Chapter 89

"Do you like to read?"

"I do not read much."

Avalina and the Horned King sat across from each other in the library, facing the fire at an angle, talking. Avalina's book from last night lay on the table between them, but she had made no move to pick it up.

"What do you like to do?"

The Horned King did not know how to answer this. He knew what he liked to do, or what he *had* enjoyed doing previously to being raised from the dead, rather, but they were things that Avalina would be horrified at and he had no wish to tell her.

"I don't know."

"You have to like something."

An answer appeared.

"I enjoy music," he rumbled.

Avalina gave a small laugh.

"Well, see, there's something!"

"It helps to pass the time."

"Do you play anything?"

"No."

"Have you ever wanted to learn?"

"I don't know," he answered, "I have not given it any thought."

"Are there any composers or bards you prefer?"

"I know little of music, let alone who wrote it," he answered, slightly irritated at himself that he could not provide any other answers.

"What kind of instruments do you like?"

Realizing that the only instrument he truly remembered was the one she played, he took it.

"I like piano."

"Me too!" She answered cheerfully, before asking another question.

"Do you like flowers?"

"I don't know," he replied a bit heavily, irritated that he could not clearly answer anything she asked. Deciding it was past time he asked a question himself and attempt to hold up his end of the conversation.

"Which do you prefer?"

"I love them all, but my favorites are the bright orange bush lilies. They're so pretty, they remind me of a sunset, they just take my breath away. And forget-me-nots. They're so blue! And tiny!"

The Horned King couldn't help the twitch the corners of his mouth gave at this statement.

"You seem to like blue and orange."

"I do! I like green and gold too, they look so full of life! Although I've never seen a green flower. Have you ever seen a green flower?"

The Horned King thought for a moment.

"No, I don't think so."

"Not even in pictures?" She asked, disappointed.

"No," he told her, before saying, "I do not think they exist."

"Well, I think they should," she told him, "They would be so special!"

"But they would blend in with everything else," the Horned King told her.

"Surely you would want something that stood out from the background?"

"That's what the others are for," she told him cheerfully.

"They make everything brighter and more colorful! But a green flower would be special because even though they might blend in with everything else, there would be nothing else like them in the whole world! It would take a fine eye to see them because they're so well hidden in the mass, but that would make them that much more valuable, because whoever found them would be beholding something truly special."

"I think it would be most unnatural."

"Half the stuff in this world is unnatural anyway," she told him, "But just because it might be considered different or unusual, doesn't make it bad. And common things are often so unique of themselves, sometimes people forget to look a little closer."

The Horned King listened in interest, the wheels in his head turning.

"You think the common things are special?"

"Of course!" Avalina said happily, as if it were perfectly obvious.

"The world couldn't work without them! Take brush farmers, for instance. They're about as common as dirt in Prydain. But they have something special about them that only someone with a sharp eye, and someone who really wants to see, can spot."

"And that would be what?" The Horned King asked, intrigued despite himself.

"They never give up," she answered. "Even if the crops are bad that year, or the harvest is thin, or whatever problem they may have, they never give up. They may nearly starve in the winter or drown in the spring in the rain, but brush farmers are survivors. All farmers are. And other people just don't realize it. They don't realize how special farmers are."

The Horned King was quiet, thinking.

"Just like the green flower," Avalina said cheerfully.

"They may look as common as dirt, but the reason they're special is right in front of people's faces, and they wouldn't even notice, because all they'd be comparing them to is with everything else. But if you'd set it somewhere differently, like, with flowers that are every color of the rainbow, it would sure stick out, now wouldn't it?"

"You could be a philosopher," the Horned King told her, his mouth twitching up faintly.

Avalina giggled, blushing.

"Thank you, sir."

"But I do not believe green flowers exist."

"Have you looked?"

The Horned King almost looked angry for a moment, but then relaxed, shaking his head slowly, seeing the truth in her words.

"No, child, I have not. Have you?"

"I try to," she told him, "But it's hard sometimes. Like everyone else, I truly enjoy the bright flowers and the butterflies and the colors that stand out from everything else around them. They're special in their way, too, and they make me so glad I can see those things. But just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I may not have found a green flower yet, but it might be out there somewhere."

They were both silent for a long time after that, lost in their own thoughts, listening to the snapping of the fire.

The Horned King gestured to the book on the table.

"Do you like it?"

"Oh, yes!" Avalina answered, pulling herself back to the present.

"It's very interesting! Do you like it?"

"I've never read it."

"Oh."

After several moments, the Horned King added, "But you may read it to me, if you like, if it is as interesting as you say."

"You mean, out loud?"

"If you wish."

Avalina picked up the book and flipped to the beginning.

"I'm afraid I don't read out loud very well."

"I will be the judge of that."

"Ok," Avalina laughed softly, settling back, "But don't blame me if your ears start aching later!"

The Invisibles watched silently through the library door, leaving as Avalina began to read.

"Wow!" The second squealed happily as soon as they were out of earshot, "Would you just look at that? Would you?"

"I know, it's adorable!" The third one said.

"I'm about to die of cuteness overload!"

"You better not!" The second said, "we have pranks to do!"

"I meant metaphorically, but ok!"

"That's. . .unbelievable," the fourth said in awe.

"And yet, I keep finding myself completely believing it. Did you notice?"

"Notice what?" The first asked.

"Avalina had no trace of fear on her. She wasn't afraid at all."

Murmurs of awe came from the others.

"I've noticed she rarely does when she's actually having a conversation with him."

"Yeah, it's like she forgets to be."

"That's good though, right?"

"Right. And his royal Spikiness seems to be more relaxed around her as well."

"Ooooh yeah, I see dem signs! Whoo!"

"Speaking of which, you and I have epicness to fulfill. Later, yo!"

"Later!"

The two left.

"Orion knows what they're up to now," the first Invisible grumbled.

"They've already gotten our conjuring powers taken away because they couldn't follow one simple order, and they don't seem the least bit embarrassed or irritated about it. It's shameful. Utterly shameful. Minors to the Fates themselves should not behave the way they do."

The fourth chuckled softly.

"They can't help that they're green flowers."

"Green flowers, Ha!" The first Invisible snorted.

"They stick out like sore thumbs. Oh, and what does that make me, pray tell? Daisies?" The first snorted.

The fourth laughed, unperturbed, "I was thinking of roses, but daisies will do nicely."

"Why roses?"

"Because under that prickly exterior, you're just as beautiful as they are, just in a very different way."

"You could have a future as a philosopher as well, you know."

"Why, thank you."

The two sat together for a moment.

"What flower would you compare the master with, just out of curiosity?" The first asked.

"Hm. . .well, I've heard Avalina talking to Mitternacht in the stable, and what she said made up my mind."

"What was that?"

"He's a dead stem because he's in a perpetual state of winter, and he needs a good spring awakening to stir him up. And as for what kind of flower he is. . .well, I have trouble thinking of him like that, but Avalina told Mitternacht it was because he hadn't budded yet."

The Horned King listened to Avalina read, lulled by her voice, until she coughed softly, and he realized she had gotten rather hoarse.

"That's enough for tonight," he told her. "Your voice is giving out."

"No, really?" She asked, before laughing.

He paused for a long moment, until he realized she had just tried to tease him.

Not knowing how to answer something like that, he rose gracefully from his seat, throwing his shadow over Avalina as she rose as well.

"Thank you for staying," she told him softly. "Even with Mitternacht, it gets kind of lonely around here."

The Horned King stared at her for a moment, his face shadowed.

"I know it does," he finally admitted, before adding, "And you're. . .welcome."

Avalina smiled kindly at him.

"It was no trouble."

As they parted ways in the hall, Avalina called softly after him.

"Goodnight, sir!"

The Horned King turned, and for the fleetest of moments, she thought she saw a tiny smile on his face.

"Goodnight. . .Avalina."

The Horned King paced slowly in his chambers, contemplating about the events of the night.

For the first time in centuries, the first time that he could ever remember, someone desired his company.

This was the most unusual thing that had happened to him in a very long time, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Nobody ever desired his company. In fact, they wanted to be as far away from him as humanly possible. And then some.

She had said she was lonely, and he knew that. He had known for a long while. This place was as empty and as silent as a tomb most of the time, except when the Invisibles made their crashing appearances, which was normally on a daily basis.

He knew that Avalina's horse, although he supposed the animal made good company, could not compare to the actual sound of a human voice, talking back to answer you. He knew.

The weight on his chest had disappeared for a long time, but now that he was alone, he began to feel it again.

Tonight, he had felt better than he could remember in a long time.

He was an undead, and he did not suppose he could feel true emotions, but he wondered faintly now if he could feel the thing humans called, "Happiness."

Avalina could talk about the strangest things. . .tonight it had been green flowers, of all things. Green flowers.

Green flowers, where in the world did this girl get her ideas?

The Horned King had never thought of a green flower before. He never thought about flowers in general, but he had a sneaking feeling he might be thinking of them more than never in the future.

'A green flower is special because although it may blend in at first, it's something completely individual,' he remembered silently.

'It takes a sharp eye to find one because they're so well hidden, but if you do see one, you'll know that you're seeing something truly unique. There's nothing else like them in the whole world! Take it out of its background and put it with a bunch of other flowers, and then it will stand out as much as they do. Just in a very different way.'

The Horned King remembered what she said, and was mildly surprised to find how much truth there was in it. Who in the name of Orion would ever look for a green flower, of all things? The answer was simple.

No one.

And because of that, now he was wondering how many there might be in the world, and how many were overlooked every day. If it were possible to even find one.

And then she had compared them to brush farmers. How those two connected he could no longer remember, but the way she had worded it made perfect sense.

Avalina herself was a brush farmer, he remembered. She was a peasant in a country full of peasants, blending in with everything around her as easily as breathing. At first glance, she appeared to be nothing special. Just something as common and everyday as all the other peasants.

But then, she had been pulled from her home, her hiding place, and imprisoned here, in his castle. And suddenly, she didn't seem so common anymore. The more he learned about her the less common she became.

He did think she was rather. . .unusual, for a peasant. She was the first he had ever heard of that could read music, and it had been centuries since he had seen someone to have such a way with horses. Or animals in general, he thought, remembering the gwythaint.

Avalina wasn't really anything to look at at first glance, either. She looked as common as anything else. She was small, her hair was wild and of a brownish color and her eyes were green. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

But take a closer look, and he had noticed how her hair never seemed to lay the same way twice. And how it fell down her shoulders in a curling, waving mass that seemed to go whichever way the wind tossed it. How her eyes were so green, they would seem to glow, and that golden sun around the iris. . .she had a beautiful voice, although he would never have known at first glance, and despite her timid nature she could provide the finest conversation he had ever heard.

Avalina could ask the simplest things in such bizarre ways. She could also ask the most bizarre questions in such a simple manner, and explain things. . .she had a way of thinking that was so unusual, he sometimes felt she was running away with the conversation, with himself struggling to keep up.

In a nutshell, she reminded him of the green flower she had spoken of. Perfectly.

He was shaken from his contemplating thoughts when the Invisibles came in, this time not bothering to knock.

"Hey, Spiky, we got NEWS!"

Irritably, he turned towards the door.

"What?"

"You know we're bound to the courtyard and the castle, right? We can't go no further out."

"Get on with it," the Horned King growled, his temper quickly beginning to flare.

"Well, in the garden today, Avalina fell asleep, and. . ."

"What?" The Horned King hissed, his hands clenching. "And you didn't. . ."

"Let us finish, Buster-Brown. Sheesh."

"Well, anyway," another voice piped, (Or was it the same one?) She fell asleep, and Arawn tried to slip inside her head. . ."

"But he couldn't!" The other cackled. "Can you guess why? Huh-huh-huh?"

"Tell me!" The Horned King snarled.

"Mitternacht wouldn't let him!"

The Horned King looked completely nonplussed.

"Go on."

"Well, we couldn't do anything, being bound here and all, but the horse. . .boy, he sent Arawn running for his immortal soul!"

"He didn't even get a chance to try to hurt Avalina! Something about that horse's presence had him running scared!"

"Like Mister-Three-Pans-Weren't-Enough!"

The two of them dissolved into laughter.

The Horned King attempted to clarify.

"Arawn couldn't hurt Avalina because of the horse?"

"That's all we can guess," one answered.

"Yeah, nothing else made sense!" Said the other. (Or was it the same one?)

"He tried, but when instant he realized that horse was there with her, man, he was GONE!"

"Like a thief on wheels!"

The Horned King studied this unforeseen revelation. This could be quite useful.

"Are you completely sure?" He ground out, glaring at the air in front of him.

"We might be special, but we're not stupid!" One of them huffed indignantly.

"We know what happened."

The Horned King nodded.

"Then there is no need for you to remain with her in the stable, or anywhere, for that matter, except her chambers and the library. Do not follow her everywhere she goes, she does not appreciate it."

"Good, because we don't either. Nothing personal against her, you know, but there are awesome plans to be made, and doing that is sometimes difficult when we are already deeply occupied with chaperoning someone that doesn't need chaperoning."

"Anyhow, cheerio!"

They were nearly out the door before they turned back.

"Oh, the horrors! We almost forgot!"

"Oh yes, how awful of us!"

"Forgot what?" The Horned King growled, his temper almost completely gone.

"Hang on."

The door slammed, and the Horned King rubbed his temples slowly. What they were up to this time, only the gods knew. . .

On sudden impulse, he crossed the room and quickly locked the door, a wicked smirk working across his face.

'Let's see them try to get in now.'

He heard them coming a long time before they actually arrived, and he grinned even wider, anticipating their shock at finding the door barred.

Almost there. . .

The noise was getting louder. The Horned King readied himself. . .

The door was blown to smithereens as something the size of a rhino crashed through and exploded into the room.

The Horned King barely had time to move before the monstrosity rolled right over the top of him.

The Invisibles cackled madly as the thing groaned slowly to a stop, rolling right in front of the Horned King's throne.

"Have fun with that, Stanley!" They howled in laughter.

"Have fun!"

"What is this?!" the Horned King roared in fury, his eyes flashing blood red.

"Why, its our very own masterpiece of a catapult, crafted by our own Invisible hands! A mixture of fish scales, teakettles and deceased trolleys! Oh, and dead men's armor! Isn't it nice?"

"GET. It. Out." The Horned King snarled, poison in every syllable.

"NOW."

"We're sorry, but that's a no-can-do," they laughed.

"We only roll things *Up* the stairs!"

Cackling, they slammed the door as his roar of fury shook the room.

"CURSE YOU!"

Everyone, please review! I'd really appreciate it! And don't forget, anyone that hasn't seen it, go check out the video tribute on Youtube that Faerydame made for this fanfic! It's awesome! Just type in Horned King X Avalina Save Me. Or if you just want to go the long, scenic route, just type in the Horned King and the video will be on page 8. How awesome is that? XD

Also, a small word of thanks that should be in a book

To one of my beautiful readers.

Some peeps are phonies or crooks

But BG24 isn't either!

She's awesome, she blossoms,

She should be from Gotham!

Her PM was as cool as a brook.

On my all of my haters she rained down epic vengeance (Metaphorically speaking)

Tremendous, Stupendous, She Needs An Apprentice! (And I am not kidding)

She sent me a message and all my fears were slain (Mary-Sues, they're the bane of good writers)

When she wrote of my fanfiction and all it contains (But Ava's not one, so go choke on your typewriter, you hater)

So thank you, BG, you're simply fantastic! (My story will prevail and I cannot speak a lie!)

And thank the dear Lord you don't type like a spastic! (cuz ths is rlly bd on ur i's.) LOL