#and had he been in another situation where the air nomads were alive or if he was older | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-delta-42 · 4 years

Text

Broken

@gale-of-the-nomads you said I could and now you can’t stop me.

Broken

Kagami did not know what happened. She saw Lila and everything went black.

“Kagami, stop!”

Kagami kept hearing excerpts of what happened, Marinette was shouting. But Marinette never really shouted.

The distinctive sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air.

“Kagami, this isn’t how you are!”

“Kagami, please, listen to me!”

Kagami took in her surroundings, she was in an interrogation room, handcuffed to the table. It was only then she noticed the blood on her hands.

What did she do?

The door opened, Kagami expected her family’s lawyer to walk in, but a young woman, roughly ten years older than Kagami herself walked in and stood in front of her.

“Kagami Tsurugi?” Asked the Woman, Kagami was struck by how similar she looked to Marinette, with the difference of hair and eye colour. Where Marinette’s eyes alternated between blue and grey, the woman’s eyes were a warm green colour and while Marinette’s hair was black, this woman’s hair was a soft brown colour, like Marinette’s father’s hair.

Kagami nodded.

“Skye Dupain,” Said Skye, “I’ve been asked to handle this matter, which was easier than expected, since there was no one else.”

Kagami’s heart sank, her mind already connecting the dots.

“Do you know what you’re being charged with?” Asked Skye, looking at Kagami, who shook her head, “They’re holding you for ‘attempted murder’ of a girl your age, with one eyewitness supporting this claim.”

“M-Marinette told them that?” Whispered Kagami, making Skye look down at her.

“Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is listed as the victim, Mlle. Rossi is the witness listed on the file.” Said Skye, glancing through the document, “I want you to tell me, in your own words, what happened?”

Kagami spotted Lila shoving Marinette against the locker, a bag of swords that D’Argencourt kept in the school falling from the top of the locker, before jamming a knee into her gut and throwing her on the floor. Marinette’s side hit a bench as she went down.

“You’re pathetic.” Sneered Lila, “You say you love Adrien, but you give him up for some other bitch.”

“That,” Gasped Marinette, slowly getting to her feet, “was Adrien’s choice.”

Lila sneered and kicked Marinette in the side, knocking her back to the floor, before stepping on Marinette’s right hand and pushing down on it until she heard a crack and a cry of pain from Marinette.

“You know you never had a chance with Adrien, don’t you?” Snarled Lila, punctuating each word with a kick, “he’d never be interested in a piece of filth like you.”

Marinette grabbed Lila’s foot mid swing and knocked the other one out from under the Italian. Lila let out a yelp as she fell, as Marinette slowly got to her feet.

“You know what?” Said Marinette, holding her side, trying to ignore the pain, “I can live with that. As long as Adrien is happy, I can be happy. Love isn’t something that requires both parties to feel the same way, because if you truly love someone, then seeing them happy is enough.”

Kagami felt touched by what Marinette had said, before Lila snarled and grabbed one of the swords from the bag and went to stab Marinette with it. Something in Kagami broke, growling as she charged forwards grabbing the sword from Lila’s hand and swing it at her.

Marinette stood frozen, watching as Kagami started to attack Lila, mentally arguing on if she should stop Kagami or remain out of the fight. The decision was made for her when Lila tripped and landed on her rear. In a flash of movement, Marinette had grabbed a sword from the bag and parried Kagami’s jab away from the liar.

“Kagami, listen to me,” Said Marinette, her breath shaky, “you need to calm down.”

Kagami roared and went to slash at Lila, Marinette making sure to keep the blade from connecting with Lila.

“Kagami, stop!” Cried Marinette, as she parried another jab aimed at Lila, the distinctive sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, “Kagami, this isn’t how you are!”

“She needs to be punished!” Snarled Kagami, advancing towards Marinette.

“Kagami, please, listen to me!” Yelled Marinette, “This isn’t you! Please, you need to calm down!”

Kagami lunged forwards, with Marinette going to parry from Kagami’s previous position. The blade slid between Marinette’s ribs, the girl felt a pain in her chest, before she felt the sword poke out her back. The sword Marinette had been holding fell to the floor.

“Kagami…” Said Marinette, as she struggled to breath, coughing up some blood as she spoke. The sword was removed.

There was silence, before the sword clattered to the floor, joining its partner. Marinette felt her legs give way beneath her, while Lila smirked viciously, before letting out a scream. Kagami stood frozen, as she stared at the blood coating her hands.

Kagami stared at her hands in horror, “I killed her.”

“Marinette is still alive, she has a punctured lung and a cut artery, but nothing too fatal.” Said Skye, looking down at Kagami, as the Japanese girl started to hyperventilate.

“Hey, hey, in through the nose, out through the mouth.” Soothed Skye, “Marinette’s fine, she’s going to make a full recovery.”

Kagami followed Skye’s instructions, inhaling deeply through her nose and exhaling through her mouth.

“Until Marinette wakes up, you’re going to be kept here,” Said Skye, gently, “I’m sure once she’s awake, you’ll be able to go home.”

Kagami nodded, before Skye left and a police officer arrived to take Kagami back to the cell she’d been allocated.

Adrien stared down at Marinette’s unconscious form. He didn’t want to believe what Lila had said, that Kagami had attacked and tried to kill Marinette, but without anyone else to give an alternative take on what happened, he couldn’t do anything but believe what had been said. He’d tried to think of everything that he thought could explain it, other than Lila lying, Kagami being akumatized, Marinette getting stabbed by someone else and Kagami was the one who found her, anything that wasn’t that Kagami had lied to both of them and deliberately tried to kill Marinette.

But what if she did?

Adrien shook his head, trying to dispel the thought from his mind. He had already heard from his father that he was to break up with Kagami, he didn’t want her actions to tarnish the Gabriel brand. Everyone was treating Lila like a hero, except the select few of Nino, Alya and himself, the three of them more concerned with Marinette’s situation.

“The doctors said she had a couple of broken ribs and a broken hand.” Said Alya, quietly, “They think that Kagami, or whoever did this, was already attacking her before she was stabbed.”

Adrien saw Alya tightly holding her phone, her knuckles slowly going white, every time someone was akumatized, there was a side effect, Alya couldn’t be separated from her phone, Nino couldn’t hold or come in contact with bubbles and Juleka couldn’t look at her reflection.

Everyone who had been Akumatized was left with an invisible scar, Damocles would hoot and Bustier was say ‘kissu’ at random points while talking. Perhaps Kagami was left with a serious aggression.

But that didn’t explain how or why Marinette was stabbed. Marinette looked so small, the bed spanning around her, as if she were an island in the middle of a sea of white and blue. Marinette suddenly started jerking, as if someone had grabbed her by the throat.

Within moments, a doctor, nurse and a couple of orderlies rushed into the room.

“Right, she’s choking.” Said the Doctor, as one of the orderlies guided the group out of the room. The door closed before any of them could hear what the Doctor said next a few minutes later the Doctor stalked out of the room and headed to a desk.

Before Adrien knew it, he was in the corridor, with Gorilla watching from the end of the hall.

Adrien was just leaving class when he heard the scream. In the back of his mind, he was able to identify the voice belonging to Lila, but still, he ran to the source, skidding to a stop when he reached the locker room. Lila was plastering herself against the wall, while Marinette lied in a steadily growing pool of her own blood.

With Kagami standing over her. With Marinette’s blood on her hands. Adrien froze, absently aware of Kim rushing past him and tackling Kagami to the floor. Alya started calling for an ambulance, while Ms. Bustier and Ms. Mendeleiev started applying what first aid training they knew, being careful to stem the bleeding as best they could.

“I really don’t know what good this is going to do.” Said Mendeleiev, checking Marinette’s pulse, “Since she’s discharging blood from her mouth, we know she has internal bleeding.”

“Demeter,” Said Bustier, looking sick, “Can you, kissu, please not say that.”

Mendeleiev looked around, noticing the pale faces of the students.

“All of you, go to the library.” Barked the Teacher, making most of the students’ scatter.

“Alya, could you please take Lila to the staff room?” Asked Bustier, as an ambulance pulled up outside the school.

Adrien had been guided away by Nino, when Alya took Lila to the staffroom. There was a commotion by the lifts, Adrien looked up and saw a young woman, roughly Ms. Bustier’s age, stalking towards them. Adrien was struck by how much she looked like Marinette, with the exception of her hair and eyes, being light brown and green respectively.

“I’m looking for the Dupain-Chengs.” Said the woman, in place of introductions or greetings.

“They’ve gone to close their bakery up.” Said Alya, after a moments silence.

The woman growled, before fishing her phone out of her pocket. Adrien frowned, quickly noting that it was an older style of mobile, early 2000’s, and not one of the latest models like most people went for.

“Mike, where are you?” Demanded the woman, Adrien had the sinking feeling that both the woman and ‘Mike’ were Mrs. Tsurugi’s lawyers, “Okay, if you’re there, then they can’t be home yet.”

The woman stiffened, before her attitude changed entirely, “Ah, hi… Okay, I’ll wait for you to arrive at the hospital… No, I don’t think anyone’s been able to raise Toby, we’d need a fucking Ouija Board.”

The woman nodded and confirmed a few things, before hanging up. She then turned to Alya.

“I take it you’re Alya?” Asked the Woman, looking at the Creole girl.

“I am.” Said Alya, drawing the same conclusions as Adrien.

The woman took them all by surprise by smiling widely and grabbing Alya’s hands, “Mari’s told me so much about you, I’m Skye, Marinette’s sister.”

“I… didn’t know Marinette had a sister.” Said Alya, after a moment.

Skye was still for a moment, before slowly turning to Nino.

“I didn’t recognise you.” Said Nino, quickly throwing his hands up.

Skye only narrowed her eyes, before her gaze settled on Adrien, “And you must be the pretty boyfriend of the girl who stabbed my sister.”

Skye’s tone wasn’t accusatory, merely factual.

“Soon to be ex.” Said Adrien, keeping his tone level.

Skye wrinkled her nose, before she started to circle Adrien, frowning as she went. Skye stopped and glared at Adrien.

“If what I’m told is true,” Said Skye, her tone cold, “being akumatized affects everyone differently, each victim having an invisible scar that they have to live with every day. Ms. Tsurugi was not in control of her actions and, while Marinette is still unconscious, we only have the testimony of a teenage girl who claimed to witness the entire thing but didn’t alert anyone until after someone had been stabbed and remained calm as she recounted every detail.”

Adrien could’ve sworn that the room temperature dropped.

“And that isn’t taking into account her… ‘exceptional’ lifestyle that is faker that Kim Kardashian’s ‘assets.’” Skye’s glare pinned Adrien in place, “But, seeing as you’re more of a wet blanket-”

“That’s enough, Skye.” Said a gruff, yet at the same time soft, voice, making everyone look towards the entrance.

“Michael, you got here faster than I expected.” Said Skye, leaning back on her heels, “I was just talking to Mari’s friends.”

Michael looked like an older, male, taller version of Marinette, except his eyes were a mixture of blue and grey. Michael had three pale scars that ran from the middle of his cheek to his jaw.

“Skye, you’re not in court,” Sighed Michael, before looking into Marinette’s room, “I take it she hasn’t woken up?”

“No, but she started choking on something just before I got here.” Said Skye, folding her arms.

“Well, I’m sure she’s going to be fine.” Said Michael, turning to look at Marinette’s friends. His gaze slowly went over the three, before settling on Adrien, “Relax, you look like you’ve got a foil shoved up your butt.”

Adrien let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“You’re Emilie’s son, aren’t you?” Asked Michael, making Adrien stiffen.

“Wait, Emilie?” Asked Skye, whipping around to look at Michael, “You mean that actress you loved? The one you met while on work experience. The one you fainted in front of when she introduced herself to you?”

Michael slowly turned and glared at Skye, “That was one time.”

“Yeah, but you were bitching about how your life was over because your idol saw you act weird.” Snickered Skye, as Michael slowly grew redder.

“Well, at least I didn’t moan when I met Dark Owl.” Snarled Michael, making Skye freeze.

“Take that back!” Demanded Skye, as she went red as well.

“Make me!” retorted Michael, before a hand grabbed his ear, while the person’s other grabbed Skye’s ear.

Both suddenly paled, and silently sent a prayer to a powerful and merciless god, before they were tugged down to their mother’s level.

“Stop it, both of you.” Growled Sabine, before butting their heads together.

Michael and Skye recoiled and grabbed the point of impact on their heads. The two glared at each other, before they turned and look at their parents.

“Sorry, mum.” They said in unison.

“Anyway, why does it matter who his mother is?” Asked Skye, gesturing to Adrien.

“Because his father is a controlling, abusive dick.” Said Michael, as he stopped rubbing his head, “In the month I worked with her, he stormed on set six or seven times and had to escorted off by security.”

Adrien was silent as he processed the information, he’d never heard about this side of his father. It did fit some of his father’s attitudes and actions.

“He… He did tell me to break up with Kagami after the news broke.” Said Adrien, quietly.

Michael had a smug look on his face, until Skye punched his arm. Skye then turned to Adrien and spoke to him, “Do you have any other family members that can take care of you? An aunt or set of grandparents, perhaps?”

“T-there’s my Aunt Amelie.” Said Adrien, making Skye nod and walked away, pulling her phone from her pocket as she did so.

“What’s she doing?” Asked Adrien, frantically looking around.

“Most likely contacting Child Services,” Said Michael, looking down at the panicking blond, “Since you literally just told us that your father has near total control over your life.”

Adrien looked around the room again, his breathing starting to come out in rapid puffs. He vaguely heard Michael swear as the world went dark.

Amelie Graham-De-Vanily quietly swirled her tea around in her cup. One of the two rings laid on the table. Felix had decided to go to bed early, since he’d pulled an all-nighter the previous night. She jumped when the phone suddenly rang. She spotted the number was from France and scowled, no doubt Gabriel noticed the ring was missing.

“Hello, Amelie Graham-De-Vanily speaking, can I help you?” Asked Amelie, already knowing Gabriel was going to be as hostile as possible.

“Mrs. Graham-De-Vanily? My name’s Skye Dupain,” Said a young woman’s voice, a French accent tinting her English, “I’m calling to inform you about the current legal situation with Gabriel Agreste and that you’re currently Adrien’s only known living relative.”

Amelie paused, before frowning, “What has my idiot of a Brother-In-Law done now?”

“Currently we’re investigating him on suspicion of neglecting and coercively controlling his son.” Said Skye, making Amelie stiffen.

‘Well, that explains why Adrien wasn’t able to attend my husband’s funeral.’ Thought Amelie, as Skye let her take it all in.

“Do you have any residences in Paris that you and your son can stay at while the investigation is on-going?” Asked Skye, “We’re going to need Adrien to remain in Paris, as this concerns him, and we will need his testimony in the case.”

“I believe I have a house somewhere in Paris,” Said Amelie, oblivious to Felix picking up another phone and listening in, “I’ll have to check, but are you sure Gabriel is abusing Adrien? I know he’s been distant since Emelie died, but actively neglecting and controlling Adrien’s life?”

“I’m not at liberty to say at the moment,” Said Skye, “But, we have gone over the case and spoken to a few employees. One has given cause for concern, but that is another case that’s also ongoing.”

“Right,” Said Amelie, sighing, “I’ll let Felix know and be there as soon as possible.”

“Right, thank you for your time.” Said Skye, before hanging up.

Amelie kept the phone to her ear, before saying, “Felix, you’re supposed to be asleep.”

There was a loud groan, before the phone was hung up and Felix stomped his was down the stairs.

“What’s this about Adrien being abused?” Demanded Felix, making Amelie sigh again.

Skye put her phone back in her pocket, before looking down at the case file in front of her. It was thick with sheets of paper filled with testimonies, bank statements and other pieces of legal evidence. Skye looked over at the other files, one filled with unfair dismissal cases, another filled with evidence of illegal substances and purchases, a third filled with Gabriel’s concerning relationship with Gabriel Agreste, the fourth filled with Emelie Agreste’s ‘disappearance’ and the subsequent unsolved investigation and the final one filled with the case that concerned Ms. Tsurugi and Marinette. Skye had said to her boss that she shouldn’t handle a case that involved her sister, but their firm was a total of five people, two of which were on holiday and another was off sick after taking a dip in the Seine.

There was a knock on the door, before a Japanese man strode into the office.

“I assume you’re the one handling Ms. Kagami’s case?” Asked the man, holding a thin folder.

“I am.” Said Skye, leaning back in her chair.

“These are the disinheritance forms signed by one Tomoe Tsurugi in regard to one Kagami Tsurugi.” Said the man, dropping the file on Skye’s desk, “I tried to talk her out of it, but that only resulted in Tsurugi dismissing me from her service.”

The man left without another word, before Skye groaned and slumped forwards.

Kagami sat in the corner of her cell, waiting for her mother to turn up. Part of her wanted her mother to tell her everything would be okay, but it’d been a week since she’d been brought here, and her mother had yet to show up.

There was a knock on her cell door, before it was unlocked and allowed Skye to walk in.

“Kagami,” Said Skye, hesitantly broaching the subject, “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

Kagami stared up at Skye, trying to read her body language.

“I’m afraid your mother has chosen to disown you,” Said Skye, slowly, “her former solicitor approached me last night with the paperwork.”

Kagami didn’t react, she just stared at Skye, as the young woman waited for a response.

“This makes your case incredibly complicated, as we will need to find a family for you for when all this draws to a close.” Said Skye, running her hand through her hair, “But, don’t worry. I promise we’ll have something sorted out before everything’s over.”

Skye was quickly ushered out of the cell, leaving Kagami alone. Kagami sat still for a few moments, before pulling her knees to her chest and started crying.

Alya watched Marinette’s chest rise a fall; she no longer needed a ventilator to help her breath, of course, Marinette had to learn to breath on her own again; so, they made sure they had someone in the room with her. The nurse was reading a magazine in the corner, keeping one eye on Marinette.

“Kitty Section got a new gig this week,” Said Alya, quietly talking to Marinette, “Nino’s got one tomorrow, he hopes he’ll get his big break and fix all the problems in the world.”

Marinette said nothing, as usual.

“Lila’s been unbearable since this all started.” Said Alya, wincing at the thought, “Your, er, sister inspired me to do some research. You were right, Lila has been lying.”

Alya reached out and grasped Marinette’s hand, rested her head on the bed.

“Adrien’s been living with his aunt and cousin,” Said Alya, her eyes closing, “apparently his Dad was controlling him, which actually lost him custody and since there are rumours that he’s unfairly dismissed people and had an inappropriate relationship with people who’ve been underage, I think it’s fair to say that he’s no longer someone anyone want to be associated with.”

Marinette’s hand suddenly tightened and relaxed, making Alya bolt upright.

“M-Mari?” Gasped Alya, getting the nurses attention.

“What’s wrong?” Asked the nurse, approaching Alya.

“M-Marinette just squeezed my hand.” Stammered Alya, before the nurse turfed her out of the room.

Lila entered the classroom, expecting everyone to crowd around her and take everything she said as gospel, but instead she found them all laughing and hugging over something.

“Lila!” Cried Rose, spotting the Italian, “Have you heard the news?”

“What news?” Asked Lila, already thinking up a way to make it about her.

“Marinette’s woken up!” Cried Rose, happily embracing Lila.

Lila’s mind screeched to a halt, if Marinette had woken up, then she’d tell everyone what actually happened and everything Lila had would vanish.

“T-that’s great.” Said Lila, quickly glancing around, “Are we allowed to see her?”

“The police were speaking to her when Alya left,” Said Alix, frowning at Lila, “Alya was in the toilet when she woke up. Marinette’s mum was with her when she woke.”

Lila swallowed her nervousness, quickly thinking on how she could turn this to keep the consequences away from her.

“How can they be sure Marinette remember what happened exactly?” Asked Lila, getting a few frowns.

“Well,” Said Max, pushing his glasses up, “they’ll ask Marinette what happened and depending on if her story matches to what either you or Kagami said, then they’ll carry on from there.”

Lila gnawed on her lower lip, before the conversation moved on. If she went home, perhaps she’d be able to convince her mother to move to another country. Things had started to get stale anyway.

Half-way through the lesson, a woman and a couple police officers knocked on the classroom door.

“Please forgive the intrusion, Mdme. Bustier,” Said the woman, quickly flashing her badge at the teacher, “but we need to speak with Mlle. Rossi, regarding the currently ongoing cases, regarding her employment at Gabriel and the attack on Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.”

Mdme. Bustier nodded, before turning back to the class. Lila wasn’t out of the room, before she screamed, “Marinette and Kagami planned everything to discredit me!”

The detective and police officers all stopped, all eyes were on Lila, as the Italian finally realised what she just said.

“We haven’t even asked you anything,” Said the detective, slowly, “and that’s the first thing you choose to say?”

Lila nervously looked around, before she was guided out of the classroom. She was guided to the Principle’s office, where she found her mother waiting for her.

“Mama!” Gasped Lila, her eyes darting around, “What are you doing here?”

“I heard the Police wanted to speak to my daughter and I decided to be with you as emotional support.” Said Mdme. Rossi, as Lila slowly paled.

“Mlle. Rossi,” Said the Detective, sitting in a chair opposite Lila and her mother, “I was hoping you could walk me through everything that happened when Mlle. Dupain-Cheng was stabbed.”

“Oh, it was horrible!” Cried Lila, burying her face in her hands, to hide her lack of tears, “Kagami was out of control, she kept hacking at Marinette! I could only scream when she finally stabbed her!”

The detective was silent, before she leaned forwards, “And when did Mlle. Tsurugi break Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s ribs?”

“Just before she stabbed her.” Gasped Lila, pushing her hands in her face.

“And her hand?” Questioned the detective.

“Before she broke her ribs.” Said Lila, feigning a sniffle.

“That’s odd.” Said the Detective, locking her fingers together, “Because, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s ribs are broken at the back and on the opposite side to her hand. So, unless Mlle. Tsurugi rolled her over and then stomped on her hand, then the footage we’ve got is wrong.”

Lila’s world broke.

Marinette shifted slightly, she’d been discharged from hospital and was about to go into the witness box.

“The people call Marinette Dupain-Cheng to the stand.” Said One of Skye’s business partners, Malcolm.

Getting sworn in was reasonably quick and Malcolm started asking questions.

“Mlle. Dupain-Cheng,” Started Malcolm, “Could you tell us what happened the day you were stabbed?”

Marinette took a deep breath.

Lila shoved Marinette against the locker, she was vaguely aware of a bag with something metal in it falling to the ground, before Lila jammed her knee into her gut and threw her on the floor. Marinette’s side hit a bench as she went down.

“You’re pathetic.” Sneered Lila, “You say you love Adrien, but you give him up for some other bitch.”

“That,” Gasped Marinette, slowly getting to her feet, “was Adrien’s choice.”

Lila sneered and kicked Marinette in the side, knocking her back to the floor, before she stepped on Marinette’s right hand and pushed down on it until she heard a crack and a cry of pain from Marinette. Marinette was fairly sure it was broken.

“You know you never had a chance with Adrien, don’t you?” Snarled Lila, punctuating each word with a kick, “he’d never be interested in a piece of filth like you.”

Marinette grabbed Lila’s foot mid swing and knocked the other one out from under the Italian. Lila let out a yelp as she fell, as Marinette slowly got to her feet.

“You know what?” Said Marinette, holding her side, trying to ignore the pain of a broken rib, “I can live with that. As long as Adrien is happy, I can be happy. Love isn’t something that requires both parties to feel the same way, because if you truly love someone, then seeing them happy is enough.”

Lila snarled and grabbed something from the bag, a sword, and went to stab Marinette with it. Marinette heard someone growling before Kagami charged forwards grabbed the sword from Lila’s hand and swing it at the Italian.

“Kagami, listen to me,” Said Marinette, her breath shaky, “you need to calm down.”

Kagami roared and went to slash at Lila, Marinette making sure to keep the blade from connecting with Lila.

“Kagami, stop!” Cried Marinette, as she parried another jab aimed at Lila, the distinctive sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, “Kagami, this isn’t how you are!”

“She needs to be punished!” Snarled Kagami, advancing towards Marinette.

“Kagami, please, listen to me!” Yelled Marinette, “This isn’t you! Please, you need to calm down!”

“Kagami…” Said Marinette, as she struggled to breath, coughing up some blood as she spoke. The sword was removed. Everything then went dark, before she opened her eyes again to a brightly coloured room.

“After I woke up,” Said Marinette, trying to stay calm, “the Police asked me what happened I told them what I just told you.”

“Just to clarify,” Said Malcolm, smirking at Lila’s lawyer, “Mlle. Tsurugi didn’t attack you, but entered a blind rage when she saw you in danger and, excluding the already existing injuries, you were only injured because you got between her and Mlle. Rossi?”

“Yes.” Said Marinette, clearly.

“No further questions.” Said Malcolm, as Lila’s Lawyer stood up.

“Mlle. Dupain,” Said the Lawyer, an old, balding, fat man who looked at Marinette as if she was a piece of dirt.

“Dupain-Cheng.” Corrected Marinette, her tone flat.

“Dupain-Cheng,” Said the Lawyer, “is it true that you do not like my client?”

“I don’t dislike Lila,” Said Marinette, carefully adjusting herself so she didn’t aggravate the stab wound, “I dislike the lies she is telling people, as it plays with their emotions and their dreams for their future.”

“But you have no proof she’s lying.” Said the Lawyer, smugly.

“On her first day, I saw her steal a book that belonged to Adrien’s father from Adrien’s school bag and then dispose of it in a trash can in the park.” Said Marinette, her tone flat, “I then followed her and saw her lies exposed by Ladybug.”

Lila’s lawyer paled slightly, before clearing his throat, “Hearsay, you have no proof that she lied about anything.”

“I didn’t need to,” Said Marinette, flatly, “The lies she started telling when she returned from hiding in her room, were poorly made and only required a quick google search to disprove.”

Lila’s Lawyer paled further, before looking at the judge.

“No further questions.” He muttered, before Marinette was dismissed from the box.

Kagami’s leg bounced, her host parent glanced over and her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Everything’s going to be okay.” Said Claire, gently rubbing Kagami’s shoulder.

Kagami nervously swallowed, while Maria took hold of Kagami’s hand.

“You just need to go up, tell them what happened and answer their questions.” Soothed Claire, while Maria looked at Lila and her lawyer.

The process of Kagami being called to the stand and sworn in came too quickly for the girl’s liking, Malcolm had gone over the basics with her the day before.

“Mlle. Tsurugi,” Said Malcolm, approaching the stand, “I only need you to answer yes or no to my questions. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Said Kagami, as Lila’s Lawyer smirked.

“On the 17th of September, you entered College François Dupont’s locker room to get changed for a fencing lesson, is that correct?”

“Yes.” Said Kagami, getting a nod from Malcolm.

“You said, in your statement to my colleague,” Said Malcolm, picking up a folder in his desk, “you saw Mlle. Rossi grab a sword from a bag and try to stab Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, is that correct?”

“Yes, it is.” Said Kagami, as Lila started to whisper in her Lawyer’s ear.

“After that, you described the following series of events that led up to the stabbing incident, as if you were not in control of your own body. Is that correct?” Asked Malcolm, putting the folder down.

“Yes.” Said Kagami.

“No further questions.” Said Malcolm, returning to his seat.

“Mlle. Tsurugi,” Said Lila’s Lawyer, looking at the Japanese girl, “Is it true you believe on acting first, despite not having the full picture?”

“Yes.” Said Kagami, looking at the lawyer.

“So, if you found that your boyfriend viewed a girl, who wasn’t you, and one that he clearly held feelings for,” Continued the Lawyer, “you wouldn’t wait for further clarification and you’d immediately go on the attack.”

“No.” Said Kagami, shaking her head.

“Just like how you didn’t wait before attacking Mlle. Rossi and, subsequently, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.” Accused the Lawyer, “You saw the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, didn’t you, Mlle. Tsurugi?”

“No.” Said Kagami, shaking her head harder.

“Or perhaps Mlle. Dupain-Cheng was simply collateral damage.” Said the Lawyer, before Malcolm stood up.

“Objection, Your Honour. M. Strand is forming baseless accusations.” Said Malcolm, leaning forwards, his hands resting on the desktop.

“Sustained,” Said the Judge, before turning her gaze on Strand, “Monsieur Strand, I do hope you have actual evidence to back up these allegations.”

Strand grinned, “My client’s account of the situation will confirm the allegations.”

The Judge glared at him, “The testimony of one sixteen-year-old girl, who has been denounce as a liar by three different witnesses and has herself claimed to have blacked out and only woke up to see Mlle. Dupain-Cheng already wounded.”

Strand’s grin slowly fell from his face, and looked over a Lila, who had paled significantly.

“Permission to call a recess.” Said Strand, sweat forming on his forehead.

“Granted, we’ll reconvene in thirty minutes.” Said the Judge, slamming her gavel onto the desk.

“Strand’s got nothing to stand on.” Said Malcolm, as Skye handed coffees around, “Compared to who we’ve got, the case is ours.”

“So, he’s stranded.” Said Adrien, looking up at the legal expert.

“Not how I would’ve put it, but yeah, he is.” Said Malcolm, Lila had accused Adrien of harassing her, both at school and at photoshoots. Those claims were quickly refuted by Adrien’s classmates, the photographer Vincent and scars that adorned Adrien’s arms in the shape of Lila’s fingernails.

Adrien had another court date, in regard to Gabriel’s neglect and emotion and verbal abuse towards Adrien. A bell rang, signalling the people to head back into the court room. Malcolm walked up to his desk, with Skye sliding in next to him, as Strand stood up, his eyes glued onto his desk.

“Against the advice of her counsel, Mlle. Rossi wishes to take the stand.” Trembled Strand panic clear in his eyes.

“Mlle. Rossi,” Said the Judge, leaning forwards, “If you take the stand, you will be open for cross examination.”

Lila gave the Judge a sickly, sweet smile, before she nodded, “I understand your honour.”

“Mlle. Rossi, could you please recount the event of Friday, September 17th?” Asked Strand, a smirk on his face.

“I was arguing with Marinette in the locker room, she was just about to leave when Kagami burst in and tried to kill me,” Said Lila, tears starting to form in her eyes, “Marinette got caught between us and was stabbed, there was so much blood.”

“You said you and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng were arguing.” Said Strand, as Lila faked a wince.

“Someone had vandalised one of her sketchbooks,” Said Lila, “she thought I’d done it because I was the last one to leave the room it was in.”

“I have no further questions, your honour.” Said Strand, smirking at Malcolm.

“Mlle. Rossi,” Started Malcolm, approaching the girl, “you said you and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng were ‘arguing’, at any point, did the disagreement turn physical?”

“No, we were only using words.” Responded Lila, unknowingly walking into a trap.

“Then, how, may I ask, did Mlle. Dupain-Cheng suffer; a broken arm, a broken hand, two broken ribs and three fractured ribs, a skull fracture and a shattered ankle? Your Honour, I’d like to introduce items 14-JT, 15-JT, 16-JT, 17-JT, 18-JT and 19-JT into evidence.”

“She, she must’ve gotten them when Kagami attacked.” Said Lila, a small amount of panic appearing in her voice.

“Mlle. Rossi,” Said Malcolm, “you just said Mlle. Dupain-Cheng was caught in the crossfire, when all of these could be considered defence wounds.”

“M-Marinette did put up a fight.” Said Lila, trying to cover her story.

“Mlle. Rossi, you are aware that there is video evidence that contradicts your version of events?” Asked Malcolm, before turning to the Judge, “Your Honour, if you will permit it, I’d like to add item 16-JS-B into evidence, it is footage from the security camera the school locker room, it has also recorded audio.”

“Sustained.” Said the Judge, as a TV was wheeled into the courtroom.

The TV screen flickered into life and started playing the recording.

Lila shoved Marinette against the locker, a bag fell from the top of the locker, before jamming a knee into her gut and throwing her on the floor. Marinette’s side hit a bench as she went down.

“You’re pathetic.” Sneered Lila, “You say you love Adrien, but you give him up for some other bitch.”

“That,” Gasped Marinette, slowly getting to her feet, “was Adrien’s choice.”

“You know you never had a chance with Adrien, don’t you?” Snarled Lila, punctuating each word with a kick, “he’d never be interested in a piece of filth like you.”

Marinette grabbed Lila’s foot mid swing and knocked the other one out from under the Italian. Lila let out a yelp as she fell, as Marinette slowly got to her feet.

Lila snarled and grabbed one of the swords from the bag and went to stab Marinette with it. Kagami charged forwards grabbing the sword from Lila’s hand and swing it at her.

“Kagami, listen to me,” Said Marinette, her breath shaky, “you need to calm down.”

Kagami roared and went to slash at Lila, Marinette making sure to keep the blade from connecting with Lila.

“Kagami, stop!” Cried Marinette, as she parried another jab aimed at Lila, the distinctive sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, “Kagami, this isn’t how you are!”

“She needs to be punished!” Snarled Kagami, advancing towards Marinette.

“Kagami, please, listen to me!” Yelled Marinette, “This isn’t you! Please, you need to calm down!”

“Kagami…” Said Marinette, as she struggled to breath, coughing up some blood as she spoke. The sword was removed.

“As you can see, Your Honour,” Said Malcolm, “Mlle. Rossi has been lying on the stand in regards to the entire situation and sequence of events.”

“I now understand your reasoning for add additional charges against Mlle. Rossi.” Said the Judge, looking down at Malcolm, “Attempted Murder in the second degree and truancy. I believe that the Jury has seen enough to make a verdict.”

The Jury deliberated for an hour, before returning to the court room.

“Has the jury reached a verdict?” Asked the Judge, looking at the jury members.

“We have, sir.” Said the foreman, shuffling his feet.

“How does the jury find on the first count on the indictment, attempted murder in the second degree?” Asked the Judge, leaning back in his chair.

“Guilty, Your Honour.” Said the Foreman, looking down at the paper.

“How does the jury find on the second count on the indictment, truancy?”

“Guilty, Your Honour.”

“Mlle. Rossi, even without these charges, you would’ve been sentenced for your continued perjury in this court room,” Said the Judge, “you are hereby sentenced to 30 years in prison, you will start serving the sentence at a juvenile detention centre and, one you are of age, will be transferred to an appropriate prison to serve out the rest.”

The Judge banged his gavel on the desk, before dismissing the court.

Kagami looked around her new room, Maria and Claire had decided to adopt Kagami, after Tomoe had refused to allow Kagami back into the home to collect her belonging, instead having all of them burnt to a crisp.

Kagami took a deep breath, finally realising this was her first day of being a normal girl. There was a groan and a wheeze, as Marinette struggled to lift a box up.

“You’re going to tear your stitches!” Said Kagami, striding over and taking the box.

“The doctor said he might invest in getting me a cone.” Said Marinette, slumped against the door, “I can now write properly with my left hand.”

“Considering that your right one is fucked,” Said Kagami, carefully helping Marinette up, “I’m sure the compensation that Madam Rossi had to give you will help in finding someone who can get it back up to fighting strength.”

“I’ve actually got a physiotherapy session tomorrow.” Said Marinette, dropping herself onto Kagami’s bed, “Adrien’s helping with the animal’s downstairs.”

“Are you sure it’s not Felix?” Asked Kagami, dropping down next to Marinette.

“Nah, Felix hates cats,” Said Marinette, looking at the ceiling, “and I think he’s afraid of me.”

“I’m not surprised.” Responded Kagami, looking at Marinette.

Adrien joined the two girls half-an-hour later, dropping himself onto the bed and curling around them.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #kagami tsurugi #adrien agreste #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #lila rossi #tom dupain #sabine cheng #caline bustier #michael dupain cheng #skye dupain cheng #delta writes #angst #tw: violence #hurt marinette #i just bullshitted my way through this

55 notes · View notes

oss-crime · 4 years

Text

Chapter 2-Project “Ma” --Eve--; Scene 1

Original Sin Story: Crime, pages 16-21

This is the story of the beginning.

From where shall I tell?

--They say that the witch of the forest uses a blue spoon instead of a staff.

It was a concerning situation for Eve that this rumor was spreading amongst the Mogera.

She made her living selling fruits and mushrooms that she’d gathered in the forest.

Though she was the village chief’s daughter in the small village of Nemu, that didn’t mean she could escape from having to work.

It wasn’t all that hard in itself.

At the very least it was much better than having to stay cooped up in the village all the time, and fortunately she was never wanting for customers. The Mogera who worked in the plains that stretched from the east of the village were always looking for a meal.

The Mogera referred to those who excavated legacy pieces. They would come in and out from the twelve royal capitals, and though it was their fault that these plains were now riddled with holes, there were few who’d voice any ill-will towards the Mogera in the village.

It was an undeniable fact that the money they brought in had made the village prosperous.

Even the automated carriage that Eve was driving had been bought with that money. Technically her father owned it, but he’d never used the carriage once. The chief had ended up becoming confined to his house ever since he had injured his lower back two years ago.

That was why he had allowed Eve to use the tools for his trade in his place.

The carriage was on its way to the biggest excavation site, the luggage area packed with her harvest from the forest.

Though she called it a carriage, unlike the usual kind the main body wasn’t pulled along by horses or anything. The wheels were moved by special gears that operated by magic that Eve would let off.

Those gears were one of the legacy pieces unearthed by the Mogera. Eve had no idea how they were made, specifically, but whatever the case it was certain that this carriage was ordinarily a very expensive luxury item.

Her father told her that he’d been able to buy it relatively cheaply through some old connections of his, but even so it must have cost enough money to live idly for a year. It probably would have caused a big row if her mother were still alive.

She would have to use this carriage to save up quite a bit to make up for it.

“Everyooone, good to see you all. Eve Zvezda’s mobile sale cart is open for business!” Eve shouted when she’d arrived at the excavation site.

It was around lunch time, so a bunch of brawny men began to shuffle around the carriage.

The most popular item was pfifferling. Apparently it was a trend among the Mogera right now to cook these mushrooms alongside venison bought from hunters. After that was trauben. Though it wasn’t the fruit itself that sold well so much as the wine made with it. It was the village chief’s specialty.

Close by where Eve was selling her wares, some Mogera were lighting a fire to start cooking with.

At once they started tossing the ingredients they’d bought from Eve into a pot.

Eventually they filled some copper bowls with the food that they made from it; after receiving them the men then sat down on the ground and started eating.

Around then, having mostly run out of the ingredients in her luggage compartment, Eve started to pack up. When she did, a good-natured Mogera approached her and handed her a bowl with soup in it.

Sharing the bounty with her. She decided to accept it with thanks.

Ah…

Then she realized that she didn’t have a spoon.

“Oops, sorry ‘bout that. I forgot.”

The Mogera who had given her soup came back with a spoon.

“Oh, that’s alright, I actually already—” About to say that she had one on her, Eve clammed up. “…Thank you kindly,” she said instead, taking the spoon.

…Phew.

She sighed inside her mind.

She couldn’t very well show him her blue spoon.

Today as well, as the Mogera were eating a discussion bloomed regarding that “witch of the woods”.

“I hear the witch of the woods has driven off the ‘White Army’ again.”

“Serves ‘em right. Thanks to her this dig site is peaceful now.”

The white army was a savage tribe causing havoc in this area.

They all had white hair, and they could summon flames. Apparently they were originally nomads who came from the east, but after having a dispute with the “people of the forest” long ago, eventually they changed into a bandit clan…Or so Eve’s father had told her.

The white army had killed hundreds of citizens of the forest. And apparently they were also after the artifacts excavated here, and so had attacked the dig site several times before.

Whatever the case, there was no one more dangerous to the people who lived here than the white army.

The witch of the forest was a hero of righteousness who punished this white army…Or at least, that’s how the Mogera took it.

“But then, how does the witch of the forest counter the white army’s frightful arts? That Peck guy get a huge burn from the flames that those white-haired bastards let off, didn’t he? Wouldn’t be surprised if she died to those.”

“I hear that the witch of the forest uses some extreme lightning art. Rumor is she turns the white army to ashes before they can throw fire at her.”

“A battle between fire and lightning, that’s pretty badass. But if they overdo it the forest’s gonna vanish without a trace, ha ha.”

Eve finished up her soup and returned her eating utensils to the Mogera.

She’d have to get back to the village soon. …Right as she was thinking that.

She heard a loud scream from the north.

When she turned in that direction alongside the Mogera, she could see a cloud of dust in the air far away.

She heard another scream. Not just one, but many people.

“Is that…The white soldiers?”

The Mogera started to murmur.

“This is serious. Are they coming to attack us!?”

“No…That’s not it.”

The troupe of white soldiers appeared to be fighting with someone else.

They all fired upon a large silhouette at once.

“What’s that, a giant?” one of the Mogera said.

Eve replied in her mind that it was not.

That…was probably an automated carriage.

Something much bigger than the one Eve had been riding.

It was being attacked by the white army, and attempting to escape…that’s what it looked like.

I’ve gotta move!

Eve jumped into her carriage and poured magic into the crystal in the control console.

After quickly turning the carriage around as it roared to life, she raced towards the direction where the cloud of dust was forming.

“Oi, miss! Stop, it’s too dangerous!” she heard someone cry from behind her, but Eve ignored it and pushed the carriage onward.

<<prev------directory------next>>

37 notes · View notes

crystalgirl259 · 3 years

Text

The Flame and the Dragon Chapter 35

Chapter 35: The Blizzard

Scorched needles, scarps of wood blackened by rage, and bits of ash and charcoal scattered across the burnt snow where the proud pine tree once stood. Specks of blood and splinters dropped from the Sorcerer's scraped and roughened fingertips like someone had scattered rubies. His nails were shredded and his cuticles were split from clawing at the bark in a fit of rage. His fury had reduced the aged pine to a pile of ashes. All while, the raven remained still on its perch in the snow, completely unfazed by his master's wrath.

The Sorcerer's growl was dangerous and low before he suddenly screamed and spun around delivering a powerful blow to the young sapling unfortunate enough to be in the path of his wrath.

It made no effort to protests the Sorcerer's rage. Blinded by his rage, all he could see were the images his spy had shown. Images of that disgustingly repulsive beast, not even a beast but a half-beast, dancing with the Occulti, his Occulti. He clenching his fists causing his fingers to scream in pain but he was numb to all but his rage. He could forgive Kai for that. Surely the Dragon was becoming desperate and would use any kindness to trick the youth into saying the words needed to break his curse and deny him his greatest triumph.

He could forgive the youth for his naivety and his defenselessness.

He was merciful, but not after treachery. His wrath erupted, sending the curling shadows at his feet exploding in all directions. They shattered and pierced whatever they came in contact with until the clearing was a hollow circle of scorched earth.

"He's dirty! That damned whore! Damn him for giving away his purity, and damn me for thinking any one of their kind was redeemable!" He screamed and stomped his foot and tore at his hair and clothes until he panted like a beast after a hunt. But no matter how loud he screamed or how much he destroyed, it could never destroy that last scene from his mind. That beautiful boy, who should have been his consort and ruling at his side, wantonly giving his virginity to that monster and enjoying it.

He wanted to scream again, but someone else beat him to it.

"Lloyd! Where are you?!" A woman cried and the weak call was followed by a loud stumble against the carpet of snow. Bewildered, the Sorcerer quickly shielded himself among the trees careful not to let a spot of his red clothing betray his location. He watched a young woman rise stumbling from the muddy earth, and choke loudly on air. Like a shadow, the Sorcerer swooped closer and gasped. It was easy to miss from a distance but beneath the thick winter clock and the leaves and mud matting the sister of his Occulti.

The girl bulldozed through the woods and threw herself forward through the snow.

The action caused her heavy cloak to fall open revealing a shower of black hair, shiny even in the shadows of the winter forest. The girl immediately stumbled and almost fell over, but she was able to remain standing by leaning against a nearby tree. She was clearly sick as a dog and should be going home, but she had to keep going. She tried to scream, but instead choked on her own words and coughed in a way that made even the Sorcerer's skin crawl.

"I have... to find... Lloyd," She wheezed, shoving herself off the tree with surprising strength and half stumbled in her haste. She didn't get far before exhaustion and the brutal cold forced her to her knees. "I have to find them! I have to find Lloyd then we can save Kai! I have to get them back!" She spoke passionately to no one, but it was laced with the madness of grief. Again she shoved herself forward but instead her hands clenched her head and formed fists against her hair.

"I have to protect them! I promised I would! I promised them! Mom and Dad, I promised, and look what I've done! Lloyd's probably dead and I can't even think of what Kai's going through!" She screamed and tore at her hands and clothes with the rage and madness that only grief could drive a sane man to. She slammed her fists against the ground and punched at anything she could. All of a sudden, she was suddenly filled with new determination and charged into the blizzard, not aware she was being watched.

A triumphant smile split the Sorcerer's face.

Perhaps, there was some hope left after all. He smirked cunningly and called his pet. The bird abandoned its statue state and flew to its master's wrist.

"Tell me, my pet is he the one? The one our little Occulti spoke off?" He asked, but even though the bird said nothing a flash of its eyes and the Sorcerer had his answer. "And this 'Lloyd' she searches for, is he the other?" He questioned and again the bird was like a prop, only its glowing eyes gave an indication that it was alive. The Sorcerer snickered to conceal his glee, not wishing to betray his location to the still wandering mage. He spun in delight, thinking this was fantastic. It seemed that the Fates favored him after all.

"Follow her, when you've reached them both, alert me; now go!" He ordered as a grin curled wickedly on his face. The bird was off without another word, vanishing in the darkness while its Master laughed at his fortune. "Oh don't worry, girl, you shall see your little brother again soon!" He cackled like a flock of crows taking to wing and threw his bloody cloak over his shoulder...

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

It had been two weeks since he ran away from home to find the castle where his beloved brother was being held prisoner by that beast. Two weeks he had been living in the woods surviving only because of the warming weather of the upcoming spring and because years of living a nomadic life had taught him to pack and prepare for the worst of situations. Two weeks since he had begun his search for Kai and he had found nothing. He thought it would be easy, with Spring fast approaching, that is until a blizzard appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

It had caught Lloyd completely off-guard and forced him to stop his search and find shelter.

Lloyd whimpered as he bunched his knees to his chest, shivering but not from the cold. The multiple fires he had started to keep the cave air warm, and the thick clothing he had packed had taken care of that. He covered his mouth to silence the heavy, haggard coughs fighting to escape. Quickly, he unpacked the bag containing a herbal blend and dumped it into the pot of water that had been boiling over the fire. He inhaled a sharp, large breathe and exhaled contently.

Immediately, he felt his throat soothe and his chest became less constricted.

He hadn't needed to use the herbal vapors so much before, but the cold weather wasn't doing his weak chest any good. He knew he would have been fine if he stayed in that warm house at night like a good boy. But how could he when Kai had been missing for almost five months, and the castle where the dragon kept him prisoner seemed to completely vanish? The thought made Lloyd's eyes prick with tears, but he managed not to cry. His fingers trembled, he clenched his arms and knees tighter in an attempt to feel some form of comfort.

But there was none. Nothing he did could replace the warmth and security he felt when he, Nya, and Kai were all together at home.

He knew he couldn't go home. Nya would never let him leave the house again until he was eighty. Lloyd didn't blame her, he ran away after all, but he couldn't keep waiting. He couldn't keep sitting around and doing nothing while his older sister worked and searched diligently for their missing sibling. He had traveled deeper and deeper into the woods. No matter how many times he found himself back at the path where they got lost in the storm, however, he couldn't find any trace of the huge castle.

Had it been sheer dumb luck that Kai found it the first time?

Or that they found it at all? Lloyd shook his head, forcing himself to dry his sleepy eyes. He then sat up with new determination, mentally forcing the tears and shivering down deep. If Kai could find the castle to save him and Nya then he could do the same thing to save Kai. He removed himself from the warmth of his fires and carefully approached the edge of the cave entrance, where he could hear the blizzard howling and blowing. The cold air bit angrily against his lukewarm skin, as if punishing him for daring to defy it.

Over the woods, he could see the setting sun was nothing more than a yellow sliver above the trees and the night had gone a deep grayish purple of twilight that bled into the dark blue and black of night.

Seeing that there was no point in traveling in the dark, Lloyd slid back into the crevice in the rocks and carefully covered it with a thick net of branches to keep out the cold. He had found this cave by sheer accident when he had slipped and fallen into the entrance. Through that, he discovered a fairly large-sized cave, hollowed out of the dirt and lined with rocks like a fox den. Lloyd had decided it would be the perfect place to camp while he explored the woods by day.

That proved to be true when the underground and rocks blocked out much of the night's cold.

The small opening allowed just enough air so that he wouldn't suffocate from the smoke of the fires. Sometimes, when he felt really weak and his medicine wasn't helping. He would have to spend all day curled up in his makeshift tent under the thick blankets he had brought until his shivering stopped and he could move again. Tonight had been one of his rare nights where he had just enough energy to go exploring again, but he regretted it when he had received an unwanted follower.

Lloyd shivered and blew air into his gloved hands, and rubbed them together before returning to the fire.

Outside a loud crunch of the snow made him scream, the sound echoing off the cave walls forcing Lloyd to cover his ears until it faded out.

"LLOYD!" Nya's voice suddenly screeched, coming closer to the cave. Before he could say anything, she pulled away from the cover and started sobbing tears of joy when she saw her little brother huddled in the dark. Lloyd didn't get a chance to react before she suddenly hugged the air out of his lungs. They stayed like that for a few seconds, before a look of rage fell over her face and she started shaking the little boy. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING LLOYD?! I'VE ALREADY LOST KAI, DO YOU THINK I WANT TO LOSE YOU?! WELL, DO YOU?!" She screamed, still sobbing through clenched teeth.

However, her rage suddenly vanished when Lloyd finally released all the tears he had been holding in and started sobbing loudly.

Nya sighed and hugged her little brother again, letting him sob into her shoulder until he eventually tired himself out and fell asleep. As soon as she was sure he was out cold, Nya packed up his things and lifted him up in her arms. Once he was secure and safe, she left the cave and began to head home. However, it only took a few seconds to discover that she couldn't find the trail leading back to the village in this monstrous blizzard. She tried turning around and heading back to the cave.

But her face paled when she realized that the blizzard had covered her footprints in fresh snow.

She was now stranded in the middle of a blizzard in the forest with one brother sick in her arms and the other being held prisoner by a monster...

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

Kai screamed for his siblings in his sleep as he thrashed around in the bed, only to find himself restrained. His eyes suddenly flew open and he found himself being held in place by Cole, the man's green eyes fixed on him with a mixture of fear and concern. A cold stab of fear pierced him, completely unaware of where he was. He recognized Cole's room, but the bedsheets were twisted and half flung off. One of Kai's arms raised over his head the other clenched the pillow in a fierce death grip, with Cole holding both his wrists.

Cole's tail was wrapped firmly around Kai's waist to keep from thrashing about.

Slowly, so as not to scare him further, Cole unwound himself and looked him over for any sign of injury.

"Kai? Are you alright?" He asked, carefully and tenderly. The details of his nightmare came back to him like a cold knife twisting into his heart. A sudden stab of guilt and terror knifed through him, making Kai flip over and smother his face in a pillow and burst into tears. "Kai? Talk to me!" Cole pleaded as he kept shaking him, his voice sterner, but not losing an ounce of concern.

"I'm fine," Kai lied wiping his eyes. "I just had a nightmare."

"I can see that, you don't wake up crying and screaming if you've had a good dream," Cole said bluntly, lying down next to him and pulling Kai into his arms. Despite Cole's attempt at light humor, Kai said nothing. He just looked at the pillow beneath his face. A tear he hadn't noticed ran down his face and he found himself shaking again. He tried to speak but the only coherent thoughts in his head were the pleading, effusing eyes of his two brothers.

Determined to relieve his precious flame of his distress, Cole wrapped tentative arms around Kai.

He then pulled the brunette into his lap and brought him down with him against the pillows. Kai resisted the embrace and tried to protest but regretted it when Cole looked him straight in the eye. His face was a mask that betrayed no emotion, but his serious eyes held unspoken trust.

"You saw your siblings, didn't you? You're worried about them." He said and Kai's flinch of shock was the only answer Cole needed. "Don't look so surprised, you screamed both their names; I've had nightmares about my sister and parents for years after they vanished, so you don't have to hide your worry, and I don't want you thinking you can't come to me when you're upset like this." He promised as he tucked one of Kai's loose bangs behind his ear.

"It's not that," Kai admitted, feeling his chest stir at the words. He paused, guilt shaking him to the core. "I don't know if that was a nightmare or another premonition, but... it made me realize just how selfish I've been; here I am, happier than I've ever been in my entire life, surrounded by people who adore me, wearing the most expensive things I've ever owned! I'm practically living a fairy tale and they think I'm starving to death in some cold, dark tower, being tortured."

"Oh," Cole muttered as Kai covered his head with his arms and buried it in Cole's chest.

"They probably think I'm dead, Cole!" Kai cried as tears streamed down his face. He had never stopped thinking of his siblings, not since the day he had arrived at the castle. It seemed wrong to do anything else. Even when he started to like his confinement, and enjoy the company of the Dragon Lord, he still remembered his brother and sister and was comforted in the thought that they were both safe and hopefully happy. He never stopped to consider that his sacrifice might have the opposite effect of what he intended.

Or that his disappearance had destroyed their lives in a way he never considered.

But he had been so happy. The last few days were like a dream come true and he wanted nothing more than to pretend that it could last forever, and he dared, for once, to be selfish and think of nothing but his own happiness. Of course, that decision would come back to haunt him. Guilt pooled in Cole's gut and he cursed his own helplessness as he watched Kai weep. He hated seeing Kai like this. The brunette deserved to be happy and content, not feel like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and be consumed by guilt and shame for wanting to forget that and enjoy life for once.

Especially since it was his fault Kai's family was separated from him.

Looking back at the darkest and earliest days of when he and Kai met when he had unleashed his bitterness and rage against Nya and Lloyd. Kai's siblings had every right to be afraid of him. He had only agreed to Kai's proposal because the boy fascinated him and not because he cared at all about their fates, even if Lloyd's health had concerned him. It had filled him with shame and he knew he had to make up for it. None of them deserved to be separated from one another.

Especially not because of him.

They deserved better than that ridiculous town trapped in time, and he knew just how to do it. Cole stroked Kai's back and gently shook him. When Kai raised his head, eyes red-rimmed and cheeks damp with tears, Cole comforted him with caring words pressed with butterfly kisses along his neck and temples.

"If you're that concerned about them, then you can always invite them to stay here." He said with a soft smile and Kai shot up.

"What?" He croaked in a weak voice forced through a constricted throat.

"There's more than enough room here, the staff will adore them; you already said you three planned on leaving your town anyway, and I don't think they'll argue if you ask them, and I can bear the bulk of their hatred for your sake."

"Why would they hate you?" Kai blurted, too stunned to think clearly, and Cole raised an eyebrow of annoyed obviousness.

"Given the fact that I locked them in a tower and technically kidnapped you, I doubt they'd be happy to see me or be comfortable with the fact that you're now my lover, but as I said, I can bear the bulk of their hatred until they see I'm not as cold as I act."

"You'd do that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you," Cole replied, pressing their foreheads together. Overcome by emotion, Kai launched himself into Cole's chest and held him tight with such force he nearly knocked Cole over. Tears rained down his cheeks but this time they were happy tears.

"Thank you, Cole! Thank you so much! I don't deserve you!" Kai cried as he buried himself in Cole's torso grateful for the man's comfort and support and his understanding more than anything else.

"Don't ever say that again, don't even think it." Cole scolded but there was little force behind it. Cole pulled the comforter up to Kai's shoulders as they fell back asleep. "We'll talk more about it in the morning."

"Thank you, Cole, thank you for everything." Kai yawned as he dried his eyes.

"You have nothing to thank me for, it's the least I can do since you saved my soul." Cole smiled as he sensed Kai's lingering uncertainty, he continued to hold his lover close and comfort him until they finally fell back into a peaceful sleep. Cole continued to hold Kai, keeping a careful watch for the rest of the night, treasuring the feeling of holding Kai close. When the nightmares bothered him again, Cole was quick to chase them away and coaxed Kai back to sleep with soothing touches and caring words until Kai quieted...

#The Flame and the Dragon #beauty and the beast #ninjago #ninjago cole #ninjago kai #ninjago lloyd #ninjago nya #lavashipping

12 notes · View notes

ren-meteor · 4 years

Text

Bio: Tethys

First Name: Tethys

Last Name: n/a

Date of Birth: June 21st

Age: 20′000+ y/o, Appears 28

Alias: Nomad

Gender: Female

Siblings: n/a

Sexuality: Bisexual

Species: Half God, Half Human

Hair Color: Warm Brown

Eye Color: Glowing seafoam green

Appearance:

Origins: Earthrealm

Current Location: Earthrealm

Height: 5’7

Alignment: Neutral Good

Status: Alive

Social Status:

Raiden’s Apprentice

Daughter of Poseidon

Lady Tethys

Affiliation:

Shirai Ryu (Ally)

Special Forces (Ally)

White Lotus Society

Physical Health: Excellent

Mental Health: Excellent

Likes:

Oceans

Beaches

Sailing

Helping others

Gardening

Stargazing

Dislikes:

Disrespect

Shao Khan

Liars

Manipulation

Injustice

Unnecessary death

Speed: 5/10

Agility: 6/10

Intelligence: 9/10

Strength: 9/10

Stamina: 8/10

Stealth: 4/10

Cooperation: 9/10

Durability: 7/10

Fighting Skills: 9/10

Flexibility: 7/10

Reflexes: 8/10

Instincts: 7/10

Mentors:

Raiden

Grandmaster Hasashi

Selene

Family:

Poseidon (father-alive)

Thalia (mother-dead)

Friends / Allies:

Selene

Raiden

Fujin

Sonya Blade

Johnny Cage

Lui Kang

Kitana

Kuai Liang

Hanzo Hasashi

Jackson Briggs

Jacqui Briggs

Jade

Nightwolf

Enemies:

Shang Tsung

Shao Khan

Mileena

Kano

Sindel

Shinnok

Kronika

Geras

Love Interest: Fujin

Love Status: Lovers

Weapons / Accessories:

Water pouch

Greek Short Spears x2

Powers:

Water manipulation - Hydrokinesis

Healing

Teleportation

Turning into a liquid state/hide in water

Pulling moisture out different sources (plants, humans, air, earth)

Personality:

Tethys is kind to a fault. Her life is sculpted to help those in need and to protect those who could not protect themselves. She is incredibly humble, never thinking herself above others and without hesitation would put herself in harm's way to save those she cares about.

History:

Tethys was born to a mortal mother in the oceanside town Helos, Laconia. During her youth, she had never met her father, but from what she was told by her mother she knew she was different because of him. She discovered her hydrokinesis while she was very young, and immediately became fascinated by it. She practiced non-stop to become better and better with her ability, finding new and exciting ways to manipulate the water around her.

Eventually, because of her abilities, she was sought after by armies. She was enlisted, under threat of her mother’s death if she didn’t. Years of war and battle had worn her down to a shell of what she used to be. The final straw was when her mother was murder through a miscommunication. Normally, she was a very reasonable woman, but she only saw blood. She knew the other foot soldiers were innocent; they were followers. She went for the command, eliminating them one by one because of their involvement, until they were all gone.

Once that had been done, there was nothing left in her home anymore. She left everything behind, taking up a more nomadic lifestyle and began to travel the world. She needed the break of fighting for others, and needed to take a bit of time for herself- become more human, she supposed.

Through her travels, she met a plethora of different people, taking a bit of them all as she went. Eventually, her path led her to a small village which had no immediate access to water. Tethys quickly got to work, using her abilities to create a freshwater well for them. The people then informed her of another village in the same situation, and she found a purpose for herself. Tethys would then go on to travel in search of those she could help- providing water, healing and defending- making friends and gaining a kind and virtuous reputation.

Her actions would eventually be noticed by Raiden, who admitted that while she was skilled, she was still a novice and had a lot to learn. He offered to train her and better her skills, which she graciously accepted. Under his wing her skills grew exponentially even if they didn’t see eye to eye on everything, and she met many other skilled fighters- including Fujin.The two immediately hit it off, becoming friends quickly. But Raiden had to remind her more than once what her true purpose at the temple was. It didn’t stop the two from making it a game of not being caught.

But being in the Sky Temple to train- it wasn’t where she felt her abilities were best used. Once she felt like she had learned everything that she could from him- much to his displeasure- Tethys returned to the mainland where she built a home in Greece, taking a small break before returning to her travels.

During the events of MK11 she, like Sindel, had no part in the major battles. Making an appearance once the heroes set up base at the Fire Gardens, she remained with Raiden, strategizing and tracking activities of Kronika and her armies. When Scorpion arrived with the news of Hanzo’s demise, she felt a part of her disappear. But once listening to Scorpion, she believed his story, and tried to reason with Raiden when he challenged. Tethys stood up to him after he attacked Scorpion with Shinnok’s amulet, only to get the same treatment. To say she lost trust in Raiden was understandable. And despite his realization later, it was not wholeheartedly gained back.

While she did help further develop the attack on Kronika, she instead stayed behind in the Fire Gardens, should something happen and Earthrealm was attacked.

During the events of Aftermath, she was instead recruited shortly before Sindel. She proceeded to accompany the trio, assisting in bringing back Sindel, the take down of Cetrion and the pushback of Kronika. Once reaching the island, Tethys joins Raiden in keeping the outworld forces at bay. She eventually meets her demise at the hands of Shang Tsung while attempting to defend the lives of Raiden and Fujin. She would return in the New Era.

Huge thanks to @starneko123 for the help with this 🤗

***note: tbh with the inclusion of Kharon in mk11, I kinda just went with the assumption that other Greek figures exist in the MK universe. 🤷

#it took me way too long to to this #but voila have it #mortal kombat #mortal kombat 11 #mk11 #mortal kombat oc #mk oc #mk oc au #tethys #oc x canon #also sorry for the long history blurb #i feel guilty if i leave anything out

21 notes · View notes

vcsecretgifts · 4 years

Text

Snap shot in time

From: @auburnandamberangel

Merry Christmas @plopofcolour Qotd era Khayman and Armand interaction on the Night Island. Hope you like ^u^

~~~

Armand watched Khayman looking at his upper terrace garden, the plants benefiting not only from the sunshine but also the seaspray. The cacti, the large Saguaros with their armed tall appearance especially had captured the ancients fascination. The silhouettes classic to many a western. They weren’t indigenous to Egypt, effectively a new world plant, and certainly capturing this until recently slumbering vampire. Perhaps as they too were long lived, slow in maturing. He had his cameras slung over his neck and shoulder wanting to capture the bloom on one of them, a first. He recorded all of them on this island. Mementos.

Khayman was a very good guest, polite, and surprisingly unaloof compared to other vampires of a similar age. ‘Mr manners leaves their bodies after the first few thousand years!’ Daniel had observed dryly not to long ago as they say in said same garden, watching the waves. Sitting on the stone steps, snuggly between Daniels stretched out legs. Barely dead himself, so manys ways appeared rude by his modern standards. “Not all are…impolite.” Daniel had nodded, smiling almost as if he’d read his mind and knew he was thinking of the Egyptian. Which was impossible, he just people watched very well. And surely he was an expert in Armand observations by now.

“Ahh but Khayman was nice as a human, not many airs on him plus he’s sweet on you. So you’re the last person he’d be short with.” Interestingly not too much jealousy in that statement. A small possessive kiss to the top of his head, caressing of his arms about his waist. Their guests came and went, things were more peaceful minus some of their vampire brethren. Peaceful between them even. Born in a time of crisis, his home even invaded it wasn’t ideal for them even with a notorious nosey parker like his fledgling. He’d borne so much strain at his hands before being turned, it worried Armand. Sometimes they fought as he instinctually pulled back.

“The fact he’s easy on the eye doesn’t hurt much either does it.” Daniel added laughter in his voice. Teasing. Armand smiled despite himself turning his head. “But I’m famous for a penchant for blondes darling aren’t I.”

“Except Louis.” His beloved kissing his dimples. And others he’d best not mention. Not eager to quote that book at him right now.

“Hmmmm. Nice to not always be predictable then.” Kissing Daniels matching smile. It had ended up being a very good evening that night. Allowing himself to bask in the glow of the memory of it.

Khayman found the sea soothing, the air fresh and the garden a magical oasis. A small movement betrayed his hosts presence, rare to not have an exuberant Daniel or hesitant brooding Marius in orbiting attendance around Armand. Moths to this ’cherubs’ - seraphin now surely more apts flame- A ethereal beauty no matter the flowery language. In his time one destined to be blessed by the gods. A soul just as full of substance as his appearance. To think without her, the mother waking he’d probably not have crossed paths with this one. So artful at cloaking his presence. Deep in thought he was looking at him, but not really seeing him. Caught in a recollection. Unguarded he looked so young, in the eyes the depth and knowledge in them gave his age away. This was the way with their kind. Trapped in their making, the soul grew seen through the orbs alone. Somehow still warmth there, if the mood was right. A miracle considering the heartache had been through in so far centuries. He would do much to make sure he didn’t make those eyes cold. Watching this former coven master navigate so many vampires in his sanctuary, first love mingling with last. Struck by the poise. The former parents guardian, the Roman made said face light up and close down in equal measure. Not his place to intervene ofcourse, though tempting. Best to announce his presence, so Armand didn’t feel too exposed.

“Armand, good evening. Was there something I can aid you with?” Smooth heavily accented voice totally interrupting his reverie. “Did you want private time in your garden?” Previously observed vampire catching him unawares, hoping he hadn’t left himself open to scrutiny thoughts wise. His mind usually locked up tight, some of the first brood lacked finesse with the mind gift, it coming to them later. But what they lacked in finesse, could be made up by brute force alone. Being Marius’ blood line vicariously provided some civility that otherwise may not exist, for a not even five hundred year old former cult coven leader. Ageism was alive and well in their surviving group from Akashas cull. As if age always came with wisdom… Khayman had been gentle and respectful in his manner towards him. Armand appreciated this from his most recent friend. He saw him as he was, no judgement.

“No not at all. I take pleasure in seeing enjoyment from my garden. The cacti have you in their thrall I see.” Genuine smile to the ancient. Moving closer. The garden lit by coloured uplights here and there to make it appealing.

“They are exotic to my old eyes, yes. Beautiful yet dangerous. So like us I feel.” Small smile back. “Your a gracious host, I know it’s not in most of your nature’s to live on mass for long. You’ve been patient where you could have been firm. Silent when you could have spoken.” Khaymans turn to watch and enjoy the view that had nothing to do with the garden, but more it’s creator.

“Ah well, tact or diplomacy is something I’ve always had to have. Never to speak unless it improves the silence or my position in it.” Being quite open now in this admission. Unusually candid for himself truly. He didn’t think he’d regret it in this situation.

“The lone jackel is a hard role to break, though it’s served you well.” The ancient replied. Looking back at the cacti. “How old is this one then?”

“This one is around seventy years. It’s the first year it’s flowered, you’re lucky to have witnessed it.” Itching to take a picture of the flower, and perhaps Khayman too if he was truthful with himself. Just incase his stay was brief and centuries passed until another meeting of minds. “But they can live to around one hundred and seventy five perhaps even two hundred years. Not bad for a desert dweller.”

Khayman eyed the camera, that was the term wasn’t it. One of the magical picture capturers. “You’ll record it with this?” He hadn’t tried anything new in a while. Armand was patient, the best person to ask to try. “How?” He uttered before he had time to edit.

Inquisitive and open to instruction, not your average elder. Refreshing like the sea breeze. “I need a tripod, unless you can hold it steady as a rock. I’ll do both.” Zipping inside and then back out to get it. “I’ll need a long exposure to make the most of the moon light, and a flash for my close ups. The window inside opens for the picked time, the light hits the film and makes an imprint like an eye I suppose but in reverse, or inverse a negative. We can use the darkroom next.” Twinkle in his eye as he saw the ancients eyes widen. “The Polaroid develops as you shake it.” It must sound odd to the others ears.

“Witchcraft then. I’m an apprentice to a modern sorcerer.” Pleased by the laugh this comment brought from Armand.

“Usually I’m called bewitching. But I’ve been accused of worse.” Daniels words echoing in his head, pleased he didn’t blush as easily as said youngblood.

Gingerly taking the camera and going still, statue like as he could. A trick you learnt which came easily with age. Though it usually unnerved younger immortals. *Direct me as if I’m a tripod.* He said is the mind voice. Armands softer hands aiming the slr camera for a closeup. Physical contact was a luxury being a nomad rarely afforded.

Hearing the snap of the inner workings, turning of the spool. With each shot, the flash singing. Armand liked this process, methodical, practised yet still room for error and surprise. *Move back a little so I can get a portrait of it. Perhaps one of and for you to take with you?* Because people leave - eventually. This was always a possibility. Sentiment came with a cost, this he always knew.

A photo to keep. An anchor would be good for times Khayman felt unsteady. Stronger by the year, but wispy in his soul sometimes. A welcome light in the Night Island Villa, to concentrate on. *Yes. A portrait of plant, myself and it’s guardian even better.*

Warm glance, nodding his answer. “This also has a cable to take a photograph at a distance. A bellow balloon, a tube and a metal press.” Screwing it into the button. Then retrieving it from the taller elder. Fixing this on the tripod via it’s own foot. Let’s set ourselves up. Standing and leaning into the framing arms of the cactus, as if the plant was behind them, reaching to hold them close.

Khayman followed the younger ones lead. Moving in closer and realising he could smell Armands hair. Wondering if this was his shampoo or just his natural scent. Vampires sometimes exuded a odour that was unique to them, a spice in the blood perhaps. Marius had made him, imbued with donations by Akasha during his guardianship. Perhaps he had smelt like this in Venice as a mortal. Not something he could easily ask the child of two millennia. Nor share a want to share his blood to strengthen those below a thousand in their coven, truthfully only this one piqued his interest.

Armand had the cord behind his back to depress at just the right moment. Khaymans strong heartrate was hard to ignore so close. “Ready. One two three.” Not using cheese, referring to a dairy product as slang for smiling usually put older vampires in a spin. So a countdown better. Not flinching at the flash or the next long exposure. “Always take more than one for practicality.” Moving to replace the lens cap and concentrate on the Polaroid camera in front of him now. “Arguably this one is like magic.” He stated with a smile. “As Daniel can attest I took so many in our early years here.” Boxes and boxes of them, indulgent expression on his face. He was rich, but some things were priceless that had little monetary value in his collection. “Strike your next pose. Make yourself comfortable.”

Khayman liked Daniel. He was full of life, and hoped that energy didn’t turn downwards into madness. Knowing Armand was concerned with this too, any elder making a first fledgling would be - especially one as fond of forward planning as his host. Smiling nervous about doing something wrong. Hoping irrationally it wasn’t magic, as magic never bode well. Flash and snap. Painless. Wondering what the twins back in Sonomo thought of this new family, Mekare learning after her travelling the wilderness. Focus on Jesse, their link to Miriam.

Armand handed the Polaroid by its framed white bottom edge to the elder. “Now shake it, and you’ll slowly appear.” Charmed by Khaymans expression, bouyed one so old could still feel the wonder of the new. Despite intermittent sleeps. Hope for all of them surely. Watching Khayman watching the photograph as it developed. “What do you think?”

Bit by bit the image appeared - the dark background shading in firstly, the bright green cacti appearing next with its vibrant blooms. Then the paled by time figure, a smile all for the taker. Now one such photo of Armand with or without himself would be wondrous. “A fine picture.” So excited he placed kisses on Armands cheeks stopping before he daren’t put any on those rosy lips. Moving faster than he usually did, enveloping the younger vampire in a hug would perhaps be too much of a liberty. They had time. “One of us next, yes?”

Armand didn’t have time to start at the sudden movement of the ancient. Stealing himself to be squeezed, fortunate it didn’t come to pass. Khayman smelt inviting though, heady blood from their fount. Marius would be jealous no doubt. But he wasn’t here was he. Attending to Pandora, a promise of a return soon. As ever time would tell. Trying not to stare at Khaymans lips. “Yes. An instant portrait next.” Glad of someone who gave as much as he took.

#2020 VC Secret Santa #VC #Vampire Chronicles #submission #plopofcolour #auburnandamberangel

26 notes · View notes

winchester-fantasies · 5 years

Text

Wallflower

Summary: Being in an abusive relationship with an alpha you thought you could trust leaves you feeling trapped and wondering if your life is over. But when you meet the alpha, Sam Winchester, you realize it’s only just beginning.

Word Count: 4264

Warnings: smut, knotting, claiming, bit of fluff, angst, shy reader, mentions of an abusive relationship, protective Sam, possessive Sam, some swearing

Pairing: Alpha!Sam x Omega!PlusSize!Reader

A/N: This was written for an anonymous request: Hey beautiful! I love you’re writing so much it gets me through some hard times and helps with my confidence so much as weird as it sound haha! Can I request a alpha Sam Winchester x omega plus size reader where she super shy and meek and he saves her from her abusive alpha and finds out it’s his true mate and he claims her ?? Angst, fluff and smut? 💕💕💕 Thank you so much for your request! You are so sweet, and it warms my heart so much to know that it’s helped you so much!! I hope this one is no different. ❤❤

Winchester Fantasies’ Masterlist

You stared at your face in the mirror as a tear slipped down your cheek. Your cheekbone was bruising and the side of your lip was swollen where blood was crusted over. How you’d gotten and allowed yourself to stay in this situation for so long you didn’t know.

Part of you was desperate to get out; put as much distance between you and...the alpha you called yours. But the other part of you, the fearful part, couldn’t bring yourself to do so. People knew you two were together, but they didn’t know what went on behind closed doors. You were a hunter. You were supposed to be strong, confident, a badass. You weren’t supposed to cower every time he walked into the room; you weren’t supposed to feel afraid to be alive.

But you were.

You were eighteen when you first met him, freshly presented and still getting used to being an omega. So young. So naive. So stupid.

You’d believed every word that fell from his tongue like honey. All those sweet nothings and empty promises. You’d fallen for it all.

It wasn’t until it came time for you to take the next step in your relationship did things begin to change. Although you felt some sort of connection to him, it never felt exactly…right. There was always something holding you back from letting him claim you.

At first he was understanding, gentle even, assuring you he was in this for the long haul and that he’d wait as long as it took for you to be comfortable. But after the fifth time of him broaching the subject, his demeanor had changed. His language towards you had changed, too. Instead of telling you you were beautiful like he had in the beginning, he started telling you were fat, ugly, undesirable. And being on the heavier side, already dealing with insecurities, you believed him.

He’d also become angry, cold, and demanding. And on one particular occasion he’d tried, unsuccessfully, to force his mark on you. Thankfully the betas next door had called the police just in time. After that it only grew worse. More often than not you were sporting some kind of injury. He was always careful to not leave signs of his abuse, making sure they were hidden under your layers of clothing.

On the one or two times your friends did see the bruises, you were always quick to play them off as hunting injuries. And like the trusting friends they were, they believed you without a second thought.

But somehow things had gotten even worse. Now there was no way you could hide what he did. Not even the fullest face of makeup could hide the abuse. Another tear escaped, but you were quick to swipe it away. Now wasn’t the time to cry, you told yourself.

You had promised Jody you’d come to the memorial service being held for a hunter that fellow hunters knew and highly esteemed. Briana McKinnon’s name was on par with the famous Winchester brothers. She was considered the greatest female hunter in the past twenty years, so when word got out that she had died at the hands of a werewolf everyone was shocked. You never knew her personally, but you’d heard the stories, just like the ones about Sam and Dean Winchester. She was your role model, the one that inspired you to try harder, to keep going. If there was ever a hunter you wanted to be like, it was her.

You took a deep breath before taking out your barely used makeup sponge and concealer, dabbing a bit over the purple on your cheek. It didn’t do much, just as you’d expected, but you hoped it’d be enough. The last thing you needed were questions you didn’t want to answer.

You scanned yourself in the mirror before deeming yourself ready. You stepped out of the bathroom quietly, finding him passed out on the bed, the half-finished bottle of bourbon sitting on the side table. You paused for a moment, biting the inside of your cheek. He’d told you to wake him. He was a hunter and he’d known Briana personally - in more than one way you suspected. It wouldn’t have been the first time you’d smelled another omega on him.

You should’ve woken him. You knew he’d be livid when he found out you’d gone without him. But you couldn’t. Not this time.

So instead, you crossed to the door, taking your coat from the hook by it and throwing it on. One final look at him, and you walked out the door.

**********

The road and driveway leading up to Jody’s house was packed, vehicles lining both sides of the street. You could voices and laughter as you neared the front door. Your stomach was in knots as you rang the doorbell, and you wrung your hands in front of you as you stepped back, waiting for the door to open. You contemplated just leaving. You didn’t do parties.

You never got the chance to decide as the door opened, Jody’s face lighting up when she saw you. “(Y/N)!” she exclaimed, dragging you inside and wrapping you in her arms. You melted into her embrace. Maybe it was the nurturing omega in her, but somehow her hugs always made you feel safe. Like nothing could ever touch you.

“Where is...?” she asked, glancing behind you, but you cut her off before she could continue.

“He got wrapped up in something,” you lied, shooting her a smile you hoped was placating.

She seemed to buy it because she smiled and nodded in understanding. “I get it,” she said. “The life of a hunter is never-ending. But he’ll be missed.”

Bile rose in your throat, but you shoved it down and chuckled, trying to mask the cynicism bubbling below the surface. Everyone loved him.... If they only knew.

“Well, come on in!” Jody said, ushering you into the living room where other hunters milled and conversed. Some of them you knew and had worked with; most of them you didn’t. You weren’t one for socializing. You were more of a nomad, hunting alone unless you absolutely needed help.

“There’re drinks and a few snacks,” Jody said, gesturing to a table that had been set up against the far wall. “And I know I don’t have to say this,” she added good-naturedly. “But make yourself at home.”

“Thanks, Jody,” you said, giving her hand a squeeze.

With that she left, leaving you feeling alone and like a fish out of water. You glanced around the room, snippets of conversations reaching your ears, none of which caught your attention enough to join in.

You walked over to the refreshment table, popping open a beer before grabbing a paper plate and filling it with a few of the snacks. You made your way to the love seat situated in the corner, lowering yourself on the almost too comfy cushion and watching the people around you.

“(Y/N)!” You looked up, finding Garth standing in front of you, a wide and welcoming grin spread across his face. You’d worked several cases with him and although he wasn’t every hunter’s cup of tea, you’d grown to love and appreciate him as a friend. Plus despite him being a beta, he was one badass motherfucker.

“Hey, Garth,” you greeted, smiling as he joined you on the couch, immediately wrapping his long arm around you and pulling you into his side.

“How’re you doing?” he asked.

“Good,” you said, the lie falling from your lips easier than you cared to admit.

He smiled, but the next second it faded into a frown. “Gnarly bruise you’re sporting there,” Garth commented, gesturing to your cheek.

You blanched. You should’ve known it would be too good to wish for it to not be brought up.

“Oh, this?” you asked, bringing your fingers up to the still painful wound, chuckling lightly when Garth nodded. “Got this one when a demon decided to clock me.”

“Nasty sons ‘o bitches,” Garth said, shaking his head.

“Yeah,” you huffed out.

Garth continued to speak, but without warning your hearing muffled as if you’d just been submerged in water. And that’s when you felt it - that shift in the air. Like electricity crackling in the atmosphere or lightning when it was just about to strike. Your hair stood on end and a shiver ran down your spine.

You turned your head, and your breath caught in your throat as you met the most beautiful pair of eyes you’d ever seen. They were kaleidoscopic, like prisms in a ray of sunlight.

And those opalescent orbs belonged to the most beautiful specimen of a man you’d ever seen - or an alpha to be more accurate. He was tall and broad-shouldered with a chiseled jaw and umber locks that dusted the top of his coat collar. And his scent. You could smell it from across the room. Cherries...and pine needles.

The connection was abruptly cut off by Garth’s voice. “Sam, Dean!” he hollered, standing and waving enthusiastically.

Your eyes widened in shock and your stomach clenched as the two alphas made their way over. “Wait...the Sam and Dean?” you hissed to Garth, the lanky man nodding.

You swallowed hard as they approached. “Hey, guys,” Garth greeted them both with a wide grin, opening up his arms and ushering them into his signature hug. They both appeared slightly uncomfortable, but you could tell they held a fondness for the quirky man.

“Didn’t know you guys were coming today,” Garth said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and glancing between the brothers.

“Yeah, well, we worked a few cases with Briana,” the tall one said, casting a quick side-eye to his brother. “Dean had more of a...connection with her, though,” he added with a playful smirk.

Dean rolled his eyes, a disgruntled frown creasing his forehead. “Yeah, yeah, yeah....” he grumbled.

You cleared your throat, feeling for all the world like a wallflower. As if Garth had only just remembered you were still there he turned, helping you stand. “Guys, this is (Y/N),” he said, throwing his arm over your shoulder. “(Y/N), Sam and Dean Winchester.”

Both Winchesters greeted you and you smiled your acknowledgement, awkwardly clasping your hands in front of you. After a few minutes of light conversation Dean sauntered over to the food table, his green eyes lit up in interest while Garth made his way to the other side of the room, seeing another hunter he knew. Which left you and Sam alone.

“So…” Sam said, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets and sending you a thin-lipped smile.

You chuckled nervously, moving to sit back down. Sam joined you, his body radiating heat even with him sitting with a good amount of distance between you.

“How long have you been hunting?” he finally asked after a few moments of additional awkward silence.

“Since I was about sixteen,” you said.

“Oh, wow,” he said, his eyebrows rising in surprise. “You were young.”

“Yeah,” you said simply. “My parents died hunting demons. And...I don’t know,” you shrugged. “I kinda just picked up where they left off.”

Sam nodded. “I get that,” he said. “It was kinda the same thing with me and Dean. A demon killed our mom.... And our dad, too, actually,” he added as if he’d almost forgotten. “Hunting is pretty much all we’ve ever known.”

“I know. I’ve heard the stories,” you said with a slight smile. “How you defied the angels, beat the Leviathans, died and came back more times than one would deem possible. You’re famous.”

Sam chuckled at that, the boyish dimples you’d heard everyone talk about coming into view. “I wouldn’t necessarily call us that….” he said almost shyly. “Me and my brother…. We’re just doing our job and trying to make the world a better place, even if it’s just a little bit at a time.”

“Just a little bit?” you asked incredulously. “You stopped the apocalypse - maybe even more than one!”

“Started it, too,” Sam said, looking ashamed.

You paused for a moment, studying his face. He looked so tired and worn. He had done so much good in the world, and yet all he could see was the heartache he’d caused. Your heart swelled with something you couldn’t quite place and without thinking, you reached over, placing your hand on his. It was fire and ice the moment your skin touched his, and he flinched, his head jerking up to meet your gaze.

“We’re not defined by the mistakes we make,” you said softly. “It’s what we do after that really matters.”

Sam continued to look at you, his eyes locked onto yours so intensely it felt as if he were staring into your very soul. The emotions and feelings swirling in your chest were almost too much, and you finally removed your hand from his, breaking the connection.

Sam blinked as if coming out of a trance, sending you a curious glance before he cleared his throat. “What happened, uh…” he asked, motioning to his cheek, indicating your injury.

Your stomach dropped. You’d almost completely forgotten about it. “Oh, uh, got this when a demon decided to clock me,” you said nonchalantly, trying to play it off as you’d done with Garth but finding it more difficult than any lie you’d told before.

Sam frowned before slowly shaking his head. “No,” he said bluntly. “That’s no hunting injury.... Who hurt you?” he asked softly.

You were shocked at his seemingly supernatural perceptiveness, and you found yourself wringing your hands once again as your gaze fell to your lap. “My boyfriend,” you whispered, finding it nearly impossible to lie to the alpha beside you.

Sam bristled at your revelation, his eyes darkening as he scanned the crowd around you. “Where is he?” he growled.

“Not here,” you were quick to reassure.

Sam seemed to relax a bit at that, but you could feel the tension coming off him as he scooted a little closer to you, his thigh pressed against yours.

Without warning, the front door flew open, the top literally flying off its hinges. The whole house fell silent as everyone turned to see what had happened.

The moment his scent met your nostrils fear and panic took over. You cowered back into the couch, trying to make yourself as small as possible. His eyes roamed the entire place, his expression contorting into an almost animalistic and feral snarl as they settled on you.

“Where the fuck were you?” he spat as he stalked over to where you sat, the smell of anger, booze, and rut oozing off of him. “I fucking told you to wake me up!”

He reached out for you, but before he could even touch you, Sam was in front of you, shielding you behind his stout body. “Don’t you fucking touch her,” Sam growled lowly.

“Back off!” the other alpha commanded. “She’s my omega!”

Sam’s chest puffed out as he got up from the couch slowly, rising up to his full height and dwarfing the man in front of him. Dean came to stand beside his brother, backup in case Sam needed it.

You could see the alpha physically swallow as he stared up at Sam, a flicker of uncertainty and…fear in his eyes?

“She...she’s my…” he started, but never got the chance to finish.

“No,” Sam snapped. “She’s not. She’s. Mine. Now leave,” he growled, motioning to the door.

The other alpha paused as if debating whether to comply or not. He must have decided Sam wasn’t much of a threat because he suddenly darted forward, his hand reaching out for you, his fingernails scraping against the skin of your arm, causing you to cry out as blood dotted your flesh.

Sam snarled, lunging at the alpha, his fist making contact with the other’s jaw with a sickening crack. The alpha fell to the floor in a heap, a whimper falling from his mouth before he struggled to his feet, spitting blood on the floor. He bared his bloody teeth, a challenge in his eyes.

Sam seemed unfazed, however, the fight already over and having come out on top. “You touch her again...you ever so much as look at her, I will end you,” Sam growled.

“That a threat?” the alpha asked.

“It’s a promise,” Sam said sharply, his staunch demeanor never wavering.

Without another word Dean, Garth, and a few other hunters seized the alpha, ushering him outside despite his threats that he’d kill every last one of them.

Sam turned to you, his eyes softening. “Are you okay?” he asked, sitting back down, his fingers ghosting over the scrapes on your arm.

You nodded, tears in your eyes. “Wh...what did you mean that I’m...yours?” you asked timidly.

“You’re my true mate,” Sam said matter-of-factly. “Knew it as soon as I smelled you. And when we touched....”

You swallowed and nodded, realizing all those feelings, the atmosphere shifting was because he’d finally arrived. Your true mate. Your real alpha.

A feeling of desire stronger than you’d ever experienced before coursed through your veins and all you could think about was Sam. You wanted him. Needed him.

“Take me away,” you whispered. “Please, Alpha.”

At the sound of his presentation falling from your lips a groan rumbled in his chest and his eyes grew dark with lust. He reached for your hand, pulling you up and into his side before leading you out the back door.

He led you through the shrubs behind Jody’s house, through the line of trees behind them, and finally to an open yet secluded field. The long, dry grass swayed in the light breeze and the light from the setting sun cast everything in a golden glow. It was dazzling, and for a moment you forgot just why Sam had brought you there.

Sam abruptly stopped, spinning you around and pulling you close to him. He stared down at you for a moment before crashing his lips into yours - needy and wanting.

Everything around you seemed to fade...to slow down. Your mind was buzzing and your skin was alight with fire. You could taste him, smell him, feel him all around you. He permeated the very air you breathed and in that moment there was not even a sliver of doubt that Sam Winchester was your alpha.

You moaned into his mouth, his hands running up and down your sides before finally settling on your hips and pulling back. “I never thought I’d be here,” Sam whispered. “I thought I was too old and that I’d lost my chance to ever have my true mate.” You smiled up at him, reaching your hand out and stroking his cheek.

“I want you,” Sam breathed, his fingers running along the juncture of your neck and shoulder. “I want to make you mine...my omega.”

“Then do it,” you whispered.

Sam searched your face uncertainly. “Are you sure?” he asked. “We just met and that...that fucking bastard...” he growled, his teeth baring into a snarl at the memory.

Your hand coming to rest on his arm calmed him, and he turned back to you, his eyes hopeful. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life,” you reassured with a soft grin.

Sam returned it before capturing your lips once again and lowering you to the ground, the long grass rustling beneath you. Sam didn’t break the connection until you were laid out underneath him, his hips nestled between your thighs. You could feel his arousal on your most sensitive parts, and you couldn’t help the desire that washed over you, slick pooling in your panties.

He sat back on his haunches, fingers fumbling for the button on your jeans and slipping them off. His pupils were blown as his eyes met the soaked cloth of your panties, and you whimpered at the lewd grin that spread across his lips.

You were so turned on it was unfathomable, but it quickly faded to fear when he reached for the hem of your shirt. All those lies...he had told you came rushing back in a wave of insecurity, and your hands flew to the bottom of your shirt, jerking it down so hard you heard a rip.

Sam sat back, startled and with eyes wide. “Wh...what’s wrong?” he asked, seeming almost hurt you wouldn’t allow him to see you.

“Sam…” you said slowly, your voice quivering. “I’m...I’m not pretty.... I’m undesirable.”

Sam frowned. “That fucking excuse for an alpha,” he growled under his breath. “(Y/N),” he said, a shudder running through you at the authority in his voice. “You are not undesirable at all. None of what he said was true. None of it! You see this?” he asked, pointing down to the very considerable and very prominent bulge in his jeans. “This is all you, baby. In fact,” he added, desire swimming in his eyes as he leaned over you, resting his forearms on either side of your head. “A very beautiful...very sexy woman is to blame,” he finished, his voice low and seductive.

Warmth filled your belly when his lips touched yours again, and you moaned into his mouth as he rutted against you, the roughness of his jeans rubbing deliciously against your core. He continued to kiss you, his tongue finding yours, as he slowly slipped a hand under your shirt, his calloused fingertips ghosting the sensitive skin of your lower abdomen.

You were so lost in him that you barely even registered him dragging your shirt up until he broke away to pull it over your head. Even though there was a slight hesitation on your part, you were so enraptured with him, you didn’t even care. You just wanted your alpha.

You unfastened your bra without resistance, his breath hitching as his eyes landed on your full and supple breasts. He reached out, his thumb running over your taut nipple gently, almost as if afraid to touch. You gasped at the sensation, your reaction seeming to snap him out of his trance as he leaned forward, capturing the bud in his mouth and alternately laving at each breast.

By the time he was done, your breasts were swollen and red and arousal coursed through your body, slick leaking out and coating your inner thighs. “Sam,” you whined, the need for him almost unbearable.

He seemed to understand as he made quick work of removing your panties, practically ripping them from your body before standing and shedding his clothes in a matter of mere seconds. His cock was at full attention, plastered to his stomach, tip red and leaking pre-cum.

He lowered himself back down, his hand sliding up and down his shaft slowly until he hovered over you. You could feel his tip nudging your folds before he slid into you, groans leaving both of your mouths at the feeling.

Although you’d taken an alpha before, this time seemed so much different. You felt full, but not uncomfortably. Not like before. This time you felt full in all the right places, like a piece of you had been missing and you had finally found it.

He started moving soon after, his thrusts slow as he warmed you up to him. The soft moan that left your lips told him you were ready for more, his pace picking up as he snapped his hips into yours relentlessly.

His hand found your leg, hooking his fingers behind your knee and angling it up against his side, allowing him to sink even deeper into you. You mewled as he hit your sweet spot, the pleasure building quickly. Your walls began to flutter, and he seemed to realize you were close as his hand snaked between your bodies, finding your swollen clit and rubbing quick, hard circles.

You cried out at the feeling, your arms clasping around his muscular back, fingers digging into his sweaty flesh. He grunted as you began to tighten around him, and he buried his face into your neck, lapping at your salty skin.

Goosebumps rolled across your skin as you realized what he was getting ready to do, and you turned your head, giving him better access. His cock twitched, and you could feel his knot growing as his thrusts began to grow sloppy, nearing his release.

He came with a low grunt and whisper of your name, teeth sinking into your flesh just as his knot hooked inside you and he spilled his seed deep with your channel. His orgasm triggered your own, your mouth falling open in a cry of praise as your walls clamped down, milking him for all he was worth.

You were both a pile of exhausted and sweaty limbs as you came down from your highs, Sam gently licking the claiming mark on your skin. Your hands ran over his shoulders and up and down his back, stroking every rise and dip of his muscles.

“I’m glad I found you,” Sam whispered in your ear, his face still nestled in your neck.

You smiled and hummed, holding him all the tighter. “I’m glad I found you, too,” you said back, hand massaging the back of his neck and fingers weaving into his thick hair.

And as you reveled at the feeling of finally being claimed, you understood why you’d never been able to give yourself to another alpha…. None of them had been Sam Winchester.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! If you liked what you read, let me know!! ❤❤

***Please do not share my content on any other platform without my consent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tags:

Everything:

@divadinag @mogaruke @calaofnoldor @defenderrosetyler @coffeebooksandfandom @emoryhemsworth @satans-0-spawn @fandom-princess-forevermore @titty-teetee @gallifreyansass @swiftrogerswinchesterthot

Sam Girls:

@saladsammys

#sam winchester x reader #alpha!sam winchester x omega!reader #alpha!sam x omega!reader #sam winchester x plus size!reader #supernatural fanfiction #sam x reader #sam winchester #sam winchester smut #sam winchester fluff #sam winchester angst #supernatural #spn #supernatural one shot

508 notes · View notes

noona-clock · 5 years

Text

Indefinitely - Part 3

Genre: Dystopia!AU

Pairing: Jaebum x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: Mentions of death, some emotional angst

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 | Words: 2,608

“I think our best bet is to just stay here,” Jaebum stated. He then turned his head to face Youngjae, who was still trying to get the fire started in the fireplace. “If that’s all right with you.”

“Yes, absolutely,” Youngjae assured you, nodding.

You had to admit: you were incredibly relieved. Staying in one place was much more preferable than traveling around and being a nomad, not knowing where you were going to sleep that night, wandering mindlessly with no destination in mind.

“The power will probably go out sometime soon,” Jaebum continued. “We should focus on eating everything in the fridge and freezer in the next couple of days. We’ll be fine here as long as we have running water.”

Your brow furrowed slightly, and you grabbed the pillow next to you on the couch. “What about when we don’t?” you asked as you hugged the pillow to your chest.

Jaebum just shrugged. “I guess we’ll leave.”

You opened your mouth to ask where you would go, but Jaebum, apparently, knew exactly what you were going to say.

“I don’t know where we’ll go, but we have plenty of time to figure that out. ...Hopefully. I’ll keep thinking about it.”

“Yeah, same,” Youngjae murmured as he stood and headed over to his own couch-bed, the fire now just peeking out from underneath the logs.

“Me, too,” you agreed.

Jaebum’s eyes darted between you and Youngjae, his brows raised. “So, we’re all good with that plan?”

You nodded, and Youngjae answered with a soft ‘yes.’

“Great,” Jaebum said under his breath. He stood from the chair and asked Youngjae if there were any books he could read, and when Youngjae directed him to the front room down the hall, he nodded his thanks and headed out.

As you heard the soft thud of Jaebum’s footsteps retreating, you let out a soft sigh and hugged the pillow even closer to your chest.

“So...” Youngjae began gently. “What’s your story?”

Well, since he told you his, you figured it was only fair to reciprocate.

“My parents got sick a couple of days ago,” you said, focusing your gaze on the edge of the pillow you were holding. “And they told me to leave today right before they... I mean, I shouldn’t have stayed with them, right?”

“No,” Youngjae assured you without hesitation.

“I would’ve had to get them downstairs and out to the backyard and then I would’ve had to bury them and --” Your throat was incredibly tight with emotion now, and the tears were beginning to blur your vision. “-- and I don’t know if I could’ve done that. Even if I was strong enough to physically... I don’t think I’m strong enough emotionally.”

“Of course, not. Me neither,” Youngjae agreed, though you figured he was just trying to make you feel better.

You shifted your gaze to look at him as the tears began to slide down your cheeks. “But maybe I should have stayed. They’re gone by now, I know that. But they were still alive when I left. Shouldn’t I have at least been with them when they died?”

Before you could say anything else, Youngjae stood from his couch and shuffled over to you. He sat down and put a hand on your back, moving it up to squeeze your shoulder.

“You said they told you to leave, right?” he asked.

You nodded, trying to control your sobs as best as you could.

“So, that’s what they wanted. They didn’t want to put you through that - being there with them when they died. You would’ve had to leave anyway, but it would have been much harder for you to go if you’d waited for them to die. Trust me.”

“I know,” you choked as you reached up to wipe your eyes. “You’re right. I’m sor --”

Jaebum entered the living room then, and he paused briefly when he noticed your current situation.

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t say anything. He simply drummed his fingers against the book he’d picked out and made his way over to his armchair.

Well.

Not that you expected him to comfort you, but maybe a ‘Are you okay?’ would have been nice.

And now that he was sitting down to read, you felt awkward continuing on with your conversation... so, you whispered to Youngjae that you were exhausted and should get some sleep.

Youngjae squeezed your shoulder once more and stood, going back to his couch-bed to settle in for the night.

You laid down on your own couch, and once you’d gotten under the blanket and pulled it up to your chin, you called out quietly, “Good night.”

“Night,” Youngjae replied.

...And silence.

Nothing from Jaebum.

Shocker.

You’d been trying to go to sleep for four hours now.

Four hours of closing your eyes, breathing deeply, rolling onto your side, your stomach, your back... and nothing. Not one minute of sleep.

By the sounds of it, both Youngjae and Jaebum had achieved what you couldn’t tonight. You were jealous, but you were also glad -- now you could slip off the couch, wrap your blanket around you, and make a quick but silent exit through the back door.

The air was crisp, and even though it was incredibly dark out, you were still able to find a bench on Youngjae’s back porch where you could sit. A soft groan escaped your lips as you sat, and when you leaned back against the hard surface of the bench, your head instinctively tilted up toward the sky.

“Oh, wow,” you breathed. Since it was so dark, the stars in the night sky were brighter than you’d ever seen them, and it seemed like there were millions of them.

And they made you feel even smaller and more insignificant than ever.

So, obviously, your eyes filled with tears for probably the sixteenth time today.

You wanted to say that you’d been holding it together for most of the day, but that just wasn’t true. You’d cried as you were leaving your house, you’d cried in the car, you’d cried several hours earlier when talking to Youngjae, you were crying now. And not just silent tears gracefully sliding down your cheeks -- no. Full-on sobs. Red, puffy eyes. Runny nose. The kind of crying that makes your head hurt after a while.

But you’d never experienced loss like this before. Your grandmother had died when you were much younger, but you’d hardly known her. She’d lived hours away, and you’d only met her a few times. You’d been sad, of course, and you’d felt terrible for your dad who’d lost his mother... but looking back, you’d had no idea the kind of pain he’d been going through.

Your parents had always been there for you, supporting you no matter what. They’d loved you and cherished you and raised you to be the person you are today. Without them... did you really even know who you truly were?

It kind of felt like you didn’t. You felt lost without them, like you had no idea where to go or what to do or how to think... or even how to live. This may sound dramatic, but your life just felt... kind of... meaningless now.

You had to wonder how Jaebum was holding up so well. He’d lost his parents, too. The two of you were in the exact same situation, and yet, you hadn’t seen him shed a single tear. He was exhibiting the strength you wish you had, moving on and getting things done and putting the past behind him.

You couldn’t do that yet. You couldn’t let go of what your life had been just a few days ago. You couldn’t, and you didn’t want to.

The creak of the back door opening interrupted your thoughts, but you were too tightly wrapped in your blanket (and too lost in your emotions) to turn around and see who it was.

More likely than not, it was Youngjae.

But, to your surprise, when someone sat down on the bench next to you and asked, “Are you okay?” the voice was Jaebum’s.

It’s funny because that’s what you’d wanted him to ask earlier. When he’d come in the room while you were crying to Youngjae, you’d wanted him to ask if you were okay, but he hadn’t. He hadn’t said a word.

And now that he had asked you, you didn’t feel triumphant. Or relieved. Or annoyed. You felt...

Well, it was a simple question, and right now you had a simple answer.

“No,” you choked out, shaking your head. “No, I’m not okay.” You leaned forward to rest an elbow on your knees, and you buried your face in your hand so you could continue on sobbing.

You heard Jaebum let out a soft sigh, and he said, “Yeah... me neither.”

You finally looked over at him, your brow furrowing in confusion. “But... you don’t seem like you’re not okay.”

“Like you said earlier,” he murmured. “People grieve differently.”

Yes, that was true. You had said that earlier, and people did grieve differently. So, you just tipped your head in a tiny nod before burying your face in your hand again. You were too caught up in your own emotions to think about how Jaebum might be grieving, but you knew one day -- soon -- you should probably ask him.

You let yourself cry for another minute or two, and then you came up for air. You leaned back against the bench, your shoulder brushing against Jaebum’s.

“I just...” you said weakly. “I want to go home. I know I can’t, but everything just happened so quickly. It’s a lot to get used to it, and it’s just -- it’s hard. I’m sorry for crying so much, and I’ll try not to --”

“No,” Jaebum interrupted. “It’s okay. Sorry if I’ve made you feel like you can’t. It just... makes me uncomfortable because there’s nothing I can do.”

Well, you couldn’t blame him for that.

“Cry as much as you need to,” he continued. “Do... you want to be alone?”

You shook your head, surprised to find that you actually did feel better with someone sitting by your side. Someone who knew what you were going through.

“Okay,” he whispered before settling back against the bench.

And then you heard the rustle of your blanket as he moved against it. You felt a hand come to rest hesitantly on your back. You felt him pat you gently a few times.

It was the tiniest gesture. Literally the very least another person could do to comfort someone. A pat on the back.

But coming from Jaebum? You felt like you’d just won the reassurance lottery.

He pulled his hand back after the few pats, but you still took it as an invitation to lean against him and rest your head on his shoulder. You felt him tense just a little bit. He didn’t put his arm around you, but honestly, you didn’t care. This was what you needed. You needed a literal shoulder to cry on, and if Jaebum didn’t want to be that for you right now, he shouldn’t have come out here.

But he didn’t move as you continued crying. He had tensed a little, but he didn’t move or push you away. He simply sat there. He let you cry.

You weren’t even sure how much time passed -- if you had to guess, you would say probably twenty minutes. Your eyes were finally dry, and the sharp pain in your head was throbbing from all the emotion you’d let out.

When you slowly lifted your head from Jaebum’s shoulder, he raised his eyebrows and glanced over at you.

“Better?”

You were about to nod, but... you realized you still had something on your mind. Something kind of big and really scary.

So, you shook your head.

“What if...” you started, your voice shaky and tentative. “What if one of us gets sick?”

Jaebum’s eyebrows shot halfway up his forehead. “Sick as in --”

You nodded.

“Well, we know it’s not contagious,” he murmured.

“Yeah, but that also means we don’t know how people catch it.”

“...True.”

You gazed over at him with a deeply furrowed, worried forehead. What if he got sick? What if Youngjae got sick? What if you got sick? What if you all got sick and died?!

Well, if that happened, there would be nothing to worry about anymore, I guess.

But, still.

You know what I mean.

“Well...” Jaebum sighed. “If that happens... I don’t know. We’ll deal with it if we have to.”

You really didn’t like the sound of that, but you knew you really had no other option. Nobody knew how the disease spread. There was no way to stop it. There was nothing you could to do to plan for it.

So, you just nodded.

Jaebum let out another sigh and repeated his question from earlier. “Better now?”

You nodded again. For now, at least, you felt better. After getting out all the tears you could and getting that ominous question off of your mind.

“You need sleep,” he murmured, standing up. You waited for him to turn and offer you his hand to help you up... but he didn’t. He just slipped his hands into his pockets and stood there.

The guy had already patted your back and let you cry on his shoulder, though, so expecting him to hold your hand was a bit much.

You pushed yourself off the bench, wrapping your blanket more tightly around you. When Jaebum headed toward the back door, you shuffled behind him.

And then a random thought popped into your head. “Hey,” you whispered. “Did you notice how bright the stars are?”

Jaebum paused, tilting his head to look up at the sky.

You weren’t sure if you were just imagining it, but you could’ve sworn you saw a tiny smile tug at one corner of Jaebum’s mouth.

“Oh, yeah,” he muttered. “Look at that. I saw an Astronomy book in the bookshelf earlier, I’ll have to grab it and do some stargazing.”

And now a tiny smile was tugging at one corner of your mouth. “That sounds nice.”

You didn’t want to invite yourself, but it did sound nice.

Jaebum simply nodded and then looked back to Earth, continuing the path to the back door.

When he reached it, he opened it quietly for you, allowing you to shuffle inside first.

“Get some sleep,” he whispered as you passed by.

“You, too,” you whispered back, and you saw yet another tiny smile tug at one corner of Jaebum’s mouth.

As you headed over to your couch-bed, preparing to settle in again, you knew you couldn’t classify your relationship with Jaebum as friendly just yet. Things had certainly -- probably -- taken a step in that direction, but you would be foolish to think the two of you were friends.

And if you were going to be living in the same house for however long you still had running water, you did not want to make a fool out of yourself.

Honestly, though, you didn’t feel like you needed to be friends with Jaebum. At least, not yet. Did you want to be? Would it be nice to be friends? Of course. But right now, you needed to focus on yourself. You needed to focus on working through everything and getting to a place where you felt like you could actually function normally on a day-to-day basis.

And you had no idea how long that would take.

Part 4

278 notes · View notes

grither55 · 3 years

Text

The Princess and the Peasant - (An Azula Epic) - Chapter 121 - Haven

A meeting was underway in the Spirit World between two Avatars, of past and present.

“Avatar Roku. I need your guidance about an important matter. What can you tell me about the Component?” Aang asked in an unusually serious voice as he sat gazing back at the older man’s contemplative face.

While a concerned frown overtook the Fire Nation man’s deeply troubled face.

“I see. I regret to say that there is not much that I can tell you Aang, as I did not personally encounter the Component in my time as Avatar.” Roku replied with his grave amber brown eyes staring back at the younger man’s apprehensive face.

“What! Isn’t there anything that you can tell me?” The Avatar blurted out in a worry-stricken voice while he studied his predecessor’s thoughtful countenance.

“There was once a sorceress by the name of Mava who I once clashed with early in my days as Avatar. She sought to bring about the return of this power to accomplish her goal of destroying the Avatar Cycle.” The former Avatar stated as he held a hand under his chin while he sat staring seriously back at the monk’s unsettled face.

“A sorceress by the name of Mava?” Aang repeated as he stared with unease in his gray eyes back at the older man’s nodding face.

“Yes. Although to my knowledge the sorceress has not been seen since the beginning of my conflict with Fire Lord Sozin.” Roku spoke in a voice of wisdom while a relieved look came over Aang’s eyes.

“Well, I suppose that is good to know.” The Avatar remarked as he breathed a sigh of relief while the older man still gazed on introspectively.

“However, be advised that her former accomplice Silah may still be alive and well.” The former Avatar informed in a ruminative voice with his amber brown eyes staring back at the younger man’s alarmed face with unrivaled graveness.

While the young Avatar’s eyes now began to widen in an expression of fright.

“That…that name! It…feels familiar. I’ve heard it before! She’s wanted for the destruction of many villages in both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom.” Aang exclaimed as he sat up with his eyes once again taking on a more troubled look while Roku frowned grimly.

“That wouldn’t surprise me. But be aware that your most urgent concern is the Component herself. You may well be the first Avatar in over a thousand years to face the Component in battle.” Roku advised with a profound look of concern still adorning his features while the young Avatar’s stared back in rising worry.

While the young man swallowed nervously as he sat there in silence paying close attention to the older man’s ever word.

All the while as the Fire Nation man stared back with his amber eyes conveying indescribable urgency.

“T-the first in over a thousand years?” The Avatar questioned in an unsettled voice as he gazed down with widened gray eyes.

“Indeed Aang. I urge you to be cautious. While I did not encounter the Component in my lifetime. I know that the Component is the single greatest danger to the continuation of the Avatar Cycle. Even more so than the Fire Lord.” The former Avatar revealed with unfathomable weight to his foreboding words while the monk sunk back into a perturbed silence.

“Even…more dangerous…than the Fire Lord.” Aang breathed as he gazed up from the ground with panic in his eyes.

Only to find himself gazing around as the Spirit World began to fade around them.

Just before he turned back to Roku’s face as the older man too started to dissipate from view.

“Continue to seek guidance in your past lives and no matter what, do not allow yourself to be caught in the pathway of the Component’s spirit negating energy.” Roku cautioned in a deep in thought voice while Aang listened with a disconcerted expression in his eyes.

“Avatar Roku…what happens if I get caught in the way of her spirit negating energy?” The Avatar inquired in a distraught voice while the older man gazed back with worrying concern in his aged eyes.

“If you are not careful Aang. The Avatar Cycle could be destroyed and then it will be lost forever.” The former Avatar called out in a highly alarming voice while the young man’s eyes grew wide in dread.

And then before the Air Nomad could even so much as say another word.

He watched with an intensely unsettled look in his eyes as his predecessor finally faded away.

And not even a second after that he found himself awakening from his meditation aboard the airship.

While he sat in a disturbed state of silence on the deck of the hidden ship from where it rested in the expansive sea cave.

All the while as he gazed on with a vividly distressed expression in his eyes as he listened to the ocean’s waves crash outside the mouth of the cavern.

Later on, that day.

The Dragon of the West set down his teacup while he gazed on with his lone eye gazing on in indescribable dread.

“You…say that you encountered Azula and this girl in the Spirit World?” Iroh questioned in a horrified voice with a pale expression overcoming his aghast face while the young Avatar numbly nodded his head.

While Zuko stared on with mutual unease in his widened eyes.

“They were. She’s…she’s learning how to master her power.” Aang responded with anxiety in his voice while he stared back at the former general’s unnerved face.

“I knew that it wouldn’t take Azula long to begin to deduce that girl’s power! At this rate Azula will have the girl’s power completely mastered before we can devise a way to counter it!” Zuko exclaimed with fear in his voice as he clenched his left fist while a sense of unease consumed the air.

“You may well be right Prince Zuko. We must get through to that girl before it is too late.” The Dragon of the West commented with urgency in his sage voice while he gazed down into his teacup.

All the while as the prince stared on with a look of doubt in his angered golden eyes.

Such a task was easier said than done.

Given that there was no going near that girl without Azula right by her side!

“I…I tried to speak to her once again. But she won’t listen to a word that I have to say! It’s almost impossible to approach her when she is with your sister!” The Avatar stated with frustration lining his voice while his enemy turned friend grimaced as he sunk back in his seat.

All the while as the former general stared on with his lips entrenched in a profoundly bothered frown.

“It may well be that Azula’s claws may well be in too deep for us to remove.” Iroh remarked in a reflective voice while he gazed up back at his two younger companions unsettled faces.

While Aang turned to gaze away as he pondered if the former general might be right.

All the while as Zuko gazed on with brooding golden eyes as he sat scowling in his seat.

And shortly after that the Avatar and the prince left the room.

While Pakku now stood in the doorway gazing back at Iroh with a scowl on his lips.

“It is not wise for us to remain here for much longer.” The Dragon of the West began in a disconcerted voice while he met his old friend’s worried gaze.

“Where do you suggest that we go?” Pakku asked with a frown on his lips while Iroh let out a heavy sigh.

“Well…it isn’t safe for us to return to the Misty Palms Oasis. It likely never will be. Not now that Azula knows the location of our old base.” Iroh spoke in a factual voice while the waterbender gazed down at the floor of the ship.

“Iroh…forgive me. Had I not submitted under their torture…then Azula wouldn’t have discovered our base of operations.” The waterbending master confessed with great shame in his voice as he gritted his teeth while he glared down at the floor.

While Iroh gazed back with a sympathetic expression in his amber eye as he reassuringly shook his head.

“Pakku…please do not torture yourself any further.” The Dragon of the west began in a calm voice while the other man balled up his fists at his hips.

“That…monster threatened to light Katara on fire and launch her over the walls of Agna Qel'a in a trebuchet!” Pakku snapped with rage lacing his voice as he trembled in fury while Iroh stared on in revulsion.

“You have no need to apologize my old friend. Anyone else would have done the same to save their family.” Iroh consoled in a softened voice with a shake of his head.

While Pakku still scowled as he gazed back at his friend with an uncertain expression in his eyes.

“In any event…our next destination is Shu Jing. Where we will lay low in Piandao’s castle for a while.” The Dragon of the West declared in a contemplative voice while Pakku glanced up with surprise in his eyes.

“Shu Jing? But that it is situated in the heart of a Fire Nation town.” The waterbending master commented with a raised brow while he gazed back at his old friend’s thoughtful visage.

“While that is true Pakku. It is a secluded village. And sometimes the least suspected hiding places are the ones that are in plain sight.” Iroh explained as he smiled slyly back at Pakku’s pondering face while the waterbender nodded his head slowly.

Katara stood on the deck of the ship once more as she stared on with a determined expression in her furious blue eyes.

While she swung her arms through the air in an elegant motion with the aid of her waterbending.

All the while as she forced herself to ignore the stabbing pain that was shooting through her arm as she pushed herself to continue.

And not even seconds after that a large wave of waterbending impacted with the wall of the sea cave.

All the while as she stood panting lightly with her hair sticking to her forehead.

While she glared on with a prideful stare in her angered eyes.

Before she paused when she heard the sound of soft footsteps behind her.

All the while as she turned around only to find her expression of rage softening when she found herself face to face with her lover.

While Aang stared back at her with gentle concern in his eyes as Momo sat faithfully on his shoulder.

“Your arm is getting better.” Aang greeted in a relieved voice while Katara nodded her head as he moved to stand beside her.

“Not fast enough Aang.” Katara replied with a scowl pursed onto her lips while she gazed down over the railing of the airship.

Only to find herself turning to glance back at her boyfriend when she felt him gently take hold of her good hand.

And with that the two began to relax as they stood side by side with one another.

All the while as Appa rested behind them with his snores flowing loudly into the air.

“Avatar Roku…says that I am the first Avatar in over a thousand years to face the Component.” The Avatar admitted in a soft-spoken voice as he stared out into the distance while his girlfriend listened in unease beside him.

While he found himself frowning in deepening concern.

All the while as the Water Tribe woman pondered her lover’s words with a disconcerted look in her eyes.

Before she turned to face her lover with a supportive expression taking over her blue eyes.

“You’ll figure it out Aang. I know you will. You’re the Avatar. If anyone can do it is you.” The healer insisted in a loving voice while she squeezed her lover’s hand.

While the Air Nomad turned to smile back at the woman’s momentarily tender face.

“Thank you for believing in me Katara.” Aang stated with affection in his voice as he held onto his lover’s hand while Katara nodded her head.

All the while as a spark of anger flashed in Katara’s eyes as she stared resolutely back into her boyfriend’s kind gray eyes.

“Mark my words Aang. We’ll defeat this girl and Azula both. No matter what it takes the Fire Nation will be stopped.” Katara declared in a firmly determined voice while Aang stared back with a taken aback look in his eyes.

While the Air Nomad found himself pleased to see that his lover was regaining some of her usual spirit.

Only for the Avatar to find himself nodding with a resolved expression overcoming his face.

“Yes! We will.” The Avatar agreed in a purposeful voice as he frowned all the while.

On the morning of the following day.

Ling and Ruolo stood on the deck of the airship while they gazed back at the faces of Team Avatar and the White Lotus.

All the while as Katara stared curiously back at Ling as the princess gazed back at them.

She hadn’t had much chance to so much as even say a word to the woman due to the wound that she received thanks to those monstrous firebenders.

“The time has come for us to part ways General Iroh. We feel that it is best if we travel separately rather than as one force. However, be assured we will meet again in the near future.” Ruolo stated in a diplomatic voice with his hands folded behind his back.

While the White Lotus leaders and Team Avatar gazed back with pensive expressions in their eyes.

All the while as the young Avatar swallowed as he held onto his staff with a worried hand.

It was more than apparent that the old adviser was concerned that if they were to fall in battle.

That Princess Ling would suffer the same fate and by extension so would her entire kingdom.

“We understand Ruolo. We wish you the best of good fortune with your travels.” The Dragon of the West responded in an amiable voice as he smiled back at the two while the other man nodded in response.

All the while as the Earth Princess stared on with a calm expression in her light green eyes as she gazed back at Team Avatar.

“The same to you.” The adviser answered in a slightly kinder voice than he used when he first met the group.

While Zuko stood beside his uncle as he exchanged looks with his friends.

All the while as the swordmaster made his way forward as the princess turned to calmly meet his gaze.

“Ling. Take what I have taught you…and use it wisely.” Piandao spoke in a stoic voice with his eyes staring back at the young woman’s composed face.

“I promise you that I will Master Piandao.” Ling assured in a proud voice as she bent over to bow to her teacher in respect.

And then the man bowed in response as he offered the Earth Princess a slight smile.

“Until we meet again Princess Ling.” The swordmaster concluded in a sophisticated voice while the princess rose from her bow.

All the while as the rest of the allied forces gazed back at the princess and her devoted adviser.

Just as the two turned to walk across the walkway to their smaller vessel.

Only for the princess to pause as she turned to gaze over her shoulder at the blind earthbender leaning against the wall of the ship.

“Toph Beifong…for what you gave me. I am in your debt.” The princess commented with her light green eyes staring back at the younger woman’s grinning face.

While the rest of Team Avatar gazed between the two women in fascination that their unruly companion seemed to have made a friend.

“Don’t worry about it, princess.” The blind bandit replied with an easy-going shrug while she grinned in the older female’s direction.

“Perhaps…the next time we meet we will be able to spar again.” Ling remarked with her lips cracking into a small smile while Toph smirked back at her.

“Of course. That is if you think that you can handle me with both arms.” Toph boasted with a cocky smirk on her lips.

While Ling smirked in return back at the younger woman’s face.

Before she developed an emotionless expression once more as she offered the other woman a final parting glance.

“Farewell Toph Beifong.” The princess spoke in a composed voice as she turned to walk away with her adviser following after her.

While Toph attempted to gaze in the general direction of the departing woman with a grin still adorning her lips.

All the while as the elder members of the White Lotus and the rest of Team Avatar watched the two’s departure.

“See you around princess.” The blind bandit called out as the wind lightly blew through her hair while her friends observed from alongside her.

While the princess now walked away with her light green eyes now taking on a much more hardened gleam.

And with that the princess and her adviser stepped aboard their stealthy vessel that had been designed for them by the great mechanist himself.

And soon after that the Earth Princess’s ship departed to sail out of the sea cavern.

All the while as the White Lotus and Team Avatar stared out onto the horizon as they watched their new allies sail away.

Later on, that same day.

Iroh and the others sat in relative calm until they spun around towards the door when a sentry came rushing through with his eyes agape in terrible panic.

“General Iroh! General Iroh! We received a letter addressed to Aang from one of our sources!” The sentry cried out in an unsettled voice while the group tensed up as they exchanged looks with one another.

“A letter addressed to me?” Aang asked with his gray eyes gazing on in concern as he sprang to his feet in worry while the man stopped before the former general.

“Calm yourself and take a deep breath. I will have a look at this notice.” Iroh remarked in a sagely voice as he accepted the rolled-up scroll from the frightened sentry.

Just before the man turned to stumble off while the former general began to hesitantly open it.

Only for his expression to pale as he held onto the paper with a trembling hand.

All the while as Team Avatar gazed on with concern in their eyes.

“What does it say Uncle?” The prince pondered as he stood behind his uncle as he moved to gaze down at the letter.

Only for his golden eyes to widen in horror as he read the contents of the letter.

While the rest of Team Avatar except for Toph leaned forward to read the scroll.

Only for their eyes to grow wide in shock as they struggled to maintain their composure.

The letter was written by an unnamed sender and it was addressed to Aang.

It was utterly ruthless and to the point, and it read as follows.

Dear Avatar Aang,

Your struggle is meaningless. You will never defeat us. And your traitor prince will never defeat our majestic Princess Azula.

For the Fire Nation is indomitable, and Her Highness and the Fire Lord are vast.

While you are small, and your numbers dwindling even smaller.

For you and your filthy Water Tribe friends were born to be ruled. Ruled by the Fire Nation because you are lesser.

But we are not without mercy, which is why we are going to make you an offer.

Turn yourself in immediately for execution to Fire Nation authorities, and we will spare the lives of all of your worthless friends.

If you do not, we will begin executing your imprisoned friends one by one.

Starting with the disgraced former leader of the Kyoshi Warriors.

You have ten days from the date of this notice to turn yourself in.

Should you refuse, then Suki will die.

Sincerely,

Your Friend

PS.

Do let Sokka know that she still screams for him to save her.

Team Avatar stood there in a state of disbelief.

While their enraged eyes now gazed on in a state of speechlessness.

All the while as even Iroh stared down at the letter with a look of shock in his eyes.

“What? Is anyone going to tell me what it says?” The blind bandit inquired with a raised brow while she listened to the rising heartbeats of her friends.

While Sokka now stood with his teeth ground together in unrivaled fury.

All the while as Katara trembled in vengeance with her hair shadowing her eyes as she placed a comforting hand on her distraught older brother’s shoulder.

While Zuko stared on with his jaw dropping as he pondered who could have possibly sent such a horrifying letter.

It wasn’t something that he would put past his sister.

But it didn’t sound like it was written from her perspective.

So, if not Azula…then who?

“I have to do something to save them!” The Avatar shouted in a highly emotional voice as he moved to run off.

Only to find his wrist was swiftly seized by Iroh.

“Do not do anything rash Aang! The purpose of this letter is to provoke you into exposing yourself! And then once you do our imprisoned comrades will have no hope!” The Dragon of the West cautioned in an imploring voice while the young Avatar shook in outrage in his grip.

Only for everyone to turn to Sokka not a moment later when the young man released a heart wrenching cry.

“Suki! How dare they!” Sokka bellowed in an anguished voice with his fists clenched in his rage as he took off sprinting out the door.

“Sokka!” The healer called out with shared rage in her worried voice while she moved to follow her brother.

Only to find herself gazing on in surprise when the prince ran after him.

While the rest of the group remained behind in a stunned silence.

The Water Tribe warrior punched the metal hallway while his blue eyes brimmed with unfathomable rage.

Just when he felt a hand cautiously touch his shoulder as he turned to himself facing the sympathetic face of the prince.

“Sokka. I promise you that I will help you rescue you them! We are not going to let them die!” Zuko exclaimed in a determined voice while the other man just glowered back at the wall.

And then Sokka sunk forward with Zuko’s palm still on his shoulder while he punched the wall once more.

Meanwhile.

A small island sat in the middle of the ocean shrouded by a dense fog.

A foreboding citadel loomed over the rocky landscape at the center of the island.

The citadel had five jagged spires that rose into the air with the middle spire towering high above all of the others.

A mechanical badgermole rested before the outside of the fortress with its lifeless eyes gazing soullessly ahead.

And on the inside the hallways of the citadel were decorated with countless puppets and mannequins that stood in their respective places as if frozen in time.

While their master now strode down the hall with her callous dark green eyes gazing ahead through her broken mask.

Just before the puppeteer stepped through the door of her inner chamber.

Only for the killer to pause in her tracks when she sensed a presence in her domain.

While her merciless dark green eyes widened an ever so slight fraction as she turned to glance around her.

Only for her gaze to spin around when she saw shadows spiraling forth into being from her citadel wall.

While she watched in fascination when the shadows took the shape of many ghostly hands.

All the while as she stared on with a narrowed stare when a dark-haired woman in crimson robes emerged from the shadows.

And not a moment after that her dark green eyes formed a murderous glare as she lightly bent the fingers on both of her hands.

And just like that a wide array of humanoid puppets sprang forth from the ceiling to drop down beside their master.

While the mysterious woman’s lips curved into a wicked smile as she unflinchingly met the puppeteer’s bloodthirsty gaze.

All the while as the former Earth King now stood behind his master with his expressionless light green eyes gazing on ahead over her shoulder.

“You must be Silah.” Vega spoke in a soft voice with her monstrous golden eyes staring back at the puppeteer’s partially covered face while the other woman glared back at her.

“I am. Who are you? And how did you get in here?” Silah responded in a cool-headed voice as she curled her fingers while her many puppets stood defensively behind her.

While she never once took her predatory eyes off the seeming Fire Nation woman’s deviously grinning face.

“My name is Vega of the shadows…and just as my name goes. There is no fortress that I cannot enter.” The herald declared with a smirk on her lips as she folded her arms over her breasts while she stared back into the puppeteer’s marginally widening dark green eyes.

Only for the killer to regain her composure not even a second later as she stared icily back at the shadow woman.

“So, you are Vega. Then you must be its herald.” The puppeteer remarked in a frigid voice while she stared calmly back at the enigmatic woman’s smirking face.

“You know of us…” Vega trailed off in a suggestive voice with her bleak golden eyes staring back at the other woman’s half masked face.

“There are many things that I know. Creating artwork from people that I find interesting is one of them.” Silah stated in turn in a callous voice as her lips curved into a ruthless smile while her puppets moved forward ever so slightly behind her.

While she gazed out of the corner of her frigid dark green eyes as she watched more shadowed hands phase through the wall behind the strange woman.

“Then you also know that you are in our way.” The herald announced with as sadistic undertone to her voice while she gazed back at the puppeteer’s smirking lips.

“And what exactly are you going to do about it?” The puppeteer sneered in a mocking voice as she stared fearlessly back at the shadow woman’s darkly smiling face.

And not a moment after that the mysterious woman began to exude an incredibly powerful dark chi from her body.

While she stared wickedly in the puppeteer’s direction.

Only for Silah to let out a malicious laugh as she too began to flare her own mighty aura as her energies began to seep into the air around them.

And just like that the two powerful women gazed back into one another’s eyes as their auras began to consume the very chamber itself.

All the while as Vega’s shadow hands swirled around her poised body with a savage smirk making its way onto her lips.

While Silah stared back with defiant dark green eyes as her predatory smile grew even lager.

While she ran her tongue along her lips with her favorite puppet sink into combat formation behind her.

And then not an instant afterward the two immensely mighty women’s auras impacted in a stunning clash of energy.

Just before countless shadow hands spiraled forth into the air to pierce their target.

While a fleet of corpse puppets sprang forward to slaughter the invader.

And not even seconds later an explosion of chi erupted from the core of the citadel chamber.

#Azula #avatar the last airbender fanfiction #ty lee avatar #mai avatar #femslash fanfiction

1 note · View note

iamwhoiamtmblr · 4 years

Text

Title: Remember Who You Are

Story Rating: Chapter 20 - PG-13 Only 1 chapter left!! Warnings: Violence, Swearing, Angst

Relationships: Nomad Steve Rogers x Female Reader or Steve Rogers x Female Reader (Depends on your definition of him)

Master List - Link to Other Chapters

(Captain America photos property of Marvel)

***My work is to not be posted on any other site without my permission. If you see it anywhere other than Tumblr please inform me***

All characters are property of Marvel

The Avengers were in the conference room discussing what they found. They couldn’t believe that this woman even existed. It all made sense; Barnes, the keychain, Crossbones. “She wants to hurt Steve, she thinks Rogers killed her father.” (Thor) “Crossbones wants Steve dead.” (Wilson) Coulson entered the room. “Only info was a woman in pj’s. She was seen going into a bathroom. She looked nervous, some even saying sad.” (Coulson). “Any idea where she was going?” (Fury) “The clerk said she was going to Maine.” (Coulson) “Maine?” (Nat) “What?” (Tony) “Steve has a cabin in Maine.” (Nat) “He does?” (Bruce) “Did Steve take her there?” (Scott) “I don’t know, maybe?” (Nat) “Why is Y/N going there? Maybe she remembers something about it.” (Hawkeye) “It’s the best info we have right now.” (Fury) “Get Steve” (Wilson) “Friday, where’s Captain Rogers?” (Fury) “Captain Rogers is no longer in the complex. He left in a Quinjet 20 mins ago.” “Steve already figured it out, he knows where she is!” (Wanda) They all looked at each other. “THAT’S IT, LET’S GO! NOW! (Fury) The team ran down to the airfield, Tony and Rhodes went to get their suits. They hoped they would get there in time.

“We’re almost there Mistress.” (Pilot) “We’re picking up life-signs near the area where she was reported.” (Crossbones) “Excellent!” (Sin) The Winter Soldiers were sitting in the back of the jet, staring into space. No life in their eyes. They were even creeping out the other members of the Skeleton Crew in the jet. They stayed away from them. “I hope Fennhoff did his job right. Will they respond?” (Crossbones) “We’ll see!” Sin smiled. “Mistress, there is another jet in the area, just a few minutes ahead of us” (Pilot) “Might be Rogers, if we figured out where she is he would too.” (Crossbones) “Faster Pilot!!” (Sin)

Steve landed the jet near the cabin. He jumped out and started towards the cabin seeing the smoke from the fireplace. “She’s here.” “Y/N??” (Steve is screaming at the top of his lungs!) You had been asleep on the bed. You awoke from the sound of the jet and now someone was yelling. You pause as your head was hurting worse. Looking out the window, you see the man who told you he loves you running toward the cabin. You open the door starting out towards him.

GUNFIRE!! Mistress’s jet flies above, shooting at Steve and you!! “GET DOWN Y/N!!!” (Steve) “OH SHIT!!” You dive behind the woodpile.

Crossbones and the soldiers exit the jet that just landed. The soldiers find you behind the woodpile and drag you out immobilizing you. The others surround and hold Steve at gun point. “Son of a Bitch!! Crossbones! What are you doing here??” (Steve)

“We’re after Y/N. She was our guest for so long and it was rude of her to leave without saying Good-bye!” “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!!” (Steve)

“Before I kill you, I would like to introduce someone to you, Steve - My Mistress.” A woman exits the jet with 3 Winter Soldiers behind her. The woman has red hair, very tall, her face was a bit distorted, dressed in black with a hydra pin on her lapel.

“Who the hell are you?” “My name is Sin, otherwise known as Sinthea Schmidt.” “WTF, Schmidt??” “Yes Captain Rogers, Schmidt. You know my father, Johann Schmidt. The Red Skull.” She sneered at him. Steve couldn’t believe his ears. “You murdered my father, you BASTARD!” “I didn’t - The Tesseract destroyed him!”

“I don’t believe you! He was the only family I had. You killed him in that jet! I’m going to destroy you Rogers! My adopted mother told me! You took my father from me! Now I will take someone you love from you! Pity Barnes didn’t die like I expected but don’t worry, we’ll get him too.” (Sin)

Sin approaches slowly Steve – “How does it feel knowing that the woman you love will be torn apart in front of you?”

“I’LL TEAR YOU BOTH LIMB FROM LIMB!!!” (Steve)

Crossbones laughs! “I’ll finally have my revenge against you Rogers! You ruined my life! You’ll die for it; I can’t wait to take your head!”

The Winter Soldiers starts to walk towards you; their eyes devoid of life.

“Убей (Y/N), я приказываю тебе.” (Kill (Y/N), I command you) - Sin

They turn and look at her and nod their heads. The soldiers grabbed Steve push and hold him to the ground. Steve tries to fight back, but there’s too many of them. “Over here you fucking assholes!! Come get me!!” Steve is struggling to get free. “Y/N run!!” “I can’t!” The soldiers are holding you down! “Let me go!” (You)

Steve tries to fight his way through the soldiers to get to you; fists flying through the air, taking them down as fast as he can! There’s way too many! His heart is racing in his chest!! His adrenaline is flowing!! He starts to fight off the onslaught of soldiers!!

The Avengers arrive at the scene nearby as not alert anyone to their presence. They carefully stake out the area.

“I will leave you alive with the memory of the Winter Soldiers killing the woman you love. Feeling the pain I went through when I lost my father.” “WHAT??” (Crossbones) “Don’t worry! Barnes will die too!” “Barnes is in a coma, he’s supposed to be dead!! I want Rogers dead. You agreed that I was supposed to kill him!” (Crossbones) “No! Change in plans.” “WTF??!!” “Remember I’m in charge!” (Sin) She turns and shoots Crossbones in the leg. He falls back on the ground. “Fuck!” (Crossbones)

The team is horrified at what they see. You’re being held down and Steve is surrounded by the soldiers trying to fight them off. The 3 Winter Soldiers are approaching you.

You close your eyes expecting to die. “no please…..” you say softly, tears in your eyes. Steve is panicking and trying to fight back!!

Sin is grinning from ear to ear. She starts to laugh. “This was worth the wait! Father, I will have my revenge!”

“We need a plan of attack!” (Tony) “What? Who? How? When?” (Wilson) “NOW!!” (Bruce)

Bruce runs, transformers into the Hulk and charges toward the 2 of the Winter Soldiers, hitting them so hard they fly into the woods. The rest of the Avengers launch their attack! Thor throws his hammer at the 3rd knocking him into the woodpile. Scott grows and runs towards their jet, grabbing it, stopping it from taking off. Tony, Rhodes and Wilson attack the soldiers surround Steve. Vision & Hawkeye charge the soldiers holding you down; you finally manage to get away.

Through the fighting, Crossbones manages to stager up and takes a shot at Rogers. You see this and run and jump in front of him. You’re hit in the abdomen! You slump to the ground. “NNNNOOOO!!!” Steve screams!!

Sin is in shock!! “Damn it! Where did they come from??” Sin turns and tries to escape but she’s punched in the face and falls to the ground. “Bitch! That’s for hurting my friends!” (Nat) Sin tries to pull a gun. “Don’t you dare!” Wanda holds her down with her powers.

Fury is running towards Crossbones. Crossbones frustrated with the situation, takes another shot, this time at Sin, hitting her in the side while she’s on the ground. “AAAAHHHH FUCK!!!”

“What did you do that for?” (Fury) “Fucking bitch!! She wouldn’t let me kill Rogers!” (Crossbones) Crossbones tries to get up – Fury gets ready to shoot him but Tony punches him into the jet with a loud thud! “Damn that felt good!” (Tony)

Steve is sobbing holding you in his arms. “Why did you do that?” (Steve) “You’re the one that loves me.” You touch his cheek and black out. “Y/N!! Don’t leave me!” Steve hand is covered in blood trying to stop the bleeding. Tony runs to Steve. “Let me take her, I can get here there faster than the jet.” Steve lets you go reluctantly; tears are streaming down his cheeks.

“Let’s go!” he says softly. He takes off with you in his arms. Rhodes accompanies him. All you feel is the cold air. You open your eyes briefly and see you’re flying. Tony looks at you and tells you to “Hang on! We’re almost there!”

In record time you’re back at the compound; you’re received by the medical team waiting for you to arrive. You are whisked away into surgery. Tony and Rhodes breathe a sign off relief. “It’s in their hands now!”

Back at the cabin, the captured soldiers are loaded into the 2 jets. Hawkeye is flying Steve’s jet with the captured soldiers, Wilson, Vision and Scott watch over them along with the 3 Winter Soldiers who are unconscious. Thor’s flying the other (Sin’s) with Crossbones and Sin; the Hulk is guarding both of them.

The rest of the team loads into their jet. “Will she be ok?” (Nat whispers) “Don’t know”, she was hit in the abdomen. (Fury) Everyone turns to look at Steve. He’s sobbing in the back. Nat tries to comfort him. “It’s over Steve! We got her back.” (Nat) “No it’s not! She doesn’t remember me and she’s been shot!!!”

Wanda sits in front of him on the floor of the jet. She carefully takes his hands. “Steve, she must have remembered something about you. She came here and she saved you from getting shot. Don’t give up. Her memory is still in there. You’re still a part of her, somewhere in her mind.”

You’ve been shot and according to Steve this couldn’t get any worse! “All I wanted was to love her.” He whispers.

“Steve, you’ve both been through a lot.” (Fury) “I……could still lose her.”

“Tony just radioed in she’s in surgery right now as we speak.” (Coulson) Fury sits down beside Steve. Nat is still sitting with Steve and Wanda’s still holding his hands.

The rest of the ride back to the compound is in silence, except for Steve’s sobbing. No one knows what else to say. “Please don’t leave me Y/N” Steve whispers.

ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT!

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

The following are links to the characters used in the story:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin_(Marvel_Comics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Night_(comics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Skull https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_(comics)

----------------------------------------------------------------------- Reblogs are welcome 😀 as is Feedback!

15 notes · View notes

firelxdykatara · 5 years

Note

If Zutara were to be canon,thanks to Aaron Ehasz,how will this affect Legend Of Korra?

This is a difficult question to answer, mostly because it would of necessity rely on a whole lot of assumptions and biases, and without asking Aaron himself (in private, where he wouldn’t have to worry about kicking off another fandom war), it’s impossible to answer with any degree of certainty.

Now, I can talk about how I, personally, think things would have been different if Zutara had been canon–which, for me, means that the epilogue of book 3 was just the tea shop scene, and we got a book 4 where, as Aaron briefly mentioned on twitter and in various interviews, the consequences of energy-bending were explored, the lost Air Nomads were found, Azula had her redemption arc (which would probably have tied into the search for Ursa, which I would’ve loved to see Aaron’s take on in book 4, especially considering the crap the comics handed to us), and Zuko and Katara grew closer and entered into a relationship by the end of the season.

(Before I start exploring this in more depth, I want to head off ‘delusional Zutarian’ arguments at the pass–I’m not saying it’s 100% confirmed that Aaron was planning to make ZK canon in book 4. I am saying (as I’ve said before) that, given the set up and development in canon, and the way Aaron himself has talked about how he develops characters and relationships, I believe he (and other writers/artists/crew members) was leaning heavily towards that particular relationship and would have explored it further in book 4 had he been allowed to.)

Putting the rest under a read more cause this got long.

We know some of what Aaron had plans for–Azula’s redemption, the consequences of energybending, the lost Air Nomads–but nothing super concrete. Going from that, then, I believe that in Book 4, the Gaang would have split up for a good chunk of it. (Please note that most of the rest of this is pure speculation.) There’s a lot of ground Book 4 would’ve had to cover–the Gaang in the beginning would’ve split off to head to their respective homes (Sokka and Katara to the SWT, Suki to Kyoshi Island, Toph… ok, Toph probably just stuck around Caldera and this would’ve been a great time to have the Toph&Zuko life-changing-field-trip episode we were denied in canon) to touch base with the families and friends they’d left behind to go on their save-the-world tour.

For his part, Aang would’ve returned to Guru Pathik. While he got a last-second Hail Mary (in the form of a conveniently placed rock, which still boggles my mind, but whatever) when fighting Ozai, he still was not a fully realized Avatar, and since I’m bitter that the Guru Pathik/chakras plot was almost entirely dropped after the book 2 finale, I’m saying he’d have gone back to finally finish that training because it makes sense and because I can. Anyway, he returns to the Guru, and by this point he has accepted that Katara doesn’t return his feelings the way he’d like her to (a call back to The Fortuneteller, which should have been foreshadowing for Aang’s emotional growth, barring the last twenty seconds of the episode).

Furthermore, he’s learned that ‘letting her go’ doesn’t mean he can’t care about her or want her in his life to be the Avatar (after all, previous Avatars have had love and even been married–Kuruk isn’t that great of an example, given that his love life got him killed, but Kyoshi lived over two centuries and had multiple loves over her incredibly long life, and Roku was married and had descendants of his own), it just means letting go of his expectations–letting go of the selfish aspects of his love, the parts that lead him to nod in agreement when actors on a play told fake!Katara ‘I thought you were the Avatar’s girl’, and that lead him to expect her to return his feelings and push against her boundaries when she told him she wasn’t sure and was confused. (He said “We kissed at the invasion and I thought we were gonna be together, but we’re not.” even though a) he kissed her without any warning, she did not kiss him, and she looked away and frowned afterwards, and b) she never once brought up the kiss again or hinted that her feelings towards him had changed and become romantic, so he had no reason to believe they’d ‘be together’.)

Ok that was a bit of a tangent, but the upshot is, Guru Pathik helps Aang fully master the Avatar State. While on that particular journey, Aang has to deal with the consequences of energybending–he pulled Ozai’s energy into himself, and he has to deal with the sudden darkness that was absorbed into his spirit. He also receives some sort of hint, possibly from a dream or meeting with a spirit, that with balance returning to the world, the Air Nomads can start to return, too.

Sokka, Suki, and Toph wind up going with Aang on his journey to figure out just what the spirits meant by that. They discover that the Air Nomads weren’t totally eradicated by Sozin (which would’ve been impossible, since we already know that inter-nation relationships happened in the past [Avatar Kyoshi’s mother was an airbender], and they were, well… nomads), but those who survived (because they weren’t at the temples at the time, or some who hadn’t attained mastery managed to escape) assimilated into the Earth Kingdom and even some in the Fire Nation. Because the world was incredibly out of balance following the decimation of the Air Nomad population, and because many of them were suddenly in a situation where showing they were airbenders was a death sentence, their spirit as a population was almost completely broken, and they stopped being able to airbend. In the present, Aang finds descendants of Air Nomad survivors, including Ty Lee (and, in my HC, Jet, who shows up alive bc I want him to get the healing arc he didn’t get in canon) who are beginning to discover they can airbend.

Meanwhile, Zuko asked Katara to accompany him on his journey to find his mother–it’s a callback to TSR, when he helped her gain closure for her mother’s murder, and since he wants to bring Azula too, he asked for Katara’s help sister-wrangling. They eventually find Ursa (who did not willingly forget her children, and who did not send a letter to her former lover to make Ozai question Zuko’s paternity, because in the show she was not a horrible person and she loved her children more than anything tyvm), as well as Kiyi (the only good thing to come out of that comic), and Azula finally gets the sort of closure she could never have before, and there is a heavy focus on her emotional journey. Zuko is there to support her, and Katara is there to support Zuko. In the process, Katara winds up with an odd sort of mildly antagonistic friendship with Azula, who gets to a point where she can good-naturedly tease Katara about her growing feelings for Zuko.

ANYWAY. I realize you were asking primarily how it would affect LoK, and I went on a whole ass book 4 tangent. So here’s how I see it changing the landscape in LoK.

First of all, Katara is granted the importance she is due. She has a statue in most major cities, including both Caldera and Republic City. Katara married Zuko and became one of the most beloved Fire Ladies in Fire Nation history, partly because she didn’t assimilate and give up her own home and culture, and she never hesitated to speak her mind during council meetings. It put off much of the nobility, especially in the first few years of their marriage, but Zuko had survived many an assassination attempt by then, and he valued his wife’s input above his closest advisors and never made a secret of it. The nobles could either accept it or risk losing their titles, which several of them did because they figured the Fire Lord was bluffing, only to find out he wasn’t in the slightest.

Katara was also active in the White Lotus, which she wound up leading along with Sokka and Zuko (who’d passed the mantle of Fire Lord onto their eldest daughter, Izumi, once they felt she was ready to lead), and when Aang passed away, they immediately began the search for the next Avatar.

Most of Korra’s early life would’ve been the same, Katara and Sokka saved her from the Red Lotus’ kidnapping attempt, and she wound up raised at the White Lotus compound where she learned waterbending, firebending, and earthbending, and was on the cusp of learning airbending from Tenzin (who was Aang’s kid with someone else–given his design, his mother could’ve been literally anyone, Toph or one of the returned Air Nomads or someone else entirely) when he got called back to Republic City, and she followed.

From here, well… ok, there’s a lot I would change about LoK just in general. Thinking specifically of how Zutara would have affected things, and with the stipulation that Aaron was still the head writer for LoK, I like to think that Katara wouldn’t have been rendered weak and useless (seriously, a bloodbender locked away Korra’s bending, but Katara–allegedly the most powerful waterbender alive, and the one who single-handedly got bloodbending outlawed–couldn’t undo it with bloodbending???), and would have been allowed to, for example, fight to protect her family (while Tenzin and his children wouldn’t have been her direct relations [unless, instead of Pema, he wound up marrying Zuko and Katara’s youngest daughter??? that’s an idea], they would still have been family, as Aang’s only living descendants) and taken a more active part in the water tribe civil war (which would have been given the narrative arc it was due instead of being a half-assed vehicle for ridiculous spirit world shenanigans). And besides, a gaang reunion episode where Zuko, Katara, Suki (because screw LoK for having her just up and disappear lmfao) and Toph fight the Red Lotus together just like old times??? That would’ve been fucking amazing.

(We got to see old ass men in AtLA fight like they were in their prime, including one who was over a century old. What was LoK’s excuse???)

Since we got the return of the Air Nomads in book 4 of LoK there would be no need for the spirit portals or the ‘harmonic convergence’, and instead Korra’s spiritual journey hinges on her trauma from the end of Book 1. The biggest difference, here, is that I have always been incredibly dissatisfied with the fact that Korra just stared sadly over the edge of a cliff and was suddenly able to unlock the Avatar State and get her bending back. Keeping in mind the way Aaron Ehasz excelled at character journeys in the original show, I think she should have ended book 1 with her bending locked completely. Katara was able to reverse whatever it was Amon did to her (and Amon, by the way, didn’t get killed–the Equalists also didn’t just disappear, and the thread of nonbender oppression carries through the rest of the series, to be revisited and finally resolved in book 4), but it didn’t give Korra her bending back, because the trauma she suffered was just as psychological as it was a physical block to her bending.

Book 2, therefore, would’ve included a narrative thread of Korra needing to go on her own spiritual journey to unlock her chakras and regain her bending, finally able to reac the Avatar State when the civil war between the water tribes reached a head, and she is finally able to broker peace, having learned a great deal about herself and her connection to the past avatars.

I realize that I’ve kind of derailed pretty far off the original point, so I’ll stop here with a general note that while Zutara, as a relationship, doesn’t affect a whole lot of this directly (for the most part it would just affect the parentage of the Gaang kids who showed up, the designs of some, and their relationships with each other and possibly with Korra)–however, with the addition of Book 4 and keeping Aaron’s writing talents for LoK, the landscape of the entire sequel would be altered. I’d like to think that he would’ve preferred writing a coherent narrative that did justice to the characters even if it meant ending the show with unresolved plot threads (especially since they could wrap things up with comics which, in this alternate timeline, are actually good and in character because I want to have my cake and eat it too), so rather than being disconnected plots that didn’t make much sense when each individual villain could’ve served as the entire series Big Bad, much of books 2 and 3 would’ve involved smaller scale plots and villains, with Amon returning for book 4 and everything getting wrapped up far more neatly than it did in canon.

TL;DR: while Zutara itself wouldn’t necessarily change a whole lot (it would affect Book 4 and the post-atla comics more) outside of the different Gaang kids and their dynamics, the show as a whole would’ve been vastly different if the writing team for LoK had been the same–including Aaron as head writer–as the writing team for AtLA.

Bryke were great Big Picture guys, great vision and visual guys, I’ve never disputed that. But they sucked at not missing the forest for the trees. They sucked at romance. And they really sucked at coherent plot and character development, especially in the small scale.

#atla #zutara #lok #bryke salt #kinda sorta #just covering my bases really #fantasticanimefan #asked

152 notes · View notes

afy2018 · 4 years

Text

You’re a Queen (Revision) Chapter 1

Waverly awoke in her cold narrow chambers- only the bare minimum for Purgatory- to the sound of Stephani Jones, her Lady’s Maid, gently calling to her from the fireplace as she sparked it to life. Her mistress dismissed her to the doorway as she began her day. Waverly wished she could just dismiss her completely as the days preceding the anniversary of her father’s passing were always difficult no matter how many years had gone by, and only exacerbated by her sister’s desertion of her rightful place in their fief.

Once she tore off her nightgown, Waverly pulled out her black and silver dress she had imported from Holland with the box of British brass brooches and faux pearl jewels that were to adorn her clothes. The routine of her base skirt and gown proved to take less time than normal as Waverly summoned Stephani to help her with the rest of her dress and hair before the clock struck eight.

She went through her usual regimen which ended with her going down to dine with her Aunt but was quickly intervened by their butler, Percival Crofte, with a salt-crusted letter. Waverly plucked it from his hands and ripped it open, quickly skimming the words before handing it back to him as she changed course to the main chambers to meet her impending guest.

Her heart pounded in her chest and she began to break out in a light sweat from her layers and nerves. Her finely dressed doormen opened the grand room as she approached them. She entered the hollow chambers, her clicking shoes echoing through the entire room as the servants and noblemen silently watched her. Once she situated herself in her simple throne, Waverly nodded to Nedley, a greying man who was as loyal as a dog but just as opinionated as her aunt, to let in her old friend.

The doors across from her opened to a lone figure standing in the archway where her servants once stood. The young ruler sat back in her chair and watched as the visitor tentatively approached her. Once she was only a few feet away, Waverly took in the view of her guest that she no longer recognized. She looked over the features she once cherished so many years ago that disappeared in the now shockingly masculine attire she wore.

Waverly stood on the platform that raised her chair above the stone floor and began her descent towards her. After a few moments of staring at her, she dismissed her guards and noblemen alike to talk with her long lost friend. As the hallway’s doors closed, Waverly walked straight up to her guest, watching as she flinched at her speed, and punched her shoulder.

“WHERE have you been?” she hissed at her. Before she could answer, Waverly quickly pulled her into a tight embrace, “Welcome home, Wynonna.”

She felt tentative arms wrap around her as her sister loosely hugged her back and tucked her bare lips against her beaded shoulder. Waverly let her go and gazed upon her rugged appearance. From what she could see, her sister had dawned gentlemen’s attire with road worn boots wrapped in a fine cloth to cover their grime. Although her vest was plain in color and pattern, the cloak she had draped around her shoulders was deep emerald with a border of gold stitching that made her seem nobler than her rank allowed. She had a sword sheathed to her hip and dark leather gloves that were untouched by the weather.

“You are alive,” Waverly gasped. “You never wrote… well?”

Wynonna only nodded in response before finding her voice for the first time in the archaic castle, “Do you remember the stories Father used to tell us about the homestead? He talked about how this place wasn’t meant to house the noble or royal. It was originally a place for people to pass through when they were heading to and from the Phantom River Palace. It had not been until the fifteenth century that the Good Lord Earp established Purgatory as a fief,” she rested on her heels and continued, “I am only doing what Father always told us and explored the world. I have seen things and people I would have never thought existed had I not just gone out into the world. My dear sister, I have lived and-”

“And I have been here,” her sister interrupted.

“Yes, you have. I do not plan on staying any longer. I was just passing. I’m glad you got my note, I’d hate to catch you by surprise.”

“Yes, this morning, actually.”

“Mm, I sent it three weeks ago, shame it took that long,” Wynonna turned on her heels and began out of the main hallway and to her next journey.

Waverly chased after her older sister through the old hallways of their once-prosperous fief. The banners and coat of arms that were once lit by the chandeliers and candelabras for evening parties now hung against the decrepit walls of their home. They continued further down the palace hallways as the younger woman tried to get her sister’s attention. She jogged a bit before tugging on her thick cloak.

“Please, you need to stay here. Your absence has left our home in complete disarray!” Waverly berated her, her tone biting into her sister’s conscious. “Take responsibility for one thing at least once in your life!”

Wynonna stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her, only cocking her head to the side as she tried to hold back her rage. Carefully, she spat, “God, do you know what I had to go through after… after everything? You think your life was hard running this place with everyone caring for you, preparing you and holding your hand along the way? I was shunned, no one wanted me after Father croaked, not even you. You all thought I was a demon, a witch, some sort of… I don’t know, so come back when everyone hates you, then you can act like your life’s been hard.” She stood back from her sister, waiting for any response she knew would have to be coaxed out of her.

Waverly couldn’t look up at her, knowing that any mention of her memories would trigger something not only in her sister but within herself to flee. She also knew that torn look Wynonna got in her eyes of betrayal, and it killed her to remind her about their trauma-even though it was her fault. The older woman only watched her sister, huffing the air from her lungs in annoyance. She tore off her gloves, collecting them in her left hand as she placed the other one on her sister’s shoulder. Looking into her large eyes, Wynonna quickly pulled her in for a quick embrace, getting stuck as Waverly clung onto her. She sighed out a shuddering breath and kissed her forehead before her sister finally let go.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly apologized.

“No, you’re ri[ght]-” she almost comforted.

“Excuse me, Madam,” their advisor Nedley interrupted. “Sir Dolls is here to see you.”

Wynonna pulled her gloves on again and rested her hand on the hilt of her sword, nodding to the greying man, “Bring him to the main chambers, I’ll address him soon,” she commanded.

The voice she took on surprised her, after all of her travelings and escaping, she had thought that the tone would be lost to the nomadic gangs and foreign oceans, but it seemed to just be waiting at the edge of the Purgatory woods. She only cleared her throat as he went to their guest and turned to face her sister again.

“When did you stop wearing dresses?” Waverly asked as she looked upon her sister’s masculine fashion.

“When I set fire to them and bought a more efficient wardrobe. What have you been doing while I was gone?”

“I have been running our fief ever since Aunt Augustine approved it for me.”

Wynonna only shook her head, turning to watch as their advisor finally disappeared behind the door. “Do you know who Sir Dolls is.”

“A knight from our Duke’s Army. He was sent three fortnights ago.”

She shrugged and placed both hands on the hilt of her sword. “Is he attractive?”

“Seriously?”

“What, might I not dream of my knight in shining armor?”

“Ugh, I will leave you to your meeting with him,” Waverly said dismissing her sister’s comment.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I’m off, Purgatory is your responsibility now, go visit Aunt Augustine in the dining room,” she nodded as she backed away from her.

“Yay, so much fun,” Wynonna sarcastically remarked. “I just hope I get unlimited access to the armory.”

She smiled at her and left her sister to her own affairs as she walked to shock yet another family member. After Waverly changed into her riding kit, she went to the stables, looking for her blood bay mare. Her horse was a young and spry beast that could have kept up with Wynonna’s wild spirit had she been paired with the older sister rather than her. She quickly had her saddled up and set off for her own time alone in the forest.

Waverly sped through the stables and out of the castle gates. Her destination was whatever she could find and as she followed the path from her home and through the glades, Waverly broke off to the barely beaten path that led to a stream. She felt the change of air as the trees burned their scent in her nose and throat. The only sound she heard was the huffing breaths her mare let out before she began to settle and slow down through the trees to avoid the low branches and roots. Waverly heard the sound of scampering critters and fearful does sprint to safety. She began to notice the distinct sound of water running through the pebbles, splashing and spilling onto the large rocks.

She dismounted at the water’s edge and went to a petrified oak that had fallen three years earlier. Waverly sat on it and listened as the low stream of crystal clear water rushed below her. It was a peaceful sound that numbed her ears and thoughts from everything else in the world. She felt a calming air rush over her body and begin to relax her muscles. The silence echoed in her head and vibrated through her soul as she lost herself in the pattern the water made on its surface as the stream rushed and trickled over the beautiful river worn rocks.

The only thing that broke her trance was a soft rustling as a horse came galloping through the trail somewhere nearby. She heard the horse’s hooves rapidly near her until they finally stumbled to a stop. Waverly slipped back into the low stream and glared up at the young rider. She gritted her teeth as the owner of the blue dun quickly dismounted. They were clad in silver armor that clanked and flexed with ease as they went to help the royal back up.

“You have some nerve scaring me,” Waverly muttered as she was helped up.

The knight took off their helmet, revealing a kind face of the young soldier in her padded cream colored coif. “I apologize, ma’am, but have you seen a man in red running around here recently?”

“No,” Waverly assured her, surprised at how gently the knight spoke to her.

“Hm, I’m almost sure I saw him running through here not too long ago.” Seemingly giving up and pulling her attention to the woman before her, she untied her coif and tucked it inside of her helmet. The young knight revealed her bright red hair that was tied back in a loose bun. With the loud clanking of her armor, she placed her hand over her heart and introduced, “I am Dame Nicole Haught of the Duke’s Royal Army. Again, I dearly apologize for frightening you.”

Waverly waved away her apology and went to her mare, “It’s fine. I am Lady Waverly Earp of Purgatory.”

The young knight sank to her knees, her hand still over her heart, “Lady Earp, I’m so sorry, a thousand apologies, M’Lady. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Oh my,” she chuckled, “Please stand, I’m not that important I only rule over a fief, or I once did.”

Nicole pushed on her knee to stand up and brushed off her armor. “Well, seeing that I’ve lost the thief I-”

“What is a Duke’s knight doing here chasing a lowly thief?” the lady interrupted as she walked back to her.

“Hm, yes that is a fair question,” Haught laughed to herself. “Serving his people as always. Say, is there a tavern nearby? I seem to have been turned around a bit and feel the need to relax before I get back to my duties.”

“Oh, well, there is a pub near the Purgatory castle actually, it is on the outskirts but… I’m babbling aren’t I, yes I am,” she chuckled as Haught pulled on the coif again, hiding her fiery red hair.

“No, no, babble on,” she joyfully responded.

Waverly blushed a little at her endearing words and looked down at the stream again. “I was planning on going back to the castle. You can follow me if you would like.”

“That would be wonderful, your highness,” she sincerely nodded before pulling her helmet on again.

“Perfect, then we should be off.”

They smiled at each other and mounted their beasts. Haught flicked the face of her helmet down and slid onto her horse. As she waited for the lady to mount her mare, she asked, “You said that you used to rule over the fief, who is it now?”

“My sister, back from her journeys.”

“So, what does that mean for you, Madam?” Nicole inquired.

“Ah, well, that means that I can explore my home and the beautiful terrain it has been blessed with,” she smiled as she gestured to the forest. “Well, when I’m not being interrupted by knights.” Noticing the way she tensed up, Waverly quickly added, “All meant in jest.”

They raced back to the castle through the dense trees and shrubberies before breaking through the glades to the dirt road to Purgatory. Nicole caught up to the speedy royal, smiling at her behind the metal helmet. As she studied her through the narrow slots of her mask, the young knight soon found her eyes more than curiously wandering Waverly’s figure as she expertly rode her mare. They slowed down once they cleared the glade, seeing the fortress and castle in the distance with the shops and houses that smattered the exterior of Purgatory. Waverly slowed her horse to a trot, wanting to talk to the knight as they neared her home.

“So where do you hail from?” she asked.

“I’m from Phantom River. I was sent here to aid the fiefs around this territory with any ruffians.”

“Really? We actually have another knight from the Lionheart King Carlo, Sir Dolls.”

“I have never met him, but there are many soldiers in the Duke and King’s armies. He might be apart of his royal highness’ personal armies. I’m just a guard.”

“Duke Carlo has more than one army?”

“No, but his brother has special forces who watch over him and are by his side every day, there is a section whose duty is to watch the people he deems important and then he and the Duke have my people who help keep order amongst the fiefs and towns.”

“How interesting. So you were sent here, why?” she tried again, trying to squeeze out as much information from her as possible.

“Well the fiefs of Purgatory, Derelict, and Haven are to be mine and another knight’s territory but to be completely honest, I was glad when I was assigned to this territory because I have always wanted to meet you.”

“Me?” Waverly laughed in disbelief.

“Yes, I have heard of your bravery in fighting off our Neighbors to the North. You saved the Duke’s most important road and his soldiers. You are seen as a legend… M’Lady,” she formally added.

“Oh, um, thank you. How long will you be staying?”

“I have been here for almost a month but I only have a week left on my contract.”

“Only that long? I insist that you stay longer, seeing that you are a part of the Duke’s Army, you are a special guest to us.”

“Oh, thank you, M’Lady,” Nicole responded, dipping her head.

“Please, this is the least I can do for a knight, truly,” she assured her. “Do you have anything else before we move you here?”

“Nothing that isn’t strapped to my steed,” Haught noted as she patted the back of her horse.

Little conversation transpired between them as they finished their journey to the local tavern. It was a centuries-old beaten shack that had been passed down between generations of local Purgatory citizens. The current owner, “Shorty” Seanan, was a trustworthy old man with the heart of an explorer but the knowledge of any other citizen there. He had always been able to learn from those who passed through the bar about the outside world that he dreamed of seeing. In turn, he would inform Waverly of the people he met and the stories they shared with him. It always made her pine for the adventures she dreamed her sister had. They were only dreams though as to the entire town of Purgatory, Waverly was the stable child, the one who survived her sister’s insanity.

The two women hitched their horses and walked into the busy bar. At the moment, there seemed to only be locals in their usual spots with Seanan watching his latest patrons walk into his business. He beckoned the Lady over and handed her a cup of ale.

“Good morning, Waverly,” he politely greeted. Haught noted his grand smile that broke through the thick grey and white beard. “How goes it?”

“Mm, I was feeling low until I met this lost puppy in the woods,” she joked gesturing to Haught. “Perchance, have you seen a man in red tear through town?”

“No one that seemed suspicious,” he shrugged. “Would you like anything to drink, lass?”

“Would you happen to have any lägers?”

“I do,” he proudly nodded, pouring her a stein full. He shooed away her money, “No need to pay madam, you are a friend of Waverly.”

“Thank you, I never caught your name.”

“Seanan, but friends just call me Shorty.”

“Shorty Seanan, I am Dame Nicole Haught of the Duke’s Royal Army.”

“A Royal Knight in this area. Well well well, welcome to Purgatory,” he nodded.

Waverly found a spot by the window where they could talk and drink. She found Nicole curiously regarding her and the patrons of the tavern.

“Do you have a question for me?” she asked her.

“I just have never heard anyone address a noble so casually. People never addressed a noble like that back home.”

“Well, that is not how we do it here. You will find that we are much more independent than where you are from,” Waverly explained. “I just wanted to let you know before we got to the castle.”

“How did your family gain power? You’re not related to royal blood, are you?”

“At first no, but my mother was a Gibson of the Lavelle-Obere family.”

“Really, so do you ever visit them in Lyon?”

“I have never met any of them. I barely remember my mother.”

“Did she pass away when you were young?” Nicole asked, catching Shorty’s protective eye. “I should not pry, nevermind.”

“The Earps have really been the only ruling family here with a few suitors from other wealthy families here and there. We Earps stick together despite the distance.”

“Is that your motto?”

“No, but it should be,” she smirked with a quick swig from her cup. “But enough about me. How did you become a knight, what’s your backstory?”

Nicole chuckled and shrugged, “I hail from the Kingdom of Ireland, the O’Haught family, specifically, from the Shannon Basin. But, uh, Shannon could never hold me still so I was sent to the academy out here to hopefully put some sense into me.”

“Did it work?” Waverly asked.

“I haven’t the faintest clue,” she flirted in her Irish accent, “did it?”

“Cheeky, I think Purgatory already has you under her spell.”

“Mm,” she chuckled, “I think the citizens have helped a great deal.”

Waverly cleared her throat as she stared at the empty cup in front of her. “I should introduce you in Court if you are going to be a guest here, that is.”

“I do not want to be a bother, really.”

“No, I insist. We will be glad to have a guest. It has been a long while since the castle had visitors.”

“If you insist-“

“I do. Now, it is,” Waverly paused as she looked up at a clock, “only a quarter past four so I would assume everyone is still in the castle…Well, I would assume so. We might want to go soon, I’m not too sure what my tribe’s up to as of recent events.”

“You mean your sister’s return?”

“Yes, exactly,” she confirmed as she stood up, pulling on her black pelisse and leaving money on the table for her old friend.

Nicole followed her to their horses, watching as her hostess effortlessly pulled herself onto her mare and waited for her to join her. She followed suit and then went down the street a few strides behind as she was trained until Waverly slowed down to match her pace. Nicole continued to watch her, silently regarding the farms and shops that they passed.

“For a noble, you wear a fair amount of black, seeing that these aren’t your colors.”

“Only today,” she cryptically informed her. “I’m surprised the Duke allows his knights to wear their family’s cloaks,” she asked back.

Nicole nodded, “My own personal touch.” She took a moment to fix the silver fox shaped hooks to her black green and purple plaid garment. “It is not a cloak, by the way. This is a traditional piece called a brat. Being the Child Ruler Lady Earp, have you ever traveled outside of Purgatory?”

Waverly sighed, trying to hide her eyes as they neared the stables, “No, I haven’t. Between lessons and watching my Uncle rule over my future affairs, I did not have time to explore. What about you? How long have you been a bonafide knight?”

“Seven years,” she proudly stated. “Seven years and I still forgot to give you this.” Nicole reached back into her saddlebag to produce a letter with a gold wax seal imprinted with the Carlo family emblem. “My contract with the Duke's official signature.”

“Keep it for now. So, a month and I have never even heard of you.”

“I should have been more vigilant but Derelict was more of a handful than I thought.”

“Ah, yes. They must either think you are an angel or hate you to send you to Derelict.”

“I like to think I’m an angel.”

“Your hubris would say otherwise.”

“Only when I’m beguiled by a pretty lady,” she tested.

“Try not to forget yourself, Haught.”

“I apologize, M’Lady,” she quickly corrected.

“But I’m glad I have that power over you,” Waverly teased.

From behind her helmet, Nicole gawked at her audacious flirting, only recomposing herself when they arrived at the stables, dismounting and unsaddling their horses. Waverly brushed out her mare’s mane with care while Nicole watched and smiled at the royal woman’s tenderness. Waverly then switched out the mane brush and began brushing out her mare’s coat. Nicole gave her blue dun stallion a sugar cube while she waited on the side. Waverly smiled as she peeked over her horse at the knight before she put away the brushes.

“I have never seen noble care for her own horse,” Nicole noted as she walked towards Waverly.

“I pride myself in caring for those I depend on,” she replied starting towards the castle.

“And what is your trusted steed’s name?”

“Ignis. What about your stallion?”

“Lex.”

“Law in Latin?”

Nicole shrugged and smiled, “He was given to me when I was far enough along in my training.” She took a moment and smiled, “You know Latin?”

“Yes. If I cannot travel, then I should at least keep myself educated.”

“Intriguing, a very learned noble. Most of the others I have met are pompous people who know no more than those they preside over.”

“Glad I’ve made a lasting impression on you,” Waverly flirted, her back to the knight once more as she took a few short cuts out of the stables. They walked into the castle through a side door for the servants where they found a maid making her way to Waverly. “Please prepare Dame Haught’s room. Preferably a guest room in the west wing. Her belongings are on her horse in the stables.”

The maid nodded and went to prepare the guest room as Waverly left to make a meeting for Nicole, letting her follow her in silence through the open corridors until they came upon the grand doors to the main chambers. She walked in, seeing her sister sitting on the throne with their Aunt behind her as Sir Dolls knelt down in the center of the room. He had been explaining his reason for his assignment in their fief and his confusion of not being informed of Wynonna’s return. Waverly stood in the back, watching her sister ogle the knight as he mindlessly recited his speech to her. She curtsied to him as he walked up to stand next to the older Earp sister.

“Wynonna, Dame Nicole Haught of the Duke’s Public Army has arrived to watch over our fief.”

Waverly sat in the chair next to her sister, Sir Dolls dipping his head to the younger woman. Nicole walked to the center of the room and produced the letter she had tried handing to Waverly earlier, holding it out for Dolls to retrieve. He tore it open and read it aloud:

“‘For Lady Earp of Purgatory. I have been informed that you are lacking the proper number of law enforcement in your area. I have sent over one of my finest Dames to aide in replenishing your forces. I hope she is of use to you. ~Duke J.C.’” Dolls regarded the letter for a moment, his eyes darting to Nicole for a moment before turning to his mistress. “It is official, the Duke’s stamp is on this.” Dolls confirmed handing the paper to Wynonna. “What is your decision?”

“Well, keep her. I would not want to anger Carlo so early. Go get clean and you can discuss your placement with Nedley.”

“Thank you, your highnesses,” Nicole bowed, standing up as she was whisked away to her chambers.

In a brief moment, she caught Waverly’s eyes, winking at her, while the blonde maid led her out of the room. She followed her to the small room that would become her personal chambers for the duration of her stay in Purgatory. It wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was better than the farmhouse she was staying in Derelict. As she pondered on her new home, Nicole wrote a letter to be sent to the old mayor of her change in lodging and mission- something she was more than glad to do. In her brief time in Derelict, she had already chased around over twenty thieves, helped behead five murderers and hang nineteen other criminals. In the Shannon Basin- and even in Phantom River- there wasn’t as much crime to worry about. On more than one occasion, Nicole had to lock up her horse and belongings in order to protect them from any thieves. Crime seemed to come in waves with a few days being quiet with the usual bickering amongst the locals to major crimes and brawls which ended in major injury or death.

Nicole sat back in a cheap chair in the corner. Hearing it creak loudly under her weight, she instantly sat back up, looking down at the old wooden seat with the worn and dusty velvet cushion which now had an impression of her rear. She closed her eyes and moved the chair to the open window, feeling it loosely shake in her hands. Nicole restlessly huffed as she sat back in the chair, now feeling it shake under her. It really wasn’t the worst situation she was in, but she expected Purgatory to be at least a bit nicer. She couldn’t completely remember how it looked when she was last here, but when she was eleven she had followed her parents to this casual town with its charismatic rulers. In her time alone, the young knight reflected back on her old memories as she regarded the beautiful mountain range that guarded the small town within the valley below.

Waverly escaped the main hall after their guest’s departure but was swiftly as she left the room, her sister joined her in the hallway with her old mischievous smile. She stood in her tracks even as her sister tugged her towards the stables.

“Whatever you have in mind is going to have to wait until tomorrow,” she evenly told her.

“Not even an adventure?” Wynonna playfully whined.

“Not tonight, it is too early for you to get into trouble and skimp out on your duties.”

“You mean like you did this afternoon?”

“Yes,” she proudly admitted, “But I was not getting into trouble. How are you acclimating to power?”

“It is pretty nice, but I’m surprised I have not been confronted by any old flames from town.”

“I think once all of them know that you are here, every one of your past mistakes will come creeping out of the woodwork, I can assure you of that.”

Wynonna comically threw up her hands and asked, “Well what do you do for fun around here?”

“I’m almost sure that what I find fun, you will think is boring as can be,” Waverly submissively stated. “I do know that there is a plentiful stash of booze in the basement from our old parties.”

“Mm, and you would not happen to have to key?”

“Our key master has them all, but I know that Uncle Curtis had one in his office, you remember where that is, right?”

“Yeah,” she nodded heading down the hallway. “Aren’t you gonna join me?”

“No, I’m going to check on our guests.”

“Hm, okay. Want me to bring anything from my plunders?”

“Mm… no, thank you.”

Waverly left her sister to her own devices as she meandered through the open corridors of her home. It wasn’t anything grand but it was the only place Waverly really knew. Kept behind closed doors and inside the basin that entrapped Purgatory, she rarely ever made it past the forest and mountain passages to explore before being called back home. The only place she had visited outside of the fief was the grand palace in Phantom River which housed the Duke of their fiefdom. It was a grand manor with Gothic architecture that was popular at the time it had been constructed with grand windows that flooded the large rooms with light for any occasion that was hosted there including one for herself. The party held thereafter she aided the King’s Army through Purgatory while fighting off their Nordic foes was a grand affair with the Duke’s extended family, even his own brother attended to celebrate her achievement.

Once she entered the North Wing, Waverly quietly rapped on the wooden door to Dolls’ room. He answered instantly, still clad in his tabard and trousers, but his belt sitting on the bedside table. Standing closer to him, Waverly noted his gentle features. She had never seen someone that looked like him in person. His skin was so perfectly dark with little to no imperfections. He was a very kind spirit with a polite demeanor and proper grammar Waverly thought not quite possible for knights. Dolls bowed and kept his distance as he was taught, the untouchable guardian for Purgatory he had been assigned to be.

Waverly returned to the West Wing, attending to Nicole before retiring to her own quarters until supper. In the long corridor of rooms, the young Lady went to her guest’s chamber, rapping on her door and patiently waiting for her to open it. Nicole stood before her in a very different outfit. She had ditched her heavy armor and chainmail for a long green and white jerkin that buckled in the middle and up fairly high on her neck. She stood before her with her hands behind her back in attention while she waited to be addressed.

“How are your lodgings?”

“Not too bad especially with the view of the mountains,” she gestured to the window. “Thank you for being so kind as to let me stay here.”

“I’m glad you are enjoying your room,” Waverly smiled.

“How are you, M’Lady?”

“I’m quite well, actually. I’m, uh, glad our paths crossed,” she confided in her. “There has been a lot happening, but I know that you will do great things to help us and Nedley. I do hope you do not feel too cramped here.”

Nicole waved her hand, “I think I’ll fare perfectly well while I’m here and at this point, I’m glad I’m somewhere else. Would you like to come in?”

“Sure.”

Nicole took the other chair from the desk and placed it by the old velvet one by the window. “I’m actually quite glad you came by. I wanted to apologize again for overstepping my boundaries. I hope I did not offend you, M’Lady.” Waverly sat in the chair, lounging in the creaking chair as she listened to her. “I hope my mistake has not set us back.”

“I’m sure it hasn’t,” she assured her. “Tell me a bit more about yourself. If you are going to stay here, I would like to know at least a bit about my guest.” Waverly relaxed into the chair as she regarded the graceful mountain range. “For instance, why do you cover up your accent?”

“I try to sound less conspicuous when I’m not home. You Brits haven’t always been the kindest to my people, so I just try to blend in.”

“So why do you not fake it around me?”

“I guess I just trusted that you would not judge me based on where I grew up.”

“Mm, you are right, I try not to judge based solely on appearances,” Waverly shyly agreed. “Now, tell me, you do a fair amount of traveling, where have you been?”

“Ah, many places,” she began, placing her hands on her knees and standing before her hostess. “I have been all over the Fief and England.”

“Have you been to London?”

“Only for a short while when I was young. Duke Carlo sent me and a few others out there to shadow Royal Guards and Constables before we were sent back to implement their policies.”

“Sounds amazing,” Waverly smiled, “How was the city?”

“Cramped, in all honesty, and we were stationed in the Royal Barracks alongside the other Guards. The city was dark and there were people everywhere, shoulder to shoulder, no matter the time of day,” she chuckled. “It was a fun way to explore the city.”

“So did you drink your way through London?”

“No, not entirely, but I did gamble my way through Wembley.”

“Oh my.”

“Well, I learned that I don’t have great luck, but I at least got the chance to immerse myself in the city while I was there.”

“How much money did you lose?”

“More than I’m willing to admit,” she laughed. “With your sister in power, you might actually have time to explore outside of Purgatory.”

“Maybe, but I would not mind a guide to take me on my adventure. Where else have you been?”

“One of the first places I was stationed was Leeds back in 1619. It was a fairly quiet town when I was last there. Not much to do but the people were kind, so I was able to make some connections while I was there.”

“With whom?”

“Some of the cloth traders, but I ended up spending the most time with the Pressman family and their tribe in Harewood.” Nicole took a moment to watch her hostess’ reaction, smiling as she elicited a longing gaze from her. “I’m sure they would love the company of such an intriguing person like yourself.”

“Oh, I think you might have mistaken me with someone else, I am not that interesting,” she dismissed. “But I would love to travel to Leeds someday. Anywhere else you have been?”

“Only random deployments around England and Scotland. I never got the chance to ask you, but what have you always dreamed of doing?”

“I… nothing interesting, I just want to explore the world.”

“You must have read something in your books. Something that sparked your desires more than anything else?” Nicole meandered around the room as she waited for her to respond. She spent the silence gazing at the old novels on the shelf, dust resting upon them undisturbed for years. She plucked out a fictional book from the highest shelf. “Have you read the books in here?”

“No, especially not those ones,” she joked.

“Ah, yes. I can see why not,” she noted as she looked at the surprisingly clean book in her hands. “Hm, but not this one. It’s not in English, do you know what this says?” she asked handing Waverly the dark maroon book.

She brushed her thumb over the silver lettering pressed into the cover as she read it out loud, “Phaedrus, it’s a dialogue piece from ancient Greece.”

“A dialogue, of what?”

“Of persuasion, death, and… humanity,” she explained.

“Interesting never heard of it.” Nicole flipped through the book, stopping fairly early on as a few words caught her eye. “Humanity, what do you consider a topic of humanity?” she asked, folding down the corner of the page.

“Well, um… I-” Waverly cut herself off as Nicole walked to the balcony, “I consider it… what are you doing?”

“I think I hear someone,” she whispered as she looked over the edge. “Dolls and your sister are talking down there.”

“Where?” she asked as she joined Nicole by the wall.

“I think they’re bickering.”

“Why?” she wondered as she peered over the edge.

Nicole pulled her from the edge as Wynonna looked up at them. “Hm… I’m not quite sure.” They silently tried to listen in to the conversation, failing as they only heard the inflections in their voices as the two argued below. Nicole clasped her hands nervously against her chest and turned to face her hostess. “I wonder if supper’s ready.”

Waverly escaped from the dining hall to her chambers where she began to undress. She slipped into her light nightgown and scanned her library for any books she wanted to read again, but knew that she would have to go back to Nicole’s chambers to find her favorites. Her head sank as she rolled out the small kinks in her neck, pressing her hand to her back to hopefully relieve some of the pain from her corset. After her usual routine, she watched the setting sun from her bed and shielded her eyes from the rays that reflected off of her vanity. She blew out the remaining candles by her bed and slid under the covers, feeling the warm pan of coals underneath her protect her from the cold nights.

A sudden knock broke her lucid mid-slumber. Using the remaining light from just between the Cloody Pass, Waverly walked to the door, opening it to spot Nicole in her brat and jerkin, her sword strapped to her hip.

“Dame Haught, what are you doing here?”

“Dolls sent me to watch over you.”

“Why?”

“Something he and Wynonna spoke about,” she explained, “What we thought was their disagreement.”

“Well, you can tell them both that I am perfectly capable of watching over myself, I have gotten by just as well without her for the past seven years, thank you, madam.”

“I understand, but I-”

Waverly waved her hand to silence her before placing it on Nicole’s shoulder, “Try not to worry yourself, I will talk with Wynonna about this.” Nicole quickly nodded and stepped out of her way as she awaited her next order. “Go back to your room, if I lose I will retrieve you.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Waverly began her trek through the ever dimming castle to the old Southern Wing where she and her sisters once played and created trouble. She silently passed by their old playroom and the chamber their Governess lived in. Beyond that were their rooms that had been refurbished by Aunt Augustine only a year after the disappearance of her elder nieces. Waverly couldn’t stand this wing, nor the Eastern side where her parents’ and Aunt’s rooms were, and spent her time avoiding the hallways as often as she could in the cramped fiefdom. She sighed as she locked eyes with Wynonna’s door before finally knocking on it, only a moment passing before her sister opened it.

“I have no need for your protection, I have gotten by just well without it. I know your gesture was out of love, but I find it rude to use a guard to protect me from night terrors.”

“Night terrors? I-”

“I sent her back to her room-” Wynonna only rolled her eyes and pulled her into her room. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to protect you and this town from… Them.”

“You will have to be more specific,�� she huffed, regarding the room she was in.

“The Revenants, I saw them on my way, er, their banners. They were making their way back over Lover’s Pass like last time.”

“Last time? You mean the last time when…-”

“When everything went to hell, yes,” she confirmed, her eyes worriedly glancing at her sister then down at her own necklace. “Just like last time,”

“We are not prepared to fend them off again, there are far too many of them and I doubt the Guerilla tactics you learned from your hiatus will be of use.”

“We need to prepare then. You remember how to spar?”

“Of course I do. I had nothing better to do with my time.”

“I know you don’t want a guard, but will you humor me and keep each other safe? I have Dolls with Aunt Augustine, so you aren’t alone in being watched over.”

“What about you?”

“No one knows I’m here except for us and the servants.”

“What about when they do find out, because they will, Robert will.”

“Well, if I die then I die and I guess you’ll have another go as the ruler.”

“Don’t joke about that, Wynonna,” she huffed, “I’ll let her guard my room, just… if you go after them bring us along.”

Waverly stepped out of the unfamiliar room and started towards her own chambers before her sister could protest. She took the same route back to Nicole’s room this time and knocked on her door, not wanting to spend any more time awake as the night finally settled in the valley. Nicole stood before her with her hair down and only in her black trousers and white button-up, having removed her outer clothes for her own slumber. Waverly took a step so she stood under the doorway.

“Did you win?”

“I’m only humoring my sister. May I come in?”

“Wouldn’t you rather stay in your room, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I’m far too tired to care,” she huffed, finding her spot on the love seat by the fireplace.

“Please, take my bed, I’ll stay by the fire,” Nicole offered. “It’s the least I could do for you.”

“No, I’d rather stay by the warm fire tonight.”

“I insist, please, sleep in my bed, your maid placed a bed warmer underneath so I would not freeze,” Nicole almost commanded. She stood and neared her hostess, placing her hands in the same spot her belt would have been. “My duty is to protect those who inhabit Purgatory, and that includes you.”

“And they say yours is a dying breed,” she joked defeatedly as she went to Nicole’s bed. “At least find your spot in here once the fire dies.”

Nicole closed her eyes and shook her head, “I’ll have to decline your offer, M’Lady, thank you.”

#Wynonna Earp #waverly earp #nicole haught #fanfic #sfw #sfw fanfic #lgbt #bisexual #lesbian #queer content #queer #renaissance au #knights #royalty #wlw #femslash #femslash fanfic

9 notes · View notes

txladyj-blog · 5 years

Text

Chapter 9 - This Time Around

a Daryl Dixon x OFC collaboration written by @xmistressmistrustx

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character

Tags: Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Crush, Fluff and Humor, Angst and Humor, Mild Smut, Strong Language, Eventual Sex, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Some Canon Scenes and Dialogue

Chapters 23/?

It was Daryl’s fourth hour of sweeping apartment blocks in the city. Everyone at the prison urged him to stay put, they needed him, one of their most competent and brave fighters, but his stubborn streak had prevailed and he set off for the city regardless. As he moved from one building to another, he collected any useful supplies he could carry, figuring if he could at least return to the group with some kind of offering it might count for something. He didn’t hesitate long in one place; he was aware that he needed to be with his group but a big part of him wanted to find Jess. He’d planned it all out in his head, what he would say, how he would convince her to go back with him. But first, he’d ask her what her bullshit note was about. The same note that he carried everywhere with him, burning a hole in his pocket like it was made of the cinders of his fury at her departure.

He knew when he’d found it. Stacks of books everywhere, some with wooden planks across them to make tables, graphic novels, hunting guides and medical textbooks. A balcony that was once full of flourishing herbs and fruits now torn down and scattered through the open door onto the carpet. At first glance, it could have belonged to any number of lone survivors in a city as large as Atlanta. But he knew Jess had been there when he saw the pile of neatly folded T-shirts on the arm of the couch. It was the one thing that hadn’t been torn asunder by whatever had transpired before he’d arrived. There was no sign of her now and the dried blood smeared across the interior, in particular the carpet, had darkened and started to crisp, telling him that he was at least a few days too late.

After a frantic search of every corner and his hope of footprints leading somewhere being dashed, he dropped onto the couch and leaned forwards with his elbows on his knees. His mind cast into a detailed flashback of everything that happened at the quarry and guilt gnawed in the background. He thought of her note. Who was she to tell him how he saw her? Where did she get such an idea? He’d tried to make amends and show her that the announcement of the contents of her journal didn’t matter to him. He’d tried and she still left. It bubbled under the surface, that same rage he’d endured when he first realized that she really was gone. Now, he was risking being absent at a time when his group needed him because for some reason, he couldn’t just let her go.

He lashed out, sweeping the entire contents of the coffee table across the room. Candles, empty tins and glasses collided with the wall and sent a spiraling, noisy commotion through the walls of the building and down the staircase. He watched the items from the table scatter and still felt no relief. She was gone, possibly for good. His one and only lead had come up with nothing.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

She dreamed of ice, licking at her toes and fingertips and creeping into her bones through sensitive skin. It was all around her, every inch of her tainted by it’s freezing embrace as she thrashed and gasped for air, her breath a white cloud expelling from her weakening body. Her heart, which felt ten times the size it should have been, compressed and struggled in her chest. She shuddered and tried to call out, tried to scream but nothing emerged on the useless huff of air that was all she could manage. Her eyes flew open. Where was she? Was she safe? Why was it so cold?

“Oh…Jesus.” She breathed as she tried to catch her breath, her freezing cold hand resting on her chest and her dream slowly drifting away, most of it anyway.

Her eyes moved up to a window. The Boat. She was in the bedroom on the boat and it was so cold she thought she might freeze to death. The inside of the glass was coated in condensation from the minimal amount of warmth that her body had given off as she slept. She drew the blankets around her and shuffled from the mattress, her socks slipping on the shiny floor. She lifted a hand and rubbed at the window with her fingertips. So cold were they that she couldn’t even feel the damp surface through the numbness in her limbs. She squinted out at the water, unsure if her eyes were playing tricks on her.

“Shit.” She hissed.

Outside on the deck, she stood with her boots on but unlaced, a thick sweater and the blankets from the bed wrapped around her. Unimpressed and irritated by the sight, she sighed slowly, rubbing her hand over her sleepy eyes and brushing her dark hair back from her face. The boat was a safe, albeit unusual choice for a sanctuary during the apocalypse but Jess found it to be everything she wanted. She was far from the shoreline which meant any Walkers or humans had to cross a lot of water to be able to get to her and her weapon-filled, floating fortress. On the roof of the cabin, she grew crops which she moved inside when she noticed the season taking a turn. Now they took up residence in a spare room inside, encouraged by an infra-red light, powered by a small generator which still had enough juice to be switched on for an hour or so every day.

She learned how to fish, catching her meals easily most days after conducting an experiment with a stray dog on the beach that proved the life in the lake was untouched by whatever had turned the human race. The boat was quite the picturesque scene, peaceful and still luxurious even given the situation. But heat was becoming an issue and no number of candles could change the fact that her route to the land was now covered with ice, rendering her unable to fish and eat for the foreseeable future. As far as she could see, the layer stretched from the boat to the shore, the edge of it bumping against the boats hull beneath her feet.

She rolled her eyes and vanished inside, immediately setting about packing her things in order to move on yet again. She told herself she would return once the weather was better and had no plans to move out completely, she kept the key to the cabin in her pocket and eventually climbed into the canoe which split the ice around it into jagged pieces from the movement of the water underneath. With her machete, she smashed at the cold surface between rowing. It was a painfully slow process that left her frustrated and sweating despite the below zero temperature but progress was progress and as she neared the beach, she began to feel a sense of achievement. She climbed out of the boat and onto the jetty, rolling onto her back and cursing under her breath, her machete clattered onto the wooden landing.

It was a peaceful couple of months living on the boat but Jess was smart enough to make sure that she never became complacent or lured into a false sense of security. The world was still full of threats, people that ate people if they were alive or dead. The living reduced to the depths of depravity, stealing, murdering, raping, looting. She’d seen near enough all of it in less than a year of being on the road alone. Death was always part of life, but not in the way Jess had now been witness to and sometimes when it came to a matter of them and her, she’d been forced to commit acts that she didn’t even know she was capable of. After the initial horrendous guilt, she’d been forced to carry on and survive, just like every other person that remained walking the earth with a brain that hadn’t been reanimated.

Being a nomad after leaving the boat was the toughest thing she’d experienced yet. The cold was biting, destructive and relentless and her movement was restricted when defending herself due to her layers of clothing that were needed to shield her against the bitter winds. She hid in frozen ditches for convoys to pass with trucks full of screaming people, their leaders decorated in war paint as If it gave them any more rights than anyone else. She fought off wildlife, ran from Bears and Coyotes and found Deer harder to hunt than they had ever been before. But still, she persevered and soldiered on with a strength and determination that was now cemented in her being. By that point, she knew she was no quitter.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A fairground wouldn’t have been her first choice of homestead but the discovery, one crisp morning after sleeping in a tree, of a small building in the corner between the Ferris wheel and Haunted House piqued her interest enough to draw her inside. The structure was solid enough, protected from the wind by the carcasses of rides around it. A broken sign above the door read ‘Casey’s Diner.’ Jess thought it was the smallest diner she’d ever seen, but once she’d kicked the door in and checked the inside for any dangers, she found it to be quaint and full of potential. She ran her fingertips along the tables and chairs as she walked through the seating area, even the black and red tiled walls were an aesthetic she could live with. The tables could all be removed in favor of more useful furniture that she could find almost anywhere. There was a long counter in the middle that opened up into an open-plan kitchen, some of which could still be used if she could only find a generator big enough to power it. The windows were thick, the outside fitted with bars to deter those wanting to take up residence or rob the place out of season.

Handy. She thought.

Stepping back outside into the cold, she surveyed the area. The wind whistled through the rusting metal of the rides, signs flapped in the breeze and the fence enclosing the small fairground itself needed repairs in certain places, the most important being the main gate, which Jess had managed to unlock using a small pair of bolt cutters from her backpack. She could work with it, the effort it would need not deterring her in the slightest. She needed shelter before it started to snow and the disused diner would have to do.

It wasn’t easy to find the materials she needed to make the necessary repairs to the fence and fortify the building. She walked for miles to and from the next town, having to use her conserved energy to hack Walkers to death and shoot them with arrows until she was left with a mere two hours of daylight to get a huge, heavy bag of supplies back to the fairground. She may have found what she needed but her fingers were raw from making snare traps in the area around the fences to ensnare small animals for food. Her joints ached from hauling the old furniture out and hacking it all to pieces. Finding a truck with gas left in it parked on the dirt track of a farm was just the stroke of luck she needed. A generator awaited her in the barn, the only issue was how to remove the solar panels that fueled it from the roof.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Jess’s senses were more than heightened from being on her own for so long and having to be mindful of any threats so as not to become Walker food. Sounds such as snapping twigs and scuffing on the ground alerted her immediately and within seconds, she was alert, bow readied and eyes carefully scanning her surroundings. It was the sound of breathing on this occasion while she stood in the barn trying to figure out how to get the huge generator out and onto the truck, along with the panels, she had no idea where to start. She pulled the string of her bow tight and straightened her back.

“I know you’re there.” She called out. “Make yourself known or I’ll be forced to find you and kill you.”

The barn was piled high with hay bales, a tractor stood to one side and wooden posts obscured her view of the entrance she’d wandered through, dead set on fetching her generator. There was no way she was about to let anyone else take it. Finders keepers, that’s how she saw it. She’d never robbed anyone or felt the need to when supplies were around, they just took a little patience to find.

She spotted boots on the other side of the tractor, moving past it’s massive wheels and wading through hay dropped from the bales on either side. She aimed as a man stepped into view. His hands were up in surrender, he wore a clean, blue and white flannel shirt with a black wax jacket, his hair was cut and tidy, his skin bore no signs of dirt or injury. He held no visible weapons and on his back he carried something else spotless, a tan backpack.

Jess never went anywhere without her mask and hood, they provided her with extra warmth as well an anonymity to anyone she may meet on her travels. She was now a solitary roamer with no desire to connect with anyone or bear the burden of having to take care of someone else. She peered at the man over the top of her mask, which obscured her nose and mouth, showing only her eyes. She quickly swept one leg back, moving into a defensive stance and lined her aim up with the center of his head.

“Who are you?” she demanded firmly.

“My name is Aaron. I come from a community nearby.” He explained. His tone was calm but Jess could sense the underlying anxiety that came with confronting strangers in the new world. Everyone possessed it, it was just more obvious in some than others.

“Backup.” She spat, jutting her bow at him. He jumped in surprise and held his hands up higher. “This is my generator. I found it first.”

Aaron’s eyebrows raised at her intent to take the generator. It was obvious to him that it was all she cared about, aside from not being killed.

“Fair enough. I don’t need one anyway. I just came to talk to you.” He told her.

She glared at him, trying to read him, to figure out what intentions he could possibly have being so squeaky clean and turning up out of the blue for a conversation. It didn’t add up and she didn’t trust him from the moment she heard his breathing from the other side of the barn. She didn’t want to have to kill another living human and so hoped that distraction techniques and words would provide her with enough time to figure out an alternative.

“You expect me to believe that you cornered me in a barn for a conversation?” She asked

“Uh…I know how strange that must seem.” He smiled.

“Hm.” She grunted. It did seem strange, just like everything else about him. His eyes may have looked kind enough, but she had seen all this before. The wolf in sheep’s clothing. She kept a firm grip on her bow. “So talk.” She instructed. “Or I’ll shoot you in the face.”

A kill count wasn’t something Jess ever wanted to have. But it was inevitable for her to have survived so long into what was now a rotting world full of death. She wasn’t yet in double figures, or so she thought. Who knows how many of the people she’d shot in the legs had failed to escape the clutches of an oncoming herd or a hungry, lone Walker in a small space and succumbed to the turn? She couldn’t dwell on it or more of her soul would fall away. She didn’t cry about it anymore. In fact, she hadn’t cried in months, unable to remember the last time. Maybe she was just numb and that wasn’t good. But it didn’t mean she wasn’t prepared to execute another person in order to protect herself.

“I’ve been watching you. You’re very resourceful and handy with that bow.” Aaron explained with his hands still held aloft. “We could use someone like you. We have a lot to offer. Houses, electricity, hot, running water, medical care…walls and-”

“-Cannibals.” She interrupted loudly. Aaron blinked at her in surprise. “You must be cannibals if you have all that.”

His hands began to lower again as he used them to enhance his argument. He stepped closer but she nudged her head up in warning.

Stay there or I will shoot you between the eyes.

“No.” He protested. “I can assure you. We have food, but we’re not cannibals. Please, lower your weapon. I’m not a threat to you.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m a threat to you.” She warned boldly. “Hold your hands out in front of you so I can see ‘em clearer.”

Doing as he was asked, she couldn’t ignore the puzzled look on his face as she inched closer and observed his empty hands as he held them out, palms down and trembling slightly. He flinched when she suddenly stooped down and collected a small rock from the ground and threw it to him.

“Catch”

He caught the rock effortlessly, still baffled by her behavior and concerned that she may be a little more unhinged than he’d anticipated when he’d observed her fixing fences and hauling tables and chairs around while singing quietly to herself at the fairground. He was impressed by her resourcefulness and skills after finding various traps around the fences that could prove almost lethal to anyone that happened to stumble into them.

“What are-”

“-Kuru. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Prion Disease. Whatever you want to call it. Cannibals have tremors and difficulty grasping things. Slower reactions and poor coordination. Among other symptoms. Its incubation period is usually ten years but with food scarce and dumb folk all over the place, people eating people on the daily is common enough to speed up the process”

“That’s…Interesting.” Aaron offered, mildly concerned by her detailed knowledge.

“Not as interesting as the tremor in your hands.” She shot back, seeing him tilt his head back slightly, a look of worry creeping across his features.

“Forgive me, but I am on the business end of an arrow right now. If I were you, I’d be worried if my hands weren’t trembling.”

Jess huffed with amusement. She couldn’t deny that he had a point and it was delivered a thin lacing of sass.

You’re a funny fucker, aren’t you?

“You’re a smartass too.” She declared.

Aaron finally smiled and laughed. Jess lowered her bow subtly but not enough for him to notice. She wasn’t naïve enough to let him win her trust that easily and so keeping something sharp and pointed aimed his way seemed like a wise course of action, no matter how charming and polite he appeared.

“I was just going to say that about you. Just, in my head. Not out loud. I kind of still like being alive.” He grinned “So, did I pass the test?”

She went back over their conversation in her head. A community nearby, food, water, walls, medical supplies. Even if it was true, it was something she no longer wanted. She was better alone. Safer, cunning, clever. If only she could get that damn generator into the back of the truck. She raised an eyebrow at Aaron.

“So far.”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Jess sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes, it was cold in the room but nowhere near as cold as the boat with nothing to break up the howling wind. She swung her legs from the wooden framed bed, taken from the same farm where she ran into the man called Aaron with the kind eyes and clean clothes. In her newly re-arranged kitchen, she prepared a breakfast of tinned sausages and beans, cooked in a pot on a stove that was powered by the generator Aaron had helped her get back to her new home.

She’d bargained with him; He helped her get her generator and she agreed to scope out the community of Alexandria from outside it’s walls, observing the operations, security and supply run teams from high up in a tree that gave her the perfect vantage point. It all seemed innocent enough, but Jess was still untrusting and guarded and eventually agreed to meet the leader of Alexandria on the promise that it was conducted away from the town and she was allowed to be fully armed.

It wasn’t easy to get through to Jess, but Deanna, the woman who made all the decisions for the community, was very convincing and it became apparent to Jess upon the arrival of a stray Walker where their meeting took place in the woods, that Deanna had not been outside of her community since before the world went wrong. Everything that was explained to her, she was able to corroborate and after weeks of surveillance, she took her first steps inside to meet the wary faces of the townsfolk.

Jess kept to herself and didn’t utter a word to anyone unless she had no other choice. Aaron stuck by her side at first, assuring people that she wasn’t a danger to them and when she began bringing back Deer and small game after the seasons switched again, people started to accept her as the mysterious bringer of sustenance and protector of the areas around the circumference of the walls. In return, Jess had access to medical supplies and a shower with hot, running water at Aaron’s house that he shared with his partner, Eric. She never once, let anyone see her face, going about her business in full protective clothing.

Jess refused to move from the fairground. It was her home and the place that she felt most at ease. She didn’t have fences as large as Alexandria, but hers were sufficient and she knew every inch of them. Living away from everybody else meant she made no connections. No friends, just one or two acquaintances. She wanted to live a life without ties that could lead to more emotional trauma or put her at risk of getting killed. She had a deal with Alexandria, an understanding. On top of that, she also got her generator and solar panels which Aaron had helped to install along with the help of a man Jess didn’t know and didn’t need to know. All she cared about was him being able to make her stove work before she could send him back inside the walls.

Hunting was both a necessity and an enjoyable activity once the weather warmed and the mornings and evenings became lighter. If the Walker numbers were kept low within a mile radius, which was Jess’s job, animals ventured closer to Alexandria to forage and when they did, Jess nabbed them. Sometimes, she’d be out overnight, so engrossed in tracking and taking down something larger than a rabbit that she just couldn’t let it go. That was another good thing about being on the sidelines of a community, the gas for a vehicle. Journeying out further to relatively untouched patches of woodland turned up some great results, especially when she borrowed a hunting rifle from the armory.

Slinking through the trees early one morning with her rifle readied and her eyes cast down across the ground, she followed the tracks of what she thought could be a large deer. Its imprints were deep, suggesting it was somewhat hefty and the foliage it nibbled along the way provided her with the perfect path. She breathed quietly through her nose, kept her footsteps light and her hood up.

This is going to be a good one. She thought, excited at the prospect of her share.

Then, male voices caught her attention and she dived behind the nearest bush; her body locked into such a stillness that she thought her heart might stop beating.

“A bitch got you all messed up. Walking around here like a dead man. She must have been a good’un. Was it one of the little ones? They don’t last too long out here.” A man commented.

There was a scuffle but Jess couldn’t see from her current position. While the noises of scraping boots on the muddy floor went on, she twisted her body just enough to make out the scene through the leaves of her hiding place. She needed to know what she was dealing with if she was discovered.

Clamping a hand over her mouth was all she could do to stop herself from gasping loudly with shock. There, beyond the leaves and with a long-haired stranger in a brutal headlock, was Daryl Dixon. His face was twisted into a rage, sweat slick on his forehead as he used all his might to choke the man in his grip. She almost fell backwards and gave her location away when the man whirled out of Daryl’s arm and swung a punch which Daryl quickly avoided. As he ducked, Jess heard the unmistakable shing of a knife being unsheathed and Daryl lunged with the cold metal in his hand.

Her mind was blank. She had no idea what to do. If she should intervene or stay put. It was Daryl. He’d hurt her and she’d deliberately put what she’d thought were hundreds of miles between them, only for him to show up right in front of her in the woods. Still, she didn’t want to see him get killed.

As he neared the man with his knife raised, someone else arrived. An older, grey man with a much more relaxed attitude stepped in and broke up the fight which, as she learned from the shadows, was over who the dead rabbit on the ground belonged to.

He was different, angrier and war-worn but she didn’t get the same vibes from him that she got from the others, and there were more of them. A whole group of them travelling through the woods, she’d discovered. It wasn’t until she retreated further into the trees and decided to follow them that she could tell their intentions were worlds apart from Daryl’s.

The railway tracks were incredibly difficult to follow along without being seen, but she stayed in the tree line, her dark, camouflage and protective clothing aiding her in her disguise. From there, she could hear what was being said. She didn’t possess one ounce of trust in the men he was with and maybe it was because she was an outside observer, but she was shocked that Daryl didn’t seem to know that they were merely using him. Now, there was no way she was leaving. She followed on until they stopped outside an empty auto repairs place on a crossroads. For a moment, Daryl was left alone while the others checked the building.

It was tempting. Oh, so tempting to signal him from the trees and alert him to her presence. He struck a lonely figure as he stood in the road by himself. He looked older, his hair was longer and he still wore his angel wings on his back, only now they were fading and ripped. She was completely torn, half of her wanted to go to him but she was stopped by the memory of what he’d said to his brother. That she meant nothing to him. So, why would he even care if she was there or not? She stayed quiet and hidden, creeping up to a window when darkness fell and they took shelter inside. Carefully, by peeking through a corner of the window, she was able to look inside without being detected.

From the glass, she sighed and watched him sleep on a black piece of plastic while the others took up residence in cars. For the first time since she discovered him, she had the time to acknowledge how much she missed him. She was still hurt, heartbroken in fact by what she’d heard. But it was Daryl. Once her good friend and if she was totally honest, the person she’d thought about every day since she left the group. He still inspired her and try as she might, she couldn't shake the notion that she still found him to be incredibly attractive.

I might mean nothing to you. But, I’m here. I’m not leaving you with these jackasses.

She slept against the side of the auto repairs building, under the window and shrouded in leaves. Waking only when she heard an argument going on inside. On the verge of stepping in to prevent Daryl from being hurt by the mindless, violent, idiots he’d ended up with, she gripped her machete in her hand and started to think about how she was going to charge in and take on seven men when the aggression was suddenly diverted from Daryl to one of the other men. Jess sank back and breathed a deep huff of relief. She didn’t have to see him get hurt.

When the body of the man Daryl had fought with in the woods was dumped inches from her as they departed, she held her breath until she was sure none of them could hear her and set about following them further. She didn’t know why, but going back was not an option. She couldn’t leave him. Not with this group. Not now. There were too many risks.

They re-joined the railway tracks and Jess was able to silently move along at the back of the group where Joe, the grey-haired man who she gathered was the leader, talked to Daryl and offered him a drink from a hip flask. She saw him hesitate as she carefully climbed over logs and slithered through the trees at a pace that was tough to keep up without being too noisy. He shrugged a shoulder up and accepted.

“I ain’t been lit at dawn since before everything fell apart” He expressed.

Jess couldn’t help it. The way he spoke and his conversational tone coupled with a nonchalant shrug was so typical of him and it stung at her emotions. But at his honest comment, her face broke into a wide smile that she struggled to control. So wrapped up in how much she missed him, she failed to navigate around a large tree trunk and smacked into it, causing a rustle that Daryl heard over everyone else. He paused and Jess was sure he was looking right at her from the tracks as she hugged the tree and wished that she hadn’t just acted with the dexterity of a toddler running through the woods. Joe carried on while Daryl squinted into the dark trees and adjusted his crossbow. Her lungs began to burn, she didn’t want to breathe for fear of being noticed, her knees felt like they might cave in.

You really are a tracker.

After what seemed like hours, Daryl finally moved on, joining the rest of the men at a metal sign on the side of the tracks. They gathered around, talking in hushed tones that she couldn’t quite make out from her position. Then, Daryl stepped back, revealing the word at the top of the sign which made her blood run cold and her eyes well with tears. She knew exactly where they were headed and she had to do something to stop them.

TERMINUS.

NEXT CHAPTER

#daryl dixon #the walking dead daryl #twd fanfiction #twd daryl #daryl x oc #daryl dixon imagine

16 notes · View notes

shenglingyuan · 6 years

Text

title: step 2(ao3)

pairing: jiang cheng/wei ying

summary: fake dating chengxian (^^) mdzs secret santa gift for erufuno!

Despite the relaxing aroma of brewed coffee and mellow jazz music filling the cool air of the coffeeshop, Jiang Cheng can’t help but feel anxious. Hah, Jiang Wanyin, you dare to feel fear? Unimaginable, he scolds himself in his mind. He breathes deeply, then lets out a loud exhale, momentarily forgetting where he is. Luckily, there are only a handful of customers in the coffeeshop. He bows his head in apology, mentally cursing Wei Ying. Where is he?

The chimes by the swinging door rings. Speak of the devil. The smiling face of Wei Ying peeks in first, his eyes meeting Jiang Cheng’s, and if it’s possible his eyes seemed to shine even brighter - the shine of mischief, most definitely. He finally enters the shop and confidently strides towards Jiang Cheng.

“What took you so long?”

“What?” Wei Ying pulls the chair in front of Jiang Cheng and sits, not even missing a beat when he adds, “Missed me already?”

“Wei Ying!”

The face Jiang Cheng makes that looks like he’s about to hit Wei Ying hard in the head prompts the latter to raise his arms in surrender.

“Fine, fine. Someone held me back, confessed their feelings to me privately.”

“Why would someone do that?”

“Why not?” Wei Ying feigns looking offended, “I’m handsome, that’s why.”

Really, this guy.

“And? How did it end up?”

“I directly told them, ‘Ah, sorry, I’m already dating someone.’”

“You-”

“Ain’t it the truth ?” Wei Ying’s grin is so wide Jiang Cheng wonders how it still not hurting his cheeks.

“I know you agreed to help me but you have to be careful where you’re spreading your information.”

“Don’t worry,” he waves a hand nonchalantly, “That guy has no friends. Anyway, I can’t believe the couple wallpaper thing has stopped working already.” He lays his palm open on the table. “Phone.”

Jiang Cheng gives his phone without question. “She’s so stubborn! She even went through the album you created with our pictures, told me a bunch of fake couple photos won’t push her away from me.”

“Fake? How dare she call my hard work fake?” Wei Ying pouts as he scrolled through the photo album. “And I look good in these photos, too.”

“She needs to leave my life.” The words come out of his mouth with the same conviction as one would say ‘ Whether we live or we die, we will defend this land! ’ He had been forced by his mother to go out with her a few times now. Another one and Jiang Cheng is ready to run to the hills and live a nomad’s life.

Wei Ying smiles mischievously, making the hairs in Jiang Cheng’s nape stand.

“Then we proceed with Step 2.”

Jiang Cheng knows what Step 2 is. He wishes he didn’t have to go through Step 2 at all.

___

Some six or seven weeks before Step 2 has been greenlit, Jiang Cheng’s quiet and peaceful life as a graduate student in his last year of MBA was shaken by a seemingly innocent lunch with a long-time family friend. The ‘family friend’ whom Jiang Cheng has only been able to meet thrice before, he sees them again for a fourth time now with a girl around his age at tow.

Perhaps, Jiang Cheng should have taken it as a sign. After all, his mother had been talking about marriage plans after his graduation from his program. “We need to ensure that the company stays alive.”

The Jiang family have been in the industry since the late 60’s and have amassed quite a number of businesses in all fields. This long time family friend, the Jins, owns the top gold mining company in the country. They have only one child, the undisputed heir to all their wealth: Jin Zixuan. This girl, however, Jiang Cheng has never heard of before.

“She’s my niece, my brother’s daughter: Jin Hua,” Madam Jin introduced.

Jin Hua bowed her head slightly towards the Jiangs in greeting, and when she raised her head, she purposely looked at Jiang Cheng’s eyes. He knew that look did not mean anything well at all.

The moment the lunch ended, the marriage plan agreed upon, Jiang Cheng flew out of his seat like a gust of wind. His hand already on his phone, he speed dialed Wei Ying.

“You have to help me.”

“What is it?”

Jiang Cheng summarized the situation in just two words: “Arranged marriage.”

Wei Ying replied with another two: “Holy shit.”

Nevertheless his bright mind came up with a plan almost immediately: appal Jin Hua so much she would want to break the marriage plans herself.

___

“I swear to God you read too much pocketbooks,” Jiang Cheng murmurs frustratedly under his breath.

“Bold of you to assume I read.”

“I know you read those romantic ones filled with sex and stuff.”

“Jiang Cheng,” Wei Ying looks at him with a serious expression, and for once, Jiang Cheng thought something sensible will finally come out of his mouth, “You can’t know everything from videos alone. A man has to read up.”

He should have known otherwise.

The two friends transferred to a nearby restaurant, a few blocks away from the coffee shop where they met up. Jin Hua had suddenly sent an invitation to have dinner with Jiang Cheng while the two were brainstorming on how to execute Step 2. His first reaction was to decline, naturally, but Wei Ying stopped him and told him it was a golden opportunity.

Hence, Jiang Cheng finds himself waiting for his ‘fiancee’ while seated beside his ‘boyfriend’.

Not for long and Jin Hua arrives, striding inside the restaurant in a confident manner. Even Wei Ying stopped to assess the lady. In terms of physical appearance, Jin Hua has probably been blessed by all the gods in the heavens. The sharp angles of her face seemed to be sculpted by an artist, and even with minimal makeup, she is naturally glowing. Her frame is just perfect too, fit and not too thin. Wei Ying starts to wonder if Jiang Cheng is in the right mind to be rejecting such beauty.

“You know this would be easier if she’s not this pretty,” he mutters under his breath, letting only Jiang Cheng hear.

“Shut it,” Jiang Cheng visibly shuffles. He really seems to despise breathing the same air as Jin Hua. Nevertheless, he is a man of good upbringing and he never forgets his manners. He stands to greet her. “Good evening.”

“Good evening, as well,” Jin Hua is all smiles as she greets Jiang Cheng. Her eyes then travel to Wei Ying who didn’t even bother to move, and that smile dimmed just a bit. “I didn’t expect we’ll have company.”

“Nice meeting you, too,” Wei Ying smiles.

Jin Hua takes her seat, and only after she has settled that Jiang Cheng returns to his seat as well.

“Shall we order?” Wei Ying raises a hand and calls the attention of a waiter. In a few seconds, they are attended to, three menus given to them. Wei Ying returns the one given to him, “We’ll share with this one.”

He scoots closer to Jiang Cheng, showing him the wide variety of meals. He lets his arm rest on top of Jiang Cheng’s thigh as he did so.

Thankfully, Jiang Cheng has known Wei Ying since he was eight and a close contact like this are as natural as to breathing. If it is any other person, maybe he will not be as calm as he is now. They order the same steak meal while Jin Hua opts for a salmon dish. After relaying their orders to the waiter, Jin Hua turns to the two of them.

“Mr. Wei, is it?” she starts, “You don’t really need to go this far. Only a fool would believe your little charade.”

“There’s no charade here, Ms. Jin,” Jiang Cheng answers for Wei Ying. He looks her directly in the eyes, “The undisputed fact here is Wei Ying has been with me for a long time. There’s nothing to fake in that.”

The lines flow out smoothly from Jiang Cheng’s mouth. The truth is they had that line rehearsed before they went to the restaurant. The key to a successful implementation of Step 2 is that the sincerity must come from both of them.

“We’ve been together even before you came in the picture,” Wei Ying continues the statement, “Why can’t you just back off my man?”

At this point, it’s taking all of Jiang Cheng to not react. How can Wei Ying refer to him as “my man” so casually yet with so much passion?

Yet those two words seem to have the desired effect on Jin Hua’s face. The smile she has been trying to put up since arriving dissolves completely.

“What’s so bad about marrying into the Jin family?” She lays both her hands on the table, crossing her fingers, and looking at them with a cold gaze, “It’s not like I’m the most enthusiastic person about this arrangement either, but looking at it as the sensible individual I believe you are, Jiang Cheng, this marriage will reap you and your family more benefits than you can imagine.”

“What benefits do you talk of?” It is Jiang Cheng’s turn to be cold. The moment this Jin Hua started to talk about business, she has treaded on the waters he guards closely, “You’re only a cousin of Jin Zixuan, you have no hold over their company. Your own family’s shares in their company isn’t even substantial. We could just opt to buy you out and not proceed with this marriage anyway.”

Jin Hua sucks in her breath, obviously mortified by Jiang Cheng’s words. Wei Ying can’t help but let out a quick snort. When it comes to serious matters, Jiang Cheng really is something else.

No more words are exchanged until the food arrived. And even then, only Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng talked with each other. Jin Hua finishes her food as quickly but as refined as possible.

“I believe I have only wasted both our times here,” she states as soon as she finishes her meal.

Why didn’t she realize that before she even sent out the invitation? Wei Ying thinks to himself.

“And about the marriage, I stand by my position. I see no disadvantage for me, and so you can’t push me away no matter how hard you try to convince me that you and your closest friend are ‘dating’. Why not try persuading your mother instead, no?”

Jin Hua leaves without waiting for a reply. The two men left behind continue to finish their meal in a leisurely pace.

“That was some good speech back there, Jiang Cheng,” Wei Ying compliments him almost incomprehensibly, his mouth full.

“Some people must always be reminded of their rightful place.”

“She has a point, though.”

“Which part?”

“About convincing Madam Yu,” Wei Ying looks at him thoughtfully, “She’s the one who pushed for the arrangement. She has the ultimate authority to call it off, too.”

Suddenly, Jiang Cheng isn’t so sure of what to do anymore.

“Hey,” Wei Ying hits him on his back lightly and smiles, “Don’t worry too much. Try talking with her again.”

“You make it sound easy.”

“I mean...you’re her son. If you plead enough, I’m sure she’ll listen to you no matter how iron-hearted she is.”

Jiang Cheng knows Wei Ying is only trying to lighten his mood. They’ve known each other for over a decade already. Wei Ying literally lived under their roof. He knows Madam Yu never listened to him, not a single occasion.

He can’t help but heave a sigh.

“I feel like I already lost a battle that I haven’t started yet.”

“That’s exactly why you have to fight even more,” Wei Ying reaches for his shoulder and squeezes reassuringly. Somehow, Jiang Cheng feels that he is not alone in this.

___

“Mother,” he had said, “I know you only want the best for me and especially the company, but I refuse to push through with the marriage arrangement with Ms. Jin Hua.”

The silent hum of the air conditioner and the continuous tapping of his mother’s fingers on the keyboard filled the silence that followed after Jiang Cheng’s announcement. He would have preferred it more if his mother lashed out at him, but this quiet from her side was truly frightening. This silence is usually reserved for truly the worst decisions.

His father happens to be in the same room as Jiang Cheng asked him to listen on in as well. Sensing the tense atmosphere, he clears his throat and starts, “Jiang Cheng, son, what brought this up?”

“After much thought, I arrived at the realization that marrying Jin Hua would give them more benefits than what we could get from them. It won’t breakeven.”

Finally, Madam Yu raises her eyes from her laptop and meets Jiang Cheng’s gaze. “Now you talk about breaking even?”

He swallows down the sudden fear that threatened to rise up his throat. “Isn’t this marriage arrangement just another business move anyway?”

“Jiang Cheng,” his father cuts in, “This is also for your future.”

“ My future? We all know we’re only concerned about the company’s future here-”

Madam Yu rises from her seat in a flash, her hands hitting the table with a loud slap. “ Jiang Wanyin! Since when have you learned to talk back?”

“Ziyuan,” his father walks closer to her, attempting to calm her down, “We can talk calmly about this like a family. We’re not business partners under one roof.”

“Tell me, Fengmian, how can we talk calmly about this matter when this son of yours is spouting nonsense? Do you think a lady worthy of being married into the Jiang family is easily sought, Wanyin? You weren’t the one being troubled about this matter all these years.”

And that’s exactly the problem! , Jiang Cheng almost wanted to say. In the matters of business, he will understand if his parents would not consult him of their plans despite him being the next heir. He can put it aside as his parents being considerate about his graduate education and being assertive of their position in the company. But if in the matters of Jiang Cheng’s personal choices in life, he’s already a decade too old to be told of what to do, what to think, and who to choose.

In the end, Jiang Cheng could still not go against his mother directly. He averts his eyes and says, “I don’t like Jin Hua.”

“Jin Hua is the only lady worthy of the Jiang name.”

“Unless,” Fengmian looks at Jiang Cheng, his voice softening, “You already have your affection for someone else?”

Jiang Cheng turns his head around. Is this an exit door he senses?

Madam Yu stares unbelievably at this father and son, “Don’t even dare.”

Suddenly, Jiang Cheng gets an idea.

“I am already seeing someone else, and I love this person. Jin Hua can’t even compare.”

Madam Yu steps out of the room in frustration. She cannot bend this son anymore.

Jiang Cheng internally sighs in relief. Even though he had aggravated his mother, there is a certain feeling of freedom at being able to express his thoughts. He had laid out his mind, it’s up to his mother how to deal with it. She’s not so shameless that she could continue interacting with her prospective in-laws when she knows how much her son despises Jin Hua.

All in all, Jiang Cheng can say he had produced an unexpected but favorable result.

Unfortunately, there are times when his smart perception misses some simple things.

“Then, can we meet this special person?” Fengmian asks.

___

“I can’t believe you told uncle and aunt that you’re dating someone,” Wei Ying was lying down on Jiang Cheng’s bed, processing everything that the latter has just told him. He always knew his closest friend had guts, but he can’t believe he has enough guts to feed himself into the mouth of the tiger. He would have loved to laugh at the situation, but Jiang Cheng the Brave is now lying next to him, face down, suddenly mortified by all the decisions he made and things he said in front of his parents.

“I’m dead.”

“If you do die, can I inherit your bank account?”

“But you’re dying with me.”

“What?”

“Did you forget? We’re making Jin Hua believe we’re going out. I told my parents I’m seeing someone. If mother asks Jin Hua about it, she’ll say it’s you.”

There, Wei Ying realized, Jiang Cheng the Fool is actually about to feed the two of them into the mouth of the tiger.

“Oh shit,” he sits up in a flash, “Holy shit.”

“Step 2 was your idea.”

Jiang Cheng turns his head, their eyes meeting. The gravity of the situation sets in and Wei Ying runs a hand down his face.

Jiang Cheng didn’t have to say anything else for Wei Ying completely understands what’s to be done next.

“You know I’m not Madam Yu’s favorite person.”

“And that’s exactly why you’re the best person for this farce.”

“I’m always the best person anywhere,” Wei Ying smiles at him, a smile that’s assured of success. “Well, when do I get to meet the parents?”

___

Upon knowing that her younger brother is actually dating someone, and that their father wanted to meet this special person, Jiang Yanli took it upon herself to arrange a simple dinner at home. Even though she possessed the corporate mind their family is known for, she personally prefers a quiet venture of her own, hence she started a flower shop. This gives her a more flexible way in handling her personal time.

Both of the Jiang siblings never really had time to attend to the romantic aspect of their lives. Jiang Cheng is busy studying in order to be capable to inherit the family business, while she herself is occupied by her own small business. That’s why when she heard from their father that Jiang Cheng has actually been going out with someone, she is the first one in the family to be truly excited.

Surprisingly, despite Madam Yu’s initial reaction to Jiang Cheng’s revelation, she miraculously showed up for dinner. A soft smile paints Fengmian’s face as if he expected that she’ll arrive from the very beginning.

“Where’s your brother?” Madam Yu asks as she takes her seat, her lips drawn on a thin line.

“He must be picking up this person he’s dating,” Yanli says, laying on the table the lotus soup she prepared as a side dish.

“Ah Cheng didn’t tell even you about this person?”

“No, he didn’t.”

Fengmian looks at the table and counts five sets of plates. “Wei Ying is joining us?”

“I asked him earlier and he said he is,” Yanli recalls. “Maybe he’s with Ah Cheng?”

“Those two are really inseparable,” he comments fondly.

“Ah Cheng will soon graduate and handle the company. Wei Wuxian can’t hang around him forever,” Madam Yu interjects.

Before Yanli could say something to defend the boys, they all hear the door open. After a few moments, Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying appear, no other person in sight.

“Ah Cheng, Ah Xian, you’re finally here!” Yanli greets them, “Where’s this person we’re supposed to meet?”

The two men look at each other, a silent conversation seemingly passing through that simple look. Then, Jiang Cheng faces his whole family.

“Mom, Dad, Sis...we’ve been keeping it for a while now but-” Jiang Cheng sees his mother moving to stand, but his father held her wrist, pulling her back, he continues on, “-Wei Ying and I are together.”

Yanli clasps her hands together, a genuine warm smile forming on her face, “Oh, I knew it! That’s so good to hear!”

She knew it? Jiang Cheng thinks to himself. But before he could react to his sister’s reply, Wei Ying joins their hands together.

“We’re sorry if we’ve been keeping it all this time. We were waiting for the right timing, after Jiang Cheng’s graduation actually, but the matter with the Jin family prompted us to tell this now.”

“Ah Xian, Ah Cheng,” it’s Fengmian who speaks next, his face as soft as ever, “Why don’t you sit down first? Let’s talk over dinner.”

As expected, it is the most awkward family dinner ever. Though Fengmian and Yanli try to make the atmosphere lighter and more welcoming, the deafening silence from Madam Yu doesn’t go unignored. Wei Wuxian has his back pole straight the whole time. So this is what it feels like to ‘meet the family’ . To be fair, there’s no way anyone can top Madam Yu in making someone feel worthless just by sitting quietly.

The usual questions pop up during dinner, and thankfully, the two of them have rehearsed for it well.

Since when have they been together? Almost three years ago.

How? It was a natural process, given that they’ve been practically by each other’s side since they were kids. If one would think about, they were just waiting for the right time to realize their feelings (This certain part, Wei Ying came up with).

Then who confessed first? Wei Ying did, because Jiang Cheng would never admit that he liked him out loud (Wei Ying also came up with this, obviously).

What are your future plans? They’re waiting for Jiang Cheng’s graduation, then Wei Ying can leave his current job and they could start a small business while Jiang Cheng manages some of the companies.

What kind of business? A coffee shop near the university seems like the easiest one to start and the fastest to be profitable. Knowing the ins and outs of their alma mater, it’ll be easy to arrange the necessary papers and there will always be a flux of customers. Jiang Cheng already has a list of suppliers in mind. Wei Ying could plan the interior of their shop. It should all go smoothly if all plans are followed thoroughly.

It’s interesting how the words seamlessly flow from his lips to Wei Ying’s, as if their minds are connected to each other. Jiang Cheng has always been aware of this fact, but somehow, being stuck in this situation, he learns to appreciate this connection even more.

“We’re having lunch with the Jins this weekend,” Madam Yu finally speaks as soon as she finishes her meal, interrupting the ongoing interview session. “Jiang Wanyin, you will be there.”

It is an order. Without waiting for a reply, she stands up from her seat and leaves. Only then that the two are able to breathe freely.

“Please forgive Ziyuan’s attitude just now,” Fengmian says, “She must be have had quite a surprise about the two of you.”

“Don’t worry, uncle, we kinda expected it,” Wei Ying says with a light laugh, “We wouldn’t have been brave enough to face the family if we weren’t ready for such treatment.”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner, then?”

Jiang Cheng looks at his father almost sheepishly, “I was...We were afraid of your reaction. That we’d get disowned or something.”

“Ah Cheng, my history with arranged marriages, you two siblings should know very well. If there’s anyone who will support you if you wish to pursue your own heart, I would be the first to do so.”

Jiang Cheng’s heart is immensely moved by his father’s words. It’s not everyday that his father shows him of all people this kind of affection and understanding. He turns to Wei Ying and they both smile at each other. To his surprise, Wei Ying reaches for his hand on the table and squeezes it.

“We’re happy to know of your support, uncle.”

“Don’t count me out too soon,” Yanli adds, smiling brightly, “I’ll always have your back as well.”

With his family supporting him, and with the hand that holds his tightly, Jiang Cheng feels a warm sensation enveloping him. It’s a nice thing to have these people around him.

___

It is forty-five minutes past twelve noon. By this time, the Jin and Jiang family are on their second round of main course. Yet, Jiang Cheng, who is supposed to be in the middle of it all is still absent. Only Fengmian’s hand that is constantly rubbing at Madam Yu’s back can keep her calm. Yanli, on her part, is keeping the family ties between the Jin and the Jiang intact.

“But investing in new technology will be really worthwhile, too,” she says to Madam Jin, “I know several people in the academe researching on more efficient ways to extract gold, to ensure a hundred percent recovery from the ore. I think if you could support a research like that and patent the technology, your investments would triple back.”

The smile on the Madam’s face is so wide, as if she herself just chanced upon a gold mine. “I’m not so sure who to connect with about those kind of things. I’ve been thinking of that too, but the older members of the board seems to be not so thrilled with the idea. Only Zixuan here actually thinks like you.”

Zixuan, who is in the middle of drinking his juice, suddenly coughs. He has been quiet since the start of this lunch. Yanli has known the young master since they were kids and she’s aware that the two boys of the family don’t get along well. However, Jiang Cheng is currently not around. Is it that Jin Zixuan doesn’t like her presence too that he’s being too quiet?

“I think it’ll be great to have more young innovative people in the company, don’t you think, Yanli?”

“Oh,” Yanli covers her mouth and laughs softly, “I’m sure it’s a great move. The industry is so fast-paced after all. The young and the old should work hand-in-hand to move their companies to greater heights.”

Her phone vibrates in time. It’s a call from Jiang Cheng.

“Please excuse me,” she stands from her seat and finds a more quiet place to answer her phone. “Ah Cheng, are you still coming?”

“Hi sis,” the other side of the phone seems busy. Yanli can hear the roar of the car engine, “I forgot to mention but Wei Ying and I will be out over the weekend.”

“The whole weekend?”

“It’s our anniversary!” comes Wei Ying’s voice through the phone.

“Focus on the road - Sis, sorry I had to miss this lunch. Or whatever that is.”

“Don’t worry, you’re not missing anything important,” Yanli smiles to herself. She really can’t blame her brother. The past few months, she had been noticing something differently good about him. Now that she realizes it’s because of his relationship with Ah Xian, she’s happy to give them her full support. “I’ll just tell them you’re caught up in another meeting out of town.”

“You’re the best. Tell Mother and Father I’ll see them on Monday. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“Take care, the two of you.”

“Bye!”

After dropping the call, Yanli returns to her seat and whispers to Fengmian about Jiang Cheng’s whereabouts. Their father only makes an expression of surprise. There’s no helping it, it’s not like they can drag Jiang Cheng back just for this meal.

“Are you in your company’s board too, Ms. Yanli?” Jin Hua suddenly asks, Yanli turns to face her.

“Not really-”

“Ah,” Jin Hua’s tone suddenly changed slightly, cutting off the rest of Yanli’s reply, “They must not trust you with the family business if that’s the case.”

Yanli just closes her mouth and smiles weakly. She’s used to getting judged just because she’s not the one to inherit the company.

“Actually,” to everyone’s surprise, it is Jin Zixuan who speaks, “I believe Ms. Jiang Yanli is busy with her own business. Am I right?”

His words effectively silence Jin Hua, her previously arrogant look completely disappearing.

Yanli is surprised as well. Her flower shop business, though very profitable, keeps a low profile. She didn’t expect Mr. Jin Zixuan, heir to a mining company, would know about her little shop.

“Yes, but it’s just a simple flower shop business. We cater to many events, however. There’s a constant flux of customers from connections so we need no expense for further advertising.”

“Yanli is a very independent person,” Fengmian adds, “I can’t be prouder. All her connections, her start-up fund...it all came from her hard work. Didn’t even asked a single cent from us, this child.”

“How about this son of yours,” Madam Jin finally brings up the much needed topic, “Will he still be coming? We’ve been waiting for a while.”

“I don’t think so,” Madam Yu says with a sigh, “He’s usually very responsible. But ever since this...this relationship came to light, he’s been openly defying us.”

Being the close friends that they are, Madam Yu has already told Madam Jin about Jiang Cheng’s relationship with Wei Ying. It was met with a raise of an eyebrow, but no more words were said.

“Truth to be told, when you said he was already in a relationship, I didn’t worry much. Relationships like that come and go. But, if he truly is not into this arrangement, then we don’t have to push for it. I don’t want the ties between our families ruined just because of this.”

“But Aunt-”

A sharp look from Madam Jin silences Jin Hua yet again. Then, Madam Jin’s eyes turn to Yanli and visibly softens.

“Besides, there are other chances that we might not just be seeing right now, but is surely to present itself in the near future.”

____

They arrive at a remote resort high up in the mountains. It’s Wei Ying who planned everything they are going to do in their ‘weekend anniversary’ . They really didn’t mean for it to happen on the same day as the family lunch, after all, Wei Ying has planned for this since a month ago. Nevertheless, it’s a great timing. Jiang Cheng will worry about his mother afterwards.

“A colleague’s family runs this resort,” Wei Ying mentions as they walked towards their cabin. “This is actually a very private place, the fees are also very high. But I managed to get a pretty big discount,” he says with pride.

“Shut up, Wei Ying. We own this place.” The Rock Towers Resort is among the few companies personally ran by Jiang Cheng. Customers come by season, and so it is easier to manage despite his academic load. Jiang Cheng is surprised though that Wei Ying managed to book a reservation without him hearing about it, “I’m going to have to talk to some of my people about your booking.”

Wei Ying only grins.

The rest of the day goes by smoothly. The thing with the two of them is that no matter where they are, no matter who they’re with, as long as they’re together, they are sure to have a good time. By late evening, Wei Ying dragged him out to the open area near the overlooking. From there, they could see the lights of the city from afar. He brought two bottles of wine and gives Jiang Cheng one.

“So,” he sits on the soft grass, “How’s my Step 2 going so far?”

“Well, for one, we’ve succeeded in annoying Mother.”

“That Jin Hua, too.”

“Sis and Father strongly believes our charade.”

“I feel a bit bad about that.”

“Let’s just explain after.”

“It’s a miracle I still haven’t been kicked out from the house.”

“I’ll give you a place to stay in if ever that happens.”

“You-!”

Jiang Cheng laughs heartily. “Don’t worry. They’ll have to kick me out first before they can do the same to you.”

“Ha, good luck with that.”

They talk like that the whole night: about Step 2, then about their jobs, about the company, about the university, about the Jins, about the current state of the economy, about nonsense, and about nothings. Yet in the whole duration of their conversation, every word mattered. They’ve been together for more than a decade, yet Jiang Cheng still feels that every second spent with Wei Ying is worthwhile no matter the reason. It’s the kind of a bond that doesn’t come quite often in one’s lifetime.

“What’s the plan then, after all this pretending?” Wei Ying asks. He has just finished his bottle of wine. As the strong drinker that he is, it doesn’t seem to affect him at all. He lies down, using Jiang Cheng’s thigh as his pillow, stretching on the grass like a cat.

Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng is only halfway through his own bottle and he already feels warm.

“I’m about to do my thesis soon, I can’t afford to go through a break-up right now.”

“After your graduation?”

“Hmm...too far away.”

“Well, young master Jiang Wanyin, we have to set a definite date for this. It can’t be soon, and it can’t be too far into the future either. When do you want it?”

“You decide.”

Wei Ying is silent for a while, keeping his eyes on the night sky. Jiang Cheng drinks from his bottle again, trying to empty it. However, about one-fourths remain. Why won’t this wine finish itself?

“Then let’s not,” Wei Ying finally says.

At first, Jiang Cheng thinks he heard wrong from all the alcohol. Wei Ying sounded so serious after all, he can’t be suggesting what he thinks he heard. “What did you say?”

“I said let’s not break up,” Wei Ying looks at him straight in the eyes, seemingly waiting for his reaction.

The wine dampened the speed at which Jiang Cheng’s brain can work. He wants to say something, but his mind is still just processing Wei Ying’s words. Not break up? What would that imply? He just stares blankly at Wei Ying’s face, “Huh?”

“Ah, never mind, you’re beyond comprehension now, give me that,” he sits up and swipes the wine bottle from his hand, then downs it in one go. “I was thinking let’s not break up so that I won’t have a hard time in life. Who wouldn’t want to be future Master Jiang Wanyin’s lifetime partner, yeah?”

“Whatever. Whether we become lifetime partners or not, you still can’t get rid of me anyway.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Wei Ying says nonchalantly. He stands up, then extends his hand to Jiang Cheng. “Come on now, time to sleep.”

He takes his outstretched hand without question. Despite the alcohol, Jiang Cheng feels that his first statement isn’t what he claims it to be. He’s just too tipsy to wrap his head around his original context. Hopefully, he remembers it when he’s completely sober.

____

It is the Monday after his ‘weekend getaway’ with Wei Ying. To be fair, it was a lot of fun, just as all his previous trips with him. For a while, he is able to forget of his worries: his thesis, his impending work, his arranged marriage, his mother. Wei Ying always seems to have a way to make him feel instantly better.

He’s still lying on bed, staring at the ceiling, recalling in his mind the weekend that passed by in a flash. This time, there is something different. He places a hand over his chest, trying to decipher what could that something is. He feels happy, blissfully so, yet there’s also a small part of him that’s confused. What is this?

A knock on his door interrupts his reverie. He quickly stands and opens the door, surprised to see his sister. Yanli doesn’t usually fix herself up beyond the usual, but on this certain day, her hair is braided like a crown and her cheeks are streaked with a faint pink blush. She’s even wearing one of her newer clothes, the one their mother gifted to her on her birthday.

“You’re going somewhere?”

“In a while,” she smiles shyly, “But, can I talk with you?”

“Of course! Why not? Come in, come in.”

Yanli sit by the foot of his bed, her feet hanging. Even her toenails are manicured. Jiang Cheng wonders silently if she is about to close a business deal or something. Wherever she’s going, it seems pretty important.

“How was your weekend trip? You came back pretty late last night. I can still hear Ah Xian snoring in his room.”

“Is he?” Jiang Cheng laughs at the image. For sure, Wei Ying has his mouth open and his body at the edge of the bed, in danger of falling down. “It was really fun. We were able to have quality time, I was able to relax, too. Next time, you should go with us.”

“You know, I still feel bad that you didn’t tell me about the two of you first. If there are things you’re worried about your relationship, don’t hesitate to ask me, okay? I may not have experience of my own, but I think, as a sister to both of you, I could share pieces of wisdom here and there.”

Jiang Cheng looks at his sister in surprise, he didn’t expect she’d be asking about his ‘relationship’ with Wei Ying. Did she really care about it that much? Even during the dinner, she looked genuinely happy. She’s been very supportive of the two of them, as well. He’d hate to make her sister feel bad, but he hates it even more so that he’s lying to her.

If anyone should know about the truth, it should be her.

“It’s not real.”

Yanli looks at him with an unmasked confusion. “I...I don’t understand.”

“The ‘relationship’ between Wei Ying and me, it’s not real. I asked him to help me break the marriage arrangement with Jin Hua, and our plan was to pretend we’re together even beforehand,” now that Jiang Cheng is saying these things out loud, it does sound ridiculous, “It was all Wei Ying’s idea so it’s crazy.”

For some reason, his sister looks really crestfallen. “Oh, so that’s the case.”

“Did you think it was real?”

“Yeah, I...you two did look really happy together. As a couple.”

“Well, Wei Ying is a pretty good actor. If he wasn’t I don’t think the arrangement with Jin Hua would have been broken off,” Jiang Cheng shivers at the thought of almost getting married to someone he doesn’t even acknowledge, “What happened during that lunch, anyway?”

However, Yanli is staring off into space, lost in her own thoughts.

“Sis?” Jiang Cheng waved his hand before his sister; she blinks in surprise. “Is there a problem?”

“Ah Cheng,” she suddenly says, her tone solemn, “Don’t you have anyone in your heart?”

The question catches Jiang Cheng off guard. Things like romance, Jiang Cheng never paid attention to it before. Wei Wuxian is the one popular with ladies and gentlemen alike. If there’s anyone who would have someone in their heart, shouldn’t it be him? Jiang Cheng has been described as charismatic and cold, and the few interests that have reached him, he has pushed away without any second thoughts. No one’s really gotten close to him. No one except —

Don’t you have anyone in your heart?

Jiang Cheng shakes his head. “Who has time for that?”

“Ah Cheng,” Yanli moves forward and takes his brother’s hand in his, “I know you carry of the weight of inheriting the family business in the future, and you doing all that you can to prepare for it as early as you can is admirable. But I hope you’re not forgetting that there are also other important things that you should be attending to as well. What would your success be if you’re alone?”

But I won’t be alone , Jiang Cheng almost wanted to say. He has never been alone. All these times, he always had Wei Ying. Then, it strikes him. Silly. He won’t be around forever as well.

Yanli seems to have felt the running emotions within Jiang Cheng’s heart, she squeezes his hands tight. “You yourself know what makes you happy. Whatever or whoever that is, you should pursue it, keep it for life. It’s the only way I’d be assured that I can actually leave you on your own.”

Her words strike Jiang Cheng as odd. “Why are you telling me this? Is there something I should know?”

Yanli smiles, “I just feel like a lot’s about to change soon. Mother has talked to me about getting married.”

It’s Jiang Cheng’s turn to be surprised. He feels like blaming himself, too. He should have foreseen that if he wasn’t the one to be married off to someone else, then it would be his sister. “It’s my fault isn’t it? Because I did not push through with her plan for me and Jin Hua.”

“No, no, not at all. Truth to be told, I’m glad you’re not getting married with her,” she leans forward and lowers her voice, “I don’t know if it’s just me, but I didn’t like her attitude.”

“It’s not just you, trust me.”

The two share a laugh. Just then, Yanli’s phone alerts her of an incoming call. She lets go of Jiang Cheng’s hands and answers the call.

“Young master Jin?”

Jin Zixuan?

“Oh, alright. I’ll be there in a while. Thank you.” When she drops the call, she looks at Jiang Cheng again almost sheepishly. “I’ll tell you everything after, I promise. Just don’t forget what we talked about.”

She bids him goodbye, planting a kiss on his cheek, then went off to wherever she’s going. With Jin Zixuan. Yanli doesn’t have to tell him. He already realizes that their mothers has now shifted their eye from his marriage to Jin Hua to Yanli’s possible marriage to Jin Zixuan.

____

“That bastard!” Jiang Cheng’s fist is balled up tightly, looking for something to hit desperately. In his frustration, he hits the wall of his room, the painting hanging on it slightly shaking.

“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Ying comes to his side in a few steps, reaching for his arm.

“He doesn’t even like her! You heard what he said a few years back, right? He said my sister is not interesting.”

“Of course I’d remember that. Didn’t I hit him right on his beloved face for those remarks? But you don’t have to punish yourself for this new arrangement.”

They both look at Jiang Cheng’s fist then, a bit red from the impact. Thankfully, there is no blood. Wei Ying lets go of his arm then. Jiang Cheng has never liked Jin Zixuan, not one bit. There’s no way he can welcome him into their family.

“It’s because I openly declined mother’s arrangement for me that it’s Sis who’s undergoing the same treatment.”

“Actually, even if you did marry Jin Hua, I think Madam Yu would still want Sis to marry Jin Zixuan anyway.”

Jiang Cheng hears his words, but his frustration is not making him process them at the moment. He knows their mother could be so unreasonably stubborn at times, but why drag his sister into this?

“She meant for this to happen,” he mumbles, then he grabs Wei Ying by his shoulders, catching the other man by surprise, “Mother knows that if she involves Sis, there’s no way I will defy her anymore. It’s all planned!”

Wei Ying is unusually quiet for a while, just staring at Jiang Cheng’s face, a slight frown on his own forehead.

“Then,” he finally speaks, “Are we calling Step 2 off?”

That’s right. If Jiang Cheng wants to save Yanli from her arranged marriage with Jin Zixuan, then he must admit that he’s been faking his relationship with Wei Ying the whole time.

“Wouldn’t that just anger Mother more?”

Wei Ying sighs, “True. Worst case scenario, you both get married to the Jins and I really get kicked out of this house.”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“Of course, you won’t,” Wei Ying smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Before Jiang Cheng could point it out, Wei Ying has already removed himself from his hold, “But I think we should call it off sooner or later. We can’t keep pretending forever, you know? Sooner is better.”

He picks up his coat and wallet that was lying on Jiang Cheng’s bed and heads for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Just…” Wei Ying waves his hand around, “Nowhere in particular.”

“Want to take my car?”

“No need, thanks. While I’m out, start coming up with a break-up story. I already came up with our getting together story, anyway. It’s your turn, okay?”

Jiang Cheng shakes his head. “If you’re gonna go drinking, make sure you text me of your whereabouts.”

Wei Ying looks at him innocently, eyes wide and lips slightly pouting, “Who said anything about drinking?”

“The fact that you’re not taking my car like the usual already gave you away. Just send me a message, I’ll pick you up.”

“Ah, what a thoughtful boyfriend,” Wei Ying smiles again, the traces of uncertainty in his face earlier completely disappearing, replaced by his usual mischievous side, “I’ll miss you, babe.”

Jiang Cheng just rolls his eyes, then, “Wait.”

Wei Ying stops on his tracks, turning to face him. “Yeah?”

“Back in the mountains, you said you don’t want to break up.”

Another unfathomable expression crosses Wei Ying’s face. But it is gone in a flash, making Jiang Cheng doubt if he has just imagined it. “I already told you why. Unless you’re considering it, too?” A playful grin lines his face.

“You...ah, just go.”

Wei Ying blows him a kiss before finally leaving. For a moment, Jiang Cheng forgets the smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He only remembers when Wei Ying is finally out of the gates, and he wonders what is that all about.

____

The text came at a little past midnight. Actually, it’s more of a random string of numbers and letters made its way to his phone. It’s his signal to get up from his bed and pick up Wei Ying. He quickly drives to their favorite bar.

About three years ago, Jiang Cheng would have still enjoyed the deafening and pulsating music of the Emperor’s Bar. But as it stands, he has grown tired of the nightlife. He did not miss this mixed smell of smoke, puke, and alcohol. Scrunching up his nose, Jiang Cheng weaves through the packed crowd.

He finds him easily as he usually does, leaning against a wall. This time, Wei Ying isn’t alone. Some guy he doesn’t know is standing dangerously close to him, trapping Wei Ying between him and the wall. A sudden feeling rises up Jiang Cheng’s chest and threatens to suffocate him. Dispelling it forcefully, he pushes onto the crowd towards Wei Ying’s direction.

Jiang Cheng, upon reaching Wei Ying’s spot, grabs him by the shoulder and moves him towards his back, putting himself between Wei Ying and the unknown man. He straightens his back and looks the man in the eye.

“Just what do you think are you doing to my boyfriend?”

The man looks dumbfounded at being caught. Meanwhile, Wei Ying seems to just realize who had come to pick him up.

“Ah! Jiang Cheng, my Ah Cheng,” he drapes his arms over Jiang Cheng’s shoulders and hangs himself on his back, his chin nestled at the crook of Jiang Cheng’s neck, “I was waiting for you!” He then points at the stranger, “I told you I have a boyfriend!”

The weird guy, despite being a bit bigger and wider in build than Jiang Cheng, quickly leaves after seeing the murderous look on the latter’s face. Jiang Cheng follows him with his gaze until he is completely gone from their sight, it’s only then that he turns his attention back to the still hanging Wei Ying on his back and hits his head.

“Idiot!”

“Ow!”

“Phone?”

Wei Ying pauses for a while, obviously already having forgotten where he last put it. Jiang Cheng takes initiative and pats his body, finding it nearly falling from his back pocket. He takes it and and puts it in his own keeping.

“We’re going home,” he fixes Wei Ying’s position so that he can support him by his waist, then they made their way out of the club. Wei Ying can barely stand on his own and Jiang Cheng wonders just how much has this idiot friend had drunk. He’s the most alcohol-tolerant person he knows of. There must be something serious going on if Wei Ying can drink himself to this extent. He only noticed that something is off when they talked earlier. As to what it is, he still has no clue.

The way out is easier as people seem to make way for the two of them. In a few seconds, Jiang Cheng can already feel the fresher air outside. Wei Ying managed to fall asleep from the short walk outside the club. Jiang Cheng struggles to put him in the car and straps him in with the seatbelt.

This bastard, really, Jiang Cheng thinks to himself as he looks at Wei Ying’s face, hair messy and mouth wide open. Jiang Cheng smirks to himself, Hopeless. He reclines the seat backward so that Wei Ying is almost lying down comfortably. Then, Jiang Cheng proceeds to take the wheel and drives the two of them home.

The house is already dark and quiet when they arrive, thankfully. One can already imagine the mouthful they’d be receiving if Madam Yu knew about Wei Ying’s late night antics yet again. Jiang Cheng’s every move is quiet: parking the car, opening the door, dragging Wei Ying up the stairs, then sending him back to his room. In between those tasks, Wei Ying has groggily revived from his sleep, but Jiang Cheng can still tell he’s not completely regained his senses yet.

Upon arriving at Wei Ying’s room, Jiang Cheng puts him down carefully on his bed, suppressing all the urge to just just throw him down out of his annoyance. He can’t let him sleep like this. He shakes Wei Ying’s shoulder.

“Hey, wake up.”

No response. The room is dark except for the moonlight that very slightly illuminates the small spot next to the window.

Jiang Cheng moves closer, taking both shoulders with his two hands. He shakes them harder.

“Wei Ying, you still have to clea-”

Because it is dark, Jiang Cheng failed to see that Wei Ying has stirred. He is taken by surprise when hands closed around his wrist and he is thrown on the bed. In a flash, he and Wei Ying has changed positions with the latter looming over him, trapping Jiang Cheng’s legs between his knees.

“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Cheng hisses, confusion and panic simultaneously filling his mind, “What the hell?”

Despite the darkness, their eyes meet - one hazy with alcohol, one wide with alarm - and their ragged breathing filled the silence. Wei Ying’s gaze move from Jiang Cheng’s eyes down his mouth, then he drags out a long exhale.

“Ah Cheng, is this really so…,” his forehead creases in frustration. It seems as if he has so much to say but can’t find the proper words for them. Jiang Cheng can’t find it in him to speak nor to move. Why is his heart beating so fast, threatening to jump out of his chest?

“Wei Wuxian. You’re really drunk right now.” His words were quick and stern.

“No, I know. Ah...why is this so hard?”

Then, Wei Ying moves down, placing his chin on the crook of Jiang Cheng’s neck, stretching the rest of his body so that he’s resting on top of him. This is nothing new, Wei Ying usually becomes when touchy when intoxicated. But the last time he’s like this was years ago. What’s the deal now?

After a few minutes, Wei Ying’s breathing evens out, a sign that he has completely fallen asleep. Jiang Cheng remains frozen on the bed, his chest beating wildly. Or is it Wei Ying’s that he can feel? He doesn’t know. His mind is still stuck on what has transpired moments ago. Something was happening there, he can sense it, but Jiang Cheng is afraid to understand what it is.

After a few minutes, he manages to calm himself down and remove Wei Ying on top of him, carefully laying him on bed yet again. This time, Wei Ying is truly out. Jiang Cheng takes it on himself to remove Wei Ying’s shoes, socks, and his club-scented shirt.

He looks at Wei Ying’s sleeping form, bare back and messy hair, his broad shoulders slightly rising and falling with his breathing. Jiang Cheng places a hand over his own chest. His heart is still racing.

Perhaps, this time, he truly has taken a misstep. Should he continue to step forward? Or take a step back?

____

Wei Ying knows in himself that he is smarter than people give him credit for and that he will usually end up doing the right decision. He also knows it in himself that when it comes to Jiang Cheng, his whole organ called a brain is reduced to a single cell and will just not function properly.

Jiang Cheng remained in his room for a few minutes in silence before he finally left. By then, Wei Ying is able to stop pretending to be passed out. He really was drunk when Jiang Cheng arrived at the club, but it easily dissipated on the way home. Still, his alcohol-muddled brain almost made him bring trouble for himself.

Wei Ying turns, covering his eyes with his arm. The image of Jiang Cheng’s face when he hovered over him can’t seem to leave his mind.

He is an idiot for thinking he can control his feelings throughout their fake relationship.

When did he start feeling like this towards Jiang Cheng? Wei Ying wouldn’t know. Having living with Jiang Cheng since he was a kid, they saw each other grow up. They are as close as brothers even, which makes his chest hurt everytime he remembers he wants more than just that. This feeling is like an elephant grass, quietly growing in places one least expects, and when fed, spreads into its surrounding until it becomes a whole meadow. It is a grassland of almosts and could-have-beens, of what-ifs and maybes.

That time when Jiang Cheng told him about the arranged marriage, a part of him was relieved: at last, Jiang Cheng will be tied to someone else and he cannot dare wish to be with him anymore. A part of him was devastated: I cannot dare wish to be with him anymore.

Not that he could even before.

But Jiang Cheng had asked for his help, and there was no way he’d not exert all his effort to end this arranged marriage. Damn the walls that they’d have to face. Wei Ying tried to quell the small fire that started within him, a dangerous flame of hope.

But paper cannot keep a fire.

He really should extinguish it before everything is beyond saving.

___

Wei Ying wakes up the next day to the scent of breakfast and tea filling his room. Groggily opening his eyes, he spots Jiang Cheng standing by his bedside table, placing a tray of food on it. The last thing he remembers is thinking about how to finally quell his feelings for Jiang Cheng. He pretty much slept with a solid plan in mind, but seeing him first thing in the morning just threw all of those plans out the window.

“Already regretting what you did last night?” Jiang Cheng asks him when he sees that he’s already awake.

For a moment, Wei Ying thought he’s referring to what he almost did to him on the bed.

“It’s very seldom you get that drunk. Do you even remember a guy almost made his move on you?”

Ah.

“I guess I missed the experience?” he tries to laugh it off, but as soon as he spoke, a wave of headache attacks him.

“Not the hangover, I bet.”

“Yeah, not this.”

“And you’re too old to be messing around with people you don’t know.”

“I never did that.”

Jiang Cheng reaches for the cup of tea and gives it to him. “This should help with your headache. Sis prepared this for you.”

He sits up and takes the cup, drinking it in one go. “Thanks.”

“So, are you going to tell me why you drank yourself to death last night?”

The way Jiang Cheng looks at him makes Wei Ying want to run for cover. It’s the same look that got him confessing about ruining Yanli’s herb garden when they were ten. It’s also the same look that made Wei Ying spill all of his worries and insecurities before college. He remembers that memory fondly; they were eighteen and reckless, drinking at an almost empty Emperor’s Bar at three in the morning. Those were one of the many times that they had a heart-to-heart talk. He wonders if he could still do the same now.

“I just feel like… there are times that the more I want to stop something, the more it happens.”

“And why must it warrant your penchant for alcohol to return?”

Wei Ying wishes he should have eaten first before going to this conversation. His mind is still on overdrive from the alcohol, and it feels like he can’t stop his tongue from talking.

“I’m afraid it’s about to ruin the most meaningful relationship I have in my life.”

One could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. The two of them, despite being playful, are not at all slow or dim-witted. The moment Wei Ying said those words, he knows Jiang Cheng will understand what and who is he talking about.

“You’re not drunk anymore, are you?”

Wei Ying shakes his head.

Jiang Cheng lets out a dragged sigh. “Why would you want to stop this... whatever's bothering you?”

“I don't think I deserve it. Someone like me is not worth exchanging for a bright future.”

Wei Ying looks at his tea. He doesn’t think he can take to look at Jiang Cheng after what he just said. Never in his life has he been this honest about his thoughts.

Yet, Jiang Cheng’s next words surprise him, making him look at the other in a pleasant surprise: “Who says that you and a bright future have to be mutually exclusive?” Jiang Cheng looks away, but he continues to talk. “I talked with Sis earlier and she realized what I was planning to do. She’s really against it.

“I’ve talked to her before as well, when she went on a date with Jin Zixuan. Sis said that I myself know what makes me happy. And that I should pursue whatever or whoever that is and keep it for life. I don’t know much about the matters of the heart, but there are two things I now know and just realized: when I’m with you, I’m truly happy. And you’re among the few people I want to keep for life.”

What is happening? Wei Ying screams inside his head. I was supposed to forget about what I feel!

“You’re supposed to come up with a break-up story,” he says, trying to brush off all the things Jiang Cheng has just said over his head, “What’s all this?”

Jiang Cheng turns to face him then, “You said you’re afraid that whatever you’re feeling will ruin the most meaningful relationship in your life right now. I’m telling you it won’t.”

For years, Wei Ying has learned to accept that no matter what happens, he can never truly attain who his heart desires. He has always thought that at some point, he’ll have to leave the Jiang estate and keep his distance far, far away so that he can start learning to forget. And yet, here he is in front of the person he cares for the most, being told that he has a chance to keep him for life.

“But, Sis…”

“It looks like she really likes him, and from her story, it seems that he actually likes her too. We just have to keep a close eye on them. But as for the two of us...we are calling off Step 2.”

“We are?”

“Here’s the break-up story you asked me to come up with: we were never together. We faked it so that Jin Hua would not like me anymore. But, as cliche as it sounds, we started to actually like each other. And thus, we’re giving us a chance.”

Wei Ying lets out a short laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“I didn’t think you could say those words with a straight face.” Feeling brave, he scoots closer to Jiang Cheng, bare-chested and all, and rests his chin on his shoulder, “You’re serious about that? Us?”

“I think I’ve been a fool not to realize sooner.”

“Indeed. How can you resist this-” he waves a hand over his own body, “-magnificence all these years?”

“Idiot,” Jiang Cheng flicks his forehead. Still, he lets out a small laugh. The distance between them is too close that Wei Ying can feel how warm his breath is. He smiles fondly, reaching for Jiang Cheng’s hand. He weaves their fingers together, fitting as if they’ve been made for each other from the very start. If perfect can get better, then this must be it.

“You got something terribly wrong, though.”

For countless of times they’ve been in this position — faces close, a breath apart, their images reflected on each other’s eyes — yet this is only this time that it finally holds meaning, something like hope and certainty. This time, Wei Ying is sure to turn this grass meadow into a flower field.

“And what is it?”

“I’ve liked you since long ago.”

#chengxian #xiancheng #mdzs #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #i write sometimes #I never thought I'd finally write fake dating au and that it's not for midoaka

130 notes · View notes

harryandmolly · 6 years

Text

i could write it better than you ever felt it - one

A/N: I’m dedicating this fic to the author of the first fics I fell in love with as a curious middle schooler on Quizilla, soxlongxjimmy. Thanks for the memories.

Warnings: Language, miscreants being miscreants

Word count: 3.2k

Val rolls over, blindly scrabbles for the cherry red Sidekick blaring “Miss Murder” under her tufted black PB Teen comforter.

“Raf Calling”

Val stifles a knowing smile, though she’s alone in her bedroom. She answers, lifts the phone to her ear.

“How much do you love me?” he asks, a self-deprecating chuckle in his voice.

Val giggles back. “Enough.”

Rafael and Valentina Moreno were born at 6:43 and 7:04 (respectively) on the morning of April 22, 1985. From then on, it was chaos.

Two was quite enough children for ambitious professors Miguel and Fernanda Moreno. They were scholars, children of knowledge, who wanted a small, quiet family. They envisioned docile walks on the beach, Saturday trips to museums, maybe the occasional University of Miami football game.

They got Raf and Val instead. The twins were at each other’s throats nearly from the time they were born – Miguel tells a story every holiday season of placing both babies in the same crib to bond when they were a few months old. The new parents turned around for a minute and looked back to see Val rolling on top of Raf trying to smush his face into the cushions.

From then on, separate cribs.

But the twins, despite their ongoing hostilities, couldn’t be separated. It was as though their energies thrived on one another. One summer when they were 12, Raf left for sleepaway soccer camp. A few days in, Val woke her mother up in the middle of the night in tears begging them to bring her brother home. He came back at the end of the summer and two days later she threw an ice cream cone in his face.

Miguel and Fernanda were faced with a new reality – noise. Their kids were loud before they even picked up their respective instruments. The Morenos thought music lessons would be a good outlet for their wild children, so they had them classically trained from a young age. Once again, their good intentions wrought chaos. Valentina was a menace on the drums – though a very talented, well trained menace. And Rafael was a gifted guitar player.

It wasn’t until they were 14 and started sharing practice space in the Morenos’ garage that they could be in the same room without ripping each other’s heads off.

And then, against all odds, they joined forces. The Moreno twins finally discovered they were stronger together than apart. That’s not to say they didn’t still fight like cats and dogs, but they loved each other just as viciously as they bickered. Miguel and Fernanda could live with that. They had to.

Streets of Gold was a stupid pet project, it wasn’t supposed to be anything. Until it was.

Val was original music buff of the family. She used to sit in her closet with the door shut and the lights off listening to her dad’s record collection. It made her feel cool, listening to old vinyl. But she didn’t really get it until she got around to hearing The Ramones’ “Rocket to Russia” for the first time. Everything changed then for the Morenos.

Raf was hesitant at first – could he really let himself like something Val discovered, something Val thought was cool? But he couldn’t hold out long. Because it was cool. It was really cool.

Valentina became the Encyclopedia Brown of pop-punk. You could name a song and she could tell you what band, what album, what year it dropped, whether or not it was a single, and what label released it. She was a goddamn savant. Raf started using her like she was a walking party trick with his friends, some of whom also started to think pop-punk was cool.

Streets of Gold started, as many shitty garage bands do, as a blink-182 cover band. They played birthday parties, then house parties, then veteran halls, then underground Miami clubs. They were signed by Stuck in the Suburbs Records in 2002 and struck out on their first supporting tour. They’ve barely been home since.

Everything changed once again for the Moreno family when Val took a step back. She loved the band, loved the music, even loved touring, but there was a piece of her that was more like her parents than she ever realized or wanted to admit. She craved learning and missed academia after she finished her GED. She secretly applied to the University of Miami and sought out her replacement for the band, gearing up for a fight.

Raf lost it, at first. They had the worst knock-down, drag-out sibling fight of their entire lives. It ended in tears with Raf holding Val against his chest as they sobbed. They started training her replacement Naveen the next day.

Among Val’s fondest memories of drumming in Streets of Gold are the two years she spent with the band on Warped Tour. Warped was every scene kid’s wet dream, every garage band’s Woodstock. It was the be all, end all of pop-punk music. Warped is a fickle mistress – it makes and it breaks, it gives and it takes and it’s not for the faint of heart.

They call it rock band summer camp, and it is. It’s day after day of heat and sweat and drugs and sex and music, so much fucking music. But the showers are scarce and sleeping in a van with five guys, driving through the night to reach the next stop, it wears on you.

But it’s all about the kids. They come in droves, self-professed outcasts in girls’ skinny jeans, hair Manic Panic-ed and razored past the point of recognition, the uniform of kids without a cause. They gather like the Island of Misfit Toys for a chance at community, to throw themselves into a world they recognize, a world they’ve created for themselves. It reflects them, it accepts them, it inspires them, and Warped Tour is where it truly comes alive.

The kids wait for hours in the heat, withstand insane conditions to see their favorite bands. They go hard, they leave it all out on the fields, in the amphitheaters, screaming their lungs out as thanks for giving them somewhere to belong. It’s a chorus of angst and otherness and, somehow, hope. It’s Valentina’s favorite song. And she misses it.

Raf dropped the hint two weeks ago that there might be a chance at return for Val. Things are different now – Streets of Gold is starting and finishing the 2007 Vans Warped Tour on the main Lucky Stage, a far cry from their humble beginnings playing to a handful or a dozen curious onlookers from Hot Topic Kevin Says. They have a bus now with a shower and actual air conditioning and, holy shit, they have actual bunks.

And their merch guy Jamie, Raf told her casually, has to step away from the tour due to a family financial situation. Can’t be avoided. They’re checking their network for replacements, but, if they can’t find someone in time, could he beg her to come along? One last summer on the Warped Tour before she leaves for the UK in the fall?

Val played it cool – “I’m exhausted,” she reminded him, “After everything this year…” (And she doesn’t need to elaborate, because he knows all too well) “And I just graduated…”

But the truth is, Val found herself wondering about it. She hasn’t been on tour in three full years. She’s gotten her fixes visiting their shows, bobbing her head from side stage singing the words she still writes for the band with her brother, but it’s not the same. It’ll never be the same.

After only a few days, Val wasn’t just wondering – she was hoping. She had it wrapped around her heart now, this idea of returning to something that always brought her hope and comfort when she needed it. And like she told Raf, after the year she’s had…

She got the call four days before the first stop in Pomona. Raf needed her. She’d better start packing.

She couldn’t wait for the summer at the Warped Tour, she remembers the first time that she saw him there.

“Oh, thank fucking Christ!”

Shawn rolls his eyes and throws the lurching white van into park. It scuttles to a stop.

“Shut the fuck up, dude,” Shawn mumbles, wrenching his rusty door open and stepping out onto the grass to survey the area.

Francis’s head pops up over the roof of the van wearing a disapproving glare.

“All in favor of banning Shawn from driving for the rest of the tour, say aye!” Francis crows.

A chorus of ayes fall out of the sliding doors of the 15-passenger van as they open and pour smelly 20-somethings out. Shawn sighs and plants his hands on his hips.

“I got us here an hour before we were supposed to be, I deserve credit for that,” he whines, sliding his Ray Bans up into his dark curls.

Francis looks unimpressed. “You nearly killed us all at least four times. You don’t get shit.”

“Maybe this was his strategy,” Bobby offers with an eyebrow lifted conspiratorially, “Maybe he pretends to be a shitty driver so he can get out of driving the van between stops.”

Shawn smirks. “I’ve been a shitty driver since I was 15. That’s a long con.”

“Alright, assholes, time to start unloading,” calls a voice from near the trunk. Shawn groans and licks his lips, flicking at the black enameled ring he got pierced there a couple months ago.

He ambles back to where the truck has pulled up beside their rickety van. Andrew climbs out and runs a hand through his hair. “Shawn, man, you’re fucking impossible to follow. You were doing 85 on the freeway, you know that?”

Shawn opens his mouth to defend himself when the rest of his band starts choking on laughter. He holds up his hands in surrender. “Fine, fuckers. Drive yourselves.”

Shawn turns and looks around at the Pomona Fairgrounds. He’s never seen anything more beautiful in his life. There are stages going up left and right, tents and skate ramps and those inflatable floating human-shaped things that flop around and wave at car dealerships. It’s mania, and he’s so fucking excited about it.

Warped Tour has always been the dream. It’s always been a reality just out of reach. Always a spectator, never the spectated.

He’s been nomadic for the past few years since he first picked up a guitar and started playing old The Starting Line and Jimmy Eat World covers. He’s been in at least eight different bands, all of which showed promise at the start and ended in various states of the decay of teenage boredom. No one wanted to go the distance with him, not until he met Francis, Bobby and Seth through friends of friends of friends. Then suddenly, Warped Tour wasn’t just within reaching distance, it was fucking happening.

Shawn’s a sentimental sap so he’s standing on the hill overlooking the manifestation of his dreams. Seth, the band’s fan-anointed “quiet one,” claps a hand on his shoulder.

“We fuckin’ made it, man,” he reminds Shawn breathlessly. Shawn chokes on an emotional inhale and nods.

They’ve gotten good at load-in now. Everyone has their assigned tasks and Andrew’s a seasoned enough tour manager to be able to wrangle them into efficiency. Or, near efficiency. They’re a little distracted today, overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all.

They’re quieter, too. They’ve felt big in their britches for awhile, having been invited out on tour supporting bands like Valencia, My American Heart and All Time Low. But this is a new ballgame. They’re very much little fish in a giant fucking pond, a very intimidating pond.

They stare at the buses of pop-punk legends as they wade past with amps and instruments and risers in hand, feeling like it’s the first day of kindergarten and the eighth graders are all settled in and looking cooler than anyone ever has ever. Shawn actually, embarrassingly enough, nods in reverence at Streets of Gold’s bus. He’s glad none of his band and crew notice and razz him for it.

Being new and not a huge crowd draw, they’re one of the first bands of the day on their designated Smartpunk stage. Shawn doesn’t so much mind playing Smartpunk. It’s a small stage but plenty of amazing bands have gotten started there. He’s just happy to be on the tour. And if they impress and end up drawing in some attention and wind up spending a couple of tour dates on Hurley.com or even, dare he dream it, the Hurley stage, he’ll be a happy kid.

But at 19, with his best friends at his side and their sophomore album release date coming up in only a month, Shawn feels like he’s at the edge of the world looking at the start of something he can’t quite make out yet, but it feels so fucking good.

Val is already sweating her balls off, no surprise there.

She’s had some merch girl experience, naturally, having been with the band since its infancy, a time where everyone wears a lot of hats. But now that Streets is a bona fide Warped Tour Band, a destination, a band people make the trip to see, it’s a new ballgame.

She unloads box after box of shirts, hats, hoodies, wristbands, CDs, booty shorts, whatever else they can hawk at an upcharge. Raf and Naveen eagerly help her and she suspects they’re trying to play nice because they know she didn’t have to come on tour and help them. Val doesn’t want to get used to it – in about a week, they’ll be a lot less eager to haul boxes around and will make themselves scarce.

As she’s setting up the tent above the table, she looks around with a smile.

Returning to Warped feels a little like coming home. It’s a dry, hot, smelly home with sun-scorched grass underfoot and an overabundance of men in women’s jeans but there’s just something about it—

“BABYYYYYY!” cries a voice that belongs to a woman who soon careens straight into Val’s side.

“Oh my fucking god!” Val squeals, throwing her arms around the violet haired cling on. She bounces back and forth as they laugh and babble incoherently.

Finally, she pulls away and Val holds her by the shoulders to look at her.

“Why, Bea Easton, look at you!” Val giggles.

Bea, all four-foot-eleven inches of her, strikes a pose complete with duck face and popped hips in her low-slung Bullhead skinnies. She breaks into a laugh, shaking her head.

“Miss me, Moreno?”

“So much that I’m back on tour with these hooligans again,” Val sighs, angling her head at her bus where her tourmates are arguing over the Xbox.

Bea chuckles. “Thank god. It was getting dull in the scene without you.”

Val shoots her a suspiciously amused glance. Bea makes an exasperated noise, throwing her hands up.

“Well the scene is never fucking dull, that’s kind of the point, but I missed you, kid! You’re not so easily replaced, you know.”

Val scrunches her face and pulls Bea into a proper hug, tucking her face into her freshly-dyed hair and rubbing her back. “Ditto, dude. College was cool but… I couldn’t really resist one last shot at all this.”

Bea stands back and loops her arm around Val’s waist as they observe. After a moment, Bea pinches Val’s side gently.

“Hey, how are you?”

Val’s body tightens instinctively. She knows Bea feels it. Bea only asked a question everyone’s been asking her for months. And Val’s still shit at pretending it doesn’t bug the fuck out of her.

“I’m fine. Really. I went to the doctor recently and he did some tests and confirmed that I’m human and not a big walking china doll.”

Bea’s bleached eyebrows lift as she smirks. “Point taken. Have you started checking out the talent, then?”

Val scoffs. “You and your locker room talk.”

“This is what equality looks like, bitch. But seriously, tell me that’s not half the reason you’re here. A little palette cleanser.”

Val runs her tongue across her lower lip. Bea knows her oh so well.

She elbows Bea gently. “Stop that, I already have a reputation,” she hisses teasingly.

“Mmm, that’s right,” Bea replies, playing along, “The biggest slut in the scene is back on Warped Tour. Better start lining up for a taste.”

Val laughs heartily, shaking her head. “I swear to god, Bea, you—”

She stops dead in her sentence, words have failed her. Her brain fritzes out. She stares straight ahead, exhales in a loud puff. Bea notices and turns to look at what, or who, Val has spotted.

He’s tall. That’s probably the first thing anybody ever notices about him. He’s really fucking tall. He’s also not as scrawny as the rest of the twiggy white boys that populate the scene these days. He’s built – broad in the shoulders and the thighs. He’s wearing the uniform black skinnies, though, so he’s probably a band member rather than a volunteer. And he’s got the presence, somehow, of a frontman. Maybe it’s because Val’s pretty well versed in scene guys, but she can just tell he’s a lead singer.

His dark curls are tucked under a backwards Blue Jays hat and his eyes are unreadable under black Wayfarers. His facial structure is sinfully architected, marred only by the black lip ring that’s pierced through his full lower lip.

His hands are tucked in the pockets of his impossibly tight jeans as he cruises easily on a skateboard through hordes of bands and crew prepping for the day. He seems unbothered by the hard work going on around him, content to observe and take it all in. It gives him an ethereal sort of glow, that he’s untouched by reality.

Val swallows like a fucking cartoon character and watches his mighty leg strike the ground, black leather high top Chucks kicking up a cloud of fairground dust as he propels himself past the tent without a glance. She feels like a ninth grader who’s caught her first glance at the senior quarterback. She sniffs. It’s been a while since she’s felt like that at all.

Bea elbows her again. “Holy damn.”

“Say it again, sister,” Val chuckles, watching the back pockets of his jeans stretch over his very fine ass as he launches himself down the sidewalk, weaving and bobbing through the crowd.

“HOLY DAMN!” Bea crows, throwing an arm around Val’s shoulders and shaking her. Val sniggers and peels her eyes away, nibbling on her pillowy lower lip.

“I’ll do some recon, find out who he is,” Bea offers, smirking. Val isn’t about to turn that down. Bea’s the most well-connected merch girl on the tour, being as seasoned as she is, having toured with New Found Glory since ’97. She nods her thanks and waves goodbye as Bea rushes off to check on the status of her own merch tent.

Val turns back to her table, fumbling through price tags and pushpins. Her mind is elsewhere. Specifically, it’s somewhere in the back pocket of that skateboarding guy. She can smell trouble on him from here.

She doesn’t mind. She could use a little trouble.

Boys, raise your glasses/Girls, shake those, go, go, go/We're the party, you're the people/Let's make this night a classic

Taglist: I literally don’t know who my taglist is anymore so lmk if you want to be added but for now here @smallerinfinities @the-claire-bitch-project @stillinskislydia @achinglyshawn @infiniteshawn @alone-in-madness @alone-in-madness @singanddreamanyway @accioalena

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fan fic #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes fan fiction #shawn mendes au #shawn mendes fic #shawn peter raul mendes #punk!shawn #warped tour

207 notes · View notes

wyrdautumn · 6 years

Text

Express

This is one of those stories that falls into a broad category of “what’s a little short self-contained thing I can write about a character I’ve had around for a while but haven’t gotten to do much with?” I’ve written about this character before, but I wanted to write something that got a little more into her personality and what her whole thing is.

I’ve got plans to write another little short featuring this character, getting into more of the big-picture lore around her, that’ll be going up as a Patreon exclusive by the end of the month. It’s only a $3 pledge to get those bonus stories, so keep an eye out for that!

Afonse didn't like the new mercenary. It wasn't that she always wore a bandana over her face, or that she didn't talk. Better quiet and hidden than open and loud, if you asked him. But any postman worth his salt knew you couldn't trust a mage, and this girl couldn't go five minutes without lighting up her arm, just to remind you she weren't normal.

The worst part was seeing the rest of the caravan embracing her, like she was their friend, like they thought you could trust the magic turncoat as far as you could throw her. Every time he told Boss to dump her off in town he just gave him some malarkey about about her skills. Never mind that it'd only take a little touch of magic to make any clumsy idiot look like a master swordsman. And Charlie and Helen were both spending nights in her tent, the ungrateful skanks.

They were still only halfway through their route the day Boss told him to leave camp with the merc and go fill up their canteens. He protested, like any sane man would, but Boss wouldn’t budge. “Watering hole's a mile away, Fons, and there's ferrix around,” he said. “We're gonna need you to help pack up once we catalog what we lost to the dust devil, so I don't care how bad you wanna die, you're taking her.”

That was that. Afonse left camp with the merc. Neither of them were happy. He knew she didn’t think much of him either. For a woman without a voice, she knew how to make herself heard when she wanted to.

Whatever. The last thing he wanted was her friendship.

It only took them fifteen minutes to reach the watering hole, a deep well that connected to a groundwater stream far beneath the arid soil. A land company dug it years ago as part of a quickly-abandoned development project. As far as Afonse figured it was a testament to why nobody should have been building in this forsaken hellscape to begin with. Even the nomads knew better than that. And here he was bumming through the badlands with a mage, barely making enough money to afford three square meals. Fucking society.

As soon as they reached the well she leaned herself against a post and started drawing something in the little book she always carried around. That’s what she always did when there was work to be done. She could have filled all the canteens herself with a snap of her fingers, but of course she was too good for that. She lit up her arm with a faint off-white glow just to spite him.

When he finally finished with the last canteen Afonse heard something rustling nearby. He capped the container and looked around cautiously. There were a few hardy, scraggly bushes, struggling by on what little water they could pull up from the ground and whatever travellers spilled onto the dirt. They were short thin things, not nearly big enough to hide anything dangerous. Certainly not big enough to hide the massive orange-furred many-mouthed creature stalking towards him on all fours.

Afonse turned and ran for his life, knocking over the canteens he had spent so much time filling.

The toothy, gnashing thing was bigger than him, and faster and stronger too. It beared down on him and knocked him off his feet. He scrambled away from it, barely avoiding its wicked bites, and looked up to the merc, howling at her to help him.

She looked up from her sketchbook and met his eyes. Without moving from her spot, she flipped the book around and held it up where he could see. Above a few rough, stylized sketches of a ferrix she had written two words, large and bold enough to read:

“Good luck.”

Dao wasn't going to let the ferrix eat his face off. He wasn't worth the hit to her rep. But she let him twist in the wind just a fraction of a second longer before she rose to her feet and turned to face the monster. A gust of warm desert air made the ends of her coat flutter around the sword at her waist, and she didn't care how much of a dweeb that made her, it was cool.

She blinked to the beast and drew her sword into its side.

Her blade cut true. She sunk it deep into the ferrix’s flesh and flung the monster away from the idiot.

The ferrix landed five feet away, bleeding badly from its wound. Before Dao could follow up it scrambled to its feet and bared its fangs at her. It puffed up its fur to make itself seem more intimidating and snarled aggressively, daring her to come for it.

Dao didn’t care. She stepped toward the monster, brandishing her sword, determined to put it all the way down.

She wasn’t afraid of the ferrix, but the ferrix was afraid of her. It hissed and growled and scrambled backwards, keeping its eyes locked on her.

There was enough distance between them now to be a problem. Dao kept a careful watch on the creature, holding her sword at the ready, weighing her options.

Grabbing the loser and running was a bad idea. Leaving a wounded ferrix alive was dangerous. It was scared of her, but before long it would be desperate and hungry enough to come back to the best meal it knew of. It wouldn’t have a hard time tracking them back to the caravan, either. And that was assuming the thing didn’t attract more ferrixes, or something even worse, dripping blood all over like it was. Best to make sure it was dead, and leave its body for the scavengers.

Blasting it wouldn’t be a sure kill. She couldn’t risk using up the rest of her magic on a miss. The only thing was to get in range and finish it before it could react.

She charged at the ferrix. It kept backing away from her. That wouldn’t help it. She blinked again straight into its face and jabbed her sword into its paw.

But the ferrix was smarter than she thought. It was ready for her. As soon as she struck her blow, the thing’s teeth were upon her, lunging towards her throat.

Dao threw herself back and tumbled to the ground. The ferrix was on her. She scrambled away from it, diving and rolling to avoid the sharp, thrashing claws that caught her coat and ripped up the ends. She didn’t have the stamina for this. Her limbs ached and stung in protest every time she flung herself into the dirt.

There was no room to use her sword. So she let it fall to the ground. The ferrix lunged again. She threw herself straight at it and clocked it in a jaw with her metal gauntlet.

The ferrix only flinched for a second. That was time enough. She grabbed it with her open, ungloved hand and sent all the magic she had coursing through its body.

It twitched and convulsed and was fried in a second. Dao let the creature fall to the ground. She took back her sword, struggled painfully to her feet, and put the blade through its throat, just to be sure.

She was slowing down. Darkness encroached the edge of her vision. Her entire body burned with exertion while her lungs flared and contracted desperately, trying to fill themselves with the air her crushed windpipe couldn’t provide. She ripped the bandana off her mouth instinctively. It didn't make a difference.

Almost a full year of this and she still hadn’t learned how to pace herself. Still wasn't going to. Restraint isn't exactly an option when a monster is trying to bite your head off. She shook her limbs out spitefully, willing them to move whether they liked it or not. Finally she felt the surge of Jehoram’s magic returning to her, and she used all of it immediately to fill her lungs with air and her blood with oxygen.

Now that she could move comfortably again it was time to get back to the job. The carrion birds were already circling, and they got nasty when you didn’t leave them to their work. She kicked the dead ferrix out of her way and went to grab the canteens and the traumatized jerk. He walked ahead of her on their way back to the camp, casting anxious glances back at her constantly, stumbling over his own feet trying to keep his distance. Dao carried the canteens herself, because he was just that useless.

Twenty minutes later they made it back to camp. The rest of the crew saw how much worse for wear they were and left their work to meet them. “Did you run into a ferrix?” Boss asked.

Dao nodded.

“Is it dead?”

She gave him a theatrical, sarcastic thumbs up. Of course it was dead. That’s what they paid her for.

“Good.” Boss looked past her to Afonse. “If you’d gone out there alone, you wouldn’t have come back. Aren’t you lucky you listened to me?”

“Lucky?” Afonse snapped. He stomped up to Boss and shoved him in the chest. “I’m not fuckin’ lucky, Boss. She was gonna let that thing kill me!”

Dao scrawled a message in her sketchbook and turned it to show him: “And yet I didn't.”

Afonse glared at her and fumed.

“All right, son, you’d best cool your head.” Boss put a hand on Afonse’s shoulder and stared him down firmly. “Monster’s dead, you’re not. Ain’t much more you can ask for than that.”

“I can ask her to do her job!” Afonse pointed at Dao accusatorily. She rolled her eyes at him. “That monster attacked me and she, just, pulled out her little book and wrote ‘good luck’ in it!”

Boss looked over at Dao, who waved her hand dismissively. “Did you do that? No, nevermind, of course you did.”

Dao just shrugged.

Helen and Charlie both snickered while Boss sighed deeply and rubbed his temples. Afonse shot a dirty look in their direction. “Y’know, Fons,” Helen said, “this job’ll be easier if you don’t keep trying to make enemies with the people you gotta bunk with for weeks on end.”

“Why don’t you two get back to work?” Boss interjected. “I’ll handle this situation, thank you.”

“Right. We’ll get on it, Boss.” Charlie put his thick broad hand on Helen’s shoulder and pulled her away before she could start an argument.

Once they left Boss turned back to Afonse. “Look, I know you’re not happy, but she still saved your ass, whatever she might have written. Maybe if you learned to be a little nicer she wouldn’t feel like she had to mess with you like that.”

“Nicer?” Afonse scowled at Dao. “You’re not payin’ me enough to be nice to a fuckin’ mage, Boss.”

“If that’s the way you feel I don’t need to be paying you at all.” Afonse turned to Boss in disbelief. “You think you got job security cuz the head office won't approve any other hires, but if you can't get your head out of your ass, I'd rather be traveling with a stunt crew.”

That finally got him to shut up. He shoved his hand into his pockets and quietly seethed until Boss sent him away.

Now that Boss had Dao to himself he sighed and ran an exasperated hand through his hair. “Why do you have to antagonize him?”

Dao cocked an eyebrow. Did he really need to ask that?

“You know how much harder it is for me when I have to be mad at both of you, right?”

Being mad at both of them was his own choice, Dao thought. She did her job. If Boss wanted more than that he should have made it part of their agreement. She stared at him blankly and blinked.

“Just don’t pull any more stunts like that, okay? He’s an asshole, but he’s part of the crew. I still gotta watch out for him.” Boss didn’t wait for a response. He walked past Dao towards camp, but he stopped for just a second and looked over his shoulder at her. “Thanks for not letting him die.”

Dao stood impassively and watched him go. The sun was starting to go down, and the air was beginning to chill. She grabbed a few blocks of wood to start a fire and brought them in to the middle of the camp.

Once everyone else finished repacking the deliveries, they gathered around the fire for dinner. Dao took a seat next to Helen, who was eager to see the day’s sketches. She laughed at the “good luck” page.

Afonse glared at them angrily across the fire, until Dao glanced up and met his eyes. He looked away immediately and spent the rest of the night being ineffectually grumpy.

What a pain in the ass. There was no fixing a man like that. All he wanted was to feel right and just in his ignorance, and nothing you did was going to change his mind. Getting chewed out would only make him resent her more.

But that wasn’t her problem. He wasn’t going to do anything except stew in his own petulant rage. A coward won't try anything if he knows you can kick his ass. And he knew that just fine.

#my writing #short story #fiction #western #fantasy #aphonia #dao

4 notes · View notes