Private Tales Ash and Iron

[Maeve]

Maeve watched intently as the shopkeeper bustled about fetching paints. She assumed if she ever came here to ask for something for Lorcan, the man would know, but she wanted to learn it for herself too. So she quietly mouthed every name of every pot of paint he picked up to herself cerulean blue, burnt umber, cadmium yellow... She also noted the type of brushes that were picked up made of hairs of a beast she couldn't pronounce.

"He still gets into trouble," she said quietly, having been content to watch and listen to the back and forth. The shopkeep seemed to look at her with surprise before letting out a hearty chuckle. Unlike the bow, Maeve knew exactly what she wanted to pay for these things and the knowledge and insight into her mate this man had given her.

"Would you come to dinner? I'd like to hear more and... I am told I am not a bad cook."

 

[Lorcán]

Lorcàn's eyes rolled. "You two are a match made in the night court.." he grumbled with a shake of his head, but there was amusement and fondness in his eyes as he watched.

Both his brows and Rajan's shot up at the invite. That she would invite a 'lesser' fae home and offer to cook for him was so unexpected because it wasn't something ever likely to happen in the Autumn Court. She was a Princess, and his mate, and Gods if his chest didn't squeeze in awe and admiration of her.

His cheeks dimpled as he smiled, and his gaze shifted to Rajan who was looking to him as though for permission to accept. The Prince chuckled under his breath and gave a shrug. He didn't need his permission, nor did Mae.

"Oh! Well I.. My what an unexpected offer. I would be honoured to accept your invitation, My Princess. Simply honoured!" he agreed and reached to take her hand to squeeze at it gently.

"Isn't she a wonder." he said as he turned to look back at Lorcàn, beaming with pride. "Yes, boy. The Gods must favour you greatly to bless you with one such as she."

 

[Maeve]

Maeve blinked between the two men in utter confusion.

"I can hear you you know," she huffed, a blush staining the tops of her cheeks and tips of her ears. Suddenly doubt seized her. "Was... was that not right?" her emerald eyes flittered from one to the other of the men. She wouldn't have asked in front of another member of his court but it seemed this man and Lorcan held a history and perhaps he wouldn't mind explaining so much in front of him.

"On the Isle it was..." she bit her bottom lip and glanced up to Lorcan for help on how to explain. She hadn't asked him about what to do if she was asked where she was from and how she had once been human.

 

[Lorcán]

Lorcán laughed quietly as he stepped into the shade of the shop, his hand squeezing at her shoulder before slipping to her hand to capture her own. "It's not that it's not right. It's just.. Unusual, for a Princess to offer to cook a meal for anyone, let alone these commoners." he winked, and his cheek dimpled in a grin. He received a swift slap to the back of the head which he promptly rubbed at with another husky laugh.

"PFF- Commoner, is it!?" the older fae blurted, but it wasn't long before he too fell into another hearty laugh. "Unusual, yes, My Princess. But a great honour, none-the-less." his eyes glistened, and Lorcán lifted a hand to give him a fond pat on the back.

"Well then, Rajan. I suppose we shall see you for dinner. I'll have someone collect you." he nodded.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve raised a brow at the term 'collect' but her lips threatened to tug upwards into a smile. She waved goodbye to the art supplier and shifted the small basket he had given her with all the paint suppliers into the crook of her elbow.

"On the Isle, it was quite common for us to invite someone to dinner," she explained as they walked hand in hand. Mae lightly swung their clasped hands. "It was a way for us to get to know everyone. Every week would be a different family. My dad... he wouldn't ever admit he had favourites but he did. My mum was less tactful. For her favourites, she would cook the meal herself."

 

[Lorcán]

"Oh, we invite people to dinner often, it's just. Lesser fae are not always treated with such ..equality. Particularly to be invited to the homes of royalty, and for said royalty to cook for them.." he laughed under his breath and smiled down at her fondly. "You still find ways to fascinate me, My Princess. Perhaps, you might teach me how to cook like your people did." his brow arched.

"I don't know much about your parents." he admitted ruefully. "I had the impression that you resented them, for their agreement to me." he frowned and squeezed her hand, recalling how angry she'd been about it. How things had changed..

He tugged her toward a dress shop where a satyr and faun greeted them warmly. "AH! This must be the Princess!" the faun bleated and clapped her hands together in excitement. "Baghra and Signy, we are so happy to meet you!!... Oooooooh she's a pretty one Lorcan, a pretty one for sure!"

Lorcan laughed and leaned to Maeve's ear.. "Told you word spreads fast around here.." he smirked.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve's brows slowly tugged into a frown that turned her eyes into small storms as she thought on his words. It was true, she hadn't spoken of her parents - or any of her family really - to him. If she was being honest with herself it was simply because it was still painful. Even though she had ended up where they had wanted her, where they had promised, it had been of her own free will. That they had sought to take that away from her still haunted her and made the sweet memories she had of the first 18 years of her life bittersweet and tainted.

She wasn't given long to dwell on it however for soon she found herself heading to another shop. A shop, she realised with horror, that made dresses. Maeve's feet begun to subtly drag.

"Nice to meet you," Mae echoed with a warm smile and a quiet pleading glance to her mate not to go inside. Frilly dresses were certainly not her thing. "It certainly does spread fast," she laughed a little nervously. "I think I will run out of ways to pay for all these wonderful things soon."

 

[Lorcán]

"Nonsense." Lorcan responded with a smirk and gave Maeve a gentle nudge. "I think you should show her upstairs, Baghra." he added casually as the wandered inside. The faun turned to glance at Lorcan in confusion for a moment, though when he quirked a brow she beamed and nodded.

It was an absolute trove of the most beautifully designed dresses of all sorts of fabrics and colours. A carved, spiral staircase stood in the centre of the room, and the faun shuffled her way up them with excitement.

"Yes! Yes yes yes, come come come!" she clapped her hands.

Upstairs, the clothes were just as beautiful, but there were breeches, leggings and leathers, tunics and shirts and all manner of clothes made for the females who hunted or fought or rode.

"Baghra here makes all of these.. She's made my fighting leathers since I was a boy. Signy makes everything else. He's the best dressmaker in the Autumn Court." he mused with a smirk.

"You'll be needing a new wardrobe. Choose whatever you like."

 

[Maeve]

Maeve concocted the worst horrors a Princess who was used to animal hide leathers and itchy fur breeches could summon. Silk dresses, corsets, lace. What would he want to see her in? Goddess of the sun, was it going to be pink?! She steeled her breath and tensed, ready for the horror to be revealed... and audibly gasped instead at what she saw.

"These are..." In a daze she wandered round the room, her fingers gliding over all manner of fabrics some of which she knew and some she suspected from stories she had read. They were like costume pieces. Things from... well... fairytales. "They're beautiful," she said earnestly when she realised she hadn't managed to finish her sentence after a good, full minute.

"I'm sure you have lovely dresses too but they're... they're not my style," she said apologetically and ran a hand through her unruly hair. She stopped in front of the kind of clothes most familiar, those suited to riding horses and shooting arrows.

 

[Lorcán]

A dimple appeared in his cheek as he watched her awe. He hoped that she'd never lose that, that he'd always have something to give her that she'd be amazed by. He'd never tire of seeing her that way.

His throat cleared and he stepped up beside her, a hand running over her hair and a kiss pressed to the crown of her head. "I have a few things to take care of, I'll leave you in Baghra's capable hands and I'll meet you back here soon." he rumbled and stepped back.

"Whatever she needs." he said to the fae who bristled with pride at being trusted with such a thing, of that which was most precious to the Prince.

 

[Maeve]

Panic seized her momentarily and flooded her gaze as she looked up at him.

"Leave?"

Safe. This is safe. You're safe. The words - his words - echoed in her mind but three days had not removed the memory of that cell from her mind. Her fingers rubbed self consciously over the iron scars around her wrists that were still fading. It irritated her that she felt this way after everything she had fought for. Everything she'd given up for. She wouldn't - couldn't - let them rob her of that. So Maeve nodded and rose onto the tips of her toes to brush a kiss across his lips.

"I'll be here," she might be brave enough to stay with two unknown fae but walking the street alone with hundreds would have to wait another day.

 

[Lorcán]

Fuck how his chest ached at the flare of panic in her eyes, and how his own anger ignited in his veins as she touched those scars. That was a matter that he had yet to deal with, one that he would bide his time with until he was certain that she was settled enough here that he might leave for a few days. The Summer court would pay a thousand-fold for the trauma they'd inflicted upon his mate. He'd start a war for her.

His fingers combed through the crimson waves as she tiptoed to him, twisting that knot in his chest just a little more whilst at least cooling his rage. He gave a throaty rumble against her lips.

"I won't be long." he promised her.

And you're safe here.. He winked at her, leaving a gentle kiss on her forehead before dragging himself away.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve pretended to take great interest in a nearby tunic so that she didn't stand and watch Lorcan disappear like some forlorn little lamb. It would be much harder for them both if she did and he was a Prince - a King in Endora in all but name - and as such he had duties. She understood than most others might but still there was an uncomfortable tightness in her chest the further away he went.

The tiny pixie made as if to land upon her shoulder then retreated when she caught Maeve's flinch.

"The mating bond can be a big weight to begin with," she sympathised. Maeve nodded and her teeth sunk into her bottom lip. Then, with a deep breath, she shook herself and got on with doing what she came here to do. Shop.

 

[Lorcán]

Torture. The male he'd gone to visit was a mere five-minute flight away and every mile he flew was more painful than the last. It seemed to pull the air from his lungs and the strength from his wings, causing his muscles to ache and his chest to burn. He'd felt it before, when he'd left her in that cabin and flown home. He'd felt like the very flesh might peel from his bones at any moment, and as soon as he'd set his feet on the ground he'd raced to pilfer the healthy stock of wine that his father kept.

He didn't remember too much between then and waking up that morning and feeling her pain and fear. How long had she suffered for before he'd been sober enough to feel it? He hoped she couldn't feel this now, what he felt. He shut it down at the thought, and dealt with the business that he had to deal with as quickly as he could.

Lorcan wasted no time at all in returning to the city, and he felt that tension ease mile by mile as he returned to where she was.

"Mae?" Lorcan called from downstairs, carrying a bundle of something in his arms. "You all set?"

 

[Maeve]

It was hard to ignore the feeling of having her heart wrenched away from her but she managed, with effort, to dial it down to a background noise. The fae who helped and suggested clothes helped to take her mind off the panic and fear and sickness that churned just below the surface and eventually, at some point, Mae begun to enjoy the whole shopping experience.

By the time Lorcan had returned Maeve had even been convinced to add a few dresses to her collection.

"Ready!" she clattered down the stairs with three bags in each hand and a box under one arm, her cheeks flushed but a grin on her face. She dropped everything to wrap her arms around his neck however and draw him into a kiss, her soul settling back down into a contentedness she'd never known before.

"We may have a few more guests coming to dinner," she whispered with a twinkle in her eyes.

 

[Lorcán]

It was necessary to get used to this. He'd never have left her side again if that were an option, but he knew he'd have to leave her soon, and the discomfort would hopefully get easier to deal with. The second he saw her, he grinned, and the moment she threw her arms around his neck, he forgot about how awful it'd felt to stretch that distance between them. Fuck, perhaps it was worth it just to feel this. Absence apparently made the heart grow fonder, but this was something else entirely and the relief of his soul's missing piece clicking back into place was enough to make him groan unabashedly.

He laughed under his breath at her whisper, allowing himself to get lost for a brief moment in the twinkling gaze she left him at the mercy of. "Might as well invite the whole city.." he rumbled affectionately.

"I.. have something for you." he said, glancing down at the wrapped bundle in the crook of his arm. He was grinning like an idiot, unable to contain the excitement he felt in anticipation of her reaction. "Something I've only ever seen a handful of times in my life." he let out a short breath and shook his head, hoping she'd understand the rarity of what he held.

Carefully, he peeled back some of the blanket the little creature was wrapped in. At the first sight of fur, Baghra gasped. "Is that!?"

Lorcán glanced up at the fae and nodded. It looked like a wolf pup, its fur white and black with a thick mane around its head and neck. It was blindfolded, and seemed to be looking around in search of the voices that its floppy ears pivoted toward.

"It's called a Cù Sìth. They're incredibly rare, even to us. This one was born the day you came to Endora. It'll grow much larger...Some have been known to grow to the size of a small horse. It bonds itself to the first thing it looks at, and it'll protect that person at all costs. It's why folk will blindfold them before they can open their eyes, they're worth a fortune." he smirked. He'd wanted one his entire life, but now he wanted more than anything for her to be safe and this creature would care about that matter just as much as he did.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve was about to make a joke about throwing some kind of city-wide party when he mentioned a surprise. Her whole body tensed with sudden excitement and she slowly unwound herself from him to give him space enough to reveal the parcel.

Is it?!

"A puppy!" Maeve squealed, immediately reaching to take the bundle of fur into her arms. She paused when Lorcán went on to explain exactly what kind of hound it was. The pixie who was almost entirely rested on her shoulder glanced at her in bewilderment when she didn't seem to have heard of them. A faint blush graced her cheeks, cursing herself for how little she knew about this world that was now hers, before reaching out once more for the small bundle.

"He's adorable," she murmured and stroked her fingers through his soft fur before she hooked them beneath the blindfold and tugged it down. "Hey little guy..."

 

[Lorcán]

He felt that leap of joy like it was his own. Perhaps it was, but by fuck seeing her expression light up the way it did caused his chest to squeeze so hard it hurt. He'd loved before, but sharing his actual soul with someone, someone like Maeve? He'd never felt quite so devoted to anything in his life. There wasn't another soul on Arethil he'd have freely handed an unbonded Cu Sith to either, and the way Baghra grinned at him for doing so made the Prince roll his eyes.

Lorcan and Baghra both moved back as Maeve removed the blindfold. He'd never witnessed a bond being forged, and so he craned his neck to watch out of sheer curiosity.

"What did that thing cost you?" Bagrah rumbled quietly at his ear, but Lorcan only laughed under his breath.

"There's nothing that isn't worth her happiness." he muttered back with a light smirk.

The Cu Sith stretched and yawned before forcing his eyes to open. He stared at Maeve for a moment, his grey eyes flaring before the colour of the rarest of emerald bled into them to match those of his holder. And just like that, one look and his entire life was hers and he loved her more than he'd ever love another thing. They grew quickly and they grew strong, and that thought was one of great comfort to the Prince who let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding onto.

"You have to name him." Lorcan instructed quietly.. "And tell him yours.." he added...

"Do you, feel anything?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

 

[Maeve]

"Balfour," Maeve said without really thinking and the tiny pup gave a little yip and put his paws up on her chest. She laughed in delight as he licked the very tip of her nose before bumping his furry head against her chin. Her heart felt melted and bigger all in one. "He knows, don't you Balfour?" she knew it too somehow, just as sure as she knew that Lorcan was her mate. Just as sure as she knew there was someone else in there too. A part of her. And one day she'd meet them too.

The pup gave another little yip.

Settling him against her chest she turned to glance up at Lorcan in surprise at his question.

"I... suppose something," she said trying to think how to explain it. "Like I could close my eyes and point to him in a room, just a sort of awareness," she shrugged. It was nothing like the other two connections in her soul. "Should I be feeling something specific?" she glanced from her mate to the other fae.

 

[Lorcán]

The Autumn Prince's 'shrivelled' heart squeezed in his chest and he grinned at the pup's name. He closed the short distance between them and offered Balfour a respectful dip of his chin as he answered Maeve.

"I'm really not sure. Like I said, they're rare." he said, studying the creature's emerald eyes. "Whatever it is, it seems to have worked.." he laughed under his breath and reached out a hand toward the pup, uncertain as to whether he would allow Lorcán's touch now that he'd been bonded to Maeve, but he hoped he'd know that the last thing he meant was harm.

"Let's get him home, shall we?"

 

[Maeve]

Maeve had no such thought of Balfour rejecting Lorcan. She held a part of his soul and he a part of hers now. The pup seemed to be of the same mindset or seemed to have decided the male was no threat for he pushed his tiny wet nose into the outstretched hand and wagged his tail. He had to put his little paws on Maeve's shoulders in order to do it and he gave the girls cheek a good lick too to make sure she didn't feel left out.

"Yes, let's go home. Would you like that buddy?" she asked the puppy again who gave a little howl this time, his tail curling slightly over his back. Mae felt her heart squeeze from the overloading of cuteness. She glanced up at Lorcan with glistening eyes.

"I would like 100 more please," she half joked.

 

[Lorcán]

He gave a breathy laugh as the pup reacted so warmly to him. He'd only ever heard stories of the creatures and knew how ferocious they could be whilst defending their bonded one from those they deemed to be a threat. That bond, he supposed, would connect to Maeve in a way that she could control and that Balfour would obey. Perhaps it could already sense that he was no threat through the bond that Lorcan and Maeve shared, or that Maeve was simply happy and relaxed right now, and so was he. Either way, it was a relief, and he smiled as he stroked the soft fur.

His cheek dimpled with a smirk as Balfour made his voice heard, and his gaze shifted back to Maeve as he felt that thrum of love and joy from her. He'd never tire of feeling her happiness like that. "I highly doubt another hundred exist at all, let alone unbounded. But if it is your wish, I'd gladly make it my mission." he mused and lifted a hand to her head, pulling her gently toward him as he pressed a kiss against her temple.

He thanked the fae, arranged their payment, and carried Maeve and Balfour both back up to the Orchard and into the gardens to set them down. He'd been about to speak when a young male puca cleared his throat from the archway into the house.

"My Prince?.." he asked awkwardly and bowed as Lorcan gave him a short nod.

"I'll have some food sent out for you both, I have to catch up on a few things and then I'll join you." he smiled with a quiet sigh, his knuckles dragging gently down her arm.

 

[Maeve]

"Lorcán."

The male puca wisely stepped away at the tone to her voice. Balfour scrambled out of her arms to not be caught between them as she gently but firmly gripped the hair at the back of his nape and pulled him down so their foreheads pressed together. In this moment, after the horrors of torture, she wanted nothing more than to slip into the bubble he was creating for her. Something safe and warm, somewhere she could hide away from the reality of his life - her new life - while she came to terms with everything that had happened. She so desperately wanted it.

Which was why she couldn't allow it.

"Don't shut me out," she begged in a quiet whisper. "I'm your partner in everything. Good and bad."

 

[Lorcán]

Either it was something in the way she said his name and pulled him to her, or it was her emotion he felt, but his passion for her in that moment burned through him. His pulse raced as he breathed her in and let out a deep sigh in effort to calm.

"I'm not trying to shut you out..." he answered in a low rumble, his hand sliding into her hair.. "I'm sorry." he frowned. He might have been trying not to be overprotective of her, but he knew that he wasn't trying nearly as much as he should have been. He wanted her safety, her comfort and her happiness. Nothing else mattered to him..

He swallowed, and huffed gently as he pressed his lips to her forehead before turning to the puca who stood awkwardly looking out of the window.

"Go on Fen." he nodded, still idly running his fingers through his mate's crimson hair. The male looked between them hesitantly, his dark eyes lingering on the Prince as though expecting some subtle sign that sought discretion. None came, and so he assumed himself free to report the information at hand.

The puca cleared his throat and nodded. "Your father has returned home, My Prince... And, M-Mercutio was seen scouting near Summer's border, but has yet to set foot outside the court.." he glanced to Maeve, and Lorcan's jaw tightened, as did his grip on the female his arm had protectively snaked around.

"And there is a dragon, of some sort, seems to have taken up residence in the sea cliffs to the east..." he added and offered a bow. "That is all, My Prince. My Lady Maeve." he said, and waited until Lorcan nodded with a tight smile before he turned to leave.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve tried to ignore the light feeling in her head and the roar of her blood in her ears at the mention of his name. The face came unbidden to the forefront of her mind and the sweet kiss of iron into newly made fae flesh. The confusion as to why it burned so much, why it caused black welts, and the dawning realisation of what was happening to her. If Lorcan's arm had not been there she might have fainted at the memory of it all.

Sensing the sudden shift in her mood Balfour pressed himself against her ankles, two tiny paws resting on her shin as he yipped up at her. The noise was eventually was brought her out of the waking nightmare. Blinking down at the pup she stooped to scoop him into her arms and buried her face in his fur to breathe in the rich smell of blossoms.

"I think I want to make a garden here," she blurted suddenly and looked up from the fur to the maintained but forlorn looking lawn. Compared to the rest of Endora it felt... lacking. "As a... as a project," she justified out loud. Not an excuse to stay close to home.