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thisnameisnotspokenfor · 10 months ago

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Kingdom of the Stars: Chapter 31: The Date Part 2

Previous: Chapter 30

Next: Chapter 32

I actually made art for this chapter! See?

Anyway- please enjoy!

“ What....what is this place?" Asha breathed.

“My guess is as good as yours,” came the star’s voice as his eyes settled on a partially collapsed statue behind them. One that if was still whole, would have easily rivaled Rosas’s biggest cathedral in size. “I’m not one to leave loose ends after bad encounters. But I thought it’d be best if we spent some time down here to convince your little ‘acquaintances’ that we hadn’t survived the fall.”

Shivering, she half-heartedly wrapped her wet shawl around herself. “Did you know this was down here?”

“Oh, you mean the city?” He shook his head, “I didn’t. The only reason why I found it was because I felt something coming from here.”

“You felt something?” Her eyes darted from the star to the collection of dilapidated buildings that stood before them.

He nodded “A calling.”

“How exactly does one feel a calling?”

“Same way how one manages to conjure a large air bubble that’s strong enough to keep you alive down here. That’s how.” He gestured to the walls of said air bubble before turning his eyes to the darkness outside. “But I suspect it’s coming from a malfunctioning artifact or a distress beacon of sorts.”

A distress beacon? It had been how the injured Atlantean general had summoned the stone serpentine. So the idea wasn’t too far-fetched. But from here of all places?

“You know it’s funny you say that,” she started as she felt herself slightly shiver. The coldness of her still-wet shawl had done her no favors. “My Saba once told me of a legend from when Rosas was still young, a fisherman used to sail the Salcona river. After narrowly surviving a boat accident he claimed that he’d heard strange voices coming from the bottom of the river.”

“Voices?” His light pierced the darkness as it briefly illuminated the ground below, revealing the bits and pieces of stained glass that had been embedded within what she could only assume was once a beautiful pathway.

“Yeah. Strange ones. They said it drove him so mad that he swore to dive to the bottom of the river…No one ever saw him again,” She whispered, eyeing the sparkling shards of the ground that led towards the heart of the sunken city.

“You don’t think there are survivors here, do you?” Impossibilities of survival aside, How was anyone to be rescued from something like this? She’d tried to not think of the hopelessness of the situation crushing the survivors as they’d desperately searched for any sign of

“I wouldn’t bet on it. But It’s not as outlandish as you think,” He’d shifted closer, holding his hand towards the bubble’s wall. “I’ve heard of astronomers having hidden underground tunnels that allowed them to travel all over the kingdom in dire situations. Factor in their food supply, powers, extended lifespan, and technology, and anything is possible.”

“But that can’t be right- Rosas was founded on a completely new island! This city can’t be a part of its predecessor.”

“And yet it just so happens to be full of those same astronomical symbols,” the star interjected before leaning towards her. “A little too coincidental don’t you think?”

She nodded, her eyes lowering to her feet as she contemplated his words.

If what he said was true then that would mean that Rosas had never left the ashes of its predecessor behind just like the historical records had claimed.

But how could that be? Surely someone would’ve pointed out the error sooner! There was no way the scholars nor her father would’ve allowed such untruths to be propagated to future generations.

“BAAAA” came Valentino from beside her as he gestured for her to look forward.

“What?” She asked. “What is it? Do you see something?”

He shook his head, before pressing it to the walls of the air bubble as if he’d wanted her to follow suit.

Of course, doing something like that initially seemed ridiculous to her under the fear of possibly popping the bubble, but come to think of it, this wasn’t any normal air bubble, right? So maybe she could get away with a few sudden movements…But her reservations had been quickly put to rest when she’d felt the low vibrations of something that she could only deduce was sound coming from the nearby city.

Quickly, she pressed her ears towards the bubble’s side, making out the sounds of Bells and chimes softly ringing in the darkness. But why would they be ringing?

“Asha-,” came the star’s voice as something swam past once more, nearly startling her. “What are you doing?”

“Listening,” she answered, briefly sparing him a glance. “Do you hear that? It’s the sounds of bells and chimes ringing and I think it’s coming from the city!” She exclaimed as he blankly stared at her. “I’ve always known that water isn’t a vacuum, so sound could travel through it. But for the bells and chimes to be ringing so continuously like this…that must mean that something underwater is making it move! But the real question is…what?” She started to pace the bubble, which was frankly, a near-impossible task given the bubble’s rather small size. But that hadn’t stopped her from asking “Is it the current or something else? Maybe it’s connected to the calling you felt! But…why?”

His brows furrowed as his hand pushed his hair back. “You really want to know?”

“Of course I do!” she exclaimed, unable to hide her smile. “Don’t you?”

“Well…” he, the self-admitted reckless and insane star, hesitated . The expression on his face was wavering. “I suppose so…”

“Suppose so? Cepheus we literally just made the greatest archaeological discovery of this century! This is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement that could be the answer to all of our questions involving the order and its strange absence!”

“Or, it could be dangerous,” his voice lowered as the light within his hand flickered.” You don’t know what’s down here.”

A part of her couldn’t believe that of all the things they’d done, this was where the star drew the line. He’d been so troubled about the order’s strange absence, yet he seemed reluctant to explore the one place that could give him answers. Granted he did have a point, as up until now, the most she’d ever assumed was down here was nothing more than fish and scattered bones.

But that hadn’t stopped her from being curious, not when the existence of the buildings that challenged Rosas’s history had so proudly touted the symbol she’d seen from the astronomer’s order. “True, I don’t. But I guess it’s a good thing I have you then, don’t I? You’re probably scarier and way stronger than any apex predator that roams the ocean.”

“Apex what?”

“Apex predator,” she repeated. “You know, a carnivorous animal that resides at the top of the food chain!” she explained as a small idea formed within her mind.

“Am I an Apex predator?” he asked, curiously pointing to himself as he leaned towards her.

“You?” she looked around the small bubble thoughtfully. Flattery had always done wonders on nobles, now she wondered how well it would work on a star. “Well, I mean you remorselessly maul people three times your size with sheer brutality, without taking any damage.” she shrugged. “Yes. I think you’d comfortably classify as what they’d call an apex predator.”

The star beamed, “Ha ha! Wait-,” he paused as his smile faltered. “You’re complimenting me-,” His eyes narrowed at her suspiciously, “who are you and what have you done to Asha?!”

She rolled her eyes before pointing to him accusingly. “I mean I could be asking you the same question. You didn’t use any magic whatsoever in that fight for someone who’s so highly pro-magic.”

“Touché,” he conceded. “But don’t think flattery is gonna convince me to take you down there.”

“Well it’s not really flattery if it’s the truth now is it?” she asked smoothly as she leaned towards the star.

“....Fair point,” he shrugged, before clearing his throat. “Alright then, I guess we can look around for a little bit. IF-”

“If?” she repeated.

“-You promise to stay close to me. The pressure at this depth is very unforgiving. So It’s best we stick together for now.”

She nodded, unsure of how she’d be able to do anything else given the limited space the bubble provided.

Nearing the city, Asha’s eyes took in the pieces of columns, buildings, and broken statues that littered the ground, offering a mere glimpse of what she could only assume was once a beautiful courtyard.

“There are so many statues here,” she murmured, briefly pausing to listen in to the sounds of the surrounding bells.

“Of course there are,” he sighed. “To a star, there’s no greater form of praise than a beautiful artistic piece that’s fashioned after them. You should see the palaces that some of the alpha stars live in. It’s full of human art.”

“Do you recognize any of these then?”

He shook his head without hesitation, as they swam past several collapsed statues that could have easily rivaled the castle in size.

“How about these?” she asked, pointing to another.

To her dismay, his voice promptly answered with a somewhat unenthusiastic, yet decisive “No.”

Setting aside her confusion for now, she continued looking around the desecrated town square, not seeing anything particularly noteworthy until her eyes caught sight of something glittering beneath the edge of the star’s light.

“Wait!” she halted him before pointing to where she’d spotted the glittering object beneath them. Obediently the star guided his light towards the direction she’d pointed in, quickly revealing the location of said object to be within the hole of a large building that had partially collapsed.

Excitement once again filled her at the sight of the astronomical symbols etched into the building’s stone roof as she shivered and asked, “D-do you think that’s the order?”

He gently shook his head. “The order was far larger than one building, but from what I’ve heard they did have a location in the heart of the kingdom, which was very close to the castle.”

The castle? She’d looked around for any sighting of said castle but had come up empty. There wasn’t much to go off of whether or not this part of the city had been near the heart of the kingdom nor if this building had been a part of the astronomer’s order, but something in her mind had told her that it was at least worth exploring.

The star nodded to himself as he peered into the dark depths of the building. His mind surprisingly made up as he cracked his knuckles. “Well, I suppose now is a time as ever to make life-altering mistakes while embarking on a pointless albeit fascinating search.”

“Life-altering what ?” Asha spat as he smiled at Valentino.

“Go on Valentino we’ll be right behind you!” he gestured towards the dark pit beneath them.

Valentino, understandably bleated in protest as the star frowned. “What? What do you mean by no?” Valentino shivered before bleating once more as the star gasped. “Ah right, I keep on forgetting that you earth creatures are weirdly addicted to oxygen. Me personally? I’ve always been more of a hydrogen and helium guy, not that I need them of course-”

“Wait,” she grabbed his hand, gently pulling him back as she thankfully put a stop to his strange rambling. “Before we enter. Promise me that there will be no more riddles, no more games. I just want transparency.”

“Transparency,” the star repeated, looking genuinely confused.

“Yeah you know, honesty. It’s what friends do. They tell each other things that they need to hear, even when it’s not easy.”

“Friends do that? Does that include constructive criticism on interior décor and capes?” he asked as he glanced at her soaking-wet shawl.

“My friends do, and no it does not include constructive criticism on interior décor or capes,” she retorted before quickly stuffing her shawl into her satchel.

“How many friends do you have beside me?”

“A lot but that’s not the point,” she lied with a huff. “Right now we’re looking at a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that I doubt we will see again. So it’s best that we try to answer any questions we have while we’re still down there. Right?”

To her surprise, the star pleasantly answered, as he placed a hand over his heart, “Of course Asha. Let’s get started, shall we?” She nodded as the bubble slowly began to descend the roof’s hole and into the building below.

The room they’d slipped into had been massive, with its downward stairwell structure nearly reminding her of an academic auditorium. Everything in the hall was covered in algae, as objects such as furniture, books, bookshelves, scrolls, and all sorts of instruments lay strewn about as the remains of a once beautiful crystal chandelier lay in the middle of the room. Carved into the surrounding dark-colored stone walls were depictions of strange Creatures and people, all poised towards a chalkboard full of strange letters that stood at the other end of the room. She and the star exchanged glances before nodding, carefully approaching the chalkboard.

“This was written in Asterahi,” he murmured as he tentatively looked over the board.

“Is that another star language?” she asked, noting how different the ‘words’ had looked from the ones he’d shown her yesterday.

“It is. A far more exclusively spoken one though.”

And yet one that he appeared to be capable of reading she’d thought as he’d continue to look over the language’s strange symbols. For a star peasant he was rather well-educated, wasn’t he? “I know you said you could tell which court had spoken Cosmelathian based on the dialect or rather variation you saw it written in… Does the same apply for Asterahi?”

He carefully nodded, “It does…and from the looks of things, this looks like it was written by someone from the,” his eyes widened, as he quickly shook his head. “No….That can’t be right. Not here…Why here?”

“What? What is it?! Cepheus what’s wrong?” He failed to answer her as his eyes continued sweeping over the board. His smile was gone now as she felt the water around them begin to move, pushing away some of the debris near the foot of the chalkboard as she gasped.

“Cepheus, look!” she cried, pointing to the large half-destroyed ship that lay in front of the chalkboard. “It’s one of the ships we saw Erlan’s people use!” She could barely think straight as she gently shook the star’s shoulders. “It’s real! It’s really real! And it’s here!” She paused, feeling the weight of reality set in. “Wait so are you telling me that story wasn’t fictional?”

“I don’t ever recall telling you that it was,” he answered with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Oh…” she whispered, releasing his shoulders as she stepped back. “Wait…so do stars actually look like that? A dark cloud with glowing eyes and a multitude of voices or was that a creative liberty you took?”

He grinned rather smugly, “Creative liberty, of course, in reality, we stars usually look far worse.”

“Worse?” she repeated, before pointing to him. “Even you?”

“I’m not sure why I’d be excluded from that, but yes, even me. There’s a reason why we’re so…particular about how we look when we’re around humans…”

“Finally,” she grinned. “A form of you that isn’t ridiculously handsome. Now I actually kind of want to see-”

“Finally a form of me that isn’t ridiculously handsome?” he repeated, staring at her in silence before the true meaning of her words began to sink into both of them. She hadn’t meant it like that! But the grin that slowly spread across the star’s face told her that she was now in for a world of trouble.

“Asha-,” he sang.

“I’ve never been one to ask a building to collapse on me before,” she grumbled as she tried to ignore how her face burned.

“Do you think I’m handsome?” The wicked little star was enjoying this. “It’s okay if you do. I think you’re really pretty too~,”

She shook her head, quickly taking another step back as she cursed the tightness of their air bubble. “Ha, ha, no, no, I never meant that you were handsome, you see what I was trying to say was that-,”

“That?” the star repeated. “Go on Asha, tell me what you were trying to say.” He was really enjoying this, wasn’t he?

“Scratch that, I hope the building collapses on both of us.”

Valentino panickily pleated as the star’s smile sharpened. Mischief filled his eyes as he leaned towards her, “Is this you showing your strong feelings for my form again? I knew you liked it but to call me ridiculously handsome-,”

“I am politely asking you,” she called while staring at the partially collapsed ceiling. “To please do it. Just make it quick.”

“Ha! Listen to me princess, very few things in this universe could kill you while I'm around, but I'm afraid this building” he pointed upwards towards the ceiling. “Isn't one of them -,” he’d flippantly waved his hand as he leaned away from her.

“Alright, so what could?”

“Nothing that you’d need to worry about,” he replied, his voice a bit more ominous than she liked.

“Well unnerving note aside, this means that Erlan’s kingdom could have been the ancestor or had some sort of ties to Rosas’s predecessor!” She looked over the ship once more. To call it advanced would have been the understatement of the century. No, this wasn’t advancement. It was technological perfection . “Do you think it still works?” she asked the star after she’d finally managed to partially break the trance the ship had, had on her. “We could fix it though, couldn’t we? Just like how you fixed the music box! Imagine if we could get it to fly again! This could be a life-changing thing for the people of Rosas! The king would have to listen to us! He’d have to!”

To her chagrin, he looked away before shaking his head, “I don’t think your king would be very pleased if you made this discovery public Asha.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well from what you tell me, I think his abhorrence to technology seems personal , and like you said your people are complacent and dependable on the king, something that may not be as benevolent nor generous as you think it is.”

Not benevolent or generous? She wasn’t certain about that! Yes, it had made everyone a little too safe and lazy, but she had to give credit where it was due. King Magnifico had made them complacent as a consequence of his dedication to serving and protecting them, something that she’d argue was very kind given how most monarchs tended to act.

The star looked her over, and as if reading her thoughts, he’d gifted her a smile heavily laced with what she could only recognize as sardonicism. “You know Asha,” he started. “A king’s greatest enemy isn’t those who he faces on the battlefield or those who he strong arms into trade deals or diplomacy. No, it’s the people who he must convince and assure of his divine right to rule with each and every passing day. Because the minute those people think to themselves that there is another, someone better, is the day that everything a king has worked for goes to naught. His kingdom will become nothing more than a gilded cage as those around him fight to secure themselves for power.”

“I…I can’t disagree with what you’re saying….But the people and royal family of Rosas aren’t like that! You’re free to think of the king however you want, but nothing can change the fact that he and so many others worked hard to make Rosas into a place where people who’d suffered could be given a chance! Just like how Erlan used his power as king to help others and establish the Astronomer’s Order!”

He tilted his head, as he thoughtfully stared at the nearby collapsed pillar. “So passionate. You sound as if you speak from experience, or perhaps intimate knowledge of the royal family?”

She shook her head. If the star had thought that he was the only one who could maintain secrecy under this amount of hydrostatic pressure, then he was sorely mistaken “It’s history that we’re all required to learn…”

The star hummed, evidently not sounding too convinced. “History? Alright then…How did you know that Erlan established the astronomer’s order? Surely they couldn’t have had that in your history books.”

“They don’t.”

“So how did you know?”

“I didn’t I-,” her voice trailed off. “I heard it…in a dream.”

“A dream?” Cepheus’s eyes narrowed at her as the cold seemed to seep into her bones. “You’ve been having weird dreams lately?”

“Sometimes,” she confessed. “But everything that’s happened to me has been very strange and a little too coincidental.” It was a shame that the bubble was so small, otherwise, she would’ve started pacing once more as she began to think aloud. “But Maybe you’re right…maybe I shouldn’t show this to the king.”

“Oh? And why do you say that?”

“Well…come to think of it, isn’t it a little odd how those figures not only chose to attack me on the one day I’d have a vacation? There’s no way they could’ve known that unless they had an informant in the castle keeping them updated on my whereabouts. But then there’s the fact that if they truly didn’t care about assassinating other people, then why hadn’t they done it this morning if they’d been stalking me for a while?” She’d asked glancing at Valentino who shivered before looking up at her. “But they only attempted it when I was alone with you….Wanting to discreetly dispose of me is one thing. But doing it when there’s another person around, one completely irrelevant to the situation is irrational…unless, of course, they had their reasons for wanting to kill you as well.”

“You think they knew that I am a star?”

“It’s quite possible, or at least they know now given what you showed them. And they had magic of their own, and-” her voice trailed off as she remembered the red crystal she’d seen on the woman’s neck. Ones that looked nearly identical to the crystals that the Atlanteans and Erlan’s people had worn. Had the people hunting them down been astronomers who’d sworn allegiance to the crimson court? But that didn’t make any sense! If they’d sworn to serve the stars then why were they shattering wishes?

She shook her head as she turned her attention back towards the star in front of her. “But it still doesn’t make sense to me. The language that you heard their leader speaking in, was it close to ours?”

“Close, but not identical. I’d say from its roots that most linguists would probably tell you that it’s a sister language of yours.”

“And then there’s the fact that they didn’t hesitate when nearing the bridge that’s usually guarded. It’s like they knew it would be empty by the time they’d be approaching…and the river” She shook her head. “they knew which path to block. They deliberately tried to send us down Salcona. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“I feel as if you’re on the verge of something here,” he started. “You’re formulating some sort of hypothesis aren’t you?”

“Sort of,” she admitted, still thinking about the red crystal and shattered wishes.

“BAAAAAAAA-,” Came Valentino’s voice as he leaped forward, gesturing to the other end of the hall.

“You see something?” Cepheus repeated as he turned around. Valentino reverently nodded before gesturing towards the wall on the other end of the hallway.

“It’s some type of mural I think,” she murmured, examining it as she noticed the bits and pieces of colorful stained glass shining the minute the star’s light landed upon it.

Sirius,” she’d whispered on recognizing the figure depicted by the mural.

He’d looked nearly identical to the picture she’d seen in the journal, only this time he wore a beautiful crown embedded with blue and golden jewels as the words on the mural’s edges read Sirius de Solari -, her eyes squinted trying to make out the rest of the letters that had been lost to time.

But she’d suspected the final words were ‘de Solarius.’ A suspicion that had only been confirmed by the figures of blue and golden that acknowledged him on either side of the mural.

He must have been someone important. Otherwise, she’d have seen no other reason why such a beautiful mural would be dedicated to him if he didn’t at least hold some power in the world of stars and astronomers.

But as she studied his face, she couldn’t help but quietly admire the artistry and dedication that had gone into what could have easily been the most expensive piece of art in Rosas.

“Cepheus?” She looked from him to the mural and then back to him.

“Don’t say it,” he grumbled, but his voice had lacked the venom she’d expected. No, now he just looked tired. Tired and expectant as if the similarities in looks had been brought up multiple times before.

He’d denied being Sirius, but surely they must’ve been closely related… why else would they so strongly resemble one another? But… if they’d been related then why would Cepheus be a mere peasant while Sirius appeared to practically be a prince, or maybe even a king?!

Maybe Cepheus was his illegitimate son. An illegitimate son that he had neglected for whatever reason, hence why the son had resented the very name and resemblance he had to his father.

Hmm, that was plausible.

Cepheus was dangerously close to scowling now as he practically snapped, “Draw a picture of him Asha, it will last longer.”

She blinked in surprise. “What?”

“You’ve been staring at that wall for at least five minutes,” he complained with a frown as he crossed his arms.

“Well, I’m an astronomer. It’s sort of my job to examine and study stars for a living Cepheus.”

She hadn’t expected to see a cold fire ignite within the depths of his eyes as he staunchly turned away. She glanced at Valentino who seemed just as confused as she. Had it been something she said?

“Well go on,” he’d said after a moment or so of uncomfortable silence. “Ask your questions. You want answers about him don’t you?”

Goodness. Of course, she wanted answers! It’s why she’d wanted to explore in the first place. But she didn’t want answers at the expense of invading the star’s privacy or boundaries.

She shook her head, “No. I can tell that this is a rather sensitive topic for you, and if you don’t feel comfortable talking about it for whatever reason then I won’t ask about it. But if you ever want to share then I want you to know that I’ll be here, ready to listen.”

“Ready to listen?” he repeated as confusion laced his voice. “But what if I never want to share? What will you do then?”

A challenge. Maybe even a warning. She’d swallowed the unease as she forced herself to shrug, “Then that’s okay too. Look Cepheus. I’m not going to force you into doing something that distresses you, alright? That’s not what friends do, and it’s not what I’m going to do.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

She wasn’t sure how many seconds of silence had ticked by before his face slowly softened and he offered her his hand.

His fingers slowly intertwined with hers as she quietly welcomed his warmth.

“C'mon,” he says softly as the bubble begins to move away from the mural. “Let’s go see if there are other ships around.” He must’ve sensed her confusion as he quickly added, “Just because the king can’t appreciate it, doesn’t mean that you can’t use it to further your own studies, right?”

“Right.” She nodded, and a small ghost of a smile teased at his lips as they moved forward, this time through the large hole in the center of the floor.

“Where are we headed to?” Her voice echoed as the star’s light peered through the darkness, revealing the misfortune that had befallen a place of prestige and beauty.

“The panic room,” he’d answered. “I think it’s where the signal is coming from.” He’d only briefly paused once to shine his light on the wall behind them, revealing another mural. This one depicted planets, none of which she recognized. Perhaps they’d been planets from another galaxy? It was a possibility, given how stars had most likely been the ones to divulge such information in the first place. “I have a, no pun intended, sinking suspicion that if the evacuation ships and distress beacons were to be anywhere. They’d be in the bottom of the building near the panic rooms.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Imitation is said to be the highest form of flattery,” he’d half-heartedly gestured to the columns full of strange vein-like carvings. “So there’s probably a good chance that they’d keep their weapons where we would normally keep ours, which is usually near the panic rooms.”

His voice echoed as they finally slipped into the entrance of an expansive hallway filled with murals behind statues that had lined either side of the hallway.

But whatever admiration she’d had for the statues and murals order couldn’t extend to the rest of the hallway. “It looks like a tornado came through here.” She’d commented as she took in the sight of the broken statues, glass, and rubble that littered the hallway. The architecture of the fountain had surprisingly looked quite similar to the one she’d found in her father's library, evoking a sense of disappointment as she realized just how little Rosa’s’ style had changed.

“That probably isn’t too far from the truth,” he’d replied before glancing towards the pile of debris. Then he’d looked behind them. Surprise coloring his eyes as he smiled, speaking in Cosmelathian as he’d turned to fully face the mural.

“Who’s that?” She’d asked, watching as the light finally revealed the mural to be of a red-colored individual, draped in exquisite robes. A crimson star. She’d nearly backed away until she’d taken note of the rather relaxed expression on Cepheus's face.

“Antares de Luktu Nocturnus, an ancient figurehead of the crimson court,” he’d answered simply. Antares? She’d been certain that that had been one of the names she’d read in both the astronomer’s journal and the cards from the king’s study. But they hadn’t said any more than that as Cepheus quietly took a knee near the foot of the mural. Unfamiliar words left his lips as he bowed his head.

Shock filled her as she watched him pay his respects to none other than a red star. “Did…did you know him personally?”

“He was before my time,” his voice was so painfully quiet that she’d nearly strained to hear him add. “But he helped to pave the way for hybrids like me.”

“I see…I’m sorry for your loss….” she spoke, as a small beat of silence followed, until she asked, “Was he a star hybrid too?”

“No, he wasn’t. But that didn’t stop him from trying to improve things for those like me…” He glanced into his palm now full of blue energy. “Compared to the other members of the crimson royal family, he was quite unorthodox in his methods, so much so, that it allowed those who wouldn’t usually tolerate a crimson star to take a liking to him. But after he…ceased to exist…there was never another docile crimson star.”

Ceased to exist. Antares was dead. But it hadn’t sounded as if he’d died of ‘natural causes.’ “How did he pass, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Frankly, I’m not sure,” he answered as he stood back up. “The elders have never been transparent about it. All they say is that in spite of all of his wisdom, Antares committed the ultimate sin that a wishing star could make.”

“The ultimate sin for a wishing star? “Did he kill the person who wished on him?”

“I…Ha…quite the opposite actually...the ultimate, or rather worse sin a wishing star can make is to fall in love with their wisher ” He abruptly looked away. “It’s strictly forbidden.”

“But star bloods exist-,”

“Yes, but never as the result of a wishing star and the person whose wish they’re granting. It’s serious, Asha. A wisher already has far more power over their star than realize. To fall in love with someone who has that power is the ultimate death sentence, or at least it was for Antaris.”

“I see…was this why you started acting out when Mr. Silver and Mr. Bjorn made those jokes?”

“Ha, I suppose you could say that…”

“You Suppose?”

A mirthless chuckle escaped him as he shook his head. “You’re a nice girl Asha, but I don’t want you to get hurt….”

“You think us becoming a couple would hurt me?” she asked, feeling her brows furrow.

But a part of her couldn’t help but wonder. If the stars hadn’t forbidden it, would he have attempted it? He did seem sorta flirty… But would he have bothered with her if the rules hadn’t dictated it? A part of her didn’t think so, not after she’d seen just how closely he resembled a possibly high-ranking star. Then there’d been their back and forth near the port. Yeah. He wasn’t interested in her, rules or no rules, she just couldn’t see them happening.

He nodded, as she mentally noted how quickly the star had averted his eyes as they continued swimming into the partially collapsed hallway. Every now and then he’d muttered something under his breath as his glowing eyes combed the darkness around them. What that something was, she doubted he’d tell her.

Her eyes slowly combed over the passing star murals as the words slowly came into view.

_____‘de Solarius’

_____del Apsuramal’

_____ del Myrkadius

_____ De Nocturne

The first part of the mural had been far too incoherent to translate, but those were the titles of Alpha Stars! And they’d been on every single mural they’d passed.

A hallway full of alpha stars…Figures of scarlet, cerulean, gold, and silver danced across her vision before she spotted the final mural, trapped behind the debris of the partially collapsed hallway. It’d been too dark to make out the figure depicted, as her eyes had managed to make out the words beneath the mural.

Alderamin de ____ the rest of his title was missing as darkness enveloped the mural.

Alderamin was an alpha star? That made sense. From all accounts, he’d sounded powerful…Had he known Sirius? Surely he must’ve maintained some interaction with the order if they’d studied and even fashioned a mural after him… But why had the journal’s author gone to such great lengths to scratch out any details about him? Wait…hadn’t Alderamin been in the play that she’d seen in Banquo? Yes, she was almost certain that he had been the name of the star he’d slain…and yet Cepheus spoke of Alderamin as if he were still alive…

She knew she’d promise to refrain from asking him uncomfortable questions, but in the face of such discovery, it was hard to be content with her decision. All that she’d seen and presented with had only given her more questions, that she needed to answer, if not for her own sake, then for the sake of her father and anyone else who’d been lost.

Unable to maintain the silence any longer, she heard herself say, as she quietly trembled “Did they ever mean anything to your people?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked what the star’s perspectives on the astronomers were. It’s not hard to see that the astronomers evidently thought very highly of your kind. But I need to know…was that feeling ever reciprocated? For the astronomer? For my father? Did they ever mean anything to your kind? Or were they seen as nothing more than novel curiosities?”

He fervently shook his head, “Of course, they mattered to us. The astronomers have always been important to us! Having a personal astronomer has always been a sign of honor and prestige for us! They were our bridge to your world Asha.”

“So then why didn’t any of your kind come to earth sooner when you’d lost contact?”

“That’s…” he hesitated, briefly thinking it over before he shook his head. “I’m not sure…but we tried, everyone tried, even the council but no one could break through…all I know is that they think something was purposefully limiting our power on earth, so much so, that we thought you’d cut us off-”

“How could the astronomers cut you off? You’re the source of their power!”

“I know, which would be more than enough motivation for someone who didn’t like the order to go through with it.”

She paused. His words strangely made sense to her as the pieces slowly began to fall into place. “Would there have been anyone on earth motivated or strong enough to pull off such a feat?”

“Possibly, but I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t here.”

Her mind wracked through every possibility and suspect she could think of until she’d remembered them. “How powerful is a starblood?”

. “Most if not all-star bloods who would've been around that time were probably the children of high-ranking stars.”

“Which means they would’ve inherited a good deal of power… more so than any astronomer would have gained from an allegiance.”

The star frowned as his expression darkened. “If you’re trying to say, what I think you are…Don’t.,”

“Why not?”

“The star bloods have always had powerful connections to the courts. Most wouldn’t appreciate you speaking so negatively about them.”

“And yet in tumultuous times, Tau Vitrius and the other astronomers didn’t seem to trust them!”

“Most astronomers didn’t,” he retorted.

“They didn’t?” Silence. “You know something don’t you?” an involuntary shiver slipped down her spine as she watched the star’s eyes narrow.

“Not any more than you do, no. But if I could tell you more, I would…”

“But you can’t?”

“No, I don’t know half of it, and even if I did, where would I start? When I came to earth, I expected to see an order thriving and full of life, not, this!” he’d exclaimed as he gestured to their surroundings, and for a brief second, she could hear it. The fleeting note of panic and perhaps even anger in his voice as he’d stressed the word ‘this’. But he’d quickly recovered, shaking his head as he looked away from her, “I can tell that this whole ordeal is distressing to you too. But if I could fix it, I would. I’d do everything in my power to.”

“You’d bring back the order?”

“If I were powerful enough, then yes. I’d make it possible. But we’d have to get the council involved.”

“I’m sorry we?” she frowned before gesturing to him and then herself.

“Yes, we . You can’t make an Astronomer’s order without stars nor can we make it without humans. There’s a common ground here Asha. You wished for more for yourself, your country, and your people, and nothing could bring you greater prestige, honor, advancement, and wealth than an order like that.”

“Okay,” she conceded with a reluctant nod. "you bring up some solid points but what is this council you speak of?”

“Ah well, the council is a group of elderly alpha stars that after abdicating their thrones in this part of the galaxy or universe move on to other ones. The current ruling alpha stars have to answer to them since they have the final say in a lot of things. But I don’t think it would matter,” he started as they moved forward, and quickly slipped through another hole in the ground... “If they could’ve brought the order back then they probably would’ve done so already.”

With each and every passing room, the piles of debris had seemingly grown smaller and smaller, something that felt odd to Asha as she began to hear the faint sound of chimes and bells once more, soothingly filling the darkness that surrounded them as they descended deeper and deeper. Had it not been for the star’s light, Asha wasn’t sure that she’d be able to maintain her calm. Or at least she was calm until the star had come to an abrupt halt when they’d been swimming down a stairwell.

“What is it? What’s wrong? Have we reached the panic rooms yet?”

“Yes, but I think you might want to see this.” He pointed towards one of the distant yet intact hallways connected to the stairwell. “It was Tau Vitrius, right? The astronomer’s writings who you and your father studied?”

She nodded, looking in the direction of his light as she saw a barricaded hallway, near the end of it was an open room filled to the brims of maps, telescopes, scrolls, equipment, and journals. But near the center of the room, pinned to the wall was a metal slate that had read TAU VITRIUS.

Had it been a classroom? Or maybe some sort of office! She’d desperately tried to take in the figures that had been drawn onto the maps in hopes of possibly cross-examining them with the manuscripts later, but at this distance, it had been nearly impossible to see anything, anything except for another metal slate that hung near one of the maps.

“Tomas,” she whispered as she read the name on the metal slate over and over again. “That’s my Dad! My Dad’s things are in there!”

“Hold on!” Cepheus exclaimed, holding her back as she struggled against him.

“Let me go!” she protested. “I need to get to that office! That map!” she groaned. “If only I could get to it! It might be the key to translating his manuscripts!”

“No. Asha, it’s too dangerous…” he whispered as he looked her over with concern. He shook his head, “we’ve been down here long enough. If we stay down here any longer then you might become hypothermic. You’re already shivering enough as is.”

“What? But we haven’t gotten either of the things we’ve come for! Weren’t we supposed to make it to the panic rooms?”

“Asha,” he adjusted his grip on her. “We are in the panic rooms.”

“What?” Her breath hitched at the sight of the destroyed panic rooms. Her fears were only confirmed when she’d caught sight of bones scattered around the tattered remains of clothing, pinned beneath a fallen column. She’d fought to keep the bile down, as the darkness quickly swallowed the remains of the unfortunate person.

There were so many skeletons of different sizes lying around the hallway, some posed as if they were still about to ascend the stairwell, while others sat in their chairs or on the floor, surrounded by objects like clothes, jewelry, and toys. All of the colorful crystals around their neck were dull and broken as if the power of the stars had no longer persisted in them.

But it had been the final skeleton that had been the worse, the one slumped over in the furthest corner, holding a flashing crystal in one hand and a small toy in the other. They’d been inches away from a partially destroyed ship that no doubt could’ve saved the lives of everyone who had perished in this room.

It was like Atlantis again, wasn’t it? A powerful empire that at its pinnacle had found itself on the bottom of the ocean, forgotten. But someone, no, something had killed these people. Her father’s mentors, his colleagues, his friends. However, none of their poses had looked combative or panicked, but whether or not that could’ve been attributed to the elements' toll or the strange circumstances of their death, she couldn’t know. She nearly didn’t want to know.

If it had been this bad now, then what had it looked like the day it had happened? She didn’t want to think about it, not after she’d seen how haunted her Saba had looked at the very thought of said day.

Tears prickled at her eyes as she tried not to imagine their final moments, and the dread they must’ve felt knowing that they’d never see their loved ones again. Whatever they’d faced, she could only pray that it had been swift and merciful as she’d covered her face. But it had all been in vain as her shaky hands could only do so much to shield her from the world of violence she’d been immersed into as the tears began to fall.

“I’m sorry Asha,” the star had whispered as he held her.

“Take me back,” she’d pleaded, unable to stop how badly she now trembled. Guilt flooded her as she began to realize that despite her curiosities, she was standing in a graveyard, one that deserved more respect than her partially selfish intentions. “Please. I don’t want to see anymore.”

“Alright,” he’d nodded, holding her close as they slowly began their ascent.

They were nearly halfway towards the surface when she’d briefly looked back at the shrinking city below. Up here the city’s shape looked…off, as if it had been carved or rather broken off where the furthermost edges of the most dilapidated buildings sat.

“Asha?” came the star’s voice as he let go of her. “Stay here” he’d told her. “I’ll be right back.”

“Wait,” she started, tugging at his sleeve before she’d even realized it. “You’re going back down there? Alone?”

He nodded, his eyes searching her face before he cracked a lopsided grin. “Why? Are you worried something will happen to me now?”

“Who said I was worried?” she scoffed, before crossing her arms. “I just don’t want you getting false hopes that I’ll be the one to come and save you when you find trouble down there.”

“Noted. If I’m not back in five minutes, send Valentino,” he grinned as the goat barely bleated in protest. “I’ll see you soon.” he smiled. His hands gently gripped her forearms for a moment as he stepped back, gently slipping out of the bubble’s confinements.

His hands were still holding her arms as he drew a deep breath and closed his eyes as his body began to glow a bright cerulean, one that had nearly been identical to the Atlantean’s crystal.

Her jaw dropped as she felt his hold disappear, his eyes meeting hers briefly as he began to sink, slowly settling himself into the ruined remains of the city’s square. He burned brightly as the same blue light from his body began to engulf the city beneath him, spreading through the building’s strange carvings as the chimes and bells began to ring louder, the choir of their voices nearly overwhelming as he looked around the city.

Then as if deciding on something, he’d flickered out, leaving them all in complete darkness and Asha to her thoughts.

She’d hardly believed what she’d just heard, much less seen. It had felt as if the lost city had come to life one last time to sing to the star through a chorus of bells and chimes, one of which had suspiciously sounded like the chimes her father had placed on the porch, that had been silent until the day the star had come….

Her eyes widened in realization, as silence seemed to greet her ears. A silence was promptly broken by the sound of something large moving through the water.

“Valentino,” she whispered. “Did you hear that?”

The goat nodded, looking just as frightened as she had before she’d glanced toward the surface. “How good is your doggy pattle?” she’d asked him as he pleated again, before offering her a brief demonstration.

Okay, so his doggy paddle was definitely not passable.

Cepheus had told them to stay put, but she didn’t want to risk dealing with whatever was swimming down there. She’d briefly contemplated making it a run for it, until she’d realized that she had no idea how to make the bubble move on her own. If anything they were stuck, waiting and watching the darkness of the graveyard below them.

Hopefully whatever it was that she’d just seen hadn’t come across Cepheus, either. Not that she worried for the star’s wellbeing, but she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to save him if he got hurt, or worse. She shook her head, as she tried to ease her mind of all of the terrible scenarios it had conjured.

Cepheus was strong, and much to her chagrin, rather smart when he wanted to be. If anything she should be feeling more worried for the creature than for the star!

But her thoughts had quickly come to an end as she’d felt the water beneath them move once more, as if something was coming towards them. “Cepheus?!” she shrieked.

No answer.

“Cepheus I swear this better-,” she screamed , feeling herself being skyrocketed upwards as the thing, no person held her carefully. The surrounding world passing by in a strange mixture of bubbles and rushing water as she looked down, meeting the star’s eyes, moments before they’d broken the surface of the water.

She gasped, taking in a mouthful of air before sinking down into the water once more. The star’s laughter filling her ears as Valentino pleated.

The coldness of the dark depths shrinking as she’d felt the sun beat down upon her, easing some of the pain she’d been feeling as she took in one breath after another. At first it had been out of instinct, then it had been out of assurance. Assurance to know that they were still alive.

“Asha,” started the star as he held up his hands, revealing the small collection of scrolls, maps and books that he’d retrieved. “I got these for you.”

Her eyes widened as she spotted both Tau and her father’s familiar handwriting decorating the well preserved pages and sketches of the journals. Tears blurred her vision as she took in the enthusiastic notes of her father’s work. She couldn’t believe it. “You…you went back down there to get these for me?”

“I had to,” he answered. “They’re your father’s right? So it’s only right that you have them if you wish to continue his work.”

Words had failed her as she’d felt herself embrace the star. “Thank you,” she’d whispered, as she shook. The star relaxed, slowly returning the embrace as she felt his hand gently hold the back of her head. Neither of them had said a word, as she’d felt them float there, but perhaps they hadn’t needed to.

The young man gritted his teeth as he watched his stone finally sink beneath the dark waves, unable to finish its venture toward the other side.

He groaned as he slumped near the bank's edges, and roughly hauled up the sides of his hood before sharply inhaling the cool afternoon air.

Pulling the hood up any higher than the mouth was strictly forbidden, but given how tedious the heat of Rosas’s autumn could be, he was half tempted to risk it.

But there were worse ways to die. Seven of his companions could attest to that as he’d seen their bodies sink below the tumultuous river earlier.

Seven lives taken.

Seven lives lost.

Seven that he suspected were just the beginning.

The dark water churned and bubbled below as his eyes searched them for any signs of life.

“I still don’t understand why we’re still here,” he spoke to his companions who lingered beneath the tree’s shade.

“Whether you understand or not, Castor. She's made her orders very clear,” came the gentle yet reprimanding voice beside him as he glanced at the hooded woman whose eyes were focused on the crow that had perched itself on her lap. “We are not to leave this post until we see any signs of life.”

“Signs of life? Are you kidding me? If she’s lucky that girl’s probably got a full-blown residency in Atlantis right now!” Castor sneered before looking wearily at his third companion, Vraden, a large man who leaned against the nearby tree. Between the three of them, he’d been the only one strong and brave enough to retrieve any sort of debris from the river’s currents, hence the pile of broken wood and torn fabric that now lay at his feet.

Castor had nearly entertained the idea of striking up a conversation with him, but he could tell from how the man had kept his eyes plastered on the now-cloudy sky above, that he was in no mood for talking.

Thunder rolled overhead as Castor felt his nose wrinkle at the distinct scent of rain.

“Never say never, isn’t that right Corvias?” the hooded woman hummed, breaking the silence as the crow thoughtfully watched her.

“How can you be so confident in her chances, Cladestonia? For all we know She could be a pile of bones on the river floor.”

“In any other case you’d be correct in such an assumption, but not this time…we all know that The forces that be will not let her die so easily. Not in a river that is as special as this one.”

Castor scowled, before tossing another rock into the river. “Fine. Be that as it may…but what exactly are we supposed to do about it? If we stick around to see them resurface then we’ll be as dead as-,!”

“Patience my friend,” her voice smoothly cut him off as she held her hand in front of him. The crow, Corvias, adjusted itself on her knee once more. “The pieces have already begun to fall into place, and with them, we are nearing the final chapter of the prophecy…,” she promised as His eyes lowered to her neck where her fingers lingered around the red crystal that hung there.

Thunder rolled overhead once more as he silently nodded. Gently pulling his hood back over his head, he turned his eyes back to the river just in time to see its surface breaking.

“Cladestonia!” Castor called, drawing his companion's attention back towards the water. Pulling his binoculars from his side he gazed at the water, still in disbelief. A curse slipped from his lips as his eyes narrowed. “They’re alive.”

“As expected,” she replied, her voice quietening as her crystal began to glow. At the feel of a small tug around his neck, Castor’s eyes lowered, taking note of his own crystal that also glowed.

He gulped, briefly watching as Vraden nodded.

A summoning.

Vraden silently heaved the pieces of debris into a large sack as Castor stood.

“Farewell Corvias,” Cladestonia smiled as she glanced at the crow. “Until we might again,”

The crow slipped from her grasp before taking flight, leaving behind a small trail of feathers as the figures entered the forest once more. Castor had been the last to follow, briefly sparing a glance toward the floating forms that had now begun to retreat toward the ocean.

Pity was an odd way of describing it, as he shook his head, following after his companions as they ventured deeper into the darker parts of the forest.

It hadn’t taken them long to reach the agreed meeting spot, which had consisted of a small clearing full of their armed companions.

The three figures had come to an uneasy halt as they stood in front of their leader, seated on a tree stump.

“Your ladyship,” they said in unison.

She’d made no move to acknowledge them, not that it was needed either. Experience had taught them well enough to know that when an unsuccessful mission had persisted this long, pleasantries were usually the first casualties.

All eyes turned to Vraden as he withdrew a piece of wood from his sack that floated forward into the woman’s grasp. Her head never quite turned in the direction of the object she held as she spoke. “Is this all?”

Her voice was cold as the darkness seemed to envelop the inside of her hood. “I presume you found no bodies.”

Cladestonia shook her head. “No your ladyship. Unfortunately, none have resurfaced.”

Castor’s eyes flickered over to Vraden who’d lowered his eyes towards the ground, knowing better than to make eye contact when you were not being the one interrogated.

A string of disjointed words left the woman’s lips, as the piece of wood she held splintered.

“Let us hope you will all have more success in finding mercy than you’ve had in finding those who have taken refuge in Salcona’s kingdom,” she spoke as nearly all the figures tensed.

Castor fought the urge to tremble as he looked towards Cladestonia who firmly stood as still as a statue, edging towards what some would call danger.

A danger that the headmistress was all too comfortable punishing. She looked away, her gaze cutting towards one of the edges of the clearing as they all quickly began to register the sound of rapid footsteps.

“Your ladyship!” Came a voice as a few hooded figures came into view. She waved her hands as the guards lowered their weapons, relief nearly consuming them as the breathless figures stumbled forward.

“Speak,” she commanded to the spies. Her eyes were nearly visible through the darkness of her hood.

“We found it!” The first figure gasped, as he knelt over, gulping down mouthfuls of air. “…Near Hamlet….the path had been disfigured….but we could tell…someone had been there…recently”

“No doubt in an attempt to hide it,” she spat, swiftly standing up as all the figures bowed in unison. “Take care of the river,” she commanded a few figures who nodded, promptly taking off before she turned her attention to those still around her. “Come, we move before nightfall.”

“Yes, mistress,” all replied as their voices were quickly swallowed by the shadows of the forest.

Music filled the air as she felt her fingers gently glide against the warm surface of the now-glowing water.

To say that the whole ordeal had left her in disbelief would be an understatement, but for now, she was alive and that was all that mattered.

A sudden movement from beside her caught her attention as she watched fish of all shapes happily swim by them. A few even leaped into the air as the drops of shimmering water cascaded behind them. She chuckled, shielding her eyes from the water as Valentino pleated, gesturing his hoof down towards the side where a whale arose.

“Whoa,” she whispered, catching sight of her reflection in his eyes before he sprayed water into the air and promptly disappeared into the sea’s depths once more.

“Valentino did you see that?!” she excitedly called as the goat nodded. “That was a Fin Whale! I didn’t know they swam by here this time of year! I never realized how big they were in person. Did you see how he looked at us? It was like we were ants!!” Valentino pleated, nodding in agreement with her as the castle and several ships came into view.

She could recognize one of the nearer ones as Silver’s ship and judging from the sounds of music and chatter that emerged, she was willing to bet that she’d been right.

“We’re here,” she told the dolphin-shaped star beneath her, feeling as he obediently began to slow, allowing her to take in the view once more.

Against the sparkling sea and golden warm hues of the midday sky, there was no denying how beautiful the scene before her was. A beauty that she’d admitted had been hard to spot in the official’s meeting rooms or the dreary stone walls of her study.

The star beneath her slipped from her grasp, nearly plunging her into the sea once more, before she’d felt hands hold her up, and the star’s smiling face greet her once more.

“Whoa!” she called, surprise filling her as he easily lifted most of her body out of the water. It was so easy to forget how strong he truly was when he wasn’t that much taller than her.

He chuckled, gently releasing his hold on her, before reaching to pull off a piece of seaweed that had comfortably settled itself across the bridge of his nose. “Ugh,” he groaned, his face twisting in disgust as Asha laughed, taking his hand as he pulled her towards himself. “It seems as if I’m never safe from seaweed, regardless of where I go!”

“You’ve had previous encounters with it?” she teased, trying to ignore how warm he had felt and how close they were to each other.

“Far more than I care to remember,” he sighed, his upper half sinking beneath the water as his hair covered his eyes. But that didn’t stop him from turning towards her as he smiled and began, “So-,”

“So?” she repeated, unsure as to why she’d felt her heart skip a beat as she felt his hand wrap around her waist.

He grinned rather smugly. “Aren’t you going to admit that I was right? I told you that spending the day with me wouldn’t be so bad!”

She frowned, quietly cursing how a strange heat had spread across her face. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Between the discovery of the city and her father’s journals, there was no way she could truthfully say that she was having anything close to what she’d consider a bad day. But that hadn’t meant that she was going to give the already smug-looking star the benefit of knowing he’d been right all along.

So she’d decided to pull a page from the star’s playbook and quickly change the subject. “Hey Cepheus, you know how you said those buildings in the city were all inspired by star architecture right?”

He nodded, watching as she pointed towards the castle.

“What about the castle? Does it look like it took any inspiration from star architecture?”

Much to her expectations, the star had shaken his head. “No, no that building is far too young and small for that.”

“Small? I’m sorry-,” she squinted at him in disbelief. “The castle is small to you?”

“In comparison to a star’s castle? Yes. Of course, we have to have different-sized castles to accommodate our true forms, Asha. I doubt a low-ranking member of the court could fit into that castle, much less an alpha star,” he shuddered. “so the ones we have exclusively for stars are far bigger than the ones we build for human visitation and viewing.”

“You guys let humans visit your palaces?”

He nodded, rising and falling with the tide as he held her. “Yeah. The astronomers who served closely under the alpha stars would frequent there when needed…”

“Were they beautiful?” she implored, looking from him to the sky. “The castles I mean.”

“Very,” he breathed. “And they still are. The alpha stars own several palaces across their domains, but they’re all beautiful.”

“Have you seen them all?”

“I’ve visited most on occasion,” he confessed with a simple shrug.

The alpha stars let star peasants visit their castles on occasion? Hmm, maybe the stars were more progressive than she thought. But then again, she wouldn’t be shocked if the term ‘peasant’ was another thing she could add to her list of interstellar cultural differences.

“Do you have a favorite castle?” she inquired if only to distract herself from her impending questions.

Cepheus hummed thoughtfully as the pinkish-golden hues of his eyes met hers. “Hmm, they’re all beautiful in their own ways, but if I had to pick one, I think I’d give it to the Cerulean court’s castles, or more specifically- the Cygnus castle..”

“The Cygnus castle? Is that in the Cygnus constellation?”

He nodded, a pleasant smile making its way onto his face. “It is. My favorite castle there is the one that sits on the very edge of the domain,” he lifted a hand from the water and pointed to the sky. “You can see the waves from what we call the ocean, gather there. It was a gift from the stars of the sea constellations a few eons back that’s quite sentimental to us,” he sighed, the very edges of his lips quirking upwards in nostalgia. “But It’s always been a very beautiful place to go. Both for its history and its myths.”

“Oh? Like what kind of myths?”

“Well…” he started carefully, as he brushed his hair from his eyes. “There’s one that says that if a star wishes to change their fate, they should go and visit those waters…It’s how they believe Deneb, one of the older alpha stars ended up unexpectedly meeting her soul mate when she was promised to another…Personally, I never saw much weight to it…until recently…”

“Really?” she swam forward, too curious to feel embarrassed as she closed the distance between them even more. “I thought you said you never desired or wanted for anything more.”

“And I don’t-,” he retorted, evidently not really appreciating her question. “I was there for other reasons…sentimental ones if you will, it had nothing to do with what the glowing waters could or couldn’t do for me.”

“Hmm…Sure so, what made you change your mind?”

His voice trailed off as he turned his gaze upwards into the sky. “Well…I was there right before you wished on me.”

She blinked in surprise. “You were?”

He nodded, this time facing her. “I was.”

“So you think that me wishing on you is an act of fate itself? Really?”

He shrugged, “maybe? But who knows, I didn’t expect anyone to wish on me.” She was silent, as he thoughtfully continued, “One second I was with the others, talking to them, and then the next thing I know, all I can hear is your voice, and it was all that mattered to me in that moment.”

‘Was it?’ she wanted to ask.

Of course, it was.

He was a wishing star, granting wishes was the sole purpose of his existence , and as soon as he granted her wish he would disappear just as quickly as he came. That was what she wanted, right? So why had the thought left her with an emotion she couldn’t quite identify?

She sighed, closing her eyes as she tried to reason with herself. They were from two different worlds. Worlds that by all means were no longer connected. The best they could be was friends. The best she could be to him was a friend, one that she wasn’t sure he’d remember in a few more years, regardless of- “BAAAAA-,’ screeched Valentino as he leaped into her armsr.

“Valentino?!” she exclaimed as the star let her go. “What’s gotten into you?!”

The goat pleated before gesturing towards the fin of the last fish anyone had ever wanted to see in the ocean.

“Shark,” Asha said, her brain barely comprehending what she’d seen until it neared. “SHARK!?” she screamed, swimming backward as she ripped herself out of the star’s grasp.

“Where?” Cepheus curiously asked, turning towards the direction of the incoming shark as it lifted its head out of the water. One glance in the star’s direction was all the shark needed to quickly begin swimming away and back into the depths that it had appeared.

Had he-...A shark?!

She exchanged glances with Valentino, who was just as stunned as she was before the star turned back to her, smiling innocently as he’d proudly declared, “ Apex Predator. ”

“Hahahahahaha!” she erupted into laughter, feeling her stomach hurt as the star neared her, joining in her laughter as well.

In all her years at sea, she’d never seen a shark swim so fast, not even from whales or dolphins that had threatened to kill it. But one look from the star had apparently been enough to make the shark re-think its place in the food chain!

The absurdity of it all was too much as she felt tears begin to well in her eyes.

“I don’t get it, what’s so funny?” Cepheus had asked in between laughs as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Had she not been laughing so hard, perhaps she would’ve noticed that the trio was no longer alone. But unfortunately for her, her discovery would come in the form of a familiar voice that cut through the echoes of her laughter, “Asha-,”

Wait.

She spun around, facing the familiar sight of Silver’s ship mere yards behind them. The captain stood overhead with the eyes of his prying crew, friends, and passengers all looking down to observe the trio as she saw her grandfather frown.

“Asha,” he spoke again.

“Saba?!” she screeched, shoving herself off of Cepheus. How had she not noticed the ship approaching?! Had she been so distracted by the star that-

No. What was she saying?! She couldn’t be distracted by Cepheus he wasn’t even in his star form! It had been the stupid shark that had set her up!

“Saba I can explain, I swear-,” she cried as the sailor’s laughter filled her ears. Oh God, how was she going to explain this?!

Her grandfather shook his head, sighing, as Capella pleated from his side, “Yep…my bloodline is doomed….”

#the kingdom of the stars #wish au #writers on tumblr #digital art #a03 fanfic #writers on ao3 #cepheus #asha #starboy #artists on tumblr

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idontknowreallywhy · 1 year ago

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Estera - Ch 24 - Drive

Another one of those chapters which should never have existed but a few little snapshots just blossomed out of my control and before I knew it I loved them and they became Vital For Plot Reasons. Ah well, enjoy the meandering anyway :D

(What went before)

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Estera’s boot hit a loose patch of stones and she skidded slightly, putting out a protective arm just in case she was about to face plant the ground. Almost immediately a hand caught that arm and lifted her square on to her feet. She turned to see her friend alongside her on the narrow path, eyes full of concern. The edge of the cliff crumbled a little under his foot and her heart stopped for a moment.

“Scott! It’s not wide enough!”

He hopped back in line behind her and she regained the ability to breathe.

Mostly.

Eventually.

That particular flavour of adrenaline was not one she craved but she was beginning to wonder whether it was one she might have to get used to.

The group finally reached the car park to meet Gary on the quad bike who had towed the kit trailer up the long way from the beach. They all set to unloading and eventually Scott and three others lifted the quad itself into the back of van.

He walked over to where Estera was doling out the last bottles of sugary carbonated beverages to the rest of the group. He wiped the grease from his hands on to his trousers before selecting a bottle of water and draining it. Then swiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Well that’s one way to warm up after freezing your butt off in the Arctic Ocean.”

“As I’ve already told you, Mr Remedial-Geography, The English Channel is very much temperate.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” He removed his warm jumper and Estera nearly choked on her cherry cola as she realised Scott hadn’t just turned up in randomly fancy trousers.

“A silk waistcoat? Really?!”

He pouted. “I was here for a Board Meeting! SOMEBODY didn’t mention the nature of their “commitment” when inviting me along!”

“In fairness Dawn didn’t give me a lot of time to explain.”

“Ah, yeah… sorry about Dawn… she…”

“She was lovely.” Estera said firmly, not wanting to get the enthusiastic young person into any trouble.

She looked again at the trousers which had clearly suffered from being drowned in salt water earlier and were drying into a faded mess of wrinkles.

“That is not a cheap machine washable suit from the high street is it?”

He coughed. “I don’t recall Jennifer mentioning that as a feature, err, no.”

Her curiosity must have showed as he hurried to explain. “My EA at TI. Apparently the selection of ‘business attire appropriate to my position’” the air quotes were heavy “is not one of my strengths so I just let her get on with it.”

“She’s not going to be happy with you.”

“Hmm… I’ve done worse. And hey, the pants might be a lost cause but the shirt will wash, I cleverly left the jacket in the car and the vest is spotless, look!” He held the edges of the waistcoat out for her approval, much as a small child might show off how tidily they had eaten their dinner. Estera was about to wittily point this out when she was arrested by an ominous “whoopsadaisy!” and an unmistakable fizzing sound as the person standing behind Scott clearly forgot about what happened to cola bottles on quad bikes. A fine spray of sugary drink settled over both of them and Scott looked up from his now-slightly-less spotless clothing to catch her eye. She bit her lip and snorted slightly. There was a beat and then both of them dissolved into giggles.

“Tez! A word?!”

Gary underlined his sharp summons with a frantic waving of his iPad. Scott elbowed her gleefully:

“Oooooh, what did you do now, huh, Tez?

“Argh, please don’t adopt that one” she gasped, trying to compose herself “I haven’t the heart to tell them it’s awful… but… it’s awful!”

Scott’s eyes sparkled mischievously as Gary repeated his call with a desperate, slightly cracked edge to his voice so she had mercy and went to see what was bothering him.

Gary gesticulated wildly with the tablet, nearly taking her eye out.

“DID YOU KNOW?” he hissed.

“Did I know what?”

He stabbed his index finger at the screen which showed what appeared to be Scott Tracy’s Wikipedia page.

“Ah. Um, so… err… yes?”

“Are you telling me I made the Chief Thunderbird… the guy with the jet pack and all the… the insane stunts… I made HIM do the BEGINNER’S E-LEARNING?” Gary’s voice had risen to a barely audible squeak.

“I don’t think he minded?”

“I was giving him tips on judging the windspeed at the top, Tez.” Gary looked as if he was going to cry “What if they were bad tips? He flies a rocket plane… my kids have posters of him on their wall…” he whacked the iPad repeatedly into his forehead and groaned “They are gonna disown me.”

Estera tried to prise the tablet from his hands before he cracked the screen with his face.

“Everything ok over here?” Scott materialised behind Gary and the poor man froze, all colour immediately vanishing from his face.

“Gary was just telling me that his kids are huge fans of yours.”

The slightest frown crossed Scott’s face before he closed his eyes and chuckled “I forgot to use the pseudonym didn’t I? Oops. Sorry to have caused any alarm!”

Gary shook his head mutely and gave a double thumbs up, losing his grip on the iPad as he did so. Scott shot out a hand and caught it.

“May I borrow this for a second?”

Gary nodded furiously then covered his face with his hands. Scott tapped the screen a couple of times before raising his eyebrows in surprise. He hurriedly straightened his hair then cleared his throat and said:

“Scott Tracy here, reporting from the breathtaking Beer Head in Devonshire UK. I’ve been refreshing my skills today with this incredible instructor” he dragged Gary into shot “who is an absolute legend and if he ever told me to clean my room or get my homework done I would absolutely do that. Straight away. Thunderbird One out.”

He finished with a wink and handed the tablet back and clapped Gary on the shoulder. “Been a pleasure to meet you, Gary, thanks for letting me take part this afternoon. Hope I wasn’t too much trouble.”

“You’re welcome” came the slightly breathy response. Estera noted the starry eyes and felt they’d best get out of there before Gary did something drastic… like propose.

“Coffee?”

“Thought you’d never ask.”

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They made it to the cafe as the barista was putting the chairs up on the tables. Without looking round she informed them it was still too early in the season to expect late opening and her shift had finished 10 mins ago. Scott, already trying to remember whether there’d been any other likely places he’d passed on the drive down, smiled kindly as the harassed-looking woman looked up and he thanked her anyway.

“Wait! I guess I could do you something to take away?”

Estera seemed most entertained by the sudden change of heart but Scott couldn’t quite figure out why. Maybe it was a local thing.

Two triple shot cappuccinos (and a “Really? Triple? Are you sure?”) later, they were stood at the bus stop trying to establish whether it was running late, or Estera had just missed it. The wind had got up and she was now shivering in her damp clothes despite him insisting she wear his big coat.

“I could always drop you back home or… or near home?” He offered tentatively, not wanting to overstep given how upset she’d been before. “Or anywhere you like really.”

“Oh, but it would be a long way out of your way…”

“Not really. I’m not in a rush. And it is my fault you got soaked earlier.”

“That may be true…” she seemed to ponder and looked over at the digital tracker which was now displaying 55 minutes. She shivered and lifted her jaw. “Um, yes please, if you really don’t mind?”

“Come on then. Hope I picked the model with heated seats!”

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Scott hummed to himself quietly as he drove. Estera watched the hedges fly by and wondered how long it had been since she’d accepted a lift from someone like this. She generally felt safer taking the bus so this was… different. Not that she felt in any way unsafe, now. Just, exposed. What was one meant to do as a passenger? Talk about frivolous subjects to pass the time but not distract the driver too much, she reasoned. All small talk fled from her head and she suddenly felt inadequate and a little dizzy. Her hands tightened reflexively around the coffee cup.

“You doing ok?”

Just as before when he’d asked that simple question in that same disarmingly soft voice, she was unable to quickly formulate a convincing lie and the truth leaked out before she realised it.

“Just a sudden giddy moment.”

“I’m not making you motion sick, am I? I’ll slow down.”

“You’re fine, honestly. I just… let my thoughts get away from me. Please don’t let me distract you.”

“You’re not distracting me.”

She noticed he’d slowed down anyway.

She watched him out the corner of her eye and realised with a jolt how much better he looked than the last time she’d seen him in the flesh. Or rather, perhaps, how ill he had looked before. Whereas on the day the cave collapsed on them she’d guessed he was in his 40s, he now seemed no older than she was, possibly a little younger. Aside from the scattered silver at his temple, slightly darker shadowed eyes and a certain leanness to his jawline, he really didn’t seem much different now to the young man who had saved her life the first time. Which was slightly eerie. She knew she’d aged a lot in the intervening period.

She found herself wondering again what it was he’d been recovering from, what illness could have hit him so hard. He’d not volunteered the information, in fact he’d very obviously skated around naming it so it would be rude to ask. It was gnawing at her for some reason though. Definitely not light hearted car conversation anyway so she cast about for something else.

They came out of the trees and for a moment the early evening light highlighted the edge of the fading yellow bruise across the left side of his cheek and head. In the absence of any other ideas, she said:

“It must have been a very impressive black eye you had there?”

“Ugh can you still tell? It seems to have taken an age to fade this time. Maybe I’m getting old” he chuckled.

“This time? It happens a lot?”

“Heh… occupational hazard. I think Virgil’s broken more bones but I’ve probably got the concussion record.”

“Goodness that’s a bit worrying. Don’t you have helmets to help prevent that?”

“Yeeees. Sometimes even with it on if something heavy hits you…”

“Or you fall 20 storeys?”

“Yeah… they can only do so much.”

There was a little pause before he carried on.

“To be fair to our engineer I didn’t actually get concussed this time round so it did a pretty great job.” He looked slightly guilty “Actually to be one hundred percent fair to our engineer, who is a literal genius, it mostly happens when I take it off. Because sometimes it’s easier to talk to people that way, you know? But then of course I end up leaving it somewhere and so obviously then it’s not handy when I need to dive back into something which has… very occasionally proved to be an error.” He glanced over at her and did that schoolboy-been-caught-out cringe again. “Hence the concussion scorecard.” Scott refocused on the road and gave a wry half-smile “Virg is constantly telling me off for it.”

“I don’t blame him! You should listen to him and keep your helmet on, Scott!”

“Yes, Miss.”

“I’m serious! What would you say to Alan?”

“He’s still a child.”

“Ok, Virgil then?”

Scott was quiet for a minute as he approached a junction and indicated left before accelerating away again a little more aggressively than before. He sighed.

“It’s different.”

“How’s it different? Given the concussion record your head doesn’t seem to be any harder? Why are you taking less care of yourself than of your brothers?”

“I’m not. I just react in the way that seems best at the time. Sometimes that involves taking risks to help people.” He sat up a little straighter in the driver’s seat. “That’s my job.”

She frowned, the odd moment from earlier suddenly sharpening into focus.

“When I skidded on the gravelly bit on the cliff path… you nearly overbalanced yourself trying to catch me but I didn’t need catching. I was nowhere near the edge. Worst that could have happened to me there was a grazed knee. You could have gone over!”

His voice changed and became firmer, more authoritative. “You might have been injured. I couldn’t take that chance.”

“Of a minor injury versus potentially something serious happening to you?” She could hear her voice starting to rise a little and wrestled to keep it calm and conceal the sudden sense of horror that was bubbling under the surface.

“I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me, Scott. Not… not…”

The next word wouldn’t come out. But he’d clearly heard it anyway and twitched irritably, staring silently ahead, eyebrows furrowed. Well she’d put her foot in it now, might as well finish making the point.

“It’s not your job to keep me safe.”

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Chapter 25…

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Estera #tb Estera #scott tracy #idontknowreallywhy fanfic #poor Gary #the dimples take another victim #maybe two #light hearted car conversation or maybe not #suit whump

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rebelrayne · 9 months ago

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writing patterns

saw this in another fandom so gonna steal cause it looked cool but changing from 10 to 5 works.

Rules: Share the first paragraph of your last five published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns!

It’d been a year. Twelve months. Three-hundred sixty-five fucking days since Ava had ripped his heart out on national television. (on the market)

Zoe liked men that were mature. Sophisticated. The type that knew how to pair just the right glass of Merlot with an Italian dish. She loved a man that dressed in a suit—perfectly tailored and crisp. He dressed well, but he’d change into his gray sweatpants and cuddle her on the couch. Leaning in, he’d kiss her tenderly. So slowly that her heart pounding behind the bars of her ribcage would burst. The perfect kind of man—that was what she liked. (imperfect & flawed)

Hamish groaned to himself as he knocked on the door of his parents’ luxurious Chelsea penthouse. It’d been a year since he and Ivy had broken up, but his family didn’t seem to think he was over it. (H ♥ L I D A T E)

“Hey, Maeve! Over here!” Thabi yelled from across the street. Her large smile sparkled. Stretching her body as she brought herself to her tiptoes and leaned to one side, Thabi waved overly enthused, as she normally did. Almost losing her balance, she tipped but James placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her as they both laughed. (Hey Sweetheart)

Anything Hamish Lennox-Ross touched turned to ‘sold’. He could even sell seashells on Brighton Beach and people would have tripped over themselves to buy the damn conches. Selling real estate came easily to him—his confidence and silver tongue gave him an edge on the competition. Not to mention, he was a good-looking guy. Who didn’t look at Hamish and think he was sexy as sin? He had a sparkling white smile that paired perfectly with his bespoke Brioni suits, plus a Rolex Datejust he’d bought using his Christmas bonus the year before. Hey, it was a big check—he was really good at selling real estate. The last year had given him nothing to do but throw himself into work anyway. (it'll cost you) (cheated here but the first chapter has been deleted in the draft so this is technically the first chapter now)

tagging but no pressure :) @caitkaminski @justtuesdays @lucas-koh @longbobmckenzie @mrsbsmooth @operationnope @queen-of-boops @0shewrites0

#tag games #fic: on the market #they're all hamish lmfao #except the gift for mo hahahaha

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tarithenurse · 3 months ago

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I see fire - 26

Fandom: D&D 5E/homebrew campaign. Word count: 2840. Contents: Chats and fateful decisions. A/N: BONUS CHAPTER! Also speaking of nothing: I know no one reads this but that's what happens when we write what we want rather than cater to likes. I haven't got the mind to write fanfiction lately because of the lack of engagement and reblogs…so I write this instead. Out of spite and because I know the story is good. At least I write something as opposed to many others who stop completely. Anyways…that was a ramble. Any questions are welcome. Please comment and like and reblog. Let me know if you want a tag.

Divider by @firefly-graphics

XXVI

The journey has been surprisingly comfortable because it’s kept dry, and because of that the trio have made good time so they arrive in the evening only five days later.

Walking towards the ancient tower at the heart of the Masons’ base, the friends start to pick up on a mood thrumming with excitement. Overhearing snippets of conversations, phrases such as “it’ll happen soon” and “it’ll be interesting” are uttered more than once, leading the trio to believe that something big is in the making.

Still, it’s not long before someone points the friends towards the low building that Claude uses as office and home, giving them a chance to find and talk with the man in charge. But just before Anvindr knocks, Morella stops him. Finger on her lips, she seems to be listening.

Perking her own ears, Zilvra can make out voices too – one of which is Claude.

“You will get better in time,” the leader promises, “we’ll find a way. Find something.”

A new voices, much deeper and gravelly as though rarely used, makes it way out to the trio: “I just...feel so stupid. And...trapped.”

“I know.” Claude is not dismissing the worries of the other person but truly feeling for them, it seems. “It won’t be like this forever.”

Feeling curious at who the conversation partner might be, Zilvra motions for the genasi to knock and he finally does.

“Come in!” Claude calls.

Stepping in, there are no other in the room save for the big guy. Could it have been him who was talking? Whatever happened to him once to make him as he is...does he have clear moments? Zilvra tries to gauge him but has to refocus as Claude begins to talk.

“I heard what you did in Silver Keep,” he starts. “No small feat but also not without risk. I’m glad you’re back. Alive.” The trio nods. “Tell me...how did you deal with the damn?”

Remembering the promise they made to the masked person, Zilvra begins with explaining about the orcs and the fight assisted by Morella and Anvindr – the latter eventually taking over.

“So when we saw, that there was nothing we could do for the other teams, we went to look at the dam but someone was already working on it -”

“Anvindr...” Zilvra hisses.

But he continues: “He was pouring black powder into gaps and crevices and was friendly enough to let me help even if I got close enough to see his old Stouvanian gear and such. Couldn’t see the face though because of the mask he was wearing.”

“Anvindr!”

Zilvra’s outraged, feeling like they’ve betrayed the trust of someone who chose to have faith in them. What’s worse is how Claude is swallowing every word like a man starved. Leaned forward, eyes sparkling with confusion and something else the drow can’t place. But now it’s said and it can’t be taken back.

“But...” Anvindr looks forlorn. “It’s not like we know where he went or the name or anything. Didn’t see the face. All we know is the gear is old and he prefers to stay away from Stouvania.”

“Could it be?” Claude mumbles to himself more than the friends.

“What?” Morella demands, though she too sends the genasi an annoyed glance.

Claude is smiling for the first time since they’ve met him. “I once knew a man who worked with black powder...#1. If this...” he has to stop himself. “#1 was really called Brian Stein. He was a part of the Numbers like I was. Once he, #2 and I went on a mission to eliminate a specific orc leader but the missions went sour and #1 ended up blowing up himself along with half the orc camp to give #2 and me a chance to escape.”

“That was...noble of him,” Anvindr hesitantly says.

“Noble, heh.” Claude’s smile grows crooked. “He was far from noble, he rarely did anything by the book, and he was scrupulousness. He once blew up a tower in Stouvania to get to a corrupt noble, not caring about the civilian casualties. That made him an outlaw for a while but he was too good to keep out in the cold.” Memories seem to swarm the man as he straightens up. “He once blew up and sank a troll temple in the jungle. If this...if this person is him? That would be phenomenal!”

“Whoever he was...he was a good guy.” The genasi pats his belt where he’s made room for the tubes with black powder. “Gave me some to work with.”

“We could use that,” the Masons’ leader says right away, causing Anvindr to shy back a bit.

“I mean...I could maybe recreate it for you but I...it’s...”

Claude smiles crookedly. “It’s alright. It’s yours.” Finally the smile has faded and the man’s back to business. “Now that the Alloy Order have left their outposts I want you to do something for me.”

Morella is still glaring at Anvindr who finally seems to understand the perceived severity of his transgression, so it’s up to Zilvra to inquire what task they are to be given.

“Go to their bastion to the south, at the start of the jungle but not in it proper,” Claude explains, “and scout the place. Take anything they might have left back here with you.

The trio exchange glances.

“I’m more keen on going north,” Anvindr admits.

“And I’d like to go east,” Morella sighs.

Claude doesn’t look disappointed. “There’s a lake up north...could be good to check their standing with Stouvania..maybe they’re not as tight anymore.” He shrugs. “However...if you did go south for me I could ask Gideon to send you north afterwards. It’d bypass the mountains and the orcs.” The trio are just about to answer when the man adds: “If it works.”

“If?” Zilvra questions.

“Gideon’s magic is not very reliable,” the leader admits, “but there is a way to empower it. The trolls south of the Alloy Order’s keep have a flower that they use. Gites them high but also makes the magic more potent.”

Morella scoffs. “That sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

“Perhaps. The Wild Blue Weed grows in the jungle, ready for the picking.” Claude scratches his stubbles. “Keep in mind, though, that trolls regenerate when injured and are formidable opponents...when they’re not high on this plant. They also don’t like fire.”

Anvindr glances at the girls almost as if wanting permission to speak. “Know anything else about them?”

“They have a tribal culture unlike any other I know of, worshipping their own god.” He pauses to think briefly. “They tend to move in packs and they send out scouts both in and outside of their territory.”

“Good to know,” the genasi mumbles.

Morella nods. “We’ll...talk about it.”

“I need an answer quickly,” Claude presses.

“In the meantime,” Zilvra diverts his attention, “how have things been?”

The man’s gaze darkens. “On one hand it’s been good...but Harris has taken Elmer’s death hard.” He sighs. “He couldn’t stand seeing the duergar you brought back, blaming them for what happened, so he took off on a mission.”

The trio exchange glances. “Sorry to hear that,” they each admits.

Then Morella straightens up. “How ‘bout it guys? Head south to go north?”

“You’ll be paid, of course,” Claude says, “and I can probably arrange a contact in Kel’Alora which is where Gideon should be able to get you.”

Going to a chest, he rummages through it and eventually pulls out a burlap sack. It isn’t huge, but big enough to contain more than enough Blue Weeds.

“You don’t have to fill it completely...but half full would be good.” They take it. “He’s been very keen on getting to speak with that monster in the tower, by the way,” the leader mentions, “managed to stop him from breaking it out. He’s very excitable about it.”

“Speaking of excitable,” Morella casually begins, “what is it the men are so keen on happening?”

Claude smiles again – it’s a bit unnerving, really – and motions beyond the building towards the lake. “The ships will take off in a week, give or take, to form a barricade to pressure Stouvania. It’s been in the planning for a long time.” His eyes fall on the big guy and the smile falters. “Anyways, as you can guess I’m kind of busy. Anything else for now?”

There isn’t and the trio excuse themselves, finding a place to settle down for the night so they are rested for the next day.

Taking the first watch, Zilvra has a hard time shaking the sour taste of having betrayed a secret, but eventually she accepts that what’s done is done – she just have to watch what she tells Anvindr for fear of what he might tell others. Not that there’s a bad bone in the man’s body. In fact, that’s the problem: he’s so kind and trusting that he doesn’t think twice telling things to people.

Time passes and eventually Zilvra finds rest just as Morella wakes from her trance.

---

Snapping her eyes open to a grey and dreary day, Zilvra takes a moment to stretch her limbs after having been sitting crisscross applesauce as usual when trancing.

Anvindr is also waking, yawning and stretching in much the same way before starting to put on his armour.

“Harris is back,” Morella announces from the doorway where she’s sitting, looking out over the area and the still burning bonfire. “Been in Claude’s office for a while.”

The genasi shrugs. “Probably got a lot to update each other on.”

“We also got some rations and stuff,” the eladrin scoots a box across the floor for the others to rifle through, finding rations and crossbow bolts.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” they suddenly hear the voice of Harris.

Glancing out of the barracks, they see him storming out the door of the office with Claude following him a few steps out into the rain.

“Harris it’s -” Claude tries.

“No! You can’t!” the angry man yells. “I’ve had enough of this shit!”

He ignores the rest of his superior’s attempts of talking him, marching off into the rain instead and perhaps Claude knows him better than the others because his doesn’t follow, just sighs and walks back into the office.

Sharing glances, the trio consider what might have upset the other man so much.

“Maybe it’s the presence of the duergar? I saw them being led out to work somewhere early this morning,” Morella explains.

But Zilvra isn’t so sure – Harris has known about them for a while, it would be enough to warrant an outburst now. “I think...I think I’ll go talk with him.”

“You sure?” Anvindr asks, looking concerned in the direction the man had gone.

But Morella appreciates the idea. “He likes you...maybe he’ll talk to you.”

Plotting her route zigzaggy through the many rows of ancient gravestones, Zilvra quietly walks, nary a sound made even as she spots Harris and begins her careful approach. She’s not trying to sneak up on him, but give herself a chance to sense his mood and him to either leave or signal that he doesn’t want the company.

He doesn’t though. Glancing up, he smiles halfheartedly.

“Hey,” she offers tamely.

“Hi.”

He seems to have deflated somewhat, even scoots over on the stone slab to make room for her to lean against it too. A new grave...several of the graves in the outer ring are new.

“I’ll leave if you want me to it’s just...sounded like you needed to erm...air some frustrations?” the drow explains her presence.

He chuckles humourlessly at that. “Yeah. That’s one way to put it.” He sighs. “I often don’t agree with Claude and that’s fine. I check him. Make sure he remembers to be human rather than only seeing the big picture.”

“Think again before acting and risking something stupid. My queen has councillors too. Any leader ought to.”

“Exactly. And maybe I’m too much the other direction. Get too attached. But...” The man sighs again. “You know about the blockade?”

She nods. “The whole place is buzzing with it.”

Echoing her nod, he his differently bitter. “Yeah...it’s targeting an important bridge – the biggest one between Welles and Stouvania – but the problem is that it’s half and half guarded by civilians and soldiers. The civilians have been forced into armour...if they even have something to protect themselves with like that.” He notices how she cocks her head, trying to understand. “They will be either captured or, more likely, killed. Innocents!”

“Oh...” she wracks her brain.

“If we’d have some way to identify when it all happens who’s who then...but now there’s no time and Claude won’t postpone.” There are a few colourful explicits added to that which he mumbles a sorry for.

Mind reaching out to anything she can relate it to, Zilvra is stumped. “So Claude is willing to accept the number of casualties while you aren’t. But...and pardon me for this but: if the men of Menzoberranzan rose up and rebelled like the Masons have there’d be fights too and too little time to identify who’s on which side. Not to mention it’d be dangerous to establish a system for identification because it could be figured out.” She scratches her neck. “You’d have to hope that in the moment of conflict, that those who are civilians or pro-Masons would offer little to no resistance – no one slaughters an unarmed person, do they?”

But Harris’ gaze is dark. “You have no idea what happens in the heat of the moment, Zilvra.”

She wants to object, remembering her first kill – she had been so agitated by her friends being in danger that she had killed him, not giving him one last chance to give up.

“Well...then you should maybe try to reach at least some of them? Even one saved will be better than never having tried?” she suggests. “Perhaps word can spread through the civilian ranks?”

“At least I could live with myself then...” he ponders. His gaze hardens for a moment but then softens again as he looks at the drow. “I met captain Kalannar Shadowsong once.”

“What?” The change in subject as much as the new subject itself startles the youngling.

“It was maybe 22-24 years ago when I was still a spy. Your father was a good person. He cared about his men and would lay down his life for them.”

Still reeling, Zilvra blinks. “You met...”

He nods. “Listen. You ought to know this. You look a lot like him. Anyways, he was dutiful, probably listened to his female superiors but I always had a feeling that...he would have left if he could, taking his men with him too for that matter. I...” he sighs again, “I had to paint a big target on his back, Zilvra, I’m sorry. He was incredibly cunning and the items he carried...he was too dangerous.”

Swallowing hard, Zilvra nods. “I get it.”

“Do you?” He looks at her hard, then nods. “I thought your mother was not into men, to be honest but it made sense that she chose him. Not only was he incredibly good looking, but he was smart and kind too, the kind of person who’d enter a room and automatically control it without even trying. His men obeyed him effortlessly and devotedly. He was special.”

“You spoke with mom?” the drow worries, recalling the list in the book she had borrowed.

But he shakes his head. “Spoke with your grandmother Jaelryn on more occasions but never your mother.”

“Tell me more about him, please.”

Without meaning to, she has found his sleeve and is tugging at it.

“Dark like you and, funnily, a similar hairdo. Impeccable clothes and armour with high collar and always the same black cloak.” Harris scratches his chin as he thinks. “Sharp jawline. Not a scar visible. Green eyes that were discerning but kind. Big hands for a drow.”

She thinks, she can imagine him. It’s probably all kinds of wrong, the visage of him she has created in her mind, but this is the most she’s ever heard of her father. Not for the first time but more strongly now than ever before, she regrets never having pressed her mother for information on him but she had been so occupied trying to play innocent as her weak plan matured that she hadn’t dared tempt fate.

“Thank you,” she manages.

Taking her hand, the older man squeezes it for a moment before pushing off the gravestone. Pulling out a small flask, he pours a bit on the still freshly dug earth.

“Take care, Zilvra,” he then says.

“You too. Stay true.”

She looks after him as he leaves back to the tower and presumably stables. Perhaps she’s send him on a fool’s errand. It’s a dangerous quest at least...but living with regret is like having a poisoned wound.

Pushing off the stone, she reads the new inscription: As a number you were great and you’d never let anyone down. This is Gavin’s grave.

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o0par0o · 9 months ago

Text

Seven Days(1)

It’s a fanfic for the film Annette , a story about Annette and the conductor(rip).

This fic has 9 chapters in total. English isn’t my native language, I wrote it in Chinese originally and I'm slowly translating it into English. I'll finish the translation as soon as I can (if there are actually people reading it)(I’ll finish it anyway:’D).

My phrases have a bit of a Chinese-writing habit, so if anything sounds odd in English or you've got any thoughts about this fic, or or or if you like this fic, please let me know!

(Simon Helberg was incredibly hot in this film I love his role so much and he’s a perfect male mom😭💕)

AO3

Summary:

Whether you like it or not, memories and love naturally fade with time. But then, your mind may play a cruel trick, bringing them back like a tidal wave that hits you with a force even stronger than before.

---

1.Dream

She only had to lift her head to see that face, now somewhat blurred in her memory. It was a face that had been a constant throughout her childhood and adolescence, supporting her through countless moments of despair and anxiety, yet also breaking her heart—a face that was both familiar and strange.

She knew she was dreaming again. The room's lighting was the same warm yellow she remembered, a comforting glow that flowed like liquid through the space, enveloping everything in sight. The ambient sounds were distorted, as if an old tape recording was pressing against her eardrums.

Her perspective was a bit low, and the warmth against her back was deeply relaxing. Without thinking, she moved her hand up and wiggled her fingers—a hand that looked so tiny, just like when she was a kid. It felt like she was back in those days, sitting on his lap, leaning against his chest, which was not broad, but it was enough.

Annette looked up at the face she had missed so much; it was so close that if she raised her hand, she could touch it. From this angle, she first saw the slender chin, then the tightly pressed lips, the straight nose bridge, and only then could she glimpse the eyes from an obscure angle. He seemed to be reading a book, his eyelashes casting little shadows and sparkles of light as they extended from his eyelids. His face was bathed in the warm light. She couldn't resist reaching out to touch it; her small hand pressed against his chin. The beard pricked her palm, slightly itchy yet soft, convincingly real, just as she remembered.

Perhaps everything happening now is real. Perhaps she had just woken from a long and vivid nightmare. Perhaps, after all these years of trying so hard to become a mentally healthy person, the universe has decided to reward her by returning what she had lost.

Her touch drew his attention away from the book. He closed it and placed it on the coffee table, gently cupping her tiny hand against his face, smiling at her with eyes that softened from their previous focus. This look was reserved only for her.

She used to be good at reading the emotions behind people's expressions when she was just a little kid. She often secretly observed him, always noticing the sadness on his face. He would frequently stare into nothing, his eyelashes drooping, while that sadness sparkled at the corners of his eyes. She could tell he was sad, but she didn't know why. Usually, when he caught her looking, his eyes would gradually warm and become soft once more.

"Sleep well?"

At this age, she probably hadn't started speaking yet. She didn't want to frighten him, not just now. So, she just nodded, silently gazing at him, trying to etch every detail of his features into her mind. But the watery light distorted her vision, blurring her sight. She felt like crying, telling him how much she missed him, but she held back; all she wanted at that moment was to memorize his face.

"What’s wrong? Staring at me like that, did you just have a dream?"

His fingers gently massaged her brow, smoothing out the furrow. The touch was light, with the feel of calluses from playing the piano, and warmth spread from his fingertips to her forehead.

She knew she must have looked odd at that moment, her expression far from what a little girl her age typically had. But she couldn't help it. She caught his hand on her forehead, opened it, and pressed it to her cheek, feeling the lines of his palm, his warmth. She had missed this warmth for too long.

He didn't pull away, but comforted her with gentle caresses, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She snuggled into his arms, pressing against his palm, and wished he would hold her even tighter. She felt safe in his embrace, just as she had during their tours when they'd flown together, or when he'd comfort her to sleep on nights her father was out drinking. She remembered the security she felt during stormy nights when fear gripped her, and the affectionate moments when she'd asked for a cuddle simply because she wanted to be spoiled. Whenever she needed him, he was always there, his warm body enveloping her, his slender chest rising and falling with every breath. His heart beat steadily, a reassuring rhythm inside his chest.

“It’s okay, I’m here. I will never leave you, Annette.”

This was everything she cherished. Since that stormy night when her mom sunk in a shipwreck, she felt like she had been adrift in the turbulent waves, and the man who liked his drinks so much could never fulfill the role of a father. But he was there, a man with no blood relation to her, and even though he was slimmer than her mother, he gave her all the love and safety he could, like a life jacket keeping her safe.

Annette dreams of him frequently now. At night, the dreams gave her back everything she once had, then took it all away the moment she had opened her eyes. She remembered the warm yellow light, the distorted vision, the face she longed for, the prickle of his beard, the warmth of his palm, the heartbeat, and his promise never to leave.

“Liar.”

Annette whispered this and turned over to bury her face in the pillow, regretting her words as soon as they were out. Her fingers twisted together beneath the pillow. She didn’t want to blame him; it tore at her heart as if she had done something terribly wrong. It wasn’t fair to him; he hadn’t left by choice. How could it be his fault?

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry...” Her voice was barely a sigh. “I didn’t mean to blame you.”

---

tbc

#annette 2021

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purekid · 1 year ago

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Daddy

I’m listening to Claudia’s music. She’s painted by Lizzie Grant. With great melancholy strokes of blue, pink, white and gold. Gold like her golden hair that cascades down her face. A coquette waterfall.

Lizzie sings, “If he likes me, takes me home.”

“Come on you know you like good little girls.”

“You can be my daddy. You can be my daddy.”

“Put me in a movie.”

I’ve always painted a picture for her (a picture of a man in a suit with these penetrating eyes, one hand imprisoned by a silver watch) And she’s always painted one in response (a picture of a good girl with her hands behind her back, doe eyes begging sweetly for attention). She was nose deep in a psychology textbook when I found her. She was living one page at a time. Chapter one, two, three, four, f— I ripped out all of the pages so she didn’t have to read anymore. So we just stared at each other at 2am through our macbook screens. Our pixels frozen in time.

And when I spelled out my heart it was always h-e-a-t. She’s Spanish but can’t pronounce her R’s. And I’m an American without a gun. And she’s a little sparkle jump rope queen. And I’m a boy holding his hand out to a doe-eyed deer, smiling with white-toothed confidence. I lift up my yellow polo sweater, and show her the contraption located in my chest. The thing in my chest that never beats. She tells me it’s okay.

“You can be my daddy. You can be my daddy.”

There’s something about the way we met. About her age. About the thing on my wrist. About her body count. About mine. About the comment section of that song. And the implications of it all. I’m in the comment section of this song and all of the girls are typing out their ages, spelling out their trauma. They spell it d-a-d-d-y. And I’m scrolling endlessly looking for a blonde girl who comments “17.” And I’m thinking of the man in the suit. The thing on his wrist. His penetrating eyes.

You want to know something? The night my parents kicked me out of their house. My stepfather, 53 years old, sitting across from me, meets my gaze burning a hole in the middle of his forehead. I swore for a second he looked like a deer, frozen.

“Those eyes of yours,” he says blankly.

And I, 19 years old, can’t tell what he’s feeling. I’m a loaded gun aimed for a kill shot. I want his brains on the walls, the furniture. Those eyes. My eyes. Why did he say that? Was he afraid? Was it pity? Was it wonder? What did he see? Did he understand? Why didn’t he show me his eyes? Why did he look like a deer?

But anyway, that’s how a boy gets his eyes. And now when he sees a deer, there’s always the idea of a gunshot waiting to sound behind his eyes. So he stretches out his hand instead. His hand that’s handcuffed by a silver watch. Everything about him radiates with power. All his body knows is violence.

Daddy is the Italian suit jacket he hangs over his shoulders. Daddy is the American tie that grips his throat. Daddy is the clop-clop-clop of the British shoes that announce that he’s coming. Daddy is the Swedish watch he handcuffs himself with. Daddy are his God-given eyes brimming with ultra-violence.

That comment section was filled with deer. And I’m just one daddy.

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grippingbeskar · 2 years ago

Note

Hey lovely 😊 how's life? How are you REALLY doing?

I'm patiently waiting for 25th chapter of salt, ice and fire. 😇 It's totally fine if you want to concentrate on something else for a while, just wanted to know if you're okay 🥹

It is a coincidence, but everytime I had a shitty day, suddenly a new chapter came out and it always made me feel so much better. I'm having extremely hard time at work lately and everyday I'm hoping for the next chapter. At the same time I don't want it to end yet and the realization breaks my heart, so actually I'm glad you haven't posted it 🫠

I'm such a tragic piece of shit 😆

Anyway, can I have a tiny tiny request? I'd love a one shot with Frank with a lot of fluff and "sweeheart"(s) and love and just Frank being supportive and protective, basically anything that would take my mind off work. I've been getting up way too early, coming home late, the job itself is not so bad, but the people are awful. To be honest, everyday I come home shut the front door and just break down in tears.

Whoa, can't believe I made this about myself, when I was asking how are YOU doing. I still wanna know! 🙃

I hope I'm not asking too much, if you don't feel like writing it, I'll understand.

Take care 🖤

sweet loving— a SIAF drabble

— @lemon-world1 read the end of this fic for my long ass reply to this sweet message, i ranted a bit too long lmao 💞

— also, this can be read as a lil one shot, but it’s set in my series universe, salt, ice and fire, between chapter 24 and 25. but it’s just sweet and fluffy. this isn’t proof read i wrote it as soon as i got this ask so pls excuse any errors <3

— warnings: none. just happy thoughts :)

Your shoulders ache, feet past the point of pain as you trudge through the door and slam it behind you. It wasn’t anything in particular— more everything all at once that was weighing on you. Even your hands shook as they through the keys on the table, the loud clatter like a final straw, making your eyes squeeze shut at the noisy intrusion.

You only make it about three steps forward before you hear him moving. It’s late— windows permanently drawn shut, but usually the light can trickle in when the sun hits, dancing along the old wood floors like shimmering diamonds. Not now though. Apart from the hue of the moon, the apartment is pitch black, so even if your eyes were open you wouldn’t see him coming. He clears the length of the living room in only a few long strides, your eyes not even having time to open before you feel him.

He doesn’t say anything, either because it’s so late and he doesn’t want to crack the silence or because he could tell it had been a long day. He always could just tell— it would of been unnerving, how easily he could read you, if you didn’t love it so much. His arms wrap tightly around your lower back, the other snaking under your ass so he can lift you up off the floor. Your legs relax around him, a years worth of tension floating down and away from you just in the way he holds you close.

Your head falls into the crook of his neck, back almost arching into the heat of his body. He had been asleep, you could tell because of how warm his skin was, and how he groaned lazily as he turned to walk you into your bedroom.

“Hey, sweetheart.” He murmurs, head dipping to kiss under your jaw. You can’t find words just yet, just humming in response as his lips continue their path down your neck. It’s all softness and sweetness, and it’s another way Frank manages to read you. He knows what you want before you ever have to ask for it.

You expect to be taken to bed, content to fall asleep in the clothes you were in all day if it meant staying attached to Frank’s body, but instead you feel the cold porcelain of the sink under your thighs. Your eyes flutter open, seeing the cool tones of your bathroom shadowed behind Franks body, his hands holding your head up.

“Hey.” You smile lazily, and he returns it, light sparkling in his eye when you nuzzle your face into his palm. “What’re we doing in here?”

“Getting changed.” He says simply, his hands travelling down to hook underneath your shirt and swiftly pull it over your head. You let him move you around, a sleepy smile on your face, content to do whatever it is he wants you to do. “Can’t sleep in jeans.”

“I can just sleep naked.” He leans into your open legs, chest pressing to yours as he laughs, the sound muffled in your hair. You feel his hands again, calloused and searching for the clip of your bra, undoing it like he has a thousand times before. It still sends a shiver up your spine.

“Heads always in the gutter, ain’t it sweetheart?” He pulls a shirt— his shirt, you can tell— over your head, before his hands come back to your cheeks to encourage you closer. He finally kissed you, and you sigh appreciatively, like he’s serving you something you’ve craved for months, though it had really just been mere hours.

The kiss is slow. His lips melt into your own, your body slumping forward to taste more of him. Your hands wander through his hair, down his neck to his shoulders, his skin still impossibly warm despite the chill air of the bathroom. You moan as his hands dip again, slowly working the button on your jeans. When they give, he slides you off the counter, and you whine when his lips leave yours.

“Frank.” You pout, and he shakes his head. You can see the smug smirk of his face from this angle as he sinks down in front of you, taking your jeans off and freeing your legs so you stood before him in just his shirt and your underwear.

He takes his time coming back up, hands sliding up the skin of your calves, slowly up behind your thighs, stopping on your ass. He can’t help himself even in the middle of the night, giving the flesh a light squeeze that he knows always makes you laugh before stilling on your hips.

“Didn’t realise you’d be so late, baby.” He flicks the lights off, sinking you both into darkness as he guides you back to your bedroom.

“Neither. Took too long.” You can’t think about the events of the day, not when he’s kissing you all over, worshipping every bit of you he can reach before he tugs you down on the bed.

“What happened?” He wraps his arms around you, trailing his fingers up and down your leg as he pulls you flush against his body.

“Someone was just… they said some shit when I walked past. Nothing crazy, I just— “ You whisper all of it in confession. “People are just the fucking worst sometimes.”

“Who?” Franks voice drops lower, a tone you only recognise when he’s holding a gun.

“I don’t know them. It’s fine, I just don’t want to think about it anymore.” Frank grumbles something aggressive under his breath, and you have no doubt he’ll push you on it tomorrow, but for now his hands are too distracting, and the wet heat of his mouth under your jaw has you sighing his name. “Fuck, Frank.”

“It’s late, baby. Get some sleep— I’ll take care of you in the morning.” His words drip like honey down your spine, full of care and affection you wouldn’t think was possible from someone who used to be so hard and cold to you. Now, it was impossible to place him acting with anything but utter adoration with you.

You hum again, and as much as you want to roll over and show him how much you appreciate him, the simple touches and gestures of this moment are sending you drifting off to a place of complete relaxation. So much so that you can feel sleep creeping up behind your closed eyes, Frank still kissing you softly on the top of your head before tucking himself behind you on the pillows.

“Love you, Frankie.” You feel him puff out a breath at the nickname, his smile evident on your skin.

“I love you, sweetheart.” He replies back, and you drift to sleep, knowing Frank will always give you exactly what you need, even if it’s as simple as a good nights sleep.

—first hello. i want you to know this literally made me CRY. like tears were shed. you are the sweetest person ever i am actually a mess. i love hearing that the story has the ability to make you happy in any way, it’s all i ever wanted to do and i appreciate you so much! i am working on the next chapter, ngl i have been distracted watching the last of us and falling into a joel miller hole (he is just so fine i whfjeigkfj) BUT it’s coming!!!

—and i am in the same boat. i don’t want the story to end at all, and i think that’s why i’m putting off writing this next chapter. i know there’s one more after this, but i think i’ll have written everything i wanted to write for this series after the next two. so i think that will actually be it and i am EMOTIONAL! i think i’ll take a little break from series, because i miss writing one shots for frank BUT there is more series in the future, and i will definitely not stop writing for frank ever. he’s my number one forever and always.

—i’m so so sorry you’re having a hard time at the moment, but i hope this tiny lil moment right here helps a little!!! i’ve placed it in the SIAF world, and it’s literally the timeline right in between the last chapter and the next chapter, so i’m basically bribing you with this in hopes it’ll help until i finish the next chapter 😭

—okay i’ll stop ranting now, but as soon as i saw this ask i was like i need to write this right now because you deserve it. lots of love, and i hope things start to look up for you. xx

#frank castle #frank castle x reader #the punisher #frank castle x y/n #frank castle x you #marvel tv #the punisher x reader #the punisher x you #marvel #the punisher x y/n

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lostysworld · 4 years ago

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A healing touch – Kaz Brekker x reader

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 (final)

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x reader

Warning: OOC, mention of touch aversion

Summary: You trying to fight your motives to help Kaz, but maybe you should not?

A/N: I don't know what I'v done, but anyway :D. I promised some romance, so enjoy a little bit of it, guys, in the end of the chapter)

Masterlist

– I am so selfish.

You and Inej are sitting in your parents' bakery after the closing hours, waiting to finally come home.

Despite the girl's calm behavior, you always find yourself comfortable around her.

– Why?

– I wanted to help Kaz through his avertion, - you casts a look towards the kitchen, where your mother is, and lower your pitch. – But I only ended up with thinking about my own reasons.

– So you are in love with him!

– Shh! - you wave your hands at Inej for her loud voice, being afraid your mum will know about it. In that case you won't be able to shut that woman up. – Do you want everyone to learn about it?

– I'm sure, your mother will be happy-

– That is the reason, - seeing your friend's mischievous grin you realizes, your worst fear may come true. – My mum will talk about it for the whole time, if she knows.

– Knows what?

Your heart sinks down. Seems, you were so worried about your predicament, than didn't notice the entrance door opened silently behind your back. But Inej did for sure.

You turn around to face Kaz, your very handsome problem, as it appears. Now you know why Inej was smiling like this.

– We are closed, young man, - your mum comes out of the kitchen, but when she recognizes Kaz, her smile becomes wider – Oh, Mr. Brekker, come in. The oven is still warm, do you want something?

You fight the urge to hide somewhere and only whispers.

– Saints, it only becomes worse, - Inej holds back a laughter looking at you, your mother, and Kaz, who seems struggling the same problem as you.

He can deal with every freak in Ketterdam, but when it comes to your mother, the man is always confused.

– Uhm, no, thank you.

Brekker turns to both of you, looking at Inej. It is clear, that he doesn't come to see you, and it suddenly upsets you.

Inej only nods to you and stands to follow Kaz, while you is staring down in your empty cup. Suddenly a brief touch to your shoulder draws your attention.

You raise your glance at Kaz, who stands right beside you, rather close to you, you'd say. His hand is still on your shoulder, and his heat radiates from the palm even through the leather of the glove.

– I didn't thank you for your help last time.

You could never read his glance, it is always the same cold, collected expression, that you can't understand. Maybe, you are way too much mesmerized by Kaz Brekker to notice something else.

– It's fine, Kaz. You are welcome, - you hesitate, seeing his piercing eyes don't leave you. – And good luck your heist.

He nods silently and walks out. As soon as the door behind him is closed, you drop your head on the table with a loud grown. Why you can't just tell him how you feel? It will go two ways anyway. He will admit that it's mutual or not. No big deal, yeah?

– If I acted like you twenty three years ago, I would never marry you father, Y/N.

Yours mother's sympathetic voice rings somewhere above your head, but you don't want to argue with her.

– I'm not a sum of kruge for Kaz to be interested in.

– Mr. Brekker is only interested in kruge, because he doesn't have something more valuable, see?

You raise your head to her to see her smirking and lay it down again. Your mother can advise you whatever she wants, but it doesn't mean you have enough courage to do it.

You walk into the Slat, that is unexpectedly overcrowded for this time of the evening. Earlier this day a boy came to collect you to Kaz, as he was told, and that makes your heart flutter.

You haven't seen your friends for these two days, the heist they prepared was extremely important for all the Crows and you decided not to distract them.

On the first floor you notice Jasper and others, though Kaz isn't amongst them. You wave playfully to the guys, it is hard for you to hide, that you really miss them.

Jasper waves you back and nods towards upstairs.

– Kaz wanted to see you, Y/N.

With a brief nod you run to Brekker's room. After two short knocks you open the door, not waiting for a permission.

– Y/N, - a small smile hides in the corners of the man's lips.

– Should I congratulate you with the successful heist, Kaz? Everybody look so content.

He nods and extends his hand towards you. You come closer immediately noticing a small silver pendant on his palm.

– It's lovely, Kaz. Thank you.

– Are you sure? - his suspicious gaze follows you, you raise your brow trying to understand his question. – I mean, it was stolen-

Does he question his methods now, after all these years?

– I like it, stolen or not. Besides, you risked your safety to get it. So, I like it even more.

Taking it from his palm carefully, you realize Brekker's hands are without gloves tonight. Your decision, made some days ago, comes to your mind at the same time.

– Could you help me?

The man's gaze instantly finds yours, and you recognize a sparkle of panic inside. Any other day you would apologize for breaking his boundaries, but not now.

Kaz swallows and nods, after that you turn around letting him lock the pendant on your neck.

He is doing it so carefully, that you don't even feels the touch, but only his hot breathing on you neck. And it slowly drives you insane.

– Kaz, - once the pendant is locked you turn rapidly to face him, meeting his piercing blue gaze.

You know that this kind of proximity makes him uncomfortable, but you just can't help yourself to move an inch back.

You swallow and drop your gaze on his hand, that now is laying on the table just right next to you. Brekker's glance is watching you slowly moving your own one.

Your palm is inches from his, still you don't make a final move. You two are so close, Kaz can feel your breath on his cheek, and it gives him slight shiver down his spine. Pleasant or not, he can't decide.

– Kaz, - you call him once more, whispering. – I can help you with it.

– No one can, Y/N, - you don't need to be precise for him to know what are talking about. Brekker shakes his head, and you watches his weak grin disappeare.

– I will. Please, let me in, Kaz. I will not hurt you.

You are craving for his touch so badly, that it almost makes you shake with anticipation. But the man doesn't rush the moment.

You finally touch his wrist with you fingertips, Brekker flinches, but doesn't move away. Taking a silent permission you trace an invisible pattern on his arm, when his hoarse whisper reaches you.

– Stop, - he swallows hard.

– Kaz-

– Please, stop, Y/N, - you've never seen Kaz Brekker begged before, moreover you don't want him to hate you after this evening.

Your glances cross and you feel like you are unable to move. He is still a bit struggling with the effect of your touch, but something else is on the back of his mind.

– I've wanted to touch you for so long, - his voice runs goosebumps across your skin. – I even thought that ignoring you might help.

– Look at me, Kaz, - your hand flies to his chin, barely touching, slightly turning him to face you. – You can do this.

The man shakes his head with anger appering in his eyes. He doesn't blame you for trying, anyway, he tried too. But he does blame you for giving him this false hope.

– We need to try once more.

'We'. Kaz sighs. Isn't it worth trying? Isn't Y/N worth?

Your hand caresses his cheek as if he's made of glass. Brekker tenses, and you feel him ready to burst with swearing.

But to you own surprise, the man just exhales slowly, and after a second he slightly leans into the touch.

– See?

Y/N is warm, not like Jordie, Kaz feels it's radiating through his own skin now. The tingling on his cheek from your accident brushing leaves him a bit nervous. In a good way.

Y/N smells like cinnamon and baking powder, and Brekker loses a bit of his sanity from such proximity. He would never let anyone do the same with him.

But it's you. Kaz can make any deal, but he also can make an exception for Y/N.

– I think, it's enough for today, - you slowly take your hand from his cheek, afraid that it cam be too overwhelming for Kaz.

A faint smile lights up you face, and instantly it is reflected on Brekker's face.

– Ask Jasper to walk you home.

– I will be fine-

– No, I want you to be safe, - your breath is stuck in your throat. – So...good night.

– Good night, Kaz.

This stupid smile doesn't leave your face until you come home.

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone fanfic #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone x you #kaz brekker #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker fanfic #kaz brekker fanfiction #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker x you #six of crows x you #six of crows x reader #six of crows imagine #six of crows

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starshine583 · 4 years ago

Text

New Girl on the Block (13)

(Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!!! I’d say that this is a gift for the day, but this is my usual update time lol please enjoy the new chapter anyway! There’s also a mini series connected to this called Journal Entries :D)

Ch.1 / Ch.12 / Ch.14 (ao3)

Chapter 13: I’ll Make You a Deal

Lila stalked the halls of Dupont, doing her best to hide her scowl as she massaged her temples. When she offered to take Marinette’s job as Class President, she hadn’t realized how much extra work she was dumping onto herself. She thought that the title was just that: a title. Nothing more. Nothing less. Sure, she would have to verify a few things, acknowledge her classmates’ opinions towards the school system, and speak out about it as a representative towards them, but that was all. She didn’t expect it to rearrange her entire schedule towards life! Her head was pounding from the late nights of filing student complaints, her back ached from carrying this stupid binder around, and her wrist still twinged with pain from signing too many papers at once. It was ridiculous!

Lying to Bustier about those forms didn’t make it any easier either. Instead of getting to make minor additions to the papers Marinette had already written, she now had to rewrite all of the forms herself. The entire process was a nightmare, and Lila couldn’t escape. If she lied again and said that Marinette gave the forms back, that would be glorifying the girl, and she refused to do that. However, if she lied and said that she simply found the forms again, it would not only make her look suspicious, but also incompetent. She couldn’t have either of those descriptions attached to her person.

So, that left her with the agonizing option of filling them out again herself. She tried to push it onto Alya, and for the most part, she succeeded. The red-head filled out a good half before handing them back, but that still left Lila with the other half. Thus, she’s spent the last three nights in a row doing nothing but signing form after form after form. The fact that she had to use Marinette’s forms as reference only made it worse. She could practically hear the ravenette laughing at her every time she glanced over the original paperwork. It was utterly humiliating.

And don’t get her started on the amount of requests or complaints that she had to file. Everyday her classmates came to her asking for this or that or “could you change this about our classroom?”. Sometimes they would talk about the seats being too hard or the fact that they didn’t have enough recess or how the stairs were too far apart and someone could trip. Then- oh, then -there were the class trips. One request was a literal trip to Greece. Greece! Did they think she or the school was just made of money? How can they possibly be this greedy or entitled? How was Marinette able to handle it all so easily? She made it look like it was nothing!

Lila clenched her fists at her side, her nails digging into her skin. Even after running from the school with her tail between her legs, Marinette was still acting as a sharp, irritating thorn in Lila’s side.

Sparkling laughter interrupted her thoughts, and Lila turned to the two boys standing outside of the library entrance. Adrien Agreste, the golden child of the school, and Nino, his little sidekick- as far as Lila was concerned -appeared to be chatting mindlessly on their way back to class, which was typical. Adrien was always talking with somebody now-a-days. That was another problem of hers.

When Marinette first left, Adrien became distraught and distant. He began muttering to himself and not listening in class, dismissing everyone with a hum and a nod. The other students berated him for the behavior, wonderfully captured in Lila’s beautifully crafted web of words, but he hardly heard them. Or if he did, he didn’t care. He continued to write things in his notebook that certainly weren’t lesson notes and run his hand through his hair with frustration when he hit some sort of wall.

It was irritating, of course, but nothing Lila hadn’t expected. Marinette was supposed to be his “very good friend”, after all. She would have been surprised if he hadn’t mourned the loss. What she didn’t anticipate, though, was the way he bounced back.

It had to have happened a little over two weeks after Marinette left, because Lila remembered finally starting to feel comfortable in her new role of being able to lie unchallenged. She was spewing some crap about Marinette sending her mean messages, making sure her tears looked real enough and her sobs were believable, when Adrien decided to jump into the conversation. He flashed her a bright smile and, in the kindest voice she’d ever heard, asked her for the texts that Marinette had sent.

The question alone had surprised her, considering the fact that he hadn’t really spoken to anyone in a while, but that smile he held was really the thing to set her on edge. It was simply too sweet-looking for someone who had just indirectly asked for proof of her story, especially when they both knew that she was lying.

She couldn’t understand the change. He’d been cowering in the corner for the last two weeks, and yet that day, he was out for blood on her account. Why? What was the difference between the last two weeks and that day? She still doesn’t know.

Adrien’s determination towards outing her cranked up to eleven after that . He went from barely talking to one person throughout the day to talking with everyone on a constant basis, and anytime Lila so much as uttered a sentence, he was there asking questions. When did she do this, who helped her with that, how did she manage to get from one place to the other so quickly- from a naïve onlooker’s point of view, Adrien would simply appear to be interested in Lila’s stories, but she knew better. He was finding holes in her stories and using them to rip apart her words piece by piece, all while using an innocent yet confused expression to make it seem like he was trying to help her. The strategy was completely different from Marinette’s, and it ticked Lila off to no end. How was she supposed to turn crowds against him and regain her throne if he kept acting like some pure-hearted angel?

She couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t, and he knew that she couldn’t, because that’s the exact same tactic that eventually got Marinette to leave the school.

A part of her had hoped that this newfound passive-aggression would fade after a few days, but now that three weeks of constant badgering on Adrien’s account has passed, that hope has been thoroughly and relentlessly crushed. He hasn’t done much over those weeks, thankfully, but she’s had to reinforce her lies ten times the normal amount to keep it that way. That’s a tad hard to do when all of your stories are on the grand scale of things.

Even with her meticulous planning and words choices, though, one can’t escape subtle confrontation forever. She could tell that people were slowly starting to become suspicious of her stories. They were either wanting Adrien to be around during their discussions with her or were looking for holes themselves.

Watching them exchange glances during her stories made her blood boil. Why did they have to be so nosy? So picky? Can’t she have a reprieve for once in her entire life? Can’t she just lie and manipulate others without the fear of getting caught? Why did that feel like such a big request from the universe?

Adrien and Nino waved to each other, and Lila perked up. It looked like they were separating. Were they separating? Oh, please be separating. That would be the most convenient thing to happen to her all month.

Adrien split off from Nino, to her delight, and Lila beelined after the blond. His meddling had gone on long enough, and she thought it was high time someone put an end to it. That someone being her.

“Adrien!” Lila cooed, looping her arm with his and flashing a bright smile. “It’s been forever since we’ve talked just one on one, don’t you think?”

Adrien’s steps faltered, and for the briefest of moments, she saw his eyes darken. Nobody else would have noticed, especially not with the friendly smile he gave her right after, but Lila caught it. She was the only one who realized how truly despicable the model could be.

“Oh, hey Lila.” He replied with an easy, clearly fake smile. “I guess we haven’t talked alone in a while. You normally like to be at the center of the crowd.”

Lila tried not to grit her teeth and instead elected to flip her hair over her shoulder. “Well, I wouldn’t say the center. I’m just being myself, and the others seem to follow.”

Adrien hummed. “Yes, I’m sure you're a wonderful role model for all of us. It isn’t everyday we get the courtesy of having an honest and kind friend like you.”

His sarcasm was palpable, but his shining smile remained. A part of her wondered why he even bothered acting at this point. They both knew they were at war now. Niceties were only necessary when someone was clueless towards hidden motives. Adrien wasn’t, and neither was she, yet here they were. Smiling and trading snide remarks in the privacy of the empty locker room.

Lila put on a bashful expression. “Oh, please-”

“Of course,” Adrien interrupted her, “there was also Marinette. She was always ready to help someone. It’s a shame she had to transfer schools.”

Lila bit the inside of her cheek to avoid sneering. There he goes again, mentioning that ridiculous baker girl. It’s so infuriating.

“Even though she was a bully? I’m sorry, Adrien, but I don’t think you should forgive someone so easily. They’ll walk all over you if you give them too much leeway.”

Adrien slipped- or rather jerked -his arm out of Lila’s grasp as he exchanged some of his books. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?”

Ah, there it is. That might have been the first genuine comment he’s made during this discussion.

“What was that?” She asked with feigned politeness.

Adrien straightened and gave her another innocent smile. “Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if this could all be a big misunderstanding? The phone number that was terrorizing you wasn’t Marinette’s, after all. If you were.. mistaken.. on that story, perhaps you missed something in your other stories. Don’t you think so?”

Lila forced a smile so wide that her cheeks started to hurt. Was this his way of giving her an out? A last chance of mercy? Because if it was, she refused to take it. She’s built this kingdom with nothing but her bare hands, and she’d be darned if she decided to lie down and let him take it away just as quickly.

“I can’t say I do.”

Adrien closed his locker, a certain glint coming to his eyes when he looked at her. “Well.. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what I find. Won’t we?”

Rage crackled through Lila’s bones as Adrien walked past her, but she caught herself before doing anything rash. If she was going to counter Adrien’s sudden attacks, she needed to make a deal with him and get him off of her back just long enough to plan. And to do that, she needed to promise him what he apparently wanted most.

“What if it wasn’t her?”

Adrien stopped in the doorway, and Lila held her breath.

“..Because it wasn’t her,” he corrected, “I’ll be hoping that she comes back.”

Lila drew in a deep breath, if only to avoid screaming. Marinette, Marinette, Marinette- Why did he have to have to be so infatuated with Marinette? What could she possibly have that made Adrien want to fight against the whole school to get her back?

“Alright..” She said, completely calm. “Say you were right. If it happened to turn out that Marinette wasn’t the one responsible and I convince her to come back, will we all be able to get along?”

Bile rose to her mouth as she spoke. The very thought of running back to Marinette and asking her to come back to Dupont made Lila’s stomach churn, but this was fine. She was only promising to bring Marinette back. Promises can easily be broken.

Adrien smiled, but not like the fake, warm smiles he’d been giving her throughout their conversation. No, this one was sharp, predatory, as though he could see right through her words.

“See you in class, Lila.”

The “golden child” left the locker room then, and Lila finally gave in to her frustration and let out a growl. This was supposed to be her victory, her turf, and yet she can’t even enjoy it anymore because Adrien freaking Agreste decided to meddle in business that wasn’t his. He knew that the only reason she was willing to compromise was because he was getting to her, and that burned her up inside.

She drew in another deep breath and smoothed out her miniature ponytails. This was fine. Everything was fine. Adrien might be deciding to join the squabble a tad later than usual, but Lila invented this game. If he wanted to try his hand at her tactics and strategies, fine. He would soon realize why she was able to climb to the top in the first place.

~~~~~~~

Marinette stared out the car window with awe as they drove up the street towards Allegra’s estate. In the week that led to the group sleepover, Marinette had racked her brain day and night trying to decide what the mansion would be like. How tall would it be? How wide? Would it take up an entire street or a small square of Paris like Gabriel’s? Would there be butlers running around like in the movies or would there be a simple maid or two to keep things moving? Perhaps there wouldn’t be any hired hand at all? The excitement and anticipation made her buzz and bounce through the last few school days at Rosemary, but she refused to ask any questions during the wait for winter break. Marinette wanted the mansion to be a complete surprise. And now that she was finally here, sitting in the backseat of Allegra’s miniature limo and practically pressing her face against the window, she couldn’t be happier with that decision.

Mansions of all kinds lined the sidewalks, bigger and more elegant than she could have ever imagined. Some had marvelous fountains, while others had incredible gardens. Some had amazing walls with ingrained art that lined the premises, and one mansion even had horses grazing on their front lawn! It made her wonder why Gabriel would build his mansion in the middle of the city, or if any of these mansions might belong to Claude, Allan, or Felix.

Near the end of the street rested a long brick wall that had elaborate, white statues decorating the major corners. Marinette guessed immediately that that was Allegra’s mansion, because the wall wrapped around an enormous white house that had silver railings for the balconies and blue-ish grey tiles for the rooftops, quite contrary to the golds and dark browns that came with the other mansions. It was beautiful in its simplicity, and that seemed like something Allegra would enjoy, even if the house belonged directly to her parents.

Sure enough, the car rolled to a stop in front of the black metal gate that the brick walls led to, and the driver told Marinette to stay put as he hopped out of the vehicle. She watched quietly as he unlocked the gate by hand using a personal key and quickly found herself wiggling in her seat when he started pushing the gates open. They were so close! Allegra’s mansion was right there! If they didn’t start moving again in two seconds, Marinette might just jump out and start running.

The driver got back into the car with a small apology for the inconvenience- to which she assured him that it was fine through barely contained squeals -and they continued through the gate at a leisure pace, which killed Marinette inside. She wanted to get into the mansion now!

In an effort to remain still, her eyes flicked around the front lawn of the estate. The driveway they had pulled into appeared to be a full circle, looping around an intricate water fountain that spouted bursts of water in such a way that made the water look as though it were dancing. Diamonds of dark green grass cut through the concrete in the driveway, leading to the rest of the vibrant grass on the lawn, and a delightful mix of bushes and flowers lined the inside of the brick wall as well the outside of the mansion. It struck Marinette as quaint and refined at the same time, and her respects went out to the person- or persons -responsible for designing and maintaining the look.

Finally, the limo parked in front of these wide, marble steps that led to the front door, and the driver barely had time to open Marinette’s back door before she leapt out with her bags in her arms. If the outside was this luxurious, she couldn’t wait to see how breathtaking the inside would be.

“Thanks for the ride, sir!” She called over her shoulder as she hopped up the steps two-by-two.

“Oh, miss-!” The man yelled after her. “May I take your bags?”

Marinette skidded to a halt and turned around, ready to politely decline his offer, when another voice spoke up behind her.

“No need, Louis! I’ve got them.”

Marinette whirled back around, coming face to face with Allegra, who was now standing in the doorway with a bright smile.

The blonde reached forward to take the bags with one hand, while giving Marinette a side hug with the other. “I’m so happy you’re here! This is going to be great.”

“I know! I’ve been waiting for this all week! Your house looks amazing.”

A grin spread across Allegra’s lips, and she pulled back from the hug in favor of grabbing Marinette’s hand. “If you like it now, just wait till you see the inside.”

The two girls waltzed inside together, but as soon as she entered, Marinette couldn’t help gasping and breaking away from Allegra to run further into the house. Tiled, marble floors stretched out before her, seemingly farther than the street she had just driven down, and on the other side of the bigger-than-life foyer was a set of large, open windows that touched from the floor of the first level to the ceiling of the second level. They overlooked the backyard, which was equally as enchanting as the front yard, and a part of her had the urge to sit down and stare at them wistfully for a good hour or two.

To her left and right were a pair of long, curved stairs that led to the second floor. They matched the marble tiles on the first floor and had beautiful, metal railings that curled and twisted into different types of flowers and leaves. The railing also trailed off to the open hallways above, where Marinette could see different types of doors lined up. Her restless brain wanted to skip up the stairs, brush her hand across the smooth, black railing, and explore each and every room possible.

Her gaze dragged up to the ceiling, and her jaw fell slack yet again as she realized exactly how high the building was. The circular sunroof that signified the center of the ceiling felt higher than the Eiffel Tower itself, and Marinette was certain that if she called out, it would take at least five seconds to hear her voice echoing back to her.

“Well?” Allegra asked next to her. “What do you think?”

“What do I think?” Marinette blanched. “Allegra, this is incredible! Do you really live here?”

A musical laugh came from the blonde, and she nodded. “Yep. Ever since I was five. Come on, I’ll give you a tour!”

They made their way to the stairs, and Marinette eagerly ran her hand across the cool railings as she continued to look around. She couldn’t believe how astonishing everything looked. It was as though they’d taken the finest jewels and rocks on earth and merged them together to create this mansion. How did they even afford all of this?

“What did you say your mom did again?”

Allegra glanced over at her. “My mom? She’s a-”

“Hey!”

The two girls paused mid step and looked up at the open hallway. Claude stood just above them, leaning over the railing and waving with a wide grin. Allan stood behind him, also offering the girls a friendly smile as a greeting.

“Is that Marinette?” Claude called.

“Yep! She just got here.”

“Sweet!” The brunette cheered. He dashed from his place upstairs and, once he got a good enough momentum, jumped to a stop, using his socks to slide the rest of the way to the stairwell. “We’ve been waiting forever for you to show up!”

Marinette giggled and ran up the rest of the stairway to give Claude a hug. “I got my clothes together as fast as I could.”

“Oh, you’re good.” Allan assured as he came to join them. “You’re technically early anyway.”

“I thought I was.” Marinette remarked, pulling away from Claude to give Allan a small hug as well. “Is Felix here too?”

“Nope, it’s just us right now.” Claude answered with a smile. “We already had clothes here from previous sleepovers.”

“They practically have their own personal closets at this point.” Allegra snorted. Then, she gave Marinette a playful nudge. “And soon, so will you.”

Marinette smiled. She wasn’t sure that she even had enough clothes to fill another closet, but it didn’t stop her from feeling giddy towards receiving one. Having a personal closet at Allegra’s meant she would be coming over much more often, and that was something she desperately wanted to do at this point.

“Have you shown her around yet?” Claude asked.

“Nope. I was gonna show her my room first, though, so I can put her bags down in there.”

“Oh, good idea.” The brunette remarked, taking the opportunity to snag Marinette’s bags from Allegra’s hands. “Let’s go! You’re gonna love it, Mari.”

With everyone together- save for Felix -the group eagerly clambered down the hallway that Claude and Allan had previously been in. The black railway from the staircase continued to twist down the hall next to Marinette, and when it finally stopped at a wall, Claude stopped at a doorway to his right. Glittering stickers arched across the door, spelling out the word “Allegra”.

“Those are from when I was, like, nine.” Allegra commented, a hint of a blush on her cheeks as she opened her bedroom door.

Marinette was about to say that it was fine- she actually found the lettering to be endearing -but any form of words or replies were lost on her when she saw the bedroom for the first time.

Everything was covered in light purples and white, with occasional bits of gold and light blue to accent the room. An enormous, deep purple bed with swirling, golden patterns sat in the center, holding pillows that were bigger than Marinette’s bed alone and a comfort that looked fluffier than her warmest ear-muffs. A pair of blue, see-through curtains wrapped around the bed as well, reminding her of something a princess might own.

Across the room- which was twice the size of her little attic bedroom -were two white shelves that stretched from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. They held various things such as books, notebooks, miniature glass statues, and plenty of other trinkets that struck Marinette as charming. She wondered how long it must have taken Allegra to collect such things, or if she bought them all in one go as she decorated her room. There were even a few crystal wind-chimes hanging around the room.

“This is..” Marinette wasn’t sure what it was as she walked inside, star-struck. The girl even had her own chandelier, for Pete’s sake! Then there was the massive vanity with a million different types of eyeshadow- all aligned perfectly in an orderly fashion -and the massive desk on the other side of the room that had a fancy paperweight and a nice, little trinket to hold all of Allegra’s pencils and such for school. Don’t get her started on the chair hanging from the ceiling that looked equally fancy and comfortable.

“Do I really get to sleep in here?” She eventually asked instead. Words couldn’t describe her thoughts on the room or how it looked like something out of a daydream.

Allegra laughed. “Yep! We’re actually going to be spending most of the night here.”

“After we go swimming, of course.” Claude added as he set Marinette’s bags down in the walk-in closet.

Marinette’s eyes widened at the remark. She’d almost forgotten why she came here in the first place. “Where is the swimming pool?”

“It’s downstairs.” Allegra answered. “I can’t wait for you to see it. We have a water slide and everything.”

Marinette would have gasped, but after what she’s seen so far, she wouldn’t be surprised if they had their own personal zoo. “Can we go see it?”

“Absolutely!” The blonde smiled, looping her arm with Marinette’s. “But first, we need to finish our tour.”

The group made their way out of Allegra’s room and started exploring each door they passed. Claude, Allan, and Allegra took turns explaining each room’s purpose to Marinette, and she absorbed their words as best she could. Most of the time, though, she was lost in her thoughts, completely awed by the structure of the household.

Each room appeared to be bigger than the last, and some of them had Marinette nearly falling over from the amount of money that had to have gone into the décor. There were offices and dining halls and bigger bedrooms for Allegra’s parents. Then there were game rooms with pool tables and living rooms with couches that stretched around the entire room so everyone could see each other. Vases and sculptures lined the hallways and hid in the corners while extensive family portraits littered walls and held personal places on overly huge fireplaces.

In a word, the entire mansion was extravagant, especially for a three-person family, but despite the overwhelming amount of space, Marinette could feel the warmth and familial love of each room. A multitude of memories resided in the walls, and she couldn’t wait to hear all of them.

One room in particular caught her attention the most.

“What is this place?” Marinette asked as she walked into another wide-spread room. Musical instruments of all kinds littered the area- harps, violins, cellos, pianos, guitars, mandolins, and other things she couldn’t even name. They all appeared to be in mint condition, so clean that she could see her reflection in them, and the little kid in Marinette wanted to run around and try each one of them.

“This,” Allegra said next to her, “is our music room.”

“Music room..” Marinette whispered as her hand ran over a pair of literal bongos. “Can you actually play all of these?”

Claude snorted behind them. “She definitely wishes she could.”

Allegra scoffed and smacked his arm with a playful glare.

“No, I can’t play all of them.. But I’m working on it.”

“Wow.” Marinette muttered. That had to be time consuming. Where did she find the drive to keep practicing all of these?

“..Can I touch them?”

“Oh, yeah! Touch them all. Go crazy. I can even teach you how to play a little tune for some of them if you want.”

Marinette lit up. “Can you really?”

Allegra chuckled. “Of course. We have all night, don’t we?”

Marinette had to bite her tongue to avoid squealing again, and she promptly darted off to try everything she could. Any strings and keys would be briefly plucked and pressed before being cast away for the next instrument. She would thump on the drums and blow on the tubas and, occasionally, she would stop to try a few simple tunes on an instrument that sounded especially enchanting to her.

After about thirty minutes of this heaven- there were a lot of instruments -someone knocked on the doorframe at the front of the room, gathering the group’s attention.

A man with light brown hair stood in the doorway, offering an easy, yet apologetic smile. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Allegra, who had been teaching Marinette how to play the Panda Drum, hopped up from her position on the floor to greet him with a hug. “Not at all! I was just showing Marinette around the house. Mari, this is my dad, Arthur. Dad, this is Marinette, my friend from school that I’ve been telling you about.”

Marinette set the drum aside and stood up as well. “It’s nice to meet you, M. Chanson.”

“Oh, please.” M. Chanson held up a dismissive hand. “Just call me Arthur. Or even Uncle Arthur, if you like.��

A soft smile spread across Marinette’s lips, and she nodded. He sounded exactly like Maman when someone new came to their house.

“Anyway, I just came by to drop off the last bit of your group. He found me in the kitchen while looking for you.” Arthur said. He then stepped to the side to reveal none other than Felix, who had apparently been standing behind him the whole time.

Marinette perked up at the sight of the blond. “Oh, Felix! You’re here!”

“Here late.” Claude added with a smirk.

Felix shot him a look. “I’m not late. I told you all that I wouldn’t quite be here at the same time as everyone else.”

“Telling us that you’re going to be late doesn’t mean that you weren’t late.” Allegra pointed out. “It just means that you were considerate about your tardiness.”

Felix narrowed his eyes at her, knowing she was correct, and Marinette pursed her lips to avoid laughing, because she also knew that Allegra was correct.

“So I see you’ve been showing her my instruments?” Arthur cut in, redirecting the conversation.

Marinette’s eyes widened. “These are your instruments?”

Arthur chuckled. “Yep. In fact, I taught Allegra everything she knows.”

“You mean you can actually play all of them?”

“Well, some better than others,” The man responded with a half shrug, “but yeah. I’m honestly a little disappointed that A didn’t come get me when she showed you the room.”

Allegra winced. “Oh, sorry, Dad. I wasn’t thinking about it.”

“That’s amazing..” Marinette remarked, dumbfounded. She couldn’t imagine having enough memory to know how each individual instrument was played.

Arthur tilted his head back and forth with a hum. “I wouldn’t say amazing. A lot of these instruments are extremely similar to how they’re played, and at some point, once you’ve learned enough, you start to realize that a lot of music has a certain order to it. When you know that order, it makes playing a lot easier.”

“Oh, don’t be modest.” Allegra scolded. “Who else can play almost all of the instruments of the world and memorize any new instruments within a week?”

Before Arthur could respond, Allegra turned to Marinette with a proud smile and continued.

“Dad’s able to combine these instruments like no one I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot. It’s like he’s memorized every string, key, or chord possible! He’s even written songs for us too. Some of them are just funny little melodies to go with Claude’s acts, but others are full songs that he performs for me and Mom. Sometimes, when Mom’s stressed, he’ll sing or play for her to help her relax. I personally think that the songs he writes then are the best ones.”

The more she talked, the more bashful Arthur became, and Marinette couldn’t help cooing at the man. The thought of someone writing songs for the person they loved and singing them when that person felt down brought a wonderful warmth to her chest. It actually reminded her of another sweet boy she knew, one with blue-tipped hair and a smile that could melt the arctic.

“I have a friend like that.” She decided to say. Why not tell the others about him too? “He has a passion for the guitar and plays songs for me when I feel down too. It’s so calming.”

Something in her tone or expression must have caught their interest, because the group’s attention shifted from Allegra to Marinette in an instant. Before she could ask about the sudden change, Claude slipped an arm around her shoulders, flashing her a sly grin.

“Oh? A friend, you say?” He drawled. “You sound pretty fond of him. What’s his name?”

An involuntary blush crept across Marinette’s cheeks, more so at the implication in Claude’s voice than anything else. After two years of hanging around Alya, with her raised eyebrows and coy smiles, she could tell when someone was trying to accuse her of certain feelings towards another.

“O-Oh. uhm.. His name is Luka.”

“Luka..” Allegra hummed. “I’ve never heard you mention his name before.”

“And I’ve never seen her blush like that before, either.” Claude teased. “You’re not being very subtle, Nette.”

Marinette felt her blush deepen, even though they both knew she was easily flustered. She’s probably blushed a million times in the month that she’s known them, and most of those blushes were definitely darker than the one she was wearing even now.

Her gaze flicked to Felix, curious as to what he thought on the matter. His expression remained neutral, though she spotted a bit of intrigue in his eyes. It didn’t help with her guilt towards the comments.

Then again, why should she feel guilty? Even if she did like Luka, that wouldn’t affect anyone here. There was no reason to be ashamed.

Nevertheless, she still wanted to slip her way out of getting teased, so she jokingly rolled her eyes and said, “You guys said we were going to go swimming, right? Felix is here, and it’s getting dark so we should probably change before it gets too late.”

“The pool is indoors.” Claude helpfully reminded. “It doesn’t matter how late it gets.”

“But that was a good try at dodging, though.” Allegra smirked.

A squeak flew from Marinette’s lips before she could stop it, and the trio shared a laugh.

“Come on, guys.” Allan lightly scolded. “If you keep messing with her like this, she might spontaneously combust.”

Another laugh tumbled from Claude’s lips before he let out a dramatic sigh. “Alright, fine. I guess we can go swimming now.”

“Marinette has to cool off, anyway.” Allegra added with a wink.

Marinette groaned and put her head in her hands, if only to hide her ever-growing blush.

Mental note: Never mention a boy to the group again, because they will probably see right through you when it’s actually serious.

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#felinette #Marinette #Felix Culpa #Quantic Kids #Rosemary AU #New Girl on the Block

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