#Gregor is just a calming influence and I like him | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bladelineage · 2 years ago

Text

Sword of Frost

Game: Limbus Company

Ship: Dante/Faust

Characters: Dante, Faust, Don Quixote, Meursault, Gregor, Ryoshu, Emil Sinclair, The Snow Queen

Fic contains canon-typical violence, brief mention of spiders in the first half.

The Snow Queen's kiss froze his heart, and he couldn't feel the cold he didn't want to feel anymore. The sunlight couldn't reach the deepest, coldest level of hell. Dante has an encounter with an Abnormality he cannot face alone.

“We’re heading down into the ruins. Watch your step, everyone.” Vergil’s voice pierced the eerie silence of the abandoned Lobotomy Corporation branch, but did not exactly give everyone comfort, either. Dante shuffled in front of the group to his side, trying to calm his nerves by tapping the back of his hand. He wasn’t particularly… confident about this. The company had ventured into depths unknown before, and emerged victorious over many foes and monsters alike- so why was this trip in particular rattling him so?

The bloodstained corridors of the branch were a sight to behold, with Dante wondering if it had always been so bloody within these halls when the place was functional. It was hard to tell, given how deep some of the incisions on the walls looked. Corpses littered the floor, some monster, some human. The Enkephalin that had been pumped through the pipes was now leaking onto the floor, dripping from the ceiling. Even if it was something he’d seen before, the feeling of being somewhere that was once so lively with workers, hopes, and dreams but was now silent with death and decay made his skin crawl. He hoped in vain his anxiety wasn’t visible in the way he walked- in front of everyone, yet still behind Vergil. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Vergil having stopped walking, Dante looking at the ground.

They had come to a branch in the path ahead. Stopping the middle and shining his flashlight down both corridors, Vergil clicked his tongue and gave a heavy sigh.

“There’s containment units on both sides. Regardless of which way we go, we’re likely to run into an Abnormality or two.” His tone was flat, devoid of any particular feeling about it.

“So… Why don’t we just pick one way to go? If I may ask…” Emil Sinclair piped up from the back of the group. He’d been assigned to the back of the formation, to make sure that he was paying attention to what was behind him and to warn the others of danger. It would come to be a useful skill one day, surely.

“We won’t get nearly as much stuff to pocket if we only go one way, yeah? Why don’t we split up?” Rodion raised her hand with her suggestion, a sly smile on her face. Vergil merely blinked at her. He then looked to Dante, who immediately felt the other man’s burning gaze on him and jumped.

“Well, Manager. You decide the best course of action.”

“Hm…” Dante started, putting his hand to his face in brief contemplation. On one hand, if they only went one way, they’d be much safer in a group. On the other, if they parted into two groups and Vergil was heading the other group, with him leading one, he could show everyone maybe he didn’t need his guide as his side constantly. That, and he tended to fold in the face of certain people, like Outis and her commanding attitude. She wasn’t particularly mean or anything, but her ease at taking control of the situation and ordering others was something he couldn’t help feeling himself influenced by, either. It was unconscious, in the way authority figures were. He didn’t quite feel like one now, even if most of them would listen to what he said. The idea of seeming more independent than he felt was tempting in the moment, safety be damned. The sinners were powerful and certainly not pushovers, after all.

“We can split into two groups. Vergilius, would you mind leading one? With the way these buildings are structured, we should meet again in a corridor further up.” He had spent much time attempting to make sense of the few branches they had mapped- this was a smaller version of a facility, one that was easier to navigate. Vergil nodded, and stepped to the right path with no hesitation.

“Outis, Rodion, Ishmael, Heathcliff, Yi Sang, and Hong Lu. Come with me.” He gestured for them to go to his side. “And Dante? Be careful over there. The path may converge back into one at the end, but none of us will be able to hear you if you call for help.” He knew that he didn’t mean it in any backhanded way, but it almost felt like Vergil was testing his independence with the addition of the last comment. As the sinners followed, he could hear Rodion and Heathcliff begin to chatter away about something or another as their voices faded in the hall. Turning to his group, Dante crossed his arms, trying to look professional.

“Alright, everyone! Let’s go.” He turned to begin the trek, only to feel a slight cold wind on his face from the entrance. Shivering a little, he turned to start walking.

“Uh, manager? Do you still want me to take the back of the group, since that was something Mr. Vergilius told me-”

“Yes, Emil. That’s fine.”

—-

The hallway they had chose to go down was lined with bodies, as before. Some pierced in their abdomens leaving gaping wounds, some torn in half or gored beyond any recognition the organs on the floor were once human. Dante stopped in front of a row of chambers, pointing his flashlight into one of them. Whatever had been in there before was long gone, webbing lining the walls and many cocoons on the ceiling, having burst open. The creatures that had come out… He didn’t want to think about what could be out there, waiting for them in the rest of the labyrinth. As he poked his head in, Ryoshu clambered past him to take a look at the cocoons and their contents. Gregor looked like he was going to cry being there. Perhaps the thought of what had once been there was overwhelming him, too.

“Don’t fear, my fellow compatriot! I shall slay the beasts that came forth from these foul shells with utmost ease! Isn’t that right, Meursault?” Don Quixote looked at the tall man, smiling her usual wide grin of self-assuredness. He simply gave a nod in response, fist clenched as he surveyed the area for any other threats. Sinclair stuck close to his side, feeling some comfort in his presence, almost like a bird to a tree. Meanwhile, Faust knelt down to the webs and examined them closely.

“These don’t seem to be like any spiderweb I recognize- while they share a similar pattern to a particular spider that only nests in damp areas and happens to be found in District 10’s Backstreets, I highly doubt they made their way here only to make a home and abandon it.” She spoke with certainty and wit that Dante longed for, knowledge that was practical.

“Will that help take them out if we run across them?” Gregor fumbled with his cigarette for a moment, nearly dropping it into the webs on the floor. “I hope so.”

“The spiders of which I speak of happen to be of the strength-in-numbers kind. Their webbing is structured like this to protect and support the numerous young rather than encourage their climbing skills. So, if we do come across this kind in particular…” She paused, taking a small length of the web in her fingers and then immediately trying wipe it off on her coat. “Don’t let yourself get isolated. Crush as many as you can.”

As they spoke, Dante turned to look away from the webs and cocoons out to the other containment unit in the hallway. While the other of them looked desolate and bloodstained, the creatures not clearly having had any attachment to their homes, the final one around a corner, somewhat distant from the others… Was odd. A strange feeling compelled him to look in that dim corner- Was he being lured? Drawn in only for the jaws of some Abnormality to shut on him? He had no idea, but the thought of possibly finding something important suddenly called out to him. He quickly glanced over to the group, making eye contact with Meursault as he began to slip away.

“I’m going to go… Investigate over there for a bit, okay?” Dante pointed to the strange room hurriedly.

“Alright.” Was the sinner’s reply. Sinclair looked from behind the taller man, looking like he had something to say but could not find the courage to do so.

Jogging off to check the room, he followed the cold wind from earlier around a bend in the corridor. The feeling of the hallway was odd, with not one body laying around the area proper. They must have all run to the main path, he surmised. His heart beat fast and heavy, threatening to stifle his breathing if anything were to give him a particular fright. then, he heard a soft humming- it wasn’t loud enough to echo far, but it definitely came from the containment unit just in front of him. The door didn’t look like it was beaten open by force, but it sure didn’t look like the natural way the units were supposed to open. He approached with caution, only to hear an actual voice this time.

“You, who has the shards of the mirror in your heart. Speak to me of your worries.” The air around him chilled, and Dante edged forward nervously. He had to prove he could do something on his own, didn’t he? Then maybe the others would respect him not as simply their boss, but someone who could hold his own. He’d just take a look. If things got too bad, surely he’d run away… Back to the arms of the capable sinners, who would look at him like he was pathetic, as usual. With that realization, he steeled himself to step into the containment. Maybe there was something everyone could use in there. He’d find it, no matter what.

Through the broken entrance of the containment unit was a scene Dante had come to know through their various tours through the Lobotomy Corporation branches, but one he could never get truly used to. Bodies. Frozen in prisms of ice were employees with their weapons still in hand, their faces lacking the usual terror he could see on bodies they came across. They all looked… quite peaceful, actually. Eyes closed with a serene look despite just how many of them had perished there. That alone was a sign of what doom could befall him if he stayed.

In the middle of the ice prisons that trapped the unfortunate, was a tall, imposing figure. It held a sword tighty with both hands, and as he turned up to look at it, the wind around the chamber kicked into a gust. Snowflakes were visible in the whirlwind, both as slow as falling snow and fast as a frigid blizzard. The Abnormality shifted for a moment, twisting its head as it gazed at him. Then it spoke again.

“Your flames are nothing to the bitter cold, but do not worry. I do not intend to hurt you. I am the Snow Queen, and I can sense you came here of your own courage. Your woes are many. Tell me, so I can make your heart stronger than it could ever be in the warm spring sun.” Despite the intimidating glare the queen gave him, Dante could already feel the impulse to confess overtake him. Was he that naive to believe an Abnormality could understand his plight, or weak willed enough to fall prey to its charms? He began to speak, clasping his hands together in mock prayer.

“...Those who work alongside me do not believe me courageous enough. I can feel it in the way they talk to me, and about me… I just want to be strong enough to lead everyone. To feel like I could deserve my position… Even with my standing, I’m not absolved of all sin either.” He shivered as he exhaled, thinking. “This journey… I don’t know if I’m up to the task. I don’t want to have to do these exhausting things anymore, emotionally or physically.” His mind flashed back to his dilemma with Faust. He was so lukewarm on it he couldn’t even bring himself to ask her on a proper date…! If he couldn’t do that, then how could someone so weak be expected to lead a whole team on life or death missions for a deadly resource… He felt like the wrong person entirely for the job.

“I see… In that case, may I give you a proposition? I will give you something. You will not worry much longer.” She cast her hand towards him, and within moments an ice shard went flying into his chest. Dante flinched, expecting pain- only to be met with a cool, numb feeling overtake his body. Looking down, the shard had lodged itself firmly, yet there was no blood or tearing to his clothes. Such was the strange nature of Abnormalities. The Snow Queen spoke again, her voice now clearer and even somewhat beautiful to him.

“You are burdened with knowledge of which you do not want… Come here, and I will make it so you no longer feel the cold. You have suffered much. Let me give you the refuge you seek.” The woman’s biting voice, sharp and rough like glass in the wind, echoed through the chamber. She let go of her sword, beckoning for him to come closer. For every bit of his mind telling him he was a fool to step closer into her embrace, there was an equal part wanting it to be over with. He didn’t want to feel the cold of the City and the harshness of the world anymore. Being frozen was a way to preserve himself as he was then… Nobody to lead, nothing to question, no journey to take. His mind was weakened by both the first kiss’s shard lodged in his heart, and the Enkephalin fumes seeping through the pipes of the building, frozen and leaking through the cracks. It truly didn’t sound like a terrible idea.

Taking her gracefully poised hand with his own and immediately feeling his entire body begin to freeze, Dante could only sigh softly when the Snow Queen leaned in to kiss him.

—-

“Alright, I’m done pokin’ at these things.” Ryoshu stabbed into a cocoon husk with her sword, cutting it down from the ceiling in one fell swoop. “Where’s scaredy cat Dante?” At her remark, Faust, Gregor, and Don all turned from their inspection of the room to the door, where Meursault and Sinclair stood what could be considered guard.

“Did you see where he went, friend?” Don inquired to Meursault, who simply gave a point to the direction Dante had left in. Sinclair quickly responded, even if he wasn’t the one being asked.

“The manager went down that hallway, to investigate. I hope he’s not hurt, because I haven’t seen him since…” His voice paused a bit over his mention of Dante possibly being hurt. Whether it was out of genuine concern for a friend or a fear of lack of authority and guidance couldn’t be ascertained. Faust stood up from her investigation and cataloguing of the Abnormality’s spiderwebs.

“Then, we shall go find out ourselves.”

As the group arrived to the frostbitten room, they saw their manager, frozen solid in a prism of ice at the side of the room. He didn’t look like he’d been trying to run- rather, it looked like he had accepted his fate.

“What do we…” Sinclair choked out, then taking a deep breath when Don patted him on the back, lance in her other hand.

“To save the innocent in distress, a righteous hero as I could never back down! Fret not, for Don Quixote is here to rescue Manager Esquire from a fate most chilling!”

“Isn’t he… Already frozen, though?” Gregor’s voice tilted into depression, realizing their only option for rewinding time and cheating death (and their paycheck signing) was frozen and most likely wasn’t going to thaw anytime soon without a flamethrower. He had suspected that Dante’s flames weren’t actually warm for a while, but this confirmed it- they were frozen inside the ice, too.

“Silence, intruders to my domain.” The Snow Queen spoke with conviction. “I will duel one of you for the freedom of this one.” Faust narrowed her eyes, sizing the enemy up. Probably around a HE-level threat in the classification… It would be difficult, but nothing she couldn’t prevail over.

“I can see the determination in your eyes… Prove to me you can save him, that you are resolute enough.” The Snow Queen raised a hand, and a pillar of ice containing a blade rose from the snowy ground. Of the sinners, three stepped forward to claim the sword- Don, Ryoshu and Faust.

“You just want an excuse to fight something, huh?” Gregor commented to Ryoshu, earning a chuckle from the woman.

“That obvious? I mean, don’t you wanna see what color this thing bleeds and what I can make from that?” She exhaled, taking her cigarette from her mouth. Don began to speak too, but all were quieted by the booming voice of the Snow Queen.

“I will only duel the bravest of you lot, and that would be… you.” She pointed at Faust, who had began to brandish her own Zweihander- only for the Abnormality to once again raise her hand and shards of razor sharp ice fly at Ryoshu, Don, and Faust’s hands. Meursault stepped forward to shield Don with his arm, and Ryoshu effortlessly reflected the ice with her blade. Faust had pulled her hands fast enough away from the ice as it made contact with and completely froze her Zweihander, leaving her with only the option to take the sword given. Rime began to crackle, forming an arena around her and the Snow Queen. She stated loud and clear- if anyone interfered, everyone in the room would be frozen in moments. The tension in the air was palpable, like the snowflakes drifting and whirling around the arena.

Faust did not like to not be in control of a situation. This time, however- it was her only option to play by the rules of the game the Abnormality had set. Placing her hands on the hilt of the rose-adorned blade sticking out of the snow, she faltered for a moment as a voice entered her thoughts, something only she could hear.

“I deserve this. For being weak enough to allow it all, for betraying them to preserve myself, as I am now and to escape my responsibilities… I’m a weak and hollow traitor. I’m not strong enough to lead anyone, nor to know the warm sun.” It was not a voice with sound, but a thought flitting through her mind with her own inner voice. That alone irritated her, that it could invade her conscious mind like that. She could think about the contents of the message later- The time to show her combat knowledge had come.

The Snow Queen stabbed her sword into the ground, causing cascading frost to go flying across the arena. A whirlwind stronger than the passive blizzard in the room kicked up, lowering visibility with the snowflakes that danced across Faust’s vision. Her only hint to the next attack was the sound of ice crackling at her feet- she jumped away, clutching her blade as a large chunk of frost rose from the ground, sharp as a razor’s edge. She’d be afforded no time to sit still and calculate her next move like this. So, Faust did what she felt was right.

Running forward through the winds, she squinted to keep the frost out of her eyes, and with force, aimed and struck at the Abnormality. There was quick retaliation, with the Snow Queen throwing a hand up and raising a pillar of ice in front of her for protection. A makeshift shield, in a way. Not expecting such a quick counter, her blade was blown back and the queen’s eyes glowed with satisfaction.

She gritted her teeth. How foolish this thing was to think that she couldn’t crack ice with simple blows. It was a fragile surface, regardless of how much there was. Faust broke through the wall with her sword, bringing her face to face with the queen- shards of frost and ice were sent flying again, grazing her clothes and threatening to allow the cold to meet her skin. Yet, she continued her assault. Recklessness would not get her anywhere, but a brave offense with a calculated blow to the queen’s could send her reeling. Stabbing through the gap in the queen’s arms and not giving her time to think, she thrust the blade forward into the chest.

The other sinners looked on into the gale of frost, watching the hazy forms of both fighters dance and twirl to the sounds of sword meeting ice. The Snow Queen cried out in pain, clutching the wound and her sword.

“So you still wish to fight for the roses to bloom, insisting spring will come?” She sputtered out angrily. Drawing her blade back, Faust readied to defend. The queen came barreling towards her, malice practically dripping from her blade. What once had been a regal and imposing royal figure was naught more than another frenzied monster born from the crazed minds of humans. The sword of the Snow Queen met her defense, producing snowflakes as the edges met and clashed.

To challenge her had been a fatal mistake, after all.

Faust pushed her sword with all of her might, throwing the Abnormality off balance and causing the sword to clatter from its hands and onto the metal flooring. It was sent to the ground, back hitting the floor with an unceremonius thump. Before the Snow Queen could even begin to reach for her blade again, Faust stood over her- driving the rose sword into her chest, seemingly killing her. Now, they knew the nature of Abnormalities. These creatures could not be killed in a true sense. But, with its purpose now null and the fight over, the Snow Queen faded into powder snow underneath the blade.

“Wait, look…!” Sinclair pointed to one of the prisms of ice, which was being enveloped by vines which sprouted beautiful red roses. The whirlwind of ice and snow that had engulfed the room moments ago began to cease, and Faust was left in the middle of a circle of newly formed roses where the arena boundaries had been.

While the other ice prisons had simply been overgrown with roses in a moment, the one containing Dante began to melt away in the new pleasant heat that filled the room, not unlike sunshine. Rushing forward to catch him before he hit the ground, she lifted him from the melting prism into her arms, carrying him. She held him close to check his pulse- thankfully, he was still alive. If he had been frozen much longer, who knew what could have happened to him.

“Lady Faust!” Don called, running over to her, practically with sparkles in her eyes. “That was incredibly heroic! The way you guided your sword true and swiftly… Ah, it was just a marvel to behold!”

“Ah… Of course it was not hard for me. I simply saw through its tricks.” She gave a soft smile to the other woman, who flapped her hands excitedly. She trudged over to the rest of the group, hoping not to get any comments about the way she was carrying the manager. Luckily, Ryoshu and Gregor seemed more occupied with leaving and getting back to the rest of the group- probably to tell them what had happened and how funny it was their manager had gotten nearly killed by an Abnormality. As they went to leave, she was approached by Meursault. He pointed to Dante, so she expected a remark about how Dante was shivering in her arms, almost cuddling up to her because he was still cold.

“I can carry him, if you’d like.” He said. Looking down at the man she was carrying in her arms, and thinking back to what she had heard when she took the sword… She shook her head.

“That’s alright. I think… He needs someone right now.” Meursault only nodded, and they continued down the corridor to meet up with everyone else.

___

“Whoa, what happened to the manager?” Heathcliff remarked upon seeing the group approach, and Dante passed out and being carried by Faust.

“Get this- He wandered off and got attacked by some Abnormality!” Ryoshu laughed as Heathcliff’s eyebrows went up in surprise.

“But Lady Faust saved him with a fight to the death with the monster!” Don began a long-winded explanation of the fight, to which Ishmael and Hong Lu seemed to take interest in. Vergil on the other hand, stepped forward to look at Dante. The other man surely was not unscathed after an encounter with an Abnormality. he had to assess damage.

He was clinging to Faust, even unconsciously feeling the effects of having been trapped in the ice. Vergil could see no sign of external injury on him, and he didn’t seem to be in any pain asleep, but it was always best to keep an eye on him. Luckily, the next room in the facility seemed to be relatively safe, from his group’s scout of it. Faust shifted uncomfortably as he made eye contact with her, if only for a moment. Despite her general dislike of eye contact, the gaze of that man could make anyone crawl with uneasiness.

“... At least he has others to look after him where a guide cannot.” He said, turning away from her to the rest of the sinners. “Let’s rest in the next area and wait until he wakes up, then we’ll continue onwards.” With that, all of them continued on, deeper into the labyrinth of confusion in search of the ultimate treasure.

… It would have been too easy if it ended here, however. The shards of the mirror had not melted in the sunlight which could not reach the deepest circles of hell, after all.

---------

Dante didn’t awaken for the whole of their visit. The rest of the mission had to be led by Vergilius, who seemed prepared to have to do it, but definitely not happy. It was rare anything were to happen to Dante. He was content to sit on the backlines and issue orders to everyone rather than jump into the fray himself, or investigate anything on his own. It was likely a headache for Vergil to have to explain to their superiors.

As the sinners ascended from the ruins of the facility, the sun hung high in the sky, it having been very early in the morning when they entered. Just after the Night in the Backstreets, so they could sneak in without being noticed as the streets awoke from their quiet stupor. The warmth of the sunlight hit everyone as almost a relief- the prior incident aside, the abandoned Lobotomy Corp. branches were always rather cold. As for the manager, Dante’s unconscious body was taken back to the hotel they had been staying in to rest and see if he would wake up.

“Going out with my group from earlier to grab some things and run some errands. We’ll be back later.” Vergil set off with the others, leaving Faust to contemplate the situation. She sat in her own room, deep in thought.

Dante was suffering some kind of adverse effect from the ordeal he had undergone, clearly. His unconsciousness likely wasn’t going to be the only side effect they’d see from him- You didn’t just come out of a dangerous encounter with an Abnormality like that perfectly fine, mentally nor physically. She had experienced some harrowing moments in the past, regardless of knowing she wasn’t in combat anymore or that she was uninjured. It was by no means easy. He could not just get up and walk away unharmed- intuition told her something was wrong. She did not like relying on pure intuition about things, but rather saying it was her intellect predicting something.

Faust knew if she did not do something about the situation, it would be bothering her for hours to come. Besides, it was in everyone’s better interest that Dante was okay and ready to lead them should anything arise. That’s all her concern was. Calculated and intelligent, surely.

She entered the hotel’s downstairs lobby to find Don Quixote and Sinclair, studying a map of the Backstreets and marking important landmarks of District 9’s. Not exactly her first candidates from the remaining group to go with her to test her theory, but certainly better than going alone. Both were capable fighters, if anything. Approaching them, she spoke.

“Allow me to ask you two for a favor.”

—----

“Do not fear, my friends! For while I am here, no beast that is lurking in this place shall dare even think to cross our paths.” Don boasted as they entered the branch once more, her enthusiasm unmatched. “After all, I’m certain they witnessed the fierce fighting from our party against the other foes here earlier. They know not to underestimate a hero!”

“Why are we here, Miss Faust? Did you drop something?” Sinclair asked as they walked. Faust stopped for a moment to consider her answer. Why was she here… Would foolishly hoping the cure for Dante’s malady lay here, in the halls of the branch where the being that cursed him used to roam be a sufficient answer? She’d never admit considering herself a fool, yet she felt like one all the same. But theories had to made if they wanted to lead to answers at some point. She would be useless if she didn’t try to do something.

She tried to think about why she wanted so badly to do something for him, to help this man who could barely help himself. It wasn’t quite pity- rather, a fondness? Almost a longing, in the way she couldn’t quite place. There was absolutely no way she would explain that to Sinclair, especially if she couldn’t explain it to herself.

“I have a theory about something. We’re here to get the item that will help me test it.” Faust replied, stepping over a discarded employee’s baton. Sinclair looked like he wanted to say something in response, only to stop mid-thought and put his head down again, gripping his halberd tighter. Regardless of his own thoughts on the matter, she knew he’d nod and follow along so long as nobody got hurt.

They arrived at the containment unit where the Snow Queen once had stood, the roses from earlier still blooming just as brightly around the room as when they had first appeared. The overgrown tombs of the former employees shined in the light of the flashlight she carried. She tried not to think about what kind of outcome they could expect if her theory lead nowhere, and she tried even harder not to think about why she was so concerned. Faust approached the center of the former arena, seeing the circle of roses where she had defeated the creature. Just above the ring of flowers, lay the rose blade used to slay her. While the body was gone, the weapon laid on the ground in its own cold silence.

As she reached out and gripped the hilt of the rose blade once more, she felt powerful memories come to her in a flood, washing over her own yet leaving them untouched.

Two figures, holding hands as they turned back to look at a large palace of ice, melting away in the warm spring sun. Roses bloomed over the hills and in the bushes of the forest they walked into, a tender embrace being shared as they went. The palace was no longer a place of agony and longing for something that had been stolen; the cold in the heart replaced by love and courage. When one of them had kissed the other, the shards of the mirror in his heart had melted…

When she returned to reality, she paused. Turning the blade over in her hand while she examined it, Faust remembered something she had read in employee manuals about the Abnormalities and their nature.

“Not every Abnormality has a reason to exist, but they all have a will to persist.”

Perhaps this was the Snow Queen’s way of keeping itself alive; in the memories of those it touched, leaving a slight imprint on the mind of its story. Then, maybe one day, when emotions were at a fever pitch and the time was right once more, the Snow Queen would appear again in her full form. For now, she was lost to time.

She stood up from the floor, shining her flashlight around one more time to make sure nothing was hiding. The dark stillness of the facility did not betray her- nothing was to be seen nor heard besides Sinclair bumping into Don for lack of his own flashlight. Everything had been more or less cleared out during their earlier visit, after all. Any Abnormalities that were hanging around didn’t pose a threat to the three of them if they hadn’t encountered it on their way in.

“That’s all. We can leave now. I’m sure the rest of them are expecting me back at the bus soon.”

“Very true, Lady Faust!” Don responded, not seeming to notice the deliberate subtraction of Sinclair and herself from Faust’s words. “If we do not return in a timely manner, our allies will worry a most grim fate has befallen us. Let us go at once!”

Upon their exit of the abandoned branch, the trio returned to the hotel the company was lodging in for a few days while they were investigating. Dante had insisted that they stay somewhere close to the ruins rather than far away, as per Vergil’s suggestion. That way, they wouldn’t have long to walk after their exhausting mission. The bus was parked in a nearby alley, under the watchful eye of Charon. While she did not seem particularly threatening outwardly, she could hit hard with an oar. Nobody would touch any of the E.G.O. they had collected as long as she was there.

After going up the stairs to the rooms on the second floor while Don and Sinclair waited outside, Faust came to a stop outside Dante’s room, knocking. She went to knock- only to notice the door was slightly ajar. She opened it to find Ryoshu, with her back to the door and studying the empty bed Dante had been laying in when she had left. Hearing the door open, the woman turned around to Faust.

“Oh, you’re back. Did you see the manager on the way out, or…?”

“You lost him?” She tried not to sound as surprised as she felt- truly, the others were a special sort if they could take their eyes off a sleeping man and lose him within an hour.

“Gregor and I were taking a break to smoke outside ‘cause we thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to fill the manager’s room with smoke, and Meursault… Actually, where is he?” Ryoshu glanced towards the door, then shrugged. “Probably went to the bathroom or something. I came back to check on him and then I found the room empty just as you got here.”

“You were just going to stand here, not bothering to look for him?” Faust retorted, annoyance creeping into her voice. “What if a Syndicate has broken in and carried him off? Does that mean anything to you?”

“Sure means something to you, the way I’m hearing it.” She narrowed her eyes at Faust. It wasn’t necessarily a look of malice, but more interest. “You’re going to bat for someone who can’t hold a candle to any of us, and not even for concern about your paycheck. Can’t say there are many here that would do the same. Makes me wonder what for, but I’ve got better things to worry about.” She put out her cigarette in the ashtray on the dresser, then immediately reached into her pocket to grab a new one, along with her lighter.

It took all of Faust’s mental energy she had to spare to not break down every possible situation in which their manager could be dead. Ryoshu didn’t care much to hear it, anyway. Her eyes scanned the room for evidence of what could have happened, settling on the open window. “I thought you said you didn’t want to smoke in here. Why is the window open, then?” She asked the other woman, expecting a chuckle and a confession she had lied.

“Hm?” Ryoshu looked up from lighting a new cigarette. “I don’t know. Wasn’t open when Gregor and I left for a smoke… I didn’t notice until you mentioned it, actually.” Now her interest seemed to be piqued.

The two left the building to reunite with the rest of the group and explain their dilemma, to find Gregor and Meursault awkwardly standing around the entrance with Sinclair and Don Quixote farther down the wall of the hotel. The street was now crowded with people that Faust did not remember seeing as she came back, most of them moving away from the nearby plaza down the alley. They looked distressed, prompting her to glance in the direction they had come from. Ryoshu opened her mouth to begin talking to Gregor about the situation, when he pointed down the alley.

“There’s something happening over there. Doesn’t look good, judging by everyone practically running.” He looked to the crowd for a moment, before a shiver ran down his spine. “And does anyone else feel it’s gotten kinda chilly?”

“It was supposed to be hot and sunny today.” Meursault commented. “It was until around 10 minutes ago, I think.”

Ryoshu put her hands in her pockets, smiling. “Let’s go check it out then. Maybe there’s some punks who’ve gotten their hands on some Workshop temperature tech, and we need to deal with them.” It was not a rare sight to see her smirk like that, especially not when it came to the prospect of creating something new and interesting from the bodies of her enemies- yet, Faust could not shake the feeling the situation was more complicated than that, between the droves of people fleeing and their missing manager.

They made their way over to the plaza, weaving through the crowd of people. There was a non-zero chance it was something they couldn’t suppress fully on their own, but nobody particularly seemed worried about it. They were not a group of laypeople versus the multitudes of people in the City who worked less combat-oriented jobs running from the scene. After all, they were in the Streets of Music- any fear of a Distortion like the Pianist happening at any time was quite well-earned.

As they approached, it was clear the situation had escalated much quicker than anticipated before. The air was frigid, and the area was now barren save for a figure obscured in the middle by a sudden gust of wind, carrying snowflakes numerous enough to block out nearby buildings on it. A panicked woman ran to the group, fear very apparent in her eyes.

“Are you all from an Office or something? Please, you have to help- There’s a Distortion-”

“A Distortion?!” Don cried, excited as ever. Any opportunity to present herself as a righteous hero was one to take in stride regardless of the threat, she supposed. The woman tried to elaborate, but was interrupted by a sharp howl of the oncoming gust, and she fled from the scene. The winds kicked up, blowing everyone farther back. Small spikes of hail flew through the air and cut them up, making it even harder to see what was at the center of it all. She squinted, trying to get at least a glimpse of the anomaly.

“That’s not… a Distortion.” Faust said, looking into the blizzard forming in the plaza. She pursed her lips, having realized the answer but not quite wanting to confront it. A gust of snowflakes blew past them, finally revealing the figure in the whirlwind.

Dante was not hard to recognize, even when heavily corroded by an Abnormality’s influence. The manager’s normal clothes were replaced with a gown of frost, ice pluming from his head in a mock shape of his flames. His arm was raised from having pulled forth the flurry of snow, gaze drawn to a wall of ice that had blocked off several of the alleys connected to the plaza. He hadn’t noticed the group yet, miraculously, and they could get the upper hand on him if they played their cards right. Unfortunately, Ryoshu had other ideas.

She rushed at him through the hail and ice, bringing her sword forward to strike- only for it to clink off of the blue ice that had risen to protect him. He turned to the group, locking gazes with a slightly stunned Ryoshu who quickly composed herself.

“The ones who worked with me, betraying me to fight? Traitorous behavior, even for sinners… You shall all be entombed in ice up to your necks.” His voice was resounding and regal, cold and incredibly unlike himself- he spared no time, trying to summon ice to trap Ryoshu, Gregor, and Don Quixote in. The progression of the prisms forming around them was too fast to properly react to on their own- yet, the other three reacted and smashed at the ice to free their comrades, crystals flying in all directions as they broke the ice.

“Wait, so that’s…!” Sinclair was out of breath from the force he had to swing his halberd with to save Gregor from the ice. His anxious expression became even more intensely fearful, and if one had looked closely they could have seen the small tears forming at the corners of his eyes from anxiety and the wind in them.

“Manager, you asshat…” Gregor slumped on the ground, regaining the feeling in his body. “Should’ve known you’d turn coat on us one day.”

“Tsk…! He was unconscious earlier today, why’s he using E.G.O. from that thing back there that froze him?” A puff of smoke from Ryoshu was blown away by the wind encircling the plaza. The whirlwind blocked out the sky, leaving all of them inside a raging tornado of snow and ice that had no mercy. The hail bit at Faust’s face, and she could only grit her teeth harder to try and not think about it.

She’d seen to it that the E.G.O. taken from their earlier raid had been stored away properly on the bus- Dante couldn’t have gone and gotten it from their temporary base, in the state he was left in. Thoughts of her coworkers- and herself, at times- taken over by the E.G.O. they wielded in times of intense distress filled her mind, and suddenly she had a basis for an answer. It likely wasn’t the exact cause, but could be similar.

“He’s corroding. That Abnormality must have placed a type of long-lasting effect on him.” She shouted over the wind. Faust was not willing to admit to the others that she could not have anticipated this kind of thing happening- so she would have to do something she did not do often- feign knowledge.

As she was swinging her lance around in the air, deflecting the ice, Don Quixote called to everyone. “So how do we free him from that villain’s clutches? This isn’t the true heart of Manager Esquire!”

“We’ll have to rescue him the same way we deal with Abnormalities. To survive them, we must wield them.” Taking it from a cleverly concealed pocket in her coat, she held the rose sword she had taken in an almost heroic stance. Sinclair’s eyes lit up with recognition at the sight.

“You… knew? That’s what you went to get, because you already knew something was amiss…” He seemed to find comfort in thinking somebody there had a handle on the situation- even if it was completely out of Faust’s control beyond her foresight to bring the blade with her.

“Hm. So a hero has come forth once more.” Dante responded flatly. “I see I made an error in how many of you I decided to freeze- Let’s make this a proper duel, then.”

With another raise of his hand, a large snowflake pattern formed on the ground under everyone. Before anyone could react, there was a flash. Faust shut her eyes tight against the blinding light, and when she opened them, the rest of the group was encased in ice.

This would prove troublesome. She absolutely had the combat experience and knowledge to back her, but in a public place with her allies downed, and against someone she didn’t want to hurt… She shook the thought away, brandishing the rose sword once more. It was just something she’d have to do. The sword spoke to her in its own voice, not unlike how she would hear strange voices when utilizing E.G.O. during battle. This wasn’t entirely E.G.O., but it wasn’t free from Abnormality influence either.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, listening to the sword intently. In a cacophony of voices whispering to her, she focused on the clearest sounds and feelings.

“Kai, I have found you at last…!”

“Gerda… Where were you? Where am I?” Said a boy’s voice, dazed and dreamlike. She had a brief feeling of an embrace, phantom in nature. Then, tender kisses pressed to the face and hands, cold vanishing from the heart… The resolution to have fought for someone, and come out on top. She grasped this determination tightly. She’d fight for someone she cared about.

“Dante!” Faust called repeatedly, her cries seemingly being lost to the winds. Charging in and confronting him first could be fatal. She had to get his attention first- yet, without any indication he heard her at all, he continued to study the faces of her coworkers trapped in the ice as if trying to figure out who they were at all. He glided around the prisms, satisfied with his work.

“A kingdom of frozen sinners, just for me… Perfect. Subjects that will not defy me or question my authority, I alone the one who can move freely and understand the cruelty of winter.” He tilted his head to look at the frozen forms. “Ice is not as fragile as you all believe it to be, you know.” He turned to Faust, summoning a sword of frost from the ground, the hilt coming to rest in his hands. “You may have thought me weak before. But I have accepted the gift of the Snow Queen, and now I will show you the strength of solid frost.”

The rose sword met the other blade with a resounding strike, each of their blows in combat having heavy conviction behind them. Faust struggled to keep up with the swift swordplay of her opponent, the swords clashing intensely as she tried to block a direct hit. There was absolutely no way this was Dante unaltered mentally, unless he had some secret talent in longsword wielding he had not shown nor told any of them about. The power of Abnormalities was something Faust could conceptualize, but not quite believe when she saw it in practice. But much like everything else in the City, they would fall and rise over and over in one way or another.

The man chuckled. “I should be thanking you, actually. I accepted the kiss from the Snow Queen for I felt that all of you viewed me as some kind of fool who would shatter at the slightest impact. You all contributed to that, so I am grateful.” His head tilted as he spoke, unbothered as if they weren’t having a duel over the lives of their allies. “Now this palace will be just for me. ”

Faust grimaced, almost withdrawing to catch her breath. But, in a decision unusual for her, she acting without thinking- charging Dante. He attempted to block from above, angling the sword downward, only to be swiftly disarmed by her as she stepped back, knocking the blade out of his hands. He stumbled back and fell onto a knee, startled by the sudden swift movement. Faust was not entirely sure where her strength had come from either, but she stood over him and pointed the end of the rose blade at him.

“That’s how I know the corrosion has gone to your heart. You…” She hesitated for a moment. “You see the best in your employees. You treat them kindly even if you cannot fully understand them. You’d never treat them so harshly, unless something had managed to possess you. So, let us end this foolish duel.”

Unwavering in his intensity, he moved his hand to seemingly summon a new sword- she wouldn’t give him the chance. Faust shoved him forward, throwing him off balance and onto his back. Now his opponent was over him with a sword- a disgraced royal of any kind would know this was the end. In his frosbitten mind, he reasoned that perhaps this was the perfect punishment for him, to be struck down by someone who had clearly looked down on him. There was no salvation for a sinner, after all.

Sinking the sword into the ice they both laid on, she exhaled. Her long hair draped down to him, obscuring sight of the others.The fight was over.

There was only one thing left to do now to erase the frost in his heart. She’d feared doing it this entire time, but it required just as much resolve as the combat itself. It was the action she’d need to take, just as Gerda rescued Kai.

Slowly, Faust leaned down and kissed Dante, on the edge of his clock face. There was a brief pause of silence in the air- brief enough to make Faust question her own theories, and nearly believe that the Abnormality had tricked her with false illusions- but Dante stirred soon enough. His robes of rime and snow melted into the air, leaving him in his work clothes once more, the frost and ice on his head disappearing and being replaced with burning flames. As she sat up and off of him, bringing a hand up to his face where she had kissed him, he spoke.

“Thank you, Faust…”

She could not help but feel her face flush hearing that. She was absolutely not a stranger to compliments, both praise and thanks, but Dante’s words made her heart beat a little faster if only for a second. Maybe… It was the way Dante actually appreciated her. Not like other people didn’t, but she knew that with her vast knowledge at their disposal, many others would not hesitate to see her as a tool or a stepping stone to chasing the star. Yet, she could always trust him to be grateful for her, and his words sincere. He may not have been the most skilled person in the City, but… he was genuine in a way that was hard to find in anyone these days.

In that moment, Dante could’ve sworn she smiled at him. His heart warmed with affection, to which he almost didn’t glance over the rest of his surroundings. When he did, he shivered upon seeing the rest of the group in ice prisms. To think he had done that to the people he was supposed to be leading- it was a strange and foreign notion. Perhaps he’d have to peek into the various company manuals and see if it was allowed for a manager to utilize E.G.O. for self defense.

She got up in quite a hurry upon realizing the sun was coming out and the others would thaw out quickly, as Dante had. Despite her realization of feeling something, she knew she’d never hear the end of it from everyone else if they had seen her like that. She had to maintain her image, at the very least.

Luckily, because no one else had been kissed by the Snow Queen, being a little bit chilly after the ice melted away quickly was their only side effect. It’d be a pain to explain to Vergil that Dante had indeed been overcome by some form of corrosion, but it was something that could wait for when the others got back from their supply run. For now, the newly reunited group enjoyed the warmth of the sun on their faces and the blooming of roses in their hearts.

—---

That evening, when the sun began to fall and dusk was on the Streets of Music again, Dante diligently penned in the details for the Abnormalities they had encountered in the forms provided to him by the company. The grade of the Abnormality, any E.G.O. taken from the branch that it belonged to, and many other details… As checked off the box for “This Abnormality is capable of Employee alteration,” Dante thought of what to add in the Notes section, aside from his explanation of what had occurred. When he had decided, he couldn’t help but add a tiny footnote at the end.

“Only the most courageous of them will be able to rescue the one trapped in the ice.”

Despite everything, even the most capable of people needed help sometimes. Even if he was by no means the ideal manager… Dante was happy knowing someone cared for him enough to rescue him from such peril. He was not alone. There would be others to walk through the coldest hells with him, as long as he was willing to make the journey in the first place.

#double writing #limbus company #project moon #dante #faust #don quixote #meursault #gregor #ryoshu #sinclair #funny little thing i made. hehe

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the-great-bbe · 4 years ago

Text

Ready or Not!

Rhaenys crawls under her father’s bed. Mama was quite clear: they were playing hide and seek, and Rhaenys needed to hide her best from all the men looking for her. She stifles a giggle into her little hands. After the count of ten—ready or not, here they come!

or a quick little fanfic, about our favorite game of hide and seek :)

Lyrics of “The Hide and Seek Song” copyright by Headquarters Music.

youtube

Who wants to play a game? It’s time for hide and seek!

Mama kisses Rhaenys’s forehead. Egg sleeps in his cradle, despite all the noise coming from outside. It sounds scary out there, but Rhaenys is safe with Mama and Egg. Mama will never let anything bad happen to her, not even the nightmares that scare Rhaenys in the middle of the night.

“Let’s play a game, my sweet.” Mama’s hands are shaking, and her voice is high pitched. But everything must be fine, because they’re going to play a game. And not just any game, but hide and seek! “Listen carefully. Many men will try and find us, but we can’t be found by anyone. When the game is over, I’ll come get you myself, do you understand? You must hide very well, not even Balerion can find you.”

Rhaenys nods. “I’m good at this game, Mama! I’ll hide forever and ever and then we’ll have honey cakes after dinner.” Maybe if Rhaenys hides the best she can, Mama will let her have two entire honey cakes!

Mama kisses her again, and hugs her so tight that Rhaenys squeaks against her shoulder. “My little sunshine, I love you so much. Now hide. Hide!”

Rhaenys scurries off. Mama is really worried even if she didn’t say so. This game must be very important—perhaps Grandfather is playing too, even though he never plays games. So where should she hide? Maybe behind the barrels in the wine cellar, or in the gardens? No, beneath Papa’s bed! No one ever goes in his room anymore, and the space is so small that only she and Balerion can fit!

She tiptoes up the stairs, and closes the bedroom door so that it’s almost shut but not entirely. Closed doors are more suspicious in hide and seek, after all. Then she tucks herself beneath the bed, and arranges the heavy bedspread so that it’s not wrinkled. Rhaenys shimmies to the very edge of where the bedframe meets the wall, and waits.

She waits, and waits. She almost wants to go back and ask Mama for how long they’re supposed to play, and how many players. But instead she wiggles with anticipation. Mama was quite clear: they were playing hide and seek, and Rhaenys needed to hide her best from all the men looking for her. And Rhaenys is the very best at hiding! She stifles a giggle into her little hands. After the count of ten, or maybe a hundred—ready or not, here they come!

Rhaenys spies a shadow by the almost-closed door, and holds her breath.

-- Run, run, run! Time to run and hide!

Run, run, run! And now I’m going to find you, scurry off into the darkness.

Hurry, I’m behind you!

Don’t you speak! Hide and seek!

“Myrcella! Myrcella, where are you?”

Myrcella bites her lip. Joffrey is no good at being a seeker, he gets too angry and starts shouting for her and the servant children. And of course the servants come out, and Joffrey is so mean when he catches someone! But not Myrcella—she is the very best at this game, and she would rather fall asleep beneath this dusty old bed than let Joffrey win.

Mother tells her to let Joffrey win, to keep him from throwing a tantrum, but Uncle Tyrion says that it’s good for even the Crown Prince to be told no every now and then. She sniffles. One of the serving girls showed her this hiding spot, saying that no one ever looks under here since it’s so deep in Maegoir’s Holdfast and who can fit beneath a bed anyway?

Why does the Hand even have this room—maybe this is where Lady Lysa is supposed to sleep, instead of in Lord Littlefinger’s rooms. Myrcella isn’t supposed to know about that, of course. But she knows a lot. She knows that Joffrey isn’t going to be a very good king, and that Mother and Father should’ve never married, and that the mean old black cat Tommen wants to catch had another owner before. Myrcella heard Uncle Jaime speak about him once, and the person who owned the cat before. Uncle Jaime says many things about before Myrcella was born, but only when he is drunk and sad.

She twists a bit of string around her string until her finger turns purple. By now Joffrey must have found Sweetrobin and Tommen. She hopes that Sweetrobin cried and punched Joffrey in the nose. He gets to hit Joffrey without getting in trouble, since his father is the Hand. Myrcella is just a girl though, and must be a sweet little lady who lets Joffrey do whatever he wants. Last time she complained to him about cheating in games, he bit her ear. Mother wiped her tears and told her to bear it with a smile. Myrcella stopped complaining after that, but it still burns in her stomach.

Father says he won’t be like this forever, at least. Myrcella hopes so. She imagines him fully grown, but still the same way, and instead of twisting her arm he twists her neck. Just like Tommen’s kitten that bit him once. Joffrey let the poor little creature under Tommen’s bed, and Tommen screamed about monsters for weeks afterward. She sighs. There aren’t any monsters here that Myrcella doesn’t already know.

Myrcella hears footsteps down the corridor and holds her breath. Oh, if Joffrey finds her, he’ll tug at her hair and scratch at her arms! He’ll be so horrible, he always is! She’d rather die than be found by him!

Tiptoe through the cellar or crawl under your bed.

Anywhere you’ve fled, I am going to find you!

Stay inside the shadows, all you girls and boys.

Don’t you make noise, or I am going to find you!

“Are you afraid?” Myriame asks Arya, but she shakes her head. She refuses to be afraid. Not now, when they’re still hiding from the men who took Father away and locked Sansa in her room.

She shivers and Myriame pats her arm. She’s one of the serving girls—Arya heard Father call them Lord Varys’s little birds, once. Before everything went so wrong. But when Father was taken, a group of serving girls took Arya by the arm and hid with her in an alcove. They cut her hair, they dirtied her face, they shredded her fine dress and pinned a dirty pinafore to her shoulders. No more Arya Stark, just Nan. Nan, amongst Myriame, and Celia, and Delight, and Sera. Just another serving girl hiding behind curtains, nor beneath the bed.

“It will be alright,” Myriame whispers. “The only ones who go down here are us. Everyone else gets caught like Princess Myrcella. Those men won’t ever get us.”

Arya shivers. No one speaks of Princess Myrcella and how she disappeared without a trace. Did bad men steal her away like Father and Sansa? She dares to ask, “How do you know?”

But then their breath because there’s men outside their room. Their voices are harsh and drip with ill intent. One of them calls Sansa a whore and Arya wants to stab his eyes out with Needle. But then they enter the room and she squeezes her eyes shut and holds her hands over her nose and mouth. They can’t find her. They can’t! They’ll take her away from Father and Sansa, and who knows what they’ll do to Myriame!

There are four beds in this room, a servants’ dorm. Arya dares to peek. They check beneath one bed. Then another. One of the men cackles, “I can smell you, little girl! Where are you hiding?”

Neither of them dare to breathe. The man says in a high pitched mockery voice, “Ready or not, here I come!”

Arya burrows into Myriame’s side and waits to die. There is noise, yelling, shouting, terrible noise. Then there is heavy silence, only broken by Myriame’s breaths. Arya doesn’t dare open her eyes. Not for a second.

Myriame murmurs again that it will be alright, but Arya keeps her eyes firmly shut, counting the seconds.

Run, run, run! Creep up on my grave!

Run, run, run! Stalk the night away!

Scuttle off into the night! But what’ll be behind you?

Don’t you speak! Hide and seek!

Tywin barricades the doors shut in his wrath. How do two grown knights go missing in daylight?! And not just any knights, but his own—he needs Gregor Clegane’s bloodlust to scour the Riverlands, like a beast on a leash. And Amory Lorch is slime suited for the most unsavory tasks that Tywin cannot do. But they are gone, disappeared without a trace.

Just like his granddaughter Myrcella.

He sheaves himself onto his chair and pours himself a goblet from a blood red decanter. Years have passed, and still Cersei blames the Dornish. But even Tywin can’t point the finger at them, as there is no evidence at all. Myrcella simply played hide and seek one day, and was never found. Most likely some depraved monster of a servant took the girl for his own desires and threw her into the Blackwater, a fate entirely underserved for anyone of House Lannister. The fact that the girl was too sweet to harm a fly just makes the wound sting greater. Without her calming influence, Joffrey is an unhinged little bastard, and Tommen a spineless fool. What is Cersei teaching her children?

Not to mention she’s let both Stark girls escape! First Arya in the chaos after Eddard Stark’s arrest, then Sansa from a barricaded room! Last Tywin heard, they were both back in their mother’s custody at Riverrun. And Robb Stark is proving himself to be a wolf on the battlefield—he’ll have to deal with the boy himself. If he can stop him from overtaking the Riverlands and spilling into the Westerlands! Tywin could gouge his daughter’s eyes out for her folly. They will never get Jaime back, now that they’ve lost their bargaining chips!

Tywin hears footsteps lead up to his door and barks, “I am to be undisturbed!” He doesn’t hear them head back down the stairwell, and he growls to himself. Idiots, he is surrounded by idiots! He stalks to the door and swings open the door.

There is no one there. He blinks, then closes it. He turns back towards his chair, and the window is open. Cold sweat beads at his brow. He never opened that window, and yet the curtains blow in the wind.

A princess and two knights go missing in broad daylight without a trace. This must be the work of faceless Men from Braavos, paid to…to what? Myrcella is an obvious target, if less obvious than Joffrey or Tommen. But why Clegane and Lorch? Perhaps this is a Dornish ploy, as revenge for Princess Elia and her children—

Something falls over in his adjoined privy and Tywin swears he hears footsteps come up the stairwell once more. He steals into his bedroom without so much as a whisper, as one breath. He must hide. The wardrobe’s doors are swinging in the breeze. The Faceless Man will hear him close them, surely. But where else? His heart pounds in his temples and his vision swims. By the gods, are they already inside the room?

He looks down. It is insulting, but his only choice. Tywin squeezes himself beneath his bed and pushes himself towards the wall. The walls themselves are hollow, to allow the servants to attend without disturbing his betters. If he can find the trapdoor without alerting the assassin, he can survive this.

He is Tywin Lannister, the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. He will not die here! He holds his breath, and wills his numb hands to stop shaking.

Like a frog inside a skillet, a lobster in a pan.

You don’t understand that I am going to find you!

Be still as a mountain and quiet as a mouse, ‘cause any little sound,

And I will surely find you!

Joffrey is dead. Joffrey is dead! And the castle isn’t safe! Tommen scurries into an abandoned room deep in Maegor’s Holdfast. There’s just a trundle bed in the corner, boxes piled on top of each other in the center, and dust coating everything. Once, Myrcella showed him this room while playing hide and seek—but that was when she was still here. Even years later, no one understands what happened to her, or to Gregor Clegane, or Amory Lorch, or to Grandfather. Mother blames the wicked Dornish. Joffrey blames evil Northmen magic. But Tommen knows, he knows that it’s the monsters. He has seen them in the night! They are in the walls! They are beneath the beds!

Tommen told Margaery to run before he fled the wedding feast. He hopes she survives. But he can’t think of more than finding his hiding place. He’ll never make it out of the castle, not with the smallfolk starving and so angry at them. He’ll sneak out at night, before the monster goes feeding. And then he’ll head…somewhere. Anywhere but here!

Try as he might, Joffrey haunts his steps. His bloated purple face, the bile and blood spilling down his chin to pool in Mother’s lap. Mother screamed and screamed when he died, like the day when they couldn’t find Myrcella or Father. The monsters must have killed him too, like everything else in this castle. And now he is alone!

Tommen shrieks, and claws at his hair. He can’t breathe! They can hear him! They can smell him! He is next!

He crouches down on the bed in the corner. He wills himself to breathe but he’s too afraid. Joffrey is dead! Myrcella is dead! Grandfather is dead! Will they ever find his body?! Tommen chokes on his sobs and his entire chest aches. He hurts. It hurts. The fear, it hurts, make it stop—

He collapses to the ground. He writhes, and scoots beneath the bed, and muffles his screams into the dust and the dark.

Tick—tick—tock, are you ready or not?

Tick—tick—tock, listen to the clock!

Hasten off into the black, don’t waste another heartbeat,

Don’t you peek! Hide and seek!

Dragons roar from over Kings Landing, and Cersei sobs into her hands. She should be on the Iron Throne to meet the usurpers, but then they burned her Kingsguard at the gates and—and she panicked. She ran, and hid beneath a servant’s bed.

King Aegon Targaryen the Sixth, come back from the dead! With silver-gold hair and bronze skin and indigo eyes, thirty thousand Dornish spears at his back and that miserable little chit Shireen Baratheon as a bride with the Stormlands as her dowry! And Daenerys Stormborn, Queen Beyond the Sea, come to help her nephew claim his throne with their shared dragons! They each ride one, with one reserved for the sister that Lannister men murdered along with godsdamned Elia Martell! Cersei could scream, but then they’d find her.

She must escape.

If she makes her way back to Casterly Rock, then she shall be saved. No dragon can defeat the heart of the Westerlands! Cersei can still salvage this, even with all her family dead and her dreams scattered to ashes in her throat—

At least there is no valonqar. The prophecy took her children from her, but her neck is still her own.

At least she got to hold Joffrey as he died. Myrcella and Tommen had no bodies to bury. He was her first, and her last, and she prays that he found his siblings from wherever those wretched monsters stole them away.

Muffled footsteps creep from beyond the corridor and Cersei can’t breathe. A servant? A Dornish spear? A Dothraki? Daenerys? Aegon? A monster?

Bare feet enter the room, splattered with dirt and blood. One of Varys’s little birds? They skip to the edge of the bed, and a sweet voice rings out, “Found you!”

Swift as night and brutal as the Blackwater, a hand reaches under and grips Cersei by the hair. She screams as she is dragged out, and then she can’t scream because hands are at her throat and twisting—

Let the countdown begin!

10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

Rhaenys peeks out from behind the door. All is still and silent. Not even the flies are buzzing. She stifles a giggle into her hands. Aegon raises an eyebrow, and she explains, “Everyone always hides under the bed. A child’s mistake, it can be forgiven with time and wisdom.”

He shakes his head, before resting his chin on her head. “You’ll never need to hide beneath the bed again, I swear it.”

“I know.” She trusts her brother. She loved him before he could even remember her face, of course she trusts him. Him, and their aunt Daenerys, and their family in Dorne, and all her friends hiding in the walls—Rhaenys shall never be alone again.

Her family are in the throne room, and she shouldn’t keep them waiting. How happy they will be to see her! How happy she will be to see them! The weight of years of hiding bows her shoulders. It is time for her to stop hiding, stop seeking, stop this game and take her place in Aegon’s circle. He will be so proud to see how she’s survived. Mama would be proud. But Rhaenys…well, old habits die hard.

She shimmies beneath the bed and pulls Aegon down with her. He laughs and she lets the shadows become her. Just once more. Once more, the darkness becomes her. Rhaenys bares her teeth in a grin. What better tool for a new king than a monster who knows where everyone hides? Aegon survived the last game between them, and she’ll keep it that way.

She tells Aegon to count to ten, and he holds his breath.

A clock ticks somewhere.

There are many who covet the throne. And the countdown begins anew.

Ready or not, here I come!

#becky blue eyes #asoiaf fanfiction #horror fanfiction #rhaenys targaryen

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itsfinallybedtime · 6 years ago

Text

Change Your Mind

“You’re my family too, Sandor.” A high school AU

A gift for @book-pirate for the Sansan Secret Santa in July.

A monster. A freak.

Something the other children like to call me every time they see me. Even those adults who act all good and understanding were no different with them labeling me with wretched names behind my back. Just because of my scarred face.

I hate this place so bad. I hate school. I hate my stupid classmates. I hate the teachers. I fucking hate Gregor for ruining my life. I hate my father for turning a blind eye to the abuse.

I absolutely loathe everything. It’s suffocating me. The looks, the scorns, the whispers, they do.

Should I be judged because of how I look?

It doesn’t matter. Nothing interests me. No friends to call without their parents telling them my life story.

He had nothing…

That was until I met her…

It was her who had changed my mind.

Sandor Clegane was seventeen when he first met Sansa Stark.

She was a new student in his school.

She was a year younger than him but he could not help but hear rumors about her the moment she transferred to his school. Lovely. Beautiful. Kind. Popular. She was everything he wasn’t. And he was confident she was either a naïve little girl or a two-faced bitch. Sandor certainly couldn’t understand her popularity. Maybe it’s the novelty of her being from Winterfell or whatnot. But the boys, no matter what year, would not shut up about the girl.

Compared to him, Sandor was a bulky and awkward looking teen who wore second handed clothes to school every day. His scarred face was hidden by his long hair. And despite constant reprimands from the teacher, he refused to cut his hair short. Added to that, his reputation of being a well-known troublemaker, the teachers either resented him or were finally tired of having to deal with his crap.

He was the Hound, damnit! He was short-tempered and vindictive to anyone. They kept chanting it. They kept looking at him as though they anticipated him to be a rebel from the start… So Sandor became one. He did what they expected him to do.

So how did the ugly hound meet the lovely little bird from Winterfell?

It all took was a single day to establish a connection between them.

Shockingly enough, it was Joffrey Baratheon who was the catalyst of their relationship.

Joffrey the psychopath was a bully. Blond, handsome and stupidly rich was all that mattered especially in a school full of impressionable kids. He was the “King” and at the top of the hierarchy. And it became apparent that he had locked on his sights to the new girl in school.

Sandor was throwing punches in the sand bag when he heard the school gym door shut, “What the f-”

There in front of him was a flustered Sansa Stark blocking the only way out. Her usually braided hair was loose and her school vest gone, leaving her clutching her unbuttoned blouse in an attempt to preserve some sort of modesty. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he catches the attention of the girl.

Raising her pretty face at the sound, she almost screamed when her gaze fell upon his scarred face. But the sound of rambunctious male laughter made her freeze. Using her other hand, she forced herself to stay quiet.

Frowning, Sandor noted her obvious distress. Listening at the taunting male voice, he immediately identified the Baratheon spawn.

“Oh Sansa~ Why don’t we stop playing hide-and-seek and start our initiation. Don’t you want to be my girlfriend?” Baratheon snickered.

Sansa began to tremble in fear. She squeezed her eyes shut praying for it all to go away.

Sandor paused. Was it worth it to raise the ire of the blond psychopath or not?

“No need to be shy, Sansa! You looked really pretty pinned on the ground.” Baratheon kept spouting his nasty thoughts while making his other peers jeer.

Disgusted at the blond prick, Sandor made a decision. “Little bird, get over here.”

Her stunningly blue eyes made contact with his. He tried to make his face as less threatening as possible but only manage to show her a grimace. She hesitated and nodded as she began to quietly walk towards him.

Sandor pointed at the locker room, “Just stay there and keep quiet if you don’t want to get his attention.”

She wavered to get in the foul smelling room, “How can I trust you, sir?”

Scowling in annoyance, Sandor responded, “Fucking hell, little bird. I’m only a year older than you. And I am certainly no sir.”

Blushing in embarrassment, “Oh. Forgive me-”

Pushing her in the room, Sandor grunted, “Just get in and shut up.”

The moment he closed the locker room, he hears a loud bang from the gym door.

“Oh if it isn’t the Hound!” Baratheon sneered.

Sandor glared, “What the fuck do you want, Baratheon?”

“Nothing really. Just playing a game. Though have you lately seen a pretty red head pass by this room?”

“No.”

“You better not be lying to me, Hound. Or I’ll make your life even more miserable in this school.”

“Do I look like a give a fuck? And no, I did not notice some red-headed chick pass by. I was busy punching this bag to release stress but who knows I may just be tempted to do the same to some egotistical brat and his goons.”

Furious, the blond prick and his goons left after saying, “You’re lucky I’m busy with the girl or else-”

Once he was sure they were gone from the building, Sandor grabbed his school blazer and knocked at the locker room.

When he hears the door open, he shoves his blazer to her face, “Wear this.”

Sandor nearly flushes pink as he felt her fingers make contact with his but her quiet ‘thank you’ kept him controlled.

“My name is Sansa Stark,” she said the moment she felt herself looking decent.

“I know.”

“Oh.”

Awkward silence reined.

“May I know your name then?” she persisted.

“Clegane. Sandor Clegane.”

“Thank you again Sandor.” Despite his clothes almost swallowing her whole, Sansa still manage to look elegant as she offered her hand.

Ignoring her hand, he said instead, “Do I want to know what just happened?”

“I…. I was just waiting for Margaery in the classroom so we could go home together when Joffrey and his friends came in and told me it was time for my initiation….”

“Basically the initiation was him fucking you,” Sandor growled.

She flinched at his tone. Her lips began to quiver as tears fell down, “I just wanted to be friends. And they- he was so nice when we met.”

“Yeah? Well he’s a two-faced bastard, little bird.”

Rubbing her tears off with the sleeves of his blazer, “Yeah. I unfortunately got that a little too late.”

As she tried to compose herself, Sandor murmured, “Do you want me to take you home?”

“What?”

Grabbing his bag and towel, he said louder, “I’m talking you home.”

Blinking curiously, she smiled at him and gently said, “Okay.”

They left the school in silence as they walked side by side. It was unusual for Sandor because despite the silence they did not seem to feel awkward with each other.

That might as well have been a start of their friendship.

Ever since that day the two of them can be seen more or less together for most of their free time.

The first time it happened, it was Sansa who initiated contact.

Sandor was in the cafeteria with the intention to grab lunch when he felt a hand grab his sleeves. His glaring faltered when he saw the person grabbing him.

With her cheeks pink, Sansa greeted, “Hello Sandor. Do you want to eat with me?”

Before Sandor could even think of an excuse to say no, he unconsciously nodded. Seeing his affirmation, Sansa smiled brightly and began to pull him away from the cafeteria, “I made too much food earlier and wanted to share some with you! I hope you don’t mind eating with me in the school garden.”

They two left the cafeteria with the students gaping at their backs.

She didn’t seem to mind his rude and cynical attitude and he learned to tolerate her ridiculously polite manner of speaking to practically every living thing.

While Sandor began to slowly accept their budding relationship, the school reacted otherwise. The teachers looked worried and hesitant about his possible influence on her. The boys were just envious of him having spent more time with Sansa. But Sandor couldn’t really care less what they think.

He’ll be honest, it felt weird having someone constant by his side and when he told Sansa about it two months after the incident, she just looked at him with her usual unbearable understanding self.

“You can get used to it, Sandor. I was actually scared of you at first since you kept glaring at everybody. And the fact that you like to beat the crap out of anyone who looks at you wrong didn’t exactly help with my impression of you. But now, I am really glad to have been your friend. You’ve certainly changed my mind.”

He couldn’t help but grin at her words. “And I thought you would have been a pompous rich little bird but not everything is as it seems.”

Their bond grew even more when they began to spend time outside of school. She told him her interest in sewing and showed him her collection of patterns she made which he actually found impressive but just grunted in agreement at whatever was being said as she kept going on and on about color combination and stuff he could not understand.

On the other hand he brought her to the combat classes he’s been taking near his home. He began teaching her self-defense in hopes of keeping her safe in case he wasn’t be around.

Their interests may not have matched but for some god forsaken reason, they still work out.

One year passed and they were closer than ever. The teachers were now more accepting of their friendship after Sansa proved them wrong about him being a bad influence when she kept her grades up and stayed at the top. And hoping to aggravate them less, Sandor tried to avoid starting fights but will retaliate when provoked. At this point Sansa is the only one who can keep him calm.

As for the students, Joffrey actually tried to molest Sansa once again three months after his first attempt but Sandor had beaten the crap out of him. He was actually about to be expelled but Sansa furiously defended him and even brought her father to school. When Sansa bravely confessed about Joffrey’s harassment to her, her father was furious. The blond prick was forced to transfer after Ned Stark confronted Robert Baratheon of his actions. Sandor ended up having only to spend two weeks in detention.

Plus it seems he was in good graces with her family. Except for the She-Wolf, Sansa’s little sister, who was too fierce, ruthless and rough to actually be her sibling. Sansa claims she’s actually fond of Sandor but he remains cautious around the brat.

Now that Sandor was in his senior year, Sansa had asked him about his plans after high school. He admitted he wanted to join the army just to get away from his family. He also told her the real reason why his face is scarred and Sansa wept for him.

Sandor never wanted anything to do with them after all. His sister was long dead. His brother was still a terrible human being. And his father remained ignorant. He had no family he wanted to acknowledge.

Gently cupping his face, Sansa whispered to him, “Oh Sandor, even after having so many siblings I had no one I could connect with. I always wanted to be the model child to make my parents happy. It was something Arya detested about me. But ever since I met you, you’ve changed my perspective, Sandor. You’ve given me the connection I yearned.”

Her smile turned even radiant as she added, “You may think you have no one but you’re my family too, Sandor.”

Sandor Clegane had always love Sansa Stark ever since she gave him a handmade scarf the same color as her charming blue eyes as thanks for lending her his blazer. So he did not think he could fall even harder in love with his little bird. But in that moment he did.

Gently grabbing her hands from his face and placing it close to his chest, he smiled, “Thank you, little bird.”

Walking side by side, Sandor did not let go of her hand until he brought her safe back home.

One month before his graduation, Sansa confessed.

Sandor had every intention of doing so first but fear got to him. He was scared of losing the only friend that he ever had. After all she was the only person who actually took the time to understand him despite his scarred face and terrible temper. So every time he attempted to say something, he loses his nerve and changes the subject instead.

Apparently since he was taking too long, Sansa took matters into her own hands.

There were spending their lunch in the garden when Sansa said, “Sandor?”

He grunted in response as he kept shoving food in his mouth.

“You know it’s almost two years since we met... And now you’re about to graduate and leave…”

Sandor paused his eating as he tried to finish chewing the food already in his mouth. Glancing back down at her, he noticed her face become more and more pink.

“Sandor I… I-”

Realizing where this was going, Sandor wanted to confess to her first but his plans of swallowing his food too fast ended up in him almost choking which distracted Sansa from her speech as she tried to help him.

Sandor was coughing loudly and tried to get some semblance of control when Sansa gently patted his back and giggled. After a few seconds of silence, Sansa looked at Sandor straight in the face and with confidence finally said, “I love you, Sandor Clegane.”

He stared back at her and tried to control the emotions in his face and to keep cool but in the end, he could not help but grin like a fool, “I love you too, Sansa Stark.”

Three Years Later…

“We’ve been in the same unit for two years, Clegane, and I have yet to see your girlfriend!” Tormund Giantsbane said.

“Fiancée. And I have no fucking intention of letting you meet her and harass her.”

“WHAT?! I would never harm a lady!”

“I meant annoy her with your presence.”

“You wound me, Clegane! At least show me pictures!”

Raising his eyebrow, Sandor responded smugly, “A normal camera couldn’t possibly capture her presence.”

Tormund almost blushed in embarrassment, “You lovesick idiot. I can’t be-” before he could continue his rant, Sandor’s phone rang and the man immediately answered.

“Sansa,” Sandor said reverently. Standing up and leaving the office, Sandor gave Tormund the middle finger when the dwarf began making kissy noises to pester him.

“I miss you, Sandor.”

“I miss you too, little bird.”

“Soon?”

“Two more months and I’ll stationed permanently in Winterfell.”

“And in three more months and you’ll officially be part of my family, Sandor.”

Sandor grinned, “Yes.”

“You sure you don’t want to invite your friends in the army to our wedding?”

“I’d rather not. They’re too annoying.”

“Which means you like them.”

“I’m not changing my mind. I’m their squad leader. They might use the opportunity to act all chummy.”

Sansa chuckled, “Uh-huh. Well I’ve still got few more months to change your mind.”

“See you soon, Sansa.”

“I’ll see you soon, Sandor.”

#sansan #sansa stark #sandor clegane #sansan secret santa #sansan secret santa in july #book-pirate

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stellacarrierimaginationbuilders · 5 years ago

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Spirit Guide Communication Training Intent Creative Fiction Style Episode 6

Start time by 851 pm Saturday September 28 2019

Completion time 1025pm to 1027pm to 1037pm Saturday September 29 2019

Greetings, the celestial spirit guide assistant Beare had some business to attend to in two celestial universities in 50 places within the celestial replicas of Virginia and Maryland that combine intuition and spirit guide studies in a span of 5 earth based time days. He wanted to be present for this communication, However Beare has asked me a celestial spirit guide helper in training named Gregor Kress to be today’s spokeperson for Spirit Guide Communication Training Intent Episode 6 to explain at least some portions of some of the celestial spirit guides daily lives in the celestial realms. I say some because the way billions of spirits spend their time in even the most happiest and love filled heaven based/heavenly celestial realms is going to vary depending on the spirit and what they like in their free time even among married couples of similar socio-economic classes from their most recent earth lifetimes.

For instance, I Gregor Kress have a completely different name from what I had utilized in my most recent earth lifetime before making the transition of my most recent earth lifetime to my new celestial lifestyle by May 2023. I Gregor Kress help multiple married men and women still residing on earth master andor improve upon their money lives andor married lives though sometimes I will help a bachelor or bachelorette somehow connected to the married man or married woman on a case by case basis because of the intuitive gifts that I had from my most recent earth lifetime mastering my career money and married life.

For instance, a married woman knows in her heart that it is her destiny to stay married to her husband for the rest of her current earth lifetime regardless of how many woman pursue her husband in his personal andor career life. However, the married woman intuitively knows that she must stay jealousy-free and self confident in her aims to do this even when faced with finding ways to simultaneously stay married while wisely planning multiple ways that her intuition is communicating to her to improve her career andor money life. Reason being: I Gregor Kress am often assigned married women and men who are working towards staying married while simultaneously improving their married lives and being faced with long distance marriages in their future within 5 years or less. Often I Gregor Kress indirectly influence multiple married men and especially married women to be jealousy free and more self confident when it comes to other women romantically pursuing their husbands because of this: many times I Gregor Kress have seen over 90s percent of the time where even after a married woman with seasonal employment relocates to even another state for career andor money reasons andor for more permanent career security while ensuring the longevity of her marriage she is frequently followed to even her new place of employment the new state she is passionate about by both former male and female coworkers including a multiple number of her male and female leaders, I have also seen this with entry level married men with seasonal jobs and I Gregor Kress intuitively receive help from mentors even here in the celestial realms on helping them and various forms of advice help to send them.

For instance, this can apply to a married man as well, however let’s just say that a seasonal employed married female realizes and has known for a long time that her husband who is a great catch is often going to be irresistible andor attractive to even women who make more money than her career wise often in year round employment positions. The married woman intuitively remembers a life of greater financial ease that her husband could have had over a decade ago when a woman in her husband’s place of previous employment wealthier than all of her current bosses combined was trying to mentor andor help her husband towards greater promotion opportunities all he had to do was be open to an overseas relocation. The married woman understands that she should have better encouraged her husband in both the overseas promotion opportunity and the career mentoring that this wealthy female boss was willing to mentor him on and her current marriage and career karma is indirectly related to that.

All the married female has to do to deal with this career and marriage karma is to be more self confident and jealousy free of what might occur if she has to try a long distance marriage for career andor money reasons, she knows that she has to be concern-free about any accomplished women career andor money wise who might have their sights set on her husband because she knows what she must eventually do in her career andor money life to ensure the longevity of her marriage, the only caveat is that this is also going to help her husband be more magnetic to women leaders who make much more money than all 5 of her highest paid current workplace leaders combined and requiring her to more frequently be the one to have to find a way to pay as much as financially feasible for a healthy amount of visits and spending time with her spouse, this can apply to married men as well though I Gregor Kress use the married female example more because as a celestial spirit guide I Gregor Kress have seen multiple made for comedy scenes of the wife having to be a referee between two mistresses vying for her husband yes you heard that right the wife would often be the calm/self confident andor cool headed one in the situation knowing full well what was going on and at least myself and 2 to 3 other male celestial spirit guides when the wife would be forced to be the peace broker/peace referee to two different women from the husband’s workplace bickering over the affections of the same man that the wife would be trying to calm them over and yes many times the wife would be the peacemaker between two career women making more money than her the only difference is that one mistress is usually making more money than the other which at times also deepens the tricky dynamics. I Gregory Kress have to avoid saying more to protect the privacies of those involved, all I can say of one recent situation where the wife was the peace referee between two of the husband’s mistresses was where one of the mistresses a former coworker of both the husband and the wife who followed the wife to her new place of employment before the husband joined less than 4 years later, then one of the husband’s previous female bosses followed the husband to the new place of employment thinking it was just the husband and the wife the female coworker who needed some time to get use to be one of multiple mistresses forced the wife to have to get involved (wife at first tried to stay neutral for good reasons) though it was the wealthier mistress’s former lover who told the wife that she had to broker peace between her husband’s two mistresses both because they wanted the wife’s word on who she felt would be better for picking up the husband from the conference two days later (work rules dictated that it had to be someone other than the spouse) the wife tried to be polite and ask what her husband would decide, however a mutual male friend of the wife and the husband diplomatically explained to the wife that she would have to decide because he-the mutual friend-discovered from a mutual source that the husband was away on a business trip meeting a third mistress striving to court him who was a previous mistress of a military officer that the wife worked for over 18 years ago.

Anyhow, I Gregor Kress spend a portion of my free time at multiple intuition course universities across celestial replicas of Virginia, Maryland, celestial replicas of Washington DC and celestial replicas of California England, Scotland, and Iceland. One reason; I Gregor Kress inspire the idea that a person must consider using some of their free time towards pondering at least 5 ways they are going to build an eventual 24 month saving cushion regardless of whether they are a seasonal or year round employee , if this means that they are only making time to utilize the law of attraction 3 times a week instead of 7 times a week so be it.

I Gregor Kress at times also get to see futuristic cities of what is soon to come to earth. For instance, yesterday in a celestial replica area of Virginia that I Gregor Kress have been required to keep secret I Gregor Kress have seen a 3 mile long amusement park and university city all built inside an interconnected network of 22000 buildings, similar to Walt Disney World except if Walt Disney World was built inside a network of 5000 connected buildings rather than outside and with the indoor version of Walt Disney World came a network of universities shopping malls a futuristic bus and train hub owned by Amazon yes you heard that right multiple descendants of the founders of Amazon are major stakeholders in this indoor version of a 4 mile long Walt Disney World/Disney land complete with its own malls universities bus train system hospital sports arena even museums and more futuristic businesses I Gregor Kress have been asked to keep secret for now because a multiple number of those businesses are taboo even for them being scheduled to open for business on earth by the year 2130. For instance, even by the year 2123 when I passed away yes it was becoming more acceptable for married women to have multiple mistresses of various backgrounds both within the private sectors in addition to military and even government sectors hence why it was becoming more common for me as a celestial spirit guide to help the wife be a more self confident and assertive peace broker for two or more mistresses vying for her husband’s romantic attentions even while he was busy with his third or more lover. However one of the businesses in this futuristic city that I referenced that is slated to open by the year 2130 is a hotel building of over 1000 rooms that allows taboo meetings to take place where consenting couples pay by the hour. For instance, let’s say a man Kilian Scherer was in love with 2 different mistresses in addition to his wife, however his wife is on business for the next 2 weeks or more one to two American states away before she could see him again. Both Killian Scherer’s mistresses want to meet him on a Wednesday. However the caveat is that both mistresses also have partners and one mistress recently adopted a family member from a close friend after that friend unexpectedly passed away and the other mistress though voluntarily child-free herself only has a small window in the day to meet with Killian for a rendezvous because she is an alternate stepmother to one of the kids of her partner’s other girlfriends and she-the alternate stepparent promised to pick the kid up after school around 5 pm to take them to a party they were invited to of a prominent politician family in the area. Anyhow, the new hourly hotel arrangements allow Killian Scherer to pay two hours to first see his mistress who recently adopted from 10 am to 12 pm and meet with the other mistress from 1pm to 3pm. However from what I have seen of this futuristic hotel by the hour business arrangement it is going to be one of the major moneymakers though that is something obviously for another story.

I Gregor Kress also inspired married men in multiple ways even from their sleeptime dreams when they consciously visit the celestial worlds I inhabit. For instance, say a married man named Auer Pfeiffer was trying to save a business that he was running and trying to make it more prosperous. I Gregor Kress even with my knowledge might go to a career and money help university and celestial library where billions of male and female spirits who were very wealthy during their most recent earth lifetimes want to spend some of their time to pass on at least some portions of the career and money wizardry they had to male and female spirits still residing on earth who petition for this type of celestial spirit guide help. What I would do to help this married man and vividly capture his attention is delegate one of these career and money wizards who want to help male or female depending on the married man and they would come up in the married man’s dreams and give him career andor money mentorship in multiple ways inside his sleeptime dreams either via a song that he remembers, a movie connected to what he is inquiring about that would trigger a career andor money insight for instance a culinary aspiring leader might dream of the mall cop film in order to give them an idea to maybe make a food dish similar to what they recently enjoyed at their favorite mall for creative inspiration of a potluck dish that they would bring to a party that they are volunteering for. I Gregor Kress seen a recently sleeptime dream where one of the married man’s spirit guides had a spirit who was recently a career and money wizard in their most recent earth lifetime dress up as one of their favorite male actors in the film and take the married man on a tour of a mall restaurant they were working on complete with 43 of the departed ancestors of the career and money wizard willing to play dress up as the future theme park customers of the married man petitioning for career and money creative inspiration in his sleeptime dreams. I Gregor Kress want to say more, however I gregor kress have been suddenly called to help a married man and married woman still residing on earth who both suddenly and unexpectedly won the lottery from a store near a festival where they bought the winning ticket they tried to be discreet about their win though a news channel is interviewing them because a cousin of the store clerk who read the married couple the winning ticket happened to be visiting when they both discovered they were Virginia and Maryland lottery winners (husband purchased a Maryland lottery ticket and the wife bought a Virginia lottery ticket at one of the places that opened by the year 2070 that sometimes sell lottery ticket options for two or more states). Yes even in the year 2124 I Gregor Kress also sometimes help with unexpected in a happy way lottery wins financial money boosts. I Gregor Kress, along with 4 other celestial spirit guides are going to be the peace brokers and hold abundant amounts of love for the married couple while they carefully decide where they are going to purchase their lottery dream home. The wife wants to purchase the home in Virginia while the husband understands the wife’s decision about Virginia though it is the city in Virginia they are trying to agree on purchasing the home in. The wife wants to purchase the home in Virginia where the indoor theme park university shopping malls and other places are due to open within the next 12 months andor less at least construction beginning meanwhile the husband wants to choose the home it is just a couple of miles where the wife would want to purchase the home however even though she was fine to help her husband pay child support two of his mistresses understanding that this also means that he gets to see both mistress and child for paying child support , she-the wife has mixed feelings about purchasing a home smack dab-two blocks away from both of the husband’s mistresses even though one of the mistresses currently lives in a nice more upscale neighborhood in Virginia less than 3 miles from a military base because her boyfriend is a millionaire from his wise and thrifty ways of saving over 50 percent of his income towards shrewd stock market investments over a 28 year military career (the boyfriend is a retired navy culinary specialist)that paid ten times the investment of the money he originally put into savings including a significant amount money-20 million dollars in early 2000s American US dollars- made from his creative fiction writing career via multiple pen names. However the one point they mutually agree on is to wait until May to purchase the home even with them winning the lotteries less than a week ago in September. Additionally, the married couple is on the same page about being passionate where you want to reside regardless of your socio-economic career money status within the United States regardless of how such decision may be publicly perceived andor regardless of how much popular support a decision to choose where you want to live based on what place you would be passionate about longterm attracts/garners in popular support/admiration.

Resources

https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/austrian-names.php

One’s Career When It comes to a Spouse

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/forums/topic/sacrificing-or-compromising-ones-career-for-a-spouse/

insightful

You might even like the new place. My husband and I live in different towns. It works for us.

https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/forums/topic/sacrificing-or-compromising-ones-career-for-a-spouse/

Old Dominion University Norfolk Virginia

http://blue.odu.edu/admission/apply/

University of Maryland College Park College Park Maryland

https://www.umd.edu/

Songs for me to keep in mind

Let It Be by the Beatles released May 18, 1970 US

Dangerous by Big Data

October 2019 Washingtonian

Robb Report Muse Autumn 2019 issue

Distinction Virginia magazine website

https://distinctionva.com/

All I Do is Win, Believer, Fable

Jump Around House of Pai

Shooting Star song

Spirit Guide Communication Training Intent Creative Fiction Style Episode 6

jessica simpson

https://www.etonline.com/jessica-simpson-says-almost-everything-she-eats-is-made-with-cauliflower-after-100-pound-weight

Jessica Simpson Says Almost everything she Eats is Made With Cauliflower After Becoming 100 Pounds Thinner by Rachel McRady September 17 2019

https://www.etonline.com/jessica-simpson-says-almost-everything-she-eats-is-made-with-cauliflower-after-100-pound-weight

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jessica-simpson-100-pound-weight-loss-secrets

how Jessica simpson became thinner by 100 pounds in 6 months by Tyler McCarthy

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jessica-simpson-100-pound-weight-loss-secrets

https://www.moneytalksnews.com/make-more-money-on-your-savings-with-this-offer/

Here’s How to Make 24 Times More On Your Savings This Online Bank Offers A Way to Build Savings At A Rate Far Above The National Average by Jim Gold September 14, 2019

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zendaya coleman

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