#I DO NOT WANT TO SEE....... LEAVE ME ALONE...... BLISSFUL IGNORANCE IS ALWAYS A CASUALTY

[demigod-of-the-agni]

youtube needs to fix its recommendation game because lordy it always lets me know when dragons nine realms has a new season every 3-5 months and i'm just.

leave me alone. i do not want to see the httyd fanfic show. pls stop.

[hitory--chan]

Day 5: Queen of the Garden

(Ranked T)

Title: In my withered roses you lay resting

Around the forest there were always legends of all kinds, about fantastic creatures and horrifying monsters beyond human imagination, about nymphs, fairies, werewolves and giant snakes that would devastate the entire town in a few minutes if they wanted to; they were just legends, stories to amaze or scare whoever would listen to them, hypnotizing the virgin ear that listened to them with their magnetism, leading their victim to demand more, driving them mad in the search to satisfy that need.

But there was one in particular, the biggest, the most fantastic, the most sublime and the most terrifying no one ever dared to tell, the one whose existence was only known to the oldest of the town who defended tooth and nail its veracity, but nevertheless only tell each other, remembering and crying the intense agony that each word conveyed.

The legend of Hinata, the queen of the garden in the heart of the forest, and Sasuke, the infamous king who without any army was able to penetrate the invulnerable barriers that protected the queen.

The king who never returned.

“My King!” One of her courtesans shouted. "Please, I beg you to reconsider!"

He ignored her, tightening the draws of his armor as the guards placed the shoulder pads and handed him his helmet, which he took.

It was still dark, the moonlight hanging over the entire sleeping kingdom as he prepared to leave.

"My lord, he turned, now listening to his first officer, Kakashi, who was speaking to him "Are you sure this is a good idea? Going into the forest alone?"

"It's not something I didn't do before, Kakashi, you should know" he replied without much interest as he grasped the reins of Onyx, the majestic black horse that had accompanied him for years.

"I understand, but it's not the same, your majesty, it never got beyond the Stone River" the man said, his voice so slow and dull as if it was something he was trained to say, but Sasuke knew him better than many as to know that there was concern hidden behind those dead tones “It is a great risk to take to find a woman that we do not even know exists”

"People are dying Kakashi, of hunger, of disease ..." He inclined his head a little towards his first officer, not enough to really see him “If that woman, that… witch exists, it will be our chance to solve all the evils that afflict us, if I find her, then I save my people”

“And if you do not find her, my lord?”

“Then we will have to take more drastic actions, actions that I don't think we're ready for right now, Kakashi”

The silence that followed told Sasuke that the man knew what he was referring to.

They had recently fought a war against a rival kingdom that wanted to take over all his lands. They attacked in the middle of the night, cowardly seeking to have the tactical advantage darkness gave them without expecting the surprise that they were ready to fight back with much more violence than would be expected of a small kingdom that barely prospered in comparison to others. Many lives were lost on both sides, but his army had kept the slightest advantage over the invaders and captured the main officers of the intruders, executing him right on the battlefield as he had ordered them to do, closing any openings to negotiation the rival might propose.

They rose above them and conquered, drove the remaining invaders from their lands and proclaimed their victory, but they had not come out without casualties, as happened in any other war.

Their crops were burned and their women desecrated. Bodies of infants who had adventured out of their hiding spots now laying among the corpses of their fathers and men who sacrificed their lives in the name of the king's sovereignty, waiting to be buried or burned while their mothers, wives, and brothers mourned their losses.

Soon after came the diseases, plagues so violent that even the best physicians in the kingdom had succumbed to permanent contact with the infected and were now lying in beds, signaling with weak voices to proceed to their charges.

The only hope was the woman who dwelt in the depths of the forest, a queen in her own right, the oracle told him, whose miraculous fingers brought life to everything she touched. A witch, servant of the devil, counterattacked the priest, who would only bring bliss before plunging them further into misery.

A queen, a witch, Sasuke didn't care, he only wanted her hands to heal his people, determined to cut them off if necessary to save the few that were left.

Then Sasuke mounted his horse and reached out his hand, taking the sword that Kakashi had prepared for him and fastening it to his waist strap, where it would remain with him throughout his journey.

"Itachi will be in charge while I'm gone" he decreed, looking at his court, who looked at him in surprise and disbelief.

“My king, my lord!” The woman spoke again “His majesty is very ill for this task, I fear that his condition is too delicate to carry the role, your highness!”

“My brother already ruled once in a worse state than the one he currently is in while waiting for me to grow up to cede the throne, he certainly can do it a bit more while I'm gone”

“But sir…!”

"In case his condition worsens ..." he interrupted, with a tone of voice as icy as the look he gave the woman "in case he´s not an act to continue, then Kakashi will make all the decisions in my absence and my brother's disability”

Several indignant murmurs were heard from the other members of the court, annoyed by the possibility of a military man would rule them, but with the same look he gave the insolent woman, he quieted them all.

"Kakashi" he called and the man walked with him towards the limits of the kingdom that served as the border of the forest, trotting slowly as his first officer followed him with great ease "I trust you to keep everyone safe, especially my brother” he said, stopping his steed and staring at the man.

"My king's orders are my perpetual la," Kakashi recited, quoting the motto of imperial strength as he brought his right hand to his heart and bowed to him.

Sasuke nodded, but before starting his horse again, he spoke for the last time.

- And Kakashi ... execute her

Kakashi bowed again and Sasuke pulled the reins of his horse to start running, going into the forest when the first rays of dawn hit the ground, and knowing his order would be carried out without hesitation.

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

Inside the forest the thick trees hid any trace of the sun, giving the illusion that it was still night even though Sasuke knew it must be after eight.

Still he didn't back down, mentally reciting the directions the oracle had given him to find the mysterious woman.

“Once crossed the river of stone, the road will split for you, one more dangerous the other, competing for the new prey that appears before them. Be guided by the horrendous noises that make the bones of the strongest of men tremble, by the trail of perdition from which your eyes will not be able to turn away, from the putrid stench of those who defied the sanctity of the earth who stepped on impure feet.

Along the way you will find death's favorite resting place. Do not drink or eat the natural delicacies that will be shown for you, instead you must use your senses, facing the great beast that will attack from the shadows.

If the combat is satisfactory, then the beast will show its respects by leading you to its queen, otherwise, there will be the place of your last rest"

Naturally, oracles liked to be cryptic with their words to the point of making them indecipherable, but the more than a century old woman who had served three generations of her family had put those fanfare behind her, preferring to be as clear as possible in her revelations than risk a bad future for the kingdom because of misunderstandings out of her tongue.

Upon reaching the Stone River, he took a moment to observe the waters peacefully.

That river had been named this way not only because of the rock formation that simulated a natural bridge in the center of that great pool, just covering its surface with a thin layer of water that made it extremely slippery, but also because of the rock at its bottom, arranged in the shape of spikes so sharp that even the slightest fall on them could cause fatal injuries to the unfortunate victim.

He allowed Onyx to drink some of the water before venturing across the stone bridge.

His horse, fearless just like his owner, also had some afraid. On rare occasions he’d tried to cross that path through the waters with the equine, but his partner had acquired a phobia at that particular step when, being very young, he slipped on the stone and it was almost impossible for him to get back on his feet, almost falling to the bottom of the river when with desperate movements he slid to one side before finally reaching the bank of the river and climbing, being completely exhausted on the grass, all under the frightened gaze of his owner who had remained on dry land while his horse struggled.

He remembers that, after that, he had remained with Onyx there for longer than he ever was in that place, being found by the royal guard and brought to the castle only to remain expectant all night at the possibility of having to sacrifice the animal.

Now, Onyx was a majestic and imposing stallion with more history than half his stablemates, but from time to time he would turn back into a fearful foal when they were near that place.

However, while he normally wouldn't push him any further than he considered Onyx could take, this time around he couldn't afford to be understandable to his horse or to be left without a mount for the rest of the way.

“Come on boy!” He encouraged him, shaking the reins several times and smiling as Onyx, refusing at first, approached the rock and put his front legs on it, whinnying loudly as he took small terrified steps.

Even in the slippery material, the new horseshoes he had had his horse put on were being especially helpful in preventing the equine's legs from slipping over the rock even when Onyx's steps were somewhat shaky, leading the horse to gain a little confidence with every step until he was finally on the other side.

“Well done, Onyx!” He congratulated the horse, patting and stroking his neck before pulling out an apple, which he happily accepted.

He wasted no time and continued with the journey, reaching the place where the road divided in three.

At first glance they did not seem dangerous at all, leading him to wonder if the oracle had been wrong with her interpretation or if he had deviated from the correct path himself, but the sudden sound of something sliding on the ground caught his attention and put his whole body on guard again, waiting for any sign of attack.

Instead what he received was the cawing of birds, crows, he recognized, noises of something sliding and the screeching of bats that flew directly to his face at that moment, causing Onyx to panic and stand up on his two hind legs, almost making Sasuke to fall.

When he regained his balance and Onyx was back on all fours, Sasuke looked at the central path, remembering what the oracle had said and thinking that this should be the way to go, so he made the horse move forward, despite the reluctance of the animal.

The putrid stench started only a few minutes on the road before dead animals began to appear on the road, being replaced only a few meters later by human corpses in various states of putrefaction, from skeletons to bodies that should barely have been there for a few days. , and even recognized the uniform worn by the third-rank guards in his kingdom, only stuffed with bones, each corpse wrapped by vines and other local weeds.

He was forced to breathe as little as possible when the stench became impossible to bear, coming to vomit in the section where everything was strongest, without having the opportunity to breathe until the road began to clear of so much death, showing to his sight a great stone plateau clothed with climbing vines and rosebuds.

He got off his horse and gave him another snack, tying the reins to the tree farthest from the ferns and other plants full of fruit that he knew they shouldn't eat.

Slowly and carefully he approached the great structure, gazing at it in fascination. Up close, he noticed the spines that protruded around the roses of different sizes that decorated the plateau, which, he noticed, were deceptively sharp, cutting him at the simple touch and spilling a thick drop of blood that bathed the thorn that caused his wound.

The sudden tremor in his spine appeared as the slight trembling of the earth beneath his feet, accompanied by the sound of something sliding - something that must have been big and heavy, from the way it sounded - and then deafening silence was present. .

“Onyx!” He shouted, turning around when he heard the horse whinny and stop suddenly, expecting to meet the animal where he had left it, however in its place he found another type of animal, giant and with shiny black scales, which were only cut with the three red lines of scales on the tip of its tail, raised in the air with a swaying motion.

The gigantic snake kept its eyes fixed on his, hissing and showing off his forked white tongue.

Eyes wider than they had ever been in his life, he diverted them just a little to the rest of the great reptile's body, almost growling in pain at the bulge protruding from where, he guessed, was the stomach of the immense snake, sure it was the product of his horse swallowing.

Feeling the flame of fury ignite and grow in him, he grasped the hilt of his sword in a slow motion and drew it lightly, as the serpent rose a little higher above him.

With one swift movement he pulled it out completely as the snake lunged at him, barely being fast enough to avoid its jaws, but not fast enough to dodge its tail, which slammed it against a tree and left it stamped there until he nailed the sword almost halfway.

Even his powerful armor hadn't been enough to shield him from that blow, catching his breath cut short by the pressure of the limb that had held him captive, but he had no time to think about that as he tried to get away from the great perimeter that covered the snake.

The injured tail slammed into the ground next to him, causing him to stumble from the din it caused.

The reptile's head also collided with the ground a few feet from his back and then glided at high speed towards him, using its nose to push him up when he collided with him and sent him flying into the air as the snake rose again, now with its jaws open.

But Sasuke was able to hold on to the tip of the animal's nose and avoid being swallowed as he had done with his horse by resting his feet against the bottom of the snake's mouth and giving a little jump before it closed it, being helped by the impulse that the same reptile gave him before the abrupt movement it made while trying to make him fall.

Sasuke stayed on the snake's skull and held onto its scales as best he could before stabbing his sword - which he had clung to as much as he could during the attack - into one of the animal's eyes, which let out a shrill and strange sound before, to Sasuke's immense amazement, it made a 180 ° turn and threw himself hard against the floor, taking him with and crashing him on the flat surface, a blow so violent that it caused him to lose his helmet, his mobility and his strength.

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

Only seconds before he lost consciousness he saw the towering snake - now one-eyed - rise above him before launching itself with his jaws open just as Sasuke's eyes finally gave up.

When he woke up, the first thing he noticed was the immense throbbing pain in his head that only got worse when he tried to open his eyes, being hit by the brightest sunlight that forced him to close them again.

Where had so much light come from?

After a while, and when he was sure he could resist it, he opened his eyes again.

It took him a long time to regain the clarity of his sight, but once everything was clear he was astonished at what he saw.

In front of him a large colorful space, green above all, stood proud in all that light. Huge trees were here and there, casting great shadows, covered with fruit in great quantity.

A few meters from him was a lake with crystal clear waters, reflecting everything that was shown from above.

It was only when a slight movement behind him caught his attention that he realized he had been leaning against something cold, and when he turned around he felt as if his entire being had left his body when he found himself face to face with the giant eye yellowish that he recognized instantly.

He backed away quickly, grunting in pain as his muscles protested at his sudden movements, but instead of stopping to ease them, he fought them and reached for his sword at her waist, surprised not to find it.

The snake stared at him for a few seconds before lazily deflecting its head toward the center of the thread that had turned its body.

—You must not fear, it will not hurt you

He turned quickly and looked around, searching for the soft voice that he had said those words.

"Onyx" he breathed out, seeing the mate he had thought he lost, now lying on the grass, asleep on the other side of the lake.

Naturally those words were not said by the animal, but by the other person next to it, who was gently stroking the mane of his horse.

Their eyes met and he forgot how to breathe, incredulous of the moons that were his pupils, beautiful, and that without a doubt were looking directly at him.

The woman stood up and he could see her completely: snowy skin, long dark hair that swayed with every step she took. Her body was covered in leaves, branches and flowers that clung to her like a second layer. The upper part of her was covered by vines up to the middle of her breasts, being enough to cover the most. The lower part was a skirt, much less rigid than the upper one as it was made entirely of green leaves in different sizes, stopping only a few inches above her knees.

A long vine rested in the center of her abdomen, joining the two pieces as one.

She was barefoot and her hair was decorated with the most elaborate flower crown he had ever seen in his life.

As he passed by the lake, he stopped, crouching in the direction of the water, taking from the ground a large leaf of a plant that he did not recognize - and which he had not realized was lying there - and wrapped it gently until it formed a bowl that she plunged into the water until filled it, rising again and resuming its way towards him, now with the makeshift pot that spilled tiny drops from its bottom.

When she finally got to him, he saw her more clearly: thin and natural pink lips, a small and upturned nose, perfectly shaped eyebrows and long eyelashes that only marveled her appearance even more, also highlighting the lack of the slightest freckle on her face.

She offered him the bowl but he did not take it at first, still fascinated and hypnotized by the beauty of the woman in front of him until she pushed it to his chest, forcing him to hold it as she took one by one his hands between her smallest and drew them to the sides of the blade, releasing it when she made sure his grip was firm.

She, with one of her index fingers, touched the surface of the water three times in different parts, and when her hand lowered three different flowers grew in the water: a lotus, a calla and a water lily, which immediately disintegrated and mixed with the liquid, giving it a color that ranged from pink to purple.

"Take it" she said, looking into his eyes "it will help you heal."

He didn't know why, but he obeyed her and took the entire tonic in one gulp, grimacing when the bitter taste of it touched his tongue and she slid down her throat.

She smirked and turned around, walking back to where Onyx was now awake, looking at them wearily.

"It's you" was the first thing that came out of his mouth, looking at her completely uncovered back as she walked away from him “The witch”.

Her walking stopped and she turned around again, looking at him now with a frown, offended.

“That's very rude!. I am not a witch" she protested "My name is Hinata Hyuga, and I am the queen of this garden" she said proudly, turning to resume her march as if her statement was enough to deny his word.

But he would not be fooled; he had witnessed for himself what she had done in the water she had given him to drink.

He looked around him and his sight fell on his sword and armor, arranged neatly on the grass near the giant serpent's tail.

Slowly and careful not to be heard he approached his things and took the sword at the same time that with difficulty he took three steps back as the snake's tail moved to hit the ground and then returned to its original position.

It took a bit of trouble, but he was able to raise his sword and hold it with both hands, directing the tip in the direction in which that woman - that witch - was, now again sitting on the grass, stroking the back of his horse, looking at him unimpressed.

"Witch, you will come with me" he demanded "Everything will be easier if you do not resist, you will get a decent treatment: you will sleep in the softest bed, you will wear the finest clothes ... otherwise, if you resist, you ... you ..." He stopped for a moment, not for lack of words, but from shortness of breath —If… if you resist… the dungeon… the smallest and dirtiest dungeon will be…

"You’re hurting them" she interrupted, and he didn't understand.

The witch looked down and he followed her eyes, stopping at the sword that was now stuck in the middle of a small group of flowers.

When had he lowered his sword?

“What did you do to me?” He growled, aware of the progressive loss of strength to which he was subjected.

"It's the medicine" said the witch, calmly "for your body to heal, it must first rest”

And as if that were a command, his body fell apart, causing him to fall to the floor on a tall grass bed that he could swear was not there a moment ago.

- Witch! ... You will pay...

Unconsciousness welcomed him.

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

When he woke up there was still sunlight, quite clear, so he thought that maybe he had only slept a few seconds, but the environment felt different from before and he could hear the distinctive galloping and neighing of Onyx, going here and there as his footsteps slightly covered the happy laugh of the female.

He could not move his body freely, only just his fingers, and mentally he cursed himself for having taken that concoction that this evil woman had given him, clearly using her sorcery to weaken him.

“Your body still needs rest” he could have shuddered at the sudden voice if it weren't for the fact that he was paralyzed, shortly afterwards the witch's face appeared in his visual range, tilted from above so he could see her “you´ve been very hurt by your confrontation with Munda, your injuries will take a little longer to heal”

He grunted, annoyed.

“Why have you risked your life to get here, mortal?” She asked him, now in a more serious tone.

Then and once again without really knowing why, he began to tell her about his kingdom, about the moments of wealth and prosperity before the war struck, about the deaths and the lack of food that besieged them, making their situation worse. He told her about his brother and his mysterious bedridden illness, about the sudden barrenness of his lands, and how he had preferred to make this trip alone rather than take away much-needed protection in case they tried again to invade them during his absence.

In her face there was no sorrow, annoyance or joy for their misfortunes, instead it was pure curiosity what he could see while he finished explaining the reason why he was looking for her.

"Okay, I'll go with you" she answered with conviction.

He, who had gradually regained mobility to the point where he could now sit up and the waves of heat attacked him insistently, looked at her in surprise, unable to avoid questioning her decision.

"I'll go with you" she confirmed again "However, the starting path is more dangerous than the one you traveled to get here, so you will have to make a full recovery first" She stood up and looked at him “I cannot be away for long, this place depends on me, so I will help your people and leave immediately, it is my only condition”

He watched her, almost denying immediately that he could leave that easily, but he was quick enough to bite his tongue before speaking.

"Okay, then we have a deal" he agreed.

She nodded pleased and stood up, walking away from him and up a tiny hill where she began to press with her fingers the closed buds and the withered flowers that surrounded her, opening and coming back to life with the simple touch of her.

Despite having accepted, in his mind they only danced ways of how he would interrupt her departure, it would be very foolish of him to let her go that easy, a person with her abilities, whether witch or not, was unique, one in a million , and no self-respecting kingdom would let her go that easily.

He could try to convince her by showing her everything that she obviously didn't have in her "garden", the wonders of modernity, and if that couldn't convince her, well, he had dungeons at his disposal that he could trick her into or even without them, but surely he would not lose those abilities from his hands.

Satisfied with that plan, he began to touch the back of both of his hands, searching and removing the splinters that he did not know how he has nailed himself.

Even though Hinata's tonics were helping him recover faster than he normally would, it felt like it was actually taking forever.

There, the days and nights seemed to last longer than normal, as if the clock had 36 hours instead of 24.

Each remedy that Hinata gave her were different and she healed something different, like the one she used to make his bruises disappear, which were a combination of wild flowers and citrus fruits that melted in the water as soon as she created them and released. Those bruises that would normally take a week or more to fade, she had done it in almost three days.

The problem is that she could only give him a tonic for one thing at a time, along with the first one that she had given him so his body relaxes and rests.

Now he was drinking one that she claimed would help with his internal ailments, and he guessed she was referring to the bruised bones that barely allowed her to walk or breathe. This was particularly bitter and she had to take it several times a day, which was a mini torture considering that these wounds would take even longer to heal.

He was washing his armor when he heard her scream.

“No! Go away, you can't be here!”

His skin prickled when she heard it. Had someone entered that place? An ally or an enemy? The great snake that was supposed to be the only one that could make someone else reach that place, Munda, hadn't moved from the rock it had spread on the day before, almost looking dead if it weren't for the hiss it left escape from time to time, maybe someone had found a way to enter without facing the great reptile?

“No! Get away!”

Wasting no time he dropped the piece of armor he was washing into the water and instead grabbed his sword, gripping it tightly and ran - or rather, he limped quickly - looking beyond the trees and bushes until he saw her midnight hair, covered with small flowers of various colors, and he went quickly towards her, who kept her fists clenched and her arms stiff down, slapping the floor with one foot while she kept yelling at whoever was there to leave.

But as he got closer to her, he still couldn't see anyone else; maybe it was some invisible person? It would not be unreasonable to think about that.

Finally, when he got to her side, he saw whoever caused her annoyance.

"This… creature…" she began, making an exasperated gesture with her hand at the wild boar that nonchalantly ate the blackberries from the orchard it raided "This annoying creature won't go away!" I've tried everything but it keeps coming back”

He looked at her in disbelief.

“So much fuss over a wild boar?”

“Is this the name of this demon spawn?” She asked him, looking at him intensely "Do you know him?"

"It's a wild boar, there are hundreds of them in the forest" he said more calmly, dismissing the accusation of her previous question.

“Hundreds?!” She gasped in disbelief.

"Calm down, just ... get rid of him."

“I´ve tried it! But this ... boar keeps coming back”

He let out an exasperated sigh, thinking of suggesting of making her pet snake eat the animal, but dismissed the idea as he thought the reptile was pretty useless when it don´t came to attacking and killing unsuspecting humans and their horses near the plateau of stone.

Since he first woke up he had only seen it move a few inches and change position, so another idea occurred to him.

“Can you hold it?” He asked him “with your ivy?”

She looked at him curiously and suspiciously, but instead of answering vocally, she raised a hand and made a few short movements with her fingers before clenching her fist, catching the animal that began to screech in panic.

He approached it, and with a certain movement, cut off it head.

When he heard her loud gasp he looked back and there she was, her brows furrowed, her eyes staked and both of her hands covering her mouth.

He looked back at the now dead animal, grabbed it head and raised it before asking.

“Do you know fire?”

.

.

.

Sasuke sat on a rock while at the same time bringing the now cooked boar meat to his mouth, biting off a large chunk and tearing it from the rest so he could eat it.

Sitting on another rock on the other side of the bonfire he had made, Hinata found herself with her arms crossed and her brow furrowed, looking at him with such intensity as if she wanted to make his head explode with just her powerful gaze.

She was upset with him, that was clear. Since he had killed the animal and cut its meat into smaller portions so he could stick them into branches and put them on the fire to cook.

The turning point, however, was when he gathered branches and leaves and started the fire that he had surrounded with rocks of different sizes as a barrier so that the fire did not spread.

Apparently, she could forgive him for killing an animal even if she was clearly against it, but lighting wood and using leaves as a burning material was where she drew the line, practically declaring enmity at the prolonged silence she had maintained.

It was funny to tell the truth, even if preparing that meat and the dressing he had bathed it with to give it a little more flavor had been torture for his sprained wrist, it was worth it if I could see her normally relaxed and smiling face distorted with annoyance and disappointment, her lower lip sticking out childishly.

Furthermore, and despite the wide variety of fruits she had been feeding him - more delicious than he had ever eaten - he had really missed the taste of meat on his palate.

“Hey!” He called her even though it wasn't necessary, since she hadn't taken her gaze from him for a second. "Try a little" he said, spreading some meat even though he was too far for her to reach.

That scandalized her.

“I will not do it!” She vigorously refused, looking quite offended by his proposal “I'm not a savage!”

"Me neither" he said, shrugging even though he wanted to burst in laughs at her expression.

“You are eating a living being”

“You eat the children of your plants, but I don't judge you for doing that”

The expression on her face finally overcame him, making him laugh.

With difficulty and care, he rose to his feet and walked around the fire, sitting next to her and extending with his good hand the piece of meat he himself had previously been eating.

"Try a little" he repeated, but she pursed her lips and turned her face away, refusing.

“No, I do not like”

"You can't say you don't like it if you haven't tried it yet" he told her, repeating the words his mother had repeated so much to the fussy eight-year-old he was.

But she kept refusing, so he took another approach they used to use with him when he was especially difficult to feed: negotiation.

"How about this" he began “If you try a little of this, I promise I won't complain and take all your strange meds even if they taste like hell itself, you don't have to like it, just try a little”

She looked at him scrutinizingly, apparently looking for some kind of dishonesty, but he just brought his injured wrist to the center of his abdomen, in a well-camouflaged dirty little manipulative move, which he knew was working when she looked at his wrist and then again to in his eyes.

“Just a little?” He nodded "And will you take the medicine without complaining?" He affirmed again.

Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out again in the form of a long sigh.

She opened her eyes again, now with a look of determination and nodded.

He smiled and brought the meat to her mouth.

“W-wait!” she yelled, holding his wrist.

He was really having a hard time not laugh again.

Without letting go his wrist, she barely opened her mouth and bit into some of the meat, chewing it and stopping after swallowing it.

He looked at her expectantly, watching as she frowned again and sudden tears began to fall from her eyes.

Was it really that bad?

He began to feel guilty for forcing her to do so, but he was surprised when she now took a bigger bite, taking the meat from his hand to grab it herself, saying between sobs

"It's good!" she sniffed and cried harder as she ate more of it.

________________________

That night he woke up because of the pain that attacked his healthy wrist, grunting and looking for the reason for that, and when he looked at it, he was surprised and out of breath to see how a bracelet of branches wrapped him, which would not be a problem if it was not for the fact that they seemed to come straight out of his skin.

________________________

Another few days passed and he had kept thinking a lot about his situation.

Due to his suspicions, he decided to do an experiment.

For a few days he stayed especially close to her, touching her skin with his fingertips in the most subtle way he could, leading him to offer help during the moments when she did her self-imposed tasks that were not really necessary - there was not much to entertain herself with, he supposed — and despite confusion at his sudden need to help, she agreed and directed him what to do, frustrating him when any of those tasks kept him away from her.

But at the end of the day he touched her enough without going overboard - tapping her shoulder to get her attention or patted it awkwardly as he congratulated her with a "good job" - and then he walked away from her and went to the makeshift cot she had created for him, leaving her more confused than at first.

The first night he waited awake for something to happen, for the branches to start coming out or for his skin to turn green, he wasn't entirely sure what could happen, but he waited.

And he received nothing.

He repeated the experiment several more times and nothing happened, so he thought maybe it was a side effect of the last potion she had given him to drink? It would make sense that his body is no longer producing more vegetation by changing the type of medicine she was giving him, and it would also make sense that she did not know that effect as something out of the ordinary, since her own body seemed to produce by itself the plants that dressed her.

Then he forgot the topic, classifying it as a one-time occurrence.

Until he wasn't.

That morning, when he no longer had any kind of ailment and was beginning to feel he was finally regaining his strength, he had helped Munda - who, he learned, was really peaceful when he was not protecting the entrance to that garden - to get rid of the little debris that had stuck to him after his last shedding of skin.

"Good work," Hinata said, patting him on the shoulder as best she could since he was significantly taller than her “Munda's shedding of skin is usually a disaster because it is more resistant than normal, so I always have a hard time cleaning it when it's in season” she revealed, now with her hand fixed on his shoulder “you are very good at that”

He accepted her congratulations with a small hint of pride on her chest.

They passed the day with normally, and at night, while taking a bath in the lake, a sudden pain attacked his shoulder.

When he tried to move his shoulder in circles, he couldn´t, the pain and stiffness prevented him from the slightest movement, then he brought his other hand over said shoulder to try to massage himself, but when he felt his fingers prick, He stopped.

Surprised, he looked at his shoulder and couldn't believe what he saw: it was covered in thorns right where Hinata had touched it.

The fire of anger ignited in him and spread like forest fire, was that it? Her hands? Were her hands causing his body to produce leaves and thorns as if it were a simple plant? Although, now that he thought about it, he had been a fool not to realize it before, after all, she was nothing more than a witch whose hands could grow trees and flowers out of nowhere.

He had been fooled. He had let his guard down and this witch was turning him into another plant in her garden.

Who many more had she done this to?

He looked at the surrounding trees for the hint that any of them were once a man, but he had done his job so well that there was not the slightest trace of a previous humanity in them.

Angry, he left the lake and put on his pants, not caring they were dirty and dusty from the activities he had done that day. He dressed in his armor and took the sword with him, searching for Hinata and finding her, as always, in the center of the small flower-covered hill that surrounded her.

His quick and heavy steps caught his attention, turning and smiling at him when she saw him approaching, but that expression quickly changed when he entered, stepping carelessly on the flowers that she loved so much.

"Sasuk ..!"

"In two days we will leave," he interrupted, placing the sword under her chin and applying enough pressure so the tip dug lightly into her neck, hurting her “I have already lost a lot of valuable time with your stupid games, as of today, I command”

He turned around without giving her the opportunity to speak and went to the farthest part of that garden, where he found what seemed to be the oldest tree of all, the most leafy, where he sat down and pressed his back against it, crossing his arms with his sword still in his hand, quickly creating in his mind all the logistics of what he would do next.

______________________

The desperate neighing of Onyx woke him up.

He hadn't realized when he had fallen asleep, but it seems as if the apocalypse had taken place once he closed his eyes.

He blinked, trying to clear the blurry view of him until everything was terrifyingly sharp.

In front of him, Onyx kept crying, rising on his hind legs and then dropping the front legs in heavy blows, kicking up the dust with each fall.

It was daytime, he could tell, but the whole environment was so bleak that his brain had a hard time understanding it.

He looked around him, all the space that had previously been green and colorful had turned to the darkest gray he had ever seen. The trees shed their leaves at an impressive speed, the same ones that were now on the ground, surrounding him.

He tried to take one, but the blades were so brittle they broke with the simple touch.

"Onix, take it easy" But the horse ignored him; instead, he whinnied louder as if urging him to stop and then ran, leaving him behind.

He walked carefully, looking everywhere: the bushes were dry but still held some of their fruits, of which he took one and put it in his mouth only to spit it out instantly, disgusted by the horrible taste of the previously delicious blackberry had taken. As he walked, a foul stench began to fill his nostrils, aggravating the closer he got to the lake, until he realized that was where it came from. The waters, previously clean and clear, were now as black and thick as tar.

What was happening?

It didn't take long for him to find the cause.

Still on the small hill was Hinata, motionless and with her head bowed, the flowers around her were wilted. Munda surrounded the hill, making a great circle with its whole body, as trying to be a wall of protection for her owner.

The great snake gave him a warning hiss, glaring at him, now with both of its healthy eyes, as if it was challenging him to come closer.

Even with the threat of the reptile, he did, he knew how protective he was, but he had learned that in here Munda was more like a puppy playing at being brave than the gigantic and terrifying snake really was.

Already within the circle of protection of him everything was more horrible, here the flowers were not withered, and instead they seemed burned. Hinata's body remained immobile, not even seemed to breathe, and when he surrounded her and was face to face with her, he was surprised by the horrible state that in just a few hours she had gotten.

Her skin was as gray as the rest of the earth, her previously pink lips were now dangerously close to black, almost all the flowers in her hair and crown had lost their petals and the ones that remained would fall at any moment. Her eyes were open and she kept them that way, without blinking, and the only sign that told him there was still life in her was the trail of tears that fell without stopping.

He crouched in front of her and called out, but he didn't get the slightest bit of recognition from her.

He grabbed her face and winced at the ease of movement he had from her, even if her body seemed stiffer than could be possible.

Then the dark green trail that fell from her throat to her abdomen caught his eye, and he felt as if he had been hit with the strongest metal as he remembered what he had done.

Was this his fault?

"Hinata," he called her, lifting her face so he could look into her eyes, which seemed to be empty. "Hinata, I'm sorry."

But his attempts were in vain because she did not respond or make the slightest movement that indicated she would do it at some point.

Desperation began to fill him and he didn't know what to do, stroking her face and trying to wipe the tears away, but they kept falling and instead, sliding over and around his thumbs, mocking his unsuccessful attempts to stop them.

Then, in a moment of utter despair he did something he had only thought would happen in his dreams, and kissed her.

His lips froze over the cold, chapped of hers, and all ambient sound that he had previously not actively noticed disappeared. He made no move, just stood with his lips joined, praying inside his mind for a reaction, until her lips trembled.

One sob left them, then two, until it was totally a symphony of wailing.

He hugged her and pressed her to his chest, quietly apologizing to her and preferring to hear her cry than remain in the deathly silence of moments ago.

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

Recovery was slower than he could have imagined. While it took less than one night to produce the disaster, fixing it was a matter of a long time.

She avoided talking to him and he couldn't blame her, not after all that he´d caused.

She was just getting back to her normal color and at the same time so did her garden, slowly returning to the green it was when he had arrived.

He hadn't given her a reason for his action in the first place, and he didn't think he'd do it sometime soon - never, if he could.

He just helped her silently, discovering that when he kissed her, she recovered a little more.

So he kept doing it, morning, afternoon and evening, until the pink on her cheeks appeared and the flowers in her hair began to bloom.

That, however, came at a price, and it didn't take long for him to realize that the mere touch was more powerful than that of her fingers.

It first reflected on his nails, which turned brown and their textures became like that of a tree trunk. Then on his chest, where leaves and thorns came out again.

It was a much faster process than he had thought.

"I think we can leave tomorrow" were the first words she spoke to him after days of silence, smiling shyly at him, speaking in a low voice.

He nodded as best she could, his neck stiff from the changes taking place in him.

That day his feet stuck to the ground, and pulling them off felt as if he had lost a limb.

"Sasuke" Hinata called him the next morning, worried about what she was seeing. "Since when has this been happening?"

He looked at her, but he didn't answer.

He was still lying on his grass cot, trapped by the ivy that had tightly encircled his arms, torso, and legs to keep him in place.

"Wait." The desperation in Hinata's voice was palpable, but he could barely recognize anything.

With her hands, Hinata touched the plants on top of him, but was surprised to see that instead of obeying her and disappearing, they seemed to tighten around Sasuke.

She looked at her hands without understanding what was happening and tried again, her eyes clouding over as she obtained the same result as the first time.

The tears left her eyes and the sobs soon appeared the more she tried and failed, becoming more energetic and miserable with every second more.

"Hinata," he called out, barely a hoarse whisper as he felt a new plant grow from his stomach and slide its roots through his esophagus, slowly exiting his mouth "There is no time for me…”

“Do not!" She shouted shakily" Don't say that!”

“S. Save them ... my people ...” he said, barely breathing.

"I-I will, but-but first ..." A sob interrupted her "you first..."

Sasuke wanted to deny, but he had neither the strength nor the mobility to do so.

"There ... there is ... no time for ... me" he repeated.

“Sasuke”

“Please”

Without finding the words to answer him, she just nodded.

Sasuke smiled and looked at her, grateful as a single tear slid down the side of his face as more roots came out of his mouth.

"Thank you" he said, his voice cracking, closing his eyes, "I lo ..."

But he couldn't finish his sentence, losing the last breath he had and finally letting the roots slide out of his mouth and dig into the ground beneath him.

A heartrending scream came from Hinata's mouth, the loss, for the first time in hundreds of years, completely ripping her apart.

She cried over his body, feeling a pain much worse than that of a few days ago completely invade her, feeling again how she was fainting rapidly.

But she still had one last promise to keep.

Unwilling to leave him, Hinata placed both hands on the ground and gathered all of her strength, screaming as she transferred her power beyond the forest, filling all around with the life that he had come looking for.

The earth shook and great thorny walls rose above all of her garden, joining in the center without closing completely, and leaving a small gap through which the sunlight entered.

Exhausted, she walked to where Sasuke's body lay covered in roots and she dropped down beside him, placing a hand on his chest, slowly closing her eyes and melting into him.

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

From the highest tower of the Uchiha castle, the cries of the courtesans invaded the room of King Itachi, whose body was covered by a white sheet as his court surrounded him.

"You did it, my king," Kakashi whispered, watching from the window as the kingdom began to fill with the vivid green of the growing plants and the colorful buds of flowers and fruit that followed them, though his attention was really fixed on the large bud that it had formed in the farthest part of the forest.

While, at the gates of the kingdom, Onyx the steed without his king arrived.

@sasuhinamonth

[footballfanfictions]

The thrill of the chase - Chapter Two

Pairings: Mason Mount/OC, Ben Chilwell/OC

Authors Note: Sorry that this has taken a little longer than anticipated and thank you so much for all the love for the first part.

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

One of the main drawbacks of working with social media, is that you are always on social media and you’re constantly bombarded with information and images that make you feel downright crap about yourself.

I’d been asked to take over the instagram page of one of the high profile players at the club and his entire feed was just one supermodel and influencer after the other with the odd footballer thrown in to balance it out. They were all so stunning that it truly made me feel awful about myself, how could it not? My salary was pretty good for a new graduate but not quite good enough for weekly manicures, lip fillers and hair extensions and my time management wouldn’t stretch for that either, I barely made my eyebrow wax appointments.

I was trying to avoid looking at the player’s DMs while I posted a few pictures from the pre-season training sessions to his feed, but the notifications pinging every few minutes was getting quite annoying.

Has it been Brianna with access to his account and not me, she would have gone straight to his messages to read them. I preferred to live in blissful ignorance to the sleazy ways of the men around me. I already felt like finding a good guy was absolutely hopeless.

I had been renting a flat and I was saving for a deposit to buy a house, hoping that by the time I had saved up enough to buy that I would have found the right person to live with. If I were to attempt this alone, with London house prices I would be around  60 by the time I had saved enough alone.

The message notifications continued to come in and whoever Sam was, she was really keen.

I logged out after posting the final image and prayed I wouldn’t have to go into it again. The less I knew about their private lives, the better. It would be pretty awkward to be sat in the staff and players’ family box at a game knowing that the wife of someone I knew was cheating was close by. Best to steer clear of those complications.

Brianna hadn’t visited my office at all and by 12 I was both worried and hungry and decided to go looking for her.

I tried the kit room first but it was empty and surprisingly tidy. Dave kept a tight ship and liked everything to be in its place but it wasn’t often possible with the sheer volume of kits that needed to be looked after.

As I backed out of the kit room and closed the door, I felt something hit me in the back.

“Sorry” mumbled the voice from behind me. “I was looking for Dave, I need a new top.”

I knew who it was but I didn’t really want to turn around and look at him.

“They’re not in there, I was just looking for him and Brianna too.” I responded in an emotionless tone, shrugging.

“Why are you being so weird?” he asked.

I turned to face him then and gave him a look of contempt before I answered him. “Maybe I just don’t enjoy spending time around footballers?”

“No offence love, but I think you might be in the wrong job if that is the case.” he put his hand on the door, next to my head where I was practically pinned against the door by how close he was to me. Only then did I realise that the training top that he was wearing was ripped, front he shoulder to his navel, the material hanging and exposing his toned chest and abs. I tried to look away but he had caught me looking and was now smirking.

“Maybe it’s just you that puts me off.” I shrugged as I ducked under his arm, escaping from my position between him and the door.

“You really don’t like me?” He huffed. “I don’t remember doing anything to offend you personally.”

“Maybe I’m offended that privileged young lads get money, fame and praise just for kicking a ball around a muddy field. Try something more impressive, like curing cancer or performing life saving surgery, ending world hunger, ending wars.” I groaned in frustration. Maybe that was the truth of it. Why should he get all the praise and admiration that he got, just for playing a sport? There were so many incredible people in the world doing, or working towards the things in that list that never got half the praise that Mason Mount did for kicking a ball.

He looked a bit dumb struck.

I went in again, “Maybe I don’t like you assuming that I should be into you, just because you’re Mason Mount, England and Chelsea midfielder. Maybe that’s what the girls in the club that throw themselves at your feet are into, but it’s not for me.”

I made to leave and he grabbed my hand and mumbled, “Sorry, I’ll leave you alone from now on.”

I didn’t respond. Just pulled my hand from his and stormed off towards the boot room, leaving him outside of the kit room in his ripped shirt.

“Fuck it smells like feet in here.” I complained, walking into the boot room with my nose pinched between my fingers in disgust.

“When I said that I liked shoes to dad, this is not what I meant.” Brianna laughed.

“What are you doing in here, I didn’t think boots were part of your job?” I asked, perching on one of the benches while Bri sat on the floor, sorting through a massive pile of boots to try and match up the pairs. They were in all sorts of bright colours and differing sizes. If I had to guess, I’d guess that she had been at her task for hours.

“Dad and the boot guy had some sort of emergency” she shrugged.

I laughed at that, wondering what kind of emergency you could have that involved kits and boots. Maybe they hadn’t ordered the right brand or something and one of the stars wasn’t going to get his cash from his boot deal if they didn’t find him the right pair.

There was a little tap on the sliding glass door that lead out onto the pitches and stood there was the guy from the other day that had held the door to the cafeteria open for us. He looked a little sheepish.

“Are you going to let him in?” I asked Bri, trying to unbury her from the pile of boots by throwing some of them into a pile, all of the orange ones in one corner, the yellow in another pile and pink in another and so on.

“Oh yeah.” she said, standing and brushing herself off, and adjusting her skirt that rode up her thighs slightly. The guy had noticed and I watched as he tried to look away and then down at his feet. At first I hadn’t thought that his shyness was that genuine. Footballers were all confident cocky little shits in my book, I’d never met one that was shy and unsure of himself.

Bri unlocked the door and let him in.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but only one of these fits” he said, holding up a pair of lime green boots and giving Bri an apologetic smile.

“Oh shit” she said, taking the pair from him and inspecting them. “I’ve given you one 10 and one 9.5.” she looked through the pile of lime green boots until she said “aha!” triumphantly brandishing another size 10 boot. “Here you go my love.”

That as just Bri’s way, she called everyone little pet names all the time, but he didn’t know that and he was blushing profusely and I was almost certain that his hands were shaking as he laced the boots up.

“Thank you so much.” he mumbled, looking like he was about to die of embarrassment. He turned to walk back out of the sliding door, but hadn’t realised that Bri had shut it behind him, so he ended up walking straight into the glass, hitting it with enough force to emmit a cracking noise from his nose which was suddenly streaming with blood.

I jumped up from my seat and crossed the room to him, avoiding the piles of boots the best that I could, not wanting to add myself to the casualty list.

I had an unused tissue in my pocket, that I took out and pressed to his nose. It was instantly bright red and the blood poured straight through it.

“Bri can you go and warn the medical room that we need to bring him down?” I asked.

She nodded in agreement and rushed out of the room.

I put my arm around his waist and guided him back over to the benches. He sat down and I slipped my cardigan off. It was a very thin material and already a deep shade of red. I didn’t let him protest as I replaced the tissue with my cardigan. It was the best that we had, and he looked like he was in a lot of pain.

“I’ve never seen anyone get that flustered before.” i laughed, sitting down beside him. He managed to give me a pained grin.

‘It’s Bri isn’t it? Is she why you were waiting by the canteen door the other day?” I asked gently, patting him reassuringly on the back. “I wanted to send her out of the room so that I could ask you, and also to reassure you that you shouldn’t be embarrassed about this. I’ve seen Bri do a lot more embarrassing things. She’s always falling over and hurting herself. You would make quite the pair.” I laughed.

He shook his head and mumbled “I can’t ask her out”.

“Why the hell not?” i scoffed.

“She has a boyfriend doesn’t she?” he shrugged, looking really sombre.

“Ah no, not anymore. Things are definitely over between her and that prick, and between you and me, if she ever gets back together with him, I’ll give her a matching broken nose.” I bumped shoulders with his, trying to cheer him up, just as Bri came back into the room and told us that the medical room were waiting for him.

“Can you come with me?” he asked, not talking to Bri, but to me instead.

“Sure, I would do anything to get out of work this afternoon. Our twitter page today is just full of fans that are disappointed that we didn’t use the Hazard money to sign Messi.” I laughed, getting up and guiding him towards the door.

“Can we catch up later?” I asked Bri before leaving the room, she nodded and told me she would be free all evening.

As we walked down the corridor I said to him “See, no plans to see a boyfriend” and he blushed again.

One of the medical assistants rushed out to meet us and guided him into the room exclaiming “Billy, what the hell? How have you done that?”

He shrugged, clearly feeling embarrassed about how he had injured himself. So when they looked over at me for clarification, I shrugged too.

Billy wasn’t the only player needing the use of the treatment room. As he sat down on one of the chairs, I noticed that Ben was in there too.

The medic went about dabbing Billy’s nose and he cried out in pain.

“Sorry about your cardigan.” he said, looking down at the red material on his lap. He didn’t need it now that he was getting patched up.

“Honestly don’t worry about it Billy.” I grinned.

The medic then mumbled something about needing something and left the room.

That gave Billy a bit more confidence to talk about what had happened.

“And thank you for the advice about your friend.” Billy seemed a bit happier as he said that, and I could see Ben out of the corner of my eye looking over at us as Billy spoke.

“Please tell me you’re going to ask her out!” Ben laughed.

I turned to look at him and smiled. “You know?”

Ben nodded and looked at Billy with a horrified expression “Oh god, you asked her out and she punched you.”

I shook my head. “Not exactly.” I said.

“The boyfriend was here for some reason, and he punched you?’ Ben went on, standing up and coming over to Billy. He walked with a slight limp.

He stood in between us.

“Why are you in here if you don’t mind me asking?” I looked down at his leg while asking the question.

“It’s my hamstring, nothing too serious.” He smiled.

“Don’t laugh at me when I tell you how I did this.” Billy warned, pointing at his nose. “I walked into a sliding glass door that I thought was open, all because she gave me a pair of boots and called me love.” he groaned, covering his face in embarrassment.

Ben laughed and clapped Billy on the back with his hand. “Oh mate, no wonder you’re embarrassed.” he then addressed me, asking “Just how cringy was it?”

I shook my head before answering him, “I honestly don’t think it was that bad. Bri is pretty oblivious sometimes and I don’t actually think she realised the real reason for you hurting yourself. So if you were to pluck up the courage to speak to her, I wouldn’t even bring it up.”

_________________________________________________________

The next day, I was looking out at the training pitches while I waited for the coffee machine to finish making my drink when there was a gentle tap on my door.

I crossed the room and opened it, expecting it to Bri or maybe even the club photographer giving me some new pictures of the squad to use, but it was Ben.

“Hi, are you free?” he asked, giving me one of his sweet smiles.

“Yeah come in.” I said, stepping back into my office and letting him pass me so that I could hold the door open.

“That coffee smells nice”. He remarked.

“Do you want one? Or did I put you off the other day?” I smiled.

“Ah no thanks, and no you didn’t put me off. I’ve never really liked the stuff. I like the smell of coffee, it just doesn’t taste as good as it smells.” as he spoke I realised that he was holding something in a plastic bag.

He realised that I was looking at it. “It’s your cardigan. I washed it for you at home. Think I got all the blood out but it’s red so I can’t really tell.”

I was for once, speechless. It was a small gesture but it was really kind all the same. I thought about making a witty remark about it actually being his mother or an employed cleaner that washed it for him but I just couldn’t bring myself to.

“Thank you, you didn’t have to do that. It’s only an old primark cardigan.” I said, taking the bag from him.

I suddenly felt a bit flustered in his company. He had that charming smile and didn’t really look like a cocky footballer to me. He didn’t act like one much either, he was just kind of like the guy next door, or the guy you would see on Tinder with a picture of him with his mates at the only photo on the profile so you couldn’t tell which one you were swiping for.

In all honesty, he kind of reminded me of my ex boyfriend Rory. He had the same sort of look, and they had similar accents. Maybe it was nostalgia that made me find being around Ben comforting.

‘I think your coffee is done.” he said, gesturing to the machine.

I nodded and walked over to the machine, taking the cup and adding some creamer and sugar. As I stirred the cup, he leant against my desk and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Something is bothering me if I’m honest.” he said.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

“Mason said that you told him that you hate all footballers because we’re privileged and get too much clout for what we do.” He looked slightly disappointed in me. “Thing is, I don’t entirely disagree with you. Maybe we do get paid too much for what we do, and maybe doctors and nurses deserve way more praise than we do. I also don’t think that you hate all footballers. You were really kind to Blly yesterday and he won’t forget that in a hurry. You really helped him.” he continued.

“I don’t hate Billy, and I don’t think I hate you either.” I said quietly, taking a sip of my coffee.

“That is interesting.” he grinned, as he took one of my hands and guided me over to him, to stand in between his legs where he now sat on the edge of my desk.

Instinctively I put my coffee cup down and he put his arms around my waist.

“It’s interesting?-” he cut me off before I could say anything else, by pressing his lips against mine. The kiss is soft and gentle and lasts only a few seconds. He testing me and my brain is going in so many different directions. Am I actually going back on all of my principles and kissing a fucking footballer right now? And am I only doing it because he reminds me of my ex?

He moves to pull away, breaking the contact between our lips and I let out the tiniest whimper before putting my hand on the back of his head and pulling him back in for more. This time his tongue slips past my parted lips. My hand at the back of his head grips a generous handful of his hair and one of his hands makes its way to my bum.

My body feels like it is on fire. It has been a bloody long time since anyone kissed or touched me, and I hadn’t quite realised just how starved of affection I had been until I got a taste of it, a taste of him.

The telephone on my desk started to ring,and although I tried to ignore it, I just couldn’t. My job meant a lot to me and if it were Marina or someone of equal importance I would be chastised for missing the call.

We broke the kiss at the same time and I apologised to him. He grinned and fired back that I didn’t need to apologise and that he needed to get back to training, and by the time I picked up the phone, he was gone.

[blissfulalchemist]

 “Don’t look at me like that, I didn’t ask to be the savior in the prophecy!” + chance 💋

Thank you for the suggestion Stella! Turned into a full canon chapter! So please enjoy!

Can also be read on Ao3 too!

“I say we come in from the south side after making a blast from the north, you know as a distraction,” Sharky suggested a smile on his face. 

“Pretty sure you just want an excuse to blow something up don’t you?” Kim asked her face tired as she looked up from the map, “Besides that wouldn’t work. There’s too many Bliss containers everywhere, it could make things worse in the long run and get more people hurt.”

“Well that’s your opinion,” Sharky said crossing his arms, “Let’s get another one,” his eyes landed onto Chance sitting in a chair, black boots propped on the desk of the old jail, fingers laced behind his head as he looked up to the ceiling. “Chance whatcha you think? You’re running this whole operation here.”

Chance’s green eyes moved down to Sharky slowly, he had gotten to sixty five tiles on the ceiling that had water damage, giving a shrug, “If Kim thinks it’s a bad idea it probably is. We aren’t here to make any unnecessary casualties.” Chance looked back up to the ceiling and let out a sigh, this meeting was taking too long and he just wanted to go back home. He managed to find a small liquor stash from a store meaning he had some of the good stuff waiting for him. Thinking about it he should have drank a little more to make it through this meeting, maybe then he could muster the enthusiasm they wanted from him. 

“Chance,” Kim said watching him, “you know it would be nice for you to have a little bit more of an opinion on these matters. It is you that executes the plans.”

Chance brought his boots down to the floor, the thump echoing against the concrete walls. He spun in the chair back and forth in a half circle, his eyes fixed on Kim, “Well it's not like I have anything better to offer. Everyone knows their strengths and knows what mine are, so I just follow whatever you tell me.” He stopped moving, catching the mom look in Kim’s eyes, her arms crossing, Guess we know who really wears the pants in this relationship, “What? That’s our system. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

“Chance this is your life on the line here, you know that right?” She pursed her lips as Chance nodded, her eyebrow cocking, “And that there are people relying on you?” Kim asked, watching as he just shrugged, she scoffed, “We need you alive.”

“You needed me to rally people together and that’s what I did,” Chance responded standing from the chair, “You do know that you can always send someone else in to do the hard work right? There’s more people here that want to “help” save their home.” He rolled his eyes, the weight of the flask in his back pocket turning to lead stopping himself from reaching for it. “Ask one of them to go in, why not Jess? Or Grace? They’re both stealthy enough to make it in and get the job done.”

“You know Jess got stuff to do up in the mountains with Eli,” Sharky said, his brow furrowing together, “She can’t make it down here. ‘Nd Grace well she’s still running point on John with Nick. You’re the only one able to make this neck of the woods priority.”

Chance scoffed, “Right, that’s always the case with you all.” He shook his head, rubbing his temples, “Look you guys come up with some plan and I’ll follow orders okay. If you want to give me some help that would be preferable, for now I’m gonna step outside, get something to eat and some fresh air.” He walked out the room quickly making his way to the back of the jail leaning against the wall of it, letting out a slow breath, closing his eyes as the sun warmed his face. He pulled out the flask ignoring the shaking in his hands, god when was the last time that he ate? Not like he could remember really but it had to be yesterday, he was pretty sure, everything was becoming a haze again. A haze, he thought, bringing the flask to his lips, just like last time, back when life was simpler. 

He just wanted to leave, they all were going to tell him what to do anyway. All he had to do was show up on time, do as they said, and then act like some hero when they gained a little more ground in this war. Clock in, clock out, just like being a deputy. Done it many times over, now though, the last few missions….it all felt different. Different because what if she was there. Chance didn’t ever want to see her again, it shouldn’t matter so much to worry about something like that, but he did worry. He’d seen her face everywhere in the weeks since their last encounter, from the pictures, the billboards, and the hallucinations that never seemed to leave him now. His eyes strayed to his left, catching sight of that light brown hair of hers dressed in that white dress, the purple converse on her feet this time, other days she was wearing his old leather jacket. His heart raced seeing her stand there, smile on her face, hand outstretched to him. How it pulled in his chest to run to her, pull her lips to his, hold her close, be back in his bedroom where nothing else existed just the two of them. That feeling….that’s what made this different. 

He’d hesitate.

Even with his heart still in pieces since they last spoke to each other, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her, let alone harm her. Sure, he could just shoot her in a place where she could heal easily, that wouldn’t make it better for him though. God forbid someone else take that choice away from him, these people wouldn’t hesitate in harming her….killing her. He couldn’t stand to lose another person, not someone that he loved. Especially the way he loved her. He shouldn’t love her, he’d broken up with her right? It had to be….she never even gave him a radio call on either frequency they used. It had only been two weeks, but that wasn’t stopping Chance from feeling like it was longer than that. At least the days were starting to blur again. That was a good sign, he was one step closer to being able to get a grip on his life again.

Chance had finished half the flask feeling himself to be more calm and steadier, the vision of Faith gone from him, making his way back inside the building. He pulled out a half filled bag of Funyuns from his backpack, the better way to hide the scent of the alcohol on his breath in his experience, and considering the still shaking hands he should eat a little something at this point. Walking back into the room, Chance noticed Whitehorse standing with Kim, Sharky having left to some other part of the building, the two talking in hushed voices. Chance took his seat opening the bag, the rustling louder than it normally would have been, leaning back in the chair, his feet back up on the desk. He was far from quiet about his re-entrance, Chance finding it odd that the two didn’t look up, and neither took to looking down at the map.

“I just want you to try and talk to him,” Kim hissed, gesturing to Chance, the hair on his neck prickling, “Please, maybe you can get through to him.”

Chance rolled his eyes, “I’m right here you know!” He swallowed, jaw clenching as their gazes turned to him slowly, “You got something to say about me, might as well say it to my face.”

“Fine,” Kim straightened up, hands on her hips, “You’re not acting like the leader you need to be.”

“Oh how tragic,” Chance said sarcastically, “Time to find some new leader to take over I guess.” He tossed a chip into his mouth, “Why don’t you play leader Kim? You seem to know how to boss people around, I mean just look at Nick.”

“Chance,” Earl warned, “Just listen to her.” Chance narrowed his eyes, Whitehorse pulling off his hat, rubbing the back of his neck, “Look we’re worried about ya, haven’t seemed like yourself recently.”

“Is that what this is about?” Chance laughed, “Not like I’ve really been able to be myself since you agreed to take Joseph into custody.” 

He smoothed his greying hair putting the hat back on, “Now you know if it were up to me we would have gone about this a different way.”

“Oh,” Chance looked at him in disbelief, sitting with his back straight in the chair, “Were you just going to walk away….again?” Chance held the old man’s gaze, Kim looking between the two of them, Whitehorse staying quiet. “That’s what I thought,” Chance said after a while, waving his hand, “So just make this plan so I can go home already.” So I can go and forget about this whole day.

“We want your opinion on this plan, Chance,” Kim argued, taking a step towards him, “What’s the point in making a plan if you don’t have a say in it? You have to care about it to some extent.”

He laughed, the emptiness of it reverberating, “You want to know why I don’t speak? Because when I have put in opinions, they were shot down in favor of something else. So you tell me why I should bother?” Chance looked at her waiting for an answer, stopping her when she started to open her mouth, “Yeah exactly, that’s what I thought. So just stop treating me like some leader and more like another soldier,” Chance leaned back in the chair, “besides it's better if we’re all on equal ground isn’t it?”

“Chance that’s not the point and you know it,” Kim tried again, “You’ve become the face, chosen to lead everyone, so it’s time to grow up and start acting like one.”

Chance stood taking a few steps towards her, “Excuse me. I am being an adult by letting you all know that I can’t do this alone.” Chance placed a hand on his chest, leaning down to meet her eyes, “I wasn’t bred to be some leader.”

“No one’s been asking you to do this on your own,” Kim stood straighter, meeting his eyes.

“Oh really? Then why is it that no one else seems to really be taking the reins on some of these plans? Why is it me that has to take down the bigger outposts? That I’m the one getting captured and risking my life so you guys can still have some fabled leader.”

“You’re not fabled, Chance,” Earl said, stepping between the two, “The people of this place have chosen you to rally behind. You represent something they all believe in.”

He reached a hand out to put on Chance’s shoulder, missing as Chance jerked away from him, “I didn’t ask them too! I just saved their asses and when that was done they all dusted their hands deciding that was all that needed to be done, that there was nothing more they could do other than stand on the sidelines hoping that I continue to take care of everything. So don’t give me that bull crap notion that I was chosen!”

“Well whether you like it or not you were,” Kim snapped crossing her arms, “For some reason or another you were chosen.”

“Why?” He threw his hands up jaw clenching, making himself inches from her face, “Because I have nothing to lose? Because I’m the only one here with no family, wife, friends, or any ties to provide a reason as to why I should live if this plan goes to shit? Is that it? A martyr is only as good as their lack of ties compared to those they lead.”

“No one’s saying that Chance,” Whitehorse tried again, placing himself between the two of them, “We- well you need to be taking this a bit more seriously.”

“I need to-,” Chance huffed looking up to Earl, laughing, “Don’t make me laugh old man. Take it seriously,” he snorted, rolling his eyes, pointing to the man he once thought was his mentor, “You should have taken it seriously a year ago. If you had, none of us would be where we are right now.”

“Chance, you know there wasn’t much that could have been done then,” Kim looked between the men brow furrowed.

“There was!” Chance turned to pace, “We both saw her, saw how she pleaded with her eyes for us to help her. Hell! You asked her where she was from and you still chose to accept her bullshit answer.”

“We weren’t there to save her,” Whitehorse shook his head, “My hands were tied.”

“Were they tied when that poster came through the office?” Chance crossed his arms, “Or did you want to blame Nancy for that too?”

“Do you not think that I regret not taking more action back then?” Earl said, his jaw setting, “I know now what could have been done, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. We have to focus on the here and now.”

Chance shook his head, “Nothing is ever your fault,” he snorted turning to grab his coat and bag, “You didn’t take it seriously back then so I don’t see why I should do the same now.”

“Times are different now, Chance,” Kim said, her eyes a little softer than he last looked at them, “We have no choice now. We have to all live with the consequences of our inaction.”

I didn’t have any inactions, Chance threw his bag and jacket over his shoulder, I actually tried to do something. “Yeah, you do,” he said cooly, “So let me know when those consequences are done playing out for you all. I’m done.” He started to walk to the door, Kim’s hand gently grabbing onto him, Chance faced her wide eyes, whispering his name. Chance ground his teeth, shaking his head, “No, don’t. Don’t look at me like that,” he wretched his hand from her grip, “I didn’t ask to be the savior in their prophecy.” Chance leaned his face down, inches from hers, “And I certainly didn’t ask to be your savior.” Her nose wrinkled, Chance turning on his heel to the door, slamming it closed behind him.

The two watched him leave, rooted, both swallowing back the urge to go after him right away. Kim turned to face Earl, giving a slow nod, “He’s started to drink again hasn’t he?”

The old man exhaled slowly, “Looks like,” he shook his head, “Give him a little time to cool off, then I’ll go and talk to him. Maybe get him to listen to some sense.”

Kim took a seat at the map, “You sure it should be you going to talk to him?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Earl let out a low groan as he took a seat across from her, “I’ve talked that kid back to sobriety before. I can do it again.”

“It's just-,” Kim paused, she clasped her hands in front of her gathering her thoughts, “He just seemed real upset about whatever you two saw last year.”

“I don’t blame him. Hindsight is always twenty twenty.”

“What happened?”

Earl leaned his elbows on the table, “You remember Mary Seed?”

“I think so,” she pursed her lips, “John’s wife right?”

He nodded, “Yep, that’s the one,” Earl sighed, “We were called out day of their wedding, for a noise complaint. Chance didn’t want to go, hated coming here, but he stood with me as we walked out onto the middle of that dance floor. I didn’t recognize her as a local and there hadn’t been too much talk of people coming from far away to join Eden’s Gate, so I asked her where she was from.”

“Did John or Joseph answer for her?”

“No, she did. Said she was from California, but there was a hesitation to it. As if she started saying the wrong line and trying to correct it halfway through,” Earl looked down to the map, head shaking, “She was real fearful it looked like too, and Chance swears up and down that she seemed to be looking at us with some hope, willing us to see past her appearance. There wasn’t anything I could do though. By all accounts of the law I couldn’t just take her in. So we told them to keep it down and left.” 

Kim nodded sadly, “Then by the time the missing poster came she was already dead and gone,” Kim reached to place her hand over the sheriff’s hand, “There wasn’t anything you could have done.”

“Thing is though,” Earl started up again, “that poster came about a month or two before her death.” Kim leaned back, balking, “I didn’t do much because by then they were getting too strong, there was too much risk. You heard about how much worse John was getting at that time. All the people that went missing, even their own people turning up dead.”

“So you left her there,” Kim wiped at her eyes, “You let her die.”

“Kim,” she sniffed, eyes narrowing, “the arrest warrant wasn’t for murder,” her eyes went wide, “We were arresting Joseph on the suspicion of kidnapping.”

“So….,” Kim looked past Earl, pieces coming together, “She never died. She lived?”

“She’s alive,” he took his glasses off rubbing his eyes, “but she denies anything happened. Denies that she was ever forced to marry. Her friends, the ones that helped get her out, paint a different tale. The hope was that if we got him into custody then….well maybe she would talk. She’d feel safer to do so, make sure that family would be put away for life with their crimes.” He sighed, putting himself back together, “Well you know the rest.” He let out a low breath, “Trust me, Kim, not a day goes by that I don’t wish I could have done something more when I had the chance.”

Kim nodded, “We all had chances to do something and we all chose not too,” their eyes met, “Guess looking back now, Nick and I could have done something, we met her once. She tried to warn us about them taking the plane, but we let our prejudice of them stop from seeing that she really wasn’t one of them.” Her shoulders slumped, “But it’s like you said, there’s nothing we can do to change the past. We just have to focus on fixing the here and now.”

 “Done. I’m done with them,” Chance muttered to himself slamming the door, framed pictures shaking, “I don’t need them and they sure as hell don’t need me.” He threw down his bag stalking to the kitchen, twisting the top of the first bottle he laid a hand on, “Take it seriously,” he scoffed, “I’m not some stupid prophecy. Shit like that doesn’t even exist.”

“Doesn’t it though?” Chance paused, eyes locking onto Faith as she stood in the middle of his living room looking the same as before, “So far things are lining up as he said,” she glided around the sofa, fingers trailing along the edge of it.

“What he predicted some no good twenty-five year old to come and try to arrest him,” he rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter, “Real or not real?”

“Ask Benjamin about the veiled park,” Maybe we need to find a new method. I don’t think I tell anymore, “Besides,” she shrugged, “does that really matter anymore?” 

He crossed his arms after taking another long drink, “Yeah it does still. For all I know I just let a wild animal into my house. Or someone else that I don’t want to see.”

“Hmm, that is a fair point, but no,” she hopped on the back of the sofa with ease, her ankles crossed as she looked him over with those piercing blue-green eyes, “it’s just little old me.” 

“You said what Joseph predicted was coming true,” he bit the inside of his lip, “How can you know that for sure?”

She tilted her head, laughing delicately, “We just do,” Hallucination, had to be, “He said someone would come with old Earl and set off the chain of events you see before you. There would be trials.”

“Like the one Jacob makes?”

“Nope. Trials testing your wits, strengths, and compassion,” she gave him a smile, he just wanted her here with him, “So far you’ve passed them all. Joseph said that now that’s passed you are going to make a choice.”

“I’m not going to join,” Chance grumbled, it was the only choice he was ever given.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” she taunted, her legs swinging out, “The Father says one day you will come to us and Anticlea will speak to you when you’re at your lowest.”

“Pretty sure I’m already there, so what the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

She jumped down making her way toward him, “You’re not at your lowest yet. And I am just a messenger.” 

“My own personal Hermes?” Her eyes widened briefly, Chance shrugging, “I’m no idiot and I listened to you repeat that story again and again when we were kids.”

“Then you know what happens next right?” 

“I’ve yet to face a one eyed man.”

“Don’t sell this place short,” she giggled, Chance’s heart increasing in speed with each slow step towards him, “Nothing said this story had to go in order.”

“You’re implying a hero’s journey, though.”

“Who isn’t on a hero’s journey in life?” Faith taunted.

Chance’s eyes narrowed, “You’re just a trial aren’t you?”

“Do you see me as one?”

“People call you a siren for a reason.”

She smirked, inches from him, “So you do believe yourself to be Odysseus?” 

“If I did I have to survive your song right?” She stayed silent, face unmoving, “Probably already failing that part of the story.”

“I’m irresistible to you?” She gave a slow turn, his eyes unable to leave her. 

“No,” I’m just feeling lonely and heartbroken. 

Her fingers walked up his chest, his breath hitching, “Hmm. So tell me,” she looked up through her lashes, eyes meeting his, feeling himself start to harden, “Where do you think I stand in this story?” How did it all feel so real, there was no way that she was here, but he could still feel the way her fingertips left marks on his skin. 

“I don’t have to answer you Princess,” he glanced down at the bottle finding it half empty already, When did that happen?, “You’re not real and neither is this conversation.”

Her hand reached up, caressing his cheek, Chance stiffened, “You’re right,” her free hand moved under the hem of his shirt, “For all you know you’re in a ditch somewhere bleeding out.” Her hand came out of his shirt dripping red, “Or you’re floating in the river just waiting for death to take hold,” it didn’t even phase Chance when he felt his clothes become wet, hearing the water drip to the ground, as he watched her move. “You have so little care for your life my White Knight,” she leaned up kissing his lips softly, “Does it matter if this is real or not in the end.”

Chance could see the edges of his vision blur, her form the only thing clear, “I’d rather her be here with me,” he whispered softly.

“I’m here with you now,” she pressed herself closer to him, his hands wanting to pull her to him, run along her smooth skin, the bottle now empty, I drank that already? Did I take swigs as we talked?, “and according to your body,” she slid a hand over his crotch, Chance letting out a low groan, “it doesn’t matter if I’m real or not.” Chance swallowed, she was right, after that first trip into the bliss he couldn’t ever tell if it was really Faith or not, but that didn’t stop him from sleeping with her anyway. She assured him that most of the times they had sex he wondered about she was with him, especially when they were in public, the others bliss induced dreams. Her lips were soft as they kissed down his neck, “Tell me Chance,” she nipped lightly at his neck, “are you ready to make that descent with me?” 

The last bit of rational thinking was muted as it screamed at him to stop, think this through. He didn’t need to though. He made his choice. He was done being the hero, done with trials and expectations, he didn’t need anyone else. So long as he had himself, he could go back to the way things were. There had to be people here that wanted to just have a good time still, even with the world ending, and he’d find them. All he had to do was reach out and touch her. That’s all. Chance looked down to the filled bottle, it looked to be whiskey this time, before setting it aside on the counter, feeling her fingers run up and down his torso. His hand hesitated as they reached out to her, she felt so real, the lightest touch could have her vanishing from him and he’d be alone again. He felt his fingertips lightly brush along her cheek bone, Faith still present and smiling. The tension in his shoulders melted as he pulled her to him, one hand behind her neck tilting her lips to his, the other on her hip, his lips crashing into hers. 

She moaned, responding to his touch, her hands pulling him towards his bedroom, “You asked me who I thought you were,” Chance whispered against her lips, “You’re Circe, you have to be, all your talk of telling me where to go next and warnings,” he held her against the wall next to his bedroom door, “Even if this story is over, that’s who are, to me Rachel,” he ran a hand up her bare thigh noticing the way she trembled, “Besides, I always did like her more.”

She smiled, “You’re wrong,” her voice echoed as she pushed him down on the bed, straddling him….

“We’re Calypso.”

[kellanswritingblog]

Blissful Ignorance

Set after episode 106 when Elias tells Melanie how her father died, she tries to be alone with her thoughts and tears. Or, as alone as she can be in a place where she's always watched. But Basira isn't about to let her go through this on her own. 

Cross posted on AO3

Melanie smacked her leg on something as she marched through the Archives, but she didn’t stop for a moment.  No one else would see her cry.  And with tears still leaking from her eyes, the only way to make that happen was to keep moving before anyone could stop her.  The pain in her thigh where she’d slammed into a desk didn’t even matter.  Not compared to the pain in her head and her heart.

She stepped into the soundproof room where Jon did some of his recording and where she’d been told Martin had actually lived for several months during the worm incident.  Her body shivered at the thought of being stuck in the Institute for that long.  For this to have been the safest place out there?

But, even in a fit of rage and dug-up trauma, Melanie found herself inside the Institute too.  She just as easily could have run outside and found a quiet alley or a coffee shop or literally anywhere else.  But she was still here.

Didn’t matter.  With the door firmly shut behind her, the tears she’d been holding since leaving Elias’ office poured forth and she slumped to her knees.

“You bastard!”  She screamed between sobs.  Knowing how her father suffered… how she did nothing to help him… how he died in agony in a place beyond so many of the horrors she’d read about… And Elias just pushed aside her thoughts and memories to tell her the truth of how her father died.

How dare he?  How dare he reach inside her brain and tweak things just to keep her complacent?  She should have shot him when she had the chance.  At least then she wouldn’t be stuck here in a world where even blissful ignorance could be an easy casualty.

More rage boiled up inside of her as she realized that her desire to have no one see her cry was pointless.  Elias would see her all the same, tucked away in his domain, and think his method and execution perfect.  One more pawn, back under his control.

“Bastard…” she muttered as her head ached and her chest heaved.

“Melanie?”

She hadn’t heard the door open nor anyone enter, and the voice shook her out of her tear-drenched reverie.  Her hand reached to her boot where she kept a knife, just in case.  But, when she saw who had interrupted her, she faltered and said nothing.

“I would ask if you’re alright,” Basira said quietly as she shut the door behind her and stepped over to Melanie.  “But I think anyone could see that that’s not the case.”  She plopped down on the floor, pretzel-legged, a short distance away.  “Is there anything I can do?”

Melanie attempted to dry her drenched face, but more tears soon took their place.

“Elias… he… he messed around in my head, and…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Basira stated as she put a hand on Melanie’s shoulder.  “I just didn’t want you to go through whatever this is on your own.”

Melanie let out a broken chuckle.  “I don’t like anyone to see me cry.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No.  Please… please stay.”

Her voice was desperate and pleading, more so than she would ever want to admit.  Melanie leaned forward and rested her forehead against Basira’s shoulder as another round of tears welled up inside of her.  Tears sunk into her hijab, and Basira held her even tighter.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you…” Basira murmured into Melanie’s ear.

It was some time before Melanie removed herself from the embrace, finding herself practically sitting in Basira’s lap.  “Thank you,” she muttered, her voice hoarse from crying.

“You’re welcome.”  Basira absentmindedly rubbed her thumb along Melanie’s arm, a gentle, calming motion.

“I’m sorry for crying all over you,” Melanie said with a faint smile.  Basira was soaked from her tears, but she only shrugged.

“Please.  It’s fine.  Obviously, I hope you aren’t in such a state again, but if you are, just say the word.  My shoulder is yours to cry on.  And I meant what I said.  I’ve got you.  There’s a lot going on here, but I’m not about to let you go through any of it on your own.”

She smiled faintly and met Melanie’s eye before leaning forward and pressing a slow kiss to her forehead.

“Thank you.  Again.  For everything,” Melanie said, then stood and extended a hand to help Basira off the floor.  “Do you want a drink?”

“You know I don’t drink alcohol, right?”

“I know.  I didn’t say alcohol.  I was thinking of that milkshake place.  If I start drinking anything harder right now I’ll be really messed up and even I’m smart enough to know getting into that state would end badly.  Probably for myself, possibly for Elias, because I would be liable to stab him, repeatedly, but… that doesn’t matter.  I want a milkshake.  And I would really like it if you’d come with me.”

Melanie’s eyes were bloodshot from crying and her voice croaked, but there was a sincerity in her smile that Basira couldn’t deny.

“Milkshakes sound perfect.”