#lin at the dawn court

[yanderestarangel]

HEADKANONS MK1 - TRIO LIN KUEI + FRIEND!READER | PART 2 - AFTER BI HAN'S BETRAYAL .

A/N: This is a continuation of this post here, you don't need to read it, but it's good to give some context.

TW: afab reader, smut, angst, dark!bi han, nsfw, plot follows the canon line of mk1 (with the ending of tomas, kuai liang and bi han), tomas x reader, bi han x reader, soft!dom bi han, v!sex, oral (f!re), temperature!play.

✧ ENDING 1 | STAY WITH KUAI LIANG AND TOMAS VRABADA

The news that bi han had become a tyrant and had betrayed lin kuei values ​​came as a shock to you. Seeing Kuai Liang and Tomas with looks of anger and disappointment broke your heart - mainly due to the fact that they packed all their personal belongings in a hurry, afraid of what might happen if Bi Han found them there after the fight they had.

You didn't know what to think at that moment, it seemed like the weather had frozen, your knees felt weak thinking that Bi Han, the grand master who welcomed you, pampered you and made you feel loved... He had become a monster.

Kuai Liang reached out to you, telling you that he would form another clan. "-Come with me and Tomas, let's be great... Without bi han and his insanity for power." the pyromancer looked at you expectantly, along with Tomas, who placed his hand on your shoulder, while smiling slightly at you. "-Come with us dear, I promise we will protect you from our brother's wrath, I know he is important to you, it hurts both of us too but..." Vrbada pauses for a while, thinking about the harsh words his older brother he had told him at Liu Kang Temple, hours before. "-But he's not the same anymore..."

You felt butterflies in your stomach, but you made the decision to go with the two - after all, they were yours for many years, you met Kuai Liang first, but your heart was still heavy for Bi Han - The three of you left at dawn, without doing anything, no noise or attracting attention, but you knew there was someone watching you, the air was freezing, and you knew it was sub zero in the distance, but he just had a look... Sad? Disappointment perhaps? Small tears could be seen, but he pushed them away as he watched you walk away from him, the grandmaster would blame everything but you. "-It was Kuai Liang and Tomas' fault... I'm sure... You wouldn't abandon me willingly... Right, my bunny?" Bi Han whispered to himself, trying to contain the discomfort that haunted his chest, returning to his quarters... He wasn't going to give up on you, but for now, he wasn't going to do anything, waiting for the perfect opportunity to take what was his by right... You.

You, Kuai and Tomas met Harumi, and it hurt a little to see your best friend leave you a little aside for being in love with someone else, but you understood that Scorpion would also have to have a love life. You and Tomas kept seeing the couple from afar, while smiling at seeing Liang so in love with her - even naming the new Shiray Ryu clan after her - with that, you and the smoke ninja became closer... A lot closer.

Vrbada started giving you gifts, asking you out, he was courting you little by little, trying to move from just friendship for many years to something more. After all, he always liked you romantically but never had the courage to say something, he asked Kuai Liang and even Harumi for some advice, which motivated him to speak up and confess his feelings for you.

But it was little Hanzo who made everything work out between you two, on one training day you saw him pull your shirt and point at Tomas, saying loudly: "-(Y/N) Tomas likes you! Because Don't you two stay together?" Smoke blushed deeply feeling exposed, but grateful to see your smile at him while you yourself asked him out that night. He was a blushing mess as he stuttered, handing you a bouquet of flowers, he was totally dressed up when he picked you up at home, wearing light colored formal clothes that hugged his muscles.

The night was pleasant, with Tomas trying to say everything he felt, everything he kept close to his chest during years of friendship, he knew that you were still thinking about everything that happened in the lin kuei, but that you needed to move on. "-I always liked you darling... Your smile, the nights you slept between me and Kuai Liang, I was afraid of suffocating you sometimes, you know?" Vrbada smiled amusedly, taking your hands and giving each one a chaste kiss, massaging them with his thumb in circular movements. "-I promise that if you give me a chance, I will be the best partner for you (Y/N)... I know I've been your best friend for years, but, I want to be more, much more, stay with me, let's go try a new life... Together." He looked directly into your eyes, the same eyes that always lit up your day like the bluest sky, as you finally felt the Slav's lips press against yours, the moon illuminated you both and your worries were gone... Even if momentarily.

And this would obviously end on your bed, with Tomas on top of you covering your mouth so you wouldn't make any noise, his cock would plunge slowly and difficultly into your tight pussy, while he moaned hoarsely in your ear. "-Fuck-! Dear, stop squeezing me so hard, you're fucking gripping me... F-Fuck your pussy feels so good on my dick..."

Another thing that surprised you was how submissive Smoke was in bed, always asking 'please' to cum inside or for you to let him cum. He would cry like hell if he got overstimulated, babbling in his mother tongue as he cummed every last drop of cum in you. Vrbada enjoys just seeing your pleasure, watching you ride his face, while moaning his name loudly like a mantra, the poor man is already going to cum and whimper that he needs your pussy on him immediately - it was a pleasant surprise to see your best friend like that - especially how he liked to be praised while fucking you, looking directly at your face, calling him a "good boy" makes him come immediately inside you, while he whimpered and said "fuck" repeatedly with his mind broken with too much pleasure to be the rational ninja he always was.

Kuai Liang will smile at the two of you from afar, wanting to have a celebratory dinner to celebrate his brother's success and your passion - which practically every Shiray Ryu heard through Tomas' groans -, but don't be fooled, from afar, you could feel a cold look and now, cruel, Bi Han, he was furious and now more than ever he was going to take you from his brother's arms as a form of revenge for both of you, because now, the grand master was broken at the sight of the way you gave yourself up to Smoke, he wouldn't show any pity, and he would do whatever it took to make you see your mistake even if it meant killing everyone in his path, and that included everyone, even his own brothers, he would catch you whether you want it or not. But in the present, you were happy to be with Tomas, without knowing the troubled future that Bi Han planned for you...

✧ ENDING 2 - STAY WITH BI HAN

You couldn't believe it when you saw Bi Han come back and quickly change everything in the structures of the Lin Kuei clan, he was ruder, colder, but he tried to be as gentle as possible with you, as he always was and tried. You asked him about Kuai and Tomas, which made the grandmaster wrinkle his nose and say with contempt that they had betrayed him, hadn't followed his orders, and that now it was just the two of you against the world.

You knew that Bi Han was lying, but you felt the need to continue on his side, perhaps, with the false hope of making him see that Liu Kang was not the enemy of the Lin Kuei, that your clan served the earthly plane and I didn't need to dominate him. But, Bi Han was blinded by power, but he still wanted to have you around, he loved you and for years you were and were the only person who was closest to him - he didn't trust anyone like he trusted you, not even Sektor -, however this made you have to swear loyalty to the grand master and abandon your best friends. "-Good choice, I knew you were smarter than them... then lets go and make history my angel. Together, we will bring glory to the clan, and power to ourselves." Bi Han says as he walks in front of you to the Lin Kuei headquarters, while he held you tightly, as if he was afraid of losing you at any moment. "-After this war is over, we should go to my little sanctuary at the top of the mountain and stay there for a few days - just me, you, and nature..." he whispered in your ear, taking you to his room, which would now be yours too.

You never thought that Bi Han saw you as a potential love or partner, but from the way he treated you now - whispering sweet and possessive things in your ear, his big cold hands kneading the flesh of your hips lightly, the warm shower of herbs that he prepared just for you... It was obvious that he had feelings stored up for all the years of your friendship - "-Make yourself comfortable while I prepare everything else..." he soon takes you to the center of his bed , as he did rarely in the times when he was still your friend, he was still your bi han... But, he still loved you, he loved you more than you thought. "-You know that I don't just see you as a friend, right? All these years that were me, you and..." He pauses and a long sigh comes out of his lungs, as he looks at his hands, while He remembered his brothers but pushed away those thoughts of "weakness". "-Anyway... I always saw you as more than a future right-hand man for me, more than a friend, you understand, don't you my dear?" Bi Han kisses your neck, licking the drops of water that were still there. "-Just give yourself to me, let me make you my king/queen, you and I will be great, I promise no one will hurt you..."

Bi Han would be gentle with you, making you as comfortable as possible, even if he saw the worry in your eyes because of Vrbada and Liang, he would just bend down and give kisses to your clit, licking the sensitive expanse of your pussy, making you moan and arch your body for more contact with his skin. "-Yes... Just like that... I always knew you were meant for me... Since the first time we met my brother... I always loved you (Y/N)." With one hand firmly holding the waist, ensuring no slipping occurs during passionate thrusts; another arm around your neck, lightly choking just enough to make those beautiful sounds escape your lips even louder, now giving him perfect control over the pace and depth, fucking your pussy with longing and relief, relief of finally having you. have it just for him. "-Take it all. Show me how much you want my cock... Let's make up for lost time, yes, be my good boy/girl..." He moaned and growled in your ear, as he watched your face closely. "-Look at me when you cum- fuck I love you so much, I swear I'll kill anyone who dares take you from me." the grand master made a point of marking you visibly for everyone to see.

If Tomas and Kuai dare to look for you, Bi Han will show no mercy, he has become increasingly paranoid in fear of losing you and if one of them dares to take you to the shiray ryu he will show all the fury he has saved in years. You will be respected inside and outside the lin kuei, being the partner of the grand master, the second person with more power than sub zero himself.

However, you will live only for him, you will live only with him, not that that is a problem, after all Bi Han makes a point of spoiling you, jewelry, treasures or anything you want is yours... Just one word and he will destroy and rebuild the world just to see you smile, he loves you and is completely obsessed with you... so you will just deal with it.

©YANDERESTARANGEL 2023

[1800naveen]

Real life places I think that the Courts are based on

Spring Court: Scotland, obviously. Tamlin originates from the ballad of Tam Lin, a Scottish folklore story. And Scottish people have awesome accents, I'm jealous.

Summer Court: Either East Africa, West Africa, and/or the Caribbean. I'm East African myself so I'm biased and put that in there 😊.

Autumn Court: This is a tough one but I'm going with Germany.

Winter Court: Russia, like all that snow and winter, it just fits.

Dawn Court: Asia. Mainly South Asia and East Asia.

Day Court: Ancient Greece, because of the outfits and stuff. (SJM said that she sees Helion as Persian but I see him as a black guy).

Night Court: America. A shitty government with citizens they don't care for unless it's a place with a bunch of other rich people or privileged people.

If you think otherwise, share a comment or reblog with your idea!

[junemermaid]

[NiF fic snippet]

so in order to unblock myself on my first NiF WIP I started another NiF WIP, surely nothing can go wrong here

post-canon, everyone lives au, ot3 agenda in full swing. unofficially titled one beautiful morning, Lin Shu woke to find the Son of Heaven at his door.

-

The gate to the yard is open. He is under no illusion that he's been let this close unobserved, but he ties his horses next to the watering trough by the gate, and goes in.

The path to the house is paved with smooth stones. Somewhere out of sight, chickens cluck and flutter, and a pigeon coos mournfully. A woman emerges from the house: a trim, solid figure in the shade of the veranda.

"Husband," she calls over her shoulder, "the messenger is here! I'll see him in."

She comes into the sunlight, and he chokes on nothing but the sight of her. Her garb is simple, unlike the rich silks she would wear to court, but the years sit lightly upon her shoulders; the spring in her step is as supple as ever. While her hair is tied low in the sedate fashion of a married woman, it still falls down her back thick and dark as a stroke of good ink.

Last time he saw her, she knelt to him at a private audience and asked for his leave to marry. Her betrothed, his dearest friend, their childhood companion, had lived through the battles in the north. A miraculous recovery, some claimed. The skill of his doctor, she asserted.

She brought the news knowing it would be a sword through his heart, and still she was right when she said, I did not want you to hear this from anyone else. I hope you will forgive me someday, Your Majesty.

There's nothing to forgive, Princess, he told her, half-strangled by hurt and relief and breathtaking love. He is alive. How can I not be glad?

With an aching smile and another obeisance, she left with his imperial permission to wed the jianghu scholar Su Zhe.

Here, in the sunlit yard, it takes her a few paces to understand he isn't coming to meet her or offering a greeting, like the courier she's mistaken him for would. Her brow furrows—there are lines there he does not remember, either—and slowly, her hand goes to her mouth.

He watches her war with herself, swamped in her astonishment. Her gaze swims with the same tangled things that shoot up into his own mind, splintering the lull of the ride.

If she says Your Majesty now, he—he does not know. He will crumple and fall. He journeyed for a month to be here, and there, the plan ends.

"Xiao Jingyan," Mu Nihuang whispers through her trembling fingers. "What are you—how in the name of—"

Should he bow, he thinks, wild, unmoored—kneel in the sand of the yard like a lord of yore, come to entreat a sage hidden in the hills?

Mu Nihuang is no sage, or even a wife to one. But she was once the Princess-Marshal of Yunnan. She's rarely met a hurdle she did not try to vault head-on.

"Stay there," she says, as if he would move for all treasures in the empire. She rounds on her heel to shout back into the house, "Beloved husband! Perhaps you'd care to explain why the Son of Heaven, His Imperial Majesty, may he reign for ten thousand years, is standing in my yard?"

There is a loud clatter from inside. His heart jolts in echo: beloved husband. The tint of fondness in her annoyance. This peaceful, prosperous house, the veranda freshly sanded, the jasmine in bloom, like dawn clouds perched on the boughs.

What is he doing? As if compelled by the same question, Nihuang looks him up and down: travel-stained, dishevelled, half-mad with purpose and yearning.

"I'm not that anymore," he says, rough with disuse. The horses do not make for great conversationalists. "I left, Nihuang. I stepped down."

tbc

[shadowqueenjude]

about the dawn court people being east Asia inspired - feyre says something when she sees Nuan at the high lord meeting about how Amren must have chosen a fae form similar to Nuan's bloodline. If Amren is east-asian coded, so is Nuan and thesan too, having at least one parent hailing from xian (am i reading too far into xian sounding so stereotypical, maybe, do i care rn, no). they also say that a majority of the dawn court hails from xian. thesan is supposed to have brown skin (again, please give a better descriptor) so he's mixed.

no one's clothes or architecture reflects anything concrete regarding their inspiration and its such a hodge podge it's so painful to try to discern where the differentiation between courts are. Spring court - because of the name tamlin correlates to a myth about a guy named tam lin who is kind of being held captive by the queen of faeries who needs to be rescued by his mortal lover that he met like suuuper recently, I'm placing the spring court in a place that reflects a medieval scotland. clothes are fairly accurate not in detail but in the sense of material and idk just general existence (women wear dress, man wear breeches, idk) I love that! so simple! Everything makes sense! So then why in dawn are we having technological advances in a steampunk sort of way and similar "old fashioned" clothes to spring, but then in the night court (velaris, the other's i think are fairly period accurate), there are all these advancements in fashion like leggings and pullover sweaters and whatever else she's wearing in the last two books, yet they have the same tech as everyone else barring dawn. (Doing a small pass on the bodysuit armor things because I'm just assuming that's people's artistic interpretations of her visions)

ALSO, how are they self sufficient if they're a closed off city? They aren't harboring secret technology that helps their city run, they are one city and also A CITY so like, no resources, no agriculture. who tf are they getting their things from if they are an invisible city that no one knows about? same thing with how they're getting trades that they wouldn't have been able to make themselves. Also, at this point I would like to propose the idea of wing armor. you have siphons which can idk make shields. HAVE YOU TRIED SHIELDING YOU'RE VERY SENSITIVE AND MASSIVELY TARGETED WINGS FROM DANGER?? in conclusion I'm tired and also a fashion/history nerd, okay bye

Ahhhh yes I see what you mean about Dawn now! Yeah, I always imagine Spring to be like medieval Scotland, and I'm guessing Autumn is medieval England? Rhysand is a Welsh name I believe, so Night is supposed to be Wales??? But the Illyrians are also supposedly POC and there's some evidence of Indian influence there too (barf, night is NOT indian at all), so I'm stuck on that one. Dawn is East Asian while Day is...Middle Eastern? Winter maybe Norway or some Scandinavian country? And Summer I'm assuming is supposed to be from some place in Africa, but it's all very vague. Also more points about Velaris: how is their fashion sense so...modern? Since everything is so closed off...shouldn't their fashion be stuck in the 1600s or whenever they closed their borders? Why don't they open their borders to Dawn since they're sooooo close to the Solar courts supposedly??? Has it not occurred to them that Nuan, who made Lucien's metal eye, could also construct new wings for the Illyrian ladies who got theirs cut off? Or do they just not care? They don't but SJM is trying to convince us they do.

Yeah how in the flying fuck is Night surviving on no industry whatsoever? No trade? No agriculture, nada? Because we have no evidence of the Illyrians producing anything either, besides "warriors." My explanation for this is kind of inspired by @kateprincessofbluewhales 's headcanon, but what if the Illyrians are like mercenaries? They're hired to fight for other courts and in exchange they receive all of their necessities and more which the Illyrians then send back home to their wives and children. This still doesn't explain how Velaris operates, but I'm sure Rhysand crutches on the Illyrians' profits to keep shit going and that's part of why they resent him. I'VE BEEN SAYING IT FOR AGES. WINGS ARE SUCH A VULNERABILITY. THEY MAKE YOU SUCH AN EASY TARGET. WHY IS THERE NO WING ARMOR??? THAT WOULD BE SO COOL TOO. BUT NO, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO JUST ACCEPT THERE'S NOTHING COOL ABOUT THE WINGS AT ALL AND MOVE ON.

[ladyofspringcourt]

I have a hard time making peace with the fact that SJM used all known, well-appreciated mythologies of the Ancient World for ACOTAR and still fumbled the ball so bad.

Just think about it: the Autumn and Day Courts are Greek, Summer is Roman, and Dawn is vaguely Etruscan (?). Meanwhile, specifically, Rhysand and Morrigan are roughly Irish, Cassian and Azriel are Albanians too (Illyrians was a real thing), and Tamlin is Scottish (obvi, as ballad of Tamas Lin is a beloved Scottish Lore + don't get me started with how SJM butchered this as well).

What makes the information above so frustrating is...SJM used the names + aesthetic of these cultures but there is no show of how these courts/people are different from each other. The only indication of what makes each court unique are the names of their inhabitants—that's it, unless the narrative demands...I don't know, that SJM needs to use their culture as plot device again?

I mean—now she's got Norse there somewhere because she needed female warriors.

I wonder if she'll touch Indian or Chinese soon, considering that she's being criticized for lack of diversity rep. Lol.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 We shouldn't wait until May every year to delve into the beauty of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voices. In May, I shared a list of the NEWEST AAPI books out this year. To keep promoting AAPI authors, characters, and stories, here are a few Young Adult AAPI books you can add to your TBR for the remainder of the year!

🏮 The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han 🏮 My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong 🏮 Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi 🏮 When We Were Infinite by Kelly Loy Gilbert 🏮 To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han 🏮 I Will Find You Again by Sarah Lyu 🏮 Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi 🏮 American Panda by Gloria Chao 🏮 When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon 🏮 Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman 🏮 Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao 🏮 Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao 🏮 Want by Cindy Pon 🏮 The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf 🏮 A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata 🏮 Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon 🏮 Everyone Wants to Know by Kelly Loy Gilbert 🏮 A Pho Love Story by Loan Le 🏮 The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad 🏮 Prepped by Bethany Mangle 🏮 The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn 🏮 Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi 🏮 Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park 🏮 This is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua 🏮 The Cartographers by Amy Zhang 🏮 The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim 🏮 This Place is Still Beautiful by Xixi Tian 🏮 Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido 🏮 I'm Not Here to Make Friends by Andrew Yang 🏮 The Queens of New York by E. L. Shen 🏮 Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying 🏮 These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi 🏮 Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim 🏮 The Marvelous Mirza Girls by Sheba Karim 🏮 A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

[ofcourtfables]

Just finished the series and I would love to play around in this world! Would it be ok for me to ask if there are any faces/connections/roles that you and your memebers are really itching for? Thanks in advance!

hello  lovebug  !!  you  found  the  perfect  place  !  our  members  would  love  to  see  the  following  :  the  high  lord  of  night  (  wanted  connection  ),  high  ruler  of  dawn,  &  high  ruler  of  spring  (  wanted  connection  ),  more  day  court  inner  circle  members,  dawn  inner  circle  members  !  we  also  have  some  wcs  on  our  dcoment  for  some  time  that  i  know  our  members  would  love  to  see  such  as  :  nerina's  first  mate, taria's  right  hand,  taria's  "twin",  kittichai's  mentor,  cassiopeia's  polycule,  ares'  best  friend,  nerina's  half-sibling,  reila's  siblings,  &  icarion's  daughters  !

member  specific  wanted  connections  not  listed  on  the  wc  page  :  aoife,  ellie,  &  elias's  love  interests,  elias's  adopted  daughter,  love  interest  for  yijun,  or  ahra  (female  only  for  ahra),  lady  cassiopeia's  lady-in-waiting/best  friend  !

some  fcs  :  wi  ha  joon,  jessica  matten,  khadijha  red  thunder,  kiowa  gordon,  ekin  koc,  serkan  cayoglu,  berk  cankat,  lewis  tan,  ludi  lin,  andrew  koji,  anna  sawai,  mackenyu,  gong  yoo,  evan  mock,  milly  alcock,  freya  allen,  naomi  scott,  toby  regbo,  aaron  fontaine,  greta  onieogou  (  as  the  final  day  court  sibling  or  cousin,  or  winter  cousin  ),  laura  harrier  (  could  work  for  cassiopeia's  polycule  wc  ),  maggie  q,  michelle  yeoh,  sonoya  mizuno,  florence  pugh,  sen  mitsuji,  halley  bailey,  halle  berry,  halle  baily,  monica  bellucci,  catherine  zeta  jones,  idris  elba,  jessie  mei  li  (  uses  they/she  pronouns  )  and  lee  soohyuk,  wawwa  nicha,  bright  vachirawit,  idris  elba,  john  boyega,  samantha  logan,  aaron  fontain,  jessica  parker  kennedy,  steve  toussaint,  dev  patel,  henry  golding,  devon  terrel,  hyun  bin,  diego  boneta,  oscar  isaac,  peter  gadoit,  gabriel  luna,  angela  serafyan,  amita  suman,  arsema  thomas,  beren  saat,  charitra  chandran,  mena  moussand,  sybella  deen,  daniel  henney,  fan  bing  bing,  and  rami  malek,  zorzo  natharuetai,  poppy  drayton,  samara  weaving,  luke pasqualino &  oliver  jacson  cohen!

[sketchydoodles14]

Title: Flames of Destiny

Chapter 1: The Torn Photograph

In the heart of the magical realm, nestled amidst ancient forests and towering mountains, three extraordinary beings came into existence. Born of the rarest of unions, the panther-dragon hybrids emerged with bodies akin to graceful panthers and majestic wings reminiscent of mighty dragons. They were known as Spark, Octavia, and Asriel.

Unaware of their origins, the triplets grew up in the care of a wise and compassionate guardian, the old oak tree spirit named Elderthorn. Yet, as they reached the age of discovery, a mysterious torn photograph was revealed to them, whispering of a hidden past and a long-lost family.

Chapter 2: The Quest Begins

Guided only by the torn photograph, the siblings embarked on a perilous quest to search for their birth parents and unlock the secrets that shrouded their existence. With determination blazing in their eyes, they set forth, their powerful wings carrying them through vast lands and treacherous terrains.

Their journey was not without challenges. In their relentless pursuit, they encountered treacherous creatures, enchanted forests, and labyrinthine caves. Yet, their bond as siblings held steadfast, nurturing their inner strength and resilience.

Chapter 3: The Revelations

After braving countless trials and overcoming formidable adversaries, the siblings finally discovered a hidden piece of the photograph. It unveiled the true identity of their father, Ryuu, a dragon of legendary golden scales. However, their joyous revelation was swiftly replaced by anguish as they learned of their father's imminent execution in the sinister city of Kathopia.

Chapter 4: The City's Shadows

As the clock of fate continued to tick relentlessly, the triplets hastened towards Kathopia, determined to save their father from the clutches of the wicked queen. Filled with both hope and fear, they arrived in the sprawling city on the eve of Ryuu's scheduled execution.

But tragedy struck in the congested streets of Kathopia as Spark, inadvertently separated from his siblings, witnessed a black panther mysteriously dropping the final piece of the photograph. Ignoring the danger, he chased after her, leaving behind a worried Octavia and Asriel.

Chapter 5: The Deceptive Connection

Within the shadows of the ancient forest, Spark finally caught up with the enigmatic black panther, who introduced herself as Ebony. As Spark revealed the pieces of the torn photograph, a shocking truth enveloped them both: Ebony was indeed their mother, the daughter of the wicked queen.

In denial and overwhelmed, Ebony fled deep into the forest, forcing Spark to choose between pursuing her and returning to rescue his missing siblings.

Chapter 6: A Desperate Pact

In the heart-wrenching aftermath of their encounter, Spark made his way back to the city, only to discover that his beloved siblings had been captured by the wicked queen's guards. Desperation consumed him until Ebony appeared, offering a dangerous proposition.

If Spark aided her in freeing Ryuu and eliminating the wicked queen's reign, Ebony promised to ensure the safe return of Octavia and Asriel. Suddenly, Spark found himself torn between loyalty and the tremendous weight of his newfound destiny.

Chapter 7: The Day of Redemption

As the fifth and final day dawned, a momentous battle between good and evil loomed within the queen's court. Spark and Ebony, united by their shared bloodline, infiltrated the court, their determination unwavering.

In a thrilling climax, they thwarted the executioner and saved Ryuu, Octavia, and Asriel from certain demise. Enraged, the wicked queen, now cornered, delivered an ultimatum to Ebony, threatening to reveal their closely guarded secret to all of Kathopia.

Chapter 8: Embers of Victory

In a stunning twist, Ebony, rising above her fear, seized the opportunity to expose the truth herself. A hushed silence fell over the court as Kathopia learned of the wicked queen's cruelty and the triplets' true lineage.

As the wicked queen's reign crumbled, a wave of redemption and forgiveness swept through the city. United once more, Spark, Octavia, Asriel, Ryuu, and Ebony saw the dawning of a new era, where love and unity would guide their realm towards prosperity.

Epilogue: Unbroken Bonds

The sun rose over a reimagined Kathopia, its vibrant colors illuminating the hearts of its inhabitants. The panther-dragon triplets, now embraced by their birth parents and their newfound family, reveled in the joy of their unbroken bonds.

Their quest had not only reunited them with their parents but also uncovered a deep-rooted secret that ignited a revolution. Their extraordinary journey had transformed them into legends, inspiring generations to come.

In this tapestry of fantasy and adventure, the story of the triplet panther-dragons thrived, forever etched in the annals of a world where love, courage, and the pursuit of truth triumphed over darkness.

[lazykatie]

Game, Set, Love: A Yu Qing Romance - Chapter 9

As the next day dawned bright and clear, the sun's golden rays reached the bustling tennis courts of the school. Qi Lin stood at the sidelines, a small basket of towels and drinks by her side, her gaze fixed on the matches unfolding before her.

On one court, Jiale and Zhou Zhi faced off in a high intensity match, capturing the attention of many spectators. Qi Lin watched with a smile as the two players showcased their skills, the crowd divided in their support for the competitors.

"Come on, Zhou Zhi! You've got this!" cheered a group of Zhou Zhi's supporters.

Qi Lin couldn't help but smile at the support for her classmates, the friendly rivalry adding to the excitement of the match. She made a mental note to congratulate both players after the match.

Turning her attention to the other court, Qi Lin observed Xinglong and Qiao Chen engaged in a tense battle. Xinglong appeared to have the upper hand, his aggressive play style putting pressure on his opponent.

As the match drew to a close, Xinglong unleashed a powerful return, securing his victory. Qi Lin approached him with a congratulatory smile.

"Great job out there, Xinglong! Here, have a drink and a towel," she said, offering him the refreshments.

Xinglong accepted the offerings with gratitude.

"Thanks, Qi Lin." he replied, a hint of exhaustion in his voice.

Qi Lin then turned her attention to Qiao Chen, who had fought hard despite the odds. She approached him with a towel, offering words of encouragement.

"You did your best out there, Qiao Chen. You should be proud of yourself," she said, handing him the towel.

Qiao Chen nodded, a grateful smile on his face.

"Thanks, Senior Lin. Your words mean a lot," he replied, wiping the sweat from his brow.

As Qiao Chen was about to rest, his eyes caught sight of Lu Xia nearby.

"Hey, Lu Xia!" he called out, jogging over to him and casually wrapping his arm around his shoulder.

"Congrats on making it this far. Senior Yan is going to be a tough opponent. But don't sweat it if you don't win. Just give it your best shot," he advised, his words flowing freely as Lu Xia listened, his expression remaining blank as he removed Qiao Chen's arm from his shoulder.

"Thank you, Senior. But, I'm not planning on losing," Lu Xia stated confidently, setting down his racket bag on the nearby chairs.

At that moment, Qi Lin joined the conversation, reminding Lu Xia of their shared motto.

"Lu Xia, remember our motto?" she asked, to which Lu Xia nodded in affirmation.

"Let's aim for the top!" they declared in unison, their eyes gleaming with determination.

Qi Lin offered some final words of encouragement. "Just give it your all out there. From what I've gathered, Ah-Yan uses data tennis strategy similar to mine but on a far more advanced level."

Lu Xia nodded in appreciation. "Thanks, Jiejie Lin," he replied gratefully.

"Anytime. Now, go warm up for your match," Qi Lin instructed, returning to her position to observe the ongoing matches.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhi and Jiale were still locked in the last set of their intense match. Despite Jiale's relentless energy and athleticism, Zhou Zhi's calm and composed demeanor remained constant.

He stayed focused and determined, refusing to let Jiale's flashy playing style throw him off course. With each stroke of the racket, he chipped away at his opponent's defenses, inching closer to victory with every shot.

In the end, Zhou Zhi's skill as a player shone through as he won. His victory elicited cheers from his supporters.

Qi Lin stood there in awe, amazed at him more than ever, more specifically when they had a match together on her first day at Yu Qing

FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Qi Lin stands on one side of the court, gently touching her injured wrist, a constant reminder of her physical limitation. Across from her, Zhou Zhi exuded confidence, his movements fluid and precise, a testament to his skill and experience.

In their school uniforms, they look out of place on the tennis court, the borrowed rackets from the club lockers feeling unfamiliar in their hands. Despite the makeshift setup, the determination in Qi Lin's eyes is unmistakable as she prepares to face off against a formidable opponent.

From the first serve, Zhou Zhi's shots are aggressive and well-placed, pushing Qi Lin to her limits. Qi Lin fights to return each ball, her determination evident in every stride, but she struggles to match Zhou Zhi's speed and accuracy.

As the match progresses, Zhou Zhi's dominance is undeniable, with each point stacking up in his favor. Qi Lin's frustration grows with each missed opportunity, her injured hand hindering her ability to execute her shots with precision.

Despite the pressure, Qi Lin refuses to give up, rallying with all her strength to stay in the game. However, Zhou Zhi's relentless onslaught leaves her feeling overwhelmed and outmatched.

Qi Lin heaved heavily from exhaustion as the final point was scored. It was a resounding victory for Zhou Zhi, 6-0, leaving Qi Lin feeling defeated but also awestruck by the skills and techniques demonstrated by her classmate on the other side of the court.

This match between her and Zhou Zhi brought her to a realization that she is far, very far from recovering her injury and it would take a long time before she could go back to the scene.

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

Snapping back to reality, Qi Lin approached both players, congratulating them and offering drinks and towels as a gesture of sportsmanship.

"Thank you, Qi Lin," Zhou Zhi said appreciatively, accepting the drink and towel.

Jiale echoed his sentiment. "Yeah, thanks. That was a tough match," he added, wiping his face with the towel.

After taking a few sips, Zhou Zhi suddenly asked, "Qi Lin, why are you on the courts instead of in front of the bulletin board?"

Jiale chimed in, "Yeah! Are you actually here to cheer for me?" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

"Sure, you can say that," Qi Lin replied with a sweat drop at her classmate's teasing.

She set the basket down on the seats, taking out her notebook from it.

"Today is the last day of the qualifying matches, and I want to assess your techniques," she explained, flipping through the pages and jotting down her observations.

"The main players are about to be determined by this set of matches," she continued, writing her assessment of Zhou Zhi and Jiale's match.

"OH NO! We have another Ah-Yan!" Jiale exclaimed, slightly freaked out by Qi Lin's diligent note-taking.

"That's what I said before," Zhou Zhi smirked at Jiale's reaction.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Qi Lin said, still focused on her writing.

"But Ah-Yan's notes are a lot more detailed, including personal information. I, on the other hand, just write things related to tennis like your play style, shot patterns, signature moves, stuff like that."

~Grrrrr~

Qi Lin suddenly looked up, wondering where the sound of a rumbling stomach had come from.

Jiale blushed, realizing it was his stomach making the noise.

"Hehe. I'll be back! Nature is calling!" he said, excusing himself in need of a bathroom break after the intense match.

As Jiale scurried off, Qi Lin and Zhou Zhi were left alone on the bench. They exchanged glances, and then burst into laughter at Jiale's hurried departure.

Once their laughter died down, Zhou Zhi turned to Qi Lin, a curious look in his eyes.

"So, what do you think of my play?"

Qi Lin paused for a moment, considering her words.

"I think you're a natural counterpuncher, just based on what I saw."

Zhou Zhi nodded, urging her to continue.

"You excel at absorbing your opponent's power and redirecting it with precision," Qi Lin elaborated.

"I noticed how patient you are during rallies, waiting for the right moment to exploit any weaknesses. That patience is a huge advantage."

Zhou Zhi listened attentively, appreciating her insights.

"However," Qi Lin added thoughtfully, "sometimes you can be a bit too patient. It's almost like you're toying with your opponent."

Zhou Zhi raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

She then murmured, pouting slightly, "Like what you did to me back then."

Zhou Zhi chuckled, recalling their past match. "I didn't mean to toy with you. I just want to see what you've got."

Qi Lin smiled, her playful pout turning into a grin.

"Well, you kinda got something out of me. But going back, maybe try mixing in more aggressive shots at unexpected times. Keep your opponents on their toes."

Zhou Zhi nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. "That's good advice. I'll work on that. Thanks, Qi Lin."

"Anytime," Qi Lin replied warmly. "You're already a fantastic player, Zhou Zhi."

As Qi Lin and Zhou Zhi continued their conversation, Siyang arrived for his match against Dayong, drawing the attention of a crowd of admirers.

Qi Lin couldn't help but flinch at the squeals of Siyang's fangirls, the memory of their recent misunderstanding still fresh in her mind.

Zhou Zhi noticed her discomfort and attempted to reassure her.

"Don't worry, Qi Lin. It's all in the past," he said, offering her a comforting smile.

Qi Lin nodded, grateful for his support. However, her attention was soon drawn back to Siyang as he prepared for his match. She watched with anticipation as the game began, trying to take notes on Siyang and Dayong's strategies and techniques.

The match began with Dayong serving. He mixed up his shots, alternating between powerful groundstrokes and delicate drop shots, keeping Siyang guessing with his tactical approach.

Siyang, however, was unfazed by Dayong's tactics. With every powerful stroke, he asserted his dominance on the court, dictating play with his commanding presence and aggressive shot-making.

He moved effortlessly from the baseline to the net, showcasing his all-court prowess and putting pressure on Dayong with his relentless aggression.

Cheers erupted at Siyang's winning point, prompting Zhou Zhi to joke to Qi Lin, "If you were playing, I think you'd get more fans cheering for you, boys and girls alike."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, you know," she said with a grin, not looking up from her notebook.

She then added, "Besides, I couldn't even get a compliment out of you, much less from other strong players."

"Why not start training again? You can join us during our practice," Zhou Zhi suggested.

"No, thanks. It's not time yet. I just want to focus on my academics since we're already going to college," Qi Lin replied.

Zhou Zhi nodded, understanding her stance.

"I'm going to watch Lu Xia's match. Are you coming?" Zhou Zhi asked.

"I'll just stay here. I already have a feeling on what the outcome on the other side is," Qi Lin answered, gesturing towards the ongoing match.

"Suit yourself," Zhou Zhi said before returning her attention to the match.

----- To be continued -----

Previous: Chapter 8

Up Next: Chapter 10

cross-posted from wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/359772976-game-set-love-a-yu-qing-romance

[tate-lin]

Pedestal, Palatable

Who put me here On this gold-plated seat Raised high above Just to take the heat

Who was it Thought to have won A spread of wings When there was none

Whose your queen Whose your mother A well-trained therapist Highly sought after

Cook, cleaner, waiter A full-course meal served free With entertainment too Hope you like it, bon appetit

Crowned an angel Now I stand Employee of the month Saw in hand

There is no kindness Or doe-eyed view To see me at dawn Operation through

Pointing fingers Mine, mine, mine But can just I be blamed For your lack of spine?

Let's go to court now Get an acquittal So, so sorry Signed, your little 'miracle'

Just whose fault is it If I'm not palatable?

—Tate Lin

[myloversthesunrise]

but in your sacred air i am full of light (vi)

Lin had never been sly or cunning or crafty, but she knew how to play her cards right sometimes. Only sometimes.

chapter: i. never be rude to a faerie | ii. never give them your true name | iii [a ghost from the past] | iv. faeries cannot lie | v. faeries cannot lie [ii] | vi. never make a bargain with a faerie

warnings: none

word count: 8023

notes: I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE LATE UPDATE!! i got busy with internship graduation, thesis, and helping my parents during the holiday AND tidying up my room. i hope you're willing to accept the too-long chapter as an apology :') as usual feedback, comments, and anything else are very much welcomed whether it's pointing out a grammar mistake, a mischaracterization, a plothole, anything!! i hope you'll enjoy the chapter!! happy holidays everyone! <3

Lin slept through the first two hours of work in the morning.

Luckily, Edith was kind enough to leave her breakfast in front of her door and told Polly that she was sick. The latter saw the dark shadows underneath her eyes and the groggy expression on her face and only gave her smaller and more menial tasks around the place.

Throughout her day, the woman couldn't stop thinking about the man she saw last night and his pretty violet eyes haunted her mind.

He's probably a lower Lord, she thought when her mind drifted to his expensive jacket and remembered his thick build. Or a commander? A general, perhaps? Whatever he was, he definitely wasn't a foot soldier. Not only his clothes were too fancy, but his walk was also too proud and elegant to be one.

Lin tried to remember some information about the Night Court from the history books but the human realm did not cover much about faerie history and the knowledge was rather outdated since the faeries cut off their contact 20 years ago after the Nephellan Treaty. Other than the fact that it was a strong Court with Illyrian soldiers as their defense and offense, she only knew that it had good relations with the other solar courts like Dawn and Day, and one of the richest courts in Prythia with their main income sourcing from the many mines under their mountain. Lin also remembered that the Summer Court and the Night Court had quite a good relationship due to Summer Court's Royalties’ love for gems and diamonds and how the Night Court happily provided their requests.

She wondered why the High Lord of the Night Court would need dirt and secrets from other Courts, especially when the Night Court wasn't known for its spies or blackmailing as their strength.

"What's gotten inside your head, love?"

Edith dropped down to sit on the counter by Lin's head, startling the younger woman from her thoughts.

"Nothing," she replied and went back to scrubbing the kitchen floor clean.

The feline faerie popped a cherry from the table into her mouth. (Lin hoped that she won't take too much or the cook would start noticing.) "Doesn't look like nothing to me," she frowned as she munched down the red fruit. "You sure you alright?" Edith probed one last time, just to be sure.

Lin threw the brush lightly against the floor and slumped on the counter across Edith. The black-haired woman let out an upset sigh as her friend stared from her place concernedly.

Maybe telling Edith would be alright, she assured herself. Maybe she could even help.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Lin peeked from under her eyelashes, her head bent low from shame and embarrassment. Edith nodded and encouraged her to continue her story.

"The village I came from is a bit... backward," Lin lied. "We rarely do trades and we hardly got any visitors, and we barely know any news of other places."

"And all these times I really thought that for some reason Amarantha had begun to live here but not that she actually," Lin threw out her hands to make a gesture referring to her surroundings, "invaded and conquered the entire continent."

"And I suppose that I felt a bit..." Lin hesitated, "Stupid."

Even if the mortal realm had absolutely no recent news regarding the faeries and their court, why did Lin see the Hybern General in a continent she was not supposed to be in and played along with Amarantha instead of asking the right questions to herself?

After the stranger's revelations last night, she had never felt so stupid and foolish, and by telling this story pitifully to Edith, perhaps the carrot-haired faerie could start feeling bad and start gossiping about the latest incidents in Prythia instead of useless gossips around here.

Lin had never been sly or cunning or crafty, but she knew how to play her cards right sometimes.

Only sometimes.

Edith gave Lin the most unimpressive stare Lin had ever seen on the faerie's face since she came here.

"You didn't notice that the first time you met her?" the cat-eyed faerie deadpanned.

The person across her merely forced out an awkward chuckle and rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably.

Edith knew that Lin was a bit... slow. Her distrustful behavior and distanced presence gave away that she was not used to this environment, and the feline faerie suspected a strict or a tightly-knit upbringing, from a traditionalist family or a small village perhaps.

Well, she was right.

She really is a country bumpkin, Edith thought pitifully to herself.

Without another word, Edith plopped off the counter she sat on to kneel on the kitchen floor and began scrubbing away. "Well," she urged. "What would you like to know?"

Lin finished the day with a sore back and a hefty knowledge of the Courts of Prythia.

Other than the general knowledge of each Court that has not changed much, the young woman gained some insight on the rulers of each Court.

The High Lord of the Summer Court was the youngest of them all, and the newest one to sit on the throne after the previous High Lord was executed by Amarantha. Tarquin might be young and faithful and a dreamer, but he wasn't naive and he had done a great job of keeping his people alive despite the tyrant ruling over him.

Autumn Court has their High Lord Beron and his seven sons. One was born to be a ruler, and one had denounced his title. Two of them died in combat, and all that's left is the prince, the lost fox, and three redheaded faes.

Edith had told her the story of Lucien. She didn't know much, only that he left the Autumn Court and was offered shelter by the Spring Court and has been living there ever since, but that was enough information for someone who didn't know a thing about it.

The Winter Court was the second youngest of them, known for his kindness and gentleness. There were rumors of a lady regent who ruled over the Winter Court in his absence, but the rumors were quickly shut down and proven false after Amarantha's visit.

Edith was born in the Spring Court but moved to her aunt's place in the Dawn Court when she was old enough. "The pollens," she sniffed as if her nose remembered how the flowery dust tasted like on her nostrils. "I couldn't stop sneezing and had to wear a mask every time I go out."

The High Lord was kind and a good ruler. His tithe was reasonable, and he protected his people more than anything else in the world. A tender-hearted fighter, the rumor said, who fought better with his brawns than his brain. Although he was also rumored to have anger that could rival the ocean in a storm. Despite his ability in battle, he was an adequate High Lord compared to his father.

It was told Tamlin—the High Lord of the Spring Court, and Rhysand—the High Lord of the Night Court, used to be like two peas in a pod, but nobody knew what had happened between them to make them both the nemesis of each other.

Rhysand was told to be cruel and arrogant. Rumored to be the most beautiful High Lord of Prythia, he served as Amarantha's Right Hand and helped the General establish her tyranny over the Seven Courts of Prythia for his own gain. He was a master of manipulation and trickery, always sneaking his way through and making sure he had the winning hand. Paired with his strength and the Night Court's battle prowess, they have been called the most powerful court on more than one occasion.

High Lord Helion of the Day Court was also called Helion Spell-cleaver for his mastery over spells and magic. The Day Court libraries and scholars compare to no other in Prythia, and their faeries fight better with spells and their magical powers rather than their swords and weapons.

If the Day Court were the master of spells, then the Dawn Court was the master of healings. All the best healers came from there, whether it was through medicine, science, or magic. Thesan—their High Lord—was of Xian descent like her but had surprisingly shown his support of the mortal slaves' liberation, unlike the Xian Empire itself.

There were also smaller details that Edith had graciously dropped in but Lin doubted it would be of use during her stay Under the Mountain.

Lin wondered if the stranger (she refused to use the name Ronald, no disrespect to all the Ronalds out there of course) was as cruel as his High Lord. He didn't seem cruel at all. A bit mysterious and devilish, in the way she couldn't tell if he was going to trip her over her feet or help her if she tripped over her feet, but nothing evil or malicious.

But again, Ah Ma had scolded her so many times for being so trusting and unsuspicious towards strangers.

Deep down inside, she was curious what was the High Lord's rumored beauty would look like after seeing the stranger's handsome face and alluring presence, especially considering the fact that he was only someone from the middle to the higher rank in the Night Court.

It had been two days after their impromptu meeting, and Lin was supposed to see him again tonight.

Without any juicy gossip or secret whispers of any High Lords' or any officials' saucy behavior, unfortunately.

She knew she hadn't promised him anything, but she felt bad after he shared the little knowledge of the current situation to her without asking any questions.

Lin consoled herself by saying that she should stop being so sorry and pitiful to other strangers, but it didn't stop her from doing her best to find any dirt during the last minutes before her work ended and gossiped even harder with Edith, which earned her five strikes against each of her arms from Madam Beatrice.

The young woman ended the day with red markings around her arms that she earned from Madam Beatrice’s caning and empty news to bring.

After spending nearly two days talking and socializing and yapping with Edith, Lin had run out of her social energy and did not feel like talking at all. But she knew her chances to meet the stranger won’t be often, and after the short yet very thorough information and story he had given her, Lin didn’t want to miss another chance of gaining knowledge that could possibly help her in this situation.

So that evening, Lin took a hot bath after work and changed her clothes into a new one before lying down on her bed and waiting until the small clock on her desk (given by Polly after she slept through breakfast two days ago) struck midnight.

She could hear the gentle breeze of the wind from the peephole on top of her closet, slowly lulling her to sleep as her eyelids grew heavier and her consciousness began to drop.

But her nose smelled something.

She sniffed once. Twice.

Her eyes darted open and she strained her ears.

True to her nose, her ears heard a small rhythmic tapping sound that slowly began to grow louder and louder accompanied by the scent of fresh air and petrichor that grew stronger.

It was raining.

Lin jumped off her feet and climbed up her bed frame to peek from the hole on top of her closet to make sure she was right.

“It’s raining!”, she squealed, grinning from ear to ear. The young woman hopped off her bed frame to jump on the bed happily before plopping down and trying to move her closet away so she could watch the rain easier.

Kneeling by her bedframe, Lin held her hands against the closet and pushed as hard as she could. The closet moved with ease, and after the closet was no longer sitting under the peephole, she grabbed a chair and placed it underneath the peephole. Lin climbed up, and her eyes were met with the dark view of the forest.

Her grin quickly turned into a frown.

Without the moonlight, the forest was dark as a cave, and instead of the view of rain falling down upon the forest, all she got was darkness and the occasional clear reflection of water from the candlelight inside her room.

Well at least I could still smell the rain outside, she consoled herself. However, her mind echoed with the last word of her consolation.

Outside...

Outside.......

Outside............

OH

Lin’s eyes widened and her eyes snapped back to the small clock behind her and pointed it to a quarter before midnight. Her shoulders sagged and she let out a sigh, seeing that she still have time before leaving for the tunnel.

Without waiting any further, Lin hopped off the chair and began to pack her bag with her usual stock of candles and a matchbox. She grabbed her old cloak hanging by the door before leaving and locking the door behind her.

The young woman was about to walk off into the tunnel before something caught the corner of her eye.

Lin took a step back and leaned her head to the front to see the floor below her and the hallway of doors across her. She turned her head towards the stairs and found the sight she was looking for.

It was a man.

Or a fae? Definitely a fae.

He wore a cloak with the hood up and Lin could see a dark shade of orange on the top underneath it, completed with dark brown pants and matching boots. His footsteps brought him to a door where he halted into a stop and gently knocked a rhythm onto it. Not a moment later, the door opened to reveal one of the servant faeries Lin had seen around (but had never bothered to memorize their name). They had two antennas sticking out of their head and fur coating their neck.

The faerie took off his hood to reveal a long straight red hair underneath it, and something in his fingers reflected against the torchlight as he removed the hood.

A ring.

Unfortunately, Lin couldn’t see any more detail about him. She could, however, see a glimpse of folded wings behind the room owner’s back as she stepped out to hungrily kiss him on his lips before grabbing him by the collar and pulling him inside with a giggle.

Well someone’s getting it on, she dryly thought.

After making sure that no more fae would walk in from the stairs nor walk out of the room doors, Lin turned away and began walking towards the tunnel with a spring in her steps, as if the rain had rained down upon her and gave her fresh energy for her to start her evening.

A cold, strong wind blew through the tunnel, bringing the scent of petrichor and the distant sound of thunder. The young woman could only flinch when the wind messed up her hair behind her headscarf and whisked off the fire from her candles.

Pouting and staring at her empty candle, an idea popped inside her head. She began to turn back and went downstairs into the kitchen.

Rhysand was used to the cold. Having to fly around all the time and enjoying the activity, the High Lord was practically immune to the crisp cold air.

But one thing he was not used to, was the rain.

Ever since he learned how to fly, he had always hated the rain.

Raining meant muddy grounds in the camp. Raining meant no flying over Velaris with his mother. Raining meant not helping her little sister and teaching her how to fly so that one day she would join him and their mother.

Not to mention the sore back from working his wings twice as hard.

To explain it plainly, flying during the rain would be like walking waist-deep in water. It would require him twice the movement and strength with only half the speed to do something that he could do so easily. Not to mention the cold air and the rhythmic soothing sound of water falling down onto the earth that had never failed to make him sleepy.

Safe to say, raining had always forbidden Rhysand from doing what he loved to do the most and that was more than enough reason for him to hate it.

The High Lord threw his head back and sighed, a pile of semi-wet wood by his feet ready to be lit and his hands covered in blisters and splinters after trying to get a fire starting.

One of the most powerful faerie in Prythia with shadows and Illyrians under his command and no mind he cannot penetrate left to sit in the cold because he couldn’t light up a fire.

It was pathetic.

He came earlier in hope that the country bumpkin would come earlier too, but now he was left alone to curse the choice that left him staring emptily at the rain.

A few minutes later, Rhysand heard her before he could feel her coming.

A muffled sound of cling-clang resonated through the empty tunnel—as if two metals were thrown at each other. Accompanied by the sound of her footsteps, but this time it came at a faster interval and followed by the sound of heavy breathing.

Rhysand turned his head to watch the female, and there she was—jogging towards him with the most exhilarated expression he had ever seen on her face.

The female stopped in front of him, panting for her breath and propped herself on her knees with her body leaning forward while her other hand was still holding tight to her unlit candelabra and the other holding a kettle.

A kettle?

“Did you wait long?” she heaved without looking up to stare at him.

“Not at all,” he answered. He knew he didn’t wait long, but with the rain outside it felt like hours. Why would she bring a kettle?

Finally, she stood up straight before placing the kettle next to his pile of woods before plopping down across him and leaning her back against the wall as she straightened her legs. His eyes darted to the scarf that had leaned back from her head, showing off her thick black hair underneath it.

Lin noticed his stare and cleared her throat in discomfort. Her hands quickly fixed her scarf to its proper place.

“Did you bring a match with you?” Rhysand asked.

The female nodded in reply and grabbed the matchbox from inside her bag before handing it to him.

But she didn’t stop there.

Rhysand watched as she began to pull out two mugs, two tin containers, and two teaspoons. He continued to silently gape at her as she placed the kettle on top of the woods and began to prepare for tea.

“I didn’t realize we’re having a picnic,” he dryly remarked.

“You can always leave it out if you don’t feel like it,” she sassed back at him while putting three spoonfuls of sugar into what he assumed was her mug because there is absolutely no way he was going to drink a tea with three spoonfuls of sugar.

The fae could only shake his head in astonishment before lighting up the firewood in front of him. From the corner of her eyes, Lin watched as he stared at the fire in full concentration, as if remembering something.

“How did you know that I have firewood ready?” he turned his head to stare at her face.

“I didn’t.”

“Then how did you plan on heating the tea?” His voice got even more confused.

Lin finished her tea preparation (three spoonfuls of sugar for her and none for him and black tea leaves filled into two tea bags before being placed on each mug, ready to be served) and grabbed the candelabra by the firewood and shook it in front of his face.

The confusion in his eyes slowly turned into something between wonder, astonishment, and dumbfounded look.

Rhysand couldn’t tell if she was a very determined faerie or a very single-minded faerie.

And just how the fuck did she manage not to spill any water while jogging her way here?

She placed the two mug close by the fireside and shoved her tin can, sugar can, and candelabra back inside her bag before leaning back against the wall and sagging her shoulders.

Lit by the fire, he could see her face a little bit clearer.

She had round cheeks, and starry dark eyes, somewhere between brown and black. Her eyebrows were as thick as her hair, and her lips were small, yet pouty and full. He noticed a small beauty mark above her lips, near the right corner of it. Her forehead, hairline, and ears were covered by her scarf.

“Why do you always wear a scarf?” The question left his mouth before he could stop it.

The female flinched at his question and tugged her scarf to completely cover her ears, her eyes and face cast downwards in embarrassment.

“I—uh,” she mumbled. “I have donkey ears.”

“I’ve seen people with donkey legs,” he retorted. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

She shrugged her shoulders hopelessly and fiddled with her fingers in discomfort. “They used to pull my ears all the time,” her face were no longer facing downwards, but she still hesitated to stare at him in the eyes. “So I started to cover them up.”

Rhysand left it at that. Her heartbeat was beating loud enough for him to be gently heard without making any effort to strain his ears. Whether the female was lying through her teeth or still too terrified to speak of the incident, he did not know. (But he made a note inside his head as one of the many things he needed to find out about her.)

A moment of silence passed between them before he asked the question.

“Well?” the faerie asked Lin as he stared into her eyes.

Lin shrugged in confusion. “Well, what?”

He kept staring at her for a little longer until it finally clicked inside her head.

“OH!” she gasped as she sat up straight, eyes were blown wide and her index finger pointed at him—as if remembering something. But to his dismay, she leaned back and sagged her shoulders.

“I found nothing.”

Oh for fuck’s sake, Rhysand mentally groaned.

Apparently, his thought was quite evident on his face because the female began to justify herself and her reasonings.

“I just got here!” she protested. “I didn’t even know how any of the High Lords and their people look like. I don’t even get to meet them!”

“All I do is clean the rooms and work in the kitchen,” she huffed and crossed her arms.

The kettle began to whistle, but she ignored it.

“Can’t you ask your friends about anything?” he insisted, his face scrunched up in annoyance.

The female scoffed. “If I started asking about High Lords out of nowhere, don’t you think I would look even more suspicious?” she rolled her eyes at his reply.

Well, she’s not wrong, Rhysand muttered to himself.

But he was desperate.

Amarantha was restless and overly suspicious of any single thing that has caught her attention. She demanded for him to find a spy, from Hybern. How the fuck she knew about this spy, he had no idea. But she was so sure of it and Rhysand knew that she wouldn’t stop before she could find the alleged ‘spy’ and the reasoning behind it. And the sooner she relaxed, the sooner he could make his move to end her, once and for all.

Lin almost felt bad for him.

His violet eyes glared hard at the fire in front of him that she immediately lifted her kettle, fearing the metal would melt under his burning gaze. Gently, she poured the boiling water into her mug before pouring some into his.

Outside, the rain kept on without going harder or slower. She was almost grateful for the rain, for she did not have to constantly watch her back outside and had the rain to cover their position, even muted down their conversation.

After gently mixing their tea, Lin placed the teaspoon in her mug and gave the moody faerie his mug.

“Here,” she offered as she held out the steaming mug. “It’s perfect for the rain.”

The faerie turned his violet eyes to glare at the mug, before staring at Lin suspiciously.

“How do I know you haven’t poisoned it?”

Lin sneered at his suspicion and pulled back her arm to blow on the mug. After a few minutes, she took two sips from his mug before holding it out to him.

“There,” she quipped. “Happy?”

He reluctantly took her offer but placed it in his lap. His eyes didn’t leave hers, waiting for anything to happen to herself. A poisonous reaction, perhaps.

But nothing happened other than Lin bringing her mug to her lips and tasting the sweet tea, feeling her body warmed up from her hot drink, and dramatically sighing at the feeling.

After a few moments, the stranger began to lift up his mug and sniffed around. He eventually took a sip, after finding nothing that smells toxic or poisonous.

Lin watched as his shoulder relaxed and he leaned back against the tunnel wall. Not as relaxed as hers, but less tense than he was before.

“What’s in it for me?” she asked out of nowhere.

His eyes met hers and he gave her his full attention.

“I never promised to find you any dirts on the High Lord,” Lin reminded. “So if I do ever find something,” she emphasized the last word as she began to lean forward, showing that she was serious about this.

“What’s in it for me?” the female finished with a final tone.

Rhysand was very tempted to sneak a peek into her mind. Just to see if somehow a light had shone inside the never-ending darkness and let him know what she wanted, but seeing her dark eyes trained upon him like a predator on its prey, he decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

It was a very strange feeling, he decided. The High Lord of the Night Court, the ruler of the most powerful army, felt like a powerless man under her gaze.

No, not a powerless man.

But her equal.

Two sides of the same scale, staring at each other on the same level despite the power that he possessed and the very same thing that she did not have.

He had never felt like this with other deals he had struck or bargains he had made. Rhysand had always made sure he could walk out unscathed or with another trick up his sleeve if the deal or the bargain ever failed to be done. He had always made sure that he would have the upper hand before making a bargain. Hell, he had even stooped as low as blackmailing just to make sure he would be on the winning side.

But he had nothing on her.

No name, no background, no history, not a single thing he could read inside her head.

Rhysand began to think about this even more carefully.

He could always walkout. Forget about their deal and find other ways to catch the spy. Prolong Amarantha’s restlessness and watch as she started to throw a fit and began a killing spree.

No, gods no.

He had tried other ways and came up with nothing.

Being Amarantha’s pet, Rhysand was quite literally every court’s public enemy. Friendless with no ally to help him, he tried to find anything between the soldiers, even bought some of them to report back to him.

Still, he found nothing.

The last thing he would do was to bring Azriel. A spy for a spy. But that would mean risking Velaris’ existence to be discovered, and he would rather die a thousand times before letting Amarantha claw her way into his city.

But he hadn’t found anything within the servants. They were his last chance of finding any clue of this supposed spy that Amarantha had found, and he did not want to risk it.

“What do you want?” he asked after a few moments of being left alone with his head.

The female sat up even straighter—if that was even possible—and crossed her leg. Her eyes gleamed with excitement she could barely contain, and Rhysand could see the upper corner of her lips begin to lift up despite her effort of holding it back.

“I want my freedom,” she whispered and stared into his eyes with such determination that he would’ve mistaken her words as a declaration of war.

Outside the tunnel, the rain grew harder and thunder flashed, shining a light upon her eyes that glinted with a fierceness he did not expect before the light passed and the sound of thunder resonated through them.

The faerie leaned forward—mimicking her posture—and propped both of his hands underneath his chin. His eyes furrowed in concentration and waited for her to elaborate.

Lin resisted the urge to lean back at the hard look in his eyes. “I...” she trailed. “I didn’t come here of my own will.”

“I was bound by a contract, a contract I can’t escape.” She took a sip from her mug to calm her nerves. “So I thought that perhaps that I could escape from this place instead of the contract,”

There was absolutely no way a faerie would forget about an escaping rule while making a contract, he mentally snorted.

But he wasn’t here to ask her about any contracts. Rhysand only had to do his part of the work and let the contract do the rest.

The less he knew, the better.

“So you want me to help you escape all the way to Montesere?” Rhysand sighed and took a sip from his steaming mug. The bitter taste of black tea filled his mouth with warmth and he could feel his body beginning to relax unconsciously.

“Not all the way to Montesere,” the female corrected. “Just send me off to the nearest port town in the Mortal Lands and I’ll get a ship to sail all the way there.”

Well that’s convenient.

She just made his job even easier.

“How do you plan on leaving here?” He interrogated her, his tense posture came back and he straightened up in his seat.

She took a sip of her tea before answering. “I’ll leave that to you,” she replied. “The method doesn’t matter as long as we’re leaving here to the town I shall ask you to.”

“How do I know you’ll keep your end of the bargain?” The faerie challenged as he tensed up and leaned his body to the front, his forearms propped on his knees and violet eyes glinting dangerously in the firelight.

Lin resisted the urge to flinch back and gulp in fear. She tilted her neck to the left and to the right, cracking it loudly, and glared into the firelight with her eyebrows furrowed. Her elbows were propped up on her knees and her hands were propping up her chin, hiding her pursed lips.

Rhysand could see the gears and cogs inside her head turning and working hard to find something.

Her eyes scanned through the fire thoroughly, as if hoping to find an answer before widening in realization and turning her gaze onto him.

“Wait,” she requested, her face was scrunched up in confusion. “Did you say bargain?”

The faerie rolled his violet eyes.

“Yes,” he emphasized. “A bargain. One of us break the deal, they die.” His tone was sarcastic and quippy. “Or was that something your tiny little village had never taught you about?”

Lin ignored his sarcasm. “Is there any way we can do this without a bargain?”

His stare hardened into a glare. “I am not risking my neck for someone who wouldn’t risk hers,” he scowled, his tone was firm and final.

“Well it’s just that...” the female fiddled with her fingers nervously. “I don’t know you enough to make a bargain with you,” she pouted as she tried to reason with him.

“Shall I introduce myself with my name, date of birth, hobbies, and occupation?” Rhysand sneered in annoyance.

“Let’s just make a promise,” the female offered with a wide grin on her face as she stuck her pinky finger out.

His violet eyes took one demeaning look at her extended finger before glaring back into her eyes. Much to his surprise, her dark eyes hardened and glared back at him in defiance.

“I am not going to make a bargain with a complete stranger!” she argued as she leaned back and pulled her hand back in annoyance.

Lin crossed her arms and huffed. He has got to be insane if he thinks I’m going to make a death pact with a person I barely knew. A faerie too, at that!

Rhysand followed her action and leaned back, silently groaning at the situation.

She wouldn’t risk it for him and he wouldn’t take any risks either, yet the two of them knew it would take more effort and time to find someone else in each other’s place, which was something they don’t have.

A moment of silence passed between them as the two individuals were lost deep in their thoughts, only accompanied by the sound of rain and the crackling fire.

Lin was the first one to break the loud silence between them.

“How about this,” she proposed. The younger woman shuffled her ass back to the front and propped her elbows on her knees as her body leaned forward. Her eyes stared deep into his, showing her sincerity.

“We’ll try with a swear first, without a bargain.”

Rhysand opened his mouth to argue but the female cut him off.

“I’ll find you some information on the High Lords and any of the Higher Ups,” she offered. “And since I don’t know if you would help me by the end of it or not, you can pay me back by letting me know about everything that has been happening in Prythia.”

Information for information? Rhysand leaned forward in anticipation. Now, this was something that piqued his interest.

“If the situation calls for it, then we make a bargain for we cut off our deal.”

Lin didn’t know if she was being very smart or very stupid.

She was totally and completely shit at politics and manipulating people and tricking her way out of everything. Hell, she was even risking it all by letting him know that she didn’t know anything about Prythia and the faeries’ current situation.

Inside her head, her compromise had sounded good enough. But now that she had said it out loud, suddenly her mind ran through every single scenario where it might have possibly gone wrong. The faerie seemed to be in a deep concentration, thinking through about her offer and Lin only hoped that he wouldn’t notice her lack of knowledge towards the current political climate of Prythia.

“What kind of situation would call for it to be made?” he asked after thinking it through for a few minutes, his eyes turned to face her own.

Lin shrugged before replying. “Perhaps you found something suspicious about me, or I find something suspicious about you, and we can’t prove it to each other.”

“Or maybe if someone finds out about it.” She whispered this part quietly, fearing that it might happen if she spoke it out loud.

Rhysand scrutinized the female in front of him. From her chubby cheeks to her lack of muscles in her arm and how she fiddled with her hands nervously. He dissected her inch by inch, trying to find any cracks in her opened mask and see if there was a threat or a soldier inside.

After a few minutes of glaring at her, the faerie held out his hand to Lin.

“I swear that I will help you to escape to the town of your choice in return for information regarding the High Lords’ activities,” he swore.

Lin stared into his eyes, trying to see any dishonesty that she could possibly find. His violet ones stared into her brown ones with earnestness and determination, and she knew he wasn’t lying from his eyes nor from the firm offer of his hand.

She nodded, before holding out her pinky finger in reply and began to swear.

“I swear that I will help you gather information regarding the High Lords’ activities in return for a safe escape to the town of my choice.”

Her eyes narrowed as she emphasized the word ‘safe’ in her sentence, and Rhysand reluctantly repeated his oath with the additional word.

When he finished, she did not change her gesture and shake his hand.

“I don’t want to accidentally make a bargain with you,” she mumbled.

Rhysand rolled his eyes and reluctantly sighed before holding out his pinky finger in return. The female quickly linked their pinky together before touching her thumb against his, sealing the deal.

Once again, thunder flashed and reflected their shadow inside the tunnel, and for a second Lin could have sworn she saw a shadow of wings on his own. The rain poured on harder and began to inch closer into their place, slowly snuffing out their fire and wetting their clothes.

Wordlessly, Lin tidied up their mugs after throwing out the lukewarm tea outside and began to light up her candelabra. The faerie followed suit as he threw out their burnt firewood and splashed some water on whatever ash and ember remained on the ground, trying to remove their traces.

“Come on,” she gestured into the tunnel with her candelabra. “I’ll show you the way back.”

Rhysand opened his lips to protest but he realized he didn’t have much of a choice in this situation, so he shut it back and followed her suit.

They walked side by side quietly, his body was one step behind hers seeing that he was too big to walk next to her inside the cramped tunnel. But he was rather glad, seeing that she trusted him enough to show him her back, unlike the first time they had met.

Not that it would prevent anything.

As they walked deeper into the tunnel, the rhythmic sound of rain began to fade away and slowly replaced by the dead silence.

Rhysand could feel his palm begin to sweat in the enclosed space and his heart beat a little faster. His eyes darted around and tried not to think of the darkness slowly creeping in around them and the deafening silence.

Perhaps he should’ve risked his anonymity and winnow out of the tunnel.

Rhysand could only hear the soft tap tap tap pattern of their footsteps that slowly but surely grew faster inside his head, spinning around like a whirlwind and making him break out in cold sweat and dizziness and—

The female cleared her throat, breaking the sickening pattern.

“So,” she started. Her voice was strangely a little too loud, considering they were rather close to each other and the only one in the tunnel.

“What is your High Lord like?” the female asked without turning her head, her eyes were still strained forward and gave him some privacy from his little episode.

“He is handsome,” Rhysand straightened his back and tried to speak with the confidence and arrogance he knew he had, hoping that his voice wouldn’t come out as shaky and terrified. “One of the most beautiful faeries in Prythia, I believe.”

She scoffed.

“Sounds like you’re in love with him.”

It’s impressive how he could feel her eyes rolling without seeing her face.

“I only speak of the facts,” he stated firmly as he tilted up his chin in confidence. The shadow slowly backing away under her candelabra that she held higher, he noticed. And the annoying rhythmic sound of their footsteps no longer spun around his head like a typhoon.

“Is he as cruel as they all say?”

Rhysand faltered in his steps.

For the first time, he hesitated to tell her the lie. That he was cruel and unforgiving and evil and full of malicious intent. The mask he had worn in front of everyone else who did not have the privilege of his trust.

Ever since they had met, the female had seen a side of him that he rarely let anyone see. He did not have to put on that mask in front of her, and he rather enjoyed the anonymity of not having to be cruel and evil High Lord to her. That was why he would not risk his it by winnowing away and creating another barrage of questions from her that could possibly reveal his identity.

Besides, it has been a while since he made a new connection that did not see him as Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court, and he rather welcomed the feeling of making a new acquaintance.

And now he wondered whether he should tell her a lie or the truth about himself, despite having shown her his true self ever since the beginning.

“Only to his enemies.”

Lin pretended to not notice his hesitation and nodded along to his answer.

“You know,” she started after a few beats of silence. “I still don’t know your name.” She turned her head back to glance at him, making sure that he was paying attention to her words.

“What happened to calling me Ronald?” he teased. Even without facing him, she could hear his smirk from his voice.

The younger woman glanced her head back to reply. “It doesn’t suit you,” she pouted before turning back to face the long way in front of her.

“Would you like to know?”

Well, yes. It was rather tiring to refer to him as the ‘stranger’ or the ‘faerie’ all the time. But it would require him to know her name in return, and seeing his expensive clothing must have come from a higher status, Lin didn’t like the idea of her identity being known by the Higher Ups.

But seeing that Lin would have to spy on them, perhaps this would be a good start.

She turned her head back but this time she gave him a full look of sincerity in her eyes instead of a mere glance, showing her earnestness.

“Lin,” she offered him her name the same way he had offered her his oath.

The stranger behind her kept quiet for a few moments. The only sound that reverberated through the dark and quiet tunnel was the sound of their footsteps.

“Rhys.”

Rhys, she mused inside her head. Much prettier than Ronald.

Wait...

The female halted in front of him, causing his chest to crash into her back.

She snapped her neck and turned around. The candelabra in her arm was nearly touching his chest as she yelled with her eyes blown wide in shock.

“You were named after your High Lord!?”

Dear gods, she was hopeless.

“Yeah,” Rhysand pretended to look embarrassed by it and rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes darted away in shame and he lowered the volume of his voice. “Yeah, I was.”

Lin rolled her eyes and turned her back around. “Your father did a terrible job.”

Rhysand scoffed in reply. “How did you know it was my father?” he gibed.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Seems like a father thing to do to pick a ridiculous name for his son.”

“Did your father pick a ridiculous name for you too?” Rhys goaded her.

“He never knew I existed.”

Rhysand immediately backed down and slowed his steps to give their body some distance. “I’m sorry,” he offered.

Lin shrugged again. “It’s alright. Can’t mourn over them if you never know them,” she turned her head back and offered Rhys a wry smile to assure him.

After the uncomfortable revelations, they kept quiet for the rest of the way. Lin strained her ears to make sure the faerie was breathing normally behind her instead of the anxiety-induced rapid breathing he had earlier. Rhysand, on the other hand, noted her story into one of the many things he intended to investigate about her and the honesty of her story.

“We’re here,” she announced after a few minutes of walking in silence.

True to her words, soon enough they arrived at what Rhysand assumed as the servant’s quarters. Separated by a balcony half-filled with laundry in the middle, doors stood across each other where it leads to the servants’ room.

Rhysand took a short glance down the balcony and took note of the three floors below him. He heard the click-clack sound of an unlocking room and turned his head to see Lin opening her door and walking in.

Without a goodbye? he frowned. Rude.

Not a minute later, she walked back out with their two mugs and teaspoons, a kettle, and two cans of black tea and sugar.

“Come on,” she invited him with a nod of her head towards the stairs by the end of the hall. “I’ll show you the way out of here.”

Wordlessly, both of them descended down the steps and headed to the kitchen where Rhys watched as Lin quickly washed away their used utensils and tidied them up.

“If you ever need anything, you know where my room is.” She explained as she wiped her wet hands on her dress.

I always lock my room anyway, she thought. What’s the harm in letting him know?

“But if you do ever plan on coming back here,” Lin said as she walked to leave the kitchen, leaving him behind her as he followed suit like a lost puppy. “Try to wear something less...” She turned her head and glanced down at his clothes in the most judgmental look.

“Expensive.”

Rhysand frowned at her back.

She noticed his expensive clothes but hadn’t pulled the strings between his name and status?

He truly couldn’t tell if she was very smart or very dumb.

Lin headed out to the kitchen before pointing down the hallway that lead them away from the servants’ quarters.

“Go down there and take the first right. You should be able to find yourself from there.”

Rhysand noticed how she didn’t mention the soldiers’ quarters, which was the place he was ‘supposedly’ heading. Frowning, he followed her instructions and turned right to see the more familiar underground main hallways in Under the Mountain, the one usually used by the Higher Ups from the Courts and the servants busied around.

He turned his head and watched as Lin raised her hand in a quiet goodbye. Rhysand nodded at her gesture and raised it back at her before heading down the hallway.

A voice inside him wondered about her truthfulness and her honesty to their little ‘pact’. But he remembered her soft build and her vulnerable spots and the lack of any training in her movement, and soon enough he was assured that if the female ever become a problem, she was only one wry neck away from being solved.

[rufousnmacska]

What do you think are the TOG cast's opinion about Manorian is?

From what I can gather, here is what I think the characters mindset is from the end of EOS:

Characters close to either Manon or Dorian:

Aelin: Thinks its a phase for Dorian. Maybe thinks there is no substance in the relationship and it'll be shortlived. Probably stems from a prejudice against witches before from what Ansel told her. I'm curious about how this would change due to the fact Manon, the Thirteen and her kingdom saved Terrasen.

Rowan: Is supportive of Dorian. (Training sesh🤣)

Chaol: Probably heart attack. Probably doesn't like Manon. Probably feels a certain way about Dorian making this decision for himself without Chaol present to "protect" him. Probably thinks Dorian is leaving the "nest" too soon (Jealous of Manon in the sense of when your friend gets a new partner).

Nesryn: Probably supportive of Dorian's happiness.

Elide: Supportive of Manon's happiness

The thirteen: Definitely gave Dorian the "once over". Saw what he was all about. (Probably threatened him) but they were ultimately impressed or gave their approval. They were happy that Manon found someone.

Characters who were not close to Manon or Dorian:

Aedion: Thinks its weird and even laughed at the prospect of them together with Lysandra (he called it a "disaster"). At this point in EOS, he hates Dorian and distrusts Manon. Same prejudice against Manon's people AND Dorian, himself. Stems from Aedion not getting the right idea of who Dorian is despite the years of him "knowing him". He was aware of who Dorian was but never got to know him, because of who his family was (hence the prejudice against him).

Lysandra: Compared Dorian's seeking something completely different to Sorscha like her former clients. Again, she doesn't know either of them, so.... I don't know how valid that opinion is?

I'm really curious to see how their opinions of them changes especially Aelin, Chaol and Aedion.

This ask came through twice and the first time it mentioned the characters’ opinions after KoA. So I hope that’s what you meant anon because that’s how I’m going to answer. If it’s not please let me know 🙂

Aelin - I agree with you about how she views them in EoS. She knows nothing about Manon except she’s a lethal witch and necessary ally. Aelin doesn’t seem to put much thought into why Manon saves Dorian twice. I don’t think anyone does except Dorian and the Thirteen (the people who know Manon behind the mask). So yes, I think Aelin sees it as just physical attraction, just Dorian being Dorian. In KoA, we really don’t get much more, mostly because she’s focused on other things and has been through so much. I think by the end of KoA, Aelin views Manon as a friend as well as an ally. My feeling is she would want both of her friends, Dorian and now Manon, to be happy. If that means they’re together, she’d be all for that.

Rowan - In EoS Rowan was pretty much a full on Manorian stan lol! His little wing man maneuver in the swamp made that clear. And you could say Aelin’s positive reaction to that shows she’s open to the idea of manorian. I loved how supportive Rowan always was of Dorian! Not just when it came to Manon, but as a teacher and friend. I think post KoA he’d also want to see them happy and together. And I think he and Manon would eventually become good friends. They have a lot of similarities that they’d bond over while their spouses talked about books. 🙂

Chaol - This is interesting to me because right after EoS, the fandom (myself included) assumed Chaol would despise Manon and hate that she was with Dorian. Partly for the reasons you’ve given. Then Tower of Dawn came out and Chaol was surprisingly calm when he heard Dorian might be with Manon. His time in the Southern Continent and with Yrene changed him. That made me reconsider things going into KoA. I figured if Manorian ended up together, Chaol would be ok with it, especially since Manon was so protective of Dorian. And once he saw how Dorian had changed, how serious his feelings were for Manon, Chaol was very supportive. He may be a little nervous around her, but I don’t see him trying to come between them.

I totally agree about Elide and Nesryn!

The Thirteen - They knew the real Manon. So they knew Manon had feelings for Dorian before she did. The fact she saved Dorian twice, at the risk of her own life and Asterin’s … they knew that meant something. Compare that to Aelin and her court, who were grateful of course, but only knowing Manon’s reputation meant they never really considered why she’d done it. They were just confused by it or simply chalked it up to some political ploy. We see in KoA that each member of the Thirteen reacted differently to Dorian and his relationship to Manon, which makes sense. They’re all very different characters. But they all respected him. Or in Lin’s case, put up with him lol! Asterin telling Manon to live in KoA was her plea to Manon to experience a full life, one that included love. So if things had ended differently for them, those witches would’ve been overjoyed to see their queen in love.

Glennis, Bronwen, Petrah - You didn’t mention them but I think it’s interesting to consider their opinions. Glennis and Bronwen met both Manon and Dorian at the same time. So for them, the two being a couple is the default. After KoA, I’m sure neither would be bothered or surprised if Manorian got together. Of the three, only Petrah knew Manon before. I think she saw beneath Manon’s mask more than anyone outside the Thirteen. Post KoA, she’d want her queen to be happy and I think she’d get along well with Dorian.

Aedion, Lysandra - Again, I agree with you about Aedion. He is too clouded by his anger at Dorian and his prejudice against witches. His mind is more open at the end of the series, but in EoS he definitely doesn’t get why Dorian and Manon would be together. Lysandra’s (second to Rowan in EoS as a Manorian fan lol) explanation was accurate I think. That isn’t the complete reason for Dorian’s interest in Manon, but it’s a part. Dorian alludes to that himself when he says Manon isn’t breakable like a human woman. Post KoA, I’d imagine Aedion and Dorian would become friends over time. He still may not get what Dorian sees in Manon, but I don’t see him being concerned by it.

I think KoA ends on such a hopeful note that it’s safe to say all the characters would want to see Manorian happy. Especially because of Manon and the Thirteen’s sacrifice and Dorian’s courage in the war.

And let’s be real, Yrene would harass anyone who thought differently 😂

[lgbtqreads]

any recs with best friend's sibling and siblings best friends? (mainly w/w and w/m) any genre really, I've been in the mood for this trope

Here you go! You can always find these here: https://lgbtqreads.com/romanceadult/by-tropearchetype/

M/M

A Hundred Thousand Words by Nyrae Dawn (NA)

Hard Sell by Hudson Lin

F/F

Her Best Friend’s Sister by Meghan O’Brien (Amz)

In Her Court by Tamsen Parker (Amz)

[littlemdzsdump]

Hey love your little xicheng ficlets!

Could you possibly write me one in which Jin Ling gets injured or sth. On a night hunt and JC may be angry but most of all worried so when a dizzy and half passed out JL asks him to sing to him like old times, he (JC) ignores WWX "but he doesn't have a musical bone in his body?!?!" And sings to him? And a certain sect leader fresh out of seclusion falls in love even more to the point he just HAS to confess ?

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

thank you for being my first ask! this is for you! <3  .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

~~~

“Shit, grab him!” Jiang Cheng yells above the flurry of swords. He doesn’t have time to fully check on his nephew when he turns back to whip Zidian blindly in his grasp. The snake demon is merciless, having hunted the souls of too many and tormented the outskirts of a small rural town for too long. 

The Jiang Clan was adamant about ending it tonight. 

It was supposed to be a quick night hunt, great practice for younger cultivators. One of the biggest reasons why Jiang Cheng had allowed his nephew’s presence in such events. Everything had been set, they had more than enough manpower, there were other dependable (he guesses, Wei Wuxian is dependable, Lan Wangji sure is though) chaperones and Jin Ling had even invited his little friends along.

But Jiang Cheng had over looked one small detail; that being his nephew’s incredibly stupid stubborn personality who would rather die, then miss a planned night hunt because of a fever. 

The teen had done such a good job at hiding his illness until their current battleground, where Jiang Cheng had just seen him fall to the ground.

Jiang Cheng moves to the rear as Lan Wangji and his husband take the front. Wei Wuxian uses Chenqing to play a subduing melody as Lan Wanji deals the final blow to rid the creature once and for all. Jiang Cheng doesn’t see it, he’s too busy running to the small group of kids surrounding his nephew.

“Hey, Jin Ling, look at me. Don’t be like this...”

“Do you think that the cut is poisoned,” Zizhen’s voice carries over nervously.

Jiang Cheng’s stomach rolls at the notion and he nearly barrels into the group if it weren’t for their quick reflexes. He finds Jin Ling sat on a small rock, hunched over as he holds his arm. His bow is laid lopsided besides him, something already uncharacteristic. When Jiang Cheng kneels down to face him, large drops of sweat dot his red flushed face. 

“A-Ling, hey, do you know where you are?” Jiang Cheng asks, holding his nephew’s shoulder. It takes longer than Jiang Cheng would have liked for Jin Ling to notice him. When the teen looks up, his eyes are bleary. 

“Jiu-jiu,” Jin Ling calls out softly. Jiang Cheng bites his lip, holding onto Jin Ling’s face as to keep him from falling straight into Jiang Cheng’s chest. 

“Stay awake for Jiu-jiu, you hear me? I have to check your wound. At least do that for me Jin Ling,” Jiang Cheng bites out, shifting the teen to lean into his arms as he checks the gash. It takes a bit of coaxing to get Jin Ling to release the hold on his upper arm. Only when Sizhui manages to gently pry his fingers away does he see the gash that’s marred there. It’s an ugly thing despite how small it is. From the looks of it, it seems shallow, which is a blessing. But Jing Lin’s forehead feels too warm against the bottom of Jiang Cheng’s throat. 

“Jiang Cheng,” 

He looks up at the call of his name, finally noticing his brother’s quick approach with Lan Wangji in tow. He’s also surprised to notice another silhouette of white besides the invited Lan.

“What’s happened to Jin Ling? Why does he look so bad?” Wei Wuxian immediately questions as he kneels down to look at Jin Ling.

“He had a fever before he came out here with us. Then during the fight the snake demon managed to nab him on the arm” Jingyi quickly explains, clutching his sword tightly. 

“No fever, fine...”

“Fine?” Jiang Cheng almost roars. But Jin Ling’s warm breath is becoming labored and Jiang Cheng is more fearful than he likes to feel. 

“We’re going to back to Lotus Pier now,” Jiang Cheng says, already beginning to get a sturdy grip on Jin Ling when he feels a gentle hand on his shoulder. Jiang Cheng looks up to meet Lan Xichen’s worried eyes. 

“Let me check on his wound again. We should bandage it up so he won’t lose anymore blood.” Lan Xichen suggests. Jiang Cheng wants to protest; his nephew is as ill as he is, isn’t this enough of a reason for him to teleport back to Lotus Pier?

“He’s hurt like this--”

“Please, let me help,” Lan Xichen pleads, eyes locking with Jiang Cheng.

Let me help you

~

The small fire that they make warms the mild night. Everyone is huddled closely to conserve warmth. 

Jiang Cheng is sat with Jin Ling closest to the fire. Lan Xichen is kneeled on the opposite side, wrapping a tight bandage around Jin Ling’s wound. With the fire crackling before them, Jiang Cheng places his hand on Jin Ling’s forehead once again. His skin is still hot, but not as flushed as it had been when he had just come from the fight. Leaned in his Uncle’s arms, Jin Ling almost looks relaxed. 

Jiang Cheng’s eyes roam around the fire, catching Lan Wanji and Wei Wuxian sharing a deep blue Lan cape. Near the other side of the circle, the three teens sit close together, legs and shoulders brushing. Jiang Cheng tries to ignore the lingering looks that pass over Jin Ling’s exhausted form.

“Jiu-Jiu” Jin Ling asks.

“Jiu-Jiu’s here,” Jiang Cheng responds immediately. He feels his nephew let out a tired sigh. 

“Can you sing for me? Like when I was small?” Jin Ling asks eyes blinking open to catch a glimpse of the orange firelight before closing again. Jiang Cheng looks down, hoping that the teen is only sleep talking. But he’s surprised to meet with eyes wide open, imploring him.

“A-Ling,” Jiang Cheng starts, but Jin Ling continues to stare.

“A-Ling, don’t tease your Uncle like that. He doesn’t have a musical bone in his body,” Wei Wuxian tells Jin Ling. Jin Ling’s gaze moves from Jiang Cheng’s face to sleepily shift over to his other Uncle. 

“You haven’t heard him sing before,” Jin Ling replies, before leaning deeper into Jiang Cheng’s embrace. Jiang Cheng huffs at his nephew, warmed by something different than Jin Ling’s body temperature.

“Sing Jiu-Jiu, please” Jin Ling asks, one last time. Jiang Cheng sighs, at his nephew. But he concedes. The fire crackles, sending small floating lights up to the night sky. In the soft pause, Jiang Cheng sings.

Long nights by the hearth are warm in love And the day smiles at the dawn that renews Stand here with me I hold you Stay here with me I cherish you

When Jiang Cheng looks down to check on his nephew, he’s satisfied to see that Jin Ling has truly fallen asleep. When Jiang Cheng looks up again, he catches many pairs of widened eyes.

“Your voice is so good!”

“I can’t believe you can actually sing!”

“Can you do another song?”

“Marry me,”

Jiang Cheng’s head whips to the side towards the final voice. Lan Xichen stares at him, eyes deep and bright and amber in the reflected firelight. Jiang Cheng looks at Lan Xichen incredulously; he’s rendered completely speechless. 

“I--”

“Let me court you. Let me serenade you and show you how you have always made me feel,” Lan Xichen says, quickly, hurriedly. It is so un-Lan of him that Jiang Cheng can’t quite believe it. The rest of the group falls to the background. 

“I don’t want you to think that this has come out of nowhere. I have...I have always had my affections. And tonight has showed me, just another reason for my admiration for you, Jiang Wanyin”

Jiang Cheng sucks in a soft breath, looking down at Jin Ling if just to have something to look at other than the person beside him. 

The quiet that surrounds everyone is not even interrupted by the crackling hearth.

“Can you please...can you please let me...be with you?” Lan Xichen asks quietly.

Another pause, bated breath underlying.

“...You can try...” Jiang Cheng answers, though he doesn’t find the strength to meet eyes with Lan Xichen as he continues, “Be with me.”

Jiang Cheng finally looks up to meet Lan Xichen’s eyes, bashful but glowing in the warmth of the fire. 

And Jiang Cheng doesn’t forget to hush Wei Wuxian when he wolf whistles too loudly, mindful of Jin Ling’s restful slumber.

[hamiltonimagines]

What Is He Doing?

Pairing: Lin x Reader

Request: “Hi! Uhm, I'm not sure if you still take requests but cpuld you maybe do a teen fluff and a wee bit of angst of Lin. I was thinking maybe y/n would be Eliza's understudy and Eliza(Pippa) called in sick so she has to be the one to perform and there'd be a little skit that isn't really a skit and y/n starts to panic because why did no one give her this script so she stands still mentally panicking and then as she is in the midst of panicking, Lin speaks to the mic confessing and asking her to court her or smthn. I mean, of course y/n always have had feelings for Lin” - @irlydontknoanymore

Word Count: 1k

I was hanging out in Lin’s dressing room. We were about to do a whole show where we just had our friends and family in the audience. I wasn’t going to perform though, I was Pippa’s understudy, so I would just be watching the show.

Lin and I had become really close throughout rehearsals and we always hung out together before the shows. Then Lin’s phone began to ring. He quickly answered it and as he talked on the phone, I noticed his face drop.

He hung up the phone and set his phone back down. “What’s wrong?” I asked him. “Please don’t be mad at me” Lin said, hesitantly. “Just tell me” I said, trying to end his stalling.

“Pippa just called in sick, she's been throwing up all morning. You have to go on for her” Lin said, carefully. “Okay” I said, not upset at all. “You’re not upset?” He asked me, shocked. “I’m her understudy, it’s my job” I told him. “Yeah, but this is the show with all our family” he said. Then it dawned on me. I had totally forgotten that, then I felt more pressure to not screw up.

“Oh crap, what if I mess up? I don’t want to disappoint anyone’s family” I said, starting to worry. “You will do fine, you’ve already done so many shows” he said, rubbing my arm and trying to console me.

“Yeah, but that was strangers. These are people we all know. My parents are going to be out there. This is so much more pressure” I said, suddenly thinking of every possible way I could mess up.

He cupped my face and looked me in the eyes. “I swear to you, I wouldn’t of cast you as Pippa’s understudy if I didn’t think you could do it and be absolutely fantastic” he said, and that calmed me down for a second.

“I have to go get changed” I said, just then realizing it. I ran down the hall to the costume department and got on my dress. I finished getting dressed, just as they made the announcement for five minutes until places.

I was standing near Renée before I went on for the opening number. “You are going to do amazing” she said, giving me a quick hug. I smiled at her and then went on stage at my cue.

We had gotten through the first few numbers and it was going well. At the end of each song, I would get so relieved that I made it through that song, only to realize I still a lot more songs that I had to get through.

Then it was time to go on for Helpless and this was the song I was most nervous for. It was Eliza’s first big number and I was terrified I would forget the words or trip over my feet.

Everything was going well, then we got to the part where Alexander and Eliza are talking after Eliza’s father has given them his blessing. Lin took my hands in his and it really helped to calm me down. I felt grounded and the nerves were gone.

Then all of a sudden, Lin was singing lines that weren’t in the script. Had he forgotten his lines? Was he just doing improv? I couldn’t help, but wonder “what is he doing?”. I started to panic, all the rehearsals in the world couldn’t of prepared me for this.

Then the music stopped playing and I started to listen to what Lin was saying.

Y/N, the world might think I have it all with the musicals and the award shows

But there’s just one thing I’m missing

That’s you

Your smile lights up my days

Your laugh is music to my ears

You are a beacon of happiness

Nothing would make me happier than to be able to call you mine

Then he stopped and just smiled at me. At this point, the audience had caught on and they were all gasping in shock.

“Will you go out with me?” He asked me, and I couldn’t even hide the smile on my face. “Yes” I said, smiling. Then he pulled me into the most romantic kiss. He held me really close to him and I could feel him pour his love into the kiss.

Then we pulled away and just smiled at each other. The whole crowd that was comprised of our families burst out in applause. “I’m sorry ladies and gentlemen, we will get right back to the show, but I had to make sure Y/N was surrounded by all her friends and family when I asked her out” Lin explained.

Then I saw Pippa in the audience, the whole sickness had been made up. Just so Lin could ask me out on stage. The amount of effort he put into this really touched my heart.

The rest of the show felt so natural and I didn’t have a single nerve. I don’t know why, but all of a sudden I felt more confident than I ever had.

As soon the show was done, I pulled Lin into my dressing room. “That was your plan all along?” I asked him, still kind of shocked. “Absolutely, I even had Pippa fake being sick. The whole cast knew about it” Lin explained.

“And none of them told me? I’m hurt” I joked. “That would ruin the whole surprise. And then we wouldn’t be standing here right now and you wouldn’t have this huge smile on your face. It took forever to plan, but this smile makes it all worth it” he said, cheekily.

I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him for another kiss and he kissed me back. “I really appreciate all the effort you put into this” I told him, after we pulled away. “Anything for you” he said, kissing my temple.

“Now come on, I get to go introduce you to my parents” I said, smirking. “But I’ve already met them” he said, confused. “Not as my boyfriend” I stated, matter of factly while pulling him out the door to find my family.

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[acesgroupchat]

Breath enters his lungs with the delicacy of a late spring breeze, soft as a whisper. It catches him completely by surprise, and for a moment he can do nothing but lie, flat on his back somewhere unknown, with air in his lungs and a heart beating warm in his chest. He can feel the orange segments, smooth under his palm and humming palpably with life.

If he had had time to think, he might have imagined that he would arrive at Meiling, just as he had all those years ago. But he can feel floorboards under his shoulders, and the air carries the faintest scent of incense. The air is still and mild. Wherever he is, he is not on a mountaintop.

He is preparing to open his eyes when he hears footsteps approaching, closely followed by a gasp and then a loud crash very nearby. He rolls, opening his eyes, and is presented in quick succession with his family’s shrine, lit by soft candlelight and, on the floor, Jingyan.

Jingyan is on his knees, crouching with wide eyes fixed on Mei Changsu’s face. One of his hands is outstretched along the floor, almost brushing the edge of Mei Changsu’s robe. He is frozen, barely breathing, eyes brimming with tears that have not quite started to fall. Mei Changsu sits up and takes Jingyan’s outstretched hand in his own. He can feel the shudder that goes through Jingyan then, and he watches as Jingyan’s eyes squeeze shut, tears finally spilling over his cheeks. His hand moves without thinking, cupping Jingyan’s cheek, wiping away his tears, and for a moment Jingyan flinches away, before he leans into the touch. The hand under his closes, clinging tightly.

He reaches for something, anything, to say, but finds his tongue bound and still. They sit together in silence, unmoving but for Jingyan’s quiet sobs. At long last, Jingyan opens his eyes and takes a breath.

“How?” he gasps. His voice is hoarse and raw.

Mei Changsu feels a rueful smile spread across his face. “I’m not really sure. Lin Chen says I’m not completely mortal anymore.”

“Who?” Jingyan’s expression is puzzled now, and Mei Changsu realizes with a jolt that though Lin Chen knows every detail of Jingyan’s life, Jingyan has met him only twice, and never been introduced.

“Death. He and I are—“ he reaches for some way of explaining Lin Chen and finds, once again, that his words have failed him entirely. Even worse, he’s blushing, which Jingyan has noticed.

Jingyan’s face grows incredulous. “You’ve become lovers with the god of death, Xiao-Shu?”

He has a half-formed protest at the label on his tongue, but really, he has no better explanation. His blush intensifies, which Jingyan apparently takes as an answer. He chuckles.

“Only you, Xiao-Shu. Only you.” After a moment, his face softens. “And he sent you back?”

Mei Changsu finds his tongue. “He did. He knew that I missed you.” The orange segments lie forgotten on the floor by his hip. He retrieves them. “These will let me walk in the living world unharmed.”

Jingyan traces reverential fingers across the taut skin of the fruit, before raising his eyes again to Mei Changsu’s face. There is determination in the line of his mouth. “How long do you have?”

“Six months. I go back at the start of winter.”

Jingyan nods. “I suppose we had best make use of the time we have, then.”

Mei Changsu feels a smile spread across his face. He leans in close, and Jingyan follows. His mouth is hot under Mei Changsu’s own. He tastes like living. When Jingyan pulls him back to the floor, he follows.

Spring turns to summer, and Jinling hums with life. Da Liang has entered a golden age, and the capital rings with the sounds of living, easy and joyful. The days stretch long and honey sweet, and Mei Changsu takes equal delight in assisting Jingyan in his work and coaxing him away from it. He’s not sure quite what explanation Jingyan gave to the ministers and eunuchs, to give him such free run of the palace, but he feels little compunction making full use of his privileges. The sly glances of the servants carry their own message, unlooked-for approval from the palace’s many residents. Jingyan carries himself with a new lightness these days, and it seems that everyone has noticed.

Mei Changsu lets the sun follow him as much as he can, drinks his fill of work and leisure. If he misses Lin Chen’s biting wit from time to time, well, winter is coming on faster every day. Autumn arrives, and the court sets out once again for Jiuan mountain, this time with Jingyan at the head of the column.

Mei Changsu will never be as he was before, the young general who has never known pain or limitation, but with the final orange section still bright on his tongue and the ache of living no longer clawing at his bones, he is well enough to ride at Jingyan’s side, even to accompany him on short excursions into the forests. The outdoors suit Jingyan, and beneath the trees he has never looked more alive, vital and awake, brimming with joy and good humor.

They stay the whole month on Jiuan mountain, surrounded by fresh air and sunlight. The morning they are set to return dawns cold and sharp, the first frost of the year thick on the ground. Jingyan is in high spirits still, riding at his side, but his eyes stray perhaps once to often towards the grass, before the rising sun chases the chill away.

It is not long after that he wakes in the night to a biting chill in the air and the echo of a familiar ache in his bones. Jingyan is warm beside him, still and solid in his arms under silk and furs, but even here in the bedroom he can see his breath. Something calls him to the doorway, and he looks out to see snow falling, thick white flakes glowing in the moonlight. The still night carries the sharp, clean taste of ice.

He hears Jingyan stirring behind him, and he turns away from the night, returning to bed just as Jingyan wakes. His hands are gentle as he reaches for Mei Changsu, but as he opens his eyes he draws back suddenly. Mei Changsu does not need to look. He can feel Lin Chen’s presence, just over his shoulder, following him in with the cold. It’s time.

Jingyan takes a single ragged breath, but is cut off when Lin Chen shoulders past Mei Changsu to sit on the edge of the bed. “Your highness,” he says, inclining his head in a manner that is absolutely not a bow. Jingyan recovers himself and closes his mouth. “My lord,” he replies, his voice only a little hoarse. “Thank you for the time you—“

Lin Chen cuts him off with a wave of his hand. “Think nothing of it.” He turns a wry smile on Mei Changsu. “Time is of very little concern to me, and I would not dare deny one who wields such power as this one in my own realms. Who knows what sort of bizarre inconveniences the divine talent might dream up if left unsupervised.”

There are tears in his eyes, but Jingyan’s chest hitches in a single, soft laugh. His eyes turn towards Mei Changsu, and he reaches out with a hesitant hand. His fingers are growing cold in the night air. Mei Changsu presses his hand between his own, searching for words that he cannot quite find.

Lin Chen prods his shoulder with a single sharp finger. “Don’t look so morose. It’s only for the winter. You’ll be back here harassing ministers before you know it.”

He feels Jingyan’s hand jerk in his own, matched by the way his own breath catches in his chest. He swallows. “I will?”

Lin Chen draws his fan from his sleeve, flicking it open. “Of course. I can hardly let you run wild through my realm all year. When would I enjoy the peace of my gardens, then?” The fan waves lazily in front of his face, but there is something soft in his eyes.

“Well I wouldn’t want to inconvenience one so powerful as yourself.” Even behind the fan, he can see Lin Chen’s silent laugh. “Perhaps his highness could offer me a more permanent place here.” Jingyan would, he knows, but he can feel the cold beginning to take its toll on his borrowed body. He watches as Lin Chen relents.

“Well, Fei Liu would miss you. He’s nearly unmanageable these days as it is.” Lin Chen shifts, and Mei Changsu is rather suddenly desperate to find his way back to the garden, with its timeless blooming warmth.

He turns to Jingyan, who is already smiling at him gently, the shadows gone from his eyes. Jingyan catches his jaw in his hand, pulls him into a long, slow kiss. As he pulls back, he knocks their foreheads together momentarily. “I’ll see you in the spring, Xiao-Shu.”

Lin Chen’s hand finds his own, tender and inexorable as his touch always is. Jingyan’s fingers trace his jaw as he releases him. Jingyan’s bedroom is already fading. He thinks of the spring, when he will walk these halls again, when Jingyan will be waiting. He thinks of the underworld opening its arms to him, his family waiting, the mercy and the respite. He turns to Lin Chen, steady by his side, and he steps into the dark.