Chapter Text
The Seelie Court, or the Fey Folk as they are more commonly known in the human world, was ruled by a king, the youngest Seelie to ever take the throne and he was magical in more ways than his lineage.
Like his father before him, War was groomed to take the throne at a very young age. While all the other young fairies were playing and pranking humans, he was learning how to rule. And in his many studies he was always told that humans and faeries were never meant to live in peace. Humans were too greedy, too callous, they envied the magic that were bestowed upon their people, and many have tried to steal it from them. So, it was no surprise that even though he had met a handful of humans in his life, he never trusted any of them.
But all that changed when he met Yin Anan, the king of the mortals.
And it all began with a dog.
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There were times when even the Seelie King needed a break from his own court, when the responsibilities on his shoulders felt a little too much. In these moments he would find himself wandering alone to the edge of the forest, to the border that protected the faeries from the humankind. It was that day that he heard a loud thud from the other side, followed by a pained howl from an animal that was very clearly hurt.
In that moment, the fact that he was crossing over to enemy territory never crossed his mind. Faeries were creatures of nature and he was not about to ignore a cry of help out of fear of what awaited him on the other side. Without thinking twice, he tore through the border and rushed to the pained whines coming from a dog that was caught under a fallen tree.
"Hush little one, you're safe with me." The Fae king pressed a hand on it's head to lull it to sleep before laying his hand on the tree to put it back in it's place. He bent down and ran his hands over the injured pup, mending a broken bone and a fresh wound. "You're all good now little one, now I wonder where I shall take you."
"Zulu are you-" The call came from behind him, the man's words lost in the air as the Seelie king turned to face him. The stranger's eyes were wide in shock, expression turning worried when he spotted the brown lump on the faerie's arm. "Zulu?"
"Is he yours?" War asked, walking to where the man stood frozen. "I heard him in pain and found him under a tree, it seems to have fallen on him."
The man reached out and gently ran his hands over the sleeping pup, sighing in relief when he realized that the pup was just asleep. "Yes he's mine. He ran away from his babysitters and dashed to the forest, I've been looking for him since then. Thank you for saving him, if you could point me to the tree, I will have someone clear it up."
War laughed, handing the sleeping pup to it's owner with one last gentle pat before pointing to the previously fallen tree. "There's no need for that, it's back on it's feet and stronger than ever."
"You-"
"Are not human." He finished, turning his back from the stranger to walk back to his grove. "Zulu will be fine, he broke a bone but it's all fixed now. I only made him sleep to stop the pain but he should be awake in a few minutes."
But before he could enter his grove, the man called out to him again. "Wait! What's your name?"
"Silly human, a name is a powerful thing and Seelie's don't just give ours away to strangers. Not even those with cute pups."
"My name is Yin Anan."
"Yin Anan. I'll keep that in mind. Goodbye."
---
From then on he would find himself wandering to the edge of the grove more often than usual, listening to the sounds from the other side, pretending that he wasn't hoping to hear from the human and his dog. He never did, until a week or so after their first meeting.
At first he pretended it was because he heard something from the other side, atleast that's what he told himself before stepping outside the border. He resisted the urge to crack a laugh at the sight of the human, Yin he reminded himself, being tackled by the now seemingly bigger pup.
"Hey there." He greeted, walking to where the pup had the human on the ground and hunching over to look him in the eye. "It seems like you two are in a standstill."
"You came back!" Yin exclaimed, quickly getting back on his feet. "I wasn't sure you would."
"Ah well I thought I heard something again, I needed to make sure this little one didn't end up hurting himself again." He replied, bending down to pat Zulu's head. "You are taller now Zulu, it feels like the last time I saw you was ages ago even though I'm pretty sure it was only over a week ago."
"He keeps getting bigger- naughtier too." Yin replied, smiling at the sight of the Seelie playing with Zulu's ears. "You know he doesn't usually like it when someone touches his ears, he almost bit his babysitter's hand off when he did that."
"Animals recognize Seelies as friends, they naturally trust us as they know faeries are nature's people." War explained, looking back up at the human only to shy away from his gaze. "Zulu knows I am not an enemy."
"I could have told you that too." The man shrugged, pausing when the Seelie looked at him with an amused smirk. "What?"
"Our kind aren't exactly friends. It just sounds a bit odd hearing that from a human."
"We should really change that. How about we become friends and then go about changing the world?"
At that War giggled, the absurdity of the statement tickling something inside him. "How do you suppose we do that Yin Anan?"
"Change starts somewhere, this time it's going to be us."
---
As it turns out, Yin Anan was either prophetic or way too determined and if you asked War, he would bank on the second option but would not discount the first. Because what else would it be but fate that would bring the Seelie king and the mortal king in one place at the same time? But it was nothing but sheer determination that would bring them to where they were now.
"Anan proposed to me."
That was not the news the Seelie court thought they would hear that day, it was not a news they thought they would hear ever. When their king first came clear about his budding relationship with not just a human but a human king, there was outrage. Some older fey folk saw it as betrayal, as their king choosing a mortal over his people. But War was nothing if not determined, he patiently explained that their relationship was not just for him and his love but also for their people. It was finally a chance for them to live in peace.
"Poor guy, don't worry he'll recover."
"Mark, I said yes."
And there was also the matter of his court despising the idea of his relationship, not because it was with a human, that they understood. No, it was because of something else entirely, something a little childish.
"No." Win interrupted. "You could have your pick of anyone in the world."
"I wasn't really asking for any of your permission. I already made it clear before, I love Yin Anan and I will always love him. I am marrying him because I love him and if marrying him will give our people more freedom, a wider horizon without fear from an unknown enemy, then that is just a bonus."
"War-"
"Bever you have the better judgement among all of us here. Tell me I'm not crazy for marrying the love of my life. Tell me it's something I can choose to do for myself."
"Of course it's not crazy but we have to take into consideration how the people will take this news. We were all raised to fear what is on the other side of the grove, it is not something we can unlearn the same way you did after meeting your love."
"Also his brother vexes me." Mark huffed, crossing his arms in annoyance.
"And me." Win nodded in agreement.
"Prom and Bonnadol are not as bad you both seem to think they are. They're just a little-"
"Immature." Win deadpanned. "That's the word you're looking for."
War rubbed his temples, getting this through his court was going to be harder than he thought. "Listen, whatever grudge the two of you have against his brothers, that is not for my Anan to bear. He fought for me, has people constantly trying to use me as leverage to take away his crown and yet he has never given up on me. And you better believe that I would do the same for him. My Anan is willing to change the world just so we can love, that is not a man I am willing to give up for your petty grudges nor for an unfounded hate that should have died down generations ago.
"If you are so determined with your choice, why consult us at all? You won't hear our arguments anyway, there is no point."
"I consulted you because you are my closest friends, the three of you know me better than anyone else. I want to ask for your support, not just as your king but also as your friend. I will hear your arguments if they are reasonable but despising his brothers are not big enough reasons for me, you are better than that."
At this the two turned mute, knowing that their king has made his point. War rarely ever spoke to them like this, preferring to keep their tone inside the court even and critical. His emotions rarely got in the way of his judgement, that was why the Seelies trusted him, saw him as their beacon.
"Then what do you want us to do?" Bever asked. "You have my support and in time you will have theirs, I will make sure of that."
"Thank you Bever." War smiled, eyeing the two other men on the table. "I can't change your mind on my own but perhaps they can."
"What do you mean?"
"My wedding is happening at Yule and Anan has invited us to have a friendly gathering before then. He wishes to extend the olive branch, to show both humans and seelies that there is hope for us to get along. I hope we can all go, more than being my court, you are the closest thing I have to family, it would mean a lot to me if you came for support."
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