#I shove sharpened metal into people in order to force them to bleed

[evelynraven]

NaNoWriMo book

Hello folks I know I’m very late but I would like to reveal to you all the novel I’m working on and a little preview of the rough first chapter. I’ve been calling it “renegades” although I doubt it’ll actually be called that. To put it simply It’s a fantasy series about a group of peeps going against the government to destroy evil on their own terms, without further ado I present you the prologue and chapter 1 very rough mind you but here nevertheless

Prologue

    The man slammed into the ground hard so hard he bounced and rolled to a stop as another man gently glided down a few paces in front of him. 

    “Give it up Azend, I don’t understand why you are doing this.” The standing man said through a dark black hood lined with gold. 

    Azend slowly got up, he wore the same outfit that the other man had but his hood was down revealing shoulder-length blond hair half matted with blood and a crazed expression in his green eyes. 

    “I’m doing what we are supposed to do.” Azend said as he folded one of his wings to his back. The other was twisted at an odd angle, almost certainly broken. He dug in his coat and pulled his weapon. It resembled a knitting needle and was called a syr 

“I found it, and with it we can be gods.” Azend said as he twirled the weapon around his fingers. The other man looked down to his hand then flicked the coin in it at the ground around Azend’s feet. It hit with a boom like a thunder clap. The ground shook so hard Azend was forced to his knees.

“All made gods are fake in the eyes of Riegh” the man said looking down at Azend. 

“Oh men and gods aren’t that different Boughend, we all bleed” Azend laughed. He then shifted to one knee and threw aside his coat revealing a pouch tied to his belt. He cut it free and it hit the ground with a light, clink. He smiled as he looked up to Boughend. 

Boughend took a step forward shouting “no” as he stuffed his hand into a coat pocket. At this Azend shoved his hand into the bag in front of him, the contents clinked softly as it moved. Azend’s shoulders hunched suddenly. Boughend removed his hand from it’s pocket and threw another coin this time aiming squarely at Azend. 

As if his hand moved on it’s own accord it shot out of the bag and grabbed the coin seconds before it was going to hit Azend in the head. It now had a dark silver gauntlet on, tiny cracks marred it’s ornate surface.  Azend slowly raised his head smiling, his eyes had changed instead of green they were a light purple and his pupils were a milky white.

“Let’s see what your god chose for you.” Azend said slyly as he opened his gauntleted hand to reveal the tails side up. The common insignia of a pair of wings with a rose in the middle. Azend started to laugh hysterically, so deranged it didn't sound real. 

The coin was a game of chance one side carrying enough damage to obliterate even the strongest of men the other doing nothing at all. It had hit his hand heads side up, meaning he should have been hit with a force akin to a bundle of explosives detonating in his hand but he absorbed it all.

He tossed it back at Boughend and it hit his chest. Boughend looked down, tails side, nothing happened. He could barely process that, being completely dumbfounded by what he saw. 

“Now care for a demonstration?” Azend said as he ran over and punched Boughend with the gauntlet. 

It was almost like the sound lagged behind what Azend saw. He hit Boughend and for a split second everything was calm then a cracking explosion tore through the night sky, wind whipped his hair as he tried to stay on his feet. He couldn’t see Boughend any more, like he had vanished into the dark.

Azend was silent until the wind calmed and the equilibrium was reached then he cackled, piercingly high screams of joy left him as he looked at his prize. Then he abruptly stopped. He noticed the cracks on the gauntlet had grown slightly, one dangerously close to separating the thumb from the rest. This was a setback but not one so hard that a god couldn’t handle it. 

Chapter 1 

A hooded man walked through the gates of Lisz. As he walked into the busy semi circle that was Lisz’s entry courtyard he removed his hood revealing his bruised face, his pale skin blossomed with purplish blemishes. 

He looked around the courtyard. It was quiet at this point but still had Angae meandering about, their white feathered wings and flowing white attire reflecting the sunlight. The first five stories of the twenty story walls were open air gambling areas. Set up so two men could wager at each table whether it be cards or dice. There were at least twenty people there at any given time as per custom for their luck based society. 

The man found what he was looking for, another man slumped in a chair on the ground level looking extremely bored as he scanned the crowd. He was so far down on his seat he was practically falling off. 

The bruised man made his way through the crowd towards the other. As he made his way the sitting man locked eyes with him and sat up suddenly pulling his flowy clothes back in order. 

“Baldrin’s spear Ren! What happened to you?” The sitting man exclaimed as Ren sat next to him. 

“My last hit was powerful.” Ren sighed as he lightly brushed the bruise on his jaw and winced slightly. His partner leaned forward his face growing slightly darker.

“Lae sent me here to see how that went” he said seriously.

“Yeah i guessed that.” ren replied with a sigh.

“So?” the man pushed.

“How do you think Dalis?” Ren said gesturing to his face.

“So did he escape?” Dalis said his face darkening even more.

“No he’s dead but it didn’t go as planned and I don’t think I was quite unnoticed.” Ren replied.

“Well dead is all Lae cares about.” Dalis said as he sat back in his chair. Ren nodded and looked down. Lae cared about the killing but she wouldn’t like the fact that he had to go off protocol. He would get an earful for sure. 

“Well” Dalis said as he got up. “I guess I’ll report back to her, you can go play a round. You deserve it.”

Dalis walked away and Ren rested his head on the table. He was not in the mood to deal with Lae. he had his ass beat the night before and a tongue lashing was not the best thing to come home to after that. He was supposed to check in at the embassy after a hit was complete but he decided he would just skip it today, he had a decent reason right? 

As he lifted his head and stretched he suddenly locked eyes with someone else. He didn’t know how long she had been staring at him but she didn’t break eye contact with him. She was on the second floor right where the circle curved so they were almost in front of each other.

Her eyes caused a little spark of panic in Ren. they were a strange sickly purple with a completely white pupil. Was this some sort of cosmetic illusion magic? Ren thought, but why would someone choose such an unsettling look? 

Ren tried waving at her to no avail. She just sat there staring at him. Ren got up and started walking in the opposite direction, to the actual city and subsequently his house. Before he fully left the courtyard he looked back to see if the girl was still there. When he did, he saw an empty seat where she had been. That made him even more nervous.

Ren reached his home with little problem. He sighed as he stared at the front door. Here again, he thought as he turned the knob, things were starting to feel samey. He would go out and kill some no name for Lae then brush his hands off and sleep until he was needed again. 

As Ren stepped inside he threw his card holster on a small table in the hallway. The cards inside clattered with small metallic clinks as the sharpened edges shifted. Those cards were the only reason Ren was allowed the position he had. Each card was made of a thin metal plate carved with faces depicting what they could do. Everytime he went out for a mission they were randomly shuffled to preserve the random chance his peoples patron goddess, Reigh, demanded. Once they were thrown and hit some sort of surface their ability was released, in Ren’s case an iteration of the natural illusion magic inside him.

Ren slowly walked upstairs dragging his feet over each step and lightly poking at all his bruises, he was certain once he took off his clothes he would be a colorful mosaic of purples greens and yellows. He hurt everywhere

When Ren opened the door to his room he froze. His bedroom window had been smashed, pieces of glass sparkling on the wood floor. His dresser drawers and desk had all been rummaged through, papers littered the ground along with shirts and pants.

A hundred thoughts whirled through Ren’s head but one stuck out. The person who had come in through the window was still in the house, the window didn’t show any signs of tampering after the initial breaking and none of the windows in the house were broken, even the door had been locked when he came in but the detail that sealed it for Ren was his closet. It was shut and as a rule he never shut the sliding closet door.

Still in shock Ren slowly closed the door then sprang into action. He ran down the stairs made a hard right and flew into the hallway. He grabbed his cards and dashed back up the stairs

When he opened the door this time there was a woman standing right in the middle of the room, staring piercingly at Ren. she was the same woman he had seen at the courtyard. She had the same eyes that made Ren shiver. He slid the first card out of its case with a metallic swish and threw it into the room. It stuck in the wood in front of the woman's feet. She looked down, then back at Ren before an explosion of grey smoke filled the room and poured out into the entryway where Ren stood. He breathed in and dashed into the smoke. As he ran he pulled out his syr.

 Ren ran in a straight line to where she was and slammed full body into her sending both of them sprawling to the ground. As the smoke cleared Ren was on top of the woman one hand pinning her hand to the ground the other holding his Syr to her neck. 

“What in Skalith are you doing here?” Ren asked roughly. The woman began to chuckle softly 

“Who sent you? What do you want with me?” Ren said louder. In response the woman burst into laughter. Wild unhinged peals of laughter racked her body sounding more like screams to Ren. he sat dumbfounded for a moment before the woman quickly kneed him in the gut. The blow was strong enough to knock the wind out of Ren and stun him momentarily, long enough for the woman to grab the hand he had his syr in and push her thumb deep into the pressure point on his wrist. Her grip was like iron and made Ren yip in pain, dropping the Syr and instinctively bringing his other hand to his wrist. The hand he just released shot to the opposite side and grabbed the syr. She then pressed all her weight into the already off balance Ren causing him to fall to the side and her to roll on top of him. 

She continued to laugh as she looked down at Ren. he was struggling trying to get out but his legs were pinned. She grabbed Ren’s head and forced it to face hers. They stared into each other's eyes as she slowly raised the syr to her throat and pierced her carotid artery. She ripped the syr back out causing her blood to spray down on Ren’s face and clothes. 

She collapsed into Ren in a matter of seconds. He pushed her off of him and laid on the ground absolutely dumbfounded. His mind couldn’t process what just happened, it felt like some strange dream. 

Soon he noticed the large red stain on the side of his white coat. When he saw it only one thought popped up, Oh Lae is gonna kill me for this.  

Ren layed on the floor for a little while longer, mind rolling with questions. Who was the girl now dead on his floor? Why had she done any of this? 

He soon sighed, got up and left the room trying not to look at the pale face of the woman. He walked to the bathroom and cleaned the now tacky blood off his face then proceeded to the doorway, putting on a black jacket to cover the blood stain and left his apartment. His shoes clicked against the cobblestones as he speed walked toward his work building. 

“Hey! Ren, what’s up man?” a man said as he stopped in front of Ren. 

“Can’t talk now Yesish, got a dead girl in my bedroom.” Ren responded rushing around Yesish. As Ren walked away Yesish turned confusedly staring at his back. Ren paid him no mind as he set his eyes on the upcoming building.

It was a large imposing building, made of white marble it had intricate carvings inlaid with gold. Eyes of imposing Angae warriors flashed as you passed, their wings spread wide in poses of victory. This was the building of peacekeepers, a specialized sect of the Angae military meant to keep things in and around the capital Lisz. They were no secret even using tell tale hoods and long white cloaks inlaid with their vows written in gold cursive as trim. Ren was a glorified hitman for the organization taking out targets deemed too troublesome by the church or the people at large.     

Ren pressed through the double doors and made his way inside. There was a small room inside with a small box labeled “tips” meant for citizens to put in requests and potential whereabouts for targets. On the opposite side of the entrance there was another set of doors and in front of them was a bored looking man leaning on a spear. His head perked up as Ren entered and he smiled. 

“Ren you don’t look all too good, target give you a rough go?” he asked his smile growing bigger.

“That and then some, let’s just say I haven’t had the best few days.” Ren replied walking towards the set of doors. 

“Well let’s hope the next days flip the coin huh?” he said laughing as he stepped aside to let Ren through. 

“Riegh willing.” Ren sighed pushing through the doors. He heard the man chuckling as he walked into the empty hallway. Ren walked past the assignment room and the little makeshift kitchen turning right and stopping at the end of the hallway. He stood in front of a plain door with a plaque that read simply, Lae. He breathed in and turned the handle.

“Knock knock Lae.” Ren said as he stepped into the doorway. Lae looked up from her desk and stared at him brow furrowed. 

“Ah Ren come in, nice of you to join us.” Lae said expresion unmoving, voice monotone. 

“Yeah, about that, uh something happen-” Ren tried to say before lae interrupted him

“Hope the target didn’t give you too much trouble.” she said tapping a quill on the desk. 

“Well he did, but that’s not what I want to talk to you about.” Ren said quickly.

“Oh? Is that why you decided to not check in with us like your supposed to?” Lae asked brow furrowing deeper. 

“Uh well, I mean I wanted to rest but something urgent happened ma’am.” Ren squirmed feeling his face grow hot.

“Go on then.” Lae said relaxing.

“Well” Ren said breathing out his anxiety, he opened his coat revealing the bloody stain on his clothing. Lae’s eyes widened and she glanced up to him her eyes filled with confusion and worry.

“Ren, what the hell happened to you?” she asked slightly awed.

“Well I came back from my mission, which was successful by the way, and there was this creepy girl just staring at me, like I tried to interact but no nothing. Then when I came home she was hiding in my closet! So I tackle her and try to figure out what the hells going on when she gets on top of me she well, she killed herself giving me no information.”

Lae’s look of concern deepened as Ren continued talking. 

“This isn’t good, It’s way beyond your station here, even ours for the world’s sake. We’ll have to talk to our higher ups about this.” Her face hardened as she said that “Ren was there anything else you remember, details that stuck out to you?”

“Well” ren started before pausing and uncomfortably saying “her eyes they were an unnatural shade of purple and the pupil was white.” he fidgeted as he remembered them looking at him as she pressed the Syr into her flesh. “But I don’t understand” He said shrugging off the image “what did she want? If she wanted me or information she wouldn’t have done- that, she didn't even say a word to me.”

Lae stood up from her desk studying Ren’s face seriously “that’s just the thing ren she didn’t want anything” she said darkly, “This was a warning.”

[trihearts-bull-corner]

Prompt Challenge

So this is my writing prompt challenge. It is a very long list, and some of the quotes are very long. Every line is from my favorite author, Sherrilyn McQueen (previously known as Sherrilyn Kenyon). Quotes that inspire fluff, romance, and/or angst

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You have the optimism of a child. (Julian) Peter Pan all the way. (Grace)

Life isn't finding shelter in the storm. It's about learning to dance in the rain.

But as the Roman playwright Terence once wrote, From many a bad beginning great friendships have formed

I don't suffer from my insanity -- I enjoy every minute of it.

I marvel at the fact you’ve lived to your age and no one’s taken those rose-colored glasses and shoved them up your ass.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Oh contraire, mon frère. I’m able to annoy anyone in ten syllables or less. Sometimes, I don’t even have to speak at all. I just walk into the room and it rankles them.

It's easy to look at people and make quick judgments about them, their present and their past, but you'd be amazed at the pain and tears a single smile hides. What a person shows to the world is only one tiny facet of the iceberg hidden from sight. And more often then not, it's lined with cracks and scars that go all the way to the foundation of their soul.

You’re not done with me entirely, human. I’m the mother of his daughter. (CharacterA) You’re right. You are ____'s mother, poor her. But you’re wrong about one thing. (characterB) And that is? (CharacterA) I’m no longer human. I’m the Atlantie Kedemonia Theony – the guardian of the Atlantean gods. And right now there’s only one of them walking about and to save him from one more bad memory created by you, I’d bathe in your entrails, bitch. As for ___, she’s a big girl – I know, I used to live with her. She’ll survive the death of her mother. Trust me, I have firsthand experience with the subject. (characterB)

"How can anyone be afraid of love?" (CharacterA) "When you love someone... truly love them, friend or lover, you lay your heart open to them. You give them a part of yourself that you give to no one else, and you let them inside a part of you that only they can hurt—you literally hand them the razor with a map of where to cut deepest and most painfully on your heart and soul. And when they do strike, it's crippling—like having your heart carved out. It leaves you naked and exposed, wondering what you did to make them want to hurt you so badly when all you did was love them. What is so wrong with you that no one can keep faith with you? That no one can love you? To have it happen once is bad enough... but to have it repeated? Who in their right mind would not be terrified of that?" (characterB)

Aren't you an enigma wrapped in a thick coating of contradictions.

Sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right.

Do you want my input or is this just an angry tirade you need to vent? (CharacterA) Both! (characterB) Okay, you rant and I’ll add my comments at the end. (CharacterA)

We have three kinds of family. Those we are born to, those who are born to us, and those we let into our hearts

I assure you, princess, if you saw the real me, you’d run for cover. (CharacterA) Only if I knew you’d be waiting under that cover for me. (characterB)

"Oh God, I just kissed a vampire!" "Oh Gods, I just kissed a human!"

I have a computer, a vibrator, and pizza delivery. Why should I leave the house?

Bitch please...you haven't seen mean yet.

"____! I won’t leave you here to die." (CharacterA) It’s okay, princess. I don’t mind dying for you. (characterB)

Life is a tapestry woven by the decisions we make.

If brute force doesn't work, you aren't using enough

You know the incredible thing about hearts is their unbelievable capacity for forgiveness. You’d be amazed what people will overlook when they love someone

my balls if you crawl inside a bottle and pickle yourself solid. I’ve got other things to think about now. But let me remind you of something a good friend once said to me when I was being eaten alive by feelings I didn’t understand. ‘Even when my marriage was bad, it was good.’ I had no real idea what you meant that night, but now I do and I’m grateful to the gods I can finally believe in that I took a chance on something that almost killed me. The life I have now…no, the woman I have now is worth every rotten moment of my worthless existence that led me to her door, and I would relive it all to have one kiss from her lips. You’re the one who told me that the right woman was a shelter from the storm

I wasn't born, I was unleashed.

She couldn’t very well let him join her in bed like that. Sure you could. No I can’t. Please? Hush, self, let me think.

We almost made it to thirty seconds without an insult. I think we set a new record

Get off me, you lard-ass, halitosis, flea-infested horror-movie reject! 

I thought only a wooden stake through the heart killed a vampire. (CharacterA) A wooden stake through the heart will kill just about anything. And if it doesn't, run like hell (characterB)

You’re the only thing I’ve ever done right in my entire life and if anything ever happened to you, they’d have to dig two graves ‘cause I couldn’t live a single day without my baby beside me. (parent to child)

You know, I would date, if I could find a man worth shaving my legs for. 

C'mon, Tabitha. You stabbed me the night we met without even blinking. (CharacterA) Yeah, but you were a dirtbag then. (characterB) I think I'm offended. (CharacterA)

I learned a long time ago not to judge people by what they look like, sound like, or by the clothes they wear. Just because a house is nice and shiny out front doesn’t mean it’s not rotting on the inside.

you're right ___. I am a selfish bastard. I had to be, because no one else gave a single shit about me except me

I have found my star. She is beauty and grace. Elegance and goodness. My laughter in winter. She is courageous and strong. Bold and tempting. Unlike any other in all the universe, and I cannot touch her. I dare not even try

I’m here because I know the sadness inside you. I know what it feels like to wake in the morning, lost and lonely and aching for someone to be there with me

What are you doing? (CharacterA) I'm getting into my car. (characterB) You own this?! (CharacterA) No. I'm stealing it with the key in my hand. (characterB)

So, does this make you visibly challenged? (CharacterA) No, but if you don’t lay off me, I’m going to make you breathing impaired. (characterB)

I'm the top of the food chain and well...you're the food

___ says that tragedy and adversity are the stones we sharpen our swords against ao that we can fight new battles.

Sure. My ego's had enough time to recover a modicum of dignity. Let's make sure we crush it again before I mistake myself for a god

Human will is the strongest will ever created. There are those who are born to succeed and those who are determined to succeed. The former fall into it, and the latter pursue it at all costs. They won’t be denied. Nothing daunts them.

You know when people say fine, it generally means ‘leave me the hell alone because I don’t want to talk about what’s really bothering me

Baby, I ain't trash. Trash is something you throw away. My people keep me.

We're not the damned, folks, we're the categorically fucked. 

So is there any part of you that’s not a lethal weapon? (CharacterA) No. Even my wits are sharpened. (characterB)

The worst wounds, the deadliest of them, aren't the ones people see on the outside. They're the ones that make us bleed internally

The past is dead. Tomorrow will become whatever decision you make it.

Strength through adversity. The strongest steel is forged by the fires of hell. It is pounded and struck repeatedly before it’s plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make the metal pliable and able to withstand every battle it’s called upon to fight.

Love is deceitful and sublime. In its truest form, it brings out the best in all beings. At its worse, It's a tool used to manipulate and ruin any one who is stupid enough to hold it. Don't be stupid

Forgiveness is the best part of valor...Discretion is easy. It's finding the courage to forgive yourself and others that is hard

Even if I were lying on the sun itself, I would be freezing there without you

I learned the bad guys are not always bad, the good guys are not always good, and to quote Captain Barbossa, the parameters are like rules, mostly guidelines. And that it takes a little bit of bad boy to fight the evil in the world.

Laugh it up, asshole. But she who laughs last laughs longest, and I intend to belly roll tonight

I think infatuation is like a garden. If tended and cared for, it grows into love. If neglected or abused it dies. The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it's like to live without it.

What? It's not my fault I stab all the fanged people. They shouldn't look like vampires. (CharacterA) I didn't look like a vampire, but you stabbed me. (characterB) Yeah, well, you looked like a lawyer so I had to kill you. It was a moral imperative. (CharacterA)

Where are you anyway? (CharacterA) I don't know. I hear some godawful kind of music from outside, horns blaring, and I'm in a house with a Mohawk cuckoo bird, a transvestite, and a knife-wielding lunatic. (characterB) Why are you at ____'s? (CharacterA)

You’re selfish and you’re cold, and I’m tired of getting frostbite when I touch you

He who lets fear rule him, has fear for a master

Be kind to dragons, for thou art crunchy when toasted and taste good with ketchup

If you have any care for ____ at all, don't leave him in darkness. It's not fair to show someone the sun and then to banish him from it. Even the devil may cry when he looks around hell and realizes that he's there alone

Have you ever wanted something that you knew was bad for you? Something that you ached for so much you could think of nothing else?

Gee, thanks Dad. I promise to be a good boy and play nice with the other kids.(CharacterA) Smart ass. (characterB) Better than a dumb ass.(CharacterA)

I'm too young, too smart and too good-looking to die.

You're so afraid of being hurt that you attack first. Only those who really care about you will weather the assault of your verbal attacks and stay. The rest will fall away.

Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live

The most beautiful heart of all is the one that can still love even while it bleeds, and especially after its been broken into thousands of pieces.

Just how many sisters do you have? (CharacterA) Eight. (characterB) Eight? (CharacterA) What? (characterB) I'm just pitying whatever poor males lived in that house with all of you. It must have been truly frightening at least one week out of every month. (CharacterA) Was that a joke? (characterB) Merely a frightening statement of fact. (CharacterA)

There, there, baby. We'll hide her body in the trunk later.

Sorrow spares no one, and scars respect no person.

Yeah, it never fails to amaze me how a single lie can undo an entire lifetime of good

Is he a good boy? (CharacterA) No, Mom, he’s Satan incarnate. In fact, once it’s over, we’re going to get liquored up and tattooed, then find some cheap hos and have a good time with his trust fund. (characterB)

Oh no, no, no! Are you going to suck my blood? (CharacterA) Do I look like a lawyer to you? (characterB)

Hey, yummy leather guy? Can you hear me? 

Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss other people. Life's too short to worry about what other people do or don't do. Tend your own backyard, not theirs, because yours is the one you have to live in

It would have really cramped my future plans had I died. 

No power from above can make one human love another. Love comes from within the heart.

There are always three sides to every memory…yours, theirs, and the truth, which lies somewhere in between the two

You don’t knock on the devil’s door, boy, unless you want him to answer.

Take care of him, ____. And remember it takes great courage and heart for a man who knows no kindness to show it to another. Even the wildest of beasts can be tamed by a patient and gentle hand.

To infinity then. (CharacterA)  What’s that mean? (characterB) It’s something my dad used to say when I was a kid. To infinity, meaning you’d see something through to the end. (CharacterA) Infinity is never-ending. (CharacterB) That’s right, which means you keep going and going no matter what happens or what obstacles you meet. Over, under, around or through. There’s always a way. And if you have to chase something to infinity, strap on your big-boy pants, hiking boots, and go. (CharacterA)

Whoa, what is this? Battle of the Sarcastic and Pissed? Should I make popcorn? Forget American Idol, man. This is much more entertaining

Life is serious. (CharacterA)  No, life is an adventure. It's thrilling and scary. Sometimes it's even a bit boring, but it should never be serious. (characterB)

You can take my life, but you'll never break me. So bring me your worst… And I will definitely give you mine.

Just remember, anger is always your enemy. You must keep your emotions in check. The moment you lose control of them, you lose the fight every time.

It’s a responsibility that I take most seriously, so excuse me for banning you from killing them because you have reverse PMS. (CharacterA) Reverse PMS? (characterB) Yeah, unlike a normal woman, you’re cranky twenty-eight days out of the month. (CharacterA)

You are the only warmth in my heart. The only sunshine my winter has ever known

I wonder why no one called the police about the rocket launcher? God knows my neighbors usually report it if I so much as fart in my backyard.

I am a socially awkward mandork. 

What else can I do to piss you off? (CharacterA) You can leave me. (characterB) I would never do that, ____. No one can live without their heart and that’s what you are to me. (CharacterA)

What planet are you from? Obviously Planet Insanity was missing a local, long-term resident.'

Actions that sometimes seem mean aren’t. Rather they are done by the ones we love in order to protect us without our knowing it.

Knock, knock. (CharacterA) Now, ain't this a bitch. Here I am, trying to kiss my girl, and you have to interrupt us. What, were you raised in a barn? By the way, touch the woman, or the Lamborghini, and you're a dead man. (characterB)

The wealth of a soul is measured by how much it can feel... its poverty by how little

You’re human. No one cares if you sleep with a whore. (CharacterA) (characterB did something she’d never in her life done before. She slapped another person.) You ever insult ____ again and so help me, I’ll do to you what you allowed your brother to do to him. I’ll cut your tongue out for it. ____ is the man I love and no one, ever, takes issue with him without having issues with me. (characterB)

Your destiny is shaped by choice, never by chance. Beware the decisions you make, no matter how small, for they will be your salvation...or your death.

Wake up, ____. Your psychotic criminal is playing with knives.

I accept you as you are, and I will always hold you close in my heart. I will walk beside you forever

Words are easy to say, but emotions betray the best intentions.

Because I have no boobs. My ears stand out, and I have freckles all over me. (CharacterA) Boobs? (characterB) Breasts. (CharacterA) You have very nice breasts. (CharacterB) Thanks. What about you? (CharacterA) I have no breasts. (characterB)

I love you, I love you, I love you! And if you ever die on me again, I'll kill you so dead!

I'm old enough to make you look like an embryo. 

How did you get me here? (CharacterA)I have my evil Jedi ways. The Force is strong with this one. (characterB)

Have you ever noticed that salvation, much like your car keys, is usually found where and when you least expect it?

The man may not be dead, but he was certainly stiff. And this had nothing to do with rigor mortis

He was like some wild, untamed creature that you could keep and feed for a time, but in the end you knew you'd have to let it go for its own sake as well as yours

I will fear no evil for I am the baddest bitch in the land

Ironically no one ever wants to hear what I have to say about anything. They usually argue with me to the point I want to put them through a wall. Hopefully you won’t be so dense

So you're the infamous ____. (CharacterA) Lord and Master of the great barbarian horde that roams the night. (characterB)

No one should have to pay for love in flesh or blood. 

Should I ask about the handcuffs? (CharacterA) Not unless you want to live...otherwise if anyone asks, tell them I died of a heart attack during a wild sexcapade with her. (characterB)

A flower can't grow without rain. (CharacterA) Too much rain and it drowns. (characterB) And yet the most beautiful of the lotus flowers are the ones that grow in the deepest mud. (CharacterA)

I’ve spent my entire life listening to people tell me why I can’t be loved and how I’m nothing but a worthless piece of shit. I always told myself that I didn’t care, that I didn’t need anyone else. It was a lie, you know. I do care and I want ____. If it costs me my life to be with her, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already lived past my prime, anyway. I get up every morning with more pain in my joints than the day before. If I have to die, I’d rather die knowing someone cared about me, just once. Is that really too much to ask? (CharacterA) For us? Yes. It is. We are the gutter and the gutter is all we’ll ever be. Don’t reach out for the stars. They’ll burn you until there’s nothing left. (characterB) Then let me burn. (CharacterA)

Should I warm the oven and bake you a batch of hero cookies? 

I don’t even know what to say to you. (CharacterA) Me, either. I guess we’ll just stand here and cry at each other, huh? (characterB)

Everyone cries sometimes, ____. There are some pains that run too deep for even the strongest to take without breaking. I don’t think any less of you for it.

Please nothing, she’s a vicious piranha. She looks all cute and cuddly, then she opens that mouth and lets loose so much venom she could double as a nest of scorpions

Don't worry, ___. I'm an acquired taste. Most of my best friends had to know me for years before they could even stand my presence. I'm like mold, I usually grow on you very slowly

You know, I've walked this earth for over eleven thousand years, my lady. I have seen things in my life that are unimaginable to you, and you ask me if I doubt you? Lady, I doubt the very air you breathe

(CharacterA) "You are naked."......"You are so naked" (characterB) - "I know" (CharacterA) "You are naked!" (characterB)  "We've established that." (CharacterA) "You're happy and naked." (characterB)"What?

Please don’t let it be another cop. I’m outta bail money. Wait a minute…I could sell you on eBay and make a killing. (CharacterA) Not in my current condition. You’d have to sell ___ or ____. I’m sure there’s someone willing to buy two perfectly good white boys. (characterB)

Hey!" (CharacterA) snapped as he realized (CharacterB) was about to lock him on the outside with their attackers. He pushed the door open and glared at him. "No man left behind." (characterB) scoffed. "This aint' the army, boy. It's every man for himself. Fall behind. Get eaten!"

I marvel at the fact you’ve lived to your age and no one’s taken those rose-colored glasses and shoved them up your ass.

Because I don’t feel broken when you look at me. (CharacterA) How could you feel broken? (characterB) I was shattered as a child and thrown away, like a piece of trash no on wanted. But you don’t treat me like that. You see in me the human bit and you touch that part of me. You make me feel whole and wanted. (CharacterA)

Fate is a bitch with a wicked since of humor and today I'm her punchline

If you're going to hell buddy, I'm driving the bus

I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six

If I am to be judged it will be for who I am. Not for who I'm trying to become

I will count the heartbeats until I see you again

It's official take a psycho to work day. Why else would I be here?

The bitterest pain of all is when you can only hold someone in your heart who you used to hold in your arms

Pain baptizes us all without prejudice or mercy

Whatever doesn't kill me better run like hell

True love will always find it's way through paths where even feral lorinas fear to prey

So goes my incentive to fight fairly. You want fair, play with kids. You wanna come at me, make out a will.

People who don't know me, think I'm quiet. People who do, wish I was.

Shall I show you to the door... Or would you rather go out through the wall?

Before you rattle my cage, you'd best make sure I'm padlocked in it

There are two ways out of this room. The window behind you and the door behind me..... You might survive the window.

Everyday do one thing that scares you. Or one thing that scares other people

The truth spills as quickly from furious lips as a lie. The trick is to learn which is meant to wound and which is meant to enlighten.

We all have out burdens... Just some of us have the ones that strike to kill us vindictively

If you want to see exactly how angry someone can get, tell them to calm down when they're already pissed off!

Don't be afraid to love. Yes its a weakness, but it's a source of greatest strength you'll ever know.

Because you are taking the most important parts of me with you, ___..... My heart and my soul. You are not just my wife. You are what sustains me.

Talk is cheap. Pain is free and I'm peddling the shit out of it. So you come and get some.

Why be difficult when with a little bit of effort you can be impossible

The lies we tell ourselves to survive seldom bring peace to our hearts

Destruction is good for my soul, but it sucks to be you

Family isn't perfect, just perfectly ours

[courtorderedcake]

Riptide 7/13 CSBB

@captainswanbigbang & @captxinswans present:

RIPTIDE by @courtorderedcake Beta’d by the wonderful @ultraluckycatnd

An Enchanted Forest AU where the dark one was never released into the world in a vessel, thus causing a massive shift in timelines. The ogre wars have ravaged kingdoms, untold destruction spanning continents, rulers displaced. Even as the wars sputter to ash, the safest place to be is at sea, and that’s not very safe at all - as Emma and Killian find out, fates intertwined against all odds.

Rated: E/X - heavy content : warnings of assault, rape, noncon, just everything, I feel like the rating says enough. It’s something.

WARNING: READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Read on Ao3 HERE .

Chapter IX : Shell & Bone

I can be quick and then I'm deadly,

I am a rock, shell and bone medley.

If I was made into a man, I'd make people dream,

I gather in my millions by ocean, sea and stream. 

What am I? Sand of course, dear one

- Unknown

 Emma woke next to a sudden jostle, Killian tensing above her and words, laughing words that weren’t his. The fuzzy bits of sleep fading, she could hear Killian’s voice now loud above her. “Don’t you dare touch her. I’ll kill every one of you if you touch her -”

Emma’s eyes shot open as Killian’s body was pulled away from her and the warmth of his embrace was gone. Two men were pulling him away, his hand reaching for hers across the floor.

“No!” Emma reached for him, pulling his hand into hers, fighting and kicking the other man who stepped into the space to grab her. “Killian, Killian! Let me go, let me go!” Wailing and reaching for him, his body was pulled behind hers to keep him moving.

“Ain’t it sweet? Keep struggling and I’ll give you a chance to hold your baby.” The man holding her pulled her hair, and she yelped, his other hand squeezing her windpipe.

“Emma, you have to stop struggling love, you’re going to hurt yourself. It’s going to be alright.”

They were both pulled on the wet deck with rain still falling heavily, chilling her again. James stood looking over the docks in front of them as Emma was thrown down, Killian over her protectively a moment later.

“I’ve made two decisions, for the sake of my dear little sister and her unborn.” James smirked down at them as Killian gathered her shaking body close to his. “The first is that you get to say goodbye to your beloved before he hangs. I do follow Navy protocol, after all, so you can say goodbye here and as he hangs.” Emma sobbed into Killian’s chest, both of them holding each other tightly. “And I’ve arranged for you to be delivered to a beautiful holding cell to wait for your bastard to be born. Then off you go to whatever fate I decide, and your bastard goes to a nice home.”

“You will not take my child -”

“See, the thing is dear sister, you’re not exactly in the position to make demands. Or to be a mother,” James sneered. “Now say your goodbyes.”

“Emma, I love you. Look at me love,” Killian kissed her, wiping tears away from her face in earnest. “You have to keep our child, beg them, do whatever you can. Do you understand? Don’t you dare give up, Emma -”

“I won’t but you have to fight them too, please, I know you can figure a way out of this. We have survived everything, everything, Killian. You have to see your child. He can’t grow up without you.”

Killian opened his mouth to say something more, but was stopped by James waving a hand to pull Emma from him, his fingers holding hers until the last second. “I love you, Emma.” She continued reaching for him, and he pulled against the two men holding him, continuing to try and touch her fingers.

James laughed, his continued laughter eventually drowning out Emma’s pleading.

The day he was led out to be hung was exactly ten days after his capture. He’d counted, scratching long groves into the wall of his cell with a spoon, sharpening it to carve Emma’s name and his into the wooden door frame along with a small picture of a swan. Tracing it kept him sane when he imagined he heard her cries or a phantom squall of a baby somewhere in the evenings, his body unwilling to rest.

Off of the coast of King George’s miserable land, Korumpiran, lay the island he sat in now. It was unnamed, just referred to by people who knew what lay on its rocky face as ‘Prisoner’s Keep’. Emma was somewhere in the compound, it was where people the Navy wanted to parade out with pomp to a gaggle of noble watchers were held.

Hanging was a sport, and it needed spectators.

James was in high spirits when they came to fetch him, dressed in his full regalia and grinning. As they climbed the stairs to the deck of the gallows, he whispered gleefully, “Today’s the day!”

Killian grunted.

James’s boots were a shining dark black in the noon sun, in stark contrast with the washed-out boards. As his death necklace was hung around his neck, Killian whispered goodbyes to those who would never hear them. His crew, his few friends, his child, saving the last for Emma.

James stood next to him, no executioner’s cowl to mask his glee. “Do you know what the best part of this is going to be?” James’s eyes glittered with excitement as he whispered, “My deal with you ends when you expire. You’ll have your whore and child with you in hell soon enough!” James laughed, pointing out into the crowd where several naval officers flanked Emma’s body. 

Killian struggled in his bonds, trying to get off the stage to her in blind panic. Their audience whispered in confusion as she cried hysterically. James tried to redraw the crowd’s attention, not to be outdone. “I hereby judge the pirate known as Captain Hook as guilty of crimes against the crown...” A wail went up in the crowd, pained as a naval officer started yelling, “...desertion of the Navy, Piracy...” A low moan soon followed, and one of the naval officers ran back into the base, eyes wide. The crowd began to turn and soon, the original crowd was turning towards low keening cries. 

The hair on Killian’s neck stood. 

Navy officers yelled, and James became angry. “...and stealing a ship from HIs Majesty’s fleet. The punishment shall be death, by hanging. Any last words?” James removed the rag he had stuffed in Killian’s mouth. 

“Emma, my wife, please tell me she’s alright. She’s pregnant and I can’t see -” Shouting at the crowd, he struggled, and several women covered their mouths in horror. 

It was taboo for any wife to be present for a hanging, as the gentry were prone to swooning. A pregnant woman being forced to stand privy to an act of such violence was beyond cruel, practically sacrilege, and put both her and child at risk. A scream tore through the crowd, and he could see Emma on her back, naval officers holding her as one came back with a cloth. Her mouth was a tight lined grimace. The crowd was booing the hanging now in favor of the poor woman who seemed to be having stress complications. Killian was barely aware of anything else except trying to see what was happening. Officers ran on the platform to help James hold Killian as he fought to get to Emma with every fiber of his being.

Fists landed blows on his face and a boot connected with his ribs until he knelt, bleeding on the platform’s drop door, the first real prayers to any God who’d listen running through his mind. He heard James pull the lever, and closed his eyes, unable to stand the nightmare any longer. The door below him gave way and he fell, time slowing as he heard James yell in fury. Killian’s knees connected with packed ground. The rope had snapped, cut through almost completely.

Killian’s body registered its living state before his brain, scrambling to move as James shouted orders. His blood beat in his ears to the sound of her name, every part of him trying to protect both his child and his wife. A guard caught his arm half way and shoved him, a strange movement that was neither defensive or offensive. Sprawling forward, he noticed a heavy weight in his coat pocket. Reaching in and touching cold metal, he looked up to watch the guards surround Emma and understood.

James shouted more commands as Killian pulled his hook out of his pocket, taking it in his good hand awkwardly without his brace. A few paces ahead of him, he saw Ruby adjust her stolen Naval uniform, sending a signal to however many others had infiltrated, and he realized that the ever clever crew of The Gilded Wing had each put a swan patch under their shoulder stripe.

Killian slashed through an officer with slight difficulty, continuing towards Emma as he watched the infiltrators from The Gilded Wing shed their disguises. Two guards with a swan patch held Emma's hands, kneeling as the crowd surrounding them began to realize that they were caught in the beginning of a blood bath. Men started to scream as Merida, Ruby, Rory, Phillip, Graham, Fa, Regina, Robin, Z, and others he didn’t know began to carve through them.

Finally reaching Emma, he felt life return in full color. Wearing a ridiculous full satin gown, even in labor on dusty cobblestone she took his breath away. He rubbed blood from his face and ignored what was most likely a broken rib. Snow looked at his dumbstruck face with a small knowing smile, as Emma and Belle beamed up at him. He knelt by her side, or more truthfully, dropped to his knees.

“Emma are you? Please tell me you're alright. Seven Hells and the damned -” His wheezing questions were answered with a soft kiss as her hand threaded through the hair at the nape of his neck. She pulled away, motioning a hand to the bodice of her dress and bringing him back to the peril of their situation.

“We're fine. Help me get out of this damned thing before we all wind up dead, because that would be depriving a nice end to my dashing rescue of you. Oh, and take off your shirt.” Emma reached below her skirts and pulled out his extra brace, a cutlass, and her preferred scimitar. He pulled off his coat and shirt as she and Snow struggled to get her out of the gown. Belle stood guard, easily dropping men with a crossbow.

“You know, there's a thousand other ways to get us both naked love,” he grinned. He put on his brace with ease, relishing in the feel of the soft leather and the plush embrace of the fitting for his hook. Snapping buckles tight, he clicked in his hook. With a flourish he ripped the gown, revealing her breeches and tunic below. “When we get back, I'll show you a few of the ways I thought of on the gallows.”

“Gallows humor. That's appropriate,” Snow smirked, as he shrugged his shirt and coat back on. Helping Emma stand, he embraced her tightly.

“I love you, Emma. We'll talk about how mad I am that you are here later,” he whispered into her hair. “If I told you to stay out of trouble you'd never listen, but please be careful.”

Emma smirked, looking up at him. “I'll do my best, Killian.”

Another round of shouts began as another James appeared from the nearby doorway, screaming that the man on the gallows stand was an imposter, a wizard from the Far East.

Anyone from The Gilded Wing would recognize the slightly darker tanned skin, or the top of his ring finger missing on his right hand. But dressed in a captain’s uniform, the Navy became more confused. James sputtered on the gallows stand about his twin brother, while David shouted back towards the crowd. The Gilded Wing members took advantage of the chaos, attacking without mercy.

“Welcome to the party, Hook,” Belle said as she stood, joining the fray with Snow just behind, pulling a bow with quiver from her pant legs.

Killian kissed Emma one more time as they began making their way towards James.

Emma slashed through men easily, avoiding attacks as Killian moved faster, slicing with both hook and sword. Gunpowder filled the air as blood spilt; dying shouts heard over the smell of fire shot from Regina's hands. Robin, Belle, and Snow had taken high perches, shooting targets with keen accuracy. Men ran to get to safety.

Killian reached the platform first, and James backed away as he approached. Parrying back and forth, Killian was surprised that such a coward was actually an adept swordsman. A well aimed kick from James landed squarely in his broken ribs, the crunch and pain throwing him back on his elbows letting out a strangled cry. James raised his weapon high, the sword shining in its cruel metallic glory. Killian turned to Emma and watched her, unwilling to spend his last moments watching James’s sadistic snarl.

A shot rang out, James stepping back and looking at his stomach in surprise. Killian took no chances, digging his hook deep into James’s neck, ripping his face apart in a clean motion. Killian heard the bastard gurgle but threw him down, unwilling to give him any more attention. Looking up, Charming nodded to him over the smoking barrel of a pistol, a calm ripple of understanding coming between the two.

It was done. Men ran in all directions, fires started in several places along the keep, and cannons sounding from what sounded like several ships. Glancing at the smoke drifting off of the towers, he would swear he was hallucinating. Two dragons circled, one dark, massive, and sleek, the other a soft pearl color with somehow more delicate features. They were stunning in their fierceness.

The island was in ruins as nobles cowered, fleeing to ships that sped away from the rubble.

“Killian?” Emma called through the smoke, and he stumbled off of the deck into her embrace. She smiled and let him lean into her body, face pressed against her neck as he took a breath. “You’re heavy. As much as I -”

Rough hands pulled him aside, helping him stand fully. Charming stood next to him, propping him up. He grunted, growling out lowly, “You have legs, lean on someone who isn’t pregnant.”

Killian could feel his ribs throb as they walked along the cobbled path, Charming under his arm letting him lean and Emma by his side trying to keep him talking. His lungs burned, and he was painfully aware that breathing was becoming harder. “How did you manage this?” he coughed, and Emma looked at her brother, then away quickly.

“Will is alive. Belle took him back to The Gilded Wing, and they caught the Jolly on its way here to save us. Regina popped into my cell, letting me know the plan and helped me smuggle the things we needed. Hey, hey. I need you to stay awake.”

“And you tamed dragons in your cell?” Blinking groggily, he shook himself further awake, not realizing his drooping eyelids as his lungs tightened.

“That’s… That’s actually Z, and his, um… Friend? or Lover, I guess?” Emma said unsurely, glancing at David. 

“Mal, the blonde woman, new to The Gilded Wing’s crew. Old friend of Regina’s, and a powerful sorceress. Transformed Zorro, your Z, into a dragon for revenge and the spell accidentally hit them both. They can change forms when they’re around each other,” David grumbled.

“You know I think you’re magnificent, Emma. Did you manage a Kraken too?” Emma laughed, moving closer into his side. “Don’t laugh, love. I’m trying to share a moment with you while staving off choking. And you, my dear brother-in-law racing to save me. Now that I wouldn’t have bet on.”

“Never call me that again. Could you focus?” Charming gritted out. “If you died, I’d never hear the end of it from Emma or Snow. And,” he mumbled under his breath, “I cannot be left alone with Scarlet or Robin, who would join you in hell. I can’t be killing crew. That’s, what do you say? Ah, yes. Bad form.”

“Dave, you truly do care,” Killian groaned when Emma gently prodded him gently in the ribs, shooting him a look, but Charming actually gave a forced smile.

“Don’t make me stab you when you have cheated death thrice today, to my sister’s delight.” As they approached the Jolly in full glory next to The Gilded Wing, they were met by a crowd of crew members, Graham taking over for Charming. Before he was completely pulled away, Charming slid an elbow right into where he ached, hard enough to bruise but not to cause any more actual damage. Killian sucked in as much air as he could get through his teeth, trying not to vomit. “And never call me Dave ever again either.”

Emma helped him settle into their bed, helping to ease him down and help make something comfortable for both of them. She’d washed his face, and taken off his bloody clothing, soft touches that reminded him her finger was painfully bare of his ring. Before he could say anything, Regina had come by for more healing and a round of her truly noxious potions made to induce bones to knit together with the added bonus of making a grown man fall back into the mindset of a whiny child.

His lucidity began to fray, and Emma lay next to him quietly, looking over their handiwork on his battered body. “You’re starting to get a little bit magic sloshed. I can see it in your eyes,” Emma giggled. “You always look so intense before you let go and get lost in things.” She reached for his hand, surprised when he moved to kiss her, searching her eyes as they broke away,

“You shouldn’t have been there. If you had been hurt, Emma, I can’t... I couldn’t even watch you pretend to suffer because I thought...” His voice caught, and she held his hand tighter. “No more. Stay off your feet. I know you’ve been hiding how exhausted you are, and I’m worried for you love. I’m worried for our child.”

 “I’m ok, I promise,” she lied, and adjusted herself. Wincing, she did not sell her lie. 

“No. You’re not.” 

“Killian, I -” 

“When was the last time you ate and really rested? You were in a cell, probably not much nicer than my own. And your wound? See to it you actually get it cleaned, love,” he sighed, gathering her into his arms. “Of course.” He nuzzled into her neck, his words slurring softly as the potion helped mend his broken bones. “You could just rest with me. Help me get better. Stop me from worrying about the dragon we unintentionally signed on as crew.”

“Of course,” she whispered against his chest, as close as she dared with his broken ribs snug under bandages. “Captain's orders, hm?”

“Quite right.” he sighed.

The sky was a sickly green as rain drizzled over the Jolly, the clouds casting strange shadows through the windows in the Captain’s quarters. Emma still felt uncomfortable on her ship, rather spending her time watching Killian heal and helping out on the Jolly. Her main tasks were easy to fall into, and she enjoyed laying in his arms as his wife.

Married life suited her, although Killian’s boredom did not. He entertained himself by wrapping yarn around his hook as Maggie had taught him as lumpy blankets as soft as clouds littered their bed. He also read, and occasionally sketched her changing form with rapt fascination. She'd begun to truly show, her body suddenly ballooning everywhere as her sickness was replaced by unending hunger.

Killian still not only assured her that she was beautiful, but made it very clear that he enjoyed every bit of what he saw. Every time she left him in the mornings he’d groan, sleepily begging her to stay; either trying to ply her with his words… or other things. “You could lie here with me all day,” his voice said with a low, husky rumble. He stretched his arms around her as she sat on the edge of their bed, and she heard the hiss of pain, even as he tried to hide it. “I’d show you how well I’m healing by licking every inch of you -”

“Killian!” she laughed, as he kissed her neck. “While that’s tempting, and it is oh so very tempting, the ledgers need to be balanced to account for repairs, stock needs to be counted, and you need to rest -” “Do the ledgers here, and I promise I’ll rest,” he nibbled her earlobe and she let out a gasp. “After I taste you. You don’t understand how beautiful you look, Emma.” She pulled away from him, and his face fell.

“Mmmhm, well, we can discuss this more when I bring you lunch.” His face brightened and he licked his lips. “With Mal, for another bout of healing.” He flopped back, with a wheeze, groaning. Emma stood, bending to kiss him, and made her way to the door. “I will do the ledgers here though, to ease your suffering.” 

She heard his hum of approval as she walked to the deck. He was healing nicely luckily, and would be better in a matter of days. Emma was grateful to have Regina and this newcomer, Mal, around to work healing magic, even if it wasn’t as powerful as her own. His ribs had set which was a great comfort to Emma. She had been worried with them sleeping together that she’d hurt him somehow. Regina had even suggested he could be on deck but not working as early as the next day, but Emma hadn’t told him in case they were wrong.

It was cool, the rain picking up as Emma stepped on the deck and took in a deep breath. Walking to the railing, she looked over the waves, peering behind them where the Gilded Wing followed. A hand automatically rested on top of her stomach. The child was quiet today to boot, and would be until after breakfast. Although her sickness was blessedly gone, she’d noticed how easily she got winded or tired while working. She’d learned some ways around it; eating a good breakfast, snacking, breaks to sit down, drinking water, and other small tricks. The fresh air was another trick, the sea breeze felt good in her lungs.

Will stepped over to her, handing her a bowl of sweet rice and dried fruit. “Good morning. How’s Jones?”

“A few more days. Unless he does something stupid.” Tipping her bowl, she swallowed greedily. Every meal felt like she hadn’t eaten in days. “What still needs to be done this morning?”

“Jefferson says there’s a storm about to roll in, so we need to tie off some barrels, and move some crates.” He ticked off his fingers, while she continued eating. “There’s some damage to the sails that need to be tied off, and a little damage to the rigging. I think we should be storm ready after that.”

Emma nodded, finishing her meal. “Let’s start.”

They worked tirelessly as a unit as lightning crackled close by and a boom of thunder echoed only slightly to the west. The rain began to pummel them, and Emma started to shiver; her fingers going numb as she tied things off. A tickle ran across her back, and she looked up to see a loose rope dangling. She pulled gently to tie it off on a stable weight. It wouldn’t give so she pulled harder, letting her muscles strain as the wind whipped. She let go, dizzy and winded, her body protesting even standing.

Internally, she began to panic. She hadn’t been working that long, but she was exhausted already? This couldn’t be, and she wouldn’t accept it. She’d push through.

Smee looked at her in concern. “Miss Emma, are you alright?” She nodded and reached for the rope again, numb fingers gripping to pull even harder. This time it gave and she tied it off triumphantly, panting to catch her breath.

She realized something was wrong before she saw black creeping towards the edge of her vision. Turning to stumble towards Smee, she heard his surprised question before darkness took her.

When she blinked her eyes open again, she was laying bundled under far too many blankets by candle light, a cloudless night sky laid outside the open windows wherever they were harbored. Killian sat beside her, gently stroking her hair as he read. She went to ask him what happened, but could only rasp out a questioning noise before coughing.

“Well, my darling, you’ve gotten yourself sick and pushed yourself to fainting, per Regina. She sends her regards, with strict instructions for both of us,” he whispered. Killian smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Emma groaned. “If that’s your apology for scaring us all half to death, it needs some work.”

She coughed, trying to clear her voice. “Sorry.”

“Emma…” A look of concern and tired frustration crossed over his face. “Regina and I talked, and you shouldn’t be doing anything but light labor, if that. We’re concerned for you.”

Emma scoffed, her eyes narrowing. “No, I need to work. I’m not weak -” “No one thinks you’re weak. You’re building life, the farthest thing from it - but this was a close call.”

“I just fainted. It’s not -” Killian’s hand balled into a fist, and he interrupted her, his voice quiet, but filled with worry and anger.

“You were bleeding.” His jaw ticked, and Emma immediately felt her heart sink as she rubbed where she could feel the baby resting, stretched along her entire frame. 

“I was…?” Emma saw him soften, and he took her hand. “The baby is alright though, right? Killian, I didn’t mean to -” 

“Z carried you in, and somehow got Mal and Regina over here almost immediately. He’d noticed you were bleeding after he picked you up.” He sighed. “Regina said you just strained yourself, and you needed to rest. You need to rest. She thinks… She thinks something might be wrong, and we should get a midwife.”

Emma’s heart froze, panic rising in her tone. “Why would she think that? There’s nothing wrong with him, the baby. You’ve read everything, we’re fine. We’d know if something wasn’t right, wouldn’t we?” 

He rubbed her hand, kissing the knuckles he'd just traced. “It’s alright. She just said she was worried. The baby is rather big and your symptoms and swelling have been really severe, that’s all. A midwife is not a bad idea. We should find one just to be safe. There’s one she recommends that is available a few months from now, and another available in a month or so. How about we try the one available sooner and see what she thinks?” 

Emma nodded, tracing where she could feel the slightest movements. “Better safe than sorry. I’ll stay on light duty.”

“Good. Never a dull moment around here.” He smiled at her adoringly. “One of us is always down, it seems.”

“Oh, how are you? Did they -”

“I have been told I’m fine besides light bruising.” He laid next to her, putting his book aside. “Which is truly too bad, I had planned to keep you totally and completely enthralled during our bed stay together.”

She laughed, which turned into coughing. “Ugh. I really did get sick.”

“Aye. You were ice cold. I wrapped you in every blanket in here. I thought…” She stopped him with a kiss, pulling him close.

“I’m not going to leave you, I promise. I learned my lesson this time, and I’ll take it slow.” Burying herself in his chest, she could hear his heart race. Emma closed her eyes, letting her entire body relax into his, feeling his warmth through her blankets.

“I love you, even when you’re a stubborn woman intent on shortening my life with fear.”

She yawned, feeling another round of exhaustion settle over her. “You love it.”

“Indeed, Emma, I do.”

[pernatius]

Lost in Space Part 11: Ch 1

Summary: Finally, on Commander Knox's spaceship, the trio finds themselves running out of time before the commander becomes an all too powerful Watcher. 

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From the floor to the ceiling, a blue see-through wall about as thick as my ring finger’s length separates and shields us from Ashley’s blasts. Saamuki is standing between Shiitakee and me with her arms raised, keeping this wall from crumbling, but we can’t rely on her forever. To keep us separated from our semi-robotic foe means straining herself. Sure she’s gotten better at controlling her borrowed powers with each time she’s had to use it, but that doesn’t mean she’s not without limits. She’s mortal, just like anyone else here. It’s only a matter of time before she collapses.

Through two tiny slivers between either metal wall sandwiching us, Shiitakee and I are shooting at Ashley. She merely swats away the blasts. White sparks hit one of her metal arms. They splash across the silvery material, grind against it, and eventually, most specs bounce off and pierce through the metal walls surrounding her. A few bounce off and slice into her skin. Before a single inch of her blood can drip down from the cuts, her nanites quickly heal them. 

“So much for stealth,” he commented. 

“I brought you with us for a reason.”

“I’m not the best under pressure.”

“Thanks for only mentioning that now.”

“You’re welcome.”

She grunts. That blast was much stronger than the ones before, which caused everything around us to shake. Her arms shook. “Syco wanted your head. Explain that instance.”

“I need to concentrate. If I feel too stressed I may release a much deadlier gas than that red one. If those two weren’t Tauvoxes they would be dead. My black gas will most likely kill all three of you even with your nanites and blue powers.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but I interrupt her. “Saamuki, let me through. I’ll deal with Ashley.”

The two of them looked at each other then turned to me. It’s Saamuki that speaks out their concern, “Are you sure?”

“No matter how much I’d rather not be in this situation, I have to accept I’m our only option right now. Besides, I just have to buy enough time for Shiitakee.” I look at the lean mushroom with a grimace. I’m not mad at him. I’m angry at myself for wanting to run away. I’m irate that I lied to both of them, two people who have been by my side for far too long, because they’ve genuinely cared about me, at least for the most part, as I’m unable to accept that I need to face her now. So many times, I’ve nearly died. So many times, I wanted to give up. I kept going because of her, but now I can’t go forward because of her. 

Two hands are placed on either of my shoulders. I flinch from Saamuki and Shiitakee’s touch. This time it’s Shiitakee, that’s the first one to talk. “Syco’s mistake was that he believed it was him against the universe. I suppose that’s the fault of being raised by the most egocentric man in the known universe.” He grins before continuing with, “He thought he had nobody even though he has everybody. Well, almost everybody.” 

Using both hands, Ashley sends a massive blast our way, which causes Saamuki’s wall to abruptly fade. She lets go of me and quickly reforms it before we actually take a hit. “Shiitakee, speed up your speech before it becomes an obituary.” 

“You’re better than him. You know you are, but don’t let yourself make the same mistake he did. Honestly, if he moved on from his predecessor sooner he could’ve taken control of the universe, or at least a good fourth of it.”

Placing my hand on his, I softly say, “Thank you.” I grip my blaster tighter and let go of him. A shortsword is now manifested in that hand. Looking at Saamuki I regard her, “You’ve helped me since the beginning.”

“We’ve helped each other since the beginning, but she’s helped you far longer. Go to her. She needs your help again, but you’re not going to face her alone.”

“I never was alone. Let’s help her together.”

I step out of the opening. The shield reforms soon after, and the battle taking place far beyond these cold, metal walls return to my hearing. I was too focused on her trying to annihilate us, and now since that has taken a brief pause, I can listen to the world around us. The ship feels bigger. We’ve become smaller. On the other side, many are still shouting and blasting at each other. Explosions cause this vessel to rumble. Killings continue on even as the world around me comes to a halt. Imagining the gorefest pisses me off even when they include Knox’s side. 

My red-headed opponent stands stiff and eyes me down. She notes my weapons. One of her guns shifts into a sword. “I know you’re somewhere deep down in there, Ashley. I know you can hear me. Believe me, this isn’t the reunion I wanted, but in order to save you I have to defeat you.”

Ashley sprints towards me, but it’s wonky. Clunky? But she looked like one big, red blur, one that shoved me against Saamuki’s wall. My back is slammed against it. I grunt, but I’m able to deflect her incoming blade with my sword. Her weapon’s tip pierced the floor. If I slipped up, she would’ve cut me into two. As she tries getting it out, she raises her blaster towards my face. I move away, but she gets her blade out of the floor and swings it at me. I block it again, but I don’t have enough time to defend myself from her second shot. I brace myself for the impact and hope my nanites protect me from the incoming pain. That never comes because a small, blue shield appears between us. Saamuki saved my life again. I mouth my thanks to her. 

My mind-controlled wife then changes her blaster into another sword. She now has two blades, and the new one goes right for the shield. The shield vanishes as I sweep at her legs. Ashley stumbles back, and I elbow her before she can regain her footing. I think I elbow her a little too hard because blood has smeared across one of the corners of her lips. She ignores this and sprints towards me again. I shoot her, and she dodges each blast. 

Something speaks to me, a voice I’m unable to pinpoint. Sword pulled back, I concentrated more fire on surrounding its blade. Its blade grows as I do, but I don’t feel the weight change. Still, I can feel the power shift. When she’s close enough, I swing. My sword collides with only one of her blades. Its flames begin to consume hers.

We fight for dominance. Our sharpened metals moan from the stress. Hers cracks, but it slides across my sword. It would have decapitated me if I hadn’t adjusted mine in time. Speaking of close calls, the other blade was a mere second from stabbing my guts if it weren’t for Saamuki once again. I was relieved one moment, but the next, I face horror when that second blade goes right through my defense and into me. I hold myself from spitting out blood, but I can’t keep myself standing. 

Maybe it’s the dizziness. I’m losing too much blood, but I think I see Ashley’s eyes water. Even so, she buries the blade again into me and begins to slice me in half. I try to pry it off of me. It cuts into my palms. I screamed. The pain and her greater strength hindered me from being successful.

A large shield comes zooming towards her. She pulls out the blade inside me and uses both of them to slice through the blue wall, but soon multiple come her way. Ashley can cut through most, but she’s not quick enough to do the same for some. They slam into her, pushing her across the hallway. 

Saamuki rushes past me, towards her, and onto several small, square, and blue platforms. She continues towards her from above, and once more does she rain down those thick shields onto Ashley. Turning behind me, I see Shiitakee running towards me. He inspects my injury once he’s in front of me. Of course, it’s healing. I can feel my skin reconnect, but it will take some time. I’m a sitting duck until it can. He’s pressing one of his hands against the wound, putting back my intestines inside me and preventing me from going unconscious from too much blood loss. Shiitakee uses the other to rip a piece of his clothing and wrap it around my wound. I’m in pain. It’s nothing compared to when my heart was stabbed not too long ago, but when that piece of clothing tightens around the wound, my eyes water. 

“Sorry,” he apologized. 

“Tell me you can release a nondeadly gas now, preferably one that can make her unconscious.” I try getting up, but he motions for me to remain sitting. I eye my blood on his hands. That could’ve been his blood. 

I can’t let that happen. Not to anyone. I want to stop that from happening, but I’m in no position to stop anything anytime soon. I can’t stop the fight taking place in front of us from afar. I can’t stop the battle taking place outside, at least not yet.

“Wait here.” I blink, and he’s still in front of me. I blink again, and he has joined up with Saamuki. She and Ashley are panting. Same movements but different expressions. Of course, Saamuki’s is more animated. Even when asked to move away from Shiitakee, she’s able to pronounce her personality, delicate and coordinated. Somehow powerful, too, as she tries to stride towards me. The robotic one, not entirely because of her inorganic parts but for her imitations at trying to act like how a person would in her situation, repositions herself. She readies herself to attack, which she does by forcing herself to bolt towards Shiitakee. She’s much slower, making it easy for Shiitakee to dodge her swings and eventually grab both her arms and headbutt her.

Ashley’s now crooked nose is bleeding. I wince, ignoring Saamuki asking if I’m okay. She continues to ignore her injuries by trying to land a hit on the much taller figure. Again, through her desperate attempts, Shiitakee grabs her. This time he pushes her back, and she hits the wall behind her. It’s then he finally releases a dark yellow gas, kind of gray. For the third time, she tries cutting into the threads that make up the vegetation’s body, she coughs too, but this attempt abruptly ends when she falls to the floor. 

“We don’t have to worry about her for a while.” He points a thumb towards her then proceeds to carry me. I don’t relent because I don’t have the energy to. I won’t have any for a while. “So, how much time do we have left?”

“Well, we didn’t count on a full blown intergalactic battle to take place right now. So, your guess is as good as mine.”

“Damn. Okay, so how far away are we from our target?”

She gets out a map of the spaceship. She points at the lowest floor. “We’re here.” Her finger drifts upwards until it stops at the highest level. That should be a good hour of running at best. “My captain’s agent said he last saw Commander Knox in his chair about an hour before his ship made contact with Commander Zel.”

“So, we’re going to rely on the words of a Virmus?”

“No. Our best bet would be heading to the ship’s crystal.” That would cut my calculated time in half, but it’s still a long run, especially for Shiitakee, considering I will weigh him down until I can get my strength back. Her focus is turned to me as soon as her screen vanishes. “You should be healed by then.”

“Until she is, please tell me this ship isn’t like Syco’s. I mean yours. The bigger one, obviously. Does this ship have an elevator, especially one near here? I don’t care if that giant freezer’s door is forever locked. I want to get as far away from those things asap.” 

Acoustic music, mainly the piano, played as we went up the elevator. The machine is in the shape of a cylinder. It would’ve been a tight squeeze with a Tauvox, but it’s just big enough for the three of us. Shiitakee tapped his foot to the beat and started singing, it sounded like a ballad, but it wasn’t good. I wished I didn’t have nanites because I wouldn’t be awake enough to hear this if I didn’t. I wouldn’t be alive at all. I may sound too harsh, but it was akin to a cat scratching its nails on a chalkboard, a boy going through puberty, or an old duck—an ancient one. I’m thankful for his kindness but not for what he claims is his singing voice. The ballad is apparently well-known. When Saamuki joined him, it sounded better because she could sing. Still, the sight makes me smile even though I’m in pain because even in dire moments, I am reminded of how not so dark the universe can be. 

A feminine robotic voice announces we’ve arrived at the ship’s center. Shiitakee gently helps me back down. I feel where the wound is supposed to be. No cuts and guts, but plenty of blood is now stained there and on Shiitakee. I make this guilt obvious, but he brushes it aside and smiles. I can’t help but smile, too, as its metal door revolves past us. A glass door then is shown, and it too then spins past us, but now in front of us are two Tauvoxes. I haven’t seen either in some time, but like with Ashley, this isn’t the reunion Saamuki and I would’ve wanted. They growl. 

“Lords damn it,” I groaned.