Mortal Hearts
By Juli
December 1998
Part 8/9
For disclaimer and warnings, see Part 1.
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Derek huddled down in the brush and small trees adjoining the clearing of the fairy ring. Idly, he wondered if Janet's cloak (assuming, of course, that the mantle he was wearing was actually the famous Janet's) was green in order to blend in with forest. Since it was night, it wouldn't really matter, unless the Sidhe's sight was different than humans. That particular notion gave Derek a few worried moments. Could the Shining Ones see in the dark? Was he really as hidden as he thought or was he actually sticking out like a sore thumb? The Precept reminded himself that if the fair Janet could successfully ambush the Sidhe, so could he. Even Mary had been able to surprise them, she had failed because she hadn't been able to hold on to her love. Although very brave, neither woman had the benefit of being taught wood sense from a full trained SEAL. The Dutchman liked to think he had at least a slight a edge over his female predecessors.
Hold fast.
The night was pitch black but Derek was still unsure when he saw the glow start off in the distance. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? But no, it was coming closer. Evidently, the fairy hunt started elsewhere and only ended in the circle. Even in the midst of this critical situation, a portion of Derek's mind was analyzing the circumstance. Legacy training held, right to the very end.
Hold fast.
Derek's throat became dry as the shining creatures drew near. They did literally shine, with an opalescent radiance that seemed to come from within. Before he knew it, the hunt was close enough to distinguish individual forms. Derek frantically searched the ranks for a sight of Nick.
Now that he could see the Sidhe, the Dutchman could finally understand Mary's description of them as having a terrible beauty. The magnificence of their splendor was obvious--the Shining Ones were tall, graceful creatures. Long of limb and pale of skin, their facial features were exquisite, with high cheekbones and jewel- toned eyes. They didn't have wings as fairies are often depicted in popular literature and art, but they did have what looked liked feathers extending from their eyes that drifted back to mingle with their locks of cascading white hair. Like their eyes, the feathers were also in jewel tones. They wore no clothing, making it obvious which were male and which were female.
Derek thought they resembled butterflies that had, on some odd whim, decided to assume a human-like form.
Then he looked more closely into their expressions and realized that there was nothing remotely human about them. Even years later, Derek would not be adequately able to describe it. The members of the Sidhe had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth; all placed properly where they should be. It was the emotion behind their features that made them so alien. Just looking into their face, you could see that they had thoughts that would never cross a human mind.
Beautiful, but terrible indeed.
All of this flashed across the Precept's mind as the line of Sidhe moved passed his hiding spot. The Dutchman swept his gaze across the group searching for his love.......there! Towards the end of the Sidhe was a rider that wasn't luminescent. As the figure drew closer, he could see that it was Nick. The young man must have been bespelled or sedated, because he certainly wasn't aware of his surroundings. Sitting stiffly on his tall, white horse, Nick's head faced straightly forward and the young man's gaze never wavered from the spot between his mount's ears. His features, while still human and unmistakably Nick's, were completely slack.
Hold fast.
Derek braced himself and leapt from his hiding place as Nick drew abreast of him. With a loud thump, both men fell to the ground. Derek didn't notice when the horses surrounding them stopped as their riders turned them back. Soon, the two mortals found themselves encircled by glimmering, alien bodies.
Hold fast.
For an instant, Derek held his Nick in his arms. As the Dutchman's grasp around the young man tightened, Nick seemed to shake off his stupor and become more aware of his surroundings. Then, for a glorious moment, Nick looked at Derek and knew that it was his lover holding him. His immediate smile warmed the Precept's heart.
Hold fast.
The smile had barely spread across Nick's face before the ex-SEAL gasped. Derek had an idea of what was coming and tightened his grip further, wrapping the green mantle securely around the beloved body.
Hold fast.
The young man's frame convulsed, with Nick's head being thrown back against Derek's chest. Within seconds, the American's body melted and then expanded. The next thing he knew, Derek was not holding his young lover's form, but that of a fierce lion.
Hold fast.
Nick-the-lion roared and Derek could hear the anguish in it. The Precept knew that it was the Sidhe forcing this on Nick, just as they'd forced him to go with them in the first place. The beast's claws raked at Derek, ripping through his clothes and leaving deep tears in his skin.
But Derek remembered the pain that tore through his heart when his lover was taken from him and just held on.
Hold fast.
The lion's roar became a shriek as Nick's form melted again. The powerful leonine body imploded in on itself and the young man became a giant snake with great golden eyes. Nick-the-snake's fangs bit deep into Derek's shoulder, scraping against his collarbone and ripping out chunks of flesh.
But the fangs' bite wasn't nearly as deep as the anguish the Dutchman had experienced during this last month without his love and he only clutched the slithering form closer.
Hold fast.
The hissing of the viper changed as the snake's body morphed into fire. Derek felt the flames of Nick-the-fire burn his skin black and it made him retch to smell his own flesh cook.
But for all it's heat, the blaze didn't burn as hot as Derek's love for his mate. The Precept embraced the flame as he would his lover and pulled it even closer.
Hold fast.
Soon the burning of the flame changed into cold so intense that it cracked the Dutchman's skin and froze his lungs.
But as freezing cold as Nick-the-winter had been forced to become, the horrible chill couldn't match the ice that would surround the older man's heart if Nick was taken from him. So, Derek endured.
Hold fast.
Finally, the Precept felt Nick change again, this time into a form that was solid and hot. Looking down, the Dutchman saw that he was holding a heated bar of lead-- the change that he'd been waiting for!
Metals were deadly to the Sidhe, so this transformation meant that the fairies were losing control of their spells--and of Nick. Quickly, Derek turned to the stream behind him and threw Nick's current form into the water.
A hissing cloud of steam arose. Derek couldn't wait for it to clear, but immediately went to edge of the water and groped through the warm fog, flailing his arms around until he touched a most welcome form.
Crying tears of joy, the older man pulled Nick into his arms. The former SEAL was nude except for the cloak, but neither of them seemed to notice.
In wonder, Nick looked down at his own arms and then back at his lover. The young man brought shaking hands up to cup Derek's face, touching him as if in disbelief. "Derek, is that really you?"
"Yes, mijn hartje, yes!" The Dutchman tended to mix his languages when excited. Derek caught Nicks hands and covered the palms with kisses. Then he pulled the dazed American fully into his embrace, cuddling the smaller form close to his chest. Although a little out of it at the moment, his lover seemed all right. Of his own wounds, there wasn't a trace.
Caught for the moment in their own little world, both men were heedless of the fact that they were surrounded by a swarm of enraged Sidhe. The Shining Ones didn't like being defeated, not one little bit.
"Mortalsss!"
Derek tore his attention away from Nick, suddenly aware that they might not be out of danger. The bigger man stood, supporting his swaying lover and holding him firmly pressed to his chest. Come what may, they'd be together.
"Thou art brave, mortal." Even in a group of magnificent creatures, the female speaking stood out from the crowd. Not only did she glow more brilliantly than the others, and have much more elaborate feathers, but she also carried a jewel- encrusted staff. This could only be the Queen of the Shining Ones. "Brave but foolisssh."
Nick moaned and hid his face in Derek's shoulder. The Precept pulled him more firmly into his embrace before answering. "You can't keep him--I passed the test!" The surrounding Sidhe hissed in anger--obviously not used to a cheeky mortal addressing their monarch so. The Queen threw back her head in fury, her jewel eyes flashing in the luminescent glow given off by her own body.
"Aye, thou hassst won thy pretty lover from usss--much good ssshall he do thee!" The Queen raised her staff as if in threat, "I curssse--"
"Ssstop!"
The hissing stopped as the Sidhe became silent in apparent shock. From the back of the group came a male. When he grew closer, the Precept realized that something seemed familiar about him.....
"How dare thee interrupt--"
"My Queen," the newcomer said, "why dossst thou bring mortalsss in our midssst?"
"Thou knowessst!" Apparently, the queen didn't like getting lip from her own people either. "Mortalsss are but beassstsss. Their livesss are ssshort but sssweet. We but sssip the honey."
"Ah," her answer seemed to please the male. "Ssso if thou bringssst mortalsss to the Hollow Hillsss becaussse of their fleeting nature, how can thou be wronged if they ssstay true to themselvesss?"
The queen seemed to consider his answer. "Very well." She turned her attention back to Derek. "Have thy joy of him, We ssshall not interfere." With cool appraisal, the queen eyed the outspoken male up and down. Seeming to like what she saw, the leader of the Sidhe held out her hand to them.
As the shining couple passed him, Derek met the male's gaze briefly. As he did, the Dutchman realized what had struck him as familiar about this particular male: he reminded the Precept of Nick. Maybe the former SEAL had found a kindred spirit in the Hollow Hills--or maybe the young mortal had had a bigger impact on the Sidhe than they realized.
Derek could almost sympathize with them. When Nick had blown into his life, the impact his presence made on the Dutchman was unmistakable.
The remaining Sidhe followed the queen and her new consort. Where they went, Derek didn't know and didn't care. He had only eyes for Nick.
"Danken godheid." He kissed the young man, who responded enthusiastically even though he was obviously very weary. "Let's go home."
Wrapping his love more firmly in the green cloak, Derek supported Nick around the waist with an arm while the young American lifted his own arm to wrap around the bigger man's neck and across his shoulders.
Arm in arm, the two lovers made their slow, exhausted way back to civilization.
**********************************
"There they are!" The Legacy members left behind to wait at the cottage had kept a worried vigil, with at least one person always watching at the window. Alex spotted the two men first and soon all four were running to meet them.
Four, not the three that Derek had left: Alex, Philip, Rachel........ and William.
The head of the Legacy had arrived shortly after Derek departed for his confrontation with the Sidhe. Much to the others' surprise, he had only mildly greeted Philip with "If you would have asked, I would have let you have the damn cloak." The notoriously unflappable Sloan had been as nervous as the rest of them in waiting for Derek's return.
And, upon seeing that Nick was with Derek, the taciturn man had actually smiled.
Alex, Rachel, and Philip did more than smile. They hugged, slapped shoulders, and cried for joy. In looking around at the blessedly human faces around him, Derek thought them more beautiful than the unearthly creatures he'd just encountered.
Surprisingly, it was Sloan that first noticed that Nick was out on his feet. "C'mon, get into the car."
"William, don't be an ass! Nick needs to get to bed."
"No," Sloan contradicted his subordinate, "What Nick needs is to get the hell out of here."
Thinking about the alien immortals that had imprisoned Nick, Derek decided that-- just this once--Sloan might be right. The ex-SEAL probably did need to get as far from this place as possible. "All right." Derek took advantage of Nick's condition and slipped one arm underneath the young man's knees, his relief at having his lover back giving him the strength to cradle Nick in his arms like a child as he carried him to the car.
The Precept smiled as he realized that if Nick ever remembered this part clearly, he'd pin Derek's ears to his head for babying him.
Alex, Rachel, and Philip piled into the car too, making the Dutchman suspect that they'd kept themselves busy getting this ready while waiting for the outcome of Derek's showdown with the immortals .
Nick sighed and allowed himself to be held in Derek's lap as he dozed. "U zitten vertrouwd wel." The Dutchman comforted the young man in his own native language, realizing that it wasn't exact words Nick needed to hear so much as it was the loving tone of voice. He pressed kiss after kiss onto the top of Nick's head. "Verrichten niet vertrek mij weer. Mij min u."
Exhausted, eventually Derek joined Nick in a light slumber, not even minding as Rachel reached around him to try to examine the ex-SEAL. Both men were soon oblivious.
"Derek." An unknown time later, a voice intruded into his rest.
"Wha--"
"Derek!" The damn voice was persistent, so the Dutchman opened one eye. The car had stopped and Alex was hovering outside the car. "Do you think you can lift him without waking him?" Good question.
Derek looked down at the young man still cuddled against him. Nick looked exhausted and almost.....transparent. Being a mortal in the immortal Hollow Hills had not been easy on him. "I'll try."
With Philip helping from outside the car, the Precept managed to get out and to his feet without waking his lover. Only then did he realize that they weren't in a town per se. Derek had expected Sloan to drive the group to the nearest city large enough to boast a hotel. Instead, he'd driven directly to the airport where a Legacy jet was waiting for them. Trust Sloan to get a naked American past airport security. The Dutchman must have slept longer than he thought. He turned to Sloan for an explanation.
"You forget, I *know* how stubborn you are." Sloan grinned, referring to the short but tumultuous time years ago when the two of them had been lovers. "The Sidhe didn't have a chance, so I just planned ahead." The Legacy head reached out one hand to trace the line of Nick's jaw in a soft caress. "So like his father........." Seeming to shake himself, William slapped Derek on the shoulder, careful not to jostle the Dutchman enough to wake his precious cargo. "Take him home, Derek, where he belongs."
Derek returned the smile and turned without comment to the airplane. After a few hectic minutes when the San Francisco Legacy team learned how difficult it was to get a sleeping man up a private jet's entry steps without waking him, Derek held Nick in his arms as the plane prepared to take off. He was thankful that the immediate departure kept Rachel in her own seat and prevented her from trying to examine Nick. He knew they were *all* thrilled to have Nick back but the Precept wanted a few more minutes of having his lover to himself.
Derek rubbed his face softly against Nick's soft hair, reflecting on the experience they'd just survived. He found a lot to contemplate. Of course, there was the pain of having to endure Nick's disappearance. With Nick in his arms, the loneliness of the past month seemed like a distant nightmare. But there was still a lesson to be learned from it and the Dutchman resolved to cherish his time with the young man even more.
But some of the issues raised by this ordeal went even deeper than that. Like many people who believed in God or at least some sort of supreme being, Derek had often wondered why their creator had given them such short lives. There was so much to do in the world and 75-100 years was nowhere near enough, even if you got to live out your natural lifespan. And in Derek's line of work, that was a mighty big "if."
But the Precept had just stared immortality in the face and found it wanting. The Sidhe were beautiful but so.......cold. So alien. If he'd read the interaction between the queen and her new consort right, they abducted humans because they relied on them as a way to experience emotion--to feel alive. Given that, Derek could understand why they'd chosen Nick; the young man was more *alive* than anyone the Dutchman'd ever known.
Derek would always cherish life and sorrow to see it cut short by violence, accident, or disease. In fact, the Precept would do everything he could to see that the lives of those around him were lived to the fullest *and* to the longest range possible. But he no longer regretted the length of his species' lifespans. He knew now that there was a reason humans walked on the earth for a limited amount of time before being gathered into the bosom of their creator. The knowledge of their limited time on earth spurred them on to grow and change--to meet life head- on and wring the most out of every minute.
If living forever meant that you simply *existed* rather than *lived,* he'd choose his mortal heart.
Every time.
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