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descendantofthesparrow · 1 year

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POYW Rewrite V2 - Harry Hook x reader - P1

Music plays as the camera pans on a purple book with a bright red apple pictured on the cover, swirling gold vines and a gold capital D are placed on and around the apple.

The book opens to reveal a tablet, and a purple painted finger swipes up on the tablet to ‘flip the page’-revealing the title of the ‘book’; Descendants.

‘once upon a time-long long ago~’

Naaaah well get to that in a moment, right now! We have some backstory to get into! Meet (y/n)! 16 years old, a Disney fan since she was a baby(sleeping beauty was the shit when she was old enough to remember movies), and now-a huge descendants fan. It’s July 31st, 2017, it’s been 10 days since Descendants 2 had released-and now (y/n) is hunkering down on her couch to watch the first movie again, and then watch D2 again-just for funsies~.

Harry Hook had quickly and easily stolen her heart as soon as he appeared on screen, and she couldn’t wait to start up D2 again. But as the opening credits began to play on her screen-it started to…glitch out, Mal’s voice overpowered by a ‘new’ one, deeper, male-and Scottish.

Before (y/n) could react to it properly-her TV turned to blinding white, the light overwhelming her eyes and living room; something grabbing at her body and tugging her into the screen, the teen was just barely able to grab her phone and bag before she was dragged in screaming to the Descendants world.

What adventures await her there? Only time will tell, for now~ let’s get back to those opening credits-shall we?

Mal; “once upon a time, long long ago-well, more like twenty-” Mal gets shoved over, a crashing noise indicating she hit something hard as someone scrambles to sit on the chair Mal was sitting on, a soft snicker coming from the intruder. Mal; ”Harry?! I was in the middle-“

Harry Hook; “oh shut it pixie-it’s my turn ta narrate! Now go be a bitch somewhere else-anyways~!” Mal storms off in a huff-most likely to complain about Harry to Evie or anyone that would listen. “Twenty years ago, king beasty and his Belle married front’ of all six-thousand of their mates-that’s a big cake hells bells. Anyway! Beasty united all tha’ kingdoms and declared hi’mself king of tha’ united states of boreadon~

He rounded up all tha’ villains, sidekicks, petty thieves, drug dealers, anyone he could think of that was even slightly bad-and booted em’ off ta’ the isle of the lost; with a magic barrier ta’ keep ‘em there.

This is where I live. No magic, no WIFI, no fresh food, and no.way.out….or so we thought~ hol’ up hol’ up, yer about ta’ see me pretty face~ but first-this happened, and ain’t she pretty~ no not belle-the one sitting in the chair behind prince beasty.

Prince Ben stares out to the isle of the lost from his room at Beast castle, so much to do in so little time, and his coronation was in just a month-hardly any time to do all he wanted before he was crowned king. Ben let out a small sigh, catching the eye of his newest and now closest friend, who sat on a comfy chair behind him-doodling away as Ben’s tailor got to work fitting his coronation suit.

“Are you sure this’ll work (y/n)?” Ben asked the girl, who nodded absentmindedly, getting the last details of a certain pirate down before closing her book, and sitting up to give Ben her proper attention. “I’m sure of it, it’s your first royal proclamation, it’s Auradon law for it to pass with no barriers, be it from your parents or the council-we’ve been over this beasty boy, just stand your ground and those kids will be here sooner than you can say codfish.”

Ben let out a small mutter of ‘codfish’ with a teasing smile, laughing as (y/n) took a balled-up sheet of paper and chucked it at him, grinning as it bounced off his head and hit the tailor on the shoulder. He just shook his head at the two teens, standing up to bow as King Beast/Adam and Belle walked into the room-both looking ever so proud of their son.

“How is it you’re going to be crowned king next month!” King Adam exclaimed, looking almost star-struck as Belle, who was walking by her husband's side with her hand tucked into his arm. “You’re just a baby!” Adam insisted, chuckling as Belle stepped away and grabbed some of Ben’s discarded clothes, tossing the shorts in Ben’s hamper and folding the tourney jersey. “He’s turning sixteen dear!” Belle reminded, rolling her eyes fondly as Adam went on.

“That’s far too young to be crowned king!” (y/n) looked up from her sketchpad, looking as if she wanted to say something but shook her head, going back to her doodles. “I didn’t make a good decision till I was at least-forty-two.” Belle looked a bit offended at Adam’s words, narrowing her eyes up at him as Ben smiled in amusement-knowing his mom had a few choice words about his father’s choice of words.

“uh, You decided to marry me, at twenty-eight.” Belle reminded, shaking her head as she made eye contact with Ben as Adam sent a teasing grin down to his wife of 20 years. “it was either you or a teapot.” Belle just glared at him, two seconds away from smacking his shoulder. “kidding.” Adam looked back at Ben with wide eyes and Ben just laughed-knowing his mom still had his dad wrapped around her finger, even after all these years.

Ben glanced back at (y/n), who gave Ben an encouraging smile and he took a deep breath, stepping towards his parents-“mom, dad?” his tailor stopped him, making Ben step back and face his parents on the pedestal. “I’ve chosen my first official proclamation.”

Adam and Belle looked very interested, Adam nodding for Ben to go on. “I’ve decided that the children of the isle of the lost, be given a chance-to live here in Auradon.” Belle’s jaw dropped along with Ben’s shirt-and Adam’s jaw clicked. (y/n) sat up slightly, while she knew Adam wouldn’t hurt Ben, he still had some anger issues and would not let anything happen to her friend who had so graciously let her into his life two months ago.

Ben kept rolling forward, now that he finally got those words out-he wouldn’t stop until he had his first set of VK’s in Auradon. “every time I look out to the island, I feel like they’ve been abandoned.” (y/n) snorted slightly from her spot, thinking that was the understatement of the year. Ben just glanced back at her, making her go silent, knowing it was not the time for jokes.

“The children of our sworn enemies, living among us?” Adam asked, almost like he was trying to convince his son that his proclamation was a stupid idea-a dangerous one. But Ben stood strong, he would not let those kids be punished any longer, not for their parent's crimes. “we start with a few at first, the ones that need our help the most.”

Belle nodded, truly listening to Ben’s idea-he caught that nod and pushed forward-knowing he had his mom’s support-and (y/n)’s. he just needed his dad's. “I’ve already chosen them, I have Auradon guardians signed up to claim them in case anything happens and I’ve already spoken to FG about them being enrolled at Auradon prep.” Adam nodded, it seemed his son already had everything planned out.

“You’ve done all that eh?” Adam muttered, looking down at his son. “And why should we give these-villain kids-a chance?” Belle took Adam ‘s arm, turning him towards her. “I gave you a second chance” Belle reminded Adam that he, was once seen as a villain, a monster-only to be redeemed by the woman before him. she turned to Ben when Adam calmed down. “Who are their parents, and how many?”

“Six,” Ben answered immediately, wringing his hands together slightly. “Two girls and four boys. Cruella De’vil, Jafar, Evil Queen, Captain Hook-“ Ben paused, knowing the last two villains were two his dad would not react well too-especially the latter. “-and Maleficent and Gaston.” Ben rushed out, taking a step back as Adam stepped forward-his voice rising and scaring the tailor who quickly bowed out.

(y/n) planted her feet on the floor.

“Maleficent?! Gaston!? They are the worst villains known to us!” Ben held his hands up, trying to get his father to calm down “Dad-just hear me out here-“ Ben pleaded, closing his eyes for a moment as Adam lifted his hand to point at the isle through the window. “I won't hear of it! They are guilty of unspeakable crimes-Gaston tried to murder me and take your mother! You really want to invite his-spawn-to our kingdom?!”

“They have done nothing wrong!” Ben insisted, finding his voice and overpowering his fathers “They have done nothing to us to condemn them to the isle! Gaston yes-he deserves to be there-but his kids? The other kids? They’ve done nothing wrong! Nothing except being born to those who have wronged us-they’re innocent in the eyes of the law and to me.” Ben straightened out, lifting his chin as he stared his father down. “This is my proclamation dad. And as future king, it is my duty to do what I think is right for my people-that includes the people of the isle. And it’s right to give those kids a chance.”

Adam and Ben held each other's stares for a moment, then Adam stepped away-nodding. “I suppose the children are innocent,” he admitted-he simply didn’t want to admit he had condemned children to a life of imprisonment-but his son would right his wrongs even if Adam never did. Adam turned and walked away, straightening his suit as Belle took Ben’s collar and fixed it-giving him a proud grin. “well done.” She whispered, turning to her husband and leading him out of the room “shall we?”

Ben let out the biggest sigh of relief as he stumbled back, holding his chest as (y/n) clapped from her chair, setting her sketchbook aside as she joined Ben at the window; clapping her hand on his shoulder. “Well done beasty boy, well done. You sure we can't get one more kid? From Yensid’s notes-Hook, Gaston, and Ursula’s kids are all quite close-It’d be a shame to pull them apart?” (y/n) asked, not wanting to separate the three pirates, but Ben shook his head sadly. “you heard the council, even numbers, No more-no less. besides-I only got six guardians to sign up, one for each kid.” (y/n) let out a raspberry, crossing her ankles as Ben gazed out towards the isle, playing with his class ring as he remembered the purple haired girl with emerald green eyes from his dreams.

“Well, what are we waitin’ for?” (y/n) asked, pushing Ben towards his closet. “get changed! We gotta get those letters to the isle!” Ben grinned with a nod, taking his fitting jacket off and tossing the stack of letters to (y/n), who slipped out of his room to wait for him to get changed.

It was time to invite the villain kids to Auradon.

Two days later: the isle of the lost-the wharf. A rough punk-like dubstep beat echoes as the camera flies through the isle of the lost-through the wharf marketplace place-through tattered sails and broken lamps-to find Ursula’s chip shop.

It zooms in to show a petite black girl with long teal and aqua braids, a nasty grin on her lips as she tosses a tray onto the table-which was the wrong order for the customer she delivered it to-as they complained, the girl ignored them, instead throwing the tray up in their face and pointing at the sign that said ‘you take it how we make it’ with a rough cackle.

Uma; They say I’m trouble-they say I’m bad-they say I’m evil~ and that makes me glad!”

Uma, the daughter of Ursula, grabs an empty tray and throws it into the kitchen, disrupting the work and making a crashing noise as Uma laughs and throws her apron away-leaving the chip shop after retrieving her sword. Her mother yelled after her-a set of tentacles snapping after Uma-curling away as Uma disappeared down the wharf.

Gil; A dirty no good-down the bone.

Gil, the son of Gaston, leaped between building gaps, a small group of teens chasing after him-yelling for him to give back their loot. Gil just grinned, making sure his bag of new loot was secure before disappearing behind the wharf fence-leaving the group behind-who had thought Gil was helping them steal from the market place.

Gil; Your worst nightmare-can’t take me home!”

Harry Hook, son of Captain Hook, strut through the wharf marketplace-pirates and others alike backing away in fear of the young pirate-fear for the glint in his eye and the sharpness in his grin. He snatched jewelry and whatever he could see as he walked through-a giggle escaping him as he pocketed several rings.

Harry; So I’ve got some mischief~ in me blood-can ya blame me? I never got no love~”

Harry blew a kiss to a younger girl with dark red hair-who giggled and hid her flushing face behind her bangs. It was no secret that many girls, and boys-of the isle had a crush on Harry-but he had yet to find a spark with anyone-other than with his friend Uma-who he would defy the gods for. Harry laughed to himself, dipping beneath a rail and grinning as he saw Uma; greeting her with his hook as they always did.

Gonzo-a member of the wharf rats-Harry’s crew of misfits-bolted through the wharf-a bedazzled jacked in hand as Bonnie-another crew member-laughed as she ran behind him, holding several handfuls of good loot.

Gonzo; They say im callous.” Bonnie; a lowlife hood~ I feel so useless”

Bonnie stole a half-eaten week stale donut from a younger pirate as she bolted by them, cackling as she and Gonzo disappeared into the wharf, meeting up with Gil, Uma, and Harry as they ran about causing chaos.

Gonzo/Bonnie; Misunderstood!”

Uma and Harry grinned at each other as they walked on the highest set of the wharf, laughing as they watched their wharf rats cause chaos and steal all they wanted.

Uma/Harry; Mirror mirror, on the wall-who’s the baddest-of them all? Welcome to my wicked world-wicked world!

The pirates burst into a pillow factory and ripped it apart, feathers, fluff, and fur flying everywhere as the pirates cackled and jumped about-enraging the workers as they had fun. They made all the noise they could as they ran out of the factory-Harry scraping his hook along the metal pipes as they ran.

Pirates; I’m rotten to the core, Rotten to the core-I’m rotten to the core! Who could ask for more-I’m nothing like the kid next-like the kid next door! I’m rotten to the core-rotten to the-I’m rotten to the core!

The camera pans away from the laughing pirates, focusing on Harry and Gil before zooming towards the main isle market-revealing a girl with shoulder-length purple hair and a snarky grin-holding a spray paint can. The daughter of Maleficent.

Mal; Call me a schemer-call me a freak-how can you say that?! Im just-unique!”

Mal spray painted a large purple M on a shower sheet-pushing it aside and giving a falsely sweet grin to a passing isle inhabitant who ran away in fear. Mal laughed, spotting her ‘friend’ Evie and running over to meet her-who was pushing through the clothing section of the marketplace-pocketing things she liked.

Jay; What, me a traitor? Ain’t got your back? Are we not friends?! What's up with that!?”

Jay, son of Jafar, dropped into the marketplace from the panels above, hanging from the support beams as he flipped over to the floor and landed in front of two people enjoying some tea. He took the bronze teapot and politely poured them their tea, they smiled and thanked him-yelping as he leaped over the table with the pot and ran off, cackling as he did.

Evie; So I’m a misfit~ so I’m a flirt~ I broke your heart? I made you hurt?

Evie, daughter of the evil queen, strut through the fabric of the clothing section of the marketplace-Mal close behind as Evie grinned and stole a scarf from one of the shoppers, winking as he stared after her-in awe of the young princess as she disappeared within the fabrics, Mal laughing as she followed the blue-haired princess away from the market.

Carlos; The past is past~ forgive forget! The truth is, you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

Carlos, son of Cruella De’vil, casually strolled on top of the tables on the outskirts of the marketplace, knocking over baskets of apples and other goods as shop keeps and customers alike yelled at him to get down. He just laughed, knocking over another basket of apples and dropping a smaller basket on a woman's head-tossing some hay at her as he hitched a ride on a cart.

Mal/Evie; mirror mirror, on the wall-who’s the baddest-of them all? Welcome to my wicked world-wicked world!

Mal and Evie smiled down at Carlos and Jay as the boys caused some havoc in the market's bakery, laughing as Jay knocked over a near-empty bucket of flour and Carlos began to pull at a crane-like mechanic-Jay leaping on for the ride and laughing as Carlos pulled him along.

The vks flooded the streets and wharf, bouncing and weaving between pirates and villagers-laughing as they disrupted the peace. The pirates danced with their swords as Mal and her gang banged their heads and stomped their feet.

VK’s ; I’m rotten to the core-core, Rotten to the core-I’m rotten to the core-core, Who could ask for more? I’m nothing like the kid next-like the kid next door! I’m rotten to the-I’m rotten to the-I’m rotten to the core~”

Harry fixed his hat as he and the wharf rats showed off their stolen loot, Harry eyeing the cracked ruby necklace he had snatched from the market-it looked expensive and still in good condition, he could resell it for a high price-or get that Tremaine brat to repurpose it for him-maybe make himself a new ring.

Harry’s grin widened as he noticed a passing kid with a candy apple-he snatched it up and pushed the kid away as they cried, holding up the apple in victory as his crew laughed with him. Uma rolled her eyes, mostly out of fondness as she took a seat on a nearby barrel, playing with her teal and red beaded bracelet as Harry tried to eat his new prize. But isle candy apples were more like actual rocks instead of candy. “a candy apple, stolen from a kid, truly you are the embodiment of evil Harry.” Uma teased, grinning sharply as he pointed his hook at her, a glint in her eye that always made her giddy.

“Ah~ Uma~ ye know this is only tha’ beginning of me evil plans, first-a candy apple-then!” Gil interrupted Harry, a habit Gil had that he had never been able to kick-he interrupted a lot of people actually, and got in himself in trouble quite a bit for saying before thinking. “the candy store?” Gil asked, looking giddy at the thought of stealing from a whole candy store.

Harry just stared at Gil blankly as the crew snickered softly, Uma rolling her eyes again. “I was goin’ ta say the world, Gil.” Harry said, his shoulders slumping in disappointment in Gil’s lack of want for world domination-he’d rather eat all the eggs in the world than take it over.

As Harry talked to his friends, the crew all froze and stared down the wharf-two men walking towards them. Harry noticed his crew’s frozen expressions and went to ask them what the fuck they were doing-when he realized why they froze. Harry swallowed, dropping his shoulders and head as his father, captain Hook-came strutting towards him-his scarlet red coat flowing behind him and his icy blue eyes shaded by his large captain's hat.

Harry glanced at Uma-who held his stare-worry deep in her eyes. Visits from his father were never good news, and never ended well for Harry.

“Stealing apple’s boy? How-juvenile.” James sneered, hooking the apple and taking it from Harry’s hand. Harry winced, shuffling on his feet. “It was from a lost boy?” Harry said meekly, his loud personality always seemed to disappear around his father. James just rose his brow, tossing away the candy apple, landing in the dirt; ants quickly covering the hard caramel.

“not a real lost boy, they’re all on neverland” James sneered again, reaching out with his right hand and taking Harry’s shoulder-the teen flinching at the action-his father’s eyes were glinting oddly again-flashes of red circling within the ocean blue. Harry stayed quiet-knowing if he talked it wouldn’t end well. “ah! Speaking of-“ Harry was turned in his father’s hold, James’ hook pointed out towards Auradon that lay across the sea.

Harry blinked-wondering what the hell was going on-seeing Gaston talking to Gil-Gil looking…very confused as always. His father continued speaking-demanding Harry’s attention. “-Neverland, will soon be ours!” Harry furrowed his brows, looking at his father. “what do ye mean?” Harry asked, leaning back as his father got into his face.

“A chance to freedom boy, a chance to reclaim what is ours-you-along with-“ James gestured to Gil, who still seemed to struggle with what Gaston was explain. “what's his face-have been invited to attend a new school-in Auradon!”

Harry ripped away from his father's grasp-hearing Uma and his crew’s gasps of surprise as Harry shook his head wildly. “What?! hell no!” Harry snapped, crossing his arms stubbornly, anger overpowering his fear for a moment. “I ain't going ta’ no boarding school with-pathetic spoiled princes and snooty pink princesses!? What would tha’ point be? Learn how ta sip tea?” Harry huffed, tensing as his father used his hook to grab his collar-bringing him closer to James’ face.

“The wand. Boy.” James hissed, his eyes flashing red. “the wand. With it you-will free me, us. And then-we retake neverland-then-we claim the world and all its riches-That. Is the point. Understand?”

Harry just nodded, then he frowned-turning back towards Uma-was it just going to be him and Gil? what about Uma? “what about Um-“ Harry nearly asked if his oldest friend was coming along, but was quickly silenced with his chin being grabbed. Harry swallowed harshly-losing his voice as he stared into his father's eyes.

“You get the wand, you not only free me and your sisters-but your little sea witch friend as well. Is that not good enough?” Harry nodded, squeaking a little as he spoke. “Yes sir,” Harry rubbed his jaw as it was realized-his father walking back towards his ship as Gil finally arrived at the station.

“Pack your things, boys, you leave for Auradon in two hours.” Gil and Harry’s jaw dropped, staring wide-eyed at their fathers as they walked away as if they hadn’t just dropped the biggest life-changing news in their lives. “what?!” Harry yelped, feeling Uma’s hands on his arm as his father gave no further information, instead just turning and glaring at him.

“Boy!” Harry pressed his lips together, sharing a look with Uma before slowly following after his father, his head dropping between his shoulders as Gil went to follow Gaston to their house.

At least his father hadn’t come to tell Harry to get to ‘work’, he’d take randomly going to Auradon over ‘working’ any day.

“So you’re both leaving without me, eh?” Uma asked quietly as she sat on Harry’s bed-watching as he packed his things-he was going to only pack maybe a week's worth of clothes-but James told him to practically move out-as they wouldn’t be coming back to the isle after Harry got the wand.

“Not forever, we’ll be back fer ye.” Harry said with a smile, one only reserved for his best friend. “I promise Uma, I would never leave ye behind-as soon as I get tha’ wand, I’ll get ye and me sisters off-with our own ship-and we’ll rule the seas-like we planned.” Harry reached out, taking Uma’s clenched hand, smiling down at her as she looked up at him from behind her lashes.

She smiled, standing and hugging him, a moment just between them-friends since they could remember. They stayed like that for a moment, before they heard James stomping around on the deck-yelling at his crew. They pulled apart, holding each other's stare before Uma took out a gold bracelet made of hardened seashells she had collected from the isle shores. “here, something for you two, for good luck.” Uma mumbled; Harry held out his left hand to let her slip it on.

“I have one for Gil as well,” She handed him the 2nd bracelet for him to give to Gil, showing off her matching set that sat on her right wrist. Harry had to hide his smile, knowing Uma would get flustered if she knew how much he loved them, she always did when he complimented her crafts. Such as her pirate hat-or any of her outfits.

“Boy! Hurry it up!” Harry and Uma jumped at the sound of James' voice, and Harry hurried to pack up the rest of his things-throwing on his red leather jacket and grabbing his hook-zipping up his bags and making his way out of his room-Harriet, his older sister, taking his duffle bag from him. “I can carry it myself,” Harry muttered, but let her carry it. Then he, Uma, Harriet-and their little sister-Cj, all followed his dad off the jolly roger and towards the center of the isle.

“uuuh da?” Harry asked, his brows furrowing as Bargain castle, the home of Maleficent herself, came closer as they walked. “Why are we goin’ ta Bargain castle?” his father didn’t bother to glance at him-only clicking his tongue. “I suppose I forgot to mention it-it’s not just you and Gaston’s boy going to Auradon-Maleficent’s spawn and her crew will be going as well.”

Harry stopped in his tracks, a look and feeling of disgust and anger bubbling up. “oh fuck no,” Harry cursed, shaking his head and pointing at the castle, Uma sharing his same look of disgust at the thought of Mal. “I’m not going anywhere-or working with tha’ dragon bitch or her goons-not in a million years!”

His father sighed, one that meant danger, and turned-curling his lip as he spoke “I didn’t say you had to work with her-nor get along. The six of you are simply all going to the same place-I wouldn’t expect you to work with anyone but Gaston’s boy anyway-why let that brat get all the credit? This is a job for pirates after all.” With that-his father continued into the castle, passing up the lower floor clothing shop and ascending the stairs-Harriet, CJ, and Uma were forced to stay below as Maleficent’s knuckleheads stopped them.

“Guess we’ll see ye before ya go off,” Harriet muttered, handing him his back and patting his shoulder. “Don’t blow this, got it?” Harry nodded, pushing CJ away as she faked a sob and tried to hug him, cackling as he pushed her away. “Stop tryin’ ta steal me shit.” Harry grumbled as CJ continued to try to grab his wallet.

“But I must have something to remember you by!” CJ cried dramatically, reaching for his new gold shell bracelet now. “how else will I get by while you’re gone?!” Harry just rolled his eyes, pushing her off him for the last time.

“you’ll live ye lil shit-n stop talkin’ like da’, ye sound like a nut.” With that, Harry made his way into the castle-Gil and Gaston right behind him. Harry slipped Gil his bracelet-showing off his own when Gil looked a bit confused at it. “From Uma, just wait ta’ put it on after we leave-so yer dad doesn’t blow his shit.” Harry muttered, knowing how Gaston felt about jewelry-even if it was painted with gold. Gil nodded, pocketing his new bracelet in his thigh bag and setting his two large bags at the door as the two teens and Gaston entered the main room.

Mal looked absolutely thrilled to see them, turning to her mother with seething eyes. “what are they-” she pointed at them, almost baring her teeth at them as Harry glared back, his hooked hand twitching with the want to pin her to the Jolly Rodger. “-doing here!? you said-“

“I said you for and two others Malsy, now put your listening ears on my nasty girl.” Maleficent tapped Mal’s nose-causing Mal to screech and continue to complain about Harry and Gil. Harry snatched a vile of black nail polish while the two dark fairies bitched at each other.

Harry and Gil were forced to stand with Mal and her ‘friends’ as Maleficent finally silenced Mal’s screeching and sat down on her ‘throne’, filing her nails as she went through the details of her evil plot for the six teens. “You will go, you will find the fairy godmother, and you will bring me back her magic wand!” she blew her nails, winking at her daughter with a nasty smirk. “easy peasy!”

“what's in it for us?” Mal asked, and Harry was actually surprised to hear that-us? As in more than just Mal? That was surprising. Mal never cared about anybody other than herself. “Matching thrones? Hers-and-hers crowns?” Maleficent cooed-assuming Mal meant her in Mal’s ‘us’ talk. “I think she means us?” Carlos said, gesturing between him and Mal, and Mal nodded-gesturing between the four of them, completely ignoring Harry and Gil.

Maleficent just tossed her nail fire and beckoned Mal closer-who obeyed like always. Harry rolled his eyes, inviting Gil to sit at the back of the room near the balcony, plopping down on the ratty old black couch stained with purple and green.

As Maleficent chattered off to her daughter, Harry and Gil practically zoned out, not caring for what was going around them at the moment-well, Harry zoned out, Gil was bouncing his legs and looking everywhere he could-remembering everything to the last detail.

“And with that wand and my scepter-I will be able to bend both good and evil to my will!” Maleficent exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in a dramatic gesture. EQ quickly shot down Maleficent’s solo act with a sneer and quick words. “Our will.” Cruella pointed at EQ, nodding as Jafar looked up at those words-giving Maleficent a look of disappointment for the fae already forgetting their deal.

“Our will, our will,” Maleficent waved the notion off-snapping to regain Mal’s attention. Harry went back to ignoring them, letting his head fall back and his eyes close-knowing Gil would nudge him if anything happened.

The villains all started to chatter away, EQ giving Evie a small lesson on princes and mirrors(no smiling, wrinkles!), Cruella forbidding Carlos from leaving, giving the pup hope that his mom would actually miss him for loving reasons(she just needed someone to scrape her feet-gross), and Jafar needing Jay to stay to stock his shop’s shelves(half of which Harry stole from only to sell back, but that was Jafar’s whole business).

Harry peeked as Jay started to take the loot he had scored that day, ending with a bronze lap that Jafar dropped everything for and started to rub-only for Jay to mutter that he already tried. The lamp now boring, Jafar scoffed and threw the object back at Jay, which nearly hit him in the face if he hadn't leaned back to catch it.

“Well, Evie’s not going anywhere till we get rid of this unibrow,” EQ muttered, taking a pair of tweezers and plucking the offending hair from Evie’s forehead-to which Harry wasn’t even sure there was a hair there-Evie’s brows were practically perfect.

“what is wrong with you all?! people used to cower at the mention of our names!!!” Maleficent screeched, taking Mal and throwing her from the stairs to the table, Mal slammed her hands on the surface to regain her balance as she stared wide-eyed at Carlos, who shared her expression as the grown villains all stared at Maleficent.

Hook and Gaston looked offended, as they hadn’t been against Maleficent’s plan nor had they plans to keep their boys here. “For twenty years, I have searched for a way off this island-for twenty years, they have robbed us from our revenge!” she turned to EQ, and began to list off the revenge the villains’ felt they deserved. “Revenge on snow white and her horrible little men.” EQ just grimaced as Evie plucked a hair, looking a bit offended for her mother as Maleficent continued on.

“Revenge on Aladdin and his bloated Genie!” Jafar puffed up, going to attack Maleficent with his spoon in anger as she spoke of his worst enemies-only for Jay to stop him. “Revenge on those sneaky dalmatians-who escaped your clutches!” Cruella cackled, shaking her head as she pet the stuffed dalmatian puppy that sat on her shoulder-Carlos hiding behind her to protect himself from Maleficent.

“Oh but they didn’t get the baby~ but-but they didn’t get the baby!“ she laughed manically-causing Maleficent to back away in concern as Cruella continued to cackle about her stuffed toy. Maleficent turned to Gaston- “Revenge on Beast and his belle.” Gil shivered at the look of darkness on his father's face-knowing what he intended to do if he got revenge-and it wasn’t pretty for Belle. “Revenge on Pan and his lost boys!”

Hook’s eyes turned red and Harry shuffled towards Gil, glancing away as he crossed his arms. He hated when that happened-it always hurt when his father's eyes went red-he had the scars to prove it. “and I! Maleficent! The evilest of them all~” Maleficent purred, sitting on EQ’s lap and stealing her mirror, admiring herself in it. “will finally get revenge, on sleeping beauty…and her relentless little prince.” Maleficent hissed, turning back to the villains.

“Villains!” they all snapped to attention, Jafar swallowing the food he had been making in the small kitchen of Maleficent’s flat. “yes?” Maleficent smiled, one that made all the teens shiver-they hated that smile-even Mal. “Our day has come~ EQ?” the old queen hummed, taking the small mirror as Maleficent handed it back to her, looking towards Evie as she got off EQ’s lap “give her the magic mirror.”

Evie was handed a handheld mirror-cracked at the edges and missing some pieces. Evie looked disappointed. “This is your magic mirror?” Evie asked, admiring herself in the broken glass. EQ just hummed, nodding. “Well, it ain't what it used to be, then again- neither are we?” EQ joked, laughing with Maleficent. “But it will help you find things,” Evie’s eyes lit up and she interrupted her mother in her excitement. “Like a prince~!” EQ chuckled, glancing up at Maleficent “Like my waist line-“ she joked, laughing still as Maleficent groaned and rolled her eyes-wanting to get to the point already. “like the magic wand-hello?”

EQ pursed her lips and nodded, agreeing they had gotten off track. “My spell book, my book-I need my-that book” Maleficent turned as EQ snapped her fingers and pointed back at the fridge-which Maleficent deemed her ‘safe’. Harry blinked, watching as the mistress of all evil struggled with a damn refrigerator. Mal just looked embarrassed, her ears turning pink as her friends and shrimpy’s boys saw her mother make a fool of herself.

“Queen help me! I can never figure this thing out!” as EQ helped Maleficent, Hook grabbed Harry’s shoulder and dragged him towards the balcony, giving the two some privacy. “da?” Harry asked quietly, unsure of what he wanted, his brow’s furrowing as his father handed him a large blank piece of paper that folded over itself multiple times. “A piece of paper?” Harry flipped it over, opening it and then turning it over twice more. “A blank piece of paper?”

James rolled his eyes, tapping his hook on the paper that looked and felt very old. “Not just any piece of paper, this map-like the mirror-is magical, I’ve only used it a handful of times myself-but as I say-any good pirate knows how to read and use a map.” Harry just stared at his dad, closing the blank paper and licking his lips. Was his dad having another episode?

“This?” Harry held up the re-folded map. “is a map?” James nodded, tapping the map again with his hook. “yes, magic. It doesn’t work here, but it will in Auradon. It’ll give you a detailed map of wherever you are, nicked it from some magic school in Scotland about forty years ago.” Harry slowly nodded, pocketing the map and grabbing his backpack as a horn sounded from outside. James grabbed his neck and Harry froze, his breath stopping with him as James muttered in his ear the password and lock to the map. Along with a threat.

“if you fail me, you will never see your sisters or sea witch again. Understand?” Harry nodded, swallowing down his fear. “Good. Go.” Harry bolted off, grabbing his bags as he and Gil raced down the stairs and back out into the main square-where a long black car was waiting for them.

Harry let out a whistle, handing his bag to the driver and bumping his sisters goodbye, squeezing Uma’s hand with a hidden smile before he and Gil slid into the car. “Tell me smee’s I’ll be back before they know it.” Harry called out to Harriet-who nodded, backing up as Evie and Carlos ran out-the pup jumping into the limo to avoid his mother who was screeching at him.

Carlos tumbled to the floor, hitting Harry’s legs and grunting as Gil lifted him into the seat next to him-Evie and Jay climbing in after Carlos. Jay and Harry glared at each other, making Evie and Gil sigh as the two thieves had a small stare-off. “Oh quit it,” Mal snapped as she slid into the limo, taking her spot at the end of the seats next to Evie. “Go flirt somewhere else-I do not have the stomach to watch you two make eyes.” Harry and Jay sputtered, Jay’s cheeks going red as Harry rolled his eyes, catching Uma’s gaze as she stared at him and Gil. Harry offered what he hoped was a comforting grin-jolting as the car began to move-leaving the isle-and Uma, behind.

Uma watched as her only friends drove off without her, her fingers playing with her golden bracelet as Harriet and CJ stood with her-the three staring as the limo disappeared from view.

“Please don’t forget about me,” Uma whispered, feeling a small pit of dread in her gut as the barrier flashed gold.

-end of p1-

Here it is~! P1 of the Rewrite revise! Again-just doing D1 since im happy with D2 and 3~!

Taglist!

@sephiralorange @queer-cosette @lunanight2012

@musicarose @daughter-of-the-stars11 @random-thoughts-004

@anythingbutmar @dai-tsukki-desu @imtryingthisout

@rintheemolion @remembered-license @thecaptainsgingersnap

@thetrueghostqueen @littlewierdalien

#disney descendants #harry hook x reader #harry hook descendants #POYW rewrite #REWRITE 2 #captain hook sucks and isnt a good dad #implied abuse #D1 rewrite #rewrite poyw #part of your world

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ackerfics · 3 years

Text

so this is love — annie leonhart

— annie leonhart x female reader

— request by anon: I kinda have a request. How about royal au? Where 2 kingdoms are at war with each other, and reader is the heir of the throne of one kingdom (but they’re not the spoiled type of heir, more like the solider one?) and then the kingdoms decided a truce. Reader will have to marry the heir of the other kingdom which is Annie. Idk maybe those arranged marriages that they never get along at first? Kinda like they were enemies bc they never get along until some development of feelings happen along the way. Maybe Annie will realize that she has feelings when reader got injured since they’re a soldier

— warnings: mentions of war, slight angst if you squint, just two idiots falling in love with each other :))

— summary: you were sent off to another kingdom as a sign of a truce, promising to yourself that the engagement is close to death at how you got off on the wrong foot with your betrothed. it was hell at first but who knows? maybe, unbeknownst to you, the two of you are a match made by the gods.

— word count: 7.5k

— author’s notes: i am so sorry this came out so long :((( we just finished our exams and we have a case study to write as our midterm for a subject. i hope this will still quench your annie fic cravings. and by the way, i fashioned the kingdom of idylle to mondstadt because genshin impact is my stress reliever right now and a kingdom built upon freedom sounds like a gem. plus, the glass castle of the reader is based off of the castle of cinderella, which is the reason for the title hhhhhh happy reading !!!

so this didn’t appear in the tags so i reposted it :”(((

Corsets were abominations that needed to be burned.

The girl with your features staring at you from the mirror was someone you couldn’t recognize from all the preparations your chambermaid did on your figure. The make-up was appalling and thick that you could see a smear on the back of your hand when you tried rubbing your itching nose. Your hair was done in a half up-do with too many decorative pins sticking out, creating a makeshift crown of silver roses, one of the symbols of your kingdom. The dress your mother expected you in was straight-up ridiculous, you couldn’t move from the tightness of the corset and the heaviness of your skirts was hindering you from moving freely. You couldn’t even deny that it was a lovely gown but its inconvenience was irking you at the slightest turn or stretch.

Dressing up this lavishly was rare for you, the Crown Princess of the kingdom boring flags of silver and lilac. You very much preferred the heaviness of your armor and your title as one of your kingdom’s Commendatore rather than the ladylike image your mother has been forcing you on the past few weeks.

You were livid when your parents renounced from the ten-year war that was purging the continent with just a sign on a piece of paper — one that included your name and your honor. Everything was brutal, carnage dotting every town and village of the two kingdoms throwing spears and fire cannons, and you witnessed it all firsthand when you started being one of your kingdom’s soldiers four years ago — a sixteen-year-old girl throwing orders that gave you an advantage from your enemies wearing the crest of the kingdom that painted your lands a heart-wrenching red. Of all solutions that your parents and the other kingdom could come up with, it involved you in the most unacceptable way possible. Officially entering your twenties this year, your parents thought it necessary to offer you as a bride that signified peace to the warring nation right beyond the border. The idea made your vision red, an outburst coming out of your mouth mere seconds after the proposal was announced in the council meeting.

A soldier, a knight, a commander — that’s what you are.

Not some forsaken young woman ready to be shipped off to your rival nation because it was the only way out of this bloody mess.

You had no choice.

The only way for you to grasp the final moments in your kingdom was relishing the touches of the chambermaid and taking in the décor of your room — the small trinkets scattered on your nightstands, the books you escaped to, the jewelry that boasted the colors of your family, and the stuffed animals your nanny sewed for you when you were a toddler. You closed your eyes and let the feathery fingers of the people around you lull you into a prayer for the gods in their celestial thrones, asking for their blessing in this far travel. In the middle of reciting an ode dedicated to the goddess of divine bravery, you felt a cool pendant carefully slide over your collarbones.

Your mother’s face appeared beside the watery princess of the mirror, a forced smile pulling on the corners of her lips. Your distinctly colored irises flickered down on the necklace your mother placed upon the exposed parts of your body. It was a flower-pressed necklace, the gold plate carefully protecting the flower representing your birth. The golden chain holding the necklace together was so thin that you worried for a moment that the fragile piece of jewelry might break in less than an hour while you meet your partner-to-be. You met your mother’s gaze in the mirror — from a chivalrous princess of armor to a dignified queen ruling within a land of eternal spring.

“You look so beautiful,” your mother breathed your name, holding your arms tightly against her ring-adorned hands. Tears blossomed her eyes, trickling down her cheeks akin to the lavender flowers’ petals of the large white tree in your backyard. “You look like the queen you were supposed to be.”

You tried smiling but your wobbly lips made you falter. You can only purse your lips in a tight, flat smile as you face your mother, face set in a kind expression. “Please don’t cry, Mother,” you murmured, placing your palm on top of hers, squeezing it for reassurance. “They wouldn’t do anything to me.”

They, meaning the kingdom you were at war with, the nation that claimed they needed a bride for their Crown Heir. In your world, there was freedom even in marriage — with the kingdoms pairing their sons with the sons of their enemies all for the sake of a truce, especially if the two of them were firstborns. This is very much your situation at the moment. The kingdom of Idylle was a beautiful haven of songs dedicated to the god of the winds, very contrasting to their military power that could take down a good number of your soldiers. You heard stories from some villages in your nation that Idylle was a hoax, that they were bloodthirsty warmongers hungry for the spilled blood of the people of Glaieul, your kingdom. You couldn’t help but believe their words. That was the only addition to your knowledge of Idylle except for their battle tactics and placement of soldiers on the battlefield.

“We’ll pray to the deities that they will do just that,” your mother laughed a little despite the tears. “Or else your father will wage war if they so much scratched you.”

“He wouldn’t do that, Mother,” you shook your head with a slight smile. “You two have worked so hard for this peace treaty. If I ever scratched myself in Idyllic lands, trust me that it would most likely be my fault. Not theirs.”

Your mother’s laugh twinkled in the room, painting everything in a light that erased the heaviness shrouding in every corner of your chambers. “I suppose so. You and your love for your sword are unrivaled. I can still remember the time when you first got the weapon, you were so thrilled for a six-year-old that one would think you were born in the barracks. I have to admit, you looked adorable swinging your sword until the greeting of the night and its stars.” She wistfully sighed, looking down at the necklace she gave you. “Your father was so proud when you came back for dinner that night.”

“My sword has always been a lifelong companion. I will even bring it to their castle.”

Your mother placed a hand on top of her chest, over her heart. “I hope you don’t unsheathe it in front of their royal family.”

You breathed a laugh. “No promises.”

The two of you talk about all the things that happened in your childhood, your laughs echoing through the hallways. The maids and the butlers bade you goodbye and safe travels as you passed by, never forgetting to nod in their direction in acknowledgment. You will miss their company for they saw you grow up before you decided to partake in the war. Almost all of them fussed over the mess you made while practicing your swordplay, cleaning up the broken vases and the mud on the carpeted floors. Even one of the apprentices of the Keeper of Books residing in the palace, Armin, enthusiastically waved at you, his friends flanking him for a visit in the kitchens. You didn’t miss how Eren directed an incredulous stare towards the blonde man, with Mikasa looking shocked at how easily the apprentice interacted with you in a public setting since your times with them only happened behind prying eyes.

You gave the three of them a huge smile that gave their faces a pretty rose shade.

Upon reaching the foyer, your father stood at the foot of the stairs along with the soldiers you acquainted in your time on the battlefield, sending a wave of warmth through your chest. His silver coat lined with gold details was a beacon and his white breeches were tucked in a pair of knee-length boots. His chest was decorated with his sash full of medallions, the kingdom insignia of lilac gladioluses and silver roses pinned on top of his heart. The king of Glaieul softened his eyes, crinkles appearing at the corners, at the sight of you and your mother descending on the stairs.

“My little flower,” was his greeting to you when you reached him.

“Father,” you breathed, picking up your skirts to settle in the embrace of waiting arms. You buried your figure against him, inhaling his scent of pine and rosewater, creating the last memory you will have of him. The two of you pulled away for a moment, your eyes watering at the sad visage your father sported. You felt the lightest brush of his kiss on your forehead.

“Now I’m becoming reluctant in sending you off,” he told you. “I felt guilty when I saw you fight against this during the council meeting. But it is what they offered and I have no say in the matter.”

“I know.”

“May the eternal spring never waver in your soul.”

You nodded before taking a step back, bowing with your knees on the marble floors. Your crown glinted against the light from the stained-glass windows, your hair forming a curtain around your face as you replied, “I will let it fester among the ballads and idylls they will offer. I will carry the name of Glaieul with faithfulness, honor, and grace.” You raised your head to meet your father’s eyes. “I promise to never deter the eternal spring.”

It would be that way until your last years in that kingdom. And as you rode the carriage with the soldiers you fought with guarding the vehicle with their lives on the line, you could only sigh and offer another round of prayers that this swerves in a more positive direction than what you were expecting. After a hefty journey across the bustling capital (people stopped by and waved your carriage goodbye, offering you flowers that one of the captains of the fleet, Levi, scowled at — you coaxed him that it was alright, though) to the hectares of meadows in the countryside, the sight of flowers mixed with emerald turned into a sea of teal as you entered the outskirts of Idylle, your betrothed’s home. Everything was bathed with the endemic species of grass solely blessed by the god of the winds on Idylle — legends say that it was because He wanted the kingdom that worshipped him to look different than the rest. No matter how much you deny it, it was beautiful.

“How are you faring, princess?”

Your daze was interrupted by a baritone voice, deep enough to alert some of the men around the carriage. His gray eyes provided you support during the war. You couldn’t help but smile at the onyx-haired man riding by your right window. “Hello, Captain Levi.”

“Tch. Drop the title, brat. You and I both know that the war made us friends somewhat.”

You let out a small laugh. “Well, Levi, to answer your question, I’m quite fine even though my parents just sold me to gain peace.”

Levi rose an eyebrow at the remark. “I am not one to have the capabilities to comfort someone but think of this as a way for you to help the kingdom without sacrificing your life for once. A nation without its heir is just like losing its king. I’ve seen you train when you’re starting as a squire and to the point when you got the position you deserve. This would be like a small walk in the gardens of your mother.” He fixated his stare on you, eyes dull yet determined to get his point across. “You have a role in every part of your life and this time, this is what the gods crafted for you. Do not fret, princess, you have more chances of being on the battlefield again.”

The words Levi spoke settled in you until you reached the capital of Idylle, a small island in the middle of a clear azure lake with walls resembling a huge castle. The bridge leading to the gates was lined with guards bearing the kingdom’s crest, all of them standing under the flapping flags bearing the symbol and colors of the royal family they serve — a harp surrounded by the colors of gold and blue. Their eyes warily followed the series of carriages, postures becoming stiff in the realization that the entourage holds the visitor their rivaling country sent. That was still the scenario when the series of carriages and horses passed by the marketplace, the vicinity on the lowest part of the walled capital, as if the wind even ceased to let the people gawk at the brightly-colored entourage making its way to the highest tier depicting mansions and the main plaza where their patron god stood tall and proud in front of the palace’s gates.

Everything looked magnificent.

It was a breath of fresh air from the glass castle you grew up in. Whereas your kingdom built a white, blinding home that withstood for hundreds of years, Idylle’s palace blended with the brick walls with its leveled mansard roofs and turrets. The gates were made of gold, welcoming you into a huge square of maze-like hedges, a fountain sitting in the middle of the labyrinth. Some gardeners stopped their daily chores to greet the carriages with a wave of their hat, seeing as you were going to be an addition to the royal family after the wedding in a few months. The steps leading to the main doors loomed in front of you with only a few servants waiting for you to step out of the carriage.

You took in a deep breath, nodding at Levi to open the door. When it swung open, you placed your hand on top of Levi’s as he guided you down the propped steps on the side of the carriage.

“Well,” Levi hummed from behind you, making you glance at him with a curious eye. “May the eternal spring never waver in your soul, Your Highness.” He bowed in front of you, only a dip of his head, a firm hand on his heart, and yet that was enough for you to reciprocate it with a kind smile.

“Safe travels back, Captain Levi. May the gods protect you.”

The servant boys standing on top of the stairs jumped an inch in the air, going down in fleeting steps to get your luggage when they realized they were staring too long at you. You smiled at them in gratitude before stepping inside the palace as the guards opened the huge, gilded double doors in front of you.

The inside was just elegant as the exterior appearance of the entire capital. Everything was bathed in gold that seemed to rival the Sun and it made you look away for a moment. The grand hall followed the kingdom’s colors, from the turquoise carpets leading towards two winding staircases to the golden ceilings decorated with paintings of cherubs and the story of how their god of the winds came to be. One of the servant boys slightly cleared his throat, snapping you out of your curiosity of the myths laid on the ceiling. You turned to him with raised eyebrows, spurring him to whisper a faint, “Follow us, Your Highness.” They led you through hallways hung with tapestries and paintings, drawing rooms where the queen hosted her tea parties (Levi would have loved it), and ballrooms that have the same aesthetic as the foyer. Finally, you stopped in front of one of the apartments in the palace, the servant boy who told you to follow them brightened at the guard stationed there.

“Reiner!”

You waited patiently and let your eyes roam across the hallway.

“Hello, Falco, Udo.” The man, Reiner, smiled at the young boys before turning to you. He placed a hand on his heart and bowed. “Welcome to Gale, the capital of Idylle, Your Highness.”

“Thank you for the welcome,” you replied, motioning for him that it was quite alright to straighten his posture. “The palace looks lovely.”

“Indeed, it is.” Reiner opened the doors of your room and once again bowed with an outstretched hand towards the room. “Here are your chambers and I will be your guard for the entirety of your stay here in the palace, Your Highness.” You muttered a faint ‘thank you’ as you entered a drawing room with a door to the private chambers on the left and the bathrooms to the right. There was a table fit for two people, armchairs, and drawers with vases on top. A huge floor-to-ceiling window illuminated the room, your feet carrying you there to open them, and letting the wind caress the curtains as they danced in the breeze. “If you ever need anything, you can call for my name and I will be here in an instant. Your chambermaid will be up here in a moment to help you prepare for the family dinner. For now, rest well, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Reiner, Falco, Udo,” you smiled, retreating towards the private chambers.

You let out a sigh and stared at nothing for a few moments. It came down to this. To think that you were in enemy lands and was treated so well without any degradation came as a shock to you. The people so far that radiated negativity at your arrival were the guards stationed at the bridge and some of the townsfolk and nobles parading in the streets. As you think about the servant boys and Reiner’s calmness in receiving you in the palace, you immediately thought that it would be better than you expected.

You took off your heels under your dress, mind racing that this wouldn’t be so bad, and plopped on top of your canopied bed, its baby blue curtains protecting you from unknown disturbances and drowning you in a rapid of dreams.

The dinner didn’t go so well as you expected.

You donned a more suitable dress for indoor use, something that doesn’t include forcing your figure in a tight corset and yet presentable enough to be shown in the family dinner. You even placed a circlet of silver flowers on your head to compensate for the dull dress you chose, the description fitting after one of the chambermaids expressed their perplexity at how simple regarding design your dress has. Your light blue skirts fanned out around you as you made your way to one of the grand dining rooms reserved for family use. The choice of the color of the dress should be enough to express that you are willing to be on good terms with the family of the person you will marry.

But your first meeting with Annie Leonhart was interestingly disappointing.

Before departing from your kingdom, you learned the royal family and even Idylle’s customs. You learned how they always valued freedom and expression above all else, compared to your home that valued their ties with the gods more than the idea of getting rid of the shackles placed by your deities. You learned how they have this festival dedicated to celebrating the love they share with their patron god and how it spanned for half a month.

Finally, you learned about the indifferent Crown Heir of Idylle, the young woman with the piercing blue oceanic eyes sitting in front of you at the dinner table. She was known for building up walls that discouraged some of her engagements with other royalties across the continent. She was so closed off that she didn’t even glance in your direction for one second. Her hair was done in an elaborate bun wrapping around her head in a braid, her small, thin diadem resting against her golden hair. Annie kept her gaze on her plate, even playing with her food mindlessly for a couple of minutes before sighing and taking a bite of the chicken the maids served. No conversation was exchanged and the dinner ultimately became one of the most awkward meals you had. The king even tried to engage his daughter for casual talk but Annie dismissed them with a hum.

The queen had to apologize to you several times after the dinner, with Annie huffing at the back and eager to get out of the room. Despite how much she was against this engagement, you still bowed at her before you retreated to your room.

Now dressed in your nightgown, you stared at the canopy of your bed, already missing your home the more you fixed your attention on the bundled-up curtains. You badly needed to hit a straw dummy with your sword to let out your frustrations. Of all the royalties present in your continent, why did it have to be you that was shipped to this measly forced marriage? There were still so many solutions that could lead to a peace treaty but why was this the only one the kings and queens could present to their courts? A sigh escaped your chest once again at the thought of actually getting to know Annie. You laid on your side, curling your legs towards your chest and prayed that the god of dreams will visit you sooner than expected.

A knock reverberated through your chambers, the sound making you sit up.

You went to the receiving room and opened the door. You kept the small hitch of your breath in your chest at the sight of Annie and her half-lidded eyes. There was no one in the hallways. You figured that she sent Reiner away for some privacy, meeting the blue irises you likened to brilliant sapphires.

“What brings you here, Your Highness?” you asked, opening the door wider.

“Annie.” She saw how your eyebrows raised in surprise. “Call me Annie, we’re betrothed after all.”

“Of course.” You smiled. “Annie,” you tested her name softly, missing the way she inhaled too sharply at your voice.

Annie reciprocated the gesture by saying your name. The two of you stared at each other and it felt like an eternity before she looked away to focus on the receiving room behind you. She noticed how your eyes held kindness underneath the star-like shine even though she showed hostility during your first dinner with her family. Your hair was disheveled and it didn’t take her a minute to realize she might have woken you up from a good night’s rest. The journey from Glaieul to Idylle was a long one. You deserve all the rest you can get, “I apologize if I woke you up but I feel like I should do this before dragging it out.” You once again raised an eyebrow so she took out a leather box, opening it to reveal a ring with a holographic gem showing teal and pink in the middle. The Leonhart family ring. “Here.”

“Oh.”

You were gawking at the beautiful piece of jewelry, with Annie taking the matter in her own hands. She took the ring out of the box and pocketed the container. Her hand reached out to hold your palm against hers, sliding the ring in your ring finger. Your hand still hovered in front of you after Annie retracted hers to find their place by her side. She continued to eye your mesmerized visage with a half-lidded gaze, clearing her throat to catch your attention. You turned to her with a small apology for spacing out.

“It’s fine,” Annie waved off. “It’s yours starting today.” She turned away from you and went down the hallways but not before saying a “Good night, [Name].”

The entire week of your stay in Idylle was uneventful, to say the least.

Annie kept her distance from you after that night she gave you their family ring. It left you thinking that you should also gift her the [Last Name] ring your family treasured for centuries. The ring was placed in a small cushioned jewelry box that you opened and propped on one of your night tables. Your conscience was telling you to give it to her but there wasn’t exactly any moment alone with her let alone just passing by her in the hallways. The blonde princess made it her mission to never let your fates meet the more time you spent in the capital. You then decided that she probably didn’t want this engagement to happen.

But she gave you the ring. Wasn’t that a strong signal that Annie accepted you as her betrothed, unlike the others before you?

You shook that thought as you focused on giving consecutive hits on the dummy in front of you. Two days before, you proposed to the king to let you have a moment alone in the training grounds for about two hours or so to keep you in shape. He reluctantly agreed, but not without a side stare at the queen. They heard of your glorious feats during the war, how you managed to become one of the Commanders of a battalion of soldiers tasked with being in the frontlines and how you won constant ambushes against Idylle’s numbers. Two hours of training became three until here you are, still not stopping as you finished every single dummy in the private training grounds. With your day spent outside, you thought it would be nice to have a nice dip in the bathtub before dinner.

In your walk towards your chambers, you spotted Annie in one of the drawing rooms, sitting in the window seats with a book of war tactics in hand. You recognized the author as one of the revolutionaries mentioned to you by your tutor.

“That’s a nice book,” you couldn’t help but mention. Annie turned to you unfazed by your interruption though there was a glint of interest in her eyes. “The book mostly describes battle formations but I think the author likened it to every situation on the battlefield. For instance, the phalanx was native to the empire of Great Findara and it was great for preventing casualties until it was overpowered by the infantry tactic of the city nation of Khisfire where every man has a role and a weapon depending on their group. The latter was more on the long-range yet melee way of taking back the territory.”

Annie hummed. “Do royal tutors of Glaieul teach this to their students?”

“Oh, no. I learned it while taking on the role of a squire.”

She once again hummed. “It completely slipped my mind that you are one of the Commanders in your military. You were ruthless as the folks in the noble plaza say, blood tainting your hands from doing raids in the border villages of Idylle.” Her tone was like a jab to your side, like an arrow tearing through your skin. “I know it was a time of war and desperate times call for desperate measures but our people didn’t deserve to experience the massacres.”

“They were far from being massacres,” you gritted your teeth.

Annie scoffed. “Then what were they? Because that’s what it looks like to me. I can still remember the story two years ago of a young girl wearing her lilac cape in the bloodbath, eyes so dull that you can see your reflection on it. What’s to say that this engagement is a hoax plotted by your parents to assassinate my family for you to win a territory you greatly needed because of the resources?” She closed her book with too much force, bitterly spitting out the next words, “The apple doesn’t fall from the tree as the saying goes.”

“If you question my being here then why did you give me your family ring, Annie?” you asked, your body now facing the tense young woman by the window. You cursed at how the light made her look angelic like the girl the god of the winds sacrificed his life to before he ascended to the heavens. “This peace treaty is everything my family wanted even though hundreds of our soldiers died in vain for not meeting the ends of what they fought for. If you’re saying that my parents placed me in an undercover predicament to add to the weight of deaths on my shoulders, I suggest you tell your father to put a stop to our betrothal. Because I don’t even want to be here, Your Highness, and it would do me such a huge honor. I would rather spend my time out with my fellow soldiers than pretending I’m some dainty princess my family sheltered when in fact, I was anything but that.

“Have a good day and I hope you enjoy the rest of the book. Chapter ten was a personal favorite of mine,” you dismissed, turning towards the direction of the apartments.

Once you reached your door, Reiner straightened his posture, faltering for a second when he noticed the cross look on your face. He chose not to say anything as he opened the door for you. You took off your boots right beside one of the armchairs of the receiving room and immediately went inside your private chambers. The glint of the ring on your night table mocked you. You stomped over the furniture and forcefully closed the small jewelry box, throwing the container inside one of the drawers.

Maybe sleep will be much kinder to you, the sheets enveloping you in an embrace you wish your mother can only give in this time of need.

You were radiant under the harsh heat of the Sun.

Annie was scheduled to have a free slot in her timetable after being included in one of the court meetings regarding the resiliency plan of some of the villages in the borders that managed to survive the Glaieulian raids. She suggested that the villages should be moved to one of the more remote villages nearer the capital, where the terrain is suitable for growing crops and starting small farms. There wouldn’t be an issue with overpopulation because the recommended village was home to the elderly and children. The newly situated families will also aid the old people as they go about their mundane activities. It was a sound suggestion and her father was also considering it. Annie hoped that would be the case as she scribbled a small note on a piece of paper. After the meeting, she stopped by one of the windows overlooking the training grounds, and there you are.

Your small argument that happened a few days before stirred some guilt in Annie’s stomach.

You weren’t even part of the raids she was talking about. They were led by a commander by the name of Erwin Smith. The stories about you that she heard were from Idyllic soldiers that suffered a lot during the war, not from the people of the villages Erwin raided. Annie couldn’t deny it but she did step out of the line by accusing you of being an assassin. That was too far-fetched. She was just stuck in her suspicions when she was supposed to be getting to know you.

All she knew about you was that you were adept with a sword and can name any tactic written in books about wars.

Annie saw a maid cleaning one of the vases in the hallway. “Miranda.”

The maid turned around, curtsying in a haste before patting her uniform. “What can I do for you, Your Highness?”

“Can you prepare a tray of iced apple juice and some cakes?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Annie nodded. “And can you place this note on the tray and deliver it to [Name]’s room?”

The maid was taken aback. “Well, it would be my pleasure, Princess.”

“Thank you.” With that, Annie walked away without a glance back.

Curious eyes followed the princess’ form, the maid finding herself looking at your figure sparring with Reiner and a smile instantly greeted her face. This could be a turning point in the betrothal because she could’ve sworn Annie had a small blush on her cheeks at the mention of the other princess.

After your training, a tray of sweets and a pitcher with glasses of apple juice awaited you in your receiving room. You wanted to ask Reiner if he asked some of the chambermaids to prepare the afternoon snack but a folded note caught your eye. With one hand gripping the towel around your shoulders, you read the note, your face warming up at the short yet endearing sentence.

Indulge in these, they taste better after a good training session.

Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all, you thought as you munched on a sprinkled cookie.

Her eyes kept following a trail of gold tulle, silks, and laces, never looking away the moment her blue eyes laid themselves upon a beauty that rivaled the goddess of oneiric realms, the most ethereal goddess of the heavens. You were dressed in an off-shoulder gown with loose sleeves reaching your elbow, the bodice carefully wrapping around your torso in the most flattering way possible, and skirts adorned with silver gems. In a sea of aristocrats with fabulous dresses, you were a sight to behold in this ball dedicated to commemorate the truce between Glaieul and Idylle as well as announce the engagement between the two countries. You were starlight personified, shining in Annie’s eyes under the lights of tens of chandeliers in the ballroom.

You were on the other side of the ballroom, laughing with your friends from your home kingdom. There was a tall brunette that seemed to be star-struck because of you just like Annie, a black-haired young woman who was smiling slightly, and a blonde who was engaged in an animated conversation with you. Your smiles were refreshing, to say the least, Annie seeing it for the first time since you came to their palace. Your laughs are genuine and it came out of you so easily when in the company of your friends.

Annie visibly stiffened when you turned around and smiled at her, gesturing for her to come to join the small huddle. Your three friends tensed noticeably at her half-lidded stare, with you reassuring them that she’s not that indifferent all the time.

As if sensing Annie’s hesitance, Reiner chuckled behind her. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt to introduce yourself to them, Your Highness.”

“I’m getting to that, Reiner.”

A laugh came from the blonde man. “She’s good for you. That much I can tell. The kindest soul I’ve ever met in my life.”

Again, guilt pooled in Annie’s chest. Those words are the opposite of what she spewed out to you the last time you talked. She called you a power-hungry monster who ravaged the war with no care on your shoulders. She didn’t even apologize yet. Annie sighed, “I know.” Then, she pulled up her skirts, navigated the ballroom, and stopped directly beside you. Her blue eyes scrutinized the three people you grew up with, with the brunette and black-haired woman stepping a small step forward to assert their dominance while the blonde pinched their backs to warn them not to step out of line in another kingdom. “Hello.” She transferred her eyes on you afterward, placing a gentle hand on the small of your back and rubbing it in a comforting motion. “I hope you enjoyed the ball so far.” Those words were directed to you.

You only nodded with a smile. “Annie, this is Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. They’re my friends when I was growing up in the glass castle.” Annie nodded. “Everyone, this is Annie, my fiancé.”

“We know,” Eren, the long-haired man in a low ponytail murmured with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

“Eren,” Armin reprimanded. He smiled at a stone-faced Annie. “Thank you for making [Name] happy! I can sense that she has a different air around her while we talked. It must be because of you.”

Annie stayed quiet, her hand coming into a still on the small of your back. It was a good thing her left hand was hidden away because they would immediately think that you didn’t accept the engagement. She glanced at the ring nestling in your finger, a perfect match against the golden train of your dress. Realizing that she created an awkward stretch of silence, Annie could only nod wordlessly before shifting her attention to you again. It seems like you’re the only one who can calm her nerves down inside the vast ballroom. She never took her gaze on you even as you continued the conversation between your friends.

Her mind was fogged with thoughts of only you throughout the ball.

The two of you excused yourself from the trio when Annie’s father called for everyone’s attention from the front of the huge chambers. “Everyone, kind souls and pure-hearted people of the continent, since tonight is all for enjoyment, the waltz of the ball will now commence.” His blue eyes went to his daughter, standing at the side of his throne. “The moment everyone is waiting for — the first waltz.”

She rehearsed this too many times for when a proper betrothal comes into play but why is her hand shaking when she outstretched it in front of you? You must have felt it because you flashed a comforting smile her way. The two of you went to the middle of the ballroom, the guests staring expectantly at the birth of a romance. They were wrong because you hate her and she hates you. Right? Her hatred for you will never waver for killing her people even though you look like a descended goddess with the lights of the chandeliers raining on you. Hatred must be fueling her heart to beat faster than ever, why she seemed to trip over her skirts and how her words stumbled in her tongue. That must be it.

The dance slowly made its way to the part where she struggled, dipping you as gracefully as she can. Before it happened, you whispered to her, “Please don’t make me fall.”

Annie’s voice was soft, for your ears only. “I promise, my princess.”

It truly was a birth of a romance, the two of you unaware of it all.

“Come on, Reiner!” You shouted at him from across the training field. “Come at me with all you’ve got.”

The blonde man hesitantly shifted into position as he eyed you. “Are you sure, princess? I wouldn’t want to hurt you.” He remembered the threatening look he received from Annie before this training session and he would like all of his limbs intact, thank you very much. “I just don’t want your chambermaid to nag me again after last time.” He managed a cut on your arm your previous session and you had to wear a long-sleeved dress in such stifling weather.

You scoffed lightheartedly. “I can handle it, Reiner. You don’t have to worry about it. Plus, I can dress my wounds perfectly.”

Reiner didn’t believe that. Your skills in covering up your wounds were lacking despite being a soldier. The most you could do was apply some salve on your bruises, that was it. He had no choice because the past month he spent his days with you, you were like a persistent little child that reminded him of his younger cousin. He hoped that you two wouldn’t meet. “Alright, here I go, Your Highness.”

Parry after parry could be heard in the private training field. You were doing fine in deflecting Reiner’s sword but your ankle immediately ached after shifting your body, leaning back to avoid the sharp edge of the knight’s weapon. You let out a huff as you dropped on the ground, jolting when Reiner called for you to stay alert. Seeing the glint of his sword, you rolled away and the pain on your ankle flared, even more, traveling through your calf. It also didn’t help that you received a cut on the side of your bandaged arm. You picked yourself up despite the throbbing pain on your ankle and arm, now being on the defensive as Reiner continuously struck you with his sword. He then circled his weapon around yours, throwing your sword on the side and pushing you to the ground with the tip of his weapon. That was the time where your ankle finally twisted into a sprain.

“Ah!”

“Princess?” Reiner’s tone became alarmed, dropping to your level and taking off your boots in an instant. His hands ghosted around your swollen ankle, not knowing what to do. “Gods, Annie’s going to kill me!”

“Annie?” You asked between pants. “What does this have to do with her?”

He only shook his head, carrying you in his arms and into the palace. His steps were hurried and the maids gasped at the sight of your red ankle. “Please prepare a bucket of ice and bring it to Princess [Name]’s private chambers.” He turned to you. “Hang on for a moment, Your Highness, we’re nearing your room. Just a little bit more.” Reiner entered your room and gently placed you on your bed. “I’m going to be taking off your other shoe, Your Highness.”

“Reiner, I think I’ll take it from here.”

Reiner stiffened, slowly turning his head to the entrance of your private chambers. Annie was impatiently standing with a bucket of ice in both hands, eyes glacially set on the blonde man kneeling on the floor in front of your confused form. She didn’t care if Reiner trembled in front of her. She vividly remembered telling the knight to never hurt you (she didn’t see the cut you had last training session because Annie was in another court meeting involving the incoming tax collection of various villages). Annie glanced at your ankle, barely grimacing at the state of it before gesturing for Reiner to get out of the room. The large blonde man took his leave, bowing at the two of your hastily and closing the doors with finality.

Annie mimicked Reiner’s position, kneeling in one knee to place your injured foot on her thigh. She didn’t wear any dresses for the day and it made her look dashing. The image implanted itself in your brain. Her hands are gentle against your skin, your cheeks flaring at the contact. Her features were contorted in a downturned one that showed how bothered she was.

“How did this happen?”

Your eyes settled on the top drawer of your nightstand. “I dodged Reiner’s blow and I twisted my ankle in the process.”

“You should be more careful.”

“I’m always careful.”

Annie scoffed. “That’s clearly obvious.” She said nothing more while dipping your foot in the ice bath. She lifted her head too fast when you winced at the coldness of the water. “Deal with it. We wouldn’t want this to be worse than it already is.”

“Thanks for the concern,” you dryly mentioned.

“What makes you think that my being worried is all fake?” You’re silent, Annie choosing the moment to continue the words she didn’t have any control over. “When the maids prepared this bucket of ice in the kitchens, I was out of the council meeting. When I saw then bringing this up to your chambers, I was alarmed and my mind was a mess of thoughts concerning what happened to you.” At each word, her face held a multitude of emotions that you never saw on her. Her lips became pursed whilst you wordlessly stared at her. “I am not pretending to care for you. How could I pretend when I’m already feeling foreign emotions when it comes to you? It’s my first time feeling this way so I don’t know if I can categorize this as falling in love. But it feels like it. So, for the love of the gods, can’t you see that I’m rambling because of you?”

You didn’t reply, instead, you reached out to the drawer where you kept that ring.

“What are you doing? You should be still right now.”

You pulled out the jewelry box and flipped it open, showing the blonde the ring fashioned in a vine, the centerpiece being a group of small gladiolus flowers with diamonds in their centers.

Annie’s cheeks reddened, flustered at the pretty jewelry. “What?”

Words never came out of you as you took Annie’s left hand. The ring looked pretty on her, the two of you admiring it after you slid the engagement jewelry in her ring finger.

“I now accept you as my fiancé, my future lover, and holder of my heart. Annie Leonhart, may our eternal spring bloom for centuries, and may your god of the winds bless us with his idyllic ballads.” Annie’s eyes were wide and you can see your reflection on them, along with constellations that lit up her irises. You placed your forehead against hers, looking straight into her flushed face. “They were right, this is the birth of a romance.”

And as you two kissed for the first time, the gods were rejoicing in their thrones, each of your prayers answered — your love finally etched in a whimsical melody.

#annie #annie leonhart x reader #attack on titan #attack on titan x reader #aot x reader #princess!reader #shingeki no kyoujin x reader #shingeki no kyojin #snk #snk x reader #annie leonhart x you

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houndsofcerberus · 3 years

Text

Apotheosis Chapter 2

Summary: Techno and Theseus arrive to Nimius though the arrival is met with…mixed reviews

No CWs

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33386038/chapters/83133148

The rhythmic clopping of the horse’s hooves and the rolling of the cart wheels had become monotonous and boring by the time they finally reached their destination. The only change from the expanse of identical trees was when they had neared. Nimius was large but it’s capital, settled near it’s southernmost border, was a sight to behold. Nimius was known for its abundance, having been named for its wealth. This of course brought with it lavish lifestyle, but this wasn’t unanimous across the kingdom. The country had many smaller villages and hamlets, a great deal of the Nimian population was in fact farmers and ranchers. The land Nimius occupied was some of the best across the continent for farming, the soil was rich and fertile and the conditions were mild enough and the growing season long enough to have made Nimius an agricultural giant amongst the land.

Technoblade was of the opinion that no description could do the feeling of walking into the Nimian capital justice however. No story, nor poem, nor song could ever compare to the feeling of walking in. The royal family’s crest depicted a peacock, bright and fierce, and proud as all hell, signifying the wealth of the region. The crest was frequent in the city however it was more apparent around the castle. They were a proud people who showed their wealth happily. Techno hadn’t been in Nimius for quite some time, though as the cart rolled into the city it appeared not much had changed. The streets were well kept, clean and had planter boxes lining the cobbled streets, the stones were smooth and the buildings light in color. White and teal were everywhere, along with dull orange terracotta and faux gold shimmer. Murals decorated the walls of several buildings, well kept up and beautifully bright. It was like walking into a painting. Theseus was leaning forward, looking around, eyes wide as he took in the market smelling strongly of fresh bread and other delicious smells from the vendors in the street. People walked idly, moving out of the way of Techno’s cart and looking in curiously. Some frowned and watched Techno, though he didn’t blame them. He had accumulated many many battle scars from his adventures, and several were laid into his face, leaving him looking… rough to say the least. He pressed on, ignoring them and driving the horses to the castle ahead.

It was an architectural masterpiece, within its large gates it was covered in ivy and tile mosaics of trees, peacocks, and farmland. The things that made Nimius what it was. It was beauty and luxury in its purest form, abundance at its most bare and most extravagant. Technoblade had missed Nimius.

“Woah!” Theseus gasped, leaning so far forward Techno needed to grab his shirt and pull him back into the seat. “What are those?” he asked excitedly, pointing at a blue bird amongst several others, it’s tail long as it trailed behind the bird, folded. The feather’s were iridescent and there was a small crest on its head.

“That's a peacock, the monarch has an affinity for them,” Techno said fondly. As his dog passed the bird, clearing the path for the horses, several of the peacocks shook out their tails and Theseus’ eyes went wide once more.

“It’s got so many eyes!” he said, looking at Technoblade in wonder.

“It’s just a pattern, they use it to scare off anything trying to eat them.” Techno said, smiling lightly.

“They’re so pretty,”

“Very, but you can’t pet these ones, they aren’t nice. There’s one inside you could pet though.” Techno said. Theseus nodded excitedly as Techno stopped the cart in front of the castle, looking over each of the guards. As much as he loved it here he couldn’t be too comfortable so he kept his sword on him and stepped off, whistling to the dog and gesturing with a nod of the head to the cart. She jumped up and settled in the back as Theseus scrambled down off the cart, running to catch up. A young man had come out and paused in front of them as they both waited for Theseus.

“Eret is waiting for you inside. Just f-” The young man was cut off by another who had approached, staring at the sword.

“No weapons.” He said gruffly.

“I’m not stupid enough to kill a seer, let alone a monarch. Let me in.” Techno said flatly.

“No. Put the sword in your cart. And that whip too.” The man said stepping in front of Techno, arms crossed. He had a mask over the top of his face but Techno was close enough to see his bright green eyes and furrowed brows.

“And if I don’t?” Techno asked, smiling lazily.

“You don’t wanna find out.” came the reply as he went to draw his sword. Techno copied the move, hand on the hilt of his sword. Theseus grabbed onto Techno’s pant leg, and Techno chanced a quick look, seeing briefly the fear on his face. When his eye darted back up the man had relaxed slightly, eyes focused on the child for a moment before looking back at Techno and glaring twice as hard.

“Boys quit it,” came a new voice, familiar to Techno’s ears. Techno grinned and let go of his sword to smile innocently at Eret descending the stairs to the castle doors, accompanied by a woman a bit younger than Technoblade. Eret was… well Eret. Well dressed in beautiful clothes, somehow looking well dressed and casual at the same time, putting Techno’s outfit of his usual cape, shirt, pants and other gear to shame despite sharing the same style. She smiled and approached, shaking his head playfully.

“What? I was just playing around,” Techno said, laughing easily and relaxing. He bowed to them, head down in a show of respect before standing.

“You’re a bad liar. Come on, we have a lot to discuss with Puffy here, she’s my general that I told you about.” Eret said, gesturing for Techno and Theseus to follow.

“But my liege, he has weapons on him!” The man Techno had just confronted spoke up, looking panicked.

“As he always does. Sam it’s alright, this man has saved my life more times than I can count. If he wanted me dead he would’ve done so long ago. He’s as harmless as a pup.” Eret laughed, shaking their head. The man, Sam, stood there bewildered for a moment as Techno walked by, followed by Theseus who stuck his tongue out at the guard. They walked in through the large doors into a beautiful castle. Polished wood and marble was everywhere, large murals and tapestries of the gods and of old tales lining the entry hall beautifully. Techno felt out of place, dirty grungy clothing, scarred and unpolished, unrefined. Eret led them further, past the large throne room and into a further hall. Puffy opened a door, revealing a round, average sized table, six chairs around it, a teapot and snacks upon it. Eret took their spot and Puffy chose one nearby, Techno opting for one across from Eret, and Theseus clamoring up onto the chair beside Techno.

“You never told me you had a kid,” Eret said, smiling and placing a few sweets in front of Theseus.

“Sorry, I didn’t have much time, I came as soon as I got the letter,” Techno said.

“No no, it’s alright, he’s quite adorable. What’s his name?” Eret asked, smiling at Theseus who was currently enjoying a cookie that Eret had given him.

“Theseus,” Techno replied.

“I go by Tommy.” Theseus interjected, staring at Techno.

“You never mentioned that before.” Techno sighed.

“You didn’t ask.” came the reply. Puffy snorted and covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile. Techno took the moment to take her in. Her uniform was well kept, a deep indigo blue with gold accents. She had very long curly white hair, though it didn’t age her. She looked young, or at least seemed to be younger than Technoblade, though that wasn’t saying much. She had a scar, faint and light, stretching from her jaw to just under her eye. He couldn't decipher what from by the look of it, though it had obviously been taken care of considering it was so light.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” Theseus interrupted Techno’s thoughts, loud and abrupt.

“Theseus!” Techno scolded, staring at him in disbelief.

“What?”

“You can’t say that!”

“Why not?” Theseus asked, crossing his arms. Techno sighed, frustrated.

“I’m so sorry,” He apologized.

“It’s alright, kids are kids, I take no offence.” Eret said. Their eyes which had previously been a bright and vibrant brown had slowly dulled over the years, as though there was a white film over them. Techno hadn’t mentioned it, he had only ever known Eret with the vague film on their eyes. She was a seer, it was a natural part of having Sight. “I have a gift. I can see the gods,” Eret said smiling and looking at Theseus patiently.

“Woah, that’s so cool! I wanna see the gods!”

“Well it’s not all good Tommy. My eyes look like this because it makes it so you can’t see after a while, it makes your eyes turn white and soon you can’t see anything.” Eret explained. Theseus frowned and tilted his head.

“So you’re blind?”

“Not yet. I’ve got some years ahead of me, I plan to enjoy them as much as I can.” Eret said, eyes darting to Techno who laughed.

“You did enough living for twelve lives back in the days.” Techno smiled fondly upon the memories of their journeys together.

“Never enough Blade, never enough,” Eret said, sighing happily at their own memories of the time. “We’ll need to reminisce some other time unfortunately. You’re aware of why I requested your help?”

“Yes, the letter told me all I needed to know.” Techno said, nodding curtly, smile fading.

“Lovely. As capable as our wonderful General here is, we'll need the help. They’ve been making bold moves. We need to be bolder.”

“Are you sure?” Puffy interjected.

“You have no ideas left either. We need him.”

“No, not that. Him. Are you sure about him? I did my research, I know what he sees as ‘bold moves’.” Puffy said firmly, glaring at Techno. Just when he thought he may be able to escape mistakes of the past, here they were yet again coming to bite him in the ass.

“Can we not discuss that? Not right now? I’d rather not defend those actions in front of a child.” Techno said sharply. Puffy looked between Technoblade and Theseus before nodding. “We’ll finish this later.” Techno added. “For now I need your files and information about it. As well as anything relevant to the situation, including border declarations. Anything Nimius and Ecren have both signed.”

“Of course. I have an office for you in the south wing and your room is ready. We can give Tommy a tour of the castle maybe and have some dinner, by then I’ll have a room for him beside yours.” Eret said, pouring herself a cup of tea, and then pouring one for Technoblade. “Puffy, can I ask you to gather the necessary documents while I catch up with my friend?” He asked kindly. Puffy nodded and gave a brief informal bow before leaving the room. “Maybe Tommy would like to go find Calypso in his garden,” Eret said, smiling.

“Who’s Calypso?” Theseus asked,

“You remember I mentioned there’s a peacock you can pet inside the castle? That’s Calypso. He’s a sweetheart, and has his own garden.” Techno said, smiling. Theseus grinned, turning to Eret and nodding quickly.

“Alright, give me a moment,” Eret said, standing and walking to the door. Eret smiled and gestured to someone. “Skeppy, are you on your way by Calypso’s garden?” She called.

“Yeah, gonna go visit Bad in the kitchens, see if he needs help.” came the reply, presumably from Skeppy.

“Lovely, we have a guest, come here,”

Skeppy stepped in, smiling and waving at Techno and Theseus.

“Can you show Theseus here how to get to the garden? He’d like to meet Calypso, maybe swing by and steal an extra treat for him when you go pester Bad hm?”

“I wasn’t gonna steal anything, just… taste test,” Skeppy argued.

“Uh huh. Grab him an extra bite,”

Theseus looked to Techno for permission to go this time. After the last time he went off away from Technoblade he didn’t seem keen to repeat the situation. Techno nodded and gestured to Skeppy.

“Go, I’ll come get you in a bit, kid,” He said reassuringly. Theseus ran off with Skeppy, following him into the hall excitedly chatting with Skeppy. Eret sat and they both waited until they could no longer hear them.

“So… you’re a dad.” Eret said, leaning back with their teacup in hand. “That's… unexpected for you.”

“Yeah. I didn’t plan to be.”

“Past few years must’ve been quite the learning curve for you then huh?” Eret chuckled. Techno froze, not looking his friend in the eyes.

“Well… I wasn’t around.” Techno admitted. “His mom had to track me down to tell me. And we had an agreement.”

“You didn’t…” Eret said.

“I didn’t abandon them… entirely.” Techno said, trying to defend himself. “She knew what kind of guy I was, she knew about them. I told her when she said she was pregnant. She agreed it wasn’t a good idea, but she couldn’t work with a child and no husband so… I’ve been sending her money over the years. Bought them a nice home, money for food and clothes, a repairman, and extra for savings. I made sure she could give him a good life. I swear I wouldn’t just leave, I just…”

“So why is he with you now then?” Eret asked.

“She passed. A few days ago actually. She wrote to me and had the message passed along urgently and when I got there it was bad. She told me to take him and take care of him. I figured I owe her that, but I… have no clue how to do this.” Techno sighed, shrugging and leaning back. He didn’t dare look at Eret, he didn’t want to see their look of disappointment.

“Gods above Technoblade, what a fine mess you’ve made for yourself. We’re a nation at war, why’d you bring him?”

“The other jobs were too dangerous. Tracking down criminals, on the front lines for weeks, assassination, murder, this was the safest. He doesn’t have to be involved in the war, he can stay and if we must evacuate he can go with. This war won’t be fast, Ecren is not going to give in, it’s more stable.”

“What makes you say that?” Eret asked. Techno sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper and standing, leaning over the table to hand it to Eret. Eret took it and unfolded the paper. “They requested you as well?”

“Yeah. Offered me the position of General.”

“You didn’t take it. Why?” Eret said, frowning skeptically, eyes trained on Technoblade’s sword.

“I’d be on the frontlines, the pay was worse, it came after yours, and you’re one of my oldest friends. I’m a lot of things, but I am not a liar and I don’t go back on my promises. I told you I’d come back if you ever needed help. I’m here. I have no obligations in Ecren or interest in helping them. This was my home for a while too, I’m going to defend it.” Techno said.

“You never change. It’s nice to have you on the team, old friend,” Eret said, smiling and folding the piece of paper, tossing it back on the table and relaxing. “Like the old days.”

“Like the old days.” Techno agreed

Techno found Theseus in the garden, sitting amongst the beautiful abundance of foliage and flowers, Calypso sitting in his lap fast asleep. It was kind of sweet, Theseus was gently petting the bird, making sure not to wake him, looking around at all the butterflies fluttering above them from flower to flower. The garden was vibrant, it was as though you stepped into a forest, and though it was a bit warm it was comfortable. Theseus seemed at peace there. Techno walked over and sat on the bench near Theseus’ spot on the ground.

“Where’d the name Tommy come from?” He asked quietly, being careful not to startle the bird or the child.

“My mom. She always called me Tommy instead.” He replied in a whisper, transfixed on the bird in his lap. He seemed enamored with Calypso, fascinated endlessly by the brightly colored and well kept feathers. Enough so that he had finally stopped moving and talking for the first time since Techno had met him. He was a lively kid, probably even more so before his mother passed. He hadn’t been sleeping well, crying himself to sleep in the wagon, waking from nightmares. On the worst days when it seemed he truly realized he was never seeing his mother again he had refused to eat, and sat silently in the wagon. Technoblade was not someone experienced in grief, and he hadn’t had even the mildest clue on how to comfort a child who had just lost his primary caregiver, that was never easy, especially not after watching her suffer for weeks on end before dying. Techno hadn’t spoken with him much about it, unsure of how to approach that topic with an adult, let alone a child.

“Do you want me to call you Tommy instead?” Techno asked softly, voice still low to not wake the bird.

“No,” Theseus said flatly, shaking his head. Techno froze, and stared for a moment waiting for him to elaborate. No explanation came. He just left it there. Technoblade decided that it wasn’t meant to be rude, even if it sure did feel like something he should chastise him for. It wasn’t as though it was a big deal, it was just a name. Theseus had the right to say what he wanted to be called.

“...alright” Techno said after a solid minute of silence from both parties. “Dinner’s almost ready, we should head to the dining hall,” he added, gently patting him on the shoulder as he stood to get him to stand up as well.

“I don’t wanna go.” Theseus said. Techno took a moment and decided his curiosity took precedence over his ego bruising from the fact Theseus just outright refused,

“Why not?” He asked, crouching down. Theseus looked away, refusing eye contact. He looked conflicted and uncomfortable, but Techno just waited until he was ready.

“What if it’s bad? Mom always made good food, what if this is bad? And it's so big in there, the roof is so high, and everything echoes and it’s just too much. I don’t like it.” Theseus said, grimacing and glancing at the door back in. “I miss home.” He added more quietly. Techno stood and thought for a moment.

“Come with me,” He said, standing and holding out his hand. Theseus looked at Calypso and hesitated before gently picking him up and scooting him off his lap, standing and brushing the dirt off his pants.

“We’re going anyway?” Theseus asked, frowning.

“Nah, I hate the dining hall anyways, but you can’t just not eat kid. I’m taking you to the kitchens. Did you like Skeppy?”

“Yeah! He’s really funny, he told me about you!”

“...what’d he tell you?”

“That you sucked at the games he played with you!” Theseus said happily, smiling as he looked ahead.

“...huh… well I’ll have to get a rematch then. We can have dinner with Skeppy and the cook, Bad, in the kitchen instead, it’s much nicer there, not as fancy,” Techno said, taking Theseus’ hand and leading him inside, instead of going through the large extravagant halls he took a detour into a smaller homier feeling hallway. It was lined with pictures of the staff and their families, and of Eret and his parents, all the goofy pictures they wouldn’t be able to present in the front halls for guests to see. Techno looked at a few of them and got oriented to where they were. He had always preferred going through the staff halls anyways. The main halls were designed to be long, extravagant and force you to take in the wealth and lavish castle. The staff halls were shortcuts, small and much easier to navigate due to the fact that they didn’t look the same and had labels on all the doors so nobody got lost. Techno finally found the door labelled ‘Kitchen’ and pushed it open.

Beyond the door was a nice looking kitchen. It wasn’t fancy or covered in white and gold. It had a large wood stove that was next to an oven, as well as another separate brick oven in the wall. The brick oven was unlit and cold, and the wood stove looked as though it had just turned off. There were large windows that were wide open, letting in a cool breeze, and plenty of countertops littered in plates and dishes. The room was bigger than a normal home’s kitchen and much better equipped, even having a cooler to store food and a meat locker door off to the side, but half of it was occupied by a large oak table and chairs, a tablecloth spread over top. In the centre of the table was a vase with freshly cut flowers, and beside it was a basket of bread rolls. In the kitchen was a familiar face, Bad. Though Bad seemed occupied trying to get Skeppy to stop trying to eat the food before it was out on the tables.

“Skeppy, quit it!” Bad yelled, exasperated.

“Awe come on, I’m just testing it!” Skeppy laughed as he was chased away from the stock pot.

“You’re being a pest is what you’re doing,” Bad huffed, shaking his head and turning to smile. “You finally came back!” He cheered, smiling at Techno. “You come to visit or to steal food like someone else here,” Bad asked, glaring pointedly at Skeppy who had started creeping towards the other basket of bread rolls for the dining hall.

“But I’m huuuuuungryyyy” Skeppy whined. Techno laughed and grabbed a bread roll from the basket on the table, chucking it to Skeppy to occupy him for a while.

“Actually I came to see if me and the kid could eat with you and Skeppy tonight,” Techno said, smiling and gesturing at Theseus. Bad gasped and leaned over the counter to look at the kid, grinning brightly.

“Of course! Skeppy mentioned we had a little guest! I thought he was lying for an extra lemon tart,” Bad said, smiling.

“I told you he wash real,” Skeppy said triumphantly through a mouthful of bread, smiling smugly as he took another bite of the bread roll proudly.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Bad said, brushing him off with an eye roll and a dismissive wave. “I’ll let Eret know when we send out the food, they may join us but I doubt Sam and Puffy will let him out of sight while they have a chance to discuss things.”

“Speaking of what’s the deal with those two?” Techno asked, leaning forward against the counter.

“Ah not much, Sam is the newer one of the two, he takes his job very seriously, and Puffy is normally a lot more calm but everything going on has been stressing her out. This’ll be her first conflict as General, she’s been in the military for a long time but this time she’ll be calling the shots on the field so she’s just trying to be careful,” Bad said shrugging. “Nice folks, heart in the right place but you caught ‘em at a bad time. Why are you here now?”

“Same reason. Eret asked me to come as a strategist.” Techno said. “War needs experience, I guess that’s why she asked me to come.”

“What’s war? You guys keep talking about it and I don’t know what it means.” Theseus asked abruptly. Bad looked as though he had frozen to the spot and Skeppy was trying not to laugh at him but Techno just turned and looked at Theseus unbothered.

“Y’know how there are countries? Well sometimes they get into fights with lots of people on both sides. That's war.” Techno said flatly. Bad gave him an incredulous look and when Techno made eye contact he shrugged. There was no point in lying. This would be the kid’s life for a while.

“Oh. When will it be over?” Theseus asked, frowning. “It seems like a lotta work.

“I don’t know, kid, probably not for a few years.” Technoblade replied, shrugging.

“That’s a long time. I want it over now,”

“Me too, tell you what though, you and I get to live here with Skeppy and Eret and Bad until it’s over, so that doesn’t seem too bad right?” Techno asked, smiling ever so slightly and ruffling Theseus’ blond hair gently.

“I guess not,”

Dinner had gone well, Theseus ate all his food for the first time in ages, even telling Technoblade as they left the kitchen that it was “almost as good as mom’s” which seemed to be high praise for him. Techno was just glad he ate all of it. They had talked with Skeppy and Bad easily, and despite Eret not being able to join them it was a good time. Afterwards Techno had gone to the stables, Theseus trailing behind him. Someone had put away his horses and his dog wasn’t too far off from them. Techno checked what they had to eat and drink and after deciding it was good enough he grabbed his brushes from the wagon behind the stable. He would bring his books and Theseus’ things up to their rooms when they went back in. Theseus stood just inside the stable door, watching Technoblade brush the larger of the two horses meticulously.

“Why didn’t you name them?” Theseus asked, echoing his question from days earlier.

“I just didn’t.”

“Can I name them?” Theseus asked. Techno made the mistake of looking at Theseus, whose eyes were large and watery as he silently begged. Not even he could last against that look.

“...fine.” Techno conceded, sighing and shaking his head.

“Yay! This one is gonna be.... Andrew!” Theseus proclaimed proudly, looking chuffed with himself.

“That’s a good one,” Techno said, chuckling slightly.

“And the other one is gonna be Carl!” Theseus added. “Oh and the doggie! Can I name her? Pretty please?”

“Might as well,”

“Clementine!” Theseus cheered happily. The dog, who had previously been laying calmly, watching Techno and Theseus from outside the stall stood at that, walking over and wagging her tail at Theseus.

“Well she seems to like it. Nice job kid,” Techno said, smiling fondly. He continued brushing the newly named Andrew and Carl, meticulously picking out their feet and checking for any rocks before he finally let them be. Clementine, also pleased with the new moniker curled up in Carl’s stall, and Techno pulled out some dried meat from the wagon, promising he’d take her hunting the next day for some game. He knew she couldn’t understand but it gave him peace of mind at least.

He took Theseus to the wagon and grabbed his large box of books and other important trinkets within, buried under the pages, and helped Theseus grab his few things. The child frowned as he looked for something, not finding it.

“What’re you missin’?” Techno asked.

“My teddy bear, mom gave it to me, I had it hidden in my bag!” Theseus said, looking distressed.

“You think you forgot it at home?” Techno asked, frowning. His frown deepened when Theseus nodded, tears welling up in his eyes. “Hey, hey it’s okay kid.” he rushed, trying to think about what one of his friends would’ve said. Squid had always been better with kids, so he tried to think of what he would say. “Your teddy bear is.... Protecting your house?” He suggested. Theseus paused and sniffed, nodding slowly. It seemed to work. “He has to look after it cause you’re not there anymore.”

“...okay,” Theseus said quietly, nodding. He still looked sad but no longer like he was gonna cry, which Techno counted as a massive win in his favor. Maybe parenting wouldn’t be that bad after all.

They brought in the items, and Eret showed them to their rooms. Eret’s was at the end of the hall and Techno’s was a few doors down. Beside Techno’s room was Theseus’ room and both seemed good, better than the wagon had been. There was a fireplace in techno’s room, and he remembered the layout of it quite well. He had stayed there for some time previously, and chosen the room specifically for the fireplace and the small bathroom attached to it. It wasn’t as large and well furnished as Eret’s washroom or any of the others in the castle, but there was running water, a sink, a toilet and a bathtub. That was more than enough for Techno, who had long since grown used to mostly washing up in rivers. Techno let Theseus settle in his room and showed him where to go if he needed help before slipping into his room. He put his books on the empty shelves and the various treasures were hidden in the room. His jewelry box set on the nightstand.

He opened the dresser and found some clean clothes that he had previously left. That would also be nice, laundry wouldn’t be such a pain. He bathed himself and got Theseus to stop jumping on the bed long enough to catch him and wrangle him into the bath as well afterwards. He had protested heavily until he hit the warm water, sinking into it almost immediately. He still protested as Techno scrubbed the dirt off his face and out of his hair but it was half-hearted and he seemed quite happy afterwards, wrapped in a blanket and wearing clean pajamas donated by Eret from when they were young. They were a bit big but Theseus said they were comfortable. Techno got him settled into bed and blew out the oil lamp in the room, leaving him to sleep. Techno lit his fireplace and stoked the fire until it was roaring steadily, warming the room. He blew out his own oil lamp after grabbing one of his novels, deciding on an old hero tale he had been fond of. He settled into the rocking chair by the fireplace, opening the well worn pages and settling in to lose himself in the story.

He had always cherished the fact he could read, and he was thankful for the escape. Sometimes he found solace from everything around him in the pages of a good story. He particularly enjoyed adventures with a clear hero. He never saw himself in those pages, and though as strange as it may have seemed it was nice. He wanted an escape from himself, not a reflection of him on the pages. He was okay with the fact he didn’t see himself in the heroes, though all too often he saw himself in the monsters the heroes slayed. He wasn’t proud of it, and he’d never speak of those events aloud, he’d never admit to what he’d done to anyone who he cared for. Though he didn’t know how much longer he could ignore it when Puffy knew. He had no doubt Sam knew as well. The hatred and fear in his eyes as they had stood face to face earlier told him all he needed to know. He didn’t know if Eret would still accept his help if he knew, but he had to try to explain himself. Nothing would justify it, but he wanted to help people this time. Not hurt them. He paused, shaking away the thoughts, it would only encourage them to start up once more. He hadn’t gotten a handle on them just for them to pop up now of all times. He had become so wrapped up in his book that he hadn’t realized the door opened until he heard it click shut. He turned, almost expecting Eret, but instead seeing Theseus, blanket around his shoulders, sniffing and wiping at his eyes.

“Hey… what are you doing up?” Techno asked, tilting his head and closing his book, finger on the page he was on, holding it ajar.

“I couldn’t sleep…” Theseus said, sounding as though he had been sobbing. Techno frowned and gestured to him to come closer, and as he stepped into the firelight Techno could see his eyes. They were red and watery, bloodshot and puffy. His cheeks were tear-stained and he looked awful.

“Nightmare again?” Techno asked. Theseus nodded. Techno thought for a moment. He didn’t know how to comfort kids very well. “Is there something you want me to do?” He asked, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to just ask him.

“Mom would always cuddle with me…” Theseus said softly, not looking up to meet Techno’s eyes at all, but he got the message. He leaned forward and gestured him forward. Theseus took a few steps closer and Techno picked him up, placing him down on his lap. He shifted Theseus so the child was laying across his lap, leaning against his arm and chest.

“Does this work?” Technoblade asked, hoping he was doing it right. He’d seen other parents do this, but he wasn’t sure. Theseus nodded and rested his head on Techno’s chest gently. “You want me to read to you?” he asked, getting another silent nod. Techno flipped the book open to the first page, and started reading aloud off the first page. He felt Theseus cuddle into him, pulling his blanket closer around himself while yawning softly. Time escaped him, and what felt like minutes went by before he paused and looked down, to see Theseus fast asleep in his arms. He felt like he couldn’t move without waking him, and looked around to see if there was a way to take him to bed, but there wasn’t. So Techno resigned himself to sleeping in the rocking chair that night, gently putting the book down on the small table beside him. He sighed and leaned back, holding Theseus gently and closing his eyes. He smiled slightly as he felt Theseus grab onto his shirt tightly with his small hand. Maybe it was worth sleeping on the chair tonight if it meant Theseus slept soundly. It wasn’t so bad.

#dream smp #dsmp #mcyt #techno #bedrock bros #bedrock bros fanfic #dream smp tommy #dsmp tommy #dsmp god au #dsmp technoblade #dsmp fanfic #c!eret #c!puffy #c!sam #fanfiction #dadnoblade fanfic #technodad fanfic #technodad #dadnoblade

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loruleanheart · 4 years

Text

Desired Fate, Chapter 2

Read on ff.net

Read on AO3

Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, moved about her bedchambers. It was a vast room with grey stonework walls and old furniture that had been in the royal family for generations. One corner held a grand writing desk where she often carried out her research into ancient relics late into the night. Affixed to the wall above were her most treasured research notes.

The princess was dressed for bed, her thick golden hair in a protective side braid, but she wasn’t feeling too tired, her nerves shot by the day’s earlier events. It was the first moment of rest she’d had all day. She had been constantly in the presence of Impa and the knight her father had assigned as her guard. The knight, who she’d learned was named Link, was odd. He barely spoke a word, yet Zelda couldn't disregard that he had saved her that day when a large Guardian that had been unearthed at the Breach of Demise had activated somehow without warning. This, along with the increasing number of monsters throughout the kingdom made their trip to the Royal Tech Lab an arduous one.

Zelda turned over many thoughts in her mind. How the little Guardian that seemed so attached to her had traveled from a Hyrule of ruin. Her father had seemed so vexed by the Guardian’s appearance, although Zelda was not surprised that he would try to discern whether the Guardian could be trusted. The little one did feel somehow familiar in a vague way…. Not to mention, it brought with it a look into the future of the destruction the Calamity would bring.

A heaviness was descending upon the princess. Impa’s sister, Purah had managed to extract visual data from the little Guardian’s memory - true to life images that showed what the future would hold. Zelda had taken a cursory look through a few images but had quickly become overwhelmed. This was the destruction that would befall Hyrule should she not be able to harness her divine power. But, perhaps the pictures might also hold clues on how the Calamity could be averted.

She powered on the Sheikah Slate, wanting to give the visual data a more thorough analysis before turning in for the night. She scrolled through the horrific images of destruction, this time not having others around whom she had to put on a brave, composed face for. As much as she loathed wallowing in self-pity, she had at least managed not to break down earlier in front of the others. The princess had sensed the understanding of her plight in Impa’s voice earlier as they looked through the images together.

Not only was Hyrule Castle pictured, but the destruction seemed to be widespread. Akkala Citadel... Fort Hateno…. The Divine Beasts…. All in ruin or corrupted somehow, and the fate of the entire kingdom and its people were bearing down on her.

I will not allow this to come to pass… I’ll do everything I can to stop this… But without the power, how will it ever be enough?

Despair and dread were starting to set in as it often did more and more over the years. She’d already tried everything she could up until now, and still, the power that should have come so naturally seemed to be impossible to find within herself. And the longer her power remained dormant, the more frustrated and cold her father grew. Zelda shut her eyes, holding her hand over her face, trying to calm herself, but it was too late as the tears she’d been holding back for hours broke forth. She quietly sobbed, hoping to not alert the attention of any of her attendants who might hear her cries. She scrolled to the next image and then there was not a location or a Divine Beast, but a picture of a strange man and she went silent. Her green eyes moved over the image. There on the Sheikah Slate was a hooded man in a tattered purple robe, but she could tell he was very handsome, even if not by typical Hylian standards. She couldn’t help but stop and stare. He was very pale and had dark, collarbone length hair. There was a long braid that hung in front of his left eye and was tucked behind his ear, and another that was decorated with gold beads.

He wore a gold circlet and a thick gold collar that draped over his shoulders that reminded her of jewelry worn by Gerudo royalty, although this man clearly wasn’t Gerudo. No male had been born to that tribe in ages. There was an oddity about the circlet though, in that the red stone had what appeared to be a stylized yellow iris painted on it - sort of symbolizing a third eye.

Who was this mysterious man? He must have been on the slate for a reason. The slate’s screen went black, and she realized she’d zoned out. Her mind was flooded with so many questions and speculations. Could someone like him really be out there, somewhere? He looked more like he belonged in some distant past foreign to her. Were they destined to meet? Should she seek him out? She didn’t know, nor did she know how to raise the subject to anyone else. Her father, dear sweet Hylia, her father…. Would almost certainly chastise for wasting her time with images discovered on Sheikah technology which had been banned up until the recent past instead of dedicating every waking moment in prayer to unlock her dormant power. But to Zelda, this felt as crucial as researching relics, perhaps even more so. And then it occurred to Zelda who she could confide in - Urbosa. Based on the jewelry the man wore, maybe she might know something.

And just like that, the heaviness that had pushed her to the edges of despair had lifted, even if only a little bit. Zelda laid the slate on her nightstand before climbing into her stately canopy bed. She found she was able to drift off with relative ease, all things considered. Tomorrow, she was sure, would be another demanding day, and she was eager for the respite sleep would bring.

In her dream that night was a woman in a resplendent white dress, and Zelda sensed she was connected with her. Was this Hylia, the goddess whose blood was said to run through her veins? The goddess smiled to herself in a dreamy way, absorbed in her song as her fingers moved along the strings of a small harp. The goddesses appeared to be singing as her lips moved silently, Zelda not being able to hear her words. Perhaps it was a lullaby. Zelda wished she could hear the goddess’s song. The goddess seemed so passionate about…. something, but all she could do was watch and hope this dream to be a harbinger of good things to come.

oOo

His harbinger turned and left, having imparted to his disciple how it had come to be and how it planned to counter what its “twin” from a ruined Hyrule had set out to do. It was fate that Ganon’s hatred had followed that Guardian through time to possess the one from this era.

And now, Calamity Ganon’s will can be fulfilled in this time as well… The Prophet of Doom thought. This was all a part of Lord Ganon’s plan to annihilate his enemies completely, leaving no room for victory, even in a separate path in time.

That Guardian by the princess’s side had the means to set this path on a different course, and the prophet knew he couldn’t let some meddlesome piece of junk alter fate’s rightful course. He would subdue the princess and her newfound ally. The thought of destroying the Guardian had already crossed his mind, even before Lord Ganon’s new directive. Now he just had to make those two degenerate, banana-eating goons do his and Lord Ganon’s bidding.

The prophet was elated that he could now receive such clear directives and revelations from Lord Ganon. Had he not met with the harbinger, he would truly be on his own. The harbinger was proof to potential allies that he had indeed been chosen and could know the will of Calamity Ganon, not just interpret it through the constellations or prophetic dreams. Gaining the trust of the Yiga Clan didn’t feel like much, but things were coming together. The Calamity would return and reign down its hatred on Hyrule, and the kingdom would come to its end, at long last.

oOo

“I have selected the candidates for the Divine Beasts. Zora grace, Princess Mipha; Goron vigilance, Daruk; Rito confidence, Revali; and Gerudo spirit, Chief Urbosa. You will go meet with each and explain their role to pilot their respective Divine Beast.” King Rhoam’s voice carried through the main foyer from his place on the balcony.

Zelda looked up at her father and responded. “Yes, I suspected as much… I will meet with Chief Urbosa first. I am... looking forward to seeing her again.”

Rhoam nodded. “Understood. It has been some time since your last meeting with her.” The king’s voice held a respectful tone, perhaps thinking of his late queen who had been close friends with the Gerudo chief. His gaze moved to the little Guardian, and his voice became cold. Zelda stiffened as the words left his mouth. “And? You’re taking this relic with you, I presume?” Rhoam narrowed his eyes at the small Guardian that was currently hiding behind his daughter.

Zelda could sense an admonishment incoming, yet she managed an explanation. “Yes. After talking to Purah and Robbie, we thought it would be best.”

Rhoam took a seat on his throne, considering this. The Guardian moved out from behind her as if emboldened by her voice. “I will remind you once again. Above all else, your duty is of the utmost importance. Are we clear?” Rhoam said, sternly.

For the briefest moment, Zelda thought of the hooded man she’d seen on the Sheikah Slate. “Yes, we are clear. I understand... And I will honor my duty.”

It wasn’t a lie, per se…. Zelda thought. After all I’ve been through, who can say what honoring my duty looks like. Prayer hasn’t worked. I’ve spent over a decade dedicating myself to prayer. If I could just focus my attention elsewhere, perhaps the power will find me in a way nobody could foresee.

Zelda, Link, and Impa departed the castle with the new Guardian in tow. The Princess breathed a soft sigh of frustration as she felt her father’s eyes boring into her, which didn’t go unnoticed by Impa and Link. And in time, the three were laughing and bonding over the little Guardian that acted as if it were a knight in the princess’s service.

#Age of Calamity #Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity #Astor #fanfiction #Mostly Zelda centric chapter here #Zelast

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spideeysense · 4 years

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It Started With A Roll. A Royal!Bucky Barnes x Reader fic (Part 5. FINALE)

A/N: Well folks, here it is the FINALE. I wanted to thank everyone for your continuous support of this fic. I would also like to apologize for my impromptu hiatus. I was struggling with writer’s block, and was feeling a little dragged down mentally. But I am so happy to finally present to you the FINALE!! Woohoo. I had lots of fun writing this one, the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack definitely helps. Enjoy!

Requests are always welcome! Please let me know if you like this genre and if you would like me to write for other characters!

Words: Long. Lmao

Warnings: Light violence. Angst. Mentions of Death. Fluff. Mentions of Illness and Poison.

Part 4

“Steve.”

Steve raised his eyebrows and looked at you quizzically. “You’re the intruder!” You gasped and tried to turn around and run but Steve grabbed you with his strong arms from behind. His grip on your arms was painful, and you tried to wiggle your way out. “Please Steve, you have to listen to me! The King, Bucky, he's in danger.” You pleaded. “I know who’s poisoning him, Steve if you would just-” Before you could continue Steve clapped a large hand around your mouth, muffling your outcry. Awkwardly walking forward, stuck in his grip, you tried and tried to get out, but he was simply too strong.

“Guards!” Steve yelled out, drawing their attention to you.

“I found her, I’ll bring her down myself.” Steve said as he continued to partially drag you down the hallway.

“Are you sure?” One of the guards sneered. “Trying to get back into the Queen’s good graces I see.” The other chided.

Steve rolled his eyes and kept going. Once out of earshot and out of sight of the guards, Steve loosened his grip on you, and removed his hand from in front of your mouth. He wiped it on the front of his pants. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to handle you so roughly.”

You blinked at Steve in confusion, mouth agape.

“Come on, follow me.” As quiet as mice, you and Steve snuck around the palace. You both came to a dead end, and you stood there awkwardly, looking around. “Steve, where are we going?” You asked.

“You’re not the only one who knows about the secret passages.” He quipped. He worked quickly with his hands as he removed a painting from the wall, behind was an empty space.

He nodded his head towards the tunnel and ushered you inside. Behind you, Steve put the painting back in place.

“Keep going, once you arrive to the end push forward on the wall.” You nodded.

Unlike the other tunnel, this one was dimly lit by a few lanterns. You glanced behind you and saw Steve hunched over, doing his best to keep his head from hitting the ceiling. Soon you arrived at the end of the tunnel, and did as you were instructed by Steve.

The wall in front of you came out, and you found yourself in a small cozy room. Inside, Peter was sitting at a small table, dangling a small knife in his hands. “Y/N!” He gasped and engulfed you in a hug. “It’s good to see a familiar face. Astoria kicked all of Bucky’s gentry out.” Peter explained, and pulled out a chair for you.

“We know she has something to do with his illness. She’s the only one who’s been in and out of his room.” Steve started.

“Has a doctor been in there?” You pushed, twiddling your thumbs with worry.

Peter and Steve looked at each other and frowned.

“No, we tried, but she ended up demoting us. She said that her own personal doctor will visit tomorrow.” Steve said.

“That’s when she’ll kill him, at this point, he’d be too weak to fight back.” You said, suddenly, as if a lightbulb went off in your head. The room was quiet for a moment, the words sunk into each other's mind.

“She’s using belladonna, and giving it to him through some tea.” You explained to them. Peter looked at you with a questioning gaze. “How do you know that?”

You took in a deep breath, and started explaining what you had seen in the kitchen that day. What you had overheard at the ball, you spared a few details about who you hung out with at the ball, but to no use. Steve and Peter already knew. Bucky had quite the big mouth around his friends.

“The only proof we have is seeing Astoria going in and out of his room, that's it.” Peter hung his head in his hands. “We have nothing else.” You thought for a moment, chewing on your bottom lip. “What if we got him to speak.”

“If he were able to speak right now, he would have at least moved.” Steve muttered miserably.

“Earlier, before Steve found me, I spoke to him in his room.” The two guys in front of you perked up. “I can tell it’s hard for him, but it’s possible.”

Peter continued your thought. “If we can get him up and have him speak against her, we can save him.”

Steve smiled “She’ll be tried for treason against the crown!” he exclaimed and clapped his hands together.

You started pacing around the small room. “We don’t have a lot of time. We have to act fast.” You fumbled with your hands and then crossed your arms.

“Peter, you tried to get a doctor earlier, would it be possible to bring him here?” You asked.

Peter nodded and stood up. “I can get him through the kitchen, no one will notice this late at night.”

“Steve, you and I will sneak back to his room, and bring him back here. Does Astoria know about the tunnel?” You asked, worry seeping over you. Both Steve and Peter shook their heads and shrugged. “I don’t think so.” Steve said.

You knew she wouldn’t be back in his room until tomorrow morning. You only had a limited amount of time. “Ok, we have to act quickly.”

The plan was put into motion. Cautiously, you and Steve snuck around the castle, and Peter tried to find the doctor.

Soon enough, you and Steve found yourselves in Bucky’s room. You rushed towards Bucky’s bed and gave him a hug and took in his appearance.

It had drastically changed since you had last seen him. His eyes were half lidded, and he somehow looked even paler. His clothes now stuck to him with sweat. You tried lifting him above your shoulder, but almost crumbled under his weight. You saw his mouth move, but no words came out. Your heart sunk.

“Steve, can you carry him instead?” You asked him.

Steve rushed over to your side. “I gotcha buddy,” He murmured under his breath, and lifted Bucky onto his shoulders.

“You go ahead of me, I’ll join you soon” you mumbled to Steve.

Steve gave you a hard look of worry, but hoisted Bucky through the passage. You got to work to make it look like Bucky had escaped. First you drew back the curtains and flung open the windows. The cool night air hit your face and for a second you allowed yourself to relish in it.

Then, you tied together his bed sheets and threw them out the window, tying your end to a nearby armoire.

“This’ll do.” You murmured. Behind you, you heard the lock jiggle again, and you quickly hid yourself behind the passage. You heard the door open, and the most blood curdling shriek.

You cringed at the sound. The door shut with a slam, and you heard a string of profanities from Astoria’s mouth. You hurried down the dark passageway, careful to not hit your head against the ceiling. You arrived at the end of the tunnel, and had not once bumped into Steve or Bucky. You hoped they had made it back in time.

You left the tunnel and found yourself alone. Here you were, exposed. You quietly turned the corner, and walked at a brisk pace. You heard murmurs of how the King was now missing, or kidnapped travel through the air. You had to find your way back to that portrait.

“You!” You heard the vile voice of Astoria call out to you. You turned around quickly and your eyes widened at the sight. There was Astoria, standing in the hallway. Her face was contorted in a mix of anger and evil.

“I know you have something to do with his escape” she sneered.

Interesting...escape from what? You thought sarcastically.

“I have no clue what you are talking about Your Majesty.” You turned around and gave her a swift curtsy.

“I could have you killed for conspiring against the crown!” She yells, pointing her index finger at you. You gave her a petty frown.

“What crown? All I see in front of me is a sad excuse for a queen.” You spat out. You, yourself, did not know where this boost of confidence came from.

“Guards!” Astoria screeched like a banshee. “Seize her!”

Behind you, a guard clad in a red coat and funny tall hat grabbed your arms and pinned them behind you.

“Bring her to the dungeons, make sure the restraints are tight, I don’t want her to get away.”

As you passed Astoria you sneered at her, and spat on the ground in front of her feet.

“I’ll make sure that by tomorrow, you won’t see the light of day ever again.”

“He’ll spend his life looking you know! He’ll turn over every stone in this Kingdom until he finds me, dead or alive.” You said with conviction. Your face set in certainty. “He’ll never stop.” You whispered as the guard tugged you along.

In your heart, you wanted to believe it was true. If your destiny was really to spend eternity in a dark cave, until your skin turned to bone, you would hope that Bucky wouldn’t give up. That he would search until he found a semblance of your existence.

Your mind said otherwise. Throughout the escapades you had with him, the rational part of your brain planted seeds of doubt. That he didn’t really love you, that he didn’t think you were Goddess divine.

The guard led you through parts of the palace you had never seen. You passed portraits of Bucky as a young boy, portraits of his parents, their eyes looking down upon you. You wonder how they would’ve felt, if they knew Bucky had fallen in love with a peasant girl.

When you reached the cramp stairs to the dungeons the guard pushed you forward, you almost tripped on your shoes, which would’ve sent you flying down the stone steps. It seemed like you were descending for hours. The stairwell was old, much older than you, much older than the former royals. It was dimly lit by torches that had a hard time staying aflame due to the dampness.

“Are we descending into hell?” You sarcastically questioned the guard. He only responded with a deep grunt. “Feels like it.” You muttered under your breath.

Finally you arrived in a cramped, dimly lit hallway. At the end stood a rusted iron door. You could hear the sound of water dripping onto the stone floor. The guard rustled around his pocket until he pulled out an old looking key, he turned it a couple times in the padlock before the door opened with an ear splitting squeak. You cringed at the noise.

He shoved you quite forcefully inside and you hit the ground with a muffled thud. The pain split into your arm, the restraints that bound your wrists behind you didn’t help.

“Aren’t you going to untie me?” You yelled as the guard shut the door. He didn’t respond and you heard the key click in the lock.

You sat against the wall. There were no windows, nothing to indicate the time that had passed. You guessed it was early morning, before the sun rose. The room smelled of mold and a light decay. There was no use yelling, no one would hear you. The ties on your wrist made it nearly impossible to even fidget your arms. The pain started to subside and all you could do was sit in wait.

You hoped that the doctor had found a way to cure Bucky. You hoped that Steve and Peter were alright. You hoped the plan had work. You would never forgive yourself if Bucky perished from the poison.

You dragged yourself to the corner and leaned your head against the wall. It felt cold. You shut your eyes and tried to fall off into a much needed sleep.

You drifted in out of sleep. You would hear something nearby, but it would only be the ground shifting, or a door from the floor above slamming, or the iron bars creaking.

The dark seemed to come from every corner of the room but by now you were sure it was morning, even if the sunshine didn’t reach this far down. And it had truly felt like an eternity had passed before you heard a flurry of footsteps come down the stairs.

Quickly, you stood up, backing yourself into the corner. Had Astoria really meant her threat to hang you?

Was this how you met your demise, not in some dark cavern, but by rope?

The door opened, once again releasing a loud and annoying creaking. You let out the breath you had been holding. In front of you was a much healthier looking Bucky, his eyes were bright, and from what you could see in the dark light, the color had returned to his skin. Behind him stood both Peter and Steve, smiles plastered on their faces.

You broke out into a wide grin, and you almost crumbled at the knees seeing them. Tears welled in the corner of your eyes. “It worked” You whispered. Peter worked on your restraints and as soon as you were free you rushed towards Bucky, closing the distance between you two.

He gently grabbed your waist as you collided into him. You stroked his face over and over again. You leaned forward and pressed a fiery kiss to his lips, his lips moved against yours in tandem as his thumb swiped at the stray tears that escaped your eyes. The moment was broken Peter cleared his throat awkwardly.

You both pulled away fervently. Bucky smiled at you.

“What about Astoria?” You asked. The room fell silent.

“We can’t find her. Once I was able to stand and speak more clearly, I had her placed under arrest.” Bucky started, not meeting your eyes. “Somehow, she escaped, most likely returning to her kingdom.”

“She’s failed her mission, I doubt she’d try again, after we give the people the news I doubt she’d want to show her face here again.” Steve continued. “Don’t worry, by the end of the day the whole kingdom will know what she tried to do.” He reassured you. You gave a worried look but allowed yourself to breathe a little.

The group clambered up the stairs, stumbling over the steps. Once out of the dungeons Bucky held onto your arm and tugged you away from Steve and Peter. He pulled you down the hall and into, what you assumed, was his study.

“My love, I am so so sorry.” Bucky started but you stopped him and shook your head. “Please, I don’t need apologies. All that matters is that we are here. Alive.” You took a step forward, and he bent down at his neck so your foreheads could touch. “Together.” you whispered. Bucky pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, then to your nose, and finally your lips.

When he pulled away he stared into your eyes, reaching deep into your soul. “I love you Y/N. I am completely and totally enamored with you. I hang onto every word that leaves your lips like a child who clings onto the stories of its mother. Everytime I see you, I feel my heart palpitate in my chest, and it feels as though it is going to explode. My love for you is so intense that sometimes when I gaze upon your beauty I feel as though you are Goddess that I must worship. And I want to gaze upon you tomorrow, and everyday after that-” Bucky lilted, he looked at you longingly, and his cheeks flushed a rosy pink once again. “Will you marry me?”

You were speechless. All you could do to respond was nod and bring him closer for another kiss, and as you pulled away you whispered in his ear. “I do like the idea of you worshipping me like a Goddess.” Bucky smiled at you with one of his goofy smiles, and pulled your hand towards him. He got down onto one knee and fished a dainty, diamond encrusted ring out of his pocket, and slipped it onto your ring finger. You pulled him back up, and he pressed a sweet kiss to your finger.

“I will love you forever and always.” You spoke in a gentle tone, and you basked in each other’s quiet company. The thoughts of marriage swam around in your mind, but for the time being both you and Bucky wanted to relax, and finally, freely spend time together.

As you stood there, Bucky pressed another soft kiss to your forehead.

“Come, let’s go join the others.” He spoke softly and you gladly agreed.

Everything had fallen into place. This was where you were meant to be. And it was silly to think, that all this had started with a roll.

taglist:

@thefallenbibliophilequote @dolan-mendes @fatefuldestinies @loveofmychips

@unlistedpond @octoberbarnes @fanfuckingtastic04 @sebastianstansqueen

#bucky fanfic #bucky barnes #bucky barns x reader #buckybarnes x reader #royal #royal au #bucky fluff #king!bucky #avengers #avengers imagine #x reader #royal!bucky

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shimikonde · 5 years

Text

Romeo and Juliet and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Return of the King pt. 4 (4th light novel, pg 108-117)

part 4/5 of 1-b’s school play is finished!! i can’t believe that there’s only 10 more pages of this to translate now we’re almost finished!!

this chapter is a wild ride LMAO thank you so much to @rachiebird for betaing this again!!

also thank u to the people who remind me to get off my butt and actually do this it rly makes all the difference lmao

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

“My pocket?”

As Romeo took the ring from his pocket, a dazzling light shined down across the entire stage. While the audience was still disoriented from the light, the gold-painted slice of chikuwa posing as a ring was lowered down. The plan was that, by the time the audience’s eyes had adjusted, it would look like the ring was floating.

Right then, Shiozaki appeared as the Spirit of the Ring and descended decinely upon the backs of Pony and Juurouta, a pair of hippogriffs. The howls of the hippogriffs only heightened Shiozaki’s aura of holiness, and the crowd let out cheers of delight in response. However, Monoma frowned as he noticed an unexpected smell, sniffing the air to find the source. It was the ring right in front of him.

“I am in no way the Spirit of the Chikuwa… I’m the Spirit of the Ring… No matter what anyone might say.”

It was from Shiozaki’s adlibbing and the meekness in which she did it that Monoma knew what the ring really was.

(Why chikuwa?!)

He held in the urge to shout out the retort with all his might. Monoma twitched a bit as he put on a surprised look at the Spirit of the Ring that had just appeared. “The Spirit of the Ring…?!”

“Listen closely, Romeo… The ring is with you… When you wish it, the ring will become your power… Furthermore, I am not the Spirit of the Chikuwa…”

Having reminded them, Shiozaki retreated back to the ceiling along with the roaring hippogriffs. Whispers of “why chikuwa?” came from all across the hall, but Monoma brushed aside their questions with his own booming voice. “Just now! What was that…! The Spirit of the Ring… You mean to say it’s the spirit of this ring, the ring that has been passed down through the royal family generation after generation…!”

And then he had a sudden realization, continuing, “There’s no time for this. I need to hurry and rescue Juliet, or else…!”

His expression was resolute as he stared far into the distance, the mood in the auditorium returning to normal. To Monoma, who had made it happen, all of the people in the wings sighed in relief, “He made it through.” Their roles having ended, Shiozaki and the rest also returned to the wings, relieved.

“I knew it, that guy really is amazing…”

Having said that, Tetsutetsu wolfed down a bite of the remaining chikuwa. It would be his turn on stage soon, so he was psyching himself up with a quick meal. The climax was quickly approaching, filling the wings with a sense of elation. After this, Count Paris would defeat Master Obi-Wan, declare himself Romeo’s real father, and then their confrontation would follow.

“Everyone, we’re going to cut the lights. This is the last set change, let’s do it.”

Everyone set their faces at the sound of Honenuki’s voice and went in standby positions for the set change. Next would be Count Paris’s castle, the scene of the final battle.

“Blackout in… six, five, four, three… cut the lights. We have fifty seconds.”

When Honenuki’s countdown reached ten seconds, Kaibara was heard saying, “I said we can talk about it later, break a leg!” before running off into the wings. Monoma looked after him like he wanted to say, “No, you’re misunderstanding…” but as the lights switched back on across the stage, he immediately switched over to Romeo.

“I finally made it… So, this is the castle that Rey said she saw…” Monoma muttered as he looked up at the eerie backdrop of a stone-cut castle. In the wings, the stagehands and the people whose roles had already finished were already acting as if the play had ended, having just managed to overcome the final major challenge.

In the midst of them, Honenuki never lost his cool, watching over the stage while giving the next directions.

“After this we still have the aerial combat. Standby positions.” Following Honenuki’s words, many people hurried over to various places in standby. “I’m counting on you, everyone…”

Tetsutetsu was waiting beside him, looking a bit nervous as he waited for his cue, so Honenuki called out to him in a quiet voice. “You’ll be fine. You’ve done this fine during practices. Just put your all into it. Ah, but you should still try to keep your voice down a little.”

“Yeah.”

Kodai, who was just behind them, nodded her head as if to say, “You’ll be fine.”

Tetsutetsu nodded back at the both of them. “Right, I can do this. Just leave it to me…”

At Honenuki’s signal, Tetsutetsu entered the stage. Recalling all of the instructions about acting that Monoma had given him during practice, Tetsutetsu waited for the right moment to draw the audience’s attention and spoke slowly and quietly, in a low, carrying voice.

“…my, I don’t remember inviting any guests. But I’ve been waiting for you, Prince Romeo.”

(…that’s right, just like that.)

Monoma gave a small smile at Tetsutetu’s performance before plunging himself into his own role.

“As suspected, that suspicious man was you, Count Paris! Where is Juliet?!”

“What I do with my possessions is my business…”

“It seems you have no intention of returning her… In that case, I’ll take her back myself!” Monoma let loose a roar as he slashed at Tetsutetsu. However, Tetsutetsu-as-Count Paris brushed him away in a single swing. Blown away, Monoma let out an awed, “This is no ordinary man…!”

“Wait, Romeo. Let me be the one to face that man.”

“You’re… Master Obi-Wan? Why?!”

Bondo-as-Master Obi-Wan appeared, lead by Nirengeki and Awase as Frodo and Sam.

Nirengeki said, “While we were searching for the king, Obi-Wan appeared before us. He said that he had something of the utmost importance to convey to you…!”

“Romeo, you often skipped out on your Force training, and you were by no means a good pupil. However, ever since you were born I’ve always thought of you as something of a grandson… That’s precisely why I, now, must be the one to defeat this man…”

“You’ve got quite the nostalgic face, Obi-Wan… But rather than a joyous reunion, I think it’s more befitting to call this a final farewell.” With his volume suppressed and a penetrating gaze, Tetsutetsu-as-Count Paris emitted a huge amount of presence just by standing, intimidating the audience.

In the wings, people were getting excited over Tetsutetsu and co’s performances.

“Tetsutetsu! That kid can do anything if he sets his mind to it!” Tsuburaba said while nodding his head up and down.

“What are you, his mom?” Kaibara quipped.

On stage, Tetsutetsu was completely villainous, casting out a menacing aura that made the two of them hold their breath and watch how the rest of the performance played out.

“This man is a ghost who was confined to Azkaban… A being who does not belong in this realm…”

Kuroiro fidgeted in the wings, as if Obi-Wan’s line had tickled his chunibyo heart.

Monoma-as-Romeo shouted in surprise, “In the infamous prison, Azkaban?! What horrible crimes could he have committed?”

“I died in Azkaban, and I was reborn. All in order to fulfill my duty.”

“Don’t say another word, evil being… Ha!”

Raising his hands, Obi-Wan turned to face Count Paris. “Oof,” Tetsutetsu said as he was attacked by the Force, getting blown back and floating in the air just like that.

“It seems your power has not faded over the years, Obi-Wan.”

“Master Obi-Wan!”

“All of you, stand back! I’ll…”

As he said that, Obi-Wan drifted up to the sky. From here on, it would be aerial combat using the Force. Using Pony’s “Horn Canon”, Tokage’s “Lizard’s Tail”, and Rin’s “Scales”, the two of them were able to be manipulated freely through the air.

“Ha!”

While showing off each Force attack, they flew around over the heads of the audience. Kaibara matched their blows, set off firecrackers that he’d prepared on the walls. Startled by the overflowing presence, the audience was unable to turn their eyes from the two of them. However, as if to control the enjoyment of the audience, Count Paris stared at Obi-Wan coldly and declared, “Obi-Wan, You haven’t changed at all… But I have… Since the last time we met, I’ve obtained tremendous power…!”

Count Paris landed the finishing blow on Obi-Wan. As Obi-Wan was blown all the way back to the stage, Romeo and the others rushed to him.

“Master Obi-Wan!”

“This can’t be… The most powerful man in all of Gondor has…!”

“Romeo… This is the one man we must never allow near our country… Okay…? You’re the one who will lead Gondor in the future…”

As Obi-Wan let out his death rattle, Romeo began to break into tears. “No… Obi-Wan, you can’t… I still have so much to learn from you…”

Count Paris approached him. “Prince Romeo… No, Romeo…”

“My prince!”

Romeo looked back at the sound of Frodo and Sam’s voices, then startled.

“Juliet!!”

Kodai-as-Juliet was standing on the castle terrace. Behind her, as if using the castle as a perch, a growling dragon leered at Romeo’s group.

Drying his tears, Romeo stood at once, facing his arch nemesis, Count Paris.

“My name is Romeo! Ghost of Azkaban, Count Paris! I’m tacking Juliet back!!”

But Count Paris turned, making a sorrowful face as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Romeo… You must have heard from Obi-Wan about your father. Him being the Kingdom of Gondor’s king… That was a lie.” Count Paris suddenly took off the hood he’d been wearing up until now and said decisively: “Romeo, I am your father.”

“YOU’RE LYING!!!”

Shock didn’t even begin to describe what Romeo was feeling, his emotions accentuated by theatrical acoustics and even further by the lights bathing him.

Having learned the shocking truth, all the audience could do was look on in mute awe.

“Now, how about you call me dad!”

“Never!!! What a foul lie! I can’t believe it, that you could be my father…! Besides, my father is alive! He’s not in the country now, but I will definitely find him!”

“That meddling Obi-Wan, filling you with lies. Listen, your father is actually—”

“Do you think I’d keep listening to your nonsense?! I’m saving Juliet, now!” Saying that, Romeo swung at Count Paris. However...

“…huh? Is something wrong with Tetsutetsu?” asked Kaibara from the wings, noticing Tetsutetsu’s state. The plan was that he was supposed to beautifully avoid Monoma’s attack, but instead he was hunched over, holding his stomach. Monoma also seemed surprised at the sudden development, appearing unsure of how to continue.

“He looks kinda pale… Is he not feeling well or something?” said Honenuki, who had noticed the same thing and was now looking worriedly at Tetsutetsu on the stage.

“Ah, could it be this?!”

Setsuna, flustered, was holding the plastic bag the chikuwa had come in. The expiration date had passed a fair while ago. Everyone’s heads swung back to Tetsutetsu with concern, watching Tetsutetsu writhing from the pain of his sudden stomachache.

This is what Monoma had been trying to say earlier, that the chikuwa smelled as if it’d gone bad.

“Jeez! He never pays mush attention to these things!”

Komori was so worried that she’d worked herself into an angry huff, which Kuroiro tried to calm with a, “Th-there, there.”

Thinking carefully, Honenuki played the role given to him and said calmly, “In any case, we need to get Tetsutetsu off the stage. At this rate, he won’t be able to do anything.”

After seeing Tetsutetsu’s state, there were no objections. That said, there was one problem.

“But how?”

“Not to mention, how are we going to even do this scene without Tetsutetsu? We can’t just rely on Monoma alone... We could tell Tetsutetsu to leave the stage for health reasons, but if we do—”

It would mean they had to completely change the script and end in adlib. But was that even possible?

“Rather than ending on a bad note, maybe it’d be better to quit while we’re—”

Honenuki shook his head at Rin, who had offered the suggestion merely as one possible option.

“…The show must go on. Once the curtain’s drawn, we can’t close it again until we’ve finished the play. It’s out of respect to the people who came to see us, and also our pride as the people putting on the play.”

“…!”

Looking at everyone’s surprised faces, Honenuki continued, “…is what was written in the Stage Director’s book.”

“The book?!” Tsuburaba shot out, but Honenuki continued to speak gently, in an attempt to calm everyone down.

“But, you know. We’ve all worked so hard up until now, just for this day. I don’t really want to end it half-way, either.”

From the day they decided on the program, all of their weekends, their time after school, and even their breaks had all been dedicated to bringing their strength together and making a great play. They only had one chance to perform: it was all for this play.

Even before Honenuki said anything, everyone was already overflowing with passion.

Rin spoke for everyone. “Let’s do it. To the end.”

Class B had made up their minds. Now they just needed to figure out how.

Honenuki spent a short time organizing his thoughts before saying, “First, in order to get Tetsutetsu back, we need to avert the audience’s attention from the stage.”

#bnha light novel #class 1-b #bnha #juzo honenuki #monoma neito #tetsutetsu tetsutetsu #ibara shiozaki #sen kaibara #kojiro bondo #ok there were more but i'm done tagging characters #UM wow is all i can say #they rly went there #i'm so proud of all of these kids tho they're trying their best #honenuki for president #every single day i marvel at the fact that this is canon

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authorwiththedragontattoo · 4 years

Text

The Snitch Seeker Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

When he had first heard about Hogwarts eighth year, the thought of attending didn’t even cross Draco’s mind. He had run away from the dark lord, barely evaded Azkaban and spent the last four months living in a house that was being monitored 24/7 by the ministry. They knew every move they made, if Draco decided to put an extra sugar in his coffee one morning, the Ministry knew about it.

So, when Narcissa Malfoy came into his room one day holding a letter from Minerva McGonagall requesting his return to Hogwarts in September, he was shocked to say the least. —– or yet another hogwarts eighth year in which draco redeems himself fic

Rating: Teen and up audiences

Warnings: Mild references to violence and death, mild PTSD and anxiety refernces

If the castle had been eerie before; at night the castle was just straight up terrifying.

Draco had done his fair share of stalking the castle at night; he wasn’t new to the winding hallways that seemed endless when the lights were out, or the paintings that seemed perfectly innocent in the day that appeared almost menacing at night.

But now the darkness felt like it’s fingers were clasped around his throat; like it was reaching into his chest and sucking the air from his lungs. He was acutely aware of the way his breathing picked up as he began to gasp for the air that was being stolen from every cell in his body.

Because it was too much like the last time he was here.

He didn’t dare move his feet more than a few inches at a time for fear he would feel the stiff body of one of his classmates at his feet. He could smell the burning flesh and could hear explosions still ringing in his ears. If he glanced out the window, he could still see every protective barrier be torn down, allowing thousands of Death Eaters to descend on his school.

He felt ridiculous. He was no victim, no innocent kid who was dragged into a war they wanted no part of. He had played his part, he did what he was supposed to while knowing the outcome was always going to be war. So why did the images of that day leave him struggling for breath? Why could he feel himself shaking at the memory of a day he helped create? Why did he feel so weak when he swore he would never let his weakness hinder him ever again? Why-?

“Draco Malfoy!”

Draco’s racing mind skidded to a halt as a firm voice cut through the deafening silence of the hallway. He turned slowly, coming face to face with Hogwarts Headmaster Professor McGonagall.

“Professor, I-”

“My office. Now.”

Her blunt, commanding voice left no room for argument, and Draco wasn’t about to challenge that. He knew this was inevitable; he had been back less than 5 hours and he had already tried to curse someone in the common room and was now stalking the halls in the middle of the night. He expected nothing less than an expulsion.

The thought of his mother’s face if he came home, having blown his one chance at a future had his stomach twist so violently he feared he would be sick then and there. In silence the two of them made their way towards the headmasters office, and though he was on his way to expulsion, Draco was thankful for the company and for the light that illuminated their way from the tip of Professor McGonagall’s wand.

The first thing Draco noticed when he stepped into Professor McGonagall’s office was two new portraits that hung on the wall. The painted eyes of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape bore down on him. He suddenly became consumed by the urge to avert his eyes, to not dare look Dumbledore in the eyes just like he had that night almost a year ago.

“Tea?”

Draco turned back to McGonagall to see her using her index finger to wordlessly command a teapot to pour freshly brewed tea into some teacups. He nodded at her after he considered the cold that had seeped into his bones while wandering the halls, leaving him shivering.

Slowly, dipping his head to avoid feeling the stare of the former Headmasters Draco slipped into the chair opposite Professor McGonagall, quietly muttering a ‘thank you’ when she placed a warm cup of tea in front of him. He sighed in contentment as he wrapped his stiff fingers round the porcelain, allowing the warmth to blossom under his fingertips.

“I heard you got into a fight with Mr Finnigan upon your arrival.”

Well, she wasted no time getting to the point. Draco could admire that at least.

“I didn’t start it, Professor! He-”

Draco halted at the raise of a finger, a gesture he knew meant McGonagall did not want him to continue.

“Why are you here, Mr Malfoy? Why did you come back?” She asked quietly.

Draco blinked in confusion, “Because you invited me?”

Professor McGonagall shook her head gently, “No. What inspired you to accept my invitation?”

Suddenly, Draco knew what she meant. She wanted him to think about his mother, about his future. She wanted him to think about getting his qualifications so he can still have a good life despite everything he has done.

“Um…” Draco started.

“You don’t have to tell me, just think about it to yourself.”

So he did. He pictured his mother’s face when she brought in the letter, how her face lit up more than he had seen it in a year. He thought about how she cried when she thought Draco wasn’t around; silent, dignified tears that slowly ran down her sunken cheeks as she walked through the manor; trying to savour the place she had raised her son before it was snatched away from her. He thought about passing his N.E.W.Ts and getting a good job where he could save up enough money to house and keep his family safe.

“Now think about what would happen if I decided to expel you right now for trying to curse another student.” McGonagall’s voice cut in, harshly halting his imagination.

Draco could feel the anger and shame begin to climb through his system as he imagined coming home to his parents, having failed yet again. He couldn’t stop the images of his mother’s disappointed gaze or his father’s anger from invading his mind.

“If you’re going to expel me can you just get on with it?” Draco shot at the Professor angrily, wishing he had never gone to all the trouble of coming back.

For a moment all that could be heard was Draco’s quickening breath as frustration flared under his skin, before Professor McGonagall spoke again.

“I’m not expelling you, Mr Malfoy.”

Draco’s eyes shot from the tea that was slowly cooling in his hand to the Professor, looking at her in shock.

“What?”

“I wasn’t expecting any of this to be easy,” She began, “Of course, I hadn’t anticipated a fight in the dormitory on the first night.”

Draco felt his cheeks colour slightly, it all felt so silly now.

“But Draco, I sent you that invitation because I feel that every child who suffered because of the war deserves a chance to take back control of their lives. We all suffered because of Voldemort.”

Draco winced at the sound of his name. He knew he was dead, and most of the Death Eaters were in Azkaban, but he couldn’t seem to shake the fear that his name still carried. He thought if he said it, Voldemort would come back and take revenge on his family for running away. For being cowards and for failing him. He suddenly got the urge to hold his mother in his arms and not let go.

“But don’t make me regret giving you this second chance, dear boy. Because you may not get another one.”

Professor McGonagall always had this way of being both stern and kind at the same time, Draco thought. She was encouraging him to do well but the warning was there, smouldering underneath. He only had one shot at becoming something other than the hated ex-death eater, and she knew that just as much as he did.

“Now, get to bed. There will be no special treatment if you wake up late for your lessons tomorrow.”

Draco didn’t reply, instead he silently stood, leaving his untouched tea and making his way out the office. Before he left though, he stopped at the door frame and turned back to the Professor. He glanced up at the two portraits above her head, and if he didn’t know better he could have sworn Professor Snape’s lips jolted quickly upwards before settling back into a straight line.

“Professor?” Draco met McGonagall’s eyes once again, “Thank you.”

Then he left the room, back into the pitch black hallways.

McGonagall’s words played over in his head as Draco made his way back to the dorms,

“You may not get another one.”

He had known this year was going to be difficult as soon as he accepted his place, he knew people would react the way Finnigan did. It was stupid of him to lose control and almost get himself expelled on the first day.

He was sure Finnigan wasn't the only one who had something to say to him, so he was going to have to learn how to keep his anger at bay. And quickly.

This time when Draco approached the doors to the common room, there was silence on the other side. It was late enough that he was sure everyone would have long gone to bed; at least he hoped so.

Gently, he pushed the doors open and glanced inside. The fireplace was still burning but as Draco had suspected the room was empty. Letting out a small sigh of relief he stepped fully into the room. But just as he began to calm, he was startled to notice a figure sat on the sofa facing the fireplace, and they seemed to be looking back at him.

As the fire flickered, their features became visible, and Draco’s heart sank as he looked at the face he had hoped he could avoid at all costs. He saw Harry Potter looking back at him.

Draco felt a defensive rush run through his bloodstream and he immediately itched to reach for his wand, but then he took in the man and he felt maybe his wand wasn't so necessary at that moment. Potter had his feet up on the sofa with his knees pulled up to his chest, obstructing the bottom half of his face. He looked… small. His hair had grown and it now sat atop his brow bone casting shadows across his eyes that danced in the firelight, but his intense stare was still there, looking directly at Draco. Draco chose to ignore the urge to pull down his left sleeve, just to make sure it was down.

He expected Potter to say something, maybe shout at him. Insult him. Tell him to go home because he doesn’t belong at that school anymore. Berate him for all those years of relentless bullying and singing with his enemy. Maybe even kill him. Draco couldn't say he’d be surprised if he did. He might even welcome it. But he didn’t say anything. And neither did Draco.

Had it been 3 years prior, Draco stumbling upon Harry in an empty common room in the middle of the night would have inevitably caused a fight. Draco would have asked him if he was afraid of the dark or something, and Harry would have shot back something that wasn’t particularly witty but he definitely always knew how to push Draco’s buttons. But now, they just kind of stared, for a moment.

Over the last four months, Draco had come up with a million and one things he would like to say to Harry Potter if he ever saw him again. But now that he was looking at the saviour of the wizarding world in the dead of night with only the sound of the fire cracking in the room, not a single one came to mind.

Draco couldn’t take the silence anymore, and broke their gaze. Without looking back he quickly navigated his way through the dark dormitory until he found his bed, and his thundering heart eventually settled as no one else stirred.

And he tried not to think too hard about the fact that the only other empty bed in the room was right beside his.

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thefamily · 5 years

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Chapter 3: 1824 October 10th The Library

FUCKING FINALLY

Jack’s P.o.v

I stare in shock as the field around me turn into a valley that Snow and I stood at a cliff and stared at the beauty before me. The valley was surrounded by four waterfalls pouring down into rivers and lakes into the valley bellow the wall surrounding covered in greenery and caves where god knows where what lives in there. On the floor of the valley there was miles upon miles of forest and fields all connected by rivers. If I looked hard enough I could even see some horses in one of the fields although I didn’t need to look hard to see the groups of birds flying everywhere. In the center of the valley was a huge and a beautiful castle made of some sort of of stone of maybe even marble, There where four Bridges one of which was painted in reds, browns and gold, all leading to the platform(?) that the castle sat upon from the tops of the valley with not to mention was also surrounded in forest for as far as the eye could see.

Before I could look around more Snow had suddenly reared back onto his hide legs and quickly grabbed onto his mane shouting “Snow what are you doing!!” The horse obviously didn’t respond and he took a couple steps back on his hind legs before launching himself over the edge which resulted in a scream from me. My heart was racing hundred miles a minute as I desperately clung to Snows back so I didn’t fly off. Before I could freak out more though we suddenly stopped and when I hesitantly sat up a bit as I realized that we were gliding towards the platform which I can now see is covered in flowers and fountains that looked like the stone or marble was natural and not done by people. I gasped slightly when I heard the sound of wings and the gust of air pull on my legs. When I carefully look back I see two large white feathered wings glistening like freshly fallen snow in the sun. I let out a small gasp in shock as I stare in awe wondering how this is possibly real and not a dream.

As we descend I see some one rushing out of the castle entrance without running rushing to where Snow was landing. As he landed I could see that person was indeed Liru who for the first time since I met her, was not wearing her cloak and was wearing a wine red button up blouse with a ruffle and black dress pants and ‘god she looks gorgeous’. I quickly hopped of Snow before he was even fully knelt and before I could gain a proper footing she tackled me in a hug shouting, “Jack!” knocking us both to the floor.

I let out an oof as I hit the floor with her landing on top of me with a small yipe. We look at each-other for a second and I can feel my cheeks heating up before she giggled and got up pulling me with her.

“It’s good to see you again Πυγολαμπίς.” She says with a smile on her face as she walks in front of Snow who hand bowed his head down as she began to pet his snout.

“I trust Snow treated you well?” She said running a hand along his snout looking just as comically small next to him as she does next to Stella.

“Yeah, gave me quiet a scare a minute ago but other than that, he’s been great.” I see her smile and my heart stutters for a second with my cheeks turning pink.

“Good.” Her voice held an amused tone and she held up a red apple that I remember being a Honey-crisp apple, that she seemingly pulled out of nowhere, which Snow happily ate. I cocked my head slightly wondering where she pulled it from because she didn’t have a sack on her nor were any of the pockets big enough to hold an apple that size. Before my mind could ponder on it anymore Liru’s voice brought me out of it.

“Stella’s in the field, she’s waiting for you.” I look at her in confusion and before I can ask what she meant, Snow had let out a small whinny and had turned around and took off running before his ‘wings’ appeared and he took off into the air and made a sharp turn around towards the field before disappearing from view.

“So,” I quickly turned to her and she had a kind smile on her face as she spoke, “I bet you have a lot of questions.” I just nod and she hooks one of her arms with one of mine and I can’t help but smile at the familiar action. “Well then we lets eat first. I’ll answer you questions.” She pulls me inside with a smile and I can’t help but look around at the architecture. The entrance was a large room with two staircases, one going up and the other, below the first, was going down. Around the large room, which might I add seemed to be larger than a house from the village, three doors that couldn’t possibly lead to anywhere and they were all made out of some sort of wood and they were all painted different colors mainly reds and browns. The ones I could see properly had gold symbols on them, one was painted a deep blood red with a stack of books in gold with the only spine with words on it said βιβλιοθήκη which if I remember correctly means ‘Library’ and the other was a dark brown with a plate that had Τραπεζαρία on it following the circle but I'm not sure what it means.

“So would you like to go the long way or the short way?” I look at her confused before replying although it sounded more like a question, “The short way?” She just giggles and says, “Alrighty then, lets go.” She pulls me over to the dark brown door with the plate on it and opened revealing a large dinning room and to be honest I didn’t pay attention to the room I was more focused on the food that was covering the table. There were three different types of meats on the table, ham, fish and chicken along with bread and some greens and ham and potato soup along with a gravy for the ham and chicken, and last but not least was the chocolate cake in the center of it all. I could hear my stomach growling and Liru giggling at it which caused my face to heat up.

“Well,” I hear her say from beside me, “eat up.” I feel myself get exited and rush over to the table immediately grabbing one of the bowls of soup and a plate to put some meat and sat down in one of the chairs before digging in. I ate pretty quickly before moving on to the next thing to eat and I noticed that Liru was sitting across from me with a smile on her face as she ate slowly while watching me. My face heated up as I tried to sink into the chair. “S-sorry.”

“It’s no problem Jack, I know what it’s like being that hungry. Just try not to choke, Okay?” I nods slightly and dig into the food again eating as much as I can before finishing feeling fuller than I ever had in my life.

“You fully finally?” Her tone is light but I can hear the laughter she’s hiding. I nod a bit leaning back into the comfy chair. “Yeah, thank you it was really good.”

“It’s no problem my Πυγολαμπίς.” I blush at that and sink a little into the chair when she calls me that, feeling my heart flutter. She wipes her mouth with the napkin before standing up and grabbing two plates and putting slices of cake on them and a fork on each plate.

“Now,” She says turning to me “Lets go to the library while we eat the cake and you can ask your questions there. Okay?” I nod dragging myself up and she hands me a plate. “No eating until we get our selves situated.” I pout but take the plate trying to ignore the rising blush at her small laugh. I follower her out the door and too the one that said ‘Library’ in Greek and pushed it open revealing the library to be lit only by candles and probably fifteen feet high book shelves going as far as the eye can see. One thing I noticed as I walked in was that there aren’t any ladders to reach the books on the higher shelves nor anything else to step on or climb up.

“Why is it so dark in here?” I can’t help but ask as she leads me through what seems like a maze of book shelves that I noticed also had little trinkets on the shelves as well and I swear I saw something watching me and Liru from the upper shelves and I could feel a headache forming the longer I'm in the castle but seems to get worse in here like the thing was freaking out, afraid of the knowledge in these books.

“What do you mean?

“Well this place only seems to be lit by lanterns and candles, and there doesn’t seem to be any windows either. Why is that?” I ask as we get to one of the corners and I see that there is a ‘fireplace?’ that instead of a chimney there were just more books and bottles filled with softly glowing liquids of some sort. Along with the fireplace(?) there were two comfortable looking love seats both burgundy red and small dark brown wooden table in the middle of them as they’re both turned part way to the fireplace.

“Oh I more often than not prefer to read like this but the upper level is all light, maybe I can show you soon.” She sets her plate down on the table sitting in one of the love seats sprawling her legs out as I sit in the other one also putting my plate on the table.

“Now that we are both situated, lets hear those questions.”

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thenightling · 5 years

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My top 15 love interests for romantic incarnations of Dracula (No, they’re not all Mina)

If I was to do a list of favorite love interests for Dracula it would be...

Keep reading for a full list...

16. Bonus: Lydia from Dark Prince: the true Story of Dracula.

I list this one here because she’s technically an historic figure and the rest are fictional so I am not sure if she should count or not. The historic Dracula’s first wife’s name has been lost to history even though the river tributary under Poenari Castle was named for her. The film Dark Prince: The true Story of Dracula starring Ruldolf Martin names her Lydia.

Though this film is mostly historic the ending implies that the two are both vampires and walking together through eternity.

Vladislaus Drakuyla AKA Vlad III of Wallachia, AKA Vlad Tepes (The Impaler)’s first wife died by suicide and the film hinted that this might have been enough to enable her to come back as a vampire.

Right before Vlad’s assassination in 1776 or early 1777 (at age forty-five or forty six) in the movie we hear her voice, which suggests she’s either waiting for him or has set into motion turning him into a vampire to be with her.

15. Sir Integra Hellsing from the Hellsing.

In the manga and anime Hellsing (and Hellsing Ultimate OVA), instead of having been destroyed by Doctor Abraham Van Helsing after the events of the Dracula novel, Dracula was instead captured and through arcane means bound to serve the Van Helsing bloodline for eternity. The family founded the Hellsing organization for fighting monstrous threats. Dracula took on the name Alucard (his own name spelt backward) and may have gone slightly crazy...

He became fiercely loyal to Integra Hellsing, the most recent descendant of Abraham van Helsing to become his Master. It is a very strange relationship to say the least...

14. Xander Harris from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

In Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 5 we have Buffy encounter Dracula for the very first time. Here he is played by Rudolf Martin, the same actor who played Dracula in Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula. In the episode Dracula takes Xander to be his Renfield-like henchman. At the end of the story Xander is free from Dracula’s spell however the story of their relationship is not over yet.

According to the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer season 8 comics Xander and Dracula have formed an unusual relationship. Xander taught Dracula about modern fun and pleasures and Dracula became more and more protective of Xander. When Buffy came and retrieved Xander (again) from Dracula, this time Dracula fell into a deep depression. Refusing to feed or take care of himself Dracula’s hair and claws grew and he deteriorated into his elderly form. When he found out that Xander was coming to pay him a visit, he hastily made himself presentable and de-aged to a more attractive / youthful appearance.

Now the two bicker like long time lovers. I ship it.

Oh, and Xander still calls him master, despite himself.

Further note on this one: Dracula is actually smart for NOT getting a smartphone. All cellphones can be traced via GPS. Do you really want a tracking device in your pocket while hunting human prey? You just made Blade and Buffy’s jobs a little too easy there. A practical vampire would not carry such a device while hunting.

Unfortunately this comic retconned a few important aspects of the TV show version of Dracula and even claimed he doesn’t actually conjure storms, but senses them coming (contradicting the beach scene from the Buffy vs. Dracula episode.) I wish people would stop de-powering Dracula.

13. Jonathan Harker (Multiple versions):

Dario Argento said that his version of Dracula was attracted to Jonathan Harker. And in Frank Wildhorn’s Dracula The Musical (Particularly the German production called Dracula das Musical) the scene “Fresh Blood” (Blut) is very errotic.

Fresh Blood (Blut) now featured Jonathan Harker being tied to a bed and his shirt removed as he’s fed upon by Dracula. But first by Dracula’s brides and grooms of the castle.

Also one of the lyrics in the English language version of the song indicates he wants Jonathan AND Mina as his and plans to make them both vampires. Thus reaffirming the polyamorous version of Dracula.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slZps47LgKQ

Dracula gets particularly “grabby” with him during his de-aging sequence.

The relationship is pretty one sided...

12. Renfield (multiple versions).

The German production of Frank Wildhorn’s Dracula the musical (Dracula das Musical) has Dracula with brides and grooms as opposed to just brides. Despite this change toward bi or panasexuality, this particular relationship is very one sided.

Renfield is very much in love with Dracula in many depictions of the character. This mad man is obsessed with “The Master” and in the Frank Wildhorn Dracula musical he sings a song about how much he loves The Master and how wonderful he is. The reprise version looks as if Dracula is about to kiss him as they sing a slowed duet version of the refrain but this is where Dracula, instead, snaps his neck.

Here is the English language version of The Master’s song (Not the slowed reprise duet.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-v1O-asrHg

There is a deleted scene from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) where Renfield laments that he has lost Dracula “to the pretty woman.”

In Love at First bite, and some other films Dracula actually does give Renfield immortality however. I suspect the Love at First Bite version is a half-vampire since he can go in the sun (this version of Dracula burns in daylight) and he still needs glasses for his nearsightedness but he has apparently worked for Dracula for at least a century so he was clearly granted immortality even if he can’t turn into a bat or hypnotize.

11. Carmilla Karnstein from The Batman vs. Dracula.

Carmilla is an odd one because in her original novel she’s portrayed as a lesbian. She is a vampire whose novel predates Dracula’s own novel. Her prey of choice are young virginal women. And she can turn into a large grey or black cat. She is powerful and independant and in The Batman vs. Dracula she somehow ended up Dracula’s wife. So I will assume this version is bisexual and they’re probably polyamorous and not at all monogamous.

The version of Dracula in Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books, and the 1979 Dracula movie starring Frank Langella are also polyamorous though he claims Mina (Lucy in the 1979 film) is above the others. Poly-Romantic / Pan-Romantic / and Demi seem to be recurring traits for romantic versions of Dracula.

Dracula spends part of The Batman vs. Dracula trying to bring Carmilla back from the dead, using the very life essence and soul of VickI Vale to fuel the spell. Unfortunately things don’t quite go as planned.

10. Dracula’s mysterious male lover from Marvel comics, Avengers issue 016 (2019).

Marvel’s Dracula has been confirmed as having had male and female lovers. This is not the only bisexual or panasexual Dracula in pop culture. The German production of the Frank Wildhorn Dracula the Musical (Dracula das Musical) gives him brides and grooms in his castle, Dario Argento has said his version of Dracula is bisexual, and Marvel has now confirmed that their version of Dracula has had male and female lovers.

I don’t know much about this pretty elfish, semi-androgynous character. Identified as a male vampire lover of Dracula’s from Marvel’s War of the Vampires storyline, Dracula wept blood tears when this unnamed character was killed. And he (the lover) was clearly willing to die for Dracula. So this spot is for you, you poor, unnamed elfish male vampire lover!

I don’t know his name so I am going to call him Samuel. And in my mind he was the pretty castle librarian whom Dracula became infatuated with. There. Headcanon achieved.

Further note: Usually if you make Dracula cry, it means he’ll take brutal and violent revenge. This is a universal truth with all versions of Dacula. Never make him cry.

I would put him at a MUCH better spot on this list but he doesn’t get a lot of time in the comic and we don’t know much about him. If we only knew more about him he would have a far better spot on this list. Look how adorable and tragic he is! He could easily be one of my favorites but all we know is that his death brought Dracula to tears and that yes, they were lovers. I seriously considered moving this one up the list but I’m bias for this sweet, androgynous, vampire-boy.

Seriously, I want to know this guy’s story. Dracula cries for him! In front of his enemies, he weeps for him! Give us this story, Marvel! Who is he???

9. Amy Peterson from Fright Night (original 1985 version).

This one is a bit dubious because the vampire is Jerry Dandridge but the 1985 novelization of the film suggested that Jerry is actually count Dracula. Fright Night played with popular vampire tropes and a few were homages to the 1960s soap opera, Dark Shadows. In Dark Shadows the vampire, Barnabas Collins, discovered that the young waitress (and later governess) Maggie Evans, was the uncanny look-a-like of his lost love, Josette. Because of the physical similarity he was convinced she was the reincarnation of his lost love even though with reincarnations you could literally end up looking like anyone or even being another gender after reincarnation. Barnabas had a painting of Josette that showed the physical similarity.

In Fright Night Jerry Dandridge meets Amy and becomes obsessed when he realizes how much she resembles a woman he, too, has lost and is pining for. When Jerry is finally destroyed by the has-been horror actor turned real vampire hunter, Peter Vincent, and also by Amy’s boyfriend, Charley Brewster, his last words are crying out for Amy.

Though this relationship is very one sided and Amy is clearly under age, when you’re a teenager (as I was) we can’t help but find ourselves fantasizing about being Amy in Jerry’s arms during the nightclub dance scene or the “Come to Me” scene. Because of problematic aspects of this relationship and because Jerry was never officially revealed as being Dracula in the film, that’s why this is at spot number 8.

The Jerry Dandridge / Dracula character is apparently in a polyamorous relationship as he has a live-in (apparent boyfriend) Billy Cole. Billy does not exist in the 2011. Fright Night remake, which removed all romantic aspects of the character.

8. Evan Barrington-Cabot from the Graphic novel Series Dracula: The Company of Monsters.

In Dracula: The Company of Monsters graphic novel (published in 2011) an evil corporate executive known as Conrad orchestrates raising Dracula from the dead in the hope of using and exploiting him. Conrad’s nephew, Evan comes to understand and respect Dracula and Dracula’s code of honor. The two respect each other. And like with most stories where Dracula falls in love with the protagonist he decides to stalk him and declare him his.

When Dracula takes his revenge on his captors, Evan is the only one that he spares.

He even watches the young man sleep, the way Dracula is often depicted doing to female love interests. And he makes it very clear he plans on making him a vampire down the line.

This relationship is kept somewhat ambiguous otherwise I might consider putting it at a better spot on the list.

7. Ericka Van Helsing from Hotel Transylvania 3.

A direct descendant of Abraham Van Helsing (the famous monster hunter) Ericka has a cruise ship for monsters with the sole purpose of luring Count Dracula, whom falls in love with her. He “Zings.” Monsters supposedly can only zing once so there is a fan theory that she is the reincarnation of Mavis’ mother. This is likely true since reincarnation or look-a-like of a first love (or both) is a popular trope in vampire fiction started by Dan Curtis for his TV show Dark Shadows and later carried over into his Dracula movie starring Jack Palance.

Ericka ultimately realizes she loves Dracula too and the cruise ship captain and hotel owner end up together. Dracula proposes to her at the end of the film and she says yes.

Also though Dracula is several hundred years old in Hotel Transylvania he is physically in his forties, I suspect Ericka (as a mortal) is biologically older than him, which is a clever touch since Dracula is usually going after young girls in pop culture. It’s good to see him with an older (well, in appearance) woman. (”When you’re six hundred years old there’s no such thing as a cougar.” - The Emo Vampire Song.) Hotel Transylvania 3 is actually my favorite of the franchise and is a sweet film.

6. Cindy from Love at First bite.

Love at First Bite is a comedy from 1979. Think of Coming to America meets Splash in that a supernatural character, a proverbial fish-out-of-water comes to New York looking for love.

Dracula believes Cindy to be the reincarnation Mina (“But I lost her in that damn London Fog!”). He knows her from magazine pictures and interviews and after communists drive him out of his castle he moves to New York where he plans to seduce her. This consists of licking her ankles while in dog-form, telling her that she is more than merely her appearance, that he understands her and her anxieties. And dancing to “I love the Night Life”. The two ultimately fall in love and knowing the truth about Dracula, Cindy opts to spend eternity with him as his vampire queen. The ending has them fly off together, in bat form, to Jamaica.

5. Lucy from Dracula (1979).

In the 1979 version of Dracula, Frank Langella plays Count Dracula. Though technically a remake and based on the same play the Bela Lugosi Dracula was based on, there are some distinct changes. For starters in this version the character we mostly know as Mina in most adaptations is named Lucy and the Lucy character is named Mina. The names are swapped.

Not only that but in this version it’s Dracula who is initially seduced. Though engaged to Jonathan Harker in Edwardian England (set roughly twenty years after most versions of Dracula, which are usually set in 1891) Dracula arrives for dinner at the home of his new neighbors. Here he offers to hypnotize the sickly Mina to relieve her of a headache (that he very likely induced). Lucy protests, showing her dislike and distrust of such methods and the manipulation of the will of others. This bold reaction delights Dracula as he is not used to conflict from women.

The next step in the possibly-accidental seduction of Dracula comes when Lucy turns on a phonograph record player and asks him to dance with her, improperly, right in front of her fiance.

And later after some tragedies, when the rest of the household is unable to uphold an invitation to Dracula’s house for supper, Lucy goes alone.

I like this one because in this one it’s mostly Dacula who gets seduced. Lucy wants him and she gets him. She knows what she’s doing. Also Dracula isn’t a whining, brooding, emo vampire. He is lonely but he LIKES what he is. He’s proud of what he is. He’s fierce and predatory and has all of his traditional powers, including being able to turn into a bat, and wolf, and conjure storms. So few adaptations remember the wolf form these days.

This was the first truly empowered version of the Mina character (though named Lucy). And she is not some look-a-like or reincarnation of a previous love. No. He simply falls in love with her for who she is.

It is very likely this version of Dracula is demi (falling in love with personality before any physical attraction) which is also true of the Castlevania version of Dracula and the version in Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books.

Also based on the last dialogue from Dracula to Lucy (that he would return to her once they stopped hunting him) I choose to believe he faked his death in this version, especially by the wolf howl at the very end and the cryptic smile on Lucy’s face before the end credits. Long live The Count and Lucy!

4. Mina from Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books.

Very similar to Lucy in the 1979 Dracula starring Frank Langella, this is a romantic interest where Dracula sees the person as his equal.

This Mina is not the reincarnation of a lost love, nor does she resemble a lost love. When we first see this version of Mina it’s in the novel The Dracula Tape (retelling of Dracula from Dracula’s point of view.) Dracula shows up at her door to deceive her and try to manipulate her into getting the heroes to leave him be but she doesn’t fall for it. And she wrings the truth out of him. She’s clever and also manipulative and the two become lovers.

And in the contemporary world of the later books, though Dracula is having affairs with Mina’s own descendants (It’s a bit weird, I know but at least he’s honest about it.) he still seeks her for comfort and guidance. And constantly refers to her as his greatest love. It’s creepy yet sweet.

In this continuity he fakes his death at the end of the Dracula Tape. And when Mina finally dies of apparent old age she comes back as a vampire because his blood is in her system. As his kind of vampire can change their age based on how heavily they feed, she (like Dracula) can look any age she chooses. (Dracula usually looks roughly forty-five-years-old since that’s about the age he was when he died in his mortal life but sometimes he deliberately abstains from feeding to look older or even elderly.)

And with Mina to guide him, Dracula becomes the protector (and casual seducer...) of her mortal descendants.

Mostly the relationship and personality (as well as powers) are very similar to that of the 1979 Dracula film starring Frank Langella.

Another reason I like this version of Dracula is the cause of how he became a vampire is sort of ambiguous. He dies as the historic figure dies but in the Fred Saberhagen novel “A Matter of taste” (Book six of his Dracula novels) it’s revealed that loyalists stole his body and severed head and left a look-a-like in his place.

They prepared him for burial where candles kept going out and the wounds started to heal (including his head apparently re-attaching itself) so they hastily buried him. He rose as a vampire and insisted that it was a “transition of will” that he refused to die. In other words he has no idea how or why he came back as a vampire.

Considering most vampires in the Fred Saberhagen Dracula novels are created by a mortal drinking the blood of a vampire, after having been fed on, this made Dracula very unique and mysterious. I really like this origin. It’s my favorite origin for Dracula since it explains nothing while explaining everything.

It’s a lot better than someone renouncing God and drinking blood from a stone cross...

This one could easily be my favorite female love interest for Dracula, tied with the one I have listed for number 1 but I put two others between this and the number one spot because of their significance to pop culture and my love of some musicals.

3. Mina from Frank Wildhorn’s Dracula the Musical.

This is essentially the musical adaptation of the 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula movie. The biggest difference is there is no mention of Dracula’s mortal life’s wife and no suggestion that Mina resembles (or is the reincarnation of) an old love. The only problem is there is little explanation given as to why he falls in love with her other than that he seemed to have a mysterious psychic link with her all along.

Still, the songs are beautiful and the relationship is sweet and this version of Mina is very likable.

2. Mina from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992 film):

Before I proceed with this one, yes. Yes, I know Dracula and Mina are not actually lovers in the original Dracula novel. I know that when he makes her drink his blood in the novel that it’s more of a rape. But this version plays with the love story Dan Curtis created for his Barnabas Collins and later carried over into Dracula.

Dracula is seeking the reincarnation of his deceased mortal-life wife. And not only was he lucky enough to find her in a look-a-like body but she’s also the age the first wife was when she died (by total coincidence!). At first it seems like he just thinks she looks like his dead wife and he can seduce her but he seems shocked when she starts to actually remember details of his home. (watch his expression as she starts to talk about his homeland. He’s genuinely surprised).

The two begin a consensual love affair that sadly ends with Mina putting him out of his misery.

A least it’s implied he was forgiven and got to go to Heaven despite the things he had done (Much like in Stoker’s original novel. No, really, that’s in there.)

I like the Frank Wildhorn musical adaptation of this version of Dracula slightly better than the original non-musical movie because in the musical you don’t get the weird bleeding cross / renouncing God origin for Dracula’s vampirism. and 2. Mina doesn’t seem to be anyone’s reincarnation or look-a-like. They’re just in love (Even though yes, I know that is not in Bram Stoker’s novel.) But I do have a soft spot for this one because most of it does follow the novel and the musical probably would not exist if not for this movie.

1. Lisa Țepeș from Castlevania.

Lisa fast became one of my favorite love interests for Dracula. She went to Dracula’s castle seeking knowledge and bravely stood up to the antisocial vampire.

Much like Lucy from the 1979 Dracula film she talked back to him. She was bold and brave. She wanted to learn and she wanted the ability to save lives and damn it, she would risk her own life to do it. Dracula fell in love with this personality almost instantly. It was her personality, not her physical beauty that he became infatuated with.

And they were both happily nerdy together. She humanized Dracula and reminded him that there is good in the world. Dracula married her and the two had a son together.

For her sake he learned to trust and love. But it was for that love that he was driven to madness by her death...

Lisa was only forty-five-years-old when she was burned at the stake as a witch while simply trying to help people as a medical doctor.

This version of Dracula was a good man deep inside but pushed to madness and governed by his vampiric instincts he couldn’t bear to be without her. And when she was murdered he blamed almost all of humanity (save for a select few) for it.

And so Dracula began a subconscious quest to be destroyed by going through the motions of wanting to destroy the world. This is not the only plot where Dracula plans to destroy the world and the protagonist catches on that it’s an elaborate and “world’s longest suicide note”. This was also done in the Hammer horror film The Satanic Rites of Dracula. But here it was for heartbreak of a deeply lonely man.

#Count Dracula #Lisa Tepes #Castlevania #Hotel Transylvania #Love at first Bite #Mina Harker #Bram Stoker's Dracula #Carmilla #Renfield #Ericka Van Helsing

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lady-plantagenet · 5 years

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A Bygone Era - Chapter 2 A fictionalised account of the life of Isabel Neville told through the points of view of the people who knew her and herself. Points of View so far: Anne Beauchamp 16th Countess of Warwick and Anne Neville

16th June 1465

‘Isabel has elegance and wit and beauty’ said a sulky nine-year old Anne putting emphasis on each ‘and’ as if to make the three descriptors seem like a dozen ‘what is left for me lady mother?’

The white summer sun was beating off the translucent wings of the dragonflies in fleeting flashes glimmering red, blue and yellow through the stained glass of the castle window. Anne watched in awe as they were gracefully dancing around the surface of the clear pond like a group of dancers creating ripples with every inclination of their wings. Everything in Wensleydale appeared dazzlingly bright today, even yesterday’s jade grass now neared celadon while the sky was a warm celeste. In the solar of Middleham castle, Anne was sat on her mother’s lap while she was diligently braiding her youngest’s whispy long hair.

‘You have a great gift for piety and loyalty...’ started the Countess. The child did not act impressed. All nine year old girls were interested in was being Felices rescued by a Guy of Warwick, just like all boys at that age wanted to be Sir Gawain.

The Countess wanted to box the ears of the nurses that have indoctrinated the impressionable children so. Isabel and Anne’s fanaticism began when their father, recently returned from the court of Louis XI, brought a manuscript of John Lydgate’s ‘Guy of Warwick’ for his two girls. Anne had to admit that the illuminations were beautiful down to the gilded details on the Lady Felice’s hair and the outline of every capital letter at the start of the page. But Richard knew that such stories would not beguile his cynical wife and he himself only saw the book valuable in so far as it served to further distinguish the nobility of the Beauchamp line and make his daughters smile. Isabel and Anne were predictably over-joyous to have such phantasmagoric legends run through their blood especially as in England, Guy of Warwick was considered St George’s son.

‘Piety and loyalty are not values to be sneered at, Anne’ cautioned the Countess. Her husband, now also Earl of Salisbury, had instructed the household to foster a spirit of loyalty between the Neville girls and the York boys. Anne knew that her mother must have noted her rapport towards the youngest: Richard Duke of of Gloucester.

Anne was now peering out of the window, beyond the glassy pond, towards Isabel. Her honey-coloured hair had now darkened to a long ebony mane even darker than the chestnut brown of their father’s. Today the strands peaking beneath her turquoise henin appeared to absorb all the sun’s rays in their magnificence. Not yet fourteen, she had the tall willowy silhouette of a nymph. Elegant and dainty whereas Anne appeared fragile and childlike.

The Earl in his ornate scarlet doublet appeared in the tableaux. He was laughing, taking Isabel in his arms before cupping her cheeks and looking down at her adoringly while she dazzlingly smiled back like the sycophant she is .

When he goes to court, Father always takes his leave from her last and separately. Look how long his smile lingers when he takes her hands. His favourite daughter the beautiful Isabel, the intelligent Isabel, the vain Isabel. I never wanted to know anything more than the details of their conversation.

As the countess was finishing Anne’s braided crown she began noticing that her daughter was still not appeased. She took on a lighter tone and pointed out that Isabel did not have hair like hers.

Anne peared into the looking glass by the vanity and a slender fair face framed by a sea of coppery waves the colour of a fox’s tail peered back at her. A colour far brighter than her mother’s auburn. Isabel may be impossibly graceful but my hair is more similar to the new Queen’s.

All her father’s men hated the woman who claimed the place beside the handsome York king. As soon as news of her father’s humiliation over not knowing of the match became the talk of the kingdom as did talk of the Woodville Queen’s beauty. They say she is the most beautiful woman in the british isles with the heavy-lidded eyes of a dragon. But, I also hear she is near her thirtieth year with already two sons from her previous husband: a knight. She was nothing like the blue-eyed virgin princesses in Anne’s fairytales who were all closer to Isabel’s age. Father also told me that she had large black eyes like drops of tar. A witch’s eyes.

‘What do you think?’ Smiled her mother beckoning Anne to look in the mirror once more. Anne’s hair was coifed in an elaborate braided coronet encircling her small head in thin serpentine plaits culminating in a voluminous halo at her crown. A hairstyle befitting a lady mere months before being considered old enough to wear a headress. A hairstyle also appropriate for what was becoming the hottest summer afternoon in years.

‘Tis beautiful lady mother. Thank you so so much’ Anne thanked with a wide satisfied grin.

‘Now off with you. Your Richard must be wandering where you are- ‘ began the Countess. Anne, the impatient little girl that she was rushed off before Anne could add ‘-and your cousin Clarence shall also be visiting us in a fortnight. I will fetch Bridget so you can practice your greeting courtesies’

Any other day her mother would call after her and chide her for her impertinence. Today, however, the aerial glide of the enamoured singing swallows waltzing above the field of blanche ramsons, alternating in their emissions of white flashes with the pond may have soothed even the heart of the most proprietous woman in England, which was witnessing this beautiful display from her seat at the edge of the heavy-coloured solar.

It had been years since Middleham Castle saw George of Clarence. While the shy thirteen year old pup Richard would remain at Wensleydale to complete his training in the art of chivalry, George, now a man of sixteen was summoned to court to assume his princely status and enthral those who in him saw the purest of the white roses of York.

Little did they know that he needed those two more years at Middleham like a sword needed a scabbard. He has all my father’s skill but none of his humility. Anne had just began to remember George’s incessant interruption of Master Guffryn’s apparent ‘lack of flourish in his pronounciation’ as he was trying to teach them latin conjugations. Isabel’s constant tittering could not have been particularly dissuasive.

As the palfrey’s canter dropped to a trot, Anne started to see the wicked smile etched onto George’s lips. With thirty attendants trailing after him in emerald livery, the whole spectacle resembled more a snake than a princely procession.

The five of them were stood in front of the keep like a set of lead painted dolls, their jewels and silks glittering in the hot June sun even in the cold shadow of the ashen battlement. A silkened hand squeezed the Duke of Gloucester’s.

‘I think he will scare Lovell. I do not want that’ whispered Anne

‘He is not here to stay’ smiled Richard squeezing her hand comfortingly ‘What have you truly against him Anne?’

Richard always knows what I mean to say and when I conceal it. He was born with the sageness of Aunt Cecily. Why was none imparted to me? Perhaps it only works if you are directly descended...

‘He will steal Issy from me. Then you will go when the king wants you for battle and I will be all alone up here with mother making shirts for the peasantry...’

‘There will be no wars.’ interjected Richard curtly

Anne was taken aback by the silent force of that response. It took her a moment of contemplation to realise how no matter how brightly the sunne in splendour shone in London, it was still obscured by the darkness of the shadow cast by Sandal Castle. Richard lost the only parent that resembled him and the brother that proved an adequate figure upon whom he could heap all his hopes and ideals onto. I merely lost an uncle and grandfather that I was far too young to know.

‘No there will not’ replied Anne gently ‘Father will not allow it’

Isabel was beginning to take notice of their whispering, but before she had time to admonish the pesky little pair or nosily demand to be told the subject matter George’s retinue passed the Barbican and were entering the Bailey - close enough for George to notice if Isabel’s face were twisted in pettiness. Anne noticed her sister’s statuesque composure and drew her own hand from Richard’s hold letting the rose-coloured sleeve slip back past her palm.

Let George see that I am now nearly a woman grown who no longer needs to wear soft soles on her pouline to feel when the hem of the skirt overruns her pace.

As the palfrey’s gait came to a halt Anne could not help but notice the resemblance between its mane and Isabel’s own hair. With the grace of a York, the rider dropped from the saddle as if in a controlled slide. Anne noticed that he barely grew since last year and was still hovering below her father’s height. So Edward has the lion’s share of height in this family while Richard: the wisdom. I wonder what George has...

He was beaming like Anne had never seen him before. She knew that she did not need to turn her head to see if Isabel was blushing.

‘Waarrrwick’ he bellowed, arms open wide, as he let the Earl grab him into the gruff hug of men familiarised by the strongest of glues - kinship during times of partisanship.

‘Your lordship, we are honoured to have you here after such a long absence’ declared the Countess gracefully ‘Isabel, Anne and of course- your brother Richard’

The Duke of Clarence merely tousled the younger’s ebony curls as if he had not indeed come to visit his younger brother. He flashed the women a smile each rising in brightness saving Isabel’s for last. He stunned all save for her father for whom he queerly displayed a sobre knowing simper. The Earl returned the look like a looking glass.

The girls were being dressed for dinner in their finest gowns. Isabel’s new Burgundian gown was made of an indigo velvet poached from her Despencer ancestress’ dresses. The fall of Byzantium having deprived the west of the luxuries of such a dye, made the colour’s unattainability all the more attractive to Isabel.

After constant badgering Anne was finally permitted to wear her first and only henin to dinner - its lincoln green contrasting the girlish hue of her carnation gown. She liked it well enough, but its flower-pot shape only served to emphasise how short she was compared to Isabel who was enveloped in the sea of pearly silk emanating from her butterfly henin.

Isabel shakily sat on the side of the bed, the woven scarlett damask’s artichoke pattern scrunching under the weight of the heavy silk of her gown and nearly enfolding her from the sides. She looked lost in thought. Like a maiden in a sea of blood.

‘My Isabel! if I had a room like this I would gladly languish here until the end of my days’ exclaimed Anne

Isabel was not listening.

George as an honoured guest was given the Earl’s grand room displacing all the assigned sleeping arrangements leading to Richard of Gloucester having to sleep in Anne’s room and Anne with Isabel. I must have been a babe the last time I shared a bed with Isabel. How the years pass.

‘I wonder if George still likes me. I thought he had come here to see us and Richard, but just after all the niceties were dispensed with, he appeared to have come here for father only’ Isabel said in a hushed tone.

Anne knew that she was not the ideal recipient of Isabel’s ruminations, but with Margaret swiftly married off at their mother’s behest, she had to learn to make-do with the Anne’s companionship. Is she really talking to me? Awaiting an answer from me? Well firstly I do not remember George particularly liking her-. No I have to say something quickly and now or she will never confide in me again.

‘Oh Issy, he had not seen you properly in more than a year and is still not used to the woman you have become’ Anne started ‘Besides there is so much for him and father to discuss, what with all the news at court and the new queen... I hear she is a witch and has used dark magic to make King Edward besotted with her’

‘This is possibly why father has not arranged for us to be her ladies. He fears for us’ said Isabel pensively

‘Because he loves us’ finished Anne

To her delight she saw Isabel starting to smile. She never understood why this gave her so much peace. Perhaps because I am rarely their cause, she reserves them all for father. The half-a-decade difference had been used as a reason for Isabel to disregard this child of a sister who having not even bled yet, could hardly understand the woes of a ‘grown woman’ like her.

‘Can you keep a secret Anne?’ Asked Isabel

Anne eagerly nodded, her doe eyes widening into two brown conkers.

‘Mother said that father will persuade the king to give me George and you Richard’ revealed Isabel hopefully ‘But you must not breathe a word of this to anyone’

Richard? I like him well - he stood up for me when Rob Percy mocked me for crying when father shot the deer for whom I was bringing berries from the kitchen everyday. He brings me bellflowers to press in my books. But quiet and dark, he seemed the farthest thing from the adventurous gallant Ferrex - he was rather a sombre King Arthur. This would not have vexed her so much had she not known that the princeliest of the three sons of York had been snapped up for Isabel.

Anne nodded her head vacantly as the differing strands of emotions tangled in her head in a web of thoughts irreconcilable for a girl of her youth. Perhaps if I continue shaking my head they will somehow rearrange themselves into neat rows like father’s battlefield arrangements.

Isabel now looked to the looking glass that tonight was polished to shine as clearly as the steel of a shield. Her hand reached for the sandalwood scent and dabbed the last drops of the scent on her wrists and rosy declitage.

‘As much as father loves us, his eyes only see the good that being royal duchesses would do us. His hogging of George leaves me with no chances of having him fall in love with me’ asserted Isabel

‘But Issy, even I know that his feelings are of little consequence. He will marry you because father put King Edward on the throne and so he must do as he says’ said Anne

‘But Annie I do not want that. I want to be loved like the King does the queen’ Isabel said pleadingly ‘She is a common-born widow so surely I deserve the same if not better’

Before Anne could say anything, Agnes’ pinched face peered through the door to announce that the Neville sisters’ attendance at dinner was now sought.

———————————————————

Centuries upon centuries have amassed the Beauchamp and Neville clans a lofty collection of wall-hangings. From the dainty cane-coloured silk tapestries of the orient to the magnificent arrases of the Low Countries portraying courtly love jux-ta-posed with French tapestries depicting noblemen at hunt for the unicorn. I have never seen so odd an arrangement before. Perchance father just desired to display his wealth to Clarence and nothing more. Perchance, it could be more.

The great hall was a whirl of flashes of jewelled colours so intoxicating that Anne thought she would go cross-eyed. The spanish-grey walls that were peering through the fabrics, and the faded clay tiles that lay unnoticed on the floor seemed so dull and dark in comparison that so far her girlhood years were passed in a dungeon.

Anne made sure to take notice of George’s face when her and Isabel walked in to gauge her new brother-in-law’s feelings for her sister. To her disappointment he looked at Isabel but despite the gallant smile his eyes did not seem to match it nor discount it nor did the gracious words that he spoke when he warmly greeted them.

‘There is a seat here if you would like it, Isabel’ gestured George as the party advanced to the painted long table.

With a rustle of her indigo skirts, Isabel biddably claimed her seat besides her secret betrothed. Anne was sat across them.

‘How do you like Warwick castle, my lord?’ asked Isabel channelling their mother.

‘I am liking it very well Isabel - it is good to be back’ replied George as he clasped her hand between his under the table. Anne peered at him eyes widened, shocked by this physical act of affection that was by no means meant as a display for father. She tried to discern his face - George’s eyes of hazel and honey were wide and the light within flashed and shifted like quick-sand. They tell me nothing. His eyes are generally very large. The largest I know, and for this he appears perpetually fixated and perplexed.

Isabel was laughing now clearly entranced by her dinner companion. Anne could not blame her, for all his eccentricities, he was one of the comeliest men she had ever seen with shoulder-length tawny hair that fell in curls framing a fair visage outlined by sharp cheekbones.

But I shall have Richard. Anne thought emptily. No. She corrected herself. And I *shall* have Richard and I shall become a royal duchess equal to my sister and for that I ought to be grateful.

All five chapters available here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22268239/chapters/53560129

#wars of the roses #isabel neville #anne neville #richard neville earl of warwick #anne beauchamp #george duke of clarence #house of york #A bygone era #fanfiction #please r and r #historical fiction

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raendown · 5 years

Link

With NaNo going on I am utterly terrible about remembering to post updates!

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 5367 Chapter: 5/9 Rated: T+ Summary: When his brother disappears coming home from town Madara goes looking for him only for both to end up taken prisoner in a castle hidden by magic generations ago. The candelabras talk, the furniture sleeps, and a great white beast hides himself away in the eastern wing. As he uncovers the story behind this place and gets to know the last small group of ‘survivors’ Madara gradually makes a new home here in the least likely of places.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Chapter 5

“You did not!”

“It was a common pastime when I was young, is it not so anymore? In fact I believe I was the only child in my age group who did not enjoy rolling a hoop with a stick. However, that was mostly due to the fact that I much preferred to sequester myself in the library reading books far above my expected level.” Tobirama’s chest puffed out ever so slightly with pride and Madara laughed again.

“So all the other kids were boring losers playing with sticks and a hoop but you were a nerd. Awesome.” Anticipating the frown of disapproval, Madara hustled a few steps ahead and pretended to inspect an admittedly beautiful vase on a random table, hiding his laughter in admiration for the intricate designs.

Once they finally got past the awkwardness of actually speaking after ignoring each other for several weeks Madara was pleasantly surprised to find an amusing companion in Tobirama. Their first true bonding exercise was avoiding Hashirama together and working as a team to distract and evade, neither wanting to stay and listen to the idiot sobbing melted wax for hours at a time. It took a while to convince Izuna he wasn’t crazy for making friends with the one that trapped them here but after a few days Madara could safely say that he did not regret their burgeoning new friendship. Tobirama was interesting.

“Forgive me if this offends but I am unaware of the current educational standards. Do you or your brother know how to read?”

“We can, yeah. Izuna would rather do other things, although a lot of the time he doesn’t have much choice. There’s not much else to do when you’re lying in bed all day except maybe knit. I like to read though. I was one of the library’s only patrons in our village.” Now it was his turn to fluff up like a peacock. A lot of the villagers never bothered with any education besides caring for their land. Some had no one to teach them, some had no interest. Madara considered himself and his brother lucky that their parents had deigned to pass on a little education to their children. The story had been that the skill was passed down through their family because they were descended from noble stock, something he’d never believed until Kagami oh so casually revealed that it was actually true.

“Shall we visit the library?” Tobirama asked.

“You have a library? Hashirama took me on so many tours around this mountain of a place and not once did I see a library!”

The other shook his head. “My brother was ever bored by reading. His pursuits were more of the physical realm. We were a well-balanced pair in our day, he and I.” His voice took on a melancholy tinge as he trailed off and Madara hopped on the chance to distract. Today was not a day he wanted either of them to start moping.

“Right then, show the way!”

His mock-cheer seemed to draw Tobirama out of whatever cloud he’d been about to shroud himself in and the atmosphere between them remained fairly mellow, the path of their aimless wandering turned aside with purpose to head for the southern wing. When he first explored the castle with Hashirama Madara remembered thinking the southern wing was oddly smaller than the others but now he realized it wasn’t. They had just spent less time exploring those parts because Hashirama didn’t care for them, the sneaky idiot.

Getting anywhere took forever here since the entire building was roughly the size of a village center at its base and several stories tall so the two of them made idle conversation about what games they both played as children to see if there was any commonalities between the changing generations. As it turned out there were a few things they could both recall doing and, ironically enough, they were all the games they’d had to be forced to play along with like hopscotch and spinning tops.

“Ah, here we are,” Tobirama interrupted himself in the middle of a sentence to indicate a set of massive wooden doors that had once been painted a very soft green, though the paint had faded and peeled with no one taking the time to rejuvenate it over the years. They were also several times taller than either of them.

“How in the hell are we supposed to get in there?” Madara demanded. “Either one of those doors probably weighs more than I can move without some kind of pulley system!”

“Yes, very likely, but that is why this is here.”

With that Tobirama reached over and took hold of a secondary handle in the left door that had been cleverly hidden by the old paint job, even move indistinguishable with so much peeling paint drawing the eye everywhere else. As casually as if he opened secret portals all the time Tobirama pulled open a smaller door out of the massive one and turned back to Madara with a smirk that said he knew very well he’d just blown the human’s mind.

Madara had every intention of snapping back with some kind of sassy retort but the moment he stepped through the door his mind was empty of almost everything but awe. He thought back to the library in his village, how he’d always been so proud of himself for reading almost half of the books, and could not help the hysterical bubble of laughter that escaped for believing himself well-read. Every book he’d ever consumed in his life would not have filled a single shelf. The room itself was massive, the number of shelves lining each wall mind-boggling, and the number of trees it would have taken to fill so many books would probably have outnumbered the very forest this castle was surrounded by. For a wild moment he felt somehow unqualified to be in here.

“That is…a lot of books.”

“And that is a respectable understatement.”

“Shut up! This is amazing!” Madara stood close to the entrance for another minute just to admire the sight of so much human knowledge all in one place.

Then he turned and sprinted for the closest spine he could get his hands on, tracing the high quality leather and greedily admiring the gold embossed lettering decorating several of them in a row. Dust coated everything in thick layers but underneath the books were thick and sturdy looking with no signs of deterioration or damp. Just the thought of how much knowledge might be contained within this one room was enough to stagger him, almost enough to make him salivate, so without making himself wait any longer he reached up to pull the closest book out and admire the front.

“An interesting choice to start with,” Tobirama noted, stepping up behind him.

“Why, what is it?”

“That is a genealogy register; this particular section is a record of my family history going back more generations that I’m sure anyone has cared about for at least half of those generations. What you have there is a volume dating somewhat near to one hundred years before my birth.”

Madara lifted one eyebrow and looked down at the book in his hands with disappointment. “Oh. Boring. I’ll look at something else then. Where does the family photo album section end?”

He followed Tobirama’s clawed finger to where it pointed at the far wall and had to shake his head first because that was way too many books just to keep track of how many people had been part of one family. Then he hurried across the dusty maw of the open floor to snatch the first book that drew his eye. Once upon a time the leather had been dyed a gorgeous emerald green. From the condition of the page edges it looked as though this tome had been ancient even before it was stopped in time, practically ready to crumble between his fingers. As carefully as possible and with gentle movements Madara opened the book to a random page.

Then frowned.

“What the hell language is this?” he asked.

“The same language we are speaking now,” Tobirama replied with slight confusion. “Perhaps a bit more formal but it is the same language. Is there a problem?”

“No way is this the same, I’ve never even heard some of these words before. Thouest? Hitherto fore? Seemest thine? What kind of witchcraft spell book did I just pick up?” Turning the book side to side and flipping it around did nothing to make the sentences any clearer.

“I assure you that the recipes therein are not witchcraft.”

Madara looked up at his companion with a frown and then back down at the book, squinting. “These are recipes? I honestly cannot follow a single sentence. Why are all the letters so stupidly curly?”

“That is the way of scribes, I suppose.” Tobirama offered a disinterested shrug.

Disappointed again, Madara snapped the book shut and very carefully slid it back in to place. He stepped back and craned his neck to look way up to where a balcony had been built around the perimeter of the room, breaking up the wall close to where the second story would begin. So many books and they were all so stupidly fancy he couldn’t read any of them? That hurt.

“Are there any books that have anything interesting to say?” he grumbled.

“Plenty of them, yes.”

“Hmph. Suppose it doesn’t matter anyway if I can’t bloody decipher them. I shouldn’t have to learn half another language just to read a few books!”

Tobirama, the bastard, was laughing at him. He could tell. No smile appeared but there was a certain tilt to his head that Madara was used to seeing on the villagers that always thought themselves better than him, though oddly enough Tobirama didn’t strike him as quite that stuck up despite his royal upbringing. Either he was naturally blessed with a little humility or the years alone had smothered his pride. Whatever the case he was still laughing.

Just to be clear on how little he appreciated that Madara made sure to shove his nose so far in the air he almost couldn’t see where he was going as he stormed away from the library he’d thought he might be able to lose himself in. He had no illusions about his own skill, he would never pretend to call himself a scholar or a true intellectual of any kind, but he did enjoy the hours he was able to sink in to stories of the past and just thinking of how much rich history there must be here burned him. To be so close to so many treasures and unable to appreciate them, it was torture.

“If words have failed you then would perhaps you would like to see the armory instead?”

“What?” Madara's head jerked down and he stopped in his tracks. “You have an armory? More stuff Hashirama did not mention!”

“It’s a bit of a walk but yes but considering the location I am not surprised my brother was unable to show you this as well. Allow me to escort you.”

This time Madara hustled to match Tobirama’s long strides a little better, twice as excited. “My favorite books to read were always the history books on war. There was the one about a battle that took place only a few miles from our village; when I first read it I was still pretty young and I ditched chores for the day to hike out and play soldier in the field I thought the book was talking about.”

“Pray tell me you wore a pot for a helmet?” Tobirama teased.

After sticking out his tongue Madara had to sheepishly admit, “I may have brought along an apple basket to wear. And a broomstick to use as a sword because I knew a stick from the forest would break if I hit anything with it.”

“How precious. When I was learning swordsmanship my father had crafted for me a wooden sword but I insisted upon carrying a genuine shield.” His heavy nose wrinkled ever so slightly. “It was much too large for my small frame and I needed both hands just to lift it.”

“Now that is precious. Wait, are you any good with a sword?”

“Of course. All members of the royal line were taught to defend themselves in times of emergency. I daresay I was quite skilled, though I never quite reached my brothers’ level of proficiency.” As he spoke his eyes grew distant and Madara huffed. Distant was not what he wanted. Half the point of getting to know Tobirama was helping him get his mood out of the dark clouds he had all but permanently stapled to his own head.

“I’ve always wanted to learn,” Madara admitted. “Maybe you could teach me?”

Looking down at him, a little of the darkness lifted in favor of curiosity. “Teach you?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s not like we’ve got anything better to do with our time, you know?”

Tobirama didn’t answer but he did look thoughtful and that was a hell of a lot better than letting him stew in whatever black hole he’d been about to spiral down. Learning to cross blades with someone a few good feet taller with roughly three times as much muscle was actually a little worrisome to consider when Madara thought about it further, wondering if he’d just signed his own death warrant.

Since it was too late to take the words back now he kept his silence and both of them disappeared in to their own thoughts as they made the trek back over to the far side of the castle where the stables were kept. It made sense, he supposed, to keep the armory and the mounts so close together. He just wished he’d known it was there earlier. All this time he could have been escaping Hashirama's endless babble to go relive his childhood playing soldier with real helmets and a sword that wouldn’t break no matter how many times he tripped over his own feet and smacked it in to a nearby tree.

What he was picturing in his mind was a small room with swords in neat rows and shields hung on the walls, perhaps a small selection of polearms to train with. Surely most knights must have owned their own personal weaponry and kept such things in their quarters. The outside of the building Tobirama led him to was rather unassuming looking, constructed with the same dim brick as the rest of the castle, completely devoid of any artistry or embellishment. Even the door was simple plain wood. When it was pushed open the inside was nothing but shadows and Madara stood blinking in to the darkness as his companion trundled inwards to find candles to light. When he found none Madara could hear him grumbling irritably, stomping over to throw open a window instead, midday light spilling inside to reveal the treasures within.

And what treasures indeed. The swords he had imagined were bigger and more impressive than he could have dreamed. Rather than hanging along the walls they were displayed on wooden racks, some of which also held pikes and halberds and naginata, but above them there were katana with intricate hilts he could hardly believe. Rows upon rows of daggers and poniards, a full display of tessen fans both parchment and metal, and on the opposite wall hung shields of every size and shape. At the end of the room there stood an open archway that he could only assume led to another room with just as many discoveries waiting for him to gush over like an excited child.

Flustered by so many incredible findings and unable to decide what he wanted to explore first, Madara could only spin in a circle letting his eyes roam over the dull blades and imagining how much more unbelievably impressive this collection would have been when there had existed a full staff of servants to care for each item properly.

He had very nearly spun all the way around in a full circle when he spotted a massive curved sickle not unlike the ones his fellow villagers used to sow wheat in the fields. This one topped a much shorter handle to be wielded single-handedly and was attached by a thick chain to an identical blade. With glee spreading across his face in an excited grin he made to step over to the sickles and heft them, to feel their weight, when he spotted it at last. The perfect grail.

“Is that a gunbai?” he breathed, approaching the weapon with reverence in his steps. Tobirama watched from where he remained by the window.

“A rather unorthodox one. If memory serves my grandfather commissioned that for ceremonial use. The man who crafted it sought my grandfather’s favor and so in place of a simple ceremonial piece of artistry he gifted to our family a battle-worthy gunbai as tall as himself.”

“It’s incredible!”

Taller than Madara himself, the massive war fan was constructed of steel and wood, painted with a repeating pattern around the edges to distract from the way they had been deliberately sharpened to a deadly point. When he very carefully wrapped his fingers around the handle and lifted the weapon it was so much heavier than he anticipated that he very nearly went crashing sideways trying to balance himself again.

“Do you know how to wield it?” Tobirama asked.

“Not a clue,” Madara admitted. “But I’ve read about them and I’ve always wanted to see one for myself.”

“Would you like to learn?”

Several nearby weapons rattled ominously as Madara spun around in shock and crashed the edge of the gunbai against a rack of throwing stars. “Are you serious!?”

“I fail to see why not when I had already planned to teach you the art of the sword. What harm is there in choosing a different weapon to better suit your tastes?” Tobirama shrugged in that haughty way of his as though he were offering nothing more momentous than afternoon tea.

“Then yeah! Yes! Oh man, Izuna is going to be so jealous!”

Hefting it again, Madara turned for the door and scurried out of the armory before Tobirama had a chance to call him back. Both halves of the buildings made a right angle that, together with the stables, created a box shape with one open side. When he made his way around he found himself in what must have once been a sparring ring or a practice field. Several wooden targets stood along one side of the square and a collection of straw dummies strapped to wooden poles lined another. Madara headed straight for the dummies and hefted his new weapon.

Only to realize that this would perhaps be a little more difficult to pick up than he had imagined with his swords made of broomsticks. The gunbai was heavy. Madara had never been a farmer for all that he lived in a small farming village, he’d never had quite the muscles that others built up after years of pulling plows and carrying massive bales of hay.

Tobirama came around the corner with an indulgent expression already hovering around the smile twitching his lips and Madara scowled at him before he even had a chance to open his mouth.

“As I was about to say before you dashed off oh so eagerly, it would perhaps be better to learn a set of strengthening exercises first before you injure yourself with such a large weapon that you are so unfamiliar with.” The bastard even had the gall to lift one eyebrow mockingly.

“Uggghhh that sounds like it’s going to be so much more effort than just learning how to swing this right.”

“Indeed. Much more work.”

“What use is magic if you can’t use it for cool stuff? I mean, screw immortality and shape-shifting. Why can’t some witch just pop over for tea and make me in to a battle master in one afternoon?” Madara slumped and stared mournfully down at the gunbai in his hands, picturing how cool he would look if he were able to dance across the field cutting down opponents with one hand. He would probably look even more impressive if he could use something like that sickle in his other hand.

Tobirama snorted and brought him back out of his daydreams. “Are all the youths of your generation so lazy?”

“Oh, youth am I? I’ll bet I’m older than you! Just because you’ve lived longer that doesn’t make you older!” Madara paused and frowned as he thought that through again. When he noticed the judgment in his companion’s face he scowled. “Shut up! I know what I meant!”

“Regardless, the question remains: would you care to learn a few strengthening exercises or not?”

Not wanting to embarrass himself any farther, Madara very reluctantly toted the gunbai back in to the armory where he placed it very carefully back where it came from. Then he followed Tobirama back out in to the training ring and listened with rapture to the new exercise regimen they would apparently be taking up daily from now on. Since most of his physical labor back home had involved mucking out stalls and carrying buckets of oats he’d never given much thought to how very average his muscle mass was and, honestly, he’d never had much motivation to do anything about it. It wasn’t as though he’d ever had anyone to impress.

Getting a bit of exercise every day was better than just sitting around in the kitchen watching Hashirama try to come up with ways to hug his wife without setting her on fire, though, and it wasn’t like he ever had any pressing duties to attend to. So long as he made sure Izuna was fed and had taken his medicine the rest of his days were generally filled with quite a lot of loafing about. If this new regimen happened to come with the added benefit of Tobirama’s face lighting up with true interest as he nattered on about lesson plans he was apparently already composing in his head then that could only be considered an additional bonus.

By the time they returned to the castle Madara was covered in sweat from head to toe and yet he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in such high spirits. As he trained Tobirama had regaled him with stories of the few minor battles he’d been involved in during his youth when they’d been at war with one of the neighboring kingdoms and small forces had stupidly attempted an assault on the royal palace itself. Madara had been just as thrilled to discover they had something in common as he had been to listen to the story itself. If he couldn’t read the history books in the library then listening to a live retelling was just as good – better even. Listening to Tobirama meant he could interrupt with a dozen questions if he could catch his breath enough to ask them and enjoy all the small details historians never bothered to record.

“They did not!”

“I tell no lies. They watched us set up a vat of boiling oil in plain sight, set their ladders straight underneath it, and attempted to climb them as though somehow expecting us not to use whatever means necessary to repel them from our walls. I have never in my life heard a more startled scream.” Tobirama chuckled with sadistic amusement and Madara admired the glint of his misshapen grin.

“Maybe people really were just stupider in your time,” he teased. “I think Hashirama could be used as evidence for that.”

From around the corner a tinny voice could be heard shouting, “There’s no need to be cruel!”

Tobirama was already smiling but at the sight of his metal-bound sibling hopping around the corner with despair etched in to the shape of his face he began to laugh unrepentantly and Madara realized they had a second thing in common. They both enjoyed teasing Hashirama and watching the dramatics unfold. Nothing made for better entertainment than winding Hashirama up and then abandoning him to sob all over his wife, although that usually ended with having to deal with her death glare and leaving himself to the mercy of her cooking when mealtime came around again.

After letting his friend cry himself out over how mean they were being Madara made it up to him by letting Hashirama hop in to his hands and carrying him with them as they travelled the halls.

“Mito and I were concerned when you failed to arrive for dinner; I was coming to see where you might have gotten off to. Why is all of your clothing so damp?”

“We were training!” Madara told him excitedly.

“How exciting! Ah, what were you training?” Hashirama listened with rapt attention while Madara extolled upon the beauties of all the incredible finds revealed to him inside the armory and moaned wistfully when told about Tobirama’s promise to teach him the art of battle. “Oh to hold a blade in my hand again, to hear the singing of steel and the rush of battle.”

Tobirama snorted above them. “Do not pretend you are not a pacifist for all that I never managed to best you on the field.”

“Sparring was ever different from true battle. I would give anything to feel the ache in my limbs after hours of training or the drip of sweat upon my brow. As the years turn I find that I…I quite forget what it was to feel the burn of the sun in my eyes or the kiss of the wind.” Hashirama drooped momentarily and Madara stared at the candelabra in his hands.

It wasn’t often his friend opened up in such a way about how much he missed being human. Beyond the daily mourning of his inability to hold Mito close he generally avoided the subject and even then his yearnings were so overdone Madara realized he had started to treat them as jokes. A quick glance up told him that Tobirama was just as floored by the open admittance, though surprise quickly turned to heavy guilt and he looked away. When Madara looked back down he noted Hashirama following his line of sight only for his own face to crumple with remorse.

“Forgive me little brother, I did not mean to be so maudlin.”

“You should not censor your speech for my sake,” Tobirama forced out. “If you will excuse me, I do believe the mood will improve if I am not present.”

Before either of them could say a word to convince him otherwise he had already turned to storm off in the opposite direction with his long loping stride, too fast for Madara to catch up with unless he broke in to a run. They watched him go until he turned a corner in the hallway and then Madara looked down to the friend he carried between his hands.

“And I had just gotten him in to a better mood,” he sighed, much to Hashirama's obvious chagrin.

“Oh my. I may have, as you say, messed up.”

“Just a little. He’ll forgive you though.”

“But will he forgive himself?”

Madara twisted his mouth to one side and looked back in the direction where Tobirama had disappeared. That was a good question. After spending a day together finally he felt much closer to the other, could see how they might actually become great friends, and with every interaction he found himself more and more determined to help Hashirama with the quest to remind Tobirama of his own humanity. That the actions he believed had made him a monster were truly the only choice he’d had, something anyone in his position would have had to do. They may have lost many lives in the plague but from the story he’d been told Madara would bet that Tobirama’s quick and decisive actions had saved many more.

And he would be willing to bet that the idiot hadn’t let anyone say that to him in a long time.

“Where’s Kagami?” he asked. Hashirama perked up.

“I do believe he was heading to royal apartments when I left the study. What excellent timing! My brother has ever found solace in his young student. As much as I have never doubted his love for me I understand why it is often difficult for him to face me. There is simply too much guilt in him.”

“And in you,” Madara pointed out.

His friend nodded sadly. “We make for quite a morose pair.”

“Well, while Kagami distracts his royal grumpiness I don’t suppose I can convince you to tell me the story of how this all happened again? I want to get the details straight. I think it’s about time someone yelled in his face that he’s being stupid.”

Hashirama gaped at him.

“You would not possibly be so insensitive!”

“Oh yes I would,” Madara grunted. “He’s being mopey and dumb and that’s the whole reason this mess started. I get it, he feels really shitty about what happened. But if it were anyone else they would have gotten over themselves by now. He needs a wakeup call and I am just the rude asshole to do it.”

He continued to stump along the halls on his way to the kitchen where he knew Mito would be hard at work in the middle of her dinner preparations. For a woman without hands or limbs she was able to whip up some rather incredible creations. He should really start saying thank you more often. It took several hallways of walking in silence for Hashirama to shift in his hands, crossing both arms with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

“I cannot say I agree with your methods but what passes between the two of you in conversation is simply not my business,” he concluded. “You have requested the tale and I will tell you. What you do with that information is out of my control.” Madara offered him a grin.

“That’s the spirit.”

“Perhaps this could wait until after dinner, however? I would not wish to upset my wife.”

“Whatever you want, big guy. Were you big? I saw a portrait of you and your brothers but I never asked which one was you and it’s hard to judge height from a portrait.”

Finally a shadow of cheer returned to Hashirama's engraved countenance as he replied with a sly undertone, “Taller than you, my friend. If you have more questions along that nature I would be more than happy to extoll upon my own beauty as you sate your hunger!”

“Ugh, don’t make it sound so gross!”

The two of them bickered good-naturedly all the way in to the kitchen where Mito was putting the finishing touches on a gorgeous spread of some western dish known as shepherd’s pie. Madara was more than happy to let the good mood rest for a little longer before the conversation returned to somber topics, allowing himself to be pulled in to some lighter reminiscing about the good old days. Yet even as Hashirama spent ten minutes alone trying to find the perfect comparison for the exact red shade that Mito’s hair had been he found his thoughts drifting away to another part of the castle.

Somewhere in the bowels of this oversized stone bucket Tobirama was beating himself up for something that happened countless years before and hadn’t even been his fault, wrapping himself in misery while the rest of them allowed themselves a moment of jocularity. If he were honest with himself Madara understood that a large part of his motivation for helping Tobirama was the selfish desire for his life to go back to the way it had been, for the ability to leave this castle and return to the life he’d been stolen away from. And yet the more time he spent here the more he had begun to wonder with each new day.

Was leaving truly what he still desired?

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #hashirama #fanfiction

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carlatsukinamistolemyhamsandwich · 5 years

Text

Amaryllis - Chapter 2

Link to chapter 1

A/N: Oh my word this took forever but it’s finally here! Real life is keeping me very busy at the moment so I’m afraid I don’t know when I’ll be able to publish chapter 3 but it will appear at some point!

Chapter 2: Spoils of Tragedy

It was not often Carla felt nervous, but as time stretched on and Shin failed to make a reappearance, a distinct sense of anxiety descended upon him. Coupled with the already unsettling air of the mansion, it was enough to make his stomach twist as he tried to think of plan of action.

Even if they could find somewhere with phone reception, it wasn’t like there was anyone they could call aside from Karlheinz, the man who’d led them here in the first place. His thoughts trailed the same paths over and over as his eyes traced the patterns in the carpet, trying to find something he’d missed, anything they could use.

“My sincerest apologies for keeping you waiting.”

Carla jerked his head up in surprise at the female voice coming from directly in front of him. Before him was a young women who could be no older than himself, dressed in a crisp black shirt with a short, pink and black checked skirt; definitely not a member of staff.

He hadn’t heard anyone approach him and that she could get this close to him without his notice… Was his illness playing tricks on him?

“Oh, did I startle you? Then, being in a creepy old mansion like this does tend to set one on edge, doesn’t it?” She offered him a polite smile that Carla made no effort to return.

“I suppose.” He stood to his full height and gave her an assessing glance. Surely she was too young to be the business contact Karlheinz had spoken of, or the proprietor of such a grand house, but then appearances could be deceiving. “And you are?”

“My name is Kuronagi Seiren and I suppose you could say I’m the owner of this mansion. I knew I’d be having house guests but I was misinformed as to the date, so I was unprepared for your arrival. But er…” She made an effort of looking around the entrance hall. “I thought there would be two of you.”

“Yes, myself and my younger brother. When no one greeted us, he went in search of someone. You haven’t seen him?” Carla tried to keep any trace of concern out of his voice. If Shin hadn’t found anyone, he should have returned by now.

“No, I haven’t I’m afraid. I shouldn’t worry though; it’s a large house so he could easily be lost or even still looking for someone. The mansion is a little understaffed, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he’d gone this long without finding someone.” Seiren offered him a reassuring smile. “I tell you what, why don’t I give you a tour of the place and we can look for him at the same time?”

“Hm, I suppose.” Something still felt off, but there was little he could about it. At least this confirmed the place hadn’t simply been abandoned.

“Good, someone will fetch your bags,” she said with a dismissive wave towards their luggage, before turning to walk down one of the many hallways leading off from the entrance hall. Carla fell into step behind her and she turned back slightly to look at him. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

“Tsukinami Carla,” he replied simply.

“Hm, Carla? That name’s German in origin I believe, an interesting selection on your parents’ part.”

“My mother’s family hail from Germany, it was her choice,” Carla said, before quickly shutting off that train of thought. It wasn’t something he wanted dwell on, especially not now.

“I see,” Seiren said before turning back to the corridor. “On the first floor, we have the dining hall, the kitchen, the living room…” She continued to list off rooms and point out various doorways an she led him around the grand estate.

Carla paid only a moderate amount of attention, more intrigued by the large number of paintings decorating the hallways than anything else, a collection that certainly rivaled his own from before they fell into ruin and impressive enough that it allowed him to forget the unnerving aura surrounding the place.

Seiren appeared to notice his interest, as when they started a tour of the second floor, she paused in front a spectacular piece portraying a castle build from pale stone, dyed a soft pink by the light of a vibrant red moon hanging in the sky. “You have interest in art, I take it?”

“Yes, you certainly have quite the assortment.” He looked over the painting, scanning over the texture of the brush strokes, how the artist had used them. The warmth of the pink and reds against the midnight blue sky.

“Ah indeed, I’m something of a collector. A lot of the paintings here are very special.” Seiren’s voice was wistful as she trailed a finger over the thick layers of paint.

“This one here, for example, is the only remaining work of the artist. The others were all destroyed in a fire sometime after his death. A pity, he was quite skilled, but then it does make this piece all the more unique. The spoils of tragedy, I suppose.” Her lips quirked in amusement as she spoke. “Anyway, we should be getting on, I’ll show you to your room,” she said, turning back to the corridor.

Carla spared the painting one last glance before following. The artist was indeed talented, and now that he knew what had happened to the rest of his legacy, the artwork seemed to take on a melancholy air. Even the red of the moon looked duller, the color closer to that of partially dried blood. It was uncomfortable enough that he turned away, keen to leave the picture behind.

“Most of the rooms on this floor are unused, but I’ve put you and your brother next to each other. This one’s yours.” Seiren paused in front a dark wooden door and opened it, allowing Carla to look inside.

The room was certainly better than the one he’d become accustomed to. The space was furnished with heavy wooden furniture and thick, plush, dark red fabrics covered the bed. The finery of it was enough to remind him of what they’d lost once more. What they needed to regain.

“Is something wrong?” Seiren asked, and Carla turned to look at her.

“How did you come to own all of this?” The girl’s wealth was clear but Kuronagi was not a name he was familiar with and Carla was well versed in who was who in the upper echelons of the business world.

“Ah, well my father purchased this mansion for me and has allowed me to do with it as I please for the most part. He was the one who informed me you would be coming to live here, but you won’t be meeting him during your stay, he’s a very busy man. ” Although there was more Carla wanted to ask, Seiren gave him no room for any further questions, turning instead to the next door along the corridor.

“And this,” she said, pushing it open, “is your brother’s room. Would you care to take a look?”

Carla approached but stopped dead in front of the door, the air in his throat turning suffocatingly thick as he caught sight of what lay within.

Hanging from the frame, suspended by his wrists, was Shin. He appeared unconscious with his head hanging down and his legs limp, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

That alone was enough to make Carla feel sick, but the most horrifying detail was the wounds littering his younger brother’s body. Shin’s shirt had been ripped clean from him, revealing bloody puncture marks covering his neck and shoulders and one of his arms was twisted at an uncomfortable angle.

For a moment, Carla stood frozen in horror as he scrambled to process the situation. Something hard slammed into his back with enough force that he was sent sprawling onto the floor. It was only instinct that had his hands brace his fall, palms stinging as he just stopped his face from colliding with the carpet. A dark chuckle came from above him and Carla looked up to find Seiren giving him a wicked smile.

“What an excellent expression! I really should have taken the time to set up a camera.” Her tone had changed from the polite, mild one she’d used with him earlier, now it was full of sick amusement.

“You! What is the meaning of this?” Carla cursed his sickness as he struggled to get to his feet, the action requiring far more effort than it should have.

Shin was strong, he knew how to handle himself for the most part, so how could a lone woman overpower him and inflict that much damage so easily? There wasn’t a scratch on her. He could only conclude she’d had help, but he had yet to see any trace of anyone else in the mansion. Something icy crept through his veins and it was only years of behaving as the perfect heir that kept him from showing it.

Seiren chuckled and placed a foot flat on his back, pushing him back to the floor. ”Why don’t you use your imagination and try to figure it out? It’s a bit more fun that way.”

Carla grit his teeth at the humiliation of being forced to the ground, he tried to move away from her but she simply applied more pressure until his torso was being pressed into the carpet. “Release me and explain yourself,” he barked. Even though he was in no position to give orders, it was not in his nature to cower or beg.

“You are a curious pair, aren’t you? I thought your brother behaved in an overly self-important manner for a mortal but it seems it runs in the family. Tell me, you come from wealth, don’t you?” Carla twisted around to look at her and found her staring down at him with a faint curiosity. “It’s always amused me the way humans think that having a certain amount of money entitles them to respect, as though they were ever more than chattel to begin with.”

Fear gripped him as he stared up at those bright grey eyes. He was not used to being at another’s mercy and the way she spoke about them… Current assets aside, Carla was still his father’s heir, he had more dignity than this; being trodden on and treated like a curiosity had his temper flare but it was quickly being smothered by a sense of panic at his own helplessness. He glanced towards his younger brother, the taste of bile coating his tongue as he took in the sight of him once more.

“What- What are you?” It took everything he had to keep his voice steady. No mere girl should be able to keep him pinned like this, even with his ill health. And no matter how much his rational mind tried to explain it away, he couldn’t help but notice the way the puncture wounds on Shin were all in pairs, all equally spaced and mostly centered on the neck.

Then there was the way she’d just referred to them as humans, as though she was something else. The explanation his brain supplied was not one he liked, not something he could accept as being real.

“From your expression I think you’re starting to work it out, you just don’t want to accept it. Would it help if I told you your brother’s blood is delicious?” Carla snapped his head back to her and she drew back her top lip, revealing sharp white fangs.

“That’s not possible.” This had to be a dream, some nightmare induced by his sickness or the drugs used to treat it, even as his senses screamed at him that the creature above him was something out of fiction.

“Would you care for some proof? Normally a simple bite is effective enough but-“ she sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose in distaste “- I can smell the sickness on you. I’m surprised my father would even think to send me any sort diseased prey, let alone someone like you. I can’t tell what it is exactly but from the stink of it I’m sure it’s serious. A shame, you’re very pretty, for a human, and I’m fond of pretty things.”

Carla spluttered as heat flooded his cheeks, never in all his life had been spoken about in such a crude manner, as though he were nothing more than a slice of meat. The mention of his illness stung too, even if it were all that spared him from being preyed upon by the supposed vampire before him.

“I suppose a demonstration of my strength might suffice.” The force pressing against his back increased sharply and Carla hissed through his teeth at the pain. “Is this enough or should I keep going until I crack a rib? In your condition I’m really not sure how much you can take.” Her expression was positively wicked.

“Stop this,” Carla wheezed, struggling to draw enough air into his lungs. His body was weak enough without this sort of abuse, he didn’t dare to think what might happen if she did worse.

“I think that request is missing something, do you not know how to ask for something politely?”

Damn it, he shouldn’t be treated like this, let alone yielding to it, but his chest burned and he could feel another coughing fit on the horizon. As much as he wanted to hold his head high, he was in no condition to do so. “Please,” he rasped, grateful that at least Shin wasn’t conscious to witness this.

The foot on his back vanished and if he had enough air, Carla would have sighed in relief. “There, that wasn’t so hard was it?”

Seiren gazed down at him, eyes devoid of any sort of empathy as he took rasping breaths interrupted by spluttering coughs.

“What is it you intend to do with us?” His voice wasn’t as strong as he would have liked but at least he was able to get the words out.

“I would have thought it was obvious,” Seiren said, glancing at Shin. “But if you really need me to spell it out for you, you’ll be staying here to provide me with food and entertainment.”

“You won’t get away with keeping us here against our wishes.” Carla got to his feet, trying to retain some semblance of dignity.

“Oh really? And who’s going to come looking for you? The only humans sent here are the ones with nowhere else left to go and no one to miss them. I find it very unlikely that you’re an exception.” The words made his skin crawl.

“You mean other people have been sent here before us?” Carla thought about how empty the house was and his gut to turned to lead with the implications of their fates.

“Not for a while, I’ll admit, but yes. As for what happened to them, well, all you need to know is that you and your brother are the only living mortals here.”

Carla instinctively took a step back in horror. He needed to get out of there, now, but his chances of escape seemed low. Even if he still had the strength needed to carry his unconscious brother, he would have to contend with the vampire standing between him and the door to the room.

“I tell you what, I’ll make you an offer. I have no interest in drinking from a sick human so you’re really not of that much use to me. Your brother on the other hand…” Seiren walked over to Shin and ran a hand over his chest.

“This is my offer Tsukinami Carla, I’ll let you leave this house, with transport to a nearby village and enough money that it’ll make whatever fortune you once possessed seem like a pittance but, in exchange, your dear little baby brother will be trapped here with me, left with the knowledge that you chose to abandon him. And should you get it into your head that you could come back here and save him, well, you’ll find that all memories relating to the location of this house become rather difficult to recall.”

She gave him a wicked smile that showed off her fangs. “What do you think? Freedom and your fortune restored for however long you have left, or sacrificing it all just so that darling Shin here doesn’t have to endure me alone?”

Carla’s mouth went dry. It had to be a trap, there was no question of it. No matter how tempting the idea of regaining their status and leaving this wretched place behind may be. But not only that, even if Seiren’s offer were genuine, he couldn’t abandon his only brother to this fate, to spend the rest of his days with a monster. They’d find a real way out of this, together.

He fixed her with the steeliest glare he could muster. “No amount of money is worth Shin’s life. When we leave here, it will be together.”

Seiren looked at him for a moment, scrutinizing, and then burst into laughter. “Aw Shin,” she said, taking hold of his chin and tilting his head towards her. “Did you hear that? It seems like your big brother really cares about you. How precious… and stupid.”

She let go of Shin and his head slumped down once more, still fully unconscious. “You’d really trade the offer of being a free man just so that you and your brother can share in your misery? It’s so disgustingly sentimental I think I might vomit. Alright then Carla, let’s see how far your love for your brother goes, shall we?”

She slipped a hand beneath her skirt and withdrew a small, sharp dagger. Before Carla could react, it was pointed at Shin’s neck. “Now, you’re going to follow my orders to the letter, or else I’m going to slit his throat. Although,” she trailed the edge of the blade against his skin, “I think I’ll have some fun cutting him open first.”

Digging his nails into his palms, Carla assessed the distance between himself and Seiren. Even if he were in good health, there was no way he’d be able to reach her before she’d been able to do some damage with the dagger. And what would he do once he reached her anyway? She would have no difficulty fending him off with that hideous strength, as much as he hated to admit it to himself. No, he was left with little choice but to submit and it made his stomach curdle.

“Hmm, what should I have you do first, I wonder? Ah, I know, I think I’ll have you kneel for me. I get the impression that you’re not used to lowering yourself before anyone so I think you’d better start getting used to it.” Her expression was positively viscous.

Carla glanced at the plush carpet beneath his feet and then back towards Shin. He had to do this, no matter how much it rankled with him.

Gritting his teeth, Carla sank to one knee and then lowered himself so that he was kneeling, glaring hatefully at the woman before him all the while.

“Now, normally I’d have you kiss my feet to demonstrate how utterly beneath me you are but I don’t particularly care to get your saliva on my shoes, so I think I’ll have you lick the floor instead.”

Even with everything she’d already done, for a moment Carla thought that she couldn’t possibly be serious. There was no way he could lower himself to doing something so base.

“I’d suggest you do it quickly, before I start to get bored. Or-“ she pressed down with the knife and drew it slowly across Shin’s skin, leaving a thin gash behind “-have you decided your brother’s life isn’t worth your pride?”

The sight of Shin’s blood was enough to get Carla to force his head to the floor, silently spitting every curse he knew. One day, somehow, he would make her pay for this.

He ran his tongue over his lips, bracing himself for the shame of it.

A knock sounded on the door and irritation flashed across Seiren’s features, while Carla lifted his head, relief surging in his chest at the interruption.

“What is it?” She snapped.

“A letter has arrived for you mistress Seiren.” A voice came from the other side of the door, soft and male.

The vampire let out an exaggerated sigh. “Can’t this wait? It’s been a while since I’ve had guests and-“ she locked eyes with Carla “-we were just getting to the good part.”

“It’s from the King himself, mistress.” The man, who Carla presumed must be some sort of servant, replied.

“Very well, leave it in my room; I shall be there in a moment.” The dagger became a blur of silver, arcing towards Shin’s arm before Carla had time to react and he felt his heart stop. A second later, Shin’s body fell to one side, one arm now hanging down. Mercifully, it seemed she had only cut the rope tying Shin to the bed,

“I trust you can now get your brother down by yourself,” Seiren said, turning to make her exit. “I’d advise you not to try to make a run for it, though I doubt you could get very far, given your condition and the fact I dislocated Shin’s shoulder earlier. If you stay put like a good boy then I’ll send someone to fix it soon but if not-“ she paused at the door, turning to give him a truly terrifying smile “-then I might just be in a poor enough mood to cut his whole arm off. Until later, Tsukinami Carla.”

The door closed behind her with a soft thud and Carla felt the tension in his muscles loosen a fraction. He looked down at his own shaking hands with a sense of disgust. To be forced into such a low position by someone like Seiren was beyond humiliating, even if no one else had witnessed it.

Looking back up at Shin, Carla felt his stomach churning, along with a pang of guilt. He should have taken over the family business the moment he noticed the unwise decisions his father had made. Even failing that, he should have stopped him from fleeing with the remains of their fortune.

And now, that lack of action had stranded them here, in a mansion with a monster.

Carla had thought there was nothing else he stood to lose.

He’d been wrong.

#Amaryllis #my writing #AU #my OC #Originally this chapter was going to be longer but I felt I reached a nice place to end it #I hope it's okay I ended up rewriting it a lot #I'm sad there isn't more Shin in it but don't worry he'll be back next chapter #This is mainly a Shin story

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shinsoukokuvalentine · 6 years

Text

Ace of Hearts

(I have at least two more parts of this AU planned! They keep getting longer for some reason.)

190/365: Ace of Hearts

For perhaps the first time in his life, Atsushi arrived on time. For despite being spared once, he didn’t want to risk being late again, especially under the King’s direct orders.

A card - still glowering at Atsushi, presumably after his unprecedented pardon - met the White Rabbit at the door.

“We’ll take your belongings to your chambers,” muttered the card, while two others came from behind him and took Atsushi’s two small suitcases. They were all he had managed to salvage from his former home.

“Good timing,” Chuuya had said, standing upside-down underneath a tree branch. “You get a new place to live right after that human girl destroyed your house.”

Atsushi smiled sadly. “Depends on how you look at it,” he said. He turned around to gaze at his house, the roof and windows of which Kyouka had sprouted through after taking too many bites of an Eat Me biscuit.

Atsushi looked up at the Cheshire Cat again, who had taken to sitting properly on the branch, watching Atsushi’s house as if that strange human girl might burst out of it again.

“Can you watch it while I’m gone?”

Chuuya glanced down at Atsushi when he spoke, feline tail swaying beneath him.

“I mean, the repair crew comes by every few days,” Atsushi explained quietly. “If you could just watch and make sure nothing goes wrong, I’d be really grateful.”

Chuuya blinked, and then he sighed, resting his cheek on his palm, a faraway look in his eyes. “You know you’re not coming back, right?”

Atsushi stared at him, trying to keep his heartbeat from speeding up. “W-what do you mean?”

With a grunt, Chuuya stood. He turned his back to Atsushi, his entire body facing the house, his tail swaying more forcefully now.

“You’re going to either stay there permanently, or be killed,” Chuuya said. When he looked back at Atsushi, his narrow eyes glowed an ominous blue. “Either way, you’re staying in that castle for the rest of your life.”

Atsushi couldn’t stop it. His heart rate sped up again, reminding him painfully how much of a cowardly rabbit he truly was. He turned on his heel, away from Chuuya, not saying another word, even as his knees shook.

So there he stood, not hours later, waiting in front of the King’s bedroom door as the cards had instructed.

Atsushi took a deep breath. And another, and another. Every time he reached his hand to the door to knock, all the oxygen left his body as if he had been kicked in the stomach, and he drew his hand back to breathe again.

Akutagawa opened the door before Atsushi did.

The White Rabbit stepped back in surprise, bowing instinctively, but the King grabbed his shoulder before he descended to the floor.

“That won’t be necessary,” he muttered, managing to sound coarse even when mentioning something kind. Taking a breath again, Atsushi stood up to face him, and Akutagawa watched him with dark eyes.

“I was about to check and make sure you had arrived,” explained Akutagawa, his hand still on Atsushi’s shoulder. “It seems you came on time.”

Atsushi nodded, throat dry, looking at Akutagawa’s hand as if it was a foreign object. “Y-yes, but,” he said slowly, only meeting Akutagawa’s eyes every now and then, “w-what exactly are my duties now?”

Akutagawa watched Atsushi’s face, emotions that he couldn’t read crossing his eyes. Finally, he saw one he recognized; the smallest flash of uncertainty, of fear even, showed in Akutagawa’s eyes for the tiniest of seconds when he pulled his hand back to his side.

“Yes,” the King said, breaking the silence as his eyes regained their steely shield. To his surprise, Atsushi found himself wanting to look a moment longer at whatever emotion the King hid behind his mask. He banished the thought quickly.

“Essentially,” Akutagawa continued, stepping into his room, motioning for Atsushi to follow, “you’ll have no other duty but to stay by my side.”

Crossing the threshold into the King’s room felt like a crime in and of itself, Atsushi thought as he walked inside, resisting the urge to gawk at the room’s silver and crimson decor.

“As a man in waiting?” he asked while his eyes wandered across the room. Everything the king owned seemed to be encrusted with rubies, from the bedposts to his vanity.

“No!” Akutagawa said sharply, jutting into Atsushi’s thoughts, whipping his attention back to him. The King scowled, but upon seeing Atsushi’s face and the immediate fear that struck him, he seemed to make an effort to soften his composure.

“No,” he repeated, gentler. Atsushi’s ears twitched perplexedly at this. “Gentle” and “King Akutagawa” were words he had never put in the same sentence before. “You won’t wait on me, White Rabbit,” Akutagawa explained, strangely enough, while not meeting Atsushi’s eyes. “You’ll merely… Stay with me. By my side. As I require.”

If Atsushi hadn’t known better, he would have said the King devolved into stammering at the end of his order.

“When I don’t require you,” Akutagawa continued, sitting down in a chair that appeared to be worth more than Atsushi had ever owned, “you’re free to roam about the castle grounds as you please.”

Atsushi opened his mouth to ask a question, but he quickly closed it. The King had said “castle grounds” in such a way that he immediately know he couldn’t go beyond them. But another question formed on his lips, and this time he couldn’t stop it from coming out.

“Why am I doing this?”

Immediately Akutagawa fixed Atsushi in a glare, one that caused him to instinctively hang his ears and appear small.

“Out,” Akutagawa growled, and Atsushi lifted one ear to hear him better.

“I-I’m sorry?” he asked.

“Out!” Shouted the King, jumping up from his chair, and Atsushi bolted, leaping out the door as quickly as he could.

He slowed in the halls, but upon hearing the King’s door slam, he surmised that he likely shouldn’t bother him.

So Atsushi explored. He walked down hallways, gazing at paintings and architecture the likes of which he had never seen. He passed by cards, who grumbled to each other behind his back, as if he couldn’t hear every word.

“Why is he here?”

“Why is he alive?”

“Must be the King’s new pet.”

“He’s resorting to that clumsy fool?”

“He must be really lonely this time.”

Atsushi’s ears swiveled in the cards’ direction as he stepped into the garden. He avoided looking at them, not wanting them to know he had been listening, but their words caught him off-guard. Lonely, he thought, mulling over the word, trying to relate it to the King and failing. Someone lonely wouldn’t behead whoever displeased him. Someone lonely wouldn’t choose to stay isolated in a castle on the edge of his kingdom. Someone lonely wouldn’t cause everyone under his rule to fear him, pushing them all away until they wanted nothing to do with him.

“See, you think that, and you’re wrong about all of it.”

Atsushi resisted the urge to scream a little, partially by covering his mouth with his hand. He turned around towards the voice, catching sight of a man with a large, bulbous tail and small horns, lounging on an oversized mushroom. He appeared to be smoking, but from the smoke’s candy-like scent, Atsushi realized that wasn’t the case.

“Ranpo?” he asked, stepping towards the strange man. “You live here now?”

With a nod, the Caterpillar took a long drag of his pipe. “I’m basically a living lawn ornament,” he said as he exhaled, “but the food’s good, and I’m given all the flavors I want, so I’d say it’s worth it. And sometimes the King comes to me for advice.”

Atsushi blinked at the new information. “The King wants advice?” he asks. Ranpo nodded, sitting up.

“Sure. All the time,” he said. Breathing out a cloud of pink vapor, he added, “He asked me whether or not he should invite you to live with him, actually. Although ‘invite’ probably isn’t the right word.”

Atsushi’s ears twitched forward towards the Caterpillar, and he leaned onto the mushroom. “And you said he should,” he said incredulously. Ranpo nodded.

“Yep, because even though you may think otherwise, he really is lonely.”

“It’s still scary how you knew I was thinking that.”

“I know everything,” Ranpo said with a smirk. “And I also know that, often, someone who’s lonely might just push everyone away for fear of being hurt. Especially,” he opened one eye, capturing Atsushi in a jade-like gaze, “if they’ve been hurt in the past.”

Atsushi gulped, slowly trying to understand the weight of the Caterpillar’s words, but Ranpo continued before he could.

“Actually, the King has wanted someone by his side for a while. He wants you there right now, in fact,” he said, pointing off towards the castle. As if on cue, a card approached them from around a hedge, coming towards Atsushi.

“There’s more to the King than you think, White Rabbit,” Ranpo said, sucking on his pipe again. “You should try to find what you’ve been missing.”

Atsushi stared at him, about to ask what he meant by his confusing words, but the card ran up to him before he could say anything.

“His Majesty requires your presence,” the card said formally. Atsushi looked to the Caterpillar again, but he already had his back to him, blowing pink vapor into the air.

So Atsushi followed the card back to Akutagawa, trying to keep his breathing steady, but keeping Ranpo’s words in mind.

Akutagawa accepted Atsushi back to his side silently, and Atsushi’s life with the King began.

#shin soukoku #sskk #atsuaku #akuatsu #wonderland au #i have no idea if this is any good or not #it's been a long day and my brain isn't functioning #so just let me know #even a like lets me know i'm going something right

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fernwehbookworm · 6 years

Text

Knight of Kandor- Chapter 3

"Now, tonight is a feast in your honor. It is up to me to make sure you do not make a fool of our Queens, or more importantly, me." Lady Catherine had already berated me for my attire, my stature, and my commoner accent. She scared me more than when I was starring down blood covered, armed men. Proper etiquette was everything to Lady Catherine and I had learned much.

Before our time was ended, just as the light was beginning to appear out of the window, several women enter Lady Catherine's study. Suddenly I am swarmed by hands and clicking tongues. I am glad that I had the forethought to stick the roll of cloth between my legs like I usually do when I am out of armor because one of the women runs her hands up the inside of my leg as she takes measurements. I look down at the intrusion and she flashes a mischievous grin before continuing her work. I look then at the woman presiding over the fray.

"You must properly dressed for the court. Sir James is also having new armor made for you. A suit that is worthy of protecting our future Queen." Just as suddenly as the women appear, we are alone again. The Lady Catherine dismisses me as well. I return to my rooms to dress in my own armor. I exit my room to find John waiting for me like he did every morning.

"Sir, I am not entirely sure my place here at court, or what I am supposed to do." The young boy looked as unsure as I felt about the whole thing. I cock my head to the side as I think.

"Go see Sir James. See if he will continue your sword training. Also, see if he knows your daily duties because I am unsure. This is new territory for me also." The boy grins as he leaves, no doubt dreaming of the glory that most boys do.

He left quickly, most likely running as soon as he turned the corner. I stand outside the Queen-in-waiting's door. Several women enter and exit the room over the course of the next hour while I wait. I adjust the baldric over my shoulder and lift the hilt of my sword to check it was clear of the scabbard.

I still my fidgeting as the double doors open, revealing the women I am to protect. I feel my pulse quickens as the Queen-in-waiting gracefully exits her chambers flanked by what I can only assume are two of her Ladies-in-waiting. Man, a lot of waiting went on in royalty, I think. I bow slightly as Lady Catherine showed me. When I straighten, Lena nods her head and swoops into the hallway. I silently fall in behind the three women as we descend through the castle.

We stop outside a small door here one of the women leaves us. The one that remains is a dark haired, dark skinned girl who opens the door. We are behind the thrones that the two queens sat in upon my arrival. This time the Queen-in-waiting sits in the larger, foremost chair. The girl stands to her left and I move to stand on the right. I was still very unsure of what was happening but I decided just to go with it.

Soon, however, it became apparent. Men filed in from the side door and sat at a table below the dais. The only women among them was Lady Catherine. When she entered I realized that this was the privy council that Catherine told me of earlier. The Queen-in-waiting was holding court. A time when common people could petition the crown for help in their own lives, anything from loans to dispute settlements. It was late in the morning before we finished. I had lost count of the people who had been paraded through the hall. Queen-in-waiting Lena handled each one with such grace that even those who she could not help thanked her as they left. I began to understand the devotion of her people. She tried so hard to be fair to all and seemed to really love her people in return.

Together the three of us make our way to the smaller dining hall. Again she sits on a platform above everyone. Serving maids bring food and wine. Jessica, her Lady-in-waiting I had learned, sat on her right, leaving the large ornate chair to Lena's left for the absent Queen. The women sat and talked all through the meal, it was the most expression I had seen in Lena's face all day. I stood silently behind them, an ever-present shadow. Serving maids are clearing away the dishes when Sir James comes up behind me.

"Go eat in the guard dining hall. I will relieve you for a few hours so you can rest. I will try and do it twice a day for you. Take your time to get to know the guards. You will form your own protective detail once you are comfortable." I simply nod in response and work my way into the crowded bustling kitchen.

The guard dining room was off the kitchen and much smaller and stuffier than the one I had just exited. That did not seem to bother the men gathered in it though. They were rambunctious and loud.. This was the best place to learn the secrets of the castle, only second to the kitchen cooks. I sit quietly in a corner and listen. I always had strangely good hearing and pick up almost any conversation I focused on.

Men talked of what nobles the saw entering and leaving the castle, who was courting who, and who had tensions between each other. Surprisingly I hear my own whispered and my ears perk toward that conversation. I glance that direction and hide a smile as a group of men push one of the smallest of them towards me. The man looks back at his friends for encouragement before hesitantly walking towards me. I methodically set my goblet down, turning my icy blue gaze to meet his dark eyes. Donovan, I think I heard his name was. He stops short like most people do. The blue was such a foreign color this far north and I worked hard on the whole intimidating thing.

"I...is it true?" he stammers out. I raise an eyebrow at his vague question.

"Did you really kill twenty men to save the prince?"

"No," I say and his shoulders slump in disappointment.

"The final count was twenty-seven." Donovan's mouth falls open and then he hurries back to his friends with the new bit of gossip he gained with his bravery.

I leave them to go relieve myself in the privacy of my own chamber. I had been worried about this issue when we left the privacy of the woods. I throw the bolt on the door and strip down to my undergarments to allow my skin to breath. Near naked, I decide now is the best time to do my daily exercise routine. I carefully stretch each limb, then begin the movements my father taught me so long ago. I remember struggling so much at first but now they came so easily that I had to conceive new ways to push my muscles.

On the tips of my fingers and toes, I drop my chest to just above the ground then push back up. I repeat the process until my hands cramp and my limbs quake. I stand and shake my arms and legs loose again. Next, I stand on my hands with my legs resting the rough stone wall and repeat the meticulous up and down. Ten exercises later I dress again. My father believed this was the only way to build muscle as fast as the rest of the boys. Now it was the best way for me to relieve tension and focus my mind.

Once I had locked the chamber door behind me, I asked the guards in the hallway if Lena had returned. They said no, but directed me toward the royal study and sitting rooms occupied mainly by Lena's Ladies-in-waiting. After much giggling, whispering, and staring the ladies finally direct me to the royal gardens. When I reach the hallway with only one door, I stop. In front of the door stand two guards at attention. In front of them stands the Queen-in-waiting, Lady Jessica, and Sir James. Lena stares straight ahead, not moving.

I walk down the hallway with my armor clanking abnormally loud in the silence of whatever private turmoil the Queen-in-waiting was experiencing. When I reach them, Sir James simply nods and leaves the way I came. I do not say a word except to nod at Lady Jessica. Time seems to stretch as we stand there in silence. I take the opportunity to study the door ahead.

The details are amazing and intricate. It depicts a garden full of blooming flowers and wildlife. The dark wood was painted so life-like that I almost expected to see the flowers blowing in a breeze. The sun was shining down on the peaceful scene.

Suddenly Lena turns and leaves, causing Jessica and I scramble after her. Lena returns to the room with her ladies waiting inside. I see an immediate shift in her demeanor. The shift is minor but the smile on her face does not quite reach her eyes. The ladies inside do not seem to notice the mask on Lena's face but continue to giggle and whisper as they glance at me where I stand behind Lena's chair.

I feel an intruder in this circle of women, each gossiping as their fingers move, seemingly independent of their bodies. I never learned to do the embroidery work that these ladies had been doing since they could hold needles. My father never allowed my mother to teach me those things, even in private.

Now watching them I was glad I never had to. they sat and talked and ordered tea and pastries and talked some more. For all the words, they never said anything of substance. It was the most boring afternoon of my life. It actually made me miss the long, grueling, forced marches of the army. A knock on the door and one of the young girls who wait on the ladies answer it. Sir James steps through the door.

"Excuse me Ladies, My Lady." He bows first to the room then to Lena Personally.

"I have come to relieve Sir Kal so he can ready for the feast."

"Of course Sir James. You may go Sir Kal. Do not be late, you are the guest of honor." I think I detect a hint of teasing in her voice. It felt a little forced but I was not sure because I had only known her for a day.

"Sir Kal, Your new armor is waiting in your room. Your squire took it there for us. He is a good kid, shows a lot of promise with the sword. I believe that comes from you." he says knowingly. I had been working with the boy the best I knew how. I nod in response, then bow to the future queen as I exit the room. I hear Jessica's voice before the door shuts.

"He does not speak much, does he?"

"No." comes Lena's thoughtful response.

In my chambers, each piece of armor is laid carefully out on the bed. Warm water is in the wash basin and I silently thank John for his ability to know just what I need. After washing myself I turn to finally take in the armor. It was one of the most graceful things I had ever seen. Although I had to give myself a mental shake as Lena's face inexplicably flashes through my mind. The steel was dyed a deep emerald green. The Luthor crest was emblazoned on the chest plate. I hold it up to the firelight and see repeating ornate letter L's etched in gold around the edge of each piece. It was amazing and well beyond anything I could ever afford.

Still, I hesitate. I had fought in the war for myself and my family. Now I was going to be marked as one of the Luthor's, the people who had changed my life. Putting this on would mean I would no longer be fighting for my self or my brother. I would be fighting for the Luthor's and that scared me for some reason I could not figure out. Almost like I was giving up what little freedom I had left.

I breathe deeply to steady myself. Then I begin to strap the armor on. The familiar movements calm me even more. Once clean and dressed, I exit my room to find Sir James waiting for Lena also. James grins at my appearance.

"Now you look fit to serve the royal family." His smile is actually so infections that I feel the corners of my mouth twitch.

"Thank you, Sir. This is... I cannot even tell you what this means to me." Sir James laughs a deep clear laugh.

"Well, next will be to get you a sword to match." I look down at the hilt under my hand. It looks even more battered and worn next to the new armor.

"This sword saved my life and saved my prince's life. I could not bear to part with it."

"In that case, Sir Kal, you should at least allow the master armorer to repair it. I'll take you to him tomorrow after your lesson with me." I allow myself a small smile at the thought of fighting again.

"Look, he does have more than one expression." Sir James teases me.

"Only when combat is involved." I joke back.

Suddenly the door opens and my mask is back in place. Sir James and I bow towards the Queen-in-waiting. She was beautiful. I had spent so much time with men that being near a woman was an odd sensation. Lena's dress was an emerald green, embroidered with gold in the shape of vines and leaves wrapping around her body. Her lips were tinted with rouge, eyes made into a piercing green by the dress. Lena's hair was pulled back into multiple intricate braids that became one that fell over her shoulder.

Lena nods in our direction then sweeps out of her rooms, Lady Jessica behind with Sir James and I following. We descend through the maze of corridors of the castle. I was growing more and more appreciative of the fact that I had not gotten lost yet.

We stand outside the doors leading to the great dining hall, opening up right behind the raised dais of the high table. Music and laughter seep through the doors to reach our ears. I hear three strikes of metal against marble. Miraculously, quiet falls. A voice booms over the crowd that I know is just on the other side. Lady Catherine had given me a brief education on how to behave and what was expected of me during my lesson.

"Queen-in-waiting Lena Luthor. Escorted by Sir Kal El Ward, Hero of the Battle of Argo, Protector of the Royal Family."

I take a deep breath as Lena rests her hand on my outstretched forearm. We walk through the doors as the swing open, Sir James and Lady Jessica right behind us. The noise is deafening as men and women cheer, clap, and bang ale mugs on the tables. I bow to the center, then left and right of the room. Cheers renew with each one. When some of the noise subsides Lena and I sit at the high table. She sits to the right of the Queen who is already seated at the center of the table.I then sit to the right of Lena. Sir James stands behind us to serve as Lena's guard. Lady Jessica sits just below us with rest of the ladies. When we are settled, the queen rises from her own ornate chair.

"We are here today to honor the return of a hero. Sir Kal has saved my son and now returns to court to protect the rest of my family. Our enemies in the south and have proven that they can and will turn our own against us. Now, more than ever, we need to stand together. War has ravaged our lands, but always at a distance. Now they have entered our courts. We need more heroes like Sir Kal. So tonight we honor him and all the heroes to come after."

With that doors on all sides of the hall open for servants bearing trays laden with food. Music begins again from the minstrels and conversation and laughter fill the room. I feel so out of place sitting with the two queens and the royal advisers. On my left, both queens remain silent. Both picking at food but neither really eating. On my right sits a slightly rotund man with mousy brown hair. To break the tension I feel building up inside of me, I finally turn to the man.

"I apologize, sir, I believe we have not been introduced and now must share a meal together. My Name is Sir Kal El Ward." The man smiles broadly at my outstretched hand. He grasps it firmly.

"Oh, I know who you are, boy. Everyone knows who you are. The name's Otis Berg. Advisory to the queen in matters of the Common People."

"Really? And what does that job entail?"

That was all it took for the man to talk. Otis rambles on about how it is his job to make sure that decisions made by the crown are taken to the people in a way that they understand and the people needs are made apparent to those making the decisions. Otis goes into great detail about different aspects and all I need to do is make an occasional noise to keep him talking. Several course pass and I have barely had to say a word.

"You know, his job is not that interesting. Mostly he just puts formal decrees into simpler words." I choke on the wine I just tried to drink. Otis does not seem to notice when I answer the Queen-in-waiting.

"People enjoy the feeling of being heard, especially by their heroes. It makes them feel important."

"My, we think a lot of ourselves, don't we?" I turn to the women and meet her green eyes.

"No. I did my job. I protected my country and my prince. Others see me as a hero. I see myself as a man who did his job by killing other men doing their own jobs." Lena looks hard into my eyes, then after a moment, I see them soften slightly.

"We are supposed to share a dance, traditionally, since you are the guest of honor." I look to the mass of people moving through the open dance floor in the center of the hall.

"My Lady, I do not even know how to dance. I grew up with a carpenter for a father and a seamstress for a mother. I have been in the Army since I was fourteen."

"Well, with your training you should be light on your feet. Just follow my lead." Lena grips my hand tugs me from my seat. Luckily it is late enough in the meal that no one pays attention to us.

Lena separates from me and curtsies. I follow with a bow. She leads me elegantly through complicated steps and turns as we weave through the people surrounding us. I feel my brow furrow in concentration but keep my feet from tangling in each other or hers.

"Breathe, Sir Kal. This is not a battle." I exhale the breath I did not know I was holding.

"You are right. Battle is much easier." She laughs a rich laugh that makes me smile myself.

"Oh look, he can smile, and a nice one at that." I frown at the comment."

"Everyone keeps acting surprised that I have emotions. I just choose not to let them rule my life." That and my father drilled the importance of it into me that emotions were a women's way, not a man's.

"That is a very bland way to live life."

"You should stop calling the kettle black my lady. You hide your own emotions behind a mask of royalty." She stops for just a heartbeat, long enough for me to get jostled from behind. She resumes the steps again but will not meet my eyes. I know I stepped too far and mentally berate myself for being so brash and informal. When the song ends, Lena breaks away, curtsies, and returns to the table. I watch her go and debate whether I should follow.

"There he is." a slurred but energetic voice says behind me. A hand drops on my shoulder and I have to still my sword hands reflex.

"Master Winslow." I turn to the bright-eyed man.

"I want you to meet some people." He steers me in the direction of the tables without allowing me to protest.

The rest of the night becomes a blur of faces and names that I struggle to memorize. I eventually find an opportunity to make a graceful exit. The relief of the quite is enough to make me smile. I stroll through the castle, taking in the rich tapestries and artworks. Even the carpets that line the hallways were detailed around each border. After wandering around I make my back to my room. I turn my key in the new lock I had installed when I hear a small creek behind me. Lena Luthor stands in her doorway. She is wrapped in a red silken robe that contrasts with her pale skin in the moonlight streaming in a hallway window. Her hair hangs in loose waves from the braid she had worn for dinner. Lena leans against the door she did not open, still standing halfway behind it.

"My Lady." I bow slightly.

"You were right. Jessica is my only friend. The only one I trust. The only other person I trusted tried to kill me. So yes, I will hide behind my mask of royalty and be the queen my people need. Love has no place at court." I try to speak but I was shocked by her honesty.

"Now, you Sir Kal, have climbed your way to the top of the social ladder and are loved by all. Yet you seem to be the most unhappy man in all of Krypton. Why is that?" The curiosity is genuine in her face but it brings back the pain and shock of yellow and red swirling in the water.

"Goodnight, my lady," I say and abruptly enter my room, locking the door behind me.

My fingers quickly loosen the familiar straps on the armor. I flop on the bed in the pitch black room, my eyes stare at nothing and tears silently escape the corners of my eyes. When I can begin to make out the rough stone of my ceiling I rise and begin my daily exercise routine without any sleep. After I put on my armor and my feet find the path to the practice yard without much direction from me. It is still so early that torches are still burning low in their holders from the night before. In the practice yard, a lone figure waits for me. Sir James stands shrouded in the half-light of pre-dawn. He looked much more intimidating than the cheery man I met two days ago.

James moves when he sees me and extends the hilt of a practice sword to me. I remove my own sword and set it aside before taking the one from Sir James. Apparently, we were saving words for later, which was fine by me. With both of us ready James bows, his head towards me and I follow his lead. Suddenly a flash of movement and I barely get my sword up in time. The impact shocks my arms and I am more convinced of why Sir James is the Master at Arms.

Soon I feel sweat dripping down my face as we clash again and again. We dance back and forth across the yard, neither able to gain the upper hand. Just as suddenly as the battle began, it ended. Sir James caught my sword on his, stepped close, sliding his blade down mine. Then with a twist, my sword is ripped from my hand and clatters to the ground. The tip of Sir James' sword at my throat. The only sound left in the yard is our heavy breathing. My hand stings from the sudden removal of my sword. A grin spreads across his face and he laughs. I feel myself smile at his laughter.

"Well, you certainly do have a lot of talent. Now I know how you became a knight." He stoops and picks up the practice sword and I grab my own sword and strap it back on.

"What are we doing next?"

"Next I am taking you to the Master Armor to get that sword of yours repaired."

With my own sword gone the Master Armor gives me a spare sword for the time being. After that, I leave to wait for outside Lena's room. I fidget with the unfamiliar sword at my side. Sunlight is streaming through the window when the door finally opens. I bow and look up at the women in front of me.

"Sir Kal, we must not do this every day. How about a simple 'Good Morning' instead?" I smile and nod.

Lena cocks her head and squints her eyes to look at me closer. I fear my eyes are red from lack of sleep. I unflinchingly stare back. Lena seems to shake her head and turn and walk down the hallway. I stride quickly to walk next to her. I nod to the two men as we pass by who guard the hallway. One of them is the man from lunch yesterday, Donovan. We move through the castle in silence, the day playing out the same as the one before. Sir James relieves me for lunch.

"Try to eat with the men. You will need to find some you trust to put in the personal guard rotation for our future queen," he advises as I leave.

When I get to the guard dining hall it is as loud as the day before. I find Donovan with the men he was with the day before. I sit on the outskirts of their group. They stop talking and stare at me.

"Sir Kal, good to see you again," says Donovan. I nod.

"Kal is fine, Donovan. Sir is so formal and I hate formal." He grins and the group resumes their conversation.

They were all fairly large men, boasting about training, skirmishes, and tournament wins. Suddenly they fall quite and I feel all their eyes on me. I set down my fork and look from my plate to their faces.

"Kal, will you tell us how you saved the prince?" I take a deep breath after Donovan's question.

"Honestly, I don't remember much. Only what my men have told me." They stare intently at me, obviously, that was not enough.

"They call it a blood rage, when the heat of battle becomes so intense that a man blacks out, everything becomes instinctual. The enemy had the prince and his squire pinned against an abandoned barn. They were separated during the raid on the enemy camp. Apparently, I stole a team of horses and used them to trample seven of the men. In the chaos of the stampede, I moved among the scattering warriors, taking them out one by one before they knew I was there. Only one man made a stand against but was inexperienced and fell easily before my sword. I only remember the prince shaking me after I fainted from exhaustion. That is all. Battle is not as glorious as the stories and songs make it seem. It is dirty and deadly."

They stare at me with a mix of emotions, awe, horror, shock. I clear my throat and stand, they watch me leave. That is why I do not talk, I start to ramble and overshare. Well, that and I fear someone will realize that my voice is just a little too feminine.

I return to my Queen-in-waiting in the same place she was yesterday, outside the royal gardens, starring. Sir James leaves and Lady Jessica is nowhere to be seen today. We stand in silence.

"I used to love these gardens. Now I cannot even bring myself to open the doors." Lena's soft voice breaks the silence.

"My Lady?"

"This is where the man I loved and trusted tried to kill me." I have no idea how to respond. Lena turns and starts to leave when I catch her arm. She looks up with a mix of anger and sadness in her eyes.

"My... my sister died when we were children. We were playing in a river, she slipped and hit her head on a rock. After her death, I refused to cross any stream we came across, my father had to carry me. Eventually, he had enough. My father made me train for the army by using the stream that ran behind our cottage. It nearly broke me but eventually, I got over my fear. The first step, however, was realizing it was the memory, not the place, that scared me." As I talked, I guided Lena back to the door. I nod to the guards stationed there and they open the doors. The fragrant smell of flowers pours through the opening. It is mixed the rich smell of earth. Green assaults my eyes after so much stone in the castle.

"Wow." I exhale and Lena allows me to pull her forward. Sh stays a hesitant step behind. I breathe the fresh air deeply that the greenery creates. It amazed me that such a place existed in the center of a stone castle. I feel Lena's fingers tighten on the leather of my vanbrace.

"Breath in. Breath out. The man who tried to hurt you is gone. I am here to keep you safe." We make it past the entrance and down the path that keeps the greenery back. It feels like we are alone in the world. Birds sing from the trees and insects chirp underfoot. Colorful flowers that I have never seen before bloom all around us. I look down at the slightly smaller women. Tears escape her eyes and leave trails down her cheeks.

"Do you wish to leave?"I ask and Lena shakes her head. I continue down the path, her arm in mine.

"Is that why you are so unhappy? Because your sister died?" I cringe, berating myself for telling her so much, but for some reason, I cannot stop the response.

"And my parents. They died shortly after I left for the army. A raid on our town in the night burnt everything to the ground, they died in their sleep."

Lena stops walking, pulling me to a stop. I force myself to look into the pity filled eyes I know are waiting. Shocked, I see my own pain reflected there instead. It was mixed with the understanding of personal tragedy. My brow furrows and then the look is gone, wiped from her face with the mask of a queen.

"I am sorry for your loss. Our enemies always resort to terrible warfare tactics."

Lena drops my arm and walks back the way we came. The loss of contact is so abrupt it leaves me routed in place, then I have to hurry to catch her before she makes it back to the door. I follow her to the sitting room with her ladies again. I begin to fear every day is the same for royalty. I stand at attention behind the Queen-in-waiting, tuning out the senseless chatter of women who's greatest worries were what was the latest style of dress and who was courting who.

At dinner, I stand behind her chair again. It is a much less lively affair than the night before. The queen does not even choose to attend, instead of taking her meal in her private rooms. Once the sun is well down, I escort Lena to her room. She hesitates after opening it, turning back to me I see the conflict on her face.

"Good night, my lady." I try to save her from whatever she was torn about. Then I unlock my own room and disappear inside.

I stare at the back of Kal's door. How could I man I had known for two days almost pull my biggest secret from me? His honesty had wormed into me and it was scary. I enter my rooms to find Jessica in my bed. Well, our bed. We had shared one since we were children. Today was the first day of her moon-blood and the pain was always so intense that she never left the bed. I change quickly and hear her stir from her fitful sleep.

"Lena?" comes a drowsy voice in the dim light of the dying fire.

"Yes, it's me, Jess. Do you need anything?"

"Just hold me. That always helps the cramps."

I crawl into the bed next to the poor girl and wrap my arms around her. Jessica relaxes a little and falls back to sleep. I stare off into the embers of the fire as the memory resurfaces in my sleep. My earliest memory.

The heat of the flames scorch my face. Strong arms pull me backward. My scream mingles with the others trapped in the small burning hut.

"Mama!' I cry, somehow I know she is in there.

I want to run to her but the man in cold metal pulls me away. I am then wrapped tightly in a blanket and thrown in the back of a cart. Cold seeps in as the cart jerks away from the burning building. The blanket is so tight I cannot wiggle free. Tears lull me to sleep with the rocking of the wheels. In an hour I stand in front of the tall women as she examines me. I hold tightly to the blanket that still smells like smoke.

"Yes, this is the one. Our future Queen."

Jessica wakes me as usual in the morning. Pastries and hot tea sit a the small table next to the stoked fire. Jessica begins the long process of readying me for the day. Today we were not holding court, I wanted to venture into the town. Spending the crown's coin on local shops helped give back the money they paid in taxes. Also seeing the royal family among them inspired trust and loyalty.

When Jessica is done fussing over me she dresses herself. We exit my chambers to see a boy handing a sword to Kal and taking the one he had apparently strapped on this morning. The boy grins at the small coin pressed to his hand and hurries off.

"New sword?" I ask as he adjusts the baldric on his shoulder. I see him almost unconsciously lift the hilt and let it settle back in.

"Old sword, just repaired by your Master Armorer." I nod and head down the hallway.

Kal looks confused when I take a different turn to go to the courtyard instead. I had sent for the horses to be saddled and waiting earlier. Kal does not say a word but follows like an ever-present shadow. When we emerge into the sunlight the horses stand in the center of the courtyard with two stable hands. Two of the horses are the deep chestnut brown of the royal stock. The third is a barrel-chested white warhorse that I had never seen before. Kal's face lights up with more emotion than I thought was possible for him. He practically runs down the steps. The horse recognizes him and whinnies happily. It breaks free of the stable hands meets Kal at the bottom of the staircase. He nuzzles into Kal's chest and almost knocks him backward.

"I assume you know this horse?" I ask as Jessica and I descend at a more elegant pace.

"Comet and I have been together since I found him as a colt in a raided enemy camp. He had been abandoned and has been by my side ever since. This is the longest we have been apart." My joy at his apparent happiness was dampened by the last comment. Kal was man taken from everything he knew in order to protect me.

"Well, we will have to make sure you get more time with him. For now, we are headed to town."

"What for, my lady?"

"Just shopping. Shopping and generally good relations."

Jessica helps me mount then I watch her mount as well. Sir Kal swings into his saddle as easy as if he were sitting in a chair. Kal schools his face again into a mask of calm.

I lead the way through the gate and onto the road that heads through the smaller manors of visiting nobles. The next gate leads to the upper-class merchants. the streets were wide and clean. Most of the storefronts have large glass display windows.

Jess and I dismount and I hand the reins of our horses to the extra guards that walked on foot with us from the castle gate. We wander in and out of shops, buying small things to be loaded into the saddlebags. Sir Kal seemed to be hovering closer than ever because of the people moving about. I think he will be stuck to my back when we venture lower into the more populated parts of Kandor. People there packed the streets so tightly that you can barely walk.

In a nearly empty candle shop, Kal actually leaves Jess and me to wander while he talks with the owner. When we are headed back to the counter at the front I see Kal shake the man's hand with a gold coin nestled in his palm. The shopkeeper hides his shock fairly well as Jess and I approach. Kal steps back to allow us to pay for the scented candles we selected.

"What was that about?" I ask as we leave the store. Jessica carries our goods back to the horses.

"I am looking for something. The man gave me good information and was kindly willing to do so. I was just helping to give back." Kal actually winks at me.

"What are you looking for? You could have asked Jess or me." Kal clears his throat and hesitates to respond.

"Umm... well, soap actually." I stifle a laugh.

"You know we have that at the castle, just ask any serving girl."

"Yes, the harsh plain soap that feels like it sticks to my skin after I try to wash it off and makes me itch all day." This time I do laugh and Kal looks a little hurt at my amusement.

"I have never known a man to care so much about his own cleanliness."

"A women in a village we saved gifted me with bars of her soap, it was all she had to give. Once I started using it, it was all I ever wanted to use. Since then I have been able to find a maker in most the larger cities." Kal swings into his saddle as he talks, leaving me looking up until a guard assists me up.

"Okay, lead the way." Kal grins and lightly taps his horse with his heels to start making our way lower into town.

We pass not one gate but two. Five soldiers in front clear the way, two on either side keep the throngs from pressing in and five more guards behind. We left our horses at the second gate for the extra guards. Merchants take up most the street with carts and blankets to sell their wares. Kal moves with purpose down the winding streets, never hesitating when directing the guards and soon we turn off the main road onto quieter streets. The entire trip people bowed and stared, I did not normally venture this far from the castle.

"Sir Kal, are you sure you know where we are headed?" Jessica asks, voicing my own concerns. He just nods and keeps walking.

"Ah-Ha! Found it!" He stops and enters an unremarkable building. A sign hangs above the door of what I can only assume are different herbal plants.

We follow closely behind Kal. He stands next to the counter and waits for the girl there to turn to him. She is putting small jars filled with various powders on a shelf. The girl turns and her mouth falls open at the sight of a knight in what I can only assume is an apothecary shop. Kal waits while she searches for words.

"Hello, I am Sir Kal. This is Lady Jessica, and this is Queen-in-waiting Lena." He says when the women, definitely old enough to be a woman, continues to gape. When she turns to me panic fills her eyes and she bows so quickly I fear she might hit her head on the counter.

"M..mmm... m'lady. I am sorry. I was not expecting people of such stature to ever come into my shop." She is still bent over at the waist as she speaks.

"Rise, we came unannounced. Sir Kal here seeks something and he heard tell you have it." I say, trying to put the women at ease. Her eyes turn back to Kal.

"I hear you make the best soap in all of Kandor."

"Oh m'lord. I don't know about the best but I do make them. Scented with different herbs and flowers."

"Kal is fine, but I do not believe I caught your name."

"Rosemary, Rose to friends." Kal takes her hand and bows to place a kiss on the back of it.

"Rose, what a beautiful name." The girl blushes and I feel a small seed of anger in my stomach at the knight's open flirtation. Did he wish to swindle his girl out of her soaps? She turns to get some out of the cabinet and starts describing them to him. Kal keeps saying things to make the girl giggle and blush. Rosemary packs away half a dozen bars into a box and hands them to Kal. Kal hands over a small coin purse.

"Now I want you to let me know when you have new ones. Send a message to the castle for Sir Kal El Ward." He lifts the box from the counter. Once we are back outside I turn to Kal.

"Did you just trick that poor girl into letting you pay less?" Kal actually laughs at my indignation.

"No, my lady. I paid Rosemary twice what they are worth. She should be able to buy better ingredients now. Also now she will let me know when she has more. It cost the last of my army pay but it will be worth it." I blush at my harsh judgment.

"You still should not let that girl believe you favor her."

"My lady, I know that nothing will ever come of it, she knows nothing will come of it. But it makes people feel better, feel desirable, if every once in a while someone pays a little bit more attention to them. Why does this stress you so, my lady?"

"It does not bother me. I only fear my personal guard being caught in a scandal." Kal's face darkens slightly.

"You have no fear of such a scandal from me, my lady." Kal then strides past the guards to wind his way back through the streets, leaving the rest of us to follow in his wake.

"That was odd, wasn't it?" whispers Jessica.

"Yes, I have a feeling there is more to Sir Kal than meets the eye." The guards, Jessica, and I make our way back to the main street. Men, women, and children press in tight on the circle of guards.

Many do not even notice us now as they hurry about their day. I let the world outside the guards fade away as I listen to Jessica. She goes on and on about the necklace she bought and how she cannot wait to wear it to the next feast. Then she starts on how we should have another feast. Then on to the food, we should eat. Each new topic sparked another one. I loved the girl but she had a very simple view of the world from how little she knew of it.

Suddenly, the guard in front of me is gone, dropping like a stone. A line of red blooming across his throat. Time feels like it has slowed to a crawl. The guard next to him begins to turn as the knife continues its path and slices through his neck as well. I meet the eyes of a madman. A beggar. Thin hair standing in all directions, cracked peeling lips parted to reveal a mouth devoid of teeth. The stench of his clothes envelops me.

A bloom of red covers my vision as something hot hits my face. I blink. The man lays screaming beneath us. Kal stands over him, sword extended over a bloody lump on the ground. I realize it is the hand of the man lying next to it. People all around us push back away from the screams. The man clutches the stump left to him to his chest as the bystanders stare. Blood pools around my shoes as life begins to leave the man.

"Take him to the Gates, stop the bleeding. I am sure the queen will have her questions." Kal grabs mine and Jessica's hands and pulls us forward, around the man.

Kal does not stop moving or watching the crowd. At the gate he commands men to ride ahead and clear a path, we mount our own horses and follow close behind, moving much faster than we should. My world is narrowed to just Kal's back as he rides. Then I feel his strong arms pulling me from the horse. He does not set me on the ground. Kal carries me through the castle and up to my rooms, never slowing. I can hear Jessica talking to me but it sounds muffled. The only thing clear to me is the soft waves of Kal's hair. They bounce slightly with each step and I have to force myself not to touch them.

I feel like I am waking from a dream when I feel Jessica pulling at my dress and then replacing it with a much simpler summer gown that drapes over my head instead of the intricate lacing of most my dresses. I look around and realize we are in my room. With a shock, I realize Kal is there while Jess is dressing me. His back is turned as bends over the fire, stocking new flames to life. When he is done he keeps his back turned and stares into the flames.

Jessica sits me in the armchair next to the fire and dabs at my face with cool water from the wash basin. I see the cloth come away red with blood. Jessica then removes my shoes and cleans the drying blood from my feet.

"Kal..." my voice is so soft I am not even sure I spoke allowed.

"Yes, my lady." He still does not turn. I clear my throat and try my voice again.

"Where did you go? You can turn around now." He turns with a mix of emotions in his eyes that I cannot quite read.

"As I left you, I saw the man. I had noticed him earlier but did not think much of it until he reappeared. Once you started on your way back to the castle he began to follow you. The man had no idea I was following him also. But I was too slow, blocked by a stopped merchants cart. Those men..."

Kal's voice trails off and he turns back to the fire. I stand and Jessica tries to protest but I cut her off.

"Jessica, please take these clothes out of here. I do not care to see them ever again." She gathers the clothing and hesitantly leaves the room. I walk over to him and rest my hand on his shoulder, the metal is cold beneath my fingers. Kal turns to me, his face is composed but a turmoil of emotions play in his eyes.

"I almost failed. I almost lost you too." The sadness swimming in the pool of blue hurts my heart. My hand touches his cheek without my permission. It is surprisingly soft when he leans into it. His eyes flutter closed then fly open again as he steps quickly back.

"Kal, you saved me, just as you were meant to."

"Yes, My Lady." His eyes go flat, almost dead, as he even manages to remove his feelings from there.

"Do not shut me out." I try to command. Something about him drew me in and I could feel him pulling away again.

"Yes, my lady." Nothing changes. So I mirror him instead, my face just as expressionless.

The door to my room bursts open. Mother strides in, followed by several armed men. Anger plain on her face. Kal quickly drops to a knee as the queen strides toward us. For the first time, I notice the blood splattered across his breastplate.

"You were almost killed and failed to come to me immediately!" The queen roars. I keep the mask in place on my face.

"I apologize mother. I wished to change before presenting myself to you." Although I had not even thought of seeing her. The queen manages to break from her cold anger and wrap her arms around me in a more appropriate reaction of a concerned mother.

"I am sorry dear. I was just so afraid." I stand stiffly wrapped in the equally stiff arms. She always insisted on playing the loving mother. Finally, she steps away. Her cold eyes move from me to the man still kneeling with his head bowed.

"Report, Sir Kal." So Kal repeats the details quickly, only leaving out the specific shop that we visited on his personal errand.

"Thank you for doing your duty." The whole time Kal stayed bowed because mother never gave thought to allow him to stand.

"Rest now, my dear. You never have to go past the castle walls again." Lillian Luthor sweeps out of the room as suddenly as she entered. I look down at Kal.

"You can stand now. She is gone." I say.

He seems to shift slightly but does not stand.

"Kal, she is not that terrifying. Stand."

"I...I cannot. I hurt my ankle jumping the cart. The armor is heavier than my ankle can bear to lift."

I stare at him for a moment before reaching out a hand. He hesitates before grasping it and standing awkwardly. He had to keep his weight off his right foot.

"Thank you, my lady." I feel an unexplained tension between us as we stand close. Kal takes an uneven step backward and breaks it.

"May I be dismissed, My Lady?"

"Do you need a healer?"

"No, my lady."

"Go for tonight. I am not leaving my rooms. I will see you tomorrow."

Kal leaves the room with a slight limp. When the door closes behind him I sit once more before the comforting warmth of the fire. Silent tears fall down my cheeks. I almost died a second time. How could this keep happening? At some point I fell asleep, only to wake to Jessica pulling my dress off and helping me to bed. She wraps her arms around me and her breathing slows and lulls me back to sleep.

#supergirl #supercorp #kara danvers #lena luthor #medieval #au #knight #body guard #KoK

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