The celebration lasted well through the night. AJ watched, letting his friends enjoy the festivities. There was a chance that they would see nothing like it for a while. He had been in a faerie celebration before, though never one of this magnitude. Yet he was content to stay where he was against the Great Tree, with his love in his arms. They didn’t speak, at least not with words. Emotions went back and forth between them over the bond.
For that brief moment when he’d seen the new ring to Brian’s eyes, AJ had been afraid that Brian was going to get upset all over again. Or, that as time wore on, it would sink in and start to bother him. But it didn’t. What he felt from Brian about it was a small amount of satisfaction, and an acceptance. Those were things that AJ understood. He would feel the same way in Brian’s shoes. With this ring on his eyes, it put Brian and AJ on level footing. Even if the Elves in their family tree were different, well, styles they still shared that in common. Neither wanted to do or be anything that the other couldn’t. Everything they did, they would do together.
But as night faded and day threatened on the horizon, AJ knew that they had to move on. As pleasurable as it would be there was no safety for them in staying here. It felt as if there was a clock ticking inside of him, counting down the time they had left to gather together and accomplish what they needed to get done. Almost as if their time was running short before Roth did whatever he was going to do to ‘cleanse’ the earth.
One conclusion that AJ had come to through the night was that this wasn’t a fight they could do alone. This, he felt, was the main reason that Roth had tried to lock that part of him away. Because, AJ now knew, without the help of those around him, he would never stand a chance against Roth. Something had been done; something that strengthened Roth’s power.
Why else would Roth attack the faeries, trying to kill their Great Tree, if they weren’t important in the scheme of things? He had to try to look at it from Roth’s point of view. Faeries were nothing to him. He inherently distrusted any magical being but himself. So why would he take the time to try to kill them? There had to be something important that they could do to help at this final battle that was coming.
How many others would Roth have gone after? There were so many that AJ had obligations to. Groups even that only he had taken the time to befriend, whether intentionally or not. Had he inadvertently doomed them all just by being their friend? If so, than it was up to him to fix it. Not only that, but he knew now without a doubt in his mind that he would need everything and everyone he could get to take down Roth.
Brian’s mind seemed to be running along the same lines. He snuggled closer to AJ, looking as if he was getting more comfortable, but AJ noticed how Brian had managed to unobtrusively get closer to AJ’s ear so that he could whisper to him. “I know that I don’t know near as much about magic as you do, but I’ve heard you talk about Roth’s powers. I’ve been thinking since I was…with him. His strength is so much more than what I remember you telling me it was. Is there a chance he’s done something to increase it?”
“Your minds on the same track as mine, lover.” AJ whispered back, nuzzling Brian’s cheek to do so. “I just wish I knew what he’d done. We’d know better how to counteract it then.”
“All the fey are tied into this, Alex.” Brian kissed his cheek, soft as the brush of a faeries wing. “How many others has he gone after? We’ve got to help them. I think they’re important to what we’re going to do. It’s not just us he’s fighting, but the world itself. We need everyone on our side. Not only that, but if he’s done to them what he did to the Faeries, aren’t we obligated to help them all?”
Hearing those words from Brian’s lips brought tears to AJ’s eyes. He pulled Brian into the tight circle of his arms and buried his face in the curve of Brian’s neck. Brian returned the embrace, sitting up to better be able to hold him. “Alex?” he asked gently, hands moving to try and sooth. “Baby, what is it?”
“I was so afraid you were doing all of this just because you loved me.” AJ mumbled, kissing over Brian’s neck until he reached his face. “But you understand. In just a few words you show how much you understand. I’m so proud right now.”
“Of course I understand, you freak you. This is bigger than you and me. It’s bigger than any one person. If we don’t help them, who will?” Brian looked at him in confusion, as if all of this was the most obvious thing. That just made AJ’s tears come faster. He framed Brian’s face with his hands and kissed him, long and hard.
When he pulled back they were both smiling. “That’s what I mean, baby. Not everyone sees that. Very rarely does anyone care so much. They can care, and they often do, but not at the level that you and I do. To them, they do what they think they should. To us, there’s no choice. It just is. I can’t not help them. My heart screams for me to go to them, to make sure they’re ok, and to prepare them for what’s coming. I have to.”
“Like I said, Alex. Of course. Duh. I’ve just been waiting for when you’re ready to leave.”
Before AJ could respond to that with either more words or more tears, Nuthali flew down to them, resting on AJ’s raised knee. “So quickly must you and yours leave us, Tad arth? Or you, Tad awyr? This celebration will run for days yet.”
“Mine heart weeps to leave mine people, but leave we must.” AJ told her formally. He and Brian uncurled from around one another enough to look at her. “The one who did this to our people is dangerous, as I told you before our magic was done. I fear he has done this to other people who cannot defend themselves against his power.”
“This is a grave evil, Tad arth. Are you strong enough to destroy him?”
This was not a moment for false pride. AJ dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement of his shortcomings. “Sadly, I fear that I am not, neither alone nor with my friends to help me. But that will not stop me. I will do what needs to be done till mine last breath before I allow him to put his plan into action.”
“As will I, Fy Frenhines.” Brian chimed in. Pride filled AJ again at hearing how well his lover adapted to the ways of those who were now their people.
Nuthali looked at them seriously before she raised her arms and glowed brightly, gathering the attention of everyone around her. When all was silent, she spoke, her voice carrying through the dome.
“A great service has been done by these people today. If not for them, mine people would wither and fade under this hill like so much legend. In our time of need Duw o Ddaear a Dŵr and his ffrindDuw Tân ac Awyr and their Offeiriaid a offeiriadesau have come to us and offered aid. We are in their debt for the deeds that have been done for mine people on this eve. Now they are to be leaving us so that they might continue their work for the fey by ridding the world of the evil man who was responsible for this. Rothalo, the dark wizard who sought us out and spelled out home.”
There was a general outcry at the mention of Roth, and the Queen waited for it to die down. Once it had, she spoke again, her voice carrying passion.
“This is an evil that is stronger than any we have known in our long existence. While Duw o Ddaear a Dŵr goes to gain the aid of others, to protect them as he has protected mine own, we shall gather to ourselves and prepare to march to war.” She called out this last line, flying up into the air so that all eyes were on hers. The lights around them pulsed, and Brian and AJ stared up at her in shock while she continued to speak. “When the time comes for this battle to be fought, where will we be? Will mine own answer the call of our Duw? Will we hide under mine hill till battle be done? No!” she called out, her voice echoed by hundreds more. “We will prepare and stand ready to answer the call of the Duw, and we will show this man that faerie we may be, but it be foolish to raise the ire of the fey folk under the hill!”
The dome echoed with the sound of their cries. AJ felt tears gather in his eyes again, but this time he held them back. He would not dishonor their gesture with tears. Instead he rose, Brian standing beside him. All eyes fell to them, the Queen included. When all was silent again, AJ raised his and Brian’s joined hands above their heads and looked around the dome.
“Long have I been welcomed to the home of mine people.” He spoke clearly while he looked at them all. “Ever and always I serve, ever and always I protect. Though not of the same blood, you gave me shelter, brought me peace, and accepted me into this hill, joining us together. I have always been proud to call the faerie of the hill mine own. Today, I stand taller with my pride. Rothalo may be a strong magician, but he has yet seen the fury of mine own people when they are roused to fight. I will prepare, and gather others to our cause, and when the time comes I will call the Tylwyth Teg and we will show them that we are a force to be reckoned with!”
Cheers and lights accompanied them as the group prepared to leave. They were inundated with the brushes and touches that were part of a faerie’s goodbye. In a shelter of glowing lights they left the faerie hill, promises to see them soon echoing behind them as they left the hill behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The walk back to the ship was quiet. It was as if a spell carried them, and they were all afraid to break it by speaking. Yet once they were on the boat, they all stood on deck and looked at one another before everyone turned to look at AJ and Brian. It was there in all their faces, something that AJ had feared to see. Awe. He didn’t want his friends to look at him any differently than they already did.
Marzio and Sofia had always treated him like he was their older, slightly wiser brother. Now they stared at him as if not sure what to say or do. Richard, the man who had always been level minded, who thought the way a soldier thought, looked like a soldier staring up at a King.
Isleen had awe in her face, but hers was at least the same devotion that was always in her eyes around AJ. No matter how hard he tried, he had never been able to convince her that she didn’t owe him anything. To the end of time she would always have a hero-worship for him because he’d been the one to save her and turn her. Apparently now it was turned to Brian as well.
It cut at AJ to see the same look on Geoff’s face as there was for Richard. Though Geoff looked less like he was staring at a King, and more like he was staring at his Gods. AJ couldn’t bring himself to look at Howie. If his best friend had that look, it would devastate him.
“Don’t look at me like that.” He suddenly found himself blurting out. “I’m still the same guy I was earlier. Bri and I both are.”
Sofia was the one who was brave enough to speak up. Even her voice held a hint of awe. “You did magic that none of us have ever seen before, let alone thought about doing. Because of that, look what it’s doing to the two of you. Look how you change. You two glowed with the power in your veins.” She said it as if that explained it all.
Frustration arrowed through AJ, echoed in his bond from Brian. “That doesn’t change who we are.” AJ insisted. “I’m still the same Alyck I always have been. So my ears point? So what if my eyes have an extra color! My hearts still the same.”
“It’s not your heart we worry about, Alyck.” Richard said softly. “It’s the rest. You magic grows and grows. There’s no hierarchy with immortals but for one, and that is, power stands strongest. You’ve always been the most powerful and a sort of leader for us all. We wonder how much more you’ll gain, and what will happen when it does. Are we going to lose you to your history, your people? Will we lose the new one with you?”
That had never crossed AJ’s mind. He looked over at Brian and locked eyes with him. Both of them were surprised. Carefully, AJ looked back at his friends. “I never thought like that. I mean, yeah, I have other people out there. Others who look up to me. Who respect me. But it doesn’t mean I’m going to run off with them and hide forever.”
Howie chose to step forward then. It forced AJ to look at him, the one person he’d been afraid to see. He almost sighed when he saw no signs of awe or worship on that familiar face. Then he braced when he realized what he did see. Caution, and what could be temper.
“I don’t care how much magic you do, or how much you glow.” Howie said seriously. He stopped in front of AJ and put his hands on his hips. “I only care about one thing. How long have you been going around letting people worship you as a God?”
Everything clicked into place all at once for AJ. He closed his eyes on a wave of relief. He had thought he was going to lose his friends, or that they were going to be too awed by him, when in reality, they were worried about him setting himself up as God somewhere, just like Roth was trying to do. Oh, thank the Gods above.
A chuckle must have slid out because Howie poked him in the chest and said “I don’t think it’s funny, Alyck! This is serious shit. We’re here fighting to stop one man from trying to make himself God of everything, and we find out that you’re worshipped as a God by the faeries here. How many more places worship you? How long have you played the part of a God?”
“I wasn’t laughing at your accusations, Howi. Chill for a second, please.”
“You better talk fast, then.”
For a second AJ paused. He took a deep breath and looked at the man who had made him, who had been by his side for the better part of the past few millennia. “Howi, you of all people know me. You know who I am. I would never try to take over the world and put myself up as God. I thought you understood before, when Aishee was there, that the titles honorary. It’s not that I’m actually a God. They just believe I’m touched with the powers of a God.”
“I thought I did understand. But they worship you there, Alyck! I don’t know a lot about faeries, I admit that, but I do know that their Great Tree is the most sacred thing of all, and no one but the Royal family is supposed to touch it. Yet you rested there, and they let you. They sang your praises and acted as if their God had come down from the heavens to be with them. The way they spoke to you was with reverence and awe and all these titles. Just like they would pray to their God.”
“It’s like you said, Howi. You don’t understand the faeries. I went to them when I was still slightly broken on the inside, still a little lost. They offered me shelter, and brought me in their hill because they’d sensed my magic. But I fell in love with them as a people, and they enjoyed me. We became friends first. But then the faeries on this hill started to have problems with another group of faeries trying to move in, and it would’ve been a war between them. But I stepped in, and I busted my ass to work out a treaty and help the others find a new home.”
AJ ran a hand through his hair and sighed, never breaking eye contact with Howie, willing his friend to read the truth in his eyes. “Parts of the forest had been damaged at the little fights that had already broke out. I fixed it, because I can’t stand to see the woods damaged that way. It was like the whole forest was crying and hurting and how could I not help it? But to them, healing the earth meant that I was touched by the power of the Gods, and that earned me their respect.
“The way they talk to me isn’t the way they talk to a God, Howi, because they have no God but the Great Tree. They talk to me the way a Priestess from one hill would speak to the Priestess of another hill, or Queen to Queen. The reverence in their voice isn’t because they think I’m a God. It’s because, to them, status is an intricate part of life. I have magic, which raises me in their eyes, and then I help their home. That raises me up to the level of the Queen in their eyes. So they speak to me that way to show respect for my strength and ability. That’s it.”
For a long moment Howie stared into AJ’s eyes. Some of the anger faded away, but wasn’t totally gone. “What about the rest? How many more place will we encounter this?”
AJ bit his lip while he thought. “Among the sea folk, I’m a land dweller that they like, and that’s about it. The goblins respect my strength, but their culture is different. Respect is earned, and can be easily taken. If they think they can be stronger than you, they’ll try, and if they beat you, you bow down to them. They’re ruled by their strength. The dwarves consider me second only to their King, but that’s only because I helped them in their war against the Krutas.”
“Krutas?” Geoff asked, stepping forward curiously.
They were listening to him, and for that AJ could only feel gratitude. It was reflected on his face as he hurried to answer. “Yeah, Krutas started when a magician before my time bred dwarves and goblins together and made this nasty little creation. They’re brutal, with no thought to what they do. No conscious. They’re pretty smart, though. So the war was going bad cause these guys could think things through better than one would think. I added a touch of magic to the mix before the Krutas destroyed the dwarves. Because of that, I have the rank of a high hero to them. That’s it.”
While they were all so open and willing to listen, AJ wanted to get all of it out. He racked his brain, trying to think of all the people he’d touched in his existence. Something, somewhere that he should say now so it wasn’t misconstrued later.
“I uh, let’s see. The centaurs tolerate me slightly better than they do most two-legs. I talk with the nymphs once in a while, but talking to nymphs is a tricky business. They’re flighty things when they’re happy, but piss them off and they’re dangerous as hell. Um, with this ring in my eyes I’ll be considered an adolescent in my magic by the elves, but one who’s earned respect because of things I’ve done. Let’s see; the pixies love me, but that’s just because I let them talk to me.”
Looking at everyone, AJ noticed the surprise on their faces for the first time, and flushed because of it. “I’ve traveled a lot.” He defended himself. His cheeks burned.
“To say the least, baby.” Brian answered. His eyes were twinkling when AJ shot him a glare. “I think it just surprised everyone how much you’ve traveled. An how many people you have to call on as allies, Alex.”
Embarrassment leaked in. “Well, they’re people just like we are! I just showed them the same respect I’d show anyone else when I came across them.”
“None of us have even met half of who you listed, and I have a feeling your list wasn’t even done.” Howie told him. There was love and humor in Howie’s voice now that set AJ at ease. They weren’t worried about him anymore. They weren’t upset with him. No matter what else he thought at the moment, that was the most important. He couldn’t do this without them by his side.
Without realizing it, AJ started to pick at his thumb. “I always seem to. They just, I don’t know, stumble across me I guess.”
“Well, I won’t deny that having all the allies that we can will help our cause. But where do we go to next?” With that question, Howie put AJ back in charge of their group, and the tension between them all was dispelled. If he hadn’t needed to be serious, AJ would have kissed his best friend. As it was, he let his eyes showed his thanks and love, and received a smile from Howie in return. His friend reached out and stopped him from picking at his thumb.
Embarrassed all over again, AJ looked at the people who were closer to him than anyone in the entire world. This was an important decision that affected them all. They trusted him to make it be the right decision.
What they needed most right now was information. There was only one place he could think of to go that they would be able to get that. “I think it’s time to go see my family and find out what they know. Elves gather knowledge like bees do honey. There’s got to be something they can tell us.”