The girl wouldn’t stop her incessant chatter since the moment she woke up. Caedmon had gone out to catch them some game and the moment he was back the child had accosted him with questions. He wanted to feel annoyed by it, and some part of him did feel that way. But he resented admitting that she was growing on him. Something about her talking calmed his own mind down as well. Her constant questions and stories kept his mind from racing and wondering when they were going to realize that he was helping Arlo.
They never would have sent him on the mission if they had known of their history together growing up. the council didn’t concern themselves much with the lives of the common faeries, and up until they got ahold of Arlo, that’s all he was to them. Caed remembered the day they took Arlo to the monastery so he could learn the ways of the mage. Caed had known that it was coming, Arlo was an obvious choice for a mage commendation, even if it had happened an entire century earlier than was usually expected, none of that really surprised him. What surprised him was how alone he felt once Arlo was gone.
Caed glanced back towards Arlo who was lounging comfortably against the tree listening to the girls stories as she prattled on and on. Arlo caught Caedmon’s gaze, he always seemed to notice when Caed was staring. He met Caed’s gaze with vibrant purple eyes and gave him one of those warm smiles. Caed dropped his gaze and stared down at the meat he was cooking over the small fire that had magically stayed perfectly lit all night long.
“My parents are coming too, right?” the girl’s question seemed to shock both Caed and Arlo because their eyes once again met each other’s. Arlo was searching for an answer in Caed’s eyes that neither wanted to vocalize.
“I don’t think that would be safe, Rowan.” Arlo finally said in a low tone.
“But...” Rowan looked between both of them. “They’re the only family I have. I can’t just live my life without them.”
“You’ll have to get used to living your life on your own, Rowan. It’s better that way.” Caedmon responded wrapping up the meat in a cloth after carving out shares for each person.
“That’s not how humans think you know... we want our mothers and our fathers with us. Don’t you ever miss your mothers and fathers?” Rowan asked.
“Faeries don’t really have families. The King fathers all faeries and we are looked after until we are of age by the mother faeries. There are no families.” Arlo responded.
Rowan crossed her arms and let out a huff. “Well humans aren’t like that. I want my family.”
Caed and Arlo shared another long glance at each other. Caed finally broke the stare and looked down at the small child in front of him. “Rowan, it’s not possible. You need to relinquish the desire so we can continue moving on.”
Rowan’s small face of determination contorted into one of fury. “That’s not fair. You think you can both just boss me around and tell me what I can and cannot feel and it’s not true! I can still have the desire to have my parents with me. I don’t want to go and live with elves. I don’t even know what elves look like or if they will understand me or if they will like the same things I like.”
“We can’t linger here, it’s time to leave, Rowan. We can have more of this conversation as we continue on foot.” Arlo finally said standing up and grabbing the girl’s arm.
Caed stood back for a moment watching the two of them walk. Rowan was trying to stomp her foot in restraint at Arlo’s refusal to give into her wishes. But Arlo wouldn’t, and they both knew why. Rowan no longer had a family to go to. Caed had made sure of that himself.
After some time Rowan finally relented and was back to her chatter. “Wait a minute,” she stopped in her track. “You said you don’t have families?”
“No.” Arlo responded.
“But your King fathers all of the faeries. So is he like... your father? Are you brothers?” She asked looking between the two.
“It doesn’t really work that way, Rowan. Faeries don’t reproduce like humans. He fathers us in the sense that he uses his great power and magic to create us, and then we’re cared for by mother faeries.” Arlo said, his voice was always so soft. Caed wasn’t sure he had ever heard Arlo really get angry. Even when he yelled his voice was still soft.
“Do you just spring out of the ground?” Rowan asked giggling at the image.
“No.” Arlo smiled. “The mother faeries grow us and birth us very similarly to the way humans do.”
“So... all faeries are sort of related?” Rowan added.
“There are no relations in the faery realm. The mother faeries grow us, but they are not our mothers. And the King creates us, but he is not our father.”
Rowan thought for a long moment. “That doesn’t make any sense.” She finally concluded and continued walking. She reached up to Caed and ran her fingers down his rough wings.
Caed caught himself smiling at the girl’s logic. The dynamics of the faery realm had perplexed him even when he was a younger faery, and now as a grown faery he still didn’t fully understand the need for faeries to be alone.
“But if faeries wanted to have families could they?” Rowan asked as they all sat up in a very tall tree having a lunch break.
Arlo cocked his head to one side and thought for a long time. “I’m not really sure. There aren’t any families, or any need for a family. So I suppose it’s never really been something to think about.”
Caed could almost see Arlo’s mind turning, anxious to search and learn more about whether or not faeries could make their own families.
“I think that sounds like a very sad life.” Rowan said standing on the tree branch.
“If I jump down can you catch me before I hit the ground?” She was looking at Caed now.
He stretched his arms out to the sky. “I’d rather you didn’t try.”
Rowan got a huge grin on her face before straightening out her dress and leaping from the tree. Caed was already below to catch her before her feet fully left the branch.
He dropped her back onto the tree branch as Arlo laughed.
“That wasn’t nearly as fun as I thought it would be. Could you let me fall a bit further next time?”
“You want me to let you fall?” Caed responded.
“Only a bit further.” The girl took another bite of meat before finishing her thought. “I at least want to feel those stomach butterflies.”
Caed met Arlo’s gaze and they both smiled. Caed hated how easily this small child was growing on him. And he hated that Arlo had expected it to happen that way. The child was warm and hard not to enjoy, but Caed didn’t like attachments. He had learned ages ago that they only brought pain.
Comments (0)
See all