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prince-rowan-of-the-forest · 1 year ago

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We'll Save You (1/4)

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Janus finds himself stumbling into problems like one stumbles over rocks on the road, except some problems are a little worse than others.

But when he finally stumbles into someone who isn't like everyone else Janus' had met so far in this unforgiving world, he thinks that maybe there is some merit to the world after all.

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| Ao3 | Next Chapter -> |

Fic Warnings: implied + referenced abuse/torture. trauma, an oc character generally being creepy. referenced past starvation

Pairings: pre-established prinxiety, pre-romantic anaroceit.

Word Count: 4054

Notes: Hellloooo @anaroceitweek day 1 here - yes I'm tagging myself and participating in my own event shut up.

Ao3 is down so I can't post on there just yet, but I will later! So! Yeah!

My plan is to continue this fic with a few of the other prompts from this week if I can get the writing done in time, but I might not lol, they may be late. I really want to draw Roman from this au after I described him-

Also I'm flying by the seat of my pants for this fic (wtf does this phrase actually mean lmao) so I have planned NOTHING lol

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“Hello there little one,” said a whispering voice in the back of Janus’ mind that sent shivers down his spine. He ignored it, resolute, you weren’t supposed to talk to the voices in the forest, “My my, aren’t you far from home?”

Janus growled in the back of his throat, pushing forward. If he didn’t acknowledge the creepy voice speaking straight into his brain, then it would go away and leave him the hell alone.

“What is such a little thing like you doing here in our woods anyway?” The voice sounded thoughtful, and Janus could almost picture a being putting a finger to their chin in curiosity with it.

He shook his head to get rid of the image and kept walking at his almost-too-quick pace, pushing back a branch, ducking under another one, stepping over the poisonous plant, keep going.

“Careful where you step,” The voice crooned, almost mocking, Janus couldn’t resist the urge to glance around at the area. No one was there, he glared at the empty space anyway.

“Why such a look, little one? I’m only trying to help,” The voice said, growing a little louder and slightly more persistent, the tone was almost a whine, but somehow Janus could tell that whatever was talking to him wasn’t genuinely upset.

“Shut up,” Janus muttered, pulling out a compass as he stopped for a moment, he groaned, finding he’d gone off course a little, turning and heading in the right direction.

“You shouldn’t be here,” The voice seemed to tease, “The woods are no place for a little mortal like you.”

“Yeah, well, don’t really have a choice do I,” Janus hissed at the empty forest around him, before slapping a hand over his mouth and sighing. Well, now he’d done it.

“Oh how precious!” The voice seemed to laugh, “What are you running from, little one?”

“Nothing,” Janus snapped, “None of your business, whatever you are.”

“But it is my business, see,” They said voice punctuated with a cackle that had Janus paling, “Because you just stepped into my circle!”

“What,” Janus whispered, panicked now as he heard a whooshing breeze and suddenly the voice was gone. He looked around him, alarmed, to find that he was in fact standing in a circle - of pink and yellow flowers and mushrooms. He cursed, looking around again, this was a fairy circle, and he was stood in the centre of it.

A strong, icy breeze whipped through the forest, tugging at his cloak and hair before settling again. Janus needed to get out of this circle before… but he couldnt’ seem to move his damn feet.

“What a surprise!” Someone said behind him, the voice sounded eerily similar to the one that had been speaking in his head, “Why, I haven’t had a visitor in years, welcome to my circle, little one.”

“Let me g-” Janus hissed, turning around only for his jaw to drop, the word he was speaking being cut off halfway through.

Standing mere inches behind him was a person who could only possibly be fae. They smiled at him, the look on their face was something that might have been inviting, possibly even warm, if he took it at face value.

Instead, he saw the undertones, something unnerving, and almost sinister.

“Won’t you rest, little one, you’ve had such a long journey,” They said, cupping his face with their hand, he could already feel himself sinking to the ground, compelled by the siren-like melody of their words, “Yes that’s right, just rest, and tell me, what is your name, little one?”

Janus opened his mouth to reply, to answer, despite every part of him screaming no, to stay awake, to keep his name locked close to his chest. As his vision went black, he knew he wasn’t lucky enough to be so strong-willed.

—-

Running.

He was running.

Where to? He didn’t know, where from? He shuddered to think.

His legs burned, the muscles screaming at him to stop, to rest, take a break, his mind whispered. He couldn’t take a break, if he stopped they would catch him and bring him back. His lungs burned too, every breath feeling like sandpaper in his throat, he kept going despite, kept pushing as he flew through the forest, the trees and the grass and plants barely able to hold him back for a second.

It wasn’t the same forest he had been in all those years ago when he’d been escaping something that felt so far away from him now. So inconsequential and yet still able to shoot another bolt of adrenaline down his spine. He kept running.

No, this wasn’t the same forest. This one was luscious, almost too saturated - enough to hurt Janus’ eyes if he looked close for too long. This forest was filled with critters he didn’t know how to name, that he’d never seen before. It was filled with floating orbs of light that kept his path glowing ahead of him even as night began to fall.

Janus ran until he crashed into something solid. His eyes were starting to blur from exhaustion at that point, and when he hit… whatever he had run into… his legs buckled and he simply sank to the floor, trying to pull air into his lungs. He didn’t know how far he had gotten, he only remembered the last stretch of the journey. But he felt like he had been running for hours.

Someone was speaking, and Janus felt a dull stab of panic in his chest, someone was here, would they take him back? Had they come for him?

He tried to push himself up so he could run again but found he could barely even push himself up from the ground. When his arms gave out and he collapsed again, he was caught by an arm, a strong, warm arm, that pulled him into some kind of hold. His mind was too hazy and tired to really register what was happening as he was lifted into the air and carried away.

—-

“What the fuck is that.”

“A mortal!” Roman said, “I think.”

“You think?” Virgil hissed, pacing, “You just- You just brought in what you think is a mortal? To our house?”

“It ran into me!” Roman protested, “And then collapsed - and it looked so scared, I couldn’t just - leave it, Virge, you know that.”

“Well what are we supposed to do with it now?” Virgil said, gesturing widely to the mortal who lay sleeping in their shared bed. He wasn’t in the best shape, not by a long way. He was scrawny, with barely any meat on his bones. He wore clothes that covered his arms and legs, though they were ripped in places and too big. Knotted, messy blonde hair covered their still tense face.

Roman took a deep breath, “I supposed we… look after it?”

“You’re serious?” Virgil said, groaning, “Why don’t we just drop it outside of the nearest fairy circle back into the mortal world?”

“Virge,” Roman said sternly, “First off, I think it’s a he? We’ll have to ask when it- he- wakes up, second, we don’t know where he came from, or how long he’s been here - we can’t just drop him off in the mortal world! He might be centuries and miles away from when he came in!”

“So?” Virgil said, crossing his arms, “Since when was that our problem?”

“Shush,” Roman hissed, raising a hand, “I think he’s waking up!”

“Ro- what-” Virgil hissed back as Roman rushed over to the bed, watching the mortal intently as he slowly blinked open his eyes. There was a moment of silence - so much so that even the room seemed to be holding it’s breath - before the human finally noticed Roman.

And Virgil felt such a strong bolt of fear surge through the room that he almost doubled over - a hand to his chest. The human scrambled from the bed, backing into the corner of the room on shaky legs and putting as much distance between himself and Roman as he could.

Roman went to step closer, before Virgil intervened, grabbing the back of Roman’s blouse and dragging him back a few steps all while breathing heavily.

Being able to feel other being’s fear was a useful power, but when it was so strong that it almost hurt it made Virgil wish he could turn it off.

Virgil wondered what had happened to this human to make him so scared.

“He’s terrified,” Virgil whispered to Roman, before letting him go.

“Of what?” Roman asked, eyes wide.

“You, I think,” Virgil said, “Maybe me too, not sure.”

“Stay away-” The human said raising a hand when Roman turned back to look at him, “What- do you want from me?”

Roman considered, for a second, before taking a deep breath, “Nothing.”

The mortal seemed shocked by that. Shocked enough to near collapse against the wall, ending up sitting on the plush carpet in the corner of the room.

“...Nothing?” He asked, voice small.

“I didn’t bring you here to take from you,” Roman told him, trying to keep his voice soft but firm, Virgil remained silent, watching the exchange over Roman’s shoulder, “I brought you here so you could rest safely, that is all.”

“You’re not… you’re not with them?” The mortal asked.

“Who’s ‘them’, sweetie?” Roman asked gently, before sharing a worried glance with Virgil.

“The ones who gave me these,” The mortal said, sounding almost sad, though Virgil could still feel the fear radiating from him. Moments later he brushed his hair from his face, holding it back so that Virgil and Roman could see the marks imprinted there.

Virgil gasped, covering his mouth with a hand. On the left side of the mortal’s face - from hairline to chin - was what looked like scales. Virgil knew better, though, the mark only looked like scales.

“Vee,” Roman whispered, “You look pale.”

“That-” Virgil started, before looking at the mortal, who shrank back under his gaze and let the hair fall back into place, once again covering the mark, “That’s a brand, Ro.”

“What?” Roman yelped, “I thought those…”

“Weren’t a thing anymore? Yeah, so did I.” Virgil said, glaring at nothing, though the mortal shrunk back just a little more - probably because of his tone.

Roman took a deep breath and nodded. “Of course, we need to… find out who did this-”

“A noble of the winter court,” Virgil answered, voice coming out a near hiss, “I recognise her mark.”

“Don’t send me back there,” The mortal spoke up, before slapping a hand over his mouth when both faeries turned to look at him, “Please.”

“No,” Roman shook his head, “I don’t think we will, right, Vee?”

“No, we won’t send you back there,” Virgil agreed, “whatever cruelty you have experienced under her will not follow you here.”

Roman hesitated, before tugging on Virgil’s sleeve to get his attention, before whispering, “You know we’ll be killed if she finds out we have him here, right?”

“You think I don’t know that?” Virgil sighed, “Buh… knowing that she had him- I can’t send him away knowing that.”

“Okay,” Roman nodded, “then we need to figure out what to do.”

“Of course,” Virgil said, looking back at the mortal, “Hey uh- is it okay with you if we ask a few questions?”

The mortal stared at him and Virgil could feel his fear strengthen the longer they looked at each other, eventually he concluded that he wasn’t going to respond.

“Do you… not want to talk to me?” Virgil asked, frowning, the human nodded slowly, “Is it because… I’m winter?”

He stared at Virgil for a long moment, before whispering, “You- feel like she did…”

“Okay, yes, probably because I’m winter, then,” Virgil mumbled, “Would you rather talk to Ro?”

Virgil gestured to their partner who waved with a smile.

“Okay,” The mortal said eventually.

“Would you like me to leave?” Virgil asked.

“Please?” the mortal responded, Virgil nodded. He patted Roman’s arm before turning and leaving the room without another world.

—

“Okay,” ‘Ro’ said as soon as the other one left the room. All Janus’ attention was suddenly on the faerie in front of him. He was tall, with golden skin and hair like a bright bonfire. His eyes were like pools of liquid silver - not even mentioning the tawny wings on his back, similarly coloured feathers in place of ears too. He was… beautiful, and had a very different presence than the other faerie he was with, and… her.

Janus tried to take a few breaths, he needed to answer the faerie’s questions if he wanted to get through this alive - and he had to answer them correctly if he wanted to get out of this without being hurt.

“First,” He said, “Are you a uh- I don’t know mortal gender terms-?”

“A man,” Janus answered the question he was pretty sure Ro was asking, before continuing when the faerie tilted his head, blinking in confusion, “um, I use ‘he/him’ pronouns?”

“Wonderful, that’s what we assumed,” Ro nodded, Janus relaxed just a little, okay, that was the right answer then, “Now, do you have something you’d like to go by? Something we can call you?”

Janus tensed, he knew the question would come up, but that didn’t mean he liked it any more. Giving his name to a faerie was a mistake he’d made once, and he knew that as soon as he did it was all over. Ro would be able to control him, it would be just like before all over again. Of course, that was why they hadn’t hurt him yet - it all made sense, how nice they had been, they needed his name to use him.

He must have hesitated for too long, though, because Ro frowned, “Just a nickname, sweetheart, I’m not asking for your true name.”

“You’re… not?” Janus asked hesitantly, he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to ask questions in return, but… he needed to know.

“I’m not,” Ro nodded, folding down to sit cross-legged on the plush carpet across the room from him, “Your true name is to be freely given to those you trust, and I know you don’t trust me yet.”

Janus didn’t say anything to that for a moment, he didn’t acknowledge that second statement at all, though he was sure Ro knew it was true, “...Deceit - you can call me, Deceit, or Dee if you want.”

“Okay Deceit,” Ro said, smiling, and oh how charming was that, “You can call me Ro, or Prince, my partner is Vee, or Anxiety, if you prefer a more formal nickname.”

Janus nodded, Prince and Anxiety, he could remember that.

“Next question, how… old are you?” Prince asked, “No- that’s a useless question the numbers mortals use mean nothing to me, um, are you of maturity?”

“What uh- what do you mean?” Janus asked, frowning in confusion.

Prince sighed, “Are you - an adult? Or a youngling?”

“Oh,” Janus said, “An adult, I um - when I was - taken - I was 24 but… I don’t know how long it’s been.”

“That’s okay.” Prince nodded, “And good to know, next question, what’s your favourite colour?”

…Out of all the questions Prince had asked him so far, this was the one that surprised him the most. Why on earth would the faeries want to know what colours he enjoyed? Surely that information was useless?

“Yellow,” Deceit answered truthfully - he had learned quickly that lying to a faerie was one of the biggest mistakes a mortal could make, “And, um, I like black too.”

“Brillant,” Prince grinned, revealing teeth slightly sharper than average, “I’m partial to a nice red, myself, preferably crimson but I do like a lovely scarlette as well - Anxiety tends to be more drawn to purples, what’s your favourite animal?”

“...snakes?” Janus said slowly, his favourite animal was something he’d never particularly had to think about - especially not recently.

Prince nodded, seeming… thoughtful. About what, Janus had no clue, but he seemed to be lost in whatever thoughts he was having. Eventually, he went to say something else before cutting himself off with a displeased hum and a frown.

“Is everything… okay?” Janus asked, trying to work out what was going on. Prince had been all smiles almost the entire time since Anxiety had left, the abrupt change had his guard straight back up.

Prince took a deep breath, the wings on his back shuddering and stretching out a little with it, Janus couldn’t help the way the feathers caught his eye - they looked incredibly soft.

“She probably gave you faerie food, right?” Prince asked, Janus paled as hazy memories flooded his mind, a hunger that turned to sharp pain that turned to a hollow emptiness that had almost killed him. Right at the beginning before he lost whatever fight he had then he’d resisted, getting up after every kick or burn, She’d punish him every time he refused to eat, and eventually - when he’d been too weak from hunger and pain to even move - he’d given in and taken the apple she’d offered him.

He still remembered how she had laughed when he’d bitten into it. He could almost hear it now, crisp as footsteps in snow but crackling like lightning.

Janus couldn’t say anything around the lump in his throat those memories brought with them, instead he simply nodded sadly. Prince frowned in sympathy, his hand twitching as though he wanted to reach for Janus, though he didn’t move closer.

“And you know what that means?”

Sucking in a deep breath, Janus recited what had been drilled into him a thousand times, “That I cannot leave this realm, I can never return home and that I belong now to the fae and the faerie realm.”

Prince sighed again, seeming sad, “You can leave.”

“What?” Janus asked, eyes wide.

“Theoretically, you’re not actually bound to this land, but… all it means is that mortal food won’t satisfy you anymore. You don’t have to stay here, but you do need faerie food, so… it’s an effective way to keep mortal trapped.”

Janus couldn’t do much but nod. He never knew that, but if he couldn’t survive without food from Faerie was there really point in escaping anyway?

“Was there anything in particular you liked?” Prince asked sadly, as if he actually cared that Janus was stuck here, which Janus couldn’t fathom being true, he knew faeries couldn’t lie, but he was sure they could fake emotions. Panic seeped in as he realised he didnt have an answer. The food she gave him was good, but he always felt dirty eating it, it always made him guilty and sick. He was never able to really enjoy any of it.

“I don’t…” Janus started, trailing off, “I don’t know… I was never allowed to…”

Prince raised a hand to cut him off and Janus shrank back into the corner just a little, pulling his knees up closer to his chest, Prince sighed, “It’s okay, we can try things and figure it out, are you alright?”

Janus nodded, trying to relax just a little in his corner.

“I will warn you now, neither I nor my partner know much about mortals, but we will- actually,” Prince paused, considering for a second, “Do you know about promises?”

“Fae promises?” Janus asked, Prince nodded, “Just that they’re binding- like deals- she tried to make me make them.”

“Did you?”

“No,” Janus said. Prince seemed to fully droop in relief.

“I want to make a promise to you,” Prince said, slowly, clearly watching for Janus’ reaction, he just stayed still, staring right back, “I promise that I will not intentionally cause you harm, physically or emotionally, in any way. I promise to protect you to the best of my ability against anything or anyone who threatens you, and- I swear that you will be safe here, in my home, for as long as you wish to remain.”

Janus gasped as the feeling of magic washed over him, though it felt nothing like the magic he’d experienced before. This magic felt like a summer shower, warm and light. It wrapped around him, feeling almost comforting in it’s presence. When the sensation died down Janus thought he could smell woodsmoke.

“How do you know I’m worth such a promise?” Janus asked quietly, unable to keep the astounded look off of his face. Roman had promised not to hurt him, and he knew how promises worked, did that mean he was safe? From Roman, at least, Anxiety hadn’t made such a promise.

“Because you have been hurt,” Roman said, “By one of my own kind, you have suffered and you are scared and you deserve to be safe, you should be allowed to heal, besides, you are a guest in my house, it would be horrifically rude if I let something bad happen to you.”

Roman’s wings flared out as he spoke, as though him being rude is the worst possible offence he could commit. Janus couldn’t help but smile, wondering if maybe this wasn’t going to end quite as horribly as he may have expected. Roman stood up, slowly taking a step closer to Janus, and when he didn’t flinch back he took another. Janus frowned when Roman extended a hand to him, but eventually reached up and took it, telling himself again that Prince had promised not to hurt him.

With a gentle tug Janus was hoisted to his feet, though almost immediately he tripped - his legs still jelly-like and shaking from all the running. Instead of falling to the ground, though, Janus tripped forward into Roman’s chest. He yelped and pushed himself away as quickly as he could without falling straight to the ground. Prince was still holding his hand - and now was also stabalising him with a hand on his shoulder - and even despite what had just happened, the faerie was still smiling. He actually looked a little like he was trying not to laugh.

“Lets get you somewhere you can rest, shall we?” Prince said, still actively trying not to chuckle as Janus frowned at him, “And we’ll get you some food while you do.”

“Okay,” Janus nodded eventually, feeling a yawn bubble up inside of him and repressing it as much as he could. He had become a master of hiding when he was tired, fatigue was never taken kindly. But Prince was telling him to rest, so maybe he could lie down for a short while…

The small part of the house Janus got to see as they travelled from the bedroom he had woken in to a second bedroom was immense. The ceilings were tall and vaulted, decorated with patterns and murals that looked hand-painted. The windows that adorned the hallway were open wide, letting in a cool, refreshing breeze scented with summer flowers while deep, floor length, maroon curtains swayed in the wind. The decor was a mix of reds and purples, with accents of silver and gold. Despite the size of the space, it almost felt… cozy. The carpet beneath their feet was clean but well trod, like this area of the house was frequented often.

In comparison, the room he was led to was plain and felt spacious in a way that made Janus feel a little uncomfortable. Paranoia poking at the edges of his mind as he glanced around. There were a few doors, one that he could see lead to a balcony and the other that they’d come through, as well as two more that lead who knows where.

The room was decorated to the bare minimum, a plain white bedspread with a few decorative red cushions. The walls were still adorned with silver and gold, but the patterns seemed more simple and muted in here than they were outside. Prince lead him to the bed - where he found the sheets were wonderfully soft and felt lovely against his skin - and told him to rest.

So rest he did, once Prince had left the room and the door clicked shut - he listened for a long moment and was surprised to hear no lock, he really wasn’t trapped here - Janus finally laid down, clutching one of the decorative pillows to his chest as he tried to fall back to sleep.

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General tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @reptilianrapscallion420 @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)

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#sanders sides #roman sanders #virgil sanders #janus sanders #anaroceit #anaroceitweek2023 #sanders sides fanfiction #fanfic

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prince-rowan-of-the-forest · 1 year ago

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We'll Save You (2/4)

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Janus cooks with Virgil, it goes... not great, at least not for the bread.

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| <- Previous Chapter | Next Chapter -> |

TWs: implied/referenced past abuse, panic attack, self deprication

Word Count: 2523

Notes:

Chapter 2 of this! Day 3 of @anaroceitweek, I'm in a huge rush this is barely edited I might come back and fix it up later aaaaaa-

This ones a little shorter, and I unfortunately I won't be able to write the next two chapters in time for their days of the week, but I will finish this fic!! My parents just planned a really inconveniently timed holiday. I hope you enjoy!

Also! This fic is linked to ao3 now! Just click on the title :)

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Janus woke up peacefully for the first time… ever.

There were warm sunbeams shining across the bed in which he woke and a light, comfortable breeze drifting across his face. The plain sheets were messy now - he must’ve tossed and turned a bit in the night - and the pillow he had gone to sleep holding was now on the floor. But regardless, Janus somehow found himself feeling well rested and… content.

He hadn’t remembered where he was at first, looking around in panic thinking he’d fallen asleep in one of The Lady’s chambers he was supposed to be cleaning, but as his panic subsided everything started coming back to him. He should be safe here,

Somehow knowing that didn’t stop him from flinching when someone knocked on the door.

“You look… better,” Anxiety said, stepping into the room when Janus hesitantly called a ‘come in’. He tensed, just a little. Anxiety’s aura was oppressive, almost heavy, to the point where even Janus - a mortal with no magical powers - could feel it. It seemed to brush just the edges of his mind, as if looking for a way into his thoughts, and it felt so familiar - so much like Hers - that he couldn’t help but pale as they stepped closer.

“I brought you food,” Anxiety said when Janus didn’t speak, “Ro told me everything from yesterday, and for what it’s worth I hate what you’ve been through. It shouldn’t have happened.”

“What do you care?” Janus asked, frowning but not taking his eyes off of Anxiety for a second, “You’re like her.”

“I know our auras are similar,” Anxiety said, a little sadly, “But I assure you that I’m nothing like her.”

The way the words seemed to hiss from Anxiety’s mouth jollted Janus into some kind of sense - she had never hissed like that, her voice was always smooth and sickly sweet, even when she was angry. And Anxiety was fae, he couldn’t have said that if it wasn’t true.

“We’re going to protect you here,” Anxiety said, “Both me and Ro, but for us to do that… you need to trust us.”

“I can’t,” Janus admitted, looking up at Anxiety, his presence was still unsettling and nervewracking, it still felt like her even if he knew they weren’t the same.

“That’s okay,” Anxiety sighed, perhaps a little frustrated, but nothing more, “I will leave this here, you’re welcome to explore the house, if you want to.”

“...okay,” Janus nodded. Anxiety nodded back, placing the tray of food they held down on a small side table before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. Janus waited a few minutes before pulling himself up. Carefully testing his legs and finding that - while they still burned from overuse - they didn’t buckle like before. He took a few experimental steps and found that aside from his straining muscles he felt… fine.

It was strange, it had been a long time since he’d woken up without fresh bruises and cuts causing him pain.

Grabbing the tray - which seemed to be made of pure silver, Janus felt almost dirty touching it with his bare hands - he made his way over to a chair and table in the corner of the room and sat down. For a long while he simply stared at the meal in front of him. A simple breakfast of what looked to be typically mortal foods - two fried eggs, a strip of bacon and a piece of toasted bread - along with a glass of what smelled like some kind of fruit juice. While the food may look mortal enough, Janus could still pinpoint the slight sheen that came with faerie food. He remembered then what Prince had said yesterday. He’d need faerie food to be sustained, he couldn’t live on mortal food anymore.

Eventually, after staring for long enough that the food probably started to go cold, Janus relented and picked up the cutlery that also sat on the tray and began to eat. He couldn’t help but make a noise in delight - this was potentially the best food he’d had… ever.

He ate slowly, trying to savour every bite of food he took. Still not quite reassured that he would get more, and it was delicious, much better than anything he had ever had back before, and definitely better than the leftovers and scraps he was rarely fed after that apple back with Her.

When he was finished he left the tray on the table and got up to look around the room he had been left in. Anxiety had told him that he could explore, and maybe he would… later, he wasn’t prepared to leave the safety of this room just yet.

It must have been a few hours later when someone returned, this time it was someone Janus didn’t recognise, who didn’t speak to him as they took the tray he had left from breakfast and left another in it’s place - this one housing what looked to be a sandwich - before hurrying out of the room again.

Three days passed until Janus finally got bored enough that he would rather risk leaving his room than staying. The view from the balcony was lovely, but there was only so much admiring he could possibly do. Even the worry that he might go somewhere he wasn’t supposed to was dampened with his need to find something to do.

From the hallway outside of his door, Janus chose a random direction and began walking. Attempting to keep track of turns he took in his head so that he’d be able to find his way back to his room once he was done.

On his way he passed many rooms, some bedrooms that looked similarly to his, but as he turned into what must have been a new wing of the house he started seeing new places - a cozy looking sitting room, a larger study…

As he got to the centre of the house, he found that the ceiling opened up into a huge open courtyard walled in on each side. Looking down he discovered that he was on the second floor and below him seemed to be an exotic garden. A large tree with drooping leaves and branches in the centre surrounded by all manner of plants and flowers. Okay, Janus nodded to himself, he needed to find a way downstairs.

Fortunately, the stairs didn’t prove too difficult to locate and quickly enough Janus found himself walking through the courtyard, admiring the flowers that came in more colours than Janus knew existed, some of which shimmered in the sunlight, others which seemed to turn towards him as he made his way through. He didn’t touch anything, well aware that it was all likely magical, but that didn’t stop him from admiring the plants until he continued on his exploration.

He found an extravagantly decorated ballroom - even more so than the rest of this already extravagant house - which backed onto what seemed to be extensive gardens from what Janus could see from inside. He found what seemed to be a formal dining room, a second study, another living room and a library big enough to make Janus feel tiny in comparison - he made a mental note. He’d have to go back there later, if he really as allowed to stay.

Eventually he came across a slightly duller part of the house that seemed to be a little more populated with people who Janus hadn’t seen before. They seemed to be working here, with laundry or food or other cleaning - servants. Janus was worried for a moment that these people were stuck here like he used to be, but after overhearing a conversation about weekend plans - the maid was going home for the weekend to see her family - he was reassured that they at the very least weren’t forced to stay here.

Another thing Janus found interesting to note was that they all seemed to ignore him in his entirety.

How odd.

In the end, he found his way to the kitchen, poking his head through the door as he had every other room he passed in the house. Only this time when he looked inside he saw someone he recognised.

What was Anxiety doing in the kitchen? Janus thought. From what he had gathered, they and Prince seemed to be in charge around here, and they had plenty of servants. It was never the master of the house’ job to cook, why, if She had ever been seen in the kitchen she would have thrown a fit!

He must have looked for just a second too long, because despite having his back turned, Anxiety seemed to notice him.

“Hello Deceit,” Anxiety said, without turning around. They seemed to be focused on what they were doing, “Finally ventured out of your room I see?”

Janus stood up straighter, taking a deep breath and attempting to look a lot more confident than he felt. Anxiety still worried him, but seeing him every morning - he’d made a point to be the one bringing Janus breakfast the past few days, Prince always brought dinner - had gotten him a little more used to the aura, “I decided to explore a little.”

“Do you like the house?” Anxiety asked, “Prince built it.”

“Really?” Janus said, tentatively stepping inside and closing the door, “It’s a very nice house.”

“I’m glad you enjoy it,” Anxiety nodded, finally turning around, their hands were covered in what looked like dough, “Would you like to help me?”

Janus’ eyes narrowed, immediately suspicious, “What are you doing?”

Anxiety chuckled at Janus’ expression, “Just making bread rolls, nothing nefarious.”

“Okay,” Janus said, nodding and slowly making his way over. Helping Anxiety cook wasn’t… the worst thing, right? He’d cooked before, never with Her - he wasn’t good enough for that - but… before, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“That’s fine,” Anxiety waved him off, before stepping to the side to give Janus some space to stand, “Here uh- you can just copy what I’m doing? We’re just kneading the dough right now.”

The next few minutes were spent kneading dough in silence. It took Janus a moment to get the hang of, but by the time Anxiety said they were ready to be split into smaller dough balls he had basically gotten the hang of it.

It was interesting, he still hadn’t quite figured out why Anxiety was doing the cooking, but he looked happy doing it. His dark eyes sparkling with his small smile. This was really the first time Janus took a few seconds to properly taking in their appearance, most mornings he was half asleep when Anxiety came in. His skin was a very pale blue - nearly white, like ice. His eyes were almost black with flecks of silver and his hair was tied back with a blue ribbon, but from what Janus could see it looked just like… a black void. There were no shadows, no highlights, though he could see a few strands on the edges, but the mass of hair itself seemed to move and combine to make an empty void that hurt Janus’ head to look at for too long.

And he was tall, taller than Janus by far, even though Janus was fairly tall by mortal standards.

Distracted, Janus didn’t notice his hand slipping on the dough, as he went to pass it over. He yelped when he noticed, and it seemed to fall to the floor in slow motion as Janus reached to grab it, only just missing it by a hair. His eyes widened as he stared at the pile of smushed dough on the floor, eyes widening in panic. What would happen now- surely Anxiety would be mad that he dropped it? And he’d made a mess - there were always punishments for making messes, he stepped back, an apology already forming in his throat though he found it was unable to get much further.

Anxiety’s face seemed to pinch with what looked almost like pain, before stepping over the ruined dough to get closer to Janus, crouching a little so that they were eye-level, “Deceit, hon, I need you to breathe, okay?”

Breathe? He was breathing, breathing was a totally normal thing to be doing! Regardless he tried to pull in a breath, because refusing a direct order would get him in far worse trouble, and found that… oh- he actually hadn’t been breathing.

“That’s it,” Anxiety said, voice almost… soft, “In and out, you can copy me if you need to.”

Janus tried to nod, taking breaths and trying to match with Anxiety’s rythem- which Janus noticed had been slightly exaggerated.

“May I touch you?” Anxiety asked once Janus’ breaths started to even out a little more. The request felt odd, no-one had ever asked before touching him before, “I want to help you, when Prince gets like this he likes being held,”

…Held? Janus thought, he didn’t really know if that would help, but if Anxiety thought it would help - he nodded slowly.

Slowly, Anxiety stepped forward, reaching out and pulling him into a loose embrace. At first Janus panicked, just a little, at the idea of being trapped, before Anxiety gently squeezed his shoulders and he realised suddenly that this was… safe. Anxiety wasn’t trying to trap or hurt him, this was meant to just be… nice.

Standing there limp against Anxiety’s chest felt awkward, just a little, so he turned slightly and tried to mirror the same pose - wrapping his own arms around Anxiety in return.

“Better?” Anxiety asked eventually, letting him go just slightly but still keeping him close enough to pull back in. Janus really felt like something had clicked in his head during that experience, because somehow… he wasn’t scared at all anymore.

“I… think so,” Janus said, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Anxiety said with a sigh, stepping back properly, “There will just be half as many rolls, it isn’t the end of the world, would you like to stay and help finish them off?”

Janus took a deep breath and shook his head. He’d quite like to go back to his room, actually, and he didn’t want to mess up any more of Anxiety’s food. He watched Anxiety carefully, as he did so, but he made no move to reprimand Janus for refusing as he had half-expected.

“Okay,” Anxiety said, nodding, “I’ll bring you one when they’re done, oh, and Deceit?”

“Yes?” Janus asked, looking back up, he had almost gone to walk away, not realising the conversation wasn’t over.

“I promise never to intentionally cause you harm of any kid,” Anxiety said, “And I promise you will always be protected in my presence and our house.”

Oh, Janus thought as a similar wave of magic washed over him to when Prince made an almost identical promise, though Anxiety’s magic was a refreshing cold, like the first snowflakes on skin.

“I- appreciate that,” Janus said eventually when he had recovered. Anxiety just nodded with a knowing smile before going back to his baking. Leaving Janus to stare in surprise for a long moment before turning and leaving the kitchen.

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