Elias smiled, having a good idea of what Henrik planned to do and kicking himself for not thinking of it sooner.
Henrik accepted Elias’ pair of battered leather boots and clutched them close to his chest before his eyelids fluttered shut. Elias could feel the air shift as Rik used magic for the first time, and it sent a shiver down his spine.
When Henrik finished, Elias beamed. All evidence of where the sole of the boot was beginning to come away after four days of hiking was gone, and Elias knew the moment he slipped them back on his feet they’d feel like walking on clouds.
Confused, Johan frowned but still obliged when Henrik asked him to hand his own boots over.
Henrik worked magic once more, and Johan’s eyes widened like a shocked deer when he slipped his feet back inside. “In-Incredible,” he whispered as he took a few cautionary steps.
Elias took pity on their bewildered shoemaker and explained, “Rik has woven magic into the shoes, which will stop them causing any pain and also allow us to walk much faster.” The small elf wriggled his toes happily in relief.
It could have been the buzz of finally having magic back, or the spell Henrik had put on his shoes, but Elias hopped and skipped along the path with a bounce in every step, no longer weighed down by the burden of having magic constricted.
Even Henrik, whose expression usually appeared as though he’s chewed on a bitter dandelion, had a soft contended smile on his face as they began the long walk back home.
T
hat night, they set up their camp by the river again. While Henrik and Johan built the shelter and the fire, Elias wandered down towards the riverbank, needing a moment alone with his thoughts.
The river was a dark blue, lit up by the silvery reflection of the bright moon that night. It had yet to rain that week, and so the water was slow moving, meandering invitingly past Elias.
He couldn’t fight the temptation to strip off his clothes and immerse himself, cleansing his skin of the dust and sweat from days of walking through the Dark Forest.
“Ahh!” he yelped when he’d waded far enough that the icy water reached his balls. A few steps farther and it hit his chest, peaking his nipples and stealing his breath all at once. Goose bumps danced over his arms and legs. All the fine hairs on his body stood on end and glittered under the moonlight, and Elias twisted his arms in the faint glow to admire the simple beauty of the moment.
It would use too much magic to maintain it for long, but he squeezed his eyes shut and mentally reached into the well of magic at the core of him. He pictured himself carving some of it out and shaping it into what he needed until it travelled through his body and reached his fingertips. The moment he released it, the water surrounding him heated up to a more ambient temperature, and he almost sobbed with joy.
From his spot in the river, he remained in full view of Henrik and Johan who were busy tending the fire in the distance, so he turned to face away from them when he could no longer hold in the torrent of emotions that had grown into a volcano that threatened to erupt.
It had been merely a fissure at first, silent tears spilling from his eyes and down his pale cheeks. Only, when he tried to swallow, it was as if a fist squeezed his throat. Even as hedesperately tried to push it back down. Push it back inside the locked box he never opened. It was no use.
The noise he emitted was that of an animal injured beyond repair. An anguish no living thing was built to withstand, buthe had.
He sobbed for the years he’d lost, the years that access to magic was stolen from him. He wept for Henrik, knowing he’d suffered as he had. But the true grief of it all for Elias laid in knowing that while he was free, possibly thousands of his people were not. They remained chained, magic bound, and maybe would never swim naked in a river with magic thrumming through their veins ever again.
Elias had been so lost in his pain that he was startled when slim, pale arms wrapped around his middle and held him.
“Shhh. You’re okay,” Henrik soothed. “We are okay.”
Elias couldn’t find the words to explain to Henrik whythatwas the problem. Why it hurt so much. He expected to see nothing but happiness in Henrik’s eyes, but when he twisted to face his lover and glanced up, it was all written there. He did understand. Because in those amber eyes he loved so much, a tornado of relief, hope, and joy swirled paradoxically with grief, regret, and despair.
They just held each other in the water until Elias’ energy began to wane and the temperature of the water dropped low enough that their teeth were chattering.
Together they waded back to the riverbank and clambered out. Patiently waiting for them was Johan, carrying the large wool blanket, which he wrapped around their naked shoulders. Elias smiled weakly at him, exhausted from the outpouring of emotions, and it surprised him when Johan cupped his face and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.
The two elves settled themselves in front of the heat of the fire while Johan busied himself with boiling water for some hot tea to warm them up.
Elias felt raw and flayed open, and yet, for the first time in his life, he felt that, between Henrik and Johan, he would be cared for and be safe. And that was no small thing.
T
he remainder of their trip home had been uneventful in the best way. It had been filled with gentle smiles, harmless ribbing, and singing by the fire in the evenings. Despite Elias’ boots being enhanced by magic, the walk was still long and arduous, and he was tired down to his bones by the time they stepped foot into the familiar comfort of Johan’s shoe shop.
Elias was too exhausted to address it, but he was almost bereft as he watched Johan’s retreating back when they parted ways to go to their respective beds that night. It felt wrong.
There was no fighting sleep that night, though. Elias had barely hit the mattress when his eyelids fluttered closed and he slipped into a deep slumber.
The next morning, the elves lay side by side in companionable silence. Elias had woken with a busy brain as he tried to process what it meant to have regained magic and to finally have found freedom.
