Bed of Wild Roses

Sean stumbled into the clearing, still breathless from his panicked run through the forest. He had to get to Karl in time. It had taken him eternity, though it had probably only been minutes, till he had finally realized what had happened, had realized that he was in danger of really losing Karl this time.

“Karl, wait!” He yelled, spotting the familiar figure between the pear-shaped stones of the stone circle. “Fuck.” He stumbled to a stop as Karl’s figure shimmered briefly, his wings glimmering mockingly at Sean before he faded, seemingly vanishing into thin air.
“No!” Sean surged forward, hands outstretched. It was too late. Karl’s translucent silhouette shimmered a last time and disappeared completely. Sean’s knees impacted heavily with the hard forest ground. Too late. Karl was gone. He had been too slow.


~***~


Wow. Sean sighed, letting his gaze drop to where the spider had just fallen to. Thread or not, she was now hanging directly above the floor. After almost managing to climb on the top of his desk. Stupid spider. And he was even more stupid . He had no idea how long he had been staring at the little critter, desperately trying to avoid the pandemonium of thoughts that was running through his head.

Sean shook his head, his eyes immediately returning to the spider again. There were too many thoughts in his head. He had no idea what he was thinking any more. And even less of an idea what to do. All he knew was that without really doing anything he had managed to lose Karl. And there seemed to be nothing he could do. He knew that there were stories – fairy tales – of people entering the fairy realm by accident but he seriously doubted that he could get there if he tried. After all, it could not be completely coincidental that the little folk was known for rarely giving people what they wanted. Or needed.

“Fuck.” The squelching sound the spider made as he surged forward and smashed it made him feel only marginally better. Well.

“Ouch.” Somehow banging his head against the desk had not been a good idea. No matter how good the pain felt right now. He opened his eyes, staring directly at the grain of the wood. Great. The only good thing was that Evie had returned to her room and was playing peacefully with her dolls. At least she had been doing that when Sean returned. Unfortunately that would not save him from telling her that Karl had left. And would not be coming back.

Sighing he forced himself to lift his head and snatch the nearest pencil. He really needed to get this – what ever this was – out of his system.

It had been three das since Sayphon and Tyrus had crossed into the realm behind the well and it seemed that they were getting nowhere. The elves had taken them in and had been very friendly, but when ever Sayphon and Tyrus asked to see the elders they were told that there would be enough time for that in a few days. Or maybe even later.

And so the two boys had been forced to live with the little folk. They did not really mind, since the elves’ way of living was very similar to what their own life had been like before the dragon came, but they wanted to go home, wanted to return to the village and their own life. And yet they knew that they could not return without the help of the elves.

On the evening of the third day they had finally been allowed to see the elders of the elven village. Sayphon and Tyrus had been shy, timid even, and very unsure of what awaited them, of which price the elders would demand in return for their help. And their fears had not been unfounded. The elders had agreed to help them – on one condition. They had to walk through a cave and follow a tunnel to the other side. If they managed to do that, then the elves would help them.

“What a load of bullshit.” Sean said, disgustedly glaring at his spidery handwriting. He still did not feel any better. He wrinkled his nose at the wannabe chapter he had written. Fuck. Even Evie would probably have been able to write something like that. No, Evie probably would have written something more interesting. More imaginative. Still. He had to get this fucking story done, had to finish it if he wanted to stay within the terms of the contract.

Sighing he grabbed a new sheet of paper. He had, however, learned something very important while writing this story. He would never, ever again sign a contract that forced him to deliver a yet unwritten book at a certain date. No, from now on, he was definitely going to actually write his books before selling them.

The big doors closed behind Sayphon and Tyrus with a loud, echoing bang, that shook them to their very core and left them standing in an almost absolute darkness. A bit of light filled the cave they had been locked in with a strange, dim glow, but neither of the boys could see where it came from.

“The torch,” Tyrus whispered, not even noticing how much he had lowered his voice, “Light the torch! I can’t see where we’re supposed to go.”

“Straight ahead.” Sayphon said, wincing. It frightened him how strange his voice sounded when it echoed of the uneven walls. “They said there was only one way through the cave.” With a whoosh the flame roared to life, lightening the cave around them.

The two boys eyed the walls apprehensively. The strange, flickering shadows of the flame hurried over the walls in a ghostly mockery of a dance. Slowly Sayphon and Tyrus walked deeper and deeper into the cavern, knowing g that there was no way out. And that a test was waiting for them somewhere in the tunnel. And that passing the test was the only way of rescuing the other villagers.

Sean pushed the stash of papers that he had just filled aside. He was not calm enough. And no matter how much he needed to get his feelings out of his system, killing Sayphon and Tyrus in a bout of depression and anger and thus ruining the whole story would just not do. He had to find another way, had to do something else. Sean stood up, sighing deeply, and walked listlessly through the kitchen and into the garden. Maybe it would help of he took a walk, worked off some energy .


~***~


Karl sneezed loudly, tears burning in his eyes as he caught himself just in time. This was wrong. Completely and utterly wrong. He shivered, looking around in despair.

“Essaiel , please.” He whispered brokenly , hoping that the fairy elder would hear him. “Not this, I’m not supposed to be here. Not here, not like this.” He had expected to be home, to be in his world, surrounded by the very essence and warmth of the forest itself. Home in the fairy realm. Instead he found himself surrounded by nothing. Absolutely nothing. He was standing on what seemed to be an endless, completely empty plain that was lit by a grey twilight. The strange light came from nowhere and everywhere at once. Someone, or something had closed the way home for him. He gulped, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands.

He was caught in the Between, stuck between the human world and the fairy realm. He concentrated, willing himself to go back to the human world, but it was in vain. Everytime he managed to fade out he stumbled back into the cold, grey twilight. He was caught; well and truly stick between the worlds.

Hysterical laughter burst from him in choked, painful sobs. Sobbing he sank to his knees, clutching his hurting stomach with both hands. Another harsh guffaw escaped him as the absurdity of the whole situation hit him with full force. Trapped.

He would not have minded being excluded from the fairy realm so much if he had at least been able to go back to Sean. Oh god, Sean. He should not have let his guard down around the other man. He had already liked – and admired – Sean when he had still been watching him secretely. How could he have assumed, even for a moment, that he could remain indifferent once he actually lived with the other man? He had known right from the beginning that a kind and caring man lurked behind Sean’s depression.

He laughed darkly, the hollow sound echoing eerily in the strange nothingness of the Between, the bouncing echos mocking him more and more with each return. “Stupid.” He muttered to himself. The chill of the Between was already creeping into his very bones. He would probably freeze to death if he did not find a way out. “So fucking stupid. I never should have allowed Evie to see me.”

“That is the first sensible thing I have ever heard you say.”

Karl froze, slowly turning around. “Marton.” He gulped. And he had though that the situation could not get any worse. “What are you doing here?”

“I drew the short straw.” Marton shrugged non-chalantly, his wings flapping hectically as he hovered in front of Karl. “Which is why I have been sent to talk to you.”

“Talk to me?” Karl repeated bitterly, another bout of hysterical laughter escaping him. “And what are you supposed to tell me?” He gestured at the foggy grey around them. “I’m stuck in the Between. There’s no need to tell me anything. I received the elders’message loud and clear, thank you very much.”

“No.” Marton shook his head, sighing exasperatedly. “You didn’t.”

“I didn’t?” Karl repeated incredulously. “I didn’t? I’m quite obviously meant to die here. How can you say that I didn’t get the message?”

“Because you’re not meant to die here.” Marton said slowly and carefully as though he was talking to a wayward child. “You’re just not meant to return to the fairy realm.”

“Which means that I am going to die here after all.” Karl squeezed his eyes shut, he would not cry in front of Marton. He would not. “They have closed the way to the human world as well.”

“Well, duh!” Marton finally stopped flapping his wings, lowering himseld till he stood right in front of Karl. “Of course they did.”

Karl clenched his fists. Marton had always managed to annoy him. He had known the other fairy all his life and he could not remember a single encounter between them that had not resulted in Marton angering him within an incredibly short time span. Unfortunately attacking Marton would probably kill his last chance of being released from the Between.
“Why?” He ground out through clenched teeth, his fingernails digging painfully into the palms of his hands. “Why did they close the way?”

“Because.” Karl forced himself not to let out a scream of frustration s Marton heaved yet another sigh. “Because the elders wanted to be sure that we were completely alone when I told you.”

“Told me what?”

“The truth.”

“Well.” Karl smiled sarcastically. “That’s great, you know. Because the truth is exactly what I want to hear from you.” Slowly, ever so slowly, he unclenched his fists and forced himself to take a deep breath. “Tell me. Now.”

“You’ve got to go back to the human world and live out a lifetime as human.”

What? Karl blinked helplessly at his favourite nemesis. Hemust have misheard. This simply hat to be a joke. “Why?” He finally managed to croak, his hoarse voice barely audible. “Because Sean wished for me?”

“No.” Marton shook his head. “Because he kissed you.”

“But… but…” Karl stuttered. “Sean didn’t kiss me. He can’t have.” Karl straightened, hos voice finally regaining at least some strength. “I’d have been returned to the fairy realm if he had.”

“Well.” Marton sat down, elegantly crossing his legs. “Theoretically.” He hesitated for a moment, seizing Karl up. “That’s why the elders wanted us to be alone for this conversation .” He said finally. “There’s a loophole.”

“A… loophole.” Karl repeated. “What kind of loophole?”

“We can stay in the human world, even in human form,” Marton explained, his whole demeanour more serious than Karl had ever seen, “And live a lifetime as human. But only if our first kiss in the human world is motivated by true love. You’re bound to Sean.”

“But…” Karl shook his head, completely bewildered, “Sean didn’t kiss me.”

“Yes, he did.” Marton’s voice had an almost sing-song like qualitly which did anything but soothe Karl’s frayed nerves. “You just didn’t notice. You were sleeping.” He supplied helpfully as Karl continued to stare at him. “Rather deeply.”

“But I asked him not to.” Karl said plaintativley, uncomfortably aware of how young and stupid he sounded.

“Now, that’s something you’ll have to discuss with you human. Don’t hurry,” Marton said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable, “After all you’ll have a lifetime to do it.”

“A lifetime.” Karl repeated, a slow grin spreading over his face. “But,” he frowned, “Why is that loophole kept secret? I mean…” he shrugged helplessly, “Why are we told that it’s forbidden to kiss a human? To get attached to the human world?”

“I’m sure the elders have their reasons.” Marton shrugged. “Can’t say that I really care.”

Karl’s frown deepened. That was exactly why he had never managed to get along with Marton. He simply could not force himself to care about people who did not care about anything.

“And I,” Karl started, only to be interrupted by Marton.

“You will return to the human world. On one condition.”

“Condition?” Karl croaked , dread slamming into him with the force of a train at full speed. “What condition?” Conditions from the elders were seldom good. And quite often a catch-22.

“On the condition that you never tell another fairy – any other fairy – of the loophole.” Marton paused, looking intently at Karl. Intently enough to make him squirm. “Do you agree to that condition?”

“Yes!” No sooner had Karl spoked than he already felt himself being pulled towards the human world. A weight was lifted from his heart as Marton and the Between faded from his view. He was going home. To Sean.


~***~

Sean stopped, morosely staring at the clearing in front of him while he silently cursed himself. Fuck. He had not thought about where he was going. And where had his treacherous feet led hin? He snorted, still refusing to move on. To the fucking clearing. Of course. The place where he had first and last seen Karl. And it looked just as peaceful and serene as it had on the day he had found Karl.
Still, without Karl the place had lost most of its magical beauty. At least in Sean’s eyes. Even though the stone circle inside seemed just as enchanting and mysterious as it always had.

He tensed, his hackles rising as the aur crackled, was suddenly filled with a strange kind of static, a low electric hum, that had each of his hairs stand on end and every one of his nerve ends tingling. He shivered.
The atmosphere in the forest was almost as strange as it had been on Thursday evening. Sean frowned, peering intently at the stone circle. He could not really say what, but something had changed, was different. His eyes widened incredibly.

Blue lightning was dancing over the weathered surfaces of the stones, was crackling back and forth between them and filling the clearing with flashing, blue bolts of brightness. He stepped back, waiting at what he deemed to be a safe distance to the stones. He had no clues as to what was happening in that stone circle but he wanted to see it anyway. What ever it was, it had to be related to the fairy realm.


~***~


Quite a few miles to the west Viggo Mortensen was sitting in his garden, absentmindedly twirling a lit cigarette between his thumb and index finger. The society section of the Sunday Times lay on the table in front of him between a crumbled roll and a half-empty glass of jam. He kept staring at the newspaper, unwilling to accept what he was seeing and yet unable to deny the truth that was staring back at him. Sean.

Sean was grinning at gim, looking happier and more relaxed than ever since Abigail’s death. And the person that seemed responsible for it was that…. boy toy of his. Karl, or what ever his name was. Karl was holding Evie’s hand, kneeling next to her and both the child and the boy toy were grinning up at Sean, who was smiling back at them with an equally goofy expression. They looked almost disgustingly happy.

Viggo sighed, mentally shaking himself out of the trance-like state he had fallen into. Judging by the picture Sean was not only happy but also quite serious about the relationship. If there was a relationship with the supposedly not-boyfriend. Slowly, meticulously, Viggo closed the newspaper, effectively hiding Sean and his new-found happiness from sight.
He had enough to think about without having to look at it as well.

Still shaking his head he grabbed the glass of jam and stuck a spoon into it. He really needed something sweet right now. And maybe, just maybe, he could work through this, could wrap his mind around it somehow and drop by at Sean’s in the evening. To apologize. Maybe.


~***~


Sean stood wide-eyed and glued to the spot as the lightning left the stones and began to flicker towards the middle of the clearing. He was completely transfixed, utterly unable to move as the lightning danced around flowers and moss, shooting up to outline a figure right in the middle of the clearing.

“Karl?” Sean whispered, glaring incredulously at what the lighning had revealed. With another flash of blue light the strange static, the unknown energy, was gone. Karl, however, was still standing within the stone circle, gloriously naked once more and just as enticing as he always had been. If not even more so.
Swallowing against the sudden dryness in his throat, Sean gingerly stepped towards the stone circle, stopping just a few centimeters short of entering it. The butterflies in his stomach returned with vigour, doing their most violent dance to date.

“Karl.” He whispered, all air escaping from his lungs as hazel eyes locked with his. “You’re back.” He paused, afraid to ask the next question. Even though he was probably even more afraid of what the answer might be. “Are you going to stay this time?”
His mouth became even dryer as Karl nodded. Sean blinked, his eyes suddenly burning with unshed tears. His feet began to move again, carrying him towards Karl without waiting for a command or conscious thought from Sean.

The light was back to normal as they faced each other, both of them holding their breath as Sean slowly reached out till his hand was pressed against Karl’s chest. Sean’s breath hitched. He could feel the frantic beating of Karl’s heart under his fingertips.
“You’re real.” He whispered, each of his words filled with awe. “You’re really real. And human.”

“I am.” Karl said earnestly, once hand coming up to cover Sean’s. “And I’ll remain human this time.”

“How?” Sean asked breathlessly. “Did my wish work after all?”

“No.” Karl smiled sadly. “It didn’t. I told you. It doesn’t work that way.”

“But you’re here:”

“Yes.”

Sean’s heart leaped again as Karl squeezed his hand. Karl’s skin burnt his fingers, sent tendrils of liquid fire through his hands and arms and down his spine, where they gathered, coiling around each other in a ball of warmth and desire. “How?”

“Apparently fairies become mortal for the span of a human life if a human gives them a kiss of true love.”

“But... oh.” Sean said, gulping audibly. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?”

“Yes.” Sean smiled, shifting awkwardly from one feet to the other. “I mean… you said we could never kiss.” He gulped again. “And I did kiss you. While you couldn’t protest.”

“Yes.” Karl’s smile never lost its brilliance. “But you love me.”

Sean nodded, smiling through tears of happiness. He knew that he was incapable of saying anything right now. He felt as though his heart would burst with happiness at any moment.

“I love you, too.”

Sean froze once again. He had never truly allowed himself to hope that maybe, one day, he might actually hear these words from Karl. He stood on the clearing, unblinking, his eyes glued to Karl’s as the other man leaned closer.
“Oh god.” He whispered inaudibly, his heart beat echoing like thunder in his ears.

Firm, warm lips met his mouth, moving over his lips with the fiery passion of molten lava. Sean moaned against Karl’s mouth, immediately opening up as an insistent tongue nudged his lips. “Gods…” He gasped, grabbing Karl and pushing forward, trying to cover as much of the other man’s body with his own as he possibly could. “Karl…”

He bucked up against Karl, feeling the other man’s erection through his jeans. The painful restriction his jeans provided only spurned him on, only seemed to increase his desire. Needed more friction. More Karl. Now.
A shudder ran through Sean’s whole body as Karl deepened their kiss, his tongue twisting and teasing, driving Sean mad with need and desire. He moaned, hands roving over Karl’s body, gliding over smooth, heated skin. He yelped as he sensed more than felt Karl’s hand moving towards his zipper. Too much.

“Fuck…” Sean gasped, blushing as he sagged forward against the other man. “I can’t believe it.” He shook his head, shivering with the last aftershocks of his orgasm. “I came in my fucking pants.”
Karl’s laughter was one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard.

“Sean?” Karl asked, uncertainty seeping into his voice.

“Hm?” Sean mumbled, reluctant to move even a single muscle more than absolutely necessary.

“Take me home?”


~***~


Soft, green light surrounded Sayphon as he finally opened his eyes again. Where was he?
“Tyrus?” He whispered, sitting up and looking arounf as the memory of what had happened in the caves slowly came back to him. “Tyrus where are you?”

They had slowly walked through the cave, stopping dead in their tracks as a wall of fire suddenly roared to life right in front of them. A wall of fire that could only be crossed by one of them. And both of them had wanted to be the one to stay behind, had refused to leave the other to certain death. They had still been arguing when a raging torrent of water had suddenly flooded the cave, dragging them under and away from each other.

“Tyrus!” Sayphon climbed to his feet. The water must have dragged him out of the cave. He was back outside, was standing in the middle of a beautiful, lush glade of dark greens and reddish fruits and flowers. “Tyrus!”

“I’m here.” His friend said, stepping out of the shadow of a nearby tree. “I’m alright.” He smiled even more broadly. “We did it, Sayphon. We passed the test.”

“But…” Sayphon could not believe what he was hearing. “But we didn’t et through the fire! We didn’t pass.”

“You passed.” The elf, who had led them to the council of elders earlier, interrupted them.
Both Sayphon and Tyrus turned to look at the elf. “Both of you were willing to sacrifice their own life so that the others could live.” The elf bowed before them, smiling. “You have shown, and proven, that your hearts are pure. We will help you to save those of your village, who have been put to sleep by the dragon’s fire.”

Sean smiled as he sensed a presence behind him. Leaning back his head fell against a warm, taut stomach and fluffy pullover.

“You’ve put something on.” Sean said, sighing contentedly as Karl’s hands came to rest on his shoulders.

“I think your daughter might prefer it if I didn’t walk around naked.”

Oh god. Sean’s eyes flew open. “Evie!” He said, looking up at Karl. He knew that his gaze was probably panicked. Very panicked. “Oh my god. We have to tell her… have to explain….”

“I think she knows more than you think.” Karl chuckled softly. “She’s a very bright child.”

“So…” Sean frowned, suddenly remembering something he had meant to ask earlier. “What about Evie’s wish? You said you became human because of Evie’s wish.”

“Yes.” Sean could almost feel Karl frowning down at him. “What about it?”

“Does she get another wish?” Sean craned his neck, searching out Karl’s gaze. “And what about her first wish?” The smile on Karl’s lips only confused him even more. “What?”

“Her whish has been fulfilled.” Karl said, grinning broadly. “Though not the way anyone expected.”

“How so?” Sean’s frown deepened. “What did she wish for?”

“For you to be happy.” Karl said softly. “That was all she wanted.”


The End