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autumnshighlady · 1 year

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I’ve Always Liked to Play With Fire (part 15)

NESTA ARCHERON X ERIS VANSERRA X FEMALE!READER

summary: Azriel has a tough decision to make

warnings: Night Court slander, semi graphic torture, Rhysand is horrible, the usual

word count: 5.8k

DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE

a/n: oh my god i am so so so sorry this took so long! life has been insane lately i havent had the energy to write. Anywho, this chapter is just the start of something super big so buckle up and look for hints hehe alsO PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK ON THIS CHAPTER IM BEGGING

feedback is appreciated, just no hate pls! these are just my opinions, i’m more curious to see how you all like the writing and characterization and storylines!

part 1 // part 2 // part 3 // part 4 // part 5 // part 6 // part 7 // part 8 // part 9 // part 10 // part 11

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AZRIEL POV

Azriel couldn’t help but flinch at the sight of your limp body, arms strung up like you were a piece of meat dangling from the chains. He had thought himself to be good at shutting off his emotions when it came to his line of work, but this felt different. Wrong, even. It confused him – not once had he ever hesitated, ever even considered disobeying his High Lord’s orders down in these dungeons.

Your hair was matted and lifeless around your face, the weak rise and fall of your chest being the only indication that you were even still alive. The beautiful gown that adorned your body at the ball was now tattered and dirty, barely clinging onto your skin in some places. Azriel gulped as he stared at your unconscious form, wiped out from Rhysand’s attempts to penetrate your mind.

Evidently, the High Lord was beyond frustrated, his brow furrowed and sweaty from the efforts. “I’ve never seen this,” He muttered, running a hand through his dark hair. “Not once. I’ve always been able to get inside people’s heads. Why not hers?”

“I don’t know.” Azriel responded. He felt his shadows curl around his scarred fingers. Normally they did so to encourage him to get the job done, but this time felt different. It was as if they wanted him not to end your life, but to reach out and free you from the shackles. But he ignored them.

Rhys slumped against the wall, panting slightly. “I need answers, Az.” He snapped, voice sharp. “How is this girl able to withstand my magic? And how the hell did she access some ancient spell that allowed this bond to form with Nesta? I would prefer to know before I end things, so whatever shit she may have put in motion can be stopped.”

Azriel stiffened. “End things?

The High Lord sighed, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Come on, Azriel. You know this is how it has to end. She spent months plotting against our court, and possesses some form of magic within her bond with Nesta. She’s a threat and you know it. And threats like that must be eliminated.”

He spoke with that authoritative voice that Azriel had seen bring so many others to their knees in obedience. He felt it tug at his bones, the instinct to obey his High Lord. Azriel had always considered himself loyal, never needing that extra kick to submit to his superior. Until now. “I disagree.” Azriel said sternly. “(Y/N) has lied, yes. But she has shown no signs of intending to inflict harm upon this court. All she wanted was to get out, and she knew we wouldn’t let her.”

“I don’t recall you being this blind, brother.” Rhysand’s voice was low as his violet eyes sternly stared down his spymaster. “Did she flash you her tits during training sessions? Is that why you’ve suddenly gone soft?”

“No. I think we pushed her too hard, too fast into this job she did not want. She had already lost everything in the Spring Court, and when Lucien brought her here she immediately became a prisoner. Did you expect her to bow at your feet and be eternally grateful for letting her stay here? We should have given her a reason to want to become a part of this court, not force her into it within a span of months.”

Rhysand let out a growl, and Azriel knew he was pushing his limits. “Careful, Az.” He said. But Azriel ignored him.

“Can you blame her for resenting us?” The shadowsinger continued, against his better judgement. “Our High Lady destroyed her court, and when Lucien brought her here she was forced to live indebted to the female who allowed her home to be ruined.”

There was a low rumble within the cell as Rhysand’s dark mist began to creep out from behind him. “Choose your next words wisely, Azriel. Or I’ll begin to think you’ve helped her.”

“I didn’t, and you know it. But your protectiveness for your mate is clouding your judgement as a leader, Rhysand. This girl does not deserve to die for what she has done.”

Before he could breathe another word, a sharp pain cut through his throat as Rhys’ dark power wrapped around it, cutting off his air. Shock flooded through him, hazel eyes bulging as the violet eyed male snarled at him. He didn’t try to fight back. Not once had his brother gone this far – sure, they had their fair share of nasty fights, but never like this. No matter how angry they had gotten with each other, neither had ever threatened the life of the other. Until now.

“That is not your call to make, spymaster.” Rhysand snarled furiously. “I am your High Lord before anything else, and you are sworn to me. My word is law, not yours. You will go and search for more insight into this bond between her and Nesta. Whether you find anything on it or not, (Y/N) will die by your hand at dawn tomorrow. You will not protest, and you will not breathe a word about this to anyone. If I sense even for a second that you will disobey me, I will throw you in a cell beside this scheming whore. Am I understood?”

Azriel nodded as best he could, body still frozen in shock. After a moment, Rhysand’s tendrils finally retreated, leaving the spymaster gasping for air. Despite working alongside him, being the executioner to his master for over 500 years, Azriel had never known what it was to be like on the receiving end of his High Lord’s pure fury until now. He glanced over at your strung-up figure, guilt churning in his gut. You had endured this torture for days, a torture Azriel only received a glimpse of.

As the spymaster inhaled deeply kneeling on the cold floor, his shadows whispered to him. He knew deep down that he had a choice to make, one like never before. 500 years of loyalty to Rhysand was being put to the test, something Azriel never thought would happen. Another glance at how intensely Rhys was staring at your imprisoned, starved form was all he needed to winnow away.

*********************

Azriel’s throat still burned from the pressing of Rhys’ dark mist. He kept his demeanour calm as he approached the doors to the library at the House of Wind, even though his stomach was in a thousand knots. He knew what he was about to do was treason at the highest order, and the second Rhys found out he would be flayed alive. The clenching and unclenching of his scarred fingers was the only indication of his disturbance as the spymaster was met with Clotho. Her pale robes shone in the blue light of the library as she approached him.

Shadowsinger, Her elegant writing appeared on the paper in lieu of her voice. What can I do for you?

“I need to see Gwyneth.” Azriel said, trying to keep the urgency out of his voice to not alarm the priestess.

Gwyn is occupied right now. May I take a message?

He gulped nervously. “I’m really sorry, Clotho. But I need her right now.”

That will not be possible. I suggest you return at another time, Azriel.

“Please.” Azriel hated begging, and hated pushing the priestess even more. But before Clotho could script a reply, a gentle voice sounded from behind the shelves a few metres away.

“Azriel?” Gwyn’s red hair appeared, streaming down her flowing robes as she carried an alarming amount of books. “What are you doing here?”

“Gwyn, I need to speak with you in private. Right now.” He pleaded, hoping Clotho wouldn’t shoo him away.

Gwyn’s teal eyes were puzzled, but she nodded. “It’s alright Clotho.” The priestess merely nodded beneath her hood before turning and disappearing back into the stacks.

Azriel breathed a sigh of relief as Gwyn put down the books. She walked towards one of the offices, and he followed her in silence. The room was tense as she closed the door behind him.

She crossed her arms, which made him halt. Normally his interactions with Gwyn were pleasant, leaving his shadows singing happily afterwards. But the way she was staring at him with a hardened glare made him want to shrink back.

“Where is (Y/N)?” Gwyn said sharply.

Azriel took a deep breath, unsure of how to approach this. He didn’t know what version of that night at the Hewn City had reached the ears of the priestesses. “Gwyn–”

“Don’t bullshit me for one second, Azriel.” The redhead was unyielding, but he could see the anxiousness within her as her throat bobbed with every word. “Nesta left for Autumn with Eris, but (Y/N) never returned from the Hewn City that night. What did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do anything–” He started, but Gwyn cut him off abruptly.

“I said don’t bullshit me, you fucking liar!” Her voice rose, long fingers clenching and trembling with anger. It was enough to make Azriel take a step back, shocked at the fire within her. “I heard you grabbed her and whisked her away that night. What the hell did you do to my friend?”

Azriel leaned against the desk, wiping his face with his hand. His heart cracked a bit, knowing that trust and companionship he had built with Gwyn while training had come crashing down. He hated himself for it, for being so blind in following orders that led him to this place. His loyalty to Rhysand came at a price, one he had always been willing to pay until now. “I’m sorry.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I was following orders.”

“What is wrong with you?” Gwyn hissed, her words cutting him sharper than Rhysand’s magic had. “You took away her one chance of leaving this gods damned court peacefully. You took away her freedom out of stupid, blind loyalty.”

“How did you know what happened that night?”

She snorted. “You and your little circle like to treat us priestesses like we’re these fragile little flowers living in our own little shelter, oblivious to the outside world. But people talk, and word reaches us. We aren’t as ignorant to the court as you think we are.”

“I never said that you were.”

“You basically just did.”

Shame washed over Azriel. He knew she was right, that he was a prick in assuming the priestesses remained clueless to what was happening in the court right now. And that’s why Clotho had been hesitant to let him into the library. “I never meant for any of this to happen.” He muttered, closing his eyes.

“Well, it did. Now tell me where my friend is, and why you’re here.”

Azriel took a breath, preparing to utter the words that would make this decision the point of no return. “I need everything you have on the bond between (Y/N) and Nesta.”

A flicker of worry crossed Gwyn’s teal eyes. “I don’t know anything–”

“Yes, you do.” Azriel interrupted her calmly. “My guess is you knew about their plan as well. Otherwise you’d be a lot more freaked out by Nesta marrying Eris.”

As panic began to set into the priestess’ face, Azriel softened his voice. “It’s ok, I’m not going to tell anyone. It makes sense that any information that Nesta and (Y/N) got on the bond was through you and your work. You are not in trouble, and nobody will hear from me that you helped them. I just need every scrap of information you were able to get your hands on regarding whatever magic they used.”

She narrowed her eyes. “So you can give it to your master like a good dog playing fetch? Not gonna happen. He’ll use it to hurt both of them. I don’t care that he’s the High Lord, I won’t let him do that.”

Azriel stood up and took a step towards Gwyn. She didn’t shrink back, but rather lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “Gwyn,” He began. “That’s not what this is. I’m not retrieving this information for Rhysand.”

The priestess blinked once, as if considering the gravity of his words. He wished he could spill the truth and tell Gwyn what he planned to do, but just uttering those words directly to her would put her at risk. “Then who are you retrieving it for?”

“Look, I am not trying to hide anything from you. But I told you… if you knew the truth, I would be putting you at risk for selfish reasons. And after all I have done, that is something I cannot live with. You just have to trust me when I say that it is for the right reason.”

“After hearing about how you so quickly stole (Y/N) away, I’m not sure if we have the same definition of the right reason, Azriel.” Gwyn’s voice was bitter, but there was a sadness to it that made the guilt churning inside of him threaten to spill over.

“I understand.” He said quietly. “And you have no reason to trust me right now. But please… if you’ve ever had any faith in me at all…just….just know that I’m doing this for (Y/N). And Nesta. If you believe anything I say, believe that.”

Silence overtook the room, the shadowsinger and the priestess standing mere inches from each other. After a long few minutes Gwyn muttered a ‘stay here’ before quickly fleeing the office.

She returned 15 minutes later with a few sheets of parchment paper and several books. They were placed upon the dusty table, and Gwyn took a deep breath. “This is everything I have on the subject,” She said shakily. “It’s not much, but it’s every document that could possibly give anything away about the bond between them.”

Without thinking, Azriel dropped to his knees in relief, bowing his head. “Thank you, Gwyn. Thank you.” His entire body was on the verge of shaking as the weight of what he was about to do began to truly set in. Everything he had known and defended was about to be put on the line.

“Promise me this, Azriel.” Gwyn spoke coldly. “Promise that this information gets into the right hands, not the wrong ones. You do whatever it takes to help my girls. After everything you and your family have done to them, you owe them that much. And more.”

“I swear it.” Azriel said solemnly, still looking at the ground. In a flash, he felt a cold blade pressing against his jaw, tilting his head upwards to gaze at the priestess. She looked like a goddess of justice, staring down at him with icy eyes.

“And I swear this to you,” Gwyn said coldly, a silver dagger in hand. “If you screw this up and they pay the price for it, no power in the world will stop me from hurting you. I don’t care that you trained me, or that you saved me on that day Hybern came. I will cut your throat if anything happens to Nesta or (Y/N) because of you. Understood?”

Azriel was enthralled at her strength. This was not the shy, nervous priestess that he had rescued from Hybern’s soldiers. Gwyn’s bravery had excelled since the second she stepped into the ring, and Azriel had marvelled at her progress during training, how comfortable she became with the outside world. Stupidly, he had credited that to his and Cassian’s training, thinking that it was what Gwyn, Nesta and the others had needed to heal like he and Cassian had. No, this strength had nothing to do with what he taught her. Behind her stern expression, Azriel knew that deep down this strength had come from the friendship formed with you, Nesta, and Emerie. He had been a fool to see it as anything other than that.

“I’m proud of you, Gwyn.” Azriel said softly before his brain could shut him up.

Despite the flicker of surprise across her face, she did not yield. “I do not need your validation. I need you to do the right thing and help my friends. Only after that will your statement be worth anything to me.”

Gwyn removed the blade from the spymaster’s throat and turned on her heel. Like a ghost in the wind, she was gone. Azriel’s chest was tight as he stood up, collecting the documents in his arms and praying that this possibly very stupid decision would be worth it. But after seeing the anger on Gwyn’s face, the hurt he had caused without even realising it…. Azriel knew exactly what he needed to do as he winnowed away.

*********************

The door in front of Azriel opened before he could raise a hand to knock, revealing the redhead male with a golden eye wide with surprise.

“Azriel?” Lucien said in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.” Was all he said in response before pushing his way past Lucien into the manor.

“By all means, come in.” The male muttered sarcastically. But Azriel paid it no mind as he scanned the large living room for any sign of Jurian and Vassa.

“I’m alone.” Lucien quipped, settling down on the large brown armchair by the fireplace. “Since that’s what you were trying to figure out. I’m surprised you came by before (Y/N). I thought she’d have visited already, but I guess she’s been enjoying Velaris too much to be slumming it down in the human lands. When you see her next, thank her for the scarf for me, will you?”

Azriel’s heart dropped, head whipping sharply towards Azriel. “What?” He didn’t even bother keeping the surprise out of his voice.

Lucien frowned. “The scarf she gave me for the solstice? Rhys delivered it a day or so after, said she was busy on a new mission and asked him to drop it off for her.”

“Rhys was here?” Dread pooled in Azriel’s stomach. His High Lord was ensuring your disappearance would be quiet, giving him time to create a cover story before eliminating you.

“Yes… Why do you look so concerned? What aren’t you telling me?”

Azriel put his head in his hands, cursing. “You have no idea what’s been going on, have you?”

Lucien was still as a statue as he spoke. “I haven’t heard from (Y/N) since I got to the manor. When Rhysand visited, he said she had picked out a scarf for me as a present, and that she was sorry she hadn’t visited, but that she was loving her life in Velaris. And that she was training under you to work for the Night Court as a spy.”

Any desire to be secretive flew out the window as Azriel explained everything to the Autumn male – how you were not freely living in Velaris, but locked away with Nesta in the House of Wind. Your time spent back at the Spring Court to spy on your own people. Nesta’s engagement to Eris as a cover to escape the Night Court. Lucien was usually a collected male in Azriel’s eyes, but he could see the disbelief and anger in his expression as he told him the truth. When he was done, Lucien leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, speaking in a low voice. “So you’re telling me that you locked away my best friend, and everything I’ve heard about her for these past few months has been a lie.” Lucien said. “Is that correct?”

“Yes.” Azriel said quietly. “And now I’m trying to fix it–”

“Fucking hell!” Lucien exclaimed sharply, standing up abruptly and pacing back and forth. “Your court is a fucking shitshow, you know that? How the fuck can you let this happen, Azriel? You’re so far up Rhysand’s ass you didn’t see any of this coming?”

“I understand you’re angry–”

“Oh angry doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Lucien hissed, his red hair gleaming in the light of the fire. “You played right into Rhys’ hands, and now (Y/N) is being tortured in a cell somewhere because you let it happen instead of growing a fucking spine. And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the fact that Nesta was treated so horribly by you people she was willing to marry ERIS out of all people just to get away from it.”

Azriel had no defence. Defeated, he hung his head. Lucien was right about everything, and it was made worse by the fact Rhysand lied about your status to him knowing that the Autumn male was the only one likely to try and do something to stick up for you.

“Now what I can’t figure out is why you’re telling me this.” Lucien folded his arms, glaring at the spymaster. “You’re either betraying Rhysand and trying to fix this mess, which is brave but incredibly stupid. Or you’ve come here to see if I somehow had anything to do with all this so you can hang me up in a cell next to (Y/N). Which is it, shadowsinger?”

”I need your help.” Azriel admitted, meeting his harsh gaze. “I’m trying to turn this around, but I need to track down Eris. You’re my only shot.”

Lucien let out a harsh, heartless laugh. “I figured. You need my help. If you thought I wasn’t going to be any use to you, I wonder if you’d have even come here and told me the truth. Or would you have just let me live on believing this lie until word got around about (Y/N) meeting her tragic end on some mission.”

Mentally, Azriel was exhausted. Two redheads ripping him a new one was beginning to chip away at him more than he was already crumbling at the weight of his decision. Like Gwyn, Lucien was right. While he respected the male, Azriel doubted he’d have even considered coming just to tell Lucien the truth about what happened if he didn’t think Lucien could help. And his moment of silence told Lucien all he needed to know, for he scoffed again. “Of course not,” He continued. “You people just love exploiting those of us without any other options and then throwing us away like garbage when we’re no longer of any use to you.”

“Then help me make this right.” Azriel pleaded. “Tell me how to get to Eris, discreetly.”

“Can’t you just free her yourself and take her to safety?”

“No, there are ancient wards in that prison. I can pass through quickly and easily, but not so much with another person. Rhys would find us within seconds if she left that cell, and kill us both.”

“Then how do you propose we get her out?”

Azriel frowned. “I’m sorry, we?”

Lucien rolled his eyes, taking a hearty swig from his glass of wine beside him. “I’m going to help you get her out.”

Azriel shook his head, not liking how many people were involved in this already. “I can’t let you.”

“Bullshit. You don’t get to tell me what to do. Not after everything you’ve done to create this mess. I’ll take you to Eris, and besides, I think I know something that can help us.”

*********************

The crisp scents of Autumn flooded Azriel’s senses as he paced the clearing. His mind whirled from his talk with Lucien, even more so at the male’s idea that they had discussed. Lucien had winnowed him here and told him to wait while he discreetly fetched Eris. It was a huge gamble – while you and Nesta had been willing to trust Eris, Azriel was not so keen. His dealings with the prince had always been tense at best, and vicious at worst. He knew he’d have to swallow his pride and put their history aside for this, however hard it may be.

Frankly, Azriel had no idea where in the Autumn Court he was. His shadows sensed nothing, no indication of where they were on the map. It briefly crossed his mind that Lucien could very well have led him into a trap as payback, but deep down Azriel knew Lucien wasn’t that type of male. However angry he might be at Azriel, he would prioritise getting you back. The clearing was massive, which made him feel far too exposed for his liking. There was a thicket of trees in the distance that he considered hiding in, but he owed it to Lucien to do as he was instructed and wait here.

It felt like hours before a strong gust of wind blew his tousled locks out of his forehead, and the presence of something Azriel could only describe as sheer power slammed into him like a wall. A thunderous roar sounded from the skies, unlike anything the shadowsinger had ever heard before. But nothing could have prepared him for the sight before him.

Three large dragons were flying ahead, circling above the clearing. Their wings were like claps of thunder, nearly sending him backwards onto the ground. Upon the back of the large black one was the unmistakable, arrogant figure of Eris Vanserra. He held onto the spikes going down the dragon’s neck as it soared above Azriel, roaring with the ferocity of an ancient battlecry. Azriel’s jaw nearly hit the ground as he spotted none other than Nesta Archeron, riding the elegant silver dragon with her hair blowing in the wind. Her eyes were a lethal glowing silver, resembling the scales of the very beast she was mounted on.

“Mother above…” Azriel whispered, flinching as he felt the ground shake beneath him. He turned around slowly, and was met with the third dragon, a riderless one with gold scales and large horns. It snaked towards him, growling fiercely. For a moment, Azriel thought the beast would open its jaws and roast him alive, but the creature paused, growling as it glanced behind the shadowsinger.

“I must say, you are the last person I expected to come here.” Came Eris’ cocky voice. Azriel turned back around, slightly nervous at the golden dragon breathing down his neck, and was faced with the other two. Ignoring Eris, his gaze landed upon Nesta.

She was perched upon the dragon like it was a horse, or even a throne, chin high like a queen from ancient times. Azriel’s breath left his body at the sight of Nesta with her hair unbound, trailing freely down her back and shining against her blood red dress. Whichever way her gaze shifted, the dragon’s did so too. It was like watching Nesta in a mirror, only her reflection was a dragon. It unnerved Azriel, and he was well aware of his vulnerability in this situation. Not only was he in enemy court, unauthorised at that matter, but three beasts he thought only existed in stories stood beside him, in the flesh.

“Lucien said you wanted to meet.” Eris said coldly. “You have ten seconds to convince us that it’s worth our time.”

“(Y/N) will die at sunrise tomorrow if we do not do something.” Azriel blurted out clumsily.

There was a moment of silence, and Eris looked towards Nesta. Her gaze was fixed on Azriel, and he squirmed underneath it. Her silver mount growled fiercely, as if it was sharing its riders' rage.

“Are we supposed to believe that you’ve suddenly had a change of heart and care about her?”

Azriel gritted his teeth. “I’ve always cared.”

Eris snorted. “No, not truly. If you had, then we wouldn’t be having this meeting. Because you’d have done something by now and grown a spine.”

“Your brother said the same thing.” The spymaster growled, already irked by having to negotiate with the Autumn prince. “I don’t need more reminding that I’ve fucked up, Eris. I just want to save her life, and I can’t do that on my own.”

“And it’s taken you this long to come to this realisation because…” Eris raised an eyebrow, amber gaze merciless. His dragon snarled, baring its teeth menacingly.

“I didn’t know Rhys would take things this far. I thought he’d want to find out everything about the bond before he made a decision on what to do with her. But he doesn’t want to wait, he wants her gone by tomorrow.”

“I assume he ordered you to do the deed?”

Azriel nodded, throat tight. “Yes. He ordered me to collect all information on the magic they used to create the bond before I…. before I kill her. Regardless of whether I came up with anything, he wants her eliminated by sunrise.”

This was probably the stupidest, craziest decision Azriel had ever made. Part of it felt wrong, betraying his found family after 500 years of peace. But when he reflected on those centuries, had he truly been happy? Had he truly felt like he was living a fulfilled life, content with what he was doing? A few weeks ago, Azriel would have been sure of his answer. Now he wasn’t, and that unsettled him.

Regardless, reached into his bag and pulled out the books Gwyn gave him. He took a breath and continued. “Which is why I brought every document the Night Court has on this magic to you. So Rhys wouldn’t get his hands on it.”

“You went to Gwyn?” Nesta burst out, rage dripping from her tongue.

“Yes.” Azriel admitted his guilt for putting Gwyn in this precarious position intensifying.

“You put her in danger by doing that!” The eldest Archeron hissed at him, her dragon responding in a similar tone. “If anything happens to her because of it, I will slaughter you, Azriel.”

He let out a dry laugh. “Gwyn said the same thing to me about you and (Y/N). I swore no matter what happened, nobody would find out I got this through her. She even put a knife to my throat.”

Eris spoke up again. “As much as I would truly love to believe you, if I recall correctly you were perfectly content sending (Y/N) to certain death weeks ago on an impossible mission under Rhysand’s orders.”

“I was trying to find a way out of it for her!” Azriel yelled, patience snapping. “A way for her to quietly flee and go build a life for herself far away from all this shit. I never told her because I didn’t want to scare her, or get her hopes up. I had the chance to explain this to her before…”

His voice trailed off, memories of seeing you strung up like an animal flashing through his mind. Azriel was no stranger to self hatred, but today it was striking him now more than ever.

Nesta’s lethal tone interrupted his thoughts. “Before what?” She demanded.

Azriel gulped, praying that the dragons wouldn’t make him their meal. “Before Rhysand interrupted and… took over.”

“Meaning?” Eris inquired, his dragon inching ever so slightly closer to the Illyrian.

“Meaning he thought I was being too soft, since I gave her water. He stopped the physical torture and spent hours trying to get inside her head until she passed out.”

“And he didn’t manage to do it?” Eris’ voice was laced with surprise, something uncharacteristic for the Autumn prince who always seemed to be two steps ahead of everyone.

“No.”

Eris and Nesta glanced at each other, unreadable expressions crossing their faces. Their dragons continued to stare down Azriel, awaiting whatever command would give them permission to incinerate him where he stood. He had a million questions for them – how the fuck did Eris have dragons? What did Beron say about all of this? Did they still plan on taking him out? But Azriel knew better than to ask them.

Nesta swung her legs to the side and crawled down the dragon’s side. To Azriel’s awe, the beast lowered its shoulder to the ground to make it easier for the female to climb off. Gracefully, Nesta’s feet met the ground and she patted the dragon’s neck. He remained frozen in his place as she stalked towards him. Like Gwyn, there was a new strength to her. This was not the half-starved Nesta who first came to the House of Wind. No, this was the female that stole from the Cauldron itself, whose name was whispered across the moors and valleys of Prythian, associated with pure death and power. Nesta’s steps were sure, silver fire expertly curling around her fingertips like Azriel’s own shadows as she stalked towards him like a lioness seizing up its prey.

“My war is not directly with you, Azriel,” Nesta said slowly. “But make no mistake. You are not innocent here. You may not have inflicted the most damage, but you willingly stood by and let your family tear me and (Y/N) down until they got pure submission. You let Cassian mock and belittle me at my lowest. You forced (Y/M) into a job she did not want to do. You let Cassian force me to train as a warrior when that’s not at all what I wanted or needed. You didn’t do a damn thing to advocate for either of us because you’re so blinded by the sheltered little tower your circle has built over the last 500 years, ignorant to the pain you inflict on anyone who’s not a part of your family. You coming here on your own volition is the only thing in my eyes that could possibly redeem you. You will help us get (Y/N) back at all costs, or you will suffer at my hand more than you have ever suffered before.”

Being threatened for the third time that day, all Azriel could do was bow his head. “I understand.” He said.

“No, I don’t think you do.” Nesta hissed. “For your sake, let’s hope your change of heart isn’t too late.”

Azriel hadn’t even noticed Eris had climbed off his dragon and was walking towards Nesta. He stood beside her, gently resting a hand on her waist. Azriel tensed, half expecting Nesta to slap him away, but she did not. To his surprise, she looked comfortable with Eris. More so than she ever had been with Cassain. When Cassian touched Nesta, there was always some sexual suggestion beneath it. But not with Eris. Eris’ touch was comfort more than ownership, something Azriel did not expect.

In his heart, he realised Cassian and Nesta were not right for each other. It made no sense for them to be mates, and whatever they had going on was purely surface level sexual tension. There was nothing deep about it, no greater understanding of each other. Nesta and Eris seemed like a much more reasonable match, mirroring each other like they did with their dragons. As much as Azriel hated the male, and knew that these thoughts would crush Cassian’s heart, it reassured him that he had made the right choice.

“So, spymaster,” Eris piped up, cocking his head. “How are we doing to do this?”

And so Azriel began explaining.

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azrielsoulmate · 10 months

Text

Covered in you

my house of stone, your ivy grows, and now i’m covered in you

Eris Vanserra x Wisteria (OC)

a/n: i am running absolutely late with some chapters for magnificently cursed, so i hope you'll take this little excerpt of the story of my oc, Wisteria :) just something short and sweet

also, keep in mind english is not my first language so if u see anything anyhow inocorrect, no u didn't AND as always, im open to feedback so let me know what you think about this fic!

word count: 1700

warnings: brief mentions of abuse (Beron)

genre: fluff

masterlist

The cold wind blew Wisteria’s hair into her face as she trudged to the Forest House. She had just left her horse in the stables when the rain started. She frowned, looking down at her dress just to find it completely covered in mud. Wisteria groaned, knocking on the manor’s huge doors, and was met with two guards. “My lady” one of them bowed and she stared at him “Don’t bow to me, Hugo. I’m not High Lady” - that had been a subject Eris could not seem to be able to put down ever since he took over the crown, months ago. But despite their both’s huge efforts to show the citizens of the autumn court that males and females were equal now, the misogyny in the court ran deep. Besides, Wisteria, unlike Eris, was a fighter, a shadow, a spy - not a performer, and the autumn court needed to be ruled by someone with at least somewhat decent social skills, at least according to Wisteria.

She huffed making her way up the stairs.Gods, she’s never been this exhausted. This mission lasted more than a week, longer than any she had been on ever since Eris became High Lord. But the smaller villages still needed help, and she was trying to snuff out what the smaller lords of the counties thought of her lover’s rule.

He had better be home, she thought as she opened up the door to their bedchambers. “Ah there you are” her lover approached her with a small smile “Gods, you look horrible” he stared her up and down “Good to see you too, pumpkin” she mumbled at him and he, as always when she would call him that, huffed in shock at the nickname and clutched a hand to his chest. His hair was a little overgrown, just like Wisteria liked it, and he was wearing a forest green shirt, the first few buttons undone. He gathered up some of the rain drops off her cheek “Good to have you back” he kissed her forehead and made to take the completely soaked through coat off her shoulders. He went to the bathroom to run her a bath as she made her way into their bedroom, where she was met with three of Eris’ ghost hounds. They ran up to her while Wisteria started to take the daggers off herself. “Hello, my little loves, hello” she murmured to them sweetly, petting them. “You know, the view this court has on you would change drastically if they saw how soft you get with them” Eris chuckled from the door “And they’d end up with a dagger in their heart before they even thought about spreading that information around” she replied, not even looking up from her corset, which she had trouble unlacing.

The High Lord was quite right, though. When they met, centuries ago, her - a young girl Beron had acquired to train as spymaster, him - a spoiled princeling, thinking he owned the world, she despised him, and he loved to constantly tease her with all his contrarian shit. That was when their friendship began, but even despite them knowing each other for so long, in the face of Beron’s abuse, Wisteria had put up walls taller than those of the Forest House. Rough at the surface, but as the plans of the former High Lord’s demise were nearing and a vision of peace, at last, began approaching, Eris managed to cut through like a knife.

And they knew each other, better than the stars knew the sky and the moon knew the sun. More than they knew themselves. And they vowed to protect each other’s hearts, at all cost. Even when the whole Prythian thought it knew them - based solely on the sorry masks they put on in front of prying eyes. Their love and the quiet they could give each other in the dark of the night, by the hearth, the devotion in their longing stares during all those grotesque balls - now no longer secret, was enough. No one, except for Eris and Wisteria, knew anything about them, and that provided comfort neither of them had ever dreamed of deserving, accomplishing.

“By the mother I despise this thing” Wisteria huffed and looked up to meet Eris’ russet eyes. “Well, what are you waiting for? Come here and help me” she gestured towards herself, exasperated. He smiled, slightly shaking his head as he walked to her. “Demanding woman” he murmured, standing behind her “Just as you like me” Wisteria replied, meeting his gaze in the mirror in front of them. Eris hummed, placing a light kiss on her shoulder as he started unlacing her bodice. “Why do you keep wearing this if you despise it so much?” “It looks pretty” was his lover’s reply, in a tone as if it was the most obvious matter in the universe. After finishing up with Wisteria’s corset, Eris lowered to his knees in front of her. “Allow me, my love” he said as he took off both of her boots and went to part her mud-covered skirts. He started unstrapping the daggers at her thighs, and she tangled her fingers in the lordling’s hair. He hummed in contentment and for a few moments, the only sounds in the chambers were the flickering of wood in the fireplace and daggers clattering down to the wooden floors. Well, and the uneven breathing of three cheery dogs, now laying around the couple. It seemed that not only Eris and Wisteria could keep up masks to the public, as the hounds were scary and aggressive to any stranger, but would completely switch demeanors when either the High Lord or his spymaster would enter the room.

Wisteria smiled down at her man as he finished up his work. “I missed you, you know” she tugged on his red hair, getting his attention. He looked up at her, his eyes aflame “I know, I missed you too” Eris said, slowly rising from his knees to kiss her face, now ushering her to the bathroom. “Come now, the water will get cold” and as Wisteria started walking, Eris took notice of her slumped shoulders and faltering steps. He took her into his arms, carrying her to the bathing chambers “Touch starved, are we now?” she glared at him “Excuse me, you were gone for a whole week, and I am only a man” he reasoned “You’re excused then, pumpkin” Wisteria chuckled lightly.

At the beginning of their relationship, Eris really despised Wisteria’s missions. But she was running the small group of spies she had gathered for autumn in her centuries as spymaster, and he trusted her. Not only that - his lover was definitely a much better fighter than him, which she would probably always find amusing, but Eris still worried for her. He always would.

He helped her bathe and wash her hair. Taking care of her was something he’d always cherish doing. For so long he didn’t allow himself to care for anyone at all, but Wisteria kept blurring out his periphery, passing by so carelessly as she always would - her presence in a room more noticeable than anyone else’s. For him, at least, that is - for the other courtiers seemed never to notice her, just as she wanted. That, he could never fathom, how someone could just be unaware of her. Her with the thousands of daggers strapped to her body at all times, with her completely inappropriate dresses - for she would usually make them herself and wear the corset on top of the underskirts - a fashion choice she insisted on for centuries. Her with her ability to appear and disappear in front of him during balls, suddenly seen with a goblet of wine or picking her nails with a dagger and the next minute gone, not to be seen until maybe weeks later, her with her unpredictability of going off for her own adventures in the middle of the night or suddenly befriending the bastard Rhysand’s inner circle. Her with her unapproachability and constant frowning that seemed to scare everyone off, but not him, never him. And the way she always knew the right thing to say, on nights where Beron would hurt him particularly badly - Wisteria would find words of comfort that managed to magnificently stitch up his wounds, time and time again. He didn’t think there was ever someone more intelligent than her, not in all of Prythian, not in all of time. He was utterly and completely at the woman’s mercy, and he had absolutely no intention of ever breaking free.

The two made their way into the bedchamber, only to find their hounds splayed on the bed, swinging their tails around happily. Wisteria heard Eris sigh from behind her and chuckled. She made her way under the covers, sitting up in bed to braid her wet hair while Eris threw some more wood into the fire. He soon got in next to her, taking the strands of her dark hair from her and gesturing for her to turn around. He finished braiding it, tying it off with a ribbon. “Thank you, love” she mumbled, throwing herself down into the covers. Eris did not reply, instead gazing down at her form and engulfing her into his arms. The exhaustion from the mission quickly kicked into her as she turned to hide her face in his chest. He smoothed out her hair and kissed her forehead, and soon they both were asleep.

There, in the Forest House, once a place of horror and fear, love and hope for happiness bloomed. They both knew they were safe and sound, as long as they had each other’s arms to find a home in. One of the dogs yawned and wood cracked in the fireplace as a couple still burning candles casted some warm light into the bedroom. Outside, the moon and stars shone down on the manor, as if guarding the couple, protecting their love, the rain pattered onto the windowsills rhythmically and a piece of ivy bloomed on the stone walls of the house.

#acotar x reader #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #acotar fandom #acotar fanfiction #a court of mist and fury #eris x reader #eris x oc #eris acotar #eris vanserra #eris acosf #eris fanfic #azriel x reader #azriel acotar #rhysand x reader #cassian x reader #lucien x reader

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redbleedingrose · 2 years

Note

im sorry i havent been interacting much lately- im having a rough time atm and havnt felt like myself but im working on it!

ANYWAY this has been on my mind and it is genuinely getting me thru the day so i j have to share:) imagine ur having a bad day. like the worst of the worst, everything that could have gone wrong has. and to top it off you woke up feeling awful about yourself- total bad brain day. you get home irritated and exhausted and on the verge of tears and go straight to ur room, completely bypassing eris (this can be pre twins or post twins) and hes just sitting there confused as to why you j kept walking. at least until u accidentally let a bit of emotion down the bond and IMMEDIATELY eris is coming to you. he sees u crying and it shatters his heart bc why is the love of his life crying. so u explain ur day and how bad ur feeling ab urself and he just sits and listens and reassures u and makes you feel like the most loved person in the universe (bc by him you are).

v much realizing how heavy hurt/comfort it is so u can definitely ignore it but im fr wishing for an eris to help me thru it rn <3

Hi my dear,

I am sorry you are going through it rn, I totally understand and get it. You are not alone and don’t worry, Girl dad!Eris will always save the day because you are his heart, soul, and world.

Okay, so you just wake up not knowing that today was going to be a rough day. Honestly you had a lot of hope that the day was going to go really well!

Eris woke up early this morning because he has been busy adjusting the laws that Beron had set into place. He is working hard to undo them to make Autumn Court a better place for his people, for his little girls, and for you.

When he finishes getting ready, he crosses the room towards your form that is still laying in bed, fast asleep. He wakes you to give you your first good morning, a habit that formed when your bond had initially snapped into place centuries ago

He kisses your forehead, stroking your hair back as he gently murmurs, “I have to go to my office, I love you so so much my pretty, and I will see you at breakfast.”

And you smile back, bleary eyed, leaning up to peck him on the lips, telling him you would be up soon, sending a stroke of love down your mating bond in reassurance.

You watch tiredly as he tip-toes to his favorite babes who were still sleeping peacefully in their bassinets, and gives them each individual kisses.

You are too tired to hear what he whispers down at the two, but you are 100% positive it is something along the lines of, “Be good for your mama my beautiful babes. Papa will be back soon, and he loves you more than anything.”

And then he walks out the door, winking at you as he shuts it softly behind him.

By the time you fully wake, it’s been almost an hour since Eris started his day. Marwa and Twila are still asleep, and so you get up with a sense of motivation to get yourself ready.

Since the babes were born, it had become increasingly difficult to find time in the morning to get yourself ready before breakfast. Usually, you would need to get yourself dressed and appearing somewhat presentable after you fed the girls their breakfast.

At first, this worried you. You didn’t want to appear like you were lazy or “letting yourself go” when you arrive to breakfast, frazzled from wrangling the girls out of bed and to the kitchem still in your pajama’s with some dried drool at the corner of your lips from the night before

But the way Eris would look up from where he was seated at the dining table when you would wake in with your babes hand in hand...

The way his eyes would spark with the fire that ran within his veins... the way his face would illuminate with utter joy and peace... the way he always stood in greeting, hugging his babes and putting them in their seats... the way he would pull your chair back for you like the gentlemale he was, tucking you in your seat right next to him before pressing a kiss onto the back of your hand

And if he was feeling incredibly risky, whenever the girls would be focused on eating their breakfast, he would press kisses all the way up your bare arm, right up to your shoulder, whispering something along the lines of how stunning you look this morning

And you would always flush at his compliments, preening under his gaze, any worries that you previously carried slipping away like a leaf within the wind drifting to the ground off a tree

But this morning... you had the time to get ready. Your perfect babes had decided to sleep in. So after taking a quick peak to ensure that both were still dreaming happily, you race towards the en-suite bathroom to rush to take a bath

You soak in the tub for 15 minutes, scrubbing every inch of your skin and allowing for the sunflower oil to hydrate any dryness you were experiencing. You even have time to wash your hair with your favorite rose scented shampoo and conditioner.

You smile, knowing that you have your morning all planned out perfectly. The moment you get out of the bath, you will apply some light rogue to your lips and cheeks to brighten you up today. And if you have the time, you will make sure that your hair is somewhat tame from the bird-nest it was from last night’s late night activities with your husband...

Your perfumed scent and fresh, soft skin is likely going to drive your mate insane during breakfast.

And, so, when the babes run off for their morning riding lessons with their Uncle Luc after breakfast... well... whose to say what Eris will do to you?

Hopefully drag you into his office to have his way with you while the girls are away for a couple of hours before returning to work

But as you get ready... as you stare at yourself in the mirror... you can’t help but feel off. Something about the way you look today feels off.

Entirely off.

The way your rogue is settling on your cheeks is not flattering, and no matter how many times you wipe it off and reapply, it is making you look like you painted yourself this morning to look like a clown. Even the way the rogue stains your lips is wrong.

Fresh face without any makeup will have to do. Eris has never complained before, and he never will. He loves your bare face. He often prefers it because it let’s him paint your face with his cum.

So you sigh in dissapointment, but let it go ultimately. At least you can still fix your hair the way you want. Maybe you will curl it to frame your face? Maybe you will straighten to highlight your cheeks? The possibilites are endless, right!

Wrong.

Your hair is not working with you today. No matter how you try styling it, it falls right back into place, resting in a messy way. You even tried applying a small portion of the gel your mate uses in the morning to help with it, but your hair ends up feeling a bit crusty and greasy, even though that never happens to Eris.

You’re now feeling a little demotivated... you take a quick peak into your room, noticing that both your babes are awake now. Thank the mother they are just babbling at each other, distracted by telling each other about their dreams.

Soon they will realize that their papa is gone, and that mama is in the bathroom, and they will run to receive your morning lovings of hugs and kisses before you help them get ready for the day.

That leaves you with a couple minutes to at least dress a little nicer this morning. So you run into the closet, picking out a flowy sage green dress that Eris had bought for you a couple of days ago despite your closet being full of other clothes.

“I wanna spoil you my beloved. Besides, I already bought Marwa and Twila dresses that match yours. So maybe you can have them wear their dresses when you wear yours. Just so I can see my most beautiful girls and perfect mate matching.”

Gods, the way he treated you had your heart fully leaping into his hands, without any hesitancy or doubt, for him to hold close to his own heart

But even the dress is not fitting right on you. The way it hugs your hips shows off the dips that had developed after having your girls. And you didn’t necessarily hate them per say... but it wasn’t something you wanted highlighted to your mate and the entire autumn court for that matter

And then you start to think maybe it’s not the rogue or the hair or the dress... maybe it’s me. I mean your body has changed a lot since having your girls. Your breasts had enlarged with milk for the babes, and your hips had widened for the birth.

And you hadn’t bounced back like you thought you would.

And obviously, Eris never gave you any pressure or stress about it. In fact, the male worshiped your body. Pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy, and post pregnancy. He was obsessed with you in the best way possible.

But for some reason... today was just not working with you. And you felt dejected that you had wasted your time this morning trying to get ready for your husband, only for it to not work out, when you probably could’ve snuck into his office to have a quick few... private... moments.

Alas, you didn’t have time to think on it too much because the girl’s came running into the room, clinging at your legs begging for their morning kisses and hugs.

Your heart sung at their love, and you felt a small tug at your bond as the wave of emotion seeped down to where-ever Eris was this morning.

So you lean down, pick up your girls, pressing kisses all over their faces as they giggle at you, and move to get them ready, pushing away any discontent to the back of your mind.

You had no time to let this bother you anyway. After breakfast, and hopefully some alone time with Eris, you needed to head out to different towns across Autumn Court to gather intel on any concerns the people had, to reassure the people that you and Eris were working hard as high lord and high lady to ensure their prosperity, to ensure that you would be different from Beron.

The girls are incredibly difficult this morning. They want to see their papa, and they want their papa to get them ready this morning. So you press your lips together, promising them that papa will join them for breakfast if they get ready quickly.

A couple of temper tantrums later, the three of you arrive at the breakfast nook only to discover Lucien in the place of Eris. He sends over a sympathetic smile at the downcast look that crosses your face, letting you and the babes know that their papa had to head out to the border to deal with something that had come up.

You tug at your bond in worry, and your mate replies almost instantly with reassurance and apology which you wholeheartedly accept. Things like this happen. Things like this will happen as high lord and high lady. Things will come up and interrupt your morning and that is okay.

But damn, does it mother above fucking suck.

The only reason the babes don’t have a meltdown over the lack of thier papa’s presence is Lucien’s promise for some candies later if they eat quickly and get to the stables for their horse riding lessons. He squeezes your shoulder in warmth as he is pulled away by his favorite nieces, who immediately give you a hug and kiss in goodbye, once they finish eating.

You head out to town as soon as you finish your own breakfast.

The sooner you get this done, the sooner you can see Eris and spend some time with your babes, together as a family. That is the only thing you look forward to for the rest of the day.

But your time in town only further worsens your mood. Compliant after compliant after compliant. All of them being valid and equally concerning. All of the citizens of the Autumn Court had suffered for centuries under Beron’s rule, and once the fear of Eris disappeared with his kindness, feelings of anger arose within the general population against the Vanserra family as a whole

At some point, you had closed off the bond to Eris because you feared he would pick up on your general distress that was progressing into outright sorrow, discomfort, and grief.

There wasn’t much you could do besides take the brunt of the anger as high lady, reassure the people that you and Eris were working for them, for the people and not the members of court, to undo the heinous laws Beron had inacted, but advise them it would take time.

Town after town after town.

So many families, so many elderly, so many women, so many children had suffered. So many perished with the high taxes and tithes they would were forced to pay, not leaving them with enough money to even buy food.

And the children... they looked at you with such hope... and once you earned their trust with a couple of candies and friendly conversation, they would sit near you trying to gain the favor of their high lady. They would tell you of losing their fathers to the war, losing their mothers to famine because they would sacrifice their food for their babes...

It nearly broke you.

And by the end of the day... by the end of the day you just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep the day away. Intense sadness squeezed at your heart, leaving a lump in your throat, and nausea that had your head spinning.

You didn’t want the girls to see you like this. You only wanted them to see you happy, to see you content. You and Eris had agreed that the babes would grow up with no concern for either of their parents, that you would put on a front so they felt safe, so they felt normal.

Nor did you want your mate to see you like this. You didn’t want him to worry about you.

Part of your sadness stemmed from your overall day being couldron damned. Another part from your lack of time around your mate and babes. Another part from your doubt of yourself in terms of your ability as high lady and even in terms of your beauty.

It just... the day was not working out the way you wanted it to. And the day refused to work out the way you expected it to. Every surprise was a sad one. There was nothing happy about what happened today.

So when you got home, nearing sunset, you walked straight past where your mate and the babes were seated in the sitting room. The girls were in their own world, taking turns trying to read the book that was settled on the floor in front of them as the hounds cuddled into their laps and surrounded them in a protective circle. Eris had been leaning on the couch, a content look spanning his face with a soft smile crinkling his freckle covered cheek, watching his perfect babes politely hand off different pages to each other, watching them point at the little pictures in the book and pointing it out to the hounds that were around them who oddly looked like they understood every word the babes spoke to them.

Your mate had been the first to notice your presence along with the hound he had gifted you for protection when you had accepted the mating bond. The hound trailed after you as Eris stared after your distancing form in confusion, you hadn’t even spared him or the babes so much as a glance as you stormed towards your bedroom.

A sense of dread fills the male as he feels a pulse of sadness through the bond. He hadn’t felt anything from you since this morning, but he had chalked it up to you being busy. He hadn’t thought you were upset in any form. He felt his heart drop, maybe you were angry he had failed to join you and the girls for breakfast.

“Watch over the babes,” he commanded the hounds who had sat up, ears pointing backward and down in alert at their masters orders, surrounding the girls in a circle. When the babes asked where their papa was going, “I’m gonna check on your mama, my Marwa, my Twila. Don’t worry. we will be back with dinner okay?”

They nodded in reply, confused because their mama usually always greeted them with kisses and hugs whenever she came back from work, but they didn’t ask their papa any other questions as he hurried after you.

Eris finds you curled under the covers in bed, and you don’t even peak out to watch him approach you as he settles down on the bed on your side. His feet settle onto the floor on the side of the bed as he angles his body to face yours. He can smell the saltiness of your tears in the air which has his heart racing, trying to think of any reason you could be upset.

Gods forbid, had you been hurt while out in town? Were you upset with him? Were the girls too rough to deal with alone this morning?

He would never forgive himself if anything had happened to you.

Nor would he forgive the person who was stupid enough to upset you like this.

And Mother have mercy on him if he found out that he was the reason you were upset. He would rather light himself on fire alive than be the cause of your pain.

“Beloved?” he whispers when he hears your sniffles coming from underneath the covers. He presses a firm hand into what looks to be the outline of your shoulder, before peeling the blanket away from you.

Bile rises in his throat as he clocks in the tears streaming down your cheeks, your hand pressed into your mouth to muffle your sobs, and eyes squeezed shut to hide the pain that was no doubt reflected in your beautiful iris’.

His heart shatters into a million pieces, not understanding what has happened that has upset you so.

But he quickly jumps into action.

Immediately shifting to lay on top of you, to allow his body weight to act as a grounding source, to allow his warmth to stabilize the adrenaline that is racing through your veins, to press kisses anywhere he has access to.

His hands run up and down your sides, squeezing at your waist and hips before pulling you up into him, molding your body against his as his arm wraps tightly around your waist, his other arm reaching up to finger the ends of your hair.

“What happened my beloved? Has something hurt you?”

You don’t even reply, you just bury your head into the junction of his shoulder and neck, inhaling his cinnamon and apple scent, tinged with the afternoon rain and leaves, allowing for the sound of his heartbeat to calm your own.

You finally open your side of the bond, allowing all your feelings to flood towards him. He takes a sharp inhale, overwhelmed by the rush of negative emotions, but doesn’t say anything. He wants you to share these feelings with him. He wants to lift the burden of these feelings in any way he can. And if that means letting it go onto him, then so be it.

You shake against his body for a while, tears soaking into his shoulder as he strokes your hair, at some point pulling you into his lap and rocking you back and forth.

And when you are ready, you finally begin to tell your husband about your day. About how the day started off so perfectly with him waking you up, and how you felt so motivated to feel pretty for him. How nothing worked out and it left you feeling insecure. How the girls were upset that their papa wasn’t there in the morning, instead they were stuck with mama (even though you know that is not how they meant it to sound, they are only babes for mothers sake). How the towns people had so many concerns. How the children of the court had suffered. How upset you were that these things would take time to fix. How upset you were that you couldn’t relieve the peoples pain with one law, with one all included fix. How much you missed him throughout the day. How much you had wanted some alone time with him... some private time... how disappointed you were when he wasn’t there at breakfast, and how you just were not feeling good. Not feeling good about the day. Not feeling good about the state of the court. Not feeling good about yourself.

And he listened. Stroking your back with one hand, and your hair with the other. Pressing kisses into your temple and forehead, onto your cheeks and corners of your eyes every time a new tear tried to slip out.

He didn’t interrupt you once, allowing for you to get all your feelings out there. Only sending strokes of love, appreciation, pride, longing, and want down the bond that tied your two hearts together.

And when you finally finished, tears all dried out, breathless from your rant, his hand came up to your chin, gripping it to force eye contact with you. The bond had tightened into one of pure devotion streaking down to reach your end, encasing you with your mates love. His amber iris’ stared into yours, flicking back and forth, reflecting only honesty and truth as he began thickly, “My beloved, you are the most stunning female I have ever seen, ever had the pleasure knowing, probably the most stunning female to have ever existed. You are the definition of ethereal, elegance, dazzling, enchanting, and alluring. Your beauty exceeds that of the stars, moon, and sun. There are not enough words to describe your beauty, really there are no words that can accurately describe it either. You are just going to have to take my word for it, and I promise you that I will prove to you ever day how bewitched I am by you. I am so sorry your day didn’t go as you wanted it to. I was actually hoping to join you sometime later today, but I got pulled away by the border issues and I just didn’t have enough time. I am sorry you had to deal with all that on your own. Things for the people are very emotionally charged right now, but I am so fucking proud of you. I am proud to have you as my high lady. I, and the people of this court, are incredibly blessed to have you as high lady, my beloved. You handled things beautifully, and in ways that I couldn’t have done better myself. You are allowed to have off days my love, but I am here for you. And I am going to remind you every time you have one of those days, actually, I am going to remind you every day, that you are my entire heart. My whole soul. And my world, along with the babes. My universe revolves around you. And you are the most loved person I know. The babes absolutely adore you, and while they were complaining in the morning for you, you should’ve seen how they cried when they realized you would be gone for the entire day. It took hours to console them beloved, hours. I was nearly about to rip my hair out before I brought in the hounds to distract them. You are their world. You are the perfect mama to them, and I assure you that you are their favorite being to exist, and I cannot help but feel the exact same. I love you so much, and it is going to be okay. I promise you.”

Your lip trembled at his devotion towards you. Everyday, your mate managed to surprise you with the amount of love and affection he held towards you. Everyday, over and over again, he proved that he was the only being that you could ever possibly want or need to be happy, to be content, to live. “Thank you, Er,” you whispered, leaning forward and capturing his lips against yours. They moved slowly and passionately against each other, pulling away and coming back. Gasping against each others lips for air before shifting to press against each other with no space left in between. His tongue slipped between your lips, ushering into your mouth to stroke at your tongue causing a shot of lust to course through your body. He leaned back, pulling your bottom lip between his teeth, eliciting a soft moan that had him surging forward again.

“EWWWWWWWWWW”

Both Marwa and Twila’s little voices squealed at their parents display of affection, you shoved Eris away at the sound of your babes, immediately glancing over his shoulder to see the two of them scrunching their tiny faces in disgust. The both of them must’ve snuck in at some point during Eris’ speech, and-

“Mama, Papa was sucking your face off!” Twila screamed, leaping across the room towards you. Marwa following behind her just as quickly. Both landed on their papa, causing Eris to fall back with an “omph”

Their tiny fingers shoved into Eris’ sides trying to tickle the male to get him away from their precious mama with their best effort. Luckily for their papa, he was not very ticklish.

Unluckily for them, the babes were.

He locked eyes with you, amber iris’ lined with mischief that caused you to giggle and nod. You both snatched one of the girls away, sending soft brushes across their torso and behind their knees where they tickled the most, sloppily kissing every inch of their faces you both could reach. Their little screams of laughter that followed, soothing the last seed of ache in your heart.

#girldad!eris #marwa and twila #eris x reader #eris vanserra x reader #eris vanserra x you #eris x you #eris acotar #eris vanserra acotar #head empty only eris #girldad!Eris Vanserra

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mha-shiz · 5 months

Text

We'll meet again~

Izuku and Bakugo don't meet until years after the incident.

To the point where they have both been well established in their own areas of expertise.

Bakugo became one of the top heros in the world, while Izuku grew his own power and influence in the underworld. Even being the final cause of Overhaul's fall, takeing his place seamlessly.

When Katsuki and Izuku do finally meet again. It's when Bakugo tries to infiltrate the Meta Liberation army.

He went undercover with Hawks, havwing Tokoyami and Mirio as a backup.

And there, on stage with the rest of the generals, was Izuku Midoriya. Who had an air of calm calculation about him.

When he saw Katsuki in the crowd, all he could do, was smile. Showing off what that "hero" turned in into, he made a speech about how power shall rule, weather or not you have a quirk. That they shall become better than who they were yesterday, and destroy whatever comes in their way of that.

The crowd cheered.

This, wasn't the sweet Izuku Katsuki knew... this... was something... he had created... after breaking the old one..

Katsuki couldn't stand to be jn that audience anymore. So he left, running into a little girl? She had to be around what he calculated Eris age would be by now. It also seemed like her, a much more healthier her at that, witch was good... right?

"You are the one who hurt my big brother, right."

"I don't know what ya mean kid-"

Eri glared at Bakugo before leaveing.

That's when, Izuku came back, with the girl by his side "thank you Eri, you didn't have to" he smiled sweetly at the girl, just like the Deku he knew... then the girl ran off

"Let's have a drink together. Shall we. Bakugo."

Katsuki kind of froze. There was Venom in Izukus words. And he didn't adress him by his nickname, so, things were still most definitely bad... but he still went with Izuku.

Izukus office was small and simple. But it did have some things strewn about it, Izuku and Todoroki, Izuku with some of the other leaders, Izuku and the girl and a guy with arrows on his hair.

While the man himself pulled out two glasses and some fireball whiskey along with some wine. They still knew eachothers preferences after all these years...

Bakugo took his seat across from Izuku and looked into his drink

:its not poisoned, that would be too boring and simple of a death someone like you deserves if that's what you're thinking"

"I- Izuku... im sorry... for everything-"

"Wow- a genuine apology- sorry to say, but you're far, FAR too late for that" Izuku took a sip of his wine in apathy

"I toight it should be out there-"

"And why would i accept it? You have done nothing to try to save me over the years- didn't even look for me when you could. Just relied on the same useless people who failed me in the first place"

Katsuki didn't have any retort to that, so he just drank the fireball, God he wished it was poisoned. But sadly, it wasn't.

"Hoestly, you wouldn't belive what I've had to do to get here. You have it so easy still, after all these years"

"I've missed you... I've missed our friendship..."

"You call the abuse you put me trough FRIENDSHIP" Izuku couldn't help but laugh "I can't imagine what you put your poor husband trough if that was friendship to you"

"I would never-"

"Hurt Ejiro?- right? I managed to learn about that little crush you had on me- so now I'm wondering when you're going to slip, and hurt him too? Or maybe you'll kill him with your presious quirk!" he couldn't help but giggle at that

"I don't have to take this-" Bakgo got up pissed off

"Also-" izuku sipped his wine "If I see you or Hawks here again, neither of you will exist anymore. Got it?♡"

Bakugo just nodded before leaveing, takeing Hawks with him.

Izuku would have to deal with the pissed off Dabi later, but that's fine. Dabis bird stepped out of line with that. So they can't be here anymore. Simple as that.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #yakuza deku

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weirdly-specific-but-ok · 7 months

Note

hey asmi, we did it!! i wasnt able to do much because of school and being really drained of energy lately but wahooo!! your fandom loves you very much and im so glad to be a part of it!! sorry i havent been on here much lately but im so proud of all you do and the people you brought together, and im so so glad to be part of the family

all the hugs and well wishes

-eris♡♡♡

DO NOT APOLOGISE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND FOR EVERYTHING AND I HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER AND I HOPE THIS CHEERED YOU UP A BIT!!

#MAGGOTS

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icey--stars · 1 year

Text

Born For Tragedy: Part 18

Series Index

She was tragedy. Nothing except death, fear and pain followed in her wake. When she was young, she was beaten. Now she’s the one doing the beating as an assassin. A mysterious stranger comes to her, paying an absurd amount of money for her to kill Beron Vanserra, and protect the eldest son until the job is done. She stumbles across a story much similar to her own, and knows what must be done.

a/n: yes, we are getting subby eris. enjoy :) he’s not as subby as you might expect, but he’s normally a dom character in this sort of thing, so i had to make it somewhat true to his character. he’s an absolute slut for valda though lmAO

ALSO IM SORRY THIS IS LATE IM AN IDIOT AND PUT NEXT MONDAY IN THE SCHEDULING THING LOL

WARNING: NSFW CONTENT! MINORS DNI! 18+ CONTENT

↢ 『 ☾ 』 ↣

Valda ran her hands tantalizing up Eris’s nape as they kissed until she could bury her hand in his hair and pull him away, grinning.

Eris’s eyes were half-lidded as he looked down at her, panting softly.

“Are you okay with this?” Valda asked. “I can still give you control-”

“No,” he said immediately, eyes refocusing as he supported himself instead of her holding his head up by the roots of his hair. Valda’s eyes widened, and she immediately let go of him.

“No-” Eris panted, closing his eyes. “Gods. I want to give you control. I want this, Valda.”

“Have you ever done something like this before?” She asked, smoothing a hand across Eris’s shoulder and down his chest.

“A few times,” Eris admitted. “I don’t know if I ever truly let go though.”

Valda smirked. “I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself, don’t worry, mate. If you want me to stop, say ‘red,’ alright?”

Eris chuckled, smiling softly as he nodded.

“Are you okay with me pulling your hair?” Valda asked. “Pain?”

“You can do anything you want,” Eris said.

Valda chuckled, feeling high off Eris’s trust. Oh… the Mother knew what she was doing when giving her Eris as a mate.

“Are you going to be my good boy?” Valda asked, running her other hand, not running down his pec, up to his hair again, grabbing a hold of it to force him to meet her eyes.

Eris let out a little whimper, closing his eyes. His arms were shaking from holding himself up while receiving all of Valda’s attention, so she quickly and effectively flipped him onto his back, straddling his thighs.

Eris looked up at her like she was a goddess and she loved it.

“Take off the glamor,” she whispered into his ear. “Let me see you.”

There was a brief shimmer of light down her mate’s body as Eris obeyed. The scars that were revealed were horrible, and just like before, she felt rageful at the ones that looked to be put there with purpose. But at the same time, they were utterly beautiful. Eris’s scars were a part of him and they made him beautiful. And most of all… they made him like her.

Willingly, for the first time, she dropped her glamor in front of someone in bed.

Eris noticed, his eyes drawn to her shoulders and arms where torture scars were left and abuse scars from whoever had decided to put them there. Her family, her masters and sometimes even her friends. “Scars and all,” he whispered.

Valda felt tears come to her eyes at that phrase. She remembered him saying it before when she had her scars out.

“I love you,” she whispered and kissed him passionately.

Eris brought his hands up to tangle in her short hair, pulling her into the kiss even harder. Valda enjoyed every damn second of it.

When she pulled away, she felt breathless. Even just kissing was so much more intense with Eris. Everything felt perfect. She began trailing one hand down his naked chest slowly, heading toward his towel.

She smirked as he sucked in a breath as her hand trailed over his nipple.

“So sensitive,” she purred, looking at him with a smirk.

Eris sighed, relaxing further into the bed, looking up at her with those amber eyes that shone with flames of their own. He was beautiful. Absolutely perfect. And he was hers.

“Mine,” she whispered as she leaned down toward his neck to kiss his throat gently.

Eris let out a little, soft sound full of need. “Yours,” he agreed breathlessly.

Valda’s hand finally made contact with his towel and she ripped it away to let it fall onto the floor.

She sat up high on Eris’s thighs, gazing down at him proudly. He was naked and vulnerable beneath her, but he looked entirely happy to be there. He trusted her to let her see him like this. Despite every horrible scar on his body, he was trusting her to pin him down, and pull his hair and-

Oh, she loved this male. Irrevocably.

Eris’s breathing had picked up more and he panted softly as she continued to take in her fill. His cock was hard and already leaking against his abs, which she ignored with a little bit of difficulty.

“Let me see you,” he said.

Valda’s eyes flicked up to his again and she smirked. “What’s the magic word?” She asked.

“Please,” Eris said without an ounce of hesitation.

Well, she couldn’t deny him now, could she? So, she tore the golden nightgown off herself, baring herself for Eris to see. Both her bargain tattoos and all her scars were visible like this, but she didn’t care. Not with the stare of awe Eris had.

His hands slid up to her hips to grasp her gently. Valda felt like she couldn’t breathe with that touch. “You are everything I want,” Eris said. “Everything.”

And those words were all she needed to lean down to kiss him again and reach between their bodies to wrap a hand around him. Eris whimpered into her mouth, holding her waist firmly like he needed her to ground him.

Valda grinned against the kiss and trailed her lips down the side of his jaw to kiss at his neck, sucking firmly at a place she knew he couldn’t hide without a glamor. Eris gasped as she bit, and then moaned as she finally moved her hand that was grasping him.

“Fuck,” he groaned, arching his back slightly. “I love you so much,” he managed to get out before moaning again.

Valda paid special attention to the tip with her thumb for a moment before going all the way down to play with his balls. Oh, the sounds he made were so perfect. So addicting. She pulled back to watch his expressions as well.

His hands slid up her body, going toward her breasts and she shot him an amused look.

“Let me make you feel good too,” Eris said. His thumbs traced over her nipples and she rolled her eyes, but allowed the touch. Her nipples weren’t particularly sensitive like his, but it did feel quite good. But she enjoyed watching him far more.

Then she got an idea.

“Lay back,” she ordered softly, sliding further down his body. Eris relented after a few moments, letting his hands fall onto the sheets near his hips. She settled in the area between his thighs and smirked up at him.

Eris scoffed. “Well,” he mused. “Aren’t you going to get on with it?”

Valda reached forward to grab a hold of his throat so fast he could barely get a gasp of surprise in.

“Do you want to try that again?” She asked, cutting his air off.

He closed his eyes, his hips thrusting up under her, his dick brushing against her stomach. Eris moaned, but it turned garbled with her hand.

“What a naughty boy,” she chuckled, watching him open his eyes to meet hers. “You think you can get what you want with that attitude? I told you I like training my lovers, Eris. Did you think I was a liar?”

He shook his head, his eyes shining with need as Valda pulled her stomach away from where he couldn’t rub against her.

She loosened her grip a little, tilting her head like a predator observing its prey. “I decide when and how to touch you. You are to sit there and take it.”

Eris swallowed and then nodded in understanding.

Valda released her grip, letting him pant for breath as she let my hand rest around his neck like a gentle necklace rather than a choking grip. “Are you okay with this?” She asked, leaning down to whisper in his ear. “You remember what to say if you don’t?”

Eris nodded, grinning happily. “I’m fine,” he assured Valda.

“What’s your safe word?” Valda asked, wanting to make sure Eris was okay with this before she even dared to continue.

“Red,” Eris answered.

“Good,” she praised. “And you can tap me three times if you can’t speak, alright?”

Eris chuckled. “I got it, Val. If you truly think you choking me is going to turn me off, you’ve got me very wrong.”

Valda grinned before lowering herself down his body again. “Now don’t you dare move,” she growled before licking up his shaft.

Eris practically looked to be set alight like a flame from that. He moaned openly and his thighs shook as if he was trying to hold himself back from thrusting into her mouth.

She smirked and took the tip into her mouth, sucking roughly. He seemed so sensitive like this and she loved it. She would always love it.

“Cauldron,” he swore as she took him deeper into her mouth. She spotted his hands twitch as she glanced up at him through her lashes. She used her free hand to wrap around the rest of him, humming around his dick to increase the pleasure.

“Shit,” he cried out, his hands lifting from the bed in fists before he pushed them back down to grasp the sheets in a hard grip. “Val- Val, please let me touch you.”

She hummed again and pulled away, getting a better look at his needy, fucked out face. Just his panting was addicting. She was truly fucked when it came to resisting her mate.

“Where would you like to touch me?” She asked, as if she wasn’t still bringing him pleasure with her hand and didn’t just have a line of spit connecting her lips to the tip of his cock.

Eris panted for a few more moments, as if he was gathering himself and then he managed to speak. “Let me pull your hair,” he said roughly.

Valda choked on her next breath, but managed to hide it well enough that Eris didn’t notice. Hopefully. “There’s not much hair to pull,” she argued.

He lifted a hand and slid it into her short hair and then slightly fisted her hair from the roots. “You sure?” He asked, smirking as she gasped.

Valda growled and leaned down to lick his cock again, not moving his hand and simply taking him deeper down, past her gag reflex that she pushed back and into her throat.

He groaned, yanking her head back a little. A thrill went through her at the movement and she closed her eyes before pulling off again.

“Fuck my throat, Eris,” Valda ordered and wasted no time in taking him back down.

Eris moaned again and followed her orders, yanking her head back and forth along his length.

“Mother, your mouth feels so good, Val.”

She groaned at the words, not expecting the fire they set alight in her core.

He lost his grip on her hair once, but managed to find it again quite easily and keep moving her up and down his cock as he moaned.

“Fuck,” he growled. “I’m close.” The warning was all Valda needed to start sucking even harder, moaning along his length.

Eris exploded and warmth with a slightly salty taste filled her mouth as he came. Through the bond, she could feel his pleasure slightly. It was addicting. She held his cum in her mouth, waiting until Eris’s on her hair gentled to pull away. She swallowed a single gulp, satisfied with the taste of her mate, of Eris.

He was still panting, looking at her with awe and lazily tracing her movements back up his body. Valda leaned down and kissed him hard. He groaned again and she forced her way into his mouth and shoved the rest of his un-swallowed cum into his mouth.

She pulled away for a moment to speak. “Swallow it,” she growled.

Eris obeyed wordlessly, looking entirely fucked out. She took his lips again as she positioned her hips across his, straddling him.

“You wanna touch me?” She asked roughly. He nodded enthusiastically, reaching his hands up toward her chest already.

“Uh, uh,” she said and reached to grab his hands and then position them on her hips. He looked utterly enraptured by the sight before him. His softened cock began to grow again and she smirked. “You like looking at me, Eris? You like looking at your mate?”

He nodded and spoke roughly. “Mine,” he muttered.

Valda’s smirk widened. “Mhm,” she agreed. “I’m all yours, Eris. And you’re all mine.”

The mating bond felt tangible between them at that moment as he muttered, “Yours.” It glowed like golden fire between them, setting their souls alight with need and want and love.

“I fucking love you,” Valda groaned, kissing him again. He gripped her hips a bit harder.

“Let me taste you,” he panted as she pulled away.

Valda shook her head. “Not this time,” she muttered. The need to have him inside her was too great. “This time, I’m going to ride you.”

He groaned and she felt his cock against her thigh. Carefully, she aligned him with her cunt and then slowly began to sink down.

Eris panted, holding onto her hips tightly. Not to control her or the pace, but seemingly just to ground himself.

“Good,” she praised. “So fucking good.”

Eris moaned at that. “Yeah?” Valda asked. “You like being called good? You like knowing how good you’re making me feel?”

He moaned, nodding. “You’re so fucking perfect,” he managed to get out.

She grinned, loving this, and loving the feeling of him filling her up even more. It was addicting. Finally, she settled onto his hips and groaned from deep in her chest, leaning over to press her lips to Eris’s.

He seemed entirely happy to press kiss after kiss to her, even when he couldn’t manage to reach her lips. “Fucking Cauldron,” he groaned. “You feel exquisite.”

She grinned and then managed a little grinding movement. That sent fire racing through her veins. A concoction of arousal racing down her spine that she’d never quite managed to feel so strongly. Swearing, she finally lifted herself up so that only his tip rested within her before dropping down. He immediately nailed that one spot inside of her and she moaned loudly.

Eris’s grip tightened at the noise, leaning his head forward to catch a glimpse of where they were connected.

She lifted herself up again and dropped, continuing the movement over and over again. They both were moaning uncontrollably. This was the best that she’d felt ever. Even when Friar had finally let her come that night, it was nowhere near the magnitude of having sex with Eris.

Her thighs began burning, but she tried to ignore it, panting desperately.

Eris seemed to lose control at one hard grind and bucked his hips up. She moaned, surprised and entirely too relieved by the pleasure of the movement to reprimand him.

“Keep doing that,” she groaned.

Every movement after that was paired with Eris bucking up into her and it made everything perfect.

“Let me take over,” he murmured, kissing her cheek gently.

She only has the energy to nod.

He rolled them over without even sliding out of her. The movement surprised her, but when he started to move, she didn’t even care.

“Harder,” she gasped.

Eris obeyed.

There was a coil in her stomach, building and building until the pressure was about to snap.

“I’m close,” she muttered.

Eris brought one hand between their bodies and began pressing against her clit. And that was the limit of her control.

She exploded, moaning and clenching. The pleasure-filled wave was overwhelming. She distantly felt warmth inside of her, but she was too busy riding that wave to care for the potential consequences. Not that she’d care too much anyway.

It seemed like forever when she finally began to come down. Eris had collapsed against her, panting into her neck rapidly.

“Holy fuck,” he finally muttered.

She chuckled. He raised himself up, gently removing himself. She hissed a bit at the loss, but settled quickly when Eris rested his head against her breasts. She raised a hand to pet through his hair. “My mate,” she said contentedly.

Eris seemed to murmur something as well, but it couldn’t be heard since it was muffled against her skin.

“I love you,” she whispered. “I love you so much. I’m never leaving again. I will be here, always.”

Eris hummed happily.

For a while, they remained like that, curled up next to each other, but finally, the stickiness and sweat began to get to her.

“Let’s go take a bath,” Valda suggested, raising herself onto her elbows. “How’s that sound, Eris?”

He hummed, but slowly removed himself from her, sitting on the edge of their bed and offering out his hand as he stood. Gratefully, she took it and walked with him back into the bathroom.

She lunged forward before he could turn the water on, pointing to the edge of the bathtub. Eris smiled and chuckled a little at her silent insistence to care for them both. She turned the water on, walking over to kiss Eris gently while it filled up.

“You are mine,” she whispered. “And that means I take care of you.”

He smiled. “But aren’t you mine as well?”

She sighed, rolling her eyes at his antics. “You can do the cuddling part then,” she allowed. “But let me take care of you here.”

“Very well, mate,” he replied.

They bathed together. Valda managed to convince Eris to let her clean his hair and she’s never seen him more content than when she had her fingers buried deep in his hair, rubbing his scalp.

When they finally made it to bed, the exhaustion had already hit, but a bit of High Fae magic set the bed right. Eris handed her an oversized T-shirt to wear to bed, not letting her protest.

Valda had sighed and then put on the shirt and her underwear before curling up on her side next to Eris. She was facing him, and he pulled her into his chest, cuddling her as close as seemingly possible. It was adorable, to be honest.

She almost loved these soft moments more than the heated ones.

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing her forehead.

“I love you too,” she replied, squeezing him tightly for a moment.

Together, they drifted off into peaceful sleep.

↢ 『 ☾ 』 ↣

TAGLIST (see post for getting added)

@bunnymallowo, @officiallyunofficialperson, @margssstuff, @rebloggiest-reblogger, @inpraizeof, @graciereads, @eos-princess, @imma-too-many-fandoms, @mali22, @sassybluebird, @bubybubsters,

#eris x oc #eris vanserra #eris acotar #acotar #acotar fanfiction #acotar fanfic #original character #oc #mywriting

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echantedtoon · 11 months

Text

Demon Bride Ch18 Curiouser And Curiouser

Well ...This day had gotten much more awkward .

This day had already been eventful with meeting Akaza and saying a sudden good bye to the small children you'd been reading too so quickly. Then Kyogai had been so kind to offer you both another book to read during your stay and a delicious lunch. It was actually pretty peaceful and honestly one of the best meals you'd ever had! You weren't sure what spices Kyogai's chef used to cook the chicken meat in but it was delicious. But what you weren't expecting was for Kaigaku to come back with a vengeance. Or...what you thought was vengeance at first- Just a few hours later.

"Don't these hurt?"

"...Huh?"

You both might've lost track of time before Eri had awkwardly suggested she gets you back to bed as it had gotten late. Kyogai seemed ..strangely reluctant, but agreed that it would be best for your health to get some early sleep. However something had eventually caught your eye and it just so happened to be the drums that was sticking out from his body. They were half way embedded within his flesh and looked to be one with him. You couldn't help but stare and ask which caught him off guard, more so when you suddenly reached out and touched the drum embedded within his right shoulder. It didn't feel like it was flesh. It was made of leather and wood like a regular tsuzumi drum. Your fingertips grazed across the smooth leather one would be at for a drum. It seemed he used them to get around the mansion like a ghost. Did it hurt when he moved and shifted them around? Did it hurt when he placed them in his body? Does it hurt when he hits them?

"I-I...W-W-What are you-" His gaze fell silent when your other hand gently reached for the other.

"Your drums. Do they hurt your body embedded in like this?"

Her purple eyes gently looked up at him making his face light up a bright red. Too close! Too ..pretty- "I-I-IM FINE!" Her eyes blinked as he suddenly backed away from her clearing his throat. "T-They do not cause me pain. Although your concern is a-appreciated. *AHEM!*" With a hand wave to Eri, he dismissed you both. His other hand shakily reaching up to grab the drum your hand touched. "P-Please escort Lady Y/n to her room. I-I have to finish settling some paperwork."

..You looked to Eri who seemed to be both knowing of something you didn't see and almost dying of second hand embarrassment. You were going to ask her what was up with all of that but the four armed demon only forcibly turned you around by the shoulders and pushed you down the hall back towards your room.

"Haven't you ever heard of keeping your hands to yourself? You embarrassed him! And why would you run through the halls after Lord Akaza!? You're supposed to be taking it easy until Lord Enmu comes back! Are you trying to get the both of us in trouble? I'm supposed to be taking care of you!"

"Sorry. I couldn't just let Kaigaku get hurt because of something I said."

"Hmph! He would've been fine considering he's survived Lord Akaza 's punishments before, YOU however are more squishy than a sponge! You need to be more careful around the Lords. You're very lucky the few you've encountered aren't interested in harming anyone without a better reason than just 'she annoyed me'. If you did that to someone like Lady Daki or Lord Gyokko, then your life would've been forfeit! From now on, you need to be more careful until you can safely leave."

"I know. I know. And I apologize for that. I promise I'll try not to do anything else that'll worry you but now that you mention the other Lords just how many are there?" Eri hummed as you turned to look at her. "It's just that I've lived on the other side of the mountain all my life and never even believed you all actually existed until three weeks ago. Why do to you all have Lords? Is your Master more of a king? I'm very confused."

"Oh. I keep forgetting you're not from here so you wouldn't know." She looked at you know with a smile. "I guess you'll have to know if you stay here. That way if any more Lords show up, you'll be more careful."

"Thanks. I guess.,"

"You'll thank me later when I save your life. But since you asked, our Master is I guess our equivalent to an Emperor to you humans although he doesn't like being called that or so I've heard. He's one of the oldest and most powerful demons besides a few handfuls of ancient families. He is in rule without question over all demons and the humans who live in his territories. His family are the most wealthy and prominent of all of us. Under himself are the Twelve Kizuki or the twelve Lords as you probably have an easier time remembering."

"Are they all relatives of his?" Was that why they had such high positions compared to the millions of other demons living around you? But you thought Eri said Kaigaku and Kyogai weren't related?

"Only a few of the Lords are related to each other since they're siblings but otherwise no. No Lord is related to the Master. There's always six of them and each of them has a very important job assigned from the Master to keep our kind from running rapid and wild."

"What kind of jobs?"

"Well it depends. The twelve Lords are decided into two groups of six. The Upper and Lower Moons. The Upper Moons are the most powerful demons under the Master and are given the most important jobs. The strongest of them is Lord Kokushibo who holds the place of Upper Moon One. He's the delegate between humans and demons as well as in charge of the other Upper Moons. Lord Kokushibo is also Lord Kaigaku's sensai. He teaches him sword fighting." A grimace suddenly appeared on her face. "And just under him is Upper Moon Two Lord Douma."

"That was the man you mentioned before!"

She glumly nodded. "Yes. He's also the human recruiter." You gave her a look. "By that I mean he's in charge of attracting more humans to live in the Master's territories. He's also in charge of managing the..." She hesitated for a moment. "Managing the shipment of certain..'goods' for all demons. But he's rumoured to be a womanizer and constant flirt with many humans and demon consorts however I don't know if that's true."

"Well doesn't he sound like a great ray of sunshine."

"Well they say he's also very beautiful and can't feel emotions. But I've never even seen him so I don't know if any of those things are true. But none sound pleasant. Not like Lord Akaza!"

Your eyes lit up. "That's right. He said he was an Upper Moon."

"Number three to be exact. He's security for humans. You can say he makes sure no human is harmed by any demon unless ordered by the Master or Lord Kokushibo. He's the kindest of all the Twelve Kizuki besides Lord Kyogai. Directly below him is...Or should I say WAS Lord Hantengu, but since he retired from the position earlier this year the title of Upper Moon Four is shared between his five sons."

You blinked. "So... Upper Moon Four is shared by five people then?"

Eri nodded. "Lords Sekido, Karaku, Aizetsu, Urogi, and Zohakuten. They're all brothers and sons of Former Lord Hantengu. They are all Upper Moon Four and the newest Lords. However they haven't had their initiation ceremony yet so for now they are just placeholders of said title. They are the punishers and collectors. They're in charge of chasing down any traitors or law breakers whether they are human or demon and enacting righteous punishments, they are also in charge of collecting any owed debts to our Master whether it be money, land, or even blo-.. Goods. You'd be surprised exactly how many there actually is ."

"They sound scary."

"I wouldn't know. Never met them. However to keep on track is Lady Nakime as Upper Five. I don't exactly know much of her other than she's the communicator between all the twelve kizuki. No one I've talked to knows that much about her, I just know she's been Upper Five since Lord Gyokko retired over a hundred years ago. Under her is the last of the Upper Moons. Upper Moon Six Lord Gyutaro and Lady Daki. The brother and sister. They're informants and work underground, whatever that means. They both live and work in the entertainment district however they're well known because of their...habits."

"What...Kind of habits?"

"Well...It's rumoured that Lady Daki is very beautiful. I don't know if that's true or not, but even the rumor is enough to make desperate men go and look around mating season. Many men go but ...no one I've heard that went has ever come back. At least not in one piece. Lord Gyutaro's very protective of his sister you see. That's what brings on much of the carnage from desperate suitors. "

You didn't know what to say about that. All these demons, other than Akaza, sounded scary. You wouldn't want to meet them without protection either

"And what of the Lower Moons? What do they do?"

"Oh! Well you already met three of them! Lower Moon One is Lord Enmu! He's in charge of all travel within Masters provinces and transports most of the goods in and out of his domains, also responsible for helping Lord Douma bring in other humans by train. And Lower Moon Two is Lord Kaigaku. He's the guardian of the Eastern Mountain Border and Lord Kokushibo's apprentice. Lower Moon Three is a mystery however...I heard someone new is getting the role but it's unconfirmed."

"And the last moons?"

"Those would be Lord Yahaba at Lower Moon Four and Lady Susamaru at Lower Moon Five. They both work together and are the personal guards of the Master's family. And last but CERTAINLY not least is Lord Kyogai in the last position. He's the record keeper. Documents any important event in our history, any information Master would want or need, and he's also in charge of documenting many laws, deaths, births, and marriages."

You stared semi in awe at her as you both passed other servants approaching your room. "That sounds like a lot of work and pressure for one person. " And you were kinda glad you didn't have any drama in your life-

Eri only shrugged and reached a hand out to grab the sliding door. "Well they're all perfectly capable of handling themselves. Besides you don't have to worry about anything they do."

The door was slid back in one motion and both of you turned to the room...Only to pause at exactly who was inside waiting for you.

"It's about dam time you showed up! I've been waiting here for hours!"

You blinked as blue and black eyes glared up at you from the floor as Kaigaku sat there cris crossed, tail curled by his legs, and with one hand tapping the floor while the other held his frowning face. He continued to stare at the two of you just dumbly staring back at him.

"...Why are you in my room?, " You eventually asked raising a brow. Did he mix up rooms? His was right across from yours, so you pointed behind you. "Your room is right across the hall from mine."

"I KNOW THAT!! I'm not stupid! I've been waiting for you to show up!", He countered back which made you blink, "Hey, Eri. Go get us that food I mentioned to you earlier !" Eri blinked. "Well what are you waiting for? Go get it!"

Eri blinked as Kaigaku waved a shooing hand at her making her blink at him then turned to you with a half worried look before sighing and bowing to Kaigaku. "Yes, Lord Kaigaku. As you wish?"

You made to call Eri back as she turned to walk away- "And you!" You turned back to him as he motioned for you to come inside. "Come in and close the door. I want to talk to you."

...You scowled at him before stepping in and grabbing the door. "You know you're really making it hard for me to like you!"

His face perked up slightly. "Oh. So you DO want to like me?"

You closed the door a little harder than maybe you should've. "Well you're not making it easy! You're really rude you know."

"I've been told. Would you sit down?" ...Your brow rose. "What?"

"It couldn't hurt you to say please?"

He inhaled like he was trying to compose himself to not get angry, but his eyes narrowed at you. "MAY I be able to get you to sit down and talk with me?"

Well...he didn't say please but you supposed that was as close as a please you'd get from someone like him. So you went over and with about a yard between the two of you, went to sit-... purple eyes blinked at the floor.

"What now?"

"Did...Did you bring me a pillow to sit on?" The small pillow looked like the one you'd seen in that one dining room when you first got here

"Does it matter? I'm here to talk, not discuss furniture."...Well you guessed it probably didn't matter but it was still strange he brought it here. Perhaps he wanted to get on your good side, which only made you give him a suspicious look before slowly sitting down. "Hmph. What took you so long? I've been waiting for you long enough."

"Well excuse me if I promised Kyogai I'd talk with him." He was starting to get on your nerves again.

Kaigaku flashed his eyes and gripped his face harder. "Oh yes. And just WHAT exactly were you both talking about?"

Tch. Why did he want to know? Y/n's face deadpanned. "He just wanted his book back is all. I don't see how that concerns you."

"It does concern me thank you very much considering what happened between us!! First Akaza and now Kyogai's budding in where they don't belong!"

What was he talking about now? What did those two do to Kaigaku to make him mad this time? And how did that concern you?...Oh no. You groaned annoyed. Was this because you got between their fighting? Was he really that annoyed by a girl stopping him from getting flattened like a plank of wood?

"Is this about what happened earlier today with Akaza?"

"And Kyogai now! Yes!"

So it was because you embarrassed him. You groaned again reaching up a hand to rub your face. "You can't be mad about that-"

"The hell I can't!'' he pointed at you. "Don't think I didn't see how you were gripping his arm!"

TO SAVE YOU!! You wanted to yell but instead sighed. "Alright. So just so I get what you're trying to say... You're angry about what I did today?"

"And the parts they played."

"Right, right. *Sigh* Alright. Just to make you happy, what if I promise to never do that again?"

That sure made him perk up in interest. Making him raise a brow and eye you carefully. "... You're serious?"

"I promise you. I'll never try anything like that again if it bothers you. And I always keep my word, but in return can I ask something from you?" Perhaps you out could use this moment to bring some kind of peace.

He only looked more suspicious now crossing his arms. "Yeah? And what's that?"

"Would you please tone it down with the attitude for me?" It surprised him enough to raise both brows, your hands gestured around. "If we're going to be living together then we can at least show each other some courtesy can't we?"

To your surprise your words seemed to actually make him think because Kaigaku hummed and looked off in thought. "...Yes..If we're going to be together." He then nodded. "Very well. Just stop doing things to annoy me-"

"And I have a name. I'd like it if you used it more."

"Ugh. Fine if it'll make you less annoying about it."

Wow. You were honestly surprised! The last thing you were expecting was for Kaigaku of all demons to somewhat apologize and somewhat be polite-ish. To be honest this was something you didn't think he could do but it still make a suspicious feeling bubble up in the back of your mind that he was doing this for some other reason besides wanting you to stay out of his business, which fair enough you guessed. But it still begged the question.

"So was this it?" He hummed at you in question. "What you wanted to talk about. Was that all? It's odd you'd want to stay for dinner and be so nice to me if there wasn't something else."

He frowned again and huffed before rolling his eyes. "Can't do anything without you being antsy. But now that you brought it up, yes I do. And it's something I would've done before if I knew them what I know now."

What was he talking about now? Was he talking about kicking you out again? Oh no. Was he about to lecture you about how you should be kicked out again? You thought he was done ranting about that. Instead purple eyes watched as he lifted his right arm up, and with his other reached towards his wrist. The confusion in your eyes diminished some when the hand went to the blue charm dangling from his wrist. That's right. He wore three of them all the time. Two were secured around his neck in some kind of necklace, and the third was wrapped around his wrist. Sharp black claws gently tugged and pulled at the thick string keeping the third blue charm stuck around his wrist until it all fell away, the now lose charm harmlessly falling into his grey palm. With a final stare at it, he exhaled and turned back to you.

"This is a magatama charm," he said holding it up to you. Now closer, it seemed to be made out of some kind of polished smooth stone. "I figured out a way to get out of the trouble you caused me by coming in here and also our little problem with others budding into things they shouldn't, I'm planning on making a statement about exactly what I think of you."

...Your brow rose deadpanned between him and the charm. "And what exactly does that have to do with me or your jewelry?' your hand pointed at the admittedly lovely piece.

"You gifted me a dowry so I'm simply gifting you one in return as is customary and to show that there isn't anymore hard feelings about losing my last peach from your blunder."

"...So you're trying to make peace with me so Akaza doesn't try to flatten you again?"

He squawked and you saw him instantly scowl. So that was a yes then- "IM DOING THIS TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THOSE ASSHOLES TO BACK OFF AND MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS!!"

So that WAS a YES. Nice. But you'd play along if it meant Kaigaku would be 'nicer' to you, and so the other two would stop arguing with him. So rolling your eyes and sighing, you nodded.

"Alright. You win." You blunt response got him to shut up in the middle of calling Akaza a woman stealing something whatever he meant by that. "I accept your apology. And your promise. And your terms of the deal from before as long as you accept my terms. I also accept your generosity of the gift, but I can't take your jewelry."

"WHAT?!", He yelled but not in anger, he looked more..lost. Sputtering he blinked back to the charm in his hand before holding it up to his face and twisting it this way and that as if to check for even the slightest imperfections on the beautiful blue surface. "...Well what's wrong with this?!"

"Absolutely nothing. It's perfectly beautiful."

"Then take it!," He thrusted it back at you firmer, "If there's nothing wrong with it, then accept it! If you don't like this one, I have two others if you'd prefer one of them!" Already his other hand made grabbing motions at his neck. "Just name which one you want and it's yours."

"I wouldn't want those either-"

"Then tell me what you want and I'll get it for you! Whaddya want?! Gold? Dresses? Food? I can provide most anything."

"Kaigaku it's not about the gift! I just don't want to take something that might mean so much for you, and it's not fair for me to accept something so expensive from you when I just gave you mere peaches!" He paused. "Despite what you might think, I'm not a greedy or materialistic woman. I wouldn't want to accept such a thing unless I earn it or have enough money to buy such a thing."

"... You've already earned it from me. I wouldn't give such a thing like this to anyone unless I want to go through this. And I decided I wanted to with YOU. Although I never thought I would or with a human of all women. Y/n. Take it. I refuse to gift you anything less than this. If I want a new one!," He spoke louder interrupting whatever you were about to say when you opened your mouth, "I know where I can get another easily to replace this one. It's a perk of being a powerful man. Now will you accept this or I'll find you something else."

God's above! Just how stubborn was he?! ...sigh. He wasn't going to stop unless you accepted it was he? Ok. New plan. You'd accept it for now, and then 'accidentally' leave the charm in Kaigaku's room when you left. That way he'd stop bothering you with it and you'd be too far away by the time he found it to make you take it back. Yeah. That sounded like a good idea.

"Alright, Kaigaku. I'll accept your magatama." For now.

His face lit up in a smug, satisfied glee. "Heh. I knew you'd love it." Suppressing the urge to roll your eyes, you held out a hand- ?! You jumped when he literally leaned forward quickly towering over your body. "Hold still so I can put it on you!" You never even got to argue with him before he was on you, hands going around your head and something like thick string touching your neck. "Hold still!"

"Kaigaku, get off!"

"Stop being a spoiled child and hold still like I said!"The string was wrapped twice around your neck and a knot was tied to the left side of your neck before the hands finally backed off with a happy look from Kaigaku. "There....It's perfect."

You shoved his body away from yours with a frown. "I could've put it on myself." You glared at his smug face, and let you hand reach up to touch the necklace wrapped around your throat. It was some thick string, and soon your skin grazed the smooth surface of the charm hung off it. "...*sigh* But thank you. It's beautiful."

"I know. It's why I chose to present you with that instead of those cheap human items."

You rolled your eyes but didn't have anytime to say anything before the door slide back open and both of you turned to Eri who looked almost annoyed to be ordered to bring food a second time today. But paused when she spotted that shimmering charm on your neck all four eyes widening-

A rapid clicking came from Kaigaku's throat. "If you tell her ANYTHING I'll make sure you have a decade attached to your working years here." Eri snapped her mouth shut as you looked at him. "Now leave the food and wait for us to call you back in -"

"Eri stays." His head snapped back to you. "Eri is assigned to me, which makes her my servant, and she's supposed to take care of me. If something happens while she's not here, we'll all going to be in trouble. And I say she stays so she stays. That's FINAL, Kaigaku."

"....UGH! FINE! I can already tell you're going to be a hard one to live with."

"That goes for you too. Now shall we eat? It's been a long day."

"Tch. Fine. I've already done what I came here for anyways."

At least dinner was more peaceful. Kaigaku scarfed down what Eri had brought before abruptly leaving and leaving you with Eri for the rest of the night. Once he was safely out of earshot you turned back to Eri who had gone back to staring at the necklace around your neck with a half worried half deadpanned face.

"Hey. Are you alright?"

She slowly nodded. "Yes...So, what did you and my Lord speak about?"

You groaned. "Oh nothing much. Kaigaku wanted to...'apologize' because Akaza must've threatened him."

Her brows rose. "Oh. Is that all?"

"He also told me to stay out of his business and gave me this-" You pointed at the necklace. "-in order to get on my good side. But I plan on returning it to him later before I leave."

Her face perked up. "Oh...So you DIDN'T accept it?"

"No not really." Eri breathed a sigh of relief placing a hand to her chest, your brow rose. "..Why do you ask?"

"No reason. But a word of caution, try not to accept any gifts from any men while you're here. Don't ask why as I'm not allowed to tell you but it'll just save us all a massive headache later."

You weren't sure what she meant about that but it must've been a demon secret so you'd keep in mind to do what Eri said and keep yourself out of trouble. Another half week passed by with yourself doing the same routine as before with Eri. You would read to her and both of you would be entertained by the many poems and stories unfolding within the pages. You were surprised more when Kaigaku seemed to keep his word about toning it down with his attitude. Whenever you saw him in the halls, he'd smirk proudly at himself and the fact you were wearing the necklace he'd given you. You only continued to wear it to appease him before you left, but the strange reactions you were getting from everyone was also suspicious. Many servants would stare at your neck or give glances at you before quickly turning away. You supposed it had something to do with it being a gift from one of their nobles. However you were not ready for the reaction from Kyogai when he saw you wearing it. It was when Kaigaku left to go back to his duties along the Eastern Mountain Border and you and Eri were passing by him in the hallway. Kyogai had lit up upon first seeing you approaching but it was completely wiped away when he looked lowered to your neck and saw a very familiar blue charm.

"WHERE DID YOU GET T H A T?!"

You were taken quite aback at the sudden yell and pointing at you in such sudden anger. It had Eri peddling back behind you, head instantly bowing on instinct in face of her main Lord's anger.

"Oh...You mean this necklace?"

"I WOULD V E R Y MUCH LIKE TO KNOW HOW IT HAD GOTTEN AROUND YOUR NECK!!," He strained his voice eyes narrowing at the necklace.

"Kyogai be calm," you said holding up your hands to try and calm the strange anger, "It's just something Kaigaku gave me to try and apologize. I'm only wearing it to keep peace, but I'm giving it back to him later."

That last sentence had him looking directly at your face for a solid ten seconds of silence. "...So you aren't accepting that?!"

"No! I only took it to not hurt his feelings but I never to told him I would be keeping it." With every word the largest demon relaxed little by little. "I'm just going to give it back later when he's not around."

"HA! So he doesn't know yet?'

"No. And I'd appreciate if you kept your mouth shut about it since if he knew I'm planning on giving it back he'd just throw another fit about it."

A big smile broke across Kyogai's face as he hummed in thought staring at the necklace. "…..Very well. I will respect your wishes, but if he thinks this is going to change anything then he has another thing coming! He doesn't seem to understand the laws don't apply to this situation!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing. ...Hmm. But perhaps he has a good idea for once. If the law doesn't apply here then it seems I might still get ahead."

Did he want to do this though? Marriage seemed like a big step especially with someone he just met a few weeks ago-

"Kyogai?" A hand softly grabbed his with a worried cute face beaming at him and the smell of roses hitting his senses. "Are you alright? You're worrying me here."

YEP! IT WAS WORTH IT!!

"I am fine. Perfectly fine. Do not worry. However I must leave. There's a special task I must prepare if I want to present it. Excuse me. Eri, let me know if Kaigaku returns immediately."

And he left just like that. Leaving you to stare at Eri who only groaned and shook her head, so you didn't bother to ask. It just seemed that the two demons really didn't get along. However Eri's strange behavior seemed to get more and more noticeable. You'd catch her staring off into space not paying attention to even the stories as you caught back her attention to which shed apologize and ask you to repeat yourself. Or sometimes she'd take glances out the window with a longing look. Or she'd give glances at your necklace with envy like she almost pictured herself in it-

"Alright. What's gotten into you?'' You finally asked her about it two days later when she stared off for the fifth time in the last hour.

Her many eyes blinked at you as you caught her attention back. "Uh...What ever do you mean?"

"This is the fifth time I caught you staring off, and you're starting to see worry me. Why have you been acting so strange?"

"Oh. Well..You shouldn't concern yourself with that.?" A nervous hand combed through her hair nervously. "It's not that big of a deal."

"It is if you're acting like this," you assured her, "You can tell me. I promise I won't judge you for it."

She hummed nervously wringing one pair of her hands together before sighing. "Well...Do you remember how I mentioned I was engaged?" You nodded. "W-Well it's February already. Usually I'd be permitted to visit him once a year, I haven't seen him since last last summer, and with a few ...'others' falling in love around here.. It's just reminding me a lot of him lately."

"Aren't you going to be marrying him soon?"

"When I agreed to work for my Lord, I agreed to work for him for a certain amount of time. I can't leave until next year when it becomes March, which is still a year away. I also can't ask to visit him now, not when I was ordered to watch over you. I'll have to wait until you're free to go before I can see him again."

You looked at her for a long moment. "Eri, exactly where does your fiance live?"

"He lives in a small series of ponds and water bodies five miles south from here. Usually I can go and be back within a single day. Why?"

"Well mating season is over right? That means it's safe for me to be outside for a while. If I explain to Kyogai how you're feeling then I'm sure he'd allow me to go with you."

"Mistress Y/n! No. You're still recovering and I couldn't ask that of you-"

"Eri, if I spend one more day cooped up in here without stepping out once I'll go crazy! And I already decided I'm going to ask so there's no getting around it if he says yes."

"IF he says yes being the key words here," she pointed out, "My Lord is very worried about your health and safety. Even if you ask him in the politest way on earth and give the most reasonable of reasonable reasons back, how are you so sure he'll say yes to this entire thing?"

"By using a simple trick I've learnt from growing up with a grandmother like mine." You smiled very slyly making Eri raise a brow. "When would you say he's going to be the busiest?"

"Tomorrow when he'll be processing some treaty negotiations into the archives. Why?"

"Perfect."

Eri didn't say anything but the very next day she seemed both anxious and curious to be seeing what you'd be coming up with when you had her follow you very early in the morning towards Kyogai's study. And it was EARLY. The sun had barely even risen out of the sky when you tugged a half asleep Eri behind you. Kyogai as always woke up before the sun even did to work, and combined with his workload would make for a perfect time to ask him. A few servants seemed surprised to see you walking around so early but most didn't pay attention to you just walking around doing their own chores, and Kaigaku still wouldn't be back for a few days so it'll all work out fine! The main study was the one he usually worked from so you went right up to the door and paused for a moment. Eri and yourself exchanging a look before your hands grabbed onto the door and slide it just open enough to pop your head in. Indeed Kyogai was there already working. The sounds of furious quill scribbling filled the air as the large demon sat down in his usual spot, a two foot stack of papers to the left of him on the desk. Yikes. He really was going to be busy wasn't he? Whelp. You came here all the way to ask so you might as well ask.

"Hey, Kyogai?"

He hummed not paying attention and not looking up from his papers.

"Can I go with Eri to meet her fiance?"

"Yes,yes. Whatever you need."

"Thank you."

You then popped your head back out, slid the door back shut, and turned back to Eri who had her haw dropped and all four eyes wide. "Well you heard him! Let's go! We can be back before nightfall."

".... I'm very much starting to think you have a death wish."

"And Ill take that as a compliment."

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