Summer Garden

Trei

Trei froze looking up in embarrassment at the woman who had popped into existence in his room.

He finished pulling up his pants slowly, and the woman blushed, and then vanished. He scratched his head and then pulled on his t-shirt, wincing at the smell. Having only the one set of clothes was beginning to be a problem.

He shuffled out to the kitchen, pausing as he saw someone new. Not the same woman as before, but another, standing by the fire. The woman turned around, and he immediately felt the need to straighten up. The woman bowed her head slightly, "Sir. I am known as Astrian. I am the caretaker of this location. The Lady Summer has been called to deal with a situation. I shall be assisting you today."

He felt a little tongue-tied as he stumbled out a sentence, "Uh... Thanks... Um... There was... Someone in my room?"

Astrian raised an eyebrow, "Someone in your room, sir?"

"For a moment. A... Woman?"

Astrian frowned, "Was she Fae or mortal?"

"Fae. I think." He paused, "She caught me getting changed, got embarrassed and vanished. She had... Silver hair?"

Astrian nodded slowly, "I see. Well, sir, I'm afraid the guest bedroom you are utilising was the regular bedroom of a Fae. Her name is Luna, and it appears she came without knocking. I shall remind her to show more caution and etiquette whilst we have guests. She may not return, having embarrassed herself in meeting you in such a way, or may offer an apology."

Trei nodded slowly, "Rightio."

"No sir, not 'rightio'." Astrian said, a hint of disgust in her voice, "I see my lessons are well-needed. Sit a moment, your breakfast is prepared."

He sat down at the table awkwardly, not quite sure what was going on, or how he had offended the Fae. She placed a warm plate with roasted rabbit in front of him, as well as a silver knife and fork. Then she sat down opposite and nodded, "You may eat, we have quite a day ahead of us."

Trei began cutting the meat, "So... What does that mean?"

"That you are a rude, arrogant child." Astrian replied haughtily, "I will educate you on manners, and attempt to make you less offensive to the Fae. You have offended me every time you have spoken this morning, sir. You speak hesitantly, without confidence, and the questions you ask are indirect and broad. That is impolite. If you truly have no idea to the answer of a question, you must rephrase the question in a less offensive manner. Instead of 'what does that mean', ask instead, 'can you educate me on your meaning'. It is direct, assertive, without trying to admit fault."

Trei nodded, and Astrian glared, "Assert, sir. You hesitated just now. In Fae culture, that means that you do not trust me, and are considering whether it is worth your time to cause me harm. It's a threat. Do humans value deference in this way?"

"Yes." Trei replied simply, shrugging, "If I were to assert myself to my master, he'd probably punch me in the face."

Astrian sighed, "Better, but drop the probably next time. Interesting. Humans value outward weakness?"

"Not as such." Trei drummed his fingers for a moment, "Humans value... Hierarchy. I was merely an apprentice, and so my master must be shown respect by myself not appearing equal to him. That isn't seen as weakness, but justice of a sort."

Astrian paused in shock, and Trei raised an eyebrow. Astrian nodded, "Apologies. Culture shock is quite shocking. Humans bow to their leaders as a sign of reverence, then. Here, it would be little more than an offence so great as to require a duel to settle the manner. I highly recommend you avoid such a circumstance from occurring."

Trei nodded, glancing at his body, "I'm starting to get the hang of walking. I doubt I'd be much of a fight, not that I was when I was alive."

"Sir." Astrian reminded him gently and Trei shrugged, "That is the past. I don't know the limits of a ghoul, and that should be a threat to any opponent."

The housekeeper smiled, "Good. I will also be assisting you with the matter of your ghoulishness, sir. The Lady Summer has nearly boundless power, but she is not educated on all manners of magic, and thus your resurrection was little more than an accident, though perhaps an inevitable one. I however, am highly educated in living magic, known to Faekind as Gaia."

Trei held up a hand, "Educate me. Why would this have been inevitable?"

Astrian looked distressed, "Sir. Well spoken. However, I have said more than I should have, and overstepped. It is within your authority to force me to explain, but I would rather not. Please, take no offence."

Trei cocked his head, "Why would I have any such authority over you, Astrian? I'm a dead mortal. I know Lady Summer is... Important, but not how... And we aren't married yet."

Astrian hesitated, and Trei glared, wondering if it was the right response. Hesitation might mean offence, or simply that he caught her off guard. The Fae were a strange race. He'd have to do a balancing act every time he spoke to one, it seemed.

"She can't answer that either." A new voice, almost musical, said from a nearby doorway.

Trei glanced over and saw a small-ish Fae, holding her nose, her wings were rolled up on her back, and her silver eyes were framed by identical long hair that flowed down to her waist. He smiled, "Oh. Sorry about before."

The Fae looked away quickly, her face turning red, "Please sir, don't mention it. Ever."

He grinned at the force of the last word, "Would you like to join us? Astrian is attempting to educate me on your people."

"Not really." The woman said, still holding her nose, "Maybe once you've eaten. I just came to apologise, m'lord."

Trei felt his heart skip a beat, surprised by the implication. Both Fae turned and stared at him openly, and Trei looked from one to the other, "Educate me."

Astrian laughed, "You might try a variety of words, sir. We were waiting to see if you just... Died."

He scratched his head, and the silver-haired woman spoke with irritation, "Your heart, idiot. It beat. You're dead. You aren't meant to have a heartbeat... Sir."

Trei really liked this one. Calling him out before remembering he was supposed to be important for some reason no one could tell him. "So, what would your name be, miss?"

She glared at him, "You have your work cut out for you Astrian, making this idiot fit in. I'm guessing you didn't mean to insult me just now."

Trei shrugged, "If you're going to come by later, I need to know your name."

The Fae bristled with anger, and Trei felt himself struggling to contain his laughter. She certainly looked cute when she got riled up. Then a thought occurred to him and he immediately flatlined. If Summer found out he was flirting with another Fae she might kill him, or worse. Or the Council might use it as an excuse to hurt Summer.

"I am the Lady Luna." She growled between clenched teeth that Trei suddenly realised were all fangs, "I am the Crown Princess, the Shadow Knight of the Evening Realms, and Guardian of the Shrine."

Trei fought the urge to appear terrified, "Apologies, m'lady."

Luna sighed, turning to Astrian, "I'll be in the garden when you're done in here. There's a few things I have to discuss with the idiot."

She stormed out the door, and Trei heard Astrian slowly let out a held breath. He turned back to her, "Crown Princess. Did I just offend the daughter of the Queen? Do the Fae have a Queen?"

Astrian nodded, "Yes, we have a Queen. The Queen heads the Council, and is bound by it. So not a queen as in mortal terms. However, the queen has always lead our Council, and they have always advised her. It is not an experiment in democracy, such as the city from whence you came. As to your first question, Princess Luna is not the daughter of the Queen, but rather her sister. It is a prestigious position, but not the one that demands the most respect. She listed some of her titles for you, in reversing order. The Guardian of the Shrine is one of the highest positions that any can have in our culture, and in times of war or crisis, the Guardian is capable of overruling the Council."

Trei looked down, "Oh."

Astrian sighed, "Many things will be difficult, sir. You will learn how to cope with some of them in time, however not offending the Princess is one I do not expect you to master. I have sent the Lady into a rage on more than one occasion. She is difficult to please. I am somewhat confused by her actions here, however. It appears that you made her uncomfortable, and so she took a greater offence than was necessary. Perhaps the smell, or the incident earlier."

Trei sighed, "I guess I'd better eat, so the two of you can educate me."

"One more matter, sir. I said I could help you with your current state." Astrian spoke as he ate quickly, "It appears the Princess also wishes to assist. Gaia, our living magic, may allow us to more tightly integrate your soul to your body. This will not cure your death, but it will allow your soul to take a few actions, such as beginning to heal the burns across you."

Trei grinned, "Can it help with the smell?"

"Yes." Astrian replied, struggling not to laugh at his eagerness, "As will a shower and new clothes. We will also deal with those."