Chapter Text
In a distant memory Percival remembered his life not being bleak and dreary. He thought that once his days were filled with light and laughter instead of dust and silence. The memories of these days seemed far away, faded in his mind like paintings bleached from the sun, and some days Percival questioned if they were real at all. It was hard to believe that once upon a time the halls of his castle had been filled with people, the music swelling in the ballroom as couples laughed and danced the night away.
These days the rooms lay in ruin, a thick layer of dust having stolen the glow of the gold and dulled all the colours down to a murky grey. There was nothing but silence in the halls, and the nights seemed to last a lifetime.
Nothing ever broke the monotony of Percival’s empty days. The hours stretched endlessly before him with little to fill them, and with each passing day, Percival sank deeper into the darkness of his mind. He expected it to swallow him completely any day now.
And then, on a day like any other, Percival’s dreary routine was broken by a redheaded man stumbling into his castle and stealing one of his roses. As if that wasn’t enough, a day after he’d thrown the thief into one of the castle’s cells, another man with flaming red hair arrived.
If Percival had known the headaches this man was going to cause him, he’d have sent both of them away and gone back to bed.
***
“Zeus, what did you do?” Newt hissed as he sank to his knees in front of the cell. The ground beneath his feet was cold and damp and Newt wrinkled his nose. The castle had definitely seen better days. It looked abandoned, grime and dust and cobwebs everywhere, but it didn’t feel abandoned. Whispers carried through the air, and Newt could swear he’d seen the candelabra in the entrance hall move. Besides, Theseus would’ve hardly locked himself up.
“Merlin’s sake, Newt, what are you doing here?” Theseus hissed right back, his fingers wrapped around the damp bars of his prison cell. His gaze darted around nervously, searching the darkness behind Newt. “You need to leave.”
“In a moment,” said Newt and held out his arm so Pickett could inspect the cell’s lock. “Can you open it?”
The bowtruckle puffed up as if Newt had greatly insulted him and stuck out his tongue before getting to work.
“I’m serious, Newt. You need to leave. Now. Before he locks you up as well.” Theseus’ spoke quickly, his gaze boring into Newt.
“Pickett will have the lock open in just a moment and then we can leave toge-“ The cell door swung open with a rusty creak and Pickett jumped back onto Newt’s arm, brushing dust off his arms and looking up at Newt with his lips pursed. “You did very well, Pickett,” Newt smiled and the bowtruckle preened under the praise.
Pulling the door the rest of the way open Newt looked expectantly at Theseus. “C’mon, let’s g-“
“What is the meaning of this?!” A barking voice echoed off the walls and pressed in on Newt from all sides. The ground vibrated as something rather large landed behind him and Newt watched as his brother’s eyes grew wide. Pickett’s leaves tickled the side of Newt’s neck as the bowtruckle scrambled to disappear into the pocket of his shirt.
“Are you trying to escape, thief?” The voice drew out the last consonant into a hiss and Theseus bristled and stood up taller.
“I’m not a thief! I merely picked a rose!”
“Which you had no permission to do!”
Newt quirked and eyebrow and slowly turned around, as to not startle whoever was behind him. All of this was about a rose?
“I’m afraid that’s all my fault,” Newt said as he tried to make something out in the dark. In the flickering candlelight he only saw a large, dark shape in the doorway. He would’ve thought it an exceptionally bulky man, if not for the horns gleaming in the light.
“Is that so?”
The deep voice seemed to reverberate in Newt’s chest and he swallowed and fought to keep his spine straight and his head held high. “Yes. You see, roses are Pickett’s favourite food, so I asked Theseus to bring me one when he returned from the market.”
The man –or the creature? Newt squinted harder, still not entirely sure– snorted. “My roses are no food.”
“Well, yes. I assume there was no formal warning in the garden not to pick any flowers though, so my brother couldn’t have known. And we’re really sorry and I assure you that it won’t happen again. If you just let us leave, we’ll be out of your hair in a jiffy.”
“You think your brother’s misdeed will so easily be forgotten? That you can come here and take whatever you please and then leave?”
“I might’ve taken some silver spoons as well,” Theseus whispered from behind Newt. “And a few other trinkets.”
It felt like a physical strain to keep from rolling his eyes. Theseus was incorrigible. “I do apologise for my brother.”
“I don’t care for apologies. One of you stays here.”
“Would you come into the light? It’s rather disconcerting, speaking to a shadow.” Part of Newt was stalling for time, while another part of him was genuinely curious. The owner of the castle gave a low growl before he stepped forward. He looked like a wampus standing on its hind legs, and the torches on the wall revealed a hairy face, a broad, flat nose and lips curled back into a snarl that showed sharp teeth. Most astounding though were the creature’s eyes. They were almost ill-fitting on its face, brown and intelligent and very human.
Newt couldn’t contain his excitement and took a step forward, which made the creature falter and its snarl fall.
“Oh, oh that’s fascinating.” Forgetting all about their current predicament Newt studied the creatures torn clothes. It wore trousers, a shirt and a waistcoat, and what might once have been a cloak. All the garments were ill-cared for but clearly made of expensive materials. Newt had studied a lot of creatures in his time –which had contributed to his reputation as ‘peculiar’ among the villagers– but he’d never once encountered a beast that dressed and spoke like a human.
“What are you?” Newt asked as his fingers twitched to reach out and touch the matted black and grey fur, wondering if it would feel coarse or smooth under his hands. “Was your mother a wampus? Or your father?”
The creatures snarl morphed into an open-mouthed look of surprise. Brown eyes widened and stared at Newt, the flames reflected in the dark pupils. Then, in the span of a second, the moment snapped and the creature narrowed its eyes, emitting another growl. “How dare you!”
“Newt. Shit, Newt.” Theseus grabbed Newt’s arm and tried to pull him back, but Newt didn’t feel afraid. He’d been snarled at by plenty of beasts before.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult your parents, of course.” He did a little bow to show just how sorry he was, before he turned around to face his brother. “I’ll stay.”
“Newt, no-“
“I’ll stay,” Newt repeated, more insistent. He would march Theseus out of the castle himself if he had to, because Newt wasn’t going to give up the opportunity to study this creature. “Go.”
Theseus pressed his lips together and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “No. I’ll not leave you here with Merlin knows what and-“
“Enough!” The beast roared. “If one of you isn’t back in the cell within the minute I’ll lock both of you up!”
For a second Theseus looked like he was about to suggest that this was a splendid idea, but before he could voice any such thoughts Newt stepped into the cell and closed the door, locking himself in. His brother’s crestfallen look made him feel a little bit bad about it, and he might’ve acted a little rash, but Newt had never been one to pass up on an opportunity that presented itself.
“I’ll find a way out, don’t worry, Zeus,” he said, low enough only for his brother to hear. After all Newt had Pickett, so it would be difficult to keep him locked up anywhere. Once he’d completed his studies he’d return to the village. Or maybe, once they got to know each other better, he could reason with the creature.
“Newt.” With a sigh Theseus stepped up to the cell and reached inside, taking Newt’s hand. His palm was cold and a little clammy. “I’ll go prematurely grey because of you.”
“No you won’t.” Newt squeezed his brother’s hand.
Theseus rolled his eyes and smiled, but the skin around his eyes was tight. “Please, be careful. Promise me.”
“I promise.”
“Write me! If I don’t get a letter from you once a week I’ll come marching back here.”
“Are you quite done?” The creatures tone was mockingly calm, but there was a dangerous edge underneath it. The brothers shared another look before Theseus took a step back. His throat bobbed visibly as he swallowed.
“Be careful, Newt.”
Newt nodded, hiding the spark of nervousness that had ignited in his stomach now that his initial excitement had worn off a little. There was no point in worrying now, though. What was done was done and in the end better him than Theseus.
“You too.”
Another impatient growl from the beast had Theseus darting a nervous gaze to the side before he directed a final, lingering look at Newt. “I’ll see you soon,” he mouthed. It took him visible effort to turn around and walk down the stairs, his steps slow and dragging. Newt watched his brother’s back disappear, the echo of his boots on the stone floor growing faint. When silence had fallen again Newt looked back at the beast.
“Would you care for a cup of tea? I have a few questions I’d really like to ask you.”
The beast snarled and turned around, stalking away, each heavy step like a clap of angry thunder.
“Guess that was a no,” Newt mumbled and slid down against the wall to sit on the cold stone floor with a sigh. As exciting as this opportunity was, his new quarters left a lot to be desired.