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thegloweringcastle · 10 months

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La Belle Fleur Sauvage

@elucienweekofficial Day 5: Nature

ao3

a/n: This is unlike anything I’ve ever written before. So I'm a little nervous, but very curious to hear your thoughts! Even if it hasn’t turned out as I hoped, it was certainly lots of fun to write.

It is a songfic based on La Belle Fleur Sauvage by Lord Huron, and even if you don’t read this I am begging you to still listen to the song because it is absolutely enchanting.

Happy reading and listening! <3

Word Count: ~1.9k

~~~

I. What you’re looking for won’t be found easily

It grows upon the mountain, in a sacred place

Lucien had been reared in a family that valued power; raised by a father who controlled with an iron fist, surrounded by brothers who thirsted for riches and every exotic pleasure known to humankind.

His mother, a kindhearted woman too pure for the likes of his father, was his only solace. She offered him a refuge, a quiet place to hide, to live freely and exist simply.

That was the only sacred place in his entire world; not one other honorable being could be found within miles. As a boy, he doubted he would ever find anyone as loving as his mother in the rest of his life.

II. Up beyond the clouds an ancient ground, so they say

And many men have died trekking up that way

The first time Lucien heard the legend of the woman had been at one of his fathers banquets - one of Lucien’s first attendances.

He remembered, with shocking clarity, the many horrors recounted to him by rich merchants. There were stories of every ill-fate that had befallen those who set out in search of such unearthly beauty. Some had been so jealous - of whom or what, Lucien couldn’t understand - that they threw themselves from cliffs, while others never even survived the first leg of the journey, lost to the beasts that roamed the foothills.

But while each variation had a billion different details, one thing remained the same: the woman who dwelled in the mountains was of another world, another kind; her beauty so unnatural that anyone who could keep it would live a bountiful life.

III. Once he’s gazed upon her, a man is forever changed

The bravest men return with darkened hearts and phantom pain

There was not much that happened in the village. Peddlers came and went, merchants sold their goods and expanded their mansions, beggars crowded the street corners, and young men set off to intrude upon what did not want to be found.

Lucien was never one to believe the stories that circulated. Everyone had their own version of the legend, but as he matured he realized it was all nothing but the wishful thinking of those who craved what they would never deserve and could never obtain.

But his mindset changed when the O’Donoughy brothers left and swiftly returned, ice cold in the dead of summer, their eyes distant and watery. What they had seen, nobody knew; but everyone had suspected. As Lucien grew into a young man, more and more of the people he had known as boys set out mountain-bound. The O’Donoughy twins had returned aged beyond their years in those few days, while others - the ones never seen again - were said to have simply sat there, watching and waiting until they rotted to nothing, some force spending their lifespans tenfold.

Lucien always prided himself in being level headed and respectful, and he had every intention of leaving well enough alone no matter what legends were wrong or right. Honestly, he did.

Until the truth of his paternity came out, and they were forced to run.

He may have been able to help save his mother, but his life had been left in rubble, the knowledge that his mom was safe and happy the only salvageable debris.

IV. Her colors change to mark the passing of the days

No earthly sight can match the beauty she displays

Exiled now by his half-family, Lucien was left to seek out a new home; somewhere he could start fresh. But that meant risking trespassing on the one place he had always sworn not to intrude. A new, better life could only be found over the mountains, through the same pass that hosted so many legends and tales.

Evergreen trees towered above Lucien, toying with the golden sunlight and disorienting all sense of direction. As he wandered, following meek flower paths and worn animal trails, morning light took on the telltale orange hue of afternoon. Yet, even as time passed and the light changed above him, the sun never actually moved. Birdsong grew distant and rare as he gained elevation, the odd silence chilling him to his very marrow.

The woods grew so dense that the forest floor never saw daylight, and Lucien could barely squeeze between each tree as he forged ahead. He knew he should have taken it as a warning, but he had no other options.

V. I've meant to find the place where all good things begin

To smell her scent and watch her dancing in the wind

Finally, finally, the forest opened up to a meadow of rustling wildflowers and billowing grass and-

He did a double take. Triple take. He pinched himself.

It was real.

There she was, flesh and blood - maybe - and swaying through the tall grass; she looked like she was dancing. Rosy cheeks, gleaming honey-brown hair, and big doe eyes. She flowed with the wind as if it were a song made just for her. She understood the whisper of the grass and the humming of the bees as well as her own heartbeat. She flowed so smoothly as if she herself were part of the wind; a bird guiding the breeze across the dramatic hills.

And Lucien couldn’t fathom it; so many things, he simply couldn’t wrap his mind around. How could such beauty still exist? Why would anyone want to interfere with it? It was perfect just the way it was; humans didn’t deserve this. They simply weren’t good enough.

In circles she spun, dipping low to pick a flower before turning to brush one slender hand through a bundle of cattails. Lucien simply watched her, wholly enraptured by her supple movements. He didn’t even think about it when he stepped forward, wanting to keep watching her as she began to move away.

He saw her, she saw him, and the world froze. The breeze dissipated, the whispering grass held its breath, the dancing flowers paused.

Predator and prey held eye contact, stuck between cycles. Something glinted, the hollowness akin to fear. But he could have been wrong; he was on the edge of the clearing, after all.

She took one, timid step towards him. He took one, timid step back.

“Who are you?” Her voice, lush and gentle, rang louder than it should have. Wholly unnatural.

His throat was dry. “My name is Lucien Va- Lucien. I hail from the village to the east.” He paused, continuing when she didn’t speak. “I wish to use your alpine pass to continue west, with your blessing.”

Lucien’s heart constricted as she approached, her radiance even more devastating up close. But now he saw - proof. She wasn’t human. Pointed ears, wide eyes, long, slender fingers.

“Why should I believe you?” The sound of her voice would be the death of him. “Why would I offer you safe passage, when that is what everyone else has asked for? It has never turned out to be the truth.”

So neither were predators; both had been prey at some point in time. Lucien wanted to see to it that it would never again be the case.

“Lady…” He went down to one knee, looking up at her figure haloed by the sun.

Her brow quirked up as she hesitated. “Elain.”

“My Lady Elain,” It came out as a benediction. “I don’t know what proof I could present to you, but I swear to leave you be. I merely hope to pass through and allow you to enjoy your space.” Even if he didn’t want to leave.

She leaned in, evaluating him just as he did her. He caught her scent - honey and berries. Sweet and addicting.

“There is a flower,” She started. “It grows farther than most can travel, higher than many wish to go. But I’ve heard its beauty is unlike anything else, and I wish to see it. Help it flourish here,” She gestured to the clearing. “With the others. If you can find it for me and bring it back with roots intact, I will allow you onwards.”

She did not wait for a response before turning smoothly, her cotton dress rippling with the motion. Lucien waited another heartbeat before standing, struggling to process what had happened, what he had seen.

He began his quest.

It could have been days that he searched, or months. The sun never moved, only disappearing suddenly to leave room for night. Time moved strangely in the woods; one day it was mild, spring weather, and the next it was crisp autumn, with auburn leaves raining down. Once it snowed, but then it was blazing hot.

The entire time, Lucien searched. He thought long and hard, he went at it ruthlessly, he went over the same places dozens of times. But he never gave up. Because as he searched, something blossomed in his chest. Something warm and soft and right. He didn’t aim to find the flower just to move on; he wanted to please her, to give her a reason to smile. The thought of it made his heart yearn.

So he stayed resolute, fending off the beasts in the woods and pursuing any hint of unique greenery that could possibly match what she wanted.

But nothing he found would ever be enough, would never be as beautiful as her.

VI. I'd give it all to love that girl, oh

I'd be the one to pluck that fleur, oh

Lucien found his way back to the clearing, hoping to any higher power that she would be there again.

And sure enough, there she was, this time lying in the tall green grass and basking in the sun.

“My Lady Elain,” He called.

She stood slowly, brushing herself off as she moved towards him. “Lucien of the East.” A faint smile graced her face. “Have you found the flower?”

He returned the smile in kind with an added bit of mischief. “Indeed, I have.”

Her chin tilted, her eyes squinting.

“Where is it, then?”

“My lady, I am afraid you sent me on a snipe hunt.”

“Oh?”

“You asked for a flower whose beauty was unlike anything else. You wanted to help it thrive here,” He stepped forward, bolder now. “But I realized something.”

“Tell me, what did you realize?”

Now they both moved in, meeting each other halfway.

“I was meant to find you.”

Her eyes sparked, a bright boundless smile overtaking her features. It nearly brought Lucien to his knees. She tucked her slender, ivory hand into his broad, tan one. With a shared smile, she guided them through the meadow towards the small cottage hiding on the edge.

Lucien decided he had no reason to go over the pass; everything he could ever need was right there in that sacred place.

VII. And when I die, I want her lying by my side, in my grave

I'd give it all to love that girl, oh

~~~

Another big thanks to @elucienweekofficial moderators for their dedication! <3

#was originally meant to be for day 2 (magic)#but work got in the way #and we're late today because doggy cuddles are top priority #elucien #elucienweek2023 #elucien fanfiction #elain archeron #lucien #songfic #lord huron #prompt: nature

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