ᴇᴛᴇʀɴɪᴛʏ.

"They say strange things gather at the crossroads."

"Whatever you do, keep your head down and don't look anyone in the eyes."

"Entering a faerie circle is an easy way to get killed."

"Won't you come dance with us?"

"You're a foolish creature...but, a beautiful one. I think I'll keep you for awhile."

"Never insult the fair folk. Talk about them with respect, unless you're just dying to be cursed."

"Come away, oh human child."

"They can be kept at bay with iron, a salt circle, or certain herbs. But you still have to be careful!"

"I've taken you as my bride/groom. You should be happy!"

"Please, tell me you didn't eat anything they gave you!"

"When I was little, one of my friends disappeared after walking into a faerie circle. I never saw them again."

"Have you ever heard of something called "The Wild Hunt?"

"If you manage to impress them, you might be granted a favor."

"I fulfilled my promise; I gave you exactly what you asked for!"

"You were the one who was willing to gamble what you couldn't afford to lose."

"Real faeries aren't anything like Tinkerbell. Real faeries are fucking terrifying."

"It's said that they steal teeth from children."

"I hate to break it to you, but that baby's not yours, or for that matter, human."

"They'll put a glamour on you. You won't be able to speak, or fight back."

"Time passes differently in their world than it does in ours."

"They can't cross running water."

"I told you never to ask them for a favor!"

"You helped me. And now I will help you."

"Once it has you in its thrall, it won't ever let you go."

               Almost one year. Just a blink of an EYE in the life of a Fae, yet he was painfully aware how L O N G it must feel for a mortal. The weight of the crown was heavy on his head, BENDING his shoulders until he could barely walk straight. It was the moment when D A R K N E S S clouded every single thought in his head, a silent voice that whispered into his ear. It had been the moment he knew he had to get out. Back to the only person that could C A L M his raging thoughts, the one that could bring him PEACE.

“It is no time to be a Knight, Hunter.” Truthfully, the change in title takes away the pressure, eases the chill in Meliorn’s blood. Once, he had seen them when he was young, overhead, cacaphonous as they rode, to places unknown and for reasons he was too small yet to understand. His mother had told him to be weary of Hunters, but that they did not always need be an enemy, and that he would know them by their mismatched eyes, and the wild ways they held themselves.

“Mangled as we are, claws ripped off and weapons snapped, there is little left of the Court. There are no knights, any longer.” What he omits, is that as far as all who knew him once could see, he was dead. That is a story for no one, and certainly not a perfect stranger. “Just as you are not a Princeling, I am hardly what I was.” He does not meet his eyes. There is too much concealed, and too much indignity to stand before someone who can see what he should be, that he is ashamed to appear otherwise.  He’ll give the Hunter this, Meliorn’s own exile is self-imposed. He doubts a royal child brings such a state upon himself.

“But this begs the question, still–how often does Gwyn ap Nudd let his men roam about this plane as they like? It did not strike me as common.”

                    Even the Hunt had heared about the fall of the Seelie Court —— the only thing they mourned, though, was the loss of B A L A N C E. Everything in this world needed a counterpart; life and death, dark and light. Gwyn had shown concern about the fac tthat the Unseelie King was left without the only enemy that could ever match his power —— Kieran could not care less. He had been bereft of his LIFE a long time ago. A fair brow was quirked at the former knight, the slightes movement of his facial features as to indicate that he did not pity him for his loss. Kieran had always looked down on the knight of the Seelie Court, there was no reason for him to change that attitude. 

                    ❛ Your queen should pick her allies with more caution. Especially since it is not her who suffers the consequences. ❜  The Hunter’s gaze drifted back to the L.A. institute, a shadow behind one of the windows catching his attention. One heartbeat, two, three. Nothing happened. The air of defeat seemed to waft around him for a split second before he put on his mask again. Marbled features turning into STONE again when his head snapped around. ❛ The intentions of Gwyn ap Nudd are incomprehesenible for common Fae. ❜  The slightest edge sharpened his voice, the W A R N I N G unmistakable.

           mark didn’t like the reminder that had been muttered, but in his mind, he swore on everything he knew that he had missed the way kieran could just spin him around, press him to any surface && it had his insides quaking. breathing trembled, but before he could force out another lie — because his ego && broken heart wanted him to rebel against the last spoken words that fell from his ex-lover’s lips. he didn’t have time. lips were on his own, hands shaking && his mind a haze that he couldn’t even push away. he was lost in kieran like so many times before. memories flooding him, going back to their first time && how mark had sworn he saw stars explode behind closed lids. it had been unlike anything he had ever felt && it had been with kieran, no one else. bodies were just bodies, even the prince had said something along those lines once. lay with whomever, but don’t give away your heart. no, that had belonged solely to him && no one else … only it had become more confusing with cristina. hell, everything was confusing it seemed.

             a quick inhale through his nose, fingers pushed beneath the thin fabric that kieran wore, nails ghosting over his stomach as he lost himself for a few moments longer. a sharp breath, he broke the kiss, softly panting as eyelids fluttered open to look at the other. finally, a single tear slid free down a pale cheek, falling from his chin.  “  why must you make this hurt more ?   ”

                    A shiver ran down his spine at the GHOSTING fingers on his stomach. His skin remembered them all too well and flushed under the soft, almost shy touch. This was his Mark. The Mark that leaned onto him after a long day riding on the winds. The Mark that snuck under his blanket in the middle of the night when the watch’s attentino was slipping. The Mark that tended to his wounds after a hard fight. The Mark that would F I G H T for their love. Plus, he did not push him AWAY. Kieran did not need any more proof that Mark had been lying —— something he feared would happen as soon as his love would join his people again. 

           tears themselves glistened in his own eyes, but he also didn’t dare let them fall. he couldn’t give kieran even an ounce of satisfaction that this was hurting him just as much. it shouldn’t && mark was well aware that it shouldn’t, but matters of the heart were never easy. especially when it came to the prince. it had felt as though kieran had stolen the knife from him && plunged it into his chest, twisting it && all because of the reactions he was watching come from the other. the begging, the way that anyone in the hunt would be laughing && making fun of his ex just because of the way he was presenting himself. kieran never cared, though. it had been mark that always cared, that shielded himself from all the taunts — his ex-lover had been the one to make it easier, had held him when it became too much, let him speak about his thoughts.

            for a fleeting moment, mark wondered if it was love, true love, what kieran felt for him. when it came to being in love didn’t the person want to protect you from everything painful ? instead, the fae on his hands && knees had been entirely selfish. —- maybe that’s what love really was. two selfish people. jaw tensing, his head shook, the moon catching light strands of hair.  “  i do not want your heart,   ”   oh, how lying had become so much easier since he returned to his family, untruths quickly becoming a second nature to hide the pain he felt. he was so open && honest with all the others, had been with kieran, but now ?  there was that overwhelming feeling to protect his heart.  “  go && do not come back,   ”   he managed to breathe out, hearing the voice of cristina coming from inside the institute, having mark wondering if emma was awake. a quiet sniffle, he turned && started for the doors.

                    When he could finally breathe again, Kieran struggled to get on his feet again. Despite him standing tall, the P R I D E of the Fae Folk was gone. No REGALNESS left —— only a broken boy, bereft of the only thing that made his life worth living. He would not even mind being whipped by Gwyn; he could break his bones, his skin, his muscles. The Hunter’s heart was already B R O K E N. However, another knife was plunged into it when Mark send him away for good. No. No, his mind screamed at him, driving him forward. Not caring about the wound on his neck, Kieran surged forward, making use of his supernatural speed and catching up to Mark before he could go back inside. Pressing him HARD against the stone wall of the building, he pinned the former hunter against it. With the press of his body he held Mark close, hands placed next to his head.