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Tidas always received weapons and donations for his Public Works projects from those who cared about him, but the books had been a welcomed surprise. He wondered who they were from, but wouldn’t find out until later. It was much better than the knickknacks, unusable antique furniture, and otherwise self-serving gifts he usually received from the nobles at court.

Taking a bite with a smile on his face, Tidas listened to the various conversations..

Nicolas and Captain Tanner were discussing the Cu Sith that lived outside of Dragonhorn in the now-protected forest. She came into town with Jonathan McKurdy on her way to check the orchard daily.

Cu’s presence alone had spiked their tourism, and the orchard produced over twice what it naturally did. On top of that, thieves hardly bothered them out of fear of her. Her daily walks through town weren’t just to visit with the people, but was also used as a visible deterrent for anyone thinking of causing problems with either the town, or it’s people..

The old Fae smiled as he continued to sip from the full shot he’d been given at the beginning of the party. It would last him the entire night, even with Maevis occasionally dipping into it while she waited for her thimble to be filled.

She bounced from conversation to conversation, smiling more cheerfully than he’d ever seen her. She mainly stayed near Marie, whom Tidas was surprised to see outside of the palace. While she traveled often, she rarely went out into the capital.

Some fools still referred to her as the ‘Traitor’s Wife’, so Marie avoided going out unnecessarily. The fact that she’d still attended his birthday party warmed her nephew’s heart.

As Tidas happily munched, he continued to listen to his friends and family talk. It saddened him that Ralph couldn’t be there with them all, and he wasn’t the only one. Many of the RMC members were discussing him and his current mission, and what would happen when he returned.

.....

Having a nice buzz going already, Shasta began to boisterously describe and explain how she was going to ‘take on the whole of the Highlander forces’. But decided against it ‘because Petrie was cool’. The conversation was filled with drunken bravado and laughter from most of the RMC members(except Zas; he just laughed at them).

Maevis made the comment; “None of you could hold a candle to Tiberius!”

Now, she and Nicolas were surrounded by RMC members as she told stories about their travels and adventures from when she was known as the Argent Pixie. Tidas laughed loudly when he heard her talking about how they’d first met, and he’d basically shot her out of the sky. Maevis was an excellent story teller.

His laughter earned him a curious look from his wife, but she went back to her conversing when Tidas had smiled and nodded. Indicating he was enjoying himself. He’d purposely told everyone to leave him be while he ate his pie. Days like this were very rare and precious, so he wanted to absorb what he could before he became too distracted to appreciate it.

Skye went back to her talk with Kari. They were deeply engaged with Sheri, Marie, and Peggy about Kari’s issues with the Arnold family.

Connor Arnold, one of Marco’s prized lackeys, was romantically pursuing her when she had no interest in him. She’d been upfront with him about her feelings, but he refused to accept her dislike of him. He’d been actively stalking her, and there wasn’t anything she could do.

Skye didn’t like what she was hearing. She’d known a few woman that started out in the same situation, and were forced to marry due to their families. Kari’s family was already trying to convince her logically, but she was scared that they would force the decision if she didn’t reach the ‘proper conclusion’ herself.

Skye felt for her in particular because she’d gone through something similar with her parents. When she told her father that she didn’t want to marry Jacob Fowler, he’d forced the matter. It was common for women in Alcon to have little to no say in who they married.

When Kari told them about how he’d grabbed and bruised her arm the last time they’d seen each other, Skye and Sheri both bombarded her with defensive techniques. Explaining which were best for her to use, based on her size. They were engrossed in self-defense tactics when Klaus and Ronnie made their way over.

Tidas chuckled to himself as he watched Kari light up upon seeing Klaus, then Skye smirk devilishly as she noticed, too. She had a knack for playing matchmaker.

Shasta constantly either gushed about one letter or another from Lawrence, or complained about missing him and the children. The frequency at which they traded letters was astounding, and was becoming an issue for the Royal Courier Service. If not for their birds, they’d never be able to keep up.

Renee and Alfred’s relationship had developed rapidly after he took care of her the night of Bibalow’s attack. She was currently running the Cat’s Paw tonight so Alfred could be with them. They weren’t as mushy as Skye and Tidas, but the love was clearly there.

As Tidas finished his pie, he noticed that his wife’s group had switched back to discussing the Mage Trials. Skye, Kari, Klaus, and Ronnie were all participating this year, so the topic was bound to be popular.

Hearing the mention of the event sent nearly the entire room into one giant, open discussion about it. Zas and some of the veteran members of the RMC began reminiscing about past trials. The more recent recruits talked the challenges they’d faced during theirs.

The room was filled with banter, intellectual conversations, and lots of laughter in between. Tidas couldn’t remember ever going to a better party, and he knew the commonality linking all the good ones together: Skye.

The point was driven home when Alfred came out of the back with a violin in his hand for her, and a red handkerchief for Shasta. They danced as Skye played, but they weren’t the only ones. Nearly everyone was up and moving in some way, including Tidas.

Every good moment in his life had involved at least one person from within the room. ‘I can’t imagine how Skye planned all of this. Most of the RMC lads must’ve been in the middle of either training or missions. I know father owed her one for her part in the Summer Games, but still..’

‘How the Hell did she convince my father to let everyone come?!’

In truth, it hadn’t taken much convincing on Skye’s part to get Magnus to release the people on her list from their duties. With everything he’d gone through, and everything Tidas still had to face; the king wanted his son to enjoy his birthday. No one deserved it more.

Tidas wasn’t just a good son and loyal soldier: he was a wonderful person to his father. Magnus loved all of his sons, but Tidas made his especially proud. Everything he had achieved had been done with his own willpower, and with selfless intent.

Even Magnus didn’t have as great of a sense of honor as his youngest son, and wasn’t afraid to admit it to himself. Tidas would’ve made a great ruler, and Magnus deeply regretted that he had but one kingdom. He thought Marco would be a decent king, but knew in his heart that Tidas would’ve been a great one.

Occasionally, the thought to pass over Marco, like the previous Fire Nation’s king had done with his sons, would cross his mind. Tidas would definitely allow the people to prosper, but he would most likely dismantle the crown and noble’s positions and powers..

Magnus couldn’t let that happen. It would start a civil war, and rip their kingdom apart. As well as give plenty of opportunities to their foreign enemies a chance to conquer the shattered kingdom easily. To keep the peace and status quo; Marco had to become king...

************

As the evening progressed, Sheri watched and listened intently. Marco had ordered her to report back about everything that transpired at his little brother’s celebration. She’d been quite excited to go until Draco told their boss about it. ‘The Asshole..’

Sheri really liked Skye, so she tried to stay away from her as much as possible. Every time they saw each other put a target on both of their backs. Skye, because Marco coveted her. And Sheri was a means to gather information on her.

She tried to resist at first, but when Marco had used his Ether magic on her, she couldn’t stop herself.. She gave him whatever he wanted, much to her shock and horror afterwards.

Every member of Marco’s personal guard had a tiny shard of his amulet imbedded in their skin. They couldn’t lie or challenge him in any way; not that they cared to. The shard induced a strong sense of apathy, making it hard to empathize with anyone not on Marco’s good side.

Watching everyone from a corner of the room, Sheri had a bittersweet smile on her face as she observed her targets enjoying themselves..

************

It was nearly four in the morning by the time Zas had finally carted off the remaining RMC stragglers. Maevis, Nicolas, and Marie had left an hour into the music and dancing due to Nic’s.. state. Everyone else slowly filtered out after watching Tidas open his presents.

Turned out that Skye had given a specific ‘gift guide’ along with her invitations. It was basically general ideas to inspire, but there had been specified restrictions about furniture and other such useless things. If she never saw another knickknack until the day she died, then Skye would die happy.

Once everyone had cleared out, the couple headed up to the rooftop, to watch the sunrise together. As the rays peaked over the distant horizon, the city started to come to life. The amount of voices from the street became louder and louder with ever inch added to the sun.

Skye reclined comfortably against her husband as they sat in contented silence; holding each other. As he gently squeezed her, Tidas thanked Skye for all she’d done for him.

Turning around in his arms, Skye replied; “I mean to make every birthday of yers a special memory from here on out. Do ye best get used to lookin’ forward to ’em.”

As soon as she turned back around, Tidas began to lazily play with her breasts as he replied in a low tone against her ear; “So long as I get this kind of present from you every year..”

Skye was going to smack his hand away, but decided against it. The roof they were on was higher than all the others around them, so no one could see them. She sighed with pleasure as she leaned into him as much as possible, signaling her compliance. It was his birthday, after all...

After making passionate love on the rooftop; Skye and Tidas did her Shaman Rounds together, then retired to Zazzy’s Place for the rest of the day. Rotating between playing with Zazzy, eating, making love, and sleeping until the following morning. It was the best birthday Tidas ever had, and would say so for the rest of his life..

************

Unknown to them: with their unshakable bond cemented, Skye and Tidas had completed the Bonding of the Aegis..

With the spokes in place, the wheel of Fate began to turn faster...