The Cycles of Revelation Series
Artifact of the Dawn: Confinement (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)
Episode 13: Jevan and Ardyn are confined to Jevan’s home, while they await the Elder Triumvirate to arrive and witness the punishment they were sentenced to by the tribunal.
While they waited for the next rainstorm, Jevan and Ardyn bided their time, preparing to run at the first sign of a deluge. The day after the tribunal, Jevan rummaged around in his wardrobe, pulling out various items and placing them on his bed. “Some of these clothes are from when I was younger. See if any of them fit you.”
Ardyn looked through the collection of roughspun and leather shirts, breeches, and cloaks. Holding one shirt up that fell below his knees, he laughed. “I think you were always a giant.”
Tossing a belt at Ardyn, Jevan smirked. “Just cinch it with this, and you’ll be fine.”
“You really aren’t planning to come back here again, are you?” Ardyn asked as he tossed a shorter cloak over his shoulders, checking the length.
“I don’t think it’ll ever be safe for either of us, do you?” Jevan replied.
Setting aside the cloak, Ardyn looked up at Jevan. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this,” he said. “I’m used to being alone, spending weeks, sometimes months, away from everyone. You’re used to being around people, and now you’ll be stuck with only me for company.”
“Well, you’ll also be stuck with me,” Jevan reminded him, handing Ardyn one spare pack he had. Then he grabbed some of the clothing and packed them into another spare pack. “We should also try to pack some of the food they’re feeding us, so we can eat until we’re able to make some new weapons for hunting.”
Whenever they could, they tucked away a portion of their meals into their packs, which they kept hidden inside the large trunk Jevan had at the foot of his bed. They also filled some spare water skins Jevan had lying around, so they were ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
One morning, after they had been served their breakfast, Ardyn looked across the table at Jevan as he was finishing his bowl of porridge. “The other day you told me they make this porridge from a grain your people grow. How did Medellans figure out how to grow and harvest food like this?”
Jevan shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s something Medellans have always done, as far as I know. From what I understand, the technique isn’t that complicated. It merely requires some soft soil, seeds, and water. There’s probably more to it, but I’m no farmer.”
“Where did the seeds come from?” Ardyn asked. “I’ve never seen plants like your crops growing wild.”
“Our ancestors brought them with when they crossed the ocean to get here, so they must have farmed these crops on the land where they came from,” Jevan replied.
“It seems like such a natural thing to do. It would make feeding our people so much easier, but planting seeds is one of the many things explicitly forbidden by our elders,” Ardyn said.
“Could it be because Medellans are farmers?” Jevan wondered aloud. “Does your Triumvirate hate my people so much that they’d outlaw anything to do with our culture?”
“I am not sure,” Ardyn replied, his forehead furrowed in concentration. “The elders taught us that the Athla’naa must be one with the land, and we must survive on what we can gather from it. They also teach that the farming your people do corrupts the land. I often wondered if that was part of the reason our people warred with each other for so long?”
“That’s not what Mathias or my school master taught me, but who knows?” Jevan said, gathering their bowls and getting up to hand the tray to one of the men outside.
“What we found in the Aria’una contradicts all I’ve been taught,” Ardyn said. “How could my ancestors have been one with the land, and also built something like that tower?”
“I don’t know, but I’m glad we’re going back,” Jevan admitted. “The answers we need are there. I can just feel it.”
One evening, after having bathed, Ardyn straddled the bench that sat before the fireplace, untangling his hair with his fingers as he always did. Jevan watched for a few moments from where he sat at the table, before getting up and retrieving an old hairbrush his mother had given him when he was younger and had worn longer hair.
Walking back to where Ardyn sat, lost in thought, he held out the hairbrush where Ardyn could see it. “May I?”
Staring at the brush for a moment, a look of recognition crossed the elf’s face, and he nodded. Jevan straddled the bench behind Ardyn and gently pulled the elf’s hair, so it cascaded down his pale, slender back. Slowly he worked the brush through the damp hair, working out the tangles. He held Ardyn’s hair to avoid tugging on his scalp until the brush ran smoothly through the silken lavender strands.
Quiet moments like this made Jevan feel a growing connection with Ardyn. These peaceful moments of companionable silence were becoming a favorite part of his days with the elf. There was no expectation for anything more, just each other’s company. Jevan had never experienced this with anyone else, and a small part of him kept wondering what if?
Once he was done, he went and put the brush away. Ardyn turned to face him when he walked back, with a quizzical look on his face. “How did you know how to untangle hair like that? Yours has such a different texture, and you keep it so short.”
Running a hand over his thick, curly hair, Jevan chuckled. “My sister. I often helped brush her hair after a bath when we were younger. Hers is also curly, but it’s much longer than mine.”
“You and your sister were close?” Ardyn asked. “I was raised with many half-siblings and cousins, but we weren’t close because I was so different from them. I was always asking questions that kept getting me in trouble.”
“Yeah, as kids, we were. Jenira is my only sibling, and we would spend hours exploring the woods together. I taught her how to hunt and fish. She’s almost as good with the bow as I am,” Jevan said with pride as he sat next to Ardyn again.
Using a finger, he bade the elf turn around, before plaiting Ardyn’s hair back into his usual style, tying off the end with a leather tie. Then he turned back toward the fire and stared into it for a while, before bouncing his knee restlessly and then getting up to pace the room.
“I wish the rains would come, because I’m going a little stir-crazy, being cooped up in here. Rarely do I spend more than two or three days here before I head back to make my rounds through the villages and settlements, bringing with me goods from Yanen to trade.”
Rising fluidly from the bench and stretching his lithe body, Ardyn made his way toward the bed and gracefully slipped under the covers. “Well, come to bed and try to get some rest,” Ardyn beckoned. “You will not accomplish anything by worrying a hole in the floor.”
Laughing, Jevan nodded in agreement. “You know you sound like a bondmate,” Jevan teased as he went around the room to blow out the candles, before climbing into bed next to the elf. “Come to bed now, dear,” he mocked.
Ardyn punched Jevan lightly in the arm before dissolving into laughter. The two laughed until tears streamed down their cheeks. If nothing else, the companionship made this confinement more bearable.
Lying awake, Ardyn watched Jevan fall asleep beside him, as the man’s breath evened out and his features relaxed. Ardyn’s mind wandered back to the moment they’d shared earlier. It felt comforting to have someone else help me with my hair, like my father did when I was young.
Then he reflected on all that Jevan was sacrificing, just for him. Jevan has a good heart. He doesn’t deserve this. Ardyn had considered slipping away on his own several times, but he couldn’t leave Jevan to his fate alone. We’re in this together, no matter what happens.
A feeling of guilt crept over Ardyn as fleeting memories crossed his mind when he’d first spied Jevan from his treetop hideout, well over a year before. I should tell him… Ardyn thought as he finally drifted off to sleep.
When he awoke the next morning, he noted with a disappointed frown that the day had once again dawned bright and sunny. He sat up and watched as Jevan continued to sleep peacefully next to him. Ever since that last day he went to Ahren, Ardyn never imagined he would be comfortable enough to share close quarters with an athla’maakh, much less share a bed with one.
Since Ardyn’s initial rejection, Jevan never tried to force himself on him, and his every touch had been chaste. Ardyn felt safe around him. He trusted the athla’maakh not to hurt him, which felt strange. It had been a long time since Ardyn felt he could trust anyone besides his parents.
A knock at the door brought Ardyn out of his reverie as a villager brought their morning meal. Along with their usual porridge, there was also bread and some cups of water. Ardyn thanked the young woman as he took the tray from her, noting how she was trying not to stare at him before she scurried away.
After Ardyn set the tray down on the table, he saw Jevan stir. As he took the bread and stashed them with the other provisions they’d been saving, he called over to Jevan. “Get up and come eat. You know this porridge is not pleasant to eat cold.”
Jevan grumbled and buried his head under his pillow. Ardyn had always been one to rise before the sun, but Jevan usually slept until the morning meal was served. Smirking at the grumbling Medellan, he pulled away the man’s pillow and blanket. “Up or I’ll eat your porridge and you can go hungry until the next meal arrives.”
Jevan sat up and gave Ardyn a mock scowl as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Alright, Alright. I’m up already. Are you sure you’re not trying to act like my bondmate? I could swear I remember my parents having this same argument every morning.”
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