Chapter Seven #3

“I’ll draw Genova for you,” Idris announced, as he sipped at

his tea, his voice lighter now. “I just need to finish off that picture of Arlyn and Yuli, and then I can do it. Buildings are easier than people—it won’t take long.”

Tamriel smiled at that, though his thoughts lingered on the city and the experiences they had shared there. He didn’t say it out loud, but what he truly wanted more than anything was a picture of Idris himself—his companion, his anchor in this strange world. The city had been remarkable, but Tamriel knew that it had been the presence of Idris beside him that had made the experience so unforgettable. Without him, Genova would have been nothing more than an overwhelming maze of human buildings and strange customs. But with Idris, it had been an adventure, a shared moment of discovery.

As the evening wore on, Tamriel couldn’t help but feel restless. His mind kept replaying their time in Genova over and over—its chaotic beauty, its complexity, the quiet moments they had shared. He realized that there was something about human life, something he had been blind to before, that spoke to him in a way nothing in Faerie ever had.

That night, as they lay in bed, Idris rolled over, his warm body pressing against Tamriel’s back, his arm reaching around him in a familiar gesture of comfort. Tamriel could feel his breath—gentle and steady—as he slept. But for Tamriel, sleep didn’t come. His mind was too busy, too full of thoughts that refused to quiet. He couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling at the pit of his stomach, the deep ache that told him something had changed. He had seen a life beyond Faerie, a life that could hold meaning beyond what he had always known.

Tamriel turned over in the dark, his eyes searching for any trace of Idris’s face, though it was obscured in the shadows. He could still make out the faint outline of his hair against the pillow, the scent of saltwater lingering in his clothes from the beach.

Yes, he thought quietly to himself. I have certainly been missing something.

◆◆◆

Tamriel woke up well before Idris, the flutter of both excitement and trepidation over what he had decided, making it impossible for him to sleep through the night.

He started the fire in his kitchen, and put on a pot of water to boil so that he could make tea as soon as Idris woke up. He prepared a batter for pancakes, and cooked his own without waiting for Idris so that he could give himself something to do. Part of him wanted to wake Idris, to tell him what he had decided, but he forced himself to be patient.

“You’re up early,” Idris remarked, when he finally stumbled into the kitchen wearing a knitted blanket as a robe.

“I could not sleep,” Tamriel replied. He poured a measure of heartsbane tea into a cup and offered it to Idris. “Tea?”

“You’re the best,” Idris mumbled sleepily, taking the tea in one hand and clutching his blanket in the other. Tamriel’s heart swelled with the praise, and he turned away from Idris and back to the fire in order to hide the smile that spread across his face. He should wait until Idris had fully woken up before telling him the news.

Idris perked up as he drank his tea, and was fully awake once he had finished the plate of pancakes that Tamriel handed him.

“What’re we doing today then?” he asked, stretching out on the ground and absently rubbing his stomach. “Do you want to do that walk we didn’t do yesterday?”

“I think I would prefer to stay here,” Tamriel said. “My sisters may return today, and I do not wish to stray far in case I should miss them.”

Idris nodded, and made a noise of approval. “That seems sensible. I can finish those drawings, then.”

“Yes,” Tamriel agreed. He took a deep breath, steadying himself for what he was about to say. “Idris, there is something I wish to discuss with you.”

Panic flashed across Idris’s face, though it soon smoothed out into thoughtfulness as Tamriel explained everything that he had thought about the night before. How he had long since dismissed a life in the human realm as something beyond him, a change that would be too great even to contemplate but that now, faced with an eternity in the Wild Hunt and considering everything Idris had shown him, it was a path he was willing to try to walk.

“What about your sisters?” Idris asked once Tamriel had finished, worry in his voice.

“I had thought about that. As my choices were either to join the Wild Hunt or exile myself to the Unseelie lands, I cannot see the Queen caring much either way if I exile myself elsewhere. I feel she either wants me to kneel, or to leave her kingdom for good. She would have no just cause to punish either Arlyn or Yuli for my leaving with you.”

Idris nodded, looking thoughtful. Tamriel tried desperately to see if he could work out if Idris was happy, or relieved, but for once he couldn’t read the other man’s expression.

“If you could simply move to the human world, why agree to join the Hunt in the first place?” Idris asked, after a moment’s pause.

Tamriel looked off into the distance, trying to put into words all that he had felt the night before. “Because I did not think there would be a place for me there. But now … I think there may be space.”

“Of course there is,” Idris said, his voice radiating warmth, and Tamriel’s worry over how Idris would take the news vanished in an instant.

“I mean it’d be a change but I can help you,” Idris continued. “I’d help you find an apartment, get a job, learn how to take the bus and pay taxes and - I mean you don’t have to stick with me once you leave, of course, you can go your own way, but -” Idris caught himself rambling and forced himself to take a breath. “What I mean to say is, whatever you need, I’ll do my best to help.”

Tamriel turned back to Idris, a smile pulling on his lips.

“I cannot think of anyone I would rather have by my side,” he said.

“You don’t have many options,” Idris pointed out.

“I do not need them,” Tamriel replied easily. “I have you.”

Idris’s eyes widened a little, then he smiled. He was beautiful when he smiled, truly, and the thought reminded Tamriel of something else he should tell Idris.

“And Idris, in case it should sway your offer of help in any way: once I am in the human realm, I would very much like to court you.”

“Court me?” Idris grinned, his eyes sparkling. “Are you going to woo me with poetry, and flowers, and moonlit walks? Will you serenade me with song?”

“Yes, of course -“ Tamriel narrowed his eyes. “You are teasing me.”

“A little. I would like flowers though.”

“Then I have your permission to pursue your heart?”

“Only if I can pursue yours in return,” Idris replied, his eyes so bright they threatened to outshine the sun. “I’ll write the poetry, and you can bring the flowers.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Tamriel said. He felt warmth flow through him, a wash of hope and longing and excitement as flashes of Idris and him in the human realm, together, ran through his mind. He was so taken by the thought of their potential future that it took him a moment to realise that Idris’s smile had slipped.

“Tam, is -,” Idris broke off, his mouth twisting in thought before he started again. “Is this real? I feel drawn to you, comfortable with you in a way I’ve rarely felt with anyone before in such a short period of time and I just ... is that real, or is it that bond of ours making me think that?”

“Idris,” Tamriel said softly, reaching out to take Idris’s hand in his. “You are human, the bond does not affect you in such a way. We are tied, yes, but that cannot make you feel anything you don’t already feel yourself.”

"Ok, good, that’s - yeah,” Idris laughed in relief, then paused. “But what about you?”

“I swore to love you, yes, but there are many different forms of love. All these years I have loved you distantly, as one would love a departed friend; what I feel for you now is more. The love I pledged to you is still there, but it has been joined by a newer, stronger love. This is real, Idris. This is the most certain I have felt about anything in a long time.”

“Shit,” Idris said. “That’s the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“Then I feel nothing but disdain for your previous paramours.”

Idris laughed. “That’s … that’s fair.”

They lounged for the rest of the day, Idris finishing his drawing of Arlyn and Yuli as Tamriel asked him question after question about what life in the human world would be like. It all sounded ridiculously complicated, full of things such as rent and insurance and politics, and for some reason he needed a tiny card with a picture of his face on just so that people would believe who he was.

It was unlike anything he had ever heard about before, and Tamriel could not wait to embrace it all.

“You’re the first person I know to be excited by budgeting,” Idris said with a grin, blowing on his sketch to remove the excess pencil dust.

“It is all numbers,” Tamriel replied. “Numbers work the same no matter the world. I can do budgeting.”

“You’re going to do great,” Idris yawned, and stretched his arms out behind his head with a crack. He picked his drawing up and rolled over to where Tamriel was lying, holding out the paper to him. Belatedly, Tamriel realised that there were two drawings, a second piece of parchment hidden below the one showing his sisters. He pulled that page to the front, and realised that at some point Idris had drawn him.

“I thought you might like to give that to your sisters,” Idris said softly. “I’m sure they’ll come to visit you like you hope, but I thought they’d still like this.”

“It is perfect,” Tamriel said, his fingers unconsciously moving up to touch the drawing, almost to reassure himself that it wasn’t real. Idris had captured him well, he thought, though it had been a while since he had looked in a proper mirror. He looked happy in the drawing, at ease in a way that he had only found recently.

“Thank you, Idris,” he said.

Idris grinned. “Is it weird that I love it when you say ‘thank you’?”

“Yes,” Tamriel said honestly. “But it is endearing.”

Idris snorted, and poked Tamriel on the thigh before rolling back to his previous spot.

“I wonder if I can teach you to lie,” he mused, pulling a fresh sheet of parchment towards him and starting another sketch.

“Perhaps,” Tamriel said amicably, though he doubted it very much.

Idris continued to sketch as the day wore on, drawing Tamriel’s home and the market and the grotto, filling the empty space around the sketches with tiny drawings of Faerie’s various flowers and plants. Tamriel bought him tea and refreshments as he worked, spending his own time packing up a satchel of belongings - that he could at least take parts of his old life with him to his new life in the human realm was a great comfort, a stark contrast to how he would have joined the Wild Hunt with nothing. Even Grey was to come with them, Idris promising that his friend Kayla would be able to house him at a stable with her own horse.

It was well past midday when Tamriel heard the sound of hooves thundering through the forest, and he closed the book he had been reading in anticipation. Sure enough, moments later Arlyn and Yuli burst through the trees into the clearing around his house, tendrils of smoke rolling from Velvet Night’s nostrils as the horse panted with exertion.

“Arlyn! Yuli!” Tamriel clambered up from the floor to run over to where Arlyn had already dismounted. She was grinning, her golden eyes flashing as she dashed over to him and wrapped her arms around him. Something hit Tamriel’s shoulder, and he pulled away from Arlyn to see Yuli kicking at them both from where she was still seated on Velvet’s back. He laughed, and held up his arms for her to jump into, hugging her as tight as he dared.

“I am so glad you have returned in time,” he said. “I have much to tell you.”

“We rode so fast,” Yuli enthused. “I slept on the horse!”

Poor Velvet, Tamriel thought, though his pity for the horse did little to dampen his joy.

“I have presents for you,” he told Yuli, taking her hand to lead her into his house. “Look, curtains for your room, and pillows too.”

“Oh!” Yuli’s eyes lit up as he looked at the pile of purple furnishings. “So pretty.”

“And I have presents for us as well,” Arlyn announced, holding up a sleek velvet bag. “Mama’s jewellery, finally returned to us.”

“Shall I make tea?” Idris asked, hovering at the entrance to the room as though unsure if he was wanted.

“Yes,” Tamriel said, “but then do join us.”

Idris smiled, put at ease. “I am kind of intrigued to see this legendary jewellery.”

“I will help make tea,” Yuli announced, scrambling upright from where she had lain down over her new cushions. “I have missed Idris.”

“You knew him for all of an hour,” Arlyn said with a laugh.

“And I have missed him for days,” Yuli said seriously. She was so earnest, Tamriel couldn’t even find it in him to be insulted that she would rather talk to Idris than him.

Yuli followed Idris out to the kitchen, and Arlyn set about showing Tamriel the jewellery. She set another piece of velvet on the ground and carefully drew out each piece of jewellery from the bag in turn, setting them down on the velvet. Tamriel was relieved to see they were still whole - he had half expected the Queen to honour her bargain by returning the pieces to Arlyn broken, or tarnished beyond repair. As they were, they were untouched by time or malice, as perfect as when their mother had worn them.

First came a large ring shaped like a bee, stripes of gold and jet making up the body whilst the wings shimmered with an iridescence that made them look almost real. A necklace and a bracelet followed, each seemingly made up of the same substance as the wings on the ring, precious stones as translucent and as thin as a membrane. A pair of earrings came next, two large gemstones the same shifting grey as Tamriel’s eyes, flashing turquoise when they caught the light. The collection was rounded with a handful of relatively understated rings, each holding either a single tiny gemstone or twisted into a simple knot.

“They are just as I remember,” Tamriel remarked, running his fingers lightly over the jewellery. He could not even remember the last time he had seen some of the rings, his father taking them away to offer to the Queen without any warning.

“I can still picture her wearing them,” Arlyn agreed. “I know it sounds foolish, but I feel as though we have a little of her back, now.”

“We have,” Tamriel said, his voice barely above a whisper. He was silent for a moment as he looked at the pieces, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

“You should take the set,” he said after a while, gesturing at the bee ring and the iridescent necklace and bracelet. “Mama always meant for you to have them.”

Arlyn nodded solemnly. “And the earrings for Yuli.”

“And the rings,” Tamriel added. “Though I should like to keep a couple for myself.”

“Of course,” Arlyn said. “You must take something to remember her by, even if such beautiful pieces will be thoroughly wasted on you.”

Tamriel laughed. “Perhaps,” he admitted.

He picked up a thin silver ring, the band shaped into a loop of dainty thorns, and another silver ring adorned with a small ruby cut into a cluster of petals. They seemed tiny in his hands, though Tamriel knew if he tried to slide them on his fingers they would grow to fit him. Instead, he placed them in his pocket, meaning to thread them onto a necklace. They would remain close to his heart then.

“Here’s the tea,” Idris announced, coming back to the room with Yuli right behind him, a mug in each of their hands.

He settled next to Tamriel on the floor, crossing his legs and looking over at the jewellery with interest.

“I see you kept your promise to look after Tamriel,” Arlyn said, giving Idris a smirk as she took a sip of her tea. “Well done.”

Idris laughed softly. “It was more the other way round. It was an interesting week.”

“It was,” Tamriel agreed. “And I have used that week to make a choice.” He reached out to take Idris’s hand for comfort, Idris gripping his hand tightly.

Arlyn’s eyes honed in on their joined hands, and she sighed, “Please, Idris, no. You cannot stay here, surely Tamriel has told you?”

“I’m not,” Idris said lightly, turning to Tamriel as though inviting him to explain.

“Idris is not staying,” Tamriel said, “and neither am I. I will try to live in the human realm: he has promised to help me, to teach me how to make a life for myself there.”

Arlyn broke out into a laugh. “You are a fool,” she said, but she said it with the softness she reserved for only her most heartfelt moments.

“Can I come to visit?” Yuli asked.

“Of course,” Tamriel said warmly. “And I am sure that I will find a way to visit you too.”

“The Queen will hunt you for sport,” Arlyn warned darkly.

“She can try. But I am certain she will forget me soon enough. My only fear is that she may still take her anger out on you both, though I hope she shall not care where I am so long as I am not in her kingdom. She would quite likely view a life lived as a human penance enough, worse even than joining the Hunt.”

“Rude,” Idris remarked, and Tamriel laughed softly.

“We will be fine,” Arlyn promised. “The Unseelie King proclaimed that he preferred me to the Queen’s previous emissaries, so I should think that will give us enough favour to avoid any misplaced retribution. Besides, as you said: a life lived in the human world would be a cruel punishment indeed.”

“Rude,” Idris repeated, but his eyes were shining. He caught Tamriel’s eye and grinned, his lips practically begging for Tamriel to lean across and kiss as they turned up into a smile.

He could kiss him, Tamriel thought with a thrill. He would move to the human world and court Idris and kiss him until the bitterness he’d felt in Faerie had been completely forgotten.