Little bird! O little bird!
I wonder at what thou doest,
Thou singing merry far from me,
I in sadness all alone!
Little bird! O little bird!
I wonder at how thou art
Thou high on the tips of branching boughs,
I on the ground a-creeping!
Little bird! O little bird!
Thou art music far away,
Like the tender croon of the mother love
In the kindly sleep of death.
* * *
S
TORMS WERE NOT A rarity in Fells. No one bat an eye as the clouds gathered in the sky above their heads, threatening rain at any moment.
The moment it started to pour, the druids gave blessings to their gardens and prayed for their homes to stay together. Kit watched with reverent awe as they did their rituals. As a people, they were close to the Gods, and centered their lives around them. He assumed they would have to depend on them in their condition.
Morgana and Giselle stuck together, taking a stroll towards the shore to look out over the lake. Kit kept his eye out from the distance, but tried not to invade their privacy. He didn't know whether to respect again Morgana or not, but he knew he respected Giselle.
As much as he loved her, though, he knew she would be the easiest for him to manipulate into letting him go. She wasn't often controlled by her emotions over her logic, but she loved Morgana more than anything, and love was her weakness as much as it was her strength.
Eurion approached him, following his gaze to the two on the shore.
"What did he do?" she asked. "You know, besides betraying us. What did he do to you that his sacrifice isn't enough to try and trust him again?"
He looked down at his feet. It was hard to think about what happened between them, because there were so many feelings that came up and he didn't know how to process them. He hadn't told anyone the full story since it happened, but he knew he could confide in Eurion.
"He kissed me," he said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I liked it, and he knew that I liked it. I thought he did, too, but it was just a trick. He took advantage of my feelings and stabbed me, then he threw me into my room to get killed by my father."
"Yikes," she murmured. "But he took the hit for you. Do you think that was the plan? Get Wylan to try and kill you, then jump in and take it so he would die?"
Kit shrugged. "It sounds like something he would do, he's awful clever like that. It's just... whatever his motive was, he still took advantage of me. He made me think for a minute that..."
He swallowed.
"He played with your feelings," Eurion said. "I can't say I haven't done the same before, but it's never been to that level. I'm sorry he did that, Kit. I can see why that made you hesitant."
"Thank you."
It was a strange thing, the two that struggled the most with emotions helping each other through their feelings. Selene was judgy and blunt and saw every act of sympathy as taking pity, so she wasn't the one to go to. Giselle was good with her emotions, but that made it hard for her to understand when others weren't. Eurion got it, though. She knew what it was like, to be so afraid of opening up.
"It's raining a lot," she pointed out, adjusting the hood of her cloak further over her face. Kit didn't have anything to keep himself from getting soaked, and now his hair was dripping and his white tunic was starting to cling to his chest.
"Yeah. It's kind of cold, too, don't you think? I only remember warm rains here."
"We've only been here a week," said Eurion. "Maybe cold rain is common."
Kit didn't think much of it and left it at that, turning his head back to Giselle and Morgana. They were still standing there, and while Morgana's hair was damp with the rain, Giselle's repelled the water.
"I wish I knew more about them," Eurion thought aloud. "Their story is interesting, I'm sure. I wonder what makes her trust him so much."
They seemed so different. Giselle was a dreamy, careful, diplomatic princess. Her countenance was bright, and her beauty enchanted everyone who saw her. Morgana was angry. His morals were unclear, even to himself, and despite his rigidness and cold logic, there was a chaos to him. Giselle was everything he was not.
But they worked. They worked so well, and they brought out the better in each other. There had to be something significant to give them a bond like that.
"Kit."
Kit turned his head, breaking away from his thoughtful trance to rest his eyes on Eurion. "Sorry. I was just... you got me thinking."
"Do you think she'll free him?" she asked.
"I have no idea."
After awhile, the faeries made their way back from the beach, likely seeking shelter from the rain.
"You should talk to him," Eurion crowed, nudging his arm.
"What, right now?"
"Now or never, Kit," she said. "You need your answer, I can tell it's driving you crazy."
He gulped, glancing back at Morgana and Giselle, who were getting ever closer.
"Fine. Okay."
Eurion gave him an encouraging shove, mouthing a 'good luck' to him, before he stepped in front of them. It took him a moment to build up the confidence.
"I need to talk to Morgana," he said to Giselle. "Alone."
To his surprise, Morgana didn't protest. Giselle gave him a wary look, but he did his best to look reassuring.
"Don't be an ass," she warned.
"I'll try not to be," he told her, and followed her with his eyes as she walked away.
Morgana sounded bothered. "What do you want?"
This was where Kit froze. How the hell was he supposed to ask this? He was bad at words, to the surprise of no one, and he hated it like nothing else.
"I just need... to know something. It's not that important, but it's driving me crazy, and--"
"Is this about the kiss?"
Kit opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, he heard an unmistakable call in the distance, one that rattled his bones with dread. Without a word, he took Morgana's arm and pulled him behind the nearest building, holding the faery to his chest and clamping a hand to his mouth.
Morgana bit his palm and squirmed against his hold.
"Stop," he hissed. "Stop. They're Connor's knights, they're looking for us."
Morgana pulled his head from Kit's hold, freeing his mouth. "Is that supposed to scare me?"
"You killed Wylan, they'll probably execute you the moment they find you," he whispered. "Not that it would work, you're like a cockroach. You can't seem to die."
"Glad to know I remind you of an insect."
A loud voice bellowed through the village, closer now. They were there.
"Shut up," he whispered.
"Do you really think they won't find us here?"
His eyes scanned the terrain in a panic. "You're right. We need a better place to hide."
All that stretched out before them was a field of grass and the low cliffs that led to the lake. There would've been mediocre places to hide behind the rocks, but they needed to stay completely out of sight.
"The water," Morgana said.
Kit's heart stopped. He didn't like the idea, but it was the only one they had. "How long can you hold your breath?"
"About five minutes," Morgana answered. "You?"
"Six."
"Bullshit."
"I had to learn how when I was training to be a Knight of the Round Table. They make us learn weird things."
The voices were getting closer.
"Enough talk, we need to go," Morgana said in a low voice.
Kit pulled him up to the ground. They ducked and raced across the grass towards the rocks, staying out of sight. Kit climbed down first, gripping Morgana's waist to help him to the ground after him. He was too busy running for his life to think about where his hands just were.
They ran further down the shore, far enough to be out of earshot when they slipped into the water. They found a place that dropped down right away to avoid any splashing that would alert the knights.
Kit sat down on the sand, looking back at the village for a moment before he took a deep breath and slipped under the water. Morgana was right behind him.
The two of them gripped the rock and plants and whatever they could to keep them anchored under the water. Kit had every confidence that the knights would stay longer than either of them could hold their breath, but it was their only chance.
Morgana was already looking at him when Kit turned his head his way. To his surprise, it wasn't blurry when he opened his eyes. He could see clearly under the water.
Looking at Morgana was the perfect distraction. He let his eyes wander over his face, pale and perfect and beautiful. He looked a lot like Selene, intense blue eyes and skin that looks as though it's never seen the sun. His cheekbones were sharp and his jaw could cut flesh if he wanted it to.
He didn't feel the way Selene did, though. Selene looked sharp and fiery despite her wintry complexion, with arched brows and a permanent scowl. Morgana's brows were soft and his top lip was thinner than the bottom, giving him a permanent pout. His face didn't look angry. It looked thoughtful, perhaps a bit wounded.
The best part was his hair, the color of the night contrasting with the pale white streaks. It flowed around him in the water, slowly curving in different directions and taking Kit's breath away. He was so beautiful. It just made it hurt worse to hate him when he looked so perfect.
His lungs started to ache sooner than he expected them to. Morgana looked like he was in pain, and color filled his face. Kit didn't think it possible, but he didn't like that it was there.
He used his free hand to grab Morgana's arm, giving him a reassuring look. They lasted another minute, but even he was starting to lose it. Morgana's injury seemed to make it harder, because he was shaking. If they weren't already underwater, he'd be tearing up by now.
The faery was kicking his legs now, a look of desperation and panic on his face. He gripped Kit's hand, squeezing hard enough that it hurt.
Kit tried to hide his own panic when he looked at Morgana, trying to encourage him with his eyes. If they could just stay under for a minute longer...
Morgana let go of the wall, kicking upwards towards the surface and pulling Kit with him.
They rose above the water without a splash, but their heavy breaths were loud, and Kit tried to keep them under control.
He looked at the village. He couldn't see anything from where they were, but he could hear the commotion carrying on. He knew he should've been out there fighting, but he couldn't leave Morgana or risk starting a battle in the village.
"They're still here, we need to go back under."
"Listen," Morgana panted. "I have an idea. It's a little weird, but it could work."
"Well hurry and tell me."
"The Sídhe were born of the Earth. We breathe like plants, because to some degree, we're tied together," he explained.
Science wasn't a common practice in Avalon, so he had no idea what Morgana meant by plants and how they breathe.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I breathe out what you breathe in, and vice versa. It'll get stale after awhile, but it could work."
Kit's face warmed when he realized what that would mean, but he didn't have time to be bashful. Someone was coming.
"Okay, fine, let's go."
They took a deep breath together and plunged back down into the water, anchoring themselves to roots and rocks.
Kit looked at Morgana, and Morgana looked at him. His heart was racing, but he didn't have time to waste.
He grabbed Morgana by the back of the next and pulled him close.
Their lips meshed together in a rush of euphoria. He forced himself to remember that this wasn't a kiss, and he couldn't treat it like one. He tried not to groan when Morgana used his tongue to pry open Kit's mouth, until they could properly breathe into each other.
They balanced their breaths in a steady rhythm, and to his wonder, it worked.
Morgana's oxygen was invigorating. He felt like he was breathing fresh air, and he supposed he was. He slid his hand from Morgana's neck to the small of his back, pulling him closer until they were pressed together.
It was a bad idea to enjoy it this much. This was meant to keep them alive. And he still didn't trust Morgana, he knew full well they would be fighting again after all of this was over, and making this into something it wasn't would only add to the tension.
Sooner than he thought, he could feel the air between them growing stale, and it was getting hard to keep breathing. It would get them through for a little while longer, but not by much.
Morgana seemed to be thinking the same thing based on the way his hands on either side of Kit's face curled up, nails scratching his skin in the process. He hardly felt it, but he knew what it meant.
When breathing felt like a chore, he knew they were spent. This couldn't last much longer, and he could sense a panic coming on.
Just a little longer.
He didn't know how he would tell if the raid was over, but he knew they would have to come up for air either way.
Morgana's nails dug into his skin, leaving crescent-shaped cuts on his jaw. It stung, but it was nothing against the pain in his lungs. He was getting dizzy now.
Just a little longer.
He was shaking. The world was starting to fade away when he heard a familiar voice, muffled by the water in his ears.
He pulled away from Morgana, grabbing his wrist and shooting up to the surface. They broke through the water, catching the attention of a very anxious Selene.
"Did they leave?" he asked before she could say anything.
She looked at them in disbelief. "Yeah, they're gone. And I'll ask you how the hell you two managed to hide underwater later."
Kit pushed himself up onto the shore, helping Morgana do the same. He tipped his head back and let out a breath of relief.
That was a close one.