We returned to a village enraptured. Both flutes and voices sang, producing a light, bright music that flooded the entire forest with an intoxicating joy. All around elves swarmed, each, man, and woman alike, bearing a crown of pink flowers on their heads. Tova and I gathered with her family while Signi's mother painted her face with the new red clay we'd made with the deer's fresh blood. Red stripes were made across her brow, down the center of her nose and lips. The women stood back when they finished, gushing over Signi's apparent beauty. In her heavy furs and painted with fresh blood, I thought she looked closer to a witch than to a bride.
The music changed in tempo. The flutes faded into nonexistence and were replaced with drumbeats that sounded remarkably goblin.
"It's time," Tova said, sounding breathless. All the elves' eyes turned towards the bonfire the men had built at the center of the village. Their gaze had a faraway look to them, instinct taking them over in a way that reminded me of the fights in The Hollow's arena when the goblin crowd lost all humanness amid the blood baths below.
Signi strode ahead, moving slowly, weighed down by the bulk of her many furs. She took her place at the head of the line, while the other members of her family trailed behind. I waited until they were many steps ahead before following and joined the rest of the onlookers as soon as possible. Tova would have never shooed me away, but I knew it wasn't my place to walk with the family. I looked around, scanning the crowd for Knut, but couldn't find him. The elves were packed together like the overlapping branches beneath our feet. I sighed to myself, growing more impatient by the second. We'd sent the finished flower crowns ahead of our return and I couldn't wait to see Knut's ugly face ringed in pink flowers. I already wanted to burst into laughter at the very thought of that ridiculous image.
Signi stood before everyone on a stool behind the fire, the stool tall enough to allow her to look over it like a queen from her throne. The fire lit her pretty face, forming shadows along her youthful features that made her look older, almost ancient. The drums quieted to a soft pounding in the background as elf men made their way towards the flames, dragging behind them fresh kills that left streaks of blood across the ground in their wake. They presented Signi with the animal carcasses as if they were gifts of great value, chests of gold or precious jewels. Signi's head turned, her gaze sliding from one to the other. She never looked at the men's faces. Her focus was solely on their kill. You could practically see the gears of her mind turning, picking out ones that were of worth and dismissing those that were not. After a moment, she slipped from the stool and made her way around the flames, taking closer looks at the men's gifts. She went straight past a young man who'd presented a large stag. The man stared at her in surprise as she walked by but lowered his head and didn't argue. She stopped at the body of a young doe. She cocked her head, studying it carefully, but then lost interest the moment she seemed to notice the faint spots on the doe's body. She was young, not yet fully grown. Around she went until she stopped at one man's gift. It was the smallest kill of any of them. Only a pair of gray furred rabbits. She knelt and picked them both up by their feet, holding them up for all to see. It was then I realized what it was she wanted us to see. The rabbits had both been killed by an arrow that had passed through their eyes. A shot that would have required remarkable marksmanship to make on the quick-footed prey. It would have been difficult to make on just one rabbit, but he'd done it twice.
The music picked back up as Signi grinned at the hunter. Her mouth moved as she said something to him. His mouth curved. Signi's mother took the rabbits from her, and her small hands began to peel away her thick coats of fur, revealing a plain dress beneath, made of the softest, whitest rabbit fur. The simple dress came only to her knees and left her arms bare. A man, who I believed was her father possibly, stepped from the crowd and helped her place the fur coat around the hunter's shoulders. The man grinned with pride, with each layer, his eyes scrunching in the corners. He seemed much older than Signi, possibly even the same age as her father. The branches that wove through his hair were long and bore many green leaves like that of a mature tree and most of the older elves. Now that I looked at all the candidates more carefully, I realized that they were all older. None had the small, thin twigs of the adolescents as if the younger men were not even considered.
Signi and her chosen suitor turned to face the crowd and entwined their arms and fingers. Tova and Stellan came to stand on either side of them, Stellan with the man and Tova with Signi. First, Tova placed a crown of the pink flowers on Signi's head, signifying her transformation from child to woman, I guessed. Then Stellan held up a long, thin strip of deer hide that had been dipped in blood to turn it red and wound it around their wrists, binding them together.
I touched my fingers to my lips in an effort to hide the smile breaking across it. As badly as Knut thought of the elves, he'd stolen the idea for his proposal from them. I scratched at my naked wrist, remembering the feel of it digging into my skin.
No sooner had Signi's choice been made than the crowd erupted in ecstatic cheering. The elves bounced on their feet, shaking the entire canopy of The Hollow with their happiness for the future couple.
The feasting and drinking began. I was invited to sit with Tova and her other sisters, while Stellan and most of the other men helped to serve the food. "Drink! Drink!" Tova encouraged, refilling my wooden cup before I'd even downed a mouthful.
"Faerie wine is...strong for me." I protested weakly. My fingers shook against my mental restraints. Getting drunk on faerie wine now, surrounded by equally drunk elves and Knut still nowhere in sight, was decidedly a bad idea.
"All the more reason to drink." Tova's eldest sister chuckled, her cheeks flushed a bronze color. "Where is your man, goblin queen?" She asked, swaying as she looked around the village.
"I haven't a clue. I haven't seen the ugly bastard since you separated us." I gulped down a large mouthful of wine. My blood immediately began to hum. "Tova, if he's wandered off and gotten himself lost, I'm blaming you for it."
"Duly noted." Tova laughed, emptying her third cup already and filling it back up before she'd even finished swallowing. Elves certainly loved their drink. "I'm sure he's around here someplace. Sulking, no doubt, over that monstrosity of flowers you and Dara made for him." Her head turned towards where Signi and her now fiancé were sitting. "Gunni, huh? Who'd have thought? I think it's a good match. Don't you?" Her sisters all chimed their agreement. "I'm so happy for them both and proud of Signi. She's chosen well." Her words sounded kind and just as hopeful as the words suggested, but the longing look in her eyes told me something different.
"You really think so?" I asked. "Do you know him very well?"
The women all chuckled among themselves at some joke I wasn't in on. "I would say so. He's family." I almost choked on my venison. "He's my brother-in-law. He's of no relation to her, so it's fine. Families often swap more than a few of their children in marriages. It's just the way it works out."
"When Tova had her Binding, both Stellan and Gunni tried for her hand. They were so handsome back then. Their branches were just sprouting all their adult leaves." Her younger sister sighed and fanned herself, her whole face darkening in color. I didn't think it was entirely due to the wine.
His hair was neatly braided along his temples and tied back at his nape, giving him more a roguish look than most of the other men, who wore their hair either loose or in one simple braid. I liked the crinkling around his eyes when he smiled and the easiness of that smile. His jaw was broad for an elf's and his arms bore several scars who's darker hue stood out starkly against his tanned skin. He looked strong, fearsome. Like a soldier. I supposed Gunni was handsome by their standards. However, I admittedly was not a good judge of male beauty.
"Gunni was still a bit too much on the green side to be considered for pairing, but he was determined to give Stellan a proper challenge." Tova's older sister continued the tale. She was swaying so that wine sloshed out of her cup and bathed her meat and greens in a downpour. "Stellan's father decided to humor him and let him try."
"Of course, he lost," Tova said, pouring more wine into her sister's cup before she could notice that she'd emptied most of it into her plate. "They both brought me magnificent does, both plump from the summer. However, Stellan's kill had been cleaner. A shot straight through the heart. Gunni's had been struck in the belly. She bled a lot. Struggled. Suffered. It was an easy choice in the end." She brought her cup to her lips but didn't sip. Her wine painted lips curved. "His aim has certainly improved. He's become more patient." She sipped and sighed, tilting her head back so that the starlight coming through the canopy bathed her face in silver patches. "Gunni's a good man. He wasn't ready then, but he just needed time to grow. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that he will be a good husband. He will make Signi happy."
"Do you ever wonder what it would be like if Gunni had brought the better kill that night?" I asked.
"Sometimes." She answered without a missed beat. "Honestly, I always thought Gunni was the more handsome of the two but looks are not what we judge. Looks are not important. The person, his courage, his strength, his skill and... compassion are, and a hunter's kills can tell you more than just looking at him ever could. Gunni's skill needed improving, but it was his lack of empathy that made me choose Stellan. He let his prey suffer and that I could not overlook." Her gaze drifted to where Dara played with the horde of other young children. "The Hollow had other plans for me, and I am grateful for its guidance. I am happy in my life." Even as she said it, I knew it was a lie.
The elves were nothing if not loyal. Knut had told me this before, but the more time I spent with them and the more I learned, the more I realized how true that statement was. They do as they are told, live the way they've been taught by their parents, fight battles on behalf of allies without a pause. Even when things go wrong, even when their hearts told them something different, they accepted whatever came their way as fate, as the will of their god. Meanwhile, all I did was question. Why did Knut choose me? Why does he have to die? Why had The Hollow saved me time and time again? Why was Jasper still breathing? Why? Why? Why?
Where was the elves' loyalty when it had mattered?
We drank and feasted, trading stories well into the night. My vision became tinged with pretty colors. I could feel my blood pulsating through me, hot as liquid fire. At the end of the feast, the music changed again, turning into a mixture of the high-spirited tune that had played throughout the night and the steady beats of the drums that had accompanied the ritual.
The elves left their food and wine, immediately drawn towards the bonfire. Stellan and Tova joined hands and Tova linked her fingers through that of her niece. They began an endless chain. One elf joined with another as they pulled each other towards the fire. Twirling round and around the flames, arm in arm, hand in hand, they danced wildly, their nimble feet barely touching the limbs beneath them as the canopy filled with their jubilation.
"You too, goblin queen!" Tova laughed, snatching my wrist as they made another pass. I helplessly became a part of the dancing circle. My steps were clumsy and uncertain. At first, I was mortified. My whole head was flaming with shame, but soon I was laughing at my own self and dare I say, enjoying myself. I blame the wine.
Around and around, we went, spinning until the forest was a blur of shadows and green and starlight. Hearty laughter drew my eye to a pair of shapes looming in the shadow of a hut. Releasing, the elves' hands that held me in line, I broke away, launching myself towards them.
Knut leaned against Llinos, clinging to him like a crutch as he shook with laughter. Llinos stood quietly with his arms crossed over his chest, smirking at me. A crown of flowers sat uselessly on his head, held on with only the aid of a pointy ear. It looked absolutely miserable as if it knew its magic was of no use on him.
"Have you joined the natives?" Knut choked through whoops of laughter. He looked me up and down, his gaze lingering where the form fitting suit of leaves accentuated my curves especially well. "I have to admit though, the costume works for you. Do you have to return it or can we keep it?" Knut was still wearing the white undershirt and breeches of his green suit, but his coat had been discarded. A crown made almost entirely of pink flowers sat on his head.
"Oh my god, you look ridiculous!" I held my sides as I laughed.
"Yes, I hear I have you to thank for this abomination." He said, fidgeting with it.
"I couldn't resist," I said, swatting his hands away from the crown. "Leave it on. It's doing something for me."
"Oh, really?"
"I'll make it up to you later."
"In that outfit, hopefully." He snickered.
I grabbed his hands and tugged him towards the bonfire. "Come join the dance!" I pleaded. "It's actually fun!"
"Oh, no." He protested, dragging his feet. "A goblin king does not dance with elves. I'd be the laughing stalk of my entire bloodline."
"When in Rome, do as the Romans do, Darling." I cooed coyly, batting my lashes at him. "I've been looking for you all evening. Don't spoil my fun."
He grinned crookedly. "Darling? Is that a pet name? For me? How much wine did Tova let you drink?" He budged an inch.
"More than she should have," I admitted. I curled myself into him, practically purring. Drunk on faerie wine, I was hyper aware of his masculinity, the bobbing of his throat when I pressed myself to him, the largeness of his hands against my waist and back, the ends of his gray hair brushing along his jaw, and most certainly the delicious way the golden light of the flames danced across his features, bringing out the more silver tones in his hair and setting his eyes ablaze. He was...beautiful. "Dance with me," I begged breathily. My feet were itching, wanting desperately to return to the fray of motion. "Dance with your wife, that's all I ask."
He smeared his mouth against mine, the kiss sloppy and oh so very eager. "Very well." He relented, breaking the kiss. He grinned at the little noise of displeasure that slipped from my mouth at the absence of his lips and tongue. Clasping one of my hands in his own, he guided me towards the fire. "If you want to dance, then let us show them one of our own." He spun me so that we were pressed chest to chest. His hand was on the small of my back, the other laced its fingers with mine and we began a mad spin, going round and round the flames and the endless chain of elves, creating a nonsensical pattern of circles around them. The dance was a conjoining of the heated grinding we'd done the night of the coronation feast and the whirling waltz he'd led me through at our 'wedding'. Chaos and order melding.
"So, where were you all afternoon?" I asked, gritting my teeth, trying not to focus too much on the fingers dancing against my lower spine. The suit of leaves was so light and thin, I could feel him just as clearly as if I were naked.
"Designing your elven cradle. What else?" He cooed, puffing air against my ear.
"Mmm hmm, and what else?" Our spinning picked up speed until the world around us blurred into a blob of light and shadow.
He leaned in. Our noses brushed one another's. "Do you think I was up to no good?"
"You rarely are," I said. "Darling..." I drew out the sound of the word with a breath. I felt him shiver at that. Shiver. "Rat." I added, grinning as he choked on a laugh.
"If that is what you wish to call me, I won't protest." His eyes twinkled with impish glee. "I like the way it sounds coming from your wicked mouth." He spoke so lowly... Fingers picked at the collar of his shirt. I was wearing barely anything at all and yet there was still too much fabric between us. Damn the faeries and their delicious wine.
"Come with me." He grabbed my hand and led me into the tree line, following the path Tova and I had taken on our hunt to the pool of water where she'd made her kill. There wasn't a pause or a hitch in his step. No uncertainty. As if he'd traveled that path with me, followed me step for step. "You were spying on me, weren't you?" I sighed, hardly surprised.
"Of course, I was spying. We are technically behind enemy lines. Why'd you think I brought Llinos along? His body is very good at moving through these limbs quietly. But I didn't spy just on you. I've heard a lot of interesting things amid the village gossip, but I'll tell you about them later. For now, I just want to get you alone." There was still blood staining the ground where the doe had laid, but I barely had time to brood upon it before Knut had me pressed against one of The Hollow's many limbs. "Matilda." He gasped between breathless kisses. "You are...remarkable. Do you know that?"
His hand slid down my side and skimmed along my thigh. I gasped at the sudden rush of cool air as the leaves that made up my suit fluttered to the ground at our feet. He lifted one of my legs, hitching it over his hip to slot himself between my legs. "Go on." I sighed, slipping my fingers through his hair, being careful not to dislodge his flower crown. Every time I looked at it, I smiled a little bigger.
He pulled away just enough to look at me directly but remained so close that a tip of my head would send us hurling back into that abyss of delicious need. His gaze on me turned soft beneath heavy eyelids. "Every time you discover something new about our world, you get this look on your face...so delighted and curious and full of want. It's the most beautiful sight. The best part is that I was the one to open your eyes to it." He kissed me again, dragging a moan from my chest. "And Hollow save me, I'll give it all to you. You've ruined me. Absolutely ruined me." His nails dragged against the bark above my head, leaving deep gouges behind them. "You are beautiful, Matilda. Your wicked smile, your devilish eyes, the sound of joy in your voice when we plot together. I love it all." We looked at each other, for a moment the fog of lust lifting. I let my hands rest on either of his shoulders and the two of us ceased to move, choosing for just a breath to look into each other's flushed faces. I knew I was beautiful. I'd known it all my life, had been trained to use it to swindle and kill. I believe he'd told me such pretty words before, but never like this. He used words that made it sound teasing, like a joke, but I heard far more meaning beneath the laughter. This was a confession of the most ground shaking kind. Even more so than when he told me he loved me. He thought I was beautiful, me, not just my outward shell, but the blackened insides too. He loved the worst parts of me most of all. His laughter faded as he repeated, softer now. "You are the most beautiful woman alive. To think I almost lost you."
My heart fluttered at his words. I looked at him, truly looked, appreciating every small detail that made up the whole of him. My gaze traveled up from his feet up along his long legs and the thin body still clad in plain traveling clothes and over the slopes and hollows of his strange face. A face that had become familiar and somehow...attractive in ways. I supposed he was beautiful to me, though I am admittedly not the best judge of male beauty. His was the face I found myself always searching for. To think I almost died and left him behind.
Without tearing our eyes from each other's, neither of us speaking or touching, I carefully rid him of his clothes letting them fall to the forest floor until he was as bare as I was. I took another moment to soak him in and pressed a kiss on his chest over his heart. His claws slipped through my hair, and I felt his heart beat harder against my lips.
My hands slipped down his arms to clasp his own. Wordlessly, I guided him towards the pool. We submerged ourselves in the cool water. Our hands moved across each other's skin, washing away the grime of the day between small chaste kisses.
The faerie wine had my blood on fire and that familiar ache had settled within me. I wanted him desperately, but I wanted to spoil him for a change and let him bask in my affection. Craning my neck, I kissed a trail along the side of his jaw, pressing my body back against his while he washed my hair. "I'm glad I pulled the thread." I whispered to him as if to hide this confession from the animals of the forest. "I'm glad I get to be your wife. I'm looking forward to letting you put a baby in me after we've murdered Mab." I grinned against his pulse.
He stilled at that, pulling away a bit as he stared with disbelief shining in his eyes. Water dripped from his eyelashes. I smiled again at his figure topped off by that wreath of pink flowers sitting on his head. A silent laugh made his chest and shoulders tremble. "Careful of the things you promise a goblin king, Love." He snatched me up by the waist, hauling me almost completely out of the water. The two of us laughed in delight as we played in the water, eventually finding our way to the shore at the pond's edge.
"You know, I was so busy spying, I didn't have a bite to eat at the feast." He said, hovering over me while his fingers drew patterns in the sensitive flesh of my inner thigh. A spot that made my breathing turn to ragged pants. "I'm absolutely starving." Judging by his tone and where he was looking, I knew what he was the hungriest for. He kissed his way down the center of my body, lavishing attention on my breasts before making his way between them and past my belly button to settle between my thighs.
My hands shot to his head, gripping the flower crown as my spine bent with pleasure. My thighs pressed so hard against his ears I feared I was suffocating him. He had only teased at this before and though it felt very strange at first, I was quickly discovering one of the hidden benefits of having a goblin husband. I found release quickly, screaming his name for every forest animal and elf to hear for miles.
He sat back on his heels still licking his lips with his long tongue. "Better than any faerie fruit I've ever tasted."
"Where did you learn that?" I asked through heavy breaths as my soul reentered my body.
"I confess I've been fighting the desire to eat you since your first visit." He said, moving back over my body, his body trembling with soft laughter.
"Was it Ib?" I asked knowingly.
"We may or may not have had a very awkward conversation the night before the coronation. I admit I had no experience beforehand. I needed a lot of advice." He laughed. "He said you'd like that. I've just been too nervous to try it until now."
I owed Ib big time.
I captured his lips again, swallowing those laughs. "You spoil me too much." I sighed against his mouth. With a wicked grin of my own I pressed my hands against his chest, moving him until he was the one with his back in the dirt and I was stretched out over him. I captured his wrists from my hips and held them down at his sides. "Stay still for me." I commanded.
Knut, bless him, did as I told him, though his claws dug deep into the earth and his expression turned tortured as I lavished him with attention. I began with his hands, pressing kisses to his knuckles and palms then to his shoulders, chest and down his belly before traveling elsewhere. He squirmed beneath me as I pleasured him, groaning and gasping, growling my name through his teeth.
"Matilda, please." He gasped after a few minutes, tugging at my hair to get me to stop. He'd said I had ruined him, and, in that moment, he very much looked the part.
"Are you not enjoying getting spoiled?" I asked playfully with the taste of him still heavy on my tongue, sitting up and swinging my leg over his hip so that I straddled him over his lap.
"Faerie wine is more dangerous for you than I thought." He panted.
"None of this has anything to do with wine." I said, sinking down on him. We both groaned as I settled in his lap. "I always want you like this." Before I'd even begun to move, he sat up and wrapped his arms around me, holding me as if I were something immeasurably precious to him, as if I were something worthy of such gentle love.
We made love by the edge, clinging to one another tightly as the cool water lapped against our legs. Words of love and devotion poured from his mouth and for the first time, I felt an answer form upon my tongue, words begging to be spoken. In the end, however, I didn't dare.
The next morning, I was the first to wake up for a change. My back was sore from sleeping on the uneven ground. Knut was stirred a moment later by my helpless giggling. He'd been sleeping so soundly surrounded by pink petals. Like a princess in a fairytale. Once he realized what was so funny, he joined in, and we laughed until both our throats were sore. "We do have fun together, don't we, Mouse?" He said, reaching up with his fingers and brushing my cheek.
"We do," I replied softly and the two of us made love once again.
We bathed together in the pool. Since the crown was pretty much ruined by that point, Knut threw it away, muttering under his breath. "Stupid elves. The flowers are a faerie tradition. Their culture is melding with theirs and they don't even realize it."
I watched him stomp about out of the corner of my eye, my cheeks warm as memories of the night before came flooding back.
He conjured back my green dress for me and slipped on his own suit. Afterward, we sat at the pool's edge, dipping our toes in the cool water. We were quiet a long while before he finally spoke again. "Are you okay?" He asked. "You're being quiet." In answer, I leaned over and kissed him softly. "When the serpent swallowed you....in those few moments that I thought you were dead...I felt as if my entire existence was over." He breathed against my lips. "I thought that there was no more purpose for me." He looked directly into my eyes as he spoke, sounding almost breathless at the memory. His hands clawed at the entwined limbs beneath us. "Hollow help me... If something happens to you...if you die for real...I'm not going to remarry."
"Stop being so dramatic." I scoffed, brushing it off as him trying to be romantic. "No matter how you feel, you're king. You can't just let the goblin race disappear over me. You have my permission to remarry if that'll make you feel better." Outside, I was laughing. Inside, I was screaming. He'd put thought into this, gone through scenarios in his mind. Preparing himself for what may prove inevitable.
He looked at me seriously. "There wouldn't be any point to it. The Hollow kept you alive to fulfill your purpose. Your purpose is my own. We're bound to one another, and the binds dig in more deeply than you or I can even fathom." He got to his feet and pulled me up with him. "The Hollow has big plans for you and me."