Page 45 of Finding Her
The first story was the tale of the creation of Pyrans that Graysen had already shared with me. The sexual nature of the couple was evidently watered down for this child-friendly version, but otherwise the story was an exact match, down to some of the specific language he had used in his telling. Next, a story about the city Mercurians were from, housed within an active volcano named “The Green Sea” for its abnormal lava. It was only a couple of pages. The next legend was slightly longer, explaining how the Thornian species came from a man who was trapped in thorns while running from a witch. When the witch found him stuck, she laughed and attempted to put a curse on him to turn him into a thorn bush himself. However, the man reflected her spell with a pocket mirror. Some of the spell hit him, and some hit her. Both were turned into spikey beasts feared by locals, for they had each received only half of the spell.
The next section in the book involved both species. It offered little new information to me, but was paired with particularly dazzling images.
There was once a king and a queen who lived on a small, beautiful island near the coast of their kingdom. The king was a proud and strong Thornian, respected by all. The queen was a wise and caring Mercurian, adored by her people.
Tragically, the queen died giving birth to a beautiful prince, a Mercurian like herself. He had deep blue eyes and a laugh that rippled the sea. As the boy grew, he looked more and more like the queen every day. The king was obsessed with the young prince and made the world revolve around him.
Every year on the boy’s birthday, the kingdom threw a party. There was food, dancing, gifts, and a promise to forget disagreements for the day and be kind to one’s neighbor. As he grew older, the people were filled with hope. It was thought that if his ideals of charity, peace, and equality wereprioritized, his eventual rule would exceed even that of his father.
On the boy’s seventeenth birthday, he wanted his own dragon. The Pyrans of the land gifted him a beautiful pearly-white beast that shone rainbows when starlight reflected off its scales. Its head and neck were adorned with strings of colorful flowers for the occasion. A parade of traditional folk music accompanied it through the streets to where the young prince sat on a celebratory throne.
The dragon took to the child, as all others did. The crowd cheered when he stroked its cheek, and the prince’s joyful laughter rang through the air.
Golden steps were set to the dragon’s side for the prince to climb. He mounted the beast, and it shot into the sky. They gracefully soared through the clouds, becoming a faint line twisting under the daytime starlight. The creature put on a show, flying in majestic spirals and loops. The people waited with excitement to hear the prince share his experience upon return.
Applause filled the streets as the dragon returned from the show. Everyone crowded around waiting to see the prince’s smiling face. To their incredible shock, they found a dragon without a rider.
Panic broke out. Nobody was to rest until the prince was found. There was much ground to cover, but the people came together to find their beloved future king. It was two days before a yell erupted through the tropical air.
They traced the cry back to the coast of the kingdom’s pink, sandy beaches. There lay the boy, the pale and icy grip of death upon him. His bones were broken; he’d fallen from his newly gifted beast. All mourned, but none more than the king. He fell to the ground, scooping his son up into his arms.
The king tried magic. Enchantments, spells, and prayers. Nothing helped. The king knew his family line would die with his son. He kept the prince in a glass coffin in his castle, begging all who believed they had a chance of reviving his boy to try. Hundreds of attempts were made in vain.
One day, a beautiful female entered the throne room. She had skin of porcelain and flowing, yellow hair. She smiled at him kindly and, without a word, walked to the coffin. She asked the king if he had another child. He answered no. He explained that the prince was all he had left to remember his wife. She asked if the prince showed potential as a ruler, and he cried as he shared stories of the boy’s charisma.
She nodded and opened the coffin. The king watched with wonder as she bent down and kissed his son on the forehead.
Color suddenly rushed back into the prince’s cheeks and strange crackling sounds erupted from where the breaks had been in his bones. Mouth dropping open, a gasp replaced his breathless state.
The female explained that she was a goddess who had come to help. She said that the divine must hide from the world, but when needed by good people, they would appear. All she asked was for the prince to use his second chance at life to spread more joy in the world. And he grew to do exactly that.
Faeryn
After reading a few more stories, I closed the book with numb fingers. My breath escaped my trembling lips in clouds. My nose was raw from rubbing drips away. Clearly, I couldn’t stay in the living room at this temperature. Sleep was out of the question. Despite some reluctance after the contentious day we shared, I knew it was time to go to Graysen. The fact that I had been stubborn this long was frankly stupid.
I stood up, every muscle shivering with cold as I kept the blanket wrapped tightly around myself. Outside, a layer of white coated the world, with more flakes floating down rapidly. Snow was a comforting reminder of Earth, and I was appreciative that even here it held a sort of magic. The softness with which it fell allowed the entire landscape to transform without a sound. The peeks of inky purple night sky between gray clouds contrasted beautifully with the white blanket covering the ground. I’d never seen anything like it, I was sure.
I thought about Graysen sleeping soundly upstairs, unaware of the transformation he would wake up to. He loved snow. Ideally, that realization would come in the morning, but lucky for him, he’d get to see it a bit sooner.Maybe he’ll like joining me in taking in the view. He always seemed to revel insharing his interests, right? On that thought, I tiptoed down the hallway, up the creaking stairs, and to the open door at the end of the second floor. I was relieved it wasn’t closed, sparing me a second incident of trespassing for the day.
Standing there in the doorway, I saw the foot of his wide, metallic four-poster bed facing me. My eyes roamed his bedroom. The dark bedding matched a set of curtains parted over the tall window to the right of the bed. The windowsill was deep enough to host a moderately sized cushion, creating a cozy nook. A dresser was immediately to my left, with a seating area beyond it. The brick walls of the room opened into a fireplace by a fur rug. In front of the mantle was a large black upholstered armchair and side table to match the rest of the dark furniture. I tiptoed past the chair, wincing with every squeak of the floorboards.
Graysen lay tilted to his side with his hair in his face. The blankets were bundled up on the other half of the bed, revealing his loose pajama pants and bare chest. His hands were in relaxed fists, and his feet were separated by a bend in his knee. His parted lips emitted steam with every steady breath. I was beginning to regret my decision to come upstairs and disturb him. Here he was, the unguarded man I so desperately wanted to meet. I hated to wake him back to his defenses. That said, my dilemma remained unchanged. I needed warmth.
“Graysen,” I whispered, sitting on the edge of the mattress beside him and resting a hand on his bare shoulder. Warmth seeped into my clammy fingers, and I fought the urge to bury my entire body into his for the full effect.
He mumbled something in his sleep. I couldn’t understand it.
“Graysen,” I repeated, brushing locks of hair from his face.
His breathing jolted with eyes shooting open. They relaxed into a hooded squint upon seeing me. “Is everything alright, Fae?” his husky voice muttered.
“I’m so sorry,” I grimaced. “I’m cold.”
He lifted a hand to touch my arm, immediately recoiling. “Fuck.” He shot up in bed. “What happened?” He grabbed the thick knitted blanket at his side and tossed it over my shoulders, immediately taking both of my hands in his and rubbing them.
“It’s just a bit chilly in the house,” I said sheepishly.
Realization set into his expression. “I amsosorry. I was distracted. I forgot to—”
