Titania and Oberon

I still remember the first time I saw you.

Snow blanketed the ground, hoarfrost glistening on the bare trees. The sun lay on the horizon, its dying light colouring the sky a purpled-orange, and the wind ran through the forest, making no noise. The birds did not sing, the silence broken only by the gurgling of the stream, and there you were.

I was caught by your eyes, enthralled. They burned scarlet, the same colour as the fire of your hair, and your skin was paler than the snow you stood upon, your face hidden behind a fan. Your beauty was terrifying, the fiercest weapon, yet… We were not there to fight. Eight hours passed; you spoke not a word but you understood everything that was agreed upon that evening, perhaps more so than I. We were there for peace yet I saw only you – my greatest folly.

A stream was the only thing between us, yet we were divided by so much more. Your hair was the deepest red; mine was the most brilliant silver. Your people braved the light; mine stalked the darkness. You were Seelie and I was Unseelie, and yet…

I was helpless.

The festival was the next time I saw you, and the first time we spoke. The upper echelons of both our peoples came together for the first time in centuries, to honour those that had died in the wars. You walked amongst the graves, uttering a prayer for each one – even for the dead of your enemy. You laughed, said it was for show, for politics, but I knew. I saw your tears. We danced that morning, singing and laughing together, and I think we both knew it. Each touch, each shiver… It was unthinkable. A taboo so great it was not explicitly forbidden, but it would not leave my mind, and I could tell it was on yours, too. We were from different world, and this attraction must not have been felt, but – I did.

I was already in love with you.

Call me foolish, if you will, for falling so soon. My darkness was drawn to your light, as yours was to mine. Days became weeks and weeks bled into months but still I could not forget you, my faerie princess. As the memory of your voice faded my heart cried out in agony, a primal longing dredged from the depths of my soul. It was then that I first walked as the wind through the trees, and –

We were together.

The years passed, time turning, yet the peace did not last. We met in secret, in whispered breaths and stolen nights. Our love blossomed but so did my fear, fear that everything that was precious to me would be torn asunder, razed to the ground by the flames of war. We had plans to stay and plans to flee, strung between the needs of our people and the throes of our passion, and slowly – I was going mad. Fate pulled our strings, our destinies taking us beyond our control, and we fought.

I did not want to see you, and you turned your head from me. We argued bitterly, hurling truths at each other that we did not want to hear, yet we struggled through it. No matter what, I was yours – always.

We made a promise then, an oath to each other. A wedding, with the gods as our witness. You were my Faerie Queen, and I was your Faerie King. We were bound for all eternity, and still are. The war never really ended, but we have more peace now than we have ever had.

I love you.

I do, but… There is something between us. Scarlet and silver, darkness and light, Seelie and Unseelie. There is a divide, and some things not even love can overcome.