He blinked slowly, processing that. "I…" he frowned, eyebrows gathering. "That doesn't make any sense." he finally remarked, looking over at Will. "If you are correct, why would the emperor not simply kill you? Or why have you not killed him??" at the last part, his voice went quiet, and he glanced around uncertainly.
"He likes keeping me around." His legs restless and heart jittering, Will stands and makes his way to one if the windows. "It's… It's like a cat and mouse. He always has more power, finds me one way or another… And then he keeps me until he gets bored or I try to get out." Will clears his throat; his eyes trace the grass and the trees and the clouds.
He frowned, shaking his head quickly. "That doesn't make any sense." he replied. "It…really doesn't. How could you be the Martyr? And how could he be the Snake? That doesn't make sense." Will had to be trying to pull his leg. That was the only explanation that he could think of for this. Otherwise…no. There was simply no way that Will was telling the truth.
"Your questions are as good as mine," Will laughs humorlessly. "I don't understand why it was me… nor do I understand why I'm cursed to continue reincarnating." His teeth grit, his eyes glaze. "I'm sure you've noticed Kazimir's particularly cruel streak. His taste for destruction, surely?" He keeps himself turned towards the window.
He hesitated, frowning again. "But that doesn't…it doesn't mean anything." he replied. "He's just…he's the emperor. He has to have a tight fist over…everything." he shook his head quickly, eyes flickering around for a moment before settling back on Will again. He fidgeted with his sleeves, exhaling faintly.
"Believe what you wish, Ivan." Will casts a glassy look over his shoulder. "I am merely telling you why I'm here." His arms cross tightly over his chest. A bird outside twitters a short song. "Don't you believe it's odd that Kazimir found a simple human in the woods and didn't kill him on sight? Strange that Kazimir shares his room with me? A little perplexing that the almighty King of the Fae took time out of his day to take me to breakfast and tour the castle?" His voice falters.
"I assumed he had just found you attractive. It is not unheard of for Fae to find humans attractive and to take them as concubines because of that." Ivan frowned, still watching Will uncertainly, not knowing where this was all coming from. "I only…well. I don't know what you want me to say."
Attractive? Will blinks, hiding a balk at the idea. With his less than average height, awkward limbs, tired eyes and less-than-polite resting face, he always assumed he would be average at best. "Well, that's not the case here," Will sighs and steps away from the window. "You live in the most magical place in the world Ivan, I would've expected you to at least entertain the idea of the Fates living among you." He raises an eyebrow.
"The Fates are cards. My mama reads them to find out her fortune. They aren't…they aren't real." he insisted, grimacing and shaking his head at Will. "That's just…it's not possible." he crossed his arms faintly, wings twitching again as he tried to think about the things that Will was saying.
"Alright," Will says as calmly as he possibly can. "I won't try to convince you if you already have your mind set." He reapproaches the window to gage the sun's placement. "And who knows–" He turns back to Ivan. "Maybe Kazimir will surprise you."
He frowned. "What do you mean?" What could Kazimir do that would surprise him? Or at least, in the way Will seemed to mean. Kazimir had done quite a few surprising things over his time as emperor, but Ivan had a feeling that it was not those occasions that Will was talking about right now.
Will shrugs, for even he doesn't know all too well. The Snake's full of surprises, and in every life he never forgets to leave Will weightless, baffled, and fearing for his life. He sizes up the skeptical servant, blinks, and turns to the shelves. "Ivan, could you retrieve my books from Kazimir's room?" He inquires. "They're in my satchel– Why don't you just bring down the whole bag?"
Ivan hesitated for a long moment. "I cannot leave you alone." he replied slowly. "His majesty said that I was not to leave you by yourself, unless you were in your bedroom." he swallowed faintly, fidgeting and hoping that Will would not be furious at him for this. It was not, precisely…his fault. But he had to follow Kazimir's orders over Will's.
"Do you think I'll get myself killed?" Will asks, because frankly he's getting tired of being treated like dogshit and then like a glass figurine. "But if you're so keen on following Kazimir's orders–" Will trudges over to the servant, fully aware of how childish he's being. Goddamn it, why can't he just be an absolute normal human being. Oh, how he longs for the simplicity, invisibility and independence of his human village. "Let's… head to the bedroom."
Ivan grimaced faintly, well aware that Will was very unhappy with him now, but stood and led the way over to the exit of the library, opening up one of the doors and leading Will out. Once they were out of the library, his wings relaxed a bit, stretching and shifting, though he didn't seem to notice it much as he walked down the hallways.
The two of them silently, tensely, make their way out of the library and into the hall. Will begins recording the route to memory, knowing that Ivan will take him through the least-complicated hallways for their own sake. From the corner of his eye, Will notices Ivan's wings shift, though he chooses not to comment. The atmosphere is too quiet to break.
He was shifting because he had been holding them in for so long; it wasn't comofrtable, really, and was why he disliked the library. Not because he disliked reading, but because he had been yelled at by the librarians for stirring up dust when all he had been doing was shifting his wings. So he never moved them while in that room, and now he was just relaxing the muscles a bit.
They arrive at the room without running into anybody else. Will continues to steal brief glances at Ivan's wings. His satchel remains on the nightstand where he had left it, but as soon as he grabs the leather strap, a wave of fatigue runs over him. His eyes droop, the exhaustion from the day catching up. His mind had been spent reading and thinking and trying to process this entire wave of events. "Actually, Ivan…" The satchel returns to the table with a small thud. "Leave me here."
Ivan watched Will quietly, and nodded faintly. "I…cannot leave you, but I will work quietly, if you need to rest." he replied. "You won't even know I'm here." and that was true. Ivan nkew how to work quietly, knew how to be as silent as necessary in order to accomplish his tasks.
"Fine," Will grumbles, already knowing he should've expected the answer. Without any real care, he falls onto the bed, huffing out the last of his breath with a sigh. Already the feeling of the soft mattress and sun-warmed blankets begin to lull him to rest. He feels the need to say at least some semi-closing words to Ivan, but they fail to form on his heavy tongue. Before he knows it, Will's pulled deep into unconsciousness.
(and then maybe timeskip to when Kazimir returns?)
(alright, got it!)
It was a few more hours before Kaz came back. When he did, he was…surprisingly quiet about it, actually. He didn't make a racket, just quietly came inside his room, gaze flickering about as he searched for Will. The emperor looked tired, and there was something dark in his eyes. Some weary anger, some flicker of madness held back by a weakened net of self-control.
Deep in sleep, Will faces nothing but the beautiful, peaceful void of dreamless rest. He feels heavy and weightless and nothing at all– This must be what true sleep feels like. Ever since he was dragged into this lifetime as William, every night had been plagued with flashes of green venom and piercing red eyes every single time he dared to close his eyes– With a soft hum, Will turns over in the bed, fingers softly gripping the pillow.
Kaz came over to the bed, frowning faintly when he saw the way Will was tensed, reaching down to gently smooth his hand along Will's forehead, hoping that would soothe his Martyr. Of the two of them, Will did not deserve these nightmares. He really did not.
The peace is suddenly interrupted as something grazes his forehead. Collapsing buildings, an iron bar to the head, an impaling blade, a guillotine– Will's upright, eyes wide, heart racing, and a pillow pressed in front of him as if it could possibly shield him from whatever dangers await– "Oh." He murmurs after his vision clears and his blood slows. "Welcome back," He offers as calmly as he can, yet his voice cracks on the last syllable.