Chapter Text
“Please, I’ll do whatever you ask! Just let me save them!” he cried, trying to move around his captor in a vain attempt to reach the bodies that littered the ground. Calling their condition “critical” was an understatement. Blood stained the snow around them, nearly black in the scant moonlight.
“Anything?” That taunting smile crept across his face- too wide, and too sharp.
He was ashamed to admit that he was near tears, but what other choice did he have? He knew what the other wanted, what he was going to ask. He had been resigned to live out the remainder of his life with the curse, without bothering to try and break it, but that was no longer an option. He had nothing else to offer.
He couldn’t let them die. It was his fault they were like this, and all for what? Because the hapless little fool had stumbled upon him by accident? That wasn’t fair. It wasn’t his fault.
Not that anything in life was fair, but this… He couldn’t bear this burden.
He swallowed past the growing lump in his throat. “Yes. Anything.”
Wider and wider the smile grew, white teeth gleaming in the dark. He clucked his tongue once. “Now, that’s what I like to hear. We still have that troublesome little enchantment to deal with of course. I’ll tell you what- I’ll be generous. Three years,” he crooned, holding up his fingers before tapping them against the other’s parka- one for each year. The soft fur smoldered with each touch. “Three years to try and break the enchantment. But if you haven’t succeeded by then-”
“I know,” he bit out. He’d had enough of dancing around the topic. They both knew how this was going to turn out as soon as they’d stepped outside. Every word was another second wasted. He was running out of time.
The gleaming smile didn’t waver. “We have a deal, then.”
He finally stepped aside, letting the younger man begin the painstaking process of restoring the two broken bodies that lay behind him. Quiet, hurried words were cast, hands pressed against tender flesh, and the gentle glow of healing magic lit up the hillside.
“Remember, you don’t have long before the sun rises. It would be a shame if you didn’t finish in time,” he leered. He didn’t wait for an answer, disappearing in a swirl of snow.
Triumph tasted oh so sweet.