Everything else DP wise is on hiatus except for this story.


"There's a world full of changing and you've just begun,
don't let them tell you it's simply not done."


A couple days passed without incident, if you asked Danny. Some of the trees in the right field were dropping early apples in the yellow green summer. The heat was terrible, at least according to Dash and the rest of the family. They said they boiled by lunch time and Mrs. Baxter's lemonade sweated in its frosted glasses when they ate late lunch on the porch, hot sticky air surrounding them, because god forbid Mr. Baxter should pay for air conditioning. As the Baxter family complained of the heat, Danny blinked in confusion—because he felt rather cool to be honest, but knew better than to say something. And Vlad merely ate quietly beside him, sometimes refilling the boy's water glass or piling more vegetables on his plate, chiding him for not finishing them. The only thing of great excitement was one of the horses, Lucy, had her foal finally and Danny was allowed to be there and lend a hand in the birthing. He ended up sitting in the hay with a baby in his lap and a watchful mare leaning over them both. Vlad watched over them all with a critical gaze, but Danny laughed and told him to lighten up a little. Old Luce wouldn't trample him. Occasionally Lucy leaned down to whiffle Danny's black hair after checking on her foal, causing Danny to grin and pet her nose gently in return.

Thankfully, Danny had always been good with animals, making his job at the Baxter stables that much easier. Some horses simply didn't tolerate Dash, and others took advantage of his flinches when they snorted and bullied him for it. Danny was small, unassuming, and scratched in all the right places. Danny was the only one who could handle or at least work with any horse, and get it saddled and ready in record time. Mr. Baxter gruffly praised him for it, Mrs. Baxter called him a sweetheart, and Dash punched his arm when no one was looking and called him a pansy.

And Vlad, Vlad merely oversaw Danny's work. But an appraising glance at a clean stall from him was worth more than anything to young Danny, who blushed and grinned whenever the serious man nodded at his handiwork. Thanks to Vlad's comments and pressing, Danny never found himself with more than he could muster. On particular hard days that not even Vlad could avoid, Danny found the man was more attentive than usual. Some nights Danny would trudge onto the second floor, dirty and covered in muck and other things, only to be shooed into the bathroom and the door shut on him. Vlad's voice would ring on the other side of the door, generally the same statement every time. If he didn't want Vlad to come in and do it for him, Danny had 30 minutes to scrub and soak in the bath, and clean himself up. The warm water of course, also soothed aching and overworked muscles. Embarrassed but secretly grateful, Danny would scurry to do as told and shyly peek out a good 20 minutes later, already dressed in a set of Dash's old night clothes. (He really did have nothing to his name, and no money to fix such a tragedy.) The sleeves were so long he had to roll them up, and he had to tie the pant string of his pajamas extra tight. He would find one or two people there. Either Dash, arms crossed and waiting with a sour look on his face to use the bathroom, but that was only sometimes. Every time Vlad would be standing there, with his perfect posture and looking down his long crooked nose at the boy. Danny would grin like an imp and push the door open wider to show he'd gotten himself clean. They would swap things, Vlad would be given his dirty clothes and towels, and Danny would have a warm cup of hot chocolate pressed into his calloused, pruned fingers. A secret addiction, Danny decided the hot coco tasted better when he realized Dash never got any, as it had been made by Vlad and there was always one serving only.

It always tasted amazing, and Danny would sit at the top of the stairs and listen to whatever Mr. Baxter was watching on tv as Mrs. Baxter knitted beside him. Dash might be with them, or up in his room. But every night, whether he had coco or not, Danny would join them, quietly, hidden from sight. If he closed his eyes and concentrated very hard, he could imagine he was sitting between them—but it was not them, but whoever his parents were. Cujo would be on the floor by his feet, Vlad in an arm chair reading across the room by lamplight. Sometimes, Danny gave himself siblings. He'd toyed between a young sibling, or an older, and often times fell on an older sister—though he never quite knew why.

Then of course, Vlad would come up the stairs, and gently usher him into his room and to his waiting bed. Some nights Danny fell asleep leaning against the railing, sometimes he protested quietly because he wanted to know what happened next on that night's show. But most nights he went with a nod and a yawn, getting up and wandering for his bed in the guest room. Danny would clamber in, sink into the pillow and maybe joke about Vlad being a mother hen, or a fruit loop. Vladdy took it like the patient man he was when it came to Danny, sometimes even teasing back. The first few weeks after The Accident, Danny had been entirely dependent on Vlad, but the man never complained or held it against him. If anything, Vlad acted like he'd been doing it his whole life, as if only the setting had changed and not the characters or script. It confused Danny to no end in the beginning, but he hadn't been able to talk until the second or third week of his recovery, and by then the point seemed mute. Danny realized what little he had, and decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth.

So he went along with it.

Besides, there was something secretly pleasing, whenever Vlad pulled his chair out for him at meals. Or the condescending, annoyed tone he took with everyone else around them, Dash especially was often on his list. The boy felt a rush of gratitude and affection whenever Vlad drew a bath or tried to comb his hair into place. And of course Danny liked when Vlad made him the hot chocolate, or taught him something new to do with the horses or stable work. There was something oddly intoxicating about being liked by someone who loathes everyone else.

The usual routine of the Stables was broken when Danny went to bring the horses in one day. Cujo was with him, like usual. For all the dog's energy and completely puppy mentality, he sat when Danny told him and knew to not to spook the horses. Everything went fine and usual up until he got to the back pasture, confused as to why there was a horse trotting and neighing anxiously. There shouldn't even be any horses in the back lot, because it had some planks loose and Danny was supposed to fix them tomorrow. Upon closer inspection he discovered it was Lucy, and she was kicking up small tufts of grass and dirt as she paced back and forth. She continued her baying, despite Danny's calls. He slipped through the slats without thinking, his thin frame letting him move easily. Trotting to the back of the paddock, his heart missed a few beats as he noticed the entire lack of Lucy's foal, and the space between some broken wooden planks. Just big enough, of course, for a young foal to fit through with little effort. The woods loomed over the back pasture with treacherous black limbs.

"Lucy?! Lucy—No it's okay, calm down girl!" Danny tried. Even the gentlest of horses could turn vicious in an attempt to protect their young, Danny wouldn't have blamed her if she kicked or bite him.

He'd just managed to coax Lucy to the middle of the pasture, heading for the gate when Dash appeared.

"What's taking so long Fenturd? I want to go in for dinner already, hurry it up!"

"Dash, Lucy's foal is missing! He must have gotten through the fence—" Danny paused, realizing whose turn it was to turn out the horses this morning. Dash's shocked, suddenly embarrassed body language really drove the point home. Danny felt anger curdle in his stomach, and he let Lucy go in favor of stomping up to Dash. (The horse bolted for the far edge, still searching for her foal.) The fence was still between them, so Danny hopped it and landed lightly, straightening up to accuse Dash.

"You did it! You put Lucy and her foal in the back paddock, didn't you!? What were you thinking!? Your Dad said—"

"I know what my Dad said, Fenturd!" He shoved the thin boy hard. Cujo growled from Danny's heels and showed his teeth. Dash recoiled, shooting them both dark looks. Danny rubbed his shoulder but grabbed Cujo's collar before the pup went for Dash's leg.

"He said there were some slats loose there last night—" Danny tried again.

"And you were supposed to go fix them! So whose fault is it really, huh?" Dash tried, but Danny would have none of it.

"I was told to do it tomorrow! Everyone was told to only put full grown horses in the back pasture and only if desperate!" Danny couldn't help but yell, throwing his arms in frustration.

"You didn't check the roster did you?" Danny accused, frowning. "Now Lucy's foal is lost in the woods, and we don't even know how long it's been since he escaped."

"It's just a dumb foal…" But Dash's words were quiet, mostly because he knew his Dad did not share the same opinion. Lucy was a patient, wonderful horse, and she'd always given them strong, steady trail horses several times before. As Dash worried over the trouble he'd get in, Danny worried over the pacing, baying Lucy as she trotted back and forth, neighing loudly at the woods. Poor Lucy, losing her first foal in a few years. A bitter thought crossed his mind—had his mother ever cried for him like this? Was she still? Danny's heart went out for the poor mare, and her baby.

Danny shivered and refocused in the present. Those black nests of trees that made up the forest looked particularly spooky and foreboding today. Foals usually came tripping over their own heels when their mothers called. If the little foal wasn't answering with either a noise or action, did that mean it couldn't at all? Or was it already too late?

No. He had to try.

"I'll go and find it, since you're so scared." Danny said, dropping the lead rope where he stood for Dash to pick up.

"You—"

"Cujo, stay here with Dash." The dog whined but sat obediently, ears perked as he watched his master walk away.

Angry at the injustice of it all, and especially at Dash's cowardice, Danny stormed for the back pasture.


Vlad was going to kill him.

If whatever it was in the forest that liked hunting kids didn't get to him first.

At that thought, Danny swallowed and ducked under a knobbly black tree, shuddering in the cool air. Every time he entered the forest it was like autumn was lying in wait here, and with all the Hollow's Eve stories that came with it. But if he didn't find Lucy's foal…

Danny pushed out negative thoughts of the poor thing, its long delicate legs stuck in a bed of roots or wolves praying on it. Were there wolves in these woods? And what of…of that strange dream he'd had last night? What if it was a premonition? Besides, he only had half an idea of where he was in the woods. It was too late to turn back now. With any luck, Dash had told his parents what happened, and they would come looking for him. A small, stupid hope, but he clung to it nonetheless. He didn't have much of a choice.

Startled, Danny pushed on, waving the flash light, trying not to breathe too hard and get lightheaded. The sun was a few dying purple beams to his right, and would soon cast him in darkness. As if the forest wasn't already trying its level best to do that. Danny stumbled a few times when he stepped on some sickly yellow marsh, and the sucking noise made his skin crawl and he jumped. Unfortunately. He jumped right onto a root that was sticking out from under the ground. His boot hooked over it, and Danny toppled, arms pin-wheeling.

He landed on uneven ground, which sent him tumbling, the world swinging in circles. The flashlight went rolling somewhere, branches and rocks scraped and tugged at his clothes like greedy little gobbling fingers trying to pull him one way or the other. This only served to scare and disorient him more, and with a resounding splash and cry, Danny landed into freezing water and sank.

It occurred to Danny dimly, that he had never thought to ask Vlad if he knew how to swim. The topic had just never come up, and now Danny wished desperately it had. If he had to guess, he would aim for 'no' because for some reason he was having a hard time getting to the surface. An underwater current sucked him along through the widening river, sending him rolling. A stream of bubbles rose from his mouth as he became too tired to fight back. He hardly noticed when a single black hand grabbed hold of his jacket and hauled him up all by itself.

The owner of the arm was connected to a strong shoulder that supported him when Danny's weak body was all but yanked against a chest. They erupted from the coursing water, though only one gasped for air. He'd thrown his arms round the neck of his savoir, clinging like a drowned rat and focusing on not passing out, throwing up, or doing all that at once. Silver fabric, smooth and cool to the touch. His lightheadedness began to pass, and he could think again. Danny coughed feebly, water spilling from his lips as he sucked in air. A few more coughing fits and he dared to open his eyes, searching for a face to put to whomever it was that had pulled him from the river.

It was the red eyed ghost from before. From his dream—but this was no dream now.

It certainly felt like one, what with them hovering almost twenty feet in the air, the ghost's red cape flapping in the wind. The setting sun cast the blue face and stuck shadows under the ghost's black rimmed eyes. His own personal glow surrounded some of Danny too, and he didn't seem personally swallowed down by holding the weight of another human figure. But no, the arms and chest holding Danny were very much real, as real as the boy gaping at him was. Danny didn't know whether to be thankful, shocked or frightened, so he settled for a jumbled mixture of both. The result left him rather comatose a moment, even as the ghost flew them slowly, heading for the front of the woods, toward the Baxter Stables.

Danny gasped softly, feeling breathless as he was held in the arms of the tall man. Or, spirit. He felt something stir in him, he wasn't sure what it was entirely. But it was hot and molten, so contrasted to his normally cool body. Perhaps it was because he'd nearly fallen to his death, and was suffering from shock? Danny didn't quite understand the effect it had on him, even if it was vaguely familiar. Nothing Danny had felt in his four months of living came close to his. Only one relationship did but for once all thoughts of his caretaker were far from his mind. The ghost's eyes were so captivating.

"You…y-you were the one I saw in my dreams—I mean the woods! It, it wasn't a…dream then?" Danny broached hopefully, even as he was set down on the dirt path gently. The ghost stared down at him, it had a good foot and a half and several pounds on him.

"….I suppose not."

The flat tone and stare wasn't really making Danny feel any better toward his rescuer. The posture and voice was cool and relaxed, with an air of certainty around it that Danny decided he envied. Along with the strange foreign feeling there was hesitancy and shyness now.

"Well, uhm, anyway, thank you. For saving my life." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. The action was more endearing than he knew, but how was he to know the ghost's dark blue cheeks was in fact, the sign his face was heating up?

"I…" Danny turned, grasping for words. He spotted the farm house's lights off in the distance behind him, and he was reminded of his task all over again.

"Oh—oh no, I never found Luce's foal! Oh man, Vlad's gonna…and Mr. Baxter is gonna…oh I'm toast."

Danny tugged at his hair in frustration and worry, but startled when the ghost suddenly pushed off the ground and flew away.

"Huh, hey! Where are you going!?" But Danny's call went unheeded.

He bit his lip, and wondered if he'd done something that upset the spectral being.

Danny stood there a moment, in the damp soggy night. The clouds had moved on their way, and in their wake left a cold front that, thankfully, lowered the temperature. But Danny's clothes, sopping wet from his trip into the river, were doing nothing good for him at all. He sneezed a few times, but gave the forest trail a few looks. He didn't want to give up so easy. Vlad wouldn't. And anyway, he knew if he came back without that foal everyone would be mad or annoyed with him. Rubbing his arms in a feeble attempt to generate some heat that he suddenly needed, Danny sniffled pathetically and stared at the night sky. A few stars twinkled here and there. Suddenly more shone into the scene. And some vanished. What? No—the stars weren't randomly appearing and vanishing. Something was moving in front of them, blotting them out as it flew. He spotted that thin white glow again, getting bigger.

Danny gasped as the ghost returned, something else in its arms. The little foal, covered in mud and looking visibly shaken, but was alive and wiggling to prove it. Seeing only a familiar face in the blue eyed boy, it whinnied weakly and stumbled over to him as soon as the ghost set him down.

"I don't…I don't understand." Danny managed breathlessly as he took hold of the little foal's halter. He stared up at the ghost, blinking in askance and confusion as it suddenly took a knee before him, bowing that great horned head.

"I am yours to command." Was the only thing the specter murmured by way of explanation. This cryptic statement did little to soothe the boy's worry, and probably only made things worse. He withdrew his hand from over where his heart would be, and vanished into thin air with a soft, almost inaudible noise.

Danny stood there several moments, stunned into silence. The statement had thrown him for such a loop he could only stand in the black night and wonder why. He jerked back to life when his arm was tugged—Lucy's foal was trying to reach the familiar looking pasture, ears wiggling as he whinnied for his mother. She would have already been brought in by now, so Danny wasn't surprised when there was no answer.

"Let's….go home." Danny murmured, drawing his coat a little closer round him. For all the good it did. He was soaked to the bone, and he felt the first dregs of a headache starting up.


Night had fallen entirely by the time Danny walked all the way from the back pasture to the stables. The cool blanket of darkness got past his wet clothes and made him shiver and shake as he guided the foal along. Getting the foal back into his warm clean stall and into his mother's sight was thankfully easy. Getting into the farmhouse and explaining, a little dazedly, what exactly it was that happened out there to everyone all at once was what sucked.

Even Vlad looked a little worried and concerned over the whole affair. Vlad being concerned didn't surprise Danny, the fact he showed it on his features did, eyebrows arched and gaze roaming his soaked clothes and quivering fingers. Pain throbbed in the back of Danny's skull, and his nose felt stuffy.

"You found the foal? All by yourself in this dark, boy?" Mr. Baxter barked.

"Yes, I mean no, er," Danny settled on, "Kind of." And sneezed.

"Well what do you mean? Spit it out!"

"Why are you all wet, Fenton?"

"I-I..."

"I think, what Daniel is trying to say, is that we should simply be grateful the foal is back at all. Let alone unharmed. Judging by the state of his clothes, I think it's time for him to take a bath and get some rest."

"…"

"Come along, Little Badger."

There was mostly quiet after that. Vlad's low cutting voice had that effect on you. He didn't usually say much, but he managed to make the most open sounded statements cool and pitiless. And judging. When even Mr. Baxter averted his eyes from Vlad's dark gaze, Danny was taken by the arm and gently but firmly marched upstairs.

"Vlad, out in the woods, I saw something." Danny started to try to explain once they'd gotten up the steps and out of ear shot.

"Trees and bushes, I'm sure."

"No! Well, yeah. But not just that. There was, this, uhm…ghost, I think. I think he was a ghost. He looked sort of like a vampire too, but he didn't suck out my blood so…"

"Well, then there's another thing to be greatful." Vlad commented dryly as they walked into the bathroom. Danny sat on the closed toilet and rubbed his arms, watching the man bustle around.

"He brought Lucy's foal to me. He did!" Danny repeated when he was given a look. "And then he said something…really weird. Sort of creepy."

"Was it 'boo?'" Vlad grinned like a fox as he turned on the hot water to fill the tub.

Danny let his wet shirt hit Vlad with a dull smack, glowering at the man.

"I'm serious!" His anger dissipated into uneasiness, and he glanced warily at the high, frosted windows of the bathrooms, as if he expected the ghost to come through the walls to scare him some more.

"…it scared you that much, did it?" Vlad's voice was its usual volume, but his expression was unreadable.

"You always said there were no such things as ghosts here. I didn't even think they really existed anyway, but tonight…" Danny shuddered wished the bath would be ready faster. He didn't say that out loud though.

"He said 'I was his to command.' But that, that can't be right. He must have gotten me confused with someone else, don't you think? I'm no one."

"That is untrue, Little Badger. You are you." Vlad commented as he pulled back from the nearly filled tub. He poured some liquid under the tap, and though Danny wrinkled his nose, he knew it'd do no good to complain of the frothy pink soap. It'd get him clean, which was all Vlad cared about. Even if Dash did make fun of Danny for the airy vanilla scent it left on his skin and hair.

"You, you know what I mean." Danny muttered, wincing as he pulled off his boots and socks next. He felt awful for the water he'd tracked into Mrs. Baxter clean house, but it hadn't been much. Now he was just soggy and felt like he was slowly freezing over. Icicles might drip from his nose next.

"The bath is ready, Daniel." Vlad stood up to take his leave. In the time it took for him to get from the bath to the door frame, Danny had already shimmied out of the rest of his few remaining clothes and was just lowering his torso into the water when Vlad turned. Danny sank more out of view on instinct, face heating up, and not from the temperature of the water. (Though it did feel wonderful.)

Vlad regarded him a moment, lips in a small smile.

"Nothing will hurt you. Nothing will get you, so long as I am here." Vlad recited the oft-said words quietly, voice low and gentle.

For once, Danny broke the script. Instead of teasing or simply saying thank you, Danny whispered to the man's back.

"What about when you're not?"

Vlad turned on his heel, standing in the doorway. He was nearly the same height as the ghost, albeit leaner. He gazed evenly back at Danny and without missing a beat said,

"That will never happen." Vlad's words were heavy and dark with promise. "Ever. You have my word, Daniel."

After that, Vlad shut the door and Danny knew, by the lack of noise, Vlad hadn't walked away. He was standing outside the door, like a guard. Danny sighed softly, and sank past the rim of the tub, seeking solace in the hot, bubbly water. The warmth did wonders for his body and soon began to reach his mental state too. He felt himself relax, slowly. Sinking deeper in the water with a groan of appreciation, Danny decided to try putting this whole ghost business out of his mind. His brain offered no relief, because he had visions and dreamed foggy, fading dreams of red eyed monster, black hands soaked in someone else blood and demonic eyes boring into his soul.

Most of all, he dreamed about someone telling him they were sorry.


He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing Danny knew there was a rapping on the bathroom door, and his eyes were hard to keep open. The water had cooled. Correction, it was freezing. The river had been warmer than this, hell, it had been a hot tub compared to the chill he felt now. Ice water lapped at his naked body and sank icicle claws into his spine, making him shake and tremble harder now that he was conscious of how damn cold it was. It felt like it was coming from his very bones, and the wiry, rabbit muscled frame of the boy had suffered greatly from the sudden switch in temperatures. He shuddered, sitting up hurriedly, blue eyes flying open as he registered what was going on.

And someone was still knocking. He had a pretty good idea of who it was.

"Vl-a-a-aa…" He winced, the words hurt his throat and his chattering teeth chopped up his syllables.

"Daniel!" Vlad threw open the door, taking in the sight of the blue lipped, coughing frame of his charge. Without thinking, he reached a shaky hand out for the man taking up the doorway.

Danny didn't have time to be embarrassed. One minute Vlad was apologizing and somehow scolding him all at once, and Danny was being swept up into a thick towel and warm clothes pressed to him. He took it with shaking arms, wrapping himself up even as his body spasmed weakly, and his spine trying desperately to create warmth.

"Hurry and change. You've gotten sick, Little Badger."

"S-s-ssorr-r-y," Danny muttered weakly, hating how his fingertips were so cold they were rather numb.

"Shh. Don't apologize for that, it's not your fault Little Badger." Danny wondered what Vlad meant, was there something else that was his fault, but somehow this wasn't? It didn't make any sense. Nothing did, even the room was spinning. He'd just managed to get dressed before his body gave out and he felt himself sag. Vlad was there, hefting him up into a cradle carry. Danny closed his eyes and tried in vain to get his jaws from clacking his teeth together so much. He was dimly aware he was being carried by the warm body holding him, and could make out Vlad's deep voice, warm and soothing in his ear. Danny could do little more than shake and curl up against Vlad's chest in hopes the other's body heat would fend off the chill.

"T-the water….got so c-c-c-cold…" Danny tried to explain, hoping Vlad could have some explanation.

"I know little badger, it's alright now. Just focus on breathing, and try and relax."

He took Vlad's words to heart, and nodded. Teeth clacking, Danny found solace against the taller man's warmer body and relished in it. He never knew how Vlad managed to be so warm all the damn time, but he had never been so grateful for the body heat. He felt his hands being picked up, and Vlad's larger ones chafing one hand at a time between calloused palms he knew almost better than his own hands. It had always been like this, and Danny sometimes didn't know why. What had he done for Vlad to make the older man so devoted and attentive? Danny didn't know, but he prayed he never took it for granted. He trusted Vlad with his life, and Vlad was all he had.

Cold and weak, Danny's eyes slipped closed and he fell into a light doze. Because of this, he did not see the way his breath came out in soft blue puffs of frost.


Vlad had found himself at a crossroads, and he didn't like it.

Unfortunately, Clockwork had been right. The seal between Daniel and his powers was weakening by the day. After tonight's little stint, Vlad would guess by the hour now. Vlad brushed his hand through the black mop under his chin and wished that Danny would at least get his memories back when his powers came. But the odds of them coming together, let alone his memories coming at all, was too slim to hope for. More than likely, Danny would recover his lost powers, they would get out of control, and Vlad would be left with more problems than he'd know what to do with.

Between the Dark One, Skulker out in the woods hunting the boy, and his prince's downhill condition, Vlad had enough on his plate without factoring the boy's unstable powers coming into the mix. Of course it wouldn't be half as bad if it wasn't just the ghost powers. But the ice was probably weakening the seal faster. It would only be a matter of time before the boy sneezed and turned intangible or something. Which meant Vlad could hold off his plans no longer.

Because of the seal for Daniel was going to break, that meant the Portal would tear open right behind them.

And with that, would come more disaster and fighting the likes of which Vlad hadn't seen since the war that took Danny's family from him. If he wasn't careful and didn't get Danny out of here in time, they would certainly lose and the bloodline to the throne would be lost. Not that Vlad particularly cared one way or other, but the Ghost Zone had inhabitants that had loved, if at least not liked, the rule of the Phantom family. The King and Queen were friendly, and Queen Madeline had a good head on her shoulders, even if they did have a bit too much of an interest in humanity. And the Phantom children were mostly the usual princess and prince you'd expect to find. Jasmine had been pretty but smart, outclassing all in her studies. Danny had been a bit…different. Curious and not always in the good way, the boy was the first to fly out somewhere and explore, whether his family knew it or not. His attitude got worse as he got older, but his excursions led him to meet the Time Ghost, the leader of the Far Frozen and many others. All of which rather enjoyed the boy's adventurous personality, even if he wasn't as formal as he should be for a prince. Danny had made friends, and in the end that was what saved him, Vlad supposed with a dark look out the window. If not for the combined efforts of some of the Ghost Zone's loyal denizens, the revolution would have gone the way Pariah Dark wanted it, and Danny would have been killed along with the rest of them.

What would his Prince say to him, if he knew his Knight had chosen to save only him, instead of his family as well? Vlad wondered, but sometimes followed it up with a thought that some questions are better left unanswered. It wouldn't matter anyway. No amount of the boy's anger or tears would bring his family back. Vlad sympathized, but at the same time he wished the boy would understand Vlad was only interested in the wellbeing of one person, and that person was Danny.

Vlad had not known Danny until he was a young ghost, just reaching his 13th year. And they had met, more or less, in a deep haunted forest that was parallel to the one behind the stables. The young boy had found him, bloodied and beaten and clinging to his afterlife, and Danny, who'd always been the most softhearted, had begged and pleaded to bring Vlad, or Plasmius, to the castle infirmary and treated.

Oh, Vlad had put on a grand show, too. The boy had played right into his hands and Plasmius remembers laying in a soft cot trying to remain motionless and not sneer too much in pride. His plan to usurp the throne and have the Queen Madeline for himself was working to a T. And it would continue for all of two weeks. He'd planned and waited so long, he was ready to get the power he wanted. Plasmius would have the upper hand like a queen swept the chess board, tipping all others in her wake as she made her way to the opposing King.

And then…something had happened.

Somewhere along the way, Plasmius had gotten…ensnared himself.

There was something about Daniel.

Perhaps it was because the boy visited every day. Perhaps because he'd asked the older man questions about his life, his family, and always asked how he was feeling. He'd been young, and was clearly ignorant of the rules of etiquette a prince should take with his subjects or commoners. Vlad especially, having no place in the central Kingdom, shouldn't have received such attention from the little Prince. But he had. The green eyed boy was curious about him and pestered and questioned everything. Vlad had at first felt it grate on his nerves. But the stories he'd told, (not all of them truthful) had left his audience wide eyed and looking so properly enthralled Plasmius continued telling stories. If only for the enraptured child, and his own wretched pride. Danny had been nothing more than a child, and a child with ghost powers that were still developing at that. Plasmius had been badgered so much by the young prince Danny had soon earned the (rather affectionate) title of little badger within a week of Vlad's dramatic entrance. And when Plasmius was well enough to leave the infirmary, Danny had smiled wide and grabbed his hand, leading him to a room and saying it was for him until he wanted to leave. Plasmius had asked around, discovering his room was because Danny had gone to his parents and asked for him to stay.

And, well, Danny was a prince. The boy didn't seem to ask for much, but the one thing he did, he was allowed it. The young Prince wanted his company, he was given a room just down the hall in the castle itself, it really couldn't have been easier. The boy followed him about like a puppy. By all accounts, Vlad could have said his checkmate within the following week. But he didn't. He hadn't. He…couldn't.

And it wasn't because the little badger was getting in the way. If anything, it was because he'd gotten too fond of Daniel. Never get too close to your target. A fine warning, but since Danny wasn't the target, Plasmius didn't notice until it was much too late. He had his suspicions when he began to follow after the boy himself, willingly. He'd never cared a slip for anyone other than himself, and he little clue as to what made the young prince so much different. Daniel could be smart as a whip, but sometimes the boy didn't have enough common sense to get out of the ecto-rain. And Vlad was a bit appalled at the lack of security Daniel should have had at his disposal. He would come and go out of the castle as he pleased, getting into all manner of trouble and poking his nose into dark places nothing as kind as him should ever go.

Plasmius suddenly had a new plan. Keep that damn boy alive long enough to see his next year, for heaven's sake Daniel. It was a wonder his ghost form's hair hadn't gone white with all the messes the boy got into. As more and more of them were solved by Plasmius' intimidating and powerful presence, the oafish King Jack had a rather clever idea for once. The Queen had apparently thought it best too, because she agreed.

That was how Plasmius became Sir Plasmius, swearing his life in favor of Prince Daniel's. Danny had seen it as a way to have a friend in the castle finally, Jack and Madeline had seen it as a way to know their baby boy had someone to protect him, and Plasmius was simply stunned for a good week and a half. It didn't really register until a band of thieves attempted to steal some treasure and Daniel had stubbornly gotten in the way, causing Plasmius to unleash holy hell when the thieving rats tried hurting the boy.

Becoming a Knight to the royal family hadn't really been in the cards. Vlad had been so focused on the hands of two players he'd failed to notice Daniel, a royal flush that pulled Vlad down and caused him to actually consider, care, for his young charge. So Vlad, in his own mind, had changed the rules a bit to still fit him.

Very well. He would be a Knight. The best Knight there was, because Plasmius did nothing by halves. But on his own conditions. He would protect Daniel until his unbeating heart was ripped from his chest—and perhaps past that. But he would, on no certain terms, pay much attention to the other royal family. They had their own guards and such. Let them do what they please. The boy was his now. They hadn't paid such attention to him as Daniel had. The boy deserved him.

You are safe now. Nothing will hurt you. Nothing can get you so long as I'm here.

And just before Daniel's 20th birthday, his world had come unraveling on him and Vlad's hand had been forced. The desperate attempt to save the boy's life once his family's lives were lost had worked, but sometimes Vlad wondered if they'd simply delayed the inevitable.

It had been particularly challenging during the first weeks following Daniel's recovery. Tearing the boy from his ghost powers had caused him so much physical damage, for a while Vlad wasn't convinced they wouldn't lose the boy to a natural death. By sheer luck they'd found the Baxter Stables and set up a job in order to slowly rebuild the boy's beaten, broken body. Vlad didn't know how Skulker had found them, but he couldn't worry about it now. Just focus on staying on step ahead of the hunter and even more steps ahead of Pariah Dark.

In the present, Vlad looked down to see the black haired boy had fallen asleep. Thankfully his skin was warmer, his fingers and lips no longer tinted blue. Perhaps Clockwork had managed to put another wall up in the Ghost Zone to keep Daniel's powers bottled up. Whatever the reason, Vlad was so relieved he felt lightheaded from his sigh.

"Oh, Daniel. I'm so sorry." Vlad murmured, keeping his voice very quiet.

He could allow the boy some rest for now. It was only twelve or so in the morning.

But soon, they'd have to start moving. This place was no longer safe.

Placing the sleeping boy gently in his bed, Vlad covered him with extra blankets. Smiling, he made sure Danny was comfortable, and the knight quickly and quietly moved about the dark farmhouse.


The second time Danny awoke within 24 hours, and he hardly felt like he'd slept at all. maybe that was because he hadn't, but he still didn't have an alarm clock, and had no way of knowing the time. Vlad had been shaking him gently. Danny blinked up at him in surprise and then at the night sky outside his window. He turned back to Vlad in sheer confusion.

"Forgive me, little badger. But we must be going."

"Wha…what?" Danny muttered groggily, rubbing an eye with his fist.

"It is no longer safe here. I'll explain on the way. But please, trust me."

Still sleepy and unsure, Danny was on autopilot for several minutes. If it hadn't been for Vlad he might have stopped and considered the surreal situation. But he was too tried. And a little cold again. After he'd been dressed, given a sack to carry, and shooed out the door, did the boy seem to come back to himself. The sleepiness left him, to be filled with confusion, curiosity...and a bit of dread. Vlad's black boots clicked on the cobblestones as they walked toward the stables. Danny followed the noise.

The moon was high among the stars as they moved out into the soggy night. A cool wind ruffled his hair and he rubbed both his arms subconsciously. He wasn't surprised to see Cujo loping toward him excitedly. Danny bent down, shushing the dog for a moment. Vlad was already stalking off, apparently unheeded by the lack of light. Though the moon did provide some soft light, it was white and milky, and it was casting shadows that caused Danny to hurry after Vlad.

"W-where are we going? Why can't we stay here?" Danny whispered for some reason. It felt like eyes were watching them.

"That thing you saw in the woods—the green eyed one—is indeed after you."

"What? Why!? What did I do? I-I don't even know him!"

"I know, little badger, shh. I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner. There's more to you than you think, and I was fearful of telling you before you'd recovered."

"They, they said I was recovered almost last month. Vlad—why didn't you tell me sooner? What's…what's going on?"

"Your past. It's coming back to haunt…both of us."

"My past? You never said a word about my past. You said—"

"I know what I said!" The barking voice made Danny stop in his tracks. Vlad turned, softening instantly. Was Danny seeing things, or had the man's eyes flashed crimson?

"…but I am saying something different now little badger. I have not been entirely forthcoming with you because I was hoping to protect you a little longer." Vlad was taking long strides, hand on the boy's arm as the guided him.

"Protect me from what? That green thing in the forest? If that thing's so dangerous…why are we walking right into it?" Danny blanched, but Vlad hushed him and encouraged him on.

"Ordinarily, it would be foolish to hide from a tiger in its own jungle. But what's out for you does not belong here. It is not of this world."

"It's…it's a ghost, right?" His voice seemed to be swallowed up by the gloomy, dark forest. How Vlad could even see in this gloomy woods was beyond Danny.

"One thing you haven't lost, your instinct." Danny could hear the smile in Vlad's words. Danny didn't know quite what he meant, but he supposed it was a good thing.

Vlad might have gone on, and explained the situation better. It is a little hard to be heard though, when the ground is shuddering and there is a catalytic crash behind you. The air was illuminated briefly until the light died down, and both of them spun. Danny stared in horror through the still thin trees, breath caught in his throat. The Baxter farmhouse was ablaze with leaping flames, another small explosion sending the brick chimney scattering to the ground. Smoke trundled into the night sky, blotting out the stars. Embers had flown on the wind and were landing on the stables. Cujo howled at the noise by Danny's feet, but the boy didn't hear him.

"Mr. and Mrs. Baxter! Dash!" Danny cried out, instinctively moving to run back.

A hand caught his arm, holding him in place. Danny threw a horrified, confused look at the silver haired man. Vlad's face was surprisingly calm and void of any other emotion, even as Danny's blue eyes searched his.

"Vlad?! Vlad—let me go!" Danny cried desperately. "The horses, the house! We have to help them!"

"Forget them." Vlad spoke easily. Too easily. "They are not our concern, Daniel. We must escape while we can."

Danny stared at him, too shocked to be disgusted. The screams of the horses were reaching their ears now. Thinking of Lucy, her foal, and the other horses trapped in the barn, Danny wrenched his arm free and dropped his bag, taking off before Vlad could stop him.

"Daniel! Get back here!" The boy ignored the order.

"Not til I know they're safe, not til I save them!" He shouted, running as fast as he could for the fiery mess.

It didn't matter if Vlad helped him or not. He had to try.