Aurick did not sleep well. He kept falling in and out of sleep and despite his time, it was as restless as if he had stalked the castle all night. So when morning came, with songbirds singing and light peering in from outside, he attempted to hide under his pillow. Sadly, his reprieve from the morning activities was cut short by a knocking at his door. He had attempted to ignore it, but the obnoxious sound continued as though it were there to spite him.
With a groan of annoyance, the elven man relented and emerged from his comfortable fort. “I’m coming!” He grumbled as he grabbed his cloak and threw it over himself before approaching the accursed door. Upon opening it, he was met with a the visage of a guard, his hoof raised to knock again. A hard glare made the stallion nervously return the hoof to the floor.
“Uh, heh.” The guard looked away nervously, clearly a little afraid of the towering figure. “ The, uh, the Princesses wished to invite you to breakfast… sir.” Aurick couldn't help but sigh. This was why the stallion was banging on his door like that?
“Fine. Gimme a moment and you can bring me there.” He said, before shutting the door on the guard. Normally he wouldn't be so crass, but he was having a bad morning. He quickly grabbed his boots and put them on. He quickly realized the clothes he had on now were the only ones he owned in this world. With a groan, Aurick made a mental note to find someone to make him new clothes. Once he donned all the things he owned, he entered the bathroom to freshen up.
A single look in the mirror destroyed any hope of that. The man’s hair was a mess. Of course, his hair was usually fairly messy, but the way it was looked far worse than usual. It stuck out at odd angles, and looked like a couple of knots got tied in it somehow. He sighed as he grabbed the brush on the counter and tried his best to make himself look somewhat presentable. Even after his surprisingly successful attempt, he still looked like shit.
His eyes were red from the tears he had shed, and they appeared to be bloodshot around the edges. He looked like he was half asleep as well. The best he could do to remedy this was to splash cold water on his face. It wasn’t much, but he looked a bit more alert now. He took in his appearance with a sigh before exiting the bathroom.
The guard was still waiting for him outside the door, having taken position next to it. He looked up at the elf who simply nodded in return. The stallion returned the nod and began to walk off, his legs a little stiff. Nothing was said during their trip to the dining room, though Aurick did take note that Lieutenant Light Step had resumed her duty and was following him unseen.
Upon entering, he was met with a similar sight to last time. The three sat at the table nursing a cup of coffee, or in Celestia’s case, tea. They looked up upon his entry, Twilight and Celestia giving him a warm smile. Luna still had an impassive stare.
“Wow, you look…” Twilight said, her smile becoming more forced when she noticed his appearance.
“Like shit. I didn’t sleep too well.” Twilight just nodded with a faint blush as he took a seat. Luna looked as if she had just found the answer to a question that had been bugging her.
“Hope you’re research was fruitful, at least.” Celestia spoke, a tender smile on her face.
“For the most part. I looked into the Everfree, just to make sure I wasn’t getting in over my head. As far as I could find, I won’t have much issue unless I run into the Hydra. Even then, I’ll probably make some safety items so I can make an escape if I need to.” The elf replied, even as a servant came in ad brought him a coffee. He didn’t know how they did it, but it was the best coffee he ever had. They probably used some sort of machine.
“Oh? What kind of items would those be?” Luna asked, her desire to know evident, despite her passive appearance.
“The primary one would be a ring that I could use to teleport away. The issue is that those require diamonds and they can only be used once before the thing shatters.” The royal sisters glanced at each other for a moment, before Celestia decided to speak.
“How hard are they to produce?” It was clear to Aurick that the princesses were trying to see if he would make them some.
“They’re not a multilayered enchantment like what brought me here. It’d only take me about half an hour to produce one. Though, I should warn you. If you want me to make some for you, I’d need to build a focus stone somewhere. The teleportation enchantment has a tendency to place people in walls and floors, so to stop that from happening, we’ll need a set location for the rings to send you. Which would be the focus stone.” The royal pair nodded whilst Twilight was writing down what he had said.
“If you are willing, we’d like to request some of these. In exchange, we will cover the expenses of a house in Ponyville for you.” Aurick hadn’t even thought about that. He didn’t have his money anymore. He was broke.
“Sure.” He replied instantly. He didn’t know the price of a house, but if they were anything like they were in Jarak, then a couple hours of work was more than a good deal.
“Good. If you would give me a list of required materials after breakfast I’ll be sure to get them to you. In the mean time, Twilight?” The purple mare looked up at her mentor. “Would you be so kind as to look into available houses for Aurick. I’m sure he doesn’t want to stay in the castle for too long, lest he get caught up in some political game.”
“Of course, Princess.” She smiled before turning towards Aurick. “I think I know just the place for you too. I’ll just need to look into its price and if it needs repairs.”
“And what kind of place is that?”
“There’s a large house just outside of town that’s been abandoned for a long time. No one wants to live there because it’s so close to the Everfree. So it probably wouldn’t cost all that much, but it’s more than likely a little broken down.” Aurick nodded and placed a hand to his chin as he thought about it for a moment.
“I guess that works. I could set up some wards so that the monsters wouldn’t be able to approach. I guess it depends on how long it takes to repair.”
“Okay. I’ll look into some other places, just in case.”
The rest of breakfast devolved into small talk. A couple of questions were asked about Aurick’s homeland, but they stopped after they saw it visibly bring his mood down. After that, they mostly talked about life in Equestria, and what Ponyville was like. Overall, Aurick enjoyed the experience. Sadly, it couldn’t last forever, as the Princesses still had a country to run. Aurick informed them of the materials he’d need for the rings and the focus stone, and they told him that he’d have them in about a half hour before they left.