#is MASSIVE and more than half hangs over our side of the property line. if he had trimmed it this would not have happened.

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Seventy Two

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

November 11th, 2001

Emile sat at the table, staring at the letter he was holding with great consternation. Faith had written him, and he had written her back, talking about Remy and how they were getting along, and generally, how everything seemed nice and domestic lately. And Faith had replied, throwing Emile a curveball.

Would you marry him, Emile? It’s obvious to everyone you’ve written to that you love him. We’ve all talked about it at one point or another. We all think you should, if you love him as much as you say you do.

Emile didn’t know how to respond. Would he marry Remy? The mere thought felt like he was going to spiral into a panic attack. But at the same time...he couldn’t deny the warmth he felt in his chest about the idea.

He put the letter away, resolving to respond to it when he had a better answer than “I don’t know.” He knew Faith wouldn’t let the matter drop if he waffled on the decision.

  September 20th, 2002

Emile couldn’t help but laugh as he saw a familiar face he knew all too well approaching him on campus. “Theo!” Emile exclaimed, running over and giving his friend a huge hug. “What’s up? I didn’t think you were coming to visit for a little while yet! I thought you’d still be sick of Fairview!”

Theo laughed and hugged Emile back. “I actually swung by to chat with you and Remy. I’m having housing issues and I was hoping you two might have some advice on finding a roomie and splitting rent, y’know? Falling in love is not required, but it is a plus.”

Emile laughed. “Well, you’re in luck, because I just finished my last class and I was heading to the parking lot. Remy’s not off his shift at the local coffee shop yet, but we can hang around the shop until he’s off and we can snag him, and you can come back to ours!” Theo nodded and they walked to the parking lot together. “So, what sort of housing problems are you having? Prices? Roommates? Lack of roommates?”

“All of the above?” Theo weakly joked. “My current roommates are barely pulling their weight, I can’t find new ones, and none of the half-decent places are in my price range, so if I move out, I have to settle for a run-down one room which probably has massive problems.”

“Yikes,” Emile said with a grimace. “That’s seriously not good.”

“Tell me about it,” Theo said. “You two made it look so easy, I don’t know how you did it. I’m ready to throttle my roommates at any given moment for stealing my food, invading my privacy in my room, or for inviting people over who inevitably trash the place.”

“I mean, the fact that Remy and I tolerated each other and had pretty clear boundaries from the start helped,” Emile said. “I have no doubt you tried to set boundaries, but I’m willing to bet those roommates of yours didn’t respect them, did they?”

“Not after the first few weeks, no,” Theo sighed. “And they brushed me off every time I tried to talk to them about it.”

“Ouch. You definitely need better roommates, Theo,” Emile said.

Theo nodded. “I don’t know anyone else in that area, though, unfortunately. I’m thinking about moving back here, however temporarily, because I know a few people here who might be willing to split rent with me.”

“That might be a good idea,” Emile agreed. “Provided you can stand being around the college you went to, that is.”

“Somehow I think I’ll live,” Theo laughed. “Like, some people might give me grief, but they’re my friends so I wouldn’t mind too much. The biggest problem, for me, is going to be finding a job in my field. Forensic science is all well and good until you’re forced to move back to a city with a low crime rating so all the spots where you might be able to work forensics have been filled for years.”

“Ooh, ouch,” Emile said with a wince.

“Yep,” Theo said with a strained laugh. “It’s...not great, for sure. I really need to find somewhere that I can work, and somewhere that I can afford my own place at the same time, y’know? But the housing market is ridiculously expensive, and I heard it’s only gonna get worse.”

Emile grimaced. “Yikes, yeah, I’ve heard inflation is getting pretty bad. I haven’t had to worry about it as much, but if you’re looking for a place...”

“It totally sucks, dude,” Theo said with absolute certainty, leaning back into the passenger seat of Emile’s car. “Oh, but since I’m here, and Remy’s not...how’s the project going, man?”

Emile offered Theo a big grin. “I’ve got the property,” he said, eyes lighting up. “Turns out it was almost gonna be demolished, because no one’s been picking it up. But it’s in good condition. All I really need is the inside and everything will be ready!”

“The inside is gonna take a while, though, you know that, right?” Theo asked. “Getting everything up to code, renovating what’s been getting run down, electricity, plumbing...”

“I know,” Emile said. “But I have the worst of it over with. The property’s bought. And I know Remy’s specifications for what he wants on the inside, and he’s none the wiser to the plan, and...man, this will be ready by mid to late December if everything goes right!”

“It could be your birthday present to him,” Theo lightly teased.

Emile gasped. “Oh my God, it could! Can you believe that, Theo?! I could make this Remy’s birthday gift! His very own shop!”

Theo laughed. “You’re such a mess, Emile. On one hand, you’re a highly skilled, well-rounded adult, but on the other, your emotions come into play and it’s like you’re a five year old on Christmas morning. And your emotions are always in play when it comes to Remy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see you being loving and excited and human, but your reasoning skills when you’re emotional?” Theo made a whistling noise with his teeth, “Out the window.”

“Hey! I’ve made good decisions when I’m emotional before!” Emile laughed.

“Yeah, because you put your emotions to the side. That’s not making rational decisions when emotional, that’s looking at things from a rational angle rather than an emotional one. And you do kinda bottle up those emotions when making the decisions, don’t think no one’s noticed.”

“I—well—yeah...” Emile reluctantly admitted. “Remy’s been helping me with that, though.”

“Yeah, he’s told me as much in his emails,” Theo said. “And I’m proud of both of you. You for allowing your emotions a place and a time, and Remy for being willing to help with that sort of thing instead of leaving you to your own devices.”

“We both have grown a lot,” Emile agreed as they pulled into the coffee shop parking lot.

Theo and Emile got out of the car and walked into the shop, Emile asking, “You want anything to drink? My treat.”

“I could take a small coffee,” Theo said.

Emile nodded and got in line, telling Theo, “Grab a table for both of us?”

Theo nodded and Emile couldn’t help the little smile on his lips. He was just having coffee with a friend. It shouldn’t seem all that important, but it felt strangely adult, and he didn’t know why that made him giddy, but it did. Just being able to sit down and complain about roommates and jobs and...just getting adjusted to the new normal that life was winding up being.

Emile placed their orders and found Theo sitting in a corner, and he gave Theo his coffee while Emile kept his tea. Theo waited until Emile was taking a sip of his tea before he asked, “So, are you gonna pop the question?”

Choking on his tea, Emile stared at Theo, who was shaking with silent laughter. “Theo!” he gasped. “Come on! That’s mean!”

“Well, I’m just wondering!” Theo asked innocently.

Emile sighed. “Well, it’s not exactly like we could get married anywhere yet,” he said. “It feels like a moot point.”

“It’s a symbolic thing, man. Even if you can only get a ‘civil union’ or whatever, the promise of staying together until the end of the line is there,” Theo said.

“But we already have that promise with each other,” Emile said, frowning.

“Precisely why I’m asking about this,” Theo said. “You’ve already got it, so when are you making it official?”

“Theo, believe me when I say whenever gay marriage is an option I will absolutely be marrying Remy. And it will be the best day of my life. But until it’s legalized, or at least it’s in the process of being legalized, I don’t see the point of getting a ring,” Emile said with a shrug. “Oh, and before I forget, when that day comes? You’d better be my best man.”

It was Theo’s turn to choke on his coffee. “Dude, you kidding me?! Of course I’d be your best man! I’m honored! But is there like, no one else you’d rather have?”

“Theo, the only person closer than you and our friend group in terms of friendship with me is Remy. And I’d be marrying him. I can’t exactly have him be my best man.”

Theo beamed. “Man, you’d better be inviting all your friends to this hypothetical wedding. That includes your high school ones. I can’t wait to embarrass you in front of them.”

“They knew me when I was thirteen, can’t get much more embarrassing than that,” Emile said simply.

“Ooh, I’d love to pick up some stories from them,” Theo said, grinning and rubbing his hands.

Emile laughed just as Remy walked over. “What’s the deal with this party without me?”

“Remy!” Theo exclaimed, standing up and hugging Remy.

Remy returned the hug with a grin. “Good to see you, man. What’s up?”

“Housing issues, actually,” Theo said. “I need your and Emile’s advice about finding new roomies.”

“And in the process, try and get us to get engaged, apparently,” Emile said drily.

“What, we’re not married already?” Remy asked with a laugh.

Emile snorted and Theo said, “Nah, man. You haven’t tied the knot. I would know, I’m Emile’s best man, and he hasn’t stuck me in a tux yet.”

Remy grinned. “Well, that’s great and all, except for me, because now I have to find a different best man for the big day.”

“Yeah, I’m not making two best man speeches,” Theo laughed. “Would you seriously ask me, though?”

Remy shrugged. “I dunno, man. Like, thinking about it, I never really planned out a wedding for anyone I had crushed on or dated. And Toby was gonna be my best man, because I asked him once and he promised...but since we lost contact...” Remy shrugged. “You’d be an excellent second choice. But I’ll figure something else out.”

“All right,” Theo laughed.

“You officially off the clock, Rem?” Emile asked.

“Yup,” Remy said. “And ready to go home.”

“Oh, man, I wish I could say that,” Theo bemoaned.

“Yeah, let’s talk about your housing, man, what’s up?” Remy asked.

As Theo explained what was going on and they walked out of the shop, Emile’s gears were whirring. He would definitely need to find Toby soon. Especially considering that sooner or later he knew he would be finding a ring for Remy. He didn’t know when that might be, but Theo was right. The promise of staying together until the end of the line deserved something important.

It was funny, though. The thought of marrying Remy just felt...inherently right. As Remy and Emile fought over who should drive the car back to their apartment, Emile considered marrying anyone else, of any gender, of anyone he had previously dated, and it never rung as true as what he felt when imagining marrying Remy.

Remy won the argument for driving the car and Emile slid into the passenger seat, glancing at Theo in the back. “You know what, Theo? You’re right.”

Theo grinned. “I know I am, dude. But I’m glad that you can see that too.”

“He’s right about what?” Remy asked.

“One day, I’m gonna marry you,” Emile said simply.

“Oh,” Remy said. “I mean, yeah? Marriage is terrifying, but there’s no one I’d rather marry.”

“I’m glad we’re in agreement,” Emile said.

“Do you know when you’re gonna propose?” Remy asked.

“Not yet,” Emile said. “Need to find a ring first, figure out the right moment. But I’m definitely proposing to you.”

“Not if I do it first, buddy,” Remy said with a wicked grin.

“Oh, it is on,” Emile said.

Theo laughed. “Are you two really turning proposals into a competition?” he asked.

“Best proposal wins the excuse to kiss the other person for a solid minute,” Emile said solemnly.

“Oh, you are so on!” Remy exclaimed with a laugh.

Theo just cackled at their antics.

[fairyqueenofthedragons]

The Magic Begins

Fablekingdom chapter 2

As I'm following canon set up of chapters, it starts with set up still. I am trying to show a slightly different dynamic between the siblings, while keeping the spirit of it. There will be bigger changes later on, but obviously the beginning is hard to change majorly, especially just arriving lol.

(Find Chapter One with a server of “Fk ch 1)

Hope you enjoy the chapter :D

Come chat with me on discord: https://discord.gg/8Vc6w9JWxv

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Kendra had been sitting in the car for hours.

She and Seth had done just about everything they could think of to handle the boredom, but she’d finished her two books, they’d played a dozen rounds of tic-tac-toe, and he’d moved onto trying to beat her at chopsticks (that game with your fingers). Seth had had a few comics, but he’d gone through them faster then she had her books. Even his handheld video game couldn’t hold his attention anymore.

“I thought you said that Grandpa Sorenson lived in Connecticut, not India,” Seth grumbled.

Mom sighed, having listened to Seth’s complaints for the last hour, “It won’t be much longer. Enjoy the scenery.”

She’d said that the last six times.

“It’s boring! I’m hungry, can we stop for food?”

Kendra was on Seth’s side here; the scenery was boring.

Mom pulled up the grocery bag full of snacks, “How about some Peanut butter and crackers instead?”

Seth shot Kendra a pained look but reached for the crackers regardless.

“Ooh, I want some Almond Roca,” Dad said without taking his eyes from the road.

He’s still managed to keep to his New Year’s resolution of keeping Almond Roca on hand at all times.

“Do you want anything Kendra?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Kendra turned her gaze outside as Seth munched on his snack. When was this drive going to be over? At least Grandfathers house can’t be as boring as this drive.

Honestly, Kendra wasn’t happy they were being sent off to stay with their grandparents just because of some cruise. She wished her family would just let them come with… or maybe just her, Seth might be too young (and too annoying).

They would be gone for seventeen days! Kendra couldn’t believe they’d just leave them like this.

They’re getting it for free, them and all the aunts and uncles on her mom’s side. They didn’t win a contest or anything to get it, they got the cruise because Kendra’s grandparents had asphyxiated.

Grandma and Grandpa Larsen had been visiting relatives in South Carolina. Unfortunately, the trailer they lived in had some gas leak and they’d all died in their sleep. The grandparents had specified a long time ago that when they died all their kids and spouses were to use an allocated sum of money to go on a Scandinavian cruise.

Grandchildren were not invited.

“We’re almost there kids!” Kendra’s dad said cheerfully.

“Yay,” Seth grumbled. “Then you guys can abandon us for your fancy cruise.”

“Won’t you get bored stuck on a boat for seventeen days?” Kendra asked hopefully.

Dad caught her eye in the rearview mirror. “The food is supposed to be incredible, top reviews. Snails, fish eggs, the works. It’s gonna be great.”

Mom wacked his arm.

“We’re not all that excited about the trip kids,” Mom said sadly. “I doubt your grandparents envisioned an accidental death when they made the request. The cruise is to honor their memory more than for fun.”

“What kind of death did they plan then?” Seth muttered.

Kendra couldn’t help but agree, who planned their death?

The ship stops in ports as you go,” Dad said, deliberately redirecting the conversation. “You get to disembark for part of the time.”

“Are you at least going to get us something?” Kendra asked. “If you’re just going to leave us at your parent’s house.”

“Of course we will dear,” Mom reassured. “We’ll get you some chocolates, maybe some books, maybe there will be cool jewelry!”

“I want a sword,” Seth said. “A sharp one.”

“I think it’s great for you kids that you get to stay with my parents,” Dad added. “I mean, they never invite anyone to stay with them. It’s definitely better than some cruise.”

Kendra shared a look with Seth, their parents were full of it.

“They’re hermits,” Seth argued. “We barely know them!”

“They’re my parents,” Dad said. “I survived, you’ll have fun.”

The car passed through a small town, only a few buildings lined the road, many seeming old a run down. There didn’t appear to be anything more interesting than a small library at the corner.

“It’s very exciting,” Dad continued. “Like I said, they never invite anyone. You’ll have a blast.”

Kendra tried hard not to roll her eyes. She knew for a fact that they hadn’t been invited. Kendra had overheard their mom when she approached Grandpa Sorenson about letting the kids stay with him at the funeral.

The funeral itself hadn’t been fun at all, it was creepy seeing her grandparents all dressed up fancy with lots of makeup. It didn’t look like them at all.

Those grandparents, the Larsen’s, they were the ones that they’d known. They’d come to lots of holidays and done many long visits with Kendra’s family. But Kendra couldn’t remember seeing the Sorenson’s much since Seth had started second grade.

Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson had inherited an estate in Connecticut around the time her parents were married. All the stories she’d heard were fantastical, filled with fairies and demons and witches. They were obviously fake, it made her think the place was something very boring.

Honestly, everyone was shocked when grandpa Sorenson had shown up at the funeral. It’d been more than eighteen months since either grandparent had visited anywhere.

He’d apologized that Grandma Ruth hadn’t been able to come, she’d fallen ill, but it really was the norm for only one to show up.

But at the end Kendra had overheard Mom talking to Grandpa Sorenson, cajoling him into watching her and Seth. She’d been heading to the bathroom but paused when she’d overheard them at the corner.

“Why can’t they stay with Marci?”

“Normally they would, but Marci is coming on the cruise.”

Kendra had risked a peek and seen Grandpa Sorenson standing across from her mom.

“Where are Marci’s kids going?”

“To her in-laws.”

“What about a baby-sitter?”

Grandpa had seemed almost pleading then, his expression tight.

“Two and a half weeks is a long time for a sitter. You’ve mentioned before something about having them over…”

“Yes, I do recall… But does it have to be late June? What about July?”

“The cruise is on a time frame. What’s the difference?”

He’d rubbed his face with a sigh.

“Things are extra busy then… I don’t know, Marla. I’m not that good with kids. Is there no where else they could go?”

“I’m sorry Stan,” Mom said, sounding on the verge of tears. “I know things are busy for you, and I don’t want to go on this cruise. You did so good with them when they were younger, I know you don’t see them often but… This cruise was important to my parents, so I want to go for them. If you can’t take care of the kids we can stay behind-“

“No,” Grandpa Sorenson interrupted with a sigh. “It’s fine. I’m sure we can find some place to lock them up.”

So, no, Grandpa Sorenson did not invite them.

Seth finished his crackers and pulled his game back out, flipping through the cartridges.

“Which game should I play?”

Kendra leaned over, “The fashion one.”

He rolled his eyes, “That one is just for character design.”

“Then make an elf.”

“I don’t want to!”

“You asked which you should do.”

“Nevermind, your suggestion is dumb.”

Seth ended up picking a fighting game and started it up.

Kendra got bored of watching quickly and turned to look out the windows. The trees were large and dark, little light slipping through the branches.

She jolted when they turned onto a gravel driveway.

“Look at that sign,” Seth said.

She followed his finger to see signs hanging on the side of the road.

Private Property

No Trespassing

Trespassers Will Be Persecuted

Please respect our privacy

“What are all these signs?” Kendra muttered.

“Oh, you know Grandpa Sorenson,” her dad said cheerfully. “Such a sense of humor.”

“I think they’re funny,” Seth declared. “Can we get some for our house?”

Kendra frowned at them as the car continued up the long driveway, no house anywhere in sight.

There were more signs as they went.

Beware of the Dog

We do not call 911

Beware of .12 Gauge

No Public Access at any Time

Owner Shoots

Kendra leaned back. This seems so… pleasant.

“I like that one,” Seth said pointing at the Owner Shoots sign.

Kendra shook her head as they finally reached the end of the driveway. Before them was a wrought-iron fence topped with fleurs-de-lis. Open in their path was a large double gate. She peered around but couldn’t see the end of the fence through the trees.

Even after passing through the gates there was still no sign of the house through the trees, until suddenly the trees cut off.

A large house came into view suddenly. It wasn’t quite a mansion, but was definitely larger than most houses Kendra had seen.

It was constructed out of dark wood and stone, old looking but solid and in good shape. The grounds around it were much more impressive though. There was a massive flower garden blooming in front of the house, with manicured hedges and a fish pond. It seemed to wrap around the side of the house too. Kendra wondered what flowers there were, and if there was a vegetable garden as well.

Further back Kendra could see a massive barn, at least five stories tall and topped with a large weather vane that she couldn’t quite make out but seemed shaped like an animal, but not a rooster.

“Oh, it’s lovely,” Mom said. “I wish we were all staying.”

Kendra blinked, “You’ve never been here?”

“No,” Mom said sadly. “Your father came here a few times before we were married.”

Dad nodded, “Yeah. There are some wild stories about this place, haha, I’ve told you a few of them.”

Seth yawned, “Yeah, like the evil witch in a shack.”

“Or the demon in the chapel.”

“Aren’t there trolls over one hill?”

Their dad laughed, “Yeah, my dad used to tell some wild stories. You should hear the ones Aunt Sophie would tell sometimes. She swears she met satyrs one time.”

The two shared an exasperated look.

“Anyways, you’ll have a blast. We never stayed long, but it was always entertaining. Worst comes to worst you can just hang out in the pool.”

Kendra rolled her eyes. Honestly, they were too old to believe all those fairy tales.

The car pulled to a stop just outside the garage as the front door open.

Grandpa Sorenson stepped out, followed by a tall, lanky man and a thin, older woman. Mom, Dad, Seth, and Kendra hopped out of the car.

The older woman was unfamiliar to Kendra, and so was the man. The woman had white hair streaked with black strands, and yet her face seemed ageless, her age impossible to place. Her skin was a tawny olive tone that appeared completely flawless, her black hair was pin-straight and framed her face.

The man had messy brown hair to go with matching brown eyes that studied them intently. He came over to the van, helping Dad open the back and begin removing suitcases.

“Just place the things inside,” Grandpa told Dad. “Dale will take them up to the bedroom.”

“Where’s Mom?” Dad asked looking around.

“She’s visiting your Aunt Edna.”

Dad looked surprised. “In Missouri?”

“Edna’s dying,” Grandpa said grimly.

Kendra had barely heard of Aunt Edna, and never met her, so she wasn’t that affected by it. Dad seemed upset thought.

She shifted awkwardly, studying the house to distract herself from their conversation.

The windows were cool, with bubbly glass. And there were bird nests under the eaves. She also noticed a lot of butterflies fluttering around.

Mom suddenly drew their attention and Seth and her scrambled to gather their things from the car and shove it all in their backpacks to bring in.

“I’ll grab the pillows if you grab the blankets?” Seth offered.

“Sure,” Kendra agreed, reaching for the blanket Seth had brought for napping on the car ride while he snagged her pillow.

Seth also snagged his ‘emergency kit’, a cereal box filled with odds and ends he thought would come in handy.

The two hurried after their parents, reaching them at the front door.

“Oh, there you are,” Mom said. “Got everything?”

“Yeah,” Seth huffed. “Except a ticket to go on the cruise.”

Mom sighed, ruffling Seth’s hair. “We’ll miss you too.”

He groaned, swiping at her hand as she turned to Kendra.

“Watch out for your brother, and both of you stay out of trouble, okay?”

Kendra nodded, “We’ll do our best.”

“So who’s this?” Dad was asking Grandpa.

“This is Lena, our housekeeper,” Grandpa said. “She helps around the house while Dale helps me tend to the grounds.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dad said.

“A pleasure,” Lena agreed with a soft accent. Kendra couldn’t quite place it, yet it reminded her of the ocean.

Lena opened the door, beckoning them inside.

“Oh, the home is beautiful,” Mom said. “I wish we had time for a tour.”

“Maybe when you get back,” Grandpa offered.

Kendra looked around. The house really was beautiful.

The glossy wood floors shone in the light and a low table in the entry hall held a beautifully painted ceramic vase with wilting flowers placed in it. There was a tall, brass coatrack off to one side beside a black bench with a high, carved back. It looked old and very interesting.

“Thank you again for letting the kids stay with you,” Dad said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”

Grandpa nodded, looking a bit awkward.

“It’s our pleasure.”

“I wish we could visit some,” Dad said. “But we’re on a really tight schedule.”

Grandpa pat his shoulder, “I understand, another time. Don’t let us keep you from your trip.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Dad turned to Kendra and Seth, ruffling Seth’s hair.

“Have fun kids, we’ll be back before you know it.”

“Be good,” Mom said, hugging Kendra then Seth. “Do whatever Grandpa Sorenson tells you.”

Kendra sniffed, tears welling up. She swallowed hard and nodded, “Have a fun cruise.”

“Bring us back souvenirs,” Seth reminded.

Mom laughed, “The best ones.”

“We love you kids,” Dad said as he headed to the door.

Mom hugged them both one last time then went after him.

Kendra hurried after them, watching as they climbed into the SUV and start it up. Dad honked the horn as he pulled out, turning around and driving away. Kendra watched until the SUV vanished into the trees.

She tried not to think that her parents were probably relieved to be off without Seth and her. They were probably delighted for the vacation, not caring that they’d abandoned their two kids alone in a pretty, but creepy home with a grandparent they barely know.

Seth was poking around the entrance room, poking at one of the cabinets and picking up one of the intricate pieces of a decorative chess set.

Grandpa stood awkwardly, watching Seth and wincing when Seth put down a piece too hard.

“Leave the chess pieces alone,” Kendra told Seth. “They look expensive and breakable.”

“It’s fine,” Grandpa said, looking relieved when Seth put them down. He cleared his throat, “Shall I show you to your room?”

“Okay,” Seth said. “When’s lunch?”

Grandpa coughed, “It’s a bit past lunch but we can make you a snack to hold you till dinner.”

Seth nodded eagerly, “I’m starving.”

Kendra followed silently as Grandpa went up the stairs and down a carpeted hall to the foot of a narrow wooden staircase leading up to a white door.

“We don’t often have guests, especially children,” Grandpa explained. “I think you’ll be the most comfortable in the attic.”

Kendra was expecting something dark and musty, like the attic back home, but when he opened the door she saw it was actually very nice.

It was set up like a cheerful playroom. Spacious, clean, and bright, the long room had two beds at the far end, one wall covered in bookshelves and a couple of dressers, and the other held two wardrobes and some toy chests. There was a unicorn rocking horse sitting to the side, and a full dollhouse in one corner with a small piano in the other. Sitting beside of one of the dressers was a hen in a cage.

Seth went straight for the chicken. “Cool!” He poked a finger through the slender bars, trying to pet the soft looking feathers.

“Be careful, Seth,” Kendra warned. “Be gentle.”

“He’ll be fine,” Grandpa soothed. “Goldilocks is more a house pet than a barnyard hen. Your grandmother usually takes care of her, but since she’s gone I thought you kids might enjoy taking care of her for now. You’ll need to feed her, clean her cage, and collect her eggs.”

Seth looked delighted, “She lays eggs?”

“An egg or two a day if you keep her well fed,” Grandpa confirmed, motioning to a white plastic bucket full of kernels. “One scoop in the morning and in the evening should be good. I’ll show you how to change the lining of her cage in a few days. Make sure she has plenty of water and a tiny bowl of milk each morning.”

“Milk?”

He smiled mysteriously, “That’s the secret behind the eggs.”

“Can we take her out?” Seth asked, now stroking her feathers.

“Be gentle,” Grandpa said. “And put her back after.”

“Is it okay for us to play with the toys?” Kendra asked, studying the dollhouse. “Some of these look expensive.”

“Toys should be played with,” Grandpa said. “Just try to take care of them and that will be enough.”

“Awesome,” Seth said, going over to the piano and banging on the keys.

Kendra blinked, the notes sounded different than a piano. She couldn’t quite place what was off.

“While you stay here, this room is your space,” Grandpa said. “Within reason of course. I won’t pick up this space, nor bother you about it, as long as you treat the rest of the house with respect.”

“Alright,” Kendra agreed.

“Sounds good,” Seth nodded.

“I also have some unfortunate news. We’re in the height of tick season, have you heard of Lyme disease?”

Seth shook his head, but Kendra considered for a moment.

“I think so, but I can’t remember what it is.”

“It was originally discovered in the town of Lyme, Connecticut, not too far from here. You can catch it from tick bites, and during tick season the woods here are full of ticks.”

“What’s it do?” Seth asked.

“It starts out as a rash,” Grandpa said. “But it leads to arthritis, paralysis, and heart failure. And on top of that, ticks in general are bad to have. If you try to pull them off the heads detach, makes them hard to remove.”

“Gross,” Kendra muttered.

Grandpa nodded, “They’re very small and hard to see, at least until they fill up on blood, then they get as large as grapes.”

“Wow,” Seth said. “Can’t you just use bug spray?”

Grandpa nodded, “That can help, but isn’t a guarantee. The point is, you kids aren’t allowed to go into the woods. Stay on the lawn, play in the pool, explore the gardens, but stay away from the woods. I won’t be taking you to the hospital for Lyme disease.”

They both nodded.

“Good. As long as you follow that rule it’ll be fine. Break it and I’ll have to take away your outdoor privileges for your own safety.”

Seth winced, “Right, got it.”

“We understand,” Kendra assured him.

Grandpa nodded again, looking satisfied.

“One last thing,” he continued. “You’ll also need to stay out of the barn. There’s a lot of old tools and ladders and rusty pieces of farm equipment. I don’t want to risk you getting injured or getting tetanus.”

“Okay,” Seth agreed easily.

“Sounds reasonable,” Kendra said.

“Is there a TV?” Seth asked, poking at a canvas on an easel by one of the toy chests.

“No TV, or radio. We don’t get good reception out here, and it’s very expensive to run lines out.”

“When’s dinner?”

“In a few hours, Lena will be bringing up a snack for you soon. On that note, if you need anything, go to Lena. I’m very busy handling the upkeep of the property, so Lena will help with whatever you need.” He motioned to a purple cord hanging against the wall near one of the beds. “Tug the cord if you need her.”

“Alright, will we eat in one of the dining rooms?”

Grandpa nodded, “When I’m able to join you yes. On the days I’m too busy, like today, you can eat in here, in the kitchen, or anywhere else in the house. As long as you keep everything relatively clean you’re free to eat where you’re comfortable.”

“Wow,” said Seth. “Mom and Dad never let us eat in our rooms!”

Grandpa’s lips twitched, “Well, if it seems you can’t clean up after yourselves I may put a limit on it. But for now, you’re free to eat where you please.”

“Awesome,” Seth muttered.

Kendra’s smiled, that did sound nice.

“Now then, I need to go and complete my chores. I’ll likely not see you again till tomorrow.” He turned to leave but paused, pulling out a tiny key ring from his coat pocket. “Each of these keys fit something in this room. See if you can figure out what each unlocks.”

Kendra accepted the keyring curiously and Grandpa headed out, shutting the door gently behind him.

Seth had opened a toy chest now and was examining the contents. The toys were old-fashioned but in excellent condition. Soldiers, dolls, puzzles, stuffed animals, wooden blocks, some blocks shaped like logs, and others.

Kendra went to the window, a telescope put before it. She tried to peer through the eyepiece but couldn’t get it to focus right no matter how much she adjusted the knobs.

Pulling away she studied the window, realizing they were made of bubbly glass like the front of the house.

She unfastened the latch, pushing the window open. Even without the telescope she could see far into the forest. She moved the telescope closer and peered through it. After a moment of adjusted the knobs she could see even the leaves of the trees in clear detail.

“Oh, let me see,” Seth said, peering over her shoulder.

“Give me a bit, I just started looking.”

“But I wanna see.”

“Go play with the toys some,” Kendra huffed. “I’ll let you look after I’m done.”

“But sharing is caring,” Seth insisted.

“I said you could look, let me use it first though. I was using it already.”

Seth squinted, “What are you even looking at?”

“The trees.”

“Boring, let me see. I’ll look at something more interesting.”

Kendra rolled her eyes but stepped away, not wanting to deal with his whining.

“Fine but let me close the window. I don’t want bugs to come in.”

“Sure, whatever,” Seth studied the telescope as she closed the window and went off to study the dressers.

They were carved elegantly with fairies and unicorns and fiery birds.

She ran her fingers over the intricate patterns, she wished she had something like this at home.

She shook her head, going to look at the wardrobes, it reminded her of the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She wondered if she stepped in would she find a mystical land on the other side.

“This stupid thing won’t even focus,” Seth complained.

Kendra smiled.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to reblog and leave a review, they feed my soul.

What did you think of the room? What changes do you think their foreknowledge will bring? What things did you dislike from the original series that you'd like changed?

lmk if you’d like to be tagged.

[phenomenal1500]

The Blood In My Veins | Black Sails

Chapter 63: The Ludicrous Plan

For Chapter 62: The Deciding Destination click here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No. Perhaps. God, what I meant was.... there is always a plan b, somewhere, so don't worry, we'll find a way if this won't work."

"Naida, I appreciate your optimism, but I think the bottom line is that we are already carrying out plan Z. This is it. This is where the world decides if Nassau will be free and handed to us or if it will die at the hands of Woodes Rogers."

~~~

Hopeful, but yet freezing, Jack and I roamed back to the docks and I took Charles' hand which he had offered to me to get me back on the ship before Jack.

Charles had waited outside the whole time until his dearest friend and I made our return and I detected it because of his blue colored lips and the warmth his hand had lost. Max stood alongside Charles and didn't even give us a minute to rest or warm up before firing questions our way.

"What happened with Mr. Guthrie?" She interrogated us with her thick French accent, though, my brains had stopped working and the comfort I felt rushing over me when Charles' hands made their way underneath my shirt and, with time, regained their warmth on my bare stomach made me not even care about answering her anymore. "Were you able to speak with him?"

"Mm-hmm." Jack was only able to hum owing to the fact that his lips were no longer capable of forming words.

"What did he say?"

"He told me to go fuck myself." Charles snuggled his face into the crook of my neck, leaving small, gentle kisses before trailing up to kiss me on my lips.

"Well, that does not sound good." Max struggled to find her words and Jack finally turned around, putting a hold on his cold staggering.

"The business isn't his." He confirmed and sat down onto an old barrel who could snap any moment if it wasn't this frozen. "Well, the horses are his, the cart is his, but it appears the wife is the one holding the reins." Jack sniffed because of a starting cold.

"Eleanor's grandmother?"

"And she is interested." Charles suddenly looked up. He didn't stop cherishing me, nor did he stop planting kisses on my hair and shoulders, but he did pay full attention to the chat that was in progress in front of us and furrowed his eyebrows as I could feel his chest pressing up against my back. A sign of him feeling confident. "She invited me to return this evening to provide details of our proposal. Prove that we can be trusted to manage Nassau in the event of Rogers' removal. And I think you should come with me." Jack rested his gaze on Max and Featherstone joined us too, shaking his head slowly towards Jack, hoping only Jack had seen him.

"You do?" Max inhaled for a moment. "Why?"

"Because our plan is ludicrous by any sane measure and my suspicion is if she's going to say yes, it's going to be for emotional reasons rather than financial ones. She would look across the table and see a woman with some experience quietly wielding power over men without them knowing it, and a woman who might remind her of herself. It might go a long way towards winning her."

"What about Naida? Perhaps she is a better option for our ludicrous plan." Max declared, trying to show some generosity even though she actually wanted this badly. She wanted to prove her worth again and she was given that chance.... whatever reason Jack had for giving her that opportunity so I didn't know why she declined it.

"Naida, first of all, is still expecting and I can understand if she and Charles want to spend some time together. Second of all.... She is a known pirate. If that bounty still rests on her head and when she has to introduce herself and her name echoes through the streets, Mrs. Guthrie won't see Naida as a rich madame who is anything like Mrs. Guthrie herself." Jack pointed out as he talked with weird hand gestures and it made me smile.

Jack always had been a little uncoordinated and awkward even though he was one of the smartest and persuasive people I knew in this world and those little habits made him him.

It was also pretty funny and interesting to witness.

"Finally." I could hear the sound of his deep voice bounce through my ears. "Finally.... some time with my woman." I chuckled as he pleasantly bit on my bare neck, leaving a small mark and Charles exhaled deeply, his hot breath brushing over my soft skin.

Of course Featherstone had to survey the intimate moment and I smiled awkwardly. Always when Charles and I did something intimate in public, which wasn't that common, he was the one to notice it first and he was the one to gaze at us in revolt.

"Mind to continue these activities somewhere more private?" I requested and I could feel his hands move, going from my stomach to my hips to let them rest there.

"Of course not, little one." It was unbelievably clear to me that Charles had some sort of 'gentle' lust in his eyes when I had shared a look with him and slowly everyone had already spread out to follow their own paths. Jack and Max had to leave to get ready for tonight's appointment, Featherstone had to instruct a few more men on deck who had done something wrong and Charles and I made our way to a rented room under Rackham's name. The property was not far from the harbor where we were anchored and we could arrive unseen.

It didn't take long before we checked in and I locked the door behind us.

Turning myself around so I could examine the room, I was secretly expecting Charles to push me against the wall.

Strangely, that wasn't the case because when I rotated myself, he sat on the edge of the large fur bed and stared at the large picture hanging on the wall.

It represented a gigantic ship with thirteen white sails that won from the high waves that the sea brought with her to try and swallow the ship.

Dark colors had been used to paint it and the piece of art was encased in gold. It spoke up to me. It somehow reminded me of what had happened these last few weeks. Nassau conquered by the English, Charles who managed to outrun his death, us now seeking aid from the bitch her grandparents in Philadelphia. All to preserve Nassau and save our generation of pirates.

The ship represented us, pirates, and the deadly waves were the dark times that had rested on us, but no matter what, we'll always stay alive because even if there is just a little wooden plank left, it will float and it will strand.

In silence I sat down next to him and wrapped my arms around his waist so that my head could rest against his shoulder.

"It's a rough time, but we'll get through it." I tenderly whispered while the both of us now stared at the painting, him wrapping an arm around my lower back.

"I should be the one telling you that." Charles had let out a small laugh and I chuckled with him. Then I slowly shook my head, disagreeing with him. It was my time to comfort him, not the other way around.

"I don't agree with ya."

"And why's that?" He moved his head back a little so he could watch me in his arms and raised an eyebrow.... something which he did that I loved so much.

"Because love should come from both sides." I responded and shifted my body so I was straddled on top of his lap. "And we are finally alone.... in weeks! Weeks, Charles."

It had indeed been weeks ago since we were alone and we both had suppressed some urgent feelings.

"I know, sweetheart.... so why not put us both out of this misery and strip for me."

~~~

I had put on a long sweater to keep myself warm as I leaned against the soft headboard with Charles refreshing himself, splashing some clean water in his face. Gosh, Jack did go full luxury with this room. It was massive and had different blue shades coloring the walls and floor. The only downside was that a cold breeze filled the room, but until now I wasn't really bothered by it.

I glanced up at Charles' bare torso and I knew he felt my gaze on him when I saw him smirking, but what else did he expect? He had left the door wide open leading to the bathroom while he was located inside of it before the mirror.... with no shirt on.

I had nothing else to stare at.

"You think Jack and Max can pull it off?" He spoke up as he secured half of his hair into a tail while letting the rest hang loosely.

"Let's just hope they can." I sighed, pushing myself up with the thought of doing my hair as well. I approached the bathroom and took my time to walk inside. "Want me to braid it for you?" I chuckled as Charles jerked his head back, nodding.

Never did I think he would let me do his hair, but now he gave me actual permission.

He sat down onto the bath edge and I shook my head, knowing he did so to mock my height. I took a few thin strings between my fingers and started braiding small braids in his hair. An hour had passed and laughs and flirts had filled them before we suddenly heard horrible loud knocks on the door.

"Shit."

"Hide in the bathroom, Naida." I began to stress and didn't want to concern Charles even more than he already was so I did as I was told until a voice came from behind the door.

"CHARLES! NAIDA!?" Relief washed over me as it was Jack who pounded on the heavy door.

"Goddammit, Jack!" Charles growled as he opened the door, pulling his friend inside to quickly lock the door afterwards.

"Sorry to disturb-...."

"Disturb? You scared the shit out of us." I corrected and pulled my sweater tighter around my body because of the coldness that had entered the room, coming from the hallway.

"Sorry, but I have some news." He pointed to the bed and hoped for us to get the gesture and sit down, but neither of us understood him. "Please take a seat. With the help of Max's financial ledgers and feminine wiles, we convinced Mrs. Guthrie this evening to cooperate and to work with us.... but there is a catch. I must kill Flint...."

"YOU MUST WHAT?!" I shouted.

I didn't want to lose my temper, but sadly there was no control over my emotions anymore. Well, I didn't have control anymore, something else had.

"Naida, just hear me out, I kno-...." Jack tried to continue the conversation and tried to calm me down, but I had cut him off.

In the corner of my eye I could see Charles switching positions today , standing alongside Jack now as he wanted to let me burn out for a second.

"He's my fucking father figure and you want to end his life?!" I yelled and I could feel the strong arms of Charles wrapping around me, embracing me tightly.

One of his hands slowly stroked my hair downwards and the other one rubbed in circles on my lower back.

Rage had filled me and I struggled to surrender to his comfort.

Flint.

Jack had to kill Flint...?

For fuck sake, calm down.

"I.... I can't stop the rage. I'm sorry." I apologized before finally giving in and burying my head into the crook of his neck, closing my arms around Charles.

"It's okay, it's okay. Just breathe. You don't have to be sorry for anything."

~~~

After the incident I started because I suddenly broke by the news, I apologized to Jack and we now were standing on the dock, waving him goodbye. Jack's plan was to return to Nassau, find out where Flint was going, and execute him. My heart dropped at that thought, but somehow there was some kind of truth in what Charles and Jack had discussed when I tried to fall asleep on Charles' lap to calm down; Flint is the only man who will continue the never-ending circle of violence in Nassau and it had to be stopped.

[maaaaaatryoshka0325]

As Above, So Below - Kim Seungmin Paranormal Investigator AU Part 2

Warnings: Very detailed gore, mentions/depictions of murder, graphic scenes, a character basically has a seizure

(<- Previous Part) (Next Part ->)

“Are you guys sure?” You asked for the billionth time.

“Y/N, if you ask us that again I’m gonna whack you with this camera.” Hyunjin laughed. “Of course we’re sure.”

Seungmin, Felix, and Hyunjin were helping you pack some clothes for a trip up the mountains to a small cabin. The five of you were to investigate a site where people were committing suicide and murders. The place desperately needing a cleansing.

“Shouldn’t a priest go?” You asked.

“We investigate it first, then we take it to the church. With something like this, the permission will have to come straight from the Vatican.” Seungmin explained as he helped you pack your luggage into the back of the van. Hyunjin and Haru had another old fashioned Volkwagen parked outside of your apartment.

“It really has to go all the way to the Vatican?” You asked.

“Isn’t that what he just said?” Haru asked as you both stepped out, leaning on the other van.

“Instead of standing there with an attitude, why don’t you help?” Felix asked, carrying one of your bags.

“Why should I? There’s no reason to bring all this shit.” Haru snapped at Felix.

“Says the one that filled up our whole van with just her luggage.” Hyunjin said, walking up to you and gently taking your luggage. “I’ll pack these Y/N, get yourself ready.”

He gave you a kind smile and you bowed to him in thanks and walked inside of your apartment. Seungmin promised you could continue living there, and persuaded you to change your college courses to online courses in case you all needed to travel. You kept your part time job at a small family clinic, as you did desk work. They promised to allow you to come back whenever you weren’t out on investigations, as you were pretty close with the family, and they knew of your gift.

You took out the cookies and brownies you had baked for everyone in thanks for allowing you to join them. When you brought them out, the three men’s eyes lit up as you handed them the little baggies of goodies.

“Wow, are these for us?” Felix asked, his eyes bright.

“Yep! I made them earlier, so they’re fresh!” You said with a smile.

You slowly walked over to Haru and handed her a small bag of them, and her eyes narrowed as she took them from your hand.

“If you think you can win me over with sweets, you’re wrong.” She growled before opening the front door to the van she and Hyunjin were sharing and slammed it shut.

“I’m sorry you keep putting up with her attitude, just try to keep your interactions with her limited for now.” Seungmin sighed, gently placing his hand on the small of your back and leading you to the van you were going in with him and Felix.

The three of you got in the van and buckled up as Seungmin put his GPS on. The ride up the side of the mountain was going to be about 2 hours, and you were glad Haru was with Hyunjin and not in the same van as you. You weren’t sure you would be able to deal with her attitude for that long. You felt something warm being placed over your legs. You looked over and saw Seungmin placing a blanket over your lap, a soft smile on his face.

“Why don’t you take a little nap? You look really tired, and I know you got up pretty early to make those sweets.” He said softly, reaching behind him and pulling a fluffy pillow from the back seat and handing it to you.

You took the pillow from him, but anxiety started to eat at you. “I actually can’t sleep during car rides… I got into an accident when I was younger, and it messed me up pretty badly.”

His soft eyes flicked to you as he pulled onto the highway, his hand going to rub your arm.

“I promise I’ll be careful, trust me, you might want to try and not be exhausted when we get there.” He said softly.

You slowly nodded and shifted the pillow under your head, snuggling under the blanket. Soft music played through the radio, and the sound of Felix’s light snoring lulled you to sleep as Seungmin began to hum to the soft music.

“Y/N? Hey, we’re here.” A soft voice spoke in your ear.

You opened your eyes to make eye contact with Seungmin, who’s large eyes were looking down at you.

“We’re here.” He repeated softly.

You nodded and sat up, stretching and cracking your bones as you did so.

“How’d you sleep?” He asked.

“Fine, though my bones ache now.” You said with a small chuckle.

“Well, you were in the same position most of the time. I kept checking your pulse to make sure you were alive.” He said with a soft smile.

You were about to say something when Felix slowly sat up from the back, his hair sticking at weird angles as he turned his head to you both, his one eyes squinting and the other squeezed shut.

“That ride was too fast.” He said, his voice octaves deeper than usual.

“Yeah, it was for you. You sleep like a bear.” Seungmin mumbled, stepping out of the van.

You followed him right after, running your fingers through your hair to situate it. There was a pretty large log cabin sitting in the middle of the massive property, a beautiful lake right behind it. It wasn’t an old run down log cabin, much to your surprise. It looked really neat, the wood a fine shade of mahogany.

Two elderly people stepped out, and you were assuming it was the owners of the mountain resort. It was pretty much a nature get away, cabins lined the shore of the giant lake, all spread out onto large properties.

“Mr. and Mrs. Oh, I’m Seungmin. We talked on the phone a few times.” Seungmin said as he approached them, shaking Mr. Oh’s hand and bowing to Mrs. Oh.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Seungmin, and thank you so much for coming.” Mr. Oh said with a bright smile.

They led the five of you into the beautiful cabin, a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

“I know you told me a bit over the phone, but I think you should explain more on what’s going on with my crew with me.” Seungmin said as you all set your suitcases in the massive living room. A deer’s head was above a large fireplace, a black leather couch lining the whole room.

Mr. Oh lead you to the couch and you all sat down. You say beside Seungmin, excite filling you to learn about what’s been going on on the beautiful property.

“When we bought this place twenty years ago, it was run down and shabby. We’ve worked hard to make this place the way it is, we put thousands and thousands into it.” Mr. Oh began. “We finally were able to open the place up to the public 18 years ago. It took us two years to repair the whole side of the mountain, we worked day and night. And everything was fine for the first six months, and that’s when the first murder happened.”

Mr. Oh pulled out a folder stacked with papers and handed it to Seungmin. You peaked over Seungmin’s shoulder and saw the picture of a young man, not much older than you. His eyes were wide, his pupil’s taking over his whole eye, giving him a demonic like appearance. Seungmin flipped the page, a gasp almost leaving your lips. Pictures from the crime scene were attached to a small newspaper article:

April 6, 2002

Teen accused of brutally murdering and mutilating his friends on a get away. The murders happened around 2 A.M, a family who was vacationing in a nearby cabin heard the screams of the last victim, Song YongJi. The victim’s were brutally mutilated and hung, some having their body parts sprawled across the ground. Police have the suspect, Kwon TaeJoon, in custody, in custody, and have been endlessly questioning the suspect.

Your eyes scanned the murder scenes, blood was splattered all over the ground outside, one of the victims, a male, was hanging against a tree. Two spear-like objects had his arms pinned to the tree as if he’s been crucified, his lower half missing and his insides on the ground. You shivered as you looked at the next two victims, another male and a female. The male was sitting up, a massive hole in his stomach, his tongue ripped out and his eyes torn from his sockets. The female was laying in front of him on her back, her face towards the camera. Her eyes were gouged out, an upside down cross cut into her forehead. Behind them, on the wall of a cabin, was a pentagram drawn in blood.

And then the last victim, Song Yongji, the killer’s girlfriend, was laying on her side, a single stab wound to her stomach. The picture was so fresh, her eyes weren’t even dilated yet. Her pretty skin was covered in scratches and self defense wounds. Seungmin flipped the page, another article on another set of murders.

May 6, 2005,

Father accused of slaying his family in a vacationing spot in the rural mountains. The man in question was the father of four of the victim’s, and he was married to the fifth, the mother of the children. Their children’s ages ranged from sixteen to four months old. Police have the man in custody.

The spot was also the same area where another massacre had happened three years ago in 2002.

You stared at the picture of the father, the same look in his eye that the younger male had. Two more murders with gruesome scenes happened again on March 6 2010 and on August 6 2016, and you shuddered at all of the pictures of the crime scenes.

“Why are you coming to us now? The last murder was in 2016.” Seungmin pointed out.

“No…” Mrs. Oh said, her eyes sad. “The last murder was four days ago.”

You unpacked your bags as it had begun to get dark out, and a few things were still floating in your head. Why was all of this happening at such a beautiful place? What had driven all of these people to murder? You crawled into the comfortable bed, but an uneasy feeling had kept you awake as you laid there.

“6….”

Your body froze, the hairs on your neck standing up as you slowly looked around your room. You had heard it, you know you did. You slowly got out of bed and walked down the stairs, your eyes landing on Seungmin sitting on the couch. He turned his head and gave you a soft smile, and it disappeared when he saw the look on your face.

“What is it?” He asked, standing up and grabbing your hand to lead you to the couch.

“I heard something upstairs… A whisper.” You said lowly.

His eyes searched your face, his large iris’ the prettiest shade of amber you’ve ever seen.

“Let me make you some hot chocolate, and we’ll talk about it.” He said.

You nodded and followed him into the kitchen, and he gave you a confused look.

“I don’t want to be alone right now.” You sighed.

“I understand, I’m shocked with everything you’ve told me about that that had scared you like this.” He said.

“I know.. But because of everything that happened here, I’m just nervous.” You whispered, playing with your fingers.

His hands gently grabbed yours, a soft, reassuring smile on his pretty face.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m right here.” He whispered.

You smiled at him and nodded as his gentle touch made all of the anxiety go away.

When the hot chocolate was done, Seungmin lead you into the living room, the fireplace gently crackling to keep the massive room warm. You sat down on the couch and he sat down beside you as you both sipped on your hot chocolates. You sat there for a moment, before you quickly grabbed the files that held all of the murders in them.

“What is it?” Seungmin asked.

April 6. May 6. March 6. August 6.

6.

“Look at the dates.” You said, pointing to them.

His eyes scanned over the dates as you pointed to the 6’s.

“When I was upstairs, I heard someone whispering six. There’s something to do with that number Seungmin!” You gasped.

Seungmin took the files from you, his eyes scanning the dates again.

“Y/N… You might’ve just found something!” He gasped.

You both smiled at each other as you both continued to look through the files, reading over the names carefully.

“I can’t find anything that leads to the number six…” Seungmin sighed.

You sighed in defeat as well and glanced at the clock. It was 3 AM, and you both had a long day ahead of you. Seungmin places the files down, his eyes wandering around the room.

“Is everything okay?” You asked.

“Yeah, don’t worry.” He chuckled, glancing at you. “Just trying to put things together.”

He picked up the files again, scanning through them as your eyes began to droop. Seungmin began to softly hum and you gave in and allowed yourself to be lulled to sleep by his soft voice, your cheek resting on something warm.

You woke up to something moving, your eyes opening as you slowly raised your head. Your nose brushed Seungmin’s, making you jump back with a squeak.

“S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you!” You gasped, covering your red face with the blanket.

You heard Seungmin chuckle behind you.

“It’s okay, your head kind of plopped on me while I was reading and I couldn’t read with you laying on me, so you made me get some sleep. Thank you.” He said.

You looked at him and nodded, pulling the blanket off of you. He rubbed his shoulder, giving you a devious smile.

“Though your head was a little heavy, I think you messed up my shoulder.”

WHACK

You hit him with one of the couch pillows and he let out a loud laugh of amusement as he jumped off the couch and away from you.

“It’s not my fault your head is heavy!” He laughed as you chased him around the couch, beating him with the pillow.

“I don’t know how you two are so active right now.” Felix yawned as he walked down the stairs.

“You know I’m a morning person.” Seungmin pointed out. “We should probably get breakfast going.”

The five of you sat at the table in the dining room, a very beautifully crafted wooden table. Seungmin set down pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and waffles with juices and chocolate milk.

“To the first day of our investigation!” Hyunjin said, raising his glass of orange juice.

You all raised your glasses and clanked them together, then took your shares of food. As you ate, the others talked about what they planned on doing.

“Haru and I are gonna check out the surrounding area and see if there’s anyone that comes here annually and what they know. Felix, Hyunjin, check all empty cabins and see what you can find.” Seungmin said.

“What about me?” You asked.

“You had a late night last night, you should probably get some more sleep. Or see if you can crack anything out of those cases.” Seungmin said, not looking at you.

How boring.

Haru gave you a mocking look, knowing you were disappointed, but you ignored it. It sucked he was putting you at the back burner during your first true investigation.

After you all finished your breakfast, they all headed out and waved goodbye.

“Don’t worry Y/N,” Haru laughed. “Useless people get to relax while we do all the work. Think of this as a vacation.”

You rolled your eyes and fixed yourself up for the day, before sitting in the living room with the files. You bit your lip and grabbed the new article about the murder that happened now five days ago. You saw the pictures, and cringed when you saw the gore and carnage in them. Your eyes went to the murderer, a college student with high grades, an athlete, a good kid.

“This doesn’t make sense.” You sighed.

You quickly checked your phone for the date.

April 11th.

“6….”

All the hairs on your body stood up, your hands shaking as you slowly turned your head. Nothing was seen around the room, and you slowly turned back to the files and pulled your laptop out, searching the recent massacre.

“Kim Joonwoo.” You whispered the name of the kid, your eyes scanning the online article.

He’s being held up in a detention center not too far from the mountain.

“Time for me to get out and find some shit out.” You whispered, getting up and grabbing your hoodie.

The Oh’s had allowed you to borrow one of their cars to get to town, since they were good with driving on the mountain. You took the key and put the GPS on your phone as you began to head off into the small town. The small town was bustling with people, shops lining the streets, restaurants and bars on every corner. You pulled up to the detention center, which was surprisingly very small. You quickly parked and looked around as you headed up the stairs and into the building.

A woman sat behind a giant counter, another cop beside her.

“Can I help you?” She asked flatly.

“I’m here to see Kim Joonwoo.” You told her.

“Are you family?” She asked.

“Well no-“

“Girlfriend? A friend?” She asked.

“I’m not.”

“I can’t let you in then.” She said flatly.

You quickly grabbed your ID, your eyes going to hers.

“Listen, I’m a paranormal investigator hired to investigate the resort on the side of the mountain where all of the massacres happened. I just want to speak with him to find out what happened.” You explained.

She went to open her mouth when the officer beside her smiled at you.

“You’re here with Seungmin?” He asked.

You nodded and he gave the other woman a reassuring smile.

“This could really help with the case, I’ve seen his work, they’re really good.” He told her.

She hesitantly nodded and took your ID as the other cop lead you back.

“I really hope you guys can figure this out, my cousin went to that resort and said she felt like she was going crazy.” The cop said.

“Really? Did she say why?” You asked.

“She said she kept hearing things and seeing things… She left on the third day and hasn’t been back since.” He explained.

“I see, I’ll try my best to get what I can out of him.” You said reassuringly.

He smiled and nodded as he lead you to a glass where phones were placed on either side. He wandered off towards where the inmates were kept, and you glanced down at the picture and notes you brought. You jumped when you noticed someone staring at you, and realized it was Joonwoo. His eyes were dark with eye bags, his lips chapped and bloody looking, his nails bloody from biting them. You gave him a sweet smile and gently took the phone, and he shaking reaches for the one on his side.

“W-Who are you?” He asked shakily.

“My names Y/N, and I’m here to investigate the resort on the side of the mountain. I’m a paranormal investigator.” You said.

His eyes both darkened and lightened at the same time as he pressed his hand to the glass.

“So you’ll believe me, right?” He asked.

You pressed your hand to the glass where his sat on the opposite side, a reassuring smile on your face as your other hand pressed on a recorder to get what he would say.

“Just tell me what happened, can you do that?” You asked.

He slowly nodded and shifted in his seat.

“We all wanted to go to the resort and just let loose for a couple days. We were off of school for a small break, and we heard how beautiful it was.. And that it was haunted. We thought it’d be fun, ya know?” He asked.

“I understand.” You said with a nod.

“The first night was fine, nothing really happened besides some cold spots in the cabin. We got one of the little run down ones since it was cheaper. I remember on the second night, I kept hearing voice and thought it was my friends messing with me… But it was them.” He whispered, tears pouring out of his eyes. “They made me do it.”

“Them!” He yelled, making you jump. “They kept crawling in my skin and in my body! They kept taking over my body and making me watch them kill my friends! I couldn’t do anything! They wouldn’t leave me alone!”

The cop who had taken him out began to approach him as the boy began to freak out. When the cop put his hands on his shoulders, the boys head shot up to yours, his eyes dark, his pupils blown out.

“6.” He growled. “Beware of cabin 6.”

His eyes rolled back as he bashed his head against the glass twice, the officer bringing him on the ground as his body jerked, foam forming at the corner of his mouth.

“Call an ambulance!” The cop yelled to another cop.

You quickly pushed past the doors as the other cop ran out.

“Hey! You can’t be back there!”

You quickly dropped down to his level, pushing him onto his side so he wouldn’t choke on his tongue or saliva.

“Call a priest!” You yelled. “He’s possessed still!”

When the ambulance arrived, you and one of the cops assigned to his case exchanged numbers, as you had promised to get Seungmin to call a priest. You had video surveillance from the detention center and voice footage, making it all the perfect evidence.

When you arrived back, you saw Seungmin looking around the area, relief in his eyes when he saw you.

“Where were you?” He asked.

“Conducting an investigation on my own.” You said.

“Great, now she thinks she can do whatever she wants.” Haru growled.

“I actually found something.” You said, looking at her.

“What is it?” Felix asked.

They followed you inside as you played the surveillance footage and voice recording.

“Cabin 6.” Seungmin gasped as he looked at you.

“6.” You both said.

“Okay, what are you two talking about?” Hyunjin asked.

“Last night Y/N heard something whisper 6 to her… And we realized the dates were all the 6st of each month.” Seungmin explained, opening the files and showing everyone.

“And everything went down at cabin 6?” Haru asked.

“I’m not sure, but all he said was beware of cabin 6, so I think that’s our next search.” You said.

Seungmin nodded and stood up, turning to you. “I’m gonna go tell the Oh’s we need to see cabin 6, and the area surrounding it.”

As Seungmin walked out, you caught up with him.

“Seungmin?” You asked.

He turned around and gave you a questioning look.

“Would you possibly be able to get a priest to help that boy? He was definitely still possessed... I saw it.” You said.

“We’ll check the property and have a priest go there first, then if we have enough evidence we’ll have the priest come here. There’s definitely something… Evil going on here.” He said with a reassuring smile.

You and the others headed over the cabin 6, and you realized the place wasn’t as nice as the others. The cabin was still cleaned up and fixed and all, but it was noticeably not as nice as the others.

“I wonder why this cabin isn’t as nice or as big as the others.” Hyunjin said, looking around.

You froze before you even walked into the place, the aura not right.

“You okay?” Felix asked, gently grabbing your shoulder.

“Look at the 6.” You whispered.

Felix’s eyes went to the 6 on the cabin, and he let out a shocked gasp. It looked like the 6 had been moved quite a few times, 2 sixes imprinted against the wood, the third boldly in the middle.

“666…. They did something with that.” Felix said.

Seungmin gave you both a confused look, and you quickly pointed it out. Seungmin’s eyes scanned it before he took out his camera and snapped a picture.

“We’ll need this.” He said.

Felix noticed your stressed aura and wrapped his hand around yours.

“Don’t worry, we’re all right here. We’ve got you.” He said reassuringly.

You smiled at him and nodded as the three of you walked into the cabin with Haru and Hyunjin, and they searched around the place.

“Nothing seems to be out of place here.” Haru said, looking around.

“It all looks normal.” Hyunjin agreed.

Haru stepped on the rug, and you noticed the way it creaked.

“Haru, step there again.” You said.

She glanced at you and stepped back on the wood, the creaking sound echoing in the room. You both quickly moved the rug covering the wood floor, and gasped when you looked down at it. The floor was wet, almost, and in the middle of the floor, was a blood red pentagram.

“I highly doubt the Oh’s know about this.” Hyunjin gasped.

He and Seungmin quickly took pictures, and you thought about it for a moment.

“What is it?” Felix asked.

“The way the bodies were hung and killed, the way they drew the symbols is almost like… They were sacrificing them.” You said. “Do they know anything about this property?”

“I’m not sure… Why?” Felix asked.

“Because on some mountain sides, witches were doing sacrifices. Usually with animals, but with people too.” Seungmin explained.

“You think this was a ritual ground?” Haru asked you.

“It could be, all the symbols… The way these people were murdered and their positions… This place could be cursed.” You said.

Everyone’s eyes widened in horror, and Seungmin quickly grabbed the files out of his bag and scattered them around.

“She’s right.” He gasped.

“What can we do?” Hyunjin asked.

“We have to find where all of the rituals happened and get to the main source of the curse.” Seungmin said.

“Haru, Y/N, take the small trail towards the next cabin, see if you can find anything.” He said.

You both nodded, and you were surprised Haru had nothing smart to say or tried to object. You both quickly made your way through the woods, when you noticed something.

“Isn’t that the shed where the last girl was hung too?” You asked.

“I think so- holy shit, there’s still blood on it.” Haru gasp as she stepped towards the shed.

The pentagram was a dark angry red, like no one even tried to scrub it off.

“This is weird, don’t they usually clean off all bodily fluids?” You asked.

Haru didn’t say anything, she just walked around the shed, her eyes taking in every detail. You took out your camera and shot a picture of the pentagram, needing it Incase it magically disappeared.

“We should get Seungmin.” Haru said.

You nodded as you began to follow her, when you noticed her stepping into the ground that looked caved in.

“Hey lookout!” You yelled, pushing her out of the way.

“What the f-!” Before she could finish, you shoved her away completely and fell through the earth.

A yelp left your lips as you plummeted, then everything to black as you hit the earth.

[willtravis]

There Is No Sickness On Europa - Chapter One

There Is No Sickness On Europa – Chapter One

              As Liam sat aboard the cheapest shuttle he could charter, he wondered what life would offer him in the coming months. The sweltering heat caused by the ship’s overworked radiators didn’t make thinking easy, but he gave it his best shot. In just over 36 hours he would be a citizen of Europa, with all of the meaning that entailed. He had no job lined up, no place to live, and a paltry amount of money in his pocket. And to top it all off, this damned heat made it impossible for him to plan.

Not that he could anyway. Liam had never been to Europa. He didn’t know what it was like, the culture, the economics. He knew as well as anyone else in the system that Europa was famed for its healthcare. Supposedly the water had special properties that could heal any illness. As a result, Europa had the most robust hospitals and the best doctors in the system. Liam figured that was a self-fulfilling prophecy. Either way, his shuttle was filled to the brim with people suffering from all manner of afflictions, all heading to Europa to be cured.

One man’s illness frightened Liam. He sat alone in a corner of the passenger hold, shaking relentlessly. His eyes were so bloodshot they seemed solid red. His skin was so grey, he blended into the wall to the point where he seemed to just be a pair of floating red eyes and brown hair drenched in sweat. Liam tried not to look at him often.

The cities of Europa were apparently equally magical. The first colonies had been scientific, searching for life in the geothermal depths. The scientists wanted to be closer to what they were studying rather than separated by fifteen kilometers of ice. So, the first habitats were built upside down, hanging from the ice sheets over a vast dark ocean. They may not have found sentient, water-dwelling creatures below the ice, but as more people were born and colonists immigrated to Europa, more buildings were built off the original scientific outposts. The cities of Europa dangled into the void. It was supposed to be quite beautiful.

Liam had determined, as far as he could given his environment and lack of experience, that Europa should have plenty of hotels since it’s constantly full of visitors. And keeping those near-floating cities water-tight must be a hard job requiring lots of maintenance. He should easily be able to find a job as an electrical engineer or something. He hoped.

Satisfied with his planning, Liam leaned back in his low-cost chair and closed his eyes. And was almost instantly jostled awake by a kid barging past to use the head or something. It would be a long day and a half.

As Liam came back from the galley, the first thing he noticed was that someone stole the jacket he left on his chair. Great, he thought, hopefully the ice moon won’t be cold. The second thing he noticed was the sheer chaos in the passenger bay. Liam’s shipmates may have been placid for the majority of the trip, but the promise of an imminent landing awakened something in each of them, and now the bay was filled with shouts and people hurrying to gather themselves and their belongings at the boarding ramp, eager to finally be free of the ship.

The ship itself was a refitted cargo freighter and had up to that point somehow managed to cope with being crammed full of as many of the inner system’s sick and poor as it could carry. But now the animation that filled its core put a strain on its systems. The shouting and movement threatened to make its poor environmental regulators give out completely, and the heat just made people want to leave sooner.

Liam, for his part, didn’t have any thing to take with him except his now lost jacket. He scanned chaos around him, shrugged his shoulders, and made for the ramp. Even though he left sooner than most passengers, the loading bay was full when Liam arrived, so he waited in the hallway thinking about his new life just moments away. A few minutes later the intercom binged. One minute until the main engine cuts off and gravity with it. Right on cue, the intercom binged again and the concept of “down” lost all meaning. Liam never did get the hang of zero-g. Living down a gravity well all your life makes it difficult. He contented himself with clutching the handrails and waiting for the ship to finally land. Behind him came a dull thud followed by a child crying. Looks like at least one other person can’t handle zero-g.

The ship started jostling around under its old and poorly maintained maneuvering thrusters. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, gravity began to assert itself, and Liam’s feet drifted back towards the bulkhead. Right before he actually touched the floor, however, the entire ship was filled with a clang as it slammed down on the landing pad on the surface. At a comfortable 1/8th G, Liam felt ready to meet his new life. The intercom crackled and came to life.

“Alright folks, the dock is telling us that the outer seals are good, and the landing bay is pressurized. Give us a minute and will lower the ramp and let y’all out. Welcome to Europa,” said a voice that Liam assumed belonged to the captain.

Before him the line started moving as those who were first into the loading area stepped out into the docks. Liam could hardly contain himself. He wondered what awaited him on the other side of the hull. What strange new sights would he see? What kind of life would he live? As he rounded the corner into the loading bay, he drew deep breath, ready to face a new start. He looked out over the throng of people in front of him and saw his first glimpse of Europa. An industrial grey wall crisscrossed with walkways and girders.

The wall itself was massive, dwarfing the workers hustling along it to do their job. The dock was a massive triangle and served as an airlock for ships. It was easily able to handle a ship two or three times the size of the humble transport Liam booked. Hundreds of meters above Liam was a giant mechanical mouth with interlocking teeth. When a ship came in to land, everyone would exit, and the dock would be depressurized. Then that mouth would open and swallow the ship whole.

As Liam reached the end of the ramp, someone in a yellow vest pointed him towards a point in one of the walls.

“Take that lift down to the city proper. No loitering in the docks,” the worker told him.

Liam wasn’t keen on being fined 3 minutes after landing and made his way to the lift without admiring the cavernous room further. Besides, maybe he’d get a job here. There’d be plenty of time for gawking then.

When the doors to the lift opened, the crowd of people behind Liam piled into the lift so Liam could barely stand in the back without leaning on the wall. Then, the lift began its fifteen-kilometer descent to the city.

After what felt like an eternity, the lift finally came to a stop and the doors parted. Liam was so focused on relieving the pressure on his back and neck he didn’t look up until he was out of the lift. When he did, he was blown away.

Before him was a neon garden, with signs and billboards growing from the ground and walls. Above him the ceiling was covered in screens showing Jupiter suspended above them, as if there weren’t kilometers of ice between the city and the sky. Built into the walls around him were storefronts, restaurants, and offices. The smells from all the different kinds of food mixed and lingered in the air, creating something in between chicken soup and raw sewage. Huge herds of people moved to and fro, stopping for food and knick-knacks. Liam watched one woman weave her way through the crowds, barely slowing as she made her way down the wide boulevard. To his right, a sign spoke to him in a neutrally accented, pleasant voice: “Welcome to Europa. We hope you enjoy your stay.”

As Liam took a step forwards, a drone swooped down in front of his face. Its speaker blasted out “Our scans indicate you are not in critical condition. Goodbye.”

“Thanks for that, mate,” Liam mumbled to himself.

He took a look at the billboards surrounding him. Most advertised some radical new treatment for illnesses Liam had never heard of. An injection that makes you immune to the common cold forever. A magic pill that grows you a new kidney. One treatment claimed to let someone breathe in a vacuum for a limited time. To Liam it seemed that each advertisement was more aggressive than the last. The lights, colors, sounds, and smells of this market that eventually Liam just tuned it all out and tried to head somewhere quiet so he could work out a plan to live. Or at least just find a bed to sleep in tonight.

He saw a sign that said residential over a stairway heading down and figured that was his best bet. That was when Liam learned that going downstairs in 1/8th G is a slow and tedious process and after the third flight he wished he took lift, if only to save time. He was so focused on going down that when he finally did reach the residential level, he didn’t even notice that it was quiet.

What he did notice instead was the huge single-pane window in the wall. Liam was apparently near the edge of the city, and aside from two buildings reaching down into the depths like glowing tendrils, the view was completely black. The vast expanse of nothing enraptured Liam so much he didn’t even bother with the bench in front of the window. He just walked right up to the pane and stared. He was so close his breath was fogging up the window, but he didn’t even notice. The scale of the void baffled him. Since stepping off the ship all he saw was massive structure after massive structure, but the ocean beyond was incomprehensible. The cities of Europa were not defiant monuments to the strength of mankind to overcome nature, but instead small, huddled clusters of humanity, just trying to keep each other warm through the night.

Liam’s meditations were interrupted by an uninvited guest. A dark-skinned woman with short hair she kept bundled at the top her head decided to join him. She spoke first.

“Let me ask you a question. You came here in a spaceship, right?”

“Uhh, yeah,” Liam responded, confused.

“Where from?” The stranger continued.

“Earth.”

“Did the ship have windows on it?”

“Yeah, it did.”

“And did you, in all the time you spent on that ship, look out of those windows even once? A couple of times even?”

“Of course, I did,” Liam responded.

The woman sighed. Then continued, “So. You come all the way from Earth to Europa. Past Luna, past Mars, past the Belt. All the way here. Through space. In a ship with windows. Windows that you looked out of. Looked at space. And still, when you do finally get to Europa, what do you do? You look out another window.”

Liam laughed. “Yeah, that’s true.”

The woman seemed to relax a bit. “Ok. Let me ask you another question. Why? What makes this view more captivating than anything on the main promenade? Or space for that matter?

Liam thought for a moment. “I don’t know. It just seems so alien. There’s just nothing out there. In space at least there were stars and planets and moons. Right here? That’s just pitch black. It’s unsettling. But in a good way, I guess. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it’s just I always see off-worlders gawking at windows. Figured I at least should ask one what’s so interesting about pitch black nothing. Anyway, what’s wrong with you, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Liam was shocked “What?”

“What are you sick with? What are you here to cure?” The woman explained.

“Oh. I’m not here to cure anything,” Liam explained.

“A friend or family member, then?”

“Nope. Just me. I’m moving here.”

“Wait, really?” She seemed surprised.

“Yeah, is that odd?”

“Well, we don’t really get people moving here. Pretty much everybody is here or with someone who’s here to cure something. Most everybody tries to leave as soon as they can. I guess not many people want to live in a frozen ocean.”

Liam chuckled. “Yeah that’s probably true.”

The woman held out her hand. “I’m Havi.”

Liam shook it. “Liam. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too, Liam. So where are you staying?”

Liam took a second to come up with an answer. “I’ve not really figured that out yet. I’m kind of fresh off the ship. Figured I’d stay at a cheap hotel or something until I find a job and can get a lease.”

Havi seemed to think about for something for a minute then said: “Stay with me for a while.”

“What?”

“I mean it. My roommate just left, and my place is too big for one person. And I won’t even charge you until you get a job.”

“Really? You just met me. For all you know I could be some crazed Earther serial killer on the run from the law.”

Havi chortled. “Yeah, the guy who’s unsettled by a bunch of water is a serial killer. Good one.”

“Yeah fair point,” Liam said through a smile.

“Look, just pretend I’m your landlady or whatever. I mean when it’s a choice between a cushy apartment or some seedy hotel, I know what I’d take. Besides, maybe I’m eager to see an Earther’s perspective on my homeworld. Up to you.”

Liam considered for a moment. Not having to pay for a bed until he found work would be nice. But he barely knew this woman. Maybe she lured people to her apartment to kill them. Was it really worth it? Liam’s stomach growled and he thought of his paltry pocketbook. Yeah, it was worth it.

“Alright,” Liam said, “lead the way.”

“Gladly,” Havi responded, and the two marched down the hallway, leaving the window and dark abyss behind them. 

[not-close-to-straight]

Shadowed Hearts/Winter Souls (Four)

MASTERLIST HERE

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

Tony had never even heard of Sokovia. 

It took most of the day to reach the borders of the little country and another several hours to reach the manor house Natalia told him about, and Tony spent the entire trip staring out the small window of the carriage watching the unfamiliar terrain roll by.  Sokovia.  He prided himself on being familiar with most world events, even the ones outside his corner of Italy, and he’d read about the wars taking place across the Atlantic, the former British colonies warring with anyone who looked at them twice-- the Brits, the French, their own native peoples, themselves.

Howard had insisted that Tony know about the world that existed outside of Brescia so Tony had studied and read and learned all he could but in all those hours in his library and at the public forums, he had never once heard of Sokovia.  Yet another reminder that for all his knowledge, Tony knew very little in the grand scheme of things-- very little about the world, very little about matters of love and heartbreak... very little about the woman who was his wife. 

“We should be able to see the manor house from the hill.” Natalia spoke up then, the first time she’d said anything at all since leaving the city earlier that morning. “It will only be a few minutes now.”  Tony didn’t answer-- and Natalia hadn’t expected him to-- but he leaned forward to see and she took that as a good sign. Anything was better than stony silence and purposefully averted glances, and really, the more invested and interested Tony was in her life, perhaps the harder it would be for him to turn his back on her.  Tony felt Natalia’s eyes on him but didn’t bother turning to meet her gaze, deciding instead to keep watch for the first glimpse at the manor. He wasn’t ready to apologize for how he’d treated her the night before, he wasn’t even sure he should apologize, but while he was sorting out his thoughts, Tony didn’t dare try to talk.  The last thing they needed was another argument. The home was beautiful in an imposing sort of way. Made of dark wood and even darker rock, it rose up abruptly from the surrounding areas with only a few outbuildings as accompaniment, no hedges and no gardens visible from the front, not even a fountain to soften the suddenness of the dwelling. The entire area was rolling hills and thick forests and then nothing stretching out until the manor appeared.  The house was almost defiant there in the middle of the plateau, all sharp edges and steep walls and gabled roofs, bars visible on the windows even from this distance. The door was closed and the gates beyond it locked shut, a high fence stretching into the forest on either side so there was only one way in to the manor drive, and one way out.  Defiant and ominous were the words that came to mind, and Tony sent a sidelong glance towards Natalia, thinking those words perfectly described her as well.  There was no butler waiting to welcome the Lady Romanova home, no children tearing down the stairs to clamber for hugs, not even a maid there at the gates to wave them through. The coachman had to come back and hold his hand out for a large metal key that Natalia retrieved from her skirt pocket before he could force the locks open and walk the horses onto the drive.  “Take us around back to the falconers lodge.” Natalia told the coachmen when he returned the key after relocking the gates. “I don’t want the carriage here in the front.” 

“Yes ma’am.” Around the back, the property looked even emptier, if that were possible. What must have originally been an impressive garden had long ago gone to seed, and what hedges were left were spindly and bare. There were supports made for climbing plants and rows of pots stacked alongside the garden wall, various gardening tools accumulated but obviously rarely used. There might have been an orchard as well, Tony thought perhaps the withered trunks and branches resembled apple trees, but there was no way of really knowing without asking and Tony didn’t want to ask. 

The whole thing looked depressing, and Tony’s heart sank in his chest.  “I remember thinking it was pretty here.” Natalia said quietly, almost sadly as they passed a row of hanging baskets that must have been dripping with flowers in years past. “When I was a child I remember these gardens as absolutely lovely. Now of course, I wonder if they were lovely or if I was just naive.”  “Hm. I know the feeling.” Unbidden, Tony’s mind flashed back to the masquerade where they had met, and the masquerades he’d attended before that. So many parties where he’d been too blinded by the glitter and the glitz and being in love that he hadn’t seen how poorly the masks hid the secrets. Now it was all he could see--- lies barely covered by sequins, half truths dusted over with gold, and not for the first time since that night, Tony thought he’d never want to go to a masquerade again. Were they ever lovely or was I just naive? The carriage came to a stop at the back of the house and Natalia motioned for Tony to follow her up the steps and inside, telling him to, “Leave your bag, the coachman will bring it later.”  “If it's all the same to you, Lady Romanova--” Tony retrieved his bag anyway. “--I’d keep my things with me at all times, thank you.”  “I’m a spy, Antonio.” Natalia said softly. “Not a thief.”  “I’m fairly certain those two things go hand in hand.” Tony answered coolly and inclined his head towards the door. “Shall we?”

*************** The foyer of the house was dusty but elaborate, complete with columns that seemed out of place in a fairly modest sized manor and statues in several niches and corners. A grand staircase took up most of the back wall, narrowing and curving as it rose towards the second floor and the chandelier above their heads was distinctly ornate, most likely custom made, most likely one of a kind.  Tony ran his fingers over the detailed leafs and vines etched into the banister as they climbed the stairs and nearly tripped over the unexpectedly plush carpet at the start of the hall. He raised his eyebrows when he saw not a single picture on the walls, not even a shadow as if portraits had hung there before and were taken down. There wasn’t a nail or fastener or even a bit of wire to show that anything had ever been intended to hang there.  The corridor was lined with doors and every single one of them was open into empty bedrooms, nearly empty sitting rooms, one even opened into a library with three walls of books and not a single piece of furniture to sit and read them on.  Most homes showcased their wealth with rooms full to bursting with expensive pieces and yet the manor seemed to be bragging about its emptiness, luxurious down to the tiniest details and yet not a single hint as to who lived there to enjoy it.  Much like the woman wrapped in fur and silk and jewelry, who kept her eyes carefully blank and her smile carefully bland and let nothing personal show through, her entire demeanor announcing that someone should want to know her, but would never truly know her. 

Ominous and maybe just a hint defiant.  “This is your room.” Natalia stopped to open a door at the very end of the hall, showing Tony into a huge bedroom suite. “It belonged to my brother James, but it's been more than a decade since he’s stayed at the manor. Anytime he’s in the area he sleeps in the Falconer’s lodge and it’s been years since he’s done that, too. The room might as well be yours.”  Tony looked around with mild interest, noting the massive four poster bed in one corner and the stone fireplace at the other, a door on the other side of the room that most likely led to the closet.  “We put fresh dressings on the bed and restuffed the mattress before I left for Italy.” Natalia continued. “You should sleep well tonight, and however many nights you decide to stay.”  “Your room?” Tony asked and Natalia pointed back across the hall. “I see.”  Natalia watched in silence as he put his bags down in one of the overstuffed chairs at the fireplace before walking the perimeter of the suite, running his hands over the bare walls and pressing at the bed absentmindedly.  “What are you thinking?” she finally asked and Tony didn’t bother meeting her eyes when he replied, “Does it matter?”  “In some contexts.” she allowed. “And seeing as how you are in my home, yes I’d like to know what you are thinking.”  “I’m thinking there must be a reason for there to be no pictures in this house.” Tony said after another moment. “The walls are perfectly smooth as if they were never meant to have pictures at all. It isn’t natural, not in any home at all, much less the home of a noblewoman.”  “And?”  “And I’m thinking the walls were redone recently enough for it still too look odd, but long enough ago that it doesn’t bother you anymore.” he finished. “A father and daughter who spy together, a brother who has all but disappeared from existence. Madame Romanova if I didn’t know better, I’d think neither you nor the rest of your family ever existed at all.”  “Hm.” She cocked her head, green eyes narrowing. “And you have pictures in your home in Brescia, then?”  “Hundreds.” Tony looked around the empty room again. “But my family has never been one to live in the shadows. All of our triumphs and all of our sins are always there in the light for all to see.”  “All your triumphs and all your sins.” Natalia repeated. “I should be so lucky. There are secrets in my family that not even I know, secrets to make the ones I keep seem tame by comparison.”  “My Mama says that secrets bring shadows to our hearts.” Tony countered. “That anger brings winter to our souls and eventually all seems dark no matter where we look. I never knew what she meant until the masquerade ball.”  “When you met me?” Natalia hated how sad that made her, but Tony shook his head negatively. “Ah, you mean when you saw the man in the white mask there with his woman.”  “Yes.” Tony closed his eyes briefly and when they opened again, Natalia caught a flash of the raw pain she had seen that night at the ball. “That’s exactly what I mean.”  Silence in the room for a long moment, Tony’s expression shuttering and falling away before he managed to compose himself again and in the split second before that composure was firmly back in place, Natalia blurted, “I have a secret I’d like to share with you, Antonio.”  “I’ve had my fill of your secrets.” Tony answered, the brief vulnerability gone from his gaze. “So thanks all the same, but I think I’ll let you hold on to it.”  “Please.” she held out her hand but Tony didn’t take it. “I’ve misled you over many things--”  “The word you are looking for is lied. You didn’t mislead me, you lied.”  “I’ve lied to you about many things.” Natalia amended, lifting her chin stubbornly. “But I don’t want to lie about this one. You saved my life in Kiev and I owe you a truth for that at least.”  “A truth for a life.” Tony scoffed but there was no heat, no anger in the words. “Seems a fair trade.”  “Meet me in the kitchen at sundown.” Natalia ignored his words. “Just one secret, Antonio. And then I will help you with whatever it takes for you to get home.”  “Fine.” Tony waved her off. “Sundown.”  “Thank you.” Natalia excused herself from the room, shutting the door behind her quietly, and the moment she was gone Tony fell backwards onto the bed and covered his face with his arm.  A little more than month ago he’d been in love, head over heels for Tiberius and so sure that they would be running off into a happily ever after together. A little more than week ago he’d been heartbroken, thinking he could murder Tiberius where he stood on the dance floor with his wife, taking a chance with a mysterious woman and fleeing in the night.  And now he was here, alone in a house with no family, feeling as if the shadows were creeping in around the edges of his broken heart and the winter was taking hold in his soul just like his Mama said it would. He was tired of being angry, tired of being sad, tired of being lied to-- god Tony was so tired of being lied to.  If Natalia was going to offer him a truth, he would take it, just to remind himself that not all was lost.  And in the morning he would wire home and confess how stupid he had been, find a train back home to Brescia and face Ty and the rumours and the shame and he would be fine.  Eventually, he would be fine. *************** The sun had been down for some time when Tony woke up again and even though he was already late to meet Natalia, he took the time to straighten his hair and smooth his clothes before heading for the stairs.  No sense letting anyone know how out of place-- how overwhelmed-- he felt and the best disguise for that sort of thing was a haughty attitude and impeccable sense of dress, so Tony even snatched the scarf he’d bought in Kiev and wound it around his neck as well.

Feeling as prepared as he would ever be to face Natalia and whatever her truth was, Tony took the stairs quickly, turning the corner to come into the kitchen--

--and then stopping in surprise and embarrassment over what he’d almost walked in to, ducking back behind the kitchen door and peering around it curiously.  A man Tony hadn’t seen yet sat in one of the kitchen chairs and Natalia sat on his lap, straddling his lap with her skirts pulled up to her knees, her head tucked into a broad shoulder. Big hands smoothed up and down her back, the man’s voice nothing more than a rumble as he spoke quiet things into her ear, the accent obviously American.  Standing behind Natalia and leaning over them both was another man, this one with inked designs all over his arms and extending up his neck, stopped only by a scar that split down his ear and disappeared up into his hairline. His voice sounded flat, almost as if he were purposefully trying to not have an accent at all and his hand was far too high on Natalia’s thigh to be casual. The other hand was buried in her hair, tugging her back for longer and longer kisses, only trading off so the first man could kiss her as well.  The entire scene was intimate and private and Tony knew he was intruding, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away.  Natalia was soft and relaxed-- which was a surprise all in itself-- a sweet smile on her face as the men took turns holding her, kissing her palm and her knuckles and then her lips, trading murmurs of “I love you” and “I missed you” and “So glad you’re home, sweetheart.”  Tony started to back away, tried to be as quiet as possible as he left so he wouldn’t disturb them further, but stopped when he heard the tattooed one say-- “Talia, I thought we were supposed to meet the man you brought home with you?”  “He was supposed to be here at sundown.” Natalia sighed. “But I’m not surprised he didn’t come. He was very angry with me when the soldiers stopped us at Kiev and has been ever since.”  “He didn’t hurt you?” the first man asked, and Tony was struck again by the obvious American in his voice. He knew the former British colonies were embroiled in yet another war and that many former slaves had fled their home for safety-- and perhaps the dark skinned man wasn’t a former slave at all, but it was still��odd that he was here in Russia and so far from home.  “No, my love.” Natalia murmured. “He didn’t hurt me. In fact he saved my life when the soldiers came to the hotel."  “Then he shouldn’t be worried about meeting us.” the second man stated in that same flat tone. “If he saved your life, Samuel and I owe him a thanks, yeah? He shouldn't be scared.”  “I don’t think he’s scared, Ronin.” A beat of silence as if they had kissed. “I think he’s angry. I know he’s angry. I wanted him to meet the both of you because I thought it might make him feel better to know some sort of truth about me. Maybe it would convince him I am actually a woman with a heart, not only a spy, not only the Black Widow looking for my next victim.”  “You think he is angry enough to turn you into the soldiers?” Samuel asked. “Because I will kill him before I let him take you, Talia. I will kill him.” “Hush, darling.” Natalia shushed him quickly. “I was afraid Antonio would turn me in as well, but now I think he just wants to go home. At least the problems there were familiar to him.” “What problems?” Ronin questioned. “What's he hiding from? What’s so bad he’d up and run away with you in the middle of the night?”  “A broken heart.” Natalia sounded sad and Tony frowned as he listened. “There was a man at the masquerade in a white mask and I think Antonio was a drink away from killing him right there, even with all those witnesses. He didn’t tell me why, but the man was dancing with a woman who was most certainly expecting. It didn't take long to decipher what had most likely happened." “Poor bastard.” From Ronin, and in the shadows it looked like he had picked Natalia up and gathered her into his own lap. “Can’t blame him for running from that sort of thing. A broken heart is bad enough, but to see them with someone else..." 

“Course he wanted to run.” Samuel agreed. “A man like that would be wary of being lied to. Can't blame him for that. How do you think he will handle us, though? Seeing as how you two are officially married but Ronin and I spend most every night in your bed."  “I’m thinking he isn’t interested in what’s up Talia’s skirts--” Tony didn’t see what Ronin did, but Natalia giggled over it, the laugh sliding into a moan. “-- so he wouldn’t half care, so long as he knows we aren’t going to kill him over it.”  There was quiet for a few minutes, nothing more than the rustle of clothing and heavy breathing and Tony was just starting to feel bad about listening when Natalia spoke up again.  “I misjudged him, do you know? I thought Antonio was so broken he would be easy to fool, but what I thought was weakness in him wasn't weakness at all. He’s simply hurt, has lost all he loved and ran away from the rest. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”  “Sounds like everyone else’s story.” Samuel grunted. “Lost what we loved and left the rest of it behind. He’ll fit in alright with the rest of us.”  “You want him to stay, don’t you?” Ronin, now. “Do you think he will?”  “I want him to stay.” Natalia admitted. “So long I’ve lived this life and I’ve never felt guilty for what I’ve had to do to survive, but I feel guilty for lying to him. I feel guilty for bringing him into this and for nearly getting him killed-- Antonio doesn’t deserve this life and he certainly doesn’t deserve the one he left behind.”  “This life won’t be any easier than the one in Italy though.”  “But this life won’t flaunt his mistakes and heartbreak in front of him at parties either.” she countered. “I want him to stay, not just so he doesn’t turn me in, but also because he had just barely started to smile again and I ruined it in Kiev. I’d like a chance to change that. He is a sweet soul, a brilliant soul and I would correct what I've wronged before he leaves."  “Black Widow.” Samuel again, and Tony’s cheeks turned red when he saw the three shadows meld into one as Samuel joined Ronin and Natalia in front of the fire. “If I didn't know better, I'd think you had a heart beneath that red hair and scandalous gown.” “You know damn well I have a heart, Samuel Wilson.” Natalia laughed then, high and breathless. “It belongs wholly to the two of you, doesn’t it? And my dress wasn't half this scandalous before you and Ronin ripped the buttons off.” “Give me three seconds and I'll your corset undone too.” Ronin growled and that was when Tony left, hurrying back to the stairs and up to his room, not stopping until the door closed behind him.  He didn’t know what to think of Natalia and her two lovers, or what to think of her feeling guilty about tricking him, about the men so quickly acknowledging his pain and suggesting that he belonged here.  Tony didn’t know what to think about any of it.  But he crossed to his bags and unpacked a few pieces of clothing, tucking them away in the big set of drawers in the closet.  Maybe he wouldn’t leave first thing in the morning. 

Maybe he’d stay just a few days. 

A few days would be alright. 

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SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE CHAPTER!

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[unexpectedreylo]

The Straight Dope On Galaxy’s Edge

I went to Disneyland Aug. 7-10 for my birthday because where else would I rather be than in the GFFA?  

It’s amazing!  It’s like a Ralph McQuarrie painting come to life.  Even though it is “set” during the ST, it tries to have a little bit of something for every Star Wars fan.  And maybe even for your friends and family who aren’t into it as much as you are.

Don’t believe the hype that it’s not doing well.  Disneyland has had annual passholder blackout dates to keep attendance below crazy levels and while overall attendance is down 3% (probably due to fears of massive crowds as well as higher ticket prices),  I can safely tell you that there was a great deal of interest in Galaxy’s Edge by attendees.  On Thursday and Saturday, everyone made a beeline for it just as the park opened in the morning.  I was doing the Griswold family dash to Wally World myself, power walking the best my middle aged/out-of-shape self could as kids and teenagers went past me.  Requiring reservations for Oga’s Cantina and Savi’s Workshop (where you build the lightsabers) prevented hellacious hours-long lines for those attractions.  Smuggler’s Run has had waits as long as three hours over the course of the summer.  It reached its 1 millionth rider in mid-July.  On Thursday, the longest I wait I saw was 80 or 90 minutes and that was on a weekday blackout date.  The section of the park was busy both Thursday and Saturday mornings.  For what it’s worth, it seemed like half the people at Disneyland overall had some kind of Star Wars t-shirt on.  It was like a Celebration with rides.

Attendance isn’t the only metric.  What really matters is whether people are spending money there and I can vouch that people were buying.  The lightsabers are $200 a pop alone.  There were merchandise I wanted to get but weren’t available, such as the japor snippet necklace and the Rey vest (sizes XS-L were sold out).  White kyber crystals are still sold out.  I saw signs everywhere limiting certain items to one per person.  People were packing the cantina and all of them got drinks.  Ronto’s Roasters did pretty steady business.

Just bear in mind that parks play the long game and it probably serves Disney’s long term interests to allow paying attendees and not just local APs the chance to experience Galaxy’s Edge.  Hell crowds would just make people angry they spent all of that money and couldn’t see or do a thing.

Now, here’s where I’m going to dish some advice to those of you who are planning to go either to the one in Anaheim or at WDW.  The WDW version is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so some of this won’t apply to the Mouse House East but I think a lot of it will.

Tip #1--Your best bet is on a weekday, first thing in the morning as the park opens.  If it’s an AP blackout date, that’s even better.  Remember, Disney is like con...you don’t come to sleep.

Tip #2--Stay at a Disney hotel to take advantage of Magic Hour.  I know, I know, they’re $$$ while there are many cheaper alternatives but if you really want to beat the crowds this is the way to do it.  Galaxy’s Edge will not be accessible during Magic Hour (at DL it’s just Fantasyland that’s open) but you can start lining up at the ropes in front of Frontierland and Adventureland.  While GE at DL has three entrances, they will send you the looong way through New Orleans Square and Critter Country when the park fully opens.  If you’re at WDW, stay at the Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, or Pop Century resorts...they’re the ones closest to Hollywood Studios though you’ll still have to take the Disney bus to get there.  (The Swan and the Dolphin are on Disney property but are NOT Disney resort hotels, so no Magic Hour.)  

Another perk to staying at a Disney hotel now is that as part of our travel package we all got free exclusive Galaxy’s Edge lanyards with a pin!

Tip #3--Ladies...I think with the exception of the First Order boutique and the cosplay items, I liked the a lot of t-shirts and stuff for kids more than the ones for adults!  So if you are on the small side, you might be able to fit in the bigger kids’ wear.  For instance I got a great Black Spire hoodie for $40 at Jewels of Bith...the adult hoodie was like 20 bucks more.  My mom liked it so much she got one for herself and my niece.  Note:  the merch you buy inside GE don’t say “Galaxy’s Edge” or have Star Wars logos.  If you want those, you’ll have to buy them in the regular Disney stores.

Tip #4--Oga’s Cantina.  Reservations are required so as soon as you plan your trip, go on the DL/WDW app and reserve right away.  I think now you can reserve up to 60 days in advance...if not, definitely 14 days in advance.  You are NOT guaranteed a seat.  You are given an area to hang out in (at the bar, at a table, or at a booth) and you are to remain there.  You can’t run and grab a booth for instance if a party leaves.  Your limit is 45 minutes and two drinks.  I will say though that service is fast (I guess most drinks are pre-mixed) and in our case, we didn’t even need to stay the entire 45 minutes.  I got the Cliff Dweller (I don’t drink) while my brother got whatever they call the beer and my dad got the teal-colored “white” wine.  My older niece got the blue milk with the Bantha cookie.  She gave rave reviews for both.  The younger niece got the stuff that came from the creature tank.  It sounds gross but she liked it.  There are no restrooms inside the cantina btw.  

Tip #5--Savi’s Workshop.  Again, reservations are required and they should be made as soon as possible.  The lightsabers are $199 and you pay when you check in.  The day I went they were running behind, so while my reservation was at 3:00, I didn’t actually get in the building until like 3:30.  The process takes about 20 minutes.  You are ushered into a shop and there’s a whole narrative and everything.  The “gatherers” have harvested scrap metal and kyber crystals and crafted lightsaber parts.  Based on the “theme” you selected at check in (stuff like “power and control” or “peace and justice”) you are given trays with parts to choose from and a crystal (blue, green, purple, or red).  Your guides are in character and sometimes it’s all earnest af, but then again so are the movies.  I found it surprisingly easy to put these together.  The “gatherers” put the blade in for you then you step forward, turn on the switch, and yay, you got a new lightsaber!  You get to wave them in the air and stuff.  On the way out you are given a free sheath bag to put it in.  If you don’t want to lug your new lightsaber on a plane or have to check it in, you can have it shipped home for $17 at the First Order boutique (though I don’t know if other stores will do it for you too).  

Tip #6--Smugglers’ Run.  The best time to go on the ride, since to date there are no fastpasses, is right when the park opens.  Thursday morning at 8:10 a.m. had the shortest wait, 15 minutes but I pretty much walked right onto the ride.  The next best option is going single rider, which is what my brother and I did the second time we went on it.  It was about half the regular wait time.  Have your camera ready to get that chess table photo op because you will get called right away for your “boarding group” (assigned with a color).  Two pilot, two shoot, two “engineer.”  The light up buttons make it easy to figure out what you have to do but accuracy is tough.  I piloted the first time, shot the second time.  The good news is I did not crash either time.  Which is miraculous.

Tip #7--Other food and drink.  Unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to eat at Docking Bay 7 or Ronto Rosters.  I’m told the breakfast wrap at Ronto Roasters is phenomenal.  Don’t expect typical Disney fare in Galaxy’s Edge; the closest it comes is the Star Wars popcorn.  No galactic churros or Mickey ice cream pops here.  In fact an in-character cast member and Chewbacca were really curious about our churros when we went into Galaxy’s Edge on Saturday.  My younger niece even tried to give Chewie a piece to try, LOL.  What you can get is blue milk and green milk.  We got one of each on Thursday to try.  Both were better than the notoriously sweet butterbeers at Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Tasty and refreshing on a hot day.  But I kinda think we all leaned more toward the blue milk.  In fact the nieces insisted on another round of blue milk when we returned on Saturday.  You can get the Aurebesh label soda and water at a variety of stands and at Docking Bay 7.  (Maybe Ronto Roasters too.)  They’re pricey but everything at Disney is 30-50% more expensive than they would be anywhere else.  And the Aurebesh bottles make for low cost souvenirs.

Tip #8--Characters.  Chewbacca and FO stormtroopers were around quite a bit.  I saw Vi Moradi twice and Kylo a couple of times (Chewie and Kylo get treated like rock stars), but I totally missed Rey.  My parents saw her though.  Characters here do NOT sign autographs, something my nieces found out the hard way when they tried to get them from stormtroopers.  LOL.

Tip #8--Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.  This is where you buy your holocrons and loose kyber crystals (only with purchase of a holocron).  They were still out of white crystals so I bought a red one.  When you put a red crystal in your Jedi holocron, Yoda warns you about the dark side.  Bonus:  the kyber crystals you buy here can be put in your lightsaber from Savi’s Workshop.  So if you buy both a holocron and a lightsaber, make sure you get a different color crystal for each so you can switch them around!  Here you’ll find a lot of Jedi cosplay, Leia cosplay, and the headdress Padme used in AOTC as part of her peasant disguise, among other goodies.  The stained glass portraits of Leia and Queen Amidala were stunning but they were kinda big and 95 bucks apiece.  They had a set of ceramic busts of everyone’s favorite mother-daughter duo for $55 but I didn’t feel like lugging those around at the time.  For older Star Wars fans, this is probably going to be your favorite store.

Tip #9--Other merchandise/shopping.  The First Order boutique is located right next to Kylo’s parked shuttle and across from the “milk” stand.  The Resistance has two carts at the entrance in front of the (unopened) Rise of the Resistance ride.  I kinda like that the underground Resistance is on the “outskirts” of the outpost while the conquering FO is right there in the center of town.  Makes sense for the narrative.  Savi’s and the store where you can build a droid (no reservation necessary...this was a hit with kids) are next to each other.  Everything else is in the marketplace in a series of smallish stalls.  Keep an eye out because nobody has signs.  (Note:  layout might be slightly different at WDW.)  

Tip #10--Wear a hat and sunscreen.  The marketplace is the only area in GE with shade.  The rest of it is out in the sun, so be prepared because in CA it’s easy to get a sunburn and in FL, it’s easier still.  Bring a rain poncho if you’re at WDW because of those hit and run thunderstorms.  

Tip #11-- You don’t have to be a passive tourist.  Some cast members get into it more than others but you’ll get more out of Galaxy’s Edge if you play along.  As Star Wars fans, you’ll get the lingo (for instance they do call kids “younglings” and talk about money as credits) so that’s no problem.  When you’re inside of Galaxy’s Edge you can go on the DL/WDW app and activate your “datapad” and scan stuff at various locations.  My brother did this with his phone while we were poking around and you can earn rankings and stuff within the different factions.

Overall I think what Galaxy’s Edge is now is just the beginning.  Rise of the Resistance opens this winter at both parks and from what I’ve heard, more attractions and shows are in the works.  Personally, I’d love a hair braiding station where you can get your hair done like Leia or Rey or Battle of Geonosis Padme since that’s probably her easiest style!  I want a Reylo night time show!  But it’s absolutely worth visiting as it is.  You can easily spend half the day or longer there, depending on how much you want to do.  Few Star Wars or Disney experiences will ever top entering Galaxy’s Edge, huffing and puffing from having to go up and down hills, hearing the music over the loudspeakers and the cast members and various characters coming out to wave hello to everyone.  Even the stormtroopers.  I felt like I’d just finished the Batuu 5K!  And then seeing everyone gawk at the Millennium Falcon in front of Smuggler’s Run.  

[brattywriters-anonymous]

A Rose In Harlem

OC x Erik Story

Based on Teyana Taylor’s VII & KTSE

Warnings: Language

@chaneajoyyy

Chapter IX: Rize

February 6, 2014

22 HOURS BEFORE SHOWTIME.REHEARSAL, NINE PM.

"Ladies, Gents! Find Seats! Sit in them!" All twenty-four models followed Yani's request. We just wrapped our rehearsal, everyone did phenomenal. I can only pray that we get it like this at 583 Park Ave. Yani and I have been thee dynamic duo for the past seventy-two hours. I've been steaming outfits, she's been bagging accessories. I've been designing roll-away walls, she's been contacting every contractor in her contacts to design the black and gold glitter floors.

Honestly, in the past month, Yani and I have been on our hustle. I finished my last shoot and have been on go since. Erik and I have basically been like two ships passing in the night. I usually would leave before him, and come home after he arrived. We never talked about my father's birthday, our kiss..well..kisses. None of it. I've been too busy. Yasin and I have been texting here and there, but I haven't seen him either. He's been understanding about it though. The only person I've been spending my time with is Yani.

We've collectively gotten maybe eight hours of sleep in three days. So now, we're just exhausted and over it. We're trying to get this rehearsal over and done with. The theater's silence is my queue to step on the stage, I do so, scanning my models faces. They're looking like kids on Christmas Eve. So excited for what the next day has to bring. Their faces make me grateful, my smile spreads and everyone breaks out in applause. I decipher a few, "Yeah Syd!" "You did it girl!" and "Woos" in the crowd, I yield my hands up and down, they lower their yells. "Hey everybody, We're down to the wire here. We're less than a day away. We've been working our asses off for a month and a half. I couldn't have ever gotten this done without any of you. I'm excited for everyone to see our hard work. I'm even more excited for you to see your hard work pay off."

I point to Iyo in the control center, He dims the lights and lower the projector screen. "I now present to you.. UPTXWN." Applause rings out as the projector displays a drone clip of High Bridge among the sunrise and Syd's voiceover, "Uptown, Home of the greats. From The Bronx, to Harlem. The place I know, the place I love." The six models she started with appear on the screen, daringly sitting on the railing, laughing with one another in their high end garments. "Our hustles.. It always had this special..thing about it. We always went a little harder. Thought a little smarter. Emerged to the top a bit faster." Photos of me and all of Uptown's finest begins scrolling through from right to left. From a photo of me and Dapper Dan when I was fresh out of college. Diddy and I when I was an intern at Chanel. With Kerry Washington a bit after Save the Last Dance came out when I was twelve. Sistah Souljah, Kid Capri, Bianca (aka Young B), Cam'ron, Juelz, and Jim Jones back when Rock-a-fella were still together, Kalis, and finally, A$AP Mob & me when they were fresh in the game back in 2011.

"And when we're on top, we set trends. We define eras. Their stamps will forever be evident in our culture. Here's mine. Here's UPTXWN." All of the photos scroll backwards and the screen goes black for a few seconds. Images of the Big L tribute wall outside of the Harlem Up Deli Market, in black and white appear, then the same original six models; Sam, Levi, Von, Jade, Deanna, and Cass kneeling at different levels, crowded around the wall. Making sure not to block his face or name. Then Pretty Flako instrumental bangs through the theater's speakers. The TV flake transition changes to the Bailey house shoot. The drone shot pans around the corner of the property, all twenty four models posing looking like royalty draped in over $80,000 worth of clothes collectively.  The visual pans over to a slowed down visual of Nina flashing her bottom grill, her thick frame vibing out to the up tempo beat. Then to Xierra kneeling beside her, giving face in her side profile. The screen shortly displays a wide pan of the property and models again, then switches to Levi. Iyo's suggested scene of displaying the details of his tattoos on his shirtless body-- while simultaneously showing the VVS necklace, the embroidery on the custom one of a kind jean jacket; came out perfectly.

The photos of each model in each of their looks scroll through at the right speed so each detail is fully displayed. Every model stands up, showing off as their photos went across the screen. As Gina's photoset emerges, I turn to the screen so I can roll my eyes. I instantly become reminded of how flirty she was with Erik before Yani had to snatch her up to take these.  Yani stands beside me, peeping the entire scene, "Girl, suck it up. She in it now. Let's get it over with." I shake it off, turning back to the models.  

The park Marcus Garvey Amphitheater scene pops up, it was a gloomy overcast. Which was perfect for the theme. As the looping instrumental repeats, each model was either sitting at the top of the folding seats, or crouched on the seat of the folding seats. The collective total of every look? $110,878. I'm lucky I got such great relationships with these clients and these models didn't fuck up any of they shit. The first visual was Von, on the center stage. His long hair hanging over his entire face. He rocked this black long open hooded jacket, shirtless. Displaying his massive musical themed chest piece. It gave me a grim reaper vibe that I was definitely looking for. The jacket was a piece I asked Chris Brown's people to create for their Black Pyramid line. They fucked with the vision and agreed to do it. Von flipped the bottom of the jacket back with force, the rest of the models appeared on stage, smoke filled the stage floor as the all black visual came to life. Gina and Cass rocked matching contrast dresses, Cass was the only model not in black that day. I put her in a white intricate lace Erdem Dress. Gina wore the matching Black dress.

Jade and Deanna were back to back. Jade was wearing a black deep v neck, with a leather ribbed comme des garcons jacket. With a cascading gold necklace reaching her stomach. Accompanied with black and gold aviator Louis Vuitton shades,  Black ripped Levis I thrifted on the East side, and Jefferey Campbell's Legion booties. Deanna was wearing my favorite outfit of that day. A black long sleeved Oscar De La Renta ruffled shirt with cut out shoulders, a Burberry black ruffled skirt, and black Averil Doc Martin boots. Her bamboos and three finger ring spelling out her name put a street edge on her look that was near and dear to my Harlem bred heart. GG beat every woman's face and gave them the same cohesive smokey eye with the black, In The Spirit MAC lipstick. The only difference makeup wise was Cass' white undereye liner.

Once again the photos of every model starts cascading slideshow style. Johan was my second favorite look for that shoot, He rocked a black high low long sleeved Alexander Wang shirt, black distressed Givenchy jeans, and his personal black on black Ralph Lauren Hi Boots. I was going to put him in some other shoes, but I saw the ones he had on and they looked way better with the fit. We accompanied that look with a black Cuban link necklace, the matching bracelet, and Dolce & Gabana retro flip up  round glasses.

Everyone's rave reactions trigger my tears of joy, it's all of our first times seeing the visual's final product and I couldn't be any more proud. This has really been my baby. I've nurtured it, I've put in the work for it. This moment was like its graduation. Everyone looks at me, "Awwwwww!" Yani gives me a big hug, "I'm proud of you, kid." I squeeze her, "I'm proud of us, kid." I push out a laugh.

The final shoot displayed the brownstones on Mount Morris Park, the street right outside of Marcus Garvey Park. Where my parents' old brownstone was. I only needed my original six for this one, since all twenty-four wouldn't fit on the stoop. That day, it was sunny. Not one cloud in sight. Perfect lighting for the intimate shoot. The theme was spring, specifically, pastel colors.

I dressed Jade in a pastel yellow Ted Baker maxi dress, I accessorized her outfit with vintage canary yellow teardrop earrings with a matching tennis bracelet. She wore some nude Christian Louboutin spiked peep toed heels. She stands up when she finds her face and yells while twerking, "Long Hair! Red Bottoms! Long Hair! Red Bottoms!" Everyone, including me burst out in laughter. She kept saying it so much during the shoot, I let her keep them. Paid the $1,500 tab too. Deanna was draped in a Monroe and Main white two piece suit with black accents on the collar and cuffs. We accompanied that with my personal pearls I got from my mom before she passed, some white Manolo Blahnic pumps, and some VVS diamond earrings while her hair popped in the sunlight. She wore her low cut with a rose gold tint. I put Cass in a pair of nude Emilio Pucci wide legged trousers, a White Alexander McQueen peplum top, and a matching nude blazer was draping over her shoulders. Her accessories was a silver double C Chanel choker, charm rings from Tiffany Co., and a vintage Chanel crossbody, gifted from Karl Lagerfeld himself. He said I needed something old for my collection.

The guys were matching my girls' fly. Von parallels Deanna with a Tom Ford cotton two piece suit,  I laced him with some white Versace loafers with the gold Medusa emblem on the center, with the Cuban link chain Johan wore at the Marcus Garvey shoot, and golden Panthere De Cartier  rounded sunglasses. Levi's parallel was for Jade's look. He wore a pastel yellow Calvin Klein. Accompanied with a large size canary ring on his index finger, and the Burberry vintage loafers. Sam paralleled Cass, in a nude ASOS suit with the matching vest. I kept it simple and just accessorized it with my dad's gold pocket watch and black Stacy Adams dress shoes.

I thought the presentation was over, but then the screen transitioned to me working behind the scenes. Me pointing and directing at the Bailey house, with the wind blowing like crazy, me filming on Highbridge at the crack of dawn, Iyo even snuck some footage of the meeting we had in Morningside Park. It looks like Yani snuck some footage of me putting the image board for the fashion show stage together as well. I'm just admiring the scene of watching the hard nights and amazing days I shared with an incredible team. The last shot was me sitting on my old stoop. I was just reminiscing, thinking of how my mom, dad, and I would eat ice cream in the spring in the same spot. I looked up, as I normally do when thinking of them, put my hands together and mumbled, 'allah , shkraan lak.' The camera was too far to catch my phrase. Afterward I bowed between my legs so I could have my emotional moment to myself.

Everyone hops on the stage to crowd around me and initiated a group hug. Once everyone slightly disbursed, I see Gina still sitting in the audience with Erik, I guess he just got here. I hear the doors open again and see Yasin, smiling at me.

--

By half past 10, everyone had gone home except for Yani, Nina, Gina, Erik, and Yasin. Nina is waiting on Rashad to pick her up, and I guess Gina is looking to Erik to take her home. She's literally been all up under him since his arrival.

"Tomorrow's gonna go great, babe. You got a great team behind you, you've been super focused. It can't go any other way." Yasin lands a kiss on my temple as I blush at his encouragement. I blink in Erik's direction, he's giving the same look he gave us at Rashad's party. He then grips Gina, pulling her closer to him, "Yeah. You got it Syd. We gon head out. See ya later." with that, Erik and Gina strut to the exit. Nina's phone dings, "Oh, bae is here! See ya tomorrow Syd! We gon kill it, boo!" She hugs me and Yani then jogs out the double doors, "Nice seeing you again Yasin!" he nods, "You too!"

--

"So tell me something about you, Sin! I've only talked about me when I see you. What was lil Yasin like?" We are strolling down Saint Nick Avenue after getting grilled jerk chicken from King Barka. We decide to sit on a park bench right outside Saint Nick Park to chat since I wasn't quite ready to go home. "Well, I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Flatbush. My moms is from Brooklyn as well. My dad's side of the family is from Harlem, the eastside, but they love uptown just as much." I grin as he continues, "I was a bad ass kid growing up. Always fighting, getting into trouble at school, I even got expelled in middle school." "Well damn! How did you go from that to--" I wave my hands around his silhouette, "This?" He takes a bite out of his chicken and flashes a sexy smile, "My mom sent me to live with my Uncle. The one that retired and gave me the maintenance business."

"Ahhhh, I see. He whipped you into shape?" He snorts, "Oh, he whipped me alright. A lot. He taught me what it is to be a man." "Where was your father?" He continues eating, pausing his story for a spell, "Uh.. He was in prison. He pushed weight for about ten years, he got caught up. He didn't snitch, so he got twenty. He got out after eight years for good behavior." "How's your relationship with him now?" He shugs, "We're cool. We had a little spat when he first got out. I had to be the man of the house for a while for my moms and sisters. I resented him for it." I take a hold of his free hand, "We patched things up recently." "So him and your mom still married?" He nods, "Yeah. Moms held him down. That lady.. She deserves the world." He finishes his dish as he glows at the mention of his mother.

"She had to get two jobs before I turned sixteen and worked with my Uncle. She held down our household for three years, alone, before I was able to step in and help her. After that, she went back to school. She finished the year before my pops got out, now she's a nurse. Doing what she loves to do." "That's great. That's what life is about, doing what you love." "Definitely." He throws away our empty plates and we keep walking down the avenue, "So what do you love to do Yasin?" "I love music." I stop in my tracks.

"Let me guess, you rap?" he sucks his teeth, "Nah, girl. I play instruments. Three; Acoustic guitar, piano, and snare drum." "Ah, okay! When did you discover your talent?" "I was... ten, I think?" "You make songs?" He pulls a slick move behind me, grabbing me by my waist. I roll my eyes as we continue to walk, "I haven't made a song in five years." "Why not?" I feel him shrug behind me, "I've been busy." I turn around to grab his hands, "You're never too busy to do what you love." He smiles at me, I sense the same glow about him that he had when he spoke of his mom. "Especially when it makes you this happy...just talking about it." Yasin closes the gap between us, "Maybe, you're right. Look at you. Doing what you love. You're inspiring Syeda. Beautiful, too." He strokes my left cheek with his palm. I freeze, much like I did a couple weeks back in my apartment with Erik.

Speaking of Erik, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do about what happened since my dad's birthday. I guess Erik knows what he wants, and that's Gina. So why am I freezing? What's stopping me? All of a sudden my inner thoughts are silenced when Yasin seals our distance, gently kissing me. My knees buckle and he hoists me up by my butt, cuffing the bottom of my cheeks. That makes me even weaker, he breaks off from me, "Damn girl. You good?" My eyes flutter as I respond, "Yeah. Yeah. I'm good." I pull him by his shirt to kiss him again.

--

[a-little-international]

Stable

Summary: Even Tom knows it’s a cliché for the stable hand to fall in love with the star rider.

Pairing: Tom Holland/OC

Warnings: nothing but a bit of pining, really

Words: 3339

A/N: this is me being self-indulgent and craving all the equestrian-centric fics lmao

The Series: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Tom glanced down at the watch on his wrist for the third time within five minutes. He rubbed at the saddle leather with his rag, hardly paying any attention to what he was doing, his ears fixed on the sounds of the driveway outside. Any second now he should be hearing the tyres of her mum’s car crunching over the gravel. Every time she walked through the barn doors, the sunlight streaming in from behind her like in some biblical painting, it was another image added to the mental library of his life’s highlights reel.

One of the horses out on the fields whinnied in the distance and Tom kept cleaning the tack absentmindedly. He probably could be doing other, more pressing things, like checking the fence on the far end of the property near the tree line or refilling the water trough in the West Field because it had a small leak, but he didn’t want to miss her big entrance. The tack room was just off to the right of the main barn doors, and over the years Tom had made it part of his routine to stand exactly where he was stood in that moment, polishing the silver bits and precious dark leather at exactly ten o’clock in the morning every Saturday and Sunday just to watch her walk in with her shoulders back, hair flowing and smiling brightly. She always met his eyes, knew he was always going to be there to greet her with a wave of his rag and a beating in his chest he was convinced she was able to hear.

He ran his rag over the metal plaque on the saddle, polishing over the horse’s name for what felt like the hundredth time and he knew she was running a bit late without having to check his watch again. He wondered if something had happened or if it was something as arbitrary as having had an extra cup of tea before leaving the house that was causing her delay. Tom shrugged his shoulders to shake off some of the anticipatory, nervous tension that was building up in him, his thick jacket ruffling loudly as he moved. And then he heard it: the somehow unmistakable sound of her mother’s Land Rover slowly rolling around the driveway and coming to a halt. He could almost set a timer to the rhythm at which she opened the door, the sound of her boots hitting the ground, the pause as she said her goodbyes, and the final slam of the car door. He knew she’d be walking into the stable in around five seconds, and he looked down at the saddle below his hands hastily, not wanting her to catch on that he was expecting her.

As if on cue, in she walked with a power and grace that always rendered his breathing useless. Tom looked up to admire her slender silhouette, backlit against the open doors, and he had to remind himself to smile and blink and raise his rag in his routine salute.

“Morning Tom!” She grinned, walking up to him and leaning against the tack room’s door frame, crossing her arms.

Tom licked his lips, his mouth running dry at the sight of her, “Morning Ren.” He wanted to ask why she was six minutes late, but he didn’t want to make a fool of himself.

“How’s your day been? Have I missed much?”

Tom nodded, eyes flicking between her and the saddle, trying not to stare, “Pretty good, yeah, quiet. Not much going on. Cisco’s still turned out if you want to come with me to get him?” he asked, looking up at her from under his lashes.

She nodded, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, “Yeah of course, let me just check in with the others – you’ll come get me when you’re ready to go?”

Tom smiled at her and nodded, watching as she turned on her heel to head towards the stables that held her other horses. He couldn’t seem to look away from the way her dark hair swished like a gently cascading waterfall against her back, coming to a stop just above her ass. It took all his decency and might not to let his eyes trail down any further and admire how her suede -lined jodhpurs accentuated her curves.

He looked around the tack room, trying to find something else to kill time with. He couldn’t let her know he’d been waiting around for her to arrive, that he wasn’t actually busy with anything in that moment other than running through thoughts of her in his mind. He pulled the stack of spare saddle pads from their rack started replacing them in order of colour. It was a simple task that left his hands feeling dusty and grimy, but it did the trick and bought him enough time to seem like he was doing his job.

Rubbing his hands on his pants to clean them up just a little, he stepped out into the barn and walked over to where she was standing against Cricket’s stable door, her massive head cradled against her chest.

Hearing him approach, she looked over and grinned at him and Tom swore his heart jumped into his throat. “Look Cricket,” she said, patting the side of the horse’s face gently, “It’s Tom, our favourite.”

“Hey girl,” Tom chuckled gently, reaching up to rub Cricket’s nose as he tried to ignore the way his diaphragm was pushing almost painfully into his chest. He had certainly not missed how she’d casually thrown out the phrase ‘our favourite’ when referring to him. He knew she probably didn’t mean anything by it, but it was hard for his brain not to run itself into the ground by reading into it just a smidge. “You were a bit cheeky this morning, weren’t you?” he cooed at the horse.

“Oh really?” Ren asked, raising her eyebrows accusingly at Cricket.

“Mmm,” he nodded, his cheeks flushing slightly, “nipped me right in the bum as I tried to muck out around her.”

Tom heard Ren suck in a little air as she raised her finger and tapped Cricket on the nose, her brows knotted in faux-disappointment. “Naughty girl, you need to learn some manners young lady.”

He could stare at the stern wrinkle on her forehead and the way her thick lashes curled up against her browbone and the faint splatter of freckles on her olive skin all day, but he was worried she would catch him. “Ready to head?” He asked, nodding in the general direction of outside.

“Yeah let’s go,” she replied, zipping up her jacket a bit more as she started towards the back exit to the fields, “How was your week?” she asked, turning a bit to look at him as he followed her, “Get up to anything exciting?”

Tom ran a hand through his hair and gave the back of his neck a rub. He didn’t know what to tell her, certain that his life was exponentially more boring than hers. “Just school, you know, and work,” he shrugged, “I went bowling with my friend Jacob on Monday night,” he added, to make himself sound a little less lame.

“Oh, Jacob! He’s the one who plays piano, right? Wants to get into music school?” Ren enquired.

All Tom could do was nod, a bit shocked that she even remembered that. He was certain he’d told her about that months ago, when Jacob first started looking at music programs.

“How’s that going for him?” she pressed on as they approached the gate to the first field.

“Yeah, good,” Tom swallowed, reaching to unlatch the gate, “he’s hoping to get into Bristol, apparently they’re pretty good for music.”

Ren ignored his efforts to open the gate, and heaved herself up and over it, landing on the other side with her boots splashing against the soft, slightly muddy grass. “Well I’ll keep my fingers crossed for him,”

“I’m sure he’d appreciate that,” Tom said, finally getting the latch to slip over the wooden post and swinging the gate open, making sure to close it again behind him. “How’s school been?”

“Annoying,” Ren said rolling her eyes, “I’d much rather be here all the time like you.”

“I’m not here all the time,” Tom laughed as they crossed the field, heading for the far one, “I go to school too, you know.”

“Yeah, but you know what I mean,” she shrugged back as they approached the next gate, “sometimes I just feel like I’m missing out on so much being away all the time.”

Tom nodded, leaning up against the fence as they reached it. He remembered when she’d first started boarding school, when they were eleven, and how he’d found her crying amongst the haybales the weekend before she left. He’d sat beside her and stroked her hair and they had never said a word about it. “I know you love it though,” he finally replied as he watched the horses grazing in the field, and he knew he was right: he could tell by the way she talked about school and her friends and her teachers that she had grown to love it and think of it as a home.

“Oh yeah,” Ren said quickly, mirroring his stance against the fence, one leg hitched up against a slat, “don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change being at Saints for the world, but I miss being here every day and getting to see the horses and train and hang out with you.”

Tom turned his head to look at her, his heart fluttering at her words. Sure, they were friends, but they weren’t friends-friends. They’d grown up together; running around the grounds of Ashstead, Tom shadowing his dad and Ren with her ponies and he’d loved her since day one, but he never thought that he was anything more than just part of the stable environment to her. “Well, Half-Term’s just around the corner and then you can spend as much time here as you want,” Tom suggested, watching as the wind picked up strands of her hair and made them dance around her face.

Her eyes flicked to his and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, “Yeah, that’s the plan. Just got to get through another four weeks of school and then: freedom.”

“And before you know it it’ll be the summer holidays,” Tom shot back with a wide smile. The summer holidays were always his favourite and it definitely had a direct correlation with how much time Ren spent at the stables during them. Some days she’d even come in at the crack of dawn to help him muck out and would stay all the way past sunset to help him close up.

“And then maybe-probably Uni,” she sighed, looking back out over the field before moving to jump over the fence again.

Tom quickly opened the gate – this one being distinctly more cooperative – and passing into the field next to her, “Oh, so you think you’re going to go after all?” he asked, following her as she marched towards the horses.

She shrugged, not bothering to look back at him as she headed straight for Cisco, “Not sure, I’ve applied to a bunch, but I want to give riding full-time a shot. The parental unit’s not too sure about it though.”

“Well either way you’d do brilliantly,” Tom said quietly, flushing as he complimented her. He didn’t dare look at her to see her reaction, and he certainly didn’t want her to see exactly how much adoration and admiration was undoubtedly plastered all over his face at the thought of her succeeding.

They’d reached the small group of horses grazing on the damp grass and Tom walked over to Cisco, her relatively new Hanoverian gelding, who was meant to carry her through the season and hopefully, if everything went well, into the professional career she’d dreamed about for as long as he’d known her. “Hey pal,” he greeted, wrapping his fingers around Cisco’s headcollar as he reached up with his other hand to grab the lead rope he always had swinging around his neck, clipping the end to the metal loop. “You want to take him?” Tom asked, offering the rope to Ren, who gladly took it as they started walking back towards the stables in comfortable silence.

“What are you up to now?” Ren asked, breaking the quiet between them as they finally walked back through the barn doors, Cisco’s hooves clopping loudly against the cobblestone.

Tom pulled a face, “Dad wants me to polish the trophies, but if you have something better for me to do I’ll gladly take that instead.”

Ren laughed as she tied Cisco to one of the rings on the wall, giving his thick neck a hearty scratch, “Want to help me groom and tack up?”

Tom couldn’t have said no to her if she’d asked him to trek to London and back with three sacks of flour on his back, especially not with the way the dimple in her left cheek appeared when she smiled at him and how the tip of her nose was pink from the fresh air outside.

As much as Tom loved watching Ren from afar – watching how she’d order and re-order her monogrammed tack box from where he’d be sweeping up some loose straw, watching her concentration as she came up to a jump and her elation as she cleared it as he gazed out of the office window, watching as she struggled to free a strand of hair caught in her helmet as he walked through the yard with a wheelbarrow – this was his favourite way to watch her: all up close and personal.

He was in the middle of moving the rubber grooming brush in tight circles against Cisco’s haunches, but his eyes were trained on how her tongue poked out lightly as she tried detangling his tail.

When she bent over to clean out his hooves, Tom couldn’t help but glance down at her ass, his eyes flicking back up whatever it was his hands were doing for fear of being caught out. He watched, totally transfixed, from over Cisco’s back as she tied her long hair up into a neat ponytail, her head tilted back, and eyes closed.

“Do you mind finishing up the wraps?” Ren asked, getting up from where she was crouched next to Cisco’s front legs. When he shook his head in response, she handed him the remaining protective bandages and moved towards the tack room.

Tom was just about finishing up the first wrap when she returned with Cisco’s saddle held confidently in her arms, his bridle swung over her shoulder. As Tom started on the second wrap, Ren gently placed the saddle on the floor, making sure to keep the saddle pad under it to keep the leather from scratching, and swiftly moved to bring the bridle over the horse’s head, slipping the silver bit in without any issues.

Finishing the last wrap, Tom stood up and moved around to help adjust the saddle pad, now placed on Cisco’s back, as she went to lift the saddle up.

“Florence!” exclaimed a familiar voice causing her to spin on her heels, saddle still clutched in her hands.

Harrison Osterfield was strutting down the length of the barn towards them, the soles of his finely polished boots snapping against the hard ground.

Tom would be lying if he said his heart didn’t feel a slight twinge in response to the wide grin that broke out across her face at the sight of the handsome boy with the bright blue eyes and crisp white shirt.

“Harrison!” she exclaimed, handing Tom the saddle without looking at him, “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked as Harrison curled his arm around her neck to pull her in for a hug. Tom noted how her arms wrapped around his waist and he quickly looked away, suddenly feeling like he was intruding.

“Do you want me to leave?” Harrison joked, looking down at her as he slowly let her go, keeping his hand loosely placed on her shoulder.

“No!” Ren laughed back, shoving him lightly, “but I thought you were staying at school over the weekend?”

Harrison shrugged, putting both of his hands in his pockets – a vision of careless confidence that Tom could only dream about having, “Got permission to leave for a few hours so I thought I’d pop in to say hi. Holland,” he greeted Tom finally, almost as an afterthought, nodding at him in acknowledgement.

Tom smiled back politely, stepping back from the pair to finish tacking up Cisco.

“You going to train or…?” Tom heard her ask Harrison as he adjusted the placement of the saddle, tugging at it until it sat correctly.

Harrison Osterfield played Number One – the main offensive position – on Ashstead’s Under 21s Polo team and somehow managed to take it both incredibly seriously and incredibly not, having the most relaxed attitude to training Tom had ever seen from a competitive athlete. Tom pulled the girth down and let it dangle for a second as he waited to hear Harrison’s reply.

“Well,” Harrison started, and Tom swore he could hear him smirking, “I was actually thinking we could go on a hack together, you and me.”

Tom clenched his teeth as he moved around the horse and pulled the girth up on the other side, beginning to fasten the leather to the buckle.

“Oh,” Ren’s voice dropped, “I was actually going to train,” she said, turning to look at Cisco, “the first county fair is in two weeks.”

Tom took that as his queue to smirk; he was looking forward to watching her jump around the outside arena from where he’d undoubtedly find himself spending his afternoon polishing the trophies in the office.

“Come on, you’re so good already and we haven’t ridden out since before Christmas. One afternoon isn’t going to hurt your chances and you know it,” Harrison pleaded, and Tom couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder at them. Harrison was pouting at her, and Tom turned back to adjusting the girth.

Ren sighed, “But Cisco’s already all tacked up and you know I can’t take him out, what if he gets injured?”

Tom carried on, letting down the stirrup and making sure it was at her preferred length, as he restrained himself from nodding along to her very valid argument.

“It’ll only take like ten minutes to tack up Cricket, and Holland can just sort Cisco out for you, couldn’t you, Holland?” Harrison nodded at Tom, whose hands were still against the saddle.

Tom looked at Ren, who looked back at him pleadingly, “Would you mind, Tom?” her response made his heart sink just a little, but, as always, he couldn’t say no to her.

“Yeah no worries,” he said back, trying to make his voice sound bright and helpful and unbothered as he pulled up to undo the girth buckle he’d just fastened. “I can go get Sam and Harry, I think they’re in the loft sorting out the hay, and they can help you with Cricket and Skylark, no problem,” he added, shrugging his shoulders like they didn’t feel weighed down by an upheaval of disappointment and an annoying twinge of jealousy.

Harrison shot him a bright smile and slapped him on the shoulder, “Brilliant, mate,” he said, “If we go around Pearman’s Farm, I think I saw lambs in the fields on my drive up,” he added, looking down at Ren.

Tom couldn’t help but notice how her face lit up at that; her eyes shining and dimple popping and cheeks flushed; and in that moment, he couldn’t stop himself from wishing his name was Harrison Osterfield, and that he was the one making her smile like that, and that he had all the time in the day to take her to go look at the lambs.

-

TAGLIST (let me know if you want to be added!)

@crownedbyluke @sweetcherrycal @frecklesholland @vnv21

[loyaltyentertainment]

Return to Stonebridge: Garden/Farm Paradise Take 2

Stonebridge Farm, also known as the Gardens of Stonebridge, helps make every wedding in Pittsburgh feel like it was inspired by nature. Beautiful, serene and resembling a postcard, our team was more than happy to return to the venue with mellow music for a fairytale wedding.

When you step foot on the grounds of this venue, you’ll easily learn that it’s a magical event waiting to happen.

Look North, East and West and you’ll find Big Sewickley Creek Valley, with rolling, tree-covered hills that are majestic and the perfect place to take couples’ pictures. The bride and groom can often be seen sneaking off to these hills for photos or videos.

But there’s also the South part of the property, which is where the Big Sewickley Creek divides the two counties. Stonebridge is a wonderland for couples or anyone that wants to escape the city of Pittsburgh and arrive at an expansive venue that includes:

    • Bright, colorful annuals

    • Perennials that create borders

    • Fountains

    • Sculptures

    • Water gardens

    • Expansive lawns

    • Stone benches

Every time we host a Pittsburgh wedding at Stonebridge, we know it’s going to be a romantic evening that is set in the country yet just 15 short minutes from the city at 2 Merriman Rd, Economy, PA.

Gardens of Stonebridge Enchant the Newlyweds

Newlyweds are embracing a fairytale moment where they’re deeply in love and happy to share the rest of their lives together. Expansive gardens and an outdoor wedding are just a part of the experience of Stonebridge.

The couple of the night wanted a classy, magical feel for the wedding, and that’s exactly what the venue has to offer.

Receptions are held in a massive 40’ x 100’ tent that even has a generator just in case the power goes out so that the party can still go on. Music pumping outdoors is always a great experience for us, especially with the:

    • Solid stone floor

    • Beautiful drapes

    • Side walls that can be put up or down as needed

Laid back and romantic, the stone dance floor is in the middle of the tent, allowing guests to see the couple from all ends of the tent. When open, the trees and landscaping provide a true outdoor experience while a large chandelier hangs over the dance floor.

String lighting is used in the tent, too.

Jan and Jeff, the venue’s owners, are very hands-on and make sure that the newlyweds have a wedding in Pittsburgh that they’ll never forget. Every wedding that we’ve had the pleasure of DJing at has had the owners making sure that the event is going as planned so that the couple is happy from start to finish.

If the couple wants to hold a ceremony, they can. There’s ample seating that forms a half circle and backs up to the reception tent with beautiful landscaping, flowers and hardscapes abound.

Stonebridge is one of the prettiest outdoor venues that we’ve had the pleasure of being to. The outdoor space is immaculate with pops of color everywhere, the acoustics are great and the birds chirping in the background make it feel like the fairytale wedding every couple wants to experience.

Final Wedding Thoughts

We just wanted to say that we love what we do. Being a part of the best day of a couple’s life is something you can’t get in any other line of work. From wedding photography and videography to wedding DJing and MCing, we’ve been involved in many capacities in many, many Pittsburgh weddings. With the coming year, we’re looking forward to being involved in many, many more!

If you found some inspiration from this wedding blog, we’d love to hear about it! Contact Loyalty Entertainment for Pittsburgh wedding DJs, wedding photography, photo booths, wedding planning, videography, dance lessons, or just to chat about how your big day can be the best day ever. 

[written-daily-blog]

The Haunted and Abandoned Bunk House

 I never believed in the afterlife, paranormal or any kind of religion. I was always open minded though. If someone were to tell me about an experience, I would listen with respect. But I'm one of those people who have to see it, to believe it. What I'm about to share with you is the very reason for my sudden shift in transition, turning me into a believer.

 I live in Florida and I was seventeen at the time. This was during the cold month of July. Florida in July meant it would be raining for the next few months. My friend's and I would usually hang outside, being adventurous and getting into trouble, but the rain forced us inside. I pride myself with the belief that I'm an upstanding guy. I receive good grades and behave myself for the most part. But my friend Dylan isn't the best influence on me and we are always together. Like literally, his parents kicked him out and he's been living with us for awhile.  I don't mind it though, he's my best friend. If it weren't for him I would be the same shy kid who kept to himself and never left the house. My parents, however, didn't see him in the same light. But they didn't have the heart to see him roaming the streets by himself.

My folks were gone and it was me, Dylan and Dylan's friend, Cameron, sitting on the couch inside, watching a really bad TV show. I didn't know Cameron that well, but he seemed like a pretty cool guy. Dylan had told me that Cameron scares easy, after Cameron got up to use the restroom. He's one of those people who jump at any noise and would get startled by you coming up behind him, saying hello. Then he told me about this incredible idea that he had. Only, it wasn't so incredible. He said that he knew of this place that's supposedly abandoned and creepy as hell. He claimed that he checked it out before with some of his friend's. "It's totally safe," he said. He told me that we should all go there and give Cameron a good scare. I tried to remind him that it was pouring rain outside and that it might not be such a good idea. But he's very... convincing. When Cameron came out of the bathroom, Dylan told him all about it, except he left out the part where he mentioned, creepy and abandoned, and instead replaced it with, "It's a cool hang out spot where we can do anything we want." Cameron said, "Okay, sounds cool to me." I had a moment to myself where I said, "Shit."

     We left my parent's house and followed Dylan to this "Awesome place." But it was already two hours of us walking on the sidewalk of busy streets, having huge pools of water splashed at us from one side of the road as cars passed by. Then above us as the wind pushed the rain, falling even harder on top of us. I was pretty pissed that it was taking this long. I was completely soaked and it felt like I was carrying twenty extra pounds of weight. I'm a pretty small guy and I didn't work out all that much. I remember asking Dylan if we were almost there. He said, "Yeah we're here now," and bolts across the street like a maniac into oncoming traffic and stops at this horrendous looking tree line, gated off by rusted iron fencing. "Over here," this idiot shouted. Me and Cameron looked at each other and gave one another the same look of confirmation that Dylan was insane. We, like normal sane people, waited for the traffic to die down, then we crossed. The first thing I noticed was the huge sign smack-dab on the center of the gate that said "No Trespassing." I looked around some more at my surroundings. The dense and ominous trees had me feeling queasy. It looked like something straight out of a horror film. It was raining so hard, I couldn't see very far. It gave the illusion that there were an infinite amount of trees blending in behind the scenery. I said to Dylan, "Please don't tell me that we have to go in there. You never said anything about the woods." Dylan just said, "Come on. It will be fun."

  We had to climb over the fence to get inside. Yeah, I know we weren't supposed to go in there but we came this far and I'm soaked, so I just wanted to get under something that could provide a roof over our head. Dylan said that the place was just down this awful looking stretch. The entire walk through the trail was so scary. I kept hearing weird ass noises that were so plainly out of the ordinary. The entire adventure getting here was just the sound of the rain, wind, cars passing by and water hissing as it fell to rest after the street settled. So these other noises I was hearing were easy to pick up. They broke the norm.

  Dylan was leading into the woods, I followed behind him and Cameron was behind me. We had to walk in this order because the trail was extremely narrow. It used to be dirt but now it's mud. My shoes sunk into the soil and I had to fight every step of the way to dig them out. One of the weird noises that had me anxious was coming from behind Cameron. I looked back several times, every single time I heard it and asked Cameron if he was alright. I know I was pretty freaked out, so I can only imagine how he would feel. Cameron looked like the sound didn't phase him. Either that or Dylan never told me that he was half deaf. Because it was so loud. It sounded like we had a fourth person walking behind us in line. The other noises I was hearing came from the depths of the clustered woods. It was like a whisper, bouncing off of the wet bark and splitting into my ears from all angles. I gained some comfort when I looked ahead at the horizon and saw a little beat up bunk house, barely bound to its fixture, protruding from the ground. We all picked up the pace and made our way towards it.

  The bunk house was actually a lot bigger than it appeared from a distance. It was super old and grainy. There was a silver dumpster bin resting against the front left side, on the outside wall. I don't know what was inside of it, but it smelt really bad. I had a guess that someone was probably sleeping here during the nights. Some of the wooden beams that were supposed to hold the property up were hanging loosely. This looked like a suicide mission. The inside of the bunk house was pitch black but I could see on the border of the door frame that a mossy plantation has been consuming the building. It was escaping out of every crevice. At this time the rain had turned into a sprinkle. It allowed me to look up and examine the building more without being pelted in my face. The point at which the roof top meets had been chipped away, creating a big enough hole for the rain to sink into the wood panels. I had a fear of this building crumbling down on us. It seemed so delicate, so fragile, maybe it's ridiculous to think our movement would cause a vibration that would be undoing. But if you saw the state of it, you might even question your safety in entering.

  Cameron said, "I'm not going in there. This looks like a damn witch house." Dylan reassured him. Letting Cameron know that he's been here before. "I know it looks rather rugged but nobody will find us out here. You think other people would actually walk in the rain to get here? They don't even know about it. Let's just go inside and get out of the rain and smoke this weed I brought." Oh great... more illegal stuff. At least he admits that we aren't normal. Cameron finally gave in and surprisingly, he was the first one to enter.  Dylan went in. Then I went it. It was massive inside and dark. There was just enough light coming in from the ceiling to see what was going on. It wasn't your typical bunk house. Normally, inside a bunk house, there are beds along both sides of the vertical walls, in the main room of the house. Just a big spacious room of beds. But this place had multiple rooms. Like a hotel. Dylan took us to the furthest room. He went in while Cameron and I waited for him to give us some room to follow. While Cameron and I waited in the lobby we both heard the sound of footsteps, coming up from behind us. Cameron screamed like a frightened child and pushed Dylan into the room, running in behind him. I was scared too but I felt like Dylan was messing with us, trying to scare Cameron. I was looking at where I heard the noise. There wasn't anything there. It felt more like Dylan playing a prank on us, myself included.

  "Nah man. I want to go. This place is freaky voodoo shit," said Cameron. Dylan found it amusing. He was laughing while trying to flick the light switch on. He stood there flicking it on and off. His stupid grin went away. He said, "Huh, this light was working when I came here last time. I can't see shit." He started reaching into his pocket. The room we were in was very dark and had only one bed and a window. I really didn't understand why I agreed to this. I told Dylan, "Alright, I don't really want to be here and Cameron sure as hell doesn't either. You got us good. Can we please lea..." I was interrupted by a loud bang coming from the main room. Cameron was jittering in place, saying, "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." Even Dylan showed some fear saying, "Dude what was that?" As for myself, I instantly thought it was one of the wooden beams giving way. I mentioned before how they were hanging. Dylan's hand came out from his pocket, gripping his phone. It was really dark but my eyes adjusted a bit. Dylan shined the flashlight from his phone into the main room. At that same time, we all saw a black figure move across the door frame, from left to right. "Holy fuck! Turn it off," Cameron screamed. We all backed up towards the window.

  Dylan placed his hand over the light. The room was dark again. This time my eyes were a little blurry from the quick flash on Dylan's phone, they had to refocus. I couldn't see anything at this point. Then, all three of us heard the light switch flicking, on and off. This was very disturbing because both Cameron and Dylan were standing right beside me, breathing heavily. White noise filled my ears for what seemed like an eternity, along with the flickering of the light switch, increasing in speed. Cameron kept repeating, "We're gonna die." I was light headed. It felt like I had just ran a marathon. Dylan decided to act bold and once again, removing his hand from the light on his phone, shined it at the door. As soon as the light revealed the wall that the light switch was on, Cameron ripped open the screen window behind us and climbed out, without hesitating. We could see very clearly that there was no one standing there. But the light switch was rapidly flickering. Dylan screamed and he too climbed out of the window, but not before saying, "Run, run, run, run."

  I felt like I was being held in place. But I wanted to see this. I have to see this. I was engulfed by darkness again. By myself. The flickering stopped. I thought my heart did too. Then a very loud set of footsteps rushed towards me. That's when I turned around and started to climb out of the window. The top half of my body was hanging out of the window and everything below my waist was still helplessly hanging inside the room. I could see Dylan and Cameron miles ahead. They didn't look back. A chill crept up my spin at the thought of this... thing... grabbing a hold of me. I started thrashing about, kicking my legs, trying to wiggle myself over the window. A cold-hard-grip grabbed my ankle and stopped me from kicking. I pushed away with both of my legs and was released, falling head first into the mud. I got up and sprinted like my life depended on it. It did. I caught up to Dylan and Cameron about twenty minutes away. I was so happy that I escaped with my life that I wasn't even mad at them for leaving me. My hands were shaking all over as I tried to dial for my mom to come pick us up. I sometimes look down at my ankle and have flashbacks.