#and then I sat 5 hours outside a court hearing I couldn't listen in on

[pomellon]

Well today's been a day

[mimisempai]

Wait for me on the other side 1/8

Summary:

Mobius, a watchmaker, and Loki, a teacher, realize that they are separated by two years of time when they exchange letters from different years in the mailbox of the house on the cliff where Mobius lives. As the two lonely hearts feel they have found their soulmate, will they ever meet?

or the Lakehouse AU that nobody asked for.

Notes:

This is my very first multi-chapter AU. I hope you'll enjoy it. Chapters will be released on a weekly basis.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32948254/chapters/81773392

3772 words - rating G

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 (End)

When two people "connect" the bond between them can be so pure and simple as to stir hearts in heaven.

When they connect in all the right places at all the wrong times, heaven weeps for broken hearts. To heal these broken hearts, heaven breaks time.

—Blithe Spiritus

Loki took one last look through the rearview mirror at the cottage on the edge of the cliff, which was getting smaller and smaller as he drove away.

Shifting his gaze forward, his face slid to the crate on the passenger seat, where Croki, his pet alligator, was sitting.

"I hope you will like your new home..." Loki sighed.

Then suddenly, he braked abruptly, holding back the cage with one hand as it slid forward. Then he backed the car up.

"Shit. I'm sorry Croc'"

He walked over to the mailbox. He put his hand through the window, opened the mailbox and put an envelope inside. Then his long fingers pulled the red flag in a vertical position, to indicate that there was mail. All this under the eyes of Croki who followed with attention all his gestures.

He tapped the top of the cage, "Come on, this time we're off for good."

He rolled, speeding up, refusing to look at the sign for the tiny village his home was in, New Asgard.  Loki rolled east, the cliff behind him, then passed a sign: New York, 35 miles.

The traffic became heavier as he approached the city.

After maneuvering through the various streets and making his way through the New York traffic, he stopped in front of an apartment building on a busy street. It was a very recent building, cold and sterile. The contrast with the tranquility of New-Asgard was striking.

He parked, got out of the car and took a moment to absorb the change in his surroundings. Then with a sigh, he began to unload his things.

**********

Loki stopped at the steps in front of the entrance to the imposing establishment - September High-School. He inhaled deeply to give himself courage before moving forward, climbing the few steps and pushing open the heavy door. He entered and walked to what appeared to be the front desk where a busy looking secretary was standing.

Loki asked softly, "Excuse me?"

"Just a minute, okay?"

Loki waited a minute, politely, then tried to get the secretary's attention again.

"Ahem... Excuse me, I need to..."

She handed him a stack of paper, while saying, without looking at him, "Just fill this out and wait for me there, okay?"

Loki handed it back to her.

"No, I'm Loki Laufeyson. I'm a new teacher. I was told to report here."

The secretary looked sheepish, "Oh, I'm sorry, Professor. You need to find Principal Romanov. She should be around here. A woman with red hair, dressed in black, you can't miss her."

He did indeed find the Principal in the hallway that the secretary had pointed out.

Natasha Romanov may have looked young to be a high school principal, but everything about her demeanor, her head carriage, her attitude exuded confidence and authority. She walked quickly down the hallway and Loki, though tall, had a hard time keeping up with her.

The principal handed him a large stack of files as soon as they arrived in her office.

"You will be in charge of the sophomores, this morning you will have three classes to teach and three this afternoon."

Loki repeated to be sure, "Three?"

"That's a quiet day, for a first day."

Loki looked a little dazed, he didn't think he was going to jump into the deep end and thought he would have some time to adjust.

The principal turned around, as if she sensed his hesitation, "The teacher you replaced let us down without notice, and it took us a while to find the right replacement, the students lost a lot of time for their final exams. We have to do our best to make sure they pass."

They walked past a student who was sitting alone on a bench, looking sulky. Romanov motioned to a supervisor.

"What's he doing here?"

The supervisor replied, "He was grounded because he took apart a computer to prove Professor Banner wrong and has to do an hour of gym under Professor Odinson's supervision. However, I can't leave the place unattended, and I was waiting for my backup to take him there.

"Peter get up," said principal Romanov in a sharp tone.

The young man stood up, a sulky look on his face.

"Professor Laufeyson, take him to Professor Odinson in the gym and then you can begin your lessons in this class."

The principal pointed to the door of the classroom in question, then turned and walked back to her office, not waiting for an answer.

"Well come with me, Mister...?"

The young boy followed his lead and replied with a pouty tone, "Parker, Peter Parker. »

"Then let's go Mr. Parker, the computer dismantler." replied Loki with a wink.  He knew he couldn't condone what the young man had done, but he couldn't help but find it amusing.

Seeing that the professor didn't look reproachful as he said these words, Peter lost his pout and got a small smile.

"Although I'm curious as to what could have caused you to disassemble a computer."

Peter seemed to come back to life, explained to an amused Loki, that Professor Banner, who taught biology, had said that nothing could compare to the complex construction that was a living being and Peter had wanted to show him the opposite by dismantling the Professor's laptop.

"But I was about to put it back together though, I don't understand why he got so upset."

Loki couldn't help but laugh.

Peter's face frowned because they had arrived at the gym.

They walked through the door and there a giant blonde man came striding in, "Peter Parker, it's been so long! Tell me what you've been up to again." he ruffled Peter's hair who tried to shy away from it, then he held out his hand to Loki who had to hold back a wince at the strength of the professor's grip.

"Professor Odinson, but call me Thor. Nice to meet you. New professor?"

"Yes, I am the new literature professor, Loki Laufeyson, but call me Loki. I'll leave this promising young man to you," He winked at Peter before continuing, "as for me I'll be teaching my first class."

"Welcome here, and good luck!" threw Thor at him before turning back to Peter, "Go change, we'll start with 10 laps running around the basketball court."

Hearing Peter's grumbles, Loki smiled as he walked away.

A few minutes later, he stopped outside his classroom door and took a deep breath.

"It takes a little time to adjust, but most of the students here are exceptional and the teaching staff is really, really nice."

Loki turned to see who had just spoken.

He found himself facing a black man, taller than him, and very impressive. But despite his imposing nature, his smile and eyes were very warm as he held out his hand. "Heimdall, art professor, welcome."

Loki grasped it and replied, "Loki, literature professor."

Heimdall gave a small nod in the direction of the door, "Good luck." then walked away.

Loki, surprisingly relaxed following this little interlude, walked through the classroom door with a confident air, placed his belongings on the desk and with an engaging smile on his lips addressed his first students, "Hello, I am your new literature teacher and I hope we will work well together."

He paused, letting his gaze roam over the entire class before continuing,"O Captain! My Captain! Who knows where that came from? No one? No idea? It's-"

A young boy raised his hand at the back of the classroom.

"Yes Mister...?"

"Keener, Harley Keener."

"All right Mister Keener, I'm listening."

"It's a Walt Whitman poem about Abraham Lincoln. And it's plagiarism of Professor Keating's introduction played by Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society."

Loki didn't lose his confidence at all and replied, "Thank you Mr. Keener. I'm not going to apologize for the plagiarism. I didn't expect anyone to contradict me since this film was released long before you were all born. Thank you, Mr. Keener, for setting me straight. I won't ask you to call me Captain, Sir, or Professor, but simply Loki. Yes, Mr. Keener, Loki, as in the Norse god of mischief... "

The whole class, including Harley, laughed and Loki thought that it wasn't such a bad start.

But he still felt exhausted at the end of the day, and he slumped into the chair at his assigned desk in the teacher's lounge. He leaned in and put his head back, closing his eyes.

"So they've worn you out already?" it was the deep voice, which he recognized as Heimdall's. He opened his eyes to see that the art professor had sat just at the desk next to him.

"Yet the Famous Five keep talking about Loki, the new professor who is super cool. It's been a long time since I've heard a literature professor on such good terms." It was Thor who came to join them and pulled a chair to sit in the space between Heimdall and Loki.

"The Famous Five?"

Thor chuckled before answering, "They're called that because they're always stuffed together, probably five of the smartest minds in this elite school, and as a result always going out on the town to..."

"…the benefit of science." finished Heimdall.

"That's their argument every time they get busted," Thor clarified.

"Who are they?" asked Loki, curious.

"There's Peter who you met this morning, he's in the same class as his two childhood friends Ned and MJ. There's Harley who talked about how you put him in his place, when he thought he had fooled you. Captain my Captain huh?"

Thor chuckled before continuing, "and finally Kamala Khan, the newest one, a little brunette, a ball of energy who always wears a big red scarf, summer and winter and who the other four have taken under their wing."

"Interesting..." replied Loki, thoughtfully.

"Wait until you're the target of their prank and we'll see if you find these kids interesting." said an unknown voice behind him.

"Bruce my friend! Were you able to fix your laptop?" exclaimed Thor with a laugh.

Loki turned around, only to find himself standing in front of a man who was a little older than him. He stood up and held out his hand, "Professor Banner, I presume."

"Am I that famous?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow as he shook the outstretched hand in a firm grip.

"It's mostly that I had the pleasure of taking Peter Parker for his grounding to Thor." replied Loki

"That brat..." harrumphed Bruce. "He's smart... but his habit of proving he's always right..."

The other men laughed in unison.

"So boys? Are we having fun?" a young woman with short blond hair stepped forward and held out her hand, "Carol Danvers, homeroom teacher at this crazy school."

"Nice to meet you," Loki replied, shaking the outstretched hand.

Unaccustomed to being around so many people and especially such friendly people, Loki felt a little overwhelmed and suddenly the fatigue of this first day seemed to fall on his shoulders to the point that he had to stifle a yawn.

Thor patted him on the back and said, "I have an excellent remedy for that."

"What is it?"

Heimdall and Thor high-fived each other and said in unison, "The Bifrost."

At Loki's look of complete incomprehension, Carol explained, "It's a bar two blocks away, good burgers, good beer and for good company, that's us." she finished with a wink.

Loki realized they were inviting him to come with them but he hesitated and finally replied, "Thanks. I better not drink tonight. I'm dead."

Bruce retorted, "We're all dead."

"Yes, but I still have a lot to unpack."

They nodded, and did not seem disappointed by his refusal, even rather understanding. Loki really wasn't used to this kind of company.

Heimdall put his hand on his arm and then said softly, "Next time, then."

Loki, not understanding why his throat was tight, simply nodded.

A little later, they separated in front of the school gates. Loki on one side and the group on the other.

" Bye Loki!"

"See you tomorrow Captain!"

Loki lived only three blocks from the school and soon arrived home. When he entered he realized how sterile and cold his large apartment seemed.

He had not yet had time to unpack all his things and the boxes were scattered everywhere. The first thing he had unpacked was Croki's terrarium, which took up a whole room.

As he closed the door, he heard Croki's typical little paws coming and rubbing against him as usual. He patted his head and headed for the kitchen. Croki was a Cuvier's Dwarf caiman. Loki had once wanted to get a dog, but in the animal shelter he had immediately felt a connection with the animal, perhaps because he was different, like himself.

Loki opened the refrigerator which was desperately empty except for Croki's fish ration. He put it on a plate and put it on the floor while commenting, "Need alligator food. And human too."

He was going to have to do some shopping tomorrow.

After snacking on a bag of chips, exhausted, he took a quick shower before going to his room.

"Good night Croki."

His room was as functional and depressing as the rest of the place. He went to stand in front of the window. Outside it was all stone buildings. It was very difficult to even see the sky. He sighed, "What a view..."

He pulled the blinds and went to bed. Once his head was on the pillow, he fell asleep very quickly, which prevented him from thinking too much about everything he missed.

**********

A red pickup truck passed the New Asgard sign before parking at the side of the path that leads to the house. Its back end was filled with furniture and moving boxes. A mustachioed man with gray hair got out. He walked toward the cottage on the edge of the cliff and stopped, hands on hips, contemplating the view.

He opened the door, looked for the electric power meter. He turned it on and went to turn on the light in the entrance and then in what seemed to be the living room.

Mobius examined the place, satisfied. There wasn't much. A stereo, some books, an armchair. But the bare and cosy furniture matched perfectly with the austere beauty of the small cottage. He looked out the window at the cliff. He was going to like it here.

It took him a good four hours to unload his pickup truck by himself and install just about everything he had brought. Once finished, he grabbed a cold beer that he had put in the cooler and while drinking it quietly walked around the house before getting in the car to go shopping at the local grocery store that he had spotted on his way in.

Once he had gone around the store, with his groceries in his arms, he went to put them on the counter.

The young owner and his wife were behind.

"Hi, are you new around here?" the owner asked him.

Mobius smiled and replied, "More or less. My name is Mobius."

The owner replied, "My name is Clint and this is my wife, Laura."

Laura smiled and added, "You're going to like it. Especially now that the weather is getting warmer." Then pointing to the groceries, she added, "We'll get you some boxes for all that."

"Oh thanks." replied Mobius.

Laura fetched an empty box from a high shelf. Now that she was no longer hidden by the counter, it was obvious that she was pregnant. Clint rushed to her. "No, honey, let me."

Mobius looked at them, feeling moved and at the same time fully aware of his own loneliness. He paid, took his box and left, but not without promising the young couple to return.

He parked in front of the small road with his groceries in the back of the truck and noticed the mailbox with its flag up. He stopped and opened it. There was an envelope.

For the new tenant.

He took in the groceries, put them away, made himself a sandwich tray and taking the letter, he went to sit on the armchair in front of the bay window. He put his tray on a small table next to it, opened the letter and started to read.

Dear new tenant.

Hello and welcome to your new home and congratulations, blah blah blah. You have made an excellent choice, New Asgard is a wonderful place and this house is a gem, as you may have already noticed.

I'm sure you'll love living here as much as I do.

By the way, I'm the former tenant, Loki.

Mobius looked perplexed but also pleasantly surprised.

The post office forwards my mail normally, but if something should happen here, because the post service is what it is and we are never safe, my new address is below. Thank you.

Mobius turned over the letter.

P.S.: Sorry for the pawprints leading to the front door. They were already there when I moved in, as well as the box in the attic. I think it belongs to the owner.

Mobius stared at the letter in amusement and could not help but check the end of the letter.

He went to the front door. The floor was clean. Inside and out.

"What did he talk about?" he scratched the back of his head before heading for the ladder that led to the attic. He opened the hatch, poked his head through and looked around. It was empty. No box.

Mobius went back down, shrugged, crumpled the letter and threw it away.

He finished his meal and went to bed.

The next day, in his clock store, while repairing an antique watch with an extremely complicated mechanism, he couldn't help thinking about the letter and its more or less strange ending when he was interrupted by the doorbell indicating that someone had entered the store.

He put down his tools, wiped his hands, and headed for the store.

"Hey Mobius! I made lunch, shall we share?"

It was the bubbly and somewhat invasive, Sylvie. The owner of the antique gun store right across from him.

He replied, annoyed, because she had interrupted his work that he loved, "I can't, I have urgent work to finish."

"Oh come on Mobius, there's nothing urgent about an old watch."

"It is to its owner."

She made a disappointed pout, "Well, okay..." she sighed and headed for the door, then turned abruptly. "Is it true you bought a house? Where is it? How is it?"

Mobius rolled his eyes, used to Sylvie's chatter.

"It's an isolated cottage, in a small village called New Asgard."

"You're sick to isolate yourself like that!"

"It's what I want and I already feel at home there. And now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get back to my work, which is not urgent." He walked briskly toward his studio, annoyed by the criticism of his choice, and didn't even hear the door close.

In the late afternoon, after his day's work, he decided to repaint the faded fences that lined the small path. The manual work, like his work on watches, helped him to clear his head.

A few hours later, as the day was getting darker, Mobius was kneeling on the steps and applying a new layer of paint to the weathered planks. He finished, satisfied with the result, and began to put his equipment away.

Behind him, a small dwarf alligator trotted along the path. Mobius didn't notice it at first. The alligator sped up and before Mobius could react, he stepped into the paint and left footprints behind him. "Hey!"

Mobius tried to catch the alligator but it ran back inside the house whose door Mobius had left ajar. Mobius was about to follow him, wondering what an alligator was doing here and if he was dangerous, when he suddenly stopped.

On the ground in front of the house, there was a trail of paw prints.

Mobius rushed to the garbage can and searched with determination through his trash when he finally found what he was looking for: Loki's letter.

He stared at it.

Sorry about the footprints leading to the front door. They were already there when I moved in, as was the box in the attic. I think it belongs to the owner.

He remained for a long moment staring at the crumpled note.

*********

Loki went out to have lunch at a place he had spotted not far from the school.

Finding the weather warm, he opened his coat and continued walking.

When he arrived at the place, he sat down on a bench and started to unwrap his sandwich, a book in his hand. He enjoyed this moment of calm, even if the place was crowded on this beautiful day.

Once finished eating, Loki closed his eyes for a moment, letting the sunlight warm him up. Just aware of the surrounding sounds, the water of the fountain, the splashes and laughter of the children playing there, an old man grumbling about global warming, the pigeons landing not far away, hoping to get some crumbs from those who like Loki had decided to have lunch here.

Suddenly, a horrible noise, a high-pitched squeal and a horn made Loki sit up. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked around.

A few meters away, in front of Loki, a double-decker city bus was trying to stop. It was going pretty fast, although you could tell the driver was trying to brake.

Loki registered it all, the noise, the bus, before noticing the gray-haired man standing directly in the path of the bus. There was nothing to be done, it was inevitable and almost immediate, the man was hit by the bus, and Loki, horrified, saw his distant figure fly ten or fifteen feet into the air before crashing to the sidewalk. The faint sound of the impact reached Loki half a second later, due to the distance.

Loki automatically took out his cell phone and dialed 911. As he walked towards the impact point, he gave all the information to the rescue workers, trying to remain calm.

Once he hung up the phone, he started to run towards the lifeless body.

_______

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 (End)

As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd and english is not my native language I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless🥰

[honestlyimstilllivinginthe90s]

Impossible | Harrison Osterfield | Part 3

Part 1 Part 2

Warnings: Mentions of death, grief, mild spoilers for Acotar

Word Count: 2.7k

All I can remember is crying. I ran to my mother, my father didn't even try to restrain me; I could hear him silently cry.

"Mom! Mom! Mother, please. I need you. Mom!" I cradled her in my arms, ignoring the blood that seemed to stain every inch of her body. Her face was grey, her eyes closed. At least she had been sleeping. At least it hadn't hurt her.

"Mom." I choked out a sob. My heart ached, my ribs felt like they were trying to squeeze my heart out of my throat. My mother, my beautiful mom. It felt like I was 5 again. Like a little child lost in a crowd of people, just wanting to find their mother. I wanted to find my mother. I just wanted my mom.

"Mom please. I need you. You can't leave me. Please, mom." I stroked her hair, my tears mixed in with her blood.

"Y/n, we need to go. It's not safe." My father's hand was on my shoulder, gently shaking it.

"No. I can't leave her. I- why her? Why my mom?" I voice broke as I felt power in my veins, building up, burning around my body. It was a power I never felt before.

I felt my father turn and start to talk to someone but I wasn't listening. My own sobs the only sound I could hear.

"Come on y/n. Nothing bad will happen. Your father has her now. Let me keep you safe." A male voice said. Tom. It was Tom. I turned and looked at him. He softly smiled and held out his hand. I turned to my father.

"Don't leave her alone."

"Never." My father took my mother out of my hands. I turn around and took Tom's hand. He pulled me into his chest so I couldn't see the rest of the room. He kept one hand on the small of my back and led me out of the bedroom. I kept my head in his shoulder and just cried. Every few seconds Tom rubbed my back or stroked my hair, telling me that we're going outside to the garden and that he'd make me some tea.

Tom gently pulled away from me. We were outside in the garden, the breeze warm but I was shivering. Tom pulled a chair out for me and sat me down and proceeded to pull off his black jacket. I completely forgot that I was only wearing a t shirt and pajama bottoms. Tom wrapped his jacket around my shoulders, and muttered something about getting me some tea. He called over a nearby servant, asking him for a cup of tea and for a healer. The servant hurried off as Tom took a seat across from me, taking my hands in his, warming them up.

"How did they get in?" My voice was hoarse from crying. Tom was a shadowsinger, if he hadn't realised someone had broken in then.....

"I don't know. I don't think they did break in." Tom's voice was small. He didn't want me to talk about it but he knew that that was the way I dealt with things. By carrying on. By leading.

"You think my mother's..."I sighed, "murder was an inside job?"

"No one broke in last night. The wards are still up." Tom bowed his head, "They could've broke in a few days ago and went unnoticed."

"Impossible. You would've known." He looked up at me, his brown eyes apologetic.

"I should've known."

Before I could object, Elphin, the servant Tom had called over, returned with a cup of tea which he handed to me, Tom letting go of my hands.

"Juliette is on her way." Elphin bowed his head and left us alone. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I spoke up.

"Juliette. I'm sure you're happy about that."

Tom chuckled. Tom had a crush on her since we were kids. She was the only one, who I  ever saw, make him shy. Juliette's mother was the best healer in the Spring Court, Juliette following in her footsteps.

"I want you checked over. With what just happened, I'm surprised you didn't go into shock. I want to make sure you're okay."

Tom had always been like a brother to me. I was so grateful that I had him, I didn't want to think of what I would have done without him.

"I love you." I smiled at him. He reached over and planted a soft kiss on my forehead.

"I love you too, missy." He ruffled my hair jokingly, I shoved him away. He laughed at me and I was happy to hear his laugh again.

"I hope I'm not interrupting. Elphin said that you needed a healer." I recognised the sweet voice as Juliette's. Tom hopped up from his chair. He brushed off his black t-shirt and cleared his throat.

"Juliette, I requested to see you. Well not you specifically, I requested for a healer and I got you. Not that I'm not happy I got you, I'm overjoyed I got you. But not too overjoyed, just the right amount of overjoyed." Tom cleared his throat again as he scratched the back of his neck. I giggled as Juliette blushed.

"Well I'm here now. What would you like me to do?" Juliette continued to stand tall, her voice calm and steady. She brushed a loose strand of her golden blonde hair out of her face. Tom moved closer to her.

"I'm sure you heard about what happened to the Lady of our Court. I'm worried about y/n, I would like if she was checked over, to make sure she's okay. I know of how stress can effect you." Tom smiled at her as Juliette walked over to me. She gently placed a tanned hand on my forehead. I felt a course of her magic travel over my body, assessing the damage, and if there was any.

"It doesn't look like there's anything wrong with y/n." Juliette said to Tom, he let out a sigh of relief. She turned to me, her emerald green eyes soft and understanding. "I can't imagine the pain you're going through right now, so I won't try to. But Lady y/n, I am so sorry for your loss. If you need any help, medical or otherwise, you know where to find me. I'm sure Tom isn't much help in the emotional support aspect of things."

"Hey!" Tom defended, we both laughed. Juliette stood back up from where she was kneeling in front of me.

"I'll see you soon, y/n." She turned and faced Tom.

"Goodbye Tom."

"Goodbye." Tom flushed. Juliette smiled and left.

"Someone has a crush." I teased.

"Seriously y/n. You know very well that I-"

"I wasn't talking about you." I stood up and smirked at him before I winnowed away.

_________________________________________

I ran through the corridors of my house. My arms were outstretched, I felt like I was flying. I ran down the stairs, the red velvet carpet soft under my bare feet.

"Y/n! Y/n! Wait up!" Juliette called from the top of the stairs. I turned around to face her. She was still beautiful considering how young she was.

"I don't have time to wait!" My voice was young and seemed far away. "The world waits for no one!"

I continued to run towards the door of the dinner hall. But before I reached it my mother burst out.

"I cannot believe you!! It has nothing to do with her!! What the Suriel said means nothing!! She is our daughter. If this is her future, you have no right to get in the way!!" My mother was so busy screaming at my father she hadn't noticed me standing wide eyed, staring. Juliette grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me back up the stairs.

"She is dangerous!" My father yelled.

"She is a child!!" My mother screamed back. She turned her back to my father and noticed me standing there. The colour went from her cheeks.

"Y/n..." Her voice was soft, a mother's voice but she was too late. I turned and sprinted up the stairs, Juliette following after me.

The heat had left the bath. I wasn't sure if it was because I had been in the bath for almost an hour and a half or because of the memory. I got up out of the bath, glad that all of my mother's blood was no longer on me. It hadn't really set in what had happened, I knew it would eventually and I wasn't looking forward to when it did. I dried myself off with my magic and got dressed in a yellow blouse and loose fitting pants. I left the bathroom but stopped before I could get anywhere.

My bedroom was at the end of the corridor, my father's office across from it. My father always awakes early to work, around 5 or 6. My mother was murdered after that, who knows how long she was dead before Bella found her. And with my parent's bedroom being at the opposite side of the stairs, no wonder my father and I never heard anyone break into her room. I walked down the corridor to my parent's room, my heart pounding in my chest. I got to the door and opened it before I could think otherwise.

The room was empty. Completely empty. The walls were clean and so was the floor. The bed was gone, aswell as the wardrobe, vanity, mirrors, rug and bookshelves. There was no evidence of what had happened earlier that day. Honestly there was no evidence of my mother ever being here in the first place.

"Your father didn't want to sleep here anymore. He doesn't know what to do with himself. Don't worry he kept all of her belongings, he just doesn't want to face this room again." I turned around to see Bella standing in the doorway. I walked over to stand beside her.

"It's just so... I can't believe she's gone."

Bella placed a comforting hand on my arm.

"Me neither." She sighed. She nodded, like she just remembered that she had a job to do,  "Your father wishes to see you. He's in his office when you're ready."

"Let's go."

We walked together to my father's office, Bella walking slightly ahead of me.

"Be patient with your father. He's scared. He wants to keep you safe, you're his number one priority at the moment. Just try to be understanding." Bella said before opening the door of the office.

"Y/n is here." I walked into the room. My father looked awful, stress obviously taking its toll on him.

"Sit down." He tried, unsuccessfully, to smile at me. I sat down in the chair on the opposite side of his desk.

"Call me if you need anything." Bella left the room.

"Thank you, Bella." My father said before the door closed. He looked at me, sorrow in his eyes.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." My father nodded in understanding.

"What happened today was unpredicted, and it scares me to think of what could happen next. I'm worried for my safety but more importantly, I'm worried for yours." He moved uncomfortably in his seat, he didn't think I would be happy with what he would say next.

"I still think you should marry, the deal we made is still going." He looked up at me. "I'm sorry, I know you're not happy with this but I just want to know that you're in safe hands."

I remained silent. He took this as a sign to keep talking.

"On the topic of you being safe, I was talking to Tom and we-" He stopped himself," I think that you should have someone protecting you at all times."

"What?" I tried to stay patient.

"Well having someone with you at all times will ensure that you are safe."

"You want me to have a bodyguard?" To my surprise, my voice was calm.

"I guess you could say that."

"Why don't you believe in me? Why don't you believe that I can lead this Court? Why do you believe that I need someone to protect me? Am I not enough?" My voice was quiet, I was exposing the worries that lived constantly in my brain.

"It's not that I don't believe in you." My father sighed. "It's that I don't believe in me. It was my job to look after you mother and you saw how that went. I can't lose you too."

I looked into my father's broken eyes. Honestly he was never the best father, being the High Lord always seemed like his number one priority but right now, he was trying to make up for it. And how bad could it be having a bodyguard. I could just tell them to leave me alone or even eventually get rid of them when my father was no longer living in fear.

"Okay."

'Okay?" My father looked at me with confusion. "You're okay with this?"

Of course not. I'm not your puppet! My brain responded.

"Yes. It's for the best." I lied, I'd find a way out of this. All of it.

My father reached across his desk to take my hands in his. I stopped myself from pulling away.

"Thank you y/n."

His eyes were so sincere and filled with love that I couldn't bring myself to say anything so I just nodded. Thankfully there was a knock on the door and Tom entered.

"The guards have arrived, your Lord." Tom noticed that I was sitting here, I pulled hands out of my father's grasp. " And he's here. The man you requested to protect y/n."

"Take her to meet him." I stood up abruptly. Tom stared at me, wondering why I seemed so happy with all of this. I quickly and subtly shook my head, he got the message.

"I'll lead the way."

I followed Tom out of my father's office. We walked in complete silence, I was trying to think of anything that would get me out of this. We walked down the stairs, the entrance hall was packed. There were soldiers everywhere, and not just any soldiers. Illyrian soldiers from the Night Court.

"Your father requested for me to up the security with more soldiers. So I brought him the best. There are 50 of them all together. You'll hardly see them in the house, don't worry." Tom tried to make me feel better about this whole situation. But I could only think of one thing.

"Where is he?" I asked. Tom immediately knew who I was talking about.

"I chose him for you. He is one of my best friends and someone that I trust with my and now your life. He's a great guy. I'm sure you'll get on great. I already know that you have so much in common. "

I gave Tom a look of disbelief. He chuckled.

"He's second-in-command to the General of the High Lord of the Night Court's armies. He's a great fighter and could train you if you wanted." Tom walked over to the library under the stairs.

"And I can't wait for you to meet him." Tom opened the door.

Inside a High Fae male dressed in Illyrian leathers, with curly dirty blonde hair that looked slightly golden under the candlelight was sitting on one of the desks. His back was facing us but I could just make out that he was sharpening a blade in his left hand. Even though he was sitting, I could still tell that he was tall. Upon hearing the door close behind us, he turned around and my heart stopped beating. My eyes were met with the unforgettable blue of his. The blue that I saw everywhere.

"Y/n this is my friend Harrison, Harrison meet Lady Y/n."

Tom had no clue that the bodyguard that he chose, the bodyguard that I was planning on getting rid of, was the man that I was willing to do anything to find.

Harrison moved to face us. We all stayed silent. Tom was waiting for me to explode in anger, Harrison and I were waiting for the other to talk. Eventually Harrison cleared his throat.

"There's room on this table for two."

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