This is written in… Well, I can't really say it's POV since I don't refer to Marcus as 'I' but I guess if there was such a thing as a mixture of first person and third person to create a POV this would be it. Also, it's past tense, so sorry if you were confused by the line in the summary (and the first line here) I know the line in the book is present tense, but I'm not the best at doing that. So, Enjoy!
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Marcus got to his feet and said, "I take my responsibilities as a father seriously."
And he meant it…
.
The day Nathan had been born, Marcus had been there.
Not in the shadows, or 'in spirit', but disguised as a common fly.
He watched his lover's mother pull the child out of her body.
A boy, he noted, a beautiful baby boy who looked so like him.
He also took into account how his lover's oldest son, Arran, he believed the name was, came to the newborn and held out his arms.
The old lady- Elsie, he corrects himself, knowing how much Cora hated it when he referred to her as 'the old lady' or 'that soggy old prune' or 'get off my back, woman' or even the old classic 'ow! What was that for?'- sat Arran down and showed the two-nearly-three-year-old how to hold him.
The child, so much like Cora, bless them, looked at the little 'thing' in his arms in vast befuddlement, obviously not expecting him, but with also a special, loving kind of wonder and warmth that made Marcus slightly grateful.
He waited till they placed the newborn in a cradle for the night, Cora still weak from giving birth.
Then he flew over to it.
The baby was sleeping. He'd heard Cora, still weak, naming it. Nathan, that was the name she chose, cleverly chosen, and only a very smart person would know why, which, he figured, kept it secret from any white witches, except maybe Arran, whom he held a bit of a soft spot for.
For none would otherwise know that the reason she chose it, was because Nathan, N-A-T-H-A-N, and Marcus, M-A-R-C-U-S, had the same amount of letters.
He eyed the sleeping baby in it's make-shift cradle.
He knew that Cora and her husband had given away everything after Arran was born, intent on not having anymore children, and he also knew that at this point they didn't really have money for new things, but they were trying their best which was all that really mattered.
He peered at the baby in his insectile form, finally getting to drink in his looks properly.
He had hair, a little tuft of wispy, black hair; angular, sharp cheekbones- for a baby, anyways; black eyes with black, turning triangles barely visible, but there; he also had little rosy lips which he definitely inherited from Cora; an adorable- wait, what? He was a Black Witch, things aren't adorable, they're disgusting!- little nose; and a tiny bit of fat surrounding him.
He sincerely hoped his son didn't turn out to be gay, because then he would have the Council hunting him down for murders that didn't even gain him new powers.
He looked so precious sleeping there that it tore Marcus's heart to leave, but he knew if he stayed too long the Council would track him down, and when he was dead, they'd have no use for Nathan and kill him too.
.
The next time Marcus saw Nathan, the child was three.
He was, as per the norm, disguised as a common fly.
Nathan was sitting at the kitchen table, drawing something.
Marcus crept a little closer, wanting to see what his son was drawing.
He was expecting a crude picture of a Butterfly, or a ladybug, something most children would draw.
But what he saw instead shocked him.
He saw a face, a… familiar, face, with big, black eyes and wild dark hair. How Nathan even knew what he looked like was a mystery. Heck, the Council didn't even know until they had Nathan to give them a basic idea.
He saw that 'girl', Jessica, walk up to him. She was eight and a half years older than him, and loved being horrible to him.
But then again, Marcus deduced, the girl had been nine when her mother had committed suicide, forced by the council, and the newest thing the girl would have registered was Nathan, the newborn, who was the last new thing their mother had, as the cause of her death. There was also that fact that she was the oldest, and therefore had once been an only child and may have been jealous of Nathan getting all the attention from her younger sister and younger brother. And the last possible reason was that she was angry about her father's death, caused by him, and since she couldn't get revenge on Marcus she took it out on Nathan, who was her illegitimate half-brother.
"What are you drawing?" she demanded.
Nathan looked up to her with beautiful, glossy black eyes.
"I see stwange man in dweams and I dwaw him. Wook!" the three year old waved the picture around.
Jessica growled and snatched the picture away from him, tearing it up.
"Shut up you stupid little Black Witch!" she shrieked at him.
Marcus rolled his eyes, yup, because she definitely didn't act like a Black Witch, especially compared to the young boy she was yelling at for no reason and making cry.
Nathan fought back his tears, and it made Marcus proud that his boy was so strong.
Just then, Arran ran into the room.
"Leave him alone, Jessica," he said, deadly calm.
"Why are you defending him!?" she shrieked, "He killed mom!"
Arran rolled his eyes, "Yes. A newborn baby put a knife to her throat, how realistic," his voice oozed sarcasm, which was completely unlike him.
"You're an idiot, Arran, a bloody idiot!" she yelled, "One day you'll see, you'll all see, when the Council deems him a Black Witch at his seventeenth birthday!" and with that she stomped out of the room.
Marcus wanted to beat her. He really did. But he figured no good would come out of it, and that Nathan would just get in trouble, and so, figuring that with Arran to help Nathan he'd be safe, he left.
.
The next time he saw Nathan, he was disguised as something else completely.
A butterfly. A butterfly was the form he took as he sat and watched his young son laying in a meadow.
He was with Arran ("Naturally," he mentally scoffed).
The two were just laying there, holding hands, Nathan pressed slightly against his older brother's body.
It warmed his heart to see his son so happy, receiving the love he'd rarely ever been able to have.
"Look!" his six year old son pointed at him, "It's a butterfly."
"Yes, it is," said Arran, warmly, making Nathan smile brighter under his brother's praise, "Isn't it pretty?"
Nathan nodded his head wildly against his brother's chest.
"Boys!" called the old hag- er, Elsie.
"Coming Grandma!" they replied in unison, before racing back to the hovel they called home.
.
Marcus's eyes went wide as he had a Fain read him the latest Council update. They were targeting Nathan, targeting his only child to get to him, so they could kill him, and then Nathan.
He wanted to barge in there and instead he decided to do something else, something desperate. He knew she would refuse, she was very angry at the moment, and rightly so since her sister, his grandmother, had recently been murdered but he had to try anyway.
.
It took a week. An entire week to get to her, and that was even when he transformed into a cheetah or an ostrich to cover more ground.
He knocked on her palace door and awaited her answer.
The door opened and out she stepped, grey hair and soulless black eyes.
"Marcus," she said, her voice cold.
"Mercury," he greeted.
"Prey do tell what exactly you're here for?" she hissed.
"I-I was wondering if you could help me, my son Nathan, you see, I was wondering if you would consider taking him in? He wouldn't be safe with me, and the Hunters would have a hard time finding you…" he trailed off.
And then she laughed, a cold melancholous laugh resonating through the surrounding ice bergs.
"You?" she hissed, "Help you?" she laughed again, "First you kill my sister, and then you have the gall to come in here and demand help from me!? No way! Forget it! I'm through with you!" she snapped, "Now get off my property before I hurl a lightning bolt at you!"
He sighed, he knew she wouldn't help. Oh well, he gave it his best shot. Still, he couldn't help the shock that washed over him. Why would Mercury think he of all people killed her twin, his grandmother, his blood? Black Witches may murder many people, but never their family- well, not their direct family anyways…
He transformed into a raven and flew off, back to England where he could keep a closer eye on his son…
.
His son was starting school today, and he watched him, as his usual disguise, a fly.
He saw him write: Nathan Byrn on the sheet, and growled a little, but felt better when Nathan crossed out the Byrn.
He looked at his child's writing and grimaced. Horrible, but he couldn't really do much better so he wasn't one to judge.
He saw that White Witch, Annalise, he believed, shoot Nathan a couple dozen glances, all filled with curiosity, intriguement, and- blast- lust.
His son would not marry a White Witch, heck, at this point he didn't even care if his son was gay, a Black man was better than a White woman.
.
Expelled. His son was expelled, and despite what normal parents would feel, he was proud of him for showing those White Whets their place.
He had also recently discovered that his son had begun going to Wales, and not only that, but had also inherited his family's little… problem of being indoors at night.
He was proud of his son, and didn't want to go killing in Wales for fear that he'd end up getting Nathan banned from going there.
But, when the family rumored to be holding the Fairborn was located in Wales, he couldn't help himself.
He knew, of course, that the Fairborn was a powerful weapon, and that the Council intended on using it to destroy him. He was a cautious man, and regardless of whether or not it disrupted Nathan's fun he had to get it.
Needless to say that after his failed attempt at getting the Fairborn (It had been hidden under various spells that would've killed him) resulted in the Council creating a new decree.
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A few years later, when Nathan was only thirteen, he had a strange vision (Blast Emerald and her gift - curse.)
He saw Nathan, standing above his body, a knife in one hand. The Fairborn.
"Goodbye, Father," spat future-Nathan, "And good riddance!" he stabbed down.
And with that, Marcus exited the dream-like state he entered when he received these.
Nathan. His son. His own flesh and blood. Killing him?
It made no sense.
Sure he hadn't been the best parent, and Nathan had never seen him (in human form anyway), but that wasn't enough of a reason to kill him, right? Then again, he'd heard stories of selfish, spoiled, bratty Fains killing their parents for not getting them something as mundane as a toy, and White Witches, which included Nathan seeing as he'd been raised by them, did try and blend in with the Fains (and were disgustingly Fain themselves…). But still, at heart Nathan was a Black Witch, whether he believed it or not, and he wouldn't do something like that. Couldn't. But still, he'd have to take precaution, he was a careful man after all, it was the reason he hadn't died yet.
.
He told Mary in the hopes that she could explain things to Nathan better than he could himself, and he sincerely hoped that he was right.
He'd given her clear instructions of what to do, after all, who better to trust than the woman who'd freed his grandfather from Retribution?
He was right, of course. She informed him well, told him who to find and gave him instructions.
The one thing he was not accounting for was Nathan being stopped by some stupid Hunters.
He didn't know what happened after that, not even he could see inside the Council, nor would he risk entering, but still he waited, perched outside the Council building as a falcon.
When he saw Nathan leave, many hours later, he was surprised to see him go with a different lady (and in chains).
He flew after them, hawking and squawking all the way as he tried to plot a way to free his son.
He followed them back, but the lady did something unexpected.
She put a band on Nathan's wrist, filled with a certain type of potion. Marcus listened close as she explained what it was to Nathan.
"Leave the premises," she hissed, "And the bottle on the band will break, releasing an acid which will eat away your hand. Try to remove it and the same thing will happen. Only I can remove it safely, it's charmed like that," and with that, she shoved him into the cage.
Sighing in defeat, and not willing to risk his boy losing a hand, he flew away, trying to think of a way to free him…
.
He spent every day watching Nathan, perched in the tree as a falcon, watching as he ran, as he learned, as he grew.
Nathan was no longer the fourteen year old boy that had entered the cage. He was a man now, a man who was nearing his seventeenth birthday, and who was running out time.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait too long. Those idiot Council members, capturing Nathan, putting him in a cell and expecting him not to escape. Idiots.
And with that, Nathan was on the run.
Nathan may not have known, but he was watching over him the whole time.
When he was staying in those people's holiday home. When he was coming back to the Council to find Bob. When he was stealing. When he met those con-men White Witches. And when he met Gabriel.
He remembered all those years ago with Annalise, the little b**** whose carelessness resulted in his son's injury[he'd seen it in a vision, he was, rather unfortunately, not there], when he thought a Black man would be better than a White woman. Were the Fates trying to play a trick on him or something? Or did they just like watching a father's misery?
Nevertheless, Gabriel took good care of him, and he supposed that if they did end up together, then maybe it wouldn't be too bad. Maybe Gabriel could show Nathan what he really was, and perhaps even turn him against the council [who Marcus was pretty sure Nathan was already against because of their attempt to make a witches bottle.]
And then, Nathan met Mercury.
Marcus had been there all the while, of course, disguised as an eagle and perched in a tree.
He wanted to warn Nathan against her. To tell him that he'd come for him on his seventeenth birthday, but he couldn't. If he showed himself, then Mercury would, with no doubt, kill him, due to her thinking he'd killed her sister, his grandmother, and if he was dead, she'd have no use for Nathan…
So he waited. He was proud of Nathan for not wanting to kill him, it showed him his son's strength of character [even though Nathan was supposed to be the one with the power to kill him].
He heard Mercury tell Gabriel to fetch 'some seeker of her' and watched him leave.
He saw Nathan go to the lake, and chose to soar in circles above him.
He watched him smile, and for once felt like a good father.
He saw that girl whom he always forgot's name, just that it had something to do with a flower.
He watched her join him. He watched her tell him about Gabriel's feelings. He watched Nathan shrug it off, as though he'd already known. He watched Gabriel return with *gasp* White filth!
That b*tch was the one to seek assistance! Oh how he wanted to strangle her.
Unfortunately, Mercury must've sensed him, because a few storm clouds rolled in directly above him, and so, he fled.
Later he had another vision, one of Mercury's little experiment assistant dying. In the same vision, he saw Nathan, poor boy had been shot by a hunter, trying to get to Gabriel's apartment, seeing his sister half-sister, giving her what she deserved stabbing her, and making his way to Mercury the long way.
He set out to try and find his son.
When he eventually did, he found him unconscious by the stream, the bullet pulled out.
He sighed. Today was his child's giving. The day his Little Nathan became Big Nathan a man.
He waited till Nathan was almost at Mercury's when he stopped him, using an acquired gift which enabled him control over time. At last, he could finally appear before his son in his true form.
The giving didn't go too bad, he heard that Nathan had lost the Fairborn, which was a great relief worry, seeing as it could do damage, though not necessarily to him, in the wrong hands.
He unfroze time and took off.
He saw Nathan and Mercury's exchange through a vision. Oh great, more problems. But alas, all was well now, and he was content…
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Well, that's over with… G'dbye
-httyd4eva
peace out yo ;P