The sun was hanging high. Its tender warmth made the entire world breathe more
easily. Every living being was enjoying the light and comfort brought by this
time of the year. It was almost noon and he had been travelling since dawn in
these woods. They were of enchanting beauty. The trees had leaves of varied
shades of green, flowers of exquisite color spread across the ground beneath the
trees and even the scent of growing life from the womb of Earth could be smelled.
The buzzing of honey bees, the singing of birds and the chirping cicadas gave the
landscape the pulsating rhythm of a great heart. Spring had overcome the world.
By that time he was already feeling tired and hungry. He would have to find a
place to rest soon.
His thoughts returned to Camelot. His king, Arthur Pendragon, had imposed peace
and united all the kingdoms in Britain. His knights now spent their time
entertaining the ladies, listening to minstrels chant heroic deeds and victories
of past wars and fighting in tournaments for the honor of a lady's favor. It was
a pleasant life after years of battles, but the ladies expected more from him
than he was able to give. They were all beautiful and it was clearly supposed
that he would choose a wife from among them. Some of these dames were very bold
in their propositions. Even the maids of the castle were always addressing him
with coy smiles and words of dubious meaning. His thoughts returned to the day he
was feeding his horse Hyperion, late one evening. He was alone in the stables
since his pageboy was having a fencing lesson when Luna, one of the maids,
entered the place wearing a dress that barely concealed her creamy flesh and
clearly offered to lie with him in the straw. He had a difficult time persuading
her to leave.
Lady Artemis, a beautiful woman, twice widowed, was always trying to have lone
encounters with him in the strangest of places. One day, he was meditating in the
chapel when she interrupted his prayers and invited him to go to her chambers and
spend the night with her. He did his best at dissuading her but since that day,
whenever he saw her with her white gown covered with an intricate black
embroidery, a filigree net holding her hair, Sir Fox was reminded of a gigantic
spider, avid to gobble another mate. He didn't want to hurt any feelings. Only he
had no interest in what he was offered. His heart had not found anyone to love
yet and so he continued chaste.
Of course there was Lady Dana, his best friend but she was not interested in
gallantry. Her mission in this life was to heal and her chambers were filled with
drying herbs, potions, ointments and books of ancient wisdom. She spent her time
learning to heal the human body. Taliesin, the Merlin of Britain, a great
sorcerer and Arthur's mentor, always had time to talk to Lady Dana during his
regular visits to Camelot and to teach her about healing procedures. The petite
red-haired woman had saved Sir Fox's life more than once when he had been wounded
in battles. Even Lady Morgan, the king's half-sister and high priestess of the
ancient religion had invited Lady Dana to join the priesthood of Avalon. But Dana
was Christian and the Cross was her symbol.
However, despite all its pleasures, Sir Fox had grown restless. He had his own
quest. When he was a boy of thirteen, he and his lovely sister Samantha were
playing in the gardens of his father's manor when a strange light had lifted the
little girl away. All the people said that the fairies had kidnapped Samantha and
taken her to the land of eternal youth, a place from which no mortal being had
ever returned, where a second was a year of our time and a week could be a
decade. Despite his loyalty to his king, Sir Fox had chosen to find the truth
about Samantha's disappearance. Now it was time to search the land in order to
find his answers. He knew how difficult it would be. Even Taliesin was reticent
when the subject turned to The Enchanted People. No one wanted to discuss it
openly. Only mothers and nannies warned their children about mysterious entities
that sometimes came to Earth and carried away a human being to live among them.
Those who were taken by the fairies were never seen again.
Eventually, Sir Fox had chosen to travel into unknown lands in pursuit of his own
quest. That was why the day found him deep in the woods, far from all he knew.
He was so lost in his thoughts he had not noticed that Hyperion had led him to a
pond in the middle of the woods. The clear water reflected the light of the sun.
Upright lilies, shy violets and wild roses surrounded its border. The shore was
of soft sand. Waterfowls swam lazily among the reeds. As he approached he heard
the sweet whisper of the water... and then he saw an apparition of incredible
beauty. It was a young man with translucent skin, whose clothes were of such a
diaphanous kind that he seemed almost to be naked, his hair was dark as the wings
of the crow. He had a slightly upturned nose and delicately pointed ears.
Sir Fox approached the young creature slowly, fearing that he would vanish into
the air. The young man reminded him of an angel painted on the chapel's wall. The
thought that he was facing one of The Enchanted People crossed his mind. But then
the youth smiled to him so sweetly that he immediately forgot any previous fear.
He dismounted his horse and was greeted by a green gaze, the like of which could
make the sea itself envious. A seductive voice said:
"Come near, brave knight. It is almost noon. You must be hungry."
Sir Fox was lost in those wild eyes. His heart had finally found someone to love.
It didn't matter who this beauty was. All he knew was that he desired this
creature with a love he had doubted any human being could feel. Now he understood
why he could not be interested in any of the ladies of Camelot. His heart was
destined for this elfin young man.
"How should I call thee, lad?"
"My name is Alex, and who are you, knight-in-arms?
"Fox is my name and I come from the lands of Camelot where Arthur reigns."
"I know nothing of distant lands. These woods are all I know. But draw near. Rest
and eat. There is wild honey, sweet roots and pure water for your pleasure."
Sir Fox had never tasted such a satisfying meal. He felt rested and invited young
Alex to join him and ride through the woods upon Hyperion. As they rode he could
feel the heat of the strong body against his back and the wonderful pleasure that
the young man's touch gave him. They finally dismounted by a meadow and Sir Fox
made garlands with the spring flowers for Alex, laying them upon the raven hair.
He smiled, looking at him with his wild moss-green eyes and Sir Fox was suddenly
sure that Alex loved him, too. During that afternoon, Alex sang with a siren
voice, in a strange language that Sir Fox had never heard before.
"Eu te amo verdadeiramente". Alex said and the other man was convinced that the
meaning of these words were "I truly love you".
"The night is falling, dear sir. Come with me to my home. There you will find a
pleasant place to spend the night".
And so they went to a grotto, an elfin cavern. There, beautiful tapestries hung
from the walls, woolen carpets covered the ground and velvet cushions invited
their bodies to rest upon them.
Sir Fox realized that Alex was melancholy. He approached the young man and took
the other's face in his hands.
"Why do you seem so sad, beautiful one?"
"There are secrets that I am not allowed to tell you".
So Sir Fox started kissing those wild eyes, trying to drive away any unhappiness
from the elfin creature. Soon they found each other's mouths and Alex's tasted as
sweet as the wild honey he had consumed earlier. They lost themselves in a
delightful embrace. And time no longer mattered. They made love feeling the joy
of their union in every fiber of their beings. The wonder of their encounter
transcended everything Sir Fox had ever known.
After their bodies were sated Alex took Sir Fox in his arms and lulled him till
he was sound asleep.
Since his childhood Sir Fox had never slept well. The remembrance of lost
Samantha was a frequent torment in his dreams, but this very night his dreams
were of another kind. He saw dead kings and princes, warriors and knights, white
bones and faded flesh. In his vision, the warriors told him that he was being
entrapped by the young man. All of them told him that the beautiful Alex had draw
them to their deaths in a horrendous fashion, and that he was no mortal being but
an otherworldly creature who fed himself with the love and life of men. He was a
creature with no mercy for his lovers.
It was a terrible night.
He awoke the next morning and found himself alone on the cold hillside.
Everything had vanished. The luxurious cavern, the spring flowers and the meadow
had disappeared. The season had shifted. It was Fall now and Winter was drawing
near. The trees were already losing their red and orange leaves. Even the birds
could not be heard, and Alex was nowhere to be found.
Black sadness filled Sir Fox's heart. He couldn't believe that he'd been betrayed
by the loveliest creature he had ever met, the only being he had given his love.
And so he decided to stay.
He would stay by that place until Alex came back to him. Even if it took forever.
Fim (it means "the end" in Portuguese, as is the 'strange' language Alex speaks)
Title: Deadly Sweet
Deadly Sweet
by Vera
"Love is nothing else but an insatiate thirst of enjoying a greedily desired
object."
—Montaigne
