Private Tales Legends are not born, they are Made

[Fraeya]

Teeth grit in frustration and she stood, stooping down to snatch a small pebble from the ground before launching it across the swamp's surface. Fraeya had never been one who liked to sit idly for long. She got too antsy. Perhaps that's why she'd taken up music so quickly. Working on her form of art was one of the few things that seemed to calm her.

Settle her spirits.

"I'm not sure. The Erlking turned me into some kind of Shuck but not a black shuck. It's different and new." For once, she looked a little like a fox as she turned her impish and sly gaze back to Maeve. "There was some other magic already on me that he didn't know about and it kind of...warped what he'd meant to happen." A shrug along her shoulders as she picked up another rock and prepared to launch it.

"It's why the other don't accept me," she admitted quietly. "They see me as an abomination. Not just because I used to be human but because I'm something new." She released the rock, this time lacking the will to throw it far.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve listened to her new found friends frustrations as she petted Balfour's head. She could sympathise. Her magic was new too, caused by the merging of two fae souls and a human one. Fiadh and Lorcan still looked at her occasionally like they expected her to be torn apart from the inside by the magic that grew day on day. But she wasn't sure how to use her own experience to help Fraeya with hers. They might have both started as human but it appeared as though their transitions were completely different.

"What's.... What's a shuck?" she asked with a blush. If it had been a fae - a born fae - she would never have dared ask. It seemed like something other fae would know but hopefully Fraeya wouldn't judge her.

 

[Fraeya]

Surprise at Maeve's question. She'd just assumed the other woman had been around fae her entire life, like Fraeya had. It looked like...that wasn't the case. "Black shucks are fae who can turn into big, spooky black-dog like creatures and join in the Hunt as elite predators. They can do some other cool, although terrifying things." Fraeya turned and looked from Maeve to her beast and back again.

"So uh...how did you end up with Lorcan, or the fae in general?" Fraeya decided to offer a little more about herself. "I just ask because I assumed you might've been like me, raised with them but your question leads me to believe I jumped into some assumptions..."

 

[Maeve]

Sudden, horrifying realisation crashed into Maeve. The Hunt. The large black dog she had mistaken for Isiell's pet dog, Blackie. The look of shock on her face covered up quickly by amusement. She had thought that it was because it was a common breed of fae hound not a common species of fae. Oh fiery Goddess she had given a grown fae scitches.

Vomit welled up in her throat and she covered her mouth to keep from hurling up the entire contents of her stomach.

"What?" she asked weakly then blinked, taking a moment to recall what Fraeya had asked. "Live with the fae?" more horror crept across her face. "Goddess, no! Well... not like you. The Isle I am from was... the fae appeared to us like Gods. Sometimes vengeful, sometimes merciful. Sometimes they would not be seen for centuries and others... loads. But they did not live among us, no. I suppose we were more like... a doll house."

 

[Fraeya]

Fraeya rubbed at the back of her neck. She'd never heard of it and she wondered what court these fae had been from. Summer? They tended to enjoy playing with humans most, seeing them more as pets than anything. She thought about asking then decided not to, realizing it didn't' really matter.

Fae were cruel to humans at worse, indifferent at best. Although, perhaps fae were interested in humans at worst. It was always best not to draw their attention. Something Fraeya had never really been very good at. The attentions of a prince and his father had landed her...here.

And in a way, she felt a strange connection to the Erlking. Had it been because he'd made her? She'd never had a true father and she didn't want to admit that he was beginning to feel like one now. Perhaps going to Endora would help erase some of those feelings and connections.

Lost in her thoughts for a moment, she blinked and looked back to the redhead. "If I'm to go with you to this place, I need to get some things first. And it's getting dark, we shouldn't stay out here." A quick glance at the sky and towering swamp trees around them. Although now she supposed she was one of the creatures to be feared at night. A hand held out to the girl to help her up. "I'll need to sneak back to the matriarch's camp to gather some of my things." They were no longer at Delun's.

 

[Maeve]

"I should probably warn Lorcan I invited someone home too..." Maeve bit the inside of her cheek. The emotions she was getting through the bond were not what she was expecting after a visit to his father. Oh the anger was there but it was not a raging inferno, more smouldering embers. There was also a tentative, almost nervous, piece of hope. Had the Erlking actually said yes? The idea of war made her sick, especially as she doubted he would have fought if it hadn't been for what they had done to her.

"I'll meet you back here in an hour?" she offered with a raise of a slender brow.

 

[Fraeya]

Fraeya nearly faltered when Maeve reminded her that Lorcan would...a slight shake of her blonde head. If Lorcan was the male Maeve made him out to be, then she imagined he'd say yes. But if he was the male Fraeya still believed him to be...well, Fraeya didn't think she'd be going to Endora anytime soon.

In fact, she became more wary that Lorcan would somehow use this information against her to his father.

She swallowed. "If he doesn't approve me coming that's fine," she rushed out. "Just please, please don't let him bring this to the Erlking's attention." It was the closest Fraeya had ever come to beg anyone for anything. Hands wrung in front of her nervously and she held Maeve's gaze one last time before quickly disappearing into the surrounding wood.

 

[Lorcán]

"Mae?" Lorcán called out from where he'd landed at the water's edge some time later. She was close, and so he followed that (now far gentler) pull until he found her, the tips of his raven-feathered wings dragging along the plush ground as he strode with haste toward her. His gaze flashed gold as he smiled at the sight of her, and he rushed to pull her into his arms, to touch her face and hair and entwine their fingers, to breathe her in as though he hadn't seen her in decades.

"Fuck I missed you." he laughed under his breath, but the release of tension from simply being close to her again was almost euphoric. "We should get home.. I doubt that tree there will be as forgiving on your bare arse as our shower wall." he grinned, his hands sliding to her hips with a suggestive squeeze.

 

[Maeve]

"S-stop it!" Maeve manage to bite out between delighted laughter, peppering him in her own shower of kisses. And though she bade him stop she made no move to step from the circle of his arms and leaned into him instead with a contented sigh, her arms wrapped loosely about his shoulders. It would be easy enough to forget the promise she had made to stay and wait with him this close but she sternly took her mind and hormones by the reins and yanked them sharply.

"I met someone while I was out here - no, don't go all dark lord on me," she smoothed his frown with her fingers before it could even form. "Her name's Fraeya and I think she needs out help, Lorcy," her tone was a soft plea towards the end. Quickly she filled her mate in on what had happened; the bullying she had seen, what Fraeya had told her about being Made.

"Can she? Can she come home with us?"

 

[Lorcán]

The sound of her laughter was as much a soothing caress as those kisses, her very presence a drug that had his adrenaline flooding through him in heady waves, but those waves came crashing into him at the words 'I met someone' , and his body went rigid. Then he had the audacity to look offended when she insinuated that he might have reacted badly.

"Fraey---" he'd blurted, but.. "L-Lorcy?" he was grinning again, unable to help but tug her a little tighter against him as he looked over her face with such awe. Gods, the names she had once called him, even in the span of one sentence to another he'd gone from potential 'dark lord' to 'Lorcy', and it amused him greatly.

What was not so amusing to him however, was the story his mate told him of what had happened to Fraeya. He was bristling by the time she'd finished telling him, and his eyes had darkened. "How? And fucking why?" he grimaced with rage, his mind spiralling as he thought of the mortal woman he'd once loved. He'd never understood why Fraeya had always been tolerated when she had not, and now he found out that Midir had had the power to make fae?

His jaw was tight with tension and anger but by fuck the way Maeve was staring up at him.. "I won't leave her here to suffer. But, we must be careful of those who've been within my father's grasp, Mae." he warned softly, gently capturing her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I am not one of Fraeya's favourite people as it is.. But if she claims to be in need of sanctuary, she may come with us."

 

[Maeve]

"She didn't tell me all the ins and outs and I thought it was a little... rude," Maeve admitted. She knew how she felt about her own transition between human and fae, how nervous it still made her and the daunting thought of what her future now meant. Lorcan was the only thing she was sure of but Fraeya had... well Fraeya had nothing. Maeve was going to change that. Her determined frown melted into pure innocence when he took her chin and became all serious. When he was like that all she wanted to do was play, kiss him, pull the child inside him out to play. A mischievous glint sparkled in her emerald gaze but she tried to keep her face serious as she nodded.

"I... gathered she isn't too fond of you," she tried to suppress the smile but it bloomed in her eyes even if she kept her lips tightly pressed. "She even offered to help me run away from you. I told her she was a few months late with that offer," finally she lost her battle and her smile broke across her face. "We will be careful, though. I promise."

 

[Lorcán]

"Mh.." he murmured a sound of disgruntlement as he conjured the pain the female had inflicted. His pride had been hurt just as much, but he'd deserved it for the games he'd played. He'd been about to admit as much when Maeve mentioned the offer that Fraeya had made and there was a sudden flare of white-hot anger at the very idea. "That little br--" he cut himself off with a tight clench of his jaw and a dark growl.

The Prince drew a deep breath and let it out in a slow shudder.

Fraeya had assumed her held against her will.
Maeve had put her right.
She was here, and had no need or wish to run...
She was safe.

"Alright." he answered, bowing his head to press it to hers. "Just...Remember who I really am. Who I am with you." he frowned. "I have been terrible, and many have witnessed it. On Endora, with you. That's who I am." he rumbled quietly, his fingers trailing the curve of her spine. His own people knew him, but here on the mainland, most knew him as a monster. Of course they'd try to save her.

"Just don't forget.." he sighed. No matter what you hear.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve reached up to cup his cheek, her thumb running across his lips. She could feel the anger, the swirls of fear, the attempts to soothe himself.

"Is ceol mo chroí thú, Lorcán," she took his hand with her free one and pulled it against her chest just over the steady beat of her heart. "I could never forget you," her lips quirked into a smile that lit her eyes with that special blend of starlight that was so uniquely hers. She wondered, suddenly, if that was a part of why he was so desperate to keep her away from the main Autumn Court; did he truly believe she could ever run from this? Doubt the man she knew?

"Come on, I said we'd meet her once she'd picked up some things," twining her fingers with his she tugged him in the direction of the meeting spot.

 

[Fraeya]

Fraeya had a leather satchel slung over one shoulder. She stood among the roots of a massive banyan tree. The tree she'd given Maeve directions to as a meeting spot. And by Fraeya's appearance, it was clear she hadn't gone completely undetected.

Three fresh angry red welts, like she'd gotten swiped with a pair of claws, ran up her arm from her wrist to her tricep. The sleeve of her tunic over that area also torn. Tangled blonde-strands of hair lay in disarray. And she almost looked the same as when Lorcan last saw her at that ball long ago. Except for the little things: perhaps an inch taller, her skin held more vibrancy, her eyes seemed a deeper and brighter green, and of course the once curved ears ending in fine points.

She paced and looked like a wounded animal - on high alert.

She'd lost the others but she was also beginning to doubt her decision to leave. What if Maeve couldn't help her? What if Lorcan betrayed her and told his father? What if Lorcan really wasn't the male Maeve so much believed he was?

She swallowed and shifted the strap of her bag once more, going deeper into the roots of the trees as she waited. Ready to run if she didn't like what she saw. Doubting whether they'd actually come.

 

[Lorcán]

He held her hand to his cheek, and let her hold his to her chest, his gaze fixed on those enchanting emeralds of hers. There was a darkness in him, one that'd always been there and one he'd lost control of before, one he feared he might lose control of now if he didn't exact justice on those who'd harmed her, soon. But his heart seemed to attune itself to hers, that missing piece of his soul clicking back into place with her so close, and his calm returned with a few softly spoken words and a simple smile.

His eyes creased in a smile of his own as he nodded and allowed her to pull him along behind her, Balfour pouncing at the feathered wings that trailed behind him amidst wisps of shadow. It wasn't long before he caught Fraeya's scent, and he cleared his throat to avoid startling her. His gaze soon found her, and it took in each of the details that differed from how she had last looked. She was most certainly Fae, and some were most certainly displeased about that.. Including him.

"Fraeya..." he said sternly before letting a quiet huff tumble free. He didn't need his senses to tell him how frightened she was. "Are you alright?" he asked, firstly, his large, raven wings ruffling against the urge to curl around Maeve.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve jabbed an elbow in Lorcán's side at the stern tone to his greeting and gave him a quick disapproving frown, only relenting when he asked how she was.

"She will be!" she cut in quickly before Fraeya could retort with some sarcastic reply. The tension between the two could be cut with a knife and she had no intentions of taking that kind of energy back home. She would not be the only one seeking sanctuary and the others didn't need to feel the unease between these two and become unsettled or uncomfortable themselves. With a bright smile she stepped up to her new found friend and held out a hand.

"Let's go."

 

[Fraeya]

A distrusting frown on her face as the Prince appeared with Maeve. A small jut of her chin as she caught the flashing judgement in his dark eyes like all the other fae had. Fingers curled into a tight fist at her side even as she fought to hold back the emotion that wanted to well in her deep green eyes.

No, she wasn't alright.

Clearly.

And she wanted to snap back a lie but found her tongue weighted. A ripple of frustration flickered across her brow but eased as Maeve spoke and stepped forward. But her eyes didn't leave Lorcan's even as she spoke to Maeve, stepping free from the shadow and roots. She wanted to blame the prince for everything. For making her dance at the ball. For drawing his father's attention to her and everything that had happened since. For hating her from the beginning just because she'd been a mortal in the court.

But she found she couldn't blame Lorcan for everything.

Perhaps just his hatred of her.

But everything else, she'd had her own role in. Even if it hadn't gone the way she'd thought it would.

"You swear not to tell your father about this?" She swallowed, making sure to keep Maeve between herself and Lorcan. It was very clear she had no trust for the Prince and that he was the male Maeve claimed him to be.

 

[Lorcán]

Lorcan's frown deepened for the briefest of moments as he considered her question. He wasn't sure what she thought of his relationship with his father, but most of the court were very well aware of how strained it was, and so the question caught him a little off guard.

"You have my word." he told her firmly as he reached out a hand to her to seal his promise. "So long as we can trust you." he added with a cynical twist of his lips. His wings spread out behind him, his arm curling around Maeve. "Do I have permission to carry you?" his brow quirked. "Or am I in danger of being assaulted in public again?" he asked. Both women had now wounded his pride in said manner, it was difficult not to sound a little bitter about it.

 

[Maeve]

Maeve's eyes shifted from Fraeya to her mate and back again. The tension could be cut with a butter knife and she quietly vowed to question Lorcán and her new found friend more about it at a less tense time. All thought of serious talk dissipated however at the mental image of him attempting to carry the pair of them - and Balfour - back to Endora. She covered her mouth quickly to hide her smile only exasperated by the pouty look the Prince of Autumn wore across from her.

"We'll be perfectly well behaved, mo grá," she said with sweet innocence then continued with a thoughtful frown. "Perhaps it would be easier to use the Leys to the edge?" To fly all this way with so many... he might be able to ask one of the others to help carry them all back if they could get to the borders.

 

[Fraeya]

A skeptical and wary stare at the fae Prince's outstretched hand. A flicker of eyes back to Maeve, reading this new potential friend's face for any subterfuge. But there was none. Her frown deepened but she did extend her own hand, reaching carefully around Maeve. Still very much keeping the redhead between herself and the prince.

"Okay," a quick nod of her sharp chin as she agreed.

But as soon as he said something about carrying her, that hand of hers' was out of his faster than the kelpie leaving the swampy waters for its next snack.

HELLS NO WAS HE GOING TO CARRY HER.

"Yeah, we should use the leylines," she quickly agreed with Maeve. "C'mon," she began cutting through the swampy woods. Fraeya had always been able to use them even before this...change. She'd never known why. But perhaps that didn't matter anymore. A wipe of clammy palms down her tunic. The idea of flying and flying with the prince made her stomach churn. Sure, she could face the Erlking. Face the Weaver. Stand on the edge of a cliff and look out without fear.

But flying?

A nervous twitch of her fingers at her side.

 

[Lorcán]

"We'll be perfectly well behaved, mo grá.."

"Mh.." he huffed. He really wasn't sure about this new found friendship. The touch of Fraeya's hand at least was enough to seal her promise of trust, and he felt the dark vines wrap their way around his wrist and settle into his skin..

"As you wish.. But unless you have a boat or plan on swimming you're going to have to deal with it." he shrugged and followed after the two with a huffy ruffle at his hair. He far preferred to be airborne than risk walking into trouble. There was enough trouble to be had without trying to find it..

 

[Maeve]

"Come, Balfour!" Maeve patted her thigh and the wolf-fae bounded after the group with an excited booming bark. It wasn't long before he vanished ahead of their trail with his nose to the ground, though she knew for a fact he would be there within moments if she should have need. Fraeya took the lead and Maeve slid her hand into Lorcan's to give it a comforting squeeze.

"Thank you," she said simply because she knew it was hard. She knew there was history even if she did not know it in full. And, because she knew what being in these lands did to him. She was itching to ask him what had happened with his father but that was a conversation best left until they were alone.

"So, did you two work together?" she asked curiously, glancing between her mate and new friend. This part of his life she knew so little about and now she was so close to it... she couldn't resist the temptation of asking.

 

[Fraeya]

For as graceful as Fraeya had been as a human and as graceful as she was as a fae, she stumbled at Maeve's question. Head whipped around to face her, brows scrunching as green eyes landed on the Prince of Autumn.

"No," strangled voice managed to choke out.

Thank the northern star.

If that had ever happened, she imagined he would've been the death of her. Attention turned back ahead as she walked forward. The point of the leys was coming up and soon they'd feel that odd stomach-drop sensation.

"He does have a hard time hearing the word no, though."

A smirk that only Balfour would be able to see.

 

[Lorcán]

The Prince squeezed back at his mate's hand, a breath tumbling free from him to have her back close to him. "Hm." was his stiff acknowledgement of her thanks, his lips a thin smile as he glanced down at her. Fraeya had been a part of his past, of his life in his father's courts, amidst his darkest days when he had to be something he was not.. He'd found a way to get away from that past, and to keep Maeve from it, and now here was Fraeya, one who had seen the terrible side of him and who hated him enough to tell Maeve all about it and no doubt enjoy doing so.

Lorcan looked a little startled as the blonde turned so abruptly to look at him like that, his brows lifting, and then falling back into a frown at her little comment as she continued on her way. His jaw clenched and his gaze fell to the ground.

"Fraeya..." he growled in a sound of clear warning. He felt the pull of the ley lines and tugged Maeve a little closer, casting his gaze around them to ensure they remained alone..

"Alright.. To the western edge." he muttered.

 

[Maeve]

Both of Mae's eyebrows raised. Clearly she had chosen the words to mean something to Lorcan and it did if his reaction was anything to go by. Curiouser and curiouser... If not work colleagues then they had to have been in close proximity in some other way for her to feel this way towards him and for he to be so worried about Maeve being around her....

The ley lines still played havoc with her stomach but she focused on what Fiadh had taught her when travelling and imagined she were walking on a boat instead of magical lines of travel. Distraction was key so she returned herself to the interesting conundrum of Lorcan and Freaya.

"Oh," she breathed out as she pieced the feelings together. "Were you... lovers?"