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Deep in the forest, past where mortals can venture, that is where Dainsleif sleeps. He’s unaware of just how long he’s been asleep. Thousands of years? Ten thousands of years? He’s been alive for so long that the flow of time has lost meaning to him. He’s connected to the land of Khaenriah and her bleeding, he feels every tear shed, every drop of blood that pools to the soil. But still he sleeps, trapped in a prison of his own making and unable to breathe. And then.
After thousand of years, the first thing Dainsleif sees when he finally opens his eyes is blue. A vivid blue that makes him reminisce of the infinite space where the sky meets the sea. And this blue is connected to a little child who stares at him, wide-eyed but unafraid.
Dainsleif has always existed between worlds. He is not dead but cannot call himself alive. He is not a mortal but not a deity either. He’s an existence outside of the natural world, an observer of the ages. But when he looks into those curious eyes for the first time, in those brief seconds, he realizes what it means to belong in this world.
“Who are you?” The child asks him. He knows exactly who she is. He’s heard the whisperings. Kaeya, the young princess and the last hope of their kingdom. How sweet, he instantly thinks to himself, small for her age with dark hair and the characteristic blue eyes of their people. She’s dressed in only slippers and an indoor dress that hangs off her tiny form. Dainsleif worries about how she could possible keep warm.
“My name is Dainsleif.” He answers her question. “And you?”
He’s asking just to be polite, he knows very well who she is. But he gives her an opportunity to define herself by herself, a luxury not many have.
“I’m Kaeya and I’m a princess.” Kaeya declares as she squats down. “My parents are the king and queen of Khaenriah and we live in a huge castle. It’s like this big.”
She spreads her arms wide as she speaks, making little bunny hops and Dainsleif hides a smile at the childish but endearing gesture.
“I see. What are you doing here, so far away from the castle, young princess?”
Kaeya deflates at the question.
“Oh.” She says. “I don’t know. I entered the old room that mother and father always said i shouldn’t enter but it was an accident, really. I touched something then poof! I found myself here.”
“Interesting.” Dainsleif says. His head is starting to turn. Strong magic always attracted more magic in turn. Something about Kaeya’s magic had chosen to bring her to this place and to wake him up from his thousand year slumber, the very slumber that he had been cursed into. Dainsleif looks down at her expecting face. “Do you know how to get home?”
Kaeya shakes her head, her bottom lip quivering and Dainsleif sighs, saying. “Come with me. Night will fall soon and you’ll be cold here. Tomorrow I’ll be able to carry you home.”
He doesn’t give her much of an opportunity to respond as he stands up at that moment and sweeps her into his arms, whisking her off even deeper into the forest.
Even though it’s been thousands of years, his cottage looks just the same as he remembers it when they arrive. The effect of strong magic that has always held the place together. Kaeya looked at the house curiously and Dainsleif inquires.
“Is there something the matter?” He asks.
“Is this really where you live?”
“Yes, this is my home. Why do you ask?”
“It’s so cute.” Kaeya’s eyes sparkle as she speaks. She spots a small flower -a lily- by the front of the door and her eyes go even wider. “There’s flowers here too? We don’t have any flowers back at home. Can I stay here and live with you? Can I?”
“You already have a home in the castle.” Dainsleif says and Kaeya deflates again.
“It’s not really my home anymore.” Her voice is small when she speaks. “I hear my parents talking about how they want to send me off far away to another land. I’ll have to marry someone I don’t know. I don’t want that at all.”
“Don’t worry.” Dainsleif promises. “I won’t let anything happen to you if you don’t want it. If you ever need me, all you need to do is say my name and I’ll come for you.”
Kaeya looks at him for a second and breaks into a smile. “Thank you mister. At first I was scared you were an evil fairy or a witch but you’re a really nice person.”
“I see.” Dainsleif says. “You must be hungry. Come inside and I’ll get you something to eat.”
Kaeya slips her small hand into his as they walk inside the little cottage. Dainsleif scoops her up and seats her on a chair as he hurries to the kitchen to find something to feed a child. There’s fresh bread in the cupboard, the magic keeping the food new while he was sealed, so he cuts a slice and layers it with jam and honey, remembering that human children like their sugar. He serves it to Kaeya who takes one bite and shudders.
“Is it not good?” Dainsleif asks, worried he accidentally fed the child something rotten.
“It’s okay,” Kaeya says. “I just wasn’t expecting it to be so sweet.”
“You don’t have to eat it then. I’ll find something else to feed you.”
“No I like it.” Kaeya insists as she chomps down on the rest of the bread dramatically. Dainsleif bites back his smile, still amused by the childish antics. He takes a glance at the window outside and notices the setting sun.
“You should go to sleep about now.” He says. “You’ll have to wake up early to get to the castle tomorrow.”
Kaeya doesn’t argue at that. She lifts her hands up, letting herself be carried to the bedroom. Dainsleif awkwardly tucks her into the sheets but when he turns to leave, she grabs at his cloak, staring at him with big eyes.
“Don’t go.” Kaeya begs. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Dainsleif pauses at that and pulls up a chair from the corner of the room, carrying it to the side of the bed.
“I won’t leave.” He promises. “I’ll stay here all night. You can fall asleep now.”
“Can you tell me a story?” Kaeya requests, sounding almost shy and Dainsleif instantly obliges her.
“There was once a beautiful little princess.” He starts. Kaeya listens to the story at full attention until gradually, her eyes start to droop and she yawns more and more frequently. Then finally, 30 minutes later she’s fast asleep, tucked into the cozy bed. Dainsleif leans over to press a small kiss on her tiny forehead and watches fondly as she smiles in her sleep before she turns over. At that moment, Dainsleif swears to all the gods of their continent that he would let himself and the world be destroyed several times over before he ever lets a hair be harmed on her head.
The next morning, Kaeya wakes up with the rising sun. Dainsleif is still there, sitting wide awake. He’s had enough sleep to last an eternity.
“Good morning,” Kaeya said sleepily.
“Good morning.” Dainsleif greets. “Let us go eat breakfast.”
Kaeya rubs at her eyes as she crawls out of bed follows him out of the room to find a feast waiting for her full of grapes, meats, honey, bread and juice. He’s placed the lily from outside on a vase and used it to decorate the table. He’s known that the curse of Khaenriah extended to the land, making it unable to grow life but he’s never thought about the reality of a young child who’s never had the opportunity to pick flowers before. He decided to take her to the meadows at the first opportunity. The forest is imbued with enough magic to keep most of the effects of the curse out.
“I made arrangements to get food more fitting of a young princess today.” Dainsleif explains and Kaeya hugs his legs, beaming as she babbles her thanks.
She digs into the meal, eating greedily until she’s so full that she can’t take another bite. That’s when Dainsleif speaks up.
“We should leave soon to make it to the castle on time.” He says.
Kaeya frowns. “I don’t want to go back to the castle. I want to stay here and live with you.”
For a second, Dainsleif lets himself consider it. He indulges in the idea of being able to keep Kaeya here forever, to feed her elaborate feasts and tell her stories as he watches her grow. But Dainsleif is many things, and a fool isn’t one of them. He knows it’s a dream that could never be. Kaeya is a human and belongs with the other mortals, with family.
“That’s impossible.” Dainsleif says, and when Kaeya opens her mouth to speak, he gently adds. “But you can visit me here. Your magic has found mine before so it can do it again.”
“Okay,” Kaeya says, after pausing to consider. “I’ll come visit you lots and lots from now on.”
“Please do. We can have picnics by the flower fields nearby.” Dainsleif lets himself smile.
This prompts excited chatter out of Kaeya as Dainsleif takes his furry cloak and wraps it around her small form. Dainsleif carries Kaeya in his arms once more, marveling at how perfectly she seemed to fit, as he uses magic to travel through the forest. She wouldn’t notice as they seem to be walking at a normal pace but the strength of his magic allows him to cross several miles with each step. It would take a human hundreds of years to ever get through this forest without magic.
Finally they arrive back at the castle as the sun is starting to dip below the horizon. Dainsleif can’t risk being seen so he drops Kaeya off at the back door of the castle and turns to disappears into the night.
“Let’s play again soon.” Kaeya yells, waving goodbye to him.
“Of course.” Dainsleif promises the grinning girl. He slips away, thinking about how he can train her in alchemy and magic and raise her to be a magician even stronger than him.
He doesn’t get the chance.
Just two days later, the castle is in ruins and Kaeya is gone with no way for Dainsleif to get her back. He can only console himself with the knowledge that at least she’s safe, far away from this cursed continent.
Dainsleif says his goodbyes on a melancholic twilight with a garden of lilies planted by his home.