Never trust a fae.
Never give them your name.
Never fall for their tricks.
Three simple rules that Enid should have followed, three simple rules that she forgot.
In the remote Welsh mountain village of Aethelney, Faeries are real. But unlike trad...
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He carried her body back through the forest.
Lifeless as she was, he thought that she deserved to see her family one last time, to allow them to carry out the funeral rituals and lay her to rest. It was the least they could do.
Each step closer to the village was harder than the last, not out of physical exertion - she wasn't heavy enough for that, but out of the emotional distress, he was currently going through.
When she was born he could never have imagined that this would be her end.
Enid ran as fast as she could deeper into the forest. The branches and rocks scattered on the forest floor blurred together as one, warm tears rolling down her cheeks.
The twigs hurt her feet and the leaves tangled in her long red waves, but she kept running.
Suddenly, she collided into something hard.
Her tears stopped as she looked up at what she had run into. From behind the tears she could just make out the outline of wings. It was a Fae.
As her vision cleared she recognised the silver hair that shimmered brightly in the moonlight.
Aneurin.
Surprisingly, there was no trace of anger on his youthful face, only pity.
Enid let out a single sob and hugged him, and to her surprise, he let her.
Aneurin made no attempts at asking Enid why she was crying, stroking her hair and softly hushing her. All fear she had once felt for the Fae ebbed away as she clung to his tunic, there was no room for it any more.
Enid's sense of time fell away as she held onto the Fae.
Eventually, her breathing returned to normal and her tears dried up. She pulled away from Aneurin, giving him a watery smile of thanks.
Averting her eyes to the ground, she picked up a twig, breaking it up into small pieces and discarding them back onto the forest floor.
"Little one?"Aneurin said at last, his voice like velvet; smooth and beautiful. "-Your family will be worried. You must return to them now"
Enid could not have defied him even if she had wanted to. She suspected that he could make statues move if he so wished it.
Timidly, she reached up and took his awaiting hand. It was much bigger than hers, enveloping it in warmth.
He walked with her until they were within sight of her cottage. That was when he let go of her hand and gestured for her to keep moving.
He followed her disappearing form intently as she darted back into the thatched cottage, light flooding out of the doorway as she quietly slipped inside.
Rose was buried the next day. The entire village had attended her funeral.
From beside her mother, Enid stepped forward and placed a single rose on top of the newly dug grave. Taking her mother's hand, she watched as the rest of the villagers began to set their own flowers down.
