#I never thought the day would come where we could say 'there's a new dragon age game'

[amuhav]

i'm literally not okay

[frankcastleonlyfans]

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐈 𝐌𝐄𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑

pairing: dad!daemon targaryen x mom!reader au

summary: your son maegon visits his sick old uncle, viserys, and end up learning the story of how you met your husband.

author's note: look who's back... this story was based off two asks, this one, and another one asking how daemon and mom!reader met. and now mom!reader is officially dornish!!!! i will not be making descriptions of her features in the future, but just know that mom!reader is poc. i hope you guys enjoy this story. it feels good to write again.

warnings: none ig

reblogs, feedbacks and likes are appreciated. support your content creators 💓 please leave a comment if you like my work, and enjoy your reading.

dad!daemon x mom!reader au masterlist

gif by @gameofthronesdaily

· ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ༓ ༓ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ ·

It is sad when a family member gets sick and you know there's nothing you can do about it. So when your brother-in-law fell ill, it came the time you had to explain to your children that King Viserys wouldn't be the same he once was. The hard part was trying not to scare them with the thought of losing their uncle.

The news brought sadness to Alyssa's and Rhaegon's hearts, but Maegon was the most affected one. He felt the necessity of doing something for his beloved uncle so that even though the King now lay indisposed, he could still feel loved. Your son was old enough to realize that besides Helaena, Viserys' kids did not care for him. That made him sad. Rhaenyra lived in Dragonstone, and for so she couldn't give the attention her father deserved.

The boy had the idea of asking Queen Alicent to let him pay some company for King, during the evenings where he would like someone to talk to. As she needed a break from the sick man herself, she would let Maegon take over her place wherever she felt like it. Which was, almost every evening.

During one of those evenings, Prince Daemon thought it would be nice to see what his brother and son talked about. Mostly, he just wanted to see his brother interacting with anyone, to have the certainty that Viserys would still be alive for a while. The King had little to no hair on his scalp. His body couldn't stand up without the supported of a cane. Daemon didn't know how much time his older brother had left.

When Daemon made entrance to the monarch's solar, he found his son and his brother giggling softly. It felt good to hear the laughing. It meant Viserys was in fact, still alive.

"May I know what is so funny?" The Rogue Prince asked, making his presence known.

Maegon was startled by his father's voice. He has been visiting his uncle for weeks now, but not once his father wanted to come with him.

"Oh, hello Daemon" Viserys grinned at the sight of his sibling, "what a coincidence to see you right now. I was just telling Maegon about that time when we were kids... Do you remember when we tried to find The Cannibal?"

Daemon chuckled, "I do. We searched around all Dragonstone until Father found us before we got inside a Volcano's cave."

"And we never found him!" Viserys laughed.

"Well, thank Gods! You two would probably be eaten or burned alive and I wouldn't be here today to hear the story if you did find him." Maegon reasoned, watching his father pacing around the King's solar.

Daemon's fingers danced around the huge model of Valyria that his brother had exposed in the middle of his room.

"I miss the good old days when I was brave. Once I was sword fighting, I was riding Balerion, I took my little brother to look for a cannibal wild dragon..." Viserys sighed softly.

"You are brave still, uncle" Maegon assures, "It takes bravery to rule. And it takes bravery to be kind. You are a good King."

Viserys nodded to his nephew's words, taking his hands across the table. Daemon felt warmth in his heart. He couldn't quite understand that sensation, but he sees that part of him feels glad that his son expressed words and emotions he could never say or show, because he didn't know how to.

"Did you know that I was the one who introduced your mother to Daemon?" Viserys asked, with fun in his tone, "Have I ever told you the story?"

"Oh, you haven't!" Maegon engaged, grinning excitedly, "Do tell me, uncle, please."

We were all at Driftmark to prestige Corlys and Rhaenys' wedding. Nobles from all across the Seven Kingdoms were there, and your mother was one of them. I remember she was wearing her house colors in her dress. She was a bit older than your sister is now, I think.

My late wife, Aemma, introduced me to her, I didn't know they were friends. I discovered that the lady whom I had just met, was not only a Princess but also played part as a knight at her father's guard. She wore that dress with such grace, that I thought my ears deceived me when I imagined her wearing armor and ringmail.

My thoughts were disturbed by Caraxes' whistling noises, when Daemon, who was very late for the ceremony, came flying upon our heads, rounding Corlys' castle. Everyone was watching the little show your father was giving, mouth-opened, shocked, scared. Y/N wasn't any of those things. She wasn't impressed at all. I remember asking her;

"Have you ever seen a dragon?"

and smirking, she replied, "Where I come from, we have scarier animals."

"Scarier?" Aemma questioned.

"More dangerous." Y/N reasoned.

"I suppose you're right, Princess Y/N," I said, "There are beings more lethal than a dragon, like the very man who rides it can be far more dangerous for his ideals, than the dragon under his command."

It felt like I summoned my brother once I said those words.

"Prince Daemon" Y/N made a short reverence to greet his presence.

"Brother, let me introduce you to Princess Y/N of Sunspear, she is a good friend of Aemma's."

Daemon kept his smugly signature grin on his lips, and took Y/N's hand in his, kissing the soft skin of her knuckles.

"I am deeply sorry for being late for the ceremony. I hope dear cousin Rhaenys can forgive my missing presence." Daemon changed the subject without paying any interest to the lady who made us company.

His rudeness made me uncomfortable, but it was so like my brother to behave like that.

"Y/N, you should come visit us. Viserys and I would love to welcome your family to Dragonstone." Aemma smiled and looked at me for reassurance.

I nodded, "Feel free to visit whenever you want. It is a very lonely place, and unfortunately, the only family we have there is my brother, as Aemma and I are still trying for a child."

Before Y/N could give us an answer, Daemon retorted, "My apologies if living with your younger brother is not what you expected of marriage."

"It certainly is not what I was expecting." Aemma playfully hit Daemon with her elbow.

Y/N giggled softly and the noise took Daemon's attention. He was quite curious why she was still there, in his presence. Most people who didn't know him are likely to feel uncomfortable with his intimidating presence, but not that girl.

"Are you here with your family?" He questioned. That was the first time he spoke directly to her.

Y/N shook her head, "My father sent me here in his name to prestige Princess Rhaenys and Lord Corlys, and give them our wedding gift."

"Oh. I see Dorne's economy must be great if its ruler has enough gold to spend on such superficial events." Like always, Daemon felt the need to say something directly rude.

Y/N frowned, "I thank the Gods our economy is doing well. It certainly is not because of your King." she replied. Her head remained raised, and her eyes stared at Daemon's on the same height.

Daemon felt strange. That woman wasn't offended by what he said, and even tried to get under his skin. One had to have such courage to talk to him like that.

"Uhm... Viserys, why don't you take Daemon to get that wine Corlys was talking to you about?" Aemma spoke trying to break the tension.

"When I took him away, he couldn't shut his mouth about Y/N. He was amazed a woman had the guts to talk to him like that, and even so about the King." Viserys finished the story, as Maegon quietly listened to every word he said.

"She never really had much filter, your mother." Daemon said, "Still doesn't."

Maegon frowned, "But... that's it? That's how you met mother? But, when did you start courting her, father?"

"She came to Viserys' coronation ceremony. Aemma was pregnant and couldn't make her company, so I offered myself for my sister-in-law to be the one hosting her friend in King's Landing." Daemon shrugged, "The rest... well, maybe you should ask your mother how it happened. I don't remember very well, but I know she quickly fell in love with me."

[slaytheusurper]

⭑ The dragon and the princess ⭑

Masterlist

A/N: Deep into my hotd era, so feeding you with daddy daemon

Pairing: Daemon Targaryen x niece!reader

Summary: Your name day was celebrated lavishly and after you and your uncle have a heated conversation, you try to get off when you are finally alone in your bedchamber, or so you thought.

Warnings: Targcest, making out, face riding, oral, vaginal and creampie.

Word count: 1.6k

The great hall was hot and filled with the smell of wine and food. The celebrations for your name day as the eldest child of the king were lavish indeed. After a while the last guest, your dear step mother finally arrived. You hated Alicent with a passion after what she did to you but sadly there was nothing you could do to stop it. You were sitting next to your father King Viserys and were presented with endless gifts. 

Then Tyland Lannister came to the table and presented you with a golden chalice inlaid with rubies and sapphires, a handsome gift, at least- more handsome than him. However before you could thank him the doors opened and none other than your uncle Daemon Targaryen walked in. His hair was short now and he looked ravishing in his new clothes. He started walking towards the table where you were sat and patted Tyland on the back before sitting at the far right side of the table with the queen and the hand in between you. “I- uhm… thank you, my lord for this beautiful gift.” You smiled awkwardly, you were not expecting your uncle to be back but your cheeks flushed at the thought of talking to him again.

“It is not as beautiful as you though, princess.” He smiled, and you cringed hard inside as you looked awkwardly at your father. “Oh- thank you my lord, how very kind of you.” You tried to end it there but it seems Lord Tyland was not finished. “Your Grace I was hoping to ask for the princesses hand in marriage, to bond our houses would strengthen the realm and I would provide your daughter with the strength and support she needs.” He suddenly asked, turning to your father. Your mouth fell slightly open at that and you felt the burning stare of your uncle at the other end of the table. 

“I- uhm… thank you lord Tyland but today is not about my daughters marriage, however I will think on the matter.” He dismissed lord Tyland at that. And he seemed to leave like a dog with its tail between its legs. You could hear your uncle snort and roll your eyes at him. Deciding to end the embarrassment and have some fun, like, one might say, riling up your uncle, you decided to head to the dance floor and dance with a handsome lord of house Tyrell. After a couple more dances with lords from Blackwood to Baratheon to Tully and Frey your sweet uncle finally had enough. He knew exactly what you were doing and he was not having it. 

“Might I have a dance princess.” He asked almost coldly, completely ignoring Lord Colin Frey who was enjoying his dance with you a little too much for Daemon's liking. “Of course uncle. Forgive me my lord. Maybe we could resume our conversation later?” You suggested politely. “Yes princess, that would be delightful.” He gave you a small nod and left to go back to his table, to which Daemon immediately grabbed your hand and waist and danced with you through the crowd. “You really don’t need to do all that to catch my attention.” He whispered into your ear. “What? What are you talking about uncle, me dancing with some lords to please my father?” You replied smugly, you knew how to get under his skin, but tonight you finally wanted to get under his clothes. 

“You know well enough what I’m talking about.” He said, but before you could reply with a witty comment, partners switched again and Daemon left the dance floor back to the table. You danced with some lord again and Daemon's eyes never left yours. After a couple of hours of more dancing and feasting the king finally called it a night and you thanked guests for coming. However much to your disappointment your uncle was nowhere to be found. And you couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy at the thought he was laying with another woman right now. Feeling tired and having all of this pent up arousal from Daemon you retreated to your bedchamber. After your handmaidens finally finished changing you into your nightgown, your head at last hit the pillow. 

Thoughts of Daemon's lips near your ear infiltrated your mind and your hand started to wander down your breasts toward your stomach. When you reached your wet folds you started to softly caress yourself, with two fingers rubbing your clit you were eagerly trying to get off. To get Daemon out of your mind. “Fuck uncle- please.” You softly moaned at the fantasies your mind was serving you. But you didn’t really know how to get yourself off and it was starting to frustrate you.

“Please what?” A voice said. You shot up in your bed to see your uncle standing in the middle of your bedchamber. “Uncle- I didn’t-” You tried. “Having some trouble getting yourself off my dear niece.” He smirked as he walked over to your bed. “I wasn’t-” “Don’t try to fight it princess, I know all too well what you were doing. And for who. Thinking about your own uncle while fingering yourself is quite disgraceful don’t you think?” He mocked and started to walk towards you. Tears pricked in your eyes from embarrassment and you couldn’t even look him in the eye. “Don’t be upset my love, you just needed to get off, didn't you? Did I make you wet for me? Is that it? Do you need your uncle to fuck you proper?” Daemon said while he grabbed your chin and made you look at him. 

His eyes were full of hunger and lust. You glanced at his hard cock shielded by his pants and looked back up at him. All you could do was nod shamefully, knowing that his words soaked the sheets beneath you. And that was all he needed to plant his lips on yours as he crawled on top of you. “You don’t even know how long I’ve wanted to fucking pound you into this bed, fill you with my seed and watch it drip out of your pretty cunt.” He almost sneered against your lips, you moaned in return, even his words could get you off. “Dirty fucking whore, you love that don’t you? Being my own personal fuck toy.” He said as he kissed you again. Now forcing his tongue in your mouth and his hand kneading your breast. He sucked your tongue and bit your lip, after a while your lips swollen and red and breast sore from his kneading. 

“Please uncle, I need you, I need you to fuck me good.” You begged, you knew that’s what he loved. He started kissing your neck in response and after leaving a nice bruise on your collarbone he ripped off your nightgown and laid you down flatter against the pillows behind you. He kissed and licked down your thighs. Opening your legs to reveal your soaking pussy. He licked a long stripe up your folds and started lapping at your clit, making you moan loudly, you were sure that the whole red keep would hear but the pleasure consumed you and you didn’t care. Daemon grabbed your hips and moved you around with him so you sat on his face instead, you immediately rose, afraid of suffocating him. 

“Wait- what if I hurt you-” You said nervously. “You won’t. Now ride my tongue like the dirty little whore you are.” You shuddered at his command and resumed sitting on his face. You felt his tongue enter your hole and you couldn’t help but move fiercer against him. Chasing that high you so badly wanted. “Please yes-!” You moaned as you moved faster, you could feel the vibrations of his groans on your pussy and after mere moments you were cumming all over his tongue. 

Panting hard he rolled you back underneath him. “Now the real fun begins princess.” He whispered against your neck. He removed his own clothes and revealed his already leaking cock. “You're going to take it aren't you.” He said as he kissed your neck again while wrapping a hand around his cock jerking himself off a bit. “Yes. Please I want it all- I want you inside me please-” You pleaded, you clenched around nothing as he slid his tip through your folds multiple times before he finally entered. “Good girl.” You could only moan his name as he started rutting inside you like a dog in heat. 

“Fuck- take it. Take my fucking cock princess. Oh that tight, fucking, cunt around me feels so good, no one has a better cunt then you princess- fuck.” He ranted against your lips, pounding you into the mattress. The slapping of sweaty skin could be heard loudly across your bedchamber and no doubt outside too. “Please uncle its so fucking good, please fill me with your seed- please- please fill me!” You almost screamed. His cock hitting that spongy spot inside you just right, making you think you were seeing all of the seven gods right now.

After a few more thrusts and his thumb rubbing on your clit and you moaned his name as you came, clawing at his back and toes curling as you felt the most amazing pleasure of your life. The clenching of your pussy around his cock finished Daemon as well. With a couple of final hard thrusts he did as was promised and filled your pussy with his seed. “Fuck- princess, oh that’s it. Good fucking girl.” He groaned. Completely spent he laid next to you and pulled you in his arms. 

“What if we get caught.” You asked, calmed from your high reality was setting in. “What if my father finds us or the queen or the hand.” You started to panic a bit. He kissed the top of your head and said, “Then I’ll cut off any head who tries to stop me from marrying you. We will go to Dragon Stone and I’ll make you my wife. And then I’ll get to fuck you every night.”

[nothingbutsweetwords]

ɴᴏʙᴏᴅʏ'ꜱ ꜱᴏɴ, ɴᴏʙᴏᴅʏ'ꜱ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ

ᴀᴇᴍᴏɴᴅ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ!ɴɪᴇᴄᴇ

"ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴇᴀʀ ɪᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱɪʟᴇɴᴄᴇ..."

Word count: 6000.

Fandom: House of the Dragon.

Pairing: Aemond x Reader!Velaryon!Niece.

Warnings: Angst.

FALLING — 7. Her.

During the first moons of her stay at the Red Keep, everything seemed new and exciting. There was some sense of freedom in not having her family around, but with each sunrise, it became more complicated, and the longing grew stronger.

The letters she received from her mother initially brought comfort, but soon they became short. No matter how many words her mother wrote about her, her siblings, and her father, it was never enough. She wrote daily, though she only sent them every three days. She would tell her about her day, always omitting her nightly outings, and tried to hide how much she missed them, and her mother, worried, always asked about Aemond's progress.

Over time, even all the letters became inadequate; they couldn't fill the void she felt. She longed to hear their voices, feel the warmth of their hugs. She questioned a few times if it had been a good idea, but she quickly dismissed those thoughts to remain resolute.

Aemond spent most of his time in the yard, both morning and evening, promising to become the best warrior for her. This caused their visits to the library to decrease. Nevertheless, every night without fail, they slept together, face to face, finding solace in each other's presence.

Her lessons with the septa became increasingly tedious, or perhaps she just grew more easily bored. She spent a lot of time in Helaena's room, who seemed happy to have her. Helaena continued to intrigue her with riddles and enigmatic phrases, making her wonder when each prediction would come true. So far, none seemed bad, so she wasn't frightened or worried. Helaena also helped her improve her embroidery technique, although there wasn't much to be done; it wasn't her strong suit. Soon, the lack of activities even led her to become interested in her insects, delighted to see her aunt’s enthusiasm.

One day, while sitting on the floor, Helaena placed a ladybug on her hand. "It tickles" she said, laughing softly as the insect walked across her palm. Helaena smiled at her, happy to share her passion with someone.

"They all have seven dots, the red ones" Helaena said, revealing an interesting curiosity. "She likes you" she added, looking her in the eyes with a slight smile. She thanked her for saying that.

"What about those?" she asked, pointing to a wooden box with a transparent lid, where several insects could be seen inside. There were some spiders and others she couldn't name.

When Helaena turned to look in the direction her finger pointed, her smile faded a bit. She took the box in her hands and allowed her to observe them from above, while the ladybug continued to walk between her fingers and fly from one hand to the other.

"I do not trust them yet" she said quietly. "I am not sure whether their wishes are for good or ill."

“Why?” she asked, genuinely curious.

Helaena pointed to a large black spider from above and said: "They weave intricate webs, and sometimes those webs can hide important secrets. I'm still trying to unravel which ones" she said, frowning. "But what I know is, we have to beware of the guardian of secrets" she warned, as if wanting to protect her from an-as-yet unknown danger. She simply nodded, hoping nothing bad would come of it.

As time passed, life at the castle continued with its ups and downs; Aemond's training, the enigmatic conversations with Helaena, the whispers of the people, and the few letters from her mother. Even through it all, she found moments of peace, and convinced herself that despite the challenges, she was exactly where she needed to be, next to him.

Occasionally, she found distraction by visiting her grandsire's room. She spent hours there, reading to him, listening to his fascinating stories about their ancestors and the old Valyria. Often, she asked for tales about her mother's youth, seeking to feel closer to her.

She had also begun to insist on Lyra's presence during every meal, finding in her company a sense of familiarity, a relief from her growing homesickness. As expected, everything began to feel cramped, and Lyra, as perceptive as ever, had noticed it, and she herself could no longer ignore it.

She missed her family terribly, and there was nothing that could ease that pain, except the obvious. She felt trapped, guilty for wanting to go to Dragonstone and leave Aemond behind, but she couldn't help it.

"Could it be that, perhaps, I've made a mistake coming here?" she asked one night, her voice filled with doubt and shame for exposing her deepest thoughts.

"I do not think things are that simple, princess. You came here with good intentions, and missing your family is only natural, it does not mean you have made a mistake" Lyra replied gently.

She nodded, acknowledging the truth in those words. "I do really miss them" she murmured, longing evident, head bowed. "No matter how hard I try, this is not my home."

"Why do you say that, princess?" After dinner, Lyra had drawn her a warm bath, and now, in her nightdress, Lyra was gently brushing her long hair.

"I've heard the whispers when I walk alone in the halls." Lyra nodded, understanding the situation and listening attentively to her words. Both were sitting on the bed, and she was with her back facing her lady-in-waiting, between her legs. "It's as if they believe me deaf. I know what they say or think, and it's not... good" she confessed, pain reflected in her voice.

Upon hearing her last words, Lyra set the brush aside and drew her close, wrapping her in a comforting embrace. Lyra was the daughter of one of Rhaenyra's ladies-in-waiting and had lived her entire life in that family. Though only a few years older, she felt a deep maternal love for the princess. 

"We must not let such foolish words disturb our ears, and if they do, let us ensure they do not enter our precious minds, yes?" Lyra said, whispering with firmness. "They mean nothing."

She nodded, and unable to contain herself, she began to cry softly in her caretaker's arms. They remained like that for a while until she could calm down. She appreciated Lyra's love and understanding, feeling fortunate to have someone like that by her side, watching over her well-being.

After some time, Lyra left the room, wishing her goodnight. This was her signal to get up, put on her cloak over her shoulders, dampen her face a bit to erase any trace of dry tears, and take the gift she had prepared so much for him with the help of her mother. With a mix of excitement and nervousness, she headed towards her destination, seeking to find another place of peace and connection amidst the storm of emotions that assailed her.

Aemond's nameday wasn't until the next morning, but she never had much patience for such things. That night, like all others, she entered the room with a candle in one hand, only now she hid the gift behind her back with the other.

Aemond was sitting by the window, his gaze fixed on the night sky. She closed the door with her hip, as both her hands were occupied, and walked over to him. Aemond's face showed signs of fatigue, even some sadness. She knew he was trying to stay awake while waiting for her, as always. The notion of time had escaped her during the shared moment with Lyra, and he always ended up terribly exhausted by his training. Seeing her arrive, Aemond settled and offered a tired smile. She circled the bed, placing the candle on the small table, and with her free hand, she took off her cloak, hiding the gift underneath on the nearby chair.

She walked towards him slowly, observing the clear sky. The moon shone over the city, enhancing the delicacy of his face.

"This is how the night was when I claimed Vhagar" he said, with sorrow. Her heart squeezed at his words, she sadly knew he would never have a flight like that again.

"What was it like?" she finally asked, cautiously. She had never dared to ask about that moment, fearing to reopen wounds, but now that he mentioned it, her curiosity stirred again.

He smiled, still looking at the sky. "I never imagined flying would feel like that" he said, his voice filled with gratitude. "Did it ever trouble you when I did?" he asked.

"What? Claim Vhagar?" she inquired, surprised by his question.

"Yes" he said softly, his voice tinged with apprehension.

She smiled at him, placing a hand on his shoulder, her eyes reflecting pride. "Of course not. It was meant for you, a warrior destined for a warrior." Her words carried a sense of admiration and certainty, a testament to her unwavering belief in his capabilities. "And that was just the beginning, Aemond. Together, you will be unstoppable" she said, her voice whispering with conviction and anticipation. "I do feel safer knowing we have you as protectors."

"Thank you" he expressed, hopeful. She knew the journey was just beginning, and the horizon stretched like a promise of all the adventures to come. "I did it on behalf of us both." She smiled gratefully, gently squeezing him.

"I know they will write books that will pass through all the ages, Aemond, about your courage and triumph" she said, walking towards the sofa.

"I'm not sure about that much" he replied, laughing lightly at her words.

"Then I will be the one to write them" she said, pulling the gift from under her cloak. "Close your eye" she instructed, with an excited smile. Aemond obeyed, but not before giving her an odd look.

"Open your hands" she indicated once she was in front of him again. He did so without question, and with a gentle gesture, she placed the gift in his hands, which lowered slightly at the unexpected weight.

"Now you can look" she whispered. Aemond did so quickly, and looked surprised at the delicate blue velvet bag. She was looking at him with excitement and a touch of nervousness. It was the first time she had given such a planned gift to someone, and she hoped not to disappoint. But even if she did, she would never find out, as he would never show it.

"It's your nameday present" she explained with a radiant smile. "I couldn't wait to give it to you on the morrow, and I wanted to be the first one to do it" she said, letting out a small laugh from her lips.

"I love it" he replied, placing the gift on his lap and looking directly at her, the faint moonlight adorning his gaze with a softness that made him appear even more beautiful.

"You haven't even seen it!" she exclaimed, softly laughing. "Come on, open it."

"I would love anything you gave me" he said laughing too, while untying the laces of the velvet bag to reveal the gift. She had a premonition that his words were sincere.

He carefully pulled the wooden case out of the bag. It was made of ebony, so its color was dark like the night, almost black, and was decorated with delicate carvings. He ran his hand over the surface, appreciating the abstract shapes as if they were a work of art. He had a slightly open mouth as he admired the case with admiration. Then, carefully, he opened it, revealing the true gift.

Inside rested a valyrian steel dagger, shining and forged with impeccable craftsmanship. Its sharp, polished blade reflected the light with a silver shine. Each side of it was adorned with intricate engravings that wound from the hilt to the edge.

His eyes lit up upon seeing it, and a sincere smile spread across his face. "It's valyrian steel" she explained enthusiastically, "so you'll always carry a piece of our roots."

The handle was equally impressive. It was wrapped in black leather, a material that, according to the smith, provided a more comfortable and secure grip. However, the highlight was the sapphires embedded in the handle. The sapphires, of a deep and radiant blue, were skillfully set into the metal, creating a vibrant contrast with the silver. Each sapphire was carefully polished, capturing flashes of light that gave the impression of small stars embedded in the hilt.

The guard of the dagger, also made of steel, was decorated with intertwining motifs that complemented the sapphires in the handle. Aemond took it in his hands carefully, observing every detail meticulously.

She had often heard him speak about Viserys's dagger, seeing the longing in his eyes when he did so, as well as the sadness knowing he could never possess it. That's why she had tried to make something unique for him, something exclusively his, perhaps even something that could be passed down to future Targaryens, always remembered as his.

He set the dagger aside and looked at the box. Inside was a sapphire too. She knew some people carried those precious gemstones as talismans, believing they protected the eyes and helped see beyond the physical. Besides, she had always thought the color matched his eyes. It seemed like a thoughtful detail, but she didn't dare mention its significance.

"My father gave me two he brought back from one of his expeditions to the Stepstones a few years ago" she explained, smiling as he held the sapphire between his fingers, admiring it in the light streaming through the window. "I have the other one" she added shyly. "So you always have a piece of sky, or sea, and I hope it always reminds you that you are destined for something big." He set the sapphire aside and continued to observe. She wondered if he would be attentive enough to explore further, and of course, he was.

The box was lined with more velvet and there was a small cushion where the dagger rested. During her lessons and visits to Helaena, she had embroidered the fabric, and the tailor had turned it into this. She had tried to depict waves and the moon in different shades of blue and teal, with some white stars. They might not have been perfect, but she had poured her heart into them.

He traced the fabric with his fingers, still not saying a word.

"I embroidered it" she added proudly. Then he put the dagger back in the case, but kept the sapphire in his hand. She waited anxiously for his words. "I’m sure it does not compare to Viserys', but..."

"It's perfect" he interrupted, his voice sincere. She let out a sigh she didn't know she'd been holding, a wave of relief and happiness at his reaction. "I..." he began, hesitating. He shook his head slightly, searching for words. Then he put the case back in the velvet bag and stepped away from the window ledge. Once face to face, he hugged her unexpectedly. With one hand he held the gift and with the other he held her tightly. She returned the embrace with a smile, now more relaxed. 

"Thank you" he whispered, holding her even tighter, their hearts almost merging in that hug. When they separated, his eye sparkled, holding back some tears, just like hers. "Let us go to bed" he said, noticing his body was cold from being pressed against the window glass. He approached a shelf where he kept some of his most precious books and now his most precious object, then headed for the bed, placing the sapphire on the bedside table after admiring it again.

Smiling, they both got under the covers, facing each other, feeling their bodies warming up again. They both reached out their hands at the same time, their hands meeting in the middle. They laughed softly and intertwined their fingers in the middle of the bed. It was their routine, talking like this, face to face, until they ran out of things to say, with their hands joined. Then they slept together, sometimes with her head on his chest, sometimes with him nestled in her arms.

"I loved it" he said sincerely. "Absolutely everything," he assured her, "no one has ever given me a better present."

She smiled proudly, happy with his words. "I'm glad you liked it."

They looked at each other in silence. It was a comfortable silence, warm even. It was at that moment, suddenly, while they looked at each other, that hundreds of thoughts flooded her mind like a torrent. Did everyone experience something as wonderful as this? Did everyone have someone to whom giving the whole world, along with their heart on a silver platter, seemed not enough? Did everyone's heart beat so wildly when looking someone in the eyes? Or was it something that only happened when it was the most beautiful face in the kingdom gazing back at them?

She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she saw that he seemed to want to say something too. They both remained silent, waiting for the other to speak first.

"You can go first" she said softly.

"No, you're a lady, you go" he insisted courteously.

"No, please, you tell me" she said, almost pleading with her eyes, though she wasn't exactly sure what she hoped to hear, still trying to understand the strange sensation in her chest.

"Tell me, please" he echoed at the same time, and they laughed again at the coincidence.

"You're my best friend" he exclaimed finally.

"You're my best friend" she replied, in perfect sync.

They laughed again, and as they truly heard each other's words, they smiled. She felt warmth rise in her cheeks. At that moment, everything made sense to her. That special, innocent feeling, that pure joy, so complex yet so simple, was love. She didn't need to fully understand it to know it was real, and that it was reciprocated.

They lingered for a moment, lost in each other's gaze. Aemond's eyes glowed with a tenderness that mirrored her own. Without needing more words, they leaned in slowly and shared a hug filled with affection and silent promises. The moonlight bathed the room, enveloping them in its silver glow. Every moment seemed magical, as if time had stopped just for them.

In that instant, in the tranquility of the night, they both knew that despite the challenges, they would always have that special bond that united them.

Finally, they settled comfortably under the covers, still close, their hearts beating in unison, and they embraced the serenity.

Once back in her room, she spent the day with Lyra again. If it were up to her, she would have spent the entire day with Aemond, but she knew he would break fast with his mother as usual. Later, he would be busy with his training, something that excited him especially now, with the anticipation of wielding a real sword, finally, as he had come of age for it.

At dusk, after writing to her mother and enjoying a hot bath, the woman helped her dress in the carefully chosen attire for the occasion. She opted for a flowing blue dress and some delicate jewelry. As Lyra began to brush her hair, preparing to style it up as she always did, she decided to change her mind.

Aemond had always praised her curls, often running his fingers through them in the night until he drifted off to sleep, and she thought it would be a pleasant surprise for him to wear her hair loose, something she only did in the privacy of their rooms.

When she was almost ready, Lyra was about to accompany her to the hall where the feast would take place, but they heard soft knocks on the door. Few were the times someone sought out her room, so both were intrigued. Lyra walked towards the door and opened it, while she adjusted the sandals that complemented her dress. When she looked up, she found Aemond standing in front of her, looking at her in awe, with Lyra behind him, barely able to hide her huge smile biting her lower lip.

She felt the blush rise to her cheeks, they were not accustomed to being so close in front of other people, so she didn't know how to react, a little flustered with her lady-in-waiting standing there.

Aemond's hair was neatly tied back in a half ponytail. His left side was partly covered by the patch he wore during his training, and he was dressed in a handsome green suit.

"I’ve come to escort you, princess" he murmured shyly, mindful of the third presence. She smiled and nodded, walking towards him and taking his right arm.

"Happy nameday, my prince. May you both enjoy a good supper" Lyra chimed in, opening the door for them to leave.

"Thank you, my lady" Aemond replied courteously before walking out of the room.

Once out of the enthusiastic gaze, she squeezed his arm and looked at him. "Happy nameday, my prince."

He looked at her with a smile that radiated happiness as he guided her through the dimly lit corridors by torchlight, the sun already hidden. "Thank you, my princess." The next words seemed to come with a touch of adoration and nervousness. "You look beautiful tonight... well, you always do, but tonight especially so."

She responded with a grateful smile. "You look lovely too, as always, my prince." He smiled faintly, an expression that denoted a hint of skepticism, as if he couldn't quite believe all the compliments she gave him. As they walked together, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone floor, she broke the silence with a curious question. "What gifts have you received so far?"

With a gleam of joy in his eyes, he replied, "my grandsire had a new saddle made for Vhagar. It's magnificent." His voice filled with enthusiasm. "My mother gave me some ancient books from Oldtown, and she also surprised me with Daeron's visit. I barely remembered his face." She widened her eyes in surprise, vaguely recalling Daeron, who was her age and whom she had seen only once. "Helaena gave me a suit embroidered by herself, with two intertwined dragons" he said with palpable excitement, hoping it meant something. "And Viserys gave me a Valyrian steel sword, with a belt that also has space for a dagger. Aegon mentioned he would give me his present later" he concluded happily. 

She smiled, glad that each gift sounded well thought out, just right for him, although still puzzled why he referred to his father by his name. As they finished their conversation, they found themselves standing in front of the imposing doors of the grand hall. Instinctively, both separated their arms as the guards opened the large doors, announcing their arrival. 

The guests stood in the center of the hall, conversing animatedly, except for the king and the Hand, who were already seated. The queen approached them with a maternal smile and planted a kiss on her son's forehead. "We were waiting for you, my dearest" she said affectionately. Then, taking his hand to guide him to his seat, she turned to her. "Princess, we did not expect you. What a lovely surprise" she added with a smile.

She felt a small knot of uncertainty in her stomach, wondering if she was intruding, but Aemond wouldn't have sought her out if that were the case. She returned the queen's smile and noticed how she gestured to the servants, who quickly added a chair and tableware next to Helaena. Helaena smiled at her and, before she could greet her, moved towards that newly added chair, giving up her place directly in front of Aemond, which she appreciated. Perhaps Helaena wanted her to sit opposite her brother, or simply preferred not to be near Aegon, an understandable preference.

She sat down with a grateful smile, though still somewhat uncomfortable. The feast began, and musicians played cheerful ballads that filled the air with a festive atmosphere. Laughter and conversation flowed along the table, and she almost forgot how much she missed her family, caught up in the distraction of the moment. She noticed that the wine jug beside her needed refilling more often than others, and wondered how long it would be before Aegon spoiled the mood. He was fun and pleasant when sober, but she couldn't say the same when he was drunk.

"Princess, I heard you've been learning High Valyrian" said the king, smiling at her with somewhat weary eyes. She smiled happily at the question, and Aemond paid attention, interested in the conversation.

"Yes, your grace. Aemond has been an excellent instructor" she replied proudly.

"She is making incredible progress" Aemond added, shyly.

"I bet it comes easy to you, just like your mother" the king said, smiling before taking a sip of wine. Perhaps to an untrained eye, Aemond's slight disappointment might have gone unnoticed, but she saw it, and understood why. She couldn't blame the king for loving his daughter so much, as her mother was a splendid person, but she felt sorry that he didn't see the fortune in having Helaena and Aemond, who were just as intelligent and kind.

"With Aemond as my guide, it's only natural for me to learn quickly, your grace" she said, smiling at Aemond. He seemed to appreciate the gesture, and the king looked pleased with the response, nodding before moving on to another conversation. Aegon's raised eyebrows and mischievous smile did not go unnoticed.

Helaena was showing her a figure she always carried, a wooden butterfly that Viserys had given her when she was a baby. She wondered if maybe that was the origin of her fascination with insects. As they continued talking, she felt an unfamiliar finger tangle in one of her curls, pulling it lightly. It was Aegon, who was looking at her hair with mocking attention.

"The Arryn blood is strong, is it not, niece?" he said sarcastically, and in a low voice, ensuring the king did not hear.

She tensed at the comment, and Helaena looked at Aegon disapprovingly. Her body stiffened, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment. In that moment, she inwardly cursed herself for not wearing black and for wearing her hair loose, proudly displaying her curls. Aegon simply removed his finger and engaged in another conversation, losing interest in teasing her, but she couldn't return to her previous state.

Helaena gently squeezed her hand, offering a small supportive smile, but it did little to calm her. Aemond didn't seem to hear the remark, for which she was thankful.

She felt more alone than ever, like an uninvited guest in a place she once called home. And she came to understand her siblings' anger at such insults, not to the same extent, of course, but she did.

The rest of the dinner passed without further incidents. Some guests joined in a lively dance once the meal was over, and laughter was heard in the hall as the wine continued to flow.

Aemond glanced at her several times, concerned about her obvious discomfort. She didn't want to spoil his celebration, so she tried to offer a reassuring smile whenever their eyes met.

She found herself caught up in various pleasant conversations with the other nobles present, mostly with Daeron, who was her same age, and Heleana. She tried to keep away from Aegon as much as possible. Aemond, on his part, approached her on several occasions, rescuing her from the dull talks of the elders. He tried to distract her with amusing anecdotes from his training or asked her about stories of dragons, which she knew by heart. Though her mind was elsewhere, she appreciated his efforts to make her feel comfortable and protected.

Finally, as the feast began to wind down into the night, Aemond approached her with determination in his eyes.

"Princess, would you like to take a walk through the gardens? The night is beautiful" he suggested.

She smiled, grateful for the chance to get away from the bustle. "I would love to, my prince."

Together, they left the main hall and made their way to the quiet gardens of the castle. The moon shone above them, illuminating their flowers lined path as they walked silently along. Aemond seemed less tense now, more relaxed under the starry sky, offering her his arm courteously.

"I'm sorry if anything made you uncomfortable tonight" Aemond finally said, breaking the silence. "I hope nothing else happened" he murmured, a slight concern in his eyes.

She shook her head gently, feeling comforted by his worry. "It's not your fault, Aemond. I'm fine. Just... I'm not used to being without my family."

He nodded, looking at her with understanding. "I know. And I know sometimes people can be... thoughtless" he said, almost apologizing again.

They walked a bit further in silence before she found the courage to speak about what she was really thinking. "Do you ever feel that way, Aemond?" she hesitated for a moment. "Like you don't quite fit in?"

He stopped and looked at her directly, uncertain. His eyes, under the full moon and clear sky, seemed deeper, more reflective, sadder at her question. "Sometimes," he admitted softly, "but when I'm with you, princess, everything seems to fall into place. I do hope you feel the same."

Her heart skipped at his sincere words, feeling a twinge of guilt for longing to return to her family. "Thank you, Aemond. Should we head back? It's getting chilly."

He smiled, softening his features. "Yes."

They continued walking together, enjoying the peace and serenity of the night. As they progressed, leaving the gardens behind and climbing the keep stairs, she said, "I hope you've enjoyed your day, my prince." He nodded. Once they reached the hallway they shared, she whispered: "Should I visit you tonight?"

"Of course" he replied naturally, offering a comforting smile.

"You said Aegon would bring your gift, I wouldn't want to arrive at an inopportune moment" she said, reminding him.

He nodded, realizing he had forgotten his earlier conversation with his brother. "You're right. Maybe I should come instead. I can come right after he leaves" he suggested, and she eagerly agreed to the plan.

When they finally stood in front of the door, with no one in sight, her hands began to sweat nervously. It was just a temporary farewell, like countless others before, so she didn't understand why her body felt so restless, or why her heart was pounding so hard. And why were her thoughts centered on whether kissing him would ease her mind?

Before pushing the door, she turned to him, catching Aemond’s smile, oblivious to her internal doubts. "May I, perhaps, try something?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly, hoping she hadn't misinterpreted any signals.

He arched an eyebrow, curious at her question, but nodded in consent. Without further ado, she took a step forward and, with determination, closed the distance between them. She pressed her lips gently against his, all her questions melting away in that fleeting moment. She closed her eyes, unable to see Aemond's initial surprise.

When they parted, Aemond's face was flushed, his eye wide with astonishment, causing a flutter of concern in her chest. Before she could apologize, he mirrored her action, leaning in and returning the innocent kiss. This time, both closed their eyes, letting themselves be carried away by the moment as their hands instinctively intertwined.

As they pulled away, shy but content smiles graced their faces. The special discovery left them breathless.

"Goodnight" she whispered, a thrilling buzz inside her.

"Goodnight" he replied with equal softness and carrying the same exhilaration.

Once inside, the room was again in perfect order, something she was thankful for. Aemond always seemed to value the organization and she wanted him to feel like in his own space. Peaceful, comfortable, happy. Her chambers were perfectly illuminated by the moon and the glow of the fire burning in the fireplace, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

She walked to the door she used every night, leaving it slightly ajar, then shed her dress, donning her nightgown and slipping immediately into bed. She tried to immerse herself in the book on her nightstand, but her mind kept returning to the shared kiss. Touching her lips with the tips of her fingers, she wondered if it had also been Aemond's first time. She hoped it was.

Soon she realized it was futile to try to distract herself with the book. Her heart still raced, and her mind was full of questions and anticipations. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to stay still as she waited for Aemond to arrive. She was worried, fearing she had ruined everything with her impulsiveness. Or worse, that Aemond had changed his mind after that.

Exhaustion finally overcame her, her head swirling with thoughts, and she fell asleep hoping everything would be okay between them.

The sun stung her face as she began to wake, the warmth of the morning enveloping her. There were faint noises in the room, but still too sleepy to make them out, she tried to ignore them. Suddenly, her eyes flew wide open and she sat up abruptly. The bed was empty, but the secondary door remained open, an invitation to scolding from her lady-in-waiting.

Lyra soon noticed she was awake. With a sorrowful expression, she approached the bed slowly and sat beside her. The princess's gaze searched for answers, but none of her assumptions came close to the reality.

"A raven has arrived today from Dragonstone, my princess..." Lyra began softly, choosing her words carefully. She nodded, attentive and anxious to know more, urging her to continue. "Your father, Prince Leanor, has passed away" she announced.

With those words, the princess's entire world shattered once more in an instant. Tears began to cascade uncontrollably, unleashed without any permission, but she knew it was only a matter of time, a storm that had been brewing finally erupted. Her overwhelming feelings of longing for her family and the unsettling sense of being like a stranger in the castle where she had grown up intensified her anguish even more. Guilt and regret gnawed at her, constricting her chest and stealing the air in her lungs. Lyra tried to soothe her, urging her to breathe, but it was in vain. 

So many moons spent in the Red Keep, precious time lost with her father that could never be reclaimed. Now, with the loss irreversible, she couldn't even seek answers about how it happened, the trauma of Harwin Strong's death still raw. Her chest tightened, heaving, as her mind spun relentlessly, refusing to accept what her ears had heard.

Lyra enveloped her in protective arms, a bulwark against the whirlwind of emotions crashing over her as the harsh news unfolded before her. "We must leave immediately, there is a ship waiting for us" she murmured softly, aware of the princess's magnitude of pain, but to the urgency of the situation too.

Tears continued to flow unabated as she nodded, succumbing to the overwhelming sensation of loss and guilt that engulfed her. She allowed herself to be consumed by it while Lyra hurriedly guided and helped her dress. Once ready, servants entered to assist with the luggage, moving efficiently as those who understood the gravity of the moment, and Lyra asked her to wait while she gathered her own belongings.

When the lady disappeared from her sight, she, with a pounding heart, hurried to Aemond's room. Upon arrival, Queen Alicent was just stepping out, her face a mask of concern and sorrow.

"I'm deeply sorry for your loss, princess" she said with palpable sincerity in her voice, closing the door behind her, but condolences were a luxury she could not afford now. She needed to see if everything was okay with Aemond before leaving, the thought of departing without clarity on their relationship or at least a farewell filled her with unease.

"Is Aemond awake? I wish to see him" she implored softly, tears silently streaming down her face. People passed around her—members of the council, servants—all casting sympathetic glances that went unnoticed.

"He does not wish to receive visitors at the moment" the queen replied firmly.

"But it is urgent" she insisted, desperation seeping into her voice. She tried to move past her and grasp the door handle, her hands trembling but determined, but the queen stopped her.

"I'm very sorry, princess, but you must understand" Alicent said, her tone unyielding.

On the brink of collapse, with each passing second more overwhelming than the last, she pleaded, "please" but received only refusals.

Moments later, Lyra appeared carrying a suitcase, hurrying towards her. "My princess, we must depart now" she said, after offering a courtesy to Alicent.

"But I need to see Aemond" she insisted, her voice a desperate whisper. Lyra looked to Alicent silently pleading for a concession, searching for a shred of sympathy, but the queen remained unmoved, her gaze fixed on the princess.

"We can exchange letters by ravens, yes? But the ship will depart soon, princess" Lyra said, her words weighted by both empathy and urgency.

She felt frustration and helplessness engulf her, on the verge of shouting in rage. With no other choice, she took Lyra's hand and let herself be led away, each step a battle against the hopelessness that surrounded her.

@helaenaluvr @purplegardenwhispers @callsignwidow @scarletbedlam @fics-i-love-and-recommend @squidscottjeans @oh-you-mean-me

Last part from her POV as kids!

[the20thangel]

The Dragon and The Raven Ch 2

Hello, Lovely people! I plan to expand the timeline for The Dance of the Dragons by adding more. This will provide insight into Benjicot's thoughts from the previous chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

Keep up with the story: masterlist

He was gone; Davos, his brave twin, was gone. The stupid Brackens disrespected his brother and their land, and, in turn, his brother and father were lost. Davos was always the more outspoken and confident twin. Benjicot knew people thought he wasn’t fit to be Lord of House Blackwood. He seemed inclined to agree, but not for the reason others believed in. He was more reserved and quiet compared to Davos, the loud one. 

Benjicot was meant to be his brother's sworn protector. He thrived being out of the limelight and quietly doing his duty as a soldier willing to die for his brother, which he couldn’t even seem to do correctly. His job was to protect his lord, which he failed. Both his father and brother were dead, and it was all his fault. 

“My Lord…” echoed slowly louder and louder until Benjicot broke out of his guilt to his council member. 

The weary old council member looked tired from all the stress of the day, “My lord, we have finished moving the bodies to the great hall. We will begin the preparations for burials soon.” 

Benjicot nodded while following the older gentleman to the hall and seeing the masses of lost Blackwood members being mourned. In the very front lay both his father and twin. Davos was bloodied but wearing a final smirk on his face, which Benji thought was meant to be. If people needed to see Davos one last time, let it be his famous smirk he wore proudly as heir.  

Benji was worn out from the day’s events; he knew if it weren’t for how much he wept earlier in the field, he would still be crying like a babe. He had never wept this much before, not even when their mother passed. It felt like a knife was gouged in his chest, and he knew the reason was that his twin, his other half, was brutally taken from him, leaving him and his aunt to piece their house together. Speaking of his aunt, she also looked tired as she walked towards him with a letter that was brought from a raven. Where the raven came from, he cared not… not when he was too busy mourning and trying but failing to step up as the new lord of Raventree Hall. 

“Benji, news of the Battle of Burning Mill reached Dragonstone and Queen Rheanyra…” croaked his aunt, her voice raspy from yelling all day trying to keep the peace.

 As she continued, Benji was only half listening, which he knew should feel bad, but he couldn’t seem to care. His guilt was sneaking back onto him, but he was abruptly shaken once he heard his aunt say Princess and Dragon. 

“Wait, Dragon? What dragon?” he questioned his aunt and then lowered his gaze once his aunt glared at him for proving that he wasn’t listening to her earlier. 

Alysanne knew better than to hold it against her nephew, but dragons were coming, and they needed to do everything they could to best prepare for the Crown Princess's arrival the next day. 

“Queen Rhaenyra wants to express her condolences and gratitude by sending food and medical supplies with her daughter Princess Aemma on top of the princess’ dragon Sliverwing.  We must ensure our home accommodates a princess and her dragon.” Alysanne, weary, explained to her nephew that she had the same face as him. 

The last thing they needed was a Targaryen princess coming and demanding their attention rather than focusing on their dead. Still, they swore to the Black Faction and the royal family, so they must welcome the princess as an honored guest no matter how much they would come to dread it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Benjicot was a nervous wreck; the princess should be arriving soon, and he was trying to ease his mind but taking on task after task, funeral preparations, the princess's guest chambers, a clearing to house a dragon, storage to store all the supplies being brought. All of these seemed to pile on, and he didn’t have enough time to, as he heard a dragon's apparent dragon shrill and wings flap. He would not greet the princess. Instead, his lady aunt would take on the task while he stayed in the great hall, pretending to be busy. Rather than using all his energy to pretend to engage with a princess, he had no clue how to speak to the princess. 

Soon, the great hall doors were opened, and walked in a woman who knocked the wind out of his lungs. This woman had pale white curly hair that was pinned up in a simple braid reminiscent of those of the North. Her sunkissed skin glistened under her hair; she wore red and black riding leathers that seemed to have dragon scales on her shoulders, which hugged her body in all the right curves. But what took away his breath was her eyes and how she carried herself in the room. Her beautiful violet eyes held sorrow as she took in the great hall, not pity, but understanding. 

Benji studied her as she walked around the hall on her own, whispering condolences to the grieving families before she stopped and stared at one body, his twin Davos’s body. He stiffened before quickly but quietly walked towards her. The princess, he realized, before he paused once he saw her expression. The Princess looked on the verge of weeping while staring at his brother’s face. If he didn’t know any better, it would look like the princess was mourning her lover, but that was impossible as Davos and the princess never had the chance to meet. It confused Benji, but he heard her whisper Luke when it clicked on him. Prince Lucerys was the reason the realm started the war between greens and blacks. His uncle, Prince Aemond, killed Prince Lucerys. Looking upon Davos made the princess remember her sibling lost to a feud between two families. The princess understood him and his grief. At that point, he decided to be brave and let the princess know of his presence. 

“ Davos Blackwood, my princess.” Whispered Benji as he watched the princess jump, shaken, and then flush in embarrassment before she set her eyes on him. 

He then noticed how she subconsciously flinched when she looked at him, which he understood. He and his twin were identical to each other, so it can seem daunting to see one alive and the other dead. 

“That is Davos Blackwood… he... he was my twin brother.”  He explained and saw how the princess nodded with understanding, for she, too, had recently lost her brother. Before he could think of another sentence, the princess graced him with a small but dazzling smile as she spoke. 

“Lord Benjicot, my mother and I thank you for receiving me into your home, especially in this trying time; I wish to express sorrow for the loss of your father and twin brother.” 

Her voice was sweet, like a soft wind chime melodies that could melt even the strongest ice in the north. Benjicot himself returned a shy smile to the princess. 

“Thank you, my princess-”

“Aemma.” Stated the princess before continuing, “ You may call me Aemma, but I fear I will grow tired of hearing ‘my princess’ so much.” 

Benjicot stared at Princess Aemma for a second before noticing her certain witty charm, which made him feel more confident. He changed his smile to a smirk. 

“Very, Aemma. Thank you for your condolences. I ask you to call me Benji or Ben. It seems only fair,” he said, relishing in seeing her break into a bigger smile than before. 

There was a soothing pause as Benji, and the princess once again looked at the masses before he decided he needed to remove himself from the hall. Seeing his brother was still too much to bear. So he asked her if she would like to have a tour of the hall and castle grounds. She happily took his arm and wrapped it around as they walked away from prying eyes. Once out of the hall, Benji was greeted with a dragon’s shrill as the She-dragon seemed to glare at the young lord. He gulped as the princess laughed and ran to her dragon. 

As much as he knew better than to get close to a dragon, he was like a moth, following the light that Aemma seemed to release as she spoke High Valyrian in her soft-spoken voice to her dragon. She took his breath away for the second time. He had always heard Valyrians were considered higher to men and closer to gods. He never really believed it until now. This warrior goddess welcomed him to her and her dragon, a privilege only a few dared to indulge in. As he continued admiring her, Aemma turned to him, which made him flush, knowing she caught him staring at her. 

“Have you ever come into close contact with a dragon before?” quietly asked Aemma. 

Benjicot shook his head no, “ Never, my princes- um, Aemma.” He quickly caught himself as Aemma graced him with another laugh. He enjoyed hearing her laugh. 

“Would you like to? Come meet my Silverwing.” Aemma took hold of his hand and pulled him closer to her until her body flushed to his as she raised their intertwined hands to Sliverwing’s snout. 

 Benji’s cheeks could only grow more in heat, feeling the princess's body press onto his own. His body started to betray him, and he hoped she wouldn’t notice. Thankfully, the princess was too busy soothing her dragon because of his presence instead of seeing the effect she was having on him.  

“Shh, Sliverwing, Lykiri , sweet one, we mustn’t scare away our host.” Whispered the princess as she guided Benjicot’s hand to rub her snout. At the same time, she was using her other hand to soothe the dragon to be calm. 

In awe of touching a dragon, Benji asked, “What does that mean… lykiri? 

Again, Aemma giggled and turned more to him, their face mere inches away. 

“ It means to be calm or calm down. I must say how impressed I am with your bravery in being so close to a dragon, my lord.”  

Benjicot, in turn, winked at the princess before teasingly replied, “Only because I have the Realm’s Pearl guiding me, and I thought we agreed to skip our titles, my princess.” 

Benji then lowered his gaze to her lips, seemingly inviting. He could lean forward and take a kiss from her if he wanted. Oh, how much his mind told him to go for it. As he was about to indulge in his thoughts, a stern and short cough snapped him out of his thoughts and made him jump away from Princess Aemma and Silverwing. Benjicot could only grow cold; there was Princess Aemma, sworn knight Ser Lorent, glaring at the young lord; Benji felt like a dead man. His saving grace, His Aunt, called to him. This gave him the perfect excuse to leave the princess, promising her to see her later at the feast.

As he walked away towards his aunt, Benji could only internally groan, seeing the smirk his lady aunt was giving him. 

“It would seem the Princess is quite fond of you, my nephew,” teased Alysanne, delighting at seeing her nephew blush brighten even more. 

Benjicot glared at his aunt as they walked to the feast hall, ensuring everything was set. 

“The Princess is just being gracious. Why would she like some lowly lord, not even a lord paramount, when she is a crown princess?” stated Benji, reminding himself that as much as he was falling for her, he had no chance with her. 

Alysanne sighed, growing tired of her nephew's self-deprecation. “ A Dragon rider does not bring a random person close to their dragon just to be nice. She likes you, nephew. You should pursue her.” 

Benji cruelly laughed, “What do I bring to her in a marriage? Is our house that rich, or high in-” 

“Benjicot Blackwood!” angrily exclaimed Alysanne. “Our house is proud and ancient; we have one of the largest armies with great warriors like you that will support her mother in the war between Black and Greens. We are just as good as any Paramount House and better than those of House Hightower and House Bracken. You, my young lord, need to see the value of your position and our house.” explained Alysanne as she angrily walked away from her nephew. 

Benji sighed, knowing what his aunt said was true. He just couldn’t fathom how someone as beautiful as Aemma could consider him a potential husband. He decided his aunt was correct. He needed to bring out his confidence, which he could easily show in the training yard; he had to be like Davos so that people would start seeing him as a strong lord of Raventree Hall.

He walked to the chambers the princess was staying in and explained to the knight that he would escort her to the feast. Ser Lorent tried to intimidate the young lord again with a glare, only to receive a smirk that one can only describe as rabid. Chuckling at the new confidence, the Queensguard nodded before walking towards the feast hall, Leaving Benji to knock on the door and patiently wait for the princess to come out. 

As Aemma came out of her chamber, leaving Benji again to admire her beauty, switching her previous braid to many intricate braids in the style of Old Valyria dragon riders. He gave her a dazzling smirk that made him know it affected her from her flushed cheeks. As they walked in the hall, Benjicot noticed the stares, especially those from his men, which made an ugly monster of jealousy creep in. Of course, these were his men; he would not hold it against them and try to enjoy the feast, stealing glances at the princess. As he was about to strick a conversation, he was tapped on the shoulder. Turning, he saw his aunt with an annoyed face and a nervous council member asking him to speak with him. 

With a sigh, the young lord walked outside and waited for the conversation to start. None spoke for a while, making the Blackwood lord grow tiresome for wasting his time when his aunt said. 

“It is your concern, council member, not mine, and I will not be the one to express them to my nephew.” 

“What concerns?” asked Benjicot as he stared at the older man. 

“My Lord, many of us are concerned about your position as lord of Raventree Hall; many are stating that since you don't have an heir, House Blackwood is vulnerable to enemies.” The elder dropped his gaze to the floor, afraid to make eye contact. 

Benji was angrily taken aback. He had just taken his position, and already, his council saw weakness in his lordship.

“I understand my position, but it is hardly weak; I am the lord of House Blackwood, and if need be, my Aunt Alysanne is my heir. I do not need to marry so soon, especially if we are to join the queen to war!” Snared the new lord at the older gentleman.  

The older man sighed in annoyance, “ Yes, since we still follow the Old gods, there is nothing wrong with having Alysanne as your heir, but your position is not secured, my lord. Should you and your lady aunt perish, we risk losing our house to those craven Brackens. Being married will ensure your future wife carries your heir to secure the future of our house.” 

This only grew Benjicot more agitated, and replied angrily, “ I will not be a bargaining chip just to secure my house’s future, and I will not marry just to have my future wife feel like a broodmare.”  

Alysanne sighed, looking at both hotheaded men, and tried to intervene, “You and the princess seem to grow close. Why don’t you discuss with her any potential ladies she may have as her or her mother’s ladies-in-waiting? Therefore, you open up the discussion of marriage without feeling too drastic or rushed. While I remain as your heir?” 

Alysanne knew better than to ask her nephew to consider marriage to the princess again; remembering their earlier conversation would only annoy her nephew more. Eventually, both men agreed and decided that the conversation was done as they walked back to the feast room. After cooling down, Benjicot’s attention was returned to the Princess as her guard called for attention. 

Princess Aemma stood, holding a paper that Benji could only assume was the Queen’s letter to his people. As she looked around the room, her violet eyes stared and made eye contact with him. Under her composed face, he could see she was nervous, so he gave a slight smirk and a nod of encouragement. Her charm will win over his people just like she did with him. 

Exhaling, she opened her mother’s letter and began to read, “My good people of Raventree Hall, I thank you for welcoming my daughter, Crown Princess Aemma, into your home. As my heart grieves for the loss of Burning Mill, I want to express my gratitude for your honor and loyalty to me as your queen. My mind is at ease knowing I have such loyal subjects, and with your help, I know we can take back my birthright from the green false king. To show my gratitude, I have sent my daughter on her dragon to bring supplies and food to help replenish House Blackwood. With her dragon, she will lead and guard the able soldiers to Harrenhall, where Prince Daemon, the Knights of the Vale, and the men of the North will eagerly await you. You all have my utmost respect and gratitude, your Queen, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, First of her name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms, protector of the realm.” 

Once Aemma finished, the entire feast hall stood and applauded the princess, including Benji and his aunt. He felt immensely proud of how regal and compassionate the Queen and princess sounded.  After a while, Aemma raised her hand and asked for the hall to quiet down, seeming not to be done addressing them. Intrigued, Benji sat down again to listen closely to what she needed to say. 

“I thank those here today for coming out and supporting my queen. My heart is filled with the warm welcome I have received here at Raventree Hall. To know such fierce and loyal people are willing to fight for my mother, your queen, fills my heart with gratitude-” 

Someone in the back stood up and cheered, “To Queen Rhaenyra and Her Crown Princess, The Realm’s Pearl Aemma Velayron!”  

Benji wanted to laugh; it seemed his people, even after centuries, still had northern tendencies and attitudes that seemed to come out when they held feasts. The Princess patiently let the crowd cheer again before asking for silence and continued. 

“I thank you all for your cheers. To show my gratitude for everything, I propose, should your Lord Blackwood accept, my hand for marriage to create a strong and secure alliance between Houses Targaryen, Velaryon, and House Blackwood.” 

Everything seemed to freeze, did he- did he hear correctly? Crown Princess Aemma Velayron has asked his hand in marriage… As Benji scanned the room, he saw everyone openly in shock. As he returned his gaze to his princess, he saw her getting nervous, waiting for his reaction. After a beat or two, he finally was able to process that, indeed, he was asked to be married. He decided to grace her with a heartwarming smile as he rose to meet her. Grabbing her hands into his, he stared into her violet eyes. He could get lost in them every day. He leaned down to kiss her hands as he gave her his answer for only her to hear. 

“It would be my honor to be your husband, my dear princess,” he whispered, feeling giddy seeing her gracing a smile that he knew was meant for him alone. He promised himself to be the one person to bring that smile out of her in their future marriage.

[fungateshortcakes]

omg… my brain… it’s too HORNY…

bc i just read ur pegging logan fic and my first thought was “omg how would he feel ab a ribbed/bad dragon dildo” 😵‍💫😵‍💫

u do not have to write anything for this if u don’t wanna i just need someone to hear me out on this 👀 bc i know he’d whimper every time one of the little bumps hits a good spot in him 😫😫 AUGH IM GOING INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE

YEEEEESSS I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS OFC I WILL WRITE SOMETHING

call me insane but I just spent the last hour browsing through the bad dragon website to look for some XL dildos Logan would go for because they are extra textured

So here is a short list of bad dragon toys I found if anyone wants to search up what they look like before we start with the real fun part

Slater the stone wyvern (extra large)

Reggie the mothman (extra large)

Flint the uncut studded dragon (extra large)

Abyss the Kaiju King (extra large)

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

So, we can all agree that Logan likes his toys big. Like extra extra large. Of course he started out smaller but with time, he managed to take bigger and bigger toys, larger in length and thicker in girth. It would be a great accomplishment for him if he was able to sink down just a bit further every time he tried out a new and bigger toy.

Doing this was one of his greatest pleasures. After an especially hard mission he was longing to unwind with a fat cock stretching him open. He loves it so much, he is such a slut for monster cock. Sometimes you'd arrive a bit late to your shared bedroom and find Logan on your bed, three fingers plunged into his sopping hole as he eagerly prepped himself. His fingers weren't enough, never enough. They couldn't sooth that ache deep within him, the primal need to be full and stretched and stuffed. He let out a sigh of relief the second a girthy, phat dick would slip right past his tight ring of muscle and settle deep in his tummy until there was a bulge there. He just sobs out in ecstasy and lets himself completely surrender to the pleasure rocking his body with every thrust.

You will know when the bumps hit these sensitive spots inside him because he will arch his back, the curve of his spine perfectly visible as he starts to beg. "Fuck....mhmnn yes, right there. Right there please, keep going"

The schlickschlickschlick sound that could be heard every time his hole gripped the bumps and ridges on the toy tight when it was pulled out made him shiver. The dildo was nicely glistening with fake cum lube, spit and his arousal. Your eyes were trained on where the silicone cock disappeared inside of him and the way his hole fitted over the textured surface.

"You get fucked like this every damn day like the insatable bitch you are until you're gaping. And you're still so tight every time"

Logan loveslovesloves textured dildos so much. Not that he doesn't use the smooth ones at all, it depends in what mood he is in. But most of the time he wants to feel the bumps, ridges, lines and dents against his aching walls and feel every slight texture fucking him open and abusing his sweet spot. You knew exactly which angle you needed to fuck him to hit his arousal swollen prostate with precision.

"Mmm,yeah fuck, milk me dry" he mewls out, his cock throbbing lewdly against the bulge on his tummy, leaking all over the sheets. He gets so cute and whiny like this. He makes sounds no one would think were possible coming from him. His face is flushed and squished against the pillows, tears staining his cheeks, his eyes rolling back. Spit in his mouth please.

He wants you to keep fucking him even after he came multiple times because it's just that good.

When you aren't there to fuck him for whatever reason, he gets so needy. Of course he can ride the toys but that's just not the same as you pounding him from behind and slut shaming him. And his legs gave out pretty fast. So the fucking machine you bought him was the best present ever. When you were gone, he could still get fucked by any monster cock he desired and for as long as he wanted. It still didn't come close to you but it was good enough.

Sometimes you used the fucking machine even though you were here, controlling the speed and roughness of the thrusts to drive him mad.

[lizardaggro]

on the flip side (twst bully!au) pt 3

here we are, the long-awaited (it was literally like 1 day) part 3!! i wanted to declare on one of the actual chapters since those get seen by the most people that I DID NOT MAKE THIS AU, credit i believe goes to @azulsluver. i swear i don't hate you guys, leaving everything on a cliffhanger, but the good news is i have a lot of time on my hands due to chronic illness so i can update super often. also i gave up on the purple theme on posts bc tumblr hates me and always leaves the end of the word count black.

part 1 part 2

genre: gn reader, angst trigger warnings: bullying, mild yandere (will be escalating throughout the series, but no non-con) word count: 1246

You couldn’t really afford to space out and think about it though, not when he was right in front of you. Riddle tapped his foot impatiently, clearly irate at your lack of response. “Well?” He asked. “Do you not even have anything to say in your defense?”

Oh dear. However were you supposed to get rid of him when he was so intent on getting some sort of answer out of you? You had no idea what he wanted! He was more difficult to threaten, too, since you’d made up your mind that you didn’t want to be like your tormentors and completely ruin others’ lives. No, your end goal was just to make them leave you alone. After everything you’d been through, you really didn’t want to see them again.

It might seem strange to some people, that you weren’t dead set on destroying any semblance of normalcy they once had. You had all the ammunition you needed, of course. The Overblot victims would be the easiest to topple, considering what they’d done in and leading up to that state. But you didn’t think you were a particularly vengeful person; at least, you didn’t want to be. Crowley had always said that you must’ve been sent here to get his precious students to work together, so clearly you weren’t like them.

“I never asked for this, Riddle. Any of this. So if you think somewhere in your fucked-up mentality that you’re doing me some sort of favor, you’re dead wrong,” you intoned. Indeed, even though you just wanted them gone, you missed the days when you were all friends. Back when you thought everyone had your back no matter what. Oh, if only you knew what they’d do for you. It wouldn’t be hard at all to push some of the more unstable students over the edge. Those who felt they didn’t have anyone else. Much like a certain dragon fae who never did seem to get invited to things.

Riddle looked like he was about to say something, but before he could, he was drenched by a great torrential rain. Where did that come from? Didn’t the forecast say it was supposed to be clear skies and sunny for the rest of the week? Your question was soon answered, as you had two more visitors.

“Silver? Sebek? What brings you here?” You inquired, not at all amused. When those two showed up at the same time, it could only mean one thing, and it wasn’t good. Riddle looked like he had caught on as well, since he stepped in front of you, as if that would do any good.

“LORD MALLEUS REQUESTS YOUR PRESENCE!!” Sebek boomed. You’d made progress on his volume in the past, so you were sure he did it just to annoy you. Silver just stared. He always stared, you felt like. Sometimes you swore you could feel his eyes on you even when he was nowhere to be found.

“Oh, gee, I wonder what that’s about,” you snarked. “Poor little princey-poo doesn���t want his embarrassing little secrets getting out? Well you can tell him to fuck off.” You must’ve been feeling especially brave, since normally you knew that defying Malleus Draconia was as good as a death sentence. He wasn’t even that bad, compared to some of the others. He just… locked you in his room and made you listen to him talk, with no room to get a word in edgewise. He’d go on and on about one thing or another for HOURS, with no regard for your schedule or your bodily needs. Clearly fae had a different sense of time than most.

It was the loss of control over your own life that you hated; that, and that if he really still considered you a friend, he never bothered to do anything about your bullies. You knew he was more than capable; you’d witnessed his strength firsthand on multiple occasions. You didn’t know what his endgame was, and frankly you were too scared to find out. He could trap you there forever and you wouldn’t be able to do a single thing about it.

Sebek was not amused. He raised an arm, likely to strike you, but Silver placed a hand on it, effectively stopping him. “Don’t. You wouldn’t want Lord Malleus to see a bruise on them,” he reasoned. You didn’t get it. Since when would he care? Sebek roughly shoved Riddle out of the way, despite all his objections, and nonchalantly slung you over his shoulder.

“What the hell?!” You screeched, pounding your fists on his back. “Put me down! I’m not going!” You weren’t sure why you were objecting so vehemently; this time wasn’t any different than the others. But something about the dark gray clouds pouring rain on what should’ve been a lovely day just told you that this was not going to be good.

But alas, your plight was ignored. The three of you made your way to Diasomnia in silence. No one bothered to stop and stare in the halls, as you being carried off by people was somewhat of a normal occurrence. You could swear Savannahclaw and Diasomnia even had some sort of twisted capture-the-flag game going, for whatever reason.

When you entered the gothic-style castle, you were greeted by none other than Lilia. Much like Malleus, he’d never bothered you too terribly, only engaging in less-than-welcome pranks. You knew he was far older than he let on, so you supposed he didn’t see the point in such childish endeavors. There was, however, one thing you feared about the man: his cooking, which he tried to shove down your throat at every opportunity. How Silver grew up healthy you’d never know.

And so, of course, you were greeted by a plate of… well, goop, to put it nicely. “Here, have a seat, dear, I made lasagna,” Lilia offered with what you assumed was supposed to be a warm smile. To you in that moment, with the fumes starting to reach your nose, it looked like a shit-eating grin.

“I’ll pass, thanks. That is to say, I’d rather die than eat that shit, because it looks and smells like it’ll send me straight to hell,” you deadpanned. Sebek let out an unholy screech and started ranting about how dare you refuse Lord Lilia, even though you knew he wouldn’t want to eat it either. You did your best to tune him out. Silver looked relieved, surprisingly enough. You supposed he was able to empathize since he grew up eating the stuff.

Luckily for you, Lilia just sighed and walked off, taking his culinary abomination with him. The three of you who remained shared a look. “How are you still alive after all these years?” You asked Silver. He shrugged. If even he didn’t know, you’d just call it a miracle.

“SILVER, QUIT FRATERNIZING WITH THE ENEMY! LORD MALLEUS IS WAITING!” Sebek practically screamed in your ear. You really wished he would stop doing that. But you had more important things to worry about, like your impending death by dragon fae. Once you arrived at Malleus’s room, Sebek set you down and pushed you inside. You heard the lock click behind you. You gulped, feeling the pressure of being alone in a room with a presumably angry and very powerful mage. You looked up to see a pair of emerald eyes staring you down. Oh boy, this was not going to be fun.

taglist: @twistedcece @slxt4h1m @teawhere @pleasehugmeaether @reivelmin @aoiyx

[inuiiwonderland]

Why hate me |part 2|

A/n: Finally! Part 2 here! Hope you enjoy lovelies🤍

Warnings: mentions of blood and a bit of body horror(?) I think idk but still putting that here just in case! Lots and LOTS of angst, malleus is bit of a jerk in the beginning. Angst to comfort/fluff

Words: 3k

-

News of your disappearance was broadcasted everywhere. The moment you stepped foot outside NRC grounds and never made it back to briar valley, all hell broke loose.

The people of briar valley were in panic

What happened to the future queen of briar valley? Where did she go? Was she abducted? And if so, is she even alive? Is the future queen alive?

What if she dead?

Those are the questions the people ask.

What could have possibly happened to you?

-

Lilia sighs as once again, nothing….no signs of you.

He’s been sending out royal guards to go out and look for you. He spent sleepless nights trying to find any evidence of your disappearance, but yet nothing.

When the news of your disappearance reached him, he was a mess. He was worried! You were just in NRC and now they’re saying you’re missing?!

He blames himself for not stopping you that day. He blames himself because he thinks he’s the reason why you disappeared.

If only he stopped you from leaving. If only he asked what was wrong. If only he didn’t let you come to NRC that day then maybe you would still be here.

Flashback

The sound of the door slamming shut reached the ears of everyone in the dining hall. The sounds of heels clicking off the marble floors and sniffling reached Lilia's ears.

And there you were

Standing by the doorway of the dining hall with an apologetic look.

“Sorry Lilia, but I have to go now” He frowns at your appearance.

Are you crying?

“Oh dear, what happened?” He asks as he stands up but you quickly stop him.

“No no! No need to worry about me. I-I just don’t feel well”

“Are you sick lady y/n?!” Sebek worriedly yells out. You giggle at his concern before smiling.

“Something like that. But I’ll go home now” Silver then quickly stands up.

“Your bags! I’ll go help-“

“There is no need, I have it all under control” You say before giving him a soft smile. Lilia still felt like something was wrong.

“Dear, did you have a fight with malleus?” He watches as your figure stiffens at the mention of the dragon boy's name.

“O-of course not! Mal is very good to me”

Something isn’t right….

You apologize once more before leaving.

That was the last time anyone saw you

And lilia regrets not stopping you

“Father” Lilia was snapped out of his thoughts by silver who stood by the doorway. Looking at him worriedly.

“Silver..” He smiles at the sight of his son.

“You haven’t slept at all” Lilia just smiles.

“Don’t worry about little old me, I’ll be fine” Silver frowns at his father's words. His father may be a fae, but silver knows that even faes can get tired.

“Y/n would not like this if she saw you right now” He says. Silver is also worried about you but he is even more worried about his father’s health.

Lilia just looks down knowing his son is right. You would always tell Lilia to take care of himself. Hating to see him or anyone sick because of poor health.

“How the search in your end” Silver looks down with disappointment.

“Nothing, we couldn’t find any traces of lady y/n” He says. Lilia sighs before turning around.

“Very well then….”

“Father”

“Yes?”

“Please take care of yourself….y/n would hate to see you stress”

Lilia only nods before silver excuses himself

“Just where could you be y/n” Lilia mumbles as he looks out the window.

-

Malleus walks around the palace garden, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the garden.

Ever since your disappearance. Him and the rest were allowed to go back home to handle the situation of your disappearance. To say he was displeased about leaving Akane alone at NRC was an understatement.

He hated everything about this.

So what if you're missing, Why is he supposed to care? Why is everyone making this a huge deal?

He hates that everyone is in panic and worried about your disappearance.

Future queen of briar valley missing? HA, you would never have been his queen in the first place if he got a say in it. He is only marrying you because of his parents' promise to yours!

You're a selfish and ignorant fool! Just like your parents. Your parents are the reason his parents are gone! Wanting the throne but only died in the process trying to achieve it.

That's why you're still alive. Because you want to finish what your parents have started!

That's why he promised himself to never love you! To not fall into the same trap his fell into.

Ever since he was little, after what he saw that day. He made sure not to fall for you.

Why couldn’t you just give up? Always with a sweet smile on your face. Couldn’t you see he is trying not to fall into the same trap his parents fell into? Why are you still so nice to him!

He did everything he could to make you give up and hate him but nothing! You called him sweet names even if he told you he hated them. You always made sure that he was okay and always looked after him.

You even cooked him food! Food that he never ate. Even after hours of working on it, he never ate it.

What if you poisoned it? He can’t fall for that!

He watches as you fail to get his trust. And when he thinks you have given up, nope! You still tried! You still continue to be that sweet and doting girl he grew up with.

Even when you guys were little, you were so nice and sweet to him. Always asking if he wanted to play with you, sharing your snacks with him even if he declined, asking him if he wants to take a stroll around the palace gardens, hell even asking him for a dance during balls!!

And he hates himself for falling for your charms. He hates that his little younger self fell for your foolish acts. That is why he made it his mission to act EXTRA cold towards you.

Even if his heart aches a bit at the small frown that decorates your face when he declines or ignores your attempts of gaining his trust.

But he can’t fall for the same trap his parents fell into, he can’t!

-

Whispers could be heard as Malleus walked down the palace halls.

Of course, once again mentioning you when they see him. One glare was enough to shut them up.

Malleus makes his way to Lilia room with both sebek and silver behind him. Once he reaches lilia room, the door opens.

“Malleus we need to talk” Malleus raises a brow.

“Is something wrong Lilia?”

“Yes please come in” malleus walks in as both silver and sebek wait outside. Lilia closes the door shut and sighs.

“Malleus…before y/n disappearance, did the two of you have an argument?” Malleus frowns at the mention of your name before letting out a deep sigh.

“Why are we talking about her? Why does it matter?” Lilia's eyes widen at Malleus' lack of concern for you.

“Malleus…she your fiancé”

“And so what if she’s my fiancé? She did us a favor for finally going away”

“Malleus”

“Why do you guys even care for seven sakes! She could have killed us if she becomes queen! It’s good that she is gone now so none of us could be in danger now!” Lilia stares at malleus with a hint of disappointment.

“Malleus, why do you think she dangerous?”

“Because she’ll turn out just like her parents. She’ll end up killing me after she becomes queen, isn’t that the whole reason why my parents are dead?!” Lilia's eyes widened in shock. Did malleus really think you’ll turn out like your parents.

“How-how did you know?”

“Because I saw it that day…I saw my parents die in the hands of her parents” Lilia sits down and motions for malleus to do the same. As the future king of briar valley sits down, Lilia begins talking.

“Malleus, you have it all wrong”

“What” Lilia pauses before talking again.

“Y/n had nothing to do with her parents plans of overtaking the throne, she doesn’t even know the real reason why her parents died. She thinks they died in a fire accident but they didn’t”

“Y/n never intended to hurt any of us. All the wrong things her parents did had nothing to do with her. She is innocent malleus, believe me when I say that she innocent”

Malleus looks shocked. Eyes wide and mouth agape.

Your innocent?

But-

“She has no clue about anything. She isn’t trying to kill you or any of us when she becomes queen. She genuinely loves you malleus”

“Because the way her eyes shine brighter than a thousand stars with adoration and love when she talks about you is proof that she will never do something like that to you”

She loves me?

“Impossible! That can’t be-“

“It’s true” His eyes snapped to the voice that interrupted him. It was silver.

“Silver what are-“

“I’m sorry father, but I can’t help but to stand up for lady y/n” His eyes then land to malleus.

“Y/n loves you very much. She always asks me about you and your wellbeing. She always tells me to make sure you're taking care of yourself and report back if anything seems off. She clearly loves you malleus”

At this point malleus was confused

You're not trying to kill him? Or the others? You're not trying to overtake his throne? You actually love him?

“I believe you need some time to think. Sebek, come take malleus back to his room please”

“Of course lord Lilia!”

Malleus gets up from his seat as he makes his way towards the door. As he was about to leave, Lilia called out to him.

“She not like her parents and she would never be”

Malleus then turns around and walks away

He misunderstood everything….

-

The sounds of birds chirping and the sound of the water stream calmed you as you continued walking down the rocky path.

How long has it been since you left? About….two weeks now…

You're sure Lilia and the others are worried sick but those cruel words that left malleus lips that night stuck to you like glue.

You should’ve died in that fire with your parents!

What did you even do to deserve such cruel words? Does malleus hate you that much?

Your thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sudden shouts and sounds of horses. You quickly ran from the path and hid behind a tree. You peeked and watched as multiple men in horses rode past you.

It was the Royal guards

They were definitely looking for you

You looked down before sighing again

“How long should I stay out here”

You won’t lie. You miss your home. But then again, you don’t want to face malleus again.

“Why do you hate me mal? Why?”

But your question was left unanswered

Suddenly, you felt a small pinch in your arm. You looked down at your arm to see a needle before looking around to see who did it. By the time you saw that you weren’t alone your vision started blurring.

You felt multiple hands grab you but you struggled as to whatever they injected you with was now flowing in your system.

“N-no..l..someone…someone please help!”

-

Your eye’s flutter open and you can feel your head ache. You groaned at the headache but then you started to feel weird. Very weird.

You didn’t know why, but your heart began to beat very fast for some reason. You look down to see that you were only in a long white nightgown dress.

But something still felt off

You then moved but stopped when you felt a sharp pain on your back. You also heard the sounds of chains hitting the ground and realized that you have chains on both of your wrists. You couldn’t move right as the pain in your back grew more intense.

What happened to you?

Where are you?

Suddenly, you hear a door open and you look up to see a shady man standing by the doorway.

“Your awake”

“Where am I?!” You scream out.

“Woah woah easy there now! No need to get all mad”

“What did you do to me?! You better h-have no-“

“Woah course not! But…we did something even better” He smirks and your eyes widen in fear at what he meant by that. He then calls some people over and you wait in fear.

What you saw next broke your heart as you started to shake in fear, sadness, and in rage.

3 strong tall men come in the room while also carrying something big ... .something big and something that means so much to you.

It was your wings

They have cut off your wings…

“Do you realize how much madol we could make off your wings? Especially since you're also a fae and even a royal fae at that!” He says as he lets out a loud laugh. You just stare at your wings that were held up on display in horror.

“We will be rich boys!”

They all cheered as all you could do was stare in agony.

“Thanks for wandering off all alone in those woods! Now we’ll make millions!”

They continue to cheer in front of you as you begin to cry. The pain from your back where your wings used to be and the pain in your heart was too much for your poor body.

How can people be so cruel?

Suddenly, their cheers were interrupted from a loud bang coming from outside. They stopped and looked at each other.

“What is that?”

“I-“ but before anyone could talk. The door to where you were slammed opened. From what you could make from your blurry vision, it seemed to be a guard.

Wait…a guard?!

“Lady y/n!”

“S-silver?”

You said before your body gave up.

-

You were back. You were finally back. But when Lilia saw the state that you were in when silver came in the castle holding you with blood covering him and you he felt like everything stopped.

He saw how much blood covered you and your dress. And his eyes widened in horror when he realized that your back had the most blood.

“Father….t-they..those bastards cut off her wings”

Immediately, he called in the royal doctors to clean and treat your wounds. He was devastated for you and felt like he failed you by not keeping you safe.

Those guys will pay for what they have done to you. He’ll make sure of it.

Lilia watches as you peacefully lay down on the bed. You were still unconscious. Maybe it was from the shock.

“I’m sorry I failed you my dear”

The door suddenly opens and he sees a worried malleus. Malleus' eyes then land on you before a look of guilt overcomes his face.

“You can come in” Lilia says. Malleus nods before coming in and closing the door. He didn’t know what to say or do. Still ashamed of his past actions.

It was silent for a moment. None of them said a single word. Until Lilia decided that someone had to speak up.

“The doctors said she will be fine. She is a strong one after all” Malleus nods.

“She’ll wake up in a bit” Again, malleus nods.

“And when she does you better apologize”

“I will. I’m very disappointed in my actions and for causing so much pain and distress to y/n”

Lilia nods.

“Silver asked me to tell you that the guys who did this to y/n are now in the castles dungeon waiting for punishment”

“Very well then” He then gets up

“I want you to stay here and look after her while I’ll go deal with them” Malleus nods. Lilia looks at you one last time before heading out.

Now it was only you and malleus. He hesitates if he should sit down next to you or not. But he decides on the first one.

He sits down and watches as you peacefully sleep. He feels guilty. Extremely guilty. If only he wasn’t so consumed with anger and hatred then maybe this could have all been avoided.

If only he didn’t spit out those cruel words to you that night then maybe you wouldn’t have been in danger.

He hates himself for causing you so much pain

And he’ll respect your wish if you no longer want to see him again or even decide to not marry him.

After all, he was really a piece of shit towards you

“M-mal?” His heart drops and he quickly turns to see you looking at him with curious eyes.

“Y/n” You look around and realize you were back at the palace. But then you quickly gasp when you remember.

“M-my wings…t-those monsters c-cut off my wings!” He could feel his heart ache when tears started rolling down your cheeks.

“I’m sorry….for everything” You were already sitting up as you continued to cry. Malleus didn’t know what to do. He was in distress seeing you crying and not knowing how to comfort you. He quickly got up and sat next to you in the bed as he then pulled you against his chest. He hugged you tightly as you continued to tremble in his arms by how much you were crying.

“My wings! My precious wings!”

“I know I know” He said as he tried to say comforting words as he held you. It was like that for a while until you finally started to calm down. All you could hear in the room was small sniffles coming from you.

Malleus still had a tight hold around you. Well not too tight since he doesn’t want to hurt you, especially your back.

“Y/n…I’m sorry this happened to you. And I also want to apologize about my earlier behavior towards you” You stayed silent.

“I know that my actions and words cannot be forgiven. But I still want you to know that I am truly sorry for the things I have done and said to you”

“And I’ll also make sure that those fools who dare to do this to you pay”

Again you were silent

Malleus didn’t mind your silence. Since again he was also not expecting you to forgive him straight away or even talk to him after everything.

“Malleus” He stiffened a bit when you said his name. Heart racing against his chest. He was nervous.

“I won’t say I’m not forgiving you…but I’m also not saying I’m forgiving you now”

“I will forgive you if you show me you truly are sorry after everything you’ve done” He nods.

“I’ll do anything to show you how truly sorry I am y/n”

You stayed silent and continued letting malleus hug you. You were quite satisfied with malleus answer.

“Very well then”

-

And trying he did. After malleus left your room to let you rest, he made his way down to the castle dungeon.

Once he got there, the guys were already in bad shape. They were severely beaten and they were already cowering in fear once they saw malleus.

“P-please! Have mercy!”

“W-were very s-sorry for w-what we have done!”

“Mercy? Sorry?!” He says furiously.

These fools have the audacity to beg for mercy and apologize even after what they did to you?!

“You guys have made a huge mistake cutting off a fae’s wings. And for what? Money?! And now you want me to show you mercy and take your apology?!” They shake in fear at malleus rage.

How foolish could these people be?

“From today onwards, you guys will suffer inhumane tortures until you can no longer take it anymore” Lilia says with a sinister grin.

“Guards! Take these fools to the torture chambers” loud pleas and apologies came from the men as they were dragged to the torture chambers.

Lilia then turns to malleus

“Has y/n awakened?”

“She has” Lilia nods.

“Did you apologize?”

“I did”

“And what did she say?”

“She told me that she will forgive me but not right now. I’ll have to work for her forgiveness and I promise I’ll do just that” Lilia smiles before patting malleus back.

“Well then, good luck”

-

You recovered over time. The people were happy that their future queen was found and safely protected in the palace’s walls.

Malleus and lilia decided to keep your accident a secret away from the people. Not wanting to cause any problems.

Lilia continues to check up on you. After everything that happened, he is scared that something like this will happen again.

But you try to calm him down and tell him that if anything is troubling you, you’ll tell him.

Which has calmed him down a bit. For now.

Silver is delighted that you're back and that now he has more time to spend with you. Whether it be walking around the palace garden, going into town, or even napping with him under some tree. Whatever it is, he doesn’t care because he loves spending time with you.

Sebek is also relieved that they have found you and that you have recovered. But still furious about what those people did to you. So That why he is always by your side 24/7 when you go outdoors, not that you mind.

And malleus. He is doing his absolute best to gain your forgiveness and to insure your safety. He doesn’t want to see you in pain ever again. He would never forgive himself if he saw you in pain again. Whether it be from others or worse, himself.

And you're happy that he is trying his hardest for your forgiveness.

To gain back your trust

and also your love

-

Here is the long awaited part 2! Yes Ik I did say I wanted to post part 2 of the vil angst and this at the same time but I finished this one early than the vil one so I couldn’t stop myself from posting it right away😓 but I hope part two clears up the bit of confusion from part one! (Why malleus hated reader!)

But! If your still confused. Basically reader’s parents were trying to overtake the throne and so they pretended to be very nice and lovely people which tricked malleus parents! That why he says “I can’t fall into the same trap my parents did!” Because his parents fell into reader’s parents fake kindness. Which resulted their deaths! (I hope that made sense..)

Anywaysss I hope you guys enjoyed!

Tag: @41sh4 @clover-w-anxiety @primrosesposts @nooneknows8976 @unloadingdata @dearangels @red-viewe @hachiko-ko @susvale

And I think that everyone who asked to be tagged ! If I missed anyone I’m truly sorry! I hope I didn’t miss anyone😓

[fili-urzudel]

Should You Wish (Thranduil x OC)

I'm not back! Just clearing out my drafts.

This was inspired by a piece of art I saw somewhere quite a while ago, where Thranduil went completely blind after the dragon's attack.

Summary: A servant has been serving the royals of the Greenwood for years. When the King loses his wife and his sight in a battle against a dragon on the borderlands, the whole kingdom is changed. The servant would quite like to help Thranduil achieve a sense of normalcy again; she's just not sure what that is for him.

Warnings: Brief descriptions of injury, permanent disability. Some fluff.

A hundred years was, in fact, a mere blink in the eyes of an elf. Ithronel knew. She had been serving the royal family for nearly two.

But the day the king stumbled back to Mirkwood on the arms of his compatriots, face stabilized with field medicine but still horrifically destroyed, eyes blank and cloudy, time slowed. It slowed as the elves waited for their queen to return, and she never did. It slowed as she, along with countless others, alternated between trying to help the healers and waiting shakily, anxiously for news of their dear king's health.

It slowed as he did not show his face for days that turned into weeks, despite the healer's assurances they had made him as well as he could be. It slowed as she was required to leave his food on a table, the room empty, and she was only allowed to clean his quarters one room at a time, always with him in a different chamber. It slowed as the king's throne sat, unused, and each day she and the other servants refused to let it collect even one particle of dust.

"Tell no one," the healer warned her in a low voice. "No one who needs not know shall, but the King... he has lost his sight. We could not repair it." Ithronel grimaced, not out of malice, but pity, which she knew the king would hate to feel directed at him. Still, losing one's sight was a great tragedy. Along with losing his love, she worried that he may not survive.

But survive he did, and he seemed rather anxious to prove it. Just twelve weeks later, or at least that is how long Ithronel assumed had passed, he began to try to return to his normal life. The throne was untouched, but he let himself be in the same rooms as his servants and advisors, conducting business in his consulting chambers.

Another few days, and Ithronel was allowed to clean his office space as he took his supper there. She entered quietly, before resolving to make enough noise that he would know she was there. "Your majesty," she announced her presence. "I am just here to tidy your office."

"Come in," he says in a flatly modulated tone. Not dejected, not disgusted. Simply emotionless.

She quickly got to work, kneeling under the desk to gather a dropped quill and a few sheets of paper.

"What is your name?" He asked, unprompted, and she nearly hit her head on the underside of the large desk.

She stood to address him, wanting to respect him even if he could not appreciate the gesture. "Ithronel, my king."

She had introduced herself to him many times before, but with so many servants and subjects, he had more important names to remember.

He gave a slight nod, saying nothing more.

Another few years, and she again found herself in the lone company of the king, cleaning his slightly-more-intimate-and-comfortable study. He sat in an armchair, staring at the fire. He had no other activity to occupy him, and Ithronel supposed he was deep in thought, perhaps considering more deeply the book he held in his hand.

She started at the bookshelves and worked her way down, before noticing that the curtains, made of velvet, needed replaced. "I will be right back, Your Majesty," she warned him before he heard the distinct clicks of a door opened and closed.

She took them down and replaced them with dust-free facsimiles one by one, aware of the way King Thranduil's head tilted just slightly each time he heard her step from her small stool back onto the ground.

She had scarcely finished folding the final curtain to be taken to the laundry when he spoke.

"Ithronel?" She froze. It was the first time the King has ever used her name. It sounded so... so meek, so humble. She was astounded that he must have guessed it was her purely by the sound of her voice.

"Yes, my king?"

"Could you please read this to me?" His voice was deathly quiet, embarrassed. "I cannot see it."

She walked closer, and she could see the way he tensed as he heard her footsteps approach. Perhaps he can see my shadow move as well, she pondered silently.

She gently took the book from him, their fingers brushing briefly. "A history book?"

"I thought... sometimes I imagine what they will say of me," Thranduil faltered. "I suppose it is comforting to know how objectively those stories are told."

Ithronel frowned. "Would you mind if I read you something else?"

Thranduil turned his head slightly, to the sound of her voice over his shoulder. "What did you have in mind?"

Ithronel tried to browse the shelves quickly, not wanting to make him impatient. "Ah!" she exclaimed suddenly, making him whip his head in her direction. "Sorry, I just thought of something. What about..." she rifled through her bag that sat by the door. "The Solstician Healer?"

"What is that?" Thranduil asked, only a bit derisively.

"It's a fictional story," Ithronel said carefully. "I don't want to give away too much, but it has a very nice message. It's a nice way to end the day, I think."

"You've read it before?"

"This is my fifth time," she admitted. "I read it first when I was only ninety."

"Don't you tire of it?"

"No," she responded easily. "I've read many other books, but the feeling this one gives me never goes away, no matter how many times I read it."

"Then I suppose it is a welcome diversion."

Thranduil's eyes drifted closed of their own accord, tired from not blinking and dry from the fire. And perhaps he liked the sound of Ithronel's voice. It was animated, more active than the voice either of his parents had ever used when speaking with him, but it was also gentle, blending perfectly with the crackles of the fireplace in front of him.

He heard footsteps moving, and only then did he realize she had stopped reading. He considered asking why. He then considered that perhaps she was tired, as tired as he, and though he was king, he had no right to demand of her to give up her rest for him.

He heard her come closer, and urged himself to continue looking... well, calm, he supposed. He felt a blanket spread across his shoulders, her fingers briefly brushing across his collarbone as she covered him. "Sleep well, my king," she whispered, her voice startlingly close.

"Thank you, I will try."

The words had her nearly jumping back. "I'm sorry, your majesty," she said, flustered. "I thought you were already asleep. I'll just, um, I'll be going now--"

"Will you come back? I would quite like to hear the next chapter." He had lost the plot already, but he was willing to try to catch up.

She hesitated for a long moment. "If you should wish it of me, of course I shall."

To dream of a fire and voice that did not belong to a dragon was most pleasant indeed.

[legally-allowed-to-slime]

Can’t even lie man I’ve been offline all day and i immediately went to your blog to read your takes on the session and Pearl n gem n co. after watching some wild life. Thanks for having the best takes lol

genuinely, it’s an honour. crazy to me that anyone would come to this blog for good takes, they never make any sense and i’m always suspiciously resentful towards c!scott. i’ll take this opportunity to lay out my gempearl thoughts as well

first of all, it drives me insane the way pearl usually goes along with whatever scott and cleo says, but the only thing she consistently, and has repeatedly, contradicted them on is that she’s been antagonising gem. in fact at the start of the session scott poked her about it again and she laid out a short monologue to assert that his claims were invalid. funnily enough she goes back on this a few seconds later saying that “i’ll make her have a reason to hold that grudge” which honestly is not helping her case. however if gem can make vague threats about impulse i don’t see why pearl can’t do the same. women’s wrongs and all that.

and then after that scott tells impulse and pearl to apologise to gem and joel. again, it’s a bit odd to me how they keep harping on this bit, but every time they do, all they do is scold impulse for rightfully constantly accusing gem over the cows, and then impulse apologises, yet pearl is still implicated (for NOTHING). pearl did protest this point earlier that she was “just existing”, scott counters that “i don’t know what you’ve done but you’ve annoyed her”, so “keep your distance”.

and to think that the argument only happened because scott made a throwaway comment about a “request” he had for pearl if she wanted a life from him. i feel like he meant it as a funny aside and expected pearl to just shut up and take it, but pearl never shuts up and takes it so that’s the problem there.

also, on secret life: pearl argues that she was right to ally with scar, which like, okay, fair enough, but scott says that “it takes time” and that “look we’re together” i’m not sure why he’s under the perception that GGG is in anyway functional or healthy considering he himself is trashtalking impulse and pearl with gem geminitay (ok sorry i’m just salty over him being buddy buddy with gem). at one point cleo goes “we have to be enablers” (lowkey incorrect because pearl hasn’t done anything, you can’t enable someone to just do nothing, but i appreciate the sentiment) and pearl just starts. throwing eggs at the ground. really funny out of context.

now for the actual gempearl interaction (we get like one and a half per episode i’m actually starving). they’re so obsessed with each other. trust me i said so. pearl beelining to gem to say “hi gem! :D” and gem beelining to pearl to punch her and say “go home pearl” oh they make me ill i feel like they’re just constantly on each other’s minds. the problem is that we haven’t gotten a good gempearl interaction because when they’re near each other their allies are also hanging around, so it always ends up with gem getting glazed by scott or pearl getting distracted by bigb or something like that. it’s such a pity because gem specifically went to find the 4Gs’ base but she went to the old one instead of the new one where pearl was hanging around so we could have potentially gotten a 1 on 1 shiny duo interaction this session (i’m not sure about the timeline there) but we DIDN’T because gem’s not talked to the 4Gs enough to know that they moved bases. grrr.

and then gem drops the anger for a bit to encourage pearl to kill grian. i have NO idea what that’s about, i feel like she’s just into bloodthirst in general but what it does remind me of is her trying to convince pearl to kill the ender dragon in SL, coincidentally, when pearl was impulse’s butler. and now she’s encouraging pearl to carry out what impulse wants. i don’t know. maybe her type is murderers and she’s trying to give pearl a chance. or something

anyway as for the other half an interaction where gem finds etho pearl and cleo at her base, gem reverts back to loudly disparaging pearl within earshot. i feel like she’s nailed “ex who really wants you to know that you’re exes”, and pearl getting so indignant about it she can’t even form a sentence for a few seconds is great actually. might be a reach but whether on hermitcraft or life series, pearl tends to stumble over her words a lot when directly challenged by gem, which is probably just because she’s thinking hard on what to say and is sleep deprived half the time. but i find it pretty telling that pearl doesn’t say anything back to gem and just. leaves. it’s very obvious she’s still down bad for gem in a way but gem is intentionally making it very hard for pearl to remain so.

last paragraph. when joel visits pearl at their new base, joel is happy that pearl called his build a car and said she liked it (pearl likes cars fork found in kitchen). so joel and pearl are on good terms, which i expect would lead to interesting dynamics but at the same time joel would definitely follow gem’s lead over maintain that friendship but still his perception of pearl now is positive. so that’s intriguing

song of the day is down bad by taylor swift. trust me guys they want each other so bad

[amber-laughs]

Thank you so much for your answer! I'd love to hear your thoughts on their relationship before the series begins. We know that the scene they shared in agot was not reflective of their actual dynamic even if most people loooove to forget that part. How did they interact? Did they ever? How was their relationship especially when Jon was a toddler or around 7-8? Thank you for your time!

oh fun question! well let's start from the beginning, we know that Catelyn was upset to find Jon in Winterfell before her

When the wars were over at last, and Catelyn rode to Winterfell, Jon and his wet nurse had already taken up residence. That cut deep. A Game of Throne- Catelyn II

but keep in mind Catelyn didn't know Ned yet. they'd obviously met and married but she doesn't really know anything about his temperament yet and even with that she's just arrived in a new place that will be her home forever, there's no way out, so the idea of her immediately showing her displeasure with Jon or Ned feels unlikely to me because in Family, Duty, Honor fashion she would first and foremost try to make her new family work to fulfill her father's alliance and be forced to put her wounded honor to the side. we know she did eventually work up the courage to ask Ned about Ashara Dayne

The Lady Ashara Dayne, tall and fair, with haunting violet eyes. It had taken her a fortnight to marshal her courage, but finally, in bed one night, Catelyn had asked her husband the truth of it, asked him to his face. That was the only time in all their years that Ned had ever frightened her. "Never ask me about Jon," he said, cold as ice. A Game of Thrones- Catelyn II

Ned scared her so bad she never asked again and neither did the servants. Now the fandom has a pretty simplistic, whitewashed view of Ned that isn't supported in canon but I would still call this out of character for him and Catelyn does too but remember, she barely knew him at this point, so it makes sense why she completely dropped the topic of not just Ashara but probably Jon as whole for a few years. but of course we know it does come up again.

Now I personally think the real trouble would start to come in as Jon was weened and was still in Winterfell. If he no longer needed a wet-nurse there's no reason not to foster him off in classic bastard fashion and Catelyn clearly thinks so too

Whoever Jon's mother had been, Ned must have loved her fiercely, for nothing Catelyn said would persuade him to send the boy away. It was the one thing she could never forgive him. A Game of Thrones- Catelyn II

Catelyn, of her own admission, was often trying to get Ned to kick Jon out of Winterfell. now this is where I need to remind people that I LOVE Catelyn Tully Stark. I'm on her team, I'm on her side, I'd buy her Mother's Day gifts if I could. most people in this fandom are actually pretty chill about the Catelyn Jon dynamic but there are two sides that think catelyn was an evil abusive wicked witch of the west specifically out to get an infant because she just feels like being evil and another side that thinks she never did anything to him and he's a spoiled brat who should be grateful she didn't make him sleep outside and eat only dog food. both are extremely annoying.

the truth is Catelyn was cruel to Jon and yes by George RR Martin's own words she never laid hands on him and she wasn't directly berating him throughout the years because like I said Catelyn isn't evil and she doesn't enjoy cruelty but when a child says he feels guilty eating in front of you there's a problem.

Jon wondered how Lady Catelyn's sister would feel about feeding Ned Stark's bastard. As a boy, he often felt as if the lady grudged him every bite. A Dance With Dragons- Jon IV

now it's possible Jon is projecting his own insecurities on to Catelyn here except:

Catelyn had nothing against this girl, but suddenly she could not help but think of Ned's bastard on the Wall, and the thought made her angry and guilty, both at once. She struggled to find words for a reply. A Game of Thrones- Catelyn VI

Catelyn does feel guilty for the way she's treated Jon. yes making Jon feel uncomfortable in Winterfell served a purpose, making sure he knows its not his. he has no right to it. Robb does. Robb will inherit. If not Robb then Bran, if not Bran then Rickon and so on and so forth. but none the less it was fucking mean. but here's the thing, Catelyn can't change society, she's navigating the rules she's given and Ned isn't, I imagine that would send her up a wall sometimes. because as she said Ned can have all the bastards he wants and she wouldn't care but Jon has no business being there and no business being treated like a true born next to her actual true born sons

"This is Valyrian steel, my lord," he said wonderingly. His father had let him handle Ice often enough; he knew the look, the feel. A Game of Thrones- Jon VIII

why the hell is Jon being allowed to handle the Stark ancestral sword? this is so widely out of the norm for Westeros it almost feels illegal. I can completely understand why Catelyn started trying to drill into Robb's head that Jon was different from him

That morning he called it first. "I'm Lord of Winterfell!" he cried, as he had a hundred times before. Only this time, this time, Robb had answered, "You can't be Lord of Winterfell, you're bastard-born. My lady mother says you can't ever be the Lord of Winterfell." A Storm of Swords- Jon XII

and it's also known throughout the Winterfell that there are hostilities between Jon and Catelyn. when Robb see's Jon is upset he immediately wonders if his mother is the reason

His voice was flat and tired. The visit had taken all the strength from him. Robb knew something was wrong. "My mother …" "She was … very kind," Jon told him. A Game of Thrones- Jon II

Jon also famously has the line where he admits Catelyn has never so much as called him by his name before so on Catelyn's side the relationship is somewhere on a spectrum from non existent to hostile. on Jon's side? well we know that Jon very consciously craved a mother

He knew nothing of his mother; Eddard Stark would not talk of her. Yet he dreamed of her at times, so often that he could almost see her face. A Game of Thrones- Jon III

often felt like he had to prove himself to his father

Bastard children were born from lust and lies, men said; their nature was wanton and treacherous. Once Jon had meant to prove them wrong, to show his lord father that he could be as good and true a son as Robb. I made a botch of that.  A Storm of Swords- Jon X

and I want to be clear, I know it wasn't Catelyn's job to make Jon feel welcome in his home, Ned really dropped the ball. It's Ned's fault that Jon just assumed he'd be destitute with no prospects by the time he turned 16 and it shows in the way Jon craves father figures in his life after he leaves Winterfell. Jeor Mormont, Benjen Stark, Mance Rayder, Maester Aemon, Stannis Baratheon I mean the list goes on. The thing is though there are no older women in Jon's life. Not at the Wall and not really in Winterfell either. He and Robb don't seem to take lessons from Septa Mordane and while Old Nan certainly taught him some important stories she doesn't seem to have set a maternal presence in his life.

I'm not saying Catelyn was or should have been Jon's mother because she wasn't and it surely wasn't her job but I do think she subconsciously fills that second parental placeholder in his head next to Ned because he clearly craves one but has no other woman to fill it.

Lord of Winterfell. I could be the Lord of Winterfell. My father's heir. It was not Lord Eddard's face he saw floating before him, though; it was Lady Catelyn's. A Storm of Swords- Jon XII

while this isn't Jon's deciding factor the idea of upsetting her or once again being rejected by her really bothers him, so much so that he can't even go on training with his friends, he has to leave and take a walk all alone. She's also one of the deciding factors when he's deciding whether to take his lifelong vows for the Night's Watch.

By the time the moon was full again, he would be back in Winterfell with his brothers. Your half brothers, a voice inside reminded him. And Lady Stark, who will not welcome you. A Game of Thrones- Jon V

but let's be clear Jon isn't just sitting around waiting for her to hug him. he doesn't like her either.

"Lady Stark is not my mother," Jon reminded him sharply. Tyrion Lannister had been a friend to him. If Lord Eddard was killed, she would be as much to blame as the queen. A Game of Thrones- Jon VII

he blames her for Ned's death just as much as he blames Cersei which is unfair and a bit delusional but childhood resentment will do that to a 15 year old.

So what was Jon and Catelyn's relationship like? Bad. Catelyn and Jon never had a chance. they were failed by the system. women and bastards seem to have a lot in common in Westeros in the sense that their agency is greatly limited. their safety rests on the graces of whatever man has placed their claim on them and this woman and this bastard were vying for the graces of the same man and felt one couldn't have it if the other did too. which is a shame in and of itself because I think they're both better at this game than Ned was.

***Less about their pre-series relationship but Jon and Catelyn have so much in common thematically and politically speaking. I did a parallel of them if you'd like to check it out

[thetaekookcloset]

Checking In ~! (And Signing Off)

Hello, everyone!

I logged in for a few minutes today just to check in on some other blogs, and I knew some people would probably see that I've been online so I wanted to say a quick hello and thank you to everyone who's been looking for me, thinking of me, and sending in sweet comments saying that you've missed the blog -- thanks so much for thinking of me!

I thought I'd give you a few rapid-fire answers to some questions I've seen since logging on and that have been floating around, starting with why I've been gone. The honest answer is that I never intended to run this blog forever, which is why I worked so hard to make sure it was well-organized, so that it could remain as a resource even after I moved on from it. I've had a lot going on in my life for the past couple of years, including buying a house with my partner and making a new best friend (you know who you are lol love youuuu), not to mention keeping up with all the members' solo projects! For the most part, I felt that I said what I had to say, and so I've been putting my fandom energy into other areas.

That said, there have of course been developments since I've been gone, so let me address some of them briefly.

Several people seemed to want to know how I feel about Taennie these days. I feel the same as I did before. I would be pretty damn surprised if anything legitimate were to ever come out about Tae and Jennie being involved. Everything that links them together is flimsy and circumstantial at best, whereas Jennie's links to G-Dragon have remained consistent and compelling, and regardless of Taehyung's relationship with Jungkook, I feel pretty confident that he is, shall we say, not especially interested in women in that way.

As for the developments in Jikook's relationship, and more specifically in the common Jikooker narratives lately, I feel the same as I always have. I think Jungkook and Jimin are clearly good friends who are very comfortable with each other. I'm glad they have each other close by for their military service as forced conscription must be hard on anyone and those two in particular seemed less than enthusiastic about the experience. I do not, however, believe that it would be safe for them to enlist together to potentially stay in close quarters if they were in a romantic relationship, nor do I think they would be put together by the company for content like a whole duo show, complete with photobook and merchandise, if they were in a relationship.

Taekook, on the other hand, proved again and again throughout 2023 that they were seeing each other often, keeping up with one another's lives and work, and remaining as close as they always have been, as there is and always has been ample evidence to prove. A few of my favorite moments: Tae saying that Jungkook would sing him "To Find You" from Sing Street, a song about being destined to find someone despite not believing in fate, and pulling up Jungkook's cover to listen to, while Jungkook was away; Jungkook mentioning Tae unprompted, like sharing his memory of going snowboarding with Tae and his friends when asked to talk about why he chose "Ditto" for his Spotify interview and mentioning that he loves the song "Golden Hour" during a live; Tae playing "For Us" and doing a little boxing move when JK happened to be in California; Jungkook asking Taehyung "Where have you been?" when he showed up late to Inkigayo -- I could go on honestly, probably forever, so I'll make myself stop here.

That's part of the thing with this blog. I could go on and on, and I have so much that I love and want to do and say, so many other directions I want to spread that energy, so I don't plan to stick around. But I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has missed me; I genuinely didn't anticipate that, and it means a lot. I hope you're all doing well, and finding spaces for yourselves in this wild fandom we share.

TL;DR -- I'm sure the question anyone would most want me to answer is just this: Do I still believe in Taekook?

Yeah, I do. More than ever before really. I think their relationship speaks for itself, more than I ever could, for anyone willing to listen.

Borahae!

[miaajaade]

The Line Between Love and Hate-

III

Aemond Targaryen X Targaryen!F!OC (Rhaenyra and Daemon’s Daughter)

Previous: Prologue I II next: IV

A/N: ok so I finally got myself to where the story actually differs greatly to house of the dragon and the more creative juices need to flow I have no idea where this is going and I’m sorry if it sucks bad!

Series warnings: Age gap (both characters are of age), incest (Targaryen), death, future smut, slow-ish burn.

No minors under cut:

Everyone on Dragonstone were in high spirits after their journey, save of course for Visenya's father who was slow to trust anything the Hightowers did. Visenya was teaching her younger brothers Valyrian when it was announced that Rhaenys Valaryon had arived on dragon back. Rushing to greet her, Visenya found her mother and Daemon with grave looks on their faces.

"The greens are coming for you Rhaenyra." Visenya was confused at this, we had made peace she thought.

"Mother what is it? What's happening?" She went to her mothers side holding her hand.

"Your grandfather, Viserys, he's dead." Visenya looked at her confused, "They have crowned Aegon in front of the masses, they have usurped my throne."

"What? How? Why?" Visenya had questions bouncing back and forth in her mind, no single thought sticking. Someone had gone to fetch her brothers Daerion and Viserys who were sparring on the beach.

Later Ser Errick arrived, everyone stood on edge wondering why a kingsguard was on dragonstone. Daemon was ready to burn him, but he had always been slightly trigger happy. The knight produced King Viserys I crown, proclaiming that he fought for his queen. There and then they had a small ceremony for those on Dragonstone, crowning Rhaenyra as the Queen of Westeros. This moment signified that a war was very likely to come.

In preparation for what this may mean for them Her mother had tasked the boys to go to Storms End and Winterfell to remind the lords of their sworn fealty to her all those years ago when Rhaenyra was first named heir. Visenya begged her mother to let her go as well, but her mother had none of it, saying that she needed her on Dragonstone. For what, Visenya had no idea.

A Raven from Storms End arrived days later. Visenya had been in the chamber of the painted table with her mother when her father walked in whispering in her mothers ear. All Visenya could hear were the heartbreaking sobs of her mother. She could only think the worst. Viserys was dead.

"Mother? I- how?" Visenya's eyes were brimming with tears at the news she already knew.

" Aegon.. he had gone to Storms End himself, offering marriage to either Aemond or one of his sons. He chased Viserys on Sunfyre. Sunfyre clipped Arrax's wing and Viserys he.. he fell." She had continued on to tell her that Visery's body was dragged out of the water, and was being sent brought back to Dragonstone. Visenya couldn't believe it, she broke down in sobs as her mother brought her close and held her until she could breath. A raven was quickly sent off to Winterfell to bring Daerion back for the funeral. Rhaenyra announced that nothing would be done until the funeral, but Daemon wanted Aegon's head on a spike. Rhaenyra had none of this ordering Daemon to stand down, to mourn the death of his son. She needed him. Visenya in all her years had never seen her father as distraught as he was now.

Visenya had hoped there would be a day when her family could commune and be peaceful. Although she held disscontempt for her uncles she had never felt they had done anything unforgivable to her or her family. After the news from today however, she knew she could never stand the sight of either of them again. The only thing that filled her heart was hatred for the greens. She spent the rest of her days until the funeral hiding in her chambers. She often sat by the window, remembering the childhood she had shared with Viserys and how she longed to go back to simpler times.

The funeral was simple, just their family standing at the pyre offering items belonging to Viserys as they sent him off. As he burned we stood there, drowning in grief but ready to seek revenge for our fallen blood. Visenya was going to do whatever it took to avenge her brother. She would burn them all to the ground. She didn’t care how she would do it, only that she would dedicate her life to bringing him justice.

Unbeknownst to her however, Alicent sent a letter to Rhaenyra. A letter that Rhaenyra would take into consideration, a letter that would change Visenyas life.

My dear friend,

My heart breaks for you, for the loss of your son. A loss I could only imagine. A loss that would reduce to me nothing. I know I take fault in his death. But I am begging you. As a mother and your childhood companion to meet with me. I will come alone, you may bring who you wish. I want to offer you a solution to our perils, one that will not end in the death of anymore of our lineage. I want to offer you marriage, offer you the iron throne for one of your children. Please just give me the chance to explain my proposal.

With love,

Your Alicent

[christall77]

~❦A Dragon's Treasure❦~

M! Dragon x GN! Reader

I was gone for a long while but I hope it's still not too late to say Happy New Year! (⁠；⁠^⁠ω⁠^)

So I had this idea after I made an AI chat bot of this character so yeah, hope you guys enjoy and if you should find any mistakes feel free to tell me!

TW: Mentions of minor character deaths

Finally after days of traveling on the back of your horses, both you and your friend Adrian reach the destination of your quest. Or more so, Adrian's quest. The huge mountain is in sight, where the castle and home of the infamous dark dragon Ryunir should reside in. Including the princess the beast has stolen away from the kingdom. Every person around the land knows about the legendary maneating dragon, who hoards unfathomable amounts of gold and riches inside his castle and his hate for humanity. All stolen from kings and royals alike, but it seemed like he had a special grudge against the royals in the kingdom Adrian and you call home. The king was rightfully scared about the danger that could strike any day, so he sent an army of knights to get rid of the fire breathing lizard. Only to never hear from them again and have his precious daughter, princess Amelia get taken by the massive beast.

Many other knights have tried to save her, especially now after the king has promised his daughter's hand in marriage. Your friend being one of them. Him and the princess always acted all lovey dovey around each other even while you were there watching the whole thing unfold. So it was only a matter of time until he asked, no begged you to come with him on this quest to save her. Despite your own hesitation and second thoughts. You two have been through thick and thin, he's been there for you when you needed him and vise versa, which is the reason why you're now standing on the edge of the mountain. Having already dismounted your horse as Adrian follows.

“Are you really sure we should do this?”, your voice comes out after you gulp down the lump in your throat at the sight. Right at the edge a small wobbly bridge is the only thing that connects the ground of the mountain and castle, the dark abyss below surrounding it. Adrian gives you a comforting pat on the shoulder, the determination evident on his face. “Don't worry (y/n), we have been successful with all our quests so far. Besides, I can't sit around and have princess Amelia locked up forever!”, “That's what the other knights must've thought as well before they most likely busted into flames...”

Not wasting any more time he approaches the creaky bridge and gives the robes an experimental tug. Waving you over after deeming it save enough. The darkness below doesn't make the way any less nerve wrecking, but Adrian makes sure to have a good hold on you while carefully moving alongside with you. A sigh of relief you were holding in leaves you once making it safely to the other side, now entering the darkened castle as quietly as possible through the creaky doors. The sounds echoing through the long and high hallways in front. It definitely would take a lot of time until any of you would find the right tower or room where the princess is hidden away.

Each step has to be chosen carefully, as any sound might alert the massive dragon residing somewhere deep within the castle. The floors and walls littered with cracks and damages, evidence that this place is much older and hasn't been taken care of in ages. Adrian clutches his sword tightly in his hands beside you, looking left and right towards each different corridor. With a nod to himself he turns to you and whispers, “Maybe we should split up...”, taking a few steps forward he chooses to go straight ahead. “You guard the entrance and distract the dragon, if he finds you first and I'll search for Amelia.”

“Are you crazy?!" You whisper shout towards him as your head almost snaps back towards him, keeping your tone down, ”I get that we might cover some more space this way, but mind you there's no way it would improve our chances with the dragon! Wait- Adrian!“ Before you could protest any further he speed walks away. Leaving you alone in the middle of the halls. ”I swear if I die I'll kill him if the dragon doesn't.“ You grumble to yourself, stepping through one of the hallways closest to the left. One hand hovering over the weapon in your belt just in case as you reassure yourself internally.

It almost feels like hours wandering around but finding nothing but even more halls and even the occasional bones of previous living humans who've entered the castle, which causes shivers to run down your spine. You've probably walked around in circles now but kept yourself close to the entrance like Adrian asked you to. Eventually the soles of your feet start to bother you and you decide to take a small seat on a small staircase. Checking your equipment and hoping that Adrian has found the princess in the while you were walking around aimlessly.

”This is so stupid... Should've known he would run off by himself again. Probably to also show off and be 'the knight in shining armor' for her.“ Consumed in your own little quiet rant and thoughts, you fail to notice the dark silhouette that starts to stirr behind you from your words. A large single golden eye opening and gazing down at the small human sitting below. Only once the massive beast rises and its hot breath blows against your back do you freeze, before slowly and anxiously turning around to face the dragon. It certainly was a sight you can't deny, after all you always had a respect and fascination with dragons, but at this moment survival is more important. A deep gutteral growl rumbles in the back of its throat, followed by a fierce ear piercing roar.

Stumbling up from your seat you make a run for it, barely managing to avoid its jaws, screaming in terror as the rumbling of footsteps follow close behind. In hopes of loosing the creature you run through every hall and corridor possible, making sure to take sharp turns, but no matter what you do the dragon keeps up without trouble. Shooting fireballs at you from time to time which you barely manage to avoid thankfully. It's only once you come to a dead end do you start panicking fully, looking around for any possible way out but finding none you press yourself against the wall. Hoping that the hard surface behind somehow swallows you up and takes you away from this place as your body trembles in fear. Wings unfurled from his back in an intimidating display the dragon approaches slowly, as if savoring the fact that you're trapped and about to face your demise.

Unable to think straight your brain decides to do the unthinkable as your widened eyes take in the size of him almost filling the entire hallway you're in. Instead of drawing your weapon or getting out of there you hurriedly blurt out, ”P-Please spare me big beautiful dragon.!“ Closing both eyes tightly, you await a fireball to roast you, or sharp teeth clamping down and kill you. Yet nothing happens. Opening one of your eyes you see the dragon has stopped in front of you, he seemed caught of guard by that compliment and tilts his head as puffs of smoke leave through his nostrils.

Never in his life was the red scaled beast complimented by a human, either having faced insults, fear and anger thrown at him. So this surprises him greatly, in a pleasant way. ”You think I'm beautiful human?“ He rumbles, his voice echoing through the halls as it bounces off the walls. Seeing that it somehow stopped the dragon from attacking you quickly nod. It might've been something you said in a panic, but after taking a good look at the creature you can't deny his majestic and powerful presence.

”Y-yes. I mean it's not every day one is face to face with an amazing creature of legends like a dragon.“, Your genuine interest in his kind stirrs a strange warmth within his large scaly chest, but not the usual heat he emits, it's foreign yet pleasant. A feeling he now wants to continue experiencing out of newfound curiosity. Moving his long neck down so his head is a little closer the creature gives you an expectant look as if asking what made you say all of this. ”Tell me, what about me is so beautiful little human?“

In response you let your gaze wander over the different parts of him, pointing out everything that intrigues you. ”Well for starters I've never seen wings so huge and cool like this. It always sounded interesting to experience flying, though I could only read about it in books.“, a small nervous chuckle leaves you before you continue while the huge dragon listens intently how you compliment him more. Things like how shiny his wine red scales look, those horns that give him an even more intimidating yet regal appearance and so on and so forth.

”But I think your eyes are the most beautiful thing of you, they shine like gold..“ At this point you seem to be rambling on as if forgetting about the danger you've been in. Though the dragon doesn't mind, in fact he likes it. Your last compliment struck a chord inside, feeling the beating of his heart quicken as his pupils dilate and the subtle sound of purring reverberates through his entire being. A pleased purr leaves the dragon as his head tilts so his large eye is peering down at your smaller frame better. ”What is your name little one?", he inquires curiously. Once you introduce yourself, a small smile makes its way onto his face when he tastes your name upon his tongue.

“It suits you little one. I'm Ryunir, it's very much a pleasure meeting you.” There's a strange haze that crosses his gaze which makes you fidget underneath its intensity. Another puff of warm air blows against your frame as he inhales and exhales deeply, taking in your scent. “Thank you, I'd like to chat a little longer but uhm...”, you pause trying to find the right words to say next. “I need to find my friend again so we can leave in peace.”

The dragon frowns upon hearing the word 'leave'. Since Ryunir has set his eyes upon you, he had a feeling you didn't come here all the way alone and were either here to steal the gold or rescue the princess he took. No matter which one it was he doesn't care anymore. Stealing the princess was only to spite the king who has made Ryunir's life more miserable by sending countless knights for centuries, before (y/n) and their friend to kill him for not only his riches, but also for his scales and head. Which is why he has started to reign terror over the people of this kingdom ever since. Yes he did keep the girl away from being saved, but Ryunir never liked having her here either. But now that you're here? Your friend could rescue the royal away for all he cares, what he wants is to have you by his side for the rest of his life.

In the dragon's eyes you've become his most priced treasure, his mate. Ryunir can't believe it himself entirely as well, yet there's something inside him that tells him that you are meant to be his. Wether it's instincts or the fact that he's been lonely without any positive interactions for as long as the beast can remember for the recent few 100 of years, one thing is for sure. You've made your way into his heart and there's nothing that's going to take you away from him.

“Leave? No... Stay with me little one.”, before you could protest or say anything further the dragon leans down with a soft whine. Snatching you up by the back of your gear, like a mother cat carrying her kittens and taking you deeper into the castle. “W-Wait! No I can't stay.! Adrien!” Paying your calls for help no mind, the dragon continues with a small pep in his step. The sound of his footsteps echoing through the silent empty hallways until entering a large chamber filled with riches. Mountains upon mountains of gold, jewels and many more things that has some type of value as far as your eyes can see. Reaching his desired spot surrounded by a few pillars, Ryunir gently drops you down before coiling his tail around you in a warm and protective embrace. Lighting up the torches and chandeliers hanging upon the walls, ceiling and columns with a light breath of fire, surrounding the both of you in a more cozy atmosphere.

Holding you close to his red scaly body as he gets comfortable, curling up and nuzzling his snout against your smaller head. His entire being vibrating as he purrs affectionately. “Comfy my dear treasure?”, Ryunir rumbles softly in question. “Yes?” Your answer comes out more like a question than intended but the beast takes it nonetheless with a pleased growl. “Don't worry, I won't do anything you're not comfortable with. You're mine now and I intend to have my mate protected and satisfied no matter what."

His words are filled with honesty and utter devotion. A promise to keep you safe and under his care for as long as he lives. Tenderly brushing a few strands of hair out of your face with his claw, making sure to not hurt or scratch you with it. Despite your initial reluctance you end up enjoying his company more than anticipated. Keeping light conversations all the while showing nothing but tenderness and longing towards you. His heat emitting from his body also helps calming down your thoughts, practically melting into his coils until the both of you take a rest together and doze off.

It's only after what felt a few moments later that someone is trying to shake you awake. With a small groan your eyes meet Adrian who has a panicked look on his face, the princess hiding at the doorway of the gigantic chamber. ”(Y/n) wake up!“ He whisper shouts, making sure to not wake the beast sleeping beside you. Blinking both eyes open, startled you meet your friend's gaze. ”Oh now you're showing up? Where were you almost an hour ago?!“, flailing your hands in expiration you then let out a deep sigh after hearing your friend's apology.

”I'm sorry (y/n), but this beast has trapped me earlier but luckily I made it out. And look! I found Amelia!“ Gesturing towards the girl she gives you a quiet wave of her hand, yet she's visibly tense by the fact that the dragon is here. Adrian freezes swiftly when the dragon in question shifts but doesn't wake up just yet, instead pulling you closer towards his head despite still being asleep. ”Lets get you out of here...“, he whispers climbing up the pile of gold, as sneakily as those allow him to be until he reaches you and holds out his leather gloves hand. Grasping yours and trying to pull you out of the tight coils around your frame.

”Adrian, please stop. Just leave!“ Ushering him away in a hurry as the tail tightens around you. ”Take Amelia and go.“, Adrian pauses then shakes his head, ”I'm not leaving you here with this monster (y/n)!“ He gives you a look that tells you that he won't back down no matter what. With a final pull with both of his hands he manages to get his friend out, almost falling down the gold pile in the process, managing to catch the both of you steady just barely.

Though the quiet celebration was short lived once the eye of the beast opens, as if sensing that his mate is not within his hold anymore. His pupils turn into slits upon seeing the both of you, in particular your friend holding you close. With a furious roar he rises, the riches around you flying and getting thrown everywhere as he moves. ”Come hurry! This way!“ Princess Amelia yells out, holding the door open as Adrian pulls you along as fast as possible. Just narrowly escaping Ryunir's jaws and rushing towards the entrance with you and the princess in tow who points out the direction towards the exit she has found at a time in her own attempts to escape.

Behind you the enraged dragon roars out and wastes no time chasing after the group of three, through every hallway possible. Luckily with Amelia on their side there won't be a chance to run into any dead ends. Soon the exit is in sight and Adrian pushes the both of you forward, stopping in his tracks to face Ryunir with a determined face. Before the dragon could let out his breath of fire, your friend cuts the rope beside him which was holding the massive metal gate of the entrance up, only to have it slam down upon the dragon's scaly back. A furious and pained shriek getting forced from his being. Successfully trapping him underneath as he trashes wildly on hopes of getting out. Not wasting any more time Adrian pushes you and the princess forward onto the wobbly bridge until you finally reach the mountain once more.

Relief rushes through the other two once the group got onto their horse and gallop away, yet as you leave in tow the cries of Ryunir still can be heard in the distance. As if calling out for you to return at the loss of your presence. With a heavy heart and head held low you stay quiet for the rest of the trip back until reaching the kingdom at last heart still beating wildly from the escape.

When Adrian brought back the king's daughter he was allowed to, as promised, to be wed to Amelia, which of course he couldn't turn down. Days have gone by until the wedding finally comes around, you couldn't be happier for your friend but the events from the castle still linger in your mind. As absurd as one might think it is, you actually ended up enjoying your time with Ryunir even if it was a rough start and he tried to kill you initially. But somehow he wove himself into your heart and leaving him made you feel bad.

As you sit by the lake by yourself lost in thought Adrian approached you from behind and gives you a concerned look. ”What's wrong (y/n)? This is my wedding party, have some fun... I don't want to see my best friend down on such a beautiful day.“, squeezing your shoulder gently he tries to lighten up the mood but ends up sitting down beside you on the grass not caring if his white suit gets dirty. ”Something is bothering you...“ he points out, already knowing that it must be something that happened regarding the quest. Finally nodding your head you turn to him, ”Remember the dragon?“

Scrunching his eyebrows he nods giving you a concerned look. ”Has he hurt you?“, he questions, ”No it's not that, he seemed to like me... We actually talked and it felt nice.“ Adrian listens to your ramblings, showing his surprise and disbelief at the story you're telling him. After all, how could the dark dragon which the kingdom has feared for so long be the same you described?

All of a sudden a shadow casts overhead making the two of you blink in confusion. The roar and beating of large wings in the distance unmistakable. And speak of the devil, Ryunir has arrived. He must've freed himself somehow and now is circling the castle before diving down. Hearing screams and distressed yells from the people the both of you rush towards the chaos. Men and women running frantically to get safe as the king shouts orders towards his knights to take down the monster. Adrian joins them as you stand there for a moment to let the situation process in your head.

Ryunir lands harshly in the middle of the town, growling fiercely as his gaze fleets over the crowd of humans. Hoping to find his mate somewhere in those masses. Not caring if he steps over buildings or other structures, knocking them down in his frantic search. Picking up people with his claws that might resemble your appearance before tossing them away carelessly after seeing it's not the human he's looking for. The knights rush into the scene and start firing arrows upon arrows at the beast, only angering him further even though they barely even pierce his skin. Becoming annoyed by their attempts to kill him he lifts his head high in the air before surrounding the army with hot flames. Some manage to get out of the attack just barely yet badly wounded. Leaping into the air to move more inward of the kingdom he continues looking until a lone knight catches his attention. Recognizing Adrian immediately his nostrils flare up with smoke, seeing the one that has in his eyes, taken away his mate from him fills himnwith unbridled rage.

Seeing the anger flash across the dragon's visage your friend turns around a corner to avoid the incoming fire blast. The flames almost burning his suit. He has to find you quickly, if what you told him was true then Ryunir must be here for a special reason. Avoiding one fire ball after another, Adrian rushes towards the castle grounds towards the woods where he last saw you. With a loud roar the dark dragon climbs up one of the towers and leaps down, the force shaking the ground, sending dust all over and making Adrian stumble the powerful force of the wind throwing him against a nearby tree.

Forcing your friend against the wooden bark, Ryunir's throat starts heating up as he prepares to end the human in front of him, mouth wide open to rip him into pieces. ”Stop!“, Ryunir's jaws clamp shut just inches away, immediately turning his head towards the sound of your voice. The panic and worry on your face very much evident, you hurry over just to stand a safe distance away to keep his attention away from your friend. When he finally sees you standing there in the flesh, his wings lower and his eyes soften. His pupils dilating as he slowly steps closer, ”(y/n)...“, with an almost inaudible murmur Ryunir utters your name. Standing before you his head lowers towards you, sniffing and taking in your scent as if to make sure you're really there in front of him. Finally placing both of your hands upon his scaly snout he rumbles contently and closes his eyes, calming down against the soft caresses.

Adrian's gaze fleets between his friend and the massive dragon as he catches his breath. ”What's happening..?“, slowly he tries to force himself onto his feet with a groan, leaning against the trunk of the tree for support. The dragon immediately starts growling again turning his heated gaze back, but before any of you could say or do anything Ryunir gently lifts you off the ground just like the first time he did, sending Adrian another glare with a loud huff before spreading those massive wings and flying away.

Instead of landing at the castle like you assumed he stops at a far distance away in a clearing amidst the woods, landing safely by a lake and making sure to set you down on your two feet. ”There, you're safe now my mate.“, he announces proudly puffing out his chest, ”That bad human won't steal you away from me again.“ Ryunir wraps his tail around you and pulls you close, a pleasant warmth running through his entire body when you return the gesture.

”He's actually my friend Ryunir, he wasn't trying to steal me away. Adrian thought you would've eaten me back then in the castle.“, you clarify. For a moment his purring comes to a halt as he stares down into those eyes of yours, when he sees that you're actually being serious he averts his gaze almost like a pet that has been caught in an act. Yet he doesn't seem to be bothered by the chaos he's caused and quickly focuses back on the human before him. ”Oh well that doesn't matter. What matters is having my beloved treasure by my side again.“, without thinking he leans down and gives you a loving lick on the cheek. Seeing how stunned you are from his action he lets out an amused chuckle, curling up around your smaller frame, his head resting against yours. ”And there's nothing that will seperate us. That's a promise“

[argisthebulwark]

Severed Ties Part One: Why You Left

summary: You've had enough, whatever was once between you may be lost. You're leaving him. gn reader, no pronouns or y/n used. Part Two: Why You Came Back feat: Brynjolf, Miraak, Erandur, Teldryn, Vilkas, Farkas, Rune, Arnbjorn warnings: bit longer than usual.

There was no way around it - Brynjolf just didn’t have enough time for you. You clung to those fleeting moments you got with him, rushed and infrequent as they were. A hurried kiss or a half eaten dinner forgotten when a recruit brought a shipping manifest were the most you could hope for. Days would pass where you hardly saw one another. Between training, recruiting, scheduling, and handling conflict you became strangers.  After what felt like ages spent missing him you realized that holding on so tightly was only hurting you both. All the guilt over dates cut short and apologies for missing anniversaries were causing too much damage. You had to let go. Maybe a day would come when you settled into your new role and Brynjolf’s hectic schedule afforded him some free time to spend together. Someday there would be less tasks to complete and you could love one another properly.  Under all the arguments you could see his relief, the same one you’d felt as soon as making the decision to let him go. With tears in your eyes you promised to come back to him when the time was right, though you wondered if a time would ever truly exist.  "I'm sorry, love. I've got so many important things to do. Maybe some other time, yeah?"

With each day that passed Miraak drifted further from you. His thirst for power, that never ending climb for more power had edged you entirely out of his thoughts. The whirlwind romance you’d experienced in the beginning faded into fond memories. You often reflected upon those early days as you went about your solitary business. You’d given up so much for one another but forgetting you seemed rather easy for him. You’d begun to feel like one of his books, gathering dust on a shelf he hadn’t revisited in a long while.  He was too absorbed in his latest breakthrough to notice you packing your things. A hasty agreement with Mora was all it took to secure your safe passage back to Nirn, a lifeline to who you’d been before falling in love with him. A hand brushed over his back was your only goodbye to the man you’d sacrificed the world for. As you walked away from him you couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take Miraak to notice your absence. With a heavy heart you admitted to yourself that you had no clue, would he notice? When he did, would he even care? "I don't have time now, My Dragon. If we mean to seize this moment we must be prepared. I just don't have time."

Erandur could not stop himself from idolizing you. In the beginning you thought it would fade, that perhaps as he settled into your relationship he would drop all the honorifics and adoration. Over time it began to wear on you; the reverence in his tone or the way he gazed like you personally hung all the stars in the sky. When he continued seeing you as a figure the pressure only compounded. The longer it dragged on the more you felt like you had a disciple instead of a partner. All of Skyrim saw you as a mythical creature - the Dragonborn, Slayer of Alduin, champion of nearly every daedra you’d happened across. You could withstand that position from random citizens and court members but not your partner. With him you simply wanted to be a person. Babbling your explanation through tears, his unspoken questions were the ones that wounded you the deepest. He merely accepted your words with a solemn nod. You loved Erandur more than you could say but you couldn’t stand the pressure any longer, needing to find somewhere you could merely exist without the titles weighing you down.  "Of course I want you to be happy my beloved. You are my savior, after all. I am willing to do anything for you, all you must do is say the word."

Parting from Teldryn was like trying to tear a limb from your body. Your bones ached with a need for rest while he wanted nothing more than to keep moving, creating a rift between you. He refused to settle anywhere, no breaks lasting longer than a few days before you were in a new hold. You grew tired of tavern meals and stiff beds, the pack weighing you down. You needed a break. Even the slightest mention of going home upset Teldryn. He’d remind you that he was a sellsword not a steward. There was so much out there to see, so many bandit camps to clear out and treasures waiting for the right set of adventurers to find them. It was tough not to be hurt by the harshness of his words - were your years together trekking across continents not enough? Even worse, was his refusal to find a home simply an unwillingness to commit to you?  You left him exactly where you’d found him all those years ago - planted in the same seat in his favorite tavern, drink in hand. You tried to explain yourself but he was hearing none of it, tone bitter when he bid you farewell. "I'll be happy to rejoin you when you realize I'm right. Free of charge, of course. For old times' sake. Don't wait too long, though or I might get a better offer."

Vilkas knew precisely how to get under your skin. He knew the exact buttons to press in an argument - looking down his nose at you, the harshness of his words, and that cool, uncaring tone his voice adopted that made you wonder if he’d ever truly loved you. It seemed that the more your work lives overlapped the more frequent your arguments became until all the love between you was lost. Tears blurred your vision when you glared across the room at him. He was so collected, not a hair out of place while sobs burned at your throat. Your heart ached with a need to get back to how you’d been before the Companions had taken over your life but Vilkas was too set in his ways, too willing to argue and never open to compromise.  Wordlessly, you gathered up each possession he’d left in your quarters. He didn’t comment on the careless way you dumped it back into his empty bedroom but you felt him watching every step you took. You hated his silence. It was the only time you wished he’d raise his voice and push back but he said nothing, content to watch you separate the lives you’d intertwined ages ago. You wanted him to fight, that just this once he would fight for you.  "You must stop giving up so easily, Harbinger. We're all counting on you. Or did Kodlak hand the reigns to the wrong person after all?"

Despite all the fun you had together Farkas didn’t take anything seriously. You fell in love with his laughter and the nonchalant way he viewed the world but after years you wanted more. You wanted a life together, somewhere you could both call home and escape from the troubles of your Guild. As always, he simply brushed it off - why waste all that money buying a house when you had Jorrvaskr? Why bother with a wedding when everyone already knew you were together?  You couldn’t get him to conceive that there was a life you could live together that didn’t revolve around the Companions. You saw the conflict in his eyes and the way his words stumbled over one another when he reminded you that it was all he had ever known.  With a heavy heart you patted his hand, hoping that someday you could find a happy medium. You could no longer spend every day in Jorrvaskr - you loved your fellow Companions but the years passing by had you yearning for peace, something softer for your legacy. Farkas let your fingers slip through his when he let you go.  "Seems like an awful waste, doesn't it? Things don't have to change. We're having fun, aren't we? Why go and mess it up?"

Rune’s interest in his past had always intrigued you. That stone, the mysterious stories, the parents he’d never met. It had all the hallmarks of a protagonist in some old legend. You listened to his theories for nights on end and helped him search through old books of familial records, having fun until you realized how deeply his need for the truth ran. It startled you to realize that he was unable to fathom a future for himself, unwilling to think of anything but the mysteries of his past.  It left you in limbo. You loved him enough to hope for more but acknowledged how stuck in his ways he’d become. Rune was confused when you explained it to him, tears in his eyes when you pleaded with him to come back to you when he found the answers he held above all else.  "What do you mean - you're leaving me? We don't need to think ahead when we have right now. Can't you wait a little longer?"

Arnbjorn’s love for his late wife was admirable, though somewhat intimidating. No one doubted how deeply he’d loved her but they were glad to see the small changes. Months had passed when he stopped wearing his ring, your heart leaping at the minute signs that he was getting closer to moving on. Your little crush on him grew into so much more when he approached you, getting you hooked from the first touch. It felt like Astrid haunted every step you took closer to him. When he kissed you you wondered who he thought of, whose name was on the tip of his tongue when he bit his lip. When your body pressed to his and he slapped a hand over his mouth your stomach soured with the realization that he was not only thinking of you. It was evident in small moments - when he couldn’t meet your gaze or he stopped himself mid sentence. Your blood chilled when you realized he was going to call you her name. You didn't want to blame him but it hurt in a way you'd never experienced. It drove you mad. You retracted from him, wrapped up in insecurity and resentment when you broke off whatever was between you two. You couldn’t keep questioning his intentions for you, refusing to be a replacement for the wife he’d lost.  "You aren't her - I know you aren't her! I don't want you to be her - why won't you just listen to me?"

[junkiepunkie]

Post-Prank realization -Remus Lupin oneshot

[remus wakes up in the hospital wing post-full moon, brutally hurt and still bleeding, no one is there. Madame Pomfrey is busy with a patient loaded with dragon pox so he excuses himself, saying he needs to go to the loo, and hobbles back up to the gryffindor common room, on the way Snape and him collide]

"oi! Watch where you're..." Remus cut himself off, seeing the petrified, yet slightly sympathetic look thrown by Snape, who looked seven shades too green to be feeling fine "...going... You know what never mind"

Snape gulped heavily, his eyes looked almost glassy upon seeing Remus and his hand was clutching something so agressively in his hand that Remus could see the tension radiate throughout his whole body.

"Snivil- Severus, what is that?" He asked tentatively, in that moment the hatred for Snape faded to increadible concern. He looked like he'd seen a ghost- or well, an unplanned ghost.

The words had no sooner left Remus' mouth than Snape had lunged forward, grabbing Remus' forearm and harshly yanking up his sleeve.

"hey! What the fuck-" an unholy scream wracked Remus' entire body, cutting his complaint short. In that moment Remus turned the same green as Snape. He knew that burn well, dispite the rarity of feeling it, the few times he had had left their scars, just as incurable as those made by his own claws. 

Silver.

Shit.

Now, Remus was smart enough to know that this could only be bad, Snape could tell the whole school, his clueless friends, Snape could probably get Remus expelled.

"I'm not going to tell anyone" He hissed, quiet as a doormouse but with the power of an army.

For the first time in his life, Remus truely felt he understood why Lilly called Snape a great wizard, he had a drive behind his eyes, hidden in all aspects of life apart from his fits of rage. In this moment -though it sickened him to say it- Remus knew Snape could very much kill him. "I'll say nothing because it wasn't your fault, it was theirs, and, though I hate your guts and your friends, I have a slither of respect for you. But don't believe that I'll deny it if anyone asks, and do not test me, because that layer of respect is thin and extremely fragile. Now run along and for the love of god get new friends. See you later, Moony."

Ouch. Both from the silver and Snapes mouth, Ouch.

Remus turned away the second Snape lifted the silver to reveal a burning red knife shaped mark on his arm that Remus knew would not fade for a long time. He all but ran into the fat lady's portrait, spitting out the password as He fled inside. He went straight for the staircase, hoping to make a beeline for his bed and tell the marauders everything, maybe he could even have a cry with Sirius later on, anything to distract him from thoughts of Snape's speech and whatever he meant by 'it wasn't your fault, it was theirs'. Unfortunately for Remus -and his plans for a quiet night in- no sooner was he up the stairs to his dorm than Sirius was dashing past, sobbing his grey eyes out as if someone had died. Shit what if someone's died. Remus groaned at the thought. Today was not the day. Despite Remus' urge to ignore all commotion and just try and sleep off the sting of silver, this was Sirius and he needed to make sure he was ok. Immediately. Remus turned on his heel and went to follow after his friend/sexual tension partner/much needed emotional crutch, but James had his arm out, blocking Remus from descending any further as Sirius dashed from the common room, quicker than Remus had ever seen him.

"James move! I want to check that he's ok!" Remus exclaimed, anger slowly bubbling due to a mix of his increadibly rough full moon and the Snape commotion.

James continued to hold Remus back, both boys thankful that the common room was abandoned at this early sunday hour. 

"listen mate, we- erm- well, you'd better sit down" James stated. A few steps down Peter nodded sadly, too afraid to speak lest the words come out wrong.

Remus laughed coldly

"you're telling me! I just saw Snape and look what the cock did!" he rolled up his sleeve as he finally caved and let James lead him up the stairs. He was cluttering at almost indecipherable speeds "you know what that means right? Snape knows! James, Snape knows what I am and-"

"i know Remus... Remus if you'd just listen-"

"and then he had the fucking nerve to somehow blame you guys! Like what the fuck even was that?! Fucking batshit am I right?!?"

"REMUS!" James exclaimed, quickly catching himself and swallowing thickly as though it would help him develop some very called for empathy and patience. "Moony... Mate... It is our fault, or, well.."

"its Sirius" Pete butted in. Turning vivid pink as he realized what he'd done. Turning on his heel he exited the room.

Remus breathed shakily and sat on the edge of his bed, the forgotten aches caused by the injuries he suffered the night before hitting him like a ton of bricks. The entire right row of broken ribs and his fucked up calf were now gruelingly aparent. 

"what did Pete mean? How could Sirius be responsible for me being a werewolf?! That’s just dumb” he laughed nervously.

James closed his eyes and took in a deep breathed, before talking. Remus did the same but It seemed to do nothing.

"Remus, you know that none of us were there last night don't you?" he started "well, thats a lie, Pete was -and he tried his best- but a rat and a werewolf.. It didn't make much difference. After two hours he knew It was better to just leave"

Remus wanted to interrupt, say that he was fine with no one coming because It wasn't their responsibility to look after him and, if thats why Sirius is upset then he should know that it’s fine. He wanted to say all that and more, but he didn't, he just sat and listened.

"well, we were coming, we really were, only Sirius told us there was something he had to do first and, well, he'd had an argument with Snape earlier that day and something didn't feel right, so I decided i'd wait for Sirius before I followed Pete into the whomping willow." Remus nodded along, although he really wasn't sure where this could possibly be going.

"he turned up an hour after the full moon came up, I- well I had to listen to you screaming the whole time while I couldn't do anything about It like i usually would, so i was pissed off when he showed up, more so when i realised he'd brought Snape. And way way more so when i saw him show Snape the knot on the tree..."

If Remus could rank pain, silver would be an 8.5, transformation would have to be a 9. But this.. This implication, the silence in which Remus realised what had happened last night, the moment in which his whole would came crumbling down around him and everything made such painful sense. Well, this was a clear ten. 

Dispite this, James continued.

"So I jumped in, just as Snape was about to follow Sirius, I screamed that he had to leave when Sirius turned back and started telling Snape It was all fine, that It was just you studying in there. I- well, I tried to think on my feet, so I petrified Snape and I- I punched Sirius in the face, kicked him too, started proper fucking him up. He started crying and I was going to leave him and join you, but Pete came out and me and him had to carry Snivelous back in. But Remus before I petrified Snape we all heard you howl and- well…"

Remus bit his gum hard and forced himself to adopt an eerily calm demeanor . He sat and breathed and waited for James to say something, anything, but he didn't. Dispite himself Remus closed his eyes and asked the only question that mattered to him, the one question he wanted to ask. Unfortunately, It would be the one that hurt him the most.

"is he alright?" the question was caring and quiet, but the tone was scathing.

"what?" James asked, stunned.

"Sirius. Was he ok?" 

James faltered, pausing for a long time before answering, when he did his voice was soft. As If he was talking about someone dead. To Remus he might aswell have been.

"eh, I knocked him out, broke his nose. When he woke up this morning It look him a while to even remember what happened. When he did he freaked right out, you saw him, he's-"

"James humour me and just tell me he's alright" Remus snapped, the calm had gone now and in its place was rage.

James did that singular breathy chuckle one does when shocked and frustrated before speaking.

"alright, moony, physically he is fine"

Remus nodded meekly and collapsed back so that he was strewn across his bed. James followed his lead, laying himself directly beside Remus on the bed. In a moment of solidarity the two boys elbowed eachother, both offering the other a weak unhappy smile. Remus had said It once and he'll say It as many times as he could: James Potter is a fantastic friend.

As soon as the moment of content came, It was gone, both boys letting out defeated sighs as they turned to look at eachother, no funny buisness, just words and two pairs of honest eyes.

"I'm going to hate him forever now, you know?" Remus stated. It was true, he could never see things going back to how they were ever again. Sirius had gone and fucked It up, all of It.

James smiled again, a small, sad smile, but there was an undetectable trace of some genuine happieness.

"maybe you’ll hate him, but you'll forgive him eventually Moony." he said, as though it were plain as day.

Remus raised his brows in unfriendly challenge.

"I will not. He's fucking ruined it all James. This is- I mean, it's unforgivable!"

James nodded "oh yeah no, it's the worst thing he's ever done. It was dangerous and inconsiderate and down right psycho and he deserves no mercy, but let me ask you this Remus. Tell me why I think him 'ruining it all' means more to you than if I were to do the exact same thing he did?"

Remus sat bolt upright, the crushing pain in his chest strinking him as insignificant at that moment in time.

"what’s that meant to mean?" he asked defensively

James smirked as he too sat up. The smirk he gave was still tinged with unhappieness, but now there was a slight playfullness behind it.

"it means Moony, that I don't think that your friendship with me and Pete makes you feel the same as-"

"of course it makes me feel the same! Why wouldn't it, we're all good mates -great mates- we're family! I feel equally about all of you! So don't be- don't be so fucking daft Prongs! What was that even supposed to mean?!? Haha" Remus was panicking, badly. His hands were sweaty and his heart was all but palpatating. He could feel the green colour from earlier making a comeback.

James' face returned to its previous state of severity but his eyes stayed kind, welcoming. They were an ocean of comfort against his deadly serious features. He seemed to manage to make his face both intimidating and strict while also staying reliable and homely. He never once looked away from Remus as he took his hand in his, giving it a much needed reassuring squeeze.

"it means that I see the way you look at him when he can't see you. And I hear how to hum his favourite song when he's not around. I notice when you wait for him to agree to things before you make up your mind, and i've seen how he can calm you down when you're about to change on a full moon and you cry" He said each word gently, never letting go of Remus' hand, even when Remus began to tear up in fear that he'd be rejected

"He's your Lilly" he continued "and Moony -Remus- that is absolutely fine by me."

Wow. Hearing those words, not feeling any loss of contact dispite what James now knew, it triggered a full on breakdown. Remus collapsed into James' arms like a bundle of rags, his head resting on James' shoulder as his body wracked up and down violently. James didn't hesitate to hug Remus tight into his chest, patting his back as he cried and humming gently in an attempt to calm him down. Remus recognised the song "love reign o'er me" by the who, one of Sirius' favourites. It should have made his blood boil, but It didn't, not at all, no it just made the poor boy tired, so much so that he calmed down almost instantainiously. James sighed happily as Remus' sobs faded to cries, the whimpers before dying completely, leaving him just breathing shakily.

"this doesn't change anything James" Remus spoke up after a while longer being cradled by his friend, for once in his life feeling a sense of platonic understanding. "I'm still dead set on hating Sirius"

James smiled "thats fine Moony"

"and you know we're not dating" Remus yawned, his eyes fluttering closed, blinks becoming slower and slower.

"still fine Remus" 

"and the fact I like him, and that I'm gay doesn't mean i'll put this all behind me" Remus eyes shut fully now, his words turning to soft mumbles "anyway, he doesn't like me and now I don't like him. So we're even..."

"still fine Remus," James looked down at the sleeping boy in his arms and moved to gently lay the boy down so he could sleeping properly. "but just so you know sleepyhead, i've also seen how he looks at you when you can't see him"

Remus didn't hear that last sentence, and if he did he probably wouldn't have believed it, but James knew that it was a fact that made all the difference, whether Remus knew it or not. Remus may be stubborn, but Sirius was more so, he would try to make this better until Remus cracked and let him.

That night, Sirius limped back in to the dorm, eyes red and puffy, one stained purple and black from the night before. The first thing asked was how Remus was doing. James had only just begun to explain how Remus was first defeated and then angry, and how his chest seemed dented from his rough night, when Sirius snapped and said:

"James humour me and just tell me he's alright!"

James could have laughed. Yeah, he thought, everything was going to be just fine.