3rd Option

[WP] Two identical infants lay in the cradle. “One you bore, the other is a Changeling. Choose wisely,” the Fae’s voice echoed from the shadows. “I’m taking both my children,” the mother said defiantly.

*****

I've reflected upon my decision many times across the span of my life, but I've always come to the same conclusion no matter how many times I play it out.

What choice did I have?

Looking upon the faces of the children within their cribs, I couldn't bring myself to wield the same inhumanity as the fae that taunted me. Perhaps, I was simply hiding my fear, the possibility that I could not correctly identify my own child.

But another part of me knows that my choice was not made out of cowardice. It was made from compassion.

I could tell I had shaken my tormentor, seeing as his twisted illusions flickered upon my announcement.

A brief glimpse of his form was allotted me, and I know that what I saw on his face was horror. As I reached for the two children, his voice began to waver and he almost pleaded with me not to take them both.

I ignored him. I had spent enough time in the feywild to know better about trusting faeries.

And yet, when he told me which one was mine and begged of me not to take the other, I gave pause. These creatures couldn't lie, and I was forced to consider his words. I gave him one chance, one opportunity to explain himself as I held both the children close to my heart.

"Ironbane," he entreated me. "I apologize for attempting to deceive you. I had no intention of letting you take that child." He confessed, gesturing towards the one resting in the crook of my right arm.

"Why surrender, twisted charlatan?" I met him with transparent hostility. "Was my love stronger than your game?"

He shook his head, heaving with fear as he spoke.

"That child, beside yours. It is mine. I plead, nay, insist that you do not take it from this land."

I must admit, I was quite taken aback by his words. I once again expected deceit, and so I shifted beyond his reach.

"You have offered me a choice and I have made one. I do not value either of these children less than the other. To abandon them to the cruelest whims of the feywild would be a crime in itself."

He watched the child in my arms, grief coloring his eyes, then steeled his gaze as he met mine.

"Very well then. I will accompany you on your journey."

Shock struck me and I recoiled, pulling the children closer to my heart.

"You'll do no such thing!"

"If I do not honor my commitment to that child, I will have failed as a father and husband."

The announcement of a second fae put my every hair on end. I spun wildly, searching for a second assailant who might be melting from the shadows at that very moment. My eyes jerked back to him so that I might have a hostage should she emerge, but I found him defeated and sorrowful.

"Fear not, Ironbane." He muttered. "She is long since past. The last her touch graced this garden was many a moon ago."

Well, that was a relief at least. I allowed myself some skepticism for his words, but I dared not interrogate further. A mourner is more dangerous than one who has not lost.

He stepped forward, gliding across the fallen leaves as though they were individual steps laid out just for him.

"Will you allow me the honor of accompanying my child on your travels? I could greatly aid you in your escape from this realm."

He proposed.

Seeing few alternatives, I reluctantly agreed, and before dark we had fled the illusory woods.

At first, I had difficulty caring for the children. I had never expected to have one, let alone two, but wherever I faltered, there was another to pick up the slack. His help proved essential to surviving the wiles of the feywild, as well as protecting the children from bad influences.

I raised them both as though they were my own, being more of the stick than the proverbial carrot. There was certainly less softness in my teachings, but I did my best to show affection. I like to think I did a good job.

Carlyle grew up faster, I'm sure it was the difference in species. Humans have always been less fanciful and more direct than the fair folk, so it was no surprise that they age faster as well, Carlyle's growth quickly outpacing that of Argyn.

As for Argyn, well, he was very subdued and quiet, careful not to upset his elder brother. However, despite their different dispositions, Carlyle outspoken and brash, Argyn gentle and somber, the two had a bond that ran deep. They protected each other, and when they eventually began to train under me, they fought together as well.

It was sixteen years before we were able to escape the feywild. When me, the fae, and our two children emerged into the comfortable sensibilities of the material plane, we settled down as soon as possible.

As I sit here now, the children playing in the garden, and my husband inside fixing up a meal for us all, I can't help but think that were was no other option.

*****

THE END.