The celebration did not calm with the moon.
It escalated.
Music carried long into the night. Laughter echoed beneath vaulted ceilings. Even Jax, who normally observed more than he participated, found himself pulled into the dance floor — surrounded on all sides by the Vixens.
Nyxian twirled him.
Bunny laughed loudly.
Zee swayed closer than necessary.
And Llandra, glowing from both victory and mead, never strayed far from his side.
By the time the feast wound down, the castle felt alive.
And then—
Reality returned.
Guards approached.
"My ladies," one said respectfully, "we have been ordered to escort you to your chambers."
The guard gestured politely toward separate corridors.
"You will each have your own rooms tonight."
Nyxian blinked.
"…Excuse me?"
The Vixens stared at him.
Ah hell no.
"We're not staying with Jax?" Nyxian demanded.
Bunny folded her arms. "Why can't we stay together?"
Zee nodded in complete agreement.
The poor guard looked increasingly confused.
"I was only instructed to escort each of you safely to your rooms, miss."
He did not understand the situation.
He very much did not understand the situation.
"Princess," he added carefully, "Their Majesties requested you be escorted to your former chamber once your guests are settled."
Llandra blinked.
Her former chamber.
The realization hit.
Oh.
Nyxian stepped forward conspiratorially.
"I'm sure the King and Queen wouldn't mind if we just… stayed together," she suggested, swaying slightly. "You can tell them we're tucked in and just… go away."
The guard stiffened.
"I am only following orders."
"Not tonight," Nyxian protested.
Bunny nodded vigorously.
Zee looked ready to stage a rebellion.
Llandra, though equally affected by the Pixie Mead, inhaled and forced composure.
"It will be fine," she said gently. "Just one night."
She shot Jax an apologetic glance.
He gave her a look that said: We'll survive.
He was escorted to an elegant guest chamber.
Large bed.
Soft linens.
Far smaller than the custom monstrosity he'd built for the house in Solmere.
But comfortable.
He shut the door.
Silence.
He exhaled.
After months of shared nights, constant closeness, and never truly sleeping alone…
Perhaps one quiet evening wouldn't be so bad.
He undressed as usual — long since accustomed to sleeping without restraint — and slid beneath the sheets.
The Pixie Mead left his head pleasantly warm.
His system would clear it by morning.
For now…
He simply felt happy.
He drifted.
---
He woke to warmth.
And weight.
His eyes adjusted slowly.
Red hair spilled across his chest.
Nyxian.
She was very much not in her assigned room.
"You couldn't wait one night?" he murmured.
Her answer was a kiss.
Trailing down his body.
Dangerously so.
Jax inhaled sharply—
The door opened again.
Zee slipped inside.
She froze for half a heartbeat.
Then smiled.
"Good," she whispered. "I wasn't too late."
She climbed onto the bed as if this were entirely reasonable.
"You girls are going to get us into trouble," Jax muttered.
No one seemed concerned.
"Well," he added under his breath, "we have to keep this very quiet."
Zee nodded seriously.
Then cast a subtle sound-dampening spell.
It shimmered faintly in the air.
Nyxian grinned.
"Oh, we'll try."
The door burst open.
"I'm taking top!" Bunny declared triumphantly, already halfway across the room.
Jax buried his face in his hands.
"This is a royal castle," he reminded them.
They did not care.
The door creaked open again.
Slower this time.
"You are NOT having Jax without me," Llandra declared — buzzed, determined, and entirely done pretending.
She closed the door behind her with deliberate finality.
All four Vixens now occupied the bed.
Jax lay there for a moment.
Outnumbered.
Surrounded.
Doomed.
"Well," he sighed. "At least try to remember we're guests."
Zee's spell flickered slightly.
It required focus.
Focus was… limited.
The castle corridors did not remain entirely silent.
Distant muffled sounds escaped the room.
A gasp here.
A stifled laugh there.
Somewhere down the hall—
"What is that noise?"
"…Are they rehearsing something?"
"Rehearsing what?"
"It sounds… enthusiastic."
Hours passed.
The spell wavered more than once.
The castle was very much awake.
"They're still going?" a noblewoman whispered in disbelief.
"How does one even—"
Her husband rolled over and pretended not to hear.
Somewhere else—
"Is that the princess?"
"…Surely not."
"…Surely."
By the time the night finally quieted, the castle had gained a new kind of legend.
Morning would bring ceremony.
Politics.
Tradition.
But tonight—
Pixie Mead had won.
And the Vixens had proven once again that separation was not a rule they acknowledged.
As the moon dipped lower over Etherevalis, one thought lingered in many minds:
If this is what happens on the first night…
What in the world will marriage bring?