#'who am i kidding she and thorne probably poked their eyes on it quite a few times'

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Surprises

Surprises of all kinds, found after a shopping trip goes wrong. Content warning for coarse language, sexuality, threats of violence, mentions of suicide and incest, and copious amounts of headcanons.

As always, there is more in my Twisted Wonderland Fanfiction tag, and send me a message if you liked it, I crave positive feedback.

~*~*~*~

TXT: where the fuck are you guys it's already quarter past

After a few minutes, you got a ding.

M: idia doenst want t leave something about a person see you aftr he needs freind

Oh goddammit, it's so fucking hard to get him out and about. At least Mal was with him.

You looked to Grim at your feet. "Looks like it's just us, buddy."

~*~*~*~

It was just you and Grim browsing through the dollar store, when a boy in a ratty shop apron came up to you. "Ma'am?"

You turned to him, and he coughed. "Uh, Miss. You're not supposed to have pets in the store."

Grim bristled at him. "I'm not a pet!"

Poor kid, he looked so startled. And you decided to make it worse, because yanno, why not. "How dare you refer to my son as a pet! Does he look like a pet to you?"

He looked between your face and Grim's, confusion growing. "Wh-"

"I know the resemblance isn't the strongest, but honestly! How could you say such mean things about him!"

Grim, bless him, actually caught on and decided to play along for the chaos of it. "Why are you being so mean to me? My mom works hard to keep me happy! She said I could pick out a toy today!"

The confusion had turned to anger. "That's not your kid! You're too young and he's an animal!"

Grim looked up at you, mock tears in his eyes. "I'm your kid, right? I'm not adopted like the boys at school say?" He started sniffling. "I'm not adopted, right?"

You clapped your hands over Grim's ears and glared at the now horrified shopboy. "Look what you've done! I hadn't told him yet!"

He just fled in horror, and it was all you could do to keep from laughing.

~*~*~*~

The village on the island wasn't the worst appointed. Being equidistant between two prestigious magic schools, it had a few places worth going, and after hitting up your personal favourite, you went to a small park, settled down on a bench, and started unwrapping your prizes.

You have a love for gashapon machines that bordered on a serious problem. In your biweekly trips to buy snacks and supplies to stock up your miserable, beautiful dorm, you easily fed 3000 madol (which you think was about thirty-five dollars or so at home, but couldn't be sure) into the long rows of machines in the drug store, coming out with tiny keychains, figures, and various useless but wonderful little totchkes that you kept lined up in rows in your bedroom. The joys of tiny presents! And the containers were useful too; for a creature who heavily insisted he wasn't a cat, Grim lost his shit like one every time your rolled a ball with a bell inside across the floor.

You were marveling over a tiny, perfectly realistic jellyfish on a phone strap as someone sat down heavily beside you. "Is that," they pointed to Grim poking his way around the cattails by an ornamental pond, "yours?"

"... Yes?" You turned to examine your seatmate. Charmingly strange looking, they sat impeccably robed in forest green velvet and squinted at you from behind perfectly round sunglasses. Flat-faced and thin-lipped, they reminded you of a toad, with their roundness and severe expression.

"Ah, then you are the one I am looking for. You're the pet of the prince."

"I'm a friend of his. Is that a problem?" You decided to keep opening your prizes, and pulled out a heavy ball from the bottom of your bag.

"His Highness does not have human friends."

"And yet, I am." This one, unwrapped, was the chase in the set: a tiny cauldron the size of a thimble that seemed to be actual cast iron. The chill of it was pleasant in your hand, and instead of returning it to your bag, you left it in your lap.

This presumptive stranger leaned in. "You're a diversion. A distraction from what he should be learning. Instead he plays with mortals and lets them forget their place."

"If it was so important that he didn't play with mortals, then why was he allowed to attend here?" You got a cheap set of rings on a goldtone chain in this one. Boo. You'd wanted the miniature necklace of the set for your doll. "He's very happy with the company of us all."

"Too happy. He forgets his place." The toady eyed the glittering paste gems before looking away. "Above you. Instead he crawls into your lap and serves you like a dog."

You froze. "Now, where did you get that idea?"

"We have sources." They leaned in further, smiling. A barely perceptible line of triangular teeth, sparsely placed and translucent in tone. "Foul things happen to the unwanted lovers of heirs, don't you know?"

"I am a wanted friend." 

"You're a parasite who should flee."

You realized something, and turned to face your strange benchmate. "Why are you threatened by me?"

They scoffed. "Why would we be threatened by you?"

"If you weren't," you said, dropping your voice as your leaned in, "then you wouldn't be here trying to put the fear into me." They leaned back, glasses slipping off their nose. The eyes in their face were exquisite, shining gold and black speckles with a ring of gold around an oval pupil. You could help but laugh. "Pretty eyes. You really are a toad. Who sent you? The Thorn Witch? Can't be, I'm not worth her time and if I was, she'd've sent a fucking letter."

"We're a concerned party, preventing our future king from making the mistake of dealing with filth." 

Well, that one pissed you off. You grabbed their wrist, feeling bumps and warts on their skin through the fabric, and pressed the tiny cauldron to the back on their hand as they started screeching.

"You," you looked them dead in their impossibly lovely eyes, "You go back where you came from, tell them I'm not a threat to whatever stupid bullshit they're worried about, and never bother us again. Or I will make you swallow this and you'll beg the precious prince you're so damned worried about to burn you alive to stop the pain."

You'd never seen anyone run so fast in your life when you let them go.

"Hey, Grim! We gotta go."

~*~*~*~

TXT: MAL SOMEONE SENT ME A TOADY SAYING I CAN'T BE AROUND YOU ANYMORE

TXT: MIGHTA BEEN YOUR GMA BUT I DON'T THINK SO

~*~*~*~

"I'm gonna kill that fucker."

"Killing them might start an international incident. If one hasn't happened already. You burnt them with iron, Yuu."

"I should have done worse! Whoever the fuck they were, that's two friends they've tried to threaten to stay away from you! That we know of!"

It turns out that the mystery toady had been the person to scare the piss out of Idia the night before. Not that they'd gotten far into their leave-the-prince-alone spiel, Idia had simply kicked them square in the stomach and fled, assuming another kidnapping attempt.

"It wouldn't have been my grandmother. In the last letter I got from her, she said it was very nice that I was making friends. She said to keep making them, even."

"She'd probably care if she knew you were sleeping with said friends." Idia was curled into the corner of his bed, and from the looks of it hadn't slept since his own encounter.

"No she wouldn't."

"You sure about that?"

You'd said that that was only going to happen once. Everyone agreed. But when all three of you settled in to play a game or watch a movie, hands moved and bodies flushed and you all seemed to find yourself tangled and gasping. And it didn't seem to require all three of you - you no longer had the strength to say no to Mal's obvious advances, and you'd walked in on your boys more than once. At least you were still friends? Really, really close friends?

"She wouldn't."

"Could they be worried about heirs?" That seemed logical. Even if no accidents were happening, they might not know that.

"That's not possible."

You raised an eyebrow. Everything worked right, and you all knew it.

Mal looked back at you. "Yuu, I hatched from an egg. I could have you both five times a day for a decade and all there would be to show for it is you couldn't walk. I cannot have children with either of you without magical intervention."

Idia made a truly impressive death rattle before mumbling something about the end of his bloodline, and you just nodded. "Makes sense."

"It's quite interesting, really, it requires numerous spells and potions, that if not kept up on, the babe will-" Malleus placed his hands together, back to back, and mimed the motion of tearing something open.

You flinched. "That's awful, goddamn."

"I have a direct ancestor who took a great deal of human women as breeding stock and simply let them be eaten from the inside out. That's what started one of the earlier human/faerie wars." 

"... Wow."

"I am not proud of her."

"Can we please talk about anything else?" Idia looked ready to be sick. "I don't want to think about any of this."

"Sure, let's grab one of your doujins."

~*~*~*~

"So you're already engaged?"

"As soon as it was clear I would survive to adulthood, yes. Idia, what is this series?"

"Nyan Neko Sugar Girls. It's not that great storywise, but it has great gags." He reached over and grabbed the next one in his pile. "It's not that unusual. My mother wanted Ortho to marry my cousin Alecto when they grew up, before..."

"Before he made a lifestyle change?" That seemed the politest way to put it.

"Before she went to the criminal ward."

You shut your book with a soft thump. "What?"

"I remember the trial." Mal sighed. "Strychnine in the sugar bowl at Sunday dinner. I made sure to get the newspapers sent to the palace."

"Mother was heartbroken over it, until she realized that the wealth of that entire Shroud branch defaulted back to us." Idia shrugged. "It's sad. She was just eleven. I still send her emails."

"Idia."

"Mm?"

"Why the fuck would an eleven year old poison someone?"

"My uncle said she couldn't get a puppy until her grades went up."

"What the fuck." You'd lie down if you weren't already doing so.

"It's the curse." He sighed. "We thought she might've been from an affair? But that proved it."

"My dearest Shroud, you can't guarantee it was from the curse." Malleus turned a page. "It might have been trauma from her mother's death."

You could see more bad history incoming. "Oh no."

"Alecto was from Uncle Jo's first marriage, to my dad's cousin Alita. She had a sister, but when her mother drowned herself, she only took-"

"Is this normal for your family? Or is that just some exceptional bad luck?"

He leaned in, lamplight eyes flashing. "Out of all the Shrouds of my generation that are still capable of inheriting, I'm the most mentally sound."

Both you and Mal had to stop and really consider the implications of that.

"So, Mal. Yours isn't that closely related?"

"Fifth cousins at most when they're finally born."

You sat up. "What?"

"I'm supposed to marry the third grandchild of the Hollyoak Baron. They're a well-respected family, and of snake fae descent so little aid will be needed for conception. His eldest child is in..." He had to think about what words to use. " I believe the term is 'middle school'?"

"They really planned it that far ahead?"

Mal shrugged, the movement rolling down his whole body. "I cannot complain. It gives me a very long time to learn how to be a husband before I have to be one."

"But what if you don't like them?"

"Marriage is chiefly a contract to produce heirs. I'll learn to like them, and ideally love them."

"And if you don't?"

"I'll still treat them as kindly as I can."

"And I suppose you'd take a lover."

"Maybe. They can too, as long as all the children are mine. For legal reasons," he added.

Idia, snapping out of his thoughts, tapped Mal's shoulder. "Does the Hollyoak Baron have any friends who are toad faeries?"

It was Mal's turn to sit up. "That... He could be worried that if I have favourites at school, I'll resent my betrothed for not being either of you. Or that I would attempt to break it off entirely."

"That still doesn't tell us how he found out about..." You gestured around the room.

Idia rolled his eyes. "All that would have to happen is any one student from the Valley of Thorns writing a letter home."

"But -"

"Malleus, you're not shy in your affections. At all."

"Yes I am," he bristled.

~*~*~*~

"Mal?"

"Mmph?"

"You have to put me down. I have class."

He made a slightly different mmph and shook his head.

You tried to pat his head, but your arms were securely pinned to your sides. "I know they're fantastic, but you have to stop."

He still refused to remove his face from your chest, making a noise that could have been purring if it cane from anyone who was a proper mammal.

"Mal, we're blocking traffic."

He still wasn't putting you down, instead swaying slightly in place.

A familiar long-fingered hand with dark nails reached from behind you and tugged at Mal's lapel. "Malleus, please stop, it's ten AM and everyone is staring."

Mal finally put you down - only to switch targets, wrapping his arms around Idia's waist and pulling him flush, fixing him with such a look of besotted fondness that you immediately felt like you were intruding.

"You look beautiful today."

Idia immediately burst into a ball of pink flame.

~*~*~*~

"... Perhaps I am a bit obvious."

Idia stared up at his ceiling. "You'd be at home in my otome games."

You chimed in. "What would be obvious, in your mind?"

"Very easy. I finish the paperwork declaring you Lord and Lady of the Bedchamber and have you officially ensconced as Court of Thorns royalty, ensuring you're both taken care of for the rest of your days."

"... Finish?"

"It seemed the easiest thing to do if either of you chose to visit my homeland."

You swatted his leg. "And you didn't think to ask us first?"

Mal was starting to clue in that he had once again overreached himself. "... Surprise?"

"I'm okay with it."

You glared over at Idia. "That's not the point."

"Look, if I ever get disinherited, I have a place to go. He won't make me go outside if I don't want to. I'll bring Ortho. It'll be great."

"They don't even have dial-up over there, Idia. Lilia told me he had to get all this stuff installed to play his MMOs."

Idia pointed at Mal, easy smile turned to outrage. "How dare you try and trap me!"

It honestly seemed like Mal and Idia had switched expressions, the look of worry on his face so strange. "It's a protective measure! If you're titled, people will get in trouble if they try and remove you!"

"That's still... wait." The gears were turning in your head. "If you finish that paperwork, whoever sent Mixter Toad is going to get in so much more trouble."

Everyone went silent as they considered this.

"... As soon as I get the official permission from my grandmother. She won't like it very much, but if I explain..."

Idia turned to Mal. "You were going to make your human fucktoys official members of the Court of Thorns without telling your grandmother, the queen. Who has a notable and often justified dislike of humans."

"No?"

"Mal."

"I simply prepared ahead."

"Mal."

"I - "

"Malleus." You leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You're so goddamned stupid. Love you."

He didn't say it back with words, but you got the message loud and clear.

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Squiggle Script #18: His Two Favourite Roses

Picture it. Ruby and Oscar are on a mission together in Atlas. Alongside their respective teams, the two smaller honest souls are assisting Weiss in investigating the rumours circling around her family company: the SDC. In a similar fashion to Sun and Neptune during the events of V2, Rose Fox (Oscar’s childhood friend and fellow student of Atlas Academy) happens to stumble in on JNPR and RWBY while they were making their reconnaissance plans and unceremoniously invites herself on the mission with Oscar awkwardly vouching for her inclusion to make peace.

During the mission, our heroes run into some trouble while tailing a lead leading to Ruby, Oscar and Rose being separated from their friends during the high speed chase. They are then cornered and ambushed by some thugs sent to take them out. Unfortunately for their opponents, all three huntsmen were more than capable of honing their own in a fight and easily take them down. Even Oscar proved himself well on his own.

This scene takes place during the aftermath of said clash where our trio are celebrating their victory. Well two of them at least. While Rose and Oscar joined each other in a triumphant high five, Ruby just looked on in awkward silence.

Rose: *cheerfully* That was A-MA-ZING!

Oscar: *equally excited; practically bouncing on his toes* Right! You were so cool Rose!

Rose: *punches Oscar on the shoulder playfully* Me? What about you Mr. Hunts-Man? Since when does a Munchkin know how to kick ass and take names, huh?

Her cheeky comment was rewarded with Oscar lightly shoving her back with a cheeky look of his own.

Oscar: Since he’s been travelling with other huntsmen, that’s what’s what. Ruby’s also helped me a lot with my training. I’d still be garbage if it weren’t for our training sessions.

Oscar smiled at Ruby warmly. Ruby couldn’t help but smile softly at the farm boy’s enthusiasm. Unfortunately, Rose Fox happened to notice their brief exchange; hands chivalrously on hips now.

Rose: Colour me impressed. Wait…so you two have travelled together and trained together?

Oscar: Yeah.

Rose: Alone?

Oscar: Uh huh.

Rose then made a face. It wasn’t precisely a negative expression. Just one that was a clear combination of amusement mixed in with something else that Ruby couldn’t put her finger on as it disappeared as quickly as it came; now replaced with a catty smirk as Rose glanced in her direction. Oscar, on the other hand, was innocently oblivious.  

Rose: Well…looks like you’ve been taking real good care of my boy over here Ms. Ruby Rose. I wonder what other moves you’ve taught him during your private sessions.

Ruby winced at the rather suggestive tone in Rose’s voice. ‘What is she getting at?’ Ruby thought in annoyance but before she could voice her aggravation, Oscar beat her to the punch as he poked Rose.

Oscar: Hey quit teasing Ruby! Not everyone is me and could stomach your buttheadness. Besides…she didn’t teach me all my moves. There’s still a couple in there that are Oscar Pine originals.

Rose: *giggles* Well, maybe we can have our own training sessions so you could show me those moves sometime.

Rose flashes a toothy smile making Oscar blush slightly, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. Although her face was as straight as a pin, Ruby felt herself mentally gag.

Rose: And speaking of moves, what of that move we did together, huh? Pretty badass, right?

Oscar: Yeah it was. Reminds me of when we used to play pretend huntsmen and tried coming up with own team attacks.

Rose: …And failed miserably because we were dumb kids.

Oscar: *laughs* True but…still great. Just like old times.

Rose: *beaming* Exactly. You know. We make a great team, don’t we?

Rose then boldly takes Oscar’s hand, smiling…bright and beautiful. In the presence of another young man, that smile would have won Rose his heart. Ruby knew this and couldn’t help but fidget, stomach contorting in awkward knots as she observed Rose batter her eyes at Oscar with all the allure of the clever vixen she was. But to Rose’s surprise, Oscar didn’t take her bait.

Oscar: Yeah we do. All three of us, right Rubes?

Oscar looks over at Ruby; face beaming. Rose stiffened and Ruby, in turn, blinked in surprise.

Ruby: *awkwardly* ...Uh...I---I don't think she meant me too Oscar.

Oscar: *incredulously* Are you kidding me? This trio isn't complete without you, right Rose?

Now Oscar turned his eyes back to Rose, waiting for her agreement. Rose blanched.

Rose: …Uh…of course. You know the ole saying. It’s takes three to tango. *laughs uncomfortably*

Rose then clears her throat to account for her sudden awkwardness.

Rose: Uh… isn’t there a mission we should be getting back to.

For once, Ruby actually agreed with the sly fox.

Ruby: Right. It looks like we took out the last of those thugs. They shouldn’t be bothering us anymore.

Oscar: *cautiously* What about you Rose? Picked up anything off?

With her nose to the wind, Rose inhaled sharply in inspection of their surroundings. Her fox ears flicked back and forth on high alert as she listened carefully for any further anomalies.

Rose: …No. Nothing smells off and I don’t hear anything unusual coming our way either so we should be all clear to go.

Ruby: We should probably check in with Weiss and the others. Make sure everyone made it safely to the rendezvous point. We may have lost track of the thugs but maybe if we all meet up, we can exchange what we found.

Rose: Just wish we didn’t have to turn up empty-handed.

Oscar: That might not be the case.

Oscar walked over to the nearest wall, preparing himself to climb.

Ruby: Where are you going?

Oscar: To check the upper building. While we were fighting, I saw one of the thugs chuck something up there that looked like a Scroll. If we’re lucky, it might contain some clues about the enemy. Gonna scope it out just to be sure. You guys stay down here.

Rose: *incredulously* What! You’re gonna leave two vulnerable pretty girls like us all alone in a dark alleyway at night?

Oscar: *rolls his eyes yet chuckles* No. I’m leaving two very competent huntresses who just finished wiping the floor with a bunch of armed goons who I trust can more than take care of themselves. Besides, better I go because if anything happens, at least I know you two are safe here and that’s what matters.

Ruby: …Oscar…

Rose: *gushing* Ooooh look at you sounding all noble and serious like a true blue commanding huntsman. That's a very attractive look on you Oscar.

Oscar staggered; nearly tripping on himself from Rose’s remark.

Oscar: *blushing and embarrassed* Wha---What? No! St---Stop teasing me Rose! I---I'll go check the thing now.

With that, Oscar climbed. You would think he wouldn’t be able to given his size and skill level but Oscar scaled the wall like it was a flat piece of cardboard as Ruby and Rose looked on in wonder. To her side, Ruby heard Rose exhale one long enthralled whistle. Ruby, on the other hand, couldn’t help but smile proudly. Her boy had come a long way since his early days.

Rose: You know he is so cute to tease.

She then turned her gaze on Ruby, lips curling in mischief as she sneered.

Rose: …Or maybe he's just cute in general, am I right?

There it was again. That suggestive tone. Ruby could feel the warmth rising in her cheeks and she avoided the Faunus girl’s eyes as she looked away coyly.

Ruby: ...I wouldn't really...

Rose: What? You don't think Oscar's cute?

Ruby: *fidgety*...I...I would much rather focus on the mission.

Rose: Right. The mission.

Rose then went quiet. For a few beats, Ruby welcomed the awkward silence between them. Sadly, it lasted as long as one would expect when talking to Rose Fox.  

Rose: You know when I said we before, you do realize I didn’t mean no trio, right?

Ruby swallowed. Her throat felt unpleasantly dry.

Ruby: *humourlessly* Yeah I…figured just as much.

Rose: Wow. I'm impressed and here I thought you were just a dainty little girl from Patch playing huntress. You're smarter than you look. And since you're so smart…

Now Rose was up in Ruby’s face, looking down at her dauntingly. It didn’t help that she was a whole foot taller than Ruby.

Rose: You should also know you can't spell team with three letters.

Ruby: *scoffs* Just as how there's no U and I in team either.

This earned her a laugh from Rose. Short. Sweet and completely condescending.

Rose: Well, well, two for two. Guess I’m not the only rose here with thorns. But careful Rubes, this rose also bites.

As if to prove her point, Rose smiled wide revealing her long, pointy canines.

By her imagination, she believed she had Ruby overwhelmed. But unbeknownst to Rose, Ruby Rose had faced dangers far more treacherous and impressionable than the likes of one Faunus girl trying to pull rank. 

Now it was Ruby’s turn to turn on Rose, countering her piss poor intimidation tactic with an aloof confidence of her own. She didn’t say anything. Not like she needed to. Her stern appearance and the way her silver eyes shone like cold steel under the coat of her unbridled indignation said all that she needed to voice on how she was prepared to not back down from whatever challenge the other rose was daring to propose.  

Her indifference only served to entice Rose’s hilarity as she gleamed; more entertained than she was before.

For a few more beats, the roses stood in their deadlock until an encroaching noise caught their attention. Both girls trained their gaze just in time to see Oscar land skillfully on the dirt not too far from them.

Rose: Aye look who’s back. What’d you find Munchkin?

Oscar answered Rose with a confidant grin, holding up something big and dark that was bigger than his own hand.  

Oscar: You gals should learn to trust my instincts more. Read em and weep.

Ruby: Is that a…

Oscar: Yup. A Scroll. Told ya.

Rose: That don’t look like no ordinary Scroll. At least not a model I’ve seen. Looks outdated too.

Oscar: You’re right. It’s probably a really old series that’s been modified by the enemy to suit their agenda. Whoever these guys are, they’re working with someone who knows their way around building tech. Definitely an engineer.

Rose: You got all that from a grandpappi Scroll?

Oscar:  Aren’t you glad one of us pays attention to Professor P’s lectures.

Ruby: Okay. Well did you find anything on it?

Oscar: …Well…yes and not exactly? Unlocking it was actually the easy part but…everything on here seems to be encrypted.

Ruby: What does that mean?

Rose: He means there’s nothing on it which means we got diddly squat.

Oscar: Wrong. There’s definitely something on here that the goons didn’t want anyone else outside their organization to know about. That’s why they tried to hide it. That’s why everything is encrypted. Whatever secrets they’re hiding, it’s written in a language that can’t be read by the normal human eye. Not unless you have something like…a hacking software or a decoder or something.

Rose: You wouldn’t happen to have one of those hacky-sacky decoder things on you right now, would you?

Oscar: No. Unfortunately I’m not a hacker. But…I think I might know someone who can help. Sorry I can’t give you better news though.

Ruby: Are you kidding? That’s the best lead we have. Let’s meet up with the others and let them know what we found out. *smiles at Oscar warmly* Great work Oscar.

Oscar smiles, humbled by Ruby’s complement. However his moment of appreciation from Ruby is only disturbed by Rose teasingly making a catcall whistle directed his way. If Oscar’s face were any redder, he’d put both Rose girls to shame.

Oscar: *blushingly* R---Rose I said stop it with that!

Ruby: Ahem! Can we get a move on now? 

Oscar:  Affirmative. Lead the way fearless leader.

Oscar flashed Ruby a smile. Bright and surprisingly…charming. Finding herself suddenly self-conscious, Ruby returned the smile, her cheeks turning slightly red under Oscar’s gaze besides herself. Thankfully Oscar didn't notice her blush. However Rose did and she only smirked knowingly.

Her attention then switched back to Oscar who now stood eyeing between Ruby and Rose with a grin so bright he was practically glowing gold.

Rose: What are smiling so bright and shiny about? 

Oscar: *happily* Nothing it's just been so cool having the three of us work together on a mission. 

Oscar then did something he’s never done before. He sandwiched himself between Rose and Ruby, linking their arms together as he pulled both girls into a hug.

Oscar: Me and my two favourite roses in the whole wide world. This is just so awesome! 

Rose: *cheekily* You hear that Ruby. His two favourite roses.

Though Ruby smiled softly at Oscar, her expression was soon replaced with a frown as she turned to Rose. Despite Oscar’s chipper demeanour, Ruby hadn’t forgotten the scene that transpired before his return. Neither did Rose as she leaned over Oscar’s head to ensure that her mouth was close enough to Ruby’s ear; whispering low enough for only her to hear.

Rose: Soon to be only one.

Rose then bared her fangs challengingly and Ruby glowered. This moment was soon interrupted by Oscar raising his head to look between Ruby and Rose; still ignorant of their secret feud.

Oscar: *inquisitively* Did you say something Rose?

Rose: *shrugs innocently* Oh nothing that concerns a Munchkin.

She then booped Oscar square on the nose and he blinked in confusion. On her end, Ruby just sighed.  

And scene

And there it is ladies and gents. My first RWBY Squiggle Script featuring my first ever RWBY OC: Rose Fox. For those of you unaware of who Rose is, please go check out my ‘Oscar’s Other Rose’ Pinehead headcanon. Since I’m currently in the works for making her full design, I wanted to create a Squiggle Script that also helps to give the readers a sense of the kind of personality Rose has or at least the one I had in mind for her.

When I picture Rose, I envision her sharing similarities with the Rose from the Little Prince. By my interpretation she’s supposed to be this character who is meant to be represent both the Rose and the Fox from the fairy-tale. For those of us who already know, in the Prince’s story he fell in love with a rose who was very vain and told the prince fibs that painted her as the only rose in existence despite the fact that she was the only rose that grew on the Prince’s planet. This then prompted the Prince to leave his planet to journey to other worlds. In his travels, the Prince learnt that his rose wasn’t the only rose and this ended up upsetting him because she had lied to him.

But through the lessons of a wise young fox that the Prince befriended did he soon learn that his rose is the one true rose to him. She is the rose he loved the most.

In the case of RWBY, with Oscar drawing inspiration from the Little Prince as some theorists believe based on his new huntsmen attire, the popular Rosegardening Pinehead theory is that this is a sign that Oscar is meant to fall in love with Ruby Rose, correct?

Well I thought it would be an interesting idea if the CRWBY shook things up a bit for Oscar’s story and introduced another rose character to the story shares a history with Oscar. Hence the creation of my Rose Fox OC who embodies that concept.

In the Little Prince, the Prince met other roses but ultimately came to learn that his rose was his one true love. I can see Oscar going through something like this where he has two Roses deemed very important in his life however ultimately it’s only one he falls in love with. His one true rose. We already know which Rose that’s going to be, right?

I know it’s only a Pinehead headcanon of mine but it’s one that’s become my favourite now. I just really love the idea of Oscar sharing a close bond with another Rose girl from his childhood back in Mistral who he happens to reunite with in Atlas.

We all know that Oscar loves Ruby but what could be fascinating to observe is seeing him come to that realization. Moreover, imagine if this affects Ruby as well. I really dig the idea of a Rose Fox character unintentionally forcing, perhaps even helping Ruby to realize her own feelings toward Oscar.

The idea I have in my head is that for most of her life, Ruby has generally been pretty sure about how she feels toward everyone she’s met. If they’re her friend, she loves them because they are her friends. If they’re her enemies then she dislikes them for they are her enemies. However I’m digging the thought of Oscar Pine coming to be special to Ruby in the sense that he is the one person Ruby has met where her feelings for him don’t remain consistent. They change drastically over time the more she gets to know him introducing emotions Ruby has never felt before with anyone else. These newfound feeling render Ruby very confused on how to handle them. In beginning, Ruby thought of Oscar as all of her other comrades---a friend that she loved and would do anything to protect.

But over time, Ruby’s affections toward Oscar changed. It went from her seeing him as a friend to…something else. Something more that she couldn’t understand at the time.

These new feelings confused Ruby but she didn’t think it wise to ponder about them too much; brushing them off. It wasn’t until she met Rosaline Fox---another Rose who was a close friend of Oscar and who is unapologetically in love with him where Ruby starts to really wonder what her newfound feelings meant as she suddenly finds herself unable to stomach Rose’s romantic advances toward Oscar. 

By my imagination, despite sharing the name of Rose, Rosaline Fox is everything Ruby Rose is and isn’t. Not only is she a young yet talented huntress (younger than Ruby being at 16 placing her much closer to Oscar’s age) but she is also fearless and the type of righteous person who fights for what she believes in.

Though vain at times, Rose, as vouched by Oscar himself, is a great and caring person who was the one friend who looked out for him growing up back in Mistral. Apart from that, Rose is beautiful and exerts an alluring feminine confidence that makes it hard for others, especially those of the opposite sex, to take their eyes off her. Oscar included. I love the idea of Ruby and Rose both being powerhouses that command the attention and respect of others but in completely different ways. 

By extension, they are both very lovely Roses, but beautiful in their own individual ways as perceived by those around them. That’s my concept.

I really love the idea of a character like Rosaline Fox challenging Ruby on subjects like her looks or how she might feel romantically toward someone she’s interested in. These are experiences Ruby has been omitted from and I’m curious to see how she would fair when placed in a scenario like this. I know it sounds too teeny-boppy and doesn’t scream RWBY at all. However, it’s not like the series hasn’t given us those slice of life, shoujo-manga/anime-esque episodes before.

We’ve just never gotten anything Ruby is the centric character in her own little love story and personally, this squiggle meister would very much like to see something like that done for Ruby. As entertaining as Ruby the spark of hope or Ruby the Silver Eyed Warrior is and has been for the past six seasons, I kind of want to see what Ruby the teenaged girl is like, y’know what I’m saying.

How does Ruby the teenage girl rank herself in the looks department? Does Ruby view herself as beautiful? Is she confident about it? Does she care at all? For me, my Ruby Rose headcanon is that she has a very Toph Beifong approach when it comes to her looks.  She prides herself on dismissing that kind of stuff. But just because she’s doesn’t focus on it doesn’t mean she hasn’t pondered the thought at least once. My hunch is that Ruby values herself as the least beautiful amongst the girls on her team.

Not putting down Ruby but the show has gone out of its way to highlight multiple times how other characters have found her teammates more desirable. How many times has Yang been hit on by a guy? How often is Weiss complemented about her prettiness? How many past suitors has Blake racked up in the span of six seasons?

How many times has Ruby been called beautiful? ONCE and it was by her own sister. How many characters have shown a legit  romantic interest in Ruby? The closest we’ve gotten is Oscar Pine with the way he just stared at her the very first time he laid eyes on her. Not to mention the time he literally blushed when she smiled at him. 

Take notes people; this is how you hint at a character potentially having a crush on Ruby Rose. This is what it looks like.

Not so much this.

Or this.

But this.

But y’know, I’m just a shipper. What do I know about facial expressions and romantic clues, right?

How would Ruby the teenage girl  react to finding out someone has a crush on her? How would Ruby the teenage girl react to being in the presence of a rival? How would Ruby the teenage girl react to being in love period?

I understand that not many Ruby Rose fans aren’t really invested in this kind of stuff for her character. Again, I know Ruby is a huntress/Silver Eyed Warrior/Leader of Team RWBY/Technically Leader and Voice of Reason/Spark of Hope within the JNR_QROWMBY, but that’s not all that she is.

 Bottom-line, Ruby is a teenage girl and it would be a nice change of pace to have the story kind of share stories where she’s allowed to be just a teenage girl and not just a huntress/Silver Eyed Warrior/Leader of Team RWBY/Technically Leader and Voice of Reason/Spark of Hope within the JNR_QROWMBY. At the moment, Atlas is my hope for that welcomed change in narrative. But that’s just moi.

Back to talking about Rose, I enjoyed writing this small script as it helps show-off the type of character I’d like Rose to be. If I were to describe Rose in a few words, I’d say she’s someone who is ‘very hard pill to swallow’ at first. She’s not a bad person. Just she can be a bit much at times.

She has a very upfront, outspoken, rowdy, extroverted personality that could either be endearing or exhausting depending on who she meets. She is the type of person that needs a buffer to siphon the exuberant amounts of vigour she often exerts or at least make her easier for others to take in.  

That’s why her friendship with Oscar worked so well. He was her buffer; patient but not afraid to pull her up when she’s overdoes it. Despite having her own huntsmen team where she’s the leader, dissimilar to Ruby Rose whose teammates are her friends and family, outside of Atlas Academy, Rose is basically a solitary fox.

Some folks could either be very put off by Rose’s personality or intimidated. That’s why she appreciates the small close circle of people she has in her life. They’re the ones who stuck around and care about her for who she is. That’s why Rose likes and fell in love with Oscar. He’s the one that put up with her demanding disposition and cared about her unconditionally. Sounds familiar?

Anyways, I know I made Rose seem like an annoying b****in this Script particularly to Ruby but…hey, foxes are known for being territorial and possessive creatures.

But relax, she isn’t the mean-spirited type. Rose may see Ruby as a rival but she isn’t malicious enough to thwart Ruby’s advances toward Oscar. If Rose knows Ruby’s feelings for Oscar are genuine then she’ll respectfully back off. Remember my quote from the headcanon post.

“…I may be the Rose he likes but I’m not the Rose he loves…”

I feel like that could be Rose’s mantra or key character quote. Still a damn good one too.

In my head, my concept is that Rose will recognize Ruby and Oscar’s clear feelings for one another. Unlike either, she’s a rather perceptive fox. She sees Oscar’s interest in the other rose, whether he’s willing to admit it out loud or not. However what Rose is questionable of are Ruby’s intentions. 

Look at it this way, Rose has feelings for Oscar but knows Oscar has feelings for Ruby and is perfectly content with that. She may love Oscar but at the end of the day, he’s still her best friend and his happiness means more to her. He’s one of the few people Rose would put above herself.

However, Rose also recognizes that Ruby might like Oscar too but unlike Rose, Ruby is hesitant in her feelings and Rose knows this.

So for the sake of ensuring that Ruby’s feelings for Oscar are sincere, Rose would boldly challenge Ruby. Rose knows only one rose can tame Oscar’s heart and be his one true love but is that what Ruby wants to be? Rose isn’t afraid to paint herself as a bad guy to prove this point.

It’s kind of a protective way for Rose to ensure Ruby doesn’t unintentionally hurt Oscar’s feelings. If Ruby loves Oscar too then Rose will be supportive for Oscar’s sake. But if she doesn’t then Rose will brazenly tell Ruby to stand down so that someone else who truly loves Oscar can have their chance.

That’s how I see Rose Fox. I hope this explanation and script helps sell her to anyone who might be interested in her as a fan-made RWBY Character. I’d like to do some more Rose Fox-featured Scripts but we’ll see how things go. Right now I have 5 new upcoming RWBY Squiggle Scripts. 4 WIPs and one coming soon.

In the meantime, I hope you guys liked this new one since it’s been a while. Also I hope you like this new Pinehead headcanon  about Rose that was shared within this Script. Getting more abundant with those too. Anyways, enjoy guys!

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[space-whalesharks]

For john and Nic the "flirting was bad enough" prompt? 💕💕

Vaguely based on the non-cult AU headcanons things I did a bit ago when I basically forgot what headcanons were for that one hour 

Chances

Nicolette Raylan is usually one to at least things through before she jumps into a situation, consequences be damned. The pesky, flirty lawyer John Seed that literally elbowed his way into her life puts that to the test.

 Nicolette stared down at the array of gifts that lay across Joey Hudson’s desk. Her partner had called her over to the desk an hour before over ‘some news.’ She had known that the woman sounded delighted when she said it. She knew Joey was up to something. She hadn’t expected what she had gotten.

A bouquet of roses and a set of those expensive truffles whose price tag she laughed at any time she and Grant went grocery shopping at the more high-end place.

“Got a boyfriend you didn’t tell us about?” Joey asked.

“Not that I’m aware of,” she replied.

“Ain’t for lack of him trying,” Earl called from his desk a few feet away.

Nicolette shot him a look, and he shrugged before going back to reading over a case file. She reached for the tag that had been attached to the two deliveries, only for Joey to snatch it up before she could. “Hey!”

Joey grinned at her before checking the tag. “Order from: John Seed. Hold on, isn’t that that ambulance chasing lawyer with all the bad commercials? The one that just happened to overhear you getting overwhelmed with your mom’s paperwork at the coffee place?”

“He’s not an ambulance chaser!” Nicolette objected, only to pause. “Okay, so he basically is but he’s got big cases that come first.”

Joey merely grinned at just how easily the other woman jumped to his defense. “Oh my God, you like him!” Joey grinned.

“I do not.”

“She does too,” Earl deadpanned.

Nicolette looked between them and sighed. “Okay. So he’s not that terrible. And as prospects go, he’s no Bobby Manyard.”

Earl groaned behind his coffee cup at the mention of the name.

“Exactly,” Nicolette jabbed a finger towards him, then stood up and fished her phone out of her pocket as she went. “I have to make a call.”

“Oooh, thanking him for the flowers?” Joey asked.

Nicolette elbowed her across the back of the head once she passed her. “About the Reynolds case, asshole.”

“Tell John I said hi. Also that I’m in the market for a lawyer after my car accident-” Joey ducked the stress ball that Nicolette had taken from Staci’s desk and launched her way, giggling all the while.

Nicolette left the room, and once she had done the phone call that was about the Reynolds case, thank you very much, she dialed another number. She nearly groaned when it barely rang twice before the other end clicked on. “Really?” she deadpanned. 

“What did I do now, Deputy?”

“Flirting was bad enough, but now flowers and chocolates are just too far.”

“Oh, so you did get them.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that the big name lawyer sending gifts a deputy’s way isn’t going to look good for me?”

“If people think that a few roses and chocolates count as bribery, they aren’t worth your time my dear. Those expire. I could just pay you off if I wanted.”

“Oh could you?” she countered sarcastically.

“Hush now, I know you’re above that. I won’t try. Promise. Besides, the only case you and I have in common is yours. And it’s not even a case, technically.”

“Why does that only make me positive you’ve bribed people before that?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny.” 

“Spoken like a true lawyer.”

“I’d certainly hope so.”

“Ass,” Nicolette countered, though there was a lot more affection behind it than she would’ve liked. She didn’t know what it was about him, but ever since he had elbowed his way into her and Earl’s space while talking about her mother’s passing, announcing he was a lawyer and offering his help in settling her affairs, he had been a staple in her life. Except it was more like a thorn in her side than a staple. He was arrogant, flirted with her at every opportunity, flaunted his extensive wealth like he was trying to bait her all the time, and didn’t bother hiding that he dabbled in matters of questionable legality. The rub was that she didn’t mind any of it. She enjoyed their time together. which was dangerous, considering their near opposite standings in the law. She knew he had gotten a little more involved with showing his interest lately and the flirting had elevated to random acts of kindness- treating her to a lunch every so often as they poured over paperwork, calling in a favor if they needed a warrant and the like. The occasional rose or a dozen were a new addition on the list. She knew something had shifted on his end with their back and forth, but this was getting ridiculous.  “Can I ask you what your interest is?”

“In what?”

“Me. Don’t you have plenty of other skirts to chase?”

“I do, but I’m not chasing. I’d much rather get to know you. You intrigue me.”

She hadn’t expected that response. “Way to make me feel like some sideshow attraction.”

“You’re the main show, Deputy. Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Again with the flirting.”

“I like you. Is that a crime?” There was something in his voice that sounded… off. He sounded guarded. 

“I swear to God, if you say ‘arrest me’…”

“Wasn’t going to. Give me some credit here. I don’t use cheap lines.” 

She hesitated, then figuring she was best off “Right, because all of that money you have. Is this going anywhere, John?”

Whatever apprehension was in his voice was gone in his response. “Have dinner with me.”

Well, she hadn’t expected him to be so direct about it. Usually he went on for at least ten minutes before making a point. What had it been then? Two? “I thought everything was settled.”

“Not business. As a date. You know that.”

“Is that what all the gifts that come across as romantic gestures were supposed to lead to?”

“Figured it wouldn’t hurt my chances.”

“I’ll have you know I can’t be bought, Mr. Seed. My men or women earn me,” she pointed out, though she kept it teasing. 

“I intend to, Ms. Raylan.”  

She almost choked on her own tongue at that. Cheeky bastard kept up with her way too easily. Oh, this was dangerous. But damn it if she wasn’t tempted. He was an ass, but a charming one at that. And they would probably have fun, admittedly. She’d be the joke of the precinct, though. They could deal. Shit. Had she just convinced herself? “I’m off at seven tonight. Swing by the station.”

“Gladly. See you then.”

She rolled her eyes when he practically purred the response and she hung up before she could provide further encouragement. She waited about five seconds before she looked over her shoulder. “You can come out now.”

Joey, Earl and Staci all came around the corner, all equal parts ashamed and unapologetic at the same time.

“Not your boyfriend, huh?”

“It’s just one date,” Nicolette snapped.

“Is what I also told all my skeptical friends when your mother came along and they had concerns about the eight year old spitfire that came with her, now here I am her stepdad,” Earl pointed out.

Nicolette squinted at him and smacked his arm. 

Earl laughed, then shrugged.  “If he starts playing games after all this nonsense I’m showing him the gun locker,” Earl pointed out.

“I hate all of you,” Nicolette announced.

“I didn’t do anything!” Staci pointed out.

“Exactly. You’re supposed to take my side,” she countered.

It was enough to get a laugh out of the others, and that had been that on that particular topic. Of course, until 7:00 rolled around, they were all on their way out of the building and John was there to meet Nicolette, leaning on his obnoxiously bright red muscle car.

Joey nudged Nicolette in the ribs, which earned an elbow to hers back. The latter made a promise to check in with the former later that night and headed for John’s car. It had taken all it had in her not to tease the man when he opened the co-passenger door for her. She got in and he returned to the driver’s side and got in. Before long, they had arrived at some surprisingly informal restaurant. They had waited nearly half an hour for a table, and once the menus came around, she found that the prices weren’t even that bad. She could easily afford it on her police salary. So the bastard wasn’t flaunting anything like usual. The new change in tactic nearly threw her, but it was welcome all the same.

As dates went, it had gone surprisingly well. They exchanged stories about early days on their respective jobs and poked fun at the people they had in common with several of the stories that they both disliked. Nicolette had spotted a chicken cordon bleu on a plate on a neighboring table and had mentioned it reminded her of helping her mother make it when she was a kid. John had given her a look of absolute fondness that had nearly disarmed her, and she had asked him if he had any experiences like that. He had laughed it off, lamented that he had no good memories of the sort- “least of all in the kitchen.” She had tried to backpedal once she realized that response probably had something to  do with the ‘mutual tragedy’ he had mentioned early on in what had drawn him to her and inspired him to help her. She had blurted out that her��teenage life hadn’t been sunshine and rainbows- her father had tried to kill and her mother after all, just to even the playing field.

John had put his hand over hers, assuring her that there was no harm done, promising it was ‘something for a future date’ - arrogant bastard. Still, she hadn’t pulled her hand away either. By the end of the night their fingers were threaded together, and Nicolette wasn’t exactly sure who had made the first move for that.

They left not long after that, and John drove her home and walked her to the front stoop.

“Well, congrats, Seed. You didn’t weird me out once. I had fun.”

“Good. Same time next week, then?” John countered.

She stared at him, then laughed. “You really don’t quit, do you?”

“We’ve been over this. Not when I’m very interested in someone. Not for you.”

“And why is that?”  Nicolette asked, suddenly thoroughly embarrassed at how guarded it sounded. “So why am I intriguing, Mr. Wordsmith?”

“Because a little mutual tragedy goes a long way and… it’s a nice change of pace,” John admitted, suddenly equally serious. You’re worth it.”

She laughed weakly. “Goodnight, John.” She turned to leave.

He caught her wrist in his hand and once she turned to see what it was about, ready with a comment about how she had already mentioned things weren’t guaranteed to go further than the front porch. Instead, he bent down to kiss her soundly.

And of course the bastard could kiss- to the point that her head spun, and she panicked a bit. She hadn’t had that reaction to a kiss in years. Of course it was his that garnered it. She barely returned it at his level of enthusiasm before he had pulled back.

The moment was a bit ruined when John had the nerve to look smug when he noticed how dazed she looked. He leaned forward. “I might not have earned your heart yet, but I intend to be the last one who does. You can guarantee that.”

Well, that was an awfully bold, brave, statement. “Are you implying you’re gonna kill the competition, because that’s immediately where my brain went with th-“

He scoffed, then kissed her again, briefly but firmer than the last. “There is no competition,” he pointed out afterwards.

She laughed at that again and backed up towards the porch again. “Goodnight, John,” she repeated.

“Goodnight, Nicolette.”

He let her go that time. She closed the door behind her and laughed again. Once she realized she had done it, she realized that was another first in a while. She was looking forward to pursuing whatever the Hell this was. With John Fucking Seed.

This was going to be trouble. And she was going to enjoy every second of it.

[aggie-the-poet]

The Ceremony

Chapter One: The Ceremony

Goddess Tears Masterlist

Summary: The reader is of elven heritage, living within the city of Danu’s Garden. Working as one of the magistrature representatives, the reader is called to council on account of foreign visitors of Asgard coming to negotiate an alliance in such dire times. The elven people give their greatest asset to aid in the war, but not willingly. A frustrated reader finds solace in the sly prince of Asgard.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: mild swearing, snarkiness, sassy Loki

Word Count: 2857 (I know it’s long oops! This one just has a lot of lore, but the next chapters will probably be shorter.)

Author’s Note: I based the elven culture on parts of my own. Some of the language between the elves are in gaelic, so I’ll translate them in the beginning for reference. I tried making context clues to have it seem understandable and natural.

Also, this is set after Ragnarok but before Infinity War. Pretend the horrors of Infinity War never happened! This is going to be like the set up of Infinity War where Thor finds more people to help defeat Thanos.

__________________________________________________

Go raibh maith agat- may you have goodness (thank you)

Vinok- a floral wreath worn as a crown during special occasions

Is é mo theach do theach- my home is your home

__________________________________________________

Church bells are ringing off in the distance. I wonder which priest will be performing the ceremony today. There’s a lingering scent of bonfire smoke in the air, causing a smile within me. Great fires are to be lit today, for today is one to be written in the history books. Today is to bring peace to our lands, to end the discrimination against our people at last.

Rising from my cot, I stretch my arms and legs. My bones crack with a satisfactory pop, and a yawn is expelled from my mouth. Once I stand up, I ground myself and step outside my tent. Only a few others are up already. I always was an early bird. I nod happily to the others awake, taking note of their determination in training. This should be a pleasant day far from the fighting. I suppose some folks just need to be prepared at all times. It’s a bad idea to become too comfortable, especially soldiers. We’re always on the move, anyways.

I decide to head down to the church to make myself useful. The ministers always need help in one form or another. I take the longer route, enjoying the feeling of the breeze swaying me back and forth. Once I make it to the church I greet Merith, a young man training under the head priest.

“Yahey, Y/n! It’s wonderful to see you on such a fantastic day!” Merith shines, bowing his head before making his way over to me.

“Indeed. I’m sure you’re all on your toes today. We’re all a tad nervous, but I have the highest of hopes. Anyways, I came to offer my assistance.” I offer.

“Go raibh maith agat, Y/n. You’re too kind to us. Fortunately, some of the local children are helping us set up decorations. The priests are preparing for the morning ritual, but the others and I are left to deliver blessed vinoks to today’s participants. There’s not much for you to help with here, truthfully, but I’m sure you’re well needed at the city’s council.” Merith chuckles, generating a grumble from myself.

“I know. That’s partially why I offered my help. I know how swamped I’ll be later, so I was hoping you could take up my time before the council finds me.” I explain.

“Well,” Merith starts. “You are our representative of magickal defenses. And today is going to be the day you’re most needed so I wouldn’t get your hopes up on escaping them for long. They know how early you rise as well.”

“Stop teasing! I can’t help it; I just get so restless.” I slump defeatedly.

“Uh oh, you may want to hide behind the shrubbery if you don’t want to get caught.” Merith points out. “You know who is on his way over here.” Immediately, I dive into the bushes beside Merith. The thorns scrape all over my face, but nothing is worse than getting caught by Ettrian, the representative of Queen Fennore.

“Y/n, get out of the damn garden. I saw you jump in there, you know. I have eyes.” Ettrian glares. I simply poke my head out, not fully committing to leaving the safety of the bushes.

“C’mon, sir. Please don’t make me go just yet! I want to enjoy my last bit of freedom before my work really starts.” I plead with a trembling lip. None of this works on Ettrian of course.

“Out. Now.” He states bluntly.

“Fine…” I exit the shrubbery and adjust my clothing and give Merith an apologetic look before following Ettrian to the palace. The walk is long, silent, and awkward. So to lighten the mood I offer up a conversation.

“So are you excited for the big day, sir?”

“I suppose. Admittedly, I would’ve preferred to have us stay in isolation for the rest of our days. As long as we’re away from the fighting, we won’t have a war on our hands.” He replies.

“Well, you can’t fully expect such a war to stay away from us forever. These people visiting spoke quite desperately about it, stating it was a matter that affects all beings in the universe. If that is true, we can’t just watch idly.” I state quite passionately.

“Hm. I have no doubt someone of your status would want a war at any time.” Ettrian snaps coldly.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I stop and glare.

“Y/n! I’m so happy to see you on such a momentous day! Please, come inside.” Queen Fennore quickly grabs my hand and leads me inside the back sunroom of the palace. I don’t speak, as Ettrian’s statement still flutters around my head. I look up to see her staring at me with a frown. “Don’t pay any mind to him. He means well, but he’s not exactly the lightest of persons.”

“No kidding,” I reply, walking to the open window. I close my eyes and smell the fresh flowers being delivered to every citizen. The scent takes me back to my childhood, before the days I knew the harsh reality of war and peace.

“Are you nervous about today?” My queen asks me softly. I simply nod, not looking at her just yet. “I’m not quite sure what the diplomats will be looking for in us, but we must give them our best if the situation is truly as dangerous as they said it was. I don’t believe these men would be asking for… our help if it wasn’t so.”

“It’s just so unfair. We’re a peaceful civilization, yet we’re dragged into petty war time after time.” I finally look her in the eyes. Her golden iris glows with the incoming sunlight. She brushes her long dark hair to one side and steps towards me. She reaches out and touches my face with her lithe fingers.

“I fear they will ask too much of us… of you,” Queen Fennore whispers with a pained look.

“I’m prepared to make any sacrifice necessary for the sake of our people.” I proudly state.

“I know, but you’ve always been the one sacrificing everything. It should be someone else for once.” She pleads.

“No one else can. You know I’m the only one they’ll need.” I take her shoulders into my hand and give a soft squeeze. I smile falsely, trying to show content with our future.

“I know I must let you go yet again… but you will be missed greatly. Not just by me, but by the people as well.” My queen informs me. This causes a genuine grin to creep onto my lips.

“Even Ettrian?” I joke.

“Yes! Especially Ettrian! He secretly finds you charming, you know?” She jokes back. We both share one last laugh before heading to our changing rooms.

Queen Fennore wears her most elegant gown, paired with her jeweled headdress. I, on the other hand, am forced to wear the most horrendous robe. It’s far too loose for any swift mobility, and it’s all black, symbolic of mystery and magick. I would much prefer to wear my armor, but today is perhaps our last day of peace, therefore all armor and weapons must be stashed away.

“You look beautiful, my queen.” I admire Queen Fennore. A light blush dashes across her face.

“As do you, Y/n.” She offers. I nod, taking her arm and leading her to the entrance of the palace. Almost all the citizens will be awake by now, most definitely waiting by the palace gates awaiting their queen.

“Take a deep breath, Y/n. I fear I may hold mine this entire day.” She grabs my arm tighter as we approach the doors.

“Relax, my queen. Today is to be that of celebration. All will be well.” I reassure her, and with that, the grand front doors are swung open. We’re met by thousands of smiling faces, young and old, all come to relish their queen on this momentous day.

No guards are needed to keep people back from the queen. Everyone knows enough to offer Queen Fennore her respective space. People cheer and whistle from a comfortable distance away from us, offering the occasional flower or hand to shake. Queen Fennore makes it a point to accept every gift and touch every hand lent her way. She always was such a people-driven queen. The support and safety of the people was always her main concern. For that, she is truly loved by all her people. It takes us over an hour to finally get to the center of the city, where the ceremony is to be held. There, we await the arrival of our expected guests. Not long after, a messenger runs along the path from the port.

“The princes have arrived, Queen Fennore!” He announces out of breath. A thunderous cheer erupts from the crowd around us. Flowers are thrown onto the pathway, veils are tossed up in the air, and people have begun dancing around in circles. In the short distance, I spot two looming figures strutting toward us.

“I present to you: The Princes of Asgard! Thor and Loki Odinson!” The messenger yells at the top of his lungs before reporting back into the crowd. The two Asgardians loom over our people, at least a head taller than everyone. Their broad shoulders contract to our slim features. They’re so foreign, and it unnerves me.

The bigger one walks ahead of his brother. His light hair is short and choppy, uncharacteristic of an Asgardian. Behind him, the brother with long raven hair glances around suspiciously. They both wear their armor, against our wishes.

Give them the benefit of the doubt, Y/n. I’m sure they wear armor as a formality. Don’t get angry. Don’t glare at them. Just be calm and smile politely.

“Welcome! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Odinsons.” Queen Fennore melodically greets the princes.

“Your majesty, it’s wonderful to meet you as well. I am Thor, and this is my brother Loki. We’re both so appreciative to be here with you all today.” The bigger one speaks up, extending his hand to the queen. She tenderly grips his hand, giving it a solid shake. Loki steps up next, silently shaking hands with the queen as well. Immediately, Queen Fennore turns to me and pulls me up to her side.

“This is my advisor in magickal affairs, Y/n. Say greetings, Y/n.” She whispers to me with stern eyes.

“A pleasure to meet you both. I look forward to working with you both.” I offer bluntly, but before they can reach out their hands, I snap a little. “I’m concerned seeing you both in armor, considering our agreement was to forbid all objects of war on this day.”

“Ah, yes… Well, we just like to be ready to defend at all times…” Thor awkwardly explains, shifting from foot to foot.

“As the head of defenses, I assure you no harm will come to you today. Understand that we feel quite at a disadvantage, seeing as how we’ve locked away all armor and weapons, leaving us open and vulnerable for you. Was this not the purpose of our celebration? Are we not in agreement on this?” I feel Queen Fennore grab my arm, giving it a tub to get me to let up.

“A little bit of armor won’t hurt anybody. Besides, you and your people still have your magickal abilities, no? Can’t quite stache that away, can you?” Loki suddenly shares his thoughts. My eyes narrow into his.

“The purpose of magick isn’t inherently for war. What you do with the magick is what counts.” I stand my ground.

“Based on that logic, a knife can’t kill you on its own. A murderer must accompany it for it to do harm.” Loki throws back with a smirk. What I’d do if only I could slap that smirk off his face.

“Alright, how about we go inside for our meeting. We’ve prepared a number of our best dishes for you all to enjoy. Let our peoples celebrate together while we sort things out. Follow me!” Queen Fennore quickly takes my hand and leads me away from the princes.

“I thought we were going to be on our best behavior today!” She scream-whispers at me. I can hear Thor doing the same to his brother, but I can’t quite make out what they’re saying.

“I was! I was simply pointing out their misunderstanding with their wardrobe.” I snark. We make it back to the palace and head to the dining room. There lie plates full of freshly prepared food. Vegetables and fruit, meat and bread, all laid out and ready to be eaten. We all take our seats, Queen Fennore and I sitting at one end of the table, Thor and Loki sitting at the other.

“What a lovely feast!” Thor praises.

“Please, enjoy!” Queen Fennore announces, yet I am in no mood to eat.

“What is it you want from us?” I inquire. Thor spats out the meat he stuffed into his mouth.

“Pardon?” He sheepishly looks at me.

“You called this peace treaty for a reason. Something is coming and you need our help in fighting it, correct? Then what is it you want from us?” I sternly press the issue.

“Y/n! Remember your manners!” My queen scolds me.

“Well, I suppose we need anything you can give us. Soldiers, supplies, hell a place to stay would be much appreciated.” Thor chuckles sadly.

“Soldiers we can’t afford to give. As you know, elves are hated all across the galaxy. We must preserve our forces in case of an invasion, which happens far too frequently. Supplies we can give, but only if there is enough to go around here first. As for a place to stay, wouldn’t Asgard be your preferred shelter?” I don’t give the queen a chance to answer. She’s far too polite in these circumstances for anything to get done for our benefit. However, I glance at her for approval. She simply nods and looks onto the princes.

“Asgard is… gone. All we have is our ship. This is all that is left of us.” Thor looks down in grief.

“Our sincerest apologies, your highness.” Queen Fennore offers. Thor smiles gratefully, but Loki looks unimpressed.

“That is a shame. Very well, Danu’s Garden will now act as a safe haven for the Asgardian people. Ettrian, inform the local representatives of this and tell them to open the shelters. Give the Asgardians beds, food, and water rations.” I order.

“Just like that? No questions asked?” Loki snaps suspiciously.

“There’s no need for further convincing. You’re now our closest allies, and if your people are in need we are more than willing to help.” I grin at the satisfaction of surprising Loki.

“Thank you so much! If you are ever in need, we shall offer you our help as well.” Thor stands in happiness, rushing over to the queen to shake her hand once more.

“Of course, your highness. Is é mo theach do theach.” My queen smiles warmly.

“I suppose you’ll need me as well,” I state sadly, knowing the queen wishes against this. “I can help you defeat what it is you’re up against.”

“What can you do to help?” Loki laughs bitterly.

“I’m the head magician of our people. I’ve mastered countless spells. I’ve won countless battles. I may not have the strength of an Asgardian, but my skills in battle are not to be taken lightly.” I glare across the table.

“Y/n is, by all means, the strongest of our people. We may not be able to sacrifice our numbers, but you’d have our greatest weapon.” Queen Fennore defends me. I cringe at the thought of being referred to as a weapon.

“Wonderful! We’re very grateful to have you then! Right, Loki?” Thor gives his brother a look. A sigh comes from his brother, followed by a confirming nod.

“That’s settled then. The earliest we can send you off is tomorrow morning. Will that suffice?” My queen offers.

“That will do well. We thank you for your generosity and hospitality.” Both brothers shake the queen's hands again, giving me only a small nod and awkward grin.

“Now, go. Be with your people and rejoice in the peace this one day!” Queen Fennore exclaims with false happiness. This seems to satisfy the princes as they head for the exit, leaving only myself and my queen.

“This isn’t the way it has to be.” She whispers, not daring to look me in the eyes.

“It must. I’m so sorry, my queen, but I must go. Whatever it is they face, I must fight it head on. I must protect you and our people in the best way I can. This is it.” I try to reason with her, but she’s having none of it.

“I know you must leave, but I don’t want to lose you.” She holds my hands and presses her forehead to mine.

“I promise I will return to you, my queen.” I mentally cross my heart, swearing to myself to not let Queen Fennore down.

__________________________________________________

I hope you all like this new story! I wanted to try a different kind of fanfiction that has a lot more backstory and lore to it. I hope it’s not too much!

I love feedback, so comment your thoughts! My requests are also open, so feel free to send an ask!

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 109

 Eventually, the mansion was relatively silent again with most of the inhabitants sleeping.  Messy, Crazy, Four, Aid, Luce, and Valeria were still awake, and all were looking at me.

 “I don’t really know.  Do any of you have a preference?” I asked hopefully.  During my time here, I had seen the kids laugh as they teased one another, fight against each other with far more skill than I could claim, use magic that still boggles my mind, and show me that they somehow had time to cultivate incredible characters in my favorite game as well.  How was I possibly supposed to choose what we do next!?

 Before anyone else could speak, Luce said, “I want to fight you.”

 “I am very well aware that you would win if you got serious.  I knew even before Aid helped train me for the battle, which I still lost.” I assured her, wanting to cut off that line of thought.

 “I’ll fight you, Luce!” volunteered Crazy, her face looking innocent with its broad grin as she waved her hand in the air.

 Luce frowned, staring at Crazy, but to my surprise she said, “Okay.  Let’s do this.”

 I very much wanted to protest, but I was also really interested in watching.  Luce didn’t even look scared!  Was she that much stronger than I had expected to be confident against Death’s granddaughter?  Before I could think what to say, a portal opened to the backyard, and everyone else started heading through.  I hesitated so long that Valeria peered back through the portal from the other side questioningly.

 There was a flash of light, startlingly bright in the relatively dark night.  Luce and Crazy’s clothes had both been replaced by suits similar to what Aid and I had used for our exercise yesterday.

 “Begin!” exclaimed Four, looking amused.

 Luce was a blur, but the dirt didn’t explode from behind her, protected by a quick telekinetic wall she had made.  Energy trailed in her wake, thick and relatively still, like a glimmering mist.  She attacked Crazy with a series of punches, kicks, and small spells meant to throw her opponent off-balance, nothing to account for the amount of her natural magic she had to be using, though the fleshy sound of the impacts was very loud.

 My eyes widened in shock as hundreds of thin beams of water were suddenly surging through where Crazy had been.  I couldn’t follow their individual movements, especially when more shot up from the ground.  Happening to glance up at where the streams seemed to have originated, I saw a massive body of water floating in the air, reminding me of when Luce had swept Father and I up with a river.

 “What if someone sees that?” I exclaimed, pointing up into the sky.

 Four laughed.  “Father placed an illusion over this entire yard and far into the sky years ago.  No one out there ever has a clue what’s going on anywhere on this property.” he explained.

 I certainly hadn’t even noticed the illusion when I entered.  James’ skills were legendary for a reason.

 When Crazy suddenly threw something that flew with the speed of an enchanted bullet at Luce, I thought she’d fall over, but a thick wall of ice had appeared in front of her, surging up from the ground.  I couldn’t guess at how much effort it took to keep ice solid enough to block an enchanted bullet, but the projectile didn’t even hit it.  Blackened, shriveled vines covered in thorns exploded out, wrapping up and around the ice.  Luce darted away, and the vines shriveled and fell to ash.

 Instead of keeping the offensive, Crazy just started walking forward until that huge body of floating water crashed down at her.  She didn’t even dodge, letting herself be swirled around in the sphere which formed.  Father had taught me how lack of oxygen could still affect me after enough time, and drowning made things even worse.  Swimming against that tide would be impossible for me with Luce actively manipulating it against me.  If she froze it, I didn’t have the strength to shatter it and might not be able to form spells even if she let me.

 “Should we do something to intervene?” I asked, feeling a little worried.

 Messy looked at me in surprise, smiling as she said, “If you interrupt Crazy fun, she might attack all of us.  Luce will probably forfeit soon.”

 “What?  Why!?” I asked in surprise, clearly seeing Luce as the victor.

 Messy turned my body to face Luce and pointed at her feet.  A single blade of grass had grown over a yard long and was periodically taking a stab at Luce, who kept moving to avoid being poked.

 Aid sighed and said, “I’ll help her.”

 He created a spell that lifted his sister into the air as he walked toward her and a large chunk of the yard seemed to erupt into flame, but I didn’t feel the heat at all, meaning he was protecting us.  Darkness seemed to envelop him for just a moment, and his clothing changed to match the one he had worn yesterday.

 Crazy suddenly shot out of the water straight at Aid, he ducked, kicking her into the air where Luce’s small lake surged after her, dividing once more into fast-moving streams.

 “She’s not even gasping for breath!” I exclaimed when I realized she seemed fine.

 “She doesn’t need to breathe.” stated Messy with a small shrug.

 “Yeah… I better help my siblings too.  Valeria, mind joining us?” he asked, looking back at her.

 Another puff of darkness, and both of their outfits transformed.  A chunk of the residual energy which had been forming up around Luce and Aid streamed toward Four, and I was stunned to see them suddenly firing off dozens of deadly spells each at Crazy.  I couldn’t follow her movements at all as she dodged.  Two of Valeria’s gateways appeared, and there was a large explosion in the ground, which could only be Crazy hitting it with her insane speed.

 “How did Valeria time that?” I asked in astonishment.

 “Aid’s keeping telepathy going between the three of them as he’s doing his other spells.  Four probably called it.  He’s still the fastest of them for now.” explained Messy with a smile.

 “How hard is keeping up with all of this for you?” I asked, watching as Crazy waded through the intense flames, frowning at the group.

 “Much easier than I can keep up with her when she gets serious.” she told me, nodding toward Crazy.

 Impressively, Crazy started countering the spells that were being thrown at her from the three siblings as well as Valeria’s slower and somewhat amateurish magic.  A continuous barrage of lightning bolts were deflected to the ground, flames couldn’t quite touch her, boulders of earth were caught by torrents of wind that lobbed the earth back at the siblings, water was vaporized, and… I believed there were other currents of air made by the siblings, meant to dismember through pressure.  The battle was far too much to follow.  Each of the siblings were doing magic beyond what I could manage.

 “Who’s going to tire out first?” I asked, some of my awe escaping in my tone.

 “No one.  I’m sure you can keep up a fight at this level for a good ten minutes at least.  Crazy doesn’t tire any more than I do, and she’ll probably fight back soon.” commented Messy, calmly watching the madness.

 As if on queue, plants thicker than the length of a limousine tore out of the ground all across the yard, and a deep, instinctive fear rose within me as I looked at them.  Before I could register what had happened, they moved and the Somersets as well as Valeria were dumped next to me.

 “She’s really getting better at holding back.” insisted Aid as he rubbed his head with a grimace.

 “Messy!  Messy!  Messy!” chanted what sounded like thousands of people.

 Messy frowned.  “Fine.” she replied as she pulled Valeria to her feet.

 As she spoke, light flashed around her.  Everyone’s clothing was returned to what it had been, and hers changed to one of their workout suits.  What happened next didn’t make sense.  There was darkness, light, and far too much movement that seemed completely unnatural all across the yard at once.  I didn’t know how long I stared before I realized that several hands were patting my back.  Tearing my eyes from the confusing images, I saw the siblings and Valeria watching me.  A spell gently wiped the tears from my eyes.  When did I start crying?

 “You’re fine.” insisted Four.

 Even Luce was nodding, giving me a sympathetic look.

 “The trick is,” said Aid as he stared into my eyes, “not looking directly at Crazy’s plants.  Non-demon brains aren’t wired to process demonic intrusions into this world, which is essentially what happens when Crazy uses her innate magic.  You have to force yourself to focus just around them, though that’s easier said than done in that mess.”  He motioned back toward the chaos where Crazy and Messy fought.

 He glanced at his sister before saying, “Sorry about all of this.  Luce really wanted to give you a better impression of what she could do, and we decided to go along with it.  Are you okay?”

 I nodded, but I felt physically and mentally drained even though I hadn’t participated.  For six thousand years, my family was said to be the strength that kept the monsters at bay for the sake of humanity, but what were we next to these kids?  I had to force myself not to look back again Crazy and Messy’s fight.  My family could not afford to anger these people.

[leiko-skyline]

A Prom In Paris: Chapter 3 (Flowers)

(Click here for Chapter 1)

"Chloé, who are you going with to the dance?"

"Why, Adrien, of course."

"Ooh! How will you ask him?"

"Sabrina, don't be silly," Chloé snapped. "The boy must ask the girl."

"Oh… But what if he doesn't?"

"Of course he will! Adrien loves me!"

The pair heard applause from the courtyard. "Another promposal?" Chloé mused.

They followed the sounds. In the middle of the crowd stood Juleka and Rose, the latter holding a bouquet of pink roses.

"You've got to be kidding me," Chloé tittered, striding up to them. The crowd parted for her, growing quiet. "What made you think you could ask someone to the dance?" she said, poking Juleka in the chest.

"I–"

"Ohh, I get it. You knew none of the boys would ask you… So you took yourself and your unwanted friend out of the pool in one go, so that you wouldn't have to embarrass yourself. Well, I've seen right through you."

Rose fumed. Chloé bullying her was one thing – Chloé bullying her best friend was quite another. "Juleka is my best friend, and there's no one I would rather go with to the dance," she retorted. "And anyways, I don't see you with a date."

Chloé laughed. "Oh, I'll have a date. The boys know they'll need the best promposal to ask moi, so they haven't yet. But you'll see. All the boys will want to take me. It's for the best that you got yourselves out of the way."

She whirled around and walked away, Sabrina tailing her. "Rose, it's okay," Juleka said.

Rose shook her head and ran. She could not remember having ever been this angry.

And so quickly the prom finds its victims. Épine, you have been wronged by one who does not believe in your love for your friend. In return for granting you the power to enact revenge, you must bring to me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous.

"Will do, Papillon."

Ladybug threw the red and black spotted watering can into the sky, restoring the town to its state before the akuma attack.

"Bien joué," she and Chat Noir said, pounding fists.

"I'll be back," said Ladybug, going to speak to the boy who'd been rejected.

Chat Noir watched her, smiling. They had seen a few rejection akumas over the past few days – it seemed the askings had picked up since Nino's. Every time, Ladybug went over and spoke to them afterwards, to give them hope again.

This attitude she has, he thought, lifting their spirits after they've been akumatized… One of many reasons why she's the perfect Ladybug.

"Ladybug," he said when she was done, "may I–"

"AAAAAAAAAUGHHHH!"

The duo looked in the direction of the scream, then back at each other. "Another…?" Ladybug began.

"Maybe not…" Chat said.

"We better check…"

They sprang into action, leaping onto rooftops and swinging through the streets until they stood above the scene: right outside Grand Hotel Paris, a few onlookers running, a few people pinned to the wall by their clothes. The security guard was tentatively trying to stop someone from entering the hotel–

"Is that Princess Fragrance?" Chat Noir wondered.

Whoever it was, they pointed an object at the guard. Chat Noir and Ladybug jumped down from the roof across the street.

"Stop right there, Princess Fragrance!" Ladybug demanded.

The akuma glared over her shoulder and whipped her weapon – a bouquet of roses – at them. "It's not Princess Fragrance, it's Épine," she said. "Stay out of my way, or you'll end up like them – or worse." Épine gestured at the bystanders. Ladybug and Chat Noir glanced at them, Épine took the opportunity to catch the guard unaware and rush into the building. Chat Noir started after her, but Ladybug grabbed his tail.

"We have to check if they're okay."

The bystanders who'd been attacked were physically fine, though shaken and pinned to the wall by what seemed to be giant rose thorns. Ladybug tried to pull one out, but it slipped through her hands. She found the same result when she used her yoyo string.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here," she told the frightened man. "For now, you'll be safer outside." It wasn't much, but there weren't better options.

"Is that Juleka?" said Chat Noir.

Ladybug looked up and saw a dark figure running towards them. Juleka stopped in front of them, breathing heavily. "Have you seen Rose?" she asked, winded.

"We think so," said Ladybug. "We were just about to go inside."

Juleka looked at the people pinned down by thorns. Her shoulders drooped a little. "She's akumatized, isn't she?"

"Do you know what happened?"

Juleka nodded. "I asked Rose to the cotillon. Chloé made fun of us, and Rose got upset."

"She must be after Chloé, then," Chat Noir said, looking up at the hotel front.

"Thanks for letting us know. Did you happen to give her flowers?" Ladybug asked.

"I – yeah. Roses."

"That's probably the akuma. Thanks. Uh, could you stay here and… Watch over these people?"

"I… sure–"

"Great, thanks."

Ladybug and Chat Noir bolted into the hotel, leaving behind a stunned Juleka.

"Why is she watching over them?" Chat Noir asked.

"So she doesn't follow us in. People do crazy things in love."

Chat Noir bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything.

They split up to recharge from the last fight – "Plagg, hurry up." – "I can't remember the last back-to-back akuma attack, Tikki." – "I'm appreciating the cheese!" – "I mean, it kind of happened with Timebreaker, but at least they were in the same place at the same time." – "Appreciate it faster, please!" – "What if they keep happening back-to-back? If this keeps up, we won't be able to handle them all…" – and met again in the lobby.

They had been to Chloé's room before – too many times, really – so finding Épine was easy. Chloé was pinned to her bedroom wall by rose thorns, shrieking.

"You've RUINED my NEW SWEATER do you have ANY idea how much this COST–"

"To be fair, probably just a drop in the bucket for your father," Chat Noir said casually.

Épine turned around. "I told you not to follow me," she growled, whipping her bouquet at them. Chat Noir whirled his baton, defending himself and Ladybug from the barrage. The thorns stayed embedded in his baton.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug shouted. She tossed her yoyo in the air and caught the item that emerged…

Okay, a shovel?

She looked around. The shovel. The wall. Chat Noir's baton. Oh, this one was easy.

Ladybug whirled her yoyo. "Pin her," she muttered to Chat Noir.

They fought with thorns and deflections, Épine backing up slowly as they advanced. Ladybug threw her yoyo at the bouquet. Épine deflected it, but not before Chat Noir threw his stick, hitting her forearm. The thorns on the ends of his baton stuck to the wall, holding her bouquet arm out to the side. Ladybug threw the shovel spade-first, slicing through the roses' stems. An akuma fluttered out of the beheaded flowers.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma." Ladybug split her yoyo and whirled it at the akuma. She caught it and released its pure form.

"Bye bye, petit papillon."

She threw the shovel in the air, and within moments everything was back to normal. Chat Noir's baton clattered to the ground, free of thorns, and Chloé fell back down with a squeal. The townspeople outside were likely freed as well.

Around now, Épine transformed back into Rose. Suddenly, Juleka ran in.

"Rose! Are you all right?"

Rose looked a little bewildered. "I think so…?"

Juleka ran over and hugged her best friend. "I'm so sorry. I went for it even though I knew it might go badly. I didn't even think about how it might affect you. I'm so sorry."

"Wha– I was only mad because she was being mean to you–"

"Chloé? I think she just doesn't know."

They all looked at Chloé, who was standing awkwardly where she'd fallen.

"Quoi?" she snapped.

"Some girls fall for girls," said Juleka, helping Rose to her feet. "Not you, perhaps. But I am very much in love with Rose, and there is no one I would rather take to la cotillon."

Chloé's face flickered back and forth between the two. "Well… whatever. Do what you want," Chloé muttered, turning and stomping out of the room.

"Wow," Chat Noir mused. "That's almost an apology, coming from Chloé."

Ladybug caught Juleka's eye. "That was really brave of you," she said. In all the time she'd known Juleka, she'd rarely heard her stand up for anything.

Juleka blushed a little. Then she shook her head. "She just needed to learn. It wasn't even a risk, saying that."

"Still."

"People do crazy things in love," Chat Noir reminded Ladybug, grinning lopsidedly. She laughed. He took it a step farther and said, "They do tend to see the world through rose-tinted glasses."

Ladybug facepalmed. Chat Noir grinned. Juleka and Rose giggled.

Juleka and Rose left together. Ladybug's earrings beeped at her. "Gotta go. See you later," she said, opening the door to the balcony.

Chat Noir's smile fell a little. "Ah, wait a second," he said.

Ladybug looked at him. She was already halfway out the balcony door. "What is it?"

He froze up. "Um." There was a wall of panic somewhere between his heart and his vocal chords. "Are… Are you going to la bal with anyone?"

She thought about it. Was she? Would she ever ask Adrien, and would he agree?

"Um… I'm not sure yet."

"Oh, okay," Chat Noir said quickly. "Let, let me know when you decide."

Puzzled, Ladybug replied, "Okay. See you later."

"See you."

She threw her yoyo and swung away.

I mean, I guess that was progress, Chat Noir thought.

(Chapter 1) (Chapter 2) You are here! (Chapter 4)

[mystical-flute]

Black Coffee & Pumpkin Pie Ch. 2

Aiden Gold let out a sigh as he sipped at the tea in front of him. He normally hated coming to Granny's, but Gideon had insisted on it upon bringing home the confirmation of his acceptance into Storybrooke's accelerated science program, which was led by Dr. Hyde… which frankly worried Aiden more than the freshness of Granny's lasagna, but if it made Gideon happy, well, he couldn't resist.

"So Gideon, are you excited to start your science program?"  he asked weakly as the boy practically inhaled his dinner.

 The boy nodded eagerly, licking a bit of beef from his lip. "Yeah, sure am! It'll be great. And I'm really glad Roderick got accepted too!"

 "That worries me," Belle said with an amused shake of her head. "You'll actually pay attention to what Dr. Hyde is saying, right?"

 Gideon's eyes nearly rolled, but stopped as Aiden shot him a look. "Yeah, I will," the boy grumbled, poking at his chili with a spoon.

 Aiden smiled as he watched his wife and son, but there was still pain behind his smile. His elder son, Neal, should have been here with them, celebrating, but that horrible woman he'd first been married to had spirited his son out of Storybrooke in the dead of night with her bastard of a new husband, and Aiden hadn't seen him since, despite Aiden's exhaustive efforts. His fingers gripped the tea cup just a bit harder as he glanced up at an unfamiliar face who had just entered the diner.

 "Who is that?" he asked with a small frown.

 "Oh, that's the new firefighter. I overheard him talking to Emma last week when mom and I were here," Gideon explained with a shrug. "Don't know what his name is though."

 Aiden frowned slightly, looking over at the firefighter, feeling some sort of odd connection to him. But why? He'd never seen the man before in his life.

 "Aiden? Are you okay?" Belle asked with a tilt of her head.

 He blinked, turning to his wife and smiling. "Yes darling, I'm just fine. Sorry. My head was in the clouds for a moment."

 Belle smiled and turned back to her sandwich. Aiden returned the smile, but he still felt a strange pull toward the stranger that was dashing out the door with greasy bags in his hand… and whenever Aiden Gold set his mind on something, he always got his answers.

 When he parted ways with his wife and son after lunch, Aiden made his way back to the pawn shop, flipping the sign back to open and making his way into the back room as he pulled out his cell phone, dialing the familiar number.

 "Hello, Zelena? It's Aiden. I would like you to start looking into some files for me again," he said when the woman picked up on the other line.

 "The ones about your son?" Zelena replied with a sigh. "Aiden, we've been over this with so many people. Lawyers, private investigators… you even harassed Mother Superior about it!"

 "Because that blue-dressed woman knows more than what she's admitting to," Aiden thought bitterly, before speaking into the phone. "Zelena, please. I need you to look into the files again It's my son's disappearance. I just want an answer."

 Zelena exhaled on the other end, and Aiden could see her leaning back against her high-back leather chair, pinching her forehead in annoyance. "Okay. Fine. I'll have the investigators open the case again. I'll call you if anything new comes up."

 "That's all I ask, dearie. That's all I ask…" he said, ending the call and smirking, sitting back in his chair. Whoever that man was, Aiden Gold would get his answers.

 -----

 Though the only photograph Neal had seen of his father had been from a decade ago, he recognized the man anywhere, even without the help of seeing his step-mother and half-brother. He'd felt a cold chill go down his spine at the quick look he'd gotten of the man, even though he knew this was exactly why he had wanted to come to Storybrooke. So many things had whirled through his mind: did his father recognize him? What would the man's reaction even be to seeing his long-missing son again?  Hell, even how he would react to seeing his father again wasn't something Neal was sure of.

 He forced himself not to shiver as he made his way back to the firehouse, clutching the bags of takeout in his hands. Being the delivery boy for lunch wasn't something he'd thought he'd be doing as a firefighter, but he supposed that, being the low man on the totem pole meant running around doing these errands when there was downtime.

 "Cassidy! Well done! And you got back in the time allotted," Chief Hood said with a wide smile as he took the bags out of Neal's hands.

 "Thank you sir," Neal replied with a smile.

 Being hired in as a firefighter had been one thing, but it was another thing entirely once he'd actually gotten started at work. Then the real test began – impressing the boss in person, and quite frankly, that was more terrifying than finding out information he didn't want to know about his father, because Chief Hood could fire him if he wasn't careful.

 "Now go on and enjoy the rest of your lunch," Robin told him with a squeeze of his shoulder.

 Neal nodded and made his way over to one of the free seats in the dining room, taking a bite of the club sandwich he'd ordered.

 "Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

 He almost choked, looking at the source of the voice. "Did you just quote Alice in Wonderland to me?"

 "On the contrary, I quoted The Mad Hatter to you," the man replied with a smug look on his face. "So, rookie, do you have any guesses as to why a raven is like a writing desk?"

 Neal blinked in disbelief. Was this guy serious?

 "Jefferson, are you torturing the new guy with your stupid riddles again?" another voice cut in, the man taking a seat next to Neal. "You don't have to answer him. He just does this to try to freak out the rookies."

 The first man – Jefferson – rolled his eyes. "Do you have to ruin my fun every time there's a new person? It's not like we get them very often!  So what do you think, new guy?"

 "Uh… I don't know. Raven wings could be used to make a quill that someone uses to write with at their desk?" he suggested weakly.

 Jefferson's eyes widened, seemingly impressed. "Wow. That's actually a good one. The going theory has something to do with Edgar Alan Poe, but I like your guess better. I'm Jefferson. Welcome to the department."

 "Ali," the second man said, holding out his hand. "We heard about you. You're Neal, right?"

 He nodded. "Yeah, I just started today."

 "It's nice to have a new face around here. Just stick by us and you'll be perfectly fine," Ali said with a grin that suggested Neal was instead in for a wild ride with those two. "So if there's anything you wanna know about our charming little town, just let us know."

 He had no idea what he got himself into, but he smiled anyway. He should probably make friends in this town, right? He was far from New Orleans and the friends he had there after all… and he was here for answers. Maybe these guys could help him out with those answers.

 "Hey, do you guys know anything about Mr. Gold?"

 The two men's faces changed in an instant, dropping in surprise and… was that a bit of fear Neal noted on Jefferson's?

 "Why do you want to know about Mr. Gold?" Jefferson asked.

 Neal paused, taking the time to chew and swallow a bite of his sandwich before answering. "I saw him staring at me when I was picking up the lunch orders today. Does he… do that a lot to people?"

 Jefferson and Ali exchanged another look, but it was Ali who finally spoke up. "Well… he is a bit of a suspicious guy. He always has been as far as I know. Apparently his kid went missing years ago, so every time someone comes to town he's immediately on alert. At least, that's what they say around town. I was only a baby when it happened. But there's probably some information on it in the library."

 "Which just so happens to be run by his wife," Jefferson added. "But Mr. Gold's been suspicious way before his kid was taken. It's just sort of his thing, you know? Gold is the big bad brooding shopkeeper, Mrs. Nolan is the principal who can go from either giving you a unicorn sticker to kicking your ass in the parking lot after school. You know, normal small town things, right?"

 "Uh… I guess? I came from New Orleans though so I'm not sure. This is the smallest town I've ever been in. But from what I've seen in movies I guess that sounds right?" He'd never heard of the ass-kicking principal before, but he knew he should probably try to avoid her if he could.

 "The Big Easy? And you came to a little dump town like this?" Ali asked, staring at Neal as if he'd grown a second head.

 He shrugged. "Peace and quiet. And after a while the humidity in New Orleans got to be a bit much."

 "You went from one extreme to the other. The winters here are awful," Ali said, shivering a little at the thought. "And it's already late summer. Ugh, I can feel the cold already!"

 Jefferson rolled his eyes. "And I'm the dramatic one? God Ali. Ignore him, Neal. He just wasn't made for the cold. It can get bad here, but you'll grow to love it."

 Ali let out a snort before the alarm began to screech over their heads, causing them to jump from their seats and run for the truck as they pulled on their equipment. Neal had to admit, he didn't think that his first fire in a small town like Storybrooke would happen on his first day on the job.

 "There's been a cave-in at the old mines. Some teenagers were down there and the roof caved in around them," the dispatcher said over the radio as Jefferson and Ali both swore loudly as Jefferson silently climbed in the back. Whatever this was, it was obvious that it had happened before and seemed to be a major thorn in the sides of his superiors.

 The bright red truck streaked down the road, causing the few pedestrians to turn their heads in alarm. A few of them had their eyes widening when they realized what direction the truck was heading in.

 "Alright men, you know what we have to do," Chief Hood said with a small sigh as they stood in front of the mine, the sheriff and a few other officers already trying to block people from getting too close.

 "Who goes down this time, Chief?" Jefferson asked. "I went last time."

 Chief Hood looked conflicted as he glanced at the men surrounding him, before finally sighing. "Ali. This time it's on you."

 Neal noted irritation on the man's face as he silently nodded as walked off to get ready. Biting his lip, Neal carefully made his way over to the chief, who was already looking as done with the day as someone could possibly be.

 "Is this common? Teenagers going into those mines?" he asked.

 The older man pressed his lips together, thinking. "It happens more often than I'd like it to, I'll say that. But I wouldn't say it's extraordinarily common. But every time we go down to rescue them, I think this will be the last time and it never is. Teenagers never learn."

 He nodded slowly. "Well, I just hope that with this cave-in, it won't be possible for them to get down there anymore," Neal said.

 "Start hoping that everyone down there is alive instead," the older man snapped before walking off to Neal's confusion.

 "Don't worry. That wasn't personal. Last time we were called to go into the mines, his son, Roland, was part of the group we pulled out of there. He's worried that Roland will be down there again," Jefferson said from behind him.

 Neal winced. "I'm sorry I asked about people going down there then."

 The other man waved him off, leading him in the direction of the opening of the mine. "Don't apologize. It's not like you know this town like the rest of us do. I bet Chief Hood's already forgotten about it. Besides, all that we need to focus on is saving the kids and not dropping Ali down there with them and running the other way. Now come on. Let's go see if we can make contact with them."

 Neal and Jefferson managed to clear a free spot to lower Ali down, Neal shining a light down to one of the frantic teens below. They seemed to be standing on some sort of elevator. How did they even get down there?

 "Oi! How many of you are down there?" he yelled to a blonde boy who was shielding his eyes from the light from the sun and the camera Neal was slowly lowering down into the dungeon.

 "T-there's only two of us! Please hurry!" the boy replied, coughing as dust rose into the air from some unstable rocks around them.

 Two was way too many in Neal's opinion, but he nodded. "Okay, just hold on. We're going to get you guys out of there!" he called down to them before looking at Chief Hood. "There's two of them sir!"

 Chief Hood approached them. "Sir, we're all ready," Ali said, tugging anxiously at the harness around his waist and looking uneasily at the  hole.

 "Good. Let's start then."

 Neal watched on a video screen as Ali was lowered down into the mines, repressing a shiver. How could people be so stupid to go down into an abandoned mine? And not just once, but repeatedly? He had a feeling that this was going to be what the majority of his calls were going to be for.

 "Okay Ali, we're right on target. You're about ten feet out," he said into the walkie-talkie on his shoulder. He could hear the anxious whispers of the gathered public, chancing a glance at them and spotting his father almost instantly. He tore his eyes away, looking at the camera screen again.

 "I've got one of the kids, pull us up!" Ali's voice said. "And make sure there's a paramedic nearby. He's going to need some help."

 He stood, waving over the paramedics as a woman dressed in a black business suit walked up to the sheriff, her lips pulled down into a frown.

 Ali emerged with one of the teenagers a few moments later and the paramedics wasted no time in lifting the boy onto the stretcher and running back to the ambulance, hiding themselves from the prying eyes of the crowd as Ali went back down into the mine to get the other teenager, Neal continuing to monitor the cameras.

 Something inside the mine suddenly creaked, the sound of the metal groaning sending a collective chill down everyone's spines. Neal saw Chief Hood's eyes widen as his hand reached for the walkie-talkie on his shoulder.

 "Ali, get the kid as quick as you can. That elevator is going to go at any minute!" Chief Hood shouted.

 "Chief, you're not going to like this. It's Bobby," Ali said on the other end of the line. "And he doesn't look like he's doing so good. I've got him hooked up, so bring us up."

 Neal knew that the kid being named by Ali wasn't a good thing, and he was worried as the rest of the squad seemed to freeze for a moment before working frantically to get the duo up and out of the mine.

 There was another crash, this one much louder, and caused the ground to rumble beneath their feet before Ali and Bobby were pulled up, and Neal's eyes widened in fear, but the machine kept pulling. Something was coming up, but what?

 "Someone grab him, now!" Ali's voice shouted from the cavern before his black hair and the blonde hair of the teenager peeked through the smaller opening of the mine. The paramedics wasted no time in snatching the teenager up and running to the second ambulance they had on the scene. The first ambulance's doors opened and the teenager stepped out, having gotten a clearance from the paramedics inside, while the second ambulance sped away.

 "Who was the other kid we rescued?" Neal asked Ali as he watched Chief Hood's somber form go over to the sheriff and the woman in the black pantsuit.

 "Robert Nolan," Ali explained as the sheriff's car went speeding down the street, "he's the sheriff's son."