Chapter Text
True to Levi’s word, they left the hut well before the sun’s first rays could warm the earth. More snow hadn’t fallen overnight, much to Levi’s pleasure. Being light enough to fly came with other advantages, like being able to walk on airy snow without falling through at least. Eren hovered just above the snow, flying next to Levi and keeping their hands intertwined. But even with the comfort, Levi couldn’t help the nausea building in his stomach. Eren told him about the ring he found, but for it to belong to his mother seemed strange.
"Eren?”
"Yes, Levi?”
"Explain this to me again.”
"And by ‘this’ you mean?”
"The ring. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
"I have already explained the situation, but if I was unclear, I shall repeat myself now. I found a ring during my scavenging the previous night. The ring belongs to a witch and I believe that witch to be your mother.”
Levi cast a glare towards Eren and gave a hard flap of his wings. “I know that. What I don’t get is how we—you—just happen to find a ring that you supposedly believe belongs to my mother—who you also assume is a witch—the day that we need to find her. She disappeared almost nine years ago. How hasn’t it been buried it by now?”
Eren stroked his thumb across the back of Levi’s hand. “I will not try to make sense of the forest, but I have lived here a long time. The forest is alive with magic. While we fae creatures dwell within it, the magic itself is from the forest’s very existence.”
"And?”
"And so, sometimes the forest will act accordingly. It is your birthright to lift this curse and I am helping you to do so. As a result, the forest reveals a witch’s ring in your hour of need. It seems most fitting that this ring is your mother’s.”
Levi furrowed his brow. “And what then? If the ring is hers, do we find her?”
"I know not the answer any more than you.” Eren flapped his wings hard in quick succession and landed on the snow in front of Levi, the generated breeze ruffling his hair like fingers running through it. A soft smile pulled at Levi’s lips as Eren tugged their hands forward. Eren took any and every opportunity to show off his wings to Levi. But he really didn’t need to anymore; Levi thought his wings were beautiful from the moment they met.
"I have another question,” Levi said, flapping his own wings as he hurried forward to match Eren’s pace.
Eren glanced at Levi, eyebrow raised. “You have many questions this morning. Are you scared?”
Levi turned his head to stare at the woods around them as he spoke. “Scared isn’t the right word, but I’m something. Today seems too consequential to just act normally.” Sometime along their walk, the sun must have risen. The snow in front of them gleamed white as they walked along it. But further along their pathway, brown shrubbery jut from the ground, blocking out the sun and casting long, twisted shadows. Were they going to walk there?
"Your question, Levi?”
Levi blinked out of his trance. “Oh, yes. You keep talking about me breaking this curse as my birthright. But, I mean, I can’t be the first Ackerman to try this. Right?”
"No.” Levi turned to look at Eren.
"What?”
"The Ackerman clan was never told how to save their mothers. There was once a young girl who had an opportunity. She saw her mother being lured into the forest. They say the child wore a red cloak when she entered the forest after her mother but has never been seen since.”
"Well, did she have help or anything?” Levi shivered. Eren led them straight into the shadows of the shrubbery, and the air was much colder. But it didn’t feel right, even for being winter. It was too sharp, stabbing his lungs every time he breathed. He pressed himself closer into Eren’s side, wings fluttering quickly. Eren reciprocated with the slow flaps of his wings, sliding an arm around his waist, keeping Levi close. “You said faeries like you knew my family line so you can’t be the only one who’s helped us, right?”
“No. Not all faeries who know of you wish to help you. No one helped the child.”
“But she was a kid.”
“That matters little. But if this pleases you to hear, I have no certainty on her fate—perhaps she is still with life. What is certain is that she failed her mother.” Eren glanced down at Levi. His face looked older, wearier. His eyes where a million paces away. “Do not dwell in the past; you will forget to live if you do.” Was he still talking to him?
Eren stopped them as they came to a small clearing. There was no snow, dead brush, nor any brown to be seen. Only a patch of lush green grass and growing bluebells in a circle towards the center of the clearing. Wait…bluebells!
Levi tugged Eren’s hand. “Eren, the bluebells.”
"What of them?”
Levi frowned. “Stop joking. You know they’re toxic. I’m trying to find my mother on this isle, not The Isle of Nowhere.”
“They are toxic to humans,” Eren said as he pulled Levi towards the ring of deadly flowers. “Not to us fae. Just do not ring the bells as you pass through them; more faeries shall come if you do. Now come along, the true prize is inside.” Levi grit his teeth and shrugged Eren’s arm off his waist, but followed him into the brush, pressing his wings together and stepping only where he stepped. They didn’t have any time to waste fending off other faeries or beating around the bush. He crossed through the hedge and breathed in sharply. They were standing inside a ring of bluebells—unharmed. This had to be magic—bluebells didn’t grow like this and no villager would venture this far into the forest. They may not have practiced the lore anymore, but they were still superstitious. Levi glanced at the sky. The sun was hidden behind the tree canopy. Huh. Was that also magic? Who was casting it?
“Levi,” Eren said. “Levi, there it is.”
Levi’s gaze fell from the sky back to the green earth. And his eyes widened. There, in the true center of the bluebell ring was a human ring. It had been here a long while, its silver dirty but not quite rusted. Intricate knotwork slithered around the sides of the ring with blues, grays, and greens twinkling in its creases. Levi crossed over to it, his wings fluttering quickly. This was unbelievable. It couldn’t be hers, but it was, just sitting here in the middle of the forest where only the Goddesses knew where they were. How did Eren know? Why did he fly out here? He pressed a hand to the metal—it was freezing cold but thrumming in rhythm, like a tiny heartbeat.
“Mamaí, what’re you doing.” Only his eyes could peek over the counter and he was already on his tip-toes! Why did she keep all the stands so high up?
His mother didn’t look up from her work, eyes trained on a ring in one hand and a needle in the other. “Quiet, Levi. Mamaí is working.”
“But what’re you doing? Can I help?”
“Did you already preen the gardens?” Again, she did not lift her eyes from the ring. She had other things on her desk, but they weren’t her regular work tools. There was a candle, one of her polished wooden sticks, and a stone chalice. What was she doing?
“Levi?”
“Oh. Yes, I did. All the flowers are clean.”
His mother closed her eyes for a moment, mumbling words quickly. He only caught a few names: Gwyddion, Cuchulain, and Balor. Levi stayed quiet as he watched her work. She poked the needle into her finger quickly before tracing the crisscrossing lines on the ring with it. Little greens, grays, and blues twinkled wherever the needle touched. And still, his mother kept her eyes shut, chanting still, as she followed the pattern. She twisted the ring to its front and placed the needle down on the countertop. Without stopping her chants, she pressed the finger she poked to the front design.
Oh!
Levi breathed in awe. He knew what she was doing. He always read the red book cover to cover when Mamai would bring him to the shop for the day. Her desk was an altar—she was practicing magic.
His mother exhaled, extinguishing the candle, and slumped over the desk slightly.
Levi pushed against the counter, managing to just prop an elbow over the side. “Mamaí?”
She smiled at him, her eyes open but only just. “I am okay, my little one. I just used a lot of energy.”
Levi extended his arm over the counter to graze his fingers along her arm. She felt so cold. “Are you going to be okay?”
She pressed her face into his fingers, her lips pressing them softly. “I will be just fine. I was making a charm. I’ll tell you more about it once I finish up, okay? But for now, can you go pick me some berries from the garden please?” Levi nodded and pulled his hand back carefully before dashing out of the room. He’d pick the best berries she’d ever eaten!
"This is hers,” Levi said. How could he have forgotten his mother was a witch? Wasn’t magic in his family, like what Eren said? No, that was another problem for later. He could just ask his mother about it after he rescued her. He opened his eyes—when had they shut?—and walked around the perimeter of the ring, tracing along the knotwork his mother had carefully carved. He came to the front and crouched down to investigate.
"Are you certain this is of your mother’s possessions?” Eren followed behind Levi, wings fluttering too.
"I am. Look,” Levi nodded his head towards the intricately carved front design as he let his palm ghost across its surface. “It’s an A. She used her lifeblood to arrange the metalwork to form an A and the deities she evoked engrained the colors. That’s why they’re still shining even though it’s been years. Her life is tied to it. I can even feel her heartbeat.” Levi looked up at Eren, but the faerie was staring at the bluebells. “Eren, I want to take it with me.”
"You need not my permission, though you should probably shrink it.”
"But how—”
“Visualize and request, Levi. It is no different than the grass.” Eren’s brow was furrowed now. Was there something out there? Levi looked back to the ring—focus; he could clear up whatever Eren was thinking about later. Levi closed his eyes. He saw the ring on his mother’s finger; it was a snug fit. Now, he wanted the same thing. A snug fit for his own finger with this ring. His gut grew cold for a moment. He wanted this ring to fit his third finger. The coldness grew colder—he was almost there. He wanted this—no, he wanted more. He wanted this ring to fit his finger and guide him to his mother. The coldness snapped inside him and Levi gasped as his eyes shot open.
He was seated on the ground, so at the very most, he must have fallen out of his crouch. No matter. Levi opened his right palm, which was clenched in a tight fist. There it was—his mother’s ring shrunken down and sized for him. Now, he just had to see if it would guide him…
"Levi, stand. Hurry!” Eren was still staring at the bluebell hedge, his wings fully extended and flattened against his back.
Levi scrambled to his feet and slipped the ring on his middle finger. “What happened? Is something coming?”
Eren grabbed Levi’s hand again and dragged him along towards the bluebell hedge. “Yes. I knew here seemed too magical. Of course, many would dwell in such a place. We must leave now.”
"What’s coming?” Levi said as Eren plunged them through the hedge. He pulled them through with no finesse, only narrowly dodging stems but caring not the slightest for the other shrubbery. Levi tumbled out of the hedge, nearly losing his footing but flapped his wings hard to keep his balance. “Eren, what’s going on? It’s black everywhere, I can barely see a thing.”
“It’d part of its magic,” Eren said, his voice trembling. His hand was beginning to grow slick in Levi’s.
“Of what’s magic?”
Eren lifted his lone hand and pointed in front of them. “That.”
Levi tried to follow where Eren was pointing but it was so fucking dark. There was a bob of yellow light a ways in front of them, if they could just get a little closer then—
Oh.
“It’s just a wisp,” Levi said, tension draining from his stiff wings and shoulders. “You had me worried for a second.”
"You should be!” Eren squeezed Levi’s hand harder and looked around. His hand was growing sweatier by the moment as he started breathing faster. “Fuck, I have not a course of action. I know not what to do.”
Levi squeezed Eren’s hand back and looked at him. “Eren.”
"We are certain to die here today. I am truly sorry, Levi. I have only guided you to The Dark Plain.”
Levi brought his free hand to cup the side of Eren’s face and angle it towards him. He’d never seen Eren scared or even this intense about anything before. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his eyes were nearly as shifty as his wings. He just needed some help to calm down and Levi could do that.
"Eren, look at me.” Eren’s eyes flickered over to meet Levi’s for only a moment, but once was better than none. “Eren, it’s just a wisp. I won’t let it hurt you and it won’t hurt us.”
"But…no, you’re…you don’t know—”
“Wisps are the reason I’m a faery,” Levi said as he stroked Eren’s cheek before letting the hand drop. “It’s okay. It’s just fine. Here, I’ll prove it.”
“No! Please, Levi do not—!” Eren squeezed Levi’s hand but it was too slick to keep a tight grip. Levi smiled as he snatched his hand back and flitted away from Eren, who was too terrified to move. This would help Eren and get them moving again. With the magical darkness, it was impossible to tell what time it was. The sun had already risen when they had found the ring. Who knew how much time had passed since then? He walked towards the wisp, hand extended.
"Levi! Stop!”
"Hello,” Levi said to the wisp. It bobbed once and changed colors, now presenting a purple glow. “I’ve met wisps before that led me astray but closer to the truth. Will you lead me to the only truth now and show me where my mother lays?” The wisp bobbed and vanished, only to reappear closer to the snow-covered tree line at the edge of the clearing. Its new color was green as it bobbed alone.
"Levi… I have no trust in it,” Eren said from a few paces behind Levi. “Ask again.”
"Come closer to me and I will.”
"Do not make me. Please.”
Levi turned to Eren. He managed a few steps but stood frozen in place, staring at the wisp with wide eyes and twitching wings, hands clenching and unclenching. Levi sighed and walked over to him, wings flapping slowly. “Eren, you said you didn’t know what to do after this, yes?” Eren nodded, though it looked more like a jerk of his head. Levi tried to suppress his smile and took Eren’s hands again. “Look, I have a good feeling about this. Like you said about the forest showing things, I think this wisp is here to show us the way. So I’ll ask again, but you have to come with me wherever it leads.”
Eren kept his eyes on the wisp as he spoke. “B-But they are will-‘o-the-wisps. They are trouble.”
"That’s for humans.”
"But how do you know? I-I cannot remember, but the wisps…they are not bearers of good news, Levi.”
“This is my only shot to finding my mother. I have to follow them—wherever they take me—and I will with or without you.” Eren looked at Levi, his eyes full of alarm. Levi just rubbed his thumbs along the back of Eren’s hands. “Don’t force me to make a decision.”
“Do not…do that. Do not venture alone. I want to protect you.”
"Then promise me you’ll stay with me.”
Eren fidgeted, wings fluttering in quick succession. “Did I not already promise you such things. I shall always stay with you, Levi.”
“So you’ll follow me?”
Eren furrowed his brow and flapped his wings three times quickly before huffing. “I will never abandon you when you need me, Levi.”
This fucking lovable idiot. Levi smiled wide and pulled Eren close as he stepped closer to the wisp. It still bobbed green and rested near the edge of the clearing.
Okay. Maybe if he just gave his name, the wisp would change colors to blue. So far, only the blue lighted wisp revealed pathways. Squaring his shoulders and flattening his wings against his back, Levi faced the lone wisp. “I never identified myself. I am Levi, last of the Ackerman clan and outcast of the Wallist Village. I seek my mother, Kuchel Ackerman, to break the curse that has existed in our family since our arrival.” The wisp bobbed once more and vanished, reappearing closer to the edge of the bluebell hedge. Its color was a blue more ethereal than any previous glow. Like before, a trail of wisps extended behind it.
"Come on, Eren,” Levi said as he pulled Eren along with him towards the path of wisps.
The wisps went deep into the forest. Their magical blackness blotted out the sky entirely, only their blue light allowed them to see. Eren kept his grip firm on Levi’s hand as they crept forward.
"Are you okay?” Levi shot Eren a glanced over his shoulder as he hoisted his way over a thick tree root.
“No,” Eren said with a clipped tone. “I strongly dislike will-‘o-wisps. The closer I get to these dreadful creatures, the more I am able to remember.”
“That’s great!”
“No, it is not.” Levi glanced up at Eren. His face was pinched together, and a shadow covered most of it. Maybe these weren’t good memories for him. “I was stolen. Men—human men—came for me in the night. They took me in the forest and became lost. I took my chance to escape when they were not paying attention. But I too became lost in the dark. The wisps found me, a child, and led me astray to a formation of rocks. I have never left this forest since.”
Levi swallowed and squeezed Eren’s hand again. “Eren, I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“I only held Gabi once.”
“Eren—”
"So much I wanted to show her. So much she could have learned from me.”
"Eren.” Levi stopped and cupped Eren’s face. He lowered it until their foreheads were touching. “Who was the one who said to focus on the present?” he murmured. Eren’s eyes were still glazed over, looking for a family that wasn’t there. “You’re just remembering a lot at once. Focus on me, on my voice, on my touch.”
"But, Gabi—”
“No. Me. Think about me. Why are you here with me? Why did you come?” The shadows on Eren’s face were growing longer. But there was so sun to grow the shadows. If they were changing, then—. No. Please don’t tell him… Levi glanced at the wisps beside them. Sure enough, the light was beginning to diminish, the wisps taking their light back. Wisps were easy to understand but unforgiving; if he didn’t hurry along the trail, he’d lose the way to his mother forever. But, if he left Eren here, would he even be able to make the trip without him? Would he be okay without him? Could Eren even forgive him of doing such a thing? Fuck that, would he even be able to leave him in the first place? He’d hate himself for the rest of his life for giving his mother up, but he wouldn’t be able to leave him here. Then he’d grow to resent Eren forever and lose them both.
“Levi,” Eren said, voice slow. “I am with Levi. You are of the Ackerman clan.”
“Yes, yes I am.” Levi squinted to make out Eren’s face. Dammit, they were really running out of time. Levi dragged Eren forward as he turned and began following the lights, wings flapping quickly to try and speed them along. “Keep talking, Eren. Who am I? Why are you here with me?”
“We are searching. I am helping you search for…for whom?”
“You tell me!” The light was still dimming. Why was it still dimming? He was following the trail, wasn’t he! Were they nearing the end of the trail?
“For my mother—”
“No!”
"Your mother?”
"Yes!” Levi swallowed around the lump in his throat, tears stinging the backs of his eyes. The wisps were nearly gone and only the Mother Goddess knew what their black magic would do to them. Eren wasn’t moving fast enough and he couldn’t fly them out. This couldn’t really be it. Wasn’t he the Ackerman to finally break the curse? Didn’t that mean he’d find his mother alive?
“Eren. Weren’t you supposed to help me realize my birthright?”
“Yes. Yes, that I remember.”
“Well, you’re doing a shitty job at it.”
“I am…I am—“ Eren stopped walking and blinked. He swayed slightly in place, wings fluttering before placing a hand on his head and groaning. “I-I have returned. My deepest regrets, I could not shake the past from me. There was so much—”
“We can talk about that later,” Levi said, his wings trembling. They had such little time left. “Look, the wisps are about to disappear and we still need to follow the path but—hey!” Eren wrapped his arms around Levi’s rear and hoisted him up. “What are you doing? This isn’t the time for that!”
“I know, but we have not a moment to lose.” Without waiting for Levi to adjust, Eren flapped his wings hard, lifting them both off the ground. The air was cold as it nicked Levi’s flesh through the looser knots in his weaving. He really should’ve paid better attention in his schooling. But perhaps it wasn’t the cold air as much as it was the sharp tendrils of the shadows. Their long, misshapen shadows clawed at them as Eren flew, hovering only a finger’s width above the wisps. This blackness was magic too, literal dark magic, but it wasn’t the same as the wisps’ darkness. Again, it was too cold. It stabbed his lungs every time he took a breath but it wasn’t the same as before—and Eren was taking the full extent of it. Levi twisted his hands into Eren’s shirt and leaned his head away from the warmth of Eren’s chest.
“Eren, be careful! The darkness is—”
“You need not worry. Magic like this only saps the strength of a normal faerie.” Eren tightened his grasp around Levi, pulled him even tighter to his body as he flapped his wings harder, pushing them faster through the air. Levi’s hair whipped wildly in the spirit of their haste.
“What do you mean a normal faerie?”
“There are faeries and then there are faeries like me.”
Levi clicked his tongue. Why was Eren being so damn elusive? “Let me guess, faeries like you are the reason no other Ackerman has been able to break this curse?”
Eren didn’t glance down, eyes darting around at the scenery rushing past them. “That is a speculation one could make, yes.”
“What kind of faerie are you then?” Levi kept his body loose in Eren’s grasp but focused his eyes only on Eren’s face. He watched the conflict pass over it—the smallest twitch of Eren’s mouth and the slightest of furrowing of his brow. He was hiding something alright, and it didn’t seem like something light. Levi swallowed around the lump in his throat and tried to breathe around the hole in his chest. He saw the truth in Eren’s wings. He could swear on his life to the Triple Goddess that Eren would never hurt him. He saw it, knew it, and trusted it. “Seriously, Eren. What kind are you?”
“We can talk about this later,” Eren said, eyes unwavering from the tree roots and brush they flew through. “The wisp light is nearly gone, and the way of the wisps is into the ground.”
“The ground—?”
“A tunnel.”
Levi tore his eyes away from Eren’s face and scanned the ground. The blackness nearly engulfed them, but there, directly under them, the faintest of blue light bobbed, like little tongues of a flickering flame on a candle whose wick was doused in wax and cut entirely too short. But like Eren said, it led to a carved hole in the dirt that plunged into the earth and resurfaced who-knew-where.
“Should I follow it? We won’t know where to go inside it.”
“I’ll know.” The words tumbled from Levi’s mouth before he could even think them. But his voice was strong. He glanced at his mother’s ring flashing on his hand. He envisioned it and requested it into being. Now was the moment of truth. “Don’t even hesitate to go into The Dark Plain. We’re seeing this through.” Eren nodded and held Levi tightly as he pressed his wings together and plummeted into the hole. Levi clenched his teeth as they freefell; no screams would escape him today. At the last moment, Eren spread his wings again and glided just over the ground.
“With haste, jump off!”
Levi unwrapped his arms the same moment as Eren and fell to the ground, wings flapped sporadically as the soft dirt cushioned his body’s impact. Eren flapped his wings quickly as he came to a running halt on his feet—a much smoother landing. Levi pushed himself off the ground and started beating the dirt from his woven clothing before Eren could speed over and try to preen him. He straightened the ring on his finger—it was warm to the touch from his body heat. Now he just needed it to get cold and direct them. It wouldn’t fail him—hopefully.
“You good, Eren?” Levi finally looked up, eyes searching for those spotty teals and iridescent greens.
“Yes, I landed better than you.”
“I just asked if you were okay. You don’t have to be so smug about it.”
Eren cracked a smile but lost it almost as quickly as he gained it. “There! Behind you lies the last wisp.”
Levi spun around, wings fluttering. Sure enough, there bobbed a single large wisp, its light blinding yet a gentle soft orange. He saw that wisp before, that color. “This isn’t a wisp to my mother,” he looked back at Eren, a smile creeping on his face. If he was seeing an orange wisp, then he was doing something right. “This is our way out. We’re in the right place.” Levi took Eren’s hand in his own again and began to walk down the tunnel. The dirt was soft under their leaf covered feet.
“How do you know the right way?”
“This is the only way right now,” Levi said as he twisted the ring with his thumb. “It has to be the right one.”
“No, I mean the fork ahead.”
Levi squinted ahead of them. All of the wisps were snuffed out, their bobbing flames extinguished. How could Eren see anything? “Where?”
Eren raised their hands and pointed in front of them, but Levi still couldn’t see a thing. “It is right there, in front of us both.”
“I can’t see shit that far ahead; it’s too dark down here. How can you?”
Eren paused a moment before answering, his wings twitching. “It goes left or right. Which way do you think leads us to your mother?”
Another aversion. Levi frowned; the answer was probably related to what kind of faerie Eren was. But why was he hiding it? Was he afraid of it? Embarrassed? It was just him, just Levi. He wasn’t going to judge him about it. Maybe he needed to hear that?
“Eren?”
“Yes, Levi?”
“You know you don’t have to change the subject every time your faery type gets brought up.” Levi felt Eren’s hand twitch in his own. “I’m not going to judge you if you got a bad luck of the draw.”
“You know not of what you speak.”
“Try me.”
Eren sighed, wings flapping once with power then again, softly. “Another time, Levi. Words are powerful and in the dark even more so. We must keep our concentration, for the fork is approaching. Which way shall we go?”
Levi glanced at the ring. He wasn’t entirely sure how this was supposed to work but… He pressed the warm metal to his lips and closed his eyes. “Show me to her. Kuchel Ackerman: florist, witch, and mother. Show me.” He barely finished speaking before the metal began to freeze, sucking the summerlike warmth and humidity out of the air around them and turning it all to ice. But the ring itself wasn’t just growing cold. Stabbing pinpricks of iciness probed his left arm, starting faintly in his fingertips. His left wing twitched as the coldness spread to his back. This had to be the sign, she had to be on the left. “Left. That’s the way we need to go.”
“What is your certainty?”
“I’m certain,” Levi said. He couldn’t allow himself to second-guess his choice and end up mistaking the right way. “Let’s go.” Levi stepped forward and tugged Eren’s hand. “It’s hard to tell how time has passed, and we can’t afford to find out the hard way.”
Eren nodded and stepped forward with Levi, running his thumb along the back of Levi’s hand. When had he even slipped his hand in his own? Levi shivered at the touch; Eren was so warm. Maybe he was a summer type faerie? If those even existed.
“Levi.”
Levi glanced up at Eren. “Yeah?”
“What shall you do when you save your mother?”
The ground was growing softer under their feet, footsteps nearly audible with the telltale “squish” to announce water’s presence. The air grew warmer as well, almost rendering Levi’s grass sweater useless and sparking memories of Midsummer’s night and the giant fire he and the other villagers enjoyed. But none of these things caught Levi’s attention. What would he do? What had he done since she left? Did he do anything? Truly? He ran the shop—but with his mother’s return, who’d ask for the apprentice when they could have the master? He wasn’t going back to school—let Hanji be the academic between the two of them. But that assumed they would go back to the village. And if they went back, would Eren still be a part of his life? Levi wanted him to be, that much he was certain. Eren offered him a glimpse into a future all for himself, where he didn’t have to think about his family or finding his mother or being an outcast. But with his mother being alive and coming back…what could remain of that future? Could he even go back to living with his mother like they used to? Nothing would be the same. He wasn’t eight anymore; he grew up. And what would she be like after all these years too? And if he turned back into a human somehow, Eren wouldn’t, so where would that leave them? Would Eren leave? Would they be done and over before they even had a proper chance to begin? Did he even want that?
“Levi!” A hand blocked his chest and Levi snapped out of his trance. Right. One step at a time. First, he had to free his mother. Then, he could figure his future. “Look. In the roots of that Elder tree, there lies a hut built with stone and ivy.” Levi swallowed. This was it. She was right inside. All he had to do was bring her out, bring her home. “Go on,” Eren said, releasing Levi’s trembling hand. “Call for me when you are ready. I shall wait for you in this spot.”
Levi nodded, his eyes trained on the hut. His wings couldn’t stop twitching as he stepped forward. And suddenly, he knew everything. They were in an open cavern filled with moss and grass. Meadowsweet and honeysuckle grew in abundance, making the air fragrant and smell just like her. It was stifling hot, something he would expect near Midsummer, not Yule. With every step he took towards the front door, there was the telltale squish of the damp earth. The air was silent in spite of the warmth—not a bug buzzed, nor a bird chirped. All of this was the work of magic—heavy magic, at that. So much so that he could taste it, his tongue tingling with its faint bite.
Somehow, he was already at the front door. Had he always been so close? He reached his left hand out, shaking. The ring gleamed in the beam of a sourceless light. The grays, blues, and greens shining brightly. It was time to give it back to her, to Mamaí. Time to give so much back to Mamaí.
But he couldn’t. He was stuck.
He couldn’t push the door open. What if she wasn’t there again? What if she was? What if she didn’t want him again? No, she always wanted him. So then, what if she did? What if he wanted to stay with her? What about Eren? What if he did leave? Eren wouldn’t hurt him, but if his mother was there to help him now, would he still feel the urge to stay with him? Did Eren even care about him at all? He did, he did, he did! Levi curled his hand into fist and rested it against the door.
Dammit.
He was overreacting. He just had to open the fucking door. Just open it!
“Cuchulain, Isolde, Ossian, Ratis, Sin…please, lend me your power.” Levi wasn’t a witch. He didn’t have an altar to pray at. He didn’t have anything to offer the gods he was trying to invoke. He just had himself and the fears he harbored. He didn’t want to be abandoned again. He couldn’t bear it. Hopefully, that would be enough for them. It was all he had left. Levi took one final breath, opened his fist, and pushed the door open.
A dim yellow light illuminated the walls. They were white. A flat stone sat in the middle of the room, taking up most of the space. A small thorn lay on top of it, grass wrapped around one of its ends. Levi glanced down at his own weapon—a thorn wrapped with grass on one end. Like mother like son. He looked around the room. No one else was there, though it didn’t quite seem like someone else could even fit inside the room. The stone took up too much space.
Levi jolted.
This…looked like the kitchen. At home. At their real home. And if that was the case then the bedroom had to be—he glanced to the right. Like at home, a small hallway extended to another door that was already ajar. Levi’s wings fluttered as he began walking down the hall. He could hear a soft humming coming from the room. His eyes stung as he hurried his pace. This had to be her, it had to be, had to be, had to be.
He slowed his pace as he walked into the doorframe, pushing the door open.
And there she was.
Two thick braids coiled in her lap as she sat cross-legged on the bed, dressed in green and white.
Delicate translucent blue wings, even smaller and frailer than his own, adorned her back, flapping slowly—not a tear or rip to be found.
Clothes laid all around her as she continued to weave up a storm. Levi looked at her hands—no source material to be found. She was literally spinning it out of thin air.
Her eyes were open, but glassy.
She opened her mouth as she finished the tunic she was weaving and began to sing. “Sing reign of Fair Maid, with gold upon her toe—Open you, the West Door, and turn the Old Year go.”
Levi knew that song. He knew it. It was the Yule song he could never remember the lyrics to, the one he hummed when he weaved too, and the one she still sang when she wove. He sniffled once and couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. The warmth she brought, the comfort. His every worry washed away. He was home, finally finally home! She’d never choose to leave him. She loved him more than anything.
“Mamaí?” he said, voice cracking. Kuchel stiffened her back, wings stilling. She stopped weaving, hands frozen.
“Where am I? Where did you take me? I need to get back to my little one. It’s his birthday tomorrow, I can’t be gone long. It’s not every year one turns nine years old.”
“Mamaí? No, look at me,” Levi said as he walked over to her side, immediately taking her hand in his own. Her hands were softer than he remembered. Though, he doubted she was using her hands for much more than weaving now without the flower shop. She didn’t look frail either, thank the Goddess. “It took me a while, but I’m here. I’m finally here. Can you see me?”
But she wouldn’t look at him. Her eyes were still glazed over, despite her growing frustration. She slipped her hand out of his grip and leapt off the bed, eyebrows furrowed. “Levi? Is that my baby? I need to get back to my baby!” She wrung her hands together as she started pacing along the floor. “No, no, no, I have to get back. It’s his birthday in the morning. If I’m not there, he’ll be all alone, my little one! I need to go home!” She tugged at her waist-length braids and looked at the door. Why wasn’t she looking right in front of her. He was here. He found her. She should be fine now. They were supposed to reunite and go home now. Instead, she set her jaw and began walking towards the door, her long green dress swishing against the floor. But the moment she reached the bedroom doorframe, her footsteps faltered and she swayed, wings spasming. Levi stood and hurried over to her side.
“Mamaí? Are you alright?”
Kuchel turned and finally faced him. A new smile was on her face, crows’ feet Levi never remembered seeing appeared by her eyes as the smile grew. But something was wrong. Her face was completely relaxed, all trace of her distress gone. Her eyes looked in his direction, but they looked past him. She couldn’t see him. Levi swallowed around the lump in his throat and the pieces clicked together.
She wasn’t free yet. The curse wasn’t lifted.
Kuchel began to sing again, her hands playing with the embroidered knotwork on the hem of her sleeve. “Sing reign of Fair Maid, with gold upon her toe—Open you, the West Door, and turn the Old Year go.” She smiled and turned away from Levi, walking back towards the bed, her hands reaching for the tunic she was weaving before.
This wasn’t good. He lost track of the time when the wisps blotted out the sky. For all he knew, she could have only a couple of hours left. He had to get her out of the house. Being here with her wasn’t enough, he had to take her somewhere.
“Alright, Mamaí. I know you don’t know who I am right now, but you will soon. I promise.” With that, Levi grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. She moved swiftly behind him, humming to herself still and wings fluttering slightly faster. He had to get her out of the house, back to the tunnel. That’s where the wisp was. Maybe it was supposed to take them somewhere they needed to go. The Triple Goddess already worked miracles for them in the past, hopefully she’d pull off another one tonight. Levi kicked open the front door and pulled himself and Kuchel through it before it could swing shut again. Once they touched the moss outside, Kuchel let out a shriek.
“What are you doing? My gardens, my son! You’ve made me leave my son!”
Levi blinked and spared a glance over his shoulder. She was twisting her wrist and beating his arm with her free fist, trying but failing to pull herself away. The magic was heavy here, but it wasn’t to keep intruders out; it was to keep her ignorant and happily imprisoned.
“I’m taking you to see your son,” Levi said through gritted teeth. “Stop fighting me.”
“You’re lying! You’re a trickster faery; my son is in his room. I just laid him to sleep. Tomorrow is his birthday! I have to be there for him when he wakes up! Stop this!”
Levi swallowed and turned around. She was stuck in the same few hours when she was taken. There wasn’t anyone in that bed, but she didn’t know any better. He blinked away the tears in his eyes. There wasn’t time for that anymore. He had to get her to the wisp, to Eren and the tunnel.
“Eren!”
The other faery turned at the summon, a smile on his face at the sight of Levi and his mother running back to meet him at the mouth of the tunnel. Wait. Eren’s smile lessened as Levi grew closer. He wasn’t smiling. And his mother was…fighting him? Something had gone wrong. Wings fluttering, Eren stood and flew to the edge of the mouth. “Levi, what is it?”
“She isn’t free yet,” he said as he ran past Eren into the dark. Eren flapped his wings hard and flew behind them. “We have to get her to the wisp. The orange one.”
“The orange one? The wisp at the tunnel’s start?”
“Yes. I’m sure it’ll lead us where we need to go.”
Eren nodded, though Levi wasn’t looking at him. “Very well.” Eren stared at their new companion as they raced through the tunnel. Her hair was long to her waist and divided into two braids—just like she was described in the prophecy. But her wings…
“Levi, we must hurry. Your mother has very little time left. Her wings are nearly completely gone.”
“What do you mean?” he shouted as they turned right and plunged into colder depths.
“A faery’s wings are never that translucent unless they are withered in age. When they reach such transparency, the wings are soon to turn to dust.”
“And a faery without wings is a dead one, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Fuck. “How much time do you think we have?”
Eren frowned. The wings were still there, He could see the framing veins too. But that’ wasn’t much to go on. “Maybe twenty or thirty minutes?”
Levi grit his teeth harder before sighing in relief. “Well, that’s okay because the wisp is right in front of me.” Sure enough the orange wisp was still there, bobbing in place and illuminating the entryway of the tunnel. “Eren, grab a hold of me!”
Eren lunged forward, snagging a grip on Levi’s shoulder as Levi extended his hand, fingertips grazing the edge of the wisp. He couldn’t help the gasp that found its way past his lips. Cold wrapped all around him, stabbing through his heart and soul as easily as icicles falling through the air. But, like before, as quickly as it started, it was over.
The ground was hard under Levi’s back. He groaned as he forced himself up to look around. His mother and Eren laid next to him on the ground as well, wings twitching. So the wisp did transport them, but where? Levi blinked his eyes, taking in everything. It was dark, but not the cold blackness from before. Like in the cavern, a summerlike heat surrounded them, fresh grass growing under them. This was a natural darkness. A breeze blew through, rustling his hair and revealing the moon’s light.
“Oh, Rhiannon…”
He knew this place. It was the rock formation that started him down this lousy road. Large pillars of stone that definitely did not belong to their forest surrounded them in a circle. Now that he was a faery, they looked even larger than before, looming over him. He let his eyes trail up until they reached the sky. The moon was full tonight, each of the Mother Goddesses looking down on them. Was this where he needed to bring his own mother?
“Levi, come,” Eren said, his voice hushed.
Levi turned around, blinking quickly so that his eyes could adjust. Eren somehow looked even more beautiful in the moon’s rays, his skin radiating its white glow. He wanted him. Wanted to rip his clothes from his body and worship it with the reverence he’d give to the Gods and Goddesses dwelling around them. Praise it with the cries that would escape his body as Eren did the same to him, giving him so much—
“Levi, hurry! Look!”
Levi shook his head. Where had those thoughts come from? It must be the magic, messing with his head. He turned and flitted over to Eren, who was sitting, staring at his mother. Eren looked fine, only a few hairs out of place. But if he was fine, then… Levi turned his eyes towards his mother. But instead of her body, there was only a mass of white light.
“What’s—?”
“I have not the faintest clue. I looked over to make sure she was well, but instead, this light grew from her wings. I do not think we should interfere. Let the light of the Mother Goddesses help her.” Eren’s wings flapped slowly as he extended an arm for Levi. Levi gladly let himself fall against Eren, his own wings twitching. He did everything he was supposed to do. He found her, brought her away from her containment, and followed the wisps back to the rocks.
“What if she doesn’t wake up?”
“She will.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do.” Eren ran his hand through Levi’s hair as they watched. “There is nothing more for us to do other than to wait.”
“But what if we were too late?”
“I assure you we were not.”
“But how do you know?”
Eren squeezed Levi close for a moment before releasing him and gesturing to the light. “Look with your eyes. Do you not see the light is retreating? Do you not see the color returning to your mother’s wings? Levi, all will be well.”
Levi squinted at the light that was his mother but saw nothing forming from it. Maybe it was another thing he wouldn’t be able to see as a normal faery. “I can’t see—”
Levi shut his eyes as the white light flashed brighter than the flash of several suns before faded out. He let his eyes remain closed as the dots behind his eyes faded slowly.
The air was silent again. Not a buzz nor chirp nor crack of a branch sounded. Nothing at all, until—
“Ugh, why do I feel like I summoned a hundred goddesses at once?”
Levi stiffened in Eren’s arms as his eyes shot open. That voice! He turned around, searching blindly until his gaze fell upon her.
There she was, sitting in front of him, eyes finally clear.
Kuchel sat in the grass, her green dress blending in with the grass under them. Small but vibrant purple wings spread behind her, fluttering restlessly. The moon’s rays kissed her skin, making her pale skin even paler, like a goddess. She hadn’t looked up yet. She was too busy investigating the grass beneath her and the fabric of her dress.
The clock was finally stilled. There was nothing to stop him anymore. Nothing at all.
“M-Mamaí?”
Kuchel stiffened and her head snapped up. Her eyes widened as she took sight of him, tears immediately pooling and falling down the sides of her face. She brought her hands to her mouth and began trembling. Levi could only manage a twitch of his lips before his throat closed up, tears stinging his eyes as well.
“Levi?”
He nodded and started towards her on his knees still. “I know I look a-a little different since the last time you saw me, but I’m still—”
He never got a chance to finish, before he was wrapped in the tightest hug he’d ever received from his mother. She tucked her head into his neck, muttering words he couldn’t understand between both of their sniffles and her frantic hands feeling whatever she could.
“I’m so sorry,” Kuchel said between sniffles and gasps for air. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled back to look Levi in the eyes. “I can never apologize enough for this, but I am so sorry, my little one.”
Her eyes were red-rimmed, and the tears seemed nowhere close to ending. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was here, she was back, and she missed him as much as he missed her. Levi hugged her back fiercely, running his hands up and down her back. It felt so good to hold her and be held by her again. She was so warm and smelled like home—honeysuckle and meadowsweet. “Don’t apologize, Mamaí. It wasn’t your fault.”
Kuchel pulled back again and let out a laugh as she inspected him. “You look good, my little one. You’ve trained your body well.” She brushed her hand alongside his face, ruffling his hair. “But what’s this you’ve done with your hair? Where are your braids? And your weaving is terrible.” She pinched his ear sharply and twisted, Levi caving under her force.
“Ow, ow, ow! Mamaí! Let go!”
“You left school early, didn’t you? No self-respecting teacher would let you slide with this being all you’re capable of.” She tugged his ear once more before letting him go and pulling Levi back into her arms. “I still love you, regardless of what you look like now, skills you have or lack in, or anything else. I love you more than you can ever possibly know, Levi.”
Levi swallowed around the knot in his throat and nodded against Kuchel’s shoulder as he hugged her tightly as well. “I love you too, Mamaí,” he said quietly. “I really missed you.”
“I missed you too, my little one,” she said as she stroked his head, smoothing his ruffled hair back into place.
Eren picked at his shoes as Levi and his mother had their moment. There was laughter and tears, if the sniffles revealed anything. He was happy for Levi, truly. But, with his happiness came a weight in his stomach. What now? Levi never answered him earlier when he asked but the answer was obvious: he hadn’t thought that far yet. But what about now? An answer was needed because the future then was the present now. Would Levi leave with his mother? Would he want Eren to follow him? Levi didn’t know it yet, but Eren would do anything for him, even if that meant leaving per Levi’s request. He just needed to know Levi’s request now.
“Eren?”
Eren whipped around at the voice, wings flapping quickly as he hastily stood to meet the other standing pair. “Yes, Levi?”
Levi was smiling, holding his mother’s hand. Both of their eyes were red, but Eren just smiled. It was probably better not to mention that now. “I want you to meet my mother officially. Eren, Kuchel Ackerman. Mamaí, this is Eren, the faery I was lucky enough to meet who led me to you. He’s very important to me.”
Eren gave a slight bow and smiled. First impressions meant everything, after all. Kuchel smiled and curtseyed back with her dress skirt. “Eren, I am indebted to you for my entire—” Kuchel’s smile slackened as her body stiffened, dress falling from her hands.
Levi clutched her shoulders, balancing her body. “Mamaí?”
Kuchel’s eyes glowed blue—the same ethereal blue as the light of wisps—and the world around them fell into darkness again. “Eren, son of the Hunter clan Jaeger,” she said in a hard voice that was not her own. “Lose no hope for your family. For your selfless acts of bravery, I, Fionnuala, shall make you a brother again. Find your fae sister and seek your happiness.” As the last word left Kuchel’s mouth, the light was extinguished and the darkness lifted as if someone snapped their fingers, requesting it all to be gone. Levi caught his mother’s body as she crumpled, blood beginning to trickle down her nose. Levi pressed two fingers to her pulse, sighing in relief when he felt it racing. Blessings to the Mother Goddesses that she was just unconscious.
“What was that?” Levi said as he laid his mother down on her side.
“Redemption.”
Levi stood again, turning to face Eren. A large smile split his face as he blinked rapidly, keeping small beaded tears at bay. “What do you mean?”
“Did you not hear the good news? I am a brother again. Gabi has been revived as a fae!” Eren’s wings fluttered quickly, nearly lifting him off the ground.
Levi smiled with Eren, his own wings rustling in excitement. “That’s fantastic, Eren!”
“Indeed. But,” Eren grounded himself and grasped Levi’s hands. “My happiness will always include you, Levi.”
“What are you—?”
“Come with me. Let us search and scavenge this forest together. Please, bring Kuchel. I do want to understand her.”
“But—”
Eren squeezed Levi’s hands. “You both are still faeries. Please, come with me as we search. Once we find Gabi, we can live as a family: you and me, with your mother and my sister. A strange mix, but it shall be ours and ours alone. Perhaps one day we all may return to being humans.”
Levi stared into Eren’s eyes. Here was his solution on a silver platter. And Eren was right. He was not a human again, not even healed. But with Eren, he could both care for and get reacquainted with his mother again. And he could meet Gabi when they found her. But above all, he could stay with Eren. They could have their chance.
A smile found its way onto Levi’s tear-stained and rather dirty face. It had been quite a long day.
“Well? Where’s our first stop?”