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1. Six years
“Your Highness,” a guard said reverently, making all the others along the corridor repeat the act. Alec only nodded and proceeded with his way, head held high and hands clasped behind his back.
But despite all the respect those guards upheld for their prince, some couldn’t help the desire to coo at him.
A six-year-old boy shouldn’t be that adorable with a constant scowl on his young face, already feeling the weight of the future crown on his head. Add to that the fact that Alec wasn’t a spoiled brat or disrespectful towards any of the lower classes. Even for a small child, he was already kind, attentive, and very polite. That only boosted their willingness to protect their future governor with all their might.
Not that it was really necessary now. After decades of war, they finally entered an era of peace and prosperity. After the demise of the latest king, Valentine Morgenstern, the new king and queen made an actual effort to restore connections in good faith with the neighboring kingdoms. Robert and Maryse Lightwood were every inch royalty and held power with a sharp mind, strong hands, and thoughtful eyes. However, they weren’t cruel. There was fairness in their judgment, and their good politics provided good deals with every race under their authority.
Also, for the first time since the new Accords were signed, other races were allowed to be at the court and work in any position – by free will, not as slaves like before. One of the most important jobs was of High Warlock, a being of great power and wisdom who could offer advice and magical services to the royal family. Occupying that position currently was Ragnor Fell, and through some not-so discreet whispers from servants, Alec heard that Mr. Fell brought under his wing a Warlock kid who was around the same age as the prince himself, and became an orphan recently.
See, Alec didn’t have friends of his age. Half the kids hated him for being royalty, and the other half feared him for the same reason. He would soon be a big brother, his mama already heavy due to the pregnancy, but a baby wasn’t ideal to play at the royal gardens, climb trees or collect pebbles. So, Alec was curious to see this new kid in the castle and hoped – oh, he hoped a lot – that he would like Alec and play with him.
And well, he wasn’t disappointed at all.
Magnus was… magical.
From the beginning, Alec and Magnus got along like a house on fire. They quickly became best friends, and for the first time in his life, Alec felt whole.
He wasn’t Alexander Lightwood, the Prince of Idris, and Magnus wasn’t Magnus Bane, the High Warlock’s apprentice.
They were only Alec and Magnus, just two boys attached to the hip.
That’s why Alec finally made a decision and took the next step.
There was a tradition in Idris as old as time for all royal families. Considered to be blessed by the Angels, any royal could bear something special called runes. They were marks drawn on their bodies and magically consolidated on the skin by the High Warlock, each one representing some kind of achievement and showing for all to see the enormity of their existence.
Victory, compassion, fairness, justice, love, strength, matrimony, mourning, death, and so on.
Usually, the King was the one with the most runes on their body.
Alec was supposed to get his first rune on his 10th birthday, but he couldn’t wait. He needed one now. And while Mr. Fell was busy applying a new one on his dad, Alec ran to the High Warlock’s tower where he was pretty sure Magnus would be at that time of the day, studying.
He giggled at that thought. Magnus hated studying, always wanting to get to the heart of the action – or, more like, spell – quickly. Magnus was brilliant already, and most of the time Mr. Fell looked too (fondly) exasperated by his pupil’s behavior.
“Magnus, Magnus, Magnus!” Alec chanted as if it was his own kind of spell, and it always worked – Magnus would stop anything that he was doing and look at Alec with the brightest of grins.
And no matter what, Alec grinned back.
“You came to rescue me from this boring book?” Magnus’ eyes turned mischievous, and he threw the book at his back without an ounce of care.
It was Magnus’ thing.
Much like Alec’s (also fondly, but only for Magnus) patent eye roll.
“Actually, I came for an official matter.” Alec fixed his silver circlet for the nth time that day, annoyed with his too-long bangs that tickled his forehead.
Magnus gave a little smile, always thinking how adorable Alec was.
“I want a rune, and I want you to draw it on me.”
“What?” The Warlock gasped, his mouth falling open for a moment before he could find his words again. “Alexander, I’ve barely started my training. I’m just an apprentice. Only papa can draw on you.”
“I know, but I don’t want to wait anymore. Besides, I don’t want any rune. I want the Best Friend rune, and only you can give it to me.” Alec had a solemn face like they were discussing Kingdom matters and not a simple magical drawing.
One that Magnus was fairly sure didn’t exist.
He narrowed his eyes. Or did it? He would look at Ragnor’s Gray Book almost daily while trying to memorize the many marks he would need to apply someday, but the one Alec was asking for… He really didn’t remember seeing that one at all.
But Alec was looking at him with those big puppy blue eyes, and if Magnus was a better big boy, he would say no.
Well, he wasn’t.
“Okay.” He blinked slowly, his golden-green eyes softer than usual.
“Okay?” Alec beamed, already taking a stool and sitting in front of Magnus, his arm stretched out for him.
“Okay,” Magnus agreed, full-on grin. He turned to his cabinet of paints and brushes, and rummaged through it. For real runes, like the ones Ragnor applied, a special needle was used. But Magnus wasn’t allowed to use one yet, so a brush would be it. It wouldn’t be a permanent mark either, but Alec could come back to reapply it.
Now, the color.
Ragnor always used a boring black one, sometimes gold when it was a marriage. But Magnus wasn’t like his adoptive father, and he would never be that plain.
Maybe purple? Yes. With a lot of glitter too.
Grinning, Magnus gathered his tools and sat in front of Alec, their knees touching.
Later that day, Alec would proudly show to his parents the funny attempt of two butterflies on his left forearm, shining like fireflies even when all lights were snuffed out for the night.
Only years later Alec would muse how fitting it was to have butterflies shining on his skin and fluttering on his belly.
Both from and for the same person.
~*~
2. Twelve years
It became their thing.
Alec would make up some odd achievement and Magnus would humor him with a new drawing – always with paint and glitter and soft brushes.
At first, Maryse and Robert reprimanded Alec whenever he appeared with a new painting, some old nobles even daring to point fingers and yell blasphemy against sacred costumes. Ragnor was the one to remind everyone that they were just children, and as long as it was an inoffensive painting without magic and silly figures, there was no harm. They would eventually grow out of it and stop.
But they didn’t.
And it only developed from there.
While Magnus’ drawing became better and better, Alec felt that a simple thank you wasn’t enough. He wanted to give Magnus something, anything , to show his best friend how much he appreciated him. He knew his parents never gave a token to Mr. Fell for performing his duty, and that one day it would be Magnus’ job to do the same.
But Magnus was special, and Alec never wanted to take him for granted. They weren’t supposed to be master and servant. They were to be equals.
Alec only didn’t know how yet.
And until he figured something out, he would try the best next thing.
Gifts!
But what to give to a Warlock who can conjure anything? Magnus was always stealing food from the kitchens, they shared their toys anyway, and jewels were something you had to have money for – it didn’t count if it was given by his parents, he had to earn it.
The answer came in the shape, color and scent of a flower.
Wednesday officially became the Flower Day. Why? No reason at all, Alec just thought it was a nice day. So, dutifully, every Wednesday he would give a flower to Magnus from the royal garden.
And for each new flower, Alec gained a new smile from Magnus.
The other kids made fun of them. Sebastian liked to say flowers were a girly thing. Zara was always trying to snatch them and crush them under her too expensive shoes. And once Shinyun, another Warlock who was trying to become Ragnor’s pupil too, recommended to Alec a rare flower that only grew on a meadow at the outskirts of the palace.
Alec got an allergic reaction so bad from the flower’s pollen, he stayed in bed for days, feverish and weak.
(Magnus stayed by his side all the time, only leaving one afternoon to hex Shinyun after he found out the truth.)
And yet, the flowers never stopped.
“Beautiful,” Alec whispered while putting a blue rose behind Magnus’ ear.
But he wasn’t looking at the flower at all.
Magnus Bane was never one to blush, but at that moment the warmth was too much.
Conjuring a brush and a bowl of glittered fuchsia and carmine paint, he drew a new mark along Alec’s collarbone. A long vine in full bloom.
“What is this one?” The Prince asked, mesmerized.
“Sweetness,” Magnus murmured as if it was a secret for only their ears.
Alec felt that fluttering in his belly again.
It was a lot like falling in love.
~*~
3. Fourteen years
“Magnus, take this bloody creature out of here!” Ragnor cursed, throwing his hands in the air when a gray tabby cat pushed with its little paw another one of Ragnor’s beloved china.
“It’s your fault for being mean to him.” Magnus dismissed, not even lifting his eyes from the tome he was reading. “Chairman Meow is the cutest and most adorable cat in the world.”
Nevermind that said creature was currently on a rampage and destroying Ragnor’s century-old china from a distant kingdom.
“If he wasn’t a gift from the Prince, I’d have already sent it to the deepest parts of hell, where he probably was bred.”
Magnus snorted, still skimming through the pages.
The Warlock remembered when he and Alec found Chairman. It was during one of the many strolls they did in the city – when they weren’t actively trying to escape from the watchful eyes of Alec’s personal guards. But it was during one of those escapades, while hiding in an alley, that they heard the soft whimpers of a kitten.
It was still wet from the earlier rain and clearly malnourished.
They were able to sneak the poor kitten onto the palace and hide it inside Alec’s quarters until they figured out a plan to keep it without anybody knowing.
Their secret lasted for two days.
Since Magnus’ birthday was coming up, Alec said that it was a gift for the Warlock – and in doing so, it became a royal present. Magnus was to accept and Ragnor could protest all he wanted, but nothing could be done against it.
Magnus absolutely loved Alexander’s quick, witty thinking.
“What are you doing?” Ragnor grumbled, waving a hand to clean all the mess of splintered porcelain on the floor. “Since when have you had an interest in mystical creatures?”
Magnus shrugged one shoulder.
“I saw that cool dragon you drew on the King yesterday. It’s Courage in Combat, right?”
“Oh, so you do listen when I teach you something.”
“Bold of you to assume I learned from you. Making me read all those books when I was a kid was useful after all.”
“Sometimes I wonder why I adopted you.”
“Because I’m charming,” Magnus finally looked up to Ragnor and batted his eyelashes. “And because you clearly love me.”
“I’ll deny it until my dying breath.”
Magnus grinned widely at that, but soon sobered up, turning back to the tome.
“I want to create something cool for Alexander, but I don’t know what. Dragons are overrated. A phoenix is cool, but I’m very bad at drawing birds. Snakes fit Isabelle better. Maybe a unicorn?” He frowned, letting out a heavy sigh and mumbling. “It should be special.”
Ragnor put a hand on Magnus’ shoulder and squeezed a bit.
“If there’s a person in this world that can figure out something for the Prince, it’s you. It’s almost like you two share the same soul.”
“Like soulmates?” Magnus scrunched his nose a little bit, and it shouldn’t be that cute for a teenager who was getting taller and taller by the day, and not a child anymore.
“Do you know about that?”
“It’s in your older books. People don’t talk about it anymore?”
“They don’t believe in it anymore. But if magic exists, why shouldn't soulmates?”
Magnus considered that for a moment, until a sudden thought crossed his mind and he smiled almost giddy.
“I know what to do!” With a snap of his fingers, his painting tools disappeared, and he ran off in search of the Prince, shouting a ‘thank you’ over his shoulder to Ragnor.
“Why a cat?” Alec tilted his head, both curious and in awe of his new mark – the outline of a cat with big golden eyes – on his hip.
“Cats are guardians of the soul. This one will guard yours and mine.” Magnus explained with a proud expression and blue sparks flying from his fingers from all his excitement.
“Yours? You got one, too?” Alec glanced at Magnus' body, to all the exposed skin, and… oh. Not a good idea. Not at all.
But it was too late. He was already blushing from his neck to the tip of his ears.
“I don’t need it. You can hold it for us both.” Magnus lightly touched the rune on Alec’s body, making him shiver.
“Why do you always have to be so cryptic?” Alec stepped back, feeling the warmth on his cheeks intensify.
“I’m not being cryptic, I’m being coy,” Magnus purred, and damn…
Alec was so gone.
~*~
4. Sixteen years
“Alexander, I love purple, but this is a bit ridiculous, and doesn't go well with your skin at all.” Magnus pressed another cold compress under Alec’s left eye, fussing more than the usual. “You can’t punch people just because they offended me!”
Under all the grumble, Magnus swore he could hear a hissing ‘watch me’.
“You are the Prince, the future King. I’m just a Warlock. You can’t taint your reputation for my sake.”
Alec narrowed his eyes at him, a frown marring his beautiful face. “You’re not just a Warlock. You’re my best friend, my family. I love you the same way I love Izzy, Jace, Max, and my parents.”
“What about my papa?”
Alec frowned again. “I like Mr. Fell.”
“And you like like me?”
“Yes, I like like you.” He rolled his eyes, but the fondness of his smile betrayed any pretense of being upset.
“Like like love me?”
“Like like love you.” Alec nodded with a solemn expression that shouldn’t be as adorable as it was.
Magnus’ heart positively melted.
“Devious Lilith, have mercy towards this old fool.” Ragnor cursed out loud, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why isn't there a rune for provisory deafness?”
“Why do you want a rune? You’re a Warlock, you have magic.” Alec pointed out.
“He’s just jealous for not having your love like me.” Magnus grinned, totally ignoring the glare Ragnor threw at him. The High Warlock simply got up from his cozy armchair and left the apothecary, leaving the two teenagers alone.
“Where are your paints?” Alec broke the silence after some time, eyes downcast while he picked the skin around his fingernails.
Magnus waved a hand and his materials appeared next to them.
“Do you want a new one?”
Alec nodded, but before Magnus could pick a brush, Alec picked it himself alongside a silver metallic paint.
“Strip!” Alec blurted out, too late realizing what he just asked.
Both teenagers widened their eyes, but Magnus recovered first.
“Come again?”
“S-Sorry. Take off your shirt, please.”
Magnus still seemed skeptical, but did as Alec asked. When he felt the first stroke of fresh paint on his belly, he shivered.
“Lilith, this is so strange. You’ve been feeling this all this time and liked it?”
Alec shrugged half-heartedly.
“I didn’t mind since it was you.” He poked his tongue out while tracing a few lines on Magnus’ dark skin. Finishing it, he hummed in approval. It was some kind of arrow with a flame around. “This is the Protector rune. It’s going to protect you from now on.”
Magnus gasped. “Alexander! I can’t have a rune!”
“But you can. You do.” Alec smiled, and it was so genuine, so sweet, Magnus had to avert his eyes for a moment.
After clearing his throat and taking a deep breath, Magnus took the brush from Alec, jolting slightly when their fingers touched.
“Let me… Let me return the favor.”
Later, while admiring the beautiful lines of a rune Magnus called Fearless, on his arm, Alec felt for the first time the deep need of turning it into an official one – registered on their sacred book of runes, and then permanently sealed on his skin by magic.
Magnus’ creation.
He didn’t even feel anymore the aches of his earlier fight with those bullies.
That night, Alec slept with a big smile and his heart twice its size.
~*~
5. Twenty years
Alec was in a deep slumber, the moonlight casting shadows on his naked skin.
Magnus traced a rune over and over again on Alec’s bare chest, each line and each curve in synchrony with the Prince’s beating heart.
It was just sex.
Soon, Alec would be made King.
Soon, he would have to choose a wife, a queen for Idris.
Soon, Magnus would be only the High Warlock and nothing else.
Soon, Magnus would lose his precious Alexander.
It was just sex for them.
Still, Magnus couldn’t stop himself from tracing the Love rune on Alec’s chest.
Soon.
Soon.
Soon.
.
.
.
~*~
+1. Twenty-one years
“Why are you upset?”
They were at the High Warlock’s apothecary – officially Magnus’ since last month.
The day the Warlock always dreaded finally came, and Alec – now King – was to choose a spouse.
It was a whole event, a symbolic ceremony with three steps.
First, in private, Alec had to draw in gold on his own chest a rune called Wedded Union.
Then, in public for all to see, he would announce his choice of partner. The future spouse would come and draw another Wedded Union rune, this time on Alec’s hand. (The runes on the consort would only come later, at their first night together)
Lastly, the High Warlock would bless their bond with an infusion of his magic, sealing the runes permanently.
Coincidentally, it would be Magnus’ first official task as the new High Warlock of King Alexander’ reign.
Fate was a cruel joke.
“I’m not,” Magnus forced a smile, pretending to look over again the golden paint and needle Alec was going to use for the first step. “I’m just a bit nervous. You know, I’ll finally mark you for real after all these years. I wouldn’t want to mess up in front of the whole kingdom, would I?”
Or in front of your future wife.
“You’ll do great,” Alec said softly. “You know me better than anyone, and you never made a mistake while marking me.”
“Silly paintings don’t count as marking, Alec. This is for real. You’ll have to carry it for the rest of your life.” Magnus pointed out, still making a valiant effort of not looking directly at the other man. “I- I’m going ahead to the throne’s room. I’ll make sure the tools there are ready for the second marking.”
And with that, Magnus was out of the room without looking back once.
But Alec was no fool.
He saw the hunch of the Warlock’s shoulders, the downward curl of his lips, the pain in his eyes.
Magnus was hurting.
Alec thought he knew why. He always hoped, prayed, that Magnus felt the same as him.
But since his parents announced that it was time for him to marry, Magnus retreated behind high walls and an unmoving mask, always making excuses to avoid being alone in the same room as Alec for a long time. And that broke Alec’s heart more than anything in the world.
Sighing, he reached for the ornamented chest where a single bowl full of golden paint rested.
Gold for Nephilim, Alec’s race.
This was what was expected from him. To choose another Nephilim. A Nephilim woman .
Though… it wasn’t really against the law – because no one ever thought of being able to choose a different race – but there were other possibilities.
Alec looked around, his eyes falling on the glass cabinet where Magnus kept all the paints.
Well, nobody said he couldn’t choose another color, right?
At the throne’s room, a huge part of Idris was there to witness the choosing of the King’s consort, the one who was going to reign over them and also help to bring peace and prosperity for years to come.
Alec noticed first the small table where a tray with another needle and more golden paint were on. Then, he turned his eyes to where his family was looking at him with high expectations – well, mostly his parents. Izzy looked worried and Max was clearly bored.
Alec smiled. He loved his siblings so damn much.
Finally, his eyes searched Magnus’. The eyes he loved.
Eyes that were dull now.
Oh, he missed seeing the light and love there.
Hopefully… he would see again soon.
Turning fully to the audience, to his people, he took a last, deep, calming breath.
Then, he opened the buttons of his shirt and took it off, showing all his upper body.
And although he hated being exposed like that, it was tradition .
Alec was so tired of traditions.
So, it wasn’t a surprise when a wave of gasps filled the room until nothing lasted except silence.
Because on Alec’s chest, right above his heart, the Wedded Union rune was painted in bright, shocking cobalt blue.
This is the thing about tradition.
They were written one day to be studied and followed. They were passed from generation to generation by tales and lullabies, by whispers and bards’ melodies, but the pages were long forgotten, the ink so faded it was barely visible.
So, it was common to forget phrases. To forget rules. To forget what they didn’t want others to know.
Because on those ragged, old pages, there was a poem for the bond of hearts and true connections of souls. A poem which told about Nephilim gold, Warlock blue, Vampire red, Fae green, Werewolf brown.
A poem Alec found after turning the royal library upside down, desperate for a solution before this inevitable wedding.
For a way to be with Magnus.
And he had found one.
“I want to be a fair King to my people.” Alec began, taking all the expressions before him. “And for that, I should be fair with my own heart. Kindness brings kindness. Honesty brings honesty. I can’t marry a woman because I love a man. I can’t marry a child of the Angel because I love the child of a Demon. And this… This changes nothing. My heart is still the same, just the way you all know. And the man I love, the Warlock I love” he touched his chest to make a point. “is the prettiest, kindest, selfless person I’ve ever known. You already love him, so I hope you can also accept his new position as my consort from now on with an open heart.”
He turned to Magnus.
His love.
The man who owned his body, heart, and soul.
The High Warlock who had stars and tears on his eyes, disbelief all over his face.
And also an aching want.
Alec extended one hand, beckoning him closer.
When Magnus reached him, Alec took his hand and guided it to his heart.
“I love you,” he simply said, and Magnus’ eyes darted to him with awe and entire constellations on them. “I don’t want anyone else. Will you be my heart until the very day I part from this life? Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Idris, will you marry me and be my husband?”
“Oh God…” Magnus choked out, but nodded fiercely. “Yes. Yes, of course. I want to. I- Alexander!” Unceremoniously, he threw himself at Alec and hugged him with all his might. “I love you too,” he pronounced as a prayer, as an incontestable truth.
Under the cheers of their people, Magnus drew the second rune on Alec’s hand – blue like his magic, blue like Alec’s eyes – before kissing each knuckle, the inner wrist, and the palm of that same hand.
“I know you were looking forward to your first official rune marking, but do you mind postponing it?” Alec asked softly, joy and love brightening his eyes.
“And drag Ragnor’s ass from his retirement to bless our union?” Magnus grinned mischievously, his eyes crinkling in equal joy and love.
Alec laughed and nodded, and Magnus’ grin only widened.
They were really going to get married.
.
.
.
They did take Ragnor out from his retirement, but despite all the grumbling and cursing from the former High Warlock, he blessed their bond and magically sealed the runes on their hands and their hearts.