Fantasy Delusion Tax (Max&Michi)

[Michi]

When Rowan stepped forward, Cedric smiled, his hands reaching out to grip the sides of his shirt and bite his lip as he felt his heart throb awkwardly. His instinct was yes at the first question, but his face fell at the request that followed. The voice itself made him want to agree even go run down the hall to make the man happy, but even as it was made he couldn't stop the grimace that crossed his face.

"I... don't want to..." The words came out slowly and Cedric chewed the inside of his lip as he looked into those molten colored eyes. The image of Hycinth's black eyes flashed in his mind and a feeling of dread filled him for a moment. "I don't want him..." The last few words came out as a bit of a whine, as he could feel part of him demanding that he needed to do what was asked to make Rowan happy, but a larger part had him shake his head in a small motion ad his face twisted into an apologetic expression. Was that something that Rowan really wanted him to do. "I want to make you happy. But I can't do that.... I'm sorry."

 

[Maximillian]

“Good but not good enough. Normally, you would have slapped me. Or said something aggressively cutting and mildly witty. Now you’re acting like it’s a hard decision to not follow my order for you to screw my brother. You remember when we first met, you disliked me to the extreme. Pretty sure what I just did was worse than when we first met and you're just...” He motioned vaguely, "Not all there."

Rowan paced, rubbing his temples. He knew fae had strong effects on people and lusting after one or wanting one will only make it worse but he didn’t like this, he didn’t want this.

With a motion he moved forward and pulled off Cedric’s ring, “Sachi, talk some sense into him, he’s not himself.”

 

[Michi]

Crossing her arms and tapping her foot, Sachi glowered at Rowan, "I'm not helping you. I told his ass to stay home." Turning, she looked around the room and sneered, "You know what humans are like, I'm not going to fix your mess."

Cedric frowned, looked at Sachi hatefully before turning his attention back to Rowan, "Give it back." Why would Rowan want her out? Things had been going so well. Reaching for the ring he felt something smack his hand.

Sachi had moved closer and stood close to Cedric glaring up at him. "I fucking held your hand for weeks when he got rid of you, I fucking feed off your misery and I still comforted your ungrateful ass! What sort of fucking thanks is this?! You spend months trying to figure out how to kill me and as soon as he shows up you run back?! That's bullshit! You can't just put me away because you wanna run off and play honeymoon." As she spoke she stepped closer to him

Scowling at the girl, Cedric opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Sachi before he had a chance to get a word in.

"No. Fuck no." Sachi stepped forward shoving Cedric towards the door, "Go home. He's gonna get tired of your shit again, just like last time. And I won't hold your hand this time and tell you it's okay. I'll fucking tell you to kill yourself just so I can be rid of you. He doesn't want you. No one wants you, I don't even want you and I'm stuck with you! You're a clingy slut. That's why Elliot cheated on you. You drove him to it, and you'll drive the faerie to do it to."

Cedric's expression took a dark turn as he planted his feet against the girl's shoves. Grabbing her wrists, his dark gaze looked at Rowan once again, "Give me back my fucking ring. I don't need to put up with this! What the hell is wrong with you?! You can't just pull her out because you think I'm acting weird. Is it really so bad that I'd want to try to make you happy however I can?! Most people would die for a fucking boy-" He cut himself off suddenly releasing her arms in a jerking motion, his jaw tightening, "Just give me back my damn ring, Rowan."

 

[Maximillian]

Rowan danced back from the confrontation, eyes going wide. The change was drastic and immediate and he cocked his head. He didn't even care about the information exposed so much as Cedric himself.

“I can give you the ring back if you take a moment to gather yourself. You’re now acting as you should, don’t you see the difference?”

The Fae creeped closer, before holding out the ring and placing it in Cedric’s hand before looking at Sachi, hand gripping Cedric’s wrist.

“I do not hate you but you are a parasite. You’ve taken too much to be healthy and only want the worst for him. Had you ever even thought of being selfless and helping him without ulterior motives you could have stayed. Hadrian and Adrian live fulfilling lives because the book wasn’t corrupted by power. Though Hadrian, like you, also holds a part of Adrian’s personality. Do not think my reason for detesting you is your existence, it is your actions.”

With that he let Cedrics hand go and allowed the man to put on the ring, waiting to see if he would retain lucidity or not.

 

[Michi]

The girl snorted rolling her eyes at Rowan's words, "I didn't give up my physical body to be nice and share one with some gaylord a couple decades down the fucking road."

Cedric's nostrils flared as his jaw tightened and he gripped the ring tightly in his hand. Shoving Sachi back harshly, he moved to put the ring on his finger. The girl stumbled back sticking up her middle finger at the both of them before she disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared. Cedric's fists opened and closed a few times and he swallowed thickly. His breaths were rapid and his jaw remained clenched as the Witch worked on calming himself down. "I'm fucking tired of being angry all the damn time." Picking up his bag from where it had fallen on the floor during the argument, He shifted it back on his shoulder.

"I deserve to be happy. I'm allowed to let myself be happy. I don't-" He didn't what? There was a pause, she'd been right. He'd allowed himself to get overly excited. Jumped in with both feet without even checking how deep the water was, all because he'd been so excited to see Rowan again. His head fell forward slightly as he stared at the floor with a frown, his hair moving to obscure his eyes as the man deflated a bit.

 

[Maximillian]

Rowan reached out his hands placatingly, his eyes soft, “I don’t want you angry, that’s not what I wished for. However, how could I, in good conscious, allow you to be seduced by this world. Our magic is a puissance, it seeps into everything you are an changes it and if you allow it at the start to erase your will you will not get it back.”

He moved forward, gently pulling off the bag and placing it on the desk. He then pressed a hand to Cedric’s neck, forcing him to meet the mottled eyes.

“I want to help you, but I can only do so much. Before I left because this was going no where, not only did you want to sit and wallow in your sadness, in your anger, you did not seem to want any help out of it. I’ve…” Rowan stepped away rubbing a hand down his forearm.

“I’ve always enjoyed humans. They are bright, like a flare but they go out so quickly. If only we could preserve it. But maybe that’s my fatal flaw, the deepest commitment issues of the decade. I choose people who die before I can figure anything out.”

He shrugged, “Coming here and simply listening to me because of what I am rather than who I am, it’s not what either of us wanted. And while I’m tired of my lovers dying I am also tired of my position of power over them.”

He turned then and his eyes burned that inhuman gold, the light from the window catching in his red hair and backlighting him so he looked animalistic, “My power, our power, lends itself to control. If I wanted you on your knees before me I could have you there, whether you liked it or not,” A mirthless chuckle broke from him as Rowan looked away, “Well, you’d like it, I wouldn’t allow you to the free thought not to.”

“I wanted to avoid that,” Rowan spread his hands, “I am not human, you cannot hold me to those standards.”

 

[Michi]

Cedric bit back a smile, closing his eyes for a brief moment, he stepped forward. Running his fingers along the fabric of Rowan's sleeve, he watched his fingers move on the fabric. "I didn't come with you... because you wanted me to." He started quietly as his hand moved down the sleeve to brush along his skin softly. "I came because... I missed you. And I was happy that.. you wanted me again." He blinked dropping his hand after a moment.

He gave a sigh, and part of him decided to take a step back, but a larger part pushed him forward to wrap his arms around the man's waist and rest his head against the Fae's chest, his eyes closing for a moment as he took a moment to breath in the fragrance that surrounded the other. He gave a quiet sigh before opening his eyes, "Shes right. I'm clingy, and needy. I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment." Chewing on his bottom lip, Cedric finally dared turn his head to look at Rowan out of the corner of his eye again, but he didn't pull away.

Biting his lip he sighed and listened to the heartbeat against his ear. After a moment he spoke again, shifting his hold slightly to make it firmer, but not hard. "I want this. For me. I want there to be an us... Because I do like you. If you want... this, I'm sure we can figure everything out, together." His voice got quieter as he spoke, as if afraid of what the response would be. His own heart throbbing heavily in his chest with each pause. His grip loosened and he took a deep breath before smiling up at the Fae, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "Besides, if you wanted me on my knees, you could just ask. No magic needed." He followed it with a quiet chuckle but it fell short.

 

[Maximillian]

“You jest but I feel like you are half serious,” Rowan smiled, before turning. He gracefully removed his rings and bracelets and dropped them on the desk. Small mechanical beetles made from glass and copper crawled out, picking them up and absconding back into the draws with their shiny prey.

“You’re welcome to stay in this room with me, however, if you’d prefer your own accommodations that can also be arranged. I do not want you to feel smothered. As for everything else, the killer, the library, there’s many questions to be answered.”

Rowan waved a hand and a plush chair grew from the floor, as did one behind him and he sat down. He relaxed a little, wincing as his body ached, and rested his cheek against his knuckles regarding Cedric with equal measures of worried appraisal and a hawks eye.

“You’re too thin Cedric, and your cheeks are hollow. I mentioned it before but it still worries me. Starving yourself isn’t conducive to health.”

 

[Michi]

Cedric gave a small smirk as his shoulders relaxed a bit glad to see the conversation take a less intense turn. "I'd like to stay with you.. for now." As he spoke he moved to sit in the vacant chair, setting his bag down against one of the legs. Waving one of his hands dismissively, the man leaned against the arm, lazily, "I'm not starving myself. I've just missed a few meals. I'm fine, working on trying to get everything back in order in my life. I'm doing better."

His eyes looked over Rowan with a small frown, "You look like you're doing worse than me." Cedric knew the amount of power it took to actually physically harm a fae, let alone leave a bruise. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly his eyes scanning over the face, "Why were you in the Under Dark?" The chairs weren't terribly far apart but Cedric still wished they were closer. Even with the sudden ups and downs of the recent situation he just wanted to reach out and take the Fae's hand. Instead he balled his fist around the hem of his shirt. "What killer are you talking about? Is it something to do with the Bounds going missing?"

 

[Maximillian]

Rowan waved a hand, “My attackers seem to be fond of cold iron in their gloves which makes it easy to hurt a Fae but we are harder to kill than most thing, even with cold iron. As for the killer and the bounds, that’s why I was on my trip. While books are going missing I’ve been finding a rather disturbing trail of book smart magic that seem to leads to the fact they were murdered and their magic stolen. That and numerous humans have turned up dead.”

The man leaned back into his chair, eyes flicking to the side, “I can only be so many places at once so it’s hard to be safe when you’re jumping from place to place in a heartbeat. I thought I was close to finding them but I was ambushed. I was lucky it was only fists and not a blade through my neck, though they were unlucky in the fact they should have killed me before I realized what was happening.”

His mouth turned down, and he looked off, rubbing the back of his neck and sighing. It was all becoming so very complicated. Especially now his brother was involved with helping him.

“It’s nothing to be too concerned with, no one can come into our lands without express permission and even if they did the magic atmosphere would kill them. My allowance of your presence is the only thing keeping you from being crushed under the shear weight of the magic in this place.”

 

[Michi]

"Well I'm not worried about myself being here." Cedric responded as if it were obvious, "I'm just as safe here as at my house." Unless he pissed off the wrong person and they decided to kill him, or he was suddenly uninvited. Now that he thought about it, this could go very tragic, very fast. Shaking his head, Cedric moved to sit more comfortably in the chair. No, he had made his choice to come, and he wasn't going to back out just because of what could go wrong. Especially when things usually went wrong for him anyways... but not too recently.

No one had come after him so far. Even when he'd left the house to go to the store, or just to meet up with someone. As Bounds went missing, Cedric remained fine. But humans were turning up dead? Was it the bodies of the Witches that had been bound? He hadn't heard anything about that from anyone. Was there a way to move the binding? He knew that breaking it was nearly impossible with him remaining alive. But maybe one of the books here would be able to help him get more clarification. Cedric had been trying to find the Eternal Library, but the one here had to be just as extensive, even if more geared towards Faeries and not Witches. Had whoever was doing this figured out something that Cedric had not yet found?

"Enough work talk." He offered a smile, trying to lighten the mood. None of his attempts thus far had succeeded. "How have you been? It's been a while and I haven't been out much; mostly staying home researching. I've got a basic better understanding of books, still not enough to actually be useful, though. Seems like a lot of the books my family had in the past were lost. That's why I've been trying to find the Library. So I can see if I can find other more detailed books with more information."

 

[Maximillian]

“We can look at the Hall of Mirrors tomorrow, there may be a way from there to the library though our own books are extensive.”

Rowan splayed his hands on his knees, eyes flicking to the side, “As for myself, I have been fine. fairing better than most. The day is coming where I will have to take a greater role in the courts and I must prepare for that. However, my brother is a good buffer of duty. He’s rather… protective, in a sense so I’m in no danger of being overwhelmed.”

The fae leaned back, eyes glued on some distance point in space, “The world changes faster these days, it’s hard to keep up. I do not feel as young as I once was, though I am not old by any means. I worry for my friends, for the changes, for you. Though my meddling only seems to hurt not help which is why— well, we’ve discussed it as such, don’t worry. I’m am more concerned with you.”

 

[Michi]

Cedric gave a soft smile, he could remember his own brother. Garret had been protective of Cedric as well. But more protective of their younger sister than of his brother who was expected to be able to protect himself when absolutely necessary. "You've seen the world change a lot haven't you? Three hundred years is a long time." Shit did he even know what the world was like three hundred years ago? It was only just hitting him that that meant that Rowan had actually been alive during the 1700s. Possibly even the 1600s. The 1700s.... What did he know about back then? Wasn't that around the time of the Revolution in America?

His eyes widened as that registered in his mind and his jaw dropped open with a quiet pop. "How-" His mouth closed as he covered his mouth and debated on asking the question. Would it seem rude? Nosey? Maybe, but the curiosity was killing him. "Do you remember much from back then? What was it like?"

 

[Maximillian]

Rowan looked up, his eyes wide before he rubbed a hand across his face, “I fought in both world wars. I saw the succession of power rise and fall. Freeing of the slaves. The many world fairs. Many other Fae can’t say the same because they don’t enjoy humanity. I do. Humans are forever industrious creatures, they create and build and… destroy. The dichotomy of man is both interesting and tragic in a way. But yes, I remember it all, I wish I did not. My brother knows more, he saw the rise and fall of king Arthur, the British colonist movement, he met kings and queens, not because he enjoyed their company but because the lives of mortals make good sport for the Fair Folk.”

He shifted, standing and moving to the side table and pulling out a book, with a quick flick he removed a photograph from it, encased in protective plastic.

He handed it over to Cedric, with a tentative hand. It was Rowan, though he looked younger, in clothing straight out of the golden age of new photography, it was grainy and black and white but he had his arm around a woman and his brother stood behind them both. They all were smiling, the long exposure blurring the edges.

“That was my sister, she also enjoyed humanity. That was taken just after the Daguerreotype had been phased out and the new in. It’s the only picture I have of her.”

 

[Michi]

Cedric's brows rose as he heard about Rowan's life. That was.. a lot to witness. A lot of good, but a lot of bad. He couldn't even imagine the horrors of fighting in the world wars. Especially when so many of the magical beings had tried so hard to stay out of it. But to willingly join? Or maybe it hadn't been willingly. When he was handed the photograph however, the witch handled it gingerly. The three of them looked so happy.

"She's beautiful." Cedric said, keeping his hold on it loose, last thing he needed to do was damage something that was obviously precious to the man. "What happened to her?" It was obvious she didn't die of 'old age' like most fae who lived practically forever. Even then, hardly any outsiders ever saw a Fae in the early or late stages in life. Cedric himself had never seen a child fae. Sure a few that were childlike in appearance or behavior, but they weren't actually children. Rowan looked barely any older now than he did in the photograph.

 

[Maximillian]

“She died. As most things that take on humanity do,” Rowan’s voice was soft, his shoulders tense. There was really nothing more to say on the matter, the conversation so meandering that he felt as if he could have picked a better topic to land on, and not his dead sister.

“I do hope I’m not boring you, I feel as I’m talking without a purpose. Talking on the past and familial issues when we have more pressing matters. Someone’s making a move and no one really seems to be doing anything about it. I don’t even know what their planning but I can’t think it’s anything good. Honestly, the will of my people has become far removed from the actuality of events and there’s only so much I can do before I run out of road to run.”

He shifted, looking to the side, “We could check the Hall of Mirrors, I gave you the key. But that would just go towards answering questions, not solving them. But, perhaps, answers lead to solutions or some such drivel.”

Rowan looked more worried than annoyed, his face set in hard lines, his jaw set more firmly then needed. He wanted this figured out. He wanted people safe again.

 

[Michi]

Cedric frowned, “I’m not bored. I just thought...” he trailed off and sighed shaking his head. “Never mind. You’re right, we’re wasting time.” What had he expected? Standing up he picked up his bag. “Let’s go then. Maybe I can get you some answers, I guess.” Not that he knew what questions he even needed to ask. There were the obvious ones like who was doing it and why. But only the people doing it would know the reason.

“I thought it was nice to hear a bit about your past though.” He said quietly as he headed for the door with a sigh. Why even bring it all up if he didn’t want to talk about it? That’s why Cedric never talked about his own and what had happened to them. Not that he was entirely sure, but four people didn’t just disappear like that. He was sure the answers were inside of him... if he ever actually chose to face them.

Sometimes it’s nice to relax a bit. He wouldn’t get to do that though. Sitting around reading books for months trying to find answers to all the questions that arose at the council wasn’t exactly his idea of relaxing since everything he found out only lead them to more questions and a bunch of dead ends. “So what have the Fae figured out at least? If you were in the Under Dark following a lead then you guys have to have figured out something, right?”