Months later
"I have a secret I need to share with you," Dave told Alex.
Dave and Alex had been dating for over six months, actually it was closer to eight.
"It must be major," Alex said studying Dave who had suddenly grown very serious, which was unlike the David Rossi she had come to know. She and Dave had gotten quite close in those months and she knew she loved him. Deeply and truly loved him but there was something odd about him. Things that Alex had noticed over the last few months and she had never been entirely sure what that was.
That Dave wanted to talk to her and that he was so serious Alex suspected that he was going to reveal something that astonished her, maybe even shocked her.
"It is major," Dave said the last word, as if it didn't quite fit on his tongue. It was as if he had never heard anyone express something in that way before Alex noticed. It was as if Dave was speaking of a foreign concept. The words seemed to fall off his tongue clumsily instead of elegantly, which was his normal way of talking.
The two of them were in Dave's living room, which was very nicely furnished. There were plenty of comfortable couches and chairs scattered around and yet the space didn't seem crowded but then the room was much larger than your normal living room which was probably at least one reason. Alex has never been sure why Dave hadn't put a wall in the middle of the room and then separated them and it wasn't really her place to ask, no matter how close they had gotten over the months since they had met.
Dave begin to explain exactly what he was and let his glamour drop.
Alex simply stared at him with no expression on her face and Dave watched her knowing that she was completely shocked. Dave knew that Alex believed she was human and had no idea that the sidhe or elves as they were called, even existed, except in fantasy.
"So you are what they call sidhe," Alex finally spoke.
"Or Tuatha de Danann or fair folks, good folk, or the sith or a multitude of other names," Dave said. "I know very well that the name we traditionally call ourselves is hard to pronounce. The Irish usually refer to us by other names as they don't want to catch our attention.
"You know, I've always been fascinated by the legends of the fair folks ever since I was a young child and I never understood my fascination," Alex said.
"It might be because despite your appearance I believe you are at least partly fae. I have sensed a shimmering power within you once I got to know you," Dave said. "Your power is contained in such a way that even if anybody was actively looking for you they wouldn't find you from Underhill. Even if they literally ran into you in the street you appear human, except for your scent, which is slightly off for a human, but you'd have to be intimately familiar with humans to know that."
"So you believe I am at least partly like you are," Alex said taking the news rather calmly.
"I can almost guarantee it, as humans don't have your shimmering power," Dave said.
"I've read enough about sidhe to know that they were good ones and bad ones. I'm guessing you're one of the good ones as I don't see the dark ones having patience to get to know me and they will probably just kidnap me and take me back to Underhill.
"The Unseelie are indeed evil. There is no crime that they will not do in order to get ahead rape, murder, kidnapping, manipulation and a host of others. I am indeed one of the good Seelie, as you are correct that the dark court would do things much differently and are not under the same constraints as the light court," Dave said.
"So where do we go from here?" Alex asked, even as she studied Dave, as he looked nearly alien ever since he had removed his glamour. The shape of his eyes were slightly slanted and a catlike green, his ears were pointed and also slanted backwards, his hair while still black was also longer and fell nearly to his shoulders. His face also had a slightly alien cast as if Dave's features weren't quite human, which in retrospect they weren't.
"Well, I thought I could try to help you touch your power so you know I'm not feeding you a line," Dave suggested. Dave's tone was rather ironic as he was speaking.
"Do you know why it was bound away from me if I really do have this power," Alex asked.
"Not for sure," Dave said. "I have numerous theories, but I have no idea if I'm anywhere close to the truth."
"Would you please explain," Alex asked politely.
"Of course, Mo grá," Dave agreed thinking that Alex was taking his appearance and his secret with amazing fortitude and calmness. "My strongest theory is that your mother was a Unseelie captive and he got her pregnant, so she escaped when she was close to giving birth and then hid you."
"Why would my mother want to hide me from my father if he really is Unseelie," Alex asked.
"If what I think is true your father would not have treated you as a daughter because you are at least partly human. Part humans are not accepted in the Unseelie Court, as anything but slaves if they're not killed outright. If you have powerful protection then you're treated a little better, but really as no more than a servant even then. If your mother was at least part human that had been captive for long time, she would want to protect you, her child. She likely knew that your father would never stop looking for you if she stayed with you so she left you on the Blake's doorstep. Before she did though she likely bound your power away from detection, as she knew your father could locate you from Underhill if she hadn't done so."
"So you think my mother is dead then," Alex asked in her normal tone of voice seeming calm.
"It's the likely possibility," Dave conceded.
"What other possibilities are there?" Alex asked.
"Could be she was captured alive and taken back to Underhill," Dave said.
"If she was I can't imagine them being very nice to her," Alex said.
"If she is alive they likely would've tortured her for your location or just for perhaps just for escaping. Humans have been known to take their lives because they can't stand the torture that the Unseelie heap upon them. Whichever Unseelie had her captive would have been enraged at her escape and would've had his people hunting for her. However, I don't believe that your birth mother is alive."
"Why not?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because it often means sacrificing your life in order to protect someone like you were protected," Dave explained his tone calm.
"I thought glamours were natural for your kind at least that's what I've read," Alex said.
"They are, but they shouldn't be able to be maintained constantly for over 30 years, especially by someone that knows nothing of her heritage. I believe instead, it is some kind of complicated illusion not just a glamour that took your mother sacrificing herself in order to protect her baby and also conceal your magic. It is about the only explanation that makes sense. It would've taken a lot of power for one thing and it would've drained her at a time she couldn't afford to be, which tells me that she was probably at least part Seelie. Your mother could've been young and naïve when she fell for one of the Unseelie or she fell into his clutches some other way by deceit or manipulation for example."
"Alright, why tell me what you really are," Alex asked Dave. "That you aren't completely human would cause most people to run screaming and that very well could've been my reaction, so why tell me?"
"That's a very good question Mo grá," Dave said. "The truth is, I knew about you before we met because of a vision from Dughill. All I had was your first name and from what we could figure out, I was supposed to meet and I thought perhaps I was meant to help you. I didn't know in what way at the time."
"So who is Dughill?" Alex asked.
"He's a Seelie just like I am and can see the future," Dave explained calmly. "It is both a great and terrible gift. We've been friends for a long time and I am his Lord and technically, master, as he swore fealty to me many centuries ago. He came to me when he had his vision at three in the morning, as he felt it was too important to wait for a more decent hour. Once he told me what he had seen, which was you attending a party, though we didn't even know your name that first time, I agreed with him."
Dave didn't tell her the rest, as he knew that even if she appeared calm, Alex was likely in shock and there was no need to burden her any farther at least right now.
"I didn't used to believe in seers, but considering I have an elf standing right in front of me I don't know how I can help but believe," Alex said.
Dave subtly winced at the term elf, but know that they were called that quite frequently by humans so he said nothing.
"So how are you going to access this power you say I have," Alex asked next her mind still reeling from all she had learned.
"I'm not exactly sure what will release the power I sense simmering inside you," Dave admitted. "It might be that a certain set of circumstances need to be met in order to do so."
"What sort of circumstances?" Alex asked.
"The circumstances could be about anything. I have no way of knowing for sure, though I can make some educated guesses," Dave said. "We need to figure it out, but not tonight, as it's late and I know you have to work in the morning."
"I do unfortunately," Alex said. "This has been a fascinating evening. You certainly give me a lot to think about Dave."
"I know I have and I am sorry about that," Dave said going back to his human appearance with seemingly no effort.
"So how long have you been in the human world," Alex asked, as Dave escorted her to the elevator that lead down to the lobby.
They rode down in the elevator together and then Dave would escort her to her car and make sure she got off OK.
This was a trait that made Alex feel all warm and good inside because despite not being human it meant Dave genuinely cared for her. That he wanted to make sure she wasn't mugged or attacked before she could even get into her vehicle said a lot about Dave's feelings for her.
"I'm surprised you can even think of such a question considering I know I gave you a lot of information tonight," Dave chuckled warmly. The nearly musical sound sent shivers of delight through Alex's entire body. "The answer is, I have been here for many centuries while the humans were still very primitive and not as advanced as they are now. I believe it was sometime around the 13th century.
"That's a long time," Alex said her tone appreciative and awed at how old Dave really was.
"I suppose so. On the other hand, the sidhe are a very long lived species so long as they don't get themselves killed. Children are rare among us, which means they are treasured all the more when they are born at least by the Seelie." Dave shrugged casually, as he escorted her out of the building and to her car.
~~~Dave and Alex~~~
"So, Dave, you mentioned about children being rare among your kind the other day," Alex asked, as she and Dave were spending time together in his home. "You know my parents want me to have children right away."
"I know what you're asking and my only answer is because of the fact that you're probably only part sidhe will help us have children. Yes, full sidhe have trouble having children and they're lucky if they have one, but since I suspect you'll probably no more than 1/4 Seelie and the rest is human that will only help. I can't really predict what will happen and I hope we reach the point that children are a viable option."
"You've never had children?" Alex asked. She wasn't sure why she was so shocked that Dave had never had even one child since he had told her just the other night that it was hard to have children with a full Seelie, but she was.
"I'm afraid not," Dave said. "That's not to say, I haven't had plenty of lovers over the centuries, but not a single one of them managed to get pregnant. They were also full sidhe and not partly like you are. If you are at least partly human, as I suspect then you should get pregnant much easier."
Dave was in his natural appearance with his slanted eyes and ears the planes of his face looking slightly alien. Alex had gotten used to Dave's natural appearance now, even though it had only been a day or so since he had revealed himself to her. It no longer startled her to see his slanted ears which were pointed at the tip or his unearthly green eyes. He still looked like the man that she had come to know so well over the last few months. Really, the changes in his appearance were pretty minor, except in his original form he also had no beard, no facial hair whatsoever.
"I hope I do," Alex said, "as I do want a child or even several if possible. Despite what my parents think, especially my father, it's not that I don't want to marry and have a child, it's that it's hard to find someone that will respect me for myself."
"I won't disagree about wanting children," Dave said, even as he and Alex sat together in the living area of Dave's home. "Children are always sacred to my kind, because we have so few of them. Marriage doesn't necessarily matter to us, as its hard to find someone you can live with for centuries."
"But you're not necessarily against marriage," Alex asked.
"No, I'm not," Dave assured her clasping her hand in his from where she was sitting beside him. "In fact, I would like us to get married."
This statement of fact shocked Alex for a second.
"I've come to deeply care for you in just a few months of our acquaintance something I can't say about other women I've had relationships with. I won't say I didn't love those women for a brief time, even if that was measured in decades, but eventually our love faded to where we parted," Dave said.
"But marriage is forever, I'm assuming among your kind," Alex said. "If it wasn't for my parents I would have no objection to us just becoming lovers and possibly having children together."
"Your parents are human and they have different priorities," Dave scowled obviously still upset at the elder Blakes for trying to force Alex into marriage. "While I think what they did to you is deployable, I do understand your father's reasoning. Humans only live a brief time before they die so I can understand why something like marriage is so important to them. They are unlike sidhe who live for centuries."
"I wouldn't mind getting married to you and not just because it would make my parents happy," Alex said. "I've come to care for you as well, even if I thought you were completely human until the other day when you revealed yourself as you truly are. You took a big risk revealing yourself to me, as I could've reacted much differently."
"Just so you're aware Seelie don't necessarily hold to human marriage, as it really doesn't mean anything to us nor is it legally binding among my race," Dave informed Alex.
"So we wouldn't technically be bound," Alex said working that out in her head.
"I could go back Underhill and take on another identity very easily and pop up somewhere else," Dave said. "After your parents die of course. They never have to know that I'm not completely human and in fact, I'd prefer that."
"They would never accept you're not human," Alex said with certainty. "I know I'm taking a risk if we do get married, even if it's not legally binding, because I might not be able to have children with you at least not before my parents die. All I ask is you tell me if you're tired of the relationship and want out. Be honest with me and don't go behind my back. I might not like it, but I'll understand now that I know you're much longer lived."
"You should be too," Dave told her.
"Maybe," Alex allowed. "I won't say I disbelieve you when you say I have power and that I am probably at least partly like you are. On the other hand, we might never figure out this illusion or whatever it is I am under that makes me look human."
"We will figure it out but we need to be cautious," Dave told her his tone implacable.
"Why do we need to be cautious?" Alex asked.
"Because whoever did what they did to contain your power did so far a reason," Dave explained. "I believe that they did so to protect you likely from your father. Whoever your father is, is likely still looking for you, as the Unseelie don't just give up and they have infinite time. While he might believe you're dead I don't know how likely that is. Once your power is released it will be like the sun shining brightly into Underhill and your father is bound to sense you. We need to be prepared for visitors just in case once the illusion is broken. There are certain things I can do to dampen your power when it is released, but that doesn't mean we won't have visitors, ones that don't have your best interest at heart."
"I wish you knew how to release my power," Alex said.
"We can try to release your power, though I warn you I don't know how successful we'll be so I don't want you to be disappointed if we fail," Dave offered.
"I might be a little disappointed, but I also understand that you don't know the parameters of the illusion that you say I'm under," Alex said. "So back to our original subject if you really want to marry me I'll be glad to accept and that will please my parents a great deal."
"So long as that's what you want then I will," Dave said. "You're already under my protection ever since that night we met and anybody who comes after you with intent to do you harm is going to regret it."
Alex didn't ask what Dave meant by that because she'd read enough about sidhe at this point to know that whoever came after her was going to likely end up dead. According to all the literature she'd read the sidhe were very protective of those they become close to, especially their family. Anyone under their protection they would defend with their lives if necessary.
"Here," Dave said producing a ring, as if from nowhere.
The ring was a large emerald in a very old fashioned setting.
"It's lovely," Alex said, as she admired it, even as Dave put it on her finger. "Is this real?"
"If your asking whether or not the emerald is real yes, it is. I kenned it from something I saw many years ago. The original once graced the finger of a countess. The metal is platinum and also very real."
Alex knew that the word kenned meant that Dave had produced it with his magic. She doubted that anybody would ever be able to tell that it wasn't the original.
"I've come to care for you very deeply Alex and that is an unusual state for one of my race," Dave explained. "While we take lovers most relationships only last for a few decades or less before they end. I don't see that being the case with you."
"I care about you too very deeply," Alex told Dave, even as she got up from beside him and sat in his lap. "I think I even really love you not just care about you, even if it's not a word that your kind usually uses."
"It's not an entirely foreign ward to the sidhe, but on the other hand, to lose someone that you love hurts us a great deal and we have trouble getting over the loss, depending on how deeply you love that person," Dave explained. "To lose someone we care for and love deeply is to scar us forever and we live an very long time."
"Humans are no different, even if their lives are shorter," Alex said. "They can come to care deeply for someone, so deeply that they never get into another relationship."
"I suppose our species aren't to different. The difference being that humans only live less than 100 years while Sidhe can live thousands," Dave observed with a slight smile. "I suppose we should go tell your parents the good news, even though we still have a few months.
"I suppose we should," Alex agreed, as she reluctantly left Dave's lap. "As you know, I've never even come close to getting married, as I've never felt the way I feel about you for any other man."
"That's probably because you're not completely human, though maybe not, as our kind have been known to fall in love with a mortal. That mortal can live much longer if taken Underhill, though they can't leave it if too much time has passed here in the mortal realm. It might simply be that you're too intelligent to get involved with just anybody, as that intelligence can put a lot of men off. I've seen men trying to suppress women, ever since I came from Underhill many centuries ago. Women are still struggling for equal rights even now, though things are much better than they used to be.
"That's true," Alex agreed, "Women can make their own way now, even if men try to oppress them. Let's go tell my parents the good news and I'm sure they'll want to throw a huge wedding for us. I'll even leave it to my mother to plan it, as that will make her happy, though I plan on nix any ideas that are too outrageous."
"Before we go, I just want to say that I will tell you if I get tired of our relationship and be honest if I'm interested in someone else," Dave said.
"That's all I ask," Alex said remembering her earlier comments. "Love is supposed to be eternal if you really do love that person, but I also understand that it might not be the type that lasts forever," Alex said. "Since your kind really do live for thousands of years I can understand falling out of love with someone as people can change majorly in that amount of time."
"Miss Alex, shall I escort you to see your parents?" Dave offered gallantly.
"You shall kind sir," Alex said, as she took the arm that Dave offered her.
The two of them walked to the elevator together and Dave pushed the button for the lobby.
~~~Dave and Alex~~~