"Faeries dancing on the air
firefly's lanterns glistening in pairs
Shining bright a magical trail
up the hill and down the vale
eclipsing the moon
making her pale."
Jane Eggins-Fae Folk Dance
Eren and Levi walked side by side, Levi's arm wrapped around Eren's waist in a possessive manner. Eren felt Levi's aura change as soon as the two stepped outside of the castle doors and into the courtyard. He was nothing short of the cruel Winter King his court had come to know him as and Eren was nothing more than a mere play toy. Levi played the role of being ruthless so well that it left Eren wondering for a moment if this was the true nature of Levi, not just as a Fae but as a person. It sent a sort of pang through Eren's heart, but he tucked it deep within him as he tried to convince himself that it was necessary for Levi to act in this manner if the two of them were to get through this.
Eren blinked a few times, still adjusting to the magic that had been used on him. It would be undetectable to the rest of the Fae as Levi's magic far exceeded theirs. Eren had been thrown off after Levi had worked his magic and he looked into the mirror to see deep chocolate brown orbs staring back at him. It went well with both his skin tone and hair color so he had no worries that the Fae within Levi's court would be suspicious of him. However, he couldn't help but feel nervous as hundreds of eyes bored into his skin. His heartbeat began to quicken but a second later, as he finally took in everything around him, he completely forgot about all the eyes watching his every move as he was filled with a sense of awe.
Floating above him were thousands of light blue paper lanterns that cast a magical glow onto the fresh white snow adorning the tall pine trees surrounding the courtyard. The lanterns floated around one another, never once touching, and if he listened closely it almost sounded as though there were a soft melody trilling through the still night air. All the Fae were standing atop of white marble so pure it was difficult for Eren to believe it was real. There was not one speck of dirt visible on the marble under his feet and Eren found himself wondering if it was because of the Fae magic or excessive cleaning. From what he had garnered of Levi's obsession with cleanliness the past few days, he wouldn't have been surprised if it was the latter.
In the middle of the clearing was a huge intricate ice sculpture of the Winter King's castle, so detailed that Eren could pick out exactly what part he had spent the past two days staying in. While staring at the ice sculpture he noticed a strange movement and upon further inspection realized there were tiny versions of the Winter King's court made of ice that were walking around the ice castle. Eren tried to think of who in his village could have created such a magnificent masterpiece but soon found himself distracted by more splendors.
There were long rectangular tables made of ice that had an array of delicacies arranged atop of them. From what Eren could make out there were the plumpest grapes, reddest apples, more of those mouthwatering blueberries, roasted duck and chicken, a chocolate fondue fountain shaped like a swan, and wine the color of blood. The longer he looked the more food he noticed, and he was confused as how the Fae had managed to gather so much when they weren't able to cook themselves. Levi must have noticed his confusion because a second later he whispered darkly into Eren's ear.
"Fae glamour. If you look at the cooked foods a little longer, you will see what I mean. Don't show any disgust. You will offend those attending."
Eren looked back at the duck and chicken that he had first noticed, squinting his eyes slightly as he thought he saw the food begin to move. What was going on? Wait. Holy shit. His stomach churned as he noticed that the meat on the table wasn't meat at all, but a pile of dirt filled with crawling worms and beetles. He had to bite his inner lip to keep himself from visibly cringing. If this was what the food looked like...what did the Fae look like without their glamour in place?
"Eren, stop looking. You'll make them angry. Look up instead." Levi whispered into his ear once again, bringing Eren out of his thoughts and back to their present situation.
Deep chocolate brown eyes turned upward wondering what it was Levi could be talking about. Eren had already taken notice of the floating lanterns earlier, so he wasn't sure what else there could possibly be to see. His brows furrowed in confusion as he continued to glare upwards, thinking now that perhaps Levi was playing some sort of trick on him.
"Free your mind, Eren. It's impossible to see the true magic and beauty of this world if you are already so full of expectations. This may not be the situation you ever imagined yourself being in but live a little. After all, you never know how long you have left." Levi all but practically purred those last few words out which left Eren visibly trembling. He knew the Fae King had to put on a show for his court, but fuck, couldn't he spare him a little mercy?
What did Levi even mean when he told Eren to free his mind? Whenever he allowed himself to let go a little it seemed as though the world around him caused his mind turn over into madness. Is that what Levi was intending for him? Or was Eren too focused on what he could see, that he was unable to look past that. Sighing, the brunet shut his eyes momentarily and took a long deep breath. He counted to ten in his head before opening his eyes back up and slowly, oh so very slowly, he began to see.
Eren was unsure of how to describe what was happening right before his eyes. The closest possible comparison would be the aurora borealis but even those colors would have paled in comparison to this. Thousands of different hues of greens, blues, purples, pinks, and reds danced in front of his eyes. The colors intertwined with one another as if someone was taking a paintbrush and swirling the shades through water. To simply say it was breathtaking was nothing short of an understatement.
Eren knew then that no matter where he ended up in this life, nothing would quite compare to this. Even with how talented of a painter he was there would be no possible way that he could ever replicate what was in front of his eyes in this very moment and he wished with all of his might that no matter what happened to his state of mind, he would never forget this magic.
He was so enamored by the sight before him that he almost didn't notice when Levi's arms slipped from around his waist and a hand slowly slid up to his throat. Eren immediately felt his heartbeat quicken as he sucked in a breath and lowered his eyes to finally take in all the Fae that were standing around watching him with curious gazes. He noticed that they were all dressed in somewhat similar fashion as various colors of suits and ballgown dresses swam before his eyes.
"Everyone, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 167th Yule Festival held under my reign. With the help of my court advisors and some of the Shiganshina villagers, I have prepared a night full of fun for you. As you know, while I am in your presence, I want there to remain an air of calmness and dignity. However, as soon as I take my leave you are all welcome to do as you please until the next day has come."
King Levi's deep sultry voice boomed out and everyone around began to cheer at the mention of being allowed to do as their hearts desired. Eren felt his gust twist uncomfortably as he wondered what exactly that meant. He couldn't help but fear for his friends and village members back home. Everyone might think they were equipped with the proper knowledge to deal with Fae, however, no one could truly ever be prepared for the moment they came face to face with one of these beings.
"I am sure you are all curious as to who my guest is. This is Eren, a villager from Shiganshina whom I have recently picked up. I would tell you more, but I am awfully possessive of him and require some more time to play with him before I allow you to know more."
The Fae King's voice turned dark as he spoke of the brunet and Eren felt his body shiver when the hand that had found its way to his neck tightened around his throat. Levi's nails dug into the soft skin leaving red marks and it took all Eren's willpower not to let out a squeak when he felt sharp teeth nip at his earlobe.
"He's quite beautiful, isn't he?" King Levi purred the words into Eren's ear as his tongue darted out and ran along the shell of the appendage. The younger male sucked in a sharp breath and clenched his hands into fists at his sides. He couldn't quite tell if he was aroused, scared, or perhaps both.
"You are all welcome to converse with him and even dance with him if it so pleases you, however, as I have claimed him as mine if you so much as dare to do anymore than that you will find yourself dead at my feet. Is that clear?"
Eren watched as all the Fae surrounding the two of them nodded in understanding. He could see hunger in some of their gazes and the knowledge that none of them would cross their king was the only thing that kept him from attempting to escape their presence and lock himself in his room instead.
"Good. Now, let the Yule Festival begin."
Levi squeezed Eren's neck once more, except this time it was more of a "good luck" sort of squeeze than a menacing one, and with that the Fae King walked away to mingle with his court and left Eren to his own devices. Eren did his best to breathe deeply and slow down his heartbeat. He knew that if the other Fae sensed his fear, they would use that to their advantage to fuck with him. The best option was for him to enjoy this night as much as possible until Levi was ready to leave and he could feel safe once more...if sleeping next to the most powerful Fae in the Winter Court who looked as though he wanted to devour him half the time was considered safe.
Moments after Levi disappeared from his view Eren found himself being poked and prodded by a tall Fae woman. She had hair the color of fire and eyes as dark as the ocean's depths. It was a stark contrast when in comparison with her snow-white skin and Eren found himself practically drowning in their depths. She was wearing a black dress that had a sharp cut leading down to her cleavage with long lace sleeves and a bodice that was tight around the waste and flowed out in wispy tendrils. With every movement she made it seem as though she had night itself swirling around her body with her. When she noticed how dumbfounded he looked in her presence she flashed a smile full of sharp teeth.
"King Levi has never brought back a human before, what a surprise this is indeed. I can tell why he did. You look delectable. I hope he lets us have a taste when he is done with you. Mmm..." When she spoke, her voice was much different than Eren had been expecting. It was completely devoid of all emotion and it sent an involuntary shiver up his spine.
"I, um...do Fae really eat humans?"
The Fae woman placed a hand on his head and patted it roughly as she let out maniacal sounding laughter. Before she could respond to his query, however, another Fae woman appeared beside her with a seemingly annoyed look on her face. She had short blond hair with an undercut and eyes the color of blue ice. Her face was defined by sharp angles and she wore a sleeveless dress that hugged her body in a mermaid shape and was the color of freshly laid white snow. Eren was struck by both her beauty and the strength that radiated off her.
"Aelfdene, leave the human boy alone."
"Oh, Nanaba, you're absolutely no fun. King Levi never said anything about not being able to tease him."
Nanaba turned to give Aelfdene a cold look and bared her teeth. "That's not what I mean. You're keeping him all to yourself. I want to dance with him, so get lost."
And with that Eren found himself being dragged by his right harm by Nanaba onto the dance floor. His heart was pounding so loudly he could clearly hear it and he marveled at how it hadn't already broken out of his chest.
Nanaba positioned him on the dance floor and placed her hands on his shoulders. When he stood there as still as a statue, she raised her right brow at him and said in a clipped voice.
"Human, do you not know how to dance or are you simply refusing to do so with me? Either way, it is in your best interest not to anger a Fae. I may not be able to harm you, however, if I am offended as the right hand of our King I can request for him to enact justice on my behalf."
Eren immediately placed his hands on her slender hips and begin to sway with her. Luckily for him, it was custom for most villagers in Shiganshina to learn how to dance at a young age. He had always hated the lessons he had to endure in the privacy of his own home cursing his village for being so old fashioned, but he now found himself silently thanking the customs that his folk held on to.
"So, human, what is it that you do for a living? I've been to Shiganshina many times and I have yet to make your acquaintance."
Oh shit. Shit. Shit. What was Eren supposed to say? He couldn't lie. He swallowed loudly and shifted his eyes away from Nanaba to look past her shoulder as if the answer to all his problems somehow lie out in the surrounding woods somewhere. In this moment he wished that Armin were here to help him. That kid was a genius and could think himself out of any situation no matter how impossible it seemed. He found himself channeling what he dubbed as his inner Armin as he quickly came up with a suitable answer.
"Well, I am not yet 18 so I'm not actually a fully functioning adult in the village right now. I think I would like to do something artistic when I am ready to live on my own, though."
Eren answered her question in a strong voice feeling satisfied with his evasive technique. Nothing he said was a lie, so when she learned of his identity in a few days there would be no need for her to be angry with him.
"Hm, an artist. You humans are so unlucky with the lives that you lead. You get to enjoy the fruits of your creativity but for such a short amount of time. Why should humans have the ability create at all when your life is limited to such a short existence? There is so much you will never know, so much that your art will lack from the confines of your short life span."
"I think that the Fae are the ones who are unlucky. You may live forever, but for what? What do you live for? You can feel nothing of importance. You will never know the joy or the pain of falling in love. The joy of new life and the pain of life lost. You will never know what it is like to feel everything to the point where it seems as though it is too much, and you feel as though your heart might burst into a million pieces." Eren spoke in a soft voice, his eyes clouding over slightly as the colors swirled around him. He felt Nanaba's hands tighten on his shoulders as she answered him in a voice colored with what seemed to be confusion.
"Do you not fear death?"
"Death is inevitable and therefore it does not make sense for me to fear it. There have been times where the thought of death has caused me slight anxiety but then I think that if I live in constant fear of death I am not truly living."
Eren looked back at Nanaba again and thought of how he might convey these emotions to a being who had none. He didn't think that she would understand him no matter what he said, but he still thought it was important that he get his point across.
"I like to believe that death is but another adventure for us humans. It is impossible to believe that my very essence will somehow cease to exist simply because I stop breathing. I have a soul, a light within me, and no matter what happens that light will never be extinguished. Even in the darkness of death that flame will shine brightly. There is a knowledge that only death can bring and to rid myself of that very experience would be more destructive than death itself."
Nanaba removed her hands from Eren's shoulder's and pulled away from him to give him a strange look.
"You humans are odd. I have interacted with thousands of you and yet I am no closer to understanding how your species thinks."
She walked away after that leaving Eren standing on the dance floor by himself. He wondered if he perhaps said the wrong thing and somehow managed to offend her. Could she really convince Levi to hurt him? Would Levi ever physically harm him? Eren wanted to think that the answer was no but until he was confident in Levi's humanity, he couldn't put anything past him.
Rather than stand in the middle of the dance floor and attract the attention of other Fae who could trap him in a dance and ask him questions, Eren made his way over to the sidelines. He leaned against a nearby tree and closed his eyes while taking a few deep breaths. Talking of death always left a rather melancholy feeling in his heart. While it was true that he did not fear death the knowledge that it was an experience everyone must face in complete solitude, a journey that you could take no one else with you on, made him feel the true weight of mortality on his shoulders.
Lost in thought he did not notice the two male Fae that were approaching him until they were practically on top of him.
"You must be the human we smelled in the castle the other day! Leave it to our King to keep such a secret from us."
The Fae that spoke had blond hair pulled back into a bun with patch of hair on his chin below his mouth and golden-brown eyes. He spoke in a calm manner that signaled to Eren he must be one of the older Fae living within the Winter Court.
"Tch. What a little bratty runt this is. I don't see what King Levi sees in him at all." The second one spoke in what Eren could only describe as a whiny sounding voice. He had a rather pinched face, small brown beady eyes, and a mop of light brown hair with an undercut underneath. Eren immediately took a dislike to this one and wanted nothing other than to get away from him. He didn't see what he had done to deserve to be spoken of in such a manner.
Eren narrowed his eyes and replied in a cheeky tone, "I could say the same about you. I thought Fae were all supposed to be good looking."
The second Fae looked as though he wanted to tackle Eren to the ground and beat the shit out of him, but the blond grabbed his arm and held him back.
"Oluo, you remember what our King said."
"But, Erd, you heard the way he just disrespected me! A mere mortal! He deserves to be taught a lesson on how to speak to those superior to him."
Before Eren could retort he felt two arms encase him around the waist from behind causing him to make a small noise of surprise. He knew it was King Levi immediately as he had become accustomed to the feel of the other man which was the only thing that kept him from jumping out of his skin.
"Is my human causing some trouble for you two?" Levi's sultry voice filled the air and Eren's eyes grew as wide as saucers as he saw ice spread from Levi's feet and out across the marble floor underneath them.
"No, sir. Everything is okay here. Oluo and I were just curious to meet the only human to have ever captured your attention." Erd answered in a solemn voice and Eren could see how he gripped his comrade's wrist tightly as a warning to keep his mouth shut.
"Mm, is that so now? And what sort of conclusions have you come to?" Levi adjusted his right hand to move up underneath Eren's suit jacket and the brunet shivered as he felt thin lips pressing against the back of his neck.
"As always, our King has made a wise decision. He is indeed quite exquisite."
Levi moved his mouth to the right side of Eren's neck and bit it roughly causing the brunet to cry out. His neck throbbed and he felt a weird stirring in the pit of his stomach, one that he'd only ever felt during particularly intimate moments. He didn't want to sport a hard on in front of a room full of foreign Fae, but he knew it was not in his power to tell Levi to stop in front of his subjects. It would look bad if the Fae King was willing to listen to the wishes of a mere human.
"He's absolutely breathtaking, and all mine. You two should get back to the festival. I'm ready to retire with my human and you're going to miss all of the fun."
Erd quickly complied by dragging a disgruntled looking Oluo away and Eren found himself letting out a breath of relief now that the two other Fae were no longer near him. He wasn't sure he could have been in their presence much longer without causing some strife with the smug bastard who had called him a brat. Eren was way too hotheaded to allow someone to talk that way about him whether they were a Fae or not.
Levi nuzzled his nose into Eren's neck and chuckled softly. "My treasure, what am I going to do about that attitude of yours? I'll have to teach you a lesson later. For now, I have something I would like to show you. Come with me."
Levi unwrapped his arms from Eren and opted for entwining their fingers together as he led him away from the festival and into the deeper part of the Winter Court. They walked through a pathway that went through the woods until they came to a clearing where an alabaster gazebo was placed in the center. Surrounding the gazebo were hundreds of roses the color of freshly spilled blood and the pathway leading up to the gazebo was made of the purest diamonds that Eren had ever seen. As they walked closer Eren could see that the columns of the gazebo were made of sculpted figures of pixies flying around one another.
When they stepped into the gazebo and Eren looked up he gasped in surprise. The ceiling of the gazebo had been enchanted to look like the night sky filled with billions of bright stars. He didn't think that there was anything else tonight that he could see that would take his breath away but then Levi spoke and Eren felt as though his entire world were crashing around him.
"Eren, I want you to see what I truly look like." He spoke in such a soft voice that Eren found himself straining to hear him.
Was Levi going to show him what he looked like without glamour on? But why would he do such a thing?
"W-wait. Levi...why? I don't...I don't understand."
Levi stepped away from Eren until they were about five feet apart. When Eren looked at his face he found his heart splitting into two. The man, yes man, in front of him looked so broken that it was difficult for Eren to not begin crying. He had never saw someone with such a look on their face and in that moment, he found himself wanting nothing more than to take all of Levi's sorrows away so he would never have to feel pain again.
"I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our more stupid melancholy propensities, for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one's very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?"
As Levi spoke in a deep voice Eren watched in amazement as his skin began to shift and change. Gone was the smooth ivory and in its wake was a hue of periwinkle with what looked like cracks all along the skin. It was akin to what someone taking a piece of glass and cracking it in different places would look like except for it was on someone's body and the concept was so foreign to Eren that for a moment he found himself wondering if perhaps this was another trick of Fae magic. But judging by the look on Levi's face this was nothing short of reality.
Levi's eyes retained their stark silver color and his hair remained black, but his ears elongated even further as well as his canines which were now poking past his thin lips. It was difficult to look at him not because Eren found him hideous but because there was now an even stronger magical aura surrounding his being which made Eren's eyes throb in pain if he stared for too long.
The words that passed through Levi's lips threw daggers into Eren's already pained heart and he found it difficult to breathe because he knew, in this moment, that his Fae King was fully capable of feeling again and what must it be like to have gone hundreds of years without feeling only to suddenly face an onslaught of those locked away emotions all at once?
Eren looked into Levi's eyes and he could feel tears streaming down his face as he choked out "You're beautiful...every part of you. In this life, in the next, a thousand years from now...it does not matter. I will always find you beautiful. You don't have to look human for me to think that."
And that's the moment that King Levi broke, and Levi Ackerman finally felt free. He fell to his knees in front of Eren and began to sob uncontrollably. Eren immediately moved to his side and wrapped his arms tightly around him doing all that he could to make him feel loved and protected. He was but a mere 17-year-old who had so much more in life to learn but he knew enough in this moment to know that he would give his life if it meant that Levi could be happy. There was no one else in this universe or beyond who would be right for him. He belonged to Levi and Levi belonged to him.
Levi clutched at Eren's shirt tightly and buried his faced into the younger man's chest as his sobs began to finally subside. It didn't take the older man long to recollect himself. Although his human emotions had now returned in full force, he was still a Fae King and thus retained the qualities of one.
"Eren, I have to get you out of here. I can't have you end up like I have." Levi lifted his tear-stricken face to look into now emerald green eyes as he cupped tan cheeks, "You're too pure to become a Fae. I can't bear to lose you to this madness."
Eren placed his hands over Levi's and looked at him with a determined gleam in his eyes. "I'm not leaving here without you, Levi. Hange, you know she is also a Fae, but she has all her emotions. She can help us. And now that you remember everything, we can work on finally getting you out of here."
Levi sighed and closed his eyes before placing his head on Eren's shoulder. He seemed tired, as if all the years that he had lived were finally catching up to him.
"Fine...but I have to show you my past...all of it. It's not pretty and it will take a while. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"For you, Levi, I would do anything."