The Innocents' Hospital

Chapter 5: Of Faeries and Vendetta

Amor, ch'al cor gentil ratto s'apprende,

prese costui de la bella persona

che mi fu tolta; e 'l modo ancor m'offende.

Amor, ch'a nullo amato amar perdona,

mi prese del costui piacer sì forte,

che, come vedi, ancor non m'abbandona.

Love, that on gentle heart doth swiftly seize,

Seized this man for the person beautiful

That was ta'en from me, and still the mode offends me.

Love, that exempts no one beloved from loving,

Seized me with pleasure of this man so strongly,

That, as thou seest, it doth not yet desert me;

Dante, Inferno, Canto V, vv. 100-105

Emma observed Beatrice walk over the tall French window and watched as, with shaking hands, the woman opened it to let the tall figure in. In bafflement, Emma saw that the creature that had stepped inside the library appeared to be a faerie knight. He was tall, probably 6'2'', slender, with eyes the color of moss growing on trees deep in the heart of a forest. His eyes created a stark contrast upon his complexion which reminded Emma of rich, velvety caramel.

On his temples and forehead, a delicate web of lines spread to blend into brown, long hair that reached his shoulders; they resembled the veining on leaves that change colors in Autumn. He was wearing a pair of loose velvet trousers that matched the brown of his hair, and from under his black cloak, a beige colored tunic was visible. His trousers were tucked in a pair of black leather boots.

He sauntered toward Beatrice without sparing a glance for anyone else in the room, and once in front of her he knelt down, clasped the woman's right hand in his, kissed it and said, "Forgive me for not coming sooner."

Emma looked at Julian to see if he appeared to be as confused as she felt. Seeing a fairy kneeling and apologizing to a human was such an unusual sight that the room was enveloped in complete silence.

Beatrice stood frozen for several seconds, but then she leaned forward to press her head against the fae's forehead and in the folk's fashion she said, "Well met, Alwyne." The two of them remained there, with their eyes closed as if there was no one else around them.

"So... I am assuming that these two know each other, or does she normally go around hugging faeries?" snickered Jace.

While still staring at Beatrice and the fae, Lucilla addressed the whole group and said, "Let's give them some privacy."

***

Beatrice heard the door of the library shut behind her. Alwyne was still kneeling in front of her, her right hand in his. She felt as though she was underwater, lost in a daze. All the thoughts that had been rushing through her head came to a halt when the fairy man stood up, placed a hand on her cheek and murmured, "My beautiful Beatrice... how have I missed you."

Slowly, the young woman lifted her gaze to meet his. She wondered if she was dreaming,

if the exhaustion from all the occurrences of the past few days had finally taken a hold of her and this was happening solely inside her head. How many times had she fallen asleep and woken up wishing that those moss green eyes would be looking at her.

Incredulously, and a bit foolishly, she glanced at Alwyne and asked, "Are you actually here?"

He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. At that moment, the reality of the killings and the Nephilim investigation hit her all at once. She pulled away from the man, "Why are you here?"