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labellefleur-sauvage · 11 months

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(Can I Handle) The Seasons of My Life

Summary: The former Lady of Autumn reflects on her difficult history, and hatches a plan while observing her mate.

Helion reminisces over what could have been when presented with intangible proof of his mate’s past.

Or: The private yearnings of a newly reunited MILF and DILF

For @sunandflameweek, Day 7: Free Day!

Despite only having hints written about them, Helion and the Lady of Autumn have such an interesting history and relationship and, I believe, lots of potential. I've wanted to try my hand at writing these two for a while, and what I imagine for them in the future, with a very healthy smattering of smut, of course, and this event gave me the perfect motivation! Thank you so much to @starfall-spirit for creating and hosting this event!

Title is from Landslide by FleetWood Mac.

Rating: Explicit. Word Count: 3.9K

Read on AO3

The woman surveyed the scene in front of her, leaning on a tall marble column with a small smile on her face. Even in her wildest imaginations during her darkest days, Adeline, the former Lady of the Autumn Court couldn’t have dreamt of what she was witnessing now.

The High Lord of the Day Court - Helion, the Sun personified, one of the oldest and most powerful High Lords in all of Prythian, the love of her life, her mate - stood in the palace’s private courtyard, his arms wide, palms facing outwards. Next to him was a younger male with the same build and confidence and hints of features as Helion - Lucien, a prince of Autumn, master emissary, a powerful fae male in his own right, their son - standing opposite him, staring at their surroundings with a concentrated frown on his face.

“My wards are tight, and cannot be broken easily. Most wards can’t, unless you can find a flaw.”

“And what if there is no flaw?” Lucien asked through gritted teeth, his eyes darting to the space between Helion’s spread arms.

Helion grinned. “Then you make one. Whether by unraveling the ward as you see it - like purposely fraying an edge on a piece of clothing and pulling it - or by overtaking it completely, and making it your own.”

“You can do that?” Lucien asked, flabbergasted.

“For the High Lord of the Day Court, and those with my blood, yes,” he said. “And you can too, since you’re…”

Helion trailed off and cleared his throat, looking away from Lucien. Lucien ducked his head and ran a hand through his long red hair - her hair - a blush staining his cheeks.

“Well,” Helion went on. “Shall we continue?”

Adeline continued watching them from the shadows. It was the closest the two of them had come to acknowledging their undeniable relationship. She wasn’t sure they’d ever get to the point of calling each other what they were - father, son - but Helion clearly cared for Lucien in his own way.

“Good,” she heard Helion murmur. He and Lucien were staring at something only they could see, their son’s eyes dancing with excitement, his arms aloft. “Clever, using your fire and light magic together. You’re a natural.”

She could see a few glowing embers in the air. Adeline shuddered. Even after all these months, anything that reminded her of her home court sent a shiver of dread through her.

She hadn’t been back to Autumn, not since that hazy, blood soaked night when Eris had ascended the throne, his father’s mangled head in his hand. She’d fallen to her knees and taken her first wracking breaths as a free female for the first time in centuries. Smoke filled her lungs but it was the sweetest breath she’d ever taken.

Fortunately, Beron’s body had burned to nothing but dust and ashes before anyone could see the ten small stab wounds that suspiciously matched the ornate dagger she kept in her bureau for her protection.

But that was all behind her. Adeline continued observing her mate and their son together - Cauldron, would that ever fully sink in? - as Helion roared with approval at Lucien’s actions, smacking him firmly on their son’s shoulders. Happiness and pride shone in Helion’s eyes and it was unlike anything she had seen on his face before. He and Lucien wore matching smiles and they looked so similar.

This is what your life should have been. She took a deep breath. It was an ugly thought, but true. This is what she should have had for the entirety of her long life: a loving mate, a family with even more red haired, dark skinned children, living not in constant fear and anxiety but surrounded by warmth and love.

But if Adeline could turn back the clock, make one or two different decisions, would she change anything? She loved her six other sons - four, now, she thought with a sharp pain in her chest - some, more than others, and some only in the most biological way a parent had to love its offspring; would she sacrifice their existence for her own happiness?

Lucien, at the very least, deserved better. Lucien deserved a mother who didn’t need to shield him during his childhood, then was forced to watch helplessly as the Autumn Court and all of Prythian tore him apart. He deserved a father who could have protected him, taught him everything he knew, guard him, love him -

It was what Helion was doing now: stepping up and being the father Lucien never had but deserved.

And he looked delectable doing it.

Helion’s dark skin, a few shades darker than Lucien’s, shone with sweat, his broad chest and thick thighs barely covered by his short, one shouldered white toga. A pair of gold sandals wrapped around his graceful ankles and calves, and a matching gold arm band barely fit around a large bicep.

Helion said something to Lucien that had the younger male laughing and Helion reached over to pat him on the back. It was hardly anything, and so simple, but he looked so fatherly, so lovingly paternal, and Helion looked so natural at it -

The beginnings of arousal coursed low in her body. Adeline sucked in a deep breath, then another. She would not have anyone be able to smell how desperate she was for her mate, especially not her son. Controlling her breath, she stepped out of the shadows and into the courtyard.

“I think that’s enough for now,” Helion was saying to Lucien. “You’ve made remarkable progress for a late learner.”

“You’re certainly doing things I never thought possible,” she piped up. Both her mate and her son turned towards her and gave her the same matching smile - how odd, being able to pinpoint where each of Lucien’s features came from - before Lucien jogged over to her.

“Oh, you’re sweaty,” she laughed as he approached, batting him away. “And smelly. I hope you’re not planning on seeing anyone until you can change.”

“I was actually going to go for a walk with Elain soon,” he replied. “She mentioned collecting shells on the beach for the garden.”

“Did she,” she mused, sneaking a peak behind Lucien. Helion had the same shit-eating grin as she did. “Well, I suppose a change of clothes won’t really matter with what you’ll be doing, hm?”

Lucien blushed despite himself. “Well, I shouldn’t keep her waiting,” he mumbled, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek and walking away.

“Take a towel with you!” Helion called to Lucien’s back. “Take it from me, it’s not fun when sand gets -“

Lucien yelled with disgust and shot his parents a crude hand gesture, fleeing the courtyard. She laughed. Her son and his lovely mate had only been mated a month, and the bond was just now beginning to lessen its all consuming hold on them.

“And what are your plans for the day?”

Helion’s strong arms wrapped around her from behind. Adeline lifted her head up against his chest and peered up at him.

“Not much,” she answered. “Perhaps a walk myself, or some reading. Yourself?”

“I have a meeting later today and several proposals and drafts to review. I think I’ll be stuck in my office the rest of the day,” he sighed wistfully.

“A shame,” she murmured back sadly, a plan forming. She pulled away from his embrace. “Well, I don’t want to keep you -“

“And leave me with nothing to remember you by?” he asked in mock hurt, a hand over his chest.

“I thought what we did this morning would have sustained you for the entire day,” she shot back. “My jaw is still rather sore.”

“Ah, but that is in the past and I’ve already forgotten it,” he teased, grinning wickedly. “One kiss to power me through the rest of my dreadful day without you.”

Sighing exasperatedly, she leaned into him and pressed her lips chastely against his. His hand cupped her jaw as he deepened the kiss, nipping her bottom lip, his tongue probing her mouth -

“Have a good afternoon!” she called, dashing from his side before she got sidetracked from her plan. She left him standing alone in the courtyard, his hand in the air where it had been caressing her jaw, as still as a statue.

Adeline wanted him, desperately, but he wouldn’t have to wait long. Dashing to their room, she opened her wardrobe. She couldn’t admit out loud how excited she became at seeing Helion being a father to Lucien, but she could at least show him how much it turned her on.

XXX

Helion stood up from his desk and stretched. He had been curved like a crustacean over his papers so long his neck and bore were stiff, and would most likely remain so for hours. He glanced at his sundial. Only an hour had passed since his mate had left him alone and hard in the courtyard, flitting away to wherever she might be.

He crossed the room to sit in the wide, low chair next to the window. He was irritable that he was stuck here alone, going over inane paperwork, with a meeting still later, rather than with his gorgeous, delectable mate.

Helion groaned softly and leaned back, letting his eyes drift close. What he wouldn’t give to have Adeline here with him right now. He remembered their parting kiss, how soft she had become under his touch. He could almost smell her -

Two sturdy knocks at the door broke him out of his daydream. “What?” He snapped, too wound up to hide his displeasure.

The door opened and his mate’s head popped around the corner of the door. “Are you busy?”

He perked up and grinned, his foul mood already gone. “For you, my dear, never.”

Grinning softly, Adeline hurried into the room and Helion let out a sharp gasp at her appearance. She normally favored long, flowing dresses that covered her shoulders and legs but she now wore a dangerously short one-shouldered stola. Her slim legs were on display, the tops of her breasts peaking out from her low neckline. She stole through the room on quiet, bare feet. Not giving him the chance to move, his mate climbed on top of him, bracketing his hips with her own.

“This is… unexpected.” Helion peered up at her, his hands automatically finding the indents of her waist. “Come to break up my boredom? Or was our parting kiss not sufficient for you?”

“Perhaps I too have a short memory,” Adeline said, leaning down and slanting her lips against his.

Helion hummed against her lips, moaning a little when her hands tangled in his thick locs and gently tugged. She was like a hellcat possessed above him, her hips moving over his lap as she wildly kissed and touched him.

“Here, let me -“ he began, grabbing her underneath her ass and moving to lift her. Her small hands shot out and planted themselves firmly on his chest and shoulder.

“No! I want you like this. Under me. At my mercy.” Adeline’s cheeks were pink, her mouth slightly open, like she was a bit surprised at her own tenacity. She licked her lips and gave him her stearnest glare, refusing to back down and let him lead as he always did.

Who was he to deny his mate?

Settling back down in the accent chair, he swiftly pushed the shoulder strap of her toga down her arm and pulled the top of the dress down to her waist, too impatient to get her fully naked if it meant she had to leave his lap for even a second. Her full breasts were heaving with her labored breathing, her nipples peaked. What drew his attention this time, however, were the faint silver marks running down her pert breasts.

He knew from their frequent and numerous couplings that Adeline had matching stretch marks on her hips and thighs and lower stomach, the only remnants of her pregnancies. He’d spent hours re-learning and exploring every inch of her body over the past few weeks, and these stripes received the same love and attention as the rest of her.

Here, in his arms in the sun, the stripes on her breasts shone and glowed. The stretch marks adorning her body were evidence of her fertility and fecundity, of all the babes she had brought into the world -

A stab of pure anger shot through him. Those should have been his children his mate conceived and carried and bore, not that bastard’s. Adeline’s body should be wonderfully soft and gently stretched because of him and his cock, no one else’s. He gripped the cushion on the chair beneath him so hard he heard the fabric rip.

They struck gold already; they made Lucien in a single, heady, lust-filled night, a young male with power and abilities that rivaled his father’s, even after only a short period of studying and training. The potential of any future offspring could be enough to cement Day’s glory in Prythian for ages. Helion wanted it - wanted to have another child with his mate, watch her stomach swell as she grew their babe within, establish a dynasty in his court and the entire world, parade her around to the other high lords and beat his chest, Look at my mate, look what I’ve done to her -

“You're angry - what’s wrong?”

His mate had that all too familiar furrow between her brow, her eyes weary. Her breasts were still exposed, body taut with anticipation, but she had subtly shied away from Helion’s body and looked ready to run away if needed.

Like she could if she wanted to. Helion mentally beat that animalistic part of himself that was always so near the edge whenever she was around him down deep into his psyche. Guilt and shame welled up where his inner beast had been only a moment before. Adeline had spent nearly her entire life afraid due to one male - he vowed to himself when she first came to Day that he would never frighten her.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, trailing soft kisses along the delicate skin of her wrist. “Just thinking of all of our missed time together.” Not entirely a lie.

But he would never ask that of his mate, never put the burden of another pregnancy, wanted or otherwise, on her. Adeline had already spent so much of her life in service to others - Helion would be damned if he added any more responsibility for her.

“It’s never too late to start making up for lost time,” Adeline said quietly, a soft smile on her lips. Helion hummed his agreement and leaned up towards her at the same time she lowered her face towards his for another kiss.

He gently dug his fingers into her luscious hair as they kissed, keeping them together. She spent so much time on her hair, he almost felt bad undoing it. Almost.

She grasped one of his wrists now lazily twirling her unbound hair around one of his fingers. Keeping her heavy lidded gaze on him, Adeline slowly dragged his hand under her short stola and between her thighs.

Helion swore. “So wet for me already, my mate?” He swirled his fingers through her soaking folds, enjoying feeling her tremble in his arms. “And what has gotten you so excited already?”

She blushed a red so deep it nearly matched her hair. “N-nothing,” she stuttered shyly. “Just thinking about you.”

Helion hummed. She wasn’t being truthful but he wouldn’t press her - at least not now, anyway. There were better, more pleasurable ways to get information out of people.

He sunk a single finger inside her at the same time she brushed his toga away and pulled his length out into the open, her soft lips grazing his. Helion hissed as Adeline began pumping him leisurely, in time with his finger inside her. He broke their kiss to gaze down. It was a sight he’d never tire of: her small, pale hand, wrapped around his straining cock.

There were many sites he’d never tire of, all of which concerned the female in his lap, but this was one of his favorites.

Quickly, she shifted so she was squatting over him on the chair and angled his cock between her legs, still obscured by her clothes.

“I was planning on eating you out, you know,” Helion groaned, shutting his eyes and leaning his head back as his mate began working him inside her tight channel. “It’s been nearly a day since I put my mouth on you. I’m overdue.”

“Later,” Adeline said distractedly. She bit her lip as her hips finally met his, letting herself get used to him (as she always needed to do, he thought smugly). After only a moment, however, she raised herself over him then brought her hips down.

They groaned in unison. She set a steady pace, rising and falling in his lap, occasionally taking his entire shaft and grinding her lower body against his. She moaned loudly when his cock hit deep inside her, uncaring about who might hear as she chased her pleasure.

Adeline was never this forward with him. He had had to coax her into more adventurous love making, his cock a proverbial carrot on a stick as they tried new positions and acts together. This was the first time they had fucked outside of their bedroom and Helion was already thinking of the places he could get her next.

He bunched up her toga at her waist and groaned. Her pink lower lips were stretched obscenely around his thick length, her small bud jutting out for any attention. Helion watched, transfixed, as Adeline bounced in his lap, his cock shining with her essence every time she took him to the hilt.

“You look so good taking my cock,” Helion rumbled appreciatively, still watching her pussy grip him. He brushed the red curls between her legs before swiping his thumb over her clit. She whined low in her throat. “My beautiful mate, fucking herself full of me.”

Her breasts bounced in his face and he took a peaked nipple in his mouth, laving his tongue against her skin. His mate whimpered above him and thrust her hips down even harder and faster against him.

“That’s right,” he murmured softly, his thumb still caressing her clit. “Take what you want me from. Want to feel you break around me.”

“Cauldron Helion,” she groaned, digging her fingers into his shoulders. He could feel her legs shaking and he gripped her under her thighs and ass to help her move up and down his length.

She threw her head back and closed her eyes, her long hair grazing the tops of his thighs. She was so damn beautiful, and he was so fucking lucky to have her in his life.

Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Helion started thrusting up into Adeline’s tight depths every time her plush ass met his thick thighs. She gasped in pleasure as she stopped moving and let Helion fuck her, lowering herself to her knees and throwing her arms around his neck when her legs gave out.

“Helion, please, yes!” she cried, burying her face in his neck. He gripped her hips to keep her steady as he continued to thrust into her wet heat. His balls tightened underneath him; the wet smack of their flesh joining, combined with his mate’s soft cries and gasps against his skin, pushed him dangerously close to the edge.

“Touch yourself,” he grunted out. He wasn’t going to last much longer and didn’t want to come before his mate. Adeline’s hand ghosted down his front before it delved between her thighs, her fingers occasionally grazing his shaft as it pistoned in and out of her.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, hauling her even tighter against his body as he finally felt her break around him. Her inner walls fluttered around his length and she cried into his shoulder, her moans muffled against him, her short nails digging into his muscles.

Helion didn’t care to silence himself. With a loud groan that reverberated through his chest he came, emptying himself completely into his mate. He moaned through the aftershocks of his orgasm, lazily thrusting into her until he was fully spent.

They sat there together in blissful silence for several long minutes. Helion ran a hand up and down her spine. Even after all the sex they had, each time was still better than the last.

His mate sat up. She had a happy, satisfied grin on her face.

“I’ll have to visit your office more often,” Adeline said, nuzzling his neck. “Make sure you’re not working too hard and what not.”

He chuckled. “After that, I don’t think anyone will be under the impression that there’s any work being done here.”

She sat up. “Did… did you not set a silencing ward?” Alarm bloomed in her eyes.

“Didn’t really have enough time, since you sauntered in here and had your wicked way with me before I could even think to put one up.”

She groaned feebly. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your afternoon meeting.”

Helion shrugged. “I’m sure I won’t have a problem rescheduling. Besides finding increasingly bizarre places to bed Elain, I don’t think Lucien has much else penned in his daily planner.”

She blanched, her eyes wide. “You’re meeting… was supposed to be with Lucien?” She gulped. “Oh Cauldron, what if he heard us?!”

“Lucien is a young male with a very happy and content mate,” he said pointedly, running his hands soothingly up and down her arms until she calmed down. “I should know, I’ve heard and seen them going at it everywhere. They destroyed a perfectly good reading table in the library -!”

“And we haven’t managed to destroy anything with our lovemaking,” Adeline said thoughtfully. “Perhaps we’re losing our touch.”

He scoffed. “Are you implying we’re old?”

“Well, you discovered you were a father not too long ago,” she said slyly. “How would you feel about becoming a grandfather so soon?”

He cocked his head at her. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant thought, to be honest - Lucien and Elain were a beautiful couple, and any babes they had would be just as wonderful. Plus, it would bring children into the palace. Children he could hold and coddle and play with, then foist back to their parents when they cried or started smelling.

Perhaps grandfatherhood was more up his alley.

He grinned up at his mate. “As long as you’ll still have me in your bed, I don’t care what you call me.”

“A grandfather,” she said mischievously. “Who I’d still like to fuck.”

“Then I’ll have to make sure to cancel meetings with Lucien more often, so he and Elain can make us grandparents,” he said mischievously, bringing a laughing Adeline even closer to him.

XXX

Lucien stood frozen outside Helion’s office, a horrified grimace on his face. He heard everything.

Ok, not the entire traumatic ordeal, but enough to know his mother and Helion still had a very active sex life, and were apparently counting the days for him and Elain to have children.

They wanted grandchildren that badly? Fine. Let them see how amusing it was when Lucien and Elain handed a screaming baby to them for a night off, or Lucien took a leave of absence from his Heir duties, piling even more work back on Helion’s plate. Good luck finding time to spend with his mother then.

Lucien turned and rushed down the hall. It seemed his schedule was suddenly booked full with Elain.

#sunandflameweek2023 #helion spellcleaver #lady of autumn #helion x lady of autumn #helion x loa #acotar #my fics #my fic #day court #autumn court #a court of thorns and roses #i spared everyone the horror of a poorly done moodboard to go along with this #because i couldnt find any good images for the life of me

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sunshinebingo · 11 months

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The Princess and the Count

@sunandflameweek Day 1 - Fairytale AU

Hello and welcome to my 1st Helion x LoA fic. This happens in the same universe as my longer Gwynriel fic The Princess and the Knight. Warning: There are some Gwynriel crumbs in this one too.

Thank you @starfall-spirit for organising this week. I hope I made the characters of Helion and LoA justice (if not, please tell me in the comments so I can learn for next time) I hope you enjoy 🤭

Synopsis: Princess Aurelia gets the chance to spend some time with the Count of Day at the Autumn Equinox Ball.

Word Count: 1.9k

Read on Ao3 here

The honour of your presence is requested at the AUTUMN EQUINOX BALL to celebrate the coming of the new season with Her Majesty THE QUEEN and the Royal Family. The festivities will take place at the ROYAL CASTLE in the Capital of Sangravah on the 20th of September and will begin at sunset.

Sincerely,

Her Majesty, the Queen of Sangravah

……

The ballroom was abuzz with music, loud conversation and laughter. Everyone was dressed in their finest, many fitting the autumn atmosphere that the whole castle was plunged in. The whole place was bathed in autumnal colours and scents. The navy blue curtains had been replaced with brown ones and were pulled back to expose all the open windows in the castle.

In the grand ballroom, the tables were draped in soft cream and light oranges and decorated with candles and flowers in tones of red, orange and yellow with some scattered dried leaves in shades of dark green and brown. But what left everyone most in awe was the giant tree in the middle of the massive room. It was one that came out of the decorators’ imagination, with branches that twisted and turned in every direction and were close to touching the high ceiling. The fake leaves looked as real as those on the dying trees that surrounded the castle. The tree contained plenty of fairy lights that illuminated the ballroom along with the candles on the tables and walls. It truly was an autumn wonderland.

But Princess Aurelia’s eyes were not on the decorations. Nor were they on the couple currently circling the tree, dancing to the soft music played by the band. Gwyneth, Aurelia's niece and the Queen’s daughter, looked beautiful in her sparkling emerald dress. She was even more beautiful in the arms of her Knight. The smile that was mirrored on both their faces and their lightness as he twirled her around clearly showed how happy they were with each other. It was the sort of happiness that no one could question and everyone wanted for themselves.

‘’He is very handsome, isn’t he?’’ Aurelia was pulled out of her reverie by her sister, the Queen herself.

She sighed and looked at the laughing pair as her niece and her lover passed by them. Tonight, the Knight had exchanged his armour for a black suit with golden embroidery that matched those on his partner’s gown. ‘’He is indeed. They make such a beautiful pair.’’

From the corner of her eye, Aurelia saw the smirk on her sister’s face. ‘’I am not talking about Sir Azriel,’’ Orla said.

Aurelia turned to her with a puzzled expression. ‘’Who then?’’

‘’You know who.’’

Ah. So the Queen had noticed who she had been eyeing for a while. But that did not mean that Aurelia would fall into her sister’s meddling games. ‘’No I do not,’’ she firmly stated.

‘’Yes you do,’’ Orla challenged.

‘’No I do not,’’ Aurelia replied. They could play at this for hours. They were certainly more mature than this. But whether one was Queen and had a 26 year old daughter or not, sisters remain sisters.

‘’I am talking about the one you’ve been not so secretly staring at since the beginning of the evening.’’

Aurelia’s cheeks turned almost as red as her dress at the mention of the man on the other side of the ballroom. The Count of Day. Even with all the guests in attendance, including those he was discussing with at the moment, it was hard not to stare at him when he looked so handsome in his ivory and gold suit that contrasted his dark complexion so well. Not to mention the way his long, dark hair flowed down just past his broad shoulders. His clothes were tight enough that there was no doubt that his body was toned underneath. And his thighs. Even with those elegant pants on, Aurelia knew that he must have had obscenely beautiful thighs.

‘’You are drooling dear sister,’’ the Queen’s sing-song voice made her look away from the Count.

‘’I am not,’’ she contested but still brushed a finger at the corner of her mouth. Just in case. They spent the next few minutes watching Gwyneth and Azriel dance, lost in their own bubble. Judging by the blush on her niece’s face and the whispers the couple was exchanging, it was clear to Aurelia that these two were having a very private conversation.

‘’Oh look,’’ Orla’s whisper was barely audible over the music playing. Aurelia moved her head back and forth to look when her sister pinched her arm slightly. ‘’Don’t be so obvious dear.’’

Aurelia hissed slightly from the sting of the pinch but froze instantly when she looked to her right and saw who was approaching.

‘’Your majesty,’’ he bowed to the Queen once he stopped before them. Then he turned to Aurelia and offered another bow. ‘’Your Highness.’’ The way his husky voice dragged a little when addressing her made butterflies come to life in Aurelia’s stomach.

‘’Lord Helion,’’ the Queen smiled brightly at him. ‘’I hope you are enjoying the ball.’’

The Count smirked at the Queen like only he could. ‘’Will I be beheaded if say no?’’

Orla laughed. ‘’One day that witty tongue of yours will get you in trouble, My Lord.’’

His smirk turned into something even more mischievous. ‘’I am afraid my tongue does like trouble.’’ Aurelia bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling when the Count turned his gaze on her. She felt the burning impression of his eyes as they travelled across her body. It seemed like he was taking in every inch of her. From the heart neckline of her off-shoulder dress which was covered in ruby red petals made of fabric and which exposed her cleavage, to the tight bustier that cinched her waist before flaring out in a slight puff to the floor.

When his eyes came up to her face again, their gazes locked on each other. His amber looking into her russet ones. The butterflies inside her burst into flames under his gaze and the feeling inside her went from fluttering to burning in an instant.

The Queen cleared her throat. Both Aurelia and the Count turned their attention to her. ‘’If you will excuse me, I will go and check on my other guests.’’ Before she left, Orla turned to the Count. ‘’If you want to avoid the guillotine tonight dear Lord, then make sure that my sister dances at least once.’’

Aurelia scowled at her sister but Orla only winked at her and flowed past them, the slight train of her big yellow gown flowing behind her. The Count chuckled at the retreating Queen then turned to the Princess. Aurelia was about to apologise on behalf of her sister for the silly request, but the Count’s hand was already outstretched towards her.

‘’May I have the honour of a dance, Your Highness?’’ he asked with a slight bow. Unable to find the words to reply, Aurelia only placed her hand in his awaiting open palm and followed him to the dance floor where several other couples had already joined the other Princess and the Knight. Somehow these two had gotten even closer than before.

But thoughts of everybody else in the room left Aurelia when she felt the Count’s hand on her waist. Her breath hitched for a second as he adjusted their stance before their feet started to move along to the music.

‘’You look breathtaking,’’ he told her with a smirk.

Aurelia took a deep breath in, grounding herself to reality with the feel of his hand in hers and on her waist. Focusing on these things could have easily led her to get even more lost in him but she was willing to take the risk. ‘’Thank you, My Lord. You look very handsome as well,’’ she replied, trying her best to look and sound confident.

‘’Please call me Helion, Your Highness.’’ The way he smiled could rival the sun itself. He was the sun. And she knew that if she got too close, she would be set aflame. But wasn’t that what she had been dreaming about every time she had thought of him before?

She smiled at him in turn. ‘’Then please call me Aurelia.’’

Goosebumps erupted across her skin when he leaned down towards her. ‘’You know, I have been looking at you all evening,’’ he said in that low, husky tone that threatened to make her drool. Maybe her sister was right all those months ago when she had told Gwyneth that Aurelia’s crush on the Count of Day was not a little one.

‘’Forgive me, M- Helion,’’ she corrected, ‘’But I find it hard to believe you.’’

He raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes filling with the same mischief that his smile always carried. ‘’How can you be so sure?’’

She debated with herself for a moment before deciding to go for the truth. ‘’Because I was watching you too,’’ she admitted.

Helion flashed her one of his cocky grins, ‘’Is that so?’’

She felt her cheeks flush under his stare. Aurelia looked down and responded with a small ‘’Yes’’. He unlaced their hands to bring a finger beneath her chin and lifted her face up to look at him again.

‘’If you had looked closer,’’ he said, ‘’You would have noticed that my eyes have been glued on your lovely form.’’ A new wave of heat erupted inside her and she let it consume her.

He grabbed her hand again and the two of them kept dancing. The music changed but their hands remained clasped in each other, the one she had on his shoulder slowly moved to rest on his chest, as they talked about everything and nothing. She found that he was more than the man she had spent years admiring from afar whenever he came to the castle. There was much more to the Count than wit and charm. Aurelia quickly relaxed in his arms. She had not consumed much alcohol. But the laughter exchanged and the several turns they made around the tree brought a delicious fog to her mind that made her craving more. Maybe it was less about the dancing and more about the company.

‘’Would you like take a stroll outside?’’ he asked as their steps slowed to a stop.

Her eyes moved from his lips to his amber eyes. She wondered if his face did not hurt from smiling so much. But mostly, she wondered what his smile tasted like. As if knowing where her thoughts had gone to, the Count chuckled and gently rubbed his thumb over her cheek.

‘’What do you say Princess?’’

Aurelia looked around her. There was no sign of Gwyneth and her Knight anywhere but the dance floor was still surrounded with people, all swirling around the autumn tree while the Princess and the Count stood still. The Queen was busy chatting with a few ladies near a table, but when she turned and smiled at her, Aurelia knew that her nosy sister had been keeping an eye on her. Busybody.

Then she turned back to the Count who was watching her expectantly. Aurelia smiled at him, pulling on his hand and leading him outside. ‘’Let’s go.’’

#fairytale au #Sunandflameweek2023 #helion #lady of autumn #helion x lady of autumn #With a sprinkle of Gwynriel #gwynriel #azriel #gwyneth berdara #Please let me know if you think I failed the characters #😬😬

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