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yup. and who came up with dudette? like i have definitely never used THAT

Reblog if you have used dude as a non gender specific term.

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sunsets, sand under your feet, clear water, reading on a beach, singing in the shower, strawberry shampoo, double french braids, broken pencil lead, kit kats, fresh strawberries, movies during a thunderstorm, carmel lattes first thing in the morning, umbrella academy, white nail polish, lululemon scrunchies in a messy bun, sunshine peeking through grey clouds, google docs full of stories, cuddling with my dogs, reading romantic stories, ripped denim, minispeakers blasting music on a doc, candlelit baths, desks littered with sketches, dirty white vans, skateboarding, no makeup, smudged lead, vanilla ice cream, staying up until 3am, watermelon gum, huge imagination, uggs, mosquito bite scabs, pearl earrings, summer, bright yellow, fantasy books, the smell of the ocean

school starts tomorrow send help 💀

@candlemouse @jaylalovesreading @hugoandmendigo @imasorenson @fairyprincesskendra @fairyprincessofthedragons @jesussavedevenme

Describe yourself using aesthetics!

Here’s mine:

Used eyeliner penicls, red glitter eyeshadow, leather jackets, blasting rock music from car speakers, walking outside at night, old journals, being wild with friends, unlaced high tops, licorice, saying “I love you, asshole”, the smell of fizzy ginger ale, sour candies, flashlight tag during summer, pillow fights, the one song that pumps you up, red lightning, cherry cola, rusty stop signs on the ground, electric guitar riffs, loud piano keys, goosebumps, not caring about anything but fun.

@most-amazing-fuzzball @1sweet-potato1 @savetheyeemorats @insane-tomato @wine-anon @bryaxisthelibrarian @frnkieroismydaddy

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honestly i’m so bored in quarantine so i’m just gonna answer all of them 😂

💖obviously brackendra

💕the fifth

❤️idk maybe the fourth

🧡kendra

💛kendra and vanessa prob

💚errol

💙mara

💜dragonwatch

👀dougan

🔪honest i had no idea they were traitor but i probably should have suspected

💀coulter was kinda sexist and that annoyed me but it’s sad that he died

☀️seth totally would right away but kendra would probably take like a year to say yes

😬no

🥞verl’s funny

🐳lena was so nice but her death makes sense

🦋hamadryad

❄️fairykind obviously

fablehaven ask list because I was bored

(reblog and people send the emojis to you)

💖 favorite ship?

💕 favorite book?

❤️ favorite cover?

🧡 favorite sibling?

💛 favorite friendship?

💚 favorite side villain?

💙 favorite side character?

💜 fablehaven or dragonwatch?

👀 character that disappeared that you’d like to come back?

🔪 did you predict/suspect vanessa? gavin? the sphinx?

💀 how did you feel about counter dying?

🔆 do you think, if given the chance, kendra or seth would become an eternal?

😬 did you think the sphinx becoming an eternal was smart?

🥞 how do you feel about verl?

🐳 on a scale of one to ten, how heartbroken were you over lena?

🦋 which magical creature would you be?

❄️ if you have a choice between becoming fairykind or becoming a shadow charmer, which would you choose?

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“Bracken! Spear!” Kendra yelled towards her boyfriend. Bracken tossed her the weapon in his right hand, wielding a large pearly sword in his left. Kendra caught it effortlessly, which was mostly thanks to Bracken’s amazing aim. She quickly stabbed a nasty green goblin that had been gradually progressing towards her.

Currently Kendra and Bracken were in a magical preserve that had recently fallen. The preserve was called Frozen Canyon, and it had been overrun by dark beings. She and Bracken had been given a mission by the Knights of the Dawn; to scout out and map an abandoned structure on the property. They had successfully completed the task, but on the way out they had encountered a large group of dark creatures, consisting of mostly goblins and human-sized imps.

“Kendra! Your left!” Bracken shouted. Kendra, panting, whirled around and fended off another hissing goblin. When the goblin was a safe distance away, Kendra turned around and tackled a distracted imp. After slicing a gash in the imps thigh, she jumped up and attacked a trio of goblins that had cornered her. She stumbled and fell backwards, hitting her head on a rock. Her immediate reaction was pain, but after a few seconds most of the hurt went away. Laying her head back on the rock, she got ready to stand back up, but realized something. She rapidly moved her head, looking around the clearing in a circular motion. There were no creatures in sight. How hard had she hit her head? There had been at least 15 goblins and imps in the meadow a few seconds ago. But Bracken was still there, and he seemed equally as surprised. Kendra decided she was not crazy.

“Bracken, where’d they go?” she asked, confused.

“I don’t know.” he responded. “I was fighting an imp, and all of the sudden it spun around and ran into the woods! All of them did! It was the strangest thing... ”

“What does it mean?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” Bracken said, glancing around at the surrounding foliage. “We got what we needed. Let’s head out.” Kendra nodded. He was standing still, and Kendra realized he was waiting for her.

Just as she was about to start walking she heard Bracken gasp. Her eyes darted to him. Within seconds, she felt a piercing pain in her stomach. She glanced down. There was a bloody silver spear blade jutting out of her chest. Kendra’s eyes widened in terror. Her vision was getting blurry, and with the strength she had left, she turned around to view her attacker. She was staring into the black eyes of a plump imp wearing rags. He stood confidently in front of her. Without warning, she heard Bracken yell from behind her. He shot the imp twice with a crossbow. It collapsed.

Bracken was almost instantly next to her. He slid the spear out from her chest, laid her down, and placed his hand over the wound.

“Adamant blade” the dying imp rasped, still on the floor. “Do what you will, unicorn, but your powers won’t work on that wound.”

Anger in his eyes, Bracken brought the spear blade down on the imps rib cage. Still holding the spear, his body shook with silent sobs. He returned to Kendra, whose eyes were unfocusing. A tear slid down her face.

“Am I going to die?” she whispered. Bracken shook his head rapidly, although he looked like he was trying to convince himself. Tears were steadily falling from his cheeks.

Holding Kendra in his arms, he mumbled something unintelligible. Kendra blacked out before he finished the chant.

• • •

Bracken saw no end. Kendra would be gone soon. He buried his face in his hands. He had one job, and he blew it.

He had taken Kendra to the Fairy Realm his mother, The Fairy Queen, had teleported him there when she had found out what happened. She was devastated. Bracken had only seen her so upset once before; when she had lost her husband.

Bracken had laid Kendra down to rest on a quartz slab in a makeshift emergency room. The table was now stained red. He and his parents were trying to come up with an answer.

“She’s losing too much blood! If we don’t come up with something fast, there will be no need for a solution!” Bracken’s father was getting anxious.

“But what can we do! Any normal mortal would die from that wound!” Bracken said.

“Yes. . . “ Bracken’s mother commented. “Any mortal. . .” She seemed to have realized something. “Bracken, could we make her an eternal?” The room was silent. Realization dawned in Bracken’s eyes. But he was uncertain.

“We can’t just make that decision for her.” He finally replied. “What if she wakes up and would rather have died? What if that’s not the life she would have chosen?”

”It’s either that or let the girl die!” The Fairy Queen yelled. Bracken glanced nervously over to Kendra, passed out on the large brick of quartz. Her chest was wrapped in gauze, which was already completely soaked in blood. Her face was contorted into a painful grimace.

“Okay.” Bracken whispered, looking down. “Go ahead.”

• • •

When Kendra woke, she was in the bed at her grandparents house. As she looked around, she realized that she was alone in the attic. It looked like the sun was about to set, based on the amount of light filtering through the curtains.

Kendra wondered how she had gotten here. normally she woke up at around 7:00 or 8:00, so she had no idea why she could have randomly slept until the end of the day. She tried to think back to earlier in the day, only to find that she remembered nothing. She remembered the day before, and held all of her memories up until today. Kendra scored her memory from yesterday for clues. She remembered getting a mission from the Knights of the Dawn, and Bracken, being as overprotective as he was, insisted on coming. But what had the mission been? Where had she gone? Had it been a dream?

And all of a sudden, the memories came flooding back into her mind. She knew about the preserve, and the imps, and the goblins, and the—

“Oh my god!” Kendra gasped. She jerked her nightgown off. Besides her underwear and bra, she was completely naked. She stared down expectantly at her middle. There was absolutely nothing there; no blood, no cut, not even a scar!

Not sure what else to do, Kendra threw on her clothes, tossed open the door, and started downstairs. “Hello?” she said. Hearing no answer, Kendra continued down the steps. She

walked downstairs, finding no one on the second floor. On the first floor, however, she heard voices. Following the sound of her Grandmother’s slightly muffled voice, she ended up at the door to the study. She could hear people conversing. Peering through the keyhole, she recognized Tanu, Bracken, Grandma, Grandpa, and Warren. She wondered why were they talking without her. Listening in; she was keenly aware that this was an extremely Seth-like thing to do. Just as she was considering opening the door, she heard another voice.

“But there has to be some way to reverse it!” Vanessa’s voice offered. “Any magic that can be done can also be undone, right?” Kendra had not noticed Vanessa when she had looked through the keyhole, but then again, she could only see so much through the small opening.

“Unfortunately, no.” Bracken replied sadly. “This. . . type of magic is irreversible.” Kendra was exceedingly confused. What magic? What needed to be reversed?

“This is. . . complicated, but I understand your intentions.” Grandpa said. “I probably would’ve done the same. For now, our biggest concern is how to tell her.”

Kendra began to worry. What was this conversation about? Maybe she shouldn’t have listened in. Who was the “her” they were nervous about telling? Could they possibly be talking about her?

Before she could finish her thought, the door to the office opened, and she found herself staring at Warren’s face. He turned around to look at the rest of the group.

“We might not have to worry about telling her anymore” he sighed.

Kendra narrowed her eyes. So they had been talking about her!

“Telling me what?!” she said, her voice fairly loud. “What magic is irreversible? And. . . you!” She said her eyes now on Bracken. “You were there! I remember an imp stabbing me through the chest! Am I going crazy or something?!”

“Now calm down, Kendra.” her grandma soothed. “You're not crazy. We’ll tell you soon. I’m not sure your ready.”

Kendra sighed. Looking away from her grandmother, she wondered what they thought she wasn’t ready for. It didn’t seem fair either way. She began to feel empathy for the way her brother saw things.

“What about you Bracken?” Kendra asked, shifting her gaze. ”You were there! What happened?” Despite everyone else’s opinions, Kendra knew she could trust him. He would tell her. Right?

Contrasting her assurances, Bracken stared at the floor, avoiding eye contact. He did not respond.

Tears brimmed at the corners of Kendra’s eyes. “It’s my right to know!” she shouted. Still facing a room of silence, she glared at her family.

“Never mind. Continue without me.” Kendra said, storming towards the front door. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” And with that, she slammed the door behind her.

• • •

Kendra sat on a large boulder overlooking a forest. Treetops swayed beneath her. Birds were chirping and fairies were flitting about, creating an aura of peace and serenity. And yet Kendra couldn’t feel more opposite. Tears of anger and frustration slid down her cheeks. She wished someone would follow her out here. Not just because she was stubborn, but also because she needed to know what was going on. Something had happened to her, some sort of magic or spell was at work. Something irreversible. Something they wouldn’t tell her.

Just as she had decided she should go back, she heard dead leaves crunching from the direction of the house. Hoping to see Bracken, she was half disappointed when Newel stepped into view.

“Hey Kendra. Have you seen Seth? We had a. . . ” he cleared his throat. “We had some. . . business to attend to.”

“Are you guys trading batteries for gold again?” Kendra accused. “I thought Seth didn’t do that anymore!”

“Now, hold on. Newel said with mock surprise. “I didn’t say anything about batteries.”

“Seth’s inside the house.”

“Thanks.” Newel said. “Oh, and Bracken’s looking for you.”

“Oh?” Kendra managed to keep a straight face. “Tell him I’m here,” she began. “But don’t tell him I told you to say that.”

“Alrighty.” Newel remarked sarcastically. “Girls” he muttered under his breath, disappearing into the woods.

Moments later, Bracken emerged from the trees. Kendra, currently facing the view, pretended not to notice.

“Kendra?” he said quietly.

“Hey Bracken,” Kendra said, turning around.

Bracken fidgeted with his fingers. He seemed nervous. “I wanted to apologize. For not telling you about the thing. Earlier.”

“What exactly is ‘the thing’ you were talking about?” Kendra asked. “What happened to me?”

Bracken sighed. “You should know.” he admitted. “Your grandparents will probably keep me in the dungeon for the rest of eternity for telling you this, but you should know.” Kendra nodded eagerly. Taking a deep breath, Bracken told her.

“You're an eternal.” he said, head down, but eyes locked on hers. Kendra paused. After a while, she spoke.

“Oh.” she managed. “Is that how I’m not dead? The. . . spear. It went through me.” Bracken nodded. “Okay,” Kendra sighed. “I guess that’s not too bad. At least I’m still alive. I’ll just have to live my life running away from freaks trying to open Zzyzx, and eventually say goodbye to everyone and everything I love---” Inhaling sharply, she burst into tears. “It’s fine” she assured Bracken, her voice already congested. “It’s just a lot.”

“I know.” he soothed. “Let’s go home.”

Hand in hand, Bracken led Kendra off into the distance.

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Color:

Kendra: Lavender/baby blue

Seth: green

Drink:

Kendra: strawberry banana smoothie

Seth: coke/mountain dew

Animal:

Kendra: Girraffe

Seth: Shark

Book Genre:

Kendra: Fantasy

Seth: none

Place:

Kendra: Library

Seth: Amusement Park

Have some HC’s for Kendra & Seth Day 2k20! :)

because my laptop where I have housed every single one of my writing works and family pictures and EVERYTHING for the past 4 years decided this morning to give up the ghost and not kidding I’m pretty distressed about it so sorry there’s no fic this time around

Favorite...

Ice cream

Seth - Rocky Road

Kendra - Strawberry (the kind with chunks of strawberries in it)

TV shows

Seth - Doesn’t watch much TV, but when he does, he likes mysteries or adventures

Kendra - Also doesn’t watch much TV, but she’s into fantasy, Jane Austen-style romances, and documentaries

Outings

Seth - It doesn’t matter what you’re doing outside the house; if Seth gets to join in, he’s happy. Except for maybe shopping.

Kendra - Enjoys leaving the house, but also enjoys being inside the house. If she’s not into a new book, she’ll totally join and expedition elsewhere. If she’s found a new series, though, she might not surface from her room for several days.

Guilty pleasure

Seth - Documentaries. He’ll feign disinterest if someone catches him watching one, but he actually really took a liking to them after listening to one that Kendra had watched once. “Guess I don’t have to read the book now” is his motto where those are concerned.

Kendra - She claimed her brother’s stuffed teddy bear. He’s probably forgotten it was his at one point. She places the bear on top of her neatly made bed every morning, after giving it a hug. (Seth hasn’t actually forgotten that it was his once upon a time, but it makes him smile to see her take care of it.)

Music

Seth - Anything with a good beat. He likes to dance inside his head.

Kendra - Modern pop. Including the sappy love songs.

Games

Seth - Sports. He loves to play football, soccer, baseball... pretty much anything which involves running and expending energy.

Kendra - Board games, if she’s playing with a group of people. Otherwise she’s inclined toward sports and other active games as well.

Food

Seth - Mexican food is his favorite.

Kendra - Asian cuisine is her favorite.

(They both enjoy a wide variety of other foods, including pizza, of course.)

Childhood hero:

Seth - Robin Hood. He told his mother when he was four years old that he was going to grow up and help people in need like Robin Hood. Marla wondered if she should have emphasized that stealing was bad, but opted not to since he was only four and she thought he was adorable.

Kendra - Kim Possible. Awesome cheerleader not-so-secret agent? Hello. Yes. At one point in time she insisted that her parents call her “Kim” instead of “Kendra.” Seth did so without complaint. He will still occasionally call her Kim or Kimmie if he wants her to suddenly think of a cringey memory of her dorky younger self.

That’s all for tonight. Imma pass out. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy. ❤️ I’ll see if I can get a fic of some sort out in the near future. (My job has only gotten harder/more demanding over the past week; the difference is that I’m just trying to do it all from home now, while schooling my kids at the same time. 😂😭 Send wine LOL.)

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Use this picrew to make yourself!

Tagged by the beautiful @scum-belina ❤ I made a new post because the other one was getting long 😁

Tagging @trunzilla @banchoaniki @indie-animal @thekitchenphilosopheress @thatonegothcatholic @lollady-tan @paniccats @cotton-candy--clouds @strawberryy--popp @redemptiionss @alteanroyals @f-ireflowers and @zombiemanateegiraffe

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and a movie 🥺

K but can I get a disney+ series for Fablehaven

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are you new to fablehaven Tumblr? if so, welcome!!

tysm💕

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kendra (texting seth): how could you? i trusted you and you betrayed me!

kendra (texting seth): oh sorry seth, that was for gavin

seth (texting kendra): oh.

seth (texting kendra): on a completely unrelated topic, have you seen my lighting sword anywhere?

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Happy Birthday

Kendra was currently sitting on her bed. It was her birthday, at noon, so in a few hours she would go downstairs and blow out the candles on her birthday cake. She knew that it was supposed to be a surprise, but she had overheard her parents and Seth talking. From the conversation, she knew that her grandparents were coming, along with Warren, Dale, Vanessa, and Bracken. They were most likely already here.

But here she was, in her room, looking through a very particular box of letters. Gavin Rose’s letters.

She had read a certain letter many times. It was the first letter she had received from him. 

Dear Kendra,

I’m very sorry I can’t be there to escort you home.

Crazy news from Dougan, huh? I can hardly believe how upside down everything 

has become! I knew there was something shady about good guys wearing masks

. . . they’ve done away with them now.

I’m off on another mission. Nothing as dangerous as what we went through

together, but another chance for me to prove myself useful. I’ll fill you in later. 

Guess why I like letters? No stuttering!

You’re an amazing person, Kendra. I want you to know how much I have

appreciated getting to know you. Hopefully I’ll get a turn standing guard over 

you and you’re brother in the fall. I hope someday soon we’ll get to know each 

other better.

Your friend and admirer,

Gavin

Kendra quietly wondered if Gavin had meant anything he had written. She remembered looking forward to each letter, rereading the parts about missing her and hoping to see her soon. She had even memorized most of them! Had he had signed that letter “your friend and admirer” with a smirk on his face, knowing that his betrayal would leave her crushed? She hoped not. Kendra didn’t like to admit it, even to herself, but she had fallen totally head over heels for the demon prince. He had seemed so innocent and kind---the complete opposite of Navarog. 

Out of nowhere, Kendra noticed the sentences on the letter seemed blurry. Why was she so upset? She couldn’t be crying, could she? Contrasting her thoughts, a tear slipped from her right eye and onto the paper, making the ink clot around the word “friend”. She felt pathetic. How could Bracken, the most attractive person she had ever met, like her? She was just an ordinary girl who had powers because the fairy queen had pitied her. Dougan had given her that letter around the time of her birthday about four years ago. Why was she still upset over something that had happened so long ago?

The door to her room swung open so fast she jumped. Bracken jumped in holding a box wrapped in blue decorative paper with a metallic pink bow on top. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” he shouted. Kendra quickly brushed away her tears with her forefinger. She managed a tight, awkward smile. 

“Thanks,” she said, her voice cracking. Bracken’s smile vanished. 

“Hey,” he said softly, closing the door behind him. “You okay?” He sat down next to Kendra on her bed, setting aside the present on the bedside table.

“Yeah,” Kendra replied, “I’m good.”  Bracken looked unconvinced. 

“You never were a good liar, were you?” he asked, brushing a new tear off of her cheek.

“No, I guess not,” she confessed, smiling a bit.

“Tell me what’s going on,” he said, concern in his eyes. “What happened?”

“Well, it’s a long story, and, I mean it happened a while ago…”  Kendra started.

“Oh, come on.  You know I have all the time in the world.”  

“. . . Alright, here it goes.” she said hesitantly. Bracken nodded. 

“So, when I first became a Knight of the Dawn, two other people were getting knighted along with me. One was an old woman who I never got to know very well, and one was a 16 year old boy named Gavin Rose. Me and Gavin were friends from the start, we got picked for missions together, and wrote each other letters,” she said, nodding towards the heap of envelopes and ruffled up notebook papers sitting on her bed. She continued the story.

“Over time, we grew closer. I began noticing small things as romantic implications.” she admitted, glancing over to Bracken, hoping he wouldn’t mind her talking about this. His expression remained neutral, so she continued on.

“We were eventually assigned a mission at a dragon sanctuary. We had to regain a key to an artifact vault. We successfully found and took the key, but trouble began on the way out.

“Two dragons waited in ambush on the top of a pass that was a necessary exit route. We were all ready to fight, but before any one of us had made contact, Gavin transformed. His face elongated, and he grew wings, and before anyone knew what was happening, the pitch black dragon that had been an innocent 16 year old only a moment ago, ate Dougan, and hurled Mara off of the cliff. And then I was alone. I ran to a crevice in the mountain where I knew dragons would not be able to fit. In panic, I didn’t think about their human avatars.

“Before long, the Gavin I had known entered the cave. He was sporting a smile that looked like it belonged in a horror movie, not on his innocent face. He was holding a bag. It was the knapsack that held a pocket dimension to the room Warren was in, injured. He burned it to the ground. If we hadn’t recovered the teleportation artifact, Warren would still be in there, rotting.

“Gavin approached me slowly. He threatened me, tried to hurt me. Of course, the only lasting damage he had inflicted was on the inside. I wanted to break down and cry. I managed to stay strong though, at least until Raxtus came and saved me. He was small, and fit in the tiny cave. Navarog was gone in three bites.” 

Kendra had finished the story. She was staring at her feet. She felt tears coming, and didn’t blink them away, letting them flow down her cheeks. She gave Bracken the letter. When he finished reading, he glanced up at her. “How could he have written those letters Bracken? How could he have written these words down on this paper knowing that in the end he would betray me? Try to kill me?!” Kendra’s voice quieted. “Knowing he never even felt anything for me in the first place?” she looked away. She wished Bracken hadn’t seen her cry. He seemed a little unsure of how to reply.

“He must have been despicable, Kendra. He obviously had no idea how lucky he almost was.” He paused. Kendra wondered what he had meant when he said lucky. “Do you need time alone?”  He asked. Kendra hesitated. She half wanted to sit alone in her bed, alongside the pile of letters, and cry; but she also desperately wanted someone’s comfort. Or maybe just Bracken’s comfort. 

Bracken began standing up.

“No, stay” she said, not truly wanting him to leave. She tugged at his sleeve. He sat back down. Kendra began to notice that he was a little closer than before. Their legs were almost touching. She laid her head on his shoulder, and more tears streamed down her cheeks, making his shirt damp. They sat like that, undisturbed, for what felt like an eternity. Not in a bad way, in a wish-you-could-stay-like-this-forever kind of way.  After a while Bracken broke the silence. He moved his head to look at her. Kendra did the same. 

“No one is ever going to hurt you again.” he promised her. Tears glazed Kendra’s eyes. She looked down and nodded bitterly. “You know I would never hurt you, right? He asked. She looked up, straight into his clear, blue-grey eyes. She realized his face was slowly growing close to hers now. Her nose brushed against Bracken’s, and, moving ever so slowly, her lips found his.

All of a sudden, nothing really mattered. Gavin Rose was beyond her field of thought. The Society of the Evening Star had never been farther away. A dragon war was a problem for tomorrow. And the so many betrayals she had experienced had been made up a few seconds ago, when Bracken’s lips had found hers. 

Fresh tears beelined down her face, making her cheeks sticky. It felt like she had dranken all of Tanu’s bottled up emotions at once. She felt guilt and excitement, confusion and happiness, fear and love. And then their lips parted, and she opened her eyes, and looked up at him. 

“I know,” she whispered. They kissed again, the mood lightened by their connection. Seth sprang into the room. Kendra and Bracken both jerked their heads toward the doorway, where he was standing. For a moment the three of them just stared at each other, unsure of what to say. Then Seth started turning red, as if he couldn’t breathe.  “Seth?” Kendra said, nervous. 

“I KNEW IT!” he screamed suddenly, making Kendra jump. “OH MY GOD WARREN YOU OWE ME TEN BUCKS!” Kendra could hear him running down the stairs. “VANESSA! WARREN! YOU ARE SO NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!” he yelled, already downstairs. “I TOLD YOU SO!” he yelled, followed by a slammed door. Kendra and Bracken slowly turned their heads toward each other until they were looking directly into each other's widened eyes. And all of a sudden they were laughing. Kendra didn’t stop giggling until Vanessa stood in the doorway. 

“Kendraaa” she said in an accusing tone. 

“Yes?” she said, blushing.

“If what Seth told me is true… did you two…” she turned a little red.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not,”  Kendra said in a smug tone with her head up. “I’ve bet you’ve kissed Waaarreeeeeeen a ton of times” Kendra said, leaving Vanessa speechless. Kendra grabbed Bracken’s hand while Vanessa was thinking of what to say, pulled him up, and ran past Vanessa and out the door. As they ran down the stairs, giggling, Kendra could hear Vanessa say in a fairly loud voice, “I happen to be in my twenties, young lady! You’re 15!” This only made Bracken and Kendra laugh harder. 

“I’m 16 now, actually!”

Kendra could hear Vanessa half-heartedly jogging after them, so she sped up. Kendra threw open the screen door and ran outside, still giggling. She spotted Warren and Seth sitting in two lawn chairs just right of her. Seth was totally wide-eyed, and Warren had his hand out. Kendra gave him a high five and kept running. She heard Vanessa say “Warren!” in an exasperated voice, as Kendra and Bracken, still holding hands, entered her mom’s wooden greenhouse, locking the door behind them.

Kendra, panting and laughing, fell down into her mother’s bed of poppy flowers, her hand leaving Bracken’s in the process. It was pitch black in the greenhouse; her mom used special lights to grow her plants, not real sunlight; and sometimes she forgot to turn them on. Kendra tried getting out of the flowerbed, only to fall back down, laughing even harder. Bracken was also laughing hysterically, about two meters away. After they both calmed down, Bracken spoke.

“Kendraaaa” he whispered “where aaaare yoooooou”, he joked in a spooky voice. It took all Kendra had to stay silent and refrain from laughing again.  “Keeeendraaaaaaaa” he repeated. “I can't seeeee youuuuu.” Kendra snickered, and quickly covered her mouth. Bracken’s silhouette turned towards her and started walking. He passed her, and so she silently got up and started creeping away. Just when Kendra thought she found a great new hiding spot, she felt warm arms wrap around her waist, twirl her around and pull her closer. “Caught you,” Bracken whispered playfully. After a few moments of gazing into each other's eyes, Kendra felt Bracken’s face growing closer to hers. She could almost feel his breath on her face. Nervous, Kendra gradually moved her face closer to his. Their lips brushed against each other, and Bracken moved his face away from hers for a moment, as if asking permission. Kendra nodded slightly. He moved in slowly, and eventually their lips met. Kendra put her arms around his neck, and Bracken put one arm around her waist and used the other to pull the metal cord above him, which turned on the lights. Kendra suspected she would have squinted at the bright light, but she didn’t mind because her eyes were closed. Bracken’s other hand wound under her arm and bent upward to end with his hand on her shoulder. They stood, embraced, for many minutes. She wished this moment could last forever, just her and Bracken, but eventually she pulled away. 

“We should probably go.” Kendra said. “Wouldn’t want to miss cake”

“Yeah.” Bracken replied, sounding a little hurt.

“Hey,” Kendra said, pecking him on the lips. “It’s not you.”

He smiled.

Later, at dinner, they had asian food. Bracken and Kendra sat across from each other instead of next to, judgment of Vanessa. They played footsie until the cake was done. 

Soon, the lights were turned out, and the candles were lit.

“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Kendraaaaaaaa, Happy Birthday to youuuuuuu!!!” sang Warren, Vanessa, Grandma, Grandpa, her parents, Seth, and Bracken. Kendra beamed. She couldn’t imagine a life without any one of the people in front of her. 

Before she knew it, everyone was saying their goodbyes. Warren had winked at her and wished her good luck with Bracken. She had blushed and nodded. Vanessa told her to fill her in on all the details by writing her letters with umite wax. Kendra had agreed. Grandma and Grandpa squeezed her tight and made her promise to call them at least once a week until her next visit to Fablehaven next month. And finally it was Bracken’s turn to say goodbye. 

“You’ll write?” he asked.

“Promise.”

“And call?” 

“Of course.”

“Then I have nothing to worry about.” he sounded relieved.

“Should I be worried?” Kendra asked, concerned. “Aren’t you going to a dragon sanctuary in a week? Are you gonna be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry needlessly. We’ll keep in touch.” he said, handing her a swirling pearly prism.

“You’re horn?”

“Yup.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely.”

“Okay. I guess calling won’t be necessary then.”

“I guess not.”  

They stood in silence for a moment, looking at the ground.

“I’m gonna miss you” Kendra blurted, looking up at him. She blushed and looked back at the ground. “I mean, I have know idea when I’m going to see you again, or even if you’re going to make it out of the dragon sanctuary, and we have Ronodin to worry about, and I know you told me it doesn’t matter but---”

“Hey,” he said, tilting her chin up to look at him. “Everything is going to be fine.” Kendra sighed. 

“I know. It’s just---”

“Nope. No ‘it’s justs.’ it’s going to be okay.” he promised.

“Okay.” she sighed.

“I’m going to miss you a lot.” he admitted. Kendra smiled shyly.

“I will too.” she told him. She looked up at him. He looked away. Bracken took a deep breath, as if building up to something. He seemed a little nervous, his bright eyes hinting at anxiety. He glanced up at Kendra. Their gaze met, and his eyes shot back down. He inhaled heavily.

“I love you,” Bracken said, holding his breath. Tears were building up just above his lower eyelashes. Kendra kissed him before they could fall. When they broke away, Kendra looked up at him. His eyes were still closed, his mouth in an anxious grimace. He seemed to be dreading her answer.

“I love you too, Bracken.” She assured him. He took a deep, shaky breath and opened his eyes. This time it was he who leaned in for the kiss. It was soft and gentle, and Bracken wrapped Kendra in a warm embrace with one hand, the other on her cheek. She rested her hands on his shoulders. Their lips parted slowly. Kendra still had Bracken’s arms around her, and he had hers. Their foreheads rested on one another. When they broke apart fully, they gazed into each other’s eyes. Bracken’s thumb caressed her cheek. 

“Happy Birthday” he said.

[sit-back-and-read]

okay i’m sorry but adore you by harry styles is the perfect brackendra song 🥰