He awoke to the sound of soft bird calls in the distance. Although his head was pounding and his body felt tired, Wil could tell that morning had come—and he reluctantly pushed himself off of the cold stone floor with a groan.

For a moment, he forgot why he was lying there in pain, rather than waking comfortably next to Eretria in his bed. But a quick glance at the large open book on the table brought everything rushing back.

The stones.

The spell.

A jolt ran through him, and Wil jumped to his feet faster than he would have thought possible. He was still sore and exhausted, but his memories of the night before suddenly propelled him through the small room. The young man bolted towards the mirror that they kept hanging in the hallway, and his breath caught in his throat as he took in his reflection for the first time.

Even without pushing back his hair, he could tell that it had worked. He could instantly see the outline of a rounded ear…and no sign of the unmistakable elven tips which had ostracized him his entire life.

There was no doubt about it.

Wil Ohmsford now looked one hundred percent human.

Pulsing with an odd combination of excitement and apprehension, Wil reached his hand towards his ear and traced his finger around the smooth edge. It was undeniably weird, and he could not help but feel momentarily disconnected from his own body. On one level, he knew that he was still him—and he had always thought that appearances should not define who someone was. But in a world that placed so much importance on the features that divided one race from another, it hard to absorb this sudden change.

Ears were an elf's pride and joy.

Ears were what divided elves from men.

And now—finally—he could blend into the world he was most accustomed to.

He had spent so many years yearning for this. As a child, he had often starred at his elven reflection in the mirror and prayed that he would wake up looking like everyone else he knew. After his father had died, he had been completely and utterly alone—the sole village freak— and he had hated it so much. Those feelings had briefly subsided after he had met Amberle and begun his quest. For the first time in his life, he had been surrounded by elves, and they had seemed to accept him without much thought.

His ears may have been a bit short—but they had been pointed, and that was all that had ever mattered. In the eyes of many, he could pass as an elf and it had felt good to finally belong somewhere.

But for the past two years, there was no question that all of his old issues and insecurities had come flooding back.

He had fallen in love with a human, chosen to live in a human settlement…and that meant he was once again destined to feel like the unwelcomed local oddity. He had be careful to conceal himself whenever he ventured outside. As far as he knew, none of the locals knew that the strange young couple on the hillside was hiding this particular secret. But it still weighed on him every day.

He had never wanted it to be like this.

And, more than anything, he had never wanted to drag Eretria into his mess.

He knew that she loved him, and would never ask him to change. That thought had always made will extremely happy and she was the one living person he felt truly comfortable around. The one person that made him feel un-judged.

And yet, deep down, he had always felt like he was failing her.

Because of his unfortunate lineage, he hadn't been able to offer her the stress-free normal life that she deserved. On the few occasions when he had gotten up the courage to ask her if she would be happier with s regular human, Eretria had laughed off the question as if it was absurd.

"I love you. All of you. Just the way you are." She would say before playfully placing a kiss on his pointed ear.

Despite her reassurances, Wil had never been able to put it all out of his mind. Perhaps she thought she was fine with being linked to an elven half-breed…but there was no doubt in his mind that it would be easier on her if he wasn't.

Now, he mused with a small smile, they could finally have a normal life together.

They could go down the village together. Browse through the weekend market without any worry or disguise. They could start to build a circle of friends.

Perhaps it seemed like a small, superficial change—but if the spell held, then everything would be easier.

Smile growing, Wil turned around just in time to see his girlfriend enter the small hallway.

"Wil? What are you doing out here?" She asked, looking up from the warm mug of tea in her hand. "I was just about to make breakfast if you…"

The girl trailed off and her eyes widened and Wil knew that she had instantly noticed what he had done. All of her years as a rover meant that Eretria was extremely observant—it was hard to slip anything past her.

"Will—what?"

He next words were much quieter, and he could see a slight quiver in her hands and she placed her tea down on a nearby table. Seconds later, she rushed towards him and her hand reached up towards the side of his head.

It was hard to read the expression on her face, but Wil was fairly certain that he could see a glimmer of excitement behind the shock.

He hoped that she was happy. And he hoped that this could be the start of a new phase of their lives.

Perhaps they could truly put it all behind them now.

The Ellcrys.

Aborlon.

The quest.

Amberle…

It wasn't that he wanted to forget and her and he certainly didn't want to dishonour her memory. Neither of them did. But a truly human life, away from elves and magic and the burden of the past, seemed like the best path towards happiness. As a part-elf, he had felt like it was impossible to sever himself from that world…sever himself from the pain and weight of those memories.

He had managed to work past it at times—but then he would look in the mirror and remember that there was a world beyond their comfortable human village. A world where part of him belonged...

But now, hopefully, things could be different. He wouldn't be a walking talking reminder of the elven realm, and they could truly integrate into their current surroundings.

"I'm human." He whispered, covering Eretria's hand with his own and guiding it towards his chest. "Everything is going to be okay."

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Eretria stared up at her boyfriend in shock.

She had been a bit surprised to wake up without hi beside her (he wasn't generally an early riser, and she was used to being the first to wake)—but she hadn't really thought too much of it. She had heard shuffling in the other room and assumed that he had just had a bit of a restless night.

When she had first caught sight of his back in the hallway, Eretria had given a small sigh of relief—but nothing had prepared her for what was to come.

She had known that something was different the moment he had turned around. And it had only taken her a couple of seconds to realize what he had done.

Wil—the kind-hearted, sweet and brave half-elf that she had fallen for all of those years ago—was suddenly human.

And she had no idea what to say or do.

On the one hand, she could tell from the wide grin on his face that he was happy about this unexpected change. There was such joy and hopefulness in his eyes as he grabbed her hand and pulled her near, and should could resist giving him a small smile in return.

Eretria hated to admit it, but it was rare to see him so joyful and unburdened. There was no doubt that Wil was a good natured person and always had been. And there was also no doubt that they made each other happy.

But his world was not all sunshine and roses. He had lost so much in his twenty-four years, and she knew that he had always struggled with his dual identity. Sure, they had chosen a human life in a human settlement now and Wil claimed that he loved their beautiful country home—but it wasn't as easy for him as it was for her.

It couldn't be.

As Cephelo had once very plainly put it, he was too elven for the humans.

On the rare occasions that he ventured into the village, he was always on edge, his eyes darting through the crowds as if wondering who might attack next. It made sense, really. He had told her about his difficult childhood, and how he had been confronted by both kids and adults because of what he was.

Eretria had always thought it was all ridiculous. She didn't see why a few inches of skin cartilage should be so significant. There was so much more to Wil than his ears. He was the kindest and most loving person she had ever met, and it hurt to think that he might be shunned without any thought.

But that was the world they lived in.

A world divided.

And there was no choice but to deal with reality.

He was probably right—things would be easier for him now. And yet Eretria found it hard to share his enthusiasm.

As much as she believed that a person was defined by their character rather than their appearance, it was undeniably weird to see him like this and she hated that he felt the need to change.

She loved Wil for who he was. Ears and all. And something about this simply felt wrong.

It was unsettling to look up at him now, but she hoped that Wil couldn't sense her trepidation.

IF this was what he wanted, and if this was what made him happy, she didn't want to ruin it for him.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" He asked, his eyes wide with enthusiasm. "We can do anything we want now! I don't have to hide."

There was a brief pause, and she could tell that he was waiting for her response.

"I…" She began, unsure of what to say. "I…how is this even possible?"

It seemed that she could muster the enthusiasm he desired, but Eretria hoped that her question would prove to be a distraction.

Wil smiled broadly again before beginning his explanation. "Do you remember that book Allanon gave me a few years ago?"

She nodded.

"Well, I couldn't sleep and I figured it might be worth flipping through it, just to see if there was anything useful. Then I found a spell to make me human and I used the elf stones to cast it. I wasn't sure if it would work, but…"

The young man trailed off before quickly brushing his hair behind his rounded ears and Eretria did her best to keep her expression neutral. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she felt the sensation of a growing pit in her stomach as she continued to absorb his new appearance.

He was still Wil. Of course he was.

But something about this felt so wrong.

Unsettling.

This was still the man she had fallen in love with…and yet, it wasn't. It wasn't just his ears, either. His aura was different…the angles in his face has subtly shifted…

His elven side was gone. And his elven side had been a fundamental part of who he was.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"Isn't it great?" Wil pressed again, his eyes adorably hopeful. "I did it for you. For us."

A jolt ran through Eretria's body at his final statement and she was no longer able to mask the hesitation on her face. She could see his brow furrow in confusion as she took a step back.

She didn't want to hurt him, but she didn't want to lie either.

"Wil…I…" She began, trying to keep her voice steady. "If you're happy, then that's one thing. I love you and I support you. Whatever you need to do. But please don't say that you did this for me."

Wil's mouth opened in confusion. "But…" He began, clearly shocked by her lack of enthusiasm. "You're human. You deserve to be with a nice, normal human. You may not say it, but deep down you must want things to be normal. I just wanted…"

"Wil, stop." She cut in, looking up to meet his eyes. "I want you. The real you. I never wanted you to change, and I hate that you think that I did. This…this so weird. So reckless! Allanon always told you that magic comes at the price. And we have no idea what the consequences might be."

There was a long pause, and Eretria's heart sank as she watched his face fall. She hated to ruin this for him. She truly did.

But he needed to know that she had never been dissatisfied with who he was.

"I have to go."

His response was sudden and abrupt.

She knew that she had hurt him, and she wanted to rush to his side—but she also knew that she didn't know what to say.

So Eretria stood, alone and worried. Hoping that everything would be okay.

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A/N- Back to Wil's side next! Tell me what you thought!