FIC: The Changeling Prince - Charles/Erik, XMFC (1/3)
Title: The Changeling Prince
Author: Regann
Pairing: Charles/Erik (XMFC)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~18,500
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: I don't own anything; I just play with them.
Notes: None.
Summary: While seeking help to break a magical curse, a soldier named Erik finds himself trying to solve the mystery of a young prince's illness, a task that leads him deeper into the fickle world of the fae than he ever imagined. (Fairytale AU)
The Changeling Prince
Once upon a time, there were two neighboring kingdoms at the edge of a vast forest that spent many years at war with each other. For over a decade, the war waged, until many, especially among the soldiers, could not remember why it had begun in the first place. Still, they fought bravely as bid by their kings, spilling their blood across the fields where once had stood villages and fields of grains. Some dreamed of going home, while others could not even remember what home was.
And then, with almost no warning, the war was over.
A veteran soldier who'd fought among the lines since almost the first skirmish, Erik did not know where he was to go with no war to fight. His had been among the first villages destroyed by their enemy and he'd taken up arms in revenge before he'd barely seen fifteen years; he had no home to return to and knew no life other than that of the war.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Alexander, one of the young men who'd served under him. Erik knew many of the soldiers planned to depart the next morning, making this the last night they would gather around the campfires together.
"I don't know," he told him honestly. "My village is gone and no family remains. I will...find something, I suppose."
Alexander looked tentative but then he let words rush from his mouth. "You could come with me, Captain," he said. "I have a friend who lives within the walls of the castle city of our King, and he says that opportunities abound there. It is a few weeks' travel, but it is the center of everything in the kingdom. Surely, you'll find something there."
Erik thought about it, chewing slowly on his food as he regarded the young man across from him. Alexander was excitable and often unruly, but he was fierce and loyal, dependable in battle. Erik could do much worse for company. "I think I shall," he said. "But the travel should not take us nearly so long, if we take the route through the forest."
Alexander's eyes widened. "The forest is ruled by fae who would strip us of our faculties and yoke us as slaves to serve them in their fancy palaces. We should avoid the forest, not wander into it."
Erik grinned toothily, his blood already warmed by the thought of danger and battle, even against the trickster folk. "I am not afraid of fae. We take the forest road."
Alexander scowled but did not protest again, obedience too well engrained after years at war.
As Erik had expected, they set off the next morning, Alexander looking more and more fearful as they followed the dirt path that led toward the forest instead of the wide, smooth road that went around it. It was not, as Erik reminded Alexander, that people did not travel through the forest and arrive on the other side, unharmed; it was that very few people dared to even try.
"It's because they value their lives and those of their companions," Alexander groused. "Something I do not believe you do, Captain."
Erik did not bother to refute Alexander's claim because he knew the young soldier knew the truth of it. Just as Erik would've died to protect the men under his command on the field, he would do no less for Alexander now, against any enemy they crossed, real or imagined.
Their few first days passing through the ancient forest were so peaceful that even Alexander could not complain. The sun-dappled floor of the woods was a welcome respite from the shade-less plains of the battlefields and the gentle wind always smelled faintly of herbs, sharp and woodsy like rosemary. They saw no people, fae or otherwise, and few woodland creatures, thanks to the crunching sounds of their feet on the twigs and leaves that littered their way. In deference to Alexander's quaint superstitions, they ate nothing of the forest, no plant or game, sticking to the army hardtack they'd brought with them from camp.
On their fourth day of travel within the forest, Erik had left Alexander sleeping in the early light to gather wood for a morning fire when he heard the sounds of movement like none he had heard so far. Then, he heard a cry, then a shout, the latter of which he recognized as his young companion.
Erik abandoned the wood and rushed back to their camp only to be greeted by the fantastic sight of two creatures, undoubtedly fae, in the throes of combat, though it was no combat the likes of which Erik had seen before. One was red with dark hair and a demon's tail, and he moved through the air by disappearing into great puffs of smoke in pursuit of the other. The other fae had the shape of woman but glittered blue in the stripes of sunlight that touched her, long and lithe as she evaded capture. Alexander was no where to be seen but there was a great golden hound hunched at the base of one of the trees, barking wildly.
Erik reacted without thought and came to the aid of the blue woman, using the other fae's distraction to grab him by his tail and yank him away from her with all the force he could muster. It was enough, it seemed, because the blue fae was suddenly gone, as if she'd never been there. Both he and the other fae looked around but could find no trace of her. With an angry growl and the mutterings of a language that Erik did not know, the fae disappeared from Erik's grasp, leaving him to sputter as smoke flew in his face.
After it cleared and Erik could breathe again, he looked around, alone. "Alexander!" he called out. "Where are you?"
The dog, the great golden one still sitting at the trunk of an old tree, barked.
Erik glared down at the mongrel. "Where did you even come from?" he asked it, as if it could answer.
"I think that's your friend," a lilting voice answered and Erik spun, ready for another attack. But the speaker was a lovely golden-haired woman, dressed in deep blue finery ill-made for the forest, and Erik begun to suspect she was yet another fae. "You called him Alexander?"
Then he realized her words. "Alexander has become a dog?" he asked incredulously.
She shrugged. "It's one of Azazel's favorite tricks when he meets humans," she explained, adding, "He was the red-skinned fae you fought. Thank you for your help."
"And you are...?" he asked.
"You may call me Mystique," she told him. She glanced down at the dog -- Alexander. "I'm sorry about your friend. He was just trying to help me."
"You cannot help him?" he asked.
"I wish I could," she said. "I owe you both." She tilted her head and regarded him. "Where do you travel?"
"We were set for King Xavier's city," he admitted. "But now, I know not. I cannot let him live like this, especially when he warned me against the forest."
Alexander barked in response.
"Continue on to the king's city!" she told him. "There is a man there you can seek out for help. He is Sir Henry, the physician to the court. Tell the guards you have a delivery from Raven for him and your path will be clear."
"But I have nothing from this Raven," Erik told her.
Mystique smiled and produced a bundle from the folds of her skirt, a pouch that smelled strongly of the forest. "These are herbs that may help Henry with his current problem," she said. "They are from Raven, meant for him."
Erik took the pouch and tucked it among his belongings. "Any other advice you have?"
She nodded. "Do not stop again until you are out of the forest and take this, to keep you safe." Again, from some magic, she held a cloak that hadn't been there before. It was garish and red, but he took it from her hands. "If you wear this, it will make you invisible," she told him. "Use it well."
Erik wrapped the cloak around him. "Thank you."
Mystique waved away his gratitude as she knelt to pat Alexander on his furry blond head. "Sorry about this," she told the dog. "I hope Hank can help you."
Just when Erik wanted to ask about her own travels, the lovely blonde woman smiled at him and shimmered until she was the blue-skinned fae that he'd saved from Azazel, somehow more lovely than she'd been a moment before. "Goodbye, Erik," she said before she disappeared in a blur, nimbly dashing away until her form melted into the shadows of the forest.
Erik didn't know how long he watched after her but then Alexander nudged against his leg, barking. "I am sorry," he told the dog. Somehow, he could see Alexander's disapproval in the dog's sad eyes. "Come along, then, let's leave this cursed place behind."
As Mystique had advised, Erik did not stop to rest again until they had joined the main road on the other side of the forest, Alexander trotting as his side. Once they were out, he removed the cloak and folded it neatly to be stowed in his bag. The next morning, they continued on, now with many people joining them as they drew closer and closer to the castle city. Finally, Erik looked ahead and saw it in the distance, the great smooth stones of the castle's turrets rising high above the jagged line of the great wall that protected the city that sprawled in the shadow of the stone fortress.
"Majestic, isn't it?" asked a woman who walked beside him, traveling as part of a trading caravan.
Erik did not answer, but he agreed. It was the most imposing thing he'd ever seen, coming from the edges of the kingdom, from villages made of mud and stick. Alexander whined at his side and Erik patted his head, not knowing what caused his enchanted friend to make such a sound.
The crowds only swelled the closer they drew to the city, as more roads merged into an even larger one. Not soon enough for the weary travelers, they slowly shuffled into the city through its massive gate, under the watchful eyes of the King's sentries.
In many ways, the great city and its throng of people were as dismaying as the fae had been in the forest, one just as foreign to Erik as the other. People paid little heed to where they stepped and Alexander jumped and pranced to save his paws, barking at more than one person who came to close to stomping on him. Erik was a little lost himself, unsure of how to find and present himself to this Sir Henry he hoped would be able to lift the enchantment on Alexander.
He eventually decided on bluntness and so approached the first member of the King's guard he met, a dark-skinned man who stood at his post near a livery. "I have a delivery from Raven for Sir Henry the physician," he told the man. "How can I find him?"
The guard looked surprised but he told Erik to follow him. "I'll take you to him," he said, glancing down at Alexander who was wagging his tail most forcefully. "You and your dog."
"What's your name?" he asked the guard.
"Armando," he replied, and Erik thanked him for his help.
Armando led them to one of the towers that dotted the edges of the castle where there waited a heavy door, studded with iron. Armando knocked on it three times before a small window at eye-level slid open and freckled face appeared.
"Armando?" the face asked. "What do you want?"
"I have a man here who says he has a delivery from Raven from Sir Henry," he said. "A soldier and his dog."
The door creaked open and the entire boy appeared, revealing an unruly mop of red hair atop the freckled face. "This is Sean," Armando said. "He'll take you to Sir Henry."
Erik thanked Armando again for his help and dragged Alexander along with him, even though the enchanted boy-turned-dog seemed reluctant to leave Armando's side. Erik and Alexander followed Sean up a winding stair until they reached another great door. Sean didn't knock or otherwise announce their presence before he pushed the door opened. "Hank!" he called out. "There's a man to see you with something from Raven."
The room Erik found himself in was scattered with books and bottles and bowls, everything he'd expect to see in a chambers of a royal physician. From behind a screen, a man appeared, far younger than he'd expected, tall and gangly and uncomfortable-looking in his court robes.
"Yes?" Sir Henry said, rushing forward. "You have something from Raven?"
Erik went to reach into his bag but then remembered why he'd come in the first place. "I do," he said. "But I've carried it as a trade, not a gift. I'll need something in payment."
"I have coin," Sir Henry said. "It won't be a problem."
Erik shook his head. "I need an enchantment lifted."
"You've been enchanted?"
He pointed at Alexander. "Until a few days ago, he was a man," he explained. "But we passed through the fae's forest..."
Sir Henry sighed. "I will try my best in return for my delivery," he said. "But the delivery cannot wait and it will be tricky to free your friend. Give me the herbs."
Erik handed him the pouch Mystique had sent along and watched as the physician eyed each bundle he removed from it. "I hope these help," he said. "Excuse me, I must brew a tea immediately."
"Tea?" Erik asked Sean. "All this for tea?"
Sean frowned. "Have you not heard? The prince is very ill, has been for months. Raven went into the fae forest to see if herbs that grow in magic can help where the ordinary haven't. That's what they're for."
"I knew none of this," Erik admitted. "But I've just come from the border war."
Sean nodded as if he was satisfied with the answer. "You and your friend-dog both?"
Alexander growled, causing the boy to laugh.
Within a few minutes, the air was filled with the pungent herbal scent of the tea the physician had brewed. He appeared a moment later with a bowl of steaming liquid. Sir Henry held it out to Erik. "Can you take this to the prince, please? I usually spend this time of day at his bedside but I need to stay here and look into your friend's problem."
"I'm to play nursemaid to an ailing prince?" Erik asked, not happy with the idea.
"He just needs someone to talk to," Henry said. "Consider it an extension of your delivery duties."
Erik glanced down at Alexander and sighed. "Very well," he said, taking the bowl.
"Sean will show you the way," Henry told him. "But -- before you go, do you know anything of the fae that cursed your friend?"
"The other fae I met called him Azazel," he said. "He was red-skinned and could disappear into the air."
"Azazel," Henry groaned, as if he knew of him. "I should've guessed. I'll see what I can do for your friend."
They moved slowly in deference to the healing tea that Erik carried, but Sean led him and Alexander further up into the tower until they reached a room at the very top. At this door, Sean knocked and announced himself. "It's me, Sean, your highness," he called. "With a visitor."
A muffled voice bid them to enter and they did, Erik trying not to look as struck by the majesty of the room as he had been by the castle city itself, but the room was luxurious, hung with velvet and silks. A huge bed commanded much of the room and there amid its fine blankets and pillows rested who Erik presumed was the ailing prince. The young man, no older than Erik, looked ill, unnaturally pale and languid against his pillows, but the prince's blue eyes were bright and piercing, warning Erik that whatever physical infirmary ailed the prince, his mind was not touched.
"Who's this?" the prince asked, not commanding, just curious. "I was expecting Hank."
"Erik," Erik said, stepping forward, offering the bowl. "Your physician sends this."
The prince eyed the bowl but took it with no complaint, though he grimaced after the first drink of the pungent broth. "One of Hank's miracle brews, I take it?"
"Raven sent the herbs," Sean told him. "From the forest."
The prince managed a smile for them. "I thank you both." He took another sip. "Does this mean I will not be seeing Hank this afternoon?"
"The physician is working on something," Erik explained, unable to stop a glance to where Alexander loitered near the door. "I believe I've been sent in his place, your highness."
The prince's smile got a little wider. "Then, I beg you, please call me Charles," he told him. "And I hope you play chess."
Erik did play, something he'd picked up as a young man, and soon found himself in the middle of a game with the prince. After he'd set up the board, Sean had disappeared, leaving Erik alone with the other man. He'd been uncomfortable at first, but soon realized that the prince -- Charles -- acted nothing like he would expect a prince to act. Despite his illness, Charles was pleasant and charming, even though it was obvious that he tired easily. More than once during their game, he would drop his hand from his chess piece and lay his head against his pillows, eyes closed.
"Your highness?" Erik asked, unsure of what to do.
"I apologize," he said. "I've taxed myself more than I realized."
"I could leave you to rest."
"And rob me of your company and that of your handsome canine companion?" Charles managed to smile. "The game can always be finished later. But I would not mind some conversation, particularly if you do most of the talking."
"What would you like me to talk about?"
Charles settled more heavily against the mound of pillows. "Tell me about yourself. I want to know everything that you're willing to share."
Erik had no great secrets, so he did as the prince bid, speaking to him of his childhood in a village that no longer existed, of his younger years as a soldier, of the end of the war he passed as a Captain among the army. Charles nodded along and offered a murmured comment where he could, painfully sympathetic for Erik's misfortunes.
"It was a long time ago," Erik said at Charles's sadness over his village's destruction.
"I wish it had never happened," Charles said. "So many lives ruined for such a thing as war."
"You'll not have wars to defend your kingdom when you are king?"
Charles's smile was sad. "I think there is great doubt I will live to be king."
He had only known him a handful of hours, but Erik did not like the thought. "Surely your physician will find a way."
"Hank is brilliant," Charles agreed. "But there was some things that not even he can change."
It wasn't long after that that Sean came to clear away the half-finished chess game and bring the prince a meal that he was barely able to eat. Sean had brought something for Erik as well and he ate it in silence, watching as the prince gave up after a few sips of his broth.
"Hank told me to tell you that you can stay in his spare rooms if you'd like," Sean offered as the three of them -- Sean, Erik and Alexander -- shuffled out of the prince's chambers. Sean glanced back toward the prince as he held the door open. "He hoped you wouldn't mind sitting with the prince for a few more days. It's..." He shook his head, dropping his voice to add, "He doesn't think he has much longer and..."
Erik looked back to where the prince lay sleeping, dark hair falling over his pale forehead. "I don't mind," he said. "As long as he keeps his bargain about Alexander."
Sean nodded. "You can discuss it with him. I'll take you down to him."
It was in that way that Erik became the companion of an ailing prince, though spending his days with Charles was not a true hardship. Between searching for new medicines to help ease Charles's pain and heal him of his illness, Henry focused on trying to find the charm that would counteract the fae curse on Alexander.
"It's not as easy for me as it if for them, you know," Henry said when Erik expressed dismay that he'd made no progress. "Even with fae blood in me, I'd need a wand, made from one of the ancient trees of the fae kingdom to harness magic like they do. But since I'll never have one of those, I'm forced to go to extraordinary measures for a fraction of the same result."
So Erik tried to be patient and he hoped Alexander understood the need as well, trapped as he was in the body of a dog. He seemed more at ease than Erik did sometimes, happily curling up next to Charles on the bed some of the afternoons Erik spent with the prince, which Erik thought was rather shameless of him. But Charles seemed to enjoy petting him while they played chess, so Erik said nothing. More often than not, however, the dog whined to be released into the city where he would find his way to Armando's side. The guard didn't mind, so on this Erik was silent as well.
None of the time he spent with Charles changed his first opinion of the prince, that he was intelligent and polite with a wicked humor that peeked out now and then. Erik often found himself wishing he had known Charles the year before, before the mysterious illness had taken hold and stripped him of almost everything.
"I miss it," Charles said on the third or fourth day, when Erik asked him. "I cannot even walk, but before this, I could do anything. Walk, run, train with the guards. Now, I can't even go outside."
"Surely that could be arranged if you miss it so much," Erik said. "You have the kingdom at your disposal."
"I'm already a great burden on everyone, including you," Charles said. "There's no need to add to the work with frivolous requests."
Just as Erik had told Charles of his life before they met, Charles returned the favor, though it was a very different life. A childhood spent in a castle, with his sister and cousin as his only real companions. He'd studied a great many things Erik only dimly understood, even though his own mother had taught him his letters before the war. Charles was delighted by that fact and sometimes asked Erik to read to him when he was too fatigued for chess or conversation.
"What exactly is wrong with the prince?" he asked Henry one evening after they'd left Charles to rest.
"I don't know," Henry said unhappily. "One day he was hale and hearty and then he just...collapsed. He grew weaker and weaker until he was as he is now. After the first few months, Raven left to search for a cure, despite the Queen's protests. She still searches, but so far nothing has worked."
"It sounds like Alexander's curse," Erik pointed out. "Has Charles angered the fae?"
"If he has, his end is all but assured," Henry said, still unhappy. "Just as my progress is slow with Alexander, it would be even more to cure a malady like Charles's if it were caused by magic."
Of course, Erik was no physician and knew very little of fae and magic, so he did not know if Charles's illness really could be blamed on magic, but he knew that even after only a handful of days in his company, he did not want to see the prince continue to suffer as he did, let alone die from whatever pained him. As little regard as Erik had for those in control of the kingdom, he could almost believe that Charles would be the exception if he had the chance.
One evening, long after everyone else in their cloistered little tower had went to sleep, Erik wandered the winding staircase, trying to decide how easily he thought it would be for himself and Sean to carry the prince to tower's small courtyard garden where he might enjoy a few hours of sun. It seemed like such a simple thing for the prince to want that Erik did not see the harm in trying to give it to him.
As he stood near the prince's door, counting the steps and judging the strength he'd need, Erik paused because he thought he heard voices on the other side of it. Charles's, he recognized, but there was another that Erik had not heard before among the voices of those who visited the prince. Without thought, he leaned in and tried to listen but could make out nothing more than noise through the heavy wood. After a moment, it went silent and Erik waited for a few moments but when he heard nothing else, he headed back down the stair.
He might've thought he imagined it all, if it hadn't been accompanied by the strange and unmistakable sting of sulfur in the air.
The next morning Erik asked the prince about it but he feigned ignorance, both of the voices and of the sulfur smell.
"Perhaps I was talking in my sleep?" Charles suggested as he made his move on the chess board.
"You throw voices in your sleep as well?" Erik asked dryly.
"I do a great many things in my dreams that I cannot do in the light of day," Charles pointed out. "Perhaps voice throwing is just another of my many skills."
Erik couldn't ignore the pang he felt at Charles's words, knowing that so much was closed off from the prince. Other than Erik, Sean, and Henry, Charles's visitors were few -- Armando and a few other of the guards came by sometimes, as well as a maid to tend the room. And once, the Queen herself had come, but had left after only moments, overtaken with tears.
"I do not blame Moira," Charles had said of his cousin, who had ruled the kingdom since Charles's father death a few months into Charles's illness. She was only regent, as long as Charles lived, but no one expected him to recover to take the throne back from her. "Reigning is not easy and we were close. It's much easier to think of me as I once was than as what I am."
"Today, I have a surprise," Erik said once the game was finished and the board cleared away. "For you."
Charles raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"As soon as Sean appears," he promised. "Which should be soon."
Charles tried to tease the surprise out of him while they waited for the young apprentice, but Erik would not divulge it. Still, as soon as Sean opened the door to the prince's chambers and flashed a grin in Erik's direction to which Erik responded by wrapping as many blankets as he could around Charles's prone form, the prince was clever enough to discover their intent.
"Erik," he admonished, even as he instinctively slung an arm around Erik's neck as he lifted him in his arms. "I told you this was unnecessary."
The prince was heavy, but lighter than Erik had expected, which was a sorrow of its own. "Henry says it's been half a year since you could walk on your own," he said. "I think a trip outside is long overdue."
Charles stopped his protests once Erik had him half-way down the tower, Sean hovering in case Erik had overestimated his own strength. However, Erik carried the prince to the courtyard unaided, where Sean had hauled a chair and ottoman for Charles to rest in. Once he was settled, it was obvious to Erik and Sean how much he'd missed being outside, both of them ignoring the slight tremble in the prince's hand as he used it to brush the hair out of his eyes as he tilted his face up, like a flower seeking sun.
Alexander bounded across the courtyard, chasing birds and butterflies, enjoying his canine form so much that Erik wondered again if his friend's mind was fading away after weeks trapped in the curse. Henry didn't seem to think it was a possibility, but Erik had learned that the physician's mind was not like his own, except on the question of their concern for Charles.
Erik did not realize that Charles was speaking to him, until he felt the prince's hand touch his to gain his attention. "What?"
"I just wanted to thank you for this," Charles said, face soft and smile bright. "This is wonderful, Erik. Truly."
Erik dismissed the prince's effusive gratitude but stayed close for the few hours they spent outdoors, glad to see a glimmer of what Charles must've been like before. His smile was a little brighter, his laughter a little louder, and Erik again found himself wishing with everything he was that he'd been there a year earlier when he might have found a way to spare the prince of his torment.
After their busy day, Erik had expected his sleep to be sound, but it wasn't; instead, he found himself on the stairs again, just outside of Charles's chambers. Again, just near midnight, he thought he heard voices and smelled sulfur on the air. This time he knocked on the door and called out for Charles but received no answer. He tried to open it, but remembered that Sean locked it each night when he settled Charles for bed. Erik was half-tempted to wake the boy to demand entrance that very minute but Erik held back. As a soldier, he'd learned to listen to his instincts and those instincts told him there was something amiss, but he'd also learned to bide his time. He would wait and see.
It wasn't until the sun was creeping up in the eastern sky that Erik heard noise again from within Charles's chambers, the same two voices, along with the sound of movement around the room. He strained to hear more but it quieted after a moment or two, leaving him with little new information. He was on his way back to his own chambers before anyone found him at the prince's door when he caught sight of something out of one of the small windows that lined the tower's walls, something that made his blood go cold. Just in the distance, he saw a dark figure that looked as if it had a tail. When Erik blinked, the figure was gone and he finally recalled where he'd smelled that distinctive sulfur smell before.
Erik was convinced that Charles was not telling him -- them -- something, something that had to do with his nightly visit by a fae that Erik suspected might be Azazel, the one he'd fought in the forest. So instead of asking the prince directly about it, Erik decided to try something else.
"Do you object to me staying with you all night?" Erik questioned over their daily chess game.
He startled Charles so badly that the prince almost upturned the board. When Erik glanced up, Charles's eyes were wide, confused, but maybe a little hopeful as well. "Erik," he said, voice lower and rougher than usual. "I...you must know that given my condition, that as much as I appreciate your company, I..."
The prince's stumbling answer made Erik replay the question in his mind and he realized what he'd said. "No, I meant --" he broke off, trying to ignore the thoughts it reminded him of, the ones he had late at night in his room, when his body ached for release and his heart desperately wished he did not notice the way Charles grew fainter and fainter with each passing day. "I only meant that I worry you are too lonely by yourself. There is more than enough room for my cot to be brought up here. I could remain and keep you company once everyone's gone to bed."
"I do appreciate your company, but it's not necessary," he said. "It's enough that you spend as much time with me as you do. I wouldn't ask for more."
"I don't mind," Erik insisted, but Charles was surprisingly firm on the topic, which meant Erik would have to try another tact if he wanted access to the prince's bedchambers to see if there were really a fae coming to visit him in the night. And, given what that fae had done to Alexander and had tried to do to Mystique, he doubted any design Azazel had on Charles was not nefarious in nature.
The thought of Mystique was what reminded him and Erik excused himself to run to his room, where he removed the garish red cloak from his bags. He carried it over to the small looking glass that Henry provided with the room and watched in amazement as he slipped it over himself and his reflection disappeared as if he'd never stood there.
Erik tugged it from his shoulders and held it in his hands, a plan forming in his mind.
on to part 2
Author: Regann
Pairing: Charles/Erik (XMFC)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~18,500
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: I don't own anything; I just play with them.
Notes: None.
Summary: While seeking help to break a magical curse, a soldier named Erik finds himself trying to solve the mystery of a young prince's illness, a task that leads him deeper into the fickle world of the fae than he ever imagined. (Fairytale AU)
The Changeling Prince
Once upon a time, there were two neighboring kingdoms at the edge of a vast forest that spent many years at war with each other. For over a decade, the war waged, until many, especially among the soldiers, could not remember why it had begun in the first place. Still, they fought bravely as bid by their kings, spilling their blood across the fields where once had stood villages and fields of grains. Some dreamed of going home, while others could not even remember what home was.
And then, with almost no warning, the war was over.
A veteran soldier who'd fought among the lines since almost the first skirmish, Erik did not know where he was to go with no war to fight. His had been among the first villages destroyed by their enemy and he'd taken up arms in revenge before he'd barely seen fifteen years; he had no home to return to and knew no life other than that of the war.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Alexander, one of the young men who'd served under him. Erik knew many of the soldiers planned to depart the next morning, making this the last night they would gather around the campfires together.
"I don't know," he told him honestly. "My village is gone and no family remains. I will...find something, I suppose."
Alexander looked tentative but then he let words rush from his mouth. "You could come with me, Captain," he said. "I have a friend who lives within the walls of the castle city of our King, and he says that opportunities abound there. It is a few weeks' travel, but it is the center of everything in the kingdom. Surely, you'll find something there."
Erik thought about it, chewing slowly on his food as he regarded the young man across from him. Alexander was excitable and often unruly, but he was fierce and loyal, dependable in battle. Erik could do much worse for company. "I think I shall," he said. "But the travel should not take us nearly so long, if we take the route through the forest."
Alexander's eyes widened. "The forest is ruled by fae who would strip us of our faculties and yoke us as slaves to serve them in their fancy palaces. We should avoid the forest, not wander into it."
Erik grinned toothily, his blood already warmed by the thought of danger and battle, even against the trickster folk. "I am not afraid of fae. We take the forest road."
Alexander scowled but did not protest again, obedience too well engrained after years at war.
As Erik had expected, they set off the next morning, Alexander looking more and more fearful as they followed the dirt path that led toward the forest instead of the wide, smooth road that went around it. It was not, as Erik reminded Alexander, that people did not travel through the forest and arrive on the other side, unharmed; it was that very few people dared to even try.
"It's because they value their lives and those of their companions," Alexander groused. "Something I do not believe you do, Captain."
Erik did not bother to refute Alexander's claim because he knew the young soldier knew the truth of it. Just as Erik would've died to protect the men under his command on the field, he would do no less for Alexander now, against any enemy they crossed, real or imagined.
Their few first days passing through the ancient forest were so peaceful that even Alexander could not complain. The sun-dappled floor of the woods was a welcome respite from the shade-less plains of the battlefields and the gentle wind always smelled faintly of herbs, sharp and woodsy like rosemary. They saw no people, fae or otherwise, and few woodland creatures, thanks to the crunching sounds of their feet on the twigs and leaves that littered their way. In deference to Alexander's quaint superstitions, they ate nothing of the forest, no plant or game, sticking to the army hardtack they'd brought with them from camp.
On their fourth day of travel within the forest, Erik had left Alexander sleeping in the early light to gather wood for a morning fire when he heard the sounds of movement like none he had heard so far. Then, he heard a cry, then a shout, the latter of which he recognized as his young companion.
Erik abandoned the wood and rushed back to their camp only to be greeted by the fantastic sight of two creatures, undoubtedly fae, in the throes of combat, though it was no combat the likes of which Erik had seen before. One was red with dark hair and a demon's tail, and he moved through the air by disappearing into great puffs of smoke in pursuit of the other. The other fae had the shape of woman but glittered blue in the stripes of sunlight that touched her, long and lithe as she evaded capture. Alexander was no where to be seen but there was a great golden hound hunched at the base of one of the trees, barking wildly.
Erik reacted without thought and came to the aid of the blue woman, using the other fae's distraction to grab him by his tail and yank him away from her with all the force he could muster. It was enough, it seemed, because the blue fae was suddenly gone, as if she'd never been there. Both he and the other fae looked around but could find no trace of her. With an angry growl and the mutterings of a language that Erik did not know, the fae disappeared from Erik's grasp, leaving him to sputter as smoke flew in his face.
After it cleared and Erik could breathe again, he looked around, alone. "Alexander!" he called out. "Where are you?"
The dog, the great golden one still sitting at the trunk of an old tree, barked.
Erik glared down at the mongrel. "Where did you even come from?" he asked it, as if it could answer.
"I think that's your friend," a lilting voice answered and Erik spun, ready for another attack. But the speaker was a lovely golden-haired woman, dressed in deep blue finery ill-made for the forest, and Erik begun to suspect she was yet another fae. "You called him Alexander?"
Then he realized her words. "Alexander has become a dog?" he asked incredulously.
She shrugged. "It's one of Azazel's favorite tricks when he meets humans," she explained, adding, "He was the red-skinned fae you fought. Thank you for your help."
"And you are...?" he asked.
"You may call me Mystique," she told him. She glanced down at the dog -- Alexander. "I'm sorry about your friend. He was just trying to help me."
"You cannot help him?" he asked.
"I wish I could," she said. "I owe you both." She tilted her head and regarded him. "Where do you travel?"
"We were set for King Xavier's city," he admitted. "But now, I know not. I cannot let him live like this, especially when he warned me against the forest."
Alexander barked in response.
"Continue on to the king's city!" she told him. "There is a man there you can seek out for help. He is Sir Henry, the physician to the court. Tell the guards you have a delivery from Raven for him and your path will be clear."
"But I have nothing from this Raven," Erik told her.
Mystique smiled and produced a bundle from the folds of her skirt, a pouch that smelled strongly of the forest. "These are herbs that may help Henry with his current problem," she said. "They are from Raven, meant for him."
Erik took the pouch and tucked it among his belongings. "Any other advice you have?"
She nodded. "Do not stop again until you are out of the forest and take this, to keep you safe." Again, from some magic, she held a cloak that hadn't been there before. It was garish and red, but he took it from her hands. "If you wear this, it will make you invisible," she told him. "Use it well."
Erik wrapped the cloak around him. "Thank you."
Mystique waved away his gratitude as she knelt to pat Alexander on his furry blond head. "Sorry about this," she told the dog. "I hope Hank can help you."
Just when Erik wanted to ask about her own travels, the lovely blonde woman smiled at him and shimmered until she was the blue-skinned fae that he'd saved from Azazel, somehow more lovely than she'd been a moment before. "Goodbye, Erik," she said before she disappeared in a blur, nimbly dashing away until her form melted into the shadows of the forest.
Erik didn't know how long he watched after her but then Alexander nudged against his leg, barking. "I am sorry," he told the dog. Somehow, he could see Alexander's disapproval in the dog's sad eyes. "Come along, then, let's leave this cursed place behind."
As Mystique had advised, Erik did not stop to rest again until they had joined the main road on the other side of the forest, Alexander trotting as his side. Once they were out, he removed the cloak and folded it neatly to be stowed in his bag. The next morning, they continued on, now with many people joining them as they drew closer and closer to the castle city. Finally, Erik looked ahead and saw it in the distance, the great smooth stones of the castle's turrets rising high above the jagged line of the great wall that protected the city that sprawled in the shadow of the stone fortress.
"Majestic, isn't it?" asked a woman who walked beside him, traveling as part of a trading caravan.
Erik did not answer, but he agreed. It was the most imposing thing he'd ever seen, coming from the edges of the kingdom, from villages made of mud and stick. Alexander whined at his side and Erik patted his head, not knowing what caused his enchanted friend to make such a sound.
The crowds only swelled the closer they drew to the city, as more roads merged into an even larger one. Not soon enough for the weary travelers, they slowly shuffled into the city through its massive gate, under the watchful eyes of the King's sentries.
In many ways, the great city and its throng of people were as dismaying as the fae had been in the forest, one just as foreign to Erik as the other. People paid little heed to where they stepped and Alexander jumped and pranced to save his paws, barking at more than one person who came to close to stomping on him. Erik was a little lost himself, unsure of how to find and present himself to this Sir Henry he hoped would be able to lift the enchantment on Alexander.
He eventually decided on bluntness and so approached the first member of the King's guard he met, a dark-skinned man who stood at his post near a livery. "I have a delivery from Raven for Sir Henry the physician," he told the man. "How can I find him?"
The guard looked surprised but he told Erik to follow him. "I'll take you to him," he said, glancing down at Alexander who was wagging his tail most forcefully. "You and your dog."
"What's your name?" he asked the guard.
"Armando," he replied, and Erik thanked him for his help.
Armando led them to one of the towers that dotted the edges of the castle where there waited a heavy door, studded with iron. Armando knocked on it three times before a small window at eye-level slid open and freckled face appeared.
"Armando?" the face asked. "What do you want?"
"I have a man here who says he has a delivery from Raven from Sir Henry," he said. "A soldier and his dog."
The door creaked open and the entire boy appeared, revealing an unruly mop of red hair atop the freckled face. "This is Sean," Armando said. "He'll take you to Sir Henry."
Erik thanked Armando again for his help and dragged Alexander along with him, even though the enchanted boy-turned-dog seemed reluctant to leave Armando's side. Erik and Alexander followed Sean up a winding stair until they reached another great door. Sean didn't knock or otherwise announce their presence before he pushed the door opened. "Hank!" he called out. "There's a man to see you with something from Raven."
The room Erik found himself in was scattered with books and bottles and bowls, everything he'd expect to see in a chambers of a royal physician. From behind a screen, a man appeared, far younger than he'd expected, tall and gangly and uncomfortable-looking in his court robes.
"Yes?" Sir Henry said, rushing forward. "You have something from Raven?"
Erik went to reach into his bag but then remembered why he'd come in the first place. "I do," he said. "But I've carried it as a trade, not a gift. I'll need something in payment."
"I have coin," Sir Henry said. "It won't be a problem."
Erik shook his head. "I need an enchantment lifted."
"You've been enchanted?"
He pointed at Alexander. "Until a few days ago, he was a man," he explained. "But we passed through the fae's forest..."
Sir Henry sighed. "I will try my best in return for my delivery," he said. "But the delivery cannot wait and it will be tricky to free your friend. Give me the herbs."
Erik handed him the pouch Mystique had sent along and watched as the physician eyed each bundle he removed from it. "I hope these help," he said. "Excuse me, I must brew a tea immediately."
"Tea?" Erik asked Sean. "All this for tea?"
Sean frowned. "Have you not heard? The prince is very ill, has been for months. Raven went into the fae forest to see if herbs that grow in magic can help where the ordinary haven't. That's what they're for."
"I knew none of this," Erik admitted. "But I've just come from the border war."
Sean nodded as if he was satisfied with the answer. "You and your friend-dog both?"
Alexander growled, causing the boy to laugh.
Within a few minutes, the air was filled with the pungent herbal scent of the tea the physician had brewed. He appeared a moment later with a bowl of steaming liquid. Sir Henry held it out to Erik. "Can you take this to the prince, please? I usually spend this time of day at his bedside but I need to stay here and look into your friend's problem."
"I'm to play nursemaid to an ailing prince?" Erik asked, not happy with the idea.
"He just needs someone to talk to," Henry said. "Consider it an extension of your delivery duties."
Erik glanced down at Alexander and sighed. "Very well," he said, taking the bowl.
"Sean will show you the way," Henry told him. "But -- before you go, do you know anything of the fae that cursed your friend?"
"The other fae I met called him Azazel," he said. "He was red-skinned and could disappear into the air."
"Azazel," Henry groaned, as if he knew of him. "I should've guessed. I'll see what I can do for your friend."
They moved slowly in deference to the healing tea that Erik carried, but Sean led him and Alexander further up into the tower until they reached a room at the very top. At this door, Sean knocked and announced himself. "It's me, Sean, your highness," he called. "With a visitor."
A muffled voice bid them to enter and they did, Erik trying not to look as struck by the majesty of the room as he had been by the castle city itself, but the room was luxurious, hung with velvet and silks. A huge bed commanded much of the room and there amid its fine blankets and pillows rested who Erik presumed was the ailing prince. The young man, no older than Erik, looked ill, unnaturally pale and languid against his pillows, but the prince's blue eyes were bright and piercing, warning Erik that whatever physical infirmary ailed the prince, his mind was not touched.
"Who's this?" the prince asked, not commanding, just curious. "I was expecting Hank."
"Erik," Erik said, stepping forward, offering the bowl. "Your physician sends this."
The prince eyed the bowl but took it with no complaint, though he grimaced after the first drink of the pungent broth. "One of Hank's miracle brews, I take it?"
"Raven sent the herbs," Sean told him. "From the forest."
The prince managed a smile for them. "I thank you both." He took another sip. "Does this mean I will not be seeing Hank this afternoon?"
"The physician is working on something," Erik explained, unable to stop a glance to where Alexander loitered near the door. "I believe I've been sent in his place, your highness."
The prince's smile got a little wider. "Then, I beg you, please call me Charles," he told him. "And I hope you play chess."
Erik did play, something he'd picked up as a young man, and soon found himself in the middle of a game with the prince. After he'd set up the board, Sean had disappeared, leaving Erik alone with the other man. He'd been uncomfortable at first, but soon realized that the prince -- Charles -- acted nothing like he would expect a prince to act. Despite his illness, Charles was pleasant and charming, even though it was obvious that he tired easily. More than once during their game, he would drop his hand from his chess piece and lay his head against his pillows, eyes closed.
"Your highness?" Erik asked, unsure of what to do.
"I apologize," he said. "I've taxed myself more than I realized."
"I could leave you to rest."
"And rob me of your company and that of your handsome canine companion?" Charles managed to smile. "The game can always be finished later. But I would not mind some conversation, particularly if you do most of the talking."
"What would you like me to talk about?"
Charles settled more heavily against the mound of pillows. "Tell me about yourself. I want to know everything that you're willing to share."
Erik had no great secrets, so he did as the prince bid, speaking to him of his childhood in a village that no longer existed, of his younger years as a soldier, of the end of the war he passed as a Captain among the army. Charles nodded along and offered a murmured comment where he could, painfully sympathetic for Erik's misfortunes.
"It was a long time ago," Erik said at Charles's sadness over his village's destruction.
"I wish it had never happened," Charles said. "So many lives ruined for such a thing as war."
"You'll not have wars to defend your kingdom when you are king?"
Charles's smile was sad. "I think there is great doubt I will live to be king."
He had only known him a handful of hours, but Erik did not like the thought. "Surely your physician will find a way."
"Hank is brilliant," Charles agreed. "But there was some things that not even he can change."
It wasn't long after that that Sean came to clear away the half-finished chess game and bring the prince a meal that he was barely able to eat. Sean had brought something for Erik as well and he ate it in silence, watching as the prince gave up after a few sips of his broth.
"Hank told me to tell you that you can stay in his spare rooms if you'd like," Sean offered as the three of them -- Sean, Erik and Alexander -- shuffled out of the prince's chambers. Sean glanced back toward the prince as he held the door open. "He hoped you wouldn't mind sitting with the prince for a few more days. It's..." He shook his head, dropping his voice to add, "He doesn't think he has much longer and..."
Erik looked back to where the prince lay sleeping, dark hair falling over his pale forehead. "I don't mind," he said. "As long as he keeps his bargain about Alexander."
Sean nodded. "You can discuss it with him. I'll take you down to him."
It was in that way that Erik became the companion of an ailing prince, though spending his days with Charles was not a true hardship. Between searching for new medicines to help ease Charles's pain and heal him of his illness, Henry focused on trying to find the charm that would counteract the fae curse on Alexander.
"It's not as easy for me as it if for them, you know," Henry said when Erik expressed dismay that he'd made no progress. "Even with fae blood in me, I'd need a wand, made from one of the ancient trees of the fae kingdom to harness magic like they do. But since I'll never have one of those, I'm forced to go to extraordinary measures for a fraction of the same result."
So Erik tried to be patient and he hoped Alexander understood the need as well, trapped as he was in the body of a dog. He seemed more at ease than Erik did sometimes, happily curling up next to Charles on the bed some of the afternoons Erik spent with the prince, which Erik thought was rather shameless of him. But Charles seemed to enjoy petting him while they played chess, so Erik said nothing. More often than not, however, the dog whined to be released into the city where he would find his way to Armando's side. The guard didn't mind, so on this Erik was silent as well.
None of the time he spent with Charles changed his first opinion of the prince, that he was intelligent and polite with a wicked humor that peeked out now and then. Erik often found himself wishing he had known Charles the year before, before the mysterious illness had taken hold and stripped him of almost everything.
"I miss it," Charles said on the third or fourth day, when Erik asked him. "I cannot even walk, but before this, I could do anything. Walk, run, train with the guards. Now, I can't even go outside."
"Surely that could be arranged if you miss it so much," Erik said. "You have the kingdom at your disposal."
"I'm already a great burden on everyone, including you," Charles said. "There's no need to add to the work with frivolous requests."
Just as Erik had told Charles of his life before they met, Charles returned the favor, though it was a very different life. A childhood spent in a castle, with his sister and cousin as his only real companions. He'd studied a great many things Erik only dimly understood, even though his own mother had taught him his letters before the war. Charles was delighted by that fact and sometimes asked Erik to read to him when he was too fatigued for chess or conversation.
"What exactly is wrong with the prince?" he asked Henry one evening after they'd left Charles to rest.
"I don't know," Henry said unhappily. "One day he was hale and hearty and then he just...collapsed. He grew weaker and weaker until he was as he is now. After the first few months, Raven left to search for a cure, despite the Queen's protests. She still searches, but so far nothing has worked."
"It sounds like Alexander's curse," Erik pointed out. "Has Charles angered the fae?"
"If he has, his end is all but assured," Henry said, still unhappy. "Just as my progress is slow with Alexander, it would be even more to cure a malady like Charles's if it were caused by magic."
Of course, Erik was no physician and knew very little of fae and magic, so he did not know if Charles's illness really could be blamed on magic, but he knew that even after only a handful of days in his company, he did not want to see the prince continue to suffer as he did, let alone die from whatever pained him. As little regard as Erik had for those in control of the kingdom, he could almost believe that Charles would be the exception if he had the chance.
One evening, long after everyone else in their cloistered little tower had went to sleep, Erik wandered the winding staircase, trying to decide how easily he thought it would be for himself and Sean to carry the prince to tower's small courtyard garden where he might enjoy a few hours of sun. It seemed like such a simple thing for the prince to want that Erik did not see the harm in trying to give it to him.
As he stood near the prince's door, counting the steps and judging the strength he'd need, Erik paused because he thought he heard voices on the other side of it. Charles's, he recognized, but there was another that Erik had not heard before among the voices of those who visited the prince. Without thought, he leaned in and tried to listen but could make out nothing more than noise through the heavy wood. After a moment, it went silent and Erik waited for a few moments but when he heard nothing else, he headed back down the stair.
He might've thought he imagined it all, if it hadn't been accompanied by the strange and unmistakable sting of sulfur in the air.
The next morning Erik asked the prince about it but he feigned ignorance, both of the voices and of the sulfur smell.
"Perhaps I was talking in my sleep?" Charles suggested as he made his move on the chess board.
"You throw voices in your sleep as well?" Erik asked dryly.
"I do a great many things in my dreams that I cannot do in the light of day," Charles pointed out. "Perhaps voice throwing is just another of my many skills."
Erik couldn't ignore the pang he felt at Charles's words, knowing that so much was closed off from the prince. Other than Erik, Sean, and Henry, Charles's visitors were few -- Armando and a few other of the guards came by sometimes, as well as a maid to tend the room. And once, the Queen herself had come, but had left after only moments, overtaken with tears.
"I do not blame Moira," Charles had said of his cousin, who had ruled the kingdom since Charles's father death a few months into Charles's illness. She was only regent, as long as Charles lived, but no one expected him to recover to take the throne back from her. "Reigning is not easy and we were close. It's much easier to think of me as I once was than as what I am."
"Today, I have a surprise," Erik said once the game was finished and the board cleared away. "For you."
Charles raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
"As soon as Sean appears," he promised. "Which should be soon."
Charles tried to tease the surprise out of him while they waited for the young apprentice, but Erik would not divulge it. Still, as soon as Sean opened the door to the prince's chambers and flashed a grin in Erik's direction to which Erik responded by wrapping as many blankets as he could around Charles's prone form, the prince was clever enough to discover their intent.
"Erik," he admonished, even as he instinctively slung an arm around Erik's neck as he lifted him in his arms. "I told you this was unnecessary."
The prince was heavy, but lighter than Erik had expected, which was a sorrow of its own. "Henry says it's been half a year since you could walk on your own," he said. "I think a trip outside is long overdue."
Charles stopped his protests once Erik had him half-way down the tower, Sean hovering in case Erik had overestimated his own strength. However, Erik carried the prince to the courtyard unaided, where Sean had hauled a chair and ottoman for Charles to rest in. Once he was settled, it was obvious to Erik and Sean how much he'd missed being outside, both of them ignoring the slight tremble in the prince's hand as he used it to brush the hair out of his eyes as he tilted his face up, like a flower seeking sun.
Alexander bounded across the courtyard, chasing birds and butterflies, enjoying his canine form so much that Erik wondered again if his friend's mind was fading away after weeks trapped in the curse. Henry didn't seem to think it was a possibility, but Erik had learned that the physician's mind was not like his own, except on the question of their concern for Charles.
Erik did not realize that Charles was speaking to him, until he felt the prince's hand touch his to gain his attention. "What?"
"I just wanted to thank you for this," Charles said, face soft and smile bright. "This is wonderful, Erik. Truly."
Erik dismissed the prince's effusive gratitude but stayed close for the few hours they spent outdoors, glad to see a glimmer of what Charles must've been like before. His smile was a little brighter, his laughter a little louder, and Erik again found himself wishing with everything he was that he'd been there a year earlier when he might have found a way to spare the prince of his torment.
After their busy day, Erik had expected his sleep to be sound, but it wasn't; instead, he found himself on the stairs again, just outside of Charles's chambers. Again, just near midnight, he thought he heard voices and smelled sulfur on the air. This time he knocked on the door and called out for Charles but received no answer. He tried to open it, but remembered that Sean locked it each night when he settled Charles for bed. Erik was half-tempted to wake the boy to demand entrance that very minute but Erik held back. As a soldier, he'd learned to listen to his instincts and those instincts told him there was something amiss, but he'd also learned to bide his time. He would wait and see.
It wasn't until the sun was creeping up in the eastern sky that Erik heard noise again from within Charles's chambers, the same two voices, along with the sound of movement around the room. He strained to hear more but it quieted after a moment or two, leaving him with little new information. He was on his way back to his own chambers before anyone found him at the prince's door when he caught sight of something out of one of the small windows that lined the tower's walls, something that made his blood go cold. Just in the distance, he saw a dark figure that looked as if it had a tail. When Erik blinked, the figure was gone and he finally recalled where he'd smelled that distinctive sulfur smell before.
Erik was convinced that Charles was not telling him -- them -- something, something that had to do with his nightly visit by a fae that Erik suspected might be Azazel, the one he'd fought in the forest. So instead of asking the prince directly about it, Erik decided to try something else.
"Do you object to me staying with you all night?" Erik questioned over their daily chess game.
He startled Charles so badly that the prince almost upturned the board. When Erik glanced up, Charles's eyes were wide, confused, but maybe a little hopeful as well. "Erik," he said, voice lower and rougher than usual. "I...you must know that given my condition, that as much as I appreciate your company, I..."
The prince's stumbling answer made Erik replay the question in his mind and he realized what he'd said. "No, I meant --" he broke off, trying to ignore the thoughts it reminded him of, the ones he had late at night in his room, when his body ached for release and his heart desperately wished he did not notice the way Charles grew fainter and fainter with each passing day. "I only meant that I worry you are too lonely by yourself. There is more than enough room for my cot to be brought up here. I could remain and keep you company once everyone's gone to bed."
"I do appreciate your company, but it's not necessary," he said. "It's enough that you spend as much time with me as you do. I wouldn't ask for more."
"I don't mind," Erik insisted, but Charles was surprisingly firm on the topic, which meant Erik would have to try another tact if he wanted access to the prince's bedchambers to see if there were really a fae coming to visit him in the night. And, given what that fae had done to Alexander and had tried to do to Mystique, he doubted any design Azazel had on Charles was not nefarious in nature.
The thought of Mystique was what reminded him and Erik excused himself to run to his room, where he removed the garish red cloak from his bags. He carried it over to the small looking glass that Henry provided with the room and watched in amazement as he slipped it over himself and his reflection disappeared as if he'd never stood there.
Erik tugged it from his shoulders and held it in his hands, a plan forming in his mind.
on to part 2