Dim white light filtered through Marius’ eyelids, pulling him slowly back to consciousness. His head throbbed in pain and he rolled over, trying to fall back asleep. The bed he was in was extraordinarily plush and comfortable. A vague memory of a woman on a beach came back to him and he slowly opened his eyes. He was laying in a huge velvety green canopy bed. The curtains around it were drawn so he couldn’t see out into the room. His head pounded and he put a hand to his forehead finding a sturdy bandage wrapped up through his hairline. Marius sat up slowly. He looked down at his clothes. He remembered they’d been soaked through. He’d been in the ocean. However, he was currently dressed in a sage green tunic and black shorts. They were pretty comfortable. He still couldn’t remember what had happened before ending up on the beach.

Stretching his limbs out, he pulled the curtains back from the bed. The very first thing he spotted was a young looking man lounging in a dark green chair besides the bed. The man was slender but very fit. He had the perfect figure. His hair was a silvery blond color the flowed around him like water. His eyes were a piercing gold color. His skin a powdery cream color and his pointy ears poked through his hair. The door to the room was just passed the man in the chair. There wasn’t much else on this side of the room. Marius blinked a few times as his vision blurred. He felt vaguely nauseous.

“How do you feel?” The man’s voice was like honey, engulfing the air.

A ghostly apparition floated passed the doorway and Marius remembered why he could see spirits. Why his vision kept blurring. His mother. His mother talking over him in hushed voices with another, older woman. Burning in his eyes. Apparitions flitting here and there. He blinked and focused on the man. “Elf.” He remembered, out loud. The man raised an eyebrow and Marius flushed, “I just remember what you...and the woman were.” Elfs were ancient immortal beings with mysterious powers. No human had encountered elfs in years.

The man sat up in his chair, brushing hair behind his ear so it was more visible. “Right. That didn’t answer my question though.”

“I’m fine.”

“How did you get here?”

“I can’t remember.”

“Do you know where you are?”

Marius shook his head.

The elf let out a puff of air in annoyance. “You’re on the Hahq.” Marius blinked a couple of time, clearing his vision. His head hurt. The Hahq was the center most island in the elf lands. How had he gotten here? Alive, nonetheless? He felt queasy.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

The elf pointed across from him and Marius dashed there, retching in the toilet, feeling the floor pitch under him as he fell to his knees. His throat burned and the room spinned. A hand on his shoulder steadied him. “Easy there, little one.” The honey voice enwrapped him. Easing his nausea, calming his nerves. Marius wiped his mouth and he was lifted up into the elf’s arms. He wished he could remember more. “I think you need to stay in bed.” The elf hummed, with an amused sort of tone. He carried him back into the room and Marius saw that the walls were painted an earthy brown color. The floor was a plush beige carpet. The room felt like a little forest. The elf laid him gently back in the canopy bed, putting a careful hand to his forehead.

“What’s your name?” Marius asked him, his voice a little hoarse.

The elf smiled, “You can call me Lurien.” Marius remembered the woman on the beach saying that name. That meant he was the head on this island. The naseousness crept back up in the pit of Marius’ stomach. “Easy. I’m not going to hurt you.” Lurien pushed the hand on Marius’ forehead carefully up through his hair. Marius nodded wordlessly, laying back in the bed. “Why don’t you tell me about your eyes…? You can see, right?”

Marius stayed quiet. He didn’t feel comfortable telling the elf that kind of information. It was personal.

Lurien sighed and stood up. “In any case you need more rest. If you need anything, ring that bell on the table.” On the dark mahogany bedside sat a glittering golden bell that Marius swore wasn’t there before. Lurien went out, stopping in the doorway. He didn’t look back as he spoke “And if you happen to go wandering, I’d advise staying indoors. As you may or may not remember from your human myths...there are some creatures out there that you don’t want to run into...especially in your condition.” With that said, Lurien closed the door with a soft click.

Marius stared at the top of the canopy for a long time, slipping in and out of consciousness. The soft sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway drawing Marius from his most recent slumber. A pale blue light slipped through the door and a ghostly apparition of a young boy stood in the doorway.

“I saw you on the beach.” His voice was a soft echo. Marius had to strain his ears to even catch what he’d said. The boy approached the side of the bed and Marius sat up. “Follow me.” The boy stared at Marius for a minute to make sure he understood before he disappeared. Marius didn’t hesitate to get out of the bed. Quietly placing his feet on the cold floor. He hurried to the bedroom door, cracking it open, and looking both ways. The walls were a beautiful grey stone and the floor was covered in a blood red velvet rug. Various expensive looking tapestries lined the walls. It was abandoned. Marius’ head ached. He squeezed his eyes closed. When he opened them, the boy was standing at the end of the right side of the hallway, his head cocked. Marius opened the door and quickly hurried after the boy.

He felt vaguely queasy as he followed the blue spirit. His vision swung as he went down the hallway. It began to curve and Marius almost ran into the wall. He rested against it for a minute before catching up with the ghost. Looking around, he realized they were in the main entrance. He didn’t remember going down stairs but there he was standing on the last step of a grand marble staircase. The ghost of the young boy stood by the large wooden oak doors.

“You don’t really look that good.…” He said cocking his head, studying the confused expression Marius had.

Marius shook his head, “I’m fine.” He insisted. “Where are you taking me?” The boy stayed quiet and flicked his wrist causing the door to open. He turned and went out of it, disappearing down a dirt path. It was pitch black outside, the only light source was the dim glow from the moon and the light from the boy ahead. The apparition continued to lead Marius until they reached the beach. Marius vaguely remembered waking up here. He closed his eyes, just for a moment, feeling the wind blow through his hair. When he opened his eyes, he saw the ghostly boy waiting by the edge of the water. There was a half crumpled piece of paper on the sand beneath his feet.

“A woman with dark skin like yours and silvery hair told me to make sure you got this note. I couldn’t pick it up though...I’m not connected to this world enough anymore.”

Marius felt a hollowness in his chest. He felt like he should say something to console the boy, but he didn’t. He walked to where the boy was floating and picked up the crumpled piece of paper. The handwriting was a messy scrawl of cursive; it looked like it’d been written in a hurry. He glanced the whole thing over once before he actually stared to read it:

Marius, My Dear Child,

I am so sorry for the trouble that lies ahead of you. It is all my fault.

I know this will be hard for you to understand but sending you away was necessary. I miss you already yet your ship is just leaving from the dock. But, alas, it is no longer safe for you on our island.

I thought I could maybe protect you from this but I cannot. The curse festers each day and I am not strong enough to contain it.

It is time I told you the truth. You are the product of a dark and light elf; a Lathos. The power that lies within that being’s heart.

Your heart, the center of who you are, has been stolen. It happened when you were very young. I do not know how I could have let this happened.

It is on the Wyhx or the Dyss. I could not pinpoint which one. I am again sorry.

You must find it. Apart from each other you are both very dangerous. To yourselves and to those around you.

By this point, the spell on you will have worn off. I am sorry, but it is up to you now.

-Mom

Marius read the letter twice over, yet only a third of it seemed to make sense. Flashing images came back to him. Hands bound, thrown onto a ship. Seeing his mother and the shore disappearing from sight. The hollowness in his chest seemed to grow. He stared at the paper for a second before crumpling it up. He looked around but the apparition of the boy gone. He threw the now crumpled up paper into the water, watching it disappear. Marius clenched his fists, his head pounding. A deafening roar filled his head and his senses seemed to cave in on him. Marius’ chest throbbed and ached. He felt unsteady on his feet so he knelt down burying his hands in the sand.

“Now what is a pretty little thing like you doing out here alone?” The voice sounded warbled to Marius’ ears. He looked up coming face to face with a scaled humanoid. He vision blurred and his couldn’t make out the finer details of the creature. Just the seablue eyes. The creature came closer, kneeling in front of Marius, tilting his chin up. The being placed a light kiss to Marius’ temple and began to hum a soft tune. The being took Marius’ hand, pulling him to his feet, towards the water. The heat of the creature’s hand seemed to melt Marius’ very soul. An all consuming longing washed over him, making him feel queasy. His chest pounded like it was going to collapse in on itself. Everything was too much. The sound of the sea and wind, the feel of the course sand on his feet, the heat from the creature, the echo of it’s song. It all clogged Marius’ chest. He felt hollow.

Marius dug his heels into the ground and thick shards of ice began forming, spreading out over the sand, freezing his feet in place. He couldn’t feel anything. The hand gripping the creature turned cold. The creature stopped singing and recoiled from Marius revealing small ice crystals attached to the palm of his hand. Ice crystals hung from Marius’ skin. He didn’t feel cold. He felt nothing. He was caving in. The creature turned and fled into the water. The ice didn’t stop. It spread across the sand, covering the whole beach in a thin sheen of ice. It reached the edge of the water and began freezing that as well. A static filled his ears and he stared listlessly out to the sea.

“Marius.” A strong, vaguely familiar cut through the night and the ice stopped its progression, shattering like glass. Marius dropped to his knees. There were gentle hands on his shoulders. “Are you okay, little one?” The static in his head died out. He looked up, looking eyes with concerned gold. Lurien, he recognized distantly. Marius could feel his hands. Gentle. Their presence was not overwhelming. He was scooped up into a strong pair of arms and warmth spread through him slowly. Marius stared up at the inky black sky as he was carried, he assumed, towards the manor. He was carried through a dizzying amount of passageways before they reached the room from before. Lurien laid him on the bed, frowning down at him. His body went still for a moment as he stared at Marius. His eyes then drifted over him as laid there. Marius noticed the left side of Lurien’s hair had three neat little braids in it.

Lurien pulled the dark green chair close to the bed and stared at him expectantly. Marius’ chest ached when he looked at him. He looked away, wetting his lips. “I don’t have a heart.” He said at last.

Lurien raised his eyebrows, “Oh?’

“I’m a Lathos. Someone stole my heart.”

“Is that so?” Lurien stood up, placing a hand on Marius’ chest. A hollow aching spread from where he touched. A dull sort of longing.

Marius grabbed Lurien’s hand pulling it away from his chest. “It hurts.” He gripped Lurien’s hand tighter. “I feel pain in place of emotions.”

Lurien absently rubbed his thumb over the back of Marius’ hand before pulling away. He pulled the blankets over Marius. “Get some rest. We’ll discuss this in the morning.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“I can help.” Lurien grinned and tapped a gentle finger to Marius’ temple. Marius’ eyes drooped, and his limbs suddenly felt heavy. He fell into a dreamless sleep.