— she was safe and that’s what mattered. he’d wanted to find her at the wedding— in the wake of chaos and panic, his mind had immediately gone to her, fear wrapping an icy hand around his heart while blue eyes scanned the sea of faces, looking for those golden curls and her cherubic face. the plans- so far as he was aware at least- had not included the tsarina but the fae’s confusion, panic, fear had been contagious and without realizing it, he’d found himself infected— his mind running on a one way track: tatiana. 

that one track mind had lost him the favor of the lord who’s arm he’d graced for the evening though alexei had chalked it up to no great loss though perhaps he should have a greater care for his connections with the autumn court in the wake of this... tragedy. his lips pressed thin, the sounds of his boot heels echoing back to him and his mind wandering back to words painted crudely on the wall in the slain fae’s blood: the resistance sends its regards. it was always going to end in war, he knew that— but there was something about the words themselves that had alexei’s hackles rising. taunting. it had been taunting— like a child wanting to egg on another much bigger child, goading them into striking back. 

would the retaliation not start with those they held captive? making an example of those who hadn’t slipped so easily from the grasp of the fae? what if— ( no— stop this. there is nothing to be done with what ifs. ) 

a glimpse of golden curls and slight stature pulled his thoughts from the morose train it had been on and his heart leapt in his chest. she was safe— he’d known so in his mind but his heart hadn’t quite accepted it until that moment— and alexei had to force himself to not sprint down the castle corridor, the sound of his boot heels against stone perhaps coming a bit quicker in his eagerness to reach the tsarina, falling into step beside her almost seamlessly. 

“i’m quite cross with you, koshka,” alexei spoke in their mother tongue, his tone betrayed his words, coming out conversationally with the slightest hint of a smile hidden in his voice, the corners of his mouth trying to twitch up with it while his brow furrowed in a pantomime of the aforementioned crossness, “i was riddled with worry and concern for my most precious tsarina.” that as much was true but the relief over seeing her face had his brow smoothing and his mouth lifting in a smile, sincerity ringing in his words, “my heart is warmed by the sight of your face, koshka.”

“you know,” tolyn started, leaning slightly down to murmur under his breath, his tone even and measured, “if you wanted to wander off when my back was turned, i’d give you a five minutes head start.” it had probably been the longest she’d stayed at a court function and for once, tolyn found himself wishing she would wait until his gaze was averted before slipping out from under his nose. this was probably important considering what had transpired at the wedding of the night king but the advisor’s voice had been droning on for what felt like three centuries— tolyn had almost fallen asleep twice. it was a wonder that guinevere hadn’t already tried to slip away. 

he considered why she hadn’t— perhaps the murder at the night court had given his charge a good wake up call. ( convenient time to have a wake up call— just in time to listen to councilor boring give his monotone speech. ) perhaps this was her way of showing more support to lady rowan and if that were the case, he’d almost feel bad about asking her to wander off. 

almost. this man was mad boring— he wasn’t sure he’d be able to jerk himself awake a third time.

nymphcts​:

he couldn’t be in every court at once and there were a handful where he was certain his affiliation with the winter court would only hinder him— but the nymphs could. and would certainly be privy to more information than he was. 

— it wasn’t exactly easy to have access to the nymphs, the garden being forbidden to outsiders. well, at least, mostly forbidden. it was amazing what doors would open for the right amount of coin though alexei wasn’t sure if it had been worth it all that much; after all, it was something of an incredible longshot to bet on the nymphs sharing their knowledge with him. the secrets they held were power for them just as much as they were for alexei— he’d just have to find a way to convince them to share what they knew. again: incredible longshot. 

 he’d been wandering- trying to settle himself among those in the orchard without attracting any attention ( he didn’t want attention, not yet ) when he heard her voice. the huffing and grunting was a noise he was all too familiar with and while alexei could certainly guess what was happening behind the quaint cottage, curiosity got the best of him. eyes darting one way and the other to make sure he wasn’t followed, he slipped on silent feet down the side of the cottage, his back pressing against the stone wall, hiding him in shadow while his ears trained on her voice. there was a impatience in her voice, the words not quiet registering in alexei’s ears at first but he heard her question loud and clear: what do you know about unbreakable bonds? 

that in itself was enough to pique his interest— unbreakable bond wasn’t exactly the sort of garden variety enchantment you just put on someone. the why was sure to be an interesting story that might lead to bigger discoveries along with other possibilities depending on what the old bastard said next. perhaps she should need help with this unbreakable bond— the kind of help that wouldn’t require anything on her part except to talk. 

oh yeah, he was listening to this. 

tag drop ✦ tolyn && alexei