Silver Eyes

A/N - not much to say, I really thought this would be up earlier, but I get distracted to easily. I won't make the deadline for Nano, but at least it got me writing :) Thank you again to smint45 :)

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D'rian awoke with a groan. He was drained and stiff from lying on the floor all night. He glanced over; as he suspected, the old Fae had passed away during the night. He had enjoyed speaking to another non-human; the elder had given him a lot of knowledge he should have gained growing up. Tyr had been upset to hear that the scourge had continued and non-humans were still persecuted. He had agreed to not mention D'rian's nature to the Knight, although both had been surprised to see the man so ready to help the non-human girl.

Naia was actually Tyr's granddaughter - his son had married a kitsune woman, and unfortunately passed away in childbirth. D'rian had been told it was an upsettingly common event when two different races interbred. Something about being too much power in one place. Tyr, his wife, and their son had raised the girl the past few years. Both had died in the attack, although Tyr's son had managed to kill the one responsible for harming his daughter and killing his mother.

The Fae had used most of his remaining energy to create the blast, throwing the attackers out of the town, and using the blood of his family members to raise the shield. Unfortunately through that, the wizard had felt that there wasn't anyone left alive. The soldiers sent in to murder the villagers had done their job well; it was pure luck that even Tyr and Naia had escaped, and even then, it had been a close thing. If he and Asahi hadn't stumbled across the village, it could have stayed in stasis indefinitely. If he hadn't been a non-human, he wouldn't have been able to contact Tyr to lower the shield. D'rian had been shocked at how easily he had been able to contact the other wizard - he only knew in theory how to 'touch' another wizard's energy, he didn't realize that among Fae they could actually speak to each other. The first touch when he helped bring down the shield, he had only been able to get a vague idea of attack/injured/help, with few actual words. Tyr had still been in stasis so his mind moved incredibly slowly as well.

They were able to have a conversation after the shield came down. D'rian had stayed in contact with Tyr, feeding him his own energy; otherwise the elder wouldn't have lasted even as long as he had. He had used D'rian's energy to heal the girl, using the younger's energy and the elder's skill. D'rian had 'tagged' along, watching how the energy was able to knit the organs together. It was really delicate work, but now he was fairly sure he'd be able to at least attempt something like that.

This led to his big revelation. He had always assumed he was some species of Fae, given his abilities and lack of draconic parts. But even with his research, he couldn't figure out what sort. The text he had didn't go in depth enough on any of the races to be helpful; it just gave basic descriptions and their strengths and weaknesses - all you would need to know to kill one. None of the listed races seemed to fit; he didn't have a specific element, and he certainly wasn't a nymph, naiad or dryad, being as the first two were always female and the last was part tree. He certainly wasn't green.

He was apparently a Dark Fae; somewhat misleading as they were not dark coloured (except for, typically, their hair) and certainly not inherently evil or anything along those lines. It came from the fact that he could use any of the elements, which he had already discovered on his own, and the combination made the energy he used darker than normal. Between their odd colouring - Tyr had said they always had the dark hair and pale skin, with silver or gold eyes - and their magic, Dark Fae were often called demons by humans or even other non-humans who feared them. They were not included in the King's listed of non-humans because they were not a common race. Like all of the Fae birth rates were low, and the fact that they were often killed or enslaved for their abilities kept their numbers suppressed further. There had only been a few families before the decree had been sent out, and it was likely D’rian was the last left in the kingdom. If he survived this trip, he had already decided to figure out a way out of the kingdom to find more Dark Fae so he could learn more.

The Fae glanced at the doorway, still unwilling to move. He had to wonder if Asahi had figured anything out. In the rush to heal the girl he had just thrown his energy at the other wizard, not bothering with a focus that a human wizard would need. The old man had explained about that as well; because of the Fae’s ability to tune in with the elements, their entire body acted like a focus, bypassing the need for physical props like humans needed. They were closer to the energy, and could feel it instinctively. Human wizards could feel it, to an extent, but to get the concentration needed for anything intricate they needed their tools to direct it. His hood had fallen down, and although his skin tone wasn’t odd for a wizard, he had lightened his hair with his magic, and changed the shape of his face slightly, if Asahi had gathered a glimpse of his eyes, there was no mistaking them for human.

Last night they had been too busy; today would show what the Knight would do with a kitsune child and (if his cover had been blown) a Fae companion. He hoped the man would at least help the girl; it seemed a waste to help heal someone he was going to turn around and hand in for execution. Plus, she was just an innocent, not dangerous. He was Fae and a wizard on top of that; much more dangerous than a little girl. Even if said little girl could change into a fox, cast illusions and would eventually have the ability to control fire. Perhaps a little more, perhaps a little less - Tyr had said that half breed Fae tended to only have the ability to control their element, not all energy as full Fae could. A Fire Fae, like Tyr and his family, could control fire completely as well as manipulate energy. It was just that fire-based energy was easiest for them to use.

There was no more putting off the inevitable though; his back was complaining loudly and his stomach was wrapped around his spine he felt so empty. Struggling to his feet, he limped over to the old Fae. He couldn’t leave his body sitting there; it wouldn’t do to have Naia’s deceased grandfather be the first thing she saw upon waking. He picked up the body, and wasn’t surprised to find it weighed next to nothing. D’rian made his way into one of the other bedroom and laid the man down on the bed. The poor guy deserved a bit of dignity at the end. He turned to face the door, steeling himself for the confrontation he was sure awaited him downstairs. The sound of snoring greeted him as he was halfway down the stairs, and he nearly sighed in relief. At least he’d be able to eat beforehand. The sight of the Knight sprawled across the too small couch made him smile though; his legs and arms were draped over the sides, and messy strawberry blond hair showed the marks of a restless sleep. It made him look younger and innocent, and D’rian mentally scolded himself. No matter what, if he survived this he was going to another country. He desperately needed to find someone he could have a relationship with without worrying about hiding his secret. Padding quietly across the room as to not wake him, he entered the small kitchen. The villagers may not have been wealthy, but it was apparent they took good care of what they did have. A few pieces of fruit were quick to disappear, and with the worst of his hunger dealt with D’rian set about making himself some eggs and bacon for breakfast.

The Fae finished off his breakfast, having gone through most of what the family had kept in their ice box, and went out to feed the horses. Asahi’s mount was restless, and it didn’t take long for D’rian to see why. There was a third horse in the stable, a lovely roan mare, and the big brute was clearly attempting to show off. If they could calm the stallion down it would be useful to have the third horse - they would have to bring the girl with them to the next village, and they would be able to stock up on supplies here, so they could have Naia sit with one of them, and use either the mare or D’rian’s gelding as a pack horse. After a minute’s thought he decided to check the other couple of stables in the village. The owners of any other livestock wouldn’t be around to feed them. They would have to let them loose when they were leaving; there may only be domestic animals left, but there wasn’t any natural predators for a few days ride so the poor things would be safe enough. Letting them out would at least give them a chance. He shook his head in disgust and headed back to the house where Asahi was; he was already planning for their next steps when he wasn’t even sure if the other man would let him live. Frustrated, and tired of waiting, he went in to wake the Knight up; he needed to know where they stood and what was going to happen next. This uncertainty was going to kill him.

The man was still asleep, but stirring. D’rian took a few steeps closer to the couch, but before he could say or do anything, Asahi sneezed and fell off the couch in a heap of flailing limbs. The Fae couldn’t help the snicker at the sight. A hazy green eye blinked at him from where his hair had spilled over his face.

“Instead of laughing at me, think you could give me a hand up?” He gave a self-deprecating smile and held out a hand. D’rian blinked at this, realizing it would be the grand total of the second time the two had touched. Shrugging, he grabbed the extended hand and helped pull the Knight to his feet. Asahi stumbled a bit, clearly just as stiff from an uncomfortable night as the wizard was. The taller man peered down at D’rian, and the Fae blushed uncomfortably, remembering that the man had actually seen his face yesterday. He was left again to wonder if it had been enough to give him away. Asahi sighed and let go of the wizard’s hand. With a yawn, he turned to head into the kitchen. His voice drifted back to the still blushing Fae. “Breakfast first, and then I think we need to talk.”

D’rian felt his blush dissipate as Asahi spoke. There was no anger or disgust in the man’s tone, but he couldn’t help feeling nervous anyway. With his heart sinking to the level of his boots, he moved to follow the taller male.

tbc...