Chapter Text
“Help! Help! Please!”
Teddy heard the cries of a young woman in the distance. These woods were a treacherous place, even for him, whose body could rip a tree trunk from its roots. Twas no small adventure to face some of the beasts that lurked behind the vines or merely try to cut through a path that would change the scenery at its own will. His horse was one of the few creatures he had ever found to be able to withstand or even outright ignore the pulsing of magic that would flood through the trees, and luckily, that made them quick friends.
He jumped, throwing his leg over the saddle, and lightly kicked down to advance them. “Lauri-Ell, let’s go!”
The path opened to them as they conveniently missed the swinging branches and sharp stones along the ground. Teddy let his sword remain in its sheath at the realization that the wood would not be fighting back at this time.
As he continued to approach, the fearful screams of the woman grew in volume, now followed by the low growling of wolves. It seems whoever this maiden was, got quite lucky to be facing one of the few non-magic threats that could appear.
Though larger in size, the beasts that seemed to be hunting the woman were still mortal, meaning that Teddy had a chance in the fight.
The woman had scrambled up a twisting of trees and stones in the center of a small clearing. Teddy set his eyes to the forest floor to see that, outside of the tatters of the woman's ripped cloak, there was nothing unusual in the vicinity. Good. That would make this much easier.
He dismounted Lauri-Ell, letting his boots hit the ground hard as he finally pulled out his weapon, an old hand-me-down sword a villager had once given him as payment. The beasts turned, their beady eyes staring him down with a fixation that was not of this plane, and let out a series of howls, charging him from his place at the end of the clearing.
Like the back of his hand, the wolves were easy to read, their movements predictable and not tainted by the unusualness of the clearing. They fell easy, the first heading towards him, teeth bared, was taken down by a good swing to the neck; a clean cut. The second shifted, aiming for his side, but the follow-through was able to cut through the spine leaving the poor beast fallen. The third made his way to Lauri-Ell, happy to see proper food, but Teddy would not let harm come to her, and in a few strong strides, he was able to cut the beast off with a swing to the leg and a kick over the clearing line. The wolf whimpered and ran, but at least it was still alive.
The clearing fell silent. Only the patterned breathing of him and his horse and the cold, fearful whimpers of the lady in the tree could penetrate it. There is no doubt that a pack should consist of more than three persistent wolves, but it is possible the other ones were smart enough to not join their now fallen brethren. He could only hope that the other was able to survive until it found its home.
“My hero!” The lady was covered in dirt and her face was tear-streaked as she tried to shuffle down the scratchy bark to the ground. Now with a chance to breathe, Teddy chose to study her in her haste, making no move to assist.
She was lovely. A lithe body with the faintest traces of muscles, the sign of a poor field worker. She had a set of daggers on one side of her waist and a short rapier gripped tightly in her hands. Her arms and legs were unfortunately torn up. Small traces of blood trailed through the rips in her riding pants and light overcoat. Her cloak, surprisingly, was the thing most intact. A vibrant red, an expensive color, was draped across her back while the hood fell to her shoulders. Only the bottom seemed to have been caught up in whatever dangerous work she had been doing before her poorly timed interaction. It looked as if she had been able to protect her face as well for the most part. While it was clear that there would be some bruising, it was relatively clean compared to the rest of her. Her vibrant blue eyes were kind and dizzying to pay attention to. And all of it was framed lightly by smooth, dark locks of hair that had fallen out of her braid.
She was without a doubt the most beautiful person he had ever seen.
The woman staggered over to him. “My hero!” she exclaimed, “You saved me, please, what is your name?”
Teddy took a moment to brush himself off, letting the dust slide off as he figured out his next choice of action.
He paid close attention to her eyes and their sharp glow as he answered. “You may call me Teddy,” he told her patiently.
The slightest flash of something in her eyes and the twitch of her lips told him everything he needed to know.
“Teddy…” she spoke slowly, a light brush of her magic flowing over him and he couldn't help but shiver. “I cannot find you with just a word. Please, give me your name so that I may find you again.”
He let out a light, but breathless chuckle. “Which name would you like?” He asked. He thought it was a valid question, if not a bit silly. At this point, it felt like he collected names as one would collect berries. Many different family titles with several names between them, left it quite difficult to say which one he would even consider being “his”.
The being seemed to realize that he had caught on far quicker than it would have liked, but continued to humor him with a smirk on its face. “Why, I would love to have all of your names if you would be that kind. It’s not every day that a handsome man finds me trapped in the woods and saves me from my peril.” The being leaned into him, pressing its chest against his body and lightly dragging its hands over his arms.
He gently takes the arms off of him and lowers them to the being’s side with a polite and amused grin. “I understand, but unfortunately I cannot give my names to just any random fae I meet in these wood. I would have no more names left to give, and then what?”
The being smirked mischievously. “How did you know?”
“Because you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” he told them honestly.
“I’m too pretty, then?”
“I’m sure you are an appropriate amount of pretty for the typical man. Unfortunately, I have never been particularly charmed by women in general. So you must understand my surprise to see the equivalent of a goddess fall from a tree, in a magical clearing, being growled at, but not attacked by, magically influenced wolves.”
The being took these words into consideration, genuinely taking the time to ponder as if given critical advice. “Huh, alright then.” The voice of the being dropped several octaves. While they still sounded quite magical, it was now clear that the vocals of this being and the image were not the same entity. “I suppose I’m so used to dumb men walking these paths that I forgot that interests may vary from the typical fame, wealth, and women.”
“Oh no. Do not get me wrong. Fame and money sound quite nice. I suppose my interest in women is just one of those many major points where I deviate from the typical man.”
The being paused. “Only one of…?” The being slowly meandered towards the edge of the clearing, crossing the line of whatever magic had entranced the beasts from before and placing them into the being’s trap. It looked at his horse, curious, as many magical beings are by Lauri-Ell’s lack of interest in them.
“Would you like to know more?”
Its eyes met his, the gaze piercing, with a sharp blue glow. “What would you ask for in return?”
Teddy wondered if it was a little rude to ask if the being did not already owe him for his “daring rescue”. Though he supposed he was not well versed in how favors worked when someone was never truly in harm's way. But they did say that he was their hero…? Nevermind that.
“I ask to see your face,” he says instead.
“Is my current face not good enough for you?”
“As I mentioned before, I find myself uncomfortable with your current visage. Not that you don’t make a lovely human woman, but I do enjoy a more honest face before I share any information of myself.”
“Hmm,” the being hummed, “I suppose when you say it like that.”
The being changed in front of his eyes. Teddy was not unfamiliar with magic transformations, he’s met a werewolf or two, and most who travel this land have become at least somewhat familiar with the shapeshifter who plays games with the tourists in the larger, wealthier cities. But this was different. No physical movement nor any illusion was being washed away. The being somehow remained completely the same and became a completely different person at the same time.
The hair was shorter but still held that magical sheen in the opaque strands. The face was a bit sharper, reminding Teddy of when his mother would paint makeup on her face to “look prettier for the men at the market”. The wounds were gone, though the clothing remained in tatters, the body barely changed. Maybe it was because the face now fit the rest, the muscles of the being more defined, but more regal when shared with a more masculine face. Opposed to a girl who spent her days on the farm, it was the image of a man who trained to defend but never had to apply his skills practically. Perhaps, if the being had chosen this form, and Teddy had been a bit more naive, he would have fallen for the ploy. The only thing that would shift Teddy’s thoughts of this just being a very pretty man with too much pride and a wish to prove himself in the wood, was the slight points to his ears, and the still mischievous glow to its eyes.
“This is the form I have always found myself most comfortable.” The being said. “I will let you know that if you were to see me with pearl white hair and a green vision, that it is not me, but instead my brother. So feel free to play your tricks all the same.”
This being, who seemed to identify under the male skin, giggled a little. The sound wafted through the trees like a twinkling of bells.
“I don’t believe I was the one playing tricks,” he reminded him. “I simply did the task you set for me, defeated the wolves, and saved the lovely maiden who had stumbled into a magical clearing. I even shared a title for you to call me by.”
“Ah, but you did this all while knowingly entering my trap and dismantling it from the inside. You didn’t move to help me down and remained on the border. But you remain kind despite your belief that I may have been leading you to your deathbed.”
“You do not know what I believe,” he responded, a light amused twitch of the lips gracing his face. “What may I call you, fae?”
He blinked, a little taken off guard. But he did eventually grin back, his teeth somehow both perfectly flat and sharper than a human’s at the same time. “You may call me Billy.”
A curious choice. Human in origin, a shorthand, most likely for William, that was relatively common in the Eastern half of the kingdom. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Billy.”
“And you as well, Teddy.” Once again, the magic rolls off the man’s tongue and into the air. It was possible that Teddy had grown too attached to the name, and should have figured out a new way to be referenced to by the dangerous being before him. But he was still conscious and in control, so it was likely fine in the short term. “Now it is time for you to hold up your part of the bargain.”
Ah yes. “Well if you must know, what separates me from other human males, it is that I am not one at all.”
For the first time in the conversation, while he had been able to take the being off guard, he had successfully silenced him with shock. Billy leaned closer, inspecting everything he could see on Teddy’s face. It was maybe a full minute of light prodding and studying. Billy had even squeezed his cheeks together as if this would somehow reveal his greatest secrets.
Teddy’s patience likely did not assist him. He simply leaned over to allow Billy to do whatever work he had to do. He was understanding that for most fae, to have missed non-human blood was pretty difficult out here in their territory. But Teddy has had decades of practice.
Finally, Billy reached up to pet at Teddy’s head and subsequently revealed his ears behind his slight flop of hair. While not sharp like Billy’s, his ears were flat to his head and had a peak that was unusual in most humans.
“Are you a changeling?” Billy asked. His eyes exposed that he had given up on his quest to find out on his own and instead wished to use his half of the bargain to get this information he wanted.
“No,” He chucked. “It is possible that there is a little fae somewhere in my lineage though, but none recently.”
“Then what could you possibly be?”
Teddy took a moment to tie Lauri-Ell to a close tree and set out some food for her. While he did not intend to set up camp this deep into the forest, especially so close to the fae wild, this clearing was appropriately placed so that most animals would stray from it. And the fae that had claimed it was now possibly indebted to him. Maybe if he offered a little more information, he could stay the night with the magic protection still up.
“My mother was an orc,” he shared.
Billy didn’t look completely convinced, as if Teddy could possibly lie in a deal with a fae. “I could believe that you have some orc in you. You are larger than any given human that I have met. But I don’t believe you to be human at all. So what else is there.”
Teddy moved to sit on one of the fallen stumps like the trees had known he needed a place to sit. “Well, my father was an elf.”
That surely got Billy’s attention. “You’re fooling me? That is impossible, the elves and orcs can barely procreate as is and you wish me to believe they had a child together? Willingly?” Billy moved to sit on another stump, this one fit more like a chair than Teddy’s and was not there before, but he made no question about it, only looked to observe Billy’s wild curiosity.
“Not the most original story I’m sure, but it is true. My mother and father were of warring clans. I was never told the exact forest they resided in. I do not even know if it was on this land or if they came from a place far from here. My mother, the woman who raised me, but did not birth me, used magic to hide me from the world and from myself. The only reason I do not believe myself human anymore is that my mother got caught. Not for being orcish, mind you, but for being a witch.”
Billy’s eyes held his with rapt attention. In all honesty, he was happy to finally share his story with someone whom he was not dependent on like the wizard the lived along the ley lines and assisted him in hiding.
He continued, “People notice when a child doesn’t age after a while. So my mother moved us around a lot, to keep anyone from catching on to our less than human abilities. Finally, someone from the local church caught her with a spellbook and a potion she intended to give to me, to help me blend in more, keep my ears dull, you understand? She was able to hide me and run. I did not hear of a trial, so it is possible she escaped, but I was lost. I believed myself to be a sixteen-year-old human, up until that night.”
“And now who are you?” Billy asked, breathless.
“I am simply an adventurer. I go out on odd jobs for coin, stop by the libraries, and willing wade my way through the Wilds.”
Billy gave him a round of applause like he was speaking fiction and deserved a standing ovation for his creativity. “You are so clever for some raised to be human,” he tells him. The fae, again, moves beside him and begins to prod at his features, as if he was looking for evidence of his story. “What are you doing right now?” he asked, examining his hands.
“Right now, I intend to set up camp for the night. I was hoping to be a little closer to the edge of the wood, but I must be honest in saying that this clearing is likely safer than continuing into the depths in hope of a clean exit.”
“Hmm,” the fae agreed. “I could show you the way out in the morning,” he offered.
Teddy raised a brow, “And what would you ask of me in return? I will not give you my names, be it elf, orc, or human.”
Billy shrugged, expecting the answer, but willing to have given it a shot. “I would ask you to share another story or two. It’s been so long since I spoke casually with someone of the human world, and I must know how you made the trees enjoy your presence.”
Teddy nodded, a non-verbal agreement to hold them in place. “The trees like me?”
“To be able to traverse these lands where my people roam is no easy feat, Teddy .” Billy’s grin is anywhere between childish and smug. As if he is somehow prideful of the fact that while most who enter fall, he was able to find the one who didn’t. “I find myself enjoying your presence immensely, and it seems the land agrees. You are kind to it and those it houses. You even assisted in letting the wolf free despite it willingly entering my field. That is a charity that is uncommon here.”
“I do not pride myself in the harm of others. I feel no less safe hiding from the beasts in the forest than I do hiding from the beasts in the villages. And the beasts in the villages always seem insistent on having me spend money to sleep in a bed. At least the trees shelter me for free.”
“Nothing is free, Teddy,” Billy tells him, “But you pay the forest back by keeping it alive. You must have at least a little fae blood in you.” Billy returns to poking and prodding him gently along the arms. Teddy now suspected that he was no longer searching for something and simply appreciating the feel of a willing human’s skin. Teddy did not judge him. It’s been quite a while since Teddy had made contact with another, as well.
“Maybe, but I may never know.”
Billy nodded in agreement. “Alright then, in exchange for another tale of your escape from the humans, I will provide you an escort out of the wood to where you wish. Deal?”
Teddy thought it over. This was not the first deal offered to him by a fae and he doubted it would be the last considering how often he took a shortcut through the Fae Wilds, but this may be the first one he says yes to. From Billy’s side, an escort meant a guide and not a lead. He would not be required to follow, and even if Billy were to lead him somewhere else entirely, Teddy was skilled enough to survive a few days in the winding maze of the forest. From Teddy’s side, the deal also seemed harmless. There was no story he could think of that Billy could request that he would be opposed to sharing. He may be uncomfortable with some aspects of his life, but nothing that he would not take a free ride out of the forest for.
“Deal.”
Billy got that mischievous fae smile again. The one that makes you want to immediately regret your decision, but Teddy was pretty confident it was all for show and gave a small smile in return.
The grin was now a bit more genuine when their eyes meet and Billy simply disappeared from sight. No poof of magic or sign of movement. “See you tomorrow, Teddy!”
He took a deep breath of the fresh forest air and let himself sigh a little into the comforting magic of his name, just for a moment, before he gathered himself and began to set up shop for the night.