. : Sebastian of Havfrue : .

Sebastian led the way out of the dark underground tunnel, his feet echoing on the damp ground. Agatha's matched his, her clumps echoing in time. The sound reverberated off the walls and back at them, no doubt screaming their presence back at Laura, who waited in the tunnel behind them.

The water magic had jumped for joy when Laura and Agatha had come around the corner, and admittedly, Sebastian had let loose an audible sigh of relief at their appearance. He wasn't sure if it was because his magic was relieved at the balance that being near the fire magic brought him, or because he was embarrassingly relieved to see Laura hadn't been caught when she went to get Agatha and Sophie. 

His magic had been rioting more with the passing days. He was certain it was because the world was tipping out of balance as princes were kicked from their kingdoms and princesses and witches teamed up. Sebastian relished the relief that being around Laura brought.

Sebastian pushed on the dark oak door and opened it into a drafty stairwell. Rickety stairs spiralled upwards, and Sebastian heard Agatha sigh. Slowly, they began their ascent in silence.

Sebastian knew he was taking a risk by being around Agatha. If Kendrick or Aric found out, Sebastian couldn't imagine what they would do to him. He shuddered at the thought. Tedros-- despite their recent conflict and Tedros' bullheadedness-- was still good at heart. Sebastian had faith that Tedros would do the right thing, so long as no one interfered.

Sebastian's auburn hair brushed the trap door, and Sebastian handed Agatha the lantern he had been carrying, before grasping the lock and focusing his mind on the ice he had used to prevent anyone from following. The ice dripped through the door, and in seconds was liquified. 

Sebastian shoved his hand on the trapdoor and it swung open. He peeked out, and once satisfied that no one was waiting to catch them sneaking in, he hooked his arms on the edge and heaved himself up. Once firmly planted, he turned and grabbed the lamp, and then pulled Agatha up with one hand, sealing the trapdoor behind them. 

Sebastian kept Agatha behind him and peeked out the end of the hallway. Tedros had thought it a good idea to put out overnight patrols, and Sebastian didn't know who was on tonight, or where they would be. He cleared the area and gestured to Agatha, who followed him as they darted across the shadowy hall and to the main staircase.

Together they sprinted up, stalling only at corners to ensure nobody was there. They made it up to the top of the schoolmaster's tower without being seen. 

Sebastian hesitated outside the large doorway and turned back to Agatha to whisper. "I'll wait around the corner for you. If I'm not there when you got back it's because night patrol found me and sent me back to my room, but I'll come back. If all is well, you and Tedros will kiss, the storybook will rewrite itself, and everything will be back to normal."

Agatha nodded, and Sebastian could see the hesitation and guilt in her eyes but didn't ask. 

"Thank you, Sebastian," She murmured, before pushing open the large oaken doorway and stepping inside. 

Sebastian slid around the corner to hide in an alcove away from prying eyes. He could see out a large black guilded window all the way down to the lake. Despite the fact that sagging storm clouds lurked overhead, he could see the reflection of the moon in the spot where the schoolmaster's tower used to be. It rippled in the waves, the wind bouncing along the wakes it created. 

Sebastian flexed his left hand. He had been training his non-dominant hand to use magic, in the chance he ever needed to sword fight with his right hand. Sebastian had spent far too long using his sword in his right hand to even bother switching. 

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, focusing down on the lake. He could swear he almost sensed Laura beneath it, her magic like a fiery beacon. Sebastian clenched his fist and watched as the water far below quivered, and went completely still. Sebastian's arm tensed at the strain, and the magic let out a sigh of relief at the release.

Sebastian let the magic spread across the lake until it was like glass, the moon still on the surface. He could feel sweat gathering as the strain became too much and began to overheat him.

"What are you doing?"

Sebastian flinched and lost focus. The magic shattered, quickly receding into the safe space inside of him. As he spun to face the person behind him, the lake resumed its noisy crashing.

Sebastian had been so focused on the lake that he hadn't noticed Aric and Kendrick coming up behind him. He berated himself for letting his guard down, especially with something like the magic, and these two around.

"I'm waiting to speak with Tedros," Sebastian kept his voice passive. He didn't want to risk trouble and knew he should've been huddled away in his room by now, but was hoping he could be left alone with his relationship with Tedros. "He won't let me in."

Aric narrowed his eyes, and Sebastian held his gaze firmly, although he could practically sense Aric picking at the seams of his lie, trying to find the weak points to tear open a hole.

"Go to your room," Kendrick hissed. Sebastian turned his gaze to Kendrick and straightened himself to his full height-- a whole head higher than the private.

"Do not speak to me in that manner," Sebastian responded, imitating the way his father spoke in court meetings when an advisor or diplomat spoke out of turn or with a controversial opinion. The last time it had happened was when Tedros' father died and someone made an offhand comment about acquiring Camelot. Sebastian felt a small ping of guilt at the thought of his father, and the magic that was lurking sank lower until he could barely sense it anymore. 

Kendrick snarled at him, and Sebastian blinked slowly. "I will see Tedros tonight."

"Why don't we all go see him together?" Aric suggested, a thin smile creeping across his lips. "We were headed to speak with him anyways. Do you mind if Sebastian joins us, Kendrick?"

From the look on Kendrick's face, he minded a lot, but he didn't verbally protest.

Sebastian clenched his fists. He couldn't let Agatha get caught, not if he never wanted to speak to these fools again. "He told me he wasn't in the mood to speak."

"Yet you lurk out here like a sad dog,"

Sebastian let out a sharp breath. He would not rise to the insult. "Fine, let's go see Tedros." If Sebastian was lucky, Agatha and Tedros would already be kissing and the Storian would be fixing everything.

The three marched down the hallway, and Sebastian clenched his hand tight as the door was flung open.

Much to Sebastian's surprise, Agatha was gone. There was a scorch mark on the rug that hadn't been there, and Tedros was glaring out the window with so much fury it made him look mad. 

~~~

Sebastian ran down the hallway, darting from shadow to shadow, and imitating the way he had seen Laura run to keep his feet silent. 

It had taken him ages to escape from the three other boys. Tedros had been fuming, and barely able to get words out. Sebastian had gathered enough to learn that Agatha almost had him, and then she shot a charm at him. Sebastian didn't believe that Agatha would do such a thing, someone else must've interfered. 

Sebastian pried up the edge of the trap door and slid down into the tunnel, before racing down the stairs and down the long hallway, the lantern swinging in his hand as he ran. He had to get to Laura. He had to make sure she was safe.

The thought made him hesitate in the damp tunnel. Why did he care if Laura was safe? He shook the doubt off, he didn't have time for thoughts like this, not when the world was at risk.

He began to run again, dashing down the hallway. He turned the corner and Laura perked up when he came tearing, but her face quickly dropped, the flame in her hand blaring brighter.

"Where's Agatha?" She demanded.

"Something happened," Sebastian gasped out, coming to a stop with his hands braced on his knees. "Someone interfered and shot a charm at them. Tedros is declaring war, you need to keep everyone in the castle."

Laura's face darkened. "I'll alert the council that war is nearing, but until then, do what you can to find out who was there with them."

Sebastian nodded and straightened as she turned to jog away. "Laura?"

She looked over her shoulder at him, dark hair glowing in the firelight. 

"Stay safe,"

~~~

A/N 

Hi my lovelies,

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! There will be another one in the near future

Until next time

~ Indigo