#mark X elizabeta | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sirenreading · 3 years

Text

Reincarnation🥀

Paring: Vampire!Ezra x F!reader

Summary: Ezra spent years looking for his lost love whom the Gods promised would return to him.

Rating: Explicit (18+)

Word count: 2.3k

Warning: mentions of : blood and death, PIV, unprotected sex, biting, age gap (obviously) , no use of y/n.

A/N: finally able to post this after writing it for a week, was on such a bad writers burn out ugh anyways enjoy! sorry for any mistakes if i missed them while editing! (creds to @/cinewhore for the idea of vampire!ezra) (creds to gif owner)

You walked down the dark hallways of an unknown castle. Your black floor length dress dragging behind you as you finally see light coming from inside of a room, Quickly making your way in, Your met with a tall man, he's handsome with brown eyes; That stare right into your soul. And a smile showing you his white fangs. You begin to slowly back away as he slowly approaches you. “Don't be scared my love, I have finally found you. This will only hurt for a second.” As he grabs you by the arm, sinking his teeth into your neck.

You awake, Your whole body hot, Sweat coming down your forehead, You try to slow your breathing, throwing the blanket off of you to run to look into the mirror.

No bite marks.

“Sir Ezra, all the invitations have been sent.” A small voice said, Ezra stood looking out the window of his castle; that sat at the tallest hill a little outside of the village. “Perfect.” He said ”Thank you.” slightly turning his head, waving the maid away. She quickly made her way out before Ezra could change his mind and have her as an evening snack.

‘You are hereby invited to Sir Ezra’s Masquerade Ball’

You read the small note, Sent to you and every other woman in the town. Sir Ezra threw this party every 20 or so years, Some say out of pure fun, Some think he's searching for something, or someone.

You set the letter down and go hop in the bath to prepare to do your chores. Once you showered and done your hair, You put on a simple dress from your closet and made sure to pack your knife, That your late father gave you for safety.

On your way to the watering hole you saw women and girls of all ages making their way into dress and fabric stores, All getting ready for the ball. You didn't understand why everyone was so excited to meet this man.’ He stayed up in his castle looking down at all of us like ants.’ you thought

You looked up through the trees and could see the dark castle shrouded by fog, Shaking your head as you continued on.

Ezra sat up in his bed, After dismissing another maid, He barely gave her time to recover before sending her back to her duties. She pulled back on her clothes and whipped the leftover blood on her neck, Before making her way out. Ezra let out a brief sigh, As he stood and retrieved his robe, Wrapping it around his naked body.

He heard three knocks to the door and told them to come in. “How are we this evening Sir?” His butler asked, Obviously asking about the sexual encounter. “She was like the rest of them, Beautiful but, Not her.” Ezra looked out at the midnight sky, looking up to see the stars and the full moon.

“Sir, Your reincarnated love will find her way to you soon, just as the Gods promised; I’m sure of it.” Ezra wasn't sure at this point living as long as he had, Having all the women he had, Throwing ball and the one with the face of his love nowhere to be found. “Sir, The ball is tomorrow, You never know. She may finally turn up.

Ezra turned to him, “I hope you're right.”

That night you awake from your dream once again, You’d had this dream countless times, Never understanding why or what was happening. You would walk into a room, see the vampire and he would bite you, walking you up. You wanted to understand who this man was, And what he wanted with you.

Ezra also awakens from a dream or i guess this is more of a nightmare, The same dream he had since his wife, Elizabeta died. He would go off to war not before giving his wife a tender kiss, Telling her he would return, Only to return to his home, With blood all over him, Finding his wife’s deceased body. Picking her up and holding her against his chest as his tears fell, Yelling to the Gods asking why.

Ezra walked into the bathroom running water over his breaded face. He would have to get one of the maids to save it for him later seeing he couldn't do it himself.

The ball a mere hours away, But all Ezra could think about is having to spend eternity without his soulmate, He’d lost her once, But his future foretold him that he would see her face, on another , again. So he was patient.

You sat as your friend finished putting your hair up in a neat but tight updo. You looked in the mirror at your makeup, the curled lashes along with the dark red lip you had on felt out of place.

“You look perfect.” Your friend said as she finished with your hair. “Thank you.” You gave a small, fake smile. She sighed as she sat next to you. “Ever since I talked you into going to this ball you've been upset, What's wrong?”

“Nothing, I'm just nervous.” You looked down at your gloved hands. “Nervous of what? That Sir Ezra will take a look at you and Fuck you?” you both giggled.

“Of course not, But i've been having these weird dreams, I dont kn-'' Before you could finish you both looked to see her mother knocked at the door, Telling you both the ball begins soon and it was time to make your way up the hill. You both quickly put on your masks and run out the door.

As you both sat in the carriage your friend arranged for you, You stared out the window, As you gained closer to the castle the fog became more intense, You couldn't barely see, the mask was no help. The carriage made a sudden stop, You both got out hand and hand making your way to the opened door of the castle, Maids in dresses greeted all the guests.

You walked into the open ballroom, The room was crowded with people from your town, and even some who didn't look familiar. Your friend whispered that she was going to find a dance partner and you waved her off trying to not show how nervous you were. Something about this castle felt familiar, you couldn't explain it.

You watched all the people in the ballroom as they began a slow song and slowly stepped away to the garden outside. You found the garden to be peaceful. Hopefully it will help calm your nerves. You walked towards a fountain with a dove on top, the only noise coming from the drips of water.

“It's a beautiful night isn't it.” I deep voice said behind you, You gasped quickly turning to see a man, very tall, you couldn't make out his face, due to the mask that covered his eyes, but he could see his deep brown eyes, and tan skin with a little bit of stubble around his chin and mouth.“I didn't mean to scare you Miss, My apologies.” He nodded, as he was about to walk away. You stopped him.

“It's fine, I j-just very nervous, I couldn't even tell you why, Thought i’d just catch some fresh air.” he nodded understanding “may i?”

He said sitting with you on the bench, The two of you staring up at the sky.

“I also needed a break from the party.” Ezra said, breaking the silence. “No nerves, just tired of waiting.” You looked over at him. Something about him felt so familiar. “Tired of waiting for wha-” Before you could finish, A butler holding a tray, called for the man sitting next to you. Sadly only calling him ‘Sir’ so you didn't catch his name, He politely dismissed himself, telling you to enjoy the party before disappearing back into the castle.

After a few more minutes alone you decided to make your way back into the party.

You felt a sudden shiver go up your spine and cold air went across the back of your neck, You turned to see a dark hallway. Just like the one in your dreams, You turned to see if any other guests were experiencing it too, Only to see everyone dancing, laughing, and getting drunk.

You slowly walk down the hall,’ This is stupid’ You think to yourself, ‘You know how this ends.’

You opened a room far from the party and came face to face with something you’d never seen in your dreams, a painting of a woman, she was wearing a dated dress with her hair down her back in a braid.

You and her were identical, You couldn't believe it. You began to breathe heavily and took steps back to leave the room, before you bumped into the hard chest of someone behind you.

“Hello, mi amor” He said into your ear, You turned to see the man who had been haunting your dreams for a year. You wanted to scream but could barely make one out.

“Mi amor, I've finally found you.” He said, grabbing your face between his cold hands. You tried pulling away but he was too strong.

“Don't be scared. I would never hurt you.” You turned your chin up forcing you to look into his eyes. You noticed the small blonde hair streak. “It’s you.” you said whispered.

“You are just as beautiful.” He was lost in your eyes, he couldn't believe he'd found you after all this time. “As all those years ago.” He leaned in kissing your plump lips, You immediately fell under his spell. His lips had a faint taste of blood, but it didn't bother you. A tear fell from Ezra’s eye, He finally found the woman he would spend eternity with, His soulmate.

Once you two finally broke the kiss, you stared at each other once more before Ezra picked you up, setting you on the bed.

“I'll be back mi amor.” He said giving you one more peck on the lips.

Ezra made his way to the ballroom, whispering to the butlers that everyone was to go home at once and all maids and butlers were dismissed for the night. They nodded and Ezra made his way back to you.

While Ezra was away you looked around the room, seeing old photos, books all looked hundreds of years old.

You heard the door crick behind you and you slowly turned, Seeing Ezra put a smile on your face, You barely knew the man, But something about him brought you comfort. Ezra noticed you were lost in thought and asked what was on your mind.

“At first when I had all those dreams, I was scared, terrified of what they meant, I thought it was showing me my future… my death. But here with you, I feel safe.”

Ezra smiled down at you “It's because you are her” Pointing to the woman in the painting, “My wife, my soulmate , my Elizabeta. I searched for hundreds of years to find you, I almost gave up, I was told by the Gods, If I continued to search I would find you.” He stood looking at the painting.

“And I did.” He turned to you making his way towards you.

Taking your lips once more, Your hands tangled in his hair as he picked you up placing you on the edge of the bed. He began to unbutton his dress shirt, leaving him in only his dress pants.

He took in his chest, Everything about him was so familiar and perfect.

“Mi amor, May I?” Asking permission to remove your dress, You nodded eagerly. He unzipped the dress, letting it drop to your hips, before pulling it completely off, leaving you in a bralette and panties. He finished undressing himself , and crawled onto the bed to unhook your bra, throwing it across the room.

“May I taste you, mi amor?” He asked already sinking to his knees, you eagerly shook your head yes, He began trailing kissing from your foot all the way to you thighs, stopping before he got to your core, and slowly sank his fangs into them, you threw back your head in pleasure, you’d been nervous it would be painful but he’s taken all your worry away.

He licked the leaking blood before moving onto your folds, he lapped at them, drinking your juices before taking his fingers and slowly fucking them into you, spreading your lips apart and attacking your clit as he did so. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you ran your fingers through his soft hair. You told him you were close, he immediately crawled up to meet you face to face, “We're going to come together.”

Ezra kissed you as he slowly sank himself into you, you moaned allowing him to sneak his tongue into your mouth--His hands grabbed at the flesh on your hips roughly. “I've waited a thousand years for this mi amor.” He said as his hips barred into you, With his precise movements he lifted your thighs, “I could show you so many things.” trying to get himself deeper. “Just one bite and we can have eternity.” he said into your ear, the heat from his voice attacking your neck.

You were writhing beneath him. You were so close. “Ezra” you barely made out, your breath shaky. He starts applying sloppy thrusts as he tries to ride out his orgasm , you could hear the moans slipping from his lips into your ear, his warm breath behind your neck. Your hands gripping the white stain sheets on the bed.

“Mark me , Ezra.” You finally make out with a shaky voice, Ezra takes a quick look deep into your eyes, still deep inside of you, asking once again for permission to bite you and make you one of him. You nodded as well as you could before he sunk his teeth into your neck, making you let out a moan as your eyes rolled to the back of your head. “ Te quiero mi amor, now we have eternity.”

****

JOIN MY TAG LIST

#ezra prospect x reader #ezra x female reader #ezra (prospect)#vampire!ezra #pedro pascal fic #pedro pascal fanfiction #goddessofsprings #prospect fanfiction

93 notes · View notes

the-scribe-and-her-scribbles · 3 years

Text

iwcb | chapter 9. hospitality pt. 2

it will come back | fae!prussia x reader| chapter 9

it will come back Masterlist and Summary

word count: 7452

chapter warnings: Violence against Alfred and Matthew (I’m sorry but Gilbert thinks they’ve had it coming), a Mimic being used as a close-range projectile (rip Lukas but you actually had it coming)

tagging: @jtownraindancer, @redrosesociety1, @xxruinaxx

author’s note!!!!: This chapter marks the OFFICIAL half way point! Their are only 8 chapters left after this one! Thank you to everyone who’s read, commented, reblogged, and saved this story! You are the reason I am so excited to write! Without further ado, I give you...

chapter 9. hospitality pt 2

Vash grabs Gilbert by the back of his shirt and drags him inside.

“You!” He points. “Did he put you up to this?”

Your eyes widen and you can’t do anything but nod.

“Hey!”

“Shut up, Gilbert! I told you this was a bad idea.”

“Come with me,” he says sternly, dragging Gilbert away by the back of his shirt.

You follow him up the stone path towards the large manor that sits up the hill. A garden spreads out across the front garden. While the fall weather should have reduced the garden to a sad shrivelled state, the lush vines and shrubs that made up the wall that protects the manor also fill their beds with lush greens. Even some late-blooming flowers are still holding strong against the cold.

You reach the solid stone steps of the great house, and Vash knocks firmly on the door. The sound spreads out, echoing around you. You can feel the vibrations in your feet. Without touching the entrance, the double doors push in, opening up to let you in by themselves. He drags you through the beautiful main hall of the manor and to one of the main rooms, pushing the double doors open and shoving the two of you inside. You land on the expensive green carpet and look up.

Sitting on a couch with a book nestled in her lap, is a beautiful woman dressed in green, looking at the both of you with an eyebrow raised. She looks mostly human, except for piercing green eyes, and long pointy ears.

“Gilbert.”

“Hello, Elizabeta,” Gilbert says stiffly.

“Certainly, you are old enough to know that sneaking into someone’s home is rude.” She says. Her body is supernaturally still, apart from the arms that set her book onto a side table.

“It may have slipped my mind.”

Her eyes harden and her face twists into a sour purse. “I am so furious with you.”

“Oh, not this. I just got back,” Gilbert groans.

“Exactly! After being gone for 75 years! Locked in a library even my charms couldn’t break! You were an idiot. I can’t believe one being could be as hard-headed and! And!”

“Darling?” A voice calls. “Are you alright?”

The door swings open and a man wearing slim black pants and a crisp purple suit jacket stands in the door. Out from his brown hair, two rams horns stick out.

He looks at Gilbert in shock.

“Roderich!” Gilbert calls. “You stupid aristocrat! You’re still here? I would have thought she’d have kicked you out by now?” Gilbert says first.

“Oh shut up, you heathen.” The well-dressed man bites out.

You don’t know what to say, but being caught in the middle of this exchange is making you increasingly uncomfortable. The brunette ignores the argument that’s breaking out between Gilbert.

"This is my husband," she introduces, then looks at you expectantly.

“Hi,” you mumble. “I’m the one that broke him out of magic jail.”

“I figured, dear,” She says kindly, before scowling at Gilbert once more. “And I can’t believe you would force this poor thing to break into my house for you!”

“Vash wouldn’t have let us in! He’s still pissed at me”

“He’s right, I wouldn’t of. ” The blond man standing above you mutters.

“And we’ve been running from two of Arthur’s men for a day now! There wasn’t much time to grovel,” Gilbert bites out.

From your bag, a mewl sounds out. Your face heats up when everyone looks at you. Slowly, you reach into the bag and pull out your new travelling companion, your mimic. Roderich looks horrified in the way that any aristocrat would, Eliza wears a look of quiet shock, but Vash shares his shock verbally.

“What the fuck?”

“Her name is Muffin,” you say, “And she’s very sweet.” Muffin lets out a growl that contradicts the statement.

“That things not staying here!” Vash sputters

“I already tried to get her to leave it behind, it’s not going to work.” Gilbert defends you.

“Quiet, you too!” Elizabeta scolds. “I think we can make an exception for one mimic. Now tell me about the shit-show you’ve cast yourselves into.”

Gilbert goes on to explain what’s happened to the two of you the past four days. About the library and how you got out, how the two of you passed through the village and got attacked, that you found Ludwig at his cabin, and that now, you were helping him find his magic items to destroy the library.

Eliza was very interested in the fact that you’d fallen into Gilbert’s prison by accident and if Arthur and Lukas had made it into the wandering woods yet.

“Ludwig and I guessed that we have time before they can organize and get here,” Gilbert says to her. She nods, emerald green eyes sharply staring into the fireplace of the sitting room.

“We won’t be here long,” Gilbert says. “Only for the night.”

Elizabeta looks at him, and you can tell that despite how much of an asshole he is to her and her husband, they are close friends. “You can stay all long as you need”

“And you should definitely have a bath.” Roderich cringes. “You’re both filthy.”

“Jee, thanks.” You say.

“What my husband means is that the two of you are welcome to anything while you stay here,” Elizabeta says.

“A healing potion would also be nice,” Gilbert says. You look at him quizzically. “For your head,” he reminds you. “And all the other bumps and bruises you got.”

If you were being honest with yourself, you’d forgotten about that, but you defiantly wouldn’t complain. The side of your body that you landed on has been aching since you fell on in during the Wild Magic surge, and your headache has returned.

Eliza nods and looks at you. “I think I’ll have something for you.”

Vash lets go of the two of you after Elizabeta orders it and leaves to do whatever the knight of an estate tends to. Eliza gets up from her seat and motions for you and Gilbert to come with her. With Roderich accompanying you (and continuing to exchange sly remarks with Gilbert out of his wife’s earshot), she takes you through the rest of the house. The walls are a dark green colour with rich, dark wood floors and ornate lamplights. There’s a grand staircase that leads you up to the second level.

Roderich turns down a hallway, leading Gilbert away from you. You look at him, only slightly worried about splitting up. He gives you a nod and waves gently as he turns down the hallway. You’ll be fine, I’ll see you soon.

Not an end,

But the start of all things

That are left to do

You follow Elizabeta down another corridor of the large house. At the chance to look out through one of the tall windows, you see the grounds of Roderich and Elizabeta’s estate. Beautiful gardens and fields stretch out to reach a tall shrub wall. Strange, because from the outside of the wall, the property didn’t seem so large.

You turn into a room, a guest suite probably, and Eliza has you sit down. You plop down on the floral-patterned couch, your hands, which like the rest of you are covered in grime, are kept on your lap so that you don’t dirty anything.

Eliza walks through a door in the room and you hear the sound of running water. So the Unseen World has plumbing, you think to yourself. Eliza exits the bathroom and waves a hand in the air. The tinkle of bells sounds out, clear and coming from no area in particular. Without delay, the door opens and a head pokes in.

A little girl, no older than 10, with fair skin and straw blond hair littered with white flowers, speaks up.

“You called?”

“Yes, Lilly. Would you go get my potions bag from my room, please?”

The little girl nods and disappears.

“You know magic.” You say.

Eliza nods. “I taught Gilbert some of what he knows.”

Eliza leads you into the bathroom, where the claw-footed bathtub waits, filled with water. She leaves to let you get in.

Slowly, you peel off your layers. After two days of trekking through the forest, you’re body aches. You pull your chemise off over your head, and when you look at you’re body in the mirror of the bathroom, you cringe. All down the one side of you, you’re littered with bruises from when you were slammed into the ground by a wild magic surge. You cringe as you trace your fingers over the discoloured splotches.

You climb into the bathtub, the soapy water is hot against your sore muscles and you sink in up the top of your head. You run your fingers through your hair. Carefully, you feel the bruise at the back of your head. It doesn’t hurt as much as it did the first night you got it, but it’s still tender. You scrub yourself clean with the soap and washcloth left on the edge of the tub until all the sweat and grime rinses off of you.

You step out of the tub and wrap yourself with a towel, and leave the bathroom to region Eliza who’s waiting. She helps you into fresh clothes and sends the muted blue dress you’ve been wearing for the past 4 days to be washed. For now, you wear some of Elizabeta’s clothes. You’re given a new chemise, a clean petticoat and a lavender wool dress with long wide sleeves. Eliza laces up the dress at the back for you.

“You’ve seemed to have acquired quite the collection of bruises,” she remarks as she finishes.

“Well, Gilbert seems to attract a lot of trouble. But I’m sure you know that.”

“I do,” Eliza says. “Even when we were younger he was even more of a magnet for it.”

You watch her as she sorts through her potions bag. Her green eyes flicker to you, studying you carefully like she sees something about you that you don’t.

“Me and my husband, have known him for many years, long before he started his war with the courts of Albion and the North Isles.”

She speaks softly. She tells you how she and Roderich met Gilbert when he came to her for a charm or spell so long ago, and the way she speaks, who she chooses her words, and skirts around them with her tone itches at a spot in your brain.

“Ms. Eliza, I know that fae can’t lie, but they can omit details. What’s wrong.”

“I’ve taken this time to warn you,” she says softly. “About Mr. Beilschmidt.”

“You’re warning me about your friend?”

“Gilbert is my friend, but that doesn’t mean the same thing as it does to humans. He’s a great leader and a loyal brother. But he’s fae, not human. Our kind has a different philosophy when it comes to morality. Gilbert is a warrior, he is violent and dangerous.”

“Why are you telling me this?” you ask.

“Because I think that for your safety, it is important for you to know that," she says.

“While I haven’t known Gilbert as long as you or your mate has, I know he’s not good by human standards.” You study the brunette woman, watch her emerald green eyes regard you, so soft and serious, and try to understand why she’s telling you this.

“Are you saying he will hurt me?” You ask Eliza, a sick feeling rising in your throat. You think of that night in the back alley when Gilbert had killed those fae men. Remember the burning colour of his eyes surrounded by pitch black and the snarl that stretched across his face like a scar.

“No,” Elizabeta says, and it’s a small comfort. “Gilbert likes you, and he needs you to be free. But for a human who wants to get home, a fae taking a liking to you is a problem.”

You still don’t quite understand, and Eliza can tell, so she carries on. “The Unseen World and the fae that live in it reflect off of each other. We affect one another. I’m sure you’ve seen some of the human things that unseen folk like to collect.”

You remember Basil and the Jane Austen novel that sat on a bookshelf with other rare copies of human books.

“Fae love collecting things, shiny things, pretty things, rare things. We feel especially drawn to the things from beyond the Great Veil. It’s why you humans know of our unsavoury habit to spirit away the things that catch our eye, to play tricks and cause trouble in your world.”

Your grandmother’s stories ring in your head. Picture books of tiny winged creatures playing tricks on villagers and stealing household objects. Scenes of far more malicious fair folk stealing children.

Elizabeta continues. “This is mirrored by the Unseen world as well. Its magic can affect some humans in certain ways. Being stuck in the fae realm can feel strange if you don’t belong here.”

You take a deep breath and your eyes, wide and unsure meet her enchanting green ones.

“Do you feel it?” Elizabeta says to you. “The lulling, the comforting pull?”

You nod. You can. That unnerving feeling that tells every fibre of you that you don’t belong in the fae realm but that you could. If you wanted, you could. You’d just need to stay, the humming tells you. Let yourself fall in love with the faerie glamour. Swallow this world and its magic like the sickly sweet juice of spirit berries.

Stay!

“I do,” you whisper. You’re scared. The feeling thrums just behind your heart, soft, persistent, but not quite overwhelming.

She nods.

(You remember what Basil had said to you that morning in their shop. Basil had been right, that no matter how human you were, the Unseen World would try to make your stay. You know they were right the moment you walked down those stairs. Gilbert stood there about to fight what might keep him from you and you felt it. The pull, the unnerving realization that you were glad he was there.)

“What do I do?”

“Remember why you’re here,” She says. “You’re helping Gilbert only so you can get home. You know in your mind that that’s what’s best for you, but your heart is weak to my world’s magic, and it will try to convince you to stay.” Eliza’s face is stern. “You must follow your head, not your heart.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t imagine how jarring this is for you,” She says.

“No, thank you.” You say. You knew that as convincing as the arrogant frat guy persona was, Gilbert was far too cunning for you to fully trust, as distressing as that is. It was a comfort to know that someone else was informing you of what to look out for.

Elizabeta grabs a small potion bottle from her bag. Her hand glows slightly as she shakes it before uncorking it and handing it to you. The liquid inside is a clear, honey yellow and feels slightly warm in your palm.

“Drink this.” She says. “It’s a healing potion, but I should tell you that it tastes awful.”

And it does. While it’s a watery consistency that’s easy to swallow, it’s terribly bitter. Eliza gives you a glass of water which you take to wash down the horrid aftertaste.

“If you head back down to the main floor, Lily will show you where you can get something to eat. I’m sure you’re very hungry.” You nod and stand up.

“Thank you, Elizabeta,” you say, as you watch one of the scrapes on your palm slowly close over. She nods, regal as ever, and sends you on your way.

***

After you leave, Elizabeta remains in the room, folding towels and putting away her potions kit. The door creeks and she looks up.

“I thought you’d had left already,” she says.

In the doorway stands Gilbert, leaning against the wall. His eyes, as sharp and red as ever, are trained on her.

“What did you tell her.”

Eliza takes a deep breath. “I didn’t tell her anything. I only warned her. She deserves that, at least”

Gilbert narrows his eyes but leaves it at that. There’s no biting remark or threat. The white-haired man turns to leave.

“If she asks where I am, tell her I’m still cleaning myself up.”

Don’t let it in

With no intention to keep it

Jesus Christ, don’t be kind to it

Honey, don’t feed it

It will come back.

Gilbert leaves through the servants' door at the back of the manor. Vash opens up a hole in the shrubbery wall at the back of the property and Gilbert steps through it. He nods at the knight, the once captain of his guard and kind-of friend.

“Don’t die,” Vash says plainly, and closes the opening after him. So much for sentiment, it seems.

Gilbert treks off towards the forest. The afternoon sky is covered in bitter-grey clouds with a breeze that cuts against the side of Gilbert’s face. He reaches the trees and slinks into the brush. As he enters, he listens to the growing silence of his woods around him. There’s no birds song, no chattering or chirping. Gilbert rests his hand on the sword that hangs at his side. His other clenches into a fist, feeling the leather of his glove stretch over his knuckles.

Off to the side, he hears the crunch of leaves and whips around. He reaches out a gloved hand and sends a fireball hurtling towards his target.

Alfred manages to duck and roll out of the way, giving Gilbert time to unsheathe his sword.

“You’re back for round two, I see.”

Matthew steps out from behind a tree. “And you didn’t bring your pet.”

“Well, she wouldn’t be too pleased to witness me kill you two, so I decided to leave her out of it this time.” He says, an arrogant smirk stretching across his face.

(Fae aren’t like humans in the way that they experience emotions. They love to the point of insanity and they hate until the world burns. Gilbert knows both of those feelings very well.

He remembers what he was like before his crusade. He remembers being a young fae, grieving the loss of his home and parents and unsure how to process that in any way other than anger.

Ancients, he was angry. Gilbert has wanted to leave his grandfather’s home the first chance he got to hunt down the men that raided his village, and his grandfather knew it. Gerald had seen that fire and gave him a sword, something to channel it into.

It had worked, at least for a while. Gilbert eventually learned all he could from his grandfather and left home to put his skills to use. He was mostly a sword for hire, chasing down monsters and escorting caravans (which was how he met Roderich and Elizabeta). He slew the occasional Manticore or Basilisk until he was strong enough to hunt down the man that took everything from him.

Of course, Gilbert’s revenge against Captain Gramercy was short-lived, that fire that burned in him wouldn’t calm down.)

Lightning crackles in the woods as Gilbert dodges a spell that Matthew sends for him. He dips under Alfred’s blade, coming up behind and kicking his leg in. He reaches a hand up and his leather glove burns with orange runes. The next spell that Matthew tried to conjure in his hand dies out before it can even be released.

From behind, Alfred charges again. Gilbert blocks but can’t move in time to avoid the head-but that Alfred delivers. It seems the boy is catching on. Gilbert can feel the magic that pools in the area around him. Like the string in a piano, a magic surge is released, and this Gilbert can smell smoke in the air. He disengages from Alfred with just enough time to dive out of the way. In the ten-foot area where he was just standing, fire engulfs the forest in the sweltering heat.

(Gilbert’s rage was his fuel and his folly. He often forgot it. The heat that coursed through him, the red that burned in his eyes blinded him.)

When Gilbert picks himself up again, the two brothers are on the other side of the burnt-out forest. Matthew pulled Alfred away from the blast in the last seconds. Gilbert breaths heavily, his eyes burn into Matthews.

“That’s enough, boys.” A voice calls out. From the shadows, steps Arthur, wearing far more practical travelling clothes and a cutlass that hangs at his side. “You’ve done enough,” the high fae says.

Alfred grabs Matthew and pulls him away. The two young men are quite beat up. With bruises on their faces and blood tricking down the sides of their heads, Gilbert knows that the two brothers wouldn’t have lasted much longer

“Have you come to finally finish this, or will these children continue to do your dirty work?”

“Oh, that is tempting,” Arthur grins. “But I’m getting quite tired. Lukas and I just arrived in the Woods and they’ve managed to distract you long enough.” Arthur says, gesturing to the two brothers.

They’ve managed to distract you. From what? Gilbert had known that Lukas and Arthur would be making their way to the Wandering Woods to reunite with Vladimir, but what didn’t he know? What wasn’t he seeing?

“How long do you think you’ve been out here? Thirty, forty minutes? That quite a bit of time to leave her alone.”

Lukas and Arthur should be in the Wandering Woods. If Arthur was here in front of him, then where was Lukas Bondevic?

“It’s too bad you won’t get back to her in time!” Arthur says. His face is mangled with a smug grin. His green eyes shift into those of a cunning viper.

Gilbert realizes what he means. “Shit.”

Gilbert doesn’t deal Arthur one final blow. He doesn’t say something witty or confident. There’s no ‘this isn’t over’ to level at his opponent.

Gilbert turns and runs.

He tears through the trees and runs out of the forest towards the vined wall of Eldenstien Manor. He reaches the gate, and to his left, on the ground is a dusting of frost with footsteps leading through it, into the thick shrubs.

He’s too late.

My peace has always depended,

On all the ashes in may wake

Lily leads you through Eldenstien Manor, stopping by the small library to grab a book for yourself before taking you to the kitchen for a snack. Your guide is very talkative and very curious about you. When you had something to eat, and Lily had asked enough questions to satisfy her, she brought you to one of the guest bedrooms on the second floor. Lily leaves you to set your bag and winter coat on the coat stand and relax until later.

(Well, technically she was told to by her older brother. You think that if the little blond girl with flowers growing out of her hair had it her way, she’d be dragging you off to play in her room, but Vash was very insistent that she let you relax for a bit.)

You sit on your bed flicking through the book you snagged earlier. Goosebumps raise on your skin and you shiver. You wrap a blanket at the foot of your bed around yourself, but the temperature keeps dropping.

You stand up and walk to the fireplace. You stick your hands towards the flame and rub them together. Why is it so cold all of a sudden? The fire doesn’t seem to be helping.

As soon as you notice this, the fire is snuffed out. You gasp in surprise and take a step back. White puffs of your breath fan out in the frigid air. You turn and walk across the room. The wooden floors are slowly being covered with frost and as you reach for the door handle, it’s covered in ice as well. You try to twist it open, but it doesn’t budge. You attempt to pull it open but it’s stuck. The frost begins to sting your fingers and you release your hold on the doorknob.

“So this is who all the fuss is about.”

You whip yourself around to face a stranger that has appeared in your room.

“Who the fuck are you?”

A man, not particularly tall or broad, stands a few paces away, in front of the window. He’s as pale as snow, with an unhealthy purple tinge to his lips, and eyes as cold as the Atlantic.

“My apologies,” he says, clearly bored. “Where are my manners? Lukas Bondevik. A pleasure.” The blond takes a deep, sarcastic bow, swishing his expensive blue cloak and silver-adorned hand. “You are a tough human to get a hold of, miss,” he says, his tone lilting.

“You’ll have to forgive me, sir. I’ve been busy.” You watch him carefully.

“I can imagine, with the ‘running for your life’ and all.”

“Exactly,” you say with a tight smile. “So maybe you and your friends could call off your pursuit, give Gilbert back his things so he can send me home, then I’d be available to take some calls.”

Lukas smirks and tilts his head at you. “Do you think he’ll do that?”

“He has to, we made a deal.”

“Oh, you’re precious. You have no idea, do you?” He laughs.

“You think you’re the only human to think they can strike a deal with the fae and make it out?” Lukas says. “Gilbert is a tyrant, a monster like all the rest of us, and you haven’t the smallest clue what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

God, you know that. You know that Gilbert isn’t a saint. The look in Basil Nakura’s eyes when they recognized him told you all you needed to know about the reputation Gilbert Beilschmidt left behind. But you lie anyway.

“Maybe I don’t care if he’s a monster.” You take a step back, clutching Muffin closer to you, the mimic growling like an angry cat. Your coat is just to the right of you, hanging on the back of the chair along with Gilbert's dagger.

Lukas laughs, the frost spreads farther across the floor towards you. It climbs up the walls and over the windows. “You’re a human, you always care about everything.” He steps forward.“It’s what’s so charming about you.”

Lukas’s face takes on a serious, almost soft expression. “You know what he is. You know what will happen when he’s free, why do you think so many people are committed to locking him away. Do you think he’ll stop when he has his woods? Or will he conquer all of the Unseen World? Who’s to say that even the Great Veil would stop him from coming to your home, for you?”

You thought about this when you were in the library. What would mean for this world if he got free, what would happen? After your deal is fulfilled, will you even be safe from him? The room grows even colder, sinking itself into your bones, locking up your muscles. Your hands are so cold, they hurt when you move them towards the inside of your coat.

“That’s why you’re going to kill me?”

Lukas nods. “But I might not have to. He needs you so that he can win. If you come with me, I’ll protect you from him. I’ll spare you.” He steps closer.

(You’re parents always said you were too clever for your own good. You knew what you wanted, and how to get it. No one could convince you to detour from that. Your parents would try and make deals with you as a young child. These deals were always skewed in their favour. Six-year-old you knew this and was quite offended that they would try it.

You’re parents always said you were too clever for your own good. You believe there’s no such thing.)

Lukas stood in front of you, with some bullshit attempt at romantic softness. This Jack Frost-looking motherfucker thought that you would fall for that? Time for him to learn from that mistake.

Muffin snarls and shifts in your arms, trying to lurch at the fae in your room. You think that Muffin should get what she wants.

You let go of your mimic and she flies at Mr. Bondevik (which looks quite odd, because you have no idea how she can move with such speed or force when she has no legs). Lukas yells out, and you take your moment to grab Gilbert’s dagger from your coat.

“I think it’s safe to say I won’t be accepting your offer, frosty!”

Lukas peels Muffin off of his face, blood oozing from the marks her teeth made and when he throws her onto the bed, you stab him.

“Ah!” He yells out as the knife digs into the meat of his shoulder. “You miserable rodent! You’ll pay for that!”

You slash at him again and he steps back. Your unwanted guest disappears in a blast of ice. The pure cold radiates out from where his form once was like a bomb, crashing into you. Ice runs through your body, so cold that it's debilitating.

With a painful gasp, you collapse onto the ground.

When the bitter creeps in

To bite you whole

“Vash! Open the door!” He yells. The gate swings open and he rushes in.

His boots slam against the wood floors and Roderich comes out of a room to see what’s wrong.

“Where is she?” He yells.

“I don’t know, one of the guest bedrooms?”

“Which one?” He runs up the main staircase.

“Gilbert, what’s going on?” Eliza comes around the hallway, dressed in a tea gown and with her hair let down.

“Bondevic is here!” He yells and tears down the hallway, not caring if she knows what he means.

Gilbert rattles the doorknob of one of the bedrooms and finds it locked. The metal of the handle is ice cold, and when he takes a step back, he notices that ice has spread out from under the door. He tries to muscle it open, but it’s frozen shut. Gilbert rips off one of his gloves and grasps the frost-covered doorknob. Through the black-soot stains on his hands, magic glows brightly like the embers of a fire, heating through the door.

With his shoulder, he slams into the wood. The door crashes open, and Gilbert bursts into the room, Eliza and Vash following after him.

You are in the centre of the room. You’re huddled over, holding yourself up on the end of the bed frame with one arm, the other still clutching Gilbert’s knife.

Gilbert is at you first, grabbing you by your waist and setting you on the edge of the mattress.

His hands are stained black from his magic and he thinks for a moment that he shouldn’t touch you with them, but quickly ignores himself when you look up at him through snowflake-dusted lashes. With the back of his knuckles, he brushes away some of the frost that's formed on your eyebrow.

“Are you okay?” he asks, roving over you.

“Just a bit chilled,” you say with a smile. “I met Mr. Bondevic, though I can’t say he was a courteous guest,” you quip through chattering teeth. Gilbert feels his lungs release the breath they’re holding. He grasps your hands and tries to rub some warmth into your cold fingers.

“And I thought my manners were bad.”

Forget it all,

you caught me in a moment weak

Sometimes I just can’t help myself

Sometimes I can’t help myself at all

“I thought Eldenstien Manor had wards to protect it,” Gilbert says. Everyone sits around the large, dining room table for dinner.

“It does,” Eliza says.

“They clearly aren’t enough.”

“Gilbert, It’s fine, really,” you say.

“It’s not! He would have killed you.”

“I actually think he was gonna kidnap me,” you say, not noticing how Gilbert clenches his teeth when you tell him that. He really doesn’t want to think about that. “And he didn’t even get close. You should’ve seen Muffin. She did so good! Didn’t you, baby.” You coo at the mimic that sits on the table in front of you, panting and trilling as you scratch its spine.

This doesn’t comfort Gilbert. All he can think about is him having to sail to the North Isles to steal you back from Lukas and his brothers. Gilbert supposes he owes the little monster for preventing that.

On the other side of the table, Roderich, Eliza, Vash, and a young Lily watch with awe and confusion at the book-monster you're cuddling.

“You’ll have to modify your plan moving forward,” Eliza says. You won’t make it to the west side of the Woods in time if Lukas and Arthur are already here.”

“That leads me to what I was going to ask. I was winding if you had a teleportation charm so that we could use the standing stones.”

Eliza nods. “I’m confident I can make a couple.”

“We’d need enough for 3 trips. One to the border of the West Plains, another to get to Vladimir’s Castle and the final on to get back.”

“You’ll need something to keep you off their radar for the time being as well, correct?” Eliza reached into the pocket hidden under the layers of her skirt and pulls out two charms. These will keep you reasonably hidden from tracking or scrying.”

“And I’ll make sure to strengthen our wards,” Vash says from his post.

Gilbert nods and sits back in his chair. You’ve set Muffin back onto the ground to eat. To fight off the cold, you’ve been given a mug of hot tea to go with your dinner, as well as wine, which you seem to enjoy. Despite whatever Elizabeta has put in your tea to combat Lukas’s ice magic, your cheeks are still flushed from the cold. He should probably get you a blanket, Gilbert thinks.

After dinner, all of you get up to retire for the evening. You thank Eliza and Roderich for the meal and scurry out off into the wall. Gilbert follows you as you make your way through the manor. The sound of his boots on the floors drowning out our light footsteps.

“Are you going to tailing me, the whole night, 007?” You ask him, turning around in the hallway.

“It seems I have to, with what happened after I left you alone this afternoon.”

With what happened after both times you left her alone, the voice in Gilbert’s head reminds him. Yes, how could he forget that night in the village, on the first day of your quest? The village fae that had tried to spirit you away, and then did much worse. Gilbert’s eyes flicker to the back of your head. The injury you’d suffered that night should be healed after Eliza’s potion.

“Well you won’t need to do that for long, I’m heading right to bed.”

You walk up the main stairway and onto the second floor, turning down the hall towards the guest bedroom. Gilbert follows you into your room, standing there looking at you.

“What are you doing,” you ask, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Get your things, Maus. You’re not sleeping here tonight.”

“You can’t be serious.” But Gilbert is. “I have a warding charm thingy from Ms. Elizabeta. I’ll be fine”

“No, I don’t care.”

“Gilbert, please! I haven’t slept in a proper bed since I got here.”

“You will, you’ll just sleep in mine.”

“No.”

“I will drag you there if I have to.”

You let out a frustrated growl and stomp your foot.

“Don’t make me count to five,” he says with a smirk.

“I’m bringing Muffin. And a book.”

“I’ll allow it,” he says with a teasing, pompous tone.

You gather your things and leave the room, Muffin hopping down the carpeted hall after you. Your hand brushed the rails of the second-floor banister and slowly you come to a stop. Music, the delicate sound of the piano, starts to drift up. Gilbert watches you peer down to the level below, where it’s coming from.

Below, in the main hall, set in the corner, is a beautiful upright piano, where Roderich sits and plays. Elizabeta sits beside him on the bench, their legs brushing together and slightly leaning into one another.

Roderich’s fingers grace across the ivory keys, playing a soft melody that reverberates through the space, giving the pair of soulmates a quiet moment together.

“They are meant for each other,” you whisper, barely audible over the piano, but Gilbert nods.

He watches as your fingers tap on the cover of the book you’ve borrowed from the manor’s library. God, you’re an absolute nerd, he thinks to himself. As soon as there’s downtime, your nose is stuck in a book. The book is small, and thin, probably on 200 pages.

“What’s the book?” He asks quietly, sliding up beside you on the railing.

“Just a romance novel, something light to read.” You say, nonchalant.

The corners of Gilbert’s mouth turn up.

“A romance novel?”

“I like romance novels, it's one of my favourite genres” you admit, turning to look at him. “Does that surprise you?”

Gilbert looks at you. His mouth is wide open in a half-gasp, half-smirk. He looks absolutely scandalized.

“I would have thought you’d like something more gritty and profound,” Gilbert tells you, looking enthralled. He’s so enthralled that he leans down as he says it, his voice low.

“There is just as much depth and meaning in light then there is in darkness, and I already read so many philosophy books for my degree. The change of pace is nice. ” You defend yourself.

“Huh.”

“What about you? What’s your favourite genre?” You ask.

“Oh, I never read that much, I didn’t have much time.” He says. “But when my mom read to me, she would read me adventures.”

“You’re mom read to you?”

Gilbert nods, thinking back to his childhood. “My mother was the one who taught me how to read and write. She read lots of stories about knights, and I thought that they were so cool.”

“Slaying dragons, saving the kingdom…”

“Exactly,” he says.

The two of you lean on the banister, listening to Roderich as he plays, the notes of the song speed up into a thrilling bridge.

“I wanted to be like those characters. I wanted to be strong and brave, and unstoppable.”

From the corner of his eye, he sees the corner your mouth lift. “Well, you certainly are two of those things.”

“Hey!” He says lowly, leaning in to smile at you.

“But you aren’t unstoppable, Gilbert,” You remind him.

Gilbert looks at you, his red eyes glow as he watches you. Piano notes ring out in the air around the two of you. Your lips are slightly parted as you look up at him.

“Maybe so,” he says. “But you make me feel like it.”

So tired of trying to see behind the red in my eyes,

No better version of me I could pretend to be tonight

After being in the Unseen World for days, finally sleeping in a bed is like ascending to heaven. You take off the layers of wool dress and petticoats, leaving you in just your chemise, and climb into bed. The fireplace at the end of the room is lit, the mattress is soft, and despite the fact that Gilbert has chosen to sit in a chair beside the bed and not in front of the fire where it’s warm, you fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.

But you don’t sleep the whole night through. And neither does Gilbert.

You wake to the sound of a struggle. You peek your head out of the covers and look through the darkness. In his chair, Gilbert twitches and struggles. His face is scrunched up and he’s muttering.

“Gilbert-” you whisper, but he doesn’t wake up. You crawl out of bed, the cold air prickles your skin through your linen chemise. The warmth of the fire doesn’t seem to make it fully to that side of the room.

“Gilbert!”

He wakes up with a start. He straightens in his chair and looks to see you, crouched in front of him.

“Ya? Maus?”

“Ya, it’s me. Are you okay?”

He rubs at his face to get his bearings. “It was just a bad dream,” he says. “Why did you wake me up?”

“Well…I didn’t want to just let you go through it like that,” you whisper. You remember the nightmares you’ve had in your life. It’s torture to be forced to witness them to their end.

Gilberts lets out a breath. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” you whisper. Gilbert shivers, rubbing the sides of his arms and shifting in his seat.

“You’re cold.” You state the obvious, but Gilbert doesn’t give some arrogant remark about it. That’s not a good sign.

“It was always so cold there.” He says. His eyes are dark like red wine and his hair glows blue in the dark of the room. You’re confused at what he means at first, but then you get it.

“The Library, you mean?”

Gilbert nods. “Sometimes, I feel so cold and I think that I’m still there.”

You remember that place as well. The cold of the stone floors and the cold blue light that shone down. You were only there for about an hour. You couldn’t think about what it was like to be trapped in there alone for 75 years.

The way Gilbert looks now, solemn and almost … small in the cool darkness of your shared room makes you think of a ghost, so pale he’s almost translucent, stuck on the other side of something where no one can reach him.

“Get in,” you say, and you hop onto your bed and scootch over. You fold back the thick comforter and Gilbert looks at you have two heads.

“Get in the bed, Gilbert, before I change my mind,” you try to joke, but it comes out far softer than you meant.

(You think of what Elizabeta told you, about following your head and not your heart. To not trust Gilbert and to certainly not get attached to him, but you’re tired and scared, and the horrifying thing about being reliant on the albino fae for your safety is that despite what you’re very reasonable mind tells you, you sort of trust Gilbert, and you might even be starting to like him.

So sue you, maybe just this once, you want to follow your heart, and feel a little bit of safety, and warmth, with a man that might also need just that.)

“Take off your boots, please.” You whisper as Gilbert gets up from his chair. He kicks his boots off somewhere and pulls his shirt up and over his head, throwing it to the floor as well. He lifts his knee onto the mattress and looks at you. He’s checking to make sure you’re still okay. You nod, and he crawls all the way into bed.

You lay down and nestle yourself into the mattress, pulling your blankets up to your chin.

“Thank you.”

You look to the man who lays next to you. The moonlight that comes in through the window casts the white sheets and pillows in a soft blue glow, and Gilbert’s eyes are soft, free of their clever, deceitful shine.

“I haven’t said that to you. If I’m honest sometimes I forget, you know, to thank people when they help me, my hammers aren’t the best,” he rambles, his voice quiet and raspy. “But truly, thank you for helping me, Maus.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Gilbert. I’m just doing this to get home.” You say.

“See, you say that but…” He turns over to you. “You’ve done so much more than anyone else would have, it goes beyond self-serving. You’re so …good” He struggles to get the words out.

“I know that you don’t really trust me, or even like me, but you’re still so kind to me. Someone else might have resented me, so thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” you whisper into to dark of the room.

Soon, the both of you fall back asleep. It’s peaceful and calm, in the safety of white linen and heavy blankets, no nightmares can reach you.

I wake, at the first cringe of morning

And my heart's already sinned

Author’s Notes

This chapter was quite the thing to get through, but it was so satisfying to finish. This is the longest chapter I’ve ever written, which is wild. Like I said at the beginning, this marks the halfway point of this story!

I was really excited to write about Elizabeta. It was so fun to adapt her to this AU. I love her character so much as this no-nonsense, badass who’s still in touch with her femininity, and really wanted to write her like that here.

Also, I think that Eliza and Roderich’s relationship is so sweet, and wanted to explore it just a bit. Sadly They won’t make much of an appearance, but maybe we’ll see them again later.

I have around eight more chapters left of this story, and the entire plot has been planned out (this was done before I even published the first chapter) so there will be an ending, but I'll try not and say too much about by plans for Gilbert and the reader.

The next chapter will be ready for late December? But don’t quote me on that, I’m busy getting my Illustration application for school ready and need some time to focus on making art for that, but that does mean that I might have some official it will come back art? (If I think it’s any good)

A huge thanks to everyone who reads, likes, reblogs and comments. I love hearing from everyone, and I will try my best to respond. Have a great day!

Quotes (in order)

1. Wasteland, Baby! By Hozier

2. It Will Come Back by Hozier

3. Arsonist’s Lullaby by Hozier

4. Cold by The Oh Hellos

5. Allies or Enemies by The Crane Wives

6. Jackie and Wilson by Hozier

7. Someone New by Hozier

#aph prussia x reader #fae!Prussia x reader #iwcb #fae hetalia au #hetalia fantasy au #gilbert beilschmidt #iwcb prussia x reader #hetalia x reader

28 notes · View notes

captainjellyroll · 7 years

Text

Postpone the War, Please (part 3 of USUK Pacific Rim Drabble Shit)

It was perhaps two months into their partnership as co-pilots and the Kaiju War still raged on. They still piloted Generation X. Arthur knew why this Jaeger was so important to Alfred. He had been in his head, after all. He felt the excitement and the thrill that Alfred had fluttering in his chest when he first laid eyes on the Jaeger. He had felt Alfred’s pain when he had to bear the mental strain of the Jaeger with the sinking feeling in his chest after watching his brother be ripped out of Generation X. He knew of the shame and the guilt he felt as he stayed at Matthew’s bedside. He knew of the anger that he felt whenever he got into arguments with other pilots like Ivan. Arthur knew and… well… he had no doubt that Alfred knew how beloved he was to him.

They brought down Kaiju after Kaiju then the attacks came to be two Kaijus at once. Hong Kong was under siege nearly every other day. The pilots were exhausted but they kept fighting. Then, the attack on Sydney happened. Alfred and Arthur watched the reports of the attacks on the screens and saw the frustration of the people. Arthur knew that they were both people pleasers and… they

hated

seeing the citizens of Sydney enraged and doubtful of the government’s attempts to protect them. The Kaiju broke through the wall within an hour and the Fire Faust, piloted by Elizabeta and Roderich, had to be airlifted to Sydney. 30% of the city was destroyed before they took down the Kaiju. There were more people growing skeptical of the Anti-Kaiju Wall and turning back to the Jaeger program.

But, there were only three months left before the funding for the Jaeger program would cease. Francis had many sleepless nights, negotiating,

begging

for more time and more funding. And each night came a refusal. Their funding was being cut more each month and soon, Francis and Yao had to have discussions of hour to split the funding. There were only four Jaegers left. In the span of six months, the Jaeger program lost three Jaegers. They lost the East Emperor, piloted by Im Yong Soo and Li Xiao Chun, to a Level 4 Kaiju towards the South Eastern waters of Hong Kong. Yong Soo survived with severe nerve damage but… Xiao Chun wasn’t so lucky. A mourning took place for him throughout Hong Kong when his death was heard of. He was a native and the Chinese people took pride in that. They lost the Starry Striker, piloted by Lukas Bondevik and Mathias Køhler, to a Level 3 Kaiju after wandering too far from the base. It wasn’t the Kaiju that killed the both of them, rather, it was the damage it had done. They were too far from the base and by the time rescue had come, the reactor was too badly damaged and self-destructed. They lost Nova Alpha, piloted by Feliks Łukasiewicz and Toris Laurinaitis, to a Level 4 Kaiju. They killed it quite heroically, but the noxious agent of its blood had contaminated the air within their Jaeger. They died shortly after their battle. Friends had been lost. More Jaegers have been lost. The only ones that were left had to keep fighting. Alfred and Arthur piloted Generation X, the only Mark-2 Jaeger in action and packed a powerful punch. Ivan and Natalya piloted the Violet Butterfly, a Mark-4 Jaeger that built for quick maneuvering and a killing blow. Ludwig and Gilbert piloted the Golden Eagle, a Mark-5 Jaeger that was built like a tank. Elizabeta and Roderich piloted the Fire Faust, specializing in defensive maneuvers and rapid attacks. They were all strong and capable but it was getting bad. It was going to get worse. The research Team had dwindled down from a team of ten to a team of four: Yao, Kiku, Feliciano, and Michelle. Arthur didn’t know many of them well other than Kiku and Yao. They each, though equally important, were very distinct in Arthur’s mind. Yao was the Head Scientist of the research team but often did the calculations of the probabilities of Kaiju attacks and helped the engineers better the Jaegers in their current state with what they had. He was rather stubborn and often got into arguments with… everyone but he was a good person. There were times when Arthur took midnight walks around the base and he would still find Yao in the research lab, working. He seemed to be working tirelessly but Arthur knew better than to trust appearances and trusted the fact that Yao was not getting any sleep by the various mugs of coffee scattered around his work place. Kiku was one of the first of the crew that befriended Arthur. He usually dealt with Kaiju autopsies, which actually terrified Arthur because of the little red glint of curious fascination in Kiku’s eyes when he cut open the Kaiju. Kiku did best in organizing and observing the different parts of the Kaiju, taking note of its capabilities and its dangers. But he was mellow and composed, getting by either unnoticed or respected by his fellow crew. Arthur knew that he still trained in case another pilot was needed for emergency cases and he did well. They trained together at times. Feliciano was an interesting character for a scientist. Arthur didn’t even know that he was a scientist when he first met him. In fact, when he first met Feliciano, he cried because Arthur got impatient with him and yelled. If Kiku thought that Kiku was terrifying with a knife in hand, Feliciano would haunt his nightmares. He was, as Alfred called it, a “Kaiju groupie” and was absolutely enraptured by the Kaiju despite being scared 24/7 of them. He would cut away at it and carefully place them in proper waste disposals or in the proper canisters then take care of them for further observation. Despite his ditzy nature, Feliciano was much smarter than he let on. Michelle was a new scientist and often help Yao with calculations. She did help Kiku and Feliciano with autopsies here and there but was usually repulsed by the sight of the bodies. She put her complete faith in the pilots of the Jaeger program and was rather social with most of them. She was practically Francis’s adopted daughter and took part in launching the Jaegers. Arthur knew that she was incredibly smart with a knack for mathematics and computers. But the one thing they all had in common was that they all stressed out. Constantly. Arthur was in the middle of eating lunch with Alfred when Yao called in the pilots and Francis with an important message. When they arrived, he began pointing at the tall chalkboard, filled corner to corner with calculations. His eyes were wide with panic and his hands were shaking from the excessive amounts of coffee he drank in order to do this. Michelle, however, napped in her wheelie chair in the corner of the lab. “We used to deal with Kaiju two to there times for each week. But with my calculations, the probabilities of the span of each attack will amount to three attacks per week and… eventually it will be nearly 8 attacks each week. It will gradually increase, worse and worse, until we might see nearly 2 attacks every three hours then-.” “We get it, Yao. Eventually, we’ll be overrun and… we’ll die.” Roderich snapped, the tired drag of his voice was heard and it seemed that he stopped trying to hide the fact that he was exhausted and on the verge of giving up. His co-pilot, Elizabeta smacked his arm, furrowing her brows and biting her lip. Roderich looked paler and much more lean than before. He was never been the strongest, hell, he had barely even passed the physical examinations but Arthur respected him because he pushed to become a pilot. He may seem like a pretentious prick at first but he was determined and carried through with his actions and that was something Arthur could respect. “What?” He looked at Elizabeta, annoyed and angry, “We’re going to die.” A silence hung over the crew. It was the cold truth that some didn’t want to face. They fought to live, they fought for other people, and they knew that there was the possibility that they might die. No one wanted to die. Gilbert looked up, “So?” Everyone looked at him, bewildered. He sounded so serious as he broke the silence and it didn’t suit him at all. Gilbert looked up at everyone, his red eyes glaring, “So what if we die? As pilots, we signed up for this, didn’t we? If I die, I’m dying because I’m saving the world.” Everything was quiet for a moment then Arthur flinched as Alfred yelled beside him, “Hell yeah!” A few cheers were held amongst the staff. Alfred looked at Arthur for a reaction and he just gave a small, weak smile. Arthur didn’t want to face that the truth either. “I’ll live to die another day.” Arthur said quietly in response to Alfred’s glance. He looked back at Yao who continued to explain the possibility of oncoming attacks and how they had to build up the Jaegers to withstand the assault. He tried to ignore Alfred’s eyes piercing into him with an emotion that he couldn’t “Alfred. Arthur. I know that you can’t do anything about this but… I need to tell someone. I’m worried.” Kiku said slowly, pulling them aside, “Feliciano and I have been running some tests on the Kaiju’s innards and….” Kiku looked at Feliciano, talking excitedly to Ludwig, “he has an idea that is absolutely insane.” ~ “What?” Ludwig’s face turned to utter shock and anger. “Huh? Why are you making that face? It’s a good idea! It can help us learn more about them!” Feliciano responded, sounding like he was disappointed with the lack of approval. “We already have the plan we made with the Marshal. We strap the nuclear bomb to the Golden Eagle then Gil and I pilot it down to the bridge and detonate it. That’s all we need.” Ludwig said with grit teeth, but Arthur could tell that he wasn’t angry but nervous, “I don’t know why you want to do this. It’s far too dangerous-.” “ ‘It’s far too dangerous’?” Feliciano repeated loudly before furrowing his brows with the rarity of anger and looking up at Ludwig, “It’s also too dangerous for you to be going out nearly every week in that Jaeger without me knowing if I’m ever going to see you alive again!” He sounded like he was going to start crying. “I have been a coward all my life, Ludwig, so at least let me do this!” He turned away and quickly walked to the research lab and nearly tripping as he did it. Arthur watched as Ludwig looked down with flashes of anxiety, anger, and even sadness on his face. He barely talked to the German pilots but he felt like he could understand what Ludwig was going through and walked over. “What was that about? If you don’t mind me asking.” Arthur asked Ludwig. Ludwig looked up, startled, but regained his calm composure once again, “Feli- er- Dr. Vargas, told me a plan that he had. He… he planned to Drift with a Kaiju’s secondary brain to…. find out more information.” Arthur was taken aback and finally understood what Kiku called crazy. This was absolute lunacy. “That’s impossible! That would kill him!” “I know!” Ludwig burst out before sighing and muttering quietly, “I know… and that’s why I have to make sure that he never gets the materials to do that. Dr. Honda has already made sure that he won’t be able to go near the Drift technology.” “You care about him very much, don’t you?” The words slipped out of Arthur’s mouth as he thought it and he could feel his ears burning as Ludwig looked at him with an eyebrow raised. But Ludwig closed his eyes and gave a small, rare smile, “Yes. I do.” Ludwig’s head jerked up as Gilbert was heard calling for him at the entrance of the Shatterdome. Ludwig gave Arthur a nod and began to walk away as his brother called him even louder. ~ Alfred knew that it took time to get used to new co-pilots or just being in the Drift with a whole other person. Alfred had only ever been in the Drift with Matthew until Arthur came along. At first it was so strange, being in someone else’s head. Then he eased into the feeling, Arthur’s memories and his feelings held a sense of mystery despite being splayed out before him. At first, all Arthur said to him about the Drift was to not delve too deep in his memories. But Alfred didn’t have to search through the memories to see what Arthur had to go through. Arthur’s family was unbearably rich and the ultimate snobs. Cold and distant, Arthur never wanted to stay at home and rarely made friends with anyone. He had the shadow of his three older brothers cast over him as he grew up. Alistair was the Representative of Scotland in the Anti-Kaiju efforts. Dylan was a professor at the University of Cambridge. Sean was a missionary and doctor in who-knows-where. Arthur’s parents tended to neglect him because of his “incompetence” and “inadequacy” and, despite how awful it sounded, Alfred knew that Arthur didn’t feel anything when he learned that his parents passed away on a business trip in San Francisco during the Kaiju attack. His brothers ignored him and that gave him freedom to do whatever he wanted. Alfred knew of Arthur’s punk phase. Alfred knew that Arthur had a tattoo on the back of his left thigh. Alfred also knew how important it meant to Arthur as he supported the Jaeger program, trying to patch the holes of funding with his portion of his family’s money. He knew that Arthur would watch the Jaegers on the TV in the summer home his family owned in Australia. He would watch in awe. This was the one thing he could salvage and he was committed to saving the people that were his heroes. Then the attack on Australia happened. Alfred felt Arthur’s fear, he felt the gravel and wreckage beneath his feet as he tread through the ruins of the city, he felt the choking dust in the air dry his throat, and he felt… he felt the awe when he saw a Jaeger bringing down that Kaiju. Alfred had only known him for almost half a year but he felt like he had known him all his life. It was much nicer than arguing with him. Soon, names like “asshole” or “prick” ended up becoming terms of endearment that were only reserved in meaning to each other. Alfred knew that Arthur loved him. He knew that Arthur also knew that Alfred loved him too. It was a feeling that they knew wouldn’t have to be conveyed through words. ~ Francis loved to value beautiful things. When he was younger, he was often made fun of for collecting pieces of ribbons and bows and everything else he thought was pretty. He wanted to protect those beautiful things. But this was a world where not everything can be beautiful. When he first stepped into a Jaeger, he felt a pit in his stomach. It was metal with a nuclear heart. He knew that. This couldn’t be beautiful no matter how hard he tried. The Kaiju were rogue and ugly. In order to destroy something ugly, you had to beat it down with something just as ugly. He knew that. His co-pilot was his cousin, Lucille, but she resigned from piloting after her mother fell ill. Francis and his Jaeger, Romeo Seven, weren’t complete and they weren’t retired from combat without scars. Francis looked into the mirror tiredly. As Marshal he had to keep a cool head, of course he wasn’t as strict as others and preferred to become friends with the staff. But though that made his loneliness bearable, it hurt even more when they lost rangers. In the days when the Shatterdome was filled with at least thirty Jaegers, he witnessed his first loss with the Delta Tango. It was a respectable Jaeger and the only Spanish-built Jaeger in the program. It had four arms and was quick in movement and merciless in attack. It was piloted by Feliciano’s brother, Lovino Vargas, and Francis’s best friend, Antonio Carriedo. They died to a Kaiju codenamed Yūrei. Francis knew that it wasn’t a swift death. The Kaiju pushed their Jaeger under the water and they inevitably died. Francis saw their bodies. It was so strange to see Lovino’s face so peaceful and silencing his cursing. It was so haunting to see Antonio so quiet, his face gone slack and cold. The air felt empty, like it was missing something. As he looked in the mirror he blinked at the feeling of warm droplets on his hand. He looked down and saw bright red droplets of blood. Francis put a hand to his nose and felt a stream of blood slowly running down. He grabbed his handkerchief and held it to his nose. Francis rummaged through his jacket pockets to find a tin of what seemed to be mints. He opened it and there were the pills that he despised so much. Since Romeo Seven was a Mark-1 Jaeger, it was before the Jaeger program decided to make the Jaegers digital to prevent nuclear radiation from effecting the pilots. It was much too late for him. Francis, despite not wanting to admit it or looking it, was probably one of the older pilots on the base and had spent most of his time in the Jaeger that would save millions of people but slowly kill him. The radiation was finally taking its effect and Francis had been taking these dreadful pills to mellow the side effects of the radiation. But the dosage was slowly growing in quantity to keep the bloody noses, the dizzy spells, and the vomiting at bay. He swallowed two and looked down at the tin can. He had around twenty left. That seemed like a lot but he knew that soon the dosage would progress to three pills each time and then four then five until he was out. He knew that it was the government that gave him these godforsaken pills and with the budget cut also came the cut in the amount of pills he got. Francis laughed bitterly as he closed the tin can and placed it angrily on his desk. He had risked his life in a Jaeger for years and he had given up what his life could have been to defend the world from these monsters and the world decides that what he and other pilots were doing weren’t as important as a goddamn block of concrete. Francis knew that he and the Jaeger program were cast off like old toys but they still fought these monsters. “Marshal?” Yao’s voice was slightly muffled from the door as he knocked, “The representatives are calling again.” They only called to convince him that trying to keep the Jaeger program alive was bullshit. Francis knew that they just saw their funding towards the program as a waste of money and after the funding was cut off, the Jaeger program would collapse even with Arthur’s small fundings. Francis stood up tiredly, wiping away at the remnants of the blood at his nose. “Alright.” They fought monsters everyday but sometimes, there were monsters that you just couldn’t destroy. ~ Feliciano’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking as he paced around the research lab and looked around for anyone who might interfere. There was no one. Feliciano looked at the Kaiju’s secondary brain in the glass, slightly damaged and tapping against the glass. He shuddered and felt a whimper trying to escape from his mouth. He bit his lip and looked at his creation. He had never been as good with creating things like Michelle and Kiku but he learned enough from them. He had seen the Drift technology enough times to know how it worked. Feliciano took parts from the engineering base and used them to create a makeshift machine that would allow him to Drift properly with the Kaiju. Feliciano shakily put the sensor on his head and locked it in, looking at the Kaiju brain that had the same sensors connected to it, and pressed the button. ~ Kiku saw the lights to the research lab on and heard a slight humming inside. He narrowed his eyes and gripped his clipboard tightly as he walked towards the door. When he looked inside, he saw Feliciano’s body in spasms next to a monstrosity of a machine. He dropped his clipboard and ran in, kneeling by Feliciano. Then he realized, with the head sensors on his head, that Feliciano was Drifting with the Kaiju. “Feliciano, what have you done?” Kiku murmured under his breath as he quickly disconnected the sensors. Even with the machine turned off, Feliciano’s body was still shaking. His eyes were rolled to the back of his head and his nose was bleeding. Kiku felt his forehead and it was burning up but Feliciano’s hands were cold and clammy. Kiku heard a gasp and the shatter of a coffee mug, and turned back to Yao, “Go get the Marshal, please. Feliciano Drifted with the Kaiju.” ~ Ludwig was helping Francis prompt Alfred and Arthur for the possibility of an attack since Yao and Michelle were absolutely rabid about the fact that Kaiju attacks were multiplying. The door opened and Yao ran in, “Marshal-!” “Yao, this isn’t the time.” Francis said tiredly. Ludwig knew that the Marshal was exhausted just like everyone else but he was uncharacteristically tired and indifferent about certain topics. Last time Ivan brought up the representatives, Francis nearly slapped him. “No! You don’t understand. It’s important-.” “This is important too, Yao.” Francis looked at him, turning away from Alfred and Arthur who observed curiously. “You’re the one who pressed for prompting-.” “Feliciano Drifted with a Kaiju.” Ludwig’s eyes widened and he felt his heart drop. He had seen documentaries of people who didn’t have the mental strength to Drift. He saw how their hands shook, their bodily movement reduced to spasms, and the blood.

God, the blood

. “Where?” Ludwig demanded and Yao looked at him. Ludwig saw his eyes softening as he realized who he was. “In the research lab. Kiku’s taking care of him.” Yao said. “But you should know that-.” Ludwig didn’t wait around to listen to what Yao was going to say. He needed to see Feliciano. He ran to the research lab, dodging some of the engineers in the corridors until he got to the research lab. “Where is he?” Ludwig opened the door and locked eyes with Kiku. Kiku had a glass of water in his hand and motioned for Ludwig to follow him. Ludwig looked at a machine made up scraps from the engineering department and watched the wired connect to the Kaiju’s secondary brain and to a head sensor that was strewn on the ground. A few drops of blood caught his eye and it felt harder to swallow. Kiku had stopped and passed the glass of water to Feliciano. Ludwig watched as he shakily brought the glass to his mouth and drank. Some water dribbled down his chin and stained his shirt. Ludwig noticed the drops of blood on Feliciano’s collar and the yellow-red tint in his left eye. “What did you do?” Ludwig said quietly as he kneeled down in front of Feliciano, taking his hand. Feliciano was still shaking. “I-It worked and I- I saw a thing. W-well, it isn’t actually a full thing it’s more like…. more like…. more like pictures and b-bits and p-pieces.” Feliciano stammered as he looked at Ludwig, “I was r-right! With my theory!” He looked at Kiku excitedly, “T-they

are

clones! They have these

colonies

a-and they are all clones!” His hand was violently shaking and he dropped the glass. Kiku flinched at the sound of shattering glass and looked at Feliciano, “What you did… is absolutely irresponsible.” “B-but I got information!” “You may have gotten information but you could’ve been killed.” Kiku’s eyes grew with worry and had a rare angry glint flash through them, “What if I hadn’t found you? Do you know what could have happened to you-?” Kiku’s voice was cut off and he let out a shaky breath. Ludwig put a hand on Kiku’s shoulder. “Is that all you saw?” Feliciano took a moment to process what Ludwig had said. “Y-yeah. I’m sure there’s more though… But I need a K-Kaiju brain that’s intact!” Feliciano tried to push himself up and stumbled. He would have fallen if Ludwig hadn’t caught him. Ludwig narrowed his eyes at Feliciano, “No.” “B-but, Ludwig! We’re so close!” “I’m not going to let you get yourself killed! Do you even know where you’re going to get a Kaiju’s brain? Intact?” Ludwig demanded and closed his eyes in relief as Feliciano looked down and shook his head ‘no’. “Feliciano listen to me-.” “L-Ludwig-.” “Feliciano just

listen

to me.” Ludwig said a bit louder, ‘You are going to rest. Get some sleep. You’ve been through too much strain today.” Kiku put a hand on Feliciano’s shoulder and gently led him away to his room. Kiku looked back at Ludwig, “I’ll take care of him.” he said and Ludwig was reassured. He would trust Kiku with his life and he knew that Feliciano would do the same. ~ Feliciano had waited until Kiku went back to the lab, where he probably wouldn’t come out for another few hours. He snuck out of this room, feeling a sense of balance again despite falling to his knees a few times in the corridors. Here he was again, collapsed in the corridor and so close to the Command Bay where Francis would be, with the room spinning and letting out heavy breaths. He had to get to Francis. He would help him find another Kaiju brain. “Feliciano?” Feliciano looked up to see Francis staring at him, “I thought that you were in your room.” He looked like he was going to pay him a visit. “M-marshal, I have to tell you-.” Feliciano’s hands started to shake again. It was hard to talk without biting his tongue. “What-?” “The K-Kaiju are clones! T-they’ll keep coming!” Feliciano said quickly, trying to stand and holding onto the pipes along the walls, “I can find out more if I have a Kaiju’s s-secondary brain! P-please. I don’t know where to find it and-.” “Feliciano, you could have gotten yourself killed today with only a part of a Kaiju’s brain. Who knows what an entire Kaiju brain will do to you?” Francis interrupted with concern, helping Feliciano up. “B-but…. pilots. They get themselves in danger every day and some are a-almost killed!” he looked at Francis and took his hand, “So why am I any different?” Francis stared at him and looked down, his eyes refused to meet with Feliciano’s. They were walking to Feliciano’s room and Francis murmured, “I know where you can find one.“ (ok so for personal familial reasons i had to delete my tumblr and i might not have enough time to write a lot of this fic but i’m still going to my best to submit stuff. So here you go. The Prelude to the Angst -Key)

==================

!!!!! ITS ALRIGHT, KEY!! I REALLY NEEDED THIS RIGHT NOW, THIS IS GETTING ME SO HYPED <3 THANK YOU SO MUCH <333

PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME! THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH FOR WORKING SO HARD! <3

#submission #pacific rim usuk #fic #long post

15 notes · View notes