyer had entered the contest at all was news to Colfax, who eyed the envelope in Sawyer's hand critically. "A tornado in the middle of the contest field?" he asked skeptically. "And they weren't upset?"
Adrian snickered. "Well, it was certainly a grand display, and it didn't even blow away their papers or any of the other things set up. I guess they gave points for control."
Colfax looked like he was ready to say something snarky, but Adrian headed him off by holding up the second envelope. "I have your results as well," he said shrewdly.
Colfax glanced at the envelope and inclined his head. "And my attention," he said, almost sounding exasperated.
Adrian grinned, knowing that look for what it was. Colfax had likely had this on his mind ever since he got back from the winter court and remembered how the day had begun. He'd been building up his walls ever since, just in case he didn't do well. After all his hard work, he didn't want the results to chip away at his well-earned pride.
Of course, Adrian had to draw out his answer, when faced with that cool expression. "Colfax, you earned the distinction in the category of Enchanting for your water animal spell, and you also earned enough points across the board to place first in this year's wizardry contest. The judges were all very impressed. Congratulations!"
Everybody looked to Colfax with happy surprise, and Charlie even threw his arms around the relatively tall wizard in a delighted hug. "Oh Colfax, congratulations!" the leprechaun gushed, stepping back to beam up at him. "We know how much that meant to you- and you really did such a spectacular job."
"Yeah, congrats buddy," Sawyer chipped in, reaching over to ruffle Colfax's hair with a grin. "You did some damn good wizarding."
Colfax stood dazed for a second, caught up in Charlie and Sawyer's reactions as much as his own. He absently reached up to pat his hair back into place while he let the news sink in.
He would have been satisfied with just the distinction. He'd worked hard on that water enchantment spell, up to and including accidentally turning Sawyer into a dog for a while. They had clear evidence of how it could have gone horribly wrong, but he'd succeeded.
But to actually win?
"I... thanks," he said, his gratitude somehow aimed at all three of them.
Adrian, with the more official side of the announcement out of the way, let himself grin and be proud as Colfax's friend. "Your hard work really showed. I'm glad you got up there."
Colfax scoffed, but it was more amused than dismissive. "Sawyer might have dragged me there himself if I didn't."
A shameless smirk crossed Sawyer’s face at that. “Okay maybe,” he admitted. “But you were the one who did all the practicing and stuff, so it went way better when you actually agreed to go.”
“We should celebrate!” Charlie decided, looking around with a bright smile. His eyes landed hopefully on Adrian. “Adrian, would you be able to stay for lunch? I could help Sawyer make something special for everybody.” Sawyer might be the one who could use the kitchen, but his repertoire was a little limited- and judging by the dustdevil’s low chuckles he knew it.
Adrian's eyes widened with both surprise and delight. "I'd love to, if you'll have me," he responded, knowing that today, no one would infringe on his time. He'd long since earned some time away, and couldn't think of a better way to spend it.
"Who would turn away a prince," Colfax teased, earning a roll of the eyes from Adrian.
“Alright, well what should I make, then?” Sawyer asked. He stood up and swept up Charlie into a hand, ignoring the small squeak from the leprechaun, and took the few strides over to the side of the room where the kitchen was set up. “I did do the shopping just a few days ago so we should have enough for whatever.”
Charlie righted himself in Sawyer’s hand with a huff and immediately teleported up to the dustdevil’s head instead. Sawyer was going to need both his hands to cook anyways. “Let’s see…” Charlie muttered, looking around the kitchen from his tall perch. He turned and glanced back at Adrian and Colfax. “Anything in particular either of you would like?”
Adrian, whose posture was already trained into near-perfection, somehow straightened in his chair. "Oh, well," he muttered, suddenly on the spot and with no idea what options were actually available. This was a good example for why he thought he needed more time out of the castle; he didn't think the kitchens at home were overly extravagant, but he had no idea how this worked anywhere else. "I won't impose, I'm happy to have whatever you already planned."
“Alright,” Charlie said, giving Adrian a small smile before turning back towards the kitchen. Leaning over Sawyer’s forehead a bit he suggested, “Why don’t we make spiced chicken and pasta? You can use your father’s spice blend and we can make a good sauce using those herbs your brought back yesterday.” They had plenty of vegetables for it as well, which was always nice.
“Sure!” Sawyer enthusiastically replied, the sleight weight on his head reminding him not to nod. He started pulling out the ingredients and cookware they would need, turning back once to smile at the others. “That sound good to you two?”
Adrian sighed and the concern left his demeanor. "That sounds wonderful," he replied. "Thank you."
Colfax had eaten better at basically every meal since moving in with Sawyer and Charlie, so he offered no counter-suggestions. The spices alone were always interesting to try.
He almost reached into his bag to pull out some of his recent notes to go over what he'd worked on lately, but paused when he noticed Adrian eyeing him. Closing the enchanted bag once more, he angled his face up at the curious prince. It was definitely strange to see the prince in such casual clothing, but Adrian seemed happy. "Having fun already, o prince?"
Adrian rolled his eyes. "Since when do you mind my title?" he shot back. He leaned his chin on his elbow and went on. "I was just thinking about how, with this contest behind you and a first prize award being made, you'll have a hard time making excuses for why you couldn't be a court wizard."
Charlie glanced back at that, teleporting over to the table now that Sawyer seemed to have everything under control. “That’s true,” he agreed, though it was more of a realization. He looked up at Colfax curiously. “Would you want to do that, Colfax? It might help your career, as it were.” Though he did wonder if, should the wizard accept the position, he would be moving out- they’d gotten rather used to having Colfax live with them.
The usual protests were at the fore of Colfax's mind, but he didn't toss any of them out. Adrian was right, after all. His usual excuses were all gone. He may not have apprenticed, but he'd won the wizardry contest anyway. He was, for better or worse, an established wizard among the ranks now. "Maybe," he hedged.
Adrian smiled, glad that he'd managed to bring up the topic as diplomatically as possible. It wasn't the only plan he had in mind. "On the subject of careers," he began, sitting up straighter again. "I'd heard a few things around the castle that might be of interest to you and Sawyer as well, Charlie."
Colfax narrowed his eyes, and then smirked. "Conscripting us all, are you?"
"No such thing," Adrian dismissed hastily. "Merely what I've heard around. For one, the knights are quite impressed with the way Sawyer held his own against a fairy queen at the most violent she'd been in some time. For another, the court historian has been requesting an intern for months, and I only just found out about this yesterday. With all the recent goings-on he has a lot more cross-referencing and fact checking on his shoulders."
At a loss for words for a moment, Charlie simply blinked. He hadn’t expected Prince Adrian to come bearing any news for him. “You, ah,” he began, unsure what he even wanted to say, “do you really…? I mean, the court historian, surely he has better candidates?” He flushed and quickly added, “N-not that I wouldn’t love the chance at an internship, it sounds like quite the incredible opportunity, I just, erm-”
“That’s Charlie accepting the position,” Sawyer interrupted, turning around to give Adrian a grin. The wee leprechaun was turning red, though no argument sprung forth. Why would it? He could get credits and have access to the royal library all at the same time. Sawyer, for his part, was less awed by his offer; but that didn’t mean he didn’t like the idea. “The knights are pretty cool. They really thought I did good?” Sawyer was pretty much acting in the heat of the moment- it wasn’t like he’d had any real training, after all.
Adrian grinned. "The captain was asking the knights that came with me to the court what he'd even sent them for," he admitted. "If you, well, if you wanted to train with them, the ranks are open, Sawyer."
"A knight in dusty armor," Colfax mused, having a hard time picturing Sawyer in the regalia the knights usually wore.
Sawyer’s eyebrows rose high into his forehead. He was having the same mental image as Colfax, albeit with slightly more success. The idea was intriguing if nothing else. “Wow,” he said. “Yeah, that sounds super cool. I’ll have to try that out and see how it goes.” He knew full well he wasn’t as disciplined as most of the knights were, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Adrian practically glowed with relief. "That's wonderful. I'll be sure to let the captain and the historian know they have applicants," he assured them, offering a polite nod.
Colfax sighed, as if backed into the most arduous decision. "I guess now I have even fewer excuses not to take the wizard job."
With a chuckle Sawyer rolled his eyes. “Oh of course, how horrible it would be for you to have a job for once in your life,” he sarcastically teased. He grinned at Colfax and added more seriously, “I mean come on, would it really be that bad to do some spells for Adrian every once in a while?”
“And with Sawyer and I going to the castle more often you’d always have a way to get there quickly,” Charlie couldn’t help but point out, though his demeanor was sheepish. He didn’t want to force Colfax into anything, but, well, the wizard really didn’t have many reasons not to accept Adrian’s offer. “I’m sure we could find a schedule that works for everybody.”
Colfax rolled his eyes and drew out a pause just to show that he could. As much as he had resisted taking up the job before, now he truly felt like he had earned it. Back when it first came up, Adrian had been nervous to even say anything, and it had all felt more like a way to give Colfax a roof over his head and keep him out of trouble.
Judging by his time living with Sawyer and Charlie, getting into trouble was the best way to learn.
"Yes, alright," he relented.
Adrian sighed. His next smile was less bemused and more joyful. "Thank you. All of you."
"Of course," said Charlie, matching Adrian's smile. He was filled from tip to toe with the same joy that was making the prince look so happy- the future was looking bright for all of them. "We're your friends, Adrian."
Sawyer came back and sat at the table, putting them all together for this moment. "And we always will be," he said, looking around at everybody with a smile. "Promise."