"How's the kids, John?"

"Quite devilish, Frank."

John shivered at the thought of having to go back home after his shift. "Wild" is a word that doesn't come near to fully describing his children. As if the children weren't enough, his wife was getting fed up with them and would often snap at John whenever he did anything less than perfect. John knew she didn't really mean it, she just needed some sleep; honestly, they both needed some sleep. The only time John is ever truly at peace is when he's guarding the exposed entrance into the castle with Frank. If John was being honest with himself, he always wondered what it would be like if it were he and Frank running that house instead.

What if he had married Frank instead of his wife? 

He'd shake his head, knowing he'd be scolding his mind for these shenanigans if it were a human child. He never really felt the urge to propose to Frank, but on nights like these, Frank was looking frightfully handsome.

Although John noticed Frank's cheekbone structure, he didn't notice the shadow looming above him and the other guard.

"Did you and your wife ever get to trying that thing with the spoon--" John was cut off by a thump. He couldn't even turn before he was flying through the air. He rolled close to the edge where construction had ceased for the day. John looked back to where he was thrown from. A man in a dark cloak was holding a rag over Frank's face. Before John could even get to his feet, Frank was crumpled on the floor.

John should've raised the alarm, but he didn't. He shouldn't have been blinded by his rage, but he was; so blinded that he didn't notice someone climbing up over the edge behind him until he was in a headlock, struggling to breathe through the rag over his face. The scent of cinnamon was the last thing he sensed before slipping into a deep sleep.

The two men worked in silence as they dragged the sleeping guards back to where they'd been standing.

"How long will they be asleep?" Hernon whispered.

"For a few hours; we have nothing to worry about." Darion swiped a key ring from one of the men and began testing them out on the door.

Hernon kept watch behind Darion, his eyes scanning the darkness dotted with the light of torches. "Hey, what spell did you use to throw that man like that?" A satisfying click sounded after the question had been asked. The door swung inwards and revealed a dark hallway leading straight into the castle.

"That wasn't a spell." Darion returned the keys to the man he stole it from and stepped through the doorway. Hernon pitied the man who'd been flung like a rag doll.

The two intruders walked in silence as Darion led the way. They turned corner after corner, ducking into side rooms and closets whenever a guard wandered across their route. There wasn't much to look at when the rooms and halls were only lit by moonlight, so Hernon paid close attention to his guide instead. Darion's brows were furrowed with concentration as they glided through the castle, something Hernon noticed he did often. A smile tugged at his lips.

"We're here," Darion said, snapping Hernon back to their objection. He was no longer bent down like he was earlier, making an effort to render them as scarce to vision as possible; he now stood at his full height, knowing that no one would be wandering through this section of the castle. "No one ever guards the library. It's completely nonsensical to me; knowledge is power. I guess the royal family is more concerned with physical power than mental."

The double doors opened with ease. Hernon gaped at the endless rows and walls filled with books of all sorts. He wandered over to the nearest shelf and relieved it of a book. The musk of old paper wrapped around his nose as he opened the book, the spine creaking as the stories inside were unleashed. He flipped through a few pages; the book was filled to the brim with myths and tales from cultures all over the known world. He was losing himself in a story about a man who discovered he could tap into the magic forces around him when Darion silently called out to him.

Hernon joined Darion at the top of the stairs, the book he'd found still tucked under his arm. "Look for anything that seems like it'd be about the mind," Darion said.

They spent some time reading the titles of books, Hernon showing one to Darion whenever he thought it could be the one they were seeking. There was one book that had caught Hernon's eye even though it had nothing to do with the mind.

The spine read: Elemental Magic for the New & Experienced. He flipped through the pages, admiring the sketches and reading bits and pieces of the passages. The spells all seemed to be written in Latin, a language he could only dream of learning. Hernon closed the book and shoved it into the satchel they'd brought with them. Two books were already snuggled together in the bag and they hadn't even found what they were looking for.

Darion looked over his shoulder at Hernon and said, "Leave some space for what we actually came here for, please."

"Sorry." Before Hernon could even get back to searching, Darion pulled a book off the shelf and opened it with a bit of excitement.

"Found it!" he silently announced.

As if Darion's announcement signaled them to start, the sound of horns broke the silence. Darion quickly grabbed the satchel, shoving the spell book in with the others. He flung the bag over his shoulder and moved towards the staircase.

"What is that? Is the kingdom under attack?" Hernon asked, looking through the dome for any sign of a disturbance.

"No, there's an intruder in the castle." The horns signifying danger hadn't been blown at any point in Darion's life. He'd never thought he'd ever hear them in his life.

"Someone else broke in tonight?" Hernon's question was answered as guards came crashing in through the doors.

"Up there! On the top floor!" The armored men swarmed towards the staircase in the back. They were the only intruders that night; they'd been spotted somehow. Hernon cursed.

"Come on!" Darion shouted. He grabbed Hernon's wrist and practically yanked him away from the staircase. They dove into the row closest to the wall, Darion coming to an abrupt stop at a bookshelf, searching the spines for a specific title. Hernon didn't think this was a particularly good time to look for another book to read. He was about to make his concerns known when Darion pulled a book and the shelf swung inward. Darion pulled Hernon inside and quickly closed the entrance to the hidden passageway, immediately plunging them into a thick darkness. "Every castle has its secrets."

Guards could be heard running past the entrance before shouts of confusion and blind orders rung out. Darion lit a fire in his hand revealing the staircase they stood on and the two left the library behind. The stairs deposited them in a long dark hallway. There was only one direction to go so they took it. At the end of the passage was another doorway. Darion held his ears to it, listening for anyone passing through. Silence was the only thing that met him. Extinguishing the flame, he opened the passage entrance and slipped out.

Hernon looked around the room they'd been led to, his bow removed from around him and in his hand. There was a grand piano nestled in the corner next to a fireplace filled with nothing but ash. Other than the piano, the only decorations were couches arranged around the fireplace and paintings hung on the walls.

Darion knew where they were. If he'd been capable of opening the entrance from this side, their sneaking through the castle would've been much faster and less dangerous; not that that mattered anymore. He motioned to Hernon, not daring to speak as he took off into the darkness of the castle. The horns resounded every few minutes as they darted through the castle, once again avoiding guards at all costs albeit much more frequently this time around.

They had come to a T and were about to round a corner when a door behind them swung open. The two quickly swung around the corner and pushed up against the wall. They'd gone in the wrong direction, but it was better than getting caught.

"Identify yourself!" They whirled around to see a squad of guards down the hall, steadily walking towards them. Whoever had opened the door in the adjacent hall was most likely coming this way now.

Hernon nocked an arrow and sent it flying over the heads of the guards. They ducked under the arrow, not knowing it wasn't aimed at them.  The two intruders went running in the direction of the exposed entrance they used to get in. The sound that had forced the two around the corner was revealed to be caused by a few guards who were now running after them. A quick burst of fire from Darion sent them diving to the sides of the hall. 

They'd finally made it to the staircase leading to their only chance of escape. They took the steps two at a time with a moment's hesitation. There weren't any guards at the top of the stairs, there was only the length to the door. The door was still closed from when they came in and they couldn't afford to stop and open it. Darion sped up, taking the lead over Hernon, the flame wrapped around his hand heating the small space. With all his strength, Darion hurled the flame at the door.

The door splintered as it was engulfed in flames. Darion went through the door shoulder first, pieces of wood flying every where as he led them outside. Thankfully, John and Frank were off to the side, out of the flaming wood's path. Darion and Hernon jumped over the side and onto the scaffolding and began their descent. They'd only gotten from the fifth level to the fourth when an arrow embedded itself in the wood next to their faces; there were only five levels.

"We can get down later, just run!" Darion shouted. If they ran long enough, they'd eventually make it to the stable. Where the horses lie is where Darion determined they would be the safest.

"Who's that?" Hernon huffed. He was looking at someone standing by a patch of trees; someone Hernon felt he'd met already. The figure's dark cloak was the only feature of them he could make out. They pushed what looked like a barrel over and it went rolling down the hill towards the scaffolding.

"Ramp!" Darion shouted. Hernon's attention snapped back to where he was running. He was barely able to brace his legs before he was running back up to the fifth level. As soon as they became visible, arrows began lodging themselves in the wood all around them. Even with arrows flying at him, Hernon couldn't help but allow his attention to be taken by the figure once again.

A flame flickered in their hand. Hernon audibly gasped. The light from the flame illuminated a dark powder running from the figure to what he assumed was the barrel underneath the scaffolding just ahead of them. His eyes widened as he realized what the powder was. He nocked an arrow and took aim.

The arrow sliced through the air like a knife through butter. It flew true, aimed directly at the dark figure; everything happened so fast. The flame dropped, the powder ignited, the figure disappeared in a cloud of darkness, the arrow struck nothing but grass. He shouted out a warning to Darion, but he'd already seen the fire shooting across the ground, following the black powder right to where a whole barrel of the stuff was nestled under the scaffolding.

The explosion was deafening.

Hernon could feel himself losing control of direction as he was lifted into the air. The barrel had been somewhere in front of them, but close enough for the intense heat to make Hernon scream out. He made a weak attempt at covering himself with the cloak as a cloud of fire reached for the stars. The arrows had stopped, but they were the least of his problems now.

Hernon quickly spotted Darion who was protecting himself with a shield or sorts made completely of flames. Fire was everywhere now, engulfing every plank on every level. Darion was motioning him to keep running, so he stumbled to his feet and did so. He didn't get two feet before the plank below him gave out.

"Hernon!" Darion ran over to where the man who'd opened his eyes to a whole new world had vanished. Hernon was safe, yet in pain. He'd dropped down to the fourth level, once again. He groaned as he rolled to his feet, knowing if he didn't get up, he'd most likely roast alive.

The black cloud started small, but quickly grew to the size of a human. Hernon was mesmerized by the spectacle in front of him and didn't even put up a fight when the mysterious figure emerged from it, kicking him in the chest and sending him crashing to the ground.

"You have got to be kidding me," Darion muttered. Without a second's hesitation, he dropped down to the fourth level to assist the other man. Aslander was out in a flash, it's blade slashing at the figure as Darion jumped over the recovering Hernon. The blade of the figure revealed itself and met his with alarming speed. The figure deflected a few of Darion's advances before landing a kick to his stomach.

Although the satchel was in fact slowing him down, Darion doubted he would've been winning this fight if he wasn't carrying it. Darion was quick to his feet and swung out at the figure again. The fight played out at lightning speed; too fast for Hernon to fully comprehend it. All he knew was that it would take both of them working together to win this fight.

He pushed himself to his feet and looked for an opening; waiting patiently as to not get skewered by a sword while trying to help. Then he saw his opportunity: Darion had just jumped to the side, swinging just to have his sword met with another. The figure's torso was left completely exposed.

He lunged.

The attacker lost hold of their sword as they hurtled to the ground, Hernon wrapped around their waist. Hernon ripped the hood from around the figure's neck. He froze as blonde locks tumbled from the hood and light blue eyes looked up at him from underneath long lashes; he'd been framed by a woman.

"It was you who framed me, wasn't it?" Hernon shouted. "You're here to stop me from exposing you!"

"I couldn't care less about being exposed as a thief." The woman's voice was powerful, the voice of someone who was used to being in charge. "I just need Lord Crestfall to hold everyone's trust just a little bit longer; and that's where you come in."

Hernon had no idea what she was planning and he honestly didn't care for he finally knew who had framed him. Right then and there he promised him one thing: at some point he'd either turn her in or kill her.

The woman continued to speak. "I need you dead or arrested." She grabbed the sides of his face and closed her eyes. Hernon was about to push her off when his entire world went erratic. Images of nightmares flashed across his mind as the skies above and the flames below fell into distortion around him. His head felt as if it were being repeatedly smashed with a mallet. He could feel himself screaming, yet he heard nothing over the sharp ringing tormenting his ears.

Hernon suddenly felt a strong force pull him away from the woman. He gasped for air and tried to make sense of the world around him as everything began returning to normal. His head was still killing him, but it was nothing compared to what that woman had been doing to him. Through slightly clouded vision, he watched as Darion engaged with her once again, completely unfazed by the fact she was a woman. He'd put his sword away as soon as she had lost hers and they now were a flurry of punches, kicks, and blocks.

Hernon couldn't just sit there and watch Darion do all the fighting. He spotted his bow not far behind and dragged himself to his feet, stumbling towards the weapon.

The woman pushed Darion's hook to the side with ease, shoving him back as hard as she could. The woman's pupils began fading away, replaced instead with a white glow. Darion knew nothing good could come from this. Her feet left  the ground as she floated into the air, her arms outstretched to the sides. She flung her arms towards Darion and a great force crashed into him. The invisible force sent Darion straight through the plank he'd been standing on, down to the third level of scaffolding.

A groan escaped his lips. The woman raised her arms again, but before she could bring them down, an arrow struck her shoulder. With a yelp she dropped down to the ground, clawing at the arrow protruding from her body. Hernon smiled.

Darion could feel the anger rising up in him, but instead of suppressing it, he utilized it. His eyes glowed as red as he'd imagine hell to be. The fire burning down the scaffolding as they were on it was now under his control. With a surge of strength he could only account to magic, he leaped up through the hole his body had created and landed over the woman.

Hernon could've sworn he saw wings of flame extend from Darion's back as he drew the surrounding fire to him. Hernon saw something flash across the woman's face: fear. She vanished in a dark cloud right as Darion brought the flames down right where she laid before. She'd escaped, but they both knew they'd be seeing her again if she was connected to Lord Crestfall.

There was no time to pause as the entire construction of scaffolding shifted. The rope holding the scaffolding to the castle were beginning to burn and snap. Darion could feel that his connection with magic had been strained with the fire stunt; he wouldn't be using magic for a while.

"We have to get to the top," Darion shouted. They looked back to the hole they came through, but most of it had collapsed during the fight and there was no way they were getting back up through that way. "Here!" There was a gap between two sections of scaffolding created by the explosion.

Darion boosted Hernon across the gap, Hernon landing with only his arms on the fifth level. He pulled himself up as quick as humanely possible after everything he'd been through. Hernon laid down on his stomach, his arms over the ledge and stretched out towards Darion. The structure shifted once more underneath Darion, he could feel it collapsing. Fast. He took a few steps back and went off at a sprint towards the ledge.

With a great groan, the scaffolding Darion was jumping from shifted one final time and began to buckle. Darion pushed off with barely a second to spare as he launched himself across the gap, the half of the scaffolding behind him crashing to the ground in a blooming inferno. The two grabbed each other's wrists, Darion swinging towards what was certain death if he had to let go. The two men worked fast, Hernon crawling back as Darion attempted grabbing on to the ledge.

Their hands were sweaty and they were slipping from each other. Flames licked up at Darion's feet, but he paid no mind. Hernon let out a short yelp of surprise as Darion slipped from him and he fell onto his back.

"Darion!" Hernon crawled to the edge in a panic.

"You can't kill the Heart Breaker that easily," Darion muttered, barely hanging on to the ledge. Hernon pulled him up and as much as he wanted to hug him, he knew they had to get running. The two were barely on their feet before the scaffolding began to lean. "Try to fall into the stable! Once you get through the roof, there should be a lot of soft places to land!"

"Should be?" The structure titled more and Hernon accepted the fact that he would have to trust Darion if he had any chance of living to see the next day. With the last of their strength, they ran, trying to line up with the stable as best they could. The scaffolding finally tilted too far and began its deadly descent, spilling anything on it over. Hernon and Darion jumped, their cloaks flowing around them as it caught the air.

They crashed through the roof of the stable.

The stable caught fire and the horses could be heard panicking from the outside. The scaffolding was in ruins and the grass was in the midst of catching fire. For a long time, no one came from the stable and the flames only grew larger.

The stable door splintered as Darion and Hernon emerged from the stable riding horseback. Both men rode on the same horse as they left the stable behind to collapse, the many stallions they'd freed fanning out around them.

"We did it!" Hernon shouted into the night. "We survived!" He pumped a fist in the air as the other held on to the rungs. Darion couldn't help but smile as he clutched the satchel with one hand and had the other wrapped around Hernon's waist.

***

Hernon and Darion finally pushed their way into the house a little past midnight. They'd ditched the horses a few streets back, sending them running into the night in another direction. Their weapons dropped to the floor and the satchel was thrown onto the dinner table, the three books pulled out of it and spread out before them.

"We have everything we need," Darion said, looking over their stolen items. "Everything's--sort of--going according to plan."

Hernon came up next to Darion, leaning his head on his shoulder. "Can we forget about the plan? Just for the rest of the night?" Darion turned to the other man and they looked at each other in the candlelight. Hernon didn't want to make any advances; he was certain he had confused the other man enough already.

Darion was the one who leaned forward, pressing his lips against Hernon's, surprising both of them. This was a real kiss, not just something one left for the other to ponder as they were unconscious; this kiss had passion. Darion couldn't describe the feeling inside of him. It felt like guilt, happiness, pity, pleasure;

love,

all wrapped into one feeling. He felt free to be himself rather it was with this man or the woman in the home of his own.

They parted the kiss, the feel of their lips lingering on each other. Hernon picked up the candle Darion had lit--with a match thanks to his current lack of magic--up from the table. He walked it over to the stand next to his bed and placed it there. He began to disrobe, his clothes falling to the floor in a pile. This time, Darion allowed himself to look; allowed himself to admire Hernon's body. He admired every dip and curve and imagined how every inch of his body would feel to the touch. This time, Hernon didn't stop at his undergarments before climbing onto the bed. Darion followed suit, not stopping when he got to his underwear either before he joined Hernon on the bed.

As the two explored each other and all they had to offer, the candle began to dim. As the two became lovers, crossing a line in their relationship over which they could never go back , the candle went dark, a wisp of smoke being all that was left behind.