#brilin

She jolted awake like someone had thrown ice cold water on her, a shriek leaving her mouth as she stumbled to her feet. 

The man — no, male , he was definitely fae — stirred awake at the sound, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. 

To her horror, she saw he was fully naked. He had a powerful build, one she knew she would have appreciated under different circumstances. She wanted to avert her gaze from his blatant nakedness but also didn't want to not look at his movements, instead focusing on his face. Long blond hair fell all around him in a matted mess that had certainly seen better days and as he turned his gaze to her, she was struck by how green his eyes were. 

“Stay back,” she stumbled backwards until her back hit the bark of the tree. She tried to force her voice to be as steady as she could, it came out more like a shriek, even to her own ears. 

The male — who, she realized, looked strangely familiar — titled his head to the side. “What's wrong?”

“What's wrong is that you were— you were sleeping next to me. Naked.” She swallowed. “I’m on a diplomatic mission for the winter court and a personal friend to the High Lord. If you try anything—”

“What on earth are you talking about?” His brows furrowed, the last traces of sleep disappearing from his eyes. He extended a hard towards her but paused as it entered his line of vision. Then he looked down at himself, like only now realizing his own nakedness. 

“Ah”

She gritted her teeth and without thinking swiftly picked a fallen branch off the ground, hurling it at him with all the strength her mortal body could muster. She wanted him gone.

It hit him straight in the head and managed to snap him out of his trance, turning his attention back to her.

Briar wanted to run but knew she had nowhere to go. The stranger could easily outrun her, and the manor was too far away anyway.  “Look, if you leave now then I won't tell the high lord-”

“Briar, I am the High Lord.”

Briar blinked. “Excuse me?”

The stranger shook his head. “You truly don't recognize this form, do you? Well, I suppose you had never clearly seen me in it. I don't expect you to remember it from… anyway. I'm Tamlin. This is my High Fae form.”

Briar looked at him like he had grown two heads. “What?”

He tsked. Then there was a flash of light and before her indeed stood the Tamlin she knew, in his full beast self, once more.

Another flash and the male had returned. 

Briar went still for a moment, dumbfounded. Then, slowly, like she was in a dream, she picked another branch. This time Tamlin dodged it with ease. 

“Will you stop throwing sticks at me?” He asked in annoyance. 

“What in the Seven Hels?! You— why are you naked?!” 

“I… I must have unconsciously shifted back in my sleep.” He rolled his shoulders.

Briar gritted her teeth, looking to the side, specifically trying not to look at the High Lord of Spring in all his naked glory. Brainless, arrogant fae bastard. There was silence between them for a long moment, before she gestured towards her cloak, still on the ground next to him. “For the love of the Mother, cover yourself up.”

Tamlin picked the cloak, fastening it around his hips. It did little to conceal everything else, but at least his manhood wasn't—

No. Nope . She was not going to think of that specific part of his anatomy ever again. 

“Why on earth do you not have any clothes on anyway?” She asked as she started walking towards the direction of the manor, not turning around to look at him.

There was silence before he answered. “I have been in my other form for the last 3 months now. I suppose I simply didn't need them.”

Briar glanced at the male from over her shoulder, eyebrows furrowed. “Is this what you always do? Run around naked in the woods for months on end? No wonder the Court is the way it is.”

Tamlin's face fell and she immediately felt guilty at her statement. But she supposed that it was true. 

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that his face was familiar.

“I don't usually go this long in my beast form. It just… it helps. When everything becomes too much to handle.” His voice was flat, apathetic. “I become just another animal in the woods.”

And forget, she heard his unfinished words. And there is no weight of my failures and mistakes on my shoulders. 

Just another wolf in the woods, ready to be shot down by some skilled hunter. Her lips became a thin line. “You should probably stay in this form from now on if we are going to rebuild this Court. But only after you put on some proper clothes.”

“Why? Do you not appreciate the view?” He half-heartedly joked. “I never had this issue with any female before.”

Briar rolled her eyes. “Oh, I'm sure you were very successful with females in the past, my Lord” she said, sarcasm still dripping from her voice. “Especially if you consider ‘snuggling up to women in the woods while naked’ to be an acceptable form of courtship.”

She realized what she had implied a moment later. “N-Not that I think you are courting me or anything.” Damn her stupid mouth. “I would never bed a bear to begin with.” She added in an attempt to lessen her embarrassment, yet cringed at the comment. 

Still, Tamlin chuckled. 

It occurred to her then that she had never heard him laugh before. It still sounded strained, like he — or better, his sorrow — held him back from laughing properly, the way he once might have. She knew the feeling all too well. 

“First of all, I'm not courting you,” he said, leaning closer to her, “and secondly, when I 'snuggle up' to women naked, it's a follow up to other things they have definitely enjoyed.”

Briar's face heated up. She supposed that she deserved this for the bear comparison. And maybe the sticks. But only a bit.

Thankfully, they had reached the manor before this conversation would get even more awkward. 

She turned to him, ready to speak, but the words caught in her throat. It was the first time she had allowed herself to take a proper look at his face and…

“What is it now?” he asked curiously. A moment later he noticed how her face had gone ashen. “Briar?”

A beautiful golden face, sorrowful among the cheering and mocking faces of her captors. 

Help me. Help me. Help me!

“You,” she choked out. “You are the male from the camp.”

Tamlin gave her a confused look. “But you knew that… I saved you.”

Briar shook her head. “No, before that. When the King… when he…” She felt her knees buckle and Tamlin’s arms reached for her, catching her before she could stumble. 

Moments later she found herself sitting on a sofa in the main living room of the Manor, a glass of water pressing against her lips. The coldness of the water seemed to bring her back from her haze.

Tamlin sat at the low table opposite to her, a look of concern having crossed his face.  Briar looked at him for a long moment. It all made sense now. Of course Tamlin didn’t prowl Hybern’s camp as a beast before her rescue. Of course he couldn’t help her sooner than when he did: he was a spy. Helping a few insignificant mortals foolish enough to be captured by Hybern’s forces would have blown up his cover and put his Court, if not all of Prythian, in jeopardy. 

She knew, rationally, that she shouldn’t blame him for becoming a witness to her suffering. But there was a part of her that soured at the fact. 

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, “I just hadn’t realized that you… that it was you. In the camp.”

Tamlin’s face darkened with sorrow. “I’m sorry… I-I truly wish I could have done more...”

Briar shook her head, eyes wet with tears. “It’s alright. I know that you did what you could.”

Tamlin tried to protest but Briar grabbed his hand. “You still saved me at the end.” 

Tamlin held her stare, and Briar grounded herself by observing all the gold specs swirling among the green. It was like sunlight playing on grass. The more she looked at his eyes, the more calm she felt.

“I’m ok,” she said, then added, “really,” at his still concerned look. “You should go take a shower and then get dressed before winnowing me back to my rooms. You have to meet with the sentries and Celine at noon.”

Tamlin nodded and got up. “Be right back.”

***

Tamlin had told Briar to go up ahead and meet with Celine at the White Hound before winnowing away. There was still something he needed to do beforehand, and she had managed to calm down completely by the time he finished showering. 

It is getting easier , she realized. 

She was about to enter the tavern when a flash of cobalt and white drew her attention to the alley next to the building. Curiosity took the better of her and she sneaked around the corner of the building, hoping that the strong smells from the tavern would mark her own scent. 

Celine was there, leaning against the stone wall, hands crossed. The High Priestess, Daphne, was leaning forwards towards her. They appeared to be talking, albeit in hushed enough voices that Briar could not make out what they were saying. 

Briar knew that spying was not exactly a polite thing to do. But Celine seemed to be just fine spying on her when she visited the Manor, so…

So Briar watched as Celine said something that caused Daphne to chuckle softly. Celine smiled at her, seemingly proud of herself for making the other female laugh, One of her hands had found its way to the side of the female’s face, tucking a stray strand of hair behind a pointy ear. Celine leaned forward, and her lips touched the other female’s. 

“What are you looking at?” Came a strong male voice from behind Briar. The young woman jumped, as Bron had somehow appeared behind her.

The commotion had seemingly drawn the attention of the couple away from their own little world. They separated hastily, Celine blinking in surprise at the sight of Briar at the entrance of the alley. Daphne’s cheeks had turned beat-red at having been caught in such an intimate moment.

“Oh,” said Bron as he peeked over Briar’s shoulder. “Well, that does explain a few things.”

Briar thought back to how Celine had watched the evening service at the temple the other day. Or how she would disappear most nights. She supposed that Bron was right, that did explain a few things. 

“Would both of you just go inside?” Growled Celine.

Briar’s cheeks heated up as both she and Bron hurried inside. He leaned towards her conspiratorially once they found their table. “Do you think they are still making out?” 

Briar hit him at the shoulder and he laughed. “You were spying on them first. Don’t act so offended.”

“I wasn’t spying —” Briar argued as she flopped into the chair he had pulled for her. “Well. Maybe I was. But it wasn’t intentional, I just saw them in the alley and…” 

“Yeah ok,” smirked Bron. “Whatever you say.”

Briar pouted. Even if she had spied on them, Celine couldn’t blame her for it. Yes, Briar knew that Celine was very private by nature, especially when it came to her personal affairs, but the female kept disappearing for hours each day and night, and refused to elaborate on her whereabouts. Briar was simply sick of being kept in the dark. Besides, it wasn’t like Celine’s sexuality was a secret. Briar had even met some of her lovers before, albeit briefly. 

Relationships between members of the same sex were not uncommon among the Fae. Yes, they may be frowned upon in certain places, such as in the Autumn Court or the Night Court, but Kalias took the right of his subjects to love who they choose very seriously, especially whenever his own sister in law was concerned. 

A sudden silence fell around her, snapped Briar off her thoughts. She glanced towards the door and saw Tamlin standing before the entrance. 

The High Lord looked much better than he had this morning. He was now clean, his hair properly comped into a low ponytail and his face shaved. He had even managed to find a clean-enough looking cream colored tunic and matching breeches. He wore no crown or jewelry, but the sword hanging at his hip added some air of authority to match his status. 

Unfortunately any authority that the sword added was lost at his demeanor. Tamlin was stiff as a statue. With the crowd that had gathered at the tavern all having their eyes focused on him and him only, Tamlin reminded Briar of a trapped animal. She had a half mind to call him over to her table, just to save him from this position, but before she could act she saw Hart standing up and walking towards him. 

Tamlin, seemingly motivated by the appearance of a singular opponent to focus on, met the dark-haired male halfway, at an area of the tavern that was without tables. 

Tamlin was the first to break the silence, seemingly speaking to everyone present. “I know that I have failed you. As a warrior, as a leader and as a protector.” Tamlin paused, like he was fighting to find his words. Sorrow crossed his beautiful face.“I cannot express how sorry I am for my actions.” 

“Fuck you apology!” Came a voice from the back of the tavern, breaking the silence of the crowd. Some people mimicked the man’s statement, while others came to the defense of the fallen High Lord. 

“Silence!” Barked Hart, reining in the crowd’s reaction. Briar had heard that he was given the rank of general before the war, and was one of the few people to try and keep Spring from falling into complete ruin since, gathering what remained of the Spring army around him. An army whose officers made up most of the people sitting around her now.

“You have every right to hate me.” Said Tamlin. “I won’t ask you not to. I’m not here to demand things of you. I have come here today to put myself at your mercy. You are the people of the Spring Court. You are the Spring Court. Whenever you keep me as your High Lord or execute your wrath upon me is for you to judge.” Tamlin looked at Hart now, a spark of determination in his eyes and unsheathed his sword. There was some commotion at the sight of the drawn blade, until Tamlin fell on one knee before the General and offered it to him, head lowered. 

Silence fell across the tavern and Briar felt the blood in her veins turn to ice as she realized what was to happen. This was to be an execution.

She tried to get up, to protest, but a hand on her shoulder kept her in place. “This is between him and his people.” Came Celine’s low voice next to her. Briar hadn’t even realized that the other female had taken a seat next to her. “You are not to interfere. This is an order. ” 

It was like a spell was put to her, keeping her rooted in place. The breath halted in her chest as she watched Hart pick up the sword and study it. 

It was as if time had slowed down as Hart lifted the sword over his head. Tamlin kept his head hanging low, the back of his neck exposed for the blade. 

“Wait!” screamed Briar, her shriek piercing the silence just as the sword pierced the air in a downward spiral.

She watched in horror as the sword passed right next to Tamlin’s cheek.

It sank to the wooden flooring like a knife to butter. 

She could see her shock echoed in Tamlin’s eyes as he looked up at his would-have-been executioner. A flower of blood bloomed at his cheekbone, flowing into a thin red line down his face.