Words, Words, and Nothing but the Words
Feyre's, Nesta's and Cassian's own thoughts and beliefs can influence our interpretation of the text or of how the actual interaction / actions between two characters might look. Anything they are seeing is through a lens that's colored by their personality, opinions, etc. and not necessarily to be taken as fact so I was curious what it would all look like if I only included the actual words / thoughts both Azriel and Lucien spoke to or about Elain (in chronological order and to the best of my knowledge, if anything is missing, it was unintentional):
“Yes. Cassian and I hail from a race of faeries called Illyrians. We’re born hearing the song of the wind.”“It is sometimes,” “If you are caught in a storm, if the current drops away. But we are trained so thoroughly that the fear is gone before we’re out of swaddling.”
“Where is he keeping her?”
“Tell me anyway. List all of them.”
“I survived well enough when I found you.”
“My mate is none of your concern.”
“She insisted. Tamlin was … Things were bad, Feyre. I went in his stead, and I did my duty to the court. I went of my own free will. And we completed the Rite.”. “Please don’t tell Elain,” he said. “When we—when we find her again,” he amended.
“I’m getting my mate back.”
“Two,” he snapped, “I knew if I was correct and called you on it, you’d find a way to make sure I never saw her.”
“She is my mate and in my enemy’s hands—”
“You have the gall to question my priorities regarding Elain—yet what was your motive where I was concerned? Did you plan to spare me from your path of destruction because of any genuine friendship, or simply for fear of what it might do to her?”
“Tell me about her—about Elain,”
“Elain loves this lord’s son.”
“My mate is engaged to a human male.”
“I want to see her. Just once. Just—to know.”. “If she is worth fighting for.”
“And then I’ll ask your mate how he survived it—knowing you were engaged to someone else. Sharing another male’s bed.”
“Come get me when she’s ready.”
“I would never hurt her.”
“Is … is there anything I can get for you?”
Too thin. She must not be eating at all. How can she even stand? The thoughts flowed through his head, one after another. His heart was a raging, thunderous beat, and he didn’t dare move from his position a mere five feet away. She hadn’t yet turned toward him, but the ravages of her fasting were evident enough. Touch her, smell her, taste her— The instincts were a running river. He fisted his hands at his sides.
He hadn’t expected her to be here.
But there she was. His mate. She was nothing like Jesminda. Jesminda had been all laughter and mischief, too wild and free to be contained by the country life that she’d been born into. She had teased him, taunted him—seduced him so thoroughly that he hadn’t wanted anything but her. She’d seen him not as a High Lord’s seventh son, but as a male. Had loved him without question, without hesitation. She had chosen him. Elain had been … thrown at him.
“I’m going to assume that one of those cups belongs to your sister.”
“Do you mind if I help myself to the other?”. He tried to sound casual—comfortable. Even as his heart raced and raced, so swift he thought he might vomit on the very expensive, very old carpet
“There’s a plate of biscuits. Would you like one?”
He had not seen her entire face since that day in Hybern. Then, it had been drawn and terrified, then utterly blank and numb, her hair plastered to her head, her lips blue with cold and shock. Looking at her now … She was pale, yes. The vacancy still glazing her features. But he couldn’t breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He’d said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the sense chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours. Mate.
Her eyes were the brown of a fawn’s coat. And he could have sworn something sparked in them as she met his gaze.
He knew without demanding clarification that she was aware of what he was to her. “I am Lucien. Seventh son of the High Lord of the Autumn Court.”
For a long moment, Elain’s face did not shift, but those eyes seemed to focus a bit more.
he clenched his teacup to keep from shuddering at the sound of his name on her mouth.
“Yes.” It was all he could say.
He wished she’d shoved him out the window behind her. “It—it was a mistake.”
He fought against the bristling rage, the irrational urge to find the male who’d claimed her and shred him apart. The words were a rasp as he instead said, “I know. I’m sorry.” She did not love him, want him, need him. Another male’s bride. A mortal man’s wife. Or she would have been.
He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he said nothing, and drained his tea, even as it burned his mouth.
He wasn’t sure if she truly meant to address him, but he said, “No, lady. I cannot.” Her too-thin shoulders seemed to curve inward.
Her thumb brushed the iron ring on her finger. Another male’s ring, another marker that she was claimed—
“Take her to the sea. Take her to some garden. But get her out of this house for an hour or two.”
“Would you like me to show you the garden?”
“But you heard something else.”
“Let me do something. About Elain.
It wouldn’t hurt to have a healer look her over. Externally and internally.”
“I think she went through something terrible,”. “And it wouldn’t hurt to have your best healer do a thorough examination.”
Lucien muttered something about not needing to be monitored
“It—it was a tug. On the bond.”
“I’m sorry—if that unsettled you.”
“There’s a bond—it’s a real thread,” he said, more to himself than us.
“And I got to Elain’s end of it when she ran off.”
“No—I didn’t have time. I felt her, but …”
“Should we—does she need …?”
“She doesn’t need anything,”. “We’re the ones who need …” “A seer,” “The Cauldron made you a seer.”
“There is another queen?”
“You knew,” he said to Elain. “About the young queen turning into a crone.”
“The sixth queen is alive?”
“I’m not needed here. I’ll fight if you need me to, but …”
“Yes. Let me help in whatever way I can.”
“Hold tight,” he ordered her, “and don’t make a sound.”
“We need Helion to get these chains off her.”
“This is Truth-Teller,” “I won’t be using it today—so I want you to.”
“It has never failed me once,” “Some people say it is magic and will always strike true.”
“It will serve you well.”
“Well, I never want to fight in another battle as long as I live, but … yes, I’m in one piece.”
“I heard—what happened. I’m sorry for your loss. All of you.”
“He was a good man,” he said. “He loved you all very much.”
“I heard you made the killing blow,”
“First—here. To help. Then …” “Who knows?”
“It would be my pleasure.”
“Are we …” “Are we supposed to get the sisters presents?”
“Sit. I’ll take care of it.”
“Wait,”. “Wait until everyone is seated before eating.”
“You as well.” “Both of you.”
“No need to trouble yourself. I’m—”
“Good. But is she still …” "Does she still mourn him?”
“To accept a life shackled to me?”
“She wants nothing to do with me.”
“I don’t think she’ll tolerate two minutes alone with me, so forget about two weeks.”
And as for here …” “I can’t stand to be in the same room as her for more than two minutes.
“Enchanted gloves,” “That won’t tear or become too sweaty while gardening.”
“Thank you.”. “This will be invaluable.”
“What happened to Elain?”
“I know. I helped rescue Elain, after all.”
“There is an innate darkness to the Dread Trove that Elain should not be exposed to.”
“Not the ones under my command,”. “We won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“I am not always in this city to see my mate.” (sounds a lot like that Nessian line, doesn't it?)
“What happened to the duke?”
I'm not including the Bonus Chapter because I wanted to show how what's in the books doesn't match up to the Bonus Chapter as E/riels interpret it and if we count the E/riel moments that means the Gwynriel moments are just as relevant.
You can be physically attracted to someone without sharing any sort of depth to your relationship and that's what E/riels near kiss seems like to me.
To some, the bonus chapter is supposed proof of E/riel in love. But where is that evidenced in anything Az says of or about Elain in the books? Over the course of three books, he barely says a thing to her or about her. The very first time he really bothers to ask her a question that someone didn't tell him to say is when it's in regards to her powers.
And being protective does not equal romance or real / healthy love when you consider the relationship of Feyre and Tamlin. The romance is in the little moments of connection, the banter (especially in an SJM book), not the grand scenes displaying heroism. "He saved her! He wanted to die for her! It must be love!" Ummmm...... You actually need to have conversations for love to occur. Not to mention the IC (especially Az) saves everyone, including one another and that does not equal romantic love.
There is no point including the scene where Az and Elain chatted in the sitting room on Solstice (not to mention all we gleaned from that is a discussion about gardening) because we have multiple scenes of Feyre leaving Elain and Lucien alone to talk as well (before he headed off to find Vassa and immediately after the war). We don't know what those conversations were about and speculating is worthless especially because SJM couples don't fall in love off page.
The sum of Azriel's spoken interactions with or about Elain include:
Protecting her, making sure she doesn't have to serve them like his mother served others, and showing interest in what her powers could do for them. And his most major scenes with Elain are ones where he can play the hero or reminisce on being her hero 😬. The most picturesque or poetic E/riel scenes occur when they are from another characters perspective, not between the actual characters themselves, i.e., Feyre wondering why they weren't made Mates, the discussion that Az has never lent out TT, or her idea for a painting. She is planting ideas in the readers head rather than the reader witnessing any real feeling between the characters themselves. It doesn't tell us whether Az only lent out TT this time because he's never had to sit out of battle, it doesn't tell us whether Feyre gave real consideration as to whether Elain and Az have anything in common aside from being "polite". Elain was sitting silently in the garden with Az when Feyre brought up the question about mates and Elain was depressed and withdrawn. She based her questioning of fate off two people who weren't speaking and had barely spoken. Sorry but that's just strange and not how SJM builds romance. Feyre is great but she doesn't always have the best track record when it comes to her sisters.
I feel everything Az does with Elain is merely a reflection of the problems he has in relation to himself. His need to protect those he considers weak, his guilt over what happened to his mother, latching on to someone who shows a little interest in him after Mor's rejection. He never gives Elain credit for anything she's done as an individual. He doesn't talk to her about her sisters, her father, Graysen (the last two the actual sources of her trauma), that she helped saved him and Briar, Cassian and Nesta, how far she's come since she was first made (which even Nesta acknowledges), nothing. I just don't see love from Az and I truly think the Bonus Chapter is simply a result of Az feeling jealous that he wasn't given a bond (with someone) and frustration over everything he struggles with in his life. Mor not loving him, his guilt over the things he's done, the constant anger he always feels, feeling like he's the outsider. To him Elain, or the "idea of Elain", represents the path to filling all the holes he currently has inside of him and that's an extremely unhealthy mentality.
And Lucien's thoughts and spoken words? Without ever truly having the freedom to interact with her as he'd like because of the sisters consistently blocking their interactions as well as her own hesitation over having a bond, his Elain scenes include:
Wanting to know about her, wanting to help her heal, apologizing for what happened in Hybern, acknowledging her feelings for Graysen, supporting her vision by risking his life to see if he can bring back an army, expressing empathy over the loss of her father, giving her credit for her very major part in the war. Most of Lucien's interactions with Elain are about Elain. How she's doing, what she needs, acknowledging her as an individual outside of himself. Lucien isn't focused or driven by what Elain can do for him, his sole concern is helping her feel better whether that involves him or not.
And that all comes from the actual words Lucien speaks, not someone thinking "maybe Lucien thinks this!" or "maybe Lucien, that!". Even knowing that the female who chose him (Jesminda) ended up not being his mate as he'd thought for centuries, he is still fully committed to doing what's right for Elain. He doesn't owe Elain anything, he didn't ask for the bond, he didn't expect or want a bond, yet he's still nearly perfect when it comes to their bond and treating Elain as an individual outside of himself.
And when Feyre does interject her own thoughts, you see flaws in her thinking. "Elain might hate Lucien's gloves because she prefers to get her fingers cut up and dirty". There is no logic in that statement yet E/riels latch on to it, once again taking Feyre's word as gospel in the Elain / Az / Lucien situation.
Feyre herself is the one who told Lucien Elain wears gloves in the garden, there are multiple scenes of Elain wearing gloves in the garden and later, it's confirmed that Elain needs Feyre to pull thorns out of her hands because of torn gloves leading Feyre to think "if Elain had been wearing Lucien's gloves, nothing would have pierced her".
But at the end of the day, a romance between two characters is not going to happen because another character first predicted it or considered it. Rhys may have helped Nessian by sticking them together but they only happened because they were always meant to happen and he understood it's where they both were headed regardless of being too stubborn to get there themselves. They led themselves to that point and Rhys just nudged them along by placing them in close proximity.
The readers themselves are going to see the characters falling in love on page, not through the lens of someone else and it's wild that E/riels think an Elain and Az love story has already happened.
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