Private Tales A Glade Somewhere

[Amos]

???????? - Leaf(Autumn) Court
Amaryllis

His head swam, but he could breath. Every muscle in his body ached, all of it coming in waves that all seemed to flatten as he filled his lungs. The more he took in, the better he felt. An odd sort of serenity swimming over him as consciousness swept into his addled mind. Pain faded away, and for once Amos did not question why it was happening.

Relief took him too far for that.

Slowly The Scientist shook his head. Thin fingers dragging through old earth as he shook his head and pushed himself up. Some memento of strength filling him as he dragged himself up. Surrounding him lay a field of flowers, beautiful and as diverse as any he had ever seen. The light of Dusk hung around him, though for some reason the air was not...clear.

A frown pulled at his lips, and then he saw her.

At first he thought her an illusion, his mind trapped in an oasis, but then she shifted. Plucking one of the flowers free. For a moment Amos forgot the breath in his chest, and then he coughed. His lungs wracked by the plague he beheld. The Scientist sucked in what air he could, steadying himself as he waved and tried to push himself up. "Hey! Hey! Uhhh..."

He cried pathetically. "I'm Sorry! I don't mean to disturb you, but but....could you tell me where I am?"

Amos called, suppressing another cough.

"Sorry!" He added desperately at the end.

 

[Amaryllis]

The afternoon sun hung high in the sky, casting its soft golden glow on the meadow below. A gentle breeze stirred the tall grasses and wildflowers. The air was warm and sweet with the scent of late summer/early autumn greenery and somewhere along the lush pasture sat a beautiful woman.

Long, chestnut brown hair cascaded over her shoulders and the fabric of her yellow dress fluttered with every move she made, seamlessly blending in with the sea of flowers around her.

It was a quiet day and Amaryllis was resting. The princess was picking flowers and delicately weaving them into a loose bouquet and with only the distant hums of wildlife to disturb her peaceful solitude, she had become fully immersed in her own world.

That is, until a faint, almost fragile voice called out to her.

Startled by this, Amaryllis spun around and with wide eyes searched for the source. Her heartbeat quickened for a moment, and she took a steadying breath, her fingers still gripping at the flowers she had been picking. The recent events and problems surrounding the fae had left her careless and rather than putting her guard up, Amaryllis was lowering it every chance she got – to relive that illusion of safety and peace whenever she could.

A few metres behind, hidden by a small slope of the meadow, a figure lay in the soft grass. Amaryllis, wary but still not mistrustful like her peers, carefully approached and visibly relaxed when she spotted what appeared to be a mortal. “Ah,” she said, and recognition laced her voice. “A human.” She didn’t mind those, enjoyed their presence even. But this one looked to be in a predicament. Amaryllis furrowed her brows and kneeled down beside him, putting her flower bouquet away to lift up the back off his head and ease him through his cough.

“You’re fine. This is a meadow,” the fae princess said matter-of-factly. Of course there was more to it, but right now she didn’t think that this human had use for more information than that.

“You look unwell,” she continued and her tone softened.

 

[Amos]

Amos couldn't help but stiffen slightly as the perilously beautiful woman gently moved to cradle his head. He wasn't exactly used to the attentions of women, and certainly not ones who looked like her. The Scientists face flushed a deep crimson, and he found himself stammering. "I...er...ummm..."

The cough now suppressed, perhaps by some innate kick of embarrassment, Amos didn't quite know what to say.

"That is uhh..." He said, raising a hand to cover his mouth for a moment. Rubbing at his own face as he took a desperate breath in an attempt to gather himself. "That is because I am unwell, Madame."

Amos continued finally, remembering his manners. "I thank you for your care."

He swallowed.

"I am better now...well, as much as I can be." Why was this woman as intimidating as any Dreadlord? He found his tongue to be dry and his head half lost in the clouds somewhere. "Might I ask, umm, where this meadow is? I do not remember coming here. I was in a forest, last I recalled."

The Scientist recounted, looking up at at Amaryllis with the innocent eyes of a baby deer.

 

[Amaryllis]

Amaryllis gently cradled the human, pushing back a strand of black hair as she took in his appearance. A plain-looking young man, with dark eyes and sickly pale skin, who seemed oddly out of place, and frightened for no apparent reason. He couldn’t possibly think that Amaryllis meant harm, no? A warm smile tugged at her lips and she gave his cheek a reassuring pat, hoping to make him feel safe. He turned beet-red instead.

At this, the faerie princess could not help but frown. “What an unusual sight,” she muttered quietly under her breath, speaking more to herself than him. “A fever perhaps?” She checked and his temperature indeed was a little high. In the meanwhile, the mortal seemed more concerned with where he was, rather than who he was with. Amaryllis did not take offence to this whatsoever, but it did remind her that she had yet to introduce herself.

“This place is..” she gave it some thought before answering. “..somewhere by Ixchel Wilds?” Lots of forests there, surely he had to be from one of them. Amaryllis never strayed far from home, and the fae courts were close. Still, there was plenty of empty, uninhabited land so even if he’d gotten lost in the woods, running into a fae still had been quite the coincidence. Whether or not he was satisfied with that answer, she could not tell, but when Amaryllis looked at the little human and he looked right back at her with his innocent eyes, a terrible thought crossed her mind.

She wanted to keep him.

“I’m Ama,” she finally introduced herself. “Why don’t I take you back to my place, and we can get you fixed up?”

 

[Amos]

"THE IXCHEL WILDS?!" Amos parroted, his voice an utter panic as eyes grew to the size of saucers.

The tightness in his chest switched almost immediately from physical illness, to one of complete anxiety. Every nerve in his body tensed, and if she hadn't been holding him Amos might have jumped up and out of his own skin.

"My lady." He said. "I assure you, that's impossible."

Not that he was calling her a liar. "Not that I think you are wrong, but...I was just in Vel Anir this morning, and I used no portal stone."

A thousand other possibilities ran through his mind, but each and every one of them required teleportation. Meaning it required breaking the laws of magic, meaning that he would be dead. So how in the hell had he gotten here?

"I...I..." He stuttered. "I am very confused."

Amos decried.

 

[Amaryllis]

“Ah,” the fae recoiled slightly, lifting the hand that had been touching Amos’ hair in an attempt to offer comfort. Although her answer to his question had been sufficient, he did not seem to like it at all. Why that is, Amaryllis didn’t know. To her knowledge the woodlands surrounding the courts she called home were one of the most beautiful, magical and peaceful places this world had to offer.

Anyone would be glad to visit, no?

When panic laced the human’s voice, his eyes grew wider and he looked sillier by the second, the woman sighed, just a tiny bit exasperated, before giving his shoulder a squeeze. A drop of her magic flooded into Amos, easing his heartbeat and calming him. It was then that she noticed something strange from in between the boy almost blocking her way, as though she wouldn’t be allowed further entry to his soul, even if she demanded it.

Which Amaryllis didn’t, but she found that observation to be rather curious.

When he spoke of Vel Anir, Amaryllis furrowed her brows. “That’s indeed impossible,” she noted, a small shiver running down her spine. Vel Anir was a giant fortress city just north of Falwood, and a terrible place – especially for her kind. The land that separated them spread far and wide, and no army could ever travel so far as to pose a threat to the fae. For all Amaryllis knew, they didn’t even know of their existence, and it was better that way.

“You must have stumbled into a portal stone without realising so,” the brunette gave him a reassuring smile. “And you’ve got nothing to fear – you’re in good hands. Try sitting up?” She would help him by supporting his back, if he allowed.

Amaryllis was intrigued, but wary. This one didn’t appear to be one of those fearsome elf slayers, and if he was a battlemage, he must have been a novice.

No, this one definitely wasn’t a dreadlord. He was much too fragile for that.

 

[Amos]

Amos felt a wave of calm wash over him, a small prickle of his mind questioning where such a thing came from even as it dulled and a wave of nausea followed.

The curse inflicted upon him twisting the fae magic as it rushed through him, but then slowly took effect. Amos' felt his chest tighten, but then a breath flow free as he managed to follow her calming words. ”Yes…yes that must be it, accidentally.”

He said with a frown, having no memory of such a thing at all.

Slowly he sat himself up, balancing on on hand as Amaryllis held a hand to his back. As she touched him, a small flicker of cold would run beneath her palm. His skin feeling chilled, despite the warmth of the sun within the glade.

It was only when he was fully upright, and when a breath had settled into his chest that Amos seemed to remember something. His cheeks colored bright red, and he quickly began to prattle.

”I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your day.” He said, remembering the manners his mother had always taught him. ”It’s not usually like me to be so…”

Amos blinked, struggling how to define falling into the faewilds. ”Rude.”

The scientist finished, and shook his head.

”I apologize, my name is Amos Savren.” He continued, still clearly overwhelmed, embarrassed, and hardly together. ”Thank you for helping me, I didn't mean to impose.”

Amos finished finally, the word vomit coming to a close as his more logical mind finally began to wake.

 

[Amaryllis]

"Don’t apologize," she said, her attention momentarily caught by the icy chill that radiated from his skin and seeped through to the palm of her hand. For a fleeting moment, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and Amaryllis resisted the urge to pull away. For a daughter of the House of the Phoenix—whose elemental affinity was light and fire—to feel such coldness was unusual.

"Your predicament doesn’t inconvenience me, and helping you isn’t a burden," the fae continued, her tone gentle but firm. "Please don’t assume otherwise when all I’m doing is offering aid." There was no edge to her words; the smile that curved Ama’s lips warmed her expression, reaching her eyes with an unmistakable sincerity.

"If anything," she added with a small smile, "you’re a welcome distraction from another dreary day." Her words rang true. Since leaving home, Ama's days had grown mundane, prompting her to wander the edges of the fae woods and explore lands that lay far beyond where she would usually go.

At last, the human introduced himself. He stumbled over his words, stuttering and flushing in a way that made her smile. He was clumsy, perhaps a little stupid, but undeniably earnest.

"Well, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Amos," she said warmly.

With a flick of her wrist, Ama plucked a stray leaf from his hair, quiet while she studied him. "You’re lost and far from where you’re meant to be," she concluded after re-considering what he’d told her previously.

"How would you like to proceed from here? I can guide you into the woods, to a place where you’ll be safe—but in return, I’d like to learn more about you. What do you say?"

 

[Amos]

Amos smiled up at the angel in the grove, placated somewhat by her words, though still unable to help the anxiety in his chest. "I do not meant to be overly apologetic."

The scientist said, over-explaining as he always did.

"Kindness such as this is not often afforded to people where I am from." He had been born in the Gutters, a district of Vel Anir that most would call a slum. People helping one another was rare, mostly because they had nothing to help one another with. "I was always taught to be appreciate when something is given."

His mother had made sure of that. "I..."

He frowned for a moment, flickering his gaze around the clearing before he nodded his head.

"Yes I think that would be for the best." Amos agreed, not even knowing if he was in any sort of danger here, but figuring Amaryllis had so far shown no intention of harming him. "I would be happy to tell you whatever you want to know."

He said, smiling. "And If you would be willing, I would enjoy knowing more about...where we are."

Amos said, his innate curiosity kicking in.