Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 05:37:54 +0100
From: Enchanting Enchanter <enchantingenchantor@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Enchanter's Storybook: Chapter 15

I realise that it was about a year ago that I actually started this little
thing, and honestly, I'm not really sure if people are even reading it
anymore, but I have a great time writing it so I will continue anyway. I
guess if you liked it you can let me know so I know people still give a
shit.

OFFICIAL NOTICE: I know, I know, I'm a shitty writer who writes really
little chapters and doesn't bother to update months at a time, but let me
explain that it was mainly because I'm a full-time college student, but
please note that now, during the summer break (and other official breaks) I
have so much free time that I will be uploading VERY frequently once
again. I am sorry, bare with me, and sometimes I completely forget I'm even
writing these stories and need to be reminded, so PLEASE DO FEEL FREE TO
REMIND ME OF MY OBLIGATIONS AS A WRITER TO UPLOAD EVERY FEW WEEKS, JUST IN
CASE I DO FORGET!

Thanks for sticking with me this long, guys, it means a lot.

Here are the rules to reading my story:

1: No under-aged kiddies sexually confused, openly gay, or whatever. Either
you're of an appropriate age or get out. But, just between us, I can't and
won't stop you.

2: If you're lawfully restrained from reading gay literature then don't
read it, but, again, I won't stop you. It's clearly your country's fault
(Hi Russia, Hi Uganda, etc) for being so closed-minded. We are, after all,
in a post-modern world, I can't stop you, but I have warned you.

3: Read the previous chapters if you want to understand the story.

4: Donate to Nifty if you enjoyed this story.

5: Break the rules if you want, kids. I myself am a nonconformist and do so
myself.

Now I'll get on with the shit:

The Enchanter's Storybook: Chapter 15

Varia could not believe what she had just done. She had committed one of
the worst crimes known to witchkind, she had not only dared to defile the
home of the three queens of the Witchlands, but she had stolen the life of
one of the most powerful, precious and protected witches in the known
world. She was astounded with herself.

"I've committed treason," she hummed to herself silently. She knew that
there was no way she was getting out of this alive. She had to be hanged,
although what could they actually do to a treasonous immortal? The answer
itself was: very little. And while that should have comforted her, it
didn't.

"The bitch deserved it!"

Varia's mouth dropped. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. The
holy mouth of Queen Violet had just cursed her fellow Sister Queen. Did she
hear correctly? She couldn't have.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?"

"You heard me," Violet replied squarely, taking Varia's hand. It was soft
and warm, starting to wrinkle but only slightly. Violet's age was a mystery
to many, she hid her face so well that none were able to see if it was
blemished with wrinkles or age spots.

"What will happen to me?" she asked, looking over at her queen guiltily.

"Nothing, if the Gods are good. My sister was cruel and cold, she thought
only of herself. You heard her in her final moments, she was stricken with
an unquenchable thirst. She had the very audacity to declare herself Queen
of the Witchlands. She was planning to commit treason herself, against me
and Lilac. She deserved her death, but perhaps even a more painful one. She
was the devil incarnate, and we only did the godly justice of sending her
back into her fiery domain." The small slit in her head-robe allowed Varia
to see the graceful eyes of Queen Violet, eyes that so few before her had
had the pleasure of seeing. Blind as a bad and a colour like curdled milk,
yet the things those eyes could see were enough to turn most witches mad.

"Bitch or not, a queen is dead, and someone is to blame. I am to blame. I
stole the life of a Majesty, of one of the Seven Wonders! I am damned, am I
not?" She felt the tears coming, she had never felt so weak and desolate in
all her miserable existence. Her country was the only thing she truly cared
for, and she had betrayed it. She wanted repentance.

Violet's hand struck her clear across the cheek, enflaming it red and
purple and blue, the blow was so hard that it bruised. "Do not go weak on
me now, Varia! Grisella has told me of your skill, you are the post
talented, the most powerful witch in the Purgadorian Guild, and not only
that, but now you are immortal. I hate to be blunt, but get over it. You
cannot be harmed."

"I am immortal, I can still feel pain, I can still be harmed!" she screamed
back, suddenly angry that she had been struck for no decent reason. She
regained her composure rather quickly.

The blinded queen sighed and stood from her creaking wooden chair. "There
is a clause, in the Seven Wonders. There can only be Seven Wonders, not
eight, and certainly not six. When a wonder is killed, another must take
their place. Traditionally, if a wonder is murdered, their murderer
themselves take the title of wonder. If you want it, you can be proclaimed
one of the Seven Wonders, one the seven most powerful creatures in
existence. In doing so, you become absolved of all crimes. Now, we have
only minutes before the guards bombard my chamber, so we must decide what
you are going to do."

"Very well," she said, fully regaining herself. She, too, rose swiftly from
the chair, flamboyantly throwing her long red locks over her shoulder with
an empty smile on her face, and the blood of the dead queen still drying on
her hands.

-----------------------------------

They woke up beside each other, encased in the arms of the other. Marcus
never thought in a million years that he would be here, in this situation,
wrapped up in the warm and loving arms of his best friend, Darius. His own
dreams were never so sweet, for not even his mind knew how painstakingly in
love he was with his best friend.

Gazing over at his face, breathing lightly, watching his chest rise and
fall, having the absolute pleasure of looking into those closed, beautiful
eyes, at his soft pink mouth. He was clinging to the idea of suddenly
kissing him, kissing him like he had last night, and the night before, and
hopefully, for all nights to come.

His eyes suddenly popped open, brown like the chocolate his grandmother
used to give him if he was a good boy. But Marcus soon came to discover
that chocolate did not exist outside of the bitter remains of
mankind. Apparently, it was a human delicacy, and was looked down on
amongst the magical creatures that now controlled the known world. Still,
that did not, and that could not, ever, stop him from looking deep into
those eyes and smelling chocolate, tasting it on his tongue, feeling
everything he felt for this boy bursting inside of him. He was a giddy,
love-sick teenager, and he couldn't be happier that way.

"Morning," Darius said lazily, turning onto his back to hide his face
behind the soft, swan-feathered cushions.

"Well good morning to you too, Darius!" They both jumped in fright and fell
off of the bed, scrambling on top of each other and climbing hastily to
their feet as they recognised that voice. Daisy.

"Ugh," Darius sighed. "I know you two are the best of friends and
everything, but I'd like to imagine a world where I can wake up without you
being here, just me and Marcus, so can you at least get the Hell out for
five minutes so I can appreciate what I have?"

Blushing, Marcus kissed him quickly on the lips, before turning to
Daisy. "What is it?" he asked gently. He'd recently discovered the Daisy
had some hidden powers of her own, and among them were her tendencies to
get very upset, very fast. Everyone tried to avoid making Daisy upset.

"It's... Varia," she said slowly, suddenly looking to the ground shyly.

"What about her? Is she unwell?"

"Uhm. Not exactly. It's rather a long story..." She waited patiently before
she continued, "She may or may not have murdered one of the queens, she may
or may not be placed on trial for murder and high treason, and she may or
may not have done it all to save you."

Marcus took a double take. "To save me? Why?"

"As it turns out, Queens Lavender and Lilac were planning on arresting and
torturing you to uncover the dark secrets of your powers, but were
interjected by Violet and Varia, who, together, managed to kill Queen
Lavender and silence Queen Lilac. The trial is happening... right now... in
the throne room."

By the time the odd little trio of extant humans had found their way to the
throne room, the trial was nearing its end. The room itself was huge,
surrounded by hundreds of jurors all encircled around one single,
ghost-like judge, with Varia and Queen Violet encapsulated in the centre of
it all.

"The jury has officially reached its verdict," the judge called out, his
voice dead and echoing silently throughout the entire room. "Usually, in
situations of high treason, the queens themselves would come to
judgement. Due to the nature of the offence, I, Chancellor of Justice over
the Witchlands, am hereby bound by oath to place judgement upon the
accused."

Marcus watched with fear in his eyes, fear for his friend and fear of what
will become of the miracle boy who can grant those immortality if he had no
protector, and fear for Darius, if he tried to stop those who would seek to
use his gift like Varia had tried with the queens. His heart was pounding
against his ribs.

"I henceforth decree Varia guilty of murder and high treason of Queen
Lavender of Purgador. However, as Queen Violet has repeatedly informed us,
the deceased had plans of her own to seize power and convert our kingdom of
a triarchy into a monarchy, making herself the singular queen and banishing
her fellow sister queens. With this in mind, my judgement is clear. Varia,
rise anew, queenslayer, immortal, and Seventh Wonder. As with such
proclamation, Varia, as one of the Seven Wonders, is hereby absolved of her
crimes, and is beyond the justice of all mortals. That is my final
verdict. Now all of you, get out. A queen is dead, pay your respects."

It seemed like everyone in the room let out a long, drawn-out sigh of
relief. Lavender must have been the most hated of all of the queens, if
none seemed even remotely tarnished by her sudden murder.

"A QUEEN IS DEAD! And you allow her guilty murderer to roam free? Judge
Vaskare, I beseech you as Queen of the Witchlands to arrest this woman and
execute her! Lavender is dead, you fools! Knights of the Order, Witches of
the Guild, seize this red-headed demoness and send her back to Hell!" Queen
Lilac screamed so suddenly, her voice echoing over the silent halls.

"Are you quite finished, Lilac?" Judge Vaskare responded dully, his voice
empty of emotion. "My judgement is final. She is beyond control of mere
mortals now, as one of the Seven Wonders, such as yourself. She is
absolved. Let us all not forget how much Lavender was despised. I believe I
speak freely here when I say that she shall not be missed." He rose from
his chair and hobbled away with a grunt, looking daggers at any who dared
to face him.

"What does that mean?" Darius asked him.

"We can leave," Marcus decided. "It means... we're free. We're free!"
Suddenly, his lips found Darius', his hands found themselves running
through his silky black hair. Their bodies pushed together, and in that
quick moment, they were the only two people in the room.

To most, it seemed like one soft, simple kiss. But to these two, it was so
much more than that. It was their future together, a future that they could
only hope would be filled with magic and wonder.

Never before in his life had Marcus felt more proud about loving Darius,
regardless of gender or age. Those factors did not matter, nor would they
ever again.

But just like that, his happiness crumbled like ash into his hands, so
simply had his life turned to smoke. Their kiss was interrupted, they broke
apart.

"What is happening?" Darius screamed, but the entire room had suddenly gone
dark. The windows cracked and shattered, and through from outside flew in
smoke thick and as black as death itself. It shivered in and surrounded
them. And in the midst of it all, stood a little blond-haired boy with a
fate darker than he knew.

Darius could barely see what was happening, but still, he knew. One moment,
Marcus lay perfectly in his arms, where he felt safest, and the next,
Darius felt him slowly sucking away. As his eyes opened and their kiss tore
apart, all he could see were the eyes of the creature staring back at
him. The creature that he once called his friend.

But this was no longer Marcus. It was no longer the little boy he had grown
up with, the little boy with light blond hair and ethereal blue eyes. These
eyes were black and empty, void of all feeling, of all love. And as they
stared back at him, Darius knew that their kiss had somehow awoken the
darkness that dwelt within the shy little boy from the Rocky Pass.

Slowly, the body of what was once Marcus Mallow descended into the air. His
arms outstretched, his neck twisted so that he was facing the ceiling, his
mouth wide open. He floated in the very centre of the room, surrounded in
heavy black fog that shrouded the screams of hundreds. From his open mouth
spat fire, black as hate, endless scorching flames that ate and tore and
burnt at everything nearest. The empty boy began to spin in mid air,
tossing flames everywhere, and nothing Darius could do would stop it.

All around, the fire engulfed witches whole, swallowed and scorched and
melted away at living beings in seconds. One slight touch of the murderous
black flame spitting from Marcus's mouth, and their skin twisted and
blotched and blisters, melts and dribbles off of bone. Screams of the dead
and dying filled the air.

A hand found his, Daisy's. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" she screamed.

"I'm not leaving him!" Darius asserted.

"Derek," Varia began, making Darius sigh, "I'm sorry to have to do this."
Hard, fast, and with mercy, she clubbed him in the back of the head and
grabbed him by his legs. Daisy, grabbing him by the shoulders, slowly began
to carry him from the room.

The doors flew shut, fast, as dozens of people rushed to flee the scorching
flames. From the centre of the room, the darkness pointed his fingers right
at the three of them, tormented black flames spitting from his fingertips
and shooting directly at them.

But before they reached their target, the flames vanished into smoke and
fled. From mid-air, he fell, and his small, motionless body collided with
the floor. The thick, black smog sucked away from the room, leaving in its
wake a pile of hundreds of dead, burnt, and blackened bodies, amidst them
all lay a little blond-haired boy consumed by his own darkness.

*Snaps shut Enchanter's Storybook*

There's no better feeling than bringing my characters to the cusp of a
happily-ever-after, before I rip it away from them and leave them all
stunned, tired, and feeling pretty shitty.

But don't fret, even after that massive showdown, Marcus'll be fine.
Probably. Hopefully. Only time will tell, so come back and read the next
chapter, my clots.

*Places Storybook down on the new coffee table I had imported from Italy
worth $12,000, whereupon it magically transforms into a potato and rolls
off into the sunset*

Until next time, my wonderful, clotted cornish creampies,

the Enchanter.