Ring of Mushrooms

9

Fae are quite terrifying when you think about it. They can hear and see the smallest things and are incredibly fast. Many humans fear them for this along with their natural talent for high-level magic. People always fear things they don't understand. It's a rule to promote survival in many ways. The thing about the fae folk is they often can't have kids.

Some few would swipe a lost child from the streets and take them from an orphanage. An even smaller amount would pluck a crying baby from its crib. That's what the fairy tales said. Longing for children and being unable to birth their own, many were content with raising a human child they found lost in the woods. The very few who took kids from their parents, like with most things, ruined it for the majority.

More and more feared the Fae would seek out children in the light of the moon. They thought the trees against the window were claws trying to steal their children. Paranoia spread like wildfire, soon fae taking the unwanted, the missing, and the ones left alone also became nearly impossible without some bit of sneaking in.

Humans in all their fear lashed out. They burned the ties between their neighbors and fought. It was an uneven battle. Small villages couldn't stand on their own, they needed true numbers to fight. The fighting stopped soon enough because the humans paused in their attacks. The tale of the Dragon in the castle made them stop out of fear, not exactly a good way to have a cease-fire. Something you had yet to learn firsthand was how strong they were when they didn't hold back.

Maleficent was intimidating even among the fae. Horns were still an unusual trait to have. She was tall and intimidating and when she took rule and destroyed a human Kingdom neighboring her own she was a name most now knew.

Lilia was something that was a rumor. A whisper of a killing machine. Skilled at his job as a commander, or general, each story changed it slightly. He was fearsome, but nothing more than a myth that none on the field survived. He was a shadow that was more than happy to subvert expectations.

You had unknowingly ended up stuck between two of the most powerful people alive, with a toddler in your arms. How sweet it was, to hold the boy as he slept. He had you wrapped around his finger but you loved the baby boy. Little Silver was going to raise hell soon enough but for now, he was perfectly sweet and that was more than enough.

Her Highness, found you. She strode into the library from a dark corner you hadn't noticed. Her horns looked shinier than they had the other day. Today's dress had loose sleeves and showed her collar bones.

"Care to join me for a walk?"

Maleficent leads you through the gardens. She had free time, a break from the piles of paper littered around her study and bedchambers, she told you. Her gown was silk, like the rest you've seen, black and long. She seemed to glide across the stone pathways.

"You have my apologies for not being able to show you around first." She looped her arm with yours. Standing on a small bridge over a stream.

"No, no," you shook your head, "I'm glad to see it with you. Even if it's a little later than you wanted."

She let out a breath, heavy and you could see her shoulder's slump slightly. "I'm glad."

She pulled you along. She held her staff as she walked. From this close you noticed that she smelled slightly of fresh ripe mulberry. You couldn't help but look up at her. She was beautiful, and intimidating. She rarely laughed but she would inhale sharply here or there and you could feel her chest shake slightly as she muffled her chuckle.

The time seemed to blur. The flowers and the trees mixed together in a swirl of color. It was a watercolor landscape that had been doused with water, left for time to mix the pigments together.

"I quite like you, human." She told you when you were sitting in a secluded part of the gardens. Hidden by tall trees and hedges. Her fingers stroked her raven's head and she tossed him a nut.

You felt overwhelmed. In a good way. As if a thousand good thoughts and memories had been recalled. The sweet taste of a candy that you were given from your first love. Crystalized honey melting in your mouth and dripping down your throat. A part of your mind felt hazed over as if you really were dreaming. One impulsive thought away from tasting the berry-tart lips of her.

"Save a dance for me at tomorrow's ball will you?"

You nodded and she openly chuckled at you. Her hand trailed up your chin gently forcing you to look her in the eye. She looked at you for a moment before letting her hand slide away.

"I'll see you soon then, human."

You were alone. Sitting in the garden. The raven had left. You were surrounded by flowers.

"What just happened?" you asked yourself aloud, your cheeks burning.

Long after that confusing walk, you were helping Silver into some pajamas. The nightgown was a little long but he didn't care in the slightest. He waited for you sitting on the bed with a small stuffed rabbit in his hands. He held him close, ever since you had finally succeeded in making one for him he refused to let it go. He would always search for it when it got tossed under something. He'd sniffle and whimper and cry, his face bright red. He would babble trying to convey what was wrong. The first few times you and Lilia blanked just gawking at each other until it was found under the chair.

Lilia was chopping away at his hair. In the bathroom until he eventually came out with an unsure expression. "Does this length look weird?" he touched the back ends, "I think I made it worse."

"Turn around." You took the sheers from him and sniped the few uneven hairs behind his neck. "You just missed a bit."

"Ahh!" he made a strange noise of what you assumed was joy. "You're so good to me!" he grabbed your face and pulled you to him. "What would I do without you!" he rubbed his cheek against yours.

"Not this!" you pushed at his chest and shoulders. "Let go of me you little-!"

He slept on the floor, you in the bed. Silver refused to let you put him in his crib so he was curled up into your arms. Demanding that you kiss both him and his bunny goodnight. Silver fell asleep quickly and you not long after. Red eyes watched you both sleep.

He laid on the ground for a while, but after hearing your breathing change, took the risk of looking over the side of the bed. He smiled and closed his eyes, sighing at the sight. He reached out ink-stained nails played with the ends of your hair.

"Humans always sleep so heavily." He kissed his son's head. His eyes glanced back across you both as he slipped out of the room.

He knew his way around well, slipping through the halls and past maids finishing their chores and preparing for the next night's event. They didn't bat an eye if they noticed him, not that it mattered. They had the portraits to keep them more than occupied as if trying to polish all of the silver wasn't enough.

Her Highness' study was in a strange location, not easy to get to. Maids who have been working here as long as Lilia had served her struggled with missing turns and forgetting how to get there. It was intentional, a thing that only required the sorceress to whisper a simple spell to confuse visitors, maids, and guards alike.

When Lilia arrived she was lounging in her nightclothes. A book on her lap and the fireplace burning green. The desk to her right was scattered with papers and a small map table had been brought in. On top of it a box of map markers and a few already scattered across the table. She marked her spot in her book and looked up at sharp crimson eyes, and a man who said nothing, waiting for her to speak first.

"There's tonight's update." She motioned across the room at the map. "I have a job for you as well." She passed him a message still sealed with a slight trace of her signature scent of mulberry.

"You're tired." he noticed that the glamor spell had been undone. Maybe it was undone due to the time, or it slipped away earlier. It simply showed the bags under her eyes and the slight change in her complexion.

"Yes." She nodded, it wasn't worth fighting over or ignoring. It's illogical to not inform the people you trust of such things. I'm overworked, simple as that. I could use a bit of stress relief." She leaned back onto her cushioned bench. She huffed a small giggle to herself, "Those humans of yours," She looked up at him with a smug grin, "I think I quite like them. Especially that one you're engaged to, but they don't know that do they?"