The Price of Immortality
"No, Milphey. You're releasing your energy too fast. At that rate you're going to incinerate yourself as well as your enemy and half the surrounding countryside. Focus!" Master Leenk scolded his young charge for the tenth time in as many minutes.
"Focus, focus, focus. Hidebound old-timer," Milphey grumbled under his breath, brushing a few strands of his purple hair back behind his ear with a bit more force than necessary.
"What was that?" Master Leenk asked, warningly.
"Nothing, Master," Milphey replied, giving him his most sincere smile.
"Hm. That's enough lesson for the moment. Let's take a break. I have some news for you."
"Oh?" Milphey raised an eyebrow and took advantage of his time off to retie the ponytail that had been falling out.
"I've accepted a new student. He's very promising, or so I hear."
"Another student? But I thought you only worked with one at a time."
"Normally I do, but you are so naturally gifted that I think I can manage to take on another student without it interfering with your learning." Milphey flushed with pleasure at one of the rare compliments his Master gave, before that pleasure was turned back into the familiar feeling of vexation when his Master added, "But you need to learn to focus before you can be truly great."
Swallowing his desire to throttle the old idiot, Milphey sighed and inquired, "When is the new student coming?"
Master Leenk was staring at the doorway as he replied. "I think he is already here."
Milphey turned to look at the tall, lithe figure standing in the door. The light of the setting sun perfectly silhouetted the elegant figure. Mille hated him already.
"Please, come in Tayvan," Master Leenk said, gesturing with his hands for him to come in. The young man walked in and Milphey had to hold his breath. He was the most beautiful individual he had ever seen in his life. His skin was pale as ivory, his waist length hair as black as raven's wings and his eyes so golden they shone.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Leenk," Tayvan said politely, bowing.
"From what I've heard of your abilities, the pleasure will be all mine," Master Leenk replied.
Milphey may have found Tayvan beautiful, but that didn't mean he was going to like him.
"MILLE FEUILLE! What have I told you?" Master Leenk screamed as his fifteen year old charge once again messed up a relatively simple spell.
"Focus. I know," Milphey groaned, sadly picking up a nearby bucket of water and extinguishing the fire he had inadvertently set.
"Tay, would you please show him how to do this?"
"Assuredly," Tay agreed amiably. He closed his eyes and put his hands together in front of him. Almost instantly, the ice cube melted, without setting a fire.
"And that is how you melt ice," Master Leenk said with satisfaction. Milphey growled.
"As if it isn't bad enough that my Master took him on, and even favors him, now his friends have to come and visit him while my family doesn't even come to see me! I've been here three years and only my mother has come to visit, and that was only twice! He's been here six months and he gets an army!" Milphey whined, closing the curtains of his window in disgust, cutting off the view of the happy reunion going on outside.
Tay didn't even have just one person come to see him, like Milphey's mother occasionally did. No, he had his parents and his older brother, as well as the two sisters who were family friends, and an older boy who was obviously flirting with Tay. No one ever flirted with Milphey. He really hated Tayvan.
"What are you still doing here?" a voice inquired, rather arrogantly, Milphey thought.
"Practicing," he replied curtly, pushing back some of his sweat soaked hair. Two days ago he had decided that he had had enough of Tay's superior attitude. For two years he had been insulted and ignored by his Master in favor of Tay and he had had enough of it. He had always been told he had potential, he just needed to focus. So, in order to regain some favor with his Master, he was practicing on his focus, and he had been doing quite well before Tay had shown up.
"Good. You need the practice," Tay nodded, walking in and sitting down.
Milphey turned and glared at him. "Are you leaving now?"
"No. I think I should stay to make sure you don't burn the place down while Master Leenk is gone."
That was it. Milphey had had enough. Two years now, Tay had been plaguing his life, rubbing in his skill, beauty, friends, family and his Master's favor, and all through it Milphey had held his tongue and never once been rude. But two years of frustration, jealously and pent up sexual tension (Milphey had to admit, Tay was exceedingly attractive) burst out of him like a scathing waterfall. "You arrogant jerk! You think you're so great, don't you? You're so powerful, and smart, and perfect, and beautiful and-."
"Wait a second," Tay interrupted, standing up and approaching the fuming Mille. "You think I'm beautiful?"
"Oh please!" Milphey scoffed. "You know you are! Everyone tells you so. Those two sisters tell you you're beautiful all the time. And that big blond guy, Jank, tells you all the time too! Of course you're beautiful!"
"That's true, but I never knew you thought I was beautiful."
"Why does it matter?"
"Because I think you're beautiful too," Tay replied, slipping a finger under Milphey's chin and tilting his face up, before leaning down and kissing him.
Maybe hate was a bit too strong of a word.
"I thought I had made it quite clear that I didn't want to speak to you," Milphey huffed, turning his back on his lover of seven months. Attracted to each other though they may be, there was still a competitive streak in both of them that caused quite a few arguments between them.
Tay sighed. "Yes, you said that. And like all the other times you'll have forgiven me by dinner tomorrow. However, I have important news."
Mille glared at him. "I do not forgive you that easily."
"Whatever you say. But don't you want to hear what I have to say?"
"Fine. What is it?"
"Master Leenk finally deemed us, both of us, ready to graduate and become full mages."
"Me? A mage?" Milphey squeaked, unable to believe his ears. Apparently all that practice on focusing in his free time had really paid off!
"Yes, you. Congratulations."
"I did it!" Milphey exclaimed, launching himself into Tays' arms in an enthusiastic hug. "I love you!"
The sudden outburst was no surprise to Tay, who was used to his lovers antics by this point, but the last words were enough to startle him into dropping Mille flat on his ass. "What was that you said?" he asked, cautiously.
Mille blushed, only then realizing that he had blurted out his most private feelings. Oh well, Tay would have found out eventually! "I love you," he repeated, fighting to keep his eyes on his love's face, rather then casting them to the ground as he longed to do.
Tay looked amused, but there was a faint red stain coloring his pale cheeks. "I love you too," he replied, shyly.
Mille looked up, hardly daring to believe what his ears had just heard. Surely he was going mad. His own family, dirt poor and rotten though they were, didn't love him. What chance did he have with a beautiful, wealthy young man like Tay? But Tay had said it, and Tay didn't lie, did he?
"Really?" he squeaked.
Black hair fell forward to obscure the lovely face that was turning a deeper shade of red. "No. I just said it to play with your emotions. Of course I meant it, baka."
Golden eyes welled with tears which Milphey wiped away irritably. "Good, because if you didn't mean it, I would officially hate you forever."
"Forever?" Tay's own set of rich golden eyes peeped from behind the silken curtain. "Funny, that's exactly how long I was hoping we would be together."
The ever talkative Mille threw words to the wind, and used his tears of joy to convey his feelings to Tay instead.
Hefting a basket of fresh fruit, Milphey made his merry way back to the house he shared with Tay. They had become full mages ten years before, at the age of eighteen, and had spent nine of the following years traveling and helping eliminate sources of danger to the common people. Finally they had taken a year off and found a nice cottage in a rather secluded area of a lush forest. Mille couldn't remember being happier in his twenty-eight years of life.
His enjoyment of the sunny day turned to a feeling of foreboding as he approached the house. It was quiet. Too quiet.
Mille shook his head in bemusement. Of course it was quiet. It was always quiet. Tay barely made any sounds at all, and there was no other human activity for two miles in any direction. He was just being paranoid.
Too bad he couldn't convince the butterflies in his stomach that nothing was wrong.
The nervous feeling intensified as he drew closer and saw a few strands of long black hair caught in the verdant green grass. Tay's long black hair. Dropping his basket, he bolted into the house, shouting his lovers name as loudly as he could. "Tay! Tay! Dammit, where are you?"
"What is it, baka?" Tay mumbled, staggering out of the bedroom, scrubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand. Obviously he had fallen asleep staring out the window again.
"Thank the gods, you're alright!" Milphey half sobbed as he lurched into Tay's arms, hanging on tight and winding his arms around the strong but thin shoulders. That was when he realized what had happened.
Slowly he drew away and stared into Tay's sleep dimmed eyes. "You cut your hair," he accused.
Tay looked comically stunned for a moment before the words got through his sleep muddled brain and he ran a hand through his now shoulder length hair. "Yeah, I did," he replied, simply.
"Why?"
"Felt like it."
Mille's hands itched. He wanted to run them through his loves' flowing locks, but he couldn't do that anymore, because the ass had cut his hair off. Mille couldn't help it. He went into hysterics. "You knew how I loved your hair! This was a deliberate attempt to hurt me! Is this about me flirting with your brother, because you know I was just kidding and-." His rant was cut off by a light cuff to the cheek. He stared at Tay in shock. He had never raised a hand to him before. It hadn't hurt, but it was still surprising.
"Be quiet," Tay ordered in a voice that brooked no argument. "I cut it because it has been long all my life and I wanted a change. I waited until you were gone because I knew that you would never let me get away with it. I like it well enough, and it's my hair, so I can do as I like with it. Understand?" Looking at Mille's shocked and hurt face, his heart melted and he pulled him into his arms. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. Did I hurt you?" "No," Milphey sniffled into his shoulder.
"How can I make it up to you?" Tay gently kissed Milphey's soft violet hair and ran his hands up and down his back to soothe him.
Mille thought a moment, then looked up at his lover, a touch of that old mischief glinting in his eyes. "You could start by feeding me."
"Okay. What do you want to eat?"
"You."
The rest of the afternoon was spent in bed. Later that evening Mille finally remembered the fruit he had dropped and they made a cherry pie together, getting more of the filling on each other than in the pie. And Tay never cut his hair again.
"How nice to see you again, Milphey," Tay's mother said politely, giving him a gentle hug.
"Looking beautiful as always, I see, Shara," Mille said sweetly, adding a flirtatious wink.
Shara giggled. Though she was well into middle age, she still acted like a woman half her years. Tay bore a strong resemblance to his mother, only her hair was auburn where his was black, and Shara was relatively short, unlike her son, who towered over her.
Tay was off talking with `the gang' as he called them. The group consisted of his older brother, Kin, two sisters they had grown up with, Aurea and the younger Maya, and an older boy named Jank. As predicted, Jank was already hitting on Tay. It never failed. Mille was sure the man should have been married by now, but for some reason he was still single, and apparently thought nothing of hitting on another mans lover.
"Excuse me," he said to Shara, making his way over to the crowd.
"Hello, Milphey," Jank drawled, the disgust in his voice making his lips curl.
"Hello, Jank," Mille replied in a very similar tone, as he slid his arm around Tay's waist in a rather possessive gesture. Jank gave him a dirty look and went back to preening himself for Tay. Mille then turned his attention to more worthy objects. "Aurea, Maya, how are you?"
"We're doing well," Maya said politely, her fingers entwined with those of Kin. The couple had been married for four years, and were only now expecting their first child.
"Congratulations on the baby. I'm sure it will be beautiful, judging by you two."
Maya blushed delicately. "Thank you."
"What do you think of Tay's hair," Aurea cut in.
Mille scowled. Tay had cut it three months ago, and it had already grown an inch, but he still didn't like it. Aurea laughed. "Well, that answers that question."
"And how is your love life going?" Milphey asked, deliberately changing the subject before he either started cursing or crying. Both would be awkward.
"Pretty well. Janu and I have been seeing each other for eight months now, and I'm head over heels in love with him. And from what he says to me, and tells his friends, the feeling is mutual."
"That's great. It's about time you settled down," Tay smiled warmly at the woman he considered a sister.
"Yeah. By our age, most people should be paired off, don't you think, Jank?" Mille asked, aiming the barb directly for his opponent. Jank glared, and Tay sighed. It was going to be another one of those visits.
"I'm getting too old for this," Tay panted as he and his lover chased after the twisted creature of magic. It looked like a rabbit, ran like a horse, and was deadly as a venomous snake. Needless to say, the townspeople needed it gone, and Tay and Mille were the mages they had asked in to do it.
"Seriously? You really that worn out?" Milphey was sweating, but he wasn't breathing all that hard, and his body could have kept up the pace for another half hour. He had always been able to run like a twenty year old in excellent shape, even though now he was nearing fifty.
He didn't look his true age. He still appeared as young and fresh as he first had upon becoming a mage. Tay looked young as well, only a few pure silver hairs in the mass of black to mark the passage of the years. It was actually fairly common for the young women (and sometimes men) of the various villages they passed through to make passes at them.
"Yes, I really am that worn out. I just hope this damned thing gets to its lair soon so we can corner it and kill it." Tay shot him a bitter grimace, before turning his attention back to following the beast, and not tripping over tree roots.
Mille smiled to himself at the view he had out of the corner of his eye, of his lovers flushed face and long flowing hair. He was just so beautiful.
"There!" Tay suddenly shouted, pointing to a small, dark cave that the creature darted into. "Now!" he ordered.
Milphey nodded. He stopped running and focused his power, taking several deep breaths and visualizing the energy pouring out of the sky and into him. In less time than it took to blink, he had created a barrier across the mouth of the cave, sealing the deadly beast inside. Tay took that as his sign to ignite a fire in the cave. The creatures wails of pain echoed in their ears as they sat to catch their breath.
"No matter how many times we do this, I still will never get used to those death cries," Tay remarked, sitting on a boulder and leaning forward, his elbows propped on his knees, and his chin resting on his hands.
"Mmmm," Mille murmured, crawling up behind him and hugging him from behind, gently transferring some of his energy and strength into his love. "If you ever did get used to them, you wouldn't be my Tay anymore. You'd be a monster."
After several minutes, Tay's breathing still hadn't slowed and Mille began to get worried. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just need to catch my breath. I am forty-nine years old you know. You must expect this sort of exhaustion from an old man."
"But I'm the same age, and I'm okay."
"That's because you're a freak."
"Hey!" Milphey exclaimed indignantly, playfully smacking Tay's shoulder. They teased and laughed for a few minutes, eventually sliding off the boulder to lay on the soft grass, wrapped in each others arms.
Eventually Milphey decided to broach a subject that he had never felt the need to bring up before. Yes, they were getting old. Many people in their line of work retired at forty, but both Tay and Mille were healthier than men ten years younger, so they had continued to work. Unfortunately, it looked like Tay was finally feeling the weight of his years.
Perhaps this seemingly sudden aging was brought on by his older brothers death two months before. Kin had been fifty, a fairly old age for their country. Maybe the fact that his brother, once so strong and healthy and only one year older, dying of age, had scared him and made him realize his own mortality. Or maybe the change wasn't so sudden, and Mille was just noticing it now. Either way, their career was through.
"Do you want to retire?" he asked, hesitantly, half expecting his lover to get angry with him for even suggesting such a thing. The reaction he got was one he would never have expected.
"I have been hoping you would say that for the longest time." And thus ended a long, successful and illustrious career.
"I'll be back in a few hours," Milphey reassured his lover of fifty four years and counting.
"Don't forget to get green apples this time and tell Anya hello for me," Tay reminded, kissing him gently, tenderly.
Though both were quite old by the standards of the time, neither looked any older than twenty. Even the shine in their eyes was young, proof of long and happy lives full of love and joy. Only the wide silver streaks in Tay's hair betrayed something of his true age. Those hairs had been growing in for years now, and most of his hair was still black.
"I won't and I will," Mille assured him, stealing one more kiss before heading out. He was planning to stop at the market on his way home from visiting his niece and her family. Somehow, his brother's daughter loved him more than his own parents and sibling had. Other than Tayvan's family, they were the only family he had. So, he made a habit of visiting them in town at least once a month.
It was a beautiful, sunny day. The leaves were just beginning to turn and the air held the promise of many cool nights to come. That night they were planning to have a fire outside and just enjoy the night. Too bad fate had other plans for them.
"Tay, I'm home!" he announced, walking in the front door. He took his basket to the kitchen, then headed to the bedroom where he was sure Tay was taking a nap. Sure enough, his lover was lying peacefully in their bed.
With a wicked grin, Mille crept over to the bed, then sprang on top of Tay's prone body. "Gotcha!" he cackled. Tay never woke up.
Three lonely years later, Mille visited his lovers grave. Tay was dead, and he was still alive. He wasn't sure how it was possible. He hadn't even aged at all. His hair was still thick and purple, his skin still firm and fresh, his body toned and healthy. Only his eyes had aged, seventy years of pain in a three year span.
"I should have died with you," he whispered, his salty tears falling down to the damp earth. It had rained the night before, and the legs of his pants were soaked with the cool moisture. He didn't care. Tay was dead. His beautiful, flawless white flesh was drying and flaking away, the silky hair falling out and those soulful eyes….Milphey shuddered. He didn't even want to think about their fate. It had been exactly three years since he had put his lover in the ground. Three long, painful years.
Gently he set the bouquet of pure white roses, the color of Tay's skin, on the grave. As he turned to go, he slipped his hand into his pocket and found a piece of paper. Curious, he pulled it out and unfolded it, reading the neat black script it bore.
If you ever question your continued life and youth, come to the Stellar church, and you will have your answers, it read.
Milphey vaguely remembered getting this note from a tall woman with pale lavender hair on the day of Tay's funeral. He had never taken it out of his pocket. Understandable, since he only wore this outfit when he came to visit the grave, something too painful for him to undertake on a regular basis.
"Well, why not? I have nothing else to do," he mused, heading back to his lonely home to change before setting out for the nearest Stellar church.
"I don't believe you," Mille said, glaring at the woman, Big Mama, or Mother, as he preferred to call her. It just sounded more dignified, and she was a goddess.
"Look in a mirror, Mille Feuille. You are as young and fit as a man three times younger than you. Doesn't that seem strange?" Mother persisted.
He glanced sidelong at the mirror on the wall. "I suppose… But I still don't see how that makes me immortal."
"Do you believe in destiny?"
"Yes," he replied immediately. Tay had turned him on to the idea many years ago, and now he took it as fact. Perhaps Tayvan had convinced him a bit too well.
"Then would you believe it if I said that it was your destiny to become an immortal mage, fated to join the ranks of my Haz Knights?"
Milphey thought back over the years, saw all the little things in this new light. His dedication to helping people, his inborn ability to fight with a sword, the fact that he could carry immensely heavy loads, which he supposed could consist of heavy armor as easily as groceries, his eternal health and youth.
He sighed deeply and sank to the floor, tears springing from his eyes. "I miss Tay."
Mother stepped forward and knelt beside him, pulling him to her. "Yes, dear, and you will outlive many more that you will love. The pain will fade, but never will it cease to exist. Such is the price of immortality."
Notes: Not my characters. I'm only playing with them a bit.
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