Chapter 19
Iwoke early the next morning, unable to stay in bed a minute longer. Gaelin was still sound asleep next to me, exhausted from the past few days. I dressed quietly, making sure not to wake him, and headed down to the castle entrance. Crowds of people were standing back against the walls awaiting the dark alfar’s departure.
I fell in line with the rest of the humans, trying to blend in. A few moments passed before Erendrial and the other dark alfar exited the castle into the plaza. He took in a deep breath and turned his head slowly in my direction as if he could smell me. He nodded at me without a smile and continued towards the royals for his send-off. They bowed to one another politely.
The royals walked casually back to the castle’s front doors as the dark alfar stood in the clearing. They all raised some type of whistle to their mouths, creating a series of different loud pitches. Together, they created an alluring symphony of echoes. Shrieks roared high in the sky, and we all turned our eyes up. Ragamor appeared in the clouds, circling the castle like a swarm of locusts.
Only a few touched down at a time, allowing the dark alfar to board them before taking off into the sky. Their beautiful scales shimmered in the sunlight as their massive wings pushed them powerfully off the ground. Erendrial was the last to mount his exquisite ragamor. He nodded to the royals one last time before he took flight, shooting up so fast it knocked a few of the light alfar to the ground. The alfar and humans alike watched in awe of the creatures.
The enemy was gone, yet somehow, I felt more alone than I had experienced since arriving to court. I made my way back into the castle before the crowd, finding busy work to occupy myself with until I had to return to Gaelin’s room. He was up, standing at the railing of the balcony, looking at the kingdom. I joined him, taking in the beautiful landscape.
“I think we deserve a bit of a distraction, don’t you?” he said without looking at me.
“What do you have in mind?” I asked.
He took my hand and headed out of the room. Everyone gawked at us as we passed by, heading through the halls still hand in hand.
“Gaelin, you’ll get in trouble.”
“If I am to be their king, then they will have to get used to the sight of us together,” he said, smiling back at me.
I returned the smile, following him down to the stables. He mounted a horse and offered his hand to me, pulling me up behind him. We took off, leaving the court, the politics, and the laws behind us.
I held onto his waist tightly as the horse ran at full speed. We rode for a long while before Gaelin finally stopped at a natural spring that fed into a massive lake. He dismounted and reached for my waist. I slid gently down beside him, as he kept his arm wrapped around me. We stood for a moment, looking at the crystal-clear water. You could see straight through to the bottom of the lake.
I smiled, taking in the beauty of the fae world. We didn’t have anything like this back home. All our bodies of water were dark and murky. I was even hesitant to eat the fish that was caught from our lakes. This was like something out of a dream. I felt his fingers brush a piece of loose hair from my face.
“Do you like it?” he asked, peering down at me with a smile.
“It’s magnificent.”
He slowly took my headband off, revealing my ears. I went to cover them with my hands, but he stopped me. “It’s just you and me here. You can be yourself,” he said softly.
I smiled up at him, running my hand along his arm. He sat on the grassy hill, pulling me down to lean against him between his legs. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in closer to his body as we watched the water ripple. “Watch closely,” he whispered.
I sat back, eagerly waiting for something to happen. As moments passed, I watched as the water began to rise in the middle of the lake. Horses burst through the surface, galloping across in a herd. Made entirely of water, the majestic creatures slid over the lake as if they were skating. The sunlight bounced around their translucent bodies, creating rainbows that danced across the surface.
“Come on,” Gaelin said, taking me by the hand, leading me to the edge of the water. He held out his hand toward the water horses, making ticking noises with his tongue. One of them looked at us and slowly trotted over to him. The horse allowed Gaelin to touch its snout. “Go on, touch him,” he said to me.
I held out my hand cautiously, allowing the creature to make the first move. It looked identical to a real horse. Its mane feathered around its strong shoulders. Even the small hairs around its mouth and on its eyelashes were visible, but the creature was completely made of water. It walked towards me, moving its jaw from side to side as it chewed on something.
The skin of the water horse was cold and smooth like velvet. I touched the side of its mouth, feeling its strong jaw rotating under the skin. I looked into its watery blue eyes, searching for a soul. It knocked my face with its nose, snorting a powerful burst of water toward me before turning to walk away. I laughed, now completely drenched from the creature’s affection. Gaelin smiled, moving my wet hair from my face.
“What are they?” I asked.
“Kelpie. They’re water spirits bound to the lakes and rivers of this land. They are shapeshifters but tend to favor the horse form.”
“I’ve heard of them, but our legends say that they draw people to the lake and then drown them.”
He laughed. “Humans think everything out here is dangerous, don’t they?”
“Can you blame them?”
“Kelpie can take the physical form of a human, but their hooves usually remain visible. They’ve always been gentle creatures, but I’ve never angered one, so I don’t know what they’d do to retaliate if someone harmed them.”
We sat down next to each other by the edge of the water. “So did you need a break from court?” I asked.
He nodded, looking over the water. “I was groomed to be king from a young age, but I never wanted it. I thought that King Lysanthier would find a better candidate for his daughter, but here I am, months away from marrying a female I can’t stand the sight of.”
“She’s beautiful. Any man would be lucky to call her his wife,” I said.
“Beauty doesn’t mean the same here as it does in The Frey. All alfar are beautiful. We are vain in the worst possible ways. Outward beauty means very little when it comes to being physically attracted to someone,” he explained.
“If the alfar are so vain, why do they lay with humans? We are so flawed and frankly ugly in comparison.”
He laughed, shaking his head as he glanced at me sideways. “You are not ugly, nor flawed. Besides the physical enjoyment human bodies offer us, I think we take some sense of joy in what humans get to experience in their lives. We live for so long that things like love, happiness, satisfaction, even complacency tends to mean little. A human life is brief, but in that time, they experience all of these intense emotions and feelings. In the span of sixty years, they fall in and out of love. They experience sorrow, pain, yet still find a way to see the joy and happiness in life. They bear children, raise those children, and become grandparents. In a way, I think we envy the simplicity of their lives.”
“I couldn’t imagine living for a thousand years,” I said.
“You might want to. The fact that you heal quickly is a good indicator that you will live the same life span as a normal alfar.”
Another possibility I hadn’t thought of.
“What are we going to do about that? Won’t people notice ten years down the road when I don’t age?” I asked.
“We will cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I just want to be with you,” he said, kissing my hand. “Tell me about Lilian.”
I smiled at the sound of her name. “She’s wonderful. She’s sixteen. I met her three years ago when her family died and left her orphaned. She somehow completed our little family. I didn’t know what it felt like to be compelled to die for another until her. But she awoke something inside of me. I think she’s the first person I’ve ever really loved.
“She is kind and caring. She is always thinking of those around her first. She has beautiful hazel eyes with brown hair that turns to gold when the sun hits it. Little freckles cover the bridge of her nose and under her eyes. Her presence can light up any room. The sheer sight of her smile can lift your spirit. She’s truly something special,” I said. A sense of loss welled up inside me.
“You’ll see her again. We will find a way, I promise,” he said, wrapping an arm around me.
“Erendrial said something to me. He said that a dark alfar had taken her as his lover. Do you think he was just messing with me, or could he be right?” I asked, feeling sick to my stomach.
“I can’t answer that. If she is the light that you say, the dark alfar would be attracted to her. They tend to seek out the good, destroying it in their obsession. But Lilian offers them something the court lacks, so hopefully, that will keep her alive until we can get her out.”
“And then what? Bring her back here to be raped by the light alfar?” I pulled away.
“Hopefully by then I will be able to protect her, and you. I’m trying, Genevieve.”
I looked at him, sighing my frustration away. “I know you are. I just can’t stomach the thought of her being hurt in any way.” I took his hand in mine, squeezing it tightly. “When is your wedding supposed to happen?”
He dropped his head. “Two months from now after the autumn equinox.”
“How long does it usually take for an alfar to conceive?”
“Each one varies. I will be expected to spend three nights a month with her, but once she has conceived, I will not have to touch her again.”
“Is one heir really enough?” I asked.
“It will have to be because that’s all she’s getting from me.”
I saw the distress on his face. I had never thought of our roles being reversed. “You’re being forced to be with her, against your will,” I said.
He closed his eyes. “Yes.” A moment went by before he unraveled his fingers from mine. “Is that the way you feel when I want you?” I was taken back by the question.
Surprised that he would even ask, I rubbed my hand down his arm for comfort. “You’ve never forced me. I’ve always been with you willingly. You have always shown me kindness and you’ve been tender during our times together. I would never compare the two,” I said, hoping that was enough.
“If you had a choice, would you leave?” He asked.
I turned my eyes away from him, not wanting him to see my face. “I’m scared, Gaelin. This whole place scares me. As beautiful and magical as all of this is, everything here wants to kill me. I’m powerless in a world full of things that see me as nothing more than a lamb.”
“That day in the marketplace,” he said quietly, “I should have turned you away. I said yes to you for my own selfish reason. I was taken with you, and I knew this was the group that the king would allow me to choose from. I placed you in this position for my own selfish gain. I could have never imagined feeling for you then what I do now. I’m sorry.”
“If you wouldn’t have taken me that day, I would have found another way in. You were the safest option and I appreciate all you’ve done for me since.” I took his face in my hands, drawing my fingers along his soft cheek bone.
“I know this is an act, Gen. I’ve felt you slipping away ever since our first conversation about your position. When we’re together, you don’t smell the same. I feel like I am taking you against your will and I don’t want that. I never have. What can I do to fix it?” He asked.
I had never heard such vulnerability from him before. I bowed my head. “I don’t know. A lot has happened in the past few weeks. I think I just need time to wrap my head around all of this. But your trust and respect are a good start. And more days like this, where it is just the two of us,” I said, smiling at him for reassurance.
He nodded, looking back out to the lake. “I can do that,” he replied.
I stood and started to take off my clothes. He looked up at me curiously.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
“The kelpie don’t bite, right? I’m going swimming. Care to join?” I said, trying to raise his spirits.
He smiled, standing as he took off his clothes. I ran into the cold crisp water, submerging myself under the placid skin of the lake. He followed, diving into the deep pool. We both pulled up, smiling from the sensation.
I swam over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling him in close. His breath quickened. I kissed him on his cheek gently as we floated in the clear peaceful water.
Gaelin was true to his word. The next few weeks were better than I had expected. He lavished me with flowers, jewelry, baked goods, and books. He insisted that I stop doing my chores for the time being and just enjoy life. I didn’t protest. I read so many books over the next few weeks, getting lost in the worlds of each story.
Levos introduced me to Madison. I watched as he lit up in her presence. If I had to guess, he was in love with her, and she was in love with him. There was nothing fake between them. She wasn’t forcing herself to smile as I sometimes did with Gaelin. She didn’t cringe at his touch or find excuses not to kiss him. Their relationship was genuine, which meant the pain that they both felt when she was beaten or taken to bed by another alfar was that much more severe. My heart broke for my friend.
Talks of the royal wedding began to spread through the court as the time approached. I cringed at the thought of Gaelin being tied to that she-devil for the rest of his life. Regardless of my romantic feelings towards him, he was my friend and I cared about his happiness.
There were no more trips to the dark court or unexpected visitors. The kingdom was quiet for the first time since I arrived. New batches of human workers continued to trickle in each month. I tried to help them where I could, but my resources were limited. All I could do was pray. Pray to whatever god took mercy on us and hope for a better future for us all.