Walking fast, faces past, making my way through the crowd.


He isn't supposed to seek comfort for himself, because he's just the freak of nature from the foster system who will die on the streets and finally rid of the pain he suffers from daily, good as a stress reliever only.

But he is a boy in desperate need of a saving grace, and that man... Santiago... offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to heal some of the wounds that were scarred over and mottled. He could erase the splotches of blue and purple that adjourned his frail body. He could stop the pain stemming from reality itself. He could give the boy a purpose. He was a Knight, but the boy was afraid. Just because every once in a while his emotions get a hold of him and ruins any hope he ever holds close.

He starts to think about what could be if he ever accepted an aide from someone who offered it. What would occur if someone took him in. What would happen if someone cared? Would his life be different? Would his appearance become someone full of life, high on imagination, and facing the benefits of optimism? His dreams start to get the best of him, but each time they are close to coming true, they are snatched away because of his magic, and he is only left with the cloud of desire swirling between lingering fingers.

When he turned seventeen, he fled the foster system and away from the ghoul who wished to harness his abilities for evil. The idea of power corrupted his foster father, and no one ever paid a span of attention, spared his situation a second glance. He woke up in the middle of the night, screaming as sweat broke out across his brow, phantom pain succumbing to the brutal agony of reality's hands.

Going into this particular home, he was a bit apprehensive because the man had seemed too perfect to be real... That man... (Cenrad was his name... No, no, no... That was in his nightmares. His foster father's name was Tom, right? Oh gods, he truly was mental...) Nonetheless, he had a reason to be particularly cautious when introduced into Tom's household. The minute the social worker closed that heavy, maple door of the apartment, the poor boy was against the wall, white-knuckled hands wrapped around his neck, words hissing through his ears, revenge at the tip of the man's tongue.

What had he done in the five seconds to cause so much hatred?

Luckily, after spending his entire life in the foster care, he had become more serious as time wore on, and he learned more about how life was and what he would have to do to survive. (There was a possibility he never would). Slowly, the heartbreak become a permanent fixture in his crystal orbs, dulled with the pain of everyday life, and the smiles came less and less. He lived in the memories his dreams provided him with: a young woman who laughed as the wind whistled through the magnolia trees bordered a village, when he would huge her and she would kiss him on the cheek, regardless of his age, both laughing loud and joy emitting from them in huge loads. Suddenly, his subconscious takes over, and it makes him happy...

But then they soon turned into nightmares when he reached the age of six (here he met the first abusive foster parent, Michelle), and the boy was sentenced to a life of misery (still he held onto those first six years of dreams of that woman who he wished he had in his life, but it was merely a delusion his decreasing mental sanity had conjured up).

So he keeps attempting to make the best of his pain, however, Tom ripped everything from him. He abused him, used him, tormented him... The boy fled from his custody, and after two months, the police pick up his trail and attempt to return him, but he had just turned seventeen, and the winter was hitting, and the search became hard. He took a wrong turn and ended up in an alley way, later cornered by the club owner, and then approached by that man...

Santiago.


Santiago finds Colin in the alley way, tears streaking down his face. The boy is scared and helpless; he needs someone to help him, and Santiago does the only thing he possibly could.

He draws upon the memories he is rapidly regaining, and becomes Lancelot, the Knight in Shining Armor to Camelot, to her citizens, to her protector - to Emrys - to Merlin - to Colin. Lancelot embraces his past life, and he becomes what Colin needs. He wonder if the boy remembers Camelot at all, some remnants of the past life must exist somewhere, but he highly doubts that. It's possible that he doesn't understand.

He is the strongest person alive, even though he is only seventeen.

He approaches Colin slowly, remembering how, for a time, he would see him every day but wouldn't talk because he had work to do, being a servant and all (plus, they didn't need words. Their friendship was stable and worked with gazes at times). Some nights, though, when they were alone and Lancelot would walk into Merlin's chambers back when he roomed with Gaius, he'd catch the warlock peering over the top of his magic book with a wide grin, and the two would stay up for hours on end, smiling and laughing at Merlin's magic tricks. (Lancelot longs for those older, more innocent days).

It's not like it was before. Colin is there, huddling next to a dumpster, shaking and whispering quietly, and as quietly as Lancelot is possible of, he ambles closer.

"I won't hurt you, my friend," he admits, holding his hands out in a peaceful gesture.

It is as though he was waiting for him, but he still starts in surprise, disbelief flickering in his blood-shot eyes. His mouth hangs open slightly, but he refrains from speaking. Lancelot smirks a little and hopes that Colin will not harness any hostile emotions towards him.

For a second he stares at him as though he is the enemy before letting the first wall down. "Hello."

"I'm not going to hurt you."

Colin hesitates, unsure of the situation, before dropping the second. "I know."

Lancelot smiles widely, the bold and blissful atmosphere radiating as if a sun in its own galaxy. "I won't tell about your magic."

He doesn't respond at first, but Lancelot sits next to him, rocking back on his haunches, and Colin flinches inwardly. "I don't trust you."

"I think I may be able to help you... Or rather know someone who can." Colin raised his head in curiosity, and Lancelot took it as a sign to continue. "There's this doctor downtown who took care of my roommate a couple weeks ago. His name is Richard Wilson. I think he might know some things about your condition."

Colin ducks his head from the Knight's view, but the older man reaches out and grasps his hand, pulling him close so he can't ignore the stranger. "Will you let me help you, Colin?"


In the end, he knew it was too good to be true.

He knew that the stranger would eventually forget about him, and that the help offered would disappear the moment he left his third and final wall down. (Little did Colin know that the stranger held the boy close to his heart, because the boy was more important in more ways than he realized, ways he did not yet know, ways that would make his panic soar in the coming months).

The moment they come out of the alley way, the club owner (was Mike his name?) corners them, a shadow hovering over his shoulder. (Colin recognizes the gleam in the cold eyes that are covered with a hint of evil - how had Tom found him?) That man (Santiago) protested profusely as his foster father grips his wrist, pulling him forward, the whisper of a promise of suffering that night for the trouble the boy had caused him.

He loses site of Santiago and they do not say goodbye, even though he can somehow read it in the other's eyes. It was a solemn request to escape and come back, a note of finality that he would never give up.

The boy does not cry, instead the tears burn at the front of his eyes, and finally spill when the new bruises throb, he holds his broken wrist to his chest, and cries out when Tom grounds the heel of his boot into his stomach, splintering any hopes Colin has for a better life.

Eventually, the poor boy moves on because he must, and the stranger is soon a spot of possibility in a sea of shrouded ignorance covering reality.

(Even though Santiago is gone, Colin swears never to forget him. He remembers the hospitality the man offered, the acceptance in his eyes, and the name he gave).

Colin will always remember.