The Secret Garden

Life, Identity

Fenneck learns about Naertho and his life and spends the evening having dinner with the Petrovs playing with baby Kapelya and learning about the magic they use to grow their crops.

Fenneck opened his eyes and looked around the Oblonsky's living room. Vyndius had made a bed by the fireplace and was sleeping with his penguin but other than that the house seemed quiet. Fenneck grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders as he walked into the kitchen and found an apple and some bread to eat. He sat down and took his time as he looked over some of the old newspapers that were lying on the table, trying to catch up on everything that had happened in the two years he'd been gone. After a couple hours, Fenneck looked up in surprise as Naertho walked out of Erikur's room, closing the door quietly behind him. "Hey," Fenneck greeted him softly. Naertho smiled and sat down across from Fenneck. "Good morning," he said as he grabbed an orange from the bowl of fruit on the table. "Sorry about last night," he apologized. Fenneck frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked him. Naertho pondered this for a moment. "I guess you are an adult now, aren't you?" Naertho asked him, reluctant to see Fenneck as anything but his young nephew. Fenneck shrugged. "I don't feel any different," he said teasingly. Naertho smiled. "Ayred is my thiramin," he told Fenneck. "But, we can't exactly have a relationship with each other," he said sadly, trying to keep his composure. "You know, I've often doubted, or rather hoped, that I would never meet my thiramin," he said, surprising Fenneck. "My parents said it was the most wonderful feeling in the world," Fenneck said. Naertho nodded, unable to hide his smile. "It is, Fenneck. It is," he said bittersweetly. "I just always knew that if I did have one... that he... would be a him," he said with a guilty shrug. "Erikur understands," he said sadly. "We've grown close this last year after you disappeared and we mourned the death of your parents together," he explained. Fenneck nodded sadly. "What if you met in secret?" Fenneck suggested, thinking about his days with Evelyn. Naertho shook his head sadly. "It's too dangerous, love, and far too difficult. We are about as far away from each other socially as we could get," he said, shrugging in defeat. "Our only hope lies with this revolution, honestly. Otherwise, we'll never be together," Naertho said, seeming resolute in his fate. Silence passed between them as Fenneck struggled to comfort his uncle. "What did it feel like?" Fenneck asked him curiously, trying to steer the conversation in a more positive direction. Naertho thought for a moment as he peeled his orange. "Like absolute certainty," he said wistfully. "A bit of a flutter of butterflies and well..." He smiled, a bit embarrassed by his affections. "You saw how handsome he was," he said, smiling as he remembered the gorgeous wood-elf. Fenneck smiled. "He was," he agreed. "His eyes were beautiful," he commented, remembering the golden irises. Naertho nodded and looked off wistfully. "He was the most magnificent creature I'd ever seen," he said romantically. Fenneck chuckled seeing Naertho like this. "Clearly you didn't see the baby!" he teased his uncle. Naertho smiled at him. "Babies scare me. I don't ever plan on having children," he giggled. "I remember when your mother had you and she let me hold you for the first time. I knew in that moment that you were the only child I needed in my life and I've been quite content with that," he said, giving Fenneck a loving smile. Fenneck smiled. "I want a baby. I know I'm too young right now but... the feeling I got when Evelyn let me feel him kick was so..." he shook his head in wonder before deciding there weren't words for the wonderful experience. "I want to experience that again. I felt something close to it holding Kapelya. There's something beautiful about babies and new life," he said wondrously. "I know she did what she thought was right," he said, becoming somber. "It's just... being with child is so different for us than it is for most races. She could feel him. She knew him," he said sadly. "I just wish we would have had a better option. That we didn't have to hide or that her parents would have chosen to love her and our son instead of making Evelyn feel like this was her only choice to protect herself and me." Naertho reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'm so sorry you had to face so much tragedy for your young age. It's not right," he said, shaking his head. Fenneck shrugged. "It is what it is. I just want to make sure no one else has to suffer or die at their hands again," he said. "Morning," Erikur said as he walked in and plopped himself down next to Fenneck. He was wearing a thin, floor length blue and lavender robe with floral designs and lavender feathers on it. "Morning," Fenneck greeted him. Naertho nodded to Erikur and stood. "I should head up to the shop. Thank you for letting me stay the night, Erik," he said. "Of course," Erikur told him. "Fenny, I'll bring you some sewing tools and fabrics later if you would like to help build armor," he informed him. "I'm afraid it's too risky to let you work in the shop," he said, giving Fenneck a sad frown. Fenneck nodded. "Sounds good," he said. Naertho kissed him on the head and left Erikur's house. Erikur glanced into his living room to see if Vyndius was still sleeping before turning to Fenneck. "Did you see Catherine last night?!" he whispered, seeming surprisingly jovial compared to his demeanor from the night before. "I think she has a crush on Vyndius," he snickered. Fenneck chuckled at Erikur's immature behavior. "Leave her alone!" Fenneck scolded him. Erikur scoffed and leaned back in his chair as he plopped his feet up on the table in front of Fenneck, showing off his lavender nail polish and smooth dainty legs as the robe opened and fell down to his thighs. "Did Naertho tell you about Ayred?" he asked him as he grabbed a peach from the bowl and bit into the juicy fruit. Fenneck nodded. "It's so unfair," he said. Erikur nodded. "Did you ever feel weird about our relationship together?" he asked Fenneck candidly. Fenneck smiled at his friend. "No," he said. "I don't really think there's a big difference in dating men or women," he commented. Erikur smiled at this. "You fell so hard for Evelyn," he continued. "I just wondered if the stuff we did together was just... for fun compared to that. Like that you didn't really like men," he said, giving Fenneck a nervous look. Fenneck shook his head. "I don't know why I fell so hard for her, Erik," he said thoughtfully. "I just did." He gave Erikur a small shrug and Erikur pursed his lips. "So... you not wanting to have sex with me doesn't have to do with the fact that I'm a guy?" he asked Fenneck nervously. Fenneck cocked his head at Erikur. "Of course not, Erik. I just... I don't know. I need some time before I open myself up to romance again. Sex is a bit more confusing now than it was when we were younger. I fell in love. I don't know if I want to have casual sex again," he said, giving Erikur a sad frown. Erikur nodded and seemed to be okay with this answer. "Okay," he said. "I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable," he explained as he pulled his delicate, sexy legs off the table and hopped up to walk over to the ice box. He pulled out a jar of milk and fixed a glass. Fenneck turned to look at him but Erikur was avoiding his eyes. "Erik," he asked him. "Hmm?" Erikur didn't turn around. "You... you aren't in love with me are you?" Fenneck asked his friend who suddenly froze for a moment before laughing Fenneck's accusation off. "Pff! No," he said, giving Fenneck a playful shrug as he turned back to face him. "I'm too young and free for that silliness!" he teased him. "Unlike you!" he said as he plopped himself down next to Fenneck. "It's not like we can be together anyway," he said. "It's illegal." "That didn't stop us before," Fenneck pointed out. Erikur's ears were starting to blush. "Sounds like you're the one in love with me!" Erikur teased him before standing up. "I'm going to go change," he announced suddenly. "We can hang out today and practice some simple spells with Catherine and Vyndius and then tonight we have our date with Alina and Pyotr," he said. "Not a date," he added quickly. "Just friends hanging out with a lovely couple and their baby. Besides, you'll probably hang out with Kapelya the whole time." He took a sip of milk and quickly walked into his room. Fenneck felt guilt rise up in him at Erikur's behavior. He wasn't sure if he loved Erikur that way and it was too confusing to think about at this moment. He was still trying to process Evelyn's death and adding that to the mix made him feel even more guilty and confused about his overwhelming emotions. He stood up and walked over to Erikur's door and opened it to see Erikur sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. He sat up when he saw Fenneck and cleared his throat. "Erik," Fenneck said softly as he slipped in and closed the door behind him. Erikur looked away, looking embarrassed. "I don't... love you, Fen," he said, avoiding Fenneck's eyes as Fenneck sat down next to him on the bed. "I'm just a bit confused sometimes," he said, turning to give Fenneck a sheepish look. Fenneck nodded. "I am too," Fenneck assured him. "I just feel... guilty," Fenneck admitted. "For so... so many things. I'm worried that if we had sex again it would make things confusing and I just... can't right now." Erikur nodded. "I know. I know you're going through a lot. I just..." Erikur started crying. "I thought you were dead, Fenneck!" he suddenly exclaimed as he burst into tears. "I thought I'd never see you again!" he told Fenneck sadly as he collapsed into his arms. Fenneck clutched him close. "I thought the same thing about you!" Fenneck told him as he started crying too. "I was so worried they would go after you!" he said, taking Erikur's face in his hands. "I'm so sorry I was so cruel to you that night!" he told Erikur. "I should have listened to you. I should have trusted you," he said, desperately wishing he could go back and fix his mistakes. Erikur shook his head and leaned his forehead against Fenneck's. "I should have told you sooner. I knew when you met her, Fenneck! I knew and I kept that from you," he said, ashamed of himself. "I was afraid you'd think I was lying so you wouldn't be with her. I just wanted to keep you safe, Fenneck," he told him sadly. "I know that now, Erikur," Fenneck told him gently. "I'm sorry it tore our friendship apart the way it did," he said. Erikur smiled up at him. "Me too, Fen," he said, pulling Fenneck into a tight hug. "Okay, no more crying today," Erikur decided, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Let's go wake Vyndius and teach you some magic!" he said excitedly. Fenneck smiled and Erikur hopped up and grabbed them both a clean set of clothes to change into before they joined Catherine and Vyndius in the living room where they played around with magic and Catherine and Vyndius relayed their exciting adventure into Hades. As evening rolled around, Erikur and Fenneck turned invisible and headed out into the Vallee. They made it to a small longhouse and Erikur rapped on the door. Pyotr opened it and smiled as he stepped aside and looked around behind them as their invisible selves walked into the house. When the door closed behind them Erikur reappeared and Fenneck took off his ring. "Welcome!" Pyotr greeted them excitedly. The front foyer of the house opened into a kitchen where Alina was busy at work baking something that smelled absolutely wonderful. Kapelya was sitting in a small crib by the fire playing with a toy rattle she was excitedly chewing on. The house was surprisingly warm and Fenneck smiled happily at the cozy family. "Hi!" Alina said cheerfully from the kitchen as she stirred a large pot of stew. Kapelya squealed excitedly when they came in and Fenneck's heart leapt with joy hearing the little baby's squeal. "Hey, thanks again for having us!" Erikur said, giving Pyotr a hug. "Of course!" Pyotr said. Fenneck smiled at him. "Yes, thank you," he told the wood-elf. "Our pleasure," he said, walking over to help his wife in the kitchen. "We're having vegetable stew with bread and peach cobbler for dessert!" Alina informed them excitedly. Fenneck walked over to Kapelya and squatted down next the the baby who squealed excitedly when she saw him and reached her tiny hands out to him with a grabbing motion. Pyotr saw this and smiled. "You can pick her up if you'd like," he offered. "You're on your way to becoming her best friend," he joked as he pulled the fresh bread out of the oven, filling the room with a glorious smell. "I will warn you, though: if you pick her up, she will not let you put her back in there once we start eating!" he said, clearly speaking from experience. Fenneck giggled and looked into the tiny elf's desperate green eyes and felt his heart melt for her. "Hi there!" Fenneck said as he reached in and picked Kapelya up as she cooed happily at him. He pulled her into his arms and rocked her a bit, catching Erikur shaking his head at him from the corner of his eyes. "She's a handful," Pyotr said affectionately. "We love her to pieces, though. I didn't realize how much I could love something until I held her in my arms for the first time," he said, smiling at the memory. "I remember the first time I felt her," Alina said sweetly as Fenneck walked over with the baby who had once again started chewing on a handful of his hair. "She was so excited about things. So full of life," she said wistfully. "She absolutely adored the name Kapelya," she said. "But she hated some of my suggestions," she said, laughing at the small child for her pickiness. "She also hated peaches. Like, viscerally hated them! So I'm a little too excited to make things with peaches right now," Alina said as she pulled the beautiful cobbler from the oven, filling the air with the delicious smell of cinnamon and baked peaches. Kapelya sneezed the most adorable little sneeze from the strong aroma sending Fenneck's heart aflutter. The entire room, almost in perfect unison said, "Awwwww!" at the little girl, causing her to squeal happily from the attention. Fenneck gently squeezed her affectionately and she cooed up at him happily as she nuzzled her face into his chest. Alina smiled lovingly at her little girl. "Isn't she so perfect?!" she asked Fenneck excitedly. Fenneck nodded. "You both should be very proud," he told them. Alina nodded. "Trust me, we are," she said, squeezing Pyotr's hand as she looked lovingly into his eyes. He leaned in and kissed her a little too sensually. Erikur smiled at the couple. "I have to ask," he said. "Is thiramin all it's cracked up to be?" Pyotr nodded, still looking into Alina's eyes. "Yes," he said confidently before turning to look at Erikur. "Our favorite part about it is never feeling lonely," he said. "We feel each other's spirits with us, all the time. It's the most comforting feeling in the world." "How did you meet?" Fenneck asked them as he sat down at the table, holding Kapelya who had closed her eyes against him as if she was meditating. Alina fixed bowls of soup for the party as Pyotr and Erikur sat down in the seats on either side of Fenneck. "Well," she started. "We both grew up here as farmers. I was living on the northern side of the Vallee and this was Pyotr's family home. We didn't meet till we were... we were in our seventies, right?" she asked her husband who nodded. "I was in my nineties and you were in your seventies," he clarified. "We met one day in the marketplace," she said, continuing her story. "I saw him and felt the most wonderful feeling in the world and knew he was mine," Alina said lovingly as she placed a bowl of soup in front of Pyotr and kissed him passionately again. "He walked over and nervously greeted me and asked me what my name was. I told him and he smiled awkwardly and asked me if I would like to come over for dinner that night," she said sweetly. Pyotr chuckled. "Then she said, 'do we have to wait till tonight?' and I pulled her into a kiss, right then and there. We've been madly in love with each other ever since," he said lovingly. Erikur smiled. "You two are absolutely adorable," he told them. Pyotr smiled. "We like to think so," he said, looking longingly at his wife who sat down two lovely bowls of stew in front of Erikur and Fenneck. The stew had more vegetables in it than Fenneck had ever seen in his life. Not only were there strange things he'd never seen but they were beautiful, colorful vegetables that looked absolutely delicious. Alina sat down with her own bowl and gestured for them to start eating. "After dinner, we'll show you the farm, Fenneck," she said excitedly. As they ate the delicious meal, Kapelya was resting comfortably in Fenneck's arms, drooling into his hair. Fenneck enjoyed being with the baby. It was a nice distraction from his grief and frustrations about the world. She was so precious and Fenneck felt drawn to her in a way he couldn't quite explain. After dinner, Pyotr led them into a room that had a tall wardrobe and he opened it, revealing a false back that opened into a staircase. They walked down into the most magnificent sight Fenneck had ever seen. The basement was a large space that was lit with two balls of magical sunlight like the one that had been inside the tree the night before. All around them grew beautiful flora and crops in a beautiful hidden garden. Fenneck looked around in awe. He had only ever seen such colors in the fabrics of Naertho's shop but this garden put Naertho's shop to shame as he marveled at the bright fruits. Kapelya was awake now and squealing with delight as she looked up at the beautiful colors. "This is..." Fenneck tried to think of something to say but he was at a loss for words. Erikur smiled excitedly upon seeing Fenneck's reaction. Kapelya giggled excitedly as Fenneck wandered through the garden with her, overwhelmed with joy at the wondrous beauty of it all. "I can show you how we do it," Pyotr offered happily. Fenneck turned to him and nodded. Pyotr led them over to a small pot that was full of dirt. He plucked an apple from one of the trees and pulled out a knife, slicing the fruit in half. He then picked a seed out and buried it in the dirt. "So, this part is pretty simple," he said as he watered the seed. He set the watering can down and held his hand over the plant and closed his eyes. Fenneck watched a stream of sparkly green magic sprinkle down onto the dirt and after a few moments a sprout formed and Fenneck watched in awe as the tree started to grow in front of him. "We can focus more magic into it to make it bloom and grow, almost instantly," Pyotr explained. "We've also been able to stabilize plants against the harsh terrain and weather outside by creating a sort of magical field that acts as a greenhouse around them. The Pavlov's have been able to nearly perfect that system," he explained. Kapelya reached out to the little tree that was blooming and grabbed a leaf from its branches and ripped it off before going to put it into her mouth. "Ope! Don't do that!" Fenneck exclaimed, trying to pry the leaf from her fingers. Kapelya squirmed angrily, clutching the crushed leaf fiercely in her tiny fist. Alina giggled. "She likes to do that, it's fine, it won't hurt her. She normally spits it out anyway," she said. Fenneck shook his head at the little girl and let her chew on the leaf which she proceeded to spit out onto Fenneck's shirt. "Sorry," Alina said guiltily. Fenneck laughed. "Oh please, she's fine," he assured her. "It's a good thing she's so pretty!" he said, more to the little girl in a baby voice as he bounced her in the air. Kapelya giggled gleefully and Fenneck gave her a kiss on her forehead. Kapelya squealed and let her head fall back where she could see her parents and she giggled and made a bunch of gurgling noises as if she was speaking very intensely. Erikur giggled and walked over to them and kissed Fenneck on the cheek as he admired the baby. She looked up at Erikur and reached out to him. Fenneck held her out to his friend who carefully took her in his own arms. "Hi there," Erikur greeted her. She started gurgling at him and he chuckled as she reached out and grabbed at the fur on his collar before pulling her face up to it and chomping down into the fluffy rabbit fur. Erikur kissed her on the head and pulled her off of his collar prompting Kapelya to start crying and howling in anger. "Here," Alina said, taking the fussy baby. "She's hungry," she explained as she took the child. "We should probably get home," Erikur said, checking his pocket watch. Pyotr nodded. "Are you teleporting?" he asked Erikur. Erikur nodded. "It's safer," he said. "Thank you, though. I'm sure we'll see you again soon," he told them. "Stay safe," Alina told them sweetly as she wrestled with the fussy baby. "Wanna tell Fenneck bye bye?!" she asked the baby in a cooing voice. She walked over so Kapelya could see Fenneck and she squealed up at him angrily. Fenneck chuckled. "Bye bye, Kapelya," he told her sweetly, leaning down to kiss her little forehead. His kiss seemed to calm her and she looked up at him with her bright green eyes and her little hand gently patted at his face as he straightened himself out. "I'll see you later!" he promised her. "Goodbye!" he told her in elvish. She giggled up at him happily and Erikur took Fenneck's hand. "Ready?" he asked him. Fenneck nodded. "Goodbye," he told the the little family before he and Erikur popped into Erikur's living room. Catherine and Vyndius were playing a game of dragonchess at the kitchen table. "Hey!" Erikur called out to them. "Hey! How was your date?" Vyndius asked them with a coy look. Erikur rolled his eyes. "Fenneck hung out with his new girlfriend the whole time," Erikur teased him. Catherine smiled. "Can you really blame him?" she teased her brother. "She's much cuter than you are." Erikur sighed in defeat. "She is pretty damn cute. What about you two, how's your date going? Does this game determine who's on top tonight?" he teased them. Catherine blushed a little and gave her brother a dirty look. Vyndius chuckled. "Is this how you two usually figure it out?" he said teasingly. "Occasionally, if we're in a hurry though we just roll the dice," Erikur joked as he studied the board. "There's some olive oil in the cupboard there, Vyndius. Looks like you'll be needing it," he observed. "It helps if you start slow and really massage the anus-" Catherine elbowed her brother, angry at his teasing. "Ouch!" he feigned pain as he clutched at his chest. Vyndius chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said, looking frustrated at the board and his pieces which were far outnumbered and outmaneuvered by Catherine's. "Will you leave us alone and stop being vulgar?!" she scolded her brother. Erikur stuck his nose up at his sister and took Fenneck's hand. "Let's give these two love birds some space, Fen," he said, giving his sister a snobby look as he playfully pulled Fenneck into his room and closed the door behind them. "You wanna rest in here tonight?" he asked Fenneck hopefully. Fenneck nodded. "Sure," he said. "I guess we live together now," he said with a chuckle. Erikur smiled and pulled Fenneck's chest against his own. "I guess we do, don't we?" he said thoughtfully before gently kissing Fenneck's cheek. Fenneck leaned over and kissed Erikur on the lips affectionately. Erikur kissed him back before pulling away and walking over to his wardrobe and pulling out some pajamas for them both. They changed and curled up in Erikur's bed together underneath the comfy, warm blankets and furs. Erikur waved his hand above them, creating a few balls of lavender lights that danced above them, filling the room with a bright purple haze. He pulled Fenneck into his arms and nuzzled him affectionately. "I've missed this," he said sweetly, remembering all the nights they used to rest together like this before Evelyn. Fenneck laid back on Erikur's silky tunic that was hardly staying on his graceful body it was so loose, revealing Erikur's slender chest. "Want me to read to you like we used to? It's still pretty early," he suggested. Fenneck nodded and nuzzled into Erikur's warm chest. Erikur grabbed a book of Elvish proverbs from his nightstand that he proceeded to read aloud to Fenneck before they rested together.