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asherheed · 2 months ago

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Where the Moon Meets the Deep: LaDS Fanfic

In the snow shrouded kingdom of Moonhaven, where the moon is worshipped as divine and the royal bloodline draws their power from its light stands Princess Eris Umbra. At 22 she is bound by duty to marry the prince of a coastal ally and preserve a fragile peace between the mountain and sea.

Everything changes the night of her Birthday when Pearlspire sends an unthinkable gift. A Lemurian ripped from the oceans depths. Bruised, defiant and utterly unhuman.

By her side is Xavier, the stoic and calm Captain of the Guard. Her childhood protector and the one man who's never treated her as porcelain. Loyal, composed, and kissed by the stars he is everything Moonhaven honors.

This is my first attempt at a fanfic >.< Its not entirely lore accurate as it takes place in my own high fantasy setting.

CHAPTER ONE:

The moon never left Moonhaven.

It hovered above the jagged spine of the mountains like a guardian, casting silver over snow drenched rooftops and frost laced trees. Moonhaven lived in darkness, the sun a guest who overstayed its welcome for only a few hours each day. It left the kingdom quiet and contemplative, and sometimes, unbearably heavy.

Tonight, as with all nights, the sky was dark. And the moon was full.

Starlight filtered through the looming cathedral style windows, bathing the marble floors of the throne room in soft silver. Its high arched ceilings etched with lunar glyphs that shimmered faintly with ancient magic. Braziers burned low, casting dancing shadows along the stone floor where nobles lined either side, cloaked in heavy silks and anticipation.

Princess Eris Umbra stood at the top of the dais beside her mother, Queen Lenora, a step below the moon-carved throne. Eris wore her lineage like armor: A sweeping gown of obsidian velvet and a fur cloak to shield her pale skin from the harsh cold of Moonhaven. She wore no crown, only a delicate band of crescent silver adorned with moonstone. It rested on her brow, nestled in her loose black hair. She was composed. Beautiful in the way midnight was... Distant and unknowable.

It was her twenty second birthday.

A day of mourning and celebration. The first without her father. The first as the only heir to the Kingdom.

And the day the offering from Pearlspire arrived.

This special day should have marked a quiet passage into adulthood had become something else entirely. A stage upon which politics paraded themselves. Offers of fealty. Thin smiles. Thinner veils of diplomacy. And now, a gift from the sea.

A heavy knock sounded at the tall doors of the hall. The murmurs dulled to breathless silence.

“Presenting the offering from Crown Prince Caelen of Pearlspire,” called a herald, voice cutting through the hush like a blade. “A symbol of enduring alliance and shared future.��

Eris’ smile was thin. Polite and practiced. “The Prince is far too generous.”

The doors groaned open.

He was dragged in like an animal.

Chains bound his wrists and ankles, biting into raw skin. His lip was split and crusted with dried blood. One eye was darkened with a blooming bruise, and his wrists—By the Stars—his wrists were torn and red, as if he’d fought every step of the journey from the coast Pearlspire to the frigid mountains of Moonhaven.

And by the look in his eyes, he’d done just that.

He moved like a caged predator, even restrained. His shoulders coiled, every step was deliberate. His dusty lavender hair clung to his bloodied temple, and beneath the grime, his beauty was disarming, dangerous. Otherworldly. Not just a man, but something older, deeper. Ocean born.

A Lemurian.

The crowd whispered as he passed, drawn to the unnatural aura of his presence. But he didn’t flinch. Didn’t lower his head. If anything, he stood taller under their gazes.

Eris felt her breath catch as his gaze rose and locked on hers.

It was seething.

No plea. No fear. Just pure, coiled hatred burning in eyes that shimmered like flame in the deep sea. Blue and pink, alive with fury. Iridescent scales of blue and violet dusted his cheekbones, framing his eyes that were too bright and too sharp.

He was presented before her with ceremonial words, but her pulse thundered too loudly in her ears to hear any of them.

“This creature was captured off the Sapphire Coast during the Spring Tides,” the herald declared. “A rare find, a Lemurian, long thought myth by many. Prince Caelen offers him as tribute on this sacred day, so that the ocean might honor the moon.”

Eris’ stomach twisted.

Applause rippled through the hall. Performative. Hollow.

She flicked her eyes sideways. Xavier stood just behind the dais, his posture as steady and upright as the blade at his hip. The new Captain of the Guard. He’d been appointed only months ago, but he moved like he’d been standing at her shoulder his entire life. Stoic. Sharp-eyed. Always watching.

His striking blue eyes meeting hers for the briefest moment.

He gave the smallest tilt of his head. Subtle but reassuring nonetheless.

Eris turned back toward the prisoner.

The Lemurian’s breathing was shallow, uneven. But still he stared at her like a challenge, as if daring her to speak. Daring her to command. To flinch. To look away.

She rose slowly from her throne.

“Unshackle him,” she said.

The words crashed into the hall like thunder. The whispers stopped. Even her mother stiffened.

“My lady,” the herald began, appalled, “He is—”

“I said unshackle him.” She repeated this time with more authority.

There was hesitation, glances traded like weapons. But none dared defy her outright.

With grudging motions, one of the guards stepped forward and unhooked the enchanted chains. The metal clinked to the floor, and the Lemurian rolled his raw wrists, gaze never breaking from hers.

“You think I’ll kneel?” he rasped, voice like crushed stone and seawater.

Eris’ lips parted slightly. Not from fear, but from awe.

The nobles stared in scandalized silence, their silks whispering as they leaned closer. Queen Lenora’s face was unreadable beside Eris.

Eris did not move.

The Lemurian’s eyes, shimmered like a storm caught between pink coral and deep blue, found her. Tracked her. And then, he smiled.

It wasn’t a smile born of charm. No, it was barbed and cunning like a lion with a thorn in its paw daring anyone to try pulling it out.

“Well,” he drawled, his voice sharp with disdain, “does the Moon Princess not speak, or do you only command from a distance?”

Gasps filled the room.

Eris’ spine straightened. She did not respond. Did not let him see the flicker of heat beneath her ribs. He wanted to humiliate her. Wanted her to snap, to slip, to show weakness.

He stepped forward. Just one step. But it was enough.

“Is this what passes for celebration in Moonhaven?” he asked, voice pitched deliberately for the crowd. “A chained beast to parade before your nobles? What an honor, Your Grace. You must feel so powerful.”

Another ripple of shocked murmurs.

Eris inhaled slowly. Measured. Controlled.

Before she could speak, a cold voice cut the tension in two.

“That’s enough.”

Xavier.

He stepped forward from where he stood beside the dais, a silent guard no longer. The captain of the guard moved like frost given shape, silver hair that was kissed by the stars, hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. His eyes, glacial and steady, fixed on the Lemurian like a blade about to draw.

The Lemurian turned his head, disdain curling his mouth.

“And what are you?” he sneered. “Her sword? Or her shadow?”

“I’m the one who’ll ensure you walk out of this room with your tongue intact,” Xavier replied, voice like steel beneath snow.

That earned a quiet ripple of approval from the court. Xavier was always quiet, but when he spoke, people listened.

The Lemurian laughed, sharp and bitter. “I’ve had worse than empty threats and shackles. Try harder.”

“I don’t need to try,” Xavier said coolly. “You’re already bleeding on the floor.”

The Lemurian’s jaw tensed. His pride flared like open flame.

But Eris had heard enough.

Eris rose from her throne, and silence followed. When she stepped down from the dais, every movement was calculated. Measured. Regal.

She came to a stop a safe distance before the Lemurian. Not out of fear, but because power didn’t need proximity to be felt.

“You are not here by my choice,” she said, her voice crisp as frost. “Let that be the first truth between us.”

The Lemurian’s smile returned, this time thinner. Testing. He said nothing.

Eris went on. “But you are under my roof now. Which means you will be treated as Moonhaven treats all those within its walls. With dignity, whether they deserve it or not.”

She turned to Xavier without looking back. “Captain.”

He straightened. “Your Grace?”

“Have him escorted to the east tower. Keep guards posted at the door, I want him kept within its walls.”

Xavier nodded once.

“Ensure he’s bathed,” she continued. “Fed. And see that his wounds are treated by a healer.”

That drew another murmur from the room.

The Lemurian tilted his head again, wary now. Still seething, but not expecting this.

Eris faced him one last time. Her silver eyes were unreadable.

“You may hate me. You may hate this kingdom, and every stone of the path that brought you here. That is your right. But you will not make a spectacle of me in my court.”

A pause.

“Do you understand?”

For a long moment, the Lemurian said nothing. Just stared at her, jaw tight, chest rising with shallow, seething breaths. She wasn’t sure if it was defiance or respect that kept him quiet.

Eventually, he gave the faintest incline of his head.

Not a bow.

But not nothing.

Eris stepped away. “Good. Then we understand each other.”

_____________

The great doors shut behind the last departing noble. The room stilled, yet the air remained charged like an unseen current crackling in the silence.

Where the Lemurian had stood bruised, shackled and seething now lingered only the memory of his eyes, burning like magenta flame.

Eris stood motionless in the heart of the throne room, her spine straight, her hands tight at her sides. Though the show was over, her regal mask remained fixed. Barely.

Only when the last footstep faded did Eris exhale.

She raised a hand to her face and pinched the bridge of her nose, as if she could rub away the headache clawing its way behind her eyes.

“Stars above,” she muttered. “May the Prince of Pearlspire choke on his own diplomacy.”

A cough of disapproval met her from behind.

Queen Lenora stepped into her periphery, tall and swathed in her ceremonial furs, her expression as smooth and cold as the mountain ice. “You will not speak of your future husband that way,” she said evenly.

Eris let her hand fall. Her gaze was sharp but her voice, carefully measured. “Future husband or not, he sent me a creature in chains and expected gratitude.”

“He sent you a gift,” the Queen corrected. “And a powerful one. Symbolic. Rare. You would do well to understand what that means.”

“It means I’m being married off like a pawn on a game board,” Eris said, too quietly.

“A queen does not get the luxury of outrage. Or sentiment,” Her mother snapped. “You are not a child anymore, Eris. You are Moonhaven’s heir.”

“I didn’t forget that,” she murmured. “Not for a second.”

The Queen’s expression didn’t shift, but her tone cooled further. “Then don’t let that creature provoke you again. Your court may smile now, but they were watching.”

Eris’ jaw clenched, her shoulders tight beneath the thick weight of her cloak. She reached up and unfastened it with quick fingers. As the fur slipped from her shoulders, she turned and held it out.

Xavier stepped forward.

His movements were precise, quiet. The ceremonial steel of his uniform reflected the moonlight like a blade half-drawn. His star kissed hair swept over his brow, barely concealing the faint scar there.

At the Queen’s mention of future husband, his jaw twitched. Barely. A flicker of something passed through his blue eyes before he dropped them to the cloak in his hands.

“See that he’s cleaned and treated,” Eris said, her voice softer now, directed at Xavier. “Somewhere out of sight. I don’t want him paraded through the halls.”

Xavier bowed his head slightly. “Yes, Princess.”

Their eyes met as he straightened. Hers still burned with something sharp and unsettled. His were cool, quiet, and unreadable. They held hers for just a second longer than necessary before he stepped back into shadow.

Queen Lenora turned, already striding toward the far arch. “This is the world we live in, Eris. One built on blood and bargains. You’d best remember that before your next outburst.”

Eris stared after her.

“I haven’t forgotten,” she said, but the Queen was already gone.

The silence returned, colder now. Eris remained standing in the moonlight, its glow catching in her silver eyes like frost.

Outside, the sky pressed in over the mountains.

Inside, the storm waited in her tower.

#bookmark

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asherheed · 4 months ago

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I've been thinking a lot about Kageyama's mindset when he first meets Hinata and when they first start playing volleyball together.

Even at Kageyama's most demanding and unreasonable (playing on his middle school team), we really don't see him be as harsh with anyone else as he is with Hinata.

Caption: Kageyama is bluntly honest about his teammates not being good enough to make it off the bench, and he shouts instructions on the court - but he's not calling people names or antagonizing them in the same way he does with Hinata.

But, at the same time, Kageyama starts out, from day 1, taking Hinata more seriously than anyone else does.

So what's going on? What's with this attitude from Kageyama (that extends through the high school arc) that's so unique to how he views Hinata?

I think Kageyama has his hopes up about Hinata from the very beginning, and that really scares him.

Way down the road in chapter 387, we learn that Kageyama's childhood has been pretty lonely. He doesn't connect with his classmates at school, and even the other kids who like volleyball are so far behind him in skill that he has to intentionally throw games, just to stay on the court. His sister gives up volleyball, too.

At Kitagawa Dai, he's supposed to meet other kids on his level, but most of them still aren't as dedicated to volleyball as he is, and the ones who are (Oikawa) shun him.

Caption: Tobio Kageyama's never-ending parade of loneliness.

So, Kageyama, understandably, holds onto the words from his grandfather - an assurance that he will meet "someone better" one day; that he won't always be alone.

Kageyama holds onto that hope, but does he really trust that it'll come true?

Every time Kageyama has ever thought that he'd met people who could be that "someone better" or someone he could connect with, he's been let down.

Then he loses his grandfather, and he realizes just how alone he really is.

It's scary and isolating to get your hopes up over and over, so - by the time he meets Hinata - he must be wary of believing in someone else, yet again. Especially someone who sucks so bad at volleyball.

But Kageyama does believe in him.

He kind of can't help it, when Hinata is like this:

But, again, this is scary for Kageyama.

It's why he already feels cheated by the fact that Hinata isn't better - that Hinata hasn't been trying harder or practicing more.

Because Kageyama can already see how good Hinata could be.

(He could be, but will he?)

This is maybe clearest to me in chapter 2, where they meet again at Karasuno.

Hinata claims that he's improved a lot, and Kageyama is fully ready to believe him. He is visibly excited to see this new and improved version of Hinata.

I mean, look at Kageyama's face.

He's fired up.

Then Kageyama hits a nasty jump serve at him.

It's a vicious enough serve that Tanaka says to Suga that he probably couldn't have received the serve either.

So, it's not like Hinata failing to receive this serve means he really sucks. But, Kageyama looks surprised, disappointed, and angry that Hinata can't do it.

Did he really think that Hinata had improved enough that he might be able to receive that serve (one that even Tanaka couldn't have gotten)?

Tellingly, Kageyama gets mad because he feels stupid for believing in Hinata. He feels "like a dope" for believing Hinata when he said he'd gotten better.

Caption: Unless I'm wrong, this is also the first time Kageyama calls Hinata scrub (/boke). That feels significant to me.

And I think this is really the really illustrative moment for how Kageyama thinks about Hinata through the rest of the high school arc. He instinctively and reflexively believes in Hinata, but logically he knows that Hinata just isn't that good (yet). He knows that there's a risk Hinata might let him down, too.

It's scary and frustrating and disappointing each time Hinata shows how much he has left to learn, so Kageyama tries to make himself not believe in Hinata so much, while (at the same time) pushing Hinata to do better.

Because there's just something about Hinata that makes it impossible for Kageyama not to believe in him.

Kageyama has been let down over and over - every time he's wanted to find that person he can connect with, who's on his level, who's better.

I think that he wants that so much, but he doesn't want to be made a fool of again by getting his hopes up over something that won't pan out.

It's why he pushes Hinata so hard.

It's why, even when he's secretly impressed with Hinata, he doesn't want to to acknowledge it.

It's why he's "scared of change" (as Oikawa says) when Hinata wants to push their freak quick to be even better, and why he's "convinced himself that what they're doing good enough."

He thinks Hinata is his someone better. He wants Hinata to be his someone better. But he's scared that he's wrong.

#oml i love this thank you #shobio

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