Elf Boyfriend: Merlinor (complete)

Due to my high levels of anxiety, I have come to enjoy a certain amount of order in my life. I don’t like a lot of things, but when I do I cling to them dearly. There was my cat Cocoa, who I lost a few years ago - I loved her. There are my books. There are the small things I can comfortably take for granted in my everyday routine. Anxiety makes me want to be prepared for most things; if I feel I have a grasp on them, then perhaps I can go about my day without worry. I know that clinging to this isn’t the greatest coping mechanism in the world, and I should ready myself for anything. Only thing is, there are just some things that one cannot prepare for.

I don’t exactly recall what happened, or if it even really happened at all. In my mind it was an instant thing, a sort of Alice in Wonderland trip. I didn’t see clocks, just spinning  symbols that turned into light and streaked before me like a meteor shower. Then I fell so fast and for so long, I think I must have lost consciousness. 

I wake up on a cold floor, and there’s a smell in the air like a thunderstorm is coming. A sort of tangy live static mingled with a clean damp, which makes your tongue feel tingly and your nose cold. I lay there for a long time, playing dead, because the longer I stay still the more time I have to collect my wits, to plan. I take slow, deep breaths just like I was taught. In with the good air, out with the bad. I crack my eyes open a few times. The room around me is silent, but I can  hear a fire crackling, and if I listen really, really, closely I think I can hear someone breathing.

My field of vision is limited by the hair hanging in front of my eyes and the furniture blocking off the rest of the room. I can see the roaring fire under the legs of a chair. To the left of me there is a tall table with a cauldron sitting underneath it. As I start to get a sense of my surroundings, I hear footsteps. I go limp again, playing dead, waiting to see what’s in store for me.

“Oh shit, I left the cocky thing on all night.” It’s the voice of a man, and instantly my entire body goes tense. Every hair on my body stands on end, like the hair of a cat getting ready to pounce and maim.

“You must be joking,” the man sighs. He sounds irritated and tired. A long yawn escapes his mouth, so I’m guessing the breathing I heard was him sleeping. 

I try to keep myself calm as he comes closer.

“No, no, no!” he whines, then stomps his foot. It takes everything in my power not to move at that moment. “What the hell is this?” He continues to pout. “I am going to get into so much bullshit if they find out about this mess.” He walks closer towards me.

In with the good air, out with the bad.

“You need to get up.” As soon as his hand touches my shoulder, my fist meets with his jaw. He falls backwards as I jump up, scrambling and grabbing a stool that I hold in front of me.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” the man on the floor yells at me. He’s fallen into the shadows, and all I can see are his legs and sock-covered feet.

“Don’t touch me!” I snap at him. “Stay where you are or you’ll get it again! I’ve taken self-defense classes, I know fifty ways to castrate a man!” Of course, I’m speaking out of panic, but he doesn’t need to know that.

A stream of strange words slips from his mouth like a song. The stool turns into silk scarves in my grasp, and the scarves bind my wrists and coil up around my arms. One of them ties itself around my mouth.

The man rises from the shadows as I fall onto my rear from shock. He scoffs, dusting off his wine-colored robe as he looks down at me. As I gaze up at him, I realize that I’m not in Kansas anymore, but perhaps there is a better saying at this point.

He grimaces at me, his thick brows pinching together while he rubs his palm against his sharp jaw. “Awful hook you have there,” he growls. His long white hair is tied back into a thick braid that hangs over his shoulder. His skin is what gets me though. It’s a rich, deep, royal blue as if he was carved from lapis lazuli, with streaks of shimmering flecks, like starry freckles. 

I glare up at him while my heart goes a million miles a second. 

“Don’t look at me like that!” He snarls. His lip curls up over his teeth which looks like a mouth from a horror movie. His tongue is deep purple, and his teeth... well, let’s just say that my cat Cocoa would be jealous. “I didn’t do this to you.” he sniffs. “It was an accident. So blame fate or stupid luck, what have you.” He walks over to me and kneels before me. He adjusts my glasses on my face, then sighs heavily.

“I’m fucked,” he groans. He clasps his face between his hands. “This is all I needed! How the hell did this happen?” He stands up and walks over to a desk, where a strip of lights suddenly turns on. The lights start over his head, blinking on in a fluid motion over my head before turning into a spiral that circles the entire ceiling. They flicker lavender, peach, rose gold, and lime. I’ve never seen such beautiful lights before.

The blue man is flipping through a book, growling and grumbling under his breath. I try to fight against my restraints, managing to stand up as I braced myself against the wall.

“What are you doing making that sort of racket?” He turns around and his sharp eyes go wide for a moment. “By the deliverer,” he whispers. “You’re a tall one.”

I glare down at him and shake my bounds wrists at him.

“I don’t trust you,” he scoffs. “You hit me once.”

I shake my hands at him again and shake my head. 

“Look,” he scoffs. “I am not at fault here.” He lays his blue palm over his chest, and I see his nails are perfectly manicured. “You can’t possibly be mad at me.”

I widen my eyes toward him.

“See?” He points up at me. “That is why you’re tied up.” He then sighs, blowing a hair from his face. “But-” he clicks his tongue. “I suppose I should at least know your name.” He snaps his fingers, and the scarf around my mouth falls away. My hands are still bound, but at least now I can talk.

“Who the fuck are you? Where the hell am I? And what the fuck do you want with me?” I spew the words at him, wishing they’d turn to venom.

He cocks his brow at me. “My god, the mouth on you.” His eyes look me up and down. 

I grit my teeth, trying hard not to bite a hole in my cheek. “You better be glad that is all I am saying! Now explain yourself!”

“Sírdhemon Merilinor,” he says simply. 

I narrow my eyes at him. “What?”

He rolls his eyes, flapping his arms out in the air. “That is my name! Sírdhemon Merilinor,” he snaps at me.

“Okay…” I murmur slowly.

He grimaces. “I am one of the most powerful wizards in the realm! Eminent Practitioner of Magicks, Arcana Officer, and Master of Magelore!”

I shake my head.

“Where did you even come from?” Merilinor whips around back to his book, tearing heatedly through the pages to find some answer.

“Just send me back!” I snap at him. “What does it matter? Just admit you made a mistake and send me home.”

He turns on his heel to glare back at me. “You have no clue as to what has happened, do you?” He scoffs. “It is not so simple as just sending you back. I don’t even know where you came from, and if I wanted to send you back, I couldn’t.” Merilinor sniffs as he looks over me. “I’m going to have to find heels so I’m taller than you, that’s for sure.”

I can’t help but laugh. “What?”

Merilinor turns his cold eyes on me again. “You and I are bound together, as master and familiar.” He bows his head. “This accident is irreversible. You don’t just break a familiar bond.”

“A familiar?” I laugh in shock. “You must be joking!”

“I wish to hell and back I was,” he snarls. “But I am afraid that you and I are stuck together for a long time.” Merilinor folds his arms across his chest. “I guess I can just keep you hidden here in the tower.” He starts to murmur under his breath. “If this gets found out, they won’t give me a slap on the wrist this time. No sir!”

“You can’t-” I start as I stumble forward. “You can’t keep me locked up in here!”

Merilinor shakes his head. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice. I am the master here,” he gives me an icy glare. “You have to obey my-”

Whatever he was saying was cut off as I lash out with my bound hands, grabbing hold of the tip of his ear between my fingers, pinching him as hard as I can. “Listen here!” I snarl at him. “You keep me locked up in here, and I will make your life a living nightmare! I won’t let you sleep, let you eat, even let you wipe your ass without my foot getting involved!”

“Dear deliverer! Let go, let go, let go, let go!” Merilinor whines in agony as I continue to pinch harder on his ear.

“I am not some animal you can keep in a cage!” I yank on him and he cries out. “Got that? You are not my master.”

Merilinor looks up at me with watery eyes. “You’re going to regret this,” he snarls.

“Already do,” I hiss through my teeth. “So what are you going to do about it?”

Merilinor clenches his eyes shut tight, somehow weak against my assault on his ear. “I can’t let anyone know about this,” he huffs. “If anyone finds out-”

“Cut the shit,” I snap at him.

He glares back at me. “Fine,” he huffs. “I’ll try and find a way to break the bond, but you’re going to have to work with me!”

I shake my head. “I’m not staying locked in here!” 

“Fine!” he cries. “Let me go! Please!”

I drop him and he stumbles away from me. He cups his hand over his ear and bares his teeth. “Fine. As long as you’re here, you’re just hired help.”

I scoff. “You’re joking.”

“I must be. I’d never hire someone like you.” Merilinor rolls his eyes. “But if anyone at all asks, you’re my housekeeper.”

I watch him like a hawk as he circles around the room. “And why is that?”

“If anyone found out I summoned you, we would both be in trouble,” he growls at me. “If the wizard council knew you existed here, they would punish me and terminate you.”

I lose my breath for a second. “Oh, that old trick,” I grumble.

“I told you,” Merilinor snaps his fingers and the scarves around my wrists fall away. “The two of us are stuck together, so you’d best learn right now.”

“Same goes for you,” I growl.

Merilinor goes to turn back to his book but he stops. He glances back at me and waves his finger around. “You never told me who you were.”

I scoff. “Suppose I didn’t.” I give him a shrug. “I’m Elaine, a librarian.”

“Oh good. Then you know how to read,” Merilinor smirks. “I assume.” He chuckles at his own joke. “Then first of all, I will put you to work in my collection.” He snaps his fingers, and a door opens behind me. “You can start your work by fixing up my shelves and making sure everything is in order.”

“You can’t boss me around!” I snap at him.

“Oh, I assure you, I can,” he says with a dark look in his eyes. “You’re my familiar and my word is our bond.”

There isn’t much I like about Merilinor. I learn he’s something of a peacock, pretty to look at but not much beyond that. I am not sure what all his names and titles mean, and I don’t really care anyway. Being stuck under his thumb makes me want to know as little about him as I can.

One of the few things I enjoy about this whole mess, funnily enough, is the view. From the window of the room I am given, I can see out over a forest, towards rows of snow-capped mountains on the horizon. I have always loved the mountains, and looking at them brings me a sense of peace. 

I steal books from Merilinor’s collection often, taking them to my room to read them by the window. It’s helped me understand this world a little bit more - at least the magical aspects of it that Merilinor has made his life’s work. I am lucky that Merilinor enjoys his ‘beauty rest’, so if I get up early enough, I have hours before I have to deal with him. I can sit alone in my room, quiet and content, with a small breakfast and tea. 

When Merilinor does get up, it’s a production. He could easily get himself ready with a simple flick of his wrist and a snap of his fingers, but instead he has taken to shouting for me. I have to help him don his robe, braid his hair, pluck his eyebrows into a fine shape. He’s a diva of the highest caliber, and I know he’s only acting that way to grind on my nerves.

That’s okay, I get him back just fine. I unorganize his books, often switching covers on them to double the confusion. I have switched around his cabinets a few times now, and I notice that when I do he doesn’t try to switch them back. So once he gets used to them one way, I swap them around again. I have tried messing with his spell book, but apparently, it’s more magic than anything in the tower. I can’t move it; I can barely open it. Whenever I do manage to open it and I try to rip out a page, I get an electric shock, so I’ve stopped trying to mess with it.

One morning as I am tending to the grande dame himself, braiding his hair in his beloved fishtail style, I start humming to myself.

Merilinor cocks an eye back at me. “What is that?” He asks.

“Huh?” I snap from my thoughts, not realizing I was doing it. I usually just zone out when I’m helping Merilinor with his beauty regimen. “Just a song I enjoy, Merry. Nothing to concern yourself with.”

“I told you not to call me that,” he snaps.

“And I told you that you aren’t the boss of me,” I grumble. 

Merilinor rolls his eyes and nestles back down in his seat. “No, seriously, what was that song?” He asks.

“Just something from home. Why? Does it bother you?” I tie off the bottom of his hair, hoping that’s the end of it. I stand up and go to his vanity, where I pull out the tweezers.

“It was nice, was all,” he grumbles under his breath.

I turn and look at him like he’s an even stranger being than he already is. “It was what?” I ask.

Merilinor scowls at me. “Never mind. Just do what you’re told,” he grumbles, and closes his eyes.

I sit down beside him, still looking at him strangely. “I guess you’ve never heard of Rachmaninov,” I murmur.

“What the hell did you say?” Merilinor asks, trying to keep his face stiff while I tend to his eyebrows.

I chuckle. “Says the guy with a name like Smurf-dork Meerleeneenorneenor.”

“You know that is not my name! I order you to call me by my name! Not some nickname. Not some cutesy interpretation that brain of yours comes up with.” Merilinor scoffs.

“Oh sure, I’ll get right on that, Meerleeneenorneenor.” I snort as I try to keep from laughing.

“You’re pinching,” he huffs.

“The tweezers are pinching,” I correct.

Merilinor grumbles something under his breath I’m certain is awful. “Just be careful, Elaine,” he growls. “I have an important meeting today, and I want to look my best.”

“Oh god, more of you aren’t going to show up here today, are they?” I whine.

“Not here, thank the deliverer,” he scoffs. “I’ll be out for a while today. So try not to do anything stupid.”

I huff, frowning at him. “Have I been stupid at any point in time while I’ve been here, Merry?” I ask.

He shrugs and fidgets. “No,” he grunts. “Annoying, but-” he stops and waves my hands away. “That’s enough. You’re pestering me now.” He looks at himself in the mirror, pressing his finger to his brow to smooth it out.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest boy of all?” I sing to myself.

Merilinor snaps his fingers. “What was that?”

I dart my eyes around before looking at him. “What was what?”

“That song you just sang. The cute little thing.” He waves his hand in the air, urging me to answer.

“It’s from Snow White,” I laugh. “Oh!” I then gasp.

“Of course snow is white, what does that have to do with the song?” He asks. “I liked it. It suits. Sing it again.”

I laugh to myself, trying hard not to bust a rib holding it back. “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest boy of all?”

“Not ‘boy’,” Merilinor shakes his head. “No, no. Say ‘man’.”

“You’re the one asking, you sing it,” I chuckle.

Merilinor looks back at me then turns his attention to his reflection again. “It won’t have the same effect. Never mind, get going. I need to get dressed.”

“Good luck with that.” I close the doors to his room as I leave. I then stand there for a moment, wondering what the hell he meant. I scoff, deciding to brush it away.

He leaves that afternoon, and it’s the first time I have had a moment to myself in a long time. I don’t know how long Merilinor will be gone for, so I know I have to use my time wisely. I don’t do any work, that’s for sure; I simply sit back and enjoy the day. I read books near the fireplace, and open all the windows to let a fresh breeze in. Merilinor thinks that opening them will make birds fly in and I’m starting to think he’s afraid of birds.

At one point, as I come out of his library with a few new books I hear paper rustling. I look over at Merilinor’s massive spell book to see the pages flipping. I’ve never seen it open before without someone over it. As I approach, the pages fall open and lay before me. The words glow for a moment before shimmering and turning into a language I can understand.

“That’s not creepy,” I murmur to myself. I smooth my hand over the page as I read it over. I then step away. “No. Too weird.” I start to walk away, but I feel compelled to return to the book. There is this nagging, clawing feeling I should get back to it.

I turn around, placing my full attention on the page. “Darkest raven, clawing night, spirits endless in their delight. Nothing wholesome understood, burning wreckage of greenwood. Baffled, howling, let us in. Laughing, dying, let us in. Darkest raven, clawing night, spirits endless are my blight.” 

As I slide my hand away from the book, a page nicks my skin, causing a painful paper cut. I hiss, pulling my finger away as a drop of blood splashes to the floor. As I step back to deal with the cut, the drop of blood on the floor glows. It spreads and bubbles, rising up like some sort of slimy mass. 

I stumble backwards, toppling over as I hit the lip of the rug. The writhing mass takes a physical shape, dripping with blood and bile as it lunges, screaming at me. I run, kicking myself away and tearing through the tower. The creature gives chase after me, smashing into walls and knocking over everything in its path.

I run into Merilinor’s room, shutting the door behind me and then snapping all the bolts and locks shut. I step back, and the door buckles and shudders as the monster slams their body against it. I scream, ducking my head down between my hands. I start to cry, sobbing heavily. “Leave me alone!” I scream.

The monster - demon - whatever it is - roars and bellows. It starts to ooze between the cracks of the door.

“Leave me alone!” I scream at the top of my lungs.

Everything goes quiet and still. There’s a low gurgling sound from behind the door. The bolts and locks suddenly come undone, allowing the door to swing open. Merilinor stands there, looking more pissed than I have ever seen him.

“What did you do?” he whispers.

I don’t know why, but in that moment I race to him. I wrap my arms around him, sobbing into his chest. I’m so relieved to see Merilinor, and I feel safe with him.

“Hey, get off! What are you-” Merilinor scoffs. His arms tighten around me. “Stop your crying, Elaine,” his whispers gently. “You have a lot of work to do, you know.” He leads me over to the bed, where we sit down, and he lets me cry while he holds me. 

Eventually, I fall asleep, and when I wake up I’m laying in Merilinor’s bed. I sit up, moving the blankets away to find Merilinor sitting in his chair, reading. He snaps his book shut as he turns to look at me. 

“Sleep well?” he asks.

I just remain silent.

“What were you thinking?” he demands. “You could have gotten hurt, killed!” He walks over to the bed. “Do you know how much trouble I would be in then?”

I hang my head. “I’m sorry,” I tremble.

Merilinor scoffs, he reaches out and wipes my cheek. “Look, just as long as you clean up the mess you made, I’m willing to forget this ever happened.”

I look up at him, rubbing my eyes. “Why?”

Merilinor shrugs. “Dumb mistakes begetdumb mistakes,” he grumbles.

I sniffle and chuckle softly. “So you’re admitting it was your mistake now?”

“Hey,” he grunts. “Just be lucky I’m not throwing you out the nearest window. You really could have fucked up my life.” He sighs and slouches. “I’m just glad that… you’re okay.”

“Really?” I swallow.

“Yeah,” he huffs. “I wanted to know more about this music you seem to like.”

I smile softly. “That’s a horrible excuse.”

Merilinor grins. “There’s my Elaine. Now go back to sleep.” He stands up and returns to his chair. “I’ve still got some work to do. And I’ve got company coming in a few days. He’s an asshole, so I’ll just ask you to clean up before he gets here.”

“Thank you, Merilinor,” I murmur. 

His expression goes soft for a moment, and his usually harsh eyes look genuinely pretty. He glances at me, then turns away with a nod of his head. “Yes, well, no one deserves to die that way.”

Over the next few days, I clean up the wreckage left by my summoned demon. Lots of broken glass, toppled furniture, and a rug that ends up having to be simply thrown away. Apparently, whatever I summoned stained it so that even Merilinor’s magic couldn’t remove the dried liquid.

“I hate to think what you could do if you actually tried magic,” Merilinor scoffs. 

“And what if I did?” I ask him.

Merilinor smirks. “I would have to cut out your tongue so you wouldn’t speak anymore spells.” He looks around the main room. “Not too bad, although I’m sure my associate will find fault in it.”

“You said he was an asshole. How big of one is he?” I ask.

“Let’s just say I would rather have fifty of you than even half of him,” he says with a smile. His pleasant expression then snaps away as he turns to the door. “He’s here.”

The door swings open to reveal a tall, slender man, wearing a suit of dark gray with rose gold threads twisted and tangled all over it like lovely vines. His skin is the purest white, and his hair is a thicket of silver curls.

“Merilinor,” he says with a nod. His eyes then glide over to me, and a smirk spreads across his lips. “Lovely to see you.”

I grimace as Merilinor shakes his hand. “Albakus,” he says. “We can talk over here.”

Albakus turns back to look at me as Merlinor leads him away. He gives me the creeps more than Merilinor ever did. After a while, I go to see with the two of them need anything to drink, but I find Albakus sitting alone.

“I have tea ready if you want some,” I reply. I really don’t want to be in his presence without Melkinor, but I have no choice. 

“Come closer,” Albakus murmurs. “I’m a bit hard of hearing.”

I huff and step towards him. When I do, he suddenly grabs me and pulls me down. I try to scream, but I am silenced. My body goes limp, and I feel like I am trapped inside myself, cage-like. 

Albakus seizes the back of my neck. “I see,” he chuckles. “So it’s true. Merilinor summoned you as his familiar.”

I lay there, unable to move.

“Such a pity,” Albakus drops me as he stands. “The council will have his head for this one.” He glances down at me. “And poor little you will be returned home.”

I can’t speak or move, but I can still feel all my anger and fear.

“Oh? Did Merilinor not tell you?” He chuckles. “Yes. You can be returned home at any time. The familiar bond between you two isn’t complete. It can be broken easily. Unfortunately, if you return home it will be an unfamiliar one.”

I feel like I am choking.

“What’s that?” Albakus laughs. “Oh! Right.” He grins wickedly. “When Merilinor took you from your world, it was reshaped. It is now a place where you never existed. Returning you would be a cruel joke.” He sighs. “I should go.” He walks away from me. “Tell Merilinor that I will put in a good word for him, but he will still be called to the council.” As he walks past, I snap my hand out and I grab his ankle.

“What?” Albakus gasps in horror.

I squeeze hard around his ankle and small sparks issue from my hand. Albakus drops to the floor. 

“What is happening?” he screams. “What are you?”

“Elaine, stop!” Merilinor commands. 

I cry out and let go of Albakus’ ankle as Merilinor picks me up off the ground. He holds me in his arms and glares down at Albakus, who is now twitching and foaming at the mouth. 

“You made my housekeeper mad,” Merilinor scoffs. He sets me down in a chair. “You okay?” he whispers.

I nod, and he turns his attention on Albakus. He pulls him up to stand on shaky legs. His curls are disheveled, and he looks around the room in confusion.

“Where am I, Merilinor? This isn’t school,” Albakus dribbles a bit as the foam in his mouth melts away.

“Hmm,” Merilinor sighs. “You’d best go home, old friend. You hit your head.”

“Did I?” Albakus sighs. “I should really stop taking that marley weed.”

I sit there in shock for a long time, trying not to cry or panic. When Merilinor comes back he tries to touch me, but I slap his hand away.

“What’s wrong?” he gasps.

“Albakus said you could send me back!” I start to sob.

Merilinor’s shoulder sag. “But if I did-” he starts. “Elaine, it would have been much too cruel to send you back.”

I sob into my palms. “But you said-” I blubber. “You lied to me.”

Merilinor kneels down before me. “I took responsibility for my mistake,” he murmurs. “I couldn’t send you back to a world that never knew you, nor could I just let you go.”

I look up at him with red, weepy eyes.

“I don’t want to let you go now either.” He takes hold of my hand. “I want you to stay with me, Elaine.”

I sniffle and shiver. “Why?”

Merilinor shrugs. “Not too sure on that one.” He cups my cheek in his hand. “But whatever the reason, I know I would be lonely without you around.”

I close my eyes. “Get rid of the bond. I know you can.” I grumble.

Merilinor looks away, almost heartbroken.

“I’ll stay,” I whisper. “And you’ll actually pay me.” I look into his eyes. “I don’t exactly want to leave, but just in case you ever make me really mad, I want some savings of my own.”

Merilinor nods. “Yes. Of course. I understand.” His thumb brushes under my eye.

“Are you gonna kiss me or not?” I snap at him.

“You’re going to let me?” he laughs.

I grab him, pulling him in by his collar and pressing my lips to his. I’m not sure why, but I think I really like this snarky wizard. In fact, I’m actually kind of glad he made his stupid mistake.

After Merilinor breaks the familiar bond between us, he still needs a familiar around the tower. After much preparation, and a lot of nagging from me, he finally creates a portal to summon just the right one.

It’s a show of lights and energy, crackling charges, dancing embers, the whole sort of magic display. I hold onto Merilinor’s hand as he starts the spell. There’s a crack of lightning, and I duck behind him.

“You do realize it’s not going to hurt you?” he scoffs.

“You can be quiet, you do realize?” I peek out from behind him as the magic cools and swirls. There’s a loud purring noise followed by a raging hiss.

“What the hell is that?” Merilinor groans. “Oh deliverer, not again!”

I step out to see the massive fluff ball sitting on the ground. My eyes light up, and tears rush into them. “Cocoa!”

The fat Maine Coon trots over to me, walking between my legs and purring with all her might. I pick her up, hugging her close. “I thought I would never see you again!”

“What?” Merilinor huffs.

I turn and look at him. “This is my cat, Cocoa!” I cheer. “I can’t believe you summoned her for me!”

“I did?” Merilinor looks at the cat. “Wait, what did you call it?”

Cocoa purrs loudly as I wiggle with her in my arms. “Her name is Cocoa.”

“No familiar of mine is going to be named Cocoa!” Merilinor huffs. He puts his arm around me. “And why don’t you cuddle me like that?”

I smirk down at him. “Let her name be Cocoa, and I just might.”

His cheeks turn dark purple as his expression melts to gooey charm. Then he coughs and stiffens his jaw. “Well, fine,” he grumbles. “Seems you already know this… thing.”

I kiss his cheek softly. “Thank you, Merry.”

“Merilinor!” he grumbles.