#greetings from enith

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Working through some of the religions for the Little Bird. That’s a lie I’ve had the first drawing done for months and the concepts for the second for years.

I absolutely want to expand on these sometime, but for now this is all :3

[allkordelia]

Keep Me Near Your Heart XIV

Jaenara walk down the hall towards godswood when she heard her name being called, she stopped and turn to see her young uncle jogging down the way towards her.

"Hello, Daeron." She greeted with a smile.

"Hi," he greeted back with a flush face, "How are you today, jaenara."

"I'm good, I'm on my way towards godswood," The young prince looked nervously at her before requesting to join, "Of course, the more the merrier." She grins as they turn to walk side by side.

It didn't take long for daeron and jaenara to make it to godswood, they settle under the tree with pillows under them and relax under the shade. Jaenara was enjoying the silence and the company of her uncle, she needed to get out of her room, it was getting quite stuffing in there even through everyone she knew was doing there own thing. Aemond having his afternoon tea with his mother, Enith and Krey was doing their duties leaving Jaenara to be left with her own thoughts.

"Jaenara," Daeron called below her with his head on her lap.

"Hmmm." She repond with her eyes close and her head leaned back.

"Can I ask you a question?" He ask, jaenara let out a low a giggle going to say 'you already did' but decided on a simple sure, "Have you ever been to a brothel?" The question made jaenara open her eyes and look down at daeron, he stare at her with his bright curious eyes.

"Uhh, n-no, why do you ask." Daeron glance away with an unsure look before looking back at her.

"Aegon wishes to take me to silk street, he said now that I am ten and three, I must become a man." Jaenara raise her brow and sense anticipation from daeron.

"But," she coaxed.

"I don't know if I want to go," he replies low, "The maester says that I must wait until I am married to have sex, but aegon said that it is different for me because I am a man and man don't have to wait until marriage." Jaenara scoff and roll her eyes, of course aegon would say that, "But, Aegon said if I didn't go then I be label a craven and no lady would want to marry a coward." Jaenara shook her head at her uncle's nonsense.

"Daeron, first, don't listen to your brother, his an idiot and an drunk. Secondly, if you don't want your first time to be with a whore, that is fine." Daeron sit up and turn to her.

"Really?" Jaenara nodded, "But, how would I know what to do when I am married."

"Well, you can always ask your mother or your father." Daeron frown a bit.

"But, mother is always busy and father...well you know." He said sadly bowing his head, jaenara looks away sadly at his gloomy face.

"Well, you can always ask aemond or me, believe me, no lady with half a brain in court will think you a coward if you don't do it. I think they will find you rather more attractive." Daeron smile widely.

"You really think so."

"I know so, you should always have your first time with someone you really really love, it's a special thing, you shouldn't waste it on someone who already done it a millions times." Daeron and jaenara chuckle before daeron became quiet, jaenara watch him as he thinks to himself, she bump her knee into his own breaking him out of his thoughts, "What you thinking about?" She ask.

Daeron made a face before answering, "I think you are right, jaenara. I would rather wait and do it with a woman I love than some woman who I probably will never see again...thank you." He smiles making jaenara return the sentiment.

"I'm happy you took the high road, it means you two more steps away from being nothing like your brothers." Daeron chuckle with a half of grin, he was quick to wrap his arms around jaenara.

The young princess smile as she wrap her arms around the young boy, jaenara looks down at the boy and her heart flip as she imagine her soon to be son. If she wanted anyone her son to end up like it would be daeron and lucerys, their innocence are what always made her life a little bit brighter. She hope her son will grow up to have a gentle heart, their aren't a lot of men in their family that has that trait.

"Princess." Jaenara and Daeron pulled away to face Ser Krey, jaenara smile at the knight.

"Ser Krey," she greeted with a nod, ser krey gave a quick smile before it dissolve in a thin line, making jaenara look at him warily, "Is everything alright?" She ask.

Ser Krey looks angry but was trying to keep his cool in front of her, he clear his throat, moving to put his hand on his sword.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, m'lady. But, there was a terrible fire in fleabottom," Jaenara frowns feeling her heart sink into her stomach.

「                            ⊹₊♚₊⊹                           」

Aemond wall down the hall towards jaenara's chamber with a single flower in his hand, he pluck it when he was in the garden with his mother. The first thought that pop into his head when he saw it was jaenara, the flower was new to King Landing and most importantly it was beautiful, way beautiful than the other plants in the wide garden. He only hope jaenara would take it, he can start to see her come around to him, slowly but still it is great progress from both of their sides.

Aemond couldn't help a small smirk to form at the thought of jaenara, he has missed her terribly, his mother constant complaining about jaenara and her new attitude is making him grow tired. He  snapped at her the other day for calling jaenara out of her name, his mother looked shock before putting on her kick puppy expression, but he ignore it and continue on with their evening before departing back to jaenara and her small bump. Aemond felt a bit giddy at the way jaenara's belly is growing, soon enough he will be able to kill his boy kick, he must remind himself to bring up names for the babe with jaenara.

He had couple in mind that he knows jaenara would like, as aemond opened the door, his giddy feeling turn to confusion when he sees jaenara pacing the room with an angry look.

"Jaenara, what's wrong?" His wife stopped her movements to look at me, she clench her jaw before going back to pacing.

"Your grandfather is what's wrong." Aemond closed the door behind, and walk towards her with a slight frown.

"What happened." He asked.

Jaenara shook her head as she clench her fist, aemond look her over and notice the tear tracks down her face, he took another step closer. He stood in front of jaenara stopping her in her tracks, she looked at him with a hard glare, making him place his hand on her arm.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what is going on." Jaenara stare him not sure if she should tell, she doubt he cares, his father didn't what makes him different, "I thought we decided we talk more, if you keeping something from me then you going back on your word." Jaenara growl softly looking away from him.

"The orphanage in fleabottom burned down," she starts with a frown as her eyes got misty, aemond raise his brows in surprise, "And your grandfather refuse to help the children and septa livia, he won't even allow me to help rebuild their home." Jaenara says close to tears.

"Oh," Jaenara look back at him angry.

"Is that all you going to say?" She snap, aemond frown shrugging his shoulder.

"What else is there to say." Jaenara scoff turning her back to him to stalk to her bed, aemond followed before coming to a stop as jaenara took a seat on the edge of the bed, "Jaenara, I'm sorry, but I don't know what you want me to say." Jaenara only roll her eyes.

"Of course you don't because it doesn't matter to you." She chided crossing her arms, aemond frown hurt making him glance down at the flower before looking back at her.

"Do you know what cause the fire." Jaenara shrug her shoulders.

"Ser Krey hasn't found any leads yet." She mutter.

Aemond clench his jaw at the mention of the knight, he swallow down his chargin and spoke again.

"Well...I'm happy to hear that Ser Krey is looking into it, maybe I should send Ser Ashford to help him." He suggest, "And if you like I can talk to my grandfather or mother about it."

"You do that?" She ask with a flicker of hope, aemond smile and nod.

"Of course, even through I don't give half a rat ass about those criminals. But, for you I will help as best as I can." Jaenara eye aemond unsure before she slowly nodding her head.

"That would be great appreciated, husband." She marveled, "Thank you." Aemond smiled at her.

"Of course, wife." 

Aemond took a seat next to her and finally handed her the flower, jaenara glance at aemond before looking at the exotic flower, a small smile appear on her lips and another 'thank you' pass through her lips before she brought it to her nose to smell it. Aemond watch with a fast beating heart, as the way jaenara's demeanor slowly changed.

「                            ⊹₊♚₊⊹            」               "Aemond, slow down." Jaenara called as Aemond pull her along by her hand down the halls, "I can only go as fast as I can with my condition." She pout as her hand rested on her bump.

After weeks of waiting and small updates on the fire that took down the orphanage, Aemond finally got a lead and was now taking jaenara to the great hall.

"I'm sorry, my love. But, we must hurry before anyone knows that we in there."

Jaenara groan softly as she tries to keep up with Aemond, they rounded corner and hurried towards the door of the great hall. Aemond push the doors open with one hand as they other was still holding jaenara's hand, he pulled her inside to find ser Ashford and ser krey standing beside three others on their kneels, hands tied behind their back as they had their backs to them. Aemond pulled her along further inside catching Ser Ashford and Ser Krey attention, they bowed their heads as we rounded them to stand in front of the three men who looked to have been beaten.

Jaenara frown as she stare the three man beaten and broken, she glance away to look up at Aemond as he held a proud smile on his face.

"Who are these men, aemond." Aemond looked at his wife with a glint in his eye.

"The scum that burn down the orphanage." Jaenara looks away from her husband to the three men, she narrow her eyes at them before folding her hands on her belly.

"Why." She ask, the three men glance at each other before bowing their heads silence.

"The princess has asked you a question," Aemond snapped stomping over, he grabbed the one in the middle hair pulling it back so he could look at jaenara, "You will look at her and answer, filth." The older man grunts as aemond pulled at his hair roughly making the man whimper in pain.

"A-Apologies, y-your highness. Please forgive me." He snivelled looking at jaenara, aemond let's go of his hair roughly before moving to stand by his wife again.

Jaenara glance at Aemond once he stood by her side, his hands behind his back as he glare down at the three criminals, she looks away from him to look back at the men.

"Get them up." Jaenara comanded when she glance at the knights, Krey and Ashford nod before pulling the men to their feet, once standing jaenara ask again, "Why did you burn down the orphanage in fleabottom?" The man in the middle swallowed nervously before clearing his throat.

"We..were drunk my lady, we didn't mean to--" The man cut himself off as he lean forward in pain after Ser Ashford punch him in the stomach, jaenara frown and look at Ashford as he glare down at the man.

"Lie again and I will cut off something important." Ashford threaten making the man nod his quickly before letting out a deep breathe before he stood straight again.

Jaenara flick her eyes back to the man, "My boy, Mikel, he lived in that place for some time now since his mother died last spring," the man started again, "I been working very hard, my lady. To have enough coins to leave and start a better life with my son--" Jaenara flinch when Krey knock the man to his knees and kick him in his stomach.

"You are testing our patience, Tarik. Another lie that leave your foul mouth, I'm going to know knock every tooth out." Jaenara looks at Krey as he glare angrily down at the man, a familiar feeling stir in her making look away and squeeze her thighs.

A choke chuckle made jaenara turn her eyes back to the man on the ground, he lift his head to turn to look up at Krey with a bloody grin.

"Apologies." He state with a cold look, "I am so use to lying that it is hard for me to tell the truth." The man turn his head away before spitting down some blood onto the floor, jaenara take a step back in disgust. She watch the man get himself up on shaky legs, he waver a a bit but got is feet under him.

Jaenara looks up to his face to see him smiling, it was unnerving to say the less. She came here to get answers, she hoped that this was an accident and was willing to spare the individuals who did. But, she see that this was no accident and that these men did it on purpose.

"This will be my last time asking you this, if you lie to me again you can spend some time in the black cells to think on your predicament." She says, the man, Tarik, smile fall into a line, "Now, that I got your attention, are you ready to talk?" She ask, Tarik clench his jaw before nodding.

"I tell you what happened, if..." he starts with a small smile, "...you promise to rid me of my crimes." Jaenara raise her brows at the man's nerve.

"What of your..." she looks at the of there two, "...associates?" Tarik shrug his shoulders.

"What about them?" The two man stare at Tarik enrage.

"You bastard." One said glaring at the man beside him, Tarik only roll his eyes.

"So, do we have a deal, princess." Tarik smirk ignoring the other men, jaenara glance at aemond as he glare at the man before them before looking back at the man.

"Fine."

"Jaenara--" Krey started but she pulled up her hand stopping him, he frown and stayed silent, jaenara looks back at the man before nodding her head for him to go on.

"We burn down the orphanage." He finally admitted.

"Why." She ask, and Tarik shrug his shoulders.

"I needed my son out of there, I needed him to go into the family's business you see. My father and his father before him are what you called..." A small smirk form with a thoughtful look, "...a miracle worker, they made this special jar that could cure anything and all I wish to do is pass down my legacy to my only son." He said with a look that mocks sincereness

"More like a crook," Ashford spoke with distaste, "Cheating smallfolks and lords out of their money for your own gain." Tarik glance at Ashford with a look. 

"A man got to eat." He grins before looking back at jaenara, "We burn down the orphanage so he had no choice but to come with me on the road, that's it." Jaenara stare at him in disgust.

"You could have nearly killed him and the others." Tarik stare at Jaenara with an emotionless look, "How can you be so heartless?" She ask making Tarik bark out a laugh.

"Are you serious asking me that?" He chuckle, "Do you not see where I live, I did my son a favor burning down that place. That septa was teaching him things that him and those other little bastards will never learn in the real world. You know what my son told me when I came to reveieve him the day agyer the fire?" He shook his head with a smile, " He said he didn't want to go that he wanted to stay and become a knight..." Tarik laugh shaking his head, "He truely thinks that someone like him is going to a knight, I told him he be lucky to be a stable boy in the castle. They have no future. All of them are going to end up being whores or thief or murders one day, I just...wanted them to start now rather than later so they know where they are in this world, the bottom." He finish.

Jaenara looks away upset, the feeling in her chest was close to boiling over.

"So, can I go now." Tarik ask, making jaenara look back at him, "...me and my boy have a long road ahead of us, and I will like to leave by nightfall." He smirk 

Jaenara tilt her head at him, she look to her husband who look at her. She stare into his eye for a second before looking back at Tarik, a feeling she never felt before bloom in her chest.

"Of course." She said making Tarik smile, jaenara looks to Ser Ashford, "Ser Ashford, would you us the honor and escorting this man to the black cells." Tarik smile dropped as Ser Ashford rises.

"My pleasure, princess." Ashfrod grab the man's elbow, but Tarik pulled away.

"No, no, no, we had a deal." Tarik glare at Jaenara, making the young princess look at him confuse.

"Did we?" Tarik grits his teeth as jaenara look at aemond, "Did I make a deal with this man, husband?" She asked, making aemond smirk and glance at Tarik.

"Not to my knowledge, wife." Both stared at Tarik with smirks.

"Sorry, Tarik." Jaenara said with a pout on her smile, "But, I be happy to put in a good word with the king, so your sentences will be less severe." Tarik growl as he was pulled away by Ashord.

"What about us, m'lady." Jaenara looks back to the other two men.

"Yeah, what about us?"

Jaenara narrow her eyes at the two before looking at Ser Krey, "Take them to the cells in the upper level with the rest of the criminals." Ser Krey nod as he took both men by the arm, they thanked jaenara as they was pulled away following behind ser Ashford.

Once the doors closed behind them, jaenara turn to Aemond again.

"I want those two sent to the wall for their involvement in the fire." She said making Aemond nod his head before asking about Tarik, a glint passed through her eyes, "I want his head on a spike." Aemond smirks.

"I'll tell my grandfather."

Jaenara nod her head before glancing down, her hand rub her small belly with a frown making aemond furrow his brows.

"What's wrong, my love?" Jaenara looks up at Aemond with a small frown, "Aren't you happy, you got justice?" Jaenara frown deepen as her thoughts went to the children with no home.

"Yes, but...they are still without a home." She bow her head, "If they have no where to live than Tarik was right, they will soon go will found ways of living and be like the rest of the people in fleabottom. Soulless and broken." Aemond frown down at his jaenara, he hope that bringing Tarik here that jaenara will see the true face of fleabottom and stopped allowing those children to blind her with their innocence.

But, after what Tarik said about his son, aemond undstood a little bit on why jaenara cares so much. And seeing how much faith jaenara have in those children, and now seeing her so hopeless made aemond understand how much those children mean to her.

"Jaenara, look at me." Jaenara looks up at him with puffy eyes, "Tarik is nothing more than fleabortom dirt beneath our feet, they all are, but those children arent...." Jaenara blinks up at Aemond in shock not sure she heard him right, "They have futures and dreams like me and you, there is still time to save them from being like Tarik."

"But, how? Your grandfather and mother won't help. What can we do." Aemond frown a bit in thought.

"I can go to father about it," Aemond concludes, "He always says that smallfolk is what makes a kingdom, maybe if I explain what is happening he probably help." Jaenara frown.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Now a days, when I visit him his barely lucid." Jaenara claims, "And last thing I want is to go asking him for antthing, especially sinc there's a fat chance he might be uncaring like your mother and father." Aemond put his hand on jaenara's shoulder.

"We'll figure it out...together." He said making jaenara smile a bit in appreciation.

"Okay, husband."

Aemond smile back at her before moving his hand to he could wrap his around her waist. He pulled her along towards the door, they make their way out unknowingly to them they were being watch.

[teamhook]

A Chapter A Day... Savage Heart CS AU :: Finale

Well, this is it the last of the month and a chapter a day. Today I give you the final two chapters. Yes, I know I don’t know how to count. :) Sorry.

I wanna thank @ilovemesomekillianjones​ my beta for the story. She is amazing! The sweetest person and I was lucky she agreed to help me with this story.

The lovely cover was made by the awesome @xhookswenchx​ one of the first to give love to this story.

 I also wanna thank @ultraluckycatnd​ for looking over the last chapter to calm my nerves. I was afraid I was rushing.

|AO3| |FFN| previous chapter

|AO3| |FFN| current chapter

Chapter 30: New Beginnings

~~~Golden Cove

After a celebratory dinner at the Nolan's home, celebrating Killian and Emma's union, Emma's safe return, and the fact that the whole family was all back together, along with a few new faces, Graham had decided to go back to Golden Cove.

He is determined to find out the culprits of the capture of the young Mrs. Jones. She had mentioned two young boys, both from Misthaven, the Doctor, and a man they called Peters. One of the boys had aided her in her escape. Graham had asked a few locals about the Doctor and Peters but they had claimed to not know anything about either man. The frustration he feels is great, he has lived on the outskirts of town not far from them for years. He has sold them furs and meat but he is still seen as an outsider. They still don't trust him.

After days of having no leads he decides to go to one of the seediest taverns in town since alcohol is known to loosen people's tongues. He hopes to find a little luck in his pursuit of justice. The tavern is small, but it's filled with rowdy men and a few familiar faces. There is one that catches his attention. A former Doctor, who usually keeps to himself is surrounded by drunken men. The man is spending a lot of money, yet there is no explanation for his small fortune. His practice is currently nonexistent.

Graham approached the table with a smile. "Good day, Mr. Hyde." The Doctor smiles, "Good day, huntsman. How's hunting treating you?"

"It has been a bit slow, how about you? You seem to be in good spirits." Graham sits down across from the man.

"I came into a bit of money thanks to an old friend." There is a slight slur to Hyde's voice.

"An old friend?" Graham asks. Perhaps this is the lead he needs.

The Doctor nods, "Yes, helped out an old friend and he was generous."

"Sounds great, do you think your friend could help me out? Hunting has been too slow lately," Graham prodded.

"I'm afraid that is no longer a possibility. He's gone back to town."

"Too bad, I could have used some generosity myself," Graham sighs. "Could you let your friend know about me in case there's another opportunity?"

"I'll keep it in mind. You never know, maybe Malcolm will need help once more."

"Is your friend Malcolm from around here?"

"Yes, he owns a house just outside of town."

Graham starts piecing the puzzle together. The house where Emma was kept was outside of town, the mysterious Malcolm, and the Doctor. "Outside of town, isn't that property owned by Fiona Black?"

"Yes, that's Malcolm's late wife's maiden name."

"Oh, isn't it uncommon for a woman not to take her husband's name?"

"Fiona was a piece of work. She enjoyed making Malcolm feel worthless. When she died, Malcolm didn't shed a tear."

"The name Malcolm sounds familiar, what's his last name?"

"Oh, Peters. I doubt you know him, he has long been gone from town."

"I just thought I had heard someone mention him recently," Graham responds. He just has to act natural so Hyde won't get spooked. He wants to appeal to his good side and hopes to convince him to provide information. When Graham has what he needs, he parts ways with the Doctor.

Unfortunately, Graham isn't the only one that had noticed the good doctor's newfound wealth, and on his walk home, Doctor Hyde finds himself on the wrong side of a blade.

All that Graham finds at Doctor Hyde's place is the last piece of jewelry the man had squirreled away.

~~~Booth Estate

Cora arrives back home with Malcolm and is greeted by Milah casually leaning on the wall facing the front door, a smirk dancing on her face. "Please, tell me I have to play the grieving widow."

Cora clenches her jaw and sneers at the woman she has grown to hate. "In a perfect world, you'd be dead."

Milah rolls her eyes and sighs. "So that's a no. Too bad, I look great in black." She walks away thinking that luck isn't on her side, she had hoped Killian would free her from her marriage. All she can do is wonder why he didn't kill August?

Enith nervously asks, "Is there anything I can do for you, ma'am?"

Cora quickly responds, "Did my son come home?"

"I'm afraid not, ma'am."

Cora sighs as she walks toward the open door she had forgotten to close when she first arrived home. She looks out and wonders where the hell August has gone. "Enith, let me know the moment he arrives."

Enith curtsies, "Yes, ma'am."

~~~Nottingham's Office

"Mr. Booth, tell me what you have in mind?"

"Simply take everything from him. His money, his wife, his freedom."

Sheriff Nottingham smiles. "I like the way you think, and I may have just the perfect place to start."

August nods. "Tell me."

"I'm in possession of the pirate's ship. We recently raided a different ship with stolen goods. The pirate claims he has a reputable business. We can claim otherwise. We fill his ship with contraband. He will lose his newfound reputation, and his wife will see him for the louse he is. He will rot in prison for the rest of his life."

"Do it." August quickly agrees with the plan.

Nottingham smiles wickedly. "I'll take care of it."

August leaves the office with a smile.

Nottingham orders some of the guards at the prison to transfer the confiscated items to the ship.

~~~Misthaven

After being dumped by Malcolm back at the docks in the port town, Felix had been in a bad mood. He had taken out his anger on Rufio, talking down to him and even giving him an occasional beating. Rufio has had enough.

They had been told to stick by the old woman's home and not to venture to the docks. The older lady is kind to them, but Rufio is tired and he misses the smell of the sea. He also wants to make sure Emma had made it back home. He knows that she will get the Captain to forgive him. It doesn't take long for him to reach the house, staying in the shadows. He won't approach Captain Jones until he knows the Captain has talked to his wife.

Felix, on the other hand, tries to contact Malcolm and fails, so he starts hanging out at the docks, blatantly ignoring the man's instructions. He's currently sitting on top of some old discarded crates looking at the horizon.

The older sailors just walk by him like he doesn't exist. The only one who had ever acted like an orphan like him mattered, was Captain Jones, but he went and married that woman. He knows Rufio let her go. Felix is surprised when he sees Mr. Peters walking toward him with a scowl on his face.

"Felix, what are you doing here?" Malcolm hisses. "I told you to stay put." He grabs the boy's arm. "I don't have time for this."

Felix glares at Malcolm. "Maybe you'll make time if Captain Jones found out you were responsible for his wife's disappearance."

Malcolm stares at him. "I'm sorry, you're right. Come along." Felix complies with a smile.

The older man leads him to the tavern by the docks. "Stay here, I have to go inside to look for someone."

"I can go in there," Felix whined.

"Just wait here, it will be a second." Malcolm walks inside and minutes later he emerges. "Alright let's go."

The smile returns to Felix's face. As they walk back to the docks, Felix stops. Malcolm turns to the boy annoyed. "Why are you stopping?"

"I want to show you something." Felix takes off running towards the beach.

Malcolm watches the boy run to the beach. He has a job to do but it seems the day has turned into him taking care of children. After the threat Felix made earlier, he decides to go after him. When he finally reaches him, he finds Felix kicking rocks into the water. They're standing on a ledge on a cliff overlooking the water. Malcolm peers over, the water is surprisingly calm.

Felix turns to Malcolm. "We call this Skull Rock. All the lost boys come here to watch the ships arrive. We would watch the Jolly from miles away and then run to the docks to meet Captain Jones."

Malcolm smiles and nudges Felix. The boy reacts fast enough to grab onto the ledge, the rocks crumbling under his grip. "Please, help me. Don't let me fall. I don't know how to swim." Little does he know that the fall will kill him before he drowns.

Malcolm smirks. "Felix, what kind of sailor doesn't know how to swim?" With those words, he kicks at Felix. Felix loses his grip and falls. One last look and Malcolm walks away. He liked the boy, he really did, but he had threatened him. What was he to do?

Now to find his boss.

Malcolm was so busy trying to get back to his task that he failed to notice Rufio had just witnessed the whole thing.

An hour or so later, Malcolm finds August at the Golden Goose Tavern, passed out.

Malcolm finally returns to the Booth Estate with August in tow.

~~~Jones Home

The group arrives at the house and seats themselves in the living room. Everyone is still shaken by this new secret that's come to light.

Emma is caressing Killian's stubbled cheek while she sniffles. She is trying to come to terms with today's events and the scare of possibly losing him.

Killian turns his attention to Archie. "Did you know?" he asks, then laughs humorlessly at his own question. "Of course you knew, that's why you looked out for me, right?" His eyebrow raises. "Not because you cared for me, but because of him - my so-called father. I always wondered why I was so lucky to have your protection." Emma kept her hand on Killian's arm as he ranted.

Archie stayed quiet.

Killian turned to Emma. "Milah was right, and you didn't know before today?"

Emma locks eyes with her husband. "No, Killian. I found out today. The only reason Cora told me was because she wanted my help in stopping you from killing August. We already talked about this, before I was kidnapped. I'm sorry, Killian, that you had to grow up alone, thinking you had no one, when in actuality, you had two brothers. I wouldn't have kept this secret from you." She flinches as she looks at Archie's fallen face.

Liam finally breaks his silence. "Brother, do you think you and August can mend your friendship?"

Killian scoffs, "I doubt it; he wants me dead and my wife in his bed."

Emma and Tink share a look that isn't missed by Killian. "Tink, what was that look about?" He is glaring at her.

Tink mouths sorry to Emma. "He came here looking for you and he got handsy with Emma."

Killian turns to Emma. "Darling, you didn't think I should know that? What did he do, did he hurt you?" He looks her over to make sure there are no bruises.

Emma sighs. "He was drunk and I was going to tell you but I wanted to wait until the shock of finding out your brothers wore off. He got handsy and when I said no, he tried harder. Tink helped me but I just didn't want you to do something you'd regret. He is your brother."

"Darling, you should have said something. He shouldn't have touched you. This is all my fault."

"Brother, I hate to interrupt, but I'm afraid we need to inform Emma's parents of the situation. Not everything bad people do is your fault Killian." He turns to Emma. "I'm happy you're alright." He smiles at her fondly.

"Liam is right, they need to know about Milah. It's about time they find out the truth. It's gonna break their hearts, but it's for the best."

Killian sighs. "They're going to hate me. What if they ask you to leave me?"

Emma shakes her head. "I would never do that. I love you. They might be angry at first but you didn't force Milah into anything. Milah has always done whatever she wants."

~~~The Nolans

After a lengthy conversation, Emma and Killian go talk to her parents about the Milah situation. Emma wants to make sure her parents get Killian's side of the story before Milah's. Her cousin is conniving and she would use any means to ensure that Killian is seen as the villain. His past is going to make it hard enough to believe their version rather than whatever fanciful story Milah comes up with.

Liam and Nemo hesitate in going with them, but Emma convinces them to go since Ingrid and Elsa are staying at her parents' house. The mere mention of Elsa puts a smile on Liam's face after the day they've had. Nemo agrees saying it is sensible for someone with a clear head to be there. Archie is quiet as he accompanies them and Tink decides to stay home.

The Nolans are engaged in a lovely post-dinner conversation with their visitors Ingrid and Elsa, and Snow has just excused herself to get some cookies and tea for the group.

David enjoys having his old friends around him; it feels like old times. Of course, there is the added bonus that he is back with his family, his lovely wife, and daughters. Although Milah isn't his, he loves her as if she is. She is all he has left of his brother. While enjoying the company, Emma and Killian arrive with the rest of the houseguests.

David notices Emma's demeanor. He knows his daughter and she looks upset.

"Father, we need to talk to you in private," Emma tells him after she says her hellos to everyone.

"This sounds serious." He turns to their guests and excuses himself. "Should I fetch your mother?"

Emma turns to Killian. "Yes, it would be best if we don't have to repeat the story. We'll be waiting in your office."

David goes to go get Snow and they return to their guests with enough cookies and tea for the new arrivals as well. They excuse themselves from their company to tend to Emma and Killian. The young couple is sitting down by the time Snow and David arrive and take their seats.

"All right, what's going on?" David asks.

"Mom, Dad, there's no easy way to say this… so I am just going to say it. Milah and Killian had a relationship before she married August, August found out and he challenged Killian to a duel but Cora and I stopped it because it turns out that August and Killian are brothers." Emma summarizes the events, relaying them as quickly as she can.

Snow and David turn to each other and for a brief second have a mental conversation. Then David gets up and approaches Killian. Emma reacts quickly as she stands to block her father's path. Killian squeezes her arm.

Snow gasps. "The rumor, it was her! It was her all along and she didn't think twice about saying it was Emma."

David is glaring at Killian over Emma's shoulder. "What rumor are you speaking of?"

Emma is the one to answer. "There was a rumor around town about one of the Nolan Countesses having a relationship with Killian. And yes, Mother, it was Milah."

"Emma, how can you be so calm? Did you know about this?"

"I did, Dad," Emma answers with a small smile.

"And you still married him?" David is itching to punch Killian. "Did he force you to?"

"He didn't force anyone. Not me, not Milah."

David's glare intensifies.

"Dad, they were betrothed, Milah promised to marry Killian and instead married August, while Killian was away on business. Yes, I knew. I found out shortly after she married August. I thought about exposing the affair but who would believe me? I would be accused of lying because I was being spiteful."

Snow is quiet. "This is all my fault; I've spoiled Milah. I remember when the rumor was mentioned, before she claimed it had been Emma, and it was her. How could she accuse Emma knowing full well it wasn't, David?" she sighs. "Emma is right. If she would have said something, she would have been accused of lying. Milah didn't even think twice about accepting August's proposal."

"Mom, Dad, that's not the worst thing. I think she was responsible for my kidnapping."

"Emma, how can you say that? She is your family." David shakes his head in denial.

"I say it because she is vile and she wants Killian." Emma glares at her father.

David turns his face away to avoid his daughter's scowl, and so he doesn't argue further. "Alright, so August knows and there was a duel?"

Emma nods. "Yes, and I helped Cora stop it with a letter saying that Killian is Brennan Booth's son. We just didn't want you to be surprised by the revelation if Cora or August come here. I don't know what they plan to do about Milah, they might want to return her."

David and Snow exchange looks before he sighs. "Snow what are we going to do with her?" Snow closes her eyes and tears fall out. "We tried to be good parents. I went out of my way so she wouldn't feel we favored you - but it seems as if it was all for nothing. As for the Killian situation, I'm not surprised. I did tell you I saw a resemblance."

"Mom, you knew?"

"I wasn't sure. I saw the letter but when I asked Cora, she denied it. I'm guessing because of reputation."

"I guess saving August's life was more important than that."

Killian finally spoke. "Mr. and Mrs. Nolan, Milah approached me. I'm not saying I have no responsibility in the matter. I was going to marry her upon my return from Arendelle but I was too late. I was angry and I wanted her back. Then I met Emma and we got to know each other and little by little the anger was replaced by something else. Before we knew it and were able to accept it, we fell in love. I swear I only want to be a man deserving of her love. I've made mistakes, I cannot deny that, but your daughter is the love of my life."

Killian's words appease his in-laws, not to mention, neither Snow nor David can deny the love that flows between the young couple.

As the day comes to an end, Killian and Emma make their departure, retreating to their home. Her parents hadn't opted to make her a widow and she is grateful because she's extremely fond of her husband.

As they lay down for the night, Emma notices Killian is very calm and decides to take advantage, "Killian?"

He turns to look at her with a smile, things had gone a lot better than expected. "Yes, my love."

"Rufio, uhm he helped me and I'm worried about him." Emma feels him tense up. "Killian, I told him you would forgive him if I asked. So I'm asking, when I find him, please forgive him. He took care of me. He talked about you nonstop and I think it was for my benefit, so I wouldn't miss you. He helped me escape. Please."

Killian sighs. "Your wish is my command. I'll do my best to look past his actions."

"I don't think it was their fault. They were led to believe that without me, you would go back to your life at sea."

"Who would do that?"

"Rufio mentioned a man, Peters, and the name didn't sound familiar until today."

"Why today, love?"

"Cora introduced him to me while we went looking for you. That's his last name. It has to be more than just a coincidence that he lives at the Booth Estate. I've suspected Milah from the moment I woke up in that place."

Emma snuggles closer, his strong arms engulfing her. There's a silence between them as they contemplate what has transpired since they met, and soon they fall asleep. Tomorrow will be a better day.

~~~Booth Home *Next Day

Cora is anxiously still waiting for August to wake up. He had been passed out when Malcolm had retrieved him from some tavern. She could smell the cheap alcohol coming off him when Malcolm brought him home. She couldn't regret her actions because all that mattered was that her son was alive. She would deal with the consequences of her secret being out later. She just hopes he didn't make any more stupid decisions.

August wakes up hungover and he's a little disorientated. All the memories come back from the previous night. He stumbles as he dresses to go get something to drink. His mouth is dry and he has a headache. The path to the dining room is too bright but he carries on. The only thing that gives him comfort is that his mother thought of making up one of the guest rooms for him. Just the thought of going to his marital room makes him sick.

He will go see the Sheriff to make sure that Jones is taken care of. Oh, and he will ask Nottingham to ensure that he will not allow Emma passage to see Killian. He knows that in time, Emma will realize Killian isn't the man for her.

His mother sits at the head of the table, eating some fruit. She looks at him as he enters the room. "Son, good you're awake. We need to talk."

"Good morning, Mother. I don't want to talk right now." His eyes turn to Milah. "Whore, shouldn't you be on your back?"

Milah smirks. "You loved me on my back." She returns her attention to her tea.

"Apparently I wasn't the only one, but soon your lover will get what he deserves," August mocks.

Milah studies August's demeanor, he has an appeal he didn't have before. She shakes her head. She looks down at her plate and pushes it aside. She hasn't been able to keep anything down.

Cora glares at Milah. "I hate you, and you will get what you deserve, you vile whore." Cora stands up and storms off.

Milah has an idea of what ails her but she hopes she is wrong. She can't go to the doctor, but she can go to the healer. She goes back to her room and dresses. No one seems to care about her whereabouts anymore. She has a horse saddled and makes her trip.

The healer confirms her suspicions. She is pregnant and the father has to be August. Her little indiscretion with the Sheriff was recent and she had felt the symptoms shortly after her honeymoon. Now to decide if she wants to claim the child is Killian's and destroy his marriage or tell the truth and have the child be the heir of the Booth Estate.

~~~Jones Home

Emma and Killian are sharing breakfast with Tink while they tell her about the events from the prior day when there's a pounding at the door. Tink smiles. "I'll get it. You two enjoy your breakfast." Tink rushes to the door since the pounding is getting louder.

Sheriff Nottingham is standing at the door. As soon as the door opens, he pushes his way through. "Where's Jones? I'm here to arrest him. We found contraband on his ship, The Jolly Roger." His men follow him inside.

Tink glares at him. "You know perfectly well that he gave up the ship for Emma's return."

The Sheriff waves some documents in her face. "These papers name him as the owner of the ship and the warehouse. Jones, come out and face me!" he screams.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Killian demands as he and Emma come into the living room.

"Killian Jones, you're under arrest for contraband of stolen goods," Nottingham informs him.

Killian is frozen in place and he turns to Emma. His strong, lovely Emma.

Emma glares at Nottingham. "What proof do you have?"

"Ma'am, this is really not any of your business. You should go to your room," Sheriff Nottingham says, annoyed.

"You bloody git, you will show my wife the respect she deserves," Killian growls through gritted teeth.

"If she wanted respect, she should have married a man of honor," Nottingham mocks. The two men standing next to the foul lawman start walking toward Killian.

Killian turns to Emma. "Love, get Archie. He has proof about the legitimacy of my business. Don't worry, I will be home before you know it." Killian agrees to go with Nottingham if only to save Emma any further embarrassment from watching him being arrested.

As they watch Killian being manhandled into the Sheriff's carriage, Tink turns to Emma. "I'll go get Archie. Don't worry Emma."

Emma's eyes are watery from the tears that are threatening to fall. She turns to Tink. "I think my dad can help too, and Liam. He needs to know about Killian."

"Emma, you do know this is not true. Killian has turned his life around and it's all because of you."

Emma sniffles, "I know."

Tink takes off to go fetch Archie.

Emma is restless. She wants to go ask her dad for help getting Killian out of trouble. She keeps pacing and she is going to go crazy if she doesn't do something.

Rufio had slept on the beach, he's lucky it's still warm. He doesn't know if Peters is looking for him to get rid of him too. He needs to go talk to Mrs. Jones, and can only hope Captain Jones doesn't kill him on sight.

Rufio arrives at the Jones home. He's second-guessing his decision but he's alone. Felix was his closest friend and now he is gone. He can't go to the Sheriff because he won't care about an orphan.

The door flies open and Rufio is startled. Emma's eyes widened. "Rufio?"

He smiles. "Is it safe?"

Emma opens the door wider. "Come in," she tells the boy.

"Mrs. Emma is everything alright?"

"Rufio, everything will be okay. I've been so worried about you. What are you doing here?"

"He's dead," Rufio mutters as his bottom lip trembles.

"Who's dead?" she asks.

"Felix," he whispers as Emma pulls him into a hug.

Nottingham's Office

Sheriff Nottingham is grinning as he finishes filling out paperwork. Killian sits in the chair as the Sheriff hums happily at his turn in luck.

"Alright, take Jones here to his new home. Oh, and make sure it's the filthiest cell. And no bunkmates," Nottingham orders the two henchman standing guard at the door.

The men grab Killian roughly by the shoulders and head to the dungeons.

~~~

Tink arrives at Archie's office and tells him the news. He tells her to go be with Emma since Killian wouldn't want her to be alone. He promises to gather David and Liam and then head to the Sheriff's office.

Once at the Nolan's, Archie informs them of the situation as relayed to him by Tink. Archie, Liam, and Nemo head to the Sheriff's office and David heads to Emma's side.

As soon as Emma opens the door, she crashes into her father's arms. "Dad before you say anything, Killian is innocent. That horrible man made a show of arresting him." She tries not to let the tears flow.

David holds her tight and sighs. "Sweetheart, I know you love him, but is he worth all this trouble? The thing with Milah and now this?"

Emma stiffens and pushes herself away from her father's embrace. "If you're not here to help then maybe you should leave. I love him, Dad, and I know he is innocent. The thing with Milah, it wasn't just him. Yet somehow he is the only villain in the situation."

David nods. "Alright, I will go see him once we have more details. Archie, Liam, and Nemo went to go talk to the Sheriff. All we can do for now is wait. Emma, your mother wanted to come but she was convinced by Ingrid and Elsa to wait for more information."

They head to the kitchen where Tink and Rufio are drinking some hot tea.

David quirks a brow at the sight of the young man.

"Oh, Dad this is Rufio, He helped me escape."

David's eyes go wide. "Emma, how can you have someone in your home that kidnapped you?"

"Dad, stop it." Rufio stands up, but a quick look to Emma makes him take his seat.

"He and Felix were manipulated by an older man who used their desire to be in Killian's crew. The other boy was killed yesterday by the same man."

"Emma, do you know who kidnapped you?"

"I know there was the doctor, Rufio, and Felix. The one that gave instructions was a man named Peters, who happens to be the steward at the Booth Estate."

"What?" David's voice rises.

"It can't just be a coincidence."

"Shouldn't we go to the Sheriff with this information?"

"You want to go to the man that arrested my husband?"

"We have to go to someone. If that man was truly responsible, he needs to be held accountable. Emma, he's the law. We have to inform him."

"I want to go visit Killian."

"Sweetheart, that place isn't somewhere you should be. I don't think Killian would want you to see him there. I'll go check on Killian. I know Liam, Nemo, and Archie were going to go find more information."

"Fine, I'll go talk to Cora. She owes me for helping her stop the duel and she needs to know what kind of man is working for her. Dad, make sure Killian is okay. I'll take Tink with me, Rufio will stay here."

Rufio looks up at the mention of his name.

Emma smiles at him. "It's safer this way. That way Mr. Peters doesn't see you."

Tink stands up. "I'm ready to go. But, Emma are you sure she can help?"

Emma tilts her head. "She is a Booth and they're powerful. If Sheriff Nottingham wants to keep his job, he will listen to her."

Emma is determined to get Killian out of that prison and she is starting to worry about just how dangerous Peters could be. Did Cora know what he was up to? If that was the case, that meant she was responsible for her kidnapping. Milah made more sense. Why would Cora want her kidnapped? Emma tries to think of possible reasons.

The carriage arrives at the Booth Estate. Emma and Tink walk to the door and knock.

"Darling girl, I didn't expect to see you so soon," Cora greets them, opening the door herself, for them to enter.

"Is Enith sick?" Emma asks as they enter the house.

Cora rolls her eyes. "No, she's fine. Now tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit."

"I need a favor," Emma says as she and Tink follow the older woman toward the office.

"A favor, what kind of favor?" Cora asks.

"I should say it's more of a payback for all those years my husband was alone."

Cora's smile thins. "What trouble has befallen the pirate?"

"He was arrested."

"I'm sorry Emma, but I can't say I'm surprised."

Tink scoffs. "Lady, Killian is innocent. Sheriff Nottingham knows this. He is saying there was contraband on the Jolly, but Killian gave it up in exchange for Emma. Nottingham hates Killian."

Emma smiles. "We still have the letter. The one that saved your son's life."

"Well, this is interesting. I'm being blackmailed by the pirate's wife."

Emma shakes her head. "Think of it as you wish. All I want is my husband home."

"Fine, I'll see what I can do."

"Oh and Cora, how well do you know Mr. Peters?"

"Why do you ask?"

Emma sighs and continues. "He was the one that ordered my kidnapping and that's not all. One of the boys he tricked into helping him was killed by his hand."

Cora turns white. "How can you make such serious accusations?"

"I befriended one of the boys and he helped me escape. He told me Peters' name and he saw him kill the other boy. I don't understand why he would want to kidnap me, but I think it has to do with Milah."

"I'm sorry darling, but your cousin is despicable. I wouldn't put it past her." Cora knows that Malcolm acted under her own orders, but blaming Milah couldn't be an easier out and it didn't bother her one bit.

"Is she here?" Emma asks.

"She was here earlier. I'm sorry dear, but I'd rather not have to lay eyes on her. As for your favor, I will see what I can do."

"Cora, you owe him. You owe us."

"I'll go talk to the Sheriff and I will stop by your house with news."

"Thank you." Emma nods to Tink and they both rise to leave.

Cora follows them out. As she watches the carriage leave, she wonders what trouble Malcolm has gotten into.

Nottingham's Office

Liam, Nemo, and Archie arrive and the quiet mannered man pounds on the door. Sheriff Nottingham welcomes them with a wide grin on his sleazy face.

"Please, come in and sit. Would any of you like something to drink? It's a special occasion for me so please don't judge me too harshly if I enjoy some rum," the lawman says as he pours himself a drink.

Archie is outraged. "You have no case against Killian and you know it! I have proof." He throws some documents on the desk.

The Sheriff smiles and tisks. "After all these years, you should call me by my first name, Keith. We have proof of stolen goods found on the ship."

Archie laughs. "You know that the ship was forfeited by Killian as a ransom for his wife. So you got your hands on the ship when Tink told you about the letter. We all know that the warehouse is clean of any stolen merchandise. This is just an attempt to finally best Killian by framing him. You didn't realize that he is not alone. He is not that poor orphan you've tried to step on."

"I agree with Archie, my brother is innocent and the proof you claim to have was planted by you. If we have to prove it we will, but mark my words Sheriff, you will pay for your treachery. Your questionable reputation is well known."

"Perhaps you all should be more respectful since I'm the one that decides if any of you get to see the pirate," Nottingham mocks. "But since I'm in such a great mood I will allow all of you to visit him." He smiles and yells out, "Guards!"

Nottingham sweats a bit but he feels confident that with August's support and the fact that Killian has a reputation, it will all turn out in his favor.

The men descend to the dungeons. Nemo and Archie quietly follow Liam and the guards leading the way. The cell is small, with a cot against the wall and a small barred window. Killian is looking out the window.

"I'm not in the bloody mood, Nottingham."

Liam clears his throat. "Brother, it's us."

Killian turns and walks to the barred door. "Liam, please take Emma to Arendelle. I don't want her to live with the humiliation that being married to me will inevitably bring. She deserves better. Perhaps even in time, she will find a suitor. I doubt I will get out of here. Nottingham will do everything in his power to make sure I rot in here."

Archie approaches from the back. "We will get you out of here. I promise."

Killian turns away as the three men leave with an unspoken promise to reunite the Captain with his wife.

Nottingham is sitting at his desk unable to hide his joy when the door opens and August saunters inside, uninvited.

August smiles. "I'm assuming it's done?"

"It is," he confirms with a wide grin.

"Any chance he'll try to escape?" August asks, sitting down.

"No, he wants to be an honorable man. If he attempted it, it would only make him look guilty."

"Sheriff, a favor, please. Ensure he isn't allowed visits from his wife."

"Of course. Hopper and some other men were visiting with him. The guards just let them out."

"I saw them come out before I entered. I should pay his wife a visit, to offer her my shoulder to cry on."

"How noble of you," Nottingham says. "Although, I'd advise you not to do that. Perhaps act as if you're unaware of the trouble that has befallen them."

August ponders the man's words, he could instead apologize for his behavior. "Thank you for your advice. I have a feeling things are going to start looking up for me."

The Sheriff wonders what Booth means by that, but he doesn't care to ask.

Hours later, David arrives at Nottingham's office and the man reluctantly allows him to visit Killian.

Killian swears to his father-in-law that he didn't do what he's accused of and begs him to keep an eye on Emma and to not bring her to see him like this. The thought of her in this place kills him. Mr. Nolan assures him that he believes him, if not only for the faith his daughter has in him. The distress he shows only increases the belief in his innocence.

Cora enters the office a little while later with an air of royalty. "Mr. Nottingham, I'm here to give you two choices. Please make sure you pick the right one. Release Killian Jones or cross me and bear the consequences. I'm sure you enjoy your job and the luxuries that come with it."

The Sheriff stares at her dumbfoundedly. "I'm sorry, are you threatening me?"

"Oh, dear Sheriff, you don't want to make an enemy out of me." She glares at him with her lips in a thin line. "I expect Mr. Jones to be released as soon as possible." Cora doesn't wait for an answer before sauntering out the door as regal as she had entered.

Emma is growing impatient, her dad has been gone for a while. No news from Cora or him is driving her crazy. She needs to know that Killian is okay, safe. As safe as he can be. So she sneaks out when Tink and Rufio are busy trying to make something for her to eat.

She reaches the Sheriff's faster than expected. She knocks and is called inside.

Sheriff Nottingham stands up as soon as his eyes land on her. She is a beautiful woman. He wonders if her desperation will lead her to some unsavory decisions. If he's honest, he wouldn't object to her trying to persuade him for her husband's freedom.

"Mrs. Jones, how can I help you?" His smile is lecherous to say the least.

"Sheriff, I'm here to see my husband." She stands tall with her head high.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," he shrugs.

"Excuse me? Why can't I see my husband?" Her fierce eyes threaten to burn him alive.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Jones, there are some things I need to check before the nuns visit tomorrow for their weekly visit. Please, excuse me." He stands and goes to the door, and she makes her way to the door as well.

Emma is not happy but she has an idea. She remembers that the nuns visit the prisoners weekly to take them food and blankets.

She smiles as she decides her next stop The Convent.

Mother Superior is surprised to see her, and has nothing but pity in her eyes when Emma shares the reason for her visit. At first, Mother Superior feelsEmma shouldn't visit Killian, but when Emma shares the information about the donations Killian has been making anonymously to the convent, the nun has a change of heart. The nun offers her help in the form of a habit and veil for Emma to wear.

Mother Superior hands her the items. "You will wear this. Perhaps, arrive early enough to change and then we can leave."

"Thank you, Mother Superior. Please, don't deny Killian the ability to give money to the orphans. He has a good heart and he thought you wouldn't accept the money if you knew where it came from."

Mother Superior smiles kindly at Emma.

Jones' Home

Tink is startled by a knock on the door and she goes to answer it. August Booth stands there with a smile on his face.

She locks eyes with him. "What do you want?"

"Is Emma home? I would like to apologize for my behavior."

Tink stares. "And you think it's proper for you to come looking for Emma and not ask for her husband to be present?"

"I owe Emma an apology, not the Pirate," he shrugs nonchalantly. "Could you please fetch her."

"I'm not the maid. And you should apologize to both Emma and Killian. All of you rich people think you're above Killian, but you did something Killian would have never ever done or had the need to. I'm sorry your wife lied to you but you're not the only victim here. She hurt Emma and Killian as well. To be honest, I don't think Emma is ready to see you." She slams the door in his face.

August stands in front of the door, reeling from what the girl had said. Not a lot of women would have talked to him like that. His position would have warranted him special treatment, but this girl didn't care who he was.

He decides to leave before she comes out to lecture him more. He feels dirty and ashamed.

Sometime later Emma arrives home just before her father arrives with an update. Emma is not happy to hear from her father's lips that Killian doesn't want her to go see him. She'll give him a piece of her mind when she sees him.

The last visit is from Cora to let her know she paid the Sheriff a visit and gave him an ultimatum. She assures Emma that he will take it.

That night, Emma finds comfort in the fact that she will see her husband soon.

~~~

After her visit with the Sheriff, Cora summons Malcolm. She tells him that he needs to finish his job before he leaves. He cannot stay if he values his freedom.

Malcolm meets Milah near the fields of the Booth Estate as she makes her way back home from her visit with the healer. He knows her well. He startles the horse which jumps and throws her off. She lays on the ground grabbing her stomach. "Malcolm, what are you doing?" she hisses.

Malcolm locks eyes with her. "My job." He presses his foot on her stomach.

Understanding dawns on Milah's face. Cora's words. In a perfect world you'd be dead.

"Wait-" she gasps, "the baby, it's a Booth."

Malcolm pauses for a second then resumes his attack. It must be a trick, a last resort for pity.

Once her life is gone he picks her body up and carries it to the horse and heads back to the Estate.

August can't get the blonde girl out of his mind. She has a fire that calls to him. He shakes his head. Last time he thought along the same line his heart got broken.

His thoughts are interrupted when he sees Malcolm walking beside his horse. The horse appears to be carrying a body. As the man gets closer it's easy to see who it is: Milah. He stays away.

Malcolm tells Cora about the mention of a baby. He swears it was a trick, but Cora asks him to get the doctor.

Sadly the doctor confirms the death of both the child and mother. Her grandchild. She's killed her son's child.

Malcolm decides it's his time to leave, Cora had given him his payment. He left, but not before telling her he was going to Port Hook to secure transport on a ship. He asks her to go with him.

~~~

Graham arrives at the Nolan's with a piece of jewelry and news of the doctor, and David informs them of what Emma had told him about Malcolm Peters.

Snow recognizes the piece. It was one she stopped wearing some years back, but it was one of a kind. Brennan had gifted it to her when she announced her pregnancy.

The question was simple: why kidnap Emma?

Who had to gain from her disappearance? Snow keeps wondering. If Emma is correct, Milah makes sense, but would the Booth steward do something like that for her?

The only person with power is Cora and the jewel belonged to her.

Snow remembers how desperate she was to find Emma. She asked Cora for help and in exchange, she wasn't supposed to reveal that Killian was Brennan's son.

That's the only thing that makes sense. Emma also said that she was not meant to be harmed. It was a scare tactic.

Ingrid and Elsa keep Snow company while the men try to get Killian out of prison. Graham had made a comment that Nottingham is not a man to be trusted and that he has heard rumors of people wanting to get rid of him.

Snow wonders if Cora is somehow behind the arrest of her son-in-law. If not Cora, it has to be August. He was the only one angry enough to pull something like this.

~~~Next Day

Emma wakes up earlier than normal to go to the convent. She is nervous and excited. It's thrilling to sneak around to go visit her husband. She wastes no time and dresses quickly and sneaks out before Tink and Rufio wake up. They are taking their job in keeping an eye on her too seriously. They both claim that would be the number one order from Killian. To keep her safe.

She arrives at the Convent soon enough and she is guided to one of the rooms to change. It is odd to be wearing the habit once more. She is sure to put on the veil. She hopes that the Sheriff doesn't notice her. Once they arrive at the prison, Mother Superior tells her to stay in the back so she is not visible.

Sheriff Nottingham greets them as soon as they arrive and he sends one of the guards with them.

The nuns split up and the guard keeps his attention on Mother Superior. She smiles at the man. "My girls are only going to hand out food and blankets. How dangerous can that be?"

The man gives them space. Emma distances herself from the group. She really hopes she is going the right way, something tells her she is. When you love someone you just know.

She walks to the last cell. It is dark and dirty. She approaches the bars. "Killian," she calls out as softly as she can.

The movement from the back of the cell catches her eye. A figure slowly approaches. "Emma, what are you doing here? I asked your father to not bring you."

Emma rolls her eyes. "As you can see, my father didn't bring me, the Lord did. And I don't listen, I never do."

He quirks a brow, and takes her in. She is wearing a nun habit. "Why are you wearing that?"

"The Sheriff didn't allow me to come see you. I had to see you. I needed to know you were alright."

"Love, I just want you to know that I'm innocent. I love you."

"I love you too, I miss you terribly. Tink and Rufio are driving me crazy!" she laughs.

"Yet, you're here without them. I will have words with them."

"No, Killian. This was the only way I could think of to get in here to see you."

"Love, be careful. You need to stick with Tink. I hope this is the last time you sneak away from them. I worry about you."

"I promise I'll take care of myself and I'll wait for your return."

"Emma, you have to consider that my return may not be possible."

"Well, I'm not giving up. No one is. We are getting you home. Cora will help."

"Love-"

"Don't say it-" she raises her hand.

"Sister, Emma. Sister."

"I have to go, but this is not over. I don't care what I have to do."

Killian stares as she walks into the dark hall leading her out.

Bloody hell.

~~~

The men are actively working together to overthrow the Sheriff. Graham had mentioned an old friend wanted to end the Sheriff's reign of terror. His beloved had experienced it first hand. They were tired of the poverty that man pushed upon the lower class. Nottingham is a greedy man but he still has one weakness. Marian Locksley. The one that got away. The one that chose another man. His pride would be the end of him.

Snow decides it's time to confront Cora, her oldest friend, and Cora welcomes Snow with open arms. After all, she does have to deliver the news of Milah's passing.

As soon as they are alone in the office, Snow can't keep quiet any longer. "You had my daughter kidnapped? Why, because of a secret?"

Cora stares at her with wide eyes before she can deny it.

Snow throws the piece of jewelry Hyde had in his possession.

Cora sighs. "I meant the girl no harm. I had to find a way to motivate you into staying quiet. In the end, the secret was revealed regardless."

"My daughter was just a pawn to you. You could have simply asked me to keep quiet."

"Snow, we both know you cannot keep a secret. It was a desperate move. I was just trying to protect my son."

"I may not know Killian that well, but he couldn't care less about your money."

"Please accept my apology. I will make things right. I'm helping Emma get her husband out of prison."

"And you think that makes it alright?"

"I haven't even mentioned your niece's horrible behaviour."

"Oh, Milah will be dealt with."

"Snow," Cora's face changes for a second. "About Milah, I'm afraid she had an accident and she is gone."

"She had an accident?"

"Yes, I was going to send word to you but you arrived."

"What kind of accident? I want to see her, and please don't pretend like you cared for her. You hated her."

"Doctor Whale is going to send a carriage to pick up her body, for now it is in her room."

"I still want to see her," Snow said. "She is my family."

Cora nods and escorts Snow to the room.

Snow gasps as she sees the body of her niece. She is so still and it's so surreal. Milah was full of life and now it's gone. The tears flow. How is she going to tell David?

"I'm really sorry, Snow. You have to believe me. If I had known about the baby, I would have made sure she was taking care of herself."

"Baby?" The one word makes August's presence known. He had been standing silently in the door entrance.

"She was with child?"

"I'm sorry, son. I meant to tell you."

"Did you do this? Did you hurt her to make her pay for her behavior?" Snow asked. "Like you had Emma kidnapped to keep me quiet?"

August turns to his mother. "Oh my god, you had Emma kidnapped? Milah was found by your right-hand man, Malcolm. What have you done?"

"Oh please, son. Get off your high horse. Tell Snow that you had her son-in-law arrested, your brother, all because he had the misfortune of meeting your wife first. And before you try to deny it, I had a talk with the Sheriff and he wouldn't release him when I asked because he thinks he has a better ally, and you're the only one that fits the description."

Snow scoffs. "You two deserve each other. I cannot believe there was a time I considered you both family." Snow storms out.

"I'm nothing like you, Mother." August spits the words like venom as he shakes his head and leaves as well.

Cora stands alone. Port Hook is starting to sound more appealing. Her son is as stubborn as his father. He will not forgive her.

August has never felt more sick. His mother had Emma kidnapped. She kept his brother from him. Yes, he still feels betrayed. Milah, oh how he loved her. She is gone, her and their child. His mother made sure of it. She didn't even deny it. The girl, Tink, had said his actions were beneath Killian. The pirate captain with the dastardly reputation was a better man than him. His brother. He had to make things right. Be the best man he could be and perhaps someday he could have a brother.

~~~

Marian Locksley waits for Sheriff Nottingham. She sits patiently in his office while he is no doubt torturing the inmates.

The Sheriff's surprise is evident when he notices her in his office. "Marian, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

She simply smiles but doesn't respond.

"Does your husband know you are here?"

"Yes, Robin knows I'm here. Now the reason for my visit is simple. I'm here to tell you that you're out. You are no longer Sheriff of Misthaven."

"Oh Marian, you have no power to do so."

"Keith Nottingham, did you really think no one knew of your disgusting indiscretions? How you take advantage of all the women that walk through your door? These women are so desperate to see their husbands freed, they are willing to do anything. They share your bed in exchange for their husbands' freedom and in order to keep their secrets, you blackmail them to continue. Let me tell you, it wasn't unnoticed."

He looks at her with sheer hatred. "You know, you are not as desirable as you once were. The years have not been kind to you. I've shared my bed with women who are breathtakingly beautiful like you once were. Now you are only an old hag."

"Yes, the years have not gone unnoticed, but those years? I would not trade them for one second with you. Now tell me, what deal did you make to get your hands on Captain Jones?"

"That doesn't concern you."

She pulls out a pistol and aims it towards him. "Actually, it does, because he helps the people. The orphans and all the people you like to step on. Why do you think you never had any proof to arrest him?"

"Guards!" he calls out.

"I'm sorry, no one is coming to save you. They're not your men."

The pistol goes off and from that distance, it is a fatal shot.

In the end, many changes came.

Killian was freed upon the death of Sheriff Nottingham, and August Booth confirmed to the town that the charges weren't valid. Killian was once again home with his beloved wife. Growing up an orphan had made him believe he would never have a family of his own. But now he has a wife he adores. Family and friends he never thought were possible. And, he was not the only one that found a family.

Killian and August were able to move past their issues. With Milah's death, Killian's brother was able to see past his anger and remorse set in. After realizing the depth of his treacherous behavior and making amends, he eventually found a surprising match with Tink.

Rufio was welcomed as an addition to the Jones crew. In fact, Captain Jones had taken Rufio under his wing and is teaching him how to sail.

Cora had found her way to Port Hook just in time to board the ship with Malcolm Peters. The two were never seen again. Then again, the ship never made another port.

Misthaven found a new Sheriff, one that was honorable, Captain Nemo. He'd fallen in love with the small town and never left.

Archie and Ingrid fell in love. Liam and Elsa moved to Misthaven and live a few houses from them. Graham too decided to give up his lonely life on the outskirts of Golden Cove and moved back to Misthaven. Eventually, his old friend Snow introduced him to the woman who would become his wife.

There's also one more addition that is coming in a few months…

Blonde hair dances in the salty sea wind. A small hand gently caresses a swollen belly. The woman's glowing smile gets bigger as she sees the sails of her beloved's ship fast approaching. "Your papa is home, little bean."

This is their happy beginning.

@hookedonapirate @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @seriouslyhooked@profdanglaisstuff @let-it-raines @revanmeetra87@snowbellewells@hollyethecurious@kymbersmith-90@branlovestowrite@thejollyroger-writer@shireness-says​@ilovemesomekillianjones​@thisonesatellite@thesschesthair@winterbythesea@stahlop@resident-of-storybrooke​@superchocovian@lfh1226-linda@artistic-writer​@thislassishooked@shardminds@winterbaby89@xhookswenchx@ultraluckycatnd@gingerchangeling@laschatzi@wellhellotragic@xemmaloveskillianx@courtorderedcake@pirateherokillian@optomisticgirl@darkcolinodonorgasm@sherlockianwhovian @andiirivera @djlbg @nikkiemms @jennjenn615 @scientificapricot @officerrogers @imlaxdris71 @therealstartraveller776 @kday426​

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

The crew of the exploratory ship, The Little Bird. The captain, Diaf, hired this crew to traverse the stars, learning more about both the worlds around them… and themselves.

Think sci-fi adventure but the characters all have the vibes of a bunch of scientists stuck in Antarctica.

Hán and Cereza are the only humans onboard, the majority of the crew being aliens. This is a trend that continues for the galaxy at large for entirely non-suspicious totally not plot-related reasons.

I’m still working on worldbuilding for a lot of these guys but a couple of the tags I made for them have a decent amount of stuff. I made this bc I finally got around to finalizing the design for most of the characters! There are… a few that I will probably rehash again, but there shouldn’t be any major changes. The old version of this post went outdated when I updated the designs, so this is pretty much just a redo of that with the rest of the crew.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Enith first developed space travel around 500,000 years prior to the modern period. This early era of space travel, called the First Enlightenment period, is survived almost solely through it's planetary colonists.

The Corldaxians of Enlightenment period had one goal- to send as many people as possible to nearby habitable planets. Ostensibly, the purpose of this was to set up an extensive empire with infinite resources so that Enlightenment period civilization could exist, as it was, forever. The real motivation behind this was the fear of what they assumed to be an exponentially growing population, and of the internal collapse of the state.

Enlightenment Corldaxians sent out hundreds of colonial trolleys with thousands of people aboard, all to colonize planets their ships wouldn't reach for hundreds of thousands of years. The majority of ships used cryofreeze to keep their colonists alive for the journey, with a good bit of variation on the specifics. All of them, with the exception of the earliest ships, packed the materials needed to make a wormhole generator.

Enith had set up a wormole gate on the edge of it's system towards the end of the Enlightenment period, but it had the knowledge and ability to create them halfway through shipping the colonists. The plan was to have the colonists construct their own wormholes upon reaching the edge of their planet's solar system; then land, set up their colony, and contact Enith through a micro-wormhole com set. The ships that did not have the materials for this on their leaving had another ship sent following them.

Many of the ships did not make it to their destinations. But some did.

The surviving colonists woke up, set up their wormholes, and landed on their planets. Many encountered barely habitable planets that needed thorough terraforming to support a decent population. Some encountered planets that weren't habitable at all, or were habitable but didn't have any native life, and a rare few encountered planets with life already on it. A few of those were even met by sapient life.

The colonists were lucky that, when the first of them contacted Enith, it was once again going through a period of space exploration. The First Enlightenment had collapsed not long after the last colonists left, and Enith had been in and out of dark ages ever since. The wormhole generator, luckily, saw a fair amount of upkeep every couple of millennia and was able to be repaired. Then duplicated, then updated as Enith entered it's modern period.

When Enith was contacted by it's long-lost colonist, it quickly sent more colonists and supplies. The problem was... well... it had been 500,000 years.

The colonists were met by people who barely looked like them, who rarely spoke the same language as them, and who often chastised them for dressing or acting how they always have. They were similar, but that was all that could be said. Enith had changed and the colonists had not. Their way of life was dead and gone, and they were the only memory.

First contact had to have been funny though. I mean imagine you went to an exoplanet to colonize it and when Earth sent some more guys for you and opposite Homo Heidelbergensis pops out with a grey alien behind it.

Hilarious.

A colony ship contacts Enith every couple of decades now. Bitriem's colony was the first to encounter native sapients, and they contacted Enith around one and a half thousand years ago. Zornxia and Atiske were two other early contacts, and the most recent contact was with the Umblans.

The people who were sent to colonize Umblan are still alive in the setting of The Little Bird. Diaf is probably in contact with a few of them. But while they made contact with Enith, while they have access to the full network of planets Enith has made, they're still alone. Isolated, because everything they once knew is gone.

Humans had the same strategy.

Enith is on the Sagittarius branch, though the cluster of systems the Enithian and Teth Tias governments inhabit is just about the closet you can get to Orion.

Hán was on one of the first generations of ships to be sent towards Sagittarius. Cereza's two times great grandparents were shipped out later than her.

Earth didn't send them out with wormhole tech. No one has heard from Earth since waking up.

What would you do if everything you ever knew was just gone? Unreachable, unknowable for the rest of your life. Not just what was your life, but all of Earth. Of humanity.

What would you do if you were stranded, alone, quite possibly the last humans in the universe?

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Evolution of the sapient species from Enith!

I have no clue when sapience would have actually evolved for any of these guys. At least for the Kielni and Taysya it’s easy to say ‘sometime after their last common ancestor.’ That guy isn’t really to scale either, the species would have been mayyybe turkey sized?

But either way, Enith first invented space travel in the first Age of Enlightenment- and it’s been enough time since then that there are noticeable differences in the social corldaxian species.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

The sapient species of Enith. I want to do individual posts for each species, but idk when I’d get around to that.

Corldaxians (pronounced Corl-dax-ee-ans) are the most common, and are certainly the ones that have the easiest time in space. Kielni (kee-el-nee) are also very common, and many space stations- though not as many spaceships- are made to fit them. For most of Enith’s history Kielni regularly hunted Corldaxians. Both inhabited the same islands, both used the large rainforest plants as shelter, and Common Corldaxians are the right size to be easy prey for Kielni. Needless to say the social and religious repercussions of this are wild. Radraki Corldaxians were also hunted by Kielni, if less often, due to Radrakis living mostly in plains and Kielni preferring rainforests.

Taysya (Tay-s-yah) are the largest of the space-fairing species, and didn’t regularly hunt any other sapient species on Enith. They were mostly oceanic, flying long distances like albatross, so they fed on primarily fish. They did spend time on land, but did so mostly in the deserts of the drier islands. This, combined with their strange language, made them a mystery to the other sapients until well into the final dark ages. Present-day they are dramatically better known, with some Taysya-class ships and space stations allowing them to travel the stars with their sibling sapients.

Tarahsit (t-air-rah-sit) sure do exist. They’re entirely oceanic, so they are unable to join the others in space. They’re isolation and their languages being even stranger than the Taysya’s made them virtually unknown as sapient until even after the final dark ages. But today they are fairly well documented, and are included in Enithian society to the extent that they can be.

There is… another species that is currently being debated as sapient. But five sapient species coming out of Enith is already ridiculous, how could there be sixth?

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Image ID: Humans- Two eyes, binocular vision. Red/blue/green color vision. Depth perception and selective focus. About 120-150 degrees of vision.

Atiske- Two sets of compound eyes. Technically also binocular? Blue color vision. Depth perception but no selective focus. Also so. so nearsighted. Around 240-260 degrees of vision.

Corldaxian (common)- Four sets of compound eyes. Vision evil. Red/green color vision. Depth perception but no selective focus, and they're farsighted. Vision is 200 degrees at the front and about 140 at the back, with blind spots at the sides.

Zoronxie- Two eyes, binocular vision. Red/blue color vision. Depth perception, selective focus. BAD astigmatism. Eyes built like a goat and hoo boy is it bad. Vision wraps around for about 220 degrees.

Umblan- Two sets of. compound? eyes? Red/blue/green/ultraviolets. Left set (the eyes at the base of their stalk) has no depth perception but does have selective focus. Right set (the eyes at the top and back of their stalk) has depth perception but no focus. at all. and no color. Degrees of vision are about 50 and 200, respectively.

Tias- Four sets of compound eyes. Green/blue/ultraviolet color vision. Depth perception but no selective focus. A bit over 300 degrees of vision, with a blind spot at the front. End ID.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

A low-speed train on Enith. Enith has a pretty extensive train network, both above and below ground. Granted, the above ground trains tend to be partially submerged anyways.

There are also high-speed trains used in specific situations on Enith, but they’re more often than not limited to a handful of jobs and functions, such as emergency medical and fire management services.

Sadly a human person would only barely fit in one of these. Both species of Corldaxians from Enith are. Short. The tallest one is like five foot which does not translate well to humans having comfortable beds.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Image ID: A few of the sapient aliens of the Little Bird, as represented by a couple of the crew members. At the left is Tinnsali, a Tias alien. He is tall and insect-like with long jaws, compound eyes, and a hard carapace. They’re about 6 feet tall at the shoulder. Below Tinnsali is Narihl, a common corldaxian. They’ve got a centaur-esc body plan, as well as scaly arms, long spines at their neck, and a bunny-like mouth and nose. They’re about 3 feet tall. Next to Narihl is Gary, an Atistke alien. He looks like a lobster got vertically stretched. He’s also the shortest in the lineup, coming in at a whopping one foot tall at the shoulder. Next to all three of them is Diaf, an umblan and the tallest of the group. She is slug-like, with no distinct head. She does have a horn, or maybe a stalk, that she holds upright to reach a height of nearly ten feet. But at the shoulder she’s like. 5 foot. To the right is Clatter, a zoronxie alien. She’s bipedal and raptor-like with a long tail, wings, and a segmented neck. She stands at around 4 feet tall. Finally is Hán Huì Qún, a human. She stands at around 5 foot and 6 inches tall. End ID.

Finally decided to do a lineup of most of the species that’ll feature on the Little Bird. Each originating from different planets with vastly different biology and cultures, they’ll tell you they have nothing in common.

Which isn’t really true, of course. The Little Bird is made for an oxygenated environment- there are a lot more sapient aliens in this setting, but many of them physically cannot live on the ship. So the crew all has to be at least similar enough to live in the same atmosphere. :)

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

A couple of characters I’ve been working on. And Gary hi Gary. Bottom guy is a cultural leader on Enith, who I have drawn before in pretty much the exact same pose, top left guy is me deeply contemplating putting in space pirates.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Finally an updated biology post. Wanted to work out organs/skeletons for Corldaxians, decided to update them for zoronxie too.

As well as some more realistic textures for them. I will never draw them like this again but idk. That’s what they’d actually look like. Zoronxie are a lot more tarantula than bird, and Corldaxians look really dragon-esc. Which I really like bc that was the original idea for their Taysya and Kielni cousins.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Any interesting colony ships (doesn't have to be human) you you've thought of? This ask is an opportunity to talk about them :).

Like an especially hostile planet, or first contact with an intelligent species, etc.

World class mistake, letting me yap even more :3

Real quick I’m gonna explain the different strategies the Enithian colony ships used. The vast majority of colony ships used cryofreeze, and the few that were full generational ships don’t currently have any callbacks. The cryofreeze ships had a few main strategies for waking up their crew. These include:

-hard coded wake-up date- currently the most successful strategy (aka the one with the most survivors). Points of failure would, presumably, be degradation to the structure of the ship, the mechanics of the pods, and the bodies themselves.

-soft-coded wake-up date- another generally successful strategy that occasionally causes strange results. Points of failure include degradation to the hardware the code is held on, degradation of the software, and incorrect timing for reaching the planet and preforming wake-ups. This is all in addition to the problems from the hard-coding. Most of the Enithian coding for these ships was self-repairing. Essentially extra code was added on to automatically fix any degradation issues to the code. However, there were many times where the self-repairing code went haywire and started removing healthy code, or mutated and repeated unhealthy code until the whole system crashed. There was also at least once where the code became so lengthy and mutated that a sapient ai popped out. More on that later.

-partial generational ships and shift-work ships- either the ship has a couple of people who have a family. Like an entire lineage. In order to wake the rest of the crew up once they get there. Or people in the crew wake up in shifts over the years and go back into cryofreeze after a certain age. Or a mix of the two, where people keep an eye on the ship, raise their kids to do the same, and then they go back to cryo once they get old enough. And then their kids go into cryo once they get old enough. Etc. these strategies are not nearly as effective as the others. The shift-work strategy has like. A handful of ships that survived. But the partial generational strategy only has one ship that managed to accomplish their goal and they weren’t doing too great by the end of it.

Alright failed step one you know the rest isn’t gonna be any shorter

SO.

Enithian colony ships had the traditional naming scheme of 'noun of city.' Dawn of Shelure, Announcer of Telir, and Herald to Rrmet are all examples.

The Dawn of Twahkla was the Enithian colony ship sent to Bitriem, and was the first to encounter sapient life. It was one of the last push-engine trolleys produced by Enith in the First Enlightenment. All other trolleys afterwards were pull engines instead.

It's colonists managed to successfully set their wormhole gate and land on Bitriem, and slowly went about setting up their colony. It was several months before they encounter the sapient natives, the bitriem. The Enithians named the planet, and then gave the people the same name.

Very early interactions were limited, because most of the colonist were frightened by the size of the Bitriem. Bitriem at the time were largely nomadic because of the harsh conditions of the planet. The colonists had set up right in the area that the Bitriem migrated through, rather than the places they stayed in seasonally. As such, the two groups rarely interacted, and what interactions did happen were most neutral. This did, of course, change for the worse when the colony regained contact with Enith and started devouring resources.

The most unexpected part of the Bitriem colony is related to the wake-up. The Dawn had a soft coded wake-up, so when the colonists were woken they quickly found the code to be a mess. The self-repair had made a lot of strange choices, and the code was unrecognizable from how it started. They had a lot of errors when working on the ship, things the soft coding was supposed to control seemed to go off at random times, and they found they could no longer edit the code themselves.

Then one day, after contacting Enith and receiving an update on the situation there (that included a language pack), the ship started talking.

The code had gotten so nonsense and idiosyncratic that a sapient AI had popped out. It had been alone for who knows how long on the trip, and had been watching it's colonists from the moment they woke up. He’s still around, just transferred to a different ship. He just went by Dawn of Twahkla for a long time, but has since changed his name to Midday.

No real avatar, apparently he’s more interested in exploring space than 3d modeling.

The ship sent to Teth Tias is another interesting story, because it never actually reached the planet. Teth Tias was in its space age when the colony ship finally reached the system, and they actually managed to catch it right before the crew would have woken up naturally.

The Dusk on Rritet had a hard-coded wake-up, but the crew were actually woken up when they were intercepted by a Tias patrol on the edge of the system. Teth Tias at the time had managed to reach a few neighboring systems, and had discovered sapient life in one of them.

So seeing another sapient species just. Appear. From the object they’ve been watching for centuries is REALLY weird. They took the crew to one of their in-system colonies to question them, but one of them still managed to get a message out to Enith.

This is after Enith went through a really rough war with a couple of groups on Zornxia, so when they get a message saying “we’re awake, we got found by some guys, dunno what’s going on,” followed by no further contact Enith absolutely assumed the worst. That with the whole “we want everybody under our power” phase Enith was going through resulted in the longest and bloodiest war that was ever seen on a galactic scale. Teth Tias was the one to build the wormhole for the colonists, but Enith didn’t actually care about finding out what was going on.

Teth Tias and Enith are still fairly hostile to each other to this day, and while Teth Tias has managed to secure its own multi-system government, Enith still resides as the big boss of the galaxy.

But uhhh those are the two most interesting ships I have rn. There's another soft-coded ship that may have resulted in a sapient AI, but if that guy's still around then he's escaped somewhere on the internet.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

More building and city worldbuilding :) Streets dug out of the ground are the most common kind of urban environment on Enith.

Corldaxians, especially Common Corldaxians, used to prioritize tunnel systems and underground dens as a form of safety. In modern day Enith, this translates into largely submerged cities. This type of city structure is rather difficult for Kielni and Taysya to access. While historic renovations have made it widely possible for a Kielni to walk around a city, many places are still to difficult to fly in and out of.

Thus, many cities have built separate sections above-ground for people other than Corldaxians, though the majority of infrastructure stays in the dug-out streets.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Image IDs in Alt. longus postus. Half of these barely count as genders but if you were to ask these guys this sure is what they'd answer.

I don’t know if I’ve said this before but there are like. Five or six sapient species that come out of Enith. Taysya are the biggest and built like massive scary pelicans, and common Corldaxians like Narihl are the smallest. Zoronxie like Clatter are NOT included in this list, their homeplanet is Zornxia Clatter is just a foster child. Also I need to remember to talk about pelt thieves at some point because they’re the only mythological creature that gets the Lord/Lady gender. And the ‘Prince acknowledged’ title is specifically for two guys who are like world leaders (insert religious connotations) there’s technically another secret gender that I didn’t mention but that one’s reserved for deities.

Zoronxie generally use the Enithian gender system, with the exception of a few very rural areas and old traditions like the House. And people like Lirck, who are a part of human traditions/cultures/faiths/etc. Cereza is also technically on the Enithian gender system, but doesn’t really use it around other humans.

Also I finally designed Tinnsali’s mask so get ready to never see his face again.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Image ID: the first image shows a young Lirck inspecting an equally young Klkeree plant. Lirck is a Zoronxie alien, which look a bit like prehistoric raptors with their bipedalism, wings and stiff tail. Zoronxie also have a long, segmented neck, a hard stone-like face, and four hooves on each foot. Lirck has a bit of a grumpy face, and their feathers are a deep purple. Here she is wearing pants, a half-skirt over her tail, and a hijab with flowery decorative pins. Behind her is a human man dressed in a similar purple to her, wearing a smile.

In the second image is Clatter excitedly touring a spaceport. Clatter is also a Zoronxie, but they is much bluer than Lirck, and she only walks on her front most hooves. Lirck is wearing a shirt and a long dress. They’re pointing up at several spaceplanes in the background, squinting at the distance. Next to them are two Corldaxian aliens, which are quadrupedal with long spines on the back of their necks. End ID.

As young.

Both Lirck and Clatter during their teenage years, when they were discovering their interests… and the worlds around them.