Living Armor Boyfriend: Coeval (rough draft)

My mother is not a bad person I would say, just a selfish one. I think it is part of being a child of Father Klaus. Despite the aspects of Father Klaus that says he is a giving, wise person, his needs ultimately must be matched and I think that is something that bleeds into his children. My mother, Holly, along with the rest of her siblings like Nicolas, Noel, Mikolaj, Belle, and who knows how many more, all exhibit the same level of selfishness in different ways.

I think this is where my mother’s desire for attention stems. She has a rather, well, deep fondness for men. She has several husbands and many more lovers, at least. I know I have just as many siblings too, as my mother just adores being pregnant. I am her eldest child, her first born, as far as I am aware anyways, and while she tried to be a good mother, sometimes her other things got in the way. I do hold a level of respect for my mother with my love, but it has been so long since I last communicated with her, I do not know where I stand.

I left Holly’s Keep when I was a child with my father. He had fallen out of Holly’s favor, and as such, left to make his own fortune. He began taking in others who had fallen from Holly’s favor, which is how he and my second father met. My second father was also a lover of Holly and he had my sister, Lydia, with her. Lydia is quite a bit younger than me, and she never really got to know Holly. To her, Holly is a faint memory.

Sometime later, my sister, Edith, came to stay with us. Her father was still Holly’s number one husband, and she was set to be Holly’s heir. But Edith had a severe falling out with her over her treatment of her husbands, especially her father. She ran from home with the idea that her father needed saving.

To be honest, I am not sure if the treatment of the husbands in Holly’s Keep is technically terrible. But I want to help my sister, I want to protect her. I know how much it means to have my father around and be able to see him whenever I want. So I can only assume how bad it must hurt Edith to not see her father. Also, in a way, if we could get to Holly, I think it would be good for Lydia to meet her.

Right now, though, everything has gone upside down, sideways, and around a corner we don’t know. After summoning a spirit in order to help us combat our mother, we’ve sort of been spirited away. I guess that would be the best way to put things.

I’m still in the pavilion with the suit of armor that approached me, but my sisters and two other suits are gone. I scramble, trying to catch my breath from the shock. I look back at the armor, which has a sort of reddish, golden glow about them.

“Where are they?” I am near hyperventilating. “Where did they go? What did you do?” I am starting to grow in my panic and fear, nearly standing taller than the suit of armor.

The armor laughs. “Calm down now, fine lady, your sisters are safe as they are with my brothers.” He looks me up and down. “My, my, so you do have a power of Father Klaus.”

I shrink back down to normal size and cross my arms against my chest. “Where are they then? If they are not here, then they must be somewhere!”

“My brothers have them in their own power. It’s sort of our specialty to create theatrics and splendor in order to bond with our new partner.” He lifts the visor of his helm up so I can see three glowing eyes. They’re bright and golden with one raised above the other two. “The name is Coeval!” He announces with a laugh. “What is yours?”

“Winifred,” I murmur. “So, if my sisters are with your brothers, then where am I?”

“Glad you asked.” Coeval bows low at the waist then offers his hand to me. “Come with me, I have some sights I must show you.”

I refuse him my hand. “Look, we’re both adults here. You don’t need to go about this like some children’s story. Just tell me plainly what is your plan. While you’re at it, tell me why you and your brothers are doing this when my sisters and I summoned you to be our-”

“Whoa! Whoa!” Coeval raises his hands in surrender. “Calm down. Are you always this high strung? Where’s your sense of wonder and adventure?”

I frown at him, keeping my arms crossed.

“This is our chance to bond. I am your familiar and in order for our powers to work for you and your sisters, we have to have that bond.” He offers his hand out again. “So come with me, and live in the moment.”

I look at his hand then back into his three eyes. “Live in the moment,” I huff. “Easier said than done.”

His eyes roll and he points outside of the pavilion. “Let me take you to the Keep you wish to enter.”

I glare at him in disbelief. “You can’t just waltz in there so easily!” I begin to grow again.

“Hey! Hey!” Coeval puts his hands in the air again. “If you haven’t realized it yet, this is magic! Think of yourself as being inside a snowglobe right now! Take a breather, Winifred. It’s okay.”

I stand there, still looking down at him until I shrink back to normal size. “We’re in magic right now?”

Coeval nods and chuckles. “I’m trying to present a lesson to you, and by the looks of it, I am not a moment too soon.” He offers his hand a third time. “So please, Winifred, let me show you this magic.”

I reluctantly take his hand and he holds it tight. “Wow, you’re warm,” I gasp.

Coeval pulls me close. “Okay, we’re going to get a running start.” he puts his arm around my waist and holds me upon his hip. I yelp in surprise as he takes off running.

“Wait! Wait!” I slam my palm against his shoulder. “There’s a cliff ahead! A cliff! A-” I try to snatch his attention but he keeps running, faster and faster. I beat upon his armor, shrinking in his grasp from the fear. “Cliff!” I yell as he leaps with me into the air. I scream and hold onto him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“It’s okay! Look down!”

“No! Why? That’s awful, that’s-” I stop when I see the snow around us has fallen still. I gasp softly and peek from the corner of my eye. We’re not falling at all, in fact, we’re suspended in the air. I turn to take it all in, but I still refuse to look down.

“What on earth,” I breathe.

“Not on earth,” Coeval chuckles. “Just look at it all! How beautiful is this scenery? The lights, the buildings.”

I swat at the snow frozen in the air. “This really is magic.”

“There’s magic everywhere, but sometimes you have to take a breath to notice it.” Coeval eases me down, and while my feet touch nothing, they do fall flat against the air. I begin to grow again as I look out, awed by something I had seen a million times before.

“Come along now.” Coeval keeps a hold of my hand. “We’ll be late.” He walks ahead, tugging my hand until I follow along.

I try to keep up, staying close to him because I fear falling. My feet feel as though they are touching something solid, but there is nothing stretched out before or around me.

“You’re not looking.” Coeval pulls me beside him. “Stop looking at my back.”

“This is too much,” I whisper under my breath.

“I know we all worry about where our feet will land, but sometimes it’s fun to let the path carry us.” He stands behind me and takes both of my hands into his, holding them up. As he does, my feet begin to sink through the air and pump like on an invisible bicycle.

“Oh no!” I struggle and squirm. “What are you doing?” I yell at him.

“Relax! You’re flying! It’s freeing, right?” He says. “When you fly, there is no path you have to follow, so you don’t have to worry!”

I try to steady my legs, keep them moving and walking. After a short while, I begin to grow used to the motion and feeling, and I actually grow to like the sensation of weightlessness. I chuckle softly to myself, letting a smile bloom across my face.

“See?” Coeval laughs. “It’s fun!”

“I always wished I could fly! But Edith was the lucky one when-” I drop a bit and I scramble with the sudden, short plummet.

“Stop that now, the more you fret, the heavier you become.”

I rise back up and turn to look back at Coeval. “Is this what you wanted me to see?”

“We’re almost there, no worries,” he chuckles. “I think you’ll enjoy this.”

We come up to Holly’s Keep and Coeval dances me around the high towers. We go through a window, landing on the ground, which now feels so strange. I can hear music and laughter down the hall. Some children come running down the hall, but as I try to sidestep to avoid them, they run right through me, like I was a ghost.

“You won’t be seen here,” Coeval says brightly. “All part of the magic!”

I stand still for a moment, looking after the children who just passed us.

“Winifred, is something wrong?” He asks gently.

“It’s been so long since I was last here. I know this place so well, and yet, I feel like such a stranger.” I look back up at Coeval then shake my head. “I don’t know, this feels strange to me, even if it’s magic, even if I can’t be seen. Being here is-”

Coeval puts his hand upon my shoulder. “Out of place.”

“Yeah,” I murmur.

“Then why not join the party?” He walks with me down the hall that opens up into the grand ballroom, which is decorated from top to bottom in red and gold. I look around in awe, almost losing my breath. People are dressed in costume, matching the decor of the party. There are tall trees that glitter and glow, tables filled with all sorts of food. Children are dancing and playing, and I see not a sad face in the crowd.

I recognize some of the people from my time growing up here. Old friends of my mother, some of her husbands, a few lovers. Coeval moves between the people, almost dancing. He laughs and chuckles, enjoying himself despite the fact no one can see him. But he still considers himself part of the revelry.

“Are you just going to stand there and watch, Winifred?” He asks.

“What else can I do?” I murmur. “No one can see me.”

Coeval throws his arms open. “Exactly! You can do whatever you want! You can dance, you can sing, you can make yourself as big a fool as you want!” He holds both his hands out to me. “Come dance with me!”

I smile shyly. “I’m not really a dancer.”

Coeval leans down to meet my eye. “Does that really matter?”

I take his hands and let him whisk me into the dance floor. We spin and flourish, he holds me high up into the air. I laugh loudly, finding myself enjoying the dance, even if I trip and stumble. Coeval spins me out and I topple over, cackling my head off. I lay on the ground with a grin, until I look up and see my mother standing before me.

I jump up in alarm until I remember she can’t see me. Unlike the others in the ballroom, my mother does not look as if she is enjoying the festivities. Her expression is sullen despite a smile, and her eyes look red and puffy from crying.

“Holly, come have a drink with me.” Edith’s father tries to coerce her into moving.

Holly hangs her head and sighs heavily. “Let me find my mask first.”

“You don’t have to force yourself to be out here, you know?” He says gently. “I know you’re not up to it.”

She looks at him, weary and sad. I’ve never seen such an expression from her. She always seemed so confident and regal when I was a child. “Every year these things just get harder and harder on me.”

“Then let me reach out to-”

Holly’s eyes widen and she steps back from him. “No! I promised,” she sinks back down and cups her hand over her face. “I made a promise. I won’t interfere with their lives anymore.”

“They are your children,” Edith’s father insists. “My daughter too.”

“They won’t listen to me. As long as you’re here, Edith will always see me as the bad guy. She won’t trust me or anyone. It’s best we wait until she lets go of her anger.” Holly turns, going to the fireplace where there are stockings hung in a line. She takes one into her hand which has Edith’s name embroidered in gold along the heel. “They are my mistakes, and I will let them hang over me.”

I stand beside her and look at the stockings. I see one for me and then one for Lydia as well. “Oh wow,” I whisper.

“Notice anything?” Coeval stands beside me again.

I look after my mother as she lays her head on her husband’s shoulder. “Yeah, we’re all stubborn.”

Coeval chuckles. “Wouldn’t it be so much easier for you to stop looking at the hurt of the past, and worrying about your actions in the future?” He slips his warm hand onto the small of my back. “Wouldn’t it be so much easier, Winifried, to let that all go, and enjoy what you have right now?”

I sigh heavily. “That’s how Lydia lives,” I grumble. “It would be better for you to be with her.” I move aside, sitting down upon a stool in the corner. “What does seeing this do for me? If I try to convince Edith of anything other than what she has in her mind, she’ll get mad at me too.”

“But that is her problem, Winifried.” Coeval kneels down beside me. “You are worrying about Edith and Lydia. But what about you? What do you want? How do you want to live?”

The ballroom goes dark and empty. The fireplace snuffs out to a few smoldering embers. There is a chill in the air and my breath comes out in thick white clouds. “This is what you wanted me to see, isn’t it? This is your magic.”

“You can’t live if you’re concerned with the past, and chasing after an uncertain future.” Coeval stands up and holds his hand out to me. “You can’t ignore yourself.”

I take his hand and stand back up. “How are you so warm?” I move closer to him, holding him like we are about to waltz.

“My brothers and I come from under the Kringle Peaks,” he chuckles. “It’s nice and warm down there.”

I smile and laugh. “Oh, I bet!” I look up and see something besides his eyes and smoke. There’s a smile beginning to appear. “Are you cold up here then?”

“Not as long as you keep standing close,” he winks.

My cheeks grow warm and I giggle shyly. “When do we have to go back?” I ask. “Is it soon?”

Coeval and I begin to dance in the dark, silent ballroom. He moves me slowly, and for once, I don’t trip or stumble over my feet. I flow with him, moving to music in my head. “No,” he answers quietly. “We don’t have to go just yet.” He continues to dance with me, holding me tenderly. “We can stay here for a while, if you like.”

I lean more into him, enjoying his warmth and his company. “Will they be waiting for us though?”

He laughs jovially again. “Don’t worry about it.” He picks me up and spins me until I float in the air. He holds me up there, then catches me in his arms. We spin together and then come to stand still. I hold him for the longest time,, keeping my cheek to his warm chest.

“I’ve never danced like this before,” I murmur.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Coeval begins to move again. “Have you always wanted to dance?”

I shake my head. “I never really thought about it. I was never any good, so I didn’t think it did well to dwell upon the things I couldn’t do.”

“Sometimes, it’s just fun to try new things, even things we don’t think we can do.” He lifts me up again, throwing me into the air. Snow falls around me and I float above the world. I take a breath in this stillness, feeling my worries drift away with the breeze. I see the Keep in the distance again and a breeze blows the snowflakes around me. I smile to myself, letting out a laugh before I then float back down into Coeval’s hands and touch down on the floor of the pavilion. I look up at him with a bright smile. I then turn, watching as my sisters reappear between the flames of falling snow. They stand with their new familiar, and I have so many questions for them. I squeeze onto Coeval’s hand while they remain frozen.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him. “For showing me this.”

He bows his head to me. “I hope to show you many things, but let’s not worry about the future just yet.”