Fic: The Alternative You 01/02, FSkating RPS, Johnny Weir/Evan Lysacek/Stéphane Lambiel, NC17/18
Merry Month of Masturbation - Day 06
My MMOM Master List 2010
Title: The Alternative You (01/02)
Author: Beren
Fandom: Figure Skating RPS
Pairing: Johnny Weir/Evan Lysacek/Stéphane Lambiel
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, the real people in it are used without their permission and I definitely don't own them or have any copyright to any part of any of them. I do not believe any of this happened, is likely to happen or should happen, it is simply a story created around known facts about those involved.
Warnings: threesome
Summary: An anonymous person gives Johnny a mirror, only it's not just a mirror, as Johnny finds out when it transports him to another world. What he finds there affects the way he looks at his own life in very significant ways.
Author's Notes: Well this year I decided on Creature Fic for mmom and this one is elves. This one got away from me a bit, it wasn't supposed to be this long :). Thanks to Soph for the beta.
Word count: 13,679
On to Part 2
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)
Chapter 1 Through the Looking Glass
The mirror arrived by courier on a very boring Tuesday morning when Johnny was vacuuming his carpet and dancing to Lady Gaga. After checking that, yes, it really was for him and, no, there was no return address, Johnny unpacked it and he had to admit he was enchanted. It was a full length mirror, decorated like something out of a fairy tale or a nineteen century Russian palace. Frankly he loved it and he put it in pride of place in the corner of his bedroom. He twittered about it, thanking his anonymous gift giver and then went ahead and used it for two months without incident.
The only strange thing that seemed to come with it were the dreams. In them he was some elf prince and most of the dreams consisted of him looking in the mirror. What was really a bit strange was that said elf prince seemed to be in a three-way with Stéphane and Evan of all people. Talk about weird subconscious moments.
It was two months to the day when he woke up from a very sound sleep and glanced over at the mirror, only to see not a reflection of his mostly dark room, but an entirely different room, all decorated in gold and silver and deep red. Johnny decided instantly that he had to still be dreaming, but it was a fascinating dream, so he climbed out of bed and walked over to the mirror. Given that he could feel the summer heat prickling over his skin, it felt like a very odd dream, but he was game.
The mirror's surface was kind of shimmering at him and he couldn't help himself; he reached out to touch it. His mother had always told him that his curiosity would get him into trouble one day and as soon as his fingers connected with the surface he felt a tug on his body. Suddenly he felt very awake and very afraid and he was yanked forward, straight through what should have been glass. His bedroom vanished, as did the other room he had been looking at through the mirror and everything was dark and he was falling. He could not scream, because all the air was being pushed from his lungs and the forces on his body were incredible; it felt like he was doing quad after quad after quad and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. With a sigh everything disappeared as his consciousness was snuffed out.
====
"He looks exactly like him," a somewhat familiar exotic voice was saying as he swam back to consciousness.
"Except the ears," agreed another less exotic, but no less familiar voice. "I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it."
Johnny opened his eyes and blinked; his thoughts all fuzzy and confused. He felt relaxed and rested, in fact he felt better than he had done in a long while, but he couldn't remember why that was odd. Then he blinked again and his eyes finally focused and he found himself looking at Evan Lysacek, only not quite, because last time he had seen Evan, Evan had had shorter hair and definitely no pointy ears.
"Oh fuck," he said, sitting up and scrambling backwards as the so called dream came back to him.
Standing right next to not-Evan was not-Stéphane; the one from his other dreams and they both looked concerned.
"Please," not-Stéphane said, holding out his hands in the universal gesture of 'don't panic', "do not be afraid; you are quite safe here."
"And where's here?" Johnny asked, feeling not so reassured.
"The royal palace," not-Evan said, which didn't really help.
Johnny pinched himself just to be sure and, yes, he was definitely awake.
"This is Prince Jonirai's bedroom," not-Stéphane said in a very soothing tone, one he had heard the real Stéphane use on several occasions; it was reserved for people about to flip out completely. "You were found several hours ago beside the mirror, injured, and the healers thought it best not to move you too far. How are you feeling now?"
That actually made Johnny examine the situation and himself and he had to admit he felt fantastic. Bits of his body that he was just used to having ache because of the strain he put them through even seemed to like him again.
"About ten years younger," he said, since that was what came into his head, and he wasn't kidding either; he was pretty sure he hadn't felt this good since he was a teenager.
Not-Stéphane smiled at that.
"Good," not-Stéphane said cheerfully, "then the healing has worked. I am Stéphar and this is Evalian, if you do not mind, who are you?"
The names were familiar, all too familiar from his dreams.
"My name's Johnny," he replied, still not sure what to make of the two men. "How did I get here?"
"That's what we were wondering," Evalian replied, as earnest as his real world counterpart.
It seemed he wasn't the only one who was confused.
"If you could tell us what you remember, we might be able to figure out what happened," Stéphar said in a very personable manner.
Johnny couldn't argue with that, even though his brain was screaming about the twilight zone.
"Someone gave me a mirror," he said, since that seemed like a sensible place to start, "about two months ago. I started having these strange dreams," for a moment he thought about omitting the details and then decided they might be important, "about you two and someone who looked like me, only your hair was different." He realised, after he said it, that that probably wasn't a useful detail, but he noticed things like that; "then last night the mirror wasn't a mirror anymore. I thought it was a dream so I touched it and then I woke up here."
Stéphar and Evalian were looking at each other intently.
"The other world," Evalian said in a way that seemed to indicate it made sense to them.
"It would explain his ears," Stéphar replied with a nod.
If there was one thing Johnny hated it was being spoken over while he was in the room.
"Excuse me," he said, just a little acidly, "still here."
Both Stéphar and Evalian looked back at him with almost identical expression.
"He's just like him," Evalian said in rather an awed voice.
"Him who?" Johnny was not in the mood to play nice.
"Jonirai," Stéphar said simply; "our third."
Johnny was beginning to realise that his dreams were not so much dreams as another reality. For a little while he almost freaked out.
"Okay," he said, trying to be rational, "where is this Jonirai? Maybe with him we can figure out how to get me home."
He saw the sadness fall over Stéphar's face like a veil and Evalian's expression went blank giving Johnny only too clear clues. It was surprising how like their counterparts the two were.
"Oh crap," Johnny said, realising his mistake, "I'm sorry, he's dead or something isn't he?"
If he had been dreaming the past it would explain the differences he saw in the two men in front of him.
"Or something," Evalian said shortly; "he was cursed three years ago. He remains not alive, but not dead either."
Johnny could not help remembering the dreams where the three men had seemed so happy and his heart broke a little.
"That's terrible," he said and he meant every word.
"It pains us greatly," Stéphar said with a small bow of his head, "but we never give up hope that the curse will be broken."
The way Stéphar smiled sadly at that said everything that words couldn't and Johnny felt so sad for his companions.
"However," Stéphar said, clearly trying to pretend everything was okay again, "enough of such things, we are being rude; you must be hungry after the healing. I know that last year, after the healers repaired my leg, I could not stop eating for days. We can talk more over food."
As if on cue Johnny's stomach gave an ominous rumble. He was so used to eating the wrong things and then having to pretend he didn't want food he had barely noticed he was hungry at all.
"We must find you some clothes to wear," Stéphar decided firmly and the way Evalian just let his other half get on with things, Johnny assumed that there was no stopping Stéphar once he got an idea into his head.
That was also very like his version too. It was strange, everything that seemed to suggest that anything between them would have been a disaster in his world seemed to make Evalian and Stéphar compliment each other here. Johnny had only been with them a little while, but he remembered his dreams and the three had been perfect foils for each other.
"You are identical to Jonirai," Stéphar said, looking him over critically, "if a little too thin. His clothes should fit you well."
Johnny didn't argue as he was urged out of bed towards two huge doors on the opposite wall and when Evalian opened the doors, Johnny thought he might actually be dead and have gone to heaven. There was a walk in wardrobe full of clothes that sparkled and just screamed perfection at him. They weren't styles he was used to, but he knew quality when he saw it and the small room was stunning.
"Just like him," he heard Evalian say and he realised that maybe he had been staring too long at the clothes.
"Jonirai loves clothes," Stéphar said, smiling as if he liked the similarity; "and I can see you do as well. I am sure he would be very happy for you to choose whatever you wish to wear."
"We'll leave you to get dressed," Evalian said politely, allowing Stéphar to proceed him out of the wardrobe.
Johnny could have made a nest in the small room and never left, but he nodded as if he had some idea of what he was going to choose.
"One of us will come and find you in a little while," Stéphar said as if reading his mind. "Please, take your time."
And then the two elves, Johnny had definitely decided they were elves, left him to it and he was like a kid in a candy store. He really wasn't sure how long it took him to choose something, but eventually he managed to make up his mind and then it took him more time to figure out how the clothes worked; there weren't exactly any zippers or Velcro.
Finally he was ready and he examined at himself in the mirror; he looked like he was wearing one of Stéphane's historically inspired skating costumes, but he liked it. The materials of the breeches and shirt were so soft they just kissed his skin, even under the surcoat. He remembered seeing Jonirai wearing the outfit in one of his dreams and he did look exactly like him, all apart from the ears. It was really strange and he couldn't imagine how hard it was for Stéphar and Evalian to see him when he appeared so much like their lost love. It made his heart ache for more reasons than one.
Pulling himself together, he walked towards the door, but before he reached it something caught his eye. There on the dresser was a small statue of a bird in gold and jewels and it drew him over. He wasn't sure why, but it fascinated him and he couldn't help himself as he reached out and touched it. The bird moved as soon as he did and burst into the sweetest song. It was as if it was alive and he couldn't take his eyes off it. He was so enrapt that he didn't notice the door opening until he realised he wasn't alone when someone placed a hand on his shoulder. Stéphar was standing next to him.
"Sorry," he apologised instantly; "I didn't mean to disturb it."
"Do not be sorry, my friend," Stéphar said, eyes distant for a moment, "the bird has not sung since Jonirai was cursed. He was given it as a boy and it only ever sang for him. That it sang for you is fitting."
Johnny didn't know what to say.
"Come," Stéphar said, voice tight with emotion, "let's go and eat."
====
The food was amazing and he figured that if what Stéphar had said was true he needed the calories and it wouldn't make too much difference to his diet. The dining room was also fabulous, as was everywhere in the palace that he had so far seen. He really was in a fairytale.
While they ate, Stéphar and Evalian answered any question he had and tried to help him understand what had happened. According to their legends there were two worlds which existed in parallel; everyone who was born into one was born into the other, only one world was human and the other elven. It was possible for these two worlds to touch by magic and the mirror had been a magical gateway.
"Someone from this world must have sent it to you," Evalian said as the third course was taken away.
Johnny had eaten more in the one meal than he had in the past month, but he hated to admit it, he was still hungry.
"But why?" Johnny asked; he didn't belong here and from what he had gathered so far, magical portals between the two worlds were rare, dangerous and mostly legendary.
"That is a very good question," Stéphar replied as yet more food was delivered to the table. "It could not have been easy to send it. The sender must have great magical skill."
The fact was everyone seemed to have great magical skill as far as Johnny was concerned. He had seen at least four different people, including Evalian, reach out for things and have them move straight to them. His reaction had almost been embarrassing the first time. He couldn't help wondering what the big guns were like when everyone seemed to be Jedi.
"It has to have been one of the ancients," Evalian said and Johnny had no idea who the elf was talking about, but he sat there watching the interplay between his two companions anyway; "they are the only ones who have the power."
"But they did not help us when Jonirai was cursed," Stéphar pointed out and sounded just a little bitter about that.
Evalian frowned into the plate in front of him. There were wonderful smells coming from the same type of dish in Johnny's place and he thought it might be desert.
"Maybe they did," Evalian said eventually, having thought it through. "Johnny," he sat up a little straighter at his name, "you said you had dreams when you first received the mirror, about a time when Jonirai was well?"
He nodded; he remembered them in vivid detail. Not all of them had been innocent.
"The ancients have visions of what is to come," Evalian said and seemed to be working through his thoughts out loud; "maybe the reason they would not see us when Jonirai was cursed is because they had already placed a plan in motion. It is said that time on one side of a portal and the other is not always the same. Maybe one of them sent Johnny the mirror before Jonirai was taken from us to bring him here now."
That sounded a bit too perfect for Johnny; although he had no idea who or what these ancients were capable of. He also had no idea what good bringing him to this world could possibly do either.
"Only one flaw in the plan," he said, not wanting to pop his companion's bubble completely, but needing to point out the obvious; "I don't know how to help you."
It was sad, but unfortunately true; the elven world was completely alien to him and he had no idea if he could be any use to them at all.
"Sometimes the ancients do things in ways we cannot quite understand," Stéphar said a little helplessly.
"Sounds like old people everywhere," was Johnny's somewhat snarky reply to that.
He did not like people playing with his life; it pissed him off. In his book he was the only one who was allowed to fuck up his chances of winning next season. He was also finding himself finally discovering just a little bit of culture shock now that his hunger was finally abating and freaking out was a definite possibility.
"Why was Jonirai cursed?" he asked in an attempt to head off the effective meltdown he could feel coming.
It was always best to keep his mind busy in such circumstances.
"This is Jonirai's home," Stéphar said, seemingly very willing to explain; "he is prince of the first realm. He was born under a prophet star, one which showed he could be the catalyst to unite the three realms. I am prince of the second realm."
"And I am prince of the third," Evalian added.
"The realms have been at peace for many generations," Stéphar continued to explain, "but there is always a little tension. There have always been attempts to maintain the balance by marriage. We both have sisters and our families made a journey to see if an alliance could be cemented between two of the three realms. We were both in our sixteenth year when we accompanied the diplomatic retinues here. We never left."
It sounded like possibly the most clichéd love story Johnny had ever heard; he was enrapt.
"There has been a prophecy among our peoples for many hundreds of years," Evalian took up the story. "It tells us that once the realms were one, but infighting split them so that no one person could claim the magic within them and that one day the realms will be reunited. For this to happen there had to be three rulers whose magic reached out to each other. When the three of us met, that is what happened."
"We felt the bond begin to form," Stéphar took over again. "We were only boys, but we knew and we chose to stay. As we grew our relationship blossomed and then, three years ago, we knew that the time was right for the ceremony to reunite our world. However, there are some who do not wish to see harmony restored and one of them, a great sorcerer named Varon, came to the palace under the guise of friendship and cursed Jonirai the eve before."
It really was a fairy story; Sleeping Beauty only gayer.
"What happened to Varon?" Jonny asked. "Couldn't you force him to undo the curse?"
"The ancients took him and imprisoned him," Evalian said, face so sad that Johnny wanted to reach out and comfort him and had to remind himself that this was not Evan and he was no longer a boy so Evan wouldn't have let him either, "but he has never revealed how to break the curse. The only reason he did not kill Jonirai outright is because the ancients would have taken his life in retaliation."
It sounded like a classic power struggle and Johnny hated it; if everyone could just get along it made whichever world you happened to live in a much happier place. Before he had been pissed off at having been dragged into another world, now he just felt sorry for them.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," he eventually began, "but if you think I'm here to help, how do we go about finding out?"
Evalian's expression actually brightened at that, which was at least one good thing, because he had looked so much like a kicked puppy.
"We could take you to see Jonirai," Stéphar said, sounding a little hopeful, "maybe something will become clear."
It didn't seem like much of a plan, but Johnny was not about to argue and when the other two stood, so did he and he trailed them into the corridor. They led him away from where Jonirai's bedroom was and down a couple more corridors until they came to some really huge ornate doors.
"This room was created for the ceremony," Stéphar said, voice heavy with emotion; "instead it is where Jonirai lies and waits for the curse to be broken."
When Stéphar held up his hand the two, gilded doors swung inwards to reveal darkness. Johnny followed Stéphar and Evalian into the almost black room and slowly the lights came up. What he saw took his breath away. Lying, as if in state, was Jonirai, clothed all in black with silver trims, on a dais of black marble and red velvet. He could have been sleeping, except for the fact that there was no slow rise and fall of his chest.
At the head of the dais there was a stand and on that stand was what looked like a black stone ball, only it was as if it absorbed all light that touched it. On its surface were ghostly words that floated there for a moment and then disappeared or moved.
"The spark of his life was taken from him by the curse and placed in that orb," Evalian said, since it was clear Stéphar could not find the words. "Varon taunted us with a solution, but no one can find it."
"So there is a way to break the spell?" Johnny asked, all but feeling the men's pain.
"The words," Stéphar finally spoke; "on the orb; they are a riddle, but one we cannot solve."
It seemed so unfair and Johnny had always hated unfair. As calmly as he could, he crossed the room and walked up to the orb, climbing the two steps so he could see it clearly. He was almost surprised when the first word floated to the surface and he could actually read it.
"The seed of his life will return his soul," he read slowly as the words gradually appeared and disappeared.
It didn't make a lot of sense.
He felt nothing except creeped out by seeing what looked like himself laid out as if dead. There was no mystical force trying to tell him what to do, no prophetic voice in his head to lead the way, just nothing.
"I'm sorry," he said after a few more minutes of searching his soul; "it doesn't make any sense to me either."
Stéphar smiled at him sadly.
"Thank you for trying," the elf said and Johnny felt even worse, because it was clear Stéphar truly meant it. "Maybe things will become clear over time. We will send a message to the ancients and await their wisdom; if nothing else, they may be able to tell us how to return you to your home."
For a little while Johnny had almost forgotten the whole mirror escapade, but at Stéphar's words he remembered and gave a little nod. He had really wanted to help them, but it seemed he was as helpless as they were.
====
It turned out that elves did not have telephones and that the ancients only accepted messages in person, rather than via the communication globes the elves did have. That meant a rider had to be dispatched and then there was nothing to do but wait. Stéphar and Evalian showed Johnny around the palace and the surrounding lands and the second day they went riding. Johnny found himself fascinated and he ended up trying to learn everything he could, including Stéphar's native language when he discovered that the second realm used a different one to the other two. It was all amazing, from the magic, to the people and the language and the history. It was only three days, but it felt like a lifetime.
He immersed himself in everything, but without fail, his mind would always eventually return to one thing. Johnny could not stop thinking about the riddle, but it still wasn't resolving into anything sensible. He chewed thoughtfully on a grape after dinner the fourth night, or what passed as a grape here anyway, and tried to think. It seemed to be a self fulfilling loop and that didn't make sense.
Glancing over at Stéphar and Evalian he caught them kissing again; the pair didn't seem to be able to keep their hands off each other. It wouldn't have been bad if he hadn't been horribly jealous. It was something he had touched with Evan and Stéphane only briefly a long time ago, and only once, and he would never have it again. The elves made a very pretty picture and he felt his cock stir at the ideas it put into his head. Shifting in his seat, he realised he was not going to be able to stand up for a while; the pants he was wearing didn't hide a thing.
It was as he was trying to get comfortable and forget his burgeoning hard on that the idea hit him right between the eyes.
"Oh my god," he said as it became a fully fledged thought.
"Johnny?" Stéphar enquired gently.
Johnny just stared at them and tried to decide if he was right. It seemed like such a wild idea, but it made sense as well.
"Would it be like a sorcerer to make the solution something that should be impossible to get?" he asked, since he really wasn't up on sorcerous practices.
"That would be a perfect curse," Evalian said, frowning at him.
Evalian did that a lot, but Johnny had come to realise it was nothing personal.
"And you use euphemisms here, right?" he continued his enquiry, feeling more than a little embarrassed.
Stéphar nodded, appearing thoughtful.
"Then, could you be looking at the whole 'seed of his life' in the wrong way?" Johnny said as the idea grew in his head. "Could it actually mean something physical?"
He didn't want to come right out and say it; that felt too crude, but he saw Stéphar catch on.
"You mean..?" Stéphar said, glancing down and then back up.
Johnny nodded and saw the idea taking root in his friend as well.
"It would be cruel," Stéphar said, thinking out loud, "because in his condition we could never retrieve what was needed. That which we would have used to seal our union is used to taunt us."
That was the point Evalian caught up.
"This is all about magic right?" Johnny asked, working things out in his head.
Stéphar nodded, eyes opening wide as he realised what Johnny was thinking.
"And you have been able to use things that only Jonirai's hand could activate," Stéphar said and it was Johnny's turn to nod. "It might work."
Over the past days they had discovered that Jonirai's magical possessions reacted to Johnny as if he was his counterpart, which, according to the elves, meant that even though he came from a non-magical world, Johnny was magically equivalent to Jonirai.
When Stéphar stood up and grabbed his hand, Johnny didn't argue and just went along as the two elves took him towards the ceremonial room. As he had found out, the doors would only open for one of the three and they swung open as Evalian held up his hand. The only problem was, once they got inside, Johnny wasn't sure what to do.
"You just want me to ... umm ..?" he asked awkwardly.
"It would seem the quickest way to find out if you are right," Stéphar said, all enthusiasm and not a lot of thought it seemed.
Johnny was not usually prudish in the slightest, but this was pushing his boundaries.
"We will wait outside," Evalian said, for once catching on before his partner.
"Oh, yes," Stéphar said going red and looking apologetic, "you are so like him I forget. The orb, try the orb," was the elf's retreating comment.
Johnny still felt awkward even when the door closed, but he looked at the mirror image of himself lying there so still and walked the length of the room to where the orb and stand resided. He had suggested it, now he had to test it. If he was wrong it would be embarrassing, but it he was right, well then, that would be more than worth the mortification. In the end he decided to just get it over with a fast as possible. The outfit he was wearing did not have buttons and zippers, it had laces, so he opened the doublet and then quickly unlaced the breeches. When he pulled out his cock, unlike a few minutes earlier, did not seem particularly interested; standing in a room with a seemingly dead replicate of yourself just wasn't sexy.
After stroking himself a couple of times and realising it wasn't working too well and his brain was causing him grief he mentally shook himself and searched around in his head for something that would help. Closing his eyes, the thought of Stéphane jumped into his head. They were good friends, had almost made it to more on one occasion, but Johnny had run from it. This time, however, in his head he did not get up and leave Stéphane's room after the soft, questioning kisses, he let Stéphane undress him. He stroked himself as he let the fantasy play out in his head, imagining Stéphane's hands on his body and he could feel his arousal beginning to build.
It was ironic that the two mental fantasies most guaranteed to get him off, Stéphane and Evan respectively, were things he would not allow himself in real life. He wanted them both and had never felt it more keenly than he did here; it constricted his heart even as he pushed himself towards orgasm.
Opening his eyes, he looked at the orb and that's when the trouble started; he felt something reach back. His limbs felt suddenly heavy and his legs almost buckled. It was not right, something was wrong, he could feel it and his mind screamed boobytrap. Reaching out to steady himself, he touched the orb and his whole body shuddered at the force he felt. This time his knees really did go and he ended up sitting on the floor.
"Help!" he called, not caring that he was half undressed.
The door opened immediately and, as Johnny fought to keep his mind from caving under the pressure, Stéphar and Evalian ran across the room to him.
"Quickly," he heard Evalian say, "we must get him out of here."
"No," Johnny said feeling things he didn't understand, but knowing them anyway, "will ... end up ... like him."
Varon was a clever bastard, Johnny realised that now and he could feel the orb trying to draw him in.
"Help me," he said, knowing there was only one way out of this, but unable to do it himself.
He saw a look pass between Evalian and Stéphar and then Evalian moved to sit behind him on the floor, pulling him close and Stéphar shifted to his side. When fingers wrapped around his cock, he whimpered, fighting with every breath and even through the strain it felt good. It was as if he could feel Evalian and Stéphar on another level as well as the physical and he began to understand what linked them together with Jonirai. He desperately clung to the mental image of Stéphane and his mind added in Evan as well, both taking the places of the elves actually with him.
As Stéphar stroked him, he held to the man in his mind's eye, the mental separation seemingly the only way he could keep himself away from the enchantment trying to bind him. His body ached and needed, but it was a battle and when he came it was such a relief he all but sobbed, shooting creamy liquid onto Stéphar's hand. He sagged against Evalian as Stéphar reached out and placed his palm on the orb and, almost instantly, light erupted from the black ball.
It was like blue lightning and it lanced straight at Jonirai, causing his body to arch up off the dais on which he was lying. The sparks played all over the elf's body, seemingly dancing over every surface before, all at once, they vanished and Jonirai collapsed back onto his velvet cushions. In the almost silence after it was all over there was only one sound; quiet, regular breathing. Stéphar made a small sound of disbelief before surging to his feet and all but running the couple of feet to the dais.
Johnny didn't even have the strength to move, so just watched.
"Jonirai?" Stéphar said quietly, placing his hands on the other elf's shoulder and sounding as if he was afraid it wasn't really true.
A small groan was the answer to that and it was all the indication Stéphar seemed to need, dragging Jonirai into a sitting position and his arms.
Johnny felt Evalian's fingers tighten just slightly on his arms and he realised what Evalian had to be going through sitting there and helping him. With a supreme effort he managed to move, half sitting up by himself.
"Go," he said, looking at Evalian.
To his credit the elf hesitated, so Johnny gave him a look and Jonirai had to have his partners well trained, because that made Evalian move. With his support gone, Johnny almost fell flat on his back, but he managed to maintain the illusion of control a little longer to give Evalian time to make it to the other two.
"What?" he heard Jonirai ask in a very tired, confused tone that made Stéphar laugh in delight.
Johnny's heart constricted in his chest as he saw the love between the three and it gave him the strength to tuck himself back into his breeches and turn so he was propped up against the orb stand. For just a while he had felt what the elves felt and understood what they meant to each other and he knew what he had let get away from him all those years ago. One time, one chance and he had missed it. He closed his eyes, leant back and tried to just be happy for his new friends.
====
Johnny spent most of the next day sleeping, as did Jonirai and after that he found himself eating alone as his elven friends became reacquainted. Stéphar had been very apologetic when they had finally appeared and so Johnny had chosen to tease them mercilessly rather than be pissy about it. He couldn't really blame them, they had been separated for three years.
As it turned out, he and Jonirai were exactly the same, the other two had been right, and they got on like a house on fire. By lunch time of day two after the awakening Evalian was threatening to go home to the third realm if they continued to gang up on him. Jonirai wanted to know everything about Johnny's world and Johnny found himself confiding in his counterpart. It was strange, they didn't really know each other and yet, on a fundamental level, they understood each other like no one else could. Johnny ended up telling Jonirai all about Evan and Stéphane and why it was so complicated in their world and that was the first time he saw sadness in the elf's eyes.
Jonirai also seemed fascinated by the idea of ice skating when Johnny started to explain about that. The elf prince had already roped in Stéphar and several intellectual looking types to figure out if they could magically create a rink by the time the messenger who had been sent to the ancients returned. The elf brought with her a sealed letter, which turned out to be congratulations on the return of Jonirai, even though it became clear she had left the ancients before Jonirai had woken, and a set of instructions on how to remotely activate the mirror in Johnny's bedroom and make it link to the one in the palace.
The elves threw him a going home feast, his diet really was shot, and the morning after, the mirror was prepared. Seeing his room shimmering in the panel of Jonirai's mirror made him feel homesick and he realised that he was ready to go back. The Elven world was amazing and wonderful, but it was not home.
"Do not live your life alone, Johnny," Jonirai told him with a smile, embracing him and kissing him on both cheeks as he prepared to leave; "don't let fear stop you."
Johnny smiled back; it was not the first time his new friend had told him that. The funny thing was he now believed all sorts of things were possible.
"I won't," he promised, feeling stronger, both mentally and physically, than he had done in years.
"This is for you from us," Evalian said, holding out the most beautiful bracelet he had ever seen.
It was silver, about two inches wide and made of fine scroll work with a stone right in the centre.
"The stone links you to the power of our home," Stéphar explained as Johnny took it ever so gently.
"We expect you to visit," Jonirai said and patted him on the back; "you will be able to use it to activate the mirror."
Johnny eyes went wide; they were inviting him back. The honour and the trust took his breath away.
"The jewel was mine," Jonirai explained and helped him put it on, "so it will only do things for you. You'll figure out how it works as you go along and it will keep you safe on your trip home."
At that Johnny raised an eyebrow.
"You're sending me off to my magicless world with a magical item I don't even know how to use," he pointed out, "do you know how wrong that could go?"
His counterpart just grinned.
"You worry too much," was the simple reply. "Now just say thank you and go home, Johnny," Jonirai said and hugged him again; "the portal will put you back a few hours after you left."
Johnny hugged the elf tight and then did the same for Stéphar and Evalian.
"I'll miss you," he told them all and then he stepped up to the mirror before he could cry; he did not want to make an idiot out of himself just before he left.
This time there was blackness, but it felt much calmer than his first trip and it felt like going to sleep rather than being forced into oblivion. When he woke up, he was on the floor of his bedroom and the sun was coming through the window; he was home, but the clothes he was wearing and the silver bracelet with the green stone told him it had not been a dream.
End of Part 1
On to Part 2
My MMOM Master List 2010
Title: The Alternative You (01/02)
Author: Beren
Fandom: Figure Skating RPS
Pairing: Johnny Weir/Evan Lysacek/Stéphane Lambiel
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, the real people in it are used without their permission and I definitely don't own them or have any copyright to any part of any of them. I do not believe any of this happened, is likely to happen or should happen, it is simply a story created around known facts about those involved.
Warnings: threesome
Summary: An anonymous person gives Johnny a mirror, only it's not just a mirror, as Johnny finds out when it transports him to another world. What he finds there affects the way he looks at his own life in very significant ways.
Author's Notes: Well this year I decided on Creature Fic for mmom and this one is elves. This one got away from me a bit, it wasn't supposed to be this long :). Thanks to Soph for the beta.
Word count: 13,679
On to Part 2
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)
Chapter 1 Through the Looking Glass
The mirror arrived by courier on a very boring Tuesday morning when Johnny was vacuuming his carpet and dancing to Lady Gaga. After checking that, yes, it really was for him and, no, there was no return address, Johnny unpacked it and he had to admit he was enchanted. It was a full length mirror, decorated like something out of a fairy tale or a nineteen century Russian palace. Frankly he loved it and he put it in pride of place in the corner of his bedroom. He twittered about it, thanking his anonymous gift giver and then went ahead and used it for two months without incident.
The only strange thing that seemed to come with it were the dreams. In them he was some elf prince and most of the dreams consisted of him looking in the mirror. What was really a bit strange was that said elf prince seemed to be in a three-way with Stéphane and Evan of all people. Talk about weird subconscious moments.
It was two months to the day when he woke up from a very sound sleep and glanced over at the mirror, only to see not a reflection of his mostly dark room, but an entirely different room, all decorated in gold and silver and deep red. Johnny decided instantly that he had to still be dreaming, but it was a fascinating dream, so he climbed out of bed and walked over to the mirror. Given that he could feel the summer heat prickling over his skin, it felt like a very odd dream, but he was game.
The mirror's surface was kind of shimmering at him and he couldn't help himself; he reached out to touch it. His mother had always told him that his curiosity would get him into trouble one day and as soon as his fingers connected with the surface he felt a tug on his body. Suddenly he felt very awake and very afraid and he was yanked forward, straight through what should have been glass. His bedroom vanished, as did the other room he had been looking at through the mirror and everything was dark and he was falling. He could not scream, because all the air was being pushed from his lungs and the forces on his body were incredible; it felt like he was doing quad after quad after quad and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. With a sigh everything disappeared as his consciousness was snuffed out.
====
"He looks exactly like him," a somewhat familiar exotic voice was saying as he swam back to consciousness.
"Except the ears," agreed another less exotic, but no less familiar voice. "I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it."
Johnny opened his eyes and blinked; his thoughts all fuzzy and confused. He felt relaxed and rested, in fact he felt better than he had done in a long while, but he couldn't remember why that was odd. Then he blinked again and his eyes finally focused and he found himself looking at Evan Lysacek, only not quite, because last time he had seen Evan, Evan had had shorter hair and definitely no pointy ears.
"Oh fuck," he said, sitting up and scrambling backwards as the so called dream came back to him.
Standing right next to not-Evan was not-Stéphane; the one from his other dreams and they both looked concerned.
"Please," not-Stéphane said, holding out his hands in the universal gesture of 'don't panic', "do not be afraid; you are quite safe here."
"And where's here?" Johnny asked, feeling not so reassured.
"The royal palace," not-Evan said, which didn't really help.
Johnny pinched himself just to be sure and, yes, he was definitely awake.
"This is Prince Jonirai's bedroom," not-Stéphane said in a very soothing tone, one he had heard the real Stéphane use on several occasions; it was reserved for people about to flip out completely. "You were found several hours ago beside the mirror, injured, and the healers thought it best not to move you too far. How are you feeling now?"
That actually made Johnny examine the situation and himself and he had to admit he felt fantastic. Bits of his body that he was just used to having ache because of the strain he put them through even seemed to like him again.
"About ten years younger," he said, since that was what came into his head, and he wasn't kidding either; he was pretty sure he hadn't felt this good since he was a teenager.
Not-Stéphane smiled at that.
"Good," not-Stéphane said cheerfully, "then the healing has worked. I am Stéphar and this is Evalian, if you do not mind, who are you?"
The names were familiar, all too familiar from his dreams.
"My name's Johnny," he replied, still not sure what to make of the two men. "How did I get here?"
"That's what we were wondering," Evalian replied, as earnest as his real world counterpart.
It seemed he wasn't the only one who was confused.
"If you could tell us what you remember, we might be able to figure out what happened," Stéphar said in a very personable manner.
Johnny couldn't argue with that, even though his brain was screaming about the twilight zone.
"Someone gave me a mirror," he said, since that seemed like a sensible place to start, "about two months ago. I started having these strange dreams," for a moment he thought about omitting the details and then decided they might be important, "about you two and someone who looked like me, only your hair was different." He realised, after he said it, that that probably wasn't a useful detail, but he noticed things like that; "then last night the mirror wasn't a mirror anymore. I thought it was a dream so I touched it and then I woke up here."
Stéphar and Evalian were looking at each other intently.
"The other world," Evalian said in a way that seemed to indicate it made sense to them.
"It would explain his ears," Stéphar replied with a nod.
If there was one thing Johnny hated it was being spoken over while he was in the room.
"Excuse me," he said, just a little acidly, "still here."
Both Stéphar and Evalian looked back at him with almost identical expression.
"He's just like him," Evalian said in rather an awed voice.
"Him who?" Johnny was not in the mood to play nice.
"Jonirai," Stéphar said simply; "our third."
Johnny was beginning to realise that his dreams were not so much dreams as another reality. For a little while he almost freaked out.
"Okay," he said, trying to be rational, "where is this Jonirai? Maybe with him we can figure out how to get me home."
He saw the sadness fall over Stéphar's face like a veil and Evalian's expression went blank giving Johnny only too clear clues. It was surprising how like their counterparts the two were.
"Oh crap," Johnny said, realising his mistake, "I'm sorry, he's dead or something isn't he?"
If he had been dreaming the past it would explain the differences he saw in the two men in front of him.
"Or something," Evalian said shortly; "he was cursed three years ago. He remains not alive, but not dead either."
Johnny could not help remembering the dreams where the three men had seemed so happy and his heart broke a little.
"That's terrible," he said and he meant every word.
"It pains us greatly," Stéphar said with a small bow of his head, "but we never give up hope that the curse will be broken."
The way Stéphar smiled sadly at that said everything that words couldn't and Johnny felt so sad for his companions.
"However," Stéphar said, clearly trying to pretend everything was okay again, "enough of such things, we are being rude; you must be hungry after the healing. I know that last year, after the healers repaired my leg, I could not stop eating for days. We can talk more over food."
As if on cue Johnny's stomach gave an ominous rumble. He was so used to eating the wrong things and then having to pretend he didn't want food he had barely noticed he was hungry at all.
"We must find you some clothes to wear," Stéphar decided firmly and the way Evalian just let his other half get on with things, Johnny assumed that there was no stopping Stéphar once he got an idea into his head.
That was also very like his version too. It was strange, everything that seemed to suggest that anything between them would have been a disaster in his world seemed to make Evalian and Stéphar compliment each other here. Johnny had only been with them a little while, but he remembered his dreams and the three had been perfect foils for each other.
"You are identical to Jonirai," Stéphar said, looking him over critically, "if a little too thin. His clothes should fit you well."
Johnny didn't argue as he was urged out of bed towards two huge doors on the opposite wall and when Evalian opened the doors, Johnny thought he might actually be dead and have gone to heaven. There was a walk in wardrobe full of clothes that sparkled and just screamed perfection at him. They weren't styles he was used to, but he knew quality when he saw it and the small room was stunning.
"Just like him," he heard Evalian say and he realised that maybe he had been staring too long at the clothes.
"Jonirai loves clothes," Stéphar said, smiling as if he liked the similarity; "and I can see you do as well. I am sure he would be very happy for you to choose whatever you wish to wear."
"We'll leave you to get dressed," Evalian said politely, allowing Stéphar to proceed him out of the wardrobe.
Johnny could have made a nest in the small room and never left, but he nodded as if he had some idea of what he was going to choose.
"One of us will come and find you in a little while," Stéphar said as if reading his mind. "Please, take your time."
And then the two elves, Johnny had definitely decided they were elves, left him to it and he was like a kid in a candy store. He really wasn't sure how long it took him to choose something, but eventually he managed to make up his mind and then it took him more time to figure out how the clothes worked; there weren't exactly any zippers or Velcro.
Finally he was ready and he examined at himself in the mirror; he looked like he was wearing one of Stéphane's historically inspired skating costumes, but he liked it. The materials of the breeches and shirt were so soft they just kissed his skin, even under the surcoat. He remembered seeing Jonirai wearing the outfit in one of his dreams and he did look exactly like him, all apart from the ears. It was really strange and he couldn't imagine how hard it was for Stéphar and Evalian to see him when he appeared so much like their lost love. It made his heart ache for more reasons than one.
Pulling himself together, he walked towards the door, but before he reached it something caught his eye. There on the dresser was a small statue of a bird in gold and jewels and it drew him over. He wasn't sure why, but it fascinated him and he couldn't help himself as he reached out and touched it. The bird moved as soon as he did and burst into the sweetest song. It was as if it was alive and he couldn't take his eyes off it. He was so enrapt that he didn't notice the door opening until he realised he wasn't alone when someone placed a hand on his shoulder. Stéphar was standing next to him.
"Sorry," he apologised instantly; "I didn't mean to disturb it."
"Do not be sorry, my friend," Stéphar said, eyes distant for a moment, "the bird has not sung since Jonirai was cursed. He was given it as a boy and it only ever sang for him. That it sang for you is fitting."
Johnny didn't know what to say.
"Come," Stéphar said, voice tight with emotion, "let's go and eat."
====
The food was amazing and he figured that if what Stéphar had said was true he needed the calories and it wouldn't make too much difference to his diet. The dining room was also fabulous, as was everywhere in the palace that he had so far seen. He really was in a fairytale.
While they ate, Stéphar and Evalian answered any question he had and tried to help him understand what had happened. According to their legends there were two worlds which existed in parallel; everyone who was born into one was born into the other, only one world was human and the other elven. It was possible for these two worlds to touch by magic and the mirror had been a magical gateway.
"Someone from this world must have sent it to you," Evalian said as the third course was taken away.
Johnny had eaten more in the one meal than he had in the past month, but he hated to admit it, he was still hungry.
"But why?" Johnny asked; he didn't belong here and from what he had gathered so far, magical portals between the two worlds were rare, dangerous and mostly legendary.
"That is a very good question," Stéphar replied as yet more food was delivered to the table. "It could not have been easy to send it. The sender must have great magical skill."
The fact was everyone seemed to have great magical skill as far as Johnny was concerned. He had seen at least four different people, including Evalian, reach out for things and have them move straight to them. His reaction had almost been embarrassing the first time. He couldn't help wondering what the big guns were like when everyone seemed to be Jedi.
"It has to have been one of the ancients," Evalian said and Johnny had no idea who the elf was talking about, but he sat there watching the interplay between his two companions anyway; "they are the only ones who have the power."
"But they did not help us when Jonirai was cursed," Stéphar pointed out and sounded just a little bitter about that.
Evalian frowned into the plate in front of him. There were wonderful smells coming from the same type of dish in Johnny's place and he thought it might be desert.
"Maybe they did," Evalian said eventually, having thought it through. "Johnny," he sat up a little straighter at his name, "you said you had dreams when you first received the mirror, about a time when Jonirai was well?"
He nodded; he remembered them in vivid detail. Not all of them had been innocent.
"The ancients have visions of what is to come," Evalian said and seemed to be working through his thoughts out loud; "maybe the reason they would not see us when Jonirai was cursed is because they had already placed a plan in motion. It is said that time on one side of a portal and the other is not always the same. Maybe one of them sent Johnny the mirror before Jonirai was taken from us to bring him here now."
That sounded a bit too perfect for Johnny; although he had no idea who or what these ancients were capable of. He also had no idea what good bringing him to this world could possibly do either.
"Only one flaw in the plan," he said, not wanting to pop his companion's bubble completely, but needing to point out the obvious; "I don't know how to help you."
It was sad, but unfortunately true; the elven world was completely alien to him and he had no idea if he could be any use to them at all.
"Sometimes the ancients do things in ways we cannot quite understand," Stéphar said a little helplessly.
"Sounds like old people everywhere," was Johnny's somewhat snarky reply to that.
He did not like people playing with his life; it pissed him off. In his book he was the only one who was allowed to fuck up his chances of winning next season. He was also finding himself finally discovering just a little bit of culture shock now that his hunger was finally abating and freaking out was a definite possibility.
"Why was Jonirai cursed?" he asked in an attempt to head off the effective meltdown he could feel coming.
It was always best to keep his mind busy in such circumstances.
"This is Jonirai's home," Stéphar said, seemingly very willing to explain; "he is prince of the first realm. He was born under a prophet star, one which showed he could be the catalyst to unite the three realms. I am prince of the second realm."
"And I am prince of the third," Evalian added.
"The realms have been at peace for many generations," Stéphar continued to explain, "but there is always a little tension. There have always been attempts to maintain the balance by marriage. We both have sisters and our families made a journey to see if an alliance could be cemented between two of the three realms. We were both in our sixteenth year when we accompanied the diplomatic retinues here. We never left."
It sounded like possibly the most clichéd love story Johnny had ever heard; he was enrapt.
"There has been a prophecy among our peoples for many hundreds of years," Evalian took up the story. "It tells us that once the realms were one, but infighting split them so that no one person could claim the magic within them and that one day the realms will be reunited. For this to happen there had to be three rulers whose magic reached out to each other. When the three of us met, that is what happened."
"We felt the bond begin to form," Stéphar took over again. "We were only boys, but we knew and we chose to stay. As we grew our relationship blossomed and then, three years ago, we knew that the time was right for the ceremony to reunite our world. However, there are some who do not wish to see harmony restored and one of them, a great sorcerer named Varon, came to the palace under the guise of friendship and cursed Jonirai the eve before."
It really was a fairy story; Sleeping Beauty only gayer.
"What happened to Varon?" Jonny asked. "Couldn't you force him to undo the curse?"
"The ancients took him and imprisoned him," Evalian said, face so sad that Johnny wanted to reach out and comfort him and had to remind himself that this was not Evan and he was no longer a boy so Evan wouldn't have let him either, "but he has never revealed how to break the curse. The only reason he did not kill Jonirai outright is because the ancients would have taken his life in retaliation."
It sounded like a classic power struggle and Johnny hated it; if everyone could just get along it made whichever world you happened to live in a much happier place. Before he had been pissed off at having been dragged into another world, now he just felt sorry for them.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," he eventually began, "but if you think I'm here to help, how do we go about finding out?"
Evalian's expression actually brightened at that, which was at least one good thing, because he had looked so much like a kicked puppy.
"We could take you to see Jonirai," Stéphar said, sounding a little hopeful, "maybe something will become clear."
It didn't seem like much of a plan, but Johnny was not about to argue and when the other two stood, so did he and he trailed them into the corridor. They led him away from where Jonirai's bedroom was and down a couple more corridors until they came to some really huge ornate doors.
"This room was created for the ceremony," Stéphar said, voice heavy with emotion; "instead it is where Jonirai lies and waits for the curse to be broken."
When Stéphar held up his hand the two, gilded doors swung inwards to reveal darkness. Johnny followed Stéphar and Evalian into the almost black room and slowly the lights came up. What he saw took his breath away. Lying, as if in state, was Jonirai, clothed all in black with silver trims, on a dais of black marble and red velvet. He could have been sleeping, except for the fact that there was no slow rise and fall of his chest.
At the head of the dais there was a stand and on that stand was what looked like a black stone ball, only it was as if it absorbed all light that touched it. On its surface were ghostly words that floated there for a moment and then disappeared or moved.
"The spark of his life was taken from him by the curse and placed in that orb," Evalian said, since it was clear Stéphar could not find the words. "Varon taunted us with a solution, but no one can find it."
"So there is a way to break the spell?" Johnny asked, all but feeling the men's pain.
"The words," Stéphar finally spoke; "on the orb; they are a riddle, but one we cannot solve."
It seemed so unfair and Johnny had always hated unfair. As calmly as he could, he crossed the room and walked up to the orb, climbing the two steps so he could see it clearly. He was almost surprised when the first word floated to the surface and he could actually read it.
"The seed of his life will return his soul," he read slowly as the words gradually appeared and disappeared.
It didn't make a lot of sense.
He felt nothing except creeped out by seeing what looked like himself laid out as if dead. There was no mystical force trying to tell him what to do, no prophetic voice in his head to lead the way, just nothing.
"I'm sorry," he said after a few more minutes of searching his soul; "it doesn't make any sense to me either."
Stéphar smiled at him sadly.
"Thank you for trying," the elf said and Johnny felt even worse, because it was clear Stéphar truly meant it. "Maybe things will become clear over time. We will send a message to the ancients and await their wisdom; if nothing else, they may be able to tell us how to return you to your home."
For a little while Johnny had almost forgotten the whole mirror escapade, but at Stéphar's words he remembered and gave a little nod. He had really wanted to help them, but it seemed he was as helpless as they were.
====
It turned out that elves did not have telephones and that the ancients only accepted messages in person, rather than via the communication globes the elves did have. That meant a rider had to be dispatched and then there was nothing to do but wait. Stéphar and Evalian showed Johnny around the palace and the surrounding lands and the second day they went riding. Johnny found himself fascinated and he ended up trying to learn everything he could, including Stéphar's native language when he discovered that the second realm used a different one to the other two. It was all amazing, from the magic, to the people and the language and the history. It was only three days, but it felt like a lifetime.
He immersed himself in everything, but without fail, his mind would always eventually return to one thing. Johnny could not stop thinking about the riddle, but it still wasn't resolving into anything sensible. He chewed thoughtfully on a grape after dinner the fourth night, or what passed as a grape here anyway, and tried to think. It seemed to be a self fulfilling loop and that didn't make sense.
Glancing over at Stéphar and Evalian he caught them kissing again; the pair didn't seem to be able to keep their hands off each other. It wouldn't have been bad if he hadn't been horribly jealous. It was something he had touched with Evan and Stéphane only briefly a long time ago, and only once, and he would never have it again. The elves made a very pretty picture and he felt his cock stir at the ideas it put into his head. Shifting in his seat, he realised he was not going to be able to stand up for a while; the pants he was wearing didn't hide a thing.
It was as he was trying to get comfortable and forget his burgeoning hard on that the idea hit him right between the eyes.
"Oh my god," he said as it became a fully fledged thought.
"Johnny?" Stéphar enquired gently.
Johnny just stared at them and tried to decide if he was right. It seemed like such a wild idea, but it made sense as well.
"Would it be like a sorcerer to make the solution something that should be impossible to get?" he asked, since he really wasn't up on sorcerous practices.
"That would be a perfect curse," Evalian said, frowning at him.
Evalian did that a lot, but Johnny had come to realise it was nothing personal.
"And you use euphemisms here, right?" he continued his enquiry, feeling more than a little embarrassed.
Stéphar nodded, appearing thoughtful.
"Then, could you be looking at the whole 'seed of his life' in the wrong way?" Johnny said as the idea grew in his head. "Could it actually mean something physical?"
He didn't want to come right out and say it; that felt too crude, but he saw Stéphar catch on.
"You mean..?" Stéphar said, glancing down and then back up.
Johnny nodded and saw the idea taking root in his friend as well.
"It would be cruel," Stéphar said, thinking out loud, "because in his condition we could never retrieve what was needed. That which we would have used to seal our union is used to taunt us."
That was the point Evalian caught up.
"This is all about magic right?" Johnny asked, working things out in his head.
Stéphar nodded, eyes opening wide as he realised what Johnny was thinking.
"And you have been able to use things that only Jonirai's hand could activate," Stéphar said and it was Johnny's turn to nod. "It might work."
Over the past days they had discovered that Jonirai's magical possessions reacted to Johnny as if he was his counterpart, which, according to the elves, meant that even though he came from a non-magical world, Johnny was magically equivalent to Jonirai.
When Stéphar stood up and grabbed his hand, Johnny didn't argue and just went along as the two elves took him towards the ceremonial room. As he had found out, the doors would only open for one of the three and they swung open as Evalian held up his hand. The only problem was, once they got inside, Johnny wasn't sure what to do.
"You just want me to ... umm ..?" he asked awkwardly.
"It would seem the quickest way to find out if you are right," Stéphar said, all enthusiasm and not a lot of thought it seemed.
Johnny was not usually prudish in the slightest, but this was pushing his boundaries.
"We will wait outside," Evalian said, for once catching on before his partner.
"Oh, yes," Stéphar said going red and looking apologetic, "you are so like him I forget. The orb, try the orb," was the elf's retreating comment.
Johnny still felt awkward even when the door closed, but he looked at the mirror image of himself lying there so still and walked the length of the room to where the orb and stand resided. He had suggested it, now he had to test it. If he was wrong it would be embarrassing, but it he was right, well then, that would be more than worth the mortification. In the end he decided to just get it over with a fast as possible. The outfit he was wearing did not have buttons and zippers, it had laces, so he opened the doublet and then quickly unlaced the breeches. When he pulled out his cock, unlike a few minutes earlier, did not seem particularly interested; standing in a room with a seemingly dead replicate of yourself just wasn't sexy.
After stroking himself a couple of times and realising it wasn't working too well and his brain was causing him grief he mentally shook himself and searched around in his head for something that would help. Closing his eyes, the thought of Stéphane jumped into his head. They were good friends, had almost made it to more on one occasion, but Johnny had run from it. This time, however, in his head he did not get up and leave Stéphane's room after the soft, questioning kisses, he let Stéphane undress him. He stroked himself as he let the fantasy play out in his head, imagining Stéphane's hands on his body and he could feel his arousal beginning to build.
It was ironic that the two mental fantasies most guaranteed to get him off, Stéphane and Evan respectively, were things he would not allow himself in real life. He wanted them both and had never felt it more keenly than he did here; it constricted his heart even as he pushed himself towards orgasm.
Opening his eyes, he looked at the orb and that's when the trouble started; he felt something reach back. His limbs felt suddenly heavy and his legs almost buckled. It was not right, something was wrong, he could feel it and his mind screamed boobytrap. Reaching out to steady himself, he touched the orb and his whole body shuddered at the force he felt. This time his knees really did go and he ended up sitting on the floor.
"Help!" he called, not caring that he was half undressed.
The door opened immediately and, as Johnny fought to keep his mind from caving under the pressure, Stéphar and Evalian ran across the room to him.
"Quickly," he heard Evalian say, "we must get him out of here."
"No," Johnny said feeling things he didn't understand, but knowing them anyway, "will ... end up ... like him."
Varon was a clever bastard, Johnny realised that now and he could feel the orb trying to draw him in.
"Help me," he said, knowing there was only one way out of this, but unable to do it himself.
He saw a look pass between Evalian and Stéphar and then Evalian moved to sit behind him on the floor, pulling him close and Stéphar shifted to his side. When fingers wrapped around his cock, he whimpered, fighting with every breath and even through the strain it felt good. It was as if he could feel Evalian and Stéphar on another level as well as the physical and he began to understand what linked them together with Jonirai. He desperately clung to the mental image of Stéphane and his mind added in Evan as well, both taking the places of the elves actually with him.
As Stéphar stroked him, he held to the man in his mind's eye, the mental separation seemingly the only way he could keep himself away from the enchantment trying to bind him. His body ached and needed, but it was a battle and when he came it was such a relief he all but sobbed, shooting creamy liquid onto Stéphar's hand. He sagged against Evalian as Stéphar reached out and placed his palm on the orb and, almost instantly, light erupted from the black ball.
It was like blue lightning and it lanced straight at Jonirai, causing his body to arch up off the dais on which he was lying. The sparks played all over the elf's body, seemingly dancing over every surface before, all at once, they vanished and Jonirai collapsed back onto his velvet cushions. In the almost silence after it was all over there was only one sound; quiet, regular breathing. Stéphar made a small sound of disbelief before surging to his feet and all but running the couple of feet to the dais.
Johnny didn't even have the strength to move, so just watched.
"Jonirai?" Stéphar said quietly, placing his hands on the other elf's shoulder and sounding as if he was afraid it wasn't really true.
A small groan was the answer to that and it was all the indication Stéphar seemed to need, dragging Jonirai into a sitting position and his arms.
Johnny felt Evalian's fingers tighten just slightly on his arms and he realised what Evalian had to be going through sitting there and helping him. With a supreme effort he managed to move, half sitting up by himself.
"Go," he said, looking at Evalian.
To his credit the elf hesitated, so Johnny gave him a look and Jonirai had to have his partners well trained, because that made Evalian move. With his support gone, Johnny almost fell flat on his back, but he managed to maintain the illusion of control a little longer to give Evalian time to make it to the other two.
"What?" he heard Jonirai ask in a very tired, confused tone that made Stéphar laugh in delight.
Johnny's heart constricted in his chest as he saw the love between the three and it gave him the strength to tuck himself back into his breeches and turn so he was propped up against the orb stand. For just a while he had felt what the elves felt and understood what they meant to each other and he knew what he had let get away from him all those years ago. One time, one chance and he had missed it. He closed his eyes, leant back and tried to just be happy for his new friends.
====
Johnny spent most of the next day sleeping, as did Jonirai and after that he found himself eating alone as his elven friends became reacquainted. Stéphar had been very apologetic when they had finally appeared and so Johnny had chosen to tease them mercilessly rather than be pissy about it. He couldn't really blame them, they had been separated for three years.
As it turned out, he and Jonirai were exactly the same, the other two had been right, and they got on like a house on fire. By lunch time of day two after the awakening Evalian was threatening to go home to the third realm if they continued to gang up on him. Jonirai wanted to know everything about Johnny's world and Johnny found himself confiding in his counterpart. It was strange, they didn't really know each other and yet, on a fundamental level, they understood each other like no one else could. Johnny ended up telling Jonirai all about Evan and Stéphane and why it was so complicated in their world and that was the first time he saw sadness in the elf's eyes.
Jonirai also seemed fascinated by the idea of ice skating when Johnny started to explain about that. The elf prince had already roped in Stéphar and several intellectual looking types to figure out if they could magically create a rink by the time the messenger who had been sent to the ancients returned. The elf brought with her a sealed letter, which turned out to be congratulations on the return of Jonirai, even though it became clear she had left the ancients before Jonirai had woken, and a set of instructions on how to remotely activate the mirror in Johnny's bedroom and make it link to the one in the palace.
The elves threw him a going home feast, his diet really was shot, and the morning after, the mirror was prepared. Seeing his room shimmering in the panel of Jonirai's mirror made him feel homesick and he realised that he was ready to go back. The Elven world was amazing and wonderful, but it was not home.
"Do not live your life alone, Johnny," Jonirai told him with a smile, embracing him and kissing him on both cheeks as he prepared to leave; "don't let fear stop you."
Johnny smiled back; it was not the first time his new friend had told him that. The funny thing was he now believed all sorts of things were possible.
"I won't," he promised, feeling stronger, both mentally and physically, than he had done in years.
"This is for you from us," Evalian said, holding out the most beautiful bracelet he had ever seen.
It was silver, about two inches wide and made of fine scroll work with a stone right in the centre.
"The stone links you to the power of our home," Stéphar explained as Johnny took it ever so gently.
"We expect you to visit," Jonirai said and patted him on the back; "you will be able to use it to activate the mirror."
Johnny eyes went wide; they were inviting him back. The honour and the trust took his breath away.
"The jewel was mine," Jonirai explained and helped him put it on, "so it will only do things for you. You'll figure out how it works as you go along and it will keep you safe on your trip home."
At that Johnny raised an eyebrow.
"You're sending me off to my magicless world with a magical item I don't even know how to use," he pointed out, "do you know how wrong that could go?"
His counterpart just grinned.
"You worry too much," was the simple reply. "Now just say thank you and go home, Johnny," Jonirai said and hugged him again; "the portal will put you back a few hours after you left."
Johnny hugged the elf tight and then did the same for Stéphar and Evalian.
"I'll miss you," he told them all and then he stepped up to the mirror before he could cry; he did not want to make an idiot out of himself just before he left.
This time there was blackness, but it felt much calmer than his first trip and it felt like going to sleep rather than being forced into oblivion. When he woke up, he was on the floor of his bedroom and the sun was coming through the window; he was home, but the clothes he was wearing and the silver bracelet with the green stone told him it had not been a dream.
End of Part 1
On to Part 2