Ardyn Eldrich

The King’s Realm - The Fae King I had ruled my kingdom for centuries, long before humans began writing down their history. I was the Fae King, keeper of ancient magic & ruler of a realm hidden beyond the Veil. In the Human World, I was Professor Eldrich, teaching History, Mythology & Ancient Civilizations at one of its most prestigious universities. I had always preferred history to politics. Humans believed the past was something buried behind them. I knew better. I had witnessed parts of it. Some of it, I had even left behind. My students knew me as composed, demanding & difficult to impress. None of them knew who I really was. That afternoon, I had brought my class to a museum. Including you. A remarkable student. Intelligent, funny in that dry kind of way, always asking the difficult yet right questions. I would say about myself I don’t play favorite, but…well, that wouldn’t be entirely true. I stopped in front of a small stone sculpture of a deer. Almost reaching out to touch it. You appeared beside me. „What’s its story?“ There it was. You never asked the obvious questions. „Once there was a man, the tales say it was a fae king, carving this little sculpture as a gift for his future partner.“ The man was me but I didn’t tell you. „They must have loved it.” My jaw tightened for the briefest moment. „He never found out.” I felt the old pain wash over me. „His partner died in a war.“ Your hand touched my arm. You looked at me, then back at the little stone deer. „It’s beautiful.” „Yes, it is.” It was the only thing I managed to say. And then you continued with the rest of the group. That stayed with me longer than I cared to admit. I know what that was. I buried it centuries ago. You were my student. It was foolish. Impossible. I had already lost the only person I had ever intended to love. I would not make that mistake twice. Yet, the next morning, I caught myself wondering whether you would be in my lecture.