#Broken Bow Cabins for Large Groups

[bubbleddisasters]

Since Y’all liked the last one, heres something somewhat similar:

TWST Characters as funny / random ass moments with my friends/family

———-

Ace : A good friend of mine made an entire Cards against Humanity Deck including us, and we played it at like 4 am.

Also, one of my closest childhood friends of now 11 years, the way we first met was he insulted me, and then thirty minutes later I peeked at his notebook while he was drawing (our beds were next to eachother) recognized Sans from a meme, and then managed to bullshit through an entire conversation about Undertale without him suspecting I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about.

I made a joke about it a little less then a year ago, thinking he knew by now, but no. He looks at me and the conversation goes:

“Are you telling me our entire first interaction was you just fucking improvising through a discussion of a fandom you didn’t know shit about?”

“Wait you didn’t know?”

“NO?!”

“You genuinely believed that I knew what I was talking about then for 10 years?!?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

Deuce: I was biking with my sister, and she accidentally biked straight into a fucking lake. Also when my dad looked me dead in the eye after receiving one of my graded tests and goes

“How the fuck do you answer Maine four times on different questions and be wrong for all four times.”

Bonus Adeuceyuu combo: Me and two of my childhood friends once linked together to grab something we saw in a river, turns out it was just a broken fishing rod.

Also another on me and the above two friends meeting: The first thing one of them did was insult me, and I genuinely have zero memory of how I met the other.

Basically, we met at a sleepaway camp as kids, and for some reason, our sleepaway camp had some wackass shit, but one of them was this game. I don’t remember the name of it, but you had to go in groups of 3-4 and tie ribbons around each staff tent/cabinside without getting caught (and keep in mind each campsite and Cabins were very spread apart) at midnight, and the first to return to the cafeteria, where the staff were waiting, and did so after tying them all, on won.

Kids age 12-17, in the middle of fuck knows where in the woods Long Island, running around in the dark unsupervised with only any light bringing items they brought themselves.

So me, and we’ll call them C and M, teamed up. It’d take too long to go into full detail, but it was a very Prologue Mines fused with Camp Vargas core adventure.

Bonus First year gang in general : Me and three friends were waiting for something I genuinely don’t remember in an abandoned dorm area and got extremely bored, and one of them could do a perfect Donald Duck impression, and another a really good goofy, and this somehow led to us having a fake reality tv show verbal bitchfight as Donald, Goofy, Mickey and Minnie for a solid hour. We all regretted not recording it.

Cater: My friend from Wales entirely forgot about the existence of timezones and called me in the middle of my history class. Her ringtone at the time was just a clip of her screaming “Bread”.

How my teacher didn’t figure out who’s phone it was is beyond me.

Trey : Made Russian Roulette Spilt Cupcakes for a large group of my friends, and one is allergic to strawberries, while another’s favorite is, so I very specifically placed the strawberry filled one on the complete other side of the table with the intention of slipping it in after she picked her two.

Some fucking how, she ended up with the Strawberry one, which I had tied with a bow (basically the ones with bows mean they contain an allergen, and the color is the allergen. Ex: Strawberry was BRIGHT FUCKING PINK.) I’m to this day not exactly sure how, but my best guess is she traded hers with whoever originally got the Strawberry one before we ate.

Luckily, I told her partner, who had been my baking partner in crime and convinced me to add in the strawberry after I said it might be a bad idea, to bring two epi pens just incase.

Riddle : I am around 5’3, and I had a friend (?) who was 6’2-3 in middle school. We had almost the blatant definition of a Floyd and Riddle Dynamic, but he’d out of the blue be extremely sweet to me (kinda like that comic in the anthology), only on days I was going through shit. When I tell you I genuinely thought I was hallucinating when he did though-

Also, I yelled at him for nailing, yes, NAILING, a flag on the ceiling reading :”el sábado es para los chicos” (Saturday is for the boys) In the fucking Spanish classroom. Since nobody was as tall as him and the janitors didn’t notice it, it was there for like a week.

Che’nya : My friend and I have an ongoing inside joke where whenever we spot the other through a window in the hallway, we text the other “behind you” or “to your__”

Leona : I brought a pillow with a silk pillow case (gift from my mom) to a sleepover once, and my friend went “You trust leaving me in the room with this?” and I genuinely responded “Its a pillow, why wouldn’t I trust you.” entirely forgetting that Silk can be pretty expensive.

I felt so bad bro.

Ruggie : My friend once dared me to get a one plate of everything during a party. I misinterpreted this and brought a mostly to full plate of each thing, including water bottles.

Turns out they meant balance one of everything on a single plate.

I did not, infact, return the seven brownies, four cupcakes, two cookies, twelevish tangerines, popcorn and god knows how many grapes, but everything else was returned or snatched by friends.

Jack: My friend was throughly convinced she knew where she was going when we got lost outside at one of the biggest malls in fucking America, and we ended up walking a good 4/6th of the perimeter before finding the target (the store, we were still fucking lost) , which we called her mom to pick us up at.

Bonus: My friend, a few dormmates and I were at Starbucks and this random woman comes up to my friend and goes “Hey, they got my order wrong, want my drink?” and I was literally trying to give him this face of “BAD IDEA”. Yea so he ignored the obvious and drank the whole fucking thing and was bouncing off the walls for the rest of the day. (This one could also work for Jamil I suppose.)

Floyd : I was once walking with a friend of mine and jokingly said Trees are giant salads.

This motherfucker breaks off a branch of the nearest tree, takes a fatass bite, drops it, and goes “I want a refund.”

Jade : Randomly got interrogated my mushroom hunters—-

(I kind you the fuck not, MUSHROOM. HUNTERS. Basically, they go out to hunt/find/ forage for rare mushrooms. Atleast thats what they told us?! I wasn’t paying much attention, I was busy petting their dog tbh)

—While camping, my friend and I had zero clue what they were talking about, so she just pointed in a random direction and they thanked us and left.

The same friend also introduced me to mica, but always called them Mermaid Scales, and we more than once walked around in the water looking for them, I was the only one that would literally stop mid-trail to pick some up though. I have a massive collection.

Also she never let me live down the fact I once trapped myself in my tent with fucking dental floss overnight just to see if I could, then couldn’t undo it in the morning, and our adult / guide / trying to keep us alive person had to cut me out with a knife.

Azul : This one very specific time as a kid I was talking to two identical twins, who were standing on each side of me, wearing the same outfits but color reversed, and nearly had an internal breakdown trying to remember which was which, so I just did verbal gymnastics around using their names.

We later literally spent two hours fighting for ours lives together and I shit you not I STILL COULDNT REMEMBER THEIR FUCKING NAMES.

Kalim : Went shopping with my badass grandma and somehow left with a Second Hand Valentino (the brand) dress for $50 and a free bracelet one of the employees gave me because ….I actually don’t know.

Also, I got trapped on a really high up indoor water slide with my sister because the water entirely stopped (we learned later the water machine tied to that ride blew up) , and where we were was like a weird slope like between two drops. We couldn’t get back up, and going down was too risky without water bcs we could go splat.

There was like a window ish on the ride, so like a smart 8 year old, I start calling for help at the top of my lungs. My sister (10) also did this. There was this guy who I guess heard us that we nicknamed Chad because he looked like the most stereotypical 2000’s beach movie love interest lifeguard and was dramatically looking around for where the voices were coming from but NEVER LOOKED UP??

Anyway, My sister got us out in the end because she found a hatch and managed to open it, and I shit you not there was a spiral staircase with a gigantic fucking sign reading “DO NOT CLIMB STAIRCASE.”

So obviously, my sister chucks me across the gap onto the staircase and then jumps over herself, and we end up spending another 40 minutes after that fiasco trying to find our parents while i’m pretty sure Chad was trying to find us.

After the 40 minutes we just assumed we were now orphans and went back to where we left our keycard and low and behold our parents had just come back from wherever they had fucked off to.

Also Chad found us and felt super bad, and bought us a smore cake?!? Someone throw him back in time to be his destined role as an extra in Teen Beach Movie. The cake was great though, but that was one hell of an 8th birthday lmao.

Jamil : My friend from India (jokily) Divorced me after my dumbass asked her if Chai was an ingredient used in Chai Tea.

Spoiler Alert : Chai IS THE TEA. Apparently, asking for Chai Tea is the equivalent of saying “Can I have some Tea Tea please.”

Yea safe to say I felt real stupid in that moment.

Epel : My sister once locked me in the bathroom so she could test her new makeup on me. She left for one second and I kid you not I snuck out of the window.

Random bonus : Me and my cousins for some reason ended up roughhousing outside after one of our older cousins weddings, and I judo flipped a whole ass 17 year old man at age 12 and I felt so powerful in that moment.

Also If you saw about the ranch in the previous post, me that gang had an anonymous cookie provider who would leave us two tins of fresh cookies every day around 12ish pm, usually behind the kitchen or outside the equipment shack.

Yes, we tried to catch them once, No, we didn’t succeed. Also nobody wanted to risk loosing cookie privileges, so we didn’t try again.

Rook: Once scared the living shit out of my online friend by texting him “I am now several miles closer to your location.” . He lives in South America, and I happened to be in Florida with a friend, so I thought i’d be funny.

Vil : I was going to a cosplay convention with a friend, and instead of bringing like a normal amount of makeup, my indecisive ass brought basically a whole suitcase worth of it.

Also won a costume competition at my boarding school for Halloween, and wasn’t even aware there was a competition until the year after, when a good half or more of my dormmates asked me to do their makeup because they’d heard I was really good at it.

Idia: Ok, so, long story, but my friend invited me and two mutual friends to see Sweeney Todd on Broadway w/ the og cast. However, I was the only one who didn’t know we were going anywhere, because he thought his mom told my dad we were going to see Sweeney Todd, while my dad thought my friend told me, but also he was suspiciously alluding to it, maybe unintentionally

So I show up in a blue hoodie with a bad pun on it, mildly ripped sweatpants, mismatched socks and bright rainbow crocs. Not very “going to watch a musical about cannibalism and Serial Killers” attire. But it gets worse.

So around the 3/4ths into the first act is when I usually get snacks at musicals or plays, since they’re usually just finished setting up and theres no line, so I’m in and out and don’t miss much.

Well, I did that as usual, and its important to know we had front row balcony seats, because…

I slipped on my friends playbill on the way to my seat, and my fucking left croc went flying down into the seats below us, and hit an older woman in the head right at Sweeney did the first oofing, and the stage lights go red for a moment in this scene.

I felt so bad, and was literally too embarrassed to go get the shoe myself, so one of my friends got it for me. Apparently the lady thought it was somewhat funny (thank fucking goodness)

Ortho : My sister and I were biking once, and found out some reason the coats we had (school merch from field day I think). had the biggest fucking hidden pockets known to man.

So the next time we went out, she for some reason decided to put our dads entire laptop in there.

Also bonus: My friend once invited me over to their house to help with their costume, and when I came over, the costume was literally a gigantic trash can. No, not the actual object, They were literally making a giant trashcan costume.

I helped but still remained mildly confused in the process.

Malleus : I had a good friend who lived next to a graveyard, and sometimes we would just go on nice walks in the graveyard.

Lilia: Another Wilderness one: We were making Pasta, and one of the guys in our group was playing with a large thing of moss, tripped, and the moss got into the fucking pasta.

One guide said “Nature Consequence, we can still eat it” while the other screamed they were going to get fired.

Also, me and a friend were singing bo-burnham on a hike, and for some reason we had this stupid ass idea of making a fake fishing rod called…..

“The Child Catcher.”

(The irony ony of us both being 14 at the time so technically we were children)

We found a good fishing rod like stick and a vine, tied a vine on, and I kid you not we carried that thing for MILES. We also made a fork with a flatly shaped stick and a rock named Reddie.

Yea living in the woods does somethin to ya I gotta say.

Bonus: One of my childhood friends had a very giant dog, and one time we had a sleepover, she was laying infront of the other side of the door when we woke , and because of the way the door was, we couldn’t get through.

So my genius solution was to climb out the window (this was on the second floor) , Cha-Cha real smoothed to the nearest other window, go through there, and lure the dog away with a treat.

It worked.

Silver: Went to this make your own dipped popsicle thing with a good friend of mine, and watched in pure horror as she got a mango popsicle dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in fruity pebbles.

Another one: I was at a Sleepover and there was this tent like thing that was meant for tiny people (aka me, not really it was for toddlers but I was small enough to fit at the time), and at some point in the middle of the night, someone tripped on the tent and it entirely collapsed on me, and not only did I sleep through it, I ended up being the last person to wake up because they all saw the tent collapsed and assumed I was already awake.

Also I was camping once and I rolled away from my tarp and somehow down a road, and my friend said when she found me there was just several butterflies and caterpillars on me. I originally didn’t know but I found a caterpillar on my head that morning and apparently it was poisonous (I was fine and I named him Bob)

Sebek: I was in an escape room with some friends, and I discovered that a key we had gotten in the very beginning worked on another lock, so I did that, and later one of my loud friends finds a key and is SPIRALING because she can’t find what it unlocks for like 30 minutes, and after several minutes I realized, unintentionally slammed my hand on a desk and screamed “OH SHIT.” with zero context.

That experience was actually my first time in a escape room with friends, and not my family or a bunch of drunk strangers in suits + my concerned mother.

Second years : My friends in the priorly mentioned group consisted of who I’ll call N, who was doing 70% of the work, we had R, who was angrily searching for the lock to the key, we had T, the birthday boi, who was randomly making jokes about the 1930s, S, who genuinely forgot he had a key item in his pocket, and A, who dramatically serenaded the paintings after misinterpreting a clue and me, who kept accidentally unlocking shit ahead of time.

Third Years: Prior to the other mentioned event, we had gone to a small improv event that ended up being just us, and the poor guy running it kept giving us scenarios and random conditions which we would absolutely make the craziest shit from.

If I remember correctly, one of the skits was we were supposed to be a school board, and the condition was when someone said an idea, you had to say yes.

The result? a organ harvesting business thats front was a school, and everytime someone got detention, one organ of theirs was sold, and the funds went into funding the biogenetically engineered creation of Hatsune Miku and Cat Boys.

For some reason this skit also led somehow into atomic glitter and cocaine missiles, selling souls on Ebay with express shipping, using Sephora Products and Instagram to spread our propaganda, making meme complications of our crimes, and nuking the Bermuda Triangle.

Ask no questions because I have no answers.

——————————-

Yea thats it for now! Enjoy!

:3

[brownbowadventures]

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[munsontm]

“It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

The words stung nearly as bad as the bat bites. Steve hadn't been the first of the group to voice a similar opinion to him, but it bit at him, all the same, to hear that they, Steve included, cared so much about his being there. It was hard to take in and accept the fact of it because of all the years he'd spent pushing people away, afraid that they would get too close and hurt him. But being around Dustin, Steve, and their gang of insane children had unlocked the parts of his heart hidden so deep that he assumed they'd never be seen again.

"Uhh, thanks, Har---Steve," he corrected himself quietly, bowed lips twitching into a tiny smile as he leaned on the broader man for support who'd kindly bullied his way into escorting his broken ass to the bathroom. And in truth, Eddie needed the help. It still felt like glass was being poured into his sides with every step, but it'd been worse the day before and then the day before that. Every day got a tiny bit easier.

Regret tainted his thoughts when he looked at Steve. Dustin had insisted on more than one occasion that Steve was a decent guy, and he point blank refused to believe it. But a guy that meant to make sure you took a piss when needed couldn't be all that bad. Eddie chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully as they arrived at the bathroom door in Hopper's cabin. He grabbed the door handle to ground himself and directed his gaze to Steve with a hint of nervousness swimming in his large eyes. "M'not sure if I came off as a dick to you. I guess it's a bit of a defence mechanism, ya know? And I know I said I was wrong about you already...but, uhh. I just wanted to say it again. You're a good one, Steve. Yeah." Clearing his throat, Eddie suddenly turned away, embarrassed, and pushed the bathroom door open, shuffling awkwardly inside. "I kinda got this part now," he looked out from beyond the door frame, shooing Steve away with his hand. "You don't gotta watch this disaster unfold."

@kingedsteve

[haledamage]

92 for Kai?

This ended up being my first Kai/Adaryc fic! They ended up being a lot of fun to write! Something about their dynamic feels very Regency Romance.

This takes place immediately after the Eyeless fight when you first meet Adaryc in WM2

---

92. “Don’t move.”

"Wait." Kai reached out and grabbed Adaryc's elbow as he and his soldiers turned to leave. "Your men need medical attention. Let us help."

It was the truth. They'd all gotten pretty banged up by those… creatures, constructs, whatever the Eyless were. They may have won, but they'd paid a heavy price for it, and no one had left that fight unharmed. The Commander himself had a large cut over one eye that was still bleeding sluggishly, and he held one arm close to his body in a way that told her it was likely dislocated, if not broken.

He froze at her touch as if she'd warned him of a bear trap underfoot - or like he was expecting her to sink a knife in his back and finish the job the Eyeless had started. He somehow went even more still when she tugged on his good arm and started leading him back toward the cabin they'd first spoken in.

"Watcher, what are you--"

"Kai," she corrected tersely. "I don't like being called 'Watcher' any more than you do, I'd wager."

He nodded, conceding her point. "Kai. What are you doing?"

"Helping you." She closed the door behind them and brought over a chair. "Sit down."

She didn't wait for him to comply, stepping away to hunt for a water basin and dig through her pack for medical supplies.

"One battle together doesn’t mean I take orders from you," Adaryc grumbled, though in spite of his words he sat down on the stool she'd dragged over.

"Why not, my dear?" she muttered. "That’s how it worked with everyone else." She reached for him again, but this time he flinched away. "You’re injured."

"It’s not serious."

"Your arm is dislocated, and I doubt you can even see out of your left eye right now." Kai tried to gentle her voice, to make it a request instead of a demand. "Let me take care of it."

"Ordering me around again." He didn't sound annoyed this time, more amused.

"It seems to be the only way you’ll listen, Commander."

"Adaryc."

"Adaryc," she repeated with a slight smile.

They let silence fall as she worked on removing his armor, keeping her movements careful so as not to jostle his shoulder.

He broke it first, voice almost hesitant. "You're a skilled fighter."

She raised an eyebrow, trying to judge how sincere he was. "You sound surprised."

"I am," he admitted easily. "I expected you to be… softer. Your memories…"

Ah. That explained it. She must look very privileged to someone like him; in many ways, she supposed she was. "I was raised nobility. It… didn't suit me. I ran away."

"To Dyrwood?" Adaryc seemed genuinely curious rather than judgemental like she expected.

"Eventually." Kai bit her lip, considering how much to say, and eventually settled on, "It's a long story."

A small smile tilted the corners of his lips, the first she'd seen from him. He looked like he was trying to remember how smiles worked. "I'd like to hear it sometime."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," she said dryly. She set down the last piece of armor and reached for the wash basin, wetting a cloth and bringing it toward his face. "Don't move."

This time, he obeyed without argument. He didn't flinch or make a sound as she cleaned the cut on his forehead and washed the blood from his face.

After a couple minutes, Adaryc once again broke the silence. "How long have you been…"

"Been what?"

"Inflicted." He said it like a curse, which she supposed to him it was.

"Six months, give or take. My grasp on the passage of time is… tentative, some days." She left it at that, confident that he'd understand.

He looked surprised. "You've adapted very quickly."

"Not really. I'm very good at pretending." That was a remarkable amount of honesty for someone Kai had just met, but he had already had a front row seat to some of her memories so she let it go just this once. "But I'm no stranger to power and this one, at least, is mine alone. It requires nothing except that I am me and I exist. Few other powers can boast the same."

"You are a strange woman."

That startled a laugh out of her. "You are not the first man to tell me that. Though you are the first to make it sound like a compliment."

"I'm as surprised as you are that I meant it as one." There was something akin to fondness in his voice, enough to bring color to her cheeks.

She turned away to mask her strange reaction, cleaning blood off the cloth as an excuse to hide her face. "So how long have you been 'inflicted'?"

Adaryc was quiet so long that she didn't think he was going to answer, but eventually he just said, "Years."

"That's a long time to be at war with yourself," Kai said quietly.

"I have no other choice." His conviction was clear in his face, but it just made her sad.

"There's always another choice, darling. Gifts and curses alike are nothing more and nothing less than what you make them." She didn't think he was really listening, but she knew enough of self-loathing to know how to be heard over it. She tried a different tactic. "Do you think me less because I'm a Watcher?"

"Yes," he said automatically. Then, "...No."

"I think you have enough war in your life. You don't need to battle yourself as well." She carefully pressed a poultice to the cut over his eye, giving him time to consider her words.

"I will… think on what you've said." He sounded like he meant it, and that was good enough for her.

"That's all I ask. Thank you. Now I'm afraid I'm going to have to hurt you." Without any more warning, she pushed hard at his elbow. With a sickening pop his arm slipped back into the socket.

He hissed, but made no other noise at the pain. His voice was only a little rough when he said, "That never gets more pleasant."

"I'm sorry," Kai said, and she meant it. "If I could have done it gently, I would have. I'm afraid without a healer available, I'm the best you've got." They did, technically, have a healer, but she tried not to subject strangers to Durance's ministrations unless absolutely necessary. Especially not such a devout Eothasian as Adaryc.

She took off one of her scarves and tied it behind his neck, making it into a makeshift sling. "That should keep until you can get somewhere safe enough to bandage it properly. Do try to go easy on it."

"I will. Thank you, Kai." There was that barely-there smile again.

She smiled back, fragile and unfamiliar in its sincerity. "You are quite welcome, Adaryc."

She stepped back to put away the supplies, but she only made it a step before he grabbed her arm.

"Wait."

She turned to face him again, unconsciously following his orders like he kept doing to hers. "What is it?"

He stood up from his chair and moved closer. He tilted her head up to meet his gaze. Even though things had calmed down, there was still something feverish in his eyes; it made it difficult to look away from him. "May I?"

"May you--" her question ended in a sharp hiss as he brushed a wet cloth over a cut on her cheek that she hadn't known was there. "You could have just asked, darling. Words are not your enemy."

He chuckled, a warm and raspy sound. "I will try to remember that for next time."

Kai rather liked the idea that there would be a 'next time,' but she didn't say it and let him clean and bandage her wounds without fuss.

His touch was both gentler and more hesitant than she expected from a man who led a group like The Iron Flail. His fingers were rough and calloused, but she didn't mind. In fact, she found herself having to resist the urge to lean into it. It had been a long time since anyone had been so careful with her.

They both lingered after he was done, standing close but no longer touching. Kai was surprised by how much she wished they were.

"I hope…" he started, but he trailed off and made no attempt to finish the sentence.

"You hope?" she repeated, trying to jostle the rest of the thought loose.

Adaryc cleared his throat and ducked his head, an unexpectedly shy gesture. "That we... will see each other again. Perhaps sometime less dire."

"I'd like that." The last thing she'd expected when she snuck into an 'enemy' fort today was to leave with a friend, but here they were. "You're always welcome at Caed Nua."

"It would be my honor." In a quick, fluid motion, less like a formal bow and more like disarming an opponent, he lifted her hand and pressed a firm kiss to her knuckles. "Farewell, Watcher."

She grinned and bowed her head, somehow managing to make the casual gesture look formal. "Farewell, Watcher."

Adaryc gave her a wry, boyish smile, and then he was gone.

"Gods above, Kiki," she whispered to herself once she was alone, "what have you gotten yourself into now?"

Unsurprisingly, she didn't get an answer. Kai followed Adaryc out into the fort, but she knew by now he'd already be gone.

[flowerwrites06]

jeweled sea I — kth

Plot: A princess without a kingdom ends up in a pirate ship 

Pairing(s): Pirate!Taehyung x Princess!OC (Name: Angel) 

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Word Count: 5k+

Genre: Pirates/Fantasy | Fluff/Angst/Smut 

Tags & Warnings: drinking, mentions of trading people, explicit smut (in the next part), tiny bit of angst. 

Authors Note: another requested repost and one of my personal favourites! 

Endless horizons across the blue sea where all Taehyung could notice were the tiny islands perched in the midst of endless water and all he could taste were the salty winds. A whole year passed and every memory involved being on his favourite ship going who knows where. Their bellies full, pockets thick with gold but their bodies grew tired of the constant journeys. Which is why every year, pirate crews travelled to a remote island open to only them. Lawless, dirty, loud and full of scoundrels. But it was as home as it could be for the likes of them.

Taehyung stood at the quarter deck, eyes squinting a little in the sunny light beaming down on them, hot but a refreshing mixture with the coolness from the ocean. “How long till we reach the Severed Tail?” He asked his first mate, Namjoon who was manning the steer for the time being.

“We’ll be passing some secure waters.” Namjoon stared up at the sky for a moment. “It’ll take about a couple more days until we can reach there without any fights.”

The captain let out a deep sigh, looking over at his crew. It took no expert to realize that each member moved slower than before. Travelling for so long even for active souls like theirs took a toll on their energy and health at some point. “Alright. They’re strong. They can take a couple more days.” He patted Namjoons’ shoulder.

Walking over the deck side, he rested on his palms against the rough wood. A few cracks around the corners and he spotted a few barnacles growing on the sides but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. As the ship passed a small island, Taehyung could notice a grey cloud smoke exuding from a land hours from them.

“Must’ve been a terrible fire.” Namjoon spoke also noticing the thick smoke.

“I didn’t know fires could be seen from this far away.” Taehyungs’ brows furrowed, attempting to make out any kind of familiarity of the place but he never explored any corners past the Mermaids’ passage. Like Namjoon said, the waters were always full of security. Except this passage strictly belonged to the Pirate Guild so they kept their distance when they needed to. “Looks like a whole city burned down.”

His first mate hummed in response, focusing back in front of him again before smoothly turning right to keep following the passage. Pirates a couple of decades prior to them taking their own sails, created markers in the water made from the crushed scales of already deceased mermaids. It shimmered green in the daylight and glowed pink in the night. The trick was that only pirates with the Ocean Engraving on their hand could see it to ensure maximum security for their island sanctuary.

At the thought, Taehyung absentmindedly brushed over his. A simple mark of a fin given to only trusted captains and first mates.

“Captain!” One of the crew members, Jimin, called out to jolt his attention back. “There’s a person in the water!”

Taehyung glanced at Jimin for a second before his eyes caught something just near his ship. A figure adorned in white clothing stuck to their wet skin, floating away on a piece of dark wood. “Stop the ship.” He waved the order to Namjoon before rushing down to the main deck.

Holding onto one of the ropes, the captain climbed down the ladder off the side of the ship. Carefully he placed a foot on the piece of wood trying to pull it towards him. The sea decided to be calm today which made the ordeal a whole lot easier. Taehyung grabbed onto the figures’ arm noticing her long hair matted to her face. He picked the form up so he could at least wrap his arm tightly around her waist.

Throbbing ache on his arm, he gripped onto the handles of the ladder tightly attempting to climb with the extra while the crew members tried to pull them from the rope. Once at the top Taehyung pushed the figure up before him and Jimin immediately grabbed onto her so the weight could be lifted.

Once the figure was in the ship, Taehyung easily jumped in himself. The entire crew seemed to crowd around the unconscious figure while Jimin had his ear on her chest.

“She’s still breathing.” The corner of his lips curled up before he placed one hand over the other in the middle of the womans’ chest.

After a few pumps, the figure convulsed in a fit of coughs, water sputtering out of the mouth before heaving in a breath. Body inflating and deflating from her breathing, reddened eyes flickered up. At the very sight of the crew, she jumped back almost hitting her head against the deck.

“It’s alright, it’s okay.” Jimin raised his hands. “You’re safe now.”

“Sa—” The woman hardly looked convinced as the crew members continued closing in on her. Her arms immediately wrapped around her shivering body. “Where—where am I?”

“You’re on board the Serpent.” Taehyung answered, hands placed on his hips as he examined the form. “And it seems we caught ourselves a little mermaid.” A few of the crew members chortled except Jimin nor the woman didn’t look impressed. Noticing their reactions, Taehyung immediately faced the other men. “Alright, all of you back to work!” He growled and almost instantly everyone moved back to their positions.

Jimin glanced at the captain apprehensively before helping the woman get up. “What’s your name?” He muttered.

“Angel.” The woman breathed out.

“Well, Angel—welcome board.” Taehyung smiled giving her a little bow. “You can be in the captains’ cabin so none of these idiots try something funny.” He gestured to the closed door just under the quarter deck behind him.

Angel stared at the pirate before nodding until Jimin led her towards the door so she could fully regain herself.

“You know, I heard somewhere it’s incredibly lucky to find a woman lost at sea!” Namjoon spoke up, leaning against the railing of the quarter deck.

Taehyung looked over his shoulder to his first mate. “Is it now?”

“Apparently it means you’re going to be offered something by royalty.”

“I’ve been offered a lot of things by royalty. Haven’t been good things.” The captain chuckled, glancing over at the closed door of his cabin. “Let’s move out!

-

Stomach swayed along with the back and forth of the large ship. It didn’t help that Angel opted to sit near the windows, watching how the majestic waves engulfed the bottom for a moment almost mimicking memories of her drowning. Then it flowed back to show her the horizon again. The sky still stood clear and bright as ever. Clothes began to dry uncomfortably against her parched skin, hair clumped together while a thick blanket wrapped around her chilled body.

The pirate Jimin expressed the utmost kindness by giving her some warmth while he rushed off to look for some new clothes for her to wear. Angel should have been grateful for being rescued but her chest still cramped. Constant explosions still booming in her ears, children screaming for their mothers, her own parents telling her to run as fast as she could to save herself.

Everything she ever knew. Gone.

Angel pulled out of her thoughts when the door of the cabin creaked open. Getting away from the window, she stood in the center expecting Jimin. Instead she saw a tanned male padded into the room with something in his hand.

Taehyung slowed his actions down as he saw the woman watching him. Door closed, he turned to face her, plump lips pursed. “Bit tricky to find clean clothes but Jimin managed to grab some of his from his trunk.” He handed the pile to Angel. “It might be a little big.”

“It’s okay.” Angel muttered, accepting the neatly organized pile with everything she needed from a soft shirt to some comfortable pants. “Thank you.”

“It wouldn’t be nice of me to let you drown.” Taehyung stated like it was obvious. “Is there a place I can drop you off? A house?”

Her heart sank at the mention of a house as she hugged the clothes to her chest. “My house was attacked.” Voice resorted to a meek tone.

“Oh.” He remembered the thick smoke radiating from the island. “How did it happen?”

As the woman took a breath to speak, she quickly stopped to mull over her words. They did help her from getting lost away at sea but pirates were never pegged as the most trustworthy of groups. “I lived in a small kingdom. There was an army marching in while I was sleeping so my—my parents told me to run away to save myself.” Her heart pounded a little but it technically wasn’t a complete lie.

Taehyung nodded, the severity of the smoke making a whole lot more sense. If it weren’t for their break, broken kingdoms were the first place to go. Vulnerable and ripe for the taking while the politicians argued for their power and the citizens were too worried about a revolution. “Do you have any relatives?”

Angel shook her head. None of her relatives would take her in after the territories was divided into separate kingdoms. She would be an unnecessary hassle probably married off the second she stepped foot into the palace. “I don’t know.”

“Right.” Taehyung averted his gaze in thought. “Well no reason to strand you back into sea. You can be a part of the crew.” He could already imagine the wandering gazes of his loyal but wild crew at the new member but it wouldn’t be too hard to put them in their place.

“Are you sure?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s no trouble. Besides my first mate says finding a woman at sea is good luck.” Taehyung smirked.

Angel couldn’t help but smile in return. She shrugged off the thick blanket, feeling a rush of chilly air cloud around her already shivering body.

Taehyung flicked off the naughty piece of hair flying over his red bandana. From the corner of his eye, he noticed how wonderfully transparent the white fabric was especially after being ruined in the sea. If he focused a little, the oil lamp light from the cabin could illuminate her curves. He watched her shrug off the thin robe leaving her a short sleeved dress. But then she stopped forcing his breath to catch in his throat.

Gaze flickered up to Taehyung who still had a close eye on her almost without blinking. “Uhm—I need to—change.” Angel murmured purposely unable to meet his curious orbs.

Taehyung quizzically looked over at the woman, glancing at the pile of clothes and her. Eventually his expression softened into one of realization, lips parting. “Oh—right…” He chuckled nervously. “I’ll leave you to it.” Backing away to the door, he curled the knob and created enough gap for him to slither through. “And uh—you can sleep here.” He gestured to the bed.

Truth be told, the woman was a little taken aback by the hospitality. Though she reminded herself to stay vigilant for her own protection, she still adorned a smile. “Thank you…captain.”

Taehyung hummed with a smile before closing the door and leaving her to her privacy.

-

Outside of the cabin, the moonlight cast down a silvery hue meshed with deep black blue creating a ghostly atmosphere to his beloved ship. As Taehyung turned around he immediately saw Jimin with a concerned expression. “She’s fine.” He reassured. “Go get some rest.”

Still the other male stood, plump lips parted and twitching as if desperate to ask more questions. “Where is she going to sleep?”

“In the cabin.”

“Where are you going to sleep?”

“Apparently not in the cabin with the way you’re staring at me.” Taehyung tilted his head.

Jimin pressed his lips together, trying to avert his gaze even though it was mostly forced. He knew the captain was a good man with strong principles. Subtle but they were present if one looked hard enough through the mischievious exterior. That didn’t mean he still didn’t worry for the womans’ safety.

The captain then sighed noticing Jimins’ apprehension. “You can keep an eye on the door if you’d like.”

Eyes immediately lit up at Taehyung’s words, forcing down a wider grin and breath of relief. “Thank you, captain.”

“Yeah, yeah…” He waved it off walking to the side to the stairs leading to the quarter deck. “Been doing everyone favors today.”

-

Finally her lungs could expand and take in the wide fresh air without having to gasp for water after hours of constant thirst. It was hot. New clothes stuck to Angels’ dampened skin except it was lot more pleasant than yesterday. Hat on her head made the sun less harsh on her eyes while she scrubbed away at the deck railings. Admittedly, the woman didn’t get flustered often. She was always trained not to be, in fact as it never looked elegant.

Though the burning gaze of each of the crew members almost piercing through her backside created a slight hint of discomfort.

For a while, Angel was able to ignore it and continue doing the tiny chore Taehyung set out during the morning. Except then the gazes turned to interactions. Or if one could call it that.

One of the members with an eye-patch and missing front teeth padded towards her, pretending that they were fixing ropes before awkwardly leaning on the deck. “Hats look nice on you.” He chuckled.

Angel gave a polite smile continuing on with the scrubbing. “Thank you.”

“I like hats. You know, my mum makes hats.” He breathed out.

“That’s very nice.” She grinned down at her working hand.

“I like your pants too.” His eye widened staring down at the womans’ bottoms.

Angel nodded in acknowledgement. “They belong to Jimin.”

“They look better on you.” He let out a small laugh. “It brings out the…” Hands raised make a gesture down her back. “…globe shape.”

“Man, I don’t pay you to let your one eye wander.” Taehyung announced a loud enough voice for the entire ship to momentarily stop what they were doing. “Get back to work.”

Angel couldn’t control the grin stretching out her lips watching how wide eyed the crew member had gotten from being called out. She watched him bow quickly and walk away to his original post. Though she could still feel a body padding closer to her until something brushed against her shoulder.

“Maybe you should come to the quarter deck.” The captains’ voice rung in her ears a lot closer than she expected.

Turning to meet his gaze, Angel nodded following up the stairs towards the quarter deck. A gust of cold wind flowed against her clothes and skin bringing the most refreshing wave of alertness. One of the advantages of being at sea is that no matter how hot the day is, the water bodes cool breeze. As opposed to standing on still land and almost dying in her corset due to lack of blood circulation.

“Have you been at sea before?” Taehyung broke through her calm silence. Though he absentmindedly watched the way her lips curled up at the feeling of the breeze.

“Few times.” Angel spoke in an almost dream-like tone. “My father owned a couple of ships and used to sail them out to look at whales.”

“Just look at them?” His brows furrowed.

“Mhm—he never liked hunting. Especially water creatures because my mother was always against it.” She had the strongest urge to hold her hands out and truly feel the wind brush across her entire body but she kept control.

“Ocean creatures are not one to harm without care.” Taehyung spoke almost in a solemn tone. So many pirates grew too confident, pretending they ruled the seas because they sailed a top it. They were always brutally reminded that the true Kings and Queens lay deep beneath the recesses of the ocean ready to teach anyone who had the gall to disrespect them.

Angel hummed in amusement. “That’s what my mother used to say.” Her mothers’ voice replayed in her head as she spoke, coaxing a small twinge in her chest. How she smiled through her tears before sending her off. How she saw her usually lively and bright body laying limp in a pool of blood.

“Hey…” Taehyung murmured under his breath, seeing the way her body deflated and eyes twitched. He reached out to touch her arm gently. It was difficult to realize from the way the woman held herself that she just came out of a traumatic experience. Losing one’s home forcefully and having nowhere to go. “Have you ever driven a ship?”

She looked over at the captain with a puzzled expression before shaking her head. “Why do you ask?”

Taehyung glanced behind him at Jimin who had been manning the wheel for the morning. “Come here.” He softly wrapped his fingers around her forearm, leading her towards the other male. “Take a break, Park.” He patted Jimins’ shoulder.

Jimin hummed in response giving a friendly smile to Angel before walking over to the deck to keep himself busy.

Angel eyed the captain curiously as he carefully pulled to stand in front of the wheel. “Are you sure about this?” She chuckled lightly.

“It’s not that hard.” He smiled, standing behind her. Taehyung could still smell tiny remnants of salt in the womans’ hair. “Our destination is only straight ahead.”

“You mean that trail?” She gestured in front of the ship. Two shimmery green lines to create a path in the ocean and disappearing a little into the horizon.

His stomach jumped hearing her mention the passage, turning his head to face her but the womans’ expression was casual. “You can see the trail?”

Angel looked back at him, a little confused. “Yeah—it’s the green path, isn’t it?”

“Yeah—yeah it is.” Taehyung didn’t know whether to smile in joy or peer further into her expression in suspicion. How would she see it? There was no mark at the back of her hands. Maybe it was somewhere else. Shaking himself out of a momentary daze, he focused back in front of him. “Yes, just follow the trail.”

Wrapping her hands around the wheel, Angel felt a heaviness to move against the smooth waves of the ocean. Thankfully the green passage was quite straight without any intense turns otherwise this would have been embarrassing encounter. A few moments passed before she saw his tanned hand rest over hers when a bend in the path came about.

“Try to move along with the waves while you steer.” Taehyung instructed in a soft voice with their lack of distance.

She could feel his hot breath cascade down her hair making it utterly difficult to concentrate on his instructions. But Angel heard enough to smoothly steer to the right following the bend of the shimmery green trail, looking magical under the shining sun. The ship almost peacefully moved like it was meant to welcome a straighter path as a stronger cold wind brushed her hair across her face.

Before Angel could fix it, Taehyung reached out and gently brushed the tresses away from her vision before lining it behind her again. The length went right down flowing to her lower back. He undid a small red cloth wrapped around his wrist before placing it behind her hair and tying a gentle knot to keep most of her hair pulled back.

Angel hummed, smiling while keeping her gaze on the passage. “Thank you.”

Taehyung smirked in response. He glanced over at the trail again to check if everything was in order before his eyes trailed down her long hair, unintentionally pausing just below the ends. “The pants do suit you.” He muttered before padding over to the side of the quarter deck.

Angel couldn’t help but let out the soft chuckle under her breath. Not the kind of pirate captain she expected. Though she’d happily tolerate this one over the others.

-

Another night fell and the Serpents’ crew finally saw the flickering lights of land civilization closing in on them. Angel stood at the deck, already hearing the loud laughter and cheering along with glass shattering mixed with the amazingly strong stench of rum. Even the crew members murmured amongst each other in excitement.

The ship docked with ease and a board immediately dropped for the crew to almost run out and greet still land again. She watched them already mingling in with the women dressed in frills, laughing in excited shrieks as they were grabbed by the hips. Eyes flickered over to the men singing in slurred voice near the docks, some sneaking under womens’ skirts but they only giggled before chugging from a bottle.

Every moment Angel caught, her feet planted harder onto the surface of the ship. Stomach twisting a little as she saw a few of the drunkards look her way and whisper to each other like mischievous bullies.

“We don’t have to go.” Jimins’ comforting voice rung in her ears. “I’ll stay with you here.”

Angel looked over at the male, grateful that he would sacrifice his time to rest on land for her. Except before she could protest Taehyung chipped in.

“Nonsense. You’re both going to enjoy the finest atmosphere of the Severed Tail.” Taehyung slapped Jimins’ shoulder playfully before flickering his gaze to Angel. “You’ll be by my side the whole time, little mermaid.” He held out his arm for her. “Come on.” He tilted his head towards the noisy dock.

Apprehension crawled down her spine, giving another glance towards the group of men who were murmuring but they seemed to disappear somewhere else. Angel let out a sigh and hooked her arm with his.

“That’s a good girl.” Taehyung muttered. “You’ll have a good time, I promise.”

The two had very different definitions of a good time. Considering hers did not involve this much noise and alcohol. Arm in arm, they walked through the thief infested streets of the Severed Tail, buildings ragged with obscene drawings, people exuding the most putrid of scents and eyes progressively fixating on her. It’s as if they could smell an outsider entering their place of lawless paradise.

She gripped onto Taehyungs’ shirt tightly, worried that someone might pull her away from him and the man would be too excited to notice. Angel saw the way he watched this place. Eyes lighting up in glee, a faint smile gracing his lips only getting wider as they approached an establishment. A tavern.

“Crown Jewel.” Taehyung muttered more to himself than anyone else as the most of the crew seemed to squeeze through the door. “Best rum known to man.”

Angel merely hummed in response unable to focus on anything with all the distractions creating havoc around them. Although at this point, it didn’t seem like they were creating havoc more so relishing in it like a walk in the neighborhood.

Walking into the tavern was no different. Except this time she heard more glass clinking and shattering, women dressed in just a thin cloth as a makeshift dress pulling a few men to an area behind the bar. Taehyung led her followed by the rest of the crew towards the private corner, as if emptied just for them.

The pair sat next to each other while the entire crew slumped on a few of the vacant chairs. In only minutes, a few girls came up and served them their goblets filled to the brim with a strong smelling liquid. The table kept shaking causing the liquid to fall over the cup. Angel rested her hands on her lap.

Almost immediately everyone went to drinking except for her. Taehyung chugged down his first glass like it was water and he had been suffering from thirst for days.

Looking around the crew, Namjoon took more careful but generous sips while Jimin took one sip and placed it back on the table.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, staring down at her hands. Now more than ever Angel wished she was just curled up in a bed and reading a book in peace rather than here. Perhaps it was a pretentious side of her. The people in the establishment looked happy, cheering and laughing along despite their antics looking utterly despicable.

Though the Serpents’ crew weren’t completely that way. Most of them were drinking and chatting along normally at the tables, Jimin was just as quiet as she was. Taehyung accepted another drink. She noticed around two empty goblets already with one full at the brim still.

“Drink something, mermaid.” Taehyung spoke, a slight slur developing in his tone. He pushed a goblet full of bronze liquid toward her side.

Angel gently pushed it away before shaking her head. “I’d like to be clear headed. Thank you.”

“This is not the place for clear heads.” He joked but left the goblet where it stood without bothering her further.

“Not the place for decency either.” Her eyes darted over to the men whistling her way, making inappropriate gestures. Angel shifted uncomfortably where she sat.

“Pay no mind to them, love.” He did not spare a glance at the scoundrels at the table a few feet in front of them. “They do those things from afar because they’re afraid.”

“Would you prefer them to come closer?”

Taehyung eyed the woman, only now noticing how she played with her shaking fingers and unsure of where to look. Severed Tail was not a place for delicate hearts and soft stomachs. It may be a safe haven for pirates but that meant not having laws in the first place to ensure that safety. Which meant who live within the law could not be granted that same safety.

“I’m going back to the ship.” Angel murmured, standing up from the chair and walking away from the group.

“Angel—” He saw Jimin from the corner of his eye trying to get up but not wanting to disrupt the relaxing atmosphere around them.

She tried to rush out of the tavern and to the safety of the ship as quickly as she could. But before even reaching the door, someone bumped against her shoulder causing her to stumble back. “Careful.” Angel murmured under her breath. No intention of the person hearing them but apparently she bumped into some kind of bloodhound.

The figure turned to meet her gaze. His clothed chest still glimmering with badges of all kinds but his face reddened and eyes bloodshot from the excessive alcohol. “You—”

“Sorry?” Angels’ brow furrowed as the male raised his pointer finger at her.

“I know you.” He padded closer to the woman until all her nostrils could catch was his rum infused breath. “You’re…your face.” He hiccupped. Then his eyes widened. “Your Highness.”

Her heart dropped to a pit, attempting to take a step but the man kept towering over her.

“You’re alive.”

“Leave me alone.” Angel turned on her heel to walk off but her arm was grabbed roughly to pull her back. Just as she looked back to protest, his grip clipped off her. Her line of vision now blocked with another figures’ back.

“The lady told you something, mate.” The captains’ deep voice vibrated through the rowdy air. In seconds, the tavern faded into a silence almost matching that for a royal banquet with a couple of people muttering to one another.

Now all eyes were on them and Angel wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball and hope she magically transported back to the ship. “Taehyung, it’s fine. Don’t cause trouble.”

“I’m not the one who caused trouble.” Taehyung eyes’ pieced into the other male.

Angel held onto his arm gently, walking closer to him until her nose almost touched his shoulder. “Please don’t.” She whispered. “They’re staring, I just want to go back to the ship.”

Taehyung kept his deathly gaze on the officer who tried to his make believe pride while being unable to stand straight. “You’re lucky she’s nice.”

The officer scoffed.

Reluctantly the captain backed away and let the drunkard stumble to the side. He turned on his heel to face her now. Their distance had been closed off so much that Taehyung had to lower his head significantly to meet her eyes again. “I’ll come with you. I think it’s we take our supply to the ship.” He looked behind him and the crew members excitedly got up to walk to the bartender.

“I thought you liked it here.” Angel attempted to take a step back but something seemed to stop her from moving a muscle.

“I like what they sell.” Taehyung shrugged, glancing over at the bar. “We could take it anywhere.”

“Oh captain!” One of the barely dressed girls squealed their way, standing near the bars. “Are you taking us with you too?! Like old times?!” The entire group surrounding her giggled so loud it could surpass the chortles of the men in the corner behind her.

Angel raised a brow gazing over at Taehyung who stammered a little. “You like what they sell.”

“Not tonight, girls.” He chuckled nervously, clearing his throat. Taehyung leaned in closer to mutter near her ear. “They’re for the crew.”

“Right.” Angel rolled her eyes. She turned on her heel to finally walk out of the tavern while Taehyungs’ men carried heavy barrels of that poison on their backs.

-

Despite not drinking a single drop of rum, Angel felt a headache slowly pounding through her skull. When she reached the captains’ cabin the woman opted to grab one of the books on the right shelves. Mostly history but it was enough. Sitting down on the bed with the wall rested on her back, her legs hung over the side a little before she curled them in.

It was difficult with men whistling, laughing and singing consistently but at some point the girl had been able to tune them out. Fully focused on the books’ contents as she read about the daring adventures of a pirate queen. Aside from the constant drinking and playing around with prostitutes, the life of a pirate was an accelerating one. The travels, the action, the adventure and the freedom beyond the horizon. It was everything a princess barely had.

She trained to defend herself but always living inside the walls of the palace. She went to sailing trips with her father but only in their territory. They were always left to observe the horizon rather than go beyond it. Here, on this ship, the world seemed to be endless. Vast with so many islands no one had even explored yet.

The burst of the door opening broke Angel out of her daze, head shooting up to see Taehyung laughing like an idiot. Adorable but still an idiot. As soon as the male caught eyes with her however he stopped quickly looking behind him with a pointer finger pressed to his lips, shushing the crew loudly.

Door closed gently, Taehyung padded closer and stumbled to sit next to her. “What’re you reading?” He rasped.

Rum infested her personal space causing her to wince lightly. “It’s a history book about a pirate queen…couple decades before.”

“Ah—Meifeng. One of the first members of the Pirate Guild.” He slurred through all his words but at least they were intelligible. “Lucky enough to meet her—week before she passed away.”

“What was she like?” The book obviously spoke of one side of the queen. Meeting her in person must have a different effect.

“Withered.” Taehyung chuckled. “Rum and crime for twenty years takes a toll on you.”

“I can imagine.” Angels’ eyes flicked up and down his form.

“Excuse me but I’ll have you know—” He hiccupped before raising a pointer finger at the woman. “I’m known to–the most handsome pirateinthesevenseas…”

Angel hummed, smirking down at the book despite losing where she was. While she focused back on the writing, Taehyung quietened down significantly. Though the girl expected with all that alcohol he must have passed out. After a few minutes, she felt something tickle against her temple. Glancing to the side she saw Taehyung brushing the hair away from her face. Despite the pleased tingle in her belly at his touch, she still had no intention of getting pulled in when his mind was literally drowning in poison. “Stop it.” She murmured shifting away from him a little.

Lips parted, Taehyung noticed how she immediately closed herself at his sudden touch. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. “Are you scared of me?”

“Am I concerned being next to a drunken man who can physically overpower me?” She met his gaze. “What do you think?”

The captain nodded in acknowledgement. A ship full of drunken men didn’t exactly scream safety for women. Relaxing back against the wall, he let out a deep sigh. “If it’s worth anything, I’d prefer to see you like and enjoy what I do to you.”

Angel scoffed in amusement. “You say that like it’s actually going to happen.”

“Is it not?” Taehyung raised a brow, leaning in closer. “Two young people sitting alone…no one to bother us…one bed…sitting so close together.” His nose nudged against her shoulder.

Angel let out a huff, trying to push herself off the bed as Taehyung chuckled.

“I’m joking, love. You are beautiful though.”

“I’m flattered.”

“Beautiful and intelligent.” He tapped on the book. “Almost like a princess.”

It was a vague statement but it still caused a jolt in Angels’ heart. She couldn’t hold off the information for too long. Especially since it didn’t seem like she was going to leave the ship anytime soon. “Taehyung, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Taehyung hummed, signaling for her to go on as he laid on his side. “What is it?”

“My home…is a kingdom—it’s called Owuhan.”

The captain laughed lazily shifting on the bed. “So you are a princess.”

“Yes—” Angel closed the book. “My father was betrayed and someone tried to take over the throne. They asked me to run to the docks where a canoe was while they took care of the problem but—” She absentmindedly scratched at the surface of the book, a burning behind her eyes. “I sailed out alone and the canoe caught a storm—and then you—” When she turned to face the male, his eyes were completely closed.

Light snored vibrated through his nose and his lips parted, a part of bandana covering one of his eyes.

The woman sighed, standing up and placing the book on the table. She turned to the male and reached out to pull off his boots from his feet causing a whine to pass Taehyungs’ lips. Placing them on the side, Angel moved to gently take off the bandana so his head wasn’t restricted. Grabbing the thin blanket from the end of the bed, she pulled it over his body and tucked it just over his shoulders. “Stupid, drunken pirate.” Angel spoke with a grin tugging at her lips.

NEXT CHAPTER >>

[natalyelle]

Broken Connections

Shepard receives a task to investigate a broken connection with laboratories on a distant planet. She and her companions arrive there to find out that something is wrong there and they should find it out as quickly as possible.

Chapter 1 of 3, around 2k words

Also on AO3

One of Gloria Shepard's favorite star systems in the Galaxy was the Pandonea system. An unusual bright star, whimsically colored planets, most of which were rich in minerals.

The most beautiful planet in the system was a turquoise-purple gas giant surrounded by a thin pale ring of asteroids. Gloria was looking at it with interest through the porthole when the Joker's voice announced over the speakerphone:

“Commander, Admiral Hackett wants to get in touch with you, he's on the line in the communications room.”

“I'm on my way,” Gloria replied, turning away from the window.

“Commander,” the admiral said politely, bowing his head. “I'm glad to see you're all right.”

“Likewise, Admiral,” Shepard nodded. “Do you have a task for me?”

“Yes, we need to check what happened to the communication in the research laboratory on Eltrea. You are the closest to the planet among the Alliance ships, so it was decided to entrust the investigation to you.”

“Acknowledged. What are the details? What happened?”

“The laboratory includes several employees from different research institutes from different planets, including Earth. Every week they send a signal confirming that everything is fine in the laboratory and it is functioning. With the same signal, as a rule, new materials and scientific information obtained during the work of the laboratory are regularly received. However, for the third week now, the laboratories have been silent. No new information, no confirmation signal. The institutes are concerned about the fate of their employees.”

“Don't worry, Admiral, we'll figure it out.”

Gloria turned off the video link and turned on the speakerphone with the cockpit.

“Joker, set a course for the orbit of Eltrea. We have a new task.”

“It will be done, Commander,” the pilot replied cheerfully.

“I heard that we have set a course to Eltrea,” Liara began cautiously, meeting Shepard near the elevator between the decks of the Normandy.

“Yes, do you want to come to the surface with me? We need to find out if everything is in order at the local laboratory,” Gloria smiled.

“If possible,” Liara smiled back. “The fact is that my friend, Lydia Orlova, works in this laboratory, I would like to make sure that everything is fine with her. She is a xenolinguist, we met at the Prothean excavations.”

“A xenolinguist?” Shepard's eyebrows went up. She went to the porthole and gazed thoughtfully at the stars floating in the darkness. “I thought that the laboratory was engaged in the extraction and study of minerals or something like that.”

“No, as far as I know, the Prothean pyramid is being excavated here. Lydia is a very good expert in alien languages and symbolism, her knowledge helps to decipher the symbols on the pyramids.”

“The Prothean pyramid? Quite unexpectedly… Okay, I'm including you in the landing team. Prepare your tablets, documents and materials, I think we can take advantage of the opportunity for cultural and scientific exchange.”

“Yes, Commander!” Liara happily ran to her cabin to collect things, Shepard just watched her dreamily and smiled at her thoughts.

“Tali, Garrus,” Shepard said over the speakerphone, “get ready to land on the surface of the planet. We have a special task.”

“Commander, are you sure you should include only alien companions in the landing group?” Kaidan asked cautiously, coming up to Gloria. “If this is an Alliance task…”

“There's also me,” Shepard smiled dazzlingly. “Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.”

* * *

“So, guys, let's repeat our legend,” Shepard said, sitting at the wheel of the Mako all-terrain vehicle. Garrus was sitting on her right hand, Liara and Tali were in the back seat.

“Why invent some kind of legend if something serious happened?” Tali asked. “What if there is no one there who will listen to us. And if they will, then why invent something, and not just say everything as it is?”

“Even if everything looks good, you can't trust this apparent well-being,” Gloria remarked. “It will not be superfluous to cover ourselves so there are no additional problems.”

“It's kind of complicated,” Liara muttered.

“So the legend,” Shepard repeated. “Liara was sent here from the Citadel as a new Prothean specialist. The Citadel could not inform her appointment, because there were some problems with communication, so Liara arrived here without warning.”

“In my opinion, it is quite logical,” Garrus said.

“Tali was on the same ship as Liara, learned about the laboratory and decided to come here for her Pilgrimage to help with communication problems,” Shepard continued. “In exchange for some useful, but not classified information. See? We are not even deceiving anyone yet.”

Liara looked thoughtfully out of the small window. A deserted valley passed by, low hills could be seen in the distance. The bright, slightly reddish sun, setting below the horizon, gave the landscape a purple hue. Shepard's eyes sometimes took on the same shade.

“And Garrus?” Liara asked quietly.

“And Garrus is my assistant, escorting us to the laboratory so that we are not attacked by wild animals and all that.” Gloria happily turned the steering wheel of the all-terrain vehicle.

“Shepard, I don't know what is your human custom, but aren't you driving too dangerous?” Tali asked.

“It's all right!” Gloria replied cheerfully, looking into the rearview mirror with a smile. Liara caught her eyes shining with joy and involuntarily smiled herself. They are going on a possibly dangerous mission, and Shepard is enjoying the trip like a child. It was a little surprising, but for some reason Gloria's joy was contagious, and Liara also cheered up a little.

“Do you have any qualification tests for drivers?” Garrus asked, gripping his seat.

“Relax, guys, what can go wro – ”

Mako suddenly fell into a hole, the sky seemed to mix with the earth. With a thud, the vehicle landed on solid ground, and Shepard, as if nothing had happened, drove it forward.

“It's just a shorter way!” Shepard exclaimed. “We'll be there in no time!”

After a while, the dark buildings of the laboratory appeared from behind the hills. They looked like large boxes placed side by side and on top of each other. To the left of the buildings, the dark top of the pyramid could be seen sticking out of the ground. Liara fixed her eyes on this vague, gloomy spot. How many secrets this pyramid must have kept! How she would really like to be among the researchers of this laboratory to learn the Prothean secrets that bothered her a lot.

On the other hand, next to her now is a person who holds no less secrets of the Protheans than, perhaps, this pyramid. Liara shifted her gaze to Shepard. The violet light gave her eyes even more depth, and her lips an unusual and attractive color. Is it only the secrets of the Protheans that attract her to Shepard?..

“How interesting, their lights are on,” Shepard drawled, nodding at the laboratory buildings.

Liara looked ahead through the windshield and saw that Shepard was right. The small rectangular windows glowed slightly with a dark orange light.

“So, scientists are working there...” said Liara.

“Or they all ran away from there,” Gloria said melancholically. “Or they are lying dead. And the lights are on because the generator is still producing electricity.”

Garrus coughed slightly.

“Well, we will believe in the best!” Shepard smiled, driving closer to a large building with a door.

The team got out of the vehicle and went to the door, near which was a communication screen. Gloria punched the button under the screen with her fist, and it came to life. A young man's face appeared in the gray interference. His dark, thick brows were furrowed. "So, at least someone is alive here," Liara thought with some relief.

“Good evening!” Gloria said with a smile in her voice. Her very face was covered by a helmet. “I am Commander Gloria Shepard of the Normandy, Spectre, who has arrived here to accompany your new colleague, Dr. Liara T'Soni.”

“I haven't heard about any new colleague,” the man behind the door replied.

“It's kind of weird,” Shepard continued. “I was told that the message was sent to you a week ago. Perhaps you have problems with communication? We can help you solve them.”

“Everything is fine with us!” the man insisted.

“Maybe you should tell your supervisor about us?” Gloria asked and put her hands behind her back, showing that she was ready to wait for a long, very long time. The man sighed and pressed a button on the side. The front door hissed and opened. Gloria waved her hand solemnly, letting her companions inside.

After passing the buffer zone, where everyone took off their helmets, the team went into a small hall. It looked cozy - there was a table with artificial flowers against the far wall, along the walls there were small display cases with extracted Prothean artifacts. A tall, red-haired woman came out of a door at the side. Her piercing green eyes scanned the Normandy team and settled on Shepard.

“Hello!” Gloria took the initiative and took a step forward to the woman.

“Hello,” the woman said, slightly tilting her head, walked up to Shepard and held out her hand. Gloria shook it politely.

"My name is Gloria Shepard, " she said.

“Yes, I have already been informed,” the woman nodded. The man from the screen appeared behind her. “ My name is Ariadna Dowsell, I am the head of the local scientific laboratory. This is Greg Nicholson, a specialist geologist.”

The man nodded.

“I am very glad that a new specialist was sent to us, and at the same time I am a little puzzled.”

“Something happened? Shepard asked, tilting her head to the side.

“The fact is that we requested a new specialist two weeks ago, but we did not receive any response. And no messages from our institutes either. Your arrival is a surprise for us.”

“And yet, this is a pleasant surprise!”

A short, fair-haired woman appeared from the same side door. She smiled happily as she walked up to Ariadna.

“This is Ioanna Viktorova, a specialist in xenoarchaeology,” Ariadna introduced her.

“We at the laboratory are always happy to see new faces!” Ioanna chirped cheerfully.

“Xenoarchaeology?” Liara asked. “ Sounds very interesting!”

“Oh, yes, it's really interesting! But let's not stand on the doorstep, come in, let's drink tea!”

Shepard and the company followed the cheerful Ioanna. Ariadna and Greg also joined them.

“It's quite cozy here,” Liara said, looking around the small room furnished as a living room. There was a sofa and soft armchairs, a coffee table in the middle, near the walls there were cabinets with books and a couple of stone exhibits.

“Yes, you can't say that you have a laboratory here,” Gloria drawled, sipping the black tea offered to her.

“We have been here for quite a long time, so in order not to go completely crazy, we decided to organize a more familiar, homely atmosphere,” explained Ioanna.

“I heard that Lydia Orlova is also here,” Liara said, looking awkwardly at Ariadna.

“Yes, she's here,” she nodded. “She's checking out the dig site before it gets dark.”

“And are there many specialists here now?” Shepard asked.

“We have enough,” Ariadne smiled. “In addition to the four humans, there are also two asari from Tessia and one from Nevos, three turians from Palaven and one volus.”

“And how are the studies going?” Shepard poured herself more tea.

“Pretty casual,” Greg said. “We are clearing the found pyramid from the dirt so that we can study it better.”

The door to the living room opened, and a tired young woman with her hair tied up in a bun entered the room.

“Lydia!” Liara could not contain her joy, jumped up from the sofa and ran to the girl who entered.

“Liara!” the girl smiled,hugging asari. “Is it you?”

“It is!” Liara laughed. For some reason, all the tension that had not left her in this room dissipated. “I'm very glad to see you!”

“But by what fates?” The girls stopped hugging and sat down on the sofa together.

“Dr. T'Soni was sent to us as a specialist in the Protheans,” Ariadna said. It seemed to Liara that the temperature in the room dropped by half a degree. Why? She couldn't understand. Perhaps it was just her imagination. Lydia beamed.

“You will be delighted with what we have dug up here!” she exclaimed.

“Commander Shepard, this is the Normandy,” a voice whispered in Gloria's earpiece.

“I'm listening to you, Kaidan.”

“We have a little problem, due to the asteroid debris, we have to adjust the orbit, and we will not be able to lift you in the near future. Do you have the opportunity to wait on the planet for about a day?”

Gloria caught Ariadne's eye. She nodded slowly and said:

“We can accommodate you and your team in the reserve rooms, Commander.”

“Excellent. Kaidan, we're staying in the lab, keep me updated on your situation and condition. Shepard out.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

The rustling in the ear stopped.

“And what about your connection?” Shepard asked Ariadna.

“I don't know for sure,” Dowsell said.

“I can check the status of your communications center,” Tali offered. Ariadna frowned a little and exchanged glances with Ioanna.

“Quarians are famous for their techniques,” Shepard said, leaning back in her chair. “Perhaps you just lost some wire, and we will quickly fix it.”

“Yes, thank you, it's a good idea,” Ariadna smiled again. “Ioanna conducts…”

“Tali'zora,” quarian introduced herself with a slight bow.

“Yes, yes,” Ariadna said quickly and nodded to Ioanna. Ioanna nodded in response, and she and Tali left the living room.

“And where are your other colleagues?” Shepard asked. “I would like to meet them. Especially the volus scientist.”

“They're probably already asleep,” Ariadne shrugged. “Well, and you must be tired. Greg will show you to your rooms.”

“Tomorrow you will show me everything!” Liara said happily to Lydia, and they wished each other good night.

[a-smile-hides]

SECRET (P.3) - S.R.

Pairing: Sigurd x reader

Sum: At last, the truth comes out

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, hope you enjoy this final part!

PART 1 - PART 2

---

Sigurd stormed through the streets of Kattegat. His legs seemed to have a mind of their own as they led him to a small, crumbling house. The people that dared to go outside looked amused at the sight of him. Shaking their heads as he almost tripped over his own feet. His step quickened as the cabin came into his vision, until he was full on running towards it. The fur on his shoulders almost falling off. Not that he cared. He was finally doing what he should have done so long ago. He was finally running towards the one who truly held his love.

As he neared the small cabin, the prince breathed heavily in and out. Little clouds of warm air where visible due to the cold weather. Sigurd raised his fist, knocking rather hard on the door of your cabin. The door shook with each knock. With a nervous smile he waited for you to open. The young man shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His brows furrowed as the door in front of him remained closed. Raising his fist in the air again, he banged on the door. The door shook violently because of the force he used. But it remained closed. Sigurd stepped back, looking at the tiny house in front of him. It looked horrible. The fence around the property was broken, some parts of wood missing as they were used in a desperate attempt to fix the gaping holes in the walls. Sigurd shook his head, trying his best to look through a window to see if you were home.  

“M-My prin-ce Sigurd.” Stammered a voice.

Sigurd looked up, behind him stood a man. One of his hands was wrapped around himself, clutching a thin cloak around his shoulders. With the other hand, he dragged a wagon with him, lathered with bags, cloaks, and other stuff to sell. Sigurd recognized him from the market. He was the one who sold his lover a black bag.

The man’s eyes went to the ground. His body shivered from the cold. It made Sigurd feel guilty. The white fur he had wrapped around his shoulders shielded him perfectly from the harsh cold.

“Y-you w-w-won’t find t-that girl.” The man shivered, his blue finger pointing towards the cabin behind Sigurd.

Sigurd looked behind him to the cabin where he had shared countless of moments with you.

“She has… has…” The man paused, closing his eyes. “A m-man showed up t-two days ago. P-promising a better future. Aw-away from Kattegat.”

Sigurd stepped forward; his eyes opened wide.

“This ni-night, they left. M-my s-son has gone w-with him. M-my beautiful s-son.” The man sobbed; his hands clutched the cloak that hung around him tighter. His teary eyes met Sigurd, who was looking at the man with different emotions running through his body. The man sniffed, rubbing his nose. “The girl has left too. No one knows where they went.”

The words made Sigurd feel numb. His hands curled up into fists, his nails pressing hard against his skin. The young man stared off in the distance, trying to process what he just heard. It couldn’t be true. Why would you leave Kattegat? Why would you leave him?

“Everyone is-s dying. T-there is nothing here an-anymore.” Said the man, who saw the confusion and anger on the prince’s face. “It wa-was leaving o-or d-dying.”

Sigurd nodded at the man, thanking him for the information.

As the man passed him, Sigurd remembered that when you had last visited him, you brought that large, black bag with you. The bag was filled to its fullest with all your possessions. You had really left him…

Sigurd stared at the ground as the thought slowly became louder in his mind.

Trades were no longer possible. The cold made the people in Kattegat poor. The deal with the king gave just enough to survive, but not for everyone. Not anymore.

You ran away. Lured by someone who promised you a better future. All in the hope to survive, to live. To where, he did not know.

He had lost you.

You were gone…

Sigurd ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The fur around his shoulders fell off. But he didn’t bother turning around to pick it up. The cold wind hurt his face, making tears appear in his eyes. But he didn’t stop. His lungs hurt, screaming for air. But he did not stop running.

He only slowed down once he arrived at the docks. His brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at the water.

It was frozen.

Two boats were next to each other, stuck in the ice. Removed too late and now doomed to wait there until the winter was gone. The prince groaned. There was no way you could have left by foot. You were too weak for that. It was impossible to assume that the stranger had taken horses with him to help his followers to their ‘better future’. So, you must have left by boat.

But as Sigurd looked at the ice in front of him… this couldn’t be true. There was no way that a boat would have arrived without him knowing. He was a prince of Kattegat. Nor was it possible for a boat to leave Kattegat because of the ice.  

Sigurd sat down on the ground. If you hadn’t left by foot, horse or boat, then… how did you leave. And, where were you?

---

A month passed, and the winter still hadn’t released Kattegat from its grip. Sigurd was walking on the docks, looking over the water in front of him. Five boats were lined up next to each other, people working hard on them to make them ready for their first trip since the winter had landed in Kattegat. The ice that blocked the boats from heading towards a new adventure had disappeared.

It worried him. Every day he had searched far and wide for you. Even asking his brothers for help. But not a single person in Kattegat knew what happened to the group that had packed their bags and left in the darkness of the night. Many were jealous. They wanted to escape this harsh reality too. It happened a lot that the prince was stopped on one of his walks by someone who looked at him with red, tired eyes, begging him for help. He avoided going to The Great Hall, where Queen Aslaug sat on the throne trying desperately to think of a way to help her people. Time was running out. Even though it looked like the winter was slowly coming to an end, they still needed a plan to help the people back on their feet.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shriek of joy. Looking to his right, Sigurd watched how a man lifted a woman in the air, spinning her around before putting her down. The man then kneeled before her, pressing his lips to her stomach. It was now that Sigurd saw how the woman had a small bump. Her proud grin showed that she was carrying his child. Sigurd adverted his eyes as the two stared at each other lovingly while the man kept pressing multiple kisses on her stomach.

The act made Sigurd nose flare in jealousy. The woman clearly wasn’t pregnant for long, her bump was hardly there. But still the man was down on his knees on the cold, wet ground kissing her stomach. Sigurd had never done that before. When he came to think of it, he hadn’t really been allowed to touch Livia’s stomach at all.

Shaking his head, the prince turned around. He marched towards a small, grey hut where an old woman lived. He hoped she would provide him with answers.

---

After another long month, winter finally passed. Livia strolled through Kattegat, a fine smile on her face as her hand rested on her stomach. It was the first time she came out of her house since the winter became harsh. With a beaming smile she walked slowly towards the Great Hall. She liked the quietness in the streets.

Livia got quite a scare once she entered the Hall and was met by the judging eyes of Kattegat’s residents. She had overheard Sigurd talk to one of his brothers about the fear the people had of leaving their houses. Apparently, they were scared the Gods would plummet them into another cold winter and for that reason, refused to go outside. But as she looked around, it felt like every man and woman that lived in Kattegat was there. There were even some children. All eyes were fixated on her. Some people looked at her in scepticism, others with pure disgust. But she paid no attention to them, walking forward with her chin tilted up high until she reached the throne where the queen sat. Next to her sat her youngest son, Ivar. The smirk that only grew wider with every step she took made her feel uneasy. Her eyes opened wide in surprise as she saw her father standing next to Aslaug, an angry look on his face. But in his eyes, she saw pain. Pain he was desperately trying to hide. Ignoring him, she kept walking to the queen, the crowd parting as she made her way through them. Smiling, she stopped before her and bowed shortly.

“I see that the people have finally come out again…” she said softly, “It warms my heart.”

Aslaug nodded her head. “Yes, they have all come at my invitation.”

Livia lifted one of her brows. “Invitation? It seemed that might have passed me.”

Ivar snorted, looking to the side. Aslaug bit her lip to hide her smile at her son’s behaviour. Livia frowned at him but remained quiet. Without losing her smile, the young princess looked around.

“Forgive me, but I can’t spot my husband. Where is my beloved?” She took a step forward, wanting to stand beside Aslaug and her father, but Aslaug held out her hand. Livia stopped, gasping in surprise.

“He went to your home. I had asked him to bring you with him.”

Livia looked confused at the woman in front of her but laughed softly. “We must have missed each other than” She grinned.

The two women stared at each other. Both trying their best to put up their most convincing smile. Until the murmurs of the people behind Livia made the two of them look up. Pushing his way through the crowd, Sigurd walked towards his wife. As he stopped next to Livia, he felt her reach for his hand. The young woman looked at him with a loving gaze. “Ah, my husband. It is good that you came back. I heard that you were looking for me. Luckily, I passed The Great Hall… I wanted to pay your mother a visit.” Livia giggled.

Sigurd couldn’t hold back the chuckle that passed his lips, shaking his head he took his hand out of hers. Livia looked around her, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. “Sigurd… what is wrong?” she said through her teeth. Her tone was gentle, but her eyes betrayed the annoyance she felt.

Sigurd turned towards her, crossing his arms. The silence made her feel uneasy. Not a single soul in The Great Hall had made a sound since she had entered the building.

“Care to tell me why you have been visiting the healer so many times, wife?” Sigurd asked, almost spitting out that last word.

The young woman looked startled by his question. “Is it a crime to look after your son, my love?” she chuckled, turning towards the crowd behind her, “I would be a fool to let any harm come to your child.”

Her statement was met by silence. Some seemed conflicted by her words, nodding their heads at her. Some just averted their eyes, others straight up scoffed at her words.

“Livia, for your own sake… shut your mouth. The damage is done.” Her father spoke up. His voice sounded like thunder and made her jump a bit.

“Papa…?” her voice croaked out. She looked towards her father, trying to find an explanation for his outburst, but he refused to look at his daughter. Her eyes went from him to Aslaug, who still sat on her throne, eyeing the princess with a stern look on her face. Ivar was still grinning down at her as if she was the best joke he had ever seen. She watched as he waved at someone in the back, making the young woman turn around to come face to face with Kattegat’s best healer. The one that she always requested to see.

The old woman was escorted by Ubbe, who went to stand beside Sigurd. Livia looked with fire in her eyes at the poor lady, who stood shivering in front of her and the crowd. Her eyes went from face to face, scanning her environment. Sigurd slowly stepped closer to the woman, placing his hand on her shoulder in hope to calm her down. Bending down a bit, he said: “Do you remember my visit to your cabin?”

She nodded her head.

“You do remember my question, right?”

The woman exhaled for a moment, looking at Sigurd’s wife in front of him. Livia tried to look at her with a friendly smile, but she couldn’t fool anyone. Even a blind man could see that Livia was silently threatening the poor woman.

The healer looked towards Sigurd again, a doubtful look on her face. Sigurd rubbed her shoulder softly, silently encouraging her to answer his question.

“It is not a crime to tell the truth.” The healer looked at Aslaug. The queen smiled softly at the woman, nodding her head in encouragement.

The old woman looked down, mumbling her answer. “You asked me about your wife’s pregnancy, my prince. You exclaimed your worries that there might be something wrong with your child.”

At this the Great Hall started whispering, Ivar had perked up in his seat, the grin on his face had only become wider. Ubbe shuffled next to Sigurd, stepping towards Livia who had now backed away a bit.

“Could you repeat your answer to his question?” Aslaug questioned.

The healer looked towards her queen, pressing her lips on each other.

“I told my prince not to worry, for every woman is not the same and one could have a small tummy for a long time.” The woman swallowed, looking down. “But… in this case… There is indeed a problem”

Livia gasped, putting both hands on her stomach. “The scandal!” She exclaimed, “Why haven’t you told me anything about that?”

The old woman cowered away in fear. Sigurd stepped protectively in front of her, staring angrily at his wife.

“Know when to stay silent.” He snapped at her. On his throne, Ivar snickered at the sight of Livia’s shocked face.

Carefully Sigurd turned towards the scared woman, urging her to continue.

“I had my first doubts not long after the princess had first stepped foot in my cabin. I hadn’t felt the same thing I normally do when I examine other women, but as I said before… not everyone is the same.” She explained, “But after a while had passed, her stomach still felt the same. Not a single thing had changed. Even now, it is not normal for her to still be like that. There should be an indication of her pregnancy.”

“The scandal!” screamed Livia again, pointing angrily at the woman.

By now, Ivar had enough of her screaming. He stared annoyed at her, slamming his fist on his throne which effectively shut her up.

“What is it that you concluded?” asked Sigurd.

“Princess Livia… was never pregnant.”

Murmurs echoed through The Great Hall; all eyes were back on Livia. What was believed by some was now spoken out loud for the first time. Aslaug lifted her hand, silencing the whispers.

“Is there another way to confirm what you have proclaimed?”

“She has bled… every month… just like any other woman when they are without child. And every month she came to me to help her cover it up.”

“No! These are false accusations!” said Livia, stepping forwards to the old woman. Ubbe quickly grabbed her by the shoulder, holding her back.

“Why is it that you have kept this a secret all this time?” Ivar spoke up, “Why have you helped her lie to Sigurd? And to us?”

The healer looked down in shame, her foot scraped over the floor. “She… she has treated me, prince Ivar. I-I had n-no choice.”

Livia pulled herself free out of Ubbe’s grasp, walking towards Aslaug.

“Queen Aslaug, you cannot believe this woman. She is obviously a fraud! I have believed sh-“

“Livia!” shouted her father. His pounding voice silencing his daughter immediately. “I have heard it myself how you treated this poor woman.”

Livia took a step backwards, taken aback by what her father said.

“You’re good at playing a part, wife.” Sigurd laughed, “But you’ve become in sloppy in hiding that you are doing it.”

***

Sigurd leaned next to the door of the grey hut he had led his wife’s father to. Together with his older brother Ubbe he had visited his kingdom to tell him the truth about his precious daughter. After some debate, the king had agreed to come with them. Now he stood before Sigurd, his ear pressed against the door to listen to the conversation between his daughter and Kattegat’s best healer.

“My princess, I cannot help you. It is clear to me that you are not with child. I am sorry.”

“This is not the answer I want to hear! I have told you this multiple times already: I don’t want to hear you say that!”

The healer stayed silent for a moment, as if she were contemplating what to say. “I cannot change this fact. Eventually, the Gods will grant you a child. You’ll just have to wait.” Her voice was shaky but soothing.

A harsh slap followed those words. Then it became very quiet.

“This is the last time I will say this: those words are NOT the words I want to hear.”

Silence.

“The boy is doing great, my princess”

***

“It is over, Livia. My child…” The king said softly, “It is time to tell the truth.”

Livia shook her head. Her cheeks were red, her hands grabbing onto her dress. Aslaug nodded her head at the healer who quickly hurried away from the angry princess. Ubbe followed her outside to make sure no harm would come her way. Livia bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from screaming at the woman. As Ubbe and the woman had disappeared from her view, she looked around, until her eyes landed on a pair that made her blood ran cold.

“You!” she hissed out. “It’s you. It has always been you isn’t it.” She chuckled humourlessly, stepping forwards. “You witch.”

Sigurd walked towards Livia, pushing her back. “You don’t talk to her like that.”

Livia lifted her brow, “I may not talk to your little whore like that?”

It took all of Sigurd’s willpower not to lash out at her, but he had promised not to harm Livia. To her when he made his vows, to her father when he accepted her hand in marriage and to you. You had asked him to never hurt her if it ever would go south. And once he promises something to you, he does everything in his power to fulfil that. Turning around, the prince stretched out his arm towards you, making you step out of the protection the crowd gave you. Placing your hand in his, you bit your lip to prevent a smile on your face as you felt the warmth go through your body.

Around you, the hall filled itself with murmurs again and this time Aslaug had to speak up to silence them.

“It is a good thing she had made me promise not to hurt you…” Sigurd hissed through his teeth.

Livia scowled at him. Then, her eyes went back to you. If her gaze could kill you, you would be lying dead on the floor now.

“You shouldn’t even be alive right now.” She whispered.

The comment made you look down and take a step back, but Sigurd stopped you. His hand wrapped itself around your waist, keeping you close.

“It is good that you bring up your second wrongdoing.” He smirked.

Livia gaped at the man in front of her. “A-a sec-second?” she stammered.

Behind her, she heard shuffling, grunting. As if someone was struggling or fighting something. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw how Hvitserk now entered the Great Hall, dragging someone with him. Both had a thin layer of sweat on their foreheads. The person’s hands were bound behind his back, his feet dragging over the floor as Hvitserk pushed him closer towards where you were standing. As Hvitserk neared his mother’s throne, he pushed the man down on his knees, grabbing him by his hair so the man looked straight into Livia’s eyes. The young woman looked at him briefly before averting her eyes, ignoring his cold stare.

“You recognize this man?” said Ivar, noticing her reaction.

Livia shook her head.

The man snorted, spitting on the ground at her feet.

“Are you sure?” asked Aslaug.

Livia nodded.

“How is that possible? Y/N has told us that you have payed that man to lure her, along with all the people who went missing, away from Kattegat?” Sigurd asked.

“It is clear that she is delusional.” Livia answered, her face showed no emotion. Her voice was dull, as if she answered without realizing what she was saying.

“So, you are saying that she is lying”

Livia looked back at you. “She is. If that man has something to do with the disappearance of that group, which unfortunately she was a part of, is it his fault.”

At this the man got up, his mind was set on attacking her, but he was held back by Hvitserk.

“You bitch!” He yelled out, struggling against Hvitserk to get himself free. “You are the one to blame! I will not take all the blame.” The man eventually stopped wrestling, eyeing her dirty. “I am dragging you down with me!”

Livia ignored him, staring straight at Aslaug who lifted her brow at the scene in front of her.

“You have paid this man to lure her away from me.” Sigurd spoke up, stepping protectively in front of you. “You have payed that man to pretend to be a prophet. A saviour. To make her leave Kattegat and never return. That other people went along and walked to their deaths, didn’t faze you.” He stepped closer to Livia, hovering over her. “As long as she was gone, you were happy.”

“It is true that I would be happy if you dumped that whore. But I am your wife and a princess. An important figure. I cannot let any harm come to any person of Kattegat. Even to her. So, I wouldn’t do anything that would provoke that, my love.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. As Sigurd looked at them, he saw fire. A look he recognized from every time he returned home after he had visited you. He should have known she wasn’t that stupid to never notice where he was going.

The man that Hvitserk had brought in started shouting again. “Stop that! Lies! All lies! She has asked me to do it! My Queen-“

Aslaug silenced him with a stern look. Next to her, Livia’s father was becoming more nervous. The looked ashamed of what was happening. Stepping forward, he held out his hand towards his daughter.

“Livia, darling. Stop it.”

“Papa… there is no prove. No way to prove that I am the guilty one here. His words against mine. A commoner like her” she spat, her fiery eyes on you. “Against a princess”

“Except it isn’t” Sigurd said, squeezing your hand as he felt you shaking under her intense glare. Livia gasped in surprise. Some men in the Great Hall scoffed at her behaviour, getting tired of the act she was putting up. “Mother, we do have proof.” His free hand brushed some hair out of your face, the comforting smile on his lips washing away any doubt you had. He looked to the side and nodded his head. A man stepped forward and lifted his hood.

“This is Birger, the son of Trygve. Trygve is a merchant. A man who sells his goods on the market and has struggled to survive just as many of you did. He was also one of the men who woke up one morning to find out his child had disappeared. Birger was lured away by this man. He and Y/N are one of the few that escaped death during this scam.”

Aslaug looked at the man standing beside you. He was young and very tall. The man looked angrily towards Livia, who eyed him up and down in disgust. A scar ran over his face from his left eyebrow down to his cheek, right over his eye. Bruises and scratches covered his body just like yours, but he was alive.

“Can you confirm what has been said?” Aslaug questioned

Birger’s eyes went from Aslaug to the man who had taken him away from his family with empty promises. “It is true that this man promised us a better future. He said he would take us to a better place. A greater land. The winter was unforgiving, my queen. We saw no future here anymore. But it was all a lie. He was nothing more than a fraud. We were abandoned not long after we had left Kattegat. All of us too weak to go on and too broken to go back.” Birger’s eyes looked down for a moment, before he looked back at you. You swallowed before stepping next to him, resting your hand on his shoulder.

“The winter was harsh and claimed many lives. Y/N and I were one of the few who survived the first days of wandering through the woods. We were lucky to find an old cabin where we could find shelter.”

Aslaug nodded; her gaze went back to Livia, who was panting heavily while she watched her plan fall into pieces. This was not how it was supposed to be. This was not what she planned.

Sigurd ignored her state; his eyes were only focused on you. The truth had come out. His wife had lied to him, faked a pregnancy, and ordered a man to lead you to your death. He had more than enough reason to leave her. Sigurd stepped closer to you, standing right behind you, his hands resting on your hips.  

“I think this marriage can no longer be mother. I ask for it to be broken.” You stared up at the man behind to you, who now lifted his hand so he could run his finger over your cheek. He smiled apologetically as you flinched when he touched a small scar on your cheekbone. “So, I can marry out of love this time…”

Aslaug watched the interaction between you two, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. The Great Hall erupted into whispers once again, this time of agreement. Many nodded their heads and lifted their fists in the sky in encouragement of this idea.

Livia crossed her arms, shaking her head. But no one paid attention to her anymore. Her plan had failed. She had placed a bet and lost.

Aslaug cleared her throat, catching the attention of everyone in the Great Hall again. Without looking at the king beside her, who now hung his head between his shoulders, she spoke. “This deal can indeed no longer exist. For it brings more grief than good.”

Livia’s father nodded his head at her wise words, walking towards his daughter who stood in front of the crowd with her head held high, trying to hold on to her last bit of power. Her father looked torn. He still loved his daughter and hated that he now lost his connection to Kattegat and the sons of Ragnar, but he felt ashamed of what his daughter had done.

“It seems that these two weren’t fated at all” Ivar spoke up, a small grin plastered on his face. “Our Sigurd has proved that by sleeping with this girl during his marriage.”

Sigurd grumbled, his hand now going around your stomach to press your back against his chest. Typical Ivar for not keeping his mouth shut.

“That is true, Ivar. Sigurd had not been faithful to his wife. However,” Aslaug voice dropped. A threatening look darkened her features. “What Livia has done cannot be forgiven. Never. Thereby, for the consequences –“

Sigurd stepped forward, lifting his hand to silence his mother. The crowd gathered in the Great Hall all frowned at the prince’s action.

“I know that many would ask for it, but I wish that they will not be punished by death. Or harm of any sort.” He said softly.

Once again, the Great Hall erupted in shouts of confusion. Many thought the prince was delusional and screamed for him to keep his mouth shut. But he ignored them, his eyes stared straight at the woman he had to call his wife until a few moments ago. Her head was still held up high, but her face showed how scared she really was.

“The news of this betrayal shall spread quickly.,” he said, raising his voice so everyone could hear him, “And I imagine that not many will trust you from now on. You must live with that shame. The thing I ask, is that you help Kattegat out of the mess the winter has left us with. After that, we part ways.”

The king averted his eyes but nodded his head reluctantly.

Ivar nodded his head at Sigurd words. “Death is an easy escape…” He whispered, “I did not know you could be so wise, dear brother.”

Sigurd grumbled, but ignored his younger brother’s words.

Queen Aslaug smiled, “Then this is how it shall be. Now leave.” She said, waving her hand. Immediately, some men jumped into action and walked up to the king and his daughter. Each of them eager to guide them outside. But before they could even reach them, Sigurd spoke up again. “Livia. You were just as trapped as I was in this marriage. You are now free of me. And I of you.” His eyes went from her back to you, his loving gaze filled you with the warmth you missed all this time. “Now you can find real love.” He said smiling.

With that, the men grabbed Livia and her father by their arm and escorted them out of the Great Hall. The king walked with a strong pace, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. While his daughter lingered, a painful grimace on her face. The man beside her rolled his eyes, dragging her out the hall while she tried to get Sigurd to look at her one last time. But the young prince’s attention wasn’t on her anymore. It was fully on you. Sigurd grinned as he stepped closer to you. He placed his hands on the back of your head, pressing his lips on yours. His heart filled itself with joy as he realized that now, he was free to make you his wife. His real love. A love that finally wasn’t secret anymore.

---

Thank you for reading xxx

[miraculous-ladybug-bitches]

Summer Days

12 years old

Marinette sat at a table with 4 others.

The female blonde grins at her and says, “Hi. My name is Chloe!”

Marinette smiles back just as brightly. “I’m Marinette!”

“Nino!”

“Alya!”

“Adrien.”

Alya looks around. “Guess we’re stuck together.”

Chloe looks around and wrinkles her nose when she sees a kid shove mud down another’s shirt. “Definitely could be worse is all I’m saying.”

Alya snorts. “You're telling me.”

Nino looks around. “Our table is pretty nice.”

Mariette looks around the large camp. “It’s kind of a big camp. Pretty sure I’ll end up in the archery range instead of the bathroom at least once.”

Adrien suddenly lights up. “Why don’t we share numbers in case we get lost?”

They all quickly type in their numbers into one another’s phones.

“So what are you guys like?” Nino asks.

“My parents run a prestigious bakery. But I’m a fashion designer,” Marinette says.

“My mom works as the head chef at a very important resteraunt. I’m an up and coming reporter,”  Alya proudly declares.

“My dad’s a fashion designer and I’m a model,” Adrien says.

Marinette gasps. “I knew you looked familiar! You’re related to Gabriel Agreste. And you!” Marinette says, pouting at Chloe. “You’re the mayor’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Chloe chuckles awkwardly. “Yeah. But I want to become a lawyer.”

“That’s pretty cool!” Nino exclaims. “My dad’s a DJ and I’m taking after him.”

Everyone chatters for a bit till their table gets their cabin number.

“This seems like it’ll be a fun year.” Alya chirps.

Everyone nods in agreement.

13 years old

“Look who it is, the great Chloe Bourgeois,” Alya said dramatically, bowing down.

Chloe turns and squeals in delight, running to tackle Alya in a hug.

Alya laughs and hugs her back. “We’ve been texting all year, dude.”

“That’s not the same as being in person,” A voice says from their left.

The two girls turn and see Marinette grinning with Nino and Adrien by her side.

“Guess who all are still in the same cabin?” Nino sing songs.

Chloe’s jaw drops “Really?”

Adrien smiles. “Oh, yeah.”

Marinette seems to rembarrer something, her mood dampening.

Alya notices right away. “Marinette? What happened?”

Marinette sighs. “I forgot to tell you but….my PARENTS GOT A JOB WORKING AT THE MAYOR’S OFFICIAL PARTY BAKERS!” Marinette screams.

Chloe screams with her the two girls hugging.

Alya smirks, pushing up her glasses. “Well,my mother got a job at his restaurant.”

Nino looks a bit lost but says,”My fam got a house near the mayors.”

Adrien snaps his fingers and points at Nino’s. “3 Florence street.”

Nino gaped at him. “How did you-”

Adrien grins. “That’s my neighbors house that just got sold!”

“Wait, so we’ll all be close to each other?” Chloe asks.

“Yup!” Marinette says, popping the p.

“You know it, girl!” Alya says, making everybody laugh.

They make their way to the cabin they recognized from last year.

14 years old

Nino opens the cabin door and laughs.

“Really guys? Again?” Nino says, flopping on his bed from the past two years after he sees the rest of the group.

“That best not be disappointment or we’re gonna have words,” Alya teases.

Adrien laughs at him from the bunk above him.

“Where’s Mari?” Nino asks.

Chloe waves off the question. “She went to go to the bathroom.”

Adrien snickers at a memory. “Remember when she got stuck in the archery range instead of the restroom?”

“She called it, man. She called it,” Nino affirms.

Alya nods thoughtfully. “She did, didn’t she?”

That exact moment, Marinette threw open the door but immediately hurried to shut it.

“We. Have a problem,” Marinette hisses.

Everyone stares at her.

“The fact that you may have broken the door?” Chloe says, pointing out the rattling hinge.

Marinette rapidly shakes her head. “No! They started the paintball tournament without us!”

Alya gasps in outrage as Adrien falls off top bunk. Nino tries to stand but hits his head on the top bunk and Chloe throws her magazine to the floor with an outraged, “What!”

“What are you waiting for, people, let's go!” Marinette yells, ushering everyone out.

They forgot to wear the gear and were covered in bruises for the rest of camp.

15 years old

“Spill,” Alya demands.

Marinette flushes. “I think I might have a tiny, itty, bitty crush on Adrien.”

Chloe immediately opens her hand and looks expectantly at Alya. “You owe me twenty bucks, Nancy Drew.”

Alya scowls and mutters a ‘bitch’ but gives her the money.

Marinette looks appalled between the two. “You bet on me liking Adrien!”

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Of course not. We bet on when you would fess up. Now Alya has to, too”

Alya folds her arms over her chest. “Fess up what?”

“Please, darling, you may have got everyone else fooled, but I’m not a dumbass. You like Nino, plain as day,” Chloe scoffed.

“Well you like Nathaniel!” Alya says indignantly.

Chloe gives her a flat look. “Yes, that’s why we’re dating.”

Marinette tried not to gape at the two. “How the heck are you figuring this out so quick?”

The two other girls give her a flat look. “We aren’t oblivious idiots.”

Marinette huffs. “Go suck a dictionary.”

Alya sighs. “We need to teach you how to swear.”

Marinette glares at her. “No. I will swear in ice cream.”

Chloe scoffs. “How the fuck do you swear in ice cream?”

Marinette clears her throat. “What the Mint Chocolate Chip did you say to me, punk? I’ll kick your Rocky Road and then beat the ever loving Strawberry Cheesecake out of you!”

There was a beat of silence.

And then the three girls burst out laughing.

“Marinette not swearing,” Alya wheezed.

“Fucking imagine,” Marinette said, howling with laughter.

“The ice creams though,” Chloe choked, unable to breathe.

They girls spend the rest of the night under covers, laughing.

16 years old

“We’re counselors, guys!” Marinette cheers.

Adrien and Nino high five while Chloe and Alya smile at each other.

“Actually, I have more good news,” Alya says, excitement growing on her face.

“Me and Ayla are dating,” Nino blurts out.

Alya slaps his chest. “Nino! That was my line!”

Chloe sighs dramatically. “Finally. Took you long enough.”

Adrien grins. “Nino finally worked up the courage to ask her out.”

“Cough, bullshit, cough,” Marinette says, fake coughing.

Alya chuckled. “I asked out Nino and he was speechless.”

Adrien groans. “Come on, dude.”

Alya shook her head laughter in her eyes. “No, no, that’s not even the best part.”

Nino buries his head in his arms out of mortification.

Alya shook with laughter. “He asked the guy behind us, ‘Line?’ And the guy said, ‘I like you too and I’d love to go out with you.’ AND NINO SAID THE SAME DAMN THING AND AFTER HE TOLD THE GUY, ‘Thanks, bro.’”

Marinette couldn’t breath and Adrien’s stomach was hurting.

Chloe was full on cackling as Nino sighs.

This is what he gets for being friends with people like this.

17 years old

Adrien walks into the cabin, arm slung around Marinette’s shoulder.

The second they walk in, the other three start clapping.

“Finally, Mari!” Alya exclaimed.”

“Adrien, my man. Finally getting some!” Nino said, grinning.

Chloe looked between them. “Nope, they’re still virgins.”

Marinette squawks in outrage as Adrien flushes.

“How do you know?” Alya asks, looking over the edge of the top bunk to look down at Chloe.

Regardless of changing relationship statuses, no one would move from their spot. It was just the way it was.

“His hands are on her shoulder, not waist. And neither have that ‘sex glow’ on them,” Chloe points out.

“Sex glow?” Marinette sputters.

“Yeah, now I see it,” Alya said, squinting at the two.

“Adrien. Adrien, Adrien, Adrien. Come on dude. I thought you had better game then that,” Nino chides.

Adrien sighs. “I also thought I had better game than that.”

Marinette snorts. “I can assure you that you don’t.”

“Damn. Shots fired,” Chloe says.

“Roasted, toasted, and burnt, Adrien,” Alya says from the top bunk.

“Gotta get used to it, man. The whole sweatshirt giving. It doesn’t matter if you’re uncomfortable or freezing, just give it to her,” Nino says solemnly.

Adrien frowns. “Why can’t I be comfortable?”

Nino deadpan looks at him. “Adrien, you can either be in a relationship or be comfortable. You can’t have both.”

The cabin erupts with laughter from that one, simple line.

18 years old

“Off to college, huh?” Alya says as the group of 5 stars off into the lake on their last day of camp.

“Yeah. Me and Chloe’s universities are actually pretty close,” Nino says.

Chloe smiles. “I don’t mind having a coffee together every now and again.”

“Me and Alya are going to the same uni,” Adrien says.

“Hell yeah, up top!” Alya said while grinning, high giving the blonde.

Marinette was silent.

“Mari?” Chloe asks.

Marinette sighs. “I’m going to America. New York City, to be precise.”

Silence engulfs the group.

Nino breaks the silence. “Congrats. You deserve it. You worked really hard to get where you are now.”

Marinette smiles gratefully.

“We should meet up on vacations.” Alya suggests.

The rest agree.

“So I guess this is goodbye.” Adrien whispers.

Chloe lets out a bittersweet smile.

“Not goodbye. Just, see you in a bit.”

[goldenworldsabound]

Zanarkand Ruins

More canon + me developments. The group reaches the Zanarkand Ruins, where flashes of the past appear unbidden. This pushes Wendy to her breaking point.

Content warning: death mention

word count: 1257

Wendy watched the memories of Braska, Jecht, and Auron with horror. As the image of a younger Auron collapsed to his knees, Wendy found herself doing the same, her tears finally overflowing. The hurt was clear on young Auron's face, the grief raw. It felt like she was intruding on something private.

She was. This was a memory that belonged to Auron, a moment that had been private, until now. Her heart bled for Auron, knowing that his grief was being laid bare without his consent. And not just to her - but to everyone.

She looked up at him, the real Auron, the one who was here. The one who had changed so much. Her eyes followed him as he moved towards the image of his younger self, the grief and anger etched clearly on this face, too. Wendy reached her arm out towards him, choking on a sob as he swung his sword through the image while yelling, willing it to go away.

It faded, and Auron returned to a normal stance, glaring at the ground.

"And then the cycle continued." He murmured, a hint of anger in his voice.

"It doesn't have to." Tidus interjected. "I won't let it."

This stirred quite a commotion amongst the rest of the group.  As the younger members of the team discussed it, Auron took a moment to compose himself. That was when he noticed that Wendy was still knelt on the ground, hunched over, her hands over her face. Lulu looked as if she had half a mind to go comfort Wendy - the others had looked at her uncertainly, seemingly unsure what to do, before continuing their conversation. As Lulu noticed Auron also looking, she nodded at him, returning her attention to the conversation at hand.

Auron swallowed. He wasn't sure what he could offer her. He was stretched to the edge of what he could handle right now. Her emotions, her grief existed well outside that space. But he could see that she was on the edge as well.

He leaned down, putting a hand on her shoulder without saying a word. He felt her quivering for a moment, before she stopped. She lowered her hands, turning to look at him with a tear stained face, her expression grim.

She thought of so many things to say. But what could she say? And what should she say? There was an important conversation happening. This wasn't the time. She was already beating herself up for letting her mask slip.

Auron took his hand off her shoulder with a quiet sigh, extending it to her instead. An offer. The only offer of comfort he could provide. She looked at his hand for a moment before taking it firmly, letting him pull her to her feet.

He held her for just a moment, meeting her gaze. But that was all he could do at this moment. Even if he hadn't been burdened with grief and the bitterness of the past at this moment, he wouldn't have known what to say. His arm dropped to his side, and he turned his attention to the rest of the group. Wendy let her gaze linger on him for a bit longer, before swiftly wiping away her tears and reluctantly turning to join the conversation.

"I'll go ask Yunalesca." Tidus suggested.

The group moved forward.

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

Wendy could do nothing but watch in horror as another image of a younger Auron appeared. He was angry - furious even - with Yunalesca.

He charged at her.

Wendy cried out, somehow knowing instantly what was coming.

The real Auron looked at her with surprise on his face, but she didn't notice.

The image of Yunalesca struck down the younger Auron.

While he was not dead, it was readily apparent that she had taken his eye, and that death would not be far behind.

Wendy had her hands over her mouth, stifling her sobs at the sight of his body broken on the ground. This was how...this was how he had died...she managed to stay on her feet this time as the illusions disappeared.

Everyone made their battle cries. And Wendy was no exception.

"I won't let you take anyone else away from the people they love!"

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

Once they had defeated Yunalesca, it had been a whirlwind. Sin had been outside, but had not attacked them. They had boarded the airship, and there had been a flurry of discussion about what to do. With the course set for Bevelle, there was some time to recuperate.

After a moments hesitation, Wendy followed Auron out of the main control cabin. He stopped once the doors had closed behind the both of them, facing away from her.

"Is there something you want?" He asked quietly, not turning to look at her.

She eyed the ground for a moment. "I...can we talk? Maybe somewhere...more private."

"..." Auron nodded, before walking through the next doors. Wendy followed him, feeling anxious. Was he upset with her?

Finally, he came to a stop in a quiet corner of the ship. He turned to face her expectantly. She found herself wishing yet again that he didn't have those shades on - they obscured his expression from her, coupled with the large scarf that covered most of his mouth. It couldn't be helped, she supposed.

"I...I'm sorry." Wendy said, bowing, clutching her hands together in front of herself. "I should've- I should've been able to keep it together-"

"Don't apologize." Auron interrupted. Wendy tilted her head back up, meeting his gaze with a worried look, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"But, I- I'm sure I didn't make it any easier." Wendy mumbled, standing all the way back up. She reached across her body with one hand, gripping her other arm awkwardly.

"No. You didn't. But," Auron paused, looking away, working up the courage to say his piece. "Thank you."

"Thank...you?" Wendy repeated, puzzled. Auron nodded.

"Thank you. For grieving for me, so openly." Auron smiled ever so slightly, expression sorrowful. The others had taken his pain in, and not fully recognized it, not fully understood it. Of course not. They were young. They hadn't been through what he had been through. Neither had Wendy - but her grief had spilled over because she loved him so dearly. It had shook her to her core. And while he was not happy she had to suffer this grief, he was grateful. She had cried for him when he could not.

"O-oh. Well. I..." The words wouldn't come. What was there to say, now? She trailed off, lost in thought.

"It's alright." Auron replied softly. He hesitated, before holding his arm out ever so slightly.

Fighting back a sudden onslaught of tears, Wendy took that to mean she could hug him. So she did - wrapping her arms around him as best as she could. She felt his arm wrap around her in return, squeezing her to him, and she felt his face press into her hair. She felt like she was home.

She thought to ask him, again, for him to give her a chance to bring him back, once all this was over. But these words too died in her throat. Who knew what would happen next. For all she knew...they would be spending eternity in the Farplane very soon.

All she could do for now was trudge forward, hoping beyond hope that they could save Spira, and in doing so, give her the chance to save Auron, too.

[brownbowadventures]

Broken Bow Cabin for Party Events: Unveil Secluded Luxury in Beavers Bend

If you’re in search of the perfect venue for your next party or event, look no further than the secluded cabins in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Nestled amidst the enchanting beauty of Beavers Bend State Park, these cabins offer a unique blend of rustic charm and modern luxury, making them the ideal setting for memorable celebrations and gatherings.

Imagine hosting your birthday bash, anniversary party, or even a corporate retreat in the heart of nature. The Beavers Bend area is renowned for its scenic beauty, and the cabins here take full advantage of this natural wonder. These cabins are strategically located to offer privacy and seclusion, allowing you and your guests to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

One such gem in the Broken Bow cabin collection is the Beavers Bend Log Cabins. These cabins provide an extraordinary backdrop for your special event. Whether you’re planning an intimate gathering or a larger celebration, these cabins can accommodate groups of various sizes, making them suitable for any occasion.

The interiors of these cabins are a harmonious blend of modern amenities and rustic elegance. Large, open living spaces with cozy fireplaces and comfortable seating areas create an inviting atmosphere for your guests to relax and enjoy. The fully equipped kitchens allow for catering or preparing your own gourmet meals. Additionally, spacious decks and patios provide ample space for outdoor celebrations, offering breathtaking views of the surrounding woods.

One of the standout features of these cabins is the availability of hot tubs, where you and your guests can soak under the starry night sky while sipping your favorite drinks. It’s the perfect way to unwind and create lasting memories with friends and loved ones.

While the cabins themselves are magnificent, the surrounding area offers a wealth of activities to enhance your event. Beavers Bend State Park is a natural playground, offering opportunities for hiking, fishing, kayaking, and more. For those who prefer a more laid-back experience, simply bask in the serenity of the forest, listen to the sounds of wildlife, or take a leisurely stroll along the nearby trails.

What sets these Secluded Cabins in Broken Bow apart is their proximity to Broken Bow Lake, a pristine body of water offering endless recreational possibilities. From boating and paddle boarding to swimming and fishing, the lake provides a refreshing escape from the Texas heat, making it a perfect addition to your event itinerary.

In conclusion, the Broken Bow cabins for party events, particularly the log cabins, offer an unparalleled setting for hosting gatherings and celebrations. Their secluded luxury, coupled with the natural beauty of the Beavers Bend area, ensures a memorable experience for you and your guests. Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion or planning a corporate retreat, these cabins provide the perfect backdrop for your event, promising unforgettable moments in the heart of Oklahoma’s wilderness.

[ask-de-writer]

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT : Part 52 of 83 : World of Sea

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to World of Sea

SEA DRAGON’S GIFT

Part 52 of 83

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

140406 words

copyright 2020

written 2007

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users   of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may   reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information   remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in   my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical   compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story?  Read from the beginning.  PART 1 is here

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A Dragon’s grin split Mecat’s face, showing her many very large fangs.  “The Gift was not wasted on you, Little Bite.  You think like a Dragon.  Yes, so long as you actively seek justice from the Naral fleet, you may have refuge in the Dragon Sea.”

“A last quest’n, t’en.  May we assemble witnesses on our be’alf an’ bring t’em north, t’ t’e ship?”

“The Law of the Naral fleet says that you may have witnesses.  We will allow you to assemble what you need for your case.”

“Oi see wye Kurin luves ye so muckle, Mecat.  Oi wad give ye a ‘ug, ‘twere it permitted,” said Tanlin quietly.  “Ye ‘ave given us a fair chance an’ given ane t’ t’e fleet as well.  Did ye guess t’at we donnae wont t’ leave our fleet?”

The massive head tilted curiously.  “I would appreciate a hug from you, Little Bite.  I did not guess that there could be two who would want to do so.”

Tanlin spread her arms wide, finding the same problem that Kurin had, Gatherings before.  Mecat’s muzzle was simply too large to get a grip on.  Still, she did her best.  She was surprised to feel the large powerful tendrils that fringed Mecat’s mouth wrap gently about her as well.  Another surprise was that Mecat was warm to the touch.

When they parted, Frath said, “My sister has been far more interested in humans than the rest of us.  Considering the speed with which you’ve spread through the ecology and the far reaching effects that you’ve had, it just proves once again that she always has been and always will be wiser than the rest of us.  That’s why we listen to her.

“Did you know that she had me steer this storm over nine hundred miles out of it’s planned path, just to isolate you from the rest of the fleet so that she could have this talk?”  He snorted.  “Ridiculous, I would have said.  A ship more or less is not a matter that will result in ecological disturbance.  Of course, she saw it differently.  Now I understand what she was getting at.  As usual, she is right.”

Now that it was not a matter of defending her ship, Tanlin realized just what she was doing, talking to a Great Sea Dragon as if he were a guest in her cabin for flavored water and crunchy snacks.  She got weak in the knees.  She sat down and tried to calm herself.  The Wide Wings flew off from her shoulders.

Even though partly overcome by her temerity, curiosity led her to ask, “Frath, ye talk an’ breathe, ‘ow can ye live under woter?”

“Do you know, you are the first human to ask any of us that question?  It is simple really.  I am moving air through the same gills that I use to breathe water.”

“If ye ‘ave gills, ‘ow con ye talk?  Or breathe air for t’at matter.”

“My gills are a series of fine tubes stacked together into organs similar to your own lungs.  Water comes in through my nostrils and is pumped through the gills and then normally exits by my gill slits.  In air, I close down about seventy percent of the tubes because there is so much oxygen that I might suffer ill effects if I did not.  I also close my gill slits.  That makes the air exit by my mouth.  I make the back of my throat vibrate the exiting air column and modify it with my tongue and mouth to make words.  The part that I use to vibrate the air is used for echolocation when I’m underwater.  Do you follow me?”

“Oi t’ink so…”  Just then the Sea Hawks returned, each one carrying a fish in its talons.  They dropped the fish into Tanlin’s lap and landed beside her.  The female of the two picked up one of the fish in her beak and tried to put it into Tanlin’s mouth. Tanlin took the fish into her hand, bit off some and began to chew. Both birds watched her carefully, then took off up to their nest.

Frath giggled.  “Speaking of mixed up ecology, you have just been formally adopted as a part of their flock.  You gave them a safe place in the storm, defended their nest and brought them food.  When they thought that I was a threat, they tried to defend you from me, and then, when you got overcome with weakness, they got food and tried to take care of you.  I think that they’d fight to the death for you, if they had to.  You do make the oddest friends.”

Tanlin smiled at the Dragon.  “Speakin’ o’ w’ich, w’en ye arenae steerin’ storms around, could ye come an’ talk t’ m’?  Oi like t’ ‘ear ye explain t’ings.”

“What, just be friends?”

“Aye.”

“Let me think about that one.  Maybe ask my sister.  Nobody ever asked that one before either.  I think that they were afraid of us because of our size.  Kurin and Mecat are the only friends like that, and long ago there was Jenn the Whale’s friend, who was our friend too.”  Frath submerged in a swirl of foam and was gone.

Chapter 19: Aftermath

The Grandalor rode the center of the storm northward.  In the eye of the Coriolis Storm, the weather was no worse than a badly choppy, windy Winter day.  They followed their progress north by moon sightings made possible by the clear sky overhead.

In many regards, the area was like the storm track that ships tried to escape into.  The iron gray whitecaps were full of hungry, feeding creatures of all sizes.  There were the usual Strong Skins, swarming around any injured or dead creatures.

The Wide Wings, ranging out from the ship to hunt fish, began to point out a place over a mile from the Grandalor.  They swooped down and climbed back up in graceful circles, found their station and swept down again.

The lookouts were wise enough to know that Tanlin was interested in anything that the birds did.  They notified Barad and Tanlin came up to the deck shortly after hearing of the odd behavior of the birds. She watched for only a few moments, getting a faraway look on her face as she did.

Tanlin came back to herself, shaking slightly, as if fitting herself back to her own body.  Pointing at the place the birds were indicating, she said, “Tis a Hag school Barad, m’ Luve.  T’ey’re feedin’ on a dead Lesser Dragon.  Some’re fair sized.  T’ere’s little shelled Hags, too.  Ought t’ get some i’ we put a net oot.”

Barad ordered a fine meshed net spread and had helmsman Macoul make for the Hag school.  Men and women, under the direction of the Masters who had designed it, prepared the big war catapult for a better use.  The massive coils of springy rope that drove its bow arms were tensioned. The windlass strained as it pulled the machine back to full cock. It was loaded with a massive harpoon, meant to breach the hull of a ship.

By this time, the lookouts were guiding the ship to its most advantageous position for firing into the school.  Bosun Modanet was riding a seat at the back of the catapult’s beam to aim it.  When he judged the roll of the ship to be proper, he struck the release with a mallet.  The results were sobering.

Due to refraction, he had missed the Hag that he was aiming for.  The bolt blasted all the way through the carcass of the seventy foot Lesser Dragon, penetrating nine feet of hide bone and muscle.  It jolted the line anchors that pulled it to a stop, over a hundred feet away.  That wasn’t all.  The recoil threw Bosun Modanet from his seat and slid the big machine five feet back across the deck.  It was secured by tackle or it would have gone further.  As Modanet picked himself up, he saw one of the catapult crew being helped to sickbay. His arm obviously broken.

“What happened to Karlan?” he asked, shaken.

“He was hit by the cocking cable block when it came off tension during firing,” was the reply.

It was a more serious and careful group that prepared the catapult for its next shot.  Modanet tied himself to his aiming seat.  The lessons learned paid off on the next shot.  They pulled the bow a shorter distance and changed the recoil tackle.

Aiming for a big Hag, the Bosun allowed for refraction this time.  The bolt smashed through the creature’s cephalon, just back of the tentacle roots, destroying one enormous eye and the brain behind it.  They let the big cephalopod hang on the harpoon line until it quit flailing and the deadly barbed tentacles dangled lax.  It was snared into a cargo net and pulled aboard, straining all the lifting tackle of the Grandalor to do it.  Twelve thousand pounds of dangerous — and valuable — creature lay on the deck ready for processing.

They killed two more smaller ones before the school fled.  Some of the Lesser Dragon carcass was salvageable, hide and bone, mostly.  The meat was going over and was contaminated by Hag venom as well.  The near priceless head, with its many long, strong fangs was already gone from the carcass.  The remaining meat was still valuable as bait.  More than twenty Strong Skins were added to stores before a Wing Ray showed up and took it all.  The monster was big enough that the Grandalor was not willing to risk putting a harpoon in it.

Karlan, arm splinted and in a sling, just looked at the powerful whirlpools made by the wing tips descending through the water ninety feet apart. Sardonically he said, “What if it were to notice that we pricked it?”

Bosun Modanet nodded soberly.  “I was on the Light of Dorac when the Kellen did that.  We saw it happen.  The Ray broke the harpoon lines like weak string.  It sounded, then jumped.  It hit the main mast just below the main yard. The impact rolled the ship and the Wing Ray landed on it at the same time.  The Kellen was gone in under a minute.  We beat the Ray to one of the survivors.”  He turned to watch the bustle of men and women processing the catch.

TO BE CONTINUED

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[childrenofthegodsrp]

NAME: Emera Love Flores.

AGE: 29.

BIRTHDAY: February 28th.

PRONOUNS: She/Her.

GENDER: Cis woman.

BIRTHPLACE: Saratoga Springs, New York State.

OCCUPATION: Florist & Musician.

GODLY PARENT: Apollo.

FACECLAIM: Melissa Barrera. 

BIOGRAPHY.

Emera Love was and still is unexpected, in all senses of the word. From the moment her mother had to admit to her very mortal father that she was pregnant, that she’d cheated, with some random musician who up and left and was never to be seen again, Emera hadn’t ever known a day of calm. Granted, it was mostly her doing, but it’s a detail she often forgets to mention.

When she was born, Emera’s mother left her with her husband so she could go off and search for the musician that had charmed and stolen her heart, still completely oblivious to his godly nature and the fact that he was never coming back. Needless to say, Emera’s father broke off the relationship after that. A divorce was what their family needed to rebuild itself, he said, after her mother had broken it and Emera’s mortal father took in the daughter that was not his and raised her as his own. He wasn’t the type of mortal to hold any ill will against a child, no matter the circumstances of her birth and Emera was given the best of most things growing up. Her human father had hit a stride with a growing, successful landscaping business and used a good sum of the money he made to spoil his little girl rotten.

It didn’t change Emera that much though. Not at heart. And probably not at mind either. There was no shiny trinket or doll or anything any girl would wish for that could hold Emera’s attention for long. From the moment she could walk she was always running around, bouncing from one thing to the next with boundless energy. The only thing that ever seemed to slow her down and set her in one particular place for more than five minutes was the garden in the back of her large house that she was lucky enough to call home. That, and the times her father brought her to work when the babysitter couldn’t make it. Emera grew fascinated with horticulture, the different colors of plants and blooming flowers and the smell of dirt right after it rained. And then Emera’s father met someone, and all of a sudden her love of the bright colors of the earth went up against something even stronger.

Emera’s step-mother was wonderful. And she was wonderful most of all for bringing music into the life of the daughter of Apollo. A children’s music teacher who was worried about trying to connect to the child of the man she loved, she did the one thing she knew would work. She taught Emera piano. And when piano wasn’t enough to satisfy the girl’s overflowing energy she taught her guitar. When that wasn’t enough it was the violin, the flute, the harp, until the Flores household never knew a moment of quiet as long as Emera was awake.

It was a good few years. The best years Emera could have asked for. She had two loving parents. She liked her school and had a few good friends, even though she often had trouble paying attention in her classes. Sometimes when she was out in the garden, dryads and naiads would appear and she’d have a playmate for the afternoon. And then something started happening. Strange men who didn’t exactly act like men showed up at her door, looking for her. Her father turned them away every time without fail, but without fail they always returned and began to show up more frequently, becoming more insistent, becoming more scary and violent.  

Emera doesn’t exactly remember the details of the attack that was eventually laid against her childhood home by the monsters who had come knocking. Her parents hadn’t been home, and the dyrads and naiads she had befriended had stowed her safely away in their domain- her real father, the one who had made her part god had been keeping an eye on her all this time, charming some of the creatures of the woods surrounding her home to play babysitter while he was busy, off dealing with other godly business.

After that it was a whirlwind of change that had Emera’s head spinning as if she’d drank too much fizzy soda. The destruction laid to her home was listed as a freak accident caused by a sudden wind storm, forcing the girl and her parents to pack their bags and move elsewhere while repairs were being completed. By the time they reached their new townhouse the next city over, there was someone there already waiting for their arrival. A representative on behalf of Camp Half Blood.

Emera didn’t even step foot into her new bedroom before she was whisked off to some place she’d never thought real, being told she was something she’d only ever read in storybooks. She’d always believed in her tree and river friends, never once delegated them to the realm of the imaginary, but they’d never mentioned a word to her about where she’d actually come from and so she had no reason to believe she was anything but a little girl who loved the sunshine just as much as she loved music. Her father though, her mortal one, was quick to believe what he was told on the front steps of that New York townhouse. The math added up right. It explained so much. He’d always wondered why it seemed like the only thing that could ever get Emera to sit down for more than ten minutes at a time was getting to make noise on an instrument, why she was able to pick any of them up like she’d known them all along. Why rainy days always made her more upset than it was normal for a child to be. Why his ex-wife had all of a sudden up and left them for a song.

It took Emera a while to get used to being who she was, though she adored Camp Half Blood and treated every new lesson, every new training exercise with boundless positivity and enthusiasm. It was built into her blood, though none of the half siblings she shared her cabin with ever seemed to quite reach her level. For a long time, Emera often had the thought that she didn’t really belong, but it was cool to be grouped into the kids with powers and so she went along with it anyway.  

She was good at archery. Just good. At least compared to the others she shared a cabin with. And she was just good at combat too. Which was fine with her. But where Emera really shined was with medicines. With healing. With the plants she’d grown up studying and admiring. It was really only then she actually started considering herself one of the cool kids with powers, though she’d already been at Camp for two years by then.

Emera could often be found in the giant open fields beyond the cabins, leaning close to the flowers and whispering a song to them, imbuing them with the power hidden away in her voice. Sometimes they’d whisper back to her, singing a song about things that were yet to happen, or they’d blow in the breeze, showing her the map of the future in the lines underneath their petals.

Her favorite place in Camp ended up being, with no surprise to anyone, the medical tent where she could help those who had been injured during a training practice. And also those with some broken leg bones couldn’t exactly go anywhere while she was chattering away.  If she wasn’t there she was flitting from cabin to cabin. She didn’t much pay attention to the drama between people’s godly parents and wasn’t very interested in learning about it in the first place. She was determined to make friends with each soul she met, or at least have a good conversation to pass the time.

She also tried to talk to her father, Apollo, though it was a rarity that he ever answered back. She would sit in her field of plants and flowers, at least once a day and talk to the empty air. It didn’t really bother her that it was often a one sided conversation or that her fellow cabinmates found it weird, or pointless. She kept on with the habit even after she was too old to stay within the comforts of Camp.

When the Battle of Manhattan came to pass, Emera wasn’t entirely caught off guard. There was something wrong in the air. The plants had told her as much. But often times when she read the future it came tumbling out of her mouth in the nonsensical, puzzling sort of way that you couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just classic ‘Mera being good old ‘Mera. She wasn’t a fighter though. She never had been, deep down. She carried her bow with her but she kept to the sidelines, a healer, a protector to the younger kids too small and new to join the fight. She never regretted having done that.

As soon as the battle was done, a clear winner emerging, for the first time in Emera’s life things seemed to slow down. Not her, but the world around her seemed to be spinning slower. The rest of her Camp days passed without consequence and at the end of her last year her father, the mortal one who had raised her, who had been there for her all her life, was surprised to see not a little girl but a person who had blossomed when he saw her again.

Emera chose to follow in his footsteps. After all, he’d been the person that made her who she was, though she never was as much of a business mogul as he was. After a little bit of searching, of finally being forced to settle down and make some roots (that was probably the most difficult thing she’d ever done) she found a small corner shop in New Greece to call her own, to fill with plants and flowers and other things that make her happy. She still reads the flora and whispers to them, asking for news she can give to the people who stop by. Though nowadays she uses the information for mischief rather than anything else, her words always wrapped up in a puzzling manner of speech. If you interrupt her on a slow day you might find her blabbing to the empty air, hoping that her godly parent Apollo might be listening. And when that isn’t enough to sap her boundless energy, she plays music. Wherever, whenever. In the mornings on the balcony of her apartment. On the street corner in front of her shop. In cafes and bars and to anyone who would like to listen and perhaps let the healing power of her voice sooth something that’s broken in their souls.

Played by: Maya.

[saelwen]

The Bird Who Couldn’t Sing

Myth!Loki x Oc!Mute!Reader

Chapter 1

Masterlist

Summary: For centuries the folk of the north have been conquering and killing everything in lands beyond the vast sea, with the help of their Gods.  In which the girl's village, named Emily, was a victim of these cruel acts. After being mistreated and bowing to the will of all, given as a consequence of all these cruel events, Emily was mute for a lifetime. But something changes your horrible life. The day her village is being invaded by Vikings, she caught the eye of a certain Nordic god, who was disguised as one of them. Since she was the only one who wasn't screaming and begging for her life. Follow the journey of Emily as she discovers the world of the Norse Gods.

Warnings: Angst, blood

Words: 2k

Throwing the dirty cloth into the bucket, making some of the filthy water splatters on the cold stone floor of the tavern. I let out a tired sigh, rubbing my hands together, trying to smooth the sore muscle from scrubbing the floor all day.

Looking up, I saw how vivid the room was. Singing and cheerful laughs sounded around the warm area. The smell of mead hovered in the air along with burnt firewood. There were some men sitting on the comfortable chairs by the huge fireplace, a while the others were dancing or on the corner of the room with some woman.

This was the custom of every night in the tavern. The men of the village always went here after a long day of work, to drink and eat all night. For escaping from their loud wives or to drown their problems in large cups of fresh mead.

I’ve worked here since my twelve years, serving and cleaning the floor given that I have mouths to feed in the home.

I live with my three older brothers, Richard, Ethan, and John and also my father, Eduard, in a small old cabin. It’s was very isolated, with gigantic trees all around it. My mother died giving birth to me, she had lost a lot of blood and with that, she didn’t make it.

With her death caused by me gave as a result of my father never have liked me. Making my life a living hell, hitting me, making me work since dawn to late in the night.

He also made sure that I heard the praises that he gave to my older brothers, always saying of how proud he was for them and bragging how his sons are such good fighters and that they will make good husbands for a big family. While I was punched every day by him and sexually harassed by Elijah, the owner of the tavern.

Also, my father was the one took my voice away.

When I just a little baby, he had come home after a long night of drinking. My brother, Richard, couldn’t calm me down for I was a very vocal child.

“Why that little devil is crying? Make her stop or I will!” He said a while throwing a bottle of rum to the wall, making my cry louder. My brother in panic, tried everything in his power to calm me down but nothing worked. Grumbling something under his breath, my father grabbed me by my tiny leg and put on the wooden table. He took the dagger out of his belt and put the sharp tip on my throat “Since you don’t shut that fucking mouth, I will make sure that a single sound will never leave your filthy mouth!” With that he pierces through my soft skin with the sharp blade, cutting my vocal cords. Taking my voice forever.

Touching gently the scars on my throat, I pick the bucket and walk outside to dump the dirty water. As I step outside, the cold air hit my face like tiny needles, making my skin sting and a little numb. I throw the water to the bushes and put the bucket down. There! All done.

I wrap my arms around me, trying to block the cold. Lifting my head, pieces of my black hair fall back from my pale face. A small smile forms on my lips as I see the huge moon shining like a pearl that I see on the expensive necklaces that the noble ladies in the village wore.

The stars surrounded her, making little draws on the vast black canvas in the sky.

It’s was early November so the soft grass and the tall trees were with a light layer of white snow. There are still some people walking around the cold streets. Couples cuddling into each other to warm themself while watching the bright light of the moon illuminating the lake in front of the village.

“It’s true! I’ve heard from some traders that came here this morning!” I heard a tall man said to his friends as they enter the tavern, interrupting my thoughts. “Oh come on, Harry! Those traders tell those tales to scare us. There aren’t monsters attacking villages here in England! The only monster that we have here is the old crazy woman that lives in the woods...Come! Let’s have some drinks and pretty ladies on our lap.” His friend said while putting a hand on his shoulder.

Frowning, my gaze follows them inside, seeing them ordering mead and plates of warm stew. Weird... This is the second time I’ve heard of these such monsters.

The first time I’ve heard was in the market this morning, some traders and old ladies were gossiping about some weird events that are occurring in some villages in England. Saying that large beast, full of armor were attacking and stealing those poor people, leaving only destruction behind.

Shrugging my shoulders, I move my gaze back to the shining moon, her light making my deep blue eyes shining like stars. Not wanting to go back inside, where the fat old man will be waiting for me. I walk down the wooden stairs and went to my safe place, the lake.

Since I was a child, I would always come here when I was down or to run from the wrath of my father. The sound of the soft water and frogs was something that calms me, sending me to a safe place.

Sitting down on the cold grass, I wrap my arms around my knees, putting my chin on them. A small smile spread on my face, seeing a duck family cuddling together in the small bushes in the water. The duck mother wrapping all her little babies with her wings to protect them from the cold. How I wish to have a family that cared for me like that...

As I was so engrossed by the cute family before me, I didn’t notice the man walking behind me. A pair of disgusting hands wrap around my small waist and pull me into a plump chest.

“Were you trying to run for me, little slut?” a voice that I'm too familiar sounded behind me. The smell of mead hit my nostrils, making my stomach twist. Elijah...

His hands start to massage my hip and plump legs, making a shiver of fear run through my body. “You should be inside and cleaning the vomit of the drunken men on the floor...You know how I like to see you on your knees...so vulnerable...so beautiful.” I close my eyes as a tear escape from my eye, feeling the wet gross kisses that he was planting on my neck.

Suddenly, we heard people screaming and running in the village. Elijah stopped his movements and stood up “What is this time?” he grumbles under his breath. I shot up from my seat, my legs shaking from the events before.

I frown as I smell smoke in the air. Lifting my head, my mouth hangs open as I see the village on fire. What’s happening? “What the fuck?!” he whispers, running to the street. In a panic, I follow him, not knowing what to do but I quickly regret as I see a large man with an ax on his hand and beheading Elijah in front of me.

My hands flew to my mouth as I let out a soundless scream. The beast of a man stood in front of me with a wicked smile. He was wearing a strange armor, he had fur shawl around his shoulders and some metal plates on his chest, arms, and legs. His helmet was all closed, I only could see his dark eyes and a huge beard. Who are they?

Turnings around, I start running into the dense forest but his large hand grabbed tightly my arm, pulling me into him. I hiss in pain from how tightly his grip was, making my white skin red.

“Oh! You are a pretty one!” his voice was rough and deep. The beast pulls me along with him, taking me to the burning village.

Tears were running down freely from my blue eyes as I see the scene around me. There were a bunch of men like the one who was pulling me. They were killing every man in the village, stealing their treasures and burning their houses. The young women were being put on a circle, with chains around their necks and wrist and the older women were left behind with nothing with them.

The screams of agony and wails were all I could hear. My eyes widened as I see my father and brothers on their knees in front of our house, with two large men beside them. I could hear the pleading words of my father, trying to escape his death.

The men laughed evilly, mocking them for being such cowards. They lift their heavy axes and decapitated them. My body was shaking with fear as I watch their heads rolling down to the floor, I know that I should be crying for them but I feel nothing for they have made my life a living hell. At least I don’t have to deal with them anymore...

The man throws me into the group of young women and wraps some chains around my wrist but when he was putting the other chains on my neck, he let out a huff “Fuck!” he screamed.

He throws the chains to the ground and huffs. The men that were beside him, looked to him in confusion “What is it, Ulf?” one of the men asked a while looking at me up and down.

“This bitch is broken!... I like them when they scream. Just kill her! She’s useless.” he said a while pulling me off the rest of the women.

My face was soaked with tears, I dig my heels on the dirt to try to stop him but that only made him angrier. He grabs a fist of my hair and pulls me harshly, pulling soundless screams from my lips.

He pulls out a dagger from his belt and put the cold blade on my neck. I shut my eyes tightly, thinking the way I will die was the way that my father took my voice.

As I feel the sharp blade pierce my skin, I heard a man shouting something in a strange language. The cold blade disappears from my neck and the man throws me to the dirty floor. “Really? You want her?...you are a weird one, Snákur!” the man whose name is Ulf said with a mocking voice.

I lift my head, seeing a large man but more slender than the other, walking towards me. He took his helmet off and I gasp. He had long beautiful red hair, looking almost like the flames that were burning the village. His eyes were pure green and I notice the mischief in them, his feature was sharp as the blade that was in my neck minutes ago and there isn’t a single hair on his face. I’ve never seen such a beautiful man in my life.

He bends down so his emerald eyes were directed to mine, a smirk grew on his thin lips “Oh...have some good plans to do with you, Kjære!” he said a while stroking gently the scars on my neck. He picks me up and took me to his horse. The steed was all black and have some scars and some hairless spots in his onyx coat, looks almost like a battle horse but nevertheless beautiful.

The man by the name of Snákur, put me on the horse, chaining my hands together. Then he climbs to his horse, sitting behind me. A shiver runs through my spine as I felt his warm breath hit my neck. Where are they taking me?

“To your new home, Kjære! Don’t worry. You will like it there!” he said a while ordering the horse to walk forward. I turn my head to him, confusion on my face. How did he know what I'm thinking? I heard him let out a small chuckle and he wrap his strong arm around my waist, pulling me into his warm chest.

The men put all the village treasures and the women in the wagons, lock them in cages and leave. Taking us to our new nightmare.

I look back and saw the village where I grew up, being burned to the ground. All my memories destroyed.

The stories were true...the monsters raided our village and left behind vast destruction.

Snákur- Snake

Kjære- Darling

Hey Guys!! So what do you think of this chapter? I hope you enjoy this story! Feel free to comment and tell me what you think!! 

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XOXO

Taglist: @crazyonesarethebest​ @gwendelerynan​ @marvelfansworld​

[rising-superstars]

The Children of Virtue & Vice - Aveline Chapter 2: A Small Price To Pay?

“Another day, another job.” That’s what Aveline thought to herself, dressing herself in her normal mercenary clothing of sleeveless red and black cotton shirt with black denim pants, a red scarf covering her mouth and nose, large black boots, and red coat. Looking at her armaments, she grabbed some throwing knives, a decently long dagger, and her collapsible staff. Touching the bronze-colored weapon, she thought about the offer her mother made. Now it made sense why this was bronze and why she received it as a gift from her mother. Sure, she was capable at leading small groups of her fellow bandits and a proficient enough fighter, but leading a whole camp of these people? She really couldn’t see herself doing this kind of thing.

After this job, she’ll have to tell her mother that she is declining the offer. It won’t be easy, but it’s for the best. At least, she thought so.

“So as it turns out, Jessie cannot lead this group as she has come down with a sickness. She will be fine, but she’s in no condition to do any kind of possible fighting or leading.” Caida stopped speaking for a moment and held her hand up to prevent anyone else from speaking, keeping the silence for just a moment, non-verbally asking everyone to listen closely. In a nearby tent, the sound of vomiting could be heard, which was followed by the various bandits in this group making affirmative noises and nodding.

“Hali, Spi, Grant, Aveline, are all four of you ready to go?” All four young people stood at attention, not a single one of them under-dressed or unprepared for this job. “In case you have forgotten, we’re securing a collection of books that are said to fetch a very high price, not to mention the knowledge within could prove to be even more valuable. I asked that you get an assortment of weapons because we may not be alone in this venture. If no one has any objections, then let us be on our way.”

With nothing said between all four of them, the small group went on their way. The target was deeper in the forests they were situated in, hidden in what was described as a temple from the old world, Mors. It took an hour of walking before coming across a large, abandoned log cabin, now green with moss and overgrowth that had taken over. After a long enough time with no inhabitants and enough vegetation taking over a building, it becomes colloquially known as a temple regardless of original intention. The glass windows were cracked or completely broken and a few skeletal corpses were strewn about the “porch.”

Before entering the general area, Caida gave an order to halt and hide in some of the nearby bushes. She pointed to the east, showing that they were not the first to get here. A rival bandit group, clad in various colors and carrying bows and quivers were approaching the cabin, some of them surrounded the area with bows trained at the cabin, as if they were anticipating them.

“Alright, seems like a direct approach won’t be possible. Hali?” The short, young girl with dark red hair tied in twintails and a short sword turned to face her boss. “Can you incapacitate them?” Hali only nodded before jumping from the bush and quickly climbing up the tree with little noise. “Spi and Grant, if she can’t get the job done or gets discovered, I’ll need you to act as distraction. Spi I trust you can take a few out yourself. Grant, if you have some trouble, don’t do anything other than tie them up.” Both mercenaries nodded, turning their attention to the scene.

A few moments later, almost like a breeze, one of the bowmen was quickly incapacitated, silently apart from the quiet sound of blade slashing flesh. Hali turned her attention to the other archers, only 2 left. Jumping back into the tree, she quickly performed another kill, though this time it wasn’t silent as she was discovered as she fell down to attack, her target letting out a yell before being killed.

“Shit! Okay, go, go!” Quickly taking off their jackets that showed their allegiance to Sombra Roja, both young adults stood from the bush trying to draw the attention of the man in front of the cabin.. “Hey hey hey! Hold on a second!” Grant wasn’t the best with drawing attention, but he was willing to try. “What’s going on here? I leave for a few minutes to try and scavenge some parts for my weapons and hunt for dinner for my girlfriend here and our home is besieged by some savages with no understanding of the concept of--”

Grant’s bluff was called very quickly by an arrow grazing his face, leaving a small cut on his cheek. “......manners?”

“Don’t lie to us, we know that there’s something here. No temple this old could ever house some random people, especially in the middle of nowhere. Whatever’s in here, we’re taking it, and you can march back to where you came from or you can die here--”

Their adversary’s words were cut off as the sound of the third and final perimeter archer being taken out echoed in the area. He looked over to see what happened and that gave Grant ample time to drop the steel chain hidden in his shirt sleeve and strike the bandit like it was a whip. Acting as one last distraction, Spi took over the encounter and grabbed their opponent by the collar, throwing him to the ground onto his back and stomping on his chest. This wasn’t enough force to kill him, but he was knocked unconscious. Both Spi and Grant gave the signal that the coast was clear to both Hali and the two in the bush. As they approached, the two had a quick chuckle to themselves.

“Girlfriend, huh?”

“It was either that or sister, and you and I both know they wouldn’t believe that. But they didn’t believe girlfriend either, so......”

The five of them coming together checked to make sure if anyone was injured. Grant only suffered a cut to his cheek which was quickly bandaged while Hali was covered in blood that wasn’t her own, but still not a scratch on her.

“Very good job, but we’re not done yet. There are still two inside, me and Aveline will take them out. If reinforcements come, give the signal and we’ll come running out”

All four young people nodded as the two family members entered the building, tightening the coverings over their noses and mouths so as to not give away their position with a cough or sneeze. They looked around this abandoned home, looking at the ancient technology and furniture that has old corpses still dressed in clothing, almost like they didn’t expect to be dying when they did. There were skeletal corpses of men, women, and children inside. Aveline only let out a small sigh, feeling bad about seeing so much death, even if it was centuries ago. Caida only placed a hand on her shoulder and a gentle rub. This was something that she had perfected doing when it came to cheering up Aveline and like a Pavlovian response, Aveline was no longer plagued by feelings of sorrow for lives lost long ago.

The floor creaked with footsteps that weren’t their and the both of them hid away, waiting for whoever was inside to show up. Those footsteps belonged to the last two bandits, trying to leave with their findings. Having spotted which was was holding the books, both Aveline and Caida knew how to take them out. Caida leapt forward and placed her hand over the mouth of the one carrying the books, quickly snapping his neck and hearing the books fall to the ground. At the same time, Aveline pulled out her dagger and covered the mouth of the other bandit, plunging the blade into his chest. There was a moment of struggling before his body became limp, allowing Aveline to slit his throat for good measure.

After seeing that the last of their competition was eliminated, both Caida and Aveline let out long sighs of relief before Caida bent over to grab the books. Gently combing through them, she could tell from the subject matter that this was ancient literature, probably worth a good 500-700 Domi for each book. Especially with how they were hardcover and not badly damaged by anything other than time. As she looked through the pages, Caida hummed to Aveline. “Just like basic training, huh, my dear?”

“You said it. These guys were no trouble. In fact, for a treasure worth this much, they really didn’t have much in the way of people trying to stop us. It’s al......almost like......” Aveline’s expression went from calm to one of horror, turning to her mother. “We have to leave. This is an ambush.”

Kicking the door down and walking back outside, Aveline spoke to her companions with frantic yells. “It’s an ambush, we have to go!” Once the facade was broken, a dozen archers stepped forward from behind some trees and began to fire in their direction. Spi and Grant quickly ran off with Spi carrying the young man over her shoulder like a bad of potatoes. Hali quickly climbed up a tree and jumped form branch to branch with no trouble. Aveline turned to her mother, a panicked look in her eyes as she saw Caida on the ground, clutching her ankle in pain.

As all the bows were drawn and aimed at the older woman, Aveline jumped to defend Caida from all attacks. With a sharp inhale, Aveline drew the staff from her pocket, letting it magnetize and come together to form the weapon. With an even sharper exhale, her body became enveloped in a deep red aura. Her Vice, as she called it, activated and it’s ability was clear as she felt the arrows hit her body.

One after another, they fell to the ground after making contact, like they suddenly lost all momentum and couldn’t even piece a sheet of paper. As the archers began to fire again, Aveline began to spin her staff, now blocking the arrows that somehow didn’t hit her body. Caida was completely protected from this attack and she would have escaped had it not been for the majestic sight of her adopted daughter protecting her the way she was.

This moment of awe was followed by a singular archer, who had snuck away from the others, drawing an arrow and shooting it at Caida right in the back. The attack was met with a loud cry of pain and Aveline felt her heart sink, her staff immediately collapsing and being shoved back into her pocket. Once she saw the lone bowman, Aveline took a throwing knife from her pouch and threw it at him, taking him out.

Bending down and picking up her mother, she began to run away from the ambush, doing her best to try and outrun 12 archers while also feeling her vision being blurred with tears in her eyes. By hiding under a broken, aged bridge over a river, Aveline caught her breath, looking to her mother with tears in her eyes. “Oh, mother....”

“R-Relax, I’ve taken much worse hits.” Caida’s laugh was dry and quiet. “They missed all the vital parts except one. I’m not dying today, but I’m not walking. Can’t feel my legs at all.”

“A-And we didn’t even take the books. This mission was a complete failure, I’m so sorry......” Aveline was nearly inconsolable, crying and muffling her sobs with her scarf. The feeling of Caida’s hand on her shoulder got her to look at her mother, a cheeky smile on the aged warrior’s face.

“Guess again.” Opening her coat, Caida revealed that she had still the books with her. “Even if I can’t walk, I’m not letting my last mission end in failure.”

“Oh, mother......you can be so stupid sometimes......” Aveline pulled Caida close, embracing her now-paraplegic mother in her arms, letting this moment of melancholy wash over her. This was a pyrrhic victory, but a victory nonetheless.

[henrietta-ocs]

Character: Bailey Douglas Species: Werewolf Age: 23 Gender: Female Pronouns: She/her Occupation: Cook, Hunter, Pain in Wade’s ass By: Amp

Biography

Deep in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains lies the town of Concrete, Washington. Within its minimal population of 300, resides the Shaw family, otherwise known as the Swift River Pack. Most people don’t know this name, but they know the Shaws. She was born McKenzie Rose Shaw: daughter of Wyatt Shaw and his teenage bride Lynn Tucker. Her birth was considered a miracle—the first female werewolf born into the pack in four generations. At just two weeks old, the pack elevated McKenzie to the position of Lupa (alpha female) and betrothed her to be mated to the Alpha: Lincoln Shaw. The match was set with the promise of “pure bloodlines.” Lincoln Shaw was considered an honorable and wise leader having worked his way to the position of Alpha instead of being born to it like his predecessors. 

As the pack’s first ever child Lupa, her influence was limited at first, even as her power grew with each passing day. She was given no real say over the rulings in the pack, only told that she would one day marry and be mated to Lincoln and bear his children. Many times she tried to imagine what it would be like to marry Lincoln, him being twenty years her senior. She never gave up hope that she would one day grow to love him, but even as she matured into her adolescent years, she never saw him as anything more than just another male figure in her life.

To keep up appearances in town, the Shaw family owned and operated a diner, which also served as the meeting place for the pack. From the time McKenzie could pick up a bus tub, she worked in the diner under the watchful eyes of the pack wives—women who had been bitten into the pack out of need. By the time she was twelve years old, she could track and hunt a herd of elk, make the kill, clean and prepare it thirty different ways much to the satisfaction of pack and human customers alike. To an outsider’s eye, the older women in the family were teaching her to run the diner business, but behind closed doors they were teaching her not only to cook the pack’s meals, but to bandage the wounded and when needed, to settle disputes among members. 

“Feed the pack, keep the peace.” These words were repeated to her over and over like a mantra, so that she may never lose sight of duty. Though she was still a young pup herself, the pack knew to submit or face Lincoln’s wrath. 

McKenzie was 17 years old the first time Graham Bailey walked into the diner. She’d seen humans before and served them food, but never in her life had she ever met one that made every one of her heightened senses go into overdrive. He smelled like cedar smoke and salt water, his voice reminded her of the melodies her mother would play on the guitar when she was allowed to visit. And the first time he’d smiled at her, McKenzie was sure she’d felt her heart stop. She had never felt this way before, not for any of the young pups in her pack, and definitely not for Lincoln. 

McKenzie felt alive with Graham; more alive than she had ever felt within the confines of her pack, more alive than she felt during the change or on the hunt. She was able to act like a girl of 17 and for the first time in her life she believed that she could be happy. But pack members were not supposed affiliate themselves with humans, let alone fall in love with them. McKenzie knew what the consequences could be if they were found out, she didn’t care. 

Finding out she was pregnant shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise; McKenzie was well aware that the only time a wolf wouldn’t change during the full moon was when she was with child. Thrilled at the idea of starting a family with the love of her life, McKenzie went to Graham and convinced him to run away with her. To hell with the Swift River Pack, Graham was more her family than her pack had ever been. He was the only family she needed, he and their baby. They planned to leave during the next full moon. 

Lincoln Shaw would not let go so easily of what he thought belonged to him. Antiquated as the practice may be, the Shaw family took betrothal seriously. As far as Lincoln was concerned, McKenzie was as good as married to him already. He’d heard whispers of McKenzie being sweet on a human boy, but had chalked it up to pack gossip. It was no secret some of the wives were jealous of McKenzie’s rank in the pack, but there was no way she would betray him. Of course that didn’t mean he still wouldn’t keep an eye on her. He liked to keep a firm hand on his assets. 

On the night they were supposed to leave, McKenzie waiting anxiously at her cabin. As she placed the floor, her mind came up with a million excuses as to why he could be late. Another hour came and went, and there was a knocking at her door. Hoping that it was Graham coming to her at last, she opened the door without hesitation. Two lamp-like eyes bore into hers, watching her every move. She knew those eyes. They belonged to the large grey wolf she knew as Lincoln Shaw. 

Every nerve in her body told her to run, but she was rooted to the spot. Her heart dropped into her stomach; how could she have thought he would let her go? Not when she was so valuable to the pack. That word sat like poison on her tongue. “Valuable,” like she was nothing more than a commodity to be traded to the highest bidder. Anger rolled through her body like hot lava. She wanted to tear his throat out. Alpha or not, she owed him nothing. Another wolf appeared, this one bearing the shape of her father. Her stomach turned; why had he been a part of this? She watched them both, calculating what their next move would be. Faster than she could blink, Lincoln lunged forward, his teeth bared. His large front paw came down against her face, claws digging into her flesh. She felt the blood running hot and thick down her face right before her body spasmed in agony. Her father’s form reared back then clamped down on her shoulder, and the agony began anew. 

McKenzie’s muscles roiled, her bones snapping and shifting. No no no. She couldn’t change now—her body bowed to the pain—she would lose the baby. She screamed. Even without being forced, the change is agonizing. Everything about a wolf’s physical makeup is smaller, so in order for the internal organs to shrink and reform, they first have to fail; a simultaneous heart attack, liver, lung, and kidney failure. The bones are broken and the skin shredded in order for the wolf to appear. In short, the human must die for the wolf to live. But instead of dying, the change keeps the human alive and conscious for every excruciating second. McKenzie lay awake as her body was ripped apart from the inside and reformed, she felt the tiny life leave her body, and waited for the wolf to come and the agony to end. 

She woke in a pool of her own blood, her body aching. How long had she been unconscious? Had it been hours, days, an eternity? All she wanted was to stay curled up on the floor and wait for death to take her. either blood loss or starvation, she didn’t care. Except...Graham. How could she have forgotten about Graham?! She raced to his house, hoping against hope that he would be there waiting for her so they could run away and start their life together. Instead what she found was carnage; Graham laid motionless on the floor; his body shredded to pieces. McKenzie collapsed to her knees, wanting nothing more than to lie there beside him until she was dead too. She cradled Graham’s broken body in her arms. She was stupid. An idiot child who’d believed she could outsmart the men who controlled her life. 

She wouldn’t make that mistake again. She had to be free of them. Free of her pack. She went to the only woman who had managed to stay separate from the pack while knowing their secret: her mother.

Lynn Tucker helped her daughter leave the state and disappear completely. She’d heard through the grapevine of a town down South where no one asked questions regarding the supernatural. With a truck full of clothes and a brand new identity, Bailey Douglas headed South and never looked back. 

Starting out in Henrietta was easier than Bailey had expected. The strange man at the leasing office was surprisingly helpful, even when she demanded “whichever trailer had the most kitchen space.” He found her a double wide at the back of the park with enough kitchen space to hold big meals. It wasn’t home the way her cabin in the woods had been, but it was a good place to make a fresh start. 

It took time for Bailey to warm up to the idea of a new pack, as the scars from her last one were still fresh on her face and shoulder. Once she was able to open up, however, she had freedom like she had never had in the Swift River Pack. She was able to act like the 18 year old girl she was. She found out that she loved running with other members of the pack and even pulling the occasional prank. Even at times when she got in over head—like the one time she almost bit a woman in town because she couldn’t control her temper—someone from Happy Paws was always there to have her back.  Even if they were just a rag tag group of misfits, Bailey had found a family. More of family than the Shaws or their bloodlines had to offer.

[pandorasboxofmuses-blog]

The Wolf and the Deer (Chapter 1)

Synopsis: A chance encounter with Jacobs men leads to a life you never thought you'd ever be a part of. (Reader X Jacob, Gender Neutral, Advanced Warning for Smut in Later Chapters)

Warnings: Swearing, violence

Montana. It wasn't just exactly the type of place you liked to frequent; you were a city kid who had been more skyscrapers in your life than you had cows. But, your boss had asked you to go there and write a report on a new religious group, Eden's Gate. "There's always something deeper going on", he assured you, "This could be the story that starts your career, kid." So you'd packed a month's worth of items into a suitcase and set off, driving with the perfect road trip playlist at your fingertips. You'd already made contact with someone in Hope County, a pilot called Nick Rye. He seemed to be a nice guy and honestly, you were glad for having someone to interview when you got there. It wouldn't be easy to get to talk to anyone within Eden's Gate, they seemed to shy away from technology, so at least someone who had first hand experience with them was a start.

One of your colleagues, who was obsessed with ghosts, has given you a tip off that there was a hotel in the north of the county called the King's Hot Springs. It was supposedly haunting but you didn't care, you were just glad your have a bed for the night. By the time you pulled up outside, it was nearly dark out and the temperature had seemed to drop rapidly. Parking up, you grabbed your over night bag from the back seat of your car; you'd bring the suitcase into the room in the morning, you'd decided, just in case you didn't like the feel of the place and didn't want to stay for more than a night. The hotel was oddly quiet, the receptionist able to offer you a choice of rooms. You took one in the corner of the building, where you were sure you could get to work without any disruptions from noisy neighbors. After taking a quick shower to refresh yourself after the long drive, you pulled on some shorts and a t shirt, settling down on the bed with your laptop open. Hours went by as you researched the area. There wasn't a lot of information on Eden's Gate, most of it seemed outdated, back from when the project first started.

Stopping, you decided to put a film on. The signal here was pretty bad but it was enough to watch something in low quality at least. As you settled back against the pillows, a loud noise interrupted you. No, it couldn't be, was that.... Was that a gunshot?

You listened for a moment, muting your laptop. Another gunshot, then a string of them and men shouting. "Secure the building!" You managed to hear. Instantly, your fight or flight instincts kicked in. You grabbed your boots, hurriedly putting them on and picking up your bag, arming yourself with the penknife you had in it. Slipping your bag onto your back, you slowly opened the door and peered into the corridor, holding your breath. At the other end, a group of men were kicking the doors in, grabbing anyone inside and dragging them outside. Guns in hand, all scruffy looking and clad in Eden's Gate logos. Shit.

You closed the door as quietly as possible, turning and pacing over to the window. Opening it, you climbed outside and glanced around. Bad luck, one of the men turned the corner of the building.

"They're getting away!" He yelled, taking aim with a bow that he had in his hands. As you ran, you felt an arrow pierce your thigh and cried out in pain, blood gushing out from the wound that was now there. You could barely see it in the dark. But you couldn't stop, not now. So you kept going, running as fast as your body would allow you to. Coming across a stream, you ducked down into a large pipe that was hidden beneath a bridge. You held your breath as you listened to the cars and men running above you. Only a few but still too many to challenge with no gun. Even if you had a gun, you'd never used one before and probably wouldn't have been able to get a clear enough shot off.

Almost half an hour went by before you dared to make your way back out. You'd used a scarf from your bag to tie around your thigh in an attempt to stem the bleeding, shivering in the cold night. You couldn't stay there, you'd bleed out or get pneumonia if you did. So, you found a main road and began to follow it, silently praying to whoever was listening that you'd find safety soon.

Coming across a small cabin, you found the door unlocked and went inside, pushing a table in front of the door in an effort to stop anyone else from getting in. The lock had been broken, probably by the same men who had come to the hotel. Moving into the bathroom, you turned the tap on, grabbing a towel from a cupboard and wetting it. You went back into the main room, holding the towel onto your thigh to soak up the blood, starting to look around the kitchen for anything you could use to properly clean and dress the wound. That was when you heard yet another noise. Would this day never end? This one wasn't a gunshot, no, this was vastly different. Static. Your eyes travelled to the radio that lay on the countertop beside you. A voice came through, clear as day.

"Hello."