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Kevin would never have thought of himself much as friend of painting, but for lack of anything better to do, as it turns out boredom can make miracles happen. In the corner of the tall room there are portraits of his friends and landscapes, ones he’s only ever dreamt of laying his eyes upon.
“And… there!” Kevin draws the final stroke on the canvas, taking a step back to take a better look at the image of a forest opening.
“It looks great!” Emma singsongs to his right, and Kevin smiles a bit wider. He turns to look at his friend. On her lips she wears a heartfelt smile, stark contrast to her sharp features and scales that cover part of her skin. She would be shunned in the outside world, but to Kevin Emma is a precious friend. The wings on her back flap happily as she observes the painting Kevin just finished.
“Aw, shucks. I bet the real thing’s nicer though,” he shrugs her compliment off in a melancholy tone.
“Don’t give me that- I think this one is my favorite out of everything you’ve painted so far! William hums, backing up Emma’s words. He is another odd creature, not quite human but more than simply a beast. From atop his head stretch out a pair of soft white rabbit ears, which in Kevin’s opinion make the muscular man look rather adorable.
Kevin turns around to face his friends, the only two people he is glad to spend time with- And coincidentally, two of the five people who inhabit the castle. It’s cold, old building with rough stone walls and high ceilings, spiderwebs clinging to the corners nestled in darkness that he can’t reach to clean them up.
Suddenly Emma jumps, her eyes growing wide.
“It’s Mary, she must be back!”
In his haste, Kevin drops the brush- He hears it roll off the table and clatter to the floor, but he doesn’t have time to stop and pick it back up. He gathers his long dark braid in his arms so as not to trip on it, something he has learned to look out the hard way. Kevin hurries down the stairs two steps at a time and he doesn’t stop to check, but he hears Will and Emma follow behind him.
“I’m coming,” Kevin hollers as he hears the door open and close, signaling that Mary will already be waiting for him by the time he reaches the bottom floor.
“Kevin!” She demands his presence with her usual distant, regal tone and Kevin winces, not the least bit excited to welcome her back- ‘Home’ is how she refers to it, but to Kevin the castle feels closer to a prison.
“How was your ride?” Kevin asks as he arrives at the bottom of the stairs, forcing a pleasant smile to his lips.
“Adequate,” she says simply, removing her bonnet and cape, reaching out to carelessly drop them in Kevin’s waiting arms. Robbie peeks out from behind her hem then, snickering as Kevin almost loses his hold of the bonnet.
“Now, did you perform all the chores I asked of you?” Mary inquires as she smooths out her lavish gown- Dressed in her best, even for simply a horseback ride through the woods.
“All done, ma’am,” Kevin answers amiably, watching her start ascending the stairs to her room.
Mary hums noncommittedly but she freezes as she steps on a stair that creaks quietly under her weight. Robbie, who sprinted up to the second floor as soon as Mary turned to leave the entrance hall, sits at the top of the stairs and swings his legs back and forth idly. The little boy is clearly enjoying watching Kevin shrink under Mary’s glare, and Kevin swears he could hear him giggle.
“What was that?” Mary asks softly, her sharp nails grazing the railing as she turns to face Kevin. “I thought you said you had taken care of everything, Kevin dear?”
“That must’ve slipped my mind, I’ll fix it right away-” He goes to leave, but Mary stops him with a chilling call of his name. Her gaze is focused on his face, eyes narrowing as she closes the distance between them.
“Is that paint on your face? Did you neglect your duties to trifle away? And of all things, painting- You ought to show gratitude and treat your tasks with due respect but instead you play with paint?”
Kevin realizes too late that he must have left a smear of paint across his face. He did everything that was asked of him, but it was never enough. He thought he’d learnt to better hide he had a life at all outside the chores assigned to him. Helplessly he started after Mary as she stormed past him: Kevin already knew where she was headed.
William and Emma flinched away as Mary stormed past them, Robbie simply skipping after her. Kevin hurried along the hallway to catch up to Mary his heart clenching anxiously in anticipation of what was to come. His friends joined him; their steps hurried to reach the top of the tower to find the door to Kevin’s room already open.
“Useless, useless,” she chanted under her breath, summoning wicked spell to destroy Kevin’s painting tools and every single canvas he had spent what little free time he found during all his years growing up. Kevin bit his lip, holding back despairing protests as the cold-hearted woman ground into dust the paintings he had poured his dreams into. The friends he loved; the places he yearned to see for himself- All of it, gone, in burst of her anger.
“I hope you’ll learn to not spend your time on frivolousness,” Mary stated, her voice dripping with venom. She pushes past Kevin, shooting a demeaning look at Emma and William that sends them skittering out of her way. Robbie makes a sound like he’s blowing a raspberry, before Mary calls out to him irately and the small boy runs after her cackling to himself all the while.
“Kevin…” William speaks up first, taking a hesitant step closer.
“I’m so sorry,” Emma starts but falls quiet, seemingly unable to find the words to finish.
“It’s alright,” Kevin sighs, though he doubts it achieves much in the way of convincing them he actually feels alright- He is anything but.
The dragonoid girl and rabbit eared man glance at each other sadly before moving to stand on both sides of their sullen friend.
“We’ll find something else you can spend your time on!” Emma tires to console Kevin, while William pats his shoulder.
They set about cleaning up the room, although there isn’t much to do, for Mary’s magic reduced everything she’d judged useless into dust. They have barely finished cleaning, when a bell on the wall rings, telling Kevin that Mary already wants something of him.
Kevin pulls himself together and makes his way to Mary’s chambers, this time leaving his friends behind- She never takes kindly to their presence and frankly, Kevin would rather spare them her ill demeanor. It was enough that one person had to endure her cold treatment.
He arrivers to her door and knocks, before entering the room.
“You called?”
“I’d like my afternoon tea and this time, please do be swift enough it won’t get cold. The last time was terrible- I’d hate to have to waste another pot.”
Silently Kevin gives her a slight bow of his head and backs out of the room. He doesn’t waste time navigating to the kitchen of the castle, empty of any servants- save for himself. Kevin isn’t even sure why he tries his best to be swift and precise with the chores anymore, because Mary is never satisfied. Not fast enough, not good enough- Never enough.
His thoughts wander about as he brews the tea, collects a plate of biscuits he baked just a day before. Just as he is about to pick up the tray laden with Mary’s afternoon tea, William and Emma burst into the kitchen, taking Kevin by surprise.
“You two! Didn’t see you coming there,” he breathes out a chuckle, adjusting his grip on the tray.
Emma looks happy but before she can explain their sudden entrance to Kevin, she stretches her wings clumsily and the tray meant for Mary is abruptly tossed into air.
“I’ll get it, I’ll get it-” Emma rambles in panicked voice, trying to predict where the biscuits and cutlery are going to land.
William is quick to dash to catch the pot and by some miracle, hardly any tea at all spills from the delicate porcelain pot. Kevin gives him a grateful smile, having caught the tray with most of its contents, to which William responds with an easy grin of his own.
Emma’s victorious cheer has both men to looking in her direction, relieved to see she was able to catch the teacup before it shattered on the stone floor. Just as Emma stands up, her elbow hits a spot in the wall and a grating sound of stone moving makes her jump back.
“What was that...?” She asks warily, though neither Kevin nor William know how to reply. Only when the shape of a staircase begins to form on the floor and steps start to descend below the ground level is her question answered.
“I- never knew there was something like this under the castle,” Kevin says breathlessly as he lowers the tray from his hands. William follows the suit and places the teapot on the tray, but he eyes the staircase suspiciously:
“I don’t know if it’s safe to enter, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Well,” Kevin hums, already gathering his hair up to begin descending the stairs that extend far below into darkness, “We are about to find out...!”
William and Emma find themselves with no other choice but to follow as Kevin picks up the candle and wanders into the pitch-black corridor.
They emerge into a small room, excited and apprehensive whispers making way for dumbfounded silence. Kevin comes to a stop in the center and letting his gaze wander: The room smells of dust and old cloth, aged trunks piled upon one another.
“Is this a storage room?” Emma speaks up carefully, sticking close to Kevin. He makes a noncommittal sound, stepping closer to a smaller box resting atop large crate. Something about it draws him in, and Kevin carefully pries the casket open to find a silver hairbrush. Entranced, he picks the brush up: He inspects it closely, turning the delicate object around in his hands until his eyes land on cursive inscription on the back side.
“Kevin? What is it?” William asks curiously, stepping closer to look at the brush over his shoulder. Emma, unwilling to be left alone in the odd room, immediately scoots over as well. She tilts her head to see what exactly captured her friends’ attention.
“I- don’t really know,” Kevin responds helplessly, tracing the writing with his thumb. Mary never allowed him to learn how to read.
Mary wasn’t happy in the slightest with for how long she had to wait for her tea. Needless to mention, after the three returned from their impromptu expedition Kevin had to brew a new pot before finally taking the tray to her- But Kevin endures through her lecture, his thoughts on the silver brush that William and Emma took up to his room.
He doesn’t know the words engraved on the brush, but just being close to it brings him an odd sense of comfort. Kevin lets Mary’s harsh words of contempt wash over himself, nodding meekly until she dismisses him with and indignant huff. Kevin isn’t surprised to not see Robbie anywhere close by- not anymore. He isn’t entirely sure of the kind of being the boy is, but Kevin has seen him fade in and out of material existence before. Perhaps he is a spirit of sorts, but for all that it matters is that Kevin isn’t startled out of his skin anymore when he hears the little boy giggle from somewhere above him as he leaves Mary’s room.
Kevin hurries back to his room, his steps light on the long flight of stairs. He finds William and Emma lying on his bed, talking, when he enters. Emma springs up, greeting Kevin happily.
“We took the brush back, like you asked,” William supplies with a grin, taking the silver brush out from under the covers where they had hidden it just in case.
Kevin smiles at them gratefully, and joins his friends sitting on the bed. William gives him the brush, and Kevin thanks him as he accepts it. The brush seems to ooze warmth, though it isn’t really warm to the touch. It’s difficult to explain but Kevin feels almost as if the brush is resonating with him, silently accepting his presence. He almost jumps out of his skin when a voice calls out:
“Hey hey, you- dragon. Your dad is looking for you,” it says, and Kevin recognizes it as Robbie even before the boy phases into view. Kevin hid the brush as subtly as he could, but he doesn’t know if Robbie saw it- and if he did, the boy doesn’t care to make a show of it. Emma goes a shade paler at his words, color draining from her cheeks. She pushes herself up from the bed as quickly as she can as not to get her wings tangled up in the sheets and heads for the door with a hurried apology to Kevin and William.
Kevin feels his heart clench in sympathy for Emma, but she is already gone before he can so much as wish her good luck. Robbie is still hanging in the air, but he settles on the headboard of the bed as Kevin eyes the little spirit warily.
“I didn’t expect you to deliver the message to her.” Robbie is far too fond of mischief to bother to help other. Anyone else than Mary that is, but Kevin has a feeling it’s only because what she wills, often causes trouble for Kevin- Or someone else.
“No reason, I’m just bored,” Robbie singsongs, swinging his feet idly.
Kevin doesn’t trust him, but the boy doesn’t seem to care either way, fading from view when nothing exciting happens.
“I hope she will be alright,” William mumbles, and Kevin can’t help but agree.
Emma returns not an hour later, but other than being quieter than usual she seems to be alright.
“What did Leo want?” Kevin asks softly, as the three lounge on his bed: It’s more than large enough for the three of them, and Kevin never hesitated to offer to share the space so William and Emma could sleep comfortably- Mary never did care to offer them rooms of their own, much less their own beds.
She would never say it out loud, but in her eyes the dragon girl and rabbit man were but mere pets and didn’t deserve such luxury; something that Kevin strongly disagreed on, but he had never been able to change her mind about it. Other than herself, Mary didn’t have much regard for other magical beings. But it shouldn’t have surprised Kevin, seeing how she treated him.
“Nothing much, he just wanted to know if I was learning what is expected of my ilk… You can imagine how that went,” she answers Kevin’s inquiry despondently. Kevin frowns, resting a hand on her shoulder hoping to show her some comfort. Emma is afraid of fire; yet she is supposed to be able to breathe it. She is better at flying, but she barely has room to practice cooped up in the castle.
“It’s going to be alright,” William consoles her but his ears droop sadly.
“You know you don’t have to stick with me all day,” Kevin starts, trying to pick out his words carefully.
Emma shakes her head before he can finish, cutting him off:
“I don’t want to leave you alone here with Mary.”
“William is here, nothing will happen- Besides, it would be just every now and then,” Kevin protest and he sees her hesitate for a brief moment before responding.
“…Alright, if you say so,” she finally relents, and offers them a small smile, “Thank you, both of you.”
“We got your back,” William assures her, and Emma’s smile turns a hint less strained.
The three settles into comfortable silence, until Emma breaks it glancing around as if in search of something.
“What happened to the brush? Robbie didn’t take it, did he?” she asks, clearly worried when she can’t see the item in question.
“Oh no, I don’t know if Robbie noticed it, but he didn’t say anything about the brush.” Kevin reassures her although deep down he’s also concerned.
“Here’s to hoping it’ll stay that way. I don’t think Mary would let you keep it if he told her,” William murmurs, voicing the woe on all of their minds.
A sullen silence replaces the earlier comfort of the quiet in the room. It’s a scenario Kevin doesn’t terribly want to entertain. He’s never had much to call his own in the old giant of a castle and he thought it never bothered him- until he discovered the brush. Just holding it in his hands rouses a nostalgic feeling, like a forgotten memory that escaper his reach every time Kevin tries too hard to remember.
“I wonder whose it is…” He wonders out loud, and Emma gives the brush another thoughtful look. Then her eyes light up, and Kevin gives her a confused look oblivious to what made her mood lift so unexpectedly.
“Can I braid your hair for you Kevin? I know you aren’t really fond of the idea, but I just thought- wouldn’t it be nice to brush your hair with this?” she suggests with a hopeful smile, and Kevin can’t find it in himself to deny her.
He shrugs but a fond smile finds its way to his lips anyway; Kevin turns to sit with his back to his friends, letting his feet dangle down from the bed.
“Let me give you a hand with that,” William offers, and Kevin can hear the smile in his voice- he sits still as the two unbraid his long hair and carefully start to brush though it, getting rid of the tangles. It’s in moments like these that Kevin doesn’t hate his life, not like Mary’s terrible attitude and unreasonable demands make him on the worst of his days. Kevin listens to William and Emma talk quietly, laughing every now and then.
He knows they would eagerly include him in the conversation, but he’d rather cherish the small moment of quiet. It feels like his friends can somehow sense it, and perhaps they can- Sometimes remembering that he is the only one in the castle untouched by magic makes him feel lonely.
Before his thoughts take a turn for more forlorn ones, Emma’s happy exclamation carries to his ears, and he twists his torso to take a look at her and William’s handiwork:
Soft smile tugs at the corners of his lips- He can see the effort that went into his hair and both William and Emma are beaming at him, making it hard for Kevin not to do the same.
“It looks really nice- thank you!” He says, delighted. Kevin wouldn’t say he is especially proud over his hair, but it doesn’t really bother him either. Still, he smooths his palm over the long, silken braid and finds he likes the way it looks. Such long hair is a piece of work to keep it free of tangles but to his luck of misfortune, Emma in particular likes to brush it for him- Even before the excuse of the silver brush that Kevin is quickly growing fond of. And perhaps he ought to be grateful, for with Mary denying any sharp objects from his possession there is no way Kevin will be able to cut his hair anytime soon.
When William starts to nod off, Kevin ushers them to get up from the bed with a chuckle. They burrow under the sheets, Emma sleeping on one side to let her wings drape down from the mattress, Kevin in the middle and William to his left. The rabbit man falls asleep first, unsurprising to Kevin who had already had trouble keeping him up long enough they could get under covers.
Kevin and Emma whisper softly to each other for a while longer, speculating about the hairbrush, and the storage room they’d discovered it from until finally she falls asleep too. Kevin lies awake, staring at the ceiling as he listens to the slow, steady breathing of his two closest friends. His eyelids begin to grow heavy as he lies there and Kevin casts one last glance at the brush on the small round table next to the bed.
He falls asleep with a content expression, a flicker of comfort coming into life inside him at the sight of the oddly familiar object and knowing his friends will have his back, no matter what.
Kevin wakes in the middle of the night to find Emma and William gone, and he sits up with a start-
“Emma?” he calls into the darkness, pushing the covers aside to drop down from the bed.
“William...?” he tries again, but there is no answer; dread begins to pool in his stomach as he fumbles to make his way around the dark room. It’s until he hears someone calling him and Kevin stops to listen, relieved breath escaping his lips as he hears its coming from outside, right where his window is- William must have gone with Emma to help her practice, train her wings or help her get over her fear of fire. It’s with light heart that he goes to the window, thinking he will see William calling his name as he leans out.
But it’s not William-
Nor is it Emma.
Instead, Kevin sees a man dressed finely as a prince himself only short of a crown. And- he recognizes the man.
“Kevpunzel, Kevpunzel, let down your hair,” the man speaks under the moonlight, a hand on his heart, outstretched arm reaching for Kevin who stands frozen, staring dumbfounded at the scene playing out under his window.
In fact, Kevin knows this man very well.
“Jose?” he calls out, and something about this, everything happening suddenly feels very jarring to him.
The prince halts in his recital of what sounds like a Shakespearean love poem. At Kevin’s hesitant holler, the man who indeed is Jose, let’s his arm drop to his side and gives Kevin the most unimpressed look he can fathom ever seeing on the first officer’s face.
“Won’t you finally wake up?” Jose calls back, “Your alarm goes off in five minutes-”
Kevin bolts up, pulling the cover he and Jose share off of his boyfriend in the process. His eyes scan the room wildly before his gaze lands on the alarm clock sitting on his nightstand; it reads 6:55 in the morning. Kevin rubs his eyes with the heels of his palms and then groggily turns to look at Jose, who sleeps peacefully next to him.
“What the hell…?” He mutters and lets himself fall back onto the bed.
He stares at the ceiling with his brows knit in confusion-
When Jose wakes up to the alarm clock and grumpily swats at the clock to silence the unholy sound, Kevin turns to snuggle onto his side.
“Do you think long hair would suit me?” He wonders out loud, and Jose blinks at him blearily, clearly not having expected such question the first thing in the morning.
“…Yes, I suppose. I think it would look good on you- why…?”
Kevin presses a kiss to Jose’s cheek and smiles: “No reason.”