#dark!manorian x reader

[shadowdaddies]

Meant to Be - Part IV.

Dark!Manorian x Reader

Part One | Two | Three

A/N: I keep deviating from my outline but I expect there to be 2 (maybe 3) more parts to this story

Muffled shouts sounded through the air, the sound echoing painfully in your head. Gloved hands grabbed your arms firmly, hauling you up as your vision cleared to reveal your guards eyeing you with concern. 

“Miss, are you alright to stand on your own?” You turned to your right to see a young guard holding your arm - honey brown eyes searching your face with genuine concern. You hadn’t taken the time to really look at these men who were with you almost constantly in the castle - the four of whom had been watching your every move. An oversight on your part, which you would be sure to remedy. 

You eyed the guard up and down - he was quite handsome, actually, with dark brown hair and ivory skin, tinged pink from the wind - and made a show of smiling at him as you put your hand on his. “Yes, I’m alright. Thank you...?” 

“Ryon, miss.” You batted your eyelashes, giving Ryon your best doe-eyed, innocent look. You peered at the guard to your left - a slightly older gentleman with rich umber skin and graying hair - who was eyeing you with suspicion. You moved your hand to his lower arm, giving a gentle squeeze as you smiled brightly.

“And your name?” 

The guard’s eyes softened almost imperceptibly. “Arnoux, miss.” 

Rubbing your thumb soothingly along Arnoux’s arm, you stepped back slightly from the two men to stand on your own - all four guards still watching you intently. “Well, thank you both for your assistance. I do think that I should head back to my room, though. I am still feeling a bit faint.” 

Ryon and the other two guards - you’d have to remember to learn their names later - looked to Arnoux, who was still watching you closely, an air of caution evident on his face. His dark eyes never left yours as the man gave a curt nod, signaling his approval. Ryon gently guided you ahead so that you were walking with the other two guards ahead of you, Ryon and Arnoux close behind. 

You held your head high, mostly so that it was easier to make note of your surroundings without turning your head too much. You suspected Arnoux’s, admittedly wise, consternation towards you was due to your unabashed snooping, and you’d need to be more careful moving forward. 

The group arrived at the door to your room, a tall blonde guard who Ryon addressed as Warrick ushering you inside as Arnoux instructed him to alert their Majesties of your “incident” in the garden. You internally sighed, hiding your disappointment as the door closed behind you, locking you in the room once more. The clock ticked quietly on the wall - its hands revealing how late in the day it was.

You looked out the window to the garden below where you had just fainted, your pulse pounding when you remembered what was in your dress pocket. You let out an exhale when flowers brushed your fingertips - they hadn’t caught you with the foxglove. Rushing over to the armoire, you took the foxglove from your pockets, burying the flowers beneath your sleeping clothes. You closed the drawer and doors to the chest, hurrying back to sit on the bed before anyone might come in and see. 

The moment of rest as you sunk into the mattress was like a dam breaking open - the swell of emotions crashing down into a torrent of tears as you began to process the news. Your fiancé was alive, and here. This changed everything in your plan - you’d have to find not only your own way out of this castle, but how to help him escape as well. 

Now was not the time for planning, however, as you finally let the tears fall, crying audaciously for anyone to hear. You wanted them to hear - Arnoux, Ryon, Manon, Dorian. You would let the entire palace hear your pain. And when you were ready, the entire palace would feel your wrath.

The door burst open, interrupting your sinister daydream as Dorian rushed in, Manon right behind him. Dorian looked near to tears himself as he knelt before you, sapphire eyes studying you for any sign of pain. Your mind detested how your heart swelled at his care. “We hurried here when Warrick informed us that you fainted in the gardens. We’ve called for a healer, but I needed to see that you were alright.”

Realizing they were coming from the dungeons where your fiancé was supposedly held, you glanced discreetly towards the clock on the wall. Less than eight minutes for Warrick to get down to the dungeons, and for them to return. If you could find the path to where he was kept, you would be able to make your escape with your love. An idea came to you - this would take time, but would be worth it in the end. 

You turned to Dorian, slipping on the too-familiar mask of innocence you’d used on Ryon just moments ago as you sniffled and nodded into his hand that held your cheek. “I am feeling quite ill. The journey to the gardens was unexpectedly difficult for me. I was thinking, I should probably stay indoors for awhile. The library was warm and comfortable.”

You held back your smirk at the shocked look on their faces at your proposal, their predatory smiles of pleasure as they thought they’d finally tamed you. Little did they know that the fawn was luring the wolves into an archer’s range. 

[readychilledwine]

💕Valentine's Day Bingo Masterlist💕

We have a Bingo Blackout

(Not in posting order)

Breeding Cassian x reader

Housewife Azriel x reader

CNC - manorian X reader

Group Play - Tamlin x Tarquin x Lucien x Reader

Cuckold - Helion x Feyre x Rhys

Monsterfucking - Tamlin x Reader

Temperature play - Lucien x reader

Size Kink - Azriel x reader

Glory Hole - Cassian x reader

Dollification - Azriel x Seraphina

Praise - Eris X Reader

Threesome - Azriel x Reader x Lucien

Exhibition - Rhys x Drumming Song Reader

Orgasm Control - Ruhn x Reader

Discipline - Helion x Reader

Shadow Play - Rhys x Reader

Somno - Rhys x reader

Predator/Prey - Eris x Reader

Tagteam - Lorcan x Reader x Rowan

Impact Play - Helion x Reader

Shibari - Tarquin x Reader

Breathplay - Rowan x Reader

Auralism- Rhys x Reader

Bonus content:

Pet play - Eris x Reader

Electricity Play - Hunt x Reader

Shadow Play - Ruhn x Reader

Voyeurism - Amarantha x reader x dark!rhys

Edge Play - sub!Lucien x domme! Reader

Collaring - Hunt x reader

As you all know, I am a slut for dividers and love using different ones for my characters and special little events. I am trying to get better at crediting the artists who make them because that takes some time and dedication. Plus, they are also typically sharing their skills and content for free.

That being said:

Special thank you to:

@cafekitsune for sharing their beautiful graphic design skills with all of us. I am using this divider from them, but there are SO MANY options. Please peep their page! 💕

Another special thank you to @saradika-graphics When I was hunting for a MDNI divider, I ended up finding this instead, and it does match my feelings so much more. She also has a ton of graphic design work that she shared for free. Please check out her work as well 💕

[throneofsapphics]

Manorian or rowaelin whichever couple you want x reader

Reader ghosts everyone because she’s depressed and doesn’t know how to communicate with her loved ones about it 🫠

a despair so dark light will not reach

Rowaelin x f!Reader

Summary: Rowan and Aelin notice you slipping away from them, and struggle to figuring out how to bring you back

Warnings: depression, negative self talk

Word Count: 1306

A/N: thank you for the request!

“I’m fine,” you insisted, turning back to your book. It was interesting, it was different, it wasn’t this, it wasn’t reality. In between these pages, you could escape to another universe where your problems and realities didn’t exist. 

Aelin sighed, she’d been attempting to get you to talk about what ‘was happening.’ There was nothing. It was nothing. You are nothing, a voice, eerily like your own, said in the back of your mind. 

That’s the truth of the matter, wasn’t it? You didn’t matter. Nothing fucking did. How would you explain that to the two people who love you more than anything else in the world? How the weight on your chest felt so heavy you couldn’t breathe but at the same time you existed in a state of nothingness where not even the brightest light could reach? You’d battled it since childhood, and although you hadn’t lost yet, there was still so much you missed every day. It doesn’t matter, you reminded yourself, I don’t care. 

“Please,” Aelin caught your attention with a gentle hand on your knee. Eyes blinking back into focus, she was ... Aelin was pleading on her knees with you, her hands squeezing each of your knees. “Tell me where you go when you do that. Let me in.” 

When you do what? Space out, you supposed. Pressing your lips tightly together, you debated. The hope in Aelin’s eyes at your pause broke part of you. You couldn’t do it to someone you loved, couldn’t let them in and get a taste of that all consuming despair that threatened to invade and poison all of your surroundings. Just on your own, you felt like the last block of a crumbling barricade against the rushing tide. Eventually, it would overflow but for now you’d do your best to hold it back. 

“Let us in,” Rowan knelt behind her, his own arm reaching over to brush against your shoulder. “Please,” he repeated her word. 

You turned your head away, “I said it’s nothing,” the phrasing had a tad more bite than you intended. They didn’t deserve to be saddled with your inconsequential issues, no matter how much they asked for it. You could handle it on your own, you’d been handling it for years. 

Are you really, thought? The voice said. 

“Then come to breakfast with us. I’ll make sure your favorites are there,” Aelin tried, her voice shaking slightly. You thought you heard her tears. You didn’t look. Couldn’t look. 

“Alright,” you whispered, a soft agreement, knowing you had to give them something or they wouldn’t leave you to your own devices. 

“Alright,” Aelin breathed as if it was a sacred vow, and you hated the relief in her voice. 

It started with the small things. It always did. One missed dinner, nobody remarked on it. Two missed dinners, nobody batted an eye. Three, inquiries about your absence. Four, someone went to look for you. 

Aelin found you sleeping, decided not to disturb you, and made excuses for your absence, that you were ill, not feeling well, overworked. 

It went on like this for months, them making excuses for why you never showed up to meals anymore. 

You never needed an excuse for work, no you were high functioning, and always took care to show up to any mandatory obligations that could have negative professional consequences. 

You thought you had it under control. Really, you were spiraling so far down into a dark place it would take the hottest sun to drag you out of it.

The next morning, you couldn’t get off the couch. They didn’t ‘wake’ you - you were a master at faking sleep - when they snuck past to go to training, maybe they should have. That invisible weight pushed you back two inches for each inch you moved forward, and eventually you gave up. When they came to get you, you feigned sleep. 

It was impossible to hide your insomnia from them, and you knew they wouldn’t interrupt what precious sleep you could get. Often they’d wake to find you asleep in strange places throughout the room, despite starting out in the bed with them. 

That afternoon, Rowan brought a healer. 

“Just figure out what’s wrong,” he said.

‘Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.’ the word echoed like a horrible melody in your mind. 

The healer took your vitals, asked how often you ate, exercised, went outside, how your mood was, if you felt depressed, and a thousand other questions you answered in a monotone voice. 

Maybe you should’ve been honest, but you didn’t want to worry anyone unnecessarily and with Rowan hovering in the corner, you felt you couldn’t really tell them. 

“Your Highness, could you please step out of the room?” The healer asked pleasantly, patting you on the knee. She was older, you could tell even with the Fae’s gift of eternal youth. Slight lines showed in her forehead and around the corners of her eyes. Signs of a happy life. 

Rowan, begrudgingly, left after you mouthed it was fine. 

“Now dearie,” for some reason her voice was soothing rather than irritating, usually you didn’t like names like that, “you can answer my questions honestly. Anything you say won’t go back to them, it’ll stay right between us and we’ll figure it out together.” 

You looked at her, really looked at her and studied her expression. Unwavering. She didn’t flinch at your unabashed stare, didn’t turn away, didn’t so much as twitch. Like she’d been doing this and dealing with these types of situations for centuries. It gave you some hope. 

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” 

“Here’s a start, perhaps there’s nothing wrong with you, just different,” her eyes lightened slightly. Perhaps she felt the weight of an order from her King. Or she genuinely wanted to help you. You didn’t know which thought was you and which was the darkness living inside of you. 

The conversation felt like a steady push and pull, a battle of wills between you and the healer. At the end, the two of you came up with a plan. One small change. Get outside at least once a day, no matter the time of day or if it was just strolling onto your balcony. 

The healer, Elka, was trained as a mind healer too. You felt slightly tricked when she revealed that at the end. 

The people who loved you most thought you were insane. But you supposed the normal healers hadn’t turned up anything and you couldn’t blame them for trying, it was something you would do after all. 

Despite your high hopes after the first session, progress was slow and you felt yourself almost worsening. 

You learned how to portray to the world that you felt alright, but in private ...

The last thing you wanted was to wake them, especially when they had busy and important things to do in the morning. In other words, the last thing you wanted was to burden them. You made your way to the old rooms you used back when you first moved into the castle, and shook the dust off one of the pillows. 

Sliding under the soft slightly stagnant comforter, you curled on your side and hugged your knees to your chest. 

For the first time in months, the true weight of your self-imposed isolation crashed down on you and you tasted the salt of a tear hitting your upper lip. 

You were woken before six in the morning to a slightly angry Fae storming into your room. 

“This is where I draw the line,” he pulled back the comforter and shifted you into his arms, bridal style. “You can sleep in our fucking bathtub if you can fall asleep there,” he pressed a surprisingly gentle kiss to your forehead, “but I’ll be damned if you sleep in another room again.” 

-

general taglist: @rowaelinsdaughter @bookishbroadwaybish @nestaismommy @erencvlt @panther-girl-124

throne of glass taglist: @i-am-a-lost-girl16

[danikamariewrites]

Throne of Glass

Manon

After Flight

Ride (SMUT)

Stitches

More Pink

Feeling Blue

Drop It (SMUT)

Iron Nails and Pale Skin

Just the Sniffles

Back With You (SMUT)

First Flight

Morning Coffee

Fenrys

Reunited

Learning (SMUT)

Book Delivery

Dorian

Right Where You Left Me

Dorian vs Echo

Once Upon a Time

Literally Obsessed hc

Rowan

Cold Shoulder

Learning (SMUT)

Keep You Cold

Ddlg headcanon

Fluffy relationship hc

Lorcan

Bite Me (SMUT)

Gavriel

Secrets

Light in the Dark

Cadre series

Cadre (SMUT)

Not on Speaking Terms

Rowaelin

Dating headcanon

Pregnant reader headcanon

Eras Tour headcanon

Modern headcanon

Stay Still (SMUT)

Cured By You

Manorian

Lay With Me?

Elorcan Daughter x Rowaelin reader

Cardigan

Anything For Her

[shadowdaddies]

Hey do u think u can write a dark manorian x f!reader I think that would be intense

ooh this was my first time writing something like this and it was def intense. thank you for the request💜

Meant to Be

dark!Manorian x fem!reader

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Warnings: kidnapping, implied violence, drugging

Pounding your fists on the bedroom door, you screamed. “Let me out! You cowards, where the fuck is he?” You were out of breath, exhausted from trying to escape the room they’d locked you in. The doors and windows were all sealed shut, and with the raging fireplace and the many layers of skirts in your wedding dress, you were in desperate need of water.

Crumpling to the floor, you sobbed into your hands - mind reeling over the events of the recent hours. The happiest day of your life quickly turned the worst - flashes of your family’s horrified faces, your fiancé’s fear as you were snatched out of his arms. 

You were drawn out of your nightmarish thoughts by the sound of the door clicking open. Two sets of feet were visible from the cracks between your fingers, and you pulled your hands back to see Manon standing over you as Dorian closed the door behind them. She walked around to your side, crouching down to your level. “Oh, my sweet girl. Why are you so upset?” she cooed, bringing a hand to your face to wipe the smudged makeup. 

Your eyes simmered with rage at her audacity. “Why am I upset? Are you fucking kidding me? You kidnapped me from my wedding! Where - where is he?” Your voice broke off as the last question left your mouth. Deep down, you knew where your fiancé was - what they had done with him. But you couldn’t bring yourself to acknowledge it.

Dorian crouched at your other side, a glass of water in his hand as he brushed the hair from your face. You jerked away from his touch, heart racing like the prey that you were, caught between two predators. Dorian tsk’d at your reaction to his touch. “Now, that’s not very nice. I came in here to check on you and bring you water, and this is how you thank me?” 

You glared at him, reluctantly taking the glass with shaky hands and drank down the contents. Instant relief flooded your veins as the water cooled you down, survival mode kicking in. You had to get out of here - if only you could make it to the door, then you could find a window and make your escape. 

A delicate finger tapped the bottom of your chin, angling your face towards Manon. Her golden eyes glowed with pleasure when you looked at her. “Good girl,” she whispered, words dripping with pride. Thumb stroking your cheek, Manon spoke to you as though she were soothing a frightened animal. “See? We’re not here to hurt you. We love you.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but a plan came to mind, and you would need the element of surprise on your side. Dorian stroked your hair again, and this time you tried to seem comforted by the action, turning to face him. He beamed at you, moving his hand down to swipe his thumb across your bottom lip in a display of ownership.

Drawing his hand back, Dorian’s sapphire eyes glittered as he watched your face. Good. You needed to keep their focus away from your hands. You subtly shifted up onto your heels, thankful for the full skirts that hid your movements as you prepared to run. Dorian hummed, watching you in admiration as he spoke. “You’ll be so much happier with us, sweet girl. You won’t even miss that poor excuse of a man.” 

His words snapped the leash you had on your emotions, launching you into action. You smashed the glass against the floor, grabbing shards of glass as you blindly swung them at Manon and Dorian and jumped up towards the door. 

You barely made it two steps before phantom hands wrapped around your ankles, and you fell face first towards the ground before iron nails tore through the back of your dress. You were suspended in the air, Manon holding you with terrifying strength as Dorian walked in front of you. He sighed, twirling the glass shard in his fingers and looked down at you with the same disappointment as a parent might look at a naughty child. “And here I thought you might have come to your senses.”

Manon hauled you to your feet, phantom hands now pinning your hands to your sides as a wave of nausea flooded over you. The room began to spin, and you struggled to focus as Dorian’s voice became a distant echo. “We thought you might need some more time to calm down. I didn’t expect you to drink all of that water, though. You’ll be out for awhile.” 

You felt warm, strong arms scoop you up as the world faded to black, and you realized you would never escape them. “Sleep tight, sweet girl. We’ll be right here when you wake up.”

[shadowdaddies]

Here's my Throne of Glass masterlist! I'll keep my posts linked here🩶

✨= fluff

❤️‍🔥= smut

💧= angst

💥 = action (ka-pow!)

Manon

❤️‍🔥My Girl (Manon x Reader)

✨Roar of the Wind (Manon x Reader)

✨Lead the Way (Manon x Reader)

💧✨ Balance (Manon x Reader)

💧✨Beloved (Manon x Reader)

💧✨ In Your Corner (Manon x Reader)

✨Lift Me Up (Manon x Reader)

✨Golden (Manon x Reader)

Dorian

💧✨❤️‍🔥King's Queen (Dorian x Reader)

💧✨❤️‍🔥 Masquerade (Dorian x Reader)

❤️‍🔥Phantom Touch (Dorian x Reader)

💧✨Distraction (Dorian x Reader)

✨The Bet (Dorian x Reader)

❤️‍🔥NSFW Headcanons

Aelin

✨All I Want for Yulemas (Aelin x Reader)

Aedion

❤️‍🔥Serenity (Aedion x Reader)

Asterin

✨Taking Flight (Asterin x Reader)

❤️‍🔥Get a Room (Asterin x Reader)

✨Getting Lost (Asterin x Reader)

✨Keeping Secrets (Asterin x Reader)

❤️‍🔥Stress Relief (Asterin x Reader)

❤️‍🔥One Bed (Asterin x Reader)

Vesta

✨New Beginnings (Vesta x Reader)

Gavriel

💧✨Always Yours (Gavriel x Reader)

✨Mine (Gavriel x Reader)

❤️‍🔥Every Part (Gavriel x Reader)

Fenrys

❤️‍🔥Wild Things (Fenrys x Reader)

✨Anywhere (Fenrys x Reader)

💧💥 ✨Reunited (Fenrys x Reader)

↳ Part 2 Part 3

💧✨Hope Reborn (Fenrys x Reader)

Lorcan

✨Flawless (Lorcan x Reader)

❤️‍🔥So Lorcan DID (Lorcan x Reader)

✨When You’re Sick Headcanons

Elide

💧✨❤️‍🔥Solstice Confessions (Elide x Reader)

Poly Fics

✨Protective Instincts (Rowaelin x Reader)

✨Puppy Love (Rowaelin x Reader)

✨Get Clean (Rowaelin x Reader)

✨Better Mood (Manorian x Reader)

💧✨❤️‍🔥Attention, Please (Manon x Reader x Asterin)

✨ Cold Hands, Warm Heart (Manon x Reader x Asterin)

✨Any Excuse (Asterin x Reader x Sorrel)

✨Lucky Me (Asterin x Reader x Vesta)

✨We Have Now (Elorcan x Reader)

💧Meant to Be (dark!Manorian x Reader)

↳ Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

the beautiful dividers on my blog are by saradika-graphics

[throneofsapphics]

Ok but like manorian x reader where they can’t find her and Manon is freaking out thinking something happened but they end up finding her and she’s just sleeping AHAHA (you pick wherever she fell asleep lol)

leave a note

Manorian x Reader

Summary: Reader goes ‘missing.’ 

Warnings: none i can think of!

A/N: haha I love this idea, thank you for the request!

You’d missed dinner. Not entirely unusual - sometimes you worked through it, or found a few friends to go out with. But, you would always leave a note if you left the castle. 

He pushed the doors to your rooms open, Manon shortly behind him, and expected to find you at a desk - papers strewn around you, at least three different books open, but you were nowhere to be seen. And neither was a note. 

“It’s possible she forgot.” He murmured, mostly to himself. 

“Forgot what?” Manon stalked over to his side, where he was staring at your desk. 

“To leave a note.” 

“Y/n never forgets.” He watched as the burnt-gold eyes scanned the room, her body stiffening. He didn’t need any immortal senses to feel the panic starting to come from her. “She hasn’t been here in hours.” 

“Then lets go look.” Dorian ran through the places you could be - library, one of the private offices, some of the meeting rooms - maybe you needed a bit more space. 

He strode through the doorways, walking faster than usual. 

-

Manon was on edge. Everything today went as normal - the only exception was your decision to go for a run … but she knew you had meetings after that, and had seen you around lunch. Her mind whirled through every scenario, every possibility, and each becoming worse and worse. 

Panic started to set inside her, iron nails nearly snapping out at the thought of you in danger. She managed to keep some of her cool - hopefully not to stress Dorian further, but she could see the King was already on edge. 

They went through each room, each place she could possibly be, and didn’t find her. Her panic grew stronger by the minute, iron nails snapped out. Until she caught your scent. 

Manon didn’t bother watching to see if Dorian kept pace as she followed the trail. Through rarely used parts of the castle - mostly abandoned. Dread and anger grew in equal measures. If anything had happened to you, she’d rip the throats out of anyone even remotely involved.

-

You were tired, it had been a long day. Countless meetings, exhausting courtiers that made you want to rip your hair out, and you’d decided to go for a run this morning, for the first time in months. It made dealing with everyone easier, but didn’t help your exhaustion - and you were ready for bed before dinner. 

The castle was big enough to have infrequently used passageways, and you found one of your favorites, intending to rest. The late afternoon sun beamed through the windows, warming the sun and stones of the small alcove. A rest couldn’t hurt, you propped yourself up inside it, curling against the warm wall, tucking your knees up, and decided to close your eyes for a few minutes. 

“Y/n,” a feminine voice sounded, and you groaned, stirring. Your neck ached on one side .. where were you? Your eyes blinked open, and it was dark. You’d only laid down to rest for a few minutes, it couldn’t be that late. You felt a hand on your shoulder, and twisted, one hand holding the side of your neck, to see Manon and Dorian. Both looking incredibly relieved, but a little pissed off. Manon grabbed you, roughly pulling you from the alcove. 

“Be gentle,” you protested, but she tugged you upright, scanning your entire body. Looking for injuries. 

“Why the hell would you sleep there?” Her eyes narrowed and her voice sharp. 

“I didn’t mean to.” You said carefully. “I was just supposed to rest.” 

“Stupid.” She hissed at you. Dorian pushed her out of the way with his shoulder, wrapping you in his arms instead. 

“What she means to say is we were worried when we couldn’t find you.” He ran his hand up and down your spin, gently pressing you closer to him. “And that we’re glad your okay.” 

“Don’t do that again.” Manon snapped and you hid a laugh, pressing your face into Dorian’s chest. “Napping in an abandoned hallway-”

“Or leave a note.” Dorian interrupted, his a corner of his mouth turning up. 

Manon snarled at the interruption and she lectured you the entire way back to your rooms. 

[throneofsapphics]

to be held

Manorian x f!Reader 

Summary: “Manon.” Dorian snaps, his voice raising. She whirls around to him, body still stiff, posture still cold. “She’s been through enough.” 

You can tell they’ll fight about this later. “Fine.” Her voice gives slightly, and when she turns back to you her eyes have softened.

Word Count: ~1.3k 

Warnings: character injury, hurt and comfort, suggestiveness 

A/N: I love the two of them

You aren’t supposed to be here. It’s a classic case - wrong time, wrong place. As soon as the male realizes who you are, he flees. Just outside of the castle walls too, in a blind spot. 

That still keeps you slumped on your knees, the knife digging into your side. You know it didn’t hit anywhere fatal. Still, it hurts like a bitch and you, despite the temptation, know better than to yank it out. 

Breathe. In and out. Deep breaths until you gather yourself enough to try and rise to your feet. A few stumbles later and your hand braces the wall. The cool stone cuts into your palm, aggravating the scrapes already there from your fall. 

Manon and Dorian seem to have a sixth sense for when you’re in trouble, and sure enough they both appeared. Even before the castle guards could find you. Part of you thinks you might be hallucinating. 

“Gods,” you hear Dorian first, and he’s then he’s by your side. Real, his touch is real as he carefully holds you upright.  

Manon gets one trace of the scent. You watch as she meets Dorian’s eyes. He gives a short nod and she stalks off. On the hunt, and out for blood. 

“It was a mistake,” you say weakly. That stops Manon in her tracks.

She turns back. “He hurt you.” Her eyes train on the wound. “He’s going to pay for it.” 

You wince, not from pain but from the fate headed for the man. He’s going to wish he’d stabbed himself - or never been born by the time Manon is finished with him. 

“He stabbed you, and you still want mercy for him.” Dorian murmurs, his magic already working to heal the small wound as he examines it. 

“This is going to hurt.” Dorian says, seeming to hesitate as his hand hovers near the knife handle. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to a healer?” Every time you have any kind of injury - which happens often enough considering you’re clumsy - but that’s usually scrapes or cuts - not stab wounds, you always get Dorian to heal you. Anyone else's magic feels strange. He likes it, even if he won’t admit it. 

You deflect, “will you try -” 

“No.” He interrupts, already knowing what you’re going to say. Try and at least make it a quick death for him - the man who hurt you. Maybe you are hallucinating a bit - the pain must be making you delirious. 

You don’t try and argue with him, focusing all of your attention on breathing and staying conscious. “Pull the knife out or I’ll do it.” You say instead, drawing a dark chuckle out of him. 

“Breathe in.” He instructs, and you do, preparing yourself. “Out,” the knife slides against your skin, almost hurting worse than when it went in, now that the adrenaline has worn off. But, his magic is already working and soothing the area, knitting the skin back together. 

“Let’s get you home,” he murmurs, deciding it’s healed enough you can be moved. For once, you don’t protest as he sweeps you into his arms. The guards carefully avert their eyes, ignoring the glare coming from the King. Still, chaos had erupted around you - Dorian didn’t need to say a word for everyone to launch into action. They wouldn’t find him before Manon, that’s for sure. A small group of guards fell into step around the two of you while others head out to scout potential threats. 

“A big fuss.” You mumble, head pressing into his chest. 

“You’ve seen nothing yet.” He says under his breath, ignoring absolutely everyone as he gets you back to your chambers. You hear the underlying message - wait until Manon scares the living daylights out of them. Likely with Abraxos’s aid - and his. By the rage bubbling under his skin, as soon as they both know you’re safe there will be hell to pay. 

-

“How could you be so stupid?” Manon comes in with a roar, three hours later, and you wince. You expected this, but it still doesn’t prepare you for it. “Alone. At dusk..” 

“I was -” 

“I don’t care what you were doing,” she snarled. “You’re supposed to be smarter than this.” 

“Manon.” Dorian says quietly. 

“Idiot.” She snaps, and tears start to well in your eyes, her lips are parted, ready to continue berating you

“Manon.” Dorian snaps, his voice raising. She whirls around to him, body still stiff, posture still cold. “She’s been through enough.” 

"How are you so calm?" Her voice lowered to a dangerous level.

"I'm not." He said through gritted teeth, but jerked his head towards you. Curled up on the couch, a hand still held protectively to your side, tears threatening to fall from your eyes. Maybe part of you wants to be offended that they're only holding it together for your sake, but right now you can’t bring yourself to care. 

You can tell they’ll fight about this later. “Fine.” Her voice gives slightly, and when she turns back to you her eyes have softened. She sits next to you, and wraps an arm around your shoulders. Her hand hovers before fingers run through your hair. You realize how strange this must be to her. She’d admitted once, after plied with plenty of alcohol, that intimacy outside of sex is strange to her. You’d watched with cautious eyes and it felt like she was pouring her heart out to you. 

“I was raised to be a monster.” The words tug at your heart, but before you can counter her, tell her she isn’t, she keeps speaking and your mouth slams shut. “I am still learning what it’s like to hold, and to be held.” In any other context the words might sound awkward but right now it fits, it slides another puzzle piece into place. One you’re cursing yourself for not figuring out earlier. 

“What it’s like without …” Her words trail off, mouth pursing and brow furrowing in an entirely un-Manon like way. 

“Sex.” You offer, and she nods gratefully. 

“Without sex.” 

You lean into the touch, melting against her and she relaxes more, her body loosening. As much as this is for you, this is for her too. Trying to show her love in different ways. You feel rather than see Dorian slide in on your other side. You don’t need to open your eyes to know he’s giving Manon and approving glance and smile. His thumb rubs comforting circles into your thigh as the day catches up with you and your breaths even out, into a welcoming sleep. 

-

You slowly come to consciousness, but fake your sleep as you hear them arguing quietly above you. 

“She needs to train.” Manon hisses. 

“We can’t force her to.” Dorian counters, but you can tell he agrees. 

Sure, you know basic self defense but taking up a blade is something you’ve never had any interest in. But now … now you have motivation to.

“I’ll do it.” You grumble, already knowing you’ll regret the words. 

Especially when Manon says, “Good. We start in the morning.” 

Dorian let out what might be a commiserating sigh, covered quickly by an “I’ll be there too.” 

-

The next morning is hell. Well aware Manon’s visit ends in a few days, she seems determined to teach you as much as she possibly can.

“Again.” She orders, but you cross your arms. 

“It’s been three hours.” 

“I think you can go a little longer,” shadow hands graze your shoulders, down your arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. When did Dorian get here? His real hands, gently hold your shoulders now as he bends to whisper in your ear. “We’ll make sure you’re rewarded.” 

He straightens, this time speaking to Manon. “Won’t we.” 

“Depends how well she listens.” 

With that reward on the line, you don’t hesitate to raise your arms again. 

[throneofsapphics]

Poly!manorian or poly!rowaelin where their lover is kidnapped and tortured please. I love how you write manorian and rowaelin!💙

old grudges

Rowaelin x f!Reader

Summary: Aelin and Rowan’s lover is taken. 

Word Count: ~2.4k

Warnings: injuries, blood, implied sa & torture, death, reader is slightly unhinged, not proofread 

A/N: ah you’re so sweet, I love writing them. thank you for the request!

An arm darts out, wrapping around my waist, pinning my arms to my side with bruising strength. An iron collar is snapped around my neck, biting into my skin and I feel my magic shrink away as I’m being dragged back. 

I hear Ella struggling next to me, and I whirl out, punching the closest man in the face, before jumping on the one holding her back, enough she can dislodge herself. I slide the knife out from the sheath on my thigh, quickly jamming it between his ribs. Just as my mates taught me. 

“RUN” I scream at her, and thank the Gods she listens, darting out of the alley. 

Another hand clamps over my mouth, and I’m dragged into an alleyway. I hear curses as my knife slashes out, but a hand manages to lodge around my wrist, twisting until it’s broken and I’m forced to release it. At least five of them. 

I thrash around in whoevers arms but they have a tight hold on me. I bite down on the person's hand - they curse but nothing. A blindfold is strapped over my eyes and iron chains wrap around my arms. 

The hand releases my mouth so I scream, but a gag is quickly shoved in. My focus is derailed as a cloth is shoved under my nose, whatever drug is on it renders me unconscious within seconds. 

Rowan is going to kick my ass, if Aelin doesn’t first. 

-

Ella tries, and manages to get a good distance, but they shoved some kind of cloth under her nose and she’s dragging. Her feet keep moving, keep going. Eventually she collapses - hidden in an alcove, out of sight. 

-

Aedion see’s the female - bloodied and screaming, running for the gates, and recognizes her immediately. One of y/n’s friends. He sends one of the guards to get Aelin and Rowan. Just as she crosses the gate, the King and Queen are already there.

“They,” she pants heavily, “they took her. You have to go, now.” She describes their last location. “They drugged me, I just woke up-” she glances at the sky, reading the time based on the sun, “two hours ago. It happened two hours ago.” 

His face tightens, and he summons one of the guards - telling them to get her to the infirmary. 

Two hours. Y/n’s been gone for two hours. He can feel the rage bubbling from both Rowan and Aelin - magic ready to burst from their skin. Rowan shifts, flying for the last location, and Aelin takes off on foot. Aedion lets out a slow breath, before giving orders to the castle guards. Rowan and Aelin would tear apart the entire world to get her back - and he would gladly assist. 

-

When I come to, it’s dark and damp. I’m still blindfolded, but I can tell I'm underground. I feel the ground beneath my legs - stone, and dirt. My shoes and knife are gone but I’m still wearing my dress and sweater thankfully, although based on the feel of the fabric against my skin, I can tell it’s ripped. Some kind of iron wraps around my arms, binding them tightly against my back - along with my knees and ankles. There’s blood on my temple, and I can feel a small laceration. I likely fell on that side of my body, based on the bruising I feel on my arm as well. I’m still gagged unfortunately, or I’d be screaming at the top of my lungs. I wiggle around and groan, trying to push myself to a sitting position. 

“She’s awake.” 

I focus as footsteps thud down the hall. A key clanks, and iron groans. I’m grabbed roughly by the shoulders and dragged to my feet. I thrash around, protesting but it’s muffled through the gag. I can’t walk, so my body is dragged across the floor, and up a set of stairs. I wince as my feet are dragged against rough and harsh stone, but keep up a slew of curses, all coming out like gibberish I’m sure. 

I’m dropped back on the ground with a thud. Still stone, but slightly more polished. Where the hell am I? I struggle into a sitting position - not giving a shit about modesty at the moment, I’ve got bigger fish to fry. The blindfold is ripped roughly off of my face, and I blink several times at the bright light. 

“Our new guest.” A masculine voice croons. Someone tears the cloth of the gag from behind my head, and it’s ripped away. A male stands in front of me. A few others line the area, all of them dressed like warriors, and heavily armed. I recognize some of them from the alleyway. I’m in a cave. A nice one, but still a cave. What mountain range? Where could I be? I vaguely recognize the accent, but can’t quite put my finger on. 

“More like a hostage.” I croon back. “Who the fuck are you?” I spit as far as I can, but it still falls several feet away. 

A boot connects with my ribs, throwing me back to the ground. “Speak to him with respect.” A voice spins out. 

“Fuck off.” I growl, struggling up to sit again, and spitting at him this time. 

“Stand down.” The man says quickly, and the other one bares his teeth, but backs off. “Feisty, aren’t you?” He chuckles and I switch my attention back to him. “And pretty.” His eyes trail up my body, and nausea swirls in my stomach, bile starting to rise in my throat. I shuffle around, trying to pull my dress back some, and his eyes glint with amusement. 

“Who are you? What do you want?” I say blandly, keeping my tone neutral. He narrows his eyes, face turning into an ugly frown, but I keep eye contact with him - refusing to look away. 

“Who I am, isn’t important. And you, of course, as bait. You’ll lead them right to me.” 

“They’re not stupid.” I hissed at him, but panic started to bubble inside of me. If they get hurt because of me … 

“But when they hear about their precious mate being tortured, they’ll do rash things.”

Cowards, having me trapped in irons. “You don’t need to worry about my mates.” I grinned at him, and spoke in my most pleasant, cheery voice. “I’m going to bring you to the brink of death, and back, over and over again. I’ll rip every single sliver of skin from your body, and attach it back. It’ll last for days, until you beg for death. I’ll make sure you feel every agonizing second of –” 

“Shut her up.” He barks, looking vaguely disturbed. I thrash my body around as another gag is shoved into my mouth. 

A smile crosses my lips - as much as it could with a tight gag wrapped across my mouth. 

The man looked over my shoulder to someone. I tried to whirl around and see them but a hand gripped my hair, forcing me to stay turned forwards, and only tugged further when I fought. 

“Have fun with her. Just leave her in one piece.” He said, before looking back at me, a smirk crossing his lip. I fought as they dragged me back across the tile, thrashed my whole body, bumped into them as much as I could. Eventually a boot connected with my temple, and I fell back unconscious. Maybe I should’ve tried to memorize the route instead. 

-

I gleaned little to no information over the next few days, it’d been nearly a week and my captors … weren’t very kind. For as much as they said ‘bait,’ they still tried nearly every way they could to get information out of me. I shrank back into the small place in my mind, filled with happy memories, disassociating from the reality and pain in front of me. 

-

Rowan was losing his damned mind. One week, and no luck. A good part of the Bane was scouring nearby areas, anywhere within reach - anywhere they might’ve taken her. A small letter delivered, a ransom note, told them that she’s still in Terrasen, apparently. But - she could be absolutely anywhere and Terrasen was one of the largest territories in Erilea. 

However, a little over a week in, they realized whoever took y/n had forgotten one important detail. Aelin is the Faerie Queen of the West, and the little folk still look to her. 

-

In the middle of the night, when the guards were far enough away I had some privacy - at least had them out of earshot, people I never thought I’d encounter again appeared. Little Folk. Aelin’s still their Queen. 

My jaw dropped, but I didn’t dare speak loudly, or make any sounds. Instead, I crouched towards the dirt, and wrote in the old language, as best as I could, “trap. It’s a trap,” before giving as many details as I could - no matter how useless they would be, and a plea - a plea for them not to endanger themselves, not to rush into anything - or to leave me. I’d finally placed the accent - Wendlyn. 

They nodded, before disappearing with a magic I never could understand. I prayed to the Gods that Aelin and Rowan would understand - and stay the hell away. 

-

Glittering eyes appeared as they paced at the base of the Staghorns, where the scent from the letter had trailed off. Aelin knelt, letting them approach her. They spoke in hushed voices, quiet enough Rowan couldn’t understand, but he saw the tears in her eyes as she thanked them. They nodded and disappeared, gone even in the daylight. 

“I know where she is.” Aelin’s face was set in a tight line. “And who.” 

Aelin told him everything, and a fury he hadn’t felt in years filled him again. Some of Cairn’s acolytes, ones who took his death hard, had found their way into Terrasen. Into his home, and took his mate. 

“They spoke to her. She’s alive,” Gods, the fact that that’s all they had to say. “And said it’s a trap, and not to rush into anything.” 

Rowan was seething, so was Aelin, but y/n was right - to rush into anything would endanger her life and theirs. 

They headed back to where they’d set up a small, discreet camp. The entire court had been gathered when she was taken, and not a single one refused to leave. They tasked Elide, who was the most level-headed, with making sure the city didn’t descend into bedlam. Y/n, who’d been a member of their court before involved with them. All of them took it personally, and Aedion, Fenrys, Lorcan, Ren, Lysandra, Aelin, Rowan and a few of the most trusted fae and human warriors from the Bane gathered to make a plan. 

Rowan couldn’t help thinking of how y/n told her friend to run, bought her friend time, how she’d told the little folk to tell them not to come if it would endanger them. As if she didn’t know they’d burn down the entire damned world to get to her. 

-

The males in sight had the air ripped from their sight before they could so much as blink, with one exception. It took Rowan less than a minute to get her location from him. Fenrys disappeared without another word. 

-

The caves went unnaturally silent, and I knew exactly what was happening. Apparently the guard on duty did as well, but as soon as he undid the chains from their latch, I twisted to wrap them around his neck, twisting hard enough to snap it. A second later, Fenrys appeared. 

He looked at the dead man with an edged grin, holding a finger up to his lips. I untangled the chains from him, and he snatched the keys, undoing the manacles quickly. His eyes hardened as he spotted the collar, one I had no idea how to get off. I fought the urge to cough and sputter as he undid the gag they kept - having tired of me bitching them out constantly within the first few days. 

“Later,” I mouthed, and he nodded, tucking the keys into a pocket. He grabbed me carefully, trying to avoid the wounds, and we slipped through time and space, using that strange magic of his, appearing on the outside of the caves, a few feet away from the entrance. 

My limited strength was nearly destroyed, but I managed to lean up against the stone wall, taking deep breaths to try and calm myself, convincing myself this is reality. 

“They might be a little while,” he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. 

Lysandra, and Ren exited first - all covered in blood. I forced a grin onto my face, but I was barely keeping calm. All I wanted was to rush inside and find Aelin and Rowan, to know they’re safe and alive. Aedion took one step out, spotted me, and darted back in. 

Within the next few minutes, both Rowan and Aelin came out. 

I took a few steps towards them, before collapsing to my knees, a broken sound leaving me. As they rushed towards me, everyone else scattered. 

“Don’t start thanking us,” Aelin murmured, as if she could hear the words on my tongue. I let myself collapse into her, tears finally running down my cheeks. I hadn’t let myself cry - not once over the last ten days.

“We should move,” Rowan said softly, and I struggled up to my feet, wincing at the small ache in my side and leg. He frowned, taking one more look at me before scooping me into his arms. For once, I didn’t protest, and leant into his chest, letting the exhaustion take over. 

-

When Aedion had run back in, telling them to get out, insisting he and Lorcan could take it from here, Aelin had snarled at him. But - he said y/n needed them - both of them, and they exited without another word or complaint. 

The state she was in, the hollow look in her eyes, Aelin hoped Lorcan and Aedion, and whoever else might be in there, were taking their sweet time. 

But, that territorial and protective Fae senses were telling her to y/n as far away from here as possible and she easily gave in to them. 

-

I hardly remembered the trip back, only vaguely being on horseback - on Kasida with Aelin, her arms wrapped carefully around me, Rowan slowly healing some of the wounds, and telling them what I could, mostly that I didn’t tell them anything. They didn’t ask what they’d done, the proof shown on my body. 

The next thing I knew, I was safe - home, and finally felt a bit of peace sink back in. 

[danikamariewrites]

hello. Would you write for dark Dorian and reader? Please

Once Upon a Time

Dark!Dorian x reader

A/n: Ive been a sucker for Dorian lately I cannot stop thinking about him. I’m also loving @shadowdaddies dark!Manorian series rn, definitely go check it out.

Warnings: dark!dorian, manipulation

“There you are pet. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” Dorian’s voice sent chills down your spine as you bask in the afternoon sun. The thrill he gives you after being together the last two years still brings a smile to your face. Like you’re being chased by him in your own home. You look up at him from your spot in the plush grass. The castle gardens are so beautiful this time of year, you can never resist spending your days out here when the weather finally turns.

Dorian sits next to you lightly kissing your forehead. A small blush creeps on to your cheeks as you softly respond, “Hi.” He smiles at you, holding your chin between his thumb and forefinger Dorian tilts your head back a little so your eyes meet his sapphire ones. “What are you doing out here sweet girl? Shouldn’t you be wedding planning.” Your face falls. You’re not avoiding planning the most exciting day of your life. You just needed a break from how suffocating the dining room felt with all the flower samples, and napkin samples, and everything else that was carted into the palace for your approval.

“I just needed a moment to myself.” Dorian gives you a sympathetic pout before pulling you onto his lap so your back rested against his chest. “I know things like this can be stressful my love. I’m here if you want me more involved. Come find me next time and we can sit together, ok?” You nod against his strong chest, settling into his warm embrace.

It took a lot to earn Dorian’s trust just so you could come out and enjoy the gardens. While you are allowed to wander the castle on your own Dorian prefers to be with you when you find yourself outdoors. When he found you this time you could tell he was slightly panicked that you didn’t at least have a guard with you. Dorian was always afraid that you’d be taken from him or that you’d run. But you’d never do that. Dorian keeps you safe, you couldn’t imagine life without him.

“Before we go back can you tell me a story? I just want to stay out here for a bit longer.” A small chuckle leaves his full lips. “What story do you want sweet girl?” You think for a moment, “The one where you first saw me and then we met.” Dorian smiles at you as you stare up at him with this innocent doe eyes. “You got it.”

Dorian adjusts you so you’re in a more comfortable position cuddled up to him. “Once upon a time there was a girl who lived in Rifthold. She was the most beautiful girl the King of Adarlan had ever seen. He was absolutely enchanted by her. She’s so kind and sweet, how could he resist her? The king had to meet. One day he took a trip to her flower shop in the city. When they finally met he was so nervous to speak he couldn’t get a word out.

“She was just so smiley and bubbly he couldn’t interrupt her. When the king laid in bed that night all he could think of was the flower girl. Days and weeks went by where he watched the flower girl from afar. When the king finally learned her name it was all he could think of. Y/n. He kept repeating it, practicing saying it for the next time they met. Slowly but surely they fell for each other and the king couldn’t bear another day apart.

“The king watched his sweet y/n. A man walked into her shop and he ended up being belligerent and rude. The king couldn’t have that so he dealt with the man and brought his sweet y/n to the castle where she would be safe with the king forever.”

You remember that day. Gods you were terrified as you hid behind the counter and prayed for Dorian to save you. Everything had been a blur that evening and when you woke up the next morning you were in Dorian’s bed. All your stuff had been moved to the castle. You had tried to leave, something had felt wrong to you. But Dorian had insisted that you must stay until he deemed it safe for you to return home. Eventually you didn’t want to return home. You wanted to stay with Dorian and he was more than happy to have you stay with him.

You turn to straddle him, wrapping your arms around his neck. “I love that story.” You say softly. Dorian brings his hands up to hold your face, stroking your cheek with his thumb. “And I love you sweet girl.” He softly kisses your lips then your nose. “Let’s go back inside darling. We can do wedding planning together, hmm.” “Sounds perfect.” Dorian scoops you up in his arms heading back to the dining room.

He did everything to keep you from seeing his anger at the lack of guards in the garden. Barely any were by the gates. Dorian would be having words with Chaol about that. Gods forbid you ran and he couldn’t find you.

[shadowdaddies]

Meant to Be - Pt. II

dark!Manorian x f!Reader

Part One | Part Three | Part Four

Warnings: drugs, addiction, mentions of poison and killing, kidnapping

There was no way of telling how long you had been here, locked away in this beautiful prison. Days blurred into nights, which blurred into days. A shell of the person you once were, most of your time was spent staring at the gardens from your bolted window, wondering how you got to this point. 

You never dreamed Dorian and Manon were capable of what they’d done - your fiancé was gone, and you were cut off from your friends and family. Most days you felt numb. It was easier to shut out the world than to attempt to process the horrors - but some days, you couldn’t push the memories away. You would become a torrent of emotions - trashing and screaming in rage and anguish until you were sedated. 

It became a comfort - sometimes you would lash out just so they would give you the sedative. You learned how to take part of the syrup, and spit some out when they weren’t looking - it helped you think without feeling so much. It helped you develop a plan. You spent weeks pretending to be the docile, muted version of yourself that Dorian and Manon wanted to you be, while inside you were fury personified - determined to bring them down.

This morning, you stared at the stranger who faced you in the mirror - a fractured memory of who you were before all of this happened. You had little connection to her anymore, and you would never be as naive as her again. Dorian smiled behind you as he combed your hair. “You look beautiful today, sweetheart.” 

You cursed the butterflies you felt at his praise, how you’d adapted to feel soothed by his touch. You dug your nails into your thighs, drawing you back to reality. This man killed your fiancé, and he would pay. No matter how genuine those sapphire eyes seemed when he called you his good girl.

Putting the final touches in your braid, Dorian leaned over your shoulder as he admired you in the mirror. His warm breath fanned your cheek, barely containing his excitement as he spoke. “I have a surprise for you, sweet girl.” Your heart raced - not at Dorian’s excitement, of course - but at the possibilities. A change in your routine led to potential for plotting your escape. 

You painted on a happy smile, leaning into Dorian’s touch as you batted your eyelashes - every bit the coquette that you knew sent desire through his veins. “What is it?” 

His fingers traced the neckline of your dress, admiring how you flushed under his touch. Leaning down so he was level with you, Dorian gave you a bright smile. “I thought we could go to the library today.” Your excitement was genuine as you bounced in your seat, whipping around to face him. Your smile faltered slightly as you registered his alarmed expression. Right. You needed to act sedated, easier to control.

You sighed, letting yourself melt into Dorian’s touch as you brought one of your hands to his - noticing how warm and soft it was beneath yours. “I would love that,” you whispered, soft smile and doe eyes locking with his. “When can we go?” you questioned, praying you didn’t sound too eager.

Dorian’s hand moved to your cheek, rubbing soft circles as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. The feeling of his warm lips against your skin distracted you for a moment, and a small part of you realized that although your affections towards your captors were pretend, your body might not be on the same page.

You snapped out of your thoughts to see Dorian’s knowing smile. “We can go right now, sweetheart,” he whispered, offering you his hand as you stood. You linked your arm in his, letting him lead you out the door for the first time in weeks. Pretending to take in the decor through the halls, you made a mental map of each path, counting the windows and noting where guards were stationed.

You arrived at a large set of doors, Dorian throwing them open before he turned to take in your expression. A disbelieving laugh left you, mouth hanging ajar as you marveled in the sight of the grand library. You had never seen anything like this - six stories of bookshelves, stacked with volumes ranging from new releases to hundreds of years old. 

Dorian took you on a tour through the vast space - meticulously organized by genre and author - before he led you to a cozy seating area. Plush velvet couches surrounded a fire, a table full of sandwiches and cakes in-between. Dorian’s arms wrapped around your waist as he murmured in your ear, “I had this set up for you. I picked out some romance books you might like as well. Perhaps we could enjoy the afternoon together?” 

Dorian pulled away to search your face for an answer, and you hadn’t realized how much you had been leaning into his body until then. Stumbling for balance, you merely gave Dorian a nod as you took your seat on the sofa. Before Dorian could join you, however, an adviser came storming into the room. “Your majesty, you are needed in the counsel chambers at once.” 

Dorian’s eyes flashed with anger as he turned to the nasally man. “Can you not see that I am busy?” With a quick look of disdain in your direction, the adviser gave a shallow smile to the king. “Yes, your majesty. But I guarantee that this matter is of the utmost urgency. Please.” Dorian glanced back at you, a look of longing in his eyes before he gave a curt nod to the man. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m able sweetheart. And don’t worry, I’ll retain some guards here to keep you safe.” 

You inwardly recoiled at the thought of being watched like a child, but quickly changed your frown to a pout. “Don’t leave me too long, please,” you pleaded to him. With a kiss to your hand that left a lingering sensation, Dorian promised to return - and left the library. 

You grabbed a sandwich from the table, humming a tune as you pretended to admire the room. Four guards. You weren’t escaping here today, but how could you use this opportunity to your advantage? These people kidnapped you and poisoned your fiancé - they drugged you. Your eyes widened with realization. Poison. 

You had spent every day looking out over those gardens - you could identify every flower down there by heart. You leapt from the couch, strolling along the rows of books until you reached botany. Perfect. Flashing a smile at the guard nearest you, you held up a book, giggling. “I love flowers.” He rolled his eyes, unamused and unsuspecting. To them, you were just the king and queen’s pet, who apparently loved flowers.

Bringing back a stack of books on flowers and their various purposes, you pored over the information for what felt like hours. You smirked as you recognized several flowers from the garden - foxglove was a potential option, but you’d need more information on its effects. Pinpointing the place in the book about foxglove, you were about find more books about the plant when two hands landed on your shoulders. 

The cool of iron nails was noticeable through the fabric of your dress as Manon leaned in, pressing a kiss to your cheek before turning to see the open book. “What are you reading about, sweet girl?”

[shadowdaddies]

Meant to Be - Pt. III

Dark!Manorian x Reader

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

Your shoulders tensed under Manon’s gentle grip, entire body frozen as you floundered, at a loss for words. “Reading about flowers?” she prodded, looking at the picture of foxglove on the page. 

Swallowing hard, you managed to nod your head, humming your confirmation. “I... I’ve been looking at the gardens through my window, admiring the flowers. Dorian brought me here, and I wanted to learn what they’re called. They’re just so pretty.” Daring to turn your head to look at the witch to your side, you found a pleasant smile on her face, golden eyes sparkling as she studied the open book. “Would you like to go?”

You forgot how to breathe for a moment, jaw going slack as you tried to decipher what cruel joke she must be playing on you. “Like... to the garden? You would let me go?” A soft hand moved to cup your cheek, a long iron nail gently scratching the line of your jaw until it stopped to rest under your chin. Manon smiled down at you - no sign of the predator within her as she leaned down to press a kiss to your hair. 

With a deep inhale, you nodded. “I would like that.” The grin Manon flashed you was absolutely vulpine, sending a chill through you as she held out a hand. “Let’s go, then.” Eyes wide, you stumbled over your words. “N-now?!” With a soft laugh, Manon nodded. “Why not? Come on, sweet girl.” 

Scrambling to grab your books - and a sandwich for good measure - you followed Manon out the door, not failing to notice the four guards following after you both. You scoffed internally. As if guards were necessary, as if you could fight off the witch queen if you tried. 

You followed Manon down a series of halls and stairwells, mentally cataloguing each door and window you passed. Noticing that the number of guards increased as you descended towards the ground floor, you found yourself subconsciously drifting closer to Manon until you bumped into her shoulder. “S-sorry,” you muttered, moving away from her warm touch. Manon didn’t say anything, just gently wrapped an arm around your waist as she led you outside. 

Resisting your body’s urge to lean into her, you followed her lead down the stone path to the gardens. They were even more grand than what you could see from your window - hedges twice your height trimmed in whimsical shapes formed a sort of dreamy maze that led you to the main area. It was filled with different kinds of flowers - more than you had realized before - all intricately planted in enchanting patterns, accentuated by floating lights and pergolas with wisteria draped over the sides. 

It was the most relaxed you had felt in months, since before the planning of the wedding and the chaos that ensued. You shuddered, pushing those thoughts aside to focus on enjoying this moment. Another arm wrapped around you - Manon’s presence at your back surprisingly comforting as you allowed yourself to lean into her touch. The witch leaned down, pressing a kiss to your neck, and you convinced yourself that the small moan that left your lips was part of your efforts to gain her trust before you betrayed both her and Dorian. 

You were shaken from your thoughts as a guard stumbled into the garden grove, his eyes scanning before they settled on Manon. Her grip had tightened around you, iron nails holding you close. But you didn’t feel threatened, instead oddly protected by her hands on you. “My Queen, you asked me to notify you as soon as the prisoner wakened.” 

Manon went rigid behind you, plastering on a fake smile that promised pain towards the guard as she slowly released you. “Yes, I did ask that, didn’t I?” Your eyes darted back and forth between her and the guard. “What prisoner?” you dared to ask in a meek tone. Manon’s head whipped to face you, the predator that lurked beneath her skin threatening to break through her calm facade. “No one, sweet girl. Just a low-life that unfortunately must be dealt with.” With a kiss to your forehead, Manon promised she would return soon, leaving you alone with your guards in the palace gardens.

You wandered over to the flowers, noticing the foxglove from your book. You had almost forgotten your entire reason for being here. Glancing around, the guards were all posted out of your line of sight. This would be your only chance to take the flower. You could learn how to create the poison once you were able to return to the library. 

As you knelt down, picking the foxglove in a hurry to stuff it in your dress pockets, your ears picked up the faintest whisper from one of the guards. “No, she doesn’t know.” Who doesn’t know what? You wondered, inching closer to where they stood on the other side of the hedge. “The King is with the girl’s fiancé now - the Queen too. I don’t know anything else, just shut up about it. I’m not losing my head because she knows something she’s not supposed to.”

Your fiancé is here. He is alive. Your world tilted on its axis, breath escaping you as the world faded to white, your body hitting the ground with a thud as you fainted.

[throneofsapphics]

Hi I hope you’re doing well and I’m glad you’re feeling better! I was wondering if I could bother you for a short lil dark!Manorian x reader angst to fluff?

Like she wanders around the castle and they can’t find her and think she ran or something. Thank you!

Hi! thank you, you're so sweet and you're not bothering me!

I want to be completely honest, I've tried writing dark!manorian before but it's kind of impossible for me. I can't get a solid grasp of in a dark relationship dynamic (mostly with Dorian), and that makes it really difficult to write. But, I'd be willing to do that with a different ship!

(also I'm sorry I can't remember who but I know there's other writers on here who do!)