Rowaelin oneshots

Meet My Mother

I can't remember whats Rowan's canon mum's name is :/

It had been about a week since Aelin had left for Ardland. Since then, Rowan had continued in her footsteps. He had been travelling across Eyllwe, stopping in each costal village or town, and meeting the lowlife. Offering them a place in the new Terresan palace, as a cook or a healer. Or even a companion, a well-paid right hand to any court member who needed it.

He wasn't sure whose idea it was to start off with—Lysandra's or Aelin's, but Aelin had been the one to carry it out, until she was pulled away for peace negotiations in Ardland.

Since she'd been gone, he'd only received a grand total of two letters, one of them was about the boat ride over, asking him if he was the one who took her reserve chocolates out of her bag. It wasn't him, he'd replied. Though he did have a stinking suspicion she'd just eaten them in a spur of the moment decision, and now wished she hadn't.

The second letter was shorter than the first, and bore only six words. It was easy to tell that each of them were from the bottom of her heart. In giant print at the top of the letter was 'I HATE THIS!' And smaller, more modest, underneath that was; 'I miss you.'

He hadn't replied to that one. Didn't know how. Didn't have the right words for it.

Swooping down to the ground, he stretched his wings back into arms and smiled. Smiled at the surprised crowd of street visits and doorway sleepers, and the true smiles that bore only broken teeth. He hated seeing the poverty they lived in.

By now there were hushed whispers flying around the darkened alley, and with his fae ears he could hear each of them. Each breath catching as they realised that he could hear them.

He stood there, in the smiling silence, until a woman approached. "Is it true that you are Prince Rowan? The queen's husband? Why are you here? Are you going to kill us? Are we in danger?"

Her questions kept pouring out.

She seemed to realise that Rowan wasn't keeping track of them all, and just asked him one, "why are you here?"

"To offer you a job. Any of you. As many of you who want to come. Our castle is being built, and we need staff. We need guards, cooks, healers, clerks, anything your ambitions would push you to be." He finished, letting out a sigh, "this is the last township that I am offering this to, so make your choice wisely."

Almost everyone put themselves down for something, and he watched as the crowd reached up to write their names up and list off the jobs that they wished to achieve. He smiled as he pulled the list off the alley wall; these people had more of purpose now. And it was because of him.

Whistling through his fingers to get the crowd's attention, he watched them turn. "Tomorrow, a ship will arrive. You will each be given your own quarters, though at the moment it looks like it might be two to a bunk room. When the ship arrives you will see a beautiful young girl with horrible scars on her face and fiery red hair. Her name is Evangeline Falken, she will be accompanied by a ghost leopard. You are to listen to them. Their word will be the law for the trip over."

With that, he flashed into his falcon form and flew back westward, toward home. With the papers gripped in his claws he smiled through his beak.

He would give anything to be in his kitchen right now, with Aelin who had predictably eaten so many chocolates that she was near to spewing. He wished he could be holding back her hair as she retched into the bin. And soon he would be. Soon it would be back to just him and her, with the world in front of them.

And they would have fun day tasks, like burning Doranelle to the ground, now that it was abandoned and part of Aelin's territory, they could turn Maeve's palace home to ashes. Of course, Aedion would have to be included in that one.