Gleann na Dùin
Fairy AU - Dimileth
Co-written with @hiddenfangirling
Part 2
Now on AO3
Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, King of Faerghus, and his ever loyal vassal, Dedue, rested a moment on their path. They had been on a tour of the border for some weeks, something he personally did every year. As they sat atop their horses to drink from canteens, the forest to one side caught Dimitri’s eye.
Gleann na Duin was known to be the home of fairies, the Sidhe, and so was usually avoided.
Dimitri, despite the respect he had for Fae lore, couldn’t help but think this forest would be a fine place to hunt.
He climbed off his horse, the beast nickering and shifting from hoof to hoof as he set an intent gaze just inside the tree border.
"Give me a moment, Dedue. I would like to go check something."
“As you wish, your Highness. “ Dedue gave a small bow from atop his own horse, and began to rummage in a saddlebag for fruit and cheese for when his master returned.
Dimitri stepped through the thicket of trees with little trouble, pretty pebbles and stones skittering about his steel boots while his hands worked to push aside branches. He almost had to fight a twig to release strands of blond hair, gauntlet swatting impatiently at the offending appendage before he was free.
He released a short exhale.
Then immediately felt how different the atmosphere was.
Hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. His skin shuddered in soft prickles and the king had a strange urge to sneeze. But none of it compared to how fast his heart began to thumpthumpthump in his chest.
Dimitri swallowed, recalling stories of men who experienced the same sensations - to fall for the allure of the bizarre and unique, only to disappear without a trace. Never to be seen from again.
Yet there was a game trail ahead. Something that was more nature-made, more familiar, then a string of stories that were told to him as a child. And so he curiously followed it, wondering what kind of animal had made it.
A breeze wafted past his ear, carrying the sound of lilting flutes. He focused, eyes closed and hand gripping his lance as his ears strained for the pleasing melody.
Soft high notes...long, gentle, wistful.
Dimitri turned to what he thought was the east and notes that it’s the same direction as the game trail. How convenient.
The warrior King crouched and studied the soil, observing a mixture of game; rabbits, maybe a boar, even deer. He blinked and stood up, curious at what other varying creatures reside here and how many could fill the tables and stomachs of the people in his home.
He ventured further in, careful to stay on the trail while straining his ears for the soothing melody.
As he ducked under a fallen tree, the King spotted claw marks on another nearby, possibly a bear. He must definitely make plans with the others for a grand hunt here. Dimitri smiled at the thought of his friend Felix, excited for a hunt but pretending not to be.
A moment more and he stopped in his tracks. The forest was nearly silent, the flutes were no longer playing. He spun back the way he came, and realized he had gone much further than intended. The tree line was no longer in view. Instead, bright blue eyes focus on the tall stones he had just passed through, and the mushrooms at his feet. He cursed, and pushed back down the path with a new sense of urgency.
Then everything grew quiet.
A kind of quiet that rang in one's ears after a powerful spell. The kind that set your teeth on edge and made your mind ache for the simplest of sounds.
Dimitri couldn't help but feel unnerved. The back of his neck felt like it was burning while every inch of his skin grew cold with foreboding.
He sneezed before cursing under his breath, feeling like the noise echo loud enough to fill the entire forest.
The King looked around, on edge when he saw nothing but underbrush, trees, and stillness.
"I should head back…” He said, unsure why he was talking out loud. “Dedue will grow worried."
But as he looked through the trees, Dimitri realized he didn't recognize the path he just walked. The colors were different, the smells too. There were plants here that he had never seen before, and he realized belatedly one had snaked around his ankle and was attempting to pull him down. He recoiled in surprise(and maybe a little in horror), tearing the vine from the ground in the process.
His eyes scrambled to find something, anything familiar. Finding nothing, the King decided to take a chance.
"Dedue! Dedue can you hear me!?”
He yelled in the direction he thought he came from. His words don't seem to travel as far as they should - simply eaten by the trees.
The silence fell thick again and Dimitri knew he had to move. He picked a direction and started to walk. More plants, this time with thorns, crossed his path and he cut them down with his lance. He thought he saw eyes staring at him from the foliage but he ignored them, trying to look intimidating (he'd been told he's very good at it).
Dimitri looked for any sort of landmark he thought he could use, wildly wishing he had not gone on this adventure in the first place. All of the trees felt like they were blending together, branches entwining and blocking anything resembling a path. Bushes latched onto his armor and acted more like prickling thorns than normal leaves. He found himself tripping over rocks, plowing through deep pools of mud, even push through what looked like a wall of vines.
“Blasted-!”
He stopped, suddenly feeling a gaze on him that made his entire body feel on edge.
The grip on his lance tightened as he spun around, arm raised at the ready only to face nothing but a wall of trees and brush that looked more overgrown than when he first walked through it. Eyes narrowing, Dimitri slowly lowered his weapon despite how tense and on guard he felt. He took no more than a few steps before he realized he could hear it again.
The flute.
Dimitri turned left the moment he felt the tune tickle his ear, making long strides and leaps as he chased after the ever-quickening melody - fighting off creeping vines and sticky thorns.
The music rose to a pitch, digging into his mind, and ringing in his ears as he shouldered past two trees that had fallen together. In his haste, he walked into something soft as it wrapped around his face. Spider webs clouded his vision and tickled his nose. Dimitri swiped at the threads in his eyes, and when they were clear he stopped dead in his tracks.
He couldn’t see it, but he sensed something large sneaking up from behind. He gripped Areadbhar tighter and rolled onto the balls of his feet, preparing for whatever may come. It happened quickly. A large, hairy, segmented leg punctured the ground in front of him and Dimitri dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the glistening fangs of a giant spider. Its many eyes sparkled at the sight of its prey as it lunged again.
Dimitri had dealt with much worse than this, and the spider was too slow. He strafed again, underneath the giant foreleg, spinning his lance and removing the appendage before burying the blade deep into the creature's middle. It hissed in agony, venom spraying in all directions as the beast writhed, falling to the ground with a thunderous crash and curling in on itself before becoming still.
Adrenaline coursed through his blood like a burst of magic, making his skin tingle with energy and his breathing hard with exhaustion. His grip on Areadbhar loosened as he closed his eyes and allowed the peace to wash over him. But no peace came; not when worrying thoughts tainted his mind and making him wonder if he’d ever get out of this place. It didn’t help that it was so quiet too - no singing birds or rustling of brush, just an eerie feeling and a gigantic, dead spider that left him reeling.
That was when Dimitri realized the music had stopped playing.
That is probably a bad sign, the King thought while wiping his bloody blade on the grass.
Looking around, he spotted a dim light far in the distance as it filtered through the trees. It seemed promising (and perhaps his only option) as he walked towards it, not noticing the corpse of the spider twist and twist until it bursts into a cloud of flowers and fairy dust.
Dimitri strained to listen for the flute, but found only silence that was both eerie and comforting on his trek - his escape - from this strange place. Leaves rustled in the wind and he glanced up, watching them bristle against the sky while the tree branches stayed strong against the agitated gust. He noted he still couldn't hear any animals, a fact that kept him on guard in case there were more of those long legged beasts around.
Scowling, he looked around again, finding he did not like this place one bit.
With quickened steps, the King became more determined than ever to escape this maddening forest with it's insane, terrifying creatures. Giant spiders. Strange pathways and plants that try to trap and bind. This place was certainly treacherous and bizarre - a death trap for all those foolish enough to venture in. Foolish people like him.
Dimitri pushed through the tree line with angry, clumsy swipes of his lance; not allowing the branches and leaves to block his path to freedom and sanity. Despite wishing he could direct his anger at himself for being stupid enough to be lured in, he couldn’t help but feel relieved when he stumbled into a small clearing.
Though the surrounding forest signaled he had yet to reach freedom, he found the little area a welcoming sight from snagging brush and creeping trees. Just the sight of what looked like a freshwater pond made him smile, but his eyes couldn’t help but flicker at the reflection that rippled across the surface.
His breath hitched and he looked up.
Dimitri thought visions like this only happened in fairy tales.
A girl, somewhere around his own age, sat next to a small pond surrounded by flowers and reeds. A ray of light shines through the treetops, perfectly haloing a head a fluffy light green hair that wrapped around a beautiful, placid face and shining green eyes. They widened just slightly at his appearance, her body still as she sat at the edge of the pool with fingers dipped into the water and little fish nipping at the tips. Dimitri's attention traveled down following a curvy torso covered in a simple dress to pale legs and bare feet.
He stood stunned, unable to tear his eyes away or keep himself from stammering like he had as a schoolboy. "A-Ah. Good -"
Dimitri was so mesmerized, he didn't notice the boar charging in behind him.
The girl covered her gasp with her hand as Dimitri is plowed into the pond; the grunting, grumbling, huffing pinkish-red boar stomping in place before she waddled off. Just as she disappeared under the brush, the blonde stranger broke the surface, his arms flailing and head spinning around as he tries to find what had hit him.
The girl relaxed back on her knees and leaned close, face plain but eyes shining with slight concern. "Are you all right?"
Dimitri spun at the sound of her voice, mouth gaping and face lit with confusion, awe, and bewilderment.
"O-Oh, uh, yes! Yes, I'm quite fine!"
There didn’t seem to be a bottom to this pond. Luckily he knew how to swim since Sylvain had once pushed him into a lake years ago. He reached for the edge and began to climb up out of the bank. The girl reached out and took his arm to help, and Dimitri thought he might fall back in from the shock he felt at her touch.
He clambered out, neck red with embarrassment as he tried to stand and look like the King he was, despite being a sopping wet mess. "Er...I'm sorry for..." His hand waved vaguely at the pond, and the forest beyond. "...this. F-for disturbing you." Her hand still hadn't left his arm and he imagined he can feel its heat through his gauntlet. "Ah. I think I am lost...I don't suppose...?" His eyes never left her face
The girl tilted her head at him curiously, "You've must've walked a long way to end up here."
Dimitri couldn't help but rock on his feet at the sound of her voice, finding that it somehow made his heart tickle, but in a good way.
"Y-Yes, I must have." He swallowed, mouth dry. "You see, I was with my friend, Dedue. We were out on patrol when I seem to have wandered off. There was a trail and some music..."
Now he was just babbling like a fool while this pretty girl beautiful woman looked up at him with apt interest.
"-And then I found this clearing and you and...uh, well, you know the rest of course.".
Her eyes crinkled up at the side, and the corners of her mouth turn up just slightly. A tiny breath huffed out of her nose as she remembered the last few minutes. Such a small change and yet it was like the sun shining through the clouds.
"Ah. I- My name is Dimitri." He gave a small bow, tendrils of his damp hair sliding in front of his eyes. He was shocked when a small hand pushed them out of the way and the woman's face appeared in front of his own, much closer than before.
"Dimitri." He swore hers is the voice of an angel's. "My name is Byleth."
The King straightened up quickly, wondering if he would ever have a chance to get his feet back under him. "Byleth. I-It's nice to meet you. Do you...do you know the way out of this forest?”
Byleth frowned and placed her hand on her face in thought, "Not particularly."
Dimitri found he could not understand what she meant by that. Did she live here? If so, she should surely know the way out - or at the very least - around the area.
"I'm sorry, I don’t understand..."
But Byleth was looking away from him now, hand back on his arm, making him freeze as he zeroed in on it. He couldn’t help but marvel at how small and fragile it looked against his rough, black armor.
He suddenly wondered how it compared to his actual arm and wanted to see.
"It's growing late," Byleth said softly. "It would be unwise for you to wander around alone in the dark."
He looked up, trying to see through the tree tops. It had gotten darker and he hadn't noticed. But Dimitri knew he needed to get out sooner, rather than later, even if he could feel the temptation to stay tugging at him. He chuckled darkly.
"Despite the last few minutes, I can take care of myself. If you'll only point the way, I think I could be out before full dark."
He felt her hand twitch. Byleth shook her head slowly. "I don't think you will. My father's house is near. Come, get dry. You can try to leave in the morning."
Dimitri wanted to argue, but the truth was he was getting cold, and he had already had enough of this forest for one day. If he was being honest with himself, he wanted more time with this girl he had just met, as well. He nodded reluctantly, and let her start to drag him away.
"The morning, then."