Jude bent over Callie's bedside, pressing his hand against her forehead. She'd had a raging fever throughout the night and Jude had spent the long hours worrying about it, wondering if and when it was going to break. He had battled with the idea waking the town doctor throughout the night and, eventually, he had settled upon going for the doctor at first light, if Callie had no change in her, and going immediately if she seemed to get any worse. Her fever seemed to be lifting, but that might have been hopeful thinking on his part. He turned around and dabbed a cloth in some cool water. He pressed it against Callie's forehead and a low moan escaped her lips.
"Callie?" Jude sat on the edge on the bed. "Callie?"
Her eyes flickered and then she bolted upright. Her hands seized him and her eyes were wild.
"Callie, it's okay, it's me. We're home, you're safe."
She looked from side to side, squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath as she realized she was no longer trapped in the woods.
"Jude?! Are you safe?"
"I'm safe!"
Callie grabbed him in a hug and Jude clung to her. It was different than holding her close to him on Phillipe's back, trying to keep her still body from sliding off the side of the horse. She was able to give him a real hug back.
"I missed you," Jude whispered, because he hadn't realized exactly how much he had until she was back.
"How did you escape?" Callie demanded. She pushed him back to put her hands on his shoulders and inspected him. "I was expecting to have to … to try and kill that thing to get you out!"
The thought disturbed Jude. Not just because Callie had never killed anything bigger than a grasshopper, but he hated the thought of anyone hurting Connor. He didn't doubt that Callie, if she had the right motivation, could kill something.
"He let me go, Callie. He's not as scary as you remember him."
Callie looked doubtful about that, but Jude couldn't really blame her. If their positions had been reversed, if she had been the one locked in the palace, he wouldn't try to give a beast the benefit of the doubt.
"Really, I'm okay. I'm here now."
"I was so worried about you."
"I know, and now look at you, almost dead."
Callie gave him an eyeroll for that.
"I put a soup on, for when you woke up," Jude said. "I'll get you something to eat."
He had fully intended for her to stay in bed, but Callie draped one of their heavy quilts across her shoulders and followed him in the kitchen. Jude didn't say a word to his stubborn sister. Instead, he made sure that she stayed seated in one of the kitchen chairs, adjusting the blanket over her shoulders like a mother hen. Callie was always the one in the caretaker role, and she didn't particularly appreciate being the one taken care of. Jude didn't let her move, ladling her soup for her and carrying it to the table. It was a far cry from what would come out of the kitchens at the castle. This was little more than broth, with a few pieces of aged vegetables that Jude thought should be used up.
"Thank you," Callie said.
"What made you decide to wander around the woods, Callie? The weather hasn't been great –"
"I was looking for you! It was hard to remember exactly where that damn castle was. I tried to get other people to help me but … no one believed me when I said … you'd been taken by a beast. I even asked Liam! I thought, of all people, he'd help me, because you know how he's always paying attention to me. But he wouldn't go and look unless I slept with him first."
"Tell me you didn't."
Callie stared down at her soup, spinning the spoon around the bowl. "I thought about it. I thought you were trapped in a tower, at best, or killed and eaten, at worst! I almost did. But then I thought about how you'd look at me if I did, because it's not just me he bothers. He likes to torment you. And I wouldn't let him do that to us and have that over us. I hope you don't hate me for that."
"No, Callie, of course not. I promise you, I wasn't being mistreated there."
Callie didn't look like she believed him whatsoever. She finally ate a large spoonful of soup, and then she said, "I've never seen Liam so angry as when I turned him down."
"Has he been bothering you?" Jude asked. If he had, then they'd move. Connor would let them live in castle. Jude was sure of it. Callie might get bored, but if they were there as guests, then it wouldn't make a difference. They'd be allowed the freedom to come and go. She just wouldn't have to live in the same town as Liam anymore, and that was the important part.
"I haven't been here." Callie abandoned the spoon and lifted the soup bowl directly to her mouth.
"I was fine."
"I don't believe that."
No, of course not. She had no reason to. Callie put the bowl down with a clatter and a few remaining droplets splashed out of the bowl and onto the table top … and the mirror that Jude had left sitting there. Callie went to clear the soup with a finger and picked up the silver mirror.
"What's this?"
It looked even bigger in her hands than it did in Jude's own.
"I was gifted it."
"By who?" Callie turned it over. "That looks expensive."
"You can't put a value on it."
"I might. I –" She was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Who's that going to be?"
Jude shrugged and went to answer it as another loud knock resounded through the tiny cottage. He wasn't surprised when Callie straightened up to follow him, only half a step behind him. It was still dark outside, sometime in the early hours of the morning. No one else should have been awake right then, which made the knock all the more suspicious. Callie was clearly upset with the intrusion; it wasn't as if they ever got many visitors, anyway. Their little cottage had always been theirs, with no one else to bother them.
"Who's there?" she called, and the knock just sounded again.
Jude opened the door slowly.
"Hi."
Speak of the devil.
"Liam? What do you want?"
"To see if you'd been eaten by a beast," Liam said. He pressed on the front door and, though Jude tried to fend him off, he just wasn't that strong. "And to see the lovely Callie, of course. Has she gone any crazier?"
Liam stepped inside and Jude could suddenly see that he wasn't alone. His ever faithful sidekick, Fooly, was standing in front of a few other men: two strong-armed and intimidating, and the third, skinny, and almost sick looking. Behind them, there was the carriage for the asylum. Alarmed, Jude turned to face Liam.
"What's this about?" Callie demanded.
"Well, my dear, I've become worried about your … mental health." Liam reached up to stroke the side of Callie's face, but she batted him away. "Raving about beasts."
"There is a beast! I'm not crazy! Now, get out. You've no business here."
"If you're delusional, you must get help."
The tall man stepped forward. "I am the director of the asylum. I promise, we'll take good care of you."
Jude didn't trust his look.
Liam went to put his hands on Callie again and Jude stepped between them.
"This isn't your decision to make!" Jude protested.
"No one's going to stop me. A mad woman could be a danger to the town."
"Liam, you are so full of sh –"
The director cleared his throat. "We have been contracted to retrieve you. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way."
Jude was a step away from grinning, because they clearly did not know Callie well enough. But he couldn't quite get there, because the gravity of the situation was beginning to sink in. They could just take Callie, and neither of them could stop it. There was no guarantee when, or if, he would get to see her again. It wasn't like the situation with the Beast, where he could sacrifice himself for her. They were just going to take her.
"What if she's not crazy?" Jude blurted, already feeling guilty for what he was about to do. "What if there is a beast?"
Liam laughed at him with Fooly reaching near-hysterics. "Take them both," Liam advised the director.
"No, wait!" Jude grabbed the mirror from the kitchen table, holding it tenderly in his hands. "Show me the Beast!"
A bright glare of green came from the mirror, nearly blinding him. He sucked in a breath, seeing the image of Connor appear. He looked so sad, and Jude's heart plummeted. As soon as Callie was well, he would go back. They would go back. He would show her how different the palace was from her memories and that the staff were wonderful. He would go back and see Connor again. Maybe they would dance in the ballroom again and eat the feast that Jude had been too excited to taste. He looked up at turned the mirror around, shoving it in Liam's face.
"Look! He's real!"
Liam's face collapsed in horror and before Jude could do anything, he seized the mirror. "What is this? What is this thing?"
"He's my friend! Give me the mirror back!"
"A friend," Liam drawled. "This creature!"
"He said give him the mirror back, Liam!"
"Fooly!" Liam turned the mirror. "What is this?!"
"A beast!" Fooly gasped.
The director of the asylum took a horrified step backward. "Where … Where is that thing!? It's going to come and eat us!"
"No, he wouldn't!" Jude protested. He felt Callie's hand tug at his back, but Jude was not going to back down. He was not going to let them hurt Connor, not when Connor would never hurt anyone. "He's gentle and kind! We're friends!"
Liam stared the two of them down with a cold eye and then glanced at the image of Connor. It was bad timing that he chose that moment to let out a pitiful roar; it wasn't even as scary as it could be. Jude knew that from experience. It was such a sad sound that his heart almost broke. He wanted to tell Connor he would be back soon.
"Do you hear that affection for the beast?" Liam asked, his eyes bouncing between Callie and Fooly.
"Does it matter? We have to get rid of that thing!" Fooly squawked.
Liam held the mirror close. "If we do, we'll be heroes."
"He's not a danger!"
"Jude!"
"Callie, he's not! Leave him alone!"
"Lock them up," Liam said.
"What!? You can't!"
The two large men who accompanied the director suddenly stepped toward the cottage. Jude became aware of just how very large they were in comparison to himself and, particularly, in comparison to Callie. He didn't know how they were going to get out of this.
"They have a cellar!" Fooly informed Liam, a little too joyously in Jude's opinion.
"No! No!"
But no matter what he and Callie yelled, and no matter how hard they tried to fight, they were no match for the two men, and were locked in their own cellar. Jude felt a little vindicated that the one who had tried to control Callie was not walking away unscathed. But that didn't change the fact that they were stuck in their cellar, with no way free. Jude could hear the shouts from the townspeople; he could hear a horrific chant that had to take all of the men in the village to make. They were going to kill Connor, and Jude had no way to warn him. Jude had no way to protect him. He battered on the cellar door until he thought his bones were going to break and, even then, he only pulled away because Callie forced him to.
"What's going on!?" she demanded. "What do you care if Liam kills him? He held you captive!"
"He didn't. Callie, please, we have to get out of here, I have to save him."
"Why –"
"I will explain everything later! Please, just go with me on this, for once! I need you on my side right now."
"I am on your side. I'm always on your side, but, Jude, there is no way out of this cellar. That's how it was built."
Jude went to grab the cellar door again, and then he thought he heard a clanging sound. He stood on his toes and went to press his ear to the wood, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Jude! Get away from there!"
Jude stepped backward and looked up, seeing the wooden cellar door go up in flames.
"Water?" Jude said, spinning around. "Is there any water down here?!"
Callie spun around, the quilt around her shoulders twirling like a cloak. Before either of them could try and find anything, the flames disappeared and a cool, early spring breeze filled the cellar. He and Callie glanced at one another, and she took a brave step forward.
"Is there someone there?"
A familiar face poked over the burnt edge.
"Jesus!" Jude exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Mariana caught me and told me to go with you," Jesus said. "I had to blow out my candles and that always puts me out like a light for a while."
"I remember you!" Callie said. "You're from the castle."
"Yeah, hi!"
"We should go," Jude said. "Liam's going to the castle."
"He had the entire town following him."
"Not helping!" Jude said. He grabbed Jesus by his metal body and started climbing the stairs. He turned back around for Callie. "Are you coming?"
"Of course."
Callie followed him out of the cellar and Jude handed her Jesus.
"There's no way we're going to beat them to the castle."
"If we need to make it there, we'll find a way," Callie said, so determined sounding that it silenced Jude.
Together, with Jesus lighting the way, they found Phillipe and mounted up. He was tired out from his journey to the cottage just a few hours previous, and he was carrying both of them, but he plodded on, tracing the tracks of the large mob that was too far ahead of them for Jude's comfort. He stared into the darkness beyond, anxiously waiting until the castle appeared in front of them. He wished he had some way to tell Connor that he was coming, but he would be there soon.
He didn't know what he could do once he got there, but he knew that there was where he needed to be.
(-.-)
Connor stared at the rose, sitting innocently in its glass case, the last of its petals still clinging desperately to the top of its stem. He wanted to swipe his paw across the delicate little table, listen to the glass finally shatter on the floor, and let the petals blow out onto the balcony and then far away from the palace, to go and decay in the forest. He wanted to, but he didn't have the energy too. Jude was a day gone, and it didn't matter that he had promised to come back. By the time he did, it would be too late, and it wouldn't matter what Connor hadn't been able to confess. He couldn't ask Jude to spend his life with a beast. If Jude ever came back, Connor would be trapped like this until he died, and he would not do the same to Jude.
His ears flicked. He could hear something strange. Deep, rhythmic, like the marching of an army. He hung his head and pinned his ears down, trying to lessen the sound. He didn't care. The servants deserved whatever odd fun that they could scare up for themselves. It wasn't as if there was anything else left for any of them to live for. He wanted to roar at them to keep it down, but he didn't have the energy for that, either. He didn't want to bother them, not after the fight they had just minutes after Jude had fled the castle. He knew that it wasn't fair to them that he had let Jude go, but Connor had to. He loved Jude.
He heard the sounds of Brandon's steps and then a knock on the door. "Master?"
"Leave me."
He just wanted to be alone. He had thought his depressive years were over, but he could feel them coming back with a vengeance. He just wanted to sit and stare at the rose until he rotted into nothing. There wasn't anything else left for him other than that.
"Right, but, Master, there's people approaching. To attack the –"
"LEAVE!" Connor roared. He heard the door click behind him and then he deflated against the floor again.
People.
Let them come.
(-.-)
Jude knew they were getting close to the castle. There were villagers running and screaming past Phillipe, and the horse was becoming increasingly unnerved. Jude kept a tight hold on the reins and pushed him onward. He had to get there; he had to get there now. He knew Phillipe was exhausted, but he kicked him into a faster pace.
"Almost home," he whispered, watching the horse's ears turn to catch his voice. "Almost there."
Mud flashed upward from Phillipe's hooves as he thundered forward, and then, the castle rose from the trees. He didn't need Connor's animalistic hearing to recognize the sounds of screams and fighting; there was even smoke coming from a window on the bottom level. Jude's heart constricted. His friends; Connor!
"Oh no!" Jesus exclaimed from his saddlebag. "The Master!"
Connor!?
Jude pulled up on Phillipe's reins and let his eyes scan the scene. He hadn't thought there was anyone outside, but then, he saw movement, on the roof. He looked up, and there was Connor, Liam towering over him. Jude didn't know how it had happened; he didn't understand how Liam could overpower Connor. All he knew was that Connor was about to let Liam beat him.
"CONNOR!" he shouted. Could his voice even carry that far? Connor had to hear him. Please, please let Connor hear him. "CONNOR!"
Connor's massive head turned. Jude saw his jaw open, but whatever he said, was lost to Jude. He saw Connor's paw stretch toward him and Jude nodded. He had to get up to the roof. He had to get to Connor. He spurred Phillipe onward again and Callie's arms tightened around his waist. Jude looked at the staircase leading up to the main doors, which were hanging open. Phillipe could make it.
"Jude!" Callie screeched, but for once in his life, he ignored her.
Phillipe only slipped on the stairs once, and then Jude was in the ruins of the main foyer. There were only a few of the villagers left, fighting a battle even though they were clearly on the losing side. He kicked his feet free of the stirrups.
"Be careful, Callie," he yelled, and then he slid to the floor.
He had to get to Connor. He ran through the corridors. Despite the time that he had spent in the castle, despite the tours that Connor had given to him, his knowledge was still shaky and he worried that he wouldn't be able to get to where he wanted to and that he was taking the wrong direction. But when he finally stuck his head out the window of an abandoned guest room, there was Connor, just mere feet away, clamoring up the shingles to get to him.
"Jude!"
"Connor!"
Jude stretched his hand down. He didn't know how he was going to help Connor in through the window. All he could think was that he just wanted to feel the warmth of Connor's paw, remind himself that Connor was fine, despite the terrifying image of Liam leaning over him, intent on murder.
"You came back," Connor whispered.
"I told you I would," Jude replied, smiling as Connor's paw came into reach; he could feel the heat radiating off it.
"I –" Whatever he was going to say was lost as a loud roar punctuated the air; the force of it was nearly enough to send Jude spiraling backward.
Jude gripped onto the windowsill, his eyes widening in horror as he focused on the long arrow pointing out of Connor's flesh.
"No," Jude whispered, as Connor lost his balance and started to fall down the roof. "No!"
Jude looked up to see Liam, a disgusting grin of mania on his face. Jude looked back down to Connor, who was still moving, trying to pick himself up off the lower landing he had fallen on. Jude's fingers tightened on the windowsill and his resolve steeled. He didn't want to take his eyes off Connor, but he had to get down to that lower landing. He pushed himself off the wall, as if that would give him speed and raced down the stairs. He wished he had gotten Stef or Lena to show him the way around the servant's passageways when he had the time and luxury. He was sure they'd be faster now, but he couldn't risk getting any more lost than he was already starting to be. He heard cheering sounds from the foyer below; he hoped that was everyone from the castle celebrating driving off the last of the mob. Almost the last of the mob. Everyone but Liam. Jude rushed through the West Wing and the ruins of Connor's bedroom. He burst onto the balcony. The cold wind whipped at him as he spun in a circle; had he gone to the wrong place? He should be able to see Connor now.
He heard something. He grabbed the rail of the balcony and looked down. Nothing. He looked up, and there was Connor, above him, with Liam by the neck.
"Connor!" Jude shouted.
It didn't matter how awful Liam was. Jude wasn't going watch Connor murder anyone. Connor looked down at him, and then slowly his arm retracted. He dropped Liam onto the roof and he started to scale down toward Jude. Jude held out both hands to him, asking for the hug that he knew was coming. Then, over Connor's shoulder, Liam appeared. Jude watched him waver back and forth and, even though he hoped that Liam was about to climb down the roof and run away like the rest of his mob had, he knew that wasn't in Liam's nature. He opened his mouth, about to shout another warning, and then a shot rang out and everything started to move in slow motion.
Jude saw the blowback from the gun knock Liam off balance; the sound of his last scream was muted against the ringing in Jude's ears. But that wasn't the part that mattered. The part that mattered was the change on Connor's face when pain took over and he lost his footing, falling to the balcony with a thud that shook the building. Jude fell to his knees and crawled to Connor's side. There was blood blooming on the front of Connor's white shirt.
"No, no, no," Jude heard himself chant.
"Jude."
Connor reached his paw up to gently touch the side of Jude's face. Jude grabbed the paw in his own two hands and pressed his cheek into the palm of it completely, knowing Connor would never make that move on his own.
"You're going to be okay," Jude told him. "You are."
Connor heaved for breath. "What's important is I got to see you one last time."
Tears sprung to Jude's eyes. He hated to hear Connor sound so strained. "No, you're going to be fine. Connor? Connor!"
Connor heaved a great sigh and then his paw fell from Jude's hands. No! Jude bent over Connor, pressing his face against Connor's shirt. All he wanted was to feel Connor's arms around him; as if they were dancing again and nothing had happened.
"Come back," he begged, even though he knew that wasn't how death worked. "Please, come back. I love you."
As if that could possibly change anything. But Jude wanted it to change everything because it meant everything. He didn't understand how it had happened or why it had happened, all that mattered was he was in love and that had been taken from him before he had a chance to do anything about it. His tears soaked his face and the front of Connor, but it didn't matter anymore. Connor was gone. How could he be gone? This was Jude's fault. For showing Liam the mirror. For not being smarter. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, thinking over and over again that he was just so sorry.
An odd zinging noise intruded into his thoughts. Jude pushed himself up, forcing his eyes to open. He was hoping Stef or Lena or Callie was behind him. He just wanted someone who understood him; someone who would grieve with him. But when he cracked his eyes open, he saw something that completely took his breath away. There were green sparks falling from the sky like rain. He tilted his head up, trying to understand where it was coming from. But there was no strange cloud in the sky above him. He want to turn his head, to look behind him, when the bright glare concentrated onto Connor's still body. As Jude watched in horror, Connor's body began to lift. He made a desperate grab for Connor's hanging paw, but he was already out of reach.
Jude sat back on his knees; Connor was moved vertically, so that he looked like he was standing on air. His head lolled back on his neck while his arms and legs were spread wide, as if he were a star. The light intensified and Jude had to shield his eyes from the spectacle in front of him, trying to peek through his fingers, though he was too blinded to see anything. He had to wait, his stomach churning, until the light dimmed. He could see Connor's long cloak swirling as he was returned to the ground; he wasn't laid down gently, but rather, dumped in a pile. Jude rose to his feet, and then the lump began to move. Jude's breath caught in his throat and he brought his hands up to his face, only able to think: what?
Connor straightened up, but it wasn't Connor. The cloak hit the floor; the head was human. The man turned, his clothes hanging baggily off him. He was attractive; soft hair and defined features. He and Jude just stared at one another, as Jude's brain struggled to understand what he was seeing. His brain kept making odd leaps and jumps. His hair is the colour of Connor's fur. His eyes … Oh, his eyes were a perfect imitation! But … but … but … Jude just couldn't bring himself to come to the end result of what was in front of him.
"Jude!"
That voice, but without the growling tone that Jude had become used to, and even found oddly soothing now.
"C-C-onnor?"
The man stretched his hands out in front of him, a smile on his face. A human smile, with flat teeth and thin lips. Jude felt as if his knees were going to give out.
"Look at me!" Connor exclaimed. "You … you did it!"
Did it? Jude had done nothing. He took a few shaky steps forward until he was just within in arm's reach of the man. "Is it really you?"
"It's me!"
And Jude believed it. He didn't know what had happened or how it had happened and the only solution he could think was magic. But that didn't matter. He reached out for Connor and Connor reached for him back, and Jude hugged him. Hugged him when only a few seconds ago, Connor had been dead on the floor. And with all of the happiness that was bubbling through him, the only thing he could say was.
"You're short!" and it overlapped with Connor's cry of, "You're tall!"
They laughed and Connor looked up at him. It was so strange to see those eyes looking up at him instead of down. Connor's fingers –human fingers, shorter and wider than Jude would have thought – grasped onto the front of Jude's shirt.
"You broke the spell," Connor whispered.
"I knew this was an enchanted castle," Jude murmured. "But what did I do?"
"If you broke the spell, it means you love me. That was the only way. For someone to fall in love with a beast, because who could?"
"I could," Jude said, thinking he should at least feel a little embarrassed over such a declaration. "I did. I do. B-b-b-ut could a beast love me back?"
"Yes," Connor said, so confident that Jude could have fainted in relief. Jude had barely been able to start coming to terms with the fact that he loved Connor, let alone think about telling him. But here they were, and it was fine, because Connor loved him too. "And so could the man."
Jude looked down at the fact that he had to get to know; but it was a beautiful face, with long eyelashes and happy expression, framed by a mane of hair that Jude hoped Connor kept. And there was nothing left to do now but kiss Connor. And so he did, taking the time to hold Connor close and slowly press their lips together. It was Connor who grabbed at Jude more desperately, snaking his arms behind Jude's head and along his back.
"It's so nice," Connor said, "to be able to touch you and not worry I'm going to hurt you!"
Connor seized Jude's face in his hands and pulled Jude into another kiss, and Jude fell into him. Connor could kiss him for as long as he wanted; Jude's eyes drifted shut and he just never wanted to lose this moment.
"Master!"
Jude snapped away from Connor. He didn't know what anyone else would say about he and Connor; he didn't know if he wanted to know. Jude knew how rumours would have flown about in the village; they had already suspected him of being odd in that sort of way, and they had shunned him. Callie had even confronted him about his lack of interest in women, and Jude had lied to her then. He didn't know if he could lie to her now; if he was safe in the castle, next to Connor's side, then he wouldn't deny how he felt about Connor. He didn't think he could bring himself to, anyway. Not after almost losing him once.
Several people were tumbling into the room, two women at the forefront: one with pale skin and a crop of blonde hair and the other with dark skin and large amounts of curly dark hair.
"Stef! Lena!" Connor cried.
They were human too? Jude stared at the women, thinking that he was going to need a more detailed explanation of what exactly this enchantment was the moment anyone had a second to spare. Connor hugged both woman briefly, and Jude was left wondering who was who.
"Brandon! And Mariana! And Jesus!"
Mariana and Jesus had to be the two that looked a lot alike, right?
"Jude!" the woman with the dark skin cried, and Jude knew that voice.
"Lena?" She hugged him tightly, and it felt like the motherly embrace he had always thought that she would have.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, but have you seen my sister? I last saw her downstairs and –"
"Brandon and I will go look for her," Stef said. "I remember seeing her and your horse, but after that nothing."
Jude watched her grab the lanky boy with the dark hair and they walked out the door. That was Brandon, which meant he was right; the boy and girl standing next to one another were Mariana and Jesus. He didn't know what to say now. He just wanted to stand still and drink in everything that had happened in the last five minutes, because too much had happened for five minutes.
"So, everything must be okay," Lena said. She ran her hand over to the top of Connor's head and held him close again. "Look at you! You've grown up so much."
"Look who we found in the hallway!" Stef called, marching into the room with Brandon and Callie behind her.
Callie looked shell-shocked. The moment she saw Jude, she was at his side, her hands on his arm.
"Jude, the entire castle just changed," she whispered.
"The objects into people? Yeah, that's weird," he whispered back.
"No. Like, I was standing in a room and the walls changed colour and the floor was different the candlesticks all changed. Not into people, just changed. What is this place?"
"Magic," Jude said. "That's all I really know, Callie."
"We should go," Callie said. "I don't know where the beast is –"
"The boy, over there, that's him. It was an enchantment. Nothing's going to hurt us."
Lena held her hand out to Callie. "I'm Lena. Welcome."
Callie shook it. "Hi."
"And this is my wife, Stef, and our children: Brandon, Mariana, and Jesus."
Wife. Jude was safe here. Of course he was. He watched Callie's face, but her eyebrow quirked and she kept her mouth shut. He knew that the village had a more backward mindset than Callie did, but same gendered couples were never something that they had really talked about. Jude had avoided talking to Callie, because he had never gotten a sense of where she stood.
"And," Lena gestured to Connor, "this is Prince Connor. He's very sorry about your first meeting."
Prince!?
Connor looked sheepish. "I'm sorry about my overreaction on your first time finding the castle. It wasn't right to hold you prisoner or force you to choose your brother's life or your own. I don't expect forgiveness, but I hope with time I can earn it."
Spoken like a prince trained in the art of diplomacy. Jude just couldn't stop staring. Often, he had wondered about why royalty had abandoned the palace. Now, he learnt they hadn't. Connor the beast hadn't had to scare anyone out of the palace in order to live here; it already belonged to Connor the prince.
"What do you think of him?" Callie whispered to Jude.
"Oh, I –"
"He loves him!" Mariana interrupted him. "That's how the curse was broken! Only true love could!"
Mariana swooped across Connor's bedroom to grab Jude into a hug. Jude let her, but he didn't take his eyes off Callie. He watched her shocked expression fade into something he hoped was acceptance. He nodded slightly at her and she nodded back. He was sure that it wasn't the last they would talk of it, but he knew that she wasn't going to leave him. Callie would never leave him.
"And Connor loves him too!" Mariana declared firmly, pulling Connor into the hug and then fading away, so that it was just Jude and Connor standing next to each other.
"I guess we did get a happy ending," Jude heard Brandon say.
"Which is why you shouldn't be so pessimistic," Stef said. "Let's go down to the kitchens and finally eat something we cook."
"Oh, no," Jesus complained, "the dishes aren't going to do themselves anymore."
Stef laughed and Jude's hand sought out Connor's. The room was happy, and light, and he had a feeling everything was going to be perfect.
Until the sound of someone's throat clearing stopped the entire room cold.
Jude looked to the entrance of the room. There was a tall man with dark hair and trimmed facial hair standing there, dressed in clothes Jude knew were suited to royalty. He tried to figure out who it could be; he doubted he had a chance to meet everyone in the household during his time here. He might just not know.
"Your majesty!" the servants gasped, dropping into bows and curtsies.
"Father," Connor said, his voice formal and grave. He dropped into his own bow and Jude shuffled backward into Callie. He didn't know what he should do or how to react. "You're alive!"
"Yes. I was trapped," the king said, striding into the room, explaining himself with confidence. "The Enchantress trapped me in the rose, able to see all and know all, but unable to do everything." The servants parted so that the king could stand before his son. "I have watched you suffer, all of these years, knowing that I did this to you."
"I don't blame you, Father."
"You're a good man and I am proud of you." The king rested a heavy hand on Connor's shoulder, and then he turned to face Jude. "I am King Adam."
He was also intimidating. Jude stepped closer to Callie. "I'm Jude, and this is my sister, Callie."
"I know," he said gravely. "And I am indebted to you. Anything either of you ever wishes, I will grant, and know that you will always have a place here."
"Thank you," Jude said.
"We appreciate that very much, sir," Callie added.
King Adam turned around and rested his hand upon Connor's shoulder. "Did I hear something about a feast? I think we've all been without food for a very long time!"
"Come with us, love," Stef said to Callie. "We'll get you something to eat too. Did you get your horse put away in the stables?"
"Uh. I left him locked in one of the downstairs bedrooms," Jude heard Callie confess as they walked away.
He went to follow, but Connor ducked out of his father's grasp and let the entire group move out of the room, leaving he and Jude alone.
"I don't know what to say to any of what just happened," Jude said.
"That's okay."
"Because I don't understand what happened," Jude added. "I think Callie's worse off than I am."
Connor took Jude's hand in his own. "I can never make up to her what I did to her. From the dungeon to forcing her away from you."
"Callie will forgive you."
"How do you know?"
"Because I did and I love you." That time, Jude's heart did skip when he said it. "And Callie will make the effort because it matters to me."
"I hope so. Jude?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to stay here? I mean, now that … I don't have the excuse of keeping you prisoner."
"Yes," Jude said passionately. "I was always going to come back. The moment Callie was well and the moment I had her convinced to come too. I was never going to stay away."
Connor rested his head against Jude's chest and Jude held him close, trying to get used to how small Connor was as a human. Jude could feel his muscular stature beneath the baggy, thin clothes he was wearing, but he was so much shorter than Jude was now. It was going to take getting used to, when he was so accustomed to Connor being over seven feet tall.
"It's like a dream to hear you say that."
"It's not," Jude said, and then he kissed Connor again.
It wasn't a dream. It was happily ever after.
On tumblr I'm: we are all of legend now (with dashes between every word). If you want to find my replies to anon reviews, add backslash tagged backslash anon dash replies. If you want to see anything I post about Tale As Old As Time, add backslash tagged backslash tale dash as dash old dash as dash time. Note that the punctuation is spelled out due to fanfiction's restrictions. If you have any problems accessing the extra content on tumblr please send me a message and I can help you out!
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~TLL~