#Be free and checkmate as many men as she wants

[coconut530]

*COUGHS*

…

WHAT

[kumeko]

A/N: For the “I am Ferdinand Von Aegir” zine! I love how much Ferdie needs to get Edie’s approval, it’s such a good trope, especially when he gets it and doesn’t know what to do.

…

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Ferdinand knew Edelgard’s figure like the back of his hand. Tray in hand, he stood at the threshold of the strategy room, foot hovering over the line dividing them. As usual, Edelgard didn’t notice him, her attention utterly focused on the scale model of Fódlan before her. Her posture was perfectly regal, back straight, shoulders square. For someone so short, she cut an imposing figure. This had been true in their childhood, having bested him in every competition. This had been true in their school days when he was barely taller than her and her eyes were set on a horizon he couldn’t see. And it was certainly true now, long after the war, long after their world had flipped on its axis.

Sensing his stare, she turned around. “There you are. I thought you had gotten lost.” When he didn’t reply, Edelgard raised a brow. “Ferdinand?”

It was enough to jerk him out of his daze. Shaking his head, he crossed the threshold. “I just wanted to make sure we had some tea. I am certain you have not eaten since morning.”

Edelgard glanced at him, then at his tray. Laden with bergamot tea and blueberry scones, it was more of a snack than a meal, but it was better than nothing. Ferdinand wasn’t sure when he had taken over part of Hubert’s duties. Probably when Hubert realized he couldn’t hold a candle to him in the art of tea.

When Edelgard hesitated, her stubborn pride rearing up as usual, he gently added, “The war is over. Surely, we have time for a small break.”

“That does not make our task any less urgent,” Edelgard replied bluntly, but her shoulders relaxed nonetheless.

Half-filled inkwells, towering stacks of proposals, and scattered pens crowded the large oak table, leaving barely any room for him to set down the tray. “No, I suppose not, but we do have time to think about it.”

“Thinking without action is pointless.” Edelgard picked up a small soldier off the map, rolling it on her palm. “I doubt we will run into any major problems reforming Faerghus. The Kingdom is similar enough to our empire—full of stubborn old fools clinging to power and misguided values—that we can just replicate our efforts here. No, the issue is the Leicester Alliance.”

Ferdinand paused, smiling wryly as he remembered his old classmates. “They are a very free people.”

“Same pride as our own, but less rigidity in their rules.” Edelgard set down the piece, turning to him. Her robe brushed his arm, and it was funny how natural it felt to be this close to her. Close enough he could see the bags under her eyes, the tight line of her jaw, the small scar on her neck from a nearly fatal fight.

She looked up, her eyes boring into his as she asked, “What do you think, Ferdinand?”

It was a simple question. He had heard it many times before: in the middle of a classroom, at the start of training exercise, across the table as he struggled to find a tactic that would save the most people with the least casualties. The words never failed to stir up a sense of competitiveness—he had chased Edelgard’s shadow for years, and even now he found himself automatically turning toward her, watching for her reaction.

Only, he wasn’t seeing her from the back.

They stood side by side. Equals. Her eyes on him instead of an invisible goal.

Standing a little straighter, Ferdinand studied the model of Fódlan. During the war, their units had covered the map, entire armies positioned as they predicted their enemies’ moves. Now emptier, the map was mainly filled with pieces marking nobles as Edelgard moved them around. It was like the final stages of chess, the cleaning sweep before a checkmate.

And one piece still in the way was Gloucester.

Once upon a time, back when there were no differences nor borders of country or house alike to compare so drastically as now, two men—students, really, for they were hardly grown into their armour back then—shared a simple moment of respite among the gardens of a now crumpled school. Ferdinand lowered his eyes. It was not something they could do again. Yet, he had learned enough through their chats to know the way forward.

“We should talk to them,” Ferdinand finally said, turning to Edelgard now. “Not just to the remaining nobles, but to the local leaders. They value their freedom and ability to choose. If we present them with options, even ask for their ideas, they will find the right path.”

Edelgard said nothing, her gaze returning to the map. A silence fell over them. Ferdinand shifted his feet. Had he suggested the wrong thing? He peeked at the map, taking in the pieces once more. Short of tyranny, there weren’t many options available.

Just when he couldn’t take it any longer, her lips curled into a half-smile and she nodded. “That is a viable solution.”

A sense of pride filled him. “The best solution,” he added, unable to help himself.

“I would not go that far,” Edelgard replied wryly, though her smile remained. She picked up the teacup, taking a deep breath. “Would you mind going?”

It took him a moment to realize what she meant. “To Leicester?”

“It was your idea.” Edelgard took a delicate sip of her tea. “Quite honestly, there is no one else I would rather entrust this to.” She looked at him over her cup. “Negotiation is your strength.”

It was an acknowledgment. Far different than the ones he had aimed for as a child, trying to better her—no, this was worth far more than those worthless praises he wanted. Ferdinand smiled. “Then I will take that duty proudly.”

“I am sure you will.” Edelgard chuckled lightly, finally relaxing now that they had a plan. “I suppose the meetings around here will go smoother without your arguments.”

It was as close to teasing as Edelgard ever got and Ferdinand laughed. “Your ideas will be weaker without me to fix them.”

Edelgard looked at him seriously and he flushed. “They certainly will.” She took another sip and closed her eyes. “I am not sure what I will miss more, this tea or our small chats.”

Ferdinand didn’t reply, not sure how to take her words. His almost confession, months ago, echoed in his mind, and he wondered if that meant the time was now. If that meant, she might be looking at him the way he had looked at her.

It was funny. For all that had changed, some things remained the same. While he might have stopped chasing her shadow, he certainly wasn’t done chasing her.

[taggedmemes]

SENTENCE MEME ⟶ THE WOMBATS / B - Z Sides ( PART ONE ) always feel free to tweak the sentence to fit your muse.

"When I first held your hand, things felt right and in place."

"Why am I so afraid?"

"Remember when I first saw you?"

"If it's alright with you, I think I'll leave soon."

"I think I'll miss you."

"I think I'll love you."

"You were so hard to find."

"What took us so long?"

"The ceiling never looked so interesting."

"Say something to fill the void."

"This window never looked so small."

"My face never looked this disenchanted."

"You made me feel like Brad Pitt."

"I'm black and blue."

"There's no time for me to catch my breath."

"I'm in a cage."

"I think I'm out the game."

"I drink too much because there's not enough of you there."

"There's not enough of you anywhere."

"I've had enough."

"I think too much."

"I've given up on life and death."

"I like it when you're rude."

"I'll try, but I know there's no point."

"I'm not confident enough to play the field like those guys."

"I'm not secure enough to fool around like those guys."

"I've been knocked down."

"My head's in the clouds."

"I just forgot to breathe."

"I'm so scared about that stuff."

"If you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"She might turn me away."

"Today, I'm gonna make a change."

"The world loves hypocrisy."

"You wreck my mind more and more with each passing day."

"I think you're crazy."

"I think you're rude."

"We don't mean that much."

"I don't need much to make me happy."

"This is love."

"I think I'll go down just to get away."

"In the back of my mind I'm waiting for this to just end up in tears."

"I've just had the craziest week."

"I don't know why I want to voice this out loud."

"It's therapeutic somehow."

"We're not the same."

"I put one foot forward and ended up thirty yards back."

"Am I losing touch or am I just completely off the track."

"Are you gonna screw my head up?"

"You're pretty weird but you're not a psycho."

"I never got so many texts as I did from you last night."

"Is it such a big waste of time?"

"You and I could be so happily screwed."

"You've got selective hearing."

"I'm frankly bored now of your attitude."

"When we speak your eyes are everywhere."

"It's all or nothing for you."

"Take that cigarette out of your mouth."

"Don't you think it's time that we should move on?"

"Everything that meant anything is gone."

"Take my credit cards far away from me."

"I'm not mature enough to keep one little eye on anything."

"You don't call the shots."

"Why am I lacing every single night with doubt."

"I'm Mr. Jealous Man today."

"Don't wanna feel sorry for myself now."

"Let's not get lost in ourselves today."

"I can never be the good guy."

"My car broke down and mirrored both our lives."

"Politics make it so hard for us."

"This war's between two men and four million puppy dogs."

"They don't know it yet, but we both know they're coming between us."

"I can bury my head in the sand just as fast as the next man."

"They say that our strengths should have been growing over time."

"You've gotta see there's something wrong."

"We trudged through winter and spring for this."

"You're pretty desperate to get out of this town."

"Sundays and I are not meant to be."

"It doesn't affect you like it does me."

"I'd be a couch potato all my life."

"Why have you got an array of board games under your arm?"

"What's the point of going somewhere else if you're only going to do exactly what you would be doing at home?"

"Looks like we're both in checkmate now."

"Board games have a double meaning."

"That's your automatic response when everything is going wrong."

"What a happy, clappy fun day."

"This ghost train will derail and crash."

"I got a spot of bad news."

"There's not much you can do if you've got the theme park blues."

"It's just that everything is upside down."

"I'm the one who has the frown."

[perspectivestarters]

Perspective's Sentence Starters; MIDNIGHTS by Taylor Swift (Part II)

VIGILANTE SHIT

"Draw the cat eye, sharp enough to kill a man."

"You did some bad things, but I'm the worst of them."

"Sometimes I wonder which one'll be your last lie."

"They say looks can kill and I might try."

"I don't dress for women, I don't dress for men."

"Lately I've been dressin' for revenge."

"I don't start shit, but I can tell you how it ends."

"Don't get sad, get even."

"She needed cold hard proof, so I gave her some."

"Where you think she got it from?"

"Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride."

"Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife."

"She looks so pretty drivin' in your Benz."

"Ladies always rise above."

"Ladies know what people want."

"The lady simply had enough."

"He was doin' lines and crossin' all of mine."

"Someone told his white collar crimes to the FBI."

"On my vigilante shit again."

BEJEWELED

"Baby love, I think I've been a little too kind."

"Didn't notice you walkin' all over my peace of mind."

"Puttin' someone first only works when you're in their top five."

"By the way, I'm goin' out tonight."

"Best believe I'm still bejeweled when I walk in the room."

"I can still make the whole place shimmer."

"Do you have a man?"

"I don't remember."

"Familiarity breeds contempt."

"I polish up real nice."

"Baby boy, I think I've been too good of a girl."

"I think it's time to teach some lessons."

"I made you my world, have you heard?"

"I can reclaim the land."

"I miss sparklin'."

"Sadness became my whole sky."

"You can try to change my mind, but you might have to wait in line."

"What's a girl gonna do? A diamond's gotta shine."

LABYRINTH

"It only hurts this much right now."

"Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out."

"I'll be gettin' over you my whole life."

"Never trust it if it rises fast."

"Oh no, I'm fallin' in love again."

"How'd you turn it right around?"

"Lost in the labyrinth of my mind."

"Break up, break free, break through, break down."

"You would break your back to make me break a smile."

"You know how much I hate that everybody just expects me to bounce back just like that."

KARMA

"You're talking shit for the hell of it."

"It's coming back around."

"You wouldn't know what I mean."

"Karma is a god."

"Karma's a relaxing thought."

"Aren't you envious that for you it's not sweet like honey?"

"Me and karma vibe like that."

"My pennies made your crown."

"Trick me once, trick me twice."

"Don't you know that cash ain't the only price?"

"Ask me what I learned from all those years."

"Ask me what I earned from all those tears."

"Ask me why so many fade."

"I'm still here."

"Karma is the thunder rattling your ground."

"Karma's gonna track you down."

"Sweet like justice."

"Karma is a queen."

SWEET NOTHING

"They said the end is coming."

"Everyone's up to something."

"I found myself a-running home to your sweet nothings."

"All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing."

"On the way home, I wrote a poem."

"What a mind."

"All that you ever wanted from me was nothing."

"You should be doing more."

"I can't admit that I'm just too soft for all of it."

MASTERMIND

"Once upon a time, the planets and the fates and all the stars aligned."

"Checkmate, I couldn't lose."

"What if I told you none of it was accidental?"

"Nothing was gonna stop me."

"Just like clockwork, the dominoes cascaded in the line."

"What if I told you I'm a mastermind?"

"Now you're minе."

"It was all by design."

"All thе wisest women had to do it this way."

"We were born to be the pawn in every lover's game."

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

"Strategy sets the scene for the tale."

"No one wanted to play with me as a little kid."

"I've been scheming like a criminal ever since to make them love me and make it seem effortless."

"This is the first time I've felt the need to confess."

"You knew the entire time?"

[newswcanonprompts]

Skywalkers are immortal eldritch fucks (there’s so many ways this can go)

1. How does being half-force affect Anakin as a force ghost

Anakin... wasn't properly dead. just a bit too present, a bit too lively, and that if only someone pulled hard enough on the veil, he could be made to bleed again.

Anakin just keeps coming back to life, And so do Luke and Leia when they die.

"You've done it, you've killed Anakin fucking Skywalker. Wait, why is he standing behind you? Where's his body gone? Oh fuck, what is that expression? Oh no!"

This happens to Vader and terrifies the f*ck out of literally everyone

the man is the son of the Force, yes? how could he "become one with it" if he basically already was part of it? or at least, made of it?

It'd be either kinda horrifying or basically a regenerate-your-limbs get out of jail free card

Anakin turns up in Luke's temple one day, like "hey turns out I can't die"

Luke is just happy to have a Dad

imagine the backlash if that little factoid ever went public. "What do you mean Darth Vader can't die???"

"You mean he's alive right now????"

Obi-Wan realising he can't have a peaceful retirement in the afterlife because Anakin's apparently immortal now

Anakin starts trying to figure out how to make Obi wan immortal too

Ahsoka is so confused at everything

"You look a lot like the Hero with No Fear from the Clone Wars. Are you his grandson or something?" 

"Nope, I am him." 

"Freaking weird Jedi and their not aging."

 2. how terrifying it would have been if during the Dooku fight in AOTC his arm just regrew the moment it was cut off

3. them realizing this during the clone wars: CHECKMATE BITCHES

imagine the propaganda if there was a General who literally couldn't die

the Seperatists wouldn't know which way was up anymore

Anakin realised he had this sort of ability during the clone wars it would be hilarious to see him just throwing himself at things

he could protect his men better

Imagine how distressing it would be for a shiny to just see their general die and then come back seconds later

And Rex being like "Yep, the general does that."

just rubbing his eyes. and being completely done

Imagine the bitching sessions with Cody "At least yours resurrects! Mine just runs off without his kriffing lightsaber and armor all the time!"

clone boys have a heart attack whenever their general just decides to regrow limbs

rex faints the first time he sees anakin's arm grow back.

instead of the whole "my general keeps losing his lightsaber" it becomes "my general keeps losing his arm"

"My general keeps dying."

"Oh, how many have you been assigned to now?"

"No, no, he gets better again afterwards."

the 501st never tell the shinies that their general is immortal because the vets like to fuck around like that

it's kind of a right of passage for shinies to almost have a heart attack when the general comes back from the dead

Anakin is basically just the "if all else fails" option at that point because no matter what happens to him, he will be back at the temple annoying the hell out of everyone before dinner time

Anakin gets mortally wounded and is like "Well, I'll see you in five."

Droids: * shoot Anakin *

 * Anakin: * dies * 

Anakin, 5 minutes later in the middle of a crowd of droids: SURPRISE BITCHES!! * Murders them all *

Anakin dying to Dooku at the end of Attack of the Clones and then coming back and Dooku just being like "Fuck this shit I'm out."

him coming back and chasing dooku with his arm

Imagine the moment they find out Anakin can come back from the dead:

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan just sobbing their hearts out and then suddenly he's behind them like "Hey, bold of you to presume I'm mortal."

He pulls a Percy Jackson, and walks into his funeral.

mace windu utters a quiet "are you fucking kidding me"

next time anakin dies, his funeral includes a "welcome home anakin" banner

Mace stops letting the Yoda Lineage have funerals because they don't stay dead

They keep having funerals for Anakin just as an excuse to have a party

what if politicians don't know this. like the first time he dies during the war, and all the diplomats are there. Except Padme. She knows all and is just there to see the chaos.

They're usually private funerals, so they can keep inviting new people to screw with

"general skywalker just died"

"senator he's right here"

"i saw him die protecting me right before my eyes"

"senator do you need the healers?"

Obi-Wan, just watched Anakin go splat at the bottom of a ravine:

“ANAKIN!!”

Anakin, popping back into the mortal coil just behind him: “Yeah? What's up?”

obi-wan finding out about a Anakins thing and keeping it a secret,

so one day anakin dies and the whole council is like, mourning

obi-wan is just rolling his eyes and saying “it’s fine he’ll be back”

everyone thinks obi-wans having a mental breakdown

but then anakin walks into his funeral with a cup of caf and sunglasses and flashes everyone a peace sign

All of Yoda’s lineage (except dooku) and padme know.

"can you guys not cover me in white next time? it's pretty boring"

"can i get, like, glitter? is that a thing? make it a thing"

Skywalkers can also breath in space.

They just don’t have to breathe. 

4. THE FORCE IS A PROACTIVE PARENT IN THIS (AND AGENDER) (THEY/THEM PRONOUNS)

during the time it takes for him to resurrect, the force and anakin talked.

Bc that's the only time he could talk with a tangible parent.

he learns about palps that way

one time Anakin dies twice in one day

turns out the ability has a bit of a cooldown time so everyone's just panicking a bit because he should be back by now

then he appears like three days later

Obi-Wan's like "You bastard."

"Gotta keep you on your toes."

Really his parent just wanted some more time with him, and who was he to refuse?

a cracky! anakin basically having annual dinners with The Force because of how often he dies in the clone wars

in this verse the clone wars was created so Anakin & his parent The Force can have family dinners

Mortis, but instead of All That Nonsense, it's just a nice episode of meet the parent

padme dies, and then at her funeral she comes back, but force sensitive.

force sensitive, immortal, padme amidala. The seppies are going DOWN

The Force wills Padme to die because The Force wants to meet their daughter in law

It does this for basically everyone Anakin cares about

sometimes anakin and padme just drop dead, and wake up a few hours later bc they had a family dinner to get to.

"I'm going to kill you" is suddenly the literal way for Anakin to say "I love you"

Anakin dies on Mandalore and Satine witnesses it and she's horrified and doesn't know what to tell Obi-Wan but then she sees Obi-Wan talking to Anakin and she's so confused

So if anakin kills you and you’re someone he cares about you come back to life immortal.

Death By Skywalker basically being a way of becoming immortal is gonna fuck with the war so much

when Palpatine tells Anakin to kill all the jedi he thinks Palpatine is telling him to invite all the jedi to his Force Family Dinner

One day the entire Jedi temple just dies all at once, and comes back a couple hours later, to the confusion of literally everyone (including the Jedi)

yoda is frequently killed to spend time with the force because after 900 years the two of them are tight as fuck

Anakin doesn’t have attachment issues in this bc hey, people die all the time! :)

He also ends up being worshipped as a demigod.

More Angsty version of this: young anakin kills palps bc he thinks he'll resurrect, but then the tangible form of the force appears and explains that he was the sith master.

Palpatine would probably actually try to get Anakin to kill him, because hey! Free immortality! Don't mind if i do!

5. Imagine if this was something he discovered as a little kid. Anakin going off to visit Qui-Gon in the force and Obi-Wan wondering what eldritch beast he has ended up with as a padawan

"Anakin what are you doing?"

"I'm making master Qui-Gon a friendship bracelet?"

"...master qui gon?"

"yeah! i gave one to my parent yesterday and master qui-gon said he wanted one too!"

"Your parent? when exactly was this yesterday?"

anakin being a convoy for dead masters and their old padawans like Weed Dad qui gon jinn and his Struggling Son obi wan

anakin has two parents

Parent and Mom

[paintball169]

Day 1- Checkmate in your own game!

- Part of Salty September -

One Eleanor Davis was going to visit her cousin Marinette Dupain-Cheng in Paris. It was a Surprise visit because she doesn't have much free time. Eleanor was studying fashion much like her cousin, but in modelling. She was going to be the face of MDC once she graduates. You see Marinette wasn't like most people, she had been designing as world famous since she was fourteen. It had been two years since MDC made a debut. Marinette had asked her cousin to be her head model after two months of launching her brand. Jagged Stone had sponsored her brand till she finds a face. Initially she was going to ask Juleka to model for her to help her dream come true. But all of her class had turned on her because of one Lila Rossi. So she asked her cousin whose dream was to become a model for Audrey Bourgeois to model for her. Eleanor was shocked that the overnight famed designer was her cousin. Eleanor became a hit quickly. When Eleanor had asked Marinette that her friends could model with her too, Marinette said that none were interested. Lila rossi was the actual reason Marinette refused to let her classmates model, but her cousin did not need to know that.

So, Eleanor Davis was on her way to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Eleanor quietly made her way to her cousins room.

"Boo!" She said. Eleanor gasped on seeing her cousin curled up in her boyfriends arms sobbing. Her Aunt and Uncle were rubbing her back.

"Chipmunk what's wrong?!" Eleanor asked worried for her cousin.

Marinette or Chipmunk as dubbed by Eleanor, stopped sobbing slowly only to find her cousin standing in front of her. "Elly what are you doing here?" She asked once her sobs quieted down.

"I came to see you Chipmunk, since we don't see each other frequently. Now golden boy what happened to my little Chipmunk?" Eleanor asked Felix, Marinette's boyfriend.

"Lila rossi, one of her classmates, a pure bitch. She and the others ripped her sketch book and called her names, few also beat her up. Imbeciles. I'll kill that bitch." Felix answered furiously.

"Felix! Shhh! you weren't supposed to say anything!" Marinette exclaims in a hushed tone.

"That bitch! What did my chipmunk ever do to her! Let me at her! Where is she? I will rip her to shreds!" Eleanor shouts.

"Elly calm down. You'll become an Akuma!" Marinette tries to reason.

"I'm calm now. How long has this been going on?" Eleanor asks.

"Two years now. Damocles doesn't do anything." Tom Dupain answers looking at his daughter.

"Two Years! Aunt Sabine have you considered switching schools?" Eleanor askes.

"I have Eleanor dear, but the school refuses to send transfer papers." Sabine answers disappointed.

"What about this, Everyone knows I am MDC's face. How 'bout I threaten to sue them? Then I'll transfer there and take care of that bitch." Eleanor Asks hopefully.

"Elena you can't sue them! And you're not killing anyone!" Marinette panics.

"Don't worry chipmunk, only a threat. Also I'm not killing anyone." Eleanor says.

"That's a wonderful Idea Eleanor!" Felix exclaims.

"Any allies I should know about Pipsqueak?" Eleanor asks facing her cousin.

"Only three. Marc, Nath, and Chlo." Marinette answers still looking down.

"Marc as in your look alike cousin?" Eleanor asks hopefully.

"Yep"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Eleanor's POV

"Class we have a new student here. Be nice to her. Now Dear will you Introduce yourself? I'm Caline Bustier." Ginger haired teacher speaks.

Yeah. As if I don't know you Bully Enabler.

"Marinette quit acting! We know that's you!" An overly sick voice sounds. Brown Sausage hair. Yep that's Lila.Scoff.

"Look I don't know who are you Sausages for hairs. But I'm not this Marinette you speak of!" I'll have to pretend I don't know Chipmunk here.

"Who're you calling Sausages hair? You're rude!" A pixie girl says. That must be rose.

"Sorry if I was being rude. But I just Complementing her. Besides If someone's rude here that's her! She called me this Marinette and reprimanded me! " I say with an obviously fake sweet voice.

"Thanks for the complement, Sorry for being rude." Lila answers gritting teeth. Sweet. Serves her right.

"Now if that's done, Introduce yourself please!" Bustier says.

" Hi! My name's Eleanor Davis. I'm from New York. Recently transferred here. You might know me as MDC's face. I like modelling! Hope ya'll be friends with me!" I say in an overly exited voice.

Their Jaws drop.

"Can I Have an Interview? Your THE Eleanor Davis. Sorry If lila was rude. Can you tell me who's MDC?" An aburn hair asks. Lila's Jaw drops as she apologises for Lila. Maybe one of her biggest followers. Right the Ladyblogger, Alya.

"No, Sorry no Interview, But you're the LadyBlogger right? MDC's my Cous. If that's good enough inside scoop?" I say with fake concern.

"OMG girl that's the best scoop I've had for MDC's !" Alya says.

"Your welcome. If that's not it MDC's a teenage girl younger than me by a few months?" I say.

"Wow ! that's awesome!" Alya says.

Mentally rolling my eyes I make my way towards the back. I hear faint those're bullies from the others.

"Hey Cous!" Marc exclaims fist bumping me. "Hey Marc." I reply.

"He's your Cousin?!!" Everyone shouts. Alya says "So he's MDC! That's great!"

"No Alya He's not. No offence bit you need to pay more attention. I just said MDC's a girl." I say with concern.

" Oh sorry. So how's he related to MDC?" She asks.

"Oh that. He's her mother's older brother's youngest son. I'm her father's younger sister's only daughter." I say.

I pass notes to our friends explaining my plans.

Welp, this class is dumber than I thought.

Alya's POV of the above

While we were chatting we were interrupted by mlle.Bustier.

"Class we have a new student here. Be nice to her. Now Dear will you Introduce yourself? I'm Caline Bustier."

The new student examines her. She looks a lot like Marinette. Only Green eyes. Maybe she is. Doing it for attention. Attention Whore.

📷

"Marinette quit acting! We know that's you!" Lila says. We all make hums of agreements.

'Marinette' Scoffs suddenly.

"Look I don't know who are you Sausages for hairs. But I'm not this Marinette you speak of!"

Sausages hair. That's rude. But if that's the case then lila was rude to her first.

"Who're you calling Sausages hair? You're rude!" Rose shouts.

"Sorry if I was being rude. But I just Complimenting her. Besides If someone's rude here that's her! She called me this Marinette and reprimanded me! " The new girl says with a sweet voice maybe I was wrong about her.

"Thanks for the complement, Sorry for being rude." Lila answers. She looks annoyed

"Now if that's done, Introduce yourself please!"Mlle. Bustier says.

" Hi! My name's Eleanor Davis. I'm from New York. Recently transferred here. You might know me as MDC's face. I like modelling! Hope ya'll be friends with me!"Woah! THE Eleanor Davis!

Everyone's jaw drops.

"Can I Have an Interview? Your THE Eleanor Davis. Sorry If lila was rude. Can you tell me who's MDC?" I ask without wasting time. Inside scoops are the best.

"No, Sorry no Interview, But you're the LadyBlogger right? MDC's my Cous. If that's good enough inside scoop?"She recognise me!

"OMG girl that's the best scoop I've had for MDC's !" I reply.

"Your welcome. If that's not it MDC's a teenage girl younger than me by a few months?" She says.

"Wow ! that's awesome!" I say. Now my Blog is sure to take off!

Woah she's heading towards the back. "They're bullies don't sit there!" I say. All back me up.

"Hey Cous!" Marc exclaims fist bumping her. "Hey Marc." she replies.

Woah sweet MDC's in our class.

"He's your Cousin?!!" Everyone shouts. I say "So he's MDC! That's great!"

"No Alya He's not. No offence bit you need to pay more attention. I just said MDC's a girl." she says with concern. I'm offended. But no one's frowning. I'll keep quiet.

" Oh sorry. So how's he related to MDC?" I ask.

"Oh that. He's her mother's older brother's youngest son. I'm her father's younger sister's only daughter." she says.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Eleanor's POV

Stage One: Sow seeds of doubt.

"MDC's name stand for Micheal de Collins! I should know i'm his bestie!" Lie-la says.

"Lila, no offence but someone's fooling you. My cous is seriously a girl." I say.

-

Stage two: Pile up evidences and collect Lawsuits.

"Thanks Mr.Stone. That's great." I say while he hands me Lawsuits for Lila.

"Anything for Nettie" He says.

-

Stage three: Report to Police.

"I'm sorry, we had no idea this was going on Ms.Davis" The men from the school board say.

"Kid the case's registered, When do you want us to arrest her?" Raincomprix asks.

"The End of Lycee Gala." I say.

"Alright."

-

Stage four: Invite all celebrities to Gala

"Mlle. Bustier, I invited many Celebs for the Gala!" I say.

"That's Great Eleanor." She says.

-

Stage five: Gala

"Welcome to the graduation of the Akuma class! We'll end with our validectorian, Eleanor Davis's Speech."

"This year was Great........"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Marinette's POV

I was sitting in the audience. Now's time for Elena's Speech.

"This year was Great. First I got to model for my Cous MDC. I have a special presentation for tonight. Everyone can you please pay attention." She says.

That's a slideshow of every little crime Lila did. Everyone Gasped by the end.

"This is the Two Faced Bitch Lila Rossi. Wanted in 7 countries. The police are here to arrest lila today." She says. WANTED in SEVEN countries!

"Why?!!! We could've ruled together?" Lila screeches.

"Because you hurt my Family." Elena says.

"But I never did anything to you or your Family!"

"Wrong! You hurt my Cousin MDC AKA Marinette Dupain Cheng."

Everyone of my classmates are being arrested.

I've never felt so good.

"This went better than we thought, Right marigold?"

Felix says as he presses a soft Kiss to my lips.

[accioromione]

Can someone please explain to me where the Ron being stupid stereotype came from? Not only is he not stupid.. he’s not average either .....he’s straight up smart .. Like did we read the same books? Like look at these Ron quotes...

“Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.

‘It’s either really valuable or really dangerous,’ said Ron.- PS

---

“What is it?’

Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.

‘It’s an Invisibility Cloak,’ said Ron, a look of awe on his face. ‘I’m sure it is – try it on.’

Harry threw the Cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell.

‘It is! Look down!” -PS

---

“You see, Dumbledore was right, that mirror could drive you mad,’ said Ron, when Harry told him about these dreams. -PS

---

“See you later, then,’ said Harry.

Hagrid shuffled off.

‘What was he hiding behind his back?’ said Hermione thoughtfully.

‘Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?’

‘I’m going to see what section he was in,’ said Ron, who’d had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.

‘Dragons!’ he whispered. ‘Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper’s Guide.’

‘Hagrid’s always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him,’ said Harry.

‘But it’s against our laws,’ said Ron. ‘Dragon-breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks’ Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It’s hard to stop Muggles noticing us if we’re keeping dragons in the back garden – anyway, you can’t tame dragons, it’s dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie’s got off wild ones in Romania.’

‘But there aren’t wild dragons in Britain?’ said Harry.

‘Of course there are,’ said Ron. ‘Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I[…]” -PS

---

“What’s that at its feet?’ Hermione whispered.

‘Looks like a harp,’ said Ron. ‘Snape must have left it there.” -PS

---

“Devil’s Snare, Devil’s Snare … What did Professor Sprout say? It likes the dark and the damp –’

‘So light a fire!’ Harry choked.

‘Yes – of course – but there’s no wood!’ Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

‘HAVE YOU GONE MAD?’ Ron bellowed. ‘ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?’

‘Oh, right!’ said Hermione” -PS

---

“Harry, Ron and Hermione shivered slightly – the towering white chessmen had no faces.

‘Now what do we do?’ Harry whispered.

‘It’s obvious, isn’t it?’ said Ron. ‘We’ve got to play our way across the room.’

Behind the white pieces they could see another door.

‘How?’ said Hermione nervously.

‘I think,’ said Ron, ‘we’re going to have to be chessmen.’

He walked up to a black knight and put his hand out to touch the knight’s horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmeted head to look down at Ron.

‘Do we – er – have to join you to get across?’

The black knight nodded. Ron turned to the other two.

‘This wants thinking about …’ he said. ‘I suppose we’ve got to take the place of three of the black pieces.

Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think. Finally he said, ‘Now, don’t be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess –’

‘We’re not offended,’ said Harry quickly. ‘Just tell us what to do.’

‘Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go there instead of that castle.’

‘What about you?’

‘I’m going to be a knight,’ said Ron.” -PS

---

“White always plays first in chess,’ said Ron, peering across the board. ‘Yes … look …’

A white pawn had moved forward two squares.

Ron started to direct the black pieces. They moved silently wherever he sent them. Harry’s knees were trembling. What if they lost?

‘Harry – move diagonally four squares to the right.’

Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, face down.

‘Had to let that happen,’ said Ron, looking shaken. ‘Leaves you free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on.’

Every time one of their men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Ron only just noticed in time that Harry and Hermione were in danger. He himself darted around the board taking almost as many white pieces as they had lost black ones.

‘We’re nearly there,’ he muttered suddenly. ‘Let me think – let me think …’

The white queen turned her blank face towards him.

‘Yes …’ said Ron softly, ‘it’s the only way … I’ve got to be taken.’

‘NO!’ Harry and Hermione shouted.

‘That’s chess!’ snapped Ron. ‘You’ve got to make some sacrifices! I’ll make my move and she’ll take me – that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Harry!” -PS

Xxx

“D’you think I should have told them about that voice I heard?’

‘No,’ said Ron, without hesitation. ‘Hearing voices no one else can hear isn’t a good sign, even in the wizarding world.’

Something in Ron’s voice made Harry ask, ‘You do believe me, don’t you?’

‘Course I do,’ said Ron quickly. ‘But – you must admit it’s weird …’

‘I know it’s weird,’ said Harry. ‘The whole thing’s weird. What was that writing on the wall about? The Chamber has been opened … what’s that supposed to mean?’

‘You know, it rings a sort of bell,’ said Ron slowly. ‘I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once … might’ve been Bill …’

‘And what on earth’s a Squib?’ said Harry.

To his surprise, Ron stifled a snigger.

‘Well – it’s not funny really – but as it’s Filch …’ he said. ‘A Squib is someone who was born into a wizarding family but hasn’t got any magic powers. Kind of the opposite of Muggle-born wizards, but Squibs are quite unusual. If Filch’s trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell course, I reckon he must be a Squib. It would explain a lot. Like why he hates students so much. -COS

---

“Harry and Ron looked under the sink, where Myrtle was pointing. A small, thin book lay there. It had a shabby black cover and was as wet as everything else in the bathroom. Harry stepped forward to pick it up, but Ron suddenly flung out an arm to hold him back.

‘What?’ said Harry.

‘Are you mad?’ said Ron. ‘It could be dangerous.’

‘Dangerous?’ said Harry, laughing. ‘Come off it, how could it be dangerous?’

‘You’d be surprised,’ said Ron, who was looking apprehensively at the book. ‘Some of the books the Ministry’s confiscated – Dad’s told me – there was one that burned your eyes out. And everyone who read Sonnets of a Sorcerer spoke in limericks for the rest of their lives. And some old witch in Bath had a book that you could never stop reading! You just had to wander around with your nose in it, trying to do everything one-handed. And –’

‘All right, I’ve got the point,’ said Harry. -COS

---

“Rubbish,” said Hermione. “You've read his books — look at all those amazing things he's done —” “He says he's done,” Ron muttered. -COS

Xxx

Hermione didn’t answer. Ron looked around.

“Where is she?”

Harry turned too. They were at the top of the steps now, watch­ing the rest of the class pass them, heading for the Great Hall and lunch.

“She was right behind us,” said Ron, frowning.

Malfoy passed them, walking between Crabbe and Goyle. He smirked at Harry and disappeared.

“There she is,” said Harry.

Hermione was panting slightly, hurrying up the stairs; one hand clutched her bag, the other seemed to be tucking something down the front of her robes.

“How did you do that?” said Ron.

“What?” said Hermione, joining them.

“One minute you were right behind us, the next moment, you were back at the bottom of the stairs again.”

“What?” Hermione looked slightly confused. “Oh — I had to go back for something. Oh no —”

A seam had split on Hermione’s bag. Harry wasn’t surprised; he could see that it was crammed with at least a dozen large and heavy books.

“Why are you carrying all these around with you?” Ron asked her.

“You know how many subjects I’m taking,” said Hermione breathlessly. “Couldn’t hold these for me, could you?

“But —” Ron was turning over the books she had handed him, looking at the covers. “You haven’t got any of these subjects today. It’s only Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon.”

“Oh yes,” said Hermione vaguely, but she packed all the books back into her bag just the same. “I hope there’s something good for lunch, I’m starving,” she added, and she marched off toward the Great Hall.

“D’you get the feeling Hermione’s not telling us something?” Ron asked Harry. –POA

--

“Do you think Black’s still in the castle?” Hermione whispered anxiously.

“Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be,” said Ron.” -POA

XXX

“I’ll bet you anything his dad is one of that masked lot!’ said Ron hotly.

‘Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him!’ said Hermione”  -GOF (he was right obviously)

--

and unjust systems, just because they’re too lazy to –’

Another loud bang echoed from the edge of the wood.

‘Let’s just keep moving, shall we?’ said Ron, and Harry saw him glance edgily at Hermione. Perhaps there was truth in what Malfoy had said; perhaps Hermione was in more danger than they were. They set off again, Harry still searching his pockets, even though he knew his wand wasn’t there.” -GOF

---

“It’s been over a week,’ Harry said, looking at Hedwig’s deserted perch. ‘Ron, you don’t reckon Sirius has been caught, do you?’

‘Nah, it would’ve been in the Daily Prophet,’ said Ron. ‘The Ministry would want to show they’d caught someone, wouldn’t they?” -GOF

---

“Oh, c’mon, ’Er-my-knee,’ said Ron, accidentally spraying Harry with bits of Yorkshire pudding. ‘Oops – sorry, ’Arry –’ He swallowed. ‘You won’t get them sick leave by starving yourself!’

‘Slave labour,’ said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. ‘That’s what made this dinner. Slave labour.’

And she refused to eat another bite.

The rain was still drumming heavily against the high, dark windows. Another clap of thunder shook the windows, and the stormy ceiling flashed, illuminating the golden plates as the remains of the first course vanished and were replaced, instantly, with puddings.

‘Treacle tart, Hermione!’ said Ron, deliberately wafting its smell towards her. ‘Spotted dick, look! Chocolate gateau!” -(trying to get hermione to eat because he’s a wise boy who knows that hermione is being stupid by starving herself instead of just ignoring it) --GOF

---

“Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron’s and Hermione’s. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender.

‘Er,’ said Ron tentatively, ‘my dad told me about one … is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?’

‘Ah, yes,’ said Moody appreciatively. ‘Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse.” -GOF (we love a humble Ron who knows the answer)

---

“it down, you silly little girl, and don’t talk about things you don’t understand,’ said Rita Skeeter coldly, her eyes hardening as they fell on Hermione. ‘I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl … Not that it needs it –’ she added, eyeing Hermione’s bushy hair.

‘Let’s go,’ said Hermione. ‘C’mon, Harry – Ron …’

They left; many people were staring at them as they went. Harry glanced back as they reached the door. Rita Skeeter’s Quick-Quotes Quill was out; it was zooming backwards and forwards over a piece of parchment on the table.

‘She’ll be after you next, Hermione,’ said Ron, in a low and worried voice as they walked quickly back up the street.

‘Let her try!’ said Hermione shrilly”- GOF (of course he was right)

           Xxx

Well, it'd be cool to be an Auror,' said Ron in an off-hand voice.

 'Yeah, it would,' said Harry fervently.

 'But they're, like, the elite,' said Ron. 'You've got to be really good. -OOTP (HE BECOMES ONE)

----

I did think he might be a bit better this year,' said Hermione in a disappointed voice. 'I mean . . . you know . . .' she looked around carefully; there were half a dozen empty seats on either side of them and nobody was passing the table ' . . . now he's in the Order and everything.'

 'Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots,' said Ron sagely. -OOTP (wizard way of saying “people can't change who they really are inside”)

---

Harry placed his bleeding, aching hand into the bowl and experienced a wonderful feeling of relief. Crookshanks curled around his legs, purring loudly, then leapt into his lap and settled down.

 Thanks,' he said gratefully, scratching behind Crookshanks's ears with his left hand.

 'I still reckon you should complain about this,' said Ron in a low voice.

 'No,' said Harry flatly.

 'McGonagall would go nuts if she knew –‘ -OOTP

---

‘So what's in the Department of Mysteries?' Harry asked Ron. 'Has your dad ever mentioned anything about it?'

 'I know they call the people who work in there "Unspeakables",' said Ron, frowning. –OOTP

---

'We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped,' said Fudge last night. 'Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals, and we beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached.'

 There you are, Harry,' said Ron, looking awestruck. That's why he (Voldemort) was happy last night. –OOTP

---

Yeah, but that's another thing, how did they get premises?' said Ron, hitting his teacup so hard with his wand that its legs collapsed again and it lay twitching before him. 'It's a bit dodgy, isn't it? They'll need loads of Galleons to afford the rent on a place in Diagon Alley. She'll want to know what they've been up to, to get their hands on that sort of gold.'

 'Well, yes, that occurred to me, too,' said Hermione –OOTP

---

'So,' said Ron, pushing aside a low-hanging branch and holding out Harry's wand, 'had any ideas?'

 'How did you get away?' asked Harry in amazement, taking his wand from Ron.

 'Couple of Stunners, a Disarming Charm, Neville brought off a really nice  little Impediment Jinx,' said Ron airily, now handing back Hermione's wand, too. -OOTP

---

'Have you seen this?' said Ron.

 'What?' said Harry, but eagerly this time - it had to be a sign that Sirius had been there, a clue. He strode back to where they were all standing, a little way down row ninety-seven, but found nothing except Ron staring at one of the dusty glass spheres on the shelf.

 'What?' Harry repeated glumly.

 'It's - it's got your name on,' said Ron.

 Harry moved a little closer. Ron was pointing at one of the small glass spheres that glowed with a dull inner light, though it was very dusty and appeared not to have been touched for many years.

 'My name?' said Harry blankly.

 He stepped forwards. Not as tall as Ron, he had to crane his neck to read the yellowish label affixed to the shelf right beneath the dusty glass ball. In spidery writing was written a date of some sixteen years previously, and below that:

 S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.

 Dark Lord

 and (?)Harry Potter –OOTP

XXX

"Well, what Harry said is the most useful if we're trying to tell them apart!" said Ron. "When we come face-to-face with one down a dark alley, we're going to be having a look to see if its solid, aren't we, we're not going to be asking, 'Excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?'" There was a ripple of laughter, instantly quelled by the look Snape gave the class. –HBP

"Lucky," said Ron suddenly. "Harry, that's it — get lucky!"

"What d'you mean?"

"Use your lucky potion!"

"Ron, that's — that's it!" said Hermione, sounding stunned. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it?" –HBP

---

"Are you selling this stuff?" asked Harry, watching Mundungus grab an assortment of grubby-looking objects from the ground.

"Oh, well, gotta scrape a living," said Mundungus. "Gimme that!"

Ron had stooped down and picked up something silver.

"Hang on," Ron said slowly. "This looks familiar —"

"Thank you!" said Mundungus, snatching the goblet out of Ron's hand and stuffing it back into the case. "Well, I'll see you all _ OUCH!"

Harry had pinned Mundungus against the wall of the pub by the throat. Holding him fast with one hand, he pulled out his wand.

"Harry!" squealed Hermione.

"You took that from Sinus's house," said Harry, --HBP

---

wasn't a very slick attack, really, when you stop and think about it," said Ron, casually turfing a first year out of one of the good armchairs by the fire so that he could sit down. "The curse didn't even make it into the castle. Not what you'd call foolproof."

"You're right," said Hermione, prodding Ron out of the chair with her foot and offering it to the first year again. "It wasn't very well thought-out at all." –HBP

---

Well, you can't break an Unbreakable Vow. . . ." (RON)

"I'd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. What happens if you break it, then?"

"You die," said Ron simply "Fred and George tried to get me to make one when I was about five. I nearly did too, I was holding hands with Fred and everything when Dad found us. He went mental," said Ron, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes. "Only time I've ever seen Dad as angry as Mum, Fred reckons his left but­tock has never been the same since."—HBP

---

"I want to know what he's up to," said Harry. "And don't tell nn its all in my head, not after what I overheard between him and Snape —"

"I never said it was all in your head," said Ron, hoisting himself up on an elbow in turn and frowning at Harry, "but there's no rule saying only one person at a time can be plotting anything in this place!” -HBP

---

"Knew you'd be top at Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Ron, punching Harry on the shoulder. "We've done all right, haven't we?"

"Well done!" said Mrs. Weasley proudly, ruffling Ron's hair. "Seven OWLs, that's more than Fred and George got together!" -HBP

---

"If only we could hear what they're saying!" said Hermione. "We can!" said Ron excitedly. "Hang on, damn." He dropped a couple more of the boxes he was still clutching as he fumbled with the largest. "Extendable Ears, look!" "Fantastic!" said Hermione, as Ron unraveled the long, flesh-colored strings and began to feed them toward the bottom of the door. "Oh, I hope the door isn't Imperturbable..." "No!" said Ron gleefully. "Listen!" –HBP  

---- 

That's it, though, innit?" said Ron, swallowing an entire fried egg whole. "We were the ones who made the most effort in classes because we like Hagrid. But he thinks we liked the stupid subject. D'ya reckon anyone's going to go on to N.E.W.T.?" -HBP (this basically reveals that they were the best in this class)

XXX

“Only if you shouted about it,” argued Ron (elder wand). “Only if you were prat enough to go dancing around, waving it over your head, and singing, ‘I’ve got an unbeatable wand, come and have a go if you think you’re good enough.’ As you as long as you kept your trap shut—”  -DH

---

“Harry, you were right, it was Godric’s Hollow all over again, a complete waste

of time! The Deathly Hallows. . . such rubbish. . . although actually,” a sudden

thought seemed to have struck her, “he might have made it all up, mightn’t he?

He probably doesn’t believe in the Deathly Hallows at all, he just wanted to

keep us talking until the Death Eaters arrived!”

“I don’t think so,” said Ron. “It’s a damn sight harder making stuff up when

you’re under stress than you’d think. I found that out when the Snatchers

caught me. It was much easier pretending to be Stan, because I knew a bit

about him, than inventing a whole new person. Old Lovegood was under loads of pressure, trying to make sure we stayed put. I reckon he told us the truth,

or what he thinks is the truth, just to keep us talking.

“Well, I don’t suppose it matters,” sighed Hermione. “Even if he was being

honest, I never heard such a lot of nonsense in all my life.”

“Hang on, though,” said Ron. “The Chamber of Secrets was supposed to be

a myth, wasn’t it?”

“But the Deathly Hallows can’t exist, Ron!”

“You keep saying that, but one of them can,” said Ron. “Harry’s Invisibility

Cloak—“

“The Tale of the Three Brothers’ is a story,” said Hermione firmly. “A story

about how humans are frightened of death. If surviving was as simple as hiding

under the Invisibility Cloak, we’d have everything we need already!” -DH

---

“Where the hell have you been?” Harry shouted.

“Chamber of Secrets,” said Ron.

“Chamber — what?” said Harry, coming to an unsteady halt before them.

“It was Ron, all Ron’s idea!” said Hermione breathlessly. “Wasn’t it absolutely brilliant? There we were, after you left, and I said to Ron, even if we find the other one, how are we going to get rid of it? We still hadn’t got rid of the cup! And then he thought of it! The basilisk!”

“What the — ?”

“Something to get rid of Horcruxes,” said Ron simply.

Harry’s eyes dropped to the objects clutched in Ron and Hermi­one’s arms: great curved fangs, torn, he now realized, from the skull of a dead basilisk.

“But how did you get in there?” he asked, staring from the fangs to Ron. “You need to speak Parseltongue!”

“He did!” whispered Hermione. “Show him, Ron!”

Ron made a horrible strangled hissing noise.

“It’s what you did to open the locket,” he told Harry apologeti­cally. “I had to have a few goes to get it right, but,” he shrugged modestly, “we got there in the end.”

“He was amazing.” said Hermione. “Amazing!”

“So …” Harry was struggling to keep up. “So …”

“So we’re another Horcrux down,” said Ron, and from under his jacket he pulled the mangled remains of Hufflepuff’s cup. “Hermione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn’t had the pleasure yet.”

“Genius!” yelled Harry.

“It was nothing,” said Ron, though he looked delighted with himself. “So what’s new with you?” -DH

---

“Harry contemplated the thing, slightly revolted. It was human in shape and size, and was wearing what, now that Harry’s eyes became used to the darkness, was clearly an old pair of Ron’s pajamas. He was also sure that ghouls were generally rather slimy and bald, rather than distinctly hairy and covered in angry purple blisters.

“He’s me, see?” said Ron.

“No,” said Harry. “I don’t.”

“I’ll explain it back in my room, the smell’s getting to me,” said Ron. They climbed back down the ladder, which Ron returned to the ceiling, and rejoined Hermione, who was still sorting books.

“Once we’ve left, the ghoul’s going to come and live down here in my room,” said Ron. “I think he’s really looking forward to it — well, it’s hard to tell, because all he can do is moan and drool — but he nods a lot when you mention it. Anyway, he’s going to be me with spattergroit. Good, eh?” -DH

“That’s as much as I can do. At the very least, we should know they’re coming, I can’t guarantee it will keep out Vol —”

“Don’t say the name!” Ron cut across her, his voice harsh.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other.

“I’m sorry,” Ron said, moaning a little as he raised himself to look at them, “but it feels like a — a jinx or something. Can’t we call him You-Know-Who — please?” -DH ( he was right)

---

“For the first time, Harry imagined Mad-Eye’s body, broken as Dumbledore’s had been, yet with that one eye still whizzing in its socket. He felt a stab of revulsion mixed with a bizarre desire to laugh.

“The Death Eaters probably tidied up after themselves, that’s why no one’s found him,” said Ron wisely.

“Yeah,” said Harry. “Like Barty Crouch, turned into a bone and buried in Hagrid’s front garden. They probably transfigured Moody and stuffed him —”

“Don’t!” squealed Hermione. Startled, Harry looked over just in time to see her burst into tears over her copy of Spellman’s Syllabary.

“Oh no,” said Harry, struggling to get up from the old camp bed. “Hermione, I wasn’t trying to upset —”

But with a great creaking of rusty bedsprings, Ron bounded off the bed and got there first. One arm around Hermione, he fished in his jeans pocket and withdrew a revolting-looking handkerchief that he had used to clean out the oven earlier. Hastily pulling out his wand, he pointed it at the rag and said, “Tergeo.”

The wand siphoned off most of the grease. Looking rather pleased with himself, Ron handed the slightly smoking handkerchief to Hermione.

“Oh … thanks, Ron  I’m sorry. …” She blew her nose and hiccuped. “It’s just so awf-ful, isn’t it? R-right after Dumbledore … I j-just n-never imagined Mad-Eye dying, somehow, he seemed so tough!”

“Yeah, I know,” said Ron, giving her a squeeze. “But you know what he’d say to us if he was here?”

“ ‘C-constant vigilance,’ ” said Hermione, mopping her eyes.

“That’s right,” said Ron, nodding. “He’d tell us to learn from what happened to him. And what I’ve learned is not to trust that cowardly little squit, Mundungus.” -DH

--

“If I can’t use magic, and you can’t use magic near me, without us giving away our position —” he began.

“We’re not splitting up!” said Hermione firmly.

“We need a safe place to hide,” said Ron. “Give us time to think things through.” -DH

---

“You — you don’t think you’ve still got your Trace on you, do you, Harry?”

“He can’t have,” said Ron. “The Trace breaks at seventeen, that’s Wizarding law, you can’t put it on an adult.” -DH

---

“Because we used his name?”

“Exactly! You’ve got to give them credit, it makes sense. It was only people who were serious about standing up to him, like Dum­bledore, who ever dared use it. Now they’ve put a Taboo on it, any­one who says it is trackable — quick-and-easy way to find Order members! They nearly got Kingsley —”

“You’re kidding?” – DH

“Well, they keep on the move, don’t they?” said Ron. “Like us.”

“But did you hear what Fred said?” asked Harry excitedly; now the broadcast was over, his thoughts turned again toward his all-consuming obsession. “He’s abroad! He’s still looking for the Wand, I knew it!”

“Harry —”

“Come on, Hermione, why are you so determined not to admit it? Vol —”

“HARRY, NO!”

“— demort’s after the Elder Wand!”

“The name’s Taboo!” Ron bellowed, leaping to his feet as a loud crack sounded outside the tent. “I told you, Harry, I told you, we can’t say it anymore — we’ve got to put the protection back around us — quickly — it’s how they find —”

But Ron stopped talking, and Harry knew why. The Sneakoscope on the table had lit up and begun to spin; they could hear voices coming nearer and nearer: rough, excited voices. Ron pulled the De­luminator out of his pocket and clicked it: Their lamps went out.” -DH

---

“Blimey, Neville,” said Ron, “there’s a time and a place for get­ting a smart mouth.” -DH

---

“It’s quite straightforward, really,” said Neville modestly. “I’d been in here about a day and a half, and getting really hungry, and wishing I could get something to eat, and that’s when the passage to the Hog’s Head opened up. I went through it and met Aberforth. He’s been providing us with food, because for some reason, that’s the one thing the room doesn’t really do.”

“Yeah, well, food’s one of the five exceptions to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration,” said Ron to general astonishment -DH

----

“SILENCE!” cried Voldemort, and there was a bang and a flash of bright light, and silence was forced upon them all. “It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!”

Harry felt himself lowered onto the grass.

“You see?” said Voldemort, and Harry felt him striding backward and forward right beside the place where he lay. “Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!”

“He beat you!” yelled Ron, and the charm broke, and the defend­ers of Hogwarts were shouting and screaming again until a second, more powerful bang extinguished their voices once more.- DH

Like ???????? He’s a smart ass.....a skilled wizard...understands social cues..knows when to ask questions...makes skilled observations...like where does the stupid stereotype even come from?????? 

[swanqueeneverafter]

Before All Hell Breaks Loose.

The Underworld. (Surrounded by the Sea of Lost Souls, two men sit at a table opposite each other playing a game.) Hades: (Moving his piece across the board:) "And I believe that's checkmate." Facilier: (Slamming his fist on the table:) "Damn! Let's play again." Hades: (Chuckles:) "When will you learn, Facilier. You can't defeat me." Facilier: "I will find a way, believe me." Hades: "You forget who you're talking to. I know all your tricks. Why I bet I can predict what your next move will be before you've even thought of it." Facilier: "I would not be so sure, Lord Hades." Hades: "Oh have it your way. (Waves his hand and resets the board:) Just remember, Facilier, you cannot cheat death." Facilier: “I’ll bear that in mind.” Evil Queen: (Striding towards them:) “As will I.” (Rising quickly from his high-backed chair, Hades turns to face the Evil Queen as she leads a legion of former Dark Ones into his chamber.) Hades: "Well well, if it isn't the Evil Queen. At last we meet." Evil Queen: "Clearly my reputation proceeds me." Hades: "Oh you have no idea. (Looking beyond her:) And I see you've not come alone. Nimue. Zoso. Dark Ones all. It's my honour to welcome you all to my kingdom." Evil Queen: "And you are?" Hades: (Smiles:) "I am Hades, Lord of the Underworld." Evil Queen: "Charmed." Facilier: (Clears his throat:) "Lord Hades. What about our game?" Hades: "Come now, Facilier, where are your manners? Can't you see I’ve suddenly become quite busy. Besides, you've had enough humiliation for one evening. Leave us. (Facilier stands, picks up his hat from the table and exits the chamber, making sure to steer clear of the Dark Ones:) Now, where were we? Ah yes. Seeing as there are so many of you, perhaps it would be best if I saw you all in small groups. Would you care to take a seat, Your Majesty?"

Storybrooke. Granny's Diner. (While Regina talks with Henry and Violet, Emma sits alone at a booth when Zelena approaches.) Emma: (With Zelena glaring at her:) "Do we have a problem?" Zelena: (Scoffs:) "Don't you have something to say to me?" Emma: (Looks down:) "Zelena if there was anyway I could undo what I did then-" Zelena: "Oh save it, Emma. All I want from you is an apology." Emma: (Nods:) "I-I'm sorry, Zelena, I truly am." Zelena: "Thank you." Emma: "If there's ever anything I can do to-" Zelena: "Actually, there is something." (Overhearing the conversation, the Charmings move closer towards them.) Emma: (Stiffly:) "All right." Zelena: (Spares the Charmings a smile then returns her attention to Emma:) "I'm going to find my daughter and bring her home with me. All I need you to do is keep Regina off my back." Emma: "What do you mean?" Zelena: (Rolls her eyes:) "Regina and Robin made me promise that I would only be able to see my baby girl when either of them were present. I want you to convince them that's no longer necessary." Mary Margaret: "Zelena, this isn't the way to build trust. What if-" Emma: (Cutting in:) "I'll do it." Zelena: (Smiles:) "That's all I needed to hear." (With that, Zelena waves her hand and disappears in a cloud of green smoke.) David: "Emma, are you sure that's the right thing to do?" Emma: "I'll handle it." Regina: (Walking over:) "Handle what?" Emma: (Smiles:) "Nothing that can't wait." Regina: (Returning the smile:) "Good. (Taking Emma's hands in her own:) Time to go home." Emma: (Glancing over at their son:) "What about Henry?" Regina: "He's going to stay and talk with Violet for awhile." Emma: "And you're okay with that?" Regina: "I think it's fair they say their goodbyes before they're both grounded." Emma: "Regina-" Regina: "Shh. That's a conversation for another time. For now, I'm taking you home." (Emma sees the earnest look on Regina's face and nods before they're both enveloped in their own cloud of smoke.)  

Mills House. (Reappearing outside on the door step, Regina leans in and gives Emma a soft, chaste kiss before turning and unlocking the front door. Allowing herself to be led inside, Emma's momentary confusion at arriving outside the Mayor’s mansion is replaced with understanding as they make their way silently up the long winding staircase. With each step, Emma feels herself being welcomed back home. Her suspicions are confirmed when upon reaching the bedroom door, Regina places another chaste kiss upon her lips. Moving over to the bed, Regina motions for Emma to take a seat. Slowly, Regina kneels and carefully removes each of Emma's boots, placing them neatly at the foot of the bed. When Emma reaches for her, Regina kisses her once more before heading swiftly towards the bathroom. Laying back on the bed, Emma listens as the sound of running water is heard. Before too long, Regina reappears in the doorway and beckons Emma over with a wave of her hand. With the gentlest of touches and the utmost care, Regina proceeds to remove the rest of Emma's clothing before helping her into the bath. Lowering herself into the water, Emma gives Regina a questioning look but Regina merely rolls up her sleeves, kneels beside the tub and begins to wash Emma's hair. Not knowing what else to do, Emma closes her eyes and surrenders to the sensation of being truly cared for and loved, unconditionally. All too soon, the bath is over and Emma finds herself being reverently toweled dry by Regina who still has yet to speak since they entered the Mayor’s mansion. Returning to the bedroom, Emma perches herself on the bed and watches while Regina removes her own clothing. Then, reclined on the bed together, they share soft, delicate kisses before Regina begins to move slowly down Emma's body. Feeling utterly loved and relaxed, Emma absentmindedly asks a question that has clearly been on her mind for awhile.) Emma: "Were you smart in school?" Regina: (Lifts her head from Emma's chest:) "What?" Emma: "Did you even have school in the Enchanted Forest?" Regina: (Confused by this line of questioning:) "I... had a tutor growing up. My father would often sit in during my lessons and watch quietly in the corner." Emma: "Yeah?" Regina: (Nods:) "I remember whenever I would glance back at him he would always give me the most brilliant smile." (Regina shifts her weight to lean on her elbow beside Emma.) Emma: (Smiling:) "What was your best subject?" Regina: "I was good at everything." Emma: (Laughs:) "Of course you were." Regina: "I do remember doing very well at spelling and seeing my father cry tears of joy whenever I managed to spell a difficult word." Emma: "That's nice. I wish I could've met him. What was he like?" Regina: "My father? (Emma nods:) He was the sweetest man I ever met. He was probably too sweet. Humble. Loving. He grew up a prince and so we had land and position, but... he was soft. Just too sensitive and he couldn't really handle my mother." (Regina rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling.) Emma: "And your mom?" Regina: (Smiles:) "Mother was very beautiful. Very motivated and ambitious, often to the detriment of those around her. She was very smart. But cold." Emma: "I didn't get to spend much time with Cora and none of it was what I'd call pleasant. But I could tell she loved you very much, in her own way." Regina: (Nods:) "She did. There are times when I miss them both so much. When I was little and couldn't sleep, I'd always ask my father if I could sleep with him and he never refused." Emma: "I know you haven't been sleeping. (When Regina looks at her:) Henry told me he caught you in the kitchen more than once cooking long past midnight." Regina: (Shakes her head:) "I couldn't sleep. Not when you were out there alone, because of me." Emma: "Regina, I chose to save you and I would do it again, without hesitation." Regina: "I know you would, but that doesn't make it any easier. When the Darkness took you away... it was just like losing my father all over again." Emma: "Hey, you and I just destroyed the Darkness together. You will never lose me, because I'm not going anywhere, you got that?" Regina: (Smiles:) "Loud and clear." Emma: "Good. Now I think we both could use some sleep." Regina: "Mm. Agreed." Emma: (Snuggles in close and kisses her deeply:) "I love you, Regina." Regina: "I love you, Emma." (While Emma settles down beside her, placing a protective hand across her chest, Regina stares at the ceiling for a few moments more lost in thought, before closing her eyes and finally falling asleep.) The Underworld. Hades' Chamber. (Hades and the Evil Queen are seated, discussing how she came to be in his domain.) Evil Queen: "So, with the help of Snow White of all people, Regina injected herself with this serum she purchased from the Dragon and our souls split right down the middle." Hades: "How awful. And she claims to be the hero?" Evil Queen: (Scoffs:) "Let her. If Regina thinks she's seen the last of me, she has another thing coming." Hades: (Smiles:) "Well, that all really depends on what you have to offer me, my dear. I don't just send people back to the land of the living on a whim. After all, what's a God without followers, hm?" Evil Queen: "Believe me, Hades, I am not worth the trouble I would cause if you decided to keep me down here. I neither worship or follow. I lead." Hades: "Yes, I'm a big fan of your work. We're really quite similar when you think about it. You cast a curse to force people to your will, and I am cursed to rule a kingdom whose inhabitants have no choice but to obey me." Evil Queen: "Ah, but every person I cursed still had free will." Hades: "As do the members of my flock. They can choose to fall in line or spend eternity as part of the River of Lost Souls." Evil Queen: (Glancing at the river flowing beside them:) "You drive a hard bargain." Hades: "Coming from the final Dark One, I'll take that as a compliment. Now, enough stalling, what is it you wish to offer me?" Evil Queen: "A gift." (The Queen stands, conjuring Excalibur into her outstretched hands and offering it to Hades. Rising to his feet, Hades takes a cautious step towards the blade.) Hades: "You realise of course that I am already a God. Powerful enough to control anyone within my kingdom with a mere snap of my fingers." Evil Queen: "Maybe so, but if there's one thing I've learned from dealing with men like you... it's that you can never have enough power." Hades: "You would give up the Darkness in exchange for me returning you to life?" Evil Queen: "Oh please, cut the crap. You and I both know I'm not dead. If I were I wouldn’t have been able to conjure Excalibur just now." Hades: "You've known this whole time?" Evil Queen: "I had my suspicions, which you just confirmed. For some reason I am still breathing yet still tethered here by this. (Raises Excalibur once more:) Use your powers to free me and the Darkness is yours.” (Opening his hands to lay palms up, Hades allows the Queen to place Excalibur upon them.) Hades: "You know I could just kill you and have both?" Evil Queen: (Conjures a fireball in her hand:) "You're welcome to try." Hades: (Smiles:) "Perhaps you'll allow me some time to consider your offer?" Evil Queen: "Fine. (Extinguishes the fireball:) Just don't take too long." (With that, the Queen turns and exits Hades' chamber. When she passes along the darkened corridor, Facilier steps out from the shadows, having heard every word.)

Mills House. The Next Morning. (Emma lays on the bed watching Regina get ready for work.) Emma: "I'm not saying I do a full day, just go in for the morning see what's up then bail after lunch." Regina: "No, you’re not going into work today. David's got it covered and you need your rest." Emma: "So do you." Regina: "Actually I've not felt this good in a long, long time. Truly, I feel as though a weight has been lifted." Emma: "Mm. Well I still don't see why you have to go in." Regina: "Because I'm the Mayor and I have to smooth the way for your return. The Dark Swan did a number on a lot of people." Emma: (Waves this off:) "They'll get over it. You cursed them for 30 years and yet you're still Mayor. What the hell am I supposed to do here all day alone?" Regina: "Relax? Catch up on some sleep? (Emma screws up her face:) Some housework?" Emma: (Feigns a yawn:) "Now that you mention it, I am feeling kinda tired." Regina: (Beams:) "Uh huh. (Leans down and kisses her:) I'll be home before you know it." Underworld. Hades' Chamber. (The Lord of the Underworld is now speaking with the first Dark One, Nimue.) Nimue: "You can't seriously be considering the Evil Queen's offer." Hades: "Oh, and why not?" Nimue: "Legend has it that no one has ever escaped Lord Hades' kingdom. You rule with an iron fist. Allowing the Evil Queen to return to the land of the living untethered from the Darkness would set a very dangerous precedent." Hades: "True. But on the other hand it would give me full control of the Darkness, not to mention control of every single Dark One in history." Nimue: "The Darkness does you no good here. Why not use Excalibur to kill the Queen, become the Dark One and return us all to the land of the living?" Hades: "You mean trade one prison for another? Believe it or not, Nimue, becoming the Dark One would be a step down for me. Besides, the Darkness no longer belongs in that world. Regina and her Saviour banished it down here forever along with all of you." Nimue: "Then why untether the Evil Queen at all if there is no hope of harnessing the power of the Darkness?" Hades: "Because the living do not belong in my kingdom. No matter how formidable I may be, I still have limited power over those who live and breathe." Nimue: (Moving closer to him:) "And you believe you wield power over me?" Hades: "Don't test me, Nimue. I'm a reasonable guy but this unrelenting heat can make me absolutely crazy. (Suddenly, blue flames erupt out of the top of Hades' head:) Now I suggest you and your dream team of Dark Ones leave me in peace before I do something you really won't approve of." Abandoned Amusement Park. (Emma opens her eyes and finds herself sitting in her bug, not knowing where she is.) Neal: (Sits up in the back of the bug:) “Hey, Emma.” Emma: (Gasps:) “Neal?” Neal: “Yeah.” Emma: “It's really great to see you. Where are we? Am I dreaming?” Neal: “No. If this were a dream, there'd be, like, talking doughnuts or something weird like that. (Gets out of the car, before getting back into the passenger seat:) Think of this as a long-distance call from an old friend.”

Emma: “It's really you.” Neal: “How's Henry?” Emma: “Great. He... misses his dad. He's growing up.” Neal: “I bet.” Emma: “Where are we? I was asleep at home.” Neal: “You mean the Mayor’s Mansion?” Emma: (Smiles:) “It’s home.” Neal: (Nods:) “I’m glad you found your happiness. That's kind of why I'm here. It’s not over, Emma. The forces you sought to destroy are still out there.” Emma: “You mean the Darkness?” Neal: “And others.” Emma: “Others? What do you mean?” Neal: “I’m not really supposed to say. I’m breaking all kinds of rules just by being here, but trust me on this. Don’t let your guard down just yet.” Emma: “Where are you, Neal? The Underworld?” Neal: (Shakes his head:) “The Underworld's for people with unfinished business, and that isn't me. That's why I'm not there.” Emma: “Then where...” Neal: “Someplace. Someplace where I'm happy. I only came here because I care about you, Emma. Do whatever you can to prepare yourself and the people you care about before it's too late.” Emma: “All right, enough with being cryptic. What is it, what’s coming?” Neal: (Breathes sharply:) “I love you, Emma. I always have, and I always will.” (Kisses her forehead, before getting out of the car and walking away.) Emma: “Neal?” (When Emma reaches for the car door she awakens from her dream.) Mills House. Living Room. (Emma is laying on the couch when she jolts herself awake. She stares up at the ceiling and after a few moments, sits up, looking confused, before standing.)  Mr. & Mrs. Gold’s House.  (Mr. Gold finishes getting dressed, while Belle is still asleep in bed. His phone goes off and it's a text from Emma which reads, "Meet me at your shop, now.")   Mr. Gold’s Shop.   (Emma waits at the counter in Gold's shop, when the door opens and Mr. Gold enters, closing the door behind him.) Mr. Gold: “Now, you see. This isn't the library or Granny's or some bus station, Miss Swan. This is my shop. (He walks towards her and stands behind the counter:) Unless the sign says "open"... you're not invited.”   Emma: “I just had a vision.” Mr. Gold: (Non-plussed:) “Really.” Emma: “From Neal. He warned me that things weren’t over and that I should prepare myself and the people I love for what’s to come.” Mr. Gold: “And what is coming?” Emma: “He wouldn’t say.” Mr. Gold: (Nods:) “Of course not.”

Emma: “You don’t believe me?” Mr. Gold: “Oh I believe you, Miss Swan. Back when I was in my coma, Bae and I had a great many conversations just like yours.” Emma: “You saw him too?” Mr. Gold: “Indeed. It was because of those conversations that I was reminded of the promise I made to Bae after he died. He told me that my family was in trouble and that when the time came, I should do whatever it took to save them.” Emma: “That’s why you were ready to sacrifice yourself in New York?” Mr. Gold: “Yes. I was prepared to do the right thing when Belle arrived to save me once again. I cannot reward my wife’s faith in me by endangering her. So if what Baelfire says is true then I must do right by Belle and take her as far from here as possible.” Emma: “You’re leaving?” Mr. Gold: “Belle has always wanted to travel. The world beyond the town line can be a scary place, but I’d rather take my chances out there than stay here and face what’s yet to come.” (Mr. Gold walks back around the counter, heading for the door when Emma grabs his arm.) Emma: “Gold. You know the Darkness better than anyone, do you really think it can come back?” Mr. Gold: (Sighs:) “All I know, Miss Swan, is Merlin believed that killing the vessel that contained Darkness would destroy it. If that is proved false and the Darkness is about to return... then no one is safe.” The Underworld. (Agitated by her earlier meeting with Hades, Nimue leads the rest of the former Dark Ones along a darkened corridor when they come upon Dr. Facilier, who blocks their path.) Facilier: "A tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier. (Nimue says nothing, merely inclining her head to stare curiously at the man:) Friends, I know I'm a stranger to you all, but it seems to me that we share a common agenda. To see the Darkness return to the land of the living and continue its glorious reign over those lesser mortals. Therefore I propose an alliance. (Facilier produces a talisman from his pocket and holds it out for all to see:) I need your generous assistance in making this stone powerful enough to return me to the land of the living. (Nimue and the others glare at him:) Hahaha, I hear you. Now, what's in it for you? Well... As soon as I dispose of the traitorous Evil Queen, then I'm gonna run this town they call Storybrooke. I'll have the entire populace in the palm of my hand. And you'll have all the wayward souls your dark little hearts desire. (Smiles, noticing that this has piqued the Dark Ones collective interest:) You all love that, don't you? So, we got ourselves a deal? (Several of the hooded figures step forward and allow their souls to be drawn inside the talisman, causing it to glow brightly for a long moment before returning to its inky blackness:) Hahaha! Now we're cooking!”

Storybrooke. Blanchard Apartment. (Regina, Henry, The Charmings and Robin Hood are gathered to hear what Emma has to say.) Mary Margaret: "It's coming back?" Emma: "Maybe." David: "Well it either is or it isn't." Emma: "Neal didn't specify what was coming, only that it was bad." Regina: "Which could mean absolutely anything." Robin Hood: "If it's the Darkness or not, there's only so much preparation that can be made for an unknown enemy." Henry: (To Regina:) "Mom, think. Are there any other people from your past who may want revenge?" Regina: "Not that I can think of, no." David: "To be fair, there must be hundreds to choose from." Emma: (Chiding:) "Dad." David: (Holds up his hands:) "I'm just saying." Mary Margaret: "Regardless of who or what it is, we have to let the town know what's going on." Regina: "And what do you suggest, that I post a notice on the bulletin board? 'Dear people of Storybrooke, while Emma Swan is no longer a threat, please standby for something worse. Details to follow'?" Robin Hood: "Well I for one am not ready to face Zelena again to tell her the bad news. I barely dodged the last fireball she hurled at me." Regina: "Speaking of which, did you really agree to support Zelena?" Emma: (Hesitates:) "Let's stay focused on the problem at hand, all right?" (The room fills with voices while everyone talks over each other, trying to decide what threat could possibly be headed their way next.) The Underworld. (Hades is pacing back and forth considering his options.) Hades: "Seemingly since the beginning of time, I have been cursed to rule over this kingdom. I have played host to the greatest heroes and villains mankind has ever known. For centuries I was given the task of deciding who would go on to spend eternity in the Elysian Fields or remain to suffer forever in Tartarus. And were my efforts recognised in any way? Of course not. (Stops pacing and heads towards the figure trapped in the pillory to whom he's been speaking:) A man can only take so much before he is pushed too far. (Leans down to be eye level with the man:) And so that is why I've redirected my efforts into making sure each and every soul that enters my kingdom suffers just as greatly as I have."

Pan: "You're doing an excellent job, Lord Hades." Hades: (Tilts his head and smiles:) "Thank you. (Stands and resumes his pacing:) However, with the arrival of the Darkness into my domain, it does present me with quite the opportunity. You see, I grow weary of torturing those who are already dead. Like any respectable deity, I long to expand my flock. For far too long I have been shackled by my curse, allowed only too briefly to enter my brother's kingdom and feel fresh air upon my face. To listen to the birdsong and to be in the presence of my heart's truest desire. (Pan raises his head at this, intrigued:) Using the Darkness I shall bring my kingdom to the land of the living, forging a bridge between both realms." Pan: "What then, Lord Hades?"     Hades: (Laughs:) "What then? Oh, my dear Peter. Then the real fun begins." Elsewhere In The Underworld. (The Evil Queen is making her way back to Hades' chamber when she rounds a corner to find Facilier waiting for her.) Evil Queen: (Scoffs:) "And who are you supposed to be?" Facilier: "I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced, I am-" Evil Queen: "You were the one eavesdropping outside Hades' chamber. My, your lord won't appreciate that." Facilier: "There's a great deal that Hades and I do not agree on, but we both have an eye for talent." Evil Queen: (Laughs:) "Really. Is that what you are, a talent scout?" Facilier: "In a manner of speaking. Back when I was alive, I was quite the practitioner of dark magic myself. But I was nothing compared to Rumplestiltskin's greatest student." Evil Queen: (Eyes him suspiciously:) "You want something. What is it?" Facilier: "To learn from the best of course. Seeing you walk through those doors in all your magnificence, I could hardly believe my eyes. I never thought I would have the opportunity of meeting someone who's very name strikes fear into the hearts of many through countless realms." Evil Queen: (Rolls her eyes:) "Flattery aside, I'm not the teaching kind." (The Queen continues on her way.) Facilier: (Calling after her:) "And I'm not the kind of man who misses an opportunity." Evil Queen: (Stops walking, allowing Facilier to catch up to her:) "If I were to teach you, what would I-" Facilier: "Get out of it? (Smiles:) Besides an eager student, you would have an ally. Something the Evil Queen is in short supply of these days. (Producing the talisman from his pocket and holding it out:) Here, take this. Carry it with you and I shall be by your side. If you ever tire of me then simply throw it into a body of water and I shall return here to the Underworld." Evil Queen: (Considers:) "Hm. It has been a while since I had my own personal lap dog." Facilier: (Smiling as the Queen takes the talisman:) "Just call me your Shadow Man." Storybrooke. Mills House. (Emma reclines on the bed staring at the ceiling. Her mind racing with possibilities as to what the threat that's coming to Storybrooke could be. Despite this, Emma soon finds her eyelids becoming heavier before they close and she drifts off to sleep.)

Downstairs. (Meanwhile in the living room, Regina is staring into the fireplace when Henry calls out to her.) Henry: “Mom? Why are you sitting down here by yourself?” Regina: (Sighs:) “I’m just... thinking.” Henry: (Sitting beside her:) “About...? (Regina gives him a look:) Mom you know whatever the threat is that we can defeat it, right?” Regina: “What makes you so sure?” Henry: “Because we always have. And because what I choose to believe in is faith... hope that no matter what challenges lie ahead, we will meet them head on, together.” Regina: “You sound so much like your Grandmother.” Henry: “Cora said that?” Regina: “Ha. Ha.” Henry: “Listen, I know right now your feeling like there’s just one thing after another and there’s never a moment’s peace. But what we have here, the three of us, and our family... that’s the stuff that is always worth the struggle.” Regina: (Smiles, tears in her eyes:) “You’re definitely spending too much time with your Grandparents. How did you get to be so smart, huh?” Henry: (Shrugs:) “I figure someone’s gotta be around here.” Regina: “Hey! (Ruffles his hair and pulls him in close for a hug:) I love you so much, Henry.” Henry: “I love you too, Mom. You know we’re gonna be ready for whatever comes our way, right?” Regina: (Nods, her head against his shoulder:) “I hope so.” Storybrooke. Main Street. Night. (The clinking of blades. Emma appears to be battling against an unknown, cloaked assailant. As the fighting intensifies, the visions become shorter and shorter before, suddenly, Emma awakens.) Mayor’s Mansion. Morning. (Breathing heavily, Emma looks wide eyed down at her hand which is now shaking. She turns when the bedroom door opens to see a concerned looking Regina enter the room.) Emma: “It’s nothing, I’m fine.” Regina: “Well, you may be fine, but our town isn’t. Look.” (Regina goes to the window and opens the curtains. Glancing out the window, Emma sees that the sky is now tinged red.) Emma: “What is that?” Regina: “I don’t know, but I have a feeling it isn’t good.”

The End.

[littleredroseonthevalley]

Chess

Summary: Noah teaches Emma how to play chess.

Rating: K - Intended for general audience 5 years and older. Content should be free of any coarse language, violence, and adult themes.

Words: 1700

Notes: Pure, indulgent fluff. Told ya a Noah fic would come up eventually. Enjoy.

It was late afternoon on a Friday. The majority of students had already left school, hoping to seize as much of the weekend as possible.

Noah was at the library, hovering over a chess set, placing the pieces according to the indications on a book opened in his lap, when Emma passed through the window. She was interested about what he could be doing in such a strange setting, and so she stopped by to wonder at the scene.

“Why, take a picture, don’t you?” Noah mumbled, with humour in his tone, after a few minutes of attentive staring. “It’ll last you longer.”

“I’m sorry… I was just curious. Are you playing chess with yourself?” She asked, standing up on the ball of her feet to check out the board.

“Kind of. I’m studying up on strategy.” He responded, showing her the book.

“Ah! Cool!” She marvelled. “So, you play chess, too?”

He shrugged. “I had a lot of free time at juvie. Chess was something they taught us back there.”

“Oh! I…” She stuttered, not knowing exactly what to answer. “My dad, he plays too, on Saturdays at the community centre. My mom never had the patience to learn, though.”

“I like it. It helps focusing in one, mostly inconsequential, thing. It’s relaxing.” He points out. “Would you like to play?”

Emma shook her head emphatically. “Oh, no, I don’t know how to play either.”

“No problem, I’ll teach you.” Noah offered. “Payback for all your history tutoring.”

“Would you? I’d love to learn.” The girl said, eyes bright with excitement. “Wait up! I’ll go around.”

“Just climb up the window. There’s no-one around.” He pointed out.

The cheerleader seemed uneasy with the prospect, but under Noah’s gaze, she caved. He offered her a hand, and so she put up a leg up the ledger and the football player pulled her up inside.

“Hello, there.” He greeted, smiling, having his arms around her.

The teenage girl flushed deeply. “Hey, yourself.”

He let her go, and they took their seats across from each other and the set between them. The room was completely empty, and even more silent than usual, with the librarian nowhere to be seen.

“How did you manage to stay in the library alone, after hours?” Emma asked. “I thought the faculty did not like you.”

Noah shrugged. “They don’t, but they are so underpaid, they don’t really care either way. The librarian left at three and didn’t look back.”

She shook her head in derision. The district really should take better care of the public schools.

“Basically, the aim of the game is to hit the other person’s king, in a move called checkmate.” Noah explained, pointing to the small king sat on his side of the board.

Her eyes drifted over the board, noting how Noah had easily set up the pieces and wondering how he remembered where each one went. “Ah, okay, and how do I do that?”

“Right, well, there are different pieces, so here you have a rook, a knight, and that one’s a bishop.... There’s the king and queen.” The brunet teen gestured to each piece in kind. “The most important thing is to learn how the pieces move, each one has a different pattern. Both the king and queen can move in any direction. However, the king can only be moved one space at a time, but the queen can move as far as the board allows, as long as it’s a straight line.”

“So, what you’re saying is that the Queen is more powerful than the men?” She grinned, wickedly.

“Well, yeah, naturally.” He responded with emphatical certainty. “When they were programming computers to play this game, a guy called Emmanuel Laskier said that the Queen is worth twice as much as the King.”

“Was he right?” She asked.

He shrugged. “His computer beat the world champion in 2005. You tell me.”

“Cool” The girl said, smiling. “Can I give mine a name?”

Noah looked up at her and chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Sure, just don’t get too attached. Chess is a game of sacrifice.”

“Well, that’s too bad, ‘cause you won’t be killing my Queen Emma.” She countered immediately, making Noah laugh and shake his head.

“What are you going to call your king?” He asked nonchalantly, glancing down at the table where the game was resting.

“Let’s see how the game rolls around, then I’ll decide on one. I don’t want to get attached.” Emma said, picking up a pawn that had fallen on its side. “After all, chess is a game of sacrifice.”

“If you sacrifice the King, you lose the game.” He points out.

She pondered, smiling. “Decisions, decisions.”

“What are those ones again? These cute little towers…” Emma cleverly changes the subject, pointing at the piece one of the corners of the board.

“Rooks, they’re called rooks.” Noah corrected with an amused grin, “Rooks can move horizontally or vertically, as many spaces as you like. These ones, the bishops, go diagonally. Knights are a bit tricky; they can move in ‘L’ shapes. So across two spaces and one up or across one and up two.”

The young apprentice nodded, pointing at each piece and reciting what her teacher had said in her head.

“Right! I think I got you, but there is one piece missing. What are these little guys and how do they move?” She picked up one of the smaller playing pieces.

“Yes, of course. Those are called pawns. They can only move forward one or two spaces, but can take an opponent’s piece one diagonal space, too.”

She nodded again.

“Ready to try a game?” Noah asked.

“Let’s give it a go!” Emma straightened her posture and sat with her legs crossed as she focused intently on the board. Noah set the board so she has the whites, allowing her to move first. Not really knowing what to do, she chooses a random pawn to push forward.

A few moves each later, and the game was only ever increasing in difficulty. Her eyebrows were furrowed, confusion written all over her face as her eyes darted across the board.

Noah could not help the soft smile on his face as he admired her concentrated expression, taking in the way the sunlight coming from the open windows framed her soft features. Her lashes casting a shadow on her cheeks, the way her hair shone in the light, the pout of her lips as she tried to think of her next move.

He noticed immediately that, if she moved her knight a certain way, it would put his king in check.

“If you move your knight…” He prompted.

He watched she nod. “Is that the horse one?” She asked, pointing at one of her knights.

Noah nodded in turn. “Yeah, that’s the one. Try moving the other one.”

“Oh, okay! D4 to... D4... D4 to...” She felt her cheeks heating up again as she realized she had no idea exactly where to move the knight to.

“D4 to E6.” Noah supplied easily, and watched as the knight sliced away his bishop.

“Oh! Thank you!” She grinned in gratitude. “How did you see that?”

“Practice. You’ll pick up on it, too.” He replied easily.

Noah studied the board. He noticed that, in two moves he could have her in checkmate, but if he moved his rook to the other side, she would be able to move her bishop to checkmate him.

He enjoyed playing with her. Her comments could be taken as grating or juvenile, but he liked how easy-going she took the game, or how excited she was to learn it.

Back when he was behind bars, the instructors were not very interested or motivated in teaching them, nor the inmates really wanted to learn. He just did it to pass the time.

He wanted to harness that energy, that new-found enjoyment, and a win could help keeping her motivated.

Noah glanced up at her, at her focus on the board, and the decision to throw the game was easy. He moved his rook into the dreadful empty space.

That is when she saw it. Finally, she saw a way to win!

“Oh! Oh! F6 to D8!” She exclaimed excitedly, jumping up on her feet as she moved the bishop to hit the king out of the way. “I did it! Look, Noah, I did it! Oh God!”

Her grin was wide, her sheer excitement evident, and Noah could not help but fall for her even more in that moment.

“Natural talent, I guess.” He said with a shrug as he began to collect up the board pieces.

He was interrupted by she wrapping her arms around him excitedly. “Thank you so much for teaching me! I’ve always wanted to play and now I can!”

She pulled away and grinned up at him when she suddenly realized how close she was to him. Before she could convince herself otherwise, she reached up and pressed her lips to his, wrapping her arms around his neck as he immediately dropped the pawn he was holding onto to grip her waist and kiss back.

Even after kissing her a few times over the last few weeks, he still could not believe when it happened. It seemed like a happiness that should be denied to someone like him.

Too soon for his liking, though, Emma pulled away, a huge grin on her face as she bit her lip and giggled at his lovesick expression.

She leaned down to where her king and queen pieces were stood and held the king up to Noah, “I guess I have a name for him, now! King Noah the Smart. Sounds pretty good, right?”

Noah felt his face grow warm, and he averted his eyes. “Why did you give it this name?”

“Well, if you want me to feel motivated to protect him, I guess I should name him after something I care about.”

He laughed, awkwardly. “I’m sure he’d jump in front of a moving bishop to protect Queen Emma, too.”

“He shouldn’t.” She hugged his midsection. “And he shouldn’t throw games against her, either.”

He smiled, sheepish. “Rematch?”

“You’re on.”

My Two First Loves Masterlist

[okimargarvez]

TASK FORCE - 12

Original title: Task force.

Prompt: during the Doyle case, FBI Director calls five teams to catch him.

Warning: A.U., what if for S6, character’s death, crossover.

Genre: action, family, angst, romantic.

Characters: Penelope Garcia, Luke Alvez, Aaron Hotchner, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi, Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid, Phil Brooks, Kevin Lynch, Sam Cooper, Mick Rawson, Gina La Salle, Beth Griffith, Jonathan Simms, Jack Garrett, Clara Seger, Russ Montgomery, Matthew Simmons, Mae Jarvis, Mary Meadows, Owen Quinn, Jack Flicker, O.C.

Pairings: Garvez (Penelope x Kevin, Luke x O. C.), Hotchniss, Katt (slight), demily (slight), Mick x Gina, O.C. x O.C.).

Note: oneshot 74 in Garvez collection.

Legend: 💏 😘😈🔦🎲 🕶️🎈⚰️.

Song: La differenza tra me e te, Tiziano Ferro

Task force - Masterlist

See the notes for more informations.

GARVEZ STORIES

And if... my life occasionally wiped out... the uselessness of these insecurities... I wouldn't tell you...

*checkmate

She is not openly crying, but she is so close. -It cannot be true. I can’t believe. I don’t want to believe it.- she shakes her head, while her friend increases the grip on her hand, even though he is no less upset. -Why shouldn't she have told us?- Morgan would like to console her, but he can't. He's too busy cursing himself for not seeing the signs first.

-That's exactly the point, Penelope.- the older man explains to calm down her. -We are her family. And remember what Doyle's goals is?- awareness makes its way into her chest as she nods.

-We have to find her.- she looks above all at Hotch, who seems strange, different. But it will all be in her head, she sees things that are not there, perhaps she dreams of them as well. And it would also be easy to believe it, if she didn’t have certain marks, signs on her body, which persist in not wanting to go away. But this story is not in the least important now that they have lost Emily.

The last piece of the puzzle, the discovery of Lauren Reynolds' identity, also reaches the other teams, which for the occasion gathered in their initial formations. In the IRT, Clara is definitely the most upset. They worked together for years, she considers her as one of her best friends and she cannot understand how she could have been so blind, and above all why she didn't trust her. Once, perhaps for too many glasses of wine, she had told her they were like sisters. Jack tries to convince her that it wasn't her fault, almost unnecessarily.

Mick, who has notoriously always had a soft crush on Prentiss, lets out his anger by punching things. Gina tries to calm him down and finds no other way than to hug him. It is the first time it has happened in years and years of working together. Both remain puzzled by the sensations they feel, but don’t have time to deepen them.

In the remaining teams, it is those who have collaborated with her for a few days, since they are part of the same group, to be confused and most affected by the story. Someone even makes a joke, citing the film with Juila Roberts, but is soon sedated.

Four days have passed since that night and Luke was no longer able to even approach her. He saw her in passing, during some general meeting, but she avoided his gaze and vanished instantly. Phil snatched the truth from him, almost choking on his beer, but not the details. He gave him a pat so hard that he almost broke a bone. But he couldn't help it. This coldness on his part mortally wounds him, but he expected it. But when Vladimir tells them the latest discovery, Luke instantly senses the effect this thing will have on her and abandons the discussion before it's over. Dalia stares at Phil, convinced (rightly) that he knows what's wrong with Luke. Claudia manages to calm her down; she is the only one with this magical power.

Luke practically runs to her office, but freezes, recognizing the male tone and the nuances of anger in his voice. -But I know why you're doing it.- an evil, really bad laugh, thanks to which he would have already gained a punch, if only he had this guy in front of him. -You fucked with that man of the fugitive team, that seems to have come out of a Mexican comic book.- he doesn’t even feel particularly offended to be defined through a stereotype, indeed, he is almost happy, because he captures the only positive side of the thing: what there is among them it is so evident that even this jerk has got there. -What is his last name? Alvarez?- a crooked grimace paints the lips of the Latin hearing his surname wrong. He looks around, but no one is coming, so he keeps eavesdropping.

-It's Alvez, and whit whom I fucked or not, is no longer your business!- a noise, like something being pushed. He hopes that it was she who did it and not the other, because if he only dares to touch her hair... -We are not together or am I wrong?- his heart jumps for joy, considering that in a bizarre way she is defending him, and also... Them.

A snap, compatible with a slap. It takes him a while to understand that probably he has beat one hand against the other. -No, you're right.- another laugh that is half a sob. -Luckily I didn’t buy that ring.- Luke's eyes widen dramatically.

-What?- Penelope's upset cry is reflected in his stomach.

A series of sighs. An exasperating pause, before Kevin continues. -I wanted to make peace with you, take you out to dinner and ask you to marry me.- was he really ready to take that step? Was he really that close to losing everything? But inside he feels that she wouldn't have said yes anyway. -So, there would be no more breaks. It was fun, when we were younger…- he continues to explain, then he laughs again. -What a jerk I was.- at least he was able to say one right thing.

-Maybe it was fun for you, but certainly not for me!- he instantly recognizes the shades of pain in her voice. Somehow, for some strange, arcane reason, she really loves him. Not enough, or she wouldn't have ended up in his bed. And this is not a male chauvinist thought but a simple observation.

-Tell me, plum sauce, have you ever loved me?- he imagines them. He sees Kevin trying to take her hand, one last desperate attempt. But he also sees her reject him, free herself. -Because I find it hard to believe, given the speed with which you threw yourself into another's arms...- in fact melancholy quickly turns into sadness.

-I didn't throw myself in anyone's arms!- she protests and Lynch can't know she's telling the truth. It was he who captured her, and it was a hard fight to win.

An ironic laugh. Luke clenches his fists, looking around again. -Want to deny? Come on, Penelope, I saw the way you look at him and how he looks at you.- his heart begins to beat wildly. -You two had sex with your eyes during the meetings, but from the way you treated him today... in my opinion he also hit the target. - how the hell did he notice? Is it so obvious? Will his friends, his team, Dalia, have noticed it too? What about her team? Morgan? All the rest of the world, including Flicker? He believed he had been clever and discreet. Before he hit the target, as Lynch called it, they had exchanged short, stealthy looks at strategic moments. But he's right, that was a kind of foreplay.

A loud noise, of something or someone who is pushed and ends up against some wall, pulling down what is hanging on it. -Stop it, Kevin, I can't stand your tone anymore!- pain and anger continually exchange roles, in her voice. -That's why I don't want to go back with you.- Luke closes his eyes, savoring the moment. -Alvez has nothing to do with it. You men must always find a lover, a scapegoat to feel you have a clear conscience, don't you?- he imagines the grimace on her mouth and feels the urge to kiss her. -I'm sorry, it won't be like that. And yes, you were right not to buy the ring, because I would never have said yes!- as he had imagined. -Now, go out, please. I want to be alone.- it spends a few frightening moments of absolute silence, before he can hear the steps of the man coming towards him. He barely hides himself just in time. He has an absolute need to see her, but he respects her will. Loving often sucks.

-

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[mrsunderhill678]

Hehe, guess who wrote more shit? Well, it’s not shit, but uhhh... Yeet

“Hope for the future is just optimism based in dead realities.” - West Von Sparrow

“He's claimed me as a butcher would a carcass, he's bled me dry and left me ta hang on this hook. I have been flayed of my soul, of my flesh, of my fucking humanity, guess I should'a learned he who rolls against the house, never holds the damn die.” - West Von Sparrow

“You may be a monster, but I'm just a little less than human, and that's what makes me, dangerous." - West Von Sparrow

“It's the break of a new dawn, and though the dusk took my last sunrise, I ain't giving in, cause after all, the sun doesn't rise only once. So when the night comes, just remember, bravery gets you through the night, love gets you through the day.” - Delilah Coraline

“It's beautiful, isn't it? When you find someone to share your world with?” - Evangeline Frights

“Guess I'm an oaf that's seen some shit, but so long as I'm her oaf, I bet I'll be fine.” - Crane Hemmington

“I haven't been in the trenches, but blood spilled is a war in of itself, thing is, you become the enemy.” - Crane Hemmington

“Everything that is yours, can just as easily be mine, possession of self is all you have, and even that can be taken.” - Ballith Greedpaw

“Life is the most precious thing to steal, is it not? Not only do you steal a life, but the joy the memories of the poor bloke you slew held in those who loved him's mind.” - Ballith Greedpaw

“Greed is such a twisted thing, and I suppose that is why I am tangled.” - Ballith Greedpaw

“If you want to speak in the language of what haunts you the most, you'll find yourself speaking the tongue of your mind.” - Damon Watkinson

“I, can do whatever I want, cause in a game with no consequences, why would I choose to lose? You don't reach the end of the checkerboard without the words, "King me," rolling off your tongue. You don't trap the other player's King without saying "Checkmate," so why would I get this far just to say, "Sorry?" - Damon Watkinson

“I have seen the truth, and a thousand lies, and perhaps, I am nothing more than one of the thousand.” - Damon Watkinson

“Our love is magical in the sense that it is beautiful in all it's simplicity and complexity.” - Gracie Hangers

“Life's been a struggle, of black eyes and bloody knuckles, the betrayal of false love and hopes, but whenever my heart falters and threatens to stop, I look into the eyes of my children, and find a reason to fight.” - Camille Trueblood

“I thought I fell in love, when all I really did was tumble off the fucking cliffside. God, I dived into those waters so willingly, drowned for a man who doesn't God damn care. All he's ever been is a false promise, and I guess those hurt more than lies, don't they? Lies are so easy to catch, but a false promise of love is so seductive, especially for a girl with... Nothing. All I had was my heart, and I guess he took that too.” - Jenna Coleburg

“The sun always fades into the night, you're guaranteed to spend some of your days in darkness, but that ain't what matters. What matters, is that you fight through it, and come out God damn smiling. It's what I did, ain't the strongest man of all, the one that comes out of hell still smiling? Or perhaps, the one who walks into hell, smiling.” - Carter Gariah-Smith

“I was swung from the gallows for sumthin' I never would'a done.” - Carter Gariah-Smith

“Just because something is damaged, don't mean it can't deal some.” - Carter Gariah-Smith

“Funny, huh, how in these thirty odd years of mine, I knew her for three, and if you think about it, those were the only three years I lived.” - Avelice Bevelriks

“I lost everythin', really, Sandy, my darling wife, she was my rope, and I guess ever since she snapped I just been floatin. It's cold in these hands of mine, these memories of her. I'm tryin' so desperately ta hold onta em, but they're slippin, they are. Her smile, her laugh, it's all faded. Don't even remember the sound of her heart no more. Though... I can still see her, in my daughter. Her eyes, her laugh, hell, even her smile or the way she sits. Sometimes it's hard lookin' at my daughter, some days it's like I'm lookin' back at Sandy's ghost.” - Casimiro Boeheken

“I've seen the devil's dreams, where young men die by young men's hands, where boys turn ta men and mothers ta widows.” - Casimiro Boeheken

 “Got a noose round my neck, and the floorboards are creakin' underneath me. Either I can cut the rope, or let them floorboards give way, cause either way, I'm free.” - Casimiro Boeheken

“Everything we do has a song, a melody, a voice. And I can hear the song in his smile, harps and echoes of angels, but I can hear the tinge of pain that haunts him.” Marinda Weathers

“I live to love, I live to lift up those around me and tell them, "You're strong, you're brave, and God, are you beautiful, live life like a butterfly, flutter those wings and fly. Because life is short, and you, are loved." - Marinda Weathers

“Day in day out, I fight, I win, and I move on. That's life, these days. Days pass, but I don't.” - Garret Weathers

“Everyone loves the angel with broken wings, huh? Cause they fight the hardest to get their wings back, only to realize, they're the savior of nothing, and they're ripping their own damn wings.” - Garret Weathers

“We can fight the dark, punch it square in the jaw and tell it to back off, cause the dark's only got place in our life when it's lightin' up the stars, and we ain't here to stay in the shade.” - Bob Weathers

“He who won't accept all of ya, don't accept ya at all. The bravest thing you can ever do is be you in the face of the man who hates ya.” - Bob Weathers

“My lullaby sings of secrets I cannot possibly understand, and my heart plucks the chords of joys forgotten and tragedies resurfaced, such a melancholy tune, this melody of my scars.” - Beatrice

“It's like Amethyst and Wanda are my lighthouse, constantly guiding me home. Even if I'm drowning I can see their light from underneath the waves.” - Gracie Ace

“Perhaps I ain't got no stars leadin' the way, but I got my heart givin' me direction. Sure, it's scarred, and God is it battered, but it's flutterin' them wings with everythin' it's got, and me? I'm still pumpin', blood's still coursin' through my veins, so I'm alive, and by every God, I'm fuckin' kickin.” - Crystal Bones

“It's kill or be killed, and I guess we just ain't dyin.” - Alfred Godsel

“In the eyes of many, I'm a hero, but in my eyes, all I see is a man with a gun, who pulled a trigger, and ended a life, but still somehow managed to make the most egregious of sins look like a hero's doin. How the hell did we manage to make spillin' blood somethin' noble?” - Alfred Godsel

“I've lost a lot, but I'll save my grievin' for the livin', for those who've managed to die before they ever hit the dirt.” - Alfred Godsel

“They say dead men tell no tales, but when I come knocking, oh, you'll be wishing that was true, you can pray to every god you know, but that won't save you, no one can. Because he who you silenced, have ripped the stitches from their mouth and out tumbled your secrets, right into my ear.” - Celestia Cloven

“At first I thought it a curse, the whispers of the dead, but not anymore... Not anymore. They speak to me their secrets only so they may find rest, and so he who wrought him demise, may be brought what they deserve. And I, am what they deserve.” - Celestia Cloven

“Belief can be either beautiful, or oppressive, it's up to the morals of the man who believes to create the damn definition.” - Jakobi Warcoat

“Until the fires of this revolution swallow us whole we will shout, we will cry and weep, cause freedom ain't so quietly taken away.” - Jakobi Warcoat

“You wanna kill us, go ahead? Show us just exactly who, you, are. Cause we already know, all yer doin' by killin' us, is provin' us God damn right.” - Jakobi Warcoat

“I've been running all night, trying to find myself, but sometimes I feel... Lost. But maybe that's not a bad thing, you know? The lost boys found a purpose in Neverland, after all.” - Gayle Flint

“I've got scars, and God do they show, the markings of a lonely child lie on my wrist, and they hardly compare to the ones in my heart and my mind.” - Emma Flockheart

 “If a warrior isn't a woman who's been through hell but came out a better person, than I don't know what is.” - Emma Flockheart

“My father was the one who built the crumbling pillars of my heart anew, but now, without him, I'm crumbling, God, I'm crumbling.” - Juno

“Some days, I feel perfectly comfortable in my body, and other days it feels like a cage and I wish I could just scratch at my skin until I tore my way out.” - Juno

 “No matter where you run, or where you hide, your mind gives you up to your demons every fucking time.” - Juno

“You can't explain love, just feel it, and trust it.” - Lynsey Aldallen

“You have the strength of a thousand lions, you shed your mane, and traded it for the hunt, and as you were always meant to, you led the pride, with your claws and your strength, the remnants of your mane fluttering behind you. And that's beautiful, to be brave and vulnerable all at once.” - Lynsey Aldallen (For context, she’s talking about her sister, who’s trans)

“My mother rescued me, I rescued her, she's my hero, but sometimes, we have to fight for our heroes, because their strength falters. And when it does, it's up to us to save them.” - Lexie Rebhan

“I'm already swingin', I reckon, these gallows were made for selfish men like me, I imagine everyone'll cheer. All hail! All hail! The wicked man is dead, strung by his neck, payin' for his sins with the devil. It's damn well the fate a man like me deserves.” - Ron Jameson

“So oh gravedigger, vengeful angel of death, put me down as you would a wolf wearin' the single dead sheep's wool in the flock, watch me bleed. Cause that's what I did to you. I caused you're pain, I caused mine, just be lucky you don't have to live with me... Cause I do.” - Ron Jameson

 “I was born to be damned, as they say, they speak of me in such terrible ways, history is written by the victors, the patrons, the saints, never by she who made it.” - Selena Wolfmoon

“All who burned me at the stake only had to live with themselves, but I, I have to live with the actions of every single one of them, and, worst of all, I have to live with my death. The scalding of my flesh and the charring of my bones, the screams of my two daughters still haunt me. They way Eldridge begged and howled, or how Autumn cursed at those who damned her. And all I could do was howl in grief as we burned away, but I imagine we were lost, just as tears in the rain or stars upon the waking of the sun.” - Selena Wolfmoon

“I like to say I'm tough, but it ain't because 'a what I look like on the outside, but who I am on the inside. You could be strong as all shit and still be a weak man. All you ever gotta do ta be weak, is push another down, and all it takes ta be strong, is helpin' a man up.” - Elwood Sparrvitz

“I 'ave been made anew by the love I been showed and given, my heart no longer beats 'a regret and pain, but for my lovely wife and children. Cause if your heart don't beat for no one, what's life worth?” - Elwood Sparrvitz

“To be completely divine is as inhuman as it is to be entirely damned, entirely broken or whole, we are never one hundred percent, we are many pieces, smelling of ash and smoke, and the fire that created it.” - Diaze Calico

“Savagery suits her like a well tailored suit, or a ball gown on the most royal of queens. She is savagery, she wears blood like wine on her teeth, and your pain like the finest of shawls, and in the end, she shall wear that shawl of your scars and dance before you in it, she shall make a mockery of your death, for that's all you ever were.” - Diaze Calico

“You can believe that hell is not where you'll go, but that's the greatest lie the devil ever spun, that there was an option other than her, that there was a loving God watching us.” - Diaze Calico

“The wicked doth not sleep, they doth not live, only breathe this blood on their breath.” - Diaze Calico

“Out of all this pain I've been through, I've found that even if bullets had flown that day, and planes had been torn from the sky on burning wings, it was in my sleep, when my mind was at rest, that I felt the most bloody chaos.” - Duke Benson

“I should've died the day a bullet pierced me fucking skull, but all that's left is this scar on the Earth known as Duke bloody Benson.” - Duke Benson

“I'd ask for a prayer or an amen if I thought it'd saved our damned souls, but a single prayer won't save a man who's sinned.” - Duke Benson

“A prayer won't save a man who's lost his fucking faith.” - Duke Benson

“With a foe as cruel as myself, I was bound to bloody lose.” - Duke Benson

“Bury me six feet deep, mate, deeper if you can, because I am a soldier, a sinner, a beast, not a bloody man.” - Duke Benson

“Reckon me 'ands are as stained as the soil wifin' da trenches.” - Angel Benson

“Inside me is a boilin' angah, at da world, at dis pain, myself and anyone in point blank range. I imagine me angah's shot me point blank, left the man I was fokin' bleedin', dead from a single shot.” - Angel Benson

“I've always condemned what I can't fokin' understand. So if I fear meself, wot does that make me, aye?” - Angel Benson

“You know wot's fokin' funny? You don't 'ave ta fight in it, ta be bloody broken by it. You could be livin' untarnished boi it, next thing you know, a soldier's knockin' on your fokin' door. War breaks all. They who fight, and they who bloody don't.” - Angel Benson

“Raise a glass ta da sinner full 'a anger, raise a glass for the poor bastards and blokes war touched, cause all who 'ave known her embrace 'ave known pain no loving God could create. But never, mate, NEVER, raise a glass, to the bloody Bensons.” - Angel Benson

“When I'm finally in da dirt, where I belong, da world will keep spinnin', the sun will rise again, as it shall sink, and though it may rain, da world won't weep a single fuckin' tear, for da man known as Jerry Benson, cause mate, why should it?” - Jerry Benson

“Us soldiers, we're cheered for, celebrated, but dey care only for da actions, not for da man.” - Jerry Benson

“As I've learned, 'e who tastes death will find dat da aftertaste is an eternal stain on one's tongue. Da tang of iron and blood is all dey'll ever fuckin' know.” - Jerry Benson

“God created us to love 'im, and expected us ta be more selfless den he.” - Jerry Benson

“War don't change a man, no, it kills him, and replaces the soldier with itself.” - Mordakai Benson

“He who runs with the wolves is bound ta be ripped inta the moment he stops runnin', no wonder there's blood on my teeth.” - Mordakai Benson

“War don't give a damn who you are, what kinda pain you been through, it'll putcha through more while promisin' glory! That's the picture they paint. Soldiers woopin' for victory and glory for all who fight, but they always forget he who catches the fuckin' bullet.” - Mordakai Benson

“The only thing you and I got in common is that we were made by God, difference is, I was forgotten by him.” - Mordakai Benson

“Don't raise no glass for this soldier, don't pour no wine on my casket, cause I'm the lamb that strayed from the flock, only ta learn he always wore a wolf's fur.” - Mordakai Benson

“I’m one dead dream away from blasphemy.” - Calliger Cougar  

“They say life is short, Tommy, that it goes by in the blink of an eye, so why ain't we fucking dead yet? I blinked a hundred times, and I'll blink a hundred times more. Cause no matter what they say, it don't go by in the span of a blink, or like a bullet speedin' through the air. It's slow, and God damn miserable, this here ward is proof of that.” - Ben Stilts

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

bound to each other's hearts (this love is like wildfire)

Lizzington, The Blacklist. Sequel to Lost In The Forest Of This Heart. Cross-posted on AO3. Important notes can also be found there. 

I’m not in the fandom anymore and I don’t plan to make things for TBL ever again now that this is complete, but I had a surprising amount of fun rewatching the first two seasons in order to wrap up this series. Turns out, I do still love what it could have been. I’m glad to know that! And I’m grateful for the friends I made along the way. You all were definitely the best part of this show for me.

Summary: Between dealing with the Cabal and evading the FBI, Red and Liz try to figure out what the future holds for them both. 

He still doesn’t quite get it, Liz knows: that she wants more than separate lives, occasional dinners together or friendly evenings of chatting over wine and poker. Red isn’t fighting her on that front, but he doesn’t see himself in her picture. And if she’s being honest with herself, she knows that could be because she hasn’t yet decided on the specifics of it.

They settle into a new routine when they leave the Wisconsin safehouse, Liz full of single-minded determination and Red watching her warily whenever her attention is elsewhere. 

Much like he felt when they first went on the run, she is everywhere. Except it’s a different kind of awareness now, because she’s no longer so broken and he’s no longer an enigma. 

When she smiles at him, it’s unguarded, pulling him in. When she reaches for his hand or hugs him, he can tell she’s trying to make it commonplace. They are friends, or as close to it as they ever could be, and it’s eroding what’s left of his barriers. 

Over the next few weeks, they arrange meetings with Cabal members. Rather than by Red’s invitation directly, each is through trusted liasons, and Liz has fun playing with the disguises before they arrive at each site together. 

Red chooses the Cabal members they kill based on several factors, beginning with those who are high-profile and legally untouchable. It frustrates Liz to know it’s true, but some Cabal leaders are too powerful to be harmed by even the world-shaking effects of the Fulcrum leak.

Their list of targets is further trained on people inside the Cabal who have murdered or directed others to murder--especially on a large scale. That makes them especially dangerous enemies and also important to remove. It sends the message that no one who remains is safe.

At the third meeting, they take out two men simultaneously; Liz shoots the head of a multinational corporation before he can finish aiming at Red, and means it when she tells him later that she has no regrets. 

She feels safe with a gun holstered under her shirt again. She’s slowly moving past the guilt she’s been carrying since Connolly.

She feels even safer with Red’s hand hovering at the small of her back whenever they enter new situations. He expects her to hold her own, always has, but his presence--especially the way he’s reaching out more, relaxing around her--is a comfort. 

Liz has trusted him with her life since before it made sense, and that’s one of the things between them that remains the same. 

They’ve killed a handful of high-ranking Cabal members when something slips. 

Red thinks it was Julian, an associate he has trusted for decades. One he will never trust again. Whatever the weak link in his careful arrangements, instead of meeting Ingrid at the deserted farmhouse in dusty Kansas, they’re almost caught by the Task Force. 

Ressler and Samar are there, Samar’s eyes apologetic but her aim unflinching as she trains her gun on Liz. Ressler should be aimed at Reddington just as steadfastly, but his gaze flicks to Liz for the briefest of moments and that’s all Red needs. He takes the shot.

The second he does, chaos breaks loose between the FBI team and the men Red brought with them. Red and Liz take cover behind a rusted truck until Dembe pulls up in an SUV. Samar fires in their direction, but doesn’t stop their escape in the bulletproof vehicle.

Taking narrow backroads after that, they switch vehicles twice and don’t stop moving until they’re in Denver, letting the city swallow them up.

While Dembe is still driving, Red finds a bloody graze on Liz’s arm that she neglected to mention. 

“It was from Samar,” she tells him. "She could have fired on the tires or gas tank and stopped our escape entirely, but she didn’t.”

Their orders were clearly to capture, not to kill. This was just a warning shot.

She frowns. “But Ressler…”

“What about Ressler?” Red’s voice is gruff as he dabs at her arm. Since waving him off didn’t work, she lets him disinfect what’s barely even a wound. She hopes it’ll calm him down. 

“Red, you got a clean shot at him. Should we talk about that?”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” He runs his fingers around the edges of her bandage, making sure the adhesive will hold. Reminding himself that this is the extent of the damage. It could have been so much worse. 

Her smooth skin is still warm, alive. Her eyes keep trying to find something in his. He can’t bear to look at her.

“If that were true, I don’t think you would seem so upset. I’ve seen you shoot people before and barely blink. Red--I know you’ve shot Ressler before. So what’s going on?”

“Nothing, Lizzie. We’ve already talked about this. They’ll chase us until this mess is over, one way or another. I gave them a distraction so we could escape. It’s that simple.”

“It’s not simple at all, though, is it. You’ve fought back to back with Ressler now. You know him. To face him and pull the trigger...I can’t imagine it.”

“I hope you never have to. But as you said, Donald and I have a history that goes back to long before you joined the Task Force. We only fought on the same side at times...to protect you. We were both on your side. Allegiances shift. Loyalties change.”

She nods. “That is incredibly sad.”

“Yeah.”

He shrugs and gently pats her arm. “At any rate, his injury, like yours, will be a flesh wound. He will recover. But if we’re lucky, he won’t be able to chase us for a while. We need to regroup.”

****

They move to the coast, spending a few weeks in Seattle, then Portland. The crowds pose more of a risk, especially with the Task Force having seen their faces...but they saw a blonde Liz and Red in a dark wig under his hat. 

Though he doubts that will fool them, he can hope.

Urban areas are the better option for now, even with the risks, because the crowds also offer anonymity. People in cities wish to mind their business and be left alone. Because Red can’t postpone it any longer--the endgame is approaching--Dembe joins them in their various apartments.

Red lights up in his company, and Liz laughs more. 

Mr. Kaplan only contacts them by phone; Red invites no one to meet in person. But well-paid colleagues are still picking off Cabal members, now with stealth and finesse. 

“It’s almost time,” Red tells Liz over dinner. They’ve been ordering groceries, grateful that local markets cater to shut-ins and fugitives, and cooking all their meals together instead of taking turns. She insists.

“Time for…”

“The end of it.” He smiles, slow and satisfied.

Liz takes another bite of the French fish dish he suggested they fix that evening, thinking it over. “But we’ve barely gotten started with the Cabal. Red--what exactly is the endgame here? We’ve never talked about it.”

He glances at Dembe, who nods appreciatively over his food, then aims that dangerous smile her way. “You see, Lizzie, it was so up in the air. There really wasn’t much to talk about while we waited to see what needed to be done. We poked holes in their organization. We weakened their trust in each other.”

“And now?”

“Now it has become clear to me that the best way to stop them, to neutralize them, is not to wipe them off the map. It’s to stoke that power vacuum and step into it.”

“Wait.” She raises her hand, letting her fork clatter on the china plate. “You’re telling me that you want to join the people who want me dead? Who tried to have me framed for murder?”

“These are also the people who had me on the run,” he reminds her. “Even before they became a force in your life. Surely, if you’ve learned anything since we met, it’s that the maxim is true: the closer you keep your enemies, the safer you are from their attacks.”

“We’re their enemies, too. Why would they welcome our involvement in their organization? They have us on the run, Red. They’re winning.”

“Are they? Seven of them have died in the last six weeks. Their numbers are many, but not limitless. They’re unwilling to meet in public. And we put their secrets on full display. I think we’re not the only ones on the run.”

“So you propose, what, a truce? An alliance?”

“Oh, heavens, no.” He dabs at his mouth with a cloth napkin. “Those sorts of things require trust. A level of mutual respect that can transcend disagreement. You cannot form an alliance with someone you know will murder you at the earliest opportunity. No, my plan is much more straightforward.”

He stands, holding his hand out for her plate. Liz passes it to him, waiting for further explanation.

“While we’ve been on our own the last few weeks, Mr Kaplan has been using her many skills to gather information. Following leads, hunting down trails I suspected might be fruitful. Thanks to her, and to Dembe--” he toasts his friend with a glass, “the final pieces are in place. Now we make a trade.”

Her hands, no longer busy eating, are free to grip the tablecloth in a moment of sheer blinding terror. Red loves to make these moves behind her back, playing chess and telling her nothing until checkmate. It would be just like him to trade himself for her freedom.

The exact opposite of what she wants, the last thing she will ever agree to. Bold and brave but completely futile--because the second he gives himself up for her, she knows she won’t be able to rest until she gets him back. 

Will they never stop this? Liz wonders, listening to the pounding of her heart as Red pauses long enough to blink at her.

“A trade of information,” he clarifies slowly, watching her with concern. “Lizzie, are you alright? You look...”

She nods, swallowing the taste of fear along with a fair amount of shame for the conclusion she was so ready to believe. It takes her a moment to gather her words. 

“So, you’re going to blackmail them, to give you a seat at the table. And then you’ll...run the table.”

Red’s smug smile wars with lingering worry. “Quite right. You already know that the Cabal runs through governments and militaries and nation-states alike. With the right leverage, I can make their hunt of us a liability that will hurt them far more than any success would ever be worth. I may even be able to get your former position back.”

“It would be nice to no longer be a fugitive,” she agrees. “Buy my own groceries sometimes. It’s impossible to surprise you with a menu when you know everything that arrives on our doorstep.”

“I understand. You’ll be free to buy whatever you like, then. And invite me for dinner, I suppose, if the mood strikes you. I would be amenable to that,” Red says with a more relaxed smile.

He still doesn’t quite get it, Liz knows: that she wants more than separate lives, occasional dinners together or friendly evenings of chatting over wine and poker. Red isn’t fighting her on that front, but he doesn’t see himself in her picture. And if she’s being honest with herself, she knows that could be because she hasn’t yet decided on the specifics of it. 

She knows she wants Red. That part is easy. 

But if what he’s saying is true, that he can use their leverage to clear her name, she will have more choices to make. Harder ones.  She worked her whole life to become an FBI agent, to earn her place as a profiler. She knows it’s something she’s good at. A career she was made for, even. 

But.

And then.

Raymond Reddington in a box. 

She isn’t that person anymore, if she ever really was--the young woman with the loving husband and the dog, nervous about her new desk job working in DC. The edge she lives with now, the side of herself that can hurt and hunt and kill...part of Liz thinks she has always had that darkness. Since she was a child. Maybe she was born with it. 

God knows that despite the blame she’s flung at Red, he isn’t the source of her darker tendencies. He did everything he could to steer her away from being more like him. And with all the harm she caused, her work on the Task Force also helped her save people. 

Liz stills wants to save people. She wants to use her skills for some kind of greater good. But she can’t pretend she’s a paragon of virtue going forward, no matter how clean her record is once Red gets done with it.

Which leaves her where, exactly? 

****

Liz goes with Red to the summit he sets up with the remaining core of the Cabal. She feels useless there, since he also brings a full guard of men armed to the nines. And he certainly doesn’t need her help to negotiate. Yet he insists on inviting her, shaking his head when she questions him. 

“I’d like you with me,” Red says, without explaining further. The understanding that he means it for himself--that he wants her by his side not to protect her, or humor her need to be involved--is a gift. So Liz takes it, and bites down hard on the urge to speak up during the information exchange.

Even if all her presence does is affirm their new unity as a team, she can see the value in that, for their strength in the eyes of the Cabal. Word will spread in the underground Red travels, making its way eventually back to the FBI.

Everyone will know that Red has made a play for greater power, and that Liz was right there with him when it happened. She wonders what her old friends will think: if Samar will understand her choices, if Aram will worry that she didn’t make them freely. If Ressler will get that defeated look in his eyes and consider her a lost cause. 

She can’t blame any of them for their judgments from a distance--they don’t know what she knows. But she’s never felt clearer, not lost but found. The Cabal can be run by people who want her dead for threatening their supremacy, or it can be run by Red. 

Who she trusts to find the right balance between control and domination. Who she knows will keep the rest of the Cabal on a tight leash. 

As Liz sits with him in a glass-and-chrome boardroom, watching the Cabal give him the command he requires, she suspects he’s already seeking out leverage to hold over each member. 

Mr. Kaplan has been hard at work again, coming to their newest safehouse, passing Red messages. Now that he’s busily reining the Cabal in, he and Liz don’t have to move every few days--and his family can visit safely. Dembe stays over for a week, recommending books to Liz and telling her stories about Red when they first met. 

"Don’t believe a word of it,” Red warns her. “This man is a notorious fibber.” But his eyes shine with joy when he looks at the two of them. 

Liz has never seen him so happy. So settled. Power suits him. 

Red finds her in her room one night, strolling casually through the open door. He has learned the hard way that if he tries to return to polite formality, Liz will roll her eyes at him or ask “What are you waiting for, gold filigree?” without looking up from what she’s doing. 

“It took longer than I would have liked,” he says, unprompted. “But it’s finished.”

“What?” She has no idea what he’s talking about, since the Cabal restructuring was completed a week earlier.

“Your record has been erased.”

Liz sets her book down. “My criminal record?”

She’d forgotten Red was even working on that, and she knows she should feel excited. Or relieved. A rush of something should be washing over her. Instead she feels numb. 

“Yes. It’s been fully expunged, as though none of this ever happened."

And there it is, she thinks. That would be why.

“But, Red,” she corrects him gently, “it did happen. Erasing my record can’t take any of it back. I still have to live with it.”

He sighs. “I wish this could be easier, Lizzie, I really do.”

“Well, it’s not.” 

She reaches out and grabs hold of his hand, tugging him over to sit next to her on the bed. “It’s okay that it’s not, though, Red. It really is. I’m okay.”

“Yeah.” She does look okay lately, he has to admit. Red expected this news to bring her peace, but Lizzie seemed content even before it. 

Now she smiles at him, still holding his hand loosely. “Got a minute?”

“Sure.” He turns a little more to face her, giving her his full attention. 

“Since you mentioned it, I’ve been thinking a lot about what comes next for me. All those choices I have now, you know? With a clean slate.”

Red nods. 

“I could go back to working at the FBI. As a profiler. It might take some string-pulling, but you’re good at that.” 

“I’m sensing a ‘but.’”

“That’s because you know me,” Liz says. “The Task Force only existed because you wanted to keep me close and take down the Cabal. Which means there will never be a Task Force again. Not like there was.”

“I know.”

“But even if they’re not hunting me...you cleared my name, Red, not yours. You will have to stay like this, won’t you? In the wind, still a wanted criminal.”

“Yes.” 

That doesn’t bother him; he’s used to his routine. But Red can’t tell what Liz is working towards in her explanation. It worries him.

“So the only way I can have a normal life is if I never see you again.”

“Not never,” he assures her. “You know that I’m capable of moving freely, off the radar of all manner of authorities. We can still...see each other.” Dinners maybe, he thinks. Game nights with Dembe. Arguing over which movie to watch.

“That isn’t going to work for me.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t want a few secret visits a year, Red, while I pretend to be an upstanding FBI agent.”

“I would argue that you wouldn’t be pretending, Lizzie. Even FBI agents are allowed to have friends. Of all stripes.”

“That’s not really the point. With my past already laid bare for the world to see, who would ever let me keep a low profile at a desk again?”

Red frowns, following her logic.

“You can whitewash my record all you want, but my face was on the news. That future is gone. And without you in it, I wouldn’t want it anyway.”

“Well, then. What do you want?”

“I don’t belong at the FBI anymore, but I still have all my training. All my skills. Red--I think we should start our own Blacklist.”

He clears his throat, genuinely surprised. “Our own Blacklist?”

“Yes.” She let go of his hand to gesture with both of hers. “Just think about it. We stopped a lot of terrible people with the Task Force. We could go back to doing that, now that we’re done running. You have your own access, your own connections, and yours are better than the FBI’s a lot of the time.” 

“Lizzie, I understand wanting to help people--I love that about you--but I worked with the Task Force to my own ends. I was never on a crusade to better the world.”

“So? So what if you’re not looking to atone for your sins and make the world better? It can be my crusade. I have my own sins, Red, and I don’t need your reasons to be the same as mine. I’m asking you to work with me anyway, because we’d be good at it.”

Red flexed his empty hand, trying to imagine it. “I suppose I would be your best resource for catching uncatchable criminals.”

“You would. And if we had leads we couldn’t follow up on, I’m pretty sure we could find a way to tip off Samar or Aram, without giving up our locations.”

Liz bit her lower lip while he thought it over. “Well? What do you say?”

“I think it’s a brilliant idea.” 

Red grinned, his smile stretching even wider when she hugged him. “It sounds perfect for your talents--and I can certainly think of some people whose neutralization would improve my hold on the Cabal.”

“See? Win-win.” 

“But, Lizzie...you’re sure this is the path you want to follow? Playing judge and jury, outside the law? It’s not a decision you can take back, once you begin.”

She nods, a firm dip of her chin. “I’m sure. The worst criminals work outside the law, untouchable. You taught me that. Somebody should be responsible for them, and I’m in a unique position to try. Who will do it if I don’t?”

“Okay, then.” Red pats her leg, pleased. “It will be fun to have a reason to work together more closely again. I’ve been so busy restructuring the Cabal lately, I’ve missed you.”

“Me too.” Liz eyes him across the inches that separate them on her bed. “Speaking of that.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to spend more time together.”

He shifts in place. “As I said, I look forward to it. Getting us settled and safe had to take priority, Lizzie, but of course I hope to have more time with you now. We should decide what to make for dinner.”

“No, Red. I don’t mean--” Liz takes a deep breath, trying to figure out how to explain without causing him to withdraw. 

“I love you,” she begins. 

He smiles at her, soft around his eyes. “I love you, too.”

One of the benefits of things settling down has been watching Red get comfortable with her affection. She says the words often, deliberately. Hearing him say them back is nice...but Liz knows he doesn’t mean it the way she does. 

He hears love and thinks family and friendship. And sure, they’re close in that way too, but she keeps saying it and waiting for Red to hear attraction and commitment, and it just doesn’t seem to be happening. 

With Red, blunt often backfires. Half the time, they end up in an argument, even when that isn’t her intention. But being gentle and trying to drop hints has been totally lost on the criminal mastermind she's all but living with.

So, blunt is the only option she has left to try. 

“Red...I’m in love with you.”

“You--what?”

“That’s what I mean when I say I want to spend more time with you. I want to spend it differently; I want to be closer to you. I want to share my life with yours.” She pauses, scared of the look on his face--it’s unfamiliar, and she knows his expressions well. 

“That’s the future I want: hunting Blacklisters, working together when you’re not busy with the Cabal...but also date nights. Early mornings and staying up late. Being together. Getting to a place where I know exactly what I want hasn’t been easy, Red, but I’m there now. I need to know what you want.”

Of all the situations he has tried to be ready for, Red feels shockingly unprepared for this one. 

A small part of him wondered, when she declared that she loved him in Wisconsin, if perhaps she meant it in this way. But he considered that part a traitor, hope running wild. Allowing himself to hope has often been--historically speaking--both foolish and dangerous. 

Lizzie has always been dangerous, because he can’t seem to defend himself against her. That’s what love is--being powerless. 

He loved her even before he walked back into her world; that was a lifetime of fondness mixed with debt and guilt. But it’s different knowing her as the woman she is now. He can’t imagine not loving her...and though he tries not to think about it, he can’t imagine not wanting her.

Admitting that out loud would be a betrayal of all Lizzie could have beyond him, and of the effort he’s expended to hold himself back from her.

“Being with me would make the target on your back infinitely bigger,” he tells her, hoping to walk the line between evasion and lying. “Combining our lives further...would be a terrible idea. Yours has already seen so much darkness, Lizzie. You don’t need to add more of mine.”

She’s patiently listening, though her hands are pressed down into the bed beneath them. He knows she’ll push back; he isn’t done.

“I need you to really think about what you’re saying. Lizzie, I know you’re a good person. In a way that I’m not. The idea that you and I could--” 

He swallows. “Have dates, or some sort of uncomplicated life, be a couple. It seems unrealistic given what I am, and who you are. You can love me and still keep yourself safe, keep a distance.”

“Reddington, I have no interest in keeping a distance. I’m trying to tell you that.”

Liz reaches up to touch his cheek. “I want less distance. I want you.”

“I will always choose you, no matter the harm to others,” Red explains. “Anyone who is a threat, even those you care about--it will always be that simple for me. I don’t have room for your morality.”

“I know.”

“How can you sit here and say that doesn’t matter to you?”

“Because it used to.”

Liz nods at the way he leans back. “I used to worry, a lot, about the way I felt pulled to you. Knowing everything you are, I worried what it said about me. Because it didn’t bother me--because I don’t care. Not the way I thought I should...the way a good person would.”

“The truth is, Red, I’ve made peace with it. I know you’re not a monster, no matter how often I used to throw that word at you. I know it because I’ve seen the real monsters. The people we caught, they were greedy and twisted and cruel. They were evil. But you’re not them.”

What’s coming next feels inevitable to Red. He can sense it, see it in her eyes. Evasion won’t be enough to save him. Nothing can save him. Salvation was never within his reach.

Sinning, though, he is well familiar with. Give me my sin again, he thinks foolishly, as yearning dislodges errant Shakespeare from the recesses of his mind.

"You don’t kill for pleasure, or entertainment. You’re willing to do whatever you have to, to protect others or save yourself. And we don’t have to have that in common for me to understand it.”

“I understand you,” Liz tells him. “Which is why I know as well as you do, you never answered my actual question. I did not ask you for a list of reasons why I should run for the hills rather than be with you. I asked what you want.”

She says it as though it’s a simple question. It’s probably the most difficult one he’s ever tried to answer.

“Forget the Cabal for a minute,” she offers. “Forget all our other enemies, including my old employers. Forget our complicated history, and think about the future. Yours and mine. What do you see?”

“Lizzie...”

“The manhunt is over,” she says, gazing into his guarded eyes. “It’s just us now. Here, in this moment, it’s only you and me. So tell me, Red...what do you really want?”

You. 

He watches her as she approaches, and doesn’t react at all when her lips meet his. It would be the easiest thing in the world to give in. That’s what scares him. 

When she finds herself kissing a statue of the Concierge of Crime, Liz hums a little in her throat and retreats, studying Red.

They’ve come so far from where they started; he’s not a mystery to her anymore. 

She can read his tensed muscles, coiled so tight he seems like he’ll shatter if pushed. A pulse is jumping along the column of his throat. His hands are motionless on the bedspread, but she sees the tips of his fingers curling into the material–gripping ever so subtly.

Raymond Reddington is holding onto himself for dear life, and that tells her two very important things. First, that he desperately wants to avoid touching her back…and second, that he has to stop himself from doing so with visible effort.

Which means that he wants his hands, and mouth, and skin, on hers more than anything in the world, but will not allow himself the satisfaction.

Liz smiles.

She can work with that.

[thesalemsaga]

𝟭 — 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿

—  𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙖.

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 : 6.8k words

𝙨 : salem, the mistress of evil, has been made aware of a resistance group being made within the walls of the empire academy, valhalla. meanwhile, young seren has a bit of an epiphany.

the most unfortunate thing about the mistress’s palace, is that nobody will ever hear you scream.

in the black mountain, the darkness hardly distinguishes day from night. and they say that after losing a track of time, of days, going on without gazing at a clock or a calendar or even getting a peek at the stars, can drive a person to mere insanity. that was what many claimed happened to the witch when she was confined into this palace and was left to her own accord.

although light never shone once through those tainted, ebony windows, life still continued within the monolith. although not the healthy life that one might expect, not the life with clear morals or allowing a faith to carry you through your good doings, not even that flicker of passion towards pass-times and careers that keep you up and moving, nothing of the sort was ever seen in these walls. rather, it seemed like everything about humanity had abandoned the creatures from within. 

the seemingly natural and human way of living had been lost within their countless decades here. time was not even a concept, they weren’t sure what use it was to count the hours and days and years you spend there, you’d just make it worse for yourself within the hope that tomorrow you will escape. and if not tomorrow, then in a week. and if not in a week, then in a month, two months, three. upon realizing that time might never come, you peer at those tallies drawn on the dark cobble walls and sneer and scream into an empty vacuum of space where nobody will hear you and save you.

it’s no use getting out either, not without the witch’s permission.

but even if you go out and are asked to return, you must pray to whatever deity remains on this cracked crater of a planet, in hopes that you return with good news. if not good news, decent news. but never bad news. bad news like, the fact that soldiers from the empire front seemed to have located the traces of one of salem’s henchmen.

yeah, good luck getting out of something like that.

inside one of the many halls of the dead palace, a sudden sound erupted. the scout wheezed and coughed as his head was lifted from the pool of water. tangled through raven locks and pulling and yanking, the gloved hands of the witch minded him like a puppet. they leaned over what could have been a pool, but the water was far from pristine or blue, it was a sea-weed green and at certain times, you might just spot a fin breaking through the surface before submerging once more.

this had been going on for nearly five minutes, but it felt like hours. having your head being forced down this certain pool would attract something ugly that lies in the deep end, the mere scent of your blood will put you in danger. but one could hardly care for the life of a mere scout when the mistress of evil has some minor, and by that, major problems on her hands.

“ m-my lady, please, show mercy! ”.

when she forced his head back down, salem’s eyes appeared fit to kill. two vermilion spots lacking any source of previous humanity, but even with the eyes, you wouldn���t take her for having been once a beautiful woman. the horns on her head were curled with ends as sharp as a double edged sword. her complexion was as lifeless as ash clouds summoned by an erupting volcano. salem hardly looked like a witch, she seemed fit to be a demon, a horned one, at that. and perhaps a part of her had some relation to the beings dwelling in the fiery pits below, especially once glancing at the limits of her ire.

minutes prior to this, the same scout she had sent out with about a dozen goblins had returned with news she had not been expecting. news regarding the empire, the people who have tried to take her down for the past two decades. there had been no success although salem was hardly an idiot, she was not one to underestimate the passion of vengeful humans, she was a vengeful human herself. it wouldn’t be long before they charged in with torches and pitch-forks to burn the witch.

resistance groups were growing within the walls, according to the chatter of some military men wandering between the boarder of what was the ukraine. the scout, a good fighter as well as an idiot, could have escaped without alerting the men of his presence and that of the dozen goblins he had brought with him, but he did not. the mere rustle in the bushes alerted the soldiers of a darker presence listening into their banter, and although killing was not on salem’s demand, it had to be done.

what could have been tyrants avoiding giving their status and identity away instead became an altercation that left one soldier cubed to pieces whilst the other fled, and to add salt to the wound, a stupid goblin who went after him was seen by the patrol ship they had parked in the area. checkmate for the empire soldiers.

to make a long story short, salem was fucked.

salem’s berserk force yanked the man’s head out from the mermaid pit and just a small flicker of pleasure manifested in those dead eyes. if there was one thing that she did love doing ( and she doesn’t love many things ) it was ensuing a well-taught lesson on consequences. and she was a rather strict teacher when it came to that.

“ listen to me, you filthy pig ”, she spat, sneering as the man found to catch his breath. her grip on his hair only tightened. “ you had clear instructions. you had them fucking written down, i even took some remorse since you have a god-awful memory and you want to tell me to have mercy, when you just fucking gave a major clue away to those empire fuckers?! ”.

the man continued to cough and wheeze as salem’s spat pure venom, “ what is it with you men, huh? can’t take orders from a woman? is your superiority alarm blaring so hard that you just won’t adhere to the fucking orders because a woman gave them to you? answer me, you pig! ”. he couldn’t. “ d-do you know how fucked i am? well not in the best way, i’ll tell you that. all of my efforts to make my location have gone to shit because you couldn’t keep your lousy ass out of trouble for five minutes. five years! five years stuck in this cold shithole and you gave it all away, you filthy animal. oh, i’m not going to show any mercy at all. ”

although the currents were disturbed by the abuse brought upon the scout, the waves did not fail to suddenly grow rampant, as if enraged. and around the same time, salem shoved his head down far enough for the water to engulf his shoulders. and it was not her who pushed him into the water, rather it was an unseen force yanking him into the depths. 

as the witch rose and paid one last glance at the pool over her shoulder, she took note of a red hue that rose to the surface. after that, silence.

elsewhere . . .

principal arthur armsend was a man of honor.

being a principal and leader to a new era of the world, leading boys and girls and what lies in between into a new age, a renaissance period that would take the world from being a dark and bleak place that they were no longer familiar with, into the peaceful planet they had known it to be a hundred years ago. and he did so by a sharp discipline he gave to all of his students.

classes started at eight o’clock and go on until about four, and every day, something new is taught. from alchemy and martial arts, to care of mythical creatures and history. three meals were held every day at the immense cafeteria, free time started after classes in which students were able to enjoy the open-air yards of this floating monolith in the sky. in fact, they were so high up that you might reach over the edge and touch a cloud.

 as opposed to many schools, the academy of valhalla was not one to waste time fooling around. third-year students and first-year students alike worked around the clock in order to harness the best skills in their arsenal in case the possibility of being sent out into missions came. and usually, when you were prepared, you might end up having the best results. students were told to be precise, to never make foolish mistakes, and to always remember why they were here.

although, nobody got it as bad as the principal’s daughter.

you’d expect the privilege to be very obvious; the ability to skip classes, to get out of trouble, to be an immediate social magnet, to be allowed out of the school and into the city to enjoy what it means to be young. any good parent with a somewhat loose way of raising their kids would spoil their child when they had the position they had. but for her, it was anything but that.

“ back straight, seren! ”.

she’s been at this for three hours. not joining her peers in the usual classes would mean that she would have to be doing something a little more different, a little more suited for her, and whilst many might role her eyes, they’d feel their stomach drop when they see the state that seren armsend is reduced to when brought into these private lessons.

at this point, her knees scrapped and legs clearly trembling, fatigued to the core, anyone could tell that seren was going through hell. these lessons tended to last three to four hours, but every time she so dared to look at the digital clock on the wall, her tutor would threaten to extend the time to fifteen minutes. ‘you wouldn’t take your eyes off your target in a real fight to see how long you’ve been at it’, he had said many times. and although it pained her, she had to agree.

her tutor, however, was none other than her old man. at the age of fifty, arthur still managed to maintain a certain posture to his stand whilst in battle that would trick anyone into aging him down a couple of years. he was a petite man, shorter than his daughter by two inches, and that most definitely did not stop him from butchering his daughter and bringing her to her limits in these training lessons.

how many times would seren have to be here a week, you ask? five times. fridays were generally the days in which she would have two of these sessions, one in the morning and the other placed right after lunch and she would only be back in her dorm at seven o’clock in order to crash, rest, and prepare for more lessons on a saturday morning.

iron thorn was clasped in her hand, arms tensing and aching to rest, her entire body ready to collapse the mere snap of the man’s fingers when he allowed her to rest but it wouldn’t be anytime soon. her training gear made her feel ten times heavier, and it was hot, boiling hot. but an armsend does not show struggle in the midst of a duel, they prefer to keep their enemies unsure of their condition to scare them or taunt them. you could only collapse once you’d finished what you started.

privilege, my ass. this is torture.

the clock was ticking towards the final bell which would dismiss all students but the ones in detention, and seren. “ finish what you started, come on. gaze up, for god’s sake fix that shoulder, and stop shaking your leg, you’ll stumble as soon as you lunge forward ”, she was used to receiving these comments, and she would take the feedback in an instant, because she knew arthur armsend when he was angry, a burden she shared in being his daughter.

iron thorn gave a minor whistle as she prepared to lunge once more, no essences were allowed to be used for the time being. if she did use something, the room might collapse. but she was tempted, oh young seren was tempted on pulling the trigger against the handle of her rapier and bring the ceiling to the ground. it would give her at least a minute to escape through the debris and run. 

even upon lunging with a perfect posture and speed, the blade clashed against the cane her father wielded. stabbing, withdrawing, lunging, withdrawing, flicking and withdrawing. each set of movement took a mere second because of her semblance, yet her father caught everything and she was beginning to grow slightly discouraged. although not as many could fight as well as him, she knew that there would be someone out there who could. one person. and if she were to cross paths with that person, she cannot steer to being passive. even though it was meagre simulation of a fight, seren was asked to treat it like a reality. and that, she did.

arthur bore a sudden attack that left seren scrambling to get out of her thoughts, darting in withdrawal with a backwards somersault and landing clumsily on her feet, her legs nearly rendering her weak enough to collapse yet she still had a bit of sharpness left in her to know that landing on your ass would certainly mean a scolding from your father later. 

this time, however, she did not have energy to raise her weapon to him as he pointed the end of his cane against her neck. she merely lifted her head and glanced upon his gaze that seemed rid of any emotion, meaning he was thinking, analyzing, arthur just wasn’t the type of man to wear his feelings on his face. he knew better than that.

seren didn’t. “ what was with that frown i saw? you know how many times i’ve taught you not to make your thoughts and emotions obvious on your face, your face has to be a blank canvas ”, he went on to say, lowering his cane and pressing the end against the ground. his posture straightened and he seemed to have dropped his defenses. she was not going to attack, however. “ seren. ”

“ m-my apologies, father ”, the girl gasped softly and blinked, verging dangerously close to the point of collapsing. something kept her awake, a part of her subconscious that wanted to keep her alive, her fight response. if not for it, then she would have perhaps been disowned or sent away just like her older sister.

now the only capable of heir in the family with the ripe age of eighteen, soon graduating from the academy, seren would have to carry the legacy of the cold armsend women who never once brought themselves close to failure. she would have to probably join the military route upon parting ways from valhalla, leading young soldiers to restore their lost land. although, if you ask her, if she had the choice, she would have picked the exploration route. unfortunately, being born in this family means that your fate is already decided for you from the moment your presence in your mother’s belly is announced.

needless to say, you have to stay on the route of perfection.

arthur sighed, it was clear he wasn’t happy. “ we’ll cut the lesson short today. you will make up for it with an extra hour tomorrow after class ”, he decided, and in order to avoid angering the man, the girl pursed her lips together and nodded. if one stared for just a moment, they would notice the trepidation in her eyes.

her tutor, father, and principal turned and left the training chamber they had been in for the past four hours. now vacant, the only sound echoing being the pants emanating from her cracked lips and although she wanted nothing more but to lay down on the floor, seren only averted her tired gaze to the immense windows giving her perhaps the best view she’s had of the world outside in a while.

although the empire had seen better days, the mountain of crete was a good place to re-build a city and make the public feel safer inside the walls. there weren’t many who wanted to venture out, probably because they had everything they could ever want in here. technology meant that they could produce food by cloning and distributing it to millions, money never seemed to be an issue as there were jobs for everyone, though it was said that there lived some people outside of the walls, in mainland greece who took care of farms and cattle and had a somewhat older way of living that would have been seen in the medieval times. they were closer to the truth of the world, and the fact that at least a dozen would apply annually to move within the walls said something.

but the talk of the wild never petrified seren as it did to others. they had returned to a time where they believed society was safer, and as soon as you stepped into a zone with no laws or mentions of morals, you’d be in danger. yet she’s read stories of people who lived just fine in these conditions, monsters or no monsters. and though she shared some fears with the general public, the wild was not one of them.

if anything, seren was infatuated with the idea of going outside, of seeing the world for what it was and not for what others claimed it to be. they hardly showed images captured by the military when they leave the walls and attend an expedition, only returning in a week after taking geographical calculations and hurriedly leaving. hardly the military you want protecting you.

seren claimed that with her father in line, things would change. the third year graduates from the year before had gotten good results, one of them had succeeded in establishing a base in almost every continent that remained. and although hardly anyone visited those bases, they were there in case you found yourself lost and in serious need of help. many other alumni valhalla students made technological advancements towards transport and population control, others went more of a political way and started working alongside governors to change the shape of their monarchy. 

it was almost a guarantee that those who leave valhalla are destined for good things, but it felt as if seren would not be able to join her peers in that sense and it pained her to such an extreme where she wanted to jump out from those balconies, land in cold water and swim her way out of the city. yet she would have to return at some point, there is always a way back home after an adventure, even if it’s a short one.

seren looked down at her sword and tapped the floor with the tip for a moment, the blade had never once been blunt and yet it seemed like it was in desperate need of a recovery. it must have been caused by the countless daily training that hardly left her any time to catch up with her other subjects. her father was tempted on making a fighting machine out of her, and although she loved a good duel, seren was not a natural fighter. she was more of a diplomat, if you ask her.

lost in her thoughts, seren didn’t exactly hear the beeping sounds emitting from the door of the training chamber until it had come to her side and then began to feel a sensation against her leg. upon looking down, her frown disappeared and her eyes turned to crescents.

“ hi, ted. “

valhalla was known for having ‘familiars’, little creatures often used to advise students and although you couldn’t own them, you could befriend them. seren had known ted since he was made, which was roughly twelve years ago. he has been her friend long before he got signed up to be a companion to her school. at the age of six, ted was the robot she played with when she was alone.

smart, short and oh so adorable, ted-ee 012 mostly helped doctor lin with matters in computing lessons for those who lean more towards the technology route. but he was far from the war machine the school fabricated and more of a health robot, charged by water and able to detect sadness from students. it was probably why he had approached seren to begin with, pulling at her leg with his small hands.

he let out a happy beep as he waved at her, his eyes as pleasant and polite as always. “ i wasn’t sad, you know, i was just thinking ”, she said, crouching to his level. he stared at her, blinking for a couple of seconds with a disapproving sound. “ what, don’t believe me? ”. and then it clicked. “ oh, you got upgraded, didn’t you? ”.

ted hardly got any enhancements done to his figure, as he didn’t really have any flaws and his feedback from the students was always exemplar. but this time around, it was useful. because the upgrade enabled him to tell whether people were lying or not and it worked well during exam season where many would be asked whether they cheated or not.

seren let out a minor chuckle and shook her head, “ well there’s no point lying to you. but you never tell anyone, so i suppose it’s fine. ” she patted the top of his smooth head and then stood, holding iron thorn to her and then tucking it back into its sheath. “ care to get some fresh air? ”. on a happy note, seren left the chamber, ted hovering after her.

the halls of valhalla would usually be empty after classes were over, most students tended to flee outside and look for something fun to do, which was mostly seen in throwing frisbees, playing chess, going sunbathing. some returned to the lounge and played games or watched movies. others returned to their dorms to rest, and a small percentage fled to the library for some extra time studying.

a part of seren was almost glad that there weren’t many people to see her tired state. ted had offered her a mirror through his digital face and she was quick enough to adjust her cotton candy hair and adjust the blue bow pushing the locks of her hair back. she was boiling under this training gear, but she would be out of it sooner as her lesson was cut short, but it was clear she was going to owe her father an apology afterwards for her wandering mind. little things upset her father, but what majorly puts him off is when seren is not focused. it was the reason for most of their arguments and disagreements.

the dorms were in the lower parts of valhalla though the girl took a small detour outside to catch her breath. in the midst of a sunny afternoon, the sky was beginning to turn into hues of pink, purples and oranges as the sun thought about setting. the wind batting against her skin was all that she needed, especially as she neared to the open air yards with artificial grass, smooth concrete paths leading students around the perimeter of the entire yard that seemed to go on for miles and miles. some benches and picnic tables were scattered, mostly occupied by first years who wanted to catch up after their lessons.

seren hardly steps outside, held inside by her tasks, but stepping outside was a freeing sensation, her arms folded and rested against the balcony railings, the wind was best from where she stood and she could have stood there for hours if she didn’t keep telling herself to return to her dorm and get as much rest as she could.

out of everything that caught seren’s attention, a game of football stole it in the end. most of the boys tended to be relatively active and sporty, that was a given as they had to be active if they wanted to carry heaven guns or broadswords with them in battle. seren became immersed in it for a moment, not the type of person to find kicking a ball around for ninety minutes particularly interesting but this time around, she couldn’t really help it.

what mostly caught her attention was one of the boys playing, and as far as she was concerned, she knew who he was. not the person to read the ranks too deeply, seren would only glance at the names and the pictures and this one was one she recognized. kailen cassius, rank number six, an archer. perhaps the most remarkable thing about him, however, what his height.

he had an air to him, though, that of someone who could handle things himself but also relied on teamwork and seemed to be about unity and working things out in a more collective fashion rather than being selfish all the time. he seemed like a good person, she thought. someone she’d definitely befriend and would be able to trust when faced with danger, but being alone didn’t permit her to join any teams. her father said that the only time she’d ever really join her peers in something of the sort was if she served as a tutor.

seeing as how so many of the students were set into groups, she wandered whether being in one would ensure that she would leave and tread beyond the walls, but she doubted anyone would really want to be in a team with her unless if they wanted extra credit or wanted to dump all the work onto her. and since seren wasn’t one to say no to people so easily, she might have to deal with being the one carrying all the work since she had the skills and smile as everyone got the best results despite having done nothing. it happened once in her primary school, and it was what shaped her into the timid, goody-two-shoes of a person that she is.

but say if she were to tutor a group. she’s seen third-year students do it mostly with second-year students who needed some help, but it would work and be the only time where seren might be able to use her position to get what she wants. it might make her father trust her just a tiny bit more, but she never knew exactly when it came to arthur armsend, he wasn’t one to be pleased so easily.

still, she was willing to give it a go.

when ted suddenly beeped, seren was drawn out of her thoughts once more only to realize that she had potentially been staring at kailen based on the way that well, he was looking right back at her. she had totally zoned out and had not managed to snap out of it when she felt the confused gaze of the boy on her. thank god for ted, otherwise she would have made much more of a fool of herself than she already had.

seren blinked and leaned away from the railings as soon as she began to feel her ears and cheeks burning pink. ted let out a confused noise, “ why didn’t you snap me out of it as soon as i started staring? ”. the robot tilted his head to the side with a level of confusion. “ he probably thinks i’m a total weirdo now! ”.

when ted let out an apologetic sound, seren sighed and risked a look back at the boy who had returned to his game, seeming more carefree but not before their eyes locked for a moment and she felt a wave of realization.

seren is hardly one to have an epiphany, but what she will tell you is that the feeling cannot easily be described. connecting the dots, her blank expression was replaced by that of surprise as her eyes grew in size and her pursed lips parted only for her to turn on her heel and start pacing quickly back inside, ted following in suit with some confused beeps.

the top six students are all third-years, and although the top student was often taken out of lessons to engage in more practical work outside of valhalla, that still left five people who were very capable of what she had in mind. she thought the tutoring idea would be pointless, but after her thoughts rang in that training chamber, after she stepped outside and looked towards the walls, after realizing that the world might end up caving in on itself if nothing was done, after such an epiphany, she couldn’t possibly sit there and do nothing.

seren knew her father would never let her out to do something like this on her own, but she knew she could perhaps impose an idea he could not deny. he wanted a daughter that would make changes, and after the death of one possible heir and the marriage of another, the fate settled on seren when she did not wish for it. but she could not change this about herself. but she knew that if good results came out of this, if her epiphany was right and she had perhaps hit the gold mine, that the world would somehow improve. and that was something she was taught from a young age.

her mother left when she was eight but the moral lessons stuck with her for ten years and it is probably why her thirst for knowledge of the outside world and the drive to better things was not leaving her anytime soon. the action of doing good things was deeply embedded into her, perhaps it was a genetic thing or the way her mother shortly raised her. she was a rebel without a cause, a woman who ventured out and never cared for the warnings she got or the many injuries she returned with. because at least she was helping. 

so perhaps it was time to start being a little selfish on her end. seren knew her father wouldn’t be in the best of moods after their lesson that afternoon, yet her blood remained boiling, adrenaline causing her heart to race after and her steps to quicken until ted stopped following her and let her run off on her own.

her father’s office was at the top floor, and after a long elevator ride to the top, seren stumbled into the room.

the porcelain tiles she stepped in were drawn with art she had never quite been able to name before. perhaps it was a renaissance-style painting, what with the figures and halos and clouds. every time she entered her father’s room, it felt like entering a museum. he was an archaic man with older, more traditional principles despite being inclusive. but he was one to separate his inclusiveness from his professional way of working, because no matter what you were, he still extended a hero out of you.

the mahogany desk was usually empty as he would have meetings on a friday evening but she had caught him seemingly before he could prepare for said meeting. he seemed to have turned on his record player, appearing blissful whilst listening to an opera piece seren has heard all too many times. the china cup in his gloved hands saw steam rising from what seemed to be his usual chamomile tea. three cubes of sugar, no less. 

the minor ding of the elevator made him raise his head when seren approached his desk. he paid her a mere glance, raising a brow. “ why are you not changed? i thought we’d be having dinner together ”, he stated, blowing the steam from his cup gently. “ don’t waste time, seren. ”

“ i need your permission for something, father. ”

arthur let out a sigh. when seren approaches him with a request as such, he often knows what it will be. permission to head to town for the weekend, permission to continue her tap lessons, permission to head to the beach. almost all of those requests were never really granted for the mere reason that he did not want her attention diverting to something else when so much had to be done. but he seemed to sense something was different, he knew his daughter well known and one thing he was unfamiliar with was the glistening pair of eyes like his wife’s staring back at him.

“ although i may be only seven in the ranks, i feel like . . . i-i feel like i know what i want to do before i graduate ”. she quickly took her seat in one of the chairs facing him across his desk. she took notice of his cane resting on the side and gulped.

days ago, he had mentioned that her older sister had one final act as a valhalla student that marked her as a significant alumni. although she married shortly after, she still made history by being the student who uncovered many lost articles and items in other continents, items rich in cultural value as they carried history of their dying planet. and she had done this before graduating. arthur imposed the idea that seren should do something similar.

seren proceeded, “ might i suggest gathering the top five students and allowing me to tutor them? ”.

“ seren. ”

“ let me finish, p-please! ”.

the girl clasped her hands together and forced a meek gaze down, “ i have all these skills in my arsenal and i highly doubt i’ll ever be able to use them because i can’t apply them to the world outside like the others. but perhaps i can let someone else take the lead for me. i-i could teach them what i’ve been taught and hope that they’ll carry it on, l-like a legacy if they choose to step outside of the walls. ”

arthur put his cup down, clearing his throat. “ is this just a reason for you to step outside? you know what i’m going to say, seren ”, his tone appeared highly disinterested, but she was not going to be discouraged this time around.

“ father . . . you and i both know that we have the people needed to do something about what’s happening to the world outside ”, she inquired, still no response. silence lingered until the apprehension faded. “ you found salem’s whereabouts, did you not? ”.

the principal, although he didn’t appear shocked, gave it all away through the way he dropped his spoon into his cup. he rose his gave with a clenched jaw and peered at her, possibly questioning how she’d come to such a conclusion. but it was no rumor, it was true. the general said the men found one of her scouts spying on them near the ukraine, meaning she couldn’t be too far. five years of hunting salem after her escape, only to finally discover the continent she hid in.

“ seren, listen to me closely ”, he warned, leaning over his desk slightly with a grave tone. “ i understand you wish to be a hero. but you will not be the hero who died trying to kill the witch that brought the world to its end. no daughter of mine will do something of the sort. ”

seren continued to fight back, “ but i won’t be the one doing it, it’ll be five qualified people doing it on my behalf because i taught them what other teachers do not. ”

“ seren. ”

“ and you act as if the years of training has been for no reason. what, am i just going to have these skills at my disposal and never use them? did i just waste nearly sixteen years of my life being taught something in case there’s a war? ”, she spat. she had never spoken to her father like this, and in a dark corner of her mostly innocent mind, she was enjoying it. she felt like her mother. “ father, there will be a war regardless. especially if we stick around doing nothing about the clear danger. i’m going to have to use these skills but i could also use them to prevent it all. ”

the man grew quiet. somewhere in his mind, he probably felt something similar. she had heard the stories, her father wanted to be the valiant one in his family to carry the armsend name, but he was the one who deeply injured himself to the point where he had to give up his heroic hopes and let it become mere fable. he didn’t want the same thing happening to seren, but he knew that this time, matters would be different. she would have help.

and sending your kid into a world that is unknown to even the smartest men in the world was a horrifying thought, but it is in like every tale, the one holding the hero back will always have to let them go. that is how the best heroes are made, the ones who were given the chance to chase after their happy ending, not he ones ho were held back. what good is a sheltered hero?

besides, she might end up finding the worthy opponent she had always dreamed of meeting. and if it was salem, so be it. call her reckless or obsessed with heroism, but seren knew she wouldn’t be able to stay within these walls for much longer.

her father knew this as well, even if it was clear he didn’t want to.

“ are you certain about this, seren? ”.

no, she wanted to say. she had hardly given any logic aside from her own hopes and expectations which could be mistaken as mere childish fantasy and desperation to be outside, but it is better not to ask her how she knew it would work out. she just knew.

“ yes ”, the girl breathed and bit her lip slightly. “ i think mother would have wanted to me to do this. i’m an explorer just like her, father. you know that very well. ”

arthur chortled, glancing bitterly at his cup of tea. “ i wish you weren’t. i wish you were more like your older sister, at least you’d stay out of trouble. but you’re the only heir. after ophelia, i’m highly uncertain that there’ll be anyone else ”, he spoke. she felt her blood run cold. but when he looked up at her, he grunted. “ but you don’t have a single cowardly bone in your body. you’re not like isabella and not like me. you’re an explorer, as you’ve stated. ”

“ father . . . ”.

arthur rose a hand and stood, cup in hand and cane in another. he brought himself up from his chair and moved steadily towards the tinted windows, peering outside into a twilight sky. “ you ask a lot of me, seren. not only might i lose my daughter, but i might also lose five innocent lives if all of this goes wrong. and i will not let it be for your fantasy and mere childish heroism. and yet, a part of me knows that soon, salem is going to find a way to harm everyone . . .”

the indecisiveness from the man was making the girl think much more deeply about the matter than she was intending. if someone got hurt, it would be her fault mainly for putting them in danger, but that was why she planned on training them. they were capable fighters, whoever they were. it was a matter of luck and precision, two opposing forces that might have to work together to make all of this work.

“ seren. ”

the girl lifted her gaze to see the man she so dearly admired and loved, the father who was a professor as well as a friend and a leader. she loved him so dearly that she would not think to ask something like this unless if she one hundred percent meant it. and she did.

“ if you can convince them to join you, i will grant your request. but be weary of the time, because it has become of the essence.”

and so, her adventure begins.

[narniasummerexchange]

A Dance ‘Round the Memory Tree

for @quecksilvereyes

The piano drones a monotonous tune as Doris plays the only song she remembered from her youth. She used to be a famous pianist for the London Symphony Orchestra. That was before arthritis caught up to her. Now she plays each song one slow keystroke at a time.

Frances and Raymond stand with arms intertwined as they sway in their own form of dancing. The two have been in love since their early years of dancing jitterbugs where they’d met at a university party where the end of World War II had been celebrated by some of the local youths. That was then. Now they have two metal hips, four prosthetics, and a walker between the two of the them.

Shirley stares on as more couples join the makeshift dance floor. Dementia has hit the older woman of the 1920’s with a vengeance but a stubborn spark of intelligence still lights her watery grey eyes. Those that notice that spark wonder if she’s thinking back to those years spent in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force where she had reached the rank of Air Commandant or of the many children she had none, of whom ever visit her.

Those in the small Finchley nursing home are gathered in the great room where the piano sits. They dance and laugh and speak of their youth as if it had occurred yesterday and not decades ago. Whether senile or of the soundest of mind, they enjoy their time in the great room where they’re able to mingle with each other.

All except Susan.

She stares at the room. Nurses avoid her sharp gaze as she assesses them and the other elderly folks. Susan watches them all as they hobble along speaking with vocal cords that are ready to give in at any moment. The grandeur in which they speak of their youth as if they had lived like royalty disgusts her. She despises the assisted living facility. It only serves to remind her of her past mistakes.

Every day, as the others share anecdotes, she only thinks of regrets. As the others remember their deceased families fondly, she only sobs. As the others try to relive their glory days, she scoffs at herself and chides herself for not having done differently. She wants to rewind the clock, she wants things to have gone differently. These people only serve to remind her of that wish.

Day in and day out she only thinks of them and that horrid place they’d created as children.

Susan despises Narnia, she despises her siblings, most of all she despises her inability to forgive herself for her wrongdoings. She wants to move on, she wants to think of her siblings and that magical land they had created with fondness. Yet all she feels is bitterness and hatred. Bitterness that her family had to be wrenched right out of her fingers. Hatred that she was not taken with them.

A slight breeze picks up and she wonders if Lloyd had opened the window once again. The breeze grows stronger until it is a gust of wind that rolls her wheelchair closer to the other residents – or rather, what used to be the residents.

The painful tapping of ivory keys becomes a complex set of strokes as beautiful music comes from the great instrument. The dancers become younger as the men skillfully avoid the women’s large skirts while perfectly executing the steps to the waltz. Rays from the setting sun light the ballroom, the pinks and purples and reds turning the gilded walls and sconces to a lovely goldenrod. Servants begin to light candles, bathing everyone in a comforting warmth. The scent of cherry blossoms wafts through the air as the dryads join in the revelry. Hooves clack against the ballroom as they circle the image of a stately lion depicted in the tiles. Waves crash against the shore that lay near the castle.

Cair Paravel.

Susan knew it was the old castle. She had loved it so. She had called it home from the moment she had set her eyes on it.

She remembers this night in particular so vividly. It had been a night she had personally arranged for the Prince Rabadash of Calormen. The night was been jolly as the Prince had been so charming that night, months before he had shown his true self to her and her Narnian entourage. She danced so much that night, she only left the dance floor once to rest her feet.

She remembers her siblings too.

Peter was chatting with the dignitaries and Narnian civilians alike, dancing every once in a while with the wife of a noble or other. They always pressed themselves a tad too closely to Peter, forcing him to end dances halfway with the excuse of seeing someone he must speak to. Susan knew those women only saw the High King, not her dork-ish older brother who tended to sleep through council meetings as he’d spent the previous night pouring over a book Lucy had recommended he read.

Lucy danced with anyone and everyone. She was a whirlwind as she spun and spun and spun, her skirts flying over her knees, her laughter seeming to fill the room and brighten the nights of all within her vicinity. Lucy had always been a free spirit. She loved to dance the reels, she loved to race through the forest on the back of her stead, she loved to run through the beach still in her ballgowns as she was followed by the children of Narnia. Her temperament always followed closely, hot on her heels.

Edmund had shared a few dances, only those with the kinder, less abrasive noblewomen, out of politeness. Susan had always smiled whenever her younger brother danced because he did it with such a straight back, arms held out stiffly, his need to count the steps to the dances obvious in his nervous demeanor. He was much more confident when he sat in his office with a quill and official papers in his hands. Susan admits that while he would always remain more awkward in his socialization, he had grown into a man in a short amount of time.

Tears begin to blur Susan’s vision. Acrimony replaces the thrill that had filled her heart mere moments ago. She wants none of these memories. She wants to remove them from her mind and never have to be tortured with them again.

“There is no need for your animosity, Susan,” a deep voice rumbles. It feels as if while it spoke, all of creation trembles slightly. “You can always return. You must only open your heart back up to Me.”

Susan bites her lip and shakes her head. She has the capability to. She can always learn to forgive herself, to forgive her siblings, to forgive Aslan.

Nevertheless she refuses.

She is no masochist but she refuses.

All because she thinks herself unworthy. She thinks herself unworthy after years of belittling her siblings for what she wanted to believe were silly made-up stories of a fictitious world they’d created. She thinks herself unworthy after decades of struggling to have the same blind faith that Lucy carried until her last breath. She feels unworthy of being happy, of being loved, of being forgiven.

“Very well,” the voice concedes. “Only know, that I am with you no matter what and I will always help guide you back home, only if you so choose to let Me.”

That same gust of air that rolled her toward the ballroom now rolls her away as the image of a wonderful night fades.

Doris is still playing. Frances and Raymond sit as Raymond complains over knee pains. A nurse replaces Shirley’s IV with a fresh one. Lloyd hobbles over to the windows and with the help of Warren and Curtis they allow for fresh air to blow through the stuffy room. Ida shrills, “Checkmate!” as she topples Alvin’s king. Darlene and Constance cheer for her. Milton yammers loudly as he tells an embarrassing anecdote about his wife to a scandalized Agnes and Manuel. It is as if nothing had changed, as if Susan had not just relived a moment of her past.

Susan turns her back and rolls her wheelchair away.

[silverfootstepswrites]

Butterfly [33]

summary A little something.

Shikamaru sat at the shogi board, arms crossed. His foot tapped in time to the song playing from inside the house. The doors to the terrace were wide open. Kiba lay in the newly-freed space on his stomach, face held up in his hands. The sheets draped across the clothesline flapped in the background. 

Itachi picked up a wooden piece and dropped it onto another square. 

Shikamaru promptly rearranged one of his pieces. 

“Checkmate,” he declared. 

Itachi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re tough, Nara-sensei.” Shikamaru smiled a little before he began resetting the board. 

“Hey! Can someone come help me for a sec?” Sakura’s voice floated from inside the house. Kiba hoisted himself up on his forearms, like he was getting ready to stand. When Itachi wasn’t looking, Shikamaru grabbed one of the shogi pieces off the board and flung it. It smacked Kiba on the arm. Kiba glared at him. Shikamaru made a face, eyes darting pointedly from Itachi’s turned back to the house. When Kiba continued to stare, Shikamaru threw another piece. It caught Kiba in the chin this time. Kiba still looked lost.

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru nudged Itachi’s leg with his foot. 

“Loser goes,” he said. Itachi gave a good-natured shake of his head as he got to his feet. He stepped around Kiba to head inside the house. Kiba’s eyes followed him before he looked back at Shikamaru. 

“Really?” he asked. Shikamaru didn’t answer. He busied himself setting the wooden tiles back in the right spots. Kiba rolled onto his back, arms splaying out at his sides. He crossed his right leg over his left knee, considering it for a while.

“Huh.... okay,” Kiba declared to the heavens.

“Anything you’d like to say to your fans?” the reporter asked. 

Haku smiled, one of his dimples showing. “Um, well, of course I want to thank them. They’ve been with me through the best and the worst seasons. And it makes such a huge difference knowing that there are people really cheering me on.” The interviewer nodded. But then the glint in Haku’s eye changed.

“But there is one special fan I’d like to address,” he added. 

Sakura lifted her head. She raised a chunk of steamed broccoli to her mouth. At the bottom of the screen was a banner that read Shimizu Haku, 2-Time World Champion. 

“You’d better keep your promise,” Haku then said, pointing directly at the screen. 

Sakura’s teeth crunched through the broccoli. 

“Yeah sure. As soon as you fix that sloppy right leg,” she retorted. 

Shizune turned to look at her. “Are you talking to the TV, Haruno-sensei?” she asked. And then she looked at the TV on the other side of the faculty room. 

Asuma had found it while cleaning out his home a couple weeks ago and brought it to school. Sometimes it played the morning news on mute or re-runs from last night’s soap opera. But when there was a skating event on, everyone agreed that Sakura had absolute control over the remote. 

“Are you talking about one of his quads?” Orochimaru asked, settling next to her. The rolling chair creaking under the new weight. He had gone back to his office to grab his glasses. 

“The toe loop. He’s been under-rotating it a lot,” answered Sakura. Orochimaru adjusted his glasses before he opened up his laptop. He already had two windows open. 

On the left side was a website that listed the starting order for the men’s singles. On the right side was a spread sheet. 

“I’m a little worried for our Haku. That boy from Russia has been doing well lately,” remarked Orochimaru, refreshing the page on the left side. 

Sakura shrugged. She pointed at the TV with a piece of chicken held between her chopsticks. 

“He gets nervous during the big competitions and falls a lot. As long as Haku skates a clean program, he’ll be fine,” replied Sakura. 

“And then there’s that kid from America. They’re calling him the quad king,” Orochimaru went on. Sakura paused in the middle of chewing as she considered this. And then she resumed eating. She nodded as she swallowed her food.

“Yeah, he’s a beast. But he’s still developing his artistry. I can guarantee that Haku still has that edge over him this season,” Sakura told him. With that, she closed the container that she had packed her lunch in. All that was left were a few stray bits of broccoli that had fallen off the florets. She placed her chopsticks on top of the lid before she took a long swig from her water bottle. Orochimaru stared at her over his glasses.

“Why do you say that?” asked Orochimaru. 

“We’re very excited to see how Shimizu-senshu performs today. Notably, both his short and free programs were choreographed by Haruno Sakura this season. Many see it as her last gift to the skating world,” the reporter said, looking straight into the camera now. As the reporter went on about how it was well-known how close Sakura and Haku were, and how they trained under the same coach, Orochimaru’s jaw dropped.

“Oh. The first skater’s going on, Sensei,” Sakura said, pointing at the TV. Trying her best to put on a serious face. 

Unsurprisingly, Haku placed first for his short program. He lost points for under-rotating his toe loop. And Sakura made a mental note to chew him out over it the next time they spoke. They didn’t have a chance to watch the concluding interviews and press conference because lunch time was over. She waved goodbye to the other teachers in the faculty room before she headed to the library. To her surprise, Naruto was sitting at one of the wooden tables.

“Naruto, the bell’s about to ring. What’re you doing here?” she demanded. He sprang to his feet, grinning. 

“He got first!” Naruto declared. Sakura smiled, leaning against the counter. 

“Yes he did. You’re excited, huh?” replied Sakura. Which was a stupid question to ask someone who had a Haku keychain dangling from his backpack. 

“I don’t want to be a pest, but.... could you do me a favor, Nee-chan?” asked Naruto, taking a few steps toward her. The puppydog eyes already on full strength. Sakura glared. 

“I mean, Sensei,” he amended. Her expression relaxed. 

“Could you tell him that I say ‘congrats’?” he requested. Practically quivering with excitement. Sakura let out a sigh. As if she could say no to that face. 

“Sure. Now get to class,” she relented. Naruto did a silent happy dance. (This was a library, after all.) And then he squeezed her in a quick hug before he ran off to class. 

The following day was a Saturday. Which was a blessing for Sakura, because it meant that she could watch skating without worrying about any interruptions. But because the events wouldn’t take place until later the evening, Sakura found herself with a free day. 

She went on a run with Akamaru before heading to the rink. Itachi dropped by a little while later. He held up several ovals of tinfoil, waving them around to get her attention. Sakura held her arms out at her sides, taking off on her left foot. The rink spun past two and a half times before she landed on her right skate. She pulled her earbuds out as she glided over to Itachi. 

“Hi!” she said, trying to catch her breath. 

Itachi leaned on the edge of the rink, arms dangling in front of him. He held out one of the foil packages out to her. Sakura accepted it with both hands. Her eyes widened.

“Ooh! Warm!” she exclaimed. 

“I ran into Nara-kun. He asked me to drop these off,” Itachi told her. 

Sakura bit the wrist of her glove. With a jerk of her head, she peeled it off her hand. Still holding the glove between her teeth, she began pulling the foil off the sweet potato. Steam rose in little spurts, making her wince. Laughing, Itachi reached out. She handed the potato over. 

“Are you not good at handling hot things?” asked Itachi. He began unwrapping the potato. He blew on it a little, but managed the whole affair with fewer theatrics.

Sakura pulled her other glove off. Then slapped both down on the side of the rink. The reclaimed her potato with eager fingers wiggling. 

“Thank you! I was starving!” sighed Sakura before she took a bite. Blowing and wincing as the still-steaming food burned the roof of her mouth. Itachi watched her eat, laughing at her changing expressions. He rested his cheek on his palm, eyes drifting down to his watch before they moved back up to her face. 

“So you haven’t had lunch yet?” guessed Itachi. 

“Nope. I was going to eat when I got home. My usual gourmet affairs,” replied Sakura. They laughed together at that. 

It had become a running joke between them. When one of them inevitably ruined food with their awful cooking skills, they sent the other a picture. Usually with some caption like ‘Iron Chef status’ or ‘Bon appetit’. Just last night, Itachi had sent a photo of steak that had turned into charcoal with the message ‘If I squeeze this, it might turn into a diamond’. 

That had given her a good laugh.

Sakura took another bite of potato. When she looked up, Itachi was miming rubbing the right side of his mouth. Sakura copied him, but on the wrong side. He laughed a little. 

“You do it then!” she huffed, leaning in close. His thumb rubbed the crumbs off her face, surprisingly gentle. She drew back, rubbing her palm over the spot he had just touched. Like she was checking to make sure he had done his job properly. 

After she had finished the sweet potato, she drank some of her water. It had helped soothe the rumblings deep in her stomach. But she knew it wouldn’t last for long. And as if reading her mind, Itachi held up the second potato. 

“No. That’s alright. I think I’ll run through this a few more times and call it a day,” answered Sakura. 

It surprised her a little when he didn’t budge. Instead Itachi stood there, unwrapping the sweet potato to eat it himself. She wasn’t bothered by having company, though. She stuck her earbuds back in, starting a new track. She did a couple laps around the rink, shaking out her shoulders as it played through the introduction. Her routine didn’t start until the second verse. 

But on the cue, her blades angled. They cut through the ice, snow rising off the surface as she gathered speed. Her eyes drifted shut as she let the beats guide through. The music flowed through her, filling her all the way to her fingertips. Her wrists softening as she raised her arms above her head. 

The first jump went perfectly. A triple flip was one she had mastered during her junior days. But as she transitioned into the axel, she could feel that her balance was off. Her hands flew out, catching her before her face could hit the ice. Palms stinging, she got to her feet. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see that Itachi had stopped eating. 

This wasn’t the first time she had fallen, though. And it certainly wasn’t the worst. She scooped up a handful of snow and rubbed it between her hands to ease the worst of the pain as she took off again. She had to focus for a moment to figure out which part of the routine the song had moved onto. Sakura eased back into the rhythm like she had never left it. Her eyes drifting shut, just for a second, as the cold air whipped past her cheeks.

The triple lutz- triple toe came to her easily. Her left leg swung around after the lutz. Toe pick digging into the ice to launch her into the consecutive jump. The world blurring past too quickly for her to see properly. Just her body felt how right that landing was. 

As the song came to a close, she spun. One hand reaching for the ceiling, the other held close to her chest. And she knew that if she drew her arms close to her body, her rotations would speed up. If she held them out, the rotations would slow. She knew what would happen if she angled her blades one way, how they would sound grating against the ice.

But as she turned toward the other side of the rink, she didn’t realize that Itachi would be turning his head to dry his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt. She hurried over to him. 

“Are you alright?” Sakura demanded. When she reached for him, he caught sight of the scrapes across her palms. The deepest one still oozing little droplets of blood. 

And Itachi began to chuckle, baffling her. She just stood there, staring at him as he finally lifted his head. “You’re really incredible. Do you know that?” he asked her. 

“Huh?” was all she could say in return. 

Sakura plucked a few tissues from the box resting on the rink. When she handed them over to him, Itachi used them to dab at her palms instead. He continued laughing like he had just witnessed something incredibly funny. And then he closed her fingers around the tissue to keep pressure on the bleeding.

“You’re just used to this, aren’t you?” Itachi inquired. 

Finally. Something he said that made sense to her.

“Well, yeah. For every time I nail a landing, I’d guess I’ve fallen about a thousand times? Maybe more,” Sakura said, head tilting to one side as she did the calculations. And then her gaze turned back to Itachi. He slowly released her hand, like he hadn’t realized he was still holding it. 

“It’s not worth crying over, though,” she added. 

Their eyes met. And Itachi smiled again. But it was different this time. He nodded.

“You’re right,” he agreed. 

Sakura decided that this was a good point to stop for the day. Itachi insisted that he was alright, but she wasn’t quite sure if she believed him. She unlaced her boots and stepped into sneakers. Slipping the covers over her blades, she slung her skates over her shoulder. 

“Come on. Minato-san probably wants to resurface the ice before the afternoon classes,” Sakura said, jerking her head toward the door. Kushina waved at them as they walked past. 

Itachi followed her through the lobby, outside the building. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Sakura asked one more time as they headed down the road. They kept to one side, crunching through gold and orange leaves. 

“I’m fine,” Itachi assured her. But she could still feel his eyes on her when she looked away. 

They walked for several more minutes before Sakura squinted at something up ahead. Hands in her pockets, she craned her neck to get a better look.

“Is that a child?” Itachi murmured. Sakura’s eyes widened.

“Mirai-chan?” Sakura called. The child’s head turned toward her. Sakura took off in a run, leaves scattering in her wake. Her duffle bag banging against her thigh. She crouched in front of the little girl, reaching out with both hands. Mirai grasped them, grinning. 

“Sakura-tan!” she exclaimed. 

Mirai was all bundled up in a purple sweater and boots. A little crossbody bag in the shape of a frog completed her ensemble. Sakura lifted her head, looking around the street for any sign of Asuma, Kurenai, or even Old Man Sarutobi. But all she could see were some of the neighborhood kids. 

Sakura heard leaves crunching behind her as Itachi caught up. 

“Good morning, Mirai-chan,” Itachi said. Mirai’s eyes widened.

“Good morning, Sensei,” she replied, bowing a little. 

“Mirai-chan, where are Mama and Papa?” Sakura asked. Mirai’s hands slipped out of hers. She raised them high in the air. 

“Not here! I’m by myself!” declared Mirai. Sakura began fumbling around her jacket for her phone. 

But she stopped when she heard Itachi ask, “Are you out on your first errand, Mirai-chan?”

Mirai nodded. And then she reached inside her vest pocket to pull out a piece of stationary. It was yellow with little chicks decorating the borders. Sakura recognized the neat handwriting. Mirai squinted at the paper. 

“Um.... Mama wants... k.. ka...” Mirai tried to read. Itachi tilted his head to read. 

“Ketchup?” he suggested. 

Mirai’s ponytail bobbed as she nodded. “Ketchup and... a kiwi.” And then she looked into Sakura’s face. 

“Mama is busy so I’m helping!” she announced. 

That didn’t stop Sakura from fretting. Every child had their first errand. Moms and dads sent their children out to learn to be independent. Usually it was to go buy something simple or to deliver something to a neighbor. But Mirai was so tiny. And her house was on the north side of town, which meant that she had already taken a wrong turn by coming this way. 

Sakura cringed. She wanted so desperately to take Mirai to the store. But by doing so, she would get in the way of Mirai learning an important lesson. 

As Sakura sat fretting, Itachi crouched beside her. So that he was eye level with Mirai. 

“Actually, Mirai-chan, you reminded me that I need to go to the store today. Do you think you could tell me how to get there?” Itachi requested. Mirai’s brow furrowed. She looked at the direction they had come from. And she spotted the ocean in the distance. Then she turned to look behind her. Realization lit up her eyes. 

“The store is there!” she declared, pointing in the right direction. 

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. 

Itachi got to his feet. Holding his hand over his eyes, he stared out into the distance. 

“Really? Do you think you could help me, Mirai-chan? I think I might get lost,” Itachi asked, looking back down at the little girl. She seemed to consider this carefully. And then she held up her hand. 

“Okay,” Mirai agreed. Itachi grasped her hand. And then he turned his head to look at Sakura. 

‘Thank you,’ she mouthed. Itachi winked before Mirai began pulling him down the street. 

“You have to hold hands so you don’t get separated. Papa says so,” Mirai told Itachi. 

“Hm. Your papa is smart, Mirai-chan,” Itachi replied as they headed toward the grocery store. 

There was a knock on Sakura’s door about about an hour later. 

“I’m out here!” she called from the terrace. There was a pause. And then she heard footsteps crunching through the leaves. Itachi’s head popped up around the corner. 

“Sarutobi Mirai successfully bought her ketchup and kiwi,” he reported. 

Sakura sat up straight, her book falling into her lap. 

“Thank goodness. But that took so long,” she remarked, glancing down at her watch. Itachi walked the rest of the way over to her. He sat on the terrace, kicking off his shoes before he crossed his legs. 

“I secretly followed her to make sure she got home safe, of course,” Itachi added. And Sakura imagined him hiding behind telephone poles and mailboxes as he watched the toddler amble down the street. She laughed until she noticed him setting a plastic bag down beside him. 

“What’s that?” Sakura queried. 

“Well, I told Mirai-chan that I had to buy something. It would be suspicious if I just went into the store and stared at her the whole time,” replied Itachi. He pulled out two convenience store bentos. They were still a little warm as he slid one over to Sakura. 

“I know you absolutely love cooking for yourself. Sorry to ruin your day,” he said to her, holding out a pair of chopsticks. 

Accepting the chopsticks, Sakura smiled. 

Breaking the chopsticks apart, she declared, “Bon appetit.”

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #119

“she’s the type who likes to leave on all the lights.”

Are you friends with any bands?  No. How do you deal with oppressive heat?  Act like I'm dying because I probably slowly am. What’s one thing that people definitely CAN’T count on you for? Remembering something. What about something they definitely can count on you for?  An open ear. What’s one food that you want to try but haven’t yet?  Hmmmm... I know there's some, just nothing's coming to me. If you’re home alone and someone knocks on the door, what do you do?  I ignore it.  I don't check through windows or anything in fear of the person seeing me.  If you're coming to my house, let me know. Let’s say you received a gift from someone and open it in front of them – and it’s something you absolutely hate. How do you react?  Thank them anyway and act appreciative towards the kindness.  I usually won't actually say "I like it" unless they ask. If a friend suggested that you two were to do something/go somewhere, and you really didn’t want to, would you be more likely to just go along with it anyway or speak up? If I really didn't want to and we were close, I'd say no. What’s one book that you have read that will stick with you forever? "Johnny Got His Gun" by Dalton Trumbo.  I was strictly anti-war beforehand, but that book turned me into a full-blown pacifist. What type of movies do you get into the easiest? Paranormal ones. If you could learn to play any instrument, what would you pick? Guitar or piano or violin, idk. How do you feel upon seeing someone who’s missing an appendage?  I feel pity, but I feel no different towards them as a person. Why is your favorite store your favorite? They have clothing and accessories that best match my aesthetic. Would you let your child have a pet?  Depends on the pet, the child's age, and my faith in their responsibility level. Where were you raised and what’s it like?  I was raised in a bad neighborhood.  Lots of crime, gangs.  It was scary, yet at the same time, it wasn't the worst place in the world.  Good memories, bad memories. Do you get along with your best friend’s parents?  I'll find that out soon. Do you tend to become nervous when you know change is inevitable?  YES.  I don't like change. Are you a patient person when it comes to relationships?  Very. Do you prefer to hang out in groups?  Meh, depends on my mood. Would you ever consider styling your hair as a mohawk? Nope. Assuming you have blown bubbles in your milk before, were you yelled at for doing it as a kid?  No. Have you ever put on or lost a significant amount of weight?  I've done both. On a scale of 1-5, how often do you curse? 5. @_@ How is your posture?  It's fine, but I lean a bit to the right. Have you ever taken an Uber or Lyft? No. Do you shop on Black Friday? Only online. What do you dip chicken nuggets in?  Honey mustard or ketchup. Has your ex ever gone out with someone close to you?  No. Do you pay attention to how much you eat?  I think I'm overly conscious about it by this point. Does your town/city offer a lot of opportunity for your future career, or would you get more out of living somewhere else?  I'd have far more opportunity elsewhere, probably.  Well... maybe not.  I want to be a wedding photographer, and there's not many of those here.  But where I live isn't exactly a gorgeous place to get married. What's more painful: Tattoos or piercings?  Piercings hurt more.  They're super quick, but the pain is definitely more severe. Does your ex live in the same town as you?  None of them do. Do you have any of your teachers on Myspace/Facebook?  Previous teachers, yes. What comes up when you google your name?  The Instant Checkmate site. Where’s the closest church to you? Do you attend it?  Not even a minute away, and no. Dr. Pepper or Root Beer?  I hate root beer, but I'm not big on Dr. Pepper either. Do you have a firepit in your yard?  No. Who do you talk to about personal problems?  Mom or Sara. Have you ever captured a moth?  I had a "pet" caterpillar when I was a kid and it turned into a moth that I released, if that counts. How long have you been dating the person you’re with? A few days from five months. Did you have a tree house when you were a child?  No. What is something that makes you grumpy?  Being really hungry. What school teams or clubs are/were you apart of?  National Honors Society, National Art Honors Society You can get a $1,000 gift card to any store you want, what is it?  Hot Topic. What’s the longest book you’ve ever read? How long did it take you?  I think "Not Without My Daughter."  I was really invested in it, so I doubt less than two weeks. Should a convicted murderer have the same right to be on the organ donor waiting list as anyone else?  I mean I guess?  A valuable organ is a valuable organ. How is your blood pressure?  This may have changed since I've come off many medicines, but mine at least was usually concerningly low.  I always had to explain to doctors it was normal for me. Have you ever stalked or killed a wild animal?  No. Ever had a rumor spread about you?  Yes, that Jason and I had a baby.  Even though I was obviously never pregnant.  His ex started it. What would you want to be written on your tombstone?  Probably "but you took it like a woman," a reference to an Alice Cooper song. Ever kissed someone’s hand?  Yes. Have you ever ran for class president?  No. Are you a rather gullible person?  Not really. If it had to be only daytime or nighttime all day, which would you choose?  As much as I like the night, daytime.  Humans and most animals are diurnal, so it'd be very difficult to adjust to that. When was the last time you went camping?  I've never been properly camping. Did you play with Play-Doh as a kid? Hell yeah dude. Have you ever found a four leaf clover?  True shit, I found a patch of them in our front yard the day after Dad left. Do you own a raincoat?  No. Are you fascinated by outer space?  Yes yes yeees!  I'm scared of it also, though. Is there a tree outside your window?  Yeah. What season would you want to get married in? Autumn. Have you ever tried Akinator? Yeah. Do you swear in front of children? No. Are you good at catching things? NO.  My hand-eye coordination is shit. What’s the biggest bruise you’ve ever had?  I'm not sure... but I'm guessing one of my knees since they've seen some shit. How would you react if you had a particularly unusual pain or ache? Tell my mother.  Although I usually look it up online if she's not home and it's always a bad idea because I'll find something awful, and then my anxiety kicks up lmao. What’s something that you like wearing, but you don’t actually wear it often? Skinny jeans.  I never wear jeans anymore. How often do you paint your nails?  Never. Which one thing made you cry the hardest?  It definitely related to my breakup.  I think that actual night, I didn't cry as much as me being in shock.  Wait... no, pretty sure it was after Mom caught me running for a knife that night.  I sobbed my fucking lungs out. Could you fall in love with someone, despite what they might look like? Yup. If someone was crying to themselves in public, would you ask if they’re OK?  Absolutely.  As socially inept as I am, I'd still feel awful if I didn't. Ever fingered a girl?  No. Do your parents still hide eggs around the house for Easter?  No. Do you wear choker necklaces?  When I wear necklaces, sometimes. When was the last you ran a mile?  High school. Do you have a big butt?  No. Are you pro-life or pro-choice?  I'd say I'm mostly pro-life, but I believe abortion is acceptable in some cases. What color is your phone?  Really dark navy. Do you know more than two digits of pi?  No. Do you have any STDs?  No. Do you have a favorite NASCAR driver?  No. Who’s your celebrity crush?  Mark Fischbach. Have you ever had any article of clothing tailored? What for?  Yes, a prom dress and bridesmaid dress. What are two foods you think taste good with whipped cream?  I HATE WHIPPED CREAM. When you see a feather on the ground, do you ever pick it up?  If it's cool, I'll probably keep it. If you eat it, what is your favorite way to eat beef?  Burgers. When was the last time you had a pet goldfish? What was its name?  I couldn't tell you, dude. What are the three events this year you are looking forward to?  Seeing Sara in literally two days, probs getting a new tattoo, hopefully returning to my healthy weight or get at least close. Do you prefer nail polish with sparkles in it, or matte colors? I don't wear nail polish like ever, but matte. Would you rather hold hands or link arms with your significant other?  Hold hands. Have you ever done something bad but you don’t regret?  Yeah. Do you like getting hurt? Uhhh no I'm not a masochist. Do you believe in destiny?  No, I believe in free will. Do you have any birthmarks?  Yes, on the left side of my left arm. Have you ever watched anyone sleep? There were times where I'd still be up on the laptop at Jason's and look over at him and smile.  But it was never more than just a few seconds. Do you ever go back and read stories or books you read when you were a child?  Not for myself.  The only times I've ever done that is when I'm reading to Aubree. Have you and a partner ever had “a song”? My ex and I had two and Sara and I have about five thousand lmao. Do you think that it is okay for men to cry, or is it only okay under certain circumstances? Of fucking course it's okay. What is one of your favorite movie quotes?  "My mama always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you're gonna get.'"  From Forrest Gump. Describe your teeth:  Normal, just wish they were a bit whiter. What is one thing you look forward to every day?  A Markiplier video. What is one thing you dread every day?  Trying to go to sleep at night.  I like sleeping, just not tossing and turning until it happens. When was the last time you cleaned your ears via QTip?  Forever ago because they're the reason I got wax adhered to my eardrum from pushing it back too deep.  I use a different tool now. What's the longest you’ve lived without electricity?  Just like overnight and a few hours. Name all of the alcoholic beverages you have tried:  Daiquiris, sangrias, and margaritas are the only ones I like, but I used to have a sip of wine in Catholic school and also this disgusting coconut thing Nicole had. Name all the types/brands of cigarettes you have tried:  I've never smoked. Do you like to do puzzles (crosswords, word find, Sudoku, etc.)?  Yes. What is the most alcohol you’ve drank in a night?  I think five and a half daiquiris.  New Years 2017. Have you been to see an opera?  No. Have you ever been stung by anything? What?  A bumblebee. Is there anything you dislike about your house?  We don't have two bathrooms. What do you like to put on bagels?  Cream cheese. Do you like orange juice?  So long it doesn't have pulp, I love it. If you had to choose, which bug isn't ugly?  There's a number.  I love butterflies, ladybugs, moths, and caterpillars. Have you ever had an ulcer?  No. Do you have any rare medical conditions?  AvPD and (inactive) MRSA. The first time you remember being hospitalized, what was it for? Being suicidal. What does your favorite necklace look like? It's a spiked choker. If you crack your knuckles, do you crack them one at a time, or all at the same time?  I don't crack my knuckles. Do you sneeze into your hand or into the crook of your arm when you don’t have a tissue? The latter. Do you hate when grapes have seeds in them?  It doesn't bother me. Have you ever heard of Bananas in Pajamas? Yeah, my older sister loved that show.