AN: Here it is! The latest thing I've decided to dive right into. As always, share your thoughts, comments, critiques - I take them all!

Psychometry

Prologue

Debts

The night air was chilly, their breaths almost appearing to crystalize. Fresh snow had blanketed the ground, adding a new layer to the already ankle deep amount from earlier in the morning.

A pair, a young man and woman, huddled together, thick coats and shawls draped over them, providing flimsy protection from the cruel winds. Off in the distance, a pack of wolves could be heard howling, both beautiful and threatening. Sensing the urgency, the man wrapped an arm around the woman, pushing them both forward, toward the edge of the dark forest.

The forest itself was largely uninspiring. Silent trees stood sentinel, their soft pines sheltering the ground from the bright moonlight. Mist had added another layer of protection, casting an eerie image through the trunks of the trees. Save for an errant rabbit running into the underbrush, the forest was largely quiet.

It would've been a quaint picture, but the young couple knew the task they had at hand. They knew of what dangers lurked in the forest.

"Shh, shh…" the woman cooed, adjusting the tightly wrapped bundle in her arms.

A soft tuft of brown hair poked through the blankets, green eyes sparkling as a small pouty lip quivered.

"Shh…" her mother begged, the young child's father absently stroking her head, his attention spent mostly on scanning their surroundings.

"Erlking...Erlking, please. Hear us," the woman started, desperately searching for something, but what that something was, she didn't know.

The Erlking had been a tale told to children, a supernatural folklore that hid in the belly of the forest, waiting to grab a child of his own to claim. What he would do to a child was always different; the Erlking could devour the child, or he may transform it into a hideous beast, mind intact but body cursed. Maybe even turn their dreams into eternal nightmares. But the most common belief of all was that he could make the child disappear.

But there were other whispers about what he could do...whispers that lifted hope in the young woman now cradling her fussy infant.

He was a magical being, one not bound to the laws of their world, and with that, not bound to concepts of life and death. And well, it didn't take much to imagine that he could bestow some of that immortal power on their child. Not all of it, of course, but just enough to see her through this wicked illness that had claimed her.

From nearly the moment she had been born, their daughter was small and sickly, plagued by coughs that overwhelmed her whole body. There were times her mother woke with a start to the sound of her baby gasping for air.

The physician seemed unable to offer any remedy of substance. The spaces between the visits were growing fewer and the treatments more futile.

And it was then that the child's mother begged her husband to give this a try. It was madness, she knew, but to let their only child succumb to illness was also unimaginable. She would rather die first than act as though they had exhausted every option. Her husband, loathe as he was to give in to the strange request, felt obliged because he too couldn't bear to sit back helplessly.

Which led the young parents to where they were now, at the edge of a dark forest, ready to call upon the devourer of children and dreams.

"Do you...do you think?" The young woman stuttered, gazing aimlessly before her, then turning back to look at her husband, eyes glassy with tears, "What if he doesn't come?"

Her husband's mouth was set in a grim line, because truthfully, a part of him was worried that the Erlking would come. It was easier when he could believe that he was mere imagination, nothing more and nothing less.

But before he could utter a single word, a lone figure suddenly appeared, as though he had materialized from thin air.

Shadows swathed him, mist swirling about his feet as he slowly approached the frozen pair.

The young couple knew instinctively that this was the Erlking.

"Well, well, well...what is this?" His voice was soft and light, deceptively gentle.

The man instantly recognized it for what it was...a tone that expressed predatory intent.

"Erlking, we have summoned you to...to ask for a favor," he announced, carefully reading the figure's movements. He tentatively stepped in front of his wife and child, ready to protect them should the need arise. It didn't stop the trembling in his limbs.

As the Erlking stepped into view, the young couple could see the barest hint of a smile grace his lips, as though it were almost comical for the man to fear him.

"A child?" He inquired, stepping so that he was hair's breadth away. The man nearly seized with fear, wondering if they had made a mistake and needed to act now, run away before the Erlking could do anything.

But his wife shared none of his misgivings, heart suddenly overcome with a mixture of hope and fear. To discover that the Erlking was real? And it was all so simple! All they had had to do was humbly ask for him to appear and he had.

She stepped from around her husband, and slowly offered the small bundle to the Erlking, watching with trepidation the way the immortal figure seemed to study her child. His face was remarkably impassive, but she noted the small furrow of a brow, there for only a beat before it vanished without a trace.

"She is ill."

The woman nodded mutely.

"And I suppose it is your wish that I save her?" He drawled, clasping his hands beneath his back as he began to lazily circle the couple.

"We...would be forever in your debt," the young man swallowed, feeling the words nearly trap themselves halfway in his throat.

"Oh no, no, no, do not talk of debts," the Erlking gave a feral grin. "They are a most tricky, loathsome notion."

"You must heal her!" The woman practically shouted. "Please. Whatever the price, surely we can pay it. Her life is worth it to us. I cannot have any other children...to lose her would be...would be…" she trailed off, feeling a lump form in her throat, her body reflexively trying to plug the words she was too afraid to voice aloud, had never dared voice aloud.

"Ah, I see. Your situation is quite dire, then," here, he gave a look that was most sympathetic, "but then, what would be in it for me? As I'm sure you're well aware, I am the great Erlking! I steal babes left behind, devour their dreams, take away their very souls...why would I go out of my way to save one?" The question was most certainly rhetorical, as though he were goading them into a game.

Unable to think of an answer, the pair remained silent, eyes never straying from the Erlking.

"I suppose I'm not beyond offering...help, every now and again. You know, very rarely do people seem to believe that I truly do exist. Though they are wrong, of course," and here he smiled, a hint of sharp canines gleaming, as though they were all sharing a funny joke amongst friends. Turning to look toward the night sky, he took on a pensive stare, as though weighing how trivial a task this was to him.

Eventually, while huddled in tense silence, the Erlking looked back at them.

"Very well. I will heal her of all afflictions." The mother let out a gasp of relief at this. "But! But, there is a price to pay. I do not offer my good will for free. Never, ever assume that all good things in life are free. And well, quite frankly, don't assume the bad are either," here, the Erlking gave a wicked grin. "In return, I wish to receive payment."

"We have whatever amount of money you wish. We could give you jewels, quality silks, rare artworks..." The man attempted to do his best at holding his gaze with the Erlking, but it was terrifying, if he had to be honest. Striking a deal with the Erlking seemed like nothing but a horrible idea.

But looking at the imploring gaze of his wife and the bright green eyes of his daughter, he felt any shred of resistance evaporate.

The Erlking merely smiled at the man's words.

"Your currency and material possessions are hardly of consequence to me," he replied, as though speaking to a child. "I will not seek immediate payment. Your wish will be granted tonight, but I will eventually come to collect what I am owed."

"But...but how can we make a deal without knowing the terms?!" The young man sputtered, incredulity coloring his tone.

The Erlking arched a brow. "Without knowing the terms, you say? Hardly. You do know the terms. It's quite simple - I heal your child, and you will pay me for doing so. When and how you pay me is all merely detail, the fine print."

The husband opened his mouth, as though to contest this, but was cut off by the Erlking.

"Besides, you mean to tell me there's a price on your daughter's life?" The tone was light but the meaning heavy and implicit. "And here I was told that whatever the price, you surely could pay it, and that you would be forever indebted to me. But then, I suppose humans are fickle creatures…"

"We can," the woman stated firmly, green eyes as bright as her daughter's, shining with determination. "Heal our daughter, and we will honor your request for payment, whenever that day shall be." Her husband shifted uncomfortably but didn't rise up to challenge her words. He might regret striking a deal with the Erlking, but he would regret coming under his wife's wrath even more if they backed out.

"Well then," the Erlking's lips spread into a slow smile, "we have ourselves a deal."

And before either of the young couple could even think to take back their words, the Erlking was upon them in a few strides. He stared down at the bundled child, who had grown strangely quiet throughout the encounter. Emerald-toned eyes stared at the Erlking with a quiet fascination. Not a trace of fear marred her expression.

Lifting a gloved finger, the Erlking softly touched the infant's forehead, a small, gentle burst of light shimmering across her face. In a matter of moments, the babe's eyes drooped shut, her breathing evened out and calm, as she drifted into a deep slumber.

The young mother stared at her daughter's peaceful face, mystified.

For the first time in months, it seemed that her baby was at peace. No coughs wracked her small lungs, and sweat that had dampened her forehead from fever had seemingly disappeared.

As she lifted her head to look up at the Erlking and give an honest show of thanks, she realized belatedly that he had vanished without so much as a whisper.

And so the couple would quietly rejoice in the knowledge that their daughter would continue to live as a happy, healthy child, free from all sickness that had plagued her first moments in life.

But they would also grow complacent with time, forgetting that the sole reason their daughter was able to flourish rested in the hands of an immortal. An immortal who would never forget the deals made and debts yet to be paid, because time is the best currency of all.

And as the Erlking had once proclaimed…

Nothing good in life is free.


AN: It's short, but it's a prologue. I wanted to stay away from Labyrinth, but I just couldn't! Ah, well. Hope y'all enjoy it.