#back pain treatment castle hill

[akwolfgrl]

Fireworks

Day 1 first meeting/ first kiss Reiju x Okiku

@oprarepairweek

Reiju still couldn't believe what had happened. Her and her brothers were now free. Big mom had killed their father, setting them free. Thire was still working to be done, but she was confdtint between Dr. Trafalgar and Dr. Chopper that her brothers would be fine. They had already shown vast improvements since being here.

The streets were filled with people celebrating and rebuilding after Stawhat Luffy had taken down Kadio. Reiju stepped to the side to avoid being run into as children ran past giggling. She bumped into a warm body.

“Sorry,” Reuji apologized looking behind her and the up twords a gorgeous women with dark hair that hung down her back, dark blue eyes in a yellow kimono with chrysanthemum floral patterns, a pink cream and lavender obi, white tabi, and black-soled. Her face was round and skin smoth a prefect, dhe a gorgeous red lip and a slight brush of blush on beautiful face. Reuji stepped to the side of the women off the busstiling street.

“It's quite all right,” She smiled down at her with prefectly painted red lips. “The streets are rather packed today. It's so wonderful to see everyone so happy,”

“Yes I suppose it must be nice,” Reuji had seen her around but hadn't had the chance to meet the tall women before. “I'm Reuji,”

“Okiku, your Sangorous older sister,”

“Yes, it's quite easy to tell who I'm related to,” Reuji admitted with a small chuckle. “If you don't, would you care to show me around? It's simple, beautiful hear, very different from my own home,” She always did enjoy beautiful and deadly things, and she could tell the women next to was such.

“Oh I would love to, you cuaght me at the perfect time,”

Reuji was looking forward to it, she had always known she preferred the company of women, she had keep that sceart close to her chest, she had a role to play and one she did very well. Even if she was found to screatly break the rules. But now that she was free, it didn't matter anymore. there was no need to hide.

“Then shall we?”

<>

Okiku led the stunning women who had bumped into her around her home. She couldn't stop stealing looks at Reiju from the corner of her eye. With her vibrant pink hair and curly eyebrows, the other women certainly stood out. Even with the soft pink kimono with the different colored roses and lilys on the sleeves and hem, her yellow obi did little to hide to her figure.

Her blue eyes seemed deep and full of mystery, and her smile promised pain and pleasure if only one was bold enough to take it.

“Oh thire shuld be fireworks starting soon, I know a wonderful spot to them from,” Okiku decided to be bold and took the other women's hand in her own and led her up the hill.

She was unsure why she was acting this way. They had only just met and yet. Okiku couldn't stop herself from wanting to know more. She had heard that her and Sangorous brothers were receiving treatment to bring back all of their emotions to undo what had been done to them by their own father. She didn't know the details, but it must be hard to have to learn how to handle and regulate your emotions as an adult. Okiku chased thouse thoughts from her head as they neared the spot.

It was almost completely dark as the sun had dipped below the horizon. Okiku took a seat on the ground and patted the grass next to her. Reuji joined her after a moment. They sat in silence listening to the world around them, the wind ruslting therw the trees, the animals moving around, the fireflies had just come out to play.

“Oh!” Reuji examlies next to her. “What are these?”

“Thire fireflies you've never seen one before?”

“No never, I grew up in a floating castle, never spent time outside after drak that didn't involve training, thire was simple no time to just sit and enjoy the world around me,”

“Well now you do, now you have time,”

Reiju smiled at her, softer this time. She leaned closet, her kimono sleeve brushing against her own. They sat and watched the night sky light up with colors, celebrating their freedom.

[green-kat331]

Escape (Alucard x Reader)

Run

Run

Run away

That's all you wanted— no... That's all you could do the light of the fire that loomed behind in the foggy night was what helped you know to continue speeding through the forest, dress torn twigs and leaves adorning your head and nothing to protect your arms from the harsh treatment of autumns winds. Close to your chest was a thick book, old and stained with a few pages torn.

You had no idea how far you ran, but when you looked back one final time, you no longer saw the sea of orange lights. You were safe, finally.

Or not

Because even though you've escaped the angry mob that ran you out of your home you were now deep in a monster filled forest with no clue as to how far the exit is or how long it's been since they've last eaten a warm meal. If you weren't certain then, now is for sure, you're fucked. You continued to make your way through the forest, sliding down dirt hills, lifting your dress through puddles, and stepping over logs. Unfortunately for you, your foot landed on a stick, a very, very loud stick when it echoed through the trees you swore you could feel hundreds of eyes land on your back. Taking a silent breath and holding the book even tighter, you continued walking through the leaves and grass past bushes and trees.

Until another stick snapped behind you and that was your sign to once again run, you weren't petrified by fear it's what forced your legs to continue carrying you despite the cramping pains. Your breathing stopped and your legs carried you faster and faster dodging all trees and pushing past all branches that got in your way. Then there it was finally. Salvation was in front of you a large door was all you saw in the middle of a clearing. Rushing to your last hope you ran up the many stairs throwing the book into a nearby bush to free your arms and with all the adrenaline strength you could muster, you tug the handle of the two doors till it opened just enough for you to slide inside. Once you did so you quickly turned back, catching sight of several pairs of glowing red eyes belonging to the group of monsters that chased you. With one final pull you closed the doors. The impact of all the monsters slamming against the doors made a loud bump spread all across the shelter you found.

Opening your eyes, they darted in every direction. You've never seen the inside of a castle before, but there is no possibility that this is anything smaller than that. Once the bumps and banging finally stop, you slide your back down the door and place your face into your knees. Finally relief washed over you in waves and you released the breath held in your lungs for way too long.

You rested your eyes for a moment, then stood up and walked around the castle. Maybe there would be some food left in the abandoned building that can keep you secured inside for a while. You stood and looked down the halls, then up the stairs, then at the several paintings that hung on the wall. Strange, the Castle was left fully decorated, and there didn't even seem to be dust on any surface. Walking back to the middle you look back at the door behind you remembering the two near death escapes you made this single night, sighing you turned your head back in front but was met with a pale chest with a pink scar across it. Slowly, your eyes scanned upwards at long blond hair and a lean pale face and connected with two golden eyes looking down right at you. He opened his mouth to speak, but once you caught a glimpse of two fangs, it told you all you needed to know

Completely forgetting what you had just escaped from, you turned around and ran right back out of your protective shelter and back out into the forest only to stop again when three monsters turned to face in your direction.

Just your luck, you manage to escape a mob and forest monsters. Now you run into a vampire, and in your third escape, you ran right back into the forest monsters from earlier. The creatures sharp teeth were visible and covered in dripping saliva, their eyes, a deep blood red, and the four or five of them slowly stocked towards your petrified state when one finally launched towards you. Your eyes tightly shut awaiting certain death but it's cold grasp never came instead you felt warm blood splash across your cheek followed by a squelch, screams from the monsters almost erupted your eardrums but it was cut short. When it was silent, you opened your eyes.

A black coat covered the back of the same vampire from before and his long blond hair covered half of it, you look to the side, the bodies of the creatures layed in the brown orange and red leaves some had their head separated from the rest of them and others were impaled. The man turned towards you again.

"I wasn't going to hurt you."

Staring up at the stranger you see his hand reach out towards you but you did not take it after a few minutes he sighed and dropped it and motioned for you to follow him to the castle, this time you did as he asked. You stepped up the stairs trailing behind him, but before making your way inside, you quickly dig through the bush from before and grabbed the book. The pages that caused you so much trouble in the first place.

Once at the entrance the Vampire opened the door and you stepped inside.

–––——

You sat at the table quietly as a cup was filled with hot tea. You don't take a sip. Only sit and smell the warm steam from the cup. It relieved your shivering but not by much. The blonde vampire sits in his own seat across from you.

You haven't uttered a single word since reentering the castle, fearing that a mispoken sentence would offend him and he would kill you right there and then. For now, inside the castle with a vampire  and a warm beverage was much more favorable than out in the forest with hundreds of wild and dangerous monsters or a crazy mob that wants to burn you.

"I gave you tea so you can drink it," he states, taking a drink from his own cup. You quickly pick it up and take a sip flinching when the hot liquid makes contact with your tongue, but the drink going down your throat warms up your entire body.

"What were you doing in the forest? Everyone knows that it's home to thousands of monsters." He asks, setting down his cup you did not answer. He tries again with a different question, "Why are you away from your home so late in the night?" Once again, you do not answer, "Where is you home, are you safe?" He asked but when he was only met with silence he sighed "Alright, I understand you can rest here for tonight but tomorrow I will accompany you to the nearest town so you can be dropped off safely. There—"

"No!" You shout

He jumps slightly startled by your sudden answer "ahh so she speaks," he says

"I can't go back there. They will kill me for sure."

"And why is that?" He asks sitting back more in his seat, you pause to stand and get the book you hid on your seat but then you pause 'how will he react if he saw it, certainly he wouldn't also kill me if he knew I have a book of witchcraft but.. he's a vampire their relationship is... different' taking another breath you pull out the old thick book from your seat and place it on the table in front or the vampire.

"I have performed witchcraft— but I never hurt anyone, my friend... They were sick, and I had this book that told me how I could save them. I knew it was wrong, but they would've died if not for this book, " you say. Looking down at it, the words were scratched slightly and had faded from time, but it still read 'Medicine'.

The vampire had said nothing but suddenly he stood up, on instinct you flinched away your hand landing directly on the edge of your hot drink making it flip and the hot liquid splashed on the back of your hand. It burned, you yelped. Your wrist was grabbed by him, and he was at your side with supernatural speed.

"Calm down... I told you once before. I'm not going to hurt you."

His voice calmed you slightly. He sat you down and went to wet a rag. He kneeled in front of you and gently placed the cold rag over your burned hand.

"Where did you get it?"

Thinking back, you answered as best you could. "It was hidden somewhere. It's been a few years since I had found it, so I don't remember very well, but... it was as though it was given directly to me, I felt connected to it in a way that's why I never threw it out after learning it's contents— well that and if I had been found with it. I would be burned even though that's eventually happened anyways"

After he finished wrapping your hand in a cloth, he stood up. "Medicine. The book is about medical practice." He states, going back to pick the nook up and turning to a marked page. "How do you mean?"

"It's... a way to heal people with mixtures and different ingredients combined together." He explains

"So... it is witchcraft."

"No no It's science, You have found a book of knowledge. the people from your town they don't understand. This isn't any sort of magic it is simply the rules of our world manipulated for your benefits." He says, pointing to a page with a bottle. It's the same page you had used when curing your friend from sickness, the same friend that told your secret to the rest of the town.

He noticed your shoulders slump. The betrayal and fear was finally hitting you all at once. You wrapped your arms around yourself.

"What am I going to do..." You ask yourself hugging your torso tighter

"You could stay here"

Your head shot up in shock and looked at the vampire he was relaxed and seemed more calm than you would expect for someone offering their home.

"What? I couldn't possibly— here?! With you?!?! are you sure!?" You asked

"Of course, you can stay for as long as you need to, this castle is much too large for a single being" he states with a light chuckle then leans into the table holding two fingers up.

"I have two conditions"

You gulp is this the moment he tells you, you have to stay forever and be a blood vessel for him. Is he gonna make you do chores!?!?

"When you are well enough and find a new town to settle in, you have to leave and keep this book secret and close to you." He moves his hand towards you, palm out.

"And you have to tell me your name," he says with a smirk. "I am Alucard." You are surprised that he introduced himself first. Maybe this vampire isn't so bad after all. You reach out and hold his palm his hands were large and cold, remembering the smooth skin as you gave him your name.

"Make yourself at home"

You never thought living with a vampire would be so comforting

[rich-info]

Why Use Castle Hill Chiro: Enhancing Health and Well-Being

When it comes to maintaining optimal health, the benefits of chiropractic care cannot be overlooked. For residents of Castle Hill, seeking the expertise of a dedicated chiropractor can be life-changing. This article explores the importance of Castle Hill Chiro, highlighting the various ways in which their services can significantly improve your quality of life.

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Castle Hill Chiro offers a level of expertise that ensures you receive top-notch care tailored to your specific needs. Chiropractors at Castle Hill are trained to diagnose and treat a wide range of musculoskeletal issues, particularly those related to the spine. Their in-depth knowledge and hands-on techniques are designed to address pain, improve mobility, and enhance overall function.

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One of the standout features of Castle Hill Chiro is their holistic approach to health and wellness. Unlike conventional medicine, which often focuses on symptom management, chiropractic care aims to identify and address the root causes of your health issues. This comprehensive approach leads to more effective and long-lasting outcomes, promoting sustained health and vitality.

Non-Invasive Treatment Options

A significant advantage of seeking care at Castle Hill Chiro is the non-invasive nature of chiropractic treatments. Chiropractors use manual adjustments and other hands-on techniques to correct spinal misalignments and treat various conditions without the need for surgery or medication. This approach minimizes risks and potential side effects, providing a safer path to recovery.

Importance of Regular Chiropractic Care

Pain Relief and Management

Chronic pain can significantly impact your quality of life, hindering daily activities and overall well-being. Conditions such as back pain, neck pain, and headaches are common issues that Castle Hill Chiro can effectively address. Through targeted spinal adjustments and therapies, chiropractors can alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, and promote natural healing.

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Chiropractic care isn't just about addressing existing issues; it's also about prevention. Regular visits to Castle Hill Chiro help maintain spinal health, prevent injuries, and promote overall wellness. By keeping your spine and nervous system in optimal condition, you reduce the risk of future problems and enjoy a healthier, more active lifestyle.

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Customized Treatment Plans

Every individual is unique, and so are their health needs. Castle Hill Chiro conducts thorough assessments to understand your specific condition and develop customized treatment plans. This personalized approach ensures that you receive the most effective care tailored to your unique needs.

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From sports injuries and workplace accidents to chronic conditions like sciatica and arthritis, Castle Hill Chiro provides support for a wide range of issues. Their comprehensive knowledge and experience enable them to address various musculoskeletal conditions effectively, offering relief and promoting recovery.

Complementary to Other Treatments

Chiropractic care at Castle Hill Chiro can complement other medical treatments and therapies. Whether you're undergoing physical therapy, receiving medical treatment, or exploring alternative therapies, chiropractic care can work alongside other healthcare providers to ensure a cohesive and integrated approach to your health.

Conclusion

The importance of maintaining spinal health and overall well-being cannot be overstated. The role of Castle Hill Chiro in achieving this goal is invaluable. Their expertise, holistic approach, and non-invasive treatment options make them an essential resource for residents of Castle Hill. By seeking the care of dedicated chiropractors, you can alleviate pain, improve mobility, and enhance your overall well-being.

[keerthi-neelam137]

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Welcome to MySpecialtyMD, your premier destination for the best treatment for sprains and strains in Castle Hills, specializing in back sprains and strains treatment in The Colony. If you're experiencing discomfort, pain, or limited mobility due to back issues, our dedicated team of specialists is here to provide personalized care and guide you on the path to recovery.

Why Choose MySpecialtyMD?

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Experienced Specialists:

Our team consists of experienced medical professionals specializing in treating back conditions. They bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to ensure you receive the best treatment for sprains and strains in Castle Hills.

Comprehensive Evaluation:

We begin with a thorough assessment to understand the root cause of your back pain. This allows us to create a personalized treatment plan that addresses your specific condition and promotes long-term healing.

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MySpecialtyMD employs state-of-the-art techniques and cutting-edge technology to provide advanced treatment options for back sprains and strains. From physical therapy to minimally invasive procedures, we offer a range of solutions to suit your individual needs, serving as your trusted sprains and strains treatment center in Frisco.

Patient-Centric Approach:

Your comfort and well-being are our top priorities. We believe in fostering open communication and collaboration throughout your treatment journey, ensuring you are well-informed and actively involved in the decision-making process.

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Schedule a consultation with one of our specialists to discuss your symptoms, medical history, and any concerns you may have.

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Undergo a thorough examination and diagnostic tests to determine the underlying cause of your back pain.

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Receive a customized treatment plan designed to address your specific condition, incorporating a combination of therapies and interventions.

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[rgcseo]

n Exercise Physiologist analyse their patients’ fitness to effectively help them improve their health or maintain good health. They help patients who suffer from heart disease and other chronic conditions, like diabetes or pulmonary (lung) disease, to help them regain their health. Some Exercise Physiologists work closely with General Practitioners, who may prescribe exercise plans for their patients and refer them to exercise physiologists. The physiologists then work with patients to develop individualised treatment plans that will help the patients meet their health and fitness goals.

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Our dynamic health care team consists of experienced and professional Chiropractors, Sports Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, Podiatrists as well as allied health professionals such as Massage Therapists, Nutritionists, Personal Trainers and Exercise Physiologists at Parramatta, Castle Hill & Wetherill Park Locations.

[istumpysk]

Operation Stumpy Re-Read

ASOS: Jon VI (Chapter 48)

When he crested a rise and saw the brown rutted kingsroad before him wending its way north through hill and plain, he patted the mare's neck and said, "Now all we need do is follow the road, girl. Soon the Wall." His leg had gone as stiff as wood by then, and fever had made him so light-headed that twice he found himself riding in the wrong direction.

Carrying on with the foil treatment, a lot of this reads like Jaime Lannister and his hand.

+.+.+

Ygritte was much in his thoughts as well. He remembered the smell of her hair, the warmth of her body . . . and the look on her face as she slit the old man's throat. 

Love this. He doesn't just remember her doing it, he remembers the exact look on her face.

+.+.+

You were wrong to love her, a voice whispered. You were wrong to leave her, a different voice insisted. 

Stop.

+.+.+

Jon dismounted at the adjoining stable, half-stumbling from the mare's back as he shouted two boys awake. "I need a fresh mount, with saddle and bridle," he told them, in a tone that brooked no argument. 

[...]

He pulled himself onto the black gelding they'd given him, gritting his teeth at the pain in his leg, and rode hard for the north.

Credit to @agentrouka-blog for pointing out the amusing symbolism of Jon upgrading to a black gelding from a mare on his way back to Castle Black.

+.+.+

Mormont had moved to the King's Tower after the fire, but Jon saw no lights there either. 

Is that where Jon stays when he's made Lord Commander? I'll giggle.

+.+.+

Warmth poured out the open door like the hot breath of summer. Within, one-armed Donal Noye was working his bellows at the fire. He looked up at the noise. "Jon Snow?"

"None else." Despite fever, exhaustion, his leg, the Magnar, the old man, Ygritte, Mance, despite it all, Jon smiled. It was good to be back, good to see Noye with his big belly and pinned-up sleeve, his jaw bristling with black stubble.

He's happy.

+.+.+

"Jon . . . it grieves me to say, but Lord Commander Mormont was murdered at Craster's Keep, at the hands of his Sworn Brothers."

"Bro . . . our own men?" 

You might want to keep this in mind. Like, at all times.

+.+.+

"Does this mean Marsh is Lord Commander, then?" The Old Pomegranate was amiable, and a diligent First Steward, but he was woefully ill-suited to face a wildling host.

"For the nonce, until we can hold a choosing," said Maester Aemon. "Clydas, bring me the flask."

A choosing.

A vote! There will be a vote!

+.+.+

"Jon was using the word in its older sense, I think," Maester Aemon said, "not as a family name but as a title. It derives from the Old Tongue."

"It means lord," Jon agreed. "Styr is the Magnar of some place called Thenn, in the far north of the Frostfangs. He has a hundred of his own men, and a score of raiders who know the Gift almost as well as we do. 

Yeah? A bunch of wildlings that know the Gift as well as anyone? Sounds useful.

+.+.+

"Who is Ygritte?" Donal Noye asked pointedly.

"A woman of the freefolk." How could he explain Ygritte to them? She's warm and smart and funny and she can kiss a man or slit his throat. 

When have we ever witnessed Ygritte being warm, smart, or funny? I'm not even being a hater.

It's the flower from the glass gardens all over again. This woman does not exist.

+.+.+

"She's with Styr, but she's not . . . she's young, only a girl, in truth, wild, but she . . ." She killed an old man for building a fire. His tongue felt thick and clumsy. 

Desperately trying to rationalize it. She's much older than him.

+.+.+

The milk of the poppy was clouding his wits. 

Clouding or clearing up?

+.+.+

"I broke my vows with her. I never meant to, but . . ." It was wrong. Wrong to love her, wrong to leave her . . . "I wasn't strong enough. The Halfhand commanded me, ride with them, watch, I must not balk, I . . ." His head felt as if it were packed with wet wool.

Stop.

+.+.+

The pain was so huge he felt small and weak and helpless inside it, a child whimpering in the dark. Ygritte, he thought, when the stench of burning flesh was in his nose and his own shriek echoing in her ears. Ygritte, I had to. 

Small, weak, and helpless.

A child whimpering in the dark.

+.+.+

Maester Aemon sniffed Jon's wound again. Then he put the bloody cloth back in the basin and said, "Donal, the hot knife, if you please. I shall need you to hold him still."

I will not scream, Jon told himself when he saw the blade glowing red hot. But he broke that vow as well. Donal Noye held him down, while Clydas helped guide the maester's hand. Jon did not move, except to pound his fist against the table, again and again and again. 

[...]

For half a heartbeat the agony started to ebb. But then the iron touched him once again, and he fainted.

We love a good Jon/Jaime parallel!

Nothing helped when the time came to pare away the rotten flesh. Jaime did scream then, and pounded his table with his good fist, over and over and over again. He screamed again when Qyburn poured boiling wine over what remained of his stump. Despite all his vows and all his fears, he lost consciousness for a time. - Jaime IV, ASOS

+.+.+

When his eyelids fluttered open, he was wrapped in thick wool and floating. He could not seem to move, but that did not matter. For a time he dreamed that Ygritte was with him, tending him with gentle hands. Finally he closed his eyes and slept.

Once again, this woman is not real.

+.+.+

"Sam?"

Grenn looked away. "He killed one of the Others, Jon. I saw it. He stabbed him with that dragonglass knife you made him, and we started calling him Sam the Slayer. He hated that."

Sam the Slayer. Jon could hardly imagine a less likely warrior than Sam Tarly. "What happened to him?"

I'm starting to think unlikely warrior, Sam the Slayer, isn't finished.

+.+.+

You were his brother, he almost said. How could you leave him amongst wildlings and murderers?

Are you still talking about Sam, Jon?

+.+.+

And Winterfell . . . Jon, be strong . . . Winterfell is no more . . ."

"No more?" Jon stared at Aemon's white eyes and wrinkled face. "My brothers are at Winterfell. Bran and Rickon . . ."

The maester touched his brow. "I am so very sorry, Jon. Your brothers died at the command of Theon Greyjoy, after he took Winterfell in his father's name. When your father's bannermen threatened to retake it, he put the castle to the torch."

"Your brothers were avenged," Grenn said. "Bolton's son killed all the ironmen, and it's said he's flaying Theon Greyjoy inch by inch for what he did."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the first hint that Theon Greyjoy is still alive.

Darn.

+.+.+

"At Queenscrown I saw a direwolf, a grey direwolf . . . grey . . . it knew me." If Bran was dead, could some part of him live on in his wolf, as Orell lived within his eagle?

Pretty sure Bran successfully tested this theory when he flew from what was once the largest tower at Winterfell, and slammed into the ground.

Fine, you know what, we'll try another experiment.

+.+.+

When the dreams took him, he found himself back home once more, splashing in the hot pools beneath a huge white weirwood that had his father's face. Ygritte was with him, laughing at him, shedding her skins till she was naked as her name day, trying to kiss him, but he couldn't, not with his father watching.

Are you sure that's why you're refusing?

+.+.+

He was the blood of Winterfell, a man of the Night's Watch. I will not father a bastard, he told her. I will not. I will not. 

+.+.+

"You know nothing, Jon Snow," she whispered, her skin dissolving in the hot water, the flesh beneath sloughing off her bones until only skull and skeleton remained, and the pool bubbled thick and red.

Sweet dreams, Jon.

Final thoughts:

@agentrouka-blog mentioned this will be the last time Jon claims to have loved Ygritte. If that's accurate, that came to an end rather quickly. :)

Ygritte Death Countdown

9 down, 1 to go. Feed me.

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[teamivankaye]

Fan Fiction: The Missing Scenes in Vikings 4x18 ‘Revenge’ Chapter 1: The Last Battle (Note: This fan fiction is based on a thorough study of the character and extensive discussions with King Aelle’s actor Ivan Kaye. It aims at filling the gap left in Vikings episode 4x18 ‘Revenge’ , much to King Aelle’s disadvantage, between the start of his last battle and the dragging. Although the scene at the pit does not allow to do Ivan’s own vision full justice, as much of it as possible has been integrated. Character and actor both deserved a better treatment than breaking King Aelle without showing how that could happen and giving it the time it would have needed to get him there by torture. I hope this text and the upcoming chapters will partly make up for this huge flaw.)

Like the waves of the ocean, the Northmen came rolling down the hill towards King Aelle‘s much smaller troops while he stared at them as if he had been paralyzed. This was not a revenge expedition – this was an invasion force! Neither man nor God would be able to save him, his people, or his family now from this gigantic flood of thousands of savage heathens that was about to engulf him with his men and to sweep them away from the face of the earth.

If God‘s omnipotence was a lie, then would there be a Paradise in the hereafter? He looked right into the gaping abyss of a blind, deaf, black eternal void.

„O Lord“, he thought with a glimmer of hope in the midst of deep desperation, „if this is part of a higher plan and our sacrifice is needed for our eventual victory, then so be it!“

Finally, when the first warriors came into the reach of his archers, a shiver went through King Aelle‘s body and broke the spell. Grasping the reins more tightly with his left hand, his right reached for his sword. Gliding swiftly out of the sheath as if it had a life of its own, the weapon seemed to merge with his hand, becoming an extension of his arm. The familiar weight infused the king‘s body with new strength and gave him confidence.

They would not win this battle, but they could still set an example for the rest of their kind to win the war, inspired and enraged by Northumbria‘s fate. And he would buy his men in the rear time who had orders to hurry back to the castle and save his family and as many of the others as possible in the event of a defeat.

Forcefully, King Aelle thrust the blade towards the sky and swung it above his head in a circle.

„For Northumbria!“

His voice reached far into the back rows as his battle cry echoed back through hundreds of throats like thunder, towards the overwhelming numbers of the Northmen. The archers stepped forward, thinning out the first rows of the dashing attackers, but the masses behind them just ran over them. When they almost reached the base of the hill, King Aelle straightened up in his stirrups, sword raised towards the sky once more, signaling the attack to his cavalry. A moment later, he charged down the hill on his warhorse, leading his men into his last battle.

His blood rushed through his veins, buzzing in his ears, and a surge of energy enlivened his body in a way he had not experienced it for a long time as he looked for their fiercest warrior. It was clear how this battle would end and the best thing he could hope for was to die honourably, fighting for his kingdom. Swiftly mowing his way through their lines towards the warrior he had determined to be his best chance for a glorious end, King Aelle was quickly cut off from the rest of his army and surrounded by the enemy. He lashed out with his sword fiercely but the mobile Northmen ducked down, evading his forceful blows and whenever he brought a man down, three others emerged to attack him.

He was still at a good distance from the man he had selected to be his last combatant when his shield-bearer went down beside him, exposing the king‘s left side to the assaults of the enemies. For the moment, the wide reach of King Aelle‘s arms and his dangerous blows kept the Northmen at a distance but the battle frenzy was not strong enough to override his advanced age for long. While the king started to feel the weight of his sword as his arm slowly grew tired, the sound of his name reached his ear if with a strange accent. Panting from exertion, he turned his horse around in order to gain more space when the stallion suddenly reared up, just to break down on his hindquarters. One of the heathens must have managed to wound him but the king had no time for further thoughts as he lost his balance and crashed backwards down to the ground.

For a moment, the brunt and pain of the impact left him breathless and numb but his instincts kicked in fast enough that he managed to roll sideways, getting out of the way of his falling horse. He lost his helmet in the movement as the strap had broken. Hastily, King Aelle tried to get back in control of his limbs, groping for his sword half-blinded by black and white dots blurring his vision. He had just struggled to his knees when he heard a gruff voice in the hoarse accent of the Northmen roar his name again, almost instantly followed by something hard hitting his forehead on hairline level. His world went dark.

[itstheendofthegoddamnworld]

Drow Sorcerer Boyfriend (Ardul)

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Male Monster x Male reader

Maledictions

You never believed in bad luck or evil doings from curses, but you did believe that maybe your lack of belief would come back to bite you for carelessness. A simple blackwitch that plagued like fungus in the woods lurked, and it had been your job to be rid of her for all the town’s sake. Trouble was that you didn’t know what you were walking into.

You remember how it stung when the perpetrating attack was placed on your skin, a burning sensation that caught you just on your forearm, an emerging ring and symbol that looked embedded not too far into the skin appeared fully.

It started out how a rash would – nothing too noticeable – but by the time you were riding back, the pain had spread from through your arm and taken hold inside your chest, almost burning every time you breathed.

You had been turned away at every door, all for a flimsy thing that held such a powerful effect, inflicting your body quicker than you realised.

You had been situated in a hunched position by the time you reached the town you had been staying in for a few nights for coin and profit, covering the mark as best as you could, even though you knew how you looked was not convincing.

People of the town of Duskgarde grew weary as you wandered through, avoiding you like you bore the plague, averting their horror-struck eyes as you stumbled back to the front door of the inn, where the door was heavily smacked in your face.

“Sorry, lad, you can’t come in looking like that. Best be off to find someone to fix ya.” The poor owner of the inn was speaking through the door, where the music and talks were hushed as they heard the groan of frustration come out from your lips, the smell of muck was heavy on you and all you wanted was a bath.

“Where can I get help from then?”

“There’s countless talisman who know of healing, they will be of help for ya. Come back when you’re fixed.” He shrugged, his voice growing weaker as he moved away from the door.

You grumbled to yourself as you slunk to put your horse in for rest at the stables, before slugging your way through to the several shops surrounding.

Your muddied and dishevelled hulking figure in the doorways of the few shops you visited came to many with a surprise, all who saw to you and knew of where you went unfortunately with how quick words spread through the small town. All and none who treated you, speaking of how the mark had already made its dent in you, with no luck of keeping you alive.

“There is one, who’s treatments are for curses like these are… predictable. I don’t believe he receives customers unless the need for service is needed immediately.” One of them suggested through the gap of the door, her weary eyes darting back and forth to you and through the cobbled streets.

“See to him on the top of the hill there – blue door. He will of better use.”

You grumbled all the way up the small tree that seemed isolated compared to the other shops, its blue-glazed windows were opaque so you couldn’t see on the inside. Some chimes hung lowly above the door, clanging and harmonising endlessly in the wind as you passed beneath it. It seemed reasonably small on the outside, until, you knocked on the door and entered. 

You don’t know whether the curse was coming to full effect already, but you thought your eyes were playing tricks on how much bigger the inside was; the size of a castle’s library stored with thousands of books.

There was a loud outcry that came from above your head, a small black beast flapped its wings at your visit as it fiercely stared down at you with its golden eyes, floating to a lower spot on its branch as it hissed somewhat like a cat to you in boldness.

“Glaumur? Is there a visitor?” There was a soft voice resounding from behind one of the bookshelves: a willowy shadowy figure that stood in the shadows before emerging with his head deep in a book. When he looked up, his eyes landed on you with almost keenness.

“Welcome, traveller. What can I help you with today?” It was an only assume that the person in front of you was a Drow, thanks to their purple-blue skin, but you were taken aback by how comely this person looked. You liked the sound of his accent, silvery and smooth, it was a nice difference to the general ones you had heard many times during your travels.

His hair was stark white and combed neatly back into a long a ponytail that reached past his back, his elf ears and elf traits stood out with his skin looking to be radiating under candlelight. He stood regally, dressed in a high collared midnight blue gown with sweeping sleeves, the trail glinting like starlight, catching your eye. His eyes seemed to be the prettiest thing of him all: like ice mixed with lavender. 

He was smaller than you and lithe in comparison, his head reaching just to your shoulders, but he was more graceful on his feet to you in hard leather boots.

When he looked to smile welcomingly to you, his soft features twisted into a subtle grimace, as if he caught a whiff of an awful stench. His white eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you worryingly. “You’ve… got something on you, something powerful. I can sense its magic has rooted itself in your body, damaging your soul. What is it?”

“This is why I came to get help from someone like yourself for. But I have been turned away at every door.” You pulled up your sleeve, grimacing yourself when you saw how badly it had festered. Not even a few hours later and the symbol seemed to protrude through the skin, veins blackened and reaching up and through your arm, thick and ashy in appearance.

The Drow snapped his book shut as he walked over to you by the door, tenderly reaching for your hand in his more delicate and dainty ones. You noticed how soft his fingertips were compared to your calloused ones, showing that he hadn’t worked a day in the field his entire life. His face concentrated on the symbol, muttering softly to himself.

“This is a powerful hex, I have only seen it in works so few times.” He marvelled, his voice not laced with concern like the others you had visited. He poked at your skin around the symbol for inspection, earning a wince from you. “My friend, this is a rather bad one.”

“Yeah, you don’t say. That damn witch was not so kind on me.” You retracted your arm from him, tensing your jaw uncomfortably. When you met his surprised gaze, you felt your body fall rigid, the sweat building on your forehead. “Oh, the blackwitch? Oh no, that one is merciless – the lands she wanders are haunted. You only go in there if you’re protected from her spells.”

Tell that to the townsmen, they seemed eager to be rid of her and me. You frowned. “How long do I have if not treated?”

“Most of the damage has been done, but if untreated, you could be living your final moments within the next few hours – before nightfall.” His voice was steady and rather soothing for you to hear in these nerve-wracking moments.

That’s not even in a few hours. Blasted winter for its early sunsets. “Am I going to die today?” Your voice was unsettlingly calm.

The Drow met your gaze and gave what you could assume was a reassuring half-smile. “I can offer something for the burning when it worsens, but it may take some before that symbol will fade.”

“Do what you must, I just wish to live.” You muttered, before abruptly doubling over in pain that struck in the side of your chest. The Drow in front of you peeled back your jacket and shirt, revealing the paleness of your skin underneath, almost a pale green in contrast to the blackening veins on show.

“We must hurry, my friend. We must work at once before it reaches your heart or head.” You were led through into the back past the tall bookshelves, and with a flick of the wrist, swept off the books and scrolls from the table, gesturing for you to lie on it.

“What happens if it reaches one of the two?”

He gave a grave look, one of pain that reached his light eyes. “I’m afraid neither one of us will want to know the answer to that.”

You grimaced as the pain worsened and the Drow moved soundlessly around you. He came with a large book in hand, and your tired eyes just about read that it said ‘The Book of Maledictions’. “Wait—won’t you need herbs?”

“This type of curse needs more than just herbs, I’m afraid. They would simply not work to help. But don’t worry, you’re in the right hands.” He gave a reassuring smile, a nervous one to be in fact, not for the situation – you felt confident in his hands – more the fact that he seemed to be somewhat of an awkward person.

He moved around you, his eyes flitting on the page as he finally peeled back your shirt to reveal your bare chest, the light hair didn’t seem hairy at first but in the right light, it would be obvious. You watched through strained eyes as he placed a hand upon the festering mark, his touches light and delicate.

“What—I don’t think-!” You were pulled back in surprise when you caught sight of the tattoo light up upon his skin, the light blue mark was in the shape of a lightning bolt with its branches twisting all the way up his forearm. The bright blue light rolled up higher his body through his clothing until his pale blue-lavender eyes turned the same cloudy colour.

You watched in breathless awe as the light passed through his hand and through into you: the bright colour dimmed in colour and brightness like a soaring star, before dimming and disappearing within the skin. When you looked down to your shoulder, you could see the hazy bluish light underneath your skin, before vanishing completely.

“Whoa.” Your words came out faintly, marvelling at both him and his work. You didn’t know exactly what to say, but you could slowly feel the piercing burning pain begin to fade slightly within you.

“There, that should lessen the pain,” he announced coolly, his eyes returning to their normal hue, “I cannot guarantee it will be the most comfortable, but it shall take a while before you are back to normal. But, I promise you one thing, you will live, I have done my best.”

“I- Thank you, how much shall I pay you?” You slowly sat up to cover yourself from the chill you felt. He dismissed you quickly before you could even grab for your coin bag. “Emergencies like yours are free of charge. I hope it helps you.”

Your lips felt dry as you leant into the table with your arms supporting you. You found yourself speaking once more before you realised what you were saying. “Is there a name I can call you by? You were the one who has helped me, unlike any other talisman.”

He paused momentarily, as if caught off guard. “Oh? I’m afraid I’m no talisman, my friend. Just a simple mage.” He smiled to you as he wiped his hands clean smoothly, and appearing from his hands was a cup full of water which he handed to you. “But you may call me Ardul. Ardul K'yorl.”

You told him yours whilst you drank your drink rapidly and messily getting it down you, dribbling down the stubble of your chin. The burning sensation that was set deep within your lungs were beginning to fade more and more as you drank the clear liquid down until that ache was no longer a terrible thing to exhale out. You weren’t wheezing through every breath now, nor through struggling to get your words out – a true prodigy was standing in front of you.

Ardul looked over you one final time as you finished the cup hastily. “You already look well, my friend.” There was a shy smile on his face when his light eyes averted from meeting yours. “May I ask how you knew what to do? The other mages didn’t seem to know what to do.”

Ardul gave a nervous smile, running his fingers through his already smooth glowing hair. “I… I’ve had quite a few experiences with the hex curses, but a good portion of them were delivering than receiving.”

Oh, he seemed far more powerful than he seemed. You noted. He seemed to be hiding far more than he could do then he showed on the outside.  

“I just assumed people enjoyed what they were good at.”

“Not all of us,” he admitted hurriedly, “I have seen many horrors, but what I used to do… I can say was not my best work, nor was I being a good person.”

You could understand his words in regarding what he did in his past may have been a bad thing, but the person in front of you was far from it. “You can’t let the past affect you know, it has helped improve you as someone new.”

“You’re right.” He chuffed, apprehensive with your words but he seemed grateful by the opinion. “I only ask that you avoid getting involved with powerful beings that can kill you.”

You chuckled sheepishly, running a hand through the back of your hair to calm your nerves. He was handsome, you had to admit, and his intense gaze was doing a lot to you. “I will try my best, but I can’t guarantee that I will be able to.”

Ardul seemed relieved to hear that, no matter if you were joking or not. He seemed cautious about what to say next. “Are… will you be staying in Duskgarde for long?”

“I will be for a while, yes. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, nothing much, my friend.” His smile broadened, smoothly as possible across his purple-blue skin. “I hope to see you around.”

His words and your promises to the Drow was assured as you stuck around for a few more days in the town, avoiding the stares and odd looks from the townsmen and whispers that came from them. If you had to go off and sort out a situation with a monster that lurked, you were never too shy to go visit Ardul to collect enough elixirs and protection charms to help you.

You had a spring in your step as you came through back into his lonely shop, the bell chiming as Glaumur stared down at you reluctantly, before resuming to shutting her eyes. Ardul looked up from his spot in his seat, uncertain yet curious as to what you were doing here. He was used to your visits, but not this late at night.

“My friend, is something the matter?”

“Ardul, do you go out?” You questioned cheerfully, bringing the Drow to be taken aback by your sudden question. “Ah, well, sometimes I do--- but I think it’s been a long time since I have been. I do prefer the comforts of my office and books surrounding me, I’m afraid. Why do you ask?”

You smiled from ear to ear broadly, slapping his back to seem more friendly, to seem less off-putting when you looked at his nervous expression. “How about we go out? You know, for a drink, a meal too? We can go to the inn I’m currently staying at.”

If you could see correctly and your eyes weren’t deceiving you, you swore you could see a dusty hue that coated Ardul’s cheeks with a lighting coating of a blush. “W-Well, ah, that is very kind of you – I don’t think I have ever been asked for such an idea like yours, but I cannot say that I would say no to that proposition.”

Your smile broadened at the sight of him so sheepish in front of you, thankful that he said yes. “I’m glad, I hope you’ll like it—I’ll be honest, I did try to think of a place that was ideal for you.”

“That—that was very generous of you.” He drawled with a softness to his voice, softly saying your name.

He dressed more casual for the occasion, although it was still very sparkly and formal compared to the other customers of the inn: having a Drow dressed in darks made him look as if he had a meeting with a high lord within the hour after drinking.

His delicate fingers were dancing around the rim of the cup as he observed quietly the other patronages surrounding and going about their evenings, the laughter and sound of drinks clinking made his long ears perk up with keen interest.

“So… is this okay?”

He looked up abruptly as if caught in the act. “Oh! Forgive me, dear,” Your own cheeks reddened at the sudden pet name he had given you, one that made you feel fuzzy on the inside, “yes, it has been a lovely evening, especially with you.”

“I’m glad, I wasn’t sure if you were going to enjoy this date- occasion!” You spluttered over your words, tripping over them to hurry over the one thing you wanted this night to be with Ardul. You thought you had gotten away with what you were about to say, but watched in horror when the Drow’s eyebrows rose in realisation. “Oh, well.”

“Ah, crap. Forgive me, I’m sorry—I didn’t think-!” You stuttered, standing from the bench and stumbling slightly before leaving for outside, trying to ignore the thrumming of your head and heart. It hurt to feel so embarrassed, and now you had possibly ruined your friendship with Ardul.

The chill met your face and you never lurched on your feet, the rush of nausea made you almost wobble but you stood to hold your ground. This was too much, you didn’t know whether you could face him again-

“Wait! Please!” You turned just to see Ardul step outside with you, coming to hold at your calloused fingers within his dainty ones. Everything seemed halted for the first time and you were almost too timid to even look him in the eye. “This was a mistake, but I’ll understand if you took my words the wrong way, I also understand if you don’t want to speak with me ever again-”

“But I do want to see you again.” He confirmed, taking a step closer to you. From up close and standing over him, he nervously looked between your eyes and lips, licking his own involuntarily. “I want to see you more often in this melancholic town, it helps to make things more exciting.”

“Then I shall stay for as long as you wish to have me for.” You leant close until your foreheads bumped against one another softly, watching up close how his white eyelashes flutterer shut blissfully. “Good, that’s wonderful to hear, dear.” Before leaning up to press his lips so warmly against yours, the air turning from bitter to tenderly sweet.

[crystalgirl259]

The Flame and the Dragon Ch19

Chapter 19: The Gift

The cold wind bit mercilessly at Kai's exposed neck and cheeks. It had been snowing heavily for almost a week and snow blanketed the landscape once the blizzard ceased. Thick icicles hung from the balconies and roofs of the castle, and snow caked the roofs and towers. But the frosted surface, open fields of white hills, and frosted trees created the perfect environment for the playful staff. White, fluffy snow crunched loudly beneath his fur-lined paddock boots.

Harumi gave Kai a new pair of thick leather riding breeches and a long-sleeved, form-fitting, dark crimson turtleneck.

Over the outfit, he wore a long, red fur coat that covered most of his skinny frame. Soft fur tickled his skin and snuggly hugged the warmth to his body while the leather exterior managed to block any wind that dared try and penetrate it. Kai spun around a couple of times admiring the new coat from all angles and wondering what Cole would think if he saw him in it. Flame trotted beside him, overjoyed to see his master again. Nelson was running around the castle grounds with them, excited to see and touch a real-life horse for the first time in over a century.

The stallion was happy to let the boy pet him and ride on his back.

He always loved attention, just like his owner. The horse suddenly snorted into Kai's spikey hair and rubbed against his arms. He sniffed Kai's jacket and started digging through it Kai laughed at the treatment and pulled a juicy red apple from his pocket. He grinned as Flame's dark eyes lit up and he carefully snatched the apple from his master's hand and devoured the tasty treat. When he was finished he licked Kai's cheek, making the teen laugh loudly.

None of them noticed Cole admiring them from the balcony, watching the stallion triumphantly gallop across the snow-covered plains.

A small smile was on Cole's face when he watched Flame play with Kai and Nelson. His main focus was on his captive, though once in his thoughts the word no longer seemed appropriate. He felt a small jump in his chest when Kai smiled and laugh when Nelson tried racing Flame. Cole realized that was the first time he'd ever truly seen Kai smile or laugh. The teenager smiled brilliantly and laughed alongside Nelson as he had never before experienced something so enjoyable in his life.

It was a stark contrast to the feisty character he'd become accustomed to.

Just the sight of Kai's warm smile he'd kept hidden from him melted Cole's frozen heart. His breath hitched being suddenly exposed to the most innocent and blissful side of the otherwise resolute and world-hardened young man. For a brief moment, Cole would've given anything to have Kai smile at him like that. Subconsciously, his hand touched his bandaged torso beneath his opened coat. He hadn't bothered wearing a shirt under it, in case Kai insisted he changes the bandages again.

The wound had fully healed by now.

It had taken much longer than he thought it would have, and had no doubt it could've been a lot worse, had it not been for the teen's persistence. Cole had never felt this way before. His claws subconsciously moved to his chest as if feeling his heartbeat for the first time as it thundered in his chest. He sighed in frustration and started back towards his room, and down the stairs. Cole collapsed into his favorite chair at the head of the dining room table and sank to the seat.

His hands started massaging his temples in a desperate act to help him think but it did little to help.

His attention turned to the wide window, the curtains were drawn open. He could only faintly see the dots of his captive and his servants, but that perfect smile Kai had worn so effortlessly burned vividly in his mind. He sighed and collapsed his upper body against the table. A small stab of pain filled his chest at the realization that he was probably the only one who hadn't had the honor of seeing Kai smile like that. Or maybe he had and didn't realize it.

He had felt this foreign emotion for reasons he assumed was simply because he hadn't had time to focus on them.

When he saw Kai today, playing in the snow with Nelson he'd normally just think it was childish or idiotic when the only thing they'll do is get cold and wet, but he'd never felt this way before. Like he'd do anything to him smile like that all the time. With that thought, Cole rose to his feet, eyes bright with determination. He wanted to do something for him and not as a thank you or a repayment, just for the hell of it. He'd heard through the grapevine that Kai loved books, though the statement didn't surprise him.

It seemed natural that Kai would possess an artistic soul.

An idea formed in Cole's mind, forming a grin. With that, he turned around and burst from the room, radiating an aura that could rival the people playing outside in the snow...

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

After putting Flame back in the stables and Nelson had said goodbye because he had some chores to do, Kai had intended to go and find someplace to get warmed up again and rid the cold from his bones. That is until Cole suddenly pulled him aside and said that he had something to show the teen. Kai was confused by that, but his curiosity won and he followed close behind the Dragon Lord as they walked to his surprise. Neither of them said anything.

It was like when Kai first arrived at the castle, but there was now hardly any tension between them.

Kai recognized the way to the ballroom, only instead of entering, Cole continued walking, so Kai followed him. The brunette looked around at the area of the castle he had yet to explore. Large curtains pooled like waterfalls of gold and silver around the enormous windows. The pale moonlight poured through them illuminating the different posed dragon statues standing in between each window. The hallway ended in front of two curved-shaped ivory doors outlined in gold, beneath a glittering emerald tapestry embroidered with a huge silver tree.

Cole suddenly came to a stop and Kai barely managed to stop walking straight into the hybrid's back.

He opened his mouth to speak, but again was cut off, this time by a sudden blackness wrapping around his eyes.

"Cole, what are you doing?" He asked as his hands instinctively moved to remove the blindfold, but Cole stopped him.

"It's a surprise, and I can't have you spoiling it by peeking." He said, loosely tying the cloth securely around Kai's eyes. He kept his paw on Kai's hands. Kai sighed and let Cole guide him.

"Can't you trust me by now? What if I promise not to open my eyes?"

"I do trust you, but I also know your curiosity has a nasty little habit of always getting the better of you." He admitted. The scream of wooden doors opening filled Kai's ears. Temporarily blinded, he let Cole guide him inside the mysterious room. They stopped in the middle of the room, and Cole let go of his hands.

"Can I take this thing off now?" Kai said more impatiently than he meant to sound, but there was anxiousness that didn't go unnoticed by Cole.

"Not yet." He whispered. A swoop sound and a gust of wind was his only warning, followed by the screech of reeling curtain holders. The light brightened the darkness covering his eyes and Kai wondered if that was moonlight.

"Now?" He asked with the anticipation of a child waiting for a birthday present. A loud thump was his answer.

"Now," Cole said as he carefully cut the blindfold and moved so he could see Kai's reaction. Kai kept his eyes closed for a second, momentarily fearing what he was going to see but his enthusiasm won and they slowly opened, then bulged with joy. A gasp of delight escaped his mouth and his cheeks flushed with happiness. He spun around taking in the wonder around him and resisted the urge to pinch himself in case he was dreaming all of this.

"This is incredible!" Kai breathed, his amber eyes alive and bright with childish wonder as they took in his special surprise. He was in the largest, most magnificent library he had ever seen. The room was enormous and rectangular with a roof that curved to a slope. Books lined all four of the walls so tall ladders were placed on them in intervals. The shelves were separated only by two enormous stained glass windows stretching all the way to the ceiling.

The moonlight illuminating them in a way the sunlight never could.

In the corner, an elegant golden staircase with spiral patterns carved into the wooden banisters spiraled to a second floor, an entire open circle overlooking the first floor. The bookcases on the second level, looped together like a giant circle stopping just at the base of a huge mural painted in rich detail upon the ceiling. A midnight blue dotted with silver stars with bigger ones forming constellations, whose true forms were painted in brilliant gold lines.

On the ground floor, globes were dotted around as well as several couches and chairs.

Two or three large desks made from giant smoothed slabs of stone made a suitable workstation on either side of the room. Two bookcases stretched from the walls stood on either side of an enormous white marble fireplace trimmed with gold and interline with black onyx. Just above it behind the banister of the second floor rested another huge stain glass window. Only this one was arched and was decorated with the symbol for the Tree of Knowledge.

But what stunned Kai the most were the books.

They were different from the ones he was used to. Each book was an antique, bound in velvet, leather, or hardcovers with thick hinges. Some had locks while others had jewels embedded in the cover. Older volumes had simple plain leather or velvet coverings with only the title on the side. Others were painted a vibrant blue, red or green. Age had dulled the colors, but none of them lost their wisdom. Upon closer inspection, he noticed each elegantly carved bookcase had a sliding glass cover protecting the books from air and moisture.

Even the second floor has multiple glass doors despite the circular shape, showing him these books had not just been well-used but loved and cared for.

Kai practically jumped with excitement, before bolting around and pouncing on Cole in a hug so sudden he almost fell over.

"I take it you like it?" He laughed.

"I love it! I've never seen so many books in my life, or such an amazing place, I mean look at this!" The teen beamed as he raced around like a kid in a candy store, admiring each shelf, each globe, each desk, the fireplace, then bolting up the spiral staircase and exploring the entire top section. He moved so fast Cole got dizzy following him.

"Thank you!" Kai smiled when he came back downstairs, and hugged him tightly. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"I'm glad you enjoy it." Cole's smile brightened. Kai's face was almost an exact mirror of the one he'd seen earlier. "Because it's yours." He added and Kai gasped in shock. He examined the hybrid's face for any hint of lies, but when he saw none, the brunette squealed in delight as he wrapped Cole in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank you so much!"...

[pinkykitten]

Forest pt. 1

 Castlevania 

Alucard Tepes x female! reader

Warning: cursing, violence, gore, mentions of blood

Specifics: chapter fic, romance, angst, fluff, not requested, action, adventure, race neutral reader, human reader

People: alucard tepes, monster thingy from the show

Words: 3,338

Summary: Since Alucard lives in the forest now in Dracula’s castle he meets the reader in the forest and in that moment he starts to have a liking towards her and is very bashful, blushy and romantic towards her and she is a goofball and is very silly and lighthearted. From the moment that they met all Alucard wants to do is protect the reader no matter what is takes. 

Authors Note: god alucard is so sexy and so beautiful like god dang! lol sorry im a bit of a horny nerd. anywho its rlly late where im at andddddd i cant go to sleep cuz i slept the whole day so ayyyee. anywho i was inspired idk where but i was inspired to write this bc i think alucard deserves love and someone who adores him like i do. i loved writing this tho and rlly want to write for castlevania more but this is going to be chapters idk how many yet lets just see where the wind takes us i hate planning anyways. IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS THO I AINT EVEN MAD ABOUT IT!!!!! LIKE YASSSSSSSSSS

“Alright so its been almost a month and I haven’t died. That must mean I’m doing something right.” You used a piece of wood you made into a cane to help you get up the steep hills. You were voyaging alone in the forest. You had a family that were settled more outside the town that you lived near. You were a large family and your siblings came down with a sickness. You were determined to find a cure and determined to find medicine for them. As scary as it may have seemed you needed to put on a brave face for the dangers that lay out ahead. You knew those monsters walked around and as much as that terrified you, your siblings came first. At a young age, adventure excited you and you always wanted to prove to yourself and family that you were more than capable of doing things alone. 

You saw a river down below. The water rushing past rocks made you relaxed and with a glint in your eyes you smiled. “Aha!” You looked left and right, seeing if anyone was present. “Alone with just the woods and me. I knew mother was wrong. I can very much so take care of myself.” You threw your satchel on the floor alongside with your clothes. “I smell like a pig.” You chuckled at your joke. The cool, clear water was down below as you ran to it, looking forward to the coldness and the feeling of being clean. You jumped in not knowing someone was near. 

You dunked your face laughing. “And there’s fish!” You swam behind a light blue fish. Being at awe when you saw the way the fins shone from the sun. You picked it up skillfully and carefully you set it free. Your body delicately floated. “This is the life.” Birds chirped, the wind blew like a whisper against your cheek. 

But suddenly, the rustle of the trees alarmed you. You heard the snapping of a twig. Your head snapped to the noise. Fear bubbled inside you as you thought of all the possibilities. What if it was a bear? What if it were those monsters? Your heart sped fast as you backed out of the river. Your breathing was faster. You needed to get out of here. As you got out your back hit against fur. You quickly turned around as saw a huge demon, monster, you didn’t even know what but you knew it was from Dracula’s army. Its teeth were sharp and its eyes were bright and red. It was your worst nightmare. You erupted a scream as you sprinted around it, climbing the hill to where your satchel laid. 

“Oh my God! Oh my God! I’m gonna die!” You didn’t care about your nudeness, all that mattered to you was surviving. You tried to go as fast as possible but the creature landed in front of you, stopping you from escaping. It cornered you against a huge boulder and tree. With everything you had you lifted your cane high in the air and hit the monster. It didn’t even flinch. 

“What?” Your eyes widened in horror. The creature picked you up as if you weighed nothing and threw you against a tree. You cried out in pain as your back burned and ached to an extreme level. You then noticed that a tree branch stabbed right through your shoulder. The blood dripped down your arm onto your naked skin. You felt queasy and weak. Thoughts and last words echoed through your mind. The monster was about to devour you but a flash of blonde hair came into your vision and you saw, him.

This young man was nothing you’ve ever seen before. He was stronger than the average person, throwing the monster back and forth. He punched it high in the air and then threw it against the boulder. He was incredible. Full of power. Your eyes were starting to close and your vision grew blurry as the last thing you saw were the fangs that the man displayed. 

“Mother I had this terrible dream!” Your whole body shot up. That was a terrible decision as you winced in pain. “It was not a dream.” You breathed hard as you took in your surroundings. The fire was lit making the room comfortable as you were once shivering from being wet. It looked as if you were in the kitchen of somebody's house. “Hello?” Your throat was dry. You were in a stranger’s house. You were in a stranger’s house! “Oh dear.”  You were put high onto a table. You jumped off but were still too weak. You landed hard on your knees but caught yourself with your arms. Your shoulder pounding in pain. You became dizzy. You heard footsteps nearing. “Who are you?” You tried to stand up again but slipped into the arms of a man. 

“Hold on. You are still not well.” His voice came out almost like a whisper. He picked you up and sat you back on the table. “Also, I’m the man who saved your life.”

“That was you? That was, um, pretty amazing.” You curled into yourself. You were nervous around this man. He intimidated you and made you feel shy. He was very handsome and charming. “You kicked that things as* real good.”

The man chuckled, “thank you.”

You quickly looked at your nightgown. It was too big for you as the sleeves ate your arms and the collar was off the shoulders. Your eyes shot open. You were bashful. “Did you, um, see anything?”

He looked away, “I kinda had to. Sorry. You were naked when I saved you.”

“Great. That’s great,” you inhaled clapping your hands. Suddenly you sensed a throbbing pain on your shoulder and you looked to see a blood stain on the nightgown. “Um excuse me sir. Is that supposed to happen?”

The man looked worried as he laid you back down and pulled the nightgown down enough to see your shoulder. “It does not look good. It seems with that jump you reopened the stitches.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. God, this really hurts.”

He got to work on doing your stitches again as he got his items. “Bite down on this.” He opened his mouth to show the action and you saw his teeth. 

“Agh please don’t eat me! You’re a vampire aren’t you?” You flinched away. 

The man rolled his eyes as he shoved the cloth in your mouth but before he got started on you he said, “You are right. I am a vampire.”

You spat the cloth out, “I knew it. I also would like to know your name as this may be my last moment and I would like to remember who will either save me or take my life. My name is y/n l/n.”

“The names Alucard Tepes and this is going to sting a little.” With that Alucard poured some alcohol on your wounds. (im sorry i dont know how helping ppl w medical stuff works :( 

You shifted and tried pouncing up, fighting the urge to let out a blood curdling scream. But Alucard pushed you down with his hands, shushing you gently. “I know, this hurts.” You could almost sense some love and actual concern in his voice. His brows knitted, “I promise, you are almost finished.” 

You looked deep into Alucard’s eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen. This man or vampire looked unreal. He looked made up, something from stories you read as a child, like a prince. You felt something go off within you. Not knowing if it was lust or something else but a fire erupted inside your soul as Alucard’s face inched closer to yours to get to work on your shoulder. His smell was intoxicating. Almost like a musk but yet something floral, fresh, mixed in. Your heart thumped faster at the contact. 

His plump lips quivered as they looked at your state. No way did he want this innocent soul as beautiful as you looked dying on his table. He already had to deal with a lot recently. He didn’t know why or understand but he had this inclination, this feeling, that he needed to keep you alive. He just had to. 

Unable to keep the scream at bay no more you let it out. Your veins protruding from your neck as you became dizzy and once again passed out.

Your eyes opened. Your body was aching. It felt like it went through war. You inhaled as you looked around again, but this time you were hoping things were not a dream as then Alucard would be fake. Remembering his name your head whipped to the side to see Alucard holding a wash cloth stained with blood. He was sound asleep. His head resting against his arm against the table. All the medical stuff was out and about as if he were still working on you. His back was arched at a odd position. 

“He must of fallen asleep while working on me,” you whispered to yourself. His hair sprayed out on his shoulders and table. Without a second thought you touched his hair lightly and you were shocked. It felt like silk upon your fingers! His golden eye lashes kissed his cheek as he snoozed so peacefully. You felt bad leaving him to worry for you and to be sleeping in an uncomfortable place. You felt you weren’t that deserving of such treatment.

You kicked your feet out and hopped off the table. Your feet pattered against the hard floor as you walked to Alucard. You snatched him a blanket you saw nearby and draped it over his tall, lean body. You smiled seeing how elegant and graceful he looked sleeping. 

You yawned, scratching your head as you looked upon the window and noticed it was raining. Surprisingly in this vampire but also a stranger’s house the rain seemed cozy and it made you feel at peace. It was dark in his house. The trees shook from the tiny wind and rain. 

“I must leave but I should thank Alucard for helping me with my wound last night. I probably wouldn’t have last without him.” Your mind wondered back to what happened at the river. Yes, Dracula was gone according to what the towns people said but why was his army still about, his monsters? It didn’t make sense to you. But what did you know? You were just a weak human living in a mysterious world you didn’t want any part of. 

You pulled out a chair and got to writing a thank you letter to Alucard, pulling out a pen, ink and a piece of paper.

“Dear Alucard. No, too direct. How about, to a savior? Too high and mighty.” Finally you had written your letter but it sounded very awkward and you were too much of a p*ssy to give it to Alucard. “Ugh this is hopeless.” You crumpled up the paper, throwing it on the floor by the garbage. 

You thought and thought and thought until an idea popped in your mind. “I know,” you snapped. “I’ll make him breakfast. My mother always says a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” You crossed your fingers, “lets just hope this man likes human food instead of hearts and blood.” You gulped. 

You rolled your sleeves up, washed your hands and brought out the pots and pans and butter. “I’m going to make toast, eggs, bacon, beans and mushrooms.”

You spiced up the food and placed them in a skillet. The sizzle satisfying your ears. The sun started to peak through the clouds as the aroma wafted through the house. You grinned, loving to cook and make a person happy with your hard work. “I hope he likes this.” You were almost finished when Alucard coughed behind you. 

You jumped, being in the zone. “Oh hi there,” you waved awkwardly. “My apologies if I woke you.”

“Uh, no I woke myself up,” his rough voice made your knees weak as it was still laced with sleep. He stretched, cracking some knuckles, yawning as well. “What I would like to know is what are you doing?”

“Well,” you started setting up the table cutely. “I wanted to say thanks for helping me back there. I was kind of a p*ssy to be honest and like a wuss so this is just a little thanks for all the help.”

Alucard didn’t know what to say so instead he just smiled. 

“Please, sit, sit, sit,” you pointed to the seats. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

Alucard awkwardly sat. Not ever having this type of service. He looked at you as you were preparing the finishing steps of your dish. The sun cascaded around you and you were illuminated like a goddess. You were breathtaking. Alucard blushed madly. You put everything on the table. Seeing Alucard’s expression you laughed, “are you alright?”

Alucard coughed, “yes, thank you for all of this. You really didn’t need to. It all looks beautiful.” He looked at the presentation. 

You took the seat beside Alucard. You could of sat anywhere else but you sat beside him. He almost couldn’t hear what you were about to say in that moment from how hard his heart was beating.  

“No need to thank me. I think we’ve done enough thanking and now its time to dig in.” You patted his hand. 

Alucard just looked at the food and he almost felt tears at his eyes. Nobody ever cared for him like this. 

“Is it okay? If its not to your liking I totally get it. You don’t have to eat it. I don’t even know if you like this stuff. I mean who knows maybe you only eat flowers and here I am serving you bacon and eggs.” You became flustered. 

“No, no, no this is lovely its just,” he choked back a cry. “Nobody has ever done anything like this for me, ever.”

You clutched onto his hand and gave him a beautiful smile. “Then that just means you have to eat double. As much and maybe more than what your stomach can hold.” You giggled.

Alucard blushed again as he started to eat quickly. Enjoying every moment of your company and food. “The beans are delicious.”

“Well I’m glad you liked them. Its my mum’s recipe, she always makes them like this.” You then recalled why you came on this journey in the first place. “My satchel!”

“Don’t worry, its safe.”

You raised your brow, “did you take a look?”

Alucard paused, “no, I would never.” He took a bite out of his bread. Chewing on the piece silently. “Maybe just a tiny peek.”

You pouted, “Nosy. I should of locked it.”

“Why do you have all those books in your bag anyways?” Alucard crossed his legs as he took a sip of his coffee. His light orbs staring intently at you. 

Seeing the rain start to become tiny droplets of rain you thought about your family and how you missed them. This was all for them. “My siblings you see are very ill,” your hand shook with anxiety. “My village is very poor and we are limited in resources, especially medicine. We’ve tried everything and nothing seems to work. They just seem to be getting worse. I’ve been researching and trying to find an answer and supposedly, I read that there is a certain flower that only grows in a specific area that may cure the illness. In the books there is a map and that’s why I was led to that river well more like I wanted to take a bath and that’s what led me to the river. But I’ve been on this trail for a while. I’m just, scared because it all depends on me. If I can’t find this flower, if I can’t find a cure and my family dies it will be my fault. I would have killed them.” You didn’t even realize it but you were crying. 

Alucard saw you were distressed and held onto your hand. He comforted you through your anxiety. Your teary eyes looked into his and he gave you a toothy smile, “I’ll help you find it.”

“What?” You rubbed your eyes.

“I know the place you need to go. I can guide you there. Besides the outside world is very dangerous for a beautiful girl such as yourself. I can see that this means a lot to you and I want to help.”

You dropped your fork and got out of your chair. “You mean it? You aren’t joking?”

Alucard chuckled, “I promise I am speaking truth.” Alucard flung his hand out to you. 

You quickly shook on it and shouted with enthusiasm, “deal!” You jumped up and down laughing as you hugged Alucard. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. Can we please leave immediately then?”

“We can leave today.”

You danced, “yes. I’ll go change and get my things.” You brought the empty dishes to clean them as Alucard stood up with a smile on his face. 

You were something else, something different. A breath of fresh air in his depressing life. Maybe you were meant to be here. Maybe you were a sign. Either way Alucard thought that these couple of days were to be very exciting. Alucard was about to get ready when a piece of paper in the corner caught his eyes. It was crumbled. “Hmmm, what is this?” He bent down to pick it up and read the words. With just the first word to the letter his smile grew bigger and bigger. 

Alucard coughed as he raised the letter you wrote to him earlier but discarded high in the air, “Dear Alucard, to my savior. I would love for you to know that I am extremely appreciative for what you have done for me in saving my life-”

Your eyes almost popped out of your head. That letter was not supposed to be read by him especially. It was embarrassing. You dropped a plate in the sink and felt your whole world collapse. You wanted to crawl in a hole and die. 

“When I first saw you I thought you were a prince-” Alucard kept going until you couldn’t take it any longer. 

You sprinted and tried grabbing the letter out of his hand. “Alucard, give that to me. Now.”

“Oh you want this letter?” Alucard smirked. “You do sound like an obnoxious romantic whore.”

You gasped, “I do not! That was supposed to be my thank you letter and I didn’t like it and you weren’t supposed to read it. So give it back!” You jumped for it but Alucard raised it high in the air. “Alucard, give it to me.”

Alucard’s face came closer to yours as he pinned you against the table. “Why don’t you come and get it?”

You practically climbed him, snatching the letter out of his hand. “Aha!” But Alucard’s footing was off and he and you fell with a thud. 

The birds chirped lightly as Alucard laid under you and you fell on top of him, your arm bracing for the impact. Alucard held in his breath with a red blush as he looked at you so extremely close. You both held that position for what felt like forever. You eyes were wide in horror at the compromising position. 

You quickly stood up and were flustered. Forgetting where everything was. “Um, um, um. I’m going to go put my trip on so we can get ready for the clothes.” You quickly ran away. 

Alucard breathed quickly as he brushed back his long hair whispering the words. “My savior.” He noticed you were in such a panic mode that you forgot about your letter. It was left and Alucard was not going to leave or throw away evidence that someone saw him in such a good light. He loved that letter because it was from you. 

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[befitphysio]

Remove Your Body Discomfort & Muscle Pain By Physiotherapy Epping

If you are suffering from injury, illness, disability, then Physiotherapy Epping is one of the best ways of healing from the masses. This method of treatment does not contain any type of medicine. It focuses on removing defects from the body by physical movements. 

Physio Castle Hill is also crucial in the advancement of health and the avoidance of disease. Neurological illnesses such as Parkinson's disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Dementia, Paralysis, and others are very common as people get older. Because physiotherapy employs an integrated musculoskeletal and neuromuscular approach. It treats the condition as a promising way of keeping such neurological illnesses at bay and preventing further worsening.

What issues does Epping Physiotherapy help with? 

Physiotherapists concentrate on prevention as well as rehabilitation. This treatment is applied for diseases, injuries and disabilities. Some instances are as follows: 

Neck and back discomfort is caused by muscle and bone abnormalities. 

Arthritis and the after-effects of amputation can cause problems in the bones, joints, muscles, and ligaments.

Asthma and other lung diseases 

As a result of heart difficulties, you've been disabled. 

Childbirth-related pelvic concerns, such as bladder and bowel problems 

Mobility loss as a result of brain or spine injuries, or disorders like Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis 

Fatigue, pain, edoema, stiffness, and muscle weakness, for example, during cancer therapy or palliative care.

Avoid surgery

Why does Physiotherapist Epping play an important role?

Remove Discomfort

Surgery may not be important if you have already taken physical therapy. It helps you remove discomfort or recuperate from an accident. Even if surgery is required, pre-surgical physical rehabilitation may be beneficial. In many circumstances, if your surgery becomes successful and you are in good condition,you will recover more quickly. 

To Remove or Reduce Pain

When you're suffering from agonizing joint pain, manual therapy techniques like soft tissue mobilization can help. Other therapeutic methods, such as electrical stimulation, tape, or ultrasound (which isn't just for imaging) can help enhance blood circulation and speed up recovery. These types of treatment can also help to prevent repeated discomfort.

Enhance Mobility

Physical therapy is beneficial for anyone who finds it difficult to move, walk or stand, whether they are an active athlete or a senior citizen. Extending and Strengthening your muscles and joints will support you a lot in decreasing body discomfort. Your therapist can assist you in choosing the most effective assistive device. They choose a walking stick or crutches, in addition to designing a specific treatment plan.

Verdict!

When pain, aging, illness, sickness, disability, or long periods of inactivity impair a person's function or mobility. The physiotherapist is the only health professional who is qualified to perform a complete medical examination on the patient. Physiotherapy Epping focuses on the person as a whole, meaning that the physiotherapist will consider each patient's physical, psychological, emotional, and social well-being. To determine a diagnosis and create the best treatment approach possible.

[rich-info]

Why Use a Chiropractor in Castle Hill?

When it comes to managing pain and enhancing your overall well-being, choosing the right healthcare provider is crucial. For residents in Castle Hill, a Chiropractor Castle Hill offers comprehensive care that addresses various musculoskeletal issues, including back pain, neck pain, and joint discomfort. This article will explore the importance of seeking chiropractic care in Castle Hill and how it can significantly benefit your health.

The Importance of Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care focuses on diagnosing and treating neuromuscular disorders, primarily through manual adjustment or manipulation of the spine. Here’s why chiropractic care is essential:

Pain Relief: Chiropractors are experts in relieving pain, particularly in the back, neck, and joints. By correcting spinal alignment, they help reduce pain and discomfort without relying on medication or invasive procedures.

Improved Mobility: Regular chiropractic adjustments can improve your range of motion, making it easier to move and perform daily activities without pain.

Enhanced Posture: Poor posture can lead to numerous health problems, including chronic pain and decreased mobility. Chiropractors help correct posture issues, promoting better spinal health and reducing the risk of future problems.

Overall Wellness: Chiropractic care isn’t just about treating pain; it’s also about enhancing your overall health. Chiropractors provide advice on lifestyle changes, exercises, and ergonomics to improve your quality of life.

Why Choose a Chiropractor in Castle Hill?

Choosing a local chiropractor, such as a Chiropractor Castle Hill, comes with several benefits:

Convenience: Having a chiropractor close to home makes it easier to schedule regular appointments and stay consistent with your treatment plan.

Community Connection: Local chiropractors understand the specific needs and challenges of their community, providing personalized care tailored to their patients.

Reputation and Trust: Chiropractors in Castle Hill have established reputations within the community. You can easily find reviews and testimonials from other residents, helping you make an informed decision.

How a Chiropractor Can Benefit You

Visiting a Chiropractor Castle Hill can provide numerous benefits:

Personalized Treatment Plans: Chiropractors create customized treatment plans based on your specific needs and health goals, ensuring you receive the most effective care possible.

Holistic Approach: Chiropractors consider your overall health and well-being, addressing not just the symptoms but also the underlying causes of your pain and discomfort.

Preventative Care: Regular chiropractic adjustments can prevent future health issues by maintaining proper spinal alignment and promoting overall wellness.

Drug-Free Pain Management: Chiropractic care offers a natural alternative to pain management, reducing the need for pain medications and their associated side effects.

Conclusion

Choosing a Chiropractor Castle Hill for your healthcare needs is a wise decision that can significantly improve your quality of life. By addressing pain, improving mobility, and promoting overall wellness, chiropractic care offers a holistic approach to health that benefits both your body and mind. If you’re in Castle Hill and looking for effective, personalized care, consider visiting a local chiropractor to experience these benefits firsthand.

[waywardwrestlewritingwaif]

Shelter (Part Four)

Second last part! We’re back to some straight-up angst for this one. 

Pairing: Jay White x OFC

Word count: 1,879

Content advisory: Jay being a bastard, nothing else

I somehow fell into a haze where I dreamed of Jay White in bed with me, his body rubbing against mine, his hands exploring my most intimate places as I begged him to continue. I was awoken several times gasping with unfulfilled longing before one of the maids assigned to me entered the room with a severe expression. 

“His lordship says that you’re to appear in the great hall,” she snapped. 

She threw some of my garments on the bed next to me like they had some sort of pestilence attached to them, and when I rose to try to dress myself, she roughly assisted me, even as I yelped in pain. 

“Be quiet,” she commanded me. “You have to look at least close to decent to meet with him.”

The implication that I would struggle to appear decent infuriated me but I couldn’t muster the energy to respond as she thrust me into my day corset and tightened it until I struggled to breathe. 

When I was dressed to her satisfaction, she grabbed my arm and pulled me through the hallways, followed by two sinister-looking guards. Under normal circumstances, such treatment by a servant would have been subject to a severe punishment, however, I felt that somehow she outranked me in the estimation of the Lord of the Manor. I stumbled after her until we reached the Great Hall. It lived up to its name, obviously intended to leave visitors awestruck by its grandeur. It hardly seemed appropriate, however, to the sort of informal meeting I was expecting. 

Jay aws already present, dressed smartly but not ostentatiously, his eyes following me as I was brought into the room. He gestured coolly to his guards and they exited to an adjacent room, returning with three people in chains, their heads drooping in defeat: Hannah, James and Henry. 

“Since you’ve insisted that you had no ulterior purpose in coming here,” he purred, “I thought you might be interested to know what your companions have to say on the matter.

“So tell me,” he crowed, approaching James, “what was it that brought you here?”

I could see the bruises and welts across his body, the marks of torture. His stance showed me that he had been defeated, beaten down, and I wanted to cry foul before he spoke. 

“My Lady Elizabeth, Mistress of Louth, said that I was to investigate here and report back to her regarding the number of soldiers and the states of defences of the castle,” he groaned. 

“I see,” Jay said triumphantly, “and was the purpose of your journey to come to this place or to continue to the safe haven of Northumbria?”

“The way my Lady explained it to me, we were to collect her sister and to take the northern road. She anticipated that we would be stopped and that we would be forced to seek shelter.”

“And was this lady,” Jay gestured dramatically to me, “part of the plot to spy on this place?”

James raised his head a little, regarding me with his dark, hardened eyes. “I could not say. But my Lady insisted that she must be brought with us. Because of her, we would opt for the northern road. And she hinted that there were… other matters… matters to be resolved between yourself and the Lady Estella.”

“Tell the truth,” I snarled. “You know I had no part in this. You know that I knew nothing of any plotting.”

James glanced back at Henry, the two of them nodding in agreement about something I could not fathom. 

“I cannot say what your involvement was, my Lady. No one ever spoke to me about how much you knew.”

Jay turned to me, his eyes, which just hours ago had been filled with such a desperate passion, were like forged steel, cold and hard. 

“You know I had no role in this,” I insisted. 

“I know only that your lady in waiting knew nothing of it,” James responded, his body stooping a little further. 

I turned to Jay. “Then will you at least allow her to leave this place?”

Jay stroked his beard as if he was thinking, although I could see that he had already reached a decision. 

“Take all of them to the cells below for the night. Tomorrow morning, all three of them will be executed.”

“No!” I hardly recognized the strangled plea that came from me. Recovering myself a little, I tried to continue. “Hannah is innocent, no matter what you think. The others are pawns in a larger game. None of them deserve that penalty.”

Jay smirked, turning his attention to me. 

“Your chief guard has just confessed that your purpose in coming here was to spy on me and report back to my enemies. How is that not worthy of the most severe punishment?”

“Please…” was all I could manage. 

“This man,” Jay gestured contemptuously to James, “is willing to implicate you in order to broker his freedom.”

“And yet,” I began, not fully believing what I was about to say, “I tell you that he deserves to be released.”

Jay chuckled and stroked his beard. “I rather think that he’s telling the truth. I believe that he doesn’t know the extent of your involvement but clearly there was a conspiracy against me that brought you here. Perhaps he was simply used in a plan that you and your sister conceived.”

“You know that’s not true,” I hissed at him.  

“My mistress was never involved in any dealings,” Hannah interjected. 

My heart broke as I looked at her: leaner, sadder, and yet the same woman who had stayed close to me for so long. 

“I beg you,” I implored him, “to let these people go. They have no value to you. I have some value. My husband will pay for my return. My father will pay. I have some value but these people…” I felt my voice breaking. “They can bring you nothing, alive or dead. Release them.”

“Oh you beg me, do you?” Jay snarled. 

“I do.”

“Very well then. Beg.”

I stared at him a long time, not understanding what he meant, until he spoke again. 

“You’re desperate to have me spare the lives of those you care for. Beg me. Convince me that a woman of your high stature is willing to humble herself. Beg me like a serf would.”

Realizing what he meant made me feel a little sick, but I knew that I had to make a convincing display in order to persuade him to release my companions. As gracefully as I could, I knelt before him, raising my hands in a supplicant’s gesture. 

“I am begging you,” I implored him, “please do not execute these three. I can swear to you that Hannah knows nothing of any of these matters. As for the two men, they will cause you no further harm. No matter what they have seen,” I whispered, hoping that he would believe me, “they will repeat nothing, save that you are well-guarded here. They have not seen enough of the premises to know how well-defended your castle is.”

Jay looked down at me with an expression of complete boredom and said nothing. Finally, he raised his eyebrows and said, “Is that the best you can do?”

I shuddered at the idea of having to abase myself further and looked at Hannah to recover my sense of purpose. She glanced down, clearly trying to hide her fear. It was enough to allow me to make another effort to save her and the others. 

“I know that we have no right to your mercy,” I continued, “because we have already betrayed your trust in coming here. But your anger is better directed to those who conspired against you and not those who were pressed into service, or who became entangled in the conspiracy through no fault of their own.

“If you set them free, you lose nothing. Those who sent them here will find other ways to spy on you. But you have me and my life is worth something to your enemies. They will pay you or entreat with you in order to secure my safety. And the sooner these people are able to carry word back to their masters, the sooner you will be able to make use of your advantage.”

His expression changed ever so slightly, became more curious and, hoping to build on this, I crawled closer to him, taking his hand and pressing my lips to the signet ring he wore. “Please,” I whispered, tears starting to leak from my eyes. 

He gave me a rough shove away, sending me sprawling on the floor. Hannah made a move to come to my aid but was held in place by the guards. 

“William,” Jay addressed the man who appeared to be in charge of the guards, “take these three up to the road. Leave them somewhere along it and return right away. Keep their horses. They’re the only thing of any value to us.” He turned back to me, an odious smirk on his face. “So they won’t be executed. Does that please you?”

“How could it?” I cried, my face burning as I struggled to rise to my feet again. “They’ll die on the moors. They’ll freeze or get lost and starve or they’ll be taken and killed by the Scots raiders!”

Jay nodded, enjoying my pain. “Tell me, lady, when you tried to escape not so long ago, what was your grand plan? Were you not just going to run off into the hills and hope for the best? I am giving them the exact same consideration you did and you should be grateful that I am even doing that in light of the harm they meant to do.”

“My plan was to let us escape with the horses, not to spend days trying to find our way along a dangerous road.”

“Consider it another sign of just how merciful I can be. They’d be more likely to be murdered for the animals. As you pointed out yourself, no one cares about the lives of a few servants."

"That's not what I said," you hiss back, feeling your face colour in shame. 

"Of course not," he sneered. He turned to look at his guard again. "Best to get them on their way before the sun's gone entirely." 

"Take the lady back to her chambers. I'm sure she's too drained to handle an emotional farewell."

I was so transfixed by the gloating, triumphant expression on Jay's face that it startled me when a guard stepped from behind me and grasped my arms. I let out a little cry and saw Hannah move to protect me from the corner of my eye. One of the other guards struck her violently and she fell back as I was dragged back to my glorified prison. The last I saw, she and the others were being herded like sheep across the stone floor of the castle. 

[simmonsofshield]

Reassignment

Part 1/1

Pairing: none Characters: Kate Beckett, Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito, Jemma Simmons, Philip Coulson

Summary: Amidst clean up after the Battle of New York, things happen and Officer Y/N ends up in the quinjet’s medical bay.

Words: 1900+

A/N:  Unplanned, but I guess in honor of my url change, Jemma has a small feature in this fic! This was originally gonna be a copy-paste of one of my fics from wattpad, but then I wanted to make it more accurate to New York so 98% of this is new writing. So much for trying to cut corners. 🤷😂 Loose tie-ins of Agents of SHIELD and Castle. (Characters, not really the shows..) Canonically, Skye (Daisy) wouldn’t have her powers yet, but my story my rules lol. So she does. Three weeks late (I was suppose to post this on the 1st), but at least I got it done, right? This is for @fanfictionaries​‘s classic trope challenge. I chose police au. Takes place after Avengers.

Police codes key: 12-David-19 [Precinct # - city section - police car id] used 9th precinct as reference 10-50 Disorderly (group, person, noise) non-crime 10-10 Possible crime (many tags, the one i use is P, suspicious person/prowler)

“Here’s what’s going on today,” Captain Beckett begins, “it’s been almost six months since the Battle of New York. Midtown South is still asking for help with crowd control and patrol of the area, as most of their officers are helping with clean up. I told them the 12th Precinct is happy to help as long as it doesn’t interfere with our daily patrols. Today they’re only asking for two, so Ryan and Esposito, it’s on you today. Just make sure no weirdos or teens with sticky fingers try to get in the rubble.”

“Yes Captain.”

“L/N, my office, please.”

You look at her with surprise, then over to the boys. Ryan is the first to speak, rolling his eyes, “Of course. Little Y/N getting special treatment once again. I bet you’re getting put on a really cool case. You know, she’s basically training you to be a mini her.”

You roll your eyes back at him, “Sounds like you’re just jealous because I rose to this rank in half the time it took you.”

“Ooooo...” Esposito calls from his desk, “want some ice for that burn?”

“Shut up,” he mumbles as he slumps back in his chair.

You laugh as you walk to Beckett’s office, the door being closed behind you. You start to get worried when she starts shutting the blinds too. “Captain?”

She sets a file in front of you and begins explaining. “Though Kevin was joking, he wasn’t wrong. You have impressed me since you came here from the academy. You were the youngest to be promoted to detective, and your persistence hasn’t gone unnoticed. Which is why I think you’re perfect for this particular assignment.”

She nods to the file, and you pick it up, opening it. Your brows furrow at the first page and you look back up at her, “I don’t understand. Philip Coulson died on a helicarrier before the attack on New York even happened. Didn’t Loki kill him or whatever?”

“Originally, yes.”

“Originally?”

“Most if it is redacted and classified, but what was released - specifically for you in this file, turn the page - was that some experimental tech was used and more or less brought him back to life.”

You read exactly that as she says it, but you’re left with more questions than answers with every page turn. “What do you mean specifically for me? How many people know he’s alive?”

She blows out some air, sitting down at her desk to look you in the eye, “Only SHIELD level 7 and above. We are of only a few civilians that know. This cannot leave this room. The only others that know are ones that will be a part of this team that Agent Coulson is putting together alongside Agent Maria Hill and Director Fury.”

Again, more questions. “But...I’m a homicide detective...not SHIELD...” You pause for a moment as you try to form a question with all the information that is now in your mind, “Why me?” is what you come up with.

She shrugs, “That’s a question for Coulson or Hill. I can’t answer it. You’ll work today but after that you’ll be with SHIELD and Coulson,” she nods back to the file, “I suggest you finish reading through that tonight.” She stands up and walks toward the door.

“I’m sorry, Captain, one last question,” she lets go of the door handle and turns around, “what does all this mean for this job? Am I like fired or something?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” she says with a smile, “Agent Hill and I already discussed the technicalities, but basically what will be said is that you’re going undercover with SHIELD for a big operation and you’ll be gone for a few weeks. Which, really, isn’t that much of a lie.”

You nodded, somewhat understanding, “Yes, ma’am. See you in a few weeks, I guess.”

She also nods, smiling, “Likewise, detective.”

Nearing the end of your shift, you’re about to head back to the station when there’s an aggravated call on the scanner. “10-50. These crowds are getting out of hand. More officers needed in Midtown near Grand Central.”

You go back and forth in your head for a moment before deciding to respond, “Dispatch, add 12-David-19 to that 10-50 call. En route from East Village. ETA about 20 minutes.” You turn on your lights and try to get there as fast as you can.

Arriving on scene, you park about four blocks away, at Park and 38th, which is as close as you can get with all the rubble and destroyed buildings. This is the main drag of where most of the Avenger’s fight happened. It’s no surprise that half of New York is here to see the damage, even six months later.

Now on foot, you’re about halfway to Grand Central Station when you hear the breaking of glass and catch some suspicious activity out of the corner of your eye. You follow, talking into your radio, “This is 12-David-19. I’ve got a 10-10P. Kids breaking windows of businesses. It doesn’t look like they’ve stolen anything yet. I’m going to keep an eye on them. Requesting one or two officers for backup if anyone can leave Grand Central Station. 40th street, headed NorthEast.”

You casually follow at a distance until all of a sudden, “Whoa, dudes, check this out!” One of the kids picks up a weapon of some sort. Clearly not of this world and from the Battle, you’re 99% sure. He poses with it and one of his friends takes a picture of him with their phone. “I wonder what this button does.”

“Ahh!” Whatever came out of the weapon hits you directly in the shoulder and you fall to the ground. This is the first time the group of kids notice your presence. They fight for a moment, deciding whether to run or help. A groan from you cuts their argument short and most leave, while two stay.

By what you can tell with your blurry vision, they seem to be brothers. The one walking towards you is clearly friends with the ones that fled, while the other is younger. If you had to guess, you’d say early high school, 14-16, and 12ish for their ages.

You grab your radio and talk into it softly. Hopefully someone will be able to hear you. “Ambulance needed at location of 10-10. Officer down, shot with some sort of alien weapon.”

The older one kneels beside you and takes off his shirt, wrapping it around your wound, attempting to make a tourniquet. You let out a raspy laugh. It’s not quite right, but you appreciate the attempt. “You seem to know what you’re doing.”

You can see the fear still on his face but he smiles nonetheless, “I’ve seen a few medical shows. I think this is right.”

“Anything to slow the bleeding. You’re doing good. What’s your name?”

“Derek Saunders. Am I going to jail?”

“N-no, why would you think that?”

“My friend shot you. Aren’t I an accessory or whatever?”

You shake your head, “You watch cop shows too?” you joke.

“My dad’s a cop. He’s helping at Grand Central right now.”

You cough out another laugh. How convenient. You’re about to tell him to call his dad on your radio when you hear another blast. It feels like it happens in slow motion. You watch as the burst of energy goes up at an angle and hits the building next to where you’re laying. You hear the boy yell something in the opposite direction, you’re assuming at his brother, who most likely got curious and picked up the alien weapon. You see the huge pieces of building falling towards you and Derek.

You let out a scream, though you’re not sure how loud it is due to your blood loss and how tired you’re getting. You close your eyes, knowing the inevitable is going to happen, and just waiting for it. You feel the ground rumble and try to open your eyes to understand what's going on, but you can’t.

Your world goes black.

You wake up to the sound of steady beeping. It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the brightness of the fluorescent lights, but once you do you begin to panic. You know this is medical equipment and you’re in a room of some sort, but you’re not sure, something doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t seem like a hospital room.

You hear the whooshing of an automatic door sliding open. “It’s okay, officer. No need to panic. You are in great hands.” A pleasant British voice says to you. It does put you at ease a little.

The brunette seems to be taking your vitals or something at the moment, writing on a clipboard. You clear your throat, “Uh..where am I?”

“Oh of course,” she smiles embarrassedly, “welcome to the Bus. We’re with SHIELD. You’re safe.” she reassures.

“The Bus?” you raise an eyebrow.

“Yes,” your eyes shoot to the new voice, “welcome aboard.”

“Agent Coulson.” You try to sit up, but the pain in your shoulder stops you. You wince and lay back down.

“I assumed our meeting would be under better circumstances, but this’ll have to do.” he says with a smile. “Thank you, Simmons.” he nods at the girl and she leaves.

“What happened?”

“We heard your call on 40th.”

“Were you tracking me?”

“No,” he scoffs, “just making sure you didn’t get hurt before we got to meet you. Kinda failed at that, huh?”

You can’t help but chuckle a little, “Okay, but how the heck did I....” you trailed off, trying to think of how to word your question.

“Not die?” he looks at you, finishing your sentence.

“Uh, yeah.”

“You have Skye to thank for that. To avoid a lengthy explanation, she has the ability to ‘quake’ things apart and stopped the piece of building from falling on you and the young man helping you.”

“What happened to Derek and his brother?”

“They’re safe. And the weapon has been confiscated, now SHIELD property.”

You nodded, content with his explanations. There’s a lull in the conversation and you take the time to actually take in your surroundings. The room you’re in is glass on three sides, the fourth being a wall of shelves for medical items. You look down at yourself, not in a gown like a hospital, but someone’s tank top and shorts. You’d have to ask about that later. You focus on your shoulder, eyes going wide. It still hurts, but looks completely healed. 

“Pretty cool, huh?” you look at Agent Coulson, who is smiling like a proud dad, “you’d lost a lot of blood by the time we found you. We immediately put you in the tissue regeneration pod and got it going on your shoulder. It looks healed, but you’ll have to stay in here for a couple more days and be monitored.”

“Tissue regeneration? How long was I out?”

“From when we found you to getting you to the pod, only a few minutes, but we had to anesthetize you so you wouldn’t wake up during the regeneration, so you've been out for about 16 hours.”

“Oh.” is all you’re able to say, still taking it in. Tissue regeneration. How are you supposed to comprehend that? “Thanks, I guess.”

He nods, “So are you ready to discuss your new position with SHIELD?”

Besides the man being in front of you, you had completely forgotten about your transition from NYPD detective to possibly SHIELD agent? The two of you certainly had a lot to talk about. “Yes, sir.”