Warning: The rating on this just went from teen+ to Mature because Magnus is horny and Alec is hot, ok? If you don't like that you can just skip that part (it's not very long or explicit) or you can stop reading (please don't though). Either way, I'll just say right away that there will be more of stuff like that, so get ready.
Okay, now that that is over I can get to the other stuff I want to say; posting on Sunday has become a habit now, so there's probably gonna be a chapter every Sunday unless I'm very busy.
I said last week that I would try to make this one a bit longer, and I did. Not much, but a bit.
Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy and stay for the next chapters!
Magnus had been Alec's servant for three days now, and the fourth day was about to start. They had a routine now, Magnus went to Alec's chambers at eight, they went down to the field to train till midday, then it was time to stop by the kitchen to eat something. They spent a few hours doing whatever needed to be done, or just hanging around in Alec's chambers, and then they went out to the field again for an hour or two with archery. During that Magnus mostly just watched, except for when he was collecting arrows. Then they parted ways, unless there was something important to be done. But now the routine was changing.
There was a tournament coming up in a few days, and Alec wanted to spend more time training. He said he was going to start at six. He'd told Magnus to just meet him in the field at eight as usual, that he didn't need to wake up earlier just to help him practice, but Magnus had insisted. So that was how he found himself in the empty corridors of the castle at six in the morning. It was still rather dark but by that time Magnus already knew his way around the castle, or at least he knew the way to Alec's chamber.
He knocked on Alec's door and heard a "Come in" from inside. He opened it, entered the room and was met with a view so perfect it could only be a dream.
"I'm really sorry, I just can't find a shirt anywhere. Give me a minute," Alec said. He was standing by the wardrobe in only a pair of pants, and that chest Magnus had dreamt about so many times was on full display. Magnus had to force his eyes away when he realized he was staring.
"It- it's fine," He stuttered. "I'll just, yeah. I'll wait." He managed to say. He was forcing himself to not look at Alec at all. The wall behind him was suddenly very interesting. Alec was back to searching the closet for something to wear, and Magnus could see the muscles on his back working.
"I swear, if Izzy has something to do with this…" Alec mumbled. He gave up after a few more minutes. "Hey, Magnus," He said as he turned around to face him. Oh god, he has abs. "Can you go down to the laundry room and see if any of my shirts are there?" Magnus realized he hadn't said anything for a while when Alec said his name again. "Magnus?"
"Hm, yeah, sorry. Zoned out," Magnus said before nodding and leaving the room quickly. He had to get himself under control, he shouldn't stare at anyone like that, and especially not the future king!
Magnus made his way to the laundry room. It was in the basement, so there were a lot of stairs. But Magnus was in a pretty good shape, and he had a feeling he would get even better after a few months as Alec's servant.
He found a shirt in the laundry room. He wasn't sure if it was Alec's, but it was black and seemed to be about his size. Magnus was about to leave the room when he heard something. "Magnus," A deep voice said. Magnus had heard it before, but he couldn't quite remember when… "Magnus," It came louder this time, but still just a whisper.
"I'm hearing things, this isn't real," Magnus told himself. The room was empty, pretty much the whole castle was asleep, there was no one there. Magus left the room and made his way back to Alec's chambers.
"Thank you, Magnus," Alec said when Magnus gave him the shirt. "I bet Izzy had something to do with this. She's always threatening to throw all my shirts away, says they're all 'worn, faded, and ugly,'" Alec mimicked Isabelle.
Magnus chuckled at that and nodded a bit. "Well I wouldn't agree with ugly, but worn and faded, I have to say I agree with her on that." Alec huffed and put the shirt on.
"Maybe I like my shirts worn and faded," He said. Magnus just shook his head with a smile and followed him as he headed for the field.
"Okay, we're gonna focus mostly on sword fighting today," Alec said and handed Magnus a sword. "Ready?" Magnus nodded, and Alec started immediately. They were both going to be exhausted by the time they were done, Magnus could feel it already. The second day had been his worst, his arm had felt like it would fall off, especially when they trained again but now he was grateful because he felt a lot stronger already and his arm didn't hurt anymore.
Alec was driving him even harder then he had the days before, quicker, stronger, less pauses. He was letting out everything he had. But Magnus was enjoying himself. When he first arrived in Idris the only way he could protect himself was with Magic, now he knew how to use lots of different weapons. He wasn't very good with them, but he knew how to use them. And he had an excuse to stare at Alec, so where was the downside? Except for the exhaustion that came with the training of course...
After a few hours of training, other knights came to the field too. Slowly the place started to fill up with people, and Magnus and Alec kept fighting. They were both sweating, breathing hard, and tired when midday came around. They'd only stopped a few times to drink some water during the six hours of training, and both of them were starving.
They took some food from the kitchen and brought it with them to Alec's room, where they both sat down with a sigh.
"You're getting better," Alec said after a few minutes of silence. "At fighting." He clarified.
"I have a good teacher," Magnus said and smiled at Alec. Alec blushed and looked away, but Magnus saw the smile forming on his lips. They spent a few more minutes talking and eating.
"You can go home now if you want," Alec said eventually.
"Are you sure? I don't really have anything to do at home, so I wouldn't mind staying," Magnus said.
"Yeah, I know. But I was just planning to go ask Izzy about my shirts right now, and then I was thinking about taking a nap…"
"Oh, okay. What time do you want me to come back?"
"Around five," Alec said.
"Okay, yeah, sure," Magnus mumbled and nodded before he turned to leave the room.
Alec watched Magnus leave the room before standing up himself. He had to find Izzy, he was sure she was responsible for the disappearing of his shirts. He went to look for her in her chambers first, but she wasn't there. Next, he checked the kitchen and then the library. She wasn't in any of those places. Alec roamed the halls in search for her, and he passed a window with a view to the field.
"Of course," He mumbled to himself. Despite their father's protests saying no princess should fight like a man, Izzy always loved to be out in the field training with the knights. And she was good at it too, she could beat a fully armed knight with just her wip, and in high heels. Alec headed down to the field to talk to her.
"Izzy!" He yelled over the sounds of fighting. She disarmed the knight she was fighting before turning around to look at him. Alec waved for her to come over to him.
"What is it?" She asked.
"I have to talk to you so please get over here," he told her, annoyance clear in his voice.
"What happened?" She smirked. She knew what Alec wanted to talk about.
"Oh, don't play innocent, I want my shirts back," Alec said.
"Your shirts? Why would I have them?" She asked innocently, that sweet smile that fooled everyone on her face.
"Izzy, please!"
"If all your shirts are gone maybe we should get new ones. I'll come with you, of course, to make sure they're not horrible."
"I don't want new shirts! I want my shirts back," Alec insisted.
"You're no fun," Izzy sighed. "Okay, you'll get your shirts back on one condition."
"What?" Izzy got that evil smirk on face, the smirk that could mean nothing good for Alec.
"You get your shirts back if I get to decide what you're gonna wear for the next week," She said. Alec almost considered saying no, but he needed his shirts back.
"Fine," he sighed. "Fine, okay. Are you happy now?"
"Very. Now, I have to get back to my fight now, Raj doesn't believe he can be beaten by a girl. I'll see you later about your clothes!" She smiled at him before going back into the field. Alec sighed again. How did I end up with a sister like this? He asked himself.
He retreated to his room, he'd had enough of the field for a day. True to his word, he laid down to take a nap, and sleep took him almost immediately.
Luke was home when Magnus arrived. He was sitting in his armchair reading, a position you could often find him in when he wasn't working. And sometimes even when he was, if he was looking for a specific recipe or ingredient.
"Hey," Magnus said, shooking Luke out of his book.
"Magnus! You're home early," Luke exclaimed when he saw him.
"Yeah, Alec was going to take a nap."
"Alec is taking a nap?" Luke asked in disbelief.
"Uhm, yeah… Is that unusual?" Magnus asked.
"Not if it had been any other person, but Alec… He's finally starting to take care of himself."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Magnus, that Alexander is a troubled person. There's a lot of pressure on him, a lot of expectations. Expectations almost impossible to live up to. He used to train himself to exhaustion every day, practice with his bow till his fingers bled and Isabelle dragged him here to me. He's starting to take care of himself, and I think you might have something to do with it."
"Me? What do I have to do with it?" Magnus wondered.
"If there's anything Alec needs, it's a friend. Someone his age who doesn't treat him like royalty, who isn't a constant reminder of his duties. You might just be that friend, Magnus, that friend he so desperately needs." Magnus didn't know what to say, what to think. Was he really that important for Alec? After such a short time? Surely that friend had to be someone else…
"But anyway, I have something for you," Luke said, interrupting Magnus' thoughts. He stood up from where he was sitting and went to the bookshelves. He took a bunch of books out, like he was looking for something behind the books.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Magnus asked.
"Just a second," Luke mumbled. He pulled a book out of the shelf, literally out of a small hole in the back of the bookshelf.
"What is that?" Magnus asked.
"Come here," Luke said. "This is a book, I don't have any use for it anymore, I think you should have it." Luke handed Magnus the book. It was beautiful, bound in leather, rimmed in gold.
"This is a book of magic!" Magnus exclaimed when he saw the title.
"Which is why you must hide it where no one can find it. You know what happens if someone does," Luke told Magnus. Magnus nodded. He couldn't stop the smile spreading across his face. He could finally learn how to control the power he'd been born with!
"Thank you, Luke. I will study every word!" Luke smiled down at Magnus and patted his shoulder.
"Remember, magic is an extremely unstable power. You need to be responsible with it, or it could get both you and other people hurt," He said seriously. Magnus nodded.
He left for his room then, he had a few hours to find a good hiding place for the book, and maybe even read a few pages.
The day of the tournament had arrived. Lots of knights from neighbor kingdoms had come to participate, as the winner left with one hundred gold coins. Of course, that was only because Robert expected Alec to win. Alec had to win, he couldn't disappoint his father.
If only it was a shooting contest, Alec thought. He was much better at archery than sword fighting, that was more Jace's area. Alec preferred to eliminate the enemy before the enemy got a chance to attack. But that wasn't happening here. The only thing allowed in the fight was armor, a sword, and a shield.
"Alec? Alexander!" Magnus' hand was waving in front of Alec's face. "Earth to Alec," Magnus said, trying to get contact.
"Sorry, I zoned out," Alec said.
"You say. You looked like you were having an out of body experience. It's almost your turn, get ready," Magnus informed Alec. Alec sighed.
"Yeah, I'm going," He said.
"Hey," Magnus took Alec's arm and gave it a little squeeze of encouragement. "You're gonna do amazing out there, okay?" Alec smiled at him, and after a second nodded.
"Okay."
Magnus didn't really understand the point of this. Sure, the winner got one hundred gold coins, but couldn't they like… play chess or something? Sword fighting was necessary, sure, but to do it for fun? Magnus didn't understand.
But it didn't matter. Magnus wasn't competing anyway, so it didn't really affect him much. Except for the fact that he would have to sharpen Alec's sword, fix his armor, and polish his shield almost every day for an entire week. That was a small bummer. Magnus had not expected his job as a servant to be this hard.
"Hey, Magnus!" Magnus turned around to the voice and immediately saw the red mop of hair heading his way.
"Clary," He greeted her. "And Simon," He added when he noticed him.
"Alec is doing awesome out there," Clary said.
"I really hope so. I did not train for six hours straight three days in a row for him to lose." Both Clary and Simon chuckled, but Magnus was being serious.
"I heard there's a knight from Edom coming, do you think it's true? Someone said they saw him riding into the city." Simon said.. "I mean, Edom is like another dimension, do you know anyone that has ever been there? Do you know anyone who knows anyone there? And what do we actually know about the place? I've checked every book I could find, and there are almost no facts about Edom."
"Simon, you're overreacting, as usual. I get that you love stories and mysteries, but don't make them up. Edom is a place, it's on the map. And the knight you're talking about is Malcolm Fade, he's gonna compete in the tournament." Clary said, always the one to keep Simon's fantasy in check.
"How's Jace feeling about being benched?" Magnus asked Simon, just to change the subject. There could only be one representative from each kingdom, and Alec had been chosen by Robert, to both his and Jace's great dismay.
"He's super annoyed about it, he's constantly cursing Robert," Simon said. "I'm just waiting for the day he understands I have nothing to do with it and stops taking it all out on me."
"Jace is an ass. I am just waiting for the day Alec gives me permission to drown him in the well," Magnus said. He had actually thought about it, maybe not drowning him, but it had been hard for him to resist the urge to make Jace's pants fall off while he was training. Oh, how fun that would be…
"He's actually quite nice, after you get past all his walls. He just acts tough so everyone will think he's strong," Clary spoke up.
"How would you know? Do you spend much time with him?" Clary blushed.
"No… I just- I meet him around in the corridors from time to time." Magnus raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything, Simon, however, had other plans.
"Oh my god, Clary, Jace?!" Magnus zoned out of their conversation as they walked away, leaving him alone again. Although not for long.
"Magnus," Catarina said. She'd just been walking by when she spotted her friend.
"Hey, Cat."
"How have you been? I've barely seen you these last few days, you guys were training non-stop," She said.
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"No, don't apologize, it's paying out well. Alec is doing excellent. But we should meet again sometime soon. I have to go now, but I'll see you!" She said before hurrying away, not even giving Magnus time to say goodbye.
Alec was tired. Not exhausted, but tired. He'd won all the fights this day, there were still five days left. And today he needed to attend the banquet in honor of the knights who continued to the next round.
And the worst part was that Izzy was going to choose what he was going to wear, as was their deal so Alec could get back his stolen shirts. Magnus' reaction when he'd seen Alec the first day Izzy had chosen his clothes was still fresh in Alec's mind.
"What the hell are you wearing?" Magnus exclaimed upon seeing Alec.
"Izzy's condition to me having my shirts back, that's what I'm wearing."
"Well, you look good in it, for what it's worth," Magnus said, immediately blushing after.
"Yeah, well, I don't feel good," Alec protested. "It's too tight, too revealing."
"You could always tell her, I'm sure she doesn't want to make you uncomfortable."
"Izzy's hobby is making me uncomfortable," Alec mumbled. It wasn't true, he knew it wasn't, but still. "But I think I can survive one week."
Yeah, well that's where I was wrong, Alec thought. The clothes Izzy had chosen weren't too bad, she could have chosen something much worse, but it still wasn't something he wanted to be seen in.
"Okay, Magnus. You can go home and change clothes, I'll meet you outside the ballroom in half an hour," Alec said, dismissing Magnus. He heard the door open and then close behind him when Magnus left.
Alec looked at the clothes again and sighed. Just a few days left and he could go back to his usual clothes. He could do that.
Luke gave Magnus the same clothes he'd worn to the other banquet, and Magnus had to squeeze into them again. He'd done that, and then he decided to spend the ten minutes he had left reading. He only had time to read about two chapters of the book Luke had given him, it was exciting and literally magical.
But he didn't get to read much before he had to leave. He hid the book in the place he'd found. There was a loose floorboard in his room, and it was hollow underneath. Magnus kept his journal there. Under there was another loose plank, which was where Magnus kept the book. He was absolutely sure no one would ever find it there.
After he'd hidden away the book he made his way out of the house and to the ballroom. Magnus' mind went blank. Because there, outside the ballroom, was Alec. And even though it was nothing new, he was handsome. Izzy had chosen his clothes, no doubt. They were tightfitting, possibly even more sinful than the leather pants he'd worn to the other banquet. And the shirt… no doubt the best shirt Magnus had ever seen on him. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbow and hugged his biceps tightly. The dark red material was a big change from Alec's usual black, and it contrasted against his pale skin perfectly. The bright red cape with the golden Lightwood emblem gave it all a dash of light color.
"Alec," Magnus said, he was ashamed of himself when his voice sounded rough, he shouldn't be this affected! Magnus cleared his throat and tried again. "Alec," He said.
"Magnus," Alec sounded slightly breathless. He must've run over here or something. "We should go in," Alec said.
"Yeah." They did, Alec first and Magnus following right after.
The room was already full of knights talking and eating, and servants rushing here and there with food and drinks. Magnus was glad he didn't have to spend the whole evening serving people. He just had to spend it all around Alec, which probably wouldn't be much better considering all the urges he would have to fight.
"Alec," Robert came to greet him as soon as they were inside. "Good to see you're here. Come on, there are a few people I want to introduce you to," He said, already pulling Alec along. Magnus followed them.
"Meet Sir Sterkreek and his wife, Mrs. Sterkreek. She has a sister, isn't that right?" Robert asked the woman.
"I do, father is looking for a husband for her, I am sure you could come to an agreement. If you're interested, of course," She added, looking at Alec.
"Of course, I would love to speak with you sister sometime," Alec said. Magnus hadn't known him for a very long time, but he could see the smile was fake from miles away. It wasn't Alec's face, it was a mask, the future king's face.
"Well, would you excuse us," Robert said before pulling Alec along again. This was like his marathon, introducing Alec to as many women as possible.
"This is sir Benjamin Starthron and his sister, Ms. Jasmine Starthron." Alec striked in a small conversation with Jasmine while Robert talked to Benjamin. They left again a few minutes later. Robert kept introducing Alec to women, Magnus was sure he'd talked to every single lady in the room. Magnus stared at Alec while they talked. He knew he shouldn't, he knew it was wrong and that anyone could see, but he couldn't help himself. He was kinda disappointed about the cape, since it blocked his view to half of Alec, but the front was on full display, and it was beautiful, so who was Magnus to complain?
"Magnus? Hello?" Alec's voice was calling for him. Magnus had completely zoned out.
"Hm, yeah what?"
"I asked you if you wanted to eat something, dad's finally left me off the hook," Alec said.
"Yeah, I could eat," Magnus said, already turning around. He couldn't let himself get distracted like that. He couldn't look at Alec like that. He'd already told himself that numerous of times, but it wasn't easy when Alec was looking like that.
Magnus followed Alec to one of the tables where he served himself some of the food available before he went to stand beside Alec, who was already eating.
"So… your father wants you to get married," Magnus said to fill the silence.
"How did you notice? It's almost like he's not being subtle," Alec said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Magnus actually chuckled quietly at that.
"Well, I do pay close attention so I managed to notice how he made sure you would talk to every female in this room," he answered and tried to get a lighter tone. "All those beautiful people, and they were lucky that Isabelle got to choose your clothes this evening. That way they got to see you from the best side possible," he hummed and pushed some chicken into his mouth. If he wasn't careful people would definitely notice how he was thinking about the future king so maybe if he got to hide it behind food, it would be more difficult, he thought.
"I guess she really knows what's she's doing."
"You really should let her dress you more often. Is it really that bad?"
"It's not awful all the time," Alec mumbled with a smile. Magnus smiled too.
He averted his eyes from Alec, he'd already stared at Alec for too long, and it would still never be enough. He looked around the room again, looked at every person he could see that wasn't Alec. His eyes landed on a tall man, white hair and, what really caught Magnus' attention, purple eyes. No, they weren't purple, they were blue. But Magnus could swear they had been purple a second ago. The man gave him chills, even from a distance. There was something off about him, something Magnus couldn't really place.
"Hey, Alec," Magnus started. "Who is that?" He asked, nodding towards the man. Alec followed his line of sight.
"Malcolm Fade, representative of Edom," he said. "Why?"
"No reason," Magnus shrugged. "Just curious." He looked back at the man, Malcolm. He was looking at him. Or was it Alec he was looking at? Either way, the eyes were definitely blue. There was no purple, it was just the lightning. Magnus thought. I'm turning into Simon, making up stories, creating mysteries.
"He's coming over here," Alec whispered to Magnus. Magnus looked up again, and indeed, the man was walking towards them.
"Your highness," The man said with a small bow. Alec nodded at him.
"Sir Fade," He said.
"This is a lovely banquet, your father certainly knows how to hold a feast. I hope you are enjoying yourself, after all, any dinner might be the last," Malcolm said. His eyes, blue eyes, were sparkling with excitement. He certainly was enjoying the banquet.
"I am. I hope you are too, and that you're liking your stay here in Idris." Malcolm smirked.
"Oh, I certainly am. And I can't wait to meet you in a duel, I'm sure you will be an excellent opponent," He said and gave a small bow again before turning around and walking away.
"Goodbye to you too," Alec said after him, although not loud enough for anyone other than Magnus to hear.
Magnus' feeling had only increased in the little minute Malcolm was there. He'd felt it somewhere before, he just couldn't remember where… Surely it was nothing. Malcolm Fade was a normal knight representing Edom. Nothing mysterious about it, nothing special. Just a normal person.
"How long do we have to stay here?" Magnus asked Alec.
"Two hours, and then I'm out," Alec said. "We have to wait for my father's speech, and then stay a little bit more for formalities." Magnus nodded. It was going to be a long night.
"Izzy," Alec said when he spotted her. They'd been looking for her for almost ten minutes.
"Alec, Magnus," She greeted them. Magnus nodded and smiled at her.
"Hi, Isabelle," he said. He retreated when she and Alec started talking. She also pulled Alec a little bit away, so whatever they were talking about was probably private. Alec was blushing quite a lot, they were probably talking about all the girls he'd been introduced to, maybe he'd actually liked one of them.
They talked for a while. Alec looked adorable with the blush on his face, Magnus wished he was the one causing it.
"Magnus," Isabelle said, leaving Alec to approach him. Magnus looked startled at her. He'd never had a conversation with Isabelle, and the last thing he expected was her approaching him.
"Izzy," Alec said warningly from where he was following her.
"Relax, brother, I won't say anything," she said. What were they talking about? Some secret? Maybe a secret girlfriend, maybe that's why Alec was so mad at his father for trying to find him a wife. And there was that time Alec had snuck out and got all tense when Magnus asked him where he'd been, so a secret girlfriend made sense. Of course he has a girlfriend, I mean, look at him! Magnus thought.
"I just want to talk to Magnus, we haven't had a proper conversation yet," She said. "Why don't you go get some more food?" She asked Alec.
"I'm not sure if I want to leave you alone with him."
"What, don't you trust me?"
"You know I do, but you can be very unpredictable."
"Alec," Isabelle said. She looked him in the eyes, it looked like they were having a silent conversation. Eventually, Alec sighed.
"Fine," He said before leaving, headed towards the tables. Isabelle turned back to Magnus.
"Hello, Magnus," She said.
"Hi." Magnus looked her up and down. She was beautiful, just like Alec. She was wearing a long dress, dark blue at that top and faded to white at the bottom. Her eyes were dark brown, Magnus hadn't noticed that before.
"I hope you are enjoying your job as Alec's servant," She said.
"I am. Alec is very nice and patient," Magnus said.
"I heard he's been driving you hard these last few days."
"Yeah, he wants to win the tournament, so he's been practicing quite a lot." Izzy shook her head.
"Alec doesn't give a shit about the tournament," She said, surprising Magnus with the language. It wasn't that he wasn't used to hear the word, but he hadn't expected it from a princess like Isabelle. Isabelle seemed like someone who didn't give a damn about the rules though, so Magnus didn't really get why he was surprised. "Dad's the one who wants him to win. Alec really couldn't care less. He just doesn't want to disappoint dad."
"Robert seems to have lots of expectations for Alec," Magnus pointed out.
"He does, he expects him to do everything. Alec expects that of himself too, which is probably even worse." Isabelle said. She looked sad, for her brother probably. Magnus couldn't help but feel angry. Why was so much expected from Alec? He was a human being, just like everyone else. He wasn't some perfect machine just because he was the eldest of royal blood.
"He doesn't deserve that, all the pressure, everything he thinks he has to live up to," Magnus said.
"He really doesn't," Isabelle agreed. "But you can help him," she said.
"Me? How?"
"Be his friend, he needs one. Support him, be there for him. He needs to know that someone cares," she said.
"I'll do my best," Magnus promised. He probably wouldn't even have to try. Caring for Alec was an instinct, he couldn't not do it. Isabelle smiled at him.
"I love your hair," Isabelle said, suddenly changing the subject completely.
"Thank you," Magnus said. He had been trying out new stuff ever since he came to Idris. Luke had made something he called hair gel, which made it possible to spike his hair up, or to the side or back. Today Magnus had put it all to one side, leaving the left side of his head bare. "Luke makes lots of cool stuff, so I'm trying it out."
"Luke is excellent at making things, look, he made me this," Isabelle said, showing Magnus her hand. At first Magnus was unsure what she wanted him to look at, but then he noticed her nails. They were a light blue color, matching her dress.
"What is that?" Magnus asked in wonder. He wanted his nails to be like that.
"Luke calls it nail polish, he makes lots of different colors. I'm sure he'll give you some if you want."
"I'm gonna have to ask him, cause that is awesome," Magnus said. He looked over Isabelle's shoulder and noticed Alec was approaching them.
"Are you two done?" He asked as soon as he was close enough.
"Yes, we were just finishing up," Isabelle said. "You ask him, Magnus, and come find me one day, we can talk some more," she said. She smiled before leaving, already heading towards someone else.
"What did you two talk about?" Alec asked.
"The stuff Luke makes, why?"
"Only that? Nothing else?"
"Yes, she didn't tell me whatever your secret is."
"No, no, it's not that! It's just…" Alec struggled with his words, probably trying to come up with an explanation.
"Alec, it's fine. You're allowed to have secrets, I don't need to know everything," Magnus reassured him. "If you ever want to tell me, you will, and if you don't then you won't. It's that simple, okay?" Magnus looked up at Alec. He had to make sure he understood, had to see it in his eyes that he knew that it was okay for him to be human. But Alec looked away, averted his eyes. His whole body was tense. Magnus put both his hand on his shoulders, and he could feel Alec immediately relaxing under his touch.
"Alec, look at me. Look at me," He said gently, urging Alec to look him in the eyes. "You're allowed to be human, you are human. Don't expect yourself to do the impossible, to be more than you can. You are perfect, you don't need to be any more than you already are. Okay?" Magnus didn't let Alec look away. Their eyes were locked, Alec couldn't look away without breaking the connection, and Magnus had a feeling he didn't want to do that.
"Okay," Alec eventually said. Magnus could see he didn't believe it, but it was enough for now. Now was not the time to push him. He would have lots of time later, without all these people around.
"Good."
They stayed at the banquet for two more hours, just like Alec had said. His father had held the speech about bravery and being a good knight and all that. Alec hadn't been paying attention. Alec had been thinking about what Magnus had said. He couldn't get it out of his head. Magnus had told him it was okay for him to be human, but was it really? For now, he was just a prince, but one day he would have a kingdom to run, he wouldn't have time for feelings. And feelings were human. Alec had to distance himself from all of that. At least if he didn't let himself feel anything he wouldn't feel any pain.
Feelings were bad, they clouded your judgment. His father had taught him that. "Whenever you have an important choice to make, clear your head, erase all feelings. Feelings cloud judgment. Decisions are to be made with the brain, not with the heart." Ever since he was a child his father had told him that. And his father was a good king, so it had to be good advice.
His father was done with the speech and was heading his way. Alec looked around for Magnus, but he was by the table getting food. He was on his own. Gladly, his father didn't have much to say. Unfortunately, what he did say did nothing to lessen Alec's belief that he couldn't be human.
"I hope you don't disappoint me, son." And Alec wouldn't, he promised himself that. He wouldn't disappoint his father.
Magnus and Alec had left the banquet about ten minutes ago. There were still lots of people there, but Alec had told him it wasn't necessary for them to be there any longer. They were back in Alec's chambers now. Alec had just taken off his cape, which Magnus was now folding. What Magnus wasn't expecting was for Alec to take off his shirt too, and even though Alec looked great in that shirt he looked even better without it. This was the second time in just a few days Magnus had gotten to see Alec's bare chest. The universe was really testing his boundaries.
"I'm sorry," Alec said, probably taking his staring for something completely different. "I just had to get out of it."
"Yes, yes, of course. You don't need to apologize, you're allowed to take your shirt off," Magnus said. He finished folding the cape and put it in the closet. He did not turn back around. First he had to get a hold of himself.
"I was just going to sleep now, it's been a long day, and it'll be one tomorrow too. So you can go home," Alec said.
"Yeah." Magnus turned around. No, no no no no. Turn back around, he couldn't do this.
"Magnus, are you okay?" God, Alec really was getting ready for bed, and apparently, he slept in his underwear. Magnus was not ready, and he most certainly was not okay.
"Uh, yes. I'm just… I think I saw something in your closet," He said.
"What, clothes? Those are supposed to be there, Magnus." Me. Magnus thought. Deep in the closet, but still not blind.
"No, I think I saw something else, but it must have been my imagination," Magnus said. Okay, turn around slowly, look at his face, and get the hell out of here.
Magnus faced Alec. Looked at his face. And shoulders. Okay, just the chest, nothing else. No no no. Magnus had no control over his eyes. This was bad.
"Okay, well I'm gonna go now. See you tomorrow. Bye!" He said, his voice strained. The image of Alec would be burned into his mind forever. He was beautiful, long, lean, strong legs. Beautiful chest. The underwear didn't leave much for the imagination, but Magnus's imagination was runningwild. Pictures of that beautiful body over him, under him, on him, in him… I can't get a boner here! He needed to get out of the castle, he needed to get home.
He rushed out and took the shortest way to the flat. Up the stairs and through the door. Luke wasn't in the living room. He was probably sleeping, which was a good thing.
Magnus tried to silently make his way through the house, but his brain wasn't coping. Actually, his brain had short-circuited. It was filled with pictures of Alec. Alec in all kinds of sinful positions, Alec, Alec, Alec. Just Alec.
Magnus managed to make his way to his room without ruining the living room. By the Angel, he was acting like a horny teenager. He was a horny teenager. Nine teen. Teenager . A teenager with a raging hard on that probably wouldn't go away on its own.
Magnus never thought he would touch himself while thinking of another man, but that was exactly what he did now. He curled his fingers around himself, and he imagined it was Alec's hand pumping him up and down. Imagined Alec was kissing him, kissing down his neck and chest, putting his hot mouth around him and swirling his tongue over the head.
Magnus tried to keep quiet, he didn't want to wake Luke, but he couldn't stop the small moans leaving his mouth from time to time. When he came minutes later it was with Alec's name on his lips.
Magnus woke up at seven to the sound of the bells ringing. The bells were his alarm clock now, since seven was a good time for him to wake up he'd habited himself to wake up with the clocks. For a second he wondered why he felt so sticky, but then the memories came rushing back. He had gotten himself off, while thinking of Alec.
What would Alec think if he knew? He would surely be disgusted, he thought of Magnus as a servant, or a friend at best. But what Magnus had done, there was nothing friendly about that.
But could he really be blamed though? It wasn't his fault that Alec looked so good. And that Alec had started undressing in front of him like it wouldn't do things to his brain. And other body parts. It was like he'd thought the night before, he was a horny teenager, and when a hot person started taking their clothes off in front of him there really wasn't much Magnus could do to stop his body's reaction.
The sheets were ruined. Magnus noticed that when he got out of the bed. The sheets were ruined, they were all stained and sticky. But Magnus had a solution. He got dressed and then reached under the floorboards for his book, he'd read something about a cleaning spell, surely that would work.
He'd never actually tried to cast a spell. He'd moved things, of course, but that was different. That felt like he was reaching out with an extra arm, but to clean, what would he do? Visualize himself scrubbing the sheets? Do you even scrub sheets?
Magnus cast aside the thoughts and concentrated on finding the right page. Scourgify: The householding spell. Read the title. It said it could be used for cleaning house objects, like cleaning dust from bookshelves or do the dishes. But could it be used to get rid of stains? Only one way to find out.
"Scourgify!" Magnus tried. He didn't say it too loud in fear if waking Luke up. Nothing happened. The stain didn't disappear, nothing exploded, Magnus didn't even feel the usual rush of magic. He tried again, "scourgify!" again without reaction. What was he doing wrong? Or maybe the question was what wasn't he doing? Should he move his body? Do a small dance to 'call on the power of magic' or something?
"Come on, scourgify!" He said again, he pointed his finger against the sheets, maybe the magic needed to know where to go. Blue sparks flew out of his hand, but nothing else happened. Blue sparks? Magnus raised his hand to his face and tried to will more sparks to come out. "How do you work?" He asked the hand. He wasn't surprised, but he was disappointed when the hand didn't answer.
Magnus tried to think about the force, the rush he always felt. He tried to call for it, surely it had to be somewhere inside him. Where did it go when he wasn't using it? If he could find that out then maybe he could find out how to call for it.
He felt something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was something. He tried to reach for it, call for it, channel it down to his hand. He felt it, it was definitely there. It was running down his arm, leaving all the hairs standing up and goosebumps spreading as it went. An explosion of blue blew out of Magnus' hand, lighting up the room but making no noise.
"That's it, now, scourgify!" Magnus pointed his hand against the sheets while he focused on the energy. He could feel his eyes change and glow. Yellow, a big contrast to the blue leaving his hand. It surrounded the sheets, filled the room, filled it to the brink, till Magnus felt like it was filling him. His lungs, his nose, his mouth, his eyes. It was everywhere, and it felt good, relaxing. Like coming home to a fire in the living room after having been in a snowstorm. Like hugging a loved one. Magnus liked the feeling, he wanted to hold on to it-
"Magnus!" Everything disappeared. Magnus fell, had he been floating? He hadn't noticed. But now he was on his knees on the floor. He could smell something burnt in the air, but he couldn't see what it was. Everything in the room was like it had been seconds earlier, the bookshelf was still there, the desk hadn't caught on fire, the bed hadn't exploded, the sheet was clean! Luke was standing in the doorway…
"What the hell was that?!" He asked, an angry look on his face.
"I… I don't know," Magnus said. He wasn't lying, whatever had happened, Magnus had not expected it.
"What were you trying?" Luke asked, pointing at the book.
"Oh, a, um… A cleaning spell," Magnus said, frowning. Whatever had happened didn't have much to do with cleaning, but the sheet was clean…
"Is that the first spell you've ever cast? From the book, I mean."
"Um, yeah," Magnus said.
"How did it feel to be surrounded by it? Good or bad?"
"It felt good, like… taking a deep breath after having been underwater for too long."
"It might have been your magic settling down. When the first spell is cast by a person the magic manifests itself in that person's body, soul, and mind. That was probably what happened here."
"But this isn't the first time I use magic," Magnus said with a frown.
"It's the first time you said a spell out loud, right?" Magnus nodded. "The power you have, whatever it is, is different. I've never heard of anything like this, but my guess is that moving things around, it's like breathing to you, you just know how to do it, right?" Magnus nodded. "Now, any other spell is like walking. You have to learn, practice, get the ability. Some will be harder, like riding a horse or swimming, and some will be different, like… mixing salves or making weapons. The same way you have to work and practice to get those abilities you will have to practice the magic," Luke said. He always had the answer to everything. "But I want you to be careful, and don't do any magic in public!" Magnus nodded.
"I won't, I promise," He said. It probably wasn't very smart, since he'd already broken that promise multiple times.
"Hey, Luke!" He said before Luke left the room. "Are there supposed to be sparks?" He asked.
"Sparks?" Luke repeated.
"Yeah. When I first tried to cast the spell a few sparks came out. Blue sparks. Is that supposed to happen?"
"I've never heard of anything like it, but then again you are quite a mystery. Can you show me?" Luke asked. Despite his fear of Magnus getting caught he couldn't not be curious.
"I… It doesn't really do as I ask, but I can try," Magnus said. He looked at his hand and tried to find the force, let it take over him, flow through his body, down his arm and out of his hand…
"That is fascinating!" He heard Luke said. He opened his eyes and looked down at his hand. There was a blue ball of magic in it, that was the only way to explain it. A ball of something that looked like fire, but it was blue. And it was neither warm nor cold, it just was. Magnus raised his other hand and tried to throw the ball to it. The ball flew in a beautiful curve and landed in the other hand. Magnus thought about it getting bigger, growing. The response was immediate, the ball grew to almost twice the size, and then shrank when Magnus thought about it doing so.
"What is this?" He asked. Both himself, Luke, and the ball itself. Nothing answered. There was a knock on the door.
"Quick, turn it off!" Luke said. Magnus visualized the ball disappearing, the blue light turning off. And it did, leaving his palm feeling empty and bare.
Luke went to open the door, and Magnus stayed in his room thinking about what had just happened. Why did he have this power? Of all the people of the world, he was the one with this power. Was it a coincidence? Was there a reason? Who could possibly have the answer?
Magnus remembered something then. A deep voice waking him up in the middle of the night, calling for him. Could the owner of the voice, whoever it was, know something?
Alec woke up with the bells. He'd made it a habit, since it gave him more than enough time to get ready for practice at eight. Izzy still had three days left of deciding what he was going to wear, but not for practice. Alec just wore loose pants and a random shirt when he was training since he would have to change after training anyway.
Alec went down to the kitchen to grab breakfast. Usually it's the servant's job to wake up and get whoever they were working for breakfast, but Alec didn't find it necessary. He knew the way down to the kitchen himself, and he didn't want to have Magnus do everything for him. He still wanted to feel like he was in control of his life, at least in something as small and trivial as getting breakfast.
The cook that worked the morning shift already knew Alec, and he always had breakfast ready for him when he came down. Some mornings Alec stayed and talked with them, other mornings he would hurry away with something important to do. Today wasn't any of those. Today he took his breakfast with him to his room and ate on his bed.
He had lots of fights today, people he would have to beat. He couldn't lose. It wasn't an option for him. Alec wasn't sure exactly what his father would do if he did lose, but he didn't want to know.
The worst part about the tournament was the viewers. The way they cheered when Alec won, the way they gasped when someone was thrown to the floor, everything they did. Like it was a game, like it was something made for their entertainment. It is, Alec thought. For everyone else, but not for him. Losing would mean… Alec wasn't sure, but it would mean something bad. And whatever it was it had to be avoided, no matter the costs. He was going to win. He was going to win for his father, for his dignity, for his pride. He was going to win.
"Who was that?" Magnus asked when the door closed behind the man.
"Just some client," Luke said. He left the entrance to make breakfast. Magnus followed him.
"Luke, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, what is it?"
"You know that thing," Magnus started. "The eido-something demon, the shapeshifter."
"Yes, what about it?" Luke looked up from the food he was making to look at Magnus.
"You said it was most probably following orders, that something else sent it, right?"
"Yes. I can't be sure, of course, but it makes more sense than an Eidolon demon doing that all by itself."
"Don't you think this tournament would be the perfect chance for someone to kill Alec?" Magnus asked.
"Killing in the tournament is against the rules," Luke said, frowning.
"Of course, but whoever this is doesn't exactly play by the rules."
"It could always be a possibility. You should keep your eyes open."
"One more question," Magnus said. "These kinds of demons, shapeshifters, and whatever else that might come, do they have physical marks that separate them from humans?"
"Not that I know of, but I have read myths about magical beings that look exactly like humans, except they all have a mark that separates them. But that's just legends as far as I know, and the mark could be anything."
"Like… purple eyes…"
"Yes, purple eyes. But where is all this coming from?" Magnus was about to tell him, but then he thought it through. Luke would probably tell him it had just been the lighting, like Magnus had told himself, but he was sure Malcolm's eyes had been purple. He couldn't tell Luke, not yet. He would tell him when he had proof. Malcolm Fade, there was something off about him, a weird energy that didn't fit with everyone else's. And whatever it was, Magnus was going to figure it out.
I don't know if any of you noticed, but Scourgify is a spell from Harry Potter. I'm bad at making up spells, ok? And this is fanfiction, stealing things from books and movies is kind of the point. It's a mini crossover, Luke somehow found a book that had belonged to a Hogwarts student or something, I don't know. Anyway, I just wanted to say that, I did not make that spell up.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you again next week! (Well, not see you, but... you know what I mean)