#the Blue King sees that it's his daughter because he was looking at them through binoculars

[thicc-astronaut]

Know what, while I’ve got Clash-A-Rama on my brain: I never played Clash Royale so I’m not familiar with any of the characters, and I didn’t know that the characters in the two flanking towers are princesses. When I watched “A Knight to Remember” I somehow also missed the multiple times when the character Julia (left, wearing blue shoulder pads) was referred to as “miss” and “m’lady” and “she” and “my daughter” by various characters.

So I watched this episode fully believing they were doing a Romeo and Juliet storyline with a blue prince and a red prince and they were just gay

In my defense, Julia dresses as the (male) Dark Prince as a disguise and doesn’t change out of it during an intimate moment so from a Watsonian perspective at a distance it would have looked like two princes were cuddling ANYWAYS but I digress

[7s3ven]

HELL-FIRE. luke (pjo) - pt 1

PART 1 > PART 2 (in progress)

IN WHICH… Y/N doesn’t want to admit it, but perhaps she and the mischievous son of Hermes have more in common than she originally thought.

“Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise. I see my reflection in your eyes.”

Warnings : mentions of abuse

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

—

The cold water lapped at Y/N’s shoulders as she sank into the tub placed strategically in the corner of the empty cabin.

Life as a forbidden kid was hard. You had no siblings and everybody was expecting you to do grand things. A small sigh slipped past Y/N’s lips as the water heated up until it was at a temperature that almost scolded her skin. Perhaps it was because Hades, the king of the Underworld, was her father but Y/N always found herself fascinated by fire. She loved to watch the blue, orange, and yellow flames flicker in the dim darkness.

It wasn’t until her arrival at Camp Half-Blood did it all make sense. Y/N, the daughter of Hades, was able to control fire. Though, she hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it. It all came in random bursts and every time she walked along the crisp green grass, a trail of brightly lit flames slithered after her.

The Demeter kids hated her for ruining the plush red roses that took them weeks to nurture. Y/N could understand their fury and she did her best to avoid their plants now, especially because her fire favoured the taste of Demeter’s flowers.

A quiet knock on the wooden door interrupted Y/N’s peace. She slowly rose from the water, droplets running down her finger tips. She slowly dried herself with a soft cotton towel before slipping her bright orange shirt over her head. She slid on a pair of loosely fitting pants before turning the knob, harshly pulling the door open.

“Do you need something?” Y/N asked, frowning at the small kid in front of her. He trembled and took a nervous step back.

“Luke… he… he told me to give this to you.” The kid stretched out his hand, practically shaking as Y/N stared down at the dark red rose. A lousy gift in her opinion.

Luke was the son of Hermes and the head counsellor of his cabin. He was popular amongst the campers and girls constantly swooned over him. Y/N, on the other hand, had no interest in romance. It had always been that way ever since she was born.

Y/N was conceived into this cruel world with a cold and empty heart. Her mother thought of it as a personality disorder at first until she realized that it was just how Y/N was. No amount of love forced into her arms could change the deep anger boiling inside of her.

Y/N took the rose, peering at it and scowling. “You’ve done your job. Scram.” She shooed the young Hermes kid away, almost shoving him off her rickety wooden porch. She caught sight of Luke watching her through the clean window of his own cabin.

He had never shown much interest in her before until a year ago, where we witnessed her easily take down some of the best fighters in camp.

He grinned at her, a gesture that should have made her heart flutter. But it didn’t. Y/N silently stared at him, feeling the sudden heat rush to her fingers. She lit the rose alight and it didn’t take long until only a few crisp and blackened petals remained in her grasp.

She quickly dropped them, scattering the remains of the once beautiful flower everywhere. It acted as a constant reminder that no matter how hard Luke tried, she was simply immune to his charm.

It’s not like Y/N didn’t want to love, because she did. She saw the Aphrodite kids treating Valentine’s Day like it was some big festivals. And she noticed how many of the boys in the Apollo cabin always had their eyes glued to one of the Athena girls.

They looked at her like she was a pile of treasure; like a precious jewel. They stared at her with such admiration and adoration that Y/N felt a little jealous. How come she couldn’t love while others could?

It was probably because of the darkness lurking within her, feasting away at every small spark of happiness until it was gone, resting in the belly of the beast. Anger, jealousy, and hatred consumed her easily. And she was bitter because of it.

It was pitch black by the time Y/N collapsed on her soft mattress. She was clad in shorts and a black crop top to battle the humid weather during Summer. She was half asleep when a quiet tap and rattle woke her.

Y/N quietly groaned. She knew who was waiting by her window, wearing a spare camp t-shirt and dusty grey shorts that stopped above his knees. His tapping become quicker and sharper until Y/N had no choice but to fling the window open.

“What?” She hissed at Luke.

He always came at the same time every night. Twelve o’clock sharp in hopes of wooing her. Y/N wasn’t stupid, she knew he was after something else that wasn’t romance related but until she figured out what, she wasn’t comfortable being alone in his presence.

Luke simply smiled, resting his chin on the sill. “Walk with me?” He questioned, jabbing a thumb over his right shoulder.

“It’s past curfew.” Y/N sharply retorted, glowering at him. Beams of moonlight shone down on the pair, acting as if the world were a stage that needed to be lit. Y/N could clearly see Luke tilt his head to the side, gazing up at her through his lashes.

“It’ll be quick.” He was persistent as always.

“What part of not interested confuses you?” Y/N threw the covers back over her body, prepared to crash her head against her feathered pillow and let her eyes flutter shut.

"One walk and I'll stop annoying you for a week."

That made Y/N pause. She stared at Luke, narrowing her eyes. A week wasn't long but it was better than putting up with his presence constantly. "Okay." She slowly said, causing Luke to victoriously grin. He pumped his fist.

"If we get caught, you have to take the blame." Y/N warned Luke as she stepped out of her cabin, pointing sternly at him. He wrapped a lock of her H/C hair around his finger, standing too close to comfort.

"I'd take every blame for you." He whispered, playfully winking. Y/N rolled her eyes in reply.

"I'd let you rot in a ditch." She pushed him away, storming down the stairs of the small porch. He clicked his tongue, eyes glazing over her movements. He jogged to catch up with her, his hand brushing against her leg.

The slight breeze surrounded the two of them as Y/N glanced up at the shining stars, her eyes darting around to spot all the different constellations. Luke followed her gaze, arching an eyebrow.

"What are you staring at?" He asked, licking his chapped lips. Y/N's eyes darted to look at him before she rolled her eyes, not saying anything.

"Can't you take a hint to be quiet?" She muttered after a minute of painful silence.

"No, I can. It's a choice to annoy you." He slyly smiled, bumping Y/N with his hip. She scoffed, shoving her hand into his face.

The crickets chirped loudly as Y/N walked past them, Luke following close behind. The air was colder now and Y/N relished the feeling of it against her skin. She almost forgot the son of Hermes was with her before he cleared his throat.

"No fire following behind us?" He questioned. He was used to the flames that often licked at Y/N's ankles but never dared burn her.

"That would get us caught." Y/N retorted. She faltered for a second, "Me, I mean. It would get me caught."

Luke lowly chuckled. "Nah, too late, Blaze. You said us. So there is something between us. And here I thought you only saw me as an obnoxious idiot."

Y/N sharply clicked her tongue, glaring at him. "Don't call me Blaze. And yes, I do see you as one."

"What would you prefer then? Conflagration? Inferno? Oh, what about Holocaust?"

"I didn't even know you knew those words." Y/N uttered, blankly staring at Luke. But Blaze was surely better than being called Holocaust.

"Blaze it is." Luke slung an arm around Y/N's shoulder, carefully testing the waters. The smell of burning flesh wafted through the air and Y/N quickly shrugged Luke's arm off, panicking slightly.

"Don't touch me." She said. It was supposed to be a harsh command but it came out as more of a desperate warning. Y/N's eyes darted to Luke's burnt skin. She scowled, at both his persistence to hold her and her inability to control her angry flames. It's not like she was actively trying to hurt people. It just... happened.

"I think it's time for you to leave." She said, her voice nothing more than a whisper. "Get your arm checked."

"It's late, no Apollo kid will be awake." His sizzling flesh didn't phase him in the slightest. He had dealt with worse, far worse. Like Clarisse's spear. "Besides, I like walking with you."

"At least soak your arm in water. It'll bring down the stinging sensation as well as protect it from risk of infection." Y/N was hesitant to even get near Luke, afraid of what her ability might do lest she lost control. But Luke was fearless. He'd grip her wrist a million times, even if it meant getting burnt, just to feel her skin against his.

He was like Icarus, unrelenting in his pursuit for greatness. He adored Y/N like Icarus loved the sun; too fast and too close. In a way, Y/N was death reincarnated. Pupils so big that it was unsettling, a glare so intense it could swallow you up, and a dark grace that followed her every move. Icarus died with broken wings but a fulfilled soul, just as Luke would if it meant he could hold Y/N.

Y/N led Luke towards a small pond and dipped her hand into the cool water. It started bubbling and Y/N instantly recoiled. Luke watched her, curious.

"Why do you do that?" He asked, gaining Y/N's wavering attention.

"Do what?" She muttered, furrowing her brows in confusion. Luke lightly chuckled, staring down at the rippling water.

"The fire thing. And heating up water. Why?"

Y/N shrugged. "It's not like I do it on purpose. It's random. Heating up water is easy enough but the flames are weird. I've tried spotting a pattern but I just can't see it." Y/N held up a finger, heat rushing to the tip. A flame flickered but it wasn't like her usual orange or blue ones. It was pink.

A light pink hue reflected off Luke's face as he peered at the fire, his eyes darting to follow its wild movements. He slowly dipped his charred arm into the water, grinning at Y/N who found slight amusement in playing with the pink flame.

"You ever think your flames follow your emotions?" He piped up, tilting his head to the side.

"Excuse me?"

"Your emotions. Maybe they control your fire." He shrugged, "Your flames are usually orange but when you get angry, which happens a lot, they turn blue. And the pink... I don't know. Love?"

Y/N sneered. "Love? Who would I be in love with?" It was a ridiculous suggestion. Stupid, even. Love didn't exist in Y/N L/N's world. Luke raised his brows, silently gesturing to himself. "I'd rather kiss a dragon."

Luke reached out to touch the flame and Y/N pulled away in a panic. "Don't!" She exclaimed, but Luke's hand was already waving through the fire. It didn't hurt in the slightest and Luke smiled. Y/N's whole hand exploded into pink-toned flames and she jumped, waving her hand around until the fire went out.

"Blaze... Do your emotions... scare you?" Luke asked. Y/N lightly scoffed, glaring at Luke as she always did. A flicker of blue glazed over her E/C eyes and then it was replaced with orange which quickly shifted into pink. And it finally returned to blue before disappearing as quickly as it came.

"Your eyes... they, uh..." Luke didn't know how to describe it. "Do they... somewhat flame up a lot?"

"Ignore that." She grumbled, shielding her face from Luke's hawk-like gaze.

"You intrigue me. Why do you act so bitter all the time, Y/N?" Luke questioned, clearing his throat. She paused, lightly biting down on her bottom lip. He didn't have room to judge because despite carrying around a kind and caring facade, Luke was just as mean as her underneath it all. Y/N just... didn't bother to hide it while Luke turned his head every time his eyes darkened or his lips curled into a disgusted sneer.

"I don't have a reason. Do you ever think that maybe I'm not acting and that I was born this way? Because I'm pretty sure I was."

"There's a reason for everything."

"Okay, you want to know why?!" Y/N exclaimed, fed up with all his questions and teasing. Luke calmly gestured her to continue.

"I hate them. I hate the deities above who call themselves our godly parents. They are just as fucked up as us, if not more. I mean, what were they thinking? Fucked up people give birth to fucked up kids. They underestimate us and abandon us and still think that we'll worship the ground they walk on. If I'm being honest, I don't think they love us. My father... Hades... he had an opportunity to save me from the abuse my mother was inflicting on me."

Luke's facial expression softened. His eyes locked with Y/N's angry ones and for a split second, he saw himself in her. A demigod desperate to prove themselves to their parent only to be disappointed.

"And you know what was worse? I saw him. I met him. He came to our house one day and I didn't know it was him in that moment but after I got here, it all made sense. The man who randomly showed up on the doorstep all those years ago and acted like he knew everything about me... was my father. The same man who dumped me in the horrible care of my mother. Hades, the supposedly only God who loved his half-blood child, actually abandoned her when he had the choice to take her with him."

"I get what you mean." Luke muttered, shifting closer to her. She didn't stop him. "I feel abandoned too. My dad, he did something similar. I agree with you when you say that the gods don't love us... because I don't think they do either. We're just... their pawns. You see this scar?"

Luke's finger trailed over the scar that adorned the side of his face. "My father... he gave me a quest that Hercules had already completed. I didn't want to do something someone else had already done but I thought, how hard could it be? And I failed it... I failed the quest. And some stupid dragon scratched me and gave me this scar."

"I don't get why they think we're expendable." Y/N's hands clenched into fists and she clicked her tongue. She turned to Luke, flinching at how close he was all of a sudden.

It all happened too quickly. One second Y/N's lips accidently brushed against Luke's and the next the whole field around the pond burst into a flood of pink flames. Y/N and Luke stood in front of Chiron, hands clasped behind them. Luke stared at the ground in shame while Y/N wasn't scared to look Chiron in the eye.

"You not only snuck out past curfew, which is breaking rules, but Miss Y/N, you also burned a fellow camper and set flames to the grass."

"Chiron, sneaking out past curfew was my idea." Luke, as promised, took responsibility for his actions. "And she can't control her fire and I provoked her so I deserved it anyway." Luke shrugged.

"That still doesn't excuse your behavior. I expect you to clean all the sword before the Ares kids mess them all up again."

Y/N scoffed under her breath. "This is all your fault. I can't believe I snuck out with you of all people." Y/N poked his shoulder and a small pink flame danced across his shirt before dissolving into thin air.

"Pink means love." Luke teased.

"I will burn you again." Y/N threatened, stomping on his foot.

"Hey, you wouldn't burn your ranting partner so soon, would you?" He grinned.

Y/N didn't want to admit it but she did share a lot of similarities with Luke. From their hatred for the gods to the feeling of being abandoned. "Talking with you wasn't entirely terrible." She muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Thanks, Blaze." He gently grasped her hand, pressing a chaste kiss to her knuckle. Y/N jumped and everything went up in flames again. Literally. "Y/N... Y/N, you're on fire. You are on fire!" But it didn't hurt. The flames wrapped around her like a comforting blanket as Luke stared at her in both awe and confusion. "It's kinda cool actually. It looks like you're glowing." Luke chuckled while she glared at him, wildly trying to pat the pink fire out.

"Come on, just admit you like me, Blaze. Even just a little bit. You find me pretty, don't you?"

"I do not!" Y/N exclaimed, the flames growing stronger. Luke teasingly raised his brows, staring at her with a knowing smirk. She scoffed, spinning around.

"See ya later, Blaze!" Luke called out as she stormed away. She turned around, deeply scowling at him.

"Shut up!" She shouted, a glowing trail of fire following after her and burning its way through the grass. Campers squealed at the sight, jumping out of the way.

Luke chuckled to himself, watching when Y/N sneered at a young Apollo boy. "She's so cute." He muttered to himself, shaking his head in amusement.

From the window, Chiron sighed at the familiar sight of Y/N's fire. "She's getting stronger." He said, frowning.

"So? At least her pink flames are harmless, unlike her blue ones. And don't get me started on that huge blowup she had last year. I didn't even know black flames existed until she blew up! More like exploded!" Mr D scoffed, shivering at the memory of Y/N's black flames. It was like a massive bomb went off.

Chiron was silent for a moment until he looked at Mr D. "She likes Luke." He quickly said.

Mr D instantly sat up, slamming his hand against the table in front of him. "Oh, yeah, definitely! I started shipping those two ever since they started bickering. Catch up, Chiron!"

TAG LIST : @lostinhisworld @julielightwood @outerbanks-stuff @jennapancake @csifandom @evrybodydies1 @kkrenae @s0ulsniper @annispamz @justanotherkpopstanlol @soraya-09 @simpforeveyone @papichulo120627 @corpsebridenightamare @lilacspider @prettylilsimp @urmomsbananabread @ur-lacol-dsylexic @hottiewifeyyyy @kamiliora @be-bap @finnickodaddy @th0tblckgrl @shoyofroyoyoyo @uniquely-her @imafrkinsimp @syraxesrevenge @ahh-chickens @dracoslovergirl @midnightstar-90 @8812-342 @liv1104 @krkiiz @arialikestea @ch16rles @lizziesliz @maryclx01 @lukecastellandefender @yuminako @coryoskywalker @julielightwood @crybabysbakery @jsbaby @liviessun @p3pperm1nttea @angie-esc @purplerose291 @prettylilsimp @10ava01 @froggiesstalks @happy-jj @czennieszn @gisellesprettylies @loveyava @csifandom @luvvfromme @mashiromochi @kamiliora @yorksyree @mqg125 @jamesmackreideswife

[theeoriginals]

I’d love to see your take on an arranged marriage with klaus (like medieval times or some period like that). maybe he’s marrying her to get something from her/her family but there’s something a little off about the reader (hint: she does what giulia tofana did - google her if you’re not familiar!! her story is so fascinating) and when he pieces it together he’s smitten with her 💗💗

aqua tofana | klaus mikaelson

author's note; this has been in my inbox for over a month because i was so inspired by it that I decided a 14k oneshot was necessary I hope I did it justice

klaus mikaelson x reader (no y/n) use of nickname in place of y/n

warnings; arranged marriage, strangers to lovers, klaus is a little shit but so is reader so it's okay, no Y/N, mentions of domestic abuse but not in regards to reader, mentions of poison, fluff, shy!klaus (he is real to me), these two mfers are in LOVE, mikael (a warning in itself), minor violence and bloodshed but nothing too bad. if I missed anything let me know!! this is heavily inspired by ACOTAR bc I just binged the entire series in less than a week so thank you sarah j. maas for your service

The Mikaelsons were said to be a noble family. One with loyalty and strength. 

They were coming to stay in their small kingdom, in their castle. Three of them. Elijah, Rebekah, and Niklaus. Looking for a safe haven, to avoid growing conflicts in surrounding areas. Looking for someplace to call home for a little while longer– at least, until they could no longer pass as mortals.

Riverend was perfect for them. 

The way the people of Riverend saw it, their problems were their own, and the larger, outlying kingdoms could fight their nonsensical battles without any help from a small, useless kingdom built downstream from them, carved right out of the flowing water that traveled through their town square by the calloused hands of the families that still lived there today.

As far as anyone was concerned, Riverend had no monetary value, no natural resources to capitalize off of, no armies worth rallying, and no animals to trade. The only thing it had was its people, and to most, that meant nothing. It meant they went overlooked, and were never considered in territory battles and similar crises. But to the right person–a dangerous person– such a thing could mean everything. 

That is why she was so wary to accept this supposedly noble family into their walls. She had to be wary, to think of the danger they could bring along with them should they stay. How much danger it could put her kingdom in. 

It’s why she had further qualms about marrying the man the king had been corresponding with all these months. Said qualms, of course, outside of the fact that she had no real desire to marry, let alone to a stranger. All familiarity aside, she had a duty to her people to maintain their livelihoods and not leave them stranded for her own selfish desires. Even if it meant marrying some man. 

With her mother’s voice in her head telling her to keep her chin up and her shoulders back, she was determined to keep her wits about her. She didn’t complain when she was asked to wear one of her nicer gowns to greet the family when they arrived that brisk, cloudy afternoon. She let her ladies dress her in a midnight blue gown that swept along the ground, with sleeves that draped over her hands, leaving no skin visible, spare for her neck and face. 

She was escorted by the king to the throne room, where she stood at his shoulder, resting a hand on the embroidered fabric along the muscle hidden beneath the layers. A silent, supportive daughter. A perfect royal family, to anyone who might linger too long while looking in their direction. 

Two of their sentries escorted their new houseguests into the throne room, and she did nothing but raise a brow at their humble appearance. The girl, Rebekah, was young. She’d seen better days, and she silently wondered where they had traveled from that had them end up before her and her father with dirt scuffs on their cheeks, and scruffy, unkempt facial hair marring their jaws. 

“Welcome, Lords and Lady, to our home,” Her father spoke genially, a content smile on his face as if he was unaware of the judgmental look his daughter was fixing them with. “We’re honored to have you here, honored to build a bridge between our families for years to come.” 

One of the long-haired men spoke, his hands clasped neatly behind his back, making him look like he was some proper gentleman and not a random man who had shown up on her doorstep. 

“The honor is all ours, Your Majesty. The opportunities that your generosity has given my family have not gone unnoticed. We thank you and the Princess for your kindness.” 

The King shifted slightly like he’d forgotten his daughter was there. He turned to look at her over his shoulder, and she met his gaze, peering down at him over the bridge of her nose. “Yes, my daughter. Nyxia. She’s a woman of few words, I must warn you all. And when she chooses to speak, it’d do you well to listen closely.” 

All of their eyes shifted to her, but the set of icy blue ones had never left. Not to meet the king’s eyes, or look around at his new home for the foreseeable future of their impending marriage. 

“Your Highness,” Blue eyes, suddenly alight with fire. Flame that burns her from the tips of her toes to the base of her scalp that her very hair grows out of. Flame that ravages civilizations, and wipes out bloodlines. She can feel the darkness in him from two simple words. It’d take a fool to not see it. “I look forward to getting to know you before our prospective arrangement takes place.”

He wasn’t lying, she could tell. But his words seemed to hold as much weight as hers did. A hidden meaning tucked behind every spoken syllable. Dangerous. So dangerous. The King was a fool to not see it, but that was neither here nor there. 

Licking her lips, she chose her first words carefully. It was always important to make a lasting first impression, but with this man– with her future husband, she wanted to be honest from the start. She wanted, for once, to reveal her hand before the game started. Just to see what he’d do. Just to see what he had planned. 

But she didn’t. She knew it would just be chaos. And even though such things were in her blood, she couldn’t risk anything this far into everything.

“Lord Niklaus,” She didn’t move a muscle besides the ones it took to make words form on her tongue. “My kingdom rejoices with your arrival. They will be overjoyed with the announcement of our nuptials.” 

And the man, encased in his flames that felt as if they could burn the whole world down should he please, tilted his head and smirked at her. Like he’d heard every thought she’d had in the moments between words. 

Nothing else was said between them, not verbally, at least, and the king interrupted the rising tension that was so obvious between the Princess and the Mikaelson siblings, oblivious to the people he’d surrounded himself with. 

“Lady Rebekah, my daughter can show you to your rooms in the east wing. You’ll have ladies of your own to help you bathe and dress,” He gestures to the blonde, who looks childishly excited at the thought. “The both of you will be in the west wing, my men can take you to your rooms. We can reconvene tonight at dinner, yes?” 

The three siblings bowed at their waist, easily deferring the power back to the King. 

“In the meantime, feel free to explore. Our home is yours, now. Make yourselves comfortable.” 

She stayed in the throne room long after even her father had left, watching the doors the siblings had been escorted through. She lingered at her place beside the throne, nearly behind it, where her mother once stood behind a man who looked like he belonged on a throne more than any woman would. She laid a hand around the back of the embossed silver and thought to herself that it would look better in gold. 

────── 

Klaus watched his wife-to-be dig into the dinner presented before them moments ago, her fork the first one to move, even before her father’s. She didn’t sit at the head of the table, but just to the right of her father, and Klaus had taken the seat across from her. He did not doubt that she could feel his eyes on her, but she was pointedly ignoring it in favor of talking to his sister at her side. 

Rebekah, ever the people pleaser. Even in their centuries on this earth, Rebekah could never resist the desire to cling to the nearest female in their proximity. He hadn’t said anything to her about it, yet. He figured there was no harm in letting her delude herself into thinking that Princess Nyxia wanted anything to do with any of them. 

Elijah wasn’t even pretending to be friendly like he tended to be in this position. He’d been silent for a majority of the day, perhaps tired from their travels, though Klaus doubted it was anything so simple. If Klaus were to look at himself as a King, it would be Elijah as his second, watching everything and everyone, dutifully reporting back to him about usurpers and battles to come. It would be Elijah ripping hearts out, and Klaus taking responsibility for the blood on his brother’s hands. 

There was a reason it was only the three of them. His other siblings just didn’t understand that you did everything for family. 

He supposes that’s why he’s so curious about the two royals before him. They were the only family they had left, and yet there was something unspoken there, something withheld between them that left a tenuous truce. There was such anger behind Nyxia’s eyes, and Klaus had the urge to push and push at it until it finally shattered. Elijah often compared him to a child for this inane urge, and Klaus couldn’t deny it. 

“This food is lovely, Your Majesty,” 

Rebekah looked at Nyxia’s father with a sweet little smile, and Klaus wondered how she managed to maintain such a degree of humanity inside of her after everything.

“Oh, it’s all my sweet Nyx,” He turns his pleasant, kingly smile to his daughter. Looks like he owes her the world. She doesn’t return an ounce of the fondness, but she still smiles, like she knows it’s expected of her. “She has specific tastes, so I prefer her to pick the menu. Our cooks in the kitchen work to make it all come to life and it never disappoints.” 

It works in the way that it makes Rebekah turn adoring eyes onto Nyxia once again, but it doesn’t do as such for the two brothers. There’s something about this place that drew them to it in the first place and they wanted to figure it out, neither of them did very well when it came to venturing into the unknown, so they devised the plan. It’s set in motion, it’s happening as they sit at this table and eat this food, and yet he still feels wrongfooted. He’s missing something, he’s missing the thing that brought him to this small kingdom in the first place. 

He doesn’t like living in the dark. 

Elijah cuts a thin bite of the lamb chop on the plate in front of him. “Do you cook, then, Princess?”

“If I am feeling particularly inspired, yes,” She grabs her silver chalice, swirling the dark red wine in it before she takes a drink. “I prefer vinification.” 

The King’s face lights up like he’d been waiting for another opportunity to brag on his daughter. “Yes, Nyxia made the wine we’re drinking tonight. She tries to make a personal barrel at least once a year, and it’s always the most unique flavor. She goes out and picks fruits from our trees up near the bluffs, where–”

“I’m sure they aren’t interested to know what fruits our land produces, Father.”

“On the contrary,” Her eyes shot to Elijah at his words. “I think it’d be quite ignorant of us to turn down any knowledge of the land we’re to call… home. It seems to be a very special place.” 

She watches him for a moment, eyes narrowing at his unsuspecting tone. “Yes,” She muses quietly, looking away from Elijah to meet Klaus’s gaze like she can tell Elijah’s speaking on his behalf. “Perhaps I’ll show you what makes it so special.”

None of them acknowledged the fact that it wasn’t so much of an offering of camaraderie, but rather a threat. 

────── 

Months go by. Time passes peacefully, but Klaus is growing restless. 

With the announcement of their joining sent out to the few people they intended to invite outside of their kingdom, they had begun preparing the castle for the celebration and the princess found herself preoccupied with menial tasks, like picking out what flower arrangements to line the aisle with and what color banners should hang from the ceilings above them. 

Throughout it, she’d done her best to avoid the Mikaelsons but maintained a close enough distance so they couldn’t claim she was giving them the cold shoulder. She’d grown quite good at falsifying closeness throughout her years. She was designed to have a connection with her people that displayed generosity but not bias. A relatability, but not a weakness. 

She was sure that Rebekah would call them best friends by now, but she also knew the girl could not even tell a person what the princess’s favorite color was if someone ever bothered to ask her. 

She has always been able to exist in a way that makes her entirely extraordinary, but forgettable the moment she’s out of sight. 

She’s been able to use the wedding as an excuse to avoid isolated interactions with Klaus, but she knew he’d catch her without an excuse one of these days. She would’ve preferred to avoid it for a bit longer, but she wasn’t unprepared when it finally happened.

Standing in the aisle of the throne room where the banners of white and gold were hanging above the place they were to stand in front of her people and all of the guests they’d sent invitations out to and declare an undying bond that didn’t exist, she felt a rage bubble inside of her that she was quick to smother into nothing but cinders and ash when she heard the doors creak open behind her and footsteps slow as he stopped beside her. 

“You’re a hard woman to track down, Princess,” 

“You could have sent for me at any time. It is my duty to serve my subjects,” 

She glances at Klaus out of the corner of her eye and sees an amused look grow on his face. “Is that what I am? One of your subjects?” 

“Until we are bound by law, yes, Lord Mikaelson. You are one of my subjects and I your Princess. Soon enough you’ll be Prince, and you will also owe loyalty to my subjects because this place does not exist without them.” 

“You take such pride in this kingdom, in these lands, yet you did not win it in a battle, have not even fought in one, as far as I’m aware. You have no value to other kingdoms, and yet your father brags of orchards and vineyards with bountiful fruits. He tells tales of heroic civilians, always offering a helping hand to those in need. Sparing what they can, to maintain their peace here. It’s an odd thing, considering I’d never seen or heard of Riverend before that time all those months ago when I first met your father.” 

“And yet, here you stand, within the walls of my kingdom, amongst my people. In my home.” 

There’s no humor in her voice. There isn’t any hatred in it, either, and he can tell she’s got that impenetrable mask on again. Even her momentary anger or irritation was different from this nothingness. 

He can hear her father’s words from that very first day, telling them all that her words are important. He remembers thinking it was such an odd thing to point out at that time. It almost rings like a warning, now, and not a twisted compliment for the woman. 

“It’s curious, is all. I wonder if I’ll understand what inspires such devotion once I am Prince, or if it is a feeling only you experience.” 

She turns, finally, to look at him. “You are interested in learning what makes me love my people and my home?” 

He ducks his head in a nod. “Guilty, I suppose.”

“Then I will show you,” She nods once, firmly. Like she’s just decided it then and there because of his earnest words, and he thinks it’s a ridiculous, rash thing, but when he looks into her eyes there is no hesitation or wariness. “Tonight, we will have dinner and I will answer all of your questions. I will show you why I would spill endless blood for this kingdom, and never ask any of my people to do the same for me in return.” 

He raises his brows, letting a sliver of his suspiciousness show in his icy, blue-gray eyes. “You’re offering such honesty to my family after weeks of pretending like we don’t exist? Forgive me if I’m skeptical of your generosity.” 

“Not your family. You. You and I will have dinner alone, and I will tell you everything you want to know,” She corrects him, earning a more genuine look of shock from him. “You are to be my husband. One day you will be my King, and I your Queen. Is honesty not the place to start?” 

Klaus falls silent, watching her, waiting for a slip-up. For any sign of hesitation or scheming behind her endless eyes. Finding nothing, he bites out a wry laugh and nods in agreement, finally tearing his eyes away from her to look around at the decorated throne room. 

The betrotheds stand silent together for a few minutes, and she offers no insight into whatever it is she’s thinking as she stares at the throne front and center in the room. 

“Is my help needed for our wedding?” Klaus says suddenly as if there isn’t a mounting tension building in the room like a shadow of the night. 

“Not unless you are offering,” She says simply. “I’ve told them white and gold, for our colors. My dress is to be fashioned similarly, as are your garments. I’m sure you’ll be summoned for fittings, but our seamstresses have plenty of work to do before then.” 

The man hummed agreeingly. “Then I shall leave you to it. And I’ll see you at dinner tonight.” 

“Before you go, Lord Mikaelson,” 

“I am certain you can call me Niklaus. Just Klaus if you’re feeling particularly agreeable that day, Princess,” 

She raised a brow like one might raise their lips in humor. “Niklaus.” 

He looks at her indulgently. 

“Even after we are married, outside of our duties to this kingdom, I will never ask you for anything,” She says, her words striking something like a warning bell inside him. “But right now, I have a question for you.” 

“Ask me anything, Princess,” 

“Do you know who you are?” 

Klaus’s eyebrows flexed on his forehead. “Pardon?” 

She turns to face him head-on, standing before him like she did that first day they arrived, only this time there was barely a foot of distance between them. He could almost see her pulse move in the long lines of her throat. “I ask you, as your future wife, do you know who you are? Do you feel the shadow that shields your soul? Do you feel the fire that consumes you?” 

She tilts her head at his suspended silence. “You hide from the light that is still inside of you. You hide from someone. But you won’t hide from me. You can’t. It is because of that unfair advantage that I am offering you honesty. Know that I do this for you as an act of trust. Do not underestimate the weight of such a thing, or you will see just what I am willing to do for this place.” 

She side-steps him and walks past him, leaving him in a stunned silence that quickly turns into rage that they both know he can’t take out on anything within the walls of this castle, and the borders of this kingdom. 

She’s established the high ground. And she has made it clear that it is not Klaus standing up there, looking down at her, but rather the other way around. 

She’s offered to even the playing field, though. He’s curious to see just how much honesty she’ll be parting with tonight. He’s curious to see how it will end. 

────── 

The table is set for two. 

It’s different from the dining table they’ve been occupying for the past three weeks. This is a table made for two, and only for two. 

Candlelight casts shadows around the room, and Klaus does a slight double take as he walks towards the table, escorted quietly by one of the sentries from his quarters to this room. He’s loath to admit he was distracted by thinking about all of the possibilities of this dinner to pay attention to the fact that he was being led to the east wing and not the usual central hall where meals were had. 

But it’s too late for him to question it, as the sentry is walking out and a door across the room opens, revealing the princess. 

She’s changed again– always in different gowns throughout the day. This one is similar to the one she was wearing when they first met. A blue so dark it looks black, that holds color like the night sky. Sleeves that drape over her shoulders and cinch down to her wrist, leaving only her hands bare. With the dim lighting of this private dining room, shadows dance around her face, and he thinks to himself that the shadows cling to her. 

She gestures for him to take a seat, already doing so, and she immediately grabs a corked bottle from the side of the table, popping it open and pouring their golden chalices halfway full before she sets it back down. 

Klaus takes the first drink and has to bite back the pleased noise he starts to make, if only out of spite. 

“I’ve been fermenting this wine for three years,” She informs him, seemingly hearing the noise anyway, if the gleam in her eye is anything to go by. “It’s from my private reserves.” 

“Aren’t they all from your private reserves?” 

“No, I give barrels to the tavern in town,” She swirls it around in her cup, quirking a brow at him. 

“Give, or sell?” 

“Aren’t you the one who said I have undying generosity for this kingdom for no good reason?” She takes a small sip of the wine, holding it in her mouth for a moment before she sets it down. “It’s too bitter for my liking.” 

Klaus hums, taking another drink. “Perhaps you’re just your own biggest critic,” 

“Mm, perhaps,” She concedes, fluttering her eyes in a slight roll. It’s as casual as he’s ever seen her, and she’s still sitting stock-straight in her chair, shoulders back and chin high. As royal as ever. “Are you going to start asking your questions?” 

He smirks, tilting his head in a slight nod. “Maybe I was waiting for your permission. I wouldn’t want to be a rude dinner guest, after all. Not after you’ve brought this lovely meal into this secluded space,” 

“It’s mine. I don’t always prefer to eat in the company of others,” She says. “My bedroom is through that door.” 

She points to the door she’d come through upon his arrival, and his eyes follow the curve of her arm through the fabric shifting along it. 

“How lucky I am, then, hm?” 

“Oh, most people would not call it luck, Niklaus. In fact, I think I heard your brother say to your sister once that it feels like you’re all just sheep in a wolf’s den.”

Klaus makes a dry noise of acknowledgment, mentally cursing his brother for saying such things within earshot of anyone, let alone his soon-to-be wife. “My brother’s desire to protect this family often leads him to paranoia, I’m afraid.” 

“I never said he was wrong.” 

Klaus’s hands flex in his lap, out of view of the princess. “Oh, is that so? Then maybe I am ready to start asking questions,”

She beckons him on with a wave of her hand. Neither of them has touched their meals. He doesn’t think they’ve broken eye contact, either. Locked in this stalemate, tension rising and rising and rising. 

“I have traveled far and wide in my days on this planet, and I have come across some very strange places, I must say. But never have I come across a place that simply… doesn’t exist,”

If Klaus knew any better, he’d think she looked excited at the words coming out of his mouth.

“That is not a question, my Lord,” 

He smirks at her correction. “What is it? What is it that hides this place from the map? How do you keep travelers passing through, yet no one has ever had so much as a–a tall tale, or some monster story to tell about this place? You fight in no wars but you have sentries stationed throughout this castle, on guard every night and day. You trade no goods, but these lands are bountiful in fruits and vegetables, crops as big as this castle grow in people’s yards. So, tell me, Princess Nyxia, how do you do it?” 

She shifts in her chair, leaning her arm onto the armrest, and for the first time since he met her all those months ago, she smiles. 

She smiles widely, and it’s not something wicked or cold, but instead, it’s amusement, through and through. Every bit of that coldness stays in her eyes, though. Darkness still clinging to her like a child and its mother.

“There are stories about things– creatures so dangerous that you cannot even utter their name, for fear of inviting them into your home, your mind,” She starts, undoubtedly aware of the anticipation thrumming in his veins. He’s had to be so careful about feeding since they came here, compelling people, and never taking too much, because he can’t risk her catching on. He thinks he feels more human than ever within these walls, and it’s such an odd thing. 

“My real name has not been spoken in decades. Most people in this kingdom, in this castle, do not know me as anything other than Nyxia. It is the name that my mother held when people started to refuse to say her name as well, and in honor of her great life, I now bear it as my own.”

Klaus lets out a slow breath, a feeling like adrenaline coursing through him. “What are you, Nyxia?” 

“I am the shadows that follow you along the walls, I am the very stars in the sky. I am the end to every day, and I will be the end to it all when I am finally called back home. I am the thing you see every time you blink your eyes, Klaus Mikaelson. I am darkness.” 

He shuffles, leaning his elbows onto the table to examine her closely, in a way that he hasn’t had the chance to do since their arrival. “You keep this place hidden so that people don’t find you and hunt you.” 

“Why do you think you and your siblings found this place? Why do you think you could see and remember what so many others could not?” She raised a brow, pulling her cloth napkin from her lap and dropping it atop her untouched plate. “I know what you are, Niklaus Mikaelson. The Original Hybrid. The divide in you is shadowed in darkness. I am, and have been a part of your very being from the day you took your first breath and were declared a bastard.” 

He flinches minutely, but she sees it anyway. “Why me? Why lure me and my family here? To kill us? I have no doubt you have every means to kill creatures such as ourselves if your claims of power are to be taken as truth.” 

“I have no intention to kill you, Klaus,” She pushes her chair back from the table, standing up. Silently, she gestures for him to do the same. “I have not yet told you why I do what I do here.” 

“You haven’t even told me what you do here, let alone why,” 

She chuckles freely and he ignores the chill that travels down his spine at the sound. It’s like she’s been waiting on him to break this dam between them, and now that her secret is out, she’s alive. 

She’d told him earlier to realize the weight that is behind her trust, her honesty. He will admit to himself that he had underestimated it, even in the wake of her precautions.

“Your family is not expecting you tonight, right?” 

He raises his brows but shakes his head. “I told them I’d be having dinner with you and that I’d be out for the night. Why do you ask?” 

“We’ll be taking a trip. I have things to do,”

It’s all she says before she leads him into her bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind them. 

────── 

Draped in cloaks that covered their faces in shadows she had promised him would keep them hidden while they made their way through muddy alleys and thick groves of trees, Klaus couldn’t help but wonder just what he’d gotten himself into. 

He didn’t often admit that he was in over his head– was rarely in such a position at all– but this. This was something he was utterly in the dark about. The irony wasn’t lost on him, either. 

“Where are we going, Princess?” 

“You may call me Nyxia, you know. You did earlier,” 

“I am nothing if not a gentleman, Princess Nyxia,” 

She rolls her eyes, but there’s an unfamiliar degree of humor in the action. He’s still discombobulated at her complete flip of a switch, but he’s trying to familiarize himself with it. He selfishly hopes that she doesn’t slide that cold mask back on when they return to the castle. 

“They’ll be just through here,” Nyxia led them through another tightly packed thicket of trees, and just as Klaus was about to complain, they broke through into a clearing that nearly took his breath away. 

Though they were undoubtedly still surrounded by the forest she’d traipsed them through for the past hour, at least, this ovaloid clearing was shrouded in a different kind of darkness than the night that encased the rest of the area. 

Light up by the stars glimmering just out of reach above their heads, women mingled about, stopping to talk to one another. A few children ran by, laughing as they chased one another barefoot through the trees, disappearing out of sight and earshot as soon as they left the area, only to reappear before him like a bursting bubble. 

Klaus turned slightly to look at Nyxia, watching her pull her cloak down off her head and smile kindly, genuinely, to the people who had stopped and gathered around them. Klaus took the cue and pulled his own hood off, and his presence immediately earned wary looks. 

Glancing at Nyxia, he fought the urge to jump when her hand landed on his arm, her face contorting into an understanding but reassuring look. “No, no, look,” 

She pulled Klaus closer to her, keeping her hand wrapped around his arm as he looked warily at the sea of faces watching him. Feeling entirely caught off guard, he stayed silent, happily letting Nyxia take the reins.

“This is my betrothed,” Her words immediately earn a variety of reactions. From the children, their hesitance turns into immediate adoration. From the older women, teasing laughs are shared between them, and Nyxia bats a hand out to silence them, though it’s not done out of real offense. 

Friends, he realizes. These are her friends. She’s brought him to meet her friends that she has hidden in this patch of woods, further secluding a place that already doesn’t exist outside of its own bubble. 

An unavoidable arrow of fondness shoots down his spine, and he bats it away as quickly as he can. 

“So our lovely princess has finally brought a prince to meet us,” One of the older women grins tauntingly, and Klaus eyes the wrinkles around her mouth that only come from smiling too much, and the strands of gray hair falling out of the braids she’s got piled atop her head. 

“Klaus,” He says, somewhat shocked by the emotion in his voice. “You may call me Klaus.” 

“Klaus, then,” The woman nods, conveying something to Nyxia that is seemingly translated between the two of them, though Klaus couldn’t even begin to guess what went unsaid. 

Nyxia finally removes her hand from his arm to reach into her cloak, pulling three small bottles out and passing them off to the older woman, whose face turns somewhat solemn. 

“I know that one is for Merida,” The woman starts, meeting Nyxia’s gaze from beneath her lashes. “But who are the other two?” 

“Reya and Liesl,” 

The woman curses beneath her breath and apologizes when the children nearby gasp. 

“When am I to bring this to them?”

“Within the week. It has only been getting worse lately,” 

As if she were a soldier being told her life was being offered up on the chopping block, the woman nodded and tucked the vials into the deep pockets of the dress she wore. “I will send word once they are here.” 

“Thank you, Theresé,” She grabs Klaus’s arm gently once more, beginning to steer him towards the path they’d taken, but she stops short, looking over her shoulder with a slight smirk. “You are all invited to the wedding, of course. Next month. I will send someone to escort you to the castle.” 

A bout of excited tittering follows them out, and they walk in silence, heading a bit of the way back towards the castle before she leads them off to the left, walking them across one of the runoff creeks that flow with the river through town.

He remains silent until she leaves his side to push open a gate ahead of them, the metal creaking and groaning beneath her force, but giving way eventually. 

This time, when Klaus steps forward, he instantly knows where he is. “The orchard,” 

“Yes,” Nyxia takes a deep breath in, releasing it quietly. “Come, let’s sit.” 

She leads him to a wooden bench down the main aisle in between the trees full of ripe fruit, all looking ready to be harvested and used. 

“That place,” He starts once they’ve been seated for a moment, Klaus watching Nyxia’s profile as she basks beneath shadows and night of her own making. “What is it?” 

“It has no name,” She informs him, her voice unexpectedly soft.

She’s been so different this entire night, he wonders how long she’s been waiting for someone to just ask her these questions. Every person who’s been close enough to do it has been too scared of what wrath they may face if they did ask her about the oddities of her home, but Klaus did it because he can’t help but push people. 

“It has no name, and no one knows of it besides the ones who live there, and myself. Now, you do, too,” 

“What is the purpose of it? Why is it only women and children?” 

She takes a long moment to think about her words, and he can see the way she struggles to verbalize her thoughts because no one had ever thought to ask her before. “Just because I am darkness does not mean that I can control all that exists in this world. I can’t take away what already exists, no matter how much I wish to. That place is what I call a loophole. I have them hidden all around the world. Because I cannot erase what already exists, I must find a way to work around it. To remove the darkness I wish to see gone without violating the laws of my making.” 

“And what exactly have you been working around?” 

“Humanity,” She says simply. “With every passing decade, they tear themselves apart more and more. My loopholes exist to take people out of that chaos, of the darkness. Sometimes it’s a hungry child or a bastard,” 

Klaus glances away for a moment before forcing his gaze back to hers. 

“Sometimes it is a woman that gets sold to the highest bidder. The woman I spoke to, Theresé, was one of the first women I saved from a nearby village. Her husband was an utter brute and had killed his first wife when she had barely seen sixteen name days. Theresé was strong, but there was only so much she could do before the inevitable. So I stepped in and I proposed a hypothetical situation to her, where all she would have to do is make him dinner and serve him wine, and meet me outside of her home later that night.

“I did not think she would do it, but when the moon was high in the sky, I waited outside of her house and barely breathed until she was standing before me in one piece, with tears in her eyes and bruises on her cheek. So I told her who I was and what I wanted to do, and she said she would help me if I continued to save women who had been in her position. So I have. The girls I mentioned, Reya and Liesl. Young girls, friends since childhood. They were married off to the same man, a prince of some second-rate kingdom a few days north that had already gone through 3 wives. They have just found out they’re both pregnant, and fear raising children in the environment they live in.” 

Realization dawns on him. “You give them poison. The wine you make,” 

She hums in assent and silence falls between them once more, the princess dutifully letting Klaus turn the events of the night over and over in his head, finally slotting pieces together where they’d been misaligned for months. 

“Why?” He breathes out, his tone of disbelief earning her attention once more. “Why did you bring me there when you’ve barely spoken to me all these months? When you have known what I am and who my family is, and you knew I was suspicious from the very start, why have you just now shown me the truth?” 

Sighing, Nyxia looks down at her hands folded neatly in her lap. “I fear that my honesty is about to get me in trouble for the first time tonight.” 

“Just tell me,” He shakes his head pleadingly. “Please.” 

“Death consumes your very soul, Klaus,” Her voice takes on a distant tone, one he recognizes more than any fondness or humor she’s shown throughout the night. It’s the way she’d spoken to him since he first arrived, down to that very morning in the throne room, overlooking preparations for their wedding. “It is a fire that burns you from the inside out. And because of that fire, there is a shadow on you. And in that shadow, I exist. I see parts of you that you likely would not share with me, and for good reason.” 

Klaus can’t help the way he flinches, shifting away from her on the bench. She looks unsurprised at this particular reaction, but her fingers twitch like she’s going to reach out for him again. 

She doesn’t. 

“I have known you much longer than you have known me, and for that, I apologize. When you first arrived, I was still hesitant to believe what I had felt, and I– I am much different in the daylight. I am at my weakest when the sun is out, and that has never changed. But– other things have.” 

“Your father–”

“He is not my father,” She cuts him off, voice reverting to that cold indifference for a split second. “Once upon a time, he was a man. A king. But he was not a kind man, let alone a kind king. So I took the darkness in his mind, and I collapsed it from within. I made him hollow with it, and now he is but a puppet. A face to put on our currency, so that I may do as I please without so much attention. My people remember the cruel man, and they remember what I did for them. That is why I have their respect. Their loyalty. Trust breeds trust.” 

Klaus’s jaw clenches. “And when you decide you’re ready to become Queen one day, and I become a King, will you also make me into a puppet? Will I be nothing but a conduit of political jargon made to distract people from your loopholes?” 

Nyxia’s eyes burn, but they are dark. Almost black. 

“I did not bring you here to make you a puppet, Niklaus,” 

“Then why did you bring me here? Tell me, Nyxia. Tell me the truth.” 

“I brought you here because I want to protect you,” 

Klaus’s lip curls in a snarl and he stands up, cloak billowing around him. He turns at the feeling of a slight breeze and finds himself looking at the castle from a high distance, and he wonders if he’d been in such shock that he hadn’t noticed their uphill hike, or if this was another one of her tricks. 

Clenching his jaw, he turns to look down at her. “I do not need protecting, Princess. I have done nothing but protect myself and my family for hundreds of years.” 

“I know that, Klaus,” She spits out, looking as angry as he feels. Both of them are stubborn to a fatal degree. “But I want you to let me do it anyway!” 

Klaus lets out a harsh breath through his nose, turning to look away from her as his chest heaves with frustrated breaths. An overwhelming sense of exhaustion practically slaps him in the face as it settles over him and he finds his racing thoughts finally slowing down, seeming to process in his mind after the eventful night. 

“I understand that this has all been unexpected,” She starts, voice carefully neutral in the wake of both of their tempers. “And I will not blame you for being upset. But trust me when I say that I have your best interests in heart, for you and your family.” 

“I’m to trust you after you’ve shown me only a fraction of the truth?” 

Her soft look has shuttered away when he looks at her again. “I told you,” She whispers, voice quiet but certainly not weak with how thick it was around the emotion clenching around her windpipe. “That I was putting all of my trust into you the moment I told you what I am. The danger that I have thrust upon you and myself just by sharing all of this with you is endless. I have bared my soul to you in a single night, Klaus Mikaelson, and then you spit in my face by asking me if I am trustworthy.” 

“Nyxia,” 

She stands from the bench abruptly, pulling the hood of her cloak back up over her head. “We should go. I don’t want to run into the guards at the shift change.” 

“Nyxia, just–”

“We’re leaving,” She cuts him off, not looking back to see if he’s following after her as she stalks off towards the gates she’d opened for him, just for him, moments ago. “Either join me, or find your own way back.” 

Klaus pulls his own hood up and is quick to fall into step a few paces behind her because he isn’t nearly stupid enough to think that their easygoing atmosphere from earlier is still lingering. All because he couldn’t stop the traitorous beating of his heart and the way his skin crawled at the thought of entrusting the safety of his family to anyone else. 

She is going to be family soon enough, though. If she’ll still have him, that is. 

────── 

The tension in the castle is thick for a few days before it’s suddenly dampened with something painful. 

Rain begins to pour and does not stop for three days straight. Most foot traffic that is in and out of the castle for wedding planning is put on pause at the King’s order. Not worth risking the safety and integrity of any person or thing for one wedding. 

Klaus doesn’t see or hear from Nyxia for those three days, and on the fourth day of heavy downpours, of him being stuck in the library with his brother or listening to his sister drone on about a particularly handsome guard, he breaks. He walks the path the sentry had taken him down into the East Wing of the castle and knocks on the thick wooden door, tilting his head just to hear the heart beating faintly on the other side of it. It’s the only reason he even knows she’s alive, and he can’t stop the relief that soothes his nerves. 

It doesn’t manage to get rid of the cloud of guilt that’s been hanging above his head since that night in the orchard, nor does it make him want to turn around and leave. 

“Princess?” His voice is low, but he knows she’ll hear it if she’s listening. “I was just…” 

He trails off, unsure of what excuse to offer up for his impromptu visit. A lie, a half-truth. The whole truth. 

It’s the least he could do in return, offer her honesty. Since he threw hers right back in her face four nights ago. 

“May I come in, please?” 

Silence follows his question, but when he pushes on the door slightly, it creaks open, and he steps through as quickly as possible, not willing to take the chance that it was a fluke. He’s greeted with darkness broken up by dim firelight, and his eyes take a moment to adjust, that concern inside of him chipping away at his pride. 

“Princess?” He asks again, voice low in the dim room. His brows twitch on his forehead, pulling together. “Nyxia?” 

There’s a shift of fabric from the four-poster bed a few feet in front of him, and he can see the orange glow in the room the moment she turns to face him. 

Even in the poor lighting, he can see the sunken shadows of her face and the way the stars in her eyes have gone dull. 

“Nyxia?” He nearly gasps her name as he rushes to her bedside, dropping to his knees beside it as he takes in her sickly features. “What’s happened to you?” 

She lets out a shaky breath that sounds like it hurts. “Sometimes… sometimes I let them take too much,” 

Confusion passes over him momentarily before a realization hits him. “The loopholes… this place… it drains you, doesn’t it?” 

She nods where her head is pressed into the pillow. 

He lifts a trembling hand to her cheek, brushing invisible dirt off of her cheek. He can feel the clammy sweat tainting her skin, the fever roaring in her veins. How odd it must be to be an immortal creature taken down by something comparable to a cold. 

“Why?” He shakes his head, genuine disbelief coating the word as he watches his betrothed wheeze out a few more breaths. “Why do you let them do this? Why do you do this?” 

She smiles and there's a tired pull to it, and she leans into his touch, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. “People are so scared of me,” Her voice is impossibly soft, so unfamiliar, and yet he feels that ache in his chest, the desire to hear it more. To hear her more. “They are scared of everything. The least I can do is make my darkness feel safer.” 

He thinks it shatters something in him, to hear her grand reasoning behind everything. To hear that underneath that cold exterior, and the soft one, too, the woman before him just wants people to feel safe in her shadows. She wants them to leave behind lives of unhappiness, to not feel fear when the moon rises in the sky and stars hang over their heads. She doesn’t want them to fear the thought of a monster under their bed but rather feel protected by it. By her. 

She wants to do that for him. For his family. And he’d practically laughed in her face. 

A shame buries itself deep in him, and he finds himself lurching forward slightly, face hovering above hers to keep her attention while she loses her lucidity before his eyes. “What can I do? What can I do to make this better?” 

She reaches a hand up from beneath her blankets and rests it atop his. “Stay. Just stay with me, please,” 

He nods and holds back more words he’s simply not ready to say yet. Reluctantly leaves her side for a moment to bring a chair to her bedside, and once again intertwine their hands together. 

He watches her fall asleep and continues watching her well into the night. It doesn’t feel like a chore, or anything of the sort. He thinks he’d be content to spend a few years of his eternity just sitting here with her. 

────── 

It takes another four days for Nyxia to be able to get out of bed without feeling weak. In those days she regains a bit of that life back into her eyes, and Klaus is there to see every speck of it grow. He sees the shadows get darker again, not as faded and murky as they seemed to be when she was in the worst of it. It makes him happy in a way that he wouldn’t have ever expected it to. 

They spend those four days together in a bubble of their own, with small touches shared between each other. Lingering glances and longing looks are shared from across the dining table while they share meals with his family and the king. 

He doesn’t know if all of it means he’s forgiven for his harsh words in the orchard. He doesn’t let himself hope for anything, because he’s not sure if he deserves it after everything. 

It’s a particular train of thought he hasn’t let come to fruition for his own sanity. Instead, he’s relished in the freshly budding relationship between him and his wife-to-be. The partnership that’s being created. The friendship.

He finds himself in the library that remains hidden behind one, nondescript door that opens up to high ceilings, and endless bookshelves. The first time she’d taken him to see it, he’d spent the entire evening looking through the books, getting lost in the history books she had in her collection. 

As the days go by, he finds himself there more and more, and it seems that Nyxia’s in the same boat. 

Hands skimming against the worn spines of the books, Klaus’s mind travels near and far, and he lets his imagination run wild. It’s a rare occurrence, this vulnerability that he’s found within these walls, beneath Nyxia’s care, so he can’t be faulted for being caught off guard when a book slides out from the shelf on the other side and he snaps his gaze up to meet her amused one. 

There’s no doubt she misses the slight intake of breath he does at her sudden presence, but she gives him the grace of not saying anything about it out loud. Her face is framed between the two shelves and she grins widely, unabashedly, in the shadows of the books. “Hiding in the art history books again, Niklaus?” 

He ducks his head, glancing at the lone book he is holding in his hands, a finger shoved between pages to hold his place while he searches through other titles. Lifting his eyes back up to meet hers once more, he shrugs a shoulder, poorly feigning obliviousness. 

“It’s alright, at least I always know where I can find you,” She quickly dismisses his uncharacteristic shyness, and he’s once again grateful for it, even if he’s not sure if she does it for her own sake or his. “I wanted to ask you a question, actually, about the wedding.” 

He raises a brow, not hiding his surprise. She rarely brings the wedding up to him these days, and with the celebration in just five days, the castle staff was bustling about more than ever. Klaus only ever looked at the gold and white decor lining the throne room in passing, usually hurrying through to track Nyxia down somewhere in the castle, or dodging his brother’s increasingly personal questions about the state of his relationship with the Princess.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t thinking about the wedding, despite Nyxia rarely saying anything to him about it. He found himself wondering just how the day would transpire as it drew closer, wondered how all of the fittings he did for his garments a while back would look like in the end, and wondered endlessly about just what Nyxia would be walking down the aisle in. 

“It’s about the guest list,”

Her voice pulls him from the frequent thought and he bites the tip of his tongue in silent reprimand. Clearing his throat quietly, he looked at her. “What of it? I thought invitations were sent out months ago,” 

“They were,” She confirms, nodding once. Her voice takes on a hint of that diplomatic lilt she likes to pull out of thin air with him when she feels she’s approaching a difficult subject. It instantly puts his nerves on edge, but he tries not to get defensive. If there’s anything he’s learned with her, it’s that he’ll do nothing but regret his knee-jerk reaction to bare his teeth and snarl at the first feeling of danger coming his way. He knows just as well that Nyxia would never put him in danger on purpose. 

“I was just wondering if there was anyone you wanted to invite,” She continued, glancing away from him. “I know Rebekah and Elijah will be there, of course, but is there anyone else you want to come?” 

He’s quick to respond, barely even thinking about it. “I’ve become familiar enough with your subjects that they’re plenty for me, I think. Especially the women coming from the loophole. I’m looking forward to seeing them,” 

Her face softens with an endless fondness he’s not quite sure what to do with. Any time she offers it up to him, he does his best to just hold it gently in between them, like it was a cloud threatening to seep through his fingers and dissipate into nothingness. 

“I am as well,” She smiles briefly before her face falls back into a placating look. “But you’re sure you don’t have any friends you might not have thought of? Or any more family? I’m sure you’ve… outlived… most of your ancestors, but perhaps there’s a distant cousin that was never turned? Or your… your parents, perhaps?” 

Klaus instantly realizes the true nature of her question, and once again has to fight off the urge to snap at her and make her go away. It’s an easier path to take than explaining just why his parents won’t be in attendance at their wedding or part of their futures at all, and why he wouldn’t want them to in the first place, but he finds himself wanting to try. It’s the least he could do for her.

“No, my– my parents are no longer– an option,” He says carefully, brows furrowing as he revisits centuries-old aches and stabs of pain laced with a childish hurt. “I wouldn’t want them here even if they were.” 

Her face twists with concern before she disappears from the side of the shelf, and Klaus’s eyes widen momentarily before he hears the click of her shoes growing closer. She rounds the corner of the bookshelf swiftly, coming to stand before him with a practiced look of understanding on her face meant to convey her state of heeding. 

“You know by now that I’m a bastard,” She nods. “Even though my father was already unhappy with how I came about, it worsened when he learned my father was the leader of the werewolf pack in our village. I wasn’t just a bastard, but a monster, then, too. I faced abuse from my father my entire life, and my mother always let it happen, or encouraged it, if only to save herself from facing his wrath for her own mistakes.” 

Silently, she reaches out and grabs the book from his hand, setting it flat on the shelf in favor of grabbing his hands in hers. 

“When my youngest brother Henrik was killed by the pack my true father was a part of, my mother was overcome with the grief of losing a child and that’s when she turned us. When she made the spell to make us into these undying creatures who survive off of blood. She and Mikael killed us all and we were forced to transition when we woke.” 

Squeezing his hands, Nyxia shakes her head. “You don’t have to go on, Klaus.” 

He shakes his head, waving off her apology. “It’s alright. I want you to know the truth,” Her already soft face opens more and she takes another minute step towards him, closing the distance between them a bit more. “With everything heightened after my transition, I was so overcome with my anger that I lost control and I– I killed her. I killed my mother.”

“Nik,” 

“I regretted it as soon as I did it. And I buried her body where no one would find it, and I told my family that she was killed by our father. Because in my head, she was. She let him abuse me, she let him turn even a fraction of that hatred onto Rebekah and Elijah, and the rest of them, and I– I truly hated her for it. What good of a mother was she if she could just watch that happen to her children?” 

He clenches his jaw and tilts his head slightly, biting down the bitterness that still swims in his veins all these years later. “Mikael knew what I did, though. I don’t know how, but he always knew. And I– I don’t know what’s happened to him, I don’t know if he’s dead or alive, like us or something else, but I– I do not want him here. I wouldn’t want him here, no matter the situation. I never want someone like Mikael to find this place, because a single touch from him would destroy it all.” 

Nyxia shakes her head immediately, eyes wide and full of something that transcends simple fondness. “He wouldn’t, Niklaus. I wouldn’t let him ruin it. This is my home– this is our home. I won’t let him ruin it for you.” 

Klaus wished he could believe her. And he knows she knows that. And he knows they both know it’s truly got nothing to do with her, and everything to do with the fact that his father has ruined his life at every turn since the day he was born. It’s just what he does. He could so easily take this beautiful thing Klaus has been given and tarnish it with a single touch. 

“I had to inherit these shadows, you know?” She says suddenly, taking him off guard. “I wasn’t born with them, not really. I was born with power, I was made of this power. But in order to have them at the capacity at which they exist now, I had to wait for my mother to die. She was my best friend. But I think that made it all the worse when I had to watch her wither away through each century, until one day, she became nothing more than the night sky we came from. Afterward, I was so overcome with grief that I didn’t even acknowledge the shadows. I wanted no part of it, not without her,” 

She huffs out a small, wry laugh and shakes her head. “But they are very stubborn. They persisted, and one day, they brought me into the shadows and showed me the light that exists within them. And after that day, I started doing things differently. It’s been a long time since then, but I still remember all of those feelings like it was yesterday. And I know that because you have been given the gift and the curse of eternity just as I have, that you understand it like no one else does. So you must believe me when I say this, husband, but it will not be like this forever. And I am making you a promise now that your– that Mikael will not ever make his mark in my kingdom. You and I will live in peace for the rest of our days, with our people and no one can take that from us. Do you hear me? Do you hear me, Niklaus?” 

He nods, clenching his teeth together as he swallows around the concrete lump in his throat. “Of course. Of course I do,” 

“Good,” She nods once. “You can trust me. I swear it on my life.” 

He nods again and she offers him a small smile, like she’s wary to shift the graveness that had settled over them into something else. He jostles their conjoined hands, and her eyebrows tick together, silently coaxing his words out. 

“How did you do it?” He asks quietly. “How did you find the light when you were surrounded by the darkness?” 

Her eyes suddenly burned with ferocity, an ancient thing that had roots buried deep inside of her. A small fraction of her power. “I carved it out of the shadows with my bare hands and I did not stop until my fingers bled. Until my nails were cracked and my body screamed for me to stop. And I would do it again if it meant I kept you and your family safe. Understand that, Klaus. If nothing else, understand that I’ll bleed for you.” 

Klaus isn’t sure what to do in the face of her devotion. He feels as if it should be the other way around– him worshiping her, instead of this blood-promise she’s made to him. He isn’t sure what to do or say, but he is sure of one thing; he loves her. And he would bleed for her just as well. 

────── 

The morning of their wedding, a low hum of activity overtakes the calm of the castle and does not falter, well into the early hours of afternoon. Klaus was summoned from his rooms just minutes after the sun was up and brought to the seamstresses that he’d seen increasingly over the months and put into the intricate suit made specifically for him. 

His trousers were plain, simple, and tucked carefully into shoes that almost felt like armor. His surcoat was donned with intricate, weaving lines of gold that gleamed in the sunlight, woven into the fabric like they were the very veins in his body. Like it was a showcase of the life that flowed through him, scorching like the sun for all eternity. When he was draped with a mantle of white fur and more golden details along the draped fabric, he looked in the lone mirror before him and felt, for the first time, that he was truly a king. And just after that thought, he couldn’t help but wonder what his queen looked like. 

When he is escorted to the throne room, he can hear the dozens of heartbeats waiting on the other side of the doors before him and he only has a moment to breathe before the doors are swung open and the guests are standing, turning to face him. 

His blue eyes immediately shoot to the front of the room, where the king awaits his presence at the end of the aisle, where his brother and sister stand on either side of the large arbor, looking at him with an odd pride gleaming in their eyes. 

Bracing himself, he lifts his chin slightly and walks forward, his hands clasped in front of him as he meets the eyes of strangers, all watching him like they’re waiting for him to show his true colors. When he nears the end of the aisle, he looks over to his left and sees Theresé standing there, with a row of familiar faces lined up beside her, and he can’t stop the small twitch of his lips when she meets his gaze head-on with a smile that radiates pure excitement. 

He tears his gaze away from the women and children of the loophole and meets the king’s eyes, exchanging a nod with the man as he takes his place at the center of the room. He turns his head towards the doors he’d come through moments ago, and finds himself holding his breath as he waits for them to open once more, and reveal his bride. 

He prepares himself for the sight of her, but when the doors swing open, guards standing on either side of her, he thinks himself a fool for ever thinking he’d be prepared for the sight of her dressed in a white gown that trails behind her in a sea of golden embroidery that gleams just as his does. Like the life that burns in him also burns in her, despite the way her shadows carve out the angles of her face, the bridge of her nose. 

He knew her dress would compliment him, of course, but he hadn’t anticipated just how much it would take his breath away, to see himself standing before a kingdom, waiting for her slow, graceful steps to come to a stop as she neared him. 

Her own fur-lined mantle was just as carefully draped over her, and it went down the length of her train, the fabric moving along with her as if it were just water rippling along rocks. Slow, elegant, natural. Like she was born to be this. 

For the first time, her arms are bare before him, and the skin below her jaw is as well. Her unexpected bareness exposes things he hadn’t known were hiding beneath her long sleeves and high collars. The shadows that run in her blood wrap around her arms, weaving like vines up across her chest and down into unknown territory, still hidden from his sight and touch. He swallows roughly at the sight of the image she creates before him, her head tilted back ever so slightly just to maintain his gaze as she steps up before him, her hands immediately reaching to lay in his proffered palms. 

He can’t find his voice in time to tell her that she looks beautiful. To make vows to her before they’ve even started. 

The king clears his throat quietly, raising his hand in a silent gesture that has the guests taking their seats once more. 

“People of Riverend, we gather here to witness the joining of two souls. To celebrate a love that withstands life, death, and everything in between. A love forged in shadows and cradled by the moon, that blossoms beneath the sun. It is my honor to stand before you all and mark the start of our future here in these cherished lands beneath their incoming rule.” 

The king shifts, turning slightly to look at Klaus directly. “Lord Mikaelson, repeat after me: I offer my soul to you in exchange for yours, and vow to love and cherish you long after we return to the stars,” 

Klaus swallows and wets his lips, meeting Nyxia’s gleaming eyes. “I offer my soul to you in exchange for yours,” His voice trembles slightly, and her fingers press into his wrist, squeezing reassuringly. “And vow to love and cherish you long after we return to the stars.” 

Nyxia mirrors his swallow, seemingly biting back her own emotion. “I offer my soul to you in exchange for yours,” Her pulse stutters beneath his fingertips, and his blood burns with it. “And vow to love and cherish you long after we return to the stars.” 

“As witnessed by your people, do you both promise to serve them to the best of your abilities? To bleed with them, or for them, shall it one day be necessary? To feed and clothe them, and wash the dirt off of their feet, should they ever ask you to?” 

They both nod once. “We do,” 

The King mirrors their nod and continues. “May this marriage be protected by the powers that be. May it never bend or break, or waver in even the strongest of storms. May you both know one another’s love like no other. May the darkness protect you as it has protected others since the dawn of time,” 

The king takes in a short breath and shifts, holding his hands up for his palms to face the sunlight gleaming in through the stained glass windows. “By the power entrusted unto me, I bless this marriage for the years to come. I now pronounce you husband and wife. Lord Mikaelson, you may kiss–” 

“Stop this nonsense!” 

Gasps echo throughout the throne room and Klaus’s blood freezes as his head snaps over, his gaze locking onto his father’s immediately. 

The man at the end of the aisle takes a step forward, a mean smirk on his face. “Is it not utter blasphemy to make a king out of a bastard?” 

Klaus breathes out a breath that shudders in his lungs painfully, and he looks past Nyxia to find Rebekah standing frozen in her place, tears bubbling in her eyes at the sight of Mikael. He doesn’t need to look at Elijah to know that the man is likely boiling with barely stifled rage. 

Mikael takes another step forward and Klaus flinches back instinctively, despite the distance that stretches between them. 

The man laughs at the sight, and Klaus finally looks at Nyxia, only to find her glaring at his father like her very gaze could burn him into ash. 

“You have no business being here, Mikael,” Elijah’s voice bites out the words from behind him and he hears his brother take a step down, quick to be a buffer between him and Klaus. “Leave now, and you will not face any consequences.” 

Mikael laughs again. “And from whom would these consequences be dealt? You? Or perhaps Rebekah?” The girl flinches, tears skittering down her flushed cheeks at his ridicule. “Certainly not Klaus. He’s not capable of it.” 

“It will be me,” Nyxia’s voice rings out, firm and cold in a way that Klaus hasn’t heard it before, not even in their worst moments. “You will not speak of my husband in that manner. I’ll have your head for treason if you’re not careful.” 

“You’d take my head for him?” Mikael’s brows raise like he’s actually surprised at the prospect. “I hate to break it to you, girl, but he is nothing. He comes from no high standing, he has no riches and nothing to give you in exchange for all that you give him. Whatever he has told you in those regards is a filthy lie. That’s all he is– a liar.” 

Hot tears burn at the back of Klaus’s eyes and he struggles to find his voice again. 

Nyxia drops his hands and Klaus fronts at the loss of her touch, only to reach for her as she turns and steps towards Mikael, unwavering beneath his hateful glare. “Don’t,” He gets out, pulling her back by her arm. “Do not go near him.” 

She wrenches her arm from his hold, looking at him apologetically before she hardens her gaze once more and faces his father. “You come to my kingdom and interrupt my wedding to spew nonsense. You have the looks of a crazed man, Mikael. I should have my sentries imprison you until I find it worth my time to sentence you.” 

He grins like her words are a challenge. “I’d like to see you try, Princess,” He spits her title out and before anyone can blink, he holds the tip of a dagger beneath her chin. 

Gasps of fear ring out through the room and Klaus stumbles forward, stopped only by Elijah holding him just out of their father’s reach. “Do not touch her!” He growls out the words, black veins crawling beneath his eyes, earning a mocking chuckle from the man. 

“Don’t tell me you actually love her, Niklaus,” 

Klaus says nothing, which is answer enough, and it earns another round of derisive laughter from the man. 

“What a ridiculous thing, love,” He tsks his tongue, shaking his head as if scolding his bastard son. “Nothing but a weakness to someone like you who is already softened by his childish emotions. It’s nice to know that you’re still such a disappointment, Niklaus.” 

Klaus lunges for the man but is once again stopped by his brother. 

“Klaus,” It’s Nyxia who says his name, which calms the racing of his heart in his ears, and he looks at her desperately. “Do you trust me?” 

His brows furrow deeply, lines twisting onto his pale skin. “What?” 

She gives him another look that conveys an apology he doesn’t need, and he feels his stomach swoop with fear. 

“Nyx,” He breathes out, eyes wide as he starts to shake his head. 

She rolls her eyes away from him like it pains her to do so, and looks to his father, uncaring of the tip of the dagger digging into her chin. “I told you I would bleed for you, Klaus. And I shall.” 

She takes one long step forward and latches her hand around the handle of the dagger and digs her nails into Mikael’s skin, earning a grunt of annoyance from the man. In the blink of an eye, a cloud of black consumes them, and the last thing Nyxia hears is Klaus’s yell for her to stop. 

Her hold on Mikael falters and they fall away from each other, thrown into shadows and thrown apart in the same breath. 

It’s been centuries since she’s been here. Encased in nothingness, something that cannot even be considered night because it is so dark it does nothing but swallow the life that enters it. 

She hears Mikael’s breathing through the darkness and hears him struggle to find footing as she does the same. 

“You,” She speaks out, voice echoing into the void. Swarming around them like a crow’s call. “You have tarnished his soul. You are the darkness that exists inside of him, and I am going to rip every inch of life out of you even if it kills me.” 

“Such meaningful threats,” The man speaks back, voice tinged in that smugness that sets her nerves alight with rage. “To think that you have fallen in love with a man like Niklaus. You could have such potential if you weren’t clinging to frivolous emotions.” 

“You underestimate me, Mikael. You mock me, even now, when you are surrounded by something that does not exist without me and my power. It is your arrogance that will kill you, and I will offer your heart on a platter to my husband as a wedding gift.” 

She lunges for the sound of him in the void, grunting as they blindly swing for each other, slamming fists and swinging daggers over and over with no sign of stopping. 

She doesn’t know how long she was in this place the last time. Doesn’t know how long they’ve been here now. It could be mere seconds, it could be years. Nothing exists in this place, especially not time. 

Blood from a cut that is already healed trails down her cheek, she can feel the wetness as she brushes her fingers along her skin. She can hear Mikael’s ragged breaths, her endless onslaught of pain catching up to him. 

“He’s an abomination,” Mikael spits out. “Not just in name, but as a creature. It is not enough that he has no soul as this undead thing, but he has that mutt inside of him, waiting to be unleashed. He doesn’t deserve to live.” 

“You don’t get to decide that,” She bites back, lips curling in a snarl. “But I do. And he will live with me until the Earth takes its last breath. And you will never take anything from him again, so long as I am at his side. You will never hurt your children again. I am taking back the darkness that is inside of you. I am taking the very air from your lungs,”

She tackles him blindly, knees pinning him down as she presses her hands roughly down onto his chest, her fingertips itching with heat as she does exactly that. “You will know pain like you’ve never known before where you are going. And with everything in me, I swear that I will not let there be a day that goes by that you do not suffer.” 

The shadows that warm her skin crawl as she takes his life little by little, and she can feel his breaths begin to shallow with every word she speaks. 

“Let your last thought on this Earth be the knowledge that I love your son, Mikael. And not even you can take that from him.” 

A scream tears from her throat as she lifts her hands off of his chest and slams them back down, his body disappearing beneath her as if it had never existed. A burst of energy explodes from her and she nearly falls onto her face, catching herself on her hands and knees as it blows around her like a gust of wind. 

She grits her teeth, trying to catch her breath as the void grows smaller around her, trying to swallow her whole as it had Mikael. But she had let it have Mikael. She would not let it have her. Not when she had something to go back to. Someone. 

“No,” She bites out, jaw clenched tight enough that her bones creak. “You will let me go back.” 

She digs her nails into the nothingness beneath her hands, skin scraping off at the fight it puts back. She lifts her hands from the void and brings them back down, clawing at it like a rabid animal. 

“Let me out,” She says. Demands. “Let me out!” 

Her voice echoes on a yell and she feels a scream build deep in her chest as she clenches her hands into fists and brings them down onto the ground, and she can feel it begin to crack beneath her force. 

The ache in her hands grows with each hit but she doesn’t stop, doesn’t let up, not even as the first cracks of light bleed through. 

With just that sliver of light, she can see the broken skin of her hands and it’s such a guttural reminder of her past that she raises her hands once more and brings them down onto the shattering void with a strength she did not know she possessed. 

All at once she is thrown out of the darkness and she flinches at the burst of brightness that encases her so suddenly. The sound of startled gasps and fearful noises makes her stumble and she tries and subsequently fails to get to her feet, her bloodied hands smearing along the pristine white aisle she had walked down. 

Arms encase her and she turns her head to meet Klaus’s gaze as he pulls her into his chest, eyes wide in fear at the sight of her blood, no doubt mixed with some of Mikael’s that likely splattered onto her at some point in their tussle. 

“Where did you go? What did you do?” He breathes out, eyes brimming with tears. “Where is Mikael?” 

She lets out a shuddering noise as she clings to him, staining his surcoat with blood. “I took it back,” She grits her teeth, fire burning in her eyes for a split second before her exhaustion wipes it out. “I took my darkness back from him, and I turned him into nothing.” 

Klaus makes a noise of grief that she knows is not for his father, but for the thought of her doing something he knows weakens her. 

“I’m alright,” She assures him, finally looking past him at her kingdom that watches on warily. “I’m alright, I promise.” 

Klaus holds onto her tighter like he’s scared she’ll disappear again, and she lets him as exhaustion weighs her down. 

She smiles suddenly, breathless and hopeful. “We aren’t finished here,” Her eyes shift to the king, who hurries towards them, kneeling slightly. “We were interrupted.” 

Klaus mirrors her smile, much more reserved even as his fear dissolves. “We were, weren’t we?”

“Finish it,” She looks up at the king from her place in Klaus’s lap in the aisle. “Please, finish it.” 

The king barely takes a moment before he lets his voice carry like he had before, unwavering as if nothing had happened at all. “Without further ado, Lord Mikaelson, you may kiss your bride.” 

Klaus barely lets him finish speaking before he kisses her, stealing the breath from her lungs as she gasps into it. Starlight burns in her and she raises her hand to gently cup his cheek, pulling him into her for one hard press of their lips before she pulls away, letting her hand fall from his cheek to rest against his heart. 

She turns her face into his neck and whispers into his skin, her breath making goosebumps grow in its wake. “My name,” She says. “I want you to have it.” 

He echoes it back to her softly, like he’s cradling it in his hands, and she looks up at him with stars in her eyes. 

The king speaks from above them, an excitement laced in his voice as he lifts his hands above his hand. “It is my honor to introduce to you for the first time, the Prince and Princess of Riverend!” 

Cheers burst around them, and Klaus dips his head down to hide his smile in her hair, and she clings to him just a bit tighter, her eyes fluttering. 

“Let us celebrate!” The king exclaims, another round of cheers echoing after his words. 

She pulls back slightly to look at Klaus, smiling. “I love you, Klaus,” 

He lets out a breath like she’s knocked it out of him. “I love you,” He hesitates before saying her name like he’s worried she’ll take it back from him. “I'll love you until the end of time. Never doubt that." 

"I won't." 

[sunnyhvnny]

It’s not my usual toxic four but switching the Aegons makes sense. (Also, thank you! I'm glad you enjoy my writing I thrive off of compliments)

Tw: Breastfeeding, mentions of child death, mentions of suicide

Maegor Targaryen (The Cruel)

Maegor is never seen without his newborn daughter. Whether he is in the nursery with her or taking her with him when he goes to small council meetings. It’s guilt, he thinks. Many of his wives had been able to carry the babes he put in them but in the end, the child never survived, while his wives did. The mother of his daughter did not have the same fate. She had blessed Maegor with a living and healthy child of his own, only for her to pass away a few short hours after giving life to her child.

When he looks down at his little Aelora, he sees her mother. He knows it’s a trick of the mind because she resembles him in most ways. He was fond of Aelora’s mother. It wasn’t love. He had married her for the same reason he married most of his wives and that was to give him children, but that didn’t mean that in the years that she had been around he hadn’t found an easy companionship with her.

He still goes to his other wives at night, in hopes that his seed might stick and they would give him a child. After all, only one child for the King is a precarious situation.

On a night, he doesn’t visit any of his other wives in bed and instead stands over the cot holding his little girl that he truly notices her for the first time. He had vaguely been aware of his child’s wet nurse but he hadn’t given her much thought. That was until she walked into quiet room just as his daughter had started to squirm and fuss. She had lifted her gently to her breast and angled away from Maegor as she nursed his child.

Maegor watched her the entire time and wondered how he hadn’t been more aware of her. She was gentle with Aelora, singing a song too soft for him to make out the words as she stroked the little tufts of silver hair. He had forbidden his other wives to care for his child. Feeling as though it would be a betrayal to the woman who had died bringing Aelora into the world. As he watched the wet nurse soothe the fussing baby and smile as she suckled from her, Maegor realized that he was only depriving his daughter of a mother.

He didn’t stop his curious eyes from trailing down the woman’s figure. From what he could see through her rough and old dress, she had soft curves that Maegor wanted to grab ahold of. It was hard not to stare at her breasts, they were supple and full. Maegor also couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t flinch away from him or seem afraid to be in his presence like many of the people in the Red Keep.

He said nothing to her as she placed his daughter back into her cot and tied her dress up. He only inclined his head in acknowledgment as she curtsied and left the room. He watched as she walked out and decided to ask his Master of Whispers about the woman.

The following night, they were in the same positions again. Him standing beside his daughter's cot and the wet nurse feeding her. The only difference was that now he knew about her past and how she ended up in the Red Keep. He looked on as she rocked the little girl and wondered if she pretended that it was the child that was taken from her.

His Master of Whispers had informed him that she had come to the Red Keep after her parents had taken her newborn daughter from her. Claiming that a woman without a husband was unfit to raise a child. She had become pregnant from a stranger after spending a year in The Blue Pearl, trying to help her family get out of debt.

He thought of the woman in front of him in a whorehouse, selling herself to men and women she didn’t know to help her family, and found himself hardening at the thought. Not just because he wanted to know what she looked at felt like beneath that disgusting gown but because this was a woman who would do anything for her family and he admired that.

When she goes to leave again, this time he stops her with an arm around her waist. She doesn’t meet his eye as he looks at her hungrily but she doesn’t pull away either. “I would like for you to go to my chambers. I want you naked and ready for me when I arrive but if you are not, I will not push the subject and we will forget that this happened.”

She nodded and Maegor waited a few minutes before going to his rooms. He wouldn’t have given any other woman he lusted after a choice in the matter but there was something gentle and different about her that he didn’t want to change by forcing himself onto her.

When he walked through the doors of his chambers, he saw her. She was folding her dress and placing it on the table in the room. She stood in front of him naked and unashamed as he took her in. He was right, her curves were plentiful and he wasted no time in going to her and grabbing her hips, pulling her against him. Her full breasts pressed against his chest as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. He leaned down and captured her mouth. He lifted her against him and carried her to his bed.

He spent the entire night fucking her, feeling her soft skin against his as he ground his hips against hers. Her soft gasps and moans filled the room as he took her in every conceivable way.

He fell asleep buried inside of her, preventing his seed from leaking out of her wet tight cunt. When he awoke the next day, with his large hand cradling one of her breasts and himself hard again, he had decided to act on a thought that had been plaguing him since he first saw her interacting with his child.

He woke her by thrusting lazily into her. He knew she was awake enough to listen to him when she ground her hips back against him. He kissed her shoulder and whispered to her his plan to marry her. She had only nodded her head and reached behind her to dig her hand into his silver hair.

Before the moon could complete its cycle he had taken her as another wife of his. As he carried her over his shoulder with her giggling the whole time he knew this marriage was different. He did not care if she bore his children, although he would like to see her swollen with his babe very much, he only cared that she was his wife and that she was happy to be so.

When they stopped by the nursery before going to her new chambers, to see his daughter, he watched as his new wife cooed down at the little girl and realized that what made this marriage different was love. He loved her.

Daemon Targaryen

It had started out as purely physical for Daemon. She was a wet nurse, a servant, someone that was there to take care of the needs of him and his family.

He had noticed her when she was brought to Dragonstone to nurse his youngest son, Viserys. She was a vision, even in the garb that the servants had to wear. It wasn’t long until after one particular fight with his wife, he found himself in the room of the new wet nurse. She hadn’t protested as he ordered her to remove her clothes. She hadn’t squirmed or blushed when Daemon climbed on top of her. Instead, she moaned and ground up to meet his thrusts as he fucked her.

After that night, he had found himself in her bed more than his wife’s. If Rhaenrya had noticed, she hadn’t said anything and pointedly ignored it when Daemon would watch her heavy tits as she walked by him. It doesn’t take long for their physical relationship to turn into something different. He finds himself waiting in the nursery, playing with Aegon, his young son, and keeping an eye on Viserys until the wet nurse enters. When she does, Daemon says nothing and only watches her as she feeds his child.

It’s a rather intimate act, he finds. She must think so as well because it’s one of the few times her eyes flutter away from him as she blushes. When his older boy falls asleep on the settee in the nursery and Viserys is comfortable in his cot, he leads the beautiful woman out of the nursery and into his room. It’s late and most of the castle is asleep, his own wife sleeping in her chambers again. He asks her to stay with him for the night and tries to hide the surprise he feels when she agrees.

Nothing happens at first, he only wraps his arms around her and pulls her back to his chest so they can fall asleep peacefully. It seems the woman in his bed has other plans, though, as she wiggles her rear against his barely clothed cock and within minutes he’s buried deep inside of her. The sounds of her moans and the slamming of the bed against the stone wall are so loud he wouldn’t be surprised if anyone awoke but if they did, they do not interrupt him as he spills his seed inside of her warm cunt over and over again that night.

After a few days, that night is mainly forgotten. Daemon doesn’t want to reflect on his moment of weakness where he found not just lust but intimacy and comfort in a servant. She seems to catch onto his sudden tonal change because she no longer glances his way and goes about her duties attending to his sons. It’s only after two moons have passed that she meekly goes to the princess and informs her that the young prince Viserys will no longer take her milk.

Daemon is there when she delivers the news and thinks nothing of it. While he doesn’t want this woman who has shared his bed with him to leave, he knows that it would be no effort at all to find a new wet nurse for his son. Perhaps he could convince Rhaenyra that she is still needed. Perhaps as a handmaid to one of his daughters.

It’s only when his wife asks the young woman if she has been to see the maester that has taken residence at Dragonstone, that he tunes back into the conversation. He hadn’t thought about that. If his son has suddenly stopped nursing from her, perhaps she may be sick without knowing it.

She nods and hesitantly looks at Daemon before turning her head to the floor and informing the princess that the maester told her that the young prince would not take her milk because she is with child again. Daemon can see the moment that his wife freezes at the realization that her husband has impregnated the woman that stands before her.

Feeling the tension begin to rise, Daemon stands and ushers the young woman out of the room. He tells his wife that he’ll handle it and brings her to her small room. For the first time since he has seen her, she looks small. Her eyes are red and she’s a shade of grey. He knows that it isn’t only the unplanned babe that he put inside her that is making her act like this. After all, when he was younger many women had come to him after he had bedded them and begged for help, claiming that he left a babe in their womb. Some had cried, some had raged and some had only asked for money and to never see him again. The woman in front of him now looks like a ghost.

Before he has to ask her again, her story begins to tumble out of her mouth. He learns that she was close to giving birth to her child, alone as her family had abandoned her after her husband had spread rumors that she was a whore and would spread her legs for any man with a silver coin, and that the babe that started to grow inside of her wasn’t his. Her husband had fallen into the cups and her parents wouldn’t talk to her, so when she went into labor early there was no one there to help her and her child was born small and silent.

She sniffles as she tells him that she can’t go through that again and that she rather throws herself into the sea than watch as she kills another child of hers. Daemon does his best to soothe her and when she finally calms down, he has her wrapped in his arms and reassures her quietly and soothingly that she won’t be alone.

As the moons pass and she grows larger with his child, Daemon makes sure that any duties of hers can be pushed onto someone else. Another wet nurse is brought in to feed his young son and he doesn’t give her a second look as all of his attention is on the woman carrying his babe. The maester had suggested bed rest and so Daemon finds himself in her chambers, keeping her company. He tells her stories of his youth and of his daughters. His life in Pentos and finally settling down here at Dragonstone. For each of his stories, she shares a happy one from her childhood and soon they find themselves bonding and growing a connection stronger than Daemon thought possible.

He knows his wife isn’t happy that a woman carrying her husband's bastard is living in her home but Daemon refuses to hear any complaint when it comes to this.

On a rainy night, on a day where at any moment she could start her labors, she grasps Daemon’s hand suddenly and looks at him pleadingly. She begs for him to care for the child if she dies in the birthing bed and if it is the other way and her child dies, he asks him to not stop her if she attempts to take her own life. Daemon shakes his head at her requests but she only squeezes his hand tighter and forces him to agree. It leaves a bitter taste in his mouth when he says the words but he knows she will have no relief until she tells her what she wants to hear.

A few hours later, her labors begin and Daemon is ushered out of the room by a group of midwives and a maester. He passes the halls as he hears his paramour scream and cry and it isn’t until his sweet daughter Rhaena, comes to sit with him. He wonders why this time is so different. He wasn’t as panicked when his darling Leana birthed him his twin girls or when Rhaenrya brought Aegon and Viserys into the world, so why was his heart racing at his lover in the childbed.

After a few hours, his other daughter, Baela emerges from the room with a smile on her face and beckons her father in. He is met with the stench of blood and sweat and immediately thinks the worst. That is until he hears cooing from the other side of the room and sees his young lover in bed holding a bundle. He takes quick strides toward her and their child and smiles down at them. He kisses her on her still-soaked forehead and she smiles dazedly back at him. He then looks at the bundle in her arms and sees his child. Silver hair like his and large violet eyes that blink up curiously at him.

“I was thinking that perhaps we could name him Aerion?” She asks, hesitantly and Daemon can only nod and take the newborn in his arms. He doesn’t register as Baela places a dragon egg into his new son's cradle or the bustling of the midwives.

He can only look at the woman who used to only think of as a servant and kiss her soundly on the lips before pulling back slightly to whisper something only she could hear, “you did an excellent job, my love.”

Aegon II Targaryen

Aegon doesn’t know her story. He had never cared to ask. He was fine with watching her as she came to nurse little Maelor.

He had noticed her almost immediately. He was never one to partake in his children’s lives but one random day he found himself in the nursery. Truth be told, he was most likely hiding and hadn’t thought of the room he slipped into until his twins had run and latched onto his legs. He stood frozen, not sure what to do. He looked up for help and saw her, the dress unlaced in the front and his infant son latched to her large milky breast. He had decided to stay longer than he had originally intended to after seeing her.

When he finds himself in the nursery, he always makes sure it’s when Helaena won’t be there. He may not love her in the way a husband should but he doesn’t want her to see him eyeing another woman in front of her.

When one of the servants comes for the twins to take them away to play in the gardens, Aegon is left with the beautiful wet nurse. Her face warms at his heavy stare and she keeps her gaze on the infant in her arms as he nurses from her. Aegon watches the whole thing and finds his mouth dry. All of the fantasies he had when Helaena was pregnant but was never able to fulfill started to come roaring up as he watched the wet nurse. He wondered how it would feel to wrap his lips around her nipples and suck, drinking from her as she brushed his hair from his face and whispered softly in his ear.

Aegon is shaken out of his daydreaming when the wet nurse places Maelor in the cot after he had dozed off. She bows respectfully before trying to leave but Aegon quickly grabs her forearm. She looks down at him and he asks quietly for her to sit with him. Just for a moment, in case his son wakes, he lies, but it does the trick and she sits beside him with her hands folded neatly in her lap.

It doesn’t take long for him to convince her to untie the top of her gown. He knows that he’s abusing his privileges as the prince but ever since he saw her doing her job, he had wanted to wrap his mouth around her darkened nipples and suck. When she pulls the last tie free, Aegon doesn’t hesitate in pulling her heavy breasts free. He meets her eyes and is surprised to find acceptance and something softer in her gaze that he can’t quite place. He leans down and latches onto her breast. He sucks softly at first and then when the liquid starts to flow, he feels like a man in the desert and she is his oasis.

Despite the fact that anyone looking in from the outside would take one look at the pair of them and think of this as a sexual act, it wasn’t. Not when she brought her hand up to his hair and scratched his scalp soothingly as milk dribbled from the side of his mouth. She whispered soft words and reassurances and he hummed against her. He felt warm, light, and comfortable in her hold.

After that first night, it had become a habit for the two of them to stay together after his son fell into a milk-induced sleep, and have the wet nurse pull out her milky breasts for Aegon to drink from. As the nights passed, the more comfortable they became together, and more often than not, Aegon found himself falling asleep against her before he had finished. She would only hush him and kiss his forehead as she pulled her nipple from his mouth.

It had started something curious he wanted to try and then into a nightly comfort but as it continued, and he started to take in her reactions, he began to wonder if it comforted her as well.

One night, Aegon doesn’t fall asleep against her and instead asks her a question that has been on his mind as his son continued to grow. What would happen to her when his son no longer needed a wet nurse? What would she do when her milk dried up?

She smiled at him warmly, but it didn’t hide the sadness in her eyes. That was the night she finally told him about her stillborn babe. How she was already an unmarried woman and carrying the child of a man she hadn’t known had only made people look down on her. She spoke wistfully when she told him about how excited she was to not be alone anymore when she gave birth to her child. The excitement quickly turned into sorrow and deep depression when the babe came out blue and cold and without a single cry.

She told him that a friend of hers was a servant in the Red Keep and found her a place in the castle where she could be a wet nurse. Where she could pretend for a little while that the babe that fed at her breast was the one she lost.

She looked at Aegon and smiled sadly. “I imagine that when Maelor no longer needs a wet nurse or my milk dries up, I will either be thrown out or offered a position as a normal servant.”

Aegon frowned as she spoke. He had grown close with her, safe and loved by her. He didn’t wish for her to leave him when his son no longer needed her. He thought that perhaps he could fill his wife with another babe perhaps but as much as Helaena loved their children, he knew she dreaded him going to her bed.

Without thinking, Aegon kissed the wet nurse for the first time. She hummed against his lips and returned his kiss immediately. Her lips tasted sweeter than her milk, Aegon thought as he dipped his tongue into her mouth. She opened her mouth slightly wider and allowed him to push her onto her back. He had grown to care for her and he refused to let her go.

He would give her a child, he decided. She longed for one of her own and Aegon longed to keep her around. Her milk wouldn’t dry up if she was carrying his child, he rationalized as he pulled himself out of his trousers and spread her legs. She was panting heavily under him and had pulled her breasts out of her dress again. Aegon leaned down and kissed both nipples softly before he thrust into her heat. When he was pushed into the hilt and had his mouth around her soft flesh, he wondered if perhaps this was love. If it was, it was not something he would let go of without a fight.

Aemond Targaryen

It doesn’t take long for Aemond to see how good the woman is with his infant. She was only meant to come and nurse his son and then leave and go about her other duties but he often caught her humming to him as the babe suckled milk from her. His two other children had taken a liking to her as well, and would often talk about whatever their young minds had fixated on that day. Aemond watched as she nodded and listened to them with a smile on her face.

His previous wife had rarely given their children the time of day. She had them out of a sense of duty and after they had entered this world with a loud cry, she refused to look upon their sweet faces, instead gesturing for the midwives to hand the children to her husband. Aemond had taken the children gladly. Loving them since the moment they were conceived and it hurt him to know that their own mother didn’t care for them. After the birth of their most recent son, Aelyx, she disappeared in the middle of the night. Most likely with the knight she often shared looks with. It didn’t matter much to Aemond, he had only been worried for his children, but they had barely noticed their mother’s absence and quickly latched onto the beautiful wet nurse.

It doesn’t take long for Aemond to ask her to stay around when he visits his children in the nursery. He visits them every day after he is done training and most of the time the servants and wet nurse would leave so he could be alone with his children, but he found her presence comforting. His two children seemed happy for her to join their special time with their father. As he held his infant son so his other two could cling to her legs and demand stories from her. Aemond couldn’t keep the smile off of his face at the giggles from his children or the silly voices of the wet nurse as she told them story after story. She eventually caught his smile over their heads and returned it with one of her own.

Soon, he doesn’t just ask for her to stay when the children are around. After Aelyx has fallen asleep after a feeding and she goes to leave for the night, Aemond asks for her to stay and keep him company. She looks hesitant and Aemond knows why. He reassures her that he just wants company as he sits by the fire and that he doesn’t wish to be alone. She indulges him and takes the seat across from him.

It’s on one of the many nights that they sit in silence, just enjoying each other's company that Aemond asks her how she came to be a wet nurse in the Red Keep.

For a moment, he thinks he won’t receive an answer. An anxious seizes him just for a second as he starts to think that their companionship has been one-sided. He can’t really blame her if she doesn’t tell him. There’s a chance that what he asked for could have a deeply personal answer.

Just when he thinks she has chosen to ignore his question, she looks over at little Aelyx, whose safe and asleep in his cot beside Aemond’s bed, and begins to talk. She tells him quietly about her husband and daughter. How they were a happy and loving family, and how she was even expecting another child by the Spring when the Shivers ran rampant through the city. Her tears glisten with tears as she goes on about how her husband and daughter were lost to it and she had hoped that the Stranger would take her too so that she may be with her family again, but had only taken her unborn child instead of her.

She wipes a few stray tears from her cheeks and finally looks at Aemond and he is startled to find that tears had begun to form in his own eye. He couldn’t begin to imagine losing his own children.

She continued, telling him that after the city was washed clean of the sickness and she was healthy once again, her breasts were still full of milk and ready to feed the child that she lost. She tells him of how men from the Red Keep had come to the city and how she hadn’t thought twice about it before taking them up on their offer to leave her now empty home and work in the bustling castle.

Aemond doesn’t say anything when she finishes her story. He doesn’t think there is anything he can say to her that could possibly heal the wounds of her past, so he only reaches over and places his hand on top of hers. She smiles sadly at him and he feels a deep sadness, one that he never thought he’d ever feel.

Eventually, she leaves for the night and Aemond is left still sitting in front of the warm fire. He doesn’t notice as the hours go by and the sun breaks over the horizon. He’s so lost in his thoughts that he can’t think about anything but her. The more his mind wanders back to her the more he begins to realize that he’s fallen in love for his son’s sweet and tragic wet nurse. He can’t remember ever feeling this way before for someone. When he married his wife, he had hoped that duty would eventually lead to love but it never did.

The feeling in his chest, though, when he thinks of the woman’s kind smile and the way she’s soft and stern with his children. How she looks at him with kindness and not pity or fear. Well, that feeling is a whole new monster.

He decides to resolve it when the Red Keep starts to wake. He’ll go to his mother and inform her of his intentions on marrying the wet nurse. Yes, she is a servant but he has already done his duty and provided children from a highborn Lady. A Lady who disappeared one night and who no one knows if she is alive or dead. Meaning, he is free to marry whomever he wishes.

He can only hope that when he tells his love of his plans on marrying her, she is happy because he doesn’t think he can have another woman shackled to him that does not love him.

[sunnycanvas]

and what about Baldwin and his wife having married (because of their parents and politics) as children, but not sharing a (first) kiss until he returned from his Great Victory at 16?

We were both young when I first saw you

I close my eyes and the flashback starts

Queen (Y/N) fondly looks at painting .She is old and gray now. She strokes the painting with tears running down her eyes. She smiles and closes her eyes when she remembers that fateful day

I'm standin' there

On a balcony in summer air

The little girl was bored out her mind. She was on the balcony of palace as she put her hand on her cheek. Just then the little girl heard giggles and looked down and saw bunch of boys mocking her. A boy bright blue eyes and blonde hair stood out the most,"Oo! Look at her face". The boys squished their face opposing her mocking her posture. The little girl hurt cried out "Wait, when I get down there" "I will show you how strong I am!" The boys loving her reaction say "Oo! The little girly wants to fight The little girl with tears in her eyes ran away crying

"What a shame, she left"

"Yeah, it was fun mocking her but unfortunately she left"

"Man, I am bored now" "What should be playing next"

"Oh, I know" said the boy with bright blue eyes and blonde hair. "How about we play a game where we pinch each other to find out who is the strongest". The boys scoffed and rolled their eyes annoyed "How boring"

"Yeah! Suggest something else". The boy with bright blue eyes and blonde hair smirks and says don't forget who is the prince. His friends grumbled and finally agreed. While they were playing the little girl came to them and said "See I came down just like I said I challenge you to play with me as well" . The boys let out mischievous smile and agreed to her request "Atleast we all can overpower her" "Yeah, she looks weak" while the boy with bright blue eyes and blonde hair smiled and muttured "Silly girl" Just as they expected the girl wasn't able to bear the pain. The prince feeling sorry for the girl decided to step in. "I shall protect her, anyone who wants to hurt her has to go through me first" his friends taking their opportunity pinched the prince but nothing happened. Unknown to them a man working under William of tyre observed everything and decided to inform him. The prince finally turned to look behind to see the girl but unfortunately she had already left.

"Baldwin, your teacher is calling you"

See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns

See you make your way through the crowd

And say, "Hello"

Little did I know

It was the prince's birthday. Her father and king greet each other. King Almaric I addressed his son and said "Baldwin, meet your betrothed"

"Me and her father decided that you will marry her".

The little girl shyly poked out her head behind her father. Her father chuckled and said "Please forgive my daughter for she is shy" "Introduce yourself dear" The girl shyly looked at the prince and said "My name is (Y/N)". The prince said "My name is Baldwin". Baldwin shyly came forward and said "Here are some flowers as an apology for yesterday" "Please forgive me, my teacher scolded me and said a true knight protects and honours the lady and doesn't hurt her". (Y/N) astonished by beautiful flowers said "That's alright, besides you protected me afterwards".

"Really, what happened" inquired (Y/N)'s father. (Y/N) smiled and said "We were pinching game with the prince protecting me afterwards, while fighting the other boys he felt no pain" . Baldwin IV beamed in reply not noticing how pale (Y/N)'s father became.

That you were Romeo, you were throwin' pebbles

And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"

"I can see why the king was desperate to get you betrothed". "I can't back away now since I already accepted it and it could be dangerous but stay away from him" "He is a leper and he will die soon and might get you infected as well". (Y/N) and her father heard sound of pebbles hitting the window. They both went out and saw the Prince Baldwin with few knights. Noticing her father one of the knight commanded "The prince has requested that his betrothed come down and play with him." (Y/N)'s father reluctantly let her go not before warning her about the prince's disease.

And I was cryin' on the staircase

Beggin' you, "Please don't go,

Baldwin IV approached his betrothed with no expression on his face. "I have been just informed about my diesease" "My father says this disease is god's vengeance against the saracens, if it's true I call it unfair" Baldwin IV chuckled as he said the last statement. He soon went into deep thought and you suddenly noticed how beautiful his bright blue eyes are, you unconsciously leaned forward but Baldwin IV closed your mouth with his hand. "I am aware now your father is upset about the engagement, I understand his sentiment and think it's best we annul it"

and I said

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone

I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run

You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess

It's a love story, baby,l just say, "Yes"

(Y/N) cried when she heard those words and Baldwin IV immediately regretted saying those words. (Y/N) cried and said"Please don't say that, I really want to marry you and don't worry about annulment" "Father says he can't do anything about it since it's already agreed upon" "We will soon marry each other" "You are the prince and I'll be the princess" "Please don't leave me" "Let's meet again secretly so that I can convince you" (Y/N) hiccuped since she cried so much. Baldwin IV wanted to wipe of her tears but retorted in last moment. He asked rather confused "You would purposely marry a leper and be known as leper's wife". (Y/N) in tears nodded her head signalling her acknowledgement. Baldwin IV smiled and said "Silly girl"

So I sneak out to the garden to see you

We keep quiet, 'cause we're dead if they knew

So close your eyes

Escape this town for a little while, oh oh

Late at night (Y/N) wears a hood as dark as night and sneakily goes out of her manor with the help of king's gaurd. "Baldwin" smiled the girl and went in for a hug but the prince signalled her to stop so with heartbroken expression she stopped. "My father is worried that your family with their influence of their power will break our engagement and get you to marry someone else" "Hence, they have asked me to assist you to come out of your manor and called a priest here to get you to marry me now". (Y/N) looked at her left and suddenly saw a priest looking at the prince with disapproved reaction. "My lord" said the priest. "You must know how important this marriage is for the betterment of the kingdom". However Baldwin IV paid no heed to priest's word and said "It's your choice, according to the law of church nobody can force you to marry against your will" "Not even the priest". (Y/N) with determined expression said "I will marry, for us and the kingdom" . The priest smiled and said "That's a smart girl". "I can see she will befitting queen our Kingdom needs". (Y/N) looked at prince Baldwin IV and asked "When will I get to touch you". Baldwin IV smiled at responce saying "When miracles will happen, then only I can trust god's plan for me and let me touch"

Romeo, save me, they're tryna tell me how to feel

This love is difficult, but it's real

Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess

It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"

Oh, oh

Years growing up it had been difficult for (Y/N) and Baldwin IV. She came to be known as leper's wife. Baldwin IV although was kind and respectful to (Y/N) didn't allow her to get too close. Worried that she will get infected like him. As for her family and relatives, (Y/N) had been labelled as disgrace. Although they appeared kind to her in public especially when she became queen. She knew about their deep rooted hatred for her and how she had become subject to pity as well as mockery among people. (Y/N) didn't care as long as she had Baldwin IV as her husband. He had been kind and devoted to her that is until oneday......

I got tired of waiting

Wonderin' if you were ever comin' around

My faith in you was fading

When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said

"Must you leave" (Y/N) said tears in her eyes. Baldwin IV looked at his wife sorrowfully and said "Honey, I don't want to leave you". "I don't want to leave you behind but this day was bound to come sooner or later". "You knew the day you married a leper". (Y/N) in tears aggressively held Baldwin IV shoulder and said "I never knew you would go to battlefield". Baldwin IV sighed and said "I have duty to my crown, God has entrusted me to protect my people as king" "I can't do that". (Y/N) hurriedly said "Let me come with you".

"No" retorated Baldwin IV. "You are currently a queen regent and you will protect the kingdom in my absence".

"Besides it's too dangerous for you"

(Y/N) sighed tiredly and said "Atleast promise me to come back alive".

"I promise" said Baldwin IV

Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone

I keep waiting for you, but you never come

Is this in my head? I don't know what to think

Queen (Y/N) waited day and night for her lord husband and took care of the kingdom as if they were her children. No news of her husband came and (Y/N) gradually got worried. Especially knowing that Baldwin IV army was much smaller compared to Salahuddin. (Y/N) prayed that her husband would come back alive and safe to stay by her side again. As days passed by, so did (Y/N) mental health. While she excelled in her work. No court gossip could hide the fact that the queen was in constant state of melancholy for the arrival of her husband.

And I said

You'll never have to be alone

I love you and that's all I really know

"Baldwin" exclaimed (Y/N) happily. There stood her husband bloodied but alive with no serious injury in front of her. (Y/N) rushed forward for a hug but stopped last moment "S-sorry you wouldn't like that" instead she was shocked with what happened next. Baldwin IV kissed her properly on her lips. Baldwin IV tongue completely dominated (Y/N) tongue. Baldwin IV still unsatisfied angled his head to kiss his beloved deeper. (Y/N) soon had difficultly in breathing and gasped her shoulder tightly."Silly girl, going for a hug". "God has finally shown me favour" "We won battle of Montingsard" . "Now" Baldwin IV voice lowered dangerously and her checked out his wife and said looking at her for top to bottom. "I can do everything I want". "Come my love let me worship you on bed".

'Cause we were both young when I first saw you

(Y/N) smiled as she remembered that day and touched the painting which depicted romanticised picture of king and queen meeting after Battle of Montingsard. (Y/N) yawned and went to sleep clutching the painting.

"My love". The king old and tired said, He foundly looked at his wife and said "You are so beautiful". Suddenly he realised that his wife had been clutching the painting". "Silly girl, missing me again". The king kissed (Y/N) forehead and went to sleep beside her.

Romeo and Juliet by Taylor Swift

[pjohoo-reclists]

Percy Jackson & Triton Fic Recs

A list of fic recommendations with Percy and Triton's relationship as brothers.

Wait, No, Stop! by PunkFlame

G | 1.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton

Seafam, Brotherly Bonding, Mer Percy Jackson

"I'll go and tell Father, or better yet, Mother, that you're abandoning your precious baby brother in his time of need." The Crown Prince froze and immediately whipped back around, and stared his brother dead in the eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

A Pain in My Ass by PunkFlame

Not Rated | 1.1k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton

Seafam, Brotherly Bonding, Fluff

Triton froze then jolted forward. He zoomed towards him, grabbed him by the shoulders, and spun him back around. "Don’t say that. Take it back."

Questions Unanswered by EclecticPhoenix

G | 1.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton

Brotherly Bonding, Triton is a Good Sibling, Fluff and Angst

Triton never gave much thought to his bastard half-brother. Not after their first meeting. It was supposed to be an easy job to lend a helping hand as a favor to one of his oldest friends. It also worked out perfectly because Triton needed a small break. He did not expect to meet the demigod that had the divine world wound up.

Zoo Day by PunkFlame

G | 1.5k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton

Brotherly Bonding, Insecurity, Hurt/Comfort

"I am unsure as to how much you know about me and my myths." "Only a bit," He admitted, "But I tend to build my knowledge off of first hand encounters, rather than some old texts." Triton nodded, "Did you know that I had a daughter?" Percy drew his eyebrows together, "Had?" "Her name was Pallas."

ευσεβή αδέρφια by GravityEffect17

G | 1.6k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Poseidon

Abused Percy Jackson, Good Parent Sally Jackson, Good Sibling Triton

Triton has a mortal sibling. His father broke his oath.. Triton should dislike his sibling. But...He can't. Watching the child crying themselves to sleep. Triton couldn't hate them.

the waters connect them, unseen by Nightingale231

T | 2.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Poseidon & Triton

Family Fluff, Good Sibling Triton, Atlantis

Delphin doesn't know how they're doing it, but somehow it works. He can see Prince Perseus' body change a little, pink and blue scales bubbling just under his skin as King-prince Triton forces him to own up to his heritage. They are so similar in their instinct even when they are different. It's strange, especially to an outsider who happens to know that they didn't grow up together, because looking at them now - clashing but together, a force to be reckoned with - he wouldn't have been able to tell. (Percy, Triton, and Poseidon experiencing each other, from the views of outsiders and, eventually, themselves.)

We are the warriors that learned to love the pain by Violettavonviolet

G | 2.9k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Annabeth Case, Percy Jackson & Poseidon

Hurt/Comfort, Hybrid Percy Jackson, Touch Starved

When people touched him, they usually flinched and took a few steps back. Some got really pale in the face and once, a teacher had fainted after grabbing his arm. He didn’t really get why, other people never seemed to have the problem, but that was just another way he was special. The only person that ever really touched him was his mom, but even she was hesitant and he knew she hurt just as much as everyone else. It was his fault. His freaky body. It felt unfair, kind of, that so many kids had these traits, but only Percy was debilitated by them. He wanted a hug. He wanted to high-five Grover and give Annabeth a fist-bump. Hell, he couldn’t even train normally, because his opponents couldn’t touch him. It made him hate himself. Hate his Dad. Hate the fates. -- Percy had returned from the stupid quest with Annabeth and had stupidly touched the statue, leaving him gasping on the ground, as a coldness like never before spread through his entire body. Distantly, he could hear Annabeth shout and try to touch him, but he hurriedly rolled away, she couldn’t touch him! or: Percy inherits some fun blowfish traits and when trouble comes, he has to turn to his family for help

behind this mask by Sappho_of_Space

T | 3.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton, Poseidon & Triton, Percy Jackson & Poseidon

Character Study, Triton is Protective, Undersea Family

Triton had never been a big fan of his younger brother. His mortal younger brother. But, Percy was of the sea, just as him. The same ichor flowed in their veins. When someone threatens Percy, Triton only did what came naturally.

terrorbane by Nightingale231 

T | 3.3k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Nico di Angelo, Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Poseidon

Powerful Percy Jackson, Brotherly Bonding, Good Sibling Triton

He laughs, wild and free with the power that come of the Storm and the Seas, and lets the earth beneath him give him strength as the Storm does around him. Zeus may be the god of thunder, of lightning, and the ruler of the Winds, but he was not the god of the storms. The Storm and the Seas envelop him as the earth feeds him its strength, and he keeps laughing. It tears itself out of his throat just as he tears a bloody trail through the horde of monsters and leaves nothing but the hint of gold dust suspended in the air. - Or, Percy comes into his full powers, Triton and Poseidon are good family members, and Percy is a fucking badass.

Triton's no good, very bad day by Ghxst_Bird 

T | 3.5k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Poseidon

Misunderstandings, Undersea Family, Deity Percy Jackson

While Poseidon and Triton contemplate why Percy does not want to accept godhood Percy has a surprise in store for them... if only Triton and him didn't decide to spar. aka. Waiting for others to deduce a surprise may lead to catastrophic events. such as the flooding of the entire Atlantic Coast. I don't make the rules.

Triton: Professional Date Crasher by anxious_tofu 

T | 5.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Kymopoleia

Fluff, Sibling Bonding, Established Relationship

Percy finally bonds with Triton only to run into one, tiny problem. He won't stop interrupting Percy's dates.

Get Well by PunkFlame

Not Rated | 6.8k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Amphitrite

Chicken Pox, Protective Triton, Family Feels

Normally Percy wasn’t huge on physical contact, which is what made the demigod utterly melting into him - and even nuzzling against his chest - all the more bewildering. Not that a single thing in the past few minutes made much of any sense. Firstly Percy never prayed to him, so hearing him do so filled the god with trepidation. Despite whatever situation he thought he would find the demigod in, not for a moment did the messenger even consider that his brother would be lying face first in a bathtub, one foot hooked over the edge of the tub, and the other wedged in the corner. What had happened to him now?

I'm Not Inclined to Resign to Maturity by Butterflies_Stormclouds

T | 14k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Kymopoleia

Family Issues, Prince Percy Jackson, Seafam

Triton found himself investigating the recent spate of thefts from the palace kitchens. With an eccentric father, pestering cousins, and a recently legitimized self-sacrificing demigod, what could possibly go wrong?

Love Blooms From Within by PunkFlame

T | 16k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Amphitrite

Hanahaki Disease, Undersea Family, Happy Ending

Percy grabbed a tissue from the nearby box to cough into, only to nearly faint when he caught sight of what was nestled in the bloody mess. “Are those… petals?” He pushed it to the back of his mind, and tried his very best to forget all about them. Even though the cough and the petals never truly went away. ____   All Percy ever wanted was his Father's love. Some brotherly love would certainly have been nice too, but how could they possibly ever love someone as fleeting as him? (Hanahaki with a familial twist.)

The Sea Does Not Like to Be Restrained by PunkFlame

T | 20k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Amphitrite

Protective Triton, Atlantis Centric, Family Bonding

As it turns out, when a demigod rejects their godly parent’s domain with such vehemence, the god and their child could become entirely severed from one another. There was little knowledge on the matter, the bottom line seemed to be that if the two did not mend the sever, Perseus would slowly fade away and die, step by step loosing more and more of himself as his soul desperately tried to mend the gaping hole in itself. Triton couldn't even imagine. The most terrifying concept to him was piece by piece loosing what made him who he was. To have parts of oneself ripped from one's very soul until they remain a husk of what they once were, there were scarcely worse things.

How to Avoid a Prophetic Death by PunkFlame

G | 24k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Amphitrite

Protective Triton, Baby Percy, Triton Raises Percy

"What in Hades have you just handed me?” The King looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “An infant?” “No Father. I'm well aware of that. But why the-” He took a moment to calm and collect himself, “Father? Why do you have a demigod?” “I don't.” Poseidon replied simply, holding his empty hands up, “You do. If I were to have a demigod, he would be doomed to a tragic Fate. If you, my son, were to have a demigod, he could live a long life tucked away where no one would dare come and take him from you.”

Fishing in Alaska by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle

G | 112k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Poseidon

Family Feels, PTSD, Triton is a Good Sibling

[Note: fic was deleted from ao3. Link is to a google drive copy. The hassle is worth it].

“This… this would qualify as a mental breakdown, right?” Triton asked, frowning over his shoulder to where Percy was still fuming in the corner. The lady at the counter curiously glanced over before lifting a questioning brow. “My brother – half-brother, technically, I have much better breeding – decided to run away from home to where our father can’t reach him and now he won’t leave. And now I can’t leave unless he leaves,” Triton continued. Percy opened his mouth to object that wasn’t what happened at all, but the tyrant only waved a hand to silence him. “He’s seen war or whatever, so if you could maybe just drug him then I’ll throw him into a suitcase and we can be out of here by the Summer Solstice!” Silence. Finally, the woman cleared her throat and turned to Percy. “I’m guessing he’s the one you want checked into the mental hospital?” She asked. Triton gasped as Percy punched the air in victory. “Aha!” Or: Getting in trouble works a little differently when your parent is an all-powerful god. Sometimes you have to escape to the land beyond gods and get your immortal brother turned human to drag you back so you can be exploded a million pieces. You know, normal teenage stuff.

Hold Tight and Pretend It's a Plan by Rynna_Aurelius

M | 112k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson & Triton

Time Travel Fix It, BAMF Percy Jackson, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Olympus has fallen. The second Gigantomachy has ended far differently than the first, and in Gaea's triumph, the world has been torn apart. But the Fates have seen what ends their failed meddling have brought, look on at the dead—and undo what should never have happened the only way they possibly can. Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, is returned to his twelve-year-old self, memories intact and determined to save everyone he can. But he is not alone. The Moirai underestimated the strength of the Lord of Time when stealing his power, and there is something about this particular demigod brat that intrigues him. . . Perseus Jackson came roaring to life with a violent gasp, green eyes wild. After a moment of panicked flailing and struggling to breathe, his fear-filled gaze settled upon a girl with blonde hair and stormy grey eyes, her face stern and unimpressed. "You drool in your sleep." Part 1 of Sing, O Muse (OF Heroes Once More)

Who Would Dare? by PunkFlame

T | 120k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Amphitrite

Extreme Medical Trauma, Prince Percy, Undersea Family

"Listen." Triton's voice cut through Percy’s haze "We both know you're hurt, but you don’t have to play the hero. Now let me see your damn wound." Percy nodded, opening up his stance and allowing Triton to approach him. He lifted the hem of Percy’s shirt carefully, to reveal an inch deep gash that stretched from the top of his shoulder to his upper thigh. Triton froze, eyes widening in disbelief, but he remained silent. He reached out but stopped himself just short of touching the wound. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and grave. "Tell me who did this to you... Now." ________ Triton, at Poseidon's request, goes to seek out Percy; however, he finds him on the brink of death, and brings him back to Atlantis in an attempt to save his life. What will this mean for them, what will this mean for the royal family as a whole, and who would dare to have done this in the first place?

ATLOP: Trial by Fire by WardofWinters (QoLife)

T | 225k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson & Triton, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood

BAMF Percy, Water bender Percy, Smart Percy

Percy was having a normal day at the beach, until he decided to try to waterbend like Katara from his favorite show. Problem is, he succeeds. Now he has to figure out how to waterbend, and keep the normal people from finding out they have a waterbender in their midst. Finding out he's actually a child of Poseidon will probably explain a few things. Part 1 of To Make a Legend

[teriri-sayes]

Reactions to Chaos Creator's Chapter 262

TL;DR - Cale sneaks inside the room behind the glass wall. Freedom wind elemental relays to Cale the conversation between the dragon and the old mage. Cale gets angry upon seeing what was inside the black pit.

The Chapter Only three important stuff happened today. First off, that crazy wind elemental (WE) that always shouted "Liberation" was actually a highest level elemental, having been given the name of "Freedom" by the Wind Elemental King himself. Having a name indicated their rank, so it was no wonder why Freedom easily dragged the "strong" wind elemental of the elf guard. And Cale had the scent of the Wind Elemental King on him, probably from hanging out with Tasha, so Freedom quickly followed Cale.

Next was the dragon inside the pit. His name was Letao, a dragon who had not consumed the source of the world. He was in charge of providing the mana for the "executions" happening inside the pit. And Ryan was using Letao's daughter as a hostage to force him to cooperate.

Through Letao's conversation with an old mage, Cale found out that the "final execution" was set to a week later. And all the remaining beastkin in the castle would be used for this event. Ryan would be presiding this event, and even forced Letao to attend too, saying he should attend if he wanted to see his daughter.

Last important information was what was inside the pit. The black water was like a swamp, and inside it were stone statues- no, blackened corpses of beastkin. All of them had their hands stretched out as if trying to get out of the pit, and had expressions of fear and despair.

Cale, Freedom, and Fire AP were all furious upon seeing that scene. Cale instructed the three kids to not look, although On admitted that she saw a bit.

There was an altar at the center of the pit, and atop it was a pair of white gloves/gauntlets that was two-thirds blackened already. Cale identified it as the Howl of the Sunset, the divine item of the Blue Wolf. He also heard about Ryan's plan to summon Blue Wolf, eat it, and become a god, though it seemed like this was planned without the Dragon Lord's knowledge.

Ending Remarks Cale was really angry today. Even the kids could tell that he wanted to destroy everything. So next chapter, we might see a sea of fire and the return of the Purifier. I'm torn about Letao though. While I understand that he did everything because his daughter was used as a hostage, it doesn't change the fact that countless beastkin died because of his involvement.

[biscuitblinkeu]

Oddly Entranced [3]

Park Chaeyoung x Fem!reader

Word Count: 2352

ToSumUp: The king begins to put his plan in action. You take Rosie shopping.

A/N: I’m pretty excited to write the next chapter. Meant to post this yesterday. Was gonna write more to ACTUALLY end the chapter but I’ll save it for next ig

“…The surface. A place called New York.” 

“The human word,” he stated, face settling into a mask of indifference, anger simmering beneath the surface. There was a low growl in his tone as he spoke, “She’s well aware the human world is forbidden— everyone knows that! I set specific rules and expect them to be followed.” 

“Yes, humans are trouble. I’ve tried to tell that girl…” 

There’s a silence, pain crossing the king's face for a moment. He’s realized no amount of threatening will stop that curiosity brewing in Rosé’s mind. No matter how many times he destroys her human-made trinkets or forbids her to observe the humans, she would not listen. She was too much like her mother. He wouldn’t allow it. He would just have to lock her up— no, he’d destroy her faith in humans. Trust could easily be broken, and he would get through to her one way or another. 

The King settled back down on his throne, shoulders sagged, fingers rubbing his temples. “Bring me my daughters— all three of them. Rosé must be brought home at once.”

“Yes, sir.” The crab made a move to go. 

“Wait,” he commanded, making the crab face him again. “Find out where she is and what she’s doing in this…New York. Contact the Shak’s sea magicians if you must, we need Rosé on surveillance.”

“Right away, my king.” Sebastian side-stepped his way out of the sea cave to do as he’s told. He had a bad feeling about this, but he only wished Rosé the best— he wanted her to be safe. He was loyal to Rosé, having been her attendant since childhood, however, if the king commands him he will do as he’s told…

Jennie, temporarily residing in the Atlantic Ocean, was the easiest to find for Sebastian. She was humming a tune as the maid behind her held up a pearl necklace, the mirror allowing her to see. She nodded in approval.

Sebastian stopped at the doorway to her quarters. “Jennie, the king requests your attendance.”

Surprised, a smile appears on her face. “Sebastian!” She swims to him, maroon-colored tail flicking powerfully. “Father wants to see me?” The feline-featured woman repeated. “Very well. But…” She picks the blue crab by a claw, holding him in front of her face. “Is your shell changing color? I remember it being brighter; are you perhaps stressed, Bastian?”

Sebastian gasps, and Jennie lets him sink to the sea floor. “My shell? What about my shell, now? Oh! It’s really changed color; I’ve got to be stressed.”

The princess frowned. “You poor thing, what’s going on?”

“You know your sister’s been running circles around me— that crazy girl. I’m getting too old for this. She’s why the king needs to speak w’you and your sisters.”

Even though he didn’t say which sister, recognition crossed Jennie’s face, and her smile faded slightly as worry flooded her mind; she knew her sister was a bit eccentric, fascinated with humans. She knew her father and Rosé didn’t get along because of it.  “Rosé? What has she done now?”  

Nothing bad, she hoped. 

“Well,” the blue crab hesitated. Sebastian looked at the maids, who were trying awfully hard to not eavesdrop, then at Jennie again. “I…I’ll let the king tell you, it’s not my place to speak.”

“I see,” Jennie nodded. She turned around, expression apologetic. “Thank you, ladies. You’re dismissed.”

The maids left with slight dips of their head, then the two left to see the king. 

.

“Did you ever find out where she lives?” Isa asked, leaning over your cubicle wall, her lanyard dangling over the side. The two of you had convinced your manager to put your workspaces next to each other, claiming you worked harder when you were in close proximity. 

You stopped typing and pushed away from the desk, cracking your knuckles. Isa watched you stretch patiently.

You shook your head at her. “I…I still don’t know. She always has this look in her eyes, as though the world and everything in it is so beautiful and new— like she’s seeing all of it for the first time. It just doesn’t make sense,” you murmured. “And when I ask I can’t get any answers because she doesn’t speak— or write.”

Isa sighed. “Maybe something happened to her? Like, I don’t know… memory loss? Trauma? Abuse? She seems like a sweet person.”

You frowned at the thought, thinking about where you first met her. “Yeah, maybe. I hope not, though.”

“So, you’re okay with being at work and leaving her alone at your apartment?” 

You thought about it. Are you okay with it? Somewhat. You worried she’ll get into things even though you tried to baby-proof your apartment. You hoped she was able to find the breakfast you made her and the snacks you left out. You wouldn't be so worried if you had just woken her up before you left early in the morning, but thought better of it since she stayed up late watching Netflix. You made sure to explain that for a period of the day she would be left alone— to which she blinked and nodded at, so you assumed she understood— and that you would come back. 

You shrugged. “She’ll be okay.”

Hopefully.

.

You entered your apartment and locked the door behind you, bending over to take off your shoes. Surprisingly, you didn’t hear the television playing, nor anything else for that matter. You wondered if Rosie was sleeping in the guest room, or perhaps left. 

A moment later you heard the quick padding of feet against the floorboards, then a flash of blonde hair entered your vision before you were being pressed into something soft and warm. “Wha…?” You felt heat creep up your neck as arms wrapped around you. 

(You didn’t understand why your hair and body products smelled so much better on her). “Uhm, Rosie?” You tried to pull back, away from the intoxicating smell of vanilla, but she held you tighter, burying her face in your neck. Her grip was tight, almost as though she were afraid you would slip away from her. 

Oh.

A feeling of regret prickled your heart, and instantly, you knew you should’ve been clearer on when you were going to come home. There was a chance she was distracted when you told her, or that she genuinely didn’t know what and where your work was, and it made her think you left and were never going to come back. The latter doesn’t seem so far-fetched, considering that awed look she has in her eyes most of the time. 

Hesitantly, your hand came up to her hair, petting it. Her grip tightened on your coat, and she finally looked up. Your hand paused when you noticed there were tears in her eyes, a subtle frown playing on her lips. 

She panicked when she woke up and realized you weren’t home, chest constricting at the thought she’d be all alone in this world again. She tugged on your shirt, her eyes conveying questions. Where were you? Where did you go? Why did you leave? 

Oh, God. You felt even worse. 

“I’m so sorry I took so long to come back, the roads were bad and— well, you were probably waiting awhile, weren’t you? You don’t have to cry, I’ll always come back.” You said, then wondered if it was something you could keep true. Nonetheless, you didn’t take it back.

Rosie blinked at you, her lips settling in a thin line. Her hands flexed on your shirt, and she raised a brow, non-verbally asking “promise?”.

You smiled. “I promise, and, if for any reason I have to leave longer, I’ll tell you beforehand— and sometimes you can come with me, okay?”

Rosie nodded slowly, releasing her grip on you. She waited till you took your coat off and followed you into the living room, seemingly wanting to be in your presence.

You were relieved to see the omelet you made her was eaten— the snacks weren’t touched however. You put the plate in the sink, stealing a quick glance at Rosie. She was hugging the couch pillow, looking at you.

“Hey, want to go out? I know it’s usually the time you take a nap, so if you don’t want to, that's fine. I just thought you might want to get out of the apartment for a little,” you rambled.

Rosie perked up, lips tugging up into a small smile as she nodded. It would be nice to see more of this world. 

That was all you needed to confirm her agreement. “All right, we’ll go.” She scrambled down from her spot on the couch, already heading to the door.

You eyed her legs, then shook your head with an amused laugh. “If you want to go you’ll have to wear pants, I don’t want you getting sick.”

She froze, already halfway across the room. Slowly, her gaze shifted towards yours, to her legs, and then her lips parted. Her mouth opened and closed - like she was forming words, yet couldn’t get the sound out, before she nodded dejectedly. Okay…

You stepped towards her, putting your hands on her shoulders to steer her to your bedroom. “It’s only for a few hours. Once we finish our activities, we can come back and you can take them off, all right?”

She huffed, and you took it as a yes. She sat on your bed as you dug through your drawers, pulling out a gray sweatshirt with matching sweatpants, and socks with avocados on them. 

When you held them up, her nose wrinkled, so with a laugh you turned around with socks with a few cats on them. She had no negative reaction so you left it.

“Here, you can wear these. It’s still cold out because it keeps raining, so these will keep you warm.” You laid them on the bed next to her.  “Oh! I have hair ties, just if you wanna put your hair up…” you rummaged through your dresser for them. You turned around with a white scrunchy and a regular, black hair tie as options, only to go still in surprise.

She already started to pull her shirt off above her head and you held your hands up, frantically telling her to stop. “It’s not good for you to change in front of me— even though you may be comfortable with it— we don’t really know each other well, and it’s a little embarrassing. You’re…” Oh, she’s beautiful. But you wouldn’t say it to her face and make things weird. That glimpse of her toned stomach caught your attention, and you bit your lip nervously as a warmth crept up onto your cheeks. God, you really are hopeless, aren’t you? (Pretty people are your weakness) Stop staring already. 

“Look, I’ll be out in the living room, just come out when you’re done, kay?” After a singular nod from her, you closed the door behind you and left her to get dressed.

Rosie stared at the door for a few more moments after you left, a blush appearing on her own cheeks. She made you flustered just then, didn’t she? A grin pulled at her lips. She didn’t know humans were so expressive. 

About 10 minutes later she entered the living room. You looked up from your phone, smiling softly at her. Although she looked adorable in your clothes, it was clear you needed to get her some of her own. She had a taller figure than you and though the sweatpants looked baggy on you, they were fitted for her. 

She held the scrunchie and a brush up to you, looking at you expectingly. You laughed lightly, nodding at her, and brushed her hair into a neat ponytail. Then, clad in puffer coats, you left your apartment.

.

The streets, wet and filled with noise, were something you were used to. Rosie, however, would flinch every once in a while because of a car honk or yell from a bypasser. She stayed almost pressed against your side, wide, curious eyes taking in the scene before her. 

You let out a puff of air, breath turning into fog, as you contemplated on where to go shopping. New York had no shortage of places to eat or shop, it was just hard to choose which. 

You spotted a clothing store and headed there. 

“You can pick out anything you like,” you told her. It’s a bold statement, things were getting expensive— but you prepared for this. It’s not the first time. “I’d like you to have some shirts, shorts, and underwear.”

The first time you went broke after taking a homeless mom and her child out shopping, you cried. (They were happy— broke people— tears, of course). Since then, you’ve had a card specifically reserved for your “adoptions,” Issa calls it. She thinks you're crazy because you have a card you voluntarily put money on for other people. 

So if Rosie wanted to buy a third of the store…you would potentially have enough. 

She blinked at you. Anything?

The first piece of clothing she picked up was a navy blue shirt, cropped. Then, a few hoodies with designs on them, and three pairs of shorts. Some baggy jeans, tops, a pair of shoes, etc. 

You couldn’t help but notice that after each item she picked up, she would glance at you. You wondered what she was thinking. 

“Is this all you want?” You asked. The total amount of items was way less than what you expected. 

She nodded, looking bashful. It’s more than enough. Thank you.

“Okay, then.” You headed to the register, putting her stuff on the counter for the two workers to scan. 

“Will this be all?”

“Yes,” you answered, pulling your card out.

“Do you have a rewards card with…” He trailed off, looking at Rosie. “Us?” You saw his face turn red and he kept stealing glances at her as he scanned. The girl next to him was staring too. 

You shook your head, you might’ve stared like that too if you had met under different circumstances.

Would you like to continue?

[happilyhertale]

Long Lost Love - Aemond Targaryen x female!reader, Part 14

Summary: You are the daughter of Daemon and Rhaenyra. When the invitation to Aegon and Helaena's wedding came, your entire family rushes from Dragonstone to King's Landing to take part in the festivities. You haven't seen your family in King's Landing for 6 years so you are very excited...

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader

Warnings: At the beginning none – eventually smut (uncle/niece)

Author’s note: Hello you! (:

This is my first fic so please be nice (: I thought I'd just try a little self-considered story. I hope u like it.

The events are not entirely similar from the series.

English is my second language, please forgive me if I made any mistakes (:

18+ NSFW

Word count: 3.6k

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7a, Part 7b, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 15

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

You have gone into the marquee with Helaena and the other Ladies in the evening because a small thunderstorm is passing overhead. It has been raining for a while and you can hear light thunder from time to time.

It suddenly gets louder outside and you hear some horses coming into the square.

You excuse yourself from the Ladies and step in front of the marquee. The riders have returned.

Quickly the crowd of Lords disperses and only the servants are running around looking after the horses. But you don't see Aemond in the crowd of Lords.

After a while you catch sight of white hair, but it belongs to your father. Daemon sees you coming towards him and smiles.

You cross your arms in front of your chest, "Daddy... I can't find Aemond?"

He looks at you seriously, "Well.... Look, I couldn't let anyone steal my little dragon.... He had to go. And this was just the easiest way."

You look at him in shock, "Dad! You didn't!"

Daemon chuckles briefly, "Calm down. But if I'm honest, I haven't seen him for a while."

You look at him worriedly, "What...? Dad... Where is he?"

Daemon strokes your cheek, "Don't worry, he'll arrive. It's not like he's incapable." He puts his arm around you and leads you into the marquee.

Aemond and Rob have been beating their way through the forest for what feels like hours now. Their clothes are now soaked from the rain.

They don't talk much on the way, but both feel reasonably comfortable walking through the forest together. Of course, neither of them would admit that.

After a seemingly never-ending march through the rain, they see the tent camp in the distance.

For some time now, you have been standing outside the marquee, under a small roof. You don't care how it storms, you want Aemond to arrive. You are aware that he is doing well on his own, but somehow you are worried because Rob is nowhere to be seen either. And if the two of them are really in the forest together… You don't feel comfortable with that thought.

When you see two figures in the distance. You notice that one of the figures has white hair and at that moment you run towards him. A guard who was standing with you at the entrance calls after you, but you do not let him stop you.

When you reach them, you see how wet and dirty and... how battered they are.

"What's going on here?" it slips breathlessly out of your mouth.

Aemond smiles at you, "We had a... stag accident"

"A what?!"

"It's fine!", Rob assures you and your eyes fall on him, he smiles at you.

Your attention falls back to Aemond as he says, "So you kissed the Stark Lord?" He smirks slightly.

You blush and only broken sentences pass your lips.

Rob walks past you, grinning, and strokes your arm briefly.

Aemond stops in front of you. He is bleeding above his eyebrow and his nose is glowing a beautiful blue.

"Will you tell me what happened?" you stroke his cheek gently.

"I told you we had an accident with a stag."

"Aemond..."

He puts his hands on your hips and presses you against him. "I'm afraid I haven't hunted anything for you... But do you still want to spend the evening with me?". He looks gently into your eyes.

You smile and nod.

Slowly you lean forward and kiss his cheek. You breathe in his ear, "Jealousy doesn't suit you, by the way."

He smiles. He breaks away from the embrace and leads you to his tent.

When you are in his tent, you only notice how soaked he actually is. His hair hangs down in wet strands and his leather waistcoat drips incessantly.

You stroke his shoulders, "We should get you out of your wet clothes."

Aemond grins at you, "Mhmmm." You smack him lightly, but have to bite your lower lip.

Slowly you undo the buckles on his leather waistcoat. Aemond watches your every gentle movement.

You carefully slip off his waistcoat and even his vest is slightly soaked.

You look at each other and stand close. You lean forward and kiss him. Your hands move tenderly from his chest to his neck and you press him closer to you.

Aemond grips your waist and pulls you close to him, kissing you passionately. A deep "mmmhm" forms in his chest as you moan into his mouth. He breaks the kiss to gently kiss along your jaw. Slowly he bends down to your neck and nibbles gently on your earlobe. Your breath catches briefly as you press closer to him and realise how aroused he has become.

Aemond stops suddenly and breathes heavily, you hear him whisper, "Y/N... we should..." you interrupt him, "Aemond... You.. are my perfect moment."

He looks at you again and gently strokes your lower lip. You lean forward and kiss him.

The arousal between your legs becomes more and more palpable and you can no longer ignore it. You moan out. Again you press yourself close to him.

Aemond gently pushes you towards the bed and you willingly give in.

He kisses you tenderly and lets his hands wander gently up your torso. When he reaches your chest, he lets his hands rest on the top buckle of your dress. Carefully, he opens one buckle after the other, not even interrupting the kiss. Gently he slips the dress off your arms and your dress slides down to your feet.

His gaze remains on your eyes as he breaks the kiss. For the first time you stand before him, completely exposed.

Slowly he pushes you onto the bed and you slide up to the pillows. You notice how his gaze is fixed on your eyes, but you feel him struggling to let his gaze simply wander over your body.

But he can't ignore how beautiful you are. So indescribably beautiful and you are lying on his bed, naked, waiting for him. He looks at you with a mixture of complete lust and adoration.

Slowly you let your fingers slide over your belly until you reach your underwear, not once breaking eye contact with Aemond. You pause for a moment and look at him. Aemond is breathing heavily and he has to let his gaze wander now. When you realise that his gaze is fixed on your fingers, you let your fingers slide under your underwear. You reach for your underwear and slowly pull them down over your long legs.

Aemond gasps briefly. He notices how his cock pulsates at the sight. You lean back as Aemond slowly approaches the bed. He hovers over you and kisses you. With his knees, he carefully spreads your legs and lowers his crotch onto your warm, pulsing core. You moan briefly as you feel his trousers against your exposed, warm core.

His lips find their way to the crook of your neck, he stops briefly and inhales your scent.

You whisper softly, "You know... that I will never leave you alone again?"

He pauses for a moment and looks at you, he nods barely noticeably and kisses you.

Gently, you begin to pull his vest upwards. Aemond helps you and pulls it over his head. You look into each other's eyes for a moment and he asks you, "Is this what you really want? ... If we go on now... I won't be able to hold back any more."

"Then.. don't", you whisper to him.

He pauses for a moment and then kisses you greedily, almost wildly. Your hand wanders around on his muscular chest. Your breathing quickens and you feel him moan softly. The sound makes the arousal between your legs flare up further.

You break the kiss, he looks at you questioningly, "I lie bare before you... so shall you."

He lets his hand wander down to his pants to undo them as you chuckle and stop his hand. He looks at you irritated. You just hear his heavy breathing as you remove your hand from his and let it slowly move towards his eye patch.

Aemond nods, barely perceptible, and you carefully reach for his eye patch and remove it.

This time Aemond keeps his eye open, he wants to see exactly how you will react. And he sees nothing but complete desire. Your hands caress his face as you pull him down to you and kiss him.

Aemond has never felt so aroused. You deepen the kiss and he moans into your mouth.

Slowly, his hand slides up your thigh until it reaches your wet fold.

"Just relax," he whispers.

He moans at the feeling of his fingers being wet immediately as he is at your aroused core. Carefully he lets his fingers glide over your wet folds. You moan as he touches your clit and massages it gently.

He continues to slide his fingers through your wetness until he is completely wet. He gently presses his finger against your entrance. It doesn't take much pressure, because your wetness and your rhythmic movements make him slide inside you as if by himself.

Again and again he pumps his finger into you. He guides another finger in and notices how your walls clench around him. With his thumb, he begins to make circular movements on your clit.

Your moans become more and more intense and Aemond is glad that a storm is raging outside.

"Aemond..., oh...! Aemond! I need you... please!"

Aemond chuckles briefly and lets the pace of his fingers increase once more.

You grab his shoulders for more support and groan. Your thighs start to tremble and he realises you're about to come.

He kisses you and lets his fingers slide out and in again. You cry out and he feels your nails digging into his shoulder.

Until he suddenly doesn't insert them again. A soft protest from you is heard, followed by your heavy breathing.

He starts to open his trousers. He has never been out of his trousers so quickly. Hot kisses follow when he is above you again. As your gaze wanders down, you see him. And somehow you only now really realise how big he is. You swallow and look back up at him, "Does this really fit me completely?"

He laughs softly, "Trust me, it fits." He kisses you.

You let your hand wander down and wrap it around his cock. He sputters out a shaky breath, a moan catching in his throat as you begin to trail your hand up and down his hot length.

Aemond already notices a feeling of tightness in his balls as you continue with your movements. It takes his last will to carefully remove your hand. But he has to do it if he wants to last a little longer.

He breathes heavily and starts kissing you again.

Gently, he lets his cock slide through your wet folds. The feeling overwhelms you, you reach for his firm upper arms. You can't help but groan. Aemond notices how his cock is already pulsing almost painfully.

He has waited so long for this moment. You beneath him, completely aroused, willing, totally wet.

Despite his experience, he is on the verge of just coming. To simply spread his seed on your belly. But he pulls himself together.

He continues to let his cock slide through your wet folds. He closes his eye.

Your rhythmic movements continue to push your wet core towards him. He takes this as a sign and positions himself in front of your entrance. He slides into you almost automatically, but holds back.

He lets his forehead rest on yours, "It's about to... hurt a little," he whispers. You look slightly startled.

"Don't worry, it's not for long. I'll do it... slowly, I promise..." You nod.

"When it feels good for you, and it will, you'll move slowly, okay?" Again you nod.

He kisses you and carefully moves rhythmically towards you. He penetrates. You moan and he pushes a little further and then stops. The tip of his cock breaks through the barrier. You gasp and feel a hint of pain, followed by the unfamiliar sensation of him filling you.

The pain is bearable. Years of dragon riding must have prepared you well. You exhale heavily. After a while you push yourself towards him, again and again.

You keep moving towards him and he penetrates you deeper each time. You close your eyes and exhale heavily again. Aemond kisses you gently on the cheek, but he does not move.

Every time you think he won't fit any further, he goes in even deeper. Until he is completely inside you. He fills you completely. You hold your breath for a few seconds, your soft core still trying to adjust to his size.

Finally, you take a deep breath and feel the unique feeling of complete arousal flow through you. You start to move rhythmically, you kiss him and moan into his mouth. You are aware that no feeling in this world would ever feel as good as the feeling of Aemond filling you up.

Between kisses, Aemond gasps, "Oh seven hells... you are so incredibly tight."

He starts thrusting into you, each time your moans get louder.

"Ssh... my Love... It's storming outside, but I really don't want to see anyone storming in here right now."

You bite his shoulder lightly and he hisses lightly in response.

His thrusts don't let up and he notices you clenching around him again and again.

Aemond pauses, you whimper, "You have to stop... squeezing me so hard... please..."

You chuckle slightly, "I apologise?"

Aemond buries his face in the crook of your neck and exhales heavily.

He moves on, deeper and deeper into you, when he stops again. Now he has to chuckle slightly. "Keep moving," you tell him almost impatiently.

"If I move now, I'll cum inside you right away"

You move instead and an "ooooh fuuuuck" leaves his lips.

"Please... stop squeezing my... cock so hard. I won't be able to... last long"

You take his face in your hands and you kiss him. Passionately you let your tongue wander around his.

Slowly you start moving again and with circular movements you let your hips slide towards him. He moans into your mouth. And this is how it works. He concentrates on you, on your soft lips. He thrusts into you again.

Aemond has never experienced anything like this before. He is flooded with all kinds of feelings. To feel you like this, to be so close to you...

Similar feelings flood through you, you are overwhelmed.

"Fuck... you're... so wet," Aemond gasps suddenly. You answer almost immediately, "Aemond... I need... to feel you deeper"

He smirks at you and kisses you greedily.

He takes your thigh and bends it, thrusts into you rhythmically, deeper, but still carefully. You can't help but moan again, you wrap your thigh around his waist.

You look at each other. Your breathing is heavy. You can't hold it back, "Aemond... I love you," you almost whimper.

You notice how he looks at you helplessly. He cannot handle so many emotions at once. You just kiss him and he returns your kiss passionately.

He notices that your inner walls are tightening around him again, wanting to keep him inside you, wanting to milk him dry. Your moans are getting louder again, but Aemond can't bring himself to care about the volume of your moans now. He also groans and has to do everything in his power not to ram his hips into you with full force.

Your breathing becomes more frantic, "Don't stop Aemond.... You... you feel... so good... inside me"

He doesn't stop until he feels your walls now rhythmically squeezing his cock. You feel the warmth spreading through your abdomen and flowing through your entire body. Your belly finally reaches its peak and snaps. Your back arches and in response you grab the back of his neck and hold on to him, "Aemond! oh...! Aemond!"

No climax you have experienced so far has felt comparatively like this.

And that's it for him, his orgasm follows immediately. His thrusts become sloppy, almost weaker as he feels his lower abdomen tighten. His thighs tremble and he feels a tight twitch move through his balls and into his cock. He moans pulling his cock out of you, you whimper briefly at the sudden emptiness. He bends over and squirts his hot cum onto your belly.

You watch him, breathing heavily. He gasps and lets his hand slide up and down on his cock.

You like this sight.

He leans on his knees between your spread legs. He gasps and smiles at you. He reaches for his vest, which lies at the end of the bed, and carefully cleans your belly.

"This, my Love, is what will get you pregnant, by the way."

You look at him, "You mean with beautiful, pure Targaryens?"

He looks you in the eye and has to grin at your innuendo.

"Though that looks like milk"

He chuckles, "Believe me, it's not even close to milk."

He puts the vest aside and climbs back over you, kissing you passionately. You feel his heart pounding and place your hand against his chest.

You start talking, "I..." but he interrupts you, "I love you... Y/N". He looks at you gently. You return his gaze. You softly caress his cheek and kiss him.

His heart almost bursts, he has never felt anything like this for a person before. Not this kind of love.

He breaks the kiss and looks at you again. Your gaze is fixed on his chest until you eventually look up.

"Wed me," he almost whispers.

Your eyes turn wide, "What...?"

"Wed me... Finally be my Queen."

You smile, "Aemond..." He looks at you, almost worried

"Why do I hesitate? Of course I want to be your Queen!" You pull him down to you and kiss him again.

Aemond rolls up next to you and wraps his arms around you.

He holds you close and gently kisses your neck.

You hold his arms tightly and he manages to spread the blanket over you. You listen for a while to the rain, which still hasn't subsided. Aemond kisses your neck gently a few more times and whispers sweet nothings in your ear. You don't remember when, but at some point you fall asleep.

It's early the next morning when you hear the first servants outside starting to dismantle everything.

Aemond is behind you. He still has you tightly in his arms. You search for his arm with your hand and begin to stroke him lightly. Aemond starts to move slightly, slowly pressing his head into your neck, leaving light kisses there. "Good morning, my Queen," he murmurs into your neck.

You have to smile, "My King".

He rolls onto his back with you in his arms, "Oh how I love the way that rolls off your tongue!"

You laugh, "Aemond put me down!" He chuckles and lets you slide back to his side. He gently embraces you again from behind and inhales your scent.

You pause, "I need to talk to my father. I have to tell him I want to wed you. No one else."

He holds you close and whispers in your ear, "I'm going to go to my father right now and ask for the betrothal."

You think for a moment, "Mhm... Just a thought, but maybe we should wait until the hunt is over."

He has to laugh, "Perhaps not the worst idea"

When you hear the first carriages being loaded. You don't want to leave this bed.

"I want to lie here with you forever," you whisper.

He chuckles, "That sounds very tempting... but I don't think it will quite work. At the latest when the tent is taken down, we have to get up..."

You turn in his arms and look at him, he smiles. You let your thumb wander gently over his wounds and you suspect that they must have come from Rob.

You kiss him and he returns the kiss.

Slowly your hands glide over his chest, a deep "mmhmm", sounds in his chest.

You lift your leg and place your thigh on his, you press yourself against him. You want to feel the beautiful closeness of last night again with Aemond. With rhythmic movements you press yourself against him repeatedly as you deepen your kiss.

You feel that he is aroused too. You let your warm core wander gently over his hot length.  "Mmmh... You will be the death of me, woman."

You smile and let your hand wander gently down his torso.

"We can't make love now," you hear him whisper. You give him a pouty look. He has to laugh briefly.

"Now we're guaranteed to be heard as your moans echo through the tent."

You punch him in the arm, almost indignantly.

"But... we are almost betrothed..."

He smiles and kisses you. He leans his forehead against yours, "Almost betrothed means not wed yet."

You make a grumpy noise and bury your face in the crook of his neck.

Pressed tightly against him, he holds you and gently strokes your back.

At some point Aemond managed to get you out of bed. Perhaps with the help of a promise that you would be in bed together again in the evening.

You grab some books from him to have an excuse to leave the tent with him in the morning. Outside the tent, he gently strokes your cheek, "See you later, princess". You nod and smile. On your way back to your tent, Aemond's gaze follows you. He smiles almost dreamily.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Tag List

@leahjean  @afro-hispwriter  @jeyramarie  @powellssaturn @notabotiswear @hoshi-miharu-blog @random-human02 @m00n5t0n3 @sporadicshepherdzinebear @drewsgfduh @stargaryenx @dark-night-sky-99 @notabotiswear @ccosmic-illusion @darylandbethfanforever9 @grungegrrrl @spn-obession @carlottalhn @elle4404 @girl-with-an-orange-cat @genshinimpactislife @imjustboredso @tragicbucky @dollfaceyourfear @magnificantmermaid @mllemarianne @stargaryenx @mikariell95 @khaothick @aemonds-wifey @burningshewolf @munsonswrld @jackierose902109

[dark-and-kawaii]

Lofn Cormyr Thay

The Young Princess of both Thay & Cormy.

Lofn’s mother is Lynnania Thay, also known as The Red Queen of Thay or Queen of the Dragons. Lynnania belongs to the Royal Red Dragonblood Line, and she shares a connection and blood with the Ancient Red Dragon, Thalerion.

Lofn’s father, Lykos Cormyr, was the King of Cormyr and belonged to the Royal Blue Dragonblood Line, he was bonded with The Ancient Blue Dragon, Remforg. However, her eldest brother, Signa, has become the new King of Cormyr.

She is heir to the Throne of Thay.

Lofn possesses an inconsistent kindness, yet it is undeniable that she has a compassionate nature and finds it difficult to witness the suffering of those she deems innocent. On one occasion, she encountered a king whose subjects were facing execution for practicing magic. Without hesitation, she took it upon herself to slay the man in the public's eye to free them from his corrupt ruling.

Lofn harbors ambitions to continue her mother's legacy of conquering kingdoms/ allying with certain kingdoms. She also wishes to preserve her family's strong bloodline.

Similar to her mother, she will swiftly turn against anyone she perceives as an enemy, even if uncertain, subjecting them to merciless and unjust punishments simply because she has the power to do so. Once again, following in her mother's footsteps, Lofn prioritizes her people and family above all else and will go to any lengths to safeguard them. Unlike most rulers who hide behind walls, she was taught to stand alongside her people, fighting side by side with them.

Lofn’s been the only rider of the Amethyst Dragon, Aetherion, and they share an extraordinary bond that goes eyond the conventional rider-dragon relationship. Their connection is deep and symbiotic, characterized by unwavering loyalty and a profound emotional link. Whenever Lofn finds herself in distress, it becomes evident that Aetherion is also affected, exhibiting signs of unease.

In times of battle, when Lofn's rage surges through her veins, Aetherion mirrors her emotions, channeling her intensity and determination. Their emotional connection is so strong that the dragon senses Lofn’s emotions without the need for verbal commands or cues making them a formidable duo.

Key Abilities; Lofn was granted immunity to fire by The Ancient Red Dragon, and was granted the power to harness lightning from The Ancient Blue Dragon.

Power & Weapon; She’s a sorceress of fire and lightning magic but prefers to use her great sword that was gifted to her by a peculiar winter elf. The blade is made from broken glass and amethysts.

Enemies: Asmodeous & The Nine Hells

Main Allies: Bane - Grazzt - Tiamat - Ancient Red Dragon - Ancient Blue Dragon - Ancient Black Dragon - Ancient Green Dragon - Ancient Gold Dragon

Bane is one of her mother’s most trusted allies and has been at the Thay’s side ever since he took a liking to Lynnania. Bane looks at Lofn like a daughter and wishes to bestow his blessing upon her now that she’s old enough and stronger. He has remained close to her since her birth to ensure her safety and has even taught her many of his skills. He looks forward to fight alongside her when her and her family go up against Asmodeous. Bane takes on the appearance of a wood elf named Reyes.

Tiamat, also known as The Dark Lady, has stayed in Thay ever since Lofn’s mother freed her from Asmodeous/ The Hells. Tiamat has a bond with Lofn due to her draconic ancestry and the power her and her mother hold, she views the princess as a means to strengthen not only herself but the chromatic dragons as well.

Grazzt, on the other hand, is like a great grandfather to Lofn due to his son being married to her grandmother. He sees her as an opportunity to collect souls for himself and has offered his mark multiple times, although she has always refused. Grazzt seeks to claim her for himself before Bane can do so, essentially competing with him.

Yes this is all canon to our dnd campaign, yes this all happened. Four years is a long time for a campaign and a lot can happen ♡

[stygianoaths]

Imagine Jason approaching Nico to confess he's choosing rebirth over Elysium.

The reason why is because he never felt like the life he lived was ever his (y'know, what with being taken from his family and being raised as the champion of a god and child soldier) and so he wants a do-over. He wants a normal life, where he doesn't have to be a pawn in someone's chess game.

Meanwhile, as he is explaining this, Nico is trying to ignore just how eerily similar it feels to Bianca's situation, because what life did she live beyond taking care of him? Her life was never hers either. Still, he offers, against the screaming in his head, to see Jason through the rebirth process. The lost hero accepts. After all, not many can say they had the Ghost King personally send them off into the waking world.

"I'm gonna miss you," Jason says. Nico laughs, but there's no happiness behind it. They're behind the River Lethe now.

"No you won't," he murmurs, knowing the river's power firsthand, "but I will."

When Jason forgets and his soul is taken to a place no mortal can't follow, Nico fades into the shadows and wills himself to reappear before a small camp. He doesn't flinch when the hunters of Artemis point their arrows at him reflexively. It only takes a couple of seconds before the bows slowly lower once the girls recognize him.

Bianca's little brother.

Thalia tells them to stand down, walking forward and looking at him with electric blue eyes that are both distant yet knowing. They remind him of Jason's, though his were not as harsh or striking. They used to be gentle. comforting.

He will never see those eyes again.

"He chose rebirth," Nico chokes out, "Thalia, he's, he's gone."

And suddenly he's ten years old again, betrayed and grieving. Thalia catches him as he collapses to his knees, and he cries in her arms, inconsolable.

Why him?

Why her?

He doesn't know who he is referring to anymore.

Artemis ushers the other girls away with a neutral face, but she too is shaken by the sight of the demigods. The grief of her lieutenant and the son of Hades remind her of the fear that seized her when her brother was exiled, of what could have been when he was turned human. When the cries from the children of the Big Three reach her own tent, Artemis swears on the River Styx that she will never allow herself and Apollo to come close to such a fate ever again.

They are a tragic sight to behold, Nico di Angelo and Thalia Grace — a younger brother and older sister that don't belong to one another, yet holding onto each other like they do. As the daughter of Zeus's tears seap into his jacket, Nico briefly wonders that if Thalia is all he has left, then maybe it would be nice if Jason and Bianca had each other. As friends, perhaps. Siblings, even.

If the Fates had been listening in when he thought that, there was nobody present with them to know.

[chloe-skywalker]

Changes - Gil

Gil x fem!reader ! Hades Daughter

Warnings: none

Word count: 425

Requested: Hello i was wondering if you could to a imagine where the reader is the daughter of hades best friend with the core 4 and in a relationship with gil ? - @Anon

Authors Note: Thank you for requesting! I’ve never done a story for Gil before.

Masterlist

Descendants Masterlist

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

“Your fathers gonna kill me if he knew about this.” Gil shook his head with a little fear in his eyes. He, like many are very scared of Hades, but the fact that Gil even had the guts to date his daughter earned him respect.

“My father does not care if I dye my hair.” Y/n rolled her eye’s. Sometimes she felt like he was to scared of her father. But she understood it. Y/n knew though her father didn’t care what she did with her hair. He’d only be pissed if she cut it, and she wasn’t going to do that.

“Your father is king of the underworld if he saw-”

Y/n stepped closer to him, stopping him from talking immediately. “Gil.” She smiled at him, understanding his worries but trying to reassure him. “Relax. I’ll protect you from my father.”

Gil nodded feeling better but he looked at her worriedly in the eye’s. It wasn’t like her to just do something on a whim. “Why are you doing this?”

Y/n shrugged looking down to their intertwined hands. She felt a little ashamed at her reasons but she didn’t want to voice them. “I want a change.”

“Is this because they left and haven’t looked back?” Gil knew how close y/n was to Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay. He also knew how bad it hurt her when they had to leave, more so when they decided to stay and not even try to contact her or bring her over. Gil hated to see her hurt like she was and as much as he could distract her or take her mind off of it he knew he couldn’t fully erase the pain for her. “They were your best friends. I’m sorry.”

Y/n shook her head looking back up into his eyes squeezing his hands. It wasn’t his fault. “It’s not your fault. One day we will get off this rock.”

Gil smiled at her optimism, reaching up to run one of his hands through her hair. The gold with blue flame mimicked ends was pretty. “I do love the colors.”

Y/n smiled at him, leaning up to kiss him. “Thanks.”

Taglist:

@dai-tsukki-desu @padawancat97

[mymelodymia]

little artist Dad!Tony stark x daughter!reader

Summary: you love art and your dad has always supported that, but the media has other things to say.

Warnings: anxiety attack, the media being jerks,

+•°+*°•++•°+*°•++•°+*°•++•°+*°•+

*reader is around 15 here*

You were painting a random landscape, when your dad walked into the art studio he had made for you, a few months back he turned an empty room into a art studio for you to paint in, it had a window next to the easel in the corner. Lots of your art work had been Hung on the walls, a few small desks that had paint tubes, watercolor, brushes, and colored pencils on them, you also liked to just sketch while sitting at the desks.

"Hey pumpkin, wacha making?" Your dad asked walking over to you and the half done painting,

"It looked nice out today so i decided to paint it" you said referring to the sunrise shining through a tree in the window, your father hummed a response, patting you on the back he asked what you wanted to eat for breakfast that morning,

"What do you want to eat?"

"Burger king" you said smiling looking up at your father,

"Baby its 6 am i doubt burger king is even open" your dad said following you as you walked down to hall to the bathroom to wash the excess paint off of your hands.

"How bout, pancakes" your dad asked you leaning on the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest

"Yeah pancakes sound good" you said drying your hands off, your father nodded his head in direction of the elevator.

+•°+*°•+

you had just finished lunch (burger king) when you got a text from peter,

'Hey i thought you might wanna see this before it gets big or sm' it had a web link, you opened it and felt that familiar feeling, that was like disappointment, anger, and sadness all in one, and it read,

'Y/N MARIA STARK: THE UNACCOMLISHED STARK,' you read the title over and over again, tears welled up in your eyes, it had always been like this, constant hate, some even said you weren't even his daughter, that one hurt the most,

It was confusing too, you looked exactly like tony, though you had your mothers eye color (grey or blue) and her lips, every little detail about you was mainly tony, especially when it came to your personality, you were just as cocky as him, just as sassy, and plus just about the whole team made the joke that you were a female version of him, (which you were) but the media didn't care.

As the tears threatened to spill you started walking to your room, not wanting to brake down in the middle of the tower. You shut the door and fell into your bed, hugging a pillow as tight as you possibly could, as you felt the first tear fall down your cheek, you broke.

Sobbing into your pillow, trying to stay quiet so that no one would hear, Friday had to be the little taddle tail she is, and told the one person you didn't want coming in right now.

Dad. You were trying to stay quiet so he wouldn't hear because last time you saw him he was in a good mood, you didn't want to ruin that.

+•°+*°•+

"Boss, Y/N is in her room in need of your assistance" Friday spoke up getting tonys attention,

"What for?" Tony asked looking up from his damaged suit he was repairing

"She is having a anxiety attack, though im not sure what for" as Friday said the last word of her sentence, tony was already bolting to the elevator, heading straight to your room.

"How bad is it?"

"Not as bad as last time" last time you had an anxiety attack was months ago, you rarely had them you never let any of the articles get to you, but this time it was just to much.

As tony went to open your door he found it locked,

"Friday" tony said this one word and the door was unlocked in a second, you also heard him say this, which scared you causing you to jump, as tony opened the door he ran over to you, immediately cradling you in his arms, rocking you back and forth, whispering words of comfort.

When you eventually calmed down, you looked up at your father, sniffing you spoke up

"Hey dad" you said your voice cracking halfway through 'dad'

"Hey sweetheart, you good now?" Tony asked raking his fingers through your hair, you nodded in response, resting your head back on his chest softly,

"What got you all rattled up anyways?" He asked looking down at you, you told him the whole story, stopping to sniffle or cough from time to time, a few minutes of tony comforting you later, he spoke up.

"Hey what do you say i let you draw me, would that cheer you up?" You snapped your head up nodding violently, tony didn't like being drawn, so this was special to you, you both hopped up, while walking to your studio tony held your hand the whole way there, forgetting to let go as you let go of him (or tried to) to grab a stool for him, and flipped your easel around, your back facing the wall,

As you began to paint him you got an idea. To draw a giant mustache on him >:)))))))

Kind of Like this

When you eventually finished a few minutes later (15 - 20) you flipped your easel around to reveal your masterpiece 😈

Tony chuckled before gripping onto the back of your neck, pulling you closer to him he gently pecked your forehead, before you wrapped him in a tight hug.

EDIT: attachment

[darklinsblog]

In Memory | Sandman Imagine

Summary: As Jessamy is murdered, Morpheus promises to take care of Jessamy’s daughter in honor of her memory.

Pairing: Morpheus x Daughter! Reader

Requested: Yes

Part II

After Jessamy’s death the Lord of Dreams was heartbroken, but in the middle of that pain he remembered Jessamy had left a daughter behind.

Jessamy and him would watch over you from afar, somehow protecting you. Jessamy had told her master how she had died a few weeks after your birth, leaving you practically on your own.

Prior to her murder Jessamy had always planned on getting you back, on making The Dreaming your home and now, Morpheus thought the best way to honor his companion’s memory was to take you in and raise you, because you were now the only thing that was left of Jessamy.

You were playing on the grass, just outside your foster home, following a small ladybug until you were stopped by a pair of black polished shoes.

When looking up you were greeted by the sight of a tall, pale man dressed in all black, he didn’t seem very friendly to you, but oddly enough you didn’t feel in danger, in fact, quite the opposite.

The strange man kneeled down to your height, now you were able to see his beautiful blue orbs that were looking at you with indescribable tenderness and sadness which you could not comprehend.

“Who are you?” You asked tilting your head to the side, the man smiled weakly as he arranged your tangled hair.

“My name is Dream of the Endless. Your mother was a good friend of mine and she asked me to take care of you from now on”

“She asked you that before she went to heaven?” You questioned him further, he could see in your eyes you knew the truth but you said it so simply, maybe because being so young you had yet to realize what great loss you had suffered.

“Yes, she did. You know you’re quite smart, may I ask how old are you?”

“Seven” you said, standing up straight, trying your best to look mature or like you were old enough to be sufficient, his heart broke in that very moment, because no child should seek to prove their worth through some sense of independence, a child should have no worries.

“I see… very well then. Would you like to see your new home, your mother’s home?” He asked, you nodded softly as you reached your arms out to Dream and he picked you up, hiding you under his massive coat so you could be kept from the cold.

You had your arms around his neck and your head was laid on his shoulder, before he pulled out his sand to take you to the Dreaming, Morpheus took a second to soak in the familiarity of the moment, as for a single second, he remembered how Jessamy herself would be shielded under his cloak.

Now, having you in his arms it came over him a sensation of warmth that he had never felt before. That same warmth was telling him somehow, that this was right, that this was somehow meant to be the way it was.

When you reached the Dreaming you never let go of Dream’s hand. As all of this was unknown you held onto the only person you somehow knew, it was hard to explain but something told you that as long as you were with Dream nothing bad could happen to you.

A strange woman with bubble glasses and pointy ears approached you and Dream, as her eyes found yours, hers seemed to almost popped out of their sockets.

“Is that…?” She whispered not being able to finish her sentence due to her amazement, the king nodded

“Y/N this is Lucienne, she is the librarian here” Dream explained you as you looked only at him. When his explanation was over you reached out your hand to the woman and she stretched it softly.

“Nice to meet you” you said, when stretching out your arm both Morpheus and Lucienne noticed the diverse lacerations and cuts on your arm.

Both of them shared a sad knowing look, but decided to leave that subject for later as the important thing now was getting you healed, cleaned and changed.

Morpheus nuzzled your head, making you look up at him.

“Would you accompany Lucienne so you can clean yourself up?” You nodded and took Lucienne by the hand so Morpheus could focus on his work.

Later on when things got quieter Lucienne appeared with a small smile on her lips “Our new resident is requesting you”

He smiled as well, moved that the little girl was asking for him, he felt as if he had already created a bond with Jessamy’s daughter.

He knocked on the door and you immediately allowed him to come in, he was greeted by the side of you with a pijama on, holding a tiny brush with your wet hair.

“Would you brush my hair, please?” He smiled, as he sat on the bed, right beside you.

“I must admit I know not how to do it”

“Just pull down until it feels soft” you explained simply handing him the brush, he noticed this wasn’t up for discussion and he just went ahead and did his best.

“Dream?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Will you go to heaven like momma?” The king of Dreams gulped, he could feel your fear, the uncertainty of getting attached and then losing him, the fear of being left alone.

“No, I will not. My kingdom will always need me” that was the best way he could put it for a child like yourself to understand.

“What if I get annoying?” You asked, Dream frowned, not understanding

“What do you mean?”

“If I make you mad, will you send me away? It’s what others did” you were speaking awfully calm for the words you were using, the king stopped brushing your hair and had you turn to face him.

“The Dreaming will always be your home, Y/N and I will always take care of you, I promise” he assured you as he looked at you dead in the eye, he wanted you to see he was talking sincerely.

“Promises can be broken” you said, his gaze softened as he cupped your cheek.

“This will not”

Taglist: @emiemiemiii @ladyfairenvale @hungrhay @aurorarevenclaw1927 @adishax @meganmayhem89 @mrs-captainsteverogers

[bananadrinkxxx]

THE BLOOD CROWN (22)

[Aemond Targaryen x Original Female Character ! I fem!reader]

[Dark Romance / Enemies to Lovers / Revenge]

Content for adults. 18+

[warnings: smut, sex content, dark romance, angst, fights, domination, murder]

[description: Aemond Targaryen meets his niece under a different name and falls in love with her without knowing that she is supposed to be his enemy.]

Masterlist - click here for all available parts

116 AC.

T H I R T E E N - Y E A R S - A G O

KING'S LANDING

RED KEEP

Rhaenyra had only learned what true fear was when she held Jacaerys in her arms for the first time. The little creature had felt so fragile that she was afraid to make a wrong move. A quick movement that would rip this gift from her arms again. So pure, so innocent, so vulnerable. Rhaenyra had known that day that she would do anything for him. She had felt the same with each of the children that followed.

With Aemma, this feeling had been especially strong. Not because she meant more to her than the others, no, but because she knew how cruel the world was to women. Her brown eyes, with their extraordinary blue gleam, had looked at her expectantly, as if she expected more than could be offered. Rhaenyra had vowed that her daughter would never have to go through what she had, but it was difficult to rebel against the world of men when you were trapped in it.

"Aemma tells of strange figures in the fire," Rhaenyra began, seeing her father turn to her in surprise.

"Strange figures in the fire?" he furrowed his brow. He looked tired and sick.

Rhaenyra nodded and played nervously with her fingers. "At first I thought it was the playful mind of a child, but it happens to many times."

Viserys placed the stone dragon back on the table and looked at her intently.

"Very interesting. It sounds like Aemma is a dreamer."

Rhaenyra took a breath. "But she doesn't dream these things. She sees things in the fire."

Viserys rubbed his chin and leaned back in his chair. His movements were slow, as if each one pained him. Deep circles were under his eyes. His condition depressed Rhaenyra, put her in fear about the time that would come when she would be all alone in this world.

Laenor was by her side, but he was no help to her. Sometimes Rhaenyra thought he was her fourth child, a boy who never wanted to grow up. She stroked her round belly. Or her fifth.

Then there was Harwin Strong, the father of her children, who was never allowed to be what he really was. He would support her, he would die for her, but he would condemn them all to death if she ever openly showed what he meant to her.

"I really only know about our ancestors and their dragon dreams," Viserys admitted. "But in the diaries of Aenar Targaryen, the few we still have, in which he writes about his daughter Daenys and her abilities, he also talks about his younger sister seeing her own death in fire. It is said to have occurred in the same way. Maybe it was just a coincidence but probably that's why he didn't doubt his daughter's words."

Aenar Targaryen was the father of Daenys, the dreamer. She had foretold of the fall and destruction of Valyria, a prophecy that had come to pass twelve years later. Aenar had been wise enough to believe his daughter, and had fled with his family to Dragonstone. Aenar's rivals had seen their flight as weakness and cowardice, but while their families perished, Daenys had saved House Targaryen and Velaryon with her prophecy.

"Did Aemma say what she saw, then?" asked Viserys curiously, leaning forward slightly.

"Green dragon, bloody crown, black wolf, fire comes after blood," Aemma had kept repeating while staring into the fire. "Green dragon, bloody crown, black wolf, fire comes after blood."

She had no idea what her child had meant by this, but it had an unsettling effect on her. She had come here with the thought of asking her father for advice, but then she looked to his green coat and it reminded her that she was surrounded by enemies in her own home. He would tell Alicent about it without anything evil in mind, but Alicent was no longer the girl that Rhaenyra had trusted with her darkest secrets.

She shook her head. "She only talked about figures she sees."

Her father looked disappointed and nodded.

"Whatever Aemma's abilities are, you have to protect her, Rhaenyra," Viserys began, looking to the fire burning in the hearth beside them. "Protect her from any danger, protect her from herself."

Rhaenyra looked at her father in irritation. Protect Aemma? Her stomach clenched.

"Dragon dreams can be dangerous. More dangerous than our dragons," Viserys explained to her calmly, but his words worried her. "Many in our line have been dragonriders. Very few among us have been dreamers. What is the power of a dragon next to the power of prophecy?"

129 AC.

DRAGONSTONE

Despite the closed door, Rhaenyra heard Daemon going from one tantrum to the next, raving about what had happened last night. But Rhaenyra had other worries. She watched as the maesters tended to Rose, checking her for further injuries.

She watched her sleeping daughter. Exhaustion had made her close her eyelids again, although Rhaenyra would have liked to ask her a thousand questions. She had so many questions, but the most important thing was that her little girl was back. There was no doubt.

It still seemed like a dream to have her daughter lying in front of her.

Rhaenyra gently stroked her sleeping daughter's face and followed the maester out of her room as he finished the examinations.

"You look worried," Rhaenyra stated with a fast beating heart and Grand Maester Gerardys looked at the door. She felt nervous.

Gerardys nodded and pulled her aside, away from the guards and maids.

"Her injuries are minor in nature, my Queen. Worst of all is her exhaustion."

"But?" She heard in his voice that there was more. Gerardys looked at her seriously, his brow furrowing.

"The girl is expecting a child," he revealed, and Rhaenyra's eyes widened.

"She's pregnant?" she asked, "Are you sure?"

Gerardys nodded. "She hasn't been pregnant for very long, and I doubt she knows, but there's no doubt that new life is growing inside the girl."

Rhaenyra had to admit that she had expected everything, but not this. Daemon and Lucerys had told her about her relationship with Aemond. Daemon because he had seen it and Lucerys because he had suspected it, but she had hoped they were both wrong. 

What a bizarre idea that Aemma was pregnant by her uncle. The gods showed no mercy if it were true.

She'd have to find out whose child it was. 

Rhaenyra nodded gravely. "I wish that her pregnancy will not be discussed for the time being and that you keep silent about it."

Grand Master Gerardys nodded. "Of course, my Queen." If he was surprised, he didn't show any sign of it.

Should it turn out to be true that Aemond was the father, then Aemma would be in danger. She didn't know what relevance her daughter had for Aemond, but she knew her brother well enough to know that he would come for what was his.

. . . . . 

"You betrayed Mother," said Jacaerys, and Lucerys looked up. Six sat with Rhaena and Baela on the beach, staring at the sea as they had done when they were little children.

All of them hadn't found sleep since last night. Jacaerys looked at Marax, who had already been fed for the fifth time in the day. The wounded dragon ripped apart his prey, his anger was clearly felt.

Lucerys looked at him hurt, but Jacaerys had no pity. What he had done was wrong.

"Jacaerys," Baela hissed, but he ignored his fiancée.

"You freed her, even though Mother gave a different order."

"Her execution has been proposed. I had to help her."

"It wasn't your decision to make."

Lucery's hands were shaking. "She's our sister."

"Bullshit."

"The Queen called her 'Aemma,'" Rhaena said defensively, looking at Jacaerys. "I heard it, loud and clear."

Jacaerys shook his head. "That's not possible. They have no resemblance."

"Are you blind, brother? She looks like Aemma."

"She has dark hair and brown eyes. Surprise. Let me go to the village and I'll bring you five girls who look like Aemma."

"You think you're smart," Lucerys spat. "But you talk like a fool."

"She's dead! Aemma is dead," Jacaerys shouted and clenched his fists. He jumped up. He felt him tremble with anger. Why didn't anyone listen to him?  "She's no longer alive, that's just wishful thinking. That girl up there can't be our sister. The Greens are fake and sneaky. They know of our loss and try to destroy us from within. Why can't anyone see what I see?"

"Rose is Aemma, brother," Lucerys said desperately. "They have so many similarities. Please, you have to listen to me. Even mother thinks she is. Get to know her."

Jacaerys shook his head.

"No, she's a fraud."

"She never claimed to be Aemma," Lucerys defended the strange woman. "Why can't you believe what we believe? Our sister has returned."

It would be too good to be true. For a moment Jacaerys wanted to give in, but he had to keep his senses. He couldn't be fooled.

He looked at Baela, seeking help, but she only shook her head. Rhaena had lowered her gaze, and Lucerys looked at him defiantly. In the past, Lucerys would never have spoken to him like that, but since his imprisonment, he's been someone else. He didn't recognize his brother, and it was all his own fault. If he hadn't suggested Luke fly to Baratheon, he would have been spared all this.

Jacaery's heart ached at the thought that he had almost killed his brother. He wouldn't let a stranger ruin this family just because she happened to look like his beloved sister.

"She's Aemond's mistress, isn't she, Luke?"He saw Lucery's surprise. He looked to the side and Jacaerys breathed. "We can't trust her. You can't trust her. I won't let that happen."

Whoever she was, she wasn't Aemma.

Aemma was dead.

No matter how much his brother and his mother wished for their return, Jacaerys would not be able to deceive them.

He would protect his family. At all costs.

Without another word or giving the others a chance to reply, he turned around and stomped back into the castle.

He'd prove to everyone he was right.

RED KEEP

Aemond listened to his brother's cries.

He stood in the hallway, waiting for his mother, who was visiting her brother at that moment. When she came out of his room, she seemed distracted. She looked at him with sad eyes, desperate, but there was also anger in them.

"This is Rhaenyra's fault," she said, full of hatred and Aemond followed her. "He is hardly conscious anymore, and when he is, he only expresses pain. He's in so much pain, Aemond, it breaks my heart."

Her voice trembled. Aemond didn't know whether it was grief, pain or anger.

Aemond felt sorry for his brother. He had been so preoccupied with his own problems, with Rose's loss, that drove him insane.

"Everything that Rhaenyra touches falls apart," Alicent continued. She had never spoken more openly about her feelings for Rhaenyra than she does today. It reminded him of the night on Driftmark when Lucerys took his eye off him.

"We must take revenge, my boy."

Aemond looked at his mother in surprise. His mother had longed for peace, she had done everything to make sure nothing happened to his sister, the princess, even after the failed assassination of her grand children, she had kept calm, but now he saw her anger, her willingness to shed blood.

"This realm needs guidance and right now your brother is unable to fulfill that duty."

Aemond stopped and held back his mother. Did his mother mean what he was thinking?

"What do you want from me, Mother?"

Say it. Say it.

"Rule this kingdom while your brother is unable to do so. Become Prince Regent, Protector of the Realm. Protect your family."

Aemond didn't know what to feel. That's what he'd always wanted. He had always wished to sit on the iron throne and possess what he was supposed to have in place of Aegon, if the gods had been righteous.

He would not be a king, but he would possess the power of a king.

Satisfaction flowed through him. He'd finally be able to prove himself. He would eliminate his enemies, every single one of them.

"If I do what you ask, I won't be able to let Rhaenyra live. No one. Not her, or any of her children."

Alicent nodded, he saw sadness in her eyes, but her attitude showed determination.

She looked back to Aegon's room. 

"Do what you have to do. Kill our enemies. Anyone who's a threat to us. I want Rhaenyra to know what it's like to see your child suffer like this."

Taglist

@watercolorskyy @marvelescvpe @ammo23 @helaenaluvr @toodlesxcuddles

[bloodlegacies]

I saw so many people's little thoughts on Hayden and their MC's futures which are so cute. Especially grandpa Eleazar so please pleaseeeee can I get a drabble or a headcanon of Eleazar reaction to the pregnancy announcement at a party or The King.

Sure! Here's the headcanon.

Eleazar was holding a chalice in his hand, with wine in it, and he was wearing a dark blue doublet, with a white shirt underneath and pants of the same color. He was at a party, with no idea why he was there. His son/daughter had said he should attend because they had an important announcement to make, and even the king was unaware of what it was, only that the heir prince/princess had said there would be something to announce.

He stood next to the throne, on the steps below but alongside it, while the king was sitting and waiting as well. Some nobles were walking around, some standing, drinking, eating, and talking amongst themselves. Eleazar couldn't help but find it tedious, no battle, no news, he was just waiting and he hated it. It made him very restless.

To his delight, he didn't have to wait long, as soon his son/daughter appeared through a doorway in the hall, followed by Hayden, who was holding their child's hand in theirs; it made Eleazar grimace, and he internally kicked himself because he promised to be at least calm in relation to the heir to the throne, which is not easy. He really wanted to go over there and separate them from his child…

But he didn't, and waited for them to approach. People around them bowed respectfully and stepped back to let them pass, and that pleased Eleazar, who even raised his chin in pride to see the nobles of Petrus acting this way towards his child, although he understands that it also has to do with the heir to the throne.

His son/daughter bowed before him and the king along with Hayden, who smiled widely before speaking. "My father." Said Hayden, and Eleazar immediately narrowed his eyes and so did the king. They were being so courteous without a hint of something else in their tone of voice? Hmm… something fishy was going on. "We would like to announce to all here that the kingdom has a new successor on the way." Ah, there it was, the tone in their voice of…

Wait, what? "What?" Eleazar blinked his eyes, momentarily forgetting that he shouldn't speak before the king.

Hayden smiled even more. "That's right, you heard correctly, you two will be grandparents."

Eleazar broke the cup in his hands.

A silence followed as the nobles waited for the king's response, although some had already begun to whisper.

Until Eleazar replied. "What good news, another heir." Even the king noticed Eleazar's grinding teeth and cold, threatening stare towards Hayden and stood up, clearing his throat and clapping his hands together.

"This is wonderful, my people, look! What wonderful news! The kingdom already has its newest successor!" he exclaimed, and many nobles began to clap and congratulate them, although some more slowly and softly than others, while the king gestured to the musicians. "Play a happy tune, and please, enjoy and have fun tonight! Today is a day of celebration!" The king said with a smile, although it was more forced.

Hayden couldn't help but give a crooked smile, and his child gave them an elbow to the side and a look, which they only smiled more softly at before taking their hand and turning to join the nobles who were congratulating them and wanting to talk.

Eleazar stared at the heir/heiress to the throne's back so intensely that it could have made a hole in it, briefly wondering if he could now strangle them since the kingdom already has a successor and consequently his grandchild…

But he needed to at least meet his grandchild before that, surely his son/daughter wouldn't want him to strangle their spouse, much to his dismay.

What a shame.