Lily brings John to her home.

Lily’s cottage, like the rest of Elmhame that John had seen so far, was attractive and earthy. Constructed from wood and stone, the building was clearly built to house a single person.

“I haven’t lived out here very long,” Lily explained as they approached her front door, “The fairies only finished building the cottage for me a century ago or so, but I’ve grown to love this part of the forest, and have resided here ever since.”

John had only just passed his twenty-fourth winter, and thought a century sounded like a very long time to have been living, much less living in one place. “The stories are true, then, and those who live in Elmhame never age or die?”

Lily tutted, opening the front door and beckoning John inside. “Only the elves, fairies, and First Ones are ageless, and nobody is beyond the reach of ,” She explained, walking through her cozy living room towards her small nook of a kitchen. Several things stood out immediately to John. There were no locks on her doors or windows, nor any doors within the walls of her home. There were very few walls, even, only a slight wall between her living room and her kitchen, and another small wall that obscured a room he could only assume was her sleeping space.

Lily must be a very trusting and optimistic person, he thought. Not only had she allowed a complete stranger into her home and offered him food and company, but if anyone ever followed her home with ill-intentions, there would be virtually nowhere for her to hide, and short of barricading the front door and boarding the windows, no way to keep an intruder from barging in and doing whatever they wanted.

“I don’t have a dining table,” Lily apologized, pulling John from his dark ruminations. She had emerged from her kitchen, holding a plate in each hand, upon which sat a thick slice of sweet-smelling bread. “But you’re welcome to sit with me on the sofa,” She inclined her head towards the cozy piece of furniture facing the fireplace, “Or if you prefer, I have a stool in the other room?”

“The sofa is fine, Lily,” John said, taking one of the plates from her hand, “Thank you. You’re very kind to a poor traveler.”

The two walked, and sat together on the sofa. The sitting space was relatively small, and even on opposite ends of the sofa, only a foot of space separated John from the elf, a fact he was acutely aware of. Lily seemed comfortable, though, folding her legs beneath her and smiling warmly at John. “We are all poor travelers, in one way or another, and kindness given is kindness received.”

John smiled at that, but the smell of warm, sweet bread was too tempting to pass up for much longer. He plucked the honey-cake from the plate and took an experimental bite. It was delicious. Lily could read the pleasure on his face, and smiled again before working on her own slice. For a while, the only sounds in the cottage were soft gasps of satisfaction, most of which came from John’s own mouth. It had been months since he had a slice of bread, living mostly on tough, unseasoned meat and dry, flavorless seeds while journeying south. The honey-cake was sweet and soft, and at that moment seemed to be the most delicious food he had ever tasted.

When their plates were cleared, Lily collected them and disappeared back into the kitchen. There was a brief sound of running water, and then she joined John once more on the sofa. Without the distraction of food, John’s nerves once more took over in the presence of the beautiful elf.

“So, John,” She said, turning to face him on the sofa, “What brings you, um,” For the first time, John and Lily’s eyes truly met, and her voice trailed off mid-sentence. John’s couldn’t help but stare powerfully into Lily’s deep green eyes, and she found herself quite unable to pull her gaze away. She forgot the question she was about to ask, and lost herself in the bottomless blue of his gaze.

His attention focused completely on Lily, John quickly realized that something was wrong, and, worried that his newfound friend might be ill or exhausted, reached out to take her hand. The moment his skin touched hers, an explosion of sensation and information overwhelmed him. He knew, immediately, that Lily was ancient, at least five hundred years old, and that she was an incredibly magical creature. He knew that she was healthy, too, and had never been ill. Most importantly, though, was her life . With the humans or large animals he’d drained before, John usually pulled out enough life energy to sustain himself for a few days without food. It wasn’t, of course, his preferred method of staying alive, and that energy faded faster if he used it to heal himself or stay warm. The energy inside Lily could sustain him for weeks. In this one elf rested more energy than he’d consumed from all of his other targets combined. It was dizzying to think about, and he pulled quickly, fearing what his instincts might lead him to do.

Lily let out a gasp and shook her head, blinking ferociously and still looking fairly dazed. Willing his powers down, John placed a hand on Lily’s knee this time, safely covered by her dress, and asked politely, “Miss, are you okay?”

He feared, of course, that she somehow knew, now, what he was, and would become hostile or fearful, but it quickly became apparent that this wasn’t the case. “Um, I’m sorry, John,” She said, her voice small and confused, “I must have dozed off.”

John smiled and assured Lily that she had nothing to apologize for, but his mind was churning. What had stunned Lily, in the first place? Having now seen her very essence, John knew she wasn’t ill, and hadn’t been poisoned or injured. This was reassuring to know, of course, but John was already beginning to suspect that the blame somehow rested on his shoulders, even if he didn’t fully understand why or how, yet.

“Don’t worry about it,” John said, trying to mask his worry with kindness, “Do you feel alright, now?”

The elf nodded, and looked down to where John’s hand rested on her knee, but made no attempt to remove it. She looked up, and John realized that in his concern, he had leaned towards Lily, and their faces were now inches apart. “Um,” She started, her eyes darting down to his mouth briefly before moving up to his eyes once more, “Do you, uh, oh…”

She was drifting again, John realized. From this close, he could tell that her eyes, while still locked with his own, were somewhat unfocused, and that she wasn’t blinking.

“Lily?” He asked.

“Yes?” She whispered, her voice quiet and breathy.

Seeing that she was clearly awake and responsive, John wasn’t sure what to do or say. He realized, darkly, that this must be some sort of reaction to him. Another strange side-effect of his mysterious curse, he guessed. “Can you move?” He asked.

“Yes,” Lily replied, raising an arm stiffly to demonstrate, then lowering it back down to rest at her side. Clearly awake, responsive, and mobile, John reasoned that Lily was probably safe, as well. Her breathing was deep and slow, but constant. John had heard of sleepwalkers, and suspected that her current condition was similar, although probably magical in nature.

There was still the question of how he had placed her in this condition, and how to remove her from it. It seemed obvious, now, that eye contact was the trigger, and perhaps proximity was necessary, as well. It felt somewhat cruel to use Lily as a test subject for powers he didn’t understand, but John knew that the sooner he figured it out, the less likely he was to use it foolishly, endangering himself or others. Besides, Lily seemed fairly agreeable, so far.

Still maintaining eye contact, John turned his attention inward. He made himself aware of every muscle in his body, checking to see if anything was out of the ordinary. The smooth fabric of Lily’s dress and the warmth of her leg beneath his hand didn’t escape his notice, and he almost pulled away, but thought twice of it. Better to stay exactly where he was, until she came out of her trance. Eventually, he became aware of a strange, closed sensation on his eyes, almost as if he had a second pair of eyelids tightly shut over his eyes. Struggling intently but carefully, he released the pressure from his eyes.

Immediately upon this release, Lily regained control of herself and gasped, once again looking confused and a bit worried. “There I go again,” She said, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and shaking her head more vigorously this time, sending a strand of auburn hair out of place. Reflexively, John reached out and tucked the loose strand back behind Lily’s ear, sending a shiver down her spine and a jolt through his. The shock from feeling her energy wasn’t as intense this time, and John experimentally moved his hand from her knee and captured one of Lily’s hands between both of his, forcing himself to remain calm, despite the intense awareness he felt.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” He said, his voice in no way betraying the fact that he now knew that he alone was responsible for her brief lapses of consciousness. “Perhaps I should take my leave and let you rest for a while?” John didn’t particularly want to leave the company of the beautiful elf so soon, but he was beginning to worry that he had overstayed his welcome and overstepped his boundaries.

To his relief and mild surprise, though, Lily’s hand gripped his tightly, keeping him from pulling away. Her energy pulsed, almost begging to be stolen, but John ignored that and listened. “Don’t leave,” She said, “If you don’t want to, I mean.”

John relaxed, and looked into her eyes a third time, this time making sure not to accidentally send her into another daze. “Thanks. I’d like to stay with you for a while longer, then.”

Lily smiled at that. She opened her mouth, then second-guessing herself, pressed her lips closed again with a blush, reconsidering her words. “You have nice eyes,” She finally admitted.

The irony of the compliment was lost on her.