Alaën woke up. He got up, looked left and then right. No one was there. Although Damien's coat was under his paws, he was not there. Next to him, a fire was burning, warming his sides. His beloved must not be far away. The wizard then set off in search of him. He came to a large expanse of water. He sat down at the edge and admired his prince bathing, his head tilted to one side.
The prince, with water up to his hips, was calmly soaking, perhaps thinking about something important. His pale skin glowed in the moonlight and his loose hair clung to his wet body. Alaën, stunned by the scene before him, stepped back. He walked on leaves that crunched all around him. Damien, who had come out and put his clothes back on, waited for Alaën to regain his composure. Then he took him in his arms.
"Well, I see the sleeping fox has awakened," he said with a hint of teasing in his voice.
Alaën placed his front paws on Damien's chest, his black eyes narrowed, and said proudly:
"Hmpf! And without my help, what could you have done?"
The hunter chuckled:
"All right, all right, Your Highness. I'll stop teasing you."
"You'd better!"
Then the fox wizard settled comfortably into his prince's embrace, his soft tail wagging with happiness. The two settled down and fell asleep. At midnight, Alaën resumed his human form and gently removed Damien's arm from his now hairless stomach. The sorcerer then headed for the watering hole and plunged in. He swam to the center of the pond. Quietly, he lay back on his back, the back of his head submerged. The gentle ripples of the water moved his curly hair, and the moon, as round as in his memories, lit him up.
It had been a long time since he had indulged in such rest. Especially since he had accompanied Damien in his bet. The terrible memory of the partridge resurfaced. He hoped that it would do nothing more once Damien succeeded. But she, as a cheater and engulfed in a darkness as intense as her hatred, would never let him go. The future seemed very sad. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear his hunter calling him.
Damien opened his eyes and sat up. He waited five minutes, then ten minutes before he started to panic.
He knew his fox wizard was strong enough to protect himself, but he couldn't help panicking. Where was he? Was he okay? He hoped nothing serious had happened. Alaën always took several baths. He calmed down. He wasn't going to drown. But the closer the end of his bet approached, the more agitated he became.
Distraught, his steps led him to the water's edge. There, in the middle of the pond, he saw Alaën's body floating. He forced himself to calm down. It was very clear that, over the course of his journey, Alaën had become important to him. This is what the hunter was thinking about while swimming.
His laughter, his actions when he was in fox form, his caution and protection. His visible love for him, if one looked closely at the wizard, his cute little thoughts. All of this had become something he cherished day after day. So Damien wouldn't blame him if Alaën ran away in fear. Even though he hoped that he wouldn't escape his sight.
Damien waited patiently before calling out the name of his dear wizard Alaën.
Alaën heard his name. Still in human form, he panicked. Although a good swimmer, he struggled to wriggle his way towards the few rocks that could hide him from his beloved. He was afraid. What if Damien didn't understand him? What if he abandoned him? What if he thought he had lied to him? But "what ifs" didn't change anything, and no matter what he said, Alaën had to accept fate. Even if the truth would hurt.
From a distance, Damien saw the panicked figure. His heart sank, and he hoped Alaën wouldn't suffocate. His breath caught in his throat at the sight before him, before he could breathe again.
The hunter took off his shirt and boots, then waded into the water. He approached slowly, afraid of frightening the sorcerer. In a tender voice, he called out once, then twice, but got no response.
Alaën, meanwhile, was afraid to answer. Hearing the soft, deep voice of his beloved, he hesitated. What if he didn't hold it against him? What if he didn't abandon him? If those things didn't happen, then... Before he could say anything, he heard Damien say:
"Don't be afraid, Alaën, everything will be fine, I won't do anything... But please, to ease my heart. At least so I can see you."
"You won't hurt me, will you?" asked Alaën on principle. Then he added: "Yes, you won't hurt me, because I know what a gentle man you are." He finished with a shy smile to himself. Little by little, Alaën moved forward, holding his breath.
Damien waited patiently. Then he saw him again, closer this time. Alaën, his fox wizard in all his glory. It was new to see him so close. Different from not being able to admire him. So he gazed at him for a long time.
Curly brown hair, dark skin, a beautiful olive complexion. Thin lips that revealed a mischievous smile. Then the highlight of the show... Eyes, deep purple with a violet sheen. Damien found himself charmed. He wanted to kiss him, but held back; it wasn't the right moment.
"I..." They spoke at the same time. Embarrassed, they looked away, then:
"Please, Alaën."
Hearing his name when he was in human form brought out a completely different emotion than when he was in fox form. He blushed deeply before beginning:
"I... I hope..." He looked up at the person in front of him, who was just as shirtless as he was. His gaze scanned Damien's abdominal muscles. He thought: they're even more beautiful up close... This thought made him blush even more. This isn't the time, Alaën!
"So that's what interested you, I see, I see," teased the hunter when he noticed Alaën's glance at his stomach. He added: "You want to touch them?"
Alaën didn't know what to say. He was so embarrassed to have been caught red-handed.
"I... I wasn't looking! And no, how could I! I have them too," he finished more calmly when he saw that Damien was only joking.
"Alaën?"
"Wh, what?"
"Can I kiss you?"
"I heard that wrong, didn't I? Damien is asking me? My beloved? Me? Kiss me?
The person he loved was asking to hold him? It was real, wasn't it? Did he have the right?
Panicked at finally, after several years of watching him from afar, receiving a kiss from him, Alaën lost his footing and, as he was about to fall, he was caught by the wrist by a strong hand, before being embraced by Damien. Embarrassed, the wizard squirmed, uncomfortable. His nakedness had become so obvious that it was dangerous.
"Are you okay?" Damien asked, worried, looking down at the man in his arms.
Alaën looked up at the hunter. When he was sure he had his mage's attention, he repeated his request:
"Can I kiss you, Alaën?"
The sorcerer's eyes widened before he bowed his head, his face burning. Even though Damien's skin against his felt boiling hot, even though his lover's breath seemed warm, his heart was aflame and he nodded. Damien could no longer hold back and pressed his lips to those of his fox sorcerer before his tongue parted them. Catching Alaën's breath, their tongues mingled, waltzing abruptly.
Breathless, Alaën forgot how to inhale. He felt so good. He pushed Damien's chest gently so he could breathe, and the hunter slowly stopped. Seeing his sorcerer catch his breath, tears in his eyes, he felt all warm inside. As if tiny fox claws were scratching his heart. His Alaën was so beautiful. He wanted to kiss him again, to make him look only at him. So he cupped Alaën's cheek before leaving a kiss as soft as butterfly wings.
Alaën snuggled up against Damien's chest, then said with a little pout that Damien found adorable:
"Can you carry me? Please?"
"With pleasure, my dear." And he took the wizard in his arms, who couldn't help but cover his penis, which had become erect when Damien kissed him passionately a second time.
Damien chuckled:
"Do you want me to help you?"
Alaën's cheeks flushed:
"I..." He brought his hands to his face to hide his embarrassment before nodding. "First! We... We have to get out of the water!"
"Of course, my dear, of course. Because, you see?" He whispered to Alaën.
Alaën thought he was going to melt. Shyly, he replied vehemently:
"Why tell me that! I'm not talking to you anymore, humpf."
"If you're not talking to me anymore, Sir Wizard, how am I supposed to help you? Hm?"
Alaën exploded:
"Do you really have to have an answer for everything? But I'm still happy, hehe."
Damien burst out laughing.
The next day, they set off again, and Alaën explained to Damien how he had been transformed into a fox. It had happened several years ago. The partridge's real name was Laïla. She was a princess who had been betrayed by her lady-in-waiting. On the path to her life as a wife, the lady-in-waiting had stolen her place. She had executed His Highness's faithful companion, the horse Faval, and hung him on the castle gate. When her servant married her future husband, she made her work as a goose keeper. Years passed, and Laïla fell in love with the shepherd, who had become her confidant over time.
One day, this treacherous woman saw that her former mistress seemed happy, so she accused the poor boy and killed him. But that wasn't the end of it. During a dinner party, Laila was locked in a barrel and drowned. She was rescued and ended up in the kingdom of Snow.
"And that's where I met her. However, even though she had been my disciple, her hatred—and I understand it, I would do the same if you died, Damien," declared Alaën in her fox form. So, even though she had been my student for some time, I couldn't keep her any longer. She set out to take revenge on everyone who had mistreated her. Unfortunately, her former servant had already died, as had the lord of the manor. They left behind only ruin and desolation. It was then that, unable to retaliate against these people, she took revenge on me.
Because she had said, "If you hadn't taken me under your wing, I might have taken justice into my own hands." She seriously injured me and turned me into a fox. As a result, I could only transform back into a human at midnight.
As if it were a fond memory, Alaën continued:
"And that's when I met you, my beloved—may I call you that? You saved me, so... I decided to help you with your bet, doing my best. It was a bit selfish of me, wasn't it? I didn't want, and still don't want, Laïla to hurt you. And then I was a little jealous.
"Really?" Damien smiled tenderly.
"Mm. Why did she have to set her sights on you?" he sniffed. "I know you're handsome, kind, always smiling, even when your idiot brother acts like a moron.
"You know that too?" asked Damien, stunned.
"Mm, but! That doesn't mean I was following you! I just know you a little better. No, I know what you're going to ask. I won't tell you, it's a secret. But if you find it, well, I can't help it," he finished proudly.
Damien laughed, then tenderly kissed the top of his fox wizard's head.
The journey back to the Land of Dawn was much calmer than the outward journey, which had been fraught with pitfalls. One morning, they arrived at the iron gate, where it had all begun. They slipped inside, not a sound disturbing the silence of the place. Alaën, aware that his appearance could undo Damien's victory, hid behind the door of the throne room where the partridge was waiting impatiently for the hunter.
— Lady Partridge, I am here to inform you that I have completed the tasks you entrusted to me.
She sneered:
— You have done what you had to do, Sir Hunter. The kingdom of Twilight will be freed from its curse. As for you, you are free to go.
"Thank you, Lady Partridge. I will leave now and bow low to you."
Then he left, took the road back, retrieved Alaën, freed him from his spell, and they lived happily ever after.
That's what you thought, wasn't it? Unfortunately, things never turn out the way we expect them to in a fairy tale.
Damien did indeed leave the room, but, alas, he could not get further than the door. For the partridge, behind him, suddenly smiled and began to mock him:
"But, you see, hunter? The bet is on, yet you didn't think I was going to let you disappear like that."
Alaën, who was waiting outside, had a bad feeling. His intuition had never failed him, so he rushed into the room and saw Damien frozen in place, as if he couldn't move forward. The partridge had its claw extended forward and a spell had been cast. Alaën leaped in front of Damien and took the spell full in the face.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" It's been a long time, Master Alaën. Beautiful day, isn't it?
"Not necessarily, Laïla," he replied with difficulty.
"You see, Damien, may I call you Damien?
Getting no response, she continued:
"I hate losing anything, and I abhor watching people in love. For that, here is my revenge: Damien..."
Damien had regained his composure and held the wounded Alaën in his arms, waiting for the terrible outcome, trembling.
"You will be condemned to search for your beloved... for five long years. If, by mistake, you reach the limit, you will have to say goodbye to the Master... who will become more than a beast. A fox, nothing more, nothing less.
Then, under Damien's terrified gaze, she cast a spell on the weakened fox-wizard, who disappeared into a thousand tiny golden sparkles.
"ALAËN!"
The partridge flew away, laughing chillingly. Meanwhile, Damien stood prostrate, staring into the void. Tears streamed down his cheeks. A hoarse cry of despair rose from the depths of his being. In his sadness, he had not seen the last look Alaën had given him. Only one thought remained.
He had lost him.