#“oh haha elves are so playful”

[nerdpoe]

When reading Lord of the Rings, and it starts to go into how playful the elves are, or if it has elves singing a song...

I like to imagine it as Māori war chants instead.

It's cooler.

[mai-sau]

Prompt "give me attention" for kidnap family?

"haha, im gonna take it easy with prompts this time around, only a few hundred words -" cue spongebob title card "2.3k words later"

seriously tho thank you for the prompt!! (and sorry about the wait!) i had fun working on this one bc well i love any chance to write about this lil family of murderers and tiny bois :') hope u enjoy!!

Prompt: "Give me attention."

“Nelyo.”

“Nelyo.”

“Ne-”

Thump. Maedhros slammed his book shut. A puff of dust wheezed out from the crusty pages; Maglor could make out the swirl of particles flying about in the dim shafts of sunlight peeking into his brother’s study from windows that he was sure were clean at some point in their existence.

Said brother tossed a glare over to Maglor from the other side of his desk.

“You’re allowed to be here. Quietly.” Maedhros threw a pointed look towards the abandoned scroll in Maglor’s hands.

“But I’m so very lonely, Nelyo,” Maglor pouted, and dropped the scroll on the desk. The parchment rolled out towards Maedhros, whose face was fast approaching the same shade as his hair. “Besides, I’ve already taken care of all my correspondence for the day. Nothing much else to do, really, but seek out the company of my darling brother.”

“I’m older than you,” Maedhros grit out, rubbing his temple in terse little circles. Which one of them he was reminding Maglor couldn’t say.

“Only by a few years,” Maglor teased. He let the corners of his lip curl up - he was well aware this made him look like “a cat about to feast on the fattest saucer of milk it’s ever conned” according to his brother, and that was why he did it.

On top of that dusty old book, Maedhros’ fingers twitched. Got you.

“Come on, Nelyo,” he whined. “Give me attentiooon.”

Maedhros threw him a positively hateful look, but Maglor knew he wouldn’t throw him out just yet. By this point, Maglor liked to think he knew his brother well enough.

There were some things he didn’t, of course, and this was fine. When his brother would wake and traipse out to the courtyard in the dead of night, staring at the moon hungrily for hours and hours as if he would never glimpse its light amidst the pitch dark again; when one of the many elves around Amon Ereb would do something wrong - not when one of their craftsmen made the same excited little exclamation as Curvo used to, or hunters fletched their arrows just how Tyelko did, Maglor understood these, at least - but a request phrased too sweetly, an abrupt movement, a smile too wide, and Maedhros’ throat would tighten, his words clipped, before excusing himself to go lock himself in his room for an hour, or two, or three: these parts of his brother Maglor may never know.

But he knew much, or at least enough. A few months after they’d taken in the twins, Maglor had just finished mopping an explosion of jam on the dining floor and sweeping up the shards of what was once the hefty jar that contained it. He’d first gently let Elros know that if they wanted food, they need only ask; he’d then let him know that no, of course they wouldn’t cast him out for breaking the jam jar, with no small amount of tears or internal panic on either end of that conversation.

By the time Maglor slunk into Maedhros’ study that evening to go over reports from around the fortress, he was maybe a bit tired. When Maedhros told him to wait for just a few minutes while he wrapped something or other up, Maglor might’ve let slip a touch of petulance and no small amount of theatrics into his voice when he asked when his dear Nelyo could spare just a moment for his poor baby brother, simply wilting away from the neglect.

Maglor had frozen, fearful of what his second-most severe brother would have to say in response to - well, whining. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d let himself do so. Oh, he’d been quite the brat in Valinor, and used to be quite proud of that fact, thank you. Each and every one of his brothers’ last nerves practically had his name on it. But it seemed ever since they arrived here, it was as if they simply couldn’t afford the waste of time. Ribbing was a favored pastime of his in Aman, but Beleriand offered no such frivolities.

But living with the twins, putting on playful words and coaxing laughter from two young faces that Maglor couldn’t bear to see two seconds from breaking anymore, had apparently loosened his discipline.

He’d thought Maedhros would treat him to one of his signature frowns, barking at him that neither of them had time to make things any harder for each other, but instead he’d… laughed. Just the slightest huff of air, yes, but a laugh nonetheless. Maglor hadn’t heard his brother laugh since…

Well, if anything, he was honoring his cousin’s memory.

So Maglor experimented over the years, let a few more teases and whines slip into his day-to-day interactions with Maedhros. His brother had since mustered a valiant effort to act annoyed, but Maglor could still catch a muffled chuckle or smothered grin here and there.

So. All in all, he’s sure he knows his brother pretty well at this point, and Maedhros was not troubled (bad), just bothered (good).

Which, of course, meant they could continue to play; Maglor would show no mercy.

“Please? Please, please? Just a smidgen of tender love and care from my dearly beloved big brother?” Maglor asked, eyes wide and pleading, hands clasped in front of him as he leaned over the desk. His hair, inky black, spilled all over his scroll.

Maedhros’ nose twitched. His right ear flicked. Oh yes. He was close to a chuckle now, he could tell. His dearly beloved big brother stood no fucking chance.

“Oh dear Eru, let my brother pay attention to - MANWË’S TITS!” Maglor shrieked, springing up from his seat after spotting a dark shadow peeking through the window.

His brother whirled around. Quick as a viper, his hand darted out to grasp the hilt of his sword. Despite this, Maglor could hear a choked noise he was more than halfway certain was the chuckle he had so desperately hunted. Oh well.

A chubby face stared right back at them, eyes round as saucers. Wait, make that two faces.

Both Maglor and Maedhros sagged with relief.

“Elros, can you please come in?” Maglor croaked, feeling five feet to the left of his physical body. “You too, Elrond.”

The two of them nodded bashfully, heads bobbing as they fumbled over to the glass. And they were… flapping. Each twin sported small brown wings on their back, looking much like the falcons Tyelko used to play with as a child. Maglor supposed, thinking of a great bird soaring away over the sea with light itself clutched tight in its talons, maybe they should have expected this one in particular.

Elros pushed once, twice at the windows, tiny arms straining against the pane and looking more panicked by the second. Behind him, Elrond simply pointed to the - oh, the window latch. Yes.

Maedhros stood up and flicked it open. Elros came tumbling through, nearly bashing his skull on the desk before Maedhros caught him midair.

Elrond flew in smoothly and landed on Maglor’s empty chair, wings neatly folding in. Maedhros dumped Elros on his own chair. His wing smacked Maedhros’ arm by mistake.

“We talked about this. No new shapeshifting without me or Maglor there,” Maedhros said, fixing each of them with a stern look.

Both the twins looked down at this. Elrond wrung his little wrists.

“We’re sorry!” Elros burst out, tears welling up in his eyes. “We won’t do it again, promise!”

“That’s what you said last time, sweetheart,” Maglor told him.

“And the time before that,” Maedhros grumbled.

“What we’re saying, dear, is that we understand that you’re sorry. But keeping your word has to take first priority,” Maglor explained softly.

Maedhros coughed.

“Or, er, not doing it again,” Maglor corrected. “That’s what counts.”

“We understand,” Elros sniffled. “It’s just, we wanted to hear, but you weren’t there to check with, because well, you were here, and, well, um, yes -”

“Bringing us to the next point of order,” Maedhros rumbled. He raised a brow at both of them. “Eavesdropping. We have also been over this.”

Oh dear. Elros looked like he was about to drown in a puddle of tears. Maglor rubbed a hand between his shoulder blades soothingly, careful of the new feathery appendages.

Thankfully, Elrond stepped in. “We remember, it’s not nice because we like to be in private sometimes and it’s not fair for us to not let other people be too,” he recited shyly. “Um, we just… we know you both meet up a lot like this, and we know it's important… but… um…” His lip trembled; his voice cracked. “Do you... talk about us? Do you not want us to hear because it’s bad? Because we can do better!” He promised quickly, eyes wide and wet. “Elros is getting really good at his music lessons, he’s practicing a lot! And I’m working on my writing lessons every day!”

Something in Maglor’s chest twisted. “Oh, honey, no -”

But his brother beat him to the punch. Striding out from behind the desk, he knelt down in front of Elrond. “Can I hug you?” he asked very quietly.

Elrond bit his lip and nodded. Without another word, Maedhros wrapped him up in his arms.

They stayed like that for a moment, Maedhros’ hulking frame wrapped around Elrond’s body, like a drape of russet locks, leather and rich furs. When his brother finally pulled away, he gave a heavy look to both children.

“We will never give you away because you’re not good enough. Alright? You will always be good enough. Both of you,” he told them. He reached out and covered Elrond’s tiny hand with his own, fingers curling around and intertwining. “And not because you’re caught up on your lessons, or do what we say.”

“Though those are certainly nice,” Maglor added. He flashed them a teasing grin before taking care to soften his expression once more, and laid a gentle hand on Elros’ shoulder. “You will always have our love. And nothing, not even the worst jam spill, or missed harp lesson - don’t think I didn’t notice that last week, dearest - can ever reach in and steal it. It is your’s by blood and birthright.”

“Love you,” Elros sniffled. Elrond echoed him, voice no less wobbly.

Maedhros gifted them with a small smile. “Love you both, starlights.”

“And -” Elros started, hiccuped, and continued. “And same for me too. Nothing can change that! I’ll always love you two.”

Maglor felt a pang of sickly guilt invade his chest and looked away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Maedhros stiffen.

“Me too,” Elrond said, voice suddenly clear. Maglor glanced at him and met a gaze that seemed years ahead of its time; he froze, rooted to the spot. “We’ll always love you no matter what you do.”

“Well -” Maglor started. “That’s…”

“No need to worry about us,” Maedhros recovered quickly, waving his hand. “Now then, it’s nearing bedtime, hm?”

“But wait!” Elros cried. “What were you two talking about then?”

“Yes! We saw Atya going like this,” Elrond clasped his pudgy hands together and shook them. “And his voice sounded all funny, and then he prayed to Eru about Atar paying more attention to Manwe’s t-”

“ALRIGHT!” Maglor yelped, clapping his hands. His face must’ve been steaming, his cheeks were burning, oh stars - “Bedtime!”

“But we want to know why you were saying all those funny things,” Elros complained loudly. His voice slipped into a high pitched whine, dripping with petulance. “Nelyo, Nelyo, give me attentioooon -”

“I do not sound like that!” Maglor gasped, scooping up a giggling Elrond to be carried to bed.

“I do not sound like that!”

Maglor turned around, gaping. That was not Elros’ voice.

Maedhros stared back. His eyes glinted with mirth and the most shit-eating grin curled his lips. In his arms was a starstruck Elros, who looked no less shocked than if the clouds themselves had just burst into song and danced a lively jig. And quite frankly, Maglor would be less surprised.

Maedhros dealt him one last smirk before twirling on his heel and walking out of the room to go deposit one elfling in his bed. Maglor still had the other, who poked his cheek.

“Atya? Are you okay?”

Slowly, ever so slowly, Maglor felt a smile grow across his face. His eyes stung with tears. He quickly wiped them with his sleeve before they could fatten and spill over his cheeks and probably make Elrond worry even more.

“Wonderful, dear.” He frowned for a second, considering. “Although I think there is a dreadful amount of mockery in my future.”

He looked down at Elrond. His son merely tilted his round head, offering a blank look. Maglor sighed happily. “But that’s okay.”

XXX

In time, it became clear that there was no need to worry about the looming threat of brotherly teasing paid back in full; Maedhros may have been looser with his laughter, but even this was a rare occasion still. Maglor did not mind, for any time he saw his brother’s eyes alight with anything other than fatal passion was a gift.

The true threat that lurked within Amon Ereb made itself known eventually.

Two weeks later, Maglor was scurrying to meet up with one of the smiths to discuss pending repairs but stopped short in front of a small figure in the courtyard blocking his path.

“Not now, sweetheart, Atya’s very busy,” Maglor told Elrond, harried, ready to flag down someone on the way to attend to whatever his son needed.

And then it happened. Elrond’s face crumpled just so. His eyes widened: big, round, and wet. His lip wobbled. When he opened his mouth, his voice took on a tone so absolutely, horribly pitiful that Maglor half-suspected the echo of Lúthien herself lived in his words.

“Please, Atya,” he begged, every word a death sentence. “Give me attentiooon.”

Oh Eru, Maglor despaired, even as he opened his arms for an evil little elfling to leap into, repairs forgotten. I’ve made a monster.

[trixcuomo]

Daily Writing Challenge, Day 3: Romance/Compromised

Another lovely talk show interview, this time with a slew of my Night Elf rogue OCs. And some fun re-caps of hilarious stuff I wrote.

Trixany: *after the Goblin pop theme music dies down* Helloooo and welcome back to DMD! Daily Mail Dalaran is an Azeroth celebrity gossip show where, if you survive the scandal, you're bound to have a good time. And I mean it. Our last episode was a little, uh fiery.

Recorded audience: *staticky laugh track*

Trixany: The stage set and all these red couches are brand new, since the uh *she itches her nose* incident. We haven't re-done the audience section yet. Some of the seats are still smoldering. *she taps her earpiece*

Oh yes, of course. I've just been asked by our producer to find a way to tastefully segue into a moment of silence for the audience members who were lost in the dragon attack from our last episode. *she stares at the camera, then goes 'oops' and bows her head.*

Man. That was so... moving. And um, silent. Now, on with the show! As an exciting change of pace, we are going to focus on something saucy today. Romance and getting so-called compromised is today's theme--haha! So, of course, I reached into my deepest bag of Horde B celebrity tricks yet and brought you... *drumroll sound effect* the entire cast of the acclaimed The Romancers fanfiction series on fanfiction.net! You guys know how I love to break the fourth wall. Alessandre, Wisthera, Opalbane, Faltheriel and the rest, get on out here!!

The Romancers: *a big group of well-dressed, waving Night Elves, two of whom look related with pale blue skin and similar white braided hairstyles, and one blonde Blood Elf in black warlock gear walk onto the stage. An intense, yet playful soap opera themesong plays involving saxaphones*

Recorded audience: *more fake applause and wolf whistles*

Trixany: Yes!! The Romancers! I'm so excited to get you all here at once. Your fic could have been called The Romancers and the Compromised, right? I mean, the mix of spy versus spy and love affairs in that story were the real deal. And I mean that's what daytime drama is all about, getting lost in another world, reading about your favorite video game when you're supposed to be working.

Alessandre: Haha, yes! *touches his black leather saber fang choker* We're all rogues, I guess. The Romancers and the Compromised... that would have been perfect.

Trixany: *fangirl squeal* You're actually here, that sexbomb Alessandre! And how does it feel, everybody? To finally get a cool interview about your years of hard work. And some crazy, steamy scenes, am I right?

The Romancers: *all clap and cheer, share hugs*

Trixany: Damn all the Night Elves here, and you too Faltheriel, are all so beautifully attractive. Hi Faltheriel! You and I actually go way back, you got me this interview.

Faltheriel: *says something sexy in demonic, in his very tempting voice* Vakka tu raxka, melin omderu prushika.

Trixany: Okay, that was hot, and creepy? How do you even do that??

Faltheriel: *the blonde Blood Elf man winks, with eyes done in heavy dark liner and eyeshadow* I won't go into certain details about my life with the Legion. All those stories were based on our real lives, you know.

Trixany: Oh? I suspected, but... really? Honestly, a lot of that was true? Wait, let's start from the beginning before I get carried away. What were your favorite, juiciest scenes from season one, the very first fic. Wisthera, Onyxbane and Priestess Feathershine, I think that was mainly you three, right?

Wisthera: Ho man, well Onyx here was the star. But I guess I'd better re-cap for those folks out there. Mind if I tell it? So, Onyx here was in love with me and a Human mage, Willypearl--she couldn't make it today.

Feathershine: She's moved on--

Onyxbane: Oh, she hates us.

Trixany: Oh? Drama already, it seems!

Wisthera: Yeah, that's the thing. Girlfriend lost her man to moi, a wiley rogue. But the twist was, ontop of all that... Onyxbane had some seriously confused feelings about his own adoptive foster mother.

Trixany: I remember that scene, when everything was kinda tip toeing around that, then he finally came out and said it. Oh my gods--

Onyxbane: Im an excellent uh, actor. So thankfully I was able to pull it off. Yeah, acting that out, that weird confession alone in the mirror was sorta gross but, like at the same time, I was lauging inside, hard. I was thinking like 'this guy is so fucked' haha! 'No matter what happens now, whoever he ends up with, Willy or Wisthera, he is so fucked.' Because it was so ridiculous, right? I mean who actually goes and does that? It was obviously just a setup, a way for me, Onyx, to get slapped in the face after all he put everyone through. His sister Opal was arrested in Stormwind, then they got dragged to Menethil Harbor and had to suffer through his sloppy not wanting to forgive Wisthera who already got arrested, kinda because of him and his family? Then they trek to Silithus and face death multiple times, and he is still flirting with all these women in their group and unable to choose any of them. That 'I'm in love with an older woman who kind of raised me too' mirror scene was just to have people laugh real good at Onyx's bad, bad mistakes.

Trixany: *waggles eyebrows* So, what happened?

Feathershine: What do you mean? I yelled at him and threw him out of my cabin on the ship after he made his pathetic love confession, of course! The writer was cheeky, but that was the point-- Onyx was obviously not going to have an affair with a priestess of Elune, a woman who saw herself as a mother figure to him. I mean matronly women are beautiful too, we deserve love. Priestesses of Elune other than glamorous Tyrande do fall in love and find love, to be sure. But in this case, it was a fantasy within Onyx's own silly himbo mind. Certainly not!

But it was so hard to keep a straight face all through Onyx trying to confess he actually saw me as a milf. And how did we go from the tragedy in Felwood to me being a priestess of Elune and a milf, I don't know.

The Romancers: *all blurt laughter*

Feathershine: It was so, soooo awful! Once an innocent teenage crush that went wrong, I guess. But that boy grew into a pervert, and I could have killed him. I guess that's why I finally snapped and threatened to in season three--or was it four? Something like that.

Trixany: Alright, so we got Feathershine and Onyx's favorite scenes I think. Wisthera, what was your favorite scene from the first fic? Give us something romantic and compromising, okay?

Wisthera: *holds Onyx's hand and leans back, laughing* Ho goddess! Um... I would say the cave scene, yes.

Alessandre: Oh, the cave scene! Yeah!! Haha--Wisthera stepped on this scorpid and then after... well, it was so good. I mean, I hated her and I couldn't have written a better scene for her. The vain, sexy Night Elf woman rogue who had it coming. But, then again, it's also how Wisthera and Onyx finally got together.

Recorded audience: Awww.

Trixany: I have an idea! And it is seriously the best idea. Clips up on the big screen there are one thing, but we have you all here, live! Let's act it out right here. Let's do a scene!

Onyxbane: *raises his white eyebrows* Oh?

Trixany: Yes!! Guys, get on the floor, right now. Let's see how the most romantic, hottest part of the uh, The Romancers series went down. No shame, no judgment. Just go for it, live!

Wisthera: *blushes, stands up from her seat, then thinks carefully and stands on one leg, balancing* Okay, so Onyx? Let's say the stinging scorpid was here and I just stepped on it. Maybe you come in from this side and carry me off in your arms to the cave?

The Romancers: *awkward silence*

Feathershine: *simmering rage as she looks down at Onyx who is kneeling nearby, and has placed his hand on her leg.*

Onyxbane: So... We're not doing this scene? You said we were doing the hottest scene. *turns red* Trixany, you said no judgment!

Feathershine: GET YOUR HAND OFF MY LEG RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN!

Wisthera: Onyx! We're married now, or so I thought. What the fel is wrong with you?

Onyxbane: I got confused, or excited--excited to do the scene, I mean!!

Opalbane: *in her spooky, impassive shadowpriestess drawl* This just in, my brother Onyx is still a pervert. This time for real.

Feathershine: Onyx, I thought we got through this phase. I raised you, you freak! I'm your mother!

Onyxbane: No, I already had a mother. She died back in Felwood when I was a teenage boy and grown. But then this hot older priestess of Elune shows up, named Feathershine, and she tries to raise us--

Feathershine: Right! I adopted you, I'm your foster mother!!

Onyxbane: *hobbles over to Trixany while still on his knees, dodging blows from his female relatives* She's a milf. Why can't this woman accept she's a real-life milf? She's way too hot for her own good. That's how all this really got started--OW!

The Romancers: *all watch Onyx get smacked with couch pillows, then larger furniture, then get chased around the DMD studio.*

Wisthera: Pervert!!! You wanna get compromised? I got two poisoned daggers with your name on them, Onyx!

Trixany: Well, folks. *raises a red couch pillow as a shield* I can only apologize. This episode of DMD got waaay out of control...

Feathershine: Hooligan! I knew all along it wasn't acting because, you hack, you can't act ontop of everything else that's wrong with you!! *runs around and smites Onyx several times with her holy spells*

Trixany: What can I even say? *she laughs, watching the chaos unfold* Tune in next time for more of 'When keepin' your fanfic real goes wrong', here on DMD!

@daily-writing-challenge

[dreamercail]

nanowrimo musings 2.0

so like five years ago I did a little nanowrimo retrospective where I talked a little bit about each story I wrote and what I thought about it. I’ve been thinking of doing another one while also avoiding other responsibilities so join me on this walk down memory lane:

PUTTING UNDER CUT CUZ IT’S A LOT OF WORDS WHOOPS

Silicon (2009) - Oh geez, I hate to even count this one, but it was my first ever nano attempt so I gotta. A story about Theresa Lee, a girl who unknowingly is an android (closer to a cyborg?), and the team running the experiment. I don’t even think I made it to 10,000 words. Features: first attempts at an intergenerational friendship and an interesting framing device. I don’t think I’ve opened the file in at least 10 years. This is probably for the better.

Relapse of Vernadora (2010) - my first NaNo win! Originally started off steampunk inspired but I have no idea what the final product was (there were airships?? and that was really it). A story about a half dozen Chosen Ones™️ who represent ~elemental abilities~ and they have to...save the country they’re in?? Because it happens every couple hundred years?? I don’t really know. Featuring: a fun first half of interconnecting stories and dialogue that sounds like bad anime fan fiction. Overall a yikes from me but I still love Chira Chronum as a character and will until I die.

Colossal (2011) - I will always label this one as the most read amongst people I know. It’s a pretty simple story about a group of teenagers who can see giants and have to go on a road trip to stop the guy who’s bringing them back from the dead. Featuring: a literal ripped from tv tropes 5 man band set up and entirely okay if not weak narration. In the end it’s hard for me to go back to and read because I’ve gotten a lot better but I’m still proud of it. Also the five main teens have such a special place in my heart and I’ll probably never be fully done with them. Also I think my only nano with a sequel?? (that took me like six years to write lmao)

Extinction Could be a Lot Worse (2012) - 300 years after global cataclysm, and humans have become a minority, giving rise to insect- and fish-humanoid hybrids known as Entosaps and Aquacrans. Arata is a kid with a guitar looking for one of the last major human settlements on earth. Featuring: half baked concepts, heavy handed and misguided messages about racism, and one actually decent speech at the end. Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh I’ve never felt great about this one. It didn’t take me long after writing it to realize my messaging was super mixed and not as woke as I thought. Also like a few super problematic parts that make me cringe hard. Not the worst thing ever but not one I go back to.

How to be an Urban Legend (2013) - oh thank god the streak of straight protagonists has been broken. A really fun deuteragonist set up! Aliya is a party girl in need of a job. Morse is a down on her luck, awkward girl with a penchant for local urban legends. Each encounter Mackenzie Fylan, an urban legend known as a parsinct, a person who goes through overwhelming tragedy and emerges with supernatural abilities, and chaotic teleporter. Through a series of events the two girls uncover some peculiar goings ons in the basement of their office building. Featuring: a plot where like not a ton happens and a fun chapter naming convention. In the grand scheme of things an entirely okay story. Not a story with a ton of stakes but it marked a turning point in my writing as far as description writing and narration go. Aliya and Morse are an unstable couple, but I think I take a little too much joy in their dysfunction.

Scribed. (2014) - Most famous for not being finished, rip. In a world where writers are assigned particular individuals to “scribe” their lives, Ariel Hess accidentally discovers he’s being written about by the inexperienced scribe, Maiara Snow. It would’ve been a fun kind of breakdown and commentary on the stories we consume and the protagonists we choose to write about but it never quite made it off the ground (partially due to life being a lot that year). Featuring: really not much but some fun with style/formatting.

The Incredibly Consequential Life of Charlie Zappala (2016) - After having to skip 2015, this was a fun one to write. Also, chaotic cuz I dallied the first half of the month then ended up writing like 22k in 6 days. Charlie is a disillusioned 20-something who always thought they were made for something greater until real life came and beat them with a stick. That is, until an interdimensional elf herald pops out of their refrigerator and claims they’re the Chosen One. From there Charlie has to balance the world of their dreams with the world they know and figure out which is really meant for them. Featuring: first nonbinary protagonist and a whole lot of swearing. Charlie as a character is such an outlet for a lot of processing of what it means to be an adult in this day and age. I love them a lot. Of course, in the manic way the story was written the pacing is wonk and needs some work before it’s the best it can be. Also the only nanowrimo (save the unfinished ones) that never got a proper edit.

a.u. (2017) - HEY DID I MENTION THIS ONE WON AN AWARD. I’m sure I have. To go from no one reading my stories to now thousands of folks having checked this one out is A Lot but also probably one of the coolest things to ever happen to me. Damian is a fresh out of college fuck boy, Alexander is a hipster barista. They meet in a coffee shop, we all know what happens then, right? If by that you meant that a mysterious earthquake comes every morning to the coffee shop and leaves the two with the only memories of it happening, then yes, we all know what happens. A story meant to be an exploration of fan fiction tropes and AUs, but also with an underlying message of what it means to find yourself when the world around you is constantly changing (#kidswhomovedalotproblems). Very admittedly nervous that I was gonna come across as fetishizing mlm relationships just by nature exploring the typical “””””BL plot””””” so that’s probably what’s stopped me from out right asking people I know to read it haha. Featuring: boys kissing and some actually damn good analogies that I have yet to replicate. Did I mention it won an award? And currently has 30k reads?? Anyway read it online. No shame.

Road to Arcadia (2018) - Boy does this one have my whole heart. Set in a very nearby future (about 30 years) in a world where we did jack shit about climate change (so like current trajectory), Kai Gilling sets off to the desert to look for something better. On the way he encounters a pair of siblings and a woman who says she has a map to Arcadia, an urban legend rumored to be the only city thriving during these hellish times. Cue: desert road trip story. I’d been wanting to write a desert road trip story for ages and the route the characters follow is nearly identical to one my dad and I took on a road trip the preceding summer, so it all came together. Featuring: a main cast where none of the characters are cis/het and Jeep Wranglers. The letters Kai writes back home have some of my favorite writing and some raw emotion and thoughts from me. It’s not perfect in its execution and it doesn’t have the playfulness that a.u. has, but it’s really special to me. Also available online! (not as many reads tho working on that one)

EXCAVATOR: Tales from the Twelve Vessels (2019) - Probably my first real big step into hardcore sci-fi and another deuteragonist tale. In the future, out in the deep recesses of space, flies the jaundian coalition, a group of twelve spaceships housing orphaned races from across the universe, most notably the sapiens (ya humans) and the nkrey (kinda like a mix between grey aliens and high elves). The story follows Meera, a wide-eyed Idealist looking to work planetside and Sauk, a convicted criminal who would like to do not that. Shenanigans ensue. It’s definitely out of my comfort zone to write something in a world so unfamiliar and it was hard to do a nanowrimo story when half the time needed was for world building. Also still not fully finished to this day. I got the 50k but still have a lot left to write in terms of plot. Featuring: ALIENS and sassy teammates. One that I probably won’t know how to feel about until at least another year or so.

Thanks so much for reading!! And oh man I’m only scraping the surface of a lot of this. If you ever wanna know one thing I could talk forever about it’s my stories and characters.

[daisy-chain-gardens]

Exchange Romance - Chapter 19

A/N: Here it is, the final chapter. Sorry for the delay but I hope this makes up for it (and makes up for the cruel cliffhanger I left the last chapter on).

Ginormous thanks to Jenna ( @allskynostars ). You are a true superstar and I love you a lot. Thank you thank you thank you, this fic wouldn't be what it is without you <3

READ IT IN AO3

Betts: Are you free to talk?

Juggie: …

Juggie: Yep. Gimme a minute to set up my laptop

Betts: ok

“Hey Betts. Sorry it took me a bit to reply, I was just having dinner.” Jughead sat down in front of his computer, slightly out of breath after sprinting up the stairs as soon as he saw Betty’s message.

“Don’t worry about it Jug. I just wanted to catch up. I feel like I haven’t talked to you in ages.” Betty was sitting in her bedroom, hair still wet from the beach as she wrapped her towel tighter around herself, using it as shelter from the cool summer breeze that was drifting through her window.

“It’s only been a week,” Jughead said with a chuckle, reaching up and tugging his beanie off his head before running his fingers through his hair.

“I know, I know,” Betty replied with an exaggerated sigh, rocking onto the hind two legs of her chair as she leant away from the screen. Jughead could tell there was something on her mind, something that she wanted to share. He hadn’t seen her in person in a year and a half but he could still read her like an open book.

“Betts, what’s going on?” His voice was low and teasing, that playful smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he waited for her reply.

“Well…” she started off, sitting properly on her chair again as she contemplated how to tell him her news. “Guess what came in the mail today.” Jughead’s face immediately lit up, his smile causing his eyes to sparkle as he ran his fingers through his hair again.

“No way! It showed up today?”

“It did! I got home from my exam and it was in the letterbox! Oh my God, Jug, you have no idea how excited I am about this,” Betty squealed as she waved the letter around in front of the screen, jumping up and down while still holding her towel tight.

“Betts, that’s incredible. I’m so proud of you.” She calmed down enough to sit at her desk, the smile on her face was anything but calm. Her eyes skimmed over the letter, despite having memorised it after she’d read over it a hundred times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

Dear Ms. Cooper, Congratulations! I am delighted to offer you admission to our Bachelor of Arts course at Victoria University, starting March the 5th, 2019. Your academic accomplishments, extracurriculars…

“How was the beach?” Jughead’s voice broke her out of her daydream as she looked back up at the screen, a confused look on her face.

“Huh?” Betty asked, not quite able to put two and two together.

“How was the beach? Your hair’s all wet and I can see your bathing suit under your towel,” Jughead explained with a light chuckle, shaking his head slightly at her obliviousness.

“Oh, right. It was good, a lot of fun. Kev and I went to celebrate him finishing his last exam. We talked, we swam, we sunbathed. You know, the usual.”

“Say hi to Kevin for me next time you see him. And good luck for your last exam tomorrow. How are you feeling?”

“Not too bad actually. I did pretty good on my mocks and I am kinda good at Media so I’m not stressing out … yet.” They both laughed, knowing she was referring to how she always freaks out at the last minute, worrying she isn’t prepared enough and wishing she’d stayed up an extra half hour the night before, only to walk out of the exam room with an excellence every time.

“Well you would think they wouldn’t let you study it in college if you weren’t amazing at it Betts. Give yourself some credit.” A delicate blush spread across her cheeks at the compliment, her smile softening. She still wasn’t used to the offhand comments Jughead would make that always seemed to make her day just that little bit brighter, her smile that little bit wider. He lived for her smile, and knowing he was the one that caused it made his heart swell.

They sat in silence for a few moments, just looking and memorising, both of them itching to reach out and touch the other, even if only for a second.

“You know what today is, don’t you?” He said it so softly the speaker distorted his voice, forcing Betty to strain to hear the words she didn’t want to, a reminder she didn’t need. She nodded slightly, her eyes never leaving his as they both took a deep breath.

“A whole year Jug.” Betty’s voice was thick with disbelief, the words tumbling out of her mouth before her brain could approve of them.

“We’ve been broken up longer than we were physically together,” Jughead said with a short chuckle, laughing at the irony rather than the situation itself.

“I miss you Jug,” Betty breathed out, knowing that Jughead would hear the I love you hidden in her words.

“I miss you too Betts.”

--------------------

“Merry Christmas!” Betty chirped once Jughead accepted her chat request. His smile instantly lit up the screen as he took her in; her red and white striped top perfectly matching her santa hat.

“Wow, did Santa’s elves kidnap you or are you dressed like that voluntarily?” Jughead teased while wiping his screen.

“Haha very funny. It’s 26 degrees here so Christmas sweaters aren’t really an option,” Betty clarified and she fixed her hat.

“You now that 26 means nothing to me. If you say 26 I’m thinking less than freezing and that's obviously not the case.”

“Right. I forgot. Give me a sec,” Betty said as she pulled out her phone, opening up the conversion app that had gotten a lot of use over the last 18 months. “About 79 fahrenheit. I know that's not super hot but trust me, that’s practically boiling in Wellington when there’s no wind.”

“That whole summer Christmas thing is so strange to me. How do you have snowball fights and hot cocoa and s’mores?” Jughead asked bewilderedly, breaking into a grin once Betty realised he was joking.

“In short, we don’t. We just get to hang out at the beach and have barbeques instead.” Her voice sounded smug and matter of fact as she pulled out the parcel that had been hidden under her desk since the postman had delivered it a week ago.

“Alright Jug, I know this is what you’ve been itching to do since you got yours. You ready to open presents?” His eyes grew wide with excitement as a rushed to the closet and pulled out his own parcel, the one that Betty had wrapped in brown paper and Christmas coloured string.

“I feel like we should be doing a countdown or something,” he heard her mumble light-heartedly as he sat back down in front of his computer.

“No need for that babe, you go first.” That both froze at the endearment; Jughead with a look of terror on his face that he’d overstepped their unspoken boundaries while Betty tried to carry on as if nothing had happened, sending him that soft smile of hers that instantly melted all of his fears.

The tremble in her hand as she carefully unstuck the tape wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Jug, this is beautiful,” Betty exclaimed as she finally unwrapped the festive paper, revealing a brown leather journal.

“Open it,” Jughead instructed quietly as he watched her, trying and failing to anticipate her reaction.

“Oh my goodness.” She was completely out of words as she undid the elastic band and opened up to the middle of the journal, Jughead’s familiar scrawl filling the page in front of her. She flipped through the second half of the pages and found the same thing; black ink in the form of Jughead’s words filling up the white pages.

“Juggie, what is this?” She could feel the tears threatening to spill over the edge as her eyes finally met his. Seeing the confliction in her eyes scared him, made him wonder if he’d done the right thing by sending it to her. He’d written in it most days since that fateful Friday night when everything had changed but somehow nothing did. He’d sent it to her on an impulse, after spending most days over the previous two weeks on the lookout for the perfect present, only to come home empty handed each time.

“It’s … it’s us, it’s our story.” She stayed quiet as she stared down at the journal in her hands, unable to tear her eyes away from the note he’d left for her on the first page.

Betts, Last year I promised to love you and always be there for you. Even without you here with me, I still plan on keeping that promise. This is for us, for you, mostly for you. I miss you, Your Jughead

Her fingers were running over the paper as if it would help her memorise the words, help the soak into her skin so she could wear them forever.

“I’m sorry Betty, I didn’t mean to overstep. I just … I thought you should have it,” He trailed off quietly as she kept staring at the ink stained pages, his fingers relentlessly pulling at that misbehaving strand of hair that refused to leave his forehead.

“No, Jug, this is … I have no words,” she managed out through a hiccup, looking up at him. “This is perfect Jug, really.” He let out the breath he wasn’t aware he’d been holding at her reassurance, relieved he hadn’t ruined whatever was happening between them.

“Your turn,” she said with a soft smile as she carefully redid the elastic and placed in on the side of her desk, saving it for later. He managed to pull the string apart as he ripped at the paper, Betty laughing at his enthusiasm.

“Betts,” Jughead drawled as he held his gift up to the laptop so she could see it, his smile wide on his face. It was a scrapbook identical to the one he’d given her at the airport, the same picture of them atop the Empire State Building gracing the cover. The only difference was what was inside, his professional looking photos that proved his eye for art were replaced by her photos, the goofy selfies she’d forced him to take and the photos she’d sneaked in when he wasn’t paying attention. This was her version of the story, their story.

“You should have,” he said with a grin as he lay it down on the desk, flipping carefully through the pages as he skimmed over the pictures. “This is great Betts. Thank you.”

“Merry Christmas Jug,” she said with a gentle smile.

“Merry Christmas. I miss you,” he replied, echoing her tone.

“I miss you too.”

--------------------

“Jug, I can’t hear you, there’s too much noise in the background,” Betty yelled to her computer as she watched Jughead turn up the noise on his laptop, people wandering in every direction behind where he sat. “Where are you anyway?”

“Oh um…” Jughead trailed off, looking around him to figure out how much she could see. Everything, she could see everything. “I am, uh, at the, uh, at the airport actually,” Jughead stammered as his hand reached up to run through his hair, twirling the strands determinedly.

“The airport?” He could hear the surprise in Betty’s voice and all he really wanted was to change to subject and stop her from asking anymore questions. He knew her well enough to know that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. “Why are you at the airport?”

“It may be hard for you to believe but I’m actually waiting to get on a plane,” Jughead quipped over the noise, a teasing lilt in his voice.

“Haha very funny. I’m not that stupid thank you very much. I mean where are you going?” Now Jughead was really beginning to panic. He couldn’t tell her the truth, could he? No, no he couldn’t.

“Uh, Veronica decided on an impromptu trip to New York but the chauffeur is sick so she booked us on the next flight?” The question in his voice gave him away and as soon as the words fell out of his mouth he wanted to stuff them back in and lock them away.

“Are you asking me if that’s what’s happening or is that what’s actually going on?” Betty teased, that curious glint in her eyes telling Jughead she was onto him.

“Definitely what’s going on. Mhmm. The absolute truth.” Jughead nodded enthusiastically, making him look more like a dog then an actual human being as he tried to convince her of his lie. “Anyways, enough about me. How’s it going for you Betts? You excited for Monday?” Jughead asked quickly, hoping to distract her. Her eyes narrowed as she studied him, almost as if she could see the truth swimming around in the depths of her eyes. He could almost see the cogs turning in her head as she tried to figure out what he was up to. Eventually, she seemed to realise he wouldn’t tell her and moved on to answer her question.

“I’m good, always good. I’m super excited for Monday, constant butterflies in my stomach kind of nervous. I can’t believe my first day at university is only a couple of days away, it’s insane.” She settled back into her usual self as she filled him in on everything that had happened since they had talked the week before; moving into her flat, her crazy vegan flatmate who insisted all of their animal products be moved to a seperate fridge so it didn’t ‘contaminate’ her food, various last minute shopping trips, and her time spent with Kevin.

“Well I’m glad you’re happy Betty,” Jughead said softly, Betty hearing the support in his words even over the hustle and bustle of the people in the background.

“I really am Jug. I haven’t felt this way in a while and it’s so … refreshing. I don’t feel like my mother is watching my every move and I got into my top uni and I have a job that doesn’t look like it’ll be going anywhere and I … it’s just really nice, to be independent, you know? I feel like I’m finally doing something purely for me and it’s really exciting.” Her eyes were twinkling as she talked, letting Jughead know that she meant every word of it.

“I just wish you could be here with me.”

It came out as a whisper, a thought spoken aloud as she fiddled with the tassels on one of the pillows on her bed. Such a short confession that almost broke his heart. Almost.

“I do too. I miss you Betts, so much, and I’m super sorry but I have to go because they’re about to call my flight. I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Have a good flight, we’ll talk later,” Betty promised as she started shutting her laptop.

“Talk later,” he signed off before the screen went black.

Only one thought was floating around Betty’s usually crowded mind; Riverdale didn’t have an airport.

--------------------

Betty quickly glanced at herself in the mirror before she walked out of the door and towards her first class. The butterflies in her stomach wouldn’t calm down as she smoothed down her hair and straightened her jacket, took a deep breath, and grabbed her keys off the hook in the hallway before she could psych herself out.

The walk to the campus only took a handful of minutes and Betty spent the whole time caught up in her thoughts, barely noticing the asphalt under her feet or the birds chirping in her ears. She found the right building and walked up the two flights of stairs to her class, a path she’d memorise the night before after spending hours pouring over the maps the university had provided for first-year students.

She was 20 minutes early, perfectly on time for her ‘mental health and disorder: interdisciplinary perspectives’ class. She hadn’t been entirely sure what it was about but after reading through some of the resources that the professor had sent them the week before, Betty was fairly confident she wouldn’t be completely lost during this first class.

She pulled her book out of her bag and started reading, figuring she might as well kill some time and try to distract herself before her other classmates arrived. The words of ‘The Princess Bride’ drawing her in immediately as her eyes flew over the pages, taking comfort in the familiar words.

“This is true love. You think this happens everyday?” A male voice pulled Betty from the pages, forcing her back into the real world as she looked up beside her to where the voice was coming from. And standing right beside her, in the middle of the now fairly crowded corridor, was none other than Jughead Jones.

“Jug?” Betty asked in disbelief, her eyes wide open as she took him in. Before he had a chance to give her a sarcastic response, her arms were thrown around his neck as she crushed herself against him, holding him tightly as though he was going to disappear in the next breath. “I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered into his ear, immediately making him relax as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

“Surprise,” he whispered back, feeling her smile into his shoulder. They eventually untangled themselves as someone around them coughed loudly, hinting not-so-subtly that it was time to break things up.

“But - you - what, what are you doing here?” Betty stumbled over her words as she tried to make a mess out of the jumble of thoughts in her mind. Jughead was here, in Wellington, right beside her, in her university? This was going to take a lot of explaining.

“I uh, I’m studying here. I got into the film program on a scholarship and I guess our programs share some courses. I was planning on telling you but then I made the mistake of letting Arch know and, well, you know how it goes. He told Ron and then Ron took it upon herself to watch my every move to make sure I didn’t tell you to keep this a surprise,” Jughead summed up, knowing that wouldn’t be enough of an explanation for Betty but hoping it would be okay for now as the professor was now walking down the corridor towards the class.

“I’m really happy you’re here Jug,” Betty said softly as she slipped her hand into his, letting their fingers intertwine.

“I am too,” Jughead replied as his thumb brushed over the back of her hand, bringing her that certain kind of peace she only felt when she was with him.

“I missed you,” she whispered into his ear as they made their way into the lecture hall, the rustle and bustle of everyone preparing their things giving Jughead enough time to whisper back as they slipped into their seats.

“I missed you too.”

--------------------

As soon as the professor finished his lecture, Betty raced to pack up her things and made her way out the door, dragging Jughead along behind her. She stopped abruptly as soon as they got out of the building, looking around for a moment before finding a park bench nearby and leading him to it, sitting down facing him before taking a deep breath.

“Okay, so Jug, I need you to start from the start and explain this entire thing to me because my head is spinning. This is so insane and I am so happy you’re here with me and that you flew all the way to New Zealand is just unbelievable and I just s-”

“Betty,” Jughead said through a laugh, reaching for her hands to cut off her ramblings before he had to fight any harder to get a word in edgeways. “I will answer all of your questions, I promise. There’s just one little thing I have to do first and then I’m all yours.” Betty’s animated expression sunk a little at his words.

“Oh, yeah, okay. I could meet up with you later at the Mojo on the corner if you want? How about in an hour? Wait, you probably don’t know your way around yet s-” Jughead’s lips came crashing onto hers, his hands now cupping her face so as to pull her closer. Her eyes widened in surprise before fluttering closed once her brain realised what was happening, bringing her own hands up to play with the stray hairs at the nape of his neck.

Jughead pulled away slowly, reluctantly, breathing in as much of Betty in that moment as he possibly could. His hands stayed on her soft skin, gently stroking her blushed cheeks.

“Okay, now I’m all yours,” Jughead announced with a sly smile, proud that he was able to bring up enough courage to actually go through with his plan. Betty sat there, slightly stunned, as she realised that was the thing he said he had to do.

“That was incredibly smug Jones,” Betty shot back, failing to keep any hint of malice in her tone as she failed to control her grin. Jughead stood up and draped his arm across her shoulders, pulling her into his side and placing a kiss on her temple as they started walking towards the exit.

Betty wasn’t exactly sure what would happen, she wasn’t even sure how it happened. All she knew was that she suddenly felt like she could do anything, and with Jughead by her side, she knew she would.

[muszyart]

The Castle Inspectors Chp 1: The Squeaking Butler of Blackwater Keep

The first chapter of an original fantasy episodic series with sleeping dragons, royal drama, and magical forms. Captain Emlynn Anwhistle leads her ragtag group of the Empire’s most expendable agents throughout the land to fight their way through castles. 

Words: 5199

"We're heading to the end

Of the Carollan Bend!

Over the sea of storms!

A land of castles, magic, and forests, and wars.

Where dragons fly and heroes die!

Their kingdoms rise and fall.

And some don't matter at all!

Where dragons fly and heroes die!

Stray not beyond the walls!

Or you won't matter at all.

Way-hey! The Carollan Bend!

The Carollan Bend on the world's end! Hey!"

The joyful, rollicking chantey of the ship's sailors rang over the rough roars of waves and crashing tides. And the sky had long disappeared behind a sheet of gray clouds that enveloped the heavens, all except for a small opening on the horizon, where their destination finally could be seen. Carollan didn't call it the sea of storms for nothing; however, the captain continued to exclaim extreme phrases of excitement and gratitude towards the Gods. They hadn't sunk and were going to arrive three days ahead of schedule. After hearing this news, the four agents of the Empire were relieved, never wishing to take a boat ever again.

"Sailors are quite superstitious people," Emlynn Anwhistle cheerfully explained to her friend, once they were alone, of course, and the burly-looking captain was out of sight, "they think us arriving so safely across the sea of storms is a good omen!" With that, she returned to her book: the Histories of Kings in the Carollan Bend: 112-327 ADR by Rance Villesrow.

"At least it'll be over with soon," her second-in-command Lysander Bradenchad wheezed. His face had turned green. "Emma, I think I'm going to be sick."

"Stand up and look straight ahead!" Anwhistle sang as if she knew all there was to know about ships. That's how she was about many things. Navigation, botany, cooking, history, and language, Emma boasted a plethora of subjects that she cherished yet knew almost nothing about. Her enthusiasm for learning was justified and fueled by her modest belief that she knew absolutely nothing at all. She decided to take her own advice as Lysander scoffed, and she gazed toward the bow of the ship.

A wooden dragon adorned the vessel's bow, and the shining monster of mahogany and oak bobbed up and down against the waves. Pointing its snout towards Carollan, it raced straightaway for the coastal settlement in the distance, Mairgandale, the first and largest city in a land unknown to them. Although she always wished to pick up a book to imagine the world, the thought of actually experiencing it made her unreasonably nervous. She brushed a strand of her salty, windswept hair behind her ear, and felt one of her amber earrings. Elves had made them years ago, her grandmother had told her. Family heirlooms of the Anwhistles. It had only been a few days, and she already longed for home.

Home, she thought, as she observed a familiar face sitting on the bow of the ship with Lysander's little brother. For now, she would be her only home. A young woman near her age, maybe a little older, they never knew for sure. She was majestic, sitting precariously on the ship's railing without fear. Brown hair flying all around and bundled up in her purple, Imperial uniform shielding herself from the cold. Emma caught glimpses of her profile; she was listening to the young man beside her but facing steadfast toward the wind and sea.

"It looks like Arryn and your brother have the right idea," she smirked, expecting to see Lysander beside her, only to find the mountainous man ill and curled up in a ball on the floor near her feet. She bent down and placed a hand on his beefy shoulder.

"And then my brother and I finally graduated from the Academy together; I was two years ahead, he was one year behind-- don't mention that to him, haha!" The little brother, a young man but still almost a boy, chattered on. The two at the bow shared the same excitement; however, Kenneth Bradenchad was more vocal about it.

Arryn played with a compass in her hand. Kenneth had been telling the quiet girl, his new co-worker, the saga of his life ever since they found themselves together at the bow of the ship. She occasionally responded to him with a smile or a polite "uh-huh." Unengaged due to her inner enthusiasm for Carollan, she looked onwards toward the sea and the large city ahead. Finally, she will have her great adventure. To go beyond what she was thought capable of, to be there with her best friend. Perhaps she could find others who understood her.

"I like you, Arryn," Kenneth remarked softly. She had intrigued him with her reserved mysticalness, representing the fantastic idea of finally having someone to listen to him. Arryn abruptly snapped back from her inner world.

"Hm?" She looked at him nervously.

"I said, I like you, Arryn Seagrass. You listen to me. You understand." He stated, honestly. She turned closer to face him more, trying to paint a picture of attention. "While I also like Emlynn, I think she's kind; however, she sometimes takes the conversation to another place... and I always feel that I can't stop her because... well, she's my boss. And Lysander would rather die than listen, but he's put up with me for much longer. Thank you, Arryn." The young man tilted his head, grinned, then looked down. Arryn smiled and relaxed.

"It's no problem," she decided to say, then tapped her fingers, waiting for Kenneth to speak again. She felt a little sorry for him, at least Emma knew whenever she had stopped listening.

"Do you have any family?" Kenneth finally asked, leaning against the railing.

"Hm? Oh, no, I don't." Arryn shook her head slowly. She saw a look of worry in Kenneth's eyes. "But... I have Emma, though. And the Anwhistles." She glanced back towards the rear of the ship, and she found where the two unadventurous members of the group sat. Arryn's eyes widened in surprise, noticing Emma had been looking at her the whole time, she quickly turned forwards, and Kenneth saw her cheeks flushing red. He looked back towards Emlynn, who giggled and returned to her giant book. Arryn completely froze, staring at a small part of the wooden dragon for a little while.

"Would you like to see a magic trick?" Kenneth exclaimed. Arryn nearly jumped.

"A what-" Her voice trailed nervously.

"A magic trick?"

"A... magic-" her eyes darted around. Kenneth noticed a distinct fear in them, but he could not judge if it were nerves or excitement. Perhaps some feelings resurfaced from a childhood fear. He got up and decided the trick ought to help anyway. Young Bradenchad snapped his fingers, creating small, multicolored sparks, the girl flinched. Then he removed his oversized hat and showed her its empty interior. Arryn made a rapid glance downwards to see it, then her eyes returned to his, still fearful. She began to shake. The boy smiled then reached down into his hat, miming that it was a longer reach than physically possible, and pulled a brown rabbit out of it.

"Ta-dah! This is Marco!" He announced, giving a slight bow towards the sitting, bundled, and shivering girl leaning far back in the bow of the ship. Arryn looked away, back towards the sea. "Um, Arryn?"

She didn't respond and buried her face in her arms.

"Did- did I do something wrong?" He whispered, finally observing the fear and anguish in her. Arryn remained silent except for a few muffled sobs that escaped her cloak. Kenneth stuffed Marco back into his hat and stumbled back to the other end of the ship, trying his best to dart around the crewmen at work hoisting ropes and moving cargo to be ready when unloaded. They neared the city. Lysander was still curled up, so Kenneth stepped over his brother and plopped down next to Emlynn. The young man saluted in all seriousness, which she returned with a playful eye-roll. She watched as he sat stiffly and tapped his fingers together. All while watching the bundle of purple uniform and flying brown hair curled at the bow of the ship.

"What's up?" Emma tilted her head, observing his change in mannerisms.

"Emlynn, I think I messed up talking to Arryn," Kenneth mumbled. Emma, confused at first, finally noticed her friend: the weeping, purple blob at the bow of the ship.

"Yeah, it looks like it."

"Is she afraid of rabbits?"

"What?" Emma asked in a confused laugh.

"Um, is she scared of rabbits?"

She scratched her head. "Um, no, I don't think so, why?"

"Well, I asked her if I could do a magic trick, and I did it... then she looked at me like I killed her family, and now she's like that." He sank farther into the seat, becoming smaller and smaller. Emma nodded.

"Oh, Arryn's not afraid of rabbits, she's afraid of magic." She answered matter-of-factly.

"Huh? Why?"

"Ehhh, it's not my story to tell you, Kenz." She returned to her book, then looked up again, realizing that it wasn't quite a reassuring answer. "Someday soon, she'll open up and tell you, but not if you do more magic tricks. She'll be fine."

"Hmm." Kenneth wanted to apologize, so he started to get up. Emma quickly pulled him back down into the seat.

"Leave it. She'll be fine." She returned to her book, she simpered.

The captain climbed up to a balcony and roared, "We're almost home, boys! Bring her away! Prepare to dock!"

"Way-hey! The Carollan Bend!

The Carollan Bend on the world's end! Hey!"

Emma and Kenneth rose together and pulled up Lysander. The large young man carefully placed one foot in front of the other with a gigantic arm over each of their shoulders. The two guided him to the bow of the ship, helplessly stumbling through and between the crewmen all at work running in different directions. A few sailors bumped into them with barrels or ropes over their shoulders.

"Watch it!" Emma snapped. Each one would roll his eyes, and then she would flare, scrunching up her nose, ready to give them a piece of her mind. Kenneth would have to drag both her and his brother along. Finally, they reached the bow. Emma pulled Arryn up who wiped her nose with her sleeve, and looked on with all of them.

Towers and buildings in the city grew taller and broader as they finally came into the docks. A fleet of ships from all corners of the world joined them coming into the cove. In one of the towers, a large bell rang triumphantly, and suddenly, there was a roar of hundreds, maybe thousands of people in the harbor cheering. Yellow and red lanterns drifted upwards into the sky, a few floating close to them. Emma and Arryn reached down to raise a few that were drifting down to the water. Small pieces of paper in red, yellow, green, and blue were tossed into the air creating a light snow of color. Lysander's mouth lay wide open in wonder but immediately shut in a panic once the boat started to bob again slightly.

Bypassing the outer docks, they entered a canal leading deeper into the city. People gathered on either side and cheered. Some looked down from bridges that they sailed underneath. They threw lanterns, flowers, and more colored paper, a few throwing coins onto the boat that the sailors were happy to gather, stomping on the flowers and the rest. Emma smiled, seeing their pleasant and overjoyed faces. She waved to everyone she could, Kenneth followed suit, Arryn gave a small wave to a happy child who shared a glance with her. The color, the glow, and the ringing of the bells altogether formed a prideful, paraded image of Mairgandale. Although the place reeked of salt and fish, the stone and wooden buildings were sea-stained, with its light and life, the four saw the most beautiful city they had ever seen.

It all made sense to Emma and Lysander. They were heroes. The Empire brought trade to the fishing city from the farthest edges of the world, and protection from the Viking raids that haunted their shores. Both of these things allowed the population to grow happily and wealth to flow endlessly into their hands. The two dusted off their uniforms in pride and ceremonially tilted their hats to the side. Uplifted, they were soldiers of the Empire: the greatest civilization Evegost had ever seen. Lysander saluted to the men and young boys. Emma's eyes lit up, and she beamed.

"Hello! Thank you! What- what's with the party, Captain?" Emma wondered, looking over to the strong, scarred, mustached man who had escorted them. "Is it for us?"

The captain wheezed and roared laughing. "For you?! The Castle Inspectors?! By Gods and the almighty sea, of course not!" He howled and cackled. "You're here early, and why would anyone throw a party for you and your fancy little hats and badges?! Some prince or hero or princess must be arriving today. Perhaps my aunt..."

Emma's face flushed red. She scrunched up her nose and folded her arms.

"Your aunt is famous? Is she a hero?" Kenneth asked innocently. The Captain roared and laughed again.

"Aye, she raised seventeen children with only one leg, and once crapped in Lord Blackwater's carriage! A fine hero she is!"

"He's being sarcastic, Kenneth," Lysander explained, lightly smacking his brother's head.

"I know that!" The boy pouted, then fixed his hat.

Finally, they arrived at their dock, and a ramp was lowered to bridge the gap. Some sailors marched down with barrels and crates before the castle inspectors, who began to descend with their packs over their shoulders and with their regal, purple uniforms buttoned and straightened. They noticed the faces of the people of Mairgandale squinting at them and then realizing that they weren't famous people. Just Imperial soldiers, one by one, they turned to find another ship. A young boy in a tattered hat handed Emma a small wooden doll, raising her spirits again.

"Those are for the princess!" His mother snapped at him then gave Emma a forced smile, she quickly dragged him along before he handed out things for the rest of them. Emma stuffed her book into her coat and examined the doll. It was as smooth as a river stone, depicting a queen or a princess holding a longsword. A large crown adorned her head; the carving was so well-crafted that it was even detailed with buttons on her dress and braids in her hair. A small leather strand was attached to it, making it a necklace. Beautiful and detailed, she instantly loved it.

"I wonder which princess is here." She pondered in a cheerful voice, almost lost in the noise of the crowd.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just get moving." Lysander ushered her and the rest of them along.

"But we don't even know where we're going," Arryn scoffed and placed her hands on her hips.

"We're three days early, too!" Kenneth added.

"Well, then that means we'll be able to get the adventure over with, three days earlier," Lysander responded blankly. Almost with a sense of relief.

"Not much of an adventure, really, we'll just do the inspection, grab something to eat, and find a place to stay before it gets too dark." Emma draped the necklace over her head.

"Can't we get a break? I really don't feel like finding the castle right now." Kenneth moaned.

"I mean, he has a point, the castle isn't going anywhere," Arryn mentioned.

"After that, we can stay in the city for a while, seems like a non-stop party!" Emma reassured them.

With that, there was a crash of thunder. The bells stopped ringing, and the sky began to pour. People groaned and tried to get under the edges of roofs over the street or bridges. The paper and lanterns, wet, began to fall from the sky. Arryn folded a dowsed one into her coat before it became too wet. Decorations began to fall from the walls. Men cursed, women sighed, and children began to wail.

"Yup, non-stop party." Lysander snickered.

"Nevermind then, just our luck..." Emma scrunched up her nose and wrapped her coat and scarf tightly around her. Determined to still have fun, she looked at her friends with a giant grin. She dashed forward towards a large puddle and leaped into it. She continued to splash as they trudged up the street. Giggling, she begged Arryn to follow suit. The reserved girl began to laugh and took Emma's hand as they jumped into gutters and potholes.

"Emma! We're gonna be soaked!" Arryn chuckled.

"Who cares?!" Emma continued splashing. "Maybe some fire-breathing dragon took over the castle. He'll dry us off!"

"I highly doubt that." Lysander pouted. "It's never that exciting. We go in, and the Lords tell us their whole life story. And we're filling out a dozen forms. We find out they've been fighting over this piece of land with the other Lords for the past three centuries. Then we need to go and inspect parts of the castle that even they haven't gone into or knew existed. Oh, there are some goblins in my Narren tower! But then it's just some rats. It's gross and boring."

"But... puddles!" Emma cheered.

Kenneth stomped his shoe into a puddle, then stepped back quickly.

"What are you doing, Kenneth?" Asked Lysander when his brother nearly bumped into him.

"I'm afraid to get wet!"

"But it's raining, dummy!" Emma turned around to face him, walking backward.

"That's true," Kenneth looked up towards the sky. "But I don't want to get too wet. Mother would always say that it's a bad idea to walk around with damp socks."

"I do recall her saying that," Lysander recalled. "You remember her well!"

"Hmm," Emma shrugged and moved on in her Epicurean ways. "Come on, kid!"

Kenneth resisted his urge to refuse; he did feel like it was an order from his boss. His high-spirited, strange, and eccentric captain. He leaped forward and created the biggest splash he could, drenching Emma and Arryn in front of him. The two stared at him for a moment. He feared for his life. Then the two began to laugh uncontrollably. Emma kicked her boot through a shallow pool, a steady stream of water splattered onto Kenneth's face.

"Emma!" He called out, chuckling, trying to block some with his hands. The young woman stopped and smiled radiantly.

"Wow, Kenneth, that's the first time you-"

The sound of hooves accompanied the rain, and a group of four knights on white horses came barrelling towards them from around the corner. Fearing to be run over, the castle inspectors rushed over to the sidewalks, Kenneth, not knowing which side to go, got pulled over in the last second by his brother.

"Whoa!" The leading knight halted and turned back toward them. "Ah! Castle Inspectors! If it weren't for the purple, I wouldn't have known it was you! I couldn't believe it when the watchtower told us you came early." He wore chainmail with a long, black tunic, and he held a sturdy lance and shield. Attaching both to his horse's saddle, he dismounted and removed his bucket helmet to reveal a red face with damp ginger hair and a curled mustache.

"Hello, pardon me, but who are you, exactly?" Emma outstretched her hand. The knight removed his glove and shook it.

"Why, Sir Stanley, Captain of the Guard, we are here to escort you to Blackwater Keep!"

"Oh, wonderful!" Emlynn beamed. "My apologies, I'm Captain Emlynn Anwhistle, these are my soldiers: Seagrass, and the Old and Young Bradenchad. I didn't think that anyone knew that we were coming."

"Well, Empress Moyry sent all the lords of Carollan letters, but the people inland won't be as prepared nor welcoming." Sir Stanley smirked and bowed. "But, we best take you to the castle!"

"Excellent, are there horses for us?" Emma innocently implied, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"You didn't bring your own?" Sir Stanley tilted his head.

"Well, we were just on a boat..." Arryn rolled her eyes. Emma shot her a look.

"It seems we will have to share," Sir Stanley groaned and then mounted. Emma prepared to be helped up, but instead, he pulled her up off the ground and threw her onto the back.

"Ow!" The same happened for the rest, except for Lysander, who was too big for the small last knight to lift. He climbed on his own accord and squished the soldier and strained his horse.

"Onward! To Blackwater! Ya!" Sir Stanley galloped on with Emma lying on her stomach behind him, her face fuming, Kenneth could almost see smoke coming out of her ears. Every bump was an uncomfortable blow to her gut; she also feared to lose anything from her pack. Her hat flew off into a gutter. There was a crack somewhere, she panicked, thinking it was the necklace.

"Sir Stanley!" She cried a few times. "Sir Stanley!"

"Ah, what is it, fair lady?" He asked, plainly over his shoulder.

"I don't appreciate these accommodations!" She yelled.

"Over walking and the sea, I would think this would be pleasant and charming!" He chuckled. Emma glanced at Arryn and Kenneth, experiencing the same treatment. They would write this up later.

"What's the big party about?!" Arryn called over to him. "Or, what was the big party about?" she corrected herself, seeing all the miserable faces hiding under the awnings and balconies along with the soaked decorations floating into the gutters and drains.

"The celebrations were for the return of Princess Vikoya Welka of Shallowinn!" Sir Stanley shouted, they quickly rounded narrow street corners and forced people to jump out of the way. "She has returned home from a long journey to Pelegost, but unfortunately, she is quite ill and won't be staying with Lord and Lady Blackwater. She'll be heading straight home."

"She must be quite the marvel..." Emma pulled out the necklace with the doll, thankful that it hadn't broken apart.

"Truly one to be admired, yes."

"And what about Lord and Lady Blackwater?" Kenneth chimed in.

"Well," Sir Stanley hesitated. "I'd say the Lord and Lady have become... more interesting in their later years. Not to say they are very old, either, but they've aged and changed. All people do. And interesting... can be a good thing and a bad thing."

"Hear that, Kenneth?" Arryn mumbled. "That's the chivalrous way of saying that they've gone cuckoo."

"He's speaking knightanese?" Kenneth chuckled.

"No, Ken," Lysander laughed, not hiding his mockery at all. "Knightanese is like: 'Lo! Alas, thou musth than seeth mine s-wordth plungeth into thine buttock!'" Kenneth smiled, and Arryn snickered. Sir Stanley remained unamused and silent for the rest of the ride until they finally saw Blackwater Keep high on a cliff overlooking the city.

The Keep's dark gray walls shined with rain pouring over them. Its many towers reached various heights except for one enormous, round one. The coned, blue roof reached further into the misty clouds. The castle itself was quite beautiful; detailed designs lined its walls of ships and sea creatures, black tiles and slate lined its roofs, statues of merfolk lined the battlements, but the environment of the sea shrouded the Keep's beauty. With its elevation, Emma wondered if the people of Mairgandale were ever able to see it with regular mist and fog.

Finally, they passed through the gates and entered the Keep's empty courtyard. Emma had nearly given Sir Stanley a reluctant thank you when the knights threw her along and her friends off the horses onto the wet cobblestone, and the men of honor and chivalry then rode away.

"Ow. And wow," Emma lay in a puddle feeling the water soak further into her coat and boots. She seemed not to care.

"Come on, Em, you'll get your books wet," Arryn stood over her.

"It's fine; the damage has already been done. I'm just gonna lay here and think about how everyone in this city doesn't want me here. That my life as an Imperial soldier was a lie. That everyone hates me. Also, my stomach hurts."

Arryn smiled. "Mmhmm. And what do I say whenever you lay in puddles contemplating your existence?"

Emma sighed. "You tell me that it's gonna be alright." She listed with familiarity. "And that it's fine. My stomach will be fine. And that not everyone hates me because you don't hate me."

"Wow, I didn't have to do any work that time!" Arryn beamed and lifted her friend off the ground. Kenneth and Lysander patted themselves off, and they all faced the door at the other end of the expansive courtyard.

"It's so empty," Lysander remarked.

"Well, it is raining," Kenneth noted.

"True..." Lysander continued. "But still..." The brothers said at the same time.

"Let's go, everyone, look sharp, let's hope we don't look like we swam all the way here, huh?" Emma groaned and moved forward, her friends following close behind. Together they climbed the steps to the massive, dark, wooden door.

"Fit for a King," Emma exclaimed.

"More like a giant..." Arryn shrugged.

"Hey, a door you can fit through, Lysander!" Kenneth nudged his brother.

"Shut up."

Emma took a deep breath. The same nervous fear rose in her like the cold water she had soaked in. "It's gonna be fine," the young captain trembled, still nervous and cold. She was terrified, as with every new door, the rest of the group thought she was more reassuring herself. "It'll be fine. We go in, take a look at the place, ask some questions, and we get out."

"And leave no survivors." Arryn quickly added jokingly, feigning her usual cold seriosity.

"Wait, what? No!"

"Wait, we're gonna kill people?!" Kenneth panicked, reaching for his sword.

"Aww yeah!" Lysander nodded, playfully swinging his beloved war-hammer.

Emma turned and stood in front of them, outstretching her arms. "No, no!" She shook her head rapidly. "No killing! No smashing! No stabbing!"

Arryn continued to joke. "Well, they didn't issue us swords for nothing!"

"No! Those are only for self-defense!" Emma waved her arms.

"Wait," Kenneth realized. "No survivors, that doesn't include us, right?"

"It does, Kenneth!" Arryn grinned.

"We're gonna die?!" Kenneth screamed.

"We're not gonna die!" Their captain facepalmed. "We're gonna be fine! Just behave yourselves. Oh, Gods, here goes nothing," she removed her gloves and pounded on the door.

"I'd be happy if it was a monster, though. I really wanna fight something." Lysander mumbled.

Arryn checked over her shoulder and looked back impatiently. "As long as it isn't magic, I'm fine."

"I bet they have all kinds of neat things in here!" Kenneth jumped optimistically.

"I'll be scared no matter what it is." Emma trembled.

"Well, you shouldn't be. You need to lead us into the fray." Lysander shook his head.

Suddenly, a little slider opened, revealing a pair of yellow eyes, and a deep voice boomed: "Who is it?"

"Castle inspectors." Emma presented her badge and rocked back and forth on her heels again. "We're here to take a look at the place, make sure no dragons have taken over. Haha. Among other things."

"Hmm, you weren't supposed to be here for three days!" The voice growled. Emma and Kenneth squirmed.

"Well, uh, you might as well get the inspection over with now-"

"No!" The voice roared; Emma stopped rocking. The light drained from her eyes as the unknown doorman's volume began to rise into a frightening crescendo. "Absolutely not! The castle isn't ready! The Lord and Lady aren't well! You weren't supposed to come at this time; therefore, we won't open this door until the time you were supposed to arrive!"

"We arrived here early because we had safe passage over the Sea of Storms-" Kenneth desperately tried to explain.

"I don't care! Leave now!"

"Just let us in, and we'll be on our way! I don't see what the problem is-" Arryn defended Emma, who had frozen in place once the voice started roaring.

"I will have you dragged away if you do not leave this very instant! No guests may enter!"

"Haha, please don't hurt us." Emma squealed.

"You can get written up for this!" Lysander mentioned. The voice stopped.

"What?"

"We can write you up for this. Then the Empress will be very angry with you."

"Right," Emma nodded, presenting her forms. "What he said." She trembled still, and Arryn grabbed the papers before she would have dropped them to the floor.

"Well- uh..." A sound of a lock clicked on the other side, and Arryn and Lysander exchanged glances. The voice continued, a little flustered.

"In that case... I'll- I'll have to think about it, but please go-"

"Quick, push it!" Lysander yelled, and he and Arryn pushed on the gigantic door, swinging it open. The muted light of the stormcloud-filled sky combined with the glow of torches to reveal a long, dark hallway. The scarlet rug with golden trim was crooked and tossed about, stone and marble statues of past heroes and family members had curtains thrown over them, some had fallen over. A couple of dwarfs and humans could be seen far away, drunk, burping, and sleeping on the staircase. Paintings were crooked on the walls; one had a mustache drawn over its portrait. A goblin slept in a swinging chandelier, allowing a few candles to drop to the floor below. Goblets, plates, and all sorts of items were strewn all over the place. All of this was evidence of a massive party thrown the night before.

And finally, in front of them, there lay a small gnome dressed in a fancy suit. He and a giant step ladder had fallen on the floor due to the door opening so abruptly.

"Ah!" The gnome squeaked. "Apologies for the voice and lack of hospitality! I was trying to have you come back later!"

"A... gnome?" Emma raised an eyebrow. "You were the loud booming voice-"

"Erm, nooo." He scrambled off of the floor, standing up, looking at them with large yellow eyes. "The, um, loud booming voice... doesn't exist. Or no, that, um, must have been the other guy."

"Uh-huh." While scribbling in her notes, Arryn's eyes darted around.

"Ah, I am Malcolm, the Butler!" He tidied up his scarlet tie and vest. "Welcome, castle inspectors, to Blackwater Keep!" He giggled nervously. "You can see with the mess, the Lord and Lady will not be pleased..."

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: Hi guys! I hope you enjoy this series, it was actually inspired by a Dungeons and Dragons campaign I made a while ago, and my heart begged me to make it into something. Thanks so much! New chapters will be released every other week!

PS: The Castle Inspectors visit all sorts of places in the Carollan Bend, so I'll keep the map either at the beginning or bottom of every chapter to help you out! :)

[royalnovels-blog]

MGA Chapter 1892

Chapter 1892 – Blood Devouring Armor “Xian Miaomiao?” Chu Feng was stunned upon hearing that name. Then, with a suspicious expression on his face, he looked to Xian Miaomiao and asked, “You’re not lying to me, right?” “Why would I lie to you? I’m not lying to you.” “Wait, why would you think that I’m lying to you? Aiyah, are you looking down on my name?” Xian Miaomiao bulged her cheeks in anger. “Haha, of course not, how could I dare?” “Merely… the name Xian Miaomiao, it’s, eh… very good, very good.” Chu Feng waved his hand repeatedly. However, he truly felt that the name Xian Miaomiao was very interesting. Such a playful name, no matter how one looked at it, it did not resemble the name that a grand Ancient Era’s Elves’ Princess would have. However, Chu Feng trusted that Xian Miaomiao was not deceiving him. “Seems like the two of you are getting along pretty well,” Right at that moment, Princess Lingyue opened the door and entered. That old rank five Martial Emperor was following behind her. “Big sister, Uncle Yue, you’ve come. I have already prepared a banquet and have been waiting for you two,” Upon seeing Princess Lingyue and the old man, Xian Miaomiao clapped her hands excitedly. Then, she ran toward the inside of the palace hall. “You little glutton,” Princess Lingyue shook her head with a smile. Then, she looked to Chu Feng and said, “Young master Chu Feng, please. It is rare for that girl Miaomiao to invite me to eat. For me to obtain such treatment, it is all because of your fortune.” “Your Highness is being too courteous. You can just address me as Chu Feng,” Chu Feng said. “Even if I am being courteous, it’s only because young master Chu Feng was courteous first,” Princess Lingyue said with a smile. “Ahh…” At that moment, Chu Feng smiled. He did not say anything, and instead proceeded toward the inside of the palace hall. Afterward, Chu Feng enjoyed a banquet in the palace hall. It was an extremely rich meal. After the banquet, Chu Feng was brought by that Uncle Yue to a palace set up for him to rest in. At that moment, only Princess Lingyue and Xian Miaomiao remained in the tree palace. “How was it? Did he pass your test?” Princess Lingyue asked. “Barely,” Xian Miaomiao said carelessly. “In that case, how many Ten Thousand Leaves Sparrowtail Flowers do you plan to give him?” Princess Lingyue asked. “He only barely passed. Thus, I naturally cannot give him too many. Just give him like a hundred,” Xian Miaomiao said. “What?” Hearing that word, even the generally calm and collected Princess Lingyue was shocked. “Miaomiao, what sort of nonsense are you talking about? In our entire Elf Kingdom, we only possess several thousand Ten Thousand Leaves Sparrowtail Flowers.” “When the Compass Immortal and the Snow-haired Immortal came here to ask for Ten Thousand Leaves Sparrowtail Flowers, we only presented them with one each. Even when the Weaponry Refinement Immortal and the YinYang Immortal came to ask for them, we only gave them five each.” “Even back when our royal father decided to thank the Immeasurable Immortal for helping us open an Ancient Era’s Remnant, he had only put ten Ten Thousand Leaves Sparrowtail Flowers in the gift that he personally prepared.” “Even though this Chu Feng possesses exceptional talent, his status is much inferior to those Immortals. It is more than sufficient for you to gift him five Ten Thousand Leaves Sparrowtail Flowers. Yet, you actually wanted to give him a hundred? If the elders are to learn about this, they will also not agree to it,” Princess Lingyue said in a very shocked manner. “Aiyah, big sister, it is true that we do not have a lot of Ten Thousand Leaves Sparrowtail Flowers, but don’t we still have several thousands of them? Furthermore, Chu Feng is going to use them to save someone. So what if we are to give him several more? Back then, he helped me. If he hadn’t helped me, your little sister, I, would have been beaten by others,” Xiao Miaomiao said. “Nonsense! Although your cultivation back then was much inferior to your current cultivation, you were still not someone that group of people could do anything to. Furthermore, Uncle Qing was also with you. Not to mention a mere Cyanwood Domain, there was barely anyone in the entire Holy Land of Martialism that could touch you,” Princess Lingyue said. “But, big sister, if my cultivation was as weak as that of an ordinary little girl, and if Uncle Qing had not secretly followed me to protect me?” “If that was the case, then, if Chu Feng had not helped me back then, what do you think would’ve happened to me?” Xian Miaomiao said with a serious expression. “This…” Princess Lingyue sighed, “Forget about it. A hundred it is then. I knew that you possessed special feelings for that Chu Feng. It’s no wonder you always mention him.” “As for our royal father and the elders, I’ll go and help you talk to them,” In the end, Princess Lingyue gave in. The reason for that was because she knew that regardless of whether Xian Miaomiao possessed the strength to protect herself back then, she was someone without any strength to protect herself in the eyes of Chu Feng. Thus, Chu Feng had indeed helped her. Princess Lingyue cared deeply about her younger sister. Since her younger sister wanted to gift Chu Feng a hundred Ten Thousand Leaves Sparrowtail Flowers as her repayment for his grace, she had no choice but to accept it unconditionally. “I knew big sister was the best,” Xian Miaomiao grabbed onto Princess Lingyue’s arm extremely happily. “Oh, that’s right. Miaomiao, the Blood Devouring Armor is completed,” Princess Lingyue asked. “Really? How many?” Xian Miaomiao asked. “Two,” Princess Lingyue said. “Aiyah, didn’t I say one would be enough? Why make so many?” Xian Miaomiao curled her lips in a dissatisfied manner. “It’s naturally so that we can have someone protecting you,” Princess Lingyue said. “Protect me? That Xian Yuyin? While it is true that his cultivation has greatly increased after he subdued an Imperial Armament, and he has become a rank three Martial Emperor like me, big sister, you should know that Xian Yuyin is no match for me.” “As such, how could he possibly protect me? It would already be great if I don’t have to protect him instead. Furthermore, you also know that… I loathe him,” Xian Miaomiao said angrily. “Your big sister also dislikes him. However, this matter was decided by father and the elders. After all, the Blood Devouring Armor is only something that the younger generation can wear. Furthermore, among our Ancient Era’s Elves’ younger generation, only Xian Yuyin is able to accompany you into the Blood Devouring Killing Formation,” Princess Lingyue said. “Younger generation?” Hearing the words ‘younger generation,’ Xian Miaomiao’s expression changed to one of joy. She said, “Big sister, I have a candidate that’s even more suitable than Xian Yuyin.” “You’re not talking about Chu Feng, right?” Princess Lingyue started to frown. “Mn, mn, mn, mn,” Xian Miaomiao nodded her head repeatedly while smiling beamingly. “Oh you. Chu Feng is not an Ancient Era’s Elf. How could he…?” “Big sister, just help me with it. If I must be accompanied by Xian Yuyin, I’d rather not go,” Xian Miaomiao turned around angrily. “Miaomiao, stop with your temper. You should know how important the Ancient Era’s Immortal Flower is to you. There’s most definitely an Ancient Era’s Immortal Flower in that Blood Devouring Killing Formation,” Princess Lingyue urged. Xian Miaomiao suddenly turned around and grabbed the corner of Princess Lingyue’s clothes. She said in a pitiful manner, “Then, big sister, just help me talk to them and let them have Chu Feng accompany me.” Seeing her little sister acting like this, Princess Lingyue was truly at a loss. She knew Xian Miaomiao’s temperament. If she refused to help her, Xian Miaomiao might really rather not go. Thus, with no other choice, Princess Lingyue sighed and said helplessly, “I truly cannot deal with you. I’ll try my best.” “Haha, I knew big sister was the best,” Xian Miaomiao hugged Princess Lingyue’s arm again tightly and started to swing it back and forth in joy. ………… Spirit Beasts, they were a sort of special organism from the Ancient Era. However, they were not fierce at all. Merely, their speed was extremely fast, and they had appearances similar to those of leopards. Generally, they would be around five meters long. Since very long ago, they had been domesticated by Ancient Era’s Elves. The Ancient Era’s Elves had used special methods to erase their intelligence and named them Spirit Beasts. Currently, they were a special means of transportation limited to the Elf Kingdom. Inside the Spirit Beasts Room. Xian Yushi was in that place. His body was extremely stinky. Beside him stood a man. This man was also someone from the younger generation. However, he possessed the cultivation of a rank three Martial Emperor. Xian Yuyin was originally a rank one Martial Emperor. After the Strongest Younger Generation Battle Assembly held in the Gong Ba Plains, he reached a breakthrough to rank two Martial Emperor and was awarded an Imperial Armament. Then, using the Ancient Era’s Spirit Formation in the Elf Kingdom, he successfully subdued the Imperial Armament. With that, his cultivation increased once again. That was how he became the rank three Martial Emperor he was today. Before the emergence of Xian Miaomiao, he had always been the strongest member of the younger generation in the Elf Kingdom. He was Xian Yushi’s own blood brother. “Big brother, you must uphold justice for me. It is all because of that Chu Feng that I ended up suffering this sort of humiliation,” Xian Yushi had told Xian Yuyin all that had happened today. “Little brother, rest assured. I will definitely not let that Chu Feng get away with this. Merely, I still cannot go against Princess Lingyue yet. The reason for that is because your brother, I, have obtained a heavy responsibility. I’ll be entering the Blood Devouring Killing Formation together with Princess Miaomiao to search for the Ancient Era’s Immortal Flower,” Xian Yuyin said. “Big brother, is what you said for real?” Hearing those words, Xian Yushi was overjoyed. He seemed to have forgotten the grievances he had suffered today. “Of course. You also know that due to the title of the strongest younger generation, I ended up in a disagreement with Princess Miaomiao. Because of that, she dislikes me a lot. However, Princess Miaomiao is currently our Ancient Era’s Elves’ widely accepted successor to the King.” “Thus, I must improve my relationship with her. To accompany her in the Blood Devouring Killing Formation this time around will be a great opportunity for me to get closer to her.” “Not only must I improve my relationship with her, I will also use this opportunity to bring our relationship one step further. I am going to become her husband. As long as I become her man, even if she is to become the Queen, the person with the actual authority will be me.” “At that time, even if that bitch Lingyue is Miaomiao’s older blood sister, she will also have to do as I say and be ordered by me.” “As for that Chu Feng, humph, he’s a mere human. Whenever I want him to die, he shall die at that time. However I want him to die, he shall die in that manner,” After saying those words, Xian Yuyin revealed a treacherous smile. “Your little brother is willing to follow big brother for the rest of his life,” At that moment, with a ‘putt,’ Xian Yushi kneeled before his own older brother to show his loyalty. He also knew that this was no small matter. If his brother succeeded, he would also enjoy endless glory. “Hahaha…” Seeing his younger brother acting like this, the smile on Xian Yuyin’s face grew even denser. It was as if he could already see the scene of him becoming the King in the future. Previous          Main menu           Next Click to Post