Chapter Text
She knew what humans dreamt about, the beautiful colorful and bright fairies. The ones that have more colors than the rainbow and bring warmth, spring and summer. The ones who are beautiful and laugh and dance. Arya was not such a fairy. She didn’t use the fairy dust to bring spring, she was not made for the sun.
She was a fairy, but she would never been talked about in human stories. Sometimes she hated that she was like her father and not as beautiful as her mother and Sansa were. Sansa was a fairy of spring, with her beautiful auburn hair and light blue wings and eyes. She wore colorful dresses to match her wings and eyes and she was known to be one of the most beautiful fairies.
Arya’s wings were made of blacks, greys and browns and she had on every wing two white spots, one on the top, like a half moon and a dot under. She had the wings of a moth, not a butterfly, because Arya was a night fairy and not made for the sun. She had pale skin, because she never saw more than a glimpse of the sun at dawn or twilight. Her hair was dark brown and always was a mess, she liked to compare it to the nests of owls who were her friends of the night. When she listened to the stories of humans she was more like the vampires than fairies of the stories. She also slept with the bats during the day and flew and hunted at night with them. But Arya didn’t drink blood or hurt humans like vampires did. But the spring fairies made fun of them and gossiped how they were more like animals and drank blood.
Her mother and father were an odd couple, her father was a night fairy and her mother was of spring. It was uncommon, but her parents loved each other. They met through uncle Brandon, who was more social and liked to woo the fairies of spring. For some reason the male fairies of the night were seen as the mysterious and dark fairies and for some reason the female fairies of spring felt attracted to them. But Arya was female and was nothing compared to the spring fairies.
Her siblings all inherited her mother’s colors and the destiny to be the bringers of spring. Jon the son of her father’s sister also was a night fairy. She only interacted with her siblings around dawn and twilight, when they were both awake and in winter in the night when they didn’t have to work and sometimes played with her in the woods. It was easier when they were younger and they flew with her in the night. Now the longest that she could interact with them was on the fest of the winter solstice. On the day when the days will become longer again and spring would sprung soon. After the fest all the bringers of spring would start working hard to be ready for spring. For her it felt more sad, with the longer nights she could fly longer and she loved the cold nights. Especially when the aurora would show and the sky was filled with lights and colors and she wondered why people liked the day more than the night. Why the sun was better than the moon.
She was observing the early night in the quiet forest, while other fairies were preparing for the fest. There would be music, dancing and lights. Her sister would want her to come home now, to prepare Arya for the fest. But Arya didn’t had the best relationship with her sister, but now they were older it was better.
The most she liked the lights at the fest, their tradition also included lights just as humans had. She used to love the people to and she still could easily talk and sometimes make friends, but she also looked up to tonight. So she kept in the woods as long as possible.
When she got home, Sansa immediately rushed her in. “In two hours it will be midnight Arya, the fest almost started.” This was one of the only times of the year that she did her hair. Sansa took some time to brush it out and at first it was a mess, but with a few braids it looked pretty or that is what Sansa said.
Arya had her dress made by the tailors. Her color was black but Sansa told her that they should at onyx stones to make it glimmer more and look better. It was more defined than her normal simple black garbs.
She looked in the water and looked at her reflection. She had extremely large eyes, which made her sight in the dark better and a long thin nose.
The fest had already started when they arrived with the family. Her mother and father went dancing, Robb was together with Jeyne a sea fairy, she came from the west and another fairy village. She still wore her seashells and the salty smell of the sea was always around her. Jon also was with a sea fairy from the west, Joy Hill. Sansa was together with her spring fairy friends, Jeyne Poole, Mya Stone and Margaery Tyrell. They all had different tasks to prepare spring and they kept talking about it and were very excited. Bran was sitting in the trees and playing with his friends, while Rickon was playing a drum.
She didn’t feel like joining them and she kept unconsciously looking around and when she caught herself on it she felt stupid.
This was the time of the year that the protectors would come back, the fairy soldiers who protect the fairies from other races and other tragedies. They help fairies not only in war fare but also when a house burnt down, they would help built it up. They traveled around and are made up from all different type of fairies, with all different colors. Men or sometimes women, like Wenda, who didn’t fit their task and type and felt better being protectors.
Arya had moved to the side of the room, she had talked with a few fairies that she almost never saw, because they were of the day. But it was close to midnight and she knew that they were celebrating, but she felt mostly sad, because her nights would get shorter. And anxious because her best friend was supposed to be back and she didn’t know if she wanted him to be there with her already or to stay away.
She saw Thoros being welcomed, all in red and a drink in both his hands. She knew he was part of Thoros and Beric’s group and she tried to step a bit more in the shadows. Her dark wings folded behind her and she tried to not look at the group protectors that just came in, also known as the brotherhood.
She was not prepared to see him and then he stood in front of her. Shyly with his hands behind his back in a light grey garb, his black wings, black hair and bright blue eyes. “Hey Arya.”
“Gendry.”
A few years ago she had been angry that he left, because he was just as her a night fairy. A night fairy who was her friend, her best friend. A person to roam the night with and watch the aurora. But then he told her that he wanted to make things. He never had the full look of a night fairy, he seemed to be a mix, with his blue eyes, night fairies had dark eyes like her grey ones. He was leaving her to join the protectors, to specialize as smith, travel and help people. He explained to her that he really wanted to help people. She had forgiven him. But last year he had been grumpy with Ned Dayne from the South who was talking with her and exchanging stories. He was borderline mean. And even that was not even the reason that she was anxious.
He had kissed her. And then he left again.
“How are you doing? Anything new around here?”
Before last year she always was happy to see him and ask him about her stories. She even had thought about joining them. But now she just didn’t know how to react. She shook her head, “not really, everything is still the same.”
“Okay good.” He looked around awkwardly. “Arya I-”
“You kissed me and left me.”
“Uhm yeah, I-”
“How could you do that? Why would you do that?”
“I have missed you.” He looked to the ground and his neck and tips of his ears turned red. “I have traveled around and helped people, and I liked it. I really did. And the brothers are great. But I missed home, I missed you. I was too scared to tell you and you were all the time with Ned and when we were saying goodbye..”
This was new to her. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know if she should say anything. He was still not looking at her and she was just thinking one thing. “Then why did you left me.”
“You were my best friend. I didn’t expect to develop feelings, I didn’t expect to miss you that much.”
“So you kiss me and leave without a word? What about me? How could you that? Did you plan to do that this year again? Having me believe you, forgive you and then leave again for a year.”
He got his stubborn look, “I am not leaving again.”
That got her off guard. “What?”
“I am staying. As I said I missed home, the brotherhood is great, but not family not home. You are. I don’t regret being with them the past years. And I am not sorry about that kiss, but I am sorry that I didn’t explain and just left.”
Arya never was good with emotions and it was all confusing. “You are staying as night fairy?”
“Partly, I still want to make things. But I work better at night.”
And then she flew away from the fest into the trees and deeper into the woods. She didn’t know if she was happy or sad and she still had to deal with that kiss. The kiss that had left her feeling angry at him, because it was overwhelming, all the feelings that went through her body. He was stupid Gendry, who used to fly with her through the woods. And now he was back. If it was a lie she would be heartbroken.
It started to rain and she heard thunder, and the fairies were cheering. And she heard someone shout her name. Gendry flew after her.
She ended up in the tree tops, where she could see her moon. She felt the air stirring next to her, she stubbornly kept looking at the moon. He also didn’t say anything and that is how they sat together watching the moon.
After a while he broke the silence. “I miss this. Sitting with you, watching the moon.”
“Our moon,” she whispered. That is what they used to say, the moon was theirs.
He gave a small chuckle, “Remember when we were younger and participated in the dance of the moon.”
She had to smile at that, just a small one. “We were the worst and the other night fairies shooed us away.” And before she knew it he had turned to her and put one of her hands on his shoulder and hold to other in his hand.
He started to fly and automatically her wings unfolded. They turned and he was humming the tune of the dance of the moon. It was a dance to celebrate the moon, especially when it was full. It used to be the special dance of the night fairies, there used to be more and they danced every full moon. Now that fairies mixed and there were less night fairy couples, it was a rarity that someone danced this dance.
It felt sacred and it was old and the sounds of the fest were turned out. The moon seemed to shown brighter and bath them in light. Gendry who never seemed to be a full night fairy, had a faint blue light surrounding him and hers was dark grey.
He leant into her and his lips were close to her ears, “I promise that I will never leave you. Can you forgive me?”
She tried to swallow and nodded and tried to say, “yes if you stay.”
“Can I keep you?”
She tilted her head back and looked in his eyes. She knew what that question meant and her body felt like it did last year, minus the anger. She was anxious and afraid, but also felt full of energy. And while they were dancing and their lights mixed and she looked at him. He moved forward and their lips touched.
This was the longest night of the year and they would get shorter in the coming moons. It made her feel sad, but she knew that the coming years her nights wouldn’t be alone with the animals. She would have her best friend at her side.
And when they broke apart she could only say one thing, “Only if I can keep you.”
She would keep him and never let him leave again.