AJ was the first to rise in the morning. As usual, the sunrise woke him even through the walls of the tent. He’d laid there for a few moments, relishing in the feeling of Brian’s arms holding him close. Somehow, no matter how they fell asleep, he always woke up in the circle of Brian’s arms. He loved it. Pulling his head back, he looked at the sleeping face of the one person who meant more to him than he had ever thought another human would.
Even with everything going on around them, all the pain and fear and worry, AJ felt at peace in that moment. Birds were chirping as nature came to life outside their tent. The sun was slowly rising, its morning glow lighting their small area. No one else was up in their camp, so there was no other sound. It almost made it feel like they were alone.
Something on Brian’s face caught AJ’s attention, and he shifted enough to rise up on one elbow for a better look. Once there, he couldn’t help but stare. Then he sighed. Ah, Gods, he’d been right. For a long time he hadn’t been sure, but here was proof. The top of Brian’s ear had changed shape. Where before it had been rounded as anyone else’s, it now held a slight point to it. AJ knew from experience that it was all the point it would get. He also knew that, if it bothered Brian, he could change it.
AJ brought his hand up, running over his own ear. He had done the magic necessary to force his ears to be the shape they were. Like Brian’s was now, AJ’s point wasn’t prominent when he let it be normal. But in the business he’d gone into, it would have been noticeable. Every night before bed he had to renew the spell that held their shape curved. Belatedly he realized that he hadn’t done it last night. His fingers traveled over that point, first one side and then the other. Really, though, why would he hide it anymore? He was out of the limelight.
A small part of him said that maybe Brian wouldn’t want him to be this way. But Brian’s own ears were curving now, confirming what AJ had always thought. Somewhere in Brian’s ancestry, an elf had mated with a human. The same as in AJ’s ancestry. The only thing was, he knew that it was one of his parents that had been an elf. Which of Brian’s ancestors was elvish, that was unknown. He knew that Brian didn’t know. Until AJ had unlocked the memories, Brian hadn’t even known about his own magic!
So many things were running through AJ’s brain. Gently he extracted himself from Brian’s arms and moved to pull pants on. That was all he wasted time for. Once those were on, he crept from the tent, zipping it shut behind him.
It was soothing, to start out towards the trees in his bare feet. The dirt and grass felt good on his feet, as the rising sun felt like heaven against his skin. He breathed the air in deep and exhaled it slowly. Nothing beat walking through a forest barefoot. AJ knew that part of it was how he was raised. As a child he had spent half of the time roaming the world around his village. But the other half was his ancestry. Ancestry he hadn’t bothered to tell Brian.
Was it really that big a deal? So his mother had been an elf. Yes, Elves were beautiful people. They were a race anyone should be proud to be a part of. From childhood AJ had known who his mother had been. Most half elves don’t know their lineage until, like Brian, strong magic brings it out. Then their bodies start the change that marks him as one of the fair folk.
AJ stepped over a rock, using it to propel him up to the tree branch that dangled right in front of him. Once he had that, he swung himself up further, perching on the limb and staring through the break in the branches to look at the wide world below. His eyes saw nothing.
Had he become so petty that he actually felt ashamed of who he was? Or had he let himself become modernized? Dropped all that was too mystical and acclimated to the world as it was now. AJ felt shame creep in. There was so much of his life anymore that he had abandoned. He’d covered up his beliefs in the Gods and Goddesses, though they still held firm inside of him. He’d used magic to hide the point to his ears. He’d kept his hair short, though at one time it had been long enough to trail almost to his ankles. There were so many things he could see that he’d changed. What had he become?
Somewhere along the line Alyck had been left behind, and AJ had come into place. Not only that, but he had left behind those who were important to him. Those who were a part of that life. The faeries that he was sworn to protect. The Elves who were his people and his heritage. His mother’s people. The goblins that he had worked so many centuries to try to create peace with. Were they still working peacefully? Or had Roth moved in where AJ had abandoned, and managed to persuade them to his side? What about the Pixies? Or the Satyr’s that he had one stayed a decade with? How long it had been since he’d traveled into the Elven kingdom and found himself on the back of a Pegasus? The list was endless.
To the rest of the world these were fantasies. Mythical creatures that did not exist. Their ignorance was their excuse. AJ didn’t have that excuse. He had turned his back on all that had once been important and vital to him. There were people out there, and creatures, which had once depended on him. He’d been one of the rare few people who cared what happened to them and how they were treated He’d been their champion who kept them safe and protected. What had he been doing for them in the last few hundred years?
Noise alerted AJ that he wasn’t alone any longer. He looked down, watching as Howie walked toward him, not bothering to silence his footsteps. “What is it that’s chasing the sun away for you, Alyck?” Howie called once he was close enough.
AJ looked above him, through the leaves of the tree, and saw the small rain clouds gathering over him. Carefully he dissolved them. “Απώλεια.” AJ answered him truthfully. Loss.
With grace, Howie swung himself up through the tree to take a seat beside AJ, their legs dangling to the ground. “What loss is bothering you, Alyck?” he asked him. That one question broke the dam holding AJ’s emotions in. Without realizing it, he reverted to speaking the language of his childhood.
“When did I change, Howi? When did everything about me become different? I look at myself this morning, and I see how different I’ve become. How modern.” AJ turned to look at the man he had known for all of his immortal existence. “When did I start to leave behind those I had obligations to? Or those that I love? I almost can’t remember the last time I went to see my people. Or the last time I allowed my ears to have their right shape. Or when my hair was last so long that it almost reached my ankles.”
“Roth.”
The one word had AJ’s head snapping back up from where he’d been hanging it. “What?” he demanded.
Howie just kept a calm face, looking at their feet swinging. “When you stayed with Roth that last time, and the destruction happened when you two fought. After that something was different about you. You’d locked a part of yourself away. I always wondered if he’d broken that part of you, or spelled it.”
Shock had AJ frozen in place, staring at Howie. His friend just continued to talk. “But since you and Brian got together, it’s slowly been coming back. Since you’ve both escaped Roth, well, it looks like its exploding back out of you. You called Aishee without even realizing it, Alyck. You haven’t done that in, God, centuries. That right there tells me he did something to you. Have you looked to see if there’s any spell traces in you?”
For a moment AJ just had to sit there and stare. Not only was that one long speech for Howie, but the implications of it were terrifying. He couldn’t bring himself to look inside, though. On one side, it would be a relief to know that something had caused him to forget them all; that it hadn’t really been him changing that much or becoming that horrible of a person. On the other hand, knowing that Roth had done it and he’d never sensed it would break his heart. That was almost as bad.
“I’m scared to know.” AJ admitted quietly. “If I didn’t sense it before, what if I can’t now? Or what if it really was me? Either option sucks.”
At first Howie didn’t answer him. They just sat there, listening as the world around them started its day. Then, very quietly, Howie spoke. “Alyck, I’ve known you for longer than anyone around, and I include Roth in that. He may have met you when I did, but he doesn’t know you, not like I do. I think it’s safe to say I know you pretty well, yes?”
AJ nodded, unable to speak. His brain was overloaded with the impact of everything. All he could do was listen as Howie continued to speak.
“Never, in all the time I’ve known you, have you ever put the welfare of yourself above anyone else. I’ve always thought that you put yourself too far in last place in the scheme of things, honestly. In my eyes, there’s no other explanation but magic to explain why would abandon people who are so important to you. But, I think you’re right in the sense that you probably won’t know the spells there. He probably did something to hide it from your eyes. But he didn’t take into account Marzio. Let me call him out here, let him look. He may not weave well, but you know his sense of magic, especially something like this that would involve spirit, well, you know how good he is. Please?”
Again AJ nodded. He had to know the answer. One way or another, before he went to help the faeries, before he did anything with those that had once come to him for guidance; he had to know the truth.
There was no words spoken, but AJ felt Howie sent that small pulse of magic to Marzio to get his attention. They waited in silence for him to come. Howie covered AJ’s hand with his, wanting only to show his support. AJ gladly took it. He also let his bond with Brian fill his mind, bathing him in its warmth. Brian was still sleeping, from the feel of it, but that bond always carried warmth between them. It was soothing.
Minutes later Marzio came walking toward them, his face bright. AJ could sense the satisfaction in his aura, one that was brought on only by one thing. Marzio and Sofia had obviously been doing the same thing that Brian and AJ had the night before. That brought a small smile to AJ’s lips.
“Hello and good morning!” Marzio called up to them in Italian. “Is this a meeting of monkeys, or can any old fella join?”
Neither of the men smiled, and Marzio’s grin disappeared off his face. He perched on a large rock by them, looking up at their faces. “What’s the matter? Has something else happened?”
Because AJ couldn’t find the words, Howie briefly explained what they’d been talking about and what they wanted him to do. When he was done, Marzio chewed on his lip for a minute before absently gesturing for AJ to join him. Well used to how these things worked, AJ hopped down, landing nimbly on his feet. He and Marzio moved to the base of the tree and sat cross legged, clasping hands to strength the contact.
AJ put himself into a meditative mode, though he didn’t embrace his magic. He would follow Marzio’s lead in this.
The glade was quiet but for a slight thrum of magic in the air. AJ felt the presence that was Marzio mesh against him. They’d worked together before, so it was easy for AJ to allow him past his shields. Marzio had a soothing aura to him, almost a pale yellow to AJ’s eyes. Sometimes it still surprised AJ that others couldn’t see the auras around other people when working magic. He had to remind himself that it was a part of his elvish heritage, that ability.
Everything that had been bothering him this morning seemed to melt away on a wave of calmness. He sighed away his tension and simply felt the glory of the day. Time lost meaning. He simply floated there while Marzio looked around, wrapping through his mind and his heart. Marzio’s touch was so light that it almost wasn’t there.
When finally Marzio pulled back, he grounded AJ again, bringing him back to reality with them. It felt as if he’d been floating for hours. But, when he opened his eyes and looked up at the sky, he realized that only moments could have passed. When you meditated, especially with another person like that, minutes could feel like hours, and hours like days. It was half of what made it so calming.
Marzio brought his hands up to rub at his face. “There’s something there.” He said slowly, looking into AJ’s eyes. “But there’s no way for your magic to help me remove it. Would you mind if Howie joined us, and I showed him where to mend?”
“Please.” AJ rasped hoarsely. He wanted to be whole again. He wanted this trace of Roth out of him. Whatever it was, he had no idea. That would be discussed afterwards. Right now he wanted it out of him. The thought of having anything from Roth inside of his body, his center, was enough to bring that madness tickling at the edges of his mind.
Quickly, Howie joined them, and soon the two men were joined together, linking and sliding their touch inside of AJ again. He let himself drift one more time, needing the calm, needing the peace. When something touched at his center, he almost jerked, almost threw his shields up in place. AJ felt that touch paused, and had to remind himself that it was Howie. There was no denying the traces of Howie on that magic. With supreme effort he kept his shields down and let Howie touch his center.
Sweat broke out on AJ’s skin. This was too reminiscent of Roth trapping him with that weave of spirit. It took everything in him to let them do what they were going to do and not panic. Yet, he was distracted suddenly when he focused on where they were touching. Howie was doing…something…but what he was working on AJ couldn’t see. To his internal eye there was nothing there.
All of a sudden light flared inside of AJ. Without thought he flung his shields up, not realizing that Howie just barely managed to pull out in time so as not to be hit by them. AJ couldn’t focus on that. He could on focus on the part of him that was suddenly bursting forth. A part of him he had forgotten about, a part that had once been vital to him, was there again, pulsing inside of him.
Tears filled his eyes as he explored that part of his center and let its light fill him. Memories of those he had helped, of his obligations and commitments. Oh Gods, the love he felt to those people. It all washed over him in waves, filling in the places that he hadn’t realized were empty. Pride came back with it. Pride in himself; pride in his heritage. He was who he was.
With this came a sense of connection to the world around him. Jesus, Roth had even managed to mask some of AJ’s natural elvish ability. To sense the spirit in the trees, the plants, the very ground itself. Each bug that walked across the dirt; each squirrel in the trees.
When AJ opened his eyes, he saw the shock on his friends faces, though he had no idea why. He couldn’t see that his eyes had changed. Wordlessly, Howie called water from the ground and held it in his hands for AJ to look into.
Around the brown iris that his eyes had always been was now a thin ring of green. AJ knew that, among elves, the colors and rings to their eyes signified growth, both in their mind and their abilities. His features had also sharpened slightly, growing smoother. Not by much, but enough that he noticed it. The point to his ears had grown a little as well. Just a hair more prominent.
“Alyck, your eyes…your face.” Marzio said in awe.
AJ looked up at him and smiled. Really, truly smiled. “I grow.” He said simply. In Howie’s eyes he saw understanding. Howie had been with him when all of this had been explained to AJ. What these changes were. The possibility that it could happen, if he allowed it to. But Marzio hadn’t.
At the edges of AJ’s consciousness he felt the others coming their way. Sofia and Brian. Geoff and Richard weren’t close, and he looked to Howie with the question in his eyes. His new eyes. Howie was quick to answer. “Geoff took Richard and set out last night to get us a boat. They should be back soon.”
Through the bond, AJ felt as Brian came closer and sent him a wave of love so strong that he could feel Brian’s joy glowing back at him.
Moments later Sofia and Brian stepped up to them. Without a word Sofia sat next to Marzio, her love for her partner in every line of her; in the smile on her lips and the joy in her eyes. Privately they looked at one another, wordlessly saying their good mornings, and then Sofia turned her eyes to AJ. Shock filled them.
Brian sat down next to AJ. Instantly he noticed the difference in his lover’s eyes, his face, his ears. But he didn’t speak. He could feel the calm in the bond. Such faith Brian had in him. AJ hoped sincerely that the faith would stay after he spoke. Because AJ knew he couldn’t just tell his own story. He needed to share what he could guess of Brian’s story with him. It was time.
“There’s so much to tell you all.” AJ said, switching to English for Brian’s benefit. His love didn’t know the foreign languages yet, though he imagined that Brian would be surprised with how easily he would pick up on them now. Now that his elvish side was coming out. Looking at the eyes of those he loved, AJ smiled again. “First, I want to say one thing to you all, to those of you that don’t know it, and then I want to let Marzio talk and explain what just happened, ok?”
Brian took AJ’s hand in his as a show of support, and Sofia smiled encouragingly.
“My parents died in a raid when I was little. You all know that. What you don’t know was that my mother was an Elf, and my father half elf, half mortal. His mortal half was a line of those could work magic, like Howie. That makes me, oh, three quarters elvish.” He turned his eyes to Brian when he felt the spurt of surprise in their bond. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Part of it was just idiocy, but part of it is what Howie and Marzio are going to explain.”
Brian stared into AJ’s eyes for a moment before nodding. Taking that as a signal, Marzio started to speak. He explained to Brian how he could sense magic, and how they had sat together and he has used Howie to go inside of AJ and fix something that Roth had put there. “It was a spirit block.” Marzio explained to them all. “Roth used spirit, and almost, I don’t know, inverted the weaves, tying them to AJ’s center so that he couldn’t see them. It hid a good chunk of the elvish part of his blood, as well as the feelings that he carries towards those things mystical. It was tied through him in ways I don’t understand. It locked off his ability to connect with other creatures and such, like the faeries. AJ was slowly breaking it, but we pulled it the rest of the way free.”
AJ nodded at him. “That’s why I changed.” He told them all. Every set of eyes was on him. “It was once explained to me, when I was with the elves, that there are things in life that can trigger the elvish side of you. For people who access magic the way that I do, and also have elvish blood, well, that connection is stronger. If you allow it to, if you embrace it, it can actually start to merge the two parts of you into one. You’ll still manage to retain the parts of you that you had as a mortal, or in my case immortal, but the elvish side will become stronger.
“It’s why my eyes have the ring of green now. For elves, the rings are gained as your mind and magic mature and grow. In their eyes I would be out of childhood now, and into early adulthood. My first ring shows that my magic is stronger, and that my mind has gained wisdom. As I finish to grow, I’ll gain a second one, to signify that I’m an adult.”
“And you ears? Did that just come on as well?” Sofia asked him curiously. Here, AJ had to admit his own faults. This one rested solely on him. “No, it didn’t. They’re a little pointier than before, but they’ve always been a little pointy. I just, I’m not proud but I hid it. After first just because it was easier to pass as mortal, and then the band, and such like that. But it’s no excuse for the lies. I’m sorry.”
Here was the final thing to do. Looking at Brian, AJ reached up and brushed his fingers over Brian’s ears. “Mine are pointer because they grow, but yours, Bri, look like mine used to.”
“Mine?” Brian’s hands jerked up, feeling at his ears. Surprise filled his eyes and the bond. “What the…?”
“Yea. I’ve suspected for while, but I wasn’t sure.” AJ said softly. He looked into Brian’s eyes and knew that what he said could destroy the trust between them. “I’m convinced now. The magic we did yesterday brought it out. You’ve got an elf in your family tree, Bri.”