The Rudest Tenant
It wasn’t that John hated London.
No. It was far from that. London was one of many beautiful cities he’d been to visit. He simply had a preferred taste for villas and secluded estates far, far, far in the country, away from any sort of civilization. Above all else however, he simply despised being on an airplane overnight. It hadn’t ended well over a century ago when the first commercial flights had been released. The Fables managed to convince the Mundies that a patch of sea off the coast of Bermuda was a no fly zone. After some equally staged incidents, the Mundies believed it.
So sticking close by, however far away enough from the busy city, was his preferred mode of living. The country life not only reminded him of home but it gave him privacy. Something not even the city could offer him. The authorities of the Fable Community at least approved and kept a close watch over him whenever they caught word he wasn’t on his own estate. They’d given him a babysitter, a man with no social skills and the stranger ended up practically obeying his every command. It felt like owning servants all over again.
John couldn’t decide if it was good for him. Without the amulet to control his rampant mind at night, there was little else he could rely on. This wasn’t like his home world. Without Mary he would soon become too lost; they’ll have to throw him in the farm—a reluctance on his part—or kill him for the safest measure. Because once upon a time that had been the only solution.
Far, far away there once was a young Prince who lived in a very large castle with his older brother, the Queen, and the King. The young Prince’s name was Jonathan the Fourth after his great grandfather. Jonathan was a kind and devoted Prince who chose the path of the Knights. He honed his skills and easily became Captain of the guard while his brother Harold studied to be next in line on the throne. And while Jonathan was also taught Royal living, he had every intention of protecting his family first as their shield and as a King last. It was all a very modest and happy living for the Royals, their people loved them and their family was together. The Prince could want for nothing.
However, the prince was unaware of the ill fate, soon to be bestowed upon them all, on one dark night. While Jonathan went out patrolling the castle grounds--as was his usual method of surveillance--he came upon the sight of a fallen guard at the front gate. Someone had taken out his man and when he raised from the floor to call out an alarm he was struck from behind. The last thing the prince remembered was the sensation of his body falling to the ground, and his vision going dark while someone in a cloak stepped over him.
The Prince awoke next, groggy and unsteady, his alarm nearly forgotten as he attempted to see where he’d been taken. But the moment he became focused, he found blood had been spilled, making him reel as his stomach turned over. There were body parts that had at first seemed scattered, only to find that they were placed to make a trail towards a pile of corpses. The Prince’s family was dead. The worst part for Jonathan however was finding his hands and body already caked in their blood.
And though it was useless to mourn them, his tears would not bring them back, the Prince cried. He cried until there was nothing left and stared upon their bodies with regret. He couldn’t save them and for that he would punish himself. Not before, however, someone odd and who did not belong in his country would punish him first. The hooded figure came back, arriving from the shadows and took the Prince’s chin into their old, cold hand. The grip was rough but he had no heart to fight it.
"Do you like the gift I’ve bestowed upon you?" The Prince stared with apt confusion, causing the figure to croon and holler in a shudder worthy, disturbed laugh. A man, Jonathan noticed, with a smile that was wide and a voice like honey. The stranger held his face and the prince could feel the way the man’s skin moved and became smooth with each passing second.
"You don’t know, you poor thing."
"What are you saying? I don’t understand..I don’t understand." Jonathan continued to repeat even while the stranger pulled off his hood to reveal a young face. A man free of any facial hair and as immaculate as a marble statue. The Prince could not appreciate how handsome he was because seconds prior the figure had wrinkled skin and the grin he shared did not feel welcoming.
"Come now. Don’t give your father that look. I’m responsible for you now young Prince. With your whole family gone, I’m aaalll you have leeeft~." The poor prince wrenched out of the stranger’s grasp, unable to handle or believe his words.
"What have you done?" Jonathan asked, feeling himself turning with dread to look at the corpses, at the blood on his hands and the blood within the room.
"It’s not me you should be asking that question. It’s yourself." The figured cackled even as the young Prince felt himself heave and catch his hands against the royal flooring.
They were in the King and Queen’s chambers, the armor of the guards having been torn right through and weapons snapped in half, no matter if they were steel or wood. With tears in his eyes the Prince crawled fruitlessly towards the pile, searching for the King and Queen while the man behind him cackled. It was a mad sound that echoed through the room and halls of the Castle. The young Prince had believed that all he knew was lost, clutching the lifeless hands of his parents. Then at that very moment the doors to the room swung open and in stumbled the Elder Prince Harold, sword in hand, a wound in his stomach, and what few men were left at his side. His weapon was raised but at whom it wasn’t clear until he spoke.
"Step away from my brother, demon. Your magic will not work here."
"You are too late. Your beloved King and Queen are dead and your brother shall carry the weight of this burden." With a deranged cackle the man laughed at them all, taunting the Elder Prince to push forward. Harold rushed through the room, swinging his sword. The stranger vanished in a cloud of smoke, his laugh growing sinister. "Though I may be gone, the monster shall stay. With each night your brother lives, your lives will be in danger. He shall take the form of a beast and become as mindless as a monster. A curse on his life and these lands of which there is no cure. For whosoever kills him shall become the next beast to conquer!"
"You cannot do this! You believe you can ruin this kingdom with fear? We will find a way!" The elder Prince shouted to the nothingness of the air. The only reply he got back from the strange man was a drifting echo of his last words.
"Your fates are sealed. There is no escape, no hope." And with that silence fell upon them all.
When the assessment of the damage had been calculated, the Prince’s realized they had lost much from the attack. The elder Prince was still somewhat shaken up that small gestures like Jonathan steadying his brother’s arm frightened Harold enough to make him flinch away. They both agreed that though no harm would come to Jonathan, he would need to be restrained come nightfall. They only managed to finally contain him after many many trials of struggle.
Once some peace had restored, the Elder Prince was anointed King. And the two brothers battled the curse set upon the young Prince. They searched endlessly for remedies and spells that could reverse or completely cancel out the cruel magic. When all hope had nearly been lost though, there came a Princess to their land. Princess Mary, sent as an emissary from her own kingdom to enact a negotiation between their lands. If she were to solve their problem, she would marry King Harold. The young Prince however resisted for a long time. He refused to allow anyone, even the Princess to see him while he was transformed. It wasn’t safe.
So the Princess lived with them, only meeting with Jonathan in the Daytime. Her remedies were vast but all were unsuccessful. However there were days when she did not attempt to fix him, where instead she took the time to get to know the young Prince better. They spent much of such days talking and on the rare occasion the King could join them, the Royals seemed to gain a sense of joy back into their lives.
Unfortunately, as the days went by, the Princess and the young Prince began to fall in love with each other. The desire to free him from his curse becoming more than merely a goal of diplomacy. But the young Prince still refused to allow the Princess to see him at night. One day in one of the many gardens on castle grounds, the Young Prince found his princess, sitting near their usual meeting spot. The love he felt in his chest for her was warm and modest, even as he approached her, he regarded the Princess with the utmost respect.
She as well felt her heart flutter with happiness when he was near, even though she knew she would have to marry his Elder if she continued on with her charge of saving the Young Prince from his spell. When the Prince knelt before her, he noticed something she held close in her hands.
"What is it?" He asked and she responded with a soft smile.
"A magical artifact. A medallion I believe that can save this kingdom." The Princess Mary spoke with such genuine honesty and kindness that the young Prince humored her, giving the Princess a gentle kiss to her hand despite the doubt he felt fill his chest. He stayed for the remainder of their day together and when the light began to fade the Prince rushed to his stone prison where all would be safe from the beast.
Little did anyone know that the Princess had followed the Prince down to where he was held for his transformations. She made the mistake of leaving the door open, causing the monster that had taken Jonathan’s place to go on a rampage within the Castle again, like it had so long ago. The King ordered all but the knights to flee, the guards were to simply keep the beast occupied so as to protect the unarmed. They could fight back but with no intent to kill and only subdue.
However the beast was too strong, it plowed through soldier after soldier, a massacre about to soon unfold as everyone rushed to get out of the Castle. But then the Princess rushed into the fight, the opposite of running with nothing and no one to protect her. She attempted to speak to the beast, calling out the Prince’s name but there was only hostility in response. She managed to dodge a few swipes to her head, the King watching with horror, attempting to gain the beast’s attention with shouts and rocks so that she may be saved. But it was too late. Mary came forward with her arms above her head and she felt an unnatural warmth blossom through her chest and stomach.
"No!" The King shouted while the beast let out a pitiful roar. And though the Princess had managed to place the amulet around the neck of the beast, she herself had been impaled on his claws. Jonathan transformed slowly back to his human form despite the night sky, his heart breaking in the process of his freedom. He held the Princess close, her frail body bleeding against him as the life slipped out of her. The entire kingdom mourned her but no more than the young Prince. Freed of his curse but at the price of his beloved. When the Adversary came to their land, Jonathan fought along side his brother the King. His medallion was lost in the battle for control but even their world was conquered and the two Royals fled to the Realm of the Mundane with whoever could follow.
And so they lived, from that day forth, here, adapting. John took up residence in South Downs and made his fortune in being a landlord of a building of homes only 3 stories high with 2 staircase and one elevator system within the development. There was a large foyer for the general entrance and exits located at each bottom landing of the stairs. Roof access was reserved to one staircase however, while a backdoor into the gardens was in the other. Each floor had a self sustaining flat of five, every one filled except for the rooms particularly close to one certain tenant. John was here to deal with the man, speak with him about Code of Conduct and then leave. He knocked on the door in high hopes that this would not take long.
"Mr. Holmes, open up. It’s the landlord, I know you’re in."
