Wings of love
Feysand as fairies. A Thumbalina reversal inspired AU
Summary: Feyre has been visiting the heart of the forest her whole life. One day she discovers another creature sharing her meadow.
a/n: I was meant to post this for day1 of feysand month but I went away so I didn’t get to chance to finish it. The ending was super rushed but I hope you enjoy:)
Link to Ao3
Masterlist
Light simmered down through the cluster of leaves, illuminating the expanse of wildflowers and the jewel-blue stream. The steady flow glinted brightly as it travelled to the lake, crystal in clarity, the lifeblood of the forest.
The wind whistled past her ear, her soft golden hair caressed her cheek. Birds chirped from where she peaked behind the rough and patchy brown bark of the willow tree. The hanging branches swayed and rustled with the wind, creating a melody only known the forest. The sweet musky perfume of the heart wafted to her nose, along with another scent, sea and citrus. A scent that was unknown to her.
Her eyes caught sight of an unusual creature, one that was not known to travel this deep. Humans, her kind named them. Creatures that were told to have no kindness in their hearts and destroyed the very forest they worshipped.
This male human stood in the river, holding a long stick-like shape. A sword. Why the human held one, she couldn’t comprehend. As quick as light, he slashed his sword through the water. The water rippled as droplets fell from the metal…and the fish speared on the end.
She gasped as she realised what he had done. Just as quickly his head whipped in her direction and she dashed behind the willow. Her heart thundered in her ears, her palms became damp and her wings fluttered with nerves. She focused on quietening her heart as she desperately tried to listen for the crunching of leaves.
When she felt enough time had passed, she glanced from behind the large tree. The male was still there but he was now closer, much closer. She hadn’t heard him move which sent her heart soaring. Feyre turned back and launched herself off the ground, her storm-blue wings glinted in the sun as they fluttered rapidly behind her.
She didn’t dare look back and flew as fast as she could, until she was long gone from the heart of the forest. Until she passed through the shimmering wall and into the fairy grove. Her home.
*****
After days, she worked up the courage to visit her favourite place. She found herself sitting on a rock, feet dangling into the cool water as she spoke to the fish in the river. Their scales sparkled iridescently as they surfaced, words pouring from their gaping mouths. She found that these river fish had lots to say.
“Green fins said yellow nose had ugly gills!”
“Do you like my new scales?”
“I want a new river!”
“Do you think fish can fly?”
She listened so intently, finding herself smiling and often laughing. Fish were theatrical creatures.
“Have you seen the latest river rocks collection?”
“A crab moved into the river. I don’t like crabs.”
“Did you hear blue gills lost his fins!”
“—a human boy near the river”
A human boy? Was it the same male she saw not a few days ago. Her curiosity got the best of her as she leapt into the air, her wings held her afloat as water droplets fell from her feet.
Feyre listened to the sound for the sound of the forest, she used her instincts and connection to the meadow as her guide.
She caught sight of raven locks and as the male turned, she was captured by the intensity of his sparkling violet eyes. It was the same male that hunted from the heart. She hid in the tree forage as she watched him from a distance, never allowing herself to be revealed.
Feyre followed him, the forest changing with every step. The trees slowly dwindled, and the grass gradually lost the vibrance of life. Plants became few and far between, and flowers rapidly diminished. Her beautiful sacred forest was becoming lifeless. Her forest was dying.
Eventually, the air she breathed became clouded and dense, the dirt beneath her feet turned to gravel as they reach the outskirts of a village. The male stopped at the house furthest from the village. Why any human would live in such a house was unknown to her. It didn’t even look liveable.
As the human walked inside the house, she darted up to the side and glanced over the thresh of the windowsill, into the house. She saw the male walk in and place a new fish on the tabletop. She heard him call a name and then suddenly little feet tapped along the wood of the floor. A little girl with dark hair and violet eyes just like his own, ran up to him as he knelt and embraced her.
Suddenly, she realised why he was in the forest. Why this human had ventured so deep. He was providing for the little girl, his sister, and it seemed, he was the only one able to. Something inside her cracked open. Stories and chronicles depicted humans with no kindness in their hearts. That they were vicious and selfish beasts that would take and take and take until nothing was left. This human seemed to be the complete opposite, he had far too much selflessness and kindness.
She understood now and as she left, her heart felt lighter with the knowledge that there were creatures with love in their hearts.
*****
As time passed, Feyre found she enjoyed watching the human work. He was wonderful, she believed it in more ways than one. It may have been days, may have been weeks but all the time in the world couldn’t stop her from study him, his unique eyes. She did not know of any fairy that possessed such and it made her awfully curious. She would watch him hunt, no longer fearful of the act, and follow him home.
She started bringing her sketchbook, admiring his features and putting them on paper. He was beautiful, even by fairy standards.
On one warm afternoon, she was doing just as she did the day before. She walked the path she knew by memory. Feyre felt the soft dirt and silky grass as she trudged along the hidden path. She felt the cool press of metal, then heard a click and a snap, and suddenly she was in the air. She dangled upside down, her foot was tied. Her wings fluttered desperately, and her hands grappled at the rope. Her panic set in and she didn’t notice the approaching footsteps.
She did hear the snap of a stick and her head whipped in the direction of the sound. A gasp tore from her throat as the male she had been watching, the human male, was standing before her, looking at her as if she was the strange one. His eyes were wide and his mouth was parted in shock. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, there was a ringing in her ears, and her heart beat like it never had before. This was it. Humans truly were terrible creatures, she should have listened to the stories. They had no kindness, no love, and hunted until they destroyed. The daydream she’d created as an escape, was a lie.
“Hey, hey, I’m not going to hurt you,” his words did little to calm her as her heart raced and she gasped for air.
She barely focused on the human's movements, her inner turmoil the spectacle. When she was suddenly falling, her wings squashed beneath her, she finally focused on the male crouched before her.
Feyre shot up, only for the rope to pull her back down. The pale skin of her ankle began to turn red with her rapid movements. She dropped to the ground, arms reaching, attempting to remove the rope from her searing skin.
“Let me help you,” Feyre flinched, unaware of how close he had gotten. He tentatively grabbed her foot as her body trembled. The male gently placed one hand under her heel, the other drifting to the rope. He twisted and untied, untangling the ropes like it was a puzzle. She still feared him but was fascinated with how his hands moved around the rope.
“How did this happen,” he muttered under his breath. Feyre chose not to answer. He looked at her, his violet eyes piercing her own. “Have you been following me?” Feyre felt heat rise to her cheeks, the male chuckled.
“What’s your name, darling?” Her entire face flamed at the pet name. His question was met with silence and guarded eyes. “I’m Rhysand but call me Rhys,” he continued. She still didn’t reply and he sighed, his hand continued untying the knot surrounding her ankle.
Minutes drifted by in silence, the hissing of rope the only sound to be heard. Feyre studied Rhys as he worked on her foot. He was truly beautiful, magically so. Her hand reached out, fingertips gently traced the highlines of his cheeks. His skin was smooth to the touch, soft and silky.
Her fingers led their own path, creating patterns only known to her. They slowly drifted towards his ears, very different from her own, round opposed to her pointed ones. Feyre traced the shell of his ear, awed by his human features.
It wasn’t until he placed her foot on the ground she realised she had been staring… and that he stared back. Their eyes locked, his seemed to hold the very nights sky she worshipped.
“Feyre, my name is Feyre,” she whispered. His answering smile was enough to send her heart racing.
She stood abruptly, confused by her feelings. Feyre offered her gratitude and began slowly walking backwards. She was grateful for his kindness but she wasn’t ready to trust him yet, to offer up a part of herself willing, not after growing up on bedtime stories that instilled fear.
Rhys took a step forward, then stopped. He seemed to debate whether to follow her. “Will you come back?” he asked, eyes shining with the hope to see her again.
She began to lift from the ground, her wings sparkled in the light and her feet were inches from the ground. She gave him the most honest answer from her heart. “Maybe,” she replied, a grin formed at his expression as she fluttered away from the fascinating human male.
*****
Feyre was in utter bliss. That’s what it felt like when he smiled at her, when his hands touched her skin, when his lips caressed her own. Rhysand was her everything.
“Feyre—,“ he didn’t get to finish his sentence as she silenced him with a kiss. He didn't seem to mind when his soft lips caressed her own.
“Feyre...I need...to...” he said between kisses. “I…have…to… Feyre,” he moaned as she ran her fingers through his hair, gently tugging his mouth back to hers.
He eventually pulled away, resting his forehead on hers as she breathed in his salt and citrus scent. It was magnetic, she leaned back in to feel the soft press of his lips. He leaned back but only to smile down at her.
“I have to go back,” he whispered as Feyre wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Come back with me,” she whispered. Rhys stilled and his eyes glazed over. She thought she may have done something wrong. Was he scared to come back with her? She thought if you loved someone enough anything could be possible. “I can’t Feyre, my sister—”
Oh. In her newfound happiness she momentarily forgot about his family. The dark feelings inside her grew. She was desperate to not be separated from her love. “She can come with us and then we can be together,” she said, her heart rapidly beating. He gave her a look and she had been around him, studied him for so long, she knew what it meant. “I can make you like me. You can have wings. Rhysand please, don’t leave me,” she whispered brokenly.
Rhys pulled Feyre into his arms. “Darling, I will never leave you. You are my love. But your people—“
“Don’t worry about them. You know what I am,” she muttered, referring to the hidden marks that glittered silver when she was in fairy grove. The ancient runes of intricate swirls flowed around her body. They were the markings of her people, the markings of her family, passed down generations, bestowed upon the chosen heir.
“A princess.”
“The princess. I can make all your magical dreams come true,” she grinned up at her prince. “Fairy grove can provide for you and we can be together.”
“Does that mean we can be together together?”
“Of course,” she said, a slight frown edged into her features. She didn’t understand until Rhys knelt on one knee, hands reaching into his back pocket to pull out a ring.
The ring was beautiful. Twisted strands of gold and silver, flecked with pearl and set with a stone of deepest blue. She was completely overwhelmed, tears blurred her vision. “Feyre, my love, my darling, the last year has been the happiest of my life all because you were in it. When I first saw you in the forest, I thought you were the most beautiful creature I had seen. I was wrong. You are the most beautiful creature, inside and out. Every day I look forward to hearing your laugh or seeing your smile but what I look forward to the most is just being with you. Being able to talk to you, being able to love you, to just being your friend. You are the shining light in my world of darkness. Feyre Archeron, will you make me the happiest person by becoming my wife?”
Feyre’s knees gave out as she launched at Rhys, almost knocking him to the ground. She took his face between her hands, her eyes staring into his. “Yes, yes I will marry you,” she sobbed and Rhysand kissed her. The kiss was tender and full of so much love. When they broke apart, he placed the ring on her finger. They both admired how the ring fit her perfectly.
Rhys covered her hand with his own, entwining their fingers. Together they walked hand in hand as Feyre led Rhys to fairy grove, her home. Many kisses were shared on the way and by the time they reached the border, the sun had fallen. The sky shimmered as Feyre guided Rhys through the border.
Feyre smiled at her prince as she showed him her home. At the centre of the meadow was a grassland surrounded by a circle of stones. The ancient grounds were the one place uncovered by the trees forage, allowing the stars to twinkle down upon fairies. The area was sacred and often used in many celebrations.
Tonight the stars were witnesses as Rhys and Feyre declared their eternal and undying love for each other. When they finally completed the rite with a kiss and they were married in the eyes of the stars, did Rhys begin to change. His ears elongated, eyes brightened but most noticeably he grew wings, very similar to her own. Beautiful black translucent wings bloomed from his back, sparkling purple iridescent when light shined upon them.
Feyre had given him wings just as she promised. They could live thousands of lifetimes together as husband and wife, lovers, friends and fairies.
To never feeling alone again.
Tags: @reverie-tales