We Are All Drawn to What's Broken & Beautiful

A Castle In The Dark

The road was long and dark, the forest shrouded by mist. Alec crouched low over Valiant's shoulder, inhaling sharply when he saw the fog part for a moment, revealing tall iron gates surrounding a massive castle made of stone.

His heart was beating fast in his chest as Valiant walked straight up to them and the gates parted for him.

There were no lamps lit in the windows and Alec shivered as a cold wind blew across the courtyard, rain beginning to trickle down from the skies. He swung off his horse, pulling his cloak closer as the heavens opened up, sheets of rain pouring down.

He found a little stable and bedded down Valiant, kissing his velvety nose gently.

"Wait here, I'll be back soon." He murmured softly as the horse moved away to nose at some hay in the nearby trough.

Slipping out into the rain, he ran as fast as he could, his heart nearly falling out of his mouth when his foot skidded on the wet steps.

Other than the creak of the door opening that had him wincing, the castle was as silent as a graveyard. There was not so much a crackle of a fireplace.

The great hall was dark and cold, the lamps unlit. It was so dark that Alec could not see more than two feet before him.

Pulling his cloak tighter around his body, he called out.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

There was no answer. The prince steeled his nerves and stepped into the room, letting the door swing shut behind him with a thud of finality.

He stood in the great hall, dripping water onto the fine carpet as he looked around him.

"Hello? Izzy?" He called again. There was a soft rustle, coming from the side and the prince froze, his hand going to his hip.

Alec cursed softly. He had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten his sword.

Biting his lip, he crouched down, sliding his hand into his boot to grip the knife he kept there. When he rose, he took a step towards the sound.

"Hello?"

A flare of light burst to life, flickering softly as thunder tumbled outside. Alec strode towards it, blindly putting aside his fear out of concern for his sister.

The lamps seemed to light themselves, leading him down a dark empty hallway and up a stairwell that seemed to go on forever, spiraling up and up and up.

Just as he thought he could go on no longer, breath panting out in white mist, the last candle flared to life and Alec saw a flash of red.

Izzy's cloak.

He gave a cry of surprise and relief, leaping into the light when he saw the pale frightened face of his sister staring back at him from behind iron bars.

"Izzy!"

The metal was cold against his skin, the filigree cutting into his hands as he gripped it, pressing as close as he could.

"Alec!" The relief in the princess's voice was quickly overtaken by fear.

"What are you doing here? You cannot stay! He will find you!" She cried, despair showing all over her face. Alec curled his fingers gently, brushing them against his sister's cheek.

"Who? Who has done this?" His expression was fierce with protectiveness and Isabelle felt her heart clench. She gripped the iron bars tighter, her breathing shaky.

"There was a man. A man with eyes like a... like a cat..." Her voice trailed off when she saw the shadow moving in the darkness.

"Izzy?" Alec tensed when he saw his sister look past him, at the patch of darkness that fell behind him. The candles flickered once, a boom of thunder rolling over their heads and then the room was plunged into semi darkness as most of their flames died.

He turned slowly, fingers clutching his dagger like a life line. Through the weak light of the single remaining candle, he could barely make out the slender shape of a man, shorter than himself. Cat eyes gleamed golden and when he spoke again, his voice was strong.

"Who are you? Come into the light."

Izzy had began to tremble beside him, her breath coming out in short pants as the man gave a low mocking chuckle, stepping out of the darkness and into the light of the single candle.

Alec's heart nearly stopped, his breath catching in his throat.

-

The boy was stunning, even with his dark hair matted with rain.

Magnus cocked his head as he surveyed him, with his hand on his blade. He tilted his chin in the direction of the girl unfortunate enough to see his wrath and said, "you're her brother?"

It amused him when the boy appeared to shake himself, as if waking up from a trance before he spoke, barely concealed fury shimmering beneath his features.

"Yes. I've come to demand that you let her go."

Magnus' eyes darkened and he took a threatening step forward.

The boy retreated, his sister's fingers curling around his wrist through the bars.

"You are in no position to make demands." The prince said coldly, folding his arms across his chest. He stared at them both, silence hanging heavily between them.

A burst of thunder startled them all and the boy was about to speak again when Magnus held up a hand.

Magnus cocked his head, his eyes raking down the prince's form as he fell silent.

"Alexander, is it?" He mused softly, dangerously. The name rolled off his tongue pleasantly. He watched as the boy shivered and smirked to himself. "Do you know what we do to thieves, my dear Alexander?"

"It's Alec." The boy gritted out, his body tense. His shirt clung to his body and Magnus could see the flat planes of his stomach through the white material. He smiled wickedly and said.

"We cut off their hands."

The princess gasped and Alexander's lips went thin as he pressed them together tightly.

"She took something that was precious to me and therefore must pay the price... unless..." Magnus stopped, allowing the tension to grow thicker. He eyed the boy again, dropping his hand.

"Unless you take her place."