#choices faeries

[bri1234]

Ever After

Book: The Cursed Heart 2

Pairing: M!Kieran x F!MC

Word count: 2.4K sorry

Rating: Teen, light fluff

Summary: What if… Kieran gave up his immortality to be with Ella until the end?

Warning: There are spoilers in here.

A/N: This is the first fanfic I’ve ever posted. Please be kind. I’m very new to writing things like this and am unsure if I'm doing any of it right, but I wanted to explore Kieran giving up his immortality and some other things that were heavily teased in book 2 but never happened! Kieran giving up his immortality doesn’t happen in my headcanon, which I have yet to write anything about lol, it's just more of a what if :)

Also, this is my submission for the International Fairy Day event, with the prompt "Reading a Fairytale to the children."

Tagging: @choicescommunityevents @choicesficwriterscreations

“Once upon a time, there lived a young prince who was cursed by an evil fairy to be a beast until he found true love.

He lived alone in his castle with only a few servants for several years. Not many dared to visit because of his beastly appearance.

But one day, a man entered the castle. The Beast did not know this man, but watched him in the shadows.

The man made his way through the castle and eventually found the Beast's most prized possession, a rose. But this was not just any ordinary rose. As he neared his twenty-first birthday, the petals had started to wilt off faster. Every time one fell, he had less and less time to find true his love.

The man went to take it, for he had planned to bring it to his daughter as a gift. He promised her he would bring something back. But the Beast stopped him, and held him captive for attempting to steal.

The man, terrified by the hideous creature, asked to bargain with the Beast, claiming that he needed to get home to his daughter. The Beast told the man that he would return home and send his daughter to the castle, for she would be taking his place. The Beast ensured him that she would be well taken care of. The man, feeling as if he had no other option, agreed. He made the journey home to his daughter.

When he arrived, he told her what had happened. At first, she refused to leave. But eventually, she decided that she had to go, fearing what the Beast might do if she didn’t.

She made the journey, leaving her father and heading to the gloomy castle she had only seen in passing.

When she arrived, the Beast greeted her. He was shocked by her beauty, and she was scared by his beastly appearance.

At first, they both despised each other. But as time went on, the Beast slowly grew fond of Beauty, as he nicknamed her in his head. And Beauty had slowly grown fond of him. She realized that appearances do not make up who you are, but it is who you are within.

Despite his newfound feelings towards her, the Beast had kept it a secret that his time was almost up. Pushing this aside, he decided to let her go back to her father. He could see how much she missed him as each day passed.

Beauty was overtaken with joy at first. She had missed her father dearly, but also didn’t want to leave the Beast. So, she told him that she would return home, but promised to visit him soon. The Beast nodded, and watched as she left, heading towards her village. He had accepted his fate, and was happy that he was granted one last moment with her before the last petal fell.

Beauty had made it home safely, ignoring the pang in her heart of leaving the Beast. Her father was so happy she was home, and safe at that. She spent the next several hours retelling all of her time with the creature. But as she continued explaining it to her father, that same pang in her chest continued to grow. She had realized at that very moment that she had loved him, and felt the need to tell him immediately. With that, she told her father that she needed to go and left without explanation.

When she arrived at the castle, she found the Beast near his precious rose on death's door. He had told her of the curse, just not the extent of it.

Beauty, now understanding, confessed her love for him during his final moments.

When she watched his eyes close, she believed he was gone. As tears fell down her face while holding the Beast in her arms, she felt movement. Looking down, she found the Beast, who was very much alive, changing back into his princely form. For Beauty had just broken his curse.

Now returned to his former self, Beauty and the prince lived happily ever–”

All of a sudden, Kieran was interrupted by a very loud yawn. He looked down at his daughter, who was slowly starting to fall asleep in his lap.

“Daddy, why does that story sound so familiar?” Eve asked him with her face scrunched, gears turning in that pretty little head of hers as she tried to fight off sleep. She’s heard a story like this one before, she just can’t quite remember where or who.

Kieran was about to respond when the door to his daughter’s room opened. He watched as his wife came into view. A smile spread across his face. It took all his restraint to not run over and kiss her senseless. He would have waited for her at the door of their home, but didn’t want to disrupt the bed time process for their little Eve.

“Mama!” Eve squealed as she jumped out of Kieran’s lap.

“There’s my sweet angel,” Ella said smiling as she bent down to scoop her off the ground. Eve clung to her mother’s chest.

After a minute of hugging her mother, little Eve pulled back to look at her face. She put both of her tiny hands on her mother's cheeks.

“You are unharmed?” She said with a serious look on her face, her big eyes pouring into Ella’s. Both Kieran and her laughed.

“You, my dear, are just like your father,” Ella said with a smile as she tickled her little girl. Eve let out delighted giggles as she squirmed in her mother’s arms.

Kieran, who was sitting on the edge of Eve’s tiny bed, watched the interaction between his wife and daughter fondly, heart swelling with love. Eve was a spinning image of Ella, just with his dark eyes and wicked smile. Despite being a changeling, she looked completely mortal. He can only believe that it’s because he’s mortal now, and for that reason, she looks completely mortal as well. He then stood up and within two strides, he was right at his wife’s side.

“You are unharmed though?” He asked with the same serious face their daughter had.

Ella used her free hand to cup her husband’s cheek. “I am unharmed, my love.”

Kieran smiled as he put his hand over hers and laced his fingers through. To him, she had only been gone for three days and yet it felt like forever. But for Ella, it had only been a few hours since time works differently in the Fae realm. Regardless, this was her first time leaving Kieran and their daughter ever.

Kieran pressed a kiss to her temple and then rested his forehead right where he kissed. He whispered in her ear, “We have missed you dearly, beloved.”

Ella, still holding Eve, who within not even a few minutes had fallen asleep on her chest, whispered back, “I have missed you both as well, my love.” She looked up at him with a smile.

Eve started to stir in her arms. “How come she’s so tired?” Ella asked him, chuckling a little. An affectionate smile spread across his face. Kieran whispered back in her ear, “She refused to go to bed until you were home safe. It very much reminded me of you back when we met,” he said with an amused smile.

Ella swatted him playfully, but he caught her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles. “I’m not even back for ten minutes and you’re already teasing me,” Ella responded, smiling even wider.

“I have three days worth of teasing to make up for. Plus, I know you’re rather fond of my shenanigans.”

Ella muffled her laughter, as her daughter was sleeping in her arms. She carefully carried the sleeping changeling child over to her bed and tucked her in. She bent down and pressed a kiss to her daughter’s head. Kieran, who had made his way next to her, did the same. He whispered, “Sweet dreams, my little gremlin.”

Ella watched the interaction with a smile. Oh how she loved seeing the bond her husband and daughter have grow.

Once Kieran stood up, he reached his hand back to lace with Ella’s and started walking to the door, gently pulling her along. Once at the entrance, Ella quietly shut the door behind them. When she turned around, Kieran was on her within seconds, peppering sweet kisses all over her face. His hands freely roamed her body, soaking up every part of her that he missed over the past three days.

“Kieran!” Ella squealed quietly, laughing as the attack of kisses continued. “I see you were not lying when you said you missed me,” she said smiling while affectionately rubbing her nose against his.

The same affectionate smile broke out across Kieran’s face as he rested his forehead against hers.

“I could never lie to you, my love. Besides, every second I cannot have you in my arms is a time when I miss you,” Kieran responded as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

Ever since he had given up his magic, he has only worried for Ella more because he no longer can protect her like he used to. But Ella constantly reminds him how she has taken care of herself longer than she has known him and is still in one piece.

Ella had to travel into the Fae realm to visit Longclaw, who had requested her help with healing a group of Fae that received some nasty iron wounds. Kieran and Eve were supposed to travel with her, but Eve had woken up with a cold the morning before they were going to start their journey. After a very long discussion of what was best, Ella had convinced Kieran that she’ll go by herself and he’ll stay and take care of their daughter.

So, that is exactly what happened. Kieran has lived without magic for six human years, and within that time, he has caught a cold and cared for both Ella and his daughter when they were sick. And after watching Ella for years, he’s learned to adapt to the mortal healing ways.

After a minute of being in each other's embrace, Kieran pulled away to lead her down the hallway to the stairs. As they walked down the steps, Kieran spoke. “So tell me, how was Longclaw? Did you see Oleander at all? How are they? Do you know–”

As Kieran reached the floor, Ella stayed on the first step so she was almost at his height. She pulled him around so that he was directly in front and facing her. She gently put a finger to his lips.

“Everyone is doing well and are planning on visiting us soon. Jack said he’ll be here in a day or so,” Ella said with a smile as she removed her finger from his lips and wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders. Kieran smiled, as he was happy that everyone was alright and that his brother would be here soon.

He brought both of his arms around her waist. “I’m glad everyone is alright,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Despite being mortal for six years, it still feels strange to him not knowing if those he knows well in the Fae realm are safe. When he was Night Prince, he could rest easy knowing that everyone he loved was under one roof, his home. But at the time though, that was just Longclaw and Sir Monty. So much has changed since he met Ella.

Kieran would confide these thoughts in her, and Ella would often ask if he regretted his decision to become mortal. Kieran would immediately say no, for he would rather give up his immortality than live an infinite life not by her side. He would rather grow old with her than watch as the inevitable grew closer for her, but not for him.

“I’m also glad,” Kieran continued as he scooped her off the stairs, carrying her bridal style, “that you are home and our little Eve is doing better.”

“She seemed more like herself,” Ella added as he carried her into the kitchen and placed her on the counter so her legs were dangling off.

Kieran chuckled as he leaned against the counter, both of his hands planted on either side of her. “She’s been practically bouncing off the walls all day waiting for you to come home. Around lunchtime she asked me when you were going to be home just about every minute, and then she asked if we could play dress up with all the dresses Oleander made for her.”

A huge smile spread across her face at her husband retelling his day to her. She was just about to ask if he agreed when he quickly said, “Don’t even ask me what she had me wearing. I swear she makes everything mismatched on purpose.”

Ella’s delighted laughter rang through the kitchen. Kieran couldn’t help but smile as they both started laughing at their daughter's shenanigans. “I would have loved to see that,” Ella said, still giggling from imagining the chaoticness of Kieran’s day with their little Eve running about.

Once both of their laughter died down, Kieran rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and feeling more at peace than he has ever felt. For once in his life, he finally feels like he can breathe, with no expectations of ruling or dealing with power-hungry Fae who only wished that he were dead. Or even spending endless nights flying around as a beast. He just feels, well, happy. His Fae life has been over for six years, and while that life gave him Ella, he wouldn’t trade his six years of being mortal for anything.

Now this does not mean that Kieran’s going to forget his time as Fae. No. He looks forward to sharing those stories with Eve. Whether it's a bedtime story he was told as a child that he spun to fit more of Ella and his story or Eve asking about his past when she’s older. He couldn’t wait to share all of it. Well, most of it anyway. Maybe there are even a few things Ella doesn’t know. Maybe he can surprise her as well.

Thank you for sticking around if you read all of this! Something I love about TCH is how it’s somewhat similar to Beauty and the Beast, so I wanted to have Kieran retell the fairytale. I kind of put my own spin on it and combined the Disney movie with one of the many versions of the story I found here!

[dutifullynuttywitch]

Dance féerique

(A magical bayou waltz)

Pairing: Cal Lowell x Aurélie Bajolière (f!mc)

Choices Nightbound

Rating: general (fluff)

Wordcount: 700 words

Image credit: madsmikkelsen7161 on pinterest

Tags: @choicescommunityevents for the faeries event 🧚‍♀️ @choicesficwriterscreations

It’s an unusually cool evening in the bayou. Aurélie sits on the small wooden dock behind the cozy home she now shared with Cal and his brother Donny. She looks up at the starry sky, her toes trailing lazily in the balmy water.

They had opened all the windows to let the refreshing breeze flit gently through the house. Which meant she could enjoy her own personal concert.

Cal was seated at the piano, playing her favorite song, Chopin’s Nocturne No. 9 E major.

The soft notes float up to her, carried by the cool breeze, evoking feelings of immense tenderness for this man who had become her rock, her everything during the recent trials. Fighting terrible enemies. Realizing she was half-fae. Losing her father so soon after finally meeting him. Dying.

Sometimes she’d wake up still wondering if the past weeks had been nothing but a fever dream.

Though tonight, resting under the immensity of the cosmos reflected in the calm waters in front of her, the beautiful melody flitting in soft waves, it felt more like a moonlit reverie.

As she gazes out into the confines of the bayou, Aurélie notices white specks of light twirling over the mirror-like water, seemingly dancing in sync with the melody.

Curious, she squints her eyes, trying to make out the dazzling forms. They slowly near the dock, floating on the wind.

As they get closer, Aurélie’s breath catches.

Tiny wood fairies!

Their shimmering, iridescent wings flutter daintily as they twirl and dance. Soon, the ethereal creatures encircle her, their giggles like soft chimes as they joyfully twirl, raise and dip all around her.

“Well, hello, you’re quite graceful.”

Aurélie smiles at the fairies. They grin and chatter, a few fluttering in her long wavy hair, tickling her, while others pull at her blouse, inviting her up.

Laughing, she complies and starts twirling around the yard along with the fairies, in absolute awe at this magical moment.

“You’re a sight to behold, ma chérie.”

Aurélie turns towards the house to find Cal leaning against the frame, observing her with a tender expression, a sparkle in his eyes.

The fairies pick up their chatter, a delicate symphony of windchimes now replacing the night’s melody. Inviting the newcomer to join their magical waltz.

“Well, what are you waiting for, handsome?”

Aurélie beckons him over, smiling playfully. Cal doesn’t need further encouragement. He tenderly gathers his girlfriend into his powerful arms and leads her into a slow waltz.

As always, Aurélie is amazed that this beast of a man is capable of such gentleness. Always so careful around her, protective, attentive to her needs and attuned to her emotions. He had captured her heart so easily with his kind soul.

And she fell in love with him all over again every day, through his many small gestures, gentle touches, daily bouquets of fresh wildflowers, private moonlit concerts. Countless little reminders that he cherished her.

The fairies seem to approve as they increase their wild ballet, surrounding the couple with their ethereal beauty, lighting up the air brighter than the billions of flickering stars.

Cal gazes fondly into his love’s sparkling blue eyes. He bends down to capture her lips in a languid kiss.

Aurélie melts into his strong arms, feeling his intense warmth envelop her. She parts her lips, inviting him in, relishing in this magical moment.

They feel a soft breeze as the fairies excitedly spin around them, then float up high into the air. They bid their farewell in melodic chimes, softly flitting into the dark woods.

Watching the little specks of light disappear, Cal murmurs, “You have such a beautiful soul, even the wood fairies want to be close to you.”

“You’re the one who drew them here with your wonderful moonlight concert.”

“Hmm… and here I thought I was playing only for ma douce moitié.” He kisses her nose. “Shall I continue?”

“Yes please. Though I’ll come sit with you. I love watching you play.”

They turn their backs to the serene bayou and its magical inhabitants as they head towards the brightly lit house.

Their home.

[choicescommunityevents]

🧚🏼‍♀️ Fae-tastic Prompt Ideas to use:

Three word prompts (use one, two, three or more):

June ☆ Pink ☆ Fairy

Spring ☆ Glitter ☆ Pixies

Royal ☆ Protector ☆ Fae

Nature ☆ Celestial ☆ Elves

Barbie ☆ Rainbow ☆ Unicorns

Nesper ☆ Perrikin ☆ Orc

Two worded prompts:

Moonlit Magic

Enchanted Gardens

Pixie mischief

Forest guardian

Fairy Dust

Multiple words prompts:

A Midnight Summer Dream

"I'm a [insert random word] fairy."

Once upon a Fairytale...

"You're my daughter, my fairy, my love..."

Hidden from human eyes.

"I want to become a Fairy!!"

Guardians of the...

"I'm a Dreamer."

Other Story Idea Prompts:

Reading a Fairytale to the children

Getting a coin from the Tooth Fairy

Wearing a Fairy/Fae/Elf costume

Hanging Fairylights together

Getting cursed by the Bad Fairy/Fae

Human discovers Fairy Land

Royal Fae/Fairy/Elf Court of all realms

Human falling in love with a fae/fairy/elf

Elves meet Fae

Royal Fae/Fairy/Elf Wedding

About your own Character:

Characters from all Choices books are welcome!! Would they rather want to be a fairy, fae or elf? Do they like Fantasy? How would they look like in their fairy/fae/elf version?

Introduce your magical Characters:

Whether they're the faes from Nightbound and The Cursed Hearts or the elves of BOLAS.

Picture Prompts:

[peonyblossom]

Juniper 💚🤎

Juniper is my Blades of Light and Shadow Fae OC. They are dating Aerin <3

finally finished these edits for @choicescommunityevents International Fairy Day Event

[choicesmc]

Title: Woodland Whimsy Artist: Quinn (<- me) Prompts: Spring + Nature Tagging: @choicescommunityevents, @ladylamrian

A/N: Hihi o/ So this is my second published score. <- I really really like how this one came out mostly because it stayed on prompt xD I tend to... drift? when making scores but this? This stayed on prompt the entire score through!!

I hope you enjoy this more than I enjoyed making it!

[aquanutart]

"little miss prairie faerie" is a cute name actually... (but I won't use it if she doesn't like it)

[groovyfrog420]

I think they'd get along

Shadow Milk seems like he'd enjoy sharing some tea (methaphorical and literal) with Cherry Blossom. The stories he tells her might be a bit biased and warped, but she's supportive either way!

next part

[phantomsies]

my last time speaking on this bc I’m back to my smut and stupid shit afterwards (cause yk this is my safe space 🤪😜🫶🏾👍🏾) , but I’m genuinely scared, not just for this presidency but my local leadership too. Hence why I always make such an emphasis on it. I live in a small town and it’s very much class/racially divided. The sheriff (a white woman btw but a woman nonetheless) has been actively trying to harass and run everyone from my side of town. She pretty much wrote off this area as a bunch of drug addicts and says ‘she hopes we all just kill each other’. (My family has never done, sold or even been around drugs and yet her dumbass cops are convinced bc we’re black with nice vehicles, that we must sell). She’s also pushing for the gentrification of our area so all of her rich cohorts can come and tear down our houses and build a suburbia. Just the other day, a cop made me move my vehicle from in front of a store I park at all the time bc im disabled and even the closest parking spot is far on this leg and he did it just to be an asshole. I can’t even cry abt this presidency yet bc I’m now worried that my local leaders are going to make our lives hell. Not to mention, they voted no on abortions and gender affirming care as well. I hate it here so fucking bad.

[julescarstairs]

Born to shitpost and scream about the first chapter of tlkof, forced to wait until it arrives in the mail

[choiceofgames]

Faerie's Bargain: The Price of Business

"Faerie's Bargain: The Price of Business." Amass a goblin hoard of priceless treasures! Will you corner the market on memories and dreams? What will you pay for true love, and what is it worth?

You are one of the goblin merchants in the Untermarkt: a magical bazaar beneath Victorian London that trades in memories, wishes, secrets, and more. The Untermarkt has been a mainstay of London Faerie life since High Queen Elizabeth first forged the Treaty with Titania, Queen of Faerie. As merchant, you are skilled in dealing in all manner of impossibilities: new faces and voices, silks spun of starlight, bottled time, twists of fate, and even stranger things. Here, anything can be bought and sold for the right price. Will you line your pockets, or are the rewards of your trade more valuable than money?

When a mysterious business opportunity takes you by surprise, you have the chance to deal in something new: political intrigue! High Queen Victoria sits upon the Throne, but there are many who would prefer to rule in her place. Who is plotting against her, and what will it take to stop them? And where has the princess gone? To find out, you will have to learn the deepest secrets of the most powerful people in the Untermarkt: noble knights, fabulously wealthy merchants, dispossessed royalty, and more. Will you defend the High Queen, or use your newfound wealth to fund a little revolution?

Your fellow merchants certainly won't allow an opportunity for profit to slip away. Will you undercut their efforts at the Merchant Conclave, or ignore all the politicking in favor of growing your wealth? And then there's love—which could come at a greater cost than you ever imagined. Whatever you decide, one thing is certain: It's time to get down to business!

"Faerie's Bargain: The Price of Business" is an interactive fantasy novel by Trip Galey, where your choices control the story. It's entirely text-based—300,000 words and hundreds of choices long, without graphics or sound effects—and fueled by the vast, unstoppable power of your imagination.

[bri1234]

Kieran x MC

I’ve been itching to draw something different from what I normally do so I sketched out these two and colored them in lol

Also a submission for the International Fairy Day event 😊

Tagging @choicesficwriterscreations @choicescommunityevents

[sunstainedpages]

I'm rereading Emily Wilde's encyclopaedia of faeries and it's just making me so giddy!

[choicescommunityevents]

☆ Rules ☆ Prompts ☆ Event Masterlist ☆

Dear Fae, Fairies, Elves and other beings, you are wholeheartedly welcome to join me to celebrate the International Fairy Day. A sweet and magical event. Let's catch some pixies, play in the gardens, learn magic, enjoy what nature has to offer and tell our children some fae-tastic tales. Friendly humans also invited ✨️✨️✨️✨️

About the host: I'm @ladylamrian and I will be hosting my very first Choices fandom event on @choicescommunityevents . For now, it will be a short one, but if this one hopefully goes well, I'd love to host more events on this blog. I have soooooo many great ideas, but let's first start small. I hope you all will enjoy and support me. Thanking @storyofmychoices for creating this blog. I might not participate in my own fairy event, but I hope others will.

[peonyblossom]

Fae!Hades

My BOLAS m!elf!MC, Hades Nightbloom, as a fae

For @choicescommunityevents International Fairy Day

[thefaeriefeatherdark]

I desperately need the Thrawn stans (specifically novel Thrawn Stans) to remember that Thrawns whole deal is rebuilding the Empire and fighting the New Republic.

[ineffablyendless]

Two Graves.

Rated: G

Relationships: Nuala of the Faerie/Dream of the Endless|Morpheus

Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, haunted surrealism, non-graphic mentions of blood, implied character death, post-TKO, so there's the acknowledgement of what happens to Morpheus, be warned.

Summary: Nuala dreams, and dances, and the Dreaming cries a dying melody. Then she wakes

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BUNNY, and to one of my absolute best friends on earth @nualaofthefaerie thank you for letting me participate in her birthday event even though I don't draw or anything and also have not participated in the Sandman fandom for the last couple of months. If anyone else is interested in reading about Nuala's birthday event and wants to try your luck writing her, you can peek at Li's post here .

Nuala is, at her core, a very tragic character in the comics, and this more than anything carved her spot in my heart. She is principled, strong, and kind, but what makes her appeal to me more than others is that unrequited, heartbreaking devotion. A girl that has so much to give so willingly, discarded and forgotten, and it makes me so angry. She kept trying, and it wasn't enough. This is a recurring theme in the Sandman. But the love was there, and it deserves to be told. In this fic I wanted to capture that fruitless yearning and her desperation and how she fights. So I hope it comes across well. This fic is less about Sandflower more so it is about Nuala.

Granted, Li had planned sweet things for a sweet girl, but I really wanted to write a ballroom dance scene straight out of The Labyrinth, and the angsty vibes from that particular scene spread through the entire fic and it turned out a lot more melancholic than I originally planned. And, uh, a lot longer too. So...win-win?

You can also read it on Ao3 :)

At the end, he comes for her.

(Just as he'd promised)

It stretches on endlessly. Infinity on the head on a needle.

She remembered being told once, that on their last breath, mortals would recall their life in flashes. Dominoes falling into place. Cluracan had laughed as he told her so, joking to her of their feeble and short lifespans. Should a Fae be allowed similar opportunities, recollection could stretch on long enough to fill another mortal lifetime, and the Fae in question would have tricked and swindled another breath, not unlike Sisyphus.

Alas, it was not meant to be. Fae were without souls, and the last of their breath returns them to nothingness. There is no great Beyond; only a change in form. A loss in consciousness. Not true death.

It sounded like plenty death to her.

At the end, her lover came to her in bits and pieces.

She would begin in empty, wandering halls, hearing his voice in the horizon. She was sure he would be in the library, she thought, if only she could find him. Sometimes she would be carrying some sort of burden; a basket of papyrus scrolls, or a simple stick of dustfeathers. Most times it is only her, and the silent patter of her cold feet on stone floors as she wanders and searches of a faint voice in the wind.

Outside, a storm brews, but it was not yet time for her to leave.

She finds the library eventually, and she chases his cape on the edges of her periphery. The maze of towering bookshelves consumes her, and she twists and loops through it's oaken pathways, up and down and side to side intertwined, like how they used to dance. She would hear his giggles, that taunting melody, and when she trails her fingers longingly down the spine of ancient times they shiver, and she yearns to come home.

Find me, little fairy, she hears him say on the wind, just as he had when she was young, and in love, and light with hope. You be my fox, and I your hare.

The panes creak and rattle from winds that whistle down oculus dome of the Endless Library, and often she must shield herself from the hail of rotten leaves and debris. Not once does she find Lucien. It escapes her mind. When she falters, she hears him chuckle, and she gets back up on her feet.

At the entrance of the ballroom, her aching feet pause.

Much like the rest of the Dreaming Palace, it is empty and silent, save for the storm brewing outside. Yet when she closes her eyes, it is a bustling cotillion, and she is dressed as a lavish queen; the empress of shadow and nightmares, and her King stands in the very middle of the crowd. Waiting for her.

Closer, my diamond. Step down, my jewel.

At times she would stumble on non-existant petticoats, and when she opens her eyes she is once more on the top of the stairwell, and her king bids her to come closer.

Her feet bleeds. Her skin dries. By the banquet, she sees a beautiful woman with haunted eyes full of woe. In the next second, her ghosts and her ankh is forgotten, and Nuala tries stepping down the stairs once more, eyes fully closed. It is not about her. For once, it is about Nuala, and her lover, and she still has time, that wretched all-father. For once, it is about Nuala.

The ballroom is empty, but she feels the crowd pushing and pulling and shoving and laughing, just as they do back in the Faerie, from whence she had been plucked and moved and gifted to a veritable stranger in a land of mysteries and fear. A place that used to be home, but wasn't truly.

Her King awaits, and she reaches for him, grasping desperately. He would hold her, she knows, and he will tell her that everything is alright, and for a moment everything would be. For a moment she would have a home, and her love was not grief. Nuala tries again, and they push her away, like spiteful tides. Again, again, again.

He touches her, and Nuala imagines her tears like glass and quartz. He touches her, but not quite; a phantom sensation, and she knows he is once more out of reach. This is a memory.

But her eyes are closed and storm howls and sings. The window panes drums her a beat. So Nuala cries, and bleeds and dances.

The crowd sways with her, and she falls against them. His phantom touches leads, and he twirls her, and spins her, and dips her. Her arms reach towards the Heavens, and when the music of the storm fails her, her lungs constricts and Nuala screams.

It is agony. Liberty. Longing. Love. Her feet step on the broken glass of smashed window panes and tears, and she can no longer tell between the empty ballroom and her ghosts. Their gazes become suffocating, and she escapes through the side door, into her garden, into the Dreaming.

Everything is dying. She is not so special.

Fiddler's Green is a torn up wasteland, and the watering holes are dried and destitute. The storm cackles, and she looks into the Faces of the Three Who Are One. They rip him apart with their teeth, the Love of her life, and Nuala sobs and begs and falls to her knees.

This time, it is he who reaches for her.

She looks up to see Morpheus-not-Morpheus, the blank fresh nothingness of the eyes she had loved since she had laid her own upon him, what felt like centuries ago.

Nuala clenches her eyes shut, hoping to see the man she loves and for everything to go away and leave her alone, yet still the Furies cackle and the Dreaming trembles in their wake, and her King is bleak and pale as snow.

When he touches her, he is the wrong sort of cold.

"Sweet Nuala," he pleads, and she turns her head from him. If her lover was to change in force and agony, she wants to be right there with him. "Gentle Nuala. Loving Nuala. Please, let me take you home."

She shakes her head, burying her hands desperately in her hair, streaked with debris and dishevelled from the winds. Her feet crack and bleed, and her cheeks stain with tears. Her breath shortens. There is no great Beyond, for a Thing like her. Her home was her Lover, and her Lover was dead.

"My Nuala," the new King whispers. "Won't you look at me, one last time?"

There were many things she could've said. They choke her and burns the back of her throat like nightshade and Ivy, yet still her heart blooms. She is angry. She is helpless. She asks him, "Why?"

"Why?"

"You were loved. I had loved you. My King, I had everything on offer, and had you simply reached out and tried we could have-I could-,"

Her voice breaks and fails her. His eyes, white as bone, soften like crushed velvet.

"My King," she asked. Around them, her dreams fall apart. "Why did you fall?"

He hums. "Would you have loved me if I couldn't?"

"I would have loved you. Nevertheless."

He looks away. "I am sorry." He says, and Nuala believes him.

She had given him everything, and it was buried alongside him. All that was left of her was her Dream of him.

"I'm ready." She finally says. "To wake."

The King steps forward, and he plants on her a sweet kiss. When she reaches for the pendant, when she had made her last wish -one last Dream- she could almost pretend it was everything she ever wanted.

"Thank you," she says. "For coming."

Daniel smiles sadly. "He had promised. You called."

She had.

"This dream is over."

And Nuala wakes.