It was late in the night when Takuya awoke to the sound of whimpering. Crawling forwards, amongst the hay, he found Kouji holding on to the shaking form of Kouichi, as the older twin moaned in his sleep.

"What's going on, Kouji?"

Kouji stroked his brother's hair gently, showing a tenderness Takuya had never seen. "He's seeing, Takuya. Seeing the future, all while the collar burns him in his sleep."

Kouichi moaned and scratched at the collar. Kouji sighed, and held his hands away gently.

Takuya moved closer, ignoring the chill air, to start to stroke Kouichi's hair gently, as Kouichi had done for him some weeks ago. "Do the dreams hurt?"

Kouji shook his head. "The dreams themselves don't. But he'll feel the pain of whoever it is he sees. I just hope it's only this collar causing him pain."

Kouichi moaned again, and then his eyes opened slowly. "Again, Kouji?"

Kouji nodded, releasing his hands. "What did you see?"

Kouichi rubbed at his sore neck, his eyes closed as he tried to sort through the images. Finally he spoke. "Death is coming here. From a cave in the mountains, death will come to the court. People will die in flames, the castle destroyed, and the people will blame us. We'll be killed." He shivered hard, and looked out into the rain-filled courtyard. "Things are in motion, and we have no control."

Takuya watched him. "Do you see what will happen?" he asked.

Kouichi sighed. "What may happen, if we don't change our path."

"Was it me? Did I start the fire? Did I kill them?"

"I don't know, Takuya. I didn't see the start, only the end." Kouichi shivered again, looking tired. "Doubting yourself won't help. Learning control might."

Takuya looked at his hands. "And what if starting to learn awakens in me the very thing that burns the castle down?"

Kouichi sighed tiredly. "Then at least… you tried…" He fell asleep.

Kouji took Takuya's hand tentatively. "Maybe if you start to learn now, you'll be ready when the time comes. Kouichi has never seen small things in his dreams."

Takuya looked at where Kouji held his hands. "Kouji?"

"Hm?"

"Why don't you like me to try to touch you? Is it an elf thing?"

Kouji laughed, a short barking sound. "It's a me thing, Takuya. I just don't like strangers touching me."

"Oh." For some reason Takuya couldn't understand, that made him feel sad. He wanted to touch Kouji, to stroke his hair, like he had for Kouichi, but he wanted Kouji to be awake, muttering to him in that strange language of rustling sounds.

Kouji seemed to realise that he'd hurt Takuya's feelings. "Hey, don't take it so hard, Takuya." He moved a hand to rest against Takuya's face. "You were a stranger. Everyone is to almost everyone else. But you aren't a stranger to me anymore." He smiled, and moved his hand away. "But no tackle-hugs. I don't even let Kouichi do that to me." He lay back down, and put an arm around his twin, before falling asleep.

Takuya lay back down, stroking his cheek where Kouji had touched it. He doesn't hate me. He's even starting to like me. Why does it make me feel so happy? He smiled as he remembered the tingle where his flesh had touched Kouji's, and kept that smile into his dreams.

******************

Dawn came with puddles and giggles. Tomoki pulled at the apprentice-smith's arm, trying to get him into the courtyard.

"Come on, Junpei! They don't bite." The page giggled again. "Much."

"You sure they've been fed?" asked Junpei, munching on the remains of his toast. "Master Smith just wants me to check the fixings, is all. In case the rain acted strangely with Master Goodwinson's magic. And he won't be happy if I get eaten."

"It's okay," said Tomoki, looking around the courtyard for his friends. "The Takuya said they don't eat people."

Junpei rolled his eyes. "People don't always tell truth, Tomoki. Especially demon-folk. He probably just wants to make nice to you so when you grow up a bit, you'll make good eating." He lent forwards. "And all the time he'll be chomping on ye, you'll be all 'But he's my friend, and he wouldn't hurt me'."

Takuya stuck his head out from the shelter. "Who's chomping on Tomoki?"

"Hey Takuya." Tomoki put down his load of food and water. "Master Goodwinson gave me a message for you. Said that as long as the sun is up yours and the movers binding is removed."

Junpei's face turned white. "You mean, his magic isn't bound? That he could be enchanting us right now?"

Takuya waved his fingers at Junpei in what he hoped was a scary manner. "Toast. Toooooaaaaaast." He spotted the breakfast. "Ooo, toast!" He grabbed a slice and started munching. "You get us the greatest stuff to eat, Tomoki."

Tomoki smiled. "That means you'll show me some of your magic then?"

"Urk!" Takuya started to choke on his toast until a strong arm slapped him from behind.

"Here now demon, don't you go dying on us. An apprentices wage is no compensation for you."

Takuya coughed a few times before speaking again. "I can't show you, Tomoki, I can't control my magic yet, and I might hurt you by accident." He saw how disappointed Tomoki looked, and smiled at him. "But I promise, you'll be the first person I show once I learn, okay?"

Tomoki's face lit up with a smile. "Okay! I'll tell Yutaka, he'll be so jealous! But I gotta go or I'll be late for class." He grinned again. "Bye, Takuya!" He raced off.

Junpei shook his head. "That kid."

Takuya blinked. "What's a Yutaka?"

"Tomoki's brother. He's a squire at the moment, but come the Midsummer festival he'll be knighted. He's the whole reason Tomoki is here. The kid has a serious need for hero-worship." Junpei moved to the stake in the ground and started pulling on it and the chains.

Takuya watched him. "So he's here because his brother is? Isn't that a silly reason to get beat up to be a knight?"

"Yup," nodded Junpei. "I look out for him as best I can, but I have my own duties to do about the castle." He looked up as he saw the chain move, and whistled as he saw Kouichi and Kouji come out from the shelter. "Wow. Real elves."

Kouji scowled at him. "Wow. Real humans."

Junpei blushed and turned back to Takuya. "Well they're still fixed. Guess I won't see you again."

Takuya smiled. "You can come visit. If other people are allowed to show up and threaten us, I don't see why you can't."

Junpei thought for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. Someone should keep an eye on Tomoki."

***************

The lit torch flame danced hypnotically. Somehow Takuya found himself always looking at it ever since the guard they'd asked nicely had brought it to their prison. He'd be talking, and his mind would wander off, only to find that he'd be staring at the flame. Kouichi and Kouji just let him be, and let him choose what he was doing.

Somehow, now the time was here, he didn't feel ready.

What if this is what Kouichi foresaw? What if I kill people someday with what I'm about to begin here?

Kouichi rested his hand on Takuya's back. "Just close your eyes, Takuya. Let your magic free."

"What if it hurts?"

Kouichi ran a hand in a soothing circle on his back. "It won't. It's your magic."

Takuya closed his eyes, and it was if the tug of the flame increased a hundred-fold. He could see the light dancing behind his eyelids, like he could reach out and touch it…

"Open your eyes, Takuya."

Takuya did as he was told, then yelped. His arm was outstretched towards the flame, and the flame itself had lengthened to wrap around Takuya's hand and arm. It's… warm. Just warm. He moved his hand, watching as the flames about it bent to accommodate his movements. It tickles, but it feels so right. He closed his eyes again, and this time felt not only the warmth of the flames, but also an answering warmth within himself. Grow, he commanded it, and felt it answer, like stoking a fire. Grow, he told it again, with increased confidence. He felt warmth all around him, and how it would bend to his will…

"Takuya!" snapped Kouichi from some distance away.

Takuya opened his eyes, and all he could see was fire. He peered through the flames, and could faintly make out a surrounding wall of white. How dare it be there? he thought fuzzily to himself. Fire should be free to burn. He called out to the flames, and told them to push against the barrier holding them in. Slowly the barrier moved further out. Then it stopped, and started to squeeze in on Takuya.

No! It must burn! Everything must burn!

Slowly the fire contracted until it was contained in a cylinder barely larger than Takuya was. Peering through the flames and the barrier, Takuya saw Kouji, white fire streaming from his hands into the barrier.

"You need to stop, Takuya. You're going to hurt someone."

Hurt? How? Oh yes, the other ones, they don't like fire. It hurts them, poor things. They aren't made right. The Goddess made them wrong, so that fire hurts them.

Kouichi spoke again. "Takuya, I know you feel kinship with the flames, but it's wrong. It's just an illusion in your mind that your magic has made because it can feed off the fire. You're like a staving man at a banquet, but you need to stop. It's controlling you, not the other way around. Let it go before you hurt someone!"

Takuya tilted his head. Hurt? How can this hurt? Memories came back to him then. Shinya's fear in the burning barn, townsfolk throwing things at what they thought was a demon. No… No… No...

"No!" He took hold of the flames inside himself and squashed them down, hard, imagining water and dirt being poured over them. It was like killing himself inside, it made him feel weak and shaky. He fell to his knees, panting, as the flames returned to the torch.

Hurts… It wants to be free… He stamped down on it again, and the warmth inside him withdrew back to wherever inside him it had come from. Still panting, he looked up to see Kouji bent over, breathing hard, leaning his hands on his knees while Kouichi fussed over him, talking in Elvish. His eyes moved to the torch, still burning. What did I do?

*******************************

Goodwinson moved away from the window overlooking the courtyard, smiling. The demon has such potential, if I could just tame it. And once tamed, why we could use him to our advantage. He moved to his desk, where lay an old, decaying book, open at a page he knew only too well. He fingered the page and smiled. The power will soon be within our grasp. Only a few short months and the princeling will have what he wants, and I'll have no confining rules or morals to stop me. He looked back at the window. And who better to be the cause and take the blame than some demon?