#hollyoak

[whumpninja]

I think this update is a bit shorter, but the next one is going to be a doozy so it’ll balance out!

Featuring: held prisoner, prison cell, elf whumpee, fantasy whump, magic whump

Taglist: @whumperofworlds @melpomenelamusa

Prompt used: “You can feel it, can’t you?”

Part Four | Masterlist | Part Six

Hollyoak, Part Five

If nothing else, the Summer Elves' prison was at least on solid ground. Well, not on it so much as under it. Only a narrow ribbon at the top of the cell looked out on the grassy forest- barred from Kelyn's reach by the sturdy roots of the oak tree that formed the prison. The rest of the cell had been scooped out from the hard earth underneath. Some enchantment had been laid on it- Kelyn had tried digging a hole in the wall, just to see what would happen, and it had instantly sealed itself back up again. There was no way to tunnel out.

The cell was quite bare. Aside from the trapdoor that led into it, there was only earthen walls and the tree-root bars running round the top of the cell- no furnishings of any kind to make the cramped space less difficult to bear. Kelyn had had trouble with his antlers- the cell had obviously been designed for a Summer Elf, who all had small, stubby horns. Kelyn had nearly a full rack of antlers to contend with. If he tried to turn around too fast, they scraped irritatingly against the packed-earth wall. And there was not enough space for him to lie down- he had had to sleep sitting up with his head on his knees. His back ached from that.

His heart hurt from the accusation. And, surprisingly, for Adaire. He'd spent some time last night imagining how angry and frightened and sad he would be if King Cyprian fell senseless at a feast. Adaire was feeling those same emotions, except in his case it was not an imagination.

Kelyn had heard someone outside his cell say that King Aritz was not expected to live; the magic had infected him, slowly creeping towards his heart. "You can feel it, can't you?" he'd heard them murmur to their companion. "Summer is dying almost as soon as it began to live."

It made no sense. Summer Elves could not wield death magic just as Winter Elves could not touch life magic. If it truly was death magic that had struck King Aritz, a Winter Elf would have had to have cast it. But Kelyn was the only one in the Summer Realm, and he had no idea how to perform death magic, much less the desire to kill Adaire's father!

Is Adaire in danger, too? Kelyn wasn't sure why he cared, exactly. Adaire had had him arrested. The Oak Prince clearly hated him- but Kelyn couldn't find any hatred for him in return.

He was feeling something, though. It had taken him a long time to notice it. But he had noticed it at last, and it was beginning to worry him.

In his room in the Summer Realm, and Adaire's in the Winter Realm, enchantments had been carefully woven in. Adaire's room was much warmer than the rest of the Winter Realm, to make sure the Oak Prince was comfortable during his six months there. Likewise, Kelyn's room in the Summer Realm was kept much cooler than the rest of it. It was always a relief to come back to the slight chill after spending some time in the heat of the Summer Realm. The magic at Kelyn's core would keep him from overheating, but it wouldn't necessarily keep him comfortable, so the enchantment helped greatly.

No such enchantment had been set on this cell. It was underground, so at first it hadn't felt too bad. But as time wore on, the heat was beginning to increase. Kelyn could feel it. The magic deep inside him struggled to keep up. His dark hair was damp with sweat.

He had tried calling out, but there seemed to be no one around. If they could hear him, they were ignoring him. It had been nearly a full day already, and still no one had come. The trapdoor had remained securely shut and bolted. He hadn't so much as heard footsteps on the floor above his head.

Does that mean King Aritz has died? Kelyn wondered. If the Summer Elves were busy with funeral preparations, it stood to reason that he would be forgotten about- or deliberately ignored. But if the king had died, it would inevitably mean war.

King Cyprian was old. The Winter Realm was a hard one to live in even for the Winter Elves. And with the Summer Elves spurred to anger by the death of their king and the leadership of hotheaded Prince Adaire...there would be no formal declaration. They would simply swarm over the border and attack.

If it came to war, the Winter Elves would be defeated. There was no way around it. Unless they were warned, and could retreat into the safety of their high mountains, the Summer Elves would take the victory.

And, likely, my father's life. His own was forfeit already; Kelyn had no doubts of that. But the thought of King Cyprian's death hurt to even imagine.

Kelyn shifted awkwardly on the hard ground, ducking his head further to avoid scraping his antlers again. Is this what Adaire is feeling right now? Do we both have to lose our fathers?

[vietlad]

Callum Kerr in Hollyoaks, 1995 -

[loveallthegays]

[erofilmgifs]

[l4vishkiss]

if bad guy, why so dreamy?

[gacktova]

[fotze-politics]

Then we can be together.

[jafark]

[hyperchondriacsong]

Neil Newbon in Hollyoaks Later (2012)

[nobigneil]

[whumpninja]

hahahaha this is so stupidly late at this point

Featuring: false accusation, magic whump, fantasy whump, arrest, elf whumpee

Taglist: @whumperofworlds @melpomenelamusa

Prompt used: captive

Part Three | Masterlist | Part Five

Hollyoak, Part Four

Gentle lute and harp music filled the central treeroom. Plates of colorful, carefully crafted food waited on shelves conjured out of the trunk itself. Wine made from every kind of fruit and flower flowed freely, and the Summer Elves wore their best. Adaire was the center of attention, surrounded by a ring of his people, laughing and talking and waving his hands so wildly that several times he came perilously close to knocking over a pitcher or bowl. King Aritz sat close to his son, the Crown of Two Realms gleaming gold on his brow, just beneath his horns.

At the other end of the tree was Kelyn. He could not help but notice that none of the Summer Elves had been seated by him. He sat alone, isolated.

Fitting.

He hadn't felt much like eating, merely picking at the feast that had been laid out. It always took him several days to adjust from the Winter Realm's food of nuts and bread and warming stews to the Summer Realm's fare of fruits and green things and cool dishes. But this year he just felt too uncomfortable to eat. It felt as though all the Summer Elves were watching him, whispering about him. Kelyn hated feeling so paranoid.

If he were in the Winter Realm, he'd track down Duff and go for a long ride along the nearest winding cliff trail, ending at the overlook by his favorite frozen waterfall. He could picture the route and the ride so clearly it almost hurt.

But there was no icy cliff road here. No reindeer either. If Kelyn wanted to go riding, his options were the bears that terrified him or the deer that were terrified of him. And he wasn't sure the Summer Elves would let him do it, anyway.

Neither he nor Adaire had ever had a reason to try and escape the rival realms they inhabited every half-year. Kelyn had always been treated decently by the Summer Elves, and he'd never seen any of his people be unkind to Adaire. Even when they were both younger, they'd known the importance of what they were doing. This trading of sons between kingdoms was a show of trust, the two enemies sacrificing what they loved most so that peace could flourish instead of war.

King Aritz rang a little copper bell that hung from a vine near his place, and the conversation fell silent. Everyone stopped eating; Kelyn did the same.

"As you all surely know," King Adaire proclaimed, "the purpose of this feast is to celebrate the return of our beloved son Prince Adaire." How does he do that with his voice? Kelyn wondered. King Aritz had the sort of booming voice that echoed around the trunk of the tree, sounding both majestic and a little frightening.

Adaire was beaming across the room- a real, genuine smile this time, not the playful smirk Kelyn was used to. He's as happy to be home as I am sad to leave mine.

King Aritz turned his head aside to cough briefly into his sleeve. "At long last, the magic has been returned to us. Death and darkness cannot stand long before the light and life, and so we must protect what we have reclaimed. We must...we...excuse me. My apologies." The king turned, coughing deeply. He braced his hand against the nearest column, dragging what looked like a shaky breath into his lungs. Kelyn frowned. Is he ill?

King Aritz shook his head, clearing his throat. He looked back up at his people, smiling half to himself as if to say What a silly interruption. Now where was I?

Then he pitched forward, like a tree cut down, and lay still on the floor of the hall.

Stunned silence was king for a moment. Then there were screams of shock and horror. Adaire vaulted over the table, sending dishes flying in his wake, and fell to his knees beside his father. His hands glowed with power, green melting into gold at the edges, and he whispered words Kelyn could not hear. Magic words. Life magic. The special skill of the Summer Elves. Kelyn had never seen it practiced before.

A mage took Adaire's place, but the Oak Prince stayed by King Aritz' side. The rest of the hall was motionless, silent, watching in disbelief.

"He is alive," the mage said at last. Their face was grim. "But I do not know for how much longer. This is no sickness; this is death magic."

"Who did this?" Adaire snarled.

The mage hesitated. "Death magic is impossible for Summer Elves."

The implication hung heavy in the hall.

There was only one Winter Elf in the Summer Realm.

Kelyn.

Adaire found his gaze and held it. His green eyes were daggers, sharp and pointed. He looked nothing like the boastful, jovial prince Kelyn knew.

He looked like his father.

"Arrest him," Adaire ordered.

What could Kelyn have done? He was alone in a realm not his own, surrounded by elves who very suddenly seemed to have become his enemy.

"I didn't do this," he said, his voice coming out much weaker than he had wanted it to.

"Silence!" Adaire shouted, and then quieter, "Just- just don't. I don't- I can't." He bent next to the mage, adding his own magic to theirs. The green glow almost hurt to look at now, although none of the Summer Elves seemed affected.

Death magic. It was, technically, the reach of the Winter Elves. The Summer Elves could wield heat, make things grow, heal, and use life magic in moments of crisis. Winter Elves wielded cold, called down storms...and used death magic. No one had used it- or had been supposed to use it- since the war.

Kelyn didn't even know how. He'd never seen death magic put into practice even by the elders who knew the secrets of it. And yet someone had used it. Someone- and Kelyn had been blamed.

How is this happening to me?

To their credit, the Summer Elves serving as guards seemed to hesitate. "Well?" Adaire barked, his voice drawn sharp by fear and anger.

Kelyn stood, gripping his staff tightly. "I'll go with you," he said, and watched as the guards visibly relaxed. As if he was some sort of danger. Kelyn raised his voice. "But I want everyone here to know that I did not do this." He fixed his gaze on Adaire's furious eyes. "I did not do this, Adaire."

Adaire angrily gestured for the guards to take him away.

One of them reached for Kelyn's hands. The other guard- and now he recognized them, they were the elf he had sat behind on the bear- seized her wrist and shook their head. "We don't need that," they said firmly, and offered Kelyn an apologetic glance.

Kelyn inclined his head to them, relieved. With his hands bound, he wouldn't have been able to use his staff. An ungraceful fall to the floor of the Summer Court's banquet hall was the very last thing he needed tonight.

The hall, for its part, was still very quiet, the Sunmer Elves dumbstruck by the sudden fall of their king. Adaire had turned away, bent over King Aritz again.

The guard on the right grasped his arm; the guard who had been on the bear took his left, and didn't take hold of him. Kelyn appreciated that, since he needed that hand free to use his staff. Its tip clunked in an ominous, echoing fashion on the wooden floor of the hall.

He did not look back again.

[givemegifs]

[harmonytheme]

"we're gonna remember this summer for the rest of our lives."

[loveallthegays]

[robertsugden]

[seizethenightagain2]

Callum Kerr 💜💜💜

Extremely rugged and handsome Scottish 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 actor known for his role in the British Soap “Hollyoaks”

I’d happily be the one doing this above ⬆️ 💜😁

Callum has now embarked on a Country music career and released his first single last year 🤗

💜💜💜💜💜💜