The 12 Tales of Christmas

16 December - The Magical Stranger

16 December – Two characters, from different universes, are both shopping and meet. What happens?

William's boots crunched in the Lambton snow as the carriages rolled past, the horses' hooves tossing up clumps of the frosty stuff. Elizabeth's boots made less of a crunch, but still did.

Suddenly William was bowled over by a man dashing past him. "William!" Elizabeth cried. "Watch it!" he growled from his kneeling position, when he was offered a hand up.

He looked up, and gasped.

It was a tall, lean young man – certainly younger than himself, perhaps Elizabeth's age – pale, with aristocratic features and tight, pale lips that curled up at the corners. "I apologize, sir."

"Apology accepted, good sir, if I might know your name."

The young man's lips curled again. "You may not, although I would like to know yours."

"Fitzwilliam Darcy, at your service." He offered his arm to his wife again as he stood. The young man smiled. "Where are you headed? I might be of some assistance."

"Just to that shop over on the corner," Elizabeth piped up, her eyes narrowing at the strange young man. He was very tall, an inch or two taller than William.

"And it's just my luck that that is also where I am to," the young man said cheerfully, taking off his hat and twirling it, only realizing his mistake when both Elizabeth and William gasped.

His hair was as white as the snow under their feet, more brilliant for lack of boots to tread on it. Slightly curly and tousled, it bore a resemblance to William's own wild curls. Some of the passers-by were gawking as well, at the strange young man with the white hair.

"Ha, I suppose I am exposed now," he laughed, slipping his bowler back on. "You may call me Frederick D'Arcy, though that is not necessarily my name."

"Darcy?"

"No, D'Arcy; de Arcy," the young man enunciated, looking slightly annoyed. "People always get me wrong."

"Apologies," William said briskly. "But why are you heading to that particular shop? Unless you have a lady with you, it seems rather eccentric."

D'Arcy laughed. "The one word to describe my personality is eccentric, my dear sir, but yes, I am to purchase a lady's present. I doubt the staff will remember me for long." A mischievous sparkle lit his stormy grey eyes tinged with emerald.

"Why would they not? As you said, you are rather eccentric, sir," Elizabeth remarked.

D'Arcy cocked his head to one side and looked her up and down, making William bristle before he realized there was no malice in the cool grey stare, simply objective observation. "Would you help me choose a gift, madam?" he asked after a while.

"Why?" Elizabeth was both puzzled and on her guard.

D'Arcy smiled. "You are very much like the lady I wish to please, and so I wish for your assistance, my lady."

"Since that's our destination in any case, I shall be happy to assist you, sir," she replied.

The entrance of the trio surprisingly sparked no surprise, before William realized that D'Arcy looked so much like him as to pass for his brother or cousin, so long as his white hair was concealed. For some reason, his white hair seemed to be dark while his hat was on.

Elizabeth, to her disappointment, found nothing in the frivolous building to her liking, and suggested to her husband, "The bookshop?"

"The bookshop," he agreed, then looked to D'Arcy, who looked bored out of his mind. "D'Arcy?"

"Oh, God, yes, definitely the bookshop."

William and Elizabeth bounded as quickly as they could into the store while D'Arcy was not close behind. William could tell that D'Arcy was intrigued, not by the books, but by him – he could feel the younger man's stare piercing the area between his shoulder blades while he chatted to Mr. Taylor.

D'Arcy ended up with a package of three books, all three for his lady, and Elizabeth in her kindness invited the young man to Pemberley for tea. William liked him, so when he refused, he was pressed until he said yes.

In the comfortable parlour, D'Arcy's white hair was on full display, eliciting a few stares from the servants, but either he did not notice them, or he simply ignored them.

"What caused the white hair?" William asked.

"I was born with it," D'Arcy said, shrugging. "Do you believe in curses?"

"Not really," both the Darcys answered immediately. D'Arcy laughed and said, "Because that is what happened to me. Look," he pointed at his eyebrows. They were black. "I would have black hair if not for that curse."

William raised a disbelieving eyebrow, and D'Arcy sighed. "To prove it to you, and for no other reason." He held out his hand, and snapped his fingers.

Snowflakes danced above his fingers, whirling like a blizzard. Tongues of fire joined them, weaving among the delicate drops of frozen water without burning them. Leaves, then water, then wisps of cloud joined them, and soon Elizabeth and William were staring in awe while their guest languidly manipulated the tiny whirlwind in his palm.

"How...?" William breathed.

"Magic." D'Arcy snapped his palm closed and the whirlwind disintegrated in a shower of icy sparks. "That is what I do."

After that, the conversation turned to mundane things like the weather and the roads, but William felt more alive, if that were possible, around this stranger who had control over the elements and a mysterious smirk that made him seem older than he was. The mundane topics became funny under D'Arcy's wit, even more sarcastic and acerbic than his Elizabeth's – almost too sharp.

And when he watched D'Arcy make his way to the gates, William drew in a sharp breath to see the white-haired young man turn back, and wave, and then vanish into thin air.    

**Please take note that William and Elizabeth are FANFICTION characters, and Frederick D'Arcy is an original one. Salazar, the only developed character in my other universe, doesn't do shopping, so William and Lizzy it was. I think you can guess who Frederick is by now, seeing the other prompts and everything...

PLEASE VOTE IF YOU LIKED IT!**