bridal style, carrying her back to her bed. Setting her down gently, he went to retrieve a chair and sat near her. “How long have you and Narrie been together?”
“Since I was…let’s see…four. Originally my dad wanted me to have someone to play with as a child. I was always sick and I don’t have any siblings. The garden was her idea.” Avian said, curled up on his side to watch him. Her golden eyes glowed in the dim light.
Mathieu raised an eyebrow. “It was?”
“She felt bad that I couldn’t really go outside because I’ve always been prone to severe sickness, so she asked my father if she could plant a garden outside my window. That way, even if I couldn’t go outside, I could still see them anytime I wanted. She planted a few flowers at first and then the other servants started to pitch in. It just kind of grew from there.” Now that she was talking, her eyes were starting to light back up and she was smiling softly like earlier. Avian looked at him. “My turn. Tell me about where you came from. I didn’t know that we had an orphanage outside of here and Zurn.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s down past Tuckern. It’s an old wooden building with lots of room and only a few kids.” Mathieu said, clearly not wanting to talk about it.
“That sounds nice.”
Mathieu gave a half-smile for her. “I guess it was. But it was time for me to move on. So here I am.”
“You’re brave to come here. What kind of things did you do there?” She sat up, listening attentively. She looped her arms around her legs.
Mathieu relaxed back into the chair, realizing he would have to talk about it eventually. “We used to do things like clean, tell stories, take the younger kids to play down by the streams. It was pretty relaxed. I played the cello a lot as well.”
“Played is past tense…”
Looking at the floor, his next few words were mumbled. “My cello got broken.”
Avian tilted her head. “Broken? Well then, we’ll just get you a new one.” She said simply, shrugging one shoulder. “I’m not musically inclined, so you’ll have to play for me all the time, okay?”
“O-okay.” His eyes watered. “You’re very nice, you know.”
“Eh. People tell me that and I never believe them. Who knows, maybe I am nice.” Yawning, she laid back down, pulling the blanket up to her chin and closing her eyes. He made to get up, but she cracked one eye open, “Stay until I fall asleep, ‘kay?”
“Okay.” Sitting back down, he curled up in his chair, watching her. She closed her eye again and not long after, her breathing evened out and the tension from her face slid away. His eyes became heavy and soon he was asleep, too.
~*~
He had a weird feeling in his head, like everything was coming to him through a fog and the room around him had changed.
Instead of Avian, a tall blond man wearing jeans and a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up was leaning against the wall, watching him with an intense gaze. Mathieu tried to raise his hand to in front of his face, but found that he was unable to move. His eyes were slow to look down and as he did, there were traces in his vision. It took a moment, but his eyes focused and he found himself restrained by glowing bonds.
“Hello?” His voice was slurred, sluggish.
The blond shook his head and rubbed his chin. His eyes were a startlingly green, like the brightest emeralds; small scars littered his jaw and neck. His hands bore signs of scarring too. Physically, he was cut like a swimmer with broad shoulders that led to a tapered waist and long legs. Attractive was the first thing he thought about the man.
“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Mathieu struggled to get free from his bonds, locking eyes with the blond. His words were still lagging.
The man crossed the room and tilted Mathieu’s head up with strong fingers in his hair, eyes critically analyzing him, the details of his face.
“’Ey!” His feet weren’t restrained so he kicked it up, catching the man in the shin.
Green eyes narrowed in irritation and the blond released a hiss. Shaking his head, the man went to the door and left him alone in the room.
~*~
Mathieu’s eyes flew open. That was the weirdest dream he’d ever had. Something about him had been oddly…real. He still felt that man’s fingers tugging