A Malec Alphabet 2

B- Books

BOOKS (It was all Alec's idea...)

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful man who lived in a castle far far away. He always did everything in excess, he loved to party, to drink, and he always kept a lover.
It was this last one that got him in trouble.

"He always sent his lovers away after a night or two, and they were always broken-hearted. One day he took for a lover a witch, and without knowing it, he offended her as he sent her away after a night of passion.
"You do not know how to love," she screamed. "And so nobody will know how to love you! You will stay the same, in this castle forever until you find someone who will love you!"
And with that she disappeared, cackling as she faded.

"The man laughed, not believing for a minute in curses, and carried on his way, living the same way he had.
It was not until a few years later, when he looked in the mirror and realised that he had not aged a day since the witch had been in his castle. His skin was still smooth with youth, no lines marring the expanse. No grey lined his black hair, and no signs of his wild lifestyle showed on his face. He fled, locking himself in the innermost sanctum of the castle.

"He became angry and bitter. He tried to take a lover, a man or a woman who might love him, but he found that as they aged and left him that he was still the same, and he realised that though they had said that they loved him, they hadn't broken the curse. He was betrayed, and wept as he saw lover after lover grow old and die. He vowed that he would not attempt to break the curse, and felt as evil as the witch had said he was.

"It was not for another hundred years until an archer became lost as he rode through the woods with his sister and his brother. His horse became distracted and took him away. He travelled until dark, trying to find his way out of the treacherous woods, and eventually saw a ruinous castle up ahead, and decided to find shelter from the rain and keep looking in the morning.

"He lifted the heavy golden knocker the shape of a cat's eye and rapped on the door.
He waited in silence, shivering in the rain, before noticing that the door was slightly ajar. He looked around before deciding that a night in a dry, abandoned castle was better than a night in the rain. He entered, and was surprised at how much wealth was displayed in the hall, and wondered why it had not been taken by robbers.

"The strangest thing, he noted, was the candles lit on the wall, seemingly lighting a path for him. He followed the lit corridor which took him to a bedroom, decked in silks and tapestries of a style long past. The archer decided that it was worth the risk, and slipped off his wet over clothes to take rest in the large bed.
He was all alone, it seemed.

"When he awoke, sunlight streamed in through the window and he was alerted to see a silhouette blocking it.
The silhouette moved towards him, and he saw that this was a tall, beautiful man, with a cat wrapped around his neck.

""Why are you here?" The man demanded.
The archer stuttered. "I was lost in the woods, I needed shelter from the rain, I did not know that somebody lived here."
"Nobody has set foot in this castle in a hundred years," the man growled. "By entering, you have doomed yourself. You cannot leave."

"The archer was dismayed, for he dearly loved his brothers and sister, and wept at the possibility of never seeing them again. The man looked at the archer with disdain until he caught sight of the shade of blue of his eyes. His breath caught in his throat, and he turned and left, an odd, unfamiliar feeling in his stomach.

"The archer dried his eyes, vowing that if he would have to live in this punishment, he would do so with the dignity and honour that befitted his family name.

"He didn't see the mysterious man again until the third day of his stay, whereupon he begged desperately for the chance to send his family a letter to let them know that he was safe, but that he could not return. Feeling uncharacteristically pitiful, the man relented, and gave him an enchanted scroll that would send a message to whomever the writer intended. The archer was amazed at this, and asked how the man had come to be in possession of this mysterious object. Feeling a pang of kindness towards the man, eyes wide in naïve awe, the man revealed how he had learnt the mystic arts whilst he had locked himself away; how he had enchanted the candles to light themselves, food to appear on the table and taxes to pay themselves-"

"Daddy, there's no taxes in a fairystory."
"Sorry, sweetheart, you're right-"

"And for the beds to make themselves."

"Better?"
"Better."

"The archer was enthralled at these small magics, and asked many a question, which entertained the man so much that he found himself wanting to spend more and more time with him. He felt he could no longer call him a prisoner, but a guest, and as time went on became fond of the unusual archer.
The archer in turn found himself drawn to the man, wanting to find out more about him.

"The archer's brother and sister, however, were not satisfied by the letter they had been sent, and managed to track down where it had been sent from. Fearing for the archer's life inside the ruined castle where it was said that a monster haunted, they saddled their horses and set off with weapons to rescue their brother.

"It had been two weeks since the archer had arrived that the brother and sister reached the castle, and they armed themselves for a fight. When they burst through the doors of the great hall, however, they did not expect to see their brother seated at a table, laughing with a dangerous-looking man.
They begged and insisted that he come home with them, but it was not until the man told him, harshly, to leave that their brother agreed to go with them. The archer collected his few belongings with a heavy heart.

"The man, however, was devastated. He lamented how he had let the archer creep into his heart, and how easily he had fallen for him.
It was not until he stood on the doorstep that he realised the truth.

"As the archer left the hallway, he rested one palm on the man's face and smiled. "You need to shave," he said thickly. The man froze. He had not had to shave for three hundred years.
As the archer turned to leave, the man raised a hand to his face and, indeed, felt the scratching of hair. Unable to prevent himself he called out a simple question: "Do you truly love me?"

"The archer turned back, tears in his eyes and smiled. "Of course."
The man ran to him, taking his first steps from outside the castle walls in years. He kissed him gently, laughing as he realised that the curse had been lifted, and he was finally loved.

"The archer took the man back with him to his home town, where his family rejoiced at having him home again, and his having found someone to share his soul with. The two lived, loved, and grew old together in their own home, and lived Happily Ever After."

Magnus kissed his daughter on the forehead and tucked her in, before joining his husband at the door.
Alec slung an arm around his waist and pulled Magnus close. "You know you're not the beast. And you don't need to be able to grow old for me to love you. I will always be in love with you."
Magnus scowled fondly, "Stop poking holes in my story, Lightwood, it was your idea to come up with my own story book for Lucy."
Alec laughed and kissed him, taking him by the hand as they rested on the sofa and whispered plans for their own future stories together.

#Ifinallyupdated
Beauty and the Beast AU just came into my head watching the trailer for the reboot and WHUMP this chapter happened.
If you're wondering why the update took so long, please refer to the note in the previous chapter.
Love you all, and I will try to update as soon as possible.
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HolyHephaestus
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