Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wels Knight is an avian. 

His father and twin brother are also avians.

Most people don’t even know hybrids exist, and most of those that do, despise them.

Wels’ father, the captain of the Hermitcraft royal guard, was the first in their family to show his wings to the world.

He used them to his advantage in the royal guard, climbing the ranks with his increased strength and the ability to fly, eventually becoming the captain.

When he had his two boys, he trained both Wels and Hels in the arts of weaponry, fighting, and self-defence, and taught them in the hopes one of them will take his place when he is too old.

Wels, as the oldest child, has always been his father’s favorite.

When both boys were 16, their father assigned them to a position of being the main personal guard for each of the then princes.

The king and queen died, Wels was freshly 18.

He was still assigned to Xisuma.

The now king is kind to him, and Wels love being his main personal guard.

-⬘♡⬘♡⬘♡⬘-

False walks through dark streets, at the end a dark building looms.

The assassin’s boots have walked this path many times as water from the rain splashes up from the ground, fat water droplets soak into her hooded cloak.

She enters the building.

“Ah, the Queen Of Hearts, Heads, And Body Parts.” the man at the counter says, grinning, “how are we today miss?”

“I need a new assignment.” she says, adjusting the simple mask over his lower face, taking down the hood over her soft blond hair, a pair of goggles over her eyes that had covered her eyes from the rain that night as she rode her horse into town, are moved to her forehead.

“I’ve got a new target for you.” the man says, “this one pays a whole lot.” he says, “You're looking at a payout of 4,000 sovereign silvers.”

“That’s a lot of coin Mathew.” False says, clicking his tongue, “Who’s the target?”

“A guard in the royal army?” Mathew replies.

“A guard?" False scoffs, “For 4,000?” she asks, “they can’t be just a simple guard.”

“They aren't"

“Who are they?”

“He’s the first son of the captain of the royal guard, and he’s a Mingler.” Mathew spits, "Awful creatures those.”

“A hybrid?” False asks, not repeating the slur against hybrids, “what kind?”

“Some bird.” The man says, “Docent matter, the stupid Mingler is still a freak."

False bites her lip, she actively dislikes people who harbor some much hate towards someone due to a choice that was not theirs, but a job is a job.

“Fine, what’s the target’s name, and what do I have to do? Any proof?” False asks.

“No proof, he’s the closest guard to the king, won’t be hard to tell when he's gone, as for your other questions, “his name is Wels Knight, and they want him dead.” Mathew says.

False nods, “I’ll take the job.”

Mathew unpins a paper from the wall, handing it to False, "The post says they want him dead because one of those Minglers don't need to be that close to the king, he needs to be killed, sending a message to all the other's they don't deserve to live, to be in our society, that their next."

False rolls it up, putting it away into her satchel, disgust at the words filling her heart.

The human turns around, lowering her goggles back down, pulling her hood back up.

“Good luck Miss Queen.” Mathew says to her.

False scoff, “I don’t need luck.” She says, “I’ve fallen hundreds of men, women, and those in between, this is no challenge.”

With that, she pulls open the door, stepping out into the rain, her feet pounding the ground as she heads for her steed.

Chapter Text

Wels stands outside Xisuma’s study.

He’s not alone in this.

The other personal guards of Xisuma’s fences stand with him.

The king and his two loves are currently in the study, hanging out as Xisuma does work so the three knights are all stationed at the door.

According to the guards rules, they only need two people stationed at the door at a time as this is when they take turns taking breaks.

It’s Wels, Xisuma’s guard, Mia, Xb’s guard, James, Keralis’ guard.

Since Mia is the only girl between the three of them, the hallway let her take a break first.

As Mia is off to the washroom for a quick relief break, and to the kitchens for a bite of food, the other two guards chat, waiting on their turn.

When she returns, the bird hybrid lets James go first since he went before his last time.

The blond knight chats with the shorter, female knight, listening to her talk about the book she’s been writing.

When James is back, it’s Wels’ turn to leave.

The loyal knight is quick, relieving himself, washing his hands before slipping into the castle kitchens.

He grabs a small loaf of bread, taking a bite of the warm roll.

The knight moves back towards his station, eating as he goes, armor quietly clicking as he moves.

When the avian gets back, the three knights continue talking, waiting for their next order.

The sun is low in the sky when Xisuma and his partners leave his study.

The three lovers head towards the dining hall, their knights right behind them.

After dinner, the three lovers kiss before parting to head to their respective room for the night.

Soon after, the first shift of night guards switch out with Wels and the other two.

Wel heads down the hall.

Him, James, and Mia all have small rooms in the east wing of the castle.

They are neatly furnished, and near the king and his partners so if trouble arises, the knights may spring up from their bed and race towards the problem.

Wels, steps out onto the small balcony of his room, looking out into the darkness of the night.

The takes a deep breath of the cool air, winter’s grip losing on the world as spring graces the land.

The knight moves back into his room, shutting the door to his balcony.

He strips off his armor, setting it down to put back on in the morning.

Next he removes the tunic and trousers he wears underneath, changing into a pair of trousers to sleep in.

The avian rustles his feathers before climbing into bed.

He sits cross-legged in his bed, gently running his hands through his wings, pulling small debris from them, cleaning them up before laying down.

Wels pulls a blanket up over his legs and torso, closing his eyes before drifting off to sleep, unaware of the dangerous woman approaching the castle, ready to end his life.

-⬘♡⬘♡⬘♡⬘-

False scales the castel walls.

The sun went down over an hour ago and she uses a combination of darkness, dark trousers, and a dark, long sleeve, corset.

A dagger is strapped to her thigh, the same blade she has used to fall hundreds.

She reaches the small balcony of the room she is sure is Wels Knight’s.

She moves to the balcony door, trying the door handle, careful not to make a sound as she opens the door, stepping into the room.

False pulls her dagger from its shelter on his thigh, brandishing it, eyes searching for the avian.

Her sky blue eyes land on a bed, lined up with the headboard against the wall.

On the bed lies a mass, moving slightly with quiet breaths.

She silently stalks towards it, dagger ready to brush across its neck.

She approaches the bed…nest, it looks more like a nest with all the blankets and pillows scattered across the bed in a rough circle-ish shape.

The assassin's eyes take in her target.

He’s about her age, maybe a little younger, with fair skin, tanned evenly by the sun, blond hair that looks really soft and fluffy, and finally light cream colored wings.

His wings remind her of birds, covered in soft looking feathers.

Her eyes drag across his torso, the blanket having moved down, showing off his bare torso and wings.

False bites her lip, heart racing in her chest.

She takes a deep breath, taking a step closer to the sleeping knight.

All she has to do is drag her blade across his throat and he’s as good as dead.

She can slip out, get back on her horse and ride off to collect the reward.

She tells her body to move, to do it, to kill this hybrid, but she can’t.

False’s body freezes up, heart pounding.

Why can’t she just kill him already?

She swallows, picking up one of the smaller cream feathers that are scattered across the nest.

‘Maybe this is a sign I’m not supposed to kill him tonight.’ she thinks, tucking the feather away in her trousers’ pocket.

Yeah, that makes sense, that’s why.

The human sheathes her dagger, moving soundlessly back out onto the balcony.

She shuts the door behind her before climbing down the castle’s rough walls.

When she reaches the ground, she slips off the castle grounds, getting on her horse and riding into town.

She ties her horse up, walking into a tavern.

The assassin buys a room above the tavern to sleep for the night.

She’ll just try again the next day.