#Temple . Empress

[halcyon-hyacinth]

I need to start using Venn diagrams as a way to convince my mutuals to consume the same media I'm consuming

[kyotodreamtrips]

The Goma-do (護摩堂) and Bell Tower (鐘楼) in the precincts of Hokke-ji (法華寺) in Nara City, Japan.

[shower-racoon]

imagine if the Terraria bosses were on tumblr. what would they even post

[theopalempress]

[aestheticsun]

❁ Ganye Temple in Secret History of Empress Wu ❁

[queenclaudiabrown]

She'll Be Coming With Us | Chapter Three: Brave Old World

Chapter content warnings: censored cussing; canon triggers (the skeleton, Nick and Ryan hitting each other, angst, etc.); mentions of snakes and spiders; mentions of sweat if that’s a trigger; mentions of death (including starvation, animal attack, dehydration); slight grave desecration; bones of a human corpse are touched.

Word count: 4,591

Series Masterlist

18:37 / 06:37 p.m.

     After a short chat with Lorraine, who had resolved everything in her office in a few short minutes, Claudia had read through and signed a copy of the disclaimer given to Nick, which would be submitted to the appropriate persons along with her will should things go bad.  She trusted Lorraine implicitly with this task, and knew that she would fight anyone and everyone tooth and nail to ensure Claudia’s final wishes were carried out in the worst-case scenario.  At Lester’s direction, Claudia had gotten into contact with Captain Tom Ryan and informed him that he would also be going through the anomaly, and also rounded up a handful of medics to head down to the Forest to attend to the explorers.  At long last, she reunited with Nick and Abby again, the former having thoroughly read through and signed the disclaimer.

     Claudia had driven more sedately back to the Forest of Dean, her white-knuckled grip of irritation gradually relaxing over the course of the transit.  She let Abby sit in the front this time, in case riding in the backseat had been part of her earlier nausea.  Nick sulked in the backseat.  The women pretended not to notice, chatting amicably.

     Upon their return, they found the camp at the anomaly site far more developed than it had been that morning.  White tents had been set up, along with towering area lights and a plethora of equipment.  Claudia was pleased to see that the medics had arrived and set up shop almost immediately.  She directed Nick to them, and Abby followed.  Curiously, however, she noted that although Connor was present, Stephen was not.

     She ducked into the loo tent that had been set up, and as quickly as she could she changed into the trousers, jacket, and shoes she’d packed.  Stuffing her old clothes into the bag and mentally cringing at the wrinkles she knew she’d have to deal with when she got home, she removed her earrings and replaced her ponytail with a more secure braid down her back before stepping back outside.

     Although the clothes were more comfortable, Claudia felt very at odds with her attire in this context.  She was a Home Office official, an albeit minor representative of the British Government, a loyal servant of the Crown and dedicated to Queen and Country.  It was her duty to appear professional, unbothered, and collected at all times, most especially in front of civilians or subordinates.  She was to be an authority figure, a reliable leader.  Wearing casual civilian clothes chosen for comfort and practicality rather than appearance and professionalism felt foreign and almost inappropriate.

     But Claudia was not in the Home Office, with its bland flooring and narrow hallways and cramped offices walled in glass.  She was in the Forest of Dean with its tall pines and carpeted with organic detritus.  She was about to step through an impossible portal into the distant past to explore a strange world that should’ve been over and done with millennia ago and return a living fossil.

     Claudia eyed the apparition, slowly cracking her neck, then her elbows, then her knuckles.  She ran a finger around the circumference of her wrist between limb and watchband, breaking the uncomfortable seal formed by nervous sweat.  Head held high and shoulders squared with false bravado but a very real resolution to see this through, Claudia approached the Scottish professor that had turned her world upside-down.

     “Will you call Stephen again?”  Nick requested, largely ignoring the Home Office medic waving a penlight in front of his eyes.

     “He’s not answering.”  Reported Connor, lowering the phone from his ear and redialing.

     Claudia consulted her wristwatch, mentally making a note to invest in a more durable one.  “It’s 18:55.  I want us back no later than 20:00 hours.  If the first contact works out, we’ll take it from there.”  She announced.

     Captain Ryan stepped up beside her, and the professor’s eyes cut over to him.  “What’s he doing here?”  The Scot demanded.

     “This is Captain Ryan.  He’s a Gulf War veteran with extensive desert experience.  We don’t know how dangerous it will be on the other side of the anomaly.”  Claudia explained.  “No argument, Cutter.  He comes as well.”

     The professor got to his feet, amicably shaking Ryan’s hand.  “You said ‘us’.”  He noted.

     Claudia masked her apprehension toward his possible reactions and nodded.  “You said it yourself- I’ll be coming with you.”

     Nick frowned.  “That was yesterday, before we knew what we were dealing with.”

     She gave him her best diffusional smile.  “We still don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with, and if I’m going to be involved in this in any way, I intend to be in the thick of it with the rest of you.  That way I’ll be able to give a firsthand account from a perspective that the government will appreciate, and I can accurately assess the situation and call in resources accordingly.  I’m coming with you, and I’m accepting no arguments.”

     Abby walked up to them at that moment, holding the chirping Rex in her arms.  “Please take care of him.”  She requested softly, transferring the creature into the professor’s arms carefully.  Claudia indicated to Ryan that he should step aside.  “Look after yourself too.”  Abby added, placing a brief kiss on his cheek for good luck.

     “Yeah.  We’ll be fine.”  Nick assured her.

     Claudia met Ryan’s eyes.  “Whatever happens…” she glanced at the professor.  “…bring him back.”  Her eyes returned to the soldier’s, and her voice dropped.  “Even if it means leaving me behind.”

     “It won’t come to that, ma’am.”  Ryan replied, his voice steady and firm but soft.  He was in no way blowing off her very real concerns about what and when they were about to walk into, nor dismissing her unselfish prioritizing of Professor Cutter above herself, but affirming that he would do his job and get them all home safe and sound- that he would not let such a situation arise.  It was a rare thing to see this character in a soldier, and Claudia appreciated it.

     Claudia nodded once, then stepped away from Ryan and moved to Nick’s side.  Rex chirped and warbled in his arms.  Ryan took up Nick’s other side, and the three exchanged nods denoting their readiness to proceed.

     Nick led them forward, his stride calm and balanced despite the momentousness of the occasion and the danger that likely lay ahead.  Although, perhaps that was why his steps were so neutral- an equal measure of both eagerness and trepidation warring within him to create an odd equilibrium.

     Ryan stopped briefly to pick up a beige messenger bag that looked nearly fit to burst and put its strap over his head, and Claudia paused to wait for him.  He caught up to her again in two long-legged strides that looked natural and annoyingly easy on him, and she stepped quickly to return to her previous place beside Nick Cutter as they neared the shimmering doorway.

     Claudia drew in a breath, holding it as she stepped through the anomaly.  She half expected it to hurt, or at the very least feel uncomfortable- electric, perhaps, or like hitting your funny bone-, but it didn’t.  Her entire body tingled for half a second, like a pleasant shiver all over, and then her eyes were being assaulted by bright sunlight.

     She stepped through one foot at a time, and under one boot was amber pine needles and damp brown dirt, while the other set down onto rich yet rocky black soil.  The chilly evening in the Forest of Dean was replaced in an instant by dry heat and what seemed to be mid-to-late-afternoon sunshine.  The canopy of treetops was gone, and in its place a glorious blue sky.  In the far distance, a few peaked volcanoes emitted plumy clouds of ash and smoke almost lazily, no other hint of threat or danger coming from them but their mere existence.

     Many more Rexes merrily swooped and dived through the air a little way off, and the lizard in Cutter’s arms loudly chirped in response to their sounds.  Nick crouched down, carefully setting the creature onto the ground, and after a moment, he flew away.  Claudia exhaled in relief, knowing that the pesky little animal was safely returned to his own home and kind, where and when he belonged.

     Ryan set his backpack on the ground and began rifling through its contents in search of something, while Claudia was lost in the strange beauty of the foreign landscape.

     “Give me an hour.  Give me one hour on my own.”  Nick said, prompting Ryan to shoot back up to a standing position and Claudia to glare at the Scotsman.  “I’ve got a radio.”  He said, patting one hip.

     “Bloody Scottish.  Unmanageable.  Should’ve brought a security detail with me.”  Ryan muttered as they watched him mosey off.  “Or maybe a leash.”

     Claudia snorted, quite far from ladylike, and Ryan gave her a surprised look.  “I’m sorry, that’s not professional of me.”  Claudia apologized, covering her mouth in a poor effort to hide her laughter.

     “It’s nothing, ma’am.”  Ryan assured her.  “I take it you won’t mind, then, if I throw him over my shoulders and carry him back should he not be cooperative when we tell him it’s time to go?”

     “We’ll drag him back by his hair kicking and screaming if we have to.”  Claudia agreed.  Ryan allowed the corner of his mouth to lift in a smirk, and Claudia returned it with a smile and eyes that promised mischief.

     “Sir Lester will want an assessment of the area.”  She continued after a moment, her tone serious again.  “The anomaly looks stable to me, so as long as we don’t go too far, I should be able to make it back before there’s any chance of us being stranded here.”

     Ryan nodded.  He fiddled with his watch.  “It’ll go off in thirty minutes.  If we’re not far from the anomaly, we can go out a little further if we’d like.”

     “Smart thinking.”  Claudia said.  She turned on the spot and pointed.  “The professor went that way, so perhaps we should go in the opposite direction?”

     “Sounds good to me.”

     The pair of them set off, downhill from the anomaly’s location.  A barren expanse of ground going generally downhill was their chosen route, taking them past a tall hill that Claudia feared would turn out to be another volcano with every moment.  Mercifully, it did not erupt.

     “Brown.”  Ryan said suddenly, stopping short, his whole stance and demeanor shifting into one of near-tense alertness.  “I’m no paleontologist, but I know that doesn’t belong.”

     Claudia frowned, turning her head slowly right-to-left as her eyes followed the same track, and they caught on something so familiar it was foreign.  “My God.”  She breathed.

     In the shade of conifers, half-hidden by their fallen boughs and needles and the dirt beneath, was the unmistakable remnants of a human camp.

     White tents, their frames long since collapsed, were scattered about, and a few metal cases- like Halliburtons, or oversized briefcases a lot tougher than the ones used in Whitehall- were visible.  Claudia took in a shaky breath and tentatively moved forward, one boot crunching a massive pinecone underfoot.  She squatted beside one of the tents and carefully plucked at the fabric, hoping not to damage or disturb it any more than necessary and all too aware that anything from a horde of spiders to an angry prehistoric snake might be concealed underneath.

     To her relief, once she’d found the edge- already raggedly torn from its frame- and flung it back to expose whatever was underneath, she found no living creatures.  Instead, there was the tattered remnant of a rolled-up sleeping bag.

     “This is mad.”  Claudia muttered.  “Absolutely barmy.”

     “I feel like I’ve fallen down the rabbit-hole.”  Remarked Ryan.

     Claudia huffed a humorless laugh at the irony.  “I’ve felt the same since yesterday.”

     Ryan smirked.  “Well then, Alice, shall we see if we can find the Hatter?”

     A grin spread across Claudia’s face despite the situation as she rose to her feet.  “I think Professor Cutter is the Mad Hatter here.”

     “True enough.  A house of cards, then?”

     Claudia chuckled, actually amused this time.  “Maybe something in one of these cases can tell us something.  A regiment name, a country of origin, a time period- something.”

     “Agreed.  Those look fairly intact.”  He indicated a couple cases lying a few feet away.  The pair headed over to them, and Claudia knelt down.

     She opened one of the cases.  Inside was an assortment of freeze-dried food pouches, tinned goods, and a handful of remarkably-intact bars of milk chocolate in bright blue wrappers.  “So, whoever was here certainly didn’t starve to death, or relocate in search of food.”  Ryan remarked from over Claudia’s shoulder.  “They’ve expired by now, but the tins look like they’re in good condition.”

     She looked up at him.  “Dehydration, then?  It’s pretty hot, and I don’t see any water.”

     Ryan shook his head, a skeptical expression on his face.  “It’s humid, and there’s enough healthy plant life here to suggest that it rains somewhat frequently.  Besides, they could’ve drank the packing liquid from the tins if it came down to it.”

     Claudia frowned, returning her gaze to the case.  “In that case… what could have driven them to leave all this behind?  If they had planned to relocate, they would’ve at least taken their food with them, but it’s all still here.”

     “I’m not sure what creatures live in this time period, but I know about the cow and the Trent kid’s window.  Maybe that eats meat and is big enough to reach a second-story window came into camp and they had to take off.”

     “And either died somewhere else or went through another anomaly.”  Claudia added.  “How long ago would you say this happened?”

     Ryan blew out a breath.  “I really couldn’t say.  I don’t know enough about the climate, the weather.  I’m not a paleontologist, or a scientist of any kind, for that matter.  It could’ve been a couple months or twenty years.  I really don’t know.”  He scratched his jaw.  “Those volcanoes make me nervous.  I’m guessing that they were inactive, or at least fairly quiet whenever this happened, or we never would’ve found all this.”

     Claudia nodded, shutting the case.  “We should keep looking.  Maybe we’ll find a clue somewhere else- anything to tell us what happened here.”

     Ryan nodded, and pointed off to one side.  “Let’s start over this rise in the land.  If I was making camp in a place like this, I would have at least one soldier stationed on higher ground for a better vantage point.”

     Nodding in agreement, Claudia stood and followed the soldier through the trees up the hill.  There weren’t many trees on the plateaued top of the hill; instead, it was far more desert-like, covered in gravely brown earth.

     Something strange was buried in the ground, something metal with bars over the middle.  A crate of some sorts, probably.  But further ahead was by far the most shocking and disturbing discovery thus far.  “$h¡t.”  Ryan cursed, and Claudia found herself echoing him aloud.

     Half-covered by sediment lay what was unmistakably a human skeleton.

     It was impossible.

     And yet, it was.

     Claudia sighed with the realization that that seemed to apply to everything in her life lately.

     “I’ll see what I can learn from what’s in the open.”  Claudia decided.  “Go get Professor Cutter.”

     “Yes, ma’am.”  Ryan answered, sprinting away in search of their wayward Scotsman.  Claudia glanced around, suddenly feeling even more overwhelmed without Ryan’s grounding presence beside her.  After a contemplative moment, she squatted down where she stood, dragging a scrutinizing gaze over the half-exposed, very human skeleton.

     The skull could be nothing but a homo sapiens cranium.  There was no oddity to the shape of the forehead, or the jaw, or the eye sockets, or the cheekbones, or the teeth.  Claudia hadn’t expected anything different, of course, given the very modern human camp.

     Other than the half-hidden skull, all that was visible of the skeleton was part of the ribcage, most of the pelvis, and part of the right leg- specifically, the knee and the nearest portion of the femur, tibia, and fibula. 

     A thought occurred to her.  What she and Ryan had seen of the campsite screamed ‘government-funded military’, which meant that the dead person laid out before her was probably either a soldier or a scientist.  If they were a soldier, they would be wearing dog tags.

     And dog tags could prove crucial to uncovering the truth about what had happened here.

     Gritting her teeth in revulsion, she gingerly reached out, the pads of her fingertips just brushing across the gravelly earth that the poor sap was half-covered in- specifically, the part between the skull and ribcage.  She wished she had worn gloves.  “I am… so sorry.”  She muttered aloud, using both hands to paw through the dirt, wincing as the sharp stones mingled with the soil scratched and scraped her delicate fingertips.

     At last, they brushed against a different substance, one that soon became abundantly obvious to be bone.  Claudia cringed, but ascertained from the shape of said bone(s) that she had found the part of the spinal column that made up the neck.  That wasn’t her goal, but it was the next best thing.

     Claudia resorted to dragging large mounds of earth away from the neck, her cupped hands demolishing the earth that obstructed her.  At last, once she had placed an open hand at the top of the ribcage to keep the dirt within from spilling out, there was enough gone for her to see the neck quite well, and she simply fingered through the loose dirt with her free hand.  Finally, they caught on something thin but distinctive- a ball chain.

    Claudia wrapped her hand around it and tugged.  The weight of the dirt in the skull kept it anchored to the ground, and the old chain snapped with enough force.  And there, dangling from her brown-streaked hand with prehistoric dirt under her fingernails, was a set of dog tags.

     Puzzlingly and somewhat concerningly, they were not the standard British round tags.  Instead, they were one solid piece composed of two rectangular tags, like the American ones, stacked on top of each other, with a narrow hole in the middle.  ‘Canadian’, Claudia realized.  Dirt and grime were caked on too thickly for Claudia to even see the information stamped into the metal.  Time and the elements had taken their toll on these tags.  Claudia prayed that something useful could still be gleaned from them.

     Footsteps behind her drew her attention, and she looked over her shoulder to see Captain Ryan returning, Nick in tow.  “Did you show him the campsite?”  Claudia asked, rising.  Her knees protested at the sudden shift of position.

     “Yes, ma’am.”  Ryan replied.  His eyes went to the item she held.  “Dog tags.”  He stated, his voice flat with professional restraint.

     She swallowed.  “Yes.”  She looked down, rotating her wrist to wrap the chain around her hand like uncut spaghetti on a fork.  “They’re Canadian, I think.”  She remarked, in the exact same tone he had used.

     The ramifications of this discovery were massive, but this was neither the time nor the place to discuss them, or even give them too deep thought.

     Nick approached the corpse, undisturbed save for Claudia’s digging in the neck area.  Claudia gave the dog tags one last look, then stuffed them into a front pocket of her trousers.

     It was the Scotsman’s turn to crouch by the body.  Ryan abruptly dropped to one knee and dug something out of the ground, handing it to Nick.  “A camera case?”  Claudia queried, mentally berating herself for not noticing it.

    Nick turned it over in his hands, inspecting the time-worn brown leather.  “It’s ‘HC’; it’s Helen Cutter.”  He said, voice strained.  He stood back up quickly, looking off into the distance.

     “Is it her?”  Ryan questioned after a moment.

     “You found tags?”  Nick asked, glancing over his shoulder at Claudia.  She nodded.  “Then no.  Helen wasn’t military.  In fact-” he went down again for a moment, counting the exposed ribs.  “-it’s a man.”

     “How did he die?”  Ryan asked, looking between Nick and Claudia.

     “I don’t know.”  Admitted the Scot.

     “Me either.”  Claudia added.  “What was Helen doing with a Canadian soldier- in a Canadian military camp, no less?”  She turned her gaze from Nick to Ryan.  “Assuming that this wasn’t natural causes, given that there’s food and shelter down there, what are the chances that she and the other soldiers could’ve survived even though this one didn’t?”

     Ryan cocked his head in thought.  “That depends.  If he died before the rest of the camp was deserted, it’s high.  If he didn’t, he might’ve stayed behind or broken off to lure off the threat and buy the others time.  If the others escaped and she was with them, she might be alive.”

     “And she could’ve dropped the camera in the chaos.”  Claudia added thoughtfully.

     Ryan consulted his watch.  “It’s time to go.”  He announced.

     “Yeah, I cannae help that, I’ve got to find my wife.”

     The soldier and the civil servant exchanged a look.  Attempting persuasion first, Claudia spoke gently to the mulish professor.  “We have no idea what happened here or where she could’ve gone.  We don’t have the resources or the manpower or the knowledge to pursue this.  We’re chasing phantoms here.  We need to return to our time and report what we’ve discovered.  Then, if the anomaly’s still stable, we might be able to bring more people through to search properly.  But we need to go back first.”

     “You two go do that.  I’m staying.”  Nick replied without looking at her.  Claudia let out an annoyed breath, clenching her jaw.  Reluctantly, she turned her eyes to Ryan and gave him a permissive nod.

     The soldier drew his pistol as he approached from behind.  “Sorry, Professor.”  He spoke, promptly bringing it down on the back of the Scot’s head, and the professor crumpled to the prehistoric ground.

     “You can put it in your report that I ordered you to do it.”  Claudia said, looking remorsefully down at Nick.  “Is there anything I can carry to make carrying him back easier on you?”

     An odd look came over Ryan’s face, surprised and touched at Claudia’s offer.  “The camera case, and if you do exactly as I say, my rifle.”

     A few minutes later, they were striding as quickly as they dared back the way they’d come, Nick over Ryan’s shoulders in a fireman carry and the soldier’s rifle slung across Claudia’s front, the camera case’s much shorter leather strap overlaying it and keeping the valuable item secure against her chest.  Sweat was heavy and damp across the expanses of her skin, gluing her hair to her forehead and neck and her clothes to her body.  It was a different kind of dampness than she was used to, an unpleasant and uncomfortable one that she hoped to not experience again anytime soon, even though she knew she would need to return at least once to the Permian should a second team come through to further explore and investigate this particular cross-section of the geologic time column.  The black webbing sling strap of Ryan’s rifle chafed against her back and shoulder, moving and shifting and rubbing against her irritatingly despite it being shortened to keep the gun tight against her and the multiple layers of clothing between strap and skin.  The muzzle of the rifle bumped against her thigh, near the knee, with every step.

     She pitied Ryan, clad from shoulder to shoe-sole in black, with long sleeves, a loaded tactical vest, and multiple layers.  Not to mention the nine-stone unconscious professor over his shoulders.  She was just glad that he’d left the backpack at the anomaly site.

     Onward and onward they trekked, hiking up the slopes that were far more favorable to descend.  Ryan, to his credit, never slowed his pace despite the tremendous effort he was making, heaving for breath as he continued to carry Nick.

     Eventually, the professor roused with a litany of slurred swears, threats, and insults, and Ryan let him down.  Nick threw one arm around Ryan’s neck and Claudia took his other, putting it over her shoulders as she and Ryan each laid an arm across the Scot’s back.  Together, the three of them wearily staggered up the last rise of primeval ground to the anomaly site.  Panting, Ryan and Claudia reluctantly let go of Nick, all three of them bent over in exhaustion.  Claudia stumbled away from them, tripping over her own feet and landing solidly on her backside.  She didn’t care and made no effort to stand or compose herself.

     Nick abruptly reared back an arm and threw a flimsy punch at Ryan’s face, causing Claudia to jolt in shock.  Ryan returned it with a solid hit that sent Nick sprawled out onto the ground.  “Don’t do that again.”  He rebuked.  He glanced to the side and froze in horror.  “The anomaly – it’s disappearing!”  He cried in alarm, sending a fresh jolt of adrenaline through Claudia’s veins that had her on her sore feet in seconds.      They dashed for the anomaly- shuddering with a strange noise as it waned into transparency- but Ryan abruptly skidded to a halt, prompting Claudia to do the same.  “Quick!”  Ryan barked, casting wild glances between the anomaly and the Scotsman, who, to Claudia’s horror, was still on the ground.  “Do you want to be trapped here forever?”  He demanded.

     “I’m staying here to look for my wife!”  The Scotsman asserted, stubbornly refusing to even stand up.

     “I’m not leaving you behind!”  Ryan responded.

     “Well, what do you wanna do?  Shoot me?”  Goaded Nick sourly.

     “For God’s sake, Nick, you don’t even know if she’s alive!”  Claudia burst out.  “She could be dead, she could be a million years from now!  Your best chance at finding her is going home, searching for signs in the past.  You can’t stay here!”

     Ryan, having visibly deliberated during her plea for him to see sense, darted back toward the professor, dropping into a kneeling position beside him.  “Alright- you stay, I stay.”

     Bloody mad, both of them, but she had to give him credit.  “That’s- that’s just childish.”  Nick chided.

     “No more than you’re being.”  Retorted Claudia, desperately squatting down on Nick’s other side.

     Cutter looked back and forth between his resolute companions, casting a look also at the rapidly fading anomaly.  “Oh, come on.”  He muttered under his breath.  Despite feeling tremendously sorry for him and trying to be understanding of his emotional turmoil, Claudia couldn’t ignore the dread threatening to consume her whole.  She believed with a grim certainty that tomorrow morning, Lorraine would have to act upon the will that had been left with her, and would be tasked with informing her parents that their daughter would not be coming home.  She shut her eyes in a vain attempt to contain the tears blossoming in her eyes.  She should’ve at least left them a casual farewell voicemail before leaving London.

     “Alright.”

     Nick’s single word of resignment and compliance flooded her with relief and energy, and she threw out her hand and caught his arm, hauling him to his feet as Ryan shot up beside him.  The soldier snatched up his backpack, and the three of them ran for the flickering light and flung themselves through.

@witchofthemidlands @chocolatesawfish @thegingergal @whatkindofnameisvolta @whispers-of-gallifrey

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Author’s notes:

The AU plot thickens!  I know it’s a sorta-cliffhanger, but I really wanted to get this chapter out.

With the exclusion of languages such as Yiddish, Hebrew, and Arabic, most languages are read left-to-right, therefore when we as humans (if we read left-to-right) move our eyes in the opposite way (right-to-left), we pick up more little details.  I imagine the reverse also applies.

‘poor sap’ is a phrase my grandmother commonly says.

If I’ve incorrectly capitalized or referred to certain things (such as “a loyal servant of the Crown and dedicated to Queen and Country”) I sincerely apologize.  I’m American and I don’t 100% grasp all of the capitalization and terminology for these things, but I’m trying my best.  Feel free to correct me.

I will explain the Canadian tags further in future chapters.  In fact, this arc (no pun intended) won’t be FULLY explained for a really long time, although it will become pretty irrelevant for a while.

Tinned goods = canned goods.

I’ve eaten freeze-dried food on occasion.  The meals have to be prepared, usually with boiling water right into their pouches, but the Neapolitan ice cream (which you don’t do anything to before eating) is surprisingly good.

[swarmkeepers]

AAAAAAAA WE LIVED BITCH

[chuluoyi]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐒 !

- gojo satoru x reader // zen'in naoya x reader

in the wake of your scandalous divorce, you fall into the arms of emperor gojo satoru. for a while, you believe you have found love… until it becomes clear that your new husband is scheming behind your back! love, marriage, divorce… are you doomed to go through this path the second time?

genre/warnings: 18+ suggestive content—minors do not interact!—might be ooc, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, marriage of convenience, explicit smut, pregnancy

note: loosely inspired by and taking some elements of manhwa remarried empress. this is the second part of remarried empress au trilogy! wc. 9.2k ! thank you so much for your love in the first part🩵 but as of now, TAGLIST IS CLOSED so i'd appreciate it if the comment section won't be flooded with asks for tags :')

credit header goes to @/mongsanghwa in twitter!

prev. all hail the empress | last. long live the empire

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Heavens, help me... I love her too damn much!

For Gojo Satoru, love was once an abstract concept. At first, he thought it was admiration, or a sense of obsession—

But on the day he watched you become Zen’in Naoya’s bride, Satoru realized it was much deeper than that. It felt like the sharpest sword had pierced straight into him and lodged itself there.

And then, years later— as if hearing his prayers, you became his. Since then, his life was perfect, because he wasn't lying when he said that you were everything he wanted in life.

Yet in a twist of fate, that same sinking, horrific feeling washed over him... as he watched the pagoda he built for you engulfed in flames.

You were there. Satoru felt himself staggering as he took in the mortifying sight. You and his unborn child are inside!

He didn't waste a breath as he dashed towards where you were, crushing everything in his path in the process, but just as he was about to enter the scorching temple—

“Satoru, no!” Suguru grabbed him, restraining him with his own body. “Get back!”

“No!” he screamed at him frantically. “She is there! Suguru, let go—!”

And then the worst happened, as the pagoda completely crumbled into a heap of rubble. Satoru's breath was knocked out of him as he faced the reality that he couldn't save you in time. And he felt like losing his consciousness as he wheezed, and thrashed in Suguru's hold.

It was all too much for him to comprehend as he struggled against the devastation before him.

How... did this happen? You were happy. You were about to welcome a child into your lives! The two of you really were...

SEVERAL WEEKS PRIOR

Your husband is trying to use you to wage a war... against your homeland.

You secluded yourself in your study, trying to make sense what you just overheard.

In a broader perspective, Satoru's actions could be constituted as national defense. If he perceived the Eastern Empire as a threat, then countermeasures were indeed necessary. But if not...

Regardless, it was not the very idea that blew you, but how he planned to use you to sway sentiment in your former country, to weaken them.

Is that what he's been aiming all this time? You felt like a hypocrite to question this since you too were using him. But these days, you were certainly not using him—you were falling in love with him.

It was strange, because you were supposed to be furious if that was his intent from the start. Yet what you felt right now was profound sadness, possibly even denial and heartbreak. You kept thinking how there must be another explanation—

“Sweetheart, hello~!”

You were startled when the door to your study was suddenly flung open, and the man from your thoughts strode in with a broad grin, completely oblivious to your inner turmoil.

"Satoru." You fixed him with a genial smile, even as nausea churned within you. Straightening your skirts, you looked up at him.

"I've been told you haven't been well, and Shoko said you've seen the physician," Satoru frowned, his long fingers cradling your face as he half-sat on your desk. "How did it go? What did he say?"

"Oh..." you clammed up, feeling at loss. "He said..."

Your dashing husband tilted his head curiously, bright eyes softened, worried lines etched on his face were so clear... and despite your conflict, you didn't have the heart to deny him this news.

"I'm with child." This time, your smile was genuine as you pushed back your intrusive thoughts. "Satoru... I'm carrying our child."

For a full ten seconds, Satoru was stunned, staring at you with a blank expression, his lips slightly parted. "H-huh...? Child? A... baby?"

"Mm-hm. A living baby."

"O-oh..." Satoru blinked his eyes rapidly—looking at your face, then your abdomen—before his expression broke into absolute wonder, broadly grinning. "T-that's... oh— it's—!"

To say he was speechless didn't cut it as he stuttered, messed his hair, pinched his own cheek, becoming restless yet looking so incredibly giddy—

"My queen!" Satoru suddenly lifted you and spun you around midair. "My beautiful wife—!" before gently sitting you on the desk and burying his face in your skirts, hugging your waist tightly. "Good lord, I'm— I'm so—!"

It hadn't truly dawned on you until now that you were going to become a mother. Witnessing Satoru's unabashed reaction as he nestled his face into you… nearly brought tears to your eyes.

Right in this moment, you didn't entertain any other thoughts. You were deeply moved by your husband's overwhelming excitement for your baby. And the realization that, despite Naoya's accusations—

Satoru looked up at you the second you sniffled, and he immediately drew you closer, pressing his forehead against yours.

"Hey, no tears, yeah?" He rested a hand on your jaw, his eyes sparkling with utter adoration as he gazed at you. "This is wonderful. We're going to be parents. This child... a part of you and me—we're going to bring them into the world."

You tugged his collar close and brushed your lips against his. And he responded with equal fervor. You yearned for this closeness with him.

. . .

But still in the back of your head, that lingering, buried fear whispered—

Is the man who adores you this much... capable of hurting you to the same extent?

With your bare bodies pressed closely, and you under him, Satoru could sense the rapid beat of your heart. And in return, you felt the heat of his palms against your skin and the tremors in his breath.

Yet now, in your marital bed, it quickly became clear to him that you, who were usually so composed and collected, were nervous. Satoru couldn't suppress the smile spreading across his face even if he tried.

"This is far from our first time, Empress." His coy smirk taunted you as he littered kisses along your jawline and chest. "What are you so jittery about, hmm?"

"Ah..." you let out a soft sigh as he sucked your breast with his mouth. "N-nothing... you're mistaken."

"Hmm... not confessing? Right..." He then grabbed the generous mound of your other breast and fondled it, making you squirm and moan.

But in the midst of this eroticism, suddenly your mind was thrown back to—

“That’s why I have her here.”

"Satoru," you breathed out, catching his hands. He looked up to you in slight surprise, thinking that you wanted to stop.

But he was in for a plot twist when you first pushed him, then flipped him underneath you, straddling him and capturing his lush lips, yanking his hair in the process.

"Whoa— hey..." Satoru held your hips, visibly startled but clearly enjoying your sudden whim, snickering. "My queen—ohh— you're a sight to behold, on top of me."

He grabbed the flesh of your bottom, sinking his fingers into it and pulling you forward. You let yourself be moved until your thighs were next to his ears.

Suddenly, it was, at once, the most peculiar experience—the greatest confidence boost you had ever received, and the hottest thing he had ever seen.

"You're so damn wet already," your husband nipped your inner thigh playfully as he observed your folds, and you gasped. "Are you ready?"

In response, you slammed yourself onto his face because, right now, you were in a less than forgiving mood.

"You look good under me," you darkly retorted, but then you choked on your own breath when your husband started licking your folds messily with his tongue.

Satoru smirked at the sound of your breathless noises, responding by lapping even more fervently. Your fingers tangled in his hair, tightening their grip on his scalp as you began to grind yourself against his face.

"You a-are really n-nasty!" you moaned, voice breaking at the feeling his sinful tongue parting your opening. "Maybe y-you have lied to me… all th-is time."

Satoru furrowed his brows in slight confusion, and perhaps a bit of annoyance, as he pinched your clit in retaliation, causing you to draw in a sharp breath.

"You're— awful!" but contrary to your claims, your face contorted with pleasure as the tight coil in your belly spasmed. "How m-many women... h-have you beguiled like m-me?"

He almost laughed into your ass. Literally. If being called awful was the price for pleasuring the most beautiful woman in the lands, then Satoru would be happy to be that horrible person every day of his life.

But then, you suddenly shifted on top of him, no longer positioning your hips in his face, and he quickly caught your face, crashing his lips against yours so both of you wouldn’t part for even a second.

"Nobody else," he murmured, wet lips and tongue ravishing yours, so much lust glistening in his eyes. "I'm all yours— forever." Just as he whispered it amidst pants, he groaned when your hand sneakily went to his very hard length.

And firmly grasped it. He got swollen just by tasting you and hearing your noises earlier. He growled, and against his senses, he pushed you down to lodge it inside you, penetrating and splitting you apart in one go.

“Ah—! Satoru— it’s too…!” you babbled breathlessly, your nails digging into his shoulders, feeling his huge cock pulsing inside your tight walls.

“Your fault,” he rebuked, eyes narrowing into darker shades, rigorously moving his hips against yours as he sat up. It was impossible to hold it in any longer, he could feel it already.

He tensed up, adjusting his position, so close to losing it inside you, and when he heard your dirty mewls and felt you shudder—reverberating through his body too—Satoru gripped your waist tighter, groaning, holding you in place to release his load inside you with precision.

Your body gave in as well, releasing at the same moment his cum burst inside you. Your vision blurred as the nastiest of moans escaped you, yet you felt so safe as your husband caught you in his arms.

. . .

"Are you okay?" Satoru asked worriedly after you rolled off him in the aftermath of your bliss. "Do you feel sick?" Your unfocused eyes met his, and he looked panicked, pulling you closer. "Shit, did I go too far? I shouldn't have, especially with the baby still in the early stages..."

"I'm... okay," you croaked, trying to reassure him. "Just tired..."

Heaving a relieved sigh, Satoru pecked you in the lips.

"Am I... a mess?" you leaned on him with a blissful smile, feeling his cum still trickling out between your legs.

"Yeah... My beautiful mess, that is." Satoru chuckled, reveling in the state of your disarray. "Soon enough," his hands traced your skin before settling on your tummy, a fond smile curving his lips. "Our baby will grow here."

"Yes—" you replied, placing your palm over his. "Do you... want a boy or girl?"

A boy would be the much sought-after prince, and you fully expected him to favor it, until to your surprise, Satoru lightly hummed and pressed a kiss on your belly button.

"Does that matter? What's important is you deliver them safely and they're healthy," he chuckled. "A princess will be nice... she'll turn out to be as lovely as you."

"But the heir has to be a prince..."

"Nah. I can always amend the succession norms. I'm the emperor."

And you giggled next. Seeing how free you looked, Satoru thought you were the woman overturning his skies and stars, and you truly are—as now you are the mother of his own flesh and blood, his future empire.

There will be a nation-wide celebration for you. Satoru insisted it was a must, and he would invite dignitaries from neighboring empires and kingdoms as well.

Including the Eastern Empire.

. . .

“Your Majesty. I... bring a gift and an invitation from the Western Empire.”

Naoya clacked his heel on the carpet, casting a sharp, yet uninterested look at his aide.

“There will be a celebration for—” the poor man gulped uneasily, faltering as if he could foresee how his emperor would react. Naoya scowled.

“Spit it out.”

“The former empress’ pregnancy, Your Majesty!”

“What...?” At that moment, he snapped his head towards him. It felt like everything he had ever known came crashing down. “Y/N...?”

That can’t be possible. For many years both of you had failed. That was why he took that maid and divorced you. No, upon reflection, it was never truly his intention to divorce you—he had wanted you to raise that child if you couldn't bear one.

But then you completely ignored him and had an affair with Gojo Satoru. He was furious. He couldn't bear the disgrace of it all, so he went with the divorce, if only to assert some control. However, the joke was on him, as you ultimately fled with Gojo entirely.

But if you aren’t infertile... Then, what did that make him?

Numerous thoughts ran through his mind. Was it possible that it was his child instead of Gojo’s? How many months had it been anyway?

...or could it be that he is the one who is—!

“No...” he muttered, frantic, taking sharp breaths. “Absolute rubbish!”

The aide stared at him in fear, as Naoya appeared unhinged now. But soon, that fear gave away to pity, as the emperor trashed his desk and howled in frustration— but contrary to the expected fury, Naoya looked like he was mourning, evident by the way he flung everything but the very portrait from his coronation day.

Of him and you. Even after that disastrous divorce, he had never taken it down from the wall of his study. Now, Naoya was staring at it, a multitude emotions clouding his eyes.

This man, just as the aide had always thought, has thrown away the only good thing he has in his life.

“Are the invitations sent already?” Satoru asked with a blooming smile, rolling the yarn out of his cat’s reach as the poor kitty grappled to catch it. “And how are the preparations going?”

“Banquets are usually handled by the Empress, but you really go out of your way and do it instead,” Suguru shook his head, unamused by the added workload it brought him, especially considering his disinterest in festivities.

“They’re all sent, some of them responded—before you ask, Naoya hasn’t— and I’ve cascaded the preparation to Shoko, since I have no clue what to do about it.”

“Well, not that I care if he’s going to stay sour and wants his name tarnished in the daily papers as a bitter ex-husband…” Satoru shrugged, petting Sugu-chan as the cat purred contentedly. “He is tactless, he very well might be.”

“You really want to spite him, don’t you…” Suguru sighed. “You even sent him a note. It was unnecessary.”

“He was the one hurling curses at me and my empress first. I’m just returning the favor.”

The note in question was of lines after lines of flowery nonsense about gratitude and whatnot. Satoru imagined Naoya's vein would burst after reading his card.

“I’m happy for you, Satoru.” As exasperated as Suguru was, his smile was genuine when he said it. “A royal baby, huh...”

"Suguru." The emperor's voice suddenly dropped an octave, surprising him. "What about the placement of the totem I told you the other day?"

The abrupt shift in conversation made Suguru visibly uncomfortable, and again, they were back to this topic.

"You're seriously going to do this?" the duke asked, almost in disbelief. "Satoru, you're going to become a father. You have everything already. This will lead to war one way or another, and—what if the Empress finds out? How do you think it'll make her feel?"

However, Satoru's gaze was cold as he dismissed most of Suguru's tirade. There was a chill in his expression that made his longtime friend inwardly questioned who the man before him was.

"I'm asking you. Have you done it or not, Suguru?"

"You're going to put a curse on a whole village, Satoru."

"I told Zen'in Naoya the moment I got Y/N, that it would mark the beginning of his downfall. I'm making good on that promise."

Suguru pressed his eyes shut to calm his fury. Morally, what Satoru did was wrong, but politically, this was the art of war. Suguru purely opposed to this out of consideration for you.

Few understood Satoru's actions as well as Suguru did. He might understand, others like you and Shoko wouldn't.

"Just remember, when the Empress catches wind of this, she's going to resent you," Suguru warned. "No matter what your reasoning might be."

Satoru's upper lip curled upwards, his eyes bereft of light, narrowing with indifference.

"Unless you never tell her, that is of no relevance."

Love... has he ever loved you all this time?

Naoya had never been confronted with that question or pondered it, simply because he never considered love existed within the context of something as grand as monarchy.

You were chosen because you were well-bred and well-versed in the arts of nobility. You were indeed the epitome of an ideal empress, a fact evident throughout your tenure.

But...

"Naoya!" you yelled at him and caught his hand. "You're a fool! Why did you keep doing that!?"

It was a long-buried memory, when you were still in your teens, around the time you were just made the crown princess. His hands, bruised and bloodied, and you tended to them.

"I'm not weak, you know," he sullenly barked. "I have to train to be stronger."

"You definitely have to train, yes... but you have to take breaks!" you retorted angrily.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" he snapped back. "It's not like your hands that are injured."

And that moment, you were suddenly almost in tears. Naoya never understood why.

"Don't cry." But his instincts told him to make you not cry. "Don't cry. I'm fine, see?"

. . .

Zen'in Naoya jerked awake from his slumber, realizing he had forgotten what his dream was, that it was still the late afternoon, and he was still in his study.

All he felt was that nostalgic feeling, and it intensified when he glanced up... only to see his coronation portrait on the wall.

It was almost as if you were still here. You were incredibly stunning, he had to admit that. Why hadn’t he realized until just recently?

The way your crimson dress flowed out, and that thin, serene smile on your face... you were a picture-perfect empress, and that was not an exaggeration. No one could measure up to you—

"Your Majesty~!"

Especially not Hanabi.

"Your Majesty, the princess has started holding her head up!" Hanabi, now no longer dressed in rags but rather in one of your dresses, excitedly remarking, "Soon, she will start to—"

Naoya's gaze fell on her dress. He recognized it instantly. That specific deep, vibrant shade of red with serpent-like waistband. It was one of his gifts to you for your birthday. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Huh?" she seems perplexed. "Oh this... I thought it looks pretty..."

But to her surprise, he suddenly flared with fury. "That isn't yours, you dullard," he spat out.

Her expression sank in heartbreak as he continued with his venomous speech. "Know your place." His words cut like a blade. "And I keep telling you, a princess is of no use to the throne!"

Hanabi fought to hold back the tears, because not only had he insulted her, worse still, he showed no interest in their daughter. "She is still of your blood, Your Majesty," she replied, her voice trembling.

"I told you, I only want a heir." His sneer caused her eyes to widen in shock. "Other than that, I won't care."

"Your Majesty, please—" Hanabi was desperate for him to acknowledge their daughter, when she caught sight of your ethereal face on the wall.

He still hasn't taken it down. It made her eyes twitch, and her own anger to rise.

"The former empress..." she stared at your picture resentfully. "You still have her here. We never even have our portraits painted..."

Naoya's icy gaze leveled at her without a hint of sympathy, despite the woman standing before him being the mother of his child.

"Why do you look at me like that?" Hanabi asked, tears spilling from her eyes. "You used to care for me when you thought I would bear you a son. Even if it's a daughter, she deserves love too, doesn't she?"

In the last five years, she had come to know that the emperor wasn't always this manic person. He used to be gentler, or at least not as vindictive.

And she never truly wanted you to be cast away like that. She looked up to you, admired you from up close, and meant it when she said she would carry your legacy as best as she could.

"Are you dumb?" Naoya barked. "I told you to know your place!"

...yet why? Why are people in this palace so harsh to her?

“I wish you luck on that, Hanabi. Beware, the emperor is fickle…”

Your unkind eyes, Naoya's disdainful stares even after she gave birth to his child... She didn't even care about becoming the empress anymore. She just wanted a happy life!

"If it was the former empress' child... even if it was a princess..." Hanabi turned to him with determination even amidst her pitiful tears. "You wouldn't cast her aside just like you do now with my daughter, would you, Your Majesty?"

Naoya's gaze, devoid of emotion and filled with blatant disinterest more than anything, shot through her, hurting her more than if it was filled with fury instead.

The lack of warmth in his stare made her feel like being looked through rather than being seen. As if she is that insignificant.

"Leave," he ordered coldly next, turning his back on her.

And there is her answer.

Hanabi had been your maid for five long years. She knew who you were, what you stood for, and your whole demeanor. Yet, despite her best efforts, she could never emulate you in the same way, could she?

. . .

"My lady... don't you know that the former empress is with child?"

Once again, Hanabi felt the sting of ice when her lady-in-waiting delivered the news.

"Empress... Y/N?" she whispered. "How...?"

You were stripped of your titles here, and yet you still remained a queen somewhere else. Hanabi might have won Naoya's favor, but now she was losing it while you had another emperor's affection.

Not much had changed about you. You still occupied the highest seat a woman could possibly attain. Whereas she...

"But she is barren!" she turned to her confidant then, almost in disbelief.

"Evidently not. Emperor Gojo has proven that."

How nice. A part of Hanabi wanted to congratulate you because she knew of your sufferings—how much you longed to hold a baby from your womb in your arms.

How unfair... But another part of her couldn't help but despise you. Because even in your absence, she still had to live in your shadow. Because you, who had lost everything, regained it all so easily.

"And my lady... Emperor Gojo is going to throw a banquet for this occasion next month. You are expected to attend it."

"Sweetheart, you asleep?"

One night, several weeks later, just as you were about to drift off to sleep, you felt the sheets shift as Satoru slipped into bed beside you.

Though you didn't turn to face him, you felt his warm hands wrap around your waist from behind.

"Satoru... you're back," you murmured sleepily.

"Mm-hmm," he whispered, pulling you closer to his chest and burying his face in your hair, taking in your scent. "Shoko told me you've been in your bedchamber since breakfast. Are you okay?"

"I get queasy if I walk too much, so I've been lying down all day... But don't worry, the physician said it's normal in early stages of pregnancy."

His grip on you tightened, as he caressed your belly. "Hmm, naughty baby. I'm sorry I wasn't here..."

"Where were you?"

For days now, he had been away, and you hadn't really questioned him. You had your guesses though—

"I was overseeing the construction of a new pagoda," he said softly, kissing your neck. "For you, actually."

That was so unexpected that it made you open your eyes fully. "What— for me?" Building pagoda was definitely not a small affair. Usually it was for religious purposes.

"It's a gift to the heavens for blessing me with you and our baby. It's expected to be completed before your celebration banquet."

The tower would be the testament of his love for you and your unborn child. Despite yourself, your heart swelled with overwhelming warmth.

"You're so silly... why do you spend the tax funds for that?" you brushed off the faint heat in your face, not daring to look at him still.

"Whatever I wouldn't do for you?" he cheekily retorted, chuckling.

You had never felt this cherished before, and this time you were certain—you were more than ready to fall in love with this man.

But he... is planning to use you, isn't he?

"Satoru." You shuffled to turn and face him, causing him to crack his lidded eyes open. You gazed at him, placing both of your hands on his face, caressing his face softly.

You're so kind to me. I appreciate you for that. You wanted to tell him various things, but the darkness in your heart ever since overhearing his exchange with Suguru made it hard for you to do so.

"Mm? What is it?" he drawled with a small smile, leaning into your touch.

“You... love me, don't you?”

His bright eyes found yours then, sharp and steady. An impossibly fond smile graced his lips, as if finding what you said the most natural thing there was.

“Throughout heaven and earth,” he proclaimed, his voice steady to match his eyes. “Yes, my queen.”

...then you would trust him, if only just for this moment. The genuine sincerity in his eyes, the raw authenticity in his words... it all felt too real.

And so, even when you were well-aware of the bitter possibility of truth, you leaned in and kissed him, giving yourself to his touch as his hand slipped inside you.

And soon, came the day of the lavish banquet solely held to celebrate your pregnancy.

You were seated on your throne, dressed in a stunning aquamarine gown. The skirt of the dress was full and flowing, spilling onto the floor in a waterfall of shimmering fabric. Upon your head perched your crown of diamonds, glinting beneath the light, and your ceremonial veil to make you look as queenly as you could possibly be.

Everyone would agree that you were a sight to behold, and that you were worthy of every praise possible.

"Many congratulations to you, Your Majesty."

"This is a splendid news! A royal baby!"

"To think that the emperor has settled down... sniff, how long have we been waiting for this...? We almost gave up."

You almost giggled at the way Archbishop Yaga wiped his tears with a handkerchief as he presented you with his gift.

Despite your initial reservations, you enjoyed the festivities more than you expected. You had opposed the idea at first, finding it quite unnecessary, but Satoru had pouted for three long days until you eventually relented to appease him.

Speaking of him, he was equally dressed to impress, looking every bit as an emperor he was in an exquisite aquamarine military uniform and robes. Despite engaging in conversation with Earl Nanami, he kept a watchful eye on you, stealing glances in your direction to ensure you were well.

You nodded at him, and he threw you a wink. You smiled.

Everything was truly going well... until the herald announced:

"Prince Megumi and Royal Consort Hanabi from Eastern Empire!"

There was suddenly a hush over the crowd as the two made their entrance. You stilled, looking at the figure responsible for your checkered life—

Hanabi was starkly different since the last you saw her at the courthouse during your divorce. Her dress was now a vibrant shade of burgundy red, reminiscent of a gown you once wore. Gone was her air of humility, replaced by a display of extravagance befitting a noblewoman.

She is no longer your maid, but Naoya's consort. There was no trace of the woman who once served you. You were actually impressed, as she could actually shape herself into the image of a royal consort.

"Empress." However, your attention quickly shifted to Naoya's nephew, and once also your ward, Megumi, as he bowed before you respectfully. "Congratulations."

A fond smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you regarded the young prince who had once been a very shy individual. It reminded you of the days spent with him just to get him out of his shell.

"Thank you, Megumi."

"Diamonds suit you far better than golds do. I wish only for the best for you, Your Majesty."

It warmed your heart, really. Using that reference to your gold crown from your time in the Eastern Empire, you could see how much Megumi truly understood your position and bore no resentment towards you.

Could the same be said for Naoya though?

Right after you received his gift—an ornate box that seemed oddly familiar to you—Hanabi suddenly blurted out:

"So, fate has smiled upon you. Congratulations Empress Y/N." She kept that soft, meaningful smile on her face as she offered her felicitations.

Ever since her arrival was announced, something about her demeanor had bothered you. There was a subtle emptiness that seemed to linger in her gaze.

"Thank you," you responded, and that was when you noticed it. There was never any celebration for the birth of her daughter and Naoya, only a passing announcement.

And so, you added. "Congratulations on the birth of the princess too."

You could have sworn her expression fell for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and bowed her head to you.

For a while, you lost sight of her in the crowd, feeling quite comfortable in your dais. Soon after, Satoru returned to your side, and the herald announced:

"Attention! His Majesty the Emperor's gift for Her Majesty the Empress!"

You looked at Satoru questioningly, and he gave you a dashing smirk before turning to the crowd.

"Thank you, all of you, for joining us to celebrate this joyous occasion." The way he carried himself and the sheer confidence he exuded was mesmerizing, you couldn't deny how it made you swoon. "I've been infamous for many things, and I'm sure the tales have spread far and wide. So please, allow me one more gesture with you as the witnesses."

The crowd giggled at his words, and you finally spotted Hanabi among them, quietly assessing the scene.

Your husband turned to you, a soft smile on his face.

"This is for you my empress— my lovely queen. Words can't describe how elated I am to know that now you bear our child." He took your hand and pressed a kiss on it. "And it's only fitting that I praise you along with the skies and the stars."

A footman arrived and presented a pearly box. Satoru opened it, revealing a necklace inside. The centerpiece was a large, flawless diamond surrounded by smaller, perfectly cut stones of the same kind. No matter how you saw it, it was truly a work of art, meant to captivate and dazzle anyone who laid eyes on it.

You let out a gasp. "This..."

Satoru grinned, picking up the jewelry and preparing to place it on you. "Nothing much. Just a little trinket for you."

"This is not just a 'little trinket'!"

Your banter elicited another round of snickers from the audience as Satoru fastened the necklace around your neck. The moment he did, the crowd erupted into applause.

"Actually, my real gift is the new pagoda in the royal gardens, built in honor of the Empress," Satoru stated effortlessly, grinning unabashedly. "Feel free to stop by later, everyone."

To the ton, for him to gift you with something so sacred was the height of extravagance. Some of them wondered how you had managed to turn the elusive emperor into someone so devoted to you.

And a few... might be harboring ill will against you for it.

. . .

Later that night, you were sorting through the gifts you had received throughout the day.

"I don't understand, why would you give an expecting woman this?" Shoko picked apart a manuscript that was the gift from Archbishop Yaga. "Who would read this?"

"I wouldn't, but I'm sure Duke Geto would," you replied, and soon the two of you were giggling together.

From jewelry to ornaments, you were pleased with all the gifts presented by the guests from day one. While most were given out of formality, it was heartwarming to imagine your baby seeing all these someday.

Your attention soon turned to the box Megumi handed you earlier—Naoya's gift.

You were intrigued, because what could your spiteful ex-husband could possibly give you? And you immediately reached over to open the lid to find...

"What's that?" Shoko asked as your eyes widened in slight surprise.

Inside the box was an intricate gold and ruby necklace. One you knew well. The very one you wore during your coronation as the Empress of the Eastern Empire.

Years ago, Naoya himself had chosen this piece for you, and now he was gifting it to you, again?

“From now on, it’s going to be me and you, Empress.”

Reliving years of your marriage with him wasn't easy. You two were childhood sweethearts, and had been happy in the beginning. You couldn't pinpoint when things began to fall apart, but suddenly Naoya turned into such a person you didn't recognize altogether.

Seeing this relic made you nostalgic, and before you realized it, you touched it, trying to get a better look—

"Ah—!"

Suddenly, a sharp, unexpected pain shot through your abdomen. You instantly dropped the jewelry, letting it crash to the ground, and clutched your lower belly.

"Empress! What happened?!" Shoko rushed to your side in an instant, holding you up, and you whimpered.

"It hurts—!" Your breath hitched, as a seemingly invisible knife gutted you from inside. The intensity of the pain was overwhelming, leaving you gasping for breath. "Shoko, please—"

And before you could even scream or think, the pain blindsided you and your vision titled, before blacking out completely.

First came the warmth, then a reassuring squeeze on your hand. As your consciousness returned, you felt groggy, with your surroundings sharpening into focus.

The first thing that became your main focus the moment your eyes fluttered open was Satoru's face, a mixture of fright and relief etched across his features.

"You're awake..." He breathlessly muttered, sitting on your bedside, interlacing his fingers with yours. "How do you feel?"

"Sa...toru..." your voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper, and as soon as he heard you speak, he exhaled sharply, pulling you into a tight embrace.

"Heavens, I—" he let out a long sigh, his breath hot against your neck. "I'm so glad... you are..."

"What h-happened to me...?" you were feeling feverish and a dull throb was pounding at the back of your head, before the shock of it all dawned on you. "B-baby...! Our—!"

"Baby is okay too, don't worry," Satoru assured, pulling away from you to gently touch your cheek and squeeze your hand. "Both of you are fine for now..."

The horror that you might lose your baby shook you to the very core. Your vision blurred with the threatening onset of tears.

"Wh-at happened to me, Satoru...?" you asked again as he wiped your first falling tears, your heartbeat sounding so loud in your ears. "I-I was just..."

His expression took on a sudden shift, as if a dark cloud had passed over his face.

"You came into contact with a cursed object," he stated, his eyes hard as he locked onto yours. "You were cursed, Y/N."

"What...?" You were rendered speechless, feeling your body starting to shake. Cursed object? Your past coronation necklace?

Naoya was trying to curse you?

"It's okay, I'm here now, yeah?" Satoru's voice broke through your spiraling thoughts, grounding you in the present. "Look at me. Hey, look at me." he repeated, his deep blue eyes locking onto yours with intensity.

“I’m here. I’m here with you. Nothing—absolutely nothing—will touch you so long as I’m here.”

But in that moment, your mind was so overwhelmed with fear for yourself and your unborn baby that you couldn't fully grasp the magnitude of the mess unfolding before you, and you just cried in his arms.

Feeling your feeble fingers fisting his robes and your inconsolable tears staining his collar, Satoru gritted his teeth.

“This won't happen again,” he whispered into your hair, feeling his rage simmering as he felt the tremors of your sobs against his chest. “I swear, I won't let anything like this happen again.”

To Satoru, that was more than enough to justify all his subsequent actions. Putting a curse on his empress essentially amounted to an act of beginning a war.

And it also meant he no longer had to operate behind the scenes.

“Keep them in Clock Tower. No contact. Only food and water at designated times.”

Satoru's icy gaze on the captain of royal guard compelled him to hastily comply with the order, before his eyes landing on the map of the entire continent.

In response to the incident that befell you, he issued orders for open hostility along the eastern and western borders. Soon after, he would formally declare his intention to go to war.

So close. He was so close to achieving his end goal.

. . .

"Satoru!"

Several days later, Suguru burst into his study, visibly outraged. He clenched his fists, looking as if he was about to throttle him altogether.

"You—" he heaved a harsh breath. "You have gone too far!"

"What are you talking about, Suguru?"

"Is cursing the entire winery village not enough for you?" This was the first time Suguru had been this furious with him. "Did you really have to massacre the neighboring district as well?!"

"They have placed a curse on my empress." It was so easy for him to say it. "Anyone who dares to harm her shall die."

"You can direct it at Zen'in Naoya! Not the innocent civilians!"

Satoru remained silent, neither shaken nor enraged, and he had finally had enough.

“Are you even sure it’s because the empress is cursed?" Suguru challenged. In his view, this farce had been going on too long.

“No, Satoru. You are just using her. For so long, you have wanted to bring bloodshed to Western Empire. You were almost there when Empress Y/N proposed that deal to marry you.”

You were informed, days later.

“His Majesty has placed the prince and royal consort of the Western Empire under strict watch in Clock Tower.”

Clock Tower was essentially the prison where they kept war criminals. Learning that Satoru had confined both Megumi and Hanabi there left you aghast.

After some days of bedrest and getting better, you realized that the entire situation still didn't make sense to you. As hateful as Naoya was, harming you would do him more harm than good. Eastern and Western Empires stood evenly matched in military power, and hence, a conflict between them would bring devastation to both sides.

And moreover, you knew for sure was that Megumi was definitely not the one responsible for this. He was just a boy!

You had to let him out somehow. You had to talk to Satoru about this.

Or at least that was what you thought when you came close to his study.

“Are you even sure it's because the empress is cursed? No, Satoru. You are just using her. For so long, you have wanted to bring bloodshed to Western Empire. You were almost there when Empress Y/N proposed that deal to marry you.”

You stopped on your tracks—stunned into place, to be exact.

“And you’ve struck gold when she did because her influence will provide you with greater advantage.” Suguru scoffed then, lightly shaking his head with a sneer. “Love? How laughable. All these years, you are planning your warpath, how could you claim you love her when you're trying to ravage her homeland without even considering the impact it would have on her?”

It felt like whiplash. Geto Suguru's voice had your feet rooted to the spot, causing all your doubts to resurface and sizzle in an instant. The very question you had tried to avoid, it was suddenly shoved in your face.

What... will Satoru say? Your heart thumped so loud in your ears it made you almost stagger. He couldn't possibly. He simply couldn't. All his actions... they reflected his affection for you and you believed it because you felt it yourself too.

But Satoru's next response was—

“Even when she is derided as the devil, I will bring an end to the Zen’in line in this lifetime.”

And a part of your heart withers then.

The tips of your fingers trembled, finally taking in everything that you had tried to ignore for the past few weeks. It all caught up to you in one overwhelming rush.

Suddenly, it felt as if something inside your chest was torn out and held up for you to see.

"I'm telling you, that day will come sooner than you think, Satoru." Suguru's voice broke through, his frustration palpable. His words snapped you out of your reverie, and you took a step back, retreating to the safety of your study.

The first time you felt utter hollowness wrecking you was when you had suspected that Naoya might have taken Hanabi to his bed. The feelings overwhelming you now were eerily similar to how you felt back then.

Only in this case…

You had used him first, and if he used you in return... you couldn't fault him.

But isn't it still a bitter truth, even when a mutual transaction is very well within his rights, to know that what you believe as love may apparently not really be the case?

Love... of course, he loves you.

Of that, he was certain.

But at the same time… he had his ambitions.

Destroying the Eastern Empire. Was it so wrong that he wanted it? Didn't you want this as well? After all, Naoya had spurned you for a lowly servant and made your life hell, didn’t he?

Satoru strolled through the halls and made his way to your study, where the sight of you, so pretty and regal in your seat, greeted him.

His beautiful, graceful wife and empress of his nation. For so long, he had desired you, and now here you were, perched within his walls. His heart couldn't be more full— his life is complete already.

"Sweetheart, hey... how are you feeling today?" an adoring grin was visible on his face as he approached you. "Does the baby give you trouble today?"

You didn't answer though, and didn't look at him either. It was quite strange, Satoru thought.

"What's wrong? Is there something—" And when you finally turned to him, the look in your eyes was so eerily cold it almost gave him a chill.

"Release Megumi from your dungeon," you told him with a strained tone. "And return him to his home empire."

The smile on Satoru's face vanished that instant.

"I can't do that."

You rose from your seat, facing him. "He is just a child."

Satoru regarded you with a stern look. “That child you speak about is a prince of the Eastern Empire. He has committed a great crime against you.”

“Naoya didn’t do it.” Your steely gaze was unflinching. “He might be senseless, but he isn’t insane enough to deliberately go into a war he might possibly lose.”

Satoru's eyes darkened at your words, as you stood before him with determination. The way you were so adamant somehow took him aback. “How... could you defend him? He has wronged you!”

It was one question you had expected, and you had the answer ready.

“Even if he has, I could never wish doom upon my own homeland, Satoru. I’ve lived most of my life there, I did a great deal of things there— even if you harbor some sort of misguided contempt or just bloodthirsty enough to lay ruin to Eastern Empire, I refuse to be the puppet for your schemes!”

There it was. You had said it. Everything would crumble once again just like your previous marriage.

Satoru was staring at you in slight disbelief, his eyes gleamed with something that you couldn't really pinpoint. Anger? Disappointment?

“Your life was in danger, as was our unborn child’s. Don’t you care about that—!” he actually had to stop to catch his breath. “Don’t you care that our child nearly didn't make it?”

“And? You must have thought it was the perfect grounds for declaring a war?” but you didn’t relent and questioned him with a scoff. “And afterwards, you would try to use me to gain defectors from Eastern Empire, is that it?”

You saw the flash of surprise in your now-husband's eyes right when you recited his words, but you weren't about to hold back any longer now.

“Now you’re using my safety to justify your actions,” you hissed, feeling like suddenly you understood what all of this was. “You’re quite cunning, Satoru. I’ve heard everything—you will do anything to bring an end to the Zen'in lineage! You won’t even consider the repercussions of my reputation being tarnished across the lands!”

“Is that even important now?” Satoru gritted his teeth to suppress his irritation. “You have been cursed. Do you honestly think I would let them get away with cursing my empress? How could I, who seek to protect you, be more vicious than whoever in Eastern Empire who cursed you with that necklace?”

“You’re doing this for your personal gratification!” you exclaimed. “It is never about me. You’re just a warmonger!”

The moment those words left your lips, Satoru stilled. His gaze on you faltered, and you could’ve sworn hurt flashed in his face.

“Just how low… is your opinion of me?” he asked, his tone dropping, eyes devoid of emotion. “You jump into conclusions only after overhearing something in a passing and yet you know for sure Naoya wouldn’t harm you—” he clenched his jaw.

“You… really loved him, didn’t you?” he asked with a sardonic smile. “I know it already. You won’t ever be able to do the same for me. You can’t even trust me.”

You were rendered speechless. Despite your doubts of him, hearing this still felt like a slap in your face.

Won’t be able to do the same for him? No. That’s not true. You are—

Satoru let out a defeated laugh and ran his hand through his hair, leaving you uncertain whether he was amused or heartbroken by your lack of response.

“It’s funny, how I have loved you for so long... but apparently the woman I believed to have even a semblance of affection for me doesn’t even exist.”

It felt like that one part of you that was capable of feeling love had been stabbed once again.

To say this out loud hurt you deeply, unbeknownst to him. You didn’t mean this at all, still it was what came out of you, out of spite—

“In the end, we’re just using each other. That’s all we amount to.”

Satoru bitterly snorted, finding your accusation so unfair to him.

“How cruel is it that I’m the only one who has to prove this love to you? What about you? You’re terribly, horribly selfish!”

You stayed silent, looking away, caught between the scorching knives that seemed to twist your heart and conflicting emotions in it, uncertain of what to believe anymore. And you didn't really know what heartbreak was like before—

“It has been really exhausting, and I don’t want to bother anymore.”

When his gaze next met yours, dark and piercing, you realized he was no longer the same man who once promised you love and devotion.

“You're free to believe whatever truth you wish. But remember, even if you are my wife and the empress of this nation, should you commit any transgressions… I won’t hesitate to accuse you of treason, Empress.”

You have committed treason.

Satoru had conducted investigation of the sorts just to prove his point. And yet days later, no direct evidence pointing towards Megumi or Hanabi were found in that cursed necklace.

Punishment for treason is imminent death. You were well-aware of that more than anyone, but your consciousness wouldn't allow it if Megumi had to be hanged due to Satoru's antagonism.

"Your Majesty, your kindness knows no bounds," Megumi said, dropping to one knee before you and lowering his head in the throne room. Satoru had chosen not to grace any of you with his presence, leaving you alone to bid farewell to both Megumi and Hanabi.

Since then, you hadn't spoken with him, nor had he visited your chambers. It was as if he considered you nonexistent at all.

And it is really only a matter of time before he finds out.

But at the very least, you were right. It was never Megumi. That boy was fond of you, he could never. So, you shifted your gaze on the woman next to him.

"Royal Consort Hanabi. A word."

It was the cue for everyone else to exit the throne room. Now, you were faced with this woman once again, and yet one thing remained the same— you were still towering over her.

"Why did you do it?" Your calm gaze betrayed a quiet anger that was unmistakably clear. All because of this woman. It was beyond you, how despite having left your past life behind, she had somehow managed to taint your new one as well.

Hanabi looked away, a hint of shame coloring her features. "Your Majesty knows, so why do you spare me?" she asked quietly.

"How preposterous of you to think that I have spared you," you scoffed. "All this time, have you learned nothing at all from standing by Naoya's side?"

She flinched, visibly making herself smaller at your unforgiving tone, still, she dared herself to meet your eyes.

"Can I ask... why you never consider it as Emperor Naoya's doing?" she seemed more confused more than anything, even as her lips wobbled. "The two of you... you don't really hate each other, so why...?"

You didn't want to dwell on why Naoya had chosen that specific piece of jewelry to return to you. If anything, you'd consider it his final parting gift and be done with it.

But the naivety of this woman was astounding. Someone like her wouldn't last long in your seat. You let out a sigh, torn between feeling sorry for her or not.

"You have much to learn about court affairs, Hanabi. And do not think this is an act of mercy. Sending you back to Naoya is a punishment in itself—you know that by now."

Hanabi trembled where she stood, her breaths were shallow, and her hands shook slightly as she struggled to maintain composure in your presence.

Realizing it was futile to continue the conversation, you decided to conclude it.

"Know that I will never forgive you for what you have done to me." Your sharp eyes squared on her, the cold ire in your tone making her shudder.

In all the years Hanabi had known you, you had never appeared more fearsome than you did now, adorned in silks of deep blue hues, with that crown of diamonds gleaming in your head.

Then, as if sealing her fate, you delivered these parting words:

"You've always coveted what I have, and sooner or later, that will be your downfall."

The palace felt suffocating for you. After sending Hanabi away, you took a walk in the gardens, followed closely by your ladies-in-waiting.

Good heavens, what have you done? You definitely didn't regret saving Megumi, but no matter how, you had committed a great crime against your own empire. A sentence would loom over your head!

And what about your baby? Would Satoru execute you while you still had his child inside you?

The very thought made your vision tilt, and you had to lean on the wall for support. Your ladies-in-waiting were immediately clamoring against each other.

"Leave," you commanded, trying to catch your breath while doing so. "I'll… take some time to rest here."

It took you a moment to realize you had reached the pagoda that Satoru had commissioned for you. This was your first time visiting it. The structure was magnificent, towering in height and adorned with exquisite decorations, leaving you in awe.

"It's a gift to the heavens for blessing me with you and our baby."

You wanted to cry. His voice, soft and smooth, conveyed those words so easily to you. He really loved you, didn't he? What made you so unsure about that undeniable fact?

And now you had broken his heart.

Your hand reached for your belly. Though hidden by your dress, you could distinctly feel that it had become firmer these days, holding the product of your love with Satoru.

"I'm sorry, baby..." you whispered, heartbroken. "I didn't mean to drag you into this too..."

You felt nauseous, your breaths come in short pants, and you felt a headache coming. It didn't really register to you that you had crashed into the candle table, before you collected yourself and ventured deeper inside.

You just wanted a sense of peace and quiet. You would think more later, and right now, the darkness inside felt like a comforting lull for you to rest.

. . .

Or at least that was what you had intended, until you looked back and saw the swirling inferno creeping through the halls.

It didn't take long for Satoru to figure out you had really orchestrated Megumi's release.

More than his wounded pride, it was the searing pain of realizing that you truly believed he was only using you for his own benefit. It felt like an insult to everything he had done for you.

Why couldn't you see that? Just how hard is it for you to understand?

And now that it had come to this... what did you expect from him? Should he really make good on his word and punish you? It tore his heart to even consider it.

However, what was worse was… did you think he was really capable of that too?

Amidst his heartache, suddenly he heard loud commotion from outside his study, yells and cries of help— and it roused him from his thoughts that he came out of his study, only to come right into a familiar face.

"Anyone! Anyone at all!" one of your maids was running, sobbing and hysterical. "Her Majesty! Please help Her Majesty!"

"What is all of this ruckus?" Satoru demanded, catching the maid by the hand, as she stuttered in tears.

And then, everything came crashing down with the next words.

"The Empress— is trapped inside the burning tower!"

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[innerfare]

You’re Jealous

 Summary: You get jealous of someone else in his life.

Characters: Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Ace, Sabo, Law, and Kid

Genre: Slight Angst // Fluff

CW: None // SFW

——— 

Luffy:

He never told you Boa Hancock was in love with him, and when you find out, you have to remove yourself from the situation before you have an emotional outburst and start something with the Pirate Empress. The problem is, you don’t even know which emotion will spill out of you. Finding out the world’s most beautiful woman, and a powerful Warlord, no less, is desperate to marry Luffy is a whirlwind, to say the least. Luffy can seem clueless at times, but his emotional intelligence is through the roof, and he picks up on what has you upset almost straight away. He knows to give you some space, and when he senses you’re ready, he approaches you with a handful of wildflowers he picked. He doesn’t really say much, just pulls you into a hug, presses a few kisses into your cheek and temple, and says in your ear, “you’re my girl.” 

Zoro:

He didn’t mention Perona was also at Mihawk’s castle for those two years until a few months after the crew gets together. He tells a story that features her, and you realize there was a woman keeping him company. Your heart drops into your stomach. Zoro insists he didn’t mention her because he didn’t think she was relevant; the only thing Perona did those two years was annoy him. He’s actually the one who won’t let it go, not you (even though you are pretty jealous). Whereas you’d prefer not to talk about it, Zoro is wracked with guilt because he’d never considered the whole thing in a relationship context. Him fretting constantly over it actually heals your jealousy because you realize you’ve never seen him panic over the prospect of hurting anyone else’s feelings. 

Sanji:

Even with a third eye, Pudding is stunning. And Sanji almost married her. It was before you two were together, but listening to the stories from Whole Cake, hearing how close he came to marrying another woman, knowing she really did fall in love with his kind heart and wonderful cooking, turns you into a little green monster. You know you shouldn’t feel jealous of a woman you’ve never met before, a woman Sanji chose not to marry, but you can’t help it. Sanji is completely shocked that you would feel jealous over his relationship (if it could even be called that) with Pudding, though after thinking about it some more, he does realize why you might be jealous that he had a fiancé. His solution is to bring you a bouquet of roses and walk you through the dark details of his life, telling you things he’s never outright told anyone, so you understand the special place you have in his life. 

Ace:

He collects people without trying, and often times, without realizing, either. Ace thinks he’s just making friends, but you see the way the women he laughs and shares drinks with are drawn to him like plants to the sun. He promises them freedom and adventure (and he has a very nice laugh), and you can see how it excites them. You don’t really mind it, knowing Ace well enough to see the way he holds those women at arm’s length, even if he seems close with them (such is the magic of Fire First Ace). But Yamato makes you jealous. It’s not hearing the way they laughed together but hearing the way they fought that gets to you. You know how Ace lives to fight and even just roughhouse, you know how he’s a rough and tumble guy, and you worry you’re not tough enough. Should you be punching his arm when he makes a joke? Should you be trying to trip him out on deck? What should you be doing? When you finally come clean with Ace about what’s been bothering you, he actually laughs. “If I wanted to be with someone who gives me hell, I’d be sleeping in Marco’s cabin every night. Besides,” he says, scooping you up in his arms, “I like being able to manhandle you.” 

Sabo:

Sabo is a flirt, and you knew that going into your relationship. It actually doesn’t bother you when he flashes that charming smile of his at someone else or swoops in to save a damsel in distress (a speciality of his) and even serves to entertain, especially on the rare occasions his flirtations are rebuked. What does bother you, though, is his tight relationship with Koala. You know it’s ridiculous to be envious, you know Koala would sooner saw off her arm than kiss the man she considers her irksome big brother, but they’ve known each other since they were little kids, and Koala has been through so much with Sabo that the pair have such a close bond. It’s not the angry kind of jealousy that bubbles up in you when Koala mentions something about Sabo’s past that she assumes you know but you don’t, just the sad kind that you try to keep to yourself. Surprisingly, Sabo notices, though you don’t realize until he hugs you from behind and mumbles in your ear that he’s glad you’re the only one who knows he has a skincare routine, his silly words diffusing your mood and acting as the exact affirmation you needed. If it’s not enough, though, he’ll happily prove his loyalty to you by challenging Koala to a karate match, though.  

Law:

Dr. Law and Dr. Robin sure do get along well- so well, in fact, you can’t help but wonder if they are better suited to each other than you and him. Even if they didn’t have such good chemistry, it would be impossible not to feel a touch of jealousy toward the archeologist. She’s intelligent, beautiful, fiercely loyal, a member of the Straw Hats, and has an impressive bounty that she earned even before she became a pirate. Needless to say, you find yourself brooding when the Robin brings him a beer and sits down beside him to discuss the immune systems of fishmen, a topic both are rather interested in. Of course, you’re interested in that, too, thus the reason Law realizes something is wrong when you don’t participate in the conversation. He ends up excusing the two of you and taking you to bed, worrying you had too much to drink, the thought you may be jealous never once occurring to him. You end up not saying anything (many thing in your relationship with Law being unspoken) and just sleeping it off, the fact that he excused the two of you proof enough of his loyalty. 

Kid:

He doesn’t ever talk about his first love, Victoria. In fact, you didn’t even know she existed until Killer got drunk one night and began speaking of his dearly departed. What he didn’t mention was that Kid, too, had been in love with her. It only comes up the next night when you mention it to Wire, who mentions it was the death of his first love, Victoria, that put Kid on the war path and united the first four members of the Kid Pirates. Realizing Wire messed up, Heat chimes in to say, “he’d do the same for you.” But you’re not convinced, mainly because Kid never told you any of this. It tears you apart, leaves you tossing and turning for nights on end, until you finally burst into Kid’s workshop one night ranting about how he doesn’t trust you and holds you at arm’s length. “Heat says you’d do the same for me, but-” Kid cuts you off and says, “I wouldn’t do the same, I’d do worse. Much, much worse.” And from the wicked gleam in his eye, you’re inclined to believe him. 

———

Hope you enjoyed it! If you want more, you can check out my masterlist here!

[bargainsleuthbooks]

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson #2023Books #HistoryBooks #Egyptology

The remarkable story of the intrepid French archaeologist who led the international effort to save ancient Egyptian temples from the floodwaters of the Aswan Dam. #EmpressoftheNile #LynneOLson #Egyptology #BookReview #February2023Books #randomhouse

In the 1960s, the world’s attention was focused on a nail-biting race against Fifty countries contributed nearly a billion dollars to save a dozen ancient Egyptian temples, built during the height of the pharaohs’ rule, from drowning in the floodwaters of the massive new Aswan High Dam. But the extensive press coverage at the time overlooked the gutsy French archaeologist who made it all happen.…

[halcyon-hyacinth]

Malini in the Oleander Sword

[kyotodreamtrips]

The Bell Tower (鐘楼) and Goma-do (護摩堂) in the precincts of Hokke-ji (法華寺) in Nara City, Japan.

[jayblanc]

Chinese Censorship of the 2023 Hugo Award Nominations

Back before the 2023 Hugo Nominations were conducted, I noted that the Chengdu Worldcon Hugo committee had inserted a worrying clause indicating that local government officials could invalidate nominations for breaching the norms and standards of China. I suspected this would result in arbitrarily applied censorship to control the ballot. I am sad and unsurprised to discover I was correct.

The 2023 Hugo Nomination vote data has been published (https://www.thehugoawards.org/2024/01/2023-nominating-and-final-ballot-statistics-published/), and includes notation where nominations were excluded from the ballot. Those with normal reasons, such as being in the wrong category or not being published in 2022 are identified with their reasons for exclusion. This time there are a number of nominations that are merely marked at "Not eligible".

Here is the list of those nominations, that would otherwise have been placed on the final 2023 Hugo Award Ballot.

Babel - R.F. Kuang - Best Novel: Very likely excluded for referencing student revolution, and the use of language and translation as coercive tools of oppression. Color the World - Congyun "Mu Ming" Hu - Best Novellette : A story about perception of, aid of, and discrimination against disability. Congyun Hu has left China and now lives in New York. Fogong Temple Padoga - Hai Ya - Best Story : Either there is something in the original Chinese that was not translated, there's a taboo subject that elides my reading, or this otherwise innocent looking near future tale of cultural building restoration was written by the wrong person. The Art of Ghost of Tsushima: Dark Horse and Sucker Punch Games - Best Related Work : The video game Ghost of Tsushima was subject to directed social exclusion for it's depiction of the Mongol invasion of Japan. Sandman, Amazon Studios: Best Dramatic Presentation (Long and Short) - A diverse and divergent cast, includes subject matter and social issues that are currently taboo in China. Paul Weimer - Fan Writer: Publicly Critical of holding a Worldcon in China. Xiran Jay Zhao - Astounding Award: Qualifying work "Iron Widow" is reimagined story of Chinese Empress Wu during a fantasy/mechanical alien invasion.

This raises a lot of questions as to if this basically taints the process, and what can be done about it.

[theopalempress]

[readingcircletemple]

What do you think Sandry's medallion looks like?

[queenclaudiabrown]

She'll Be Coming With Us | Chapter Two: Not In Wonderland

Chapter content warnings: censored cussing; the potentially triggering things in canon (mentions of famine, war, pestilence- you know, the usual stuff-; Rex’s tests and crapping on Lester’s back, etc.); mentions of fire; mentions of an unspecified allergic reaction; mentions of alcohol (wine, not actually drank); Lester being an arse; slight su!cide ideation (semi-joking, in response to being summoned by Lester); brief mention of bleeding/bleeding out in regards to the last warning; Claudia’s world continuing to implode

Word count: 5,264 I think

Series Masterlist

Friday, May 19th, 2006

05:30

     Claudia’s carefully-cultivated internal body clock woke her from an annoyingly dreamless sleep at half past five the following morning, even without an alarm clock.  She wasn’t a morning person by nature, but they weren’t detestable in her eyes either- she’d come to see them as a necessary evil to pursue her career in the government.

     She got up and showered, brushing her teeth and applying a professional amount of makeup naked to the male eye before dressing in yesterday’s clothes.  Glaring at her shoes in hatred, she changed the band-aids over her blisters again before reluctantly slipping her feet back into her regulation nylons and then into those confounded shoes.

     She packed up what little she had with her and tidied the bed, but left her bag in the room when she went downstairs.  At the bar, she ordered an English breakfast, deciding she’d probably need the protein-rich classic to get through the day. 

     The others all came downstairs before she finished eating, with Connor arriving last and clearly still half-asleep.  She arranged her dishes neatly and set them aside as she finished her coffee, slightly nauseated by the sight and sound of Connor eating his breakfast like an animal.  Stephen, across from him and breakfasting like a normal person, had a permanent look of disgust etched on his face, which he tried nobly to hide behind the newspaper and coffee cup.

     Soon afterward, it was time to head out.  Claudia did not miss how Nick not-so-subtly nudged Stephen away from the front seat, followed by a series of shared facial expressions she had previously thought only women were capable of.  In the end, Stephen held up his hands in mock-surrender, suppressing the knowing smirk that spread across his face as he climbed into the backseat.  Claudia fought to keep her cheeks from turning rosy as Nick ever-so-politely held the door open for her, an almost dorky smile on his face.

     She quickly realized that when Nick was driving, sitting in the front seat was far more terrifying than sitting in the backseat.  She found herself putting a great amount of effort into keeping her face neutral and her body relaxed while the fingers of her hand out of Nick’s view dug into the leather of the bucket seat so hard and deep she worried she’d leave marks or break a nail.  She herself was a rather lead-footed driver, admittedly, but she had long ago learned how to weave through the multiple lanes of London streets jam-packed with irritable drivers at nearly illegal speeds without anyone getting scratched.

     It was a relief when they finally parked at the site of the strange, glittering thing, which had not seemed to dim, wane, or shrink overnight.  It was still as mystifying as it had been the night before, and Claudia stared into its silvery-white heart with equal parts wonder and trepidation.

     What on Earth was this thing?  Claudia had seen enough- both in science fiction and in reality last night- to realize that it was some kind of portal or doorway.  There was no other explanation for that giant creature vanishing into it last night, or young Ben Trent’s apparent experience in seeing prehistoric times that Nick was so sure was real.

     Claudia didn’t know what to believe.  She had been brought up believing in evolution, in all that existed progressing irrevocably forward, leaving every iteration of anything in the past to be improved and advanced but never revisited in any past form barring fossils and history books.  There was no room for something so chaotic and anomalous as a glowing broken mirror that somehow connected 2006 to ‘prehistoric times’- at least, prehistoric times according to a kid whose entire bedroom revolved around dinosaurs, Godzilla, and the odd little green man.  Connor was convinced that the hulking animal they’d found in the woods- the one they’d found Abby Maitland in the vicinity of, apparently not the one that had killed the cow and left it among boughs- was a dinosaur.  Neither Professor Cutter nor Stephen Hart, paleontologists and therefore the closest thing Claudia had to a professional opinion, had spoken a single theory after Nick’s declaration that the light had taken the animal home.  If they had, she hadn’t heard it yet.

     She was starting to wish she hadn’t accepted Nick’s offer to join the search, or better yet, Hodges’ assignment.

     But she was in the thick of it now, like it or not, and she would see it through- to the very end, whatever it may be.  If this discovery was to the benefit of mankind and the world, she would be its advocate.  If it was the end of the world, she would take responsibility for her part in it.

     Only time would tell.

     Claudia was pleased to see that reinforcements had arrived- scientists and soldiers alike.  Vehicles, tents, and equipment had flooded what was an ordinary patch of forest just hours ago, transforming it into a government-controlled site.  She drew what comfort she could from the following of protocol and procedure- not just her own, but her colleagues’- and the steps she would take next long since pounded into her mind.  She could do this.  She knew how to.

     “My pen.”  Connor said, drawing her attention to him, and the silver stick in his land that seemed to lean toward the portal.  A moment later, it slipped out of his fingers forward and was sucked into the portal, which made a strange noise and seemed to ripple for a moment.  “That explains the compass going crazy.”  He said, joining dots she couldn’t see.

     “What could cause a magnetic field so powerful?”  Nick wondered aloud.

     “Maybe it’s an alien spaceship.”  Connor suggested.

     Nick and Claudia gave him matching looks.

     Her eyes shifted away from him and landed on Abby Maitland, looking rather overwhelmed as she sat on a pile of bins and crates and cases that Hodges had sent along with several members of the SAS and some Home Office scientists.  She had the feeling that Nick and probably Stephen also would dislike the government’s involvement, but she had been trained to call in more senior officials in situations above her pay grade and skillset, and she trusted the British Government.  Even if it didn’t trust her.

     Stephen appeared, carrying a steaming metal cup of either coffee or tea and handing it off to the blonde.  He stayed beside her and they seemed to start talking.  Nearby, two people picked up the strange lizard- Rex- in a massively oversized metal cage, eliciting chirps from the reptile.  Claudia hoped that Abby would broker no objection to some minor and relatively non-invasive tests.  She herself only planned to make a fuss if they wanted to kill and dissect the creature.  There was no reason for that when it could probably be returned to where it belonged- whether that was prehistoric times, a preservation society, or even Ben Trent.

     Her attention was brought back to Nick when he spoke a moment later.  “Everything we’ve seen about the animals so far is consistent with vertebrates that last appeared in the fossil record hundreds of millions of years ago.”  Nick spoke.

     Well, he was the expert.  “You mean they’re like creatures from the past?”  Claudia asked, hoping against hope that this wasn’t part of some idiotic real-life Jurassic Park experiment. 

     “No, I- I mean they are creatures from the past.”

     He said it with such a certainty that it surprised Claudia, as if it was a universally-known fact like the sky being blue and the grass being green.

     Before she had a chance to respond to that statement in any way, the portal made its odd noise again and startled her, drawing her gaze.  Connor was grinning.  “Brilliant.  It’s brilliant.”  His face dropped.  “Oh, that was my front door key.”  He winced.

     Claudia paid him no further attention, redirecting it to the Scotsman beside her.  “Professor, we have to go now.”  She told him.

     “You’ve got your own experts?”  He queried mockingly.

     “They didn’t see what we saw, and they don’t know what you know.”  She responded.  She was willing to believe what he was suggesting, but she wanted a second opinion, and she had protocols to follow, if only so she could keep her job.

     With that, she left him, heading toward Abby Maitland.  She had seen the girl’s focus on the peculiar lizard- Rex, she had learned- and since it had to be taken back to the Home Office for examination, she figured she could convince the girl to come with her and sign the OSA as well.

©

07:34

     The drive back to London lasted two hours and thirteen minutes, shortened by about fifteen to twenty minutes by Claudia’s leadfooted tendencies.  Normally, she would’ve felt guilty or at least embarrassed about how clearly disturbed Nick was by her casual speed-weaving through traffic and gunning it through stoplights about to turn red, but after he had terrified her with his driving ‘skills’ earlier that day, she had no qualms about making him sweat a little.  She did, however, pity poor Abby Maitland in the backseat, who looked a little green every time Claudia glanced into her rearview mirror to check on her. 

     She brought them to the Home Office and explained to the necessary officials that they would need to sign the Official Secrets Act immediately and she needed to speak with a more senior official about something she didn’t know how to define or explain.  She was referred to one Tim Haines to help her get the resources she needed, and the three of them were brought to a ‘private’ room (read: it had a door that shut but all the walls were glass) where they were presented with the Official Secrets Act to sign.

     She stood outside the room, watching the blondes discuss the papers before them as she leaned rather unprofessionally against the railing.  Neither seemed too pleased about the requirement, and Claudia understood why, but as the world as she knew it continued to shatter and distort around her, she clung to her training, to the regulations that she’d beaten into her own head and abided by to get this far.

     Soft footfalls of expensive dress shoes- men’s, judging by the size of heel- against the blue carpet behind her drew her attention, but she didn’t take her eyes off Professor Cutter and Ms. Maitland.  It wasn’t Haines or Hodges; she knew their gaits.  The person stepped up right beside her, and at last she glanced at them.  It was a man, dressed pristinely in an expensive (probably Italian) black suit complete with a crisp white shirt and a black and gold striped tie.  He looked at her expectantly, and she reluctantly initiated the interaction.  “Claudia Brown, Home Office.”  She introduced, pasting a small and professional smile on her face and applying the same tone to her words as she offered her hand and stood up straight.

     He ignored it.  “Yes, I’ve seen your file.”  He replied brusquely.  “James Lester.  I’ll be in charge of coordinating our response.”

    ‘Lovely- another stiff, pompous man to answer to.’  She thought gloomily, retracting her hand.  “You shouldn’t have brought them here, they have no security clearance.  I don’t like civilians in these situations.”

     “How many situations like this have you had?”  She queried, a sarcastic laugh in her voice.  She had meant it rhetorically, but even as the words left her lips, she found herself wondering if perhaps this sort of thing- creatures from the past and sparkling portals that they traveled through- had happened before, and this arrogant man led a response division.

    “How do we know they’re not responsible for all this in some way?”

     “That’s not possible.”  She returned immediately, refusing to even entertain the idea.  Her mind turned over the previous twenty-four hours.  The strange hulking creature in the woods, the strange reptile that Abby Maitland had brought back with her, the bizarre twinkling doorway of light in the Forest.  Things that couldn’t be reasonably explained without a child’s imagination or some seriously sci-fi elements being treated as fact.  One thing was for sure: no human or small group of humans- especially not this odd bunch- could have orchestrated it.

     But his verbal smacking was not finished.  “You spend your entire career planning for just about every crisis imaginable, up to and including alien invasion, then this happens.”  He leaned closer, his next words lower in volume but far higher in the amount of derision and condescension they held.  “So much for thinking outside the bloody box.”

     He swanned away, and her jaw clenched.  She stuffed one hand into her pocket, extending two particular fingers into its minute depth.  (She couldn’t very well flip him off in full view of officials and cameras, after all.)

     She sauntered closer to the glass, squinting to see what pages they were currently on.  They’d barely gotten started.  Knowing they’d be there a while, she took the opportunity to speedwalk back to her car and drive quickly back to her house.  She doubted she had time for a shower, so she simply packed a quick bag- a powder blue short-sleeved top identical in cut and cloth to what she wore, a pair of khaki trousers, a white denim jacket with long bell sleeves, and a pair of sneakers she rarely wore.  They were horrendously bright and she felt her cheeks heat up just looking at them, but she didn’t have any other shoes with tread as good as theirs, so they’d have to do.  On the note of shoes, she also swapped her terrible pair for a set of loafers.  They weren’t much better, but they had less heel and more comfort.  It would have to do.

     She grabbed a few other miscellaneous items she thought she might need and quickly drove back to her place of employment, stashing the bag in the boot of her car and hurrying back inside.  She returned to her previous station about thirty seconds before Lester reappeared, and she gave him a far more professional and concise run-down of what she knew.  Just as he strode away, Nick and Abby emerged from the room, looking both peeved and exhausted.

     “I’m sorry about all that.”  Claudia apologized sincerely.  She checked her watch.  “It’s nearly twelve.  Why don’t I take you down to the commissary?  Sir Lester can wait a little longer to meet you.”

©

13:00 / 1:00 p.m.

     Despite the instant disgust and annoyance that enveloped Claudia’s being when she next clapped eyes on Sir James Lester, she was truly surprised that he let so much time go by before storming down to the cafeteria to summon the three.  Judging by the exact time, however, Claudia imagined he had interrogated people to find their location, calculated how long it would take to get to there from his office, and then waited for the correct time to leave said office to stride into the cafeteria as the clock’s numbers changed.

     He seemed petty enough, and she had had two conversations with him.

     She muttered a warning to the blondes, hurrying to finish her soup.  In response, Nick shoved an entirely untouched diagonally-cut half of a sandwich into his mouth in an admittedly impressive feat and Abby tore the top off her chocolate pudding cup, tipping her head back and taking the whole dessert like an oversized shot.  Briefly, Claudia wondered what going out for drinks with the other woman was like.  She finished her crisps and drink and began collecting their trays and trash to dispose of, stacking the trays neatly with the rubbish arranged by type on the top tray.

     “If you’ve finished stuffing yourselves, we have a potential national security crisis to discuss.”  Lester’s voice brought expressions of disgust to the blondes’ faces.  Mercifully, only Claudia could see them, as they both were seated with their backs to Lester.

     Claudia smoothly rose, gave Lester a tight, professional smile, and disposed of the trays and trash, Nick and Abby keeping close like children hiding behind their mother’s skirt.  Reluctantly, they then followed Lester from the cafeteria to whatever their destination was.

     “This… phenomenon, Professor- Claudia tells me you have an explanation.”  Lester prompted.

     “A theory.”  Nick corrected, his accent thick.  “The boy’s experience proves that there’s a concrete landscape on the other side of the anomaly… and I think it’s the Earth, many millions of years ago.”

     “And this… ‘anomaly’, as you call it, is a door between time zones of the world’s history?”  Lester snarked as they came to a stop at a set of large windows that looked into a laboratory.

     Cutter made a humming noise in affirmative response.

     “Suppose this… remarkable theory’s correct.  What are the immediate risks?”  Lester inquired.

     “Famine, war, pestilence.  The ends of the world as we know it.  You know, the usual stuff.”  The Scot snarked back cheekily, and Claudia found herself torn between smiling and rolling her eyes.

     “I could do without the facetiousness.”

     “Well, I could do without standing in some anemic office in Whitehall talking to a civil service pen-pusher when I should be exploring the most significant phenomenon in the history of science.”

     Claudia glared.  A little bit of empathy and a few ranks was all that differed her and Lester.

     (The office was pretty anemic, though.  That was a fair point.)

     “Technically I’m not actually a civil servant.”  Lester returned, goading him.  “More a, uh… troubleshooter without portfolio in the PM’s office.”

     “You mean you’re a government hatchet man.”  Nick’s face was set in an aggravatingly impish grin, shamelessly cocky and brazenly impudent.  A picture of it would’ve made an excellent photographic accompaniment for the definition of ‘mischievous’.  He was enjoying this way too much.

     “Colorful, but, uh, surprisingly accurate.”  Lester conceded.

     “And there’s something else you should know.  I intend to find out what happened to my wife, whatever the risks, so I’m going through the anomaly, and if you want to stop me, then you’re gonna have to shoot me.”  Nick continued, that irritating smile paired with a saccharine tone that threatened trouble and possibly violence if he was challenged.

     Worry coursed through Claudia’s veins.  Something about Lester’s overall persona gave her the distinct impression that he wasn’t above using force to get what he wanted.  She just hoped he wouldn’t bring firearms into Cutter Control.

     Lester chuckled.  “I hope it won’t come to that.”  He replied lightly.

     Their conversation was effectively ended when a handful of scientists clad in white protective gear entered the lab, Rex’s green form the only real color in the room.  Claudia nonchalantly positioned herself between Lester and Cutter, hoping to block them from physically interacting in any way.  One scientist set the chirping creature down on a table with an illuminated top.

     “You really shouldn’t handle a lizard like that.”  Abby objected.

     “Let the experts do their job.”  Lester condescended.

     “They don’t know what they’re doing.”  The blonde responded.  Seeing the irked look on Lester’s reflected face, Claudia fought down a smile.  A scientist attempted to collect a sample of something with a comically large swab, but to no avail.  “You really shouldn’t mess with an angry lizard.”  Abby spoke up again.

     “I’m terrified.”  Lester’s sardonic opinion was unwelcome.

     Another scientist waved a handheld scanner of some kind down the length of the reptile’s body.  “Do they even know he can fly?”  Abby asked.

     “…‘Fly’?”

     If Claudia had known that, she had completely forgotten it, but was now struck with the odd sense that she was about to regret it.

     Indeed.  As if cued by Abby and Lester’s words or Claudia’s realization, Rex leapt from the table, spreading his wings (not fins!  Đдϻи it, why couldn’t they have been fins?) and taking flight.  The scientists inside panicked, reaching frantically for the animal.  A cacophony of shouts exploded, muffled and obfuscated by their protective headgear.  The lab door was opened- likely a communicative error- and Rex soared out above the poor fool responsible for letting him out.  Out of the lab, he now had access to the wide open spaces of the Home Office corridors, offices, and stairwells.  He immediately swooped through open air, dipping back and forth between levels.  If he was not quickly corralled, this could end very badly.

     A flash of black and blonde in her peripheral drew Claudia’s attention, and with a brief turn of her head she spotted Abby already in pursuit of the creature.  Resigning herself to the likely fruitless task of chasing Rex down, Claudia braced for the fresh pain her feet were about to be subjected to and jogged after Abby.

     “Rex!”  Abby called as the women paused at a railing, leaning over it to track the flight of the lizard (was he a lizard?  Did lizards fly?  This really wasn’t her area.).  He continued his merry descent, chirping blithely, and almost as one both women made for the lift.

     Claudia frantically stabbed the button for the bottom level, then the door-close button.  “You knew he could fly?”  She all but snapped at the blonde.

     “I tripped in the Forest and he flew out of my arms.  He landed a minute later and I eventually got ahold of him again.”  Abby explained.  “I’m sorry.  I thought it was obvious- the wings on his back.”

     “I was kinda hoping they were fins, like on his head.”  Claudia admitted.

     A moment later, the lift reached its destination, and the women burst out of it.  Claudia only caught a verdant glimpse before he was concealed by the twin silver doors of another lift closing.  With tired eyes, Claudia watched the light shift from the ‘1’ tile to the ‘2’ tile, then to the ‘3’ tile.  “He’s going up.”  She sighed, turning and grabbing Abby’s arm as she hurried back into the lift.

     This time, they rode all the way to the top floor.  The opposite lift was open, and no lizard was in sight.  “There!”  Abby pointed as they stepped out of the transportive box, and Claudia quickly followed her line of sight to see a very familiar and very irritating lizard gliding through the air, straight toward a series of offices.

     They speedwalked after him, Claudia managing to stay upright despite walking at such a speed in heels through sheer luck.  There was a clatter up ahead.  Loudly, Lester swore.  “Look out!”  He shouted, ducking away from the peculiar green creature soaring overhead.  Women shrieked in surprise and fright as Rex continued to fly through the offices and startle their occupants.

      “Where did that come from?”  One man queried, but Claudia paid him no mind.  There was only one office left, and within moments she and Abby had both stepped into it.  Their gazes shifted to the left- an open window near the ceiling.

     And Rex was just outside it, perched on the roof of the neighboring structure.  “Rex!”  Abby exclaimed, spotting him.  He chirped, seemingly unbothered by the uproar he had started.  “Don’t do it, Rex.  It’s not your world out there anymore.”  Panic rose in Claudia’s chest at the thought of the ramifications a more permanent escape would have. 

     The blonde drew something out of her jacket and broke it in her hands.  Extending one, Claudia realized it was chocolate.  She was dimly aware of Nick and Lester stepping into the office, remaining silent as they also observed.  “Try some of this.  You’ll love it.”  Abby coaxed.  His tongue darted out to determine what the peace offering was, much like a snake testing the air with its forked tongue.  Apparently that reptilian trait was far from new.  “I promise.”

    His wings fluttered for a moment, and with one last chirp, he took flight, rising high in juxtaposition to Claudia’s heart plummeting in despair.  “Rex, come back!”  Abby called to the creature, still chirping as he swooped merrily close by.  A few moments later, he disappeared from sight, and Abby let out a disheartened sound.

     But then, as all hope to save the creature and contain the situation seemed lost, Rex came flying abruptly back into view.  “That’s it!”  Abby cheered.  He landed squarely on her, startling her.  “That’s it.  Good decision, Rex.”  She praised the creature, turning back to the other three with a proud smile on her face as she cradled the lizard.  A relieved smile spread across Claudia’s face.

     Lester turned to depart, but Nick stopped him.  “Um, those risks you were talking about- there’s one I didn’t mention running down your back.”  He informed Lester, his voice quavering slightly with suppressed laughter.

     Lester frowned in confusion, then sniffed, and an expression of disgust crossed his face as he turned, revealing a bright green splotch on the shoulder of his suit jacket.  Sighing, the knighted official blazed out of the room, presumably to clean or change his jacket.

     “It’s so perfect.”  Nick’s remark only widened the grin on Claudia’s face.  Turning away in a poor effort to hide it, she couldn’t help but agree.

©

15:20 / 3:20 p.m.

     Claudia had fled Lester’s impending wrath to the little girls’ room, where she had hidden in a stall for over an hour.  She had only emerged from the stall when her close friend and colleague, Lorraine Wickes, had entered the bathroom and muttered in annoyance about none of the soap dispensers working (again).  Claudia had revealed herself, brandishing a tiny purse bottle hand sanitizer as both a solution and a conversation starter.  Lorraine, bless her, had kept Claudia occupied for another forty minutes exactly before reluctantly returning to work.  Claudia had followed her, but clearly left the entire level that Lorraine’s office was on upon seeing that three printer jams, four fires, a water cooler disaster of some kind, and a severe allergic reaction had sprung up in Lorraine’s absence.  One of Lorraine’s employees spotted her, ran over, got down on his knees and proceeded to beg her- either to save them or to spare him, Claudia wasn’t sure which.  She didn’t dare get involved, but she made a mental note to get Lorraine wine or something at a later date.  An expensive one.  And chocolate too- House of Knipschildt, maybe, or Guylian.

     Claudia only had to ask three people if they’d seen Nick or Abby, and within a few minutes of leaving Lorraine she’d found them again.  They had hidden themselves in an empty office, and poorly so.  Entering the office, Claudia quickly spotted Nick’s shoes sticking out from under the desk (the corresponding chair obviously across the room) and the top of Abby’s spiky pale hair sticking up over the top of a filing cabinet.

     “There you both are.”  Claudia spoke, fighting an amused smirk.  “C’mon, come out of there.  I can see you.”

      Abby emerged first, stepping out of her hiding place with a sheepish expression but no lizard.  Nick’s reappearance took a bit longer, the professor slowly crawling out from under the desk with an accompanying soundtrack of grunts, groans, and popping joints.  “Bloody h£ll, I’m too old to be doing that.”  He muttered, standing up straight with a wince.  He gestured to Claudia.  “Where were you?”

     “Little girls�� room.”  She admitted.  “It’s more comfortable to cram into a stall than under a desk.”

     Nick winced and carefully cracked his neck.

     “Professor Cutter, Miss Brown, and Miss Maitland, report to the office of Sir James Lester immediately.”  Lester’s irate voice came across the intercom.  The building-wide intercom.

     “It was fun while it lasted.”  Abby lamented.

     Nick stepped up to the window and peered out it downward.  “How bad would a fall from this height damage me?”

     “The windows don’t open this high up, and they’re reinforced so they can’t be broken by chairs.”  Claudia informed him.  She allowed a tiny smirk.  “There’s probably a really sharp letter opener somewhere in here, though.”

     “I repeat,” Lester’s voice came again, louder this time, and more shrilly, “Professor Cutter and Misses Maitland and Brown are to report to my office IMMEDIATELY!”

     “Never mind; he might get to us before we bled out and save us just to lecture us.”  Claudia decided.

     “He’ll have restraints put on our hospital beds and we won’t even be able to leg it.”  Abby moaned.

     Nick drew in a breath and huffed it out.  “Might as well get it over with, eh?  Before he turns up with security.”

     “He seems the sort.”  Claudia agreed.

     The three of them legged it with an unpleasant sense of urgency to the nearest lift, and Claudia punched the button to take them to the correct floor.  Her feet were hurting again, yesterday’s soreness and blisters exacerbated by chasing Rex and revived yet again by their hurried strides.

      By some miracle, no one slowed their traveling to Lester’s office, and when it came into sight Claudia reached up, pulling her ponytail free and quickly doing it up again, smoothing out nonexistent flaws from the first.

     She rapped politely on the edge of the glass wall that framed Lester’s office doorway, and narrowed blue eyes cut over to them.  “The laboratory results are in.”  He declared.  “You may wait outside, Miss Maitland.”

     “Why’d you call me, then?”  Abby all but spat, rightfully put out.

     “You’ve all made it quite clear that I need to keep you within my line of sight to prevent you from running amok.”  He nearly sneered.  With a condescending wave of his hand, he dismissed her.  “Off you go, now.  Stay in the corridor.”

     Claudia shot Abby a regretful look, lips pressed firmly together and eyes rueful, but nodded nonetheless, and with an irritated sigh, the zoologist stomped out of the office toward the water cooler at the end of the hall in direct view of Lester’s office.

     Lester immediately ignored Abby again and moved on to the true purpose of the meeting.  “The lizard’s DNA confirms your theory.”  He announced.  “The creature’s a living fossil.”

     With his words, Claudia felt the last clung-to shreds of hope that this could be rationally explained and her world hadn’t wholly imploded drained away, like the final dredges of tepid dishwater gurgling out of a sink.  Her gut twisted, a pit forming as she realized that there was no more hiding behind skepticism and logic and secular reasoning to escape this earthshattering discovery.

     “Under the circumstances, I’m going to allow your exploratory mission into the anomaly.”  Lester continued, and that pit in her stomach became a stone.

     “I’m taking the lizard back.”  Nick stated.  “Creatures that don’t belong should be returned to their natural habitat.”  Lester nodded.  At last- common ground.

     The pompous man picked up a paper and set it down on the other side of the desk, closer to Nick and Claudia.  “It’s a disclaimer.”  He explained.  “We don’t want any nasty lawsuits if you don’t come back.”  Claudia scowled, and Nick smirked sardonically as Lester extended a pen promptingly.

     “You can read that over somewhere else.  Little things tend to be hidden in the fine print of official and government documents.”  Claudia interjected, largely for pettiness’ sake.  She stepped forward and picked up the sheet off Lester’s desk, ignoring the writing instrument in her superior’s hand.  “I have other pens.”

     Nick nodded, and together they left Lester’s office.  Catching up with Abby, Claudia quickly informed her of the situation, then flagged down a passing colleague and asked him to bring the blondes to the office she had found them hiding in.  Then she headed for Lorraine’s office.  She needed a second copy of that disclaimer, and quickly.  And to make a few adjustments to her will.

©

Author’s notes:

First and foremost, despite how it might seem, I do not condone or take lightly self-harm or suicide, and they and depression and stress are very important issues.  If you are struggling with such things, please seek help, whatever form that may take.  There are suicide hotlines and anonymous apps you can go to, and on tumblr and Discord, kokocares is an service where you can communicate anonymously with real people about just about anything.

On a lighter note, House of Knipschildt and Guylian are two very expensive chocolate brands, and the former was declared the world’s most expensive chocolate in 2009 by Forbes.  lifestyleasia.com is where I got my information if you’re interested in learning more about these two brands and several others.  I went with House of Knipschildt because of the above declaration and Guylian because the picture on the website was so pretty.

The tail end of this chapter is where the AU elements spark to life, if you noticed, but it really takes off in the next chapter.

@witchofthemidlands @whatkindofnameisvolta @chocolatesawfish @whispers-of-gallifrey @thegingergal

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