The Fourth Wall~ Chapter V

(some more unedited NaNo stuff, yay)

~Gwyn

*

He sat on the edge of the stone table, ankle of his right leg resting on the knee of the left, watching Lady Iluana through the strands of hair. He never bothered to keep it in a tail or cut it shorter, knowing no one ever cared what he looked like regardless of how good that was.

With a frown, he observed as the door opened, letting an older man through. He got up from the table, just a moment before the man managed to scold him about it, and walked across the room, sighing at the sun outside. Gwyn didn't like sun - he didn't like being outside, and in the sun it was only worse. Cold, that was something he could handle - but burning heat, the kind which forced sweat down his neck and cut his breath, and made him bite back the desire to beg for water, that he didn't want to deal with.

Somewhat hesitating, because the man was still standing next to where Lady Iluana sat, Gwyn approached her, unable to hide curiosity, stopping by a shelf about a meter away, rearranging the books and glancing at the table she and the man were focused on.

She stared at a candle, her light blue eyes locked on the flame. Before Gwyn's eyes, it shivered and moved a bit - but then she looked aside, her expression almost desperate.

"It's hard", she said. Gwyn didn't dare to look up, knowing that the man wouldn't like to know he was paying as much attention as he did. "I can't do it without him."

"If you can't do it without him, you can't do it at all", the man answered, sending cold shivers down Gwyn's spine. He remembered surprisingly well, a few years back, as he tried himself - and how they decided that he couldn't do it, and took him away from his family before he was even old enough to properly understand what was happening. He understood now, though there wasn't much use of understanding; as simple and as complicated as it was, magic wasn't something he could handle, and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't make himself able to control anything around him.

"Do you know where he is?" Lady Iluana sounded sad, and Gwyn almost felt sorry for her. Regardless of her status, and the fact she could do wonders when she'd only concentrate for a moment, she was nice to him - he was one of the rare assistants whom their Ladies or Lords never physically hurt - and he didn't really often have bad thoughts about her.

"No." The man's voice was unemotional. Gwyn couldn't remember his name, if he's ever even heard it.

"Do you know when he's coming back?"

"No." Same cold voice, making Gwyn's hand tremble a bit. The Mages of higher ranks, ones who tutored the Lords and Ladies, could've turned a person into dust with a glance, and make an illusion so real, that the victim would forever get lost in it. Gwyn knew he wasn't doing anything wrong - but still he wanted to stop and just hide in the shadows and wait for him to leave.

Lady Iluana sighed. "Should I?"

"You will."

He turned to his creepy silence again, and she focused back to the flame. Gwyn glanced at it, and then let himself observe her face for a moment, finding sadness but not a trace of tears.

As he watched her, she smiled softly, and the flame of the candle turned into a flower.

*

The floor was hard and cold, and his knees had started hurting after barely a few minutes, but he didn't dare to move, keeping his gaze down as three set of feet circled around him. One woman, two men, all of them higher Mages, and they've borrowed him from Lady Iluana just as he was about to get permission to go find himself something to eat.

Borrowed. Gwyn felt his heart beating faster, his blood seeming like fire, and he clenched his fists. Treated like an object, all his life, ever since they'd declared he's failed the Test - his magic, which he knew he had, decided not to appear as it was needed - and took him from home, to teach him how to serve, with so many others. Gwyn remembered those days well - he was one of the very few who have lived. Sometimes, Gwyn wasn't sure if that was something to be proud of.

His stomach hurt, growling, and he closed his eyes, trying to remember when was the last time he'd eaten anything. He vaguely recalled catching something out in the forest, a few days ago, and hiding it instead of eating it, in hope he'd manage to return to it soon. He also recalled being too busy to leave the palace, even for a moment, except to work in the gardens with the others as the Lords and Ladies dined.

Gwyn wasn't bothered by the hunger - he was used to it, just as he was used to the lack of sleep and constant fear of ever meeting any of the Mages' eyes, keeping out of their way - but as the three people started chanting, their voices mixing in a song that made Gwyn's heart beat faster again, he focused on the thoughts of food more than ever in his life. He closed his eyes as the shadows moved around him, unpleasantly aware of the Mages standing behind him, leaving him exposed to whatever was coming. Perhaps that bird I caught is still fresh enough. The chamber grew colder with every moment, until he had to resist the urge to hug himself against the cold, wondering if they were trying to freeze him to death. If I could go catch something again, I could light a fire. Perhaps find a rabbit or eggs of a.. something.. and I know where to find some eatable plants..

Pain washed over Gwyn, cutting his thoughts. It wasn't just his stomach hurting anymore; burning pain spread to his chest, imprisoned his throat, numbed his arms and legs and stormed through his head, making him want to scream. He couldn't find a voice to make a sound, he couldn't find a thought to hold on to, his head feeling like shattering to pieces, every breath being torn from his lungs as, in some part of his still conscious mind, he realised he couldn't move.

Slowly, as the pain retired to a point he could bare, Gwyn opened his eyes. His vision was blurred, tiny white sparks playing in his sight, and for a moment he could see nothing but shadows - then it all cleared again, and he felt like his blood turned to ice this time. For the pain was still there, and he still couldn't make his body move - but the three Mages lied on the ground around him, and he was no longer alone.

*

Still struggling to catch a proper breath, fully aware of how terrified he must've looked, Gwyn forced himself to glance up, freezing again as he met the new guest's eyes.

He looked like a human, standing tall and slender with dark curls and four limbs, but nothing about him really felt human - Gwyn had more than enough knowledge of magic to be able to tell that. His skin was flawless, his features symmetrical, his posture suitable for a prince - he was too perfect, from clothes completely mimicking the robes the Mages wore, to dark golden eyes which he locked on Gwyn's. As if his appearance was modeled, created in brilliant details after a mental image of what a perfect human should look like, without a flaw. Gwyn didn't find that beautiful or alluring - he found it petrifying, and he was fairly sure that he knew what was coming next.

Trembling, he tried to get up, only to find himself forced back on his knees, his head bowed down by a force he couldn't see nor fight. He clenched both his fists and his teeth, again feeling as anger washed over the fear. Then the strange man - the strange creature, one they have called themselves - walked over to him, taking his time. The shadows moved with him, and the sudden coldness silenced Gwyn's anger once more.

"Human." Even his voice seemed wrong, though at the same time hypnotizing enough for Gwyn to wish he could close his eyes and just listen. "What have you done to me?"

He didn't sound angry, nor sad, not even surprised - he sounded like he already knew the right answer, and could kill the person who'd say a wrong word. But Gwyn hasn't been trained to be that person.

"They wanted to imprison a demon," he said, fighting his still hurting throat, biting his lip not to show how much pain he still felt. They're dead. Wasn't it supposed to stop? "In his..human form.." His voice trailed off, as new force pulled him up, holding him in the air, gripping his neck.

With something which might have been a smile, showing sharper fangs than Gwyn had ever seen on a human, the man stepped closer, and Gwyn's heart started beating like a drum again, getting physically painful, as if threatening to burst out of his chest.

"Well, congratulations," the man said. "Here I am."

Gwyn's thoughts once more cut short. He was a demon, strong enough to kill three High Mages without making a move - and Gwyn was alone. The pressure on his chest and neck increased, taking away his breath again, as he fought to keep himself conscious.

Until that moment, with all the pain and all the memories he had, Gwyn didn't care - but looking in those cold eyes of the impossible shade, he didn't want to die.

"Wait," he muttered, fighting the force that held him, shutting his eyes tightly as the pain and the white sparks once again filled his mind. "Please..it wasn't my choice."

The force let go of him, and he fell down again, this time on his back and gasping for air. The demon was looking down at him, absolutely nothing readable on his face.

"They..they tricked me," Gwyn said, licking his lips. "Used me to..to summon you..But I didn't know what would happen." The face with the eyes of gold stayed impassive. "I am..sorry?"

"Why you?" He asked, and Gwyn's hand automatically gripped his shirt on the chest, somewhat afraid some unseen force will try to rip his heart out of there again. "I can't be bound to mages."

For the first time in his life, Gwyn was almost grateful to be who he was.

"I, eh, I am not...really..a mage," he confessed, but couldn't help but look away. I could have been. If they'd given me a second chance.. "Not at all."

The demon lifted his eyebrow, seeming less and less interested. Gwyn wondered how much longer he had to live. Should it be comforting to know that no one will miss me when he kills me?

"Very well then," he said. "What do you desire?"

To get out of here. To be a Mage, to show them what I could really do, to make all those Lords and Ladies be my servants for a change, to find my family. Gwyn looked up at him - his lips were curled in a small smile, and his eyes looked hungry. There was something much, much darker in the air around him now, though his appearance stayed the same. Every deal has two sides. Every magic comes with a price.

"I don't want a deal," Gwyn muttered, carefully getting up, biting back a sigh of relief as nothing appeared to be stopping him. He licked his lips again. "I don't want a Contract."

The demon approached him, stopping as close as a lover would stand before a kiss. Gwyn blinked, trying to stay focused, struggling to suppress the urge to turn and try to run as fast as he could.

"You summoned me here," he started slowly, "and trapped me in this.." he looked down at himself, "..form..and when I spare your life and offer you whatever you wish, you tell me that you want nothing?"

Gwyn swallowed, feeling like a coward. Everyone would be afraid. The Mages just died. "I didn't summon you. I was just an object, just like you." He cursed himself for letting the last words slip. You can't be comparing yourself to those stronger than you. That eventually gets you killed. It was one of the first rules they made Gwyn and the others learn.

He froze, as he felt the demon's fingers against his cheek. It took him a moment to realize, as the pale skin turned a bit darker and the coldness of the touch faded, that he wasn't going to get hurt again. With a slight frown, Gwyn bit his lip, and the demon did the same. For a moment, he wondered if he was being played with - then he almost laughed.

"You are learning," he muttered, wondering which part of him was as much of an idiot to forget when to shut up. "Are you not? You were never a human before."

***