Aneurin

Chapter Six ~ Repercussions

Eleven years later

No one had ever told Enid what love was supposed to feel like. It came fleetingly at first, then grew bolder as the days passed.

She was seventeen now, though she had never forgotten about the Fae that her father had killed in revenge for her sister; Rose.

Most of her time that was not taken up with helping her mother, she spent with Aneurin.

She knew that young women weren't supposed to wander off into the woods alone. Or spend time unchaperoned with a man. Much less a Fae. But she did it anyway.

She was becoming increasingly confused about her feelings towards Aneurin. He was a close friend of hers, someone she regarded highly above all others.

And yet, she found herself blushing when he paid her a compliment about her hair or the style of her dress.

She trusted him. She had given him her name. And she had fallen for his tricks - though they were never the kind she had imagined them to be as a child.

Enid had broken every rule her mother had ever taught her. Which was why she never could find out about her meetings with Aneurin.

She had already lost one daughter to the Fae folk, and it had made her clutch to her children more tightly.

The night Rose died everything changed for Enid. She no longer had Rose to go to if she needed help. If she had, she would have asked for her help with Aneurin: how to speak, how to act.

When it came to him she never knew.

He truly was a wonder.

But now, now he was worried. He had not said it to Enid explicitly, but his eyes were far away, his voice distant.

"What's wrong?"

"The queen has just found out that a Fae was killed by a human. She doesn't know when, but she is seeking vengeance."

Enid's breath hitched in her throat and she froze.

Aneurin was rarely worried about anything, and when he was it was usually because it was something worth worrying about.

"Does she suspect anyone?"

He looked at her for the first time since they had arrived at the waterfall. He frowned, but it quickly disappeared.

Realisation flashing in his eyes.

"Do you know who did it?"

She bit her lip, hard.

How was she supposed to tell him that her father had murdered one of his own? Perhaps even someone he knew.

"Yes." Was all she was able to get out before she lost the will to continue. The unsaid words vanishing back down her throat.

His eyes widened as he leaned in. Checking for any eavesdroppers nearby.

"Enid, this is very important. You must tell me who it was." He looked more fearful than she had ever seen him before.

For he knew the extent of the Queen's wrath.

"It was my father."

As if she had hit him, he flung himself away from her and up off of the grass. Beginning to pace back and forth along the water's edge.

"He found out the Fae had killed my sister...so he killed the Fae. We never thought anyone would find out."

"You knew all this time and didn't tell me?" Despite the tone of his voice, his expression held no anger. Only concern for what now may happen to her and her family.

"I didn't know how!"

He scoffed and continued pacing.

"I'm sorry." She said, her voice soft. His reaction had made her even more afraid for her family.

He stopped pacing and turned to her.

Aneurin was in front of her before she could register his movements. He always had been incredibly fast. Inhumanly so.

"You must tell no one of this. Promise me you will not."

"I promise."

He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down beside her. But while he was relieved, Enid was far from it.

The queen of the Faes knew that one of her people was dead. And now she was after revenge.

What if she found out Enid's father had been the one to kill the Fae? Would she send her guards after him? After her family?

Were they all now doomed?

As if he had heard her fears out loud, Aneurin reached up and cupped her cheek.

He rarely touched her. It sent her heart racing, her breathing deepened.

How could something so simple cause so much turmoil within her?

"You do not need to fear. I will make sure you and your family are kept safe."

She leaned into his touch, believing every word.

His eyes were steady and sure.

"You have changed." He said thoughtfully, after a few moments of silence had passed between them.

"Have I? How?"

"Your cheekbones are more pronounced-" Light fingertips traced her cheekbone, moving down to run through her hair "-Your hair is a lighter shade of red, curlier now, but softer I think."

"What else has changed?" She asked every fibre of her aware of his eyes on her, of his fingers against her skin.

"Your hips are wider, and you have grown taller. You are not so little anymore, little one." He smiled fondly at his childhood nickname for her.

"You have not called me that in a long time." She replied.

"No, I have not." His voice lowered, his eyes moving between her eyes and her lips.

He was now inches away from her.

Butterflies erupted in her stomach. Was he going to kiss her?

She had never been kissed before. She had no idea what to do if he did.

"Enid?" That voice like velvet broke through the air, her name rolled sweetly off his tongue. His gaze was fixed on her, and hers on him.

She found herself speechless, unable to respond.

Before anything could happen between them, he pulled himself away.

Leaving Enid wanting more and her mind reeling. Filled with questions that could not be answered.

For once, he seemed as confused as she was. He had let his barriers down to her in a way that he had not done in the entire time she had known him.

Perhaps she knew what love felt like after all.