The storyline, new character development, new events, and new characters are my intellectual property. Glorioux

A/N This is a new story. This is fantasy, low angst. It is rated M. It will have fluff and more mature themes. I am trying to obey Ffnet rules-

I deleted the chapters of the story because something happened to it. There are parts missing- I have a clean copy- will check and repost- it is a fairy tale with nasty witches. Here goes-

Trapped

The son of a powerful ruler from the Other Side disappeared while trying to rescue his sister against his father's advice. Stragglers, who hid in the mortal's world, had trapped his sister during a visit. He was supposed to meet one of his father's subjects, to help him when he entered the mortal's world, however, the one commanded to help him, did not show up at the designated location, and a hunter mistakenly shot him with an arrow, leaving him disoriented for a long time.

A woman in a carriage noticed him wandering aimlessly and, realizing where he came from, considered herself fortunate. But for him, it was the worst day of his life. He might have fallen into the hands of stragglers, trespassers from the Other Side that came thru unmonitored entrances. The Stragglers, disguised as mortals preyed upon humans. Stragglers were vermin, some were witches, vampires, or other dangerous creatures, that fed on morta

When his mind cleared, the stranger was married and trapped. The woman told him his name was George Darcy, who had just passed, and by the time his mind became clear, he wanted to leave but could not leave his young son behind. His son, Fitzwilliam was like him, and he was afraid for his little son, the children from those like him, were always like them. He did not want for his son what was happening to him.

The stranger's father, on the Other Side, despaired and worried for his son, now called George Darcy, and his grandchild. He had already lost his daughter because of her disobedience. He had told his son never to go alone to the mortals' world; stragglers, witches, renegades, and other dangers lurked everywhere. The father had been right, one had caught his son. He would punish the one who did not stay by the entrance, ready to help his son. As he had punished the others who did not help his daughters.

But there was hope, the one now called George Darcy met with the Hexer Hunters those sent to fight vermin that came thru damaged or unguarded doors and stayed disguised as mortals. The Hexer Hunters could also look like the mortals. He also had the help of the children of the ones that had not waited for him.

In the Hertfordshire and the Devonshire, and other Shires, there were families sent from the Other Side; they were to fight vermin. They altered the memories of residents and took their places in small societies, away from the big cities. The parents taught their children to recognize Hexers and fight them, thought sometimes those sent, did not do their job.

The young son

Some days before his birthday, William, a young boy hid inside a hollow tree so he could talk to his secret friend. While they talked, his friend covered the boy's mouth and whispered, "Shh."

The boy nodded, a little scared, understanding the need for silence when he saw the two women walking by the tree. They looked like witches; the boy knew how witches looked; no wonder, the boy's father had taught him much, hoping for his son's safety. The boy loved his father, who was always sad and looked a little afraid. His father often told him to listen to the ones that cared for you, not like him and his sister who had not listen to their father.

William's eyes opened wide when he saw the witches looked like his mommy and his auntie, who carried her baby scary witch.

Frankly, his auntie behaved like a nasty witch, and her baby was sickly and had a bad disposition. His mother was not a nice person, not whatsoever, so he believed she was one of the witches. They were meeting with another like them; the boy also knew her. The three scary witches frightened the boy. He heard them arguing, one said nobody would touch his son.

As soon as it was safe, William, the scared boy and his friend ran into the woods. Deep into the thick forest, his friend disappeared, as he often did. The boy looked around, not recognizing where he was, he started walking. He was a little afraid remembering what his father told him, and he forgot call the boy. The one who watched after him.

After a little while, he saw a horse. The long-haired boy, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows, saw him, unmounted, and went to him. The older boy took his hand, then patted the boy's messy hair, with affection, but making sure to keep his distance as his superiors ordered; otherwise, they could sense him on the boy; or they, the enemies, would know who he was. "William, my dear, it is getting late; you should not be here, walking alone. Next time you either want to explore, or you cannot find your way, call me. You know how to call me and wait for me. When you call me, I can be here faster. Otherwise, it will take me longer. Now, let us go; you can ride with me. If we see George, tell him we went for a ride, okay? Don't tell him what you saw; you must remember not to trust him, never. He is not your friend."

William, the little boy, nodded; the older boy always helped him. However, William could never remember the older boy helping him, or why he had done it. The older boy never smiled, but William liked his hair, the color of a raven's wing. The older boy was not friendly and did not want to play, but he was always there in times of need, every single time.

London – Years Later

The proud, tall aristocrat walked near his home. The handsome young man, admired for his looks, wore the latest fashions, suitable for a stroll; he wanted to do a little shopping or walk to clear his head and to think. Raising his sister alone was more than he was prepared to do; he was tired and needed help. Never mind his aunt's trying to take Georgiana away, from him.

Today, on his 25h birthday, he knew it was time to marry, thus, it was too bad the debutantes he had met thus far left him cold. There were the Bingley sisters, no heavens, not. Hmm, how about Anne? No, not her; Anne should be his last choice; old memories were enough to scare him silly. He wanted a refined wife, beautiful and desirable, one that had an affinity with children, and_ nothing, someone tapped his shoulder. The footmen, Richard's ex-soldiers, fierce men wounded in the war, who always walked behind him since a kidnapping attempt, did not seem to notice the someone.

When the aristocrat turned around to look, with his hand over the small pistol he always carried, he saw a short old gentleman wearing garish-colored clothes. Fitzwilliam Darcy, who liked his friends to call him William, narrowed his eyes, checking the gentleman out. Hmm, William thought, he must be a foreigner. Though, yet, he seemed familiar but from where? Though he tried to think, he had no idea.

"What do you want?" William asked a bit sharply.

The man was not old; on closer look, the wrinkles were tattoos, his eyes were the color of a stormy sea, and his lips were indigo blue. Indeed, the stranger looked like pictures of magical folk in children's books. His skin was chalk white; the hair under the odd hat, shaped like, a silver and copper, cone had moving small flaps, and his hair was unusual. It was odd; William was certain the man's hairs were metal strands.

The strange man smiled, and Darcy jumped back when he saw the man's pointy teeth, resembling those of a wild animal. Though the teeth were scary when the man grinned, his eyes shone, glittering. William reckoned that it was not frightening, not whatsoever; instead, it was wonderful, and he liked it.

"Are you, hmm, a magical something or other." Darcy's father had told him much; it was coming back. He had often told William, hmm, yes, it was something about to watch out, but for what? Not for this man, William Darcy was certain.

The man chuckled, "Shall we say no, to be honest? Alas, it doesn't matter; you will find out eventually when it is safe. Your father is, was, hmm, well, ahem, I know, I mean knew him, ahem." The man cleared his throat several times, his eyes moving rapidly, trying to correct himself. "Your father worries, ahem, worried when he was about to be forced, ahem, to leave…" Darcy interrupted him.

"You mean to die? I was with him the entire time. How would you know Mr.?" Fitzwilliams Darcy was losing his temper, wondering why his guards were not intervening, and looked behind, at them. He was a proud man who thought he was above most everyone else; his mother had made sure he knew that. How could his guards allow a stranger to approach him?

The guards behind him saw no one else. It was not unusual Mr. Darcy was talking to himself; their commander, Major Fitzwilliam, did the same. It ran in their rich folk family, they guessed.

"Your guards don't see me, same when I sat by dear George, asking him to stay and resist his ahem, the wit…never mind." The whoever told him, smiling and making a wistful face.

"Am I mad? Are you a hallucination?" William looked alarmed.

"Don't be silly. As I was saying, your father sent me, no," After he coughed once, twice, William noticed the man corrected himself a lot, and that cough; uh-huh, he was lying.

After a few noises, the man continued, "Yes, err, yes, dear George told me to look you up if you were still single today, on your birthday. You know me, remember what happened the day of your five-year-old birthday party; I brought you Lucas, your dog; you needed his company after what we saw. Your mother asked you where you got the puppy, and you would not tell her. You obeyed your father who had told you never talk about me or never mind." The man snapped his fingers.

Darcy shook his head twice, clearing a fog inside. "Are you real? I forgot about you. My mother was crossed, thinking I was not telling her the truth. She said imaginary friends did not bring presents. You are Jax, aren't you? You are right, father, dad, said never, ever, to mention you." Fitzwilliam Darcy remembered.

"That is I, Jax. Your mother made it impossible for me to come back, the nasty wi_, never mind. She told your father she would leave and take you, if I tried to see you again; he had to promise, the wi, no, ahem. No need to talk about it; it brings back disagreeable memories." He clicked his tongue a few times, and the tattoos were alive for a second, moving around like small snakes; the tattoos are rather lovely, William thought, already liking Jax.

"I tell you what, so do you believe who I am?" Jax saw Darcy nodding and grinning. "That is a yes, very good; now, do you want Lucas back?" Jax waggled his eyebrows; his eyes shooting out little colored stars, precisely as Darcy remembered. And he also noticed that Jax feet did not touch the ground; again, exactly as he remembered, Jax walked above the ground, making William smile wider. Jax had said he could the same if he chose to do so when he was older. Hmm, he would try, but not here. Though, it would be nice not walking on the mud.

William stopped walking, "Wait, Lucas died while I was in Cambridge; he was old." William no longer smiled, his eyes watering; he suspected his mother had put Lucas to sleep; she called his loving dog a demon-dog. If he were asked, he would have to confess that he had not liked his mother very much; neither did Georgiana.

"Lucas looked old but, never mind, do you want him? You might need him," Jax asked again.

"Are you a demon?" William asked. At once, Jax exploded in raucous laughter, making Darcy chuckle. Jax was always funny, making him laugh a lot.

"No, not at all. I hope not, they are very scary, we saw one, remember?" William did and a chill went down his back. "I think your Aunt Catherine, your mother, and their crony called him to get me. So?" Jax asked, tapping his foot.

William decided to say yes, nothing to lose. "Do it," he told Jax, hoping Lucas would be back.

Jax whistled and the crazy terrier came running from who-knew-where, banging his tail. One of the guards was alarmed, "Sir, should we get…" Jax made a circle with his finger, and the guard asked, "Should we get Lucas's leash?"

"No," William answered.

Lucas barked, and William asked, "Lucas?" He bent and saw the star shape on Lucas muzzle, it glowed in several colors, like it did before, but only around him. Darcy picked up the terrier, that went crazy licking him, covering his face with small, wild licks. Darcy kissed him back a couple of times, the sun shone brighter; he was happy. Goodness, he loved Lucas, the good and crazy dog. Strangely, his clothes remained clean, like before. Darcy was never dirty.

"My boy, it is you, my good, good boy." A young Lucas whined, banging his tail. But what or who was this Jax whoever? A thought occurred him, "Is my father wherever Lucas was at? Could you please bring him back, I miss him terribly much. Tell him my mother is gone." William's face lighted up with hope.

"Don't ask questions I cannot answer or do. You will figure it out yourself. I have only a little while, for now, I do not want anyone to see me. The kidnapping was not for money; so, nobody should know I am around. Think about witches wanting to trap you, remember when we had to hide. They check on you. Are we clear?" Jax asked.

Not waiting for an answer, Jax continued, "I know you think a wife could help you with your young sister; I agree. There is a perfect someone for you, but you have a problem; you think someone who does not belong to the foolish Ton, made by pretentious biddies, is not good. You are wrong because there is a hidden pearl; best said, she is the best of a hidden pearl string. If you open your eyes, you will see her. If not someone else will. You will see her before the day is over. Remember, clothes don't make a person, and neither do silly human tittles."

William blinked, where was the whoever? Jax was gone, and William wanted to ask more questions. He kept looking all around, trying to find him. He took off his gloves and picked up Lucas. The 14 pounds terrier liked to be carried to look over Williams' shoulder; he would lick him occasionally. Not looking, so happy to be with Lucas that William Darcy ran into a young lady. She held a little boy's hand while pulling a perambulator. She looked flustered, arguing with the willful child.

"No, you cannot be walking around here because is muddy and dangerous." She was telling the child right before William ran into her, so hard, that both she and the boy fell on their bums, on the wet, muddy street. Lucas barked, wanting to be let down. Lucas jumped to lick the young lady's hand and, to Darcy's shame, her face; Lucas ruined her dress's top with his muddy paws. This was a surprise because Lucas was not friendly, if any Lucas was right down nasty, trying to bite others.

William apologized, stretching his hands to help her up. One of the guards ran to pick up the little boy who was crying. "Oh, so sorry, so very sorry." William Darcy kept saying; he grabbed her above her elbows to help her, but after he touched her, he was woozy, feeling her bare arms since she had short sleeves. Her skin was soft, like silk and smelled incredibly good. At once, he was aroused, oh dear, he thought, nearly moaning at the strong sensation, and had to clench his teeth. His fingers tingled with desire, and he could not breathe. He hoped he did not look indecent. Goodness, he thought, so this is how it feels to want someone. He was inside a haze of desire.

"No sir, it was my fault; Eddie was awful; he wasn't behaving," the young lady allowed him to help her. People were looking; why? Because the young lady's dress had raised, exposing her legs, barely above her knees. Her bonnet hung askew, and mud was all over her dress. Nevertheless, she was beautiful. The bodyguards looked the other way seeing their master's interest. Rightly so, the young miss was a beauty, a lady of class, but they knew to respect and liked their very well-paid job.

a/n It is no secret who the young lady is.