Charming: Part I - 6. Chapter Six

Zev drove the car for ten minutes through the city, a city where people the size of trolls lived under bridges, begging for food and sewers where thumb-sized people lived with mice as their steeds. This was what happened after people fed wild creatures despite the signs telling them not to and people abandoning their thumb-sized children after they became adults, no longer cute pets who could be kept in their cages. What a depressing world to live in.

Eventually, Zev turned to a parking lot where he parked at the front of an apartment building.

“Where are we?” Lucky asked.

“My place. We can stay here until the coast is clear,” Zev said as he turned the engine of his car off.

Lucky looked at Violet who just shrugged before getting out of the car with her arms piled with her hair. Sighing, Lucky did the same and followed Zev inside the apartment and into an elevator where it took them to the third floor. Lucky sneezed a few times and during their unusually long, shaky trip in the elevator which finally made it to the third floor after a minute.

“Sorry if you’re allergic to fairy dust. The entire apartment complex is infested with them and I already sent a few complaints to the landlord about it, but to no avail,” Zev explained. “And don’t eat any of the mushrooms growing on the walls. They’re from the fairies as well that’ll cause you to become addicted to its properties.”

“Noted,” Lucky sniffled.

They eventually walked to the front door of Zev’s place with him swatting away a couple fairies from his face who both giggled playfully as they flew away. Unlocking the door, he opened it and entered inside with Lucky and Violet following right behind him.

“Welcome to my den,” Zev said, taking his keys and wallet from his pockets and throwing them onto a nearby end table. “Make yourselves comfortable. I’m…going to tell my roommate that I have guests. Cecil!”

Zev disappeared into a hallway, which left Lucky and Violet by themselves in the small living room of Zev’s apartment. Looking around, Lucky noticed the apartment, at least the living room area, was spotless, unlike the hallway outside where the air was filled with fairy dust. All though the furniture was mismatched and old-looking, the place looked comfy as he sat down on the couch and appreciated how the cushions molded around his body. Violet, however, continued to stand there, looking understandably confused and Lucky was about to tell her who Zev was heard when he two pairs of footsteps coming from the hallway.

Lucky looked to see Zev reappear with another person right behind him, a man who was wearing black-tinted glasses and holding a cane that he was tapping on the wooden floor to help guide him. He looked like he just gotten out of bed, judging by his pajama pants and ruffled hair.

The man then stopped with his hands clasped together on the handle of his cane and said, “Well, Zev? Are you going to introduce to me to your friends?”

“Oh, right,” Zev said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, this is Lucky, and this is…”

“Violet,” she said lightly with her head bowed.

“Right. And this Cecil, my roommate,” Zev introduced. “Sorry, that I brought company here without asking you first.”

“No, it’s fine, Zev. It’s nice to have people over for a change, Godmother knows that I don’t get out enough,” Cecil said before walking to an arm chair adjacent to the couch and sitting down. “Anyways, do you two want anything to eat?”

“Oh, no. We’re fine,” Lucky said. “We just came from a restaurant and—”

“Actually, can I have something to eat?” Violet asked.

“Of course. What would you like? Zev recently filled the refrigerator and pantry with food, so we have some of every. How about a pulled pork burger that Zev gets from the local restaurant?”

“Is it good?” Violet asked.

“Well, I can’t say for sure, but Zev loves them,” Cecil said with amusement that earned a stern look from Zev in return. “How about it?”

“Sure, why not?” Violet said, finally sitting down on the couch next to Lucky. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Just let me put it in the microwave and—”

“No, Cecil. Let me,” Zev insisted and began walking to the kitchen.

“So…how long have you two been friends with my roommate, Zev?” Cecil asked as he crossed his legs and clasped his hands just below his chin.

“Oh, um…just for a while,” Lucky said, not wanting to lie to the man.

“And what about you?” Cecil asked Violet.

“Oh, I’m…just here because of Lucky,” Violet answered.

“So, are you two a couple?” Cecil asked with a smile.

“No,” Lucky and Violet both said in unison.

Chuckling, Cecil said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume. I’m just curious because Zev rarely brings people over to our apartment. The only other person he brings here is Velvet. However, she hasn’t visited in a while because of college. So, it’s nice to know Zev is at least making acquaintances.”

An alarm from a microwave was heard and was followed by Zev who came back with a burger on a plate and a glass of water in his other hand. Placing the glass on top of a coaster, he handed Violet the burger which she looked with hungry eyes. She took a small bite of her food, and with a hum of satisfaction started eating it like she had not eaten in days.

“Would you like a burger?” Zev asked Lucky.

Shaking his head, Lucky said, “No, I’m fine. Thanks though.”

Zev nodded and walked to the other side of the couch and sat next to Lucky. With his head leaned back against the couch, he covered his face with his hands and sighed heavily, sounding exhausted. Lucky was exhausted too, especially after what happened back at the restaurant and all the questions that were still swimming in his head.

“Hey, Zev, do you mind turning the news on?” Cecil asked.

“Uh…sure.”

Zev took the remote control from the coffee table and turned on the small television that was already on a news channel and what was displayed scared Lucky deeply. Breaking news was on the headlines and live footage of body bags being taken out of the same building of the restaurant where he and Violet were just at sent shivers all over his body.

“Oh, my. Who could have done this?” Cecil said.

Lucky turned his head to face Zev who was leaning forward and looking at the news through his fingers. “What happened, Zev?”

Zev grunted and dropped his hands onto his lap before facing Lucky. “Like I said before… Vampires.”

Everyone was silent when that one word was uttered again with a reporter in the television stating that there was more than a dozen confirmed dead and many more injured at the restaurant. Then a commercial break happened with an advertisement about planning your own fairy tale wedding filling the quiet space.

“What…What do you mean by vampires?” Lucky finally asked.

“A body as cold as snow. A soul as dark as ebony. And lips as red as blood.”

Lucky turned to Cecil who facing him with a creased forehead and a frown on his face. “That sounds familiar.”

“It should. It’s the original saying from the most famous tale… Snow White.”

“Wait a minute. Are you saying she was a vampire?” Violet asked, surprised.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Why do you think she was fairest of all the land?” Cecil said. “Zev should have more information though.”

“Cecil…” Zev said with a warning tone.

“Come on, Zev. You should know. Your people have been exploited by vampires for centuries, especially in the tale of the huntsman who was persuaded by the Snow White to not take her heart and instead take one from a pig which he gave to the witch instead.”

“Yeah, and that’s why there is very little mention of vampires in fairy tales since they used my people as servants to get what they want,” Zev said with distaste. “Now we’re viewed as menaces to society while vampires live in luxury and secrecy.”

“Why doesn’t the public know about their existence?” Lucky asked.

Cecil chuckled. “Witches are already hated by most of the public, and the revelation that they also created vampires on top of other atrocities they committed in the past will not do their reputation any favors. For example, look at me. I’ve been cursed by having mirror shards imbedded into my eyes by a witch as well many others in my town and now I only see the ugliness of everything from objects to people, hence why I rather live as blind instead of seeing the ugly truth of the world that I live in.”

“I’m…I’m sorry about that,” Lucky said.

“Don’t be. As long as I have my guide dog here, I’ll be okay,” Cecil said as he smiled at Zev.

Zev groaned. “Anyways, back to the point. Vampires usually live in secrecy, relying mostly on blood donations to satisfy their hunger… However, what happened today was vampires attacking people in broad daylight, which could only mean that they are desperately after someone…and that someone is you, Lucky.”

With wide eyes, Lucky said, “Why…Why me?”

“You don’t know,” Zev said with furrowed eyebrows. “Why else were you trying to recreate the Magic Mirror by going into that flooded stadium, which is illegal by the way?”

“I was just trying to find someone through the Magic Mirror and… Wait. How did you know?”

“It doesn’t matter, Lucky. What matters is that you unknowingly placed yourself in grave danger by trying to recreate that magical object. And it doesn’t matter what your intentions were, vampires aren’t too keen about having the Magic Mirror recreated since it almost caused their original leader and creator to be killed by a witch that tried to end the curse by giving her a poisoned apple as the last resort.”

“Which, by the way, was just a rotten apple that caused the princess to lose her eternal beauty, forcing her to look for other ways to reobtain it, hence why she started drinking blood,” Cecil added.

“And with vampires secretly gaining more power as corporatists and politicians, not even your father’s status as a king will stop them from trying to hunt you down,” Zev emphasized.

“How did you even know about me being in danger in the first place? And don’t give me some vague answer again,” Lucky said.

Zev sighed. “I’m a police officer, Lucky… And when I’m off-duty, I use my skills to go undercover as a vampire’s mercenary and today I managed to overhear a plan by them to enter a restaurant and kidnap you, Lucky.”

“And then what?” Lucky asked, squeezing his hands tightly.

“Things you cannot possibly imagine, Lucky. I’ve witnessed what vampires do to people who they believe are a threat to their existence while I was undercover. And the famous Prince Charming is no exception,” Zev explained. “And I believe it was led by a woman named Lilith.”

Lucky snapped his head up and turned to Zev. “Did you say Lilith?”

Zev nodded.

“Do you know what she looks like?” Lucky asked.

“I haven’t seen her personally since she most does things in the shadows, but I heard she was very pale with very dark, almost black hair and always wore red on her lips. You know her, I’m assuming.”

Feeling sick, Lucky stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen where he leaned his hands on the edge of the kitchen island. “I do…She was my sister-in-law after all.”

“Sister-in-law? So, she’s married into your family?” Cecil asked.

“Was married into my family… She killed my brother for unknown reasons and then disappeared... However, I have a feeling there’s more to my brother’s death now that I’ve heard what you and Zev just said,” Lucky inferred.

“So… you have more of a connection to the vampire community than I have thought previously,” Zev said, walking to Lucky and turning him around gently by the shoulder to face him. “Lucky, you need to stop whatever you’re planning on doing with recreating the Magic Mirror. You’re going to get yourself killed.”

“And do what? Lilith destroyed everything when she killed my oldest brother and I’m just supposed to let that go?” Lucky argued.

“Look. I don’t know much about your family history and I’m sorry you lost your brother, but going to places like flooded stadiums and almost getting yourself killed by an octopus witch is not going to bring your brother back,” Zev explained, his hands on Lucky’s shoulders.

“Why do you care anyways?” Lucky huffed.

Zev did not answer, just continued to look at Lucky with worried eyes.

“Are you going to tell him, or should I?” Cecil said from across the room.

“Cecil…” Zev warned.

“Tell me what?” Lucky asked. “Does it have to do with how I survived getting hit by that car?”

Bowing his head, Zev said, “Something like that.”

“Well? Are you going to tell me or not?” Lucky asked impatiently.

Zev’s eyes looked up and were locked with Lucky’s before he said, “Just know that I did it to save your life… I may have imprinted myself onto you during the ambulance ride to the hospital.”

“Imprint? What does that mean?” Lucky asked, taking a step back.

“I…I left an imprint on you, Lucky—I did it to save your life and the only way I could do it was leaving my mark on you.”

“What mark? What the hell did you do to me?” Lucky said, walking past Zev and feeling his body for said mark.

Then Lucky’s fingers felt something on the side of his neck, a mark or indention that caused panic to rise inside him. He then looked back at Zev who had a guilty expression on his face.

“I’m sorry.”

“What did you do to me, Zev?” Lucky asked again.

“I…I left an imprint on you…basically showing that you’re my lover,” Zev admitted.

“Your lover? I barely know you!” Lucky exclaimed, rubbing his fingers on the imprint on his neck and hoping it would somehow go away.

“It was either that or let you die, and…I couldn’t let that happen.”

“Shit. I would’ve rather died than be stuck forever with a wolf,” Lucky spat.

A growl suddenly came from Zev who grabbed Lucky by the front of his shirt and with their faces only inches apart said, “So, what if I’m a wolf? I just told you that I saved your life and all you can think about is yourself… I can only imprint once in my life and I chose to use it on a spoiled prince instead of my true love.” Pushing Lucky back, Zev continued by saying, “But don’t worry, Prince Charming. The imprint won’t affect you in any way, so you can go ahead and fall romantically in love with a princess and live your happily ever after.”

The realization of what Zev just did for him and his heartless response towards it made him feel sick with guilt. The man just said that he gave up his chance to have true love just so that Lucky could live another day.

With his chest becoming tight, Lucky said, “I’m sorry, Zev. I didn’t know that—”

“Don’t, Lucky. I don’t want to hear it,” Zev said with his back towards Lucky.

Lucky just bowed his head, feeling very remorseful for what he just said. He should have told Zev how grateful he was for having his life saved, but of course he had to screw it all up.

“Oh, come on. You two can’t end it like that,” Cecil said. “Zev, you already saved Lucky twice with a kiss, once after you rescued him from drowning and the second time after you discovered that he was going into a coma after he got hit by that car. That has to mean something.”

“And don’t forget that you rescued Lucky from being taken by those vampires,” Violet added.

“First off, I was just doing CPR by giving Lucky mouth-to-mouth, and secondly imprinting requires that I also kiss him in order for it to work,” Zev explained.

“Whatever. A kiss is a kiss, and I feel like another one is needed, especially since you just rescued Lucky a third time from those vampires as Violet had just mentioned,” Cecil noted. “Come on, you two. Kiss and make up.”

Zev turned back around and Lucky looked up to see a sad, hurt expression on his face, an expression that Lucky had caused by his selfish words.

“Um, I think I need to use the bathroom,” Violet said as she stood up and placed her empty plate of the coffee table.

“Yeah, I’ll show you where it is. Also, I’ll be returning to my bed, so I can resume my beauty sleep,” Cecil said walking to the hallway with Violet right behind him.

The living room was now empty except for Lucky and Zev who both remained silent as they continued to look at each other.

Then Lucky cleared his throat and said, “Thank you for rescuing from those vampires. I should’ve said that to you before.”

“It’s fine…and you’re welcome.”

Giving a small smile, Lucky said, “It’s funny. Me being Prince Charming, I should be the one doing the rescuing, not the one being rescued.”

“And I don’t think it helps that your rescuer is the Big Bad Wolf,” Zev added.

“Well, maybe I don’t mind having someone who’s big and bad come to my rescue,” Lucky said as he took a step forward.

Zev smirked and said, “And what about the wolf part?”

Stopping in front of Zev with only a few inches of space between them, Lucky said, “Well, I was never looking for the traditional relationship, hence why I didn’t want to marry Violet or any other woman my father introduced to me. And you being a wolf... I don’t know why, but it excites me for some reason.” Placing his hand on Zev’s hard chest, he finished by saying, “Also, when I think about it, I like the idea of someone leaving a mark on me.”

Tilting Lucky’s head up by the chin, Zev said, “Well, if that’s true, there will be more marks after I’m done with you.”

Lucky bit his bottom lip as their faces got closer together. Never was he this physically close to another person that he found so attractive before, and even though they supposedly kissed twice already, this was going to be the first time that he was going to fully experience the kiss of another man, a man who was his own Prince Charming. And when their lips met, Lucky, for the first time, hoped he was not sleeping since the dream of his first kiss was finally coming true and one could only say that third time’s the charm.