Old Pranking Habits Die Hard

Written for the BMT Body Swap Challenge

Set in Elyne. Rothen comes to visit Dannyl at the Guildhouse, and gets more than he bargains for… Rothen's POV!

I am going to kill Dannyl when this is over.

What the hell was he thinking, experimenting with dangerous potions? And to have the utter idiocy to spike my drink with his latest concoction, just to see if it would work! Sometimes I wonder if it was a bad idea him becoming Ambassador and rambling off to Elyne like that; it certainly didn't do him any good. And I've found that out the hard way.

After the results of the potion became evident, naturally I was furious at Dannyl, and demanded him to change me back to my own body. He just stood there (the cheek of him!) laughing hysterically, and telling me how much better I looked now. (He's too vain by far, that's definitely something he picked up from those extravagant Elyne courtiers!)

Dannyl just said that it could be worse, and I was lucky to be stuck in such an attractive body. I responded with the nastiest glare I could muster, and he told me not to fret, the potion would wear off after a day or so. As if I wanted to spend even a moment more in Dannyl's body, much less a whole day!

After my fury abated somewhat, I agreed it was best to retire to bed; after all it was already late, and there was nothing to be gained by verbally abusing my former novice any longer.

The next morning, I found a note in the living room from Dannyl, which read as follows:

Dear old friend,

I am most dreadfully sorry for my actions last night; no doubt you blame yourself for how badly I have turned out. In an attempt to remedy my terrible deed, I will head straight to the Great Library, in order to research a faster cure for your "condition".

Feel free to join me; you are most welcome to take a tour of the magnificent Library, and I'm sure my assistant Tayend will be happy to oblige you. After you are done exploring, make sure Tayend shows you to our private study room, and I shall meet you there.

Your ever dutiful novice,

Dannyl

Well, at least he was trying to put his misdeeds right! But I wasn't entirely sure if he was being serious… At any rate, I decided to make my way to the Library, as Dannyl had suggested.

When I got there, I was struck by the sheer looming size of the building. It looks like the Elynes' aren't completely useless after all! I ascended the wide steps, admiring the intricate detail on the pillars. I reached the large front door, and quickly rapped on it three times.

It was promptly opened by an exceptionally handsome young fellow. I was startled by the mischievous grin that spread across his face as he appraised me. I was even more shocked when he hooked his arm into mine, pulled me inside and said in a low, provocative voice, "It's about time, Dannyl! You haven't visited in over a week… I was starting to think you had grown bored of me, and found yourself a pretty new courtier to play with!"

I just gaped at him. He giggled, a sound I never expected to hear from a fully grown man, and purposely pulled me down the hall, and into the main section of the library.

Momentarily, I forgot about the springy young man dragging me along after him, as I gazed around at the sheer volume of books housed in the gigantic room. Tayend glanced back at me in amusement, commenting wryly, "I would have thought you'd be used to this place by now! You look exactly like some common tourist, with your mouth hanging open like that."

I scowled at the Elyne's impertinence, but he just continued hauling my along to one of the side doors along the wall, and he led me inside. The room was small and cosy, with a large wooden table in the centre, surrounded by a comfortable looking couch and two chairs, and a small bookcase and wardrobe leaning against the far wall. Tayend closed the door, and turned around to look me up and down, his eyes glinting wickedly.

I had not previously been able to formulate words to explain the situation to the scholar. Evidently, he had no idea who I really was; nor that I was stuck in Dannyl's body. The whole thing sounded preposterous, and I had been hoping for the real Lord Dannyl to turn up and explain things to his assistant. But now I realised to my horror that I would need to set this young man straight, before he embarrassed himself even further.

"I don't know why you're acting like a shy milkmaid, Dannyl; we both know what you want." Tayend sauntered right up to me, and I backed up against the wall in alarm. He seemed all the more excited by my reaction. "So, you want to play it like that, do you?" He competently began undoing the buttons on his jacket, and before I could even protest he had shrugged out of it, and tossed it onto one of the chairs. For the first time, I had a proper look at what he was wearing, and then wished fervently I had not done so. He was dressed in the most ridiculously tight trousers I had ever seen in my life. I wondered vaguely how he had even gotten them on; did he have to sew himself into them?

I cleared my throat, and made an attempt to explain the situation, staring sternly into the Elyne's eager face. "Look, young man. I'm not your friend Dannyl. I don't even know where the real Dannyl is, but he had the bright idea of giving me a potion last night, which made me turn into him."

This was met with a long silence and an incredulous face from Tayend, before he abruptly asked, "So… Who are you really?"

I sighed with relief that he seemed to believe me. "I'm Lord Rothen, Dannyl's mentor from when he was a novice."

A slow smirk stretched across the scholar's lips and he replied loftily, "Really Dannyl. This is certainly the strangest joke you've ever played on me. Of all people, why would you want to pretend you are Lord Rothen? I could understand if you chose Larkin, or even Akkarin! But Rothen?" Tayend chuckled, and stood closer to me, his lips pursed. "Are you just teasing me?"

I almost groaned in frustration, why on earth would anybody joke about something like this? No doubt this scholar of Dannyl's wasn't the most intelligent of men, but then again, what could you expect from an Elyne? Moreover, one who dresses as if he thinks the world needs to see the shape of his legs?

I put on my most formidable expression, the one I usually save for misbehaving novices. Pulling myself up to Dannyl's full height (he certainly is unnaturally tall, but it must come in handy at times like this), I looked down at Tayend and intoned firmly, "I am not Lord Dannyl, nor is this some frivolous joke!"

The scholar burst out laughing, and I wanted to shake some sense into him. How dare he laugh at me?

As soon as Tayend caught his breath, he said cheerfully, "Just lie down on the couch Dannyl, and we can pretend you are anyone you want to be." He frowned slightly in thought. "I'm guessing you're just cranky because that nasty Ambassador Errand is giving you all his work to do. Don't worry, you can take it easy if you like, I'll do most of the work." The scholar winked at me, something reminiscent of a common street prostitute. "I know you love it when I take control!"

I couldn't stand it; this vulgar Elyne courtier was acting like a complete slut in front of me. Did he always do this when Dannyl was around? How could Dannyl put up with it?

"Listen, you little minx. I am not Lord Dannyl, and I'm sure the real Lord Dannyl wouldn't be impressed with your behaviour either! Now, go do some real work for once!"

Tayend's eyes widened, and then a furtive smile crept over his face. "Are you trying to tell me that you want to take control? You're not normally this bossy. But I don't mind if you want to go on top this time, so long as next time I get to-"

"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear it! Now put your jacket back on young man, and we're going to find the real Lord Dannyl, who's going to be very displeased with your conduct when I tell him all about it."

At that moment, the doors of the large wardrobe in the corner opened, and a tall, purple robed figure jumped out into the room.

"Oh, hello Rothen! I see you've met Tayend."

I gazed in astonishment at Dannyl, and then at Tayend, and then back to Dannyl. They both erupted into unruly fits of laughter.

"Dannyl, I'm so sorry, I think I've traumatised your poor mentor!" Tayend gasped, not looking sorry at all.

Dannyl laughed even harder at my fuming expression. I turned smartly around and strode out of the room, down through the main section of the library, and out the front door. No one has ever played such a humiliating trick on me! And nobody will ever do so again. I'm going to get revenge on Dannyl, and his little assistant…

But before I do that, I shall have to find a way to erase from my mind all those filthy things which Tayend said to me.

I hope you enjoyed this, it was great fun to write an overly conservative Rothen :D Plus I got to practise writing in the first person! Please let me know what you thought of it, you know I always appreciate your great feedback ;D