Chapter Text
cynosure – a focal point of admiration (1: the northern constellation Ursa Minor also: North Star;
2: one that serves to direct/guide; 3: a center of attraction/attention)
“Oh, I am happier than a man should be! My fondest dream – that which I never dared to hope – has come true.
You will share in my great joy, for you love me more than anyone does.” — The Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen
Once upon a time, there was a land of red sands and black seas where every creature possessed a magic of its own and miracles were not just dreams of a desperate soul; where love was still known to conquer all and friendship and family worth dying for. Here lived a queen and a king who had longed for decades for a child of their own. Seasons changed, empires on the magicless earth above rose and fell and yet the couple remained childless and heartbroken for it. As the years passed, the king and queen had almost given up hope. Holding a baby they could call their own, one to rule the kingdom after them, to spoil and love as they pleased, seemed like a fever dream.
One dark night the queen was taking a midnight swim in the castle’s lake for there was a river that flowed directly into it from the Eternal Sea, said to have been interwoven with magic which could heal all ailments and pain.
As she was swimming in the deep waters, alone with her thoughts and worries and with the castle’s towers looming over her, sounds of greatest desperation reached her ears. It was a cry so heart-wrenching the queen could not keep herself from following it, diving through the waters towards its source. Between rocks and the gate, which separated the castle's lake from the river beyond the gardens, was a figure splashing in the waters, whimpering for help. And as the queen drew closer, she could see it was not quite a human caught there: where one would have legs, there was a shimmering tail of blue scales glittering beneath the water's surface.
The merfolk cried out again, a sad sound that carried in small waves over the lake's edge, like a call for help in a language lost to everyone except the creatures under the sea.
“Shh,” the queen soothed gently and as she did not have one unkind bone in her body, quickly she helped move the rocks between which the merfolk’s tail had been trapped. Her guards and handmaiden had followed her around the lake's edge by now, crying out in worry, yet they did not seem to see the creature hidden in the shadows.
Moonlight hit a row of pearl white teeth as the creature hissed and threw its head back, exposing more of themselves to the light. It was a woman with dark hair falling around her beautiful face like a curtain, a tiara of dark diamonds and seashells sat above her head and big dark eyes looked beyond the water's surface, the rest of her face hidden.
As the queen pulled the last of the rocks free, the mermaid promptly put some distance between the human and herself without another sound. Only in the open water’s safety did she turn back, eyes wary and considering the queen for a moment. The queen waited with her heart racing and breath held.
No one had seen a merperson in decades or centuries even and the tales spoke of angry, violent beings who hunted humans for fun. Yet something in the dark depths of those eyes seemed more frightened, surprised, in awe than cruel and kept her rooted to the spot.
At last, the mermaid slowly raised her hand, a single finger towards the queen's forehead.
"I thank you, Your Highness,” she said in a voice so warm it seemed to drift and envelop all the surrounding water. "For saving my life, I will grant you this one wish: the one thing your heart desires more than all else in this world."
And as her fingertip grazed the soft curve of the queen's lips in the ghost of a touch she sealed it done.
On the coldest day of the coming year when snow painted Edom’s earth in white for the first time in decades, the queen gave birth to a beautiful son with cat’s eyes the color of molten gold like his father. The kingdom rejoiced at the birth of an heir and the king and queen called for celebrations that would go on for seven days and seven nights. On the seventh day, a grand banquet was to be held in the prince's honor and therefore, the king invited seven of his eight cousins to bless his child with the magical gifts they possessed, as was tradition among the Nine Realms' royalty. The eighth one, however, he spared no more than a thought to even as the queen urged him to offer the invitation as a sign of goodwill and peace. The king simply tore the letter to shreds in anger, for his cousin Azazel longed to possess parts of Edom’s kingdom and was not to be trusted at such joyous celebrations nor around his only son and heir.
And what joyous celebrations they were. The royal couple spared no expenses and never had the kingdom seen any festivities like it. Every noble man and woman was invited to sit inside the grand castle halls and be treated to the king and queen's generosity. And while they ate and drank the most expensive of food and wine, the cousins stepped forward to grant the prince their gifts.
The first gifted him with magical power that would be unmatched in all the realms and wrapped it all in the name Magnus which he pressed to his heart. The second gifted him with a heart of good that would see through all lies. The third gifted him with wisdom beyond his years and a thirst for knowledge. The fourth, fifth and sixth gifted him with swiftness in battle, strength and fearlessness and the compassion and strategy of a great leader. And for each gift, someone present would raise their cup and propose a toast until everyone joined in and drank to the newborn child.
“To the king! To the queen!”, rang out through the halls.
“Long live Prince Magnus!”, another shouted and was met with roaring applause. “To the prince!”
The baby watched all this from his crib, gurgling and squealing when another cousin let their magic drift towards him and stretching out his small arms towards the spells.
Yet before the seventh cousin could step forward to grant his wish, the doors of the throne room blew open and with them, Azazel stepped through. On a wind of hellfire and coarse brown sand that blew out every candle and light within the hall, he flew straight to the prince's crib, knocking back everyone in his way and taking the baby into his arms. Engulfing them in a cloud of grey smoke that fended off all spells thrown at him by the guards and cousins, he pressed a finger to Magnus’ heart to give a gift of his own.
"Sweet prince,” he said with booming laughter that carried over the raised voices around him. "Though your royal father may have tried to keep me from you, it would insult my good reputation if I would not celebrate your birth. Therefore, my gift to you is this: you shall walk through this life and be loved by anyone you meet.” A rush of whispers rose through the rows of people, surprised at the generosity. Azazel’s smile bled into something more wicked then. “Yet the one love you shall not find is that of the truest heart and so you shall die alone and unfulfilled before your thirtieth birthday."
And as the smoke rose alongside Magnus' cries, Azazel disappeared and left the room in a silence that made his words echo in every present person’s bones. No one dared to speak for a moment until the king angrily shouted at the guards to run and capture Azazel even if such was a forlorn task.
With tears falling from her eyes, the queen gathered the small prince into her arms, pleading with the last cousin to undo the curse for there was no greater pain to her than thinking her son could never find the happiness of true love.
The seventh cousin stepped forward slowly, his magic an old and wise thing forged in the deepest forests and waters. With sad eyes, he pressed his fingertips to the prince's heart, seeking out the dark magic which had wrapped itself around it.
He sighed and shook his head but still called upon the winds of fate and destiny. "My dear prince, forgive me but I cannot turn back my cousin's curse. All I can do is give you this chance at happiness: There will be one to love you truly and wholly. Three times you shall meet them and three times they shall prove to you that their heart is true. If you can promise your heart in return, you shall both live happily forever. But break their heart and there is no stopping Azazel's curse from continuing."