Kings [A Medieval AU]

Chapter Fourteen - Light in the Darkness

After a particularly lonely dinner, Dan breaks out of his room and sneaks through the hallways to Phil's office. The castle floor plan solidifies in his mind more and more each time he escapes his room and wanders around, so finding Phil's office is actually fairly easy. He only has to hide once, and the moment the threat is gone he enters the office.

Phil sits behind his desk, tapping a pen methodically against the wooden surface. He looks up as Dan enters and sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"How many times have I told you to stay put?"

"A few times," Dan replies, settling into one of the armchairs. "Surely you're aware of how terribly boring it is in that room."

"I can imagine." Phil sets his pen down and rests his chin on his clasped hands, watching the king curiously. "So, what were you hoping to find here?"

"Conversation, mostly." Dan shrugs. "Some kind of entertainment in the form of human interaction."

"I may be able to help with that," Phil replies with a small smile. "Surely you're aware that paperwork is just as boring as your room."

Dan grins and Phil gets up, moving from behind his desk to the armchair across from Dan's. The king of Tenebris watches him cross the room, silently admiring his dark hair and ice blue eyes and the way he moves with utmost grace. Dan was trained to carry himself the same way when he was young, but somehow Phil makes it look new and beautiful.

"So, what do you want to talk about? Anything on your mind, Daniel?" Phil asks as he settles into his chair.

"Besides the usual thoughts inside my head, there's nothing new." Dan shrugs and sends Phil a small smile. "How about you?"

"I've actually been a bit curious about you, lately."

"Oh?"

"I want to know if you can create light, even if your magic is black."

Dan cocks his head to the side a bit. "Why was that on your mind?"

"Because I was thinking about the reasons that led us to capture you in the first place, and I realized that if you are truly evil, you won't be able to create light."

Dan ponders for a moment before standing up and taking Phil's hand. "Where's the darkest room in your castle?"

"Uh, there's, um... there's a spare bedroom that's particularly dark, especially when there's no fire," Phil stammers, cheeks burning.

"Excellent. Let's go."

Dan tugs Phil out of his chair and leads him out of his office. Once they're in the hallway Phil takes the lead, and pretty soon they come across a dark, empty spare bedroom. No fire fills the hearth and brightens the room, leaving it cold as well as pitch-black. The door closes behind them, cutting off the light from the torches in the hallway.

"Here's the thing, Philip," Dan says, his voice right beside Phil's ear. "If I was truly evil, my magic would be pure black. We know that from the legends and myths that our parents told us and we tell our children and so on."

"Like the goddess Netharti, who became so corrupted and evil that her magic turned black like ink," Phil replies, remembering the myth his mother told him and Martyn when they were young. "And she couldn't create light anymore, and she was so angry that she punished the Earth and painted the sky with her magic. That's where the night sky comes from."

"Exactly. Now, if I was evil like her, I wouldn't be able to create light. However, my magic isn't pure black."

A second later, magic starts swirling around Dan's arms and chest. It's black, but gold flecks also swirl among the shadow-like tendrils and fill the room with a gentle, golden glow. Dan looks at Phil, face illuminated by his power and smile playing on his lips, and Phil has to force himself to stop gaping.

"You probably didn't notice, but the night you captured me from my castle, the entire throne room was illuminated by my magic. It looks so much like shadow that most people don't see it if they aren't paying attention," Dan explains. He meets Phil's eyes and his magic pulses faster along with the beat of his heart. He can feel heat rising in his face, but he tries to ignore it. "Phil, do you believe me when I say that I am not evil or sinister in any way?"

"Yes."

Dan smiles and slowly lets his magic absorb back into his skin, darkness falling over the room. After a moment of silence, he finally speaks again. "Phil, will you ever let me go home?"

Phil shakes his head and sighs. "I haven't made a decision yet."

"Will you ever make a decision?"

"I don't know."

Dan exhales and brightens up the room again, meeting Phil's eyes. "Let's go back to your office, okay? I've shown you what I wanted to show you."

Phil nods and Dan takes his hand once again, using his free arm to light the way to the door. He silently relishes in the feeling of Phil's hand in his, warm and oddly comforting. This is the man that determines his fate, and yet he feels safe when he's near him. He's never experienced anything quite like it.

Dan pulls his magic back into him the moment they enter the brightly lit hallway, and almost immediately he wants to return to the dark, quiet, peaceful solitude of that room. Nobody would find them because nobody would know to look there, and they could just talk and laugh and hold each other...

Dan blinks and almost squeezes Phil's hand, but stops himself. He can't think like that. Phil is an enemy king and Dan has to focus on returning to his kingdom or simply surviving, not what it would feel like to kiss Phil in the darkness of a spare bedroom. It's just too easy to get carried away. The king of Divum is graceful and handsome and has the prettiest eyes Dan has ever seen. Loving him is effortless. Being professional is a constant challenge.

Dan shuts his eyes for a moment as he realizes just how terribly, terribly screwed he is.