fluff (cross posted on tumblr)
request: yes
adriata was a beautiful city, one that you were thankful you could grow up in. it was one of the more wealthier cities in summer, seeing as how most of the people who lived there had some sort of monetizable craft. tarquin, known for his generosity and views on class structure, often hired regular fae folk to work in the palace in various different positions.
you, however, were not one of said people. you were a fisherman daughter, a rich one, but nowhere near any soft of title or mobility. you lived a comfortable life with your siblings and family, and had little to no troubles in your day to day life.
except for today.
you were at the market, as you always are on a beautiful sunday morning, looking for food to stalk up your reserves with for the coming week. you had bought everything you needed except for one thing. it was a specific kind of spice, one that was shipped from the night court every few months and was always in high demand in summer. you had been haggling with a shopkeeper for ten minutes but to no avail. you had spent most of your money on other necessities for the family, but this one fucking spice was all you really wanted.
"i'll pay you twice the amount of the original spice next week." you said, trying to sound like you weren't begging.
"no can do missy. pay now or no spice." uptight piece of fae shit, you thought to yourself as you continued to grumble about the price in your head. you turned around and moved off to the side, trying to think of a way to get your hands on that damned plant when a shadow appeared in front of you.
"you seem tense," a new voice said. you raised your brow, not accustomed to random strangers speaking to you for no reason. you had to try not to let a smirk come to your face at the sight of this gorgeous male in front of you.
"that shopkeeper is a right bitch i'll tell you that." that pulled a laugh from him as he followed your glare to the stand you had previously been at.
"what? she giving you trouble?" he asked, moving to stand next to you so you could resume your one sided death-glare-match. jesus, he even smelled amazing, and he had a pretty sweet smile. you turned to look at him for a few seconds. his skin was light, and he sported dark hair and light clothes. his whole being seemed to work in opposition of itself. the clothes looked to light for his aura, and his skin was to pale to be of summer origins if not mixed with something from autumn or winter. maybe the black hair was dye?
"i come by that hag's stall every week for the same spice. its a bloody expensive spice, but i pay for it in full everytime. and now when i'm a few coin down she wants to throw a hissy fit and act like i'm not good for the money? she has jokes."
gods, rhys was almost red in the face from keeping in his laughter at this random woman he was standing next to. he had risen early that morning to get a look at adiratas famed morning markets. he had originally planned to get a few things for his cousin and amren before making his way back to the palace. that was before he spotted this wonderfully gorgeous sulking woman standing at the side of a tend and decided he wanted to annoy her. what pulled him towards her, he couldn't say.
"what type of spice is it?"
"anise. its shaped like a little star."
rhys knew the plant, of course he fucking did. it was one of night's biggest plant exports, all the courts wanted a piece of it. rhys found himself faced with two options. option one, he lets the women rant for a while longer before bidding her goodday. or two, he could be a little shit. he obviously went with option two.
"like this?" the man asked. one second, there was nothing in his hand, the next, a few small pieces of the star plant magically appeared in his hand. your eyes nearly buldged out of your head as you quickly scooped them out of his hands and into yours.
at this point, rhys could only assume that you had no idea who he was. for who would be so brave and stupid to wrestle a damned plant out of a high lords hand in the middle of market.
"where in the fuck did you get that from?!" you wondered as you examined the plant. it was real, from what you could see. smelled and looked as real as it could.
"where did i get - this - from?" he asked as he pulled a few more out of his hand.
"oh my gods, stop it. what are you some kind of angel."
"i'm afraid not, just a high lord." rhys took great pleasure in watching your eyes nearly bulge out of your head as you looked between him and the plants.
"i knew you looked weird!" you said once you regained your composure. he raised a brow in qurdtion.
"well for starters you obviously aren't from here. your clothes look too light for your energy, and your hair is as black as the sky. winter is pale, autumn folk have red hair, spring have blonde and are much more angular in the face. you could be from day or dawn, but it almost feels like you suck in the light rather than reflect it. so you must be from night. rhysand, is it?" now it was rhys' turn to be shocked.
"y-yes, that would be correct." stutter. you just made the high lord, HIGH LORD, of the night court stutter. over you?
"work your fancy little high lord magic for me and get me some more of those star seeds?"
"what will i get out of it." rhys asked as he took a step closer to you. gods he was close, so close that you could hear as he took a breath, could watch his bright purple eyes flit across your face from your eyebrows to the small scar on your cheek, to your lips, then back to your eyes.
"what do you want out of it?" you challenged. he smiled, making a show of thinking about it for a second before he leveled you a look.
"a date."
"a date?" now it was your turn to stutter.
"you heard me." he pressed on. he held his palm out face up. he glanced down to his hand, your gaze following along, and watched as dozens of plants materialized in his palm out of thin air.
some star seeds in exchange for a date with a high lord? you'd be a fool to say no.
"no." rhys pulled up short. the last time he had been denied by a woman had been hundreds of years ago by amren.
"i beg your pardon?"
"it's gonna take a lot more than a few seeds to get me to go on a date with you. try harder next time." aha, hope.
"next time?" rhys asked as you started to walk away. you didn't give him a response. instead, you gave him one last meaningful look before beginning to walk away.
"wait. how will i find you if i don't know your name?" he asked, in a last-ditch attempt to save his pride.
"y/n," you replied, "i'm sure that's all you'll need."
it was.
"until next time, rhysand."
"until next time, y/n."
