Ride With Me
Theme: Masqurade
Rating: G
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Stiles allows a smile to pull his lips up as he’s handed a flute of champagne. Standing here, dressed in a fine suit, no one questions his presence at this party. The intricate fox mask covering his eyes helps too, but even without it he doubts that the people swarming around him would be alarmed by his presence. There are so many people moving through the grand ballroom that knowing all of them would be surely impossible. Lucky for Stiles, he only needs to recognize one person.
Standing stiffly to one side of the room, a lone figure captures Stiles’ attention. The man is wearing a black feathered mask instead of the wolf one that Stiles had been expecting to find, but he recognizes him all the same.
Without taking a drink, Stiles sets his glass down on the nearest table, takes a deep breath, and crosses the room. As he moves, Stiles keeps most of his attention on the people around him. For his mission to be successful, Stiles has to make sure that both Gerard and Kate Argent are too preoccupied with their party to see their wolf getting pulled from the room.
Gerard is sitting at a table with a large group of older men, all of whom are surrounded by empty glasses of champagne. Kate is similarly indisposed; her attention is focused solely on the young man that she’s dancing with, her hands wandering to places that Stiles doesn’t want to think about. Satisfied that they won’t notice him, he takes the finally steps forward stopping only when he’s shoulder to shoulder with the man in the black mask.
“Good evening, sir,” he greets, voice honey sweet. The man jerks back in surprise, as though he hadn’t noticed Stiles’ approach. Moving quickly, Stiles reaches out for the man’s wrist. The blade hidden in his sleeve presses against the stranger’s pulse, enough of a threat for him to know that Stiles means business.
He swallows. “I could scream,” he ponders aloud, though he keeps his voice whisper soft, his attention focused on the room.
Stiles smiles. “You could. But this blade is poisoned with wolfsbane. They might catch me, but you would be dead before they would even think of saving you.”
He almost expects the man to argue, but all he asks is, “What is it that you want?”
Grin widening, Stiles peers at him as best he can through his mask. “Actually, I’m here looking for you, Derek Hale.”
The sound of his name makes the man jerk back, and Stiles is careful to make sure that the blade doesn’t break skin. The last thing that he needs is to accidentally poison him. “I-you-. Who are you?”
Stiles shrugs carefully, keeping his smile locked firmly in place. “It doesn’t matter who I am. All that matters is that I get you out of here.” He presses the blade harder against Derek’s skin. “It would be smart not to try and fight to escape.”
Derek makes a disbelieving sound and inclines his head. “Then by all means, lead the way, sir.”
Humming, Stiles twines their hands together, that way he can lead Derek but also keep his blade at the ready. Derek holds tight and makes no move to try and escape or warn anyone about what is really happening between the two men.
Both Gerard and Kate are too busy to notice them slip by, and to anyone else they look like a pair of lovers turning in early, just like Stiles planned. He’s thankful when they skip out of the room and he has a chance to lead Derek toward the stables at a quicker pace.
“If you’re after money I’m afraid that you will be quite disappointed. I’m not worth anything to Kate or her father.” It’s said simply, matter-of-fact.
Stiles scoffs. “Let me worry about that, will you, Hale?” The stable hands barely spare them a glance as Stiles rounds up the two horses he tucked away for them before the party began. It feels risky offering Derek his own horse, risky enough that Stiles hesitates handing the reins over. Unfortunately, having two grown men share a horse seems like a terrible idea, and so he offers the horse to Derek after all. “Here, she’s for you.”
Unexpectedly, Derek crosses his arms over his chest and doesn’t move. “Why should I trust you?”
Stiles gaps at him, surprised that Derek is suddenly resisting. Schooling his expression, he pulls his lips into a sly grin that helps him feel more in control. “You shouldn't. Last I checked, I was kidnapping you. Now take the damn horse.”
Tugging the masquerade mask from his face, Derek glares at him. “The only reason that we made it this far is because I’ve cooperated with you, but now I think I deserve some answers.”
Stiles rolls his eyes. “Actually, I think that it had more to do with my knife pressed against your skin then your gracious cooperation.”
Derek’s glare hardens. “If you were smart enough to coat the blade with wolfsbane than you know what I am, which means that you wouldn't have made it very far at all if I didn’t come with you.”
He wants to argue more, but arguing is wasting time. So, even though he was advised against it, Stiles decides to be honest.
“Fine, fine. You’re a strong, intimidating werewolf who I couldn’t take down even with limitless magick at my disposal, how did you ever guess.” Ignoring Derek’s scowl, he barrels on. “You want to know why you should come with me on your own free will? Because, I’m taking you to your sister. Is that a good enough reason?’’
Derek’s jaw drops. “I-. Laura? But she-. My family, they-.”
Stiles deflates, reaching up to undo the knot on his mask so that he can pull it to one side. “Laura survived. She’s working to take back the kingdom, and hired my team to go after you. Everyone thought that it was a hopeless venture, but she persisted. And here we are.” He gestures back to the horse. “So can we please get going? The longer we linger, the better chance we have at getting caught.”
The look of anguish on Derek’s face is hard to look at. “I can’t go,” he mutters, sounding lost. Before Stiles can demand to know why he wants to stay, Derek holds out his wrists. Two golden cuffs, sparkling with magick, circle both of his wrists. “Kate has these created so that I couldn’t run away. They’re bound to her and this house. I can’t-. They trap my wolf too.”
Stiles understands now why Derek never once flashed eyes or threatened his shift, and his heart breaks a little at how lost he must have felt without his wolf for so long, how human this magick has left him. Carefully, Stiles reaches out and rests his hands on the cuffs, feeling the magick work under his hands. He meets Derek’s gaze. “Get ready to leave as soon as I break this enchantment. Kate will probably feel it snap, and then she’ll come to find you. We won’t have time to waste.”
Derek swallows once and nods, gaze intense.
Taking a deep breath, Stiles closes his eyes and taps into his magick, winding his consciousness though the spell on the cuffs until he can unravel their power. The spell is surprisingly easy to unravel, a sure sign of Kate’s arrogant confidence. When he opens his eyes and releases his magick, Derek is watching him intently, eyes glowing a beautiful, inhuman blue.
“I can feel Laura,” he breathes sounding awed. Then his gaze snaps to the stable door. “We have to go!”
Stiles rolls his eyes and swings himself into his horses saddle. “I told you to be ready.”
Derek bares his teeth in response, but the gesture is more playful than threatening. He clambers onto his horse, and then Stiles is taking off, praying that Derek will follow without hesitation. He spares a glance back when he reaches the mansion gates, and Derek grins up at him, eyes wild and reckless and hopeful while Kate’s guards shout helplessly behind them. Stiles smiles back, and turns around to watch where he’s going. He has a prince to return to his sister, a war to win, and then maybe he'll have a chance to explore why his magick has warmed in response to Derek’s wolf. For now though, all he can do is ride.