Gates to Glory: Epic Fantasy Adventure Tale (Ashurran #1)

4.04. Faelivrin's Death

When Indra met Faelivrin under the green canopy of trees, on the green silky carpet of grass, he forgot his intentions of being a perfect gentleman again. He seized his longed-for prey into his strong arms and drew him on the bed of flowers, kissing him fervently, talking to him of his love and not letting him utter a single word. Faelivrin was confused and shocked into speechlessness; he couldn't break free, nor cry for help, nor say anything to repulse the attack. He just froze and didn't fight back when Indra covered him with his hot body and took off his clothes. He was overwhelmed with his feelings for this young man, unable to hurt or refuse him. So Faelivrin resigned to his fate, hiding his face in his hands, and Indra plucked the flower of his innocence, as if plucking a forest violet, without thinking it would wither away and die not long after.

The flesh is weak, and the Elf found an unfamiliar pleasure in this too, for Indra was a skillful and ardent lover. They made love and forgot anything else in the world. For the first time Indra heard the Elf's voice, and his moans and cries of delight were like beautiful music for the young man.

Meanwhile Ashurran felt restless, and her heart was heavy with an evil foreboding. Seeking to cast away her anxiety, she went for a walk in the grove where she knew her beloved was. And found him she had — in Indra's arms, on the green silky carpet of grass, under the canopy of trees. All went dark before her eyes, as if the bright midday sun was in eclipse.

Ashurran drew her knife with a black hilt, and the only reason she didn't strike was that she didn't know whom to strike. Shouldn't she just run the knife through her own heart, in order to stop seeing what she was seeing: how they were lying in each other's arms, and how similar was the color of their eyes, the shape of their eyebrows, and the whiteness of their skin! Ashurran screamed like mad and plunged her knife into a birch, and the birch sap run down like tears from under the blade, but Ashurran's eyes remained dry.

To the lovers, caught in the act, the sight of her was terrible. Indra shielded Faelivrin with his body and said, "It's my fault, and I am the only one that should be punished."

Faelivrin was so ashamed, he couldn't say a word. But Ashurran told him without malice, "Don't be afraid, my silver Elf, my lily of the valley. Put your clothes in order and go home. I won't kill you love and let him go in peace. The fault is mine, and mine alone. I should have forbidden you to meet with him. Had I done so, you would have complied, and nothing would have happened."

When Faelivrin left, Ashurran had been quiet for a long time. Indra couldn't bear her silence. He drew his own knife and offered it hilt first, baring his chest. "If love is a crime, strike me down!" he said, ready to die.

"Wretched fool!" Ashurran cried out, and her voice was full of pain. "It's love by every law of Gods and humans, mortals and immortals, but not that kind of love! You are his flesh and blood. You were conceived in the Great Forest, right after Faelivrin and I exchanged our wedding rings and vows, and then we were separated for a quarter of a century, not knowing if other was dead or alive. Was he good in bed, your own father?"

Terror-stricken, Indra cried out and hid his face in his hands. He trembled as a blade of grass. His mind and soul hurt, as if he was being bitten by several poisonous snakes at once. His crime was too horrible to bear. Desperate, he turned his knife at his own chest, but Ashurran snatched it out of his hand and said ruthlessly, "Live with it, as I am living. Go away and don't come back. By everything that is holy I beseech you, don't you ever seek his company again or, God forbid, ever tell him the truth. Faelivrin is an Elf, he would have died if he knew what a wile sin you had made him commit by sharing your bed. He can live with cheating on me, and with having sex with a human male, and probably with your being my son, but not with the fact that his own son did this to him."