Well - yes, obviously a fairy court but - that does seem like a place where manipulation would be necessary. God knows I have enough trouble with the counts.
. . . nothing of consequence, honestly. I was—just growing up there. An idle lordling. I was old enough to start getting—attention, but nothing I particularly wanted. I was—the worst kind of people pleaser, though.
Well, that makes them sound more . . . evenly balanced than they are. They aren't clean reflections. The Seelie Court is the more powerful of the two—I suppose you could say a little more "good" aligned in the sense that they are respected as the rulers of the fae. The Fair Folk, the High Court. Beautiful, powerful, often—protectors, helpers, or just neutral entities, though they can also be capricious, mischievous, and cruel in their own ways. The Summer Court is very much—I guess what you'd imagine if you're thinking of a fae civilization, part natural and part architecture, golden and green, the world beyond the veil.
The Unseelie Court is made of . . . well, a much wider and wilder variety. The host, the sluagh, the Gloaming Court. They do have a Court of their own, rulers, hierarchies, but their dominion is in the shadows. More scattered. I'd say a greater percentage of the Unseelie don't really associate with the Courts at all. A lot of solitary fae. The Wild Hunts. And—plenty of creatures that the Seelie and the world at large would consider more monstrous than fae. Dullahans and changelings, hags and redcaps.
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Ah. I didn't . . . I didn't love it. It felt—
[he shivers a little]
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Now it feels like a ghost living in the back of my head.
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... What were you doing at the court?
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[ a faint nose wrinkle, but it's sympathetic. miles never was a people pleaser. ]
Were you the heir, or were your siblings further up?
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What - er - what does a fairy court look like, anyway? I'm picturing ... plants, and flowers, and that sort of thing.
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What—do you know about . . . the fae? Do you know what Seelie and Unseelie are?
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The Unseelie Court is made of . . . well, a much wider and wilder variety. The host, the sluagh, the Gloaming Court. They do have a Court of their own, rulers, hierarchies, but their dominion is in the shadows. More scattered. I'd say a greater percentage of the Unseelie don't really associate with the Courts at all. A lot of solitary fae. The Wild Hunts. And—plenty of creatures that the Seelie and the world at large would consider more monstrous than fae. Dullahans and changelings, hags and redcaps.
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Which do you belong to?
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. . .
What do you think?
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But given you've mentioned more structure, I assume Seelie.
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You'd be delighted if I were an evil fairy, Miles?
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[ no hesitation ]
The bad fairies give the best christening gifts.
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You read too many stories.
I am of the Unseelie Court, though.
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[ hot hot hot hot hot ]
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[stares at him for a long moment]
[. . . . . . . ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥]
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Anyway. ]
Well. Barrayarans. If we were a fae court, we would certainly belong to the Unseelie as well. At least by galactic standards.
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