★★★☆☆ Distinction of Place, by Seanan McGuire
Rozenn's father partly vindicated, but deceived
Distinction of Place
Seanan McGuire
Distinction of Place is Seanan McGuire's June 2023 Patreon story. It follows Mean and Mighty, her September 2021 story. She introduces it as follows
(Image: A very fluffy tortoiseshell Maine Coon does a very big yawn.)
Welcome to June, and welcome back to Tybalt's semi-medieval adventures, in which he tries to stay alive long enough to become the man we know him to be. This story picks up straight from "Mean and Mighty," which is also attached, for easy of catching up, and follows Tybalt out of Armorica on his quest to confirm the current location of the hope chest known as Quickbeam.
Boy needs a nap.
Mean and Mighty gave us a glimpse of Tybalt living with his changeling ward Rozenn, whom he took on to save her from death at the hands of Daoine Sidhe fae, who have a dim view of changelings. Tybalt also had a dim view of changelings when he took her on, but in Mean and Mighty it became clear that Rozenn had wormed her way into his life and affections.
Tybalt wants to be free to abdicate the kingship of Armorica, which he took on to save it (and possibly all of faerie) from destruction, but he feels responsible for Rozenn. Thus, he is trying to find a happy way to dispose of her. He hopes to use a hope chest to purge the human from her blood, thus making her pureblood fae and safe. Rozenn's father Duke Budoc has offered to perform this service for his daughters, using the hope chest Quickbeam. (As far as I know, the similarity between this name and that of one of Tolkien's Ents is coincidental.) Supposedly all the hope chests were lost, but Daoine King Alban claims to have gotten his hands on Quickbeam and to be willing to use it in Duke Budoc's service.
The story is about Tybalt's investigation and what he finds.