Fairytales Slashed, Volume 2

by Megan Derr

  "Let me help," Bralin said simply. "Please."

  "Okay," Asa acquiesced after a moment, looking entirely too worried about it. "Thank you."

  "Don't thank me yet, she could still say no," Bralin said, shrugging nonchalantly. He grinned, partly because Roark was going to pitch a fit but Amara would probably say yes despite him and partly because Asa was going to let him help.

  Asa smiled back tentatively and Bralin still wanted him, in spite of everything. Except he'd probably ruined any chance he'd had with Asa the day they'd broken Sariah's curse. He should probably just let it go—let Asa slip away with his family.

  Except, Bralin didn't want to. He wanted Asa to stay here, with him. He wanted Asa to go to dinner with him. He didn't want to just give up and let Asa go—

  "Bralin?" Asa asked, interrupting his thoughts. He was looking at Bralin oddly, and Bralin grinned sheepishly.

  "Sorry, I got lost in thought," Bralin said. "I'll send a letter out today, but I warn you it will probably take a few weeks for a reply. They live pretty far away."

  "The further, the better," Asa muttered, flicking a nervous glance at the door.

  "Asa," Bralin started, pausing when Asa gave him a quizzical look. Bralin pushed on, steeling himself for rejection. "You're probably going to say no, but I have to ask—"

  "Ask what?" Asa prompted when Bralin hesitated.

  "You can say no," Bralin said again, shifting his weight nervously. Asa just looked completely baffled, so Bralin probably wasn't making a lot of sense. "Would you like to have dinner with me?"

  "Um," Asa said, looking completely flummoxed. Bralin winced—that was a no, then. "Really?"

  "Really," Bralin confirmed, biting back the urge to tell Asa that he could say no again.

  "I would really like to," Asa said quietly, smiling a little and actually looking happy.

  "But?" Bralin prompted, because that was the logical continuation of Asa's words.

  "Nothing," Asa said, his smile widening. "Just, yes, I would really, really like to."

  "Oh," Bralin said, grinning like a loon. "Good. Um, how about a week from today? That'll give me time to get my kitchen fixed the rest of the way."

  Asa laughed brightly, and Bralin prudently didn't mention that it would also give Asa more time to recover.

  "I don't know where you live," Asa said, then added, "Are you should be cooking for me? Your kitchen might not withstand a second fire."

  "I'll come get you," Bralin decided. "It's tricky to get to my place. I swear they designed the area to be a maze. And I'm going to ignore that insult to my cooking abilities. I'm a good cook. Most of the time."

  Asa laughed again, smiling at him again. Bralin grinned back, hoping that this worked out and Asa would decide to stay in the city rather than follow his sister out to the outskirts of the kingdom.

  "Hopefully next week is one of those times," Asa teased.

  "If it's not, I'll just take you to a restaurant instead," Bralin said cheerfully.

  "I'm happy so long as I don't get food poisoning," Asa said, giving him another bright, quick smile, but he was obviously worn out and Bralin decided he needed to go soon.

  "No one's ever complained of that after eating my cooking."

  "I'm sure whatever you make will be wonderful," Asa said confidently.

  "You should probably reserve judgment until you taste it," Bralin cautioned, wondering if there was any way he could clandestinely ferret out what Asa's favorite foods were. He could try asking Cos—except he wasn't sure he wanted to give Cos the satisfaction of knowing he'd capitulated.

  "So, I'll see you next week?" Asa asked, sounding a little shy.

  "Five o'clock?" Bralin suggested.

  "That sounds good," Asa said, hesitating for a moment before crossing the landing to where Bralin was standing. Before Bralin could do more than blink, Asa rose up on his toes and kiss his cheek lightly. "Thank you."

  Then he stepped back, flashing Bralin a quick, bright smile before heading back towards his apartment door. Bralin just grinned stupidly—it was a peck on the cheek, for heaven's sake—waving as Asa disappeared inside. He lingered a moment before heading down the stairs, already plotting how he could make the dinner with Asa the best date he could. He wanted Asa to stay.

  *

  *

  *

  Part Seven

  Bralin was running late. It wasn't the most auspicious of starts, but he thought dinner would turn out well. He'd managed to get a few hints out of Cos once Roark had stopped bitching about how it was too dangerous to send Sariah and Eli and maybe Asa out to Amara's farm.

  He hadn't heard back from Amara yet, but her letter probably wouldn't arrive for another two weeks, if not longer. Still, he was pretty sure she'd have no problem with it, especially if Sariah was willing to work (and Bralin had no doubt she would be willing, after everything Asa had said about her).

  Still, he had more important things to worry about. Like whether or not he could convince Asa to stay. Bralin moved more quickly stretching his legs to walk faster. All his plans would come to naught if he left Asa waiting too long.

  Ten minutes later, he turned the last corner to reach Asa's building. He slowed down, trying to catch his breath before he had to climb all those stairs—except he didn't have to, and Bralin grinned to see Asa leaning against the rusting fence that surrounded his building. He didn't see Bralin, focused on the ground in front of him and paying no mind to the people walking up and down the street.

  Bralin took a moment to just admire the neat way Asa was dressed—his clothes were simple, but obviously well tailored, and they fit him perfectly, showing off Asa's trim figure. His hair was the most tamed Bralin had ever seen it, though it was still full of curls. Bralin really wanted to run his hands through it to tangle it up again—but Asa would probably do it for him eventually, as he seemed incapable of not mussing his hair.

  "Hey," Bralin greeted as he approached. Asa looked up at him with a smile, and he looked much better than he had the last time Bralin had seen him.

  "Hi," Asa said quietly, straightening up and brushing off his pants.

  "Sorry, I'm late," Bralin said, giving Asa a sheepish smile. "One of the dishes took me longer than I'd expected, but I didn't want to leave it to burn or worse while I was gone."

  "It's okay. I haven't been waiting long," Asa said easily, tucking his hands into his pockets and quashing any hope that he'd mess up his neat hairstyle for Bralin.

  "Good," Bralin said, taking the initiative and leaning the way back down the sidewalk. "Also, thank you for saving me from walking up all those stairs."

  Asa laughed, falling into step beside him. "They're not so bad."

  "Says you," Bralin grumbled, shooting the apartment building a dirty look. "You've been walking them for longer than I have. My place has two steps, up to the front door."

  "One story?" Asa asked curiously.

  "Yeah," Bralin confirmed. "It's one of the cottages in that silly cottage "village" they set up in the west side. It's not big, but it's got more privacy that the curse breaker barracks and I don't have anything else to spend my wages on."

  "I know where those are," Asa said, but he was still smiling so he probably hadn't been offended by Bralin's insistence that he pick Asa up. "I probably could've found you."

  "It really is a maze once you get there," Bralin said, rolling his eyes at his absent landlord. "The man who designed it is a moron and built the cottages in as haphazard a way as he could conceive."

  "Just to drive you crazy and ensure you got none of the visitors you invite, yes?" Asa teased, and Bralin grinned, nodding.

  "Exactly," Bralin said. "That's why I have to go get people; to lead them there and save them the hours of getting lost."

  "I suppose that means you'll need to walk me home as well, yes?" Asa said, the corners of his lips turned up in a slight smile.

  "Of course," Bralin said, pleased, and not just because it meant he got to spend more time with Asa. />
  The rest of the walk passed quickly—Bralin only lived a brisk fifteen minute walk from Asa's apartment building, though it was a quieter, more residential, and infinitely safer area. His cottage was nowhere near as homey-looking as his neighbors' were; he never bothered with gardening and only had plain, sturdy curtains in his windows.

  Asa didn't seem to notice, he just smiled a little in approval when Bralin unlocked his magical house seal and led the way inside.

  "Whatever we're having smells wonderful," Asa said easily as Bralin led him over to the small table he'd set up in the center of his living room. The other furniture was pushed back, and a small fire burned in the grate, popping and crackling quietly.

  "Thanks," Bralin said, pulling out Asa's chair for him, and smiling stupidly when Asa's cheeks turned a pale shad of pink as he sat down. "Hopefully, it will taste even better than it smells."

  "I'm sure it will," Asa said, and Bralin grinned again, pouring them both glasses of a nice white wine—Roark's selection, because he was oddly good at picking wine—before disappearing into the kitchen to snag the first course. He broke the "keep warm" spell he'd cast on the platter and headed back out to the table.

  Bralin set the platter down with a cheesy flourish, making Asa smile again.

  "Help yourself," Bralin said cheerfully, sitting down and picking a few of the potatoes—roasted with a handful of spices and then quartered—and set them on his plate.

  "They're delicious," Asa said enthusiastically after his first bite, and Bralin grinned, hoping the rest of the meal went over as well.

  "Do you mind—"Asa started, then made a face. "Could you tell me about your friend? Sariah is a little nervous, since I couldn't tell her much, just that it's far away."

  "Sure," Bralin said, fighting the urge to frown. He didn't want to be reminded that Asa was very probably going to be leaving.

  "I'm sorry, that's probably a horrible thing to bring up," Asa said, running a hand through his hair and mussing it some (but not as much as Bralin wanted). He looked worried though, and Bralin forced a smile.

  "No, I'd ask in your place. I wasn't very forthcoming, was I?" Bralin shrugged, pausing to take a sip of his wine. It was good—he'd have to tease Roark about that later.

  "The people I know are actually Roark's relatives—his sister-in-law and nephew, and her second husband. They live in a little village on the edge of the kingdom that mostly does farming. Amara, she's Roark's sister-in-law, owns a big farm and she took in Cos after his father died—" That was vague enough, Bralin decided. He wasn't sure how much Cos had told Asa and Bralin wasn't going to spill any secrets that weren't his to spill. "—so I have no doubt she'll take you in. I glossed over why you need to leave and just said that you were having problems with a wizard here."

  "Okay," Asa said, and his smile was completely fake and Bralin didn't know why.

  "Amara has a son who's about Eli's age. He might be a year or two younger, but she'd have someone to play with, and I'm sure there'd be plenty of work for Sariah," Bralin added, but that didn't really seem to help—Asa still didn't look very happy.

  "That's good," Asa said quietly. "Eli doesn't really have any playmates here."

  Bralin nodded, fidgeting for a moment before deciding to just ask. It was probably better to get it over with than to have it hanging over the whole night. Besides then he'd know whether he had any chance with Asa or if he was just tormenting himself.

  "Are you planning to go with them?" Bralin asked quietly, toying with his wine glass. "I left it open in the letter I wrote Amara."

  "I don't know," Asa said. Even the fake smile was gone now, replaced by a pensive frown. "I don't like leaving them alone out there, but I don't know if all of us leaving will attract Mestal's attention or if he was satisfied with me losing my position at the university."

  "Amara's village is heavily warded. Cos went a little overboard putting up protections when he left," Bralin said, rolling his eyes. "He also manages to maintain it from here, though I'm not sure how—it's one of his latent-cast spells."

  "Oh," Asa said, frowning in confusion. "Are you sure? There didn't seem to be any drains on his power when he was… while the Sleeping Beauty spell was in effect."

  "I'll ask him again the next time I see him," Bralin said, wondering briefly if Cos had somehow figured out how to store energy with his spells to sustain them… but no, that was impossible. "I can also ask Liok to see whether Mestal is paying any attention to what you're doing now."

  "Thank you," Asa muttered, still looking conflicted and unhappy—not at all what Bralin wanted.

  "It's no problem. I want you all to be safe," Bralin said quietly. "Even if that means you leave the city. It won't make me happy, but I'd rather you be safe than in danger here."

  "If I could—"Asa said, but hesitated, frowning for a moment. Then his face took on a stubborn, determined look that made Bralin think he'd been spending too much time with Cos. "If I was sure that Sariah and Eli would be safe, I'd stay. Sariah doesn't need me—she can support herself and Eli fine—but she can't protect against magic. But if I had a choice, I'd stay here. The only way I know to make a living is through magic, and there's a higher call for that in cities than there is in small farming villages."

  "Then we'll have to make sure they're safe," Bralin declared, deciding to do whatever it took to do so. "Because I'd like to be selfish and keep you here."

  Asa laughed at that, quiet and not quite happy, but his smile was genuine.

  "Speaking of magic, there's actually a position at the curse breakers that you might be interested in," Bralin said casually though he really was a little nervous that Asa would get sick of his interference.

  "Oh?" Asa said, and he looked somewhat interested, but not really thrilled by the idea.

  "Yeah," Bralin said, and he couldn't help but grin a little. "The curse breaker they roped into giving beginner lessons is refusing to do them anymore—" Asa snorted, but Bralin just grinned wider and continued. "—and the higher-ups decided they want to offer more lessons as well—not just curse breaker training."

  "So they're looking for a full-time Professor?" Asa asked, making a face. "Bralin, I don't have the accreditation they'll be looking for."

  "Actually, you do," Bralin said cheerfully. Asa frowned, looking confused. "They want a professor, but aren't willing to pay for it. Someone suggested they look for an Assistant Professor instead. Someone who could work teaching all the time, but not be as expensive as a fully accredited professor."

  Asa rolled his eyes, but he looked amused, at least. "Let me guess, this someone also had a suggestion for the Assistant Professor who could fill the role?"

  "As a matter of fact, yes," Bralin said, grinning cheerfully. "But I did say I wasn't sure whether you were available. They're going to wait to look for another professor until they've heard back whether you're interested."

  "Assistant Professor," Asa corrected absently, frowning in thought as he picked at the potato on his plate. "How long do I have to give a reply? I couldn't commit to anything until everything with Sariah is sorted out."

  "As long as you need. I agreed to cover the classes for as long as it takes for them to find an Assistant Professor to fill the post, so they're not desperate to find someone," Bralin said easily. He was being ridiculous, and he knew it, with the lengths he was going to in order to try and convince Asa to stay.

  "Thank you," Asa murmured, looking pensive as he picked up his wine glass. "You didn't have to stick yourself out there like that."

  "I wanted to," Bralin said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Besides, I don't actually enjoy teaching. I'd been thinking of doing this for a while, and being able to give you the opportunity to teach again was an extra bonus."

  "You prefer being out in the field," Asa said, and it took Bralin a moment to remember that he had told Asa that before.

  "Yeah, teaching was a nice change at first, but it wore thin. The curse breakers corps attracts a lot of new magic users who don’t
have much idea of how to cast spells, let alone break them, and break them down without wasting their entire reservoir of power," Bralin explained, making a face. "It gets frustrating, trying to explain proper curse breaking techniques to people who don't even know how to use magic."

  "So, what would I be doing, precisely?" Asa asked. He'd relaxed some, no longer looking quiet so worried or tense, and Bralin hoped he'd resolved whatever had been putting him on edge. "I don't know proper curse breaking techniques."

  "You'd learn those," Bralin said confidently, pausing to take another sip of his wine. It really was good, and Asa seemed to like it—his glass was mostly empty. "But initially you'd just be teaching how to better regulate energy and cast spells."

  "Do you have a set course for that in place?" Asa asked, curiously. Bralin shook his head, grinning sheepishly. He didn't like to plan too much; it made it harder for him to adapt his lessons to each batch of students.

  "I wing it. Not everyone has the energy regulation problem, and I as only given orders to teach curse breaker techniques," Bralin admitted. "I have a haphazard course for that, but it's not very well organized either. Which is another thing that made my bosses recognize the need for a full-time trainer. I don't have the ability to plan or the time, with all the other duties that are assigned to me."

  "So I'd probably have to create a course structure, too," Asa said, and Bralin had a moment of worry—what if that extra work was too much of a drawback for Asa?

  "Yeah, I can help with that," Bralin offered quickly.

  "I always wanted to structure my own courses," Asa said, smiling at him without any signs of displeasure at the idea. "The beginner courses at the university were already structured—poorly, in my opinion. I always wanted to revise them to fit in more information that would actually be useful to people who were unfamiliar with their magic, you know?"

  "I know," Bralin said, rolling his eyes. "I'd really like to shake some sense into whatever idiot designed those courses. More than a few new curse breakers I dealt with complained how little good the course did them, practically."