The journey to his third and final destination was much longer than the previous ones. There were only two weeks left before the end of the bet. And time, as you well know, waits for no one. The journey had brought the hunter and the fox closer together. Damien, who usually spoke very little, talked a little more each day. This delighted Alaën. He had learned that his Damien preferred the forest and tranquility to opulence and the noise of gossip. That he loved to eat, especially venison that he hunted himself, botany, and fencing (but he already knew that).
As for Damien, he quickly realized that the fox wizard was a real chatterbox. He talked a lot about what he saw and what he thought. But Damien didn't mind. He even liked to hear him babble.
A beautiful bond had formed between the two companions. Although Alaën would have preferred something more, in fox form, that wasn't necessarily a good idea. As the famous saying goes, "Everything comes to those who wait."
"Where are we going this time?"
"To the Summer Estate." The monarch is waiting for us there," replied Damien. He continued, "It's about an apple thief."
— Ah. I wonder what it is. I can't wait to see it!
After a day of riding, they arrived in front of a huge bastion surrounded by gardens. Damien was received by the castle steward. A plump, short man, nodding his head.
— We were expecting you, Sir Hunter, this way.
Damien, with Alaën in his arms, followed the chamberlain.
And so Damien was welcomed into the great throne room. Surrounded by nobles disgusted by the hunter's poor appearance, they tried to make him leave.
The king, who had been unable to resolve this matter for months, declared:
"Let's hear what this young man has to say and see."
"I have heard that the fruits of your golden apple tree disappear one by one each morning. With all due respect, allow me to take care of your concern," he declared confidently once he had prostrated himself.
Imagine their surprise when no voice ordered him to stand up. He remained kneeling, unable to move even his little finger. Annoyed by the silence, he stood up, accentuating the nobles' discontent. How could such a rude man and this ugly beast have no restraint!
Damien faced the regent and saw him slumped asleep on his throne. Why did he always have to have something go wrong? Alaën stood up on his legs. A strange, acrid smell rose from the man in the chair. It was as if a curse had been cast on him. That damn partridge!
Stamping his feet impatiently, the fox wizard wanted to say what was happening right away, but there were too many people around who could hear him. So he gently tapped Damien's calf with his furry paw, and Damien caught on. Resolved, he said:
"Why not call me as soon as your sovereign is awake?"
The chamberlain nodded, waddling along. He accompanied Damien and Alaën to their lodgings.
"Excuse me, sir hunter, for this minor inconvenience," he apologized as he left, embarrassed.
In the bedroom, Alaën jumped out of his lover's arms before padding over and settling comfortably on the large bed. Damien sat down in an armchair. Alaën took the opportunity to say:
"Damien! It's that damn partridge! She cast a sleeping spell on the king. It smells so bad," he finished dramatically.
Damien chuckled at Alaën's antics and replied with a shrug:
"It's not the first time this has happened."
"But there are only two measly weeks left! I don't want that demon to marry you!"
"Alaën, you're a strange fox," he chuckled. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me."
"Who's worried!" he roared, embarrassed, his fur standing on end. "It's time to go to sleep," he finished in a small voice before settling back down comfortably.
Damien observed the visibly embarrassed fox wizard and his violet eyes. For several weeks, those eyes and that brown skin had obsessed him. He would have liked to see what his wizard looked like when he was human. He had remained discreet during the ride to the Summer Palace, but this desire was beginning to gnaw at him. So much so that he wanted to see his reaction, so he smiled and said:
"You looks like a human."
Alaën froze on the bed, but pretended not to have heard anything. Unfortunately, his startled reaction spoke volumes about his thoughts. Damien let out a stifled laugh before settling under the duvet. It was so interesting!
Alaën, freed from the curse, regained his body and leaned over Damien, admiring him. He looked at him for a long time before heading into the woods where he knew he would find a stream to wash himself.
When Alaën left, Damien opened his eyes. He couldn't wait any longer. His conscience was nagging at him; he had to see him. Drawing on his hunting experience, he approached the water silently, hid, and waited.
Alaën plunged in without a moment's thought that his beloved was watching him, spellbound. The moonlight bathed him in a silvery glow, giving him a supernatural appearance. Not a single animal dared disturb his bath. From a distance, Damien could only see a surface of brown skin and an indistinct face. This did not detract from the sorcerer's beauty in any way. The hunter took a few steps back and, without paying attention, stepped on several dry branches. This disturbed the tranquility of the clearing. Alaën heard a crack and turned toward the source of the sound, but saw no one. So he turned away. Damien fled as silently as he had come. His curiosity satisfied, he dozed off dreamily. Once he had finished his ablutions, Alaën returned, rejoining his beloved.
During the night, the sound of something clattering on the tile floor woke the sleeping hunter. Damien waited a few minutes before turning toward the strange noise. Gradually adjusting to the darkness of the room, he came face to face with his demonic bet. Her eyes, black as grapes, stared at him with an unsettling glint. Her beak, as red as blood, opened, revealing teeth as sharp as a wolf's. They stared at each other without saying a word, the atmosphere growing heavier with every glance. Then, in a sweet voice, the partridge sang:
"You will not find this undisputed thief."
Before she could finish, Damien countered with an incantation:
"Bird of ill omen, your time has come!"
Indeed, Damien knew magic. As you know, before he became a hunter, he was a prince. He had learned a few magic spells from an old mentor. The bird disappeared in a flurry of feathers, cackling loudly.
The next day, Damien was summoned, but the king did not reappear. The following day and the days after were identical. Worried, Alaën wanted to take matters into his own hands, but he was quickly stopped by his beloved, who did not seem the least bit alarmed.
So, one evening, he slipped out quietly. Damien, who was awake, smiled. His Alaën was so cute. The sorcerer headed for the king's bedroom, then stopped in front of the regent's apartment door. With a snap of his fingers, he found himself standing in front of a four-poster bed. Imagine his surprise when he saw no one there. Neither on top of nor under the sheets. It was as if no one had slept there. He quickly regained his composure before leaving as if nothing had happened.
"Damien! Damien! The king isn't in his room!" he said, shaking him to wake him up.
In his haste, he had forgotten that he could not change his appearance. It was only after realizing this that he called himself a fool. Fortunately, the spell returned him to his fox form. The hunter awoke and saw Alaën's deep purple eyes, but standing before him was only a fox with fluffy fur.
"What were you saying?"
"That the king wasn't in his room!"
He shrugged:
"We'll see about that tomorrow. Everything is going according to plan."
— Damien !
"That's my name, yes," he smiled before reaching out and hugging him to fall back asleep.
The next evening, they finally settled down in the orchard, at the foot of the golden fruit tree.
Sensing that he was about to transform, Alaën fled, declaring to his prince:
"I'll be right back!"
When Alaën left, Damien followed him and watched him. Alaën, while washing himself, played in the water with baby birds that had come to keep him company. He laughed heartily as he enjoyed himself. Alaën's smile and cheerfulness seemed to light up the clearing. Damien fell even more in love with him.
But one question nagged at him. Alaën seemed to be a powerful magician, so how had he ended up under a spell? He didn't understand. It was vital for him to find out more about his wizard turned fox. But he couldn't ask anything until he had revealed himself.
Reluctantly, Damien retraced his steps. But some apples were missing; the thief had struck again while he was following Alaën.
The next evening, it was the same scene. Midnight struck, Alaën had left, leaving Damien alone. This time, he stayed in the orchard and waited.
In the moonlight, he spotted a bird with golden feathers that glowed in the dark. He grabbed the weapon he had been given, nocked the arrow, and drew the bow, waiting for the bird to come close enough.
Too preoccupied with its booty, the bird swooped down on the tree, but before it could succeed. Hit in the wing, it collapsed, losing a few feathers. He took it in his arms, and the bird struggled. Then he declared:
"Sir Bird, I mean you no harm. I will set you free once you promise me that you will not come here again to plunder this apple tree. In exchange, I will grant you a place to stay in the land of Twilight."
"I will be grateful to you, Sir Hunter," said the bird.
Damien released him, treated his wounded wing, and he flew away. Then the hunter gathered up his meager booty that had fallen to the ground, his mission accomplished. After all, no one had ordered him to bring the thief back alive.
The regent had awakened, so they were summoned back to the audience chamber. Damien stepped forward, placed the plume in the tray held out to him, and said:
"King, unfortunately, I was unable to catch the rascal in your orchard. To make amends, here are a few feathers he dropped. I hope this will be enough to clear me of any charges against me."
Despite his strong desire to have the bird, the monarch was satisfied with the golden feathers. Even though the regent had woken up, the foul smell still surrounded him. Damien remained calm despite a bad premonition. Unfortunately, the worst happened sooner than expected.
"Hunter, here is your next order. You see? In front of the windows of my apartments, a mountain spoils my view. I hope that in three days, you can make it disappear. If not, you will be... finished," said the man with a grim look. The implication was clear.
"My king, rest assured that this mountain will be no more."
Once outside the room, Alaën whispered:
"The smell around this man is much stronger than it was a few nights ago. Be careful. Let me know if you need help."
"I will. Thank you."
Over the next two days, nothing was done, and the dome still hadn't disappeared. Worried, Alaën asked:
"Are you sure you don't need it?"
"Not for now, but tomorrow. I'd like you to do something for me. As for the king, I've already taken care of that."
Indeed, the day before, Damien had gone to request an audience, but had been refused. So, discreetly, while Alaën was resting, he had gone to the regent's room and, thanks to a conjuring spell, had gotten rid of the curse that the partridge had cast. It was a simple phrase, one that Damien had learned.
"First thing tomorrow morning, I want you to go outside and cast... I know you're much better at incantations than I am. Don't let me down, Alaën," he finished with a smile. "I saw what you did to the steward," he added with a wink.
"And I thought I was being discreet," replied the fox, pouting.
The other day, the man had accused him of stealing because he had been in the kitchen at the wrong time. To get his revenge, he had put real donkey ears on him.
"What can you do? After a while, it's easy to figure it out, Alaën. A fox wizard is not common. Especially if it was someone who had moved him.
"Well, what would you like me to do for you, um... Damien?"
"Huh?" He shrugged. Let's leave it at that, thought Damien, delighted with this slip of the tongue. Before continuing. "I want you to make the mountain disappear, but relocate it to the land of Aurora. It would be a shame to lose this magnificent landscape..."
"Count on me!"
At the first light of dawn, the mountain was gone. This delighted the monarch. Damien was rewarded. This marked the end of the bet with the partridge. The only blemish on this cheerful morning was Alaën's prolonged absence. This greatly distressed Damien, who, with a heavy heart, set off in search of his fox wizard. This was a first for him, as he was not in the habit of showing his emotions.
He found Alaën asleep at the foot of a tree. Moving the mountain had taken all his energy. The previous days had been restless nights. Especially since the more he used his powers, the tighter the spell's grip became. Which, in the end, could well turn him into a mere fox, losing his memories and his humanity. And that damned partridge had told him so, many years ago.
Damien took the fox wizard in his arms. After fetching his mount, he set off for the place where it all began: the land of Aurora.