12

Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust

Alec sat back into the couch, pouting. Magnus smiled and leaned over to him, nuzzling his nose under his chin and neck.

"Now, Alexander, you know you can't stay mad at me," he whispered. Alec giggled helplessly, hating himself for doing it. Magnus grinned kissing him behind his ear, humming in his throat.

"That's what I thought." Alec pulled away, his face serious.

"I can too!" He challenged. Magnus grinned wickedly. He pulled Alec to him, holding him as close as he could get him. He stared into his eyes for a moment before kissing his neck in that one spot just right so that he-

Alec keened, his fingers clenching Magnus's leather-clad back. Magnus smirked.

"That's what I thought," he breathed, pulling away but keeping his arms around him. Alec pursed his lips, blushing. Adriana chuckled.

"Oh, yes, Alec, you sure showed him," she chortled. Alec's expression turned hard. He looked at Magnus a beat before attacking his neck, his teeth pinching the soft skin just enough to-

Now it was Magnus's turn to moan. "Alexander!" He gasped. Alec pulled away smiling triumphantly.

Magnus glared down at him, his arms still firmly clasped around him. "Now, Alexander, we can play this little tit-for-tat game you've decided to start, I'm not against it, but don't you think we should ask Adriana to leave first?" Alec blushed again.

"Just go on with the story," he mumbled. Magnus rested his head next to Alec's, smiling contentedly and kissing his cheek.

"As you wish, my darling."

"So what happened after you two did that thing-you-wouldn't-tell-us-about-and-made-us-mad-at-you?" She asked, smirking.


Some things are better left unsaid, Adriana.

Ethan was gone when I woke up the next morning. The place where he had been in my arms was now empty, the blanket cold.

My first hit and run.

Adriana, quiet down, you're going to make my cat run away again.

I wasn't surprised that he was gone. In fact, I never saw him again after that. He was the first man I had slept with after Armand, a significant moment in my life, and I doubt he ever knew he was that important.

So I moved on. I used every magical means I knew how to make those atrocious scars that decorated my back to go away. You can't even tell they were there now.

I made my way to Louisiana. It was around the time Louis and Clark were making their way to the Pacific. The people of this state were still getting used to the idea of being Americans. The Constitution had been put in place after those ridiculous Articles of Confederation were destroyed. Letting the states run the country instead of a government, what the hell were they thinking?

But, I digress. I searched that entire state for that book. I knew Adriana had spent most of her life in France, so it would make sense if it somehow ended up in this French dominant state.

It was nowhere, however. Not a trace. I thought that maybe, just maybe somewhere that I would get a lead on something. But Armand murdered the only lead I had.

I think you all heard that part the other day, yes? Where he beat me senseless and let me live only because he wanted me to watch an atrocity that I had caused.

I remembered picking myself up off the ground, coughing violently, blood on my face. That son of a bitch couldn't pass up an opportunity to hit me. He'd cracked a few of my ribs, leaving me to struggle to breathe. Walking in that heat was just agony. My head already ached, and that only made it worse.

I stumbled down the horse-trodden dirt road, my arm on my chest, trying to make it to a friend of mine's place.

Her name was Elizabeth Harkin, an immigrant from Ireland. She helped run a tavern with her father and brothers and was quite kind to me.

She was also a warlock. I doubt her family had any idea of what she was. But when she saw the state I was in she knew what I needed.

She helped me get upstairs to where her apartment was and shoved the bottle of potion in my hand, the same one I gave you, Alexander. She almost had to knock me out to get me to stop drinking.

"What on Earth happened to ya?" She asked, her accent as thick as her hair.

"Old suitor," I said, smiling. She laughed.

"Well that'll do it. Ya piss him off?" I nodded. "Oh, then tha'll definitely do it. Ya wanna drink?"

I needed at least ten.

I left Louisiana after that, deciding that there was nothing there for me and decided to head north. At least I could withdraw some money from one of my accounts, presenting myself as Magnus Bane II and presenting a will and other documentation that I had filled out myself to transfer my own money over to me.

Immortality is such a complicated creature.

I accomplished nothing in the north. I was right here in New York, to be precise. I did make some money as a merchant, however, doing small magic tricks for children to attract their parents' money purses to the jewelry I was selling.

Yes, I know how to make jewelry, Alec, didn't I tell you that? Oh, well, I can. You pick up a few things in eight hundred years.

I'd met a fair amount of interesting people in the merchant business. People who came from all over the world, mostly France, Germany and Ireland, and each one of them had their own story. The city was just as diverse as it is today, there was just less people then.

One little girl astounded me.

Her name was Mischa. Her parents came from Germany to open their restaurant out from under the Czar's influence.

The day I met her she couldn't have been more than five years old. Her black curls bounced when she walked. She didn't even walk, she flounced, a little princess surrounded by peasants. You would have thought that by the way she moved, the way she looked at people. Her round blue eyes saw beyond her years, despite her ruffled dress and dimpled cheeks.

She knew exactly where she was going that day. She walked straight to my booth, a determined look on her face. I peered over the edge of the counter at her, smirking in intrigue.

"Some children around my house have said you know magic," she said in German. I just looked at her for a moment, astounded at that demanding in her voice accompanied by something else. It wasn't skepticism as some other children had expressed, it was hard belief, hope that she wouldn't want to be shattered. In fact, she might hit me if I told her I didn't, that it wasn't real.

I smiled at this tiny adult.

"You don't understand me, do you?" She asked, sighing.

"I understand you perfectly," I smiled. She didn't react beyond a small nod.

"Good. Then tell me, is it true or are they lying? Can you do magic?" It wasn't a question. It was a command for the truth.

"Yes," I said. A small, triumphant smile crossed her lips.

"Show me," another order.

I chuckled and gestured for her to come to the side of the booth. I sat down in a chair so I was eye-level with her. She stared at me expectantly. I smiled again.

I snapped, making my finger spark blue fire. Her eyes grew, a grin spreading across her face.

"I told Mama they weren't lying," she said softly. She looked at me again, her smile gone. "Show me more and I'll buy one of your pretty necklaces."

I couldn't help but laugh. She was bribing me! A child, bribing me! She had nerve, cunning, and an attitude I absolutely adored.

"Tell me your name and I'll show you more," I countered. She smiled at the banter.

"My name is Mischa. Who are you?"

"I'm Magnus."

"That is a silly name," she remarked without much interest. "Now show me more."

I obliged. How could I not? The child intrigued me.

I showed her a few more things, little things. She bought a blue necklace and told me promptly that she would be back tomorrow with the same proposition.

"You shouldn't spend all of your money on jewelry," I told her. She frowned, putting her hands on her hips in such a way that she was far too young for.

"It is my money, I can spend it where I want. And I want to see more."

"I can show you without you paying me," I offered. She shook her head, curls flying, looking insulted.

"No. That would be silly. I'm not going to make you show me these things and not do something for you in return."

"Then how about this, you repay me by learning English?" I proposed.

"I can already speak it," she said, clear as a bell. I laughed. Of course she did! How could I have been so stupid to think that she didn't? "I will buy more jewelry. Do you make it yourself?" She asked, speaking German once more.

"Yes," I said, still amazed by this child.

"You need more red things," she stated.

"I do?"

"Yes. Red is very pretty. So is purple. You need more of those colors," she said, looking at me as if it were so obvious anyone could have guessed it.

"More red and purple," I said, nodding. She smiled, turned on her heel, and bounced off toward her home.

As you can tell, I was entranced by this little girl. I wanted to show her more to see what she would do with such knowledge, or the things she would say about the jewelry. She had sparked my interest in an age where absolutely everything bored me.

I went home that night and started making a necklace with polished red and purple stones that would be too small for any grown woman to wear.

-Aw, Magnus made a friend n.n Please review!-