A Novice Mistake (ACOTAR Rhysand)

[PennyLane]

So I have been absolutely OBSESSED with the ACOTAR series! To my knowledge there are no sneeze fics for any characters, so I decided to take it into my own hands.

 

                The setting sun painted Velaris in a myriad of yellows and pinks. Color was pouring in through the study windows, illuminating the back of Rhysand as he lay sleeping face first on his desk. Feyre smirked from her seat in front the hearth. Crackling from the fire intermixed with the sound of his soft snores. The high lord of the night court had set aside today to do all the paperwork he’d been putting off for weeks. Obviously, the change in his momentum lulled the poor high lord to sleep on a pile of his own papers.

                Prying herself away from the novel in her hands, Feyre rose to join her love at his desk. The sight was adorable, to say the least, and it took all her power not to chuckle at the sight he’d become: hair ruffled, lips parted to allow for his low snoring, and a bit of ink smudged on his nose. There, sitting upon the wing of his left nostril, a smear of true black ink.

                It suits him. Feyre mused. Between his black hair, attire, and general court, the ink seemed right at home. Still, she couldn’t just leave him there, a mess for someone else to find. Feyre lifted a knuckle, and went to rub off the guilty pigment-

                “NO!!”

                In the doorway of the office stood he high lord’s two best men, his brothers, Cassian and Azriel. The former, Rhysand’s general, looked shaken to his core, moving to approach Feyre where she stood hunched over the large desk. The latter, night court’s spymaster, said nothing as he closed the doors behind him and rushed after Cassian.

                “What is the matter with you two?” Her high lady voice came out then, a defense against the confusion that had entered the study. The knuckle she’d risen hovered over Rhysand’s nostril, as if it had forgotten its purpose.

                “I know it sounds ridiculous,” Cassian huffed, eyes darting between the knuckle and paint smeared nose, “but please just trust me that it is in all of our favor that you do not wipe that ink away.”

                “For what? For you two to dress him up even more as a practical joke? Just let him sleep-“

                “It’s not about that!” The general’s voice was becoming uncharacteristically panicked, “Please Feyre, leave him alone.”

                She eyes him then, assessing all he’d said, and looked over at Azriel. The spymaster had said nothing, which was usual for him, but held a similar urgency in his eye that made her look twice. Snores brought her back to her love, asleep at the desk, and her heart melted at his vulnerable state.

                “Look, whatever game you guys are playing can wait till the morning. I’m sure Rhysand will be happy to play with you then.” At that she moved her hand at last, gingerly tracing the wing of the nostril to wipe all the residue from the papers.

                Cassian cursed from where he stood in front the desk, signaling Azriel to step forward and grab Feyre by the arm. Her head whipped to the applied pressure on her wrist. Cassian followed to her other side, placing on hand on the sleeping high lord’s shoulder and another in Azriel’s empty hand.

                “Get us out of here Az.”

                And with that they were gone. Transported, winnowed to the top of a mountain. The view ahead was vast and beautiful, enough to where it caught Feyre’s attention before the thudding of Rhysand’s semi-conscious body made her flinch.

                He had landed with a grunt, sluggish to stand before the new surrounding’s put him on high alert, “W-what’s hih going on?” His eye’s widened at the hitch in his breath, suddenly aware of how his nostrils were flaring broadly in protest to some irritation.

                Cassian slapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We tried to warn her, but your love found it fitting to go against our warning and touch that part of your nose.”

                Realization washed over his face then. Tanned fingers reached up to graze the quivering nose, as if he could still feel her hand there. A certain dread was cast over his eyes, as his nose practically came to life. Wriggling and trembling, Rhy fought to keep his eyes open against the tickle building.

                “F-F-Fey-eyyyyyyyyy-re, hah… hAH?! Snf!! Feyre darling, don’t be alarhhhhh…alarmed. You’ve seen me in a much…in a much…much…hhhhuhhh!!” Even through the hitching breaths, she could still see a smirk peering on his lips.

                You’ve seen me in a much more vulnerable state.

                He was of course referring to their nights alone together, and Feyre might have wondered off to those thoughts had her shoulders not been gripped by Cassian while he and Azriel flanked her to the ground. Her joints barked in protest to the sudden collision into the dirt.

                Cassian, Azriel, and Feyre all peered up from their position on the ground as the high lord of the night court began hitching and hitching and hitching. If Feyre didn’t know better, she may have admitted she saw trees bending and bowing to the winds Rhys was creating.

                “He made a novice mistake once, and this was the result.” Azriel said as an explanation. He received dumbfounded looks from both high lady and the war general.

                “You can’t just sum it up like that!” Cassian barked from Feyre’s right. “If you’re gonna get into it you gotta start from the beginning.”

.               .               .

                The Illyrian war camp, home to a young Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel. Long before they’re ever received their titles, the three were the targets of all their peers. Strength meant nothing to the brutes who would come day after day to challenge the trio, inevitably getting pounded near death for the attempt. No matter how much they were hated, it couldn’t be denied that they were the strongest in their league.

                On this particular day, an arrogant warrior-to-be thought himself up to the challenge to pummel the high lord’s son, Rhysand. He was, of course, wrong. Rhys met his every punch. Every swing was countered, every kick deflected and met with one twice the strength. The brute was nearly unconscious when Rhys heard the cry of Azriel nearby.

                “Get off of him you son of a bitch!” Cassian was roaring at the delinquent who had Az stuck in a hold, arms flailing for any opening to escape.

                Rhys turned his head in an attempt to see what was wrong, when he was punched square in the nose, falling to the ground.

                Cassian was quick to get Az out of his hold then, leaving him to battle his attacker, and Cassian to charge to his brother’s aid. He hoisted Rhys up by the waist and once again put him on his feet.

                “C’mon Rhys! Let’s finish his ass!”

                No response, turning to face him, Cass found his brother in almost a snarl. His nose was twitching, a small trickle of blood dribbling onto his lip. Eyes were straining to stay open for the fight he knew he still had to face.

                “Hey, if you need to sneeze, just sneeze.”

                Permission granted, Rhysand reared his head back as his lungs filled to absolute capacity. The brute and Cassian both had the sense to look nervous, marveling until Rhy’s head snapped back forward with the force of the sneeze.

                “hih…ah-heh…heGH????? HAGHHT’SHOOOOOOOOO!!!”

                Cass buckled to his knees at his brother’s side, stunning to watch the carnage he beheld. Darkness and power spilled from Rhysand’s body, tramping everything within a two-mile radius. The brute who had picked the fight was blasted into a nearby tree with a mighty thunk. Az ran toward the other two, having finished the other male, to survey the damage.

                “WHAT THE HELL RHYS?!” Cassian shook his brother with roaring laughter. They all knew he had high lord power, but this. “You’re already the most powerful bastard here, did you have to go and have a death sneeze too??”

                The high lord’s son was as astonished as his brothers. A knuckle rose to wipe the blood and rub his nose, feeling a bit of tenderness on his left nostril. “I don’t know. When that guy punched my nose, it just tickled. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

                “You mean here?” Az snuck from nowhere and was now grazing the sensitive flesh. The nostril in question flared in response, prompting a harsh tickled to bloom once again. Rhy’s breathing turned ragged, a series of hitches tumbling out.

                Cassian grabbed Azriel by the arm and pulled him behind their brother. “What did you do that for? Now he’s gonna-“

                “HHHHHH… I’m gonna… g-ghonna!! Fhhuuuuck!!! Coming..COMING!! HT’TCHIEWWWW!!!! AGHSHH!! HAITKCHH!!! Huhhhh.. HAH?!?! AGHHHHHHCHIUUUUUU!!!!”

                Just as before, darkness poured out from his frame. It blocked out the sun, making the carnage hardly visible to any bystanders. Az and Cassian, squinted to see as rock came loose from neighboring mountains and fell to the earth’s floor. Birds from every tree flew off in fear if they hadn’t been blasted away already.

                When the power finally subsided, Rhys rose from his bent position. Both brothers joined on either side, observing the true chaos his nose had unleashed. There was a clear path of destruction where Rhys was facing, decorated with fallen trees and small mountains alike.

                Silence was broken by the dark lord’s rumbling laugh. Cassian joined in, followed quietly by Az they laughed at the sight until their sides hurt, wiping tears from their eyes.

                “What?”, Rhys chuckled, “no ‘bless you’?”

.               .               .

                “See Az? That’s why you can’t just say something stupid like-“

                “G-ghet… down... down… GET DOWN!!”

                The general and spymaster both used their own bodies to cover their high lady, but she wiggled out just enough to watch the scene unfold. Watch her love truly lose control.

                “HUhhhhh… AGGGHK?! HUH…HUH… HEHHHHH!!!! EIIIISHHHHUUHHH!!!! HK’TCHHHHHHHHEW!! Snf!! Hhhh… hih…heH??? AAAAATCHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOO!!!”

                Rhysand bent at the waist, slightly shaking with every release. It was just as Cass had described it: true destruction. The dark power he was always so careful with was now spewed all across the mountain top, sparring no land that stood in its way. Feyre prayed to the Mother there was no one down there.

                At the ‘all clear’ Feyre was hauled back onto her feet, coming to face her love as he spun back around to meet her. A slight blush of embarrassment spread across his cheeks at the sight of her shock.

                The dark lord merely chucked with a knuckle under his nose, “Haha, bless me.”

[Mr. Black Cherry Berry Tea]

I really enjoyed this! Thanks for writing! I thought this was very nicely written and inspired me to read up more on this book series. I thought the characters really came through in a pretty short piece. And of course the sneezes were super well-written. And an awesome premise!

[PennyLane]

4 hours ago, Mr. Black Cherry Berry Tea said:

I really enjoyed this! Thanks for writing! I thought this was very nicely written and inspired me to read up more on this book series. I thought the characters really came through in a pretty short piece. And of course the sneezes were super well-written. And an awesome premise!

Ah thank you!! I've been reading your stories for so long this feels like an honor.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole ACOTAR series! Lots of fae and fantasy and steamy scenes. The character Cassian is mentioned a few times in the book to have pollen allergies, so I'm hoping to write one about him soon as well.

[BurgundyJayne]

I agree! Well done!!