Prince Allen Walker trudged quietly through the forest path that led to the old house rumored to have caught a witches occupation. The clumsy Prince, armed with only his favorite sword, was unknowingly nearing the old house as the sun set in the distance.
"Curse it all! I should have brought a torch to help guide my way!" The young prince said to himself as he stumbled along the narrow path.
The young noble had been walking for hours, his feet ached, his water had run dry, and he'd forgotten a light source.
He hoped his father wouldn't be too mad when he returned home... if he returns home.
"Or a horse, why on earth did I travel on foot again?" He mumble to himself continuing on until the loud crack of a twig grabbed his attention.
"Who goes there?!" He asked pulling out his sword, only receiving silence in reply as he realized he had no idea where he was, the path no longer stretching out beneath him, that he was lost in the dark forest.
"The darn witch's home cannot be much farther ahead." He said to comfort himself but just as the words escaped him he tripped over something in the dark, a great pain shooting through his ankle as he fell, hitting his head on a large rock and knocking himself unconscious.
Allen Walker was a dreamer, a clumsy, innocent boy, but always happy none the less and trouble had seemed to follow on the boys heels like a lost puppy everywhere he went...
When the prince awoke he found himself in a dark room, the only light from the moon streaming in through a window and a few small lit candles by the bedside.
Quickly he sat up, immediately regretting his decision as he grabbed his head, it pounded with a large migraine, and he found that his leg with the injured ankle was now tied down to the strange bed he lay in.
He looked around for his sword in the darkness and not being able to locate it he began struggling, working quickly in his fear to remove the restraints, the small sound of someone scoffing in the darkness making him freeze in his tracks.
"S-Show yourself p-person in the shadows! A-Are you the w-witch that lives in this swamp?" Allen stuttered in fear of the person who lurked in the shadows.
"I'm not a fucking witch!" A man's angered voice rang out of the darkness.
"WITCH'S ARE GIRLS!" he yelled furiously, "THE CORRECT TERM IS WIZARD!"
And with that an angry magic man stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight.
His hair was blue, almost black in the moonlight, and it ran down to his hips like a silk waterfall. It was styled strangely for a man, in a loose ponytail that rested over of his right shoulder, the hair falling down his chest in a thick bundle. He wore a robe of black and white that was held closed by a single white rope around his waist, an odd looking stick holstered on his hip, and a pointed witches hat was perched on his head.
Allen said nothing as he stared, wide eyed, at the gorgeous man before him. The longer his eyes laid upon the male the more he felt his fear leaving him until he was no longer scared though he knew he should have been.
"My apologizes, Wizard." Allen laughed lightheartedly, "May I ask, was it you who scoffed at my escape attempt from the darkness?"
"Che," the wizard repeated the same scoff, "who else would have done it, tis only you and I inside this chamber, Baka Moyashi."
Allen cocked his head at hearing the strange words roll from the man's tongue.
"What tongue might that be?" Allen asked as the man approached a shelf, a wave of his hand causing a candle on the bedside to float where he needed the light.
"The language of my homeland, far from this kingdom," He said scanning the shelf before opening an old book, "what happened to that fear you held a moment ago?" He asked absently.
Allen thought for a second, why had his fear left him? He sat trapped before a man who's intentions he knew not, yet, his fear left him at the sight of the man. He instead found himself curious, intrigued by the creature in front of him currently flipping through a book that probably held both the power to kill and heal him.
"I know not the whereabouts of my fear," he shrugged making the man raise a blue-black eyebrow in surprise and hidden admiration, usually by now a person would be a blubbering mess sitting this close to any man or woman of magical practice, it was annoying, but this handsome boy sat chatting like he and him were old friends.
Stopping at a page, the wizard ran a slim finger down the parchment, approaching Allen, "so tell me, what summer might this be to you?" He asked the young prince.
"My sixteenth," Allen replied, "and this would be your?..."
The magic man picked up a strip of cloth off the side table and lied it gently over the boy's injured ankle.
"My eighteenth," the wizard said, calmly moving back to the shelf and taking down a jar.
Allen blinked rapidly, holy goodness, the way the magic man swayed across the room was enticing. The Prince had been struggling not to watch intently as even with the large robes leaving much to the imagination his thoughts wandered in directions he knew they probably shouldn't have. That beautiful blue hair a mess by his hands, the others long fingers dancing across his flesh, his tanned skin bare against his own, and the feelings were all so sudden. He just wanted to kiss this man, this stranger... and his years of listening to tales of magic and happy endings allowed him a suspicion as too why this was.
Was this love at first sight?
The Prince thought so, it was just as the books had described it and he'd never felt like this towards another person, never had these wants for any other.
The blue eyed man pulled the awkwardly wide cork off the jar, and approaching the bed, scooped a large amount of purple jelly onto his fingers.
"This is a special healing jelly," he explained wiping the jelly onto the cloth, "with this your ankle should be healed by morning."
Tying the cloth around Allen's ankle, the jelly cold against his skin, Allen immediately felt the pain disappear, even the pain that was in his head left him, and without moving his ankle he examined it in astonishment.
"Amazing... Tell me wizard, what is your name?" Allen asked after he'd finished admiring his healing ankle.
The wizard paused, the re-corked jar and book floating back to the shelf.
Why did he feel he could trust this boy? Wizards and witches are not to give out their full names, their first names are considered sacred and are only to be spoken by their parents until they are of marrying age, which he was two winters over, once he was married only his partner was aloud to speak his name... but... he felt a strangeness pulling him to this boy.
That may have been the reason he'd felt himself being veered off the path to his new home, following his magical instinct until he'd come across this brave, stupid, yet attractive village boy.
"You may call me Kanda." He replied after a moment, Allen nodding, finding he quiet liked the others name.
"Well, Kanda..." Allen trailed off as a shiver rolled through both the males in the room and Kanda's eyes widened slightly. They'd had the same reaction upon hearing the sound of his last name slipping past those pink lips.
No... It couldn't be...
Kanda's hidden desire for the love of a another man had always had him separate and quiet, short tempered even. He knew he found the same sex much more enticing but he had only ever felt slight attraction for other men, not enough that he would act on it, and now the strong signs of lust and love were showed through towards this boy? He's eyes roamed the male with hidden wonder, the white haired boy two years his younger, his skin scarred over his left eye and arm but fair like he'd never before felt the warmth of the sun. His legs were long and lean, along with the rest of his small frame, the candle light revealing steely gray eyes that made his heart beat erratically. The younger male was most definitely fairer then any maiden or man he'd ever laid his eyes upon, his arms and body lightly toned and strong, even when he was unconscious on the forest floor the moonlight had made his skin glow, and radiate a light of his own, that gave him an allure not unlike the most beautiful of mythical creatures.
Kanda had read every book on love that existed from both magical to scientific, he knew every symptom, every sign. And now he'd finally found it.
Love at first sight.
At the thought his heart skipped a beat.
Allen quickly tried to shake off the feeling of... how could he describe it?... He felt wanting to 'jump his bones' was a fitting description of his newly discovered feelings. The man before him was gorgeous, breathtaking, the fairest of them all he dared to think.
It was no wonder the prince had always frowned upon the thought of taking a bride... He wanted a groom.
How on earth would he explain this to his father?
"Pardon me, as I was saying, I give you my gratitude, oh great wizard," Allen respectfully bowed best he could sitting up in the bed not noticing the hungry way in which the wizard watched him, "As you are foreign to this country it is my pleasure to welcome you to our kingdom, and I would like to invite you to my home for a feast. It would not only be a thanks for healing me but also a welcome to the kingdom so that the citizens may be content that you will bring no harm to our land."
Kanda raised an eyebrow in curiosity. His manners were so proper, he must have been of a higher class, but what high class man is this nice or kind?
"You sound as if you have some sort of influence on the subjects," Kanda interjected deciding there would be no harm in indulging himself a little. He placed a hand lightly on the exposed leg, his hand travailing up the body in a feather like manner until he held a pale cheek and leaned over the boy, "Maybe I shouldn't return you, keep you as some sort of... entertainment, make you into a warning of what happens when you visit a witch uninvited."
Allen let a blush cover most of his face and a little of his ears. The man was flirting with him! Or threatening him, but either way he liked the way this was headed. The long fingers made him shiver lightly and looking into those cobalt blues he could see they were clouded, the male wetting his thin lips with a slow swipe of his tongue.
"While I admit becoming your 'entertainment' as you call it does sound appealing, I doubt my subjects or my father would tolerate it. They'd be at your door in moments."
Kanda's heart skipped a beat in his chest, the feeling strange yet elating, but he narrowed his eyes. His subjects?
"Your subjects?" He asked questioningly.
Allen frowned, "No, I...Oh, um, pardon my bad manners, I have yet to introduce myself. I am Prince Allen Walker, my father, King Mana Walker, is the ruler of this country."
Kanda stared wide eyed at the boy.
His mother had told him the tale of a man by that name, who had wished her happiness and prosperity, but she would not say which kingdom he had come from, Kanda couldn't believe he'd found it...
And, HE WAS THE PRINCE?! Talk about going by the book...
"Then that means..." Kanda trailed off looking around the house in awe, Prince Allen watching him curiously, "... My- my mother lived here then?"
"Your mother?..." Allen's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean the witch Lee?!"
Kanda nodded, and Allen sat in awe, amazed to meet someone else who was a product of his fathers tale.
He gave Kanda a large smile before yawning and stretching, the wizard soaking in every movement the young royal made, his gray and blue tunic lifting slightly, revealing porcelain skin.
Allen laid back in the bed crossing his arms comfortably behind his head.
"Well then my father should be overjoyed to welcome you to our homeland, my offer for a feast will not be declined, so you shall accompany me to the castle in the morning."
Kanda chuckled as the Prince made himself comfortable, "So my choices are a feast with the prince or a feast with the prince?"
"That is correct Wizard."
"Che" Kanda rolled his eyes opening the door with a flick of his wrist. The male was lucky he liked him.
"Get some rest, your highness."
Allen watched the tall, powerful, magic man stride casually from the room, a grin slipping into his lips as the door slammed shut without the man even touching it.
His heart was only now settling in his chest, Kanda had been so close, his hand on his cheek, and Allen had been so relieved when the man had treated him no differently because he was a prince.
He stared up at the ceiling smiling, thinking of the man in the next room, and wondering how his father would react.
I'm so proud of the cover, I took a manga picture of Kanda and colored it in so he's a witch! oops, I mean wizard! Tehe :)