Elusive Love

Shameless

By the time Magnus got off the plane he was stiff from sitting for so long. The woman who worked for the airline had put him on a private flight which was, according to her, the only way to keep his name out of the official flight logs. Soreness aside, Magnus knew he would have been in much worse shape if he had taken a commercial flight since there would have been even less legroom. He was tired, and being confined to a plane had not helped the physical or the emotional fatigue he had been struggling with. In hindsight, Magnus would have happily signed half the contents of that woman's purse just for the extra legroom. Sometimes being tall was extremely inconvenient, especially when it came to travelling.

Magnus hailed a cab at the airport. He had never been in such a small airport before. There was only one departure gate and nothing past security but chairs. Since it seemed the wisest course of action Magnus asked the cab driver to recommend a hotel.

"If you're on a budget," the driver said. "There's the Schooner Motel on Campbell street."

"And if one has better resources?" Magnus inquired.

"The Wickaninnish Inn," the driver said. "But they are over $300 a night!" The very idea seemed to offend him.

"Wickaninnish it is," Magnus said with a smile. The driver gave him a look that told him he was crazy but Magnus ignored it. He hadn't yet gotten paid for the tour he had just finished but if his previous tours were anything to go by money wasn't going to be a problem. Magnus was here to live a little and escape the press for a while. Why not enjoy the luxurious things in life while doing so?

Magnus grinned like an idiot as he watched the beautiful view through the window. Small stores flashed past him with the ocean poking through between buildings. The sky was a light blue with hints of pink - the first indicators of the oncoming sunset - and Magnus could see rain clouds on the horizon. And there were so few people here. Even though the town Magnus had lived in prior to his fame and fortune had been smaller than most, he had never before been somewhere with so few people about.

"How many people live here?" Magnus asked the driver.

"Just under two thousand," the driver said. Magnus grinned. Who in their right mind would look for Magnus Bane on a tiny barely populated island off the Canadian west coast? This was perfect.

Magnus arrived at the hotel and checked in, giving them his masked credit card with a fake name. Magnus rode the lift up to his room and collapsed on the king-sized bed in his five star hotel room. There was a large window letting light into the room as well as a spacious living area with a couch and large television. Magnus hadn't looked on the bathroom yet but if it was anything like the many other expensive hotels he had stayed it he knew it would be immaculate.

He was exhausted. The free feeling of finally being off the radar was still there. The time difference between here and Toronto was three hours, though since Magnus had been in so many time zones in the last week, he felt far more jet lagged.

When Magnus awoke the next morning, a quick glance at the clock told him he'd slept till noon. Well, how better to start a vacation right? Magnus got out of the shower and was mentally choosing his make up when he remembered he wasn't going to wear any. He hadn't even brought a single palette of eye shadow. This was going to be a very strange vacation. Looking in the mirror, Magnus took in his naked face. Very strange indeed.

Magnus tried to leave his hair natural too without any gel or his trademark spiked and coloured tips – his black hair was left loose hanging just above his ears – but after about five minutes Magnus couldn't stand it anymore. He decided to comb it into a part, which was better though definitely not his usual style. His casual clothes also didn't quite sit right but Magnus was determined to stand out as little as possible, apart from his fancy hotel room, that was.