Suddenly, a massive gust of wind whipped around the room, swirling a wave of sand around the man and blocking him from view. Ardeth pulled you close to protect you from the stinging bite of the sand and you buried your face into his chest. 

When the storm settled, you peeked your head up to see the man still standing at the altar. He seemed perfectly fine except for his eyes. They were now glowing a bright yellowish-white, almost like two small suns nestled in his face. As he gazed down at the blade, a low, cruel laugh began to bubble out of his chest. It grew louder as he raised the Blade into the air before stabbing it down into the altar. 

A bright light flashed through the room, temporarily blinding you. As you tried to recover, the room began to shake. The man with the Blade’s other companions looked around nervously. One approached the man slowly and held out his hand. 

In one quick movement, the man with the Blade ripped the dagger from the altar and stabbed it into his companion’s heart. You gasped loudly in surprise, the sound finally drawing attention to you and Ardeth. 

The man with the Blade’s face twisted into a demented grin as he made eye contact with you. Then, without breaking it, he yanked the dagger from his companion's chest. The companion fell to the floor but even as you watched, you could see his skin starting to quickly crust over as he began turning into one of the sand statues that lined the room. 

There was another tremble throughout the tomb and with a start, you realized that those statues were beginning to move as they came to life to follow their new master. You glanced at Ardeth and he met your eye. He nodded and the two of you drew your swords at the same time. You had to get the dagger away from the man as soon as possible before more and more of the sand statues came to life. If not, you would quickly be outnumbered. With a loud cry, you launched yourself into the room.

The fight was a blur of swords and sand. The staatues were much more solid than you expected, taking much more force and effort to stop than anticipated. And for every one you managed to cut down, another took its place. You quickly lost sight of Ardeth in all of the excitement. At one point you thought you saw him near the altar and you heard a small grunt that you could have sworn was his, but you couldn’t be sure.

Eventually, you managed to maneuver your way around to the back of the altar. The man with the Blade was preoccupied with controlling his army and he never saw you coming. With one fierce thrust of your sword, you drove it through his back and into his heart. 

The man gasped as he dropped the Blade of Eternity. He looked over his shoulder at you as the twin suns in his eyes slowly faded and he disintegrated into a pile of sand. All of the statues immediately froze in place; no longer having a master to control them. Ardeth was the only one still standing and he smiled softly up at you, pride shining on his face. You smiled back just as warmly. 

Then, you took off your scarf and used it to pick up the Blade of Eternity without directly making contact with it. As carefully as possible, you placed it back on its pedestal on top of the altar but as soon as you did, the entire tomb began to shake. Sand dropped from the ceiling and you noticed in horror that the entrance to the room was slowly closing.

“Why are all of these places always boobytrapped!” You yelled as you jumped off of the alter. Running over, you grabbed Ardeth’s hand. “Come on! We have to get out of here.”

The two of you took off towards the exit, hand in hand. But just as you could see the first glimpse of sunlight peeking through from up ahead, Ardeth stumbled, his hand slipping from yours. You turned to see him panting heavily with one hand pressed against his side as he tried to catch his breath. 

Hurrying back to him, you said, “Come on, we’re almost there. We can make it.” 

But as you tried to pull him along, he winced, taking a deep shuddering breath. Your eyes widened as you pushed his hand from his side. There was a small gash in his robes where they had been sliced, but instead of oozing blood, sand poured from the wound instead. 

He looked up at you, his dark eyes full of regret. “I’m sorry, my love.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked, your voice trembling.

“There was nothing you could do. Now, go, hurry. I’ll be right behind you.”

You shook your head as you whispered, “No, you won’t.”

He smiled, wiping a tear from your cheek. “No… I won’t.”

Throwing yourself into his arms, you sobbed into his chest. There is no way to fix this. From the moment he had been cut, his fate had been sealed. Ardeth was now cursed with a fate worse than death and there was nothing you could do about it.

Yet, you couldn’t accept that, wouldn’t accept that. In the last few years, you had seen too many impossible things to believe that there wasn’t a way to save him. Somewhere out there, scrawled on a piece of long-forgotten parchment or etched into a temple wall, there had to be a way to stop this magic and save your love. 

As you lifted your head to stare up into his eyes, Ardeth cupped your face in his hand. You smiled softly. “I’ll find a way. I promise. No matter how long it takes me, I will come back for you.”

He smiled back at you as he ran his thumb across your cheek. “I know you will.” Drawing you in, he pressed his lips against yours. 

The kiss was all-consuming. It carried the heat of the desert sun and the intensity of a wild sandstorm. It said everything neither of you had the words for and so much more. But more than anything, it wasn’t a goodbye. It was a promise of ‘until we meet again’. 

As he broke away, he pushed you gently towards the trickle of light in the distance. “Go. And carry my love with you.”

“Always,” you whispered as you began to back away. Taking one last lingering look at the man you loved, you turned and sprinted for the entrance of the tomb.

Making it to the door just as it was about to shut completely, you dove under it, scrambling to get far enough away as soon as you hit the sand. With a massive *thump* the door sealed itself behind you. 

Panting, you rose to your feet and stumbled over to the door. Pressing your hand against it, you wondered if Ardeth was doing the same on the other side…. Or if he was even still human enough to do so. As tears began to roll down your cheeks once more, you silently promised him you would be back. One way or another, you would find a way to free him from this curse. 

* Then, surprise! There’s a bear.

* Roman runs back to his fathers, being chased by the large, demonic bear

* There’s a fight

* Patton loses a leg

* And Logan?

* Logan loses a lot more.

* Sixteen years later, and Roman is breaking out of the castle

* He can’t handle this anymore, all the rules and regulations-

* Roman just wants to have fun

* He takes his horse and his sword and rides and swings and lets the wind tear through this fiery hair

* He just wants to be free

* But you know, things aren’t working out in his favor because when he returns home his father is angry

* (Roman very faintly remembers a time when Logan allowed happy shenanigans and explorations. he barely remembers his fathers true smile)

* After a harsh scolding about responsibilities, King Logan brings his son to dinner

* His husband is already sitting with the triplets, three bringers of chaos- Virgil, Remus and Dee.

* Dinner is tense, and Roman knows something is up

* and Patton can’t lie to his son

* He tells Roman how three eldest sons of three chiefs of the three clans are coming and Roman is to wed one of them

* This time, Roman is the angry one

* If there is one thing Roman will fight against, it is an arranged marriage

* Just as he’s about to get into a screaming match with Logan, Patton quickly adds that Roman will be able to chose a challenge for his suitors to complete in- the winner with have his hand

* And, well, Roman is Logan’s son. Some of the cleverness did rub off on him

* He agrees, and a fencing tournament is announced

* The day of the tournament, Roman allows Logan to put him in fancy clothing and royal gems. He allows himself to be made look like a prize

* Then the tournament begins

* And for once, Romans younger brothers antics work out in his favor

* Logan is forced to go round up the triplets, and Patton is distracted watching the tournament

* No one notices the prince- and his sword- disappearing

* The tournament goes on until there’s a winner announced, then suddenly a figure in a black cloak appears

* The figure demands to duel the winning son

* The winner refuses, and just when it seems like the figure is going to be dragged away, they lower their hood

* There stands Roman, sword in hand, claiming his own birthright as the eldest son of his own clan

* He will fight for his own hand

* Patton should stop him

* But there’s something burning in Romans eyes, something fragile

* And Patton has seen that look before, not on his son but on his husband

* And he’s seen that fragile fire break

* It’s not something he wants to see ever again

* So he always it

* And the winner decides to humor him

* To be fair, Roman currently doesn’t look like he can fight- the silks and jewels make him look dainty

* The other man soon realizes his mistake, as within minutes, Prince Roman stands over him, sword at his opponents throat

* Roman relishes in the moment- the surprise in his opponent eyes, the cheering crowd

* Then he sees Logan,

* He’s never seen his father so furious

* The triplets are practically thrown to Patton, all three giggling about Roman being in trouble

* Logan grabs Roman and drags him away

* As soon as they’re in private, Logan lets loose his cold fury

* It’s Roman’s responsibility to marry and secure an alliance, it’s Roman’s responsibility to follow the royal decrees

* And Roman fights back, claiming that he deserves a choice. He doesn’t care about the rules of royalty

* He just wants to change his fate

* The fighting grows and grows and then Logan snaps

* (he just wants his son safe and secure is that too much to ask)

* He grabs Roman’s sword and throws in right into the fireplace

* Roman’s screams will haunt his mind forever

* The hilt catches and there’s no water and oh god

* Logan might have made the wrong move there

* and well of course Roman reacts rationally

* He only tears up a tapestry of the family with the poker and runs out of the room crying

* Roman just runs,

* he takes his horse and rides as far into the woods as he can

* his throat is raw and his eyes burn and-

* are those wisps?

* sure enough, they’re the same blue orbs he followed as a child

* And his childhood curiosity returns

* He follows the wisps and reaches an old hut

* His curiosity grows and he opens the door

* It seems normal enough- a woodworkers shop

* Boring

* Just as Roman is going to leave, the shopkeeper appears and she’s kooky

* she might have scales

* Roman is about to freak it but then the shopkeeper claims she can change Roman’s fate

* And well, thats all he’s been asking for right?

* So the shopkeeper ends up being a witch, and she gifts him a jam cookie that, if he gives it to someone, it will change his fate

* there’s a side effect, tho-

* the witch doesn’t remember it

* Roman rides to the castle, and gifts the cookie to Logan, claiming that it’s an apology gift

* Roman waits after Logan takes the cookie

* And waits

* alright he’s sick of waiting

* He breaks into his fathers room and-

* oh

* Oh um

* when Roman said he wanted to change his fate, he didn’t mean “turn his father into a bear”

* Logan is Not Pleased

* They sneak out of the castle and go to find the witch

* yet she’s not there!

* But she left them a message! How sweet of her!

* Roman has to “men’s the bond broke by pride” or Logan will stay and a bear and lose his humanity

* Logan is Most Definitely Not Pleased

* They spend the rest of the day in the forest, in quiet

* Roman is trying to figure out what the witch meant and oh shit were did Logan go??

* He finds his father studying a patch of wildflowers, some Roman hasn’t seen before

* Roman has never see his father this happy

* When Logan sees Roman he immediately stops and pretends he wasn’t Geeking Out over the rare flowers

* And Roman asks, voice soft, “why don’t you allow yourself to be happy?”

* (For once, Roman doesn’t bring himself into the conversation)

* Logan pauses, and writes in the dirt, ‘The last time I put happiness first I almost lost Patton. I almost lost you.’

* “But that happened years ago!” Roman argues.

* ‘Sacrificing happiness for your safety and security is worth it.’m

* Roman want to argue, he wants to fight Logan

* But there’s something the tells him not too

* Instead, Roman asks Logan to talk about the flowers he was studying

* Logan is hesitant.

* But he agrees

* They spend the rest of the day with Logan explaining all the flora and fauna and Roman showing all of his hideouts in the woods

* And father and son grow closer

* They fall asleep in the woods, Logan curled around his son protective

* Then, it hits Roman

* The prince jolts up-

* It’s the tapestry- Roman has to repair the tapestry he destroyed in his rage

* The king and prince sneak back into the castle and oh-

* They left Patton with three slightly hostile clans

* whoops

* Roman decides he’s ready to go out and face the music

* It’s his duty to marry one of the other heirs, Logan was right

* Just as he’s about to step out and agree to the marriage, Logan rests a paw on his shoulder, shakes his hand, and then lays his paw against Roman’s chest

* Roman gets the message, no matter how shocked he is about it

* Logan’s telling his to follow his heart

* And Roman does

* He steps out into the crowd, in front of the clans- who are on the brink of war- and gives a passionate speech about how the eldest children should get to choose who they love

* And the other heirs agree with him

* And crisis adverted!

* But then Patton sees Logan- who’s still a bear, remember

* And as much as he pretended that he was fine, that day messed Patton up just as badly as it messed up Logan

* Patton, acting on impulse and fear, orders the bear to be killed

* He’s scared- he doesn’t want to lose Roman and he doesn’t want-

* Oh god, where’s Logan?

* Patton mind decides that, oh god, the bear killed his husband

* And Roman claiming that the bear is Logan?? He must be losing his mind to grief.

* He locks Roman in his room so he can’t get killed by the bear

* And Roman is screaming, he’s terrified. He refuses to lose Logan just when he’s finally got his father to open up to him

* And just his luck, he finds his brothers- who apparently eat the same cookie Logan did and now are bear cubs. Fantastic. Roman always claimed the triplets were animals but he didn’t mean it like that.

* And after bargaining away all his desserts for like years, the triplets agree to help break Roman out

* As the triplets go absolutely feral and find the key to Roman’s room, Roman stitches up the tapestry

* And well, deus ex machina, as the triplets get him out as soon as he finishes fixing it

* He rides out into the woods, and finds the mob cornering Logan

* Just as Roman is about to scream out, another bear appears

* And whatta know, it’s the demonic bear that almost killed Roman and Patton all of those years ago!!

* The fight turns from let’s kill Logan, to attacking the actually threat

* Roman tried to get to Logan to fix the curse

* But the bear sees him, and goes straight for the prince

* Then Logan goes Feral, and begins to protect his son from the demon bear

* The fights wages into dawn, but finally Logan gets the upper hand the the demon bear is killed

* Logan is badly injuries, and laying in the dirt, eyes closed

* Roman runs to his father as the sun rises and throws the tapestry over him

* Logan doesn’t change

* Roman screams and cries and begs and apologizes for everything he’s done wrong and his tears fall into the tapestry and then the tapestry moves

* Logan, in human form, sits up, and wipes the tears from his sons face

* And Roman crashes into his father, wrapping the king in a hug

* And Patton joins them, and the royal family is finally back together

* And not just physically

* A week or so later, The kings and the prince watch the other clans sail away

* Then Patton brings out Roman and Logan’s horses, one with a beautiful new sword strapped to it and the other with saddle bags filled with journals and books

* The king and the prince mount there horses, and ride into the mountains

* And Roman closes his eyes, his father beside him and the wind in his hair

* And he finally thinks he’s changed his fate

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