floriography [ stories five ]

elder shrub || three

[ this 👏 plot👏 is 👏 dragging 👏

but it's okay bc i think it's interesting

stay safe!
lew. ]

———————

Simply put, his father was furious.

The king, once he saw his son approach, grabbed Lewis' arm and tugged him off towards the interior of the castle. He knew this wasn't going well already, but he didn't struggle just to make things easier in the long run.

By the time his father stopped pulling him along, they were right outside of Lewis' bedroom. The man pulled his son in for a hug, then kissed his forehead and murmured, "This is for your own good. We never should've let you leave."

The next thing Lewis knew, he was shoved backwards into the room, the door slamming shut and locking from the outside. It was pointless, but he still slammed his fists against the wooden surface.

——

It felt like an eternity had passed before the lock clicked open again, but he didn't have the energy to try and make a run for it. Instead, he just curled further into his petal-soft blankets, fully expecting it to be one of his parents here to lecture him.

The soft cough cleared that up, sending him almost into a frenzy to fight off the blankets and give the girl a hug. Her blonde hair was braided over her shoulder, the skirt of the white dress falling like flower petals down her legs. His best friend, the mastermind behind his necklace.

"Daisy, how'd you get in here?"

"Someone has to bring the prince food and medicine for the ugly sickness he caught from the humans," she told him with a conspiratorial wink as she returned the embrace. "I made that last bit up so they'd let me in. I told them that you came to me yesterday and I just found the solution today. I didn't tell them what was really happening."

"You're brilliant, Z. What did you figure out?" He asked, pulling her down to sit on the bed with him.

"I used the backup charm I made to go talk to that boy you've been hanging around with. He's very good-looking, by the way. Your stories didn't do him justice. He's going to meet you around midnight and help you escape." She grinned at him, gently holding his hand in both of hers.

"But... how am I gonna live outside of here? I can't—"

She shushed him, letting go to dig a little vial of a shimmering substance from the pouches of her belt. "You'll drink this and give him your name. It'll be like bringing someone within the circle permanently. You'll be his, though, so be careful."

"How can I repay you for this?" He asked softly, taking the vial and tucking it safely in his own pocket.

"I'm planning on making an escape sometime too. We'll find each other." She leaned in and kissed his cheek, hugging him tightly again.

——

Z stayed with him up until he left the circle.

She made the excuse of her cure requiring some time out in the moonlight, which the guards had no reason to doubt. She had been nothing but loyal, so they trusted her to watch over the weak boy.

Finally, as the time came, she gave him a gentle push. Across the circle's boundaries, he bumped directly into Logan, who steadied him. "Are you ready?"

Lewis nodded, quickly pulling the vial from his pocket and downing the contents. As pretty as it looked, it didn't translate well in taste. As soon as he was sure he wouldn't vomit, he murmured, "My name is Lewis Ryan Williams. In my world, they called me Sorrel, and I trust you to keep both of those names."

"I promise I will. Can you run?" Logan laced their fingers together, smiling down at the other boy.

"I dunno. Give me a second." He pulled Z's charm from the cord and dropped the bottle on the ground. He didn't feel any different, so he assumed whatever was happening was a good thing. "I'll try. I'm not sure exactly what she gave me to drink."

"That's all I'm asking."

The two of them ran hand in hand towards the edge of the woods. Lewis made it around halfway there before he couldn't run anymore, still exhausted from earlier. And at that point, Logan picked him up and carried him the rest of the way out of the forest.

"We'll have to sneak into my room," Logan told Lewis, gently setting him on his feet. "Wanna try the window or are we gonna have to go through the front door?"

"We can try the window," he decided.

And surprisingly, things went their way again. It was with an almost practiced grace that Logan easily pulled himself up and into his room, and Lewis got pulled in just as effortlessly.

Lewis sat down in Logan's desk chair as the younger boy found both of them clothes to sleep in. Carefully, he took the wreath of flowers from his head and set it on the desk, along with the contents of his pockets: an odd assortment of acorns, buckeyes, rocks, and crystals.

When Logan handed Lewis the pajamas, he picked up one of the rocks, a smooth river-stone with a hole etched in it. Lewis smiled and told him, "That's a seer stone. I was gonna give it to you anyway. You look through the hole, and you can see things you normally couldn't. Like..." he picked up the flower crown.

Logan felt a little bit silly, holding the rock up to his eye, but that was replaced with wonder when he saw the flowers turn into an actual crown, small jewels laid out in floral patterns. "That's amazing," he breathed.

"Faerie glamour is something else." He stood up and clutched the clothes to his chest. "Is it okay if I change in here? I... just don't wanna leave you."

"I won't look, I promise."

And true to his word, Logan didn't open his eyes until Lewis' hand gently tapped his shoulder. The borrowed clothes draped over his twig-like frame, but he looked happier already. "Lean down here, you giant," he requested.

Logan did, ducking his head and expecting Lewis to just whisper something in his ear. But the faerie boy took him by surprise, pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek. "Thank you. You're amazing."

————

[ this is rlly dumb and hella optional for this so i'm not even capitalizing stuff lmao ]

logan didn't expect to be woken up by harry's mom. he'd been living with the brooks family for months now, and nothing like this had ever happened. but there she was.

the first thing she said? "who's the boy and when did you sneak him in?"

it took him a few moments to register exactly what situation he found himself in, but soon enough, it was lewis resting his head on logan's chest, legs tangled together just because that's what the smaller guy found comfortable.

"he ran away from his family last night," he replied groggily, wiping sleep from his eyes.

"okay... but who is he?"

and out of all the possible answers, logan chose probably the worst one.

"my new boyfriend."

——————
[ yeet thanks for following this au i  l o v e  it.

what's gonna be next??
(flower name and songs, no explanations bc i'm stupid)

- thornless rose // california friends by the regrettes
- yellow acacia // bros by wolf alice
- virginia creeper // summer days by martin garrix
- wolfbane // time to get ill by beastie boys
- creeping cereus // doom days by bastille