Chapter Text
A child born of iron
Marked by the stars fall
An Omega to end to the Winter
The Fairest of Them All
“Tell me a story, Jarvis.”
“And what story do you want to hear, Little Prince?”
“The one about the witch!”
“Tony, you have been hearing that story every night for years now! You have it memorized! Surely a big, seven year old boy wants to hear about dragons and adventures, not witches and spells.”
“No no no! Tell me the witch one! And about the prince born when the stars fell!”
“Alright then.” A creak as the elderly Beta settled into the chair next his Prince’s bed, and a fond sigh as the child gathered covers up to his chin so only his nose and big brown eyes were peeking out. “Are you ready?”
“M’ready.”
“A long, long time ago,” Jarvis began. “In a kingdom far far away, a very evil Alpha made a bargain with a very wicked witch. You see, the Alpha wasn’t content to be the King’s assistant, he wanted to be King himself and asked the witch to use her magic to make it so.”
“And she agreed, but only if they bound their souls so he could never turn against her!” Tony blurted excitedly. “So they made a blood pact!”
Jarvis frowned. “Who’s telling the story, Tony?”
“Sorry.”
“Now then, where was I? Oh yes. The witch was wise, and knew that all men who craved power eventually turned against those who gave it, so to secure her own future she bound her soul with the Alpha’s in a blood pact and told the evil man that if any ill befell her, it would befall him as well, that if she died, he would die, that if he turned against her she would reduce his soldiers to dust and strip his power away before leaving him to the peasants he so cruelly treated.”
“The Alpha was too greedy and too impatient to argue, so he agreed to the bond and together the Alpha and the witch turned the kingdoms against one another, grew their armies until the might of the Ten Rings was known even over the mountains. They spilled blood on holy lands, cut down anyone who dared to stand in their way and gave no thought to the innocents they slaughtered.”
“And Nature herself rebelled.” Tony added. “Even Nature hated their cruelty.”
Jarvis nodded, “As the witch’s power grew and the hatred in the Alpha’s heart turned his soul black, even Nature herself rebelled. Summers were shorter and winters were longer. Flowers bloomed less and less and the nights seemed to last longer and longer until finally, the Kingdoms fell into a cold, silent winter and one by one, the people lost hope.”
“Get to the part about the good witch!” Tony was nearly bouncing up and down in excitement. “The good witch Margaret! Tell me about her!”
“The good witch Margaret.” Jarvis smiled at the Prince’s glee. “Margaret knew the wicked witch had grown too strong to be defeated by just one person, so instead she placed a curse on the bond between the witch and the Alpha. The evil Alpha would only succeed in his war mongering until a royal child was born beneath a star fall, and the witch’s power would falter the day she met the fairest of them all, an Omega so pure of spirit and heart that Nature would rally, the winter would break, evil would lose its hold on the land and good would prevail once more.”
“But the witch and the Alpha are linked, so it’s the same person they are searching for.” Tony’s eyes lit up. “The royal child born beneath a star fall and the Omega that is the fairest of them all is the same person!”
“That’s right. So the Alpha pays close attention to every royal birth, searching for a child born beneath falling stars and every single day the witch asks her magic mirror—“
“Mirror mirror on the wall.” Tony whispered. “Who’s the fairest of them all?”
“The good witch Margaret told all who would listen that the Omega would come bearing the mark of starlight over their heart, would be so lovely that flowers would be jealous, would sing so sweetly the birds would hush to listen, and would capture the hearts of both hunter and prince alike. So even now, the people wait and wonder and hope for the day to come when a Royal Omega will be born and put an end to the evil that holds them captive.”
“A mark like mine!” Tony pulled aside his sleep shirt to display the odd birthmark over his heart. “Mine looks like starlight, doesn’t it?”
“It does indeed.” The Beta allowed, grateful for the flickering candlelight that hid the grief in his eyes. “Perhaps you are the mysterious prince, Tony. Wouldn’t that be grand?”
“I’m seven years old, Jarvis.” Tony rolled his eyes as only a child could. “Not a baby, I know these stories are only make believe!”
“My mistake.” Blandly, the Beta offering the young Prince a sip of water. “And since you are so very grown, I suppose you don’t want to hear the rest of the story?”
“I want to hear it!” Tony objected. “I’m not too old to hear it! Tell me how the witch and the Alpha will try to break the curse.”
“The only way they can hope to beat the curse is by claiming the heart of the fairest of them all.” Jarvis said with a sad smile. “But no one knows what that means. Do they have to love the Royal Omega? Will they have to cut the Omega’s heart out? No one will know until the child turns eighteen, because that is when the prophecy will begin to unfold.”
“Where’s the child?” Tony asked, already knowing the answer.
“No one knows.” Jarvis replied gravely, his hands shaking just a little as he tucked the blankets around the Prince a little tighter. “Everyone hopes that they have been spirited away in the care of someone who will keep them safe until they are eighteen and can end the winter.”
“I’m sure whoever is taking care of the child–” Tony yawned, his jaw cracking. “– loves them very much.”
“I’m sure they do.” Jarvis whispered. “Goodnight, my Prince.”
“G’night, Jarvis.”
The boy had been asleep for several minutes before Jarvis slipped from the chambers and closed the door tight behind him.
“One day soon he will realize it’s not a story.” Ana said when Jarvis joined her down in the kitchen. “You cannot tell Tony tales about a Prince with a star on his chest without him eventually wondering if he’s the one the stories talk about.”
“Tony thinks I created a fairy tale with him as the main character.” Jarvis drew his wife close for a hug. “He laughs at the idea of it actually being real. There is no worry of him discovering–”
“You are tempting fate, my love.” Ana shook her head. “What happens when he realizes the stories are true, that the wicked witch walks among us and the evil Alpha is–”
“Hush.” Jarvis glanced around as if someone was watching. “The walls in this castle have ears, my darling. We must watch our words.”
“Heaven help us.” Ana held her mate tighter. “And heaven help our Prince.”
***************
There was a secret door In another part of the castle, a hidden spring built into a wall, a winding staircase few people knew existed, a chamber at the top of the steps with only one window and very little light.
The witch stood in front of the mirror on the far wall, her eyes glazed and head tilted as if listening to voices only she could hear, fingers tracing runes into the magic glass that served as her reach into the spirit world.
“You are worried.” She said absentmindedly, the first she’d spoken since the Alpha at her table had come through her door nearly an hour earlier. “You think that old fool is filling the Prince’s head with ideas.”
“Jarvis and Ana are the only ones left who know the truth of the night Tony was born.” Baron Obadiah Stane said gruffly. “The official birth announcement said he was born eleven days after the star falls, not the night they happened. The butler and his wife are the only ones who know for certain.”
“So be rid of them.” The witch lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “As you were rid of the Iron King Howard and his Queen. Simple.”
“Twould be suspicious.” the Alpha argued. “First the King and Queen and then their loyal servants just a few years later? All suspicion would turn to me and not even your magic is enough to dull the minds of neighboring Kings who would come asking questions.”
“Have my Huntsman do it, then.” She inclined her head towards the figure in the shadows, a beast of an Alpha with ice blue eyes and long black hair, a soldier snatched from the battlefields and forced under a spell to do her bidding. “It will be no more than an accident, another death attributed to the winter ice and cold. The Prince will be free of all other influence, and you can mold him the way you wish. We have many years until the curse comes to fruition, many years to ensure his heart is yours.”
“I am too old an Alpha to win Tony's heart.” he countered. “And there is no guarantee he will present as an Omega anyway, what if he is an Alpha and the prophecy isn’t about him?”
“The child was born the night of a meteor shower and he bears a birthmark like starlight.” the witch said impatiently. “He will present as an Omega on his eighteenth birthday and unless he loves you as family or—“ she raised her eyebrows meaningfully. “— as Alpha, my power will wane and the winter will break and you will fall, do you understand? Margaret’s curse is brilliant in it’s simplicity but we have a way to break it so long as you do your part.”
“And if he doesn’t love me?” Obadiah asked. “If he grows to mistrust me in time? What then?”
“Then the morning of his eighteenth birthday, I will cut the Prince’s heart from his chest and claim it that way.” Sunset’s green eyes flashed, her power flexing in the air between them. “You are too sentimental towards the child Stane, but I have no such failing. Do not force my hand.”
The Alpha left her chambers without another word and the witch turned back to her work.
Her fingers drew familiar symbols on the sacred mirror, the spell she used every evening clouding the glass until the fog formed into a eerie face, empty eyes staring back at her.
“Mirror mirror, on the wall.” Sunset tossed her hair over her shoulders, her red lips curving in a wicked smile. “Who’s the fairest of them all?