Spindle Wood (COMPLETED)

Chapter 10

"Hey, Rem."

Remus took a breath. "Not today, Janus." He said. "Tomorrow, fine. But leave me alone today."

"Why?"

"Because-" Remus cut himself off. "Because I don't have the energy for you today." He said slowly.

"Aw, that's a shame." Janus drawled. "Anywho, I heard Virgil talking about me last night." Remus was sure he was smirking. "You're boyfriend, huh?"

"Virgil was just angry." Remus turned around to face Janus, leaning against the counter. Janus was propped up on his elbows, his chin resting on his hands. And yes, he was smirking. "You're not my boyfriend. Never was, you made that pretty clear."

Janus' smirk fell, replaced with a stormy expression Remus had often come to associate with danger. He shook his head.

"Get out." He said. "Ro and Virgil'll be back soon. And you'll want to be gone when they get here."

Janus rolled his eyes and dropped his arms, hands flat on the window sill. "Fine." He said. "I'll leave. But tell Virgil that that boy's mind is so easy to infiltrate, I couldn't help myself." He smirked again. "Such a malleable mind... how sweet. You want to protect the little prince, yet you've delivered him right to my doorstep."

And with a smile like smoke, Janus was gone.

"Uncle Wemus! Uncle Wemus!" Pat tackled Remus in a hug. Remus toppled, landing flat on his back. Pat was giggling, his glasses slightly crooked on his nose.

"Hey, kid! Five years, huh?"

"Mhm!" Pat grinned. "Soon I'll be as old as you!"

"Oh, I doubt that." Remus said. "I'm old."

"How old?" Pat asked. Remus grinned.

"Guess."

"Hm..." Pat stood up. "Three thousand?"

Remus stared at the five year old, his mouth falling open in shock. "I'm offended, good sir!" He declared. He stood up and dusted himself down. "I'll have you know I don't look a day over 100."

Pat giggled. "I hope you're not teaching Pat anything rude, Re." Roman said. Remus shook his head.

"Not at all." He said, grinning sunnily. He knelt down beside Pat. "Hey, go inside." He winked. "There's something special waiting for the birthday boy."

Pat gasped - eyes round like wagon wheels - and ran inside. Virgil snickered fondly.

"He loved the river. Good hunch, Remus." Remus shrugged. He wasn't used to compliments from Virgil. "Had to drag him out with a stick, practically."

"Eh, he loves anything that means he can get messy." Remus said. "Why d'you think the kitchen's such a mess when I bake with him?"

"Honestly thought that was you." Virgil said. "Anyway, I'm gonna go make sure he doesn't destroy the whole house." With a little two-fingered salute, Virgil was gone.

"You okay?" Roman asked, his smile dropping. "You seem tense."

Remus was about to ask how Roman knew but decided against it. "It's Janus." He said.

"What happened?"

"He came round. 'Bout an hour ago." Remus hugged his elbows. "Ro, he knows! Somehow, he knows."

Roman's face said it all. Remus sighed. "No, I didn't tell him! What makes you think I would?"

"I didn't-"

"I care about Pat." Remus interrupted. "I care about him so much I would walk through a forest of thorns - bare fucking foot - just to make sure he was okay. I never told Janus anything." He shook his head. "It's like I've always said. He knows. He just knows."

Janus pushed his hair out of his face, the cool stone of the walls settling into his bones. A small smirk crossed his face as he swept through the halls of his castle. Then, he started laughing.

It was quiet at first. The small kind of snickers that would come from remembering a funny joke. Then, it grew. And grew. And grew. Until it was great peels of insane laughter that bounced off the walls.

"Joanna!" He snapped, rounding a corner and startling the guard. "Tell our little friends to call off the search."

The guard - who'd nearly hit her head on the wall, she'd stood up straight so fast - blinked. "We've found the prince?"

"I've found the prince." Janus said, eyes wide and insane. "Little cottage in the clearing. You can tell our friends that their service is no longer needed." He adjusted his cape slightly. "I'll even give you a treat. Dispose of them as you please."

"But, sir, those are tens of guards who-"

"Are a disgrace to the Forces of Evil." Janus interrupted. "They couldn't find our little prince in five years. I found him in a night. Dispose of them." He glared around at Joanna. "Or do you have something to say on the matter?"

Joanna shook her head quickly. "No, sir. I just... Do you want us to apprehend the prince?"

Janus shook his head. "No." A slow smirk crept up his face. "No, not at all. No need to delay the inevitable. In fact, make sure they meet."

"What, now?" Joanna asked. She shook her head like she'd misheard. "Sir, that'd be the complete opposite of the curse, it-"

"Makes perfect sense if you see it from my perspective." Janus interrupted again. "And, no, not yet. Leave it a couple months." Off he was down the corridor again, calling over his shoulder. "Maybe a year. They can't be too young, remember!"

Do I know what the fuck is going on?
Nope. But it sure is a wild ride.
Bye,
Blaize