Wilhelm

It started with me waking up late.

Not by a lot. Perhaps an hour. I lay there in bed, still half asleep and wondered what had woken me. But there was nothing except a growing faint sense of unease. Something was wrong, I just couldn’t determine what. I tried to think. Usually by this time I’d mostly convinced the birds to go away, and then-

The birds.

I sat up straight, then slid out of bed and padded over to the window. I realized I was doing my best to make no sound… and I had no idea why. But somehow I couldn’t make myself so much as scuff my foot on purpose.

I leaned over my desk and stared out. The forest was silent. Not just the soft silence of a lazy afternoon, or the quiet after a strong thunderstorm. This silence was oppressive, a blanket that shrouded and muffled. I strained my ears, but I couldn’t hear anything, not even the small insects that normally go about their lives in blissful disregard to the outside world. My throat ached, and I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Something small and blue fluttered and teased at the edge of my vision, and I let out a cry as I focused on it.

Heedless of the danger I scampered onto the desk, the smooth wood hard against my knees. I move carefully over to the window, placing my hands carefully. The ground looked very, very far away, and in other circumstances I would have laughed at myself for thinking that this would have been the easy way out.

I leaned against the wall for balance, then reached down carefully and picked up the tiny form that had somehow made his way to the sill. Sergeant Black lay there in my hands, still as death, and my heart froze for a moment until I felt his heartbeat. But it was so terribly slow, a solemn drumbeat instead of the vibrant hum I remembered so vividly from when I’d trained him years ago.

I threw back my head and screamed. “Ulgafrag!” For once I was grateful - my operatic soprano rang through all the great existence like a bell of- I screamed again and slammed my head into the wall. I did not have time for princess shit right now. Carefully I set Sergeant Black down, then I jumped off and hurried over to where I kept the healing supplies I’d been using on Samuel. I ignored the dull throbbing coming from my head, making myself think. But I didn’t know what was wrong, I didn’t know how to fix him. Desperate, I grabbed some water and a cloth to make a bird sized bed and hoped it would be enough.

I heard Ulgafrag burst into the room behind me, slamming the door against the wall as rushed in. I turned and marched back to the desk, and she stared at me in confusion. “Willhelm?”

I wanted to babble. I wanted to scream again. But I didn’t have time. “The forest is too quiet. Sergeant Black is hurt, for no reason I can tell.” I arrived at the desk and put the water down, then folded the cloth over and over to make a makeshift next. Then I reached over and tenderly picked him up. I held my breath - but no, he was still alive. But his heartbeat was noticeably slower. I shook my head, flinging the tears out of my eyes as I placed him gently in the nest. My hand was trembling as I picked up the water, and I focused on it and told it to be still. Miraculously, it obeyed me.

Ulgafrag’s hand was gentle on my shoulder. “Willhelm. Birds do not live that long. He was a good soldier, but-”

I shook off her hand. I could not - I did not let myself tremble again, this time with rage. But I wanted to. “I know that! I’m not an idiot! But dammit, Ulgafrag! Look out the window! Listen!” I considered for a moment, then made a cup with my hand and poured a small amount into it. I reached down and placed it next to his small, and oh so still head. Once I could hold it still, I turned to glare at her. But I sounded more pleading than angry. “For the sake of the gods, please. Just listen.”

I turned away resolutely. Sergeant Black hadn’t moved. It was an effort to not shake him, but I moved the water closer, moving his beak right into it. My heart leaped as he twitched, and then his eye fluttered and opened.

“Princess”. He sounded so, so quiet, and I ignored the tears streaming down my face as I leaned down toward him. Finally I felt Ulgafrag move forward, shifting so she could stare out the window.

I nudged him again carefully. And I channeled stern. “Soldier. You did it. Your job now is to get better, understand?” I tried to find a better angle for him to drink. “Come on, Sergeant. You need to drink. That’s an order, ok?” Sternness was lost as I struggled to just keep from sobbing. “Dammit Black, drink, damn you, you have to do what I say-”

He gave a slight distressed chirp, a slight twitch, and then turned his head slightly to look at me again. I could see him gather himself, focus all his will and effort. And then he lifted his head.

I mouthed it at first. Then out loud. “No. No, that’s not- you need to get better Sergeant, don’t worry about me-”

He spoke again, his beautiful song so soft, and I subsided. “Sad Princess. Bad bad comes. Go now.” He closed his eyes, and the last word was so soft I wondered if I imagined it. “Honor.” And then he went limp, his head settling into the small pool.

I moved my hand, blinking back tears and shock as I went to check him. I- surely his heart was just slower, any, any second now it would beat again, and then he’d drink and get better and-

“Hrmmgflrgh”. I turned and stared in outraged horror at Ulgafrag. She was… sniffing. Leaning out the window, smelling the forest. I bristled, ready to scream at her for this… blatant disrespect of Sergeant Black. Then she turned to look at me, and my anger turned to ashes in a moment at the look on her face.

I have seen many expressions on Ulgafrag throughout the years. Anger. Boredom. Trepidation. Regret. To my recent shock, sympathy and humor. But this…

I had never, ever, seen her look defeated. If you’d asked me, I would have told you it was impossible. She stared at me, eyes dull, and then shook her head. When she looked up next a hint of the fire that usually shown there had returned.

She hopped down and gripped my shoulder, anything but gentle, and propelled me toward the door. I tried to twist away and go back. “I- no! Ulgafrag! I need to get Sergeant Black!”

“He’s dead.” Her voice was grim as she corralled me and directed me again toward the door. She raised her voice. “Sir Samuel!” It was an ogre bellow, and I could practically feel the tower walls shake and rumble under it. “You must leave now with Willhelm! Get ready!”

I tried to duck under her, and with a snort of disgust she picked me up and held me under one arm. I wiggled and tried to push free, but it was like trying to bend iron. So I resorted to maturely beating my fists against her as I shouted and cursed.

Samuel was staring wide eyed as we came down, and Ulgafrag tossed me into the middle of the room. I scrambled up and circled, trying to make my way back up, and she sighed in disgust, then turned and tossed a bag at Samuel. He looked at it wide-eyed as it bounced off his chest and onto the floor. She growled at him. “Pick it up.”

He goggled at her. “But, my arms-”

She gave him an exasperated look, then caught the back of my shift and lifted me up. “Learn to use them quickly, or die.” The she turned and slapped me.

Well. I say slapped. But really she just put her fist near my fist and flicked a finger at my forehead. It still rocked me back, and I stared at her, stunned and with my head ringing. She knelt down and put both hands on my shoulders.

“Willhelm. I’m sorry about Sergeant Black. But there’s no time. He died doing his duty.” She hesitated, then squeezed softly and stood up. “If you freak out and go back up, you’re just wasting his sacrifice. Pull yourself together, and go.” She pressed the tower keys into my hand, then turned and strode out of the room.

I stood there, weaving back and forth. I looked at the stairs. I desperately wanted to go back up and see him. It couldn’t be true. But… I shook my head, then stumbled, my head pulsing with pain. Bad idea. Samuel watched me, even as he gritted his teeth and tried to get the pack together. I remembered the look on Ulgafrag’s face, and with tears still staining my cheeks I walked over and helped him.

Once we had the basics - a little food and water, and his sword - I closed it up. Samuel protested - he wanted the rest of his gear - but I ignored him and shouldered the pack, then unlocked the final door and headed down into the courtyard. I heard him stumble behind me, swearing under his breath.

Ulgafrag met me in the courtyard, wearing her war gauntlets. It had been years since I’d seen them, the heavy blue metal radiating menace. I thought she kept them locked up in her armory, and since she’d given me the keys… I looked over. She’d ripped the door down with her bare hands.

Samuel came out behind me, collapsing to the ground as he lost his balance. I hesitated, then turned to help him, but he shook his head at me. I turned back to find Ulgafrag standing right next to me, a towering force of merciless destruction ready to be unleashed.

A force that thought that she was going to lose. But she sounded calm. “Take the north gate. Head to the forest, avoid the paths. Keeping walking and don’t stop for anything.” She turned and walked away, heading south. Then she hesitated and turned and looked at me.

We stood there for a moment, both unsure, the echoes of years of lies and distrust binding our tongues. I wanted to say so much, but I was numb and broken, so I just stared. Finally - although in reality, it was only a few seconds - she cleared her throat. “Willhelm.” She paused. “Be good.”

When I didn’t say anything, she nodded and turned away, and it was like that broke the spell. I dropped the bag and ran to her, throwing my arms around her and hugging with all my girly, princessly might. She stopped and waited. I buried my face in her back, wondering if this was the last time I’d feel her strong body, smell her musky scent.

My voice was a muffled whisper. “Thank you.” Then I turned and ran. It wasn’t enough. It could never have been enough. But it was all I had. I grabbed the bag, then Samuel yelped as I took his hand and we took off into the forest, leaving her abandoned and alone.

And as I ran, on the edge of awareness, I thought I heard a mocking, lilting laughter.

* * *

I had hope for the first hour. We were slow, but we made progress through the wood, sticking to the deep areas and avoiding the easy ways. The soft morning sunlight slowly transitioned to something harder and hotter, edging toward a true midday heat. The underbrush was tough, and clad only in a shift I was soon scratched and sore. I wondered at Ulgafrag’s instructions - surely it would be quicker to take any of the animal paths we crossed? - but then I remembered that look on her face, and I persevered.

And yet.

We reached a point where the oppressive silence lessened, but could not escape it. I saw small animals trembling and hiding, from birds to foxes to badgers and snakes. It created an odd, unnatural peace, predators and prey joined together in some primal fear that transcended the regular order. Once, it struck me that I could ask them for help. And then I remembered my poor blue jay’s horrifically still body, and I stayed silent.

Only the larger animals seemed capable of movement, and they were united in another way - flight. I caught sight of wolves and elk, and once a bear crashed through not more than twenty paces away. We froze, but it had only one goal in mind, and we were irrelevant.

And my body was flagging. I had never been strong, and then I’d given up and stopped trying to change entirely. I wasn’t up to even this pace. At some point when I tripped one too many times, Samuel forced me to stop and tie the bag so he could hang it around his neck. I protested weakly, but he insisted, and I was grateful and ashamed when I capitulated. Later I realized that at some point he had wrapped my hands around one of his arms, and was pulling me through, breaking trail for me.

I railed at my body. I cursed my weakness, the magic, everything. I’d done this before, countless times during my life, but now it seemed worse. Like the rankest cowardice, for me to fail like this when Sergeant Black had given his life, and Ulgafrag… I blinked away tears and concentrated on walking.

And then the voice came, like a cold draft sliding down my spine, drawing out my name with an edge I could not identify. “Willhelm, Willhelm, Willhelm.”

I tripped, and Samuel swore and turned around to help me up. I sat there, shaken. If… if it was calling my name, then Ulgafrag… I was trembling too much to stand at first, but Samuel was insistent. Shortly I found myself pulled behind him again, dazedly forcing one foot in front of the other as time passed in a blur. I caught a glimpse of a gap in the trees ahead.

“Willhelm. Oh, Willhelm...”

It was closer, louder, and creepier, and I stopped walking. I felt Samuel try to stop, but then he lurched and pulled me with him. I cried out as we fell into a small creek bed, the water shockingly cold against my skin and the scent of mud and faint dead fish filled the air. My headache intensified, and I started shivering. I realized I was on top of Samuel, and I let myself fall to the side.

He lurched to his feet. “Shit. Sorry Willhelm, the bag swung and I couldn’t catch myself- are you alright?”

I felt like I’d been crying forever, so it seemed unfair that I felt tears again now. Oh, Ulgafrag. I shook my head, unsure if I was shuddering from the cold water or from silent sobs. Samuel held out his hands, and numb, I took them and let him pull me up. I saw the grimace of pain on his face, and I wondered how much he was hurting. And yet he hadn’t voiced a single complaint. I shook my head and tried to focus.

Samuel tried to smile reassuringly at me. “Listen. It’ll be alright. Ulgafrag’s the meanest ogre I’ve ever met, she’ll be fine.”

My face felt like stone. I searched for an expression to wear, something to match what I knew to be true, but came up empty. “She’s dead.” Ever musical, the tones of my words were flat and tinny.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

He opened his mouth to protest, but I overrode him. “I can hear it coming. It’s getting closer.” I looked him in the eye, pleading for him to understand. “If she was alive, if she’d won…” I trailed off rather than finish the sentence.

Samuel tried to rally. “You can’t know for sure, maybe she’s ahead of it and will catch up.” He paused. “And I don’t hear anything, maybe it’s just an animal-”

I stepped away and clenched my fists. “No. I can hear it calling my name, in my head.” He looked at me like I was crazy. So I looked at him the same way. “You are a knight travelling with a cursed prince, fleeing because something scared the entire forest. An ogress told us to run and avoid the paths before putting on magic gauntlets.” My voice was rising, hysteria bleeding through. “And you’re balking at voices in my head?!”

He stared at me, in shock or something else, but I kept going, my voice getting higher and higher. “Something is coming, I don’t know what it is, but it’s calling and coming for me and we can’t get away! Sergeant Black is dead! Ulgahag is dead! Next, you’re going to be dead-” I cut off as the thought struck me, almost staggering in its simplicity.

Samuel stepped toward me. His face was an open book, the same earnest naivete resurfacing from when we’d first met. “Willhelm, it’s like you told me - you don’t give up! We can make it if we just keep going!”

Gods. He was just - just so hopelessly hopeful. It felt wrong to crush him with realism, and I reached, trying to find the words and expressions and the right note of phrasing. So that I could convince him to do what I knew he needed to do. But a lifetime of rapier wit and elegant duels of words had left me grossly unprepared, because we didn’t have time and what I needed right now was a large blunt object. There was only one possibility I could think of, and it was cruel beyond measure. But if it would save his life...

So I told myself it was the only option. And then I looked at Samuel and saw his heart. It was a fractured thing, broken but slowly healing, and full of shame. Of failure, of his family, of what Ulgafrag had put him through. And the core… innocence. In his heart of heart’s Samuel still believed. In good triumphing over evil, in the knight winning the maiden’s heart, in the fact that he could be important.

And to keep him alive, so that no one else had to die because of me, all I had to do was shatter those illusions beyond all repair. So I looked him in the eye. “You need to run.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know! We both-”

I cut him off, forcing my voice to be harsh. “No. It’s after me. You run. You can’t help me anyway.”

He gaped at me in shock. “But- I can’t abandon you!”

I laughed, the jagged edge coming from somewhere deep inside. “You? Help me?” I leaned toward him. “Samuel, you forced yourself on me. Then you got beat up by a girl.” Because, despite everything, the fact that Ulgafrag had tits still made his defeat worse somehow. Males are odd creatures. I made my voice reasonable, calm. “Samuel, you’re injured. But even if you weren’t? You can’t fight the thing that killed Ulgafrag. All you can do, the only thing you can be, is another person in my life that will die today.”

I turned and sat on the edge of the creek, wincing as the sunlight stabbed into my eyes, making my headache pound even harder. His mouth was opening and closing as he searched for words, and when he finally spoke his voice was small. “But- Willhelm, the talks we had, and trying and always making sure to keep going…” he trailed off as I looked at him, letting my bone deep weariness shine through.

“Samuel.” I smiled with razor sharp politeness. “You’re a nice boy. But you can’t fight this. Go back to your father’s farm. Marry someone with zits on her face and healthy hips, that will give you a son and too many daughters. And live the rest of your life in the mud, away from magic and danger and princesses. Because that’s where you belong.”

He stumbled back, and I watched my lies - the worse kind, the ones filled with twisted truth - worm their way into him, feeding the secret fears and doubts that plagued him. His face filled with tears, and he trembled, shaking. But he didn’t run, and for a moment I wondered if I had miscalculated - but no. He broke, sobbing, and turned and stumbled away, disappearing into the woods. I’m sorry, Samuel. Live. I mouthed the words since he couldn’t see me, but I didn’t dare voice them.

And then from off to the side I heard someone clapping politely. And I turned and looked at the thing wearing Ulgafrag’s form.

* * *

She weaved down the center of the stream toward me, an odd flowing motion as each foot was placed precisely in front of the last. I stared in shock. It was Ulgafrag, down to the smallest detail. And at the exact same time, not. There was no single detail that was wrong, nothing I could point to and say, “This is not her”, but the combined effect was to make a mockery of everything that Ulgafrag had ever been.

She stopped in front of me and gave me a familiar smile that somehow managed to have too many teeth. “Willhelm, Willhelm. Bravo. That was… mmm.” She took a deep sniff of the air, almost exactly what Ulgafrag had done in the tower, and then staggered slightly. “Oh, that’s, that’s fucking good. That utter shame, twice inflicted, and just that hint of betrayal to add some spice - you were friends? Nothing like a broken friendship. Oh, that’s wonderful.”

I stared in horrified fascination. I’d meant to ask who… but that’s not what came out. “What are you?”

She ignored me, vibrating - jittering - in place. She muttered to herself. “Probably should have waited, shit, but that was so good.” She looked up at me and said, in almost a normal voice, “That’s the thing about being an adult, Willhelm. It’s about control, and self-restraint. Like, take that knight over there - I want to go and track him down and suck the life out of him, he’s, he’s fucking delicious, you know? The things I could say, you’d be amazed how he’d feel at the end. Do you have any idea what that would taste like? Any idea what it would do to me? Of course you don’t.”

“Not that, I mean you did a great job,” she added hastily, “for a kid. It’s just experience, right? But- did I have a point? Of course I did. Oh! Self-control. Well like, I could go eat him up, see? And sure it would feel good, and I’d love that hit right now. But if I wait - oh, if I wait, then it could be even better. Cause shame ages, it festers, it’s like a fine wine or murder - the longer you wait the better it tastes.” She beamed at me. “Just a little advice. Not,” she added, looking thoughtful, “that it will matter to you, since I’m about to totally mindfuck you. But it’s the thought that counts?”

“You’re insane.” I wanted to back away, to run away. But he’d been catching up before - how could I expect to get away now. And, another part of my mind pointed out, the longer I kept him here, the better Samuel’s chances. So I swallowed my fear and searched for a way to distract her. “I- look. Get out of her.”

She blinked at me owlishly. “What?”

My anger flared. “Get out of - stop looking like her! You don’t deserve to look like her!”

She sighed. “That’s probably true. And I admit, she surprised me. She was - I mean, not tough. But like, not a total pushover. Do you know she touched me? Been months since someone managed that.” She looked vaguely disgusted. “The real problem with an ogress though - another piece of advice for you - avoid em. You get like, half the normal emotional hit. It’s cause they’re so stupid - not smart enough to feel anything real, really, like they’re not really people at all-”

“Shut up!” I stepped forward, heedless of danger in my rage. “You - Ulgafrag was strong and brave and smarter than you’ll ever be-”

The slap cut me off, slamming my head around and sending me crashing to the creek bed. The shock of the cold was bad, but worse was the ringing in my head that didn’t seem to want to go away. I blinked slowly, then felt a hand grip my shoulder, and I was flying through the air. I landed on the creek bed and saw Not-Ulgafrag looking up into the sky with a distant look on her face.

“Can’t have you dying yet. You’re a fragile little thing, aren’t you.” She crouched down and peered at me. “It’s hard to believe-” she cut herself off and grinned manically, then tried to smooth her face out. Her voice was mock solemn. “I’m sorry you’re sad about Ulgawhatsit, but don’t worry, you’ll, uh,” she giggled, her voice strained, “you’ll get ogre it.”

I stared at her, numb, while she burst into peals of laughter, falling over and rolling through the creek water. “I can’t - oh - ogre it - it’s so dumb,” she gasped, then giggled uncontrollably, hugging herself.

I got up, swaying and unsteady, my head pounding in time with my heart. I looked at her, this… insane creature, that had murdered Sergeant Black and Ulgafrag and was laughing about it. And then I turned and staggered into the forest.

I heard her giggling cut off behind me, and her voice was plaintive. “Wait- seriously? Are we really doing this? You’re going to try to run now? Man, Willhelm. Give me a fucking break.” I ignored her and concentrated on pushing through trees and brush, my feet sliding and slipping on the dirt and leaves. The daylight felt surreally harsh and bright against the horror I was fleeing.

I stumbled against a tree, the bark harsh against my hand, then looked up and jerked myself to a stop. Not-Ulgafrag stood in front of me, looking annoyed. She started pacing back and forth, moving in an odd pattern. “Seriously, Willhelm. You need to think. Why would you run? Now I had to go all the way over here. Kids these days, it’s total bullshit-”

I tuned her out, staring at her feet. It was hard to think, but there was something… it was a little indentation, maybe a rabbit run, and she always followed this little jog. I remembered her weirdly flowing walk down the creek… “Paths.”

She stopped ranting and peered at me. “Pass?”

I ignored her. “Paths. You can… you can only travel on paths.” The river - maybe a current? And Ulgafrag’s words from earlier. I looked down and searched frantically, trying to see if there was a way for her to get at me.

Her clapping interrupted me. I looked up, and she rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes. You figured it out. Damn! I’m completely defeated now. Big bad person, but as long as you stay over there I can’t get to you. Totally makes sense.” She grinned, again with too many teeth. “I mean, sure it’s smart of you, and you inconvenienced me earlier, staying off of them. That wasted like, oh, I don’t know. An hour of my time? Very heroic of you. I’m sure they’ll be singing about that for several minutes at least.”

I wanted to step back, to run away, but I was frozen in place as I watched her. She licked her finger and put it up in the air, testing for the wind, and talking absently. “The thing is, Willhelm, that there’s all kinds of paths. Should be right around- ah! Here we go.” She sighed. “I hate to do this. Not because of who it is, right? That’ll be fun, seeing your face. It’s just…” she shuddered. “Ugh. Birds.”

And then she turned into Sergeant Black. It was like a trick - one minute a ten-foot tall ogre, the next a blue jay, with nothing in between. Almost like I’d blinked, but I was sure that I hadn’t closed my eyes - instead it was like I refused to see what existed in between those two forms.

My heart leaped and then seized, and I made a small hurt sound as I looked at… him? I wasn’t sure why it was so much worse to see him than to see Ulgafrag. He was just a silly bird… but he’d been my friend for a long time. And he’d been an innocent. As much as I’d played at training him for war, and given him a military title, I’d never expected him to actually fight. Or ever thought about him dying.

He blurred through the air, following a twisting path through the air that went to a branch above me before hovering before my chest. I didn’t think blue jays could hover, but he did so anyway. He was just so… so wrong. I closed my eyes and dropped to my knees. “Stop it,” I whispered.

He moved in closer and breathed in. “Oh, grief, that’s lovely. I was hoping he’d make it to you - hard to tell with a little shit like this, but he was buzzing around me and being all obvious, so I couldn’t exactly just leave him alone, could I?” I inhaled sharply - I’d gotten him killed - and Not-Black gave a little sigh. “There it is, that guilt… aaah, that’s nice. But kind of disappointing, Willhelm. He was just a stupid little bird. Less than a mortal, even.” It gave me chills, hearing those words in his happy little bird song.

I bowed my head, shaking, hating the tears that filled my eyes. I was so damnably tired of crying, of being weak. “Just end it.” I shook my head, choking back a sob. “Kill me. Get it over with.”

“What?” He sounded surprised. “I’m not here to kill you, Willhelm. I mean… shit, do you know how long I’ve been setting this thing up?” He paused. “You’re just a kid, so you’re what? Like 80?” It was enough to make me open my eyes in shock, but he gave a weird rippling winged bird shrug thing. “Too young? Too young. Whatever, mortal years are stupid. Anyway, like I was saying. You’re not going to die! Instead, I’m going to give you a present!”

I got the sense he was beaming at me. A gift… I felt a small frisson of hope, until I thought of exactly what kind of gift a being like this would offer, and I swallowed and tried to ease away. “No. Just… go. Or kill me. I want nothing from you.”

He looked delighted, manic. “No, no, I insist. I mean I missed all those hundreds of birthdays. What kind of dad would I be if I didn’t make that up to you?”

And then there was a rough hand on my chin, and I was staring up into the hard eyes of my father.

I narrowed my eyes and spat. He dodged it, an inhuman flicker, and rolled his eyes. “Aw, come on son. Is that any way to greet me? Now that we’ve finally met?” He shook my head side to side and pitched his voice absurdly high. “No dad, sorry! Thanks for finally telling me who I am!”

The motion, combined with my earlier headache, left me nauseous, and I tasted bile. I coughed, and then gritted my teeth at him. “If you knew my father, you wouldn’t try this.” I yelled. “He doesn’t care about me. And I don’t care about him! Try something else!”

Yelling was a bad idea. My head swam, then cleared. Not-Father was… laughing? He had both hands on my shoulders and was bent half over, shaking. “Oh! No, Willhelm, I’m not - no, I mean I’m your father. Your real father. Not that bastard of a king. I-” he cut off again, laughing some more. “I mean - really! You don’t even look like him! Little fuck like that couldn’t sire something like you, Willhelm. You got a lot of your old dad in you.” He winked, obscenely, then grinned at the look on my face.

“Oh. Now you get it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, your dad thinks he sired you. Hell, your mom thinks he sired you. She was a pretty good lay - I always enjoy a nice queen - real icy, though. Tried to struggle, tell me no-”

“Stop it!” The world swam, and I clenched my teeth. “You’re not - you’re lying! And stop talking about my mother!”

His laughter cut off like a switch, and he leaned down until he was inches from my face. “I do not lie, Willhelm.” It was a whisper, deadly serious, and I froze. “I am of the fae. And we do not lie.” His eye swirled, and I remembered the changing earlier. He smiled softly at me. “There there, don’t cry. Although if you are, I guess I might as well.” He reached out and picked a tear off, then licked it off his finger. I watched his eyes roll back in his head. “Oooooh fuck. Man. Man oh man. Sometimes, Willhelm. Sometimes I almost think it would be worth it to keep slaves, just so I could do that whenever I want to.” He shuddered. “But there’s all the dying and the messes and the feeding. It just takes so much time, you know? But I understand why some of them do it.” He looked wistful, then looked back down at me.

“Oh, Willhelm. You shouldn’t be so sad. Makes it hard for me to not eat you right now. But- well, shit! What am I talking about! I brought you a gift!” He laughed, soft and happy, and reached into his pocket. The vial he pulled out was midnight black, swirling with a disturbing motion that disappeared when I tried to look closer at it. My headache instantly intensified, a pounding migraine that dominated my thoughts. He continued on, oblivious. “Stupid of me, right? I almost forgot why I was here!” He chuckled at himself. “That’s the real danger, Willhelm. You get high and you lose track. Always remember that.” He thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Or don’t, I guess.”

His fingers seemed to elongate, and my eyes widened and I gagged as he forced my mouth open and my head back. He was talking, almost to himself. “Really, I already did give him one gift. But he only used it twice, so does it really count? Plus, I was only here for the knight. I had to hear about that silly chit second hand.” He tilted his head to the side, a little too far to be survivable. “So maybe that was for the first thirty years or whatever, and this will be for the second set.”

Saliva and bile combined in my mouth, and I started choking. I reached up and tried to tear his hand away, but I was too weak. He looked over at me and his eyes went wide. “Mother fucker! Sorry, I forgot about you for a second.” He paused, then snorted. “Mother fucker. I guess I am.” Still shaking his head and laughing, he reached out with a third hand and unstoppered the vial, then poised it over my head. My vision swam, the bright blue sky soft and peaceful. A mouth with teeth like daggers smiled at me fondly.

“Bottoms up!”

* * *

I stared up, soft green leaves waving gently in the soothing summer breeze. It was just past the afternoon, the forest at a strange peace. I sat up and looked around, smiling at the scene.

There was something in my head. A glass wall, and a rock that wasn’t a rock. On the other side of the wall, something silly screamed and pleaded. The rock told me to ignore it, so I did.

My eyes wandered and caught on a beautiful flower, its petals like the peals of sunlight, radiating from behind the eclipsed view of a knight riding off into the distance after rescuing some poor damsel. I sighed at the romantic image, and then heard a footstep behind me. I turned, and my heart leapt as I struggled to my feet.

“Beloved!” I ran to her, so tall and handsome, and cupped her face in my hands. There was something wrong with her, but the rock told me it was ok. She smiled down at me, and I melted into her.

“There there, Willhelm. I’m here now.” I sighed and let her hold me in her strong arms. The sweet embrace of my princess, Arriane.