#i see the bow and arrow behind your back gramps. PUT IT DOWN

[ratatatastic]

happy george asking the real hard hitting questions that is so like you and eetu are super close and also have wonderful line chemistry together so how do you feel that a new guy is gonna be put on your wing? to me whos gonna hunt him for sport when i get the chance

Training Camp 24 | 9.24.24 (x)

[furibotgd]

Fight of the Phantoms

Indigo still wasn't sure how he'd let Indi talk him into this. It was practically the middle of the night, and they were sneaking off into the Haligan woods to spar. Well, technically not sneaking per se, as Indigo had intentionally not gone out during the day so he could say he had wanted to be out one evening... but still.

Indi had challenged him.

"I mean you're like... four hundred years old and in jail, how well can you fight?" His doppelganger had stated.

"I can fight just fine. I just haven't for a couple months."

"Alright then, cuz, prove it!"

And so they made a bet. To go all out.

Indigo was already regretting this. He'd even grabbed his old fireproof armor, though Indi had yet to see him wear it.

"C'mon, gramps, I wanna see your style." Indi stated, putting on his own helmet. The cords that connected to his suit lit up, and a cape appeared seemingly from nowhere. He began stretching dramatically.

Indigo sighed and put on his own armor, remembering how safe it made him feel to hide himself from everything except his family. That made him feel... mysterious.

Indi watched as he finished it with his cape, and the Indigo Phantom was all dressed up for the first time in months. "Well, how do I look?" He asked.

Indi put a hand to his chin in thought, circling his twin.

"I can see what you meant by we have the same style. But what's with the excessively long cape? Doesn't that get caught on things?" He grabbed the edge of the purple colored scaled cape. "Is this... made of dragons?"

"No, of course not! Have you not payed attention to who I am?" Indigo huffed. "It's made of SHED scales. Dragons shed a lot, especially in summer. I used my own fire and magic to melt them down and make armor and the cape out of them. It took decades to make it work. And also, I can glide with this cape."

Indi sniggered. "Heh, imagine having to have fireproof clothes... but for the opposite problem most people have. You'd burn your own clothes. That's funny."

"I beg to differ, it's the opposite of hysterical. I've had to live like this for literally centuries." Indigo sighed. "Alright, let's get this sparring match over with."

"Are you eager to get back to your stone cell, old guy?" Indi taunted lightly, pulling out his energy-based sword. "C'mon, let's do this. Bring it on, Indigo Phantom."

Indigo tightened his gloved hands into fists and pulled out a sword of pure flame. Ever since Dixie had been by a couple weeks ago... well, he'd been aching to fight something. May as well be another version of himself. "Alright, you go first."

Indi grinned under his mask and ran at Indigo, surprisingly fast for all the extra metal armor. Evidently it was built for that. Indigo watched his opponent as he always did before attacking, dodging and weaving around Indi's attacks.

He already guessed they'd be evenly matched, with only slight differences in fighting style and experiences to differentiate them.

Indigo at least had a home advantage in terrain. He'd fought under many different conditions, snow included.

Indi was already looking annoyed with Indigo's dodging. "Hey, c'mon, are we gonna fight or are you gonna be slippery all day?" He huffed, backing up a bit.

"I tend to analyze how my opponent fights first." Indigo told him. "You rely on speed and dexterity much like I do."

"Yeah, yeah, less talk, more attack. Come on, ever since I saw those flames I've wanted to see what you can do." He grinned. "Especially after what you showed miss Chief. Do a whip or something."

Indigo chuckled. "We shall see. I've had more experience than you, cousin."

Indi growled and ran at him again, slicing for where he thought perhaps Indigo would dodge to, but his older counterpart was yet sneakier than he anticipated. Indigo went down on one leg, spun, and managed to sweep Indi's feet from under him. Using this, he stood again and spun the rest of the way around in one motion, and had a flaming sword inches from the neck part of the Phantom Pirate's armor.

"How's that for a geezer?" He asked, holding the sword for a only a second more and then letting Indi get up.

"No fair, you haven't even attacked, you just tripped me." Indi huffed again. "All's fair in a fight, I suppose, but still. Actually fight me."

"You don't want me to." Phantom told him.

"Yes, I do. That was literally the point. Go all out, or go back to your cell, zombie." Indi stated firmly, summoning his weapon back to his suit and pulling it out again.

Indigo shrugged and took a step back, sliding into a ready position. "If you insist."

He hadn't channelled his whole fighting ability for a while, but he took a deep breath and seemed to get serious at last.

He was very used to toying with those he didn't fully consider a threat. Like Farris, for one. As guilty as he felt about the past, those fights... had been invigorating.

He enjoyed fights, wit to wit.

He waited again, watching Indi, who finally grew impatient and ran at him again with a yell.

Indigo pulled out a sword and locked it with Indi's, resulting in quite the clash of energies. There was a harsh zap as the two swords met.

Indigo grinned.

Indi only has one sword.

Indigo's pupils had thinned to slits, he was finally invested in the fight. He grinned and summoned a second sword, swinging for Indi's head, shooting a few fireblasts.

The Phantom Pirate was forced to back off, and found himself on the defensive as his older counterpart dodged and attacked with a speed he hadn't even thought possible from the old zombie.

They were locked in an old fashioned sword fight, one sword vs two, and Indi ended up having to make another choice.

He did have one advantage.

Purple energy wings sprouted from his back and he lifted off rather suddenly, now flying a bit above Indigo. "Hey cuz, you forgot I can fly!" He laughed, swooping in repeatedly like a diving falcon, aiming his sword at Indigo, even considering using his energy bow.

The fight had shifted, as one Phantom was grounded on his own, and the other had wings.

Indigo was on the defensive now, dodging and blocking the energy sword and the occasional boot aimed at his head, but he was still watching.

Always thinking and analyzing.

Indi was using the same swooping pattern over and over, only in different directions, sometimes changing up his pattern to swoop past Indigo's back or front cheekily.

He usually attack swooped just above Indigo's head, aiming his sword for something he could reach.

After a dozen or so of these, Indigo sommoned a very sudden flame whip, using it as a lasso, and dragged Indi down after it caught his foot.

Indi let out a startled yelp as Indigo yanked him back with the whip, making him crash into the snow backwards. He hadn't expected that.

As he tried to get airborn again, Indigo shot a fireblast into one of the wings, making it disappear with a flicker.

Indi managed to get to his feet, startled at now being grounded again. He watched as Indigo backed off a few steps, clearly pleased with the outcome.

Indi was very unpleased. He had to stop getting cocky, evidently. Indigo, despite age and being rusty, was far more cunning and quick thinking, besides having a lot of skill with his flames.

The two stared each other down for a good minute, each waiting for the other to make a move.

Indi was uncertain, but he wanted to see this through. He wanted to see how powerful his counterpart was, and see if he was stronger. He resummoned his sword again, letting the one functioning wing vanish for now.

Indigo came at him faster than he expected once again, but this time without a sword. Indi slashed out, wondering what on earth the fire zombie was going to pull out this time, and was startled when Indigo grabbed his sword in his hands in such a way that it didnt slice him. He suddenly had a leg to his groin, which gave Indigo the opportunity to take his sword from him.

Indi hissed in pain, doubling over. "Hey, ouch! C'mon, man! What was that for? unlike you, I ain't eighty percent dead!" He clutched the new painful area, thankful Indigo couldn't hit harder, since the armor that protected that area was relatively tough.

Indigo simply chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure that hurt. Had a similar thing done to me once... recently." He twirled the energy sword in one hand confidently.

"Hey, but you forgot something." Indi snickered.

Indigo tilted his head to one side like a curious hatchling. "Did I?" Before Indi could respond that he can summon his energy sword back, he suddenly had it thrown at him full speed.

He ducked instinctively as his own sword shot over his head and into the tree behind him, but before he could summon it he got a flaming punch to the face.

He skidded back a bit and looked up at Indigo, who'd paused for just a second as if to give Indi a chance to recover.

It only insulted him a little. "Stop toying with me, brother!" He grinned, making his weapon come back in the form of a bow. He shot an energy arrow at Indigo with a grin.

Indigo caught it, which startled him, and then the older Phantom lit ablaze with a roar. It was actually kind of cool. And scary. "Whatever you say, space boy!" Indigo growled. He ran for Indi once again, trailing flame, and Indi pulled out a longer weapon, one with two blades on each side and the handle in the middle, and started trying to block Indigo's attacks.

Indigo switched seamlessly between using flame swords to hit back against the energy weapon and throwing flame punches, slowly driving Indi back.

Indi even used his wing as an extra shield, trying to hold the old man back. Indigo was way stronger than he'd bargained for, but even then, he didn't have as many attacks.

He decided to go his own all out.

Indi's suit went from lightly glowing purple to almost pulsing with it, as he activated his own secret weapon. Energy claws shot out of his gauntlets, and he began slashing back at Indigo's swords and punches.

The two locked fists for a moment, hearts racing, the snow bathed in purple light, steam hissing up from the ground with every step the Demon of the South took.

Indi, filled with purple energy, managed to get a good grip on Indigo's hands and threw him to the side, pure strength flowing through him.

He'd never been in a fight this intense, even against most of the space pirates he was rivals with. This felt wild.

Indigo rolled gracefully with the throw, getting up again and running at Indi. Neither of them was going to let up, it seemed.

Indi had enhanced strength due to his chemical poisoned body, Indigo would heal from wounds and was filled with neverending flames. Both were cunning fighters, having spent entire lifetimes fighting, running, learning. One a life of piracy, the other a vigilante.

They'd already been at it a while.

Indi threw Indigo hard into a tree, which he expected to end it. He heard a crunch of bones and stood there panting a second, proud of himself. Indigo was taking longer to get up.

There was a long pause.

"Looks like I win, cuz! You put up a good fight though!"

Indigo barely heard him. His ears were ringing, and he could feel his spine heal, crunching back into place.

He stood up slowly, looking over at his doppleganger.

Neither seemed entirely sure if the spar was over, or who won. They stared for a long moment.

Indigo sighed and let himself relax at last stretching and groaning from some slight soreness. "I say we call it a draw." He told Indi. He looked over at the other with a challenging stare, as if warning him that he was done. No more.

Indi sighed and took off his helmet, face still glowing a bit of a freakish purple underneath. It seemed to be going away though. "Sure. But I'd love a rematch some time."

"Whatever." Indigo shrugged, taking off his mask. The cold night air was actually kind of nice on his face. He chuckled. "That felt pretty awesome. I haven't gotten to let loose in so long. I wish you could stay here." He murmured.

Indi frowned. "Yeah, I plan on staying a while, but not forever. Gotta get back to my own universe eventually. Who knows, maybe I'll visit. After all, doesn't seem like you're going anywhere."

Indigo smiled at him. "Nah, I'll be here a while. Feel free to drop in, Indi. It's nice to have a brother."

The Phantom Pirate grinned wildly, walking up and reaching out a hand. "Good fight, cousin Phantom." He said easily. "You fight good for someone so old."

"Experienced." Indigo told him, holding up a finger. "I prefer to think of it as a forced extended lesson in living. And it just gives me more experience."

"You're just trying to avoid the word ancient." Indi laughed cheekily.

Indigo frowned, looking a little downcast. "Yeah. I don't always like thinking about how long I've been under this undead curse." He murmured. "It's torture, you know."

Indi winced. "Oh. Uh... sorry."

There was a momentary awkward pause. Indi coughed. "So... drinks? Your treat?"

"I can't get drunk." Indigo told him flatly. "But sure, why not?"

"Seriously?" Indi laughed, coughing slightly. "You can't- you can't get drunk??"

"Nope. Weird body." Indigo told him. "Doesn't really affect me. Trust me, I've tried. I'm just... weird."

Indi chuckled and slapped his counterpart on the shoulder. "Alright Cuz, let's see just how much it takes to get you sloshed. My treat."

"Do you have... money?" Indigo asked, eyebrow raised.

"Credit and coins!" Indi laughed. "Let's get out of this armor though. Don't want people freaking out."

The two laughed and left their stuff with the Furies again before wandering into town for some drinks at the tavern, the sun rising above the sea.

[lilacmoon83]

Once Upon a Snowing

AN: A Guest asked for a one-shot of Emma spending the day with just Henry and baby Neal. So here you go! Hope I do it justice for you. This is post 6x17 and we'll pretend at the moment there's no imminent threats in town. Please consider leaving a review. Feedback is always much appreciated. Have a prompt? PM me or leave it in a review!

Once Upon a Snowing

Prized Possession

Emma smiled in amusement, as she watched her mother fuss over her baby brother. Her father was looking on with much the same look as she was wearing. "There should be plenty of bottles in the fridge," Snow said, as she kissed Neal's little head. She had convinced her parents to not only go on a date night, but have an overnight at Granny's to spend some time alone together. They both instantly loved the idea, but her mother still had trouble letting go of Neal sometimes. When he was first born, Emma remembered feeling a tad bit of envy for her baby brother, but seeing her parents dote on her baby brother only made her smile now. It would probably always make her a little sad too, but mostly happy since she knew this was how they would have been with her too. "And if you run out of diapers, there's a new package on the top shelf in the linen closet," Snow continued. "Mom...we'll be fine," Emma soothed and Snow smiled, relaxing a little and David put his arms around her. "I know...we should go. Just call if you need anything," Snow said. Emma nodded. "I will, but we'll be fine. You two need some alone time after that stupid sleeping curse, so go and be your gooey romantic selves and tell me none of the details," Emma said. David chuckled, as they were ushered out the door. "You still have an aversion to tacos?" he teased. "Haven't eaten one since. Goodbye Dad," she replied, as she closed the door on him. "Well my darling, shall we?" he asked, offering his arm. She hooked her hand on his elbow. "Lead the way, Charming," she replied, as they descended down the stairs.

~*~

"All right, baby bro. Time to have some fun," Emma said, as she held him and he patted her face with his little hand. "What do you have in mind?" Henry asked. "Did you bring the stuff I asked you to get?" Emma asked in return. Henry grinned and hurried upstairs, returning moments later with a large poster board and a kit of acrylic paints and brushes. "What are we going to do with this stuff?" Henry asked. Emma smirked at him and pointed to the fridge where a drawing Henry had done shortly after the curse had broken still hung with magnets. "I drew that like three years ago. I can't believe Grams and Gramps still have it," Henry said, slightly embarrassed by the childish drawing of his family members, but not the words he had written on it, her parents fairy tale names with Grams and Gramps written below each. And then a drawing of Emma and Henry next to them. And in the largest letters below everyone was the word Family.

At the time, this word hadn't really had much meaning for Emma. She had a family, but it hadn't truly sunken in yet. She remembered that Henry had been a bit disappointed that she had been so standoffish with her parents at first. She came to realize later that giving her up was the last thing they wanted to do. It didn't change the fact that she was alone for twenty-eight years, but it wasn't their fault. "Of course they still have it. Your Grams was just doting over it the other day, in fact. It's one of their most prized possessions so that gave me this idea," Emma said, as she laid the poster board out and set Neal beside her.

"Mom and Dad are going to have lots of pictures drawn by this little guy when he gets a bit older and if I know them, that fridge is going to be absolutely plastered with every bit of paper this one touches," Emma said.

"But they don't have anything I drew when I was little...hell, I don't even have anything. None of the foster families cared enough to keep anything I made, so it all go tossed or left behind," she said, a touch sadly. "So...we're going to all three draw something for them so they have something from both their kids and their grand kid?" Henry asked, catching on. She smiled. Smart as a whip, as usual. "That's the idea, kid," she replied. "You're gonna make Grams cry, you know that, right?" he warned. She smiled. "Probably your Gramps too," she added, as she picked up the brush and dipped it in purple paint. Henry took his brush and dipped it in the green. "Happy painting, kid," she said.

They were quiet and Neal watched, enthralled, as they painted with bright colors. Henry used the green to draw a baby sapling. Emma used the purple decorative stars along the edges of the board. Then Henry used white for some Snow drops and Emma crafted a pretty good looking sword. Henry added some arrows to their collage with a bow and even a rock, which made them laugh. Their true love family board wouldn't be complete without several red hearts, which Henry dealt with, while Emma scrawled the word FAMILY in big bold letters in the center. They had left the perfect spot above the word for a photo, which Emma placed there after using a glue stick on the back of it. The picture was the most recent one they had taken at Granny's. Her parents in center with Neal, her and Killian on the right of them, and Regina and Henry on the left. Then finally in the space below the word family, Emma and Henry painted their hands and imprinted their hand prints on the board, leaving a space between each. Neal watched in fascination, as his sister painted his hand and helped him press it onto the board. Neal squealed in excitement and smeared a couple more hand prints on the edges of the board, but Emma and Henry only laughed. They knew Snow and David would love it even more with the imperfections. As a final touch, Emma painted each of their names in the hand prints in small letters. Once they were done, they washed the paint off Neal and themselves, before giving him a bath and putting him in his pajamas. Emma fed him a bottle, while Henry put on a movie. Neal was asleep long before it was over and she quietly put Neal in his crib. Once the movie was over, Henry helped Emma hang the poster on the wall. "Yep...they're gonna cry," Henry said. "Mission accomplished," Emma replied, as they high-fived each other. "All right kid, brush your teeth and then bed," she said, as she checked on Neal, before getting ready for bed herself. "Goodnight Mom," Henry called. "Night kid," she called back. "Hey Mom?" he said. "Yeah?" she asked. "I liked this today, you know just us and Neal. Think Grams and Gramps will let us do it again?" Henry asked. Emma smiled. "I'm positive they will. I liked it too. Goodnight Henry," she said, the loft was soon quiet and dark.

~*~

The next morning

Emma made flying noises, as she fed Neal his baby cereal. "I think we're getting more of this on your chin than in your mouth, little man," she joked. Neal squealed in delight and pounded his hands on the highchair tray. "Oh we get so excited!" she cooed, as she fed him another bite, as Henry munched on his cereal. There was a knock and then Killian poked his head in. "Morning love, I come bearing gifts," Killian said, as he let himself in. "It better not be fish and grapefruit," Henry muttered. Emma tossed him a sideways glance and a smirk. She loved her pirate, but she had to agree with her son. Charming family breakfasts consisted of pancakes and bacon. And when Dad wasn't around, bear claws and pop-tarts. "You'll be happy to know, lad that there is nary a mackerel or grapefruit in this bag," he admonished, as Emma looked inside. "Bear claws..." she said giddily. Killian watched her in amusement, as she took a big bite and then picked off a tiny piece from the soft inside of the pastry, feeding it to Neal. The tiny Prince gummed the sweet confection in delight. "Thank you," she said, as she kissed his cheek. "You're welcome, love. It seems you two fared well with the wee Prince," he mentioned. "Yeah, we had fun and we made that," Emma said, pointing at their creation. "I hope you have some tissues on hand for your mother," he teased and Henry held up a box. They were already prepared and it was a good thing, because they heard giggling behind that door about that time.

"Charming...stop..." they heard Snow playfully protest and then nothing. Emma rolled her eyes, knowing that meant her parents were making out. They eventually stumbled in a few moments later, arms around each other, glowing with happiness. It made Emma's heart swell to see them still so in love. She usually complained about their frequent public displays of affection, but secretly she found it wonderful that her parents still wanted each other. She hadn't seen any examples of good relationships in her childhood so knowing that her parents were the pinnacle of true love meant a lot to her. They had helped Emma believe in love again. "Good morning," Snow greeted and then gasped, as Charming pinched her rear. She swatted him playfully, as he went to put their bags in the bedroom. "Morning Mom," Emma greeted with a hug. "Oh thank you for watching him. You were right, a night away was exactly what we needed," she gushed. Emma grinned. "I'm glad...we had fun too, didn't we buddy?" she asked her baby brother, as he cooed and reached for Snow. Emma cleaned him off and he fussed, before Snow lifted him into her arms and kissed his head. She turned and it was at that moment she noticed the poster on the wall. "What's that?" she asked curiously. "Last night's art project. We made it for you and Dad," Emma announced. Snow's mouth was ajar, as she felt David step beside her, also staring at the creation. "I know you guys don't have anything from my childhood that I made and I'm afraid I don't either...but now you have something all three of us made together," Emma said, watching her mother step closer to the painting. "Are these..." she started to say, as she touched the hand prints. "Yeah...don't worry, I gave Neal a bath after we had fun with the paint," Emma assured. "Emma...this is amazing..." Charming uttered. Snow sniffed. "Yeah, I thought you guys might like it," she said nonchalantly. "Like it?" Snow squeaked. "Oh honey...we love it," Snow cried, as she hugged her daughter tightly. David joined her and cradled Emma's head. "I'm glad," she replied, as she swiped a few of her own tears away. "We love you so much," David said. "I love you guys too," she said. "Okay...who wants pancakes?" David asked. There was a chorus of me's and David took to the kitchen to cook for his family. The next day when Emma stopped by her parents loft, she wasn't surprised to see that they had the poster put in a nice frame and displayed with pride as their most prized possession.

[pengiesama]

If you're still taking fic requests... SorMik in any Disney AU? Idk I'm a sucker for Disney AUs ^^;

THIS GOT FUCKING LONG I’M SORRY

--

As was custom when talk of marriage came up, Mikleo set offfrom the palace and into the forest. As prince, he was aware that it was hisfate to be married off to secure a trading alliance or some such banality – he wasunder no such illusions that he had the option to pursue some sort of courtlyromance, but the idea that he was expected to be eager, or even excited, whenthe topic came up? That was theridiculous part, far more ridiculous than the concept of him plucking at a luteunderneath some garden window.

He would cooperate – no more and no less – and would takeevery opportunity to abscond from overhearing the constant gossip of the noblesand staff about his upcoming match. And so, he was here, settling himself intoa forest clearing with his notebooks and sketch paper. He might as well getsome work done on his book and not waste an afternoon.

It was then that a breeze picked up, sweeping up his notesand carrying them away into the trees. Mikleo despaired, but leapt to his feetto doggedly chase down months of work. It took him the better part of an hourto track down the scattered pages, and was still missing the better half of hissketches. He expected to find them muddied in a soggy ditch, or torn to shredsby an enterprising partridge for its nest.

He did not expect to find them being admired by a youngpeasant boy.

The boy seemed to finally take notice of Mikleo’s staring,and looked up, blinking, from the pages; with eyes green as the canopy above.

“Are these Elysialarks?” the boy asked, pointing to theavian sketches. “They’re great, but the pinion feathers are just slightly offin shape, and the notes on nesting patterns…”

--

They had talked in the forest for hours, and Sorey could notbe more in love.

He wandered back home as if in a dream, clenching andunclenching his hand – he could almost still feel Mikleo’s hand in his, but hewouldn’t have to wait long, no, he’d promised to come for him tomorrow eve, forSorey’s birthday, to compare more notes on flora and fauna and talk about histravels. Mikleo was a scholar and an artist, and Sorey had never met someone sogentlemanly…well, he’d never met another human period, really, but Sorey wasquite certain that Mikleo was the picture of a storybook prince. He might notknow the tailfeathers of an Elysialark from the butt of a sparrow, but his eyessparkled with intelligence, and his laugh was like music, and the sheer warmthof his presence sparked within Sorey an easy familiarity. Surely it was justMikleo’s charm – Sorey was sure he’d never forget meeting someone like himbefore.

Sorey sighed happily as he swung open the door, eyes dartingaround eagerly for his grandfather.

“Gramps! I met someone in the forest, he’ll be here for mybirthday dinner tomorrow night; we were talking about his book, he writes books, and even draws for them,and he wants to travel all over the world to write and draw and I--”

“—will be leaving tonight for the palace,” Gramps said,firmly. He rose from his armchair. Sorey’s face went blank at the sight of thewings on his back. “Sorey. I’m so sorry, but we have much to discuss about yourupcoming birthday.”

--

Sorey had begged, and pleaded, and even had the wild thoughtthat he might be able to run, run away after where Mikleo had rode back home onhis white horse. Gramps simply stood there, his mouth drawn into a thin, firmline.

He had been confined to this tiny forest grove his wholelife. When he tried to sneak outside the limits of where Gramps allowed him togo, he always found himself turned around, disoriented, and mysteriously on thepath back home. Sorey had always chalked it up to a bad sense of direction, andthe confirmation of fairy magic turning him roundabout was cold comfort.

He’d been a prisoner, lied to his whole life. And now, whenhe had just seen a light from the outside world, when he’d just found someonehe couldn’t bear never to see again…he was being ripped away, spirited offagain, being sent off to marry a stranger because of some agreement his parentshe never knew came to. He’d happily live his whole life in his forest birdcageif it meant he could see Mikleo again.

Sorey laid his head on the ornate desk in the palace room,his eyes staring at nothing. His favorite feather hair tie had been cast awayby the royal dressers, and his long hair had been yanked into an ornate twistof braids, pinned and secured to the crown atop his head. Gramps had left himto his own devices after failing to convince Sorey of the necessity of thiseighteen-year-long charade, and the stone room felt cold and empty despite itsrich furnishings.

He thought of Mikleo knocking on the door to an emptycottage, and squeezed his eyes shut.

It’s simply unfair.

The voice murmured in Sorey’s ear, though the room was empty.

Treating you as just apawn in this political power play. Not caring about their charge’s happinessone whit.

An eerie purple mist began to gather in the room’s center,and Sorey slowly drew himself up to look at it, as if in a trance.

The mist became corporeal in the form of a spinning wheel. Araven with glinting purple feathers perched upon the wooden wheel, and spreadits wings, cawing sharply at the point of the spindle.

Why not throw a wrenchin their plans? Sleep, young prince, sleep until this whole wretched kingdom isdust.

--

Mikleo had been there, at that christening. He had been soyoung, and could recall little but a few flashes of memory. The tiny foreign princein his cradle, giggling and reaching for Mikleo as he peered over the sidesuspiciously. His mother’s voice in his ear, teasing him about sneaking a peekat his future fiancé. Then the horrible stench of darkness, the terrifiedshouts of the nobles, and the impossibly tall figure looming over the prince’scradle; tainting the gifts of the fairies with his awful curse. The lightning strikesstreaking through the air, chasing the terrible creature from the hall, but toolate, too late, too late.

When he was older, he learned more of the events of thatnight by eavesdropping on his uncle’s meetings with his advisors. A death curseon a baby, all because of a jilted party invitation. Mikleo had known fairieswere petty, but as far as he was concerned, this was a new low.

He’d known that his infant fiancé had been taken into hiding.He could surmise that the ones harboring him would have to be powerful –powerful indeed to keep the dark fairy lord at bay. Mikleo considered himself afairly intelligent lad, and well able to keep up with shrewd politicalmovements, whether they were inter-human or inter-fairy. He was perfectlycapable of putting two and two together regarding the mysterious boy in thewoods, with the same sparkling eyes that had gazed at him from that cradle.

So why he hadn’t anticipated being ambushed by the darkforces on his way back to Sorey’s cottage…well, he could only blame himself.

It was a mystery why the dark forces hadn’t killed him onthe spot, but the morals of the fairies were beyond human comprehension – as ifMikleo cared to understand at this point, chained as he was to a wall in somedark dungeon. Perhaps they were keeping him as a plaything, content to sit backand watch him stew and quiver in impotent rage, anxiety, and despair.

What had they done to Sorey and his grandfather? The cottagewas empty when Mikleo came by; empty save for a squad of cackling littlegoblins that leapt upon him before he could reach for his knife or bow. IfMikleo could just loosen his chains, he would turn his miserable wreck of acastle upside-down looking for him, if he could just—

“Sup.”

Mikleo looked up, startled. The door to his cell opened, anda young-looking fairy girl strolled in, twirling her umbrella idly. She lookedMikleo up and down, and raised an unimpressed-looking eyebrow.

“A scrawny little nerd chained to a wall. This is where wehave pinned our hopes.”

Mikleo was too baffled to respond. An older-looking fairywoman tapped in behind her. Her red dress stood out starkly against the darkdungeon walls, and the jingle-jangle of the keyring she dangled in front of herface was a beautiful sound indeed. She smiled warmly.

“We’ve come to rescue you!” she trilled. “Come now, you’vegot a prince to save.”

The young fairy girl wandered out the door as the womanunchained him. “Mind the goblin corpses on your way out.”

--

Mikleo staggered up the stairs, taking step after painfulstep. The dark fairy lord made a fiercesome opponent indeed, even without thewhole dragon business at the end. But an enchanted arrow to the heart had finallyspelled his undoing, allowing Mikleo to make his way through the forest ofthorns that surrounded the once-lively palace. All its people slept like thedead, dreaming where they stood, frozen in time.

He had made his way through the streets, slow under theweight of his wounds and exhaustion. He made his way into the palace proper, tothe stairs leading to the highest tower. And here he stood, at the door leadingto the room where the fairies had laid the sleeping body of the prince.

Mikleo pressed his forehead to the door, and took a momentto catch his breath. He couldn’t imagine how Sorey was feeling right now -- hewondered, was he dreaming of his forest cottage, dreaming of a time beforeMikleo stumbled into his life? Mikleo couldn’t help but feel as though he wasthe walking catalyst for something Sorey would never want…shackled into amarriage he never chose for himself, chained to serve a kingdom he never knew.

Perhaps it would be kinder to let him dream a better life.

Mikleo opened the door, and limped into the tiny tower room.Sorey lay on a plush bed; the stained glass window overhead casting colors ontohis sleeping face. Wrapped in velvet robes and sporting a crown of braids andgold, he looked the picture of royalty – so different from the sunshine-facedforest boy that Mikleo had spent an unforgettable afternoon with.

They had talked of so many things. Mikleo told him about histravels to the oceans, and the mountains – of great canyons carved out overthousands of years by a single river’s flow. He told him of great cities withmassive libraries, of ancient temples and ruins, all but lost to man- andfairy-kind. Sorey drank in every word – it seemed like his heart was filled tobursting with the very thought of such amazing things out there in the world.Things that Sorey could never see, locked into an endless dreaming sleep.

A kiss would break the sleeping spell, the fairies hadexplained to him. It was all Sorey’s adoptive grandfather, a venerable elder ofthe fairies, could do to soften the deadly curse the dark fairy had placed uponhim. Just a simple kiss. Then, he’d explain everything to Sorey. Apologize fornot immediately voicing his suspicions on Sorey’s lineage when they met,acknowledge that Sorey might never forgive him. Promise him that he wouldrefuse this whole ridiculous marriage foisted on them by their parents andallow Sorey to be free to explore the world, with or without him.

Just a simple kiss. Mikleo knelt by Sorey’s bedside, andleaned in to gently press his lips to Sorey’s.

After a long moment, he felt Sorey sigh in contentmentagainst his mouth. Mikleo drew back just enough to see Sorey’s eyes flutteropen.

Sorey’s lips curved into a smile.

“Good morning, my prince.”