

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used

in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the

publisher/author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

The stories in this book are works of fiction. Any references to historical events, or

real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters and places are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2020 by Edwin Betancourt

Created in the United States of America

First Printing, 2020

For Business Inquiries or Questions Email: EJB326@gmail.com

Jayson The Witch:

The Witch, The Prince & Rowan No End

By Edwin Betancourt

To my 14 year old self,

We did it.

"Never put your faith in a Prince. When you require a miracle, trust in a Witch."   
―  Catherynne M. Valente, In the Night Garden

Prologue

[January 29th, 2019 @ 01:40am]

In a Wooden Cabin Outside of Brinkersville

Snow continued to fall from the gray clouds, fluttering down unto the quiet town like dead leaves falling off a tree branch during Autumn.

Before the children of the town fell into their peaceful slumbers, they couldn't hide their excitement for the sight of a few flurries invading Brinkersville. Most were excited at the thought of their schools closing for the day, while others wondered if the total amount of snowfall would be enough to build snowmen in front of their houses.

The adults however didn't share the same sentiments as their children. They knew for every snowflake that fell unto the holy ground, the risk of potential damages to their crops increased rapidly.

The selling of Tomatoes, Cabbages, Green Peppers and Potatoes to various outside markets, were how most of the town made their living. Aside from the importation and exportation of church supplies: bibles and golden crucifixes, the town was also a huge tourist attraction- a fact that the mayor felt was disrespectful to the town's faith.

Naturally, the mayor disavowed any mention of Wiccans, which was an idiotic thing to do since Brinkersville's history involved Wiccans pouring their blood, sweat and tears into building the town from the ground up. Everyone who had a brain knew this and one person living in the town refused to have history rewritten to please those who were too blind in their faith to see the truth.

Agatha Rizè gazed out of the window of her wooden cabin at the beautiful glowing lake known as Crescent Lake and she stared blankly at the glowing lake wondering just how long it would take for all the dead bodies she threw in there last week, to float back to the surface.

Many of the people in Brinkersville viewed the silver long haired elderly woman as a 'psycho', 'town loon' and even 'crazy old bat', but the truth was, Agatha was far from being a loon.

She was a former Sorceress who was hired by many Magical Beings to create charms, curses and spells that would harm, kill or bless various people. After realizing she would never be able to live a Happily Ever After like most people in the four Realms, she decided to migrate to the Mortal Realm and found comfort in a town created by Wiccans in 1916 A.D. named Brinkersville. In doing this, she decided to build a cabin that sat at the edge of town near the last remaining historical landmark, which was not blocked by velvet ropes and didn't require an admission fee to get in. That landmark was Crescent Lake, a beautiful lake that somehow glows every night but no one understood why. Agatha figured it had to be some kind of Magic at the bottom of the lake but she was never going to jump in to find out.

A familiar presence sent chills down Agatha's spine and she turned away from the window.

In a bright yellow light, a Hispanic, handsome and tall man appeared before her.

"Ah-"Agatha gasped with a smirk. "If it isn't my old friend, Dominic Shyler. I do hope you are not here for a little rendezvous, as you can see I'm feeling a bit under the weather."

Dominic straightened his posture and he hid his disgust as the elderly woman smiled widely at him revealing her off white teeth stained with dried blood. The woman's face had more wrinkles than a silk shirt unrolled from a ball, her eyes were tired a sentiment to her Immortal life she once had.

Although Dominic was never attracted to the Sorceress he was used to her flirtatious ways, it was something he had learned to deal with early on into their odd friendship.

He shuddered at the thought of the pair ever getting intimate and addressed her. "I came here to make sure the box has been destroyed." Dominic stated placing his hands behind his back.

The handsome and mature man's firm and straight posture reminded Agatha of a Mortal she met in 1942 in the classic and rich outskirts of New York City. The man's name was Daniel Egsler and he was an American soldier, but there was a lot more to him than his ability to fight in a war if prompted.

Agatha's wide smile turned into a satisfied smirk, "I never knew you to be quite caring for something that does not belong to you."

"As I remember correctly Agatha, the box never belonged to you either." He paused when Agatha opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her glare caused Dominic to continue. "I had a dream last night-"

"Did I pay you a visit?" she interrupted with a seductive wink.

"In the dream-" he continued as he ignored the question. "I saw the Realms destroyed. I could smell burning flesh; I could see blood everywhere. Then out of the blinding smoke, I saw...I saw the box on the ground...it was opened!"

The revisiting of the dream caused Dominic to choke up. The dream felt very realistic even for him to handle and he knew it meant something tragic was going to take place. He didn't know when or where, but based on the bone chilling nightmare he had; he knew it was going to be soon.

"I assure you Dominic. Just as my heart is black and my soul is impure. The box has been destroyed and it will not cause harm to anyone." She flashed him another smile trying her best to reassure him so he could calm his nerves.

Being a former Sorceress meant Agatha had to do evil things to Witches, Warlocks, Wizards, Angels, Demonic Angels and even Mortals. She devoured over thirty-six children during 1410 A.D., which caused her to remain youthful and radiant-well at least during that Century; all while she murdered their parents and drained the life force out of all Magical children so she could maintain her Magic.

Regardless of her dark past and the paths she took to become the Mortal and tiresome woman before him, Dominic knew one thing remained true about her; and that was the fact she never told a lie.

He nodded at her words and returned the smile. "It was probably just-"

Agatha raised her left hand, which caused Dominic to stop speaking. She felt a strange sensation tickle her spine again, it was something she had never felt before, someone was coming, someone—powerful.

She quickly ran over to the window and noticed there was no longer white snow fluttering down unto the quiet town. It was now black ash!

"What's wrong?" Dominic asked nervously.

Without taking her eyes away from the window she muttered, "You need to leave now."

"Leave?" Dominic asked in shock that she would suggest such a notion. "No, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on!"

In a black smoky light, a strange creature appeared before Dominic. The creature stood no taller than six feet, its eyes were as dark as ebony and its face was charred and battered. Its gray skin was cracked and rusted-similar to an old cast iron statue of a Cupid found in a yard of an abandoned house. There was no visible nose on its face or a pair of lips on its mouth, just teeth- sharp, crooked and deadly teeth.

Dominic froze in both fear and fascination. He had heard many stories about these creatures. They are known throughout the Magic, Farietalè, Shadow and Obscura Realms as Demonic Assassins.

These creatures are Beings trapped in the Underworld and in order for them to move on to their respective afterlife, they are hired by Demonic Beings to assassinate intended targets. If they succeed, their souls move on and if they do not, they return to the Underworld for all of eternity.

"Dominic you must go!" Agatha shouted with assertiveness as she continued to look out of the window.

The middle-aged man closed his eyes to disappear; unfortunately, the creature grabbed him by the neck, viciously. Dominic tried to pull off the creature's razor sharp claws currently digging into his neck drawing a small amount of blood; but it was to no avail. The creature growled and whispered, "Santos".

The word echoed through Agatha's mind and she bowed her head in remorse.

Dominic didn't understand the word; he didn't understand what it meant!

He unclenched his right hand causing a black orb to appear in his palm. The grip of the creature's claws in his neck caused him to wince in pain; he tried desperately to breathe through his nose as the creature tightened its grip.

Without a second to think, the creature squeezed Dominic's neck with extreme force causing it to break with a simple snap. He let out his final breath as the orb in his palm disappeared and his body went limp.

The creature threw Dominic's lifeless body across the room and with a loud thud, the handsome man's corpse landed a few feet away from Agatha's feet.

She straightened her posture as she felt the creature come closer to her.

"If you are looking for the key you are too late. It is gone." She stated staring into the glowing lake.

"The key is not of my concern Sorceress. You know exactly why I am here." The creature stated with a growl following the last word.

It crept slowly toward the elderly woman, who still had her back turned against the creature and it leaned forward to whisper in her left ear.

"Santos" It repeated with pleasure.

Agatha knew exactly what the creature wanted, but she wasn't going to give in to its demand; not now and not ever! Even with death looming just seconds away, she wasn't going to give in.

She turned around and stared right into the creature's soulless eyes. Something felt familiar about it, something she couldn't remember clearly.

"Santos!"

Agatha smiled warmly at the creature as it hissed softly causing some saliva to drip from its lipless mouth and she slapped it across the face not only silencing it, but also enraging it.

"San...tos!" it repeated slowly.

Agatha arched her right eyebrow and gave the creature a taunting smile. "Screw you."

The creature angrily omitted a high-pitched growl.

She turned around and faced the window for one last time.

The snow was no longer falling, only black ash rained down onto the holy town known as Brinkersville.

The adults no longer had to worry about their crops being concealed by a frozen blanket of snow and the children no longer had to anticipate the closing of their schools.

Agatha knew what awaited her next.

She smiled at the beautiful, peaceful and glowing lake as she said softly, "My death...is just the beginning."

The creature grabbed the back of Agatha's neck with its claws and hissed loudly.

No worries rushed into her mind because she knew with the last breath she took, everything in the world was going to change, for both good and evil.

***

Meanwhile @ Hallows High Magic School:

The scent of sweaty gym socks caused Jimmy Kanter to cringe his pig snout in disgust. He never imagined he would be at the school gymnasium in the early morning looking for a pink rose.

The seventeen-year-old pudgy male had short hair, which looked as if his mother had cut it with a pair of safety scissors. It was uneven, stringy and greasy. He had some freckles on his pink colored face, his pig snout was freshly powdered so it didn't run- something that happens whenever he becomes nervous- and he wore a nice buttoned up black shirt with black khaki pants.

For the first time in his life, things were going his way. He was finally passing all his classes, his mother and father got back together after they separated months ago and now he was going on a date with the most popular girl in school; Vicky Sadler.

He found a note on his locker yesterday that Vicky signed and it read:

"Meet me in the gym at 5am. Find a pink rose and I'll be right behind you."

Any sane person would think this would be a trap but Vicky's parents were adventurers who traveled through both the Magic and Mortal Realms looking for ancient artifacts, so he had every reason to believe Vicky enjoyed sending people on scavenger hunts.

Jimmy let out a sigh of relief as he noticed a pink rose lying on the top step of the bleachers. He quickly ran up and grabbed it.

He took in a slow whiff of the flower and smiled letting out a happy sigh; it smelled just like Cotton Candy-one of Vicky's favorite treats.

"I knew you'd come." The soft voice of Vicky Sadler said from behind Jimmy. His heart skipped a beat upon hearing her voice and he smiled to himself. He could not wait to turn around and gaze lovingly into the hazel eyes of his longtime crush.

Jimmy cleared his mind and he slowly turned around, it wasn't done for dramatic effect but instead for him to control his anxiety, which would sometimes cause him to stutter uncontrollably. "Vicky, I must say how excited I am that-" Jimmy's words were cut off when a bright flash blinded him.

He covered his eyes as he heard laughing.

"Eww you dweeb!" Standing before him on the step of the bleachers was Dean Deckler, the most popular boy in school. He looked at the phone screen at the picture he just took of Jimmy making a hideous face that was a combination of both shock and disgust.

Jimmy's sight cleared from the flash and he looked around the gym in hopes of seeing Vicky, but it was just him and Dean. "Wh-Where's Vicky? I-I heard her."

Dean glared at the male and smirked. "That was me you moron! Remember I'm a Chameleon. I can disguise my voice." He cleared his throat, and began speaking again adjusting his voice to sound just like Vicky's, "You see you Dweeb, I'm not Vicky but I sound just like her." Dean laughed again and he shook his head as his voice returned to its normal baritone pitch.

Jimmy looked at the eighteen-year-old male standing in front of him. "Wh-Wh-Why would you do this?"

"Why not?" Dean replied back followed once again with a crude laugh.

Dean Deckler was Captain of the Football team and a Chameleon. It didn't mean he was a lizard at all, but it meant that he could shape shift into anyone and take on their likeness, mannerisms and voice. Jimmy couldn't help but wonder if Dean's good looks, chiseled cheek bones, athletic body, light blue eyes and blonde hair, was real or just a perfect illusion.

"I did it because I see the way you look at Vicky. The way she helps you with your homework because you can't do anything right. And I'm here to tell you it needs to stop. Vicky is my girl."

"B-B-b-but you and her are no-no-no-not even dating."

Dean shrugged, "So? It doesn't matter where we are now in our relationship because my Dad brought a Magic Crystal Ball and in it, I saw Vicky and I as adults. We're going to not only be married but I'm going to rule the Magic Realm, and when that happens, I'm going to make sure you and your family of swine, never see this Realm again."

As Dean laughed at his own words, he pushed Jimmy causing the teen to lose his balance on the bleachers, and fall on his back.

"Ha! Next time watch your back buddy. Oink, Oink!"

Dean jumped off the bleachers and started to walk toward the double doors of the gymnasium whistling a tune to himself.

Jimmy rubbed his temples angrily as he watched the Jock walk away unfazed by the attack he just unleashed on the innocent teen and Jimmy started to mumble, "Rowan No End, Rowan No End...Rowan No End."

A high-pitched giggle echoed throughout the gymnasium and it caused Dean to stop walking. He couldn't believe how disrespectful Jimmy was by laughing at him, laughing at him! Does the pig even know who Dean is? Who his father is?! The things he can do to him?!

The Jock angrily turned around, ready to verbally and maybe physically attack Jimmy, but instead he froze in fear when in a black smoky light, a man appeared before him wearing a black and white Jester costume.

The man stood at 6'7 feet tall, he was unhealthily skinny with not one ounce of fat on his bones, his eyes were yellow, the man's infectious smile was decorated with crooked orange teeth and black lipstick covered his thin-chapped lips.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean asked angrily.

"Who am I?" the Jester asked, his voice was high pitched as if he just inhaled helium.

He licked his black painted lips and smiled. "Why, I'm your end."

Jimmy closed his eyes as he heard the horrifying screams of Dean Deckler mixed with the laughs of the Jester.

Dean was always a problem for Jimmy, but for the first time, Jimmy could finally breathe because Dean was never going to be a problem again.
Chapter 1

Two Hours Later @ 3:40am:

The streets of New York City were not as packed as Jayson Santos thought it would be, considering it was Saturday morning.

He wasn't sure if it had something to do with the pending rainstorm approaching the city or the fact the Night Life wasn't as fabulous as it once was.

Either way, the 28 year old was grateful it was only him walking through the dark empty streets of Hell's Kitchen.

The curly haired male felt the right pocket of his jeans vibrate and he took out his cellphone to see 'Congratulations! You got a Match!', on the screen of his phone.

"Oh God." He stated rolling his eyes. He forgot he had a profile on the Gay dating app 'GayzDate'. His best friend Haneltha convinced him to create a profile on the dating app and although he was reluctant, he decided to create it anyways.

The app was full of single Aristocrats, Actors, Writers, and Activists and it was full of men who had pictures of themselves poolside, shirtless or posing with various celebrities.

But Jayson wasn't like most twenty eight year olds living in the Mortal Realm. Dating is not something that comes so easily for him because he identifies as a Homoromantic Asexual.

For him, being a 'Gay Ace'- as Jayson puts it- meant he will only be attracted to his male partner romantically and will have no sexual attraction towards him.

Kissing, hugging, cuddling, holding hands and romantic dates are all he yearns for in a potential relationship. He doesn't view sex as being 'disgusting' or 'nauseating', he just never found it to be interesting or something he wanted to take part in. Which is why dating was always hard for Jayson, because the Gay men he talks to, only want sex and nothing more.

When he is not wading through the shark-infested waters of online dating, he spends the majority of his time helping people who hire him; after all he is a certified Private Investigator with his own private office in the town of Gladen Falls. But there was something about Jayson that not many people in the Mortal Realm knew and that's the fact he's a Witch!

Now, how is he a Witch and not a Wizard or a Warlock?

Well, Jayson is a Witch because his parents were Witches.

Witches in common literature are always perceived to be angry, bitter, vengeful and ugly women, while men are seen as Wizards or Warlocks; and that is completely incorrect, especially in this world.

Wizards in the Magic Realm are born with Wizardry Magic in their blood. This craft could be honed with enough studying in Magic School making them a powerful source of knowledge, power and even a beacon of hope educating the Realms...unless they are recruited to the Evil side, then they could become a very powerful threat.

Whereas Warlocks are Evil Beings who use the powers they already possess, to destroy other Magical Beings.

Just like Wizards, Witches are born with power Magic in their blood. A majority of Witches practice the art of Witchcraft while others focus solely on their Magical abilities to protect others or even themselves. But some Witches-like Jayson- practice what is called Witchery and in this Realm it's defined as a Witch using their Magical abilities rather than practicing the religion of Witchcraft.

Witchcraft and Witchery aren't topics taught in most Magic Schools, or really anywhere in the Magic, Farietalè, Obscura or Shadow Realms.

It has been believed that Witchcraft can brainwash even the strongest of minds to turn Evil and that ignorant thinking is what caused many Covens to go into hiding. But for Jayson, that was a battle he had to endure all of his life.

Jayson is known throughout the Realms as a 'Witch with Tainted Blood'. He received this identity because of his father Rickasè who was a Dark Witch and his mother Selene who was a Pure Witch. Not only was the relationship between a Dark and Pure Witch forbidden-since Dark Witches are born Evil, and Pure Witches are the epitome of Good-but the idea of Selene and Rickasè conceiving a child that could be half-evil and half good made many Beings in all four Realms nervous and scared.

Naturally, just like in the Mortal Realm, there are laws put in place throughout the Realms to keep a balance between good and evil and nine powerful and mysterious Beings known simply as The Council of Magical Elders created those laws.

The laws created, were to ensure Magical Beings were not only safe but also not using their Magic for selfish needs. Although those were the same laws that were broken when Rickasè and Selene met, fell in love, got married and conceived Jayson.

Jayson is a Witch and proud of it...however, he is the sole heir of the Santos Family, so while others feared and loathed him, it was clear that the Male Witch had to teach himself about his abilities and keep himself safe from anyone that wanted to jeopardize his life.

Witches wouldn't be Witches if they didn't possess Magical abilities and Jayson had many to boot. Not only does he have the abilities of Telekinesis, Teleportation, an Ultrasonic Scream that could knock enemies off their feet, deafen them or cause their brains to explode (only happened once and that was solely by accident) and the ability of Spellcasting. Nevertheless, he had something that not many other Witches had and it made him even more of a Black Sheep in all Realms and that was the fact he possessed: Immortality.

This ability has caused him to keep the appearance of a twenty eight year old, even though he was born on October 31st, 1490 A.D, making him 520 years old!

Jayson placed his cellphone back inside of his pocket not wanting to be bothered by whoever matched with him, because he was currently thinking about a woman and her name is Diana Linx.

Diana is a twenty three year old student from Michigan who visited New York City ten days ago with her family and went missing yesterday. While police officers and FBI agents canvassed nightclubs, drug houses, bars and the local rivers, Jayson had a feeling he knew where she was. The problem? He couldn't tell the local authorities because it would put them all in danger; so he took the initiative to find her, himself

"N-No! Get off me! N-AGH!" A scream rang out through the night and it caused Jayson to run into a nearby alleyway where he found a homeless man lying dead on the floor. He had blood pouring from a bite wound on his neck and standing over his lifeless body was a blonde woman.

"Diana?" Jayson's soft voice asked with a hint of curiosity.

The blonde woman slowly turned around to face the Witch. Her eyes were as black as coal; her pearly white teeth were razor sharp fangs and fresh blood dripped from the corners of her mouth.

Jayson slowly backed away as the woman walked toward him growling.

Okay Jase. Do we have a Plan B? He thought to himself as Diana opened her mouth and lunged at him.

"Crap!" Jayson swung his right hand in panic and telekinetically hurled Diana into a nearby dumpster. He had hoped she would fall to the ground and give him enough time to come up with a Plan B, but that was proven impossible when she quickly jumped up to her feet as if she was a villain from a Horror film.

"Okay phase three!" Jayson inhaled deeply and he let out a loud Ultrasonic high pitch scream causing Diana to clench her ears in pain, as a sharp ringing noise entered her ears bouncing inside of her brain as if it was the small metallic ball in a pinball machine. She dropped to her knees and hissed begging him to stop.

The screams came to a halt as Jayson closed his mouth. He ran over to Diana as she was still reeling in pain and he pulled out a small clear vial from the left pocket of his jeans. The vial contained pink liquid that glistened in the dimly lit alleyway.

He uncorked the top shuddering at the scent of garlic, which emitted from it and poured the liquid into Diana's mouth emptying the vial.

"No-Nah!!" Diana fell to her side and started to shake violently as if she was having a seizure.

Jayson glanced over at the dead male- although he could've healed him, the man was already dead and there was no way a Witch could heal the dead; without turning them into zombies of course and that was something nobody should ever do!

Diana continued to scream aloud as she shook violently, Jayson watched as her eyes turned from Ebony to Emerald green and her teeth turned from razor sharp fangs into regular human sized teeth.

"Oh thank Goddess." He sighed in relief.

Based on the research he'd done, he wasn't entirely sure the potion to cure Vampirism would actually work since it had never been done before. Considering Diana wasn't a vampire for more than a week, he knew there was a fifty-fifty chance it would cure her.

Diana looked at Jayson standing over her and she quickly looked around the alleyway in confusion. "Wh-What...what happened? Where am I?"

Just as Jayson opened his mouth to answer the question, he heard police sirens from the distance.

The Witch looked at the dead male and pointed his right index and middle fingers at the body causing it to disappear in a red light. He knew sending the body to the nearest hospital would help identify the man and give him a proper sendoff; also the last thing he wanted was the police sniffing out the likes of Vampires running wild in New York City.

Jayson flashed Diana a smile and in a red light, he disappeared from the alleyway leaving her dazed and confused. She tried to make sense of what she just witnessed but it was too much for her and she fainted just as the police cars pulled into the alleyway.

None of the officers knew that they were seconds away from finding the missing Michigan girl, alive and well.

***

On the 3rd floor in an office loft located in a college town named Gladen Falls:

Jayson reappeared in a red light inside of a spacious loft where he conducts his P.I business.

The loft was originally serving as an apartment when Jayson purchased it ten years ago from the dying property owner. He was able to turn it into a place where he could conduct business as well as his witchy duties.

The apartment had a dining room-which served as a room for Jayson to brew potions in, his black marble cauldron sat on top of the dinner table that could fit about ten people, if he had any guests over. Any extra potions he made he would store in one of the two closets located in the hallway. It was never wise for a Witch to only brew one potion and wait until there was an emergency for them to brew another one.

There was a kitchen Jayson would occupy sometimes when he cooked meals or had the patience to cook, a bedroom where the Witch would sleep, a living room-which contained a television set from the late 90's, and a black leather sofa for whenever he had company over, which again was never.

His personal office was located in what appeared to have originally been a Master bedroom. Inside of the office contained a computer and police scanner found on top of a large chestnut desk, right across the desk was a bulletin board where Jayson would place pictures of his clients and cases, but sometimes the cases have been excessively easy to solve lately. He wasn't sure if it was due to the fact he was amazing at his job or the fact the perpetrators sucked at theirs.

But his favorite place in the entire loft would be on the balcony that faced the Eno Forest and overlooked the 'Sirenia Pond'.

The door to the balcony was also located in his office but it was too cold for him to bask in that sight, and he was exhausted from the past three hours.

He tiredly walked over to his desk and turned on the police scanner he stole many years ago from a nearby precinct.

"This is Officer Diaz, We found Diana Linx."A male voice stated.

"The missing girl from Michigan?" One of the voices on the scanner asked.

"Yes! She's here in Hell's Kitchen in a nearby alleyway. She seems to have been dropped off here."

"Alright. I'll send a bus your way and I'll inform the parents."

Jayson turned the scanner off as he let out a sigh of relief.

He took a huge risk going after a hunch that Diana was possibly turned into a vampire, but in this Realm he learned to expect the unexpected, that and he was investigating a Vampire ring that were kidnapping tourists and turning them.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The Witch flinched as his cellphone began to ring. He wasn't expecting someone to call him at '3:05 a.m'.

He took the phone out of the right pocket of his jeans and read the caller id; it had the name 'M.P' on it.

"Oh crap!" Jayson gasped forgetting all about the party he left a few hours ago.

He slowly picked up the phone trying to think of the appropriate excuses and lies he would have to tell the person calling him, explaining why he wasn't currently at the party nobody saw him leave from.

"Hello?" The Witch asked placing the phone on his right ear.

"Hey Jayson! Are you okay? I came back from paying the caterers and I saw you were gone. Some of the guests said they saw you go to the bathroom but you never came back out."

That's because I teleported out of there! Jayson thought to himself remembering how awful the party was and when he got a lead from an anonymous-Magical-source that Diana Linx was spotted in the city, he knew he had to get out of there ASAP! He just forgot that he was supposed to return to the party to make a proper exit so the Mortals there didn't question him.

"Oh yeah." The Witch answered. "Truth is I got sick. Maybe it was because of the Shrimps or the drinks I mixed but I didn't want to make a commotion. So I snuck out after I went to the bathroom, I was too embarrassed to come find you." Jayson had to admit that when it came to lying, he was quick on his feet, so quick that it even scared him.

"Oh wow I had no idea! It could've been the Shrimps. Mrs. Ayers said she was feeling a bit unwell too. I thought it was just an excuse for her to leave the party early so she could have a rendezvous with her Yoga instructor behind her husband's back."

Jayson didn't understand how infidelity was natural in most relationships and marriages. If someone isn't happy with the person they're currently with, they shouldn't cheat on them but rather sit down, talk to them and kindly end the relationship or marriage; that's what the Witch did centuries ago.

"Yeah probably. Look Matthew, I am so sorry I didn't tell you I left. I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I could."

"No, don't apologize. It isn't your fault. I invited you to this party and I should've been entertaining you the whole night. Instead I was running around trying to make sure everything was perfect for you that I forgot the most important thing of the night: making sure you were comfortable."

Jayson's stomach turned at the words he heard come out of his cellphone and enter his right ear.

Matthew Piers is a famous New York City Gay bachelor. He was voted 'The Most Hottest Bachelor in 2018' by every Gay magazine and website that supposedly caters to LGBTQ+ individuals but somehow they run more stories about celebrity gossip or Tom Daley's latest underwear.

Jayson met the thirty-year-old Italian Aristocrat a few months ago when he hired the Witch to help him locate his late mother's tennis bracelet that went missing. The investigation uncovered Matthew's assistant stole it because she was being underpaid, which in turn uncovered Matthew's accountant was stealing money from the Aristocrat and not paying the assistant the pay she deserved. It was basically a soap opera with twists and turns and Jayson wondered if these were the problems Mortals faced on a daily basis.

Jayson refocused on the conversation with Matthew. "Don't worry about it Matthew, I had a great time. You were an amazing host."

"Really?" Matthew asked as Jayson could hear the man smiling through the phone because of the change in his tone.

"Yes. I again apologize for being sick. Next time I'll lay off the shellfish and blue drinks."

"And next time I could take you somewhere more intimate where it's just you and I." Matthew replied.

Jayson's eyes widened and he felt his heart skip a beat. "Oh! Umm, yeah and...could...talk...but...maybe...next...should...we..." He quickly hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief.

He wasn't sure why he pretended to sound like he was going under a tunnel and his phone was breaking up but he was glad he did.

Matthew is a great looking guy! His Instagram is full of pictures of him shirtless, posing on the beach, posing in his gym-although never once sharing a video of himself working out and breaking a sweat- and a few other pictures of him in tight suits. But Jayson knew he wasn't Matthew's type for a number of reasons.

The first reason Jayson knew no man like Matthew would find him attractive is because, he suffers from a functional voice disorder called Puberphonia- it's when a person's voice remains high pitched even after puberty. While most teen males were getting deep voices overnight, Jayson's voice remained the same. Whenever he spoke whether on the phone or in a large crowd, people would think he was a girl. Magically he tried to alter his voice but he also discovered something unique about it, he had the ability to unleash a loud supersonic high-pitched scream that could deafen any Magical Enemy! Ever since then, he had decided to accept this unique trait about himself, but being Gay and living in the Mortal Realm he discovered that most Gay men weren't as accepting of his voice as he originally thought.

Many men made it clear from the start they are looking for "Masculine men who have a muscular body", it sounds shallow and vain but the media doesn't do a very good job showcasing the many beautiful colors of Homosexual men in the world. Most of the Gay characters on television shows look like models off of an underwear catalogue with six pack abs, chiseled faces and sharp jawlines that could cut through an apple-if a thing even existed. Whereas Jayson was just a 5'8 Puerto Rican male with short brown curly hair, a caramel complexion, dark brown eyes, a body type that was about average with a feminine voice.

If any man was interested in him nowadays, he could assume the man lost a bet or was blind.

It's shameful how Jayson felt this way, but in today's world, the Gay community can fill their own with self-doubt, body issues and low self-esteem.

Jayson ran his fingers through his hair hoping Matthew got the hint and wouldn't bother calling him again, but he had a feeling Matthew wasn't bluffing and actually was interested in him.

But Why? Jayson thought to himself.

"Five centuries later and you're still a terrible liar." A deep voice stated in the dark, breaking Jayson's concentration.

The Witch quickly spun around on his heels to find a handsome Middle Eastern thirty two year old man leaning against the doorframe of his office.

The man stood at 6'1, had short black hair which was slicked back, dark brown eyes which was full of mystery and his olive colored skin was greasy-indicating he wasn't from Gladen Falls since most of the men here tend to wear foundation or powder to hide their shiny and greasy faces. His facial hair was kept to a short stubble that complimented his hollow cheeks and chiseled jawline.

His outfit of choice consisted of a black leather jacket which covered a black buttoned up shirt and tie he had on underneath. He wore black fitted jeans with black boots.

The Witch glared at the male, "What are you doing here?"

The man shrugged admiring the spacious loft. "Just enjoying the scenery. I'm not sure if the heat in here is making me sweat, or it's just you." He smirked teasing the Witch.

Most people in the Magic, Obscura, Farietalè and Shadow Realms know the man as Prince Nathaniel Echoes of Sandston; a brave and ferocious leader who gave up his crown in 1760 A.D to become a Knight and help defend his land and the entire Magic Realm.

But to Jayson Santos, he knows Nathaniel as 'Nathan'... His ex-husband.

Chapter 2

[January 26th, 1519 A.D]

In The Magic Realm:

The marketplace of Sherlane Road was filled with Magical Beings from all walks of life, trying to find amazing deals on various items like: vegetables, ingredients for potions, weaponry and even memorabilia from the Dark Realm.

No one paid mind to the other merchants or customers because no one cared who they were shopping amongst which made it easier for Prince Nathaniel and his Guard- Kyleson, to walk amongst them.

Kyleson wore a black hooded cloak, black riding breeches with matching colored boots and on the right side of his hip was his sword nestled in its holster. Walking on the left side of him was Nathaniel wearing a black doublet vest, blue riding breeches and brown boots; he too also had his sword in its holster hanging on his hip and he wore a black short cape over his shoulders.

The Prince's scruffy facial hair was kept to a minimal length while Kyleson's face was clean-shaven, a trait that most Guards maintained throughout the Magic Realm.

"I was in shock you decided to accompany me to the market." Nathaniel said as they walked through the crowd of Magical Beings shopping.

Kyleson smiled and nodded his head. "Anytime. I'm normally not the shopping type but with your mother and father celebrating their 30th Wedding anniversary, I couldn't bear to stay in the castle."

A smirk spread across the Prince's face and he shook his head trying not to think about how his parents would celebrate their special day. "That alone sounds traumatizing."

Kyleson chuckled, "Yes it does. Besides I couldn't wait to spend some quality time with my favorite Prince." He said nudging Nathaniel playfully.

Those words alone caused Nathaniel to read between the lines. "Alright, what's her name?"

The question caused Kyleson to smirk realizing he was caught red handed.

If there was one thing Nathaniel knew about his Guard of twelve years, it was the fact he never went shopping willingly unless it involved free food or a woman and in this case, he knew it was a woman.

Kyleson's smile brightened up as he spoke, "I don't know her name yet, but she owns a Crystal Shop, she's recently single and she's here every weekend."

Nathaniel smirked as he lowered his eyebrows, "And you were able to catch all that information yet you couldn't get a name?"

The Guard shrugged at the question still smiling, "Say what you want, but I honestly am smitten with this woman, so smitten I can tell you she's the one."

"I think it's sweet and charming." The Prince replied. "Of course it would be even sweeter if you knew her name." The Prince teased with a smirk as both men continued walking through the crowded market.

Nathaniel Echoes wasn't like most twenty nine year old Princes in the Magic Realm. Then again, not many Princes wanted to give up their crowns to become a Knight.

The idea of being held up in a castle making laws, overseeing lands, properties and helping his father create taxes that benefited the kingdom, made Nathaniel nauseated. Sure, it was his birthright to be the Prince of Sandston, but he yearned to do more to protect not only the Realm but also his family and he couldn't do that cooped up in the castle.

Of course, his parents were shocked when he brought up the idea of becoming a Knight; but they supported him either way.

Kyleson shrugged off the Prince's words and he looked a few feet away toward his left to see the beautiful woman he was looking for. She had golden blonde hair styled in a neat bun and wore a purple damsel dress.

Nathaniel noticed Kyleson's attention drift off; he followed the Guard's eyes and saw it landed on the blonde woman. "She is very beautiful, Kyle. Much better than the Shapeshifter you were dating last year." The Prince said causing the Guard to blush.

"Okay Nate-." Kyleson stopped walking causing the Prince to do the same and he looked at Nathaniel nervously. "-How do I look? Do I look presentable?"

The Prince's focus went to the Guard's perfect smile. None of his teeth were missing- that is a huge accomplishment in the Magic Realm- and the black curls on his head were still intact amid the cold weather they were experiencing. "You look like a single middle aged man trying to court a woman. Just be honest, be yourself and get her name."

Kyleson chuckled and he nodded his head. He straightened his posture, patted the Prince's left shoulder as a sign of gratitude and made his way through the crowd keeping his focus on the blonde woman occupied with a curious customer.

Thankfully, no one bothered to pay the Guard any mind, which made Nathaniel sigh in relief.

The last thing both men needed was the chaos that could ensue if any Evil Being found out Prince Nathaniel was shopping amongst the diverse group of Magical Beings; however realistically no one cared.

A chill ran down the Prince's spine and he noticed a strange young man no older than twenty-eight years of age handing a small pouch of Gold coins to a green Ogre selling what appeared to be potions. On the table in front of the Ogre, were glass jars filled with different colored liquids such as: purple, red, pink, neon, neon pink, yellow, beige and white.

But the Prince's attention was on the young man. He was no taller than 5'9- an assumption Nathaniel made based on the fact the young man was the same height as a nearby Human Elf and 5'9 is as tall as they could grow.

From what Nathaniel could see, the man wore black riding breeches and muddy boots, but there was something different about him. Something that kept the Prince's attention.

The Ogre gave the cloaked male a medium sized glass vial that contained neon green liquid and he told the male something which caused him to nod slowly as he listened carefully.

Nathaniel was only thirty feet away and he couldn't make out what the Ogre said but it was something that made the male worrisome.

The male placed the vial of liquid under his cloak. He turned away and walked through the crowd of Magical Beings heading towards a nearby alleyway.

The alleyway was known for its shortcut to the nearby towns, as well as its shady inhabitants who would frequent it, in hopes of robbing or murdering anyone who was brave enough to enter.

The Prince watched as the red-cloaked male caught the attention of two dangerous looking men. Both men wore rags for clothes, they had dirty bandanas wrapped around their foreheads and red and black beads were tied unto their un-kept beards. It didn't take a genius to know these men were Pirates.

Both Pirates watched the young male closely. Once the red-cloaked male disappeared into the alleyway and out of the Prince's sight, Nathaniel noticed both Pirates slowly following into the alleyway and withdrawing their swords clearly with one thing on their minds.

Nathaniel quickly glanced over at his Guard and tried to get his attention, however Kyleson finally broke the ice with the Crystal Shop keeper and he stood at her table laughing and chatting with her.

There wasn't any time to waste as Nathaniel knew the alleyway's history and knew the cloaked male was in more trouble than he bargained for.

The Prince decided to take a risk and leave Kyleson behind, he was safe amongst the crowd of shoppers just as long as he didn't step on their toes, feet, hooves or claws.

Nathaniel walked through the crowd keeping his focus on the alleyway just ten feet ahead. He passed by merchants selling live snakes, jewelry found in an Indian Burial ground, stones rumored to be from the Pure Witch Athena and other items that made him wonder if they were even legal to own in this Realm.

He quickened his pace and finally made it to the entrance of the alleyway, when a drunkard stumbled out mumbling something about a "Witch".

Nathaniel withdrew his sword and entered the alleyway quickly.

He carefully crept in, keeping his guard up and his focus on whatever he would find deep inside of the dimly lit alleyway. To his surprise, he found both pirates on the ground!

One of the Pirates was faced down with foam spewing out of his mouth as if a rabid animal bit him and his cohort was seated on the ground trembling in fear and pain.

"You there!" Nathaniel called out walking towards the seated Pirate. "What happened here?"

The Pirate didn't acknowledge the Prince at first but once the question sunk into his mind he turned to Nathaniel. "Th' Witch. Daniel was tryin' t' plunder th' potion 'n th' Witch, he attacked 'im."

"He?!" Nathaniel thought to himself in complete shock.

He had never heard of a Male Witch before or even knew of their existence and the fact one was in the same town he was visiting, made him worry even more. "Are you alright?"

The Pirate rolled his eyes, "Do I bloody look alright?!" He showed Nathaniel his right hand-well where his right hand used to be. The man's hand was severed, leaving just a bloodied and badly injured stump. "He used me own cutlass against me!"

Nathaniel didn't have time to waste caring about the wellbeing of two Pirates who were about to rob the Witch, he needed to find this Witch before anyone else got hurt or worst.

"The Witch, where did he go?"

The Pirate used his left hand and pointed further down the alleyway, "Down thar! But be warned, he be far more powerful than any Witch I 'ave ever encountered."

"I'll take my chances." Nathaniel stated and he ran down the alleyway leaving behind both Pirates.

The Pirate watched Nathaniel disappear into the distance and he shook his head taking out a silver flask filled with Rum, from the inside of his jacket. He used his dark colored teeth to unscrew the cap off and he spit it out on the ground. "Bloody Magical Bein's. Next time we stay on th' sea wit' Jack." He took a swig of the Rum and laid his head against the wall of a nearby inn, patiently awaiting for his band of Pirates to find him and his cohort.

Through his sulking, he spotted an iron hook, which laid on the ground nearby.

"If that dreadful swordsman doesn't murder th' Witch, I'll do it meself. I'll make it me life's mission t' find 'im 'n loot back wha' he pilfered from me!"
Chapter 3

[*Present Day*]

Nathaniel opened his arms hoping Jayson would pull him into a tight embrace but the Witch gave him an icy cold glare, that could freeze the flames on Hades' head.

"I see you still remember how we left things." Nathaniel replied.

"Remember? How could I forget?" The Witch stated trying not to get too irritated, "On our second anniversary of being married, you gave me an ultimatum to either abandon everything I am by binding my Magic and stay married to you, or keep being a Witch and lose you."

"And we both know what you chose at the end."

A chuckle escaped the Witch's mouth as he shook his head. "Don't you start that now. I was doing fine for these past five centuries. I didn't come to you, I didn't visit your side of the Realm and I didn't even care enough to see if you grew your hair, which clearly you have."

The dynamic between Jayson and Nathaniel have always been a mixture of flirting, seriousness, loving and at times their conversations would be more of them bickering as if they were frenemies. But no matter how they spoke to each other one thing was always clear, they still cared for one another and nothing could change that.

The Knight kept his arms outstretched smirking at the Witch. "So are you going to give me a hug or am I going to just stand here hugging the air?"

Jayson rolled his eyes smirking and he walked over to the Knight hugging him tightly.

Nathaniel wrapped his arms around Jayson. "You never make things easy for me."

Jayson replied, "If I was easy what good would that be? You enjoy the chase."

Nathaniel nodded, "That is true."

The Knight's masculine cologne invaded Jayson's nostrils as if the scent was an army of ants invading a picnic at the park. "God, you still have that cologne? I thought they stopped making it when Sleeping Beauty woke up."

Both men shared a quick laugh and they separated from their embrace. The Knight looked around the loft nodding in approval. "This place is amazing. What do you do here and where exactly is...here?"

"I'm a Private Investigator. My clientele tends to differ between Mortals looking for stolen jewelry or whatnot and to many Magical Beings who migrated to this Realm and need my help. You can think of me as your friendly neighborhood and Witchy, Sherlock Holmes. Helping anyone who needs my help."

The Knight spotted a bowl of hard candy on Jayson's desk and he walked over to it and grabbed one. "Hmm, like what?"

"Well some Magical Beings hire me to vanquish a pesky Demon or maybe vanquish a crazy creature that is eating Magical vegetables. Just a few hours ago, I cured a missing girl from her Vampire state. So I assure you it's not a boring job. And to answer your second question, we are currently in Gladen Falls. A college town that rests in between the Magic and Farietalè Realms. It's full of Magical Beings, Fairytale Beings and Mortals who live here in harmony—well not fully in harmony, because if they were living in harmony I would be out of business." Jayson laughed to himself.

Nathaniel spent a few seconds unwrapping the candy as he listened to Jayson answer his questions, he finally freed the cherry flavored hard candy and popped it in his mouth looking up at the Witch.

"Look Jase, I came because I didn't see you at the service. When I didn't see you at the service, I got worried and-"

Jayson placed his right hand in the air causing the Knight to stop speaking. "What service? Who died?"

It was then Nathaniel realized Jayson must've been too busy to hear the tragedy which took place two hours ago.

Funeral services in the Magic Realm had to take place two hours after a Magical Being dies because:

One\- they have to make sure the Magical Being is actually dead and not trying to come back to life.

And

Two\- they have to bury or cremate the Being quickly so no one else tries to steal their powers or possess their bodies.

It's a long story on why the Council of Magical Elders made this law but it has come in handy in tight and scary situations.

Nathaniel used his tongue to hold the hard candy against the inside of his right cheek as he tried to find the appropriate way to tell Jayson about Agatha's death. He gave the thought about fifteen seconds when he said, "Jase, Agatha died this morning."

He wasn't sure if the words that came out were rude, cold or comforting. He always had issues with softening his tone to make it sound less dominant and more caring.

Jayson smiled at the words of his ex and he arched his right eyebrow. "That's a sick joke Nathan. That's something I would say, but you? I thought you were better than that."

The Knight shook his head slowly and took the Witch's soft hands into his. "Jase, I'm not kidding. This isn't a joke. Agatha is dead, they found her this morning."

"No...This isn't good." Jayson snatched his hands away from the Knight's grip and quickly walked out of his office into the hallway where he opened a closet door.

Inside of the closet were shelves of empty potion vials, ingredients for various potions, which included a vial labeled 'Tongue of Newt'-which the Knight hoped was the amphibian and not an actual person named Newt.

"Look Jayson, if you need someone to talk to I'm here. That's why I came all this way to find you. I know you and her were close. I understand if you are feeling lost and confused."

"No you don't understand!" Jayson shouted as he took a jar labeled 'Eye of Lin' and pushed it aside trying to find something. "Agatha's dead and I have to be prepared."

The Knight lowered his eyebrows not sure what his ex was talking about. "Have to be prepared for what?"

In a black smoky light, a strange creature appeared before Nathaniel causing the Knight's eyes to widen.

It started to crack the bones in its neck as if they just woke up from a peaceful slumber and the creature looked at Nathaniel letting out a growl, "Santos".

Jayson sighed hearing the creature's voice. "I have to be prepared for that."

Nathaniel quickly spit out the candy and unclenched his right hand causing it to glow brightly in a blue light. "What are you?"

The creature didn't waste any time and it didn't bother to answer the question asked. Instead, it slapped Nathaniel with extreme force causing him to fly across the room, crashing head first into the desk in Jayson's office.

Jayson turned around quickly and he watched as the Creature turned to face him and he let out a small gasp.

The creature had no lips just yellow stained razor sharp teeth. No pupils, just Ebony eyes and oily gray skin. Its claws were as sharp as knives and dried blood stained the tip of it. "Santos." It growled making its way toward the Witch.

Jayson waved his right hand in hopes of hurling the creature telekinetically across the room...but nothing happened. "What the hell?"

The creature hissed quietly and began to stagger towards him.

"Ooh okay well that's not good." Jayson watched as Nathaniel slowly got up from the ground and in a blue light the Knight's cuts and scrapes began to heal.

"Cover your ears!" the Witch shouted and Nathaniel did as he was told.

Jayson glared at the creature and he opened his mouth once again omitting his supersonic high pitch scream. The creature let out a sharp growl as it fell to its knees clenching its head in pain. Jayson stopped screaming and he watched as the creature rose up to its feet quickly, unleashed a loud roar and lunged at the unsuspecting Witch. "Santos!"

"NO!" Nathaniel waved his right hand at Jayson and in a blue light, the Witch disappeared from the office, causing the creature to once again growl in anger.

***

Outside of Jayson's Loft:

In that same blue light, Jayson appeared outside of the loft's building which was surrounded by woods and a nearby lake. He looked around in confusion, as he was one hundred percent positive he didn't teleport himself outside.

Just as he was about to move, the creature appeared before him and slapped him across the face causing the Witch to fall unto his back. "Ugh!" He grunted as his back hit the hard ground.

The creature bent over him and its black eyes glared blankly into Jayson's.

"Santos... Two hearts once one are no more." The creature's words sent chills down the Witch's spine. It was cold, familiar, soft and yet horrific all at the same time.

"Who are you?" Jayson asked staring into the creature's dark eyes.

"You know who I am. You thought you could hide from me? I'm here to kill you, just like they hired me to do." The creature lifted its right claw with the intention of stabbing Jayson with it, until Nathaniel appeared behind it in a blue light tightly gripping the handle of a sword in his left hand. He swiftly swung the sword decapitating the creature with ease.

The headless body of the creature fell to the ground and Nathaniel extended his right hand toward Jayson.

The Witch grabbed the Knight's hand and stood up to his feet. He looked down at the creature's body and watched in confusion, as the creature's remains turned into ashes.

"Are you alright?" Nathaniel asked taking his hand back.

Jayson nodded.

Nathaniel looked down at the pile of ash, surprised to see the remains of the creature he recognized from the Shadow Realms. "I have heard stories about these creatures. They're dead souls who are trapped in the Underworld. They are hired by high-ranking Demons to assassinate various Magical Beings, and if they succeed, they are sent to their afterlife. I assume you knew this creature was coming?"

The Witch nodded bowing his head in defeat.

"Who would hire him to assassinate you?" asked Nathaniel as he placed his sword in its holster.

"The same person who has wanted me dead since the day I was born." The Witch let out a sigh of frustration and he locked eyes with Nathaniel. "The Council of Magical Elders."

Chapter 4

[*Back In The Past*]

Somewhere in the Magic Realm:

Nathaniel continued to run down the alleyway as he chased after the red hooded male. Every twist and turn made by the mysterious man was in hopes of losing Nathaniel, but it came to no avail.

"I do not wish to harm you!" Nathaniel shouted, his voice echoing throughout the alleyway.

"Then why do you chase me?" A soft feminine voice answered back causing the Prince to lower his eyebrows in confusion.

After a few seconds, Nathaniel refocused and continued on following the mystery-hooded man as he slowed down. "I am not chasing you to arrest you or to harm you. You are wounded. I was able to catch up to you because you are leaving a trail of blood behind. Please let me heal you. Based on the amount of blood you have lost; you are in mortal danger."

"I can heal myself that's one of my many attributes."

Nathaniel hid his nervousness once he heard the male's words. A Witch that could heal themselves was just as deadly as a Vampire that can walk in the sun. But the Prince knew the Witch's wound wasn't going to heal as fast as he had hoped.

"Your abilities are not going to work because the Pirate's cutlass was laced with a type of liquid that is poisonous to various Magical Beings including Witches. Although you can heal, your ability will be delayed while it fights off the poison. It might take months or years, but while your body weens the poison out, it will make you susceptible to any attacks if the Pirates who did this to you, return to finish the job."

The words caused the man to stop running-well that and the fact the direction he took was a dead end that led to the sidewall of a nearby brothel.

Without turning around the male asked, "How can I trust you?"

Nathaniel stopped about ten feet away, secretly regaining his breath by panting and he placed his sword back in its holster. "If I wanted to harm you I would not have chased after you in hopes of getting your attention."

The hooded male slowly turned around and faced Nathaniel, he took off his red hood and the Prince couldn't believe his eyes.

Standing before him was a handsome Hispanic man with dark brown curly hair, caramel skin, dark brown eyes and full lips.

The male pushed back the cloak to reveal a fresh bloodstain on his white shirt. The location of the stain was on his right abdomen, considering the stain was the same size of a medium sized bowl, it was evident the wound wasn't a small scrape.

Nathaniel raised both his hands in the air as he slowly approached the male, "I am unarmed and I'm not looking to hurt you. This is not a trap. Just let me see the wound, please."

The male noticed how innocent Nathaniel looked and he nodded. He slowly lifted up his shirt revealing a deep puncture wound.

As if Nathaniel could feel the man's pain he winced at the reveal, he placed his arms back down by his side and approached the male getting a closer look at it. "That is a nasty wound. If it got any deeper, you would be dead. Thankfully you had someone like me chasing after you." Nathaniel smirked hoping to get the male to do the same just to make light of the situation and he was successful as the injured male smiled back.

"What are you a Healer?"

Nathaniel shook his head slowly and helped the injured male sit on a wooden crate that was nearby. "No I am not a Healer." He answered kneeling down in front of the male.

"Well forgive me for being frank, but how do you plan on healing me, if you're not a Healer?"

Nathaniel gazed into the male's eyes and he felt a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach; it was a feeling he had never felt before and it made him nervous.

He licked his own lips and untied a small black pouch that was dangling on the left side strap of his breeches.

The male smirked glancing at the pouch and arched his right eyebrow at it. He too felt a strange sensation omit from Nathaniel, it wasn't a sensation he would get when he was around Mortals or other Magical Beings; the sensation coursing through his body caused every inch of his skin to get goosebumps. "What exactly are you?"

Nathaniel didn't say anything, he instead gave the male a wink and opened the pouch.

The Prince poured some glittery dust from the pouch unto the wound and the curly haired male watched in amazement as the puncture wound healed in a glittery light.

"I've never met someone who walks around with Fairy Dust. Are your wings going to pop out too?" The male asked with a smirk and Nathaniel reacted to the question by shaking his head.

"No, I'm not a Fairy. I just have some friends who are."

The male nodded slowly still fascinated at the effects of the Fairy Dust. "Well, I thank you for healing me. Although Fairies and Witches are not really the best allies, but you did just save my life, so thank you for that." He placed his shirt down covering where the wound used to be and jumped off the crate.

Nathaniel hid his blushing cheeks as he tied the small pouch to the strap of his breeches, stood back up on his feet and stared at the male. "What is your name?" the Prince asked his tone full of curiosity.

"Oh I have many names, but my birth name is Jayson."

Nathaniel extended his right hand at the male and smiled, "Pleasure to meet you Jayson. I am Nathaniel."

Jayson glanced at the Prince's hand for a few seconds unsure of whether he should shake it or not.

After a few seconds of contemplating, the male shook Nathaniel's hand giving it a firm squeeze. "Likewise Nathan."

The Prince shook his head smirking. "It's actually 'Nathaniel'."

"Eh" Jayson shrugged taking his hand back, "I like Nathan better."

Nathaniel placed his hand back down and cleared his throat. "What happened back there with the Pirates?"

"They tried to rob me for the potion I bought at the market. And before you ask me a bunch of questions, there is nothing illegal about buying a Potion at the market...Especially this one."

Jayson took out the vial filled with glowing neon green liquid and Nathaniel's eyes laid in fascination on the item. "What is it?"

"It's called the 'Morbicus Potion'. The Ogre I bought it from only sells it once a year for a hefty price. I've saved up enough money in the past few months to buy it from him, but those blasted Pirates thought they could steal it from me."

Nathaniel shook his head in disgust and anger at the lengths Pirates would go through just to steal items from people, but why on Earth would they want a Potion? What use would they have for it?

Before the Prince could ask those questions, Jayson watched as a group of eight Pirates headed towards the pair with bloodlust in their eyes.

"We have company." He said placing the vial back inside of his hooded cloak.

Nathaniel quickly turned around and watched as the Pirates withdrew their swords smirking and laughing at both men, they stopped eight feet away from the pair.

"Hark!" Nathaniel shouted to the surprise of Jayson. "I am Nathaniel Ec-"

One of the Pirates angrily threw his sword at Nathaniel interrupting him. The Prince quickly ducked down causing it to miss him by a few feet and it stabbed through the wooden crate.

"Guess they didn't 'hark'." Jayson teased causing the Prince to roll his eyes.

"Arrr! We do nah mean ye harm Nathaniel. We be here fer th' Witch." A bald headed Pirate shouted out causing the band of Pirates to cheer in agreement.

"Hand us th' Witch 'n ye can be on yer way." Another Pirate stated- this one was shorter than the others were and he was struggling to stand on his wooden right leg.

Jayson rolled his eyes impatiently noticing Nathaniel was hesitant on making the first move. The Witch stepped in front of the Prince and snapped his fingers causing the group of Pirates to disappear in a red light.

Nathaniel gasped and glared at Jayson in shock. "You can do that?"

"Yes." Jayson answered turning around to face the perplexed Prince. "I'm a Witch and don't worry I didn't kill them. I just tossed them into the Antila Sea which is west from here...I think."

The Prince did not know what to say or let alone what to do. The last Witch he met was a woman who devoured two children that broke into her candy cottage and ate all of her furniture. This was the first time he ever met a male Witch and as much as he didn't want to admit it, the Witch was an attractive one at that.

Jayson could see the puzzled look still plastered on Nathaniel's face like a Shakespearean mask and he smiled at him. "Do not worry, I don't bite."

The Witch walked closer to the Prince, he cupped the man's face softly and leaned in placing a soft tender kiss unto Nathaniel's lips.

The Prince jolted in shock and confusion, but he didn't fight the Witch off because the kiss felt... right!

Nathaniel closed his eyes, grabbed Jayson's waist and pulled him closer deepening the kiss.

Jayson's tongue danced inside of Nathaniel's mouth as if it was doing the Waltz with the Prince's tongue- the metaphor might sound stupid, but that's how Nathaniel felt about the beautiful and passionate kiss. It was a dance between two souls, uniting to become one.

Jayson softly pulled away from the kiss and smiled at the Prince who opened his eyes. The Witch tilted his head to the right, "I do apologize."

The Prince lowered his eyebrows at the apology and smiled as he asked softly, "Why are you apologizing? The kiss was ama-ama-ama-zing." The Prince's speech slurred and he stretched out his right hand to grab the Witch's arm but he couldn't! His vision started to blur and the alleyway around him began to spin.

"Wh-what did you do-do to me?"

Jayson smirked, "Poppy Extract, it's one hell of a toxin, gotta thank the Wicked Witch for that. But don't worry, it will all be over soon."

Nathaniel's eyes rolled back as he fell onto the ground in an unconscious state.

In a red light, Jayson disappeared hoping to never deal with Pirates or Nathaniel ever again.

Chapter 5

[*Present Day*]

Jayson's Office @ 3:46am:

Jayson leaned over the railing of his balcony watching the dark sky as he sipped some warm light and sweet coffee. The sixth floor building his P.I office was located in was somewhere in a forest that was surrounded by nothing but trees, various gardens and a lake which Jayson cleaned out whenever Mermaids were in town and needed somewhere to sleep.

Most of Gladen Falls were full of Magical, Fairytale and Mortal Beings, who didn't mind the differences amongst each other, but there were Beings who wanted to be alone whenever they came into town so they would seek out solitude in the Eno Forest near Jayson's building for comfort.

The Witch would never admit it, but although he spent a majority of his Immortal life protecting people and helping them every now and then; he enjoyed his alone time more than anything else. Then again, he didn't expect his morning to consist of being invited to a Bachelor's house party, curing a Vampire, seeing his ex-husband after five hundred years and to finding out his friend, Agatha was murdered.

Agatha, to many people in all Realms was a force to be reckoned with; she was a woman who had remained old yet Immortal since Jayson met her in 1490 A.D. He had heard stories about how vile, manipulative, cunning and dangerous she was but he never saw that side of her throughout their friendship. She was always honest, headstrong, and powerful and if it wasn't for her, Jayson wouldn't be where he was in the Present Day.

Nathaniel appeared in a blue light inside of Jayson's office. He looked around the loft hoping to spot the Witch but he was nowhere to be found. The Knight felt a cold breeze tickle the back of his neck and he turned around to see the balcony door was open.

He slowly walked over to it to find the Witch leaning over the railing and staring blankly at the night sky. "I was able to dump the remains in an unmarked tomb." The Knight said leaning against the doorframe.

"Why?" Jayson asked not taking his eyes off the sky.

"Well for starters." Nathaniel crossed his arms across his chest and continued, "The last thing we need right now is that creature being resurrected from his ashes. Dumping its remains in an unmarked tomb prevents it from being reborn. I may have flunked Magic School, but I have always been quite educated on the Demons that originate in the Underworld."

"Ah okay that's smart thinking. Thank you Nathaniel, you have been quite helpful."

Hearing the Witch call him 'Nathaniel' worried the Knight. Sure, it was his name after all but the dynamic between both men was built on the foundation of Jayson calling Nathaniel 'Nathan'. It was a nickname he hated and most of all, it was that same nickname that caused the Knight to fall head over heels with the Witch, centuries ago.

Nathaniel stepped out onto the balcony and walked over to the Witch as the Winter wind blew against both men as if it needed to remind them of the frigid and unforgiven season. "Jase, I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to or let alone see right now. I also know how close you and Agatha were and she's usually the one you would speak to about this. Nevertheless, as idiotic as it sounds, I'm all you got right now. So I need you to tell me why that creature came here and most of all, how you know the Council is behind the bounty."

As much as Jayson hated to admit when someone was right—which was every time someone was right- Nathaniel deserved answers and the Witch couldn't keep that from him, not anymore at least.

Jayson nodded his head and looked at the Knight. "Fine. My parents didn't abandon me when I was a baby like I told you. My mother and father were Witches. My mother was a 'Pure Witch' meaning she was a beacon of hope and a do gooder. My father on the other hand, was a 'Dark Witch'."

Nathaniel tried not to gasp or show he was shocked to hear the brand new information he was receiving from the Witch. They were dating for an entire year before Nathaniel proposed to him and then they were married for two years before the Knight's father died, forcing Nathaniel to become King of Sandston.

In the Magic Realm, when a King dies his child (son or daughter) takes over the throne and if they are married their partner must take part in the coronation process. In the coronation, if the spouse of the future King or Queen is Magical, they must give up their Magic and live their life as a Mortal alongside the King or Queen. It's because of this law that Jayson and Nathaniel divorced. Which was interesting in itself as Nathaniel was the only Prince with Immortality in all five Realms—but that is a story for another day.

As for right now, the Knight didn't understand why he was just hearing about the Witch's parents. Whenever he brought the subject up, Jayson would always tell him he never knew his parents and that he was abandoned at birth, yet now he was being as honest as can be.

"So, you lied to me all those years ago?" the Knight asked trying, yet failing, to hold in his resentment toward the Witch for not telling him sooner.

"Oh don't start that. Besides, you have secrets of your own you never told me about until I discovered them. Should I bring up our old friend Malum? "

The Knight bowed his head.

"Getting back on track, the love my parents had for one another was forbidden for obvious reasons." The Witch continued. "But they managed to stay together because that was True Love in their eyes. My grandparents banned my mother from ever stepping foot in their house again and my father made sure he found a safe place for him and her to live together once they got married. But the Council of Magical Elders found them. They visited my mother and gave her an ultimatum; she could stay married to my father and live peacefully without any interference from the Council or she would forever be banned from the Magic Realm and labeled a traitor."

The Knight knew the answer already but he wanted to ask the question anyway, so he solemnly looked at his ex-husband. "What would she have to do in order for the Council to let her and your father live happily?"

Jayson took a slow sip of the coffee not for dramatic effect but because remembering the story he read in his mother's diary centuries ago, caused him to become even more upset with everything the Council of Magical Elders had done to his family and even to the Realm entirely.

He swallowed the sip and answered, "They told her, if she wanted to live a perfect life with my father, or have a Happily Ever After as most people would call it, she would have to make sure I was never born."

The words caused Nathaniel's stomach to turn. "Are you serious?"

Jayson nodded, "She was pregnant with me at the time and the Council found out. Because I have the blood of a Pure and Dark Witch running through my veins, I was perceived as a threat even before I was born. They didn't want me to take my first breath. They wanted me dead, but my mother refused to get rid of me. She knew there was a reason why she got pregnant and she wasn't going to let the Council destroy her happiness. So she made her decision to keep me. She never told my father the truth because he would've made sure she was protected and never threatened again which meant-"

"He would've found the Council and killed each member." The Knight finished once again causing the Witch to nod.

"On All Hallow's Eve in 1490 she gave birth to me. She was with Agatha, whom she knew as her mentor, and my father was out of town for some business. The birth was complicated and she was losing a lot of blood. Agatha created a tonic that would slow her bleeding down just enough for me to be born...but for some odd reason the tonic didn't work. It was as if someone made sure the Magical Element of it was ineffective...The only people who had that kind of power would've been someone on the Council. So, when I took my first breath...my mother took her last." Jayson's voice cracked as he pushed through the story. "My father returned a few days later to find out the tragic news. Agatha warned him not to do anything crazy...but he didn't listen. He went to kill the Council members and that was the last time anyone had seen him. Agatha knew it wouldn't be long until they found me next, so she masked my scent with a Magical Charm and sent me to live with Zachary...whom you remember from the past. But because Agatha is no longer alive, the effects of the Magical Charm she put on me to mask my scent from any and all enemies from finding me, is no longer effective. "

Nathaniel nodded fighting back tears at the story. He never knew Jayson suffered so much. Why didn't the Witch tell him this story when they met? Why was he hiding it?

The Knight didn't care why Jayson didn't bother telling him. He knew the truth now and wanted to make sure Jayson knows he will be protected. "I'm sorry all of that happened to you. But right now the Council would be stupid to think I'm going to let them try to hurt you."

Jayson smiled at how brave yet stupid Nathaniel was.

The Knight may be strong, Immortal, brave, noble and even powerful, but that doesn't come close to how powerful, deadly and cunning the Council of Magical Elders are.

"Wait." Nathaniel added still needing some clarification. "So Aunt Crue isn't just a name but, that crazy woman is actually your Aunt?"

The Knight was referring to a woman that hung around Jayson centuries ago. She was a Dark Witch that fled the Magic Realm in 1520 A.D when she carved her ex-husband's face off after she caught him cheating on her.

Jayson nodded his head. "Yeah, she's my father's sister."

Before Nathaniel had the chance to say another word, he noticed a red glow illuminate from inside of the Witch's shirt. He backed away slowly and pointed to Jayson's chest. "What the hell is happening to you?"

Jayson looked down at the pulsating light, which looked like a heartbeat, and he smiled. "Oh that's my pendant." He pulled out a silver ball chain, which was 15 inches long, and hanging from it was a red crystal that continued to glow.

"This is how most of my Magical clients get in touch with me. Since I'm still trying to stay under the Council's radar I figured having potential clients summon me with a crystal would be a lot easier and safer than calling me on my cellphone. They call, I hold the crystal and poof I appear to them. It's the most brilliant invention I've made."

The Knight agreed at how innovative the invention was but it didn't take away from the fact the Council is still looking for Jayson and even now with the charm gone, the Knight knew it wouldn't be long until Jayson is forced to come face to face with the people who want him dead. Which is why the Knight had a brilliant idea, it was an idea he knew Jayson wasn't going to like.

"I'm going with you."

Jayson laughed. "No you're not. You have a Kingdom to run and you need to make sure Sandston is safe from danger. Especially now with Agatha gone who knows what other charms, spells and curses she concocted while she was alive."

"I'm not a King I am a Knight. The crown of Sandston belongs to my Uncle who was my Father's brother. He has been serving Sandston for more than half a century."

"Really?" The Witch asked surprised at the fact. "Hmm, I really did miss a lot."

The Knight crossed his arms across his chest arching his right eyebrow. "You can change the subject all you like Jase, but I'm not changing my mind."

As much as Jayson wanted to fight the decision because this has been his job for the past five centuries, he knew Nathaniel wasn't going to leave his side anytime soon especially after finding out about the Witch's relationship with the Council and although he wouldn't admit it, Jayson enjoyed Nathaniel's company.

"Ugh, fine!" Jayson caved in causing Nathaniel to clap his hands together in excitement. "But I do all the talking and you just stand there and be my Watson."

"Dr. Watson? I met him a few years ago. Not for nothing but he actually isn't that bright."

"Do you expect Mortals to depict characters from all four Realms with sheer honesty?" asked the Witch.

Nathaniel cleared his throat and looked at the crystal. "Okay so how do we do this?"

The Witch placed the cup of coffee on the ground next to his feet, he grabbed the Knight's hands, and for a few seconds both men accidentally gazed deeply into each other's eyes.

The memories of both men meeting each other for the first time haunted Jayson's mind ever since he saw the Knight standing in his office a few minutes ago. No matter where both men stood in the present day, nothing could erase the love they have for each other as well as the history they share—as much as Jayson wished it did.

"Just touch it." Jayson placed Nathaniel's hands on the crystal and in a red light, both men disappeared from the balcony, unaware of what awaited them next.
Chapter 6

[*Back in The Past*]

In a Cabin Located Just Outside of The Whispers Forest:

It had been hours since Jayson brought the Morbicus Potion, defeated a few pirates and caused a Good Samaritan to fall into a deep slumber. Now all the Witch had to do was wait for the potion to finally take its effect.

The Witch let out a deep sigh of frustration as he stepped out the front door of a cabin located in the far off distance of The Whispers Forest\- a forest where there is rumored to be a man-eating creature occupying inside, although Jayson never had time to investigate, he believed it to be true.

The cabin was currently where the Witch called home for the time being.

The cold Winter wind blew against Jayson but he didn't care. His red hooded cloak wasn't ideally the best attire to keep him warm but his mind wasn't occupied on the frigid winds, it was occupied on something-someone\- else.

"It is too cold for you to be out here." A voice whispered in the dark night causing Jayson to look around only to find trees, a garden of Poppy flowers a few feet away from him, another garden of vegetables just six feet away and dirt roads where no horses stomped and no Mortals had ever stepped foot on.

"Who's there?!" He called out shifting his gaze cautiously observing every space between the trees in the far off distance, but nothing and nobody was there. No figures were hiding behind an oak tree and nobody was around the cabin, just a bright red lightning bug fluttering in the night sky.

Wait a minute! Jayson thought to himself as he got a closer look at the lightning bug to find it wasn't a lightning bug at all! It was a tiny creature with a pair of red glowing wings that seemed to have a pair of legs, hands, feet, eyes, pointy ears and one button nose. It had the face of a man! This creature was-

"A Fairy? What the hell are you doing here?" His right hand began to glow red and the only thought running through his mind was to kill the Fairy. Cruel? Probably, but by Jayson's logic Fairies are annoying little deviants and he couldn't take any precautions especially with the Council still looking for him.

However, his concentration was cut short when a voice stated from the darkness, "I would appreciate it, if you do not harm my Fairies."

Jayson quickly spun around to find Nathaniel standing before him with a green Fairy on his right shoulder and a blue Fairy on his left.

Jayson let out a gasp at the sight of the man. "How are you still conscious?! That toxin I used was made from Poppy flowers. Right now you should be in a comatose state."

Nathaniel smirked as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, I'm a Knight in training who happens to be Immortal which means, things that can harm other Beings have no effect on me."

The Witch rolled his eyes and glared at the Fairies on the Knight's shoulders who started to snicker, the noises coming out of their mouths reminded Jayson of wind chimes blowing in the wind.

"You're a Knight that happens to hang out with Fairies? I'm not sure if that's progressive or sad."

Nathaniel gave him a smirk. "What? Is it uncommon for a Magical Being to hang out with other Magical Beings never focusing once on their differences?"

"Eh, I could care less." Jayson shrugged. "But Fairies are not Beings. They're just little bugs that need to be squashed."

The Fairies simultaneously stuck their tongues out at Jayson and he smirked rolling his eyes. "Now, can you please explain why you're here and how you found me?"

"You were in trouble and I needed to make sure you got to your destination safely. Unbelievably Jayson, not all Magical Beings want to harm Witches. Especially a Knight like myself."

"Yes and I'm the Muffin Man." Jayson replied sarcastically.

The sound of a door squeaking open caused both Jayson and Nathaniel to turn their attention over to the cabin's door where they found a husky man, dressed in rags with stringy short black hair and a scruffy beard, stumble weakly out of the door.

The man's face was covered with sweat as if he just took a bath in his clothes.

Jayson's eyes widened at the presence of the man leaning against the door in pain, "What are you doing out of bed?" He asked as he ran over to the man.

Nathaniel looked at the man nervously as his mind began to fill with assumptions, "I-I'm sorry to disrupt." The Knight said feeling a sense a guilt rush over him.

The Witch tried to grab the man's arm but the sick man froze in place as he saw Nathaniel standing a few feet away from him. With the little bit of energy he had, he knelt down honorably before the Knight, a notion which baffled Jayson.

"F-Forgive me Prince Nathaniel, I was unaware of your presence." He bowed his head down.

Jayson jolted at the word 'Prince' and he glared at Nathaniel, "You're a Prince too?!"

Nathaniel ignored the question and he approached the sick man causing all the Fairies to flutter in the air and observe the scene.

He grabbed the man's right arm and helped him up to his feet. "There is no need to kneel. Please, this evening, I'm just a Knight. What is your name?"

"M-my name is Zachary." The respectful man replied.

"It is an honor to meet you Zachary, now let us retreat back inside so you can lie in bed."

"I-I should be heading into town to fetch the Butcher."

Jayson lowered his eyebrows, "There is no Butcher in the town."

The Knight looked at Jayson and then back at the sick man. "Rest is essential. Trust me. I will let the...um... Butcher know you are not well and I can see to it, he makes a home visit instead."

"N-no." Zachary stated shaking his head "Th-The Butcher would never come up here."

Nathaniel tightened his grip on the man's right arm. At any willing second, Zachary could hurl the Knight across the field with just one swift notion because that's how strong he looked, however that wasn't going to happen any time soon because Nathaniel could feel how weak the man was. Not to mention, there was excessive heat coming from the man's arm the Knight was holding and he knew instantly, Zachary has a dangerously high fever that would make any Healer nervous.

The Knight glanced over at Jayson as he started to guide the man back inside, "You wait out here."

As much as Jayson wanted to make a rebuttal, he wasn't left with much of a choice as Nathaniel already entered the cabin with Zachary in tow.

The multicolored Fairies giggled as they fluttered around the Witch.

"You look angry." The red Fairy teased.

"Yeah don't be angry." Added the green Fairy.

"Nathaniel is a benign soul." Proclaimed the blue Fairy.

"Yeah, a benign soul that you think is cuuuute!" All three Fairies chimed in.

"Shut it before I make a necklace out of your corpses." Jayson snapped causing the Fairies to flutter away from the Witch and perch on top of the cabin's roof.

After a few seconds, Nathaniel rejoined him outside and he silently closed the door behind him as the cold wind picked up again. "He's hotter than the breath of a Dragon." The Knight said lowering his tone.

"Yes I know." The Witch replied. "That's why I brought the Morbicus Potion. If anything, I am one hundred percent certain that will heal him."

The Knight walked away from the cabin and approached Jayson so they could speak privately without being in the ear shot distance of the cabin's window. "I hate to say it, but if your boyfriend's body rejects the potion and his illness gets worse than it is now, you might have to end his suffering."

"He isn't my boyfriend!" Jayson snapped causing Nathaniel to secretly sigh in relief. "-And I know that. But the potion healed a rash he had earlier. I am giving it time to heal his fever as well."

Nathaniel nodded his head listening to the words of the Witch and the Fairies fluttered off the roof and once again found comfort sitting on the broad shoulders of the Knight.

"I loathe being a pessimist, but you must understand if the potion doesn't work in a few hours, Zachary will not survive the night."

"I know that!" Jayson stated emotionally. "You don't think I know that? Every potion I brewed, every spell I casted and every ritual I did, failed! The Morbicus Potion is the only hope I have right now to save him...I can't lose him...Zachary is like an older brother to me...I cannot lose him!"

Nathaniel fought off every whisper and thought he had about consoling the Witch. He couldn't risk touching him if whatever Zachary had was contagious and the last thing he wanted to do was touch the Witch because then... he wouldn't want to let him go.

"I understand how it feels to lose someone you care for." The Knight said lowering his voice to a soothing tone. "I lost my brother last Winter due to a similar illness. I am not saying at all that Zachary is not strong, I am just saying if need be, you must prepare to do what is right for him."

Jayson gave him a nod, "I am aware. Thank you."

Nathaniel turned his attention over to the garden of vegetables and noticed the different array of colors from bright red Tomatoes to Green Peppers and even purple Beets. "Do you harvest this all by yourself?" It was a stupid topic to bring up now, but Nathaniel wanted to change the somber subject.

Jayson smiled realizing what the Knight was doing by changing the subject and he replied, "Yes, it is not hard to do. There are some Cannabis growing as well as Parsley and other ingredients that go well with potions."

"You do not consume them?"

The Witch shrugged, "Depends on the day and mood."

"It sounds reasonable. Me? I love Apple Pies. Do you know how to bake those?"

Jayson smirked, "Do you expect me to bake you a pie, your majesty?"

Nathaniel rubbed the back of his neck blushing, "No-No that is not what I meant. I was just-"

The Knight stopped speaking when he heard a bell ring in his right ear, it wasn't coming from any of the Fairies seated on his shoulders but instead a call from his Guard.

Kyleson must've realized now that Nathaniel left the market.

"I must go. My Guard is calling for me." Nathaniel said causing Jayson to look at him as if he was crazy.

The Knight approached the Witch and bowed his head. "It was an honor meeting you, Jayson." He straightened his spine and gazed into the Witch's eyes. "Promise me you'll stay away from Pirates."

Jayson blushed and smirked at the comment. "I do not make promises I can't keep."

"Very well then, I hope to see you soon."

In a blue light, Nathaniel disappeared along with the Fairies leaving Jayson to smile to himself.

In a world of strangers, Nathaniel was one that Jayson wouldn't mind seeing again.

Chapter 7

[*Present Day*]

The Halls of 'Hallows High':

In a red light both men appeared in the middle of a spacious hallway, the Witch released Nathaniel's hands and both men looked around the unfamiliar environment.

The hallway's décor consisted of Halloween decorations from Pumpkins, to Skeletons and faux spider webs. Gold and Black painted lockers were found along the walls and a black twelve foot tall Christmas tree-decorated with golden Jack O Lanterns stood in the middle of the hallway as if it was the school's mascot.

"Where are we?" Nathaniel asked looking around the empty hall.

"It looks like we're in a..." Jayson stopped speaking when he read the school's banner, which stood over the Halloween decorated tree. "-Ah crap. We're at Hallows High."

The Knight joined him and read the banner, "Hallows High? That doesn't sound too good."

"It's just a school filled with Fairytale Beings. Like Ogres, Ghosts, talking Mice and wannabe Princes and Princesses."

Nathaniel knew there were schools in various parts of the Realm that catered to the diverse population, but he had no idea there was one specifically for Fairytale Beings. "So their Christmas is Halloween?" He asked referring to the large Christmas tree.

Jayson shook his head, "No. They erected a statue of the Grimm Brothers a few centuries ago because the brothers saved a few Wizards in training from the Dark Realm. Unfortunately, the brothers kept journals of Beings they met in the Magic and Farietalè Realms, so they could expose us to the Mortals. But the real cherry on this sick sundae was when the brothers acquired a magical journal through their ventures. They decided to write exaggerated stories of the Beings they encountered within that magical journal and before anyone knew it, they ended up creating the Obscura Realm- a Realm full of dark and twisted Doppelgängers of every Being they encountered on their adventures. Eventually the school officials tore down the statue of their faux heroes and replaced it with a 'Halloween Tree'."

"What happened to the Grimm Brothers?"

Jayson shrugged his shoulders at the question. "Rumors spread that the brothers gave themselves Immortality. Other rumors suggest the brothers went into hiding in the Obscura Realm and others believed they died and their restless souls are stuck to live in the Shadow Realm for all of eternity."

Before Nathaniel could say a word, the sounds of high heels clicking echoed behind them. They turned around to find a middle-aged woman walking towards them with a plastered smile on her face. Her brown chestnut hair was styled into a neat bun on top of her head; she wore a pink and white wool dress, pink and white shoes to match and a necklace of pink pearls hung around her neck.

Both men watched as she stopped three feet away from them and gave them a wide smile. "Hello! You must be Jayson Santos! My name is Dean Lady Tremaine; Dean is not my first name. My first name is Lady. So my full name is Lady Tremaine but you two can call me Dean Tremaine."

She stopped speaking when she noticed Nathaniel standing before her. She bowed before him causing the Knight to blush, "It is an honor to be in your presence, Prince Nathaniel."

Nathaniel always felt uncomfortable whenever people would show their respect to him. It was weird and seeing how people only recognized him as being a Prince instead of a Knight, frustrated him in ways he couldn't imagine.

"Please, just think of me as Nathaniel. I'm not here fulfilling Prince duties."

"Oh?" Dean Tremaine straightened her spine. "My apologies Nathaniel." She smiled widely giving him a seductive wink.

If there was an award for the most annoying and preppy person alive, Dean Tremaine would win it without question.

Jayson nodded his head at the awkward scene. "Mhmm okay. May I ask why did you call for me?"

The Dean faced Jayson and began, "Earlier today we've had a situation at the gymnasium concerning a student. It seems he just disappeared. Sadly this isn't the first time something like this has happened."

"Disappeared?" Nathaniel asked.

Dean Tremaine nodded her head still with the smile painted on her face and began to address the Knight. "Well you see Mr. Echoes, it seems that there is an Urban Legend at this school...and well...I feel like one of my students may have conjured up a very realistic version of it and kidnapped his fellow peers in a silly prank."

"A prank?" asked Jayson. "Forgive me Dean Tremaine, but in a school like this; any indication of a prank should be taken seriously especially if one of your students went missing."

"I know, Mr. Santos." Dean Tremaine said.

Nathaniel waited to see if Jayson had another question to ask and when silence visited the trio, the Knight quickly added, "You said there is an Urban Legend in this school. What Urban Legend?"

"Someone by the name of Rowan No End."

A small gasp escaped Jayson's mouth and the Knight quickly looked at him. "You've heard of him?"

Jayson nodded slowly. "Yeah...he was a Jester for the Vanderson Kingdom."

"Who were they?"

Jayson let out a sigh and answered, "The Vandersons ruled, the Dark Realm. And Rowan, was a psychopath who killed Witches."

***

Five Minutes Later In Dean Tremaine's Office:

Dean Tremaine watched quietly as Jayson and Nathaniel skimmed through a box of information she handed them concerning the disappearances of her students. In the box were pictures of the missing students, accounts of eyewitnesses and photographs of the scenes where the students disappeared.

"So what are we looking at here with this Rowan No End?" The Knight asked looking at Jayson

"The Vandersons were a family of Warlocks who ruled the Dark Realm with iron fists, bloody boots and an appetite for Witches and shockingly Ogres." Jayson stated causing Dean Tremaine to listen closely as this information was new to her. "Rowan-"

"Please!" Dean Tremaine interjected quickly with the smile still imprinted on her face. "Let's not say that name again. The students believe if you say his name three times he'll appear and we don't want that."

"Like Bloody Mary?" asked Nathaniel.

Dean Tremaine nodded and Jayson rolled his eyes and continued. "Mr. No End, was a Jester for the Vandersons. No one knew where he came from or if he had immediate family. He just showed up one day and the King hired him to make jokes and brighten up their moods. However, there was a secondary tale about this Jester and the tale stated, No End kidnapped Witches to not only torture but to also drink their blood."

"He's a vampire?" Dean Tremaine asked nervously.

Jayson let out a loud chuckle and shook his head. "Not a Vampire at all. He just sucks the blood out of Witches. He doesn't need it to live, he just enjoys the taste."

Nathaniel scrunched his nose in disgust, as he didn't want to hear anything about people devouring blood or human flesh.

"Although." Jayson added drifting into his thoughts, "-I don't think he ever had abilities to be conjured."

"Unless, we're dealing with the actual Rowan and he somehow managed to stay alive throughout all these Centuries." Nathaniel added.

The Witch nodded and he froze as he pulled out a sheet of paper from the box and read it.

The sheet had five names on it:

"*Cindy Charming

*Angela Uma

*Augustine Kui

*Maxx Sheppers

*Jimmy Kanter"

He turned the sheet over to the Dean. "Who are these people?"

Dean Tremaine read them over quickly and answered him, "Those are the witnesses. Cindy and Angela were present when Lilly Snow was taken, Augustine and Maxx were present when Ariel Sebastian was taken and Jimmy was present when Dean Deckler was taken."

"Five witnesses and not one investigation was conducted?" The Knight's tone held resentment and anger toward the preppy Dean.

One missing student should've been enough for her to call for help but why she chose to wait until that number increased were beyond the Witch's and Knight's comprehension.

The Dean's smile didn't fade once from her tired and heavily applied painted face. "I understand how upset you must be Mr. Echoes, but students run away from here all the time. No one wants to be at school. I'm sure you both resented your parents for taking you."

"That's not true. I enjoyed learning." Nathaniel stated.

"Are these students present today?" asked Jayson completely ignoring both the Dean and Knight.

Dean Tremaine nodded. "Upon your arrival I contacted them. They're waiting for you in the library."

Nathaniel took out a photograph from the box and he examined it carefully. It was a picture of a black crystal. The crystal was shattered from the inside, its edges were sharp as if it was attached to something and was roughly ripped apart.

He showed both Dean Tremaine and Jayson the photograph. "Any idea what this is?"

Dean Tremaine shook her head. "Not at all. It was found on the site of Lilly Snow, the first missing student. I didn't think much of it but the photographers must've thought it was important."

Jayson cleared his throat causing Dean Tremaine to look at him and he started to cast a spell,

"Love in life is what we've seen, Lost in fear when we are mean. Lose the hope and paint it green, Use my words to freeze this scene."

Dean Tremaine opened her mouth to speak but she didn't utter a sound...or a word. Instead, she stood motionless like a statue staring at the Witch.

Nathaniel noticed her statuette pose and glanced at Jayson, "Did you freeze her?"

Jayson dismissed his words, "She'll thaw out in five minutes and it'll give me a break from her perky attitude."

The Knight could tell there were many questions dancing around in Jayson's head, "What do you make of this case?"

"It's not making any sense yet. We have three missing students, five witnesses, an Urban Legend and a crystal. Something isn't right here and Dean Tremaine isn't going to help us in ways we need her to. You and I are going to have to split up."

"Where have I heard that before?" The Knight asked with a smile hoping the Witch would smile back but Jayson's mind was focused on the investigation at hand and he wasn't paying the joke any mind.

Nathaniel cleared his throat and agreed that was the best option "Sounds good. What would you like me to do?"

"I need you to take that picture of the Crystal to Haneltha's Magic Crystal Shop. She will know more about that crystal than anything else."

"Okay. What will you do?"

Jayson picked up the sheet containing the students' names and he showed it to the Knight. "I'm going to interview the Breakfast Club and see what they can tell me. If one of them is lying I'll be able to spot it."

Nathaniel once again nodded his head and in a blue light, he disappeared from the office.

Jayson let out a deep sigh of frustration.

If the Witch wanted to solve this case before the end of the day, he was going to have to take part in something he never enjoyed doing: socializing.

Chapter 8

[*Back In The Past*]

In The Echoes Kingdom:

Nathaniel entered his bedroom at the Echoes' castle and took off his leather doublet vest. He placed it on the back of a wooden chair located just a few feet away from his king sized bed.

The Prince's room was brightly lit with twelve flame lit torches bolted onto the stoned walls. After the long day the Prince had, he just wanted to snuff out the flames and fall into a deep slumber, but he couldn't. Something- someone\- was running rampant through his mind and he loved every second of it.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

A soft knocking caused the Prince to turn his attention over to a pair of large wooden doors, which led out to the balcony.

Only wearing his blue riding breeches with brown high boots and with his trusty sword still in its holster located on the right side of his hip, he walked toward the doors and pulled it open to be greeted by the black night sky and frigid Winter wind. He walked further onto the balcony to find a basket located on the ledge with a note on it.

The Prince looked around cautiously. He was met with green vines, which grew against the outside façade of his wall and straight across his eighth floor balcony was the amazing view of Sandston just a few miles away.

Nathaniel slowly placed his right hand on the handle of the sword as he approached the basket cautiously.

In the basket was a small note on top of a purple blanket, but strangely an aroma of Apple Pie danced around in his nostrils.

He took the note and read it to himself:

"Nathan, I hope this is an appropriate means of gratitude. Do not fret, this contains no Poppy Extract or poison. - Jayson"

Nathaniel pulled back the small blanket to find a golden, warm and freshly baked apple pie inside of it.

A smile spread across the Prince's face as he could imagine the struggle Jayson had to go through just baking it.

"Oh there you are Darling!" The voice belonged to a woman who stood by the doorway of Nathaniel's bedroom, hearing her voice he flinched and turned to her nervously.

She stopped dead in her tracks and couldn't believe the sight of Nathaniel standing in the frigid cold, shirtless!

"Darling it's frigid. You need to come in before you fall ill and-" She stopped speaking as she noticed the basket on the ledge. "What on Earth is that ghastly thing?"

"It's an Apple Pie." Nathaniel answered the beautiful woman. "It is a gift from a Witch I saved earlier."

"A Witch?!" the woman gasped. "Surely you are mad if you think I am going to let you take one bite of something a Witch made! They are as poor of bakers as they are poor in hygiene and beauty."

The woman was no older than twenty-seven, but her flawless features hid her age very well, anyone who came across her for the first time would assume she was in her early teens.

She wore a red ball gown embellished with beautiful Rubies. Her blonde hair was styled in a neat bun on her head and around her neck was an Echoes family heirloom; a snake like necklace embellished with Ruby and Emerald stones.

"I assure you Cassandra, this Witch is different. He is a great person that is just trying to find his place in this Realm. Away from the people who judge solely based on who he is."

"He is a Witch, darling, there is no turning a blind eye on that. He is no more of a menace than a cult of Vampires descending onto a group of low life whores. It's what they do."

Nathaniel had to admit, the analogy Cassandra said made no sense to him and he was one hundred percent certain, she, herself, had no idea what anything that came out of her own mouth meant. He smiled and took her hands in his.

"If it makes you feel better I will discard the pie."

She smiled and gazed into his eyes, "That would make me feel exceptionally well."

He nodded and gave the woman a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Now if you do not mind, please come indoors before you fall ill. My mother is arriving tomorrow for the wedding rehearsal and I want to make sure, when she meets my fiancé, she meets the healthy and strong Prince I agreed to marry. Not some sick peasant."

The Prince once again gave her a nod. She softly kissed his lips and placed a hand on his bare chest. "I love you Nathaniel."

"I love you too Ja-" he stopped short when he heard the words about to come out of his mouth and before Cassandra could sense something was wrong he quickly fixed the situation. "I love you too, just give me a few seconds to pray...then I'll come back in."

Cassandra smiled, turned on her heels and reentered the room closing the doors behind her.

The Prince let out a sigh of relief and ran his fingers through his hair.

"That was a close one." A high pitch voice was heard in the dark night.

"Yeah, any closer and she would have heard you confess your love for Jayson."

Nathaniel watched as three glowing lights-Red (Rojò), Blue (Azùla) and Green (Verde) - fluttered down in front of him and he looked back at the wooden doors quickly. "I don't love Jayson!" he stated returning back to face the Fairies and lowered his voice. "Two men cannot fall in love. That is forbidden. So please stop making up fictitious stories."

"The rules have been broken before." Rojò said.

"That is right." said Verde.

"You can't put rules on love." added Azùla.

Nathaniel rubbed his forehead in frustration as the Fairies started to have a conversation amongst themselves.

"Focus!" The Prince stated clapping his hands causing all three to remain silent. "I need you three to keep watch over Jayson."

"Because you like him?" asked the Red Fairy.

"Do not be stupid Rojò! Nathaniel doesn't 'like' the Witch...He loves him!" teased the Blue Fairy.

Nathaniel growled softly causing all three Fairies to once again stop speaking and he inhaled deeply. "Please, just keep an eye on him."

The Fairies agreed in unison and they fluttered away into the night sky.

The Prince glanced down at the pie, he waved his right hand over it and in a blue light, it disappeared.

He smiled to himself as he turned around and made his way toward the double doors. He pulled the doors open and reentered his warm bedroom, hoping to run into the Witch some time again.
Chapter 9

[*Present Day*]

Haneltha's Magic Crystal Shop:

Nathaniel pushed the door of the Magic Shop open and he felt a familiar chill run down his spine as he passed through the threshold. He was shocked to see the sun shining in the small town of Doole, but he forgot time between Realms differed.

While it's around 3:30am in the Mortal Realm, it's 12:20pm in the Farietalè Realm and 4:00pm here in the Magic Realm. He ignored the growling of his stomach as he wondered if he ate breakfast in the Mortal Realm and then lunch in the Farietalè Realm, if that's considered cheating on his diet.

It had been ages since he walked through the same door and saw the same various shapes of colorful crystals organized on the shelves by size, color, weight and Magical attribution.

He closed the door behind him and made his way toward the counter. The boutique wasn't filled with any customers shopping or guests frequenting the aisles in search of anything that caught their eyes; instead it was just the Knight.

Once at the counter, Nathaniel noticed a clear crystal heart in a box not far from the cash register. The clear crystal seemed to have soothed the Knight; it cleared his mind from the craziness he endured in the past couple of hours.

"Beautiful isn't it?" The question broke the Knight's concentration and he looked to find Haneltha standing by a curtain made up entirely of pink glass beads a few feet away from the counter.

The woman looked no older than 29 years old. She had shoulder length lavender colored hair, which was practically glowing due to her dark brown skin. She had two bright hazel eyes and wore a black form fitting dress. Her voice was smooth like velvet and she had an accent that the Knight had heard many times while he visited New York City years ago. He couldn't help but wonder if her family was the group of Witches that migrated here during the Dark Realm Wars in 1346 A.D.

She approached the counter as Nathaniel cleared his throat, "Yes, it is." He answered.

"I just got it in today. It is said to glow pink when two people who are destined to be together are in the same room and if it glows black, that means they are not meant to be. Sounds like a cliché I know, but I assure you it's quite romantic."

Nathaniel nodded. "I'm sorry to just drop in like this."

Haneltha smiled placing her hands on her hips. "Don't apologize, business never needs an appointment." She paused as an unsettling thought rushed into her mind. "Oh dear Goddess, are you here because the Kingdom is in trouble?"

Nathaniel quickly shook his head and met her gaze. "No not at all. I was actually sent by Jayson."

She let out a small gasp at the mention of the name of her old friend. "How is he? I've been trying to call him for two days now."

"He's been good." The Knight stated. "Agatha's passing hasn't really hit him yet. That or he's just super cold on the inside, since...you know."

The shop owner giggled and shook her head. "No he isn't one to hold his feelings in about anything. You should know that more than anyone."

"I'm actually here, hoping you could tell me what this is." Nathaniel placed the image of the crystal on the glass counter, slid it to Haneltha and she wasted no time analyzing the image.

The Knight watched as the woman's hazel eyes widened at the sight of the picture. "Where did you get this?" She asked nervously not taking her eyes off of the image.

"From a case Jayson and I are working on. It was taken from a scene where a student went missing; he was hoping you could identify it."

"It's a shard from an Enchanted Rock."

Nathaniel's eyebrows lowered, "What kind of Enchanted Rock?"

"One that shouldn't be in this Realm or let alone any Realm."

The words caught Nathaniel off guard and he looked at Haneltha as he asked in shock, "It's a Dark Magic Crystal?"

The Store Owner nodded her head at his question, "I'm afraid so. I don't know how it got to this Realm but if it's here, it isn't a good thing. Do you know where this crystal is now?"

Nathaniel thought about the question for a few seconds, considering the image was taken on the property of Hallows High he knew exactly where it could be. "The crystal would have to still be at the school."

Haneltha clapped her hands together joyfully. "Oooh goody! I came across a spell, a long time ago which pertains to this subject. Let me see if I can find it! I'll be right back."

Before Nathaniel could get a word out, Haneltha joyfully walked through the beaded curtain, which led to her stock room full of various magical items and spell books. All she had to do was go through each book and find the spell she remembered she saw many years ago.

Nathaniel tapped his fingers lightly on the counter when the door of the boutique opened. He turned around hoping it wasn't a customer that recognized him because the last thing he needed was someone asking him questions he really didn't want to answer. But to his surprise- and regret- it wasn't a stranger...it was Valerius!

The Knight let out a gasp and he looked at the man entering the store. "Val! What are you doing here?"

The 5'11 man had light vanilla skin, short rusty auburn hair, a chiseled face with sharp cheekbones –the kind that any Mortal could get from either surgery or editing their photos-, light emerald eyes and a clean-shaven face. He wore a brown leather v-neck vest that showed off his waxed chest. His brown breeches had a sword in its holster, which was strapped to the left side of his hip, and his eyes were fixed on the Knight.

"I was running errands for your uncle. He ordered a few crystals for this weekend's ball. He wants to make sure the castle is protected from any Dragons." Valerius stated as he walked over to the Knight.

King Alejandro didn't fear many things, except now he could add Dragons to the list. Nathaniel deeply regretted showing him a documentary about the beautiful gigantic and carnivorous creatures a few nights ago. To be fair, it wasn't to scare the King but instead to educate him on the many creatures that inhabit the Magic Realm.

Valerius walked over to the Knight and kissed him softly on the lips. "Where have you been? Your uncle said you were on a mission. What kind of mission are you on? Is it dangerous?"

The Knight smiled shaking his head as he softly took Valerius' hands in his. "It's not dangerous at all and I'm fine. I just can't talk much about it at the moment."

Valerius had known the Knight for more than ten years now, he was nothing more than an apprentice to Nathaniel during his time at the Knight's Court. But as the man grew older he started to discover he had feelings for Nathaniel Echoes and one night during an ice storm both men were trapped inside of the sparring arena; so Valerius decided to act on his feelings and confess everything to Nathaniel. To his surprise, the Knight felt the same way about him and they made love for the first time that night uniting their bodies and hearts as one.

Ever since that day, the entire Realm and the Echoes Kingdom, knew Valerius and Nathaniel were together. Of course, within those six years, King Alejandro had been pushing the idea of marriage onto both men, but they weren't budging.

Valerius understood what being in a relationship with Nathaniel would entail: numerous nights where Nathaniel wouldn't be home but instead on a mission protecting the Magic Realm and the future, for both he and Valerius; so marriage wasn't something he wanted anytime soon. But then again, he didn't know the actual truth on why Nathaniel wasn't pushing the idea of marriage. That was a secret the Knight didn't want anyone else to find out.

Valerius ran his fingers through the Knight's hair and gazed into his piercing eyes. "I love you and I know whatever mission you're on now, is one that will protect us and our future. So thank you."

Haneltha walked back through the curtain and paused observing the scene between both men seconds away from kissing each other again.

"Uh...Am I interrupting something?" She asked.

Nathaniel flinched, cleared his throat and glanced at the woman as if she was his mother catching him in a compromising position.

Valerius smiled and addressed her. "Not at all, I was just leaving." He turned to Nathaniel and placed his hands on the Knight's cheeks, "Come back to me in one peace. I love you." He leaned in and gently placed a kiss on the Knight's lips. In an aquamarine light, Valerius vanished from the store.

"He seems pretty happy to know you're spending time with Jayson." Stated Haneltha with a smirk.

"That's because he doesn't know. And I'd like to keep it that way."

Haneltha glared at the Knight, "And does Jayson know the truth? I mean, I assume you went to find him after Agatha's service to confess how you lied to him about-"

"Did you find the spell?" The Knight interrupted making it clear as crystal he wanted to change the subject. His response was very obvious to Haneltha that he didn't tell Jayson the truth. A mistake that Nathaniel will regret in the near future, she was sure of it.

She nodded her head and handed him a sheet of paper. He looked it over in confusion; it was written in Latin- a language he neglected to learn growing up.

Haneltha leaned forward on the glass display and said, "That spell will take away whatever power the crystal has."

"You think the crystal possesses power?"

"All crystals do." Haneltha stated. "Since the one in the image you showed came from the Dark Realm, there is no doubt in my body that it has some kind of dark power to it. When you find that crystal, it is imperative that you get only Jayson to cast the spell. A Witch can only say that spell for it to truly work."

The Knight thanked Haneltha for her help, he couldn't be anymore grateful at the amazing job she did and he turned around to make his way toward the door when Haneltha quickly called out, "Be careful and tell Jayson to call me when this is all over!"

Nathaniel told her he would make sure Jayson called her and he exited the boutique.

She watched as the Knight made his way down the street and she turned her attention over to the heart shaped crystal which began to glow black. "If you won't tell Jayson the truth, then I will" Haneltha said to herself.

***

Back at Hallow's High:

The following notes were taken by Jayson during his interrogation with the eyewitnesses aka the students:

"Eyewitness #1- Cindy Charming: 17 years old.

She identifies as a "Future Princess". She claims her and her "bff" Angela Uma, confronted Lilly Snow about a rose she received during her 8th period Magic 101 Class. Apparently, Cindy's brother has a crush on Lilly and Cindy was starting to suspect that Lilly was seeing someone else-as if I truly care about teenage drama. She swears on 'all the designer bags in the world', that she didn't do any harm to Lilly. I believe her. She may be vain, spoiled and her teeth are whiter than snow; but she is a self-proclaimed Princess who doesn't need a scandal like this to ruin her chances of getting the crown.

Eyewitness #2- Angela Uma: 17 years old.

She proclaims herself 'Queen of Hallows High'- a fact I'm pretty sure her "bff" Cindy would quickly shoot down. She was hesitant at first to talk about the night when Lilly Snow went missing, but after a few seconds of her brushing her hair- as if she was a cat grooming itself; she decided to speak willingly. Apparently, Lilly Snow was Cindy's best friend since kindergarten but they stopped being "besties" when Cindy's brother confessed his feelings for Lilly. I don't think she did anything to Lilly at all. Angela reminds me of a domesticated turkey...not very intelligent.

Eyewitness #3- Augustine Kui: 18 years old.

He identifies as a "Vegan"\- he apparently doesn't know what kind of species he is...Anyway, he is a regular at a local Pub where students of Hallows High attend after school. He has seen Ariel Sebastian many times there. He describes her as a "Cute girl that keeps to herself". He claims he never saw her flirting with anyone there. Until one day, he saw her talking to a Pig like fellow. When asked if this "Pig Like Fellow" has a name, Augustine gave me a shrug. So now, my attention is on this "Pig Like Fellow"; which shouldn't be hard to find...[cue the sarcasm].

Eyewitness #4- Maxx Sheppers: 18 years old.

He identifies himself as a "Future Ogre Killer" but according to him it means "I'm only going to kill like the really, really, really, really, really bad Ogres. Not the good ones like Shrek."....He claims that he approached Ariel Sebastian one day, a few months ago, and he offered to buy her a drink but she rejected him citing, "I don't associate myself with spawns of Ogre hunters". And he said he quickly left her alone. Considering how cocky he was and how long he kept on flexing his muscles- because apparently to him, me being Gay meant I'm attracted to any man I set my eyes on- he doesn't look the type to kidnap anyone. To annoy someone? Oh definitely!"

"Self Note: So far these witnesses are not actually witnesses at all since they didn't see Lilly Snow and Ariel Sebastian get taken. It appears once again Dean Tremaine's disorganization has interfered with this investigation. I'm starting to suspect that maybe "chirpy", "preppy" and "prissy" Dean Tremaine is an act. I'll speak to her right after I talk to the last 'witness', Jimmy Kanter...who is already ten minutes late."

Jayson closed his notebook, sighed and rubbed his forehead.

It was less than an hour since he reunited with his ex-husband, found out Agatha was murdered and he survived an attack by a Demonic Assassin. He was exhausted, hungry and now here he was in Hallows High, interviewing clueless students about their missing peers, who none of them actually saw get taken!

The Witch waited a few more seconds for the last eyewitness to arrive but so far no one named Jimmy showed up to the library and Jayson really needed something to eat, if he was going to continue with the investigation.

He rose up from the uncomfortable yellow plastic chair and grabbed his notebook; just as he turned around to leave, he saw a young teenager with a pig snout enter the library nervously scratching his arms.

"Hi, you must be Jimmy." The Witch said with a sincere smile on his face- a trick he picked up a few years ago in an acting class he took for fun.

If anyone could write a story about Jayson, they would say how the Witch had a 'resting Witch Face', which meant he would at times glare at people and seem highly unapproachable. So he made sure to take some acting classes in the 80's to help seem approachable for his clients and anyone else who might need his services.

Jimmy nodded nervously and he avoided eye contact with the stranger completely, "Dean Tr-Tremaine said you wanted to speak with me?"

Jayson nodded slowly, "Yes. I'm a...let's just say a Magical Private Investigator, and I'm here because a few of your peers have gone missing. And I was told you were a witness when your friend Dean Deckler disappeared."

"He-He-He isn't my fr-fr-fr-friend."

The teenager's nerves were getting the best of him as he started to think back at how Dean bullied him throughout the years and made his life a miserable Hell, the last thing he would ever call Dean would be a friend.

Jayson watched the teen's solemn expression and he remembered the testimony Augustine Kui gave about Ariel Sebastian speaking to a "Pig Like Fellow" the day she went missing and based on the erratic behavior of Jimmy; Jayson knew the student was definitely connected to the disappearances.

"Jimmy..." began the Witch, "-Did you also speak to Ariel Sebastian the same day she disappeared?"

Jimmy nervously backed away from the Witch shaking his head. "Le-Le-Leave me alone!"

"I'm not here to hurt you Jimmy, I'm here to help you. I just need to understand what's going on."

Jayson extended his right hand to show the teenager that he didn't mean any harm but Jimmy slapped his hand away and stepped back slowly. "No! You-You-You're lying! Yo-You're here to punish me."

The Witch shook his head. "Absolutely not. I'm here to help your school. If you're in trouble I need to know."

Jimmy chuckled shaking his head. "N-No one can help me now except him."

"Him?" Jayson asked. "Who's him?"

Jimmy ran out of the library causing Jayson to let out a deep frustrated sigh. "This is why I hate teenagers."

The last thing Jayson wanted to do was run through the halls of Hallows High like a mad man on the loose, especially since he was an adult and someone might get the wrong impression of his intentions if they caught him running after a teenager.

Jayson ran out of the library and stopped as he saw Jimmy standing a few feet away from him. "Listen kid, I am not the enemy here. I just need to know what is going on!" He stated trying his hardest not to come across as rude or dangerous; but that didn't stop Jimmy from feeling belittled.

The teenager angrily stomped his right foot on the ground sending a huge gust of wind hurling toward Jayson. The gust of wind knocked the Witch off his feet and unto the ground with a loud Thud!

"Agh!" The Witch groaned out in pain as he landed roughly on his back.

Jimmy knew what was going to happen next. He had heard stories about Witches and the dangerous powers they possess when they were angry. While Jayson didn't look quite intimidating to the teen, Jimmy still couldn't take a chance.

The teen watched nervously as Jayson got up slowly from the floor and he knew there was only one person who could handle the Witch, "Rowan No End. Rowan No End. Rowan No End!"

Jayson watched in confusion as in a black smoky light, Rowan No End appeared before him. The Jester giggled at Jayson whose eyes widened in shock. "Hello! Oooooh!" The Jester smelled the sweet aroma of power emitting from the Witch on the ground and he turned to face Jimmy who stared at him nervously. "Well look at that, it took three tries but you finally bagged me a Witch. Good job, kiddo."

Rowan's black smile revealed stained razor sharp teeth, while the aroma of Brimstone and rust filled the air.

The Jester clapped his hands happily letting out a high-pitched giggle as he turned to Jayson. "It seems you and I are going to have a lot to discuss."

"Ah crap." Jayson shook his head really regretting not finishing that cup of coffee he left in his loft earlier.

Chapter 10

[*Back In The Past*]

January 27th, 1519 A.D

The night sky was peaceful yet haunting-at least that's what Nathaniel thought as he and his betrothed walked side by side through the courtyard of the Echoes Castle.

Nathaniel looked dashing in his black leather doublet vest, black leather pants and of course his clean-shaven face-which made Cassandra fall in love with him all over again.

Cassandra's blonde hair flowed down her back like the sad branches of a Weeping Willow tree. She wore a beige damsel dress that didn't hide her curvaceous figure unlike most of the oversized dresses the women throughout the Realm would wear, whenever they were married into royalty.

"I spoke to the local florist and she is excited to deliver the fair amount of Baby Breaths you requested." Cassandra said breaking the concentration of Nathaniel, whose thoughts were occupied elsewhere.

"Hmm?" Nathaniel asked realizing she had said something.

The Prince's fiancée stopped walking and she placed her hands on her hips clearly irritated. "Oh Bloody Hell Nathaniel! Have you not been listening to anything I've said? Our wedding is tomorrow. Are you not at all excited about this day?"

Nathaniel stopped walking and he turned to her. "Of course I am, my Love."

"You have been distracted a lot lately and I'm starting to think you're getting a case of cold feet."

A smile spread across the Prince's face, "I may have big feet my Love, but they are not cold and they will be at the altar in front of the whole Kingdom tomorrow as I make you my wife and Princess of the Echoes Kingdom."

Cassandra returned the smile and kissed her fiancé's lips softly. "Good!" She pulled away feeling like she was on Cloud 9. "Now remember, tonight is the night where we do not sleep in the same room. It is my family tradition that the Bride and Groom-who have saved their purity until marriage, must share themselves only on their wedding night."

Nathaniel nodded. "Sounds like that can be arranged and tradition is very important."

"Exactly." Replied Cassandra, "So I will be occupying the guest house. I invited a few of my closest friends...well not my real ones. Apparently, Sirena lost her voice, poor unfortunate soul, so I had to call in Rapunzel to take her place. That alone is disgusting since Rapunzel and I haven't spoken in years since she decided I wasn't good enough to date Prince Charming before Cinderella got her grubby and dusty hands on him."

Nathaniel couldn't keep up with the drama between a majority of the women who lived in the various Kingdoms or surrounding towns, so he just gave his fiancée a nod as if he was truly engaged in the situation when in actuality he wasn't.

Cassandra opened her mouth to say something when Red, Green and Blue Fairies began to flutter around her face. She swung her hands swatting the Fairies away. "Ugh! These wretched pests!"

"No!" The Prince shouted, "They're not pests they're my friends."

Cassandra glared at her fiancé. "Darling, People are friends. Fairies are nothing more than Woodland creatures who end up being digested by birds."

"Did she just call us pests?" Verde asked causing Rojò and Azùla to nod.

"Yes she did!" Azùla replied angrily.

"I will turn her into a Beetle and eat her from the inside out!" Rojò stated angrily fluttering around the Prince's head.

Nathaniel quickly deescalated the situation by taking his fiancée's soft and tender hands into his and gazed into her eyes. "These Fairies are guests in our wedding and-"

"Guests?" Cassandra asked pulling her hands away. "Absolutely not! Magical creatures do not deserve to be at my wedding! Especially little pests with wings!"

"That's it! Hold her down and I'll turn her into a bug!" Rojò proclaimed.

Nathaniel thanked Goddess, no one could understand them but him. "Look, I know how you feel about Magical Beings, but communicating with Fairies is an ability my brother taught me before he died. I always said that I would practice that ability and keep his memory alive."

"Awww Darling." She caressed his right cheek. "That is the most useless ability I have ever encountered in my life. No wonder your brother's dead. He woke up one day and realized how ridiculous those abilities were and he croaked." She leaned in and gave the Prince's lips a soft kiss. "Now go and talk to your little pests and disinvite them. I already gave in to you when you wanted to dedicate a segment in our wedding to the Orphan choir; I'm not folding for these creatures."

Cassandra flipped her hair back and walked down the courtyard making her way toward the guesthouse.

The Red Fairy once again fluttered around the Prince's head. "I'm gonna turn her insides into mushrooms!"

Nathaniel shook his head. "Rojò, don't. She didn't mean what she said. She's just having a hard time dealing with Magical Beings. I'm sure she'll come around."

"If not I can help her get there a little faster."

The Prince smiled. "So what brings you guys here?"

The three Fairies exchanged glances with one another, not mentally prepared to tell the Prince the devastating news but he had to hear it eventually.

The Blue Fairy fluttered around the Prince, answering him. "It appears Jayson found out about your upcoming nuptials."

"What?!" Nathaniel gasped in disbelief. The news of his engagement wasn't something that was on his mind when he met the Witch. Then again, the fact he was in a relationship escaped the Prince's mind when he laid eyes on the Witch.

The Prince sat down on a marble bench located just a few inches away from where the statue of his brother used to be, before Cassandra made him move it so it didn't distract the wedding guests. "How did he find out?"

The Green Fairy sat on the Prince's right shoulder. "Through Grapevine. That's actually a person. Apparently Grapevine knows a person who is friends with Jack & Jill who is frenemies with Rapunzel and Gretel, and they were invited to Cassandra's pre-wedding party."

This wasn't at all how the Prince wanted Jayson to find out the truth, then again he didn't think he would ever tell the Witch the truth, as crazy as that sounded.

The Red Fairy-Rojò- fluttered and sat on the Prince's other shoulder. "We weren't able to find him."

"You should look for him." The Blue Fairy-Azùla- stated fluttering in front of the Prince.

"No. Absolutely not!" Nathaniel stated rising up from the bench. "It's better this way."

"Better? Are you insane? You love Jayson. Your face lights up whenever you say his name. You can't just give up."

"Don't you see I have no choice? I am a man and it is written in law that a man must fall in love with and marry a Woman!"

"That's a bogus law!" Azùla stated, "No one should be forced into a loveless marriage if they don't want to be."

"And you can't force yourself to fall in love with someone if you don't love them. That's insane." Stated Rojò.

"I'm not going to go over this with you. Not here and not now. I have to marry Cassandra."

"Why? It's clear as day that you don't love her."

"Yeah!" Azùla interrupted. "You love Jayson."

"That's just it! I can't love Jayson! 'A man must only marry a woman of his choosing'. That's what the laws state. That's what the belief in this Realm is."

"Forgive me for being frank." Verde added. "But the laws of the Kingdom also states that the man must marry a woman he loves. It's obvious to us three, that you are in love with Jayson and not stupid Cassandra."

Nathaniel opened his mouth to defend himself but he couldn't. The Fairies were right, his heart longed only for Jayson. Ever since he met the Witch, he felt a connection that he couldn't describe into words. "Whether I love Cassandra or not it doesn't matter. This has to be my Happily Ever After. I cannot upset my father."

"Sounds to me like this is your father's Happily Ever After rather than yours." Rojò stated causing the Prince to glare at them.

"This conversation is over. I have to check on the decorations in the Grand Hall and get settled in for bed."

Prince Nathaniel turned his back on all three Fairies.

Verde fluttered over to the Prince and softly asked, "Can you honestly say you love Cassandra more than you love Jayson? Just answer that question honestly and we will leave you alone."

The Prince bowed his head and replied, "A man must fall in love with a Woman."

And in a blue light, the Prince disappeared, not wanting to endure anymore of the conversation and clearly never wanting to face the truth.
Chapter 11

[*Present Day*]

In an undisclosed location:

The sound of thunder caused Jayson to open his eyes and he discovered something quite ridiculous.

He was seated on a cold metallic chair and found that, his arms, legs and upper body were tied to the chair with rope. The rope was tight enough for him to breathe but sadly it was too tight for him to break free out of. The room he was held captive in looked like a cave; flame lit torches were the only means of light as the flames flickered and revealed a large cage made up of bamboo sticks which was located in the far right corner.

Inside of the cage were three students: two females and one male. Jayson knew they had to be Lilly Snow, Ariel Sebastian and Dean Deckler.

The male student looked at Jayson and shook his head, "If you're the cavalry sent here to save us, then you suck!"

"I apologize for getting kidnapped by some psychopath!" The Witch snapped back as he tried to move his arms but it was no use. He stopped wiggling and looked at the three students in the cage. "Is anyone hurt?"

"No." Lilly and Ariel answered quickly.

"Nah we aren't hurt." Dean stated. "He said he wasn't going to kill us. He just wants to find a Witch to help him get power."

Jayson lowered his eyebrows and looked at the Jock. "Power? How the hell does he plan on doing that?"

"By killing you!" Rowan sung as he jumped out from behind the chair causing all four of the people in the cave to flinch.

The Jester clapped his hands happily; he pulled out a small black dagger from the inside of his tights and laughed.

Jayson glared at the annoying Being and rolled his eyes. "Well, good luck with that."

The Jester twirled around in a circle as if he was a ballet dancer, "Luck is for Mortals. I have a strong belief that I will kill you. But first-" He stopped twirling, leaned in closer to Jayson's face, and held the tip of the dagger against the Witch's right cheek. "- I need your blood."

The scent of Brimstone tickled Jayson's nostrils as if the air was smothering him with it and he knew this man, Being or whatever Rowan was; smelled like Dark Magic and the scent was making Jayson very nauseated.

"Why the hell would you need my blood?"

"To bring the Dark Realm back, silly!"

Most people tied to a chair with a psychotic Jester pressing a sharp dagger against their face, would be nervous and try their hardest to comply with the psycho...but Jayson isn't like most people.

A few seconds after Rowan finished speaking, Jayson started to laugh causing Rowan to frown in anger.

"This isn't funny!" Rowan stated as he stomped his feet on the ground like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "My name is Rowan No End and I am the Court Jester of the Vanderson Kingdom. The King of the Dark Realm was ferocious and fearless. That was until one faithful night in September; Agatha invaded the Kingdom. She tried to imprison everyone in the Kingdom as if we were all fishes in a pond and she was a bear. I, along with five other Dark Beings, were given orders from the King himself, to run. Unfortunately, we didn't get very far and we were imprisoned inside of... a crystal rock. Somehow, I ended up North and was found by that Pig snout vermin named Jimmy. I figured since he was a loser with clearly bad skin that he and I could team up. I gave him direct orders, to find me a Witch and when he finds that Witch he was to call my name three times. But instead, he's been using me as a pawn, so he could seek revenge on his bullies."

The words echoed inside the minds of both Lilly and Ariel. They had no idea Jimmy viewed them as bullies.

Lilly met him at the library, he asked her out on a date and she politely declined and Ariel was asked out as well by him and she politely declined too; but they didn't decline based on Jimmy's looks. Truth was, Ariel and Lilly have been in a relationship with each other for eight months!

Both young women looked at each other in remorse about Jimmy feeling the way he did and how angry he must've been to summon an entity to kidnap them.

Jayson once again gave the man a smirk, "So in other words, you're Jimmy's Genie in a bottle? Tell me, did he rub you the right way?"

In a fit of rage, Rowan slapped Jayson in the face causing everyone in the cage to flinch out of fear. "LEAVE THE JOKES TO ME!"

A small drop of blood dripped from the corner of the Witch's mouth, he licked it as if it was a small drop of ice cream on his face and he smirked as Rowan continued on telling his story.

"I thought for sure this...Jimmy kid was sent to rescue me from the rock. He's a pathetic loser that will never learn his body odor is worse than his pig snout." The Jester let out another giggle and he licked his black painted lips meeting Jayson's glare. "But once I laid eyes on you, well I knew it was a match made in Heaven. Why? Well because I have the Jayson Santos in my possession. The most powerful Witch to ever grace the Magic Realm. The only Witch to have both the blood of a Dark and Pure Witch running throughout his veins." The Jester softly caressed the Witch's right arm in a creepy matter that made Jayson wince in disgust.

Jayson bowed his head smiling clearly enjoying the compliments the Jester was giving him. "It's true, and it's also that same tainted blood that you'll never get."

Rowan tiptoed and twirled gracefully as if there was ballet music playing somewhere in the cave. "All I want from you is your Magic. Once I digest you, your Magic will be mine and I will be strong enough to not only free myself from that blasted Rock, but also to kill Jimmy. Then I can hunt down every single Witch and devour their Magic, causing me to be powerful enough to face Agatha who destroyed the Kingdom."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, buddy, but Agatha's dead. This is probably why you were able to come out of that rock for some time. Now that's she dead, so is her Magic."

Rowan was satisfied to hear his old nemesis was dead but it ruined his chances of going through with the plan he had concocted during his free time.

"Sh-she's dead?" He asked sadly and Jayson nodded his head. "Oh...well in that case...One less task!"

Without any warning, Rowan tightened his grip on the dagger and stabbed it into Jayson's right thigh.

"AGH!" The Witch screamed out in agony as Rowan happily clapped his hands together enjoying the scene.

Jayson looked at the teenagers in the cage and through his pain he shouted, "Cover your ears!"

All three of the students nodded their heads not entirely sure why he wanted them to do that, but they didn't bother to question him. They placed their hands over their ears nervously and Jayson gave Rowan a smirk.

The Witch inhaled deeply and let out his Ultrasonic scream. Rowan was completely caught off guard, forgetting the specific ability Jayson had which made him a threat to many people in the Magic Realm.

The scream caused Rowan to drop to his knees and he covered his ears as his brain felt like it was on fire.

Jayson stopped screaming and he quickly recited:

"Do not murder was their rule,

But who cares when in a duel?

Ice won't melt when it is cool,

Take us back to Hallows school."

In a red blinding light, both Jayson and the cage containing the imprisoned students disappeared from the cave, leaving behind Rowan who angrily jumped to his feet and shouted, "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!!"
Chapter 12

[*Back in The Past*]

January 28th, 1519 AD

The Morning of Prince Nathaniel's Wedding:

Fliers were distributed all throughout towns and villages that were neighbors to the Echoes Kingdom in Sandston.

These fliers read: "Today, Prince Nathaniel Weds Cassandra Price!" and everyone was excited.

King Leon and Queen Hermana decided to do the unexpected and they invited everyone in the surrounding towns to take part in the joyous occasion.

Beggars, Blacksmiths, Swordsmen, Barmaids and even local Performers, not only received invitations but they were given customized formal attire tailored by the Royal seamstress and horse drawn carriages so they could arrive at the castle in a timely manner.

Prince Nathaniel couldn't be any more pleased with how well his parents were taking his wedding to Cassandra...Even though it was obvious he wasn't as excited as his parents were for the event.

He gazed out of the window of his bedroom, watching as hordes of horse drawn carriages organized in two lines began to walk through the gates of the castle.

While some guests had to wait in their respective carriages to gallop into the Kingdom, a pair of Dragons performed aerial tricks in the sky, happily entertaining the guests.

The Prince turned his back toward the window and approached a large head to toe mirror, he shuddered at his own reflection confused by the man he was looking at.

All throughout the Prince's life, he was a man that didn't seek approval from others. If he felt something was right in his heart he would act on it not caring how others viewed him, but today of all days he lost sight of that brave man.

"Knock! Knock!" a voice called out from the other side of the Prince's bedroom door.

The voice belonged to King Leon and it was a voice Nathaniel didn't want to hear just yet.

"Is it safe to come in?" the King asked.

No! Nathaniel thought to himself but he cleared his throat and replied, "Yes!"

The large wooden door opened and a man no taller than 5'10 entered the room. He had black colored hair, dark emerald eyes and light caramel skin. On his head he wore a golden turban embellished with rubies and emeralds, he had on his Royal fur coat, black riding breeches, a black and gold doublet vest and black knee high boots.

He smiled at his son's attire. "The rumors are true. You can clean up."

The Prince smiled rolling his eyes.

The Prince's attire was different than his father's. Not only was Nathaniel's face clean-shaven and having no sign of a beard, mustache, goatee or any other facial hairstyle that made Cassandra cringe in disgust, but his black hair was neatly slicked back.

His attire consisted of a black and gold tunic vest, underneath the vest, he wore a white cotton long sleeve shirt, he originally wanted to wear no shirt underneath the Tunic because he would be wearing the Echoes' Royal Coat over it and he would feel excessively hot, but Cassandra was against that idea.

The Prince wore black breeches with 24 karat gold seams and of course his black knee high boots, which was the proper attire worn by Royal Men in the Magic Realm.

"Thank you Father. It's not every day I get married and seek to wear something that satisfies my bride to be." He began to scratch at his chest gently. "No matter how uncomfortable this material feels."

King Leon let out a chuckle and he entered the bedroom closing the door behind him.

"Son, when I married your mother I too had to endure a lot of uncomfortable things. One of which was this Kingdom. Your mother being the Princess had this Royal thing under control. Me? Oh no. I was more awkward than an Ogre befriending a Mule."

Both men laughed but it was clear Nathaniel's laugh came from a more nervous state of mind.

The King reached his right hand into the right pocket of his Royal coat smiling at his son. "On the morning of your mother and I's wedding day, my father gave me a ring to give to her. This ring is an heirloom of the men in our family and it is said to bring good luck and fortune to the person we choose to give it to on our wedding day."

He withdrew his hand and showed the Prince a silver ring embellished with a Purple Amethyst stone.

"Father." The Prince gasped in fascination. "It's beautiful."

The King nodded. "My great, great, great grandfather made it from an Amethyst stone he discovered while he was camping out during the Great Magic War. It's yours to give to the man you love."

Nathaniel took the ring and felt a cold chill consume his body. He let the words sink into his mind and he looked at his father as his own heart skipped a beat.

"Wait." Nathaniel said calmly. "Y-You know?"

King Leon smirked at the Prince and placed his hands behind his own back as he walked over to his son. "For a few days now. Kyleson mentioned you ran off to help someone that day in the market and ever since then you've come home with a smile on your face. A smile that not even Cassandra is responsible for. I assume it has to do with this male Witch named Jayson."

Nathaniel's eyes widened in complete shock. "How do you know his name?"

"You think Kyleson is the only Guard I hired to keep an eye out on you? I have eyes everywhere. And they told me you are smitten with this young man."

"But that's the thing Father, I can't fall in love with him. The laws of the Kingdom states-"

"Those laws were created in a time where Trolls ruled the Magic Realm and Magical Beings were enslaved. Times have progressed as did the Realm."

King Leon could see the fear written all over his son's face, he placed his right hand on his son's left shoulder and smiled warmly at him. "Love is a confusing yet powerful thing but it is never wrong. Whenever you're around Cassandra you aren't happy. I've witnessed her drain any ounce of positivity from you with her presence, like a Vampire feeding on the blood of a local Wench."

The Prince shook his head as his eyes began to water. "But Father, I must marry Cassandra in order to maintain this Kingdom's Happily Ever After."

"You are to marry the person you love, when the time is right. That is a Happily Ever After."

Prince Nathaniel looked back down at the ring. "What about what the other Kingdoms will think? What about what they'll say?"

"What does your heart say, son? Does it want you to go downstairs and marry that dreadful woman? Or does it want you to find Jayson and tell him how you feel?"

That was all Nathaniel needed to hear in order to make his mind up. He was only marrying Cassandra to please the Kingdom and his father, but hearing his father tell him he didn't need to marry someone strictly for others, made him dive into his heart more and his heart was yearning for Jayson.

The Prince looked at his father and nodded his head, "I have to find him and tell him how I feel."

"Yes!" The King shouted happily.

"But I don't even know where he is! Verde, Azùla and Rojò told me he found out about the wedding and he hasn't been seen anywhere."

The King withdrew a small black pouch from his left pocket, he handed it to his son and Nathaniel looked at it in confusion. "This is Pixie Dust, it's stronger than Fairy Dust. Sprinkle it somewhere and think of Jayson then presto, he should appear in front of you."

The Prince grabbed his black coat, took the pouch placing it in his right pocket and he stopped in his tracks once he heard the laughter of people coming from the courtyard.

He turned to his father slowly, "What about the wedding? Everyone travelled a great distance to be here."

King Leon smiled warmly, "They came here to get a feast and celebrate. They will get a feast and celebrate their Prince, finding true love."

The Prince hugged his father tightly thanking him for being understanding and accepting of his true feelings. He thanked his father again and ran toward the bedroom door quickly opening it; he stopped near the threshold turning around once more. "What about Cassandra?"

"She'll be upset but the Guards will escort her out, even if it's against her own will."

Nathaniel knew Cassandra wouldn't go down without a fight, especially now that she would be losing all the glory a Queen would get, but he didn't care. He didn't love her, therefore she wasn't on his mind.

He waved to his father and ran out the bedroom, jolting down the corridor.

Prince Nathaniel needed to find Jayson and tell him everything no matter what...he just hoped the Witch felt the same way about him.
Chapter 13

[*Present Day*]

Back at the Library of Hallow's High:

"What do you mean he's gone?!" Nathaniel asked angrily as Dean Tremaine handed Jimmy a cup of water.

"We had a little...um incident." Dean Tremaine said still smiling.

Jimmy took a sip of the water and nervously looked at the Knight.

"What kind of incident?"

Jimmy swallowed some of the water and he got up from the chair. "I-I-I thought Ja-Ja-Ja-Jayson was here to take me away because I'm the one that has been conjuring Rowan. I got scared so I-I-I- called for him and he-he-he took Ja-Ja-Jayson."

Nathaniel leaned in towards the student and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, "Where the hell did he take him?!"

Dean Tremaine nervously tried to calm down the Knight, "Mr. Echoes please calm down!"

"Absolutely not!" The Knight shouted angrily.

Jimmy watched in fear as the Knight's eyes flashed red. It only lasted for a few seconds but it was enough time for the student to know something sinister lived within the Knight.

"I know you're upset Mr. Echoes, but you can't harm a student, we don't have insurance for that and-"

Dean Tremaine's words were interrupted when in a red light the cage full of the missing students and Jayson appeared in the middle of the library causing Dean Tremaine, Nathaniel and Jimmy to look at them in shock.

"Jayson!" Nathaniel released his grip on the student and he ran over to the Witch still tied to the chair.

The first thing the Knight noticed was the dagger's handle poking out of the Witch's right thigh and he quickly yanked the dagger out causing Jayson to scream, "Son of a bitch!"

Dean Tremaine took out a blue diamond wand, she waved it over the cage causing the locked door to open, and all three students walked out happy-for the first time- to be back at school.

She turned to Jayson and waved her wand once again causing the ropes that bound the Witch to the chair, to disappear.

"Are you okay?" Nathaniel asked as Jayson quickly got up from the chair, his wound healing in a red light and he gave the Knight a nod.

"I'm fine. " Jayson smirked. "Nothing I couldn't handle." He turned to Jimmy who nervously looked at him fearful of what the Witch would do to him. "Do you still have that crystal you found?"

"I-I-I do-do." Jimmy dug inside of his khaki pants and showed Jayson the black crystal rock.

"Haneltha gave me this." Nathaniel handed the spell to the Witch and Jayson quickly read the words to himself.

After a few seconds, the Witch nodded his head and looked at Jimmy, "I need you to conjure Rowan."

As if it was rehearsed, Ariel, Lilly, Dean Tremaine, Dean Deckler and Nathaniel shouted in unison, "WHAT?!"

"Trust me. This is the only way."

Jimmy had caused enough trouble and the last thing he wanted was to make Jayson any angrier than he did by almost getting him killed.

The teen nodded his head and he let out a soft sigh as he began to recite, "Rowan No End...Rowan No End...Rowan No End!"

Not wanting to be caught off guard, Nathaniel withdrew his sword and held the handle tightly waiting for whomever or whatever was coming.

In a gust of wind, Rowan No End appeared in the library and pointed his boney right index finger at Jimmy. "You're really starting to piss me off, kid."

Jayson looked at the paper and began to recite the spell:

"Tenebras non accipiunter hic,

Utere cum minus ut interficias obymbratio,

His verbis beatus per timorem occidere.

Tenebras non accipiunter hic!"

"Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Roman's screams were met with painful agony that he had never felt before. He tried to run away but his body went numb then limp and in a black light, he disappeared into the crystal.

Jayson grabbed the crystal from Jimmy, threw it on the ground and stomped on it shattering it into pieces.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief excited the nightmare was finally over and they wouldn't have to deal with Rowan No End anymore.

While everyone was relieved, Jimmy felt disgusted and angry for what he did. He didn't mean to hurt anyone and most of all he didn't mean to almost get anyone killed.

Jayson turned to face Jimmy and gave him a sincere smile, "I know how tough high school can be. Unbelievably I was in your shoes once, but not everyone is against you. In fact, Ariel and Lilly could be your friends if you get to know them."

"Bu-But they rejected me and I didn't mean to summon Rowan it happened by accident."

"They didn't reject you because of how you look, your personality or whatever you think." Jimmy glanced over at Lilly and Ariel who shared a tender kiss happy to be alive, Jimmy looked down at his feet in embarrassment and shame.

"I-I-I should ap-ap-apologize to them."

"Before you do." Dean Deckler walked over to Jimmy in remorse and regret. "I want to apologize to you. I didn't mean to be a total ass. Truth be told, I'm kinda jealous of you."

Jimmy's eyes lit up at the Jock's words. "You're jealous of... me?"

"Yeah, Vicky notices you. She actually has talked about you a lot. Me? She thought I was the janitor last week and asked me to mop up a smoothie drink she spilled."

Jimmy and Dean Deckler shared a laugh. "Really?"

"Yeah it sucked...but one thing I've noticed about you is that you're not afraid to be yourself. Me? I'm a Chameleon that spends most of his time shapeshifting to look like the perfect guy and no one even notices or cares."

Jimmy shook his head and placed his right hand on the Jock's left shoulder. "You're perfect in your own way, don't let what others think bring you down...I've learned that now."

Both men turned to Jayson and Nathaniel, thanked them for their help and met up with Lilly and Ariel.

Nathaniel smiled as he slowly walked over to Jayson and placed his sword back in its holster. "Not bad for a Witch." The Knight said softly nudging his ex-husband.

The Witch smiled, "Not bad for a Prince."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes smirking, "Knight."

"Really? Five Centuries later and you still get prissy when someone calls you a Prince? I'd thought by now you'd be over it."

"I'm not prissy... I just feel being labeled a Prince in this day and age is like being a Bachelor. Everyone hears you're a Prince and quickly wants to marry you. My heart belongs to only one guy."

Jayson lowered his eyebrows at the words muttered by the Prince and it didn't take long—well maybe 58 seconds—for the Knight to realize what he said and he quickly backtracked.

"I-I didn't mean you. I mean, there was a time and a place that I loved you. I still love you, but not in the 'I want to make love to you' sense. Not that I wanted to make love to you then. I did, but you're Asexual and I respect that because I love you."

Jayson always enjoyed seeing Nathaniel squirm whenever he was nervous and this time it was no different.

"Calm down, take a breather and get your heart rate back to normal. I didn't expect you to sit around and stay single. Besides our divorce was a decision we both agreed upon."

"Yeah." The Knight rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, we're divorced." He mumbled feeling guilty.

Dean Tremaine cleared her throat interrupting the moment between both men and they turned to face her.

"I wanted to thank you again for your help. If you didn't get these students back I can't imagine how the parents would've reacted to me losing them."

Jayson didn't understand how she was able to keep that annoying smile still plastered on her face. "Well it wasn't easy but in the future, make sure if someone conjures up another Evil Jester, you're there to put a stop to it."

Dean Tremaine nodded, "And if you're ever back in town, Mr. Santos, I would be delighted if you stopped by and teach a course in Witchery. I know some students will love it."

Nathaniel smiled looking at Jayson who was pondering that thought away.

The Knight remembered the time when Jayson taught Witchery to a few people in the Kingdom when he and the Witch were dating. Jayson excelled in teaching and every student loved his methods.

The Witch nodded his head, "You know, I might think about it. My time is currently being spent trying to survive psychotic Demonic Assassins trying to kill me." He flashed Dean Tremaine a wide smile and she looked at him nervously.

"Okay, well thank you again."

Dean Tremaine bowed before both men respectfully; she walked away and headed toward her students who were all grateful to be alive.

"Well what now?" Nathaniel asked looking back at Jayson.

"Now, we head home and get something to eat because I'm starving! Who knew kicking a Demonic Jester's ass can leave one hungry?"

In a Red and Blue light, both men disappeared.

Chapter 14

[*Back in The Past*]

Somewhere in The Magic Realm:

The town of Merichrist was full of people who weren't allowed to wear bright colors. To the High Priestess Ophelia, any color that wasn't gray were colors created by the Devil to distract followers from walking on the righteous path.

It may sound crazy but this was a town that sat in the far East of the Magic Realm and they were very vocal about their hatred for all four Realms and how their Witch Hunters are the chosen ones appointed by God to cleanse the Realms of the wickedness that plagues them.

The population of the town consisted of thirty people, twenty-six men and four women.

No children were present as Ophelia made sure every townsfolk knew that sex before marriage was the act of the Devil and would be punishable by death. Her idea of death was burning the Sinner alive and watching as their flesh melts off their bones as if it was metal being melted down by a blacksmith to create a new sword.

As everyone gathered around the town's square excited to see a Sinner get executed, Ophelia stepped out of an abandoned shed with her hands behind her back.

Ophelia was a woman that looked to be in her mid 30's. She was beautiful but had a cold glare. Her skin was pale, her lips were covered with black lipstick, her brown long hair flowed down to her mid back and on top of her head was a black crown decorated with onyx stones. She wore a black laced dress that conservatively hid her figure from any men admiring it.

The angry villagers held onto their fiery torches cheering as Ophelia made her way to the middle of the town's square where the wooden stake stood, it was the same stake where Witches, Cannibals, Adulterers and Sodomites were burned alive for their sinful ways.

Tied to the stake was someone Ophelia spent countless years searching for, Jayson Santos.

The Witch watched impatiently as Ophelia stopped walking and faced the crowd of admirers. "Brothers and sisters. Children of Ophelia, we stand here in the Square of Holiness with a Sinner in our midst. The worst kind of Sinner."

Jayson rolled his eyes. "Oh please! Flattery gets you nowhere."

Ophelia ignored the Witch's words and she continued, "We are in the presence of Jayson Santos, the bastard son of Pure Witch, Selene Santos and Dark Witch, Rickasè."

The crowd gasped and jeered glaring at the Witch in disgrace.

"What?" Jayson asked. "No one wants an autograph?" In a glittery light Jayson disappeared from the stake causing everyone to look around nervously and scream out in terror.

"Where did he go?!" a woman screamed out.

"He's going to curse us!" a man chimed in.

"Calm down brothers and sisters." Ophelia said calmly. "Wherever he is we will find him and he will pay for being not only a Sodomite but a Bastard son with tainted blood!"

The villages cheered and chanted Ophelia's name causing her to bask in the glory and attention she was getting from her congregation, making her feel more special than God himself.

***

In Jayson's Cabin:

Jayson reappeared in front of his cabin shocked and confused on how he ended up there. His body was no longer tied to a nine foot tall wooden stake, his muddy boots were no longer standing on cobblestones and religious zombies didn't surround him. He didn't remember teleporting as the ropes Ophelia used to tie him to the stake was Magic proof. "Oh Goddess, are my powers out of whack again?"

"No. I summoned you here. I hope I didn't pull you out of anything important."

The voice came from behind the Witch and it made his heart skip a beat. He missed hearing Nathaniel's voice, it was warm, comforting but he didn't think he would ever hear it again.

He cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "I was just catching up with old acquaintances."

Jayson didn't let Nathaniel say another word, the Witch walked over to the door of his cabin and pushed it open.

The Prince quickly followed him inside. "Jayson, I know you heard about me and my engagement."

The Witch shrugged, "I did, but it's not really of my concern what you do in your personal life, Nathaniel."

The Prince nodded his head agreeing with him, "That's true...but I'm here because...Well I'm here because of you."

Jayson paused before he could make a witty rebuttal as he heard Nathaniel's words. He slowly turned around facing the emotional Prince. "What do you mean you're here because of me? Are you here to kill me? Because I assure you, you will lose that fight."

"No. No of course I am not here to kill you." The Prince tried to think of what to say but shockingly no words were coming out of his mouth. He could see the emotional wall Jayson had up and he wasn't shocked the Witch had reservations about trusting people. "Jayson...Before I met you I was just someone who wanted to please my Kingdom. I was someone that never wanted to stand out from the crowd because I feared they would not accept me."

The Witch looked at the Prince from head to toe. "Are you going to tell me you're a shape shifter? I went down that road once and let me tell you, it wasn't fun."

There were many things Nathaniel wanted to ask Jayson about what he said, and he knew there will be a time when he can learn everything he can about the man he wants to spend the rest of his life with, but in order to make that fantasy a reality, he would have to tell Jayson how he truly felt.

The Prince slowly approached Jayson, who was staring at him cautiously, and he gazed into the Witch's dark brown eyes. Something magical laid behind those beautiful eyes and it made the Prince's heart melt. "These past few days have been difficult for me to admit to myself or let alone to anyone because I didn't know what this was, but I can't fight this feeling anymore and I don't want to. Jayson, I want you to be mine."

Nathaniel's words caused Jayson's heart to skip a beat. "I-I can't." Jayson said turning away from the Prince.

Jayson's answer caused the Prince to frown.

The Witch shook his head and walked over to the fireplace, which roared with red and orange flames.

"All my life I've heard and read stories about Princesses who get their Happily Ever Afters because they're pure and good. Princes, Knights, Fairies, Frogs, Mice and Dragons all get their Happily Ever Afters. But...nothing for Witches."

"I don't understand." The Prince softly said.

The Witch turned to him with tears in his eyes, "Nathan don't you see? Witches do not get Happily Ever Afters. We get murdered by a Prince, or a town full of angry villagers or some girl with ruby slippers. We don't get the luxury of falling in love because love for us, doesn't exist."

"That's not true."

Jayson let out a laugh full of pain, "Name me one Witch that is currently experiencing their Happily Ever After as we speak."

The Prince couldn't. Jayson was right.

Nathaniel had heard stories when he was growing up about Witches who would prey on Princesses, children, virgins and even wipe out an entire town, they would kill and mane whomever they wanted for pleasure and curse people for the hell of it. His perception of Witches changed however, when he met Jayson.

He didn't fear the Witch.

Nathaniel shook his head informing Jayson he couldn't name a Witch who had fallen in love.

"Exactly." Jayson proclaimed. "Witches cannot live Happily Ever After and especially two men at that! I'm already getting flack because I'm a Witch! Can you imagine the chaos which will unfold when word gets out that I'm also dating a Prince?"

Nathaniel pulled Jayson closer and softly kissed his lips shutting him up. The kiss felt different to Jayson, maybe because he didn't have Poppy extract on his lips to harm the Prince- "No...it feels like...Paradise." the Witch thought to himself.

After a few seconds, Nathaniel pulled away and Jayson looked at him solemnly. "Nathan, you don't want me."

The Prince ran his fingers through the Witch's curly hair. "I do."

"No you don't. I'm not like anyone else. I don't care about your body. I never want to be inside you or want you inside of me. I just want your...your heart-not literally- but I want your love. Nothing more and nothing less. If you don't agree then I have no problem with you walking out the door."

A smile spread across the Prince's face and he gazed once again into the Witch's eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I came here to profess my feelings for you. And besides, I can't leave."

"Why not?" asked the Witch.

Nathaniel smirked caressing the Witch's face. "Because you have my heart."

Tears once again began to fill the Witch's eyes. "But what about the stories? Witches are cursed to never be happy."

"To Hell with the stories!" stated Nathaniel, "We're going to write our own. We don't need to live in the shadows of those who came before us. We're going to light the way for others who are scared to step into the light and listen to their hearts."

"But I'm a Witch and you're a Prince."

"Yeah and? I don't see you as a Witch. I see you as Jayson and I hope you see me as Nathaniel or-." he smirked cupping the Witch's cheeks. "-Nathan."

Every single word Nathaniel said made Jayson's heart gleam with hope, and living as a 'Witch with Tainted Blood' meant hope didn't come so naturally or often for him.

"Nathan, I'm scared." The Witch said softly, "And I never scare easily."

Nathaniel nodded. "You don't have to be scared anymore. I'm here now. I'm never going to leave your side, Jase."

The Witch smiled lowering his eyebrows. "Jase?"

"Yeah." The Knight smiled back, "I figured if you could give me an annoying nickname, then I should give you an annoying nickname back. If you don't like it I can think of a better one and-."

"No." the Witch replied softly as he looked at Nathaniel's soft lips. "I love it."

The Prince pulled Jayson in closer and kissed his lips once again. Jayson closed his eyes enjoying the passionate kiss never wanting to let go.

There were four other Realms Jayson could teleport to whenever he wanted, but for the time being, he saw himself staying in the Magic Realm; where he could finally live Happily Ever After.
Epilogue

[*Present Day*]

In a Cottage, Somewhere in the Magic Realm:

"Aaaah!!!" a woman screamed in horror as she looked into her head to toe mirror.

For the past 30 years, Gothel would follow her morning routine by gazing into the mirror and admiring her beautiful features. She would touch her soft, glowing and youthful face, apply crimson lipstick onto her plump lips, admire her aquatic blue eyes and gently brush her long golden locks; but this morning the hideous woman staring back at her through the mirror interrupted that routine.

Her once pore less face was full of wrinkles, there were bags under her dull blue eyes, her thin lips were chapped and cracked and her long golden locks were now brittle and gray!

In a golden light, a man appeared beside her.

The handsome man wore a sleeveless black vest, which displayed his chiseled upper body; he wore black harem pants that used to make Gothel curious as to what he hid underneath it. He had soft luscious crimson colored hair, light mocha skin, ebony eyes and smelled like rust, the characteristics of a Genie that wasn't free yet.

He heard the screams of the woman and appeared out of his bottle to find an older woman standing in front of the same exact spot Gothel was usually found in.

"Bleh! Who the heck are you?" he asked not trying at all to hide the disgust he felt.

Gothel glared at him through the mirror, "It's me, Gothel you moron!"

The Genie rose his eyebrows in shock. "Gothel? What the heck happened to you? You look like you belong in the grave-wait! Did you eat an apple? I told you to stay clear from that since some old woman was seen giving away free apples in the Forest of Silence."

"No, I didn't eat an apple! You know I'm on an all meat diet! I woke up and my face was like this!" She tried her hardest not to cry but she was clearly trying in vain.

"Then maybe you should go back to sleep."

Gothel glared at the Genie with blood lust in her tired eyes.

The Genie walked over to her to get a closer look and she was much uglier up close than far away. "Did a Witch put a curse on you or something?"

"No! THIS form is the curse I was born with! And no one would be stupid enough to curse me especially the day before my wedding to Prince Adam. Oh God! Adam is going to freak out when he sees me."

"Oh pish posh!" the Genie dismissed. "Prince Adam doesn't seem like the guy to care about outer beauty."

Gothel sat down on a nearby wooden chair and thought about all of the people she had met in the past few days. All of the hands she shook, all of the people she laughed with; any one of them could have cursed her looks, but who?

While the Genie had only seen Gothel in her beautiful appearance, he didn't know that this hideous form of hers before him was her real appearance.

"I don't know. But-" She clapped her hands together with a smile on her face. "I have to find Agatha and have her put another spell on me. Maybe the spell only worked for 30 years, kind of some pathetic deadline, like a spell dying at midnight or something."

"Oh honey." The Genie said placing his hands on his hips. "You clearly haven't heard but, Agatha's dead."

Gothel glared at the Genie and asked slowly, "What?"

"Oh yeah. Someone killed her earlier." He let out a gasp causing the woman to flinch. "That's probably why you look like that!"

"What the hell are you talking about, you Bottle Dweller?" spat Gothel.

"First, that was harsh. And secondly, when a Spell caster dies so does any and all spells they casted during their life time."

"S-so you're telling me that I'll look like--this forever?"

The Genie nodded without any remorse. "Unless you can find another Witch that can recite the same spell Agatha did, just in time for your wedding tomorrow."

"Don't listen to him." A voice interrupted causing Gothel and the Genie to stop speaking. They looked toward the doorway to find a woman with short blonde hair. She wore a black and white leather cat suit that made her look like a superhero, to Gothel it was a hideous suit, but to the Genie it was pleasing to the eyes.

"You don't need a Witch to help with your face. You need something powerful."

Gothel glared at the woman, "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Cassandra. I actually used to live here Centuries ago, that was until your dear old friend Agatha locked me away in some kind of Magical cage."

The Genie looked at the woman from head to toe. No one willingly locks someone in a Magical prison unless they were dangerous. Was she as dangerous as she looked? The Genie wanted to know more about who she was and the secrets or knowledge she hid, but Gothel interrupted his train of thought. "Agatha imprisoned you? What did you do, curse her out?"

Cassandra laughed shaking her head. "Not at all. You see, you and I are not as different as you think. Sure, I have the brains and beauty and you...you're unique. But one thing we have in common is the fact our fates are sealed in these Realms."

Gothel arched her right eyebrow at the woman. "What are you blabbing on about?"

Cassandra entered the quaint cottage and looked around. The memories she had of growing up in this cottage weren't as kind and welcoming as she remembered. The endless nights she spent crying in hunger because she yearned for the feast of Royals, the days she would spend yelling at her parents for being peasants instead of rich and the black charred spot where she killed her parents was still on the wall near the window. She really missed this cottage, but it wasn't home to her. Her home was in a Kingdom, she was always destined to be of royalty and she was so close to that dream coming true, when a Witch named Jayson Santos inferred and ruined it.

"You're a woman who wants to live happily with your Prince and I was a woman who was almost about to live that dream. Unfortunately, my fate was sealed the moment a Witch stole my Prince from me."

The Genie's eyes widened in shock. He knew exactly who this woman was. She was Cassandra Price, Prince Nathaniel's ex fiancée! He had heard rumors she drove herself into madness after the Prince left her at the altar, but he guessed those rumors were false seeing as Cassandra was trapped in a Magical cage.

"My story isn't like yours." replied Gothel. "I don't see Adam as a Prince and I'm not marrying him solely for his money, royal status or gold. I'm marrying him because I love him and he loves me."

"And you think he'll look at you the same way if you show up to his house looking the way you do now? Oh sweety, wake up and smell the coffee, there is no Happily Ever After for you. Just like there isn't one for me."

"Yeah? Well she has me, her Genie! She can wish for a Happily Ever After and then-"

"And then what?" Cassandra asked smirking at the Genie. "The Council will sense what you and her did and they won't waste any time undoing it. However, I know another way we can get our Happily Ever Afters while ridding the Realms of theirs."

Gothel enjoyed what Cassandra was saying but living a life like that, sounded more fictitious than real. "And how do you plan on doing that? I'm not sure if you're aware, many people like yourself, have tried and failed miserably to rid others of their Happily Ever Afters."

"Oh I know, which is why I stole this-." Cassandra stopped speaking and dug inside of her right pocket, which shocked the Genie and Gothel as they didn't think the form-fitting suit had pockets. They watched as the blonde woman took out a folded up piece of paper and she continued on, "I stole this right from Agatha's Book of Shadows. It's a curse called 'Happily Never After'. It's said to rid of all Happily Ever Afters except for those who donate a drop of their blood to the potion."

The Genie and Gothel exchanged glances with one another and it was a notion the Genie deeply regretted because the sight of Gothel in her current state made him sick to his stomach.

Cassandra unfolded the piece of paper and handed it to the frail old woman. "The curse has a few ingredients that we must get ourselves but once we collect everything on the list, you and I can start the steps to creating this curse."

"And what about me?!" the Genie asked. "If you haven't noticed I'm not capable of donating blood because I'm a freaking Genie!"

Casandra ignored the Magical Being and she watched as Gothel read over the list of ingredients for the 'Happily Never After' curse out loud,

"A strand of golden hair, a soulful painting, an ear of a sinister wolf, a poisoned apple with a bite, a glass slipper, a cursed heart, the tear drop of a Merman, the Cape of an Emperor, a glass pea, a broken undead heart and a frozen diamond." She stopped reading the list and looked at Cassandra. "Where are we supposed to find all of these? The black markets aren't allowed to sell hearts or ears...anymore."

"From what I remember reading in the book, before Agatha imprisoned me, was that each of these ingredients can be found in all five Realms. We'll just have to look for them."

"I don't have time to look for them!" Gothel spat jumping up to her feet. "I am to wed my fiancé tomorrow! A stupid curse won't do any good if I do not look like the woman he had fallen in love with!"

Cassandra felt pity for the older woman. She had convinced herself that she could live happily amongst the heroes of the Realms-amongst the people who are good and pure.

Cassandra cleared her throat and took back the paper from the older woman. "You can get your Genie to help you with that skin condition, but it will only be temporary. What I have in my hand is permanent. If you want, go ahead and marry that Prince and live Happily Ever After, because when I'm done gathering these ingredients, there will be no Happily. Ever. Afters."

In a purple fiery light Cassandra disappeared from the cottage leaving the Genie and Gothel to soak in the information she had given them.

Gothel shook her head and looked at her wrinkled hands.

"Well!" The Genie sighed flipping his hair back. "That woman is c-r-a-z-y!"

"She may be. But you didn't feel the power omitting from that page." The frail woman looked at the Genie with horror and fear in her eyes, "If she enacts that curse, the Realms and everyone in it, will be destroyed."

***

Meanwhile in Jayson's Loft:

"You're telling me, you weren't the least bit scared of Rowan?" Nathaniel asked as he and Jayson walked up a flight of stairs leading up to Jayson's third floor loft.

"Not at all. He was a sad Magical Being, who needed the approval of someone to validate him. People like that aren't scary, they're just sad."

Both men made it to the top step and approached the metallic doors leading into Jayson's office. While it would've been easier for both men to teleport back, Jayson was exhausted from his battle with Rowan and Nathaniel wasn't really up to par in the teleportation aspect of his abilities. He would normally travel with Fairies to his destinations.

Nathaniel stopped walking and he turned to face the Witch.

Jayson could tell something weighed heavily on the Knight's mind and it made him nervous to see his ex-husband that way.

"What's wrong?" asked the Witch.

"Jase...Why didn't you tell me about all of this before?"

Jayson let out a soft sigh. "Honestly? I didn't want to lose you. The fact you stood with me, loved me, proposed and married me knowing I'm a Homoromantic Asexual was shocking in itself. But would you have honestly stayed with me if you knew my father was a Dark Witch and the Council wants me dead?"

Nathaniel opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Exactly." Jayson turned around to look at the door of his office. "I will not apologize for keeping you safe. But I will apologize if you think I lied to you by not disclosing this information about myself."

Nathaniel grabbed Jayson's right arm and turned him around so he could face the Knight. "Don't ever apologize for the things you do. I know you, God how well I know you. You've been keeping me safe by hiding this... so let me keep you safe."

Jayson gazed into Nathaniel's eyes. "And how do you plan on doing that? You're powerful but not that powerful. The Council will find you and skin you alive."

Nathaniel smirked. "Don't worry about that. Just know I have your back and nothing is going to happen to -"

CRASH!

The loud crashing sound came from inside of the loft and it made both men flinch. "Who the hell is inside?" Nathaniel asked quickly withdrawing his sword from its holster.

"An idiot that clearly doesn't know who I am."

There was no plan that was put into action, Jayson waved his right hand causing the door to telekinetically slide open and before the Knight knew it, Jayson stormed inside the loft.

Nathaniel followed behind and they were both shocked to see a sight they didn't think was possible: Agatha was standing in the middle of the loft!

The Knight shook his head shocked at what he was looking at, Jayson however was more concerned on why the ghostly woman was in his office.

"Agatha, why are you here?"

Agatha had on a bright white linen dress, which practically blinded both men, and her gray hair was flowing as if there was a cool breeze in the office.

She smiled at both men, "As you know, I am dead and only have a few seconds to spare before I move on. But I couldn't miss out on the opportunity of seeing you both."

The Witch shook his head fighting back tears. "Who did this to you?"

"I'm sure by now you've figured it out." She replied keeping it short and simple.

The Knight clenched his jaws together angrily. "The Council."

The Witch didn't want to hear about the Council anymore because the news was getting redundant to him. Yes, the Council wants him dead but the Witch didn't want to keep talking about it anymore. He wasn't emotionally ready for making a plan on defeating the most powerful group of Magical Beings throughout the Realms.

But Nathaniel could sense the Witch's thoughts going into overdrive and he asked, "How do we defeat them?"

Agatha smiled at the Knight, which caused Jayson to glare at his ex-husband. "The love you have for Jayson after all these centuries is heartwarming and inspiring."

The Knight basked in her words but Agatha's smile faded, "It's also annoying." She pointed her right index finger at the Knight and he froze in place, motionless. Time for him stood still but he could still breathe, he couldn't see or hear what was happening but he was still alive.

"Now that the goody-goody Knight is immobile, you and I have matters to quickly discuss."

Jayson looked at Agatha not entirely sure what to think about her or the situation.

"The Council didn't send that pathetic creature to kill me and attack you. In fact, the Council has known about your presence for some time now. They put a bounty on your head the day you left the Magic Realm. In their minds they assumed you were going to run and tell Nathaniel's intimate secrets to someone, when they saw you instead opened a P.I office here in Gladen Falls, they decided to call off the hit and protect you."

Jayson felt a small pounding in his brain as if there was a tiny creature with a hammer banging on all sides of his skull. "Okay, I'm so confused right now." The Witch rubbed his temples. "If the Council didn't send that thing, then who did?"

Agatha knew the name of the person was going to change Jayson's world and life. She didn't know if he was prepared to hear it, but the truth had to come out and it's what she needed to do before she moved on to her afterlife, wherever that was.

Jayson repeated the question again and Agatha let out a sigh and replied, "Regina Belle or as you know her-".

"Mother Goose." The name caused Jayson's heart to skip a beat.

The Witch had never met Regina Belle before, but he did hear stories about the famous Being who has an Empress in the Shadow Realm. No one knew what her business was about but she was a very wealthy woman.

"Why would she come after us both?"

"Last year, a group of Lycans invaded the Shadow Realm, they seized properties, businesses and even power. Regina, as cunning and manipulative as she was, suffered the most. Her power was stolen and she was banished from ever stepping foot in the Shadow Realm again. She knew that in order to regain her powers and footing in the Realm, she'd have to find a very powerful Being and steal their Magic. She sent that creature to torture me so I could tell her where you were. The masking charm worked even on her senses that she couldn't sniff you out. When the creature realized I wasn't going to give you up, it killed me. Which is how she was able to find you. I watched helplessly as you were attacked by that assassin, but you and Nathaniel worked together to kill it and it made me weep with joy." She cleared her throat fighting back tears and continued on.  
"You're the only Witch with tainted blood. Your blood contains power beyond anyone's comprehension. Any person would risk everything they have to find you, kill you and harvest your blood. Why do you think Vampires loathe you? To them your blood is poison; but to the right people, your blood is exotic, rare and most importantly; Magical."

Of course it is! Jayson thought to himself in frustration. He didn't know why he felt more relieved when he thought the Council wanted to kill him rather than having someone like Mother Goose want to kill him and harvest his blood.

"Okay." The Witch said breaking the few seconds of silence. "What's the plan here? I'm Immortal, I'm not going to hide because some feathered freak wants to sell my blood and I'm certainly as hell not going to sit back and do nothing. So what's the plan? I'm sure you thought of something while you were floating in whatever afterlife you found yourself in."

Agatha smiled at Jayson's words missing their constant banter and conversations whenever they would talk to one another over the phone once a month, then again she didn't miss his snarkiness that made her want to laugh yet choke him all at the same time.

The deceased Sorceress shook her head, "I do not recall any leads pertaining to where Regina currently resides. Ever since the Shadow Realm was invaded, many people fled East or went deep into the Forbidden Forest. Considering Regina, she probably went into the forest to feast on other Magical Beings before she could figure out her next move."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended or honored the Mother Goose is powerless and needs my blood to regain her footing."

Agatha opened her mouth to speak but she paused when she heard a low ringing in her right ear, which meant her time in the Living World was up. "It seems that my time here is shorter than I anticipated. But I just want you and Nathaniel to be prepared. The worst is yet to come and when it does come, the Realms are going to need an Immortal Witch here to help them."

"I get that and I have no issue with defending the Realms and risking my life, because I do that now. But what I don't get is why on Earth is Nathan here?"

Agatha stared at the motionless Knight remembering the first time she met him. It was when he wanted to propose to Jayson but wanted to get Agatha's approval first. After casting a 'Truth Spell' on him and seeing how he truly loved Jayson, she knew he and the Witch would be forever. Unfortunately, she didn't see the events which led to their relationship ending and Jayson leaving the Magic Realm.

She heard the ringing again and this time it grew louder in her ear. "Nathaniel came here on his own accord. Whether you want to admit it or not, you and Nathaniel are more powerful when you two are together. With your powers combined, you both are a force to be reckoned with."

"We are divorced! Does that mean nothing to anyone?"

The Sorceress looked at Nathaniel and shook her head, "He didn't tell you did he?"

The Witch lowered his eyebrows, "Tell me what?"

In a white blinding light, Agatha's spirit vanished.

Jayson began to question what Agatha was speaking about and he hated that she always enjoyed leaving him hanging on her every word. He thought to himself on the possible subjects Agatha could've been referring to and one thing that stood in his mind was the divorce he and Nathaniel filed.

He remembered that day in 1522 A.D when the Knight handed him the divorce papers, (even the Magic Realm has to go through the legal system for divorces and considering the divorce was between a Prince and a Witch, they had to handle it carefully), he remembered signing the papers and he handed them back to Nathaniel. It is the job of the Prince to return the papers to the Royal Courtship in order to cease the marriage, but as soon as Jayson signed the papers he fled the Magic Realm never wanting to be reminded of the failed marriage.

Nathaniel unfroze and looked around. "Hey where did Agatha g- ah crap, did she freeze me again?!" The Knight began to think the Sorceress found satisfaction in freezing him whenever he bored or annoyed her. It was a constant notion whenever they hung around each other centuries ago.

Jayson turned to look at the Knight. "I need you to be honest with me. Can you do that?"

"Yes of course." The Knight said calmly. "What is it?" Nathaniel had no idea what was going on in Jayson's mind right now but it made him nervous and scared.

Jayson nodded slowly as the Knight agreed to the Witch's words. "Okay, are you and I still married?"

The question was asked slowly but to Nathaniel, every word in the question felt like a punch to his stomach. He laughed it off, "Where did you hear that at?"

Jayson repeated the question again emphasizing every word. He wasn't playing around anymore, if there's one thing the Witch hated in the world more than Homophobia, the rich, Hollywood and discrimination (against races of people and species) it would be a liar.

Nathaniel knew there was nothing to do from here except tell the truth.

He cleared his throat and replied, "Yes...yes we're still married."

Jayson let out a gasp and Nathaniel shook his head solemnly. "I am so sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry I lied. I just couldn't imagine losing you and when you signed your name on the line I lost a bit of myself and-."

Jayson grabbed the Knight's shirt, gazed into his eyes for a mere thirty seconds and without any warning, he pulled him in close, kissing the Knight's lips softly.

Nathaniel pulled away from the kiss, looked lovingly at the Witch's full lips, grabbed the Witch's face caressing his soft cheeks and deepened the kiss letting Jayson know, how much the Knight missed him.

The sun was finally rising welcoming a new day at Gladen Falls. Whether that new day would be full of hope, love, regret, death or pain is yet to be determined, but one thing remained certain: Jayson Santos' life is about to get even more complicated.

The End...{For Now}

____________________________________________________________________________

Here is a sneak peek of the upcoming book:

Jayson The Witch

"The Charming De Vil"

Due out Summer 2020!

____________________________________________________________________________

Back at Jayson's Loft:

Jayson placed the phone on his desk and rubbed his forehead running out of ideas on how to find whomever Charming's mystery fiancé is. It was obvious with Charming yearning for a Love Potion, this person clearly doesn't love him and he's being forced to marry the Prince, but why?

"Did Haneltha give you any leads?" a voice asked from behind the Witch causing Jayson to flinch.

"Crap! I forgot you're still here." Jayson stated shaking his head. "No Nathan, she doesn't have any leads."

The Knight entered the office, "Can't you say a spell and somehow get the guy here?"

"Yes and no. Since I never met this mystery man it's impossible for me to summon him and it's also that exact reason why I can't just recite a spell to bring him here. Word play in a spell like that could cause all of Charming's exes to come here or worst, exes of ours."

Jayson remembered the first time he tried to summon someone he never met before. It was for a case where a Mermaid named Jolene, hired him to find her missing lover, Jayson thought if he casted a spell the lover would appear in his apartment and boom! Mystery solved. Unfortunately, because of the spell's words, "Bring forth Jolene's Love!" that caused everything the mermaid loved to appear in the office.

Singers, art works, candies, food, animated characters etc! From that day on, Jayson has learned to never recite a spell to retrieve a lost object or person.

"So what can we do now?"

Jayson opened his mouth to say something when there was a loud knock on the metallic door of his loft. Nathaniel quickly retrieved his sword and looked at the Witch, "You stay here. I'll go and find out who it is."

The Witch rolled his eyes and he swung his right arm causing the door to slide open.

Standing in the doorway was a 6'1 foot tall Hispanic man with short black hair, caramel colored skin and light hazel eyes. He had some facial hair that was kept to a minimal length. He wore a black sleeveless vest which showed off his muscular frame. On his lower body he wore black harem pants and black boots on his feet. In his right hand, he held a red colored envelope.

Nathaniel lowered his eyebrows, not sure who this man was, he was too muscular and looked too young (only in his late 20's) to be a mail carrier. So who the heck was this man?

"Can I help you?" Jayson asked.

The man nodded with a smile on his face, "Uh, I hope so. My name is Wyatt Evans and I received this letter in the mail a few hours ago. It's addressed to a Jayson Santos."

Jayson pushed past Nathaniel and he walked over to the stranger who showed him the envelope. Written on the red envelope was "Jayson Santos" but the handwriting was Agatha's!

"This is Agatha's handwriting." The Witch stated.

Wyatt lowered his eyebrows confused on who that was, "I-I don't know who that is at all."

Nathaniel placed his sword back in its holster and glared at Wyatt. "So this letter just plopped onto your lap out of thin air?"

Wyatt nodded, "That's literally what happened. It took me a while to find the exact address of whomever Jayson is because none was listed."

Jayson could tell Nathaniel didn't believe anything the stranger was saying. The Knight made that pretty obvious from his tone.

But Jayson knew Agatha and she knew exactly where he lives, so why would she send this letter to a complete stranger?

The Witch looked at the stranger and he met his hazel colored gaze. "Who are you exactly?"

The man straightened his posture, "As I said before, I'm Wyatt Evans. I'm a P.I Witch."

End of Teaser!

Thank you for reading this book! I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a review-whether good or bad!

Stay Safe and healthy!

See you in the Summer with Part 2!

Thanks again,

Edwin Betancourt.

