willysilver

Willy was waiting for Fin when the young man got home from the day's work. He hadn't gone inside, choosing instead to linger by the doorway, bundled up a bit. The scarf round his neck hardly canceled out the tears in the knees of his jeans, but that was no matter to him.

The fae had let some time pass and he had even sought the coucil of Brown Meg who was terribly wise, understanding mortals more than most, Willy believed. He had come to the realization that although he'd had the best intentions he had broken Fin's trust. After some time of waiting for the little mortal to come back to him, Willy had gone to seek him out. And so he stood in the cold, not about to violate Fin's trust again by letting himself inside the flat.

He lit up when he saw Fin and produced a white rose, a single one that was only beginning to open.

"Finlay, will you speak to me tonight?" he asked hopefully.

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From:

willysilver

Willy nodded and turned, waving his hand over Fin's wall. The outline of a door appeared, glowed, then solidified into an actual doorway. Willy opened it and offered Fin the opportunity to go through first.

It was the same garden they'd been in before, only a different part of it. Here the door opened through a hedge to a pool where frogs croaked in the night. The moonlight was brilliant and the pond filled with lily pads was clear.

"We can walk the paths," he said.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

Fin stepped through, looking around curiously and then up at the moonlight.

"It really is beautiful here, Willy. I still don't understand why you wouldn't want to live here."

From:

willysilver

"That is simple enough to answer, my friend. It is because nothing here changes. The mortal world is dynamic. In the Seelie lands it is ever spring or summer. It is, to me, dull beyond measure," he replied.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"I suppose there's no Christmas either, 'eh?" he asked with a soft laugh, reaching to hold the fae's hand.

From:

willysilver

"No. We do give gifts, but the winter solstice is a time of trouble..."

He paused briefly.

"We will be going to war soon enough. But let us not speak of it yet."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"War? Willy, that's not something you can just gloss over," Fin said, coming to a stop. "Are you leaving? What's going to happen? Who are you even fighting?"

From:

willysilver

Willy sighed heavily. "The war is ongoing, sometimes more severe than others. We fight in the summer and the winter, as we are called. My mother did not call me to defend the Seelie realm this summer, but come the winter solstice I will be on the field of battle. And you will be in attendance so that I may die if I am mortally wounded," Willy explained.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"What? No! Absolutely not. You don't shove a heart in me and make me immortal just to run off to war!" Fin snapped. "You want to be bonded to me, Willy? You say you love me? ...Then you wont. You wont go. You wont fight."

From:

willysilver

"I have no choice, Fin," Willy said, his voice calm and low. "When my mother bids me come, I do as she says. I have no will in this. I must do battle. It matters not if I love you. I am Daoine Sidhe, prince of my family, and I will fight."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"What if I make a wish- A deal? Whatever! There has to be something I can do, Willy. You're not going to war," Fin insisted.

From:

willysilver

"Some things you cannot change, my love," Willy said. He smiled softly and squeezed Fin's hand, pulling him to a stop. "It is noble of you to try, but the war is constant. It rises and ebbs with the seasons. As the year turns the Seelie and Unseelie wage war for control of nature itself, for control of aspects of the mortal world. And we do battle with one another from time to time when the need arises. You have seen it, Fin. You know I speak the truth."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"No. No," Fin insisted, refusing to hear Willy. "I wish you didn't have to go to war. You hear me? I'm doing it, I'm making a bloody wish. I wish Willy Silver didn't have to go to war!"

He said it loud, his voice echoing.

"If you'll not grant that wish, Willy, someone in this bloody forest will."

From:

willysilver

There was a flash of lightning and thunder cracked then rolled. In the wake of the flash there appeared a woman. She was tall and pale and thin, her hair fiery red and her eyes green as Willy's. She seemed to float there by the pond, the reeds and grasses trembling at her power. Magic made the air prickle.

There was a moment where Willy stood frozen, then he let go of Fin's hand and dropped to his knee, head bowed.

"You wish that Willy Silver not go to war?" she asked, her voice sweet and rich and pleasant, the sound of it an enchantment all its own. "Why would a mortal wish something like this?"

From:

prince_of_nymphs

Fin watched Willy drop to one knee, startled and confused.

He looked at the woman then- If she was a woman- and hesitated before speaking. He'd learned enough now to know he should choose his words carefully.

"Because I love him. I want him at my side. I don't want him to be hurt- Or to be killed. I want him to live. ...I don't want to live without him."

From:

willysilver

The queen glided closer, studying Fin with a sharp gaze. When she reached him she put out her hand and touched his chest.

"You do not want to live without him...mortal, what do you know of the idea of forever?" she asked. She didn't so much as spare Willy a glance. "More importantly, why should your love for him trap him? Mortal love is fleeting. You will forget him soon enough. And he will forget you as well. Love...this is not a reason."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"He's not trapped," Fin said, his heart pounding in his chest. "Even if you're right though, even if it's fleeting- He's mine now, we're to be bonded. If nothing else... You're fae, you know what his word is worth. He promised to be mine, so I'm keeping him. I'm keeping him, and that's all there is to it."

He looked to Willy then, trying to pull him to his feet.

"Don't kneel. I don't know who it is, but you don't serve them, you serve me. You said we were fated, that we were meant to happen. So whoever this is, they have no power over you, Willy Silver. You gave me your heart, and you took mine- So you'll stand. You'll stand, and you'll not go to war. Do you hear me?" he asked, half begging- half demanding.

From:

willysilver

She had started to laugh but the mirthless sound evaporated and she glared at the bowing fae.

"Oengus, is it true?" she asked sharply. "You wish to be bound to this delicate thing?"

Willy looked up then, pale beyond measure.

"Yes, mother," he said. Willy feared nothing in everyday life, but it was clear he was afraid of the queen.

"Rise," she demanded, then approached Fin to inspect him more closely. "You're but a mortal!" she said then. "...No. You're not. This is witchcraft. Oengus...you went to the wizards? What did you do? What did you promise?"

Lightning flashed again, splitting the air with a sharp crack.

"It matters not," he said, hardly daring to look at her. "I love him, mother. I am sick with it."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

Fin's eyes went wide then, but he was sensible enough not to speak again. Instead he simply swallowed hard, looking to Willy for some cue as to what he should do.

He was suddenly trembling though, and without thinking he reached for Willy's hand.

From:

willysilver

Willy admitted his love and the queen slapped him for it. The sound was sharp, splitting the night just as the lightning had.

"Say it is not true," she said, her voice low with shock. "A mortal? All these many years and you never have before..."

"Finlay was foretold, mother. He was chosen. We are fated." He stood a little straighter. "I asked him to be bound and he agreed."

"Unforgivable," she hissed. "And now he wishes you free of your duties? Preposterous. Unforgivable."

"But Mother..."

"Get out," she snapped. "Go back to the mortal world and wait for my summons. Get out!"

Willy and Fin had no choice. Thunder rolled again and as the lightning flashed they found themselves in Fin's flat.

Willy took a slow breath.

"That went better than I'd imagined," he mumbled.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

Fin doubled over slightly, his heart beating so fast that it hurt. Even as the pain faded, his pulse didn't slow, and he looked uncomfortable as he turned his gaze on Willy.

"You can't go back there," he said quietly. "Willy, please- There has to be a way. I don't want you going back there. I don't..."

He trailed off, pushing his hair back and shaking his head.

"This is mental."

From:

willysilver

"I must. My mother is...well, you've seen her now. She has phenomenal power, Fin. She could tear us apart. The things she could do are numerous and terrible," he said.

"When she calls me back, I will go. But if you do not...if you are not by my side then I cannot die. Perhaps that is for the best, yes?"

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Do you swear it? That you can't die if I'm not there?" Fin asked. "Promise me you can't die, Willy- And I wont go. I'll stay as far away as I have to, if it keeps you safe."

From:

willysilver

"I swear it, Fin. If you are not on the field of battle, I cannot die," Willy said. He looked into Fin's eyes and touched his cheek lightly. "And, in truth, I do not know for a fact I would die with you there since you are no longer mortal. Your new heart has made you something new. But I do not wish to test the limits..."