A world in colour

In a world where everything is black and white, color is known to take hold when one meets their soulmate. Still this does not make the hunt for the 'one' any easier, the key is they eyes they are known to be the first hint of the truth.
Atrel x Connor
Teenager Connor is stuck on the camp his parents sent him to to 'fix' what's wrong with him. Atrel winds up in a mushroom ring very close to the camp and the young human comes across him seeking to escape the camp even for a little while.
Kat x Kit
With her brother in line for the throne, Kat feels more comfortable wandering around the human world on her own. On one of her trips she finds Kit sketching more treehouses
Nero x Vi
Deciding that he's in need of an assistant, the royal healer Nero takes a trip to the warehouse to see what's on offer and finds Vi.

He glanced back at the king at the words, a look on his face that showed he didn’t entirely believe that, she wouldn’t want to sell him she’d put far too much effort into him. The next five months were spent either at court or being trained, finally in court, it’d been about three weeks since he’d last been here. He looked like he’d dropped about ten kilos and the shadows under his eyes suggested he hadn’t been sleeping well, despite the light make up designed to hide it. He stood quietly at Ritas side staring off into space, moving to stay with her out of muscle reflex rather than conscious choice, lost inside his own head and in all honesty he preferred it in there than in the real world. Giving the correct bow when princess kathernie came over, he paid no attention to Katherine asking rita to speak in private, simply not present until the cutting voice of the faerie that owned him told him he had free time until she returned. As soon as she was gone he made for the gardens wanting out of the stuffy room filled with faeries that made his skin crawl, feeling sweaty and somewhat clammy he wound up with a faerie talking to him right in the way of the gardens. He knew what his mistress expected so he was forced to waste precious time, being polite and conversing with them just wanting to get outside where he could breathe.

Relieved when Atrel came over, he escaped as soon as he could and was found standing looking up at the sky taking deep breaths, he looked pale and a bit clammy, small beads of sweat on his forehead if one looked close enough. “I like outside more than inside at the moment, I can breathe outside” although it was warmer inside. Shivering a little he forced himself to stop, he had to keep the mask up, falling back on his training he slipped a smile onto his face and slipped his battered hands behind him to hide them. “Thank you for rescuing me from Lord Faendal, sire” dipping his head he took the opportunity to avoid having to make eye contact.

Following the king quietly he didn’t mind the smaller area as the walls were plants, they had a less claustrophobic feel than solid walls, looking down at the comment he started to fidget with his hands. They had wounds all over them, despite being well washed as if he’d been slamming his hands or something had been slamming into his hands “She’s not happy with me, I-I keep fucking up so I have to be punished” glancing up anxiously he glanced around as if suspect that Rita was going to pop out of the bushes and drag him off. She’d been furious that he’d stopped eating and had gone as far as to use his name to make him eat, all that’d resulted in was him being sick everywhere which had lead to further punishment. His lips were chapped and torn, chewing on them was a new habit he’d picked up that she hated, she hated him fidgeting too so with great effort he tucked his hands behind himself again. The past few months had seen her punishments get more and more radical  “It’s my fault you see” he didn’t sound very convincing, it sounded more like something he’d been taught to say so she got less backlash.

Despite everything, he still trusted the king completely, it was something that couldn’t be changed, so if he said if Rita was being kept busy then he could relax just a little. His hands came back around to infront of him and started toying with his fingers again, Absently picking at the sides of them and ripping off hangnails the question made him shrug helplessly  “I don’t know, I just want to die” admitting it made his voice shake. Ever since he’d had the beating of his life at the time for his suicide attempt as a teenager he’d stayed far away from that line of thinking however now all he wanted to do was end it so it’d all stop, sure it meant he’d never get into heaven but from what he knew being gay would send him straight to hell anyway, what was the issue with adding a few more sins along the way.

Looking up at him at the touch, it was like something broke, he didn’t know what it was or why, but the simple show of someone giving a shit about him who could potentially do something just broke something. He wanted to go home but he didn’t know where home was, feeling like he was drowning and couldn’t breathe properly Connor did what he could to not break down then and there. “I don’t want to go back to her, she’ll put me in the-“ the order she’d given him muzzled him like a dog preventing him from getting what he needed to out. Breathing shakily he wanted nothing more than to feel safe, but nowhere was safe not even this quiet place was safe. Dimly hearing the words that there was a chance of getting free the hope was painful like he’d been stabbed, managing a nod he did his best to swallow the burning lump in his throat. Rocking back and forth on his feet with his hands balled into fists he didn’t know what else to do, the rules she had put in place completely, he took the letter he’d been given and passed it back to the king unable to read it right now. “She’d be angry, I should get back before she does I’m technically not supposed to be here, inside only, no outside time, outside time is only when I’m good and I’m not good” sounding very similar to how he had behaved and acted when he’d been at that camp where Atrel had first met him. Connor bid a short farewell and returned to the rooms court was held in, it was a few short moments before his faerie returned, Lady Rita moved over and stroked her fingers down the side of his face, reacting as if he’d been burned, the tortured young man jerked back out of reach quite forcefully “Don’t touch me!” he couldn’t do it anymore, he wanted to go home, wherever home was but it was somewhere warm, safe and she couldn’t touch him there. Rita, furious that he’d behaved so outwardly rebellious ignored the onlookers that’d turned to gawk and forcibly backhanded him, his face stung but he barely felt it so used to her methods of reacting. When she went to do it again he stepped out of reach, beyond furious Rita used his name to hold him in place whilst she grabbed him by the throat, which was when Katherine stepped in, quietly suggesting that the faerie take her pet into her quarters and reprimand him there instead in front of everyone else. It was later that evening that Kat entered her brother's quarters with a drink and a tired look on her face, Rita really was tiring in the sense that she had to devote every atom of her being into not having her head put on a spike.

While she couldn’t feel what he was feeling, Katherine knew her brother and so could guess what was going on underneath the surface, choosing her words carefully the princess chose to leave out some comments that really wouldn’t have helped the situation. “He’s in my quarters” she’d gone to see Rita shortly after the whole incident and had intervened. She had as part of the deal made Rita free the human from all of the enforced rules she’d pressured onto him by use of his name, there wasn’t much else to be said so she turned away “you should probably see him” he was terrified of her and didn’t trust her at all which was fair enough. Walking back to her quarters that weren’t to far away from her brothers she wandered through them searching for the boy and found to her surprise that he’d broken her request to wait there and was now gone. “Any idea on where he might have gone brother?” speaking rather dryly she placed her hands on her hips, she had no intention of training Connor and intended to do what she could to get him into Atrels hands.


Hurting and afraid as soon as the princess had left him in her quarters, he’d escaped out the balcony and clambered down winding up in the royal gardens, landing on his ass with a soft thud after slipping and falling the last few feet. Connor got up and shivered the sun had set and it was starting to get cold, getting up and chewing on his short, battered thumbnail, the human wandered through the garden plagued by strange, blurred memories that just didn’t make sense. He’d never been here before and yet these half-remembered memories continued to stir, like he’d been here in a dream or something. Stopping at the koi pond he looked out at the brightly coloured fish that slowly wound their way through the water, more memories came out of nowhere, feeling dizzy he sat down on one of the rocks that framed the pond, his nose had stopped bleeding at least but there were fresh bruises appearing everywhere on him from the beating he’d received from Rita until the princess had intervened. Quiet, scared and feeling alone he wished not for the first time that his imaginary friend had stayed with him, as ridiculous was it was for an adult to wish for one, Conrads company, reassurance and guidance would have been most appreciated right now. Instead he was completely alone, tired, cold, sore, hungry and afraid, he felt like he’d gone back in time and was the anxious kid trying to survive that camp all over again, how fucking pathetic of him, he really was just a cowardly weakling with no future.

Looking up with a start, he half turned on his rock, “Trelly” the word was quiet, having slipped out without him meaning to, months of training forced him to get up and stand with his feet shoulder width apart, although his hands couldn’t help but pick at the raw skin around the nails of his fingers. He didn’t know what to say, or what to do, from what was explained he was still Ritas so he wasn’t safe yet, churning with thoughts and feelings it felt like a swarm of hornets was buzzing around in his brain filling his ears with the poison he’d been fed over the last year in Ritas possession. “I don’t want to go back to her” he finally said, her meaning Rita “If I have to go back to her after spending time here, You should put me back with her now” he didn’t want hope if there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

Watching him closely when he claimed that the king had no intention of letting that evil faerie near him again, the fact that Katherine wouldn’t be doing much with him either was a relief. Seeming to relax a little he finally nodded “Okay” he didn’t really want to be around other faeries at all at the moment. They didn’t feel safe and all he wanted was to feel safe and warm, that he wasn’t going to be put in the freezer again, the memories made him shiver slightly, the kings words were reassuring and he didn’t feel quite as hopeless. “I want to stay with you” the words were murmured while the mans gaze flicked from the faeries face to his hands, he didn’t really understand why the connection was there, it seemed like they both felt it. He wanted to understand it but he also felt like he was about to fall apart, closing his eyes tightly Connors hands balled into fists.

Of course, it was too good to be true, Rita would tire of paying someone to train him and would take him back, and there would be nothing that anyone could do. That hope he had was a pathway to wind up more hurt, going quiet he just nodded, resigning himself to never being free of her all over again. There was no point speaking about what had happened to him, he’d wind up right back there, and she’d already told him again and again that there were no laws against what she’d done to him. He went fairly quiet after that, watching the fish swim through the water slowly and free of worries wishing he was one of them.


After a couple of weeks with the boy staying with her, Kat had made a time with her brother to meet up with him, there were several things that she needed to discuss with him. Rita was coming around to the idea of selling Connor for a ridiculous amount of money, luckily her brother could afford that price and she had some suspicions that would hopefully if proven true would mean some consequences for Rita and Ralph. After sending Connor to the library she sorted out the tea and some sweet biscuits for them to share, setting things out on the balcony, she was sitting there with a cup of tea in her hands that was already somewhat cool, staring off into space thinking about Kit.

She didn’t notice her brother until he spoke, jarred out of her thoughts she looked over at him and shook her head “They can wait until you and your colour are sorted out” she didn’t really want to make everything about her when things were fairly tense with Connor at the moment. Sipping her tea and finding it cold she winced and got herself another cup, she’d gathered information that she wanted her brother to know before he bought Connor, “Rita is coming around, she wants way too much for him so its up to you if you want to barter, I asked you to meet me here as I want to talk to you about Connor” it was quite hard to not just call him boy, he seemed so young after all. She was rather troubled about him, Rita really had gone to work on him, she’d been able to loosen his collar and so he’d started eating but he wouldn’t around her and avoided her as much as he could. “So, you’re not surprised by anything” clarifying it she looked down at her teacup. “Some of it I suspect will clear up shortly when he’s with you, he’s started eating again but not much, barely enough to keep him going and he won’t eat around me at all. He hasn’t been sleeping well either, he gets night terrors most nights and so avoids sleep as much as he can, he drinks an extortionate amount of coffee” speaking rather dryly she sipped her drink “There's more that he hides, well tries to” she went into detail about the smaller things she’d noticed, mostly body language and tics that he seemed to have as well as his self-soothing mechanisms.

Relieved that he didn’t push her regarding what she’d been thinking about, Katherine sighed at the mention of his collar “Half an inch, I have to tighten it back up every time she visits which thankfully isn’t that often” quietly rubbing her temples feeling the beginning of a headache she continued speaking quietly “Do you want her to know you’re the buyer? Do you want to be there when the papers are signed, I can bring them to you once she’s signed them” all of this was important information she wanted to know in advance, spending the rest of the morning with him, she was soon back to work. It was just over a week later and about 3pm when a servant knocked on the kings quarters “Princess Katherine requests your presence in her rooms sire” with that the servant dipped their head and left the king to it.

Lord Ralph was standing in the room looking completely uninterested in what was going on, although a slight look of surprise flickered onto his face when the king of all faeries swanned in asking if his sister had any biscuits. Connor had Katherine and Ralph in between himself and Rita, watching her warily half expecting her to change her mind and leave with him. Meanwhile, a smirk slipped onto the princesses face at the sight of her brother “Yes there are some in the tin over there, the papers are all signed awaiting your signature on the table” the confirmation that it was the king who was purchasing her pet made Rita eye the king with some shock as if she was reconsidering her choices. Then again there had only been one thing she’d done that was illegal and the penalty for it was peanuts, so she decided she’d keep going along with it, she’d make quite a lot of money on this sale. The flamboyance of the king was somehow familiar to Connor, he wasn’t exactly sure how, but it was enough to make a slight smile appear on his lips, before he remembered Rita was there and hid his emotions again studying the floor as if it was the most important thing in his life at that point.