#Man. I have even more respect for Rosaria now than I did before

[phoenix-flamed]

Man, it didn't hit me until earlier just how much war went on with Rosaria.

Like you have the Northern Territories, who kept giving them trouble for centuries until Elwin, as Archduke, finally managed to stamp out the conflict once and for all(even if it did involve underhanded, unsavory methods in addition to the war).

Then there's the Iron Kingdom, and the centuries of struggling against them for control of Drake's Breath -- which Rosaria kept losing and having to retreat from each time.

(And these are only the ones that I know of thus far. So if there's more lore from the game that talks about other conflicts with Rosaria and the other nations, I am happily all ears to hear about it!)

[phoenixbound]

@gcldfanged | continued [x]

A dangerous shimmer crossed her amethyst coloured eyes, which made the imperial guards freeze in their movement, as though they had been caught at something forbidden. Only a split of a second later, they lowered their arms once more under the watchful gaze of their mistress. And yet the iron grip on the prisoner's arms remained to keep him in place, even though little did she fear he would try to make for an escape. As shackled as he was, there was nowhere for him to go and with the illusive shadows dancing at the corners of their eyes, even a successful escape from the guards would lead to yet another capture.

One could say many things about the former duchess of Rosaria and the holy empress of Sanbreque, but coming unprepared was certainly none of them. " The time to have a say in the matter ended the moment you have been caught by my guards. That much should not have escaped you, " Anabella replied as her brows arched in faux surprise about his declaration. " For someone of your station and reputation, accepting the mantle of a personal guard is the luckiest outcome you could possibly hope for. Bearers and the like would be dragged to the gallows immediately. You should be grateful to be allowed to live. " And continue your miserable existence, she added in her mind before pulling her hand away and returning it to her other that was loosely resting in front of her mid-section. Gently, her fingers took hold of her other index finger.

What was worse than a dominant or a bearer? Those that forgot their place in this world or made themselves a fool by disrespecting it - she crinkled her nose at the thought and had to turn to the side. Could she not stand the sight?

He reminded her of her husband's bastard son, who routinely seemed to forget the circumstance of his existence and the reason for being legitimised by his father. A prince he tried to be, but he was a brute in fine clothing - at least with this one, she thought while returning her gaze to the prisoner from the corner of her eye, she would be able to form him and make him proper. Not as a prince, but as a respectable personal guard. Someone to become a shield between her and the cretin of a dominant. " Let him go. He knows that he will either service or die here. " And with that the guards withdrew, taking a step back.

" You say I do not own you. Well, then I will give you a choice as the free man you pretend to be. Either serve me as my personal guard and enjoy the privileges of nobility, or be cut down now and be forgotten by the world. "

[cryptidax]

Fallen Aliases

-DISCLAIMER: This is my first attempt in angst so please remember that as you read!!

-Word Count: around 1,605 words

-The reader here is, once again, NOT the traveler. They are a high-ranking member of the Liyue Qixing and have a personality based on Xingqiu and Rosaria but share the same hunger for battle as Tartaglia. They also use a polearm as a weapon and have a vision. :)

NAMES, such a common thing, yet it holds such significance to even the immortals. Cursing one's name might result in you breathing your last; Praising someone else's title might flatter them; Falling for another's alias might result in your end. The people of Teyvat hold names in such high regard, yet. Why, why did you love someone when you didn't even know their name?

Ah yes. The truth is as clear as day now. It was because you were blind. As the elders would call it, You were a fool in love. Despite that, why do you hold all the memories with him in such a fond manner? The day when you met can still be remembered as clear as the water in the ponds of Qingce Village.

The feeling of your polearm in your hand and your vision hanging from your belt is something that exhilarated you. Especially now, with several new foes for you to beat in front of you.

"This is much more interesting than doing boring paperwork, don't you think?"

From an outsider's perspective, seeing a Qixing member speaking to some Ruin machinations in the middle of the night would make them think they are going crazy. After all, all the Qixing members are dignified and elegant people who have enough ambition and power to uphold the will of Rex Lapis despite being mortal. People who are as clear and transparent of their ways just like Morax. (Y/N) is the hidden spear of the Qixing, a weapon with dangerous potential yet remains covered to the public. One minute they could be speaking in front of the Milileth about their new plans for defense; next, they could be slicing down several Ruin hunters by the coast of Liyue and laughing as if they are playing with toys while doing so.

"It's a shame such ancient machinations must be shut down.. oh well, Night Night little robots.~"

Using their elemental burst to enhance their weapon, (Y/N) swings it in a clockwise motion to finish the ruin hunters and watch as they fall only to disintegrate into blue dust. Hearing the ruffling of the bushes beside them, they ready their weapon once again and turn around to meet a new foe.

"Whoever you are, come out now, and I might be merciful tonight."

Anticipating a new fight, the Qixing member was let down as they see an orange mop of hair instead of a beast or machination to face.

"Well, you are disappointing." (Y/N) bluntly said as they stared down the newcomer. The (h/c)-haired person observed the hydro vision hanging framed in a Sneznayan designed border from the blue-eyed stranger and readied their vision for combat once again.

"I never knew the Liyue Qixing were so hospitable to others." the newcomer stated in a playfully sarcastic manner. "Anyways, You can call me Childe, (Y/-"

Cutting him off as he was about to say their name, (Y/N) hostility asked many questions towards Childe, Each question containing less friendliness as the last. The Sneznayan answered all these questions without fail, yet (Y/N) never let down their guard.

"Master Childe!!"

The duo turns to the noise to see a female fatui member loudly calling out for superior while forcefully making her way through several large faunas.

"Well, that's my call to go Mx. Bigshot. See you next time!"

Childe childishly says as he quickly goes towards the fatui member. You could hear him loudly playfully shouting back at her by repeating her name. Shaking their head in a joking manner, the (h/c)-nette heads their way back to the office, dreading the paperwork they have to write as a report of what they had done for the night.

This schedule goes on every night for several weeks. (Y/N) goes to clear out monsters, Childe appears out of nowhere and helps out with destroying them, talks a bit, says goodbyes, and repeats the next night. (Y/N) has tried to stop him, but he keeps insisting to the point where he would keep his arms around them unless they allow him to stay.

A blind man could see how in love they were, from the way they looked at each other when they slay monsters in the night, to the way each would hold each other's gaze for more than one would consider professional.

They were in love.

The elders called it beautiful. Singles held jealous looks to their relationship yet congratulated them nonetheless. Children fawned to their parents on how they wanted to grow up to have what they had. The two held hope that despite who they are, what they do for a living. They hoped that they at least can have this one thing that can share.

But oh, What fools were they to believe that two mortals can forever ignore reality.

The day started so pure as if the archons all agreed to give humanity one good day, A pair of lovers waking up to gaze at each other lovingly as they murmured random and insignificant news to each other sweetly. To others, this may be unimportant considering how much influence these two people have over their respective nations, but these two moments like these mean the world to them. Sadly, they must head up and attend to their duties. Giving a goodbye kiss to each other, both get ready for their work before going out to each work locations. If (Y/N) bothered to look back to awhile longer when they gave each other a goodbye, they would see underlying melancholy in the eyes of their lover. Maybe that would have been the key to keeping their relationship.

It truly is sad how relationships take so long to build up. Yet be shattered in just the snap of one's fingers.

Hearing the closing of the front door, (Y/N) looks up to see the tired and beaten form of their lover bandaged up. It honestly broke their heart to go and comfort him, But what needs to be done is more important. Not only for them but for their co-workers who care for them, and for the citizens of Liyue who were affected by the awakening of the ancient sea god.

"Childe."

His name. A name that flowed out of their mouth with a tone sweet as honey. Now felt like they were eating sandpaper as they said it.

Looking up to see the blank yet hurt look from his lover, Childe, the eleventh fatui harbinger, felt something that he has not gotten for several years from someone that does not share his blood. Guilt.

"(Y/N) I can explai-"

"Save it."

Giving a sad smile to the fatui in front of them, they blankly say how they know how he caused the disaster. Each word seems to be like another arrow being shot towards the Sneznayan as his lover said it in such a way that it was impossible not to question his actions. Maybe this would've been more bearable if his lover was angry and was rapidly throwing insults, but they said it in an accepting way. Like they anticipated that this would happen, and that. That somehow made him feel more hurt than if the latter happened.

"Childe, or should I call you Tartaglia,"

People say that second chances are the cultivators of a better relationship,

"I believed we could've made this work in a way that we can pretend we are not two opposing people."

They say that hardships like these would blossom into a memory that they could recount with a nostalgic smile.

"I promised that we would get through this together,"

But love is a battlefield and in the relationship of (Y/N), the sword of the qixing, and Childe, a warrior of Sneznaya. That statement quite too literal.

"Ha... I apologize, but that promise is one I cannot keep, not after that disaster you have summoned..."

There are no second chances in battle,

"I loved you, but now... I see that I do not even know who you are."

For once you swing your weapon,

"Goodbye Childe, For our sake, I hope we never see each other again."

You have no chance to take it back.

Hiding their tears as they walk out of their old abode, never looking back in fear that they will not stand firm in their decision. (Y/N)'s heart cracks each step they take, mind plagued by scenarios of what else they could've done. Walking turns to jogging and jogging to running, the Qixing member rushes to their new residence, an apartment in Liyue Harbor, and opens then shuts the door quickly. They slump down on the floor, wanting to cry. Time seems to stop as (Y/N) reaches up to touch their face.

"Why can't I cry?"

It seems like the archons won't even give them the comfort of tears.

Seeing the fading silhouette of his ex-lover as they walk away, Childe solemnly walks to their, now only his, room and opens his drawer to get out a small velvet box. With a sad look and teary eyes, he opens the box to reveal a beautiful Varunada Lazurite ring. A ring that he hoped would've been placed on the finger of who he loves. The young lord holds the item close to his chest and quietly whispers through choked sobs,

"But I love you (Y/N).."

After so many years, the eleventh harbinger, an instrument of war, the big brother of several siblings, the annoying co-worker of the harbingers. Childe, Tartaglia, Ajax... Cries. At this moment, all the sides of one man weep.

Fate must be satisfied. They just punished a catalyst of death, A being who gets excitement from a battle, a person that should be victim to the full wrath of the archons. No matter how good a person acts, blood will forever stain their hands. By this law, Childe, Tartaglia, Ajax is a wicked being. He is an evil man... right?

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 3 - The gathering

“Good morning, Sir Gechutel.”

“Welcome, Lady Seira.”

“We are pleased to see you again, Sir Regis.”

As a former head of a clan and two young heads of clans waltzed through the corridor leading to the Lord’s Hall, the Central Knights who happened to be in their way bowed and expressed their full respect.

“Are you nervous, sir?”

Seira cautiously asked Regis, who was fidgeting with the sleeves of the new garment he recently came to possess as the official head of the Landegres.

“O-of course not.”

“No need to be concerned. I am here, and so is Sir Gechutel. Besides, you have known the rest of the heads of clans since centuries ago.”

“Right... That’s right. Yeah, I’ll be fine. I mean, I’m fine. So don’t worry, Seira.”

Regis masked himself with I-don’t-give-a-damn-about-what-you-think atmosphere he commonly wore, raising his head high. Unbeknownst to him, however, Seira could see exactly what he was haunted with.

Seira could see that (according to a metaphor she once picked up from Ikhan and Shinwoo) Regis was feeling as if he was about to face Mr. Fedor by the gate, waiting for any student who dared to show up after classes had begun.

Just when she was about to offer another word of consolation to a rookie head of a clan endeavoring to hide his nervousness,

“My, my! If it isn’t the honorable heads of Landegres and Loyard!”

Shouted someone, his voice obviously pitched high and loud on purpose. The three pairs of ruby-red pupils rapidly rotated backwards in search of the source of the voice.

As a result, they found a man with pale skin and orange hair smiling at them. His façade would have counted as fair, if it were not for his dreadfully pallid skin – so colorless that everybody would suspect he ran away from a hospital for the majorly diseased.

“I am gravely sorry, but you are...?”

“Oh, where are my manners? My name is Deneb Illiness.”

The man displayed a motion of courtesy as he answered Regis. And Gechutel was the one who responded.

“Deneb Illiness? You mean the head of the Illiness clan?”

“So you remember me, Sir Gechutel. Which is a great honor. Correct me if I am mistaken – isn’t this the first time we are seeing each other ever since you passed on your title to Sir Regis?”

“Haha, indeed it is.”

“I must say, it has been so long since I last saw you, Sir Regis. I cannot pronounce how glad I am to see you this morning. I have been waiting for my chance to greet you in person.”

Regis knew it would be very rude of him not to answer, but he could not maneuver his tongue as needed. He was painstakingly skimming through his memories, trying to pinpoint exactly when he first picked up the name “Illiness.”

“And I believe this is our first encounter in person, Lady Seira.”

Deneb, instead of waiting for Regis to reply, fully concentrated his gaze on Seira’s countenance as he smoothed out his voice.

Seira momentarily held her breath, for she could have sworn she saw a vision of a ravenous viper coiled up in a huge ball of desire upon hearing him address her.

“It is a tremendous joy and honor to at last meet the one and only head of the Loyards. It is a huge shame that I have missed my past opportunities to introduce myself to such a beauty. Which is why I sincerely look forward to meeting you more often from now on.”

Seira soundlessly attended to a series of words so slickly delivered by Deneb. Gechutel picked up that she did not have anything in particular to reciprocate to Deneb; hence he stepped in with a faint smile.

“What a shame, but we must get back on our track. Why not save the rest of the conversation for the future?”

“Oh, dear me. My apologies – again. We cannot allow any delay or hindrance in the Lord’s gathering. So please, go ahead. But rest assured, it was a true pleasure to share my time with you, albeit very briefly.”

Deneb’s orange hair waved up and down before he walked away. Regis made sure that his footsteps faded enough before he opened his mouth.

“Just who is he? There’s no denying I have heard the name Illiness before, but I cannot remember when.”

Gechutel, who had his eyes fixed on Deneb’s back with emotions more than pregnant, hand-motioned at the two young nobles to move for more details.

“Upon the former lord’s eternal departure and betrayal of several former heads of clans, the names upon which Lukedonia can rely on were naturally decimated to seven, widely referred to as the heptaclans. Well, now we should recoin the term as the octaclans, as Claudia’s devotion won back honor and credit for the name of Tradio. However, I believe you two are aware that there are more than eight names in Lukedonia that have sustained their titles and properties.”

“Most certainly. There have been subhistories of inheritance of individual names and privileged leadership since the genesis of our kind. The only difference between owners of such histories and the pure descendants of the octaclans is that the former lack positions in the Lord’s Hall.”

“And Illiness happens to be one of the clans not appointed at the Lord’s Hall. As for Deneb, he took the lead of his clan when he was not much older than either of you. Natheless, his extraordinary eloquence and artistry of weaving connections intra-clan and extra-clan brought him a notable elevation among the non-octaclans, or the clans other than the eight clans regularly permitted at the Lord’s Hall. In fact, it is thanks to him that the Illiness clan presently boasts the strongest influence among the non-octaclans.”

“Oh...! Now I remember. Despite the fact that he is still young – in fact, even younger than Rael – he has been the head of the Illiness clan even before we set out to the human world.”

Regis joined his grandfather in nodding, while Seira kept on walking, unruffled and unfazed. It was because – thanks to Regis – she was reminded of another noble who returned to Lukedonia to resume command of his clan.

It has been 4 days since the young heads of clans returned home, and the day has come for the thronemaster of noblekind to discuss with the heads of octaclans what is ebbing and flowing within and beyond the Lukedonian shoreline.

In other words, the day has come for Regis and Rael to start visiting the Lord’s Hall as the ones in charge of their respective clans.

‘Which reminds me, where could Sir Rael be?’

Though its fame and familiarity with reclusion are no match for those of the Ru clan, the Kertia clan has also made a name for itself with lack of communication with its fellow clans. Which is partially why neither Seira nor Regis ever thought about inviting Rael for today’s walk to the Lord’s Hall.

That is to say, they rid themselves of a chance to find out what lies at Rael’s heart now that he is about to take on his duties as a head of a clan.

Seira could bet nobody would expect the young Kertia to produce a noteworthy feat on his first day.

‘But he should at least show that he is ready for the task.’

Seira lifted her head as she marked a period to her thought, staring straight at the regal doors of the Lord’s Hall. The doors slid open with heavy noise, and the three nobles stopped short as if their minds were in synchronization. 

The supposedly empty hall was occupied by a very familiar blonde noble, standing poised, motionless in the spot that once belonged to Razark.

“Good morning, Rael.”

Rael broke free from his statuesque inertia only when Gechutel called him within a couple steps.

“Welcome, Sir Gechutel. Sir Regis. Lady Seira.”

Rael’s greeting rendered them enormously doubtful of their own hearings. The lower half of his face was concealed in the Kertia fashion, thus made elusive from his audience; nevertheless, his voice was as serene as the surface of a glassy winter lake.

“What is the meaning of this, Rael?”

Regis retorted, his pupils spinning in wild bewilderment. Seira conveyed wonder just as big with her eyes, twice as large as its usual size.

“A lot has changed as of now. Therefore, I personally concluded that I must change as well.”

Rael announced oh-so-calmly, as if in turn questioning their reactions. In doing so, he conferred on Regis an urge to slap himself for treating Seira no differently from his past.

“Karious once promised me there is no need to worry about the future of the Kertias. And it appears Karious has for once said something absolutely sane.”

Is that supposed to mean that Sir Karious has been otherwise insane?

Responding to Gechutel’s comment that was surely not meant to disrespect the head of the Bluster clan, Seira and Regis very quickly darted looks at the white-haired speaker. In contrast, Rael did not even bat an eye.

“I am proud of you, Rael. I give you my sincerest welcome for officially joining the Lord’s Hall.”

Rael accepted Gechutel’s salutation with a silent bow of his head, and the two Landegres walked away, whereas Seira cast her eyes at Rael. However, Rael had already turned his body in its original pose, seemingly engrossed in his thoughts without even recognizing her presence.

After much deliberation, Seira decided to open her mouth, only to be interrupted by the rest of the expected attendants.

“Well, well, well – look who it is!”

Karious raised his hand in glee, with Rosaria, Kei, Ludis, and Claudia shadowing him.

“As much as I anticipated this scene, I feel so proud of seeing you three kids waiting for us! Now, where did I put my hanky?”

“What was that about kids and handkerchief...? Karious, how many times do I have to tell you to watch your tongue?!”

Rosaria snapped at Karious, loud enough to make him shrivel like a shameplant blasted with harsh gust.

“If you’ve got time to spare to flaunt your stupidity, why don’t you spare it for your feet and get over to your place? She is on her way.”

Rosaria cut Karious’s attempt to retaliate, as she tapped her temple. Immediately Karious straightened himself, and the rest of the heads of clans followed suit.

For Rosaria’s action and words could mean only one thing – their lord signaled her appearance through her mind link, just steps away from flourishing her cape at her throne.

  *****

Enough time has passed to make it no easy job for the ten nobles to remember when was the last time all octaclans had a gathering. Nonetheless, nothing has particularly changed.

For one thing, before Regis, Seira, and Rael permanently returned to Lukedonia, several heads of clans and even lord herself had been visiting Korea in turns. And since nobles are endowed with lifespan far exceeding those of other races, the time that the three young heads of clans had spent outside cannot be even dubbed long.

In fact, if transfigured into human standards, it is safe to say they have merely returned from a school trip worth a week or two.

Hence hello’s and how’s-it-going’s were naturally omitted, shaping the atmosphere as serious as it could be. It was also partly because the first topic of discussion concerned what is left of the Union.

“According to the status crosscheck we conducted with KSA’s assistance just before our return, there is a worldwide movement in eradicating what the Union has left behind, still in the beginning stage but definitely there. The facilities and institutions that have been receiving support from the Union or disguised as civilian properties are being shut down upon search and discovery.”

“And that country is not exempt from this phenomenon. Currently, the KSA is engaged with thorough shutdown of the remaining Union facilities – especially those related to Crombell, who was the key personnel of the Union.”

As soon as Regis and Seira reported, Karious asked in not-at-all-comical-tone for once.

“Is the boss... I mean, is Sir Frankenstein and his men also taking part in the operation?”

“Yes. Since the three of them were once bound to the Union, we expect they would prove highly helpful, with their experiences to add more than a handful of hands in tracking the Union whereabouts.”

“Their journey will not prove so peaceful, however. The Union is now a beast beheaded, yet its body still breathes and struggles to stay breathing.”

“My lord. Even though Seira and Regis will reside at Lukedonia, I presume it will bring mutual good to dispatch them temporarily to the human world to provide help if needed.”

Lascrea nodded in response to very professionally listed opinions from Seira, Regis, and Gechutel.

“I, too, wish to see no more forlorn sacrifice in relation to the Union. And absolutely no more from the Noblesse. He has already sacrificed so much for all of us; it is but logical to make sure he never again spills his life.”

Every listener very solemnly lowered head or slightly nodded in agreement.

“Which reminds me, I heard the human reporters who aided me in sending my message to the human world are still here.”

“You were told correct, my lord.”

Lascrea was more than correct. The reporters who almost shipped themselves to the other world in search of Lukedonia still lingered.

By now they were supposed to be home, if only time was gracious with them. Unable to even make a proper end to the interview, Lascrea had to set off to thwart Crombell’s last scheme for human extinction, whose existence consequently scattered into bloody stardust in the air. As a result, Lukedonia made all of its functions frozen in order to pay elegiac respect to the noble sword that guarded the noblekind.

And even after Lascrea verified her survival in person, she was held terribly busy with her top priorities, including stabilization of Lukedonia and reinforcement of alliance with the wolfkind, its throne rekindled by its ex-lord. She could thereby find time six days after her return to discuss how to send back their human guests.

“Please forgive us, my lord, for not being competent enough to send back our visitors much sooner. We will make proper amendments on the matter, as soon as we complete regular procedures of determining whether they have acquired any intelligence that may manifest as threat to our kind in the future.”

“No, Ludis. I need them to stay a bit longer.”

“...Beg your pardon?”

“I have something to ask them in person.”

Rosaria glanced at Lascrea to ask what she has in mind, only to seal her lips right away. Nobody questioned her sudden shift, though, for Lascrea’s eyes, as sanguine as those born nobles, fleetingly flashed with firm determination not a soul would dare to mimic.

The gleam in her eyes soon vanished, and Lascrea returned to a very-lordly-manner to examine what was waiting for her attention. Her faithful followers filled her in with intelligence and advice she needed, and everyone found a chance to speak as the gathering went on for 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and eventually an hour.

That is, everyone including Kei, Rosaria, and even Karious and Claudia.

Or that is, everyone except Rael, who was the sole attendant to keep his speechless stance.

*****

‘Perhaps he was a little intimidated,’ thought Seira, as she watched Rael striding outside as soon as he finished giving his farewell after the gathering.

She could remember the time when she first entered the Lord’s Hall as the head of the Loyards.

Despite being a legitimate head of a clan, the only thing she could do was watching the experienced heads of clans voicing themselves and sharing ideas and proposals. Even when they reached the puzzles and debates following her father’s death, Gechutel got to speak in her place.

She was aware the gathering at the time was an irregular situation. After all, he was the one who informed her about her father’s demise, and she was basically hit in the head with her father’s title and responsibilities out of blue, not at all prepared or practiced enough to perform what she was entrusted with.

The term “sudden” or any other thesauric expression would be an understatement of the circumstances.

However, with the facts aside, she was well-aware of what it feels like to be an authenticated head of a clan who could not even pretend to speak in the Lord’s Hall.

So contrary to her past experiences or her normal behavioral patterns, she tried to call upon Rael, until she was interrupted by a voice, so unexpected and so unexpectedly timed that her eyes wavered for a moment.

“Lady Seira!”

(next chapter)

I give you a character of my creation - Deneb Illiness (yes, his surname was based on “illness,” for a good reason). I figured there would be more clans composing Lukedonia (it’s just that they didn’t get their chances to be featured under the spotlight) and decided to create a clan for this fanfic. By the way, the terms “heptaclans,” “octaclans,” and “non-octaclans” are the terms I coined for this fanfic, in order to tell apart the canon noble clans from the noble clans I will introduce in my fanfic.

I hope you’d stay tuned for more!

[ringfinger-leonhard]

@yellowfingcr Finally here the drabble of Heysel and Leonhard being assholes in Dishonoured Au

"Isn't it exiting?"Leonhards eyes moved minutely towards the witch, Heysel if he remembered correctly, not considering giving the woman even an inch more, not even a little bit more energy. He knew who this woman was. Something in him knew. All his memories of before meeting Pate and Creighton were nothing but a void inside his head that occasionally spurted feelings out into his mind. His journals pages were ripped out, all that his former self had left him was the Outsiders quest to find and kill Rosaria. But Heysel? Oh, he felt it. 

A hatred so deep it chocked him up when the woman had stepped into the hall of the manor the covenant was staying in, all smiles and yellow. Kirk had taken over the talking, answering to Heysels questions while Leonhard fumed behind him. The floor were he stood was frozen over by the time Heysel noticed the cold radiating from him. "Oh... what a... queer reaction to my Ladys-" "This has nothing to do with her magic." Leonhard snarled, trying to keep his own mark under control while the rage in his heart was doused into a true storm of fire by the mere implication that Rosaria could hold a candle to his own Marks power. Heysel, taken aback, had frowned and was sure to get rather unpleasant herself but Kirk raised both hands, one held out to the witch, the other grabbing Leonhards shoulder. "Excuse that. This young Thorn of mine has an ill temper. My bond with him had a rather unpleasant side effect that turned his emotions into Ice." "Fascinating." Heysels anger seemed to vanish at once, now eyeing the man like an exotic animal, tilting her head to the side. "These side effects... are they common or is he the only one?" "They aren't uncommon. Usually they aren't as grave as his case but it happens from time to time. I think it has something to do with their mental stability." "Very well! Please, come this way now." "Hello? I am still talking to you!" He was ripped out of his brooding, only to realize that Heysel had moved to stand in front of him, eyes now filled with anger and hands waving in a threatening gesture. "Do you think you are too good to be polite? Too high and mighty to show some respect?" Leonhard finally cracked his stoic mask, a malicious grin spreading over his face before he blew a gust of ice cold breath into the witches face, frosting over her eyes and lashes. "Gah! What the-!" The witch shook her head. "Why you little-" Her hair flared out into thin strands of it, trying to grab Leonhards, some shooting past him , cutting into his clothes and skin. "How dare you!" Ignoring the angry shouting and the other witches gathering nearby, Leonhard grabbed a rather large part of the hair currently assaulting him and froze it, forcing it to break off. This action caused the other woman to screech in anger as well. Kirk did mention that, thanks to Rosarias magic, the hair of these witches was seen as sacred to the coven. And he just broke off half of it directly from the head of the right hand of Rosaria. Amazing. He almost felt regret. "Don't test me again, witch. An alliance your mistress might want but if you can't control yourself and respect that people outside your little coven don't care much for any of you and your culture than don't be surprised if your little head gets smacked down a notch." Heysel finally managed to rub off the frost in her eyes. She didn't react to his words at once and the assassin hoped that she would just storm off and cry to her mistress but instead when she lifted her head, she was all smiles once more. "Of course. I just thought that as the two right hands of our respective sides, we should get to know each other. After all, you seem like a rather cold person but I am sure, you will come to like Mother Rosarias beauty! I can guarantee!" Leonhard heard a giggle behind him. Of course. The witches probably thought him to be under Rosarias influence already, a sleeper agent among the Thorns of Kirk. Fine. They had inside jokes. However- "I never said that." "What?" "I never said I was Kirks right hand. It was never said in our introduction, it wasn't stated in the invitation that the right hand was to be present. What makes you think we even have that type of hierarchy?" Leonhard returned Heysels smile in earnest now, his tone chipper. "One might draw the conclusion that your lot likes to spy on people! That could be a problem, for both Kirk and I value privacy and should any of us Thorn feel that you were to break out freedom of it, we could have a problem!"

Heysel dropped her smile again. "I just assumed that the man Kirk took with him would be the second in command, alright? No need to get so uptight!" He took a step towards her, still smiling ear to ear. "That is a pretty weak excuse there, Heysel. But what can I expect from a bunch of savage women like your coven? You are a terrible liar, bad at covering up slip ups, you have no backbone-" Kirk had appeared at the end of the hallway, signalling their leave. He seemed steadfast but that didn't mean anything. Leonhard turned back to Heysel one last time before disappearing into a gust of cold wind, flowing out of a soon to be frozen over window.

"...and your sense of style is atrocious. Good Bye!"

[hydromessenger]

Confessions - Albedo and Ella

Aight. It took me several days to write this, and I think I caught any spelling errors. Please, let me know what you think! And sorry it took so long~

Confessions - Albedo and Ella

Albedo was both well known, and well regarded around the city he called home. He would even go so far as to say that he was well respected, at least by the men and women who worked under him, as well as the people of Mondstadt. He had, by all accounts, landed on his feet when it came to his life, and really, he had nothing to complain about.

Somehow, none of his accomplishments mattered when Kaeya, his friend and fellow Captain of the Knights of Favonius, was sitting in his seat, his feet on his desk, and had this grin on his face that kind of made Albedo wish he was still on an expedition on Dragonspine. “Kaeya,” He said neutrally, really just wanting this interaction over with already, “Don’t you have your own office? And a desk to put your feet on?” He asked, walking over and pushing Kaeya’s boots off of his desk.

“I do, actually.” Kaeya replied gleefully, “but I find this desk so much more interesting than my own.”

“That’s really not my problem, Kaeya. Can you get up, I have work I need to do.”

“Mm.” The much taller man hummed an agreement, though Albedo wasn’t sure if it was an agreement to getting up, or having work to do. He had a rather sinking suspicion that Kaeya had a point he wanted to make, and if Albedo knew anything about Kaeya at all, it was that he could be as stubborn as a mule sometimes.

So he sighed, pushed his bangs out of his face, and leaned against the wall. “Okay, Kaeya. You clearly have something you want to talk about, so out with it.”

Kaeya grinned, leaned down, and then straightened with a book in his hand. A familiar book. A book that Albedo hadn’t even realized that he had misplaced. “I found this in the library, and since I didn’t recognize it, I thought that I would take a little glimpse, to see who it belonged to.” Kaeya started, “Imagine my surprise when I opened it, and every page was filled with drawings of my dear friend Ella.”

Albedo felt his face burn, and he held his hand out, “She’s a good model,”

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” He opened the book and flipped through it, “She’s a very vivacious young woman, after all. Always running here and there, and she’s always so very happy to help out her friends. However,” He flipped a page and turned the book so that Albedo could see it. “I don’t think she knew she was a model for most of these.”

The picture Kaeya was showing was one of Albedo’s favorites, one of the few in that book that he had bothered coloring. Albedo had been at the base camp near Dragonspine and Ella had come to make a delivery, but had stumbled over a Seelie on her way out of the camp. She spent a good half hour dancing with the nature spirit, and hadn’t noticed him watching.

The scene had been so...so Ella, that he felt that he needed to get it down on paper, to remember.

“I wasn’t planning on selling any of them, so why does it matter if she knew or not?” Albedo asked as he nervously tugged his gloves further up his arm. “I know you’re friends with Ella, and we both know that she wouldn’t mind the drawings.”

“True, she’d probably be thrilled, if she found out.” Kaeya closed the book with a snap, and set it on the table, “The reason I’m here, and not in my office dealing with the veritable mountain of paperwork I have waiting for me, is because of one reason.”

“And that reason is?” Albedo prompted.

Kaeya leaned forward and rested his elbows on Albedo’s desk, pinning the shorter man in place with a look, “You know Ella has a tattoo representing you, right? Right there, on her left wrist. She rubs it when she’s stressed, anxious, or worried.”

“I’m aware of her tattoo, yes.”

“Hm. Did you know that when you’re on an expedition, she asks after you?”

“I…” Albedo started to say something, but then trailed off, “No,” He finally said after a long moment.

“I didn’t think so. She was drunk the other day and mentioned you no less than 7 times in the span of half an hour. She’s almost always thinking about you. And, judging by the book, you do the same.”

“What’s your point, Kaeya?” There was no point in denying it, after all. The notebook was pretty damning evidence.

“If you don’t talk to her, today, then I’m going to do it for you.”

Albedo blanched at the notion. As much as he trusted Kaeya, he knew the taller man well enough to know that he didn’t want to know what he would say to the ever excitable, and ever cheerful Ella. “No. That won’t be necessary,” he said quickly, “I was going to see her later today anyway.”

Kaeya smiled brightly and finally, finally, stood from Albedo’s chair and saw himself out of the Alchemy offices. “Don’t forget, Albedo. I will know if you don’t~” The other man said in a sing-song voice, just before he walked out of the room.

Albedo pinched the bridge of his nose when the junior alchemists in the room turned to look at Albedo in various degrees of curiosity, “Get back to work, the Cavalry Captain won’t be bothering us again today.”

True to his word, later that evening, after all of his work had been finished for the day, and there was no risk of anything exploding over the night, Albedo finally left the offices of the Knights of Favonius and found Ella sitting on a bench just outside of the building.

“Ella? What are you doing here?” While he intended to go look for her, he didn’t expect to find her so easily...or close to his work.

Ella dragged her attention away from the stars, and favored Albedo with a bright smile, “Kaeya told me you had a surprise for me.” She explained brightly, “He swore that he was telling the truth, and Rosaria confirmed it.” She examined his face curiously, and her smile fell slightly, “They were lying, weren’t they?”

“Not exactly,”

“Oh!” Ella’s bright smile returned, “I love surprises!”

He laughed, “That is not a surprising fact about you, Ella.” He motioned for her to get up, “Come on, let’s go for a walk.” He turned and began to walk away, without waiting for her response. 

Ella scrambled to her feet, and hurried to his side, immediately hooking her arm with his, “Lead on!”

If Albedo were a more easily flustered man, the fact that Ella was so ready and willing to touch him would probably fluster him, and, in truth, did fluster him the first time she did it. Now though, he appreciated that she was such a hands-on person. And, truthfully, he liked having her close to him.

“We’re not going far,” He reassured, as he led her through the empty streets of Mondstadt and just outside of the city walls, to where the docks were located. It was private enough that no one would bother him while he spoke with her, at least.

“Ooh, I’ve never thought about coming out here to watch the stars!” Ella said excitedly, as she let go of his arm and sat on the edge of the dock, leaning back to look up at the sky.

Albedo stood a little behind her, watching her lean back and look up at the sky in almost childish wonder, and he felt his chest tighten. Archons above, she was stunning like this. A smile on her face, her head tilted back, filled with wonder at the world around her. Was it any surprise that he had fallen for her?

“Oh, right! You said you had a surprise for me?” Ella turned her attention away from the sky, and back on him, and she tapped the dock next to her, silently inviting him to join her.

He smoothly sat down next to her, and took a moment to try and collect the words he needed. It shouldn’t be so hard, really. Ella got a representation of him tattooed on her wrist, and she's easy to talk to. There’s no drama, and even if she wasn’t interested in him romantically, she wouldn’t allow it to stand between their friendship. It shouldn’t be so hard to find the words.

Although...he glanced at her for a moment. She was smiling at him, waiting patiently for him to say something, and he suddenly had an idea. “Alright,” Albedo turned so he was facing her, “You need to close your eyes though, and I’m going to touch your hair.”

“Oh, alright.” Ella immediately squeezed her eyes shut, pressing a hand over them, “Should I remove my hat?” She asked.

“No need, I got it. And no peeking.”

“I would never!”

He laughed slightly at her overly offended tone, even as he pulled the small flower from his pocket. He ran his fingers over the delicate petals, and then carefully tucked it into her hair, though he didn’t pull his hand away from her face, rather he brushed his fingers down her cheek, “You’re so beautiful.” He murmured softly.

Ella’s cheeks under his fingers blossomed a bright red, “Um...thank you.” She cracked open an eye and flushed even deeper when she saw how close he was, “Albedo?”

He ran his thumb across her lower lip, a smile crossing his face at her look of confusion, that she trusted him enough to let him so close was empowering and humbling at the same time. “I’m afraid I have a confession to make,” he murmured, “I fear that I have fallen for you, and I’m not sure what to do about it.”

Ella took a deep breath, and took his hand in her own, “You could ask me on a date,” She offered, her voice as light as air. Her breath caught as Albedo leaned in and bumped his forehead against her own. He was so close, that it was making it hard to think.

"If I were a better man, I would walk away for both our sakes." His voice was low and soft, as if passing on a secret meant only for the two of them. “You deserve better than someone like me.”

"Oh, Albedo." Her voice was warm and gentle, "you silly man. You don't get to decide what's best for me."

A look of surprise crossed his face, though it faded quickly. He should have known that she would never allow him to say something like that. But, still, he had to try. "I might hurt you," He breathed out, his gaze straying to her lips, and then back to her eyes, “My studies…”

She tightened her grip on his hand, interrupting him without saying a word, “Albedo is Albedo, whatever you might study. I trust you.”

His breath caught in his throat, “El…”

“It is a risk I’m willing to take, Albedo.” Ella interrupted, then she leaned up and brushed her lips against his own.

Albedo released a soft sigh as she pulled away, reaching out and pulled her back for a proper kiss, his hand on the back of her neck as he held her close. When he pulled away, he bumped his forehead against hers once again, “If you’re willing to risk it, then so am I.” he finally said, “Would you like to get dinner tomorrow, my treat?”

A bright smile crossed Ella’s face, “It would be my genuine honor.”

[artmindedside-blog]

RED

By: Uyi Usuanlele

Uyi sat in front of her house reading the last book in the harry potter series. It was heart breaking, the story was over, and it was the final book. Uyi grew up reading those books, she remembered every year asking for the book and movies. How do you let something you’ve know your whole life go? It was so unexpected, but everyone, including Uyi knew that one day that day will come; the Harry Potter series will finally come to an end because one day Harry will grow up, be a man and kill Lord Voldermont before he kills Harry. It just didn’t seem right that it had to be now, its like when you’re eating something very delicious like those mini Oh’Henry Chocolate bars and you’re talking with your friend, as you’re talking to your friend and eating the delicious chocolates, you don’t notice the amount of the chocolate decreasing because you’re so into the conversation, when you put your hand into the bag and can’t find any, you’re confused and start thinking when did I eat the last one, that moment you’re disappointed and a bit depressed that’s the feeling Uyi felt as she read the final Harry Potter book. She felt the story should continue, she felt Harry’s son’s life will make a great 8thbook. She didn’t care what it will be about but as far as it was written by J.K Rowling, she was sure it will be a great book, a best seller even.

Just like the Harry Potter series had come to an end, summer itself was over and the new school year just began. To Uyi that wasn’t much of a disappointed because she was looking forward to the new school year. Uyi just moved to Canada in April was enjoying her new life. The weather was good so far and not as bad as she expected, but people kept telling her to wait till November, she’ll be in for the greatest surprise of her life.

Uyi loved learning the new culture and trying to imitate the Canadian accent. The accent was different; her mom always said it sounded like the Canadians where eating really hot food and where trying to talk at the same time. So when Uyi was eating and the food was still hot, she will try her Canadian accent impersonation “mum do I sound Canadian now?” she will asked almost in pain

Her mum will chuckle and reply “not yet dear, you sound paralyzed”

Uyi’s parents were both scholars, her dad Uyilawa was getting his second PhD in African History at Queens University and her mom was a medical lab scientist, back in Nigeria she had her own private laboratory and everything. Life in Canada has been difficult for her and even though she wasn’t complaining Uyi could see the stress becoming to take a toll on her mother. For Uyi, life in Canada hasn’t been what she expected, if she could, she would take the next flight back to Nigeria, but she knew she couldn’t, she couldn’t leave her family behind.

Back in Nigeria, life was great, Uyi’s family was middle class, but if they lived that way in Canada they would have been considered upper upper class. They had everything, big houses, and nice cars. Uyi didn’t know cars but she knew her grandpa’s Mercedes which he got for his birthday must have cost a fortune. One could have considered Uyi and her four siblings as spoiled because they had people to help around the house and all the five kids went to the best private schools around (one had to audition and write an exam to get in because everyone wanted to send their kids to that school) and had private tutors to help them with their homework. Uyi’s mom Tessy, worked at a university and also had her own private lab which was founded by some well known hospitals (her uncle who is a medical doctor owned one of these hospitals). Uyi didn’t know her dad’s job except he travelled a lot, doing research and studying different cultures. After her little sister was born, her dad won a scholarship to queens University to start his second PhD. He got a job almost immediately at State University of New York (S.U.N.Y) to teach African history. Their life was going great, everything was perfect expect Uyi’s parents wanted the family together. Her mum visited Canada in 2006 and the decision was made, they were going to start a new life in Canada. Tessy closed down her lab, took a study leave at the university (She planned to do a PhD in Canada) and on April 18th 2008 the rest of the Usuanlele family and their aunty Rosaria, left Nigeria to start their new life in Canada. After 12 hours on air they arrived at JFK airport in New York and drove another eight hours to Kingston Ontario.

Summer ended and Uyi started high school at Regi-Opolis Notre Dame. Uyi didn’t mind going to a government owned school. It was actually nice, there were a lot of people and the teachers were nice. Most people didn’t understand Uyi when she spoke the first time because of her Nigerian accent, but she didn’t mind repeating herself. Actually she thought it was quite funny whenever she said something and people didn’t understand her and instead of asking her to repeat herself they nodded and smiled like idiots. Her accent was a mix of British and Edo (her mother tongue). The whole of Nigeria was colonized by the British so if you listen closely you heard a hint of the British accent.

Uyi loved how the teachers loved her because of how respectful and quite she was. She was different from the other students. Back in Nigeria a student was supposed to fear and respect their teachers and if they didn’t they got beaten (corporal punishment). Even though they didn’t have the corporal punishment in Canada, Uyi still feared her teachers, they were older than she was and she couldn’t imagine what will happen to her at home if her parents got a phone call from the school because she was misbehaving. Sure they were in Canada but her mother didn’t hesitate to slap her across the cheeks if she went out of line. In fact Uyi thought it was quite repulsive that children here insulted their parents and all their parents did was ground them. Back in Nigeria if such a thing ever happen, that child will be so sorry that they wouldn’t even think about thinking of doing such a thing again.

Uyi made a few friends, but her best friends were Nicole and Eve. They were both from Congo but never seemed to get along. They were like Tom and Jerry, Popeye and Bluto, , they both couldn’t stand each other but always ended up together, they were forever fighting but Uyi always felt sorry for the fool who tried to separate them cause they both ganged up on that person. For them it was completely normal to act like worst enemies and best friends at the same time. But never the less, Uyi loved them both and treasured their friendship.

Uyi was a very studious student, she had to be, both her parents were and she was also enrolled in the I.B (International Barracualte) program. This program was harder than academic level, in fact the average of each student was always plus five if they decided to drop to the academic level. Uyi didn’t mind, she loved being challenged, although she wasn’t the competitive type, she loved hard work, even though it was frustrating, she loved the feeling of accomplishment after she comprehended what she studied. She did all her homework even though all the courses she was doing, she did them before in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the education standard was set really high, so if compared with Canada. So the things kids were doing in grade 10 in Canada, kids in Nigeria had already done them in either grade 7 or 8. So to Uyi, school was easy, she didn’t even have to try to have a 90 average. Everything was like review to her and the great feeling of awesomeness that came with being one of the smartest kids made her want to wake up every morning to go to school.

The people Uyi had met so far in Canada were amazing. They were loving, kind and just so wonderful. She was always the center of attention especially in school because of her accent and people were always mesmerized about the stories she told about Nigeria. The students were surprised when they found out that some of the stereotypical things they heard about Africa in general wasn’t true. A kid named Frankie in Uyi’s geography class seemed to be filled with all the stereotypes about Africa.

“Hey Uyi, is in true that in Africa everyone lived in mud huts?” he would ask with a smirk on his face

“No” Uyi will reply a bit irritated “the houses are made from bricks, when you go home, Google Lagos, Nigeria, it’s just like New York City, except filled with black people who speak different languages.” She will sigh and then add “this is just like when Americans think Canadians live in igloos, but we know its not true because we have houses” because she knew he will never google up Lagos, Nigeria.

“so because you guys spend your money on houses, you don’t have enough for food and clothes, that’s why the kids on TV go around dressed in rags and are always starving” Frankie’s friend, James will add high fiving the other boys

“The kids on TV are all actors, they get paid more than you’ll ever receive from your MacDonald’s jobs” Nicole will say very irritated and like that they will argue about how Africa is just like North America and not like the propagandas they put on TV. Uyi never understood why these kids were so ignorant, the people on TV were making money off innocent citizens by their stupid propagandas and people were stupid enough to fall for them because like her dad said, “they never go past Toronto, they don’t know what’s in the world out there, all they do is watch TV and go on the internet and believe anything anyone says as far as its online, its true to them.” It was ridiculous because for civilized people they sure where stupid.

Even though some of the people were ignorant, Uyi loved Canada and the people and she felt like the people loved her too. But her Dad always told her and her siblings that “even though there are nice people around, there are always those who don’t like us because of our dark skin complexion.” Uyi coming from Africa had fairly dark skin, but that didn’t bother her, so far no body had made fun of her because of her skin, in fact people told her how lucky she was to be blessed by that skin. She didn’t have to worry about sun burn, wrinkles at 30 or any of those nasty blemishes. She didn’t use make-up because she felt so confident in her skin that someone might had confused her as being conceded.

Uyi was terrible with starting or carrying on a conversion so she avoided them altogether.  She was what people called an introvert. She liked to be herself and just watch people, just stare and be amaze at how different people react to different things. It sounded creepy but she didn’t feel creepy when just noticed people. She thought it was quite funny actually and never saw the weirdness of it. She used to walk her siblings from school after school because her school was close to their school. She will wait twenty minutes for them to be done school and in those twenty minutes, she will observe parents. She saw a lot of terrible driving and a lot of angry parents. What made her laugh was the way different people dressed to pick their kids from school, some wore mixed matched shoes and others just looked like cartoon characters. When she walked home with her siblings, she stayed behind them because her mom always said “the oldest stays behind the youngest ones so they know what the younger ones were doing, if not they would look like the chicken who walks in front of her chicks and doesn’t notice when the hulk swipes one away”

After walking with her siblings for about three months she got bored of it and since they were in grade 7 and 6, her mom told her they were fine walking home themselves. It was the best news she had received so far, she’ll be able to get home almost thirty minutes  before her anyone else and will have all the right to the TV remote which they always fought for when they got home. Now she wouldn’t have to fight them for it, and she can trade the remote for one of her sibling’s computer time. It felt like she had been given a lifelong supply of Oh’Henry Chocolate.

Christmas and New Year came and left, Uyi wrote her first semester exams and passed with flying colors. Her parents were so proud that they decided to get her something for excelling in school.

Spring 2009, Uyi’s aunt drove her to the mall to get her first cell phone. She was so excited, it felt better than being in charge of the TV remote, it made her feel more grown up.

“What color will it be?” her aunt asked her as they drove into the mall’s parking lot

“It will be red!” she squealed excitedly

“Red?” her aunt asked with a smile forming across her face “I thought blue was your new favorite color, and beside you said, red symbolized danger”

“Yeah I know, it’s just red has been my color since I can remember and so I just thought I carry on the tradition”

They walked into best buy and Uyi went to where the phones were sold. She looked through the different phones, she didn’t want something expensive, just a regular phone. As she began to get frustrated she saw it, it was like when Squidward first tasted a krabby patty, it was beautiful, she ran to it and called at her aunt “This is the one!” she said practically drooling over it.

It was a red Samsung flip phone, with black shiny keys. It wasn’t what everyone had but it did the most important things: receive and send texts and incoming calls and games to play while I’m bored.

Her new cell phone was what she played with when she walked home now. It made her feel cooler and superior to the other kids who didn’t have a cell phone. She felt responsible and so grown up that every time she walked home, she brought out her cell phone and pretended to be really busy texting so people would can see her and know that she’s not just a child, she’s a teenager responsible to have her own cell phone. To make herself look more grown up, after school, she will change from her uniform into something casual and then walk the ten minutes trip home.

She was walking home from school feeling particularly happy with herself for acing her French test. With her eyes glued to her phone she didn’t notice a car slowing down beside her. She looked up and the car had come to a complete halt in front of her. It was a nice car, it was the kind she wanted to buy when she turned sixteen, she didn’t know much about cars but she knew it was a Toyota. It was red, had four doors and contained five boys, all of which she assumed attended Queens University. She didn’t think much of the car but she kept walking pretending not to see them. Her steps quickened because she felt quite uneasy with all five boys staring at her, the car started driving again slowing beside her.

The car drove ahead of her and came to a complete stop, all five boys came down and started yelling at her, at first she couldn’t make out a word they were saying, for her it felt like those dramatic movies, when something big is about to happen, everything happened in slow motion, the sound of just your heart pounding against your chest and the strange feeling of adrenaline and fear both pumping through your veins at the same time. It took her about ten seconds to hear what they were saying

“You fucking whore!!”

“Nigger”

“You don’t belong here”

“Go back to Africa and live with your ape family”

“Bitch”

“Black slut”

That’s all she heard, she just stood there, paralyzed, couldn’t walk away or run away from there as much as she had wanted to. She felt weak, like she was going to pass out, she didn’t know what to say or do. After what seemed like ten years, they jumped back inside their car and drove off quickly as if something had scared them. She turned around and one of the boys had his middle finger pressed against the back window of the car and he was still yelling.

Another car drove by her in the opposite direction, she turned back around, held her cell phone closer to her face, but she couldn’t see what was on her cell phone, her mind kept replaying what just happened. She was sure if it the approaching car sent them running off but whatever it, she was happy it scared them off.

As she walked the remaining five minutes to her house, she tried to forget what happen. She didn’t know why she didn’t put her cell phone in her pocket and just run. It still felt like a dream to her, it was like she felt asleep on the side walk and had a terrible nightmare.

When Uyi got home, she went straight to bed, she didn’t feel like being in charge of the TV remote, she didn’t feel like going on the computer, all she wanted to do was sleep.

The next day, Uyi woke up, pretended like what happened the day before was dream, she never told anyone what happened because to her what ever happened the day before was just a terrible nightmare, and everyone recovers from a nightmare, with time you just forget and everything will be all blur.

                                                      THE END

[phoenix-flamed]

Thank you once more to @graphesthesia -- you are an absolute gem for listening to me ramble!

This post is going to finally be talking about my headcanons regarding the Northern Territories. As always, this is purely headcanon, and isn't meant to justify the shitty things Elwin did. They were shitty. Even he knows they were shitty.

So first, going to detour real quick to talk about my personal headcanons for the High Houses of Rosaria(which, if the game's lore speaks against these headcanons, I'd say I'll change it accordingly but let's be real here, I'm too lazy for that). House Rosfield is, of course, the ruling house; it's a Rosfield that always takes the throne. The other High Houses do hold political power, and the heads of the houses are part of the Archduke/Archduchess's council -- however, they cannot act without first gaining the approval from the one on the throne.

In other words, regardless of what they wanted, Elwin had the final say. As expected, this was the source of a lot of tension and contempt towards Elwin from the other High Houses.

The talks regarding what to do about the stirrings within the Northern Territories started shortly after my Elwin took the throne. The High Houses were already pressuring him to invade and attack, on the grounds that it would be smarter to put a stop to any potential trouble before it cropped up, rather than wait for the possible threat to be revealed. Elwin would not agree to this. His stance was to wait; there was no definitive proof that Silvermane and the tribes inhabiting the northern region would attack.

Of course, the tribes of the north did end up making a move against Rosaria -- and Elwin was forced to acquiesce and begin devising a plan for how to deal with the rising situation. These plans took a few years to draw up due to attention having to be split between the Northern Territories and the new alliance with Dhalmekia to combat Kanver's push for independence, and Waloed's intervention. But once the plans were complete, Elwin himself led the invasion into the Northern Territories, and war of course ensued.

When Silvermane's troops surrendered in defeat, the question then came up of how to ensure that they would not rise again to attack Rosaria. Some of the heads of the other High Houses thought that Silvermane should be put to death as an example. Others thought that the Northern Territories should be forcibly overtaken by Rosaria.

Now, my Elwin respected Silvermane. He acknowledged to the man that he understood why he and his people did what they did -- their Mothercrystal was dying, their lands were slowly being eaten away by the Blight, so Silvermane was probably doing what he felt was best for his people. He also acknowledged that if the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak, he would do the same thing for the people of Rosaria. Needless to say, he didn't approve of either of these methods, and sought to find a more peaceable solution.

Taking Jill to Rosaria was, without a doubt, an assholish move. There is no denying that, and my Elwin will never deny it either. But from a purely political standpoint, it was smart. It was basically tying their hands -- they could either settle down and leave Rosaria in peace, or they could risk Jill's safety by choosing to attack again. It should be noted that no, my Elwin would not have hurt Jill, nor would he have allowed harm to come to her. But Silvermane didn't know that, and that was the point.

From one father to another, Elwin was appealing to Silvermane's emotions as a father moreso than those of a ruler. Which, again, was assholish and below the belt -- but it did work as intended. It also opened the door for surprisingly better relations between the Northern Territories and Rosaria; they were not allies, but they were neutral rather than aggressive, and I headcanon that that is why Rosaria was so willing to take in refugees from the north, as talked about in the first portion of the game.

As a sidebar note --

This whole situation was actually another reason why Elwin in the end conceded to himself to take Joshua to Phoenix Gate… because if everyone else could sacrifice for their people, including Silvermane giving up Jill, then Elwin needed to as well, no matter how much it hurt. He's not exempt from that suffering just because he's Archduke.