Story Summary: In Elven society, twins are considered so much more than siblings. Elven twins can feel more than each other's pain - They can feel each other's pleasure. This story takes a look at Fae culture, and past and present impact the bond had on the twins throughout their lives. If they can overcome the past, can their love reunify their people together? Or will Nuada's anger and rebellion tear them all apart?

Pairing: Prince Nuada Silverlance x Princess Nuala

Warnings: This story does not completely follow movie-canon and can be considered an AU/ending-rewrite. It contains graphic depictions of incest/twincest, obsession, angst, dom/sub undertones, sexual situations (Lemon/Citrus) between consenting adults (mind-link/telepathic/magical/dream sex, sex without touching, masturbation, first time sex – loss of virginity, rough/dub-con sex, authority kink), dark themes, mentions of fertility/menstrual cycles, vague mentions of past miscarriage, strong language, (mis)use of the Gaelic language, canon-typical violence, and maybe a little OOC-ness.

I do not personally condone incest or unhealthy relationships and this work should be viewed for adult entertainment purposes only. If any of the above triggers you, if you're not of legal age, if you don't like the pairing, or if you're uncomfortable with the incestuous/sexual themes, then you should not be reading this story. I will not be blamed for your ignorance or prejudice. Flamers will be eaten by Tooth Fairies.

I've proved I can't be trusted with regular updates, but I will try. I may tweak chapters occasionally if I find an error or need to clarify, etc. I am usually content, but never satisfied with my work and it is always a source of constant improvement for me.

This story is not beta-read; therefore any spelling or grammatical errors are solely my fault. But since I'm an English major, all the correct spelling and grammar is also, happily, my fault.

As a rule, I never ask for reviews, but - just a hint - I usually dedicate new chapters to people who leave lovely ones. It's no lie that they are fuel for inspiration.

Disclaimer: Hellboy II: The Golden Army and its characters are property of Columbia/Sony/Mike Mignola. Other characters and plot independent of their original creation are my property. I, Scarlet Willows, in no way make any profit from this story. Do not take/use any material from this story without my express permission. However, I would happily accept fanart!

Author's Note: I was fascinated with this pairing from the first time I saw the movie. I don't condone incest or manipulation in real life, but this is fantasy. I wanted to write a fanfic for this pairing immediately, but never got around to it. Now, it's probably not as popular as when it was first released, but I had to get this out of my system. I have not read the comics; only watched the movies. I reference certain movie situations, so go watch them and refresh yourself.

Mo Leth-aon

By Scarlet Willows

The Weight of a Word

All of the Fae folk knew that, to the Elves, twins were especially sacred. In fact, any other language's word for "twin" paled in comparison to the elven term…and all its connotations. Leth-aon. The elven language had words that directly translated to "brother," "sister," and "sibling," but there was no direct translation in any language for everything that encompassed an elven twin. "Twin," only implied that Nuada and Nuala had shared a womb, but to their culture – and the ancient magic that influenced it – the word meant so much more.

Elven twins were seen as powerful forces of nature, avatars of the gods in corporeal form, and they were usually trained in the magical or healing arts as high priests and leaders. If twins could only share emotions and thoughts, then the other Fae might understand as telepathy and empathy were common among the magical peoples. But elven twins could also share touch…pain and pleasure. Because of this dynamic, how could a bond not turn sexual? How could one not develop romantic feelings? With this touch-bond, self-discovery and self-pleasure turned into a joint event…into love making. Thus, in reference only to twins, the elves would never use the overly-simple words for siblings, as these words could not contain the full weight of the power-bond between twins. Leth-aon not only meant twin, but soulmate, bond-linked, gifted, sacred…and spouse. They were often thought of as two halves of the same soul, separated by flesh, longing to be reunited in every conceivable manner.

It was no wonder to any Fae that elven twins usually shared bonds closer than marriage. This bond was seen as sacred, no matter the gender. There was no taboo in Fae society like that of human's because love was the greatest gift of the gods. And the children of elven twins were never deformed; always healthy and strong and powerful in the ways of magic. In fact, in all of recorded elven history, there was only one pair of twins that did not marry…and that was mostly due to the dishonorable meddling of outside cultures. Meddling in the sacred relationship of leth-aon was a crime of the highest order in Elven society.

"Brother-husband," would have been the closest translation for the humans, but even that carried little weight, and the humans had a penchant for projecting their taboos. So when the elven Princess Nuala sought refuge from the aquatic man, Abraham Sapien, informing him that Prince Nuada was her brother, her twin, that he would find her…she knew Abraham wouldn't understand the weight of their true relationship. "A link has bound us, one to the other." It was all she could say to the blue telepath. She did not want to reveal so much to an outsider, especially when she was so vulnerable.

She was shaken. Cut off from her people, her father dead, her brother overcome with blood-lust. To the shock of all, her brother-husband, her leth-aon, her beloved teine had returned from centuries of self-exile, only to be promptly condemned to die for his rebellion. No one would be able to understand the depth of her sorrow. She could not go against her king's command and had made peace with her own demise - she did not want to live in a world where her leth-aon did not grace it. She'd never agreed with Nuada's hatred of the humans and hoped that time away would have soothed the storm raging in Nuada's heart - that it had chastened and humbled him. Now, she saw the error of her folly; she regretted not going with him all those centuries ago, for perhaps her love could have quelled the anger and darkness inside. Perhaps the darkness had been there all along. She felt she was to blame.

Safe enough within the agency to dwell in memory, the ethereal princess thought back to their childhood. When Nuada and Nuala were mere children, discovering that they shared this profound bond, pushing at its magical boundaries, Nuada would pinch and poke and prod at himself only so it would tickle her. Nuala would giggle and smack her own arms and legs to get him to stop.

As they grew older, when the prince began battle training with practice weapons – though safe – they would still bruise and scratch. He'd dropped to his knees and cried the first time he saw his own bruise reflected on her cheekbone. He'd sobbed, clinging to her legs in apology as she cooed and encouraged him to continue his training. He had promised to be better…to be the best, so she would never sport his scars. He vowed to earn the title of Silverlance, the highest battle rank.

It was around this time that - after realizing his marks were hers - they discovered late in the night how to send secret messages to each other.

The twins would scratch elven runes onto their skin for it to show up as matching angry-yellow designs on the skin of the other. Nuala scratched the rune for "I love you," on a small spot near the bend in her arm. Nuada had returned it so often that it had scarred them both. This scar they were proud of. They hid it covetously. Over time, Nuala only needed to push on the scar for Nuada to feel it and know it's meaning, and he'd flash a furtive smile just for her, pushing back on the spot in return. In those moments, he was so achingly handsome that it stole her breath away. That this majestic creature belonged utterly to her, that she could feel his love and devotion through their bond-link, made her feel dizzy under its weight on occasion. Her emotion at it made his smile all the hungrier.

After he'd left, tearing their family asunder, she'd scarred the runes, "I miss you," on the other arm in her persistent sorrow. Nuada would press back on both scars and it would keep her hope alive. Tears pricked her stinging eyes at the old memory.

Over the centuries, Nuada had wandered too far in his exile for Nuala to feel his emotions and thoughts any longer. Nuada's mercurial emotions had always been a constant buzzing in her head. She had been his soothing balm, the water to his raging fire. There had never been a time when he was not in her mind. After he'd left…she'd never felt so hollow. Forsaken. With only her own singular emotions to fill her chest. It was as if her organs had been carved out.

But she could still feel Nuada's touch, no matter the distance, his reassuring press against their scars. Assuring her of his love. And he would still make love to her by making love to himself. Sometimes she would cry as he brought them both to completion. Sometimes, when the sorrow was too much, she would try to stop him. She would scratch rune messages into her stomach and he would reply, "No," pressing both their scars insistently, painfully. In those moments, his desperation would wash over her and she'd be lost to his flood. She knew he was nearby if she could feel these emotions. She'd weep, beg him to return. And since he couldn't hold her in his arms, he'd do the only thing he could do - which was pleasure her from afar with his own skin, over and over again as it echoed back to him.

It was in those days long ago that Balor, the elven king, shielded Nuala's heart from her leth-aon. With great effort and magic. He watched her wasting away in despair, drowning in her brother-husband's rage or his absence. He couldn't bear to lose his daughter to the darkness like he had his son. The meager reassurance of their touch-link grew numb until Nuala wondered if Nuada had ever been real to begin with.

In the room that the BPRD had graciously provided for her, finally alone to process Nuada's return – and the consequential death of her father by her brother's hand – she wept. With Nuada pronounced anathema, leadership fell to the absent princess. Nuala felt selfish and useless, but she had to protect the crown piece for all. Her people were surely in chaotic turmoil with all royal members dead or hiding. She ached for them, but she could do naught to help them while she was on the run; nor was she mentally prepared to lead and restore order when she was filled with such sorrow. With her father gone, the shield around Nuala's heart had abruptly crumbled at his passing.

Now, Nuada was close...close enough to feel. She could feel him as starkly as if he were physically there, looming over her. After centuries of numbness, Nuada's intense and wild emotions roiled against her, taking up the long forgotten spaces inside her. Filling her up with him. So full…so finally full. A tumultuous storm raged in the prince and blasted over Nuala's mind. Darkness and anger swirled with his possessive desire for her, crashing against her psyche in waves. Nuada's thoughts were so strong that she could hear his deep voice whisper all around her – an illusory projection magic they'd learned through the bond. "Nuala." His phantom lips brushed against the shell of her ear, sending shivers down her spine, reminding her that she was his. Like he used to, so long ago. Nuala reached out to touch the veil of the ether. He was here.

She pressed her thumbs into the scars by each arm-bend. Her body trembled as she wept at the echoing ache's answer in the scars while Nuada whispered to her mind, "Luaidh mo chèile. I'm coming for you."

To Be Continued...

Gaelic terms (learngaelic . net):

(This language is fascinating; it's not phonetically pronounced how it's spelled in English. Go to the Dictionary tab, enter the terms, find the correct phrase, and play the audio button on the right to hear how it's pronounced. I'll probably butcher this in the future, but hey, it's fantasy, just roll with it. If you're a native speaker, please feel free to correct me.)

Mo Leth-aon – My Twin

teine - fire

Luaidh mo chèile – Love of my life.