Amaranth wakes up surrounded by furs and soft quilts of the finest fabrics imaginable. She's warm even though it's still early spring and the frost continues to kiss the tops of the grass in the morning. She looks around, not recognizing any of the forest around her that she can see through the small windows of the small cottage. A wood stove is lit in the corner of the house, keeping the floor warm as she slips out of bed and slowly steps onto the wood. There's a small makeshift kitchen that surrounds the stove, and a nook littered in shelves which are filled with books and scrolls of all different binding and color. She pulls one of the furs off of the bed and wraps it around her body, shivering as the cold air sneaks in through the slits in the wood walls and through the seals of the windows. Still dressed in what she was offered in offers no protection from the chilly morning air, and she finds herself gravitating towards the wood stove in the corner.
She lays the fur out on the floor and sits on top of it, holding her shaking hands out to the flame. She jumps as the door to the cottage opens, and Avlan enters, having to crouch slightly to fit under the frame. He closes the door behind him, and Amaranth sighs as she realizes that this may not be a dream after all. If the pain in her bones is anything to go by. Avlan slowly sits down next to her, and she lets her head fall to rest on his shoulder. He brings a hand up to her head and holds it there.
"Where are we?"
"Far from home." Avlan answers, and Amaranth turns the best she can to look at him. He blinks at her, and he seems gentler than before she fainted. His eyes have that softness around the edges that she had grown fond of. Even if he still frightens her. She runs a hand up his bicep, and he tenses under the touch. "You must be starved." He says, almost nervous from the touch, and Amaranth nods. Avlan stands with ease, encouraging her to stay on the fur as he walks outside of the cottage before returning with rabbits hung by string. She gasps quietly at their sight, feeling like an idiot for reacting in such a way to dead animals.
She is no damsel by any means. She knows where her food comes from. What must be done to eat everyday the way her father did and probably still does. It does not help her look into the rabbits' dead eyes however. Avlan carries them over to the stove, bustling around the rotting cabinets before he finds an old brass pot. He holds the rabbits and anxiously looks between them and Amaranth. She realizes what is about to happen as Avlan pulls a knife out that was holstered at his hip. Amaranth finally realizes that the god has changed his clothes. He's dressed in a rather blousy top and brown trousers that have definitely seen better days. Heavy boots have been knocking against the wood since his arrival. He must have changed to make his outlandish appearance look ever slightly less odd in case he ran into any strangers while hauling the princess off to the cottage.
If this cottage is even of her world.
She finally stops staring at where his shirt is open at his chest and turns around, even covering her ears with her hands. She can still hear the sound of the knife skinning through the poor animals even as a cold rain starts to hit hard against the roof of their abode.
"I am sorry, dear. It will be over soon."
"I watched our cooks skin and chop up all sorts of animals as a child when I would sneak away to the kitchen at night." She talks loudly as if she is also covering Avlan's ears. "It never bothered me then. Maybe it's just my empty stomach making me nauseous." She reasons, and she jumps as she hears something heavy slam into wood. She sits there for what feels like hours before Avlan speaks again telling her it's okay to turn around. What she's greeted with is a stew bubbling over the fire of the stove.
It smells delicious, and Amaranth has the audacity to be embarrassed as her stomach growls in response to the aroma. Avlan looks proud of what he's created, smiling wide at the food as it simmers under him. She notices the blood that stains his now flesh colored hands, and she gets to her feet. She finds a rag tossed over a makeshift water basin, and wets it with the water she pumps from the faucet. She turns, and Avlan holds out a curious hand which she takes and begins to wipe clean.
"Thank you." Avlan whispers, and Amaranth almost forgets where she is and who she is washing as she looks up and smiles. It must be the first time she's smiled since meeting the god, and he seems to beam in response. Perfect rows of white teeth on display. "You do have a gorgeous smile." He comments, and Amaranth takes his other hand, scraping at the parts of the blood that have started to dry and are harder to remove.
"Thank you, Avlan." She says quietly as the smile slowly fades, and he takes his clean hand, grabbing her by the jaw and forcing her line of sight back to his.
"I vow to make you smile more often. You may see this as a death sentence, but I will do nothing but cherish you like the beautiful gift you are." He speaks with a stern but soft tone. Amaranth blinks up at him owlishly in response, and he loosens his grip, tucking some stray hair behind her ear instead. "I will not do anything you do not want me to."
"Except keep me here." Amaranth says, and she sees a flash of the god from early before Avlan sighs.
"I promise you. It will be a much better existence than starving in that cave." Avlan presses their foreheads together. "I will adorn you in riches. You will never know what hunger feels like. I will protect you against anything. The elements, wild creatures…" She feels as that warmth begins to spread through her body again but is soon to realize that it isn't coming from the god himself but the words he is saying. He almost sounded desperate, and she reaches up, grabbing onto his bicep as she closes her eyes. She lets the warmth overcome her for a moment, and then she finally opens them again to see Avlan staring back at her.
"You expect me to carry children." Amaranth says slowly, and Avlan looks down between them, presumably at Amaranth's stomach. "Are humans even able to carry a god?" She does not know why the question seemed appropriate to ask now. Maybe it's because Avlan is saying her current predicament is better than death, yet she does not believe she can carry the power of a god and survive in the end. Are gods even born similarly to humans? Would they not technically be created?
"I expect you to want to carry my children." Avlan brings his hand to Amaranth's stomach, resting it there. "You may not want to hear what it would take to become a goddess."
"I thought I would be dead before I turned nineteen." Amaranth says, and Avlan smirks slightly. His nose then twitches, and he turns to the pot beside them, cursing under his breath slightly before pulling it off of the flames. Amaranth goes to stop him, then realizes it's pointless as the god easily carries it to the small table on the other side of the cottage.
"You should eat." Avlan offers. "We can answer all of your questions after your belly is full and you are properly nourished." He ladles some of the stew into a wooden bowl, and Amaranth slowly approaches the table. Still getting used to the sight in front of her. Avlan only gives her a gentle smile in return. Amaranth sits across from Avlan, taking the bowl in her hands and welcoming the warmth against her skin which is still slightly chilled. He smiles even brighter as she brings the bowl to her lips, sipping carefully at the broth. She did not see when Avlan added the vegetables, eyes trying to follow the potatoes and carrots as they bob around the broth. The stew is, well, it's delightful. It may be because Amaranth has not eaten in days by now, but she has to stop herself from slurping it all up in one go, her years of training still etched into her even though she never got the chance to really eat in front of anyone who mattered.
Once the broth is gone, she looks around for any form of utensil to eat the meat and vegetables left in the bowl, and Avlan pouts. Cute. Amaranth can't help but think, and he sighs before picking the meat from his own bowl, dropping it into his mouth with a huff. Amaranth giggles before reaching into her own bowl and grabbing a chopped piece of potato to pop into her own mouth.
"This place is not much fit for a princess." Avlan says, and Amaranth finally takes a good look out of the window beside them as she sucks her finger clean, not even realizing she's doing it. Avlan follows her line of sight, and she pulls the finger out of her mouth with a pop. He turns back to her at the same time she turns to look at him, eyes widening at the realization of what she's just done. "Though you're not a normal princess."
"Where are we?" Amaranth asks, ignoring how her cheeks heat up at the comment. "I do not think I've ever seen this cottage near the kingdom before." She continues, and Avlan hums in thought as he finishes off his food.
"Because it is not near Evergleen. We are closer to Treble's Pass." Avlan answers, and Amaranth's eyes widen.
Treble's Pass is a myth at best. A forest that supposedly magically leads to the Theos Dynasty, or the Dynasty of Gods. It was described as a mouth in the books that Amaranth read as a child. Where the trees gathered and bent in odd ways and the air became dense with fog, impairing anyone's vision before they were transported to a land similar to their own but different all the same. Isaiah always told her it must have been like walking through the clouds to reach the heavens, and Amaranth always wondered if that's where she would go when she died several years later.
"Trebles Pass is a real place?" Amaranth asks. "Humans have the ability to walk to the heavens?" Avlan grins at that, and she raises an eyebrow.
"I would not call the Theos Dynasty the heavens." Avlan stands from the table, and Amaranth joins him, following him as he walks over to the large bed and sits down, stripping off his boots. "The Theos Dynasty is basically a kingdom of its own. Veiled from the human eye." He holds his hand over his eye, parting his middle and ring finger to peek out at Amaranth. "Most of us have never seen the so-called heavens you speak of."
"So the Theos Dynasty is of this world?" Amaranth has so many questions. It feels like a third eye she never even knew she had has opened, and Avlan shakes his head again, his somewhat greasy hair shaking in the process. Amaranth pouts and sits down next to him with ease.
"No. It's like…" He taps his chin. "An island far from the shore. We are very close but not connected." Avlan pulls Amaranth's hair behind her shoulder so he can see the point of her nose and high rise of her cheekbones. She turns to look at him, and he smiles. "The Dynasty was created due to gods becoming a little too…involved with human affairs." Avlan cups her cheek, and she nuzzles slightly into the touch. "Many many years ago, we used to live amongst you." Something flickers in his eyes. A sorrow Amaranth can't place, but he only sighs and continues. "A human would not survive entering the Dynasty of Theos. So you will have to stay here until your ascension." Avlan wipes at Amaranth's cheek with his thumb. "Which brings us to your concerns from earlier." He then lets his hand fall to Amaranth's stomach. She watches as the gold slowly returns to his hands, and she gasps as the warmth extends through her stomach and towards her chest. "The longer we are together and the more of me that you absorb into your flesh, the closer you will get to your ascension. We will be incompatible until then, but the day that your body can carry my child is your right of passage into the Dynasty of Theos."
"So, I have to…"
"I told you before, and I was not lying. I will not do anything you do not want me to do, but I have an eternity to wait. If you choose to live a mortal life by my side, then that is okay, too." Avlan does not remove his hand, and Amaranth feels like her veins are vibrating from what little of his touch she has experienced so far. She places a small hand over Avlan's.
"Does this count?" She asks, looking down at their hands, and Avlan smiles.
"I'm assuming you are feeling something?" He tilts his head, and she nods slowly. "Then yes. It may be little, but any touch that you welcome from me, especially like this, will do." He rubs small circles against her skin, and she can't ignore the heat that begins to pool between her legs at its proximity.
"Anything you are wanting to take, I will give you."
"Anything I want…" Amaranth sighs, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I want a bigger cottage." She smiles, and Avlan can't help but smile with her. "And a garden. I miss mine." She turns to look at Avlan, and he blinks at her. "It was a small thing, mostly berries, but I loved taking care of it. It was right outside of my room. The farthest outside I was allowed to go on my own." She explains, and Avlan nods slowly.
"A bigger cottage may take a while, but a garden I can do." Avlan squeezes Amaranth's tummy with his hand before trying to remove it, but she holds it there.
She has a glimmer in her eyes that Avlan can't quite place.