#after having blessed us with the sunshine court

[cabesswtaer]

:(((

[shaywrites-ifs]

Demo // KOFI // 18+ Interactive Fiction

Last Update: June 9, 2024

You are the second child to Fabian Avis Mavar, the Left Hand to the Emperor. You were raised with privilege, with prestige, and with high expectations placed upon you. At least, that is how it should have been. Instead, you were born Marked- to have stars in your eyes and to be be blessed as a magical prodigy. If only the Mark didn't also leave you in constant frail health, a body that only survived because your father had the means and will to demand it.

For all you were loved- surely you had to be, for father to go to such efforts to save you, yes?- you were the one left out. You had strived to succeed, to stand in your own accomplishments. To play the court games, to claw and take what you deserved no matter how life kept fighting you.

For it did, at every turn.

You lost everything to the traitors, who killed your father, your elder brother, your beloved- they took your title, the crown, the empire. They took what you were.

After a particularly devastating attack, whatever they did, it changed you. And when your body finally healed enough to wake up, finally was good enough to move again- you realized it had been a thousand years. Still, you will survive- especially as you catch wind that you still have a chance at revenge.

High Fantasy Interactive Fiction Novel where you play as (what used to be) an elf with strong magical talents

Customize a semi-set MC, able to pick some personality traits, gender, appearance, and some favorites

Customization also effects MC's fraternal twin brother

Deal with the consequences of all that magical tampering, and maybe becoming a better person, maybe becoming a worse one

Romance some folks, possible additional romance options and polyamory relationships being considered

Maybe help your twin find romance, too

Story will primarily be choice based than stat based, and will be free to play when finished- any early releases or side content would not be

** in getting my shit wrecked and then sorted through 2023, there is a high chance these characters, and the romance options in general, are subject to change as I plan the game**

Camille of Louvel, the Vainglorious she/her, cis, human - she's talented enough of a swordsman to stand against your twin, who had once been considered the best swordsman in the Empire. Confident and professional to the point of being cold-hearted, she wears her armor like second skin. Unfortunately, she finds you more concerning than alluring.

Eiden, The Rejected he/they, trans, elf - devil may care and hedonistic, he is quite detached from the world. Unrushed, unworried, they flit through the world more as an observer than anything else, more dangerous than they seem. He's old, but you bring something new. Something that has him alert, again.

Dalmar Calix Thom Fausteus, The Shattered he/him, cis, human - once an esteemed gentleman, only child to a family of scholars, he grew up with many opportunities. However, his family was used and he himself betrayed by a friend, changed in more than one way. He's a focused individual, with workaholic tendencies and withdrawn. He's not looking for a friend, but a means to an end.

Vasil, The Forgotten they/them/it, entity- you know them. You knew them, at least. Not in any deep way. Not in any way that means anything. Except, you made a deal. And now, there are consequences.

Previous ROs, tentatively being cut

Leja Ushe, The Moonglade she/her, cis, elotian - unlike many of her kind, she has stayed to help. Attuned to the nature around her, and able to commune with the Spirits, she has more knowledge and answers than most could dream of. Charming, even a bit playful, she keeps her cards close to her chest, but has never let that stop her from showing kindness. She has become a safehaven for many, and perhaps, can be more for you.

Reimer 'Rei' Ara, The Steadfast he/him, cis, elotian - larger than life, considered sunshine in physical form, he meanders through the forests as a helpful, genial caretaker. A man of actions, he hides his worries behind smiles and continues to do what he can to support the forest and Leja. He is very excited to meet you, if not at least marginally confused over your problems, and eager to ease your burdens.

Vasil, The Forgotten they/them, entity- you know them. You knew them, at least. Not in any deep way. Not in any way that means anything. Except, you made a deal. And now, there are consequences.

*All of this is open to adjustment, changes, and fixes as this project is a work in progress

[free-for-all-fics]

Charlie Hunnam Character Prompts! This list includes: Alan McMichael, King Arthur, Raymond Smith, and Will “Ironhead” Miller. Pls tag me if you’re inspired by any of the ideas presented here. I’d love to read it! 💜

1. After the events of Crimson Peak, Edith and Alan eventually marry. Edith gives birth to a daughter (whether the baby is Alan’s, or Thomas’ from his and Edith’s night in the depot is up to you.) Their daughter inherits the ability to see ghosts just like her mother and grandmother before her.

2. You’re Thomas and Lucille’s daughter but you don’t know. You’ve been raised to believe you’re their sister. Due to the nature of your birth and years spent growing up in the darkness of Allerdale Hall, your eyes have a strong sensitivity to light. You’re in your 20s when Thomas takes you to an optician in New York while he’s courting Edith. Maybe an American doctor will have something to help you that the English doctors back home don’t. You meet Alan, who gives you an eye exam. He helps you when your eyes are giving you trouble by prescribing you a special type of eyeglasses and sunglasses so you can go outside for longer periods of time. He also prescribes you eyedrops/medications and recommends using a parasol for shade while you’re out on walks. Over time, his prescription notes become love notes.

3. You’re the youngest Sharpe and are much more petite than the average woman, standing only at about 4’9. Thomas assures you it’s not your fault, it’s just how you were born. You also attribute your small stature to the lack of necessary sunshine and fresh air from your years growing up confined to the shadows of Allerdale Hall. Your brother rarely let you leave the grounds while you were a child, afraid you’d get sick and your immune system would be too weak to fight off any infection. You’d never gone past the front yard before. Now an adult, you fall in love with Alan McMichael while Thomas is courting Edith. He dances with you at balls, sends you secret love letters, etc. When Thomas discovers these letters, he takes them and locks you in your bedroom. Your attempts to stop him or slow him down do nothing to deter him. Despite your protests and pleas to be let out and for him to give Alan’s letters back, he instead hides them where Lucille wouldn’t find them. You don’t realize he’s locked you in to protect you from her. When Alan comes to Allerdale Hall to rescue Edith, he wants to take you away too and demands to know where you are. During the confrontation, you escape. It’s because of Alan that you discover your true lineage: Your siblings are actually your parents and you’re the product of incest. You’re helpless and horrified when Lucille stabs Alan. You try to run to him, but she holds you back while Thomas stabs him too.

You believe him to be dead until Lucille takes Edith away to sign the papers and Thomas urges you to help him get Alan downstairs, quickly. He’s still alive and your tears of mourning turn into tears of relief. There’s no time for explanations, but Thomas begs your forgiveness and tells you he loves you. While he’s not proud of the act he and Lucille did, he wants you to know you were never a mistake. He gives you a goodbye kiss on the forehead before he rushes to help Edith. While you keep him stable, Alan reveals that, before he was stabbed, Thomas gave him his blessing to marry you. He whispered it so low so Lucille wouldn’t hear. After leaving Crimson Peak, you later wed. Neither of you care about Mrs. McMichael’s snide remarks or disapproval of you. But when you come to be with child, you’re afraid for their health. You worry that your body is too small to safely carry to term, or that your lineage means any children you have are at risk for birth defects. Alan soothes your fears and assures you that you’re strong and capable. No matter what, he will love his child. If they are born anything but healthy, you and he will find a way to still give them the best life possible. You’ll devote your lives to their happiness.

4. Alan McMichael meets you, a woman who has Heterochromia. As an eye doctor, he wants to study this rare eye condition but over time, he gets to know you and falls in love with you. You help him with his studies on the subject and tell him about your life, from your genetic history all the way to the hardships you’ve faced for being different from everybody else. You tell him how you used to wear sunglasses all the time to hide your eyes out of shame. But you’re not ashamed anymore, and Alan further compliments them. The eyes are generally considered the most beautiful feature of the human body and your eyes are no exception. They’re unique, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.

5. Haunting of Hill House crossover AU (the novel, not the show): You’re Hugh Crain’s youngest daughter and the only family member who survived the hauntings of Hill House. While you grew up on the grounds, no corner of your house was safe. Your mother was killed in the drive up before the house’s completion, leaving you and your older sisters to be raised by a governess. Every room had its haunts. Even the outside garden was haunted by ghosts having picnics. Your eldest sister, Sophia, was given a disturbing monograph on morality from your father, signed in his own blood. As you grew older, you started to feel uneasy around your overbearing father and grew concerned about his intentions with Sophia. Though he was physically absent and often away in Europe with his new wife, you still felt the weight of his presence everywhere within the walls, along with the ghosts. It frightened you. You left Hill House when you turned 18 and never came back, though you missed your sisters dearly and kept writing them letters. You settled in New York, where you met and later married Alan McMichael, a handsome eye doctor. When he shows you his interest in ghost sightings through photography, you’re worried for his safety, still traumatized from your past experiences. You have yet to tell him the full story about Hill House.

Your middle sister sometimes visited with her husband, and you were saddened at her and Sophia’s falling out over the inheritance of the house. No matter how much you urged your eldest sister to leave Hill House, you knew she’d never visit. Sophia later died alone and you were devastated at the news of her death. Alan did his best to console you at her funeral. Your mourning was exacerbated when your middle sister died while trying to move some furniture and dishes out of the house, mere months after Sophia’s funeral. The coroner said she slipped and fell down the stairs, but you knew better. When Alan’s friend, Edith, marries Thomas Sharpe and moves into Allerdale Hall, you come with to help her settle in. But you realize immediately that Allerdale Hall is haunted, in eerily similar ways to how Hill House is. She confides in you about her ability to see ghosts and you do what you can to protect her and keep her safe since you couldn’t do the same for your beloved sisters. But you can’t stay in the house forever, so you go to Alan for help. You finally sit him down and confide in him everything about your experiences at Hill House. You urge him that Edith is now in great danger and needs both his help and yours before it’s too late.

6. You’re Eunice’s best friend and fall in love with her brother, Alan, when he meets you while attending medical school. Neither of you make the connection right away. After all, there’s tons of women named Eunice and you and Alan hadn’t seen each other since you were children. Uh oh when he takes you to meet his family and you realize you’re in love with your best friend’s brother.

7. You’re a mermaid-like creature in Camelot but unlike the Syrens, your magic isn’t dark and you don’t serve Vortigern. You stayed in hiding during his tyrannical reign, since you’re similar to a Ceasg and knew he’d abuse your magic. After Vortigern’s death and the destruction of the tower, the Syrens ventured back out to the deeper waters of the vast sea. You’re captured by Arthur’s men, mistaken for a Syren after saving the new King’s life by kissing him and granting him the ability to breathe underwater for a time. His knights mistook your actions and thought you were trying to eat their friend. You’re kept in the King’s bedchamber, in a large glass container full of water that has enough room to swim around in, but acts as your cage. Arthur interrogates you, asking you all sorts of questions about yourself, where you come from, your connection to the Syrens that served his uncle, etc. But over time, his questions become softer and he talks to you with a spirit similar to that of a young boy who just discovered fairytales are real. He and you fall in love. You use your magic to grant Arthur’s wishes, even if he unknowingly makes them. It takes him a while to realize what’s happening and that his wishes coming true is your doing.

One night, the door above your tank is left unlocked after you’re fed. You pull yourself out and crawl towards Arthur while he sleeps in his bed of furs. You’re so curious about the anatomy of humans and always wanted to see one up close. As you crawl on top of him to touch his face and play with his golden hair, Arthur responds as if in a dream and leans up to kiss you. When he jolts awake and realizes what he’s doing, he lets you touch and admire him, but only for a short while before he carries you back to your tank. He doesn’t want you to dry out. But you keep a firm hold on his hand and encourage him to join you, telling him you want to explore his body further. He relents and you make love under the water. Someone later tries to kidnap you and steal you away for their own greed, and your tank shatters. You flail around like a fish out of water before your tail dries and turns to legs. After he rescues you, Arthur gives you back your freedom. But instead you choose to stay and serve him as your King. Unlike Syrens, You don’t demand blood or human sacrifices. You simply ask for Arthur’s heart, his love, and he gives it to you. He makes you his Queen, as unconventional as his choice in a bride may be. There’s no other he wants for his wife.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean-esque AU: You’re a mermaid/siren but you’re a good natured one that isn’t bloodthirsty or man-eating like your sisters. Arthur captures you and holds you prisoner after he thinks you tried to kill him. He keeps you in a large tank in his private bedchamber because he needs a mermaid’s/siren’s magic to help him in a quest for something. But then you and he start bonding and developing romantic feelings for each other, especially when he realizes you actually saved his life that day you met and weren’t trying to kill him at all. Despite being kept in a tank full of seawater, you become very sick because you’ve been away from the actual sea for too long. Your skin and tail become ashy, your hair loses its luster, the sparkle in your eyes dims. Arthur grows so worried and remorseful for his mistreatment of you that he sets you free, returning you to the ocean where you belong. You wave to him as you swim away and he waves back with stray tears in his eyes.

He doesn’t see you for so long that he thinks you’re gone forever. But then you show up again while he’s sailing out at sea, swimming along the side of his ship and you’re mistaken for a large fish. He’s surprised to see you when you climb over the side and hold yourself up on the railing. He’s left speechless when you reveal you’ve brought him the treasure he sought after in the first place. It wasn’t easy to find, that’s why you were gone so long. You never planned on abandoning him. You kiss him and tell him a secret: If a mortal wins the heart of a merfolk, that merfolk is granted the ability to walk on land when their tail is dry. And a mortal fortunate enough to receive the kiss of a merfolk is granted the ability to breathe underwater. You show Arthur he’s earned your love when your beautiful shimmering tail dries and becomes human legs. He quickly finds you some clothes and asks you to stay with him as his bride and be his Queen. You accept, but tell him you’ll have to return to the sea for short periods of time periodically to stay healthy. When the King and Queen are both missing from the palace, it’s safe to say they’re out swimming.

9. You’re Arthur’s Queen and are once again with child after many failed attempts. You’ve been able to get pregnant before, but the trouble has been keeping it. You’ve suffered many miscarriages so early on that sometimes you wouldn’t even bother telling your husband you were with child, too afraid you’d get his hopes up only to lose it. This put an emotional and mental toll on both you and Arthur. This is the farthest you’ve carried in any pregnancy, so Arthur is especially protective and doting, making sure you have the best of healers. Naturally, everyone in the kingdom hopes the firstborn will be a boy to carry his father’s legacy. Arthur assures you he just wants a healthy wife and child. The birth itself is difficult and you nearly die trying to bring your baby into the world. There’s so much blood. Arthur is terrified but refuses to leave your side. This is his castle, his wife, and his child. So he’s going to hold your hand and caress your hair through it all, even if it takes hours. He encourages you and tells you you’re the strongest woman he knows. When the babe is born, it’s a girl. You’re afraid you’ve disappointed the kingdom and your husband, but Arthur is overjoyed at the arrival of his little princess. She is his heir and he loves both her and you unconditionally. A huge celebration is in order. But first, you must rest and recover.

10. Ever after AU: Your stepmother works you like a servant for years following your father’s death, while plotting and scheming to get her own spoiled and selfish daughter on the throne. You pretend to be a courtier to save a man’s life, inadvertently catching the eye of King Arthur. He keeps pursuing you despite all your attempts to evade him, so you give him your deceased mother’s name when he pushes for yours. You didn’t think you’d see him again, but fate has you crossing paths and meeting in secret. A romance eventually blossoms. You show him you’re a country girl at heart with a strong spirit, not afraid to get dirty, climb trees, use a blade, etc. You want more than anything to tell Arthur the truth of who you are, but keep losing your courage at the last moment. He’s just so wonderful and you love him so much, you don’t want to hurt him with your deception. A masque ball is being held for the King to choose a bride so Camelot may finally have a Queen. Your stepmother lashes you for your insolence towards your stepsister after she tries to take your mother’s dress. She locks you in the cellar but you escape.

Your stepmother tries to sabotage you by assaulting you and exposing you as a fraud and devious little pretender in front of the entire royal court, but her scheme backfires terribly when Arthur reveals he doesn’t care about your status as a servant. He holds your hand as he tells your stepmother that she seems to have forgotten herself and must be unaware of his own background. He grew up in a brothel under the care of prostitutes. He loved those women like family and he rose up out of gutter in the village streets of Londinium through years of hard work and blood, sweat, and tears. He has your stepmother and terrible stepsister taken away to be dealt with later and announces you as his intended bride. That is, if you’ll have him. The decision is yours. Meanwhile, your other stepsister, who is much more gentle and kind hearted, has been in a blooming romance of her own: She’s falling in love with one of Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. Upon your marriage and coronation, your stepsister is appointed your lady-in-waiting and becomes part of the royal court. On your wedding night, Arthur discovers the lashing marks on your back and is horrified. He’s so livid he would’ve sentenced your stepmother to death for daring to lay such a violent hand upon you, but you talk him down. He strips her of her title in front of the royal court and, at your behest, sentences her and your horrible stepsister to lifelong servitude. Neither you nor your other stepsister have spared a thought for your cruel stepmother or odious stepsister, too busy in your happy new lives.

11. You’re thrown overboard when the ship you’re traveling on gets stuck in a terrible and merciless thunderstorm. As you try to keep yourself above water, you hear voices shouting what you think is your name. Lightning cracks and starts a fire on the ship, but that’s all you remember as you hit your head and black out. You awaken on the shoreline, found by men who later reveal themselves as Knights of the Round Table. They take you to their King, Arthur. When you reveal you don’t remember anything but a shortened version of your name, Arthur takes it upon himself to look after you while you recover from your ordeal. At least until your memory returns or your family can be found. He has his knights work on locating your family while he shows you his castle, takes you on tours of Camelot, etc. Over time, your friendship turns into a romance. Little do either you or Arthur know, you’re actually a Viking Princess who was on voyage to Camelot to marry Arthur. The very same Viking Princess who is believed to be dead. Your arranged marriage was meant to strengthen an alliance between Norway and England in exchange for protection, resources, trade routes, weapons, etc. But your supposed death has created a new array of problems for Arthur as he’s tried to draft up a new agreement with your mourning mother and/or father, not realizing he has their amnesiac daughter right under his roof. What happens when the truth is revealed?

12. Arthur stumbles across a baby girl in a basket drifting in the water. This child was watched over and protected by the Lady of the Lake, who instructs Arthur to take you in and raise you as his daughter. He does so, and you grow up a Princess of Camelot. But as you grow, you show signs of possessing magic similar to that of mermaids, water nymphs, or fairies. You have unique abilities over controlling water and can even influence people when you sing. You may have the ability to breathe underwater or swim at incredible speeds. Your father still loves you and does what he can to help you control your powers, but he may need the help of the Mage to further teach you, since he’s just a human man who has no knowledge of your birth or who your natural parents were. The Lady of the Lake didn’t tell him much when she gave you to him.

13. You’re either Roz’s sister and Mickey’s sister-in-law, or you’re Mickey’s sister and Roz’s sister-in-law. The choice is up to you. Either way, you and Ray find yourselves in a high risk, high reward romance as you try to hide your affair from Roz and Mickey. Ray started off as your personal bodyguard and you’re worried they wouldn’t understand or would be against mixing love and business for whatever reason. You’d rather not see Ray get fired or killed, so you keep it secret. Ray also enjoys living too much to die just yet, thank you. But maybe Roz and Mickey wouldn’t be angry that you’ve kept secrets from them, just disappointed that you’d think so little of them. You’re Mickey and Roz’s sister (in-law) and they love you. Ray has been like family for years too, and there’s no better man for you than him. But maybe at the time you were just too scared and foolish to realize that they’d always have your back and support you no matter what.

14. You’re Ray’s wife. You used to be a journalist, but your articles caught the interest of an espionage agency. They gave you an interview under the guise of a publishing company and, during it, you noticed the organization's hidden cameras and microphones. You discovered the interview’s true purpose and passed the test. Your set of skills got you hired on the spot, and you built a career as one of the top spies in the organization. You’ve obtained valuable intel while infiltrating galas, fundraisers, house parties, board meetings, etc. But you promised Ray not to go on any more missions once you became pregnant. So you retire, or work from the safety of your own office at home instead of actively being out on the field. Despite both you and Ray laying low and taking as many precautions as possible to keep yourselves safe, somehow enemies of your agency or Mickey Pearson had discovered your location and/or connection to Ray. They sabotage your vehicle and set you up to get into a serious car accident in an attempt to eliminate you. They want to use your death to get to your husband and ultimately yours and/or his boss. Your body is gone from the crash scene, so you’re believed to be missing or dead.

What Ray doesn’t know until later is that Mickey pulled some strings to get you out of there and sent you to a high security hospital without the enemy agents knowing. You were swapped out with a body too damaged for recognition while the enemy agents were distracted by a diversion and they took it, believing it to be you. Ray is sent your coordinates from a burner phone and drives as fast as he can to get to you, scared half to death about you and your child. If either of you are hurt or dead, there will be hell to pay. There were rules to this game, one of the most important being to never go after wives or children. The people who targeted and attacked you will pay. Once Ray and Mickey are through with them, they’ll wish they had never been born. There are fates much worse than death, after all. But first, Ray needs to be the doting husband and take extra good care of you and his unborn child. You need him now more than ever.

15. Ocean’s 8/11/12-esque fic with Ray and you. The plot is up to you, just imagine an action packed heist with him.

16. Mr. and Mrs. Smith AU: You and your husband, Ray, had been attending marriage counseling since it was on the rocks for a while and divorce seemed imminent. You were working for rival agencies at the time and were each ordered to kill the other. But neither of you realized you were each other’s target because the names you’d been given on the slip of paper were aliases you and Ray used. You also wore masks or disguises to infiltrate places. Your rivalry had resulted in multiple massive shootouts or perfectly laid traps that you and Ray survived and got out of. One such shootout nearly destroyed your house and ended with you aiming at each other’s heads, but once the masks/disguises got knocked off and you each realized who you were trying to kill, you stopped and threw down your weapons. Ray told you he loved you and couldn’t kill you. You told him the same. You made love and reconciled, then teamed up instead. You became such a power couple that your employers sent other assassins after you both to finish the job. In present day, you and Ray hold hands and tell your marriage counselor that your careers are going great and your marriage is thriving.

17. You’re Ray’s neighbor and have no inkling about who he really is or what he does. He befriends you and invites you over to his house to cook dinner for you on occasion. You enjoy these cozy evenings where you help him in the kitchen, then relax on the couch and watch a movie by the fire. Or sometimes you just sit and talk, his arm laying over the back of the couch behind you. In the darkness of the room while the movie plays, you’ve shared fleeting kisses and Ray’s arm has moved to your shoulder so he can hold you close. Ray has never experienced this kind of romantic affection before since he’s been so focused on his work, but it feels nice with you. You’ve asked about his job, but he’s told you something mundane that’s just a cover. The less you know, the safer you’ll be. You don’t even know who Mickey Pearson is and Ray wants to keep it that way.

On one of these date nights, he finally takes you to bed. While you’re making love, you tell Ray you love him. In the wee hours of the morning, you crawl out from underneath him without waking him up and throw on one of his shirts. You climb down the stairs leading to the basement, either in search of a midnight snack or wanting to make breakfast since he made dinner the night before. You open the freezer, only to discover the body of Aslan. Ray is awoken by your screams and grabs his gun, afraid you’re hurt or there’s an intruder. You hear his footsteps rushing towards where you are as he calls your name. Oh god, what do you do? What happens now?

18. Something similar to that scene from The Godfather Part 2: You’re Ray’s wife (maybe you’re pregnant) and you’re in bed when you ask him to close the curtains. That’s when he notices the snipers and has you get down as gunfire destroys your bedroom. While you fall out of the bed with a cry, Ray crawls towards you and lays on top of you to shield you with his body. He asks if you’ve been hit, and you’re maybe hit in the shoulder or have a superficial graze. Either way, seeing your blood is enough to make Ray livid. He’s like Mickey in that he doesn’t give a damn about money but he is very emotional about how someone dared to target his home, his family! Attacked in his bedroom where his wife sleeps and where his children may play with their toys. The people who did this are not going unpunished, and Mickey would definitely help his friend and consigliere in getting retribution. Those people will wish they’d never been born once he and Mickey get to them. Death is too quick a mercy.

19. Threesome between Will, you and Catfish. That is all. That’s the prompt.

20. You’re Catfish’s sister who works as a makeup artist in Hollywood. Your brother got his pilot license suspended on a coke bust because he was covering for you. You were in deep shit and needed his help to get out, nearly in hysterics from all your panicking. He loves you so much he’d do anything to protect you. But you know how much Frankie loves to fly, so you feel immensely guilty for what happened. For both yours and your brother’s sake, you go into rehab. You’re finally ready to accept help for your drug addiction. In the past you fell in with Dieter Bravo, an Oscar-winning actor who you used to do makeup on for his movies. You’d talk for hours while he was in your chair, and eventually you started sleeping together and doing drugs with him. For a while it was just about sex and drugs, but then you fell in love with him and he with you. You saved Dieter from an OD and that was when he realized he loved you.

You had a lot of fun and good times with Dieter when you were fuck buddies and dating, but you also had a lot of bad times and rough patches. Eventually you and Dieter made the mutual decision to break things off amicably, but you’re still best friends to this day. You meet Will when he picks you up from rehab while your brother is busy with his new baby, and from there you become friends. The longer you stay clean, the more you and Will get to know each other and fall in love. Catfish and the guys are so proud of you, supportive in every step of your recovery. When you run into Dieter again, he’s excited to tell you about Anika and his own journey towards getting clean. You meet Anika and Dieter meets Will. You’re both so happy for each other and how your lives have turned around for the better.

[sentenceme-leni]

Day 64. Monday. Minimum 1 sentence.

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Pinocchio squealed in high-pitched laughter as Belle caught him and twirled him around.

"Now you are it!" Their guest told Guepetto's boy, letting him free before turning around and setting off back across the gardens.

"Not fair!" Pinocchio cried out. "You have longer legs."

"And a heavier dress," Belle yelled back, still laughing. "Just run and you'll catch me."

From a distance, Red watched the pair.

Officially, she was out to enjoy the sunshine, smell the flowers and take a break from the endless little details that popped up when the new queen took a husband.

Unofficially, a vigilant eye had to be kept over the young brunette.

No one had expected the Dark One to respond in the affirmative to the wedding invitation. Powerful sorcerers made the guest list only as a token to reassure them that a kingdom wanted peace.

When the Spinner had sent back a message announcing he would send a one-person envoy, everyone had been shocked.

There had been rumors about the Dark One socializing more often. That a chatelaine now ruled in the Dark Castle when her master was gone. That the Dealer had traded beauty potions, or magic lessons, or safety from other monsters, for the right to a woman's bed. Neighboring kingdoms carried tales of a beauty paraded about on the Dark One's arm. Snow White wouldn't be the first monarch to be pressed into welcoming an unknown to her court.

That the woman in question was a bright-eyed, cheerful thing had only added to the general surprise.

"Looking at her," Red said thoughtfully, "no one could tell she's been shut in that gloomy castle for years."

At her side, Granny huffed. "Not for lack of rescue attempts."

After the announcement of her visit, men had approached Prince James, warning him not to mention freedom to the Dark One's pet. They spoke of losing days as a crawling pest on the grounds, and of painful rolling down the mountain. One or two had even spoken in the name of comrades who never returned from their attempt to take her back home.

Outside royal hearing, Red's sharp ears had picked on the less polite epithets used against the young woman.

Bitch. Because she said no.

Whore. Because she wouldn't come with them.

Stupid. Because she sent them away.

Red found it impossible to reconcile those descriptions with the actual woman.

"Do you believe what they say about her?"

Granny scoffed. "Which version? The disappointed knights, bemoaning feeling useless? Or Princess Abigail, who speaks of her in glowing terms?" Then she shrugged. "Not that it matters. She may be a saint or a demon; all that counts is that she's staying with Rumpelstiltskin and does as he bids."

Red bit her lip at the sound of the Spinner's name, but knew better than to chastise her grandmother. If the Dark One decided to answer that summon, it would be on his own head.

Granny was likely to take a bite off before he even said a word.

Laughter echoed around the garden. Pinocchio's was loud and enthusiastic.

"I doubt the Dealer told her to play with a little boy."

Granny pressed her lips in a stubborn line. "That boy was blessed by Reul Ghorm Herself. Who knows what that means among sorcerers." Put like that, Red had to concede that it looked suspicious. "I'm not taking my eye off him until that woman is gone."

Common sense said her grandmother was right.

Red still itched to join the game anyway

The End

03/06/24

[sasaranomiya]

Koukyuu no Karasu Volume 3 Chapter 2 - The Turtle King (Part 2)

This one took a while

Translation Notes

1. A yuzu is a citrus fruit from the East Asian region

2. Gou (Ao in Chinese) uses the same character as the mythical sea turtle in Chinese mythology. The goddess Nuwa chopped off Ao’s legs to support the sky after a disaster.

Previous || Index || Next

At night, Koushun came to Yamei Palace.

“You smell good,” Jusetsu sniffed around him. “You’re like a dog,” Koushun said, taking a round fruit from his pocket. It was a large, golden citrus fruit.

“This is a Summer Treasure yuzu. (1) I picked it from a tree in the Gyokou Hall garden.”

“You did?”

“Yes.”

Koushun put the fruit in Jusetsu’s hand. It was large enough to cover her hand. The skin looked tough and thick. When she brought it close to her face, the scent grew stronger. It was the refreshing scent of citrus.

“Don’t citrus fruits ripen in winter?”

“They do bear fruit in winter, but they are too sour to eat at that time of the year. The sourness becomes more moderate if you wait until summer. It is a valuable citrus fruit that can be eaten in summer. It was discovered in the countryside during my grandfather’s reign and offered up to him as an auspicious omen. They call it a sign of the gods’ blessing on the Ka dynasty. That’s why it’s called a Summer Treasure yuzu.”

Huh, Jusetsu said, but she was only half-listening to him. She sniffed the fruit. Citrus were the produce of the winter, but it certainly did smell like summer. It was the scent of vibrant life that enclosed sunshine.

“The skin is thick, so it’s better to use a knife to peel it.”

Well then, Jiujiu approached her, but Jusetsu shook her head.

“I’ll eat it tomorrow and leave it here for tonight, since it smells good.”

Jusetsu put the fruit on the table and stared at it. It shined golden, like the sun. Jiujiu had the sense to extinguish the incense that was burning.

“How is your new bodyguard?”

Koushun sat down across from Jusetsu. He seemed to have come here today because he was concerned about that.

“He’s doing just fine.”

“I heard that he and Onkei don’t get along too well.”

Jusetsu glanced at Ei Sei, who was standing behind Koushun. Ei Sei feigned ignorance.

“I see. Should I send someone else, then?”

“No, Onkei said that won’t be necessary. I will also keep an eye on the situation.”

“Tan Kai is talented, but he’s also a smooth talker and has sharp ears. He does have a capricious side to him, though.”

“He’s a bit too easygoing. But, very well. Speaking of sharp ears, I heard from Tan Kai about a ghost haunting the inner court.”

“Ah…” Judging from Koushun’s response, he seemed to already know about the rumor.

“Is there actually a ghost?”

“I’ve never seen it, but some of the eunuchs said they have.”

“Then, does that mean it’s true?”

“It only totters along and doesn’t seem to do any real harm, so we left it alone.”

But a ghost is wandering around.

She felt a twinge of pity when she imagined the old ghost tottering alone in the darkness.

“I want to investigate it.”

When Jusetsu said that, Koushun didn’t seem to like that idea. “You want to go now?”

“You don’t want me to?” Koushun was reluctant, and Jusetsu was surprised. “Up until now, you were the one who kept bringing up the subject of ghosts to me.”

“That’s true, but…” Koushun stared thoughtfully at the fruit on the table. “You once told me that you didn’t want to actively get involved with ghosts.”

“…I suppose I did.” It was back when they were dealing with the ghost who possessed the cloth mask.

“That was why I held it back.”

“You decided to not even mention the ghost in the inner court?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re too considerate at times,” Jusetsu said with a furrowed brow. Koushun looked at her intently.

“Do you think so?”

“I do. I’m sure you must have offended people by considering things too carefully.”

“...I can’t say I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She had assumed that an emperor would be more arrogant and careless of his surroundings. However, after observing Koushun, she found that he looked at things from many angles and was carefully attentive, to the point where she was afraid that he would have a nervous breakdown.

“You should direct that consideration to yourself a little more.”

Koushun listened to Jusetsu’s advice with a serious face. “Is that so. I’ll bear that in mind from now on.”

“...I didn’t say anything of that magnitude.”

“I will try to remember what you said.”

“You don’t need to remember it. I don’t remember every single word you say either.”

Is that so? Koushun, still expressionless, tilted his head a little as though considering her words. Being too serious is something he should also think about, Jusetsu thought. Koushun didn’t know when to relax his shoulders, and he didn’t know how to express his emotions.

“Then, shall we go?” Koushun said and stood up. “Where?” she asked. “You want to see the inner court ghost, don’t you?” he asked back. Come to think of it, that was the original topic.

They left the palace and headed for the inner court. It was east of Yamei Palace. Ei Sei, holding a light, was leading the way, and Onkei was shadowing Koushun and Jusetsu. Tan Kai was left behind to guard Yamei Palace. Jiujiu was also left behind, much to her annoyance.

“I heard that the ghost was apparently a servant from a very long time ago.”

“It seems to be true. That’s why it’s walking around with some sort of vessel.”

“I doubt it’s a rumor that’s been around for a long time.”

“Yes, this is the first time I heard it. I wonder why it appeared now.”

Jusetsu also wondered about that.

They passed through Ringai Gate, which connected the inner palace with the inner court. The inner court consisted of various palaces with Gyokou Hall at their center. Goushi Hall was nearest to the gate, and Koshi Palace was at its back. All of them were places where Jusetsu had been before.

“Where does it appear?”

“It wanders around, so there is no fixed location. Some say they saw it near the walls that surround Gyokou Hall, while others say that it was near Goushi Hall. It’s said that the ghost disappears into thin air after watching it for a while.”

The flickering light stopped. Ei Sei had stopped walking.

“Dajia, look at that.”

Lowering his voice, Ei Sei pointed to the left. Tonight, clouds covered the sky, and the moonlight was unreliable. Under the scanty shimmering moonlight, the tiled roof of the palace was visible. In front of it, in a corner of a coldly glossy clearing paved with polished stones, there it was.

He was an old man with a hunched back, dressed in a dirty linen robe. His gray hair was wrapped in a black kerchief, and he was holding a small vessel in front of his face. His head was hanging down, so only his gaunt cheeks could be seen. He staggered along slowly, one step at a time. It looks as if he was limping.

He was wearing a short jacket with a belt of straw rope and short hakama pants, and his feet were bare. The way his topknot was tied and wrapped was different from how it was done today. Certainly, he was an old man who looked like a servant from ancient times.

Jusetsu approached the ghost. He continued to lurch forward. Rather than walking with a singleminded aim somewhere, his gait was as though he was wandering around without a goal.

She couldn’t see his face even from up close. His figure was also somewhat hazy and unfocused. She couldn’t even make out the shape of the vessel he was holding. Jusetsu pulled a peony from her hair and blew on it. The pink smoke surrounded the ghost and made him stand out clearly.

The ghost’s decrepit old face appeared. His cheeks were hollow, his eye sockets were sunken, and even his wrinkles and blemishes were visible. Fatigue, sadness, and despair was in his face. His half-opened lips were dry and cracked, but they were pale with no blood welling up. His lips were quivering faintly, but no sound escaped them even when she strained her ears. She had thought it was a vessel that he was holding up, but it seemed to be a small ornament. It was a turtle figurine. The ghost’s hands were as thin as a dead tree. His hands were also trembling.

The turtle figurine seemed to be carved out of stone. It was bluish black with stripes.

“...That’s a stone turtle casket.”

Koushun had come up beside her without her knowing and murmured that.

“What is that?”

“That vessel is a stone turtle casket. It’s in the treasure room.”

A casket was a container. And being in the treasure room meant that it was the emperor’s treasure.

“The shell is the lid. At first glance, it looks like an ornament.”

“Is there something in it? Or is it empty?”

“It’s said that it used to contain medicine, but it is now empty. I think it belonged to a dynasty from long ago. The contents must have been lost in the meantime.”

“Medicine...”

Jusetsu returned her attention to the ghost. The expression on his face remained unchanged and hollow. Jusetsu blew out a breath to clear the smoke. The ghost disappeared as well.

“The treasure room, huh,” Jusetsu looked up at Koushun.

“You want to enter it,” Koushun said before she could make her request. “I’ll make the arrangement. Just like before, I’ll send a messenger in the morning.”

“Ei Sei?” Jusetsu glanced at him. He was the one who came to get her when she visited the treasure room. She had been greeted with a look of unparalleled disapproval.

“Okay,” she said. Koushun turned to Ei Sei. “I’m entrusting this to you.”

In front of Koushun, Ei Sei obediently replied, “Yes, Dajia,” but his eyes as he glanced at Jusetsu were still full of disapproval.

When the sky began to lighten, Ei Sei came to Yamei Palace. He gave a perfunctory bow and immediately started walking. Since Koushun wasn’t here, his attitude towards her was open and blatant. Jusetsu had already become accustomed to this side of him and could no longer imagine an affable Ei Sei.

“Ei Sei,” Jusetsu called out to Ei Sei as she looked up at his back while he went on ahead. “You sent Tan Kai here knowing that Onkei wouldn’t like it.”

“Is there an inconvenience?” Ei Sei said without looking back.

“I don’t care if you do it to me, but there’s no need to harass Onkei.”

She thought that he didn’t like the fact that Onkei was close with her. Ei Sei glanced at her.

“Considering his abilities, he was the most suitable for the job. I’m sure Onkei knows that as well.”

“Sly bastard,” Jusetsu glared at him, and Ei Sei knitted his brows together in annoyance.

“If you don’t like Tan Kai, then we can choose someone else.”

“I never said that.”

“That is akin to what you are saying.”

Jusetsu was at a loss for words. It was true that the more she complained about Tan Kai, the more it seemed like she was saying Tan Kai was inadequate.

“...You’re an unpleasant fellow, aren’t you...” she said in frustration.

“I feel the same way about you,” Ei Sei said, cool-faced.

“Aren’t you being a bit too direct?”

“You aren’t a consort stipulated by the codes, and you aren’t recorded in the inner palace’s registry either. The ‘Raven Consort’ is a separate existence from ‘consorts.’ Therefore, I do not consider it necessary for you to be treated with the same courtesy as with the other consorts.”

He spoke smoothly and decisively. Certainly, in regards to the laws, he was right.

Ei Sei coldly looked down at Jusetsu. “You call me an unpleasant fellow, but you assume you won’t hear the same from me? Because I’m a eunuch?”

Jusetsu’s breath caught, and she turned red. He had hit the nail on the head.

She lowered her head in shame. It’s just as Ei Sei said. She had thought that because he was a eunuch, a subordinate, he wouldn’t say such things. Although she usually said that she didn’t care about manners, it was still deeply ingrained in her consciousness.

I’m the one who’s unpleasant.

“...I’m sorry.”

Ei Sei looked at her, then silently started walking again.

“It’s true that I am a sly and unpleasant fellow.” Those were the only words he said after a while.

As they walked in silence, Ei Sei stopped and turned around just before the Ringai Gate. “Could you please stop making such a pathetic face?” he sounded irritated. “Dajia will reprimand me if he finds out.”

“...I can’t see my own face. What do you mean by ‘pathetic face’?”

Ei Sei frowned. “You look like you’re about to cry.”

Jusetsu turned her face away. “I am not making such a face.”

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t see your own face just now?”

“I know without needing to see it. I am not crying.”

“I said that you looked like you’re about to cry. To think that you can’t even remember what someone else just said.”

“I...I don’t want to talk to you anymore!” Jusetsu raised her voice like a child about to throw a tantrum.

“Is that so? Then I suppose we are on the same page,” Ei Sei said without changing his expression.

This was the moment when Jusetsu realized that she would never be able to match Ei Sei in a war of words. Even with Koushun, she had never felt more acutely like a mere sixteen-year-old girl than she did now. In front of Ei Sei, Jusetsu was nothing more than a child.

An old eunuch in a charcoal-colored robe was kneeling and waiting for them in front of the door to the treasure room.

He was Ui, the keeper of the treasure room.

“I’m sure you’ve already heard, but I wish to see the turtle vessel.”

When Jusetsu said that, Ui looked up. He was full of wrinkles but his cheeks were as smooth and ruddy as ever. The fact that he showed no expression on his face also didn’t change.

“I shall fulfill your request. Please, this way, Lady Raven Consort.”

With those words, he easily opened the heavy-looking door of the treasure room. She had also wondered this before, but where did he get such strength from?

Before going inside, Jusetsu looked back at Ei Sei. “I know. You’re going to tell me to be careful not to break any of the treasures,” she said, anticipating his words.

Ei Sei raised his eyebrow a bit and looked bored. Feeling a little triumphant at that, Jusetsu marched into the treasure room with satisfaction. Ui closed the door.

Inside the room, numerous treasures were tucked away in boxes and lined up on shelves. One of the walls was covered with a painting depicting the island nation and the sea surrounding it, as well as the palaces of the gods beyond the sea.

“Please come over here, Lady Raven Consort.”

After saying that, Ui disappeared between the shelves. Almost immediately, he returned with a box in his hands. He put it on a table and opened the lid. There was a cloth bundle inside. He removed the cloth and unveiled a turtle vessel, the same one the ghost was holding last night.

“This is a stone turtle casket.”

It was a casket made of smooth stones. “These stones are called wave stones. Their beautiful striped patterns are their distinctive characteristics,” Ui explained. The carvings were finely detailed, with the patterns on the carapace, the eyes, the mouth, and even the claws on its limbs meticulously rendered. Colored stones were set in its eyes. “Amber is used for the eyes,” Ui said as though reading Jusetsu’s mind. “May I touch it?” she asked. “Of course,” he answered, so she reached out to touch the shell. She then held it up and discovered that the inside was empty.

“It once contained pills. Pills for prolonging life.”

Ui spoke as though he knew that to be the truth, not just a story.

“Life-prolonging medicine. Do you know the specifics?”

“It was medicine made from grinding the claws of a god.”

“What?”

“The claws of a god,” Ui repeated calmly.

“The claws of a god...do you mean Wulian Niangniang’s claws?”

Ui shook his head. “No.”

“Then, whose?”

Ui stared at Jusetsu’s face intently. There was no emotion in his eyes, and Jusetsu felt a strange sense of deja vu. Ui’s expression felt familiar. Why was that—?

“Ui?” Jusetsu called out. Ui’s eyes fluttered, and then he opened his mouth.

“The Gou-no-Kami. Gou means Great Sea Turtle.” (2)

“The Great Sea Turtle...God?”

“Yes.”

“You’re saying that medicine grinded from the claws of that god was contained in this casket?” Jusetsu stared at the turtle vessel. “You said this casket is called a stone turtle casket, yes? So, is this casket modelled after the Great Sea Turtle God, then?”

“Yes,” Ui repeated without intonation.

“This is from a very old dynasty, right? I heard so from Koushun. When exactly is it from?”

“It is from around the time of the Hi dynasty. That was about one thousand and eight hundred years ago.”

“One thousand and eight hundred...so old?”

She truly was surprised. At the fact that such an ancient thing still existed, and the fact that it was so skillfully crafted.

Then, that ghost is also...

He was most likely someone from that time as well.

“Do you know the origin of this casket?”

“It is something that a king of the Hi dynasty had an excellent craftsman make for him.”

There seemed to be no other origin for it.

“Then, have you heard any stories about ghosts or something like that regarding this casket? Such as an elderly servant possessing it?”

Ui tilted his head to the side somewhat.

“I do not know.” His voice was still monotone. Jusetsu was disappointed. She stared at the turtle vessel. It was as if the amber eyes were staring back at her.

“The Hi dinasty and the great sea turtle god, huh...” she muttered as she looked into those eyes.

Jusetsu returned the vessel to Ui, stood up, and left the treasure room.

After returning to Yamei Palace briefly, Jusetsu decided to head for the Winter Ministry.

“I was going to go straight to the Winter Ministry, but Ei Sei insisted that I mustn’t do so, so I came back. He said that it would attract too much attention if I left from the inner court’s gate. He is not a man of flexibility,” Jusetsu muttered while changing into her eunuch’s uniform.

“Niangniang, you really don’t get along well with Attendant Ei, do you?” Jiujiu laughed as she helped her change. “You’re like a cat and dog.”

“Which one of us is the dog, and which one is the cat?”

“Attendant Ei is like a guard dog, and Niangniang is like a kitten with a lustrous coat.”

“A kitten...”

“Yes, like a kitten who desperately making its fur stand on end with all its might. Ishiha, you worked for Attendant Ei for a short time, right? Was it hard?”

Ishiha, who was practicing his writing at the table, looked up. He was supposed to be practicing his penmanship in his free time. Jusetsu, Jiujiu, and Kougyou took turns teaching him. In some rare cases, Onkei and Tan Kai also taught him sometimes. Right now, the one watching him was Kougyou.

“It was...not hard at all. Attendant Ei was strict, but he never said anything unreasonable. He taught me everything one by one in detail.”

He was a bit scary, though, he added apologetically in a small voice.

“Oh, so he’s surprisingly a kind person,” Jiujiu said. “He has nothing but harsh words for Niangniang, though.”

“...I will not quarrel with him anymore,” she grumbled sullenly.

“Because you will lose?” Jiujiu said bluntly, and Jusetsu glared at her. Jiujiu ducked her head.

Jusetsu finished changing and stepped out from behind the curtains. Onkei was waiting for her outside the thrown-open doors. She left Yamei Palace with him.

“Onkei.”

While walking, Jusetsu looked back at Onkei. “Please face forward, lest you trip,” Onkei cautioned and quickly came up to her side. “What is it, Niangniang?”

“What do you think of that ghost?”

“The ghost in the inner court?”

“Yes.”

Jusetsu had thought that he would be bewildered by such a question, but surprisingly, Onkei thought it over with a quiet expression on his face before opening his mouth.

“He is a man of loyalty.”

“A man of loyalty?”

“That man has the appearance of a servant, but more than that, isn’t because it’s obvious that he is a deeply loyal person that everyone who saw him concluded that he is the ghost of a servant?”

“...Why do you think that he is deeply loyal?”

“I can only explain it by his ‘feel,’ but he is someone who only has one thing in mind. He is bowing his head for that one thing.”

I am a eunuch, after all, Onkei continued. “And those who witnessed the ghost in the inner court are also eunuchs, so they can tell that he is someone who serves another and swore loyalty to them.”

A man of loyalty.

Loyal to whom?

“That was very helpful. Thank you.”

“Not at all,” Onkei replied shortly and moved back behind her again, even though she would have liked to have someone next to her to talk to.

The Winter Ministry was located on the outskirts of the imperial palace, and Seiu Temple, which enshrined Wulian Niangniang, was located there. When they passed through the gate, it was as shabby as ever, but it was still clean and tidy. They headed for the Winter Ministry building in the depths of the temple and were greeted by the Winter Minister Senri and the acolytes. Senri led Jusetsu to the outer corridor. There was a table with a Go board set up out there. She recalled Gyoei and Koushun playing Go here.

“Did you play Go with someone?”

“No, I was playing by myself. I was coming up with various moves while remembering a game I played with Master Gyoei before.”

“For a rematch?”

Senri smiled. “...That’s right.”

Senri, who was over forty, was a man whose impresion at first glance was very different from who he actually was. He was tall and thin, and because of his gaunt face, his gaze seemed sharp and highly strung, but when he opened his mouth, his tone was gentle and his laugh was unexpectedly cheerful.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Sitting across from him on the other side of the Go board, Jusetsu observed Senri’s pale cheeks and asked that question. He was prone to illness and had been bedridden for several days recently when the heat and humidity increased. She felt like his cheeks had become even more sunken.

“Yes, I am. I apologize for making you worried. My body can’t keep up when it suddenly gets hot.”

“You should take care of yourself without pushing yourself too much.”

“Thank you. ――Is there something you would like to ask me today?”

Senri was perceptive. Jusetsu nodded.

“Have you ever heard of the Great Sea Turtle God?” she asked without any preamble.

“The Great Sea Turtle...you mean Gou-no-Kami, yes? He’s also known as the Turtle King,” Senri answered without hesitation. “He was a god widely worshiped in ancient times. Sometimes, the ruins of his former shrines have been excavated. There are still a few shrines in the countryside, but they are few and far in between.”

“You’re very knowledgeable about him.”

“That’s because I’ve been researching temples and folk beliefs in various places for many years. Also, he was worshipped as a god of prolonging life and longevity, so one of the shrines where my parents went to pray for me was his...”

It seemed that because of his sickly condition, his parents visited various shrines to pray for his recovery and prolong his life.

“That’s why I’m a bit familiar with the gods of that aspect.”

I see, Jusetsu nodded.

“Have you heard of a medicine that’s made by grinding the claws of the Great Sea Turtle God?”

Senri tilted his head, then shook it. “No, I don’t remember hearing about that or reading about that.”

“I also do not know anything about it, but there is a turtle vessel in the treasure room that once contained the medicine.”

Jusetsu told him about the ghost with the turtle vessel in his hands. Senri quietly listened to her without interrupting.

“Apparently, the turtle vessel is from the Hi dynasty.”

“Hi dynasty, you say?”

That’s before Wulian Niangniang, Senri said.

This country had two histories. The official history that was publicly taught, and the story of the Summer King and Winter King that could never be told. In the official history, the existence of the Winter King had been erased. The two kings ruled the country peacefully for about five hundred years, and then afterwards, after losing the Winter King, Shou entered a long period of war. Many ruins and artifacts were destroyed during this time, and there was little to no way of knowing the details of the previous eras. It was fortuitous that there were some treasures left in the treasure room.

In official history, the Hi dynasty was just one of many dynasties. It was so long ago that it was almost mythical. On the contrary, in the history of the Summer and Winter Kings, the Hi dynasty was a milestone dynasty.

“After the fall of the Hi dynasty, Wulian Niangniang came to this land...”

It was exactly before the time of Wulian Niangniang. That meant the era before she came from Kakurenomiya. Jusetsu didn’t know anything about what happened before. That was because the Soutsuten in Yamei Palace didn’t contain any details about that time. For the Raven Consort—the Winter King, what happened before the arrival of Wulian Niangniang was meaningless.

However, there was of course history between the birth of the country from the corpse of a god and the subsequent arrival of Wulian Niangniang.

“It is a vessel from that time? It must be very well preserved.”

“Perhaps it’s because it’s made of stone. What do you think of that ghost? I’m curious as to who he is, but I’m also curious about why it appeared now.”

“I am as well...” Senri put his hand on his slender chin and pondered.

“Have you thought of something?”

“No,” Senri hesitated for a moment, like he wanted to say something, but he ended up shaking his head. “My apologies. I don’t know.”

“I see...I thought you would know something, because you’re so knowledgeable.”

“You’re overrating me. I am not even close to Master Gyoei in terms of knowledge.”

Senri smiled wryly. It was a nostalgic, wistful smile.

I saw that smile before, she thought. Not from Senri, but Koushun. I think it was at Koshi Palace, when we were talking about Gyoei——.

Jusetsu peered at Senri’s face. He smiled at her. A cheerful smile, different from the one before.

“So, Lady Raven Consort, do you want to save that ghost?”

“...Yes, if possible.”

“If he’s a servant, then he must have a master. Perhaps that master lies at the root of it all.”

Onkei also said that he was a man of loyalty. So was his master the key to all of this, then?

“I’m not sure if I think this because I am ill, but perhaps the servant’s master was also ill. The fact that he is holding a vessel that contained a medicine to prolong life is...”

After saying that, Senri stared off into the distance.

Koutou Palace Academy—generally known as Koutou Academy, was overflowing with books in every room. Wooden strips, bamboo strips, scrolls, transcribed books, and sheafs of paper were piled up on the shelves... The smell of ink was strong.

“Paper gets damp at this time of year, which becomes a problem.”

Meiin said after he led Koushun to a room. It was quiet inside. He thought that there was no one there, but then heard a noise at the back of the room. Meiin called out in that direction.

“Shiki, His Majesty has arrived. Come over here.”

A young man appeared from the other side of the shelves. He stepped forward before Koushun and knelt. It was a gentle movement with no exertion. He was a man who seemed to be a year or two over thirty, and had the air of a third son from a wealthy merchant family, rather than a capable official who had traveled around the rural regions. He wasn’t particularly beautiful, but he had a gentle and refreshing appearance.

From the way Meiin spoke about him, Koushun had imagined a somewhat brusque and obstinate young man, but at first glance, he appeared to be an agreeable young man.

“Raise your head.”

After Koushun told him that, he slowly got up. His eyes were gentle, but he noticed that there was a shade of sadness in his face. There was a shadow over his eyes. Koushun suddenly sensed something similar to himself in his eyes. He had an intuition.

This man holds hatred deep inside his heart.

A smouldering flame of hatred with nowhere to go burned in the depths of his eyes.

He had no proof, but somehow he was convinced of that. Koushun sat down in a chair. “Over there,” he pointed to the seat across from him and prompted Shiki to sit down. Shiki glanced at Meiin with a hint of bewilderment, but Koushun repeated, “We can’t have a long conversation there,” so he obediently sat down.

“I heard that you were in Ga Province until recently.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

His answer was short, but his voice was clear. He had a mellow and deep voice.

“I want to know the situation there,” Koushun said point-blank, and Shiki’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Are you concerned about Ga Province, Your Majesty?”

“I am a little concerned. Did something happen there?”

Shiki looked away in deliberation, then spoke.

“I don’t know if it can be called an issue that happened, but...do you know of the Moon Truth Sect?”

Koushun nodded lightly.

“Its successor is now spreading in Ga Province.”

“The Eight Truths Sect? Is that the Moon Truth Sect’s successor.”

“So you knew about it? The person who was once the evangelist of the Moon Truth Sect became the founder.”

Koushun peered at Shiki’s face. “How do you know so much?”

“I investigated them. Because of that, my life became endangered, so I resigned my position and left Ga Province,” Shiki explained with his gentle expression.

“Wasn’t it because your relationship with the Saname clan had deteriorated?”

“Ah, yes, that isn’t necessarily wrong either. The Saname clan seems to be...somewhat patronizing the Eight Truths Sect.”

“The Saname clan?”

“I don’t have any proof because I’ve never publically became a believer or donated money. I was just trying to obtain some proof when I was poisoned.”

Shiki said that so casually that Koushun was slow to react.

“...Poison.”

“Shiki, this is the first time I’m hearing this as well.”

Meiin was also startled. On the other hand, Shiki looked like it was of no concern to him.

“It wasn’t fatal poison. It was a threat. The Saname clan are poison users, after all.”

“Poison users?”

“It was a rumor that had only been whispered of in Ga Province, but it was true. The Saname clan originally hailed from Kakami. It is said that they have a secret poison. There was a frightening rumor that they obtained it by killing a god.”

I don’t know how much of it is true, though, he added.

“So, I left Ga Province, making it seem like I escaped out of fear.”

“Ho...” Koushun stared at Shiki’s face and expressionlessly responded. Shiki smiled gently.

“You don’t believe me, Your Majesty? Well there’s no proof that the Saname clan poisoned me, so if you say that it’s all a result of me overthinking, then that’s the end of it.”

No, Koushun answered.

“I’m thinking about whether or not Saname believed you. Did they believe that you were the type of person who would give in to threats and run away?”

“I suppose I’m still alive because they believed it. They are also taking the approach of letting me go freely and watching me.”

Or it could be that Shiki is working for Saname—though neither of them said it aloud.

“The Ga Province inspector was Kou, I believe. Were you working under his orders?”

“No, it was my own arbitrary decision. Inspector Kou has no suspicion towards the Saname clan.”

The inspector was an important post that directly answered to the emperor and was appointed by him. The deputy and lower ranks were chosen at the inspector’s discretion. Shiki, who was a deputy inspector, had ignored his superior’s inclinations and acted on his own accord?

This man seems to be acting on some other motive.

He didn’t know what that was yet, though.

Do I have to send spies to Ga Province…?

Normally, the province’s governor or other official dispatched from central would report any suspicious activity without having to do such a thing.

An unspecified official.

Had the real power been transferred to the inspector and he was unable to do a good job?

Koushun looked at Meiin, who nodded as though he fully understood the situation. He would make the necessary arrangements.

“Is it because of the precedent of Reki Province that you decided to probe into the Eight Truths Sect?”

When Koushun suddenly asked that, Shiki looked as though the emotions had slipped off his face.

“Yes, well…”

“You were from Reki Province, weren’t you.”

Yes, he answered and frowned slightly. It seemed to be a topic he didn’t want broached.

“I also lost an acquaintance in the Reki Province riots. It was the man who was supposed to be my friend’s…husband,” Kajou’s face flashed through his mind.  “Things like that shouldn’t happen.”

Shiki lowered his eyes. “Yes—precisely.”

Koushun had a feeling that he too had lost someone important to him.

Koushun invited Shiki to the lotus pond. It was located on the same site as Koutou Academy. Walking along the corridor, they moved from the palace and came to the outer corridor where the beautiful lotus pond could be seen.

“Even though the waterways have been built and the transportation of goods have become faster, Ga Province is still a long distance from here. There must be many things that cannot be seen and voices that cannot be heard there. Even the government there is hard to grasp, so it would be even more so when it comes to the people,” Koushun spoke plainly as he stared at the closed lotus buds. “This doesn’t only apply to Ga Province.”

“…This country is divided by mountains, after all.”

Koushun nodded. The capital was located in the east of the island, with steep mountainous terrain to the north, much of which was unexplored, and a soaring mountain range in the center, impeding travel between the east and west. Although the roads were built on relatively gently sloping terrain, it took many days to travel on them because they took detours around the mountain range. The sea route was somewhat faster, but this was also dependent on the weather.

“The fragmentation of information is very frightening. It can become irreversible at times.”

Shiki nodded. “Yes.”

“That’s why a man like you, who has seen so much of the country, is very valuable. And you know the people well as well as the government. I would like to increase the number of people like you.”

For this purpose, unspecified officials who directly answer to the emperor were very convenient. But there were also downsides. It was difficult to find the right balance, so to speak.

“Your Majesty…is a very serious person,” Shiki said in a tone that was either impressed or astonished.

“I’ve thought about expressing my opinions in a non-serious way, but it was difficult.”

He said with Jusetsu in mind. Shiki laughed in amusement. “You have?”

“Yes, driven by necessity.”

Shiki’s shoulders shook. The air around him was gentle, and there was no hint of timidity even when dealing with the emperor. However, he wasn’t overly familiar. He was relaxed and gentle in a proper manner—and there was sense of loneliness coming from him at the same time. His air was different from anyone he had met so far. Was it because Koushun had sensed something similar to himself in the depths of his eyes?

“Who is it that you hate?”

Those words suddenly came out of his mouth. Shiki’s smile disappeared, and his face became blank. There was a shadow over his eyes.

“I can assure you that it is not you, Your Majesty.” He then added, “Can you tell that because you also harbor a similar hatred, Your Majesty?”

He stared into Koushun’s eyes as he said that, as though probing him.

“…The person I hated is no more.”

Koushun murmured, and Shiki narrowed his eyes as though in sympathy.

“Then, you feel empty right now, don’t you, Your Majesty.”

This man understands me very well.

Koushun turned his eyes toward the lotus pond. There was no breeze, just a sweltering heat and humidity. He wasn’t even sweating. It was simply agonizing.

Koushun wondered what Jusetsu would say to them if she was here.

“Have you ever seen a ghost?”

Despite the suddenness of his question, Shiki answered “Yes” without any hesitation.

“I’ve traveled to many different regions, so I’ve heard many stories about ghosts. People in all regions like ghost stories and strange tales.”

“I see. There are many such stories here in the imperial palace as well. I’ve also seen some with my own eyes.”

“You have, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. Ghosts are tragic beings, aren’t they.”

The ghost that haunted the jade earring, the ghost that stood under the willow tree, and finally the ghosts of his mother and the eunuch flashed through his mind before disappearing.

“Last night, I saw the ghost of an old servant. He wanders the inner court with a treasure from the treasure room in his hand.”

“A treasure?”

“A treasure called a stone turtle casket. It is a turtle-shaped vessel that once contained medicine. He seems to be a ghost from ancient times, but no one knows why he’s wandering around…”

It was pitiful, almost painful, to see the old servant tottering about, holding up the vessel like an offering.

After Koushun told him about the ghost, Shiki was silent, looking perplexed.

“What’s wrong?”

“No…it’s only that I remember hearing a similar story in the provinces.”

“A similar story?”

“It’s not about ghosts. It’s about a pitiful elderly servant who was killed over medicine…”

“What kind of story is it?” Koushun’s interest was piqued, and he turned towards Shiki.

“I don’t know if I can remember it exactly, since I’ve heard it many years ago. I heard it from the people of Raku Province, which is located at the foot of the northern mountains next to Reki Province, while I was working as a patrolling inspector there.”

“Raku Province was said to be where the capital was located in ancient times, during the Hi dynasty.”

Yes, Shiki nodded.

“In the era when the capital was still there, there lived an old servant who served a noble family. The family had already fallen into ruin, and there was only the young lady and old servant in the deserted house. The young lady was bedridden with illness, so the few other servants that were there had given up on her and left. The old servant served and nursed the young lady very attentively. One day, he heard of a life-prolonging elixir in the castle. It was the medicine of the gods, stored in a turtle vessel. He went to the royal family, with whom the young lady’s family had a slight connection, to ask if they might share the medicine with them. The royal family listened to his request and handed over the medicine. However, it was a fake medicine. They were annoyed by the old servant who repeatedly came to ask for help and handed over the drug in order to get rid of him. The young lady died. The old servant, who learned that it was a fake medicine, blamed the royal family but was tortured to death after angering them. After that, the royal family died of a mysterious disease, and it is said that that was the old servant’s curse.”

Shiki sighed.

“It was one of those kinds of stories… One of the legends in that region. I am sure some of it has changed over time, but it is also interesting as a story about a dynasty that died out.”

“It certainly is,” Koushun nodded. “Sometimes there’s unexpected truth behind those legends.”

The old servant and the turtle vessel…

“I’ll tell Jusetsu about this,” he murmured without thinking.

“Jusetsu?” Shiki tilted his head in confusion.

“No, it’s nothing.” Koushun cleared his throat.

Koushun arrived just when the sun was about to set. Looking at his face, Jusetsu thought that he must be in a good mood. There was no change in his expression, but he somehow seemed like that.

“I heard a story about the turtle vessel and the old servant from someone who worked in the provinces.”

That was the first thing that came out of Koushun’s mouth.

“I was wondering what urgent business you had…you came here to tell me that?”

“Yes.”

“A letter would have sufficed.”

“I wanted to tell you directly.”

Jusetsu remained silent, unable to answer.

Because it was still early, Jiujiu and Ishiha hadn’t yet retired for the night. “Have you improved in your handwriting?” Koushun asked Ishiha. “Yes,” Ishiha replied respectfully, then added, “A little.”

“There’s no need to rush. Just work steadily. I taught Ei Sei how to write, and now he’s more skilled at calligraphy than me.”

“Really, Your Majesty?”

Ishiha looked up at Ei Sei. “It’s all because I had a wonderful teacher,” he said with a cool face.

“Ishiha is a quick learner, so he is improving very quickly. He has also improved a lot in reading.” Ishiha smiled bashfully when Jusetsu praised him.

“Shall I bring some books? Something that Ishiha can read,” Koushun said.

“We have the books Kajou lent us. She brought all kinds of books,” Jusetsu pointed at the cabinet. Several books were stacked on top of it. When she had asked Kajou if she had any books that children could read, she happily brought them herself.

“Kajou seems to like reading books,” Jusetsu remarked.

“She does,” Koushun nodded. “I also gift some to her from time to time. They please her more than flowers or hairpins. It’s about time I bring her some new books.”

“She said she wants to borrow some classics from Koutou Academy. She wants to read classic poetry.”

“Okay. I’ll give her permission.”

Even consorts could leave the inner palace with permission. Kajou sometimes went to Koutou Academy or the chronicler’s pavilion in the imperial palace to borrow books.

Jiujiu brought tea, and Jusetsu drank it with Koushun. She had misgivings about drinking hot tea in hot weather, but Keishi, Kougyou, and Jiujiu all said that it was better to sweat to get rid of the heat. She blew on the tea as she drank.

As they drank tea, Koushun told her the story about the turtle vessel and the old servant that was handed down in Raku Province.

“An old dynasty…the Hi dynasty?”

“Yes. It’s said that their capital used to be at the foot of the northern mountains.”

“The turtle vessel in the treasure room is also supposed to be from the Hi dynasty…”

Was that old servant the ghost who was tricked with fake medicine and killed?

“It’s still a mystery why a ghost from so long ago would appear now,” Koushun said, and Jusetsu nodded.

“Mm-hmm. I heard that the vessel once contained medicine made from the claws of the Great Sea Turtle God.”

“The Great Sea Turtle God?”

“Apparently, he was a god that was widely worshipped in ancient times, so he must also have been commonly worshipped in the Hi dynasty. When I asked Senri about it, he said that the old servant’s master might have been ill. If what you told me is true, then he hit the nail on the head.”

But even if it turns out to be correct, we still don’t know what to do about it…

“Medicine…he’s fixated on medicine…?”

The ghost of the old servant holding up the turtle vessel. Did he still want the medicine he never got while he was alive? For the sake of his mistress.

Jusetsu pondered this for a while. “Can I see the treasure room again?” she asked Koushun.

“I don’t mind, but…what are you going to do there?”

“I want to search for the medicine. Even if it isn’t in the vessel, it may be somewhere in the treasure room.”

“The Great Sea Turtle’s? I don’t believe it’s in the treasure room ledger.”

“It might not necessarily be in the ledger. I’ll ask Ui.”

Mm, Koushun made a sound.

“Because he is a strange keeper, indeed,” he nodded. “Are you going tomorrow morning?”

“Oh—no, Kajou said she’s visiting tomorrow morning. She’s going to bring new books for Ishiha.”

“The afternoon, then. I’ll go with you as well if that’s the case. It won’t be too much trouble that way.”

Jusetsu peered at Koushun’s face.

“I asked this before, but are you allowed to just let me in many times like this?”

“It doesn’t change whether it’s one time or many times. I don’t think of those treasures as only belonging to me to begin with.”

They don’t only belong to the Summer King, but also to the Winter King—he was saying.

Then, Koushun’s eyes softened a little. His expressionless face took on a gentler shade.

“Besides, it’s not bad to have you ask me for a favor.”

Because we’re friends, he said.

It was at times like these that Jusetsu didn’t know how to respond. However, she could feel a slight but definite warmth in her chest.

Previous || Index || Next

[yountville12]

Get Outside in Napa Valley: Linda Falls Hike

Things to do in Napa Valley

 It is no secret, the main draw to Yountville and the Napa Valley is our world-renowned wine and incredible restaurants.  However, once visitors arrive, they quickly realize that the valley is full of incredible gifts from mother nature.  We are blessed to have an average of 260 days of sunshine per year, which makes venturing out into nature a must during your visit.

 If you are looking to add a quick jaunt into nature to the itinerary, the hike to Linda Falls should be at the top of your list of things to do in Napa Valley.  Would you believe me if I told you just 20 minutes from the valley floor, you can find a spectacular waterfall?  Even better, you can arrive at the falls in a short 20-minute hike!

 Hike to Linda Falls

 High in the hills of Angwin, on the western flank of Howell Mountain, is Linda Falls preserve.  The preserve is a 177-acre tract of open space owned and protected by the Land Trust of Napa County, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving the character of Napa by permanently protecting land.  The preserve is located near the community of Angwin within the Conn Creek watershed.

 The shining star of the preserve is Linda Falls, where water from Conn Creek tumbles over granite rocks before dropping onto volcanic boulders below.  This natural attraction is a short hike from the trailhead, a 1.3-mile out-and-back trail.

 The trails wind past more than 130 species of native plants—one of the most diverse habitats in Napa County.  Among these species: manzanita, canyon live oak, black oak, California bay and more. On my recent visit, the green & herbal notes of the bay trees permeated the air and we were lucky to spot a giant Lions Mane mushroom nestled under a tree.  The Preserve protects over 132 native plant species, including 11 tree species and 32 types of shrubs.

 Getting There

 It can be a little tricky to find the trailhead.  From Silverado Trail headed North, you will take a right onto Deer Park Road (a 4-way flashing stop).   Stay on Deer Park Road, which will eventually turn into Howell Mountain Road.  When you drop into Angwin, look immediately to your left for a tiny parking lot west of the tennis courts at Pacific Union College.

 Once you’ve parked your car, walk back along Howell Mountain Road (please use the crosswalk), as if you were retracing the steps you just drove. At the far end, before the road rises over a bridge, you’ll spot the trailhead on the left. The hike descends gradually beyond the sign, heading through a thrush of manzanitas and past a well-marked junction, where you will turn right. About 10 minutes in, the trail begins to descend, following a steep switchback past giant redwoods and some ancient oaks.  Soon you will hear the rush of the falls.  You can make your way to the base by scrambling through rocks and downed trees.  Stay for a bit to enjoy the peaceful rush of the water and the calm of the mossy green forest around you.

 Trail Tips

 This is considered a moderately challenging hike, as the descent to the waterfall is a steep downgrade.  Hiking shoes with traction are a good idea.  When you arrive at the waterfall, you can scramble through downed trees (covered in beautiful shades of green moss) and rocks to catch a closer view.  If you are visiting after a rainstorm (a particularly spectacular time to view the falls), be prepared for the scramble to leave you with some muddy souvenirs to remember your time on the trail. During the dry season, the volume slows to a trickle, but still a beautiful site to take in, nonetheless.

 This is a popular trail for hiking and walking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The trail is open year-round and is really beautiful any time of year. You’ll need to leave pups at home — dogs aren’t allowed on this trail.

For more inspiration and must sees in Yountville and Napa Valley, visit our Get Inspired blog!

[sukirichi]

scarlet

“How long has it been? Five hundred years – a thousand?”

“Forever. It’s been forever.”

CONTENT/WARNINGS. vampire! megumi, reincarnation au, somnophilia, blood drinking, smut, murder, suicidal thoughts, angst, war, violence, all the dark themes you can expect from vampire!au such as biting, scratching, slight blood play, character death + UNEDITED. I’ll edit this tomorrow because I really want this to be of good quality but for now yeah, sorry for typos and awkward grammar 

NOTE. thank you so much to vampire nonnie for requesting this, I absolutely LOVED writing this, I think this is my favorite ever work. It’s totally different and a lot more serious than what I usually write too, so thank you!

WC. 13k+

PLAYLIST: I Don’t Wanna Live Forever (Zayn, Taylor Swift) ; Fire on Fire (Sam Smith) ; Dusk Til Dawn (Zayn, Sia) ; My Nocturnal Serenade (Yohio)

“How long has it been? Five hundred years – a thousand?”

“Forever. It’s been forever.”

“Was it worth it? Was I worth the wait?”

“Of course you are. You always will be.”

BLUSH [001.]

The morning market bustled with people, the villagers bumping your shoulders left and right. You tried your best to squeeze through the crowd as you followed your mother. You’d recently come of age, and now you had to come with your mother to retrieve food and supplies while your father hunted and chopped wood for the upcoming winter. 

Your mother pinched the apples of your cheeks whilst she smiled, reminding you that you could meet a nice young man at any moment and you had to look as presentable as ever.

The idea of living out the same fairytale your parents happily created for themselves had you gazing up at your mother in wonder. 

You came from a happy family, with a doting mother and a supportive father who never stopped smiling through the hardships. While your mother was the fire that warmed the hearth of your humble home, your father was the sturdy wood that kept each and everyone steady and strong, and you? You were the light of their lives.

To be able to find a soulmate like that and have a family of your own, you wanted nothing more.

But your mind easily changed when people pushed past you, sending you scowls and profanities when you bunched your skirt up, your tattered boots hitting against the wet mud of the market. Your humble village wasn’t blessed with the warmest weather, but it was fine, since your family brought enough sunshine to your life that you never minded. Until now, that was. 

Your boots were soiled and you were panting as you ran after your mother, her eyes crinkled as she chit-chatted with the vendors. Inside her basket were two fishes, five apples, and a few pinches of herbs that wouldn’t have really satisfied any of you.

In this side of the town, your village received the poorer suffrage of lack of food. Nevertheless, your mother’s smile and glee upon having her basket half-full reminded you that there would be better times. Not wanting to lose her again, you clutched your arm around her bicep, panting for air while she gazed back up at you worriedly.

“Child,” she cooed, cupping your face. “What ever is the matter? What could’ve had you gasping for air this way? Is there something you are running away from?”

“Mother, you are the one I am running after,” you informed her with a laugh, and your mother gasped in surprise.

“My, I am so sorry! I completely forgot that you were still new here! Oh, and your boots—”

“It is fine, mother,” you reassured, your hands coming up besides her cheek this time around to stop her from fretting over your shoes. It was beyond worn out, tattered and mouth almost opening. They had promised to get you a new one for your birthday, but a single pair cost more than a week’s worth of food that you didn’t have the heart to let them do that.

Both your parents were disheartened; they wanted to give you the best, of course, but it didn’t matter to you. 

You understood the notion of wanting to look your absolute best in hopes of catching the eye of a future lover, but the idea didn’t sit entirely well with you if they had to base their attraction on mere physical appearance. Besides, it was called soulmate, was it not? There had to be a connection – a pull, of sorts – between two souls, and not from the perspective of the naked eye.

If you really were to meet your soulmate, they would see right through your skin and deeper than the depth into of your bones, their eyes looking directly onto where everything mattered most – the heart, the soul, the core. 

Your mother’s gaze softened at the sight of you, tucking a stray hair behind your ear as she cooed at how beautiful you were. 

Endlessly, she reminded you that you were the most precious blessing of her life in par with your father, and when your mother doted on you like that, how could you not flush with appreciation, eyes bashful and chest swelling with love?

You were a firm believer people were their most beautiful when they radiated kindness and are capable of unconditional love. After all, what could be more beautiful than a compassionate soul? Undoubtedly, you wanted to love someone like that, a person capable of kindness and strength even in the darkest situations; one who could see beyond the weary boots and dirt-stained old clothing you wore.

It seemed that someone had the same idea in mind for you felt a burning sensation at your face. Eyes flitting over your mother’s head, your breath hitched when you were met with soft, blue eyes that put your village’s stormy sky a shame.

Midnight blue swirling with warmth like hot milk on a rainy day, the feeling of having your lover’s arms wrapped around you and their gentle breaths whispering against your ear – that’s what you felt like when you saw him for the first time.

He stood outside his father’s shop frozen, eyes wide and locked with yours, the amount of scrapped metal suddenly weighing a ton despite his growing muscles.

Unsure of what to do but appreciative of the wondered boy, you shyly ducked your head down, peering up at him under your lashes with the smallest of smiles visible on your face. You raised your hand to wave at him when your mother tugged you away, chattering about getting you a cheesecake despite not having much to afford it, only because she felt something good would happen today.

And your mother was right – she rarely wasn’t, in the first place.

Nearly stumbling over your steps, you turned back to the young man, no longer hesitating before you beamed at him, fingers flickering into a small, delicate wave perfected by young women your age. 

His reaction was immediate – a mad blush to his cheeks, and his body growing rigid at being caught staring at you. 

You didn’t mind though. If anything, you felt giddy, and there was an unmistakeable bounce in your steps all the way back home.

BLUSH [002.]

His name was Fushiguro Megumi. He was the son of your village’s infamous blacksmith, who everyone dubbed as ‘Scarface Toji.’

All kinds of rumours about his father spread around the village, ranging from how he used to be a bloody merchant who worked for the King and lived a life without regards for others. As long as he was given enough coins, Scarface Toji would do anything.

Your parents had pinched your waist the moment you mentioned it to them. Your father shook his head disapprovingly over a cup of fresh milk, reminding you again and again that you shouldn’t believe rumors. Apparently, Scarface Toji was just a widowed man left with a baby son before he could even say goodbye to his wife, and he migrated from another town to here in order to start all over again in hopes of giving a better life for his son than the one he previously lived.

It was hard to believe it at first. Toji was a huge man who always carried multiple weapons, but after learning that he just made them and never wielded them, you eventually believed that the man was harmless. 

Your respect for him only increased when his son came mere days later, his hands trembling in his chest as he requested to have a presence with you, flowers clutched in his chest.

You were at your room that one dewy morning, fluffing and fixing your bed when your mother squealed from the doorway, followed by your father’s light hearted voice telling her to calm down. Not moments later, your mother had clipped ribbons in your hair and flattened down your housedress, the grin on her face unexplainable and slightly terrifying.

The burning question at the back of your head was soon answered when you were met by the same young man you’d smiled at the other day. Fushiguro Megumi, he introduced, and until now, you could still remember the way your heart skipped a beat as he said, May I court you?

Only that time around, your father answered for you.

You were actually flummoxed he didn’t take out his hunting gun – like how he always did when other males requested a presence with you – and patted Megumi’s shoulder instead, asking to accompany him at the back to go chop some wood.

It was unspoken tradition that suitors had to impress the lady’s father first. You were more surprised when Megumi happily agreed, rolling his shoulders back to prepare for the task.

The smile he sent your way was boyish, shy even, but determination and anticipation shone through them, somehow leaving you wanting more than before. You and your mother, too curious as ever, wouldn’t stop giggling as you watched both men chop wood in the back, talking about the most mundane things ever like how Megumi’s father was faring, or how his studies was doing.

Megumi felt at ease enough with your father, the sleeves of his shirt pushed all the way to his elbows while he raised the axe. He was effortless in splitting the wood in two, not a break of sweat evident on his translucent skin.

“My, he’s a strong one!” your mother praised, her body practically thrown all over your body as she watched Megumi do more work while your father chatted his ear off. “Handsome too!”

“Mother!” you scolded, though the embarrassed giggles let her know you weren’t really complaining. She was right, Megumi was strong and definitely handsome; with a chiselled jaw, a pointed nose, striking eyes and arm littered with veins and cuts that he got from early ages of hard work.

Once your mother noticed that they were finishing up, she hastily yanked you back into the kitchen. She fretted more than you did about teaching you how to make the perfect meal; that the best way to reward them for their hard work was through a nice, warm meal.

You were too shy to ever vocalize that you wanted to impress Megumi with your cooking skills. Thankfully, your mother pried no further when you quietly asked her to leave the meal to yourself, already preparing out the ingredients while she picked the best flowers from the front yard to decorate the table with.

When Megumi arrived, his eyes roamed around the humble walls of your home almost as if looking for something.

You stood there at the corner, teeth sunken into your lip while your toes curled inside your slippers. Soon, his gaze landed on yours, his lips breaking out into one of the sweetest smiles – one that was far sweeter than the nectar you sipped from the flowers in your youth.

There was no proper explanation to why you stepped forward, a dip in your brow as you wiped at the beads of sweat that had now accumulated beneath his eyes.

His hair stood up in spikes pointed in different directions. You chuckled when it wouldn’t tame down at each stroke of your finger, and Megumi mimicked the melodious sound pouring from your lips. Too lost in the sensation of having his soft strands running through your hands, you forgot that Megumi was technically still a stranger, and you froze when his touch wrapped around your wrist.

You looked up at him then, an apology right there at the tip of your tongue for invading his privacy when he murmured, “Hi. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

If the sound of his laughter was harmonious before, then his voice could only be compared to honeydew and pastel splatters of the skies clashing in the horizon. Warm, gentle, soothing – you were right, he felt like the embrace of a kind soul in a stormy, cold day.

So you melted, unable to fight back your smile as you leaned closer into his touch.

“Hi.”

BLUSH [003.] 

It was one of those rare days that the sun shone down brightly onto your village. The sun had stopped hiding behind the clouds, extending its fingertips down to graze at the greenery of your home, the light filtered through the thick branches of trees that you were currently hiding at.

You had to muffle your giggle with the back of your hand, eyes darting around to inspect if Megumi was anywhere close to you.

Half a year had passed ever since he courted you, winning not only your heart, but the approval and warm welcome of your parents into your home at the same time. It made sense that he had easily placated himself beside you at all times that Megumi eventually earned a seat at your dining table. Not only was he the loving, gentle soul you had always yearned for, but Megumi understood you in more ways than one.

In fact, it almost felt like you had lived your life with a missing piece of yourself.

Now that you had found him, the both of you showed no signs of wanting to pull away. Shy hand holding had transitioned into sneaky kisses, strong arms pulling you into a corner to kiss you goodbye before he retreated back home, your mind hotwiring as you reminisced his lips over your cheeks over and over again. Funnily enough, it became harder to sleep.

Why would you want to sleep and dream when every waking moment was magical enough?

Just as you tip-toed behind another tree to hide from your lover who hadn’t stopped attacking you with tickles, you stepped on a dry leaf, the crunching sound resonating onto the wide forest.

“Blast,” you muttered to yourself, eyes closed as you awaited the impact.

Just as you’d expected, Megumi came running behind you. Graceful in his movements as ever, you both laughed as Megumi flipped you both over before you could fall, your weight falling on top of his while his back hit the flowery fields.

“Found you, lover,” he teased, his hands curious as they ran up and down your sides. “It’s going to take a lot more than that if you want to run away from me, you know. No matter where you are, no matter how long it takes, I’ll do what it takes to find you and have you in my arms all over again.”

“Silly,” you teased as you leaned close to him, rubbing your noses together that pulled out a boyish laughter from him. “I would never run nor hide from you, my love. Where you are is where I wish to be?”

“Is that so?”

“No doubt it.”

“Then,” he interlaced his fingers with yours, gaze solemn as the sun shifted. The looming trees overhead provided you both privacy and shelter, nothing but small streaks of light caressing both your skins as Megumi’s lips padded over your knuckles, thumbs grazing at your wrists. Nothing could prepare you for what was to come next. You couldn’t tell what would happen, but he’d grown serious, voice low as he announced, “Marry me. I’ll take care and love you for the rest of my life. What else do we have to wait for?”

Your heart drummed in your chest loudly that you could no longer hear his next words.

Whether he said something or not, none of it mattered. For spending those six months with him already felt like a lifetime and you were greedy – you wanted to be with him more, to hold him tighter, and kiss him a little longer. He was right – there was no need to wait.

And you certainly didn’t wait as you yanked him by the collar, your lips meeting in a heated kiss. You could feel each other smile as your arms wrapped around his neck. 

The kiss told him everything you couldn’t put into words. A hundred yes, a thousand I want to be with you for the rest of my life, and a million I love you’s. Megumi released all the love and passion he held for you when he pushed his lips against yours just as intensely, his scent blanketing over you like a veil of comfort.

There was no need to wait.

You and Megumi ran hand-in-hand all the way back to your home, the joyous laughter of the memories of youth and innocent summer romance the only music that era would ever know. Slamming the door open, both chests heaving with air and pinkies looped together, your smile fell off your face when an unfamiliar gentleman faced your way at the sudden intrusion.

He was tall, taller than Megumi and a lot broader. His long, dark hair was pulled back in a slick knot, ears pierced with black earrings that added to the darkness of his aura. His smile was nothing but eerie as his unwelcomed gaze travelled all the way down your form before his eyes darkened to the hand yours was connected with. 

Sat behind him were your parents; even with their heads turned away from you, the grim looks painting their faces was evident.

“Mother? Father?” you stepped closer to Megumi, not missing the way the gentleman’s frown deepened. “May I ask what is the meaning of this? Had I heard we’d be having a visitor, I’d have stayed to welcome him,” turning to the gentleman, your back arched into a deep bow. “Forgive me, Sir, I was direly uninformed of your presence. I do not mean any rudeness. Please forgive me.”

“She is perfect, just as I’ve heard.”

Before any of you could react, the man had stood up. If he was tall before, his stance was terrifyingly imposing now as he looked down at both of you and Megumi. Your lover stiffened beside you before his arms encircled your waist, pressing you flush against him while your palms flattened on his chest.

His accelerated heartbeat matched yours, lips turning dry at the situation.

The man scoffed for a moment upon seeing your comfort for your lover, then he smirked, head lolled to the side as he announced the words that would soon end the ruin of your life.

“Ah, yes, young love. What a magical thing to experience,” In the blink of an eye, he pushed Megumi to the side, your body crashing into this man’s broad chest while he possessively placed a palm over your head. You couldn’t move, eyes wide and mouth dry as your mother began to cry, while your father simply kept his gaze to his feet. Megumi mirrored your stance, hands clenched into fists though he too, made no move. 

There was no telling what would happen next. 

“But that is all in the past now. Fortunately for you, my dear, you’ve wonderfully fulfilled your duty as a child to be your parents’ future. Now come with me, you’ve got some dolling up to do.”

BLUSH [004.] 

They lied to you.

When your parents told you that poverty didn’t mean anything and a family was still a family no matter what happened, they didn’t mean it. It was all a lie.

Memories of being dragged outside your house and thrown into a carriage fancier and more expensive than anything your parents could ever afford even after a lifetime’s work remained burned in your head like a searing memory. You couldn’t remember how your parents reacted at your disposal; you couldn’t even look at them, the betrayal sitting hard and square right at your face.

But he remained at the back of your mind.

You had only been so young then, hopelessly in love, and you still are, you very much are. You closed your eyes as you fought back the tears that threatened to spill when you replayed the image of Megumi running after the carriage while you cried out for him, begging for him to save you. Your new husband had only snickered to himself then, well-aware your lover could never catch up.

Soon, Megumi grew tired, the dark patches of mud so familiar to you from your village transforming into wide greenery that led to bridges crossed to another town that would eventually lead you into the castle.

Suguro Geto, a man twice your age, barely had to lift a finger when he decided to buy you as his wife. 

He was a higher ranking official under the King’s command himself. Wealth, power, luxury – he had them all, and he could and did provide everything you needed with just a simple request. 

You supposed you should feel thankful. Days of sleeping with an empty stomach and a parched throat was nothing but a distant memory now, your skin soothed with only the finest silk and people bowing the moment you walked through the door. Gone was the poor girl from the countryside who wrestled with pigs once in her life when you’d accidentally dropped a slice of bread in the pig pen – only a refined, intelligent, and extremely obedient wife of Sir Geto was in place.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to be.

Geto, despite his tyrannical personality and no hesitance when it came to abusing what he was capable of, was extremely disinterested in you. It was no secret – to both you and the servants – that he brought women around all the time. Even after years of marriage, not once had he laid a finger on you, opting to buy a bigger bed instead to keep the space between you both.

You were perfect for him; you were everything he wanted.

A woman who did everything he asked, a lady who smiled and chatted exuberantly when needed, both beauty, brain, and elegance combined into one, but most of all, you did not want him. And that was why Suguru treasured you above all, for you were the one who prevented him from being tied down to even worse women who were obsessive with him. In payment to your silence and submission, he provided you with all the comfort and luxury you could ever ask for. 

Though you never did ask for anything.

Your only wish was to return home – but you dared not utter these desires for you knew it was as far away as a distant galaxy. Nothing but emptiness and dread accompanied you with each passing day, the image of Megumi soon faltering into your memories.

You’d lost count of the times you cried yourself to sleep while Geto laid beside you, his palms pressed into his ears while your sobs coated his velvet walls until the sun rose. If it were not for the cream spread all over your skin, people could easily see that you were a restless, broken wife instead of a happy one like you pretended to be; that your soul withered with each second.

There was no more hope, no light, no love present in the large, empty hallways of your manor. 

Suguru was out for the night, probably lurking underground casinos fucking whoever whore was desperate enough to warm his cock for the night. Your servants had long retired to their quarters, and with nothing much else left to do, you left your room, the nightgown barely wrapped around your shoulders as you padded to the garden barefoot.

The grass was a lot softer here in his manor than it ever was back at home. Home – wherever that was. You couldn’t find your way back to it.

Everything here seemed tens of thousand times better than anything, and yet it felt so empty. Hollow. Dark. Meaningless. Even as you perched yourself upon the swing, feet kicking into the ground until you soared high enough that the moonlight caressed your skin, you found no beauty in everything.

Everything you once treasured faded into the night.

A rustling sound made you plant your heels flat on the ground, eyes narrowed at the source of the sound. The bushes behind you stilled, and you sat up from your seat, hands coming up to tug your gown back to your body as if it would protect you. “Who’s there?” you demanded, “You are not allowed to trespass the Geto Manor or else—”

Your words were swallowed right back when the figure appeared from behind the bushes. Even after years, you would still be able to recognize that face anywhere. The untamed hair, the flat lips, those eyes that had always reminded you of the skies you’ve grown tired staring at – your feet moved faster before your mind could comprehend it.

Megumi barely staggered as he caught you in his arms, your cries muffled by the collar of his shirt. Your heart tore into pieces and healed right back when Megumi buried his face into the crook of your neck, muttering I’m sorry over your skin over and over again.

“I’m sorry,” Megumi’s voice cracked, “I’m so sorry it took me so long to get here. I am sorry I couldn’t run after you. I am sorry I didn’t—”

You silenced him with a kiss, your hands trembling as you cupped his cheeks. Too long, it had been too long, and your hands were everywhere. On his hair, at the nape of his neck, grabbing at his shirt to pull him closer – you ravaged him with your lips and hands that a string of saliva threaded between your mouths when you gasped for air, only to kiss him harder the second time around.

Megumi’s hand came up to clutch at your bottoms, his body now firmer and bigger than the last time you remembered. He smelled like home, felt like heaven, tasted like bliss and the saltiness of your tears mixed in with his delectable self.

“I love you,” you declared, the sobs wracking through your chest before your head fell on his shoulder. Megumi doesn’t stop you when you fisted his shirt, his hands only patting your back as you hiccupped, the tears now drenching his shirt. “I love you, I love you, please, my love, run away with me, let’s live somewhere else, okay?” You cupped his cheeks, your thumbs swiping away at the tears that had also stained his pretty face.

Megumi nodded, not wasting another second when the both of you treaded through a very thin line by kissing you all over again, his lips flushed with yours.

There was no need for air. The only thing you needed at this moment was to have him beside you, and just as Megumi pulled away to tell you he’d do anything for you, blood spilled past his lips. You watched as the red liquid splattered from his lips and dripped down your chest, and that’s when you felt the piercing pain through your chest.

Megumi dropped you, your body colliding on the ground with a loud thud. Your chest bled from a shallow cut, though that was the last thing you paid attention to when Geto stood behind your lover, red eyes shining through the brilliant night and long fangs sinking down his chest.

Your screams were muffled with Geto’s palm as he showed up right in front of you in a flash, his cold touch sending shivers down your spine. 

He forced you to watch as your lover fell in front of you, a sword poking through his chest. You struggled against your husband’s hold, but he was far stronger and bigger than you that you fell limp into his chest. Geto barely blinked an eye as your nails sank down to his skin hard enough to draw blood from his pale skin.

“Watch, darling,” he purred into your ear, “You wanted to be with your lover forever, right? Then let me grant you wish – I’ll give you the forever you always wanted.”

“Why are you doing this?!” you bit back through the palm covering your mouth, vision blurred as tears coated your face. “I did everything for you! I did everything you asked me too – you didn’t have to kill him, he was the only one that mattered to me, how dare you?!”

“No reason, darling,” Geto pushed you off his lap before tugging Megumi’s shirt, revealing his lifeless and bloodied face staring right at you. “I was simply…drunk, you could say. I was not pleased to find my wife locking lips with another man.”

“I was never yours,” you spat out, hands dug deep to the earth underneath you.

“No, you’re not. Your heart was always owned by another, was it not?” Geto tipped his head as he watched Megumi’s lifeless form crumble back to life, a guttural groan echoing through his throat. Your eyes widened when his head snapped upwards, striking blood red eyes that resembled Geto’s glowing under the moonlight. You crawled backwards until your back hit the three, unable to recognize the man in front of you. Geto stands to the side, his long and sharp tongue darting out to lick at his lips. “Young ones are always the most dangerous. I cannot wait to see how this one goes.”

“Megumi!”

“Thirsty, are you not?” Geto taunted. At the sound of his voice, Megumi leapt to him with dark claws extended. A scream ripped from your lips, one that was immediately silenced when Geto effortlessly wrapped a hand around Megumi’s neck, choking him until his limbs flailed helpessly in the air.

“Ah, ah, ah, I won’t suggest drinking my blood. You would find it repulsive,” A sickening snap resonated in your ears as Geto broke Megumi’s arm to turn him your way, fangs bared and animalistic growls making your lover seem unrecognizable. You sat there, frozen and panting. Why couldn’t you move? “Your human lover is right there, though. Go on, take a look,” he whispered in the younger man’s ear, his red eyes glinting with amusement. “See her luscious skin? Hear the rapid heartbeat pulsing at the juncture of her neck, begging you to ravish her? That is what you’ve always wanted, right? To claim your woman as yours?”

Megumi’s fierce growl was enough to make you bury yourself harder in the tree trunk, the tears streaming freely down your face before Geto released his hold on him. “If it makes you feel better, I never touched her. She is all yours for the taking. Now, drink.”

At his command, something snapped in Megumi.

All hell broke loose. The last thing you saw was a beam of crimson eyes paired with a red flush to his face maniacal with thirst. His name came out in a broken cry, Megumi’s claws ripping away at your clothes until his fangs sank down into your skin.

Your legs kicked out beneath you as you gasped for air. From behind Megumi, Geto crossed his arms to himself, soon disappearing into the night.

Megumi kept gasping and growling as he drank from you harder. The grip on his hair eventually faltered until your hand fell on the ground, his eager tongue lapping at what else dripped from the holes he’d punctured at your neck. He doesn’t let up once, hands coming up to crush your windpipe until your bones cracked at one clench of his muscles, merely a reminder of what he could now be capable of.

Was this death? you wondered before black completely clouded your vision, you were not ready for it.

ROSE [005.]

Megumi hunched over his seat, his hands making quick work of jotting down tiny details of the modern life in his notebook. It had been two hundred years since he last saw you, and the world had drastically changed ever since.

It wasn’t easy getting over your death – especially not when he snapped back into consciousness, the painful reminder that you had died from his hands haunting him in his sleep.

Not that he ever had much sleep to begin with since he was always tired and restless, his skin hollow and pale, with dark circles finding home under his metallic blue eyes that had lost their previous warmth. After years of trying to learn how to control himself through isolation in the mountains, Megumi eventually wandered back down to the city, surprised that time had flew by so fast and your old village was now unrecognizable.

People wore lavish clothing and had parasols made out of lace, making his throat dry up at the thought that lace back then cost way too much than he could ever afford.

Too much had changed indeed. So much time had passed that Megumi’s previous anger and hatred to himself had now been filled with nothing but a lingering, empty feeling that gnawed at him. No matter how much he tried to blend in with society and keep his true form a secret, nothing ever really took away the fact that he was a monster that could hurt anyone if he even lost the slightest best of control.

He didn’t even know the name of the man – no, the creature – who made him this way.

Megumi sighed as he snapped his notebook shut, conversing freely with this human friend he made. They were ‘of the same age’ as Megumi introduced. Itadori Yuuji wasn’t top of the food chain, per se, which is exactly just what Megumi wanted since the last thing he wanted was unnecessary attention. Right now, he accompanied his friend – the only person he could care about – as he got his suit fitted. Yuuji stared at his reflection endlessly, tapping at his bottoms with a thoughtful hum.

Just then, something familiar wafted into Megumi’s senses. At first, he thought it was the scent of the soap he used, but this was too…different – he was sure he’d caught whiff of it before, but he was beyond a hundred years old that it was impossible to pinpoint what it was.

His eyes fluttered outside the shop as he looked for the source of the smell. It was soft, leaving behind a lingering flutter of his chest, and before Megumi could realize it, he’d already shot up from his seat, captivated by the sound of laughter and giggles across the street. Then, he saw you. You were right there, head thrown back in laughter as you chatted with your friends, lips painted a flushed red that only broadened at something your friend had said.

“Fushiguro – where are you going?”

“My apologies, friend. I’m afraid there is somewhere I have to be,” Quickly, he stashed his notebook inside the front of his coat jacket, pushing past against the crowd and crossing the street. The closer he got, the more he recognized your laughter, your features sharpening into a crystal resemblance of the person he’d lost years ago.

He couldn’t believe it, could barely stop himself when you walked away, his hand naturally falling to grasp at your wrist.  

“Excuse me, Miss. I—” Megumi was stunned when you turned to him, your smile polite and bright as ever, not the least bothered that he pulled you out of nowhere.

“Yes? Is there something I can help you with?”

“I…I just thought I’ve seen you somewhere before. I’m sorry if that came out weird,” not wanting to be rude (your friends were glaring suspiciously at him), Megumi retracted his hands by his sides, gaze planted to his feet as it was considered impolite to hold such eye contact with the opposite sex – especially to a stranger. He could feel himself grow warmer despite his lack of body heat inside his heat, your mere presence prompting his undead hear to beat once more. It made Megumi step backwards, throat falling dry. “Uhm, I suppose I should turn back—”

“Would it be odd if I said I felt the same way?”

His head whipped up to yours so fast that it looked comical, and he was blessed by your amused smile. “What?”

“You feel familiar, and I wish to understand why,” At this point, the sound of his heartbeat that had long been forgotten drummed loudly in his ears, so much so that he could barely hear your words anymore. He had to stare at the way your lips moved, hypnotized at the same time as he tried to fathom what you said. “Would you like to have lunch this Friday? Perhaps we could…familiarize ourselves with one another more.”

It had been a long and painful two hundred years – but you were here – that Megumi would be insane to say no.

ROSE [006.]

Megumi made sure to be silent as he slammed the door shut, not wanting to wake his lovely wife who’d long retired to bed after a long day of work. The eminent darkness in your home told stories of how late it was this time of the night, nothing but silence and the faint cricketing of insects heard in the dead night.

Upon seeing you on the bed, soft breaths spilling from those lips he could never get enough of ravishing, his shirt doing a terrible job at keeping you modest, Megumi’s jaw clenched.

Tugging his tie off and discarding his jacket to the ground, Megumi made quick work of spreading your legs open, his breath caught in his throat because his naught wife decided not to wear anything. His fangs bared on instinct, the tent in his pants growing.

You were always tempting him – and despite being a fearsome creature, Megumi was always weak to resist your teasing.

Glancing at your peaceful face, Megumi bunched your shirt up above your breasts, your nipples hardening at his cold touch. Megumi sighed, not wasting another minute before his tongue dove into your awaiting lips that had already bloomed open, always so ready to welcome your husband’s eager tongue even in your sleep. He groaned at your arousal mixing with the tangy taste of tonight’s dinner.

Soft sighs could be heard above from you when Megumi licked a flat line from your hole all the way up to your clit, his hands kneading at the soft flesh of your thighs before he sucked generously at the pearl hidden by your hood.

You quivered in response as Megumi’s tongue finally entered your drenched core, his tongue teasing and expertly licking at the bumpy ridges of your walls. It gave him great pleasure to see his not-so-innocent wife trembling upon his hold, that even in your sleep, you were so responsive to him. Your reactions stirred him to plunge his tongue deeper into your hole that would normally be so filled to the brim with his cock, not stopping until you fisted at the sheets, cumming on his tongue.

Megumi drank at your juices like it was a thirsty man, making him chuckle a bit because he was always thirsty – both for you and the life that throbbed in your veins.

Kissing the inside of your thighs, your head fell to the side, unaware that the sheets were now stained with your arousal. Megumi hoisted himself up to press a kiss on your lips, his other hand gripping at his hardness before he slid himself in, low groans emitting from his lips when your warmth finally engulfed him.

He was at home.

He had both arms planted beside your head as he kept panting at your ear, his thrusts slow and passionate in order not to rouse you from your sleep. He knows how tired you are and he wanted his pretty wife to get all the rest she needed, but it was getting harder with each passing moment when you clenched around him, pupils blown wide the moment his nails dug into your hips.

“I am sorry to wake you, my wife,” Megumi apologized while littering kisses all over your skin, your moans now uncontrolled and breathy now that you were completely aware to receive the pleasure he was eagerly giving you. “I couldn’t help it – not when you are so heavenly laid out for me like this.”

“Mmh, take me as you wish, my love,” you groaned around him, your arms finding home around his neck as you pulled him closer. One of your legs was placed around his waist, the other knee pinned flat on the ground so Megumi could fuck into you deeper, turning you into nothing but a whining mess. “You know you can always have me whenever and however you want. If it’s you, I would never mind,” Megumi pulled his head away from your neck to gaze into your eyes instead, glowing red orbs meeting yours while his hips snapped harder. You would’ve smiled had it not been for his dark circles turning at least two shades darker, his skin gray and a little flake.

“You are pale. Have you not been feeding properly again?” Megumi intentionally ignored you, and you knew he was trying to distract you by thrusting harder into you, having never liked you to remind him of what he was. It worked for a moment, nails scratching down his back, but you cupped his cheeks you’re your warm palms, holding him tense enough that he was forced to look at you. “Megumi. Megumi, look at me – have you not been drinking well?”

“You know I refuse to.”

“You need it. At this pace you’re going at, you’re going to – ah – you might get sick and weaken, my love.”

Megumi shook his head indignantly, “I would never sink my fangs down a breathing human’s body. I refuse to give in to the demon they have made out of me.”

Your eyes softened at how those blood red eyes faltered, his fears showing through the moment his thrusts grew slower, his touch gentle against your hip. It almost felt like he was making love to you, and you gasped when his cock hit your most sensitive spot, your walls clenching and gripping around him like a vice. “You are no monster,” you told him, “Your heart is warmer and kinder than any other beating hearts I’ve come across with. You are a good person, Megumi, giving into to your hunger does not make you a demon,” when hesitance still crossed his face, you pulled him in to see the sincerity in your gaze, passionate enough to make him stutter his hips inside you. “It would be a lie if you call yourself such an atrocity when you are nothing but tender and loving when it comes to someone as fragile as I am compared to your grace.”

“I do not want to hurt you.”

“You could never, my love,” you assured him, baring your neck to him. Megumi’s eyes zeroed in on the rapid pulse visible at your tender skin, the sight enough to make his cock twitch. “Now, drink.” At your words, Megumi froze. He’d heard that same phrase before – right before he killed you by drinking you dry, and Megumi scrambled away from your hold with fear written all over his face.

Not again, not again, no, he wouldn’t hurt you – Megumi never got the chance to leave when you shushed him with a kiss, ankle buried in his back to keep him inside you. “Please, my love, let me make you feel good. I no longer wish to see you this way. Drink my blood – do it for me.”

That was enough to push him over the edge. Sending one last questioning look your way, to which you responded with a nod, eyes hazy with desire, Megumi punctured your skin. 

You cried out from the pain that added to the pleasure, and with Megumi rutting his hips fast and hard into your abused cunt that was still sensitive from your previous orgasm, your husband brought you over the edge. He came not long afterwards, spilling his seed deep inside you – one you were both not worried about since he could never impregnate you.

Megumi doesn’t stop from lapping at your wound, pulling his cock out before his lips swooped down to your breasts, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

You were both breathing hard, Megumi trying to calm down the tremors of your body from the orgasm while sucking your tits, his hand caressing the other one to not leave it unattended. Hands coming up to card through his fingers, you kissed the shell of his ear, your sweat bodies desperately clinging around one another. “Megumi,” you mumbled sleepily, “Turn me.”

Megumi stilled above you. In a split second, your husband was off you, standing at the edge of the bed with all his muscles rigid and tense, eyes blaringly red as he hissed, “What did you say?”

“Have you not thought about it?” you winced as you sat up, the discomfort apparent upon feeling both your cum drip down your ass to your cheeks. “How you will remain the same after all these years, and I will die and wither like a wilted flower? I do not wish to part from you, Megumi. That was the vow we took in our wedding – that you’d be with me my whole life.”

“Until death do us part,” he reminded you, pointing at the wedding band that adorned both your fingers. “That was the vow.”

“So you won’t turn me?” you scoffed in disbelief.

“No. You only say this because you are blinded with love, but you will soon come to regret it once you become like me. A creature of the night, fearful of the light, taking life from others to preserve yours and unable to provide warmth to my beloved – why would you ever want to be like me?”

“Because it’s the only way I can be with you.”

“Are we not enough the way we are now?” Megumi ran his hands through his hair as he sat back down, his extended claws hastily pointing at the both of you. Even through the dim lights, you could see how his face had darkened. “I am happy, you are happy. We both love each other – what else could you want?”

You gritted your teeth at his words, picking up the pillow beside you before throwing it at him. “Stop being selfish!” you exclaimed, your husband’s eyes flushing a deep shade of rose when he glared at you. “Think about me! A few years from now, my body and face will sag to the point I am unrecognizable. I will no longer be beautiful in your eyes and soon I’ll even lose the strength to cross from our chambers to the washroom. Soon, I’ll be nothing but a drained human because we are weak, and what do you do? You’re just going to watch it all. You will let me get sick and die just because you refuse to live longer with me?” you repeated his words with a scoff, tears stinging your eyes when your voice dropped a tone lower, your arms wrapped around your chest as you rocked side to side. “Do you even love me?”

“Do not dare assume I do not. I waited for you for two hundred years.”

“That is exactly my point, you no longer need to wait for me if you’d just turn me!” you bit back, full on crying at this point with little to no regard that you would wake the whole neighborhood with your discord. “I want to be with you, Megumi, forever. I’ve lost you once and you lost me too, why would you want to put us both through that pain again?”

“Because the pain of losing you will never amount to the misery you would feel once you see that this is not a glorified life,” his gaze softened, his claws retracting until his hands reverted back into its normal ones. From where you sat, you could see your husband falter little by little, his tone turning tender. “I would rather see you die and lose you again than hate yourself because of what I’ve done, even if it was to fulfill your wishes.”

Silence coated the room. Only your heartbeat and his raspy breaths were the only things audible, and when you spoke, the sound of your heart shattering followed. “You would rather see me die? You would rather watch me slip away from your grasp?”

“Yes.”

The fact that he held no hesitance in them just told you everything you needed to know. You turned away from your husband, laughing bitterly. “That makes everything clear then,” you stood up and walked past him, not bothering to cover yourself up as you trudged to the washroom. “I guess I will just continue to please you until my human days are over. Not that it would bother you though, am I correct? You could always satisfy yourself with another body while I slumber for a few more years.”

“You will hate yourself if I turn you.”

“You not need worry about that, husband,” you told him, coming out of the room with a fresh towel and cleaned legs. Megumi still hadn’t moved a muscle from where he stood, his eyes now a longing shade of blue when you burrowed under the covers, back turned away from him. “I already hate you a lot more than I could ever feel for myself.”

ROSE [007.]

Your human body was weak. You get sick and Megumi refuses to heal you, and you died in despair that he didn’t even care about you. A plague had hit your city, and you fell victim to it. After months of being isolated in your quarters until you could no longer taste food or have enough energy to even drink a sip of water, you knew you had to accept your fate.

Megumi stood beside your bed, your hand almost as cold as his when he held it tenderly, regret pooling in his eyes at his refusal to heal you. You were still so young, so fragile – yet he could never bring himself to do it, even if it was your dying wish.

“Will you really not let me live a few more years with you, my love?”

“I am sorry,” he cried out, finally breaking down despite his insistence to stay strong and stoic for the both of you. If you had enough strength, you would’ve cried too; it was the first time you’ve seen Megumi lose himself this way, and he kept sobbing into the crooks of your palm, breaths stuttered and words broken. “I truly am. I cannot do it. Forgive me – forgive me.”

“Don’t cry,” you soothed weakly, thumbs brushing his tears away. “I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to heal, my love. I’m sorry I can’t stay any longer.”

“I’m going to miss you,” he shook his head desperately, lips pressed against the weak heartbeat from your wrists as if that would magically heal you back to life. His words broke you a lot further because you both knew that maybe this is where you would end, and you couldn’t even spend that much time with him. A few months of marriage in comparison to the years he waited for you was simply unfair. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I will miss you too,” you rasped out, “I hope in the next life we meet, I’ll get to stay with you a little longer,” Your breath wracked as your chest tightened, the virus making its way all voer your body and depleting you of everything you once had.

Though young still, your cheeks had hollowed, the light leaving your eyes as your lips flattened into a thin line.

You were inherently frail next to Megumi’s unwavering health and strength, and your smile was weak – forlorn – as you gazed up at him for the last time, trying to print his features deep into your soul.

“It feels like the world is always against us, don’t you think? If so, then maybe you and I are not meant to be as we thought.”

Megumi kept kissing your hands, kissing your tears away until you said your final goodbyes, your hand falling from his onto his lap. You couldn’t stay long enough to hear him pour his love out for you the same way he stood under the pouring rain, watching as the rose placed upon your tomb he likened you with wilt and wither.

Why was it that he could never be good to you?

First, he had caused your death, and now, he couldn’t even give you a proper one. You lived an unfulfilled life. There were still so many things you wanted to do, a multitude of places you wanted to go, and you wanted nothing more than to spend a little longer with him. Even as he walked away from your grave with his dying for what seemed like the hundredth time, Megumi still couldn’t find an answer when he asked himself, should he have fulfilled your wish?

CRIMSON [008.]

Along with arising modern human civilization and technological advancements, war was bound to come. People clashed with one another until humanity was abandoned, moral beliefs thrown to the side in replacement of exerting dominance over one another.

In a way, it soothed Megumi to know maybe he wasn’t the only one who’d completely lost touch to everything he once cared about; a little comforting that people had turned to monsters as well. But this thought vanished into thin air the moment gun powder and explosions covered the once blue sky, smoke choking the fresh air people once breathed and the battlefield painted red.

Megumi watched his comrades die one by one. He’d grown tired of hearing their last wishes and he cursed at his nature, because why couldn’t he just die?

He’d taken a hundred bullets and a thousand more beatings, yet he remained his stance, pushing through the enemy’s front line like a beast. At least here, he could unleash the monster he’d tried so hard to conceal. Even if he wasn’t entirely sure what exactly he was fighting for, Megumi had enough anger to overwhelm the opponent with his presence alone.

Blood splattered to his mouth, fuelling him to keep fighting and running, slashing at everyone’s throats with a flick of his sword, the growl leaving his chest entirely animalistic.

He should’ve focused more on his task instead of being blinded by rage.

Too lost in wanting to avenge his comrades, Megumi’s sharp senses failed to hear the oncoming grenade thrown his way. His eyes widened a fraction before he was thrown away, his ribs breaking and his skin splitting apart from the impact. Megumi choked out blood; he should’ve fed properly before he got drafted in the military, but he refused, denied his needs and drank animal blood to tame himself instead.

His self-righteous need to rebuff his true nature backfired, biting him on the ass this time around. He was half unconscious when he was lifted by the rest of his commanders who’d thrown him in the medical tents before taking off to war once more.

Megumi’s vision blurred. Everyone around him paced back and forth to tend to the other soldiers lucky enough to have been brought here for a second chance at life, their voices muffled and turning into nonsense. Megumi chuckled bitterly, which he shouldn’t have done because it made him cough up a lot more blood, but could he help it? He didn’t want a second chance at life. He had never seen you again, not even a whiff of your scent, and his heart and soul had reached a point beyond decomposition that he wished to have died on the battlefield instead.

His attention was diverted when warm hands that smelled like rubbing alchohol patted his face, a harsh beam of light shone down his eyes. He winced at the light before the object was taken away, worried eyes peering down at him instead.

Megumi’s gasp was frail, too weak to manage a proper greeting because the sounds of gunshots, explosions, and final screams surrounded both of you and it was the worst setting to find you in but he was relieved – beyond relieved to see that you were there, fixing him up and muttering something he couldn’t understand. You were adorned in the healer’s uniform, your touch nothing but gentle despite the sting of ointments on his wound.

He couldn’t believe it.

“Y-you,” he managed through splatters of coughed out blood, “I found you again.”

“Soldier, focus on me! You cannot die us on now, we are relying on you to save the world, do you understand?” you snapped at him, moving back and forth at such speed that put his supernatural abilities to shame. “Do not forget your duty. Think of your family, your friends, everyone you cared about waiting for you back at home while you fight honorably in this war,” you declared, the cold scissors cutting through his uniform somewhat distracting him from the sound of your voice. “You must think of them.”

“I don’t have anyone else,” Slowly, his consciousness slipped away from his fingers no matter how hard he tried, and he sighed when your furrowed brows became a lot blurrier and unfocussed. At least you were here, he reminded himself, a small smile on his face as he did so. “Everyone I’ve ever cared about is in here in this room with me right now.”

“Live, soldier,” you commanded, teeth snapping the thread as you hastily sewed him back up. He didn’t need it, but you didn’t know that, and he actually quite liked you fretting over him like this. “Live for the future, fight to live – live for me.”

Megumi had fallen unconscious, but your words planted itself deep at the back of his head. Your words were enough to revive him back to life hours later, and he scrambled at the edge of his seat, calling for your name and searching for you with frantic eyes. Living for you was something he could fulfill, so where were you?

Before he could glance at you one more time, you had already disappeared, and Megumi was shoved back into the battlefield.

SCARLET [009.]

The forest was dark and eerie as you ran through it, the pads of your feet chafed from tireless running and hands still sore from the burn. Countless women were forcefully ripped away from homes in your village at the assumptions anyone who didn’t dare bow down to the aristocrats were devil worshippers, and you were only lucky enough to get away, though barely.

At the back of your mind, you were still screaming as you fought against the binds while they burned you, the ends of your dress tattered and burnt.

The woman that saved you, you didn’t know your name, much less get the opportunity to thank you before she’d freed you, pushing you in the direction of the mountain you were taught to fear. Although that fear vanished as you kept pushing tree by tree, completely unaware that the higher you trudged onto the fearsome land, the atmosphere grew suffocating and too dark.

It didn’t matter now, this was your only place and chance of escaping.

Too dazed in your need to survive, you failed to notice the strong stench of blood, the rotting flesh and bones scattered everywhere upon the steps that led up the abandoned castle. It had been forever since the war that led to the fall of mankind’s chance of modernization, resulting in the world falling back into the ruins that you all had suffered before.

You were panting for air just as you’d reached a few feet before the eerie, looming gate. You had to clutch on a nearby tree to catch your breath, completely aware that you were insane for going to this place as a last resort for a safe haven even if you knew that people had told countless stories to children that a blood drinking monster resided within; whether it was a story told to prevent children from roaming around at night or it was actually true, you would just have to find out soon.

But you’d grown weak, body battered and bruised, stomach deprived of its nutrients and lips cracked from dehydration.

Your legs gave out before you until your body crashed onto the ground, no longer hearing the slight creaking of the gate.

SCARLET [010.]

There was something…wet and warm grazing over your skin, the sensation tickling enough that it stirred you from your slumber. With a groan, you cracked an eye open, all the muscles in your body  chilled when the man sat before you kept wiping at your wounds tenderly, his cold blue eyes sending shivers down your spine once he’d noticed you’ve woken up.

“You are free to stay here until you heal,” he announced, his voice deep yet gentle – nothing like the stories made him out to be. You opened your mouth to thank him – for the clothes that adorned you, the glass of water beside your bed, and for nursing you despite your apparent confusion – but the legendary vampire King himself had stood up, a bowl of water and a bloody towel clutched in his hand before he retreated to the door. 

Then, he paused at the doorframe, head barely tilted your way as he warned, “Do not leave the grounds unless you wish to die. I cannot guarantee I can save you one more time.”

SCARLET [011.]

Megumi was a mysterious person. He never stayed around much, and the castle was far too big for you to ever run into him. No matter how hard you tried to meet him out of want to thank him for his unnecessary kindness, you couldn’t find him.

He mostly left you to your devices. Every morning, you’d find fresh meat, a glass of water – sometimes warm milk – and a pair of his clothes that you’d have to make do with.

You’ve lost count of time of how long you’d stayed under the castle, still terribly confused as to why he hadn’t killed you yet, much less help you. One thing was for sure, however: the infamous King who painted the skies red for years out of bloodlust was not the monster people made you believe he was. After all, what predator cared for his prey this way?

You were beyond determined to show him your gratitude, not having anyone care for you this much your whole life. Growing up in the slums and taken as a child into pleasure houses, this type of privacy and freedom was more than welcomed – a freedom you wouldn’t have ever had had it not been for him. So you stood at the edge of your window every night, a slight bounce in your steps as you waited for him to show up. You rarely ever saw him, but there was no harm in trying, right?

The clouds shifted away, giving way to the moonlight that illuminated the tall figure speeding through the gates. He’d come from hunting his dinner.

With an excited squeal, you rushed past your room with a small towel, running all the way to the lobby to greet him. Your speed put his to shame when you sprinted his way, your excited form rendering the vampire shock still under the dusty chandeliers for a moment, his muscles tensing harder when you smiled up at him.

Your gaze fell down on the blood stains at the edges of his lips. His eyebrows were pinched together, about to ask what you needed when you stood at the tips of your toes, wiping away the blood with a towel.

As he spoke, his voice was gruff and hoarse, almost as if he hadn’t made a squeak of noise for centuries. “Human,” he began, a slight irritation underlying his words, though he made no move to push you away. “Are you not afraid of me?”

“Why would I be?” you queried with a lilting tone, “You saved me, after all. The vicious monster they painted you out to be is far kinder than anyone has ever treated me.”

His eyes darkened at your implications, preventing you from completely wiping the blood away from his face as he gripped your wrists. His claws were long and dark, undoubtedly able to kill you should he wished, but you didn’t fear him, not when he still held you like you were a fragile being. “So just because a devil saved your life, suddenly they are an angel in your eyes?”

“I do not care what you are,” you told him honestly, staring him straight in his eyes swimming with emotions you couldn’t fathom.  “I care not for what you’ve done or who you are supposed to be. All I know is that you are good to me – and why else should I care about anything else other than the fact I have never felt safer my whole life? Should this comfort be in the hands of a monster, I would not question it. I would only be grateful I met you.”

He didn’t speak for a moment, his grip only tightening a bit before one of his arms wound at the curve of your waist.

There was no telling who leaned in first. You were beyond lost in pleasure when he tugged you into his arms, his lips aggressively kissing yours. You groaned at tasting the animal blood still coated in his lips and tongue, but you didn’t care.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, mattered in this world anymore as you jumped into his frame, his arms strong and effortless as he carried you into his room.

The night faded with you tangled underneath him, your clothes ripped and torn, thrown at the other side of the room while he situated himself between you. His hands were no less than zealous as he cupped and touched every curve and dip of your body, his lips never leaving yours.

You moaned when he cupped your drenched core, legs opening further as his thumb grazed over your clit. Whining at his slow teasing that contrasted with his previous needs, you sat up to kiss him harder, pushing his back with your feet to press him closer to you. Both of you groaned when his cock teased along your wet slit, just enough to give a promise of what was to come, but he held onto your hips, his kisses faltering as he panted. “Human,” he growled, “Human, stop. If we go any further, I cannot guarantee I can control myself.”

“Do I make you lose control, Your Majesty?”

“It’s been a long time,” he pulled away from you, all traces of his darkened lust replaced with nothing but softness in his gaze now. He held you there underneath him, his gaze nothing but appreciative as he drunk in your bare features.

It made your chest swell with pride to see him with fussed up hair and bruised lips like that, knowing that you were the only one who had triggered his undoing. “I am only getting back in touch with the restraint I’ve abandoned centuries ago.”

You kissed him once more, this time a lot more gentle and sensual. “Then we shall stop, Your Majesty,” he fell beside you, pulling you closer until your cheek rested above his cold chest. He had worn you out with just simple touches, and sleepiness washed over you like a blanket, mindlessly murmuring things as you traced patterns on his skin. “I wish you would stop avoiding me from now on,” you mumbled, “Sometimes…sometimes I see you in my dreams, and they feel so real,” he stiffened at your words, knowing full well what they meant. “I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”

Before he could speak, you’d already fallen asleep, leaving him with no other choice but to sigh and pull a blanket over your naked bodies. Pressing a kiss at the crown of your head, he made a silent promise to show you another time.

SCARLET [012.]

You and the King have grown more comfortable after the not-so-subtle declaration of each of your affections to one another. In your eyes, he was your savior and the man you adored most. In his eyes, you were his precious human, his long-awaited lover, and he’d run to hell and back just to be with you all over again.

But…things were different now.

He found it hard to be explicitly pinning you down his bed to let him ravage you. Memories of your past lives, his mistakes, and all his regrets never left him once in his hellish lifetime. Funny, he found it, that the moment you were gone, the moon refused to show itself, but every time you came after a moment of forever, he feels alive all over again.

“Join me? The water is quite warm tonight.”

He merely raised his brow, arms crossed over his chest as he watched you paddle into the water. There was no proper water supply in his castle, resorting to both of you retreating to the lake deep into the forest every night. This night was no different, but as always, he refused to bathe the same time you did in fear he might not be able to hold himself back. “I have no concept of what is warm and cold, human.”

“Would you like a demonstration then?”

He scoffed, smirking at the way you wiggled your brows. He would say he missed the vulnerable, frail human that always submitted to him, but that would be a lie, since he thoroughly enjoyed how you never shy in expressing your desire for him. “If this is your plan of getting me to touch you,” the King began to discard his clothes, his cock swelling at the way your eyes darkened as he unbuttoned each button of his shirt. “I cannot say I have complaints about it.”

You smiled, triumphant in your goals.

It doesn’t take him long to dive into the water with you, his tongue slipping past your lips while he hoisted your body up, cold hands cupping your ass. Bare like this, your nipples brushed across his chest in a mind-numbing sensation, and he doesn’t stop kissing you until his cock is nestled between your ass cheeks, allowing you to feel that he could be warm in just one place only.

“Mhm – Your Majesty,” you tugged at his hair, neck naturally falling to the side as you let him suck at your skin, his fangs coming out to graze at the sensitive flesh every now and then.

“Megumi,” he squeezed the flesh of your ass, “My name is Megumi. Call me nothing but my name,” you nodded absentmindedly, unable to focus on anything else other than his hands roaming each and every skin of your body despite him having already memorized it after loving for thousands of years. He only stops when you shudder in his arms, pulling away from you with a string of saliva attached to your lips. “You are shivering. And you said the water is warm.”

“You are cold, my love,” the nickname slips effortlessly from your lips that Megumi doesn’t even get the chance to be surprised, “I cannot help it.”

Megumi groaned into your mouth, testing the waters by fingering you under the water for a moment. You clamp around his fingers, begging him to finally touch you, and when you were so good and needy for him like that, how could he resist?

He carried you both and ran back to the castle, wasting no moment as he slipped inside you, both uncaring that his bed had been soaked wet. After living an impossibly life, Megumi learned it the hard way that being immortal didn’t mean he could do whatever he pleased. Time was still precious and gold even after an abundant amount of it, and forgive him for being impatient with the way he snapped his hips to yours for it had been forever.

Watching you fall apart under him, lips parted to let out pretty moans and your cunt still taking him in so well even after so many lifetimes, Megumi only falls for you harder than the last.

He interlaced his hands with yours once he saw you desperately grabbing for something, breasts bouncing at the inhumane speed he started. Megumi’s hips were brutal as it snapped to yours, your hips bruised and blue from his strong grip, fangs bare and eyes a blood red while he fucked deep into your cunt. You gasped as you clutched onto his bicep, toes curled at the sensation he was drowning you with.

“Megumi,” you cried out, eyes shut tight from the overwhelming pleasure. “Please – mark me. I wish to be no one else’s but yours.”

Megumi growled at your words, taking both of your legs and locking them to your side. The sudden stretch exerted on your muscles made you whimper as Megumi sat back on his thighs, watching the way his cock was sucked in by your slippery walls. “I will make you mine. You have always been mine long before you were aware of it,” he stated, forcing louder moans from you when he leaned forwards, bending your legs harder before he bit your shoulder.

Your nails scratched down his back, eyes blown wide open when you saw it, saw him. Megumi kept fucking until you were crying, face flushed and damp with tears.

The ceiling of his castle disappeared as the marking he gave you brought you back to a thousand years ago, playing in your head from your first kiss, to how he had drank you dry, all the way until your marriage and from accidentally leaving him during the war.

You were crying – both from the pleasure and pain that beat down on your heart – and Megumi lapped at the blood flowing from the wound, his tongue searing against the open flesh.

“Do you remember me now?”

“Megumi. Megumi, I’m sorry. You’d been alone all this time and I was not there with you. I am so sorry.”

“You are here with me now. It is fine, my love.”

This timed, you pulled him close enough that space and distance became nothing but a myth, lips desperately moving against one another. Megumi groaned into your mouth when you clamped down on him, prompting him to fuck you harder to reach both your highs. His thrusts soon grew sloppy and your cunt was past spent by the time he came inside, painting your walls white with thick ropes of cum.

Megumi remained inside you even as his cock softened, too comfortable inside your heat to want to be anywhere else. You sighed and kissed his cheeks, his eyes, his nose, then his lips, almost worshipping his beauty and soul you’d fallen in love with over and over again.

“How long has it been? Five hundred years – a thousand?”

“Forever. It’s been forever.”

“Was it worth it? Was I worth the wait?”

“Of course you are. You always will be.”

You closed your eyes, the tears still salty on your cheeks when he kissed them away. The arms wrapped around him tightened for a moment, heart pounding in your chest as you relived your past life in that moment. “Megumi,” you whispered, “Grant me the wish you could never fulfill for me before. Please, I no longer want to live another lifetime without you.”

This time, Megumi no longer frowned upon your words, kissing you once more before he cradled your neck and jaw, those blue eyes softening like the cloudy skies you both danced under in your first lives.

“Forever, my love,” he promised, “I’ll be with you forever. Whatever it is you want, I would give it all to you.”

SCARLET [013.]

Your head rested on Megumi’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around you protectively. The halls of his castle were dark and the soft music was drowned by the screams of the angry mobs outside, their fists banging and guns blaring to tear the place down.

Time had passed and you came to understand why Megumi never wanted you to be like him. He was right – there was nothing to be glorified in becoming a monster despite the gift of immortality. This much you knew after slaughtering villages with him, feeding on parents and snatching away futures from children all to feed your thirst.

Both of you were painfully aware and burdened by the bane that was your existence, which is why you two kept dancing, not minding the fact that castle was slowly crumbling down.

You had accepted your fate. You had gotten your wish.

Megumi had lived millennia of forever’s with you that you were both satiated, happy, fulfilled. When the song hit a high note that the record broke and the chandelier fell, crashing a few feet away from you with its glass shards cutting both of your skins, you kissed Megumi one last time, his grip on your hips as gentle as ever.

The doors had opened.

Gasoline spilled from every corner of the castle, torches thrown and fire licking up everywhere. Gunshots were fired. Anger was vexed and thrown your way as you clutched onto your lover with salty tears on your cheeks, the roof falling completely open until the sun shone through. Both of you hissed through the kiss when it burned at your skin, hot and scorching enough that you just wanted to die in that moment. And you would, in just a few moments, you knew you would.

Megumi pulled away from you, his smile lopsided and sad as he pressed his forehead into yours, etching your features in his soul once more just in case he’d never see you again. “See you in the next forever, my love?”

“Only if you’ll keep waiting for me,” you grinned, and Megumi reached down to plant one last kiss onto your throne, reminding you that you were his lover, his soul mate, his Queen – his world and his everything else. Of course he’d wait for you. There was no need to ask him this – he would always wait for you.

“Of course I will,” he promised, “I will always wait for you.”

This time, you were wholeheartedly prepared for your death.

[ilalos]

Worth it (Anthony Bridgerton x reader) Part 1/2

Summary: You’re Simon’s cousin and you are ready for your first social season, excited for the courting and dancing. Your plans are shattered when you find yourself in an arranged marriage to none other than Lord Anthony Bridgerton, the one man who avoided love like it was the plague.

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, arranged marriage, tiny bit of angst, Anthony is an idiot, if you think of anything else please let me know.

Word count: 2.5k

It was the second season the duke and duchess had the pleasure of enjoying together in their London home. The duke’s household had been rejoicing in the arrival of baby A for a year now and the family was also preparing themselves for the birth of their second child. One might think that they would rather spend these blissful moments away from the chaos that the social season brought, and one might be right.

Simon and Daphne had opted to miss this social season in view of the fact that Daphne would be heavily pregnant when the summer started and would be at risk of having the baby in London instead of the comfort of her home. They chose instead to visit the Bridgerton home before the season started so Daphne could be with her family for a couple weeks with no added stress.

But their plans changed when Simon’s aunt, seeing that they were going to London, decided to ship you, her daughter, with them so you could be part of the social season and hopefully find yourself a husband. The couple had agreed to take you to London and also to chaperone you throughout the social season.

You were a good, polite, and well-prepared lady; your mother had sent you to the finest finishing school in the country to make sure you were molded into the perfect bride. Despite the extensive preparations your mother had subjugated you to, there was one thing they couldn’t take away from you and that was the desire to marry for love. Everyone told you that what mattered was how well you could marry, that you’d eventually grow to tolerate your husband and that your children would give you more than enough joy; but that just didn’t seem enough for you. It didn’t matter how you felt about a loveless marriage though, your mother had been clear when she told you that you had this one season to find a husband and if you didn’t she’d choose for you whomever she seemed fit.

On the day of your arrival you learned she didn’t intend to give you even one season and, with no previous notice to you or him, you were introduced to Anthony Bridgerton as his bride.

Violet Bridgerton had grown tired of her son’s refusal to marry and after pressing him about the matter he admitted he was looking for a wife this season; she didn’t trust him to choose well and when Daphne wrote to her mother about you, she decided it was the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. And so, with your mother’s blessing, Lord Bridgerton was given your hand in marriage.

“I beg your pardon?” Anthony was shocked, to say the least.

“You heard me, son, this is Lady (y/l/n) and she is to be your bride”

You couldn’t think, move or do anything but stand there staring at the man you were supposed to marry. Your mouth opened and closed like a fish and Daphne had to guide you to take a seat because she feared you might faint. Anthony then excused himself and fled to his study with Simon hot on his heels.

“I’m deeply sorry for throwing this at you with no warning, your mother warned that if you were told before you got here you might have refused to come at all” Violet apologized taking a seat in front of you and taking one of your hands between hers.

“Anthony is a wonderful man and I’m certain you will learn to like him, maybe even love him” continued Daphne.

Meanwhile, in Anthony’s office, a similar conversation was being held.

“What excuse do you have now to reject her?” Asked Simon

“I don’t know her, that’s enough to not want this marriage”

“You said you didn’t wish to love the person you had to marry, so I don’t see the big deal in not knowing her” Simon served himself and Anthony a drink as he spoke.

“Even with that being true, I also said she had to be smart and at least interesting to talk to” he took a small sip of his drink “and also that it wouldn’t hurt if she happened to be beautiful”

“And isn’t she?” Simon raised a brow behind his cup before continuing “She is incredibly smart, kind and she also attended the best finishing school available in the London area, which means she is as proper as a lady can be”

“Well yes, but-”

“Your only problem with her is that your mother forced her upon you”

“My only problem is that I saw in her face she had no idea she was betrothed to me, it is not fair for her to be forced to a short and loveless marriage like ours will be” Anthony finished his drink and slammed the cup on his desk, he knew there was no way out of this.

“She, as any lady in the country, knows that her duty is to marry well” Simon placed his cup softly besides Anthony’s “You’re the most desirable bachelor this season, there’s no better man for her if we look at status, money, and age”

Anthony limited himself to roll his eyes and remained silent, he knew Simon was right but it still stung that because of him you were now forced to be married to a man you didn’t love.

“Well, she’ll be a young widow so she’ll eventually have a chance at finding love”

A knock on the door interrupted Simon’s answer and he was thankful because he was quite frankly tired of Anthony’s certainty that he would die young, he understood that Edmund’s death had been hard for him but it was still tiresome to hear him speak like that constantly.

“Yes?” Called Anthony from his desk, prompting Gregory to enter.

“Mother requests both your presences in the dining hall for supper, now”

The rest of the day was uneventful, Anthony refused to speak to you and you were too shocked to utter a single word to anyone. After supper you excused yourself and went to bed early, when you had laid down Daphne entered your room and gave you a letter from your mother before saying good night and wishing you sweet dreams. You sat up and decided to read the letter before bed, maybe it would bring you some comfort.

“My dearest daughter,

If you’ve received this letter it means that you know about your engagement to lord Bridgerton, we couldn’t find a way to tell you because we feared you might refuse to travel to London if you knew. I hope you understand that all I’m trying to do is securing your future, the viscount is a kind man and you’ll be safe with him. I sincerely wish for you to be happy by his side, and maybe even learn to love him.

I know your father is looking down at you proudly and I’m certain he’ll bless your union with happiness, you were his sunshine and he’ll always take care of you no matter where he is, as will I.

Love,

Your mother who loves you”

You couldn’t help but feel angry at your mother for lying to you like that as if you were a child with no control over your own emotions. It would’ve been nice to know about your fate before you got here, it would have saved you from daydreaming about balls and love matches that you now knew were never going to be possible. Still, you were grateful that they had chosen Anthony, they might as well had promised you to an ugly old man. So you fell asleep that night disappointed on the false expectations you were allowed to have, but grateful for having secured the best bachelor in the season without even trying; it might not have been a love match but at least it was a good one.

-this time jump is brought to you by Roma, my golden retriever-

“If we are to be married no matter what, shouldn’t you spare me the pain of courting her?” Anthony was straightening his tie as he spoke to his mother.

“Courting, in this case, isn’t meant to convince her to marry you, it’s so society can see your intentions are respectable” she took over his hands and settled the bow tie once and for all “this ball is the perfect opportunity for everyone to see you both as a couple”

“And you act as if you weren’t already attending for Eloise” Benedict entered the room also dressed for the ball.

“Chaperoning, not dancing” clarified Anthony.

“It’s only one dance, my lord, it will be over before we know it” you had entered the room without anyone noticing and Anthony was a little taken back by your beauty, but recovered quickly enough.

“The dance might be, but the ball will be unending” with that he left the room to go and rush Eloise, they were going to be late.

You frowned a little looking at his retreating form, he hadn’t said anything about the way you looked, not one single compliment for his future wife. Benedict must have noticed your disappointment because he swiftly stepped in to make you feel better.

“You look positively stunning (y/n)” he kissed your hand with a small wink “My brother sure is a lucky man”

“That he is” called Daphne from the door “Here you go darling” he placed a tiara on your head, “I told you it would look wonderful with your dress, now let’s go” she patted your back softly “Simon’s waiting for us in the carriage”

“We’ll see you at the ball, my dear” called Violet seeing her daughter to the door.

The ball was beautiful and you felt overwhelmed by the number of people in the room. Simon and Daphne guided you through the room and you felt everyone’s stares on you, you hadn’t presented before the queen because you were already in courtship with Lord Bridgerton so everyone was seeing you for the very first time.

Daphne had begun to feel tired and Simon had left to fetch her some lemonade while she found somewhere to sit down for a while, leaving you unchaperoned and praying no one would approach you while they were gone.

“Excuse me, miss?” So much for prayers.

“Yes?” Yo faked a smile as best as you could looking at the old man in front of you.

“I see you have so much space in your dancing card, perhaps I could book myself the next dance?” Your card was in fact empty because your darling fiancé had yet to appear.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible Mr. Wyatt, since she’s dancing with me,” said Anthony who had gotten to you just in time.

“Perhaps the next one, then?” Persisted Mr. Wyatt.

“That would be my dance” this time it was Benedict who saved you “Would you look at that? Her card is full, maybe you could try on the next ball” You hadn’t even noticed them scribbling all the Bridgerton’s names on your dancing card until it was full, but it now was and you were thankful for it.

“Thank you so much, I don’t know what I would’ve done if I had had to dance with that man” you thanked Benedict.

“What are brothers for if not to protect future sisters-in-law from dancing with horrid men?” He joked back, making you giggle.

“Well then, let’s have our dance and get this over with” Anthony broke you from your fit of giggles.

“Remember you two, you have to look madly in love” at his brother's comment Anthony only managed to huff some curse words under his breath, dragging you to the dance floor by the wrist.

Once on the dance floor, you both got in position, and when the waltz started you began gliding through the dance floor gracefully.

“For someone who says he doesn’t like balls, you are an exceptional dancer,” you said in a playful tone.

“Mother made us take classes when we were little, any respectable man should be a decent dancer”

“They paid off, it’s a pleasure dancing with you” he didn’t respond to anything so you continued “Are there other talents you are hiding from me, Lord Bridgerton?”

“Not that I’m aware off, miss (y/l/n)” his answer was short and it was clear he didn’t care for conversation.

It had been like this since the two of you had been introduced, any attempt you made to get to know him better was quickly shut down by him. It was as if he wanted to remain a stranger to you, but you were to be married and you at least wanted to know a little about him besides his name and his clear lack of humor.

When the dance ended you left the dance floor and met with Colin by the beverages table.

“Why so sad, love?” The pet name caught you off guard but you assumed it had something to do with the alcohol you could smell on his breath.

“It’s nothing, Colin” you attempted to smile as you served yourself a small glass of lemonade “Have you seen my cousin?” You asked before he continued asking questions.

“He is by those tables with Daphne, a ball is no place for a pregnant lady” Colin pointed to the other corner of the room.

You thanked him and walked to where he had pointed, you were ready to leave, and also what Colin said was true, being in this ball was very stressful for Daphne so the earlier you left the better. Soon you spotted your cousin, his wife, and, to your horror, Anthony.

“Cousin! What are you doing here? I thought you’d be dancing with Benedict” said Simon.

“I was thirsty so I went to get some lemonade, here” you handed a glass to Daphne “I brought you some”

“How nice of you, thank you” she took a small sip “shouldn’t you be having fun? It’s your first ball dear”

“I think I’m quite tired already” you turned to look at Simon “Perhaps we could leave, cousin?”

“If you wish” he looked you up and down, making sure you were alright “Why don’t you and Anthony promenade around the room while I send for the carriage? Just to end the night right, at least in the eyes of the people”

You simply nodded and watched the way Anthony rolled his eyes as he offered you his arm. His plain rejection of you always hurt you, you knew he didn’t love you but never did you expect him to despise you. You walked by his side with a soft smile planted on your face but on the inside, you were hurting because with each day you saw your future clearer, and what the future held for you was being married to a man who could not stand you and would never love you. But then he lead you to your carriage and kissed your cheek when you were out of everyone's view, maybe he didn't find you so bad after all.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hi! I hope you enjoyed reading this, if you like it let me know i love the feedback. I’m kind of in love with Anthony atm so that’s why this is the second story I’ve written of him. Thanks for reading! :)

[mercurygray]

To Call Her Name

I'm really enjoying Jessica Raine's Catherine Parr on Becoming Elizabeth, so I started writing this. It's a bit negated by the events of 1.3, but I still like the feeling of it.

Who is she, now that he is dead?

In her short years she's had too many names - Lady Burgh, and Lady Latimer, and finally Queen of England, the last a title that meant nothing, carried no weight. He’d had six - what was the last of them? What use was a queen but for bearing children, they would say. He went to his grave with three, and none of them were out of her. Who would she be, now that the King was dead? A queen dowager? A lady? Could she be only Katherine?

{read more on AO3 or below the cut!}

But even that name, sometimes, did not belong to her - he married three Katherines and she was but the third. Some days, when he was near the end, and his sight was failing a little, and his memory even more, some gentleman of his chamber would announce her and he would nearly fly into a rage, thrashing in the bed he could scarcely move from for his gout. "Katherine? Katherine? I have been rid of her these thirty years! Why comes she now? To haunt me?"

And she would have to come to his bedside, where the light was better, and stroke his sleeve until he could see her a little. "Peace, my darling, peace. It is Kitty. It is Kate." 

Sometimes hearing her voice was enough, sometimes the name. But usually he remembered. "Kate? Kate!" 

She hated when he called her Kate. Kate was a maid of five and twenty, flirting in an orchard. Kate had sunshine on her skin and flowers in her hair. Kate belonged to Tom.

And Henry was not Tom.

She'd heard the stories, of what the king had once been like - when he'd married his first Katherine and courted his first Anne. A giant among men, strong and beautiful to behold, hair like gold and and legs like a Greek statue, a treasure for a royal treasury. And where was that treasure now? Confined to his bed, plagued with gout, and rotting from the inside out. Perhaps she might have loved him when he was young and pretty - but it was hard to love an old and impotent thief.

King or not, that's all he was to her. He'd stolen her - every last bit of her. Stolen her name, her youth, her match with Tom. She'd arranged it, once John had died - a woman twice widowed and an heiress ought to be allowed her own mind. But Henry was the King, and kings got what kings wanted, and Henry wanted her, to be a cool and pleasant balm after his latest Katherine had burned him quite. Rings for her fingers, and women for her household, chests and plate and plasterwork badges to say what she now owned, and a new motto, too - To be useful in all I do. Useful - a nursemaid, a cupbearer, a pleasant face with which to pass the time. A thing to be stolen, not a prize to be won.

Tom thought she was a prize - Tom fought for her. Not well enough, before he went to Antwerp, but still, he fought.

She loved him, in those days -  the feel of him, the smell of him, the weight of him. All of her husbands were old men in their winters and Tom - Tom was summer. His curls, his height, his smile, his cock - the Green Man embodied, one of those ancient things that made things green and growing. And he will make her grow, too, the way Henry could not - she could feel it.  It was Tom who brought the news from Whitehall, that the King was dead, and she barred her door and let him ravish her for celebration, her legs trembling as he kissed her from throat to quim and with every thrust cried out Kate, Kate, Kate.  

For four blessed hours she was happy, before her sun started to fall on other flowers.

She loved her husband’s children - she wanted that made plain. What else was there to do, when she had none of her own? Mary was near enough her own age, and Edward a scrap of six, but Elizabeth was still a girl of fifteen, and what kind of mother could the German have been, when she was hardly at court, or the latest Katherine when she was a child herself?  Let the Princess come to Chelsea, she’d said. She is young, and in need of minding still. She is her father’s daughter, and her mind needs recreation. Her mother’s, too, and that needs temperance. 

 If he’d give me a child, she’d thought to herself, on one of those cold nights in the King’s chamber, I wish she’d be like Elizabeth. 

But I have none to claim as mine - so I’ll claim her. Make her a woman of which her father might be proud - fine in languages, great in debate, attendant in the true faith, a creature witty, worthy, and wise. Yes, that’s what I’ll do. A Princess for princes to envy and attend, and me her lady mother - a position of respect.

Then the girl came, and she realized she’d made an error. The lady was not so young as she’d remembered - and Tom was still a fool for a fine face. 

Was it only the chase he loved? She could remember running through a garden, sleeves flying and her hair loose, letting him trap her and pretending to be ashamed, begging for mercy when they both knew what she meant to be merciful. Release me, sir, I beg. Is it only this release you want, Kate? Is there to be no release for me?  He’d been chasing her for near four years, and she thought now that he’d be happy, but that seemed not to be, as he smiled over his cups at her ward, and made jokes to make her laugh, chasing again.

When they’d come for the jewels, it wasn’t only that they’d take away her ornament, or cast her aside. The cut ran deeper still. Where are my smiles, Thomas? Wherefore my laughter? Where is my position and my honor and my favor? Why do you only fight with me and not for me now? Where is my sunshine, and my shadow, as you were wont to be of old? 

His eyes left her more and more, and she began to worry - what is a woman when a man ignores her? Who is she, when no one remains to call her name? 

[itsnothesameasitwas]

↳ week #5

make sure to read the tags and warnings before start reading!

♡ it’s just a song on the radio by @afireinsidethoseeyes | GA | 890 | niall x louis

Niall is finally starting to feel okay again after his break up with Louis. Until he hears Louis' song on the radio. Suddenly, he can't get Louis, or the cause of their breakup, out of his head.

♡ electric love by @maggieisalarrie | NR | 1.4k | harry x louis

Sparks and fireworks and butterflies and sunshine don’t have anything on what he feels when they kiss. It’s unlike anything he’s ever felt before. The descriptions he’s heard and read throughout his life don’t do this justice. He’s been kissed before, but it’s never been like this. He understands now why everyone sings and writes and creates constantly to try to capture just a fraction of how this feels. It’s like opening a portal to another dimension, a whole new universe, where he doesn’t understand the language and his current vocabulary isn’t expansive enough to be able to even begin describing what he feels.

OR

Louis doesn’t have TikTok so Harry thinks it’s safe to try the "lightning in a bottle" trend with him to show him how he feels.

♡ wanna be happy by @rosesau | GA | 3.6k | harry x louis

A kiss on the back of Harry’s neck sends a flutter down his spine.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, still disoriented. Louis must have used the spare key he still has. Of course. Harry’s surprised he didn’t do that earlier.

“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Louis says. “I brought dinner.”

or the one where harry's too stubborn for his own good and louis just wants a way inside.

♡ so we make perfect shapes by lookingforparadise | E | 6.3k | harry x louis

So here's the St Valentine's Day headcanon I have promised to those people who likes my "fics". I didn't re-read it so sorry for any mistake.

Oh and there's Niall too because I love Niall, who doesn't love Niall???? I needed him in the fic lol

Hope you like it! xx

♡ bless the day our heartbeats aligned by @guiltypleasureismypleasure | E | 97k | harry x louis

Beside his mother, Louis was still frozen in place. He was vaguely aware that Doris was getting crumbs on his clothing, but he was far too concerned with overthinking. Harry knew now that he was an omega. There was no way he couldn’t know. Would he be disappointed? Would he think less of Louis? What if he didn’t even remember Louis? Louis sucked in a breath when Harry turned towards him, his green eyes locking on the omega and he regarded him carefully. He was used to being constantly under the watchful eye of the court, his every move being critiqued and judged. But the way Harry was examining him had his hair standing on end and his breath caught in his throat. Slowly, Harry bowed before him and looked up at Louis with an unreadable expression in his eyes. He rose to his full height once more and one dimple sunk into his cheek as he quirked his lips into a smirk. “Hello, Cricket.”

~

Or the one where after years of being gone, Knight Harry returns to his best friend only to find out that Louis is betrothed to another.

don’t forget to left kudos and nice messages to the authors! xx

[vanserraseris]

END OF PART I - Literally can’t believe I just sat here and posted that 500 characters at a time lol I hope you’re not too disappointed with this, I’m well aware it’s a bit of a disaster but it’s been real nice sending it to you :))

haha its unreal but i loved it sm!!! thanks for sending <3 btw if you want to send me a summary, i can add it into the masterlist!

here’s part 1 in full!

Prince of Ashes. Part I.

masterlist.

Eris could feel his heart beating as he ran through the halls of The Forest House. His breaths were unsteady and panicked, but he tried to school his features into a mask of calm in case he ran into his father. He adjusted the sword at his side, had grabbed the weapon and shoved it messily in his belt as he’d rushed out of his room. The torches he passed along the walls flared brightly, as if in warning. Eris hoped his father hadn’t done anything foolish.

The rumble of magic that had passed through the estate could only mean something horrible had happened. Eris didn’t slow down as he practically slammed through the doors of his mother’s chambers, not caring that he hadn’t bothered to put a tunic over his thin undershirt and knowing he looked ridiculous in an old pair of brown leather boots.

Eris paused at what he saw once he spotted the woman who’d raised him. He was not expecting his mother to be weeping at the healthy babe in her arms, her shoulders hunched as her breath hitched every so often.

Eris had perfected his carefully crafted image. He was the Tamer of Flames, the Heir of Autumn, the Prince of Ashes. He was calculated and hateful on his good days, cruel and horrible on his bad days. He wanted to be a son his father could be proud of, and he wanted to be a son his mother could look in the eye. As he stood in the doorway of his mother’s room, he bounced on the balls of his feet, feeling very much like a nervous child instead.

“Mother,” Eris breathed, not knowing if he should approach. Eris had been in the middle of reading through some reports when he’d felt the magic, he must have looked a mess after having run through the halls of The Forest House like some youngling.

“Eris?” His mother asked through her tears, more emotion than Eris had seen from her in centuries. “What’s happened?” Eris said as he walked towards them, his tone uncharacteristically soft. The pulse of angry magic that Eris had felt minutes before had worried him, but looking at both his mother and the seemingly healthy child had Eris very confused.

His mother merely shook her head and carefully placed the little bundle in Eris’ arms. Eris had only ever held one of his brothers when they’d been this small and fragile. It must be a girl, Eris thought, why else would his father be so angry, why else would his mother weep. He felt an odd sadness, pitying any female born into this court. “I want to name him Lucien,” his mother whispered, as if it were a secret.

Eris was only more confused, “Cauldon bless him,” he muttered, moving the blankets so that he could peer at the face of his brother. The baby’s eyes were closed, his mouth slightly parted as he huffed tiny breaths in his sleep.

“Eris, I must ask something of you,” his mother tugged on the loose sleeve of his shirt, her other hand wiping the tears from her cheeks. Eris was still looking at the child in his arms, but he nodded for her to go on. His mother never asked anything of him and Eris had never asked anything of his mother. “You must protect him.”

Eris nodded again. He thought he’d done a particularly good job at taking care of Rufus since his mother had been an empty shell when he’d been born. Not that Eris could blame her, he figured spending too much time around Beron was the cause. Eris had kept Rufus as far away from his father as he could, and while Rufus had a reputation for taking nothing seriously, all things considered, he was a good male.

“Give me your vow.” Eris furrowed his auburn brows, glancing to his mother as she gently took the child from his arms and placed him in his cradle. Strange, Eris thought, but would not question it. His mother had said it so firmly that Eris had been reminded of the female he remembered from his childhood. 

“I give you my vow, my solemn oath, to protect this child,” Eris said, unwavering eyes on his mother.

“Beron wants him dead,” she said softly, calmly.

“What?” Eris snapped, probably much harsher than he needed to be. 

“Your father wants to leave the babe to the elements,” she reached for Eris’s hand, but he jerked away from his mother. Fool, Eris thought, he was a fool. Hadn’t his father taught him since he could speak to never give anyone his oath. 

“Why?” Eris growled, and while he might have been frustrated with having agreed to his mother’s wishes, he was horrified at the thought that his father would kill an innocent child.

Even if the High Lord of the Autumn Court did not care much for his sons, he had always valued them as political pawns. Fae children were rare, his father had always known they would grow to be assets. Eris had spent much of his life fearing what his father would do to him and his brothers in anger, but he found a strange comfort in knowing Beron would never kill one of his sons. Eris looked at his mother, mouth dropping open slightly.

Eris took great pride in the fact that his emotions never openly showed on his face, not unless he wanted them to, but he couldn’t help it. Eris was a little horrified, a little concerned. His mother had gone off and had an affair, right under Beron’s nose, the runt in the cradle was his half-brother. Eris needed a strong fucking drink to swallow that realization. No. Beron would never kill one of his sons.

His mother looked at Eris with devastation, she sniffled once, ran a hand through her hair. She looked tired, but Eris couldn’t remember the last time his mother had looked so alive. “Eris, please, he… he is still your brother, please. Your father has doubts, but it is mere speculation.” She lifted her face to look up at her eldest son, “If he is under your protection …” She broke off then, looking at Eris with hopeful russett eyes.

Eris nearly flinched at her words, of course Lucien was still his brother, he thought. And not only that, but he’d vowed to keep the runt safe. Eris didn’t need to be a seer to know this vow would become a problem at some point, but he pushed those negative thoughts from his head. Eris moved to look into the crib, at the small babe inside it, “Are you sure about calling him Lucien?” 

His mother’s shoulders sagged with relief, “What’s the matter with it?”

Eris tilted his head to the side as he continued to stare at his youngest brother. “Mother, his name means sunshine in the Old Tongue, perhaps you should reconsider.” 

His mother flashed him a small smile, momentarily shocking Eris, “It means light.” 

“I hardly think that’s any better,” Eris was debating whether or not to ask who the father was when he heard the loud steps approaching the room, and he turned to face the carved doors of his mother’s chambers with a deep breath.

The doors slammed open with a loud crash, Eris was surprised the babe didn’t wake. “Give me the child,” Beron said with a frighteningly quiet voice. 

“Father,” Eris said, warning in his tone. Eris was many things, but he wasn’t an oath-breaker. 

“Do not involve yourself in matters that do not concern you,” Beron spat, “Give me the child.” 

Eris moved closer to his father, his hand moving towards the sword at his side, “Father.”

The High Lord of Autumn paused, looking at his son carefully. Eris let golden flames flare in his eyes. His father stood straighter, eyes flicking to the hand Eris had placed on the hilt of his weapon. “You would fight me, boy?” His father laughed with no amusement before he flashed a taunting smile in Eris’s direction, “You would fight me?” Eris knew that perhaps he should have reconsidered his approach to the whole situation when he felt the magic in the room swell.

The crackling magic that flowed through Eris’s veins was lethal, but not as strong as his father’s. Eris lifted his chin, “Father, leave the child.” Beron reached for his own weapon, and Eris drew his sword. His father was more experienced, and Eris knew his talents did not lie in combat, but he would fight for this. If he died, though, he worried what Beron would do to Rufus, but he wouldn’t let Beron leave Lucien to the elements. At least not without a fight.

“Eris!” His mother moved to stand between them, but Eris pushed her back with his arm. He would regret sending her crashing against the wardrobe later, but he was much too focused on his father to care too much about that now. Beron lunged at Eris with his sword, and Eris easily deflected the blow that was aimed at his chest. Eris’s amber eyes widened, but he wasn’t entirely sure why it shocked him to know that his father would strike to kill.

Eris had to lead his father away from his mother and the child, so with a small snarl Eris threw himself at his father, his sword arcing in the air. With a powerful blow, Beron stumbled out into the hall. The servants that had dutifully been attending to their business shrieked as their swords slammed together, the sound of metal against metal echoing as the servants ran away from them.

Beron was much stronger than Eris. He had been fighting for much longer, and Eris knew that if he started using his magic against his father, his father would respond with magic much stronger than his. Eris parried his father’s first series of blows, but it was an effort. High Lords were a different breed, and with each clash of their swords, Eris was reminded of that fact. “Ungrateful,” his father spat, cutting Eris on the thigh with a long swipe of his sword.

Eris heard his mother screaming at Beron to stop, and he knew that the cut along his leg was deep, but he managed to whirl out of the way of his father’s blade as it came frighteningly close to his neck. Eris put all his weight in the next swing of his sword, and Beron grinned as their swords met and they faced each other. “Why protect the little runt?” Beron’s grin merely widened, “You wish to have another brother fight you for the throne?”

Eris flashed him a crooked grin in return, ignoring the pain in his leg as he spoke to his father over the cross of their swords. “I am not afraid.” 

“Perhaps you should be.” Eris could not respond fast enough as his father stopped pushing against him, and Eris lost his balance. It was only a moment, but it was enough. Beron’s blade skidded across the edge of Eris’s sword, and Eris knew he had made a terrible mistake. Beron thrust his blade into Eris’ side.

Eris felt blank, he vaguely realized he’d cried out as his father twisted the blade before his own weapon fell from his weak fingers. He didn’t hear the sound of it as it dropped against the floor, the roaring in his ears was much too loud. “Are you happy now, Eris,” Beron said, putting a hand up to his son’s face in a strangely father-like gesture, the other still tightly gripping the sword in Eris’s side. “I have lost a son this night.”

Fingers curling in Eris’s long hair, Beron pulled his eldest son to him and placed a kiss to his temple. In his entire life, Beron had never shown any affection to Eris, and if Eris had been able to think properly, he would have been shocked. Eris groaned as his father yanked the blade back, his shaking hands going to the wound at his side as his legs faltered and he fell to his knees. Ruby red blood glimmered on the silver blade of his father’s sword.

Eris tried to take a deep breath, but found that his lungs wouldn’t let him. Eris coughed, feeling blood drip down his chin. He supposed that he should not have expected to beat his father in a duel. Eris felt like he was drowning. As a youngling he’d tripped on a rope and fallen off a dock in the Spring Court and into a lake, not knowing how to swim and in a panic, Eris had thrashed as water filled his lungs.

Each breath had burned in a way that Eris had never imagined he’d feel as the heir of the Autumn Court. Surely, Eris would have died had his mother not pulled him out of the water, sobbing as she’d told him to hold her hand next time. His mother was sobbing now as she fell to her knees in front of Beron, begging him to stop. Eris slumped forward with a gasp, the burning feeling in his chest becoming nearly unbearable.

He made a strange choked noise as more blood filled his mouth and Eris gritted his teeth as someone dropped down by his side. “You alright, Eris?” Rufus asked, his face close to Eris’s as he put his hands around Eris’s arm, trying to help him up. Eris looked at his younger brother through the curtain of his red hair, “Hello, hey, you alright?” Rufus repeated, russett eyes wide.

“Never better,” Eris rasped as more blood dripped from his mouth onto the marble floors. Eris tried to lift himself up with Rufus’s help. He couldn’t stand, Eris noticed, and put all his weight on his younger brother. Rufus laughed nervously, the sound hollow to Eris’s ears. Holding a hand to the wound on Eris’ side and abandoning his attempt to get Eris up off the floor, Rufus moved the hair from Eris’s face. With the back of his hand, Rufus wiped at the blood along Eris’s chin before he spoke. Eris wasn’t really worried, but he could tell from the tone of Rufus’s voice that he probably should be. 

Cato’s voice rang like a bell in the nearly empty hall, “What the hells happened here?” Calm and steady and definitely not worried. Cato would soon become heir, Eris thought briefly, all his brother had ever wanted and he hadn’t even lifted a finger to get it. 

“Your brother seems to have forgotten his place,” Beron replied with equal calm.

Rufus snarled softly, having been the youngest of six for thirty years, no one paid him any attention, especially not father, and Eris knew Rufus favoured him. Eris would be lying if he told anyone he didn’t favour Rufus as well. Eris could feel his eyelids drooping, but he watched as Maddox ran towards them from the other side of the hall, Priam close behind him. Eris felt heavy, so he leaned into Rufus, pain flaring through his side.

His vision was becoming blurred and he could barely hear his mother begging Beron to spare him and Lucien. The last thing Eris remembered before he lost consciousness was staring at his sword, thinking that the ruby eyes of the lion’s head on the hilt glowed with flames.

[goatpaste]

Why do you draw unicorns with like round horns? (I think they're very cute. Hope I don't sound rude I'm just wondering)

e! its not rude at all

i answered this forever ago but im happy to ‘reawnser it’ with an update to me explaining it with more/better examples

so i have a few diff styles of horns i do typically

but their suppose to be hereditary or whatever 

Unicorns with horns that are more jagged and curl and sometimes have little spikes on their outward side like this?

is called the ‘sun’s curl’ style horn. it is seen typically in Unicorns who ancestry belongs to ‘the house of the sun’ which lemme dip into my headcanon stuff real fast. back in old equestria there used to be a good handful of alicorns and they were treated much more like deities. they had ‘houses’ where families of ponies would pay patreon to live under the protection and guidance of one of the alicorns. ponies who lived under an alicorn house often changed their names to contain, for example in the home of the sun, to have sun in it as a representation of being of the family of Celestia. some ponies would court celestia or her kin which is how the trait passed out over generations. 

the houses are no longer a thing but the ancestry of the houses still is visibly around via genetics. Unicorns will have their curled spikey horns that are rough and warm to the touch. Often having white or darker spots on their coats called ‘sunspots’

and this doesn't just apply to just Unicorns as other races of ponies patreoned the House of the sun.

Earth ponies are adorned with warmer coat colors, the spots and unlike typical earth ponies will have lighter hoof colors opposed to the natural dark colored hooves

applejack and their family are a big branch of earth ponies who patreon the sun. in general a lot of earth ponies and unicorns typically went to Celestia. For earth ponies it was to seek being in good favors with celestia to they may have good sunshine and weather for harvest and Unicorn it was to share and expand their abilities in magic. 

Pegasus were less common but happen, giving pegasus more colorful manes and wings tips, a trait considered attractive in pegasus culture. Their bodies will be typically speckled in colored feathers laced through their pelts. and then the typical white spots, which pegasus carried white underbellies a lot more in old equestria but only became more prominent in pegasus in the house of sun

then theirs ‘Moon’s Curl’ horn

much like celestia, these horns stem from the ponies who payed patreon to Luna in the House of moon.

they have lot horns that curl into a crescent shape, their horns are velvety and soft.

Most of Luna’s house consisted of Unicorns who sought to learn magic from the younger sister who was experienced in transmogrification and dreams and other magics her sister lacked in.

The other majority were ‘pegasus’ who upon pledging themselves to Luna were typically granted to blessing in the form of being changed into that of bat ponies adorn with bat wings like Luna’s own wings and long curved sharp canines.

the wings stuck to just pegasus, but the teeth trait and horn were passed around from the group of bat ponies Luna made.

After Luna’s banishment Bat ponies became untrusted and believed to be under her influence and would attack innocent ponies. none of this was true and only based in fear mongering. However this lead to the endangerment of Bat ponies as a species and what was left of them went into hiding long ago. 

there are a small handful who have returned with Luna’s own return to the castle to once again serve under her but the majority of Bat ponies are still hidden and all Bat ponies are sworn to a secrecy on their location.

the last main horn type.

the ‘Amore’s Dip’

A horn type that wasn’t based from any house but simply of the crystal empire.  Amore was popularly said to be one of the first ponies who have had the trait long ago, this fact isnt true as she was just the first/most popular documented case of it. lots of ponies of the crystal empire (including sombra) had horns that had gradients.

these gradients typical go from the body type color to a more saturated color, the other more common trait is it fading to a lighter color. More uncommon is for the horn to fade into a totally different color.

This trait has spread to more than just the horn on other ponies as the first layer of feathers before the tips will have a gradient, or ponies legs or tails. It was just a trait that commonly appeared on the unicorns horn.

the one special thing branch of Amore’s Dip is ‘Amore’s crest’. this trait is what made Amore so unique and loved for her horn, as despite being only a unicorn she has soft feather tuft at the top of her horn that ponies adored. 

the trait has mostly vanished but Cadance has it and so did her mother, a true marking of her heritage to the Crystal empire.

there are other types of horns in equestria to

some are left over remains of long forgot alicornian houses, some like the crystal empire are was just developed from a large community (such as mistmanes horn as well at sweetie and rarity who i have that share her horn type) these horns are typically more ‘uncommon’ compared to the sun curl, moon curl or Amore dip but enough of them that you will probably meat a unicorn like this once in your life. 

as for twilight

since she is the main character she gets a special horn

her horn looks like your typical unicorn horn, long straight sharp point. what makes her horn special is that there are grooves on it with bright pink color in them. the colors glow when she uses her magic. currently there are no other ponies in equestria known to have had a horn like this, no one in twilights family has horns like this, as her family has typically had the moon’s curl style horn. 

[arosthorn]

‘Fu of the Homeward Road’ [歸途賦] by Xie Lingyuan

[Note: this poem depicts Xie Lingyun’s feelings as he traveled back to his family estate at Shining following his resignation from the Liu Song in the autumn of 423] 

“In days gone by many literary men wrote fu-poems about journeys. Some were glad to seek public office in the capital. Others were fearful because they were going into exile. Some were on their way to court from their states and fiefs. Others were on their way to the wars. 'The affair was occasioned by external causes; the impetus did not come from themselves. Although we may guess that they had high talents, if we look into their hearts [we find] that they were not happy. Now after due consideration I decided to retire and take myself off to my grassy marsh. As I was journeying along the road I wrote this fu-poem to express what I felt: I have received the spiritual blessings of a hundred ages. I have met with the rich favours of a thousand years. It was not that the King's highway was difficult to travel. I could only plead that my steps were apt to stray from the road. I walked through cold and summer heat and submitted to their changes. I looked at the mulberry and catalpa trees in the distance.I took off my official hair-pins and belt when I reached the remote city. I shall put on my clothes of coarse cloth again in the deserted valley. Truly I was going home just at the time I had wished. I shall hold to my former intentions of thinking only of pleasure. Now my boatmen tell me they are ready; the steering oar is held in the water. I watch the crows as we wait for a wind. I look at the sun and scrutinize the heavens. The sea lies behind us as we head up river. We go up on the tide, flanked by mountains.’”

Sadly they [my friends] saw me off on my way back,

Grieving, I told them I was returning home.

The season was the very end of compassionate autumn,

The heavens were high and all Nature falling into decay.

Mounting above the clouds the wild-geese were flying,

Whelmed beneath the frost the plants were dying.

I depart from the antique shores of the shadowy waste,

I leave the fragrant flowers nodding in the sunshine.

In the wind-tossed forest [the leaves] are Auttering down.

The moon-mirroring water is full of brilliant light.

I set out from the winding shores of Ch'ing-t'ien.

And halt at the empty pavilion at Pai-an.

Winding and slow the road, so strange in form,

Mountains flanking it and backing it, in ever-changing shapes.

I halted my boat and tarried there awhile,

Searching for the trace left by the Pink Clouds.

I floated upon clear deeps for hundreds of leagues,

Gazing on lonely rocks a thousand cubits high.

From of old until now they have long endured

Unchanging while [all around] passed through maturity into decay.

Translation by J. D. Frodsham, ‘The Murmuring Stream: The Life and Works of the Chinese Nature Poet Hsieh Ling-yun (385-433), Duke of K’ang-lo’

[thespianbooks]

A Court of Nightmares and Starlight //Chapter 26//

Masterlist

(tags: @thron3ofbooks, @df3ndyr, @courtofjurdan, @art-e-mis, @herondamnn, @the-third-me, @im-still-trying-here, @emikadreams, @paytin77, @mis-lil-red, @sleeping-and-books, @lucieisabooknerd, @amandaraey-sunshine, @easy-p-lemon, @azymondias05, @dagypsygirl, @makeshift-utopia, @fantasyshadowhunters) *bold tags don’t work ;-;

I hope this chapter finds you all well, please enjoy some fluffy Feysand and baby vibes! ❤️

"He's breathtaking," Rhys said quietly from his place beside me.

After the maelstrom of labor had passed, Sebastian entered the world with a resounding wail—the most heartwarming sound I had ever heard in my life. The minutes after passed in a blur; the midwife placing him on my chest as she and Madja worked on cleaning him off with damp washcloths while Rhys and I stared at our newborn babe. We were both too completely and utterly stunned to speak in those first few minutes but sobbed the second he opened his eyes and were met with remarkable violet-blue.

Every part of him was truly incredible; resembling his father in nearly every feature except for the blue in his eyes and the tiny, perfect, shape of his mouth—even better than my own. I touched the soft, dark tendrils of his black hair as I nodded in agreement with Rhys's sentiment.

"He's amazing," I said, my voice still hoarse from my cries of agony.

But, as our gazes lingered on our son, the overwhelming relief I felt outshined my earlier anguish—any I felt before this moment. All the worry that had grown over the last several months, all the pain I had just endured, now vanished the longer I held my son. As I touched his cheek with a tentative finger, my tattoos a stark contrast against his perfectly unblemished skin, I felt a new bond snap into place.

Rhys must've felt it too, because the kiss he pressed to my temple was tender before he whispered to Sebastian, "Cauldron save you, Mother hold you. I, High Lord of the Night Court, vow to shield you with my body, protect you with my sword," I saw his throat bob as he swallowed before carrying on. "And keep you in my heart. My son."

The tears I had been battling to hold back finally fell as he finished those sacred vows, identical to the words we exchanged when he swore me in as his High Lady. My mate pressed another kiss to my brow but didn't pull back as I met his silver-lined eyes.

"Thank you, Feyre darling," he murmured softly, brushing away my tears with his thumb.

I beamed in return, my throat still thick as I touched his face with my free hand and swept away his own tears. "I couldn't have done it without you, Rhysand," I whispered.

Sebastian mewled quietly from his place on my chest, his wailing having ceased shortly after being placed on my skin, my mate and I returned our attention to him; that all-too familiar gentle and soft glimmer pulsing through the bond that now connected the three of us in the flesh.

XXX

"We call it the Dawn of the North." Rhys began, both of us settled in bed, Sebastian covered in a light blanket and still curled up on my chest for the precious skin-to-skin contact the midwife deemed crucial for the first hour of his life.

In this first hour following the birth, my scent and touch was pivotal in aiding Sebastian's development and especially in triggering his first few instincts—nursing being the most important. It was also a vital part of the new and delicate mother-baby bond between us. So, after the midwife and Madja had cleared away the mess from the delivery and provided me with my own postpartum care; instructing me to rest and recuperate after the undertaking my body had just been through, Rhys joined my side in bed; making sure the warm blankets I had been draped and covered with remained intact. With an arm wrapped securely around my shoulders, he waved a hand, his magic turning the bed in the direction of the window opposite of us. When I met him with a questioning stare, he simply smiled and motioned to the window again; urging me to look for myself.

The sky was painted in delicate, rippling curtains of green and blue light. The stars shimmering as the veils of light transitioned from one color to the next; multiple hues ranging from pale green, to red, to pink, and varying shades of blue shining through as they moved in soft waves across the sky. Set against the mountain, Ramiel, those three stars that only appeared on rare occasions in our court now shone bright while the rest continued glimmering in the patterned light. The look of astonishment on my face caused Rhys to grin as he went on to explain its origin.

"In the ancient texts, it's said that one of the first elements that came into being was night. Nyx, the primordial, and often forgotten, goddess of night was the prelude to the creation of our world-to Prythian itself," Rhys continued, his fingers brushing along my shoulder gently as we stared out at the sky.

"She was rumored to have wings and was powerful enough to be both feared and idolized by the ancient beings of Prythian and the continent. One of the many stories I heard growing up was her love of flying. My mother used to tell me that whenever Nyx would take to the skies, she would rattle the stars just from the mighty flap of her wings as she soared through them. In the early hours of dawn that would follow, the sky would look like this," he went on, his hold around me tightening slightly.

"It could only be seen in the Northern territory of Prythian. When the lords and the courts came to be, the sky would shimmer like this almost every night, but like Starfall, it soon faded over time and became a rare occasion—only appearing the night a new heir to the Night Court was born...as a sign of Nyx's blessing and approval." Rhys finished with a smile, bringing a hand up to wipe at a tear I hadn't realized I shed.

"It's beautiful," I breathed as I turned my head to look at him. "So, it can't be seen in the other courts?" I asked, thinking of the snowfall that had appeared in all of the territories following Eira's birth and how it must have compared to the storm that ravaged the Winter court instead.

Rhys's grin was crooked as he shook his head. "It's exclusive to our court alone, but our allies are being treated to a shower of stars similar to Starfall, minus the spirits" he explained, his eyes returning to Sebastian as the newborn let out a small sigh.

I brushed my fingers along Sebastian's back lightly, afraid that anything more might cause him to disappear, or worse. Through the bond, I could feel Rhys's equal level of apprehensiveness.

"He almost doesn't seem real, does he?" I asked as I continued my feather-light touch along my son's spine.

Rhys shook his head. "I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not dreaming," he said. "That I have a son, here in the flesh, and it's not some cruel trick of illusion crafted by the Cauldron as punishment for my sins…"

My fingers halted before reaching over to grasp my mate's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "He's real, Rhysand," I said softly. "Do you remember what I told you all those months ago? How our son, our little Bash, is the culmination of all the best parts of you; of all the good you've done and are?"

The silver lining his eyes returned as he brought his lips down to meet mine with gentle ease in a chaste kiss. "All because of you, Feyre darling," he responded, his voice barely above a whisper before he kissed me again.

I smiled as we pulled apart and turned startled eyes to our son as he let out a tiny grunt. "Do you disapprove of my affection towards your mother, Bash?" Rhys asked softly.

I saw his hand twitch as if he might reach out and touch him, but changed his mind at the last second. You can touch your son, Rhysand, I promise I won't bite.

My mate's chuckle was quiet, but I felt his lingering trepidation. "It's okay," I encouraged.

His throat bobbed as he reached a shaky hand out and placed it gently on the back of Sebastian's head—so tiny and frail in my mate's large hand. Sebastian remained unfazed, eyes still closed and breathing even, as Rhys brushed a thumb along the light wisps of his blue-black hair.

"He is so small," Rhys murmured, voice still thick with unshed tears as he admired our son up close. "His nose, his lips, his eyes...they are the tiniest I have ever seen in my entire existence."

"He's perfect," I echoed before leaning in to press a breath of a kiss to my son's brow.

Sebastian let out another soft sigh at the contact and twisted his head back slightly, prying his eyes open to meet mine and my heart nearly stopped as I stared back at him. Tears immediately sprang back into my eyes as I smiled.

"Hello Sebastian. It's me...it's mommy," I said, near sobbing. "I love you so much…"

Sebastian's eyes slipped back closed, head cradled in Rhys's hand, already spent from our short interaction. Rhys let out a shuddering breath as I turned to look at him, tears of joy still falling.

"I don't know how I'll ever thank you for this, Feyre," he said, shedding a few tears of his own. "For this gift, this life."

You don't ever have to, Rhysand. He is our son, our gift. I said through the bond.

He pulled me closer as he kissed me again, his brow lingering against mine as we relished in this new familial tie between us.

XXX

Once our uninterrupted hour had passed, Madja and the midwife knocked on the bedroom door, causing both of us to tense as I held onto Sebastian more securely and as Rhys sat up in the bed; wings appearing a second later and curling protectively around Sebastian and me. I laughed when I realized just how soon those feral instincts had kicked in for us and touched Rhys's arm gently.

"They aren't a threat, they're just our caregivers," I reminded him.

He nodded, tucking his wings back in as he called the healer and midwife in, but kept a hand on my back as they entered. The two females came to my side, Madja pulling back the blankets I had been covered with in order to survey my recovery—mostly making sure no post-delivery complications were arising as the midwife began instructing me on how to nurse Sebastian. Both Rhysand and I paid close attention to the midwife's direction, taking extra care to the details on how I should position him on my breast and where Rhys could help should the need arise.

It took a bit of maneuvering, including Sebastian's adorably furrowed brow that resembled my mate's own look of frustration and confusion, but he latched on and was suckling in a matter of minutes. The sensation was strange and foreign, but something deep inside of me warmed as I cradled him to my breast, running a finger along his cheek lightly as he nursed. That warmth turned to a deeper understanding of the love I had for my son, and pride in the fact that I was able to nourish him. I was enough—had been enough in order to grow him safely inside of me, and now had the ability to provide him the sustenance he needed to survive outside of my womb.

I was enough.

You have always been more than enough, Feyre darling

I gave my mate an amorous smile, realizing he had been watching me with a level of devotion I hadn't seen before sparkling in his violet eyes. His hand rubbed loving circles into my back as we turned our concentration back to the midwife, who gave us further instruction on the nursing protocol. I briefly recalled seeing Viviane nurse and thought of how easy she made the process look, but as the midwife explained that I needed to switch Sebastian between breasts every so often and make sure he burped in between the feedings that would take place every few hours; all the while taking care of myself during my own convalescence, I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

As if she could read my thoughts, Madja placed a comforting hand over mine. "It may seem like an impossible task now, my lady, but we will help you get accustomed and make sure all of your health needs are met," she said.

The midwife nodded in agreement, and so did Rhysand as he stroked the length of my shoulder. "You know you have plenty of support, my love," he said, and I knew he didn't just mean himself or the midwives.

We had our friends, a whole family, waiting for us back in Velaris once Sebastian and I were strong enough to go back. I stared at my newborn babe, wondering how they might react when they first laid eyes on him—only to be surprised when just the thought alone made me recoil, a sense of panic rising in me. Rhys chuckled at my plight, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Welcome to my world, Feyre darling," he teased. "Having that irrational, primal urge to keep him away, protected from everyone else, is akin to what I felt when our bond snapped into place."

I blinked; my instincts much further along than I earlier realized. "It's so odd," I mused. "I couldn't wait to introduce him to our family before, but now?"

I looked at Sebastian again as he suckled sleepily and rubbed his cheek gently in order to coax him awake. "I don't think I can let them anywhere near him yet," I admitted.

The midwife offered an empathetic smile while Madja laughed. "That is normal, my Lady, and will go away, to a degree, with time," she reassured.

"We should tell them though," I said to Rhys. "Let them know that he's here, and that we're both safe and healthy."

Rhys gestured to the window, the sky still painted with sparkling veils of pale blues and greens. "They know," he said. "I sent them a message via Az shortly after this appeared in the sky."

I sighed contentedly as I stared at the beauty of it, imagining what color paints I would need to mix in order to achieve those specific hues and what size canvas I would need. Nyx's flight I would call it, in honor of the ancient night goddess and my son's birth.

The midwife and Madja left after Sebastian completed his first successful session of nursing, wherein I reluctantly handed him over to their care for his first wellness examination. The midwife weighed and measured him, tested his reflexes and checked his overall wellbeing, all without much complaint from him as Rhys remained close to his side and talked him through the duration of the exam in soft murmurs. I watched from my place on the bed, propped up against a mountain of pillows after Madja performed her own examination of me and wiped my sweaty body clean with a warm damp towel. The magic of the Cabin presented a new shift at the foot of the bed, and the healer helped me change into that as well before helping me settle back into my semi-sitting position.

My eyes stung as I watched the midwife instruct Rhysand on how to properly place and secure a nappy on our son, before offering to show him how to properly swaddle a newborn babe. I saw my mate's enthusiastic nod, realizing he'd get to hold our son for the first time during the demonstration, and glanced in my direction for approval.

I can't do all the work, now can I? I teased through the bond.

His answering smile was just as warm as mine before he set about his task, the midwife only correcting his technique once before Rhys lifted and cradled the babe in his arms. The bundle that was now Sebastian looked impossibly tiny in my mates muscled arms; the Illyrian warrior, the High Lord of the Night Court, now enveloping his newborn son—the son he never thought he'd have, or deserved. I wiped the tears that spilled over as the older females dismissed themselves, and Rhys crossed back over to my bedside, eyes never leaving Sebastian's face as he stood. My heart squeezed as Rhys brought a hand to touch Sebastian's cheek hesitantly, his eyes growing silver lined as he marveled at our son.

"I don't think I'll ever grow tired of this feeling," Rhys murmured, gaze returning to mine.

"No, I don't think we will," I agreed, resting my head back against a pillow as I watched him.

Rhys paused, realizing. "Do you want him back?" he asked, knowing full-well that my maternal instincts were in full effect.

I shook my head. "I love seeing him in your arms Rhysand," I said. "I don't want you to leave my sight while you have him, but after months of imagining what it might look like to see you hold him...I can't picture anything better."

My mate softened at the sentiment before returning his gaze to Sebastian. "We better enjoy this time together while we still have it Bash, before your mother keeps you all to herself," he joked with a wink at me.

"I hope you warned the others," I quipped, a sleepy smile on my face as I watched Rhys make a small lap around the room, staying in close proximity to the bed.

"Mor and Cassian are already begging to come up here first thing in the morning, but Azriel, Amren and Nesta are keeping them leashed."

My laugh was quiet as I thought of their eagerness, but in reality, they all knew that it would be a while before they could be properly introduced to the newest addition of the inner circle. The midwife explained that the newborn bond was the most intense during the first week, and though I wouldn't be completely healed for another five following, we would at least be able to invite our family to meet Sebastian without the overwhelming need to safeguard him threatening to consume us and bare our teeth at our loved ones.

"They are going to love him," I said as I continued watching him move around the room, eyes growing heavier and heavier with the need to sleep.

Rhys heard the exhaustion in my voice and offered a sympathetic smirk as those adoring violet eyes turned to me. "You should sleep, my love, you've more than earned it after your efforts," he said.

I turned weary eyes to the bundle in his arms and he chuckled. "You can trust I won't leave your side, or even this room."

"I know," I said with a long yawn as he crossed back over to my side, taking a seat on the small space provided on the edge of the bed.

"I'll stay right here while you sleep," Rhys promised. "I think I can placate him until his next feeding."

I grinned languidly. "It can't be too hard if he continues to sleep like this," I said, glancing at Sebastian, who had fallen asleep almost immediately after being secured in his swaddle.

"My thoughts exactly, Feyre darling," he purred.

I was too exhausted to laugh, and instead brushed my fingers along Sebastian's cheek as he remained at peace in his father's arms. My heart squeezing as the full weight of realization hit, that our son was being held by Rhysand—his father.

To the stars who listen,

I brought my hand to his and squeezed it as his words echoed through our bond, both of us sharing a tender smile before admiring the sleeping bundle in his arms once again.

And the dreams that are answered.

[twonderland]

Hello!! Could I request some headcanons of the dorm leaders with a female crush who's like a Disney princess (really good singing voice, extremely compassionate to all, animals loves her, etc) please and thank you!!

Aww ! A cutie pie girl in NRC 💖💖✨

DORM LEADERS REQUEST

🦁 At the beginning he was a little bit stressed with you for different reasons, 1) he couldn’t relate nor understand your uninterested kindness, normally in Savanclaw the guys were such an assholes, that was the normal environment .... but then you came all cute and gentle , he doesn’t know how to manage you

🦁 The time passes and he gets your persona, you are the cutest little thing he has ever known. Of course (because of his initial insights of you) he doesn’t want to and refuse to accept that he may ... have a crush on you but well, love is love and this big cat is not escaping it

🦁 Anyone that knows him for some time like Ruggie would notice how his way of talking and even moving around you changes, he flirts shamelessly since he LOVES your cute face get all red like a tomato. Overall, he has a lot of fun teasing you and also listening to your beautiful voice he pretends to be asleep but nah he’s not 💖💖💖 also , pet him, pet this boy for god’s sake, he adores your smooth hands on his ears 🙌🏻✨ (maybe this is part of this “princess charm” that you have that keeps his tail moving and making him purr like a kitten on your lap)

♥️ Takes your kindness pretty well ... on the surface. He has been taught how to talk to a lady but actually never put that knowledge on practice, you may catch his hands on his back whenever you talk to him he’s trying to stay calm playing with his fingers

♥️ One time you fell asleep on one of the gardens, resting your face on the surface of a table with some tea cups in front of you. You were exhausted after helping Cater with some stuff, and decided to take a break ... you fell asleep. - what is she doing ? Its not allowed to sleep in common areas- he thought but before he could awake you one butterfly rested on your head, making the sight something beautiful and magical

♥️ “...J-just this time” he couldn’t afford to ruin this moment, some time later he approached Trey to ask him “do you know anyone who’s magic allows them to take photos ? Like cater ?” Trey is like dude just use a phone 😂 leave him alone, he’s like a grandpa sometimes and only wants to admire your cute face whenever he wants

♥️ The first time that he asked you for a date it was a sight to behold (he said that it was a practice for the next unbirthday´s party but you know what’s happening) you are so gentle and comprehensive that he gets to a point where he relaxes and enjoys your conversation a lot, you relax him and blushes at the thought of holding your hand... maybe a red rose could be a good start for you to acknowledge his feelings for you...

🐙 It captures his interest the fact that in your first visit to the Atlantica a lot of fish and other sea creatures appeared to liked you, following you everywhere you went and also making some cute tricks to make you giggle. -maybe she had some kind of special magic that allows her to captivate animal’s attention- he thought, but then again you are a human... no magic, so what could it be ?

🐙 In octavinelle all the students have this clever yet malicious personality that allows them to trick other people, getting what they want making their “clients” fall in traps, so when Azul sees your sweet personality he tries to read your way of “tricking people” only to discover that that was the real you with not second intentions

🐙You are the only person that he truly opens up besides the eel brothers, he sincerely wants to become a stronger person and thinks that with your help and positive aura he can achieve that, also expect him to show you his most clingy and cry baby side 😂💖

🐙ADORES YOUR VOICE pls sing more for this octoboy 😂 he also likes to make covers with you and make duets, one day you made such a beautiful duet that even Vil praised you. The way that he develops feelings for you is through time, he knowing that you are indeed a beautiful person inside and out and he relying on you, but also teaching you lots of things ! Azul is a really clever person after all

👑Intrigued to say the least, if you are a pomefiore student then Vil would find out your abilities like singing, baking (maybe ? 😂) and having an aesthetic sense really quick, but if not, he would see this features once he starts to ask for your help in different tasks

👑 Your beauty is a fact, no doubts there. Not only in the exterior, but also you have this “I don’t know what” thing that makes the pomefiore students go behind you not just to appreciate your beauty but because your personality is so refreshing !

👑 Not gonna lie, he may feel a liiiitle bit of jealousy for some time, but after seeing that you don’t have any interest in taking “his throne” Vil calms down and becomes something like a mentor. He wants to exalt your beauty at the maximum level, you accept everything he does to your face and clothes since you only wish to make him happy but in the process ... he falls in love 💖

👑 Imagine him talking about your interests, points of view, memories etc etc. while he does your make up, your hair and outfit. He gets to know you and also to admire the beauty of a beautiful soul

☀️ PARTNERS IN CRIME you two are inseparable, the positive energy that you emanate is like the sun, it almost made blind a lot of scarabia students including Jamil

☀️ Laughs, smiles, singing, dancing. Do you remember that Kalim also LOVES animals ? He likes to take you to see his tigers, exotic birds and taking rides on the camels and the magic carpet. Jamil has scolded Kalim too many times since he comes back to scarabia too late after taking night rides with you “hehe, I’m sorry Jamil, is only that the time flows like air whenever I´m with (y/n)!!! “ while Jamil perks one eyebrow, realizing his master’s feeling even before himself.

☀️ You are the typical couple that everyone thinks that is in a romantic relationship but in your minds you are friends, this little questions like “I thought you were dating” or “you two look cute together” made him starting to think about you in a different way. Kalim the sunshine he is, doesn’t want to bother you so he keeps it to himself.... for some minutes 😂. The doubt is there and he NEEDS to tell you, he’s scared, nervous, doubtful BUT he needs to know how you feel as well.

☀️ Tríes to take your relationship to another level, now, every time he takes you to the aviary he has flowers for you, he invites you to dinner but the atmosphere is more ... romantic. Those kind of hints also make you start to see him on a different light and with time ... the love surges 💖💖

💀 His crush is almost instantaneous 😂 the first time you saw him it was because Crewel asked you to bring some papers to Ignihyde so the dorm leader could give them a look. After some time you manage to get to Idia’s room, where you knock the door not 2 or 3 but 5 times before coming in, you couldn’t return to your dorm with those papers on hand

💀 The light was off and shyly you said “i-is someone here ? Idia-San ? ... I’m turning the lights on...” the next thing you saw was an otaku’s scared face at the other side of the bedroom enrolled with blankets and a plushie

💀 he thinks you are ethereal and just... perfect. You are kind, gentle, doesn’t judge him, actually appreciates and likes to talk to him and beautiful. At first is intimidated by you for being a girl. Pls take your time with this guy, he will open up once he detects no danger around you You being the kind person, and Idia the being unable to survive without someone telling him that he actually has to eat three times a day and getting at least 6 hours of sleep, you take good care of him (ORTHO ADORES YOU). Idia’s not a baby and actually takes care of himself after seeing your concern. He´s so grateful for you being at his side in good and bad times.

💀 Invites you to play video games with him, watch anime, talk about everything and anything. When Idia gets comfortable his voice is way more smooth and fluent, he’s that kind of people who you can totally rely on and will ALWAYS be there for you. He blushes easily around you, fantasies with the day when he can tell you about his feelings and with ZEUS BLESSING get your “yes”

🐉 Dragon boy didn’t know what was like having a crush, so it took some time for him to actually understand what was this weird feelings he had towards you, just let me remark that Malleus haven’t had any friends in his life, let alone a partner, so your relashionship develops slowly but is one of the sweetest ones in the entire world 😊💖

🐉 The first thing you are gonna have is an unconditional friendship, you show him lots of things and he shows you his incredible magic, the way his world works, etc. he had a crush on you already but he’s just so lost 😂

🐉 “Lilia, I ... have had some weird thoughts about (y/n)” to what Lilia answered “Mm? Such as ..?” He doubted for a second, but Lilia being in fact his “dad” and the only and mostly decent source of help Malleus had, he continued

“....kissing her”

Silence

“Wait wha-“ “also embracing her, dancing with her, singing for her, having night walks with her, also taking care of Gaogao Draco-kun with her, sleeping with her, also-“ 

“ I think I understand Malleus 😅”

🐉 AGAIN lets take in mind that he’s from a different species which means different courtship rituals, so once he understands the “human way” to court you expect him to clumsily, awkwardly but in a intensely adorable way to recite some poems for you, I like to think that Malleus (having the age he has and living for so long) has a talent for writing poems, stories, etc. His face is stern but you can tell how nervous he is for his trembling voice, also acting way more like a “gentleman” for you, which is nearly impossible since he has always been a sweetheart to you ☺️💖

Thanks for your request

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

[mangomochi-yn]

[volleyball with the aces]

haikyuu best boi aces x reader

g. all around fluff! (and crack :P) wc. 12-17 bullets/ea

contains. bokuto k., sakusa k., asahi a., iwaizumi h., ushijima w., futakuchi k.

bokuto

this hyper baby

the minute you suggest it he’s shouting in excitement

would immediately get ready to serve at you, even stopping practice

((but luckily akaashi stops him to let you gear up))

“whoa y/n you have to practice with me now! youre good!!”

always. i repeat aLWAYS exclaims (with glee) when you make a tricky move like a curved spike or a float serve

laughs when he has to sprint to receive a feign

v v tempted to show off his spikes but doesn’t wanna hurt you (awe bb 🥺)

so he’ll pretend to go really hard but then mid air just like *taps* the ball. asgshgshshdksl

overall super fun and super loud

he literally just turns into a ball of sunshine and youre just 💘💞

10/10 can’t get better than him

sakusa

this boi

ya gotta convince for a while

will be like why? what brought this? you want to get sweaty and dirty? are you that bored?

like bruh 😑

eventually gives in when u tell him u just want to play with him

plays normally for the most part

(he knows you can handle some of his spikes and serves 💪)

but he will lightly tease you with a curveball every now and then

oh and btw you’re geared up to the max before you start like 💯

— im talking knee pads, elbow pads, hair tied up and tight, compression shorts (absolutely NO loose and hazardous clothes), and dont forget double knotted shoelaces

afterwards? i m m e d i a t e shower

you better drink your water in 10secs cause he will not hesitate to scoop you up and throw you in there if you take any longer

all in all was the game worth all the time it takes to gear up and the 1hr shower after?

100% — that small smile he had as he played with you was a blessing in itself

will give you some pointers too after just cause he hopes to play with you more smoothly next time

8/10 ur very clean now. very refreshed

asahi

now we all know how unsure and nervous this jesus is

so naturally, once u ask him he’ll be like 😳 with me? why?

ur like “ur my boyfriend asahi, who else would i play with” 😐

“noya’s pretty fun to play with”

😑 bruh

just act all pouty and mad and he’ll be right on it though

plays softly, very leisurely

it’s as if you two were just.. passing the ball to each other (and it got a bit boring)

so you told him

asahi spike em balls pls ☺️

he laughs but eventually does and right then and there you remember how he is the a c e

1 dive turns into 2, 2 turns into 3, next thing you knew you were rolling all over the place trying to receive (noya’s v proud btw)

meanwhile asahi was having so much fun so ur just like 🥺 dont matter! anything for him!!

“that was so much fun, y/n!” your heart melts at how he beams at you after, he was sweaty all over but somehow he said he felt ‘refreshed’

i think ur confused bby

but anyways 8/10 protect him at all costs or u catch these fists

iwaizumi

like sakusa this boy will be a bit sus

like he’ll say yeah right away but will be like??

when you tell him you just wanna play with him he then turns a bit of a cocky bitch (unintentionally!!)

hes like “😏 oh? i won’t hold back yknow.”

lies.

worse than boku he def holds back

just receives all the time like boy?? wheres that strong ass spike form i fell for? 

the minute you tell him to not be a 🅿️ussy though be ready cause he will get in the zone

— he decided he might as well use this for actual practice 💀

so in the end you’re dead. arms sore.

“we should do this more often babe its fun practicing with you” as he takes a swig from his water bottle shoving it to u after

how can you say no tho when you see that bright ass smile of his and hear his hearty laughter?

you lk regret asking but in the end what makes baby daddy happy — he gets 😪

another 8/10 at least u see the bara arms flex during the whole thing

ushijima

“huh okay”

ya kinda feel bad asking him cause he had to stop practicing but bbys like “no. we can play like you want it’s fine.”

and it’s like... hes playing with a child

(hes also part of the gear you to the max squad btw)

but anyways as he plays with u a few mins in you’re like 👁👄👁 boy what is this mockery

but then before you complain you now notice him gradually amping up his spikes— not just receiving as often any more (oh? 👀)

turns out baby boi was just assessing you it seems. agsshsksjjl what a man 💔

cracks a smile every now and then when you barely receive something while u shout-laugh loudly at him

then afterwards he hydrates u to the max

im talking g a l l o n s

(you got your 8 cups for the whole week now)

then offers to bathe or massage you if you’re too tired cause unlike u hes like so unaffected 😐

like one (1) single sweatdrop on his forehead and thats it

gives you pointers as he massages you too but overall says not to hesitate to ask him if you wanted to play again

another 10/10 baby’s perfect

futakuchi

sassy mf

“are you sure? i wont hold back you know.”

(him and iwaizumi — to the streets!)

((jk just him cause iwa is bae))

he’s still not done at just that btw

“did you want my attention that much 😘 im kinda busy tho” so u hit him with a “nah nvm then”

and this mf hugs you so fast and says he might as well since you asked (smh 🤦‍♀️)

and this boy..

he’s asahi but intentionally

— like why??? are you running back and forth the edges of the court???

“go go dateko!” he fuccin sings as he sees you run to where he received the ball to 💀

— the complete opposite side of where you were btw

will also urge and keep teasing you to try tricky moves on him

*loud fake gasp as you do a curve spike*

istg if you could still walk at the end of playing with him you wouldve drop kicked him instantly

smothers you with kisses and hugs, and offers to carry you home after though so you cant really be too mad 🙄

all in all 7 jelly legs out of 10 (hes lucky u love him)

a/n. i used to play varsity in my middle and high school vbc!! i loved being a pinch server but most of my days i was a wing spiker 😗 did one year as a libero and gave up immediately cause i had no idea how to dive properly (komori pls teach ur ways 🤲) i would literally sacrifice my w h o l e b o d y to receive every time