A/N: Sometimes I can feel a story idea forming in my head long before I can tell what, exactly, that idea is. Such a thing happened with this tale. (chuckles)

LOOSELY INSPIRED BY THIS THOUGHT: What if in some reality, Magnus's heart couldn't take the emotional blow his mother's death delivered at it…?

DISCLAIMER: (HOWLS with laughter) Check my bank account. Nope, don't own anything but DVDs and an over active imagination.

WARNINGS: Some mentions of violence and injury… Perhaps a tiny hint of not exactly kind language… AAAAAND, that's it. Woah! A SHORT list, for my story.

Okay, folks… Are you ready? Let's go! I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

The Enchanted Heart

The Magic of Love

Magnus was born on the coldest night the kingdom had seen in centuries, in a small, drafty barn in the middle of a forest. Outside wolves howled as loudly as the mother giving birth, her face deathly pale while tears streamed down her cheeks. She fought all alone for almost a full day to bring her child into the world. Finally, at the darkest minute of the night, it was over.

Unlike most newborns, her baby boy was utterly silent in her arms. He lay there with his eyes closed and still, looking like a doll with his dark hair and long eyelashes. Inside his chest his heart had gone quiet, the brutal process of birth proving to be more than it could take. The mother started to cry again, imagining that she'd lost her son before she ever got to meet him properly.

She'd heard of such a thing before – some children were born with hearts that were too fragile to handle the cruelty of the world.

What she didn't know was that the problem with her son's heart wasn't fragility. It was that the organ was too big. Nor did she know that it was stubborn, determined to keep fighting. When her tears fell on the skin covering the heart it began to beat again.

Once a pair of dark, wistful eyes opened she decided that they were the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Years passed by quickly. Magnus grew up and the heart inside him worked its hardest to keep on beating. One day his mother met a man when they were buying groceries from a marketplace. The stranger was far older than her and, as could be read from the jewelry he wore for the world to see, wealthy. Magnus could also tell immediately that the man hated him.

Months later they moved to the stranger's mansion. Most children would've been excited to exchange a hut in a forest to something so luxurious. Magnus felt like he was dragged into a prison. Yet he followed his mother, because she was all he had in the world.

Life was… bearable, afterwards. Gone were the joys of wandering through the forest with his mother and exploring the wonders of the world with her through books. She barely had any time for him anymore. Yet she still loved him. Magnus told himself that it was enough.

Then, when he was nine, something horrible happened.

Magnus imagined that aside the problems with his heart, he was just a normal boy. Until one day his eyes itched and stung horribly. He whimpered and closed them, crying out for his mother. She came rushing to see what was wrong. Despite how long he lived, Magnus never forgot the way she looked at his eyes when he opened them. Because when he saw her wide-open disgust and fear, he realized that there was no one in the world who loved him.

She looked at the eyes of the child she birthed, which were golden like those of a cat instead of dark, and knew that she stared at the son of a demon.

Magnus could feel something change that day, even if he learned to disguise his new eyes almost immediately. His mother avoided touching him whenever she could. He was barely able to convince her to even look at him. Every night he lay in bed, hoping that she might come with one of her stories, even if he was getting too old for those. She never did.

And shortly after, one rainy, dark night, he found her lifeless body.

Magnus's stepfather didn't just tell him that he was responsible for her suicide. The man snarled it at his face, struck him when the words weren't enough. "… abomination…!"

Magnus had no idea who or what he was anymore. He was terrified, traumatized and grieved the loss of his mother. Was it any wonder that he lost control over the powers he hadn't known he had?

When flames rose and his stepfather began to scream Magnus howled as well. Much like the wolves and his mother on the night when he was born. The pain exploding in his chest, in his shattered heart that'd always been faulty… It was too much. Darkness consumed him.

Magnus imagined that it was what death felt like. Until his eyes fluttered open, to find a room that had barely any light in it and a man he'd never met before. "Mommy…"

The man seemed emotionless. "She's gone. Took the coward's way out."

Magnus felt tears on his cheeks and wondered if he stopped crying even while he was unconscious. He was cold and trembled pitiably. It didn't help that his chest still hurt. "Who are you?"

"I'm Asmodeus. Your father." The man's smile didn't seem like the kind that could be trusted. "You're lucky I had decided to arrange a watch on you. Otherwise you would've been found too late."

Magnus shuddered, a hand going instinctively to his chest. He swallowed thickly. "My heart…" It felt… different. Less heavy but hollower and colder. Momentary terror coursed through him when he realized that it was also still. "What did you do to it?"

"A very special spell." The man's eyes flashed. They were cat eyes, just like his. "Your heart was far too broken to keep beating, so I had no other choice but to freeze and seal it. The only thing that can heal it properly is love. The day you fall in love is when your heart becomes strong enough to start beating again. However…" A long finger, decorated by a massive ring, was lifted. "If the one you fall in love with breaks your heart further… It will stop beating for good. Because even the strongest of spells can only shield it against so much hurt."

Magnus gulped, clutching at his chest harder. He was too young to understand fully, but old enough to feel dread. "What if… What if I never fall in love?" He didn't bother entertaining the thought that someone might fall in love with him. Who would, if his own mother couldn't love him?

The man shrugged. "Then it will remain lifeless for the rest of your life. And that, my boy… is a very long time for warlocks."

Magnus frowned. "Warlocks?" He'd never heard that word before.

"Yes." Asmodeus's cat eyes twinkled in a manner that made him feel uncomfortable. "I will teach you what they are, and how to be a proper one."

And teach he did. Over the years it became apparent to Magnus that what his father considered being a proper warlock didn't sit well with him. So he left to start a life of his own. More years passed. Decades, eventually centuries. He found friends, even fleeting mildly romantic adventures. But his heart remained still. He thought that it would be frozen forevermore.

He thought wrong.

Alec was born in the middle of a sunny autumn day, in a luxurious castle. His mother grunted from pain while his father paced and a midwife offered soothing words. The whole process was grueling but over in a few hours.

Alec didn't cry when he was born, either. He looked around with big eyes, took in everything around him. He accepted it all with a quiet whimper that sounded horribly sad. His parents didn't seem to notice the mood. His mother cried from joy and even his father wiped his eyes when they welcomed their firstborn into the world.

Alec grew up to be a dutiful son who always did what was right, lived by every single one of his parents' rules. He did everything under his power to protect his little sister Izzy. She seemed to be as eager to break every rule as he was to follow them, and landed herself into a trouble far too often. Despite all their fights and differences the two of them became an inseparable team.

Perhaps that was why Izzy was the only one who knew him well enough to see him properly. She finally spoke up on his twelfth birthday, when she found him sitting away from everyone else with a gloomy expression on his face. "Well you look like you're having a happy birthday", she teased while taking a seat beside him.

Alec clenched his jaw.

The secret truth was that sometimes, just sometimes… He wasn't happy with the life he was born into. On those days the fancy walls around him felt like a golden cage. He was sadly aware that his life wasn't the problem. He was.

"Mom and dad… They pulled me aside, before the party." Alec grimaced, feeling sick. "They've chosen a betrothed for me." He glared at the floor while he shook his head. "I… I know that I'm supposed to, but… I already know that I don't want to marry her. Do I really need to have a wife to become a proper king?"

Izzy stared at him for a long moment, surprised. "Of course you don't", she declared at last. "But… I also don't want you to be alone for the rest of your life." She took his hand and squeezed it. "One day somebody's gonna love you, heart and soul. And you'll love them as much. I just know it."

Alec nodded but didn't actually believe her. Until a couple of years later an adoptive brother walked into their lives. Jace was pretty and as radiant as the sun itself. A vision that would've caught anyone's eye. And Alec was emotionally torn in a way he never had been before.

One part of him was convinced that the kind of urges he had… They were wrong. Sick and twisted, tricks of his mind. He was even more certain than he was before that there was something fundamentally wrong with him.

A different part of him entertained a hope that perhaps Izzy was right, after all.

Over the next two years Alec worked his hardest to banish those desires. To be the perfect son and future leader he was expected to be. He buried his forbidden budding feelings deep into his heart, built emotional walls to ensure that he wouldn't corrupt himself any further. He wasn't going to disappoint his parents.

He was, however, still very young. And sometimes not exactly in control over himself. Not long before his sixteenth birthday he slipped.

It was a rainy day, which gave the perfect opportunity for indoors training. To Alec's immense delight Jace wanted to try archery for the first time. And wasn't very good at it.

Feeling self-conscious and nervous, Alec stood behind the other boy and began to guide the hands still holding the bow. "You need to lift it up a little, like this. Good. And now… I think you're ready to release it."

The arrow hit the middle of the target board and they both grinned. Jace looked at him with a radiant smile. The boy's lips moved but Alec was so focused on staring at them, tantalizingly close to his own, that he didn't hear the words. Suddenly he was leaning closer, closer…

Until Jace pushed him away, effectively breaking the moment's magic. Confusion in his eyes. "Alec, what are you doing?" The rejection stung worse than anything else ever had before.

Until… "My words exactly", their father hissed. The man went on with a storm in his gaze as soon as Jace had sped off. "Alec, not only is he a boy! He's also your brother!"

Alec swallowed. It was the first time since he was a small child he felt like crying in front of the man. "I know… I… I'm sorry…!"

For the first and last time ever his father struck him. "Whatever disgusting urges you may have… Get rid of them! In a few years you'll get married and have children. That is your duty." His father's eyes flashed with the kind of disappointment Alec never wanted to see again. "One day you're going to be a king. And you will never be a true leader for this kingdom with another man by your side. We'd be a laughing stock!"

On that day Alec decided firmly that romantic love was never going to be a part of his life. Only duty, honor and becoming a king worthy of the throne mattered. He was fine with it, or so he told himself. It was the life he was born into, after all. He thought that he'd never want anything more.

He thought wrong.

Roughly half a year before Alec's eighteenth birthday he fell ill after riding in the rain. At first the healers at the castle attempted to cure him. But soon it became apparent that outside help would be necessary unless the royal couple wanted to lose the crown prince.

Alec's fever was incredibly high. So it was only understandable that when the man first came to his blurry view, he was certain that he was hallucinating. It wasn't just the heavy makeup and the clothes. He'd never, ever encountered someone so… beautiful. Otherworldly. "… you real…?" he mumbled. If he was more coherent, he would've been mortified by the very much audible admiration in his voice. Not to even mention the look that took over his sweaty, pale face.

The stranger chuckled breathily. "Believe me, Alexander, I'm very much real. Now shh… Relax. You will feel better soon."

Alec didn't know why he trusted someone he'd never met before, someone who was probably a trick of his imagination or fever. But he did. His eyes slipped closed and he fell asleep. He felt safer and more at home than he ever had in his life while the warlock's healing magic coursed through him.

When the healing was done Magnus ensured that Alec was recovering and resting calmly. Then staggered to his suddenly unsteady feet. A hand clutching at his chest and a frown on his face.

"Are you okay?" Isabelle, the one who retrieved him, inquired, concern on her face. She was the only one in the room who seemed to remember he existed.

Magnus did his best to smile. "I'm perfectly fine, dear. Using magic can be a little… exhausting sometimes."

Of course it wasn't just that. It was centuries from when Magnus's heart was stilled in order to save his life, such as it was. How was he supposed to recognize what was happening when the organ began to stir from its long slumber?

Hours later Alec's eyes fluttered open. He met his family's worry and excitement with brief responses, his head spinning. Because suddenly there was a tingling under his skin he'd never experienced before. He placed a hand above his heart when the bizarre sensation seemed to settle and make a home there.

How was he supposed to know that it was Magnus's magic, that it was what the promise of love felt like?

TBC

A/N: And so they meet…! (grins) Oh dear… We'll see just how messy this so-called fairytale gets…

SOOOO… The question goes… Would you like to read more? In case you do…

NEXT UPDATE COMING UP NEXT WEEK. After that… I MAY BE able to speed up, if you want me to.

In any case… THANK YOU, so much, for reading! Whoever knows, maybe I'll see you again. There's magic in the air. (smirks)

Take care!