The glow in Jacques’s eyes faded as he recognized who stood before him. The shocked expression quickly turned to anger. “What the fuck are you doing out here?” he demanded, chest heaving.

Adrian just stared at him, his mouth still open, not unlike a fish.

“Did you follow me?”

“N-no, I—”

“Then why are you here?” As Jacques said it, a furious flash of green filled his eyes in the same way it had in Elden Town.

“Uh, erm, you… you have magic,” he managed.

Jacques scoffed. “Yeah, no shit.”

“But how can you have magic?” He stepped forward and the magic user took an anxious step back, his expression weary.

“I inherited it.”

“But,” he exhaled in disbelief, “I thought only the ancient Elderians had magic.”

“Yeah, guess where I inherited it from, Sweetheart.”

He blinked, processing that. “So, then, your bloodline… that’s what Carnadine was talking about?”

“Congratulations, you figured it out. What are you going to do now, sell me, use my powers for yourself?”

He stared at him in confusion. “What? Why would I do that?” He tried to approach again, but it went nowhere, so instead he opted to lean against one of the boulders, his arms folded. “Jacques, this is what you’ve been hiding?” The shorter man looked away. “Is that why Carnadine has been trying to hunt you down? She wants your magic?”

Jacques considered him then shook his head. “No, she wants to end the bloodline. She’s from a long line of assassins who hunt magic users called the Ichor Spiller Clan.”

“Ichor Spiller Clan?”

“Yes. Spiller for short. Their organization is very hush hush, so most are not familiar with the term. People like Carnadine have been hunting my ancestors for centuries, ever since Hans Fox conquered Elderian. There’s barely any of us left, so magic users keep it hidden for obvious reasons.”

Adrian wasn’t sure he fully understood. “What do you mean? All the past Elderians were long gone by the time Hans Fox arrived.”

Jacques glared at him. “Of course, you’d think that. I’m sure Hans Fox scrubbed all knowledge of the Alchemists when he literally wrote the history books. It’s all a load of shit.”

“You mean… the Alchemists were here when he came?”

“How do you think I have this bloodline?” His voice rose in volume.

“Then, what happened to them?”

He let out an exasperated sigh, then seemed to catch the genuine curiosity in Adrian’s expression. “You really don’t know? Most of them simply died from the diseases that were brought over and then others were killed when they didn’t agree with Hans Fox’s takeover. As for magic users specifically… they were hunted down by those who would later become what Spillers are today. Any Elderians left had to hide and blend with the pioneers from the old world. There’s almost nothing left of Alchemist culture other than ruins and relics, and of course, people like me.”

Adrian was trying to take everything in, his heart sinking at the reality of it all. “I’m… so sorry, Jacques. I had no idea.”

“Of course, you didn’t,” he snapped, his face had a tinge of pink to it now. “Hans Fox wanted nothing of the Alchemists to remain, not even the history of our demise. Anyway,” he let out a big sigh, “this isn’t even about that dickhead. Ian, you can’t tell anyone about this, do you understand? Just knowing about my magic is dangerous, not just for me, but for you and Zuri and Andre—”

“I understand.”

He looked up, searching his face for a moment then glanced away, sighing again. 

There was a pause.

“How does your magic work?” Adrian asked gently. “You have to charge it, right?”

“Yeah. It takes focus and quite a bit of time so I can’t do it on the fly, but I harness energy from my surroundings and then it converts into my magic.”

“How do you know how to use it?”

“Parents. My father was a magic user too. That’s also why I know so much about the relics and such.”

“Is that how you knew that relic back in Elden Town was about to kill me?”

He nodded again. “My magic interacts with Alchemist tech, and I’ve worked with enough relics before to know that’s what was about to happen.”

The blond bit his lip in thought. “Why did you care so much about me knowing something about the Alchemists?”

He hesitated. “I was supposedly given the sacred duty of protecting the relics and keeping them from being used by non-users to preserve what little is left of the Alchemists. It’s my birthright, at least, that’s what I was always told growing up. It’s a load of shit though. It was never a destiny I wanted. I don’t even know why I cared or still care about the relics. It’s not like anything I do will bring the Alchemists back anyway.”

Adrian blinked, considering this. “Well, it is admirable since you are technically a living breathing Alchemist. Maybe it’s not like it was, but I don’t think it’s right for an entire culture to just dissipate.”

He frowned. “Why does it have to be me that carries that burden, though? I never wanted these powers or this purpose. There’s a reason I left my parents when I was sixteen.” He stepped forward, his face falling into a scowl. “My only point for existing according to them was to maintain the magic and my culture and eventually pass on the bloodline, but I never wanted that. I just wanted to be normal and have a life outside of duty.”

Adrian’s heart panged at that. He understood all too well. He’d never wanted to be crowned king of Nebrasia at nineteen. He never wanted to rule, and yet he’d had no other choice. 

“You think my life is admirable?” Jacques went on, his voice wavering. “My magic is a curse and I want nothing to do with it. I try never to use it.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why were you using it just now then?”

He glanced down guiltily, then shrugged. “It’s been getting a bit dangerous out here and sometimes I use it in emergencies. I try not to but since it needs to be charged beforehand, I should at least be a little prepared just in case. I’m pretty out of shape though.”

“You don’t need to use it if you don’t want to,” Adrian said, trying one last time to approach and to his relief, Jacques allowed the movement. “Our team thrives pretty well without your magic and you’re perfectly capable with your dual swords.”

Adrian was not expecting such an emotional response in those brown eyes. “Am I really anybody without my magic though?” he asked in almost a whisper. “I feel like nothing without it.”

“What? That’s not true.”

“But this is supposedly my destiny.” Jacques looked down at his hands which were now glowing a faint green. “Haven’t I let all my people down by running away and choosing this life? What am I outside of this purpose if not a failure and a disappointment?” He exhaled sharply. “Why am I even telling you this?” He made to walk past Adrian, but the blond caught him by the arm.

“Hey, you’re allowed to choose your own life, no matter what kinds of responsibilities you’re born into.” His grip tightened slightly as his own words hit a little too close to home. “You’re not lesser of a person just because you didn’t live the life someone else chose for you.”

Jacques’s chest heaved at that, and he would not meet Adrian’s gaze. “I fucking know that,” he shouted, his eyes welling up. “Don’t you think I know that? Fuck.” The tears began falling down his cheeks and he quickly wiped at them, but he couldn’t seem to stop the flow as a small whimper escaped his mouth. 

Adrian blinked at him, never thinking he’d see Jacques in this state. His heart ached as he watched him continue to sob, and he only hesitated a moment longer before stepping forward and timidly wrapping his arms around him. 

Jacques froze for a second at the touch before leaning into the embrace, burrowing his face into Adrian’s chest. His hands gripped the front of his shirt as he continued to quietly weep, and Adrian only held him tighter.

After a while, the sobs and shakes finally died down. Jacques sniffed, and with his head still against Adrian’s chest he spoke in a stuffy voice. “I uh, don’t exactly open up to people, so this is a bit strange for me.” He let out a humorless laugh.

Adrian grinned. “Well, now you know what it feels like to spill your guts to someone and not know what to do with yourself afterwards.”

A real laugh escaped his mouth then. “Guess we’re even now.”

“Well, why don’t we head back before it becomes uncomfortable.”

He was met with a wet chuckle as Jacques finally looked up at him. “Too late for that.”

Their eyes met and a tenderness tugged at Adrian’s chest as he looked down at the swollen, brown eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

It was such a defenseless, vulnerable face. All the rage and aloofness Jacques usually put up was completely gone and those big, open eyes made something in him stir, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

Adrian gave a small smile, reaching out without much thought and wiping some residual tears from Jacques’s cheek. The smaller man blinked at the gesture. “We should sleep, otherwise neither of us will be well rested tomorrow.”

Jacques seemed to snap back into reality as he pulled out of the hug and put some distance between them. “Oh? Wouldn’t want to mess up your beauty sleep, huh, Your Majesty?” he teased. The mock formal address made Adrian’s body go rigid. “Well, I’ll meet you back at camp,” he added, turning and walking away. 

He left but not before Adrian spied the pink lurking on the tips of his ears.

 

🗲🗲🗲

 

“Ian knows I’m a magic user,” Jacques said, digging into the lavish breakfast Andre had cooked for them.

They all sat around the fire pit where several platters were laid out on the blankets. Venwickin breakfasts were extremely important, and Adrian had learned not to rush the first meal of the day when he was living with Boden since the event could in some cases, last hours.

Zuri swallowed a mouthful of some kind of eggplant dish before saying, “Oh, thank the stars! I’m so bad at keeping secrets.”

Jacques frowned. “Yeah, no kidding.”

Adrian was somewhat distracted, sitting silently while slipping pomegranate seeds into his mouth. His eyes lingered for a second on Jacques as he recalled holding the smaller man tightly the night before, his thumb gently wiping the tears off the soft cheek.

Then their eyes met, and Adrian quickly blinked away, feeling like he’d been caught, which was odd. If anything, he should feel closer to this man after such an emotional moment, and yet he found it nearly impossible to make eye contact with him.

“So, that means you’ve shown him the other Alchemist journals then?” Zuri’s question brought Adrian back to the conversation.

“Other?” he repeated, wondering if he’d heard them right.

They closed their lips, a guilty expression on their face.

Jacques threw his head back, sighing. “Zuri, I swear...”

“Sorry,” they said, sheepishly stuffing their face again.

“Wait, hold on,” Adrian was meeting Jacques’s deep brown eyes, willing himself to focus, “do you own other volumes from the Alchemist archives?”

Jacques gave a defeated expression. “Honestly, I don’t even know why I keep them. I don’t speak ancient Elden. Hell, I can’t even read.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Give me a moment.” He stood, stepping into one of the tents. Adrian set down his pomegranate when he saw the man return holding two small journals that looked exactly like the one he always carried around.

Jacques walked around the fire pit to him, holding the books out. Adrian quickly wiped any red juice off his hands onto his pants, then reverently took the two journals from his hands.

“You’d probably get more use out of them than me,” Jacques said nonchalantly, before returning to his spot.

“Where did you get them from?”

He folded his arms. “They were passed down from magic user to magic user. The volume that you own was probably lost and or stolen at some point. I assume your mother bought it from some kind of overpriced market in Elden Town or maybe she found it during her travels. Who knows, but they belong to magic users.”

“Really?” Adrian considered the books. “Are you sure you want to give them to me then? You should really own all the volumes.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Like I said, I can’t even read them, plus, I’ve been wanting an excuse to get rid of the damn things. My parents gave them to me when I turned twelve, wanting me to pass them on to my own magic bearing children as they did theirs.” He frowned. “You can probably see why that’s problematic.”

Adrian genuinely had no idea what he meant by that. “Wait, why is it problematic?” He chewed on his lip before adding, “Can… can you not have children?”

Jacques blinked, then exhaled quickly. “No, I can, it’s just that, to pass on the family bloodline…” his words trailed off and Zuri answered for him.

“He only likes men, remember?” they said bluntly.

Adrian stared at them blankly, the gears turning in his head. Then his face flushed a beet red. “Oh! I…” He had a hand over his face in embarrassment and Andre was busting out laughing. 

“How could you forget?” the big man chided in a teasing manner, holding his sides as he continued to cackle.

Adrian looked up, his voice rising almost a whole octave. “It’s not that I forgot!” Zuri joined in the laughter. “I just, it didn’t click. I wasn’t really thinking—”

“The delay in your reaction,” Zuri said, wiping a tear from their eye. “Your face is bright red, you know.”

Adrian looked away, trying to will away the intense heat in his cheeks. “Forgive me, Jacques.”

“Don’t fret about it,” he said, and Adrian looked up to see a grin on his face. “I’m just glad my journals can be of some use to someone.”

“Yeah, no harm done, Ian,” Zuri said, patting him on the back. “I bet there’s so much for you to discover in those journals.”

He blinked, then smiled. “Yeah! This really means a lot to me.” He gripped the journals in excitement, temporarily forgetting his embarrassment. “I’m sure there’s loads for me to learn.”

“Knock yourself out,” Jacques said, popping a piece of cheese into his mouth.

Adrian gazed down at the two books that were titled, The Alchemist Archives: Volume II and The Alchemist Archives: Volume III, completely forgetting breakfast and literally everything else.

He turned the pages on the second volume, pouring over the words and noting the sketches and drawings inside.

“That’s kind of a big deal, giving away the journals,” Adrian barely heard Andre say.

“I’ve never used them,” Jacques replied nonchalantly.

“You really trust him, huh?” came Zuri’s voice.

“Yeah. I guess I do.”

Blue eyes scanned over a sketch of an Alchemist holding a glowing crystal, emerald magic emanating through their body. “Jacques, have you ever used these?” Adrian excitedly cut off whatever Zuri was saying then.

They all looked at him. 

He stood, turning the book around and walking over, leaning down so Jacques could see the page. He pointed to the image, watching Jacques’s face expectantly.

The smaller man was silent for a moment, blinking at the drawing. “Uh, that looks like the thing Zuri tinkers around with sometimes.”

Adrian found himself grinning. “It says here that the energy crystals can be used as a quick and efficient method of recharging your magic. Look!” He was sitting right beside him now, turning the page. “It uses the word commune, but I assume it’s the same thing you do when you normally recharge, but instead of just harnessing energy from your surroundings which is much more time consuming, the crystal carries an infinite and concentrated source of energy that reacts or communes with your powers.”

Jacques simply stared at the page then blinked up at him, giving a blank face.

Adrian considered him. “Uh, sorry.” He found himself rubbing the back of his neck. “I know you don’t want to use your powers. It’s probably insensitive for me to suggest—”

“How does it work, exactly?” Jacques said, and blue eyes flicked up to meet brown. “Does it require an incantation?” 

“Um, let me see!” He was scanning the page, sitting close enough to Jacques that their arms touched.

“Zuri,” Jacques said while Adrian continued his search, “could I borrow the crystal you keep in your lantern?”

“Sure thing, Boss!” they exclaimed, jumping up. “This is so exciting. I never knew the crystals could do anything like that!” 

They were rushing away and Adrian only vaguely registered Andre saying in an annoyed voice, “Is anyone going to finish their breakfast?”

Adrian read silently through the text until the section ended. “There’s no incantation,” he finally said, glancing up from the page. “It says, you recharge the way you normally would but while holding the crystal.” He traced a finger over the ancient words. “There’s a specific way to hold it though.”

Zuri walked over, placing the crystal in Jacques’s hands. “How am I supposed to hold it?” the leader asked, turning the small glowing emerald between his fingers.

“It says you need to interlace your fingers with the left thumb over the right, holding it in your palms...”

“Like this?” Jacques cupped the gem in his hands with his fingers interlaced.

“That’s right. Then place your elbows on your knees and rest your head onto your hands—yeah, like that. The rest is you.”

“I feel like a fucking idiot.”

“Just focus, or whatever it is you usually do when you recharge.”

“Gee, thanks for the advice.” 

“It says you should feel the energy drawing into you when it’s working—”

“I know what it’s supposed to feel like,” he snapped. “I need silence.”

Adrian closed his mouth, holding his breath as they all quietly waited.

A full minute passed before something happened. A faint glow emanated from Jacques’s hands, spreading outward, then his eyes flicked open, the pupils gone leaving only the same green glow Adrian had seen the day before.

From this close, Adrian could feel his skin prickle in response to the magic, the soft electric hum buzzing next to him. He scooted away a few inches, not particularly liking the way the magic felt while never taking his eyes off the ethereal being.

Jacques’s eyes closed again, and the light slowly dimmed into nothingness. He lifted his head and opened his regular brown eyes with the pupils intact. 

“Holy shit, Jacques,” Zuri commented. “How do you feel?”

He looked down at his open palms at the crystal still in them. “I’m… not sure. I feel a lot more energized than I normally do after charging.” 

“Try doing something,” Adrian said tentatively. 

Jacques stood, placing the crystal in his pocket. He put his hands out in front of him and inhaled. Soon, the air crackled with energy as a small ball of green light appeared in front of his palms, steadily swirling and growing. His eyes were all green again and soon, the whole team was enveloped in the large glowing sphere.

Jacques grinned, the green glowing from his mouth as well as he let out a small laugh. “We have a force field folks,” he said, his voice layered with an electric hum. He lowered his hands, the magic petering out as he turned to Adrian, grabbing him by the shoulders.

“That usually takes multiple days’ worth of charging,” he boomed. His wide grin and sudden close proximity were slightly disorienting for the blond. “Do you know how much more I can do now without even having to worry about my charge? Ian, you genius!” 

Adrian stared back at him for a moment, then his own face grew into a huge smile. “Me?” He clapped his hands over Jacques’s upper arms. “That was spectacular! I can’t believe you can do that! What else can you do? May I see?”

Jacques’s laugh was almost manic as he responded, “I can create a thunder strike type thing. Wanna see?”

“Hell yes, I do!”

They were both laughing like hyenas, breaking apart from the hold as Adrian gave him space to perform his next ability.

Jacques was poised as if he were about to throw his hand into the air when Andre grabbed his wrist.

The large black man had his other hand on his hip. “Are you trying to kill us?” he demanded. “How about we save the dangerous light show for when we’re more covered and after we finish our breakfast?”

Jacques took his wrist back, looking to the side shamefacedly. “Fine, but only because we have things to do.”

 

 

After breakfast, the team took down the campsite and loaded up the donkeys. During this whole time, Adrian was either blathering on with Jacques about his magic or reading the new journals. Several times Zuri had to smack the Alchemist journal out of his hand so he would get back to his task.

When they were finally on the road, Adrian was walking and reading, one hand pulling Tulipe along, the other holding one of the journals open. He never stopped reading, not even during food breaks. Having not one, but two additional journals was more than he had ever hoped for. In addition, helping Jacques with his magic had given him a complete rush. He wondered what else he could discover, and he had so many questions to ask the magic user.

“Hey, Jacques,” he called out as the sun began to set behind the horizon. The town of Chaudel appeared up ahead in the distance.

The smaller man came up right next to him with one of the donkeys in tow. “What is it?”

“Did you know, the Alchemists used their magic to essentially burn facial hair away? It was an efficient, supposedly less dangerous method of shaving.”

“Yeah, I knew that.”

He blinked over at him. “You did?”

“How do you think I keep this clean shave?” Jacques winked at him as he said it.

Adrian stared; eyes wide. “Are you serious? And you’ve never burned yourself?”

“Nope.”

“That’s amazing! I cut myself nearly every time I shave.”

“Yeah, you do a real hack job,” he admitted, sounding like he was only half-kidding. 

Adrian frowned, self-consciously stroking his chin with his hand. 

“You still look good,” Zuri said from behind. “Jacques is just being an ass.”

“I am not,” the smaller man argued. “You always had someone else do it for you, right?” He directed his words back to Adrian.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

Something flashed across Jacques’s face. “Er, I told you I wasn’t going to pry anymore.” 

Adrian gave him a grateful smile. “No, that’s alright. It’s just yet another thing Boden taught me.”

“You really had to learn everything out here, didn’t you? Can’t imagine what that must have been like.”

The blond let out a soft sigh. “It has been a bit frustrating,” he admitted, “but I can’t really complain. I do get a bit sick of the cuts though.” He was touching his chin now. “I’m almost tempted to just give up and let my face do as it pleases.”

He found Jacques eyeing the lower half of his face carefully. “If you want, I can help with that. It takes a good long while for the hair to grow back after using my method.” As he said it, a flash of green playfully lit up his eyes.

Adrian’s chest did a little flutter. “You’d do that? Does it feel strange?”

“A little, I guess. It feels warm and… zappy? I’m not sure how to describe it.” 

The blond considered this, then found himself grinning. “Andre was right,” he said smugly, “you can be quite considerate.”

Jacques blinked, then turned his face away, frowning. “Yeah, whatever.”

“Jacques, aren’t we getting a bit close to Chaudel?” Zuri said cautiously, and the leader man looked up at the town looming ahead.

“What’s wrong with that?” Adrian asked.

“Chaudel is a notorious hotspot for several big water lords,” Jacques explained. “It’s better that we wait until Rastrist to stay the night and restock supplies. We’ll need to set up camp outside of Chaudel then.”

Adrian frowned, his spirits sinking. He had been really looking forward to sleeping in an actual bed, but it was not meant to be.

 

 

After everything was set up and they’d eaten, Adrian found himself in his tent with the door flaps open, lying on his back while reading one of the journals. The other two volumes lay open next to him. 

Outside the tent, Jacques was still on dish duty, Andre was settling the donkey’s in, and Zuri was presumably somewhere tinkering with something. Adrian was reading an especially engrossing section of Volume III about the Totrium. It was that word again. The one he didn’t recognize that had something to do with the location of the gem key.

This was what his mother had been so interested in and the focus of her work. From her notes, he could tell she definitely knew something about the Totrium, but he wasn’t sure what. She listed somewhere in the first volume how she wanted to open the Totrium at all costs, and even with the other volumes, he had yet to understand what that meant.

“Ian, seriously?” 

He looked up to see a slightly annoyed Zuri with hands on their hips standing inside his tent.

“Huh?”

They sighed. “I called your name around seven times.”

“Oh, sorry!” He sat up quickly. “I was a bit distracted.”

“A bit?”

“There’s just so much to learn from these. I discover something new every time I pick them up.”

“What is this?” They crouched down, grabbing Volume II that had been left open to a page with a sketch of a large ship. “Wait, is this powered by the green energy crystals?” 

“Oh, yeah! This thing is so fascinating!” He pointed to the large crystals that were hovering inside massive, grated capsules on the sides of the vessel. “When activated, the crystals power this flying ship, creating sails out of raw magic.” His finger fell over the shimmering sails in the drawing.

“Holy shit, that’s awesome!” Their eyes were big as they stared at it. “How do you activate the crystals?”

“Through the helm and it has to be done by a magic user.”

“Oh, so it was specifically built for magic users and not regular Alchemists?”

“That’s right.”

“Hey, I recognize this symbol!” They pointed to the front of the ship where a circle with a single bolt through the middle was painted. “All Alchemist tech has that insignia on it. They really know how to brand their stuff.”

He stared at it. “It’s really such a shame stuff like this was destroyed and left in ruins. I would have loved to see something like this run. We’d be able to use it too since we have Jacques on our team.”

They considered him, then sat cross legged next to him. “You’ve been extremely calm since learning he has magic. I thought you’d be freaking out a lot more.”

He looked up at them curiously. “Why would I? Everyone knows ancient Alchemist magic users existed once, I just didn’t realize they still existed. After the initial shock, it made sense.”

They snorted. “Yeah, so when I found out about his powers, I was freaking the fuck out for weeks. Jacques didn’t trust me out of his sight for fear I was going to blurt everything to a random stranger.”

Adrian laughed. “You really can’t keep secrets, can you?”

“That is correct.”

There was a pause.

“Almost everything the Alchemists used for their tech was created and powered by magic,” Adrian said, looking down at the journal thoughtfully. “Elderian itself was created from magic. It’s amazing to think what Elderian used to look like before Hans Fox came here.”

They nodded. “The tech I’ve found from the Alchemists is so advanced. I hardly understand it sometimes, and I’ve been obsessing over it for years.”

“Maybe we both can learn a little more about it through these journals.”

Their face lit up. “Yeah!” They excitedly hit him on the shoulder. “You are by far the greatest teammate, you know that?”

He grinned, rubbing his arm. “You’re pretty great too.”

 

🗲🗲🗲

 

Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, Adrian found himself outside the campsite, pacing around in thought.

It was just one of those nights where he wasn’t going to get any shut eye. He was thinking about the journals too much, hypothesizing about everything, wondering what else Jacques could do with his magic.

After wandering a bit of a ways off from the camp, he stiffened slightly, certain he’d heard footsteps. He hesitated, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he peered around. After a moment, he turned, only to run into someone. Stepping back, he recognized the woman with cherry red hair and rouge lipstick. A large group of soldiers stood behind her.

“Well, if it isn’t the fair starling who’s wandered too far from the castle.”