cats-inthe-cradle · 2 years ago
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WAIT I JUST REALIZED LILY COULD'VE BEEN MORRO'S AGE
Okay I might have this entirely wrong but from what I remember, Lily's father was the elemental master of earth at the time of the Serpentine war, right? And those take place not long after Morro leaves Wu, and about 40 years prior to s1 if I'm remembering correctly. So in s1 Cole is in his teens (personally I headcanon him at about 16 at the time). So assuming Lily was let's just say 20 at the youngest when she had Cole, that would put her at around 36 at the least for s1, were she still alive at the time. Which would put her as being born a few years after the serpentine war (I think, idk how long did the war last?). BUT it is entirely possible that Lily got married/had Cole at a later age than 20. (Especially if we consider s13, where it's shown that she was traveling to like further connect with her powers or something? I can't remember for sure but at that point we know she's married because of her locket but it is very doubtful that Cole had been born at that point.)
So it's is entirely plausible to place her age during/prior to the serpentine war anywhere from kid to mid-teen, late-teen to young-adult if we push it, but it's still possible.
WHICH MEANS that she could very well be around Morro's age and that I can headcanon them as acquaintances or even friends during Morro's time with Wu which makes me happy.
AND THEN in my Morro lives au I can have Morro and Cole bond over both having known Lily especially if it was like right after s13. Like Morro didn't really remember her at first or at least like he never really connected her being related to Cole. But then s13 happens and he realizes Cole's mom Lily is the same daughter of the master of earth Lily that he knew forever ago and he mentions having known her and then him and Cole bond because yeah.
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whydoyouwantmyname · 4 years ago
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Imagine being Sirius’s daughter {Part 3}
Part one
Part two
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-Remus never told you that he still believed your father was guilty, his heart was in a state of heartbreak whenever he would look at you, your eyes filled with hope that you could somehow set him free. Remus wanted so desperately to have your blind, bias belief, I mean what little girl wants to believe her dad was a spy for the enemy and was responsible for the death of most of your family, which was the only reason he couldn’t forgive Sirius for his crimes.
-You and the boys wrote each other daily during the winter break.
-On Christmas Remus surprised you with a book by Lockheart, “Everyone says he is very popular amongst the female readers.”
“He also is a fiction writer, I mean there is no way that someone with a face like his could be the smartest ravenclaw there ever was.”
-Remus chuckled at your response, and then surprised you with a trip to Hogwarts, his backpack filled with presents from you both. When you arrived in Dumbledore’s office you immediately wanted to go find Hagrid, to which the two men stated was okay, “We will meet you at his hut shortly.” Dumbledore answered as you raced from the office towards the spiral stairs.
“I know that look Remus, what is on your mind?”
“You promised me he would never get in contact with her while she was here.” His voice was low
“I did, and I have...”
“He has been writing her since she arrived Albus, and now I just had to tell my daughter that he has been writing to her constantly! I had to look my daughter in the eyes and lie to her that I believed her father was innocent. How can I believe a man who betrayed his friends, who murdered them all, almost got his own godson killed, and not once thought about his incredibly smart, talented, humble, compassionate little girl? I wanted to avoid this Albus, but it seemed I can not trust anyone but my daughter.”
“Your daughter?” Albus asked, Remus hadn’t even realized he kept calling you his daughter, normally he would just call you his niece, or by name. His eyes softened towards the headmaster as he hissed, “Well she might as well be.”
-Dumbledore reassured him that Sirius posed no real threat to you or him, “He is locked away in a cell, never to be freed again.”
-When they went to the Hut with McGonnagall, and some of the other professors, when they opened the door, they saw you sitting on the couch opposite the armchair, your coat discarded, revealing your maroon and gold stripped sweater. A mug was in between your hands, whip cream towering over the top of it as you looked at Hagrid, who was telling you a story about Bowtruckles. Your giggles filled the small space as they all filed into the room. That’s when Hagrid turned around and stood, ready to prepare hot chocolate for everyone, as Remus pushed by and sat beside you on the couch.
-The day after Christmas you went to Diagon Alley to try to find a good gift for Fred. You searched high and low, but nothing stood out to you. That was until you saw the window display of the Quality Quidditch Supplies.
“Uncle Mooney, how realistic would it be to hex my bag with the Undetectable Extension Charm?”
-Quite, why?”
“Because I think I found the gift I want to get Fred.” You answered with a smile before opening the shop door.
-One night while Remus was sipping his tea, he looked up at you, curled up at the end of the sofa, reading a book in one of your oversized sweaters, the glow of the fire illuminated your face, as your tea sat beside you, “You know who you look like right now?”
“Your niece?”
“No, you look just like your Aunt Lily. I mean she was a bookworm, intelligent witch, who was somehow involved with the pranksters of Gryffindor.”
“I’m glad.” You smiled, before Remus smiled, a ping of sadness overcoming him as he missed his friends... the only real family he ever had. You could tell he was off suddenly, and looking at him as he sipped his tea again you asked, “Uncle Mooney, tell me about your time at Hogwarts?”
-You both stayed up most of the night, chuckling at the stories he told. By the time you went to bed, the fire was down to just glowing embers, both of your teas cold, but you were happy, and that night you both slept in until noon.
-When the full moon occurred you went to Hagrid’s hut, and spent the day with him walking in the forbidden forest in the snow.
-When you left to go back to Hogwarts, you looked at your uncle on the station, “Uncle Mooney?”
“Yes Love?”
“No more secrets okay, I mean I would hope you trust me enough to tell me anything, cause I certainly trust you.”
-Of course Love.” He smiled before pulling you in for a hug, and handing you a chocolate bar, “For the journey.”
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-When you found the booth that the twins and Lee were hiding in your whole face lit up, and you were quick to slip in next to Fred as they all were laughing at the story of how Fred and George turned Percy’s hair pink by adding some of their mom’s herbs to his shampoo, and how it backfired when everyone’s had turned pink.
-Once the train started to move however you smiled, “Okay, so shall we exchange?”
-In a circle you each gave your gifts one by one, Fred got Lee, Lee got George, George had gotten you, and you had gotten Fred. You decided to go in the same order you drew names, meaning Fred went first.
-Fred reached in his bag and pulled out a rectangular box, and handed it over to you, “Here, I hope you like it.”
When you opened it, you noticed the dull blue of the tissue paper, and slowly pulled it back to reveal the knitted yarn, the collar was a pastel purple color, while the rest of the sweater was a minty green, your first initial in the same pastel purple. As you held it up, you couldn’t suppress a smile, “I love it.”
-George got Lee the same present, except his was Gryffindor colors.
-Both boys were estact that you liked their gifts.
-Lee handed George a box, and when he opened it, it was filled to the brim with all different sorts of candy. However when he reached inside he withdrew a gameboy.
“The muggles use it to play video games, I figured it might be an interesting gift, and something your dad would love to learn about.”
-Once it was your turn you smiled towards Fred, “You can’t be mad.”
“How could I ever be mad at you?” He chuckled as you smiled wide, before opening your charmed bag and reaching all the way into it, the boys eyes widening as you exclaimed, “Got it.”
-The package was as neatly wrapped as it could be, the paper was a matte blue, with a green ribbon on top. Using both hands you extended it towards Fred, “I figured if you and Georgie were going to someday be real quidditch players, you might as well have a good broom.”
-When he unwrapped it, he was blown away to see the Comet 260, his hands slightly going over the wood as he admired it. However he stopped for a moment at the handle, “Why did you engrave a G in it?”
“Oh bloody hell, that one was meant for George, give me a second.” You exclaimed reaching back in to pull out another one, this time wrapped in orange paper with a yellow bow, “This one is yours Freddie, I mean I couldn’t get one brother a broom and not the other.”
“You got a present in there for me too?” Lee joked as you reached in and withdrew a box wrapped in green paper, which held a box microphone. “Of course.” However they didn’t see the second small box you withdrew, and as George and Lee admired the Gameboy, you gently tapped Fred on the leg, “Here’s one more gift, and I promise, it isn’t another broom.”
- As he opened it, he noticed it was also charmed with the Undetectable expansion charm. Reaching inside he withdrew a Jersey, which was maroon and gold, and had the snitch embroidered onto it.
“Figured you could be the most official looking player when you match up with your siblings.” You whispered
“You really didn’t have to.” He replied, tears in his eyes as you rested your chin on his shoulder, “No, but what are friends for, we are supposed to support each other’s dreams.”
-After that, you and Fred were always close, Lee used to joke that he liked hanging out with you far more than his own twin brother.
-About a month after arriving, at the feast table Albus leaned over to McGonagall, “10 Galleons says that Fred and [Y/N] are dating by their seventh year?”
“I say it will be by their fifth year.” She replied, before reaching her hand out to shake on it
-You never told the boys you knew who created the map, nor did you tell your father that George and Fred were using it to prank students and staff during the school year.
-Sirius wrote you once a week.
- You were in all the same classes as the boys, and it made it so much easier for you to help them with homework. The boys were pretty bright, however they would sometimes get carried away thinking about who to prank and how. Occasionally you would chime in, but most times you would just chuckle and shake your head.
-Percy always looked at you and asked how you could be friends with people like his younger brothers, to which you always gave a witty response. The responses would always cause Fred and George to laugh.
-One night Lee looked at you, both of the twins were running late to dinner, meaning it was just you and Lee for a while. Knowing that the food would disappear probably before the boys made it to the Great Hall, you made a plate for both boys, and made sure to grab an extra pudding for Fred.
“You never get me an extra pudding?” Lee faked whined as you raised an eyebrow, “Lee, I literally gave you my pudding yesterday.” 
-When the boys arrived Fred sat across from you, and smiled, “No way, you snagged me an extra pudding.”
“What are friends for?” You smiled as George looked at his plate, which you had put extra turkey on for him, a smile on his face as he looked at his friends.
“You know something, we should all get together this summer.” George suggested, as you raised an eyebrow, “George it’s only March.”
“Yeah, and school ends soon. Then we have to go 3 months without seeing each other. We could ask our mum, I am sure you all could stay in our room.”
“My parents would probably be okay with that, what about you [Y/N]?”
“I’m sure it would be okay, I can ask him.” You let it slip, as they all looked towards you.
“Don’t you mean them?” George asked
“Um..... no. I ummmm live with my uncle.” You answered, you had never told them you didn’t have a mom, or that your father was in Azkaban on a false charge, or that your uncle who you lived with was a werewolf.”
-The boys went silent, and after several seconds, they began their regular banter.
-The next day you wrote Remus, and asked what he would think about you spending some time with the Weasleys at the burrow. He replied within the week and said it would be fine with him, as long as you never returned on a full moon, or the day after.
-When George and Fred asked their parents, Arthur expressed some concern to Molly in private, “I mean how do we know we can trust her, what if she is just like her father?”
“She is just a little girl Art, besides she has basically lived with Remus her whole life. He would never let her grow up to be a monster. Let’s just give her a chance, besides the boys will be heartbroken if we say Lee can come and not [Y/N].”
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- The first time you went to the Burrow, you used Floo powder to get there, your eyes widened as you took in the scenery. Everything about the burrow looked homey, and you were fascinated by the use of magic throughout the home. The needle moving to create a sweater, the sponge moving itself in a circular motion on the dishes, the stove turning itself off as the kettle whistled, the broom sweeping into the dust pan, as the mop followed behind. The dry dishes putting themselves away, as you exited the mantle.
-Molly rounded the corner as you stepped out, her round face dressed with a smile as she extended her arms, “You must be [Y/N], it is so nice to finally meet you my dear.” She quickly advanced towards you as she wrapped you in a hug, “I hope you got here alright.”
“Of course Mrs. Weasley, thank you so much for allowing me to stay for a while in your lovely home.”
“Of course my dear, and no need for formality here, Molly is fine.” She smiled, before calling, “Boys! [Y/N] is here!”
-You couldn’t help but smile as 3 pairs of feet came raising down the stairs, and tackled you onto the couch. The room erupting into a fit of laughter as the boys all dog piled you, and as they stood up (After Molly telling them to), Fred reached out to help you up.
-You slept in the twins room, the boys had made up two cots for you and Lee. Your cot was closer to Fred’s bed. Most nights after the rest of the house had fallen asleep, you and the boys would stay up quietly giggling at future pranks.
-Ron and Ginny loved having you around, whenever they would try to hang out with their two older brothers they would say that they were busy with their friends, yet you would say, “If you want we can do something, who needs these losers anyway to have fun.”
-You always offered to help Molly with the chores, and some nights you even convinced the boys to help.
-One night while you were doing chores with Molly, she leaned over, “I never thanked you by the way.”
“For what?”
“Fred and George were so excited when they got home, they wanted to show us the new brooms they had written us so much about. I know it is just a material object, but most people don’t know that the boys are skilled quidditch players. They just see the jokes, and the pranks, which leads them to get labeled as the general prankster. I can’t tell you how many times the boys have gotten rubber chickens, and whoopie cushions, or little fireworks. You actually showed that you listen to them, and that is all a mother can ask of her children’s friends.”
“No problem Molly, they are wonderful boys.” You smiled, as Ginny raced into the kitchen, “Hey [Y/N], do you think we can have a girls night?”
“Of course.” You smiled.
-You always helped with the twin’s chores, which Molly thought was wonderful.
-You hated weeding the garden though, so you would just lay in the grass and read while the boys labored in the dirt.
-You were only supposed to stay for two weeks, however you ended up staying for a whole month. Lee left after the two weeks though.
-Whenever they would play quidditch in the garden George was insistent on having you on their team, you were an okay player. Whenever you all had some free time between chores, Fred and George would teach you how to play, helping you learn strategies.
-When you went home each of the Weasleys gave you a hug, Molly of course looked at you and smiled, “Now don’t be a stranger, you are welcome anytime.”
“Really, if you don’t mind me asking, may I come stay August 6th?”
“That’s next week?” George replied, his tone questioning as you smiled, it wouldn’t be for too long, just a day or two, my Uncle is going to be out of town for those days. I didn’t want to spend the day alone.”
“Of course Love, whatever you need.” Arthur smiled, his whole attitude towards you altered after your first visit to the burrow.
-After that visit, you spent all the full moons at the Burrow. None of them ever asked why you always stayed on full moons, nor did the professors ask why you stopped coming to Hogwarts.
-Remus hated when you were away, the cabin was so quiet, but he couldn’t stop you. He knew your father was the same way during summer breaks so he could only imagine it was the Black genes in you. You however always came back with a smile plastered on your face, and spent the week telling him all about what you did.
-When you went shopping for your supplies for your second year, Molly and Arthur invited you and Remus to join them, which you eagerly agreed to.
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-The plan was to meet at the Burrow, as soon as the twins heard the sound of an Apparition spell, they were out the door. Immediately they had you wrapped in a hug, your arms hanging around both of their necks as they gripped you tightly. Pulling away they then looked at Remus.
“You must be Mister Lupin, pleasure to see you again sir.” They both said at the same time, hands rocketing out for a handshake. He just looked at the pair and replied, “And you must be George,” he pointed to George, “And Fred.” He pointed to Fred before reaching out and shaking both of their hands.
“Blimey, not even our own mum can tell us apart like that.” George joked as you immediately piped up, “Your mum can tell you apart just fine, it is just the two of you that like to switch identities to see if anyone will notice.”
-Next out the door was Ron, his kind of grown out red mop blowing in the wind as he raced over and into your arms, “I missed you.”
“I missed you too kid.”
-Fred and George rolled their eyes at the interaction, both of them had figured out during your first stay that Ron had developed some little crush on you, Remus of course saw the eye rolls and whispered, “Now don’t tell me you never had a crush on one of your brother’s friends when you were his age?”
-while all the kids raced around the yard before going, Remus talked with Arthur and Molly. Of course the awkward subject came up, “So does she know...”
“Yes, she knows exactly what her father did, and as much as I hate it, she believes he was framed. However we don’t discuss the topic of her father unless absolutely necessary. I would hope the same is being done here.”
“Of course Remus.” Molly replied, shooting Arthur a disapproving look, “Our kids don’t know anything about him, and I doubt she has told any of them.”
“I mean Fred and George might know, seeing how close they are.” Athur piped up, but Remus just looked at him, “No they don’t, she would never risk losing your boys. I dare say she would protect them with her life if she had too.”
“Just as her father was supposed to?” The response was automatic, Arthur hadn’t even thought of it when it slipped out, and he immediately regretted it, whispering an apology as Remus shot him a disapproving look, as Molly gave him the look of death. However all Remus replied with was, “She is nothing like her father.”
- The twins and you wanted ventured out on your own as soon as you arrived to Diagon Alley, Remus chuckling as you looked at him quickly, “You can join us if you like.”
“Are you sure darling, I would hate to spoil your fun?” He replied as George laughed
“Nonsense Mr. Lupin, [Y/N] tells us you were quite the prankster when you were our age, we would love to hear more about it. Maybe get some ideas.” Fred smiled, as Remus looked towards the ground, a ping of sadness entering his heart as he chuckled, “Now Fred, I was not the prankster of the group, that title was held by [Y/N]’s father, and her Uncle James.”
-After going to a few shops looking for supplies, the four of you all went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, and got some ice cream. As you sat at the table Fred and George asked Remus what it was like when he was at Hogwarts. As you licked your cone you couldn’t help but chuckle as Remus’s face lit up, telling Jame’s and Sirius’s prank stories to the twins.
-Their personal favorite was when Sirius and James had discovered a new muggle song, and somehow disguised a boom box in the Great Hall, and turned it to Maximum volume. The entire day the Hall was filled with Don’t Go Breaking my Heart by Thin Lizzy, on a loop. They earned two days of detention with Flich, in which he had them polish all of the trophies in case.
-At one point while you were shopping, Fred picked up a flower on the side of the road, and paid 15 Sickles for it, he then walked up beside you and leaned over, “Figured you might like this.”
“You bought me a Garden Rose, is it bewitched?”
“Course not, can’t a boy just buy his best friend a pretty flower?” He smiled as you cautiously took it from him, and thanked him.
-Remus was watching you both from a distance, and smiled as he thought of his niece falling in love, and was hopeful that it was at least with one of the Weasley boys.
-When it was time to part ways Fred asked Remus, “Sir, do you mind if one day, George and I come over, and stay for a week? We would love to see what your home looks like, and to hear more stories?”
“Unfortunately boys, I don’t think that is possible, however I would be more than happy to come to the burrow whenever you want to tell you more.”
-Remus didn’t know how to explain the scratches that were randomly scattered along the interior and exterior of the cottage.
-When you got home, Remus looked at you with a smile, “I like those two.”
“I knew you would.” You smiled, as you put your bags down, and dropped your garden rose into a vase.
-You sent your father letters all about the Weasley twins, and told him how they looked up to him and Uncle Prongs after Remus shared their stories. You had no idea how much it meant to him that Remus was still talking about him.
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-When it was time for you all to go back, Remus stood on the platform with you, “Now don’t let those boys rope you into any pranks that will get you expelled.”
“Course Uncle Mooney.” You replied, before wrapping him into a hug. As you pulled away you saw two tuffs of red hair race over, “Come on [Y/N], Lee’s already on the train saving us a booth.” George whined as they both grabbed your hands and led you away, while shouting, “Good to see you Mr. Lupin.”
-When you started your second year you noticed you were in all the opposite classes as the boys. Your smile dropping as you tried to envision classes without your best friends.
-That first night in the common room the four of you all sat around in the corner, the moonlight pouring into the window as you watched Lee and Fred compet in a game of Wizards Chess, George scribbling down prank ideas. Finally he looked at you, “How do you think we can pull off your father’s prank?”
“What?”
“You know the one where they blasted muggle music throughout the Great Hall?”
“Don’t you think that will be too odvious, I mean the only people who would know about that would be [Y/N], we would be had for sure.” Lee replied, before saying, “Pawn to E6.”
“Besides, I think we can pull off far better pranks then my dad and his friends, I mean you two are the Weasley Twins, greatest pranksters to ever attend Hogwarts.” You smiled as Fred slightly blushed.
-Lee and George both noticed how Fred blushed, and when you went to bed that night both of them looked at him, “Okay, spit it out.”
“Spit out what Lee?” He asked confused.
“Do you have a crush on our very own Miss Black?” George asked, as Fred began to stutter, causing both boys to smile.
“Blimey Fred, why don’t you just tell her then.”
“It’s not that simple Georgie, I mean... what if she doesn’t feel the same, how will that affect the group. We can’t lose her, she is the brains behind a quarter of these pranks.”
-The rest of the term you helped the boys with all of their schoolwork, as normal.
-You were the top of your class, all the professors were proud of your work, even Snape.
-Most nights you and the boys would end up sitting at the table in the corner, or on the love seats that were against one of the farthest walls. Whenever you were on the loveseats, Lee and George would make sure you and Fred were on the same sofa, and whenever you’ll would sit at the table they would arrange the seats so that you were also next to Fred. You didn’t think anything of it, but Fred knew what they were trying to do, and he would always just stare at them with dirty looks when you weren’t looking.
-When they tried out for the Quidditch team, you were sitting in the stands, your scarf and hat on as you watched them prove their skills, your applause Louder than everyone else’s as you cheered them on.
-When George and Fred made the Quidditch team, you were the first person to congratulate them, a huge smile on your face as you leapt into Fred’s arms, as he twirled you around. Then you went to hug George, and looked at them both, “I am so bloody proud of you.”
-Hagrid sat with you at every game, and afterwards you would go to the hut with him and share a cup of tea.
-Remus wrote you often, and told you about the woods, and the lilies. However he wasn’t a fan of how quiet it was, and often found himself playing music throughout the cabin. The records that he had were classics that he had collected over the years, but he always found himself gravitating towards the small collection of records that Lily had given him. They were some of her favorites, and he had given him a few copies of them once they were out of school. The genre of them varied.
-Every once and a while however his fingers would find the section of records that were not his... they belonged to Sirius. He had taken them when he went to the house to collect your things, he wasn’t sure why he had the urge to take them from the house with your stuff, but he didn’t feel right leaving the house without them. He would take the vinyl disk out of the sleeve and spin it between his fingers a few times before placing it on the player, his body slumping into the armchair after putting the needle on. His eyes would shut as he put his fingers to his temple, the familiar melodies filling the space as he remembered the days he would go to Sirius’s flat and he would be blasting the record player. Most times you were resting on his hip, a huge smile on your face as he twirled you around and danced to the beat. Your giggles almost drowned out by the guitars, and drums. As Remus listened to them, tears would normally slid down his cheeks, as he thought to himself, “Why Pads, why did you do it?”
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-Before leaving for Christmas break, you did the secret Santa again, this time you drew Lee’s name.
-That Christmas break you went to the cabin, and stayed with Remus the whole time, both of you just enjoying the comfort of being together. He would sometimes find himself chuckling as you sat at the dining room table and wrote letters to the boys, and your father.
-You were laughing when on Christmas Day you found a present under the tree addressed to you from the Weasleys. You opened it to find that you once again had received a Christmas sweater, this time it was purple and blue, there was a note attached that read, “You might as well be part of the family.”
-On the last night you and Remus were sitting in the living room, the fire roaring as you looked toward Remus, “Uncle Mooney?”
“Yes love.”
“Do you ever wonder how Harry is?” This wasn’t the first time you had asked about Harry, but this was the first time in a while. Your head was resting on your knees as he spoke, “I am sure Harry is just fine, I am sure he is sitting at his Aunt Petunia’s right now surrounded by all his presents, and is filled with fmdread that school is going to start back up.”
“I hope so.” You answered with a smile. You had no idea though that Remus was slightly filled with doubt. Every time he would think about Harry, he would remember what James used to tell him about Petunia Evans, and how she was a arrogant, closed minded bitch when it came to anything in her sister’s life.
-When you got on the train you were excited to see the three boys, all of them wearing their Weasley sweaters. George laughing as he looked towards you, “I love that we are all matching, it’s almost like we planned this.”
“Too bad we didn’t.” Fred barked, as you plopped down next to Lee, your back leaning against the wall of the booth as you put your legs over his lap. His arms laying over your legs as you spoke to the twins across from you both.
-Finally after swapping stories of the break Lee smiled, “Time for secret Santa?”
“Course it is, I’ll go first.” George replied, as he reached into his bag and withdrew a small box, thrusting it towards Fred, “Here you go Fred.”
“You got me?” He asked, taking the box in hand, “You told me that you had gotten Lee.”
“What was I supposed to do, tell you that I drew your name out of the hat and that I bought you your present right in front of you. That would ruin the whole tradition.” George replied as you smiled, “He has a point Freddie.”
-When Fred opened the box he was greeted by a whole box full of dungbombs. He chuckled as he carefully removed one and whispered, “Wicked.”
-Next was Lee, who handed a gift towards George, “I can’t top the gift [Y/N] got you last year, but I sure as hell can try.”
-In the box was a Gryffindor colored Hackey Sack which George twirled between his fingers, “What is it?”
“You kick it, when we get to Hogwarts I can show you how to play with it.” Lee smiled as you reached into your bag and withdrew a box, the boys all chuckling at the fact that your bag was still charmed from last Christmas. “Here Lee, just promise me you won’t use it to blow us up.”
“I promise, however are you trying to tell me you bought me a bomb?”
“You’re just gonna have to open it to find out.” You smiled as he tore the paper slightly and revealed that logo of Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. “No way.” Lee gasped as you smiled.
“Figured we could light it off down by the lake.” You replied as Fred pulled a rectangular, brightly wrapped present out of his bag, the ribbon on top of it still in tact as he placed it on his lap. Your eyes still on Lee, he was taking in the smallest details of your face, and watching how the fluorescent lighting in the booth made your eyes twinkle slightly. After a few minutes though he noticed you had looked towards him, a smile plastered on your face as you asked, “So guess that just leaves you Freddie.”
“Ummm yeah.” He answered, looking down quickly, before sticking his hand out towards you, the present grasped tightly between his fingers as he said, “Looks like I got you again.”
-You carefully unwrapped the paper, and smiled as you revealed the limited edition cover of Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them. You smiled wide as you looked up, “Fred, I love it.” You smiled as you slowly opened it and looked at the updated drawings.
-You spent the rest of the train ride reading, while the boys groaned about going back to class.
-When you went to get off you were walking beside Fred, and bumped your shoulder into his, “Thank you again, I really do love it.”
“I’m glad.” He smiled
- After a month back at Hogwarts you found yourself sitting in the common room, and heard the portrait open, the room filled with the giggles of the three boys you valued, your eyes raising from your parchmentad you looked at them. “What did you do?”
“We may have just set off a bunch of dungbombs in Snape’s classroom.” George gasped while trying to maintain his composure.
“Oh bloody hell.” You sighed, “he is going to assign your class extra homework now you know?”
“Worth it.” Lee replied as Fred flopped down on the couch next to you, and added, “Besides he will have no clue who did it.”
“You really think he won’t put it together?” You asked, your eyes meeting his as he answered, “Nope.”
-The next day they came in with a groan, and looked at you, “Want to help us with our Potions homework?”
“He figured it out, didn’t he?” You smiled, your eyes never leaving your book as George groaned, “Yup.”
“Told you.” You responded, as the three boys flopped around you.
-You used to sit in your dormitory with the Marauders Map, and study it for hours, watching as the little footsteps moved across the parchment. It made you feel closer to the Marauders.
-You alternated which spare jersey you wore to the games, since George and Fred had both given you their spares to wear.
-Towards the end of the year you found yourself helping the boys more with the pranks, which they loved because you were always telling them how not to get caught.
-At the end of the year you went straight to the Burrow, since it was a full moon. You smiled walking into the Burrow, a sense of home washing over you as Ron raced into the kitchen, and looked at you, “Bloody hell, I am starting Hogwarts this year, where did the year go?”
-And that’s when it hit you... Harry Potter was starting at Hogwarts next term.
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-When you went back to the cabin you closed the door and slowly slid down it, the sounds of your father’s records filling the space as Remus sat in the armchair. Your trunk abandoned next to you as you leaned your head back, your thoughts filled with the idea of Harry coming to Hogwarts. You wondered if he knew who you and Remus were, or if you were long forgotten. You wondered if he knew about your father, you were sure he would have, even if he lived with muggles. Would he judge you? Would he be angry at you for your father’s false crimes?
-Remus turned in the chair, and watched you sit there, knowing that the wheels were turning in your head. Finally after five minutes he rose slowly as turned the music down, before making his way towards you and kneeling in front of you, “Would you like to go out tonight?”
“Where?”
“Anywhere you want my love.”
-You chose Hogwarts, and you ended up sitting in Dumbledore’s office with Remus, Hagrid, Dumbledore, and McGonagall. You were all smiles and laughing as you listened to them share stories.
-That summer you spent another month at the Burrow, most days you would lay in the sun with the Twins, and discuss possibly opening a joke shop in the future, which was the twin’s dream.
-Molly always told you that you didn’t have to help with chores, however you would always smile and reply, “You really think Freddie and Georgie will do chores if I don’t help.”
-Sometimes at night you and the boys would lay out in the grass and look at the stars, the cool summer air breezing over your forms as you all laid with your heads pointed towards each other. A few times you had fallen asleep while you all were out there, which resulted in Fred carrying you upstairs to your cot. George would always trail behind, slightly chuckling as he wondered when you and his older brother would get together finally.
-Ginny and you would sometimes sit in the couch and just talk, or you would braid her long, ginger hair. Ron would occasionally join as well but Ginny always looked at him and snapped, “Piss off, she doesn’t like you like that.”
-One day while you brushed her hair she asked you if you could ever see yourself dating one of her brothers. You smiled and replied, “Who knows, maybe one day I will, however that is probably going to be the day that I lose all my sanity.”
-On your last night there, you and the twins snuck out to the roof, and sat out there for hours. However at one point George went inside to pee, leaving you and Fred alone.
“Hey.” His voice was quiet as you looked towards him, the wind picking up a strand of your hair as you smeirked, “Hey.”
“I want to ask you something, but I don’t want it to make things awkward between us.”
Your heart rate escalated, and your palms became sweaty, you were hoping he would finally ask you out, “Nothing you ask me would make stuff awkward Freddie.”
He scooted closer to you, maintaining eye contact as he did, soon you were shoulder to shoulder as he took a deep breath.
“You gonna ask me, or should I wait for tomorrow?” You teased as he let out a chuckle.
“No.” He looked at his hands, which were entangling in each other, and then back at you, his eyes glassy as he whispered, “Why do you live with Mr. Lupin?”
“What?”
“Like what happened to your parents?”
“Well... my mom didn’t tell my dad at first that she was pregnant. He didn’t find out I even existed until I was 6 months old, when she dropped me off at his flat and disappeared. I was starting to display accidental magic, and she freaked out because she was a muggle. I lived with my dad until November of 1981, that’s when I moved in with Uncle Lupin. My dad, ummm, got arrested on false charges.”
“What were they?”
“Murder, and everyone also pinned him as a death eater. He didn’t do anything though.”
“So your father is in...”
“Azkaban.....” you were silent for a second, before looking up towards the stars, “Yeah, he is.”
-There was silence between you and Fred, neither one sure what to say, until his hand slowly glided towards your leg, and he gently placed it down on your thigh, “We don’t have to talk about it again, I just wanted to know.”
“It’s fine Freddie, really.” You replied, before leaning over and resting your head in his shoulder, your eyes closing as you took a deep breath of the summer air, wishing that life could have been slightly different.
Part Four
Part Five
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pocket-luv101 · 4 years ago
Text
Ransom || Part 1
Fandom: Servamp Ship: KuroMahi Characters: Kuro, Mahiru
Summary: Mahiru is kidnapped by the mafia. He learns that Kuro is being forced to work with the mafia. He hoped he could convince him to help him escape. {KuroMahi, Mafia AU}
(Part 1) || Part 2
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“Sleep tight, Spot.” Mahiru patted the dog’s head before he closed the cage. He went through the motion of closing the animal hospital for the night. He was alone in the building and he hummed to himself to fill the silence around him. His co-worker had ended his shift earlier so Mahiru had to lock up the doors by himself. The hospital he worked for was small but he was proud to be able to help animals.
He scanned the parking lot to see if there was anyone else in the area before he walked to his car. There had been a few robberies in the area so he wanted to be cautious. Mahiru took out his phone and texted Misono so his friend would know that he was on his way home. As he took out his keys from his pocket, he heard someone crying across the street.
He turned towards the crying and he saw a boy sitting alone on a bus bunch. He couldn’t be more than seven years old and Mahiru wondered where his parents were. Most of the stores were already closed so he doubted they were in one of the shops. It was dangerous for a child to be alone in the middle of the night and he couldn’t leave without feeling guilty.
Mahiru crossed the street and stopped in front of the child. He didn’t want to scare him and spoke in a soft voice. “Hello, are you waiting for your parents? It’s dangerous to be out so late at night. If you know your parent’s number, you can borrow my phone to call them. Or we can wait for them to come together.”
The boy didn’t answer him but hopped off the bench and dashed away from him. At first, Mahiru thought the reason the child ran was because he was a stranger. He was still worried that something could happen to him so he followed him. The child ran into an alley and, for a moment, Mahiru hesitated to enter as well. He peered inside and saw that a man was already inside.
“Nii-san!” The boy called to him and the man knelt down in front of him. He guessed that the two were related and he stepped into the alleyway. While he was glad that the child was with his family again, he wanted to speak with the man about the dangers of allowing his brother to be alone during the night. Mahiru walked closer to the brothers and he overheard their conversation. “Will they leave us alone now, Kuro?”
“I’m sorry I had to ask you to do this, Lily.” The man’s words confused Mahiru.
Mahiru felt a presence behind him and he turned around sharply. A few men had blocked the entrance of the alley without him noticing. He stiffened when he saw that one of the men had a gun. Instinctively, he turned around to run and his eyes met with the older brother. His red eyes held pity and guilt and Mahiru didn’t know why.
Before he could understand the reason behind his expression, a hand covered his mouth. Mahiru struggled against the person’s grip but he was stronger than him. He reached out his hand to the man for help yet his body went lax quickly after. He lost consciousness and the world disappeared around him.
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The world was hazy when Mahiru woke on the cold, hard ground. He didn’t recognize the room he was in and he tried to piece together where he was or how he came to the place. His head throbbed but he was certain that he didn’t drink the previous night. Fear struck him after memories of the past night came back to him. A group of men had kidnapped him.
Mahiru frantically searched through his pockets but he couldn’t find his phone to call for help. His mind was racing and he couldn’t fully absorb the situation he was in. Why would anyone want to kidnap him? He was a simple veterinarian and he came from a middleclass family. They couldn’t possibly want him for a ransom or something similar.
Hesitantly, he stood and walked around the small prison cell. The room was grey and empty aside from the futon he sat in. His first instinct was to find a way to escape but he knew hit would be reckless without a plan or fully understanding the situation. Mahiru looked through the bars on the window and saw grass near the ledge so he was likely underground.
“Hello! Is anyone out there? Please, help me! Someone kidnapped me and they’re keeping me trapped here.” Mahiru didn’t know if there was anyone outside who could help him. He needed to try though. A part of him was concerned that anyone who came would be connected to the people who kidnapped him. Questions and possibilities raced through his mind.
The door opened behind him and Mahiru cautiously turned around to see who entered. Three men entered and he recognized one as the older brother he saw in the alley the previous night. More questions came to him and he didn’t know where to begin. “Who are you? Where am I? Why did you take me? My family doesn’t have money to pay a large ransom if that’s your goal. Please, just let me go.”
“Mahiru Shirota?” A man with spiky hair said his name and made him gasp shortly. If he knew his name, the kidnapping wasn’t random and they had kidnapped him for a reason. His fears only grew when the man said, “I am the leader of the Taishi crime family. Your family has caused a lot of problems for us but you can be useful.”
“What does the mafia want with my family? We’re all normal civilians!” Mahiru had read about the crime family in the newspaper but he didn’t know much about them. He couldn’t think of a connection his family would have with them. “My mother was a great woman so she wouldn’t be involved with a mafia group. My father left before I was born so I haven’t spoken with him in my life. Any connection my father has to the mafia has nothing to do with me.”
“Don’t talk back to me!” He raised his voice and Mahiru bit his tongue. He didn’t know what would happen if he angered the mafia. “Your uncle is Toru Shirota. He works with C3. Last week, he convinced one of my men to betray us and give him information. I want to know who that rat is. If your uncle doesn’t give me the rat’s name, I will kill you.”
“You’ve made a mistake because my uncle is a pilot. My family isn’t a part of C3 so we can’t give you any information.” Mahiru tried to reason with the man. His uncle had adopted him after his mother died and he saw him as a father figure. He didn’t want to think that his uncle lied to him about his job and he was part of a mafia group, C3. “Please, just let me go. I promise I won’t tell the police about this.”
“I told you not to talk back to me.” He swung a fist towards him and Mahiru stumbled back to dodge to attack. The room was small and he was already cornered against the wall. He could only close his eyes and lift his arms in front of him to lessen the impact.
There was a dull thud next to his head and Mahiru assumed that the man had missed. Warily, he opened his eyes and dreaded to see the man close to him. He didn’t know what he would do to him. Mahiru found another man standing between them and he had stopped the punch. He was glad that he protected him but he was worried that the boss’s anger would shift to him.
“Ares, his uncle is a member of C3 but he’s an innocent civilian. We can’t hurt him. Your father approved this plan of yours on the condition that we don’t hurt him. It’ll be troublesome to deal with the Boss’s anger if you break that vow.” Kuro reminded Makabe. He was glad that Makabe didn’t become violent again and he only gave him an angry glare.
“Once my father dies, I’ll inherit everything. You should try to be on my good side when that happens or else you’ll have to choose which of your family you’re loyal to, Hades.” Makabe said and slapped a pair of handcuffs against Kuro’s chest. He didn’t take it and it fell to the ground between them. “Put them on Shirota. He might be lying about who he is and he’s actually a part of C3 like his uncle.”
Their attention turned back to Mahiru and he felt their eyes on him like daggers. He had been paralyzed with fear earlier but he finally pulled himself out of his shock. Mahiru ducked beneath the man’s arm and attempted to escape. He was outnumbered in the small room yet he had to try to run. He wasn’t able to take more than three steps before Kuro wrapped his arm around his waist to stop him.
“Troublesome.” Kuro sighed. He forced him to sit on the futon and held his wrists down on the blankets with one hand. He took out the handcuffs and Mahiru shook his head. His brown eyes pleaded with him to stop and Kuro felt another stab of guilt. He lowered his voice so only Mahiru heard him. “Don’t move until we’re out of the room.”
His words were followed by the distinctive click of the handcuffs locking into place. Mahiru couldn’t take his eyes off the handcuffs and tears started to fill his eyes.  Makabe ordered the group to leave the room but his voice sounded muffled through Mahiru’s shock. The door slamming brought him back to the small room. Slowly, he lifted his hands and the handcuffs fell off the bed.
Kuro had only pretended to handcuff him.
Even though he wasn’t restrained, the weight of the situation crashed over Mahiru and broke the dam holding back his tears. He placed his face into his hands and cried. Mahiru didn’t know what would happen to him and he felt alone.
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Mahiru wasn’t confident about escaping on his own but he couldn’t simply sit in a cell. The silence made his thoughts louder and he didn’t want to think of the implication of everything they told him. His uncle worked with C3? They were also a crime organization that rivaled the Taishi family. He couldn’t picture his uncle being a part of the mafia after seeing him as a kind father.
He decided he would ask his uncle for the truth if he could escape the cell. Mahiru looked down at the handcuffs and thought of the man with red, remorseful eyes. He went against a mafia boss but he didn’t know if he could trust him. He doubted he would have the opportunity to speak with him again. Aside from someone sliding food beneath the door, he hadn’t spoken with another person since the first day.
He ran his finger over the cold metal and wondered if he could use it as a weapon. He wasn’t strong but he could sprint quickly. Mahiru only needed an opportunity. Even as he imagined plans, he was scared and he didn’t know if he would be able to escape. He didn’t know the layout of the building and so many things could go wrong.
Footsteps approached the cell and Mahiru’s grip tightened around the handcuffs. He could hear screaming beyond the door and he moved off the futon to see what could be causing the disturbance. The opening beneath the door was only large enough for him to push food through and he used it to peer to the other side. He wasn’t able to see much but a dog caught his eye.
From the dog’s aggressive barks, Mahiru reasoned that the animal was the reason for the panic. A person fell in front of his door and a ring of keys fell out of his pocket. Mahiru saw his opportunity to escape. He couldn’t know if one of the keys would unlock his door but he needed to try. Once he was freed, he would be able to run using the current panic as a distraction.
Mahiru reached through the opening and grabbed the key ring. His hands shook slightly as he tested each key on his door. After several tries, the key turned and Mahiru held back an excited cheer. He couldn’t draw attention to himself as he ran away. Slowly, he opened the door and slipped into the hallway without anyone noticing him.
He saw the door at the end of the hall and pushed his way through the men to escape. Mahiru reached the end and gripped the doorknob. An angry scream behind him stopped him and his body froze. Then, he realized that the man wasn’t yelling at him. “Why can’t you people stop one dog? Just put it down.”
“It’s the boss’s Doberman! We can’t hurt it. You know he’ll kill us if anything happens to his dog.” Kuro argued. The dog was violent and it refused to listen to anyone aside from the mafia boss. “I already called the boss and he’ll be here to deal with the dog in a few minutes. He said we should keep it from escaping and contain it to the hall.”
“I’m sick of following that old man.”  Makabe took out his gun and pointed it towards the dog. Kuro drew his own weapon to stop him but another person was quicker. Mahiru shoved the man’s arm aside and forced his aim to point at the ceiling.
Of the three, Mahiru was the most shocked by his action. He came back to save the dog without thinking. He couldn’t allow the man to hurt the dog when it was clear that the animal was only in pain and scared.  Mahiru stomped on the man’s foot as hard as he could before he walked to the barking dog. Everyone in the room stared at him as he stopped in front of the dog.
Mahiru reached out to Doberman and he didn’t flinch when the dog tried to bite his hand. He wrapped his hands around the dog’s muzzle and held its mouth firmly close so it couldn’t try to bite him again. He used his weight to hold down the dog and spoke firmly. “Down, boy. I’m not going to hurt you so you don’t need to be scared. I just want to help. Trust me.”
His voice became soft with the last sentence. He felt the dog relax beneath his hands and he carefully let go of it. Mahiru stroked its dark fur to further calm it and he searched for any injuries that could’ve caused the Doberman to become aggressive. It whined softly when he touched its front paw. “How did you sprain your leg, boy? Don’t worry, I’ll patch you up.”
A shadow fell over him and Mahiru held his breath as he looked up at Makabe’s glare. The dog growled at the man and Mahiru held the Doberman back. He didn’t want the dog to be aggressive again and cause another scene. Mahiru braced himself for the man’s anger and hugged the dog close to his chest. “How did you get out?”
A gunshot answered Makabe’s question. Everyone turned to the end of the hall where a tall man had shot at the ceiling to get their attention. Mahiru saw how the mafia men stood straighter and he knew the tall man was a high ranking member. He didn’t know what he should do. The man stopped in front of Mahiru and looked down at him.
“Hades called me and said the mutt was causing trouble. It looks like I’ve wasted my time walking down here. Who are you?” The man didn’t show his emotion openly on his face but Mahiru thought he sounded confused and a little shocked. He hesitated to answer his question and asked one of his own instead.
“This is your dog?” Mahiru recalled how Kuro said the dog belonged to their mafia boss. The realization that followed turned his blood cold. He expected the man to throw him back into the cell and punish him for trying to escape. He looked around the crowd for help even though he knew that it was unlikely. Looking down at the dog he said, “Your dog has hurt his paw. He needs help.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” He said and lit a cigarette.
“He’s Mahiru Shirota. You wanted to know who gave information to C3 so I kidnapped Toru Shirota’s nephew to force him to give us the rat.” Makabe told him proudly. “I already sent the message to C3 and they should reply to me soon if he wants his nephew back alive. What do you think of my plan, Zeus?”
Without a word, Touma walked away from Mahiru and turned his attention to Makabe. He kicked the younger man and knocked him the wind out of him. Touma barely gave him another glance as he took a drag of his cigarette. “You said you were going to take Shirota, not his nephew. Toru’s going to tear the building apart because of your little stunt. Now, I have to clean up the mess you’ve made.”
Touma started to list orders to several men who left the hall. He looked back at Mahiru and sighed. “We’ll return you but we can’t have you causing trouble after you leave. It’ll take us a while to agree on the best course of action. Until then, you’ll be moved to a guest room. Hades, take Mahiru to guest room number 123. You and Apollo will watch over him to make sure he doesn’t try to run away again.”
“Yes, Sir.” Kuro nodded to him.
“Wait,” Mahiru interrupted them. He was confused by the sudden turn of events and a part of him was still wary. He met Touma’s eyes and said, “I want this Dobermann for protection. Please, let me keep him while I’m forced to stay here. I’ll treat his paw for you and return him once my uncle comes for me.”
“I don’t think you’re in any position to demand anything from us.” Touma raised a brow at him. “What will you do if I say no?”
“I’ll run away and find every dog in this building to turn them against you.” Mahiru loosened his grip on the Doberman and the dog growled at the men around them. The only thing that kept the dog from attacking was Mahiru’s hand on its back. The warning behind Mahiru’s action was clear enough but Touma started to chuckle softly.
“You’re as crazy as your mother. The dog is yours.” Touma turned around and walked away. “The dog doesn’t belong to me so I never gave it a name. You can name it whatever you want. Kuro, show Mahiru to his new room.”
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Kuro lightly knocked on the door before he entered the guest room. He found Mahiru sitting against the wall with the large dog laying across his lap. He had wrapped its paw and placed an ice pack on the injury. Mahiru didn’t answer him and Kuro realized that it was because he was asleep. He appeared tired and he couldn’t blame him since the past few days had been stressful for him.
He placed a tray of food on the desk and thought Mahiru could eat it later. The small click of metal against wood woke the dog and it warned Kuro to leave with a low growl. Mahiru woke and he looked around the room until his eyes fell onto Kuro. He quieted the dog by stroking its fur. “Down, Cerberus. This one’s a friend so you don’t need to growl at him.”
“Cerberus? That’s a fitting name for a dog like yours. I’m still surprised that you were able to tame that dog so quickly.”
“My friends would joke that I’m like Snow White. I only need to speak with animals to befriend them.” Mahiru told him and he smiled for the first time since he woke up in the mafia’s hideout. Kuro worked with many people in the mafia but he never met someone as strong as Mahiru.
Kuro took the tray of food and set it next to Mahiru. “I bought you dinner. You should eat.”
“Thank you for the food.” He said. Mahiru patted the ground next to him and silently told him to sit down as well. Kuro thought Mahiru would prefer to be alone so his request confused him. He sat next to him with the tray of food between them. “I want to also thank you for what you did the first day. You didn’t handcuff me.”
“You shouldn’t thank me for anything.” Kuro shook his head. He didn’t think it was right to involve a person like Mahiru in the war between mafia groups but he didn’t have the power to stop Makabe’s plan.
“Your mafia boss said that you’re assigned to watch over me. I have Cerberus to protect me but I would also like to get to know you, Kuro.” He said and looked up at him. The way he said his name made Kuro’s eyes widen slightly. Within the mafia, they would refer to each other by codenames to hide their identity. He didn’t know where he learned his name.
Mahiru thought of the interaction Kuro had with his little brother and wondered if he could trust him. The boy’s words made him think that Kuro was in the mafia against his will like Mahiru was. If he could convince Kuro to trust him, maybe they could help each other to escape the mafia. “Can we try to be friends?”
“You want a mafia member as a friend? You’re the strangest man I’ve ever met.” Kuro said and leaned back against the wall. “You can talk to me about anything you want.”
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amethystpath-writes · 4 years ago
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A Gentle Blade Part 26
Part 25 here
Alrighty. I was able to recover the lost, last half of the chapter. All is well.
Putting big TWs on this one (there is no gore, but many references and mentions): captivity, prisoner of war, battle/war, choking, getting cut open, broken bones, torture, vomiting, whump of a minor, trapped, murder, character being stabbed, manipulation.
@tears-and-lilies
******
"Another question," Kastion piped as the two continued riding. "You don't have to answer, but..." He trailed off. Should he even ask such a personal question now?
On one hand, the prince figured there was no better time to ask. Who knew what would really happen when they arrived in Thharewood? The general would want to know where Kastion was, what he learned during his Mesenian visit. Beyond the minor interrogation, Kastion would have to visit his father- who was hopefully still alive. He'd need to help his mother sort things out; surely she was feeling overwhelmed. He couldn't think of what else he needed to do upon returning, but he was sure there was more. In this sense, it was reasonable to ask Leera such personal things now.
On the other hand, it felt too soon to ask such a thing. Kastion loved Leera. That feeling he knew was true, but a part of him always feared he only loved her because he felt bad for her. Even worse, he was afraid it was because he felt bad for himself. But Leera loved him, too. Kastion would feel okay if she asked him personal questions, so asking her was okay, right? But he didn't know for sure. What if-
"Kas?"
His attention snapped to Leera.
"What's your question?"
He swallowed, not meeting her eyes. He would feel so awful if he asked a question that made her feel badly.
"You can ask me anything. I don't mind, truly."
Kastion sighed. Okay. "Your father was captured by Termine. How were you? I'm sure you weren't in the battle."
Now it was Leera that swallowed. She semi-expected this to be the question. It was okay, she said it was okay, and it was. With a deep breath, she began, "I knew little about the battle, but I heard my uncle complain about it often enough that I understood Termine was strong and that if Poppy wasn't back with our much smaller army, then he was either killed or captured."
Leera went on to explain how she got to Termine. While her mother was sleeping from her illness, she stole the wedding ring off of her finger and sold it to a mercenary, who gave Leera just enough coin to hire a carriage traveling along the main roads. Thinking back on it now, Leera knew the ring was worth much more. It came from an island far east from their own lands. It was worth at least three silver coins.
Moving back on topic, the assassin further explained that she asked to be taken to the battle sight. There were bodies, more than she could count, and she could barely recall tossing up the bread she ate before the journey, along with a tangy yellow liquid that came from her stomach. The carriage director left immediately after she got out so in order to get to Termine Leera would have to walk. That didn't matter until after she checked every single body, searching for her father's face. When she didn't find it, she knew he'd been captured. She walked the rest of the way to the enemy kingdom.
Once she was in Termine, she went to the Servants' House. It was a stretch of small houses, only large enough to fit one poor bed per home. In the center of them all was a washroom, where the servants cleaned up at night- both their bodies and their clothes. In truth, they were probably better off to not clean at all. That much water being recycled was probably more filthy than they could afford. Not knowing this at the time, Leera stole a servant's wet clothes from the floor. She slept in an alley the first night and once the clothes were dry, she traded them with her own, leaving her own clothes in the alley before walking into the palace as a noble servant.
She snuck about the castle as well as she could, discovering every hall and nearly every door. She didn't rest until she found the dungeons where she promptly began to scream for 'Poppy', and although her Poppy didn't answer, she knew he was down there. He hadn't returned home, his body wasn't with the others; this was the only place he could be.
The guards in the dungeon, however few, chased her about, and she ducked beneath their arms, beneath their legs until she saw her father sleeping on the floor behind bars. She yelled and yelled at him, but he wasn't waking up. Leera feared he was dead. As she stood at her father's cell screaming, the guards finally captured her flailing arms and pulled her back. They marched her up the stairs into the main palace. Because she was so small, her feet didn't touch the floor as the guards carried her, their arms tucked beneath hers.
They carried her all the way to the king's personal quarters where they dropped her behind his chair. In her fear, she didn't hear what the king said, but she assumed he dismissed the guards, for they filed out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Leera was so frightened that she scooted back until she met the foot end of the king's bed. Her toes curled in a fur rug.
The king had stood, towering over her. She didn't breathe as he took two steps towards her. He asked why such a small girl like her had been brought up to him like a criminal. Leera admitted that she was only looking for her father.
"He told me that I was looking at my father," Leera told Kastion. She could feel her chest quaking and her hands shaking as they continued riding. Who knew how much further they'd made it since she began telling her story?
The prince tried telling her multiple times that she didn't have to continue, but Leera wanted to. True, it was the most difficult thing thing she'd ever done, but it was also the most necessary. Even when Leera returned home to her uncle, she never spoke of what happened. She only said her father was dead.
Now, years and years later, Leera thought that finally telling someone might release whatever was trapped inside her, whatever made her able to kill as many and as often as she did. Killing was never easy to Leera, but it was easier- easier than if she had never been through everything she had been.
"The door was heavy enough that I couldn't open it," Leera continued to tell. She needed all of it out. She needed it gone, expelled from her mind, and the only way that could ever happen was if she spoke it aloud. "I slept in the king's room, at the foot of the bed, on the very rug I crawled back to on that first night. Servants brought me food, the king handed me daggers."
"Daggers?" Kastion asked. He'd stayed silent the whole time, but he hadn't expected Leera to say the King of Termine gave such a small girl a dagger, especially after learning she belonged to the enemy. Maybe that was it. She was a young, enemy girl, one that could be manipulated into a friend.
"I was made to throw them at dummies made from my homeland's armour. There had been a pile of it in the dungeons. For all I know, I threw a dagger at my own father's armour." Leera huffed. "I didn't know Poppy wasn't dead until one day the king ordered I be taken to the dungeons. I hadn't known his name so they weren't sure which soldier was my father."
Leera was escorted to the cells where she then ran to where she found her father before. He was awake this time, and despite the dark, he rushed to the barred door, reaching through to hug Leera closer. Why are you here? Why are you here, Leera? he'd asked. Over and over again, he'd asked and all Leera could say was, I wanted to find you.
This was when the prince stepped in. He grabbed Leera's shoulders and pulled her away from the captive soldier. My father says you think you belong to this man. You have a choice, the prince told Leera. You can forget this man ever existed, or I will show you what happens to captured enemies and send you to tell all your friends about it. It was the king's idea; his son was only more active, more willing to walk up and down the stairs to the dungeons.
I want Poppy, she said. Maybe she cried it. She was reaching for her father's arms reaching through the bars. Surely she was crying.
A guard stepped towards the cell, holding his sword backward before slamming the pommel against Poppy's arm. Her father recoiled with a pained holler. Leera did cry then, she knew.
What do you want? the prince asked.
Leera repeated herself. I want my poppy! She thrashed and thrashed in his arms, but he was older and stronger. She was nowhere close to competition to him.
The guard who hurt her father fumbled with a ring of keys, shoving one into the door before swinging it open. Leera tried to run in, but the prince's hands were still holding her shoulders.
Stand! the guard barked at Poppy.
At first Leera's father refused, only looking at his daughter. She supposed now that he wanted to be strong for her.
The defiance didn't last long, for the prince suddenly released Leera's right shoulder before grasping her throat. Her neck had been so small that his whole hand fit around her. With just a tiny amount of pressure, she couldn't breathe.
There was ruffling and shifting, clicks and clacks, but Leera couldn't process any of it. She was in a state of panic, unable to breathe, and progressively unable to see. But then she could breathe, and the fogginess of her vision was clearing away ever so slowly. She was young, too young to be held as she was, to see her father in such a piteous state.
Poppy stood still in his cell, grunting, and breathing harshly as the guard slid the sharp edge of his sword across his arm.
What do you want? the prince asked once again. And still, Leera responded that she wanted him, her father. She just wanted to be near him, to hug him, and to go home to Mum.
It went on like this for what Little Leera thought was hours, when in reality it was only one. Beyond that, it went on for days, each day becoming longer and longer, harsher and harsher, until Poppy was nothing but a barely breathing mound. And even further until he was dead. He suffered more cut limbs, broken limbs, fingers, and ribs, concussions from blunt force trauma, and plenty more. Leera was forced to watch it all. And on some occasions- like the first- she was slightly involved in the torture, only to make her father obey. It was a vicious cycle, one that Leera could never forget, even years later, and no matter how hard she tried.
Before Poppy was killed, Leera was still forced to sleep on the fur rug at the foot of the king's bed. One night, when she was sure the king was sleeping because of his snores, she picked a dagger from his desk, walked it over to the side of his bed, and she plunged it into his arm. He awoke screaming, of course, which alerted the guards outside of his room.
Because of his flailing, though, the dagger became loose, so Leera took it back and repeated her action, only this time to the thigh. Soon after, the guards came in and carried her away. To the dungeons! The king's voice was rasped with pain. Teach her a lesson!
Leera couldn't say what got into her that night. She supposed that hearing the king was responsible for her father's treatment became too much as she continued to watch it happen, as she continued to sleep beneath the man's feet. Leera, despite wanting to forget, remembered everything the guards had done to Poppy. And what made it so hard for him to move was what Leera did to the king.
After this occurrence, the prince tortured Poppy until his last breath, chaining Leera to the cell door bars. It was a short leash, one that didn't even allow her to sit. It went on for a single day before Poppy was dead.
Grabbing Leera by her cheeks, making her lips push out like a fish, the prince spat, You will go home and you will tell everyone what happened to you. You will tell them about your father's screams, about his whines, and about his writhing dead body. You will remember me every day that you live, and you will remember me in death.
"He's calmer now than he was then," Leera said softly, remembering dinner in Mesenian. "He was so angry with me for killing the king. I didn't know the king was dead until weeks later, when I returned home and word spread. I was thankful no one in Termine knew my name."
Kastion wasn't sure what to say. Who would have? He settled for saying, "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. And neither did your father- er, Poppy." Leera nodded at him with an appreciative smile.
They were on the main roads after much riding. The fear now was that they wouldn't find a carriage that could take them to Thharewood. Some of the guards wouldn't rest until they were found, Kastion was sure, which meant he and Leera couldn't rest either.
If they could find and hire a carriage, they would be disguised. The Guard wouldn't expect them to do something as public as that.
"We need to find a village and inn."
"Ee'd have more luck there than just wandering the roads."
She was shaking less, Kastion realized. It must have helped to talk it out. Still, he felt bad for ever asking. Without doubt, that was a lot for her to unpack. He hoped she would be okay.
"Then again," Leera said, "we might run into someone less than favourable."
The prince shook his head. "I doubt it. They don't care much about the people of Mesenian. And if they don't care, why would they come all the way out here to patrol?"
She nodded. It was a fair enough point. It still made her nervous. What if they went into a local area in hopes of getting away, only to be caught again? But Kastion was a prince, and he knew about these things. Leera would trust his decision.
And so it was, they followed the main roads, following signs until they found a small village, far off of Mesenian's prime perimeter.
The gods must have been traveling with the assassin and prince, for there very well was a carriage, hanging out near a horse vendor. Without any coin, Leera was afraid the director wouldn't take them, but Kastion showed the woman his ring and she ushered him to hide it before telling the two to hop in. "Shut the flaps," she told them as they got in and shut the doors.
It was a rickety cart, but the horses were strong from what Kastion could see. They were certainly large. He felt confident they would make it home.
Ch, ch, the director clicked and there was a thwap. The carriage began rolling.
Kastion took Leera's hand in his, resting them on his leg as they sat side by side. "If at any point you don't wish to come with me, I will leave this cart and you can go wherever you want. Keep the ring, and know that you will be welcome in my kingdom and home anytime you wish."
"I want to go," Leera nodded. She stared at their hands and smiled. "I want this and I want to see where it will go. I just- I'll need help along the way. I don't want to be a burden to you."
"You could never be a burden," he said. "Never."
Her eyes met his and she took a deep breath. She could do this. Leera could be his queen. Whatever it meant, she could do it, because she had already been through the worst life could offer. Surely being a queen by Kastion's side couldn't be as bad as anything else she experienced. And even if it was, she wanted to stand by Kastion. He needed her help as much as she needed his.
******
Part 27 here
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michellemagic · 5 years ago
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Miraculous AU (verse 2)
Jennette is an everyday girl with a normal life. Until one day, her life is thrown into chaos when blue monsters begin to appear and start destroying her city. Suddenly Jennette has to deal with not just living her normal life but also juggling having to be a hero as well. At least her partner knows what he’s doing.
Or
If the WMMAP characters were thrown into the setting of the Miraculous Universe. WARNING: This story has heavy OC use due to WMMAP’s lack of same age characters. 
(also big thanks to @athy-n-lucas for being my beta reader)
Jennette believed she was a normal girl with a normal life. Yes, she was the mayor’s niece. Yes, her aunt and cousin were currently traveling around Europe with their dance trope and she hasn’t seen either of them in person for nearly 2 years. Yes, her mom works overseas and they didn't see each other (at all) very often. And yes, no one knows where her dad is or if he was even still alive.
But other than that, pretty normal life.
And normal life meant she had to go to school. Part of her cringed at the thought of being stuck inside a classroom all day, she would much rather be in an open area, like a garden or her greenhouse. But school waited for no one, and so she began to walk.
Arriving, she brightened instantly at the sight of her best friend, Ezekiel, waiting for her by the school gates. Due to her mother’s overseas work and his father’s ambassador job the two had the opportunity to meet each other frequently growing up. Jennette was happy she had such a close friend by her side, especially considering how hard she took Athanasia having to leave. Ezekiel helped her deal with a lot during those times. He honestly felt more like a brother then a best friend sometimes. Even with Kiel at her side entering the school after not having to be back all of break was weird. Entering the classroom was weirder.
Jennette hummed slightly looking around the desks and her classmates that had already arrived. There was a group of her classmates surrounding the back table by the windows, a few more students scattered by other areas of the classroom, and her classmate, Kami, was definitely sleeping at her desk. Seeing that no one sat down in the frontmost seats by the door she moved to grab Kiel’s hand to drag them to their usual seat. She’s just able to set her things down before their teacher walks in and the rest of her classmates clamor to find their seats.
Surveying the classroom, their teacher begins to speak and Jennette ready’s herself for hours of dull lecturing. “Good morning everyone. I hope that you all had a restful break, and I welcome you back. To begin-”
Seated in the back by the window, her classmate Jayce’s phone suddenly went off, they flushed softly and murmured an apology but the rest of class had also begun to take their phones out. Jennette could feel her own phone buzzing in her satchel next to her. Pulling it out slightly she checked the alert. … A giant blue monster is causing a ruckus downtown, all students are asked to stay in their classes … What kind of messed up joke?
Ever the social butterfly Michelle is able to find an apparent livestream of the monster which she quickly sends out to the rest of the class, Jennette could even see their teacher looking over the shoulder of one of the students to see what was happening. Jennette can’t help but stare at her phone as the monster destroyed the city. She could feel bile building up in her throat at the sight of it crashing into another building. It was going to keep destroying things until there was nothing left. (A dull pounding in the back of her head asked her why she knew that, how she knew that.)
The monster suddenly falls back, screeching and scrambling to get back up. The shaky camera is turned to focus on the dark blurry figure of someone on a roof, looking down at the monster, with a silver pole in their hand. The video is too grainy to see any real details, but suddenly the figure jumps at the monster, causing it to lash out. The flashes of silver are the only way Jennette knows the figure is hitting the monster. Suddenly the monster on the screen disappears bubbling into blue nothingness. The figure walks over to where the monster was and bends to pick something up, the camera is able to pick up the smallest amount of noise (the murmur sounds deep, a man?) as suddenly the broken building behind him is covered in a wave of glittering red and pink and begins to reconstruct itself. The man looks at the camera suddenly and Jennette is able to catch the smallest flash of red as the figure disappears over the building.
Walking back home, Jennette can honestly say that was the strangest day of school she’s ever had. Her uncle is home, he’s looking over some papers in the main foyer when she walks it, Felix watching his back dutifully behind him. Her uncle glances up at her arrival and looks her over silently before nodding and walking away. Jenny can’t help the small smile that graced her lips, it’s moments like this that reminds her that her uncle loves her, he's just bad with emotions.
She’s about ready to pass out by the time she reaches her room. Placing her bag by her desk, her eyes catch on a little black box that was definitely not there in the morning. A present from her uncle? Probably not, her uncle didn’t get her random gifts. Athanasia on the other hand … Jennette smiled softly, her cousin loved giving her tokens and gifts that she found while traveling Europe. She always wrote that they made her think of Jennette and it was only right that she had it. Jennette opened the box, expecting to see the curly handwriting of her cousin and jumped when she saw a ball of yellow light appear instead.
___
School the next day is somehow even weirder than the day before. Her heart is pounding, there’s a small creature hiding in her satchel and a simple, silver hair piece sitting in her hair. She stumbles slightly when she goes to sit down and she can feel Kiel’s worried eyes on her. A part of her wants so badly to tell him then and there. Break the no telling rule the magic being told her about and just get the consequences out of the way.
Their teacher clears her throat at the front of the classroom, quieting down the gossip and chatter of her fellow students and subsequently stopping her from spilling the biggest secret of her life. After a quick glance over the room Madame informs them that they'll be welcoming a new student to class. Which Jennette found weird, a day after they got back… what a weird time to transfer in.
"Everyone please give a warm welcome to our new student. He's new to France and has lived most of his life in England. I expect all of you to be kind."
"Yes, Madame Lily"
"Ok then. Lucas, you can come in now!"
And a boy with the most piercing red eyes walked in.
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chicagocityofclans · 4 years ago
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Ebony Anderson → Nafessa Williams  → Hunter
→ Basic Information
Age: 31
Gender: Female
Sexuality: Straight
Birthday: July 23rd
Zodiac Sign: Leo
Religion: Catholic
→ Her Personality (one to two paragraphs)
→ Her Personal Facts
Occupation: Tracker and Dealer
Scars: None
Tattoos: None
Two Likes: Vibrant Colors and ‘Me’ Time
Two Dislikes: Coconut and Muttering
Two Fears: Semi Truck Accident and Disappointing her Parents
Two Hobbies: Attending Fashion Weeks and Researching
Three Positive Traits: Outgoing, Persuasive, Flexible
Three Negative Traits: Frivolous, Instigative, Selfish
→ Her Connections
Parent Names:
Grant Anderson  (Father): Ebony has always been daddy’s little girl and has had Grant wrapped around her finger since birth. He taught her everything she knows and made sure she trained only with the best. Ebony knows Grant will make a great leader but is also unsure if taking the mantle at 53 years old is wise or beneficial for their family.
Candace Anderson (Mother): Ebony’s mother is loving and smothering. Candace’s family believed in breeding for the best possible hunter outcomes. Ebony does not blame her mother for running and finds her story encouraging; especially about meeting her dad. This also made Ebony life hell with a clingy and opinionated mother. Candace has been lighting the fire under her to get married and have kids.
Sibling Names:
Imani Colt nee Anderson (Sister): Ebony and Imani have a common sisterly bond. They have each others backs and get along well but are also constantly fighting about stupid things and pissing each other off. Ebony encouraged Imani to start dating Blaine and has always been supportive of their relationship.
Children Names:
None
Romantic Connections:
Chris Shaw (Dated): Ebony dated Chris for 3 months for information about Isaac and Sol for her cousin Nia. Chris thought she was human and that she was too busy to continue their relationship. Chris was boring but very easy to pull information from, while he didn’t right out tell her what was going on, Ebony could easily piece together his subtext and hints.  
Tristan Lawton (Ex-Boyfriend): Tristan was surprisingly easy to get close to but Ebony was unable to make it last as long as she would have liked to. The witches and warlock supernatural community is tightly knitted and Tristan called her out for being a hunter on their second date. He seemed cool about it and asked to keep seeing her which Ebony indulged in for a few months pulling away. They have continued to see each other off and on for the past 6 years.
Carter Bialar (Ex-Boyfriend): Ebony went after Carter after Alice Colt was attacked by someone from the Cat Pack. Grant wanted info and they only had a last name to go off of. She tracked down his son and pumped him for as much info as she could. He ghosted her after she met one of his friends and she thinks they may have figured her out.
Riley Anderson (Flirted): Ebony inadvertently got Riley’s information from Carter. Riley was his college buddy that Ebony found out was a bear shifter. She shared the information with Alexus and Grant but was told to hang back while Alexus worked with the senior members of their pack. Riley was unknown to them since he never frequented the Fields Hotel. Ebony still flirted with him and faked interest in purchasing a house. They attended a few parties together and hung out but Ebony had to call it quits when he wanted to introduce her to his friends, including Carter who she had recently broken things off with on bad terms.
Audo Wilhelm (Ex-Boyfriend): Audo was one of Ebony’s first targets. Grant wanted her to get an inside look at Shutter House Exports & Import and Audo was supposed to be her ticket in. He was literally the only magic user they knew that took some type of transportation to work instead of using magic. Ebony was sure she was ready but she quickly caught genuine feelings for Audo. It wasn’t love but she cared about him and his well being. Ebony quickly got what information she could and called things off.  
Platonic Connections:
Nia Anderson (Cousin): She couldn’t stand Nia while they were younger, believing she got everything she wanted for a quarter of the work that Ebony and Imani did. They’ve become closer in their 30s and Ebony has come to realize that Nia doesn’t really seem to want to be head of the Andersons. That realization has taken a lot of the animosity away, and Ebony can have fun with Nia.
Trevon Anderson (Cousin): Ebony likes Trevon and thinks he’s making his own path. He seems to have really taken to Grant and Blaine, and Ebony thinks it’s made him a better hunter.
Marquis Anderson (Cousin): Ebony doesn’t really know what’s going on with Marquis. He always seems to be lurking in the shadows, or on his way out. She hasn’t been hunting with him in ages, but apparently he holds his own.
Raven Jenkins (Cousin): Ebony likes Raven. She gets her independence and thinks it should be encouraged. She’s loyal to the family and a good hunter, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
Tirra Jenkins (Aunt): Ebony can’t stand her aunts. Tirra is off in her own world thinking she matters more than the rest of them. The best thing she did was have Raven.
Amy Colt (Good Friend): Imani and Blaine introduced Ebony and Amy to each other when they first started to date. They bonded over being their families dealers and hunting. They’ve recently started to share contacts. Their personalities matched enough to hang out away from their families and hunting in general.
Rebecca Stone (Friend): Rebecca pulled Ebony aside at Lilly’s House with inquiries about a leather jacket she was wearing, Ebony took it upon herself to order multiple genuine leather jackets for Rebecca; Ebony heard Rebecca was a leather jacket enthusiast. They’ve remained in contact and have become friends. 
Samir Khoury (Acquaintance): Ebony orders ingredients from Samir and Judsoin for the Anderson’s batch of hunters Ancestral Elixir. To keep supernaturals from finding out what exact ingredients they use, Ebony orders 100 different ingredients a week but for the entire month only one or two of them would be what she actually needs. Since ingredients are rare, it's hard to find other hunters who are willing to share their sources or supplies. Samir doesn’t ask questions and thinks she is a human beautician and naturalist.
Judson Cleirigh (Acquaintance): Ebony orders ingredients from Samir and Judsoin for the Anderson’s batch of hunters Ancestral Elixir. To keep supernaturals from finding out what exact ingredients they use, Ebony orders 100 different ingredients a week but for the entire month only one of them would be what she needs. Ebony thinks Judson may be suspicious of her but he has yet to say anything or acted out in any way to confirm it. He has randomly started to add care tips for growing her own ingredients at home but none of them have been any of the key ingredients she needs. She thinks he’s just being nice and helpful.
Sirius Cobic (Mutual Agreement): The human shifters seem to be the neutral party in Chicago and they own the police. Ebony can’t tell for sure if every person in the police department is a human shifter or if it’s a mixture but it is clear that Sirius is the ring leader. Sirius randomly approached her one day with a proposition that Ebony couldn’t refuse. He was willing to hand off untouchables and other supernaturals that go unpunished by their packs to the Andersons.  
Douglas Gish (Mutual Agreement): Douglas is another known human shifter that approached Ebony nearly a year after Sirius did but around the same time as Sarah. The human shifter police officers were willing to hand off human cases that weren’t handled properly or didn’t have enough evidence to prosecute. They are willing to turn a blind eye to their activities as long as they aren't messy. Malik seems to be the only one that still gets speeding or parking tickets.
Sarah Harris (Mutual Agreement): Sarah has approached Ebony and Elle Colt about hunting human criminals. Jackals have no use to hunters besides information; the same can be said for rats and nimbles. The Anderson's family hunt for hire for the local Jackal Pack and in return the jackal government workers look in the opposite direction when it comes to zoning, public records, licensing, code enforcement, power and light bills, etc.
Blaine Colt (Brother-In-Law): Ebony encouraged Imani to start dating Blaine and has always been supportive of their relationship. Ebony likes Blaine's way of hunting and looks forward to working more with him in the future.
Fiona ‘Fi’ Marz (Friendly): During a really bad tornado, Ebony took an anonymous order for animal shifter and human shifter blood. Her contact turned out to be a vampire. They continued to deal like this for bad thunderstorms and tornadoes. After Imani joined the Colt family, Ebony shared another dealer, Amy Colt’s information with Fi to lessen her load.
Hostile Connections:
Malik Jenkins (Uncle-In-Law): Malik has never tried to get to know Ebony personally. While Malik and Grant are friends, he has practically ignored Ebony and Imani. They’re unsure why but cannot bring themselves to care about it.
Alexus Anderson (Aunt): Alexus always looked down on Ebony and her open ways. Besides family and hunter business, Ebony tries her best to ignore Alexus.
Seth Allen (Annoyance): Seth is a new player in town. Sarah Harris has apologized on his behalf multiple times and Ebony had to fight to get his name off of the hunters free for all board at Lily’s House. Seth has been spotted around town in his animal form and spraying graffiti everywhere.
Jazmine Anderson (Aunt): Ebony can’t stand her aunts. Jazmine is the biggest backstabber of them all, and even though they all know this, they repeatedly get played. Ebony knows she’s not immune and has limited her time talking to her after she created a fight between her and Imani.
Pets:
Meowth (Siamese Cat): She saw Meowth in the window of a pet store on a “Me Time” vacation and couldn’t get his face out of her mind. She went back three times that week and on the third time, bought him and everything he’d need.
→ History (paragraph(s) on background)
→ The Present (paragraph(s) on how the character connects to the plot)
→ Available Gif Hunts (we do not own these)
Nafessa Williams [1][2][3][4]
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breaniebree · 5 years ago
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Sneak Peek ASC 223
Excerpt from the next upcoming chapter...
Harry stepped into Black Cottage after leaving Ted and Andy’s and let out a slow sigh.  He wasn’t sure what to do now.
Zee squeezed his hand as she closed the front door behind them.  “Why don’t you go upstairs and change into something more comfortable?  Remus and Tonks are going to come by in a bit and stay the night with us.”
He nodded and made his way upstairs, his eyes on the picture frames that decorated the wall leading up to the second level.  They hadn’t changed the photos in a few years, he noted.  Remus holding him as a baby; Sirius in front of his bike; Remus, Sirius, and Harry in the treehouse; baby Harry in between James and Lily; Harry riding the child-size motorbike in his leather jacket and sunglasses next to Sirius in the same; Sirius and Zee standing by Zee’s motorbike and laughing… the photos made him smile and made his heart hurt at the same time.
He continued his path upstairs and smiled when he saw the little end table in the hall that held a picture of Harry, Sirius, and Zee in Georgia by the waterfall.  The wall by his bedroom had a photo of Remus, Sirius, and Harry at Langjikull in the lava caves, and the wall on the other side of his bedroom door had a picture of Harry, Sirius, and Zee in front of the farmhouse in Georgia.  When he entered his room, his eyes found the many photos on his wall of him and his fathers, him and his friends, along with ones of him with Zee and Tonks.  There were also photos of his grandparents and the Marauders and he smiled at the sight of them.  He walked over to the memory chest that Sirius and Remus had given him and he carefully lifted the lid, eyes moving over the many vials there.  He had memories, he thought, he had memories of all of his parents in here and he would always have them.
Hedwig flew in through the open balcony doors and landed on his arm.  He stroked her wing affectionately and put her down on his desk before he rummaged through his dresser for something to wear.  He voted on a pair of blue jeans and a white tee shirt that said, ‘whatever’.  The shirt had belonged to Sirius when he was a teenager and Harry smiled at himself in the mirror.  
He tucked both of his wands into his jeans and made his way downstairs.  He found Zee sitting in the living room, still dressed in her attire from the funeral, holding her stomach.
“Are you all right?  I thought that you were over that flu?”  he asked her, moving to sit next to her on the sofa.  
Lady Godiva, who had been lying beneath her mistress’ feet, put her head in Zee’s lap.  Zee reached out to stroke the panther behind the ears.
“Harry, there’s something that I need to tell you,” Zee said slowly.  “I was going to wait to tell you in a few days, after everything… settled, but… I need to tell you now.”
Harry only raised an eyebrow.  “Er, okay.”
“I was sick, as you know, but... it’s not a flu,” Zee said carefully, her eyes meeting his.  “I mean, it was a flu, I think at first anyway, but now I’m experiencing morning sickness, which apparently can happen anytime of the day that it wants to.”
“Morning sickness?”  Harry asked, staring at her in puzzlement.  “What’s that?  Another kind of flu?”
Zee shook her head and let out a slow breath.  “As Sirius so eloquently put it in his will — I’m up the duff.”
Harry’s eyes widened.  “What?  Really?”
“And not just one, of course, but twins.  I’m pregnant with twins.”
Harry stared at her, his eyes wide.  “Did Uncle Sirius know?”
She nodded, biting her bottom lip.  “I suspected and the day he... the day he died, Remus confirmed it for me.  He could hear the babies heartbeats.  Siri was so happy and we just... we had to go to the Ministry.  You needed us and… he was really happy.”
“I’m sorry.”
Zee shook her head, pulling him into her arms.  “Harry… we didn’t plan this.  It was a surprise — a good surprise.  It’s not how I imagined doing things.  But I’m going to have these babies and I know that they’d love to meet their big brother when it’s time.”
Harry’s gaze dropped to her flat stomach.  “There’s really two babies in there?”
She chuckled and nodded.  “There really is.  I went to a healer last week.  The babies are the size of plums right now and by this time next week, they will be the size of lemons.  I’m due at the beginning of January.”
“Wow,” Harry whispered.
Zee took his hands in hers.  “I know that it’s a shock.  It surprised me as well, but this is a gift, Harry.  Siri, he... he left me a part of him.  He left us a part of him.  These babies are going to be so loved.”
“I... what do you need me to do?”
Zee kissed his cheek.  “Nothing, sweetie.  We’re just going to love them.”
“I can do that,” he said, surprising himself.  “Wow, babies.”
Zee grinned widely.  “I know.  I think that I’m still slightly in shock myself.  So, if I’m puking my guts out, don’t worry about it, is essentially what I’m saying.”
Harry chuckled.  “Er, all right.”
Zee kissed his cheek again.  “You and me, we’re going to be okay.  I can feel it.”
He nodded.  “It still feels a bit like a dream.”
“I think so, too.”
Harry sat up a little.  “Zee, Uncle Sirius’ estate... it should be for the twins.”
Zee shook her head.  “No, sweetie.  He left that to you.”
“Only because when he made his will, he didn’t know about their existence.”
She smiled.  “Don’t you worry about us.  I can support myself and these babies, Mr Potter.”
A small grin curved his lips.  “I know that, Miss Zacarias — but I want them to have it.  We can open a new vault for them.”
Zee smiled and reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes.  “We have lots of time, Harry.  I’m only twelve weeks along.  And Sirius left that money for you.”
Harry rolled his eyes.  “Marquess, remember?  I don’t need it.”
She chuckled.  “We’ll be fine.”
Harry stared at her, seeing the look of determination in her eyes and he knew that she was right.  “Yeah, we will be.”
Zee smiled at him.  “Now, let’s talk about what we’re going to do this summer.”
Harry frowned.  “Do?”
She nodded.  “With everything that’s been going on here... I think that getting out of Britain for a few weeks is a smart idea.  We could both use the break.”
“Georgia?”
She nodded.  “I was thinking about it, yeah.”
“Can Ginny come?”
Zee smiled.  “Absolutely.”
“I’m in.”
She chuckled before she cleared her throat, her eyes sobering.  “There’s a lot going on here, Harry.  The Ministry is recuperating and the Defence System is still trying to figure itself out.  I’m due for a few weeks vacation and I thought that it would be good for us to go.  I want to see Grandma and Grandpa, too.  I want to tell them about the babies and take some time away from all of this, from the pain of losing Sirius.  I think that we need to go, the both of us.  Remus and Tonks can come along as well if they’d like, but I want to go maybe next week.  Mama and Papa will probably meet us there like last time.”
“Sounds brilliant,” Harry told her.
“I also want to go while I can still travel.  Once I hit my third trimester, I won’t be able to take an international portkey, so this summer is our chance for that.”
Harry stared at her.  “Third trimester?”
Zee chuckled.  “We’ll learn the baby stuff together, yeah?”
Harry grinned at her.  “Yeah, okay.  You’ll tell me if I can help in any way?”
Zee leaned in and kissed his cheek.  “Absolutely.”
Harry’s gaze dropped back to her stomach again.  “Twins.  Wow.”
Zee chuckled and linked her arm with his.  “Wow, indeed.”
~ ASC ~
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kammieceleek · 5 years ago
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Halfling:  Chapter 2, Nightmare
The sound of dripping water was all that was keeping him sane.
Callum counted it in eights, using it to keep his mind from wandering to his imprisoned wife and missing child. Granted, he was imprisoned, too, but Claudia wasn't torturing him—nowhere nearly as badly as the elves were treating Rayla. He gripped his chains in fury at the sound of her screaming in pain. Rayla's training as an assassin and her upbringing among the Moonshadow elves had taught her not to show pain. The last time he'd heard her scream like that had been when she was laboring to bring their precious Sarai into the world almost six years prior.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight.
Solitude made up most of his existence in this underground dungeon. Claudia was the only person he ever saw and she was less than welcome. His former friend brought him food, trying in vain to get him to abandon Rayla and join her and her father. There was no way he'd do that, though; dark magic was vile and twisted and evil. It had almost killed him the one time he'd done it. Even now he hated the fact that he'd been driven to that extreme in his efforts to protect the love of his life. And when she wasn't trying to turn him against his wife, she was attempting to get Sarai's location out of him.
"Please, Callum. If you tell me where she is, I'll bring her here and she can live in your cell while we figure things out."
"I'm not letting you touch my daughter."
"But…"
"Sarai is pure and good and shouldn't be forced to deal with the likes of you. And if I can do anything to keep her out of you and your father's hands, I'll do it. Even if it means I have to die."
"She's not natural, Callum! She's a halfling—a disgusting cross between a human and an elf!"
"Then why bother trying to find her?" Callum fixed Claudia with a murderous gaze he'd picked up from Rayla over the years. "Leave me alone."
Claudia bit her lip.
"Because… because she's important to you. And I care about you, Callum. Why do you think I didn't kill you and I'm not letting the elves near you?"
"The feeling isn't mutual. Go away, Claudia."
"Fine. But I'll be back."
Rayla's screams reached his ears again and he covered them, fighting back tears. He was powerless, really and truly powerless against Claudia and her little elven army. The shackles that bound him kept him from using magic, though they did give him more mobility than ones he'd seen back in Katolis when he was a child. Callum had no way to escape, no way to find Sarai even if he could use his power. Part of him hoped she'd gone to the Storm Spire, but something told the mage his daughter had run as far and as fast as she could. If she'd gone to Zym, the elves would've found her already. No, Sarai had left the area entirely and he hoped that she was safe and healthy, wherever she was.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight.
"Here."
He looked up as Claudia shoved a box through the door meant for his meals.
"You must be bored in here. And you draw when you're upset, right?"
Inside the box was his sketchbook and charcoal pencils. He fixed her with a look of suspicion.
"Prison is boring. And I have no intention of releasing you, so…" She smiled sheepishly. "No thank you's are necessary. Your drawings will be thanks enough."
Callum waited until she'd gone, then he grabbed the sketchbook. Furiously he began to draw, first Rayla and then his daughter as he last remembered them before all this happened—a mother and child holding hands as they returned home from the market. God, he wanted those days back, but it had been a month since he was imprisoned. His chances of seeing Sarai or even Rayla again were slim.
He snapped it shut and buried his face in his hands. The water still dripped, the staccato sound ringing through his cell in a consistent rhythm.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight.
**********
All things considered, Sarai was a different kind of five-year-old.
Despite her young age, she'd crossed the border alone, traveling through hostile territory for a month (based on the fact she'd said it had been a new moon when they were attacked) by herself and made it to Katolis. Soren was impressed with her and even more impressed that Callum had managed to make such an amazing daughter. Though, he supposed most of it was Rayla's influence over the step-prince's. Even now Sarai sat on Ezran's horse, excitedly telling her uncle stories about her life in Xadia. Eventually, she got tired and Corvus ended up having her ride in the supply cart they'd brought along.
"Is it bad that I love her so much already?" Ezran asked Soren jokingly.
"Nope. She's family."
"Well, the good news is that we're making better time than I did on my first journey into Xadia."
"To be fair, on your first journey, you were on foot. Carrying a heavy dragon egg. Hiding from me and Claudia and pretty much everyone else. And you were ten." Ezran bit his lip.
"I also had Callum and Rayla. And Bait. Sarai did it alone and she's half the age I was. She must've been so scared."
"Don't forget that the last time she saw her dad he was being captured by Claudia. That probably didn't help."
"Soren, you're not helping."
"Sorry."
By nightfall, they stopped to make camp. Sarai insisted on sleeping near Ezran, a request her uncle was more than happy to comply with. Keeping up with a five-year-old, however, was more difficult than Soren had anticipated. Corvus had gone to scout and left Sarai to be cared for by Soren while he was gone and Ezran was trying to get a sense of the situation at hand from some local wildlife. Their party was small—just the three men and little Sarai—since Ezran had already had word sent to Amaya and Janai to meet them at the Storm Spire with warriors. Aanya would be joining them shortly, across the border.
"Sarai, can you slow down for a second?" Soren panted.
"But I've never been to Katolis before! I wanna see how different it is from Xadia!"
"Didn't you pass all this on your way?"
"Yeah, but I was by myself and it was scary." She pouted and Soren melted at her expression. Dammit, if he was having this much trouble saying no to her, then Callum must've been completely wrapped around his daughter's finger.
"Fine. We need some fish for dinner, anyway."
"When Papa catches fish at the pond, he uses Sky magic. Mama always yells at him not to but he does it anyway. He said he'll teach me one day when I'm bigger."
"And we'll make sure that happens. For now, let me show you the way I catch fish." He grabbed the net and pole out of his supplies and took Sarai's hand as he led her down to the riverbank. There, he dug into the dirt until he found what he was looking for—bait for the fish. Sarai squeaked as he placed the bug on his hook and cast the line into the water. Her eyes traced the crystal-clear liquid, trying to see where the fish were so she could help Soren the way she helped her mother when it was Rayla's turn to catch their dinner.
"How long does this take?" she asked.
"It can take a while. Thankfully, we don't need a lot for four people. You don't eat much, I bet."
"Nope. Mama says that's good and bad. Good because it will make traveling easier and bad because I have a lot of growing to do."
"That sounds like her." She was quiet, watching the water with emerald-green eyes.
Then the line went taut and Soren began to pull in his catch. Sarai grabbed the net, allowing him to deposit the trout into it. They caught two more before Soren decided it was time to head back.
"Soren?"
"Yes?"
"…you knew Mama and Papa, right?"
"Oh, yeah, I did. Your mom almost killed me a couple times and your dad… well, the only thing he really has over me is magic."
"Papa said Mama tried to kill him when they first met and that she was the worst assassin he'd ever met. Then Mama threw a pillow at him and said he had to sleep downstairs instead of in their room."
"Why'd he say that?"
"Because he was joking. He told me when he was tucking me in that Mama was a better thief than an assassin 'cause she stole his heart. Then he brought her a bunch of moon lilies the next day and she forgave him."
Smooth, step-prince. Seriously smooth.
"Your dad was right. I met Rayla when I was trying to find him and Ezran to bring them home."
"Did you become friends?!" Sarai looked excited and Soren sighed.
"Not at first. At first… I tried to kill her because I thought she'd kidnapped your dad and your uncle. But we became friends after we helped save Zym from… from a dark mage."
"Viren." He raised his eyebrows. "Mama told me."
"And what exactly did she tell you?"
"That he was a bad bad person and he tried to hurt her and Zym. And Papa said he almost lost her because of him."
"Yeah. He's a bad person. I know that better than anyone."
"How?"
"Um… he was around when I was growing up."
(Not a total lie. Lying to children was cowardly.)
"Oh. Did you know that Claudia lady, too?'
"Would you look at that? We're back and so's your uncle! Go say hi while I clean these fish!"
Ezran looked up in confusion but shrugged as Sarai ran over and started babbling away to him about how fishing had gone. Soren was grateful to Ezran's far more patient nature, which would undoubtedly help them quite a bit in the long journey to come. Corvus returned from his scouting to report that all was well and they should reach the Moon Nexus within another day or so of travel. After dinner and telling a few stories of his journey to return Zym to his mother, Ezran found himself tucking his niece into her sleeping bag.
"You ever think about how weird it is that Callum and Rayla had a kid?" Soren asked as the king came back out and sat by the fire.
"It's a little bit of a bizarre feeling, but it was bound to happen eventually."
"Well, I don't think anybody's going to let things go back to normal after this is over. Especially not you."
"Right." Ezran nodded. "We can worry about that later. For now, we have to find Callum and Rayla. Sarai needs them."
"Actually, this feels… familiar. Like we've been here before."
Ezran rolled his eyes and laughed.
**********
"Whatcha drawing, Papa?"
Callum smiled as his daughter peeked over his shoulder. She looked down to see a sketch of her mother wielding her blades, clearly in the middle of a battle. Sarai's eyes shone with pride and excitement.
"You draw Mama a lot."
"Well, I love her a lot." Sarai clambered into his lap and he set the sketchbook aside.
"Did you miss us when we were at the market?"
"Of course I did, Moonbug. I miss you whenever you're gone. And now that you're back…" He smirked in a way that told Sarai one thing.
"Papa, no!" Callum didn't listen and started to tickle her sides. Sarai shrieked with laughter and he swept her into a hug.
"Where's your mother, anyway?"
"She said she's 'checking the pe-ri-meter', whatever that is."
"Let's go find her then, shall we?"
Callum set Sarai down and they headed out of the house. Rayla was standing in a clearing not far away, her eyes scanning the trees nearby for something.
"Rayla?"
"Hush," she hissed. "Someone's here. Get back to the house."
On instinct, Callum picked up Sarai and turned to run home, but his exit was blocked by elves—elves of varying race who were furiously glaring. From behind the family came more elves… and a human woman Rayla and Callum recognized all too well.
"Callum, take Sarai and  go !" the former assassin begged as she took a swing at one of their foes. The elves concentrated on Rayla as Callum ran, carrying his precious daughter.
"What about Mama?!" she wailed.
"Mama wants us to be safe!" he choked out. "And that means we need to go!"
Callum tripped over a tree root, flipping himself as he fell so he didn't crush Sarai. He got to his feet, only to find that he and Sarai were bound together with some kind of spell. Claudia came out of the shadows.
But that was where things became different.
Suddenly, he couldn't use his magic. Sarai was struggling to get free and crying and he wanted to hold her, to comfort her like he always did. He was knocked sideways by something that turned out to be one of Claudia's gang of elves.
"Aw, how precious," Claudia sneered. "The halfling can be useful to us."
The bonds loosened around Sarai and the elf grabbed her. She let out a terrified scream that sent Callum into a panic. Before he could get up, Claudia firmly placed her boot on his chest as Rayla was dragged into the area. His beloved wife was bruised and bloody and beaten, but he could see her chest rising and falling as she struggled to breath through the pain.
"I need more magic to get back. You wouldn't mind if I took care of the brat, would you?" Claudia asked one of the elves.
"She's an abhorrent creation. Rid us of her."
"NO!"
Callum sat upright, panting heavily as he tried to slow his heartbeat.
It was just a nightmare.
He needed to see his daughter. Even if it was just a picture of her, it would be something. In her five (almost six, as she was fond of reminding him) years of life, the longest he'd been apart from her was two days when he got stuck in a snowstorm and the fact that it had been a month (he could see the moon through the grate on his cell) was tearing his heart apart. His hands finally landed on his sketchbook and he opened it.
Immediately, his eyes landed on an image, the first done in this particular sketchbook.
He'd done it the day his daughter was born, shortly after Rayla had recovered from giving birth. His beautiful wife was holding their baby girl and smiling at him through the page.
We'll get through this.
Rayla's words on that day, when he'd shown genuine worry over being a father, echoed in his head.
But I can't if you're not here…
**********
"Had enough yet, traitor?"
Rayla spat blood at the feet of the elf who'd asked her, glaring at him with murder in her eyes. She might not have been an assassin anymore, but she could still kill if it came down to it. And this one had been trying her patience since the day she was imprisoned.
"I'm not tellin' ya daft bastards anything!" she growled.
"Then we'll just continue with what we're doing tomorrow. Give you another night to think it over."
Rayla sighed as she was finally allowed into her looser shackles—the ones that chained her to the wall but still let her move around and use her hands. The elves left her alone.
She wondered how Callum was doing.
Her husband had always had a big heart, a heart that had plenty of room for her and their daughter, and that was both his strength and his weakness. It was a weakness the elves were exploiting with the help of a rogue Moon mage who used illusions—ones almost as convincing up close as Lujanne's—to create a near-perfect copy of Rayla. This one they tortured viciously and violently to make her scream. Rayla had been confused until Claudia showed up to kindly inform her that Callum was disturbed and panicked by the screams.
They beat me because they want information.
They torture the illusion to hurt Callum.
Only once had the screams of pain come from her in their time down here, and that had been early in her imprisonment. An illusion of Sarai had been beaten to death in front of her and she'd screamed for them to stop, to let her innocent daughter go, to get away from Sarai. That had been before she found out that Callum—her wonderful, loving husband—had freed their daughter from Claudia's grasp and sent her to get help. Her heart ached to know where Sarai was, what help was coming, but she didn't dare think for a moment that the help she'd once relied on was coming.
"Rayla."
Her head snapped up at the voice. She looked up at the small grate that allowed her a bit of light and saw a face there. It was a face she knew, a face she trusted. Someone who could help her and Callum escape.
Runaan.
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zutaralover94 · 6 years ago
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Congratulations for 500 followers 😘💖 Zutara / 5 ✌️✨
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#5 for Zutara writing prompt was Arranged Marriage! Please excuse the extreme wait! I hope you both enjoy this. I really like the end. So I hope you do too!
“I will never love you.”
Katara stood in probably the most beautiful dress she had ever owned, but the fact that on the other side of room was her newly appointed husband, ruined her mood to admire her gown. She looked through a random book that was in the room. They were waiting to walk out into the reception as the new couple. As the future rulers of the Fire Nation and Water Tribes.
“I don’t expect you to.” Zuko mumbled.
Katara slammed the book, she turned around and glared at him. “Then why me?!”
“Uncle suggested the match.” Zuko lifted one shoulder.
“There were plenty of other young women in the tribe that would have killed to be your wife. Why me?” Katara felt herself turning desperate. If neither of them expected anything out of the marriage minus peace for the kingdoms, then he certainly could have chosen someone who wanted the title. Katara was perfectly fine with her family home, with her small group of young water benders, and her own peace.
“Uncle said you were a master,” Zuko rubbed at the back of his neck. “He said you were a great teacher of waterbending. Said that it would be wise to have a strong figure like you to stand beside me.” Zuko finally turned around to her. “So, I chose you.”
“Do you always listen to your Uncle?” Katara crossed her arms over her chest.
“I didn’t use to,” Zuko said with a shrug. “But I learned that lesson the hard way.”
Katara sighed and turned back to the stack of books, “Whatever. I’m hungry.”
+++
Eight months later
+++
Katara was pulling out multiple braids the maids had put in her hair that morning. Breakfast with the King and council, a meeting that followed immediately after, another with the royal guard and battle tactics, then following that was lunch with the Duke of Omashu. After that, Katara finally had a small break and took a stroll through the fire lily gardens with her head maid that ended with high tea with two other Ladies from Ba Sing Se. Katara had been filled in on gossip of the neighboring kingdoms. Katara wished to say that their company was a complete bore but that was a lie. The hour and a half long meeting with some dignitary from the Crescent Island had to be the top of the list of the day. Sadly, that was not where her day ended or slowed down.
Zuko and Katara had been called away to dine with the Lee family. (Don’t ask her which one because truthfully who cared?) Then she dozed off lightly on their hour journey back. When she had woken, her head rested against Zuko’s shoulder and hot heavy breaths blew over her forehead. Katara knew by the small snore on intake of breath that Zuko had fallen asleep like her. She smiled  at that.
The princess had finally sat down to her vanity with tired feet and her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Her fingers unknotting the smaller braids close to her temples. She was brushing through her hair when a knock came from her door. “Come in!” She heard a click of the door opening and closing. She peeked in the mirror to see her husband leaned against the door and sighing heavily. “Oh! Zuko,” Katara pulled her robes closed and turned. “I thought you were Meng.”
Zuko turned to look at Katara, “How was your day?”
Katara gave a soft smile, “About the same as yours. Except I know all about how some Lady from some random prefecture is severely in love with her husband’s stable hand.” Katara did her best impression of a snooty woman. She even crossed her legs and held an invisible tea cup to toast Zuko.
“Should I be screening my stable hands with you?” Zuko gave a light laugh.
And it severely hurt her. Because this marriage, this contract, killed all of her motivation to get to truly know Zuko. The man certainly was tolerable enough. Though his jokes were dry and his advice could use more refinement. But Zuko was nice. He led well. Definitely not as well as his father had wanted him to but… Minus the little outburst the following two months after he became King, Zuko led the kingdom to prosperity.
Zuko leaned against her vanity and smiled down to her, “It only gets worse. Just wait till your birthday in the next few month.”
“You know my birthday?” Katara played with her hair.
“Sixth day of the winter solstice. Right?” Zuko looked around her vanity briefly before handing her a hair tie.
“Yes,” Katara accepted the tie and began wrapping her hair back. It was beautifully crimped from the tight braid she had worn all day. She looked up to Zuko in the mirror. “Yours is the second month into the summer.”
“Yeah,” Zuko nodded.
There was a small pause in conversation. Zuko looked around her bed chamber. He didn’t often come in here and most of the time it was a quiet ‘good night’ said from her door to the hall.
Katara was almost relieved to find that she would not have to share a bed with Zuko. Though after tea with the Ladies from Ba Sing Se, she would say that would have to change soon.  Very soon. Way too soon.
It was expected of her to birth a child within the first year of their marriage. The sooner the better.
Which Katara understood from a royal standpoint. You wanted the lineage to continue. Another blood heir to take the place if something were to happen to the King. But from where Katara sat, she didn’t think she could go through with that without loving someone first. And Katara made it very clear from the start she would never love Zuko.
Zuko cleared his throat, “Right, well it all begins again tomorrow.” He gave a short bow and then whispered a ‘Good Night’ into the back of her hand when he kissed it.
Katara blushed and turned her head to the side, failing to hide the blush from the King. “Good night.”
+++
A Few Months Later
+++
“Her Royal Highness, Katara Ven Luna De Sole.”
Katara blew out a breath before straightening her posture and walked through the door. Zuko was standing just inside the door with a smile. He held his elbow for her to take and he escorted her the rest of the way into the ballroom. “You look lovely.” Zuko leaned in close to her.
“Thank you,” Katara felt a blush bloom across her cheeks.
They took steps to the platform along one wall of the ballroom. Katara’s head maid quickly stepped to help her small train fall beside her when they took their seats on the throne.
Zuko gestured for the music and turned to all of their guests, “Let my beautiful wife’s birthday celebration begin!” The band took their cue and began a waltz like tune. Zuko then turned to Katara who was sat straight in her chair. “How do you like it my queen?” He asked as he sat down and held out a hand to her.
Katara was shocked. Really. Zuko had planned the whole event and with minimum questions besides what her favorite color was and favorite foods were. Katara planned close to nothing. Only insisting on inviting a few of her closest friends. Zuko immediately agreed to everyone on her list and went about to get them hand delivered.
The party was sparkling with creams and dusty blues that set off the dark reds of the ballroom. Their symbols blended together in a yin yang balance. There were long tables filled with her favorites and with other items, because Zuko understood not everyone loved stewed sea prunes.
Katara smiled to Zuko and took his hand, immediately intertwining their fingers, “Thank you, this has to be the most stunning birthday I have ever had.”
“Good.” Zuko nodded and looked out the to the crowd.
Katara didn’t look away from Zuko. Her fingers tightened slightly and Zuko rubbed his thumb over her knuckle. Katara felt something flutter in her chest. He was really trying. Truly. If the party didn’t prove it, then the walks he now took with her in the afternoons when she was sure he had daily training with his men during the same time. They had talked more in the last month than Katara was sure she had ever talked to anyone, minus Gran Gran of course.
Zuko had even placed a fountain in the garden that were filled with rare purple and red lotuses. Katara hadn’t even asked for it. There was a bench that was sat to the side with beautiful carvings in the stone. Katara often snuck to sit out there with a book or simply to play with the water in the fountain. It had brought her so much joy. Katara didn’t know how to properly thank him.
Her contracted husband, whom she had sworn she would never love, was making that promise a very hard accomplishment.
Zuko had gained his throne rightfully and stood with honor and dignity he was told that he never owned. She saw him grow within the last nine months. He took his position in leaps and bounds. She also giggled one evening when Zuko had stopped by her room, that Zuko gained a new grey strand with every accomplishment he obtained. Zuko grumbled and combed his fingers through his hair. Katara could have swooned as his bangs were pushed back off his face. She still wasn’t sure it was safe to tell him that he should wear his hair with his bangs pulled back into a bun.
Her husband was definitely handsome. Katara sighed inwardly. Or maybe it was outwardly because golden eyes looked over to her and then Zuko turned his head with a smile, “What?”
“I-,” Katara looked down at their hands and then down to the crowd.
“Would you like to dance?”
Katara nodded and looked up to him. Zuko stood and led her down the stairs to where people parted and made way for the couple. Zuko kept them towards the front side of the dance floor and in sync, stepped into the dance.
It was an easy dance and the layers Katara had on didn’t seem to make Zuko stumble like she was afraid when she put it on. Zuko led her gracefully into the steps being mindful of his hands and the space between their bodies. Katara again sighed and Zuko looked down to her.
“You alright?” Zuko tilted his head. “You’re not tired yet are you?”
“No,” Katara shook her head. “I’m simply thinking.”
“What about?” Zuko readjusted his their hands to a more relaxed position.
Katara blushed and turned her head away. He would ask. She was going to embarrass herself now. “It’s nothing.”
“You know I had an annoying sister that often told me, ‘If it’s nothing then you can tell me.’” Zuko raise his eyebrow to her. Katara looked up through her eyelashes to him and shook her head. “Fine, if you don’t wish to tell me.” Zuko raised his head in an overly haughty look.
Katara shook her head, “Trust me, my king,” She looked away again. “It was nothing.”
“Hmm,” Zuko smiled and continued in silence until the end of the dance. “Shall we get you something to drink or have another dance?” He asked as they bowed to each other and then gave a clap to the other dancers and band.
“A drink would be nice.” Katara took Zuko’s hand as he led her to the table of different colored cups.
The celebration had lasted for much longer than any party Katara was sure she had ever been to. (Except for her wedding night. That would be the longest day of her life. Ever.) She danced and drank, she laughed and talked with friends and with other invited guests. Most of time she was next to Zuko, a part of her constantly touched him, even if it was her pinky finger locked with his in the folds of her skirts. It all moved along greatly and there were so many birthday wishes as presents that Katara was almost overwhelmed.
Zuko caught her mid-yawn  that she tried to hid behind her large goblet of wine. She gave a guilty smile and apologized before continuing her talk with the elder Beifong couple. Zuko stepped to her side and gently kissed her cheek close to her ear, “If you wish to retire for the night, we can.”
Katara shook her head, “But what about all of the guests?”
“They will leave, especially if you decide to turn in.” Zuko whispered softly and leaned back to look at her. “But if you wish to stay out longer there is one more surprise I wish to give you.” He smiled and bowed his head dismissing the Beifong couple. “It’s my gift to you.”
“A party wasn’t enough?” Katara gave a light laugh and followed as Zuko began to pull her along.
“The celebration is for everyone else, this, this is a gift from me.” Zuko led her to the gardens they often walked through in the afternoon. Guards stood with lanterns on hooks along the path. Katara would nod to ones that caught her eye.
“I never thought I would complain about the cold in this place, but Zuko it’s chilly we should have stopped for our jackets before coming out here.” Katara mothered as she walked only one step behind Zuko.
He stopped abruptly and turned to her, “Close your eyes.”
“Zuko, aren’t you listening.” Katara put her hands on her hips with a pout.
“Yes, but the longer your beautiful sapphire eyes are looking at me the longer we are staying out here.” Zuko countered.
Katara huffed and closed her eyes. Even with her eyes closed she could see his signature smirk he wore when he won. Katara rolled her eyes under her lids. She heard a snap and felt a small surge of heat cut through the cold before it surrounded her again. But she didn’t dare open her eyes until Zuko told her to.
Zuko had taken steps away from her and she heard him mumble something. Then clearly said, “Open your eyes.”
When Katara blinked her eyes open she gasped. She had never seen a more beautiful picture ever. Her eyes filled with tears as she took in all the details.
Zuko had lit lanterns that floated through the water lilies in her, their fountain. There were small and large candles sat around in different clumps that shone on the water and ground. They lit up the garden in a glow so beautiful Katara couldn’t help the tear that fell.
But at the center of it all was what made her heart stutter.
Zuko held onto a floating lantern and gave her the smallest of soft smiles she has ever seen on a human being. He stretched out a hand and Katara hiccuped on a small cry. She stepped towards him with a wobbling smile.
“I once read a story, of a king who would light a lantern on his wife’s birthday for every year that he loved her.” Katara took Zuko’s hand and looked down to the glowing lantern. “He would lift it into the sky to show all the world his love. The wife claimed him to be a foolish man. And maybe he was. But he did it every year. The number of lanterns he would send off grew and grew each year.” Zuko pulled Katara a little closer to him. Katara took a hold of an edge like Zuko and she licked her lips as Zuko continued his story. “Util the year he died in a horrible war.” Katara’s face crinkled into one of confusion at Zuko’s pause. “And his wife at his burial lit one lantern.  And would continue to do so every year on his birthday. To show her love for her deceased husband.” Zuko paused and gave a half chuckle. “Sorry that was um really not the happy ending. I just read it and I thought the tradition of lighting a lantern on your birthday was something we could do. Or I could do for you- or maybe this was stupid. Yeah this was stupid. We don’t have to-”
Katara yanked him down by the collar of his shirt and kissed him. She loved this man. Spirits. He did all of this. Everything was for her and she was surprised to find he knew so much about her. He got to know her. In return she knew him. And that if she didn’t shut him up he would take back not only this super storybook romantic tradition. He would also say that the party wasn’t as great as he had planned. Or some other non-sense that lowered his self-esteem. And she would not stand for it. Because she loved it, all of it, the party, the lanterns, him. Oh spirits, she loved him.
Katara let go of the lantern to wrap her arms around Zuko’s neck. Zuko’s surprise had finally worn off and he kissed back, releasing the lantern in favor of wrapping his arms around her as well. Katara squealed as she was lifted from the ground.
The queen pulled back when she was sat back down on her feet. Her smile was bright as she looked up to her contracted husband. “I love you.”
Zuko smiled and pulled her in for another kiss. But not before whispering, “I love you too.” on her lips.
The first lantern took flight in the sky that night. To show the world the King’s love for his Queen. But more importantly for Katara’s love for Zuko.
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wolfpawn · 5 years ago
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Life is a Game of Risks, Chapter 34
Chapter Summary - As Christmas approaches, Tom readies to leave for his mother's leaving Alexianna feeling a little upset. But he has left a surprise for her.
TRIGGERS - Past domestic abuse, Past emotional abuse, Past sexual abuse.
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Alexianna sighed sadly as she looked at the tree that was set up in her living room.
It had been a fortnight since they moved in, and already, she could see the difference it had made in their lives. Lily had blossomed with her new space and her individuality being allowed be expressed in her far larger room. Even her teacher had commented that the already bright and happy young girl was flourishing all the more after their move, much to Alexianna and indeed Tom’s pride.
For Alexianna, she felt so much better after the initial night or two without her daughter in her room. Tom had insisted that after staying the first night in the new house with them, he give them a day or two to get settled, which was indeed something they needed, but it meant Alexianna having to get used to a bed by herself. Since then, Tom had stayed twice, both times the pair locked the bedroom door and allowed themselves some privacy for whatever they chose to do. It improved their relationship also, having Alexianna not feel as though they had to go to Tom’s all the time, in fact, since then, they had not been to Tom’s as both adults agreed that with the new space for themselves and indeed Lily, it made life easier at their home, since everything that could be needed for the four-year-old was there.
But now Christmas was coming, and Tom was helping her hide the presents for Lily that needed to be ready since they had been kept at his, but he was now heading to his mother’s for the holiday.
Alexianna was slightly hurt by it. It was not that she expected to have him stay away from his family, of course, she knew he would go home to his mum, but the severe lack of discussion as to when he would come back hurt her slightly. All he said was “Whenever suits you” with a large smile on his face caused her to wonder if he was trying to get away without giving her an answer because he simply did not want to be dealing with her.
With a kiss and an insistence that he would be back soon, Tom left for his mothers, but not without telling Alexianna that there would be a package waiting for her later, and to enjoy it. Still hurt that he was leaving and was not saying whether or not he would be back before New Years, she set off to collect Lily for school, another thing that hurt her feelings, she thought he would at least say a proper goodbye to Lily before going.
She continued to think about it, allowing it fester more and more as she went to collect Lily. When she got back to her apartment, there was indeed a large present near the tree, too large, if anything.
‘Mommy?’
Alexianna walked over and pulled at the tag. ‘I have no...OH MY GOD!’ When a person came into view, she shrieked.
‘Surprise!’
‘You….evil….sadistic….’ Alexianna clutched her chest, attempting not to swear violently.
‘’Uncle Daniel!!!’ Lily rushed over to her uncle, who cuddled her close. ‘I missed you so much.’
‘I missed you too my Lily-Pad.’ He cuddled her into him tightly before looking at his sister. ‘Are you okay?’
‘How did you get in?’
‘Tom.’
‘What?’
‘He let me in and got a key cut for me so I could be here when you came back.’
‘But, he left for Suffolk.’
‘Yes, after he collected me from Stansted, he left about fifteen minutes ago, he needed to collect his sister and her family to drop them to Heathrow before heading there.’
‘So he…How long are you here?’
‘Christmas, all of it.’
Alexianna’s eyes widened. ‘What?’
‘If you don’t mind, of course, I thought we could...Al? Hey, are you okay?’ He went over to his sister, who was crying. ‘I don’t have to…’
‘You want to be here, with us?’
‘I...Al, I have never missed Christmas with the two of you.’
‘But...with everything…’
‘No, Al. Look, I know I have not been here a lot, with work and with Anna, but you and Lily, you are my family. And I cannot wait for you to meet her, I want you to like her, but this...even she insists I need to be here with you both at this time of the year.’ Daniel hugged her close, noting how tight she was holding onto him. ‘Al, talk to me.’
‘I...I thought we were going to be alone.’
‘No, never. I could see it in Tom’s face, he is in two minds about going to his Mum’s. I bet if I said I was not coming, he would be here.’
‘How did he know?’
‘I rang you one day and he answered, so we got talking and I said how I wanted to surprise you, so we planned around that.’
‘He knew all along?’
‘Yes.’
‘The prick said nothing.’
‘Language Mommy. And stop hogging Uncle Daniel.’ Lily pushed her out of the way so she could get to her uncle.
Daniel smiled and lifted her up. ‘I hear you have a cool new room.’
‘It is so cool, did you see it?’
‘No, I wanted you to show me.’
Lily jumped up and down in his arms. ‘Come on, I’ll show you now.’ She slid to the floor and dragged her uncle to the stairs.
Alexianna took out her phone and rang Tom, knowing he would not answer. Sure enough, his answering machine came on. ‘Hey, I nearly had a heart attack, I hope you’re happy.’ She half laughed. ‘Listen, I...I…’ She stopped. Alexianna wanted nothing more than to tell him how she felt, but she was scared of making herself seem too needy. She wanted to tell him that she wanted nothing more than to spend New Years with him, sitting on her sofa or just going to dinner, if he wasn’t busy, of course. But she couldn’t. She cursed that part of her mind that controlled her thoughts, the ones that struck fear into her and made her unable to voice her feelings. ‘I hope you have a good time at Christmas, bye.’ She hung up and cursed herself again.
*
‘You look different.’ Alexianna turned to see Daniel studying her carefully.
‘How so?’
‘Just...there’s something new about you. You look better than I ever saw you before.’
‘I have never been so…..it’s not even happy, because it goes deeper than that. I feel so much like….’
‘The old you?’
‘I think so, yeah. I mean, it is tiring as hell and hard, I am not going to pretend it’s not. I sometimes get only four hours sleep, but I am working on something, and Dan, it is so much more than I thought it would be. I love it.’
‘Brilliant.’
‘And college is hard, paperwork and study are exhausting, and Lily….she is taking up so much time with school and making sure she is doing okay, but I love it, more than I thought possible.’
‘That makes me so happy to hear.’ Daniel hugged his sister again. ‘And Tom?’
‘It is not always easy. He has work stuff and going out with him is hard sometimes, but...when we are sitting here, just reading, watching tv or talking, I feel so...content does not seem right, but it is the closest that comes to mind.’
‘You are quite alike, away from his job.’
‘That is Tom Hiddleston, the actor, but Tom, the guy from two streets away that leans against the counter there,’ She pointed to Tom’s usual spot. ‘With his cup of tea and talking to me about the weird guy that was tutting at the newspaper as he got the tube out from a meeting, that guy I think, is similar to how I enjoy being.’
‘You should always surround yourself with people similar to how you want to be.’ Daniel commented. ‘This place is incredible, Al.’
Alexianna looked around. ‘So much so. It just...It has added so much to my happiness. A clean and good home for Lily.’
‘She has brightened too.’ Daniel noted.
‘A proper home environment will do that to a little girl.’
‘With a Mommy and Daddy.’ Alexianna stared at him. ‘She and I were talking earlier, she is under a very clear impression that Tom is her father.’
‘Oh Jesus, not again. We already sat her down with this.’
‘Yes, and explained she is not the man that made her with you, she told me.’
‘Then why is she saying otherwise to you?’
‘Because she knows her friend Sadie has a dad just like that.’
‘She wants him to be her dad so much.’
‘What is bad about that?’ Alexianna gave her brother a look. ‘No really, Al, what is wrong with it?’
‘It’s not true.’
‘He reads to her, looks after her well being, is a father figure in her life, why fight it?’
‘He’s only been here six months.’
‘And? That’s double the time with the pop princess at least. At least you two have a relationship, there is mutual respect.’
‘Dan…’
‘Anna has her new album, she shits all over him. I heard the lyrics myself.’
‘I don’t know or care if I am honest. I know he was annoyed and hurt when it came out since he had been respectful of how he spoke of her, but we don’t talk about it, same as Jonathon, it’s nothing to talk about. It is only something that will upset and bother.’
‘Yes, well, you’re better that way. Any more from him?’ Alexianna shook her head. ‘Good.’
‘I cannot believe, after everything, we are free.’
‘You deserve it.’ Daniel commented. ‘Though, there is something else I need to ask.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Lily mentioned a baby brother.’
‘Oh for fuck sake.’ Alexianna growled in frustration. ‘There are no babies. I am nowhere near able for one right now.’
‘That’s a slight change from “Never again”, what about in the future?’
‘I cannot say.’
‘Would you have another, with him?’
‘I don’t know. I am not there now, so I cannot answer that.’
‘But you might?’
‘I am thirty-one, Daniel, I am not jinxing myself either way.’ She insisted. ‘I don’t ask you about yours and Anna’s plans to have any kids.’
‘We'll see, we’re not there yet.’ Alexianna looked at him. ‘Well, it’s not like we have only today to think about it.’ She said nothing in return.
* Tom took the phone down from his ear, having listened to Alexianna’s message a few times. At first, he was elated, she sounded so happy, but the second part of her message told him that something was bothering her. He could hear her attempts to force the words from her mouth as she spoke but to no avail. Part of him wished he had been face to face with her to try and urge her to say whatever it was that was bothering her. He hoped she would want him back between Christmas and New Years for a few days together over the holidays.
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licenselesswriter · 5 years ago
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The One Who Stayed CH14
He would call himself a liar if he didn't admit that the first week with Maya in London wasn't like a normal one. He takes his daughter to school; she greets Mia and Jayden and walks inside as nothing happened. He greets Mark and they both go for coffee, only for him to run 10 minutes later for being late for work. He would arrive 10 minutes earlier than his shift and rest for a second in his office, until he heard his phone ring, telling him that his 9:30 A.M. patient has arrived. he would attend at least 9 pets before taking his jacket and run back to Lily's school to pick her up. she would run to him and, depending on her mood, she would grab his hand or climb him like she was a tiny koala, he would drive them back home, probably take Jayden with him, if his mother or sister approves of course, and Mia will join them after lunch.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy, he naively says.
3 weeks were enough to make him change his opinion. At the moment he arrived back at his house, after dropping Lily at Riley's new apartment, the loneliness attacks him.
He uses his time to clean his house, room by room and manages to clean them to perfection. He went to go shopping and cook his meals for the next 5 days, clean his kitchen and then sits on the sofa with a cup of tea. In 6 minutes, the tea is gone, he looked at his watch and desperation reign.
He grabs his jacket and drives to her mother's place. When he arrived, she hugs him and makes him feel the comfort only a mother can provide.
Due to the low temperature, Mary fastly serves 2 cups of tea and sits in front of her son.
- So? - she asks him.
- So what? - he asks back.
- Why are you here? - she asks him this time.
Lucas just looks at his mother - Wow, a hard crowd - he says and then takes a sip of his tea - Why you assume I'm here because I need something? - he asks.
- Because of the facts dear - she replies and caresses her son's face - Trust me, I'm more than happy to have you here, and I'm proud for not having you here completely drunk - she adds and takes one of the cookies she puts on the table.
Lucas just takes a minute before letting a chuckle escape his mouth - I'm a horrible son - he says, making his mother laugh.
- No, you're not, you're just a busy one - she defends him from himself.
- You give me too much credit - he says avoiding her look - Honestly, I'm here to ask for something, so you're not wrong - he confesses.
- It's about Lily? - she asks.
- No - he replies, but before he could say anything, his mother cuts him.
- Then it's about Maya - she points, surprising him.
- You know what, I'm not even gonna asks - he replies, making his mother laugh again.
Mary takes another sip of her tea - You're feeling stupid for letting her go to the museum thing with "the Uncle"? - she asks.
- I'm feeling stupid right now, but not for that - he answers - I need to deal with loneliness - he points out and take the rest of his tea.
- Hard question - Mary replies, looking at a picture of his family - Remember what happened when your father was transferred to Seattle? - she asks him.
- How could I forget? I had to double my training to lose all the weight I gained during that year - he replies with a laugh - It was insanely delicious but really hard, Maya and Farkle were the ones who most enjoyed that time - he adds, making his mother grabbed his hand.
- Well, that was my way to deal with loneliness - she says - Some people craft, some people knit, in my case, cooking was my answer, now you only need something you like to do, no matter the time - she adds.
Lucas just looks at his mother like she just discovered electricity - Well, it took me 2 years notice that my ex-wife was cheating on me, so, I'm gonna need a few hours to figure this out - he jokes.
- You should shop online - Mary suggests her son - Also, you need therapy, you shouldn't joke about what happened - she adds, taking another cookie from the plate.
A few hours after visiting his mother, Lucas felt his smile grow at the sight of that particular park, it still has the old graffiti certain blonde artist made in her youth. He was still able to remember all the nights he escapes to that park, and how the solitude helps him think.
Now, it only serves him as a reminder about how quiet his life is.
He also remembers that wasn't like that all the time.
He remembers his friend's laughs with him while they explore the city, or how he was amused by the size of the rats in the subway.
His brain even let him remember Riley's laugh and how Maya was clowning with her.
He was able to remember everything, Farkle and his Alter Ego Donnie Barnes, the evolution of Smackle, Zay's first ballet recital here, Maya sneaking into his room to study chemistry and spending every Friday night with Riley at the movies.
But he wasn't able to remember himself, and that makes him nervous.
Thankfully for him, his identity crisis was interrupted by an unknown number with a +44 area code.
- This is Lucas Friar - he answers the call.
- Guess who has a new phone - he heard, and his smile was back in seconds.
- Congrats on a new phone - Lucas replies and gets up from the bench he was sitting on - How's London this week? - he asks.
- Pretty much the same as last week - she answers - But God knows I miss certain pecan pie -she adds.
- Don't worry, you have one of the best Father-Daughter tag teams taking care of those pies - he replies, making her laugh.
After a few seconds of silence, she was able to notice something his mother was able to notice - Are you ok? - she asks him, testing the waters.
- Well, I still have 2 arms and 2 legs, so I can't complain - he answers avoiding giving an honest reply.
- Ok - Maya says with a tone Lucas wasn't able to identify - I'm gonna play it as I believe it - she adds - But you know at some moment you're gonna have to tell me, right? - she says.
Lucas just stays silent for a few more seconds - I miss you - he finally says.
- I know - she replies - I miss you too - she adds - But don't feel too flattered, I miss Lily more - she says in a joke.
- Of course, I know that - he follows her joke - I'm just the hot bonus that came with her - he jokes this time.
- I refuse to answer to that - Maya says refusing to believe the feelings he was making her feel - Speaking of, where is Lily? - she asks.
- Well - he looks at his watch, noticing how late was - I'm hoping she's sleeping by now - he adds before deciding to walk back to his place.
- I have her for weeks in my place, she's in bed - Maya says, remembering how Lily was in bed at 8 because she always was in bed at that time with Lucas reading her a story.
- If we weren't on bad terms with Riley, I totally would go and check on her - he says walking away from the park - Did you know she gets an apartment a few blocks from my house? It's actually nice because in that way I don't have to drive all the way to Cory and Topanga - he comments.
- Interesting that you bring that up - Maya says in a playful tone - Are you trying to make me jealous Mr. Friar? - she asks him.
- Does it show? - he asks back before let a soft laugh escape his mouth - It's your fault actually, I don't like that blonde guy who's with you on all your Instagram pictures - he tries to justify himself.
- You know he's gay, right? - she asks.
Lucas just takes a moment before giving an answer - I would like to retire my statement - he says.
Maya just giggles - Gosh, you're cute - she says.
They both spend a few seconds completely silent.
Lucas was the first to broke it - I've... I've been thinking too much - he finally confesses.
- About? - she asks him, a bit scared of his answer.
- Us - Lucas answers drily.
- Oh - she softly says - Care to share your thoughts? - she asks him, feeling how her heart rate starts to rise.
- Maybe when you come back - Lucas replies - I've been thinking a lot, and it's not something we can chat on the phone - he adds.
Maya felt something sink in her stomach - Should I worry? - she asks.
- Don't know how to answer to that - Lucas replies.
- Oh - she softly says.
They stay silent for a few seconds again.
- Call you next week? - Maya asks him.
- I'll be waiting for it - Lucas answers.
- Bye - she softly says.
Lucas wasn't able to reply to that, she finished the call before he had the chance.
Days went by, and through the weeks he was able to perceive a certain coldness every time they talk on the phone, and that only makes his regret heavier.
What kind of relationship starts hiding the fact that you just divorced?
The answer was easy.
The worst kind.
And of course, it's not only that, it's not like he forgets to tell her.
I plan on telling her once, and only once she came back from London, the sole premise makes him feel stupid.
But then his nightmares came back.
What if, because he tells her that he just divorced, she doesn't take the Tate Modern offer to stay with him?
He knew where that kind of frustration ends.
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- Daddy, your hand is sweating - Lily softly says to her father while she dries her hand with her sweatshirt.
Lucas just looks at his daughter - I'm so sorry Lily, your Father is a bit nervous today - he apologizes and dries his hand against his jeans.
- It's because Aunt Maya is coming back today? - she asks him.
- I'm gonna say, Mom, am I right? - he asks back.
- yes, you are - Lily answers laughing.
- This is the best game I've ever invented - Lucas says while Lily make him stop - What? - he asks and Lily slowly climb him like a koala - Awww my tiny Koala is tired - he says pressing Lily cheeks with his fingers - What do you say little Koala, Ice creams and then I drop you with your Mom? - he asks her.
- Can I get cookies too? - she asks him.
- Nope, you already eat donuts this morning, and you know the rules - he denies, only to see his daughter pout - Don't pout, you're gonna get wrinkles - he adds.
Lily fastly stops, making him laugh.
40 minutes later, Riley was outside her building waiting for them, when she saw Lucas' car park she smiled.
Lucas and Lily walk out the car and Lily fastly runs to her mother - Mommy - she screams before hugging her legs.
- Lil' Koala - Riley says and caresses her daughter's hair - Lucas - she greets him.
- Riles - Lucas answers automatically, noticing in the second the disgust when she heard that nickname - Sorry - he apologizes.
- No need - she replies, then she softly gets on her daughter's height - I have a surprise for you - she says and Lily look at her like she was the sun - Grandma finally show me the secret of her Chard-Bread pudding and she gives me an 8 on the Topanga scale - she adds.
- I'm guessing you need someone to confirm that grade - Lily says and gets away from Riley, only to run to Lucas, only for him to pick her - Sorry Dad, but duty calls - she says and puts a kiss on his cheek, before he put her back down, letting her start her run to her mother's apartment.
Once she disappears in the elevator, Riley looks at Lucas again - You know you're more than welcome to stay for dinner - she says.
Lucas just gives her a sad smile - Sorry, have an appointment in a few less than 2 hours - he says looking at his watch.
- Ok - Riley replies with a nostalgic smile - Say Hi to her for me - she adds before walking back inside her building.
For a strange reason, Lucas felt bad for her.
18:34 was the time Lucas get out his car. White cardboard in his hand, with a huge “Shortstack” written on it.
It was finally the time, 3 months ended 2 days ago, and her flight was arriving in less than 30 minutes.
For a strange reason, tachycardia strikes again, but he was happy, so he just blames the excitement for watching her again in front of him for that.
37 minutes later, his heart starts to beat again like when he was 16. She was there, in front of him, so he just jogs a bit to her and hugs her - God I missed you so much - he says.
Maya stays silent for a second - Hey - she softly says hugging him back.
Lucas notices how light she was traveling, but decide to not say anything - I have a surprise for you - he says instead.
She looks at him and smiles - It is a pecan pie? -she asks.
Lucas just looks at her surprised - How in the world did you guess it? - he asks back, only to hear her laugh.
- My nose is the best in town - she replies while Lucas takes her handbag and holds her hand.
Once they get into his car, Maya started to eat the pie.
- Lord knows I've missed you Pecan pie - she says while she takes a bite with the plastic fork Lucas give to her a few seconds ago.
- Wow, that's Love - he says with a smile on his face, making her laugh.
- Do you think Pecan pie loves me too? - Maya asks him.
- How can he not? - Lucas asks back before turning on his car and drives them away from the airport.
Less than an hour later, they both arrive at Maya's apartment.
Maya lays on the floor - My overly expensive apartment, you don't know how much I missed you - she says and then gets up only to lay on the sofa - My sofa remembers me - she says feeling her body fits in the sofa.
- You're like a kid - Lucas says and sits on the floor, next to her - Should I order something to eat? - he asks her.
Maya smiled at him and put a kiss on his lips - You are the best - she says.
Lucas laughs - You really believe that or you're only saying that because I'm feeding you? - he asks her.
- A bit of both - she says and softly caresses his hair.
Lucas just smile, it was like everything was back to normal, she watches TV, he asks for Chinese food, then they eat, they smile, and they had a great time.
He was able to say that everything was going smooth for him until her words bring him back to a reality, he hadn't thought too much since he saw her.
- So, is one of the things you thought during this time a valid reason to hide from me the fact that you divorced on Lily's birthday? - she asks him.
Lucas just froze, take a sip of his Pepsi - Who told you? - he asks back, knowing there was no point in hiding it.
- So, it is true - Maya says and moves her sight from Lucas.
- It is - Lucas confirms - I've been divorced for a bit more than 3 months - he adds.
Maya just stays silent and cover her face with her hands - You know you're an asshole, right? - she says, more like a fact than as a question.
- Please don't judge me - Lucas begs and for the first time avoid to look at her.
He hurt her.
- Why? - she asks.
- Josh told you - he points out - He probably tells you why I hide it from you - he adds.
- Don't put this on him - Maya defends Josh - You're the one hiding things from me - she adds.
- Didn’t he tell you the why? - he asks her.
- I refuse to believe the BS he gave me as an explanation - she replies, feeling her anger grow bit by bit.
Lucas just looks at her in disbelief - Excuse my rudeness, but now I'm surprised, exactly what did he tell you? - he asks this time.
- He told me you hide it because you wanted me to take the job instead of staying here with you - she answers.
Lucas looks at her surprised this time, and if he was honest, a bit angry - And that's BS for you? - he asks - I can't believe it - he adds.
- Was that the reason? - Maya asks him getting up from the sofa - Wow, that's a lot of confidence in me and how stronger my feelings are - she adds in full sarcasm.
- It's not like that - Lucas says, trying to calm himself, and if he's lucky, calm her too - It's not a matter of ego - he adds.
- Well, it doesn't look like that - Maya replies - Just tell me the truth - she says, still refusing to believe that excuse.
Lucas just looks at her like she punched him in the face - I did tell you the truth - he adds and walks to her door.
- Really manly, go on, run from me! run from my questions! - she yells at him from the living room.
Lucas stops with the doorknob in his hand - Goodnight Maya - he says and walks out her apartment.
Maya wasn't surprised when the morning light starts to bright in her living room. "A living room you haven't leave since Lucas walks out of your apartment last night" she reminds herself.
Even when he was furious with him for hiding that from her, she knew that wasn't enough to make her stop loving him, and that infuriates her.
That's why she was completely surprised when she heard her door unlocking, only to see Lucas walk-in, perfect shirt, coffee, doughnuts, and sunglasses.
- What are you doing here? - she asks him, not with the intention to push him away.
- Well, I wanted to calm down a bit, wanted for you to calm down too, and that wasn't gonna happen with us in the same room - he answers before walking to her and sits next to her on the floor - Also, you deserve an explanation - he adds and opens the doughnut box, to take a Boston cream - And last but not least, I love you, and I think that is the most important reason of all the ones I listed before - he says and smiles at her before taking a massive bite of the doughnut.
- I do love you too Lucas - she says and let her head rest on his shoulder before taking a doughnut - I'm sorry - she apologizes.
- For what? I was wrong, I knew I was wrong when I decided to hide it, but if you let me explain why I did it anyway, I think you might understand my point of view - he replies and kisses her forehead.
- Did you get me a caramel macchiato? - she asks him.
- Yes - he replies with a smile on his face - because that's how much I love you - he says, making her blush a bit.
- Liar, you've known my coffee order since high school - she replies.
- Take the hint - Lucas softly says and then sit a bit straighter, making Maya lose her stand - Anyways - he started, trying to avoid what he just confessed - There was a reason for me to hide my divorce from you - he adds.
Maya just looks at him, this time with a serious tone in her eyes - Do I really want to hear this? - she asks him.
- It's nothing bad, it's more like conclusions people do after what happened to me - Lucas answers before putting his hand over Maya's hand - Do you have any regrets, Maya? - he asks her.
Maya takes a few seconds to answer - A few - she says.
- At this moment, I'm pretty sure regret is what break-up my marriage - he says - Not mine, I was happy, I, I - he tried to say but it was still painful to actually let the words escape his chest - Sorry - he apologizes and takes a drink of his coffee - I really believed I had the perfect family - he continues - A wife who loved me, a daughter who loved me, a nice home, my dream job, money to support my family, that was my top of the mountain - he explained before feeling Maya's head rests on his shoulder again - Don't feel bad, it's just a mountain - he adds.
Maya put a soft kiss on his cheek - I'm gonna start calling you Huckleberry The White - she jokes, making him laugh.
- Please don't - he replies - Anyways, I think the regret was what break my marriage because of all the things Riley sacrifice to take care of our daughter - he says and Maya looks at him confused - Riley is a person destined to do great things, greater than what her mother has done, but she had to put that on hold because someone needed to take care of Lily on the first years of my clinic - he explained - I was in the clinic 12 hours every day, usually stay late to check on the supplies and still, after all that, everything seems to go perfect for me, Lily didn't resent me for skipping the first years of her life and I started to make loads of money, and I think that turn the regret into anger - he adds.
- Why you're trying to justify her so badly? - Maya asks him.
- I'm not trying to justify her - Lucas replies - I'm trying to understand her - he adds - It's the only way to move on - he says - That's why I hide my divorce from you - he continues - I was scared that you might decide to not take Josh's offer to stay with me, and I know how important this was for you and your career - he finally explains why he did it.
- I would never do what she did to you - Maya defends her integrity.
- That doesn't take the nightmares of that happening from me - he says and Maya just hold his hand - 1 time almost kill me, first from alcoholism, and second, from all the times I thought about, you know - he says taking a tiny pause - Pull the trigger - he confesses.
Maya didn't want to, but her tears start to flow from her eyes, reacting to his story.
- And when I was at my lowest point, I get it, I understood what I did wrong - Lucas says feeling the knot in his throat - I force Riley to put me as her priority, and that should never be, you should be your number one priority, not an idiot who thinks he can pull anything from his hat, and honestly, I don't want that for you, I can't risk any little chance of you resenting me because you put me as your priority - he says, feeling a bit lighter from confessing the truth.
Neither of them was able to say anything for a few minutes after that.
Maya takes a deep breath and kisses his hand - Do you love me? - she asks him.
- With all my heart - Lucas answers in a second - Do you? - he asks back.
- Since that stupid 10 second relationship - she answers making him and herself laugh.
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megalony · 6 years ago
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Roger’s girl
I had an idea for a single dad Roger and will be doing other imagines with the same basic storyline but they won’t go in order or necessarily correlate to one another.
Enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh what a cutie you really are Roger." Freddie stated as he walked into the apartment without even knocking, smiling at the scene in front of him as he took a seat on the armchair next to the sofa Roger had cramped his rather small and slender frame onto. Seeing the drummer stretched out on his back, Lily-May sitting up on his stomach as his hands were entwined with her much smaller ones. The toddler's head spinning round to see her uncles all entering the flat she and her father lived in. "We've got to go into the studio to book a few gigs, there rather good venues actually." Brian stated, lips pressing together sadly as Roger gestured to the girl on his chest. This was meant to be their day off, they had been at the studio every day for the past two weeks and Roger really wanted to be home right now with his four year old. It had been a big surprise to the band that Roger was the one who had a family and had settled down first. Brian had known him the longest and had previously known Roger to be a bit of a playboy until he was expecting his first when he was nineteen. Just when they were forming the band Smile. Roger had seemed like a completely different person but Brian had never seen him so happy when Lily had been born. Roger was still a very heavy partier and drinker but that didn't change that he was a big family man at heart.
Lily had only been about seven months old when Roger one day turned up at Brian's flat with his baby in arms asking if he could crash at his friends place for a few days until he could secure a new flat away from Lily's mother. Brian had never come so close to having a heart attack as he did in that moment. Wondering why on Earth Roger was buying a flat somewhere near the other side of London but still close to the guitarist without telling Lily's mother what he was doing. Learning the drummer was practically eloping with his daughter Brian had no choice but to help, knowing Roger was doing this for his daughter's best interests though he had been skeptical, close to calling Roger's now ex partner. Brian had learnt a few months later why Roger had suddenly stormed out of his old apartment with his daughter, seemingly not looking back. Though Roger had been young and being a father was such a change from his carefree attitude he took to the role like a pro, doing everything he could for his little girl. The same couldn't be said for Lily's mother. He understood she was finding it hard being a mother, but coming home from a class at university one day to find that she had left Lily alone in the flat almost all day sent him reeling. He'd never come so close to hitting a girl before- let alone a girl he was in a relationship with. Roger had more respect and morals than that but he could feel his fist balling up ready to land a punch because she hadn't seemed remorseful at all. Thus leading to an argument where Roger realised she wasn't stable enough to look after Lily, and she didn't seem to care about their daughter at all. He could tell by the way she had talked that this wasn't the first time it had happened and Roger simply couldn't put Lily in danger like that because she had quickly become his whole world. Stuffing a few things into a bag Roger cradled his daughter to his chest as he screamed at his ex to stay away from them and that he wasn't going near her again. Storming out of the flat and to his friends place, horrified to know she had been more concerned that Roger was leaving her than the fact he was taking their daughter away with the intention never to bring her back. Roger never dared to look back, and he was perfectly fine looking after his girl on his own, only having his ex try and find him a few times. Once ringing rather recently wanting to talk and see him and Lily again, scaring Roger as he knew she could always claim he ran off with their daughter which he did but she could always spin it into a lie. He'd done everything to make sure she wouldn't find him yet, but recently with their songs becoming rather known Roger had to confide in Brian he was afraid she would find where he was and try something to ruin what he had worked so hard for. "It's my day off." Roger shot back, a pout forming on his lips causing Lily to lean her head to the side, confused as to why he suddenly seemed upset. Tugging on his hands that were still encasing her own she caught the drummer's attention as he looked back to her, watching as she let go of his hands before planting her small nimble hands on either side of his face. Clumsily leaning forward she pressed a messy kiss to his lips trying to make him happy again, working as he began to laugh, the scene making the hearts of the other members of the band swell. "It's everyone's day off Rog, but hey it's payday too." John snipped in, trying to brighten the mood as he smiled at the scene, knowing it was hard for Roger to have to work long hours and find someone to look after Lily. John had recently had his first son and was the second one in the band to settle down after Roger but he had a wife to look after the children, Roger was an only parent. Though John and Freddie didn't know what had happened to Lily's mum they were informed by Brian that she was in fact not dead, making them a little more relieved. "Oh yeah wow, a little scrap of money to last next week and then nothing for another three fucking weeks. Honestly we're at that studio every bloody day, me and Fred work down the market when we're not there, you guys have other jobs too and what do we have to show for it? This flat has two bedrooms and I can't fucking move in here, and that fucker at EMI has a new Rolls Royce." Roger ranted, trying to keep his voice low enough so that Lily wouldn't pay attention to the curse words rolling off his tongue but he couldn't help but get riled up. All of the band were in agreement. John also had a small flat and there were three in his flat now, Freddie and Mary had a small one bedroom flat that was very cramped and Brian had a small place with his girlfriend too. But the thing was each of the threee of them had partners to help with rent and food and clothing children. Roger didn't. He had to pay the rent on the scraps they were given, he had to clothe himself and his daughter, feed the pair of them, pay for childcare if no one close could look after Lily. And if his drums went bust he had to fork out for repairs or a new drum. He had two jobs, working at the studio and then down at the market with Freddie to make ends meet and he could barely do that. Roger didn't get help from his parents who didn't live close enough to look after Lily and who he couldn't and wouldn't ask for money from. They had told him when he was expecting Lily they would help with money if he really needed but that he had made his bed and should lie in it and he fully agreed. He was thankfully almost finished with uni, and at that time he had his ex to look after Lily which was help. When he upped and left with Lily he didn't tell his parents for months that he was a single parent now and that had disrupted things between them. Roger had flipped his lid outside of the studio when he noticed their manager had a brand new car and yet the band were paid peanuts that couldn't keep any of them afloat. Everyone was working two jobs at once to keep their homes and keep families fed but he could get a car. The boys had to hold the drummer back from attacking the man when he saw him, because they all knew it was because of the success of 'Killer Queen' and their latest album that he got that car. "We can try and sort the money issue out today if we get going." John stated. All eyes becoming glued to Lily as Roger huffed before getting up, holding his daughter to his chest as everyone knew what he was going to say next. "Lily has to come too." He smiled as he said the words, causing the little girl to giggle as the other three smiled all nodding eagerly. Lily called them all her uncles and they absolutely loved it and she loved going to the studio but they weren't recording today and there was a chance tempers would flare. But Roger couldn't do anything about it, it was meant to be his day off so he thought he would be able to stay home with her. He didn't have anyone on standby to look after Lily.
"Alright your getting on my tits now, piss off." Roger hissed, hands balling into fists at his sides as he glared at Paul who was leaning against the wall, slightly taken back by the anger thrown his way from the drummer he had just provoked. "Just calm down-" "Calm down, are you joking?" None of the boys dared tell the drummer to stop because out of all of them Roger was the one most likely to fly off the handle and right now that was that they needed. If Roger shouted their case they might just be able to get their situation changed because he could be very demanding and if they all joined in once Roger had blown off a little steam they were unstoppable. All just glad Jim had kindly offered to take Lily to go to the canteen for a drink, seeing tempers were flaring. "That's a nice car you have outside, I wonder how much that cost you. Whereas right now all of us are cramped into flats no bigger than this fucking room and we don't have the money to live on because you've stuffed it in your matress." They all watched the concern flash in their manager's eyes as he realised they seemed to have figured out his rather plain ploy. He took a bigger cut of their money than he should but that was the music buisness and the boys were at the bottom of the pile even though they were the grafters. "Well, John's the only one whose really cramped, the rest of you have two people in your homes." Paul cut in, a rather smug look on his face as Brian turned to face him. "Do you mind pissing off I thought we already told you to leave." "He's not wrong, you all have someone else helping paying bills and you have other jobs. When you get an album that sells like 'Killer Queen' does we can arrange to up your pay if the numbers stand." "Who the fuck pays my bills?" Roger spat, anger radiating off his frame as Brian ran a hand over his face, wondering how this was going to go. Knowing there wasn't any good direction this conversation was going to take and in all fairness they were being inconsiderate where Roger was concerned. He wasn't looking for sympathy because he had made the choice for him and his girl to walk out and do this on his own. He had done that and he knew what he was doing but they still couldn't act like he was having help and that him having another job was nothing because being a dad was another job entirely. He was essentially doing three jobs and getting paid for one. "Rog-" "Did you see Lily just now, how does she pay the rent on the poxy flat we live in? How does she afford the food, clothes and bills or the babysitters who have to take care of her when you drag me here at all hours and then pay me tuppence. So I have to go and pay extra for care for her so that I can do another fucking job to get enough money for a home for us and food to eat. I do this on my own and I don't want sympathy I want my fucking money for giving you two albums and about five hits that I haven't seen a copper for in five months." John looked out of the window trying to calm himself down at the tension that was fogging the air and cutting off the oxygen. Not daring to look at the drummer who was on his feet and slamming his hand down on the desk in front of him causing everything to rattle. "He's right. So you have to pay up or we go to another record company." Freddie stated, putting their options out there as Brian and John nodded in agreement, it was the only thing they could do. They were struggling with rent and food and had too little hours to do all their jobs and be with their families. Roger was struggling for people to look after Lily because of the money it cost, so much so that he had taken to bringing her to the studio everyday, having no other choice.
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the-badger-mole · 6 years ago
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In Kya’s Garden
Katara shot up in bed. Her eyes were wet with tears, but for a moment she couldn't remember why. Then the memory of the dream came flooding back and she had to choke back a sob. Beside her, her husband stirred in his sleep and turned to face her.
"T'sa matter?" he mumbled. Katara sniffed and tried to smile.
“It-it’s nothing," she said. "Go back to sleep." He must have heard something her voice, because he woke up and propped himself up in his elbow. Nearly ten years of marriage had given him an innate sense of her moods.
"What's wrong?" He reached up and wiped the last of the tears from her cheek. Katara leaned into his hand, and then threw herself into his arms.
"I had a bad dream," she whispered. She looked up at him, kissed his chin, ran her hand down the scarred side of his face. The need to feel him and make sure he was real was overwhelming. “I dreamed that we weren't together. I had to live my entire life without you."
Zuko smirked at Katara, brushing stray hair away from her face.
"Must have been terribly boring," he said. "Don't worry. Even if we couldn't be together in this lifetime, I'd find you in the next life and the one after that, and..."
"So, you're going to hunt me down for eternity?" Katara chuckled. "Old habits, huh?" Zuko grinned.
"I'm a man who knows what I want. And that's you, forever and ever." Katara sat up and kissed Zuko properly on the lips. The movement caused a faint ache in her joints. She frowned at the odd sensation, but ignored it. She stared down at Zuko. There was a knot in her chest. Tears welled in her eyes, the memory of the dream still fresh (what if I lost him? What if I never had him?). She wasn't embarrassed though. Not with Zuko. Never with him.
"Do you promise?" she asked. Zuko's brow furrowed in confusion. "That you'll find me. In our next life. And the one after that." Zuko regarded his wife for a moment. Then he sat all the way up and pressed his forehead against hers.
"Always," he promised. He grinned devilishly. "You'll get sick of seeing me."
"I'm sure I will," Katara teased. Zuko kissed her again and lay down.
"Now get some sleep," he said. "We've got a lot of diplomats and other annoying people to see tomorrow." Katara smiled and settled into the blankets.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-
The faint ache in her bones grew. It felt to Katara that all of her joints had locked up. She opened her mouth to cry out, but her voice came out thready and weak. She reached out for Zuko, but there were only empty sheets. She opened her eyes. There was a gnarled and knobby hand at her side. With a surge of horror Katara realized it was her own hand.
"Oh!" she cried. "Oh!" Her entire body hurt terribly, and Zuko wasn't there. Where was he? Two strangers, a man and a woman, rushed into the room. The woman moved her arms and water surrounded her hands. She was a water bender, like Katara. And a healer, Katara found out a moment later. The aching in Katara's joints dissipated enough that the pain was no longer agonizing. The woman looked down at her with concern.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Katara started. This woman had to be in her sixties at least. Katara wasn't old enough to be her mother...was she? Katara was having trouble concentrating. She couldn't remember how old she was. She questioned the woman in her strange high, thin voice. The woman looked close to tears.
"I’m Kya, Mom," she said. The man whispered something Katara couldn't hear. She frowned and looked over at him. He was bald and tattooed, and he had a grey beard. He looked familiar, but Katara couldn't remember his name.
"Where's my husband?" she asked. The two strangers exchanged a look.
"He-he's not here, Mom," the woman, Kya said. Katara sighed sadly.
"Busy as usual. He would be here if he could, though," she assured the pair. She looked at the man curiously. "Who are you?" He stepped forward with tears in his eyes.
"I'm your son," he reminded her gently. "Tenzin." Katara frowned and shook her head.
"No," she said. "I never had a son Tenzin. That was Aang's boy. An air bender, just like his father. Oh, he was so proud of that boy." Tenzin looked stricken. Kya sat at Katara's side.
"That's right," Kya said, taking Katara's hand gently in hers. "That's right, Mom. Tenzin is Aang's youngest son. I'm Aang's daughter. And we're your children, too."
"My children," Katara repeated,a bit dazedly. "My children, and Aang's..." She shook her head. "No, that's...that's not right...I'm married to..." Katara grew more agitated. She tried to pull her hand away from Kya.
"What's going on?" another man had entered. Kya looked over her shoulder.
"Mom's not having a great day."
"What's wrong?" he asked. The new man walked over to the bed. Katara recognized him immediately. She tried to get up and run over to him.
"Sokka!" she cried. The man blinked in surprise.
"Oh..." He looked from Kya to Tenzin, and then sighed sadly. Katara struggled to sit up, reaching for the man.
"Sokka!" she wailed again. "Who are these people? They said they're my children, but... Where's Zuko?" The man recoiled.
 "What?"
"Mom," Kya said gently, "that's not Uncle Sokka. That's Bumi. Your...my brother." Katara stared at Bumi in confusion. Kya piled pillows behind her. She dug in her bag for the herbal sedative she had gotten in town earlier and put it in her mother's teapot.
"Why is she asking for Zuko?" Bumi asked. He turned to Tenzin, but his younger brother was as lost as Bumi.
"I don't know," Tenzin said. "She was asking for Dad just a moment ago." Kya sighed and helped Katara drink some of the tea. To Kya's relief, Katara calmed down almost immediately.
"No," she corrected Tenzin absently. "She asked for her husband." Tenzin scowled at his sister.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. "Dad was her husband." Kya just shrugged. The long days of caring for her mother were beginning to tell on her. She didn’t feel up to an argument with Tenzin.
"Well, that's not what she's remembering right now," she sighed.
"Has she been like this all day?" Bumi asked. He walked over to the other side of Katara's bed and sat on the other chair. Someone-Tenzin, Bumi guessed- had brought in a bouquet of panda lilies. Katara watched him sleepily, but Bumi guessed that she wasn't really seeing him.
"She was doing well this morning," Kya said. "She knew everyone. She was happy to see her grandchildren. But she took a nap, and when she woke up..." Kya gestured at her mother helplessly.
"Can't you do something?" Tenzin asked. Kya scowled at him.
"Like what, Tenzin?" she snapped. "What more could I be doing?" Tenzin shrank back.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I know this is harder on you than anyone." Kya ran her hands over her face. She had been in charge of taking care of Katara for a little over a year. Ever since Korra had gone to visit her mentor and found her confused and bleeding from a head wound on the floor.
Kya was glad to do it and her brothers and Korra helped as much as they could. But Katara's mind had been slowly going. Her brothers hadn’t had the experience with their mother’s episodes that she had. She was grateful that Katara hadn’t gotten angry. She also hadn't told her brothers that this wasn't the first time their mother had woken up asking for Zuko. It was a secret only she and Korra knew.
"Did she have a thing for him?" Korra asked when Katara called for him the first time.
"Not as far as I know," Kya said shaking her head. "She and my father had been together since they were teens. As far as I ever saw, they were happy together. Still..."
"Still?" Korra pressed. Kya frowned and stared into her teacup.
"I don’t remember it, but she and Fire Lord Zuko were very close." Kya swirled her tea around idly. "Best friends for a long time, in fact, to hear my parents tell it. And you know they got close again before the Fire Lord died."
"Do you think it was more?" Kya looked up and frowned at Korra. Now in her mid-thirties, the Avatar had a slight dusting of grey in her dark brown hair, and laugh lines had begun to make their presence known around her eyes, but Kya still saw the same curious (nosey) girl she had met almost 20 years earlier.
"I think," she told Korra, in a terse measured tone, "that my mother is old and confused."
Korra had taken the hint and let the subject drop.
Katara had asked for Zuko twice more between that first time and now. Once she referred to him directly as her husband. Kya wanted to ask, during Katara's long stretches of lucidity, why she had asked for Zuko instead of Aang, but she couldn't. She didn't want to upset her mother...or to hear anything that would upset her.
Now, though, Tenzin and Bumi had witnessed one of Katara's worst episodes. They heard Katara ask for Zuko this time. Kya didn't believe for a moment that they wouldn't ask Katara about it. Especially not Tenzin, Aang's most loyal child.
Kya would hold them off as long as possible. They would leave soon. Tenzin still had air benders to train, and Bumi...well since he had retired from the military, he didn't have many obligations, but being in one spot too long made him antsy.
With any luck, they'll forget all about it once they leave, Kya tried unsuccessfully to convince herself.
"May I have more tea, dear?" Katara asked. She was looking at Kya with a blithe smile. There was still no recognition in Katara's eyes. Tenzin and Bumi were staring at their mother, hoping, praying for a sign that she remembered who they were. Kya poured some more of the medicinal tea into Katara's cup. A few moments later, the elderly woman began dozing again. There was a slight smile on her face. Kya motioned for her brothers to follow her out.
In Kya's sitting room, she fixed another pot of tea. She toyed with the idea of dosing the three of them with Katara's tea, figuring they could all do with its relaxing properties. She brewed a pot of ginseng.
"What was that?" Tenzin asked as soon as Kya set the tea service down. She bowed her head in a short prayer for patience before she answered.
"What do you mean?" Tenzin sputtered and gestured madly towards Katara's room.
"What do I mean? She was calling for the Fire Lord instead of Dad!" Bumi took a sip of his tea and nodded.
"Yep, that was pretty weird, alright."
"Mom is old," she said, giving her younger brothers the same explanation she had come up with for Korra. "Her mind is going. I don't know why she asked for Zuko. I don't think she knows." Bumi seemed mollified by that explanation, but Tenzin eyed Kya suspiciously.
"Is that the first time she asked for him?" Kya just shrugged.  Tenzin shook his head in confusion.
"You don't think...," Bumi hesitated, licked his lips. He tried again. "Do you think she had a thing for him?"
"WHAT?" Tenzin spun round on his brother so fast, he knocked his tea over. Kya pulled the tea out of her rug before it had a chance to stain. Bumi rolled his eyes at Tenzin's reaction.
"Would you calm down?" he sniffed. "I just wondered if Mom had a crush on the guy. I wasn't suggesting she had a torrid affair with the Fire Lord."
"I wouldn't blame her," Kya said, mostly to annoy Tenzin. He turned his steely glare on Kya. "I meant I wouldn't blame her for having a crush. Fire Lord Zuko was pretty hot back in the day. Pun intended." Kya grinned at Bumi and the two shared a laugh. Tenzin folded his arms, decidedly not amused
"Did you two really hate Dad that much?"
"What are you talking about?" Kya asked. She pinched the bridge of her nose. A headache was making itself known behind her left eye.
"Look, I get that Dad wasn't perfect," Tenzin's voice shook as he tried to stay calm. "He favored me occasionally and I understand that it left scars." Kya and Bumi exchanged a glance, but let Tenzin finish. "Dad loved all of us, though. And he adored Mom. To suggest she had feelings for another man...for one of his closest friends... That's just disrespectful to his memory. No amount of issues with him could justify it."
Kya and Bumi were quiet for a long moment. Tenzin turned away slightly, keeping his nose turned nobly upward. Finally, Bumi raised a hand to his mouth, and made a rude noise.
"Come off it, Tenzin," he said.
"No one doubts that Mom and Dad had a happy marriage," Kya assured her youngest brother. "Maybe she had feelings for Zuko, maybe not. It's ridiculous to argue over. Zuko took any secrets about it to his grave, and Mom is in no condition to be grilled about it." Kya looked at her brothers pointedly.
"It's ridiculous to think anyway," Tenzin muttered. "Mom and the Fire Lord. Give me a break."
"I think Mom would've made a terrific Fire Lady," Bumi said. He scratched his chin nonchalantly. Kya was convinced that he was just trying to stir up trouble, and Tenzin  was determined to make an easy mark of himself. It was as if they had forgotten they were both old men and had turned into children again. She decided to remove herself. Pema and the kids would be home from the market soon, and Kya wanted to get as much of dinner prepared as possible before the inevitable noise disturbed her mother.
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:- You can read the rest of this story here:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12624238/1/In-Kya-s-Garden
Let me know what you think!
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severussnapefanfictions · 6 years ago
Text
Seeing Harry - Snape Fanfiction
It was only Harry's first week at Hogwarts and he had been sorted into a house, Gryffindor, he was happy about that but he also had this nagging feeling that he should have been put in Slytherin, mainly because the Sorting Hat had said so. He had a sneaking suspicion about that professor with dark hair to his shoulders, he hadn't stopped looking at him, he wondered if the professor knew, Harry had no idea why, and he couldn't tell if it was immediate dislike, curiosity or something else, he was hard to read. He had potions this morning, and that meant he would be being taught by none other than Professor Snape. He decided to go early in the morning, a lot of things had been playing on his mind, he hadn't been happier in his life, but he was worried about Slytherin, he was confused about his parents, it was hard to adjust his view of them, and it was hard to understand this whole new world. He just hoped the strange professor would be able to help. He figured he would be able to help with the Slytherin thing, he was the head of Slytherin after all. He knocked cautiously on the professor's office door and waited for some response.
"Enter" The man had a deep voice, it didn't make him feel all that comfortable, and he spoke words so precisely, so severely, overall his initial thought was intimidating, someone not to be messed with.
"Professor?" he asked tentatively. He walked in and there sat a man, his head was bowed over many papers, his dark shiny hair fell on his face and he wore voluminous dark robes.
"Sit" The professor didn't even look up to see who it was.
"Sir, I wanted to talk before the lesson, I-" he didn't know where to start, in his head he had hoped that the man would have been warm and inviting, making him feel at ease when he read the concern on the scared first years face. However, he hadn't even looked up. "I think I should have been put in Slytherin, but I begged the hat not to," he stumbled over the words. "But I am frightened of going into Slytherin... I thought you might be able to help sir... cause your head of Slytherin... Sir" He stopped
He hadn't noticed that the professor had looked up, Professor Snape had hated this boys father, he had expected the boy to act just like his Father, as he looked like him, what he saw was a far cry from arrogance, it was uncertain, frightened. His initial instinct was to warn the boy about wasting his time, but when he looked up to do just that he saw her eyes, he remembered her eyes looking like that when she would confide in him about her sister, how separated she felt from her family, when she was hurt and upset they looked just like that. He chose differently.
"Why did the hat say you should be in Slytherin?" his voice was calm and even, his eyes focused yet again on the papers before him.
"The hat said it was difficult, he said I had courage, and not a bad mind, talent and a thirst to prove myself, he said that Slytherin would help me on the way to greatness, but I didn't want to be in Slytherin, that's why he put me in Gryffindor" He thought he might have offended the teacher by saying that he didn't want to be in Slytherin, but he thought he would offend him more if he said why, that he had learned that the Wizard who killed his family had been from that house, but the professor did seem to want to give answers.
"And why didn't you want to be in Slytherin?" He questioned, surely the boy would show his arrogance now, his prejudice.
"erm - well, it's just that Hagrid, he told me what happened when I was a baby," He paused looking at his feet, unable to meet the man's eyes, petrified of angering the professor, "I had never known before, my Aunt Petunia lied to me, and then I found out that he was from Slytherin, the one who killed my parents, the one who gave me my scar, I thought it would mean I was like him" he felt awkward and stupid.
"And yet you come to the head of that house… Do you think I am like him?" His voice was cold still, not exactly prejudice, but very close
"No, sir, I came to you because I thought you might be able to explain Slytherin to me better, I don't know anything about this stuff cause of my aunt and uncle, they hate magic, they hate my mum and everything to do with the wizarding world, which kind of means they hate me" He didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of the stern professor, but his emotions were building up and he felt that the last thing he was showing was courage. He half expected the man to tell him not to worry, Slytherin doesn't except wimps!
He couldn't help but look at the child before him, he knew Petunia wouldn't be loving to the boy, hateful though? And the boy said he just wanted to understand. "Slytherin is a house known for those that are cunning, clever, want to go far and are willing to do almost anything to get what they want, these are not necessarily evil characteristics, though I won't deny, most Dark wizards have them. Given your history, it's understandable that you wouldn't want to be in Slytherin, however, Courage and wanting to prove yourself are Gryffindor traits also, and I imagine it would be a good fit, both of your parents were in Gryffindor" he finished coolly.
"You knew my parents?" Harry looked up, almost hopeful, maybe he had found someone who could talk to him, someone who could help him understand who they really were? "It's just I don't know anything about them."
"What did you hear?" He didn't confirm or deny, he wanted to know what was being said though, he didn't want to get in deep, he asked Dumbledore to keep his task secret, he could not get close to the child.
"They said that my dad was an unemployed drunk" he couldn't keep the sadness out of his voice, "The only thing I heard about my mum was what my Aunt Marge used to say, she would explain to my Aunt Petunia why there was something wrong with me, that it wasn't her fault; 'if there's something wrong with the bitch, then there's something wrong with the pup'" tears sat in his eyes, he finally looked up at the professor, his eyes flashed with anger, and he worried that it was something that he had said, maybe he was in trouble.
"They said that to you." It wasn't a question "Your mother was the kindest woman I ever met" he hadn't realised what he had done until the words were out of his mouth.
"You knew her? Can you tell me about her?" the boy's eyes lit up for the first time since he walked in the room, somehow Severus couldn't deny the child, there was far too much Lily there, and as he had said to Dumbledore, he would do anything for Lily.
"Another time I can, not your father… we did not get along... at all" he tried to end the conversation bluntly, though the look on the child's face was now more eager and also more confident.
"Did you love her?" He asked, Professor Snape, looked at the boy, knowing the answer and yet unsure of what to say, there was a line that he would cross if he spoke the truth, if he let Harry in, he wouldn't be able to hold him at a distance, uncaring and protecting him simply for Lily's sake, there was a danger he would see more of her and care for the boy far more than he ought to, especially considering the mark on the inside of his forearm, the mark that would one day burn a new, meaning he was called to serve the one that wanted this child dead. To openly care would ruin all of Dumbledore's plans. He had to make a choice.
"Always," he said with a sad smile.
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terramythos · 6 years ago
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My reread commentary on October Daye #8, "The Winter Long" or "more shit goes down in this book than the first 7 combined, holy shit".
I apologize to anyone who reads these cause I literally hit the length limit on this post and had to pare it down lmao 
-Good start: Under the Acknowledgements section: "Everything I have done with October's world to this point has been for the sake of getting here". Sooo basically the first 7 books? Setup for this one. We're in for a Ride.
I want to emphasize some of the best meta foreshadowing I've seen:
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FOR REFERENCE, Rosemary and Rue is the title of book 1. It's also the only book whose opening Shakespeare quote (from Hamlet) doesn't really match the title. If you know your Shakespeare, you probably would have caught that and figured out that it was from The Winter's Tale instead. Plenty of conclusions you can draw just from that. Since then the series has been chock full of hidden identities, and this book has two BIG ones coming into play. Foreshadowing was here from the very fucking beginning, and it is some next level shit. Very well done.
-If you skipped book 1 you are SO fucked, btw.
- we're going to great lengths to describe Sylvester's physical appearance. Gee I wonder why. I'm sure it's not relevant
- yes Sylvester has FOX COLORED HAIR and YELLOW EYES and his magic smells like DAFFODILS and DOGWOOD FLOWERS. He is Toby's LEIGE and FATHER FIGURE.
Me on a first read: oh it's just beginning book exposition, they all do this
Me on a second read: god fucking damn it
- toby: I should have known Sylvester would never disappoint me.
Me: oh sweetie. Oh honey.
- "He smelled like smoke and rotten oranges.
This man wasn't Sylvester Torquill."
Anyone who read book 1: OHSHIT.AVI
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Welcome back, Simon! You know, Sylvester's evil twin? You know, the big bad (so far) of the series? The the one responsible for turning Toby into a fish for 14 years?
-Yet he seems kinda... off, huh? Comments about how he didnt know the spell would last 14 years, how he hates to upset October's mom, of all people? Whatever could he mean? :)))
-New toby power: spell reflection? Hell yeah? Also spell BREAKING, but to be fair she did do that one other time. In, you guessed it, book 1.
- "When I tried to picture Sylvester's face, I kept seeing Simon's instead" ow oof
- Simon calling Amandine "Amy", which we've established is an affectionate nickname (it being what, you know, THE LUIDAEG calls her). Why would Simon, of all people, call her that?
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... oh.
-That sure explains a LOT, huh? That sure was set up... this whole time, huh?
-Little "fuck you" lines like "I didn't know Sylvester had a niece" in book 2. Talking about January. Well, uh, he has several actually! You're one of them!
-Explanation for why Sylvester had any inclination to be October's mentor... eventually becoming her liege and father figure... even giving her the Changeling's Choice (something family is supposed to do). It seems mighty convenient that a random noble was involved in the life of a changeling to such an extent. BUT, if he was her uncle, and knew his brother wouldn't step up? Well...
-This isn't even the biggest reveal of the book. Like, we're only a handful of chapters in and this bomb gets dropped.
-Sylvester, every 10 minutes: oh boy I cant wait to see my brother so I can like, completely eviscerate him!
Everyone else: uh,
- Tybalt: and here I thought I was going to have to ask Sylvester for his blessing. Now I technically have to ask SIMON?
Toby: uwotm8
Tybalt: oh god uhh I'm joking yeah uhh I'm just trying to distract you from all this stress :)) yeah (nailed it!)!
-And now we begin the "wow Sylvester is actually not a great person" slide. It's been hinted at that he's pretty unstable and has shitty priorities regarding people he cares about. But Toby glossed over a lot of it because she adored him. Welp.
- It's also an interesting aside that Etienne was kind of a dick to Toby for a reason in the earlier books. He legit thought she had been knighted because she was family, not that she had earned the post. And after the last few books he clearly knows now that that's not the case and they've actually become friends. That's interesting hidden character development.
- ok so The Gang finds out that Simon was telling the truth when he said turning Toby into a fish for 14 years was to save her. Because he had actually been hired to KILL her and didn't want to do it. So it was a loophole-- everyone thought she was dead, and then (as established in book 1) pretty much everyone forgot she existed until the spell broke.
-BUT Simon is bound by a geas (where have we seen that before) and cannot divulge his employer's name. But who had such a grudge against Toby and/or her mom to order a hit on her AND forcibly bind everyone to secrecy?
-who knows? Not toby. So they go to The Luidaeg to maybe get a lead, and she establishes right away that she is ALSO bound under a geas and can't say who did it. So we play some 20 questions, and then...
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ULTRA DISTRESSING LUIDAEG LORE :((((
-additional: another month name just came into play. August. Toby's half sister, missing for a century. WHAT IS WITH THE MONTH NAMES
- "please don't mistake villainy for evil." That's an.. interesting quote re:Simon.
- Simon's way of protecting toby from the impending threat is "well maybe you turn into a tree for a few centuries but like. You're safe, right? Why are you mad?"
- The Luidaeg: *is straight up dead*
Toby: hey tybalt remember that time in book 2 when I Resurrected the Dead
Tybalt: yeah, it was fucking terrifying and I didnt speak to you for 6 months
Toby: *finger guns* guess whaaaaaat
-The Luidaeg: *says just. A bunch of Lore*
Toby: Luidaeg dont you dare drop that cryptic shit on me then pass out
Luidaeg: nap time
-"If you so much as whisper the first word of a transformation spell, I'll have your larynx in my hand before the second word can form." DAMN, Tybalt.
-Simon: I am VERY sorry for my bullshit earlier. I can't tell you who my employer is, but I CAN give you this BOUQUET of ICE COLD ROSES. Ice cold, like winter. Winter Roses, if you will. Yeah. Uh have a nice life, bye!
Everyone: well this sure is a mystery
-Simon is definitely a morally grey character. Has done really awful shit, is built up as a major villain... but turns out he had relatively little control over his actions. He does the wrong thing a lot but it's usually not for a truly evil end? If the context is to be believed he got stuck in the geas contract with Unnamed Employer to save his daughter, which explains the bad shit he did that we know of. Which then inadvertently kicked off like the whole series. He seems to genuinely care about Toby in a warped way? It would be so easy to write him off as an evil stepdad or whatever and there's plenty of canon to support that stance (she's an illegitimate CHANGELING child) but he seems like he wants to just be her dad. I hope we explore his character more, is what I'm saying.
-And not to keep rambling about it but Toby is an established unreliable narrator and a horrible (initial) judge of character. So it's not like this is an asspull or off base at all.
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Twist of the fucking century here.
-You know... the character who set off the events of the series? The character who was murdered in book 1 and bound October to a geas forcing her to find the culprit or die? Evening fucking Winterrose?
-There were hints, most very subtle unlike the other big twists, but probably the biggest one is SHE NEVER SHOWS UP AS A NIGHT HAUNT. And they're in the story quite a bit, and they ALWAYS feature killed off characters. Except Evening.
-My favorite hints were the ones just piled in book 1. Comments like "no one knows who Evening really is" said with zero self awareness. Because we are actually about to find out who she is... 7 goddamn books later.
-dead meme but "surprise, bitch. Bet you thought you saw the last of me."
-God she's so awful lol
-Toby thinking Quentin died then calling him THE SON SHE NEVER HAD is a BIG OOF right to the HEART. ;-;
-The book also points out that The Luidaeg through the series has ALWAYS referred to Evening in present tense. Even though she "died" in book 1.
-The Luidaeg ALSO never refers to her as Evening. It's always "The Winterrose". You know, a title. Which we have heavily emphasized is something the Firstborn use in place of their true names.
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*jazz hands* Surprise!
-We also (finally) have a canon explanation for the... rather remarkable coincidence that Quentin, the fucking Crown Prince (from TORONTO), is in San Francisco at all. It was always weird he got sent to Shadowed Hills, and it's been commented on multiple times... Evening arranged it, of course! For reasons we don't quite know. But as the Daoine Sidhe Firstborn, her descendants couldn't exactly say no. Even though they didn't know who she really was.
-We really are falling all over Firstborn in this series? It sure is.. an odd coincidence, huh?
We got:
The Luidaeg: Roane/Selkie
Amandine: Dochas Sidhe
Acacia: Blodynbryd
Evening: Daoine Sidhe
Blind Michael: ... uh actually I don't think we ever learn what race he's Firstborn of. All his "children" are kidnapping victims forcibly twisted into monsters. Well, except for Luna, but we only know the Blodynbryd side.
But it's weird that for being so rare that we've run into 5 of them in 8 books. There's gotta be a reason for it.. but what?
-Luna starts the series as Toby's Surrogate Mom and is now just straight up an enemy huh
-I made this observation in my book 1 notes, but I find it very interesting that all of Toby's initial friends and allies... aren't by this point. Whereas her current allies are either former enemies or people she initially disliked or distrusted.
Starter allies: Sylvester? Was lying to her the whole time. Luna? Pretty much tried to sacrifice her (+above). Evening? Uhh this whole damn book. Devin? Tried to kill her for personal gain. Lily/Connor? Both killed off for real.
Current allies: Tybalt? Literal former enemy turned lover. Quentin? Kind of a snotty, vaguely racist kid she whips into shape. The Luidaeg? Extremely powerful witch who Toby assumes is True Neutral and wouldn't hesitate to kill her. May? Literal personal walking death omen.
It's just a cool reversal. There's so much really excellent character development in this series and I love it.
-Simon still is a pretty major bastard but.. less outright mustache twirling evil than we were led to believe up to this book. You learn his Backstory and while it really doesn't justify his actions it does...explain them.
-Blink and you miss it Lore: August is missing because she entered a contract with the Luidaeg. She's holding the candle from book 3 :)))
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I'm starting to realize I stan The Luidaeg so hard I just have to take a picture every time she shows up and does stuff lmfao. (Best character).
-But... nothing like your inconceivably ancient and powerful aunt suddenly owing you a life debt, I guess???
-Toby. You know, just an ordinary weak changeling who has somehow managed to KILL A FIRSTBORN and RAISE THE DEAD. yikes.
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I'm just putting this here cause it's funny as shit. Tybalt really is just... a cat
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This book: I heard you like distressing Luidaeg lore??
Me: oh thanks I don't need to feel things
-God Evening is awful. Like, if you didn't know that already, see above.
-It says something about The Luidaeg that despite all that shit their Firstborn did to her she ends up becoming such good friends with Quentin, a Daoine Sidhe?
-BIG LORE with The Luidaeg talking to Maeve??? And Maeve "responding" kind of? This series damn well better explore what the fuck happened to those three it's been built up all series
-Omg the showdown with Evening and The Luidaeg. And Toby managing to break free and realize she deserves so much more than Evening-- all without magic. And Simon showing up for a last minute redemption trying to hit Evening with elf shot? I mean he gets shot in the process, but...
-We now have like, 3 or 4 characters just... asleep indefinitely thanks to elf shot. that's gonna be a Thing isnt it. Rayseline, Evening, Simon, Arden's brother...
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WE DID IT BOYS
-This is the last full one I've already read. Most of my reactions in 9-12 are gonna be new. So.
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xadoheandterra · 6 years ago
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Title: Fait Accompli Fandom: Harry Potter, Assassins Creed Characters: Harry Potter, Petunia Durlsey, Ginny Weasley Warnings: Major Character Death, emotional manipulation, heavily implied mental manipulation, poor coping methods, heavily implied eugenics, implied child abuse, misuse of science Parts: I | II | III Summary: Petunia Dursley neé Evans had a lot of regrets in her life. Her sister, their estrangement, her marriage. This, she determined, would not be one of them. Notes: I finally figured out how to start the next story in this universe On Broken Wings so I feel comfortable posting the last piece of this one. It’s not a good story, it’s not a nice story. Petunia is not a nice women. So. Be warned. A lot of death in this one.
“Let me help you with that,” Petunia reached out and carefully pulled the cups out of Ginny’s hands. At first Ginny tried to talk her out of it, but Petunia turned on a charm she hadn’t used in decades. Ginny let her bustle the cups into the kitchen and showed her where to place them. The girl had been awfully polite about Petunia’s perceived notions about her abilities, even.
Ginny made Harry a good wife, left him happy and content to let things lay. Petunia didn’t doubt that her nephew could have a good life here, a happy one, filled with the laughter and smiles of his children. Yet Petunia had told herself, when she stood in front of that door, that she would not fail in this. Not like she had with Lily, or with her marriage. She would not fail.
The knife felt firm in her grasp from where she grabbed it, and the girl had barely a chance to respond. Petunia looked into her eyes and felt no remorse.
“It is for the best,” Petunia said as she pulled the knife back and Ginny crumbled to the ground. Her hair spilled around her like blood, except too orange and bright and Petunia couldn’t help but wonder if this was how Lily looked when she died. Pale, with red-as-blood hair haloed around her in front of a crib and infant son.
Petunia crouched next to Ginny whose eyes dulled with death and asked with the tone of someone who merely wanted to know the weather, “The boys are upstairs, right?” She didn’t get a response. She didn’t expect one. “Right. I’ll let the others know.”
Petunia stood up, turned, and set the knife down on the table before she moved out of the kitchen. The acquisitions team waited for her outside, and she let them in with a bland smile and pointed them up the stairs.
“Be quiet,” she told them. “The boys are sleeping.”
The boy came home fifteen and changed. He never did tell Petunia what happened but she could read it in the way he didn’t talk, like how she knew something happened the year before. Harry had nightmares that were something fierce when he was fourteen, turned fifteen, and the mess that followed after still left Petunia with a bitterly cold feeling deep in her chest. The fact that the boy came home now fifteen and silent, well, Petunia knew something changed.
The distance only grew from there.
He’d always reminded her of her precious Lily, and the mirror image that struck her now made her feel just a little shy of nauseous. Lily had been fifteen when she changed, too, or at least when it started. Fifteen was when her mind began to turn and she began to find fault in the path and plan lain out for them. Could Harry be any more Lily’s son then, and turn from Petunia at that very same age? She wished it weren’t true, but she could taste it in the same way she could see the coldness in his eyes.
Petunia pressed her lips together and ran the rag over the cups in the sink while she thought. At eleven the boy had been forced to take his first life and lamented. At twelve he’d found a comfort with a blade, killed again, and hated it. Death dogged his steps like some sick and twisted fate and Petunia tried—she tried—to teach him better. Now it haunted his eyes—Lily’s eyes—and Petunia just knew. The boy tasted death and found a liking to it, found a naturalness in it, and that unnaturalness would spread from here on out.
The beautiful, bright boy that was all Lily’s before Lily turned from her—Petunia had lost him, just as she had lost Lily. Petunia knew. She failed.
Sixteen, seventeen, and finally at the age of eighteen Petunia finally learned that the war that Lily feared so much had taken off after only a scant decade of a pause. War was such an utterly human creation, the idea that those who might’ve worn connections to Those That Came Before would fall into flights of fancy that meant war and death and violence abhorred her. Yet they did, and it made Petunia wonder just how much humanity corrupted the First.
Then, all of a sudden, it was over. The boy came to tell her that she and Dudley and Vernon were safe now, but Petunia could read the lines of his gait as easily as she could read Lily’s. She didn’t need to grasp at his left arm to know that a blade could be found hidden up the sleeve, although she did so anyway for her own peace of mind before she bade the boy to go.
Death had claimed Harry Potter and robbed Petunia Dursley neé Evans of her last chance. Then Dudley was twenty-one and married. Vernon had a heart attack on the day of Dudley’s wedding, and barely a week later does the boy come to her doorstep with condolences. He was a man now, twenty, almost twenty-one himself. He had a wife that Petunia wasn’t even aware he’d married. He still stood with the gate of a killer, the blade still strapped to his left arm, but he smiled like the boy used to when he was small and Petunia felt the coldness ease just a little inside.
“Dudley told me,” Harry said softly over a cup of tea. His wife had left him on the doorstep with a kiss to his cheek before she headed down the road, left him and Petunia alone at Number Four. Petunia refused to give up the house, even if it felt so very empty with no children and the absence of a dead husband she never did quite love.
Petunia sipped at her tea.
“I know you didn’t love him,” Harry continued with his too-old eyes set upon her, bright and filled with that uncanny intelligence.
“Then why are you here?” Petunia asked.
“He was your husband,” Harry said, as if that was all that mattered. Petunia saw him off shortly after, stole up to her bedroom, and picked up the cross necklace that was a gift once. That she’d left behind once.
Like a seal Petunia placed the cross around her neck. It felt almost like a noose; it stole her breath like how the boy bore an assassins blade and walked hand in hand with Death. Vernon had been her husband, yes, but he’d been cherry picked for her by her Uncles just as she’d been cherry picked through genetics to exist—just as Lily had.
Somewhere Petunia had forgotten that. She placed her hand over the necklace and closed her eyes—and whispered, Father of Understanding, guide me, as if it held any meaning at all.
Dudley had his first child at twenty-two, and a year later Harry reported to her about his own firstborn son. Petunia kept up correspondences and tea with both her boys while she returned to her work within the Order. Petunia took up a job as a secretary at Abstergo, now, though once it’d been Grunnings. She worked diligently as they needed her to, reported about her son and his beautiful wife and their utterly plain and ungifted child.
When questioned about Harry Petunia gave away the information just as willingly. She knew they traced the bloodline back, knew he had Assassin in him as much as he had Templar, and she knew that when they were ready they would tell her. She told them everything, played diligent and used her gifts when warranted. They wanted her to help with a new program, so she did, until they came to her after Harry told her of his second son, his second pride, and said they wanted to test something new.
They called it ‘Animus’ and whatever it was had been in the works perhaps as long as the Project that made Petunia had been; perhaps longer, Petunia wasn’t privy to that information. What she did know was that they wanted her nephew and his sons—they had nothing on the wife, the boys would be able to give them that and they also would have what their father had, supposedly, as it followed the genetic lineage. At any rate when they demanded, Petunia followed, and finally found a way to redeem what she felt she failed at.
Petunia’s job had always been to better prepare Lily, precious Lily, for the fated day when the world would come to burn once more. The idea had been that perhaps they’d find some means and manner to save it in the depths of knowledge from the Precursors, hoarded by these ‘witches’ and ‘wizards’ that were both old and new. The gifts that Petunia had, that Lily had, also meant they were talented in ways that could help through other means, as well, with the pretty baubles and shiny trinkets left from a world long passed.
The world was destined to burn, and Lily and Petunia were meant to stop it. Petunia still believed that—only now she knew that Harry would have to. So, aware of what her job had always been—to guide and protect—Petunia listened when she was told to take a team and retrieve her nephew and his children. Petunia listened, and planned.
There was a clock on the wall that nobody paid attention to. Petunia stared at it as she sat in the kitchen with a cooling corpse, the acquisitions team just now up the stairs quiet as can be. The clock didn’t read time, but read something wholly Other. One hand said ‘Danger’ and another ‘Death’ and the last ‘Betrayal.’ The hands weren’t what moved, but little tiny faces of the people who lived in the house. Upon Death rested a portrait of Ginny, who lain in her own blood, belly swollen with what should’ve been life.
Two boys, toddlers, rested upon Danger, while a portrait of Petunia’s own face settled on Betrayal. She knew this clock, and she watched and waited and sipped upon tea until she could hear the familiar silent-steps of her nephew as he moved through the open door, into the hall, and then into the kitchen. She said nothing as he took in the sight of the room and saw his dead wife with their unborn child.
Harry sucked in a weak sort of breath. “Aunt Petunia?”
Petunia set her cup down and stood from the table. She walked over to her nephew and pulled the boy’s gaze away from his wife. She towered over him, as she knew she always would. One hand cupped his cheek.
“What did I tell you, boy?” Petunia said, voice soft. Her right hand reached down and grasped his left, pulled it up and tightened her own fingers around the hidden blade.
“To never let killing be natural,” Harry said, voice a whisper.
“What did you do, boy?”
“Aunt Petunia—”
Petunia squeezed his wrist right and leaned down enough until the edge of the blade poked at her throat, until her necklace slipped out of her blouse. She stared down into his vibrant too-old eyes that gleamed unnaturally.
“What did you do,” Petunia asked. The boy’s gaze caught on the cross.
For a moment Harry was silent, and then he whispered, “I never let killing be natural, Aunt Petunia.” His gaze darted back up to her eyes. “I—” Petunia smiled at the lie.
“I do this for you,” Petunia said. “I do this all for you.” Her left hand slipped from his cheek, reached to the kitchen table, and swung the knife she stabbed Ginny Potter with against his left arm. She swung it into the mechanism of the blade hard enough that she hoped it would shatter. She said, “This is—”
Petunia’s world went dark with death.
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