Fan Fiction: Irial/Niall- "Confessions"

Hey everybody!  Cassia here!  So, for books and/or series that I really REALLY like, or love, I'll write a little Fan Fiction.  No, I'm not on fanfiction.net yet, but if I am I'll post it here.  One day I was on fanfiction.net looking at all the Wicked Lovely FanFic.  There was a lot of Irial/Niall, so I decided to write one.  This one is about what happened between Iri and Niall 1,200 years ago.  I kept it PG-13, or maybe even PG.  I tried to use a lot of Iri's exact words from the flashbacks in Ink Exchange, but somebody is borrowing my copy, and I could only remember one line. ("You can entertain the court or they can, Gancanagh.")  Remember that this is 1,200 years ago, so I tried to do that with the tavern thing.  If you've read Ink Exchange, you know what the Dark Court is really doing to those mortals, but I didn't put that in.  Oh, and did I mention it's in first person from Iri's POV?  ;)   So here's my Fan Fiction for Irial and Niall!

Confessions

Niall and I had been together for decades now.  He still knows nothing- about his being a Gancanagh, and my being the Dark King.  However, he does know that we are of the Dark Court.  He was a mess when I found him: going to a school of all places, acting as if he were only a mortal and nothing else.  I admit, any faery should have interaction with mortals, especially a Gancanagh.  I had to wonder if he even knew he was a faery.  He did, but knew nothing of the Courts whatsoever.

Now, he gazes at me from across the table at the feast.  He silently lifts his glass in a toast, and so do the Hounds and mortals around him.

"To Irial!" he calls.

"To Irial!" they echo.  I nod to acknowledge their praise.  I love him, but he is so oblivious and naive, even if it is partly my doing.  I can taste his love as raises his glass to his lips, holding my gaze.

After the feast, Niall finds me in my room at the tavern.  "Gancanagh," I say.  I shouldn't have kept him in the dark for so long, but now I must tell him.  "You know I love you, don't you?"

"Of course!  And I love you, but you already know that."

"Yes, I do know."

"Is there something wrong?" he asks with concern in his eyes.  He is not completely of the Dark Court yet, and therefore cannot taste emotion, but he can sense it, as even a mortal can.

"No.  I need to talk to you."

"Go ahead."

"You know of the Faery Courts, yes?"

"Of course.  You explained that."

"And you know that each Court has a ruler, sometimes even two, and cannot be killed by any but another ruler?"

"Yes, Irial.  What do you take me for?" he asks playfully.  He doesn't know what he really asks.

I take a deep breath, and then, evenly, I say, "I am one of those rulers, Niall."

I can see the surprise on his face as he stares at me, mouth open.  Finally he says, "I knew you were powerful, Iri."

"I am the Dark King," I tell him.  "I have held the throne of this court since before you were born."

"You could have told me," he says quietly.  I can hear the betrayal he feels, as well as taste it.  But there is more, and if I don't tell him now, I never will.  He deserves to know.

"You also remember what I told you about Gancanagh?"

"Yes, and you told me I am one."

"I am one, too, Niall.  It's not just a name.  We seduce mortals, and our touch is addictive to them.  All the mortals you have made love with are either ill or dead."

At this he staggers back, as if I had hit him.  "How could you?" is all he says.

"Don't be upset, love."

"Don't 'love' me, Irial!  How could you not tell me after all these years, our love, everything?" Now he is shaking with rage, his hands fisted at his sides.  He would hit me, but he knows now that I am king, and no one can touch me.

Now I find myself shaking with rage at his blaming me for what he did.  "You should not care about the mortals, Niall!  They are nothing more than toys for us to play with.  Those mortals you have seduced died happy, anyway!  They wanted you, and they got you.  Please don't be angry, my love.  If you had known I was king, would you have loved me all the same?  I do not want to control you.  Even if you still would have loved me, you would have wanted to swear fealty.  I can't do that to you." I take a breath, then continue, "I am tired, Niall.  You would make an excellent king."

"I can't, Irial.  If you're asking me to be your heir, no.  I will not be the monster you have become.  And you've already hurt me, Irial.  Don't you realize that?  Yes, maybe I would have treated you differently, but I still would have loved you for who you are.  I am grateful for what you have done for me, Iri, but I do not love you solely for that reason.  If you say you love me, and I know you do, you could see that I love you for who you are.  You may think you trust me, but you really don't if you can't tell me something as simple as you title.  Goodbye, Irial, and farewell." And with that, he was gone.

I couldn't believe I had lost him.  How dare he accuse me of not trusting him?  And he is wrong: he would not have loved me the same way.  If there is anything I've learned from faery politics, it's that if you tell people who you are, they will use you.

In the morning, I set out with Gabriel and his two most trusted Hounds to find Niall.  Nobody accuses the Dark King without paying.  We find him in a dark alley.  I snap my fingers, and the Hounds put his hands behind his back.  To my surprise, he does not struggle.

"My Gancanagh," I address him.  He only glares at me.  "Since you seem to care so much for your mortals, I will give you the choice.  You can entertain the Court, or they can, Gancanagh."

He continues to stare me down, but he considers it.  "I will entertain you and your monsters, Irial, if you set the mortals free," he says.

I pull a knife from my pocket and cut open my palm, then offer him the knife.  "Let us swear an oath on it, then." The Hounds release him, and he takes the knife and cuts his palm, as well.

"I, Irial, the King of the Dark Court hereby swear to let all of the mortals in possession of the Dark Court free," I promise.

"And I, Niall, hereby swear that in return for the Dark King releasing the mortals that I will give myself up to their entertainment, in whatever form it may come." We shake hands, and I can feel myself being bound to the oath.  Now I can't break the oath even if I didn't want to.  In my mind, I can try to stop my body from keeping to the oath, but my body will still follow the oath.  It's like lying- I can't break it.  And all I want to do is take it back.

"Bring him to the bruig," I order.

That night, I sit on my throne at the bruig, my fey around the edges of the faerie ring at the center of the circular clearing in the middle of the rowan forest.  The ring will keep Niall from escaping it, but my fey can enter and exit it as they please.

"Bring him in," I order.  I don't want to do this, but if the Dark fey don't see my discipline, they will become even more unruly than they already have.  Lately there have been uprisings- a scarecrow with my clothes on it hanged from a tree.  They adore me, but Bananach is whispering words of war in their ears, and they want it.  But I will not let them have it.

Two Hounds escort Niall into the ring.  All he wears is a ragged pair of trousers.  All I want is to run to him, kiss him, and tell him just how sorry I am, even if he won't have me.  But I can't.  To do that would show weakness, and I can't let my court think I am weak.  Gabriel waits for my order.  With difficulty, I nod, and they are on him.

Only about five faeries are in the ring with Niall at a time, but they play with him.  Some shove while another waits to scratch him with their claws.  Eventually Gabriel walks in.  He has a knife in his hand, and he brings it down the left side of Niall's beautiful face.  I almost cry out for them to stop, but if I did they would kill him.  To everyone else, I appear filled with rage, perhaps even enjoying Niall's abuse.  If it would have been anyone else, I would have enjoyed it.  A court cannot see their king weak, though.  I never should have gotten angry at him for calling me out, but I did.  Then I realized that Niall is not one of the faeries that will use you for your title and power.  I think I had always known that, I just wouldn't admit it to prove myself wrong.  I feel incredibly selfish, and I vow to get him back, and never hurt him again.

After two hours, Niall falls to the ground, unconscious.  "Enough!" I yell, and they retreat.  I nod to Gabriel, and he drags him out.

A fortnight later, I find Niall in a park, nervously talking to some mortal girls.  None of my fey are here, so I walk over.  "Come," I tell him.  He excuses himself and walks over cautiously.

I try to pull him in for a kiss, but he pulls away.  "Iri, I still can't believe you did it.  This time, don't come after me.  I hate you," he said, and walked away.

I knew he had a right to hate me, and just then I hated myself, too.  I felt horrible.  How could I be so ignorant to hurt the only person I ever truly loved?