#doublespeaks

What if, one day, his grandmother scraped together what money she could spare to buy a book of fairytales for her bookish grandson? Let's say that when Jonathan opened the book, he became so entranced with its contents that he couldn’t wouldn’t put it down.

Maybe the fairytales get progressively darker and more gruesome the further Jonathan reads. Maybe he feels as though he wants to look away, but can’t quite muster the will.

We know how this story ends.

Except this time, when Jonathan reaches Mr. Spider’s house and the book is snatched out of his hands by a much older boy, they are not alone. This time, when the older boy is pulled inside the house by so many hairy legs, Jonathan is not the only one watching. There is another child, with cold grey eyes peeking out from the bushes.

The next day, Jonathan returns to Mr. Spider’s house (for what reason, he isn’t quite sure) and the grey-eyed boy reveals himself. He tells Jonathan two things: that his name is Jonah Magnus, and that he saw what happened when the older boy was taken.

Their friendship is fast and firm, after that.

At first, it begins with the pretense of searching for answers about what happened to The Boy Who Was Taken, but Jonathan and Jonah quickly discover that they have many things in common. They spend their shared childhood exploring the woods and tearing through Jonah’s father’s library at a frankly impressive rate (Jonah always reads any new books before Jonathan, to ensure that they aren’t dangerous).

As they grow, and fondness grows with them, they take a shared interest in the preternatural. Their explorations go from clumsy treks through the woods to planned trips to the sites of hauntings. Over time, Jonathan develops an uncanny knack for telling the true stories from the false.

At some point in their college years, during the nebulous expanse of winter, they fall in love. It is a gentle, private thing, and even as they both press on in their never-ending quest for knowledge, this love is something that remains with them. 

When Smirke gathers his acquaintances to tell them of the Fears, Jonathan is right there beside Jonah. When Jonah is secretly modifying Smirke’s plans for the Panopticon, Jonathan is selecting the prisoners he thinks would be best suited for their ritual.

And when the Watcher’s Crown finally happens, Jonathan and Jonah sit side-by-side, drinking in all the terrible fear.

(Jon’s body stops aging, as long as he takes statements regularly. Jonah’s does not, so Jon helps him change from body to body, cradling those beautiful grey eyes in his hands before delicately placing them in Jonah’s new vessel.)