by Toby Aden
“Fine,” Ilno said, staring at Ciran. “Are you sure you can do it though?”
Ciran’s eyes lit up. “A challenge, hmm. If there’s anything else I love just as much as wandering, it’s a good challenge.”
* * * *
“It’s cold,” Ilno said in surprise as he stared at their white surroundings through the glass door.
Ciran came to stand behind him, engulfing him in his arms, his chin resting on his mate’s head as he also stared out at the sight before them.
“That is what snow does, Ilno. The temperature drops, and you have to be outfitted for outdoor wears in order to leave the house.”
“By the fates. I’ve never seen the likes of this before,” Ilno said, his voice filled with awe. “And you’re right, everything looks different. White. It’s gorgeous. I want to feel it.”
“Then you shall, but first…” Ciran moved away from Ilno and went digging in the wardrobe off to one side by the front door. He soon came out with wool mitten gloves, two beanies, two boots, and coats. He held them out so that Ilno could see. “We’ll need these.”
Nodding, Ilno took them from his mate’s hands and together, they began pulling the outfits on. Once they were dressed, they walked to the door, and Ciran paused then turned to his mate with a grin on his face.
“Ready?” Ciran asked, admiring his mate in the new clothes at the same time.
“Ready.” Ilno nodded, his smile also widening as he itched to go exploring.
Ciran reached out and straightened the beanie on Ilno’s head before pulling the door open and gesturing for Ilno to move first. He shut the door behind them, then together, they walked down the two stairs into the open.
Ilno held out his hand and let a flake settle into his hand, staring at it then their snow-covered surroundings. He still could not fathom how little flakes like this could rain down to make a huge difference in the area. A ball of snow hit him on the back, taking him by surprise with the coolness of it.
Turning, Ilno spotted Ciran standing a short distance away from him, a smile on his face as he threw another ball at him, hitting him on the cheek. Sucking in a deep breath, Ilno grinned also and bent to gather the snow in his hands.
“It is so on, Ciran!” Ilno yelled as he tossed the ball at his mate, who dodged to the side and avoided it.
“That the best you got?” Ciran asked with a chuckle as he threw another ball at Ilno, hitting him on the head when he tried to dodge.
Ilno let out a gasp and narrowed his eyes at his mate. The man simple shrugged and stared back, waiting to see what he would do next. Feigning annoyance, Ilno turned his back on Ciran and began moving away. When he saw Ciran coming after him from the corner of his eyes, he bent and gathered a small ball of snow then turned and tossed it at his mate.
Ciran had thought his mate annoyed at him and had been going to make amends, but the man was obviously devious. It had not occurred to him earlier what Ilno was doing when he bent, but when the man turned around to face him with a triumphant look on his face, it had been too late to dodge the ball of snow that flew and smacked him on his forehead. It was only when it started slipping down his face that he realized Ilno had played him well.
“Oh. That how we’re doing it now?” Ciran asked, his eyes gleaming.
As one, they both bent and began gather the snow. They stood up with it, eyeing each other then threw it at each. Laughing, the fight came on and they chased each other through the snow-filled mountain, ducking and tossing snowballs at each other.
The shriek of laughter lifted into the sky as the two men continued frolicking around. Ciran sneaked up on Ilno when he was gathering more snow to toss and tackled him to the ground, laughing at his mate’s grunts.
“Get off me, you oaf!” Ilno exclaimed, his body shaking with laughter.
“No. Now that I’ve caught you, what shall I do with you?” Ciran asked, flipping Ilno about so that the man lay on the ground facing him.
“What do you have in mind?” Ilno teased back, his face red from the cold and exertion from the fun they’d been having together.
“Lots of things. But let’s go inside before you catch your death,” Ciran said then leaned down to peck Ilno on the lips before getting up.
Ilno stood also, dusting snowflakes from his body, and grinning at each other, they sprinted back to the house. Dusting their boots, they took their gears off, returning it to the wardrobe.
“Hungry?” Ilno asked.
“I could eat something.” Ciran nodded, then glanced toward the fireplace. “I’m going to get the fire going, get the place warmer.”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do for food,” Ilno said, rubbing his hands together to thaw out the cold in them and moving toward the kitchen. He pulled over the cooling component and began pulling out different vegetables, then the ingredients needed to make something simple for them to eat.
Chapter Twelve
It was dark out, and full from dinner, they lay cuddling together with Ciran spooning Ilno on a rug in front of the fireplace.
“When will you take me to the caves? The one with the histories on it?” Ilno asked, his curiosity still well and alive.
“You really want to see it?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Mm-hmm. It boggles the mind that no one even remembers it. I still find it hard to believe it. That something so significant happened in our history and it’s already been forgotten—that is huge,” Ilno said.
“I agree with you, but what use will it be should the information get out?” Ciran questioned.
“Easy. To prevent something like that from happening again.”
Ciran shook his head. “Right now, Ilno, our entire race goes along with the laws they know pose dangerous consequences to them should they break it. Whether they know of the Great War or not is entirely irrelevant to those laws. It will always be followed. However, showing this to them and explaining what happened, that is bound to lead to so much trouble. What if someone decided to go back to those times? To dig deeper into the information they’re made aware of and find loopholes? You must remember that our realm was dying because of the selfishness and greediness to men back then.”
“I see your point. The risk of causing damaging results is much higher than that of a positive result,” Ilno agreed. “But I’d still like to see it for myself.”
“Of course. I’ll take you tomorrow. I too feel that it would be good for the people to know but we cannot discount the risks, no matter what.”
They grew silent, each pondering.
“I like this,” Ilno mumbled.
“What?”
“Being with you like this. You know, I never thought I’d ever find my fated mate until you around, knocking me off my feet, literally and figuratively of course.”
Ciran chuckled, his motion shaking Ilno’s body against him. “I’d be the first to admit that our first meeting was a bit unconventional and rocky at best.”
“Yeah. Finding that one special person is not easy, you know. If you only knew just how much you mean to me,” Ilno said quietly.
Dropping a kiss tenderly on Ilno’s shoulder, Ciran said, “I know. I know, Ilno, because I feel the same way.”
“I love you, Ciran.”
Ciran flipped Ilno over, staring deeply at his mate before saying with all seriousness, “Love you, too.” He leaned down and pecked Ilno’s mouth.
They wrapped their arms around each other, Ciran’s head on Ilno’s chest as they let the contentment of being together and finding each other wash over them, allowing them to drift into a peaceful sleep.
* * * *
So far, their matingmoon had been very smooth with how they clicked together and were so in tune with each other. The next day, Ciran took Ilno to the caves, maneuvering their way through another series of mazes till they came upon a cave which looked nothing spectacular from the outside.
Entering it was a different issue altogether. The cave was a winding one in which
one could get lost in forever and never see the light of the day again. Ilno followed Ciran, and sometimes, it seemed as though they were walking in circles, but Ciran assured him that was not so. It just looked that way to one who was not of the earth and a good navigator.
“How did you find this place?” Ilno asked.
“You know me and how I like to wander. I was exploring the mountains.” Ciran chuckled, shaking his head at himself. “When I was still a youth. I think around fifty then. I’d left my family and wandered around on my own. I got lost and came in here for shelter, and well, curiosity got the best of me. You can imagine how frightened I was when I couldn’t find my way out of here, shivering, cold.” Ciran paused, switching the fire stick in his hand, and he continued leading Ilno through a series of caves.
“What happened next? How did you get out of here? Who found you?” Ilno asked, burning with curiosity.
“Not a who. A what. To me, it was better to keep moving than to stop and let the cold set in.” Ciran stopped, his hand on one part of the wall as he eyed Ilno with a gleam in his eyes. “I think it’s more likely to say this found me rather than I found it.” With that, he pushed the wall in, and the wall groaned and gave in, parting.
A gust of wind blew on the fire, and it went out. Ciran moved out of the way and the sight caused Ilno’s jaw to drop open in shock and awe.
The room was bathed in blue light lit by crystals hanging from the extremely tall ceiling. Statues of fairies, which glowed with a blue light, hung by itself at the center of the room in a circle, their hands outstretched above their head and joined together in an overlapping beauty.
The statues were not still but moved, rolling in a circle without breaking form or position.
“Look. There are writings on the wall,” Ciran said, drawing Ilno’s gaze reluctantly away from the magnificence before him to what Ciran was point at.
“What is this place?” Ilno muttered in awe.
Ciran grinned at the thunderstruck look on his mate’s face. “The exact center of our realm and not an inch out of place.”
“By the fates!” Ilno exclaimed, taking his time to glance at the pictorial images imprinted into the walls, the intricacy and precision making the features of the image clear as he saw history before him.
“How did this get here?” Ilno whispered in reverence.
“As I said, probably because of the great sacrifice which took place here and the sheer magnitude of energy and power that was used,” Ciran said, watching his mate as the man kept staring, enraptured by all that was before him.
“I can’t believe all this really happened,” Ilno said, walking along as he followed the history of their people on the wall before him.
“But it did.”
“Yes,” Ilno said, simply, not taking his eyes off what he was reading.
“You feel it, don’t you?” Ciran whispered close to Ilno’s ears.
Turning to face his mate, Ilno nodded. “There’s something extremely different about this place.”
“There is. But we can’t stay for long,” Ciran said, staring up at the crystals, a pensive look on his face.
“Why not?” Ilno asked.
“It’s not safe. Being here for longer periods can create a sense of belonging, a desire to stay forever. If we don’t leave, we’ll be stuck here forever, unable to get out. A safe measure put into place to ensure no one tampered with what’s here.”
“How do you know that?”
“It’s a riddle mate. Look on the wall opposite where you are.” Ciran paused and stared at his mate as the man moved to glance at the wall he’d indicated.
“One of a kind, one in all and never let it falter.”
“I never understood what it meant. But when I was lost in here, it was by pure luck I managed to get out, scared and cold, wishing for home.” Ciran noticed the crystals slowing changing colors, and he grabbed Ilno’s arm and began hurrying them out through a different exit than they had entered through. “Hurry!” Ciran said, his voice filled with urgency until they began running, their hearts beating wildly as the pull to stay grew stronger in them.
“Wish for a safe journey back to our mountain retreat,” Ciran yelled. “Hurry and mean it with all your heart.”
Ilno nodded as they kept running and feeling as though their bodies were being dragged back toward the crystal cave. He wished with all his might for a safe journey to Ciran’s mountain home, Ciran doing the exact same thing, over and over again as they kept running yet feeling as though they weren’t moving anywhere.
Suddenly, everything slowed down, and a blinding light filled the place, forcing them to close their eyes. The next thing they knew, they were both standing in front of the mountain house, their hands clasped tightly together. They bent down, holding on to their knees as they tried to regain their breathing, a sigh of relief escaping their lips when they saw where they were.
They glanced at each other quietly then burst into laughter. No one knew who moved first, but soon, they were in each other’s arms, their mouths locked in a desperate kiss as they sought assurance that they were all right. They only broke apart when they ran out of air.
“That was a close one,” Ilno said.
Nodding, Ciran took Ilno’s lips in a slow kiss this time before resting his forehead on his mate’s. “Come on. Let’s go inside. After that, I feel like I could collapse and resurface maybe after a few days.”
Ilno burst into laughter, swinging his arms onto Ciran’s shoulders, and they both began walking back into the house only to collapse together on the couch.
“We definitely won’t be doing that anytime soon,” Ilno said, and Ciran agreed with a nod.
In the months that followed, they stayed at the mountain retreat, following a pattern. Wake up, have morning sex, tend the horses, break their fast, then shower together, and they spent the rest of the day doing whatever they wanted, playing in the snow or staying indoors and having a cozy time together and having more sex.
After their first ventures into the cave, it took two weeks before they agreed to return to examine it more. Only this time, they made sure they spend only a few minutes at most there. After their initial foray into the caves, they returned twice more, taking their time between both trips.
Three months into their stay in the mountain house, Ciran began getting sick in the mornings, throwing up and feeling queasy. After a while, he began having reactions to certain scents and food, and he began feeling more and more tired. It did not help when Ilno also began exhibiting these same symptoms barely a week later.
It took a messenger from Ciran’s parents to deliver a letter to them to realize that they were both pregnant. At that news, they had stared at each other in shock, a slow smile curving their lips until they burst into excited laughter. They had sent the messenger back with news of their pregnancies and broken into a celebratory dance, holding each other tightly and brimming over with joy as they whispered their love to one another.
Epilogue
Six months later
Ilno and Ciran arrived in the Water Kingdom, dressed in free-flowing robes to accommodate their pregnant bellies. They climbed down from the carriage which had carried them from the Earth Kingdom for the occasion tonight.
Months into their stay at the mountain retreat and not long after they had discovered their pregnancies, Cicitiana had insisted on them staying at the Earth castle till they were due and ready to birth the babes. However, Ciran had declined, until the six months he’d promised to live at the mountain retreat with Ilno as per their agreement had been fulfilled. When Ciran parents realized that Ciran would not bulge or go back on his word, they had reluctantly agreed and sent them a carriage to ferry them back to the castle once they were able to.
It was there that they had stayed until they’d had to leave for Kelric’s official introduction into the kingdom. It was not an event he could miss, and so together with Ciran and enough servants to see to their needs, they had set off days earlier to get
there on time.
Ilno and Ciran climbed down from their coach, then walked toward the grand entrance, which had been decorated and had a red rug spread from the entrance all the way into the ballroom. Several others were also arriving, and they presented their invite card before stepping in.
The room was already overflowing with people. Ilno and Ciran made their way through the throng of people to the front where all the royal families of the Water Kingdom and their spouses sat. Already, his parents were seated to the left of the current ruling king and Radisq and Aaeren to the right.
With a nod at the others already present, Ilno directed his mate so that he went to sit at the empty space beside his parents. It wasn’t long before the ceremony began and the priestess carrying Kelric and the royal advisors swept into the hall, causing the place to fall into a hush. Radisq and Aaeren stood as the priestess approached with their son, waiting till she got closer to them.
With a nod from the priestess, Radisq and Aaeren walked toward them, and Aaeren reached out to lift his son out of her arms. The royal advisors stood behind the priestess, Radisq, Aaeren, and Kelric, all facing those who had come to witness the ceremony. A small crown fashioned to fit on Kelric’s head sat on a velvet red cushion which the priestess collected from the advisor who had been carrying it.
“We come to bless our next king. We come to welcome our next king. We come to accept a lineage which has seen us through hard times and good times, a lineage which has brought us prosperity and peace, and a lineage which will continue to lead us thus. I give you Prince Kelric, the strong. May his reign be prosperous.”
“May his reign be prosperous,” the crowd chanted.
“May he lead with a kind heart and may he be blessed,” the priestess said. She then turned to face the advisors, saying, “If you approve, come forth.”