Stiles tripped his way gaily down the dark and narrow stone spiral staircase. There were corridors extending off down every few steps and the bells from the warning tower were sounding out and echoing down every hallway. There were shouts too, from guards and panicked servants as they took cover in rooms and alcoves save getting between the lord's guards and their prey. Stiles keened his hearing at the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing approaching up towards him and ducked into a shallow alcove just as they turned the corner in front of him. The shadows wrapped around him as his request and they of course saw nothing. Stiles easily continued on his way as soon as they'd passed by, he smiled to himself. Their heavy boots infinitely louder than Stiles' light steps; if they were going to catch him he'd be the one to have to make a mistake.

Two flights further down Stiles stepped out he came upon a soldier stood in position stood just inside an alcove. He jumped the few steps down to him landing squarely facing him. Before the soldier had the impulse to reach out or strike Stiles saluted him with a grin and jumped down several more stairs and disappeared into the dark. He could hear the guard shouting in an attempt to raise the alarm to his comrades but Stiles was already too far away for it to be a threat to his mischief. In reality he could have passed that guard without them ever noticing him, but what was the fun in that?

He made his exit from the stairwell and suddenly found himself face to face with two more guards. Humorously, there was one tall guard and one shorter, wider guard. Their armour glinted in the dim moon light coming through the windows behind them and by the candle burning beside the doorway. Under their helmets Stiles could see a smirk showing on the taller man's face. Stiles couldn't resist smirking back.

"Hello boys," He said sweetly.

"Guess you've run out of luck," The taller one sneered. "Can't wait to play with you," He said stalking forwards slowly.

"Y'know I'm sure we'd have fun," Stiles countered as he stepped forwards himself closing the gap. A movement in the shadows just past them caught his eye and a small familiar face appeared from behind a statue. Stiles refocused on his attackers making sure to keep their attention on him, "But I'm afraid just haven't got the time to stick around today," He dived left as the shorter of the two grabbed for him and then as the taller lunged he jumped, higher than any human could and the guard threw himself forwards of his own accord, landing hand on the floor with a clatter of sword and chain mail. Stiles snapped his fingered and neither guard would be moving from the floor any time soon.

"Yo Sammy, kid what're you doing out here?" He said crossing over to where behind a great statue stood the indiscrete child shuffled from foot to foot nervously.

"It's not safe if you don't know what you're doing," Stiles put a hand on his shoulder carefully.

"I wanted to see what you do to them," Sammy was looping a piece of stay cotton round his fingertips as he spoke.

"It's just a bit of fun. But they could hurt you if you're not careful,"

"But 'tiles," Sammy whined looking up pleadingly. The kid was curious but stiles had been warned by his father about inspiring irresponsibility. From behind the guards groaned and Stiles could see the look on the boys face meant he wasn't ready to come face to face with a human any time soon. Let alone one of these goons in armour.

"Go on now, vanish," He waved his hand in the boy's direction and though Sammy was pouting and scowling up at Stiles, he faded into smoke and returned home. Stiles though still had things to do. His trickster habits were still buzzing inside for a thrill and he'd been itching for this target.

He ducked and dived his way illusively past a dozen or so more guards before coming across his goal: The Marquis' library. Inside held thousands of secrets only written in books hundred of years ago. Stiles had been around to see most of them then but had been foolish enough to let them slip out of his reach over the centuries. He dodged his way around the room being drawn to certain texts like they had a rare exotic aroma to them. He pulled out a thin cloth bag from his pocket and went about picking the ones he most desired. There were eight by the time he'd finished heavy in the bag which he threw over his shoulder. He was perusing shelves close to the door when he heard it creak on its hinges behind him. He stepped back into the shadows and whispered a quick concealing spell.

A soldier stepped in and after doing only the briefest sweep of the room, missing him completely Stiles could see easily in the dim moonlight coming through the windows but the soldier was even carrying a torch or candle. The soldier didn't appear concerned with continuing their search; instead they heavily leant back against one of the desks at the front of the room by the door. Stiles would have to wait to make his escape until they had moved a little further away.

From where Stiles was standing he could see their laboured movements as they placed their sword and shield down on the table beside them. He could hear their heavy breathing that was more characteristic of painful controlled gasps than physical exertion. Stiles stepped forwards, light and careful on his feet, to gain a better view as the soldier unpeeled the leather cuffs around their arm and rolled back the covering. It revealed a nasty gash the length of their forearm. Stiles silently cursed. This shouldn't have happened. He'd told his friends no injuries but apparently someone had been a little over enthused for the trip.

The soldier in front of him pressed the wound with their hand and hissed at the pain. They kept their hand tightly over the cut and bent their head right back up to stare at the ceiling, presumably attempting to ignore the pain away.

From the several metres away Stiles began to bind the skin carefully so as not to be painful, but he'd need to be closed so as not to leave a scar. Slowly Stiles stepped from the shadows. The soldier didn't notice until Stiles stepped past a beam of moonlight filtering through the window. The jumped and reached for their weapon but with a flick of his hand the sword was out of reach and harm's way.

"You shouldn't have been hurt, let me help. I can heal it," He said reaching out a hand palm up and open as a reassuring gesture. The soldier made no move to step closer and Stiles knew there were many false rumours in the human world about trickster spirits like him. It was enough to make him wonder who was perpetuating them.

"Thanks but no thanks. I could lose my life," A female soldier then, and one Stiles' fae charms hadn't settled immediately. He was almost intrigued enough to let her keep her harsh snapping words while he worked.

"So distrustful," Stiles waved his hand and the soldier dropped to the floor as if in slow motion. Stiles crossed quickly and brought up a hand to rest a hand on the back of her neck and ease her down to stop her from landing uncomfortably. He crouched over her and ran a thumb gentle over her wound. The soldier's eyes glared up at him. "Have a little faith in fae kind," He whispered. He placed his hand firmly over the now vanishing mark on her arm and it was soon returned to unblemished skin.

"I'm Stiles, by the way. And I really mean it when I say that no one was supposed to get hurt here," He waved his hand as if signing his name in the air above her body, ending the spell keeping her still and she was able to move again. Her first impulse it seemed was moving slightly further away from where he knelt beside her before crouching and standing, never taking her eyes off him.

"I can't spare you," She warned him stepping backwards carefully until Stiles knew she would be able to reach for her weapon.

"You can if you can't catch me," He countered throwing a hand out which sent her sword flying across the room into the dark and in a flash he'd grabbed the bag of texts. He foolishly thought he was out of harms way when she'd gone to retrieve her sword and Stiles slipped out of the door, immediately crashing into the back of another guard.

"Cora are you-," The guard's words disappeared as he stared down into Stiles' eyes

"Oh, yeah, hi," He grinned and waved childishly. The guard's hand shot out grabbed him by the shoulder and Stiles squeaked in surprise as the door dug into his back sharply.

"If you've hurt her you'll never stop paying," The guard growled and Stiles was sorely distracted by quelling the temptation to reach up and stroke his hand down this guy's face to ease the tension there. It was more than aggression it was a fire and energy that was in this man's very skin. Stiles cocked his head to one side.

"Then lucky for you she's actually better than when I first met her," The guard shoved Stiles back into the door again and held his arm tight across Stiles' neck. Stiles deadpanned and stared back at him. "You don't think I could get out of this if I wanted to? I'm actually pretty benevolent as trickster spirits come and go,"

"Why are you here?"

"Reading material," Stiles shrugged the shoulder with the bag hanging from it. The guy in front of him frowned confused. Distantly down the corridor he heard the laughs and squeals of his partners in crime and Stiles' eyes flickered from the direction the sounds were coming from back to the guy's face mere inches from his. He actually wanted to stay and play with this one. He seemed serious enough Stiles could have a bit of fun with him. He huffed out a chuckle under his breath at the circumstance of events before catching his foot around the guy's leg and spinning him so that Stiles was now the one pinning him down. "Oh I've got to go, but it was nice meeting you," He whispered in the guy's ear.

He shot off to the end of the corridor where he glanced back at the guy staring hopelessly after him. The girl had just opened the door beside him and was talking to him, asking if he was okay. Stiles left them to it. He was sure they'd twist the story of their encounter with him to their own gain anyway.

Stiles shot down the corridors listening to the high pitched giggles and shouts of his family and tracking them through the hallways. He finally came across a balcony overlooking a grand hall. He leant over the edge of the railing until he almost overbalanced so he could see his group of friends corralled down beneath them. The guards there were looking bloodthirsty and vicious and Stiles concern grew from wondering if they'd get out of this adventure without more bloodshed.

A slam of a door behind him told him all he needed to know about how close the guards were to his own position. He took a few steps backwards to give himself a run up and then with a hand clutching his bag close to him he jumped, somersaulting off the balcony and down onto the floor below landing in the danger zone of gap between the lord's guards and his friends. A hand grabbed his jacked and yanked him backward as a sword cut too close to his chest for comfort.

"Idiot," He heard Lydia mutter behind him. There was a fondness in her voice though so she can't have had too bad a time here. He leant back into the hand still on his tunic as a show of thanks.

"Wow," He said wobbling a bit from dizziness, "This has been fun guys but we've really got to dash," and then with a few whispered words threw a handful of what appeared to be glitter full dust up into the air. He watched as some of their attackers froze or panicked, pushing back into their comrades behind to get away from it. The distraction had worked and Stiles and his friends slipped past the confusion and out of the nearest side door.

They jumped and danced through the now more spaced out guards and down the steps of the entrance hall and outside. Stiles spotted his acquaintances from up in the library stood up on a ledge above the main courtyard. Stiles couldn't resist one more goodbye and dodged his way out and around several blades and then jumping up high to land on the stone balcony railing in front of them. The girl looked suspicious of him but though her blade was raised she didn't step forward to attack him, the guy was just staring however, no weapon no visible inclination to do him harm. Stiles paused in front of them he couldn't help but laugh. It was his favourite part to see people who didn't know how to take him. He winked at the guy and bowed low, and then fell backwards turning in the air and landing on his feet. He saw the two above him having thrown themselves to the railing to see his fate.

Over the noise Stiles caught Lydia shouting for him and as if he was only remembering the steps to a dance rather than avoiding a skewering blade he skipped ducked and spun his way out of reach of attack and was back to Scott and Lydia's side.

"Dude what are you playing at?" Scott scolded him as they ran out onto the courtyard followed by at least two dozen guards.

"The illusions are your fun, the teasing them when I know they can't catch me, that's mine. What was with the violence man?"

"Jackson got a little protective when someone snuck up on Lydia. I sent him home like with a snap but he still got in a few hits." On his other side Lydia huffed, her strawberry blonde hair flying out wildly behind her.

"He took one of their blades and used it against them. I knew they were there. Waving that thing round like he knew what he was doing. He caught one of them right across the arm as they were pulling someone else out of his way," Lydia was one of only a few of them who could wield a weapon. The rest of them largely used tricks and illusions around humans but Lydia's appearance made her an easier target in the eyes of humans. She was easily the deadliest of them all.

"And that only made them more aggressive, we almost got hit ourselves," Scott added as they skirted around the stables and knew they weren't far off from the main gate now. If they could get there they could vanish from right where they'd entered.

"Yeah I met one of them. Jeez, when he picks people to piss off," Stiles said as they stepped in close to one another just in front of the gate. A hundred or so feet in front of them the guards were in pursuit. Stiles shut his eyes tight as the world around them shifted and they were miles away from the castle and back home.

When Stiles reopened his eyes his forest and their clearing had appeared around them once again the woven canopy overhead and the benches in a small circle around them told Stiles they'd actually gotten their loop right this time Leaving and arriving in the same place gave balance and less consequences; Stiles wasn't new to such as rises in anxiety, mood swings, headaches etcetera but he it was a learned skill to get the travelling right every time that could save him a lot of discomfort in he long run. Unfortunately a lot of his travelling brought him up against people who didn't want him in the areas he found himself in and getting back home from his travels sometimes took more than one try.

His eyes immediately flickered up and saw his father approaching him with his arms crossed just in front of them and Jackson sat scowling on a bench just behind.

"Yo dad," He called out shouldering the books higher and stepping forwards to greet him. His dad didn't look extremely pleased but there was thankfulness in his expression having seen Stiles arrive home none the less.

"Did you get what you wanted from them?" He asked bringing an arm up to hug his son.

"Yeah, totally; the books, the trouble. Just what I needed," He dad looked down at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Trouble?"

It was then that Lydia crossed the room to where Jackson sat. The guy stared up at her, eyes wide and looking as though he were about to apologise if he could find his words; Lydia didn't look to care. Her lips were pierced tight and she spat out a word under her breath in a language Stiles hadn't leant enough of to appreciate, slapped him around the head, and left without another word, disappearing into the trees and heading home. Jackson bore it with a solemn look that followed her departure.

Stiles kind of liked it when Lydia brought Jackson up on being a jerk. He used to like it even more when he was all but completely in love with her. She was beautiful and terrifying and incredibly intelligent but Lydia had set him straight that his dream was vastly set in delusion. They were fast friends and a good team, but they were unlikely to ever become more than that, even in a fae's lifetime. She and Jackson were likely to be bonded in the few decades or next century. Stiles would be glad to see Lydia happy, even if it was with a changeling.

"I'll head home and start working on this right away," Stiles cut in, hoping to leave Jackson to his dad's reprimands and escape unscathed from interrogation but was stopped by his Dad's hand.

"And there were no… hiccups, on your little trip," His dad suggested, a gentle asking of an explanation.

"Well Jackson's a douche but we knew that already," Stiles wiggled his finger at Jackson who glared back as if the look itself would cause Stiles pain. "Got a little overenthusiastic with the threatening humans bit," Jackson was a changeling child and it had never been as easy for him to quell his impulsive urges to always be and have the best. Stiles thought they were stupid human urges but every now and then his dad told him he exhibited some of his own. That was entirely different though, he'd protest, Fae are born wanting to protect what's theirs.

"Nothing else?" His dad asked clearly not entirely satisfied with the answer but it wasn't a story Stiles could tell without admitting he'd been separated from the group which his father would disapprove of even more.

"Nothing mentionable," He shrugged.

"Good, I was a little concerned when you sent him back earlier than the rest of you," His father nodded and turned back to Jackson. Jackson would be reprimanded sure, but a little show of remorse and Lydia's good word would see him out on missions again soon enough.

Stiles didn't want to stick around in case Jackson did decide to turn him in for going off on his own and ducked into the forest to head home. Scott was by his side as soon as they left the clearing and was hissing out a reprimand.

"You met one, Stiles you know we're not supposed to engage let alone stop and chat."

"I didn't chat with them," He objected, "Well I chatted at them, and healed one of them. Restoring the balance," He moved his hands as if imitating a scale until they were level.

"You know your Dad'll be mad," Scott said knocking him with his elbow as they walked.

"Then we won't tell him will we Scotty," He shot his friend a look which was returned with a sad sorry one "Will we," He emphasised and Scott's gaze dropped to the floor. Stiles knew he was already outed.

"At what point…?"

"I'm not planning to okay, but if he asks me I can't lie Stiles, you know I can't," Scott was a terrible liar but omitting the truth and lying were entirely different things. Stiles had tried for years to get him to understand this.

"Then don't say anything. They didn't catch me; I righted a wrong, its all good,"

"If you say so," Scott grumbled unconvinced.

"Come on, I need you to help me convince Deaton to let me work on these in the glen," He dragged Scoot in the direction of Deaton's home and glen. The best place Stiles had yet found to concentrate and work on his spells, a convergence of ley lines leant it's self to mastering control for someone like Stiles. The background feel of the ley lines helped him concentrate like a white noise dulling his other sensory input while he worked.

"Just don't ask me to smell them again. I swear you make up how special things give off smells," Scott said but moving willingly in the direction Stiles was pushing him.

"Come on then man what was your favourite bit of our adventure today then?" Stiles asked bouncing on the ball of his foot and walking backwards so that his could face Scott as they both revelled in the adventure.

"I don't know. There was a girl," Scott shrugged at the comment but Stiles could see how the dreaminess was catching in his eyes

"Pretty girl?"

"Yeah, she was pretty. She could have been a princess," Stiles was a sucker for the idea of beautiful princesses. The brave and beautiful princess stories had always been his favourite as a child.

"Hey now we can't go stealing the virtue of princesses just because people expect us to,"

"I wouldn't!" Scott objected, "I'm just saying she looked nice is all,"

"Yeah man, you'll find your princess one of these days," Stiles said, patting his friend's shoulder commiserating.