#a katherine centered chapter?

[alessiamalfoyzabini]

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝

Pairing | Yandere Jungkook x Reader

Word Count | 3,146

Warnings | +18, yandere, smut, Stockholm syndrome, body worship. pussy worship, pussy eating, tongue fucking, fingering, breast/nipples worship, explicit language and descriptions, vaginal sex, loss of virginity, unprotected sex, manipulation, obsession, this is not for minors

This fanfiction is yandere, if you don't like the genre, don't read and if you are not of age, don't read.

I don't want to hear any complaints in the comments, thank you.

This does not reflect my way of thinking or living at all, it is just a work of fiction, it is like watching a horror movie, many of us love horror movies, but we would never dream of what we see in those movies happening in reality as well.

Simply put, this story was written for entertainment purposes, it should not be seen as a reflection of my values, opinions or morals. I absolutely do not condone such acts.

⤷ Summary | If she had paid attention earlier to the sin that dwelt behind those obsidian irises, she would never have trusted it.

If she had noticed earlier the devouring love that dwelled in his corrupt heart, she probably would have fled.

She had done none of that, and now she had to come to terms with her new reality.

➢ Author's Note | Hi, guys! Here is the eighth and final chapter of Happy Ending ❤ The idea of publishing the last chapter of this story excites me, I was really pleased to hear that you enjoyed it and there will be surprises coming for you! I have already prepared drabbles for Happy Ending and a spin-off about Jimin, I really hope this will make you happy ❤ Please write to me if you would like to be added to the taglist of the spin-off ❤

And I apologize for the errors that there will be in the chapter, it has been a difficult week 😭❤

Taglist: @katherine-kookie, @douknowbts, @aiiselle90210, @fewercascade , @mageprincess7, @m00njinnie, @get-that-brain-working, @whipwhoops

Chapter List - I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII / The End

When Y/N reopened her eyes, it was now past twelve o'clock. She stood up, recognizing Jungkook's bedroom, becoming aware of what had happened a few hours ago, her cheeks blushing at the memory of how she had held him in her mouth until he had fully climaxed, had she been good? Well, she had never given a blowjob in her life, but copying those same videos and drawing from her previous hard readings, she must not have been that bad. She got out of bed, determined to take a shower as well as brush her teeth. Not that she minded the taste of cum, she had already noticed that it didn't bother her from that time on the couch, but it still wasn't a pleasant sensation after hours of good sleep. She washed herself thoroughly, feeling a strange discomfort between her legs, it was like a sense of dissatisfaction pulsing right in the center of her heat, she tried to pleasure herself under the hot water, but the image of Jungkook giving her pleasure on the couch could not drive it away, she swallowed, fully understanding what her body was communicating to her. She wanted Jungkook, only he knew exactly what points to hit and where to reach. She bit her lips undecided whether or not to ask the boy for a little help, got dressed with that doubt in her mind and went to the kitchen, but she did not find him, the boy was not present in the living room either, and she with wide eyes ran to his office.

He was there most of the time and, to her relief, she found him there that time as well, from the open chink she saw the boy hunched over drawings, the tall, powerful figure rekindled that intimate desire, which she found inexplicable. Why on earth did he have that powerful effect on her? She decided to enter at a leisurely pace, stopping just behind him. Obviously with a job like his, over the years Jungkook had learned to sense a person's presence well in advance, which was precisely why he was not surprised to see her there; he turned with a smile. "Are you hungry?" Y/N squeezed into her shoulders, approaching the desk. She looked carefully at the drawings that Jungkook was evaluating, read at the corners of each sheet the name of each of her classmates, tightened her lips and with a nimble, quick gesture tossed that useless block to the side, they were not works of art, there was no love in those lines, Y/N knew this, she always heard her classmates complaining that they could not play during drawing hours, just as she heard them praising Jungkook's beauty, yet discrediting his lessons. "Wasted," they would say, "With that body he would look great as a team coach," they continued.

They did not appreciate Jungkook's work and talent, but she was different, that's why she was his. The boy studied the girl's attitude confusedly, "Is everything okay?" Y/N felt great, she was no longer thinking about her studies or those two who called themselves parents, she was fine. She was fine with Jungkook and only that mattered, every flap of her mind was about the boy in front of her. She longed for him, she wanted him, she loved him. With those thoughts in her mind, she jumped over the desk, positioning herself right in front of Jungkook, who watched with surprise at the girl's actions. She was wearing a low-cut sweater and white shorts that day, leaving the rest of her legs uncovered, legs she swung briskly before smiling. "Yes, I'm hungry," she said, Jungkook nodded, already ready to get up to prepare something for her - he still didn't trust her to put a knife in her hands, Jimin's experience had been shocking enough not to follow suit - but Y/N leaned over to pull the chair, and consequently the boy, closer to the desk. Jungkook tilted his head, then a light bulb went off and he threw himself against the back of the chair, licking his lower lip. "What would you like to eat?" he asked her, playfully.

Y/N shook her head, "In truth I would have another kind of hunger, something that sees you eating me," she clarified bluntly, by now she understood that with Jungkook she would no longer have to mind explicitly requesting far more intimate attention. The latter's fingers closed over the cleavage of her sweater, pulling downward to expose her full, soft breasts, still enclosed in her pearl-colored bra. "And how should I eat you today, sweetheart?" he murmured, leaving a moist kiss on the portion of her breasts that protruded briskly without restraint. Y/N trembled, her intimacy already on fire from mere words. Jungkook went up the column of her neck with soft, sweet kisses, reached the earlobe, which he took between his teeth and nibbled, before pulling and whispering, "Should I be sweet and slow?" with one hand he untangled the bra hooks, immediately crept underneath, cupping one soft breast, the girl trembled, squirming when one of her peaks was teased, "Or does my little girl want something more brutal and fast?" he pressed firmly against the nipple, rubbing his mouth against the tip as it plumped.

Y/N threw back her head, holding onto her elbows, "S-Sweet... and slow, please" she sighed, Jungkook hummed, sucking the tender little button, he broke away slightly to blow hot air on it that made the girl shiver, Jungkook realized how sensitive she was and sadistically pulled the nipple lightly between his teeth, watching ravenously as the girl's fingers tightened between them. "My little girl wants to be treated like a princess," he crooned, "You're right, it's not yet time for you to find out what a whore you can become under my command," he growled and Y/N's intimacy tightened at his words. He undressed her by throwing her sweater to the floor along with her bra, leaving to his own will that divine feast, which he found himself adoring by holding her still by the hips, while with his lips he took to tormenting her other nipple, pushed it against his palate crushing it over and over again, heedless of the fingers that pulled at his silky locks, he breathed in the scent of her skin as he swallowed his own spit, trying not to drool around her sensitive flesh. With his mouth busy pleasantly torturing the young woman's breasts, covering them with kisses and signs of love, he reached down with his hands to unbutton her shorts, Y/N timidly helped him in the task, and soon that garment was slipped off her legs.

Jungkook began to knead through the fabric of her panties the tender folds of her burning pussy, pushed two fingers against her clit, aroused felt the little pearl pulsing under his fingertips, and pulled completely off her chest, biting eagerly at her hips and then lower and lower, getting to where he was really expected, Y/N lay fully on the desk, watching Jungkook's head between her legs with glazed eyes, throwing them back at the boy's first lick, she trembled so much that Jungkook had to spread her legs wider. With her panties now on the floor, Jungkook took care to lick her swollen clitoris again slowly, feeling on his taste buds the flavor of each velvety inch. He found her pussy incredibly soaked, which did not, however, prevent him from spitting between her folds, making the stretch even smoother and wetter for his tongue, which gathered its essence before sucking that throbbing pearl into his mouth, caressing it occasionally with his tongue.

Y/N felt herself lost in a whirlwind of forbidden sensations and overwhelming emotions, she spread her lips wide in search of air, thrusting her pelvis more and more against the boy's voracious mouth, who pushed his tongue deep into her tight, wet slit, touched a particularly sensitive area with the tip that made Y/N stiffen, who moaned louder, speechless. "J-Jungkook, faster, please!" she exclaimed, watching him from her obscenely spread legs, but the boy smiled, before licking her folds once more, focusing occasionally on her increasingly charged and aching clitoris.

"Oh, no... you said sweet..." he left a kiss on the folds, "... and slow..." he finished, lightly penetrating her entrance with a finger, slowly pumping between the moist walls that fluttered and tightened as he passed. Y/N felt like crying; she did not think Jungkook was so sadistic in bed. "Jungkook, don't do this to me," she cried painfully, the boy seemed to think of an answer, continuing to stuff her entrance by adding another finger, which made the stretch more difficult because of the tightness of the young woman. "Will you let me go on?" he observed the distraught figure of the girl, lying on his desk with her head turned upward, nervously biting her lips. Y/N did not understand what he meant at first, then slowly came to it and did not know what to answer. "But...I've never done that," she murmured, hissing at the hot tongue that returned to make her legs tremble, striking the swollen pearl in quick tongue strokes, she squeezed the young man's head between her legs, trying to prolong that pleasurable torture, but Jungkook pulled away.

He longed to be her first and only man, knowing he had a virgin in his hands teased his animal side, which roared with pleasure. "I could introduce you to a pleasure you don't even imagine you can achieve, Y/N," he said seriously, the girl thought about it, "So you want to come like this?" in asking, he sucked violently on her swollen clitoris, encircling it with his tongue lasciviously causing her to scream, "For me it would be no problem, love... but would you allow me to introduce you to something that will unite us inextricably?" the rough, dark voice hit the girl's belly, she felt herself ignite more. The idea of joining him in a more intimate and close way appealed to her, although she harbored much fear about it; she knew it would also be painful. "Will you make me feel good?" she chirped shyly, and Jungkook melted into a smile, nodding. "I will always make you feel good, my beautiful girl." At that point she made her decision, agreed to take that extra step forward, defeating her fear. Jungkook stood up, taking her in his arms with unprecedented ease, Y/N looked at him confused. "The bed I think is more comfortable as the first time," he justified himself, kissing her forehead. He carried her to what would effectively become the bedroom of both of them, laying her in the middle of the mattress, between the sheets that already smelled of them. Together.

Jungkook began to undress, that was the first time the girl saw him completely naked, she wordlessly admired the tattoos that crept around his arm, and then noticed the toned and smooth muscles, his swollen lips thanks to her juices stretched into a sly smile when he also shed his jeans and underwear, showing her once again the perfect shape of his legs and his already taut and swollen cock, although the boy paid no attention to it, watching attractively the girl's soft and more downsized body, which looked like a tender little thing in comparison to him. He climbed on all fours on the bed and crawled toward her before stealing a kiss from her, entwining their tongues and tasting their flavors, Y/N distinguished a spicy note on the man's tongue, which she guessed was just his essence, Jungkook tenderly encircled her by one hip, while with his other hand he went back to teasing her folds, trying to make her relax again. "Look into my eyes, Y/N," he murmured on her lips, the girl did as he told her, losing herself in the night sky of his incredibly sweet irises, "I'll try to go slow, okay? It will only hurt a bit at first," he told her and she nodded, resting her head between his neck and shoulder, focusing on the erotic sensations of the man's fingers in her pleasure center.

Jungkook encircled her clit with his thumb, squeezing it gently before caressing the delicate pearl, retrieved some liquid pleasure from her tight slit in order to spread it over the bundle of nerves, lubricating and softening the delicious rubbing, Y/N moved her hips against the hand, moaning at the pressing pleasure that expanded to the tip of her hair, moments later Jungkook penetrated her entrance, parting her walls in a slow and pleasurable stretch, adding a third finger shortly afterward that made the girl frown. It didn't hurt, but it stung slightly, Jungkook left soft kisses on her neck, trying to distract her. He succeeded, felt her relax, and his fingers gained speed as the girl's moisture increased along with her arousal. Small sounds rhythmically came out of her throat, her eyes closed to focus on the sensation as best she could, not missing the way Jungkook's thumb still rolled slowly over her stiff clitoris. Jungkook reached to touch a slightly more elastic spot, he realized there he had to stop, she was ready enough to take him without too much pain.

He brought his fingers out of her intimacy and Y/N suddenly felt empty. She saw him move away to stand between her legs already wide open for him, the boy observed the girl's slick folds licking his lips, his cock moved involuntarily at the sight and accompanied him between them, sliding easily he touched her clitoris with the moist tip, insisting over and over again on that spot to make the girl tremble once more, she felt the center of her pleasure contract obscenely.

Jungkook finished his little game by pressing himself one last time, when he pulled away a long trail of cum connected the girl's sex to his sensitive cock, hissed pressing against the soggy slit, gently and slowly penetrating it, tenderly enveloped him, and his hips contracted feverishly. Y/N immediately felt the substantial difference between the young man's fingers and his cock, and to say that the boy's fingers were also much longer and thicker than the girl's! When he pushed further, the woman's walls continued to envelop him like a glove, Jungkook had to block himself by gritting his teeth, he could have come there and then without much ado, Y/N for her part felt a strange mix of sensations. She felt pleasantly full, small waves of pleasure also joined the slightly burning stretch that Jungkook left when he resumed moving in small thrusts, he went deeper and she arched reflexively, shocked by the intimacy of the union, she tightened around him moaning, the knowledge that she had him inside her in a way that another woman could only have dreamed of excited her more than anything else and now accustomed to his presence she pushed against his hips, communicating to him that he could go further.

Jungkook took a breath before pulling out to the scarlet tip, then back in again with a vigorous thrust, the girl felt something inside her flake and split, she let out a small scream immediately stifled by the boy's lips, which resumed thrusting without giving her any more time to be able to register the pain, he furrowed the soft and warm walls in the grip of unheard of pleasure, they were so close that Y/N felt the boy's pubes touch hers, a burst of pleasure stronger than the others left her gasping, she broke away from Jungkook's lips to embrace him in despair, pain and pleasure combined to create a strange, bewitching spiral, and the more his cock sinuously penetrated the elastic entrance, cradling the walls with gentle, frenzied thrusts, the more pleasure she felt increased, releasing charged jets that shocked her body. The thrusts increased in speed, Jungkook felt drops of his own sweat slip from his body to join the girl's, he scrutinized her distraught face and found her enchanting in her fucked and desperate state, she was crying and he knew it was not from pain, she was experiencing sensations so unfamiliar that her brain was not yet able to comprehend the extent of them, she was crying because that was her only outlet and Jungkook felt himself tensing painfully at the sight, he changed angles slightly and Y/N widened her eyes.

"Oooooh ... fuck, fuck, fuck!" she exclaimed shamelessly, Jungkook realized with amusement that he had found her most sensitive spot and rotated his pelvis in order to strike that area one more time.

"Yes? Is this where you want me?" he asked not recognizing his own voice, simply repeated the action and the girl nodded vigorously. "Yes! Oh, please... yes, yes..." Y/N went so far as to claw his back to clarify the concept, "Don't stop! Oh God!" He felt her stiffen, squeezing him in a tremendously pleasurable grip that made Jungkook's hips stutter, Y/N felt him all the way to her belly, her walls throbbed violently, and Jungkook took the opportunity to pinch her clit one last time, leaving her to explode in a hard, intense orgasm that left her trembling like a pudding on the bed. The boy continued with his increasingly voracious and direct thrusts, his heavy balls pulsed hitting the girl's buttocks uninterruptedly, this triggered a devastating orgasm in him that made him moan breathlessly, he came inside her flooding her walls, the girl's pussy violently contracted once again, willingly welcoming his cum and his last sloppy thrusts, finally he collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily over Y/N, she was still too out of it. "Y/N?" he asked, the girl tried to open her eyes. "Mh?" "I love you," he said with his heart in his throat, in love and kidnapped. Yes, kidnapped. She had kidnapped him and not the other way around. Y/N let go of a lazy smile, "I love you too, Jungkook," she replied, finally fulfilling Jungkook's dream, she touched the boy's face affectionately, "You kept your promise, with you I feel protected and happy," she found herself moved, continuing to caress him. Jungkook kissed her hand gently. "I will destroy anyone who tries to hurt you," he whispered with a serious look that left the girl interjected, "I will stop at no one, my love." Y/N felt a strange chill pervade her, but she mentally shook her head, telling herself there was nothing wrong, smiled at Jungkook and kissed him, dragging him with her between the soft sheets with a giggle. He thought back to the elderly neighbor, to the words of that now distant day, gosh, she was so right. Yes, that was the something new she had been waiting for, the happy ending she had been waiting for her whole miserable life. "I love you."

[goodqueenaly]

Which pre/post-Conquest events and in-series events do you think would be popular plays/operas in each of the Seven Kingdoms and Essos?

Well, we do get a bit of a sense of what sort of "history plays" have been written and performed in Braavos (though whether these have been popularized elsewhere in Essos is a bit of a mystery). Arya references the mummers of the Ship teaching her speeches from, among other plays, The Conqueror's Two Wives, presumably about Rhaenys and Visenya Targaryen (which I personally think would be a potentially fascinating study on the respective characters of as well as the relationship between the two sisters). Likewise, in "Mercy", Arya-as-Mercy notes that Izembaro borrows a threat from Prince Garin in Phario Forel's Wroth of the Dragonlords, a play about the doomed final resistance of the Rhoynar against the Valyrian Freehold. Of course, the main action in "Mercy" centers around the staging of Forel's newest work, The Bloody Hand, a play which - obviously more than a little loosely - adapts very recent Westerosi history, staged in that chapter for the entertainment of the Baratheon-Lannister court's envoy, Harys Swyft.

Westeros doesn't appear to have exactly the same theatrical tradition Braavos seems to have, but there are certainly both puppet shows and mummer's plays performed across the Seven Kingdoms. While the specific entertainments we've seen have been limited to either mythological (the story of Florian the Fool) or allegorical (the unsubtle tale of the kingdom of beasts reported by Qyburn to Cersei) subject matter, there might nevertheless be any number of opportunities for historical events to, no pun intended, take center stage. There are way, way too many historical events and figures in the roughly eight millennia of Westeros' existence as a collection of political entities (again, to say nothing of Essos), so these ideas are not even scratching the surface, but I thought I would come up with a few.

So, for example, the accusations against Queen Naerys and Prince Aemon (perhaps complete with a Katherine of Aragon-like defense by the queen) might mirror, say, Henry VIII. The collapse of the Gardener kingdom under the weak and ineffective Garth X, followed by a devastating civil war, feels to me like an opportunity for a Reach version of Henry VI (perhaps echoed with the Dance of the Dragons, many centuries later). Even the story of Torgon Greyiron might have its share of light Hamlet parallels, as the story of a royal son quasi-usurped from his royal place by the wicked murderer of his kinsmen while he was away from his homeland (though with Torgon having something of a more fortunate ending than Hamlet himself, naturally). Not, of course, that we need to limit our imaginations only to perfect parallels of Shakespeare plays (to say nothing of any other history playwrights). Benedict Justman, for one, seems like a figure whose life could be used to ask deep questions on, say, the nature of power, the importance of love versus duty, and the importance (or not) of legitimacy. The flight of the Manderlys from the Reach and their welcome by the Starks might likewise be used by some enterprising playwright to explore themes of justice (and injustice), alienation, and self-identity.

And of course, what entertainments might be popular would likely be dependent on the politics of any given time and/or place. Would, say, plays depicting King Ronard Storm have been popularized during the reign of King Aegon IV or King Daeron II - maybe to denounce Ronard's reign as defined by lasciviousness and resistance to lawful authority (as with Aegon's), but maybe also to depict a bastard as a stronger and more worthy heir than his legitimate half-brother (if, say, the play was written by Blackfyre partisans)? Perhaps in the immediate aftermath of Robert's Rebellion, Riverlands playwrights would have looked for inspiration to the heroic uprising of Edmyn Tully against the wicked tyrant Harren Hoare (though perhaps with less emphasis placed on the king rewarding Edmyn being the first of the recently overthrown Targaryen dynasty). Daeron I's conquest of Dorne might have encouraged pro-conquest playwrights to create works about King Durran the Young, whose similar name, apparently similar youth, and very bloody military campaigns against Dornish armies might have made a natural comparison for these creators (though probably less so the idea that King Durran supposedly "became besotted with his own niece in later life and died at the hands of his brother Erich Kin-Killer").

Personally, I would love to see more fanfic invent plays or similar entertainments from Westerosi history. I, of course, would be remiss not to note my own, albeit very humble attempt at a Westerosi history play, The True History of the Blackfyre Rebellion. (And please no one remind me that I have a second play that I probably have to completely rework and is certainly nowhere close to being done.)

[braveclementine]

Chapter 34

Warnings: 18+readersonly, teasing, threats of brat taming

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own a few OCs like Elizabeth, Katherine, Stacy, and Jessie. I do not condone any copying of this.

Elizabeth, Jessie, Katherine, Pietro, Vision, and Hogun all got married three weeks later. It was a beautiful ceremony where Jessie wore silver, Katherine wore light pink, and Elizabeth wore white. Pietro wore silver as well, Vision was in human form wearing red, and Hogun was wearing a deep blue lined with black and silver.

The bonding ceremony was beautiful, though shorter than your own. In the end, Elizabeth, Pietro, Vision, and Hogun got a wave symbol for their soulmate bond. Jessie and Pietro were a simple flower while Katherine and Pietro got sun symbols.

Eventually they all dispersed after the ceremony- Wanda included.

Time seemed to pass afterwards. They still stayed with you, even after the wedding, as they were preparing to buy their own house- without Tony's help. They had decided that they would be moving to Florida, and by the time our children were born, they would be leaving.

It was only a month after the wedding that both Elizabeth and Jessie got pregnant. Jessie was obviously carrying Pietro's kid, but Thor let the others know that Elizabeth was carrying Hogun's child.

Elizabeth was ecstatic. I mean, they all were. Everyone was happy and everything was great.

Nothing had changed in your family dynamic- which was fantastic. You were still rotating through everyone, though you did spend just a bit more time with Fury, T'Challa, and Bucky.

Bucky had some fears about being a child, especially with his soldier serum coursing through his veins. And though he had been cured of being the winter soldier a long time ago, there was still a part of him that feared it might come back. That he might relapse. That his metal arm was a danger to any child that we had.

A few sweet, honest words and he was settled back down though. Shuri's surgery had worked and there was possible way for Bucky to become the winter soldier again except by choice. Not to mention, it had been a few years since Thanos, so the only bad thing was his nightmares.

As Rhodey and Bucky had predicted, Alpine did have kittens. Tony made sure that F.R.I.D.A.Y. captured Fury's reaction- which had been priceless.

"Guess what?" Bucky had asked, walking into the kitchen, holding Mini Loki.

"What?" Fury grunted over his cup of coffee, eyeing Mini Loki with dislike while Maria rubbed his shoulder soothingly next to him.

"Alpine had kittens! Isn't that wonderful!"

Fury spit his coffee out. "Maria, we need to get out of this house! There's um- a shopping center that just opened up and I want you to um, take a look at it!"

He grabbed her hand, slamming the cup of coffee down and basically ran the two of them out of the house.

Tony laughed once Fury exited. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., please send that to my email and make sure to save that in my favorite videos. I'd like to post it to YouTube later."

"He will kill you." Coulson and Steve said together, not bothering to look up from the breakfast table.

The months were slow but steady. Around the fifth month, you were quite large. Stephen became your main caregiver, just as he had a lot more experience in the medical field with this sort of thing. Not that he had ever been a birth doctor, but he had gone through medical school and knew more than the others.

Of course, none of this stopped the others from having sex with you. In fact, you even seemed hornier just by being pregnant. And they were all more than willing to satisfy your needs.

Stacy had her baby. A little boy that her and Jackson named Alexander Drake Portolio. He was a sweet little thing with Stacy's green eyes and Jackson's red hair. It was a strange mix on the little boy with freckles already dotted across his face, but he was cute.

You rolled over, coming face to face with Rhodey as you woke up one morning. "Hey hot mama." He mumbled sleepily, running his hand through your hair.

"Hi Sugar." You smiled, closing your eyes again to rest your head on his chest. It was hard to lay on your side anymore- especially now that you were nearing the nine-month mark.

"How are you feeling about the baby shower today?" James asked, running a hand along you're protruding stomach.

"Nervous. I can't wait to know what the genders of the babies are though." You said. "I wonder what Elizabeth will do with the cake, since its' triplets."

"Something Harry Potter themed probably." James joked and you laughed. "How about a bath this morning?"

"That sounds good." You said, sitting up while James slipped from the bed, running a hand over his hair as he made his way to the bathroom, flipping on lights. You could hear the water running in the bath while you stretched your arms above your head.

You picked up the glass of slightly stagnant water from last night, drinking the rest as your throat was still a bit sore.

"It's ready Hot mama." Rhodey said, coming over to help you to your feet. He grinned down at you, brushing your lips together, which you met with eagerly. He chuckled, pulling away when you let out a needy moan against his tongue. "C'mon, bath. You need to relax."

You didn't want to relax, you wanted to ride him, but you reluctantly let him lead you to the bathroom. He helped you over the bath edge and then helped you into a sitting position before climbing in with you.

"Hair or body first?" He asked, motioning to the shampoos and soaps on the tub edge.

"Hair." You said, scooting forwards some so that he had plenty of room behind you.

You always loved when one of your boys did your hair, especially if it was Fury, Sam, or Stephen. They seemed to have rather magical hands when they did it. Bucky was the only one who didn't want to wash your hair- afraid he'd use to much strength with his metal arm, or that the armor plates would retract and your hair would get stuck between the joints.

He was a bit better with the vibranium arm of course, no joints there, but he was still rather careful.

Rhodey's fingers seemed to almost massage your scalp. You smiled a little, finally relaxing like he wanted you to.

Rhodey grabbed the nozzle, rinsing the soap out of your hair. You conditioned the ends of your hairs, rinsing that away, while Rhodey grabbed a blue bar of Dove soap, rubbing soothing circles all over your body.

"James." You mumbled as he finished washing his own body.

"Damn Y/N." Rhodey muttered, a small smile on his face. "Last night wasn't enough?"

"It's never enough with anyone." You grumbled, being a slight brat. "I don't know why I'm so horny all the time."

Rhodey just chuckled, helping you to your feet again and handing you a towel to dry off. "We have to get ready for the baby shower. Later all your needs will be satisfied."

You grumbled a little, but didn't argue because- god damnit- he was right.

You dressed in a F/C maternity dress with flat, sturdy white sneakers for support. Wanda helped you pull back your hair, tying it up in an elegant knot with white ribbon.

"Thanks Wanda." You said with a smile.

"No problem Y/N." Wanda said, fixing up her own hair now while you started on the makeup.

"Has Elizabeth finished the cake yet? Cause none of us are allowed downstairs till she has." You said.

"She's putting the finishing touches to it right now." Wanda said. "She said she'd text when she sticks it in the fridge."

"How are you feeling about the upcoming move to Florida?" You asked. They'd decided they wait. Give birth here, and then that was when they would move.

"I'm kind've excited." Wanda said sincerely. "It will be far away from you guys, but its' not as far, especially with magical portals, no?"

You smiled, "Very true."

Wanda's phone lit up with a text from Elizabeth giving us the all clear. Rhodey knocked on the door to let us know that he was heading downstairs.

"Is everyone else here?" You asked.

"Nat and Bruce are the only ones left to show up." Wanda said. "Even the Guardians got here quicker than them. But," She smirked, "they probably had a late night."

You giggled, "Very true."

Oh right! The Supreme Court had made some changes to the law. Those medically unable-like Nat and the widows, or Vision- were not required to have children. The rules had lightened up a bit- including the penalty for not having enough children- and things were a bit more relaxed now.

You got up, leaving the bedroom with Wanda. Wanda went down the hall and down a set of stairs that led to the guest wing, while you took the main staircase to the kitchen.

Elizabeth looked tired, like she had been up for hours. Her own baby bump was rather large, though nowhere near as big as yours.

"Morning Y/N!" She said cheerfully enough, setting out a plate of eggs, sausage, and a bowl of fruit in it. A small piece of avocado was on your plate as well, making you wrinkle your nose.

"Oi!" Elizabeth scolded, pointing the spoon at you. "I hate avocado too but you are carrying three babies! Eat healthy!"

You let out an exaggerated sigh, eating the nasty green vegetable- fruit whatever- first, rinsing the nasty taste out with a mixture of milk and delicious sausage.

"What time is it?" You questioned Clint next to you.

"Ten in the afternoon. The official baby shower starts at twelve though."

"Where is everyone?"

"Peter and Gamora are showing their daughter around town. Nebula and Kraglin might be with them, although I don't know where the tree and raccoon are." Clint said with a shrug before eating more of his oatmeal. "Thor is probably with them. Bucky is probably wherever the racoon is not."

"He keeps trying to buy my arm." Bucky grunted, coming into the kitchen. He was wearing a leather jacket and a glove was covering his metal hand.

You hid your smile as Bucky grabbed a bowl of apple jacks to eat, leaning against the kitchen counter with his back to the wall so that Rocket couldn't sneak up on him. His eyes continuously roved the kitchen.

"Hey T!" You called over to T'Challa, "Does Shuri still have Bucky's old metal arm?"

"It is possible, why?" T'Challa questioned, confusion written all over his face.

"To give to Rocket." You said with a shrug and a grin. "Might get him away from Bucky's arm he's using now."

"Yes, give that to him." Bucky groaned. "Please!"

"I will let Shuri know." T'Challa said with a bit of a smile.

"You locked up all of the guns, right?" Clint asked everyone in the room, "Cause Rocket will take whatever guns he can get."

"Shit!" Tony jumped up from the table, "My lab!"

He raced down the hallway towards his lab.

"Yeah, Rocket would definitely pillage that." Clint smirked.

"Yes, Steve, Sam, and I locked everyone's guns up safely." Bucky grunted.

"I don't think that would stop him." Loki deadpanned at the table.

The breakfast table banter continued while Elizabeth slaved away at the stove, dishing out plates and plates of food, though you didn't actually ever see her eat anything herself.

"Tony should start paying you." You smirked as Elizabeth set another bowl of eggs in front of us, the boys immediately digging in, though you could've sworn that they'd already had three plates of food.

She just shrugged, a small smile on her face. You knew she really didn't mind. This was exactly what Elizabeth wanted in life. A peaceful life where she cared for her husbands and children. This was just a practice for her- and she was damn good at it. She would be a fantastic mother you were sure.

Twelve o'clock came sooner than expected and things were moved outside, under a large canopy. The Guardians were back. Bucky sat tensely by your side while Rocket sat on the other side of the table, his eyes never leaving Bucky.

"Can I stun him?" Bucky muttered under his breath.

"No." You muttered back, smirking. You knew that he and rocket had actually made a really good duo back during the war. Unfortunately, Rocket had grown an obsession over his arm and it was all he could think about now.

Bucky sunk down in his chair while Steve took a seat next to him, hiding the smile on his face.

"It's not funny punk." Bucky gritted out of his teeth.

"I didn't say it was." Steve said mildly.

"How are you, my Nkosazana?" T'Challa asked, coming up behind you to hug you from behind. He rested his hands on your stomach, feeling the babies kicking inside. "They are extremely active today."

"They've been active all week." You said with a little laugh. "They want out."

"Well Stark did just finish off their rooms." Fury said, sitting on the other side of you. Maria and Coulson sat down on the other side of him, both of them in deep conversation about something.

"Really?" You asked, surprised. "Everything? Without even knowing their genders?"

"Well, he did say that the probability of them being all girls or all boys were very slim so he made two rooms up that could fit two of both genders in them, technically more, but he's prepared." Fury smirked.

Elizabeth brought out the cake, setting in front of you, winking. "It is a bit. . . unconventional, I admit."

You couldn't see anything wrong with the cake. There was a plain, white frosting on the outside of it, not unlike the frosting that had been layered on Steve's cake. The decorations on top were very simple, just a black eyepatch, a small black cat, and a red star.

Elizabeth cut the cake directly down the middle, sliding the two pieces aside. They looked liked two halves of a different cake. On one side, there was a double layer of chocolate cake, and blue frosting in between each chocolate layer. On the other side, it was only layered once, white cake and pink frosting.

Everyone looked at Elizabeth, who was blushing slightly. She pointed the knife at the chocolate and blue. "Fury and T'Challa are having boys." She turned the knife towards the vanilla, "Bucky is having a girl."

You started to laugh, realizing the colours of the chocolate were the skin tones of your boys and the frosting was the gender of the children.

"So, remember, when you do her cake, you have to make the cake yellow." Sam whispered in my ear, making me laugh even harder.

It was all light humor and then the cake was passed around. Presents were given to the four of you- well really your babies.

Once the baby shower was finally over- about six hours later- and the party was cleaned up, you couldn't wait to get someone to take you upstairs. You had been badgering the others for a long time.

"You know what Stevie is?" Bucky asked darkly in your ear, arms wrapped tightly just above the baby bump. "He's Captain America, he's the golden boy. He's an agent, a killer, a lover, a husband, and he'll be a father. But I swear above everything else doll, Stevie is a brat tamer."

Steve and Sam were the only ones who overheard this, cracking smiles. Steve winked at you and you whimpered, feeling the need to be filled intensity with Bucky's last words and Steve's just utter hotness.

"Please." You whimpered, not even caring how many people were surrounding you.

"Y/N!" Tony shouted, running over to you, eyes bright. You nearly started crying on the spot. "C'mon, I have something I want to show you beautiful."

You let him lead you upstairs and down the unused hallway where he opened up the doors to reveal one of the bedrooms.

"Whoa." You said, horny thoughts banished to the back of your mind. "Tony this is-"

"I want our little girl to have the best." He said, smiling over his shoulder at you. "I can already just imagine her in here. Sleeping under there with her stuffed animals. I can picture you sitting next to her, reading her bedtime stories. I can imagine her during the day, running up those stairs and squealing as she slides down the slide. Of course, she's in the crib for now-" He pointed to a lovely, same shaded pink and white crib that was pushed up against the wall.

Everything was a rather overwhelming pink colour, admittedly. But it was also adorable and very princess like.

"I do need to fix the flooring a bit." Tony admitted, "More carpets. I don't want her running on this hard floor until she's a bit older."

You loved how Tony was calling her his daughter, even though she was biologically Bucky's. You were glad that he was seeing them with any difference of his kids.

"I love you Bubba." You mumbled, kissing Tony's cheek.

He chuckled, "You haven't even seen the boys room yet."

You laughed, taking his hand and let him guide you to the boys room. Upon opening the door, you gaped.

It was definitely larger than the girls room. But at the same time, it felt much smaller as there wasn't as much open space as the girls' room.

It looked as though there was a tree growing in the room, with a house on it. There was a ladder that would take them up and down the inside of the tree. The house opened up to show there was one small bed in there, perfect for a kid up until perhaps the age of 12 or 13, depending on how tall he was.

There were rope bridges on either side, that led out into the bedroom. Tunnels connected beds to other beds, while the bridges led to these beds. There were also two hammocks that were hanging near the tree in case they wanted to sit down and read.

There was a large bookcase as well, already stocked with little kids picture books on one side of the room. Behind the beds was what seemed to be a more open area, with large chairs and couches. A TV was there- although you couldn't see a remote. There were more toys over here with boxes full of huge lego blocks and wooden blocks. Small toy cars and those foam mats that you had to put together like puzzle pieces.

There were also toys for a girl, and you realized now that there was a set of double doors that connected the girls room to the boys. And another door that led to the bathroom.

The biggest feature was another tree house, that was more like a club house. It was attached to the ceiling, the only access was a rock wall, as well as another ladder. A blue slide came down the other side.

There was a window seat with pictures that you hadn't looked at yet, as well as a small rocking horse. Your kids would never want anything, that was for sure.

"What do you think?" Tony asked, gesturing around.

You just gaped, taking in everything. "I'm thinking, 'where was this when I was a kid'."

Tony chuckled.

You looked at the pictures by the window seat and started to laugh, "I love these!"

They were different superheroes with positive phrases on them. Although, it was a bit disconcerting to see a DC character among your Marvel husbands- and the kid of course. Not to mention an X-man.

"Although," You finally said, taking a look around the room, "There's no crib."

"Oh right." Tony said, leading you out of that room.

"There's another room?" You asked with surprise.

"Yep!" Tony said, "Don't worry though, this is the simple nursery."

He opened a door opposite the other two rooms and led you inside. True to his word, it was much simpler, and definitely more calming than the other rooms.

It was mostly white, though there was some black and light blues tossed in there. There was a love seat for you to sit on, lots of pillows, carpets, blankets, and rugs. There were quite a few stuffed animals everywhere as well, along with a few picture books.

It was a much smaller room, probably only a quarter of the boys room. It was divided into two half- rooms. One was obviously where you would play with the kids, and the other was where they would lay down to take a nap. There was also a light, wood changing table in the back corner, right near the black crib. There was a white fringe crib mobile above it. A rocking horse to the side.

"Oh Tony. . ." You mumbled, leaning into his side. "I love it. I love all of it. Thank you."

Tony kissed the side of your head, "I can't wait for the kids to come. I can't wait to have even more kids, although I am sorry that you're in pain so often."

You smiled as the two of you left the bedrooms. Stephen was walking down the hall, his hands in his jean pockets. "There you two are."

"Have you seen the bedrooms?" You asked in excitement.

Stephen smiled a little, "I have. Was he to overboard?"

"No, she wants one too." Tony said, winking at you.

You laughed, "I wouldn't have minded having either bedroom when I was growing up. They both seem so fun. Although I will want to keep an eye out on the kids when they move into the jungle room."

Tony nodded, "Don't worry, we can always alter it to make it safer till they're older."

Suddenly, you felt the slightest tickle of wetness sliding down your leg. You blinked.

'Did my water just break?'

You didn't voice it aloud, afraid that you might be wrong. It certainly wasn't how they described in the books with your water splashing to the floor, spraying everyone. It was just a trickle.

"I'll be right back." You said with a smile. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Alright, do you want to come back to our room when you're done?" Stephen asked, wrapping his arms around Tony.

You smiled, "Naturally."

Tony smirked, nudging Stephen in the ribs before you waddled upstairs to your own room.

Though you rarely slept in here, there was a calm ambience to your room. It was a very simple room, not a lot of stuff as most of your things were scattered in the several other rooms you spent your time in.

You pulled your pants and knickers down in the bathroom, trying to see if there was any clear sign that your water had broken.

Unable to tell, you pulled out your phone, searching how you could figure it out.

Seeing a suggestion, you pulled on a pair of clean knickers and laid down on your bed, setting a timer for thirty minutes. However, you could literally feel the wetness pooling in your knickers and you didn't even need to wait thirty minutes before you knew- your water had broken.

A strange nervousness, yet excitement, seemed to build up in your core. You also felt strangely calm at the same time.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y." You said. "Can you please alert Nick, T'Challa, and Bucky that my water has broken?"

"Yes Miss Marvel." F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied.

You stayed laying there, in wait.

And then you heard a yell from downstairs that sounded like it was from Bucky.

[silly-salty-utdr-rants]

MORE COMPANION!BERDLY DAMMIT!

HERE HAVE SOME ASSORTED THOUGHTS ABOUT MY COMPANION BERDLY AU!

ok so.

kerdly

noelle does not join the !%#$ squad, she still believes its a dream, berdly is morally conflicted about lying to his best friend about this

the susie crush stuff doesnt happen, but berdly is still put out of commission post mind control but does assist the same in the punch out bit

THE PARTY OF FOUR BATTLE SYSTEM!!!! is basically the same but now berdly is there (colour orange)

berdly is effectively an offensive spellcaster type (enemy debuffs (varying with opponent), party buffs (both of which last between 1 and 3 turns and dont stack), damage spells etc) the B-actions center around bragging (about himself OR his team), rambling about videogames and being a nerd. his boss kris assist action (think red buster and dual heal) would likely be something that buffs a random effect on the team by a TON (every time its used the prior buff goes away because balance) to call back to the smaller, specialized buffs and debuffs he typically gives, his spamton neo special B-action shrinks the soul to make it easier to dodge but disables the big shot

in snowgrave, instead of dying, he also gets manipulated into just going with it

SPAMTON NEO FIGHT!!! his general reaction is just confusion mixed with anger (because frankly he would see a bit too much he had in common with the sneaky salesman than he'd be comfortable with)

chapter one is largely the same but ralsei slips in that there is a fourth hero (this gets brushed off as kris and susie are a bit distracted dealing with king, jevil, darkworlds in general etc) (idk i didnt think that bit through (feel free to reply with your ideas for chapter 1 changes))

berdly has a surprisingly good grasp on everything due to how many videogames he plays but he does have to adjust to the fact that he shouldnt fight everyone. it is also due to this knowledge of gaming that he absolutely does not trust ralsei, because if berdly learned one thing from his years of rpgs its that if the happy-go-lucky goody-2-shoes character hides anything at all ever, they will be an enemy later (like chekhovs gun)

berdly is absolutely jealous of how rebellious susie gets to be as he feels trapped in the expectations set for him by the adults in his life

songs for berdly in this au:

disobedient - steven universe

saint bernard - lincoln

spaceship - art sorority

top of my school - katherine lynn-rose

[delenaisepiclove]

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass it on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love!

Hey Cosmic! Well let’s see…five fav fics that I’ve written. I’ve written a bunch on FanFiction.Net but for this post I’m going to stick with the ones I have up on ao3. First one that comes to mind is The Reunion. It’s about Faith and Buffy reuniting after her time in prison and it’s currently my most popular piece on ao3, so that makes me very happy. Not only that, it was my first time ever writing a w/w fic so to know that a lot of people liked it really meant a lot. :)

Second would have to be Partners in Crime. It’s based off of the animated show She-Ra and is centered around Catra and Adora, two of the main characters in the show. It’s another one that got a lot of attention that I really enjoyed writing. It’s very wholesome and sweet with a dash oof mischievousness thrown into it. Very very cute.

Third would be an on-going fic I’m writing called Star Crossed Enemies to Lovers. It’s a vampire fic centered on two characters from the show Killing Eve. Eve is a vampire hunter focused on hunting down a vampire named Villanelle, and the two have this back and forth cat and mouse game for awhile until feelings eventually between the characters. I only have a few chapters up and am in the process of writing the third chapter, but it’s coming along nicely and I can’t wait to post it! It’s my first vampire fic I’ve written in years so I’m pretty stoked about it. :) It’s not quite as popular as my last two but I’m hoping it’ll gain more traction as I add more chapters to it.

Fourth is A Blast from the Past, my latest Delena fanfic. This one is pretty dark, and is based off of a storyline I did on my RP account with a close friend many years ago. Damon and Elena are still vampires and have settled down, and even conceived a child together. But sometime later on down the road, something happens that causes Damon to revert back to his old ways where he only cared about Katherine and nobody else. It’s another WIP of mine and I’m not sure when I’ll have the second chapter posted. I just have fond memories of writing that with my friend and wanted to share it with more people.

And for my final story it would have to be Dark Savior. It’s another w/w fic set in the Buffy series only this time it’s centered around Faith and Willow. This is takes place during the Dark Willow arc and instead of Xander calming Willow down from her plan to end the world, it’s Faith. Unusual pairing but I think it works really well here, though I’m more of a Fuffy (Buffy/Faith) person personally.

If you’re interested in reading these stories you can find them all on my ao3 page. I only have a handful up so far so it’s not hard to find the five fics I’ve talked about in this post.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialStorm/works

[satansapostle6]

The Man Who Sold The World | Luke Castellan

Spotify Playlist Link

Katherine. She was the one who started it all for Luke Castellan, the reason he did what he did.

Warnings: Mature themes/language. Violence. Sexual content.

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven: Self-Righteous Suicide

Katherine had never actually feared death before the way she did that day. Her life had never really been in that much danger before, as at least six different guns fired bullets at her and Luke. No matter how angry she was with him for getting them into that particular situation, she still somehow found herself relieved that his back was to hers as they fought the bullets as hard as they could with nothing but swords.

It was reprehensible and beyond fucked up, but they both came to realize then that that was what their life had become: the two of them against the world, even if they were against each other at times.

“Katherine!” Luke Castellan cried out in fear for her life, and not even his own, as she tried to defend herself against the gunfire.

She fought as hard as she could, her sword slashing about wildly as one of the officers tried to move in closer, despite the fear that all the others felt due to the unexplainable invincibility of these two older teenagers. Luke took a bullet that grazed him in his left shoulder, gasping in agony as he fought through the pain the way he’d learned to.

He walked straight up to one of the armed officers, slugging him as hard as he could with his good arm, making sure he was out of commission. There were two bodies on the floor, both still breathing for now as Luke and Katherine fended for themselves.

Luke held his double blade by the handle in the center, whipping the sword around as he used the steel blade to violently slash off the entire head of the male officer that had tried to hurt Katherine. Luke looked right at her in front of him, throwing the sword in her direction as she deflected the bullets aimed at her. She looked up at the blade desperately, reaching for it as she impaled the officer closest to her, a woman with brown hair.

Katherine somehow knew looking into her eyes as she died that she had children. She saw the panic in her eyes, as the blade went all the way through her stomach. But Katherine’s gaze hardened as she realized she felt nothing, even pulling the blade out, a loud and grotesque squishing sound filling the air as another spray of crimson blood hit the floor.

Maybe ten feet away from her, Luke had gotten ahold of a police-issued gun, an empty look in his eyes as he shot the other two point-blank, execution style. Breathing hard as he looked over to Katherine, he said nothing as he watched her drop his sword, a mess of blood all over her shirt, and jeans, and hands. It took him a moment to realize that there was way too much blood on her shirt.

He watched in horror as she touched a hand to the area just below her rib cage, blood coming through the bullet holes in the shirt as she dropped to the ground.

“Katherine?!” Luke yelled, rushing to her side as she only wheezed in pain. “Katherine!”

He quickly folded her shirt up, yelling in terror as he saw the seven different bullet wounds, four of which in an area that seemed dangerously close to he figured where one of her kidneys would be.

“Luke,” she croaked out, fighting against the pain.

“No, no, don’t talk,” he sobbed, panicking as he tried to think of what to do, “Shhhhhhh…”

Luke Castellan genuinely didn’t know what to do. He knew how to deal with deep gashes and make tourniquets, but this was beyond that. This was four bullet wounds to the kidney. Even a demigod couldn’t escape that. Demigods weren’t immortal. Luke screamed as he realized that she would probably die.

“I’m… Not gonna make it,” Katherine coughed.

He had no idea how she was still breathing, let alone talking. Katherine had been shot seven times, four times in the kidney, twice in the back, and once in the forearm. She should have been knocked out. She should have been dead. The only thing that saved her had been her demigod strength, the power of being the daughter of Nemesis. But even then, her luck was running out.

“No, you’re gonna be okay!” Luke cried without thinking. “You’re gonna be fine, you’re gonna live!” he babbled, talking through sobs.

“No…”

Her eyes were starting to shut, and he panicked.

“No! No! Stay awake!” he begged her, slapping her awake. “Stay with me… Please!” he wheezed.

“I don’t want… you to be mad at me,” Katherine murmured hoarsely.

“I’m not mad!” he yelled, desperate for her to hear him. “I’m not mad anymore! Katherine, please?!”

He was met with silence, and he could feel the internal panic as he lifted her up in his arms, trying to wake her. He screamed and yelled unintelligibly as her eyes rolled to the back of her head as he held her lower to the ground, panicking.

“No! Katherine… Katherine please don’t die!” Luke sobbed. “Please!”

His bloody fingers moved quickly to the artery in her neck, unable to remain still enough to detect a pulse. Like cried uncontrollably as he panicked, tortured by the fact that, in that moment, he didn’t know whether she was alive or not.

“Please! Katherine…” he wheezed. “No…”

She was unresponsive, nothing more than a rag doll in his arms. He held her close to his chest, sobbing like a child as he tried to bring her back.

“Katherine!” he pleaded. “God! Kronos! Hermes?!”

That, he realized, was his last hope in that moment. His father, the absent god who had never once lifted a finger to help him before. Luke hated him, but now, he needed something more. He prayed desperately and without dignity to the god of travelers, merchants, thieves, and healers, hoping for a miracle. He’d never had hope when it came to Hermes, but now, it was better that than nothing.

Luke Castellan wailed and begged, shakily holding Katherine’s limp body in his hands as he prayed for someone, anyone to help him. He shut his eyes fearfully as the reality of Katherine being close to dead slowly began to set in. He wailed like a child, tears falling like a violent rain. He couldn’t see a thing, but as he began to look up over all the carnage, he saw another pair of shoes standing before him: a pair of winged Converse.

His eyes widened, and he looked up, finding he was kneeling before the god he’d forsaken.

“Hermes,” he choked, seeing the miracle before his eyes.

“My son,” the god in the brown-haired man’s body stood before him.

Hermes had recognized Luke as his son, but did not sound prideful at all. Instead, he sounded cold, and disappointed.

“I told you it would all end in blood,” the man before him said, as if shaking his head at a small child.

“You didn’t tell me anything!” Luke sobbed. “I asked you.. I begged you to tell me my fate, and you refused!” he boomed hatefully.

“And now, you’ve got a glimpse,” Hermes spoke softly. “Funny how things work.”

Luke glared up at his father in shock. “You mean this isn’t how it ends?” he asked spitefully. “I don’t plunge my sword into myself and land on top of Katherine?” he demanded.

“No, son. This is… Only the beginning,” Hermes concluded, looking down at the bodies on the floor. “This is merely the moment all this carnage, all this blood, becomes you.”

“Heal her body,” Luke begged him, kneeling forcibly before his cursed creator. “Save her.”

“I can’t do that, Luke.”

“Why?! Is she already dead?!” he cried in agony.

“No. She’s still breathing. For now,” Hermes stated grimly, as if he were already attending the funeral.

“Then why won’t you save her?!”

“Because. I’m not allowed,” the messenger god informed him. “The Fates have their plan… I can’t interfere. They won’t like that.”

“Who gives a fuck about the fates?! Bring her back!” Luke screamed at his father.

“I told you I can’t, Luke. I can’t do that,” Hermes repeated. “The Fates have their plan for you. And between us, I think they’re angry with you.”

“For what?!” he hissed. “What did I do?!”

“I don’t understand how they think, son,” Hermes responded, sounding almost regretful. “I’m just the messenger.”

And just like that, in a light shower of golden shimmer, the god disappeared as his shoes allowed him to fly.

“Hermes!” Luke growled, searching for him. “Dad?!”

He was already gone.

“Kronos! Anyone!” he begged, his voice a harsh yell. “I know you’re listening!”

Luke looked up at the ceiling as he held Katherine’s unconscious body in his arms, her demigod strength the only reason she wasn’t completely dead yet. He breathed in and out, panting aggressively.

“Someone… Give me Katherine back! I beg of you!” he hissed. “I’ll do anything! Anything at all, I’ll offer you my soul, I’ll offer you eternity! I don’t care what it is, just bring her back to me! Please!”

He looked up at nothing as he silently begged someone to answer his prayers to no one and everyone. He whispered softly as he held Katherine close to his chest, promising himself he’d save her.

“I don’t care what it takes, you’re gonna make it back to me,” he whispered. “You’re not gonna die…”

His thought was interrupted by a strange voice, one that was actually painful to hear. Kronos. His voice was loud but quiet, shrill but deep, a whisper but a yell. It resonated like thunder. He looked up again in a panic as the titan’s voice overtook him.

“You can have her back,” Kronos whispered into his mind, so quiet he almost couldn’t hear.

“What?!” Luke yelled over the voice in his head.

“The one you love. She’s your world, isn’t she?”

“Yes!” Luke exclaimed, relieved. “Yes! She is!”

“Not good enough!” the voice shrieked, paining his ears.

Luke covered his ears with his hands, but he was unable to escape the pain.

“She stands in the way of your devotion to the titans, the true gods!”

“No!” Luke protested. “No…! She serves you too! Doesn’t she?! She wants you to rule just like I do!”

“Yes, but your devotion pales in comparison to hers! You’re weak! A child!” Kronos snarled.

“No!”

There was a long silence, as Luke carried her in his arms, praying Kronos would revive her. There was a long moment of consternation before he finally got his answer.

“You can have your Katherine back… But you’ll find, in the end, it’ll cost you two souls,” the father of the gods declared.

“Yes!” Luke cries, realizing he’d saved Katherine. “Yes! Thank you! Thank you, Lord Kronos!”

He looked around him as the world seemed to slowly calibrate on its own to a better moment in time. It was afternoon, and then nighttime, and then morning again. The people and the police cars and the ambulance all disappeared. Time had been manipulated for their benefit, and to his relief, Katherine’s eyes opened as she jumped to her feet as quickly as she could.

Luke looked at her with the utmost relief as she slowly looked around the room and then back at him, remembering exactly what it was they had done.

-

Chapter Twelve

[rainycat2]

Though I Could Not Stop For Death / Death Kindly Stopped For Me

Chapter Two: Glimpses and Insights

The good thing about being one of the lead-- and only if he was honest with himself-- researchers on the effects of ectoplasmic energy and radiation on the human realm was that the United States government was willing to bypass certain things in order to keep the Fenton’s continued cooperation and research firmly under their sponsorship. For instance, the favor they’d called in to help set up an identity and fast-track an adoption for the boy they’d found in the alley.

Upon discovering the boy, they had taken him in, patched him up, and put him up for the night in their guest room, immediately contacting CPS to inform them of what they’d found. The poor boy had a scar in the center of his chest, inches below his heart, with bruised skin surrounding the area. That wasn’t the only scar he carried, but the most immediate one-- it looked like it had only barely healed over, tissue still angry and red. The agency had instructed them to take him to the hospital first thing, where they found out the boy… effectively did not exist.

He wasn’t listed in any databases. No fingerprints, no registration of his birth, no known parents in the system. For all they could tell, he’d never even been in a hospital.

He also made it difficult as all hell to get any information. When he first spoke, he only spoke in Arabic, and the hospital had to bring in a translator. His name was Danyal, he had no last name, and did not know where he was or how he’d gotten there. When the nurse attempted to draw his blood, he’d almost bit her before the translator explained. Even then, it took a demonstration and explanation to prove that it would not be detrimental to him before he allowed it.

Jasmine, though… well. She’d taken one look at the boy in the alley and claimed him as her own. At ten years old, she’d plopped herself down on Danyal’s hospital bed, damn the consequences, and started chattering away, talking about anything and everything-- what she’d learned in school, her friend James who’d dyed his hair recently, the new family who’d moved in a few weeks back. And surprisingly, Danyal listened. Attentively. He’d slowly begun asking halting questions back, his voice hardly above a whisper, but in fluent English.

Jack shook his head, signing his signature on another piece of paperwork before flipping the page. As they had been first contact, and the boy had nowhere else to go after a test discovered the low level of ectoplasmic radiation clinging to him… The Fentons were approved for an emergency fostering situation after passing their inspections. Who else was equipped to keep an eye on his radiation levels? That was part of the whole reason the Fentons had set up shop in Amity Park, Illinois. Their social worker, however, had been very insistent that Danyal not have anything to do with their research other than monitoring his ectoplasmic levels, and the Fentons had readily agreed. They still had to take a course on trauma-informed care for parenting-- Danyal had been through so much, the extent of which they likely would never know. Their caseworker, a kind woman named Katherine, had explained that while Danyal knew English and could speak it fluently, they suspected it to be his second language. It would take time and lots of trust before he would open up and relax around them.

But… in the brief few weeks they’d spent together, Danyal had already captured his way into their hearts. Jazz nicknamed him Danny after they’d spent an afternoon trying to pronounce his name. She’d almost had it, from what Jack gathered, but she was missing the lilt to the end of the name that just. Could not be fixed. Despite hours of trying. So, Danny had eventually given up and given in to the nickname.

Jack rubbed his eyes, set his pen down as he got up from the desk. It was about time when the kids would be going to bed, and so he started the nightly routine that had recently expanded-- visit Jazz’s room first on the second floor, as it was closer to the stairwell, tuck her in and tell her good night as he turned down the lights. She liked to stay up reading with a light under her covers, so in about an hour, Mads would come by and do the same, telling her to go to sleep for real this time.

This time, however… Jazz’s bed was empty. Jack blinked in confusion, then glanced down the hall.

---

“Maddie, oh my God, you need to come look at this,” her husband whispered urgently from the stairs. Maddie looked up, one eyebrow raising as she marked her page with a bookmark and set the textbook aside.

“What is it?”

“Just-- come up here-- quiet, I don’t want to wake them up.”

She blinked, then smiled softly as she crept up the stairs, sneaking down the hallway to the open door of Danny’s room. The overhead light was off, but the lamp was still on, giving them a perfect view.

Danny was curled up in a little ball, snuggled right up into Jazz, her arms around him, one resting on a book on their legs. The light played with the shadows on their faces, the relaxed expressions showing their ages of eight and ten.

Maddie couldn’t help the squeal she muffled with her hand.

In her defense? It was adorable.

Though she did immediately regret it as Danny’s eyes snapped open, bright blue focusing on them both. She froze, lowering her hands from her mouth to show her soft smile, knowing that Jack was almost certainly smiling as well.

And somehow… that seemed to be enough for him. A few owlish blinks before the corner of his lips turned up, just a little, before he snuggled back into Jazz and closed his eyes.

Oh, how Maddie wished she had a camera.

---

Over time, the collection of photos lining the walls of the Fenton house grew. Danny’s first day of school, once his therapist had said he was adjusted enough to go, and that it would be beneficial to his development. The first time they’d gone out together as a family. The first summer fair. Danny and Madeline training together, after they’d realized the other had self-defense training.

Danny was ten, now. Acclimating to his new life had been… weird. It was weird being away from the League, not knowing… everything about how he’d gotten here.

He remembered dying. That was hard to forget, honestly-- letting himself falter, letting Damian survive at his own expense. Mother’s cries as he faded, Damian sobbing and apologizing.

Damian.

His thoughts often wondered to his little brother (by two minutes, Damian liked to protest), worried about how he had grown. If he had grown at all. They weren’t the first Heirs to the Demon Head, after all. Simply the ones who were the most useful. Their father had been a prospective Heir, but turned Grandfather down.

Danyal wondered how he had managed to get away alive after that. Ra’s didn’t take “no” for an answer very well.

A tap on his knee, and Danny looked up at unfamiliar violet eyes, way too close to his space. His shoulders tensed as he leaned back, furrowing his eyebrows. “Can I… help you?”

The girl, probably his age give or take a year, had plopped herself down at the picnic table in the elementary school playground and had taken to watching him. “You’re different,” she proclaimed after a moment’s consideration. “You’re not like Paulina or the others. What’s your name?”

“Danny,” he answered. “Why? And what do you mean, I’m different?”

“I don’t know.” The girl sighed sharply, looking at the other kids playing around. Even from here, on one of his first days, Danny could just tell the cliques being formed. They’d be going into middle school, soon, but, well. People had their groups of friends, and Danyal was content being the observer on the sidelines, gathering information. That was what he was best at, watching and observing, collecting intel for missions.

“Well, that’s not an answer.” He shrugged and looked back at the homework on the table in front of him, idly writing in some of the answers. Multiplying fractions by whole numbers, honestly. Boring.

“It’s the answer I have. Anyway, my name’s Sam,” she continued. “You’re new, aren’t you? The new Fenton kid that got adopted, right? My mom was talking about you, I think, to Paulina’s dad. It’s nice that they adopted you.”

He had to hold back the urge to roll his eyes. “Sam isn’t a proper name.”

“Neither is Danny,” she shot back.

Alright, he had to give her that. A smile tugged at the edge of his mouth as he set his pencil down, shifting to look at her. “Okay, that’s fair. Yes, the Fentons adopted me two years ago. Yes, I’m new, I had a lot to work through before I could attend school. Do you have any other questions?”

Sam blinked, confusion flitting across her face at the businesslike tone he took. “Oh, um… Do you wanna be friends?”

“Friends?”

“Yeah, like. We can have playdates and do homework and stuff. Mom keeps telling me I need to make more friends, and Paulina’s been getting weird lately, so… Friends!”

“...I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Jasmine is encouraging me to have friends as well.” He held his hand out for her to shake.

---

Danny was growing up pretty well, if Jazz said so herself. Oh sure, their family was absolutely insane even at the best of times. Sure, she was a sophomore in high school now, but… seeing how much work Danny’s social worker and therapists had done, how much they’d accomplished together, it made her want to help kids like they’d helped her brother.

She spotted the moment he realized she was watching him, his shoulders tensing almost imperceptibly until he met her gaze. Play it off, she’s not staring, not at all. Jazz got up, moving over to the kitchen table where Danny had previously been staring at the page in some… form of disgust mixed with annoyance.

“Hello, little brother,” Jazz giggled, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. “Should I offer to help you with your homework, considering you look like you want to set it on fire?”

“Jazz, this paper is literally going to kill me,” he groaned as he rubbed his face, pencil clattering onto the paper. “It’s just-- it’s so boring! I understand why we should learn how to predict events and how to prepare for them, but I learned how to do that before I learned to talk.”

“You should take that test to go into a higher grade,” Jazz encouraged. “I did it! And really, it’s so much more interesting. I get to take astronomy classes, I know you want to work for NASA when we’re grownups.”

“I know, I know,” Danny hummed. “But my therapist says it would be ‘detrimental to my development as a growing teenage boy coming from my background’,” he drawled, his voice completely monotone, drawing a laugh out of his big sister. “They act like I’m a feral kid, honestly.”

“You tried to bite your nurses when we first took you to the hospital. And the nurses when you got your vaccines. And your fifth grade teacher--”

“Okay, okay! Maybe I was a little feral,” Danny gave in.

---

He really hasn’t changed, has he? Jazz thought to herself from her perch on the top of a building, watching her little brother go apeshit on Skulker. Danny was fifteen now, and…

Her little brother was a superhero. Well, Danny liked to deflect, call himself a ‘vigilante at best’, but… well. They knew better, really. He’d done some awesome things, and she meant that in the Biblical sense of “awesome”-- truly awe-inspiring things that, if it were anyone else… well, they’d probably be a little concerned. Danny, though?

Danny was probably one of the genuinely kindest people she ever knew. Apparently, after his big defeat of Pariah Dark, Clockwork had taken him aside and talked about what that really meant, to defeat the High King of Ghosts in one-to-one combat. The Infinite Realms worked on a hierarchy of power, after all.

Which meant that on top of his duties as a vigilante superhero, and having just finished his sophomore year, Danny was also being tagged in for High Prince of Ghosts duties. Which, apparently, included acting as a psychopomp in some situations, albeit with quite a bit more ass-kicking.

As she watched Danny give Skulker one hell of a roundhouse kick, it felt like… her perspective of reality blurred. One minute they were in the sky, the next, Danny was floating in front of her with a paper in hand, Skulker nowhere to be seen. So really, you could hardly hold her responsible for the sharp jump and yelp, reaching out to sock him in the shoulder. “Danny! Don’t do that, I thought you were fighting-!”

Danny let his shoulder go intangible with a laugh, patting her on the shoulder. “It’s okay, Jazz. It… we need to have a talk with the rest of the gang, hold on a sec.” He tapped the communicator in his ear. “Phantom to team, come in team.”

“Here, as always,” Tucker’s voice buzzed, followed quickly by Sam’s agreement.

“Cutting patrol short tonight, guys,” he hummed, wrapping his arm around Jazz’s waist as they took off into the air. “Let’s meet back up at my place and talk-- seems we’ve got a letter from good ol’ Clocky.”

“Oh, Ancients,” Sam sighed. “Can we not get one normal summer?”

“Redundant question, sorry, Danny,” Tucker apologized.

“Don’t worry about it, guys-- let’s just get back and talk.”

---

“I’m sorry, he wants you to do what?!” Sam whisper-yelled, a throw pillow clutched tightly against her chest. “Danny, you’ve got to be joking. You can’t just… you can’t just tell your parents. I mean, what are they going to think?”

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, he’s the Master of All Time. If he says that this is probably the best time to tell them, because I’m needed for Prince of the Realms stuff this summer, then that’s probably in my best interest to listen to him,” he argued, tucking a knee to his chest. “Just… look, I just need you guys to be there with me when I tell them. It’s not like I can just burst out of the gate with it.”

“And, y’know, Mom and Dad have gotten a lot better, lately,” Jazz mused. “They’re really focusing on the science of what they’re doing instead of just… building weapons for ghost hunting. I think they took my lecture on being researchers to heart.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “You screamed at them for a solid hour.”

“It was a lecture!”

“Not to be the voice of reason here or anything,” Tucker cut in, “but… I have to agree with Danny, Sam. Clockwork hasn’t guided us wrong yet, and technically, Danny’s his boss now, so I don’t think he wants to see him go power-crazy. Especially not after all that crap last time.”

Danny winced. “Really, just. Salt in that wound, huh?”

“Sorry man. But seriously, we just… sit them down and break out the powerpoint we made. We can all take turns explaining it,” Tucker reasoned. “And besides, where he goes, we go anyway.”

Sam huffed. “Fine. But I’m keeping my armor on standby.”

Danny grinned. “Thanks, guys. Now, we should plan for it this weekend, so we can start planning the summer trip…”

----

All things considered? Telling the Fentons was… a whole lot less screaming and accusations than Danny halfway expected. They took the information calmly, watching the presentation the teenagers gave-- and really, it was a damn good presentation. They’d gotten scans from Frostbite about Danny’s biology, his DNA, and how his long-term exposure to ectoplasmic radiation had protected him from straight up dying in the portal accident. How the Realms had saved him as much as it killed him. How he’d spent so much goddamn time, blood sweat and tears keeping the city, the world safe from their own little brand of cosmic horrors.

How they’d learned that fighting was how ghosts socialized, so they set up ways to keep it from being destructive on Danny’s grades and the town itself.

Their parents were… shocked, to say the least. But at their hearts, they were scientists. Scientists that had been fed lies and bigotry about ghosts in a field where they didn’t have the ability, for so long, to prove that bigotry wrong-- and when they did finally have the ability, their want to be proven wrong had long since disappeared. How their bias had been drilled into them by their professors, by their professors, by everyone in the field.

They needed time to reassess. To work through their biases, to… to try to apologize, in some way.

Danny said they didn’t need to apologize.

They insisted.

---

His mission, of course, was hardly put in clear terms. Danny thought that Clockwork just liked to fuck with him, at this point, as his Guardian. He had the right to, or whatever. Regardless, the young ghost just had to stare as Clockwork explained.

“Let me get this straight. You want me to go to Gotham, a place that is notoriously full of crime, murder, and 100% has a supernatural presence, because the City Ghost has said that she’ll make your afterlife miserable if I don't deal with their furry problem?” he said incredulously.

“I hardly said that, Danyal,” Clockwork hummed. “What I said is that Lady Gotham, one of the older City Ghosts on this side of the world, has requested your assistance with your connections to both the living and Infinite realms in regards to a problem with one of her Protectors.”

“...So, the Bats,” Danny grumbled. “Hooray, that’s definitely what I wanted to do this summer. Go into the city that notably hates metas.”

“I hardly think that they will take umbrage with your presence,” Clockwork chuckled, patting his charge’s shoulder. “After all, your father lives in Gotham, does he not?”

Danny rubbed at his face as they floated to the couches that had appeared, the Long Now sensing the wants and needs of its owner. “I guess. That’s kind of… part of the problem, you know? I don’t want to go and see him, and then have to pretend that we’re… I mean, I know he’s my Father. I do. But.. I have enough problems without having to deal with the whole-ass Justice League on my ass, you know?”

“I believe you have less problems than you believe you do,” Clockwork hummed.

Danny narrowed his eyes. “Are you… going to give me a better answer than that?”

“No.”

“Enigmatic bastard.”

“If either of us is a bastard, young Prince, it would be you.”

“You cheeky-!”

TAGLIST: @mynameisnotlaura @fisticuffsatapplebees @screamingtofillthevoid @lizisipancardo @digitizedworld @dahliasandrosemary

NEXT CHAPTER: ==>

[authorofcelesti]

Chapters 1&2

A witchcraft x ESMP Au I've been working on for a while now

Shelby watched as the other emperors battled Sausage Supreme. Gem, Joel, and Jimmy were focusing all their firepower at the former protector of Sanctuary while the others battled with the large sculk tentacles preventing anyone from engaging with Sausage directly. Shelby looked down at the spell circle Gem had told her to cast.

<><Flashback><>

“It all comes down to Shelby.”

Shelby looked at Gem, stunned. It has only been a few hours since Gem had dropped the newsbomb that she used to be a wizard. And not just any wizard either. No, she was the wizard that founded the Crystal Cliffs Wizarding Academy, the direct rival of the Witches Academy.

“What do you mean, it's all on her?” Joe questioned, “the only reason we're in this mess is because she’s a bad witch!”

Katherine smacked him on the back of his head. “JOE!”

“We need Shelby to do it Joe, she’s the only one besides me who has experience casting complex spells.”

“Well then why can't you do it Gem?” Fwhip asked.

Gem sighed, “because I'm the reason he’s here. I defeated Supreme once, and now he’s back for revenge. That makes me the perfect bait.” the princess-turned-wizard (or was it Wizard-turned-princess, Shelby couldn’t decide) turned to Shelby. “You cured Cub from his corruption, you can cure Sausage of his.”

Shelby looked around at the other emperors staring at her before taking a deep breath and turning to Gem. “What’s the spell?”

<><Present day><>

Gold from Joel, Prismarine from Joey, iron from False, flowers from Scott, copper from Pix, slime and crystals from Lizzie, and a blue mushroom she had found in the Gnome Ruins.

Briiiinng

Oh, and Oli was contributing with a small musical performance, which he was tuning up  as she was placing the last of the redstone to connect the items. The witch turned to the bard. 

“You ready Oli?” he nodded and stepped into place along the outer edge of the spell. “Santa Perla, Pearl, Help us clean up this mess!” he shouted before beginning a small tune on his lute. 

I heard there a secret chord, 

That David played and it pleased the lord,

But you don't really care for music do ya?

It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth,

The Minor falls and the Major lifts..

Shelby let Oli’s singing fade into the background of her mind as she summoned her magic. Gem had told her that the original spell was used to trap a demon, but she had altered it to capture only the soul of Sausage supreme and not Sausage’s physical body that the dark Mage was possessing. To activate the spell, she needed to summon all the mana she possibly could to throw into the center of the circle. But she needed to wait for the right moment. 

Shelby looked up and watched the battle. Gem had her butterfly wings and princess dress, but she was dual wielding a sword and a Wizard’s staff that held an amethyst at the top, which glowed with power as Gem cast spell after spell, sending spikes of purple crystal at the possessed Sausage. Joel was throwing bolts of lightning at the TNT Jimmy was chucking at the tentacles.

“NOW SHELBY!” Gem suddenly shouted, pulling Shelby back to the spell. But in the confusion, she forgot to properly check her magic and it exploded as soon as she activated the spell. She cried out as she was thrown back against the wall, everything fading to black.

<><><>

When Shelby came to, she was lying on the ground, her feet trapped by a large piece of rubble. Grunting, she sat up and shoved it off of her. The witch stood up and looked around.

The magical explosion had completely decimated the portion of the spawn citadel that they had been fighting in. Dust hung in the air, making it near impossible for the witch to see. She could barely make out the piece of rubble that had fallen on her. The Witch looked around to see if she could spot any of her allies but she couldn't. She shook her head in an attempt to get rid of the ringing in her ears. It worked slightly, and she could hear someone shouting. But the noise was muffled, like she was underwater. 

Shelby moved closer to the shouting and soon recognized the voice as Joe's

“Where is she? Where is that witch!”

The witch in question hid behind one of the standing pillars, hiding from the pirate as Gem tried to pacify him.

“Joe calm down.”

“No Gem, she almost messed up the spell and we all nearly died. If-”

“Wait, where is shelby?”Katherine interrupted the pirate king.

"I don't know," Joel said, "But I don't see Sausage either."

"SAUSAGE, SHELBY!" Fwhip called out and the others soon joined him.

Shelby was about to step out, but something held her back. She didn't know what it was. But then she heard Jimmy’s voice 

“Wait Guys, what's that?”

“Isn't that Shelby’s hat?”

Shelby felt at the top of her head to find that her hat was, in fact, not there. 

"If Shelby’s hat is here," Lizzie asked, "then where's Shelby?" 

"SHELBY WHERE ARE YOU!" Katherine called out in a panicked voice. Shelby’s heart twisted. Even after the 'truce' at Oli's Rift Festival - which Joe didn't even hold up his end - Shelby still couldn't get rid of her feelings for the warrior princess. But now she realized why her subconscious had told her not to reveal herself.

This is perfect, she thought, if they think I'm dead then when the Academy comes looking for me, I'll have an alibi. Joe probably won't believe it, since he saw my letter to Grandma, but it's not like anyone really took him seriously aside from Sausage. 

With her mind made up and a faint plan of action in mind, Shelby quietly pulled out her broom and flew away toward the Evermoor to get the needed supplies. 

When she showed up at her witch hat house, both Mother Toad and Tortoise, her familiar, were waiting for her.

She rushed inside and grabbed a small bag that no one would notice was missing, quickly filling it with a few potion ingredients, food, a cloak, and one of her leftover Magic Gem Crystals. On her way back out, she grabbed a long navy blue hooded cloak so 5hat she could still move around undetected. She ran back out to her broom, mounted, then remembered. She quickly dismounted and picked up Tortoise. The purple toad stared at her and gave a small ribbit.

" Don't tell Sausage you saw me, OK? They need to believe that I'm dead." Shelby turned to Mother Toad as well. "You too, please." With that she set down Tortoise and turned back to her broom. Tortoise took a few hops towards her, but she pushed him back.

“I'm sorry Tortoise, but if I take you with me, they’ll know that I'm not dead.” she kissed her familiar on the head. “Keep the evermoor and the gnome spirits safe for me, OK?” Tortoise croaked twice and she took that as an answer. With one last look at the mangrove trees surrounding her home, she hopped on her broom and took off.

[jobazzle]

books i've read in 2024

i meant to start this post in january but of course! i forgot! so here it is now!

January

Babel - R.F. Kuang ★★★★★ one of the greatest and most masterfully written books i've ever read in my entire life oh my god i will recommend this to everyone from now until the end of time!!!!

Yellowface - R.F. Kuang ★★★★½ never hated a main character more oh my godddddd what an infuriating read (the half star off is bc i didn't love the ending but like the ending is kinda the point so like i get it but I DON'T LIKE IT)

In A Holidaze - Christina Lauren ★★★★ went into this being like "lol i already know exactly how this book is gonna go!" and then somewhere in the earlier chapters Something Happened that made me gasp in shock like what the HELLLLL. finished this in like 2 days i NEEDED to know what happened next

People We Meet On Vacation - Emily Henry ★★★★★ book lovers is my favorite eh book buuuut this is such a close second!!!!! (friends to lovers is my favorite silly little book trope so like. this was written for me. i was destined to love this)

February

Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing - Jessa Hastings ★★★★ the second half of this > the first half (god one specific main part of this book was painful to read like i knew exactly where it was gonna go and UGH. IT HURTTTTT)

A Court Of Silver Flames - Sarah J. Maas ★★★★★ favorite book of the entire series but i can't stop thinking about this one critique i saw online about the plot that's like...so true....so true....i do agree....but also....love these characters...so is this book perfect? NO do i adore it? YES

Only When It's Us - Chloe Liese ★½ hated this so much oh my god it made me so mad i was so annoyed for a majority of it...only gave it the stars i did bc of the relationship between the main character and her mom...other than that BOY WAS THIS A PAINFUL READ

Magnolia Parks: Into The Dark - Jessa Hastings ★★★★★ i love and adore (and deeply relate to) this like oh my god this book has my whole heart i love these characters i love their growth i love their flaws I!!!! LOVE!!!! THEM!!!!!!

Heartstopper Volume 5 - Alice Oseman ★★★★ immediately decided this was my fav of the series and i can't wait to see it play out on the show in the future!!!

The Bodyguard - Katherine Center ★★★★½ this is sooooooo miss congeniality x every real person fanfic i read when i was a teen (affectionate). i was blushing i was giggling i was kicking my feet this was sooooooooo so so so romcom ugh i loved every second of it and i want (NEED) a movie/tv adaptation so baddddd

Always Only You - Chloe Liese ★½ i thought "ok i hated the first book in this insanely long series but let me give the second one a try" NOPE. SHOULDN'T HAVE. MIGHT'VE HATED IT EVEN MORE THAN THE FIRST ONE. despite loving the characters the writing was so terrible to me that i had to give up (and i was rly looking forward to the book in the future about two rival soccer players who fall in love but I SIMPLY CANNOT READ ALL OF THESE TO GET THERE. I GIVE UP)

From Blood And Ash - Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★★★ was this the most predictable book I've probably ever read? yes. was it an insanely fun and quick read? ALSO YES. idc this was surprisingly enjoyable and sooooo silly at times (was rolling my eyes sm and was screaming "HOW HAVE YOU NOT FIGURED THIS OUT YET" fjdjfjd)

March

The Winter of the Witch - Katherine Arden ★★★★★ read the first book of this trilogy in 2022, the second in 2023, and this one FINALLY in 2024...what a journey it has been!!!!! The action!!!! The character relationships!!!! The heartbreak!!!! What a wonderful conclusion. Literally loved every second!!!

Throne Of Glass - Sarah J. Maas ★★★★½ actually so confused bc i saw reviews saying how difficult it is to get into this series/that they find the first book (so, this one) boring???? I WAS ENTHRALLED. OBSESSED. WANTED TO BE READING IT 24/7. CAN'T WAIT TO START BOOK 2 AHHHHH (which will take a while bc my brother has to read it first and he is a slower reader than me 😀)

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire - Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★½ wtf happened between the first book and this one??? how did it get so much worse???? my god was this a whole lot of NOTHING. full of confusing world building/lore and oh my god the conversations between characters went in circles. NOT A FUN READ (except for the very end which was a little redeeming lol)

Lovelight Farms - B.K. Borison ★★★★★ what more could i want in a book liiiike this literally has everything i love about a romance book put into one beautiful wonderful heartwarming cozy endearing story (i should've read this during christmastime)(literally it haunts me that i didn't read it in december last year)(WHAT A MISSED OPPORTUNITY)

Mile High - Liz Tomforde ★★ cringed a lot. some parts were uncomfortable to read. had one of my least favorite book "tropes". the plot motivation made no sense. didn't enjoy.

The Right Move - Liz Tomforde ★★★★½ far from perfect and won't be for everyone but when i say i loved pretty much everything about this!!!! i mean it!!!!!! so glad i gave this a shot despite not loving the first book!!!!!!!!! i adored this so much i made a spotify playlist like...i'm obsessed

Caught Up - Liz Tomforde ★★★★½ that feeling when you're reading a book you love so much you almost don't want it to end so you start reading slower was FELT as i read this. and MAYBE it made me tear up A LITTLE.

Bride - Ali Hazelwood ★★★★ super fun except i'm not used to reading supernatural/fantasy books that take place in the modern day like wdym you're on a computer or using a cellphone but also vampires and werewolves existfjenfjfb

Wildfire - Hannah Grace ★★ what a waste of time i wish i'd never read it oh my god.

One Italian Summer - Rebecca Serle ★★★★★ reading a story about dealing with the grief of a parent dying while dealing with the grief of your own parent dying 😀 ouch ouch ouch pain pain pain my thoughts in book form i sobbed every chapter and i'm in awe of what this book now means to me

April

In The Weeds - B.K. Borison ★★★★★ i read a romance book so beautiful i started crying? (no actually i teared up reading this I LOVE LOVE AND BOY DOES THIS AUTHOR KNOW HOW TO WRITE A LOVE STORY)

The Crown of Gilded Bones - Jennifer L. Armentrout ★ absolutely 1000% done with this series....how do you make the first 500 pages of a 600 page book boring??? and then make the last 100 filled with everything i wanted from the rest of the book??? I AM: DONE (will be reading the synopses of the rest of the books so i know what happens but THAT'S IT)

Done and Dusted - Lyla Sage ★★★★ when i say this was a quick read i! mean! it! (no literally i started it on april 3rd and finished it april 4th i was hoooooked)

Swift and Saddled - Lyla Sage ★★★★ the book mentioned taylor swift and bake off (two of my favorite things) of COURSE i enjoyed it (ok the end annoyed me a little but that's a me specific thing i don't think it was a bad ending!)

Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie ★★★★★ so um this left me in shock fhdshfkds i also jokingly guessed the ending (and thought "but there's no way. that would be ridiculous" lmaooo)

Come Back to Me - Mila Gray ★★★★½ this was a reread and i can confirm: i am still so deeply fond of this book <3 (and despite knowing everything that was gonna happen i still! sobbed!)

Stay with Me - Mila Gray ★★★½ another reread/comfort book <3 not as good as the other book from this author (i hate you miscommunication trope!!!!) but overall still fine

Run Away with Me - Mila Gray ★★★½ another!!!!! reread!!!! would've loved it more if my copy wasn't riddled with typos and minor plot errors (i remember being obsessed w this book but like...not anymore oops)(it's fine)

Watch Over Me - Mila Gray ★★★½ would! watch! a! movie! of! this! (they will never make it so i'll have to just reread it every few years lol)

Fall Into Me - Mila Gray ★★★½ i am unfortunately not immune to the charms of a bodyguard romance ok this was...slightly endearing despite its errors/plot that was a little too fast-paced for me (also: a reread)(and my fancast for this one! IMPECCABLE)

Mixed Signals - B.K. Borison ★★★★★ oh this had me gigglingggg i was emotionallllll i adore this sweet little small town romance series <3 (also!!!!!! when an epilogue ties into the premise of a book so perfectly!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!!)

Flawless - Elsie Silver ★★★★ what do you mean this book says seriously "you wear the hat, you ride the cowboy" PLSSSSS I LAUGH EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT IT HFJKDHSKFJHDSK. anyways this was a quick read!!!!! and had an interesting "plot twist"!!! OVERALL V FUN

Heartless - Elsie Silver ★★★★ the more i think about it the more i wanna rate it a 4.5 but FOR NOW it's just a 4 (but like A HIGH 4)

Powerless - Elsie Silver ★★★★★ what can i say, i'm a big fan of friends to lovers in any form any iteration any plot any characters....i! love! it!

Reckless - Elsie Silver ★★★★★ this has my fav couple of this series from this author i'm obsessed w them i'm obsessed w their love story i literally read the second half so slow i did NOT want it to end 🫶

Hopeless - Elsie Silver ★★★½ this felt rushed and the pacing was weird and there was a weird nickname for one of the love interests BUT it's not like. an offensive book or anything. overall just...ok! a decent time!

Funny Story - Emily Henry ★★★★★ in. tears. feeling. so. many. emotions. EMILY HENRY YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!!!!! may she continue writing forever bc I WILL BE READING

May

When in Rome - Sarah Adams ★★★★½ this was soooo genuinely laugh out loud funny like i can't believe how much genuine humor there was throughout this...also TALK ABOUT A SLOOOOOOW BURN MY GOD

Practice Makes Perfect - Sarah Adams ★★★★★ probably insane to rate this a perfect 5/5 but idc this spoke to me ("how is it possible to crave change and relish familiarity at the same time" i'm!!!!!!!!!!)

Twisted Love - Ana Huang ★★★ the best way to summarize my mixed feelings about this book is that as i was explaining the plot to my brother, he said "this sounds like the plot of a cw show"...

Twisted Games - Ana Huang ★★★★ i am unfortunately a sucker for a bodyguard/forbidden romance w kinda high(ish) stakes that keeps me guessing lol (+ i like how everything ended up/was revealed SUE ME IT WAS FUN)

Twisted Hate - Ana Huang ★★★★¼ i love you books with characters that have fucked up relationships with their parents 🫶

Twisted Lies - Ana Huang ★★★¼ kinda dragged on and the twists and reveals were....underwhelming??? (however i will say: i do respect when a main character threatens murder and!!! actually means it!!!! lmaoooo)

June

Binding 13 - Chloe Walsh ★★¼ first half of the book i was having soooo much fun!!!! loving it!!!! but by the 50% mark???? i was OVER ITTTT. WILLING THE BOOK TO BE DONE WITH.

Old Flames and New Fortunes - Sarah Hogle ★★ interesting characters and a magical premise (it was soooo reminiscent of charmed the tv show at the beginning) but as it went on i just...stopped caring UGH

The Seven Year Slip - Ashley Poston ★★★★½ the idea of fate + right place wrong time oh yeah SIGN ME UPPPP i adored this (also any book that explores themes of grief rly hit me hard)(and this did indeed! make me sob!)

July

Play Along - Liz Tomforde ★★★★ first half i was IN then at some point in the middle it got ehhhh but then it picked up again at the end thank goodness (LIKE. I ADORE THE ENDING OF THIS SM)(also the playlist i made while reading this truly was 10/10 perfect if i do say so myself)

Business Casual - B.K. Borison ★★★★★ and with this final book i can conclude: this series is one of my favs of all time <3

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels - Janice Hallett ★★★★★ thought the first page of this was soooo dramatic and rolled my eyes reading it...and then the mystery reveals started happening at the end and i had to spend like ten minutes repeating "WHAT THE FUCK" over and over again

August

Caraval - Stephanie Garber ★★★★ the ending of this will either be so thrilling and fun to read (my reaction) or make you so mad and feel like everything was a waste (my brother's reaction as i recapped the plot to him fhjskhfkjds)

A Flicker in the Dark - Stacy Willingham ★★★★★ i'm kinda. like. losing my mind at how enthralling / mind-boggling / thrilling / exhilarating / riveting / spellbinding / galvanic this is oh my god oh my god OH MY GOD (yeah. i'm rly out here looking up synonyms bc idk if i have the vocabulary to truly express just how much i loved this)(also i need a screen adaptation of this IMMEDIATELYYYYY. NOWWWW. ASAPPPPPP. PLEASE)

September

Keeping 13 - Chloe Walsh ★★★½ miles better than the previous book but...still...way too long....i will say the second half had me so invested like THAT was amazing. but the first half? it just felt like i was reading b13 all over again. however this did solidify the fact that i am a lizzie defender 4 life!!!!

October

Saving 6 - Chloe Walsh ★★★★½ AOIFE AND JOEY MY BELOVEDSSSS I FLEW THROUGH THIS FINISHED IT WITHIN A FEW DAYS I LITERALLY MADE THEM A SPOTIFY PLAYLIST LIIIIKE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK AND JUST THEM AS CHARACTERS OHMYGOD.

Redeeming 6 - Chloe Walsh ★★★★½ got tears in my eyes multiple times throughout this ugh what a perfect little ending (and beginning?) to their story <3

Butcher & Blackbird - Brynne Weaver ★★★★ so fucked up at times in the best way liiiiiike i kinda couldn't help but root for them lmaooo. also that epilogue?????? sooooo excited for the next book in the series!!!!

Leather & Lark - Brynne Weaver ★★½ deeply sad i didn't love this....it's like everything i enjoyed about the first book just....isn't here....and i can't even blame the marriage of convenience trope bc i've read books that have done that successfully!!!!! like sure this has some great moments buuuuuut b&b clears in every way possible (am now scared for the third book bc WHAT IF I KINDA DISLIKE IT TOO)

[evenhisfacewasanalias]

Fragments of Eros (Part 8)

Lady Jane Grey/Guildford Dudley

Rating: Adult

The last of the embers turned to ash, and something brushed her hand. She let out a small cry at the brief touch, the anticipation of claws or teeth that followed. But none did.

Only the feel of a warm circlet of gold slipped around her ring finger by human hands. The sound of a man’s voice, gentle, and not a beast’s.

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

A Cupid and Psyche/(Beauty and the Beast) AU, inspired by and encouraged by schokoleibniz.

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Chapter 8: The Descent

Jane and the remaining Dudleys returned to the kingdom’s center under the cover of the evening’s moonless sky, with neither man nor beast to offer them aid. They sought shelter as near as they dared to the Tower in one of Lord Dudley’s many safehouses, humble and sparsely furnished though it was. Bravery, and even cleverness, the man had rarely demonstrated before - but schemes the elder Dudley had always had in spades. Ever the political machinator, Lord Dudley had ever been prepared for such eventualities as his own need to go into hiding - particularly with the burden of his son’s secret.

Jane sought word in London from her few remaining allies. Her own mother was the best informed among them. From Lady Frances she learned that Katherine and William had not been impeded in their escape. Though no word had reached her yet of their successful marriage, the Kingsguard’s inability to apprehend them gave her reason to hope. Jane let herself feel some small relief at this news.

Of Guildford, the news was less heartening. It was all as she had feared - that with her own escape, Queen Mary had grown impatient, and had set his execution for the week’s end. The day before she intended to capture the beasts’ castle, and quash the rebellion in Kent, in one fell swoop.

“It’s not enough time,” she lamented as she returned to the Dudleys with the news. 

They waited three more days. For word from Sir Thomas, or some message of hope from Susannah, for any sign they could hope for aid - but they received none. They alone were left to free Guildford, or perish in the trying.

****

It was Lord Dudley among the three who was most familiar with the Tower’s dungeons, and it was he who set the scheme for finding Guildford within its labyrinth.

“We will go under the cover of night, just before the changing of the guards - at dawn when they are at their most weary. But we will need additional armor and weapons if we have any hope of making it through.”

“I can prepare a drug that will induce sleep if we can think of a way to trick them into drinking it,” Jane offered.

“It doesn’t require much of a ruse to get a soldier to drink, my dear girl. We will simply leave it in another man’s wineskin, and they will be all too glad to pilfer it. Once armed and disguised, we need merely pretend we have arrived early to change places, as the Kingsland guard has recently swelled its numbers, and will not know each new member. However, we must avoid the hounds kept within the courtyard, as they will immediately mark us as intruders. If we can avoid detection, I can guide us into the deepest part of the dungeons, where the Greys have informed us that Guildford is kept.”

“The hinges of the prison doors are on the outside, so prisoners cannot simply pull their pins.” Jane had discovered this from nearly a year of facing the inside of one of those doors. “But it will be easy enough for us to lever them out from the outside.”

“Quite right, and if we are questioned on the way out, we are simply taking the prisoner to prepare him for his -”

None of them would allow the fatal words to pass their lips.

“And what if they don’t believe us? Or we are recognized?”

Stanley’s words troubled Jane, but Lord Dudley, it seemed, had a scheme for this as well.

“Then we begin releasing the other prisoners - man or beast - and allow them to create a diversion.”

Jane frowned at this, but reasoned that the innocent beasts among them would fare a better chance of escape, at least. But only the most dangerous, or more neglected, of prisoners were kept within the depths of the Tower. There was no guarantee one of them might not turn back on their band of rogues. Jane knew it was far more likely they would have to fight their way out. She only hoped that the Dudleys were equally prepared for combat as she.

As evening fell, all three of them donned disguises, being each of them infamous and well known to the guard. Lord Stanley, who ever appeared the clean shaven youth, fashioned himself a full beard of coarse goat hair. Lord Dudley affected a missing eye, covered by a filthy white rag, and a limp. Though in truth, neither man would have been recognized to any who formerly knew them, not without the splendor of their fanciful clothing, their many jewels, and their arrogant meins. In the guise of the peasantry, and with only an expression of grim determination across their faces, Jane hardly recognized the two men herself.

Lady Jane was even less recognizable, donning the clothes of a man and pinning her long, chestnut curls  beneath a cheap woolen cap. She looked too much a beautiful youth to hide behind a full beard, and thus was to remain just behind the two older men until they had passed the other guards.

Thankfully, Lord Dudley’s prediction that the outer guards would drink the sleeping draught even from an unknown wineskin proved to be true, and once they were all three of them well-armored, he deftly convinced the guards within the Tower gates of their lie. Stanley, too, showed his own worth in lulling the courtyard dogs with a sweetly sung tune - as well as proffered treats from his own pockets. 

Thusly they entered into the dungeons below the central White Tower, making their first descent down a narrow spiral staircase. The smell was almost unbearable. All around them fearful sounds echoed against the ancient stone walls. Sounds of men shouting into the night - some sleeping, some every wakeful. The clamor of the guards as they tried to silence these madmen, all to no avail. And the cries of beasts - a cacophony of howls and hisses, of barks and shrieks, and many such sounds that Jane could hardly recognize. She shut her eyes to focus through the din. But unheard among them was her husband's voice, which she would have known in a single instant - no matter the form it took.

They pressed onward. The doors of each cell were made of thick wood, with only a small iron grate with which to see within or without. Jane tried not to look within these windows, uncertain whether she wished to avoid the sight for fear of the cell’s occupants or fear of herself, that her sympathy would not allow her to pass them by in favor of rescuing her own lover. She assured herself that when they were successful, she would come back for the others - freeing the innocent beasts firstly and offering a fair trial to those among them who were alleged to have committed greater crimes. She could not understand the apathy of the prison’s guards, who passed by these cells daily with no remorse. Jane could only be thankful that the guards treated them with similar apathy, and made no inquiries about their presence there.

The halls grew narrower, the cells quieter, the deeper they went. Down here were those who had been kept far longer, and who had long ago lost hope of being heard by anyone who might care. They did not shout or howl, but the silence of those cells was all the more haunting. Few guards passed this way, though they knew this to be where Guildford was most likely kept.

They were each of them forced to peer within the dim rooms now, finding instead of Guildford some ancient prisoner laying half alive on the damp stone floor. Jane shuddered at the sight of these ghoulish inmates. It was almost a relief to find an empty cell, though it put them no closer to reaching their goal. Their way had been easy but thus far, but it was was unlikely to continue to in such a manner.

Twice, they passed through the same hallway again, which troubled Jane in thinking that they might yet not find their way back out. There were no windows this far below the white tower, nor any markers to orient themselves. She began pressing her torch to the left center stone of each new hallway they entered, the blackened mark a reminder of which they had already visited. 

With this method they discovered a passageway they had earlier missed. Dismissed, perhaps, as it looked nothing like the rows of cells they had been formerly searching through. Aging rows of timber were stacked along the sides of the long hallway, this corridor having clearly been used more for storage than for imprisonment for a long time. There were no torches along its walls, and the three were careful with their own lest they start an accidental fire. The passageway loomed darkly ahead, and the piles of wood covered the many unused cells and muffled their footsteps. With no doors to peer through, the passageway felt interminably long, and Jane shivered in the cold silence.

Finally, the end of the hallway came into sight. A single cell door filled the narrow wall, all other obstructions cleared from it. Hope swelled in Jane’s breast. Where better for Mary to keep her most feared prisoner? She slipped ahead of her companions, moving as quickly as she dared.

Jane held her torch up to the small grate, shining her light within the cell, but saw nothing.

“Guildford?” She begged the empty room to reveal him to her.

“Draw back your torch,” came the familiar voice, though hoarse from disuse.

Jane immediately did as she was bade, relishing this small proof that her husband still lived. She had nearly forgotten that she could not look upon him.

“Guildford, are you really in there?”

“Jane, why have you come here? When they find you here, they’ll execute us both. I have had enough death on my conscience.”

“I couldn’t just leave you here-”

“Why not? It’s what I deserve. This is where I should have ended up a long time ago. My curse was just another path that led me here.” He scoffed. “Rather poetic - like something out of a Greek tragedy.”

“Guildford, you can’t think like that!”

“It’s the truth, even if my own father won’t admit it.”

Lord Dudley stepped forward. “My dear boy, what happened to your mother was not your fault. It was a tragic accident, and I have never blamed you.”

“Yes of course, which is why you sent me away to live among the beasts.”

“I was lost in my own grief, and I didn’t know how to take care of you too, not with-”

“The monster I had become?”

“No, you simply wore your grief more outwardly than my own. I didn’t know how to help you. But Guildford, you must forgive yourself, your mother loved you.”

“You were her favorite son,” Stanley swore from her other side, with no trace of bitterness in his voice.

It was obvious their words meant ‘I, too, love you.’

Jane understood something of the difficulty in saying those words aloud.

“You must still leave me - the space in here is too narrow. If I were to transform-”

“We’re not leaving you.” Jane avowed. “Your father and brother will go ahead of us to snuff out the torches. I will walk ahead of you and guide the way, no one will see you. The halls are less narrow above.”

She signaled to the Dudleys to begin their task or darkening the hallways. They could not risk another prisoner spotting him - nor one of the guards.

“I’m closing my eyes now,” she swore as she reached her small hand through the grate, desperate to touch some small part of him and assure herself he was real.

His cooler hand slipped into hers, roughed from many days of such grim conditions, but still she knew it from how it fit so perfectly around her own.

“Jane, you must leave me here. Once I change, the guards will certainly attack us - there will be no way to get you out safely. 

“I’m not leaving you here.” She would never leave him again. “ I love you.”

She whispered these words into the dark and felt the world shift between them.

“I love you, too.” Came the familiar voice of her beloved, and she felt the shift again and nearly wept at hearing those words echoed back. 

“I’m going to open my eyes now, and open this door - you must keep yourself back.”

She felt Guildford’s hand slip from hers as he retreated into the shadows of the room.

“How will you open the door? Lord Seymour holds the only key, and the wood is two inches thick.”

“Have some faith in your wife,” she gently teased, as she set her torch back on the stone floor below.

With a short dagger she eased the rusted pins that held together the hinges of the door. She pricked her fingers on the blade’s sharp tip thricely, but the pins were no match for Lady Jane’s determination.

“I’ll walk just ahead, you’ll be able to push the door open from within.”

Jane walked just ahead so that the light didn’t quite reach the cell door. She could barely hear it creaking open behind her.

“You’ll have to stay out of the light, in case we encounter anyone ahead,” she shouted back.

Whatever Guildford’s response to her words may have been, it was lost to the softly muted echoes of the passageway. She walked ahead, hoping he knew to follow just behind the light. Hoping that he could see it well, even if she could not see him. 

As ever, Jane was tempted to look back towards her husband. In all their months together she had never quite grown used to not looking towards the source of his voice. The temptation grew worse now, without the comfort of his low voice just behind. What if he tried to force her to leave him behind by remaining within his cell? What if she reached the top of the dungeons and he wasn’t there? She knew it would be impossible to return a second time, and was certain Guildford knew this too.

“Guildford?”

She tried, hoping for the comfort of his familiar voice. But no such sound reached her.

“Are you still there?”

Jane pleaded, but her words were nearly lost in the crackle of the torch, the muffled footsteps of her own armored boots. She found herself tempted again to look back, or stop and listen for any sign of him. But they needed to move swiftly, for surely the guards would begin to notice the extinguishing of the torches ahead of them. It was impossible for her to be certain of his following her without putting him in greater danger. She would have to endure her uncertainty and fears until they reached the wider corridors. They were nearly to the end of it, this most constrictive hall.

Just ahead, Jane found new reason to fear. At the end of the narrow passage waited Lord Seymour, with both Dudleys now held captive by his men. His face appeared even more sinister in the flickering light of his torch.

“It seems we have caught several flies within our web tonight. Queen Mary will be so pleased.”

Jane drew her sword at his words. She would not be caught by Seymour and the spider Mary again - not this night, not with Guildford finally returned to her.

Her first running thrust caught Lord Seymour by surprise, and she managed to neatly slice at his left side. But he easily parried her second cut, driving her back within the tunnel. She thrust again, only to be blocked once more. She found an unexpected difficulty in fighting weighed down by her heavy armor, and forced to maintain a strong hold on her torch, lest it fall to the side. Lord Seymour showed no such similar concerns for the hazards of the passageway.

“But where is your husband? I think perhaps we need more light in here.”

With these words Lord Seymour held out his torch to the ancient wood piles, which caught flame as if they were but kindling. She could feel the heat of it burning against her eyes and throat, her stolen armor growing almost unbearably hot as the flames grew around her - she felt as though she might be cooked alive within it. But the fire kept spreading down the passageway, back towards where she feared Guildford must be. She knew that even if he avoided Lord Seymour’s gaze the flames would just as swiftly take him from her. The smoke was already beginning to fill her own lungs, her vision growing dark with it.

Knowing this might be her last chance, Jane did what she hadn’t dared earlier - she turned around.

Only to find Guildford’s human face looking back at her, his arms outstretched.

[greenconverses]

Recently read: How am I finishing books and still somehow always 11 books behind on my annual reading goal? My pacing is shit. Anyway!

The Rom-Commers appeared on my Libby app at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night, I downloaded it and started reading with the intention of stopping after a chapter... which, of course, meant I didn't stop until I was finish at 2 a.m. I probably rated this too high due to sleep deprivation (and crying!), but it was funny and enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to reading Hello Stranger by Katherine Center this week! (★★★★.5)

Candace Camp is either really good or really, really boring. Unfortunately, A Rogue at Stonecliff was boring as hell. There was no spark to the romance and it felt very formulaic. I do love trying to guess which character is going to make an insane betrayal in Candace's books, but it was pretty meh. I think I only bought this book because the heroine was named Annabeth... and she was not anywhere near the OG. (★★.5)

Rogues is a collection of Patrick Radden Keefe's long pieces for the New Yorker and it is excellent! There's several interesting stories and profiles in here — most centered around true crime, but not solely on murder. Loved the profile of the Koch brother and other rich people who got scammed by a fake wine expert. Amazing work by that guy, truly. (★★★★★)

I never know what to say when I read a new Mercy Thompson book because I'm not sure I actually like them any more (honestly, not sure if I ever did?). But they always happen to come out when I'm bored and just need a solid, reliable read... so here we are with Winter Lost, #14 in the series. And it certainly was a Mercy Thompson book where things happened in-between a bunch of filler. I did laugh at Adam being like "John McCain was the last good politician," so thanks for that, Patricia. (★★★)

[redheadgleek]

April books

I read a lot of romance novels this month. I think I may need a break as none of them have really grabbed me. 

What I Read: 

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones (audiobook). I had forgotten how hysterical Howl is as a character. A fun story, but. Even with me trying actively to be less judgemental about the ending... the ending still doesn't make sense and was the weakest part of the story. 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Book club book and friend recommendation. Overall enjoyed it, certainly more than @ckerouac did (you're more than welcome to go off if you like!). The dog and kid were too precocious to be believable. 

Bride by Ali Hazelwood. Who knew that you could write mainstream novels and still bring in your knotting kinks from your fanfic days? Again, I liked it more than @darriness did, but it was far from my favorite.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. I have this one and Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, both written about the women in the Appalacian mountains who delivered books in the 1940s, both published around the same time (apparently there's controversy). It felt very light on tone for the seriousness of the issues (such as racism, sexism, rape, alcohol use, murder). The friendships were the best part. 

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. I could have used a little less of the infantilizing of the main female character (she's a bodyguard - she can take you down) and I didn't really like the coded "change from a hardened city girl to a sweet country lass" but they were minor quibbles.

Funny Story by Emily Henry. So much better than Happy Place and full of her witty humor. I consumed it in a day. It unfortunately was released when I was in the middle of the Bodyguard so the two books are blended together in my head. 

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang. It was fine. I liked the first half better than the second, both of the protagonists definitely need a therapist and I'm really not sure I like this trend of trauma bonding romances. Also the unemotional Asian woman. And how everybody has panic attacks. And what is with men carrying women everywhere??

 Counting Descent by Clint Smith. I realized yesterday that I hadn't read any poetry to National Poetry month. Luckily my library had this one available. It's my 3rd book of his and his writing is so so good. The way he can turn a phrase so it buries into your soul. I put a hold on the audiobook.

What I'm Reading: 

Tom Lake by Ann Pratchet. Audiobook (read by Meryl Streep). 

Pride and Protest by Nikki Payne. A Pride and Prejudice retelling. I'm only a chapter into it and it may be going into the DNF pile (so! much! telling!) - but I'm trying to give it a chance. 

Teach the Torches to Burn by Caleb Roehrig. A Romeo and Juliet retelling. Also only a chapter in.

Still trying to finish A Short History of Nearly Everything...

What I'm Planning on Reading: 

I don't know. I feel like I haven't read anything that has been all captivating for a while and I miss that. So if you have any recommendations, let me know.

[scienter]

" Second, the writers ignored thought-provoking story arcs for the side characters in favor of reductive storytelling."

*sigh* This is exactly what I have thought to console myself,since TVD ended,into accepting a lot of narrative choices with regards to Caroline ( & Bonnie),the finale included.

"I know this probably wasn’t the answer you were hoping for. You asked me about Caroline and I talked about Damon."

Haha! But I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts on Damon and it made me realise why I always struggled to care about his character at all.Huh! TVD is a hot-bed of lost potential and giant plot craters with 5 billion  romances(mostly poorly written) as plot twists.

" How did Damon go from having an existential crisis because he missed being human to not wanting to take the cure because he doesn’t want to be human?"

Damon's desires almost always centered around some woman especially a Doppleganger. In 1864,his desire for vampirism was motivated by his desire for Katherine.Once Katherine was gone,he was against completing his transition.In the modern timeline,his desire for the cure centered around Elena Gilbert.In s4*,he refused to take it because Elena didn't but in s6, his desire for a human life came back because Elena wanted to be human.

   As for his existential crisis,I think it popped up because Rose expressed her desire to be human in the dream(2×12), that Damon gave her, when she was dying.Once that chapter closed,his existential crisis conveniently poofed into thin air!

*In s4 finale,if I'm not wrong,Damon was dying from werewolf bite which was why Elena asked him to take the cure.Correct me if I'm wrong because I don't remember much of s4 and its convoluted mythology,but how exactly was a cure for vampirism going to protect someone from werewolf toxin?It could turn a person human.But the venom would still be in their system,right?If the venom is fatal for a vampire,should it not be even more fatal for a human?Who knows what poisonous toxin their bite contained that could instantly off a vulnerable human![Although this was Elena-logic,the girl who went from attending occult studies and having no basic fire safety skills to becoming Dr.Elena Salvatore! Hope she keeps Caroline's blood stocked in her clinic! *side eyes* ]

Or is it one of those UNO reverses the writers loved pulling instead of making an actual effort in creating a compelling narrative?You know like the one they did with Stefan in s8! Give him the cure so he is not a ripper anymore! Problem solved forever not because the conflict is resolved but because the conflict is magic-ed away by default! Who cares if Stefan never overcame his ripper issues!

P.S: Kmze reblogged my ask!!!

*pops champagne*

 In 1864, his desire for vampirism was motivated by his desire for Katherine. Once Katherine was gone, he was against completing his transition. In the modern timeline,  his desire for the cure centered around Elena Gilbert.  In s4*,he refused to take it because Elena didn't but in s6, his desire for a human life came back because Elena wanted to be human.

Yeah, that’s why I loved Damon’s existential crisis in season 2 – it wasn’t tied to Katherine or Elena. Damon's missing being human was an added complexity and nuance to his character. Delena (and Datherine) reduced Damon into a one-dimensional character, which is one of the reasons why I disliked that ship so much.

   As for his existential crisis, I think it popped up because Rose expressed her desire to be human in the dream (2×12), that Damon gave her, when she was dying. Once that chapter closed, his existential crisis conveniently poofed into thin air!

I think Rose’s death sent Damon into a tailspin, but his existential crisis makes sense because Damon only wanted to be a vampire if it meant being with Katherine forever. He had no interest in vampirism beyond that. Furthermore, it was established in flashbacks that Damon hated being a vampire for the first couple of decades. Damon existential crisis (Damon missed being human more than anything) was consistent with that characterization.  I’ve pointed this out before, but starting in season 4 the writers used Damon as a plot device, resulting in an inconsistent characterization. The writers retconned Damon’s characterization (his desires, motivations, and backstory) to suit the plot rather than writing a plot that suited his established characterization. (You aptly described this as the writers pulling UNO reverses.) Using Damon as a plot device in the later seasons caused his character to swing from one extreme to another. It drove me nuts because Damon’s character was all over the place in the later seasons. There was no logical character arc for him.

I don’t remember why Elena wanted Damon to take the cure at the end of season 4, but either way, Damon’s attitude change was never explained. Damon went from “I miss being human” to “I don’t want to be human” with no onscreen explanation.

P.S: Kmze reblogged my ask!!!

*pops champagne*

She sure did! 😊

[peakdeer]

I have recently found myself with a large amount of time to write. in addition to writing requests, I've decided to update one of my fics, which have lain rejected due to procrastination for months.

Or: guess who found out they had polls

A quick explanation of the fics:

Five Times Sausage was Oblivious: one of my first fics; it's a venus flytrap husbands fic that I really should update but shhhh we don't talk about that. The title pretty much explains the fic.

The Wingwoman (And her Wingman): This is an unreleased fic I've been working on inspired by one person long ago in the vfh tag who mentioned Scott, Jimmy, and Sausage were all in Katherine's secret club. It's a vfh fic told through the perspective of Katherine with a nature wives subplot.

Evermoore Rejects: a spellblings crossover fic where s1 sausage and s2 shelby get sent to the Evermoore together to start their empire. It mostly follows Shelby's lore, and will likely recieve a revamping of its current chapters at some point.

Amaranths and Snowdrops: one of the first fics i started. it has lain dormant for quite a while, though the next couple chapters are planned out. it's a soulmate fic that centers around sausage, scott, and pix (not vfh! I'm shocked as well) with a healthy dose of worldbuilding.

Suffocating in the Hues (of Red and Blue): yet another vfh fic. this one is a hanakai au that is planned to be a very long slowburn with (you guessed it) a nature wives subplot. it's very slice of life-y, focusing more on sausage's day to day life and the other characters in the fic.

Arranged Marriage Fwhimmy fic: another unreleased fic i have in my drafts. This one doesn't have a definitive plot yet, though the first few chapters are pretty much planned out.

Nature Wives Flower Meanings: a fic I started a while ago but has sat in my drafts and not been finished. It has ten chapters, one of which has multiple parts, with each chapter based around a flower meaning. The chapters happen in chronological order but are only loosely tied to each other.

Blood and Soul: a oneshot afterlife scosage ficlet using a sort of soulmate mechanic that's never really explained. The ficlet doesn't exactly have a conclusive ending, as it's more focused on emotion without being too long of a ficlet.

[originalhybridloverfics-backup]

Ch28 Good To You

A/N: It's been ages. I've been working on this awhile. I've rewritten this chapter over and over and over and I'm still not happy with it but then again I am rarely happy with any of my chapters.

The saying 'you are your own worse critic' is very true in my case.

Anyway, I finished this chapter about a month ago and was in the middle of editing when two weeks ago I broke my laptop but I got a new one today and finally finished editing this chapter. I may not like it but I hope you guys do.

Thank you to everyone still reading even though I am the world's slowest fanfic writer.

P.S. Mistakes are all my own.

Rebekah lies on an old mattress in a poor state suffering from the werewolf bites she received previously. There is a dripping sound by her bedside as she is coming into a conscious state. She shot awake, gasping, only to look around and see a very familiar hospital in full swing; the sound of screaming patients in agony and bustling nurses and doctors attending to them; all dying from Spanish Influenza. 

She is hallucinating. Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she knows this. She knows she’s in an abandoned hospital in New Orleans; antique hospital beds, wheelchairs, and equipment left behind and forgotten. 

She breathes heavily and gasps with fear as she looks around, lost in her hallucination. 

Blood dripping on the floor; a man drops a bloody rag; another man sits up in bed and coughs out blood. She gasps as two doctors drop another patient onto a cot and wheel him toward the morgue. 

She slowly rolls out of the bed, weakened by the werewolf venom in her system. 

A woman’s laughter is heard echoing through the corridors.

“Who’s there?” Rebekah called out, but there was no answer. She struggles to get out of that room as quickly as possible. As she reaches the door, she plunges through it, escaping outside. 

“How the hell did I get here?” Rebekah asked herself. None of this made sense. She was at the plantation house. 

She stumbles toward the steps but before she can go any further; she is stabbed in the heart with a wooden stake. She gasps and falls to the ground, only to look into the eyes of the familiar face that stabbed her. 

“Genevieve!” she exclaimed, alarmed.  

Genevieve was dead. She regretfully killed her friend long ago. 

“Rebekah, tell me you’re not leaving already. I thought we might reminisce.” said Genevieve with Malice.  

Rebekah falls unconscious. The wolf venom and hallucinations overcoming her once more. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Meanwhile, inside, Celeste looks over the body of Klaus, who is shirtless and lying on a steel bed tied down by restraints. Papa Tunde’s blade, which has disappeared inside of him, too weakens him. 

He groans and starts to stir.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

The witches have gathered together. They were trying to break free and release Monique from the hold the Originals had. 

Monique stands in the center of the witches, commanding authority.  

Elijah appears and quickly takes out three people at vampire speed. Monique is not phased but others gasp.

“Katherine, my siblings have been taken…where are they?” Elijah demanded.  

“You’re interrupting witch business..” Monique accused.  

“I don’t care.” Elijah moved to crowd her in an attempt at intimidation. 

Monique, however, stood her ground unflinchingly. 

“Monique, I recommend you give me what I want unless, of course, you’d like me to level this place and everything in it.” Elijah threatened. 

“That won’t be necessary. I have a message for you from Celeste.” She puts her hand out in front of her, performing a spell.

Elijah pulls at the collar of his dress shirt uncomfortable, he rips open the top button of his shirt to see the name ‘Theresa’ in italics tattooed on his chest. 

Monique continues as two more names appear; he rolls up his sleeve to see the familiar name Sabine.  

“To find what you’re looking for, follow the path she left behind.” Monique advised. “Fleur-de-Lis.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Rebekah lay on a hospital bed with the wooden stake still buried in her chest. She was awake, gasping in pain as Genevieve is humming and making an herb potion mixed with her blood.

“What the hell are you doing, you ruthless bitch?” Rebekah gasped.  

“Poor Rebekah, you should rest. You’re looking a little peaked.” Genevieve said with mock sympathy. She pulls the stake out of Rebekah’s chest and lets her blood drip into her potion. “Of course, that’s to be expected, given the impressive amount of werewolf venom in your system.” 

“If I weren’t so bloody sick, I’d rip your head off!” Rebekah threatened.  

“But you are sick and comforting the sick always was a talent of mine. I take care of my friends. We were friends, weren’t we?” Genevieve asked. “Of course we were.” She applies a cold cloth to Rebekah’s forehead. 

Rebekah pulled away, not wanting to feel her touch.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

New Orleans, 1919 

“There, there... “ Rebekah soothed a sick man. 

The man coughs blood on to her apron. 

“Oh... that can’t be good. You! Red!” Rebekah called out.  

Genevieve, in nursing uniform, turns to face her. Rebekah nods her over. 

“Here, try to take a sip of this.” Genevieve gives the patient a small glass of herbal remedies. The man drinks it and quiets down.

“Mmm... just like magic.” Rebekah touches her so that she realizes what Rebekah was. “But then again, what would you expect from a practicing witch?”  

“It’s a simple herbal remedy. It won’t stop the inevitable, but it should ease his pain and quiet his lungs. For a while, at least,” Genevieve told her.  

“You are quite good at this Miss... what was your name again?” Rebekah inquired.  

“Genevieve.” she answered.  

“Lovely…” Rebekah complimented. “Perhaps you could give me some pointers.”  

“Certainly, though it is a bit odd,” Genevieve commented. “A vampire serving as a nurse.”  

“Please, darling, I’m an Original Vampire. If my city is under attack from this nasty influenza, it is my duty to lend a hand. Besides, if this entire lot dies, who’d be left to eat?” Rebekah reasoned.  

“You’re wicked!” Genevieve grinned. Enjoying Rebekah’s candid humor.  

“You know, I think you and I are going to be fast friends…” Rebekah replies. “What do you say you join me at this swell little jazz joint I’ve discovered on Basin Street tonight? We can toast to the health of New Orleans.” 

Genevieve is about to say something but she catches the eye of a brunette nurse just behind them, attending to a patient. The nurse stares at her with a concerned glance. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Genevieve.  

Rebekah turns around to face the brunette nurse. “You, you should come, too. After playing angels of mercy all day, I’d say we all deserve some fun.”  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Rebekah gasps in the hospital bed. She’s alone. She rolls over and falls off the bed, landing on her feet; groaning.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Katherine opened her eyes. It was difficult. The magic induced on her made her dying human body feel weak.

She was strapped to a med table. The room was small and dark, and the place had the smell of an empty warehouse. 

She tried to listen for sounds, but there were none.

“Great.” she muttered. She pulled at her restraints, but they didn’t so much as budge. 

The last thing she wanted to do was call out to her captors, but if she was going to figure a way out of here, she needed the full scope of the situation. 

Who she was dealing with? Why she was taken? What their endgame was? 

And ultimately, if they were willing to make a deal. 

“Hello?” she called out, rolling her eyes at herself. She sounded just like those stupid girls in the horror fics of today. 

The girl calls out for the killer and then gets killed. 

She was not looking to speed up her already approaching death, thanks to the vampire cure that wreaked havoc on her body. 

When no one came at first, despite her reservations, she called out louder and louder, but no one ever came. 

She was either being completely ignored or completely forgotten about. 

Neither set well with her. It was a hit to her pride. 

She was Katherine Pierce. That used to mean something. But not anymore. Not since becoming human. She detested her situation just that bit more. 

If they were going to be so dismissive of her, why bother with taking her?

What was the point?

What was the point of anything anymore? 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Elijah walks into the Abattoir quickly as Marcel is sending out more troops to search the city. 

“Anything?” Asked Elijah.  

“They’re putting eyes and ears out everywhere; day walkers are working every contact we’ve got. Cops, dock workers, guys in the Treme. Word is out anyone trying to earn favor with me gets a lifetime of it if they find them.” Marcel answered.  

“Good. I need a pen and paper,” said Elijah and walks away.  

Marcel followed after him. “Hey, am I taking orders from you now, or are we in this together?”  

“Pen and paper, Marcellus. Now!” Elijah snapped as he removed his jacket.  

“I want her back just as much as you do, you know... The both of them.” Marcel turns to fetch the pen and paper from the desk drawer. 

Elijah removes his shirt and calls out. “Caroline!” 

“Did you find any–” Caroline trailed off, taking in his appearance – shirtless and covered in tattoos. ”–thing? What is happening? What are you doing?” It appalled her that he seemed to think now was a time to take off his clothes.  

“I need you to make a list of these names.” Elijah told her.  

“Sabine? Elijah, what is this?” Caroline questioned. “Isn’t that the name of Sophie’s friend?”  

“I believe they represent the names of the women Celeste inhabited for the past two centuries.” Said Elijah.  

Marcel rejoins them and hands the paper and pen to Caroline.  “It’s called a Devinette. It’s old school. Kind of a riddle. Witches use them to teach their kids. Solve it and it disappears.”  

“Why?” asked Caroline. “What’s the point?” 

“Celeste forced me to make a choice between yourself, Katerina and my siblings, and now she means to mock that choice, taunting me with a childish game. The longer the game, the more they suffer. To find Klaus, Katerina and Rebekah, we need to solve this riddle.” Elijah explained. “The solution lies somewhere in these names.”  

“The name next to Sabine... Annie La Fleur. She’s the witch that was shunned from her coven just over a year ago.” said Marcel. “Never knew why, but I can find out.” 

Caroline reluctantly began writing the names down, when she much rather Elijah put his clothes back on. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Klaus still lies on the bed in an abandoned room inside the sanatorium of Fleur-de-lis as Genevieve enters; he appears to be unconscious as she touches his stomach where a nasty scar protrudes from where Papa Tunde’s blade disappeared inside of him. He opens his eyes, still in a weak state, sweating with circles under his eyes.

His eyes were filled with hate as he looks at her with contempt. 

“You poor thing.” She speaks to him gently and goes over to the hospital cart and picks up a scalpel off the tray. His eyes watch her. “Don’t worry, I’m here to help.”  

She speaks as she cuts open his stomach along the line of the red scar. She pushes up her sleeve and digs her hand into his stomach; he screams and thrashes against the restraints as she pulls out Papa Tunde’s blade; he growls at her and writhes in pain.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Elijah and Marcel go to the village where Annie lived after she was shunned; Annie La Fleur village. They are able to speak to someone who knew her. 

“Annie was a good girl. The witches did her wrong, shunning her like that; claiming she was doing dark magic; there’s no way, but they had proof,” said the man. “So she just quit and I can’t really blame her for that cause once you’ve been shunned, what’s the point in going on, you know?” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Elijah is walking down a busy street in the Quarter on his cell phone with Caroline, explaining what happened to Annie La Fleur.

“She killed herself?” asked Caroline.  

“Yes, drowned herself in the Mississippi, to be precise; Celeste was clearly tired of the body and ready to take Sabine’s,” Elijah answered.  

“How do you know that?” Caroline questioned.  

“Because she leapt to her death from the very location Celeste and I had our first kiss,” said Elijah.  

“Poetic, I guess... in a creepy vendetta sort of way,” said Caroline.  

“All these names, these lives, stolen that Celeste might take her revenge,” said Elijah. “I suppose we have no choice but to see where they take us. Caroline, I have to go. I’ll call you back when I know more.”  

“Elijah, wait!” Caroline said. .  

“What is it?” asked Elijah.  

“Ask Marcel if he knows anything about a name on that list, Brynne Deveraux.” Caroline told him. “Sophie said that it was her family’s bloodline that put the curse on the crescent wolves, but Celeste said that she was the only one that could break it. If Brynne Deveraux was actually Celeste when she cast the spell, then maybe Celeste can still break it. Or at least we can find a loophole that will allow Davina to break it”  

“I’ll see what he knows.” Elijah told her. 

“Elijah, what do you think is happening to him?” Caroline's voice was pained. “You should have chosen him. Not me.” 

“You were going to die in that fire, Caroline, along with my brother’s children. I know we don’t always get along, but there was no choice.” Elijah hangs up before she can respond. 

Of course, Elijah wished he would have chosen Katerina, Rebekah, or Klaus instead of Caroline, but despite that, he knew he had made the right choice. Caroline was his family, too. 

He made the right choice. He was sure of it.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Caroline could not sit around and do nothing. Not while Klaus was in the hands of the enemy, not when Rebekah and Katherine were facing the same fate. 

Every cell in her body was screaming that she had to get Klaus back. There was no other option. 

His life meant more than she knew was possible.

Caroline knew her feelings for Klaus had changed. They were real and deep, but it wasn’t until they took him that she realized just how deep they were. 

She loved Klaus. She was in love with him. 

She would not rest until he knew the depth of her feelings. She wasn’t here because of the witches or because of their children. She was still here because of him. He buried himself so deep in her heart, there was no going back. He was it for her. Until the day she died, she would love Niklaus Mikaelson, the most feared, the most destructive, the most misunderstood being that has ever walked this earth. 

Caroline, needing to take action, assembled the wolves, the vampires, Davina and Stefan. All came before her. Waiting. 

“The enemies have made their move, its time to make ours.” Caroline was holding court in the compound, standing in a circle among everyone. “We can’t take this lying down. We are not push overs and we will not be victims, casualties in this war the witches are staging. Together we will put an to end to it, take back everything that belongs to us. The witches will be the first example of what happens when you underestimate an enemy with the potential to rise higher than what they believed to be possible.”

Everyone stared at Caroline. 

Stefan was surprised by how much she reminded him of Klaus at that moment, yet still sound like the girl who had become his best friend. 

The vampires and wolves cheered and chanted in agreement, her words of taking the fight to the witches and fighting back ringing true in their hearts. 

This was their city and they would defend it from anyone trying to take it from them.  

“Davina and I,” Caroline held out her hand to the younger girl and Davina took it, coming to stand beside her in the center of the circle. “Have been working together to locate the witches, Klaus, Rebekah and Katherine. We are narrowing it down. We are also working together to end the curse placed upon the Crescent wolves in the bayou.” 

The vampires broke out in an uproar. 

“Enough,” Caroline shouted, her voice thunderous. “This is no time for petty squabbles and mistrust. If we show disruption among one another, our enemies will not hesitate to cease upon and use it to their advantage. We mustn’t give them the opportunity. Unless you want to be the one to lose the battle?”

The vampires fell silent. 

“The wolves in the Bayou are now our allies and we will work with them. You don’t have to like it, but you will accept it.” Caroline continued. “Now, I need you all to work together. If not for the sake of taking down an enemy, then do it for yourselves.” 

Zach joined Caroline and Davina and addressed the wolves. “There was a time I hated vampires, didn’t trust them until Caroline. I am willing to give other vampires the benefit of the doubt because of her, and you should be willing to do the same. The witches have challenge all of us again and again. They take what doesn’t belong to them and challenge anyone who threatens their balance of power and tradition. They want to take this town for themselves and kill every other supernatural being and look at what they are capable of. They have taken two originals. If they can do that to the Mikaelsons, just think what they can do to any one of us. Aligning ourselves is the only way to put an end to their madness and end their threat.” 

The vampires were reluctant to agree with a wolf, but could see his reasoning. 

A vampire stepped forward. “What do you want us to do?”

“I want you to share the Quarter. I want you to bury the stupid feud the wolves and vampires have against each other. I want you to forget about your prejudice and do what’s best for your loved ones and for your home. I want you to come together to facedown a common enemy and you might just find we’re not that different after all. The wolves are ready to do whatever it takes for each other, and I want you to do the same. Can you do that?” asked Caroline, passionately. 

“Can you look at the wolves and welcome them? Can you put the wellbeing of others before yourself?” Caroline stepped forward, challenging. “The witches have been playing chess. It’s time we up our game and show them they won’t be taking over the Quarter if anything, they’re going to leave and the first step to achieving that is getting Klaus back and weakening them. Are you willing to put aside your differences? Will you extend your hands, call a truce, and join in a common cause?” 

Stefan watched on bated breath as the vampires stared down the wolves until slowly, each vampire took a step forward extending their hands to the wolves in the room.

Caroline shared a smile with Davina. It might not seem like much, but this was a start. A start to a new beginning. For the wolves and the vampires and hopefully New Orleans as a whole. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Klaus is now in a sitting position as Genevieve has put his black long sleeve shirt back on him; he is still weakened, sweating and in a poor state. He glares at her. “My wound isn’t healing.”  

”The amount of dark magic contained in that blade? It’s gonna take a little while,” Genevieve told him. 

“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” Klaus asked. “The witches back from the dead; seeking vengeance. Why show me kindness?”  

She strokes his face. “You never did anything to me. And the truth is, seeing you like this, I can’t help but pity you.”  

“Then betray the others and stand with me. I will reward you in ways you cannot possibly fathom.” Klaus told her, resisting the urge to pull back from her touch. 

“Klaus Mikaelson, offering a deal to little ol’ me? I should be flattered,” said Genevieve. “But first we need to have a talk about your sister.”  

His facial expression changes as she walks away from him. “Rebekah is of no concern to you,” he growls out, his voice rising. “If you mean to harm her—”  

“Ah, the protective brother.” Genevieve interrupts. “A shame that loyalty isn’t reciprocated. But then, I’m no stranger to Rebekah’s treachery. Something you and I have in common. Here.” She holds out the bowl that she made earlier in the company of Rebekah. “Drink. I’m just trying to help you. Heal you. Get you to see the truth that’s been right in front of you for almost a century.”  

Klaus drinks with every intention of spitting it back in her face, but Genevieve puts her hand over his mouth, tipping his head back and forcing him to swallow it; he chokes it down.  

“Your sister had an unfortunate run-in with some wolves last night. I imagine you’re tasting the venom in her blood. It’s the only way I can show you what you need to see. In her weakened state, I’ll be able to guide her down memory lane. That’s how I’m going to have my revenge. By showing you her betrayal.” Genevieve put her hand on his forehead, linking their minds. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Rebekah, in her hallucinatory state, stops in the corridor as she looks up to see Klaus standing at the other end staring at her. “Niklaus!” 

She runs toward him, passing rooms on the way; in the first room there is a young boy sitting on a table; his eyes darkened with purplish bruises holding a cloth to his mouth, coughing up blood. In the next room, a teen girl in a pink nightgown sitting in a bathtub staring at her, blood dripping down her mouth and onto her grown. In the next room, an old man hitting his chest and spurting up blood; she cringes as she passes the sign on the wall that reads ‘Crematorium’. She pushes the door open.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

1919 

Rebekah walks into the Crematorium with a smile on her face to greet Marcel; the two embrace and begin to make out. He pushed her up against the wall and put his hand on her leg. She laughs and pulls away. “Marcel have some respect.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think they mind.” He looks around briefly, indicating the bodies in the morgue they’re in, all lost to Influenza. “Did you ask Genevieve about doing the spell?”  

“I will when the time is right.” answered Rebekah.  

“Rebekah, you’ve been hanging around that witch for weeks, waiting for the time to be right. She wasn’t supposed to become your sidekick,” said Marcel. “One little spell and we can finally be together for real. What are you waiting for?”  

“She’s a sweet girl, is all. If you must know, I feel badly for using her.” Rebekah admitted. The truth was she was fond of Genevieve.  

“Then we’ll find another witch; one you don’t have to fake a friendship with. Unless you’ve changed your mind?” Said Marcel.  

“I want to wake up with you in our home, in the bed that we share.” Rebekah said, not wanting him to have any doubts about her feelings. “I want to walk down the street with you by my side so everyone knows that you are mine and I am yours. I don’t want to be afraid of what my brother will do to me for loving you. If this is the only way to get it, then no, my mind hasn’t changed.”  

They kiss again as Genevieve walks into the room.  

“O-oh!” Genevieve made a sound of surprise.  

They break apart to look at her as she stands there holding bloody sheets. 

“I didn’t know anyone was in here. I’m so sorry.” Genevieve hurries out. 

Rebekah follows after her. “Genevieve!” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Rebekah opened the door leading back into the corridor to follow Genevieve. “Genevieve, wait!” 

Genevieve disappears and Rebekah is left alone in the abandoned hall.  

“I’m sorry.” Rebekah apologized.

Klaus is pulled out of Rebekah’s mind to face Genevieve. He seems amused and bored. “So this is your great betrayal? Rebekah and Marcel have been sneaking around behind my back for the better half of two centuries.”  

“Yes, against all your warnings, you’ve disciplined them for it before, had you now? Harshly from what I understand,” said Genevieve.  

“Well, I had my reasons,” said Klaus.  

“Oh, you don’t have to convince me as far as I’m concerned, you only needed one. That it suited you. Have you ever read the Old Testament, Nik?” asked Genevieve. “You see, God wasn’t powerful because he was right, he was right because he was powerful.”  

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but if the sum total of your plan was to turn me against my sister with this revelation, this will have been a wholly ineffective endeavor.” Klaus informed her.  

“You poor thing,” said Genevieve. “After a thousand years, dishonesty from your family has come to be expected. I wish that was the sum total of their treachery. Unfortunately, it’s not.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~   

Marcel’s vampires are casually relaxing at the bar called the pit when suddenly the doors fly open and a man is thrown onto the floor. Elijah and Marcel follow in behind him.

“Wh-what do you want from me?” the man asked.  

Marcel throws him into a chair.  

“Well, I assume you’re familiar with this pigsty, quite appropriately known as the Pit. See, awkwardly enough, only weeks ago a group of human beings just like yourself slaughtered many of the companions of the vampires that you see assembled before you here,” Elijah explained in answer.  

“You run the records room at city hall,” said Marcel. “We’re told the former Mayor kept a detailed record of the supernatural community. A ledger of names of witches, werewolves and vampires, specifically their death records. We need it.”  

“I-I don’t know where it is,” the man said.  

“I think we both know that’s a fib. Anyone feeling hungry?” Elijah closes the door a little so that the sunlight is not there and the vampires can come forward. 

“Oh! Ok w-wait, they moved the records after the Mayor died. They’re at the sacristy of St. Anne’s Church.” the man blurted, fear coursing through his veins.

“See? There, wasn’t so difficult, now, was it?” asked Elijah. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Rebekah is running through the abandoned corridors when she comes around the corner to face two small children. They stand before her quietly, then suddenly they let out a piercing, deafening scream. 

“Ah!” Rebekah stumbles backward.  

“Rough day?” asked Genevieve. “Oh, Becks! Those bites are looking nasty.”  

“Why make me relive the past?” asked Rebekah. “We both know how it ends.” 

“You and I both know, but I thought your brother might like to hear our story, so I linked your mind to his,” Genevieve replies. “You’re gonna show him everything.”  

“NO! NO! Please don’t do that to me. I’ll do anything.” Rebekah begged in fear.  

“It’s too late, friend,” Genevieve told her.  

Rebekah tries to attack her, but Genevieve is too strong; Rebekah grabs her head and screams in pain until she falls unconscious; Genevieve walks away, leaving Rebekah alone in the hall. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

“Marcel, here’s another name from our list: Brynne Deveraux. Says here she drowned herself some twenty years ago.” Elijah read off. He and Marcel were back at the Abattoir. “Do you recognize the name?” 

“Brynne?” Marcel repeated with recognition. “Yeah, yeah, we used to hang out, knock around a bit.”  

“You can spare me the details, please,” said Elijah, not wanting the hear the intimate details of Marcel’s past.   

“She used to do some spells for me now and then. Girl had power, cursed a whole pack of werewolves just because they were pissing me off.” Marcel told him. “Speaking of, what do you think Klaus is gonna do when he finds out that you left him to suffer?”

“I think Klaus would be more than understandable, seeing as I chose to save Caroline. Furthermore, let’s avoid discussing matters that are not your concern, shall we, Marcellus?” replies Elijah.  

“Oh, come on, Elijah. I got guys all over this city. You honestly think that I don’t know that Caroline had a wolf gathering with Klaus’s pack and the Crescent wolves at the plantation last night?” Marcle questioned. “Thanks for letting the house burn, by the way. Good riddance! But my question is, what does Caroline think she is going to accomplish with the wolves?”  

“Marcel, I’m aware of your history with the city’s wolves, and I assume you understand that if you lay a finger upon Caroline or any of the wolves under her protection, it will be the last thing you do on this earth.” Elijah threatened.  

“Caroline’s protection?” Marcel repeated. 

“Yes, and if you interfere with her, you will be dealt with accordingly.” Elijah warned. 

“I see I hit a nerve,” said Marcel. “And just when we were getting along.”  

“We were right!” Elijah declared suddenly. “Every name upon my flesh signifies a witch who died by her own hand. All but one. Clara Summerlin.”  

“Ring any bells?” Marcel asked.  

“None.” Elijah answered.  

“Okay, well, if she didn’t off herself, then how did she die?” Marcel questioned.  

“Influenza Epidemic of 1919.” Elijah answers and his tattoos disappear. “I suppose we have our answer, though I have no idea what it means.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Celeste heeded the warnings of the witches. She moved through the city streets, careful to blend in; she had been watching since taking her hostages, wanting to know how far Caroline, Elijah and Marcel would be willing to go for Klaus, Katherine and Rebekah. 

She had her answer. Seeing Caroline successfully leading the Quarter wolves and vampire alike in a move against the witches was eye opening. 

The blonde vampire was more of a threat than she gave her credit for. 

But more so, what really caught Celeste’s attention was Caroline’s single-minded determinedness to find Klaus.

Celeste wanted the Mikaelson’s to suffer. She wanted to break the unbreakable bond, but more than that, she wanted Klaus to suffer. 

And she knew just how to make the man wish for death.

Klaus Mikaelson, after a thousand years, finally cared about someone more than himself. What better revenge than to rip that person from him?

How would he handle knowing it was all his fault, and he was the reason for every ounce of pain he had brought onto his family and himself? 

How would he live with himself when his hands were soaked with the blood of the woman who managed to make him feel in a thousand years? 

Who was Klaus Mikaelson when Caroline Forbes is killed to punish him?

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Genevieve has an old record player sitting in a vintage wheelchair. She plays an old jazz tune. It echoes throughout the hospital corridors; Rebekah wakes to the sound. She remembers a time when it played through the jazz club she frequented in 1919. 

“NO! NO! Please!” Rebekah begged.  

Klaus hears the music as well; Genevieve enters the room. 

“Your sister’s tryst with Marcel was only the beginning.” Genevieve informed him. “You see, the burden of your condemnation was too great, and as a result, your deepest fear came to pass: that their love for each other would overshadow their love for you and turn it into hate. Nik, they conspired to rid themselves of you for good.”  

Rebekah runs down the hall until she finds the record player and smashes it against the ground, but the music still plays as she holds her head flashing back to that night in the Jazz club, bringing her memories to life in her mind.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Clara, Rebekah and Genevieve walk through the club. 

“Okay, next round’s on me,” said Clara.  

“Clara Summerlin, no!” said Genevieve. “I’ll be soused.”  

“Get it while you can – it’s the last real gin in the city!” said Rebekah.  

Clara heads to the bar. “Bartender?”  

Rebekah and Genevieve sit down at a table.  

“You’re nothing like I thought you’d be when I first met you.” Genevieve told Rebekah. “I was brought up to think your kind were, well…”  

“An abomination of nature?” Rebekah finished for her.  

“You’re anything but!” said Genevieve. “Not just you, your whole family is so... elegant.”  

Rebekah looked over to where Elijah was.   

“Yes, I agree. Elijah is quite peerless.” said Rebekah. 

“I don’t know... I mean, he’s nice and all, but if I had to go for one Mikaelson boy…” Genevieve trailed off.  

“Klaus?” said Rebekah, her eyes shining with mirth. “Genevieve, who’d have thought a saintly little witch like you would go for the bad boys? I knew we were destined to be friends!” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~   

“More gin, please,” said Clara, leaning into the bar.   

A man next to her spills his drink on her.  

“Oh!” she gasped.  

Elijah appears by her side, handing his handkerchief to her. “Please, allow me. Keep it, it’s yours.” He walks off. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“Well, there’s a load of us Mikaelsons. If you like bad boys, you’d love my brother, Kol.” Rebekah told Genevieve at their table.  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Klaus appears, observing this conversation intently within his mind.

“And where is this mystery brother of yours?” Genevieve inquired.  

“It’s complicated.” Rebekah answered. “Like all siblings, we’ve had our ups and downs. Family feuds. In fact, I was thinking of reaching out to someone we haven’t seen in a very long while. I was hoping that maybe you could help me contact them. But it would have to be a surprise. No one could know.”  

“Of course. Do you want me to find your brother, Kol?” Genevieve asked.  

“Actually, I’d like you to find Mikael... our father.” Rebekah told her.  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“ENOUGH OF YOUR LIES!” Klaus shouted, refusing to believe what she was showing him.

“Don’t dismember the messenger,” said Genevieve. “Part of you must have known, suspected at least. Your father came to New Orleans in 1919 to kill you, did he not? And as the city burned, he nearly succeeded.”  

“My family and I have done some terrible things to each other over the years, but Rebekah would not call my father!” Klaus argued. “No matter how angry she was.”  

He refused to believe that Rebekah would have ever wanted to hurt him to the point she would summon Mikael, of all people. 

“It’s sweet of you to believe that, to believe in her, but by the time we’re done, you’ll know just how wrong you are,” said Genevieve grimly, looking at him with a mixture of pity and sympathy.  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Caroline is typing on the computer in the Abattoir study as Elijah enters. Zach and Stefan stood behind her, looking over her shoulder. She was trying to narrow down properties owned by the witches and possible locations where the witches could be holding them.  

‘Hey, look, I found–’’  

Elijah stops her with a gesture, indicating silence. “You were right about the Deveraux witch.”  

Before she can say anything, Marcel enters.  

“Find anything about Clara, the mystery witch?” Marcel asked.  

“Not much.” Caroline answered. “She was a nurse at the Fleur De Lis Sanatorium.”  

Marcel freezes, the name a douse of cold water. 

“Recognize her?” Caroline clicks on a picture and points to her. “Top row, second from the right.”  

“No, I don’t. Marcel?” Elijah looks up and recognizes the odd behavior. “Marcel? Do I need to remind you that Niklaus, Rebekah and Katerina are somewhere suffering horribly? If you know something, talk.”  

“The Sanatorium.” said Marcel. “That’s where you’ll find them.” 

“Are you sure? How do you know?” Caroline questioned.  

“I just know.” Marcel answered.  

“How do you know?” inquired Elijah.  

“If I’m right, you need to know exactly what we’re walking into. We did something, Rebekah and I... I think the witches are trying to use it against her. It was, uh... something that you’re not gonna like.” Marcel warned. 

“Caroline,” Davina burst into the room before Marcel could say more. “This came for you.” She held an envelope in her hand. “It just appeared. Magic.” 

Caroline rushed forward and tore the letter opened, reading over the contents. She felt like her heart was being pulled from her chest. 

Caroline, you have made quite the nuisance of yourself in the Quarter. Your control of the city grows stronger with the more loyal following you gain, but that also makes you much more valuable than I first thought. 

I offer you a deal. An exchanged if you will, Klaus’s freedom for yours.

If you choose not to agree to those terms, I will make sure Katherine suffers in her last moments and that Klaus kills his own sister once he learns her secrets she shares with Marcel. 

You have exactly two hours to decide. I will be waiting at the cemetery. Come alone. 

Celeste.

Caroline looked up at the others, who watched her expectantly. “Celeste is offering a trade. She’ll let Klaus go.”

“What about Rebekah and Katerina?” asked Elijah. 

Caroline’s silence was answer enough.

“In exchange for what?” Ask Marcel. “She’s not just going to let Klaus go. She has to want something in return. So what is it?” 

“Me.” Caroline answered. 

There was an immediate protest from Stefan, Zach, and Davina. 

Elijah shook his head firmly. “Absolutely not. Niklaus would kill every single one of us. He will see it as sacrificing you. It would be the biggest betrayal in his eyes.” 

“This can’t be about me,” Caroline protested. She looked at Marcel. “Because whatever secret you and Rebekah have may very well get her killed by her own brother.” 

Elijah glared at Marcel before returning his focus back to Caroline. 

“And what of the twins?” Elijah demanded. “I want my family back, but not at the cost of other members of my family. There has to be another way.” 

“I’m sure there is.” Caroline agreed. “But we’re running out of time and if this is the way we save the people we care about, then it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” 

“What about you?” Zach protested. “We need you Caroline.” 

Caroline took his hand and squeezed it in her own. “Do you trust me?” 

“With my life and with my pack.” He answered without hesitation. 

“Then trust me now,” Caroline said. 

Zach nodded slowly. 

“Caroline..” Stefan shook his head. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” 

Caroline silently agreed with him. She didn’t like any of this, but if it got Klaus back, that was all that mattered. 

“Are you sure about this, Caroline?” Davina asked, her own eyes unsure. 

“No, she’s not.” Elijah answered before Caroline could. “She’s letting her emotions lead her.”

Caroline glared at him. “Do not speak for me. Yes, my emotions factor into this, but I am not stupid. I am not going to walk into this blind.”

“That’s exactly what you’re doing, Caroline.” Stefan stressed. “You’re handing yourself over to psychotic witches with a grudge who will do anything to get their revenge on the Mikaelson’s.”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Caroline snapped. “Everything that has happened to me the last couple of months is because of them. I know what they are capable of! They stole my children and used them as nothing more than a pawn. To Celeste, we are nothing, just chess pieces on a board. worthless casualties in a war. A war she’s been waging against the Mikaelson’s for decades. I know what I am getting myself into. However, this isn’t just about Klaus, it’s about all of us.” she looked at Zach. “It’s about the wolves.” She looked at Marcel. “It’s about the vampires.” She looked at Davina. “Its about young influential witches.” She looked around at them all. “It’s about everyone who calls New Orleans home.” Her eyes finally landed on Elijah. “It is about the Mikaelson’s. Klaus’s family, and now my family.” 

“You’re right.” Elijah said. “You are family now and I will do anything to protect my family. That includes you.” 

“Family fight for each other. This family fights for each other and that is what I am going to do.” Caroline declared. “I have a plan and you have to trust me. People have a tendency to underestimate me. Don’t make that same mistake.” 

Elijah was quiet for a long time. “Your just as frustrating as my brother. Stubborn but determined.”

Caroline's lips ticked up into a faint smile. “Trust me, I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t know what I was doing. I need you to trust me to protect our family and keep my children and myself safe.” 

“What’s your plan?” Zach asked, speaking for the first time.

“You’ll know it when the time comes.” Caroline promised. 

Zach nodded, accepting her answer, but it wasn’t enough for everyone else in the room. 

Debates and arguments continued until they were going around in circles. 

Caroline shared a look with Davina and Zach and after a moment, the latter of the three slipped from the room unnoticed by everyone but Caroline as the bickering continued. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Davina got word to Celeste that they needed to meet. She slipped out of the house with Zach and Josh. Josh kept close by while Zach was further back. 

The witches were aware that Klaus had a pack of wolves following him. What they weren’t aware of were the wolves’ loyalty to Caroline and their attachment to her as one of their own. 

If they could keep that from them for longer, they had the potential to use it to their advantage and gained the upper hand on the witches. 

“Pretty ballsy of you to come alone.” Celeste greeted, sitting next to Davina on a bench in the heart of the French Quarter. 

The streets are filled with tourist, musicians, artists, traders selling trinkets. 

“But I didn’t come alone.” She waved her hand at Josh on her other side. 

“Hi. I’m Josh.” he waved his hand in that awkward way he had, not the least bit intimidating. 

“You might as well have.” Celeste didn’t even bother looking at him. “He’s nothing but a newborn baby. Cannon fodder, really.” 

“I protest against that,” said Josh. “I am more than Canon fodder. I have talents and skills.”

“Josh.” Davina fought a smile and placed her hand on his shoulder, silently advising him to let her do the talking. 

Josh fell silent, instead leveling Celeste with his best intimidation look, which only made him look petulant. 

“I can handle myself.” Davina declared. “I don’t need protection anymore.” 

“Then why are you still with Marcel? Why do you choose vampires over your coven?” Celeste challenged. 

“I didn’t choose the vampires. I chose myself.” Davina defended. “I chose my friends. I chose Caroline.” 

“Caroline?” Celeste repeated. “What could she have possibly done for you to earn such loyalty?” 

Davina smiled. The fact that Celeste had to ask showed, she knew nothing of Caroline, of the person she was, of the loyalty and sense of friendship, family, belonging that Caroline embodied.

“She saw me.” Davina answered. 

Celeste scoffed. “Everyone sees you.” 

“No, they see Davina, the Harvest girl. Davina Clarie, the witch. Caroline sees me, Davina, the teenage girl who just wants to be free and live her life without the threat of death looming over her.” Davina argued passionately. “She sees me for me and that’s enough for her. She had no expectations, nothing more than I am willing to give. She cares because that’s who she is. She is the reason why I am here.”

“Did she ask you to meet with me? Why didn’t she come herself?” Celeste argued. “She’s using you. Can’t you see that?” 

“Caroline doesn’t use people. She couldn’t get away. I chose to come here on my own and speak for her on her behalf. Now do you want to quit trying to turn me against someone I will never betray, or do you want to hear her response to your letter?” Davina challenged. 

Celeste eyed her for a moment before finally speaking. “Very well.” 

“Caroline will agree to your terms, but she wants something in return.” 

“She will be getting Klaus back.” Celeste glared. “What more could she want?” 

“Rebekah and Katherine.” Davina answered. 

“Absolutely not.” Celeste shook her head. “Why would I agree to that?” 

“Why would Caroline agree to your terms when she is the one who will be in danger, when she will be putting her life and the lives of her unborn children in your hands?” Davina argued. “The way Caroline sees it, when she hands herself over, you are getting three lives. It is only reasonable for you to hand Rebekah and Katherine over, as well.” 

Celeste's eyes darkened. “If I say no?”

“Good luck getting to Caroline then to hurt Klaus,” Davina responded. “She’s being heavily guarded. If you want to hurt Klaus through her, this is your one and only chance.”

“Caroline knows she’s not going to make it out of this?” Celeste asked. “She’s putting the Mikealson’s before the wellbeing of her unborn children? Of herself?” 

“Do we have a deal or not?” Davina demanded. She hated the idea that Caroline’s life will be in Celeste’s hands, but she was choosing to trust that Caroline knew what she was doing.

Celeste said nothing, looking out at the busy streets.

Davina stood, prepared to walk away and tell Caroline that the deal didn’t work out. 

“Tell Caroline she has herself a deal.” Celeste said finally. 

Davina looked back over her shoulder at her. 

“She’s to come alone. I want no tricks. Or things will get out of hand very quickly,” Celeste warned.

Davina nodded and turned back around, tugging Josh with her, walking away without another word. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“Are you ready to see more proof?” Genevieve asked.  

Klaus doesn’t say anything, so Genevieve links their minds again.

“Stop.” Celeste walked into the room. “You’ve had your fun, but it ends now. There’s been a change of plans.” She smiled at Klaus. “You’re going to love this.” 

Klaus felt apprehensive. 

What exactly had this witch acting like she won? 

“It is my understanding that you spent 1000 years feeling unloved and wanting to be loved and now that you have it, I’m going to rip it away.” Celeste picked Papa Tunde’s blade back up. “After a thousand years Klaus Mikaelson finally found someone who loved him enough to give up everything for him. Caroline Forbes really is your greatest weakness.”

Klaus’ eyes filled with rage, flashing amber. “If you go near her-”

“We are well past your threats.” she stabbed Klaus through the chest with the blade. “You will know true pain with her death.”

Klaus groaned, consumed by the pain caused by the blade imbedding beneath his skin, coursing its cursed magic through his veins, everything falling away, her words haunting him, striking fear in his heart like nothing has before. Not even the threat of Mikael.  

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

“What more do you want from me? I took Klaus out of the equation.” Nadia spat out, her eyes flaring as she stood across from Sophie. “If Klaus gets free, he will kill me. My mother spent her entire vampire life running from him and now I will have to do the same, except I can’t do that because my mother is here and I need to make sure she is going to be okay.” 

Nadia knew she was screwed. She let her emotions, her need, her desperation lead her to make a reckless and rash decision. A choice that will change the course of her life.

She would be lucky if she made it out of New Orleans alive. Nadia was realistic. She knew the likely hood of that was very low. 

If Klaus didn’t kill her for what she did, his family would, or one of the many wolves that were loyal to him because of Caroline. 

“We made a deal. You help me and I’ll help you.” Sophie told her. “I will make sure Katherine pulls through this-“

“How can you when she’s not even here? The witches have her!” Nadia argued. 

“Listen to me, Nadia. She is going to be fine. I know how they think, how they work. Katherine is going to be fine. She is just a small piece on a larger board.”

Her words were not reassuring, but Nadia steeled herself. She couldn’t change what she did. She started down this road and now she had to go down it, regardless of the consequences. 

“What do you need me to do?” she asked. 

“I need you to free Hayley and kidnapped Davina.” Sophie said. 

Nadia looked at her, voice quiet, her eyes a storm. She turned to walk away. 

“Nadia!” Sophie called after her in alarm. 

“Have you lost your damn mind!” Nadia whirled around. “Hayley is under constant guard. Davina is never alone, not to mention she is one of the most powerful witches I have ever come across!” 

“I know that. Look, nothing about the path we are on is easy.” Sophie argued. “Do you think I wanted to start all of this? That I wanted to wage a war against the Mikaelson’s, against Marcel? Of course, I didn’t. Contrary to popular belief, I do not have a death wish. I knew that when I took Klaus and Caroline’s baby, that when I started a war with the vampires and witches that I was setting things in motion that couldn’t be undone. Moves that would more than likely end in my death when all is said in done and you know what, I don’t care. If all this means, my niece is alive, that she is breathing and okay. Then it will all be worth it. There is nothing I will not do for my family.” Sophie stepped forward, staring into Nadia’s eyes challengingly. “Now tell me, Nadia, can you say the same? How badly you want to save your mother?”

Nadia steeled herself. “You better save her.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Caroline walked through the cemetery, her steps certain and true. 

She didn’t so much as flinch as Celeste stepped out from a mausoleum. “You actually came alone.” 

“We had a deal. I plan to keep to it. Do you?” Caroline folded her arms across her chest, arching an eyebrow at her challengingly.  

Celeste's eyes narrowed. “Are you even aware of what you are doing? The sacrifice you are making.” 

“When it’s to save someone you love, there is no price too high.” Caroline said. “A price I am happy to pay for Klaus’s freedom.” 

“Do you really love him?” Celeste’s eyes narrowed. 

“Would I be here if I didn’t?” Caroline replied, the truth in her words shining brightly in her eyes. 

“He’s a monster.” Celeste accused. 

“He’s your monster. Not mine.” Caroline said passionately. “He’s the person who made me realize I was worth more than I believed, then other people thought, that I was everything and in return he became that for me.” 

Celeste smirked. “This will wreck him. Losing you.”

“He’ll survive.” Caroline said with certainty. “He’s a survivor.”

“Could you, if your roles were reversed?” Celeste challenged, and Caroline scowled darkly.

Celeste brought two fingers to her mouth and whistled. 

Rebekah was dragged out between two witches, not conscious, Katherine was carried out unconscious in a male witch’s arms, and Klaus’ unconscious body was carried out. 

“Take them to the Quarter and leave them. I’m sure Elijah will collect his loved ones.” Celeste said. She reached for Caroline, jerking her forward by the arm. 

Caroline fought the urge to throw her off. She clenched her jaw but allowed Celeste to tug her along. 

She threw one last look at Klaus. She wanted to touch him, assure herself he was okay, but she couldn’t. 

She steps forward with Celeste and further away from Klaus. 

Praying silently. 

Not for herself, but for him. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Davina moved down the hall. Since the wolves had moved in, they had taken up one half of the abator and she had rarely ventured into their area. 

Other than Caroline, the wolves tended to stick to themselves, but she was looking for one wolf in particular.

She turned into a room. It looked like an entertainment den. There was a pool, table, couch, tv, a nook off in the corner with a bookshelf close by. 

It was filled with the wolves, all keeping themselves occupied in some way. 

However, she didn’t see the wolf she was looking for. 

“Davina, looking for something?” 

Davina turned to a female wolf, her hair was cut in a pixie cut and she was a little on the short side, with a tattoo of vines going down her neck and arm. 

Rosaline. 

“Someone, actually.” Davina answered. “I was looking for Zach.” 

“He went to the Bayou, he trying to keep an eye on the wolves there. Look out for them.” Rosaline answered. “He took a few other wolves with him. We’re supposed to switch off in a few hours.” 

Davina frowned. “Can you call him back here? I need to talk to him. It’s important.” 

“I can take you there,” Rosaline said. “C’mon.” she moved past Davina, not stopping to see if the younger girl was following. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Davina trudges behind Rosaline with some difficulty. Three more wolves followed behind her. 

Nathan, a wolf her age, offered his help when she needed, and she offered him a soft smile. 

They came to a small clearing in the bayou, Zach stood there, two more men beside him, and further out she could see the form of wolves, moving through the edges of the trees. 

Zach turned, catching their scent in the light breeze blowing in the wind. “Davina,” his eyes widened in alarm. “Is Caro-“

“She’s fine.” Davina assured him, sensing his worry. “But I need to discuss something with you on her behalf.”

Zach nodded. “Rosa, could you take over for me?”

Rosaline moved to do as he asked with a single nod of confirmation. 

Zach moved through the trees and Davina followed him, noticing the other wolves stayed behind with Rosaline. 

Zach stopped at a small cabin and sat down on the porch. Davina joined him. 

Zach was quiet as he waited for her to begin. 

“Caroline has a plan for when she hands herself over to the witches.” Davina began. 

“I figured. It’s the only reason I’m going along with it.” Zach said. “Caroline, she’s one of us. We protect our own.”

“She’s counting on that.” Davina said. 

Zach looked at her. “What’s the plan?” 

“We are the plan.” Davina told him. “We will be the ones to get Caroline back.”

Zach turned toward her. “Why isn’t Caroline telling me this?”

“She didn’t want anyone talking her out of it. She was worried you would and she can’t risk it.” Davina paused. “You see Caroline, as a member of your pack. She sees you as her family. A brother. You have the power, the influence to change her mind, and she doesn’t want that. This is something she has to do, and she is trusting us to make sure she makes it back alive.” 

Zach felt the emotion swell in his chest with the confirmation of what he meant to someone he saw as a close member of his pack, his family and, knowing Caroline was depending on him, lit a protective fire inside him. 

“Tell me everything.” 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Rebekah stood with Stefan’s arm around her, supporting her as Elijah and Marcel settled Klaus into his bed. 

Davina was looking Katherine over, her daughter at her bedside. 

Zach was in the doorway, shifting impatiently. “What are we waiting for?”

“How much does he know, Rebekah?” Marcel asked, ignoring Zach. 

“Enough.” Rebekah answered, still feeling weak as the wolf venom was slowly dissolving in her system. “What are we going to do when he comes to? If he finds out we let Caroline sacrifice herself for him, there’s no telling what he will do.” 

“We go and get her back before it’s too late.” Zach growled. 

“No,” Davina stepped into the room. “Caroline had a plan and we have to follow it and trust she knows what she’s doing.” 

“I know but.” 

“Zach.” Davina sent him a look.

Zach fell silent, his jaw clenching. He knew Caroline’s plan, but not acting now was killing him. 

“Then we wait,” said Elijah. 

“And then what?” asked Stefan. “Caroline is in over her head. Look what Celeste has done so far. I imagine she will do far worse to Caroline, especially considering she is fully aware of Klaus’s obsession with Caroline. And what about the twins? If she really saw them as a threat, she could do something that would stop them from ever being born. If we wait, I see no good outcomes for either Caroline or the twins.” 

Everyone shared varying looks of concern.

Nothing about this was right, but what choice did they have right now? Their hands were tied. 

“What was her plan?” Elijah finally asked, looking straight at Davina.

Davina pursed her lips, expression grim.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Elijah pulled up the sleeves of his shirt after asking everyone to leave the room, preparing to pull Papa Tunde's blade away. 

Rebekah, however, refused to, the guilt of her actions and what Caroline had done eating away at her. 

She was done running and the first step was facing Klaus head on and owning up to her actions. No matter the consequences. She owed Caroline that much. 

Klaus laid in the bed, unmoving, shirtless. It was convenient as Elijah plunged his hand inside his chest cavity where Papa Tunde’s blade was buried. 

Klaus gasped in pain, his back arching as Elijah gripped the blade and slowly removed it. 

It only took moments for the wound in Klaus’s chest to heal and his eyes to open. 

He looked at Elijah and then Rebekah, and then continued to look around the room, searching for one person. The witch’s words echoing in his head about Caroline. 

“Where’s Caroline?” his voice was raspy as he sat up, swinging his legs around the bed. 

“Perhaps you should take it easy, brother.” Elijah suggested, taking a step back until he was next to Rebekah. 

“Caroline?” Klaus called out, pushing to his feet. His throat burned with hunger, but it was the least of his concerns. “Caroline?”

“Nik,” Rebekah took a step forward, but Elijah threw his arm out in front of her, halting any further movement. 

Klaus looked between them. “Where is she?”

“Nikla-”

“WHERE IS SHE?!” Klaus shouted, taking a step forward, his body chorusing with anger and unease. 

“She gave herself over to the witches in exchange for our freedom,” Rebekah answered, dreading his reaction. 

“You have better be lying, Rebekah.” Klaus’s eyes changed to dark amber, black veins rising underneath his skin. “Get me, Caroline.” 

“Nik,” Rebekah shook her head. “I’m sorry.” 

Klaus’ hand shot out, wrapping around her throat. “Don’t tell me you are sorry.” 

Rebekah reached her hand up to pry his hand off, but his grip was stronger and his anger was only fueling his strength further. “Nik-”

“Let her go, Niklaus!” Elijah pulled at Klaus’s arm, but Klaus did not budge. 

“Stay out of this!” Klaus snapped, his grip tightening. 

Rebekah winced, feeling the bones of her neck start to crack. “Nik, please.” 

“Let her go!” 

Stefan and Marcel were there, helping Elijah force him back, breaking his grip on Rebekah. 

“Get off me.” Klaus shoved them all back.

“Caroline being gone is not Rebekah’s fault.” Marcel said. 

“It’s all of yours.” Klaus growled out. “How could any of you let this happen?!” 

“Caroline did this for you. For our family,” Elijah interjected. 

“And you should have stopped her!” Klaus thundered.

“And you should know just as well as I do that no one can stop Caroline once she set her mind to something,” Stefan told him. “She is a force of nature.” 

“Then it shouldn’t surprise any of you that she had a plan.” Zach stood in the doorway with Davina. 

Klaus moved past everyone, stopping in front of him. “Tell me everything,” he ordered. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“How much did Genevieve tell you?” Marcel asked Klaus cautiously. 

Rebekah shifted next to him, watching Klaus, waiting for the explosion, waiting for him to punish her. 

Marcel reached for her hand, squeezing it reassuringly.  

Whatever happened, they were in this together.

“Enough.” Klaus answered, his back to him. 

Elijah stood in the door, ready to intervene on Rebekah’s behalf. He did not get his sister back just to watch Niklaus punish her further. 

Rebekah was already wracked with guilt for Caroline, sacrificing herself for her freedom. 

“Nik, I never meant-” 

“I don’t have time to address your betrayal,” Klaus turned around, his eyes a storm of anger. “Or that you wanted me dead.”

“I didn’t.” Rebekah protested. “Nik, I-”

 “I’ve heard enough of your lies.” Klaus looked at her with disdain. 

Rebekah felt like the bug beneath his shoe with that one look. He had never looked at her like that before. It was heartbreaking. 

“None of this even matters until we get Caroline back.” Klaus growled. 

Zach stepped into the room. “Davina is working on her part. We’ll be ready to go when she is.” 

“You’re all willing to put yourself in danger for Caroline?” Klaus asked, his eyes going to the figures standing just behind him.  

Zach looked behind him as every member of his pack filed into the room behind him. Over twenty wolves stood in a line, ready and waiting. Zach turned his eyes back to Klaus. “It’s Caroline. She has done nothing but help us in any way she could. We would die for her. She is a part of this pack.”

Klaus felt a wave of gratitude, but he wouldn’t voice it not until Caroline was back where she belonged. With him. “She would never ask that of you,” he said instead. “But I will.” he looked around the room from Elijah and Rebekah to Marcel and Stefan to Zach and every wolf standing in the room. “No price is too high for Caroline’s life and make no mistake, I won’t hesitate to do whatever it takes to bring her home.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

“You should really hate Klaus for your predicament. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

Caroline glared from her spot strapped to a table. “I care less about your opinion, Sabine.” 

“I prefer Celeste, actually.” Celeste corrected. “All these names I’ve had over the years and I still prefer the first. Perhaps it was the way it sounded on Elijah’s lips, like a declaration of love. Oh, he was a good liar. They all are. In a lot of ways, were are a lot alike.”  

“We are nothing alike.” Caroline responded passionately. 

“Aren’t we? You love Klaus so much that you willingly traded your life and the life of your unborn babies. You trust Klaus to choose you over his family. I trusted Elijah to do the same, but he betrayed that trust. Like Elijah, Klaus will always choose his family. The Mikaelson’s will always choose their unbreakable vow of Always and Forever.” 

“You’re wrong.” Caroline said. “Say what you want about Elijah or Rebekah, but you know nothing about Klaus. He has chosen me again and again and he always will choose me.”

“I hope you’re right,” said Celeste. “I’m counting on Klaus’s love for you. It’ll be the ruin of you all. Klaus will learn that Rebekah and Marcel tried to kill him and he’ll never stop until he’s had his revenge. He’ll kill Marcel. Do something horrible to Rebekah, and he’ll blame Elijah for your death when I deliver you to his doorstep after I’ve killed you. Elijah will never forgive him for Rebekah, and Klaus will never forgive him for you. Your sacrifice will ultimately pit brother against brother. And the fabled Mikaelson bond will crumble.”  

Caroline smiled. “You’re underestimating them, and more importantly, you are underestimating me.”

“I don’t think I am,” Celeste responded.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Caroline glared at Celeste and the red-haired witch, Genevieve, who joined her. 

“What’s the plan?” asked Caroline. 

“I would love nothing more than to kill you and deliver you to Klaus’s door, grey and decayed. Dead.” Celeste said. 

“Then why don’t you?” Caroline challenged. 

“Do you remember when I told you about the fate of the babies when Hayley was carrying them?” asked Celeste. 

Caroline’s eyes darkened with the reminder of Hayley’s treachery. “I remember.”

“I wasn’t blowing smoke. One of your children will be the hope for the witches, and one will be their downfall. Obviously, we want to root out the danger.” Celeste said. “Kill the poisonous weed, but we don’t wish to do the same to the hidden flower in the grass.” 

Caroline hated Celeste’s analogy, but she loathe that she was talking about killing one of her children. 

“It’s a shame then that you’ll have to wait and see which one will be your saviour and the other your reaper.” Caroline drawled. “I hope by the time you figure it out, you would have failed because you’ll be dead.” 

Celeste chuckled. “Well, we’ll have to see about that. Let me introduce you to my friend, Genevieve. With any luck, she can determine which child we need to kill. With magic, we can control which child doesn’t make it to term and when you finally give birth, we will take the one that lives and raise it to be the weapon for the witches it was born to be.”

“Stay the hell away from my children.” Caroline threatened, ice flooding her veins at the thought of anyone hurting her babies or taking them from her. 

She would not let that happen again. She would do anything to protect them. 

“Or what?” Celeste challenged. 

“Or I will rip you apart. I will scatter your pieces in the Quarter. I’ll make sure you can never be consecrated and join your beloved ancestors. Or worse. I will turn you into the very thing you hate. A vampire. Torture you repeatedly until you're begging for release, and even then, I won’t grant you the reprieve. Your life would be nothing but a series of moments of torture and true agony.” Caroline's eyes shifted, her veins protruding with the anger running through her veins. 

“Do you know who you sound like?” Celeste asked. “Like Klaus Mikaelson. He has already begun to corrupt you. When I kill you after you give birth, I will be doing you a favor. Saving you from yourself and from Klaus.”

“Go to Hell.” Caroline spat. “I rather be like Klaus than you.” 

Celeste nodded and walked away. “See you soon, Caroline.” 

Genevieve stepped forward. “I have to say I am sorry for the unfortunate part you have to play in all this. I don’t wish to harm a baby or you. You have done me no wrong, but we all have our parts to play and this just happens to be yours and mine.”

Genevieve wheeled a table over. It has a mixing bowl and a mix of ingredient bags along with a syringe and needle. 

“It’s such a shame that you are nothing but a pawn. I’m sure it takes someone truly special to earn the affection of the most feared Mikaelson.”

Caroline glared at her. “Don’t talk like you know him. You don’t.”

Caroline couldn't care less if the red head witch thought her nothing more than a pawn. 

She knew she was not a pawn. 

No, she was a Queen and her Knights, Davina, Zach, her King Klaus, would come for her. 

It was all a matter of time. She just had to play her part. She had to delay them until Klaus came for her. 

She knew with every fiber of her being that he would come for her, she always would, but more than that, she was capable of saving herself. She had a plan, and she was going to see it through.  

“Then tell me about him.” Genevieve said. “Tell me what makes him worth the sacrifice you made for him.”

Caroline's eyes narrowed. The red head seemed genuine, like she really wanted to know. 

“He’s capable of love, but when he does, it’s everything. It’s all consuming, it’s deep, it’s uncontrollable. It’s terrifying and overwhelming. It’s obsessive. He’s protective, he’s rash. He’s a monster and a villain, but not to me. For me, he’s the monster who protected me from other monsters. He’s the villain whose loved me unconditionally, without expectations. He’s the oil to my fire. He’s my other half.” 

“He makes you complete,” said Genevieve. She grabbed the syringe. 

“No,” Caroline watched her movements closely. “I don’t need a man to complete me. He understands me, he gets me, he encourages me to be who I am, and he loves me for exactly that person. He doesn’t try to change me. He’s my pillar, my person, and I am his.”

Genevieve looked at her in a new light. “Would you change him if you could?” 

“No,” Caroline answered. “He wouldn’t be Klaus. He’s complicated, complex and difficult and I accept him, faults and all.” 

Genevieve stepped forward with the syringe. Caroline jerked back against her restraints as the witch lifted her shirt, exposing her stomach, raising the syringe. 

“No, don’t.” the panic was instantaneous, a rush of fear surging through Caroline. 

“Hold still or this could be disastrous for all three of you,” Genevieve advised, settling her hand on Caroline’s slightly rounded abdomen. 

“Stop!!” Caroline was desperate to stop her. 

She felt the needle against her stomach. 

“NO!!’ 

A surge of magic collided with Genevieve. Her head and back slammed against the wall.

Caroline stared wide eyed. 

“What did you do?” asked Genevieve, pushing back to her feet. 

“Nothing.” Caroline defended. 

“You protected yourself from me with magic? How?!” Genevieve demanded.

“I don’t know.” Caroline shook her head. “I don’t have magic.” 

“You don’t, but your children do. How is it possible that you, a vampire, can use their magic?” 

Caroline stared. She didn’t use magic. She was certain it wasn’t her, but then how?

What the hell just happened? 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ 

Elijah, Rebekah, Klaus, Zach, Marcel, Stefan and a couple of the wolves from the pack arrived outside the Sanatorium, 

“We should divide the building. I’ll start at one end, you at the other.” Elijah directed, addressing Klaus.

“No need.” Zach said. “The spell Davina did has made me like a Caroline compass. I can feel her.”

“Then we’ll follow you.” Said Rebekah. She looked at Klaus, who was eerily silent. “Nik?”

“I just need to get to her.” Klaus said, his eyes a dark amber, a rumble echoing from deep in his chest. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Outside, Celeste walks out the front of the Sanatorium. Davina and Josh were there. Waiting.

Josh tossed her back into the building before she could react, her head slamming against the stone. She crumpled to the ground in a heap, groaning. 

~*~ ~*~ ~*~  

Genevieve barely got back to her feet before the Sanatorium began to shake.

Caroline edged the knife from her sleeve down to her wrist and began cutting herself loose. “I hope you didn’t have more of your coven with you.”

“What’s happening?” Genevie asked, alarmed. 

“You didn’t honestly think I would hand myself over, put my children in jeopardy without a plan, did you?” Caroline asked, freeing herself and jumping down from the table she had been strapped to. 

“I don’t-” Genevieve shook her head. 

“If you live through this, you should tell your coven to stop underestimating me.” Caroline said just as the door to the room was thrown open. 

Klaus stood there. Blood dripped down from his mouth, blood coated his hands. “Caroline.” 

Caroline couldn’t care that he was covered in blood. In all this, she had been afraid that she would never get the chance to see him again. 

She sped over, her body colliding with his. 

Klaus gripped her tightly, his bloody hands moving to cup her face as he looked her over. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Caroline shook her head. “I’m fine.” 

Klaus’s hand settled on her stomach, staining her shirt with blood. 

“We’re all fine.” Caroline pulled him back down, her mouth covering his in a heated kiss. 

A kiss Klaus gladly returned. 

Genevieve made a disgruntled sound a few feet away and Caroline could hear her moving behind her, but she didn’t care. 

“I love you.” She breathed against Klaus’s lips, shocking him. 

Klaus stilled, pulling back to look into Caroline’s eyes certain, he hadn’t heard her correctly. 

“I love you.” Caroline repeated. Needing him to hear her, believe it.

It was stupid, and it was utterly ridiculous, but hearing those words from Caroline, words before Caroline he didn’t care about, but now, hearing her say them. Knowing she meant it, it made everything he had experienced in his thousands years worth it. 

Because this, Caroline saying she loved him was everything he wanted. 

He wanted to be angry with her for trading herself; he wanted to yell and scream. He wanted to rage, but right then he couldn’t, not when all he felt was relief to have her standing in front of him. 

He pulled Caroline back against his chest, holding onto her tightly, his body curling around hers protectively. 

This was all he needed. 

Well, and his revenged but that would come in due time. For now, he was content to have Caroline in his arms again.

Nothing had ever felt more right.

[jcpdiesel21]

Romance February

I read and listened to exclusively romance for the entire month of February (as well as a few days before and afterward). I'm not new to this genre by any means, but caught a craving to read more from it late last year and this was a fun way to dive headfirst into so much of it at once. I managed to fit 16 novels into the month, and here is my official ranking of them:

16. Drunk on Love by Jasmine Guillory

15. A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey

14. Just My Type by Falon Ballard

13. The One by Julia Argy

12. See You Yesterday by Rachel Lynn Solomon

11. Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

10. Scandalized by Ivy Owens

9. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

8. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

7. Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

6. In the Weeds by B.K. Borison

5. Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

4. Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese

3. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

2. The Co-op by Tarah Dewitt

1. Beach Read by Emily Henry

Because I couldn't get enough of Liz and Wes, I also read Better Than the Prom and Wes & Liz's College Road Trip by Liz Painter. Plus I read any bonus chapters or epilogues that I could get my hands on from the books I enjoyed the most!

Bottom line: romance has quickly become one of my favorite genres, and I have found several authors that I would like to read more from throughout the rest of the year and future. I don't mind the predictability of the genre and find it's simply fun to discover how the story leads the couple together. It doesn't matter to me whether the books are sweet, spicy, aimed toward teens or geared toward adults; as long as there is a good story featured, it'll be fun for me to read.