Summary: In FTL, magic is power and all magic is taught. Except for the magic-borns - chased by the Black Hunters, feared by the people and enslaved by those who lust for their superior skills. When Rumpelstiltskin saves Belle, a young magic-born, the deal they make changes the very nature of magic as the kingdoms know it.

Background: Other than Rumpelstiltskin, we've only ever seen magic in two forms - spell books and fairy dust. So...

In this version of FairyTale Land, there is a phenomenon known as 'magic-born' children, who have a kind of innate magic that is born and not learned. Black Hunters are freelance mercenaries who travel the kingdoms capturing and selling magic-borns. In a world of 5 million people, there are about 1000 who are magically inclined (200 being children) and only about 20 are females. Of the 800 adults, at the start of the story, approximately 400 are in hiding. Magic-borns generally don't exhibit any powers until puberty but sometimes, a traumatic incident may bring out an 'early blossom'. Nevertheless, it is rare for a magic-born to display consistent and controlled use of magic until they are well into adulthood seeing as most have to teach themselves. The wealthy in FTL Collect magic-borns because owning a magical slave is the equivalent of owning power. It is a process that forces a person's magic to change allegiance and by proxy, requires the human to surrender all free will. The most desired Collection is that of female pre-adult - the magic of children is the most potent in the land. Sometimes, Collected magic-bornsundergo the act of 'transfer' where they switch masters. Given that transferring magic is the equivalent of transferring one's soul, the damage this causes the magic-born is often irreparable.

Warnings: Underage, varying degrees of graphic rape/non-con (but never in relation to Rumbelle), varying degrees of violence, kid!Belle, dark!Belle, coarse language, mind control/soul control/sadistic manipulation

Length: Around 18 chapters

Image: Magic by Cruenta (deviantart)

Prologue

When Princess Belle (who isn't really a princess because her Papa isn't really a king) is seven, she sees a Black Hunter for the first time.

It's Midsummer's night and Papa has let her leave the castle walls if she promises to keep hold of Old Aunt Melody's hand (she's not actually Belle's Auntie but everyone calls her that). The people light huge bonfires, cackling and glaringly bright with flames of gold and red. Women wear rosemary, dog roses and elder flowers around their necks to ward off evil spirits. Girls have their best white dresses on and Belle's is already dirtied at the hem. There are songs in the old language and the new and people clap rhythms on wooden sticks.

The air is smoky, the moon is only a curled sliver in the sky and in between the bonfires where the heat does not reach, it is cold.

"Melody, my shoe's unlaced," Belle says as she stumbles over her own feet. Melody clucks and drags her off to one of these darker corners, bending to tie up the string.

Belle plays with the ribbon at her hair and peers into the night. The light of the fires has blinded her. She blinks away the spots and tries not to be frightened. She's only seven but hard to scare and Melody's a no-nonsense kind of women.

So when Belle sees a figure unwrap itself from the side of road, carrying something in its left hand and dressed from head to toe in black, she thinks nothing of it. People from all the nearby lands have come to their modest capital to celebrate St Ivan's Day, strangers (because this man is definitely a stranger) aren't a rare sight.

Melody stands and straightens her dress. She should have a circlet of plants at her throat but she doesn't. "If the spirits want your Old Aunt, a peasant's trinket isn't going to stop them now is it?" Belle had only nodded solemnly.

Years later, Belle still thinks that had Melody worn it, the figure in the shadows wouldn't have stolen up on them. That another man who must have been behind Belle wouldn't have wrapped his gloved hands around her mouth to smother her scream as Melody was skewered in the thigh by what the first figure had been carrying – a spiked spear.

It was years later that Belle finally understood why Melody had killed herself, instead of surrendering as the man demanded of her from behind a black cloth obscuring all but two eyes. She had reached out a hand and shot a bolt of red lightning to the dagger at the hip of her captor. Belle had stopped struggling and watched, frozen, as the dagger flew to her nurse's neck and slit it in a clean, quick cut. The red that seeped out blended into the red light that still hovered in a halo around the dagger. Then the dagger dropped to the ground as Melody's magic disappeared.

All that was left was blood.